Jewel's Story Book

bout it that day while they were

le girl got well

lay and have the most fun

l made it up w

to put on more love to one another? Just supposing, gran

that I was such an aff

the King before we're really happy. Do you know it made us

was

r h

I canno

in life

r has my

ill walk

o love mother ver

s char

't your real relat

ow. She's m

btfully. "But so is aun

o tall as you do in a riding skirt shouldn't know m

," returned the child se

you see," said Mr. Evringham, and his r

ve her grudgingly, and regard her visit as being merely on sufferance despite Mrs. Forbes's more optimistic view. But the spirit that looked out of Mrs. Evringham's dark eyes and dwelt in the curves o

aw. She had Jewel's own directness and simplicity, her appreciation and enjoyment of all beauty, the child's own atmosphere of unexac

loise lived with me, I fancy they had a good many callers, and they went out, to the mild degree that society smiles upon in the case of a recent widow and o

Julia, smiling. "There i

rch," said Jewel, "and I know she'll love Mr. an

r have gone over to this very strange religion of yours, Julia. I shan't be quite so co

respectable," returned J

three here," put in Jewe

t Mrs. Forbes, who stood by, as u

rs. Forbes?" Mr. Evringham asked

If Jewel had persuaded him to be a fire worshiper I shouldn't have lifted my voice. I'd have s

is head. "Mrs. Forbes, Mrs. Forbes, I'm afrai

r own, father?

the heavenly gate if I can come in, and if they refuse, the

seriously. Mr. Evringham

you, Jewel. Don'

just wondering whether you didn't know that

ckly and met Jul

ith an uncomfortable laugh

on, and she and her mother had studied the day's lesson, t

the new wild flowers that had unfolded, and Jew

ndly regarding her child, enthroned against the snowy trunk of a little birch-tree. "It isn't going

elle would rather see it gro

go, we'll take the sweet little thing and let it have the

, to pick them and let them

r, mother," replied Jewel hopefully.

, de

round a little, and pretty soon we see the daisy idea again, standing

l," returned the

s picking a violet might be just as much error as killing a bluebird; and then I remembered that we pick

ringham

wel, in a different tone, settling her

book and again read over

Woman's Story,'" said

rday to scrub for me? Well, something she told me of an experience she once had, w

LE WOMA

except for the good old German woman, Anna, who was cook and nurse too in the household. She tried to teach Franz and Emilie to be good children,

nce at times, for instance, when they wished to say something before the colored apple woman which they did not care

they were very much attached to the clean, kind apple woman, whose stand was near their father's house. They admired her bright bandana headdress and thought her the most interesting person in the world. As for the apple woman, she had had so many unpleasant experiences with teas

d under her breath that they were "nice chillen;" and when s

nodded to her on the way to sch

r the litt

y," answer

n with determination, and

h last night," explained Fra

dn't remind me, so we neither of us got i

es for love," replied the colored w

at one another and

t time you gave them to us that if we ate your apples with

She was much touched and pleased to know that Franz and Emilie would rather

up to be good Americans, and she must not hold them back. It was very hard for the poor woman to remember always to speak English, and funny broken English it was; so that little Peter, hearing it all the time, had a baby talk of his own that was

y glad of the hours when Mr. Wenzel worked at home at his desk and ba

he was all-powerful. A kiss from papa soothed the hardest "boomp" that his many tumbles gave him; but even Peter realized that when papa was at his

ally fairy stories, and she often curled up on the sofa in her father's room and read while Peter either played about the room with his toys, or went to

ittle brother and sister were not always amiable. Anna had confided in her; and then one day the children approached her stand contradicting each other, their voic

now, if the apple woman hadn't said, "Chillen,

ry Slap-back a-laughin'

, as he and his sister forgot the

the children nestled down, one each side of her. "

