| Show i THE FROCK I 1 I 1 I 1 1 OR A LESSOR FROM THE FHE I 1 little annie sat safety by the cradle of her bay baby brot brother ber millie alillie had bad fallen asleep lo 10 long no ag ngo q 0 i but annies toot foot looking so pretty in its i white s stocking and little e red morocco slip I 1 pers still rested afi on the rocker eady to move tb the cradle if the little one stir i not noi that annie thought much mach about wak I 1 ing either for she was so busily bu engrossed 0 ed with another adoth er am loy ment thae I 1 41 dont 1 1 F think I 1 the bhe even knew where her f foot bot was I 1 in her lap lay a little square tin box b ax with a narrow 0 i slit at the top and annie with an i old knife kenw was s working at the opening to make it broader it was rather rathe r difficult work for those white little fingers but she succeeded finally in making the slit as s wide as she wished and then she turned the box bos up irp aide 66 down aud and out rattled such a abo shower of silver sixpences i and shillings into her har 1 lap that I 1 the b baby aby star started in his his cradle at the noise they made made clinking 0 against each other annie rocked the cradle softly fly till the rosy little face within settled down again into calm sweet slumber and then she commenced to count the silver pieces that lay in her lap such a lot of them there were new 1 bright dimes and half dimes smooth worn sixpences and shillings and here and there a freshly f coined quarter dollar little A an n e was very rich for six long months she held had saved every de penny anny that came into her possession ses the geeki weekly y sixpences sixpence s that her father gave her for pocket money and the shillings that her aunt annaf AoDie for or whom she was named gave her on all the money in in short that she had acquired in that time tim eliad had been faithfully ully put ut away in that little tin box and yet little little annie was by no means stingy or miserly and she had many a time strongly g tempted to spend the money money that was placed in her hands she had always alwa y a overcome the temptation though and hurried to put it away into the tn box where she knew it would be safe for that was nut not to be opened till a certain time pm im sure ive got enough now 9 she said to herself gaily after she had carefully counted the whole sum you dear little willie you prettiest sweetest baby in the world wont you look sweet and sh shant ant I 1 be happy she exclaimed merrily as she rj st stooped down to kiss the curly hair and so soft ft cheek odthe of tho child in her delight deligh V this this was the secret then of little anniea 9 saving I 1 willie washer was her only brother and the only biby baby that had been in the house since annie herself was a baby and now she was twelve years old she had always longed much for a baby brother or sister to pet beet and play with and whon willie came her er delight knew no bounds she had never known how to do elou enough 0 ff h for him or how to show sufficiently her lo 10 love ve for him and at last after puzzling g 0 her lit tle tie head for a irrean great while to think of something thing that she might ight do she decided upon the plan alan of saving her pocket money till she had enough to buy him a beautiful little dress prettier than any thing he had her mother had taught her to sew se w very f fully ally and she in tended intended to buy the dress and and make it herself quite alone without telling any any one about it and then on willies birthday da she would dress him and show him 1 in I hi his pretty frock to his mother I 1 t it had taken six months of close self de nial to g lin the means tor for her plan but now its abc acc accomplishment seemed just at hand and annies childish heart beat high hi h in anticipation of the pleasure she would have in this simple gift to her baby brother she way wa wapiti siti 4 s sorry that willie woke up soon after for she felt quite too merry to sit still and she gave yent to her happiness in toss tossing ipg the baby up in her arms and making a him laugh lauch and crow brow head taken him to the cottage win do dow W which was thrown open for it was now the middle of may and warm sunny weather all the while and was pulling some clusters of yellow honeysuckle from the vine that clambered up to the low roof for him hi in to play with v when hen a pair of martins suddenly flew out from amongst the vines annie leaned out of the tha window winder and looked up u p to the place from whence they had ilow flow nanI nand then she saw that they had commenced to build under the eaves of the cottage roof some clay with bits ot of sticks and straws the first beginning of a nest was plasterer 4 against I 1 the wall all and the busy little martins had flown off in search of more material annie was much delighted I 1 mamma the martins have come back she exclaimed eagerly when her mother i came into the room presently and they are building 0 un der our house 1 I amso am so glad i the martins are teaching you a les lesson son little girl 9 said her mother smiling no they are loing doing their work while my littfe daughter is neglecting hers to watch them but mother I 1 am I 1 taking 0 care of willie said annie willie would have sat upon the floor or in his chair I 1 fancy if you had bad been willing