We’ll have a real dinner today,” laughed Jessie. “Maybe Aunt Jane will eat some of this good food if I don’t give her too much.”
“I doubt it,” said Maggie. “She hasn’t eaten a real meal in two years.”
Jessie was right. Maggie was amazed when she saw Aunt Jane’s empty dishes.
“You girls certainly have a way with you,” she said. “I have never seen her eat so much.”
After the dishes were washed, Jessie softly opened her aunt’s door.
Again, Aunt Jane looked as if she had been lying there waiting for something to happen.
“Well,” she said, “what do you want now?”
Jessie spoke softly, “Violet and I wonder if we could explore this house.”
“Go ahead,” said her aunt. “There are no secrets here that I know of.”
“No mysteries?” laughed Jessie.
“No,” said Aunt Jane. “There are no mysteries, but it is a strange house. You’ll find that it was built a little at a time. There are really four parts to the house.”
As Jessie started to go out, her aunt called, “Be sure to look at the big chimney on the other side of the house. It is the prettiest thing here. It was made of stone from our own mountains.”
“We will,” said Jessie.
The two girls smiled at each other and went into the front room.
“Let’s explore the whole house,” said Jessie.
Violet laughed.
“I wonder why we love to fix up old houses?”
The girls stepped into the front hall. They went across it to the other side and found themselves in a front room like the one they had just left.
“This side of the house is exactly like the other one!” said Jessie. “See, here is the kitchen, the little bedroom, two front rooms and a side door.”
“Here is the chimney and the fireplace,” said Violet. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
“The stone is smooth and shiny!” cried Jessie. “See the tiny spots of yellow! Could they be gold?”
“They look brighter yellow than gold,” said Violet. “The black spots are pretty, too.”
Upstairs they found eight bedrooms.
“What fun it would be to put on new paper and paint!” cried Jessie.
Violet had opened the door of the little room right over Aunt Jane’s.
“Oh, what a beautiful room!” she whispered. “Do come and look!”
It was the loveliest room in the house. The old wall paper was soft rose color. The window had fine white curtains. The small bed was high, like the big one in their bedroom. But this one had a top, covered with white curtains like those in the window.
“I wonder who fixed this room,” said Violet. “Wouldn’t it be pretty with violets on the wallpaper? I would love to live in this room.” “It looks just like you, Violet,” said Jessie.
The girls finished their exploring and went back downstairs.
When they walked back to the kitchen, they heard Aunt Jane calling Maggie. Violet went in to see what she wanted.
“Did you see the chimney?” asked her aunt.
“Yes,” said Violet. “It is beautiful.”
“The stones came from our mountains,” said Aunt Jane. “We thought once that those mountains were full of gold, but the gold was not real.”
“The yellow and black spots make the chimney look very pretty, though,” Violet said.
“Yes. That was one reason why my father used the stones for the chimney,” her aunt answered. “And he also said that the chimney would always be a lesson to him. Every time he looked at it he could remember how he had to work hard for anything worth having. That way, he wasn’t too disappointed that he had not found a lot of gold.”
“This is really a beautiful house,” Violet said. “There are so many pretty things here. Tell me, Aunt Jane, who fixed the little bedroom right over this one?”
Aunt Jane was very quiet for a minute. Violet thought she was not going to answer. Then she said,
“That was my room once,” she said. She had tears in her eyes. |