Eh!" shaking his head at the bird, "tha' curiosity will be th' death of thee sometime if tha' doesn't look sharp." Mary skipped round all the gardens and round the orchard, resting every few minutes.

At length she went to her own special walk and made up her mind to try if she could skip the whole length of it.

It was a good long skip and she began slowly, but before she had gone half-way down the path she was so hot and breathless that she was obliged to stop.

She did not mind much, because she had already counted up to thirty.

She stopped with a little laugh of pleasure, and there, lo and behold, was the robin swaying on a long branch of ivy.