The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1878-01-10
LuIu's Tea-PartF.

too, with his long white bsard and hoary
head, ga crown of glory" But such
was the fashion of the family. In grand
mas house, besides herself and grandpa,
there were aunties in plenty, to love and
pet the little girl. Some twoy years before,
when Lulu was quite baby, she had
lived with her papa and mamma IN this
memory, charming picture of two dear
dimpled little sisters, friends of hers in
those early days, who smiled ve1y sweet
ly on her, and when she met them, as
she did soon after her return, 1t was
plain to be seen that Minnie and Jennie
loved her as dearly as she loved them,
and were ready to welcome her, as an
old friend, with kiss and a hug.
Lulu's Auntie Tic-Tac promised her
that some day she should have Minnie
and Jennie to visit her, and the little
girl was waiting patiently for that happy
day to come.
One day the sisters papa brought them
each letter from the postotfice. They
knew, at their first sight of the address,
from whom the letters had come, for
there stood their pet names, instead OF
their own proper names. Gentle, lady
like Minnie, the elder one, had won from
her teacher the name of Iady-blrd,
while roly-poly Jennie, whose cunning
ways and twinkling eyes had often near
" upset her teachers gravity in the
school-room, received the name OF
Twinkle The letters were invitations
for Lady-bird and Twinkle to spend the
afternoon and take tea with their teach
er, Miss Tic-Tac, and Lulu.
Great was the excitement, and they
Immediately put on their hats and trot-
ted over with their letters to- see Aunt
Mollie, and ask If she would go with
them for they could not think OF such
thing as going alone.
What was their delight to find that
auntie had q letter too, SO they trotted
back home as fast as they had come, to
ask mamma to help them answer their
letters. Now, their mamma was very
good mamma, and she liked nothing bet
ter than to help her daughters, especially
when they were so willing to help them
selves, for Minnie and Jennie were not
lazy bodies After some hard work two
nice letters were ready for papa to mail.
You should have seen how delighted
Lulu and her aBntle were when those
letters came. 1t did not matter in the
least that Jennie's chubby, 4-year-old
hand could not hold the pencil very
straight, but let the address run up and
down on the envelope at its own sweet
Will hfinnie's letter was written and di-
rected very prettily, for she never likes
to do anything shabbily, and thinks that
little girl 5 years old need not make
very crooked letters.
When the morrow came it so hap
pened that most of the family were
obliged to be away, SO that Lulu and
Al4,,fia rTia-Tan x-saraL laft Nth n1aar
coast for the gay little party they were
expecting. Lulu did not know how
she could possibly wait till 2 o'clock
Her feet could hardly keep still long
enough to be dressed. But finally the
little brown chambre dress was but
toned, and the short brown locks tied
hack by the rosy ribbon, whose becom-
ing tint, reflected in her dimpled cheeks,
had given this little girl one of auntie's
pet names, Pinkie Posie, and she was
standing at the window watching for her
friends.
"Auntie, I do think it is time they
came; I can't see them, and I've looked
about forty times"
''Pinkie, do you remember your
Bible verse? Sayit to me-"
"' Let patience have her perfect
Oh. there they come there they are p
and little figure was flying to the gate
togreet and welcome the expected guests.
As usual, in children's visits, they
were very quiet at first, and were well
content with the simple pleasure afford
ed by books and pictures. Well behaved
little ladies you would have called them.
Yes, they evidently intended to behave
themselves, but alasi the aunties had
no such intention, neither would they
allow the little ones to do so, and pretty
hpx O11tA Of
and led down to the barn. They must
see Belle Malone, the pretty colt, and
the frisky calves Snowflake and fawn-
footed Mamie. They must slide on the
hay; and there were the chickens-too
large to be cunning, but just spry enough
to scamper when chased by little girls
When they were walked up by the romp-
ing, they returned to the house, and
there Aunt Molhe led off in that tune
full, prancing game, "Here come three
dukes riding" After that game Lulu
proposed to play, Il put my right hand
IN y So the circle was formed and be-
gan bravely. They were just giving the
= left foot a shake, shake, shake" when
they heard knock, and Lulu aud Jen-
ME, running to the door, brought in two
dear little German schoolmates, who had
come to spend the afternoon with their
teacher
"Oh," cried Jennie, "won't we have
fun +! Here's Rosie and little Teenie,
and there will be more of us to put our
both feet in
So at this glad welcome the new-com-
ers frightened up, Tor they had begun
to look little shy ut seeing other COM
papy, espec ally as Aunt Mollie was a
stranger to them. But they were quick
to see that she loved little folks and in
few minutes they were joining in the
games, g shaking their ugly mugs" as
hard as Auntie Tic-Tac herself. This
was jolly sport, as all the little ones
thought, but it did not quite satisfy
these roguish aunties.
They must needs invent play of their
own. So, taking the little girls TO the
kitchen, where there was more space for
romp, they started the play of "three
blind mice, only, in this case, there were
ire mice, and they were not the least
mite blind
A scarf or shawl tucked in the back of
each little sack served the useful pur-
pose of tail Aud when the two brave
farmers wives, armed with long pudding
sticks for knives, started on chase after
those unfortunate little mice, there was
squealing and scrambling, I can assure
You. How the tails flew as. caught by
ore fierce wife or the other, as they sang,
''She cut off their tails with a carving
knife y But these cunning little mice
mad queer way ct tucking on their
tails again.
SO the game went on, with great glee
I'D tumult, TIL at last the aunties, PANT
ing for breath, and choking with laugh
ter, were forced to quit the field.
Then, for a little, there was calm
and rest, while the table was being
spread for tea. Keen appeiites silenced