Her arms ached and her fingers grew hard with twanging the bow , but she was indefatigable , and being a strong , tall child of her age , with a great love of all athletic sports , she got on fast and well , soon learning to send arrow after arrow with ever increasing accuracy nearer and nearer to the bull 's - eye . The boys took very little notice of her , being much absorbed in their own affairs , but Betty did for Bab what Sancho did for Ben , and trotted after arrows till her short legs were sadly tired , though her patience never gave out . She was so sure Bab would win that she cared nothing about her own success , practising little and seldom hitting any thing when she tried . CHAPTER XX BEN 'S BIRTHDAY A superb display of flags flapped gayly in the breeze on the September morning when Ben proudly entered his teens . An irruption of bunting seemed to have broken out all over the old house , for banners of every shape and size , color and design , flew from chimney-top to gable , porch and gate-way , making the quiet place look as lively as a circus tent , which was just what Ben most desired and delighted in . The boys had been up very early to prepare the show , and when it was ready enjoyed it hugely , for the fresh wind made the pennons cut strange capers . The winged lion of Venice looked as if trying to fly away home ; the Chinese dragon appeared to brandish his forked tail as he clawed at the Burmese peacock ; the double-headed eagle of Russia pecked at the Turkish crescent with one beak , while the other seemed to be screaming to the English royal beast , `` Come on and lend a paw . '' In the hurry of hoisting the Siamese elephant got turned upside down , and now danced gayly on his head , with the stars and stripes waving proudly over him . A green flag with a yellow harp and sprig of shamrock hung in sight of the kitchen window , and Katy , the cook , got breakfast to the tune of `` St. Patrick 's day in the morning . '' Sancho 's kennel was half hidden under a rustling paper imitation of the gorgeous Spanish banner , and the scarlet sun-and-moon flag of Arabia snapped and flaunted from the pole over the coach-house , as a delicate compliment to Lita , Arabian horses being considered the finest in the world . The little girls came out to see , and declared it was the loveliest sight they ever beheld , while Thorny played `` Hail Columbia '' on his fife , and Ben , mounting the gate-post , crowed long and loud like a happy cockerel who had just reached his majority . He had been surprised and delighted with the gifts he found in his room on awaking and guessed why Miss Celia and Thorny gave him such pretty things , for among them was a match-box made like a mouse-trap . The doggy buttons and the horsey whip were treasures , indeed , for Miss Celia had not given them when they first planned to do so , because Sancho 's return seemed to be joy and reward enough for that occasion . But he did not forget to thank Mrs. Moss for the cake she sent him , nor the girls for the red mittens which they had secretly and painfully knit . Bab 's was long and thin , with a very pointed thumb , Betty 's short and wide , with a stubby thumb , and all their mother 's pulling and pressing could not make them look alike , to the great affliction of the little knitters . Ben , however , assured them that he rather preferred odd ones , as then he could always tell which was right and which left . He put them on immediately and went about cracking the new whip with an expression of content which was droll to see , while the children followed after , full of admiration for the hero of the day . They were very busy all the morning preparing for the festivities to come , and as soon as dinner was over every one scrambled into his or her best clothes as fast as possible , because , although invited to come at two , impatient boys and girls were seen hovering about the avenue as early as one . The first to arrive , however , was an uninvited guest , for just as Bab and Betty sat down on the porch steps , in their stiff pink calico frocks and white ruffled aprons , to repose a moment before the party came in , a rustling was heard among the lilacs , and out stepped Alfred Tennyson Barlow , looking like a small Robin Hood , in a green blouse with a silver buckle on his broad belt , a feather in his little cap and a bow in his hand . `` I have come to shoot .
I XXXXX about it .
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