she called out in her little clear voice. "Nurse, where areyou?"
The two Sarahs popped their heads in at the door.
"Are you awake, Miss Mary?" asked Little Sarah.
"In course I'm awake. You heard me calling," said Mary.
She thought Little Sarah was very stupid sometimes.
"I'm calling nurse," Mary went on, "I don't want you, Little Sarah. Youcan go and dress Master Artie."
If Little Sarah was rather stupid, she was also very good-natured. Sheglanced at Mary with a smile, but with rather an odd look on her facetoo.
"What does you want? What is you looking at me for?" said Mary.
"Oh, nothing," said Sarah. "I was only thinking whatever would you dowithout nurse if--if nurse was busy and couldn't be so much with you,Miss Mary."
"Nurse wouldn't never be busy like that," said Mary.
"Oh, well, never mind. I'll dress Master Artie and I dare say nurse--"began Sarah, but she stopped short. Nurse just then came into the room.
"Here's Miss Mary worretting for you," said the girl.
Nurse hurried up to the little girl's bed.
"Have you been awake long, my dear?" she said. "I'm so sorry."
"Nurse," whispered Mary, pulling nurse's head close down so that shecould whisper to her, "I heard Old Sarah and Little Sarah talking, andOld Sarah sayed `Thursday' and `May.' Is it my birfday comed, nurse?Mamma sayed it was coming in May, and it would be Thursday."
"My dearie," said nurse, "you've guessed right. It is your birthday--the 18th of May."
Mary felt pleased, but also a little disappointed. She had been waitingfor her birthday and thinking about it for such a long time that now shecould scarcely believe it had come. For it seemed just like other days.No, not quite like other days, not as nice. For nurse had got up soearly and Old Sarah and Little Sarah had been talking in the nursery--she did not like anybody to talk like that in the nursery.
"Dress me quick, please, nurse," she said, "and then I'll go to mamma'sroom, and then p'raps my birfday will begin. I don't think it can havebeginned yet. I thought--" and then she stopped and her lips quivered alittle.
"What, my dearie?" said nurse.
She was a very kind, understanding nurse always, but this morning shespoke even more kindly than other mornings to Mary.
"I don't know," said Mary. "I think I thought mamma would come to kissme in bed like a fairy, and--and--I thought there'd be stockings orsomefin' like that--like Kissimas, you know."
Nurse had lifted Mary out of her bath by this time, and was rubbing herwith a nice large "soft-roughey" towel--"soft-roughey" was one of Maryand Artie's words--it meant the opposite of "prick-roughey." They didnot like "prick-roughey" things. She wrapped Mary all round in the bigtowel for a minute; it was nice and warm, for it had been hanging infront of the fire; then she gave Mary a little hug.
"You mustn't be unhappy, dear Miss Mary," she said. "Mamma meant tocome, I'm sure, but she's fast asleep--and when she wakes I'm afraidshe'll have a headache. So I'm afraid your birthday won't be quite likewhat you planned. But I'm sure there'll be some pretty presents foryou--quite sure."
But Mary looked up with her lips quivering still more, and the tearsbeginning to come too.
"It isn't presents I want," she said. "Not presents like that way. I--I want mamma. Mammas shouldn't have headaches. It takes away all thebirfday-ness."
Then she turned her head round and pressed it in to nurse's shoulder andburst into tears.
CHAPTER TWO.
GUESSING.
Poor nurse was very sorry. But she knew it would not do to be _too_sorry for Mary, for then she would go on crying. And once Mary got intoa long cry it sometimes went on to be a very long one indeed. So nursespoke to her quite brightly.
"My dearie," she said, "you mustn't cry on your birthday morning. It'squite a mistake. Look up, dear. See, the sun's coming out so beautifulagain, and we'll have Master Leigh and Master Artie calling for theirbreakfast. And you'll have to be quick, for your papa gave me a messageto say you were to go down to see him in the dining-room."
