autiful a day for them to stop and pick berries, Peggy
thought; but that was what they had come for. Mrs. Owen said she would
give a pint of preserved blueberries to the boy or girl who picked the
first quart, provided they were carefully picked. So every one set to
work to pick with a will.

Tom got his pail filled first, but as he was older than the other
children, Diana said she thought Peggy ought to have the prize, because
she had filled her quart pail almost as soon as Tom had; for Peggy, who
was naturally quick, had been so anxious to come out ahead that she had
not stopped to look at squirrels and birds. When Mrs. Owen examined the
berries, however, she found some that were not ripe in Peggy's pail.
Diana and Alice had both of them picked slowly, but carefully.
Christopher had almost as many as Peggy, but his had to be gone over,
and some unripe ones taken out. Clara had the fewest and poorest of all.
She was not used to applying herself, and very soon she said she was
tired and that the sun made her head ache; so Miss Rand said she could
go into the little hut and rest. But this did not suit her, for she
liked to be with the other children.

"I am going to give the prize to Diana," said Mrs. Owen, "as Tom won't
take it, for she has picked carefully."

"Let's see who has picked the most," said Peggy, as she examined the
pails. "Oh, mother has a lot more than anybody. Mother, you'll have to
keep some for yourself, and Alice and I can help you eat them."

Miss Rand had a great many, and so had Mrs. Carter, but her brother Joe
had the fewest of all the grown people, for he had been building a fire
in the hut, so that Mrs. Owen could fry bacon and heat cocoa for dinner.

When they all took a recess in picking and sat down on the piazza of the
camp for their dinner, Peggy thought she had never tasted anything so
good in her life as the bread and butter and hard-boiled eggs and crisp
bacon. For dessert they had saucers of blueberries and cups of cocoa,
and some cake and doughnuts, which Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Horton had
contributed to the feast.

As they were resting after dinner, Mrs. Carter read a story aloud to
them. Then they all picked blueberries again. Diana and Clara soon got
tired, and Miss Rand fixed a comfortable place for them to lie down on
the window-seats in the hut. Mrs. Owen took some gray blankets out of
one of the lockers and covered them up carefully.

At night, when Dr. Carter came for them w