One morning when Bot'Chan was just one month old, his big brother Taro woke up very early. The birds woke him. They were singing in the garden. "See, see, see," they sang. "Morning is here! Morning is here!" Taro heard them in his sleep. He turned over. Then he stretched his arms and legs and sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes.
The candle in the tall paper lamp beside his bed had burned almost out, but it was light enough so he could see that Take, in her bed across the room, was still asleep, with her head on her little cushion.
Taro called very softly, "Take, Take, wake up!" But Take slept so soundly she did not hear him.
Father and Mother and the Baby were all asleep in the next room.
He did not want to wake them, because it was still so early in the morning. So he crept softly along the floor to Take's bed, and whispered in her ear, "Wake up, wake up!" But she didn't wake up. Then Taro took a jay's feather which he had found in the garden the day before, and tickled Take's nose!
First she rubbed her nose. Then she sneezed. Then she opened her eyes and looked at Taro.
"Sh-sh," whispered Taro.
"But I haven't said a single word!" Take whispered back.
"You sneezed, though," said Taro. "That's just as bad. It will wake up our honorable parents just the same.""Well, you shouldn't tickle my poor little nose, then," said Take.
"Your honorable nose was tickled so that you would wake up and hear the birds sing," said Taro. "It is much nicer than sleeping! Besides, do you remember what is going to happen to-day? We are going to take Bot'Chan to the Temple!"A temple is something like a church, only they do not do the same things in temples that we do in our churches.
The Twins loved to go to the Temple, because they had a very good time when they went there. They liked it as much as you like Thanksgiving Day and the Fourth of July.
When Take remembered that they were going to take Bot'Chan to the Temple, she clapped her little brown hands. "Oh, I'm so glad!" she said. Then she popped out from under the covers of her bed and stood up on the soft straw matting.
She was no sooner out of bed than from far away came the "Cling-cling-clang" of a great gong. And then, "Tum-tum-t-y-y-rum"rolled a great drum.
"Hark!" said Taro. "There go the Temple bells, and the priests are beating the sunrise drums! It's not so very early, after all.""Now, you'll hear Grannie's stick rapping for the maids to get up," Take answered. "The Temple bells always wake her."And at that very minute, "Rat-tat-tat" sounded Grannie's stick on the woodwork of the room where the maids slept.
In the little house in the garden where the Twins lived, there are no thick walls. There are only pretty wooden screens covered with fine white paper. These screens slide back and forth in grooves, and when they are all shoved back at once the whole house is turned into one big, bright room. This is why the Twins had to be so careful not to make any noise. Even a tiny noise can be heard all through a house that has only paper walls, you see.
But every one is supposed to get up at sunrise in the little house in the garden, anyway.
The maids were stirring as soon as Grannie called them. They rolled back the shutters around the porch and made so much noise in doing it that Father and Mother woke up too.
Then the Twins didn't keep so quiet any more. "I'll beat you dressing," Take said to Taro.
She ran to the bathroom to wash her face and hands, and Taro ran to wash his in a little brass basin on the porch.
"Be sure you wash behind your ears, Taro," Take called to him.
"And it's no fair unless you brush your teeth hard!"Taro didn't say anything. His toothbrush was in his mouth, and there wasn't room for words too. So he just scrubbed away as hard as he could. Then he ran back to his room and dressed so quickly that he was all done and out in the garden before Take began to put on her little kimono! You see, all Taro's clothes opened in front, and there wasn't a single button to do up; so he could do it all himself--all but the sash which tied round his waist and held everything together. Take always tied this for him.
When Take came out into the garden she had her sash in her hand.
Taro had his in his hand.
"I beat!" Taro called to her.
"You haven't got your sash on yet," Take called back.
"You haven't either," said Taro.
"We both of us didn't beat then," said Take. "Come here and I'll tie yours for you."Taro backed up to Take, and she tied his sash in a twinkling.
Then she held up her sash. "Now, you tie mine for me, Taro," she said.
"Wait until Mother can help you," said Taro. "Boys shouldn't do girls' work.""Oh, please, Taro," said Take. "I tied yours for you. I don't see why you can't tie mine for me!""Well, you know what Father said," Taro answered. "He said you are a girl and must mind me. You get Mother to do it.""He said you should be kind and noble, too," said Take. "It would be kind and noble of you to tie my sash, because I'm just suffering to have it tied." She looked at him sidewise. "Please do," she said.
Taro thought it over. Then he said, "Well, come behind the lantern, and just this once I'll do it. But don't you tell, and don't you ask me to again.""Cross my heart, Taro," Take promised. "I won't tell. You are a good, kind boy."Taro tied the sash the best he could, but it looked very queer.
It looked so queer that when, after a while, their Mother saw it she said, "Come here, my child; your sash is tied upside down!
But I know it is hard to reach behind you. I must teach you how to make a nice big bow all by yourself." And Take never told her that Taro did it. No one ever knew it until this minute!