Jane dropped her work and said--

"I think so too, it's too silly to have a chance like this and not use
it. I never heard of anyone else outside a book who had such a chance;
there must be simply heaps of things we could wish for that wouldn't
turn out Dead Sea fish, like these two things have. Do let's think hard
and wish something nice, so that we can have a real jolly day--what
there is left of it."

Jane darned away again like mad, for time was indeed getting on, and
everyone began to talk at once. If you had been there you could not
possibly have made head or tail of the talk, but these children were
used to talking "by fours," as soldiers march, and each of them could
say what it had to say quite comfortably, and listen to the agreeable
sound of its own voice, and at the same time have three-quarters of two
sharp ears to spare for listening to what the others said. That is an
easy example in multiplication of vulgar fractions, but, as I daresay
you can't do even that, I won't ask you to tell me whether 3/4 × 2 =
1-1/2, but I will ask you to believe me that this was the amount of ear
each child was able to lend to the others. Lending ears was common in
Roman times, as we learn from Shakespeare; but I fear I am getting too
instructive.

When the frock was darned, the start for the gravel-pit was delayed by
Martha's insisting on everybody's washing its hands--which was nonsense,
because nobody had been doing anything at all, except Jane, and how can
you get dirty doing nothing? That is a difficult question, and I cannot
answer it on paper. In real life I could very soon show you--or you me,
which is much more likely.