With thanks Kitty left him to rest on the old sofa, while the happy
babies swarmed over him; and putting on the shabby hood and shawl, she
slipped away to stand at the Park gate, modestly offering her little
wares to the passers-by. A nice old gentleman bought two, and his wife
scolded him for getting such bad ones; but the money gave more happiness
than any other he spent that day. A child took a ten-cent bunch of
holly with its red berries, and there Kitty’s market ended. It was very
cold, people were in a hurry, bolder hucksters pressed before the timid
little girl, and the balloon man told her to "clear out."
Hoping for better luck, she tried several other places; but the short
afternoon was soon over, the streets began to thin, the keen wind
chilled her to the bone, and her heart was very heavy to think that in
all the rich, merry city, where Christmas gifts passed her in every
hand, there were none for the dear babies and boys at home, and the
Christmas dinner was a failure.
"I must go and get supper anyway; and I ’ll hang these up in our own
rooms, as I can’t sell them," said Kitty, wiping a very big tear from
her cold cheek, and turning to go away.
A smaller, shabbier girl than herself stood near, looking at the bunch
of holly with wistful eyes; and glad to do to others as she wished some
one would do to her, Kitty offered the only thing she had to give,
saying kindly, "You may have it; merry Christmas!" and ran away before
the delighted child could thank her.
I am very sure that one of the spirits who fly about at this season of
the year saw the little act, made a note of it, and in about fifteen
minutes rewarded Kitty for her sweet remembrance of the golden rule.
As she went sadly homeward she looked up at some of the big houses where
every window shone with the festivities of Christmas Eve, and more than
one tear fell, for the little girl found life pretty hard just then.
"There don’t seem to be any wreaths at these windows; perhaps they ’d
buy mine. I can’t bear to go home with so little for my share," she
said, stopping before one of the biggest and brightest of these fairy
palaces, where the sound of music was heard, and many little heads
peeped from behind the curtains as if watching for some one.
Kitty was just going up the steps to make another trial, when two small
boys came racing round the corner, slipped on the icy pavement, and both
went down with a crash that would have broken older bones. One was up
in a minute, laughing; the other lay squirming and howling, "Oh, my
knee! my knee!" till Kitty ran and picked him up with the motherly
consolations she had learned to give.
"It’s broken; I know it is," wailed the small sufferer as Kitty carried
him up the steps, while his friend wildly rang the doorbell.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account