She bustled out of the room in search of Grandfather, and Mary Jane studied over the rows of chickens.  And just at that minute she spied them!  She knew the second she saw them that there was her family.

They were huddled down in one corner, all six of them and they seemed lonesome and—­well, different.  Of course Mary Jane may have imagined that, but so it seemed to her.  Their bills were funny and their eyes were different from the eyes of the other chicks, and the shape of their tails and of their wings seemed different, some way.

“I’m going to have you and give you a nice time,” said Mary Jane, whispering tenderly above the case cover.  “I’d like to take care of you, so don’t you mind if you are funny!” And with the tip, tip of her finger, she touched the glass directly over them.

Just then Grandmother Hodges came back into the room with Grandfather right behind her.

“Grandmother!” cried Mary Jane eagerly, “may I have any ones?  May I pick them out?  May I have these funny little ones?  These that are all by their lonesomes in the corner?”

Grandfather and Grandmother both looked to where Mary Jane pointed.

“The ducks!” they exclaimed together.  “They came out all right!”

Then Grandmother added, “To be sure you may have them, Mary Jane.  Those are ducks, and I put in six eggs so we could have a bit of roast duck, come winter.  They’ll be sure to get into trouble with the chickens and I would be so glad if you’ll make them your family and look after them for me.  Here, Father,” she said to her husband, “let’s take them out for her first.”  So Grandfather got the basket Mary Jane and her grandmother had brought out with them and then he held up the glass cover while Grandmother tenderly lifted the tiny ducks, one by one, and set them inside.  Then she covered them all over with a thick cover.

“But Grandmother,” cried Mary Jane in dismay, “they can’t breathe!  They’ll die!”

“Not they,” laughed Grandmother.  “Run along now, and set the basket in the sun by your rabbit box.  I’ll be right out and fix them up for you.”

So for the second time that day, Mary Jane found herself carrying a basket of living creatures.  “Wouldn’t Doris like to be here!” she said to herself as she thought of her little friend back home, “and wouldn’t I like to show her my family!” She walked slowly and carefully so as not to tip the baby ducks and it was with a sigh of relief that she finally set them down by the rabbit box.

Fortunately, Grandmother came along in just a few minutes so Mary Jane didn’t have time to worry about the “peeps” that were coming more and more loudly from the basket.

Grandmother took the ducks one by one from the basket and set them on some soft bits of old wool in the corner of the box.  “We don’t need a cover for this box,” she said, pulling at the screen Grandfather had tacked on, “till they get bigger.  We’ll take it off so you can take care of them easier.  There now!” she added as the screen came off, “we’ll cover them up so,” and she laid the soft cloth that had been on the basket over the little ducks; “now we’ll let them be for a while.”