“Yes, dear, you may carry in the plates,” Mrs. Gordon smiled. “Breakfast soon will be ready.”
Eileen and Jane arrived next, and they helped put on the water glasses and arrange the chairs. There were only six of the regular straight-back ones, but two of the Brownies used the piano bench. Miss Gordon brought in a kitchen chair for herself.
The Brownies hadn’t dreamed they could be so hungry. Mrs. Gordon had fried tiny sausages and made a giant stack of wheatcakes.
Connie ate three of the cakes, and after that lost count. She never had tasted such wonderful food.
When breakfast was over, Jane and Sunny elected to help with the dishes. Connie, Veve and Eileen volunteered to make all the beds. Rosemary cleared the table, and afterwards gave Fluff her saucer of milk.
“All work and no play will make Brownies very bored people,” Grandmother Gordon declared. “I suggest you take advantage of the snow while it lasts.”
“Let’s go skiing,” cried Connie, who wished to try out her birthday present.
“And coasting,” added Jane. “But what will we use for sleds?”
“You’ll find several in the barn,” suggested Miss Gordon. “While they’re not new, I imagine they’ll serve.”
Eagerly the Brownies donned mittens, snowsuits and galoshes. A path had been shoveled from the house to the barn.
Miss Gordon, who looked very young in her black and scarlet ski suit, pointed to Hammer Hill.
“A trail has been broken by the other children,” she said. “So the coasting should be good despite the heavy snow.”
“Do other children live near here?” Sunny asked in surprise.
“Oh, yes, indeed. The Stones are our nearest neighbors. I believe the family has three or four children. We may meet them on the hill.”
In the barn, the Brownies found three small sleds, the big bobsled Mr. Gordon had made, and Skip.
Skip was a large, friendly shepherd dog, who barked when the Brownies called him by name. He sat up and begged to be taken along to the hill.
“Yes, Skip loves the snow,” the Brownie leader consented.
The horses, Ginger and Maude, were crunching corn in their stalls. They barely lifted their heads as the Brownies dragged out the sleds.
At the hill, the girls found at least a dozen other children their own age. The Brownies took turns using the small sleds, and riding the big bob which Miss Gordon steered.