'Lisbeth was quite down-hearted that day after sweeping the crossing;
she was discouraged enough, especially as her mother was greatly grieved
at her going away and staying so long, and reproved her very severely.
She felt very much discouraged indeed, but could not help believing in
spite of it all that something would turn up, which would be bright and
pleasant in such a fine city; she could not believe anything else.
As she came home that day she popped her head in the door of the room on
the lower floor, to see how matters were getting on there. She shut the
door again carefully, without saying a word. On the floor were scattered
many things, and in the corner, like so many leaves blown together, were
the three little boys fast asleep.
How tired they must have been; how hard they had played; indeed they had
played too hard, for near them on the floor lay the remnants of mother's
good sweeping brush which they had played quite to destruction. They
were tired completely, and never knew that 'Lisbeth had looked in
upon them to find out how they were getting along.
[Illustration]
I wonder what they were dreaming of as they slept; I believe they must
have been pleasant dreams, unless they were dreaming about the broken
brush--they were such comfortable-looking little faces, and they had
such comfortable hearts, because they were good, and comfortable hearts
help bring bright dreams.
When the mother came home I think she must have smiled to see them
heaped in the corner fast asleep, but I suppose she had found them
heaped in a corner asleep many a time. I hope she did not scold very
hard about the broken brush, and I am almost sure she did not.
'Lisbeth, as I said before, felt very much discouraged that evening. She
even felt dull the next morning, and the next afternoon. The mother had
gone out that afternoon to take home some sewing; the boys were playing
outside. 'Lisbeth had nobody to talk to. She concluded to talk to
herself.
She got up on a high three-legged stool in the corner, and sat with her
face to the wall; she wanted to think. She could not think if she was
looking out of the window, or around the room, or if she sat in
every-day fashion on a chair or on the floor. She sat in the darkest
corner she could find.
"'Lisbeth Lillibun," she said to herself, "you have done nothing for
yourself yet by coming to London; you have done nothing for yourself
yet;" and it seemed that all the glasses and crockery on the table, and
on the shelf, and even the coffee pot turned up on the stove to dry,
jingled and rattled and laughed; but, of course, they did not.
"You must be up and a-doing, 'Lisbeth; it is time;" then the tin tea
pot, and the coffee pot, and the candlestick turned up on the stove to
melt the old candle out, and the spider and the skillet and the dipper
seemed, every one of them, to be giggling, and 'Lisbeth looked around at
them; but of course it was only a fancy.
"You have been making a goose of yourself, and most of all in sweeping a
crossing dry for people to spatter with mud; you should be ashamed of
yourself to be such a silly, and sitting where you are instead of being
sitting somewhere else," and the tongs did clap together, and the poker
did roll over, and the gridiron did give a clink against the wall, but I
think the wind must have blown down the chimney.
'Lisbeth was insulted, however; she did not believe in the tins and
tongs making fun of her. She got down from the stool, and put her bonnet
on, and then changed it for her hat with a ribbon tied around it, and
then she went out where there were no tongs to clap at her; but of
course it was only a fancy of 'Lisbeth's about the tongs, for how could
a tongs clap unless it was clapped? It was wrong for 'Lisbeth to go out;
her place was in the house.
But she thought that it happened just as well that she did go out, for
as she went down stairs she thought a thought, which she might never
have thought had she remained sitting upon the stool.
She went down stairs and along the little street to the corner, and
opened the door of the store in the window of which stood the wax figure
with its wig, which was standing still just then, instead of turning
gracefully from side to side. She opened the door and went in.
"What do you want, Sissy?" inquired a pleasant little man.
"I want to stay, sir, and make wigs."
"You want to stay and make wigs!"
"Yes, sir, I do," replied 'Lisbeth.
"Bless me!" exclaimed the pleasant little man, "this will not do."
"Oh, yes, it will, sir," replied 'Lisbeth, untying the knot in the
strings of her hat, "it will do very well. I have not been able to think
of any thing that would do before."
"But bless me!"
"Indeed I will, sir, if that is all," said 'Lisbeth, wondering how to do
it, but taking off her hat.
"I don't want any wigs!"
"You don't?" replied 'Lisbeth, filled with astonishment.
"No, I don't; I really don't!"
'Lisbeth saw that he had plenty of hair, and as he rubbed his head she
supposed he was remembering this.
"Other people do," said 'Lisbeth, reassured; "I see a good many of 'm
every day who do; you can sell 'm."
"Sell 'm? I do sell 'm. I sell 'm when I can; but bless me!"
"Where shall I get the hair to make 'm of?" inquired 'Lisbeth, preparing
to go to work.
"But I don't want 'm!"
"Oh!" replied 'Lisbeth, not a word else; but the pleasant little man
snapped his fingers at her and beckoned her around the counter, and
under the shelf of the beautiful big window, and made her screw herself
up into a button which nobody could see, and pulled a curtain down over
her, and showed her, before he pulled the curtain down, how to pull a
wire very gently and tenderly to make the wax figure in the curled wig
turn from side to side, and she did it.
She pulled it this way, and she pulled it that way. She heard the people
outside tramping up to the window and tramping away; she remembered how
she had tramped up and tramped away. She laughed to hear them tramping,
because she knew that a great many of them had their mouths open as
well as their eyes, as they saw the wax figure, in a wig, turning from
side to side. She would never open her mouth as well as her eyes again,
when she saw a wax figure turning from side to side. She was certain she
never would.