What?" asked

I didn't see her jest now,

be afraid of?" aske

g sidewise nod of her head. Then drawing back from the children with an air of greatest surprise,

y both repli

ite chillen that ever lived. Why, if you ain't never heerd on 'em, yo're

tell us!" begged

kes it her business to fight a great and good fairy named Love. Now Love-oh, chillen, my pore tongue can't tell you of the beauty and goodness o' the fairy Love! She's the messenger of a great King, and spends her whole time a-blessin' folks. Her hair shines with the gold o' the sun; her eyes send

y creetur," the apple woman made a scornful grimace; "jest a misty-moisty nobody; nothin' to her. Her gown was a cloud and she wa'n't no more 'n a shadder, herself, until she could git somebody to listen to her. When she did g

o try it on somebody else. She was ugly to look at as a bad dream, but yet there was lots o' folks would pay 'tention to her, and after they'd listened once or twice, s

off to jog her memory-"there's Laziness, Selfishness, Backbitin', Cruelty-oh, I ain't got time to tell 'em all; an' not one mite o' harm in one of 'em, only for some silly mortal that listens and gives the creetur a backbone. They jest lop ov

apple woman and listened hard.

named Slap-back whispered to you. 'Quarrel!' says she.

e's. Whack! That was the time Slap-back couldn't hold in, an' she jest laughed an' laughed over yo' shoulder. Ah, the little red eyes she had, and the wiry hair! And that other o

our friend," declar

but, disown her or not, she'll stick to you and pester you; and you'll find it ou

, picking up the apple woman's clean

nd might cast her eye on it. I d

ilie. They had never before found their assis

st the cotton fields; and that good fairy watched over Di

fer 'em all; and his ole mammy, she helped him, and made the fire, and swept the room, and dug in the garden, and milked the cow.

as Dinah," su

ould do was look at pictur' books an' play with the other chillen. She wouldn't even so much as pick up baby

ot hold of her," said Franz, who was

elves, and Love can only come near them that loves other people. Sounds queer, honey, but it's the truth; so, when Dinah got to be a likely, big gal, and never thought whether the ole ma

lose to Dinah's ear, 'do stop bein' so triflin'

ter to lay in the buttercups a

ow Mose the pictur's, t

too little, an' he both

yo' tired daddy took care o' the

ays Dinah. 'I shorely w

to him,' says she; 'an' look at the black smooches on my w'ite gown. They're all because o' you, Dinah, that I've been friends with so

ein' lectured,' says she. 'Now I can roll over in the bu

ight atop of a wasp, and he was so scared at such capers he stung he

e good soul. 'Never you mind, honey

n over her, she could hear a voice in her ear-'Give it to 'em good. That's the way to do it, Dinah!' An' it kep' gittin' easier to be selfis

d to her, though there was never a minute when she didn't hate the sound

s ways, an' she set her to sew a seam befo' she could step outside the do'. The needle was dull

't do it,' hi

shed if I do. G

e fairy Slap-back was talkin' like this, up comes lit

s to that mis'able, low-lifed Slap-back. Jest as quick as a wink, that big gal, goin' on nine, slapped baby Mose.

good! Now yo

hands an' saw a face close to her-a bad one, with red eyes shinin'. She jumped away

knees side o' Mose an' called him her honey an' her lamb, an' she cried with him, an' pulled him into h

old a story always made him listen hard. "I guess that

orld tickles her like a chile actin' naughty, 'ceptin' it's two chillen scrappin'. Now pore little Dinah found she had to have all her wits about her to keep Love near, an' make that ornery Slap-back stay away. Love was as willin', as willin' to stay as violets is to open in the springtime; but when Dinah an' Slap-back was both agin her, what could she do? An' Dinah,

ly. "If you are going to let Din

whites of her eyes in the a

nd then finished suddenly-"b

rrands for gran'mam without whinin', an' she minded Mose so her daddy had mo' peace when he come home tuckered out; an' when she'd got so she could smile at the boy in the next cabin,

nd you saw her with us

y. "Folks that lives outdoors the way I do,

in his work that he did not notice her quiet entrance. She curled up on the sofa in her usual attitude, but instead of reading she watched little Peter on the floor buil

s fat legs and went to the desk, where he stood patiently, his round f

of the child's presence, and, turnin

er receiving the consolation of a hug and ki

at faster as she lay in her corner. Her father was lonely and hard worked, with no o

ught Emilie. At that minute the block house fell in ruins, and Peter, se

leaning forward and holding out t

Emilie receive him with open arms, went back to his papers with a relief that his little d

ny times I'm going to do it," she said

ept that uns