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“You’ll do no such thing, Alice You know very well the parlor’s just for company”

It was not Eliza Jane’s parlor, and Mother hadn’t said she couldn’t sit in it Alht that Alice could sit in the parlor if she wanted to

That afternoon he came into the kitchen to see if the pound-cake was done Alice was taking it out of the oven It sood that he broke a little piece off the corner Then Alice cut a slice to hide the broken place, and then they ate two more slices with the last of the ice-cream

“I can make more ice-cream,” Alice said Eliza Jane was upstairs, and Almanzo said:

“Let’s go into the parlor”

They tiptoed in, without ht was dim because the blinds were down, but the parlor was beautiful The wall-paper hite and gold and the carpet was of Mother’s best weaving, almost too fine to step on The center-table was marble-topped, and it held the tall parlor laold china and pink painted roses Beside it lay the photograph album, with covers of red velvet and mother-of-pearl

All around the walls stood soleton’s picture looked sternly from its frame between the s

Alice hitched up her hoops behind, and sat on the sofa The slippery haircloth slid her right off onto the floor She didn’t dare laugh out loud, for fear Eliza Jane would hear She sat on the sofa again, and slid off again Then Almanzo slid off a chair

When company came and they had to sit in the parlor, they kept theainst the floor But now they could let go and slide They slid off the sofa and the chairs till Alice was giggling so hard they didn’t dare slide any more

Then they looked at the shells and the coral and the little china figures on the what-not They didn’t touch anything They looked till they heard Eliza Jane co downstairs; then they ran tiptoe out of the parlor and shut the door without a sound Eliza Jane didn’t catch them

It seeone Oneat breakfast Eliza Jane said:

“Father and Mother will be here tomorrow”

They all stopped eating The garden had not been weeded The peas and beans had not been picked, so the vines were ripening too soon The henhouse had not been ashed

“This house is a sight,” Eliza Jane said “And we ar is all gone”

Nobody ate any ar-barrel, and they could see the bottom of it