THE RAINY DAY.
MISS GRANT gave her scholars Wednesday and Saturday afternoons for play.
One Wednesday morning it rained very hard; and as Nelly was not quite
well, her aunt thought it not best for her to go to school. Margie too
had been unwell for a few days; so Mrs. Gray sent for her to come up to
the nursery, that they might amuse themselves with their dolls.
Margie was eleven years of age; but she liked to play as well as ever.
She had Frankie's black Dinah for her child; and then she had a large
rag baby of her own, while Nelly had great Fanny and two smaller dolls.
These they set up in a row, and played school; but just as they were
ready to begin, Ponto walked into the room, and tipped the scholars
over.
"O Ponto, how naughty!" exclaimed Nelly, laughing aloud, as he carefully
stepped over the pupils, who were lying on their faces. "Now let us
begin again."
So Dinah, and Fanny, and Lily Gray, and Jenny, Margie's doll, were all
placed in nice order again, their backs up against the wall; and after a
few words, charging the scholars to be very good and say their lessons
well, Nelly rang her aunt's small table bell, for them to take their
places in the class.
But not one of the dollies stirred; and so Nelly took Dinah's hand, and
led her out to the floor.
They played in this way for more than an hour, and then Nelly complained
of the headache; and so her aunt sent her to lie down and rest till
dinner.
In the mean time, Frankie had put on his India rubber boots, and holding
a large umbrella, started off for school, as happy as possible. He had
never been absent or tardy a single day; and his teacher had promised to
paint him a beautiful card, if he continued his good conduct to the end
of the term.
The dear boy was very much pleased at this, and was trying in every way
to be good. He trudged gayly on right through the puddles of water, the
rain pattering upon his umbrella, and dripping off upon the ground.
"I don't care," said Frankie to himself. "It's hard walking, I know; but
I shall have a good time when I get there. My teacher will say, 'I knew
you would be here, Frankie, because you belong to the Try Company.'"
When he reached the schoolroom, he found no one there but his teacher
and Hitty; and how do you think they came so safely in all the rain?
Frankie laughed most heartily when they told him. They rode with the
butcher in his covered cart.
They had kindled a nice fire in the open grate, and after the little
fellow had stamped off the mud in the porch, he came in and stood by it
to dry himself.
The clock struck nine; but not one more of the scholars came, because it
was only a half day, the teacher said; and so Frankie and Hitty stood
before her, instead of going on the gallery, and repeated the Lord's
Prayer.
Then she told them to bring their chairs close to the fire.
"What a funny little school!" said Frankie, laughing.
The teacher laughed too, and said, "I think we shall have a very
pleasant time." She rang the bell, and Frankie marched out alone to his
class. Then she rung it again, and Hitty read and spelt. She could read
quite well now, and was getting to be a very good scholar.
After this, Miss Grant said, "I must march with you, I suppose;" and so
she stepped upon the circle; and they marched around and around,
singing,--
"This is the way we wash our face,"
the teacher washing hers as hard as any of them.
At recess she took a piece of paper from her desk, and drew a pretty
picture of a dog carrying a basket in his mouth, and told Frankie to
draw one like it.
Frankie was delighted, and said, "This dog is like Ponto, only that it
has a short tail instead of a long one."
Miss Grant then cut a paper doll for Hitty, and afterward one for
Nelly. She made paper dresses, and aprons, and capes, and paper hats for
their heads; and was so much engaged when she saw how delighted the
children were, that she forgot she was teaching school, and never rang
the bell for the close of recess for more than an hour.
They all laughed merrily, and Frankie, clapping his hands, said, "I like
rainy days best of all!"
After recess, Miss Grant gave the children a lesson in geography, and
then related a story of a boy, named Charles Huntington, who, by his
honesty, uprightness, and faithfulness to his employer, became a great
and good man. Having gained wealth, he gave freely of it to the poor and
needy, and, after a long life of happiness and usefulness, died lamented
by all who knew him.
Frankie listened attentively to the story, and then said, "I'm going to
ask God to help me be like Mr. Charles Huntington."
And here we must leave our young friend, with the hope that the promise
of early youth was verified in his manhood; that the seed sown in his
young and tender heart, and watered by his mother's tearful prayers,
sprang up and bore abundant fruit.
As for his cousin Nelly, she continued with her aunt for many years,
until her mother died, when she returned home to comfort and bless her
father, and help train her little brother as she had herself been taught
by her kind friends. She always entertained for Frankie the deep
affection of a sister; and when he graduated from college with the first
honors of his class, no one rejoiced or felt more proud of his success
than his cousin Nelly.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Note:
Obvious punctuation errors repaired. The quotation marks around the poem
on pages 79-81 was not repaired as the author's intent could not be
ascertained. The marks were left as printed.
End of Project Gutenberg's Little Frankie at School, by Madeline Leslie