I 'm not blood-thirsty ; but I really do long for Thanksgiving that my neighbour Henry may find rest for the sole of his foot ; for , not till his poultry are safely eaten will he ever know where they are . Another boy has a circus about once a week , and tries to break his neck jumping through hoops , hanging to a rope by his heels , turning somersaults in the air , and frightening his mother out of her wits by his pranks . I suspect that he has been to see Leotard , and I admire his energy , for he is never discouraged ; and , after tumbling flat , half-a-dozen times , he merely rubs his elbows and knees , and then up and takes another . There is a good , domestic boy , who brushes and curls his three little sisters ' hair every morning , and must do it very gently , for they seem to like it ; and I often see them watch at the back gate for him , and clap their hands , and run to meet him , sure of being welcomed as little sisters like to be met by the big brothers whom they love . I respect that virtuous boy . The naughty boy is very funny ; and the running fight he keeps up with the cross cook is as good as a farce . He is a torment , but I think she could tame him , if she took the right way . The other day she would n't let him in because she had washed up her kitchen and his boots were muddy . He wiped them on the grass , but that would n't do ; and , after going at her with his head down , like a battering ram , he gave it up , or seemed to ; for , the minute she locked the door behind her and came out to take in her clothes , that sly dog whipped up one of the low windows , scrambled in , and danced a hornpipe all over the kitchen , while the fat cook scolded and fumbled for her key , for she could n't follow through the window . Of course he was off upstairs by the time she got in ; but I 'm afraid he had a shaking , for I saw him glowering fiercely as he came out later with a basket , going some ` confounded errand . ' Occasionally his father brings him out and whips him for some extra bad offence , during which performance he howls dismally ; but when he is left sitting despondently and miraculously on an old chair without any seat , he soon cheers up , boos at a strange cat , whistles to his dog , -- who is just like him , -- or falls back on that standing cure for all the ills that boys are heir to , and whittles vigorously . I know I ought to frown upon this reprehensible young person , and morally close my eyes to his pranks ; but I really ca n't do it , and am afraid I find this little black sheep the most interesting of the flock . The girls have tea-parties , make calls , and play mother , of course ; and the sisters of the good boy have capital times up in a big nursery , with such large dollies that I can hardly tell which are the babies and which the mammas . One little girl plays about at home with a dirty face , tumbled hair , and an old pinafore on . She wo n't be made tidy , and I see her kick and cry when they try to make her neat . Now and then there is a great dressing and curling ; and then I see her prancing away in her light boots , smart hat , and pretty dress , looking as fresh as a daisy . But I do n't admire her ; for I 've been behind the scenes , you see , and I know that she likes to be fine rather than neat . So is the girl who torments her kitty , slaps her sister , and runs away when her mother tells her not to go out of the yard . But the house-wifely little girl who tends the baby , washes the cups , and goes to school early with a sunshiny face and kiss all round , she , now , is a neighbour worth having , and I 'd put a good mark against her name if I knew it . I do n't know as it would be proper for me to mention the grown-up people over the way .
They XXXXX on very much as the children do ; for there is the lazy , dandified man , who gets up late , and drinks ; the cross man , who swears at the shed-door when it wo n't shut ; the fatherly man , who sits among his children every evening , and the cheery old man up in the attic , who has a flower in his window , and looks out at the world with very much the same serene smile as my orange-coloured baby .
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