The Grenada sentinel., 1888-09-08
POLLYS BIRTHDAY.
Miles Plan, and the Happiness 1t Brought
to Two Little Girls.
"If you please, Auntie Nell"-

to TWO Little Girls.
''If you please, Auntie Nell"-
At sound of the beseeching voice,
Auntie Nell glanced out of the open
window, and up to the swinging ham,
mock between the elms, where Mlllie
was knitting ten times round on her
own little scarlet stocking to the music
OF robin song.
81 wish-yOu see-O Auntie Nell
Mrs. Green said her Polly is going to be
nine years old tomorrow, and most
know she never had a birthday party,
Or present. or any thing, and she's lame
and every thing, and has to stay all
alone while her mother goes off wash
Ing for folks. And just wish-oh,
please, Auntie Nell, can't | make her a
beautiful little s'prise supper, and carry
1t to her for her birthday, please?"
The pleading voice was very earnest
and eager now, and the little round
face, peeping through a swaying elm
bough, was earnest and eager, too.
Auntie Nell smiled Il would like
to say yes, Millie, but l am afr.id
Norah will be too busy preparing our
lunch-baskets for the excursion 70 help
you"
But 10 Auntie, can't have some
of Norah's dough. and make things all
myself? | won't want lot; only, may
be, some tarts and pies bout as big as
your grownup tarts, Auntie Nell, and
dear little seed-cakes, and frosty-cakes
with lots of plums, and sandwiches and
marmalade, and some of my bapk
money to buy candy and nuts; and o,
Auntie Nell, how nice every thing will
be"
he hammock trembled and shook
il itspilIed Millie out.
And needn't bother Norah only to
tell me a little" she said, coming un-
der the window.
"You may ask her" said Auntie Nell,
laughing.
Norah stopped to give Millie foury
hug. ITS av coorse I'll show ye, an
give ye bits O me pastry" she cried,
with a twinkle of Irish fun in her eye
"Bless its loyin' hearth
So Millie, with a big kitchen apron
reaching from chin to toes, patted and
rolled and crimped and cut and twisted,
at one end of the long table, just as
Norah rolled and patted and crimped
and cut and twisted at the other.
What fun it was
'1t's just like
Pat-a cake. pat-a-cake baker-man,'"
laughed Millie, peeping over Norah's
shoulder into the oven.
Well, and there were tarts, puffy and
delicious, and into each one, when
baked and cooled, Norah put a dot of
jelly; sweet crisp cookies; seedcakes,
brown and spicy, cut out with one of
grandmamma' 5 wee, old-fashioned wine
glasses; dainty, scallOped cakes, .all
plummy and iced and spiced," and Or
namented with sugared caraway, red
and white; trim little saucer-pies, done
just to turn.
It may be that Norah had a finger in
them. What do you think?
At nightfall, Millie, tired and happy,
put little scarlet face in at the sitting
room door, and with small sigh of re-
lief said
ats all done, Auntie Nell, and I
don't blieve to-morrow'll ever come"
But it did; it always does, you know;
and when she had eaten her breakfast,
Millie shook out handful Of pennies
from her little red bank, and scam
pered off down the street to Ma'am
Whitneys candy shop.
Il want the very best and sweetest Of
all you've got" she laughed, humping
her two fists full of the jingling coppers
down on the trim counter. "Its for
Polly Green's birthday"
"Ah!" said Ma'am Whitney, pleas
antly, as she went on weighing out pep
permints and kisses and gooseberries;
and I do think Mile got little better
measure than ever before, with two bar
ley-sugar elephants thrown in.
Then, as Millie and her basket of
goodies were going through the hall,
Auntie Nell came out Of the sitting
room with book and box Of lovely
scrap-pictures in her hands. t
''For Polly's birthday-gift, &" she said,
and Millie danced all the way TO the
gate, she was so pleased.
Aud what dc you suppose Polly did