WHEN SCHOOL BEGINS
Timothy was glad to see Lucy and Dora come home. He looked fat, and
Marion Baker said he had slept in the kitchen every night but one. On
Wednesday evening he chose to visit his friends. But Timmy had evidently
been lonesome, for he purred loudly and followed the children up to their
room. As soon as the suit-case was opened, he got into it to see whether
they had brought anything for him. Dora had done so. There was in the
suit-case a stalk of catnip for Timothy.
Some mail and papers were at the house and when Mother looked over the
letters there was one for Dora from Miss Chandler, whom she called Aunt
Margaret.
Dora planned to answer the letter on Sunday. There was much to tell about
the beach. Only, when she began to write, she thought of Arcturus and
felt quite sad. When she spoke of him, Mother suggested that Dora should
tell Miss Chandler how Arcturus had run away. It was right that she
should know, because she gave Dora the little bear.
To write about it in a letter was easier than speaking of it when she saw
Miss Chandler, so Dora wrote what had happened and how sorry she was.
Then she told her about the nice time at the beach, and what fun it was
to sleep in a tent, and how she and Lucy rode home sitting on a roll of
blankets in the back of the truck.
When the letter was finished, Mother looked at it. She told Dora about
one word which was spelled wrong and said that the writing looked neat.
Then she told Dora how to direct the envelope and gave her a postage
stamp from Father’s desk.
Dora stuck the stamp on the proper corner and put the letter in the box
on the post by Mr. Giddings’ drug-store. Then she came back to the house
and read the “Story of Doctor Dolittle.” She thought it was one of the
most interesting and funniest stories she had ever read. She tried to
have Lucy enjoy it, but Lucy liked “What Katy Did” better.
After supper that Sunday night, Dora followed Mother into her bedroom.
“I have a plan,” she said. “Mother, you know Aunt Margaret told me that
her birthday is the same as mine. Both are next Friday. I would very much
like to make her a birthday present, Mother. You see she gave me Arcturus
and the other little charms. And anyway, it would be nice, because she
was so kind to us in the vacation school.”
Mrs. Merrill thought this was a nice plan. She asked Dora what she wanted
to give Miss Chandler.
“I have twenty-five cents,” said Dora, “which I earned picking
blackberries. I thought I could buy her some paper to write letters on.”
“I think,” said Mrs. Merrill, “that Miss Chandler would like better a
gift which you made for her. You know you did some cross-stitching for
the bedspread this summer. Haven’t you still the paper with the pattern
showing the colored squares?”
Yes, Dora still had the paper pattern of the roses.
“I am going to the city to-morrow,” said Mrs. Merrill. “Would you like me
to buy a bit of the canvas they use for cross-stitching, and four skeins
of colored cotton? Then you could make a pincushion for Miss Chandler
with the cross-stitched roses on it. I have a piece of pretty white linen
you may use for the top, and I will help you put the cushion together.
Don’t you think that would be a nice present?”
Dora was perfectly delighted with Mother’s plan. She begged her to find
the piece of white linen at once, and when she saw it, she was sure that
it would make an unusual cushion. She was so afraid that Mother would
forget what an important errand that canvas was, that she took a pencil
and wrote it down on a piece of paper and stuck the paper into Mother’s
purse, where she could not fail to see it.
Next morning school began. Lucy and Dora were glad, for both liked to go
to school. Lucy was one grade ahead of Dora and so each year, Dora had
the teacher Lucy was leaving. Because she heard Lucy talk about them at
home, she felt acquainted immediately, and it was not hard to change
into a higher grade.
This year Lucy was sorry to leave Miss Leger, and she was not sure she
should like Miss Scott, into whose room she was going. Some of the older
girls did not like her.
While Mother was tying their hair-ribbons, Lucy spoke to her about it.
Mother did not think Miss Scott would be cross.
“If you learn your lessons, Lucy, and behave yourself as well as you
should do, your teacher will not be cross. It is only sick or naughty
children who can’t get on at school.”
