STUMBLING BLOCKS.
On the following Monday at recess, Miriam called a meeting of the
B. S. S., and she and Winnie told the other two girls what they were
thinking of doing. But it was very hard work to make Gretta Berger
understand.
"Giants!" said she, "what do we care for giants? We're no longer little
children, that we should believe in such things."
"But don't you believe that we have faults that we ought to try to
conquer?" said Winnie.
"Faults! You'd think I had a million, if you'd hear my mother lecture
me; and my sister Josephine seems to think I never did do anything
right. I never suit either of them. I'm scolded from Monday morning till
Saturday night, and I don't want all my play-time taken up in the same
way."
"Oh, Gretta, who is going to scold you? I'm sure we'll all have enough
to do to watch over our own faults, without talking to you of yours."
"Didn't you say we were to help each other? How can we do that, if we
don't say anything when one of us does wrong? No, let our teachers and
parents and big sisters do that. I'm sure they seem to enjoy it well
enough."
"Enjoy it! Well, I'm sure we can't blame them. I don't know how else
they are to get even with you, when you never give in half your demerits
for the day, and sit and sulk for half an hour if you're told to stop
talking," said Miriam, with her usual heedlessness.
"Well. I'm not so lazy that I can't pin my collar on straight and clean
my finger nails; and as for killing giants, I think we'd better be
eating fruit and taffy than getting into a fuss by meddling with other
folks' affairs!" And Gretta flounced off in high dudgeon.
Winnie's eyes filled with tears. All this was so unlike anything she had
imagined, and now they had gotten into a quarrel the very first thing.
"Let her go, Winnie," said Fannie; "she's always getting into the sulks,
and her father's nothing but a music teacher, anyhow. I never could see
why you girls liked her so much. I'm sure I never did."
"No!" said Miriam sarcastically, "we can't all be the handsome daughter
of a wealthy and celebrated lawyer, more's the pity!"
Winnie's heart sank lower. How she wished she had tried to do right
herself, and let the other girls alone! Now Fannie would be angry, too.
But, to her surprise, Fannie laughed outright. "This is too absurd for
anything, girls. Here we were just about to sweep the world before us,
and now we've had our first quarrel for over a month. As for me, I
know I'm proud and vain, and I do like my friends to be rich and
distinguished. But papa says it isn't exactly well-bred to choose our
friends on such a basis, and he calls my pride silly, and tells me not
to be a--well, yes, he does--a snob. But I like to be proud. Perhaps,
though, someone else beside myself knows something, and I'll be glad to
join, and will try to like it when my toes are stepped on."
"Well," said Miriam, "I'm sure I beg your pardon, if I hurt the toes.
But I think your good-nature got the best of it. As for Gretta, you all
know she'll sulk just so long, anyhow, and when she gets tired of
it, she'll be all right; and if she once gets this thing through her
somewhat thick head, she'll want to join, too."
"My! but there's a lot of work before us! Do you know, girls, I actually
lay awake for an hour last night, wondering what faults I had, and now,
since this squabble, I've seen signs of half a dozen. It's taken all the
starch out of me. Don't I look limp?" And Miriam hung her hands and arms
so nervelessly and assumed such a vapid expression, that Fannie laughed
outright, and Winnie smiled through her tears.
"Well, there's one bad habit that we all have," said she decidedly.
"We're always saying, 'in a minute,' or 'by and by,' or 'to-morrow.' I
don't believe we'll get angry with each other over that, for it isn't
what my father would call 'a personal peculiarity.'" Winnie did like to
use big words.
"All right, Winnie, we'll all begin together, and you shall be the
captain of our first expedition against the foe."
Winnie went home somewhat comforted, but still quite unhappy about
Gretta. She longed to tell her mother all that had happened, but Mrs.
Burton was entertaining callers, and she was therefore obliged to
restrain her impatience.
On Tuesdays there were fewer recitations for her class than on other
days, and, having made good use of her study bells, she was quite
through before five o'clock, and concluded to take Ralph out for a
walk, so she called her mother to ask permission. Mrs. Burton was quite
willing, and said she might also go to the library and change her book.
Then she returned to her guests.
Winnie ran to ask Norah if she would help get Ralph ready. She found
her in the wooden rocking-chair in the cheerful kitchen, reading the
"Commercial Gazette," and "taking it easy," as she called it. Winnie
made her request in a very peremptory manner. Norah looked at her a
minute, and then said: "So you want me to dress Ralph, do you? Well, I
guess that want will have to be your master, for I don't intend to break
my back over the wash-tub all day, and, when I'm snatching a moment for
rest, be at the beck and call of a sassy little girl." So saying, Norah
returned to her newspaper, completely ignoring Winnie's presence.
