It took some time for those two busy ladies to dress.  Grandmother wasn’t used to hair bows and sashes of course and they went pretty slow.  Then likely as not there was a good deal of visiting went along with the dressing for Grandmother and Mary Jane were good company.  So it’s not much wonder that by the time each had inspected the other and had decided that everything was exactly as it should be.  Grandfather called to say that supper time had come.  Grandmother and Mary Jane went grandly down the stairs in answer to his call and he stood at the bottom and admired and complimented till Mary Jane had to drop her grand air and giggle, he was so funny.

Grandmother laughed, too, and then bustled out to the kitchen, put on a great big all-over apron and prepared the supper.

“We’ll not have a thing but eggs and bread and jam and milk,” she announced, “because with all the cake and strawberries you’re going to have that’s all you should eat—­just very plain food.  Mary Jane, you slip on this apron and help Grandfather feed the chickens and by that time I’ll have supper ready to eat.”

When they drove up to the village church an hour later Mary Jane looked upon a yard of hurry and fun such as she had never before seen.  Men were fixing lanterns on wires, others were carrying chairs and arranging them around tables underneath the lanterns.  Women were fixing great bowls of crimson berries (and oh, how good they did look, Mary Jane thought!) on a long table that stretched across the back of the yard.  Other women were unpacking baskets of tempting looking cakes and cutting them up into pieces ready for serving.

Grandmother took one basket of berries out of the back of the car and Grandfather took the other and they walked over to the table, Mary Jane following meekly behind.

“This is my little great granddaughter, Mary Jane Merrill,” said Grandmother to the lady in charge, “and as she’s never been to a strawberry sociable before, I’m going to look after her till she gets used to things—­you’ve plenty of help here anyway.”

“Glad to meet you, Mary Jane,” answered the lady and Mary Jane made her prettiest courtesy, “you’ll like the sociable better when the lanterns are lighted and the other little girls come.  Don’t you want to come and eat some cake crumbs now?”

Much as Mary Jane liked cake crumbs, she didn’t fancy staying with the strange people when she might be with her grandmother, so she hung back shyly and Grandmother declined the offer for her.

“I think we’ll walk around first, thank you, Miss Oliver,” said she, “and get our little girl to feeling more at home.”

Mary Jane liked the walking around and watching the busy folks at their curious work.  And, before she hardly realized it, twilight had set in, men had lighted the gay Japanese lanterns and the yard had become full of jolly people—­the strawberry sociable had begun.