Mrs. Holliday, as she came up to them.

'Well, Poppy,' cried another, 'have you heard the news?'

'Your mother's got a present for you, Poppy,' said Sarah Anne Spavin;
'you'd better hurry in and have a look at it.'

'A present for me,' said the child; 'what is it?'

But the women only laughed and bade her go and see.

And the faces at the window overhead laughed too, and said there was
such a thing as having too much of a good thing.

Poppy passed them all and went in, and then she heard her mother's voice
calling to her to come upstairs. Her mother was in bed, and she beckoned
Poppy to come up to her.

'Poppy, child,' she said, rather sorrowfully, 'I've got a present for
you.'

Just what the neighbours had told her; and the child wondered more and
more what this present could be. It was a very long time now since Poppy
had had a present; she had never had one since her father went away, and
it was six months since he had left them.

Poppy often wondered where he had gone. Her mother never talked about
him now, and the neighbours shook their heads when he was mentioned,
and said he was a bad man. But he had often brought Poppy a present on a
Saturday night when he got his wages; sometimes he brought her a packet
of sweets, sometimes an apple, and once a beautiful box of dolls'
tea-things. But since he went away there had been no presents for Poppy.
Her mother had had to work very hard to get enough money to pay the rent
and to get bread for them to eat--there was no money to spare for
anything else.

What could this present be, about which all the neighbours knew?

'Look here, Poppy,' said her mother; and she pointed to a little bundle
of flannel lying on one side of the bed.

Poppy went round and peeped into it; and there she saw her present--a
tiny baby with a very red face and a quantity of black hair, and with
its little fists holding its small fat cheeks.

'Oh, what a beauty!' said Poppy, in an awestruck voice. 'Is it for me,
mother?'

'Yes,' said the mother, with a sigh; 'it's for you, Poppy.'

'But that isn't all,' said old Mrs. Trundle, who was standing at the
foot of the bed; 'that's only half your present, Poppy. Look here!'

And in her arms Poppy saw another bundle, and when she had opened it, lo
and behold, what should there be but another little baby, also with a
very red face and plenty of black hair, and with its little fists
holding its fat cheeks!

'Two of them?' said Poppy, in ama