"That noise means that an egg has been laid," explained Grandmother,
smiling, "and that Mrs. Hen is very proud of it and wants us to know
what she has done."

"Oh!" cried Mary Jane happily, "and then you go out and get them in a
basket just like mother told me she used to do? May I go now?"

"Better not start before dinner," suggested Grandmother, "because
sometimes egg-hunting takes quite a little time. Wait till you get
through dinner and then you may hunt all afternoon if you
like--egg-hunting is fun!"

So the minute she was through with her apple dumplings, Mary Jane
asked, "And now, please, may I get the eggs?"

"Got you hunting eggs already?" asked Grandfather. "Well, I wonder if
you'll like it as well as your mother used to. Have you your basket?"

"Not yet," said Grandmother. "I mean to let her get it herself.
She'll feel more at home when she begins to find her way around alone.
If you locked the pigs in, she can go anywhere she likes all alone."

"They're locked up fast," Grandfather assured her--much to Mary Jane's
relief.

"Then, Mary Jane," continued Grandmother, "you go out to the barn and
up the little ladder you'll find in the middle of the barn. And in the
loft somewhere, I'm sure you'll see it easily, you'll find a little,
covered basket. It's the very one your mother and your Aunt Cornelia