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She asked him many a curious question about the "Flowery Kingdom," and one day she learned that "we never send our finest teas out of China." Yes "we" said the washee-washee-wang, as the neighbor-boys called him. Cheerfully, in his fine blue linens, the little Chinese house-boy worked in his cabin a portion of every day. The bluebirds came close to sing to him and so did the red-breasted robins.
Lucy's face shone too, just to hear the words of the mysterious little "Washee-washee-wang," in fact she had been radiant ever since she had first thought of making a Santa Claus of him. She wondered how he would look to her mother's friends on Christ Child night, wearing his "celestial" robes.
Irish Nora and the parrot became very civil, and he grew fond of Charlie and Lucy. Some of the boys on their way to and from school made his only real annoyance. Sometimes when his smoothing-iron was moving silently under his loose-sleeved hand, or he was hanging the snowy clothes on the lines, they would hide behind a tree or corner, and shy sticks at him calling, "washee-washee-wang!"
Nobody cried, "Washee-washee-wang!" He often rode with them in the carriage. People looked at him, to be sure, but only with interest the fame of his accomplishments in the English language had gone abroad. It was a beautiful early summer day, the white daisies waving in the west wind. Crossing the field, from a little green hill the children prepared to send up the new kite.
Again, a day or two before the holiday of Good Will, Sky-High's mistress asked him to take his wages. "Keep it for me, mistress," said the boy as before. "Sky-High, he works for the good of his people." Mrs. Van Buren stood pondering the words. What meant the little Washee-washee-wang?
Cannon rent the morning silence, and everywhere there were crackers bursting. Even the milkmen fired them as they went on their early way. Sky-High danced about. "You have Cracker Day! It is all same as China!" he said. Some of the Milton boys who had many bunches of fire-crackers, good-naturedly thought they would startle little Washee-washee-wang at his work.
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