le. There are lovely walks,
and it is _quite_ country, so I hope you will be very happy there."

"And we are _all_ going--you and papa too?" we said.

"Yes, _all_," mamma answered, smiling. "Would you rather have gone
without us?"

Of course she only said that to tease us--she knew quite well we
wouldn't. And of course we both jumped up and hugged her and told her
she was a very naughty little mamma to speak like that.

"We like Miss Ellis very well, you know, mamma," said Persis, "but still
we _couldn't_ like going with her as well as with you and papa."

"Indeed," said mamma, "and supposing, just _supposing_ Miss Ellis
couldn't come too, would it spoil your pleasure very much?"

We looked rather grave at this, for we hardly knew what to answer. It
seemed unkind to say we should _not_ much mind, for Miss Ellis is really
very kind, especially when we are left alone with her. But yet it
wouldn't have been true to say it _would_ spoil our pleasure, and if you
children are _real_ children who read this, or even if you are big
people who haven't forgotten about being children, you will know how
nice it is sometimes to get quite away from lessons and lesson-books,
and as it were to forget all about them--to be something like lambs, or
squirrels, or rabbits, in one's feelings, just thinking about nothing
except how lovely the sunshine is, and the grass, and the trees, and
being alive altogether. And I don't think it does us any harm, for
afterwards, I think it makes us like lessons better again, when we come
back to them, partly because it's a change, and partly too because after
so much play, the least we can do is to try to work well. But still it
seemed unkind to Miss Ellis to say we wouldn't mind.

At last Persis, who generally thinks of the right thing to say, looked
up brightly.

"If Miss Ellis herself didn't mind, and was perhaps going to see her own
friends and be very happy, _then_ we wouldn't mind, mamma."

Mamma smiled.

"That's right, Persis, and that's just how it is. Miss Ellis is going to
have a holiday, so you and Archie may enjoy your own holiday with clear
consciences."

We were awfully glad after that. Everything seemed right.

"If _only_," I said, "we had our dog, Bruno, Persis."

For we had given our fancy dog a name, and spoke him as if he really
lived.

"Hush, Archie," said Persis, "you promised to leave off thinking about
him. It seems greedy to want everything. Just _fancy_ what we ha