Emma started, and put her other foot out of bed, and took up one of her stockings.
Her Mother got out of her bed, which was close to Emma"s crib, and began to dress herself. When she was dressed, she looked round, and saw Emma, with one stocking half on, and the other rolled up in a little ball, which she was throwing up in the air.
Her Mother was angry with her. She went up to her, and took her stocking away from her, and told her to get into bed again, for if she would not dress herself when her Mother bid her, she should be punished by being made to lie in bed. She shut up the window shutters, and took all the books out of the room, and telling Emma not to get up until she gave her leave, she went down stairs to breakfast.
Now children don"t like to be put to bed in the daytime; at least I have never heard of anyone that did; and Emma was soon tired of lying in bed, in a dark room, wide awake, with nothing to do, and no pleasant thoughts, for she could think of nothing but her naughty behavior. So this was a very severe punishment, and she began to cry, and wish she had minded quickly, and then she would have been down stairs, where the sun was shining brightly into the windows. She would have been sitting in her chair, with her dear little kitten in her lap, and a nice bowl of bread and milk for her breakfast. She always saved a little milk in the bottom of the bowl for Daisy her kitten, and after she had done, she would give the rest to Daisy. So you see that Emma lost a great deal by not minding quickly and what was worse than all, she had displeased her Mother and made her unhappy.
Oh, how weary she got. How she longed to get up. She did not dare to disobey her Mother, and she lay in her crib a long, long time, and thought she never could be so naughty again.
At last her Mother came in the room. She opened the shutters, and said, "Emma, you may get up and put on your stockings and shoes."
Emma jumped up quickly, and had them on in two minutes, and then she took off her night-gown and put on her day clothes, which hung over the back of the chair by her crib, and went to her Mother to have them fastened, for she could not fasten them herself. Her Mother fastened her clothes, and then taking her little girl"s hand, she said, "My dear little Emma, you have made me feel very unhappy this morning. I do not like to punish you, but it is my duty to try to cure you of all your naughty ways, and it is your duty to try to overcome them. If you do not, some day you may meet with some terrible misfortune, like that which happened to a boy I used to know when I was young. I will tell it to you. This boy, like you, grieved his parents often, by not minding quickly; and he suffered for it in a way that he will never forget, as long as he lives. He was one day standing on the steps of the house where he lived, and I was standing at the window of the house opposite, where I lived. I was watching some men that were on the top of this boy"s house, fixing the roof. The roof was covered with loose pieces of slate, and nails, and rubbish.
"Presently one of the men on the roof cried out, "Go in, little boy; go in." But the boy was looking at a kite that some other boys had in the street, and he did not choose to go in. The man thought that he had minded what he told him, and without looking again, he tumbled down a great heap of slates and rubbish. The house was quite high, and a large and sharp piece of slate came down very swiftly, and struck the boy on the side of his head, and cut off nearly the whole of his ear. In a moment the blood poured down his neck and over his clothes, and I thought he would bleed to death. Oh Emma! what a dreadful punishment for not minding quickly!
"For a long time he went about with his head bound up, and when he got well again the side of his face looked very bad indeed, for where his ear had been there was a dreadful scar that never went away. Now he is a man, and he often tells children how he got this dreadful scar, and all because he did not mind quickly."
The tears had rolled down Emma"s face, while her Mother was telling her this story. When she had finished it, Emma put her arms around her mother"s neck, and told her that indeed she would try to obey at once, and be a good little girl, so that her dear Mother would never be unhappy about her again.
Her Mother kissed her, and took her down stairs, and gave her some breakfast, and all this day, and ever after, she did try very hard to be good. Whenever she felt herself going about any thing slowly, the thought of the poor boy who had lost his ear would come into her mind, and she would jump up at once, when her Mother called her, and do whatever she wanted her to do, pleasantly and quickly.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "Presently their mother opened the door."]
THE TWINS.
"Well, Susan," said her Father one day, as she came home from school, "I am glad to see you; I wish to inform you that two young gentlemen arrived here to-day."
"What are their names, Father?" asked Susan.
"I do not know," answered her Father--"I do not believe they have got any names. They are very small--so small, that at this moment they are both asleep in the great chair."
"Both asleep in the great chair?" cried Susan, astonished at what her Father had said. "I do believe you have been buying two little monkeys."
"No, I have not," said her Father, laughing.
"Now come with me, and I will show you these strangers, and then see if you will say they are monkeys."
Susan went with her Father. He took her hand, and led her into her Mother"s room. The room was dark, and her Mother was lying in the bed.
Susan was afraid that she was sick. She went to her and said--
"Dear Mother, are you sick? You look very pale."
Her Mother kissed her, and said, "I am very weak, my dear child; but do you not want to see your little brothers?"
"Brothers?--where?" cried Susan. "Have I a brother?"
"Two of them," said her Father. "Come here, Susan, here they both are, fast asleep."
Susan went up to the great easy chair, and in the seat of it she saw, all tucked up warm, two little round fat faces lying close together.
Their noses nearly touched each other, and they looked funny enough.
"Well, Susan," said her Father, "do you like the monkeys?"
"Oh Father!" answered the little girl, clasping her hands, "I am so glad--I am so happy! They are exactly alike--how I shall love them, the dear little toads."
"Toads," said her Father, laughing; "they don"t look a bit like toads."
"Well, I said that because I loved them so," replied Susan, "just as you sometimes call me your little mouse."
For two weeks, the little twins slept together in the great chair, and there was no end to Susan"s wonder and delight. Her Mother had to tie a bit of red silk around the wrist of one of them, to tell them apart.
They grew very fast, and were the dearest little fellows in the world, they had such bright merry black eyes, and were always ready to have a frolic with Susan. As they grew up, they were so good, and so pretty, that every body loved them, and a great many people came to see them. I forgot to tell you that one was named George and the other James.
One day, when the twins were three years old, they were left alone in the breakfast room. The things on the breakfast table had been cleared away, except a bowl nearly full of sugar, which was standing on the table.
Presently the little fellows spied the bowl of sugar. "George," said James, "if you will help me with this chair, I will give you some sugar."
So both the boys took hold of the heavy chair, and dragged it to the table. Then James helped George to climb upon it, and from that he scrambled up on the table. He walked across, to where the sugar was, and sat down on the table, and took the sugar bowl in his lap.
"Now you get the bench," said George.
So James got the bench, and put it close to the side of the table where George was, and stood upon it.
You should have seen how their merry black eyes sparkled, at the fine feast they were going to have. They did not think that they were doing wrong, for their Mother had often given them a little sugar.
So George took the spoon that was in the sugar, and helped James to a spoonful, and then took one himself. He was very particular to give James exactly as many spoonfuls as he took himself.
They were having such a delightful time, that, for some moments, they did not speak a single word. George began first--
"This is nice," said George.
"I like sugar," said James.
"It is so sweet," said George.
"And so good," said James.
"We will eat it all up," said George.
"We won"t leave a bit," said James.
"It is most all gone," said George.
"There is hardly any left," said James.
All this time they were talking, George had been stuffing his brother and himself with the sugar.