Mary Charlotte had a silly habit of screaming when she saw a spider, an
earwig, a beetle, a moth, or any kind of insect; and the sound of a
mouse behind the wainscot of the room made her suppose she should die
with fright. The persons with whom she lived used to pity her for being
afraid, and that made her fond of the silly trick, so that she became
worse daily, and kept the house in a constant tumult and uproar: for she
would make as much noise about the approach of a poor insect not much
larger than the head of a pin, as if she had seen half a dozen hungry
wolves coming with open jaws to devour her.
Mary Charlotte was once asked by Mrs. Wilson, a very good lady, to go
with her into the country, and Mary was much pleased at the thought of
going to a house where there was a charming garden and plenty of nice
fruit. But the country is a sad place for people who encourage such
foolish fears, because one cannot walk in a garden or field without
seeing numbers of harmless insects.
Mrs. Wilson, with her coach full of guests, arrived at her country-house
just before dinner, and as soon as that meal was over, Mary begged leave
to go out into the shrubbery. It was a charming place, and Mary was
quite delighted with the clusters of roses and all the sweet-smelling
shrubs and flowers that seemed to perfume the air. But as she was
tripping along, behold on a sudden a frog hopped across the path. It was
out of sight in a moment, yet Mary could go no farther; she stood still
and shrieked with terror. At the same instant she saw a slug creeping
upon her frock, and she now screamed in such a frantic manner that her
cries reached the house. The company rushed out of the dining parlour,
and the servants out of the kitchen. Mrs. Wilson was foremost, and in
her haste to see what was the matter, she stumbled over a stone, and
fell with such violence against a tree, that it cut her head dreadfully;
she was covered with a stream of blood, and was taken up for dead.
It was soon known that the sight of a frog and a slug was all that
ailed Miss Mary, and then how angrily and scornfully did every one look
at her, to think that her folly had been the cause of such a terrible
disaster. Mary Charlotte had not a bad heart, and when she heard Mrs.
Wilson's groans of pain while the doctors were dressing her wounds, she
wept bitterly, and sorely repented her silly unmeaning fears.
Mrs. Wilson was in great danger for many days, and Mary crept about the
house in the most forlorn manner, for no one took any notice of her, and
she dared not go out in the garden, for fear still of meeting some mighty
monster of a snail, or something equally alarming. At length Mrs. Wilson
grew better, and then she sent for Mary to her room, and talked to her
very kindly and very wisely on the folly of fearing things which had not
the power to hurt her, and which were still more afraid of her than she
could be of them--and with reason, since she was stronger, and had far
more power to hurt and give pain than a thousand frogs or mice had.
Mary promised that she would try to get the better of her fault, and she
soon proved that her promise was sincere.
One day she was with Mrs. Wilson in her chamber, and this good lady,
being fatigued and sleepy, gave Mary a book of pretty stories to divert
her, and begged the little girl would make no noise while she slept.
Mrs. Wilson lay down on the bed, and Mary sat on a stool at some little
distance. All was as still as possible. After some time, as Mary chanced
to lift her eyes from her book, she saw not far from her a spider, who
was spinning his web up and down from the ceiling. She was just going to
scream, when she thought of the mischief she had already done to Mrs.
Wilson, and she forbore. At the same moment, as she turned her head to
the other side, a little gray mouse sat on the table, nibbling some
crumbs of sweet cake that had been left there. Mary now trembled from
head to foot, but she had so much power over herself that she neither
moved nor cried out. This effort, though it cost her some pain at first,
did her good, for in a minute or two she left off trembling. Her fear
went away by degrees, and then she could observe and wonder at the
curious manner in which the spider spun long lines of thread out of its
own mouth, and made them fast to each other and the wall just as he
pleased; and could also admire the sleek coat and bright eyes of the
little gray mouse on the table. Mary's book slipped from her lap, and as
she stooped to catch it, that it might not fall on the floor, she was
seen by the two visitors, who instantly fled away to their retreats in
the greatest fright possible. Neither spider nor gray mouse appeared
again that day; and ever after Mary Charlotte had courage and prudence,
and took care not to do mischief to others, nor deprive herself of
pleasure, by the indulgence of foolish fears.