I were you," returned his mother with a smile. "Never
put your head or your arm in any place unless you are sure you can get
it out again. Sometimes a cat will put her head in a tin can to get
whatever there may be in it to eat. And the edges of the tin catch on
her ears just as yours were caught, Freddie. So be careful after this."

Freddie promised that he would, and then the hiding game went on. Only
Freddie, you may be sure, did not look behind the piano again, and no
one hid there.

"Oh, your party was perfectly lovely, Nan!" said the girls and boys when
they had finished their games, and had eaten the good things Mrs.
Bobbsey set on the table.

"Wasn't the cake good?" asked Freddie, looking as though he wanted a
second piece.

"Indeed it was, dear," said Ellen Moore.

"We helped Nan make it," declared Flossie. "Didn't we, Nan?"

"Oh, yes, you helped _some_--by cleaning out the dishes."

"And Snap nearly made Nan spill the cake when she was putting it in the
oven," went on Freddie. "Only we helped hold him; didn't we, Nan?"

"Yes, you certainly helped there."

At last the party was over, and Nan's cake, as well as the other good
things, was all eaten up. Then the children went home.

About a week after this the postman left some letters at the home of the
Bobbsey twins. Mrs. Bobbsey smiled when she read one, and when Bert and
Nan, Flossie and Freddie came home from school their mother said to
them:

"I have a surprise for you. See if you can guess what it is."

"Freddie and I are going to have a party!" guessed Flossie.

"No, dear. No more parties right away."

"We're going on a visit!" guessed Nan.

"No indeed. We just came back from one."

"Then some one is coming here," guessed Bert.

"That's it," his mother answered. "Uncle William Minturn and Aunt Emily,
from Ocean Cliff, are coming to pay us a little visit."

"And is Cousin Dorothy coming, too?" Nan asked.

"Yes, they will all be here in a few days now."

"Oh, I'm so glad!" cried Nan, clapping her hands. "We shall have _such_
fun!"

"And can I have fun with you, too?" asked Flossie.

"Yes, dear," Nan promised.

"I wish Dorothy were a boy," put in Bert. "Of course I like her, but I
can't have any fun with her. I wish Cousin Harry would come on from
Meadow Brook. Then we _could_ have a good time."

"You had a good time with Harry this Summer," suggested Mrs. Bobbsey.

"I like Dorothy," said Freddie, "and I'm glad she's coming 'cau