n_ to
tell a lie, even if it did turn out to be one."

"What did thee tell, Isabelle?" inquired Mrs. Benjamin.

"I told Peