four
o'clock
The girls tossed the crusts of the sandwiches to the edge of the water and the swans bent their long necks and picked them up and ate them , every crust , so daintily just as though crusts were a diet fit for kings -- and swans . The swans did n't actually come out of the water , but they came so close to the shore that the girls could almost touch them and they soon got to feeling very well acquainted . So it was with some regret that they heard Mr. Merrill say , `` Well , girls , were n't we to see some of the other parks too ? '' And here it was four o'clock ! The basket was packed -- and there was n't a scrap of anything a swan could eat , you may be sure of that -- and they strolled down to the roadway . In a minute or two Mr. Merrill hailed a passing taxi and they settled themselves for a nice long ride . They did n't stop at any other park ; Mary Jane was sure no other could be as interesting as the one where she had had such exciting experiences and Alice was quite as content as her father and mother to sit back , cool and comfortable , and see the beautiful flowers and shrubbery slip past them .