IV.
DAISY'S SISTER FLOWERETS.
"GOODNESS gracious! mercy _me_!"
"I didn't mean to, Susy; 'pon my word and honor I didn't; just as sureas I'm alive."
Such were the words uttered by two different little voices which ourDaisy heard, as holding by General Forster's hand, she reached the gateof Miss Collins' garden on the first morning of her going to school inGlenwood.
Now would it not have been thought that some terrible misfortune musthave called forth that exclamation from the first young speaker; orthat the second thought herself accused of some dreadful crime, andthat she must prove her innocence at once by all the strong words shecould think of, if she would escape severe punishment?
And what was this mighty matter?
Why, just this.
Susy Edwards and several of her schoolmates were "making a land ofEgypt." For of late the geography lesson of the young class had beenupon that country, and they had been much interested in the picturesof the pyramids and Sphinx. And Susy, who "liked to make her knowledgeof use in her plays," and who was considered by the other children tohave a great genius in that way, had proposed that they should turn aportion of their play-ground into Egypt. This was thought a capitalplan, and the recess of the day before had been employed in thisway,--the little planners and builders leaving it with great regret,and returning to it before school-time that morning with fresh pleasureand some new ideas.
The gravel walk was supposed to be the desert; the trough which led thewaste water from the spring, the River Nile; while a jointed woodendoll, cruelly deprived for the purpose of all its limbs, had half ofits remainder buried in the gravel, to represent the Sphinx. Any numberof pyramids, four or five inches high, had been built out of pebbles,and several were still going up.
And Lily Ward, the pet and darling of the school, the youngest child,and till that day the newest scholar there, had brought that morning atiny doll's bath-tub, with a doll to match lying in it, saying it wasto be "Moses in the bulrushes, for it couldn't be a real land of Egyptwithout a Moses."
Lily's idea was received with great applause and admiration, and shefelt rather proud of it herself when she heard it so much praised.
But a difficulty arose. The little tub did duty for the ark ofbulrushes most beautifully, it was "so real and so cunning;" and neverwas a meeker baby than the one which lay so quietly within it. But hemust be hidden, and nothing could be found to answer for flags. Thegrass about the mock River Nile was quite too short for that purpose,trampled on as it was through each day's playtime by at least twentypairs of little feet; and the willow twigs which Lola Swan plantedwould not stand up straight enough to make a shade for the ark.
"There isn't time to plant them deep enough," said Lola; "theschool-bell will ring in a few moments, and then we'll have to leaveit."
"And the sun will go and come round here before recess," said Lily, ina tone of distress, "and Moses will be all sunburned. Besides, it isn'ta bit real: they never leave babies lying out in the sun."
"Put him out on the grass and turn the ark upside-down over him till wecome out again," said Susy.
But Lily scouted the idea of having her Moses treated in this way; andall began at once to deepen the holes for the willow twigs before thebell should ring.
But suddenly a bright thought struck Lily.
"Let's play Moses' mother and Miriam put a pyramid over him," she said."We could do that pretty quick, and it will be nice and shady for him,and very real too, 'cause they did have pyramids in Egypt."
All agreed readily, for this was thought an excellent arrangement, andthey fell to work as fast as possible; while Bessie Norton whispered toViolet Swan, "What a smart child Lily is, isn't she?"
"Yes," said Violet, in the same tone, "very; and I expect when she isgrown up she will do something very remarkable."
"What?" asked Susy Edwards, who heard them.
"Be a genius, I expect," answered Violet, solemnly.
"Oh, how nice!" said Bessie, who had not the least idea what geniusmeant, but did not like to say so.
The pyramid over the sleeping Moses was nearly completed, the littlebuilders expecting each moment to hear the bell, when Lola Swan, comingwith a fresh supply of pebbles, tripped over a stick which lay upon thegrass, and, trying to recover herself, let her load fall around andupon the half-built pyramid, knocking down half a dozen or so of thestones which composed it. Not much harm was done, but Susy immediatelyexclaimed,--
"Goodness gracious! mercy me!" and Lola answered as you have heard inthe words which met Daisy's ear as she and General Forster entered thegarden.
The click of the gate-latch caused all the children to look up, andMoses and the pyramids were for the moment forgotten at the sight ofthe new scholar.
"Why! there's Daisy Forster," said Lily, for Daisy was now known bythis name.
"I wonder if she's coming here to school," said another; and thatquestion was speedily answered, as, stopping by the little group, theGeneral, whom all knew and liked, said, "Here's a new schoolmate foryou. Will you be kind to her, and make her feel at home?"
"Yes, sir, we will; and I'll take care of her," said Lily, scramblingto her feet and taking Daisy's hand in a patronizing manner. "She won'tfeel much strange after one day, 'cause we'll all be good to her, andshe shall help us make our land of Egypt."
"Ah! that is what you are doing, is it?" said the General.
"Yes, sir," answered Lily; "we're just putting a pyramid over Moses inthe bulrushes, 'cause we hav'n't time to fix so many bulrushes tillrecess. And part of it is knocked down. Lola did it, but she didn'tmean to, and if you peep in there between those stones you can seea little bit of the ark and Moses' dear little china arm poking up.Please to peek, sir."
