



Produced by Charlene Taylor, Emmy and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/American Libraries.)








[Illustration: _Frontispiece--Dear Little Couple Abroad_

    "Polly drew her stockings and shoes on."
                                            _See p. 6_]




HOW "A DEAR LITTLE COUPLE" WENT ABROAD

BY

MARY D. BRINE

    AUTHOR OF
    "THE DOINGS OF A DEAR LITTLE COUPLE"

    WITH SEVENTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS

    PHILADELPHIA
    HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY




DEDICATION.


     To my little friends who have known and loved our "Dear Little
     Couple" (Polly and Teddy) I herewith dedicate this story, which
     tells of _more_ of the Doings of the Little Couple, and am
     lovingly the friend of all my little readers,

                                                     MARY D. BRINE.


    COPYRIGHT, 1903.
    BY HENRY ALTEMUS.




HOW "A DEAR LITTLE COUPLE" WENT ABROAD.




CHAPTER I.

POLLY THINKS OVER HER "SURPRISE."


[Illustration]

Polly opened her blue eyes one lovely morning in May, and found the "sun
fairies"--as she called them--dancing all about her wee bed-chamber, and
telling her in their own bright way that it was high time little girls
were up and dressing for breakfast.

At first she was sure she had been having a beautiful dream, for what
else could make her feel so happy and "sort of all-overish," as if
something very nice and unusual had come upon her? She was sure she had
dreamed that a splendid surprise had happened, and it was something
about going away, too!

Polly lay still in her little white nest of a bed, and thought over her
dream, and lo! on a sudden, as she grew more and more awake, the real
cause of her new and glad sensations came into her curly head, and she
bounced, like a little rubber ball, right out of bed, and danced a wee
lively jig on the floor.

Why, of course it wasn't a dream! No, indeed! it was as real--oh! as
real as Polly Darling herself, and no wonder she had felt so
"all-overish" and so "glad all inside of her"! She sat down on the soft
carpet and drew her stockings and shoes on, but it was slow work,
because Polly was thinking, and she had a great deal to think about, you
see.

[Illustration]

First--oh! how it all came back to her now!--first she remembered that
last night after supper Papa had taken her on his knee and whispered in
her ear: "Pollybus, how would you like to go with Mamma and Papa across
the sea for a little trip?"

And while she was squeezing him almost to pieces by way of answer, Mamma
had come along, and had shaken her finger at Papa, as she said: "Oh,
naughty Papa! the idea of telling Polly that _just when she's going to
bed_! She won't sleep a wink for thinking of it." And Polly remembered
jumping down from Papa's knee, and going to Mamma's side, saying very
earnestly: "Oh, yes, I will! I truly will, Mamma! I'll shut my eyes and
think 'bout little lambs jumping over a fence, 'cause Cook says that's
the best way to get sleepy, and it's worked be-yewtifully on _her_ lots
of times! Oh, true and true, black and blue, I'll go right to sleep! And
oh, I'm so happy!"

And pretty soon after that the bed-time for little girls had come, and
Polly had been kissed and petted a little, as was usual after she had
snuggled down in bed, and had a little while alone with her dear Mamma,
and then she had tried very hard to keep her promise, and "go right to
sleep." But oh, dear, it had been such hard work to keep those blue eyes
sh