Two Little Women Part 7

"Thank you, sweet friend and playmate, now go I with thee."

"No; _you_ don't say that! You've _been_ with me. Now, I go home and we both get ready for bed. When you're all ready, put out your light and--"

"Yes, I know."

Dotty scampered downstairs and over home, and fairly flew up to her room.

In less than twenty minutes Dotty was all ready for bed; she put out her light, and throwing a dressing-gown over her nightdress, she sat in the window, watching the light in Dolly's room.

She waited and waited, but the light behind the pulled-down shade remained.

"H'm!" said Dotty to herself, yawning, "she is the _slowest_ thing! I could have undressed twice in this time!"

But at last, Dolly's light went out, and her shade was slowly raised.

Then, according to their plan, Dotty flashed her light on and off again.

Dolly's light repeated this manoeuvre. Then Dotty did it again, and then Dolly did. The third time the flashes came and went, and then all ceremonies over, the two girls went to their new pretty, inviting beds, and were very soon asleep.

CHAPTER IV

THE BIRTHDAY MORNING

Dotty Rose woke early next morning, and, wide-awake on the instant, sprang from her bed and flew to the window. But she could see nothing of Dolly. The white shades were down and there was no sign of any one stirring. Dotty turned back and began anew to look at her pretty belongings. On the dressing-table she spied something she had not seen there the night before. It was a lovely picture of Dolly in a beautiful silver frame. Dotty laughed outright, for that was exactly what she had given Dolly! A silver frame with her own picture in it. The two mothers had been in the secret, and had seen to it that the frames were alike, but neither of the girls knew that her gift was to be duplicated.

It was a perfect likeness, showing Dolly at her best; a dreamy expression on her sweet face, and her soft hair in little waves at her temples, and drawn back by an enormous ribbon bow.

It was almost too early to get dressed, so Dotty slipped on a dressing-gown and bedroom slippers and dawdled about, keeping a watch on the Fayre house, in hopes Dolly's shades would fly up.

Soon her little sister Eugenia came bounding in. She, too, was in a kimono and she gave a jump and landed with a spring in the middle of Dotty's carefully arranged couch pillows.

"Genie!" cried her sister, "get off of there!"

"Won't!" and Genie bounced up and down on the springs of the couch.

"Get off, I tell you!"

"Won't, I tell you!"

It _was_ trying, for the pretty pillows with their snowy white embroidered covers were rumpled and tossed by Genie's mischievous play.

"Genie Rose! You go right straight out of my room! You're a naughty little girl and you're spoiling my birthday things!"

"Dorothy Rose, With a pug nose!"

chanted Genie, with the amiable intention of teasing her sister beyond endurance.

And she did, for Dotty flung back:

"Genie, Genie, You're a meany!"

and then she grabbed her and pulled her off the pillows and pushed her out of the room and locked the door.

"It's a shame!" and poor Dotty nearly cried to see the havoc naughty little Genie had wrought. One pillow cover was torn and another had a black mark from the sole of Genie's slipper.

She heard a tap at the door, and her mother's voice said, "Let me in, Dotty, dear."

Dotty opened the door, and exclaimed: "Mother! Isn't Genie the bad little thing! Look at my pretty pillows!"

"Oh, what a shame! Why _do_ you two children quarrel so?"

"We didn't quarrel. Genie did it on purpose."

"But why can't you be loving, kind little sisters? You're always teasing each other."

"But I didn't tease her, Mother."

"Well, you usually do. Now, Dotty, can't you make a birthday resolution to be more patient with Genie? Remember she's only a little girl, while you're getting grown up. Fifteen is almost a young lady, and you should be kind and gentle with everybody."

"I s'pose I ought," and Dorothy sighed; "but it's hard to have my birthday things upset. Aren't you going to punish her, Mother?"

"Oh, no; she didn't mean to be naughty. She was only mischievous. I'll mend your pillow, and the soiled one can be laundered."

Dotty's anger was always quick to come and quick to go, and she smiled brightly, as she said, "all right. I'll forgive her this time, but she's got to stop that kind of teasing."

"I'll speak to her," said easy-going Mrs. Rose; "how do you like Dolly's picture?"

"Lovely, isn't it? Did you and Mrs. Fayre know about the frames?"

"Yes; and we wanted them to be alike; but I had to urge you to take this instead of that other pattern. Remember?"

"Yes, indeed," and Dotty smiled to think how determined she had been in the matter, but had at last yielded to her mother's judgment.

"Oh, there's Dolly!" she cried, as she saw the shade go up in the opposite window. "h.e.l.lo. Happy Birthday!" she called out.

Dolly returned the greeting, and the two girls waved their respective photographs at each other, and then both began to get dressed.

Dolly, too, had a morning visit from her sister.

Trudy looked in on her way down to breakfast.

"Happy Birthday, Doll!" she said; "shall I tie your hair-ribbon?"

She stepped into the new room, and while tying the big bow, looked around admiringly.

"You're a lucky little kiddy to have such a lovely room. It's prettier than mine."