The Blue Birds' Winter Nest Part 2

"Do you feel as happy and free as a Blue Bird, Flutey?" asked Ruth, giving Aunt Selina a hearty embrace.

Unaccustomed to such healthy demonstrations of affection, she suffered her lace cap to be pulled over one ear while her other was uncomfortably doubled under Ruth's plump little arm.

"Yes, Fluff, I feel unusually well this morning. I slept like a babe all night," replied her aunt.

"That's the way all Blue Birds sleep. Not one of us would stay in bed a minute just because something tried to make us feel too tired or sick to get up early in the morning! You know, the Camp Fire Girls receive honors for keeping free from illness, and some day the Blue Birds expect to join the bigger girls in their Camp Fires. So we begin to practice good health now," explained Ruth.

The breakfast pa.s.sed quickly with not a sound or sigh from Aunt Selina about rheumatism. Sally was the most astonished of all, for it had become second nature with her mistress to talk about her pains and woes at all times.

"While I was waiting on the piazza, this morning, I planned to take you for a nice long walk," said Ruth.

"Why, my dear, I simply cannot walk out of doors. I could hardly hobble about the house this morning."

"Oh, I s'pose you couldn't walk very well, but I can walk and you can ride in the wheel-chair. I will push it, and we will go down the meadow path toward the summer-house," said Ruth.

Aunt Selina looked dubiously at Sally, but the latter was very busy placing some of the family silver in the chest, and her back was turned.

After a few moments' hesitation she said, "I never take that chair off of the porch, and I am afraid you are too little to push it."

"Oh, no, indeed I'm not. It won't hurt the chair, and even if it did, your pleasure just now is better than ten chairs!" decided Ruth.

After several weak attempts to turn Ruth from her purpose, Aunt Selina surrendered with a sigh.

As Sally left the room just then she chuckled to herself, "Dat chile will sh.o.r.ely 'juvenate Miss S'lina!"

After breakfast aunt and grand-niece went out on the veranda and Ruth soon had the chair down the steps and waiting for her aunt.

Aunt Selina felt a bit conscious at being wheeled like a baby, but Ruth was too merry to permit anything but joy to prevail.

Ruth turned the chair into a path that ran along the brook, and chatted merrily until Aunt Selina forgot herself in listening. At the end of the path stood a rustic summer-house from which could be seen the wide expanse of meadow and woodland. Having reached this spot, Ruth placed the chair so her aunt could look about and admire her beautiful lands.

"Flutey, don't you ever go to church on Sunday mornings?" asked Ruth.

"The only church is so far away that I would have to drive for half an hour to reach it; then, too, it is not a denomination that I approve of," she replied, coolly.

But a little thing like a cold reply or a curt tone never daunted Ruth when she was after any particular information.

"What is the difference between one denomination and another? I don't exactly know the meaning of that word, but I know it means something about churches."

"Well, some churches believe in wors.h.i.+pping G.o.d one way and some in another. These different beliefs are called 'denominations.' Now, all of our family were brought up to believe the Baptist manner of wors.h.i.+p to be the only true one, and this church at Greenfields is Presbyterian. Of course, everyone knows that pre-destination is all wrong," said Aunt Selina emphatically.

Ruth's eyes opened wider and wider as she listened, for she had been taught a very simple faith. She had been told that to live and follow the "Golden Rule" was the highest form of obedience, and that it was true wors.h.i.+p. So she answered quietly:

"I love Jesus, and I believe he taught everyone the same way, and I believe he just loved everybody the same way."

"We will not discuss religion, Ruth. Just keep on thinking and doing as Mother has taught you."

"Well, I was only going to say, that as we cannot go to church such a lovely morning, we might sit here and thank G.o.d for all these fields,"

explained Ruth.

Aunt Selina looked about the land in the light of a new revelation.

"I was thinking," continued Ruth, "how I should love to have this farm near Oakdale. I could come over so often to tell you what we are doing, and then, too, you could use all of that wonderful woodland for Blue Birds' Camps in the summer."

Aunt Selina looked across the fields and woods but said nothing, so Ruth continued.

"When the two Ferris children came out to Mrs. Mason's farm, they were so happy to see real flowers and gra.s.s that they soon got well and strong. That made me wish that I had hundreds of farms just like it where sick children could go and get well. That was one thing that made the Oakdale folks help get the hundred city poor children out to our country for a few weeks in August and the lovely time the children had made everyone wish to do bigger things this next summer. Nothing has really been planned yet, but everyone is trying to think of some way to do something. This morning when I saw this wonderful farm and so few folks to live on it, I just wished it was near Oakdale so a big crowd of poor children could enjoy it next summer."

As Ruth concluded and looked wistfully over the fertile land, her aunt sat thinking for a time, then answered.

"Fluff, I determined to be a Blue Bird with all of my heart and soul.

Now, we can't move this farm over to Oakdale, but the city children can be moved out to this farm! You can do the planning from Oakdale, and I can look after them when they get here."

Ruth gasped in amazement at the splendid idea, then jumped up and down with delight while she shouted aloud.

"Oh, oh! Flutey! that is great! Why, just think of all the streets full of poor children who can enjoy these wonderful woods!"

Aunt Selina winced at the word "street children," but she spoke with determination.

"I suppose we would have to build some sort of little houses, or temporary camps for them to sleep in, and a long shed in which to serve the meals. It will need a lot of planning."

"Dear me, I wish we could run and ask mother about it," murmured Ruth, impatiently. "Now, if you were only visiting me instead of me being here with _you_!"

"If I had gone to you, you might never have had the idea of using these woods for the children," ventured her aunt.

"No, that's so," admitted Ruth. "And we can go back to the house and write all our plans down on paper and send them to mother, can't we?"

Aunt Selina consenting, Ruth wheeled the chair back to the house. When they reached the steps the invalid felt so strong that she lifted herself out of the chair and climbed up the low steps with only Ruth to lean upon.

"Why, I never felt a twinge in my joints all this time! I never knew rheumatism to disappear so quickly as it has this time," she said, as she sank down in a low chair.

"Let's hope it won't come back again," added Ruth. "If it stays away you could pack up and go to Oakdale with me, couldn't you?"

Aunt Selina, who never visited and seldom left her home, looked horrified for a moment. But Ruth continued innocently,

"We could get all of mother's advice for the farm plans besides seeing father and being home with him!"

Sally, who had seen Miss Selina coming up the steps without a cane, thought some miracle had been performed. So, wis.h.i.+ng to hear all about it, she hurried out with the announcement that dinner was almost ready.

"Dinner! Why, Sally, we just finished breakfast. I'm sure I don't want anything to eat so soon," replied Miss Selina.

"It's pas' one o'clock, Miss S'lina, an' you allus likes de meals to be on time," ventured Sally.

"I'm sure I feel as if it was dinner time, 'cause I'm so hungry," added Ruth, who always had a healthy appet.i.te.

Aunt Selina laughed indulgently as she rose and limped slowly indoors.

Immediately after dinner Ruth hurried to the library and brought forth a pencil and paper. Meeting her aunt in the hall she said, "Now, we'll sit down and put all of our plans on paper."