Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction; Family life -- Juvenile fiction; Grandparents -- Juvenile fiction
"Isn't it a good thought?" said Duke. "Why, he'll have finished it all
in a minute, and nobody will ever know that it wasn't us. And nothing
will have been wasted. There now," as Toby, having really made
wonderfully quick work, lifted from the now empty bowl his hairy muzzle
bespattered with remains of bread and milk, which he proceeded to lick
away with his sharp bright-red tongue, with an air of the greatest
satisfaction.
For a moment or two Pamela's face expressed nothing but approval. But
gradually a little cloud stole over it.
"What shall us say if Grandpapa and Grandmamma ask if us have eaten all
our bread and milk?" she said.
Duke considered.
"Us can say the bowls are quite empty. _That_ won't be a story," and
Pamela's face cleared again. Just then she had no time for second
thoughts, for the sound of a bell ringing downstairs made both children
start.
"Prayers," they exclaimed, and as they said the word a young housemaid
put her face in at the door.
"Master Duke and Miss Pamela," she said, "Nurse says I'm to take you
down to prayers. But you must come first to wash your hands and smooth
your hair."
A very correct little couple presented themselves a few minutes later at
the dining-room door, and after the salute and the curtsey, and wishing
Grandpapa and Grandmamma "a very good morning," seated themselves one on
each side of the old lady, while Grandpapa read from the prayer-book a
few verses of the Bible, the Collect of last Sunday, and two or three
prayers for the benefit of the whole family, including a row of neat,
mostly elderly, servants near the door. Duke and Pamela listened
attentively, their hands crossed on their knees, their eyes fixed on
Grandpapa--no fidgetting or staring about or making signs to each other.
Such things would probably have been severely punished.
And then came what was almost the happiest part of the day for
"us,"--breakfast number two; that is, breakfast with Grandpapa and
Grandmamma. With the greatest interest they watched to see what was to
be given them. This morning there were no eggs, but there were some
tempting little slices of toast, fresh butter, and a glass dish of
honey, clear as amber, with which materials Grandmamma proceeded to
fabricate two delicious sandwiches, having already filled the little
cups with weak, but, this morning, sugarless tea.
"No need to put sugar when you are eating honey. You would not taste
it," she explained. "Now, then, is not that a nice little treat for my
two good children?" and Duke and Pamela were eagerly drawing in their
chairs when another question from Grandmamma suddenly reminded them of
what they had for the time forgotten. "You ate your breakfast nicely
upstairs, I hope? Did you finish all the bread and milk?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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