Left by themselves Frances and Mary Jane compared notes as little girls will.  Mary Jane told her about her own home; about her friend Doris and her sister Alice and the birthday party and everything she could think of.  And Frances told about her school and her garden—­yes, she had one about as big as Mary Jane’s—­and about her pet calf.

“Father gave it to me when it was only a day old,” she said, “and when it’s big enough, I’m going to sell it and get money to take music lessons.  Won’t that be fun?”

Mary Jane thought it would; she looked admiringly at Frances and thought she was quite the most wonderful little girl she had ever met.

When Grandfather came up to them a few minutes later, he had to speak twice so busy were they with their talk.  He got them each another dish of berries and then, when they were through eating that, he took them walking around the yard so they could see the lanterns and so that Mary Jane would see and be seen by all his friends.  Frances seemed to know every one and that was a great help to Mary Jane who wasn’t used to meeting so many people.

All too soon Grandmother announced that it was time to go home.  The candles in the lanterns flickered out one by one; the housewives busied themselves with clearing up the remnants of cake and berries; the fathers (and grandfathers) carried baskets back to the cars, lit lights and made ready for the homeward journey.

Frances and Mary Jane told each other good night and Frances promised to come over and see Mary Jane very soon.

“Well, what did you think of the sociable?” asked Grandmother as they spun along home.  “I saw you talking with Frances and Helen; did you like your new friends, dear?”

“I liked Frances so much,” said Mary Jane, “and she’s coming to see me.”

Grandmother, who knew Helen much better than Grandfather did, understood in a minute.  She slipped her arm around her little granddaughter and pulled her close.  “So my little girl learned something as well as had a good time to-night, did she?” she whispered; “she learned how to pick out a friend.  I’m glad Frances is coming to see you, dear!”

BURR HOUSES

The week after the strawberry sociable was the busiest one of Mary Jane’s visit thus far.  Frances came to see her twice and they became better friends each time.  The Westlands lived two miles farther from the village than the Hodges did and Frances’s father could easily leave her at the Hodges’s home when he went into the village and get her again on his return trip.  Mary Jane showed her all the interesting things she had found—­the pet mice, who were getting tamer and tamer all the time; the ducks, which were losing their pretty babyness by now and were getting almost big enough to look after themselves; the lamb and the pigs and Brindle Bess.

Of course Frances was used to country sights, so she wasn’t as much surprised at what she saw as Mary Jane had been when she came from the city.  But she was interested and she told Mary Jane many things about the farm creatures and the fun she had had with her own pets.