Sophie May

“ Things happen to us sometimes that are even better than we have dreamed. To be with Miss Pike in the pink chamber again had seemed happiness to Flaxie; but to be with Miss Pike in Washington, going everywhere and seeing everything, this was bliss indeed!
Dr. Gray was elected to Congress; Preston was sent to boarding-school; Julia stayed with Grandma Gray at Mrs. Prim's; and Mrs. Gray went with her husband and the three youngest children to board in Washington for the winter. ”

“ Phil rolled his eyes.
"Oh, there was a little girl there, about as big as Ethel, had a white bonnet on and a white cloak."
"Yes; but what did the minister say?"
"Oh, Ethel," said crestfallen little Phil, turning to his baby sister for comfort, "you and I are too small. We can't remember what they preach, can we?"
"We won't be too hard on you, my little son," said Doctor Papa. "You are only five years old; but I am sure Mr. Lee says some things that even you can understand. Will you really try next Sunday to listen?" ”

“ Me velly much obliged!"
"There, there, hush, Kittyleen," said Flaxie, crossly, "I want to go to sleep."
"Wish I had dolly here now; want to luf her this way," continued the little prattler, smoothing Flaxie's cheek with her tiny hand.
"No, no, you mustn't love my doll in that way; it isn't the way to love dolls. You mustn't touch her at all; you mustn't go anywhere near her, Kittyleen Garland," exclaimed Flaxie, growing alarmed. ”

“ But Miss Pike never stirred. She said, 'Little Mary, you don't know any more about Lijar to-day than you knew about Lena yesterday. You're hasty again.' 'I don't think I'm hasty, at all,' said I. 'Lijar is a horrid thief, or what did they put him in the lock-up for? If he'd steal a big watch, wouldn't he steal little rings? ”

“ If I can't be beautiful, I can try to be good; and I'm not going to cry about my homely body, for I'm sure to leave [Pg 191] it behind me one of these days when I'm called up to Heaven."
Then with a happy smile the excellent young lady took the tape-measure out of her work-basket and measured the slender, round waist of "little miss," as she called the doll.
"Oh, Miss Pike, where did you get that? She's larger than my Princess Aurora Arozarena, and I do believe she's handsomer," cried Flaxie, rushing in from the kitchen, where she had been stoning raisins. ”

“ It was the name her mother gave to all troubles, both great and small, assuring Flaxie they are sent to us in love, to do us good, unless, alas, we receive them in a perverse spirit, and then they only make us worse.
"You can forgive Kittyleen, my child; God will help you; and until you do it you will have no peace; you will live in darkness and gloom. Go away by yourself for a while, [Pg 31] and when I see you again I hope there will be a little light in your soul."
About an hour afterward, Flaxie, with a beaming smile, came into the parlor where her sister Julia sat amusing Kittyleen. ”

“ High, high above the heads of the people was a network of telegraph wires glistening in the sun, and Flaxie thought if the wires would only go higher yet, and bind the stars and the earth together, how grand it would be. She called this chamber her "sky-room," and shared it with her "favorite friend," Miss Pike. At the same hotel were Mrs. Garland and Kittyleen, and Kittyleen's cousin Cora, a girl of Flaxie's own age. Truly, as little Ethel had said, Kittyleen did "go everywhere"; but who would have thought of her following the Grays to Washington? ”

“ FLAXIE'S COMPOSITION.
"DOMESTIC ANIMALS.
"There is classed throughout the species domestic animals. The cat is very domestic, and the turkey and the spider and the cow. The elephant is not very domestic, but he is a very useful animal. The pig is a very useful animal and very domestic. Were it not for the pig, what should we have to bake with our beans, or in which to fry our doughnuts? Ought we not then to be very thankful to the domestic animals for thus treating us so kindly?"
Preston never afterward thought of this little trip without the warmest gratitude to Miss Pike. ”

“ Poor little Flaxie, I know [Pg 76] she's rushing round that car and crying! What will she do with herself? She won't get off anywhere? Oh, no, Flaxie isn't such a goose as to get off a car unless there's some sense in it! There's only one goose in the family, and that's Preston Gray. No, she won't get off. And let's see, the conductor will remember her, on account of that cracker. ”

“ Flaxie did not answer directly.
"Mamma," said she, "what do you suppose Miss Pike said? She said of course I'd have some poor girls and sick girls. Must I, mamma?"
Mrs. Gray felt a sudden pricking of conscience. Why hadn't she thought of that herself?
[Pg 197]
"Poor girls, Mary? Sick girls? Why, of course, as Miss Pike says, they are the very ones to enjoy your party, my daughter."
"Then, mamma, please buy another dolly, and I'll ask Sadie Stockwell. She won't take up a great deal of room. She never goes anywhere except to school, and never has any good times. ”

“ Prim, we have a little girl here who is quite a heroine. Yes, a heroine, I say!"
"Do you mean our little Mary? Why, what has she done?" asked auntie, coolly, as she put away her bonnet and parasol. But she wasn't quite so cool after she had heard the story.
"Why, you good, high-minded little girl! A grown woman couldn't have been braver," said she, and actually kissed Flaxie.
"It is a great pity I bound you by a promise; I needn't have done it. Some little girls [Pg 139] can be trusted without any promises," she added, looking at grandma with an approving smile. ”

“ You could almost see her breathe.
"Mustn't touch!" whispered Kittyleen to her meddling fingers.
Touch? Oh, no indeed!
But she swayed to and fro upon the chair and gazed. And evermore as she gazed, the longing grew upon her to know how much of Princess Arozarena was wax and how much was living flesh and blood. Had she teeth? a tongue? were there two holes in that pretty nose?
"I've got a nose, dolly, you've got a nose; everybody in this house has got a nose, two holes—way—in." ”

“ My head aches and my throat aches, and I've just had the chicken-pox; and—and—oh, dear, I wish I was at home!"
"Where is your home, my little girl?"
"My home is at Laurel Grove, near Rosewood."
"And what is your name and your father's name?"
[Pg 71]
"He is Dr. Gray, and I am Mary Frances Gray."
"Ah, indeed! Why, I know your father very well," said the cheery old gentleman. "Will you shake hands? There, now, we're good friends, aren't we? And I'm going to Hilltop and beyond. I'm Dr. White,—tell your papa,—old Dr. White. Let's see, have you any ticket?"
Flaxie uttered a cry of despair. ”

“ Mary Gray, or Flaxie Frizzle, as people persisted in calling her sometimes, was nine years old, and had for some time felt a great care of Kittyleen. Everybody felt the care of Mrs. Garland's children. There were six of them, and their mother was always painting china. She did it beautifully, with graceful vines trailing over it, and golden butterflies ready to alight on sprays of lovely flowers. Sometimes the neighbors thought it would be a fine thing if she would keep her little ones at home rather more ”