Seven o'clock
Tea came very soon , and when it was cleared away father and mother came into the big kitchen without a fireplace , next to the children 's room , and they all had a splendid romp . Mr. Norton made himself into a tiger , with a tiger-skin in the hall , that Uncle Richard had brought home from India , and Olly shot him all over with a walking-stick from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail . When they were tired of this , mother set them to play hide-and-seek , and Milly hid herself in such out-of-the-way cupboards , and squeezed herself into such small corners , that mother said she was like a needle in a bundle of hay -- there was no finding her . Seven o'clock came before they had time to think about it , and the children went chattering and skipping up to bed , though on fine evenings they had been staying up much later . How the rain did rattle on the window while they were undressing . `` Oh , you tiresome rain , '' said Milly , standing by the window in her nightdress , and gazing up into the sky . `` Where does it all come from , I wonder ?