Hanny immediately sought him to ask if he would have time to make wooden shoes for the girls.
The nurseryman put aside his watering can. “And why should I make wooden shoes?” he asked, smiling indulgently at his beloved niece.
“Because the Brownie Scouts need them to wear at Mrs. Langley’s flower show. You can’t turn them down, Uncle Peter, because they have invited me to be a Brownie too! May I, Uncle Peter?”
Miss Gordon and the librarian already had talked to the nurseryman about his niece joining the organization. So Peter had his answer ready.
“You may join, little Hanny,” he declared. “And I will make the shoes.”
“It must be done quickly, for the flower show is next week,” Hanny said anxiously. “When will you make the shoes, Uncle Hanny?”
“I will take the measurements now,” he said. “Run for my tape measure.”
Miss Mohr and Miss Gordon protested that the nurseryman was far too busy to take time to carve wooden shoes for the children.
“I will do it at night,” he replied. “To whittle wood provides relaxation after a hard day in the fields.”
The two young women declared that they would pay for the work. Mr. Van Der Lann would not hear of such a thing. He insisted that the children were Hanny’s friends and his, and that it was little enough he could do to show his liking.
Soon Hanny came running back with a tape measure. Peter sat the children on a bench, and one by one, measured their feet.
Carefully, he marked down the figures on a sheet of paper.
“Connie has the largest foot,” he reported. “For her shoes I must have a very long piece of white wood.”
“What will our shoes look like when they are finished?” asked Rosemary.
Off she darted to the house again. In a moment she returned, two pairs of wooden shoes tucked under her arms.
The shoes were too small for Connie and Jane, but the other Brownies tried them on. First Sunny tried to walk in them.
Her feet felt very stiff and awkward. After she had taken four steps one of the shoes slipped off.
“You don’t do it right,” laughed Hanny. “See, I will show you.”
She slipped into the shoes which were an exact fit. Instead of walking, she ran across the yard toward the cheese house. The door was open.
One moment the children saw Hanny and her long braids framed in the doorway. The next instant she had disappeared into the building.