Winnifred knew that it would be utterly useless to say anything more;
besides, she had been reproved by her mother more than once for her
way of speaking to Norah. But she was greatly disappointed, for now she
would either have to take Ralph dressed as he was, or leave him at home.
She finally concluded to do the former, so, hastily getting Ralph and
herself into their coats, they were soon in the street car.
Ralph, as usual, had numberless questions to ask. When they reached
Fountain Square, they got out, and Winnie, as she invariably did when
down town, crossed to the Esplanade to look at the fountain, of which
she never wearied. Ralph said he liked to see the little boys and girls
sprinkling, and then he must have a drink from the little boy with a
shell in his hand.
All this took up time, so that when they reached the public library it
was quite late. The delivery room, as usual at that hour, was crowded,
and, having handed in her card and list, Winnie sat down on one of the
benches to wait till her number was called. This took so long that Ralph
became restless and then sleepy, and when they were finally in the car
on their way home, he soon closed his eyes. Winnie knew that she would
have her hands full if he went to sleep, so she shook him, saying,
"Ralphie, Ralphie, don't you know that you mustn't go to sleep?"
"Me isn't s'eepy!" said the little fellow, poking his chubby fingers
into his eyes to keep them open; but, finding it quite hard work, after
a minute's consideration he added, "But there's somefin in my eyes,
'ough."
"Oh, Ralph, that's the Sandman; you mustn't let him throw sand in your
eyes in the street car!"
"No, me 'on't," said Ralph, making a desperate effort.
This little conversation seemed greatly to amuse an old gentleman
opposite. He took Ralph on his knee and let him play with his watch, and
kindly kept him awake until it was time for the children to get out.
When they reached home they found the family, with the addition of their
grandma, Aunt Kitty and Uncle Fred, all at supper, laughing and talking
in the happiest manner imaginable. Winnie was delighted. Aunt Kitty
was the dearest to her of all her aunts. She was young and gay and
good-natured, always ready to join in a frolic, or to help with one's
lessons, or to take the children and the children's visitors to the
"zoo" or the park or some other place equally delightful.
After supper they went into the sitting-room, and Winnie and Jack played
their last duet, which Aunt Kitty complimented quite highly. She said
to Mr. Burton, "Winnie does so nicely with her music that I hope you'll
allow her to make more of it soon. If she goes to the high-school next
year, she'll have more time to practice, won't she?"
"Yes, I think so," interrupted Uncle Fred. "She'll be putting on long
dresses, and practicing the airs of a young lady before the glass. But
she won't imitate you, Kitty; your ways will be too youthful for her by
that time," and he gave Winnie's braid a pull. "Isn't it singular?" he
continued meditatively. "Here Winnie will be growing older every year,
and Kitty just the reverse. I don't think she'll have another birthday
in ten years."
"Most assuredly not, if you'll tell me the way to avoid it. Winnie can
have my birthdays and her own, too," laughed Aunt Kitty.
If there was one thing in the world that Winnie resented as an
indignity, it was having her ears tweaked, and now she burst out:
"Grandma, do make Uncle Fred stop! I think he ought to have a good
scolding."
"Why, he's my baby," said grandma; "you wouldn't have me scold my baby,
would you?"
Winnie's expression at the novel idea of teasing Uncle Fred's being
anybody's baby was one of such amazement that they all laughed, though
Winnie herself hardly appreciated the joke.
"Never mind," said Uncle Fred, slipping a bag of chocolates into her
hands as a peace-offering, "you know I must tease someone, and your Aunt
Kitty is more invulnerable than Achilles himself, for I think that even
her heel was dipped."
"Oh, I have a vulnerable point," laughed Aunt Kitty, though a close
observer might have noticed a queer little sober look about her eyes
and mouth, "and it is this"--putting one of Winnifred's creams into
her mouth: "the absolute cruelty of giving someone else a paper of
chocolates while I'm present. By the way, Winnie, let's go into the
kitchen and make some taffy, while my mother instructs your mother how
to bring up children in the way they should go; for that she knows
how to do it, witness your Uncle Fred and myself as bright and shining
examples."
But for once Winnie held back. At last she said: "Norah won't like it;
she's cross to-day. She wouldn't help me get Ralph ready to go down
town."
"Oh, Winnie, I'm afraid you've been at your old tricks. But come on;
I'll manage Norah, and she has probably forgiven you before this."
This proved to be the case, and Norah, who was very fond of Aunt Kitty,
was so good-natured, not even grumbling about the "muss," that Winnie
felt as if she were having coals of fire heaped on her head; and, not to
be outdone in generosity, contritely begged Norah's pardon for the way
she had spoken to her in the afternoon.