When they had finished tea, they tied up the clothes in bundles; and
Lucie's pocket-handkerchiefs were folded up inside her clean pinny, and
fastened with a silver safety-pin.

And then they made up the fire with turf, and came out and locked the
door, and hid the key under the door-sill.

[Illustration]

Then away down the hill trotted Lucie and Mrs. Tiggy-winkle with the
bundles of clothes!

All the way down the path little animals came out of the fern to meet
them; the very first that they met were Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny!

[Illustration]

And she gave them their nice clean clothes; and all the little animals and
birds were so very much obliged to dear Mrs. Tiggy-winkle.

[Illustration]

So that at the bottom of the hill when they came to the stile, there was
nothing left to carry except Lucie's one little bundle.

[Illustration]

Lucie scrambled up the stile with the bundle in her hand; and then she
turned to say "Good-night," and to thank the washer-woman--But what a
_very_ odd thing! Mrs. Tiggy-winkle had not waited either for thanks or