Z to let him annie aanie but bat I 1 think you like to take caire care of willie better than to sew I 1 still we must not let even our love interfere f ere with our duty dont you know andi abd the skirt of your new dress must be finished I 1 today to day I 1 I 1 I 1 annie blushed a little for she ws eon con colous that she had not been very v diligent that day she had been counting counti I 1 fir her cpr npr and planning wallies Wll lies new ne w frock and so wasting time while her proper work lay undone beside her she took up the dress skirt now though and sat down to sew and while her swift little fingers flew up and down the seams of the pink gil gingham ligham she thought all the while with many bright fancies of a certain little frock ever so much finer aud and prettier than this upon chieh she meant to tie be b ausy u s y very soon and her mother did not know what made her face so bright and her obil childish dish song so sweetland swee sweet and tand glad little annie asked for DW leave next dayto day to I 1 I 1 I 1 go to the village she wanted a spool of blue cotton dorher for her sampler she slid sid and that was the truth though not quite aalthe truth sober so her mother gave her permission and annie put on the pink gingham dress which was finished now and her er black silk apron with her hernice nice straw bonnet and long lonz mita mits and then she ahe started out oat she had already decided what she meant to buy the dress was to bo be of white cashmere very soft and fine and to be trimmed the little sleeves and low neck and short full f till skirt with a great many maily rowse gold colored silk braid so it was soon bought and annie on her way homo home again with the little bundle hidden under her apron lest fest any one should seg see I 1 her mother was put gut of the house when she reached the cottage and annie ran straight to her own little A room to hide her treasure very much delighted at having succeeded so well she was impatient to begin her work right away hut but there were other things to be done first she remembered with a sigh papas cravat to be hemmed hell dellbe be sure bare to want it tomorrow to morrow she said to herself and so she sat down by the window wind ow where she ca could uld watch the martins now and then and work too 1 I wonder will first mo ther thersha she said as her mother came into the room 11 1 I or tue tille martins papa will faveto buy a cravat ready hemmed I 1 think annie said her mother f you let the martins finish first your work is the work afan of an hour I 1 but theirs of in more or a than a week annie did not answer a 1 awer but I 1 she laughed to herself for she was thinking not of the cravat cra vat but of babas frock upstairs which would be a weeks work for her she knew 7 1 11 I shall have to try a race with the martins mart iw she abo thought u crat and then she looked up to the th eaves and saw that the clay wall of the nest had grown about half an inch higher bigger than it was yester yesterday dav they had the start 1 she he said but ill try it anyway and the f fancy ancy of running running a race with nith the abe martins interested interest ed her so much that thi long hem of the cravat did not seam nearly so tiresome 1 she got a chance that af afternoon to measure the little skirt and tear off the bread tha and next day her mother went vent out oat and she took willig into her r bomi and sewed nearly all the morning morn izig so that by the time her mother came back the skirt was entirely made except the trimming az that was easy to do thong though bi the troublesome part pare wa was the cutting bouc out and shaping 11 of the waste and as annie nnie had never done much of such work I 1 it required a great deal of care and caution to get it right sh puzzled it er erby by the aid of one of willies dresses for a pattern oz and after a little more than a weeks work it at in intervals of time she ibe had it ii completed except for the trimming taka ming which bich W she thought thou glit she would not put oo on till she sherried tried the dress d r ess to see s e what alterations would be needed she had been watching the I 1 martins closely all this while to see what progress they made and nd this thia morning 0 she had discovered that tha e outside of the nest was finished the birds were bringing fet feathers fiers and grass glass to line it never mind little tle martins ill be even with youl you she said saia I 1 gally gaily and then I 1 she rap away to look for wlllie willie that she mi gl 4 try on tha dress she brought him bim to her own room and fastened the i loor so that no one could come in and then she dressed the child ili in the little white I 1 cashmere but alas f for or po jr annie she had made the skirt sp so long that it trailed ed upon the floor and trammelled the childs feet and the wai waist 8 t in the same way was so large that it hung like a bag about his hip baby figure all the work upon the waist was lost it would have hare to be taken to pieces entirely poor annie she was I 1 so 80 grieved and worried that she lost her usual good temper completely she pulled off the frock hastily so hastily that I 1 it if willie had not been the best baby in the world he would certainly have cried and rang flung it to the other side of the room where it struck ti against