NOW it was summertime, and people went visiting. Sometimes Uncle Henry, or Uncle Gee, randpa, came riding out of the Big Woods to see Pa. Ma would e to the door and ask how all the folks were, and she would say:
"Charles is in the clearing.」
Then she would ore dihan usual, and diime would be longer. Pa and Ma and the visitor would sit talking a little while before they went back to work.
Sometimes Ma let Laura and Mary go across the road and down the hill, to see Mrs. Peterson. The Petersons had Just moved in. Their house was new, and always very , because Mrs. Peterson had no little girls to muss it up. She was a Swede, and she let Laura and Mary look at the pretty things she had brought from Sweden-laces, and colored embroideries, and a.
Mrs. Peterson talked Swedish to them, and they talked English to her, and they uood each other perfectly. She always gave them each a cookie when they left, and they nibbled the cookies very slowly while they walked home.
Laura nibbled away exactly half of hers, and Mary nibbled exactly half of hers, and the other halves they saved for Baby Carrie. Thehey got home, Carrie had two half-cookies, and that was a whole cookie.
This wasnt right. All they wao do was to divide the cookies fairly with Carrie. Still, if Mary saved half her cookie, while Laura ate the whole of hers, or if Laura saved half, and Mary ate her whole cookies, that wouldher.
They didnt know what to do. So each saved half, and gave it to Baby Carrie. But they always felt that somehow that wasnt quite fair.
Sometimes a neighbor sent word that the family was ing to spend the day. Then Ma did extra ing and cooking, and opehe package of store sugar. And on the day set, a wagon would e driving up to the gate in the m and there would be strange children to play ay with.
When Mr. and Mrs. Huleatt came, they brought Eva and Clareh them. Eva retty girl, with dark eyes and black curls. She played carefully a her dress and smooth. Mary liked that, but Laura liked better to play with Clarence.
Clarence was red-headed and freckled, and always laughing. His clothes were pretty, too. He wore a blue suit buttoned all the the front with bright gilt buttons, and trimmed with braid, and he had copper-toed shoes.
The strips of copper across the toes were so glittering bright that Laura wished she were a boy. Little girls didnt wear copper-toes.
Laura and Clarence ran and shouted and climbed trees, while Mary and Eva walked ogether and talked. and Mrs. Huleatt visited and looked at a Godeys Ladys Book which Mrs. Huleatt had brought, and Pa and Mr. Huleatt looked at the horses and the crops and smoked their pipes.
Once Aunt Lotty came to spend the day. That m Laura had to stand still a long time while unwound her hair from the cloth strings and bed it into long curls. Mary was all ready, sitting primly on a chair, with her golden curls shining and her a-blue dress fresh and crisp.
Laura liked her own red dress. But Ma pulled her hair dreadfully, and it was brown instead of golden, so that no oiced it. Everyoiced and admired Marys.
"There! " Ma said at last. "Your hair is curled beautifully, and Lotty is ing.
Ru her, both of you, and ask her which she likes best, brown curls olden curls.」
Laura and Mary ran out of the door and dowh, for Aunt Lotty was already at the gate. Aunt Lotty was a big girl, much taller than Mary. Her dress was a beautiful pink