"Oh no, if I was you I'd have a little wreath of flowers round it; it
would make ever so pretty a hat, and would last her for Sundays right
on till the late autumn. I'll show you some;" and dragging out a big
drawer, she displayed a perfect garden of dainty blossoms, daisies,
roses, forget-me-nots, moss, ferns, and flowers of every kind that
ever grew, and many kinds that never did or could grow.
Jessie's eyes, though, were caught by a wreath of feathery moss with
little blue forget-me-nots peeping out of it here and there, and when
she was asked which she liked best, she decidedly picked out that
one. To her great delight her granny's taste agreed with her, and
the wreath and the hat and a piece of white ribbon were put aside
together.
"Now," laughed Mrs. Dawson, "I've got to get her another for every
day. That's a pretty fine thing! I reckon you think there's no
bottom to my purse!"
"Now, Mrs. Dawson, you won't regret spending that money, I am sure,"
said the attendant coaxingly; "and this one shan't cost more than
eighteenpence, trimming and all," and she produced a big
shady-brimmed, flexible straw, for which was shown as trimming a
pretty soft flowered ribbon, to be loosely twisted around the crown.
Then came a length of blue serge for a warm dress, and two pieces of
print, one with blue flowers all over it, and the other with pink
ones. Jessie thought them both perfectly lovely, and while they were
being chosen she slid off her chair and went and leaned against her
grandmother. She did not feel at all afraid of her now; she felt
that she wanted to kiss her for all her kindness, and to tell her how
grateful she was. She did not do that, she was still too shy, but
Mrs. Dawson seemed to understand, for she put her arm very fondly
about her, and drew her very close.
"Now, if only you could sew," she said, "you'd be able to help me
finely with all this, but I s'pose I shall get it done somehow. I
must let other things go for the time."
Jessie longed eagerly to be able to help, but she couldn't sew at
all, she had never even tried. She thought, though, that she might
be able to do some of the other things granny mentioned, and she made
up her mind to do her best. She wouldn't say anything to any one,
but she would try, and she grew quite excited at the thought.
"I wish mother knew," she sighed presently, when the assistant had
gone off to get the boots for her to try on. "Mother tried to get me
a new hat, but she hadn't got any money. She would be so glad to
know what lots of nice new things I am having." Then, as she saw the
girl approaching from a distant part of the shop, she put up her arm
to draw her grandmother's head down to her own level. "Mother cried
when she sent me away," she whispered solemnly, "because she couldn't
get me any new clothes."
When the assistant reached them again, with her arms full of boots,
she found Mrs. Dawson rubbing her eyes and nose violently with her
large white cotton handkerchief.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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