"Because," explained Aunt Polly seriously, "this locket has always been
handed down to the oldest daughter. Great-great Aunt Dorothy gave it
to her daughter, and she gave it to her oldest daughter and so on.
Some might say I should give it to Dot, because she is named for great
Aunt Dorothy, but you are the oldest daughter. I had it instead of
your mother for that reason. And as I have no daughter, it goes to
you."
Meg ran downstairs to show her gift, and the sleds were forgotten while
the children crowded around to examine the pretty locket.
"You must be very careful of it, Daughter," said Father Blossom. "You
know you've lost two or three trinkets. This is the kind of thing you
can't replace if you lose it."
"I'll be careful," promised Meg, clasping the fine gold chain around
her neck again and dancing off to the kitchen to show her treasure to
Norah.
The next morning it had stopped snowing, but there was, as Sam
remarked, "enough and to spare" of snow for coasting. The minute
breakfast was over the four little Blossoms, warmly bundled up, were
out with their sleds.
Wayne Place hill was a famous coasting hill, and all kinds of children
with all kinds of sleds were on hand to enjoy the first real sledding
of the winter.
"Trade with you, Bobby," called a freckle-faced boy, dragging an old
tin tray.
Bobby grinned.
"Won't trade," he called back. "But you can go down with me."
So the freckle-faced boy, whose name was Palmer Davis, took turns
coasting downhill on his tray, which he managed very skilfully, and
going down with Bobby on the brand-new sled.
Bobby taught Meg how to steer, and he usually pulled Twaddles up the
hill, while Meg gave Dot an extra ride. They coasted the whole morning
and went back for the afternoon.
"I'd never get tired," declared Twaddles, as they were starring home.
"I could go sledding all my life!"
"I never get tired, either," announced Dot, from the sled where she was
comfortably tucked on and being pulled along by patient Meg.
"That's 'cause you're too young to work," said Meg bluntly, giving the
rope such a sudden pull that Dot nearly went over backward.
"She isn't too young," cried Twaddles, who always disliked any allusion
to age; he and Dot wanted to be thought just as old as Bobby and Meg.
"Hi, Meg, listen! I'm telling you----"
Twaddles twisted around to catch Meg's attention and fell over into a
snow drift that lined the edge of the walk. When he had been fished
out and brushed off, he had forgotten what he had meant to tell.
Sunday it snowed more, and a high wind whirled the flakes about till
the older folk shook their heads and began to talk about a blizzard.
However, by Monday morning the wind had died down and the snow had
stopped, though the sun refused to shine.
"Sam says it's awful cold," said Norah, bringing in the hot cakes for
breakfast. "He's got the walks cleaned off, but maybe the children
shouldn't go to school."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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