Freddie and Flossie were just the opposite of their larger brother and
sister. Each was short and stout, with a fair, round face, light-blue
eyes and fluffy golden hair. Sometimes Papa Bobbsey called Flossie his
little Fat Fairy, which always made her laugh. But Freddie didn't want
to be called a fairy, so his papa called him the Fat Fireman, which
pleased him very much, and made him rush around the house shouting:
"Fire! fire! Clear the track for Number Two! Play away, boys, play
away!" in a manner that seemed very lifelike. During the past year
Freddie had seen two fires, and the work of the firemen had interested
him deeply.

The Bobbsey family lived in the large town of Lakeport, situated at the
head of Lake Metoka, a clear and beautiful sheet of water upon which the
twins loved to go boating. Mr. Richard Bobbsey was a lumber merchant,
with a large yard and docks on the lake shore, and a saw and planing
mill close by. The house was a quarter of a mile away, on a fashionable
street and had a small but nice garden around it, and a barn in the
rear, in which the children loved at times to play.

"I'm going to cut out a fancy table cover for my parlor table," said
Nan. "It's going to be the finest table cover that ever was."

"Nice as Aunt Emily's?" questioned Bert. "She's got a--a dandy, all
worked in roses."

"This is going to be white, like the lace window curtains," replied Nan.

While Freddie and Flossie watched her with deep interest, she took a
small square of tissue paper and folded it up several times. Then she