re, now, that isn't any sort of an answer at all. What shall I tell
you about, Thanny?"

"Oh, tell us about a sailor boy, who wore a tarpaulin hat and a blue
jacket with a collar to it--and how he went to sea, and got shipwrecked
on an uninhabited, desert island, and _almost_ got drowned, but didn't
quite--and then, after a great many years, he came home one snow-stormy
night, and knocked at the door, with a bag full of dollars and a bunch
of cocoa nuts, and his old father and mother almost died of joy to see
him."

"Well done! But now that you know the whole of the story, it wont be of
any use for me to tell it over again. What shall I tell you about,
Nelly?"

"Tell us about something you used to do when you was a little girl."

"When I was a little girl? Ah yes: do you know that I used to be a wild
and careless creature, and did many things which I am sorry for now? I
would often act upon the impulse of the moment, therefore I said many
vain and foolish words, and though I did not intend evil, yet I often
committed thoughtless acts, which were, in themselves, very wrong. I did
not restrain that spirit as I ought to, so it grew upon me, until it
almost became a part of my nature, and now that I have grown up to be a
woman, and people expect better things of me--a word, a thought, or look
will call forth those feelings once more, even at times of the most
serious reflection; and then many call me light-minded and trifling. I
do not blame them, but in my heart I do not feel so. Take care of
yourselves in time, that you may not have these sorrowful fruits to
repent of. But I do not mean to preach you a sermon, instead of telling
a story. And now that you have reminded me of my earlier days, I will
tell you about a place called Acorn Hollow, for of all the spots that I
love to remember, this is one of the dearest to me."

"Where is it, Aunt Lissa?"

"It is about two miles from your grandfather's house, in the woods, at
the south part of the town. I have visited it at all times and seasons
of the year, but the first time I ever saw it was in the dead of
winter."

"Why, how happened that?"

"It was the 22d of December--the anniversary of the landing of the
Pilgrims, and there was to be a grand entertainment in the evening, to
which my older sisters were invited. They wanted some of the curly
ground pine, which keeps green all winter, to put with the flowers they
wore in their hair; and as brother Alfred was always