Produced by MFR, David E. Brown and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
[Illustration: _Marjorie might hold the lantern and he’d see what was there._ (_Page 167_)]
_Author of “The Jolly Year,” “The Bluebird’s Garden” “The Good Crow’s Happy Shop”_
[Illustration: THIS BOOK OF STORIES ABOUT THE BOYS AND GIRLS WHO ARE MY FRIENDS I DEDICATE TO
BECAUSE HE HAS ENJOYED “THE BLUEBIRD’S GARDEN” AND “THE JOLLY YEAR,” AND I WANT HIM TO HAVE THIS BOOK FOR HIS VERY OWN]
II. The December Surprise, The Telephone Santa Claus 13
III. The January Surprise, The Penny Bank Window 35
IV. The February Surprise, Angelina’s Valentine 51
V. The March Surprise, Buttinski, Peacemaker 63
VI. The April Surprise, Angelina’s Bird-Flower 77
VII. The May Surprise, Marjorie’s Mystery 91
VIII. The June Surprise, The Two Little Bates Girls 103
IX. The July Surprise, Arne’s Fourth of July Battle 115
X. The August Surprise, The Blackberry Adventure 129
XI. The September Surprise, Betty Crusoe 147
XII. The October Surprise, The Magical Circle 159
XIII. The November Surprise, Ermelinda’s Family 173
XIV. The First December Surprise, The Directory Santa Claus 185
XV. The Second December Surprise, Mary Elizabeth’s Soldierly Christmas 195
The Surprise Book was Marjorie’s, but it really belonged to Dotty also, Marjorie said. It was Dotty who had made it once upon a time when she had not been able to go to school because of a snowstorm and a snuffy cold. The combination of cold and snowstorm was more or less a lucky mixture, so Marjorie argued. At any rate, if it had not been for these, maybe there never would have been Marjorie’s Surprise Book. You shall hear about it.
It began just after Marjorie, wrapped in storm-coat and arctics, had left for school. Dotty was sitting upon a carpet hassock by the fireside. The fire snapped and crackled pleasantly but Dotty frowned. “I wanted to go to school with Marjorie, too,” she said for about the forty-eleventh time since nine o’clock. “There isn’t anything to do!”
“Nothing to do!” exclaimed Mother. “Why not make a Surprise Book, Dot?”
“How?” inquired Dotty, turning around to face Mother in sudden interest. “_How?_”