u know, isn't like a person's skin. It can't grow.
But I think that if you remember to be careful the drum will last a long
time. There you are. My goodness! it makes as much noise as ever, doesn't
it?" and Mrs. Horton covered her ears and laughed as Sunny Boy beat
merrily on his mended drum.

"Letters!" he cried a minute later as a shrill whistle sounded. "I'll get
'em for you, Mother," and downstairs again he tumbled. Only he left the
drum safely on Mother's bed.

"Two--three--ever so many," he announced proudly when he came back. "Are
there any for me, Mother?"

Like some other little folk, Sunny Boy was always expecting letters,
though he almost never wrote any. But he meant to write a great many as
soon as he learned to write with ink, and he was even now learning to
print nicely.

"None for you," answered Mrs. Horton, glancing at the envelopes.
"However, here is one with something in it for you, I suspect. Grandpa
Horton has written to us."

As Mother opened this letter, a little note fell out. That was from
Grandpa Horton to Sunny Boy. He liked to put a little letter inside his
large one, just for his grandson. Sunny waited quietly while Mother read
her letter. When she had read it through, she folded it and put it back
in the envelope.

"Sunny Boy," she said, and her voice made him think of the "laughing
piece" she sometimes played for him on the piano. He looked at her and
her eyes were dancing. "Sunny Boy," she said again, "what do you think?
We're going to visit Grandpa Horton on his farm--going to make him a nice
long visit and see the real country."

"Oh, goody!" cried Sunny Boy. "Is Daddy going?"

"He'll come to see us," promised Mother. "Let me read you what Grandpa
has written you, dear."

Grandpa Horton's note to Sunny told him he was depending on him to help
him with the early haying.

"Wasn't it lucky Harriet rubbed the numbers on the front door this
morning?" chuckled Sunny Boy. "S'posing we didn't get this letter?
Where's Brookside, Mother?"

Brookside was the name of Grandpa's farm. Mrs. Horton explained that it
was many miles away from the city, and that it would take them nearly a
day on the train to get there.

"And if Daddy cannot go with us, you'll have to take care of me," she
said seriously.

"All right, I will," promised Sunny Boy. "I'll have to go and tell
Harriet an' show her my letter. I'll tell the awning man, too. I was
going to help him, but I don't feel helping, som