He did want so much to win!

But Mab was a real "sportswoman," for there are such you know--even
little girls.

"Hal, I didn't win!" she exclaimed, skating back to her brother, "It
isn't a fair race when some one falls; is it Daddy?"

"Well, perhaps in a real big race they would count it, even if some of
the skaters fell," he said. "But this time you need not count--"

"Well, I'm not going to count this!" interrupted Mab. "I don't want to
win the race that way. Come on, Hal. We won't count this, and we'll
race over again!"

Now I call that real good of Mab. Don't you?

Hal looked happy again. He didn't even mind the bruise on his knee,
where it had hit on the ice.

"Well, I'd be glad to race over again," Hal said. "Next time I won't
fall."

"Very well, race over once more," said Daddy Blake.

So Hal and Mab did, and this time, after some hard skating, Hal
crossed the finish line a little ahead of his sister. Poor Mab tried
not to look sad but she could not help it.

"You--you won the race, Hal," she said.

"Well, maybe I got started a little ahead of you," he replied kindly.
"Anyhow, I'm older and of course I'm stronger. Oughtn't I give her a
head-start, Daddy?"

"I think it would be more fair, perhaps," said Daddy Blake with a
smile. He was glad his children were so thoughtful.

"Then let's race again," suggested Hal.

"Oh, hurrah!" cried all the other children. "Another race! That's
three!"

This time Hal let Mab start off a little ahead of him, when Mr. Blake
called "Go!" This "head-start," as we used to call it when I was a
boy, is called a "handicap" by the big folk, but you don't need to use
that big word, unless you care to.

"Oh, Mab is going to win! Mab is going to win!" shouted the children.
And she did. She crossed the line ahead of Hal. And Oh! how glad she
was.

"Now we've each won a race!" cried Hal, as he helped his sister take
off her skates.

A few days after that Daddy Blake asked the children:

"How would you like to go on a winter picnic?"

"A winter pic-nic!" cried Hal. "What is that?"

"Why we'll take our skates, and a basket of lunch, and go over to the
big lake. We'll have a long skate, and at noon we'll eat our lunch
in a log cabin I know of on the shores of the lake. That will be our
winter pic-nic."

"Oh, how fine!" cried Mab. "When may we go?"

"To-morrow," answered Daddy Blake.

"Oh, I'm sure something will happen!" cried Aunt Lolly.

And something did, b