To make things more exciting for Henrietta, the girls went in singly to present their offerings, the others crouching out of sight behind the stone balustrades that flanked the steps. Each time the bell rang, Henrietta was right at Simmons's heels when he opened the door. Then, after a brief wait outside, all four again presented themselves to invite Henrietta, who had gifts for Rosa Marie, to go with them to Mr. Black's and all the other places. Henrietta was glad to go, because she herself was too new to Lakeville to have very many friends to favor with presents. The five had a very merry time with their baskets; but they were much too excited to stay a great while under any one roof. They shouted merry greetings to the rest of the basket-laden population and paused more than once to obligingly pull a door-bell for some elderly acquaintance who found that she needed more hands than she had started out with. "How jolly everybody is!" remarked Henrietta. "I never saw a more Christmassy lot of people. It must be lovely to have a long, long list to give to." "Father says this is an unusually nice town," offered Bettie. "The people seem actually glad to have folks sick and in trouble so they can send them flowers and things to eat." "What a charitable place," laughed Henrietta, gaily. "I hope nobody's longing for _me_ to come down with anything. I'd rather stay well than eat flowers--they're too expensive just now." "My!" exclaimed Mabel, after all the gifts had been distributed and the girls, with their empty baskets turned over their heads, had started homeward, "won't to-morrow be a lively day. First, all our stockings; very early in the morning at home. Next, all our Christmas packages to open--I've about ten already that I haven't even squeezed--that is, not _very_ hard, except one that I know is a bottle. Then our dinners----" "Too bad we can't have all our dinners together," mourned Marjory, "but of course your mothers and my Aunty Jane and Henrietta's grandmother would be too lonely if we did; and all the families in a bunch would make too many to feed comfortably." "And then," proceeded Mabel, "a tree at Mr. Black's just as soon as it's dark enough to light the candles, and supper and another tree at Henrietta's in the evening, and a ride home in the Slater carriage afterwards, because by that time we'll surely be too tired to walk." "And I've trimmed a tree for the boys at home," said Bettie. "There won't be anything on it for you, but you can all come to see it." "Aunty Jane says that Christmas-trees shed their feathers and make too much litter," said Marjory, "but with three others to visit I don't mind if I don't have one." "You can have half of mine," offered Mabel, generously. "I shan't have time to trim more than half of it, anyway, so I'd like somebody to help."