Family -- Juvenile fiction; Young women -- Juvenile fiction
"But you haven't seen the new clothes auntie had brought us--yes us,
for she has not forgotten you. You are well able to pay bills now, you
know," and Dorothy gave a mischievous little tug at Tavia's elbow. "But
wait, wait till you see what you are to wear this very evening. The box
has just come up, and I will open it."
Whereupon Dorothy pulled in from the hall door a great purple box
labeled "robes." Tavia was on her knees beside it before Dorothy had a
chance to untie the strings. What girl does not like to see brand, new,
pretty dresses come out of their original box?
Layers of tissue paper were first unwrapped, then a glow of brilliant
red shown through the last covering.
"Whew!" exclaimed Tavia, "a rainbow gown, I'll bet. Then she gave her
usual text, as Dorothy called her spontaneous rhymes:
"Breathes there a girl with soul so dead,
Who never to herself has said,
I love to wear a dress bright red!"
"And I love red better than butter, and I love butter better than ice
cream--so there! Dorothy Dale, that dress on top I claim."
The "bright red" was in full view now, and it was really a beautiful
gown. Not extravagantly so, but as Dorothy said "exquisitely so."
The material was of dimity, over muslin, and tiny rows of "val." lace
formed a yoke and edgings. A broad sash of flowered ribbon--all in
shades of red, with bows of the same in narrow width finished the
shoulders.
"Yes, it is for you," said Dorothy, "Auntie said red would suit you."
"I have always loved it, but folks said my hair was red."
"Indeed it never was. And don't you know how great dressmakers insist
upon sandy haired girls wearing red? The real red in material contrasts
with hair red, so as to make the brown red browner. There now, is a new
puzzle. When is brown red?"
"When a sassy boy calls it red," promptly answered Tavia, remembering
how she always feared the "red-head" epithet.
"Isn't it sweet?" exclaimed Dorothy, holding the new gown up for
inspection.
"Oh, a perfect love!" declared Tavia. "I thought my Rochester
creation--doesn't that sound well--simply 'gloriotious,' but this is
beatific!"
"Like a sunset," suggested Dorothy. "But I must get acquainted with
mine."
Another layer of paper and a pale blue robe was extracted.
"Oh, I know," cried Tavia, clapping her hands like a delighted child,
"It's morning and evening. I'm sunrise and you are evening. Or I'm
sunset and you are evening."
"Oh!" exclaimed Dorothy, too enraptured to say more.
"And with your yellow head you will look like an angel."
"Now, see here, Miss Sunset and Sunrise, I don't mind being cloudy or
even starry, nor yet heavenly, but don't you dare go one latitude or
longitude further. I am mortally afraid Aunt Winnie has elected to wear
amethyst this very evening, and when the combination gets together I
expect something will happen--something like Mt. Pelee, you know."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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