y long the twins awoke, and Poppy and her mother began
their work again.

CHAPTER III.

A HOLIDAY.

The next morning when Poppy woke she felt as if she had had a bad dream.
Her mother's words the night before came back to her mind. 'I think I am
going to die and leave you all.' It could not be true, surely! She
raised herself in bed and looked round. Her mother was up already; she
could hear her moving about downstairs, and she had lighted the fire,
for Poppy could hear the sticks crackling in the grate. The twins were
still asleep, lying in bed beside her, and the child peeped at their
little peaceful faces, and stooped to kiss Elijah's tiny hand, which was
lying on the coverlet of the bed. They knew nothing about it, poor
little things. It could not be true, Poppy said to herself; her mother
could not be going to die; she must have dreamt it all.

She crept out of bed very quietly, so as not to wake the babies, dressed
herself, and went downstairs to help her mother to get breakfast ready.
But she found everything done when she got into the kitchen, the cloth
was on the table, and a cup for Poppy, and another for her mother, and
two slices of bread, and two cups of tea.

'Oh, mother,' said Poppy, 'I didn't know I was so late.'

'You're going to have a holiday to-day, Poppy,' said her mother; 'do you
know it's your birthday?'

'My birthday, mother?' repeated the child.

'Yes, you're nine years old to-day, my poor little lass,' said her
mother; 'I reckoned that up as I was walking about with the babies last
night, and I mean you to have a rest to-day; you've been a-toiling and
a-moil-ing with them babies ever since they was born; it's time you had
a bit of quiet and peace.'

'But you're poorly, mother,' said the child.

'No worse nor usual,' said her mother, 'and I've got no work to-day.
Mrs. Peterson isn't going to wash till to-morrow, so you're to have a
real quiet day, Poppy.'

But Poppy, like a good child, could not sit idle when she saw her mother
working, and so in the afternoon, as soon as dinner was over, her mother
sent her out for a walk, and told her not to come home till tea-time.

'There's Jack and Sally, they've got holidays, Poppy; get them to go
with you,' she said.

Jack and Sally lived in a house on the opposite side of the court; they
went to the same school to which Poppy had gone before the babies came,
and they had always played together since they were tiny children.

So