A a table on which stood a little bottle of medicine which annie had been taking for a cold the b atlle fell to the floor with I 1 the dress and before annie could spring to save it it was broken and more than one dark drop had spattered upon upon the pure D lire white cashmere thimas this was the acho climax to her misfortunes and annie sat down upon the floor and burst into such passionate weeping that poor willie was wa 3 nearly frightened to death 1 and sat up a cry that brought brou his mother in in sudden haste to the door annie was 0 obliged bli 11 cred to get up to open it and then her mother wanted to know the cau cause of the disturbance it was s some ome time before annie could command herself sufficiently en al y t to 0 eap exp explain lain but she told the whole el stor at last and her I 1 mother mothe r pitied d her ver very y ll 11 much uch amy ly poor i little girl she said caressingly as she drew her arm aim around annie and then she continued more gravely but it did not do any good my my child to get into intha A passion be because callahn e your u work did not suit you at once but hatco rather r lit harm irm it dj did not help the fitting of the frock ck to throw it across the room room and get et it stained with syrup afi a i ita ta no but I 1 help it mamma ammal Al I 1 was I 1 tingry angry an anger eras is almost always fo foolish oish my child and makes ignes matters worse than before if louwill you will only remember that when you are tempted to fly into a passion it would save boti you areat deal of repentance but let us see tins this 1 itle frock and see it if iao nothing thing can I 1 be done doh with it and annies mot mother her took up the white dress to eia examine min it it was ater after up all not very much ch soiled only a few I 1 drops of the liquid had fallen upon 1 I 1 con t the h e waist an and 4 her mother told her that 8 she e could take ake e stained s t aitse piece and apt enough from the ski skirt rt which i was unseasonably unreasonably wide to make inake up up the deficiency annies aniel 1 face grew brighter theres ila another edther ia tha thing kither mother she said P smiling smilie through her r te tears qs 11 1 I w was a goli gorog to run ran a ra race c with was the martins and get my worldon work done don e first and now now the inmans mir irina are so far I 1 ahead of me that I 1 shall never win therace th the erade race in the world aar H er mother smiled too tut but rather gravely i look inbok out of the window annie she said land and tell medhat me what you flee annie put her head out of I 1 the e window in some iu surprise and looked up to the old platie place for the martins nest but bitt what w was her astonishment to find not aye a vestige stige of it ft there except I 1 some bita I 1 of dried dij ped play clay chat that clung to the eaves dames why mother she e exclaimed belai med eagerly IW hat has become of the nest and her mother told her how but a little while 1 before lefore in returning r from the garden 3 she had seep seen a boy boi strike stAke ire ane nest down with ai a I 1 6 i liia and crus crushed aitto it to pieces ud and that he then hid had run away before sh she e could speak to him b what hat a I 1 bad boya exclaimed annie ann le in in di dign na aptly 1 I fly I 1 I 1 whit haac I 1 made him do I 1 ita it I 1 mamma mami maini M hie e thought the there ri were birds in ili it I 1 sappo seand wanted to steal them L her cism ma answered seem seam to hiie have no idea of the cruelty i of such thi things ng i but what do you suppose 0 so the the mart martins in s will ivill do I 1 now an niel 11 1 I dont danh know what what I 1 W will 1 11 they hado do I 1 I 1 I 1 1 1 I 1 11 r I 1 I 1 I 1 what will you iou do with this little dress i A annie ruil e I 1 i oh ob mammi bamm i 1 it seem as if I 1 ever I 1 could daany do uny thing with it i and yet I 1 will venture to say aay that the martins will rebuild their I 1 as patiently ari ao d as completely ps as they built it at ai first I 1 what if you ru run a a race with them now annie n iea see if ft it is not as I 1 tell you yon and then iben like the martins begin houi your work again abpie clapped her hands gleefully at the proposal all her ill humor hid had iani vanished shed 2 and she was only sorry now that she had given way to it at first she watched for the martins next day aud and flure enough as her mother had told her lier she saw savi th them going 1 back to their work with patient industry and little annie took hers hera and with the help of her mothers advice and direction all 11 the difficulties were soon done away with and some days before th the bu poor 1 martins margins nest was finished wil willie lie had c celebrated his birthday birth day in ME hits beautiful 0 little little dress very sweetland swee sweet and tand pretty the rasy rosy litile fel aw 1 w tn the delicate frock and very much pleased was annies father cathor when be heard the whole cory about it little annie was happier though t 5 and inori wore pleased with her mothers kiss and simple words of commendation for her self denial and je pe severance than she was even with tho pretty I 1 gift which her father brought her not many days after it was 4 a complete little workbox derx verv beautifully finished and fitted Z up with all manner of |