Lucy admitted that Mother’s advice sounded sensible, and she and Dora
started for school. Lucy had on a white waist, which had buttoned to it
a pink plaid kilted skirt. On the waist was a collar of the pink plaid
gingham. When Mother planned that dress, Lucy did not think she should
like it, but now the dress was made, she liked it very much.
Dora wore a new dress, too. Hers was a loose blue gingham which was
smocked at the shoulders and had a round white collar. They both wore
socks and sneakers, because Mother thought best to save their leather
shoes for colder weather.
All the children seemed glad to come back to school. All the little girls
wore clean crisp dresses, slipped on five minutes before they started for
the schoolhouse. All the little boys had clean shirt-waists and their
hair brushed back very hard and very wet.
The children went into the rooms belonging to their new grades. Lucy
hoped to get a back seat in a row of desks, for all the girls considered
the back seats the most desirable. Lucy didn’t get the seat she wanted,
but the one she did get was the third from the back, and beside a
window, so that was not so bad.
Dora didn’t care where she sat, and this was lucky, because Miss Leger
told the children to stand, and then arranged them according to how tall
they were, with the smallest ones in front. This put Dora in the first
seat of all, but she liked it as well as any other.
Everything went well until recess and then an accident happened to
Dora. The little girls were playing tag on the grassy grounds about the
schoolhouse. The older girls were walking up and down with arms around
each other’s waists, talking of the many things which had happened during
the long vacation.
Dora was playing with five other little girls and running as fast as she
could when suddenly something hit her hard and everything turned black.
The next Dora knew she was lying flat on the soft grass and Lucy was
holding her hand and one of the big girls was putting water on her face.
And ever so many girls were standing around and looking at her.
“What is the matter?” asked Dora. “What hit me?”
“You and Marion Baker ran into each other,” said the big girl who was
mopping her face.
Dora thought this odd. She had not even _seen_ Marion. How queer that she
could run into a person whom she didn’t see!
The next second Dora discovered that her lip was cut and bleeding. It
hurt worse than her head and the blood was dropping on the pretty blue
dress which had been so fresh and clean that morning.
When the littler girls saw the blood-stains, they were frightened. Some
of them ran to tell Miss Leger that Dora was hurt.
Miss Leger came out at once. She bathed Dora’s lip and found that there
was only a small cut. It was very small to produce so many drops of
blood. She told Dora to hold the wet cloth against it. Then she looked at
Marion, who had a big bump on her forehead.
For a time both Dora and Marion felt very sorry for themselves, but in a
few minutes Marion’s head stopped aching and Dora’s lip no longer shed
bright drops of blood. They could even think it funny that with all that
big school-yard, both should have tried to stand in the same place at the
same second.
Lucy was disturbed about Dora’s dress. It looked worse than Dora could
see. Mother was shopping and would not be at home until afternoon school
was over. Lucy did not know what was best to do about the dress.
Luckily Father knew. He was sorry that Dora’s lip was cut, but glad she
was not badly hurt. He said that Dora had better take off the dress and
put it to soak in cold water. He was sure that cold water would not hurt
it and that it would be safe to leave it soaking until Mother came and
decided what should be done to it next. He asked Dora if she did not have
another clean dress.
Yes, there was a clean dress, but not perfectly new, like the blue
gingham. Dora was sorry to change, but she saw that even a dress which
wasn’t brand-new looked more tidy than one dribbled with red spots. She
took off the spotted one and Lucy buttoned the other and they went back
to school.
When they were through at four, Mrs. Merrill was at home. She had
attended to the blue gingham and it was hanging on the line, just as
clean as ever. Of course she wanted to know about the spots.
Lucy and Dora told her about them and then Dora asked anxiously if
Mother found the note in her purse and if she remembered to buy the
canvas and the colored cottons.
