The kittens were in the shade of the oak tree near the front door. It was a delightful spot, for they could have a view of the path, and see any one who went up or down it. Then, too, if any one came to the door, like the postman, they could take the chance to slip into the house, without bothering to go around to the back door. Oxford made no reply. Suddenly Sally remembered something she had heard in a sermon that Elvira was reading out of a newspaper. The preacher had said that the best way to forget one’s own troubles was to do something for some one else. ‘Oxford, wouldn’t you like me to wash around your ears?’ she said. ‘Oh, bother, no,’ said Oxford. ‘I feel so blue to-day,’ she said. ‘I thought maybe if I did something useful like washing your ears I’d feel better.’ ‘There’s no use in doing something useful that nobody wants you to do,’ said he. Sally hoped he would add, ‘My poor little sister, I am so sorry you are blue,’ but instead of that he said, ‘Sally, you have been eating too many grasshoppers.’ Sally was pretty sure this was the case, but she had hoped Oxford would not have thought of it. ‘Grasshoppers are so alluring,’ said Sally. She had picked up this word from one of Miss Winifred’s callers who was speaking of the moving pictures. It certainly applied to grasshoppers which were so constantly on the move. ‘You see,’ Sally went on, ‘they are hard to catch, and if you do catch a grasshopper, there doesn’t seem any point in letting it go.’ ‘You could give them to me,’ said Oxford. ‘But you get more than I do.’ ‘Yes, that is true. But they never upset me and make me blue. If they affected my spirits, I should cut down on grasshoppers.’ Sally knew this would have been the case. She admired her brother’s strength of character. Just then Sally saw her friend, Mrs. Conant, going down the path with some letters to mail. She stopped to speak to the kittens. ‘Well, you do know how to make yourselves comfortable,’ she said as she passed. She had on one of the pretty pink-and-white dresses that Sally liked so much, and in her present mood she thought how nice it would be to be a pretty young lady whom every one loved, with a thin cool dress on instead of fur. Although Oxford did not express his affection, he was very fond of his little sister, and he wanted to help her. But he could not resist saying, ‘Sally, you ought to learn to brace up.’ He quickly added, ‘Suppose we play with our catnip mice for a change? Maybe the catnip will brace you up.’ They saw Miss Winifred and a friend coming up the path. This meant a fine chance to get into the house, so the kittens went up the steps and stood before the front door.