Milly-Molly-Mandy told Father and Mother and Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty directly she got home to the nice white cottage with the thatched roof. And Father and Mother and Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty thought they might go one Saturday evening for a special treat (with Milly-Molly-Mandy of course), in the red bus that ran between their village and the next.
So one Saturday evening, early, they all put on their hats and coats and walked down through the village to the cross-roads (where the red bus always stopped).
As they passed the Moggs’ cottage little-friend-Susan was swinging on her swing, and Milly-Molly-Mandy waved to her and said, “Hullo, Susan! We’re going in the bus to the pictures!”
And little-friend-Susan waved back and said, “We’re going next Saturday!” So Milly-Molly-Mandy felt very glad for little-friend-Susan.
As they passed Mr Blunt’s corn-shop Billy Blunt was making himself a scooter in the little garden at the side, and Milly-Molly-Mandy waved to him and said, “Hullo, Billy! We’re going in the bus to the pictures!”
And Billy Blunt looked round with a grin and said, “I went last Saturday!” So Milly-Molly-Mandy felt very glad for Billy Blunt.
When they came to the crossroads the red bus was just in sight, and Milly-Molly-Mandy gave a little skip, because it was very exciting. Then the red bus came close and pulled up, and they all crowded to the steps, Father and Mother and Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty and Milly-Molly-Mandy.
But the Conductor put out his hand and said loudly, “Only room for two!”
So they had to decide quickly who should go. Uncle and Aunty wanted Grandpa and Grandma to go, and Grandpa and Grandma wanted Father and Mother to go, and Father and Mother wanted not to go at all if they couldn’t all go together.
Then Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty said, “Milly-Molly-Mandy will be so disappointed if she doesn’t see the pictures. You take her, Father and Mother – there’ll be room for her on your lap.”
Then the Conductor said, “Hurry up, please!” (but quite kindly), so Father and Mother with Milly-Molly-Mandy hurried up into the red bus and squeezed past the other people into the two seats.
And Milly-Molly-Mandy, standing between Father’s knees while he got the money out of his pocket, watched Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty getting smaller and smaller in the distance, until she couldn’t see them any more.
And Milly-Molly-Mandy felt very sorry indeed they weren’t coming to the pictures too.
Then Mother said, “Well, Milly-Molly-Mandy, we must just enjoy ourselves all we can, or Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty will be so disappointed, because they wanted us to enjoy ourselves.”
So Milly-Molly-Mandy cheered up and began to look out of the windows, and at the other people in the bus. Mr Rudge, the Blacksmith, was sitting in the farther comer, and he smiled a nice twinkly smile at Milly-Molly-Mandy, and Milly-Molly-Mandy smiled back. (They couldn’t talk because the bus made such a rattly noise.)
Then they came to the next village and got down.
The coloured posters outside the place where the picture show was to be looked very exciting, and Milly-Molly-Mandy did wish Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty could see them. But she thought she would look at everything and remember very carefully, so that she could tell them all about it when they got home.
The pictures were lovely! There was a very nice man who rescued a lady just in time (Milly-Molly-Mandy knew he would); and there was a funny man who ran about a lot and fell into a dustbin; and there was a quite close-up picture of the Prince of Wales, and some one with feathers on his hat, whom Father said was the King (the people clapped a lot, and so did Milly-Molly-Mandy).
The light went out once, and they had to turn up the gas for a little while, till they got it right; and Milly-Molly-Mandy could see where the Blacksmith was sitting. And there was a lady who looked awfully like Aunty over on the other side (only she had a little boy with her), and someone who might easily have been Grandpa. And then the light came again and they turned off the gas, and the picture went on till the end.
Milly-Molly-Mandy was sorry when it was all over.
If only Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty could have been there it would have been just perfect.
They went out quite close to the lady who looked like Aunty, and she really did look like Aunty, back view.
And then Milly-Molly-Mandy heard Father and Mother talking to some one and exclaiming; and she looked, up, and there was Uncle! And Grandpa and Grandma were just behind! And the lady who looked like Aunty turned round, and it was Aunty! And she wasn’t with the little boy at all, he belonged to somebody else.
