em up," said I.

"I know lots," remarked Racey.

"Well, you begin then," said I.

"Oh no," objected Tom, "Racey's stories are _so_ silly. You tell us one,
Audrey, and I'll think of one while you are telling it."

"Thank you--how much would you listen to mine, if you were making one
yourself all the time?"

"Oh but I _would_ listen--_dear_ Audrey, your stories are always so
nice," said Tom, coaxingly; but Racey was so offended at Tom saying his
stories were stupid, that he wouldn't speak at all.

"Well, I'll tell one if you'll let Racey tell one too. I don't think his
are stupid at all. And if you can think of one, you can tell yours too.
Let's all be quiet for five minutes to think of them."

"Mine's all ready," said Racey. "It's about a----"

"Hush, you're not to tell till it's your turn," said Tom sharply, so
that Racey looked offended again; and I was in such a hurry to stop
their quarrelling, that I had to begin my story before I had got it
half settled. I mean before I had thought quite how to tell it rightly,
for the story itself was true, as mother had told it me herself.

"Tom and Racey," I said, "I don't think you ever heard the story I am
going to tell you. Mother told it to me one day when you weren't in the
room. It is about mother's godmother when she was a little girl."

"Mother's godmother's little girl," said Tom, looking rather puzzled.

"No, of course not, you stupid boy," said I, at which Tom looked
offended. It seemed as if we couldn't get out of the way of quarrelling
that afternoon, and the minute I had said it, I was sorry. "Oh, dear
Tom, don't be vexed. I didn't mean to call you stupid," I said, quickly.
"I'll tell you how I mean. Mother had a godmother, you know, just like
you have Uncle Geoff for your godfather. And mother was called after her
godmother, whose name was like mother's of course, as she was called
after her. Well, this godmother was partly French and partly English,
and of course when she was young, before she was grown up, she was a
little girl, just like everybody else."

"Except boys," said Tom very seriously. He was anxious to show me that
he was giving his whole attention. "When men are little they're boys,
not girls."

"Of course," I said again. "Well, any way, you see now how I mean--this
lady, Madame----I forget her last name, it's very hard to say, I'll call
her Marie, for that was her first name, and of course when she was
little she wasn't called Madame--