Pagina 741 van 2288

"Mercy! Your new white frock! Tanya! Grisha!" said their mother,

trying to save the frock, but with tears in her eyes, smiling a

blissful, rapturous smile.

The new frocks were taken off, and orders were given for the

little girls to have their blouses put on, and the boys their old

jackets, and the wagonette to be harnessed; with Brownie, to the

bailiff's annoyance, again in the shafts, to drive out for

mushroom picking and bathing. A roar of delighted shrieks arose

in the nursery, and never ceased till they had set off for the

bathing-place.

They gathered a whole basketful of mushrooms; even Lily found a

birch mushroom. It had always happened before that Miss Hoole

found them and pointed them out to her; but this time she found a

big one quite of herself, and there was a general scream of

delight, "Lily has found a mushroom!"