Mrs. Merrill had remembered. There was a piece of canvas and two shades
of green cotton and two of pink. They had cost seventeen cents.
Dora ran to bring Mother her quarter, for she wanted to pay for them so
that her gift to Aunt Margaret should be entirely hers. Mrs. Merrill gave
her eight cents in change.
“And will you fix the top of the cushion so I can begin on it right
away?” she asked.
“I can’t do it just this minute,” said Mrs. Merrill, “because I have to
cook something for supper. I will try to do it early this evening.”
“Dora and I will wash the dishes and do all the clearing away, so you can
have plenty of time,” offered Lucy.
After supper, Mrs. Merrill sat down with the pattern and the
cross-stitch canvas and the linen for the cushion top. She measured and
planned carefully. She basted the canvas in the proper place so it could
not slip while Dora was working. She made one cross-stitch so Dora could
start easily.
When the last dish was put away, Dora came eagerly to see the cushion.
From the one stitch Mother had set, it was easy to follow the pattern and
she sat down at once to sew. Before bedtime, the roses and their leaves
were made and she was ready to pull out the canvas.
Mother showed her how to do this, just one thread at a time. They were
stiff and hurt her fingers, but she kept on and soon the linen top with
its design of roses lay before her.
“You have done the pretty part now,” said Mrs. Merrill. “The rest will be
plain sewing, but you must set every stitch as well as you possibly can.
I want Miss Chandler to think that you work neatly. I will baste it for
you.”
“I will try very hard,” said Dora. “I suppose I couldn’t begin that part
this evening?”
“No,” said Mrs. Merrill. “Tell Father good-night, and then you and Lucy
run up to bed. When you are ready, knock on the floor and I will come and
put out the light.”
Both Lucy and Dora laughed at forgetful Mother. Almost always she said
that when they were going to bed. It _sounded_ all right any time, and
it _was_ all right in winter, when there really was a light to put out.
But in September, with daylight-saving time, there was twilight when they
went to bed. What Mother meant was that she would come and kiss them and
see that the window was open and their clothes properly picked up.
Next day Dora back-stitched the case for the cushion and filled it with
some old knitting wool which she snipped into tiny pieces. Dora was
surprised to learn from Mother that pins stick much better into a cushion
stuffed with wool. It is no use to stuff one with cotton.
Next, the embroidered top was pressed, and this Dora did herself after
Mother had finished ironing. Mother basted the top and bottom together
and Dora sewed the edges over and over. She tried so hard to make the
stitches even and small that her cheeks grew pink and she felt hot all
over. Into each stitch she sewed a loving thought for Miss Chandler.
When the cushion was done, Mother said that it looked very neat and Lucy
thought it was beautiful. She liked it so much that Dora had another
idea. If Mother would help her, she would make a second cushion for
Lucy’s Christmas present. There was plenty of cotton for more roses
and there were canvas and linen, too. Perhaps it might be possible to
make one for Olive. To make three pretty gifts and have them cost but
seventeen cents would be a good deal for a little girl to accomplish.
Dora could hardly wait until Lucy left the room before asking Mother
about the other cushions. Mrs. Merrill said at once that she would help.
They would be desirable Christmas presents for both Lucy and Olive.
Dora found a clean empty candy-box into which the cushion fitted exactly.
She wrapped it neatly in tissue paper and put in a card so Miss Chandler
would know from whom it came.
“You might tell her that you made it yourself,” suggested Mother, who was
now darning Uncle Dan’s socks.
So Dora put on the card: “I made it myself.” Then she thought a moment
and wrote some more: “All but one stitch which Mother made so I could
get the roses in the middle. And the bastings. She sewed those, but they
are all pulled out.”
Mother smiled a little over Dora’s card, but she said that it would do,
and that she thought Dora was improving in her writing. Then Dora wrapped
the box in brown paper and directed it to Miss Chandler in Boston. She
decided to pay the postage with her eight cents. Then there would be
nothing about the gift not wholly hers.