you hadn't broken the rule about
whispering in class in the first place, nothing would have happened. So
I think we won't blame Miss Abbie. I will tell her about it myself, and
nothing more will be said about it to you.'

"I thought Miss Sarah was very good and kind, but my conscience troubled
me very much. Phoebe Dawson, too, made me feel thoroughly ashamed of
myself. When she came to school the next day she brought me this lovely
string of beads, which she said her uncle had brought her home from
India.

"'You had all that trouble on my account yesterday,' she said, in her
good-natured way, 'so I brought you these to make up. My uncle brings me
quantities of things, so you must take these, to please me,' for, of
course, I protested against taking them.

"'You needn't have minded about telling what you really did say,' she
went on. 'I know I'm dreadfully untidy, but if I had a mother, or a
sister, or any one to look out for me, I'd be different, perhaps,' and
her eyes filled with tears.

"Well, I grew very fond of Phoebe Dawson after that, and soon I went
to see her. She had a lovely home, full of beautiful things, but
everything was as untidy and uncared for as she was herself. Phoebe's
mother had died when she was a baby, and her father was a great scholar,
who was always buried in his books, and the two servants managed things
as they liked. But Phoebe improved very much as she grew older, and we
remained friends always."

"Is she living now?" asked Cricket, turning over the beads with
interest.

"No, she died several years ago, and she was the grandmother of your
little friend, Emily Drayton."

"_Was_ she? How funny! And what was the lesson you learned, grandma?"

"You may guess that for yourself," said grandma, smiling. "Will you
choose again?"

CHAPTER XVI.

TWO LITTLE RUNAWAYS.

Cricket dived into the box again.

"What's in this paper?" she asked.

Grandma took the folded sheet, and carefully opened it. There were two
soft curls of bright gold hair, fastened to the middle of it by sealing
wax.

"These are two little curls I cut from the children's heads when they
were small. _My_ children, I mean. Your mamma's and Auntie Jean's. It
was the first time their hair was ever cut, and how badly I felt, to
have to have it done!"

"But why did you do it?" asked Cricket.

"Naughty little things! I had to."

"Oh, _do_ tell me about that. I just love hearing about mamma when she
was naughty