“Maybe he’ll have it tied in a paper,” she murmured hopefully.  “Then I can’t see it”

CHAPTER VI

RALPH’S PRESENT

The sun rose bright and early on Brother’s birthday morning.  Not any earlier than usual, perhaps, but it certainly woke Brother a whole half-hour earlier than he usually opened his eyes.

Almost at the same moment that his brown eyes opened wide, and he sat up in bed, Sister’s dark eyes also opened wide and she sat up in her little white bed.

“Oh!” she said, blinking.  “Oh, it’s your birthday, Roddy!  Many happy returns of the day—­and I have a present for you!”

She slipped out of bed and ran over to the chest of white drawers that held her own possessions.

“You can play with them a little while and then you can eat ’em,” she explained, returning with a flat, white box which she put on Brother’s lap.

The present proved to be a pound of animal crackers, of which Brother was very fond, and Sister was telling him how she had carefully picked out as many horses and elephants as she could—­for indulgent Grandma Hastings had bought several pounds of the crackers, and allowed Sister to select the two kinds of animals that were Brother’s favorites—­when they heard Ralph’s quick step in the hall.

“Here comes Ralph!  Don’t look!” commanded Brother hastily.

Sister promptly dived under the bedclothes, and when Ralph softly opened the door—­lest the children were still asleep—­he saw Brother staring eagerly toward him and a little lump in the middle of Sister’s bed.

“Well, young man, how does it feel to be six years old?” Ralph asked merrily, putting down the basket he carried on the floor, and coming over to Brother, who stood up to hug him.

“Just as nice,” gurgled Brother, standing still to receive the six “spanks” without which no birthday could be properly celebrated.

“Can I look yet?” asked a muffled voice meekly.

“Why, sweetheart, what have they done to you?” demanded Ralph in amazement, uncovering a very warm and flushed little girl.  “I thought you were asleep, honey.  Don’t you feel well?”

“Oh, I feel all right,” Sister assured him cheerfully.  “Only I promised Brother I wouldn’t look at the present before he did.”

“That’s so, I did bring a present, didn’t I?” said Ralph, pretending to have forgotten.  “Well, Brother, stand up while I measure you once more; I must be sure that you are tall enough and that means that you drank your milk every time without grumbling.”

“Couldn’t he grumble?” asked Sister, watching while Ralph stood brother against the wall and made a tiny mark with a pencil.  “You never said he couldn’t grumble, Ralph.”

“Didn’t I?” Ralph said.  “Well, then, I should, because that is very important.  You will grow, you know, if you drink your milk and grumble about it, but not half as fast as you will grow if you drink the milk and make no fuss.  That’s true, Sister—­I’m not joking.”