Page:The Story of Opal.djvu/224

 water with my finger. It was warmness then. That was just when the mamma did go.

She is hours and hours gone now. I have been keeping watches of the house like she did say for me to do when she went away. And in-between times I have been reading reads in the books Angel Mother and Angel Father did write in. I have been screwtineyesing the spell of words. Now I am going to have dyeing day like the mamma did have on this morning. It is so much of fun to lift things up and down in blue water. On wash-days the mamma has me to do it much. She calls it renching the clothes. When it's blue water in a boiler, it's dyeing them.

I have been dyeing like the mamma dyed this morning. First I did dye the mamma's bag of blueing balls. That bag was getting pale looks. Next I did dip in the mamma's clothes-pin bag. It was brownness before. I have not sure feels yet what color it is going to be since it has had its dye. I took all the clothes-pins out first. Then I did give them all a dip. They did bob about in a funny way. I made whirls in the dye-blue water with my fingers, so the clothes-pins would make some more bobs. It was very nice, standing there on top the cook-stove watching the bobs they made in the boiler.

Then I made a start to dye handles. First I dipped in the butcher-knife handle. Then I did give the dipper-handle a dip. I had carefuls to