"The top of my head is very cold, and I shall have a fearful headache."
We soon reached the hotel and entered the office, where a warm fire
welcomed us. The little old man undid the muffler and handed it to me.
He then removed his hat, and I discovered _that it was of straw_, and,
also, that he was very bald.
My pity for the man was all gone in a moment. It could not be that he
had no other hat, for he was dressed well enough to own twenty hats. I
never found out what his reason was for wearing such a hat in the
winter.
I fell to moralizing presently; but I will not here write down my
reflections. Suffice it to say that every day in the year I meet
children, and grown people too, for that matter, who are "_wearing straw
hats in the winter_," and suffering various dreadful things in
consequence thereof. The very next time you get into trouble, before you
grumble and fret, see if it is not because you are _wearing a straw hat
in winter_.
[Illustration]