Ponto knew very well what this meant, and he rapped with his tail as hard as he could on the rug. Then Frankie made the dog lie down, and he laid his head upon him.
Ponto was delighted to have his little master use him for a pillow; so he lay very still indeed. I suppose he thought Frankie wished to go to sleep.
Then Mrs. Gray told Nelly how the good dog had pulled Frankie out of the water, and how much they all loved him. But Nelly only said, "I hate dogs, I do, they"re so ugly and cross;" and then she put her finger in her mouth again.
"Mamma," said Frankie, "I want to hear "bout Moses "gen. Pease, mamma, tell me toly "bout Moses."
"Well," said mamma, "I"ll get my sewing and tell you the rest of the story." So Frankie lay with his head on Ponto, and listened to mamma.
Nelly sat in her little chair, and sucked her finger and tended her doll. "I told you," said the lady, "that Moses began to wish he had not touched the orange; but it was of no use to wish that now, for there it was all squeezed and sucked, and what should he do with it?
"When the cook had set the table, she rang the bell, and presently his father and mother came down to breakfast.
""Where"s Moses?" asked his mamma; "I expected to find him at the table."
""He came down early," said the cook; "but I have not seen him for a good while."
""Won"t you see if he is out doors?" said the lady.
"Moses knew it was of no use for him to wait any longer; so he came out laughing.
""Why, what were you doing, my dear?" asked the lady.
""I was hiding," said the boy."
"O, that was a naughty lie!" exclaimed Frankie.
"Yes, dear, when children do one naughty thing, they almost always do another. Moses had stolen his mother"s orange, and now he told a lie to hide it. His mother did not think he would act so wickedly. She asked, "Do you remember, Moses, this is your birthday."
""Yes, mamma."
""You have a very pleasant day for your party," said his father; and then Moses began to talk about what he should play when his company came. "Shall you have the supper first?" he asked.
""No, my dear. I shall wait until you have played a while."
"After breakfast the lady swept and dusted the parlors, to have them ready for the party. Then she sat down to her sewing, while she heard Moses read and spell. After this he went out doors to play with his hoop.
"In the middle of the afternoon she began to arrange for her little feast. First, she took the nut-cracker and cracked the large walnuts, the almonds, and the filberts, and put them in the gla.s.s dishes ready to set them on the table. Then she cut the cake into square pieces, and grated sugar over them. After that, she put the figs into plates, and then brought out the basket of oranges.
"All this time, Moses had been kneeling in his chair by the table, watching her as she worked. He looked very sober. He was thinking about the orange, and wished he had not taken it.
"When his mother began to take the oranges from the basket, he felt as if he should cry, he was so afraid she would find out what he had done.
""Why," said the lady to herself, "here are only twelve. I asked him to get thirteen." She counted them over again. All at once she looked at Moses, and said, "I hope you have not eaten one of mother"s oranges, my dear."
""No," said the little boy, "I haven"t touched one.""
"O, dear!" said Frankie. "I"m afraid G.o.d won"t love Moses any more, he is so naughty, and tells so many lies."
Frankie jumped up when he said this, and Ponto took the opportunity to turn himself over. He had lain very still before, for fear of disturbing his little master.
""What did you want thirteen for?" asked Moses. "You said there would be twelve at the party."
""Because I meant to send one to Sarah Christie. Joseph and Belle are coming, but Sarah is sick, you know; so I meant to send her one. I suppose your father forgot it; but I"m very sorry.""
Mrs. Gray was going on to tell the rest of the story, but she saw that Frankie looked very pale, and she stopped.
"I want to womit," said he, and she ran quickly to get the bowl. Then she gave him some medicine, and put him into bed, while she sent Nelly to play out doors until he awoke.
CHAPTER IV.
NELLY"S PUNISHMENT.
IN a few days Frankie was quite well again, and able to play merrily with Nelly, who had sadly missed him in her out-door exercise.
The little girl had not been long with her aunt before the lady saw that the right training of her niece would require much skill and patience.
Nelly had never been taught to obey, and could not be made to understand why she should not have her own way, as she had done at home.
There was another thing which made her aunt feel very badly. She found that, young as Nelly was, she had already learned to deceive, and no one could trust her word a moment. Then she was selfish, and while she would not oblige her cousins by lending them her books or toys, she was very angry if they did not at once yield theirs to her, when she asked for them.
She was so pert and uncivil in her talk, that Sally, and even Jane, disliked to have her about; and at last her aunt was obliged to shut her in her own room, she spoke so impudently to the servants. Instead of asking the nurse to do her a favor, as the other children did, she used to say, "Go right up stairs quick, Sally, and get my bonnet;" and once, when Sally did not start, she said, "You"re an ugly girl," and struck her in the face.
Nurse started forward to hold her hands, when at this moment Mrs. Gray entered the room.
Nelly was ashamed that her aunt had heard her, for she loved her aunt better than any one in the house; but when the lady took her hand firmly to lead her up stairs, she screamed and struggled to get away. "I don"t like to stay here," she cried; "this is an ugly house. I wish my mamma would come home and take me away."
Mrs. Gray led her to a chair in her own room, and going out locked the door after her. But Nelly kicked and pounded the door so hard, and threw over the chairs, that her aunt was obliged to call Sally to help her tie the naughty girl to a chair.
She was very sorry to do this, and the tears were in her eyes; but Sally was right glad to have the child punished as she deserved. Indeed, she had told Jane the day before that she did not see how mistress had so much patience with the naughty child.
Mrs. Gray did not intend to hurt Nelly. She only meant to fasten her hands and feet to the chair so as to prevent her doing any more mischief. She took large towels from the washstand to do this; but Nelly kicked and screamed, and at last made a great scratch on her aunt"s face. After that Sally took the child in her arms, and held her so tight she could not move.
When they had fastened her firmly to her seat, they went out, and left her to think of her bad conduct.
Mrs. Gray went into her closet, and asked G.o.d to direct her what to do in order to make Nelly a good, obedient child.
After an hour she went back, and said, "Are you sorry, my dear, that you have been so naughty?"
"I don"t love you. I want to go to Maria," was the only reply.
Her aunt sighed, when she found the little girl was not at all subdued, and she went out again.
If Nelly could have put her finger in her mouth, it would have been no punishment for her to stay there, for she could lie back in the chair and go to sleep.
When her uncle came home to dinner, he found Willie, and Frankie, and mamma, sitting silent and sad in the parlor, while from above stairs came the sound of loud and angry crying. The lady wept as she told her husband how naughty Nelly had behaved. "I had no idea," she said, "that she had so bad a temper."
"Shall I go up and talk with her?" asked the gentleman.