e nurse had to go to prepare
Ted for his expedition. In fact, I am sorry to say that so little did
the young lady realise what was expected of her, that she burst into a
loud roar, which was quite too much for Ted's feelings.

"Dear baby, sweet baby," he cried, "thoo mustn't be tooked away from
thoo's tree. I'll ask muzzer to deck me, nurse," he went on eagerly, for
his mother had returned to the house, "or I can nearly kite well deck
myself. I'll call thoo if I can't find my things. I'll run and ask
muzzer," and off he went, so eager to give no trouble, so ready and
helpful that nurse thought it best to let him have his way, and to
devote her attention to the discomposed Miss Baby.

Ted did not find his mother quite so quickly as he expected, though he
peeped into the drawing-room and called her by name as he passed her own
room upstairs, on his way to the nursery. The fact was that mother was
in the kitchen consulting with cook as to the groceries required to be
ordered, and it never came into Ted's head to look for her there at this
time of day. So he went straight on to the nursery, and managing with a
good deal of tugging and pulling and coaxing to open _his_ drawer in the
chest, he got out his best little coat and hat and prepared to don them.
But first he looked at his hands, which were none the whiter for their
recent ravages among the daisies.

"Zem's very dirty," he said to himself; "zem must be washed."

There was water in the jug, but Ted's ambition was aroused, and great
things were to be expected of a little boy who was big enough to "deck
himself," as he would have described the process.

"Ses, zem's _very_ dirty," he repeated, contemplating the two sunburnt
little paws in question. "Zem should have hot water. Hot water makes zem
ze most clean."

He glanced round, the hot water was not far to seek, for, though it was
June, the weather was not very warm, and nurse generally kept a small
fire burning in the day-nursery. And beside the fire, temptingly beside
the fire, stood the kettle, into which Ted peeping, satisfied himself
that there was water enough for his purpose. He would hardly have had
patience to fetch it had it not been there, so eager was he for the
delights of putting it on to boil. And, wonderful to say, he managed it;
he got the kettle, heavy for him to lift, as you can imagine, safely on
to the fire, and then, with immense satisfaction, sat down in front of
it to watch the result. The