Welcome to Homeschool Story Time: Week 24.
Stubby is feeling very grumpy.
Rose comes up with an idea to cheer him up.
Will it work?
Keep reading to find out.
The Things in the Garden
by Gertrude Warner
Rose and Marguerite were playing in the nursery when they heard a queer bumping noise down in the back yard.
“What’s that?” asked Rose, stopping to listen.
“That’s Stubby, kicking his heels against the settee. He’s awful cross today,” said Marguerite, and kept right on making the doll’s bed. In a second Rose had her head out of the window. There sat Stubby, kicking his heels against the settee and looking dreadfully cross.
“Why, Stubby dear, what’s the matter?” she called sweetly.
“Nuffin’,” said Stubby.
“Why don’t you play with the things in the garden?”
“What fings?”
“Wait a minute and we’ll come down and show you,” Rose said, drawing her head in.
“How can you play with that cross, cross Stubby?” asked Marguerite. “He isn’t sick, and we’ve done everything to please him all day. He’s just plain cross. And if you play with him we can’t finish arranging the playhouse before five o’clock.”
“Mother said I might stay till six,” said Rose gently, “and I’ve thought of something to keep him busy. Come!”
Marguerite gave Rose a bear-hug and soon Stubby saw them coming across the lawn. Rose stopped under the apple tree to look for green apples.
“Muvver says not eat green apples,” shouted Stubby.
Rose held up a little one. “Come on,” she called. “Find one the size of that!”
Stubby became interested in spite of himself, and more so, as Rose began picking thorns off the rosebush and sticking them into the apple for eyes, nose and mouth.
Marguerite and Stubby began making one like Rose’s.
“Now, find a stick and push it in for the body,” said Rose.
Stubby rammed one in so hard that it came out at the top of his doll’s head. “That’ll be good to stick a hat to,” he said cheerfully.
“They look pretty thin,” said Marguerite holding hers at arms length.
“But wait till they have clothes on,” said Rose happily. “Hollyhocks are fine for clothes.”
So Stubby raced off for hollyhocks, picking the short stems off very carefully; first the large, silver-white ones, then shell-pink ones and last of all, the dark, velvety, red ones.
“Mine’s going to be red,” shouted Stubby, running back with his hands full.
“Then take three, one for the waist and two for the ruffly skirt,” said Rose.
“I know what’ll be good for a parasol,” said Stubby, sitting down beside Rose.
“What?” asked Rose.
Stubby pointed to the morning-glory vine climbing all over the arbor, with its pink and violet blossoms rolled tightly up, just like an umbrella! Rose clapped her hands.
“Just the thing,” she cried.
The children next made long braids of hair of striped grass, and fastened them to the backs of the dolls’ heads with thorns. Then they bound broad sashes of satiny grass around the waists and used the flat nasturtium leaves for sailor hats.
“Now we must begin a house for them to live in,” proceeded Rose. “Pick up little stones and make squares on the piazza floor for rooms.”
Stubby soon made four rooms, leaving a door in each, with a hall down the middle.
“We can have grape leaves for blankets on the beds, and rose-petals for pillows, can’t we?” said Stubby excitedly, “and a big, flat stone for a table and little stones for chairs!—and more rose petals for chair cushions!”
Marguerite was busily pinning a sweet-pea on her doll’s head for a bonnet, and Rose finished arranging an acorn cup full of tiny green grapes for apples, before she replied.
“Stubby,” she said at last, “you’re a very clever boy.”
She deftly cut a green apple in two as she spoke, and began hollowing one half out with a sharp stick. “This will make a good set-bowl,” she said, getting very red in the face with so much digging. “Now, Stubby’s got the idea, we can go back and arrange the playhouse.”
“Oh, I’d rather do this!” cried Marguerite. “We can arrange that playhouse any rainy day.”
“Well, if you want to, we’ll keep on,” said Rose, looking very happy, and giving Stubby a bear-hug.
Stubby didn’t usually like being hugged, but this time he hugged Rose back, and said, “My doll’s name is going to be Rose.”
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Many blessings,
