[Sidenote: Giggling at Nothing]
Miss Mayne’s room was as still as a busy school-room can be, when a
little crackling giggle broke the stillness. Such a noise always stirred
Miss Mayne, who prided herself upon her discipline, as a fly stirs a
light sleeper. It affected her as a personal affront.
“Marian, what are you giggling about?”
“Nothing,” says Marian in a stifled voice.
“Don’t tell me that. What were you giggling about?”
“I don’t know. The other girls were, and I giggled, too.”
“Mattie, were you giggling?”
“Yes, ma’am, I s’pose I was. But I don’t know what I was giggling about,
either.”
“Well, then, I think I’d stop. I can’t see the sense in laughing about
nothing. Let’s have no more of it.”
Silence for a little while. Then a perfect gale of chirping, gurgling,
little-girl laughter—as cheerful a human sound as exists for the
child-lover, perhaps because of its very meaninglessness, its
spontaneity, its birth in healthy animal spirits. But Miss Mayne must
uphold her reputation as a disciplinarian. And this time she knows who
started the epidemic.
“Lulu, you began that giggling, didn’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“What is so funny?”
“I don’t know, Miss Mayne, truly I don’t. I just have the giggles.”
“I never heard of anything as senseless as this thing you call ‘the
giggles.’ You may come up here and stand in the corner until you get
over ‘the giggles.’”
Up to this time Lulu had been simply a lively little girl with impulses
under poor control; but at this punishment she became a resentful one.
At first she was inclined to turn around and make faces at the other
girls, but, as they were afraid to smile in appreciation, this grew
monotonous, and soon Lulu began to think of herself as badly abused. She
had never been taught at home that giggling is a sin; she had an idea
that she was very unjustly treated, and her sense of fairness was
outraged.
The next day Lulu, who was a prime favorite and a leader of the girls,
began systematic teasing of Miss Mayne. She persuaded the other girls to
annoy the teacher with a constant irritating succession of coughs
whenever she started to explain anything. Mattie was to say that the
room was too close, and when the windows had been opened Muriel was to
complain of the cold, and the rest were to join in a storm of coughing.
This program was carried out, and with great success. Miss Mayne finally
saw that she was being hectored, and took revenge by standing three
girls and one boy, who had joined in the fun of his own accord, on the
platform. Here they had great fun, standing with grave faces, pretending
to study, until a good chance came to make a face at Miss Mayne. Lulu
capped the climax by asking Miss Mayne to put a cold compress upon her
throat, as she said this always relieved a cough for her. She folded a
handkerchief and dipped it into cold water, and Miss Mayne, looking into
her upturned pitiful face, did not know whether to forgive and pity her
or to shake her. She finally decided to shake her, which made Lulu
really sober for once and temporarily restored the peace.
Lulu was a good girl for several days after this, but when her high
spirits demanded another good time in school, she found similar means of
leading the other girls and boys into mischief. There was an
intermittent feud between her and Miss Mayne, in which the teacher
usually came out second best. Miss Mayne had to admit to herself that
although her school was sometimes as good as could be desired, when Lulu
wanted to she could lead the whole room into a maddening course of
annoyance that spoiled the order and spirit of the day.