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no more ribbons to lose, no more tangles. Anna feels cooler already.
    She studies herself in the mirror again, turning this way and that to admire her braids. They aren't blond and the ends don't curl, but Anna likes the way they feel. When she goes back to Baltimore, she plans to wear her hair in braids every day except Sunday. Even if she has to learn to do it herself. Even if her face is long and narrow. Even if her ears stick out. Even if Mother thinks she looks ugly.
    Turning away from the mirror, she hugs her aunt, who is just as pale and thin as she is.
    "Now, go get ready to take a swim," Aunt Aggie says.

SEVEN
Mud Monsters
    A NNA GOES BACK TO HER ROOM AND PULLS A union suit out of the bureau. Although she hadn't wanted to bring it, Anna is glad Mother insisted she'd need it if the weather turned cold. Except for the buttons up the front and the flap in the back, the union suit looks very much like a bathing costume. Maybe Theodore won't notice it's really her underwear.
    Anna runs outside, feeling very daring. If Mother saw her, she'd send her to her room for the rest of her life. She'd tell Aunt May that Anna was a disgrace. But Aunt May would just laugh. That would make Mother so cross she'd go home in a huff and refuse to speak to her sister for a week.
    Theodore is already in the pond when Anna arrives. She walks out to the end of the little wooden dock Uncle George built and watches him. He's floating on his back with his eyes closed. If he weren't an orphan, Anna would sneak up on him and duck him. But she's promised Aunt Aggie to be nice.
    Anna sits down on the end of the dock and dangles her feet in the water. It feels cool. She wants to jump in before Theodore sees her underwear, but she's just a little bit afraid of the pond. Suppose the bottom is muddy? Suppose there are fish that bite? Suppose there are snakes?
    Anna glances behind her. Aunt Aggie is sitting on the porch, keeping an eye on the children. Maybe she should go and ask her aunt about mud and fish and snakes and other dangerous things she hasn't even thought of.
    At that moment, Theodore opens his eyes and sees Anna. He starts to laugh. "I see Paris, I see France," he calls, "I see someone's underpants!"
    Anna feels her face turn bright red. She wants to turn around and run to her room and never come out, but instead she yells, "This is my bathing costume, you big dummy! In Baltimore, it's the latest style!"
    Theodore hoots. "I know underwear when I see it!"
    Anna is so mad she forgets about the mud and the fish that bite and the snakes. Planning to splash Theodore, she flings herself into the water and sinks into the mud on the bottom.
    Anna comes up spluttering. "Oooooh," she screams. "Oooooh!" The mud is slimy and it feels horrible. She slogs toward the shore, screeching, and Theodore chases her, splashing water all over her.
    Anna turns around to splash him and gets a face full of water. Without thinking, she bends down and scoops up two handfuls of black gooey mud. She throws them both at Theodore, hitting him right in the face.
    He throws mud at Anna. She throws more mud at him. The mud flies back and forth.
    "Stop it, Theodore!" Aunt Aggie cries from the dock. "Stop it, Anna!"
    The two of them stop and stare at each other. They are both streaked and smeared with mud. It coats their skin and cakes their hair. Anna has never been so dirty in her whole entire life.

    Safe and dry on the dock, Aunt Aggie begins to laugh. "All you two need is feathers," she says. "You've already been tarred!"
    Theodore looks at Anna. He laughs, too. "You should see yourself," he says. "Your own mother wouldn't know you!"
    Anna can't help giggling. Mother would be horrified but not so horrified she wouldn't recognize Anna. Running past Theodore, Anna throws herself face down in the pond and flops around like a fish, swishing herself clean.
    When she stands up, she sees Theodore rubbing more mud into his hair. Waving his arms, he prances through the water,