Madge A. Bigham

The Architect's Help

T HE next morning while Mother Gipsy was bathing Joe-Boy, she told him all about the new house she and Father Gipsy were going to build for him, and Joe-Boy laughed and crowed and jumped just as if he understood every word.

"Yes," said Mother Gipsy, finding a new dimple to kiss, "we are building this house for you, sir, because we love you so, and right this very minute, Father Gipsy is on his way to town to buy a pattern to make it by!"

Then she laughed to think of a pattern to make a house by. But dear me, don't you have to have patterns to make dresses by? Then how could you make a house without a pattern, I'd like to know? Only we would call them plans, and not patterns, as Mother Gipsy did. Well, sure enough, while she was talking, Father Gipsy was walking very fast down the street, and by and by he came to an office in the town, with "Architect" written over the door.

"This must be the place," said Father Gipsy, "because architect means a man who makes plans to build houses by. I shall go right in and see him about Joe-Boy's house."

Sure enough there sat the architect at a big table, busily drawing the pictures of houses. There were ink and pens and pencils and paper all over his table, and he was as busy as busy could be.

"Oh yes," he said to Father Gipsy, "I draw plans for houses—large ones and small ones, brick houses, plank houses and stone houses—let me show you some."

So Father Gipsy sat down by the table, and the architect took down a big book full of houses and told him to look for the one he liked the best. There were so many pretty ones, though, that Father Gipsy could hardly tell which one he did like the best, but at last he found the very thing. A pretty cottage with a porch all around it and five rooms—a kitchen, a dining room, a parlor, a bed room and a play room for Joe-Boy.

So Father Gipsy took out his big leather pocket book and gave some of his dollars to the architect for the house plan, and then he hurried to the tent to show it to Mother Gipsy and see how she liked it.

"Why, it's just the thing," said Mother Gipsy, "all the rooms and the porch just as I wished. How nice it is to have architects to help us build our houses. I'm sure I thank this one very much, for drawing such a beautiful plan for the other workmen to look at while they build Joe-Boy's house. Now I will tell you what I am going to do, Father Gipsy. I shall take this piece of paper and tack it to the tree by the tent door, and then I shall write on it the names of every workman that helps us build Joe-Boy's house. Isn't that a good way not to forget our helpers?"

"There now!" said Mother Gipsy, laughing, "that will help us to remember." Then they went into the tent to tell Joe-Boy about it.