He said "By all means, my dears."

Tom became gardener. You can guess who were the others. A very

gentlemanly one he was, too. Full of nice bows and smiles. As for Eva,

she looked quite the grown lady, and acted so well, that when she put

her hand in her pocket for her purse, Edwin was quite surprised to find

that only threepenny and fourpenny pieces came out of it.

"Now what sort of bouquets would your ladyship like me to cut?" asked

Tom, holding up a very pretty rose before his sister.

"I have consulted his lordship, here," answered, Eva, very grandly, "and

I'll have ten dozen in five minutes, like this one in my hand!"

"I'm pleased, your ladyship," said Tom, respectfully, "that you give me

plenty of time to execute so large an order, or I might not have been

able to have come up with them to time!"

"Oh! great people are never in a hurry," quietly remarked Edwin.

Tom cut all the flowers he knew could be spared from the greenhouse, and

her ladyship and his lordship took them and gave them to a poor girl

whose sick mother wanted some little pleasure; and the girl sold the

flowers for gentlemen's button-holes.

When Mr. Woffles heard all about it, he was very pleased, and kissed the

little Woffles all round. Wasn't it a nice game for rich children to

play at; to do good to poor ones?

[Illustration: The Little Cooks]

_When children try their best to please,

It makes them good and kind,

And gives to those they love some ease,

And ev'ry comfort find._

Sugar and Spice: Comical Tales Comically Dressed · 第 7 / 13 题