had received the Christmas before.

It was Saturday, with no school, so all of the boys and girls of the
neighborhood were out. Some of the girls were skipping rope, and Nan
joined these, while Bert went off to join a crowd of boys in a game of
football.

"Let us play horse," suggested Freddie to Flossie. They had reins of red
leather, with bells, and Freddie was the horse while his twin sister was
the driver.

"I'm a bad horse, I'll run away if you don't watch me," cautioned
Freddie, and began to prance around wildly, against the grape arbor and
then up against the side fence.

"Whoa! whoa!" screamed Flossie, jerking on the reins. "Whoa, you naughty
horse! If I had a whip, I'd beat you!"

"If you did that, I'd kick," answered Freddie, and began to kick real
hard into the air. But at last he settled down and ran around the house
just as nicely as any horse could. Then he snorted and ran up to the
water bucket near the barn and Flossie pretended to give him a drink and
some hay, and unharnessed him just as if he was a real steed.

Nan was counting while another girl named Grace Lavine jumped, Grace was
a great jumper and had already passed forty when her mother called to
her from the window.

"Grace, don't jump so much. You'll get sick."