you will be glad--when father comes home."

So Mary Jane put on the blue dress, but she wasn't very happy about it; she
felt sure, certain all the time that she was dressing, that Daddah would be
disappointed when he saw her. And she began to wonder if the secret _was_
so very wonderful after all; it didn't sound so wonderful if an old dress
went with it--in the afternoon!

But even though she was disappointed and a bit doubtful, she went down to
the front porch and sat on the step where she could see father the minute
he turned the corner of Fifth Street.

"Isn't this a fine day to be out of doors!" exclaimed Mrs. Merrill,
contentedly. "See Mr. Robin out there, digging away for his family? He has
a hard time hunting worms in the grass. I expect he wishes we had a newly
dug garden around this place." Mary Jane looked up indifferently, just in
time to see a twinkle in her mother's eye. Did the twinkle have anything to
do with the secret? Mary Jane wondered.

"What would he do with a garden?" she asked.

"Get worms out of it," answered Mrs. Merrill.

"But isn't he getting worms out of the yard?" asked Mary Jane, looking out
to where the robin was industriously pecking at the ground.

"Oh, yes," said Mrs. Merrill, "of course he is; but see how he has to work!
Now if that yard was all dug up nicely for a garden, the worms would be
plain to see and all he would have to do would be to pick them out. Think
how much easier that would be."