Madeline Leslie - Little Frankie and His Cousin

"By and by the cake was done, and smelled so good that Moses asked for a piece; but his mother told him to wait until his cousins were there to eat it with him.

"Then the carriage came up to the door, and James, the hostler, rung the bell to let his mistress know he was ready to drive her out. She dressed her little boy in his new suit, and told him he might go with her.

"They drove first to aunt Mary's, and mamma invited George and Walter, and little Katy. Then they went a mile farther, to uncle John's, where Susy, William, and Grace gladly promised to come. On their way home, they called upon three of their neighbors, where the number was increased to eleven.

"When his father came home from the city, he brought a basket in one hand, and two large bundles under his other arm.

"Moses ran to meet him, and said, 'Let me carry the basket, papa. It isn't too heavy for me.'

"Before he put it on the table, he peeped in, and said, 'O, what nice oranges, papa!' The little boy was very fond of oranges.

"That night Moses went to bed very happy. He longed for the time when his young companions would come, and lay awake nearly an hour, thinking what a very pleasant party his would be.

"The next morning he was up long before his mother, and ran down stairs to see if breakfast was ready. The table was not yet laid; and he went into the large store closet to see where his mother had put the oranges and cake. There was the basket upon the first shelf, and on lifting the lid he saw that the oranges were still in it. How fresh and good they smelt! He put in his hand and took one out. 'O, what a large one!'

"The basket was so full, he thought there must be more than twelve; so he stood up on a box, and began to count them. 'Yes, there are,' he said to himself; 'there are twelve, and one more.'

"Then he took the largest, and laid it on the next shelf, while he put the others back again into the basket, wishing all the time that he could have it for his own. He knew that he should have one at the party, but he couldn't wait. 'I want one now,' he said.

"He sat down on the box, and began to smell the large orange which he had left out. Then he made a small hole in the peel, and began to suck the juice through it. It tasted so sweet, he could not get his mouth away. So he squeezed and sucked, and sucked and squeezed, until the juice was all gone, and nothing remained but the skin and the pulp.

"'O, dear! I'm sorry I've eaten it,' he whispered; 'I didn't mean to. I only thought I would suck it a little. How quick it all came out!'

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