of scissors Jessie had ever seen.

"Oh, Jessie!" she said, "you are just in time. I am going out to
gather some flowers, and you will be able to help me. Come in,
dear--no, we will not go in yet, we will go first and get the
flowers, or the sun will be on them."

Jessie's frightened little face grew quite cheerful again.
She thought this a delightful way of doing lessons, and marched along
happily enough at Miss Grace's side, soon forgetting all her shyness
in helping her to pick out the handsomest stocks and the finest
roses. When the basket was full Miss Grace led the way to a window
which opened down to the ground.

"This is my very own sitting-room," she said, as she stepped through
the open window; "don't you think I ought to be very happy here?"

"Oh yes!" sighed Jessie, as she looked about her at the flowers, the
pictures, and all the pretty things. "I shouldn't ever want to go
away from it if it was mine."

Miss Grace laughed. "Well, we are going to do our lessons here, and
perhaps when twelve o'clock comes you won't be the least little bit
sorry to go away from it. But first of all I want you to help me
arrange these flowers a little, and then go with me to carry them to
a poor lady who is ill. Do you know the different kinds of roses by
name, Jessie?"

Jessie did not. "Well, I will tell you some of them, and then you
will be able to surprise grandfather. A gardener's granddaughter
should know all these things. That lovely spray of little pink roses
you are holding is called 'Dorothy Perkins.' You will remember that,
won't you? And this deep orange-tinted bud is 'William Allen
Richardson.'"

"'William Allen Richardson,'" repeated Jessie. "I think Miss Perkins
is much prettier than Mr. Richardson."

Miss Grace laughed. "You are a very polite little girl, Jessie.
Look at this one; this is called 'Homer,' but you need not call it
Mr. or Mrs., but just plain 'Homer.'"

"I think it ought to be called 'pretty Homer,'" said Jessie, smiling.

By the time they had arranged all the flowers in the basket, she knew
quite a lot about the different kinds and their names. Miss Grace
made everything so attractive, and it was wonderful what a lot of
interesting things she saw as she went about, even when she walked
only across the green to Mrs. Parker's to leave the flowers.

Jessie did not see the poor dirty grey toad lying panting and
frightened on the pathway, but Miss Grace did, and stooped and