carpet excursions in the evening by a sudden promise to mother,
exacted in the agitation of parting, that they would not be out
after six at night, except on Saturday, when they were to go to the
bazaar, and were pledged to put on their best clothes, to wash
themselves to the uttermost, and to clean their nails--not with
scissors, which are scratchy and bad, but with flat-sharpened ends
of wooden matches, which do no harm to any one's nails.

'Let's go and see the Lamb,' said Jane.

But every one was agreed that if they appeared suddenly in
Bournemouth it would frighten mother out of her wits, if not into
a fit. So they sat on the carpet, and thought and thought and
thought till they almost began to squint.

'Look here,' said Cyril, 'I know. Please carpet, take us somewhere
where we can see the Lamb and mother and no one can see us.'

'Except the Lamb,' said Jane, quickly.

And the next moment they found themselves recovering from the
upside-down movement--and there they were sitting on the carpet,
and the carpet was laid out over another thick soft carpet of brown
pine-needles. There were green pine-trees overhead, and a swift
clear little stream was running as fast as ever it could between
steep banks--and there, sitting on the pine-needle carpet, was
mother, without her hat; and the sun was shining brightly, although
it was November--and there was the Lamb, as jolly as jolly and not
whooping at all.