gs as well as girls and apples, and he straddled one end
and said, "Who's first?" And Jessica straddled the other as quick as a
boy, and went up with a whoop. But Joyce, who presently turned her off,
sat sideways as gay and graceful as a lady in a circus. And Jennifer
crouched a little and clung rather hard with her hands, but laughed
bravely all the time. And Jane thought she wouldn't, and then she
thought she would, and squeaked when she went up and fell off when she
came down, so that Martin tumbled too, and apologized to her earnestly
for his clumsiness; and while he rubbed his elbows she said it didn't
matter at all. But little Joan took off her shoes, and with her hands
behind her head stood on the end of the see-saw as lightly as a sunray
standing on a wave, and she looked up and down at Martin, half shyly
because she was afraid she was showing off, and half smiling because
she was happy as a bird. And Joscelyn wouldn't play. Then the girls
told Martin he'd had more than his share, and made him get off, and
struggled for possession of the see-saw like Kings of the Castle. And
Martin strolled up to Joscelyn and said persuasively, "It's such fun!"
but Joscelyn only frowned and answered, "Give it back to me!" and
Martin didn't seem to understand her and returned to the see-saw, and
suggested three a side and he would look after Jane very carefully. So
he and Jane and Jennifer got on one end, and Jessica, Joyce and Joan
sat on the other, and screaming and laughing they tossed like a boat on
a choppy sea: until Jessica without any warning jumped off her perch in
mid-air and destroyed the balance, and down they all came
helter-skelter, laughing and screaming more than ever. But Jane
reproved Jessica for her trick and said nobody would believe her
another time, and that it was a bad thing to destroy people's
confidence in you; and Jessica wiped her hot face on her sleeve and
said she was awfully sorry, because she admired Jane more than anybody
else in the world. Then Martin looked at the sun and said, "You've
barely time to get tidy for supper." So the milkmaids ran off to smooth
their hair and their kerchiefs and do up ribbons and buttons or
whatever else was necessary. And came fresh and rosy to their meal, of
which not one of them could touch a morsel, she declared.

"Dear, dear, dear!" said Martin anxiously. "What's the matter with you
all?"

But they really didn't know. They just weren't hungry. So please
wouldn