"O mamma! granny! Mrs Maclean! see what a beautiful bird old Alec has
given me!" exclaimed Fanny, as she ran into the drawing-room, and went
round exhibiting the little prisoner, first to one and then to the
other. "He has been so kind too, he showed us all his other birds, and
gave us such an interesting account of the way he got one of them, but I
would rather have this one than all the others."
The bird was duly admired.
"Where is Norman?" asked Mrs Vallery.
"He ran into the house before me, I suppose he will soon be here."
Norman, however, did not come immediately, and at last Mrs Vallery went
to look for him. She found him in his room rubbing away at his clothes.
"What has happened?" she asked; "why did you not come into the
drawing-room at once?"
"I tumbled down in the mud and dirtied my clothes, so I wanted to clean
them," answered Norman, and he said no more.
"That was awkward of you, but as they appear dry, you might have come in
to see us all as soon as you returned," observed Mrs Vallery; "how did
you manage to tumble down?"
"That stupid little brat Robby ran after me, and Fanny would not come
home. I can take very good care of myself, and so I don't want her to
go out with me any more."
"I am afraid, Norman, you were not behaving well. I must learn from
Fanny what occurred," said Mrs Vallery. "I will assist you to change
your clothes; these are certainly not fit to appear in at dinner."
Norman was very taciturn while his mamma was dressing him. As soon as
she had done so she led him downstairs.
To his grandmother's questions he made no reply, and she consequently
guessed that something had gone wrong. When Fanny who had gone upstairs
to dress, returned, Mrs Vallery inquired how Norman had managed to
tumble into the mud.
"I wish to have the whole account from you, Fanny, for his is not very
clear," she observed. "He says that little Robby ran after him."
"Oh, how can you say that?" exclaimed Fanny indignantly. "If it had not
been for little Robby you know perfectly well that you might have lost
your life;" and then without hesitation she gave the exact account of
what had occurred.
"I am deeply grieved to find that instead of expressing your gratitude
to the little fellow, you should have wished to throw blame upon him,"
said Mrs Leslie, looking very grave as she spoke; "you were wrong in
running away without your sister, but that fault might easily have been
overlooked. I feel ashamed of acknowledging you as my grandson in the
presence of my old friend here, and I grieve that they should find you
capable of acting so base a part."
Norman could say nothing in his defence. He did not like being scolded
by his grandmamma as he called it, but still he did not see his
behaviour in its proper light, and instead of being sorry, he felt only
vexed and angry and more than ever disposed to vent his ill-feeling on
Fanny.
His poor mamma was very unhappy, but she did not know what to say to him
more than what his grandmamma had already said.
"I will talk to him in his room by-and-by, and point out to him the sin
he has committed," she observed to Mrs Leslie.
The laird soon after came in, and the party went to dinner. He saw that
something was wrong, but refrained from asking questions.
Norman ate his dinner in silence, and no one felt disposed to speak to
him. He did not like this, and it made him feel more and more angry
with Fanny.
"Why should she say all that about me! why could not she let my story be
believed! It could not have done that little brat any harm, if they had
thought I tumbled down because he ran after me. He did, he did run
after me, for I saw him. But I am determined that Fanny shall not tell
tales about me; I will punish her in a way she does not think of. She
will grow very fond of that stupid little bird, but I will take care
that she does not keep it very long. Perhaps some day the door of the
cage will be open, and it will fly away. Ah! ah! Miss Fanny, I am not
going to let you tell tales of me."
Such were the thoughts which passed through the mind of the little boy.
He had never been taught to restrain his evil feelings, and to seek for
help from God's Holy Spirit to put them away immediately they came to
him. Instead of doing that, he allowed them to remain and to grow and
grow, and a bad thought, however small it may appear at first, must
always grow till it becomes so great, that it makes a slave of the
person who allows it to spring up within him.
Poor Fanny had no idea of the harm which her brother was meditating
against her and her bird, nor indeed had any one else at table. After
dinner, the whole party went into the grounds. The kind-hearted laird
was sorry to see Norman looking so dull.
"He is a manly little fellow, and ought to have boy companions. I will
do what I can to amuse him," he thought. "Come along, Norman, with me,
and we will try to find something to do." The laird kindly took him by
the hand, and led him along.
"When I am old enough, papa promises to give me a gun, that I may go out
and shoot tigers," said Norman. "Have you got any tigers here?"
"No, I am glad to say we have not. We should find them very
troublesome, as they would commit great havoc among our sheep and
cattle, and perhaps carry off the little boys and girls on their way to
school as well as grown-up people."
"We have plenty of tigers in India, and I think it a much finer country
than England on that account," remarked Norman in a contemptuous tone.