When the Twins woke up the next morning it was cold, and the rain was beating on the roof. They couldn't look out of the window to see it, because there were no glass windows in their house. There were just the pretty screens covered with white paper.
Taro slid one of the screens back and peeped out into the garden.
"It's all wet," he said to Take. "We can't play outdoors today.""We'll have a nice time in the house, then," said Take. "I can think of lots of things to do.""So can I, if I try," Taro said.
"Let's try, then," Take answered.
They thought all the time they were dressing. They put on three kimonos because it was cold. It made them look quite fat.
"I've thought of one," Take called just as she was putting on the last kimono.
"I have, too," Taro said.
"You tell me and I'll tell you," Take begged.
"No, not until after breakfast," Taro answered. "Then first we'll play one and then the other."After breakfast Mother was busy waiting upon Father and getting him off to his work. Then she had to bathe the Baby. So the twins went to Grandmother for help.
"O Ba San" (that means "Honorable Grandmother"), Take said to her, "it is rainy and cold, and Taro and I have thought of nice games to play in the house. Will you get the colored sands for us?""I know what you're going to do!" cried Taro.
Grandmother brought out four boxes. In one box was yellow sand.
In another was black sand. The other two were filled with blue and red sand. Grandmother brought out some large pieces of paper.
"Thank you, O Ba San," the Twins said.
They spread the paper on the floor. Taro had one piece, and Take had another.
"I'm going to make a picture of a boat on the sea," said Taro.
He took some of the blue sand in his right hand. He let it run through his fingers until it made a blue sea clear across the paper.
"And now I'm going to make a yellow sky for a sunset." He let the yellow sand run through the fingers of his left hand.
"I'll put some red clouds in it," he said. Then he let red sand run through his fingers.
When that was done he took some black sand. He made a boat.
This was the way his picture looked when it was done, only it was in colors. The sail of the boat was blue.
"Oh, Taro, how beautiful!" Take said. "Mine won't be half so nice, I'm sure. I'm going to make--I'm going to make--let's see.
Oh, I know. I'll make the pine tree beside the pond."She took some blue sand and made the little lake. Then she took the black sand and made the trunk of the tree and some branches.
She spilled a little of the black sand. It made black specks.
"Oh, dear!" she cried. "I've spilled."
Taro looked at it. "Put the green leaves over the spilled place," he said.
"It isn't the right place for leaves," Take said.
She took some blue sand in one hand and some yellow in the other.
She let them fall on the paper together. They made the green part of the tree.
"I know what I'll do about the black that spilled," she said.
"I'll call it a swarm of bees!"
This is Take's picture. You can see the bees!
"I think your picture is just as good as mine," said Taro.
"Oh, no, Honorable Brother! Yours is much better," Take answered politely.
They showed them to Grannie when they were all finished. Grannie thought they were beautiful.
"Now, Taro, what's your game?" Take said when the sand was all put away.
"I have to go out into the garden first for mine," Taro said.
"Put on your clogs and take an umbrella, and don't stay but a minute," Grannie said.
Taro put on his clogs and opened his umbrella, and ran into the garden.
Take couldn't guess what he wanted. She watched him from the door.
Taro ran from one tree or vine to another. He looked along the stems and under the leaves. He looked on the ground, too. Soon he jumped at something on the ground, and caught it in his hand.
"I've got one," he called.
"One what?" Take called back.
"Beetle," Taro said.
Then he found another. He brought them in very carefully, so as not to hurt them.
In the house he put them into a little cage which he made out of a pasteboard box. Then he got more paper and a little knife.
"Oh, Taro, what are you going to make?" Take asked.
"If you and grannie will help me, I'll make some little wagons and we'll harness the beetles," Taro said.
"Won't it hurt them?" Take asked.
"Not a bit; we'll be so careful," Taro answered.
So Take ran for thread, and Taro got Grannie to help him. Grannie would do almost anything in the world for the Twins. And pretty soon there were two cunning little paper wagons with round paper wheels!
Taro tied some thread to the front of each little wagon. Then he opened the cage to take out the beetles.
One of the beetles didn't wait to be taken out. He flew out himself. He was big and black, and he flew straight at Take! He flew into her black hair!
Maybe he just wanted to hide. But he had big black nippers, and he took hold of Take's little fat neck with them.
Take rolled right over on the floor and screamed. Her Mother heard the scream. She came running in. The maids came running too to see what was the matter.
"Ow! Ow!! Ow!!!" squealed Take. She couldn't say a word. She just clawed at her neck and screamed.
Everybody tried to find out what was the matter.
"I know--I know!" shouted Taro.
He shook Take's hair. Out flew the beetle!
Taro caught him. "He isn't hurt a bit," he said.
"But I am," wailed Take.
Mother and Grannie bathed Take's neck, and comforted her; and soon she was happy again and ready to go on with the play.
She and Taro harnessed the beetles with threads to the little wagons. But Take let Taro do the harnessing.
"You can have that one, and I'll have this," Taro said; "and we'll have a race."He set the beetles on the floor. They began to crawl along, pulling the little carriages after them.
Taro's beetle won the race.
They played with the beetles and wagons a long time until Grannie said, "Let them go now, children. Dinner will soon be ready."The Twins were hungry. They unharnessed the beetles and carried them to the porch. They put them on the porch railing.
