Well, we laughed, and we laughed, till tears came in our eyes, At how little Fred did the engine chastise, Until over his face came a flush of bright red. "You are right; he won't scare us again," papa said. PARANETE. REACHING OUT. (_A further Account of Nettie Decker and her Friends._) BY PANSY. CHAPTER IV. THAT was the way it came about that little Sate not only, but Susie and Nettie, went to the flower party. They had not expected to do any such thing. The little girls, who were not used to going anywhere, had paid no attention to the announcements on Sunday, and Nettie had heard as one with whom such things had nothing in common. Her treatment in the Sabbath-school was not such as to make her long for the companionship of the girls of her age, and by this time she knew that her dress at the flower party would be sure to command more attention than was pleasant; so she had planned as a matter of course to stay away. But the little old ladies in their caps and spectacles springing into active life, put a new face on the matter. Certainly no more astonished young person can be imagined than Nettie Decker was, the morning Miss Sherrill called on her, the one daisy she had begged still carefully preserved, and proposed her plan of partnership in the flower party. "It will add ever so much to the fun," she explained, "besides bringing you a nice little sum for your spending money." Did Miss Sherrill have any idea how far that argument would reach just now, Nettie wondered. "We can dress the little girls in daisies," continued their teacher. "Little Sate will look like a flower herself, with daisies wreathed about her dress and hair." "Little Sate will be afraid, I think," Nettie objected. "She is very timid, and not used to seeing many people." "But with Susie she will not mind, will she? Susie has assurance enough to take her through anything. Oh, I wonder if little Sate would not recite a verse about the daisy grandmothers? I have such a cunning one for her. May I teach her, Mrs. Decker, and see if I can get her to learn it?"