Mother started upstairs, with Ellie following at her heels.
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Mother decided she might as well wash all the bedding, too, so she began to throw armfuls of blankets and covers down the stairs. She called to Roy, who was in the kitchen watching the twins, to come take the covers from the stairs so she and Ellie could walk down with the straw ticks. Roy took an armful, obediently placing it on the kitchen floor. But one of the twins was curiously investigating the stove. Knowing the danger she was in, Roy picked her up and placed her in another part of the room. By this time, the other baby was in trouble. Reaching up, she had pulled a small plant from the windowsill. Roy picked it up and began to scoop up the dirt when he heard a thump, thump, thump all the way down the stairs. There was a shrill screech, and he looked around to see his mother lying there with the straw tick on top of her.
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"Roy Maust," she said, "didn't I tell you to take those covers off the stairs? Now see once what happened. I stepped on them and they bumped me all the way down." She got up and smoothed her hair, straightening her covering and dress. "Why didn't you do as I told you?"
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Roy explained about the babies.
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"Ach, well," said Lizzie, "those two sure can upset things." Then she laughed. "They really can," she said. "They upset me.'' Realizing now that their mother was not hurt, Ellie and Roy laughed, too.
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"Oh, Mama," Ellie said. "You looked so funny bumping down the steps."
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