The school was closed one afternoon,
And all the girls were gone;
Some walked away in company,
And some walked on alone.
Some plucked the flowers upon the banks,
Some chatted very fast,
And some were talking secretly,
And whispered as you passed.
And if, perchance, a girl came near,
Then one of these would say,
"Don't listen to our secrets, Miss,
You'll please to go away."
As Nelly White ran home from school,
Her work-bag in her hand,
She chanced to pass near Lucy Bell,
And her friend Susan Brand.
"We don't want you," said Lucy Bell,
"You little tiresome chit;
Our secrets are not meant for you,
You little tell-tale-tit."
Then both girls cried, "Tell-tale-tit,"
And pushed her roughly by;
Poor Nelly said, "I'm no such thing,"
And then began to cry.
[Page 16--Girl's Stories]