Вещи, о которых мало кто имеет верное представление

The children worked at their samplers; and as Miss Lucy's birthday drew near, the treat was talked of more than ever. At last the day arrived. The sun shone brightly and the sky was clear. Mrs. Brown, who loved her useful daughter very much, had newly trimmed her bonnet with a neat dark ribbon, and had washed a cotton dress for her, so that with her new shawl Sarah looked very tidy and nice. She thanked her mother; kissed her and the children; and ran away to call for her cousin. Her little sister Jane cried to go with her, and Sarah ran back to kiss the child again, and left her smiling at the thoughts of the pretty nosegay she promised to gather for her.

The evening before, Sarah had shown her sampler to her father and mother; they thought it very well marked, and her mother said she was nearly sure Sarah must get the prize. The verse marked on her sampler was this: ( Read more... )

Ellen looked round her with triumph.
"Now for my present!" said she to herself.

to be continued

Mrs. and Miss Stanley remained for a short time while the children sang a hymn, and then they went away; soon after which the mistress dismissed the children. Nothing was talked of all the way home but Miss Lucy's samplers and treat; and nearly every little girl went home thinking that she would be the one who would gain the prize. When Sarah reached her father's house she found one of her little sisters at the door waiting for her. The child, who could not yet talk, pulled her by the frock into the house.

"Come in, Sally," cried her father, "come in, my child; and thank you with all my heart."

"What for, father?" asked Sarah, surprised. ( Read more... )

to be continued

Ellen Jones was the only child of a poor widow, who lived in the pretty village of Rosedale. Her father died when she was quite a baby, so that she could not remember ever to have seen him. Her mother was a clean, tidy woman, and supported herself and her child by taking in washing and needlework. She had a sister living in the same village, whose husband was a blacksmith; his name was Brown.

Mrs. Brown had several children, the eldest of whom was only a year older than her cousin Ellen Jones. Sarah (for that was the name of Mrs. Brown's eldest daughter) was an active, good-tempered girl, and of great use to her mother in helping her to look after the children, and to clean the house. Her mother could not spare her to go to school, except in the afternoon, as there was plenty for her to do at home in the morning, in order to keep everything tidy and comfortable. Sarah sometimes complained, and thought it unkind of her mother to prevent her from going to school. She said one day to Mrs. Stanley, the minister's wife, that it was very hard to be obliged to stay and scrub the house when her cousin Ellen was learning to read and write. ( Read more... )

*A sampler is a rectangular piece of (usually white) cloth, on which alphabet was embroidered ('marked'), together with a motto, a short prayer or a verse, and decorated with a simple ornament. It was usually made by a girl learning needlework as a mark of her accomplishment.

to be continued