And then Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty explained how the lady who lived at the Big House with the iron railings near the crossroads was taking her little girl in their car to the pictures (the same little girl who helped Milly-Molly-Mandy that time when she got stuck up in a tree); and she passed while they were watching the red bus go out of sight, and offered them a lift. So they had a lovely ride, and arrived in time not to miss any of the pictures!
And when Father and Mother and Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty and Milly-Molly-Mandy came out into the street, there was the car outside, and the lady who lived at the Big House with the iron railings smiled to them all and said, “There’s room for four going back, if you don’t mind sitting close!”
And the little girl with her said, “There’s room for Milly-Molly-Mandy too, isn’t there?”
So Father and Mother and Grandpa and Grandma got in, and the little girl and Milly-Molly-Mandy sat on their laps. (Uncle and Aunty went back by the red bus.)
And they had the loveliest possible ride home – just like the wind, and without any rattly noise. Milly-Molly-Mandy only wished it could have been twice as long.
So altogether it was very nice indeed that there had been only room for two on the bus going in!
FATHER AND MOTHER AND GRANDPA AND GRANDMA GOT IN
7
Milly-Molly-Mandy
Goes for a Picnic
Once upon a time, one fine morning, Milly-Molly-Mandy met little-friend-Susan. (She was eating hawthorn berries from the hedge by the roadside.)
Milly-Molly-Mandy said, “Hullo, Susan” (eating a hawthorn berry too, in a friendly way).
And little-friend-Susan said, “Hullo, Milly-Molly-Mandy! What do you think I’m going to do today? I’m going to take my dinner out, because Mother’s busy. Look at my pockets!”
So Milly-Molly-Mandy looked, and in one of little-friend-Susan’s coat pockets was a packet of bread-and-butter, and in the other was a hard-boiled egg and an apple. Milly-Molly-Mandy thought it was a very nice thing to do indeed, and she began to feel hungry straight away.
Little-friend-Susan said, “Couldn’t you go and see if your mother is busy? Maybe she’d like you to take your dinner out too.”
So Milly-Molly-Mandy gave a little skip, and ran back to the nice white cottage with the thatched roof to ask Mother.
And Mother looked at Milly-Molly-Mandy consideringly, and said, “Well, maybe I can manage to be too busy to give you your dinner properly today, Milly-Molly-Mandy.”
And Milly-Molly-Mandy gave another little skip, because she was so pleased.
So Mother gave her a packet of bread-and-butter to put in one coat pocket, and a hard-boiled egg and an apple to put in the other, and told her to take her scarf and not to go in damp places and get muddy. And then Milly-Molly-Mandy gave Mother a kiss for goodbye and thank you, and ran out to little-friend-Susan, and they started off down the road with their bulging pockets.
When they came near the village they met Billy Blunt walking along, and Milly-Molly-Mandy said, “Hullo, Billy! Where’re you going?”
And Billy Blunt said, “Home to dinner.”
Then Milly-Molly-Mandy said, “Susan and I are taking our dinners out because our mothers are busy. Look at our pockets!”
So Billy Blunt looked and saw th
e packets of bread-and-butter in one of their coat pockets, and the hard-boiled eggs and apples in the other, and he thought it was a very nice thing to do indeed, and he began to feel even more hungry than he did before.
Milly-Molly-Mandy said, “Couldn’t you go and see if your mother is busy? Perhaps she’d like you to take your dinner out too!”
So Billy Blunt thought a moment, and then he went in to ask his mother. And Mrs Blunt said, yes, he could if he liked; and she gave him a packet of bread-and-butter to put in one coat pocket, and a hard-boiled egg and an apple for the other. And Billy Blunt came out and joined Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan, all having bulging pockets.
Then Billy Blunt said, “Where’re you planning to go?”
And Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan said, “Down by the crossroads and along to the woods.”
Billy Blunt thought a moment, but he couldn’t think of anywhere better, so they all started off with their bulging pockets.
As they passed the Big House with the iron railings by the crossroads the lady who lived there (her name was Mrs Green) was just getting her motor-car out; and the little girl (her name was Jessamine) was waiting by the gate.
