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certain brown-and-white one was promised to Jerry Pye, you would think he'd say, "OK then. I'll take this other one." But no. Jerry's puppy
was the one the person wanted, according to Mrs. Speedy, and he wanted no substitute.
    But Jerry forgot about the other person when they reached Mrs. Speedy's. They rushed right out to the huge barn to make sure Jerry's puppy was still there. He was! He, and all the puppies, yapped joyously and tumbled all over one another when they saw Jerry. They recognized him because he had come to play with them nearly every day. Not having any tails left to speak of, and what little they had being bandaged up, they had to wag their whole selves in their delight.

    Mrs. Speedy was at the other end of the long barn, where the cows were. A rosy light shone through the doorway from the great red disk of setting sun. Though Jerry Pye had been here often to see the puppies, this was only the second time in her life that Rachel had been inside of Speedys' barn.
    The other time that Rachel had been inside of Speedys' barn was by accident, long ago, when she was about seven. She and Jerry had come over to this part of town to a big party the Sunday school teacher, Miss Foote, was giving. It was wintertime and very cold and since Miss Foote's house was on a steep slippery hill, she had said, "Bring your sleds."
    It had grown dark early but this did not matter, for Japanese lanterns had been hung in the chestnut trees and made lovely colored reflections in the snow and ice. The children slid down the steep little hill that Miss Foote's house was perched on, and when

    they grew cold they went indoors for hot chocolate; and then they came out to slide some more. They never wanted to go home, for none of them had ever slid downhill by the light of Japanese lanterns before.
    For one slide Rachel got going with such momentum she not only slid down Miss Foote's short steep little hill, she kept right on going, and to her delight found herself sailing down a long gradual slope that seemed never to end. It was like movies of ski jumpers, she thought. On and on she went. If a prize were to have been given at this party for the longest slide she would surely have won it. When finally she stopped, she was in a big barren icy field with a few frozen spikes of last year's long grass sticking up here and there out of the snow. It was dark and there were no Japanese lanterns and no other children nearby sliding. Then suddenly she knew she was lost in the big dark ice field and she didn't know the way back.
    Rachel looked all around and before she had time to get frightened she saw a light twinkling, a dark red light. She thought it might be one of the Japanese lanterns, though how it had got way over here, all by itself, she did not understand. But it was reassuring to see it and she made her way toward
it. The light turned out to be in Speedys' barn. Mrs. Speedy was milking the cows by the light of a dark red lantern which was what Rachel had seen. Stepping into the barn was like stepping into a painting, a painting that was dark excepting where the red cows were, and Mrs. Speedy's ruddy face, the lantern, and the white milk that looked purple. Although Rachel had never been inside this place before, she had passed it from the outside, going up Shingle Hill on picnics. So she had figured in a second what place she was in. It was like waking from a dream to find herself this far from the party, like being in a surprising new world. But it was a relief to be somewhere and not sliding around in the bare empty field.
    Instead of trying to find the party again Rachel had run as fast as she could all the way to the Green, her sled bobbing along behind her and knocking into her heels, and then all the way home.
    Jerry had come home soon afterwards. No one at the party had missed her, not even Jerry. Rachel didn't tell anyone about being in the picture of Speedys' barn because it was a hard thing to explain. But it was