When the second bell rang, the boys came in from the barn and the twelve children, Granny Flynn at one end of the table and Mrs. Dore at the other, sat down to a breakfast of fruit, oatmeal, eggs, and all the milk they wanted. After breakfast, Maida said, “Now, first, I want to show the six little children where’s the nicest place for them to play. Do the rest of you want to come?” The rest _did_ want to come. Perhaps Laura voiced their sentiments when she said, “That’s a great idea, Maida. Get the little children interested, so they won’t be forever tagging us.” Maida led the way to the side of the house--the north. They crossed an expanse of lawn, came to an opening in the stone wall. Beyond looked like unbroken forest. But from the break in the wall, threading its way through the trees, appeared a well-worn path. They followed it for a few rods. It ended flush against a big sloping rock. “This,” Maida said triumphantly, “is House Rock.” The children swarmed over it. “Isn’t it a beauty!” Rosie exclaimed. It was a beauty--and especially for play purposes. It was big, cut up by stratification into all levels--but low. At its highest end, it was not three feet from the ground. Trees shaded it; bushes hedged it; mosses padded it. No wonder it had been named House Rock; for it was a perfect setting for those housekeeping games in which little children so delight. “Now, listen to me, little six,” Maida began. But Arthur interrupted, “Why that’s a great name for them--the Little Six. And we,” he added triumphantly, “are the Big Six.” “Molly and Mabel and Dorothy and Betsy and Delia and Timmie,” Maida started again, “all of you, listen! You are the Little Six. This is your playground. There are some toys in the house; dolls and doll’s dishes and doll’s furniture, which you can bring here to play house with. But you are not to go far from the Rock. And when you hear the cow-bell, you must always return to the Little House.” “Is that all,” Laura asked eagerly, “and now can we leave the Little Six and go exploring?” The Little Six waited, dancing with excitement, impatient for the first time in their lives to have the big children go. “Not yet,” Maida responded, “just one more thing for the Little Six.” She led the way around House Rock to its high end. From there another well-worn path started off. The children followed her down its curving way. Not far from House Rock, it came into a big circular enclosure; grassy and surrounded by trees. “What’s this, Maida?” Arthur asked. “It’s a Fairy Ring,” Maida answered solemnly. “A Fairy Ring,” Dicky repeated in an awed tone. “Is it really a Fairy Ring?” “That’s what I’ve always called it,” Maida replied. “I don’t know what it is, if it isn’t a Fairy Ring. I have never seen anything like it--except in England and there they always call them Fairy Rings, and besides nobody knows what it was used for.”