The General did as he was requested, saying that he saw Moses quiteplainly.
"It isn't much matter if we do have to leave him now," said Lily; "he'spretty nicely covered up."
"I think so," said the General, gravely; "and if I were Moses, with apyramid being built over me, I think I should prefer to have a smallbreathing-hole left."
"Why, so he would," said Lily; "and now we can leave him nicely fixed,and play he's very comfortable in his pyramid, even if it's not quitedone."
Lily being satisfied with the fate of Moses, all the rest were so; andthe bell now ringing, the little group turned towards the house. Daisywondering, as well she might, that a matter which was so easily settledshould call for such violent expressions of distress and alarm as shehad heard from two of the little girls.
"Why, Miss Collins," said General Forster, as that lady met them at thedoor, "what a bouquet of flowers you have here! A Rose, a Violet, aDaisy, and a Lily; as choice a nosegay as one could wish for."
"And the Lily is going to take care of the Daisy, and make her feelto home, Miss Collins," said Lily, who still held Daisy's hand. "TheGeneral said I could."
"No, he didn't," said Susy.
"Yes, he _did_, 'pon my word he did; least I said I would do it, and hedidn't say I couldn't: did you, sir?" said Lily, throwing back her headto look up at the General's tall figure.
"And that comes to the same thing, does it, Lily?" he said, laughing;"well, I suppose it does; and I promise you shall look after Daisy tillshe feels no longer a stranger among you."
"She knows me, and Loly and Violet, as well as any thing," said Lily;for the little girls had met several times before, and Lily feltherself and the two Swans to be on rather intimate terms with DaisyForster.
"All right, then. I leave her to you. Good-morning, Miss Collins," andwith a bow to the lady, with whom he had before made all the necessaryarrangements for Daisy, a pleasant nod for the little ones, and a kissfor Daisy, he went away.
Daisy felt rather lonely when he was gone, in spite of Miss Collins'kind look, Lily's tight clasp of the hand, and Violet's, "We have realnice times in school. Don't be afraid." For she was far more shy withchildren than she was with grown people, probably because she had neverha
d any companions of her own age; and the number of young faces, mostof them strange, about her, made her long to be back again at Mrs.Forster's side. And they all looked at her a good deal, for her storywas well known among them, and she was an object of great curiosity.
Lily observed this, as she took her seat with Daisy beside her, andthought she must speak up for her charge.
"Miss Collins," she said, "please to make a rule."
"Well," said Miss Collins, smiling; for Lily was constantly asking fornew rules concerning things which did not suit her. She had begun withthis more than a year ago when she was only a visitor at the school;and she was even now not a regular scholar, but only coming for a fewweeks. For her papa and mamma had gone on a journey, and Lily, beinglonely at home when Ella and the boys were at school, it had beenarranged that she was to go with Ella in the morning. So she was rathera privileged person, and spoke her mind freely concerning that whichdid not please her, which the other children thought rather a joke, andwere generally ready enough to fall in with Lily's rules. So now theyall listened.
"Please to make a rule that nobody must stare, ma'am," said Lily: "itmakes people feel so to be stared at,"--and Lily put up both hands toher cheeks,--"specially if they are new."
"Very true," answered Miss Collins: "let us all try to remember theGolden Rule, and then we shall neither stare nor do any thing else tohurt another's feelings."
Then she struck the little bell which stood upon her table, and allknew the school had begun, and they must be quiet.
Next calling Bessie Norton to her, Miss Collins gave her a number ofBibles, and the little girl handed one to each of her classmates. ThenMiss Collins read a verse aloud, and the children followed, each in herturn.
"Minnie Grey may take the Bibles," said Miss Collins when this was done.
Minnie rose, and went from one to another collecting the Bibles. Butinstead of taking as many as she could conveniently carry at one time,giving them to Miss Collins, and coming back for the rest, she went onpiling one on top of another, till one arm was quite full, when shecame to Daisy and held out her other hand for her book. As she did so,the top one of the pile fell to the floor. Minnie stooped for it, anddown went two or three more.
"Oh! bother the old things," said Minnie, in a low voice, but veryimpatiently.
Daisy had stooped to help her pick up the Bibles, but the glow hercheeks wore when she raised her head again was not all owing to that.
Bother the old things! What old things? Why, the Bibles, God's own HolyWord.
Daisy was very much shocked, and she looked up at Miss Collins,expecting to hear her reprove such _wicked words_, _she_ thought them.
But Miss Collins had not heard Minnie's exclamation, though the noiseof the falling books had called her attention that way, and she said,--
"Minnie, my dear, you are careless with those Bibles: do you forgetwhose books they are?"
"I don't care," muttered Minnie, but not so that the lady could hear.Daisy heard again; and the thought passed through her mind, "What awicked little girl Minnie must be!"
And yet Daisy was mistaken. If she had asked Minnie's parents,teacher, or playmates, they would all have told her that Minnie wasan uncommonly good and pleasant little girl; truthful, obedient,industrious, and generous and obliging towards others. She had nothought now that she was breaking one of God's commandments; and shewould have been both offended and grieved, if she had known what wasin Daisy's mind, believing herself, as she did, to be innocent of anywrong.
DAISY AT STUDY.
Daisy's Work: The Third Commandment Page 4