who waited for it.
Then she said to herself she would make out the other bills, for many
of the people in the village had bought a few loaves and rolls of her
making. "And when these are done, I may go down to the meadow to take
leave of my poor lamb."

But Susan could not find her slate, and when she did find it many of
the figures were blurred, for Barbara had sat upon it. And then the
numbers seemed to dance before her, and each time that she added, the
answer was different. She went over and over the sums until her head
ached. The table was covered with little square bits of paper on which
she had written the bills when her father came in, holding in his hand
an account.

"Look at this, Susan!" he said, handing it to her. "How could you be
so careless, child? What have you been thinking about to let a bill
like that go to the Abbey? Luckily, I met the messenger and asked to
see how much it was. Look at it."

Susan looked and blushed. Instead of "loaves" she had written "lambs."
She altered the mistake and handed the bill to her father. He,
meantime, was looking at the papers lying on the table.

"What are all these, child?" he asked.

"Some of them were wrong, and I wrote them out again."

"Some of them! All of them as far as I can see," said her father
rather angrily, pointing to the papers.

Susan read the bills. Most of them were for lambs instead of for
loaves or rolls. Her thoughts had indeed been running upon the pet she
was to part with so soon.

Once more she wrote the bills, and her father, who was struck by the
patient way she set to work, said he would himself collect the money.
He would be proud to be able to say to the neighbors that it was all
earned by his own little daughter. Susan heard him sigh as he passed
the knapsack she had packed for him, but she thought she would keep
the pleasure of telling him of his week's leave until he came home. He
had said he would have supper in her mother's room. She would tell the
good news then. "How delighted he will be when he hears," she said to
herself, "but I know he will be sorry too for poor Daisy."

Susan thought she would now have time to run down to the meadow by the
river-side to see her favorite, but just as she had tied on her straw
hat the clock struck four. This was the hour at which she always went
to fetch her brothers from the school near the village. So, as she
knew that the little boys would be sorry if she were late, she put off
he