PLEASANT NEWS FOR BUNNY.
"And now, Bunny," said Miss Kerr, as she led the little girl into
the library and took her on her knee, "I am afraid you have been a
very naughty child. I do not like to scold you, you know, but when
children are told to stay in one place they should do so, and not
run about all over the house in the way you seem to have been
doing."
"But you were so long away," replied Bunny, "and I was tired sitting
there all by myself. Sophie kept screaming at me not to touch the
flowers, so I had nothing to do."
"And what about the lesson? Did you learn that?"
"No, I didn't, it was so stupid," said Bunny, "I got quite tired of
it, and all the letters went wrong, so I thought I would go to the
nursery and play with my toys, and then when I went into the
dining-room there was nobody there, and I thought it would be great
fun to tease old Ashton, so I jumped on the chairs and poured water
into all the glasses, and he was so angry; and oh it was fun to see
his face when he cried out, 'Miss Bunny!'" and carried away with
delight at the recollection of her naughty trick, the little girl
clapped her hands and laughed long and merrily.
"But, my dear child, do you not know that that was extremely naughty
conduct?" said Miss Kerr gravely. "It is very wicked to make anyone
angry, and it was very unkind of you to play such a trick upon
Ashton. How would you like if he were to spoil your toys or break
your dolls for you?"
"Oh, I shouldn't like it at all," answered Bunny; "I'd be awfully
cross, and I'd get papa to send him away. That would be a good way
to punish him, I know."
"Well, Bunny, you think you could punish him but he has no way of
punishing you, so you should always be very careful not to annoy or
trouble him. Besides, my child, we should never do anything to other
people that we know we would not like them to do to us. God wishes
us to be good and kind to everyone about us, remember, and to be
unkind is to disobey Him."
"Oh, then, I'm very sorry that I was so naughty," cried Bunny, "for
Sophie told me this morning that God has been good and kind to me
always, for she says He gave me all the nice things I have, and my
papa and mama, so I should not like to vex Him when He has been so
kind to me."
"If my little Bunny will just remember that, whenever she feels
inclined to be naughty she will soon find it easy to be good, and
she will be a much happier child, for then she will know that she is
pleasing God who has been good to her."
"Oh, I will try, dear Miss Kerr, indeed I will," said the little
girl; "I'll be good and kind to God, and you, and papa, and mama,
because you are all so good to me;" and she laid her soft cheek
against Miss Kerr's face.
"That is right, darling," said the governess with a smile; "and now
that I have given you a little lecture, and you have promised to be
good, I have a piece of news to tell you that will, I am sure, give
you great pleasure;" and she smoothed the child's fair hair with her
hand.
"Good news! Oh, dear Miss Kerr, do tell me what it is," cried the
little girl eagerly.
"Well, I have been having a long talk with your mama, Bunny, and--"
"Oh, yes, I know that. I saw you talk, talk, talk, only I couldn't
hear what you were saying, because the window was shut."
"No, I suppose not, dear, but listen. Your mama says you have an
uncle in India who has a little son of seven years old--"
"Oh, I know that, Miss Kerr! Why, that's no news! Of course I know
about Uncle Jim and Cousin Mervyn. I never saw them though, but
still I know they are in India, an awfully hot place it is, Sophie
says."
"Yes, so it is. But would you like to see this Cousin Mervyn, do you
think?"
"Oh, I'd just love to see him--but is he black? Sophie says the
people in those countries are black. Oh, I shouldn't like a black
cousin, Miss Kerr, indeed I should not," cried Bunny in a piteous
voice.
"You little goose, he's not black at all," cried Miss Kerr, laughing
at the little girl's look of consternation; "I have never seen him,
but his papa is supposed to be like your mama, so I daresay he will
have fair hair, blue eyes, and pink cheeks something very like your
own."
"Oh, I'm glad he is like that, for indeed I could not bear a black
cousin. Once I had a black doll given to me for a present, and I
screamed and screamed till nurse put it away out of the nursery."
"It is certainly very lucky that your cousin is not black, for it
would never do to scream at him, would it?" said Miss Kerr, "for he
has arrived in London and is coming here with your papa to-morrow
evening."
"Oh, I am glad! Oh, I am glad!" sang Bunny, dancing round the room
on the points of her toes. "What fun it will be to have a little
cousin to play with! Will he stay long, Miss Kerr?"
"Yes, a long time, Bunny," answered the governess. "It is too hot in
India for him to stay there any longer--indeed they think he has
stayed there too long already, and your mama has promised to take
care of him until he is old enough to go to school."
