"Katy!" said Clover, as she came in from the garden with her hands full
of flowers, "that dress of yours is sweet. You never looked so nice
before in your life!" And she stuck a beautiful carnation pink under
Katy's breast-pin and fastened another in her hair.

"There!" she said, "now you're adorned. Papa is coming up in a few
minutes to take you down."

Just then Elsie and Johnnie came in. They had on their best frocks. So
had Clover. It was evidently a festival-day to all the house. Cecy
followed, invited over for the special purpose of seeing Katy walk down
stairs. She, too, had on a new frock.

"How fine we are!" said Clover, as she remarked this magnificence. "Turn
round, Cecy--a panier, I do declare--and a sash! You are getting awfully
grown up, Miss Hall."

"None of us will ever be so 'grown up' as Katy," said Cecy, laughing.

And now Papa appeared. Very slowly they all went down stairs, Katy
leaning on Papa, with Dorry on her other side, and the girls behind,
while Philly clattered ahead. And there were Debby and Bridget and
Alexander, peeping out of the kitchen door to watch her, and dear old
Mary with her apron at her eyes crying for joy.

"Oh, the front door is open!" said Katy, in a delighted tone. "How nice!
And what a pretty oil-cloth. That's new since I was here."

"Don't stop to look at _that_!" cried Philly, who seemed in a great