144 GERTRUDE.

them.” Still, she had plenty to amuse her, for somehow —
children in the country have the most surprising number of
things to play with: there are blackberries and apples, sheep-
sorrel and pepper-grass, with lots of other things, when one
wants a. party for the dolls; and as for dishes, one has only
to pick a few leaves and there they are, not to mention acorn
cups. Then one can make the most fascinating grottos lined
with pebbles and bits of moss, with a lake in the centre, made
by covering a hole with a piece of glass. ‘Dolls are very fond
of these grottos, and they also enjoy sitting in the bushes like
birds, or hiding under the leaves like rabbits.

Sometimes Gertrude and her brothers would go off to the
woods and play Robin Hood. Gertrude could be Maid
Marian, you know, and Walter, Little John; while Robin had
part of the name already, and had only to add the Hood to
make it all right.

But there was one place which was especially Gertrude’s
own; it was a funny little place, too. Over the kitchen there
was a sort of loft where were kept dried fruits, vegetables,
and such like things, the preserves too; next this was a rather
large closet, or, in fact, a little room, divided from the rest,
and having a door which opened into the main loft; the roof
sloped very much, but it was high enough for Gertrude, and
here she brought all her treasures. It was a nice out-of-the-
way place; a little window gave it plenty of light, and an old
chair, whose legs had been sawed off to within about six inches