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　　Home from school
　　The quiet house was quiet no longer! The four children were back from boarding school, and wereeven now dragging in their trunks, shouting to one another. Kiki the parrot joined in the generalexcitement, of course, and screeched² loudly.
　　‘Aunt Allie! We’re back!’ yelled Jack³. ‘Be quiet, Kiki! I can’t hear myself shout!’
　　‘Mother! Where are you?’ called Dinah. ‘We’re home again!’
　　Her mother appeared in a hurry, smiles all over her face. ‘Dinah! Philip! I didn’t expect youquite so soon. Well, Lucy-Ann, you’ve grown! And Philip, you look bursting with health!’
　　‘I don’t know why,’ grinned Philip, giving Mrs Cunningham a big hug. ‘The food at school isso frightful⁴ I never eat any of it!’
　　‘Same old story!’ said Mrs Cunningham, laughing. ‘Hallo, Kiki! Say how do you do!’
　　‘How do you do?’ said the parrot, solemnly, and held out her left foot as if to shake hands.
　　‘New trick,’ said Jack. ‘But wrong foot, old thing. Don’t you know your left from your rightyet?’
　　‘Left, right, left, right, left, right,’ said Kiki at once, and began marking time remarkably⁵ well.
　　‘Left, right, left …’
　　‘That’s enough,’ said Jack. He turned to Mrs Cunningham. ‘How’s Bill? Is he here too?’
　　‘He meant to be here to welcome you all,’ said Mrs Cunningham, Bill’s wife. ‘But he had asudden ’phone call this morning, took the car, and went racing⁶ off to London all in a hurry.’
　　The four children groaned⁷. ‘It isn’t some job that’s turned up just as we’re home for the Easterhols, is it?’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘Bill’s always got some secret work to do just at the wrong time!’
　　‘Well, I hope it isn’t,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘I’m expecting him to telephone at any moment tosay if he’s going to be back tonight or not.’

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