with eagerness she was so anxious to see the surprise; "can't I get a
chair?" And then she thought how silly that was when of course there
wasn't a chair in the chicken house! "Or a box, Grandmother," she
added as an after thought.

"A box?" questioned Grandmother, looking around thoughtfully, "oh, yes!
I know. There's one right out in that next room. It's not very heavy
and I believe you can get it yourself, Mary Jane. Suppose you try."

Mary Jane was very glad to try. She hurried out the door into the
other room, spied the box over in the corner and dragged it back into
the little room where Grandmother was waiting.

"See, Grandmother?" she said proudly. "I can stand on it."

"So you can, so you can," agreed Grandmother much pleased. "You're a
good planner, little girl. Now turn the box on its long side, so; and
climb on it; then--"

"What's that noise?" exclaimed Mary Jane suddenly as through the quiet
of the little room she heard a queer, "Peep! Peep!" So many "peeps,"
so soft and low that she was hardly sure she heard them.

"Never mind!" cried Grandmother, who was looking into the big case that
Mary Jane had thought was a desk. "Climb up quickly and look!"

Mary Jane needed no second urging. She set the box on its long side
and, grasping her grandmother's hand firmly so it wouldn't tip over as
she stepped on it, she climbed up and looked into the "desk."