Everybody stopped singing to laugh, but it changed to little shrieks of dismay, as a poor frightened white mouse, thrown out of Bobby’s pocket by the shock, went running down the aisle.

Bobby ran after it in hot pursuit.

Beth followed loyally, for she had seen where it went.

They caught the trembling little creature at the door, and then they looked at each other.

“Let’s go home,” said Bobby.

“Uh huh, let’s,” said Beth.

They met Beth’s mother on the way to church.  “We’ll stay at home to-day, mother,” said Beth, “we’ve had just all we can stand.”

So they went home and played church in the front yard, until Ethelwyn and Nan came home just before the sermon.

Those young ladies had fully intended solemnly to lecture the two at home, but it was very pleasant under the trees, with the birds, and Bobby and Beth singing lustily, so they joined in, and Ethelwyn then preached.  “I choose to,” she said, “because I went to an awfully dry lecture on art or clothes or something, with mother.  I slept some, ’cause it was almost as hard to understand as a sermon, but when I was awake I heard a good deal that will do you good.

“Clothes,” she went on after this introduction, “will ruin your health if you don’t look out, and study statoos and things for some kind of line, clothes-line, I guess.  So when you see a lot of white statoos—­which aren’t as interesting as the circus but more good for learning, which is always the way in this life—­learnified things are likely to be dry—­you’ll learn something.  But I went to sleep before I found out what or why statoos is the thing to study; but they are so cold-looking, from being undressed, that I think it would be a kind act to make pajamas for them, and trousers for our dolls so they will live longer—­”

“I will not,” said Beth firmly, from the congregation.  “It wouldn’t be fun to have all boy dolls, and you know it, sister, and besides wasn’t Billy Boy the first doll we broke after Christmas? and he’s up-stairs now waiting for his funeral.”

“O, let’s have it now,” said Nan, who didn’t like sermons unless she preached them.

“No, here’s mother and we’ll have to have dinner now, so we will have the funeral to-morrow,” said Ethelwyn.

CHAPTER XIII The Four Together

    Begins with a funeral and ends with a feast. 
    Sorrow is drowned for this time at least.

It fell out that there were two doll funerals the next day.

Beth lost Ariminta, her composition doll, and she went down into the garden early to find her.  She looked in Bose’s kennel, but it wasn’t there; then she saw a robin in the path digging worms, and he looked so wise that she followed him to the early harvest apple-tree, and sure enough! there was Ariminta on a lower branch where she had put her the night before.  She was very wet, for it had rained, and her wig was quite soaked off.  So, filled with remorse, Beth went after the glue-pot.