Milly-Molly-Mandy smiled as they passed, and the little girl Jessamine said, “Hullo, Milly-Molly-Mandy! Mother and I are taking our dinners out because Cook’s away. Look at our basket!”
So Milly-Molly-Mandy said, “We’re taking our dinners out too! Look at our pockets!”
And then Mrs Green came up and said, “Are we all taking our dinners out? What fun! Wouldn’t you like to come with us and eat them on the Downs?”
That meant going for a ride in the motor-car, so of course Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan and Billy Blunt said “Yes!” and Billy Blunt added “Thank you!” so Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan added “Thank you!” too.
THE LITTLE GIRL JESSAMINE SAID, “HULLO, MILLY-MOLLY-MANDY!”
So Mrs Green went back for three more mugs and some rugs and scarves and things. And then she said, “Pile in!”
So they all piled into the car – the little girl Jessamine and Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan in the back (because they wanted to be together), and Billy Blunt in front beside Mrs Green (because he wanted to see how she drove) – and off they all started.
And it was fun!
Milly-Molly-Mandy hadn’t been for a drive in a real car before, except once when Mrs Green had given Father and Mother and Grandpa and Grandma and herself a lift home from the pictures. Of course she had been in the red bus several times, and once the man who drove the milk-cans to the station every morning had given her a ride just for fun. But that was very rattly and different.
Mrs Green’s car went so quickly, and the sun shone and the wind blew (how it did blow!), and Milly-Molly-Mandy felt she wanted to shout at the top of her voice because she was so happy. Only of course she didn’t – she just talked with the little girl Jessamine and little-friend-Susan about the Downs, and their favourite cakes, and that sort of thing. And Billy Blunt talked with Mrs Green (sometimes), asking what different bits of machinery were for, and watching what she did with them, and longing to have a try at driving himself.
When they came to the Downs they had a lovely time. They made a fire of sticks, not too close to a tree (for trees don’t like their leaf-hair singed or their bark-clothes burned), and not too close to the dry bracken (for dry bracken sometimes burns more than you mean it to), but just in a nice sensible place.
Then Mrs Green made hot cocoa in a saucepan and poured it into their mugs, and everybody brought out their packets of food (Mrs Green and the little girl Jessamine had bread-and-butter and hard-boiled eggs and apples too). And Mrs Green cut up a cherry cake into big slices, and they all had to help eat it up.
It was a lovely meal. Milly-Molly-Mandy couldn’t think why anybody wanted to eat their dinner indoors.
Afterward they carefully buried all their eggshells and papers, and put the fire quite out, and left everything tidy, and then they set to work filling their empty pockets with acorns and conkers. But Milly-Molly-Mandy collected fir-cones, because Father and Mother and Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty did like a fir-cone fire; and she got her pockets and her bread-and-butter bag and her hat quite full.
When the time came to go home, Mrs Green drove them back to the village. And when Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan and Billy Blunt said goodbye and thank you, Mrs Green said:
“You must all come and have games with Jessamine some evening soon.”
The little girl Jessamine gave a skip, because she was pleased, and Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan and Billy Blunt said “Thank you very much!” again, though they didn’t skip because they didn’t feel they knew Mrs Green quite well enough just yet.
But they skipped like anything inside. (And after all, that’s the best place to do it!)
8
Milly-Molly-Mandy Looks for a Name
Once upon a time something very surprising happened. Milly-Molly-Mandy couldn’t remember anything happening before that was quite so surprising.
She came down to breakfast one morning and Aunty wasn’t there, and Mother said Aunty had gone round to help Mrs Moggs.
Milly-Molly-Mandy wondered why Mrs Moggs should want helping, and Grandma said some one had come to stay at the Moggs’ cottage, and little-friend-Susan would probably be wanting to tell Milly-Molly-Mandy all about it herself soon.
Milly-Molly-Mandy said, “Is it someone Susan likes to have staying in their house?” And Mother
and Grandma both said they were sure little-friend-Susan was very pleased indeed. Milly-Molly-Mandy couldn’t think who it could possibly be.
