bright and early the next morning a small procession came up the path to sweetbrier cottage. it was the little prouts, making their first real visit to the thornton children. tom and mary led the way. it was the second time they had come that morning. once, before daylight, they had traveled over the same path to bring the milk for kenneth’s and rose’s breakfast. but they did not mind an extra walk of a mile or two. behind mary and tom came susan, holding little jane by the hand, and after them trotted bill and bob. the three girls carried each a doll, dressed in her prettiest clothes.
it was a great event for the little prouts. they were rather frightened when they found the piazza empty and no one anywhere to be[28] seen. they had hoped that kenneth and rose would be outside waiting for them. that would have made them a little less bashful. they did not know what to do next, so they gathered in a bunch and began to whisper.
“you must knock on the door, tom,” said mary.
“no, you do it,” said tom, hanging back.
“let’s all go together, then,” whispered mary, looking timidly at the front steps; for she remembered how once she had been frightened at this same place by the ringing of a terrible bell. so all the little prouts took hold of hands and advanced in a crowd. but just as they were going to mount the steps the door swung open, and out came mrs. thornton with the baby in her arms. from the window she had seen the little prouts coming. she smiled at them kindly and said,—
“good-morning, little neighbors. i am very glad to see you. i suppose you are looking for kenneth and rose, aren’t you? well, they are expecting you, and they are waiting down under the beech tree. come, and i will show you the way.”
they followed mrs. thornton down the green slope, around big rocks and under the pine trees on top of the cliff, until they came to a huge beech tree, the only one on the island.
“this is the place,” said mrs. thornton. the little prouts could dimly see somebody moving about beyond the green wall of leaves. but no one came to meet them. “we must let them know that we are here,” explained mrs. thornton, and she pulled down a branch of the beech tree which was in front of her. on the end dangled a tin horn.
“this is the way visitors do when they come to beech house,” she said. then she blew a long blast on the horn. “now a little one for the baby,” she added, blowing again, very softly. “there, tommy, now it is your turn. you must each blow, so that they may know how many guests to expect.”
tommy blew the horn so loudly that mrs.[30] thornton jumped. then mary blew, then susan, and bill, and bob. last of all, little jane blew. but she scarcely made any sound at all.
when the echo of all these blowings had died away, kenneth and rose lifted up the branch and looked out.
“welcome, eight strangers!” said kenneth, bowing very low.
“welcome to beech house,” said rose, making a neat courtesy. then they led their visitors in,—all but mrs. thornton and the baby, who said they must go back to the house.
the little prouts followed kenneth and rose into beech house, and a fine house it was! the great beech tree arched over like an enormous umbrella. on every side the branches came down close to the ground, so that the children were shut in by green walls, like a tent. this was rose’s summer-house, where her dolls lived. kenneth often played here, too.
the little prouts stared around them with grins of delight. beech house was all[31] ready for a party. in the centre of the room stood a little table, spread with a cloth and set with dishes for eight people. about it were several little chairs. over in the corner was another table, even tinier, and set with still smaller dishes. at the head of this table sat alice, rose’s best doll, and beside her was matilda, with the broken nose, whom rose loved almost as dearly as she loved alice.
“we thought we would have a party,” said kenneth, “because this is the first time you ever came to see us.”
“and, of course, the dolls had to have another party to welcome your dolls,” added rose. “come, alice, and greet your little new friends.”
rose brought alice forward, and she shook hands with the three dolls which mary, susan, and little jane had brought. now these were the very same dolls which rose had sent to the little prouts in the christmas box, before she had ever spoken a word to mary or susan or jane. so rose was really better acquainted[32] with the dolls, and with their dresses which she had made, than she was with the prout girls themselves.
“how do you do? how do you do? how do you do?” said alice three times (in rose’s voice). “come and sit down at the table near my dear sister matilda, who has only one leg, so that she cannot rise to greet you very conveniently.”
then the teddy bear was introduced. rose loved him too, but in a different way. he wore a red sweater and a tam-o’-shanter cap. he shook hands with the prout dolls very politely, and squeaked “how!” like an indian. the little prouts had never before seen a teddy bear, and at first they were afraid of him, because they thought he was alive. rose put teddy at the foot of the table, as he was the only boy in the party.
when teddy and the five dolls were seated at their table, rose and the other little girls went back to where kenneth was showing the boys his camera and his tool-chest.
[33]“let’s play desert island,” said kenneth. “that is our favorite game. i am robinson crusoe and rose is my man friday. let’s play you are the swiss family robinson, come to have dinner with us. one, two, three, four, five, six,—yes, you are just the right number! you can be mr. and mrs. robinson and their four sons. isn’t that splendid, rose?”
“splendid!” echoed rose, clapping her hands. “mr. and mrs. robinson, will you and your children please be seated?”
there were only four chairs, and these were rather small ones. so kenneth and tom, mary and rose, sat cross-legged on the ground. their chins came just above the edge of the table, which made everybody laugh.
“now, man friday,” said robinson crusoe, “bring on the banquet.”
friday ran to the little cupboard in the corner. it was such a cunning little cupboard that mary said: “oh, how did you ever think of building one like that? it is so easy, too!”
[34]“my mama used to make them so when she was a little girl,” said rose. “she showed me how. see, it is just two bricks with a shingle laid across; then two more bricks on top, and another shingle; and up, up, up, as many shelves as you like. i have seven, and they are very convenient.”
“we must build one in the wigwam,” said mary.
“yes; that must be your swiss family robinson house, if this is our crusoe one,” said kenneth.
then man friday served the party. there was bread and butter spread with marmalade, and there were cookies and chocolate fudge, and lemonade in a tall pitcher. it was a very jolly party. every one was happy. the prouts laughed all the time. you see, it was their very first party!
when the crusoe dinner was over, kenneth had still more things to show the prout boys, and the girls were just as much interested. there was the express wagon, in which the[35] provisions had been drawn down from sweetbrier cottage. but in places where the path was too narrow, they had been obliged to carry it over the rocks in their arms. rose told how they had tipped over and wasted one whole pitcher of lemonade!
then there was the ring-toss game and the animal circus. how the little prouts did enjoy the jointed animals, and the clown, and the funny things which kenneth and rose made them do! fancy it! the little prouts had never seen a real circus! kenneth and rose could hardly believe how any one could be so unfortunate. but the little prouts said that they had never been away from the island, and of course the circus never came to the island, it was so far away from everywhere.
rose and kenneth said to themselves that, after all, there are some unfortunate things about living on an island.
