ed her. He had her stand just as
she did when he surprised her out in the strawberry patch.

As she watched him paint he talked to her about the garden and the
strawberries. Then she told him how she used to gather wild
strawberries out in the country, and that she and her sister and
brother started very early in the morning because they wanted to find
them while they were still wet with dew. There was one place not far
from their house where there were many rocks, and one that was very
large. The very largest, sweetest berries grew in the shade of this
great rock. The children used to try to see who would reach it first;
then they would divide the berries they found, for there were only a
few of them, and all wanted a taste.

As Offy told about the rock Sir Joshua Reynolds sketched it in the
background of his picture, just as he thought it must have looked.

The little girl looks as if she had just started away with her basket
of berries when we stopped her to take her picture. She is looking
straight at us, with her head bent forward a little as she smiles
shyly at us with her big eyes. Her basket, cap, and dress seem strange
to us, for little girls do not dress that way now. She looks quaint
and old-fashioned as she stands there, with her hands clasped so
primly. But one glance at her face tells us that she is just a merry,
happy little child, ready to dart away at any moment for a romp in the
woods we can see in the distance.

Sir Joshua Reynolds always said that this was the best child's picture
he ever painted.

Offy was very happy in his home, and lived there until she grew up and
married. Then when she had a little girl of her own she let her visit
Sir Joshua and have her picture painted, too. It is Offy's little
daughter we see in the picture called "Simplicity." Her name was Offy,
too.

With so many lovely pictures of children it is no wonder Sir Joshua
Reynolds was called the "Prince of Child Painters."

=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= Who painted this
picture? What other picture of his have we studied? Who can tell
something about Sir Joshua Reynolds? What little girl came to live with
him? How did she happen to come? Where had she lived? Who brought her,
and how? Tell about Sir Joshua Reynolds's house and yard. Where was the
strawberry patch? What did Offy plan to do to surprise her uncle? What
happened? What did one of the men call Offy? What did her uncle do the
next morni