But directly after breakfast little-friend-Susan came round to call for Milly-Molly-Mandy, because she couldn’t wait till Milly-Molly-Mandy came to call for her on the way to school.
And little-friend-Susan was so bursting with excitement and importance that she could hardly speak at first. And then she held Milly-Molly-Mandy tight and said:
“Milly-Molly-Mandy, I’ve got a little baby sister come to live in our house and it’s too small to have a name yet and it hasn’t got any hair!”
Milly-Molly-Mandy was so surprised that she couldn’t say anything at first except “Susan!” And then she did so wish it could have been her little baby sister. But little-friend-Susan said generously, “You can share it, Milly-Molly-Mandy, and it can be your nearly-sister, and we’ll take it out riding in the pram together!”
Then Milly-Molly-Mandy asked about its name, and little-friend-Susan said they were looking out for a nice one for it; so Milly-Molly-Mandy said she would help look too, because they must find an extra-specially nice name.
Milly-Molly-Mandy walked all the way to school almost without saying anything, because she was so busy thinking about the little baby sister and what its name was to be.
When Miss Muggins’ niece Jilly caught them up at the school gate, Milly-Molly-Mandy said, “Susan’s got a new little baby sister!”
And Miss Muggins’ Jilly said, “Has she? I’ve got a new kite, and it’s got a tail that long!” (which was rather disappointing of Miss Muggins’ Jilly).
Little-friend-Susan said, “It hasn’t got any name yet.”
And Miss Muggins’ Jilly said, “Hasn’t it? My doll’s name’s Gladys.” But Milly-Molly-Mandy didn’t like that name much.
After school they met Billy Blunt going home, and Milly-Molly-Mandy said, “Susan’s got a new little baby sister!”
And Billy Blunt said, “I’d rather have a puppy.” (Which sounded rather queer of Billy Blunt; but anyhow, next day when Mrs Blunt sent him to the Moggs’ cottage with a bag of oranges for Mrs Moggs, he bought a little pink rattle at Miss Muggins’ shop and put it in the bag. And nobody knew it was from Billy Blunt till they thanked Mrs Blunt for it and she said she didn’t know anything about it.)
When they passed the forge the Blacksmith was working the handle of the great bello
ws up and down to make the fire roar, and after watching for a minute or two Milly-Molly-Mandy couldn’t help saying to him, “Susan’s got a new little baby sister!”
And the Blacksmith said, “Well, well, well! You don’t say!” and almost dropped the handle (which was very satisfactory of the Blacksmith).
Then little-friend-Susan said, “It hasn’t got a name yet!”
And the Blacksmith (whose name was Mr Thomas Rudge) said, “Ah! Thomas is the very best name I know. If she’s a young lady you call her Thomasina!”
Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan didn’t like that name very much, but they liked the Blacksmith – his eyes were so twinkly.
When Milly-Molly-Mandy got home to the nice white cottage with the thatched roof she saw Mrs Hurley’s little hand-cart just outside the gate, and Mrs Hurley standing at the side of it cutting up fish.
Mrs Hurley came round every month selling fish (the in-between times she was selling fish in other villages), and she was very nice and fat and red-cheeked, and she cleaned the fish and slapped them about on the board on top of her cart so quickly that Milly-Molly-Mandy always loved to watch her.
So now she stopped and said, “Hullo, Mrs Hurley!”
And Mrs Hurley said, “Well, my darlin’, and I’m glad to see you!” (Mrs Hurley always called people darlin’.)
So Milly-Molly-Mandy stood and watched Mrs Hurley slap the fish about briskly as she cleaned them with her red hands (for the wind was sometimes very cold and so were the fish, though Mrs Hurley never minded). And then Milly-Molly-Mandy said, “Little-friend-Susan’s got a new little baby sister!”
And Mrs Hurley wiped her knife on a piece of newspaper and reached for another fish and said, “You don’t tell me that! Well, to be sure! That’s fine, that is!”
And Milly-Molly-Mandy said, “Yes, isn’t it? And it hasn’t got a name yet, and it’s my nearly-sister, so I’m looking out for one. What are your children’s names, Mrs Hurley?”
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