At a “home” in the country which the children of the slums are allowed
to visit for a short time in the summer, the following incident
occurred. A party of about one hundred youngsters was returning to the
city. The attendant noticed that one of the girls, Rosie, was walking
rather clumsily. This is the way the New York _Tribune_ tells the
story:
When the attendant heard a chorus of gibes all aimed at little
Rosie, she saw that the girl was wearing a pair of shoes of
large size. Then the attendant remembered that Rosie had had a
new pair of shoes, and the little girl was asked about it.
“Well,” said Rosie, “you see, the shoes ain’t mine. They’re
Katie’s. I know they’re awful big, but her mama ain’t had any
work lately, so she couldn’t buy her a new pair. She just gave
her own shoes to Katie.
“Katie felt awful bad about it, and cried all the way to the
station. The girls all laughed at her. I just lent her my new
ones and took hers.
“You see, teacher,” said Rosie, raising her eyes to the
attendant’s face, “Katie’s my friend.”
(1155)
=Friend, The, of Animals=--See KINDNESS, THE POWER OF.