"Oh, that will be a nice long visit," said the little girl; "he'll
be staying with us just as if it was home, and he was my own
brother."
"Yes, dear, just so. He will be like your brother, I am sure; and he
is to have his lessons with you. I am to teach you both."
"Yes, and I'll lend him my pony and I'll let him play with my
kittens. And oh, Miss Kerr, I'll give him tea out of my own little
tea-set; and we'll have such fun."
"Yes, dear, it will be very nice, and I hope that little Bunny will
be a good child and not make her cousin naughty and teach him
mischievous tricks."
"Oh, I'll be good, indeed, dear Miss Kerr. I won't want to be
naughty so much when I have someone to play with, for it's always
when I feel lonely that I want to play tricks on people."
"Is that so really, you poor mite? Well, you will not be lonely any
more, Bunny, and I hope you will try hard and learn to read soon.
When children can read they do not want a companion so much, because
they can read pretty stories about other children and so amuse
themselves for hours together."
"Oh, I don't want to read stories one bit," said Bunny with a pout.
"Sophie and mama read lots of stories to me, so it doesn't matter
whether I can read them for myself or not."
"And what will you do when you grow up, Bunny? Don't you think you
would feel very much ashamed if you could not read when you had
grown to be a tall lady?"
"Oh, no one would ever know, for I am sure people never ask grown-up
ladies if they can read. Do they, now? No one ever asks you or mama
if you know how to read."
"No, people never ask us if we can read, certainly, Bunny," answered
Miss Kerr laughing, "but they would soon find out if we did not, I
can tell you. People who cannot read seldom learn those things that
everyone should know, and so they are ignorant and stupid. Surely
you would not like Mervyn to beat you at his lessons, would you?"
"Oh, but he's older than me," said Bunny, "and, of course, he knows
a great deal more than me, and----"
"Than _I_, Bunny, say he is older than _I_ am," corrected Miss Kerr.
"Yes, he is older, but I do not think he knows more than you do. His
papa says he has never been taught anything but his letters, and he
can hardly speak English."
"Oh, dear! Does he only speak French then?" said Bunny with a look
of alarm.
"No, Hindustanee. That is the Indian language, you know, and as he
always had a native nurse he does not know English very perfectly.
But we will soon teach him, won't we, dear?"
"Oh, yes, it will be fun, and I'll try very hard to learn to read
well before he does! It will be nice to have a cousin, won't it? I
wonder what he's like. But I'm sure he'll be nice. I know he will.
Don't you think he'll be nice, Miss Kerr?"
"Yes, dear, I think it is very likely, but you will know all about
him to-morrow."
"Oh, I wish to-morrow would come, quick, quick!" cried Bunny; "the
days and the hours go over so slowly, and I do want to see that
little Indian."
"Poor little boy! I daresay he will be very tired and shy when he
arrives. It is a sad thing to leave father and friends and come
among strangers, Bunny," said Miss Kerr, and there were tears in her
eyes as she gazed out over the garden.
"Dear Miss Kerr, why should you feel sorry for Mervyn? I'm so glad
that he is coming here," said Bunny softly, and she put her little
hand into Miss Kerr's. "Why should you cry for him? We will be very
kind to him, you and I, and papa and mama."
"Yes, darling, of course," answered Miss Kerr stroking the little
hand. "But I was not thinking of Mervyn, but of someone I know, who
had to leave her dear home, her father and mother, and brothers and
sisters, to go be governess to a wild little girl, who did not care
to learn her lessons and did not love her at all."
"Why, that's like me and you! But I do love you; oh, I do love you!"
cried the child, and she flung her arms round Miss Kerr's neck.
"You are so good and kind, and I am sorry you had to leave your
little brothers and sisters, and I won't be wild, and I'll love you
very much."
"If you do, Bunny, you will make me very happy, and I think you will
soon be a very good little girl," and Miss Kerr kissed the eager
face over and over again. "But run away now and get ready for tea. I
have some letters to write for the post, and I shall just have time
if you run off at once."
"Very well," said Bunny jumping off Miss Kerr's knee. "I must go to
tell Sophie the news." And away she ran, calling, "Sophie, Sophie,"
as she went up the stairs.
"She has a good little heart, and will become a fine character in
time, if she is properly managed," said Miss Kerr to herself as the
child left the room. "But she has been terribly spoilt and
neglected. If the boy from India is as great a pickle as Miss Bunny,
I shall have my hands very full indeed," and with something between
a sigh and a laugh, Miss Kerr seated herself at the table and began
to write her letters.
[Illustration: Chapter decoration.]