"Would you care to hear?"

"I should love to, dearie."

"I didn't _make_ much sunshine, I guess, 'nless 'twas here at home where
folks know me, but I tried. You know Hope has been taking flowers to
one of her teachers at High School, and the other day Miss Pope told her
that she gave them all to her brother who is lame and can't walk, and he
spends all his days drawing and painting the pretty things he sees.
Well, there is a teacher in our school who looks awful turned-down at
the mouth, and kind of sour like, and last week Minnie Herbert told me
that it was 'cause the woman had lost her brother in a wreck. So I
thought maybe she'd like some flowers, and I took her some. I didn't
know her name, but she was sitting in the hall to keep order during
recess time, and I carried the bouquet right up to her and laid them in
her lap. I 'xpected to see her smile, but instead, she picked them up
and looked kind of red as she asked me what made me bring them to her. I
meant to tell her I was sorry she looked so lonely and sad, but what I
really said was 'homely and bad.' I don't see why it is I always twist
things up so, but that made her mad and I couldn't explain it so's she
would take the flowers again, and I had to give them to one of the girls
whose mother has _delirious tremors_."

"Oh, Peace, you have made a mistake."

"What is it, then?"

"I presume the poor woman is delirious with a fever of some sort."

"_Tryfoid_," supplied Peace. "Stella told teacher so. That same day on
my way home from school I saw a little girl lugging a heavy pail, and
the handle kept cutting her hands, so she had to set it down every few
steps and change to the other side. When I asked her to let me help, she
gave me hold, and we carried the bucket down the alley to a
chicken-coop, where it had to be dumped, 'cause it was slops for the
hens. There was a big box there to stand on, and I lifted the pail to
the top of the fence and emptied it, but the woman which owns the
chickens was right under where the stuff fell, and she didn't like it a
bit, and scolded us both good.

"Then there was Birdie Holden who wanted a bite of my apple, and when I
turned it around to give her a good chance at it, she bit straight into
a worm, and said I did it on purpose, though I never knew the worm was
there any more'n she did.

"But the worst of all was the day teacher sent me to the office for
thumb tacks to fasten up our drawings around the room. She told