A Walk and a Drive. Read online

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  "She was very pleased to have her mug filled--the mugwhich she had brought on purpose."]

  New York.

  Sheldon & Company.]

  LITTLE ROSY'S TRAVELS.

  SIX VOLUMES.

  ON THE JOURNEY. A WALK AND A DRIVE. THE DUCKS AND PIGS. THE WOUNDED BIRD. A SAD ADVENTURE. THE DOCTOR'S VISIT.

  Little Rosy's Travels.

  A WALK AND A DRIVE.

  ILLUSTRATED.

  New York: SHELDON AND COMPANY. 1870.

  Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, By SHELDON AND COMPANY, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York.

  Electrotyped at the BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY, No. 19 Spring Lane.

  A Walk and a Drive.

  VISIT TO THE DAIRY.

  WHEN Rosy opened her eyes the next morning the sun was shining sobrightly that she was obliged to shut them again. But a great manythoughts came into her little head, and she was in a great hurry to getup.

  Nurse said it was not time yet, and that she was very sleepy; but whenthe little girl had climbed into her bed, and given her a great manysoft kisses, and told her how much she wanted to take a walk beforebreakfast, the kind nursey first rubbed her eyes, then opened them, andthen got out of bed.

  While she was dressing, Rosy began to put on her own shoes and stockingsand some of her clothes; for she had already learnt to do a great dealfor herself.

  She peeped out of window to look for the birds, but for some time shecould not see any.

  Rosy thought this very strange, for she remembered how she used to hearthe dear little birdies sing when she had been in the country inEngland; but nurse could not explain the puzzle; so Rosy settled that itwas to be a question for her papa. Of course he would know; he alwaysknew everything.

  When they were quite ready, nurse said,--

  "Now, my darling, if you like, we will go and get your milk forbreakfast; for I know where it is to be had, and nice, new, good milk Ihope it may be, to make my little Trotty very fat."

  "Is not Rosy fat now?" asked the little girl, in surprise, and feelingfirst her plump cheeks and then her round arms with her stumpy littlefingers.

  "O, pretty well," said nurse laughing, "but you may be fatter yet, and Ilike fat little girls."

  They had not to walk far before they came to the place where the milkwas sold. It was called a farm; and nurse took Rosy in, and said sheshould see the dairy if the good woman would let her.

  Rosy did not know what a dairy meant; but she supposed that it wassomething curious, and tripped merrily along, wondering what she shouldsee, till they came to a room which had a floor made of red tiles, onwhich stood at least ten or twelve large open bowls full of new milk.

  Now Rosy happened to be very fond of milk; and as she was just thenquite ready for her breakfast, she was very pleased to have her mugfilled,--the mug which she had brought on purpose, as nurse toldher,--and then take a good drink.

  "Ah, nurse, how good it is!" she cried; "but what is all this stickingto my lips? It is not white like our milk. See, there is something onthe top of it!" and she held out her mug to show her.

  "Ah, that's cream, good cream. We did not get milk like this in Paris,"said nurse; "and I'm sure we don't in London. There's no water here, isthere, madame?"

  But madame did not understand English; so nurse was obliged, by lookingvery pleased, to make her see that she thought her milk very good.

  "But it's very bad of the other people to put water in my milk," saidRosy, frowning. "I shall ask my papa to scold them when we go home; andI shall take a great mugful of this nice milk to show my grandmamma."

  "Well, now say good by prettily in French, as your papa teaches you,"said nurse, "and then we'll go home, and I dare say we shall find somemore milk there."

  "Adieu, madame," said the little girl, and off she trotted again, asready to go as she had been to come.

  They say "madame" to every one in France, you know, and not to richladies only.

  Now there are beautiful hills all round the back of Cannes, and a littleway up one of these was the house where Rosy was going to live. She didso like running up and down hills! and there were two or three littleones between the farm and this house, which was called a villa.

  When she got on to the top of one, she cried out,--

  "Ah, there's the sea, I do declare! and there's a boat on it with awhite sail! Shall we go in a boat some day?"

  "I don't know," said nurse, "you must ask your mamma; but you don't wantto be sick, do you?"

  "I won't be sick," cried the little girl. "Rosy is never sick in abeau'ful boat like that. I'll ask my mamma," and she bustled on.

  "Stay, stay!" cried nurse, "you're going too far, my pet; this is theway; look, who stands up there?"

  Rosy looked up, and there was the villa with its green blinds high upover her head; and some one stood outside the door calling her by name.

  O, what a number of steps there were for those little legs to climbbefore she reached her papa!

  They went up by the side of a garden, which was itself like a lot ofwide steps, and on each step there was a row of vines, not trainedagainst a wall as we train our vines in England, but growing on theground like bean plants.

  Rosy saw lots of such nice grapes that her little mouth quite watered,and she would have liked to have stopped to pick some; but then she knewthat would be stealing, because they were not hers. And I hope that Rosywould not have stolen even if nurse had not been following her, or herpapa watching her.

  She got the grapes, too, without picking them; for when she had climbedup to the very top, there was papa waiting for her with a beautifulbunch in his hand. And he said,--

  "Come in, Rosy; mamma wants her breakfast very badly. See, mamma, what apair of roses your little girl has been getting already!"

  Rosy knew very well what that meant, for she rubbed her cheeks with herlittle fat hands, and then tumbled her merry little head about hermamma's lap to "roll the roses off," as she said.

  But that little head was too full of thoughts to stay there long.

  There was so much to tell and to talk about, and that dairy took a longtime to describe. Then when papa asked if she had seen the dear cowsthat gave the milk, she thought that that would be a capital littlejaunt for to-morrow, and clapped her hands with glee.

  "So you are going to find some new pets, Rosy," he said, "to do insteadof Mr. Tommy and the kittens?"

  "Ah, papa, but there are no dickies here--I mean, hardly any," sheanswered. "We looked so for the birdies all, all the time; but only twocame, and went away again directly."

  "We must go out and see the reason of that," said papa, smiling,--"youand I, Rosy, directly after breakfast. We must go and tell the dearbirds that Rosy has come."