The Children are Playing

“How do you do, Mrs. Dale?” aunt Jane says, coming into the room.

“How do you do, Miss Jane?” Mrs. Dale answers.

“Mrs. Dale,” aunt Jane says, “I must go to town to do some shopping and I can’t leave Lily alone. Sam is not at home, and my brother, Mr. Christine, is not at home either.”

“Oh, I see! You want to leave your baby here?” Mrs. Dale says, smiling.

“Yes, I do, Mrs. Dale. May I?” Miss Jane says.

“By all means, dear Miss Jane! I’ll look after her. She can play with my Jimmy. He likes your baby very much.”

“Oh, thank you very much, Mrs. Dale,” aunt Jane says, leaving the room.

“Don’t mention it!” Mrs. Dale says.

“Good-bye!” “Good-bye!”

Now Jimmy and Lily are sitting on a rug, playing with some wooden bricks.

Jimmy is building a house, Lily is looking at him.

“What are you doing, dear?” his mother asks.

“I’m building a house,” the little boy answers.

“Do people live there?” she asks.

“Yes, they do,” the boy answers.

“What people?” Lily asks.

“Small people in blue caps and red boots,” Jimmy says, continuing to make the house.

“Oh, how interesting!” Lily cries.

“And what is this? Is it a box?” Mrs. Dale asks.

“No, it isn't a box, it is a shed,” he says.

“What is there in that shed?” Mother asks.

“There are many trucks, and cars, and bicycles there,” her little son says. “I am a taxi-driver. These are my motor-cars.”

“Oh, how very interesting!” Lily cries.

“What else is there in your shed?” the little girl asks. Her face is red, her eyes are shining.

“There is a lot of chocolate there and a lot of cakes and candy,” Jimmy says.

“Who eats them, Jim?” Lily asks.

“The children who live in that house do,” the little boy answers.

“What is your shed made of, dear?” Mrs. Dale asks.

“It is made of sugar,” Jimmy says.

“Do the boys give sweets to the girls?” Lily asks.

“Yes, they do. They are good boys,” Jim says.

“Do the girls ride bicycles?” Lily asks.

“No, girls cannot ride bicycles. Only boys know how to ride them,” Jimmy says.

“What do your little girls do in that house?” little Lily asks.

“They play with their dolls and eat sweets!” Jimmy answers.

“Who gives them sweets and dolls?” the little girl asks.

“Their parents do,” Jimmy says.

“What is ‘parents’? Don’t know,” Lily says.

“Father and Mother are parents,” Jimmy says.

“I haven’t got a mother!” Lily says and begins to cry.

“But you have an aunt,” Mrs. Dale says, “your aunt Jane is very nice.”

“Don’t cry, Lily, I’ll be your mother,” the little boy says.

“Oh, what a good boy my Carrot is!” Mrs. Dale says.

She is very pleased with her red-headed son, Jimmy the Carrot.