"I like my little girls to be tidy and neat in their rooms; but I think
mother knows best how the furniture should stand, and where the things
look nicest. So I suggest that we call our society the Bedroom _Dusting_
Society. I will give you each a little cloth, and you shall dust your
rooms every morning after nurse has made the beds. And _once a week_ I
will award a prize."
Then mother drew her hand forward and held before their eyes a Japanese
fan, with a long handle, to which was tied a dainty bow of blue ribbon.
"This," she said, "shall be given next Saturday to the tidiest of the
four members of your society. Now, what do you think of my plan?"
"It's just splendid, mother darling!" was the unanimous cry of the
listeners; and a tangle of soft loving arms nearly throttled her in a
sudden embrace.
"And you _know_," came in a plaintive voice from Norah, "if you always
give us a pretty thing like that for a prize, it _will_ be the Bedroom
_Decorating_ Society, too!"