ht do that
way--Carrots and I--about sugar, I mean?"

"I don't see that it would do you any harm," said nurse. "You must ask
your mamma."

But Floss hesitated.

"I shouldn't much like to ask mamma," she said, and Carrots, who was
listening so intently that he had forgotten all about his bread and
milk, noticed that Floss's face grew red. "I shouldn't much like to ask
mamma, because, nursie, dear, it is only that we want to get money for
something for ourselves, and if we told mamma, it would be like asking
her to _give_ us the money. It wouldn't be any harm for us not to eat
any sugar in our tea for a month, and you could keep the sugar in a
packet all together, nurse, and _then_ you might tell mamma that we had
saved it, and she would give us a shilling for it. It would be quite
worth a shilling, wouldn't it, nurse?"

"Oh, yes," said nurse, "I am sure your mamma would say it was." Then she
considered a little. She was one of those truly trustworthy nurses whose
notions are strong on the point of everything being told to "mamma." But
she perfectly understood Floss's hesitation, and though she might not
have been able to put her feeling into words, she felt that it might do
the child harm to thwart her delicate instinct.

"Well, nurse?" said Floss, at last.

"Well, Miss Flossie, I don't think for once I shall be doing wrong in
letting you have a secret. When will you begin? This is Thursday; on
Saturday your mamma will give me the week's sugar--suppose you begin on
Sunday? But does Master Carrots quite understand?"

"Oh, yes," said Floss, confidently, "he understands, don't you dear?"

"Oh, yes," said Carrots, "we won't eat not any sugar, Floss and me, for
a great long time, and nurse will tie it up in a parcel with a string
round, and mamma will buy it and give us a great lot of pennies, and
then, and then"--he began to jump about with delight--"Floss and me will
go to the toy-shop and buy our hoops, won't we Floss? Oh I wish it was
time to go now, don't you Floss?"

"Yes, dear, a month's a good while to wait," said Floss sympathisingly.
"May we go out on the shore again by ourselves this afternoon, nurse?"

"If it doesn't rain," said nurse; and Floss, who had half an hour to
wait before it was time for her to join her sisters in the school-room,
went to the window to have a look at the weather. She had not stood
there for more than a minute when Carrots climbed up on to a chair
beside her.

"It's going to