narrow
hall, they entered the tiny parlour.

"I never was in such a crowded room," said Marian. "I can scarcely get my
breath. I had no idea there were so many of us."

"Well, you're not going to live here," said Laura. "There's room enough
for just Patty and her father."

"There is, if we each take a room to ourself," said Mr. Fairfield. "You
may have this parlour, my daughter, and I'll take the library. Where is
the library, Miss Russell?"

"I think it has just stepped out," said Frank; "at any rate, it isn't on
this floor; there's only this room, and the dining-room, and a kitchen
cupboard."

"Very likely the library is on the third floor," said Marian; "that would
be convenient."

"There isn't any third floor," explained Laura. "This is what they call
a story-and-a-half house."

"It would have to be expanded into a serial story, then, before it would
do for us," said Mr. Fairfield. "We may not be such big people, but Patty
and I have a pretty large estimate of ourselves, and I am sure we never
could live in such a short-story-and-a-half as this seems to be."

"Indeed, we couldn't, papa," said Patty. "Just look at this dining-room.
I'm sure it's only big enough for one. We would have to have our meals
alternately; you could have breakfast, and I would have dinner one day,
and the next day we'd reverse the order."

"Come, look at the kitchen, Patty," called out Frank; "or at least stick
your head in; there isn't room for all of you. See the stationary tubs.
Two of them, you see; each just the size of a good comfortable
coffee-cup."

"Just exactly," said Patty, laughing; "why, I never saw such a house.
Laura Russell, what were you thinking of?"

"Oh, of course, you could add to it," said Laura. "You could build on
as many more rooms as you wanted, and you could run it up another story
and a half, and that would make three stories; and I do want you to
live near me."

"We're sorry not to live near you, Miss Laura," said Mr. Fairfield; "but
I can't see my way clear to do it unless you would move into this
bandbox, and let us have your roomy and comfortable mansion next door."

"Oh, there wouldn't be room for our family here," said Laura.

"But you could build on a whole lot of rooms," said Frank, "and add
enough stories to make it a sky-scraper; and put in an elevator, and it
would be perfectly lovely."

Laura laughed with the rest, and then, at Mrs. Elliott's suggestion, they
all started back to the