Mary gave a little wriggle, though she still kept her face hidden. Butas nurse went on talking she slowly turned round so that her dressingcould go on.
"I've something to say to you before you go down," nurse went on."There's something that's come just in time for your birthday. I'llgive you each two guesses--you and Master Leigh and Master Artie, whileyou're eating your breakfast."
Mary looked up.
"Where's my hankercher?" she said, and when nurse gave it to her shewiped her eyes.
That was a good sign.
"Let me have my guesses now, nursey," she said coaxingly.
But nurse kept to what she had said.
"No, dear, guesses are much nicer when there's two or three together.Besides, we must be very quick. See, there's your nice frock allready."
And Mary saw, where nurse pointed to, one of her Sunday afternoon frockslying on a chair. It was a blue one--blue with tiny white stripes, andMary was very fond of it. It had a very pretty wide sash, just the samecolour, and there were little bows on her shoes the same colour too.Her face got quite smiley when she saw all these things. She was not avain little girl and she did not care about fine clothes, but it gaveher a nice feeling that, after all, her birthday was going to besomething different to other days.
Soon she was dressed; her hair, which was not very long but soft andshaggy and of a pretty brown colour, combed out so that no tuggy bitswere left; her hands as clean as a little girl's hands could be; a nicewhite pinafore on the top of the pretty blue frock, so that Mary feltthat, as nurse said, she was quite fit to go to see the Queen, if theQueen had asked her.
And when she went into the day-nursery things seemed to get still nicer.There were no bowls of bread and milk, but a regular "treat" breakfastset out. Tea-cups for herself and the boys, and dear little twists ofbacon, and toast--toast in a toast-rack--and some honeycomb in a glassdish.
"Oh," said Mary, "it _is_ my birfday. I'm quite sure now there's nomistook."
And in a minute Leigh and Artie came running in. I do not know, by theby, that Leigh came _running_, most likely he was walking, for he wasrather a solemn sort of boy, but Artie made up for it. He scarcely everwalked. He was always hopping or jumping or turning head over heels, hecould _almost_ do wheels, like a London street boy. And this morning hecame in with an extra lot of jumps because it was Mary's birthday.
"You thought we'd forgotten, Leigh and me, now didn't you?" he said."But we hadn't a bit. It was Leigh said you liked the bacon twisted upand it was me reminded about the honey. Wasn't it now, nurse? Andwe've got a present for you after breakfast. It's downstairs withpapa's and mamma's. We'll give you them all of us together, Mary."
But the mention of mamma brought a cloud again to Mary's face.
"Nursey says mamma's dot a headache, and we can't see her. Not Mary onher birfday."
At this Leigh looked up.
"Is that true?" he said. "Is mamma ill?"
"She's asleep, Master Leigh, and she may sleep a good while. I dare sayyou'll all see her when she wakes."
"Her shouldn't be 'nill on my birfday," began Mary again.
"Rubbish, Mary," said Leigh. "I dare say she'll be all right. And youshould be sorry for mamma if she's ill; it isn't her fault."
"I am sorry," said Mary dolefully; "that's why I can't help crying."
"Come now, Miss Mary," began nurse. "You're forgetting what we fixed.No crying on a birthday, my dear. And you're forgetting about theguesses. I'm going to give you two guesses each, Master Leigh andMaster Artie and Miss Mary, about what's come just in time for herbirthday. Now don't speak for a minute, but think it well over whileyou go on with your breakfast."
There was a silence then; all the children looked very grave, thoughtheir thinking did not prevent their enjoying their nice breakfast.
"Now, Master Leigh," said nurse, "you guess first."
r /> "A pony," said Leigh. "A new pony instead of Dapple Grey who's gettingtoo old to trot." Nurse shook her head.
"No, it's not a new pony. Besides, I don't think Miss Mary would careas much for a new pony as you boys would."
"No," Mary agreed. "I don't want no pony but Dapple Grey. Notherponies