Children -- Religious life -- Juvenile fiction; Christian life -- Juvenile fiction; Tableaux -- Juvenile fiction
Daisy stood looking at the baskets, and thinking how much money she
would have over if she took the sixpenny ones. She wanted twenty
baskets; she found that the difference of price between the plain and
the pretty would leave her twenty shillings in hand. Just enough!
thought Daisy,--and yet, how could she go to a strange house and offer
to give them a ham? She thought she could not. If she had known the
people; but as it was--Daisy bought the pretty baskets and set off
homewards.
"Whatsoever ye would that others should do to you, do ye even so to
them"--Daisy could see nothing along the road but those words. "That is
my King's command to me--and those poor people have got no breakfast. If
I was in that little girl's place, I would _like_ to have it given to
me. But those other baskets--would they do?--I could make them do
somehow--Nora and I could dress them up with greens and flowers!"--
The pony chaise stopped. Sam came up alongside.
"Sam, take those baskets back to the store. I am going back there."
Round came the chaise, and in five minutes more they were at the Crum
Elbow corner again, for Daisy's heartburning had not let her go far. Mr.
Lamb was exceedingly mystified, as it was very unusual for young ladies
like this one to come buying whole hams and riding off with them.
However he made no objections to the exchange, being a gainer by ten
cents; for Daisy had asked for a ham of fifteen pounds. Then Daisy
enquired the way to the girl's house, and her name, and set off in a new
direction. It was not far; a plain little brown house, with a brown gate
a few yards from the door. Daisy got out of the chaise and opened the
gate, and there stood still and prayed a little prayer that God would
help her not to feel foolish or afraid when she was trying to do right.
Then she went up to the door and knocked. Somebody said in a very
uninviting tone of voice, "Come in!"
It was hard for Daisy; she had expected that somebody would open the
door, but now she must go in and face all that was there. However, in
she went. There was a poor room to be sure, with not much in it. A woman
was taking some hot bread, just baked, out of a little cooking stove.
Daisy saw the little girl standing by; it was the right place.
"Well!" said the woman looking up at Daisy from her stove oven--"what is
it?" She looked pale and unhappy, and her words were impatient. Daisy
was half afraid.
"I am Daisy Randolph"--she began gently.
"Go on," said the woman, as Daisy hesitated.
"I was in Mr. Lamb's store just now, when your little girl came to buy
some ham."
"Well!--what then?"
"Mr. Lamb said he would not cut any, and she was obliged to go without
it."
"Well, what have you to do with all that?"
"I was sorry she was disappointed," said Daisy more steadily; "and as
Mr. Lamb would not cut one for her I have brought a whole one--if you
will please accept it. It is at the gate, because the boy could not
leave the horses."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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