“Oh, these are only promises.  Very likely they don’t mean anything.”

“Your promises do; you’ve never broken one yet.  Now I’ll read another: 

“This isn’t a letter, dear Marjorie Mops, It’s only a promise of Peppermint Drops!”

“Every one is nicer than the last!  And now for the very last one of all!”

Marjorie cut open the fourth envelope, and read: 

“Dear Mopsy Midget, this isn’t a letter; It’s only a promise of something much better!”

“Why, it doesn’t say what!” exclaimed Midge, but even as she spoke, Jane came into the room bringing a tray.

She set it on the table at Marjorie’s bedside, and Marjorie gave a scream of delight when she saw a cut-glass bowl heaped high with pink ice cream.

“Oh, Uncle Steve!” she cried, “the ice cream is the ’something better,’ I know it is, and those other parcels are the other three promises!  Can I open them now?”

Almost without waiting for her question to be answered, Marjorie tore off papers and strings, and found, as she fully expected, a box of chocolate creams, a box of peppermint drops, and a lovely new story book.

Then Grandma came in to their tea party and they all ate the ice cream, and Marjorie declared it was the loveliest afternoon tea she had ever attended.

Even Puff was allowed to have a small saucer of the ice cream, for she was a very dainty kitten, and her table manners were quite those of polite society.

But the next afternoon Uncle Steve was obliged to go to town, and Marjorie felt quite disconsolate at the loss of the jolly afternoon hour.

But kind-hearted Grandma planned a pleasure for her, and told her she would invite both Stella Martin and Molly to come to tea with Marjorie from four till five.

Marjorie had not seen Stella since the day they came up together on the train, and the little girls were glad to meet again.  Stella and Molly were about as different as two children could be, for while Molly was headstrong, energetic, and mischievous, Stella was timid, quiet, and demure.

Both Marjorie and Molly were very quick in their actions, but Stella was naturally slow and deliberate.  When they played games, Stella took as long to make her move as Molly and Midge together.  This made them a little impatient, but Stella only opened her big blue eyes in wonder and said, “I can’t do things any faster.”  So they soon tired of playing games, and showed Stella their paper-dolls’ houses.  Here they were the surprised ones, for Stella was an adept at paper dolls and knew how to draw and cut out lovely dolls, and told Marjorie that if she had a paintbox she could paint them.

“I wish you would come over some other day, Stella, and do it,” said Midge; “for I know Uncle Steve will get me a paint-box if I ask him to, and a lot of brushes, and then we can all paint.  Oh, we’ll have lots of fun, won’t we?”