"There isn't much to tell," said Prudence, smiling. "There are five of
us; I am the oldest, I am nineteen. Then comes Fairy, then the twins,
and then the baby."

"Are the twins boys, or a boy and a girl?"

"Neither," said Prudence, "they are both girls."

"More girls!" gasped Mrs. Adams. "And the baby?"

"She is a girl, too." And Prudence laughed. "In short, we are all
girls except father. He couldn't be, of course,--or I suppose he
would, for our family does seem to run to girls."

"Prudence is a very nice name for a minister's daughter," said Mrs.
Adams suggestively.

"Yes,--for some ministers' daughters," assented Prudence. "But is
sadly unsuitable for me. You see, father and mother were very
enthusiastic about the first baby who hadn't arrived. They had two
names all picked out months ahead,--Prudence and John Wesley. That's
how I happen to be Prudence. They thought, as you do, that it was an
uplifting name for a parsonage baby.--I was only three years old when
Fairy was born, but already they realized that they had made a great
mistake. So they decided to christen baby number two more
appropriately. They chose Frank and Fairy,--both light-hearted, happy,
cheerful names.--It's Fairy," Prudence smiled reflectively. "But
things went badly again. They were very unlucky with their babies.
Fairy is Prudence by nature, and I am Fairy. She is tall and a little
inclined to be fat. She is steady, and industrious, and reliable, and