5 Patty-Pans

CHAPTER 5 Patty-Pans One day Jo found Daisy sitting on the stairs, pouting. It was quite unlike her niece to be this way, so Jo asked kindly, "What's the matter, Daisy?" "The boys won't let me play with them," she replied. Jo put her hand on the girl's shoulder and tried

very hard not to smile. "And why is that?" "Because they're playing football. Even Demi won't let me join. He used to let me, but now the boys laugh at him. I am so tired of playing alone." "Well, I'm about to go into town to see your mother. Why don't you come along? Maybe you'd like to stay home for a couple days?" Daisy stood up and said, "I should like to see Mother, but I don't want to stay there. I'll come back here, or else Demi will miss me." "You'll need to find something to do while I get ready to go. Why don't you go see Asia downstairs in the kitchen. Maybe you can help her with lunch." Daisy nodded and flew off downstairs to help Asia with her baking. I'll need to find something else for her to do, Jo thought. I never would have imagined that it's more difficult to keep one girl occupied than it is to keep a dozen boys going.

As she put away the last of the laundry and closed the wardrobe door, Jo had an idea. "That's it!" she said out loud. "That'll be the perfect hobby for Daisy. Now if I can just figure out a way to make it work..." All the way into town, Jo teased Daisy about having a grand surprise. Daisy begged her aunt to tell her what she was planning, but Jo wouldn't budge. While Jo went and did all the shopping, Daisy stayed behind with her mother. But when her aunt returned, she still wouldn't say anything about the surprise. To make matters worse, Daisy watched as her mother and aunt had a long visit that felt like forever to a little girl dying to know a secret. Finally, it was time to go. As her mother tied on her bonnet, she said, "Be a good girl, Daisy, and learn Aunt Jo's new game. It's very kind of her to teach you, and she'll even play with you herself—although I know she doesn't like it very much."

Aunt Jo and her mother laughed. Something rattled in the back of the carriage on the way home, and Daisy said, "Is that it? Is that the new game?" Jo answered, "It is indeed." "Why, it's making a lot of noise. What is it made from?" "Iron, tin, wood, brass, sugar, salt, coal, and a hundred other things." "How strange!" Daisy said. "What color is it?" "All sorts of colors," Aunt Jo replied. Daisy asked many questions, all of which her aunt answered without ever telling her the one piece of information she wanted above all others: the name of the game. When they got home, Daisy inspected every little bundle for a clue. Then Jo took the bundles upstairs, where Daisy heard hammering and all sorts of noise. Still, no one would tell her the secret. All of this made Daisy so excited she could barely contain herself.

When she thought she simply could not wait a moment longer, Jo told her that the secret would be revealed after her lessons the next day. As hard as it was to sleep, Daisy found school almost impossible. The bell had barely chimed when she raced to Jo's parlor and shouted, "I've done all my lessons—please tell me what the surprise is now, please!" "It's all ready for you," Jo said as she tucked Teddy up under her arm. "Come on upstairs." Daisy threw open the nursery door and looked around. "I don't see anything." "But do you hear anything?" Jo asked. Daisy stood still until she heard a large crackle from behind a curtain drawn in front of big bay window. "Oh!" she exclaimed as she raced forward and pulled the curtains apart. "Oh my!" Aunt Jo and her helpers had set up a small cooking stove, which was all ready to prepare an entire meal for a whole cast of hungry dolls. One

of the window panes had been replaced with tin, which sent the smoke outside in a way that was of no danger to anyone. A tea kettle steamed away on top of the stove and seemed almost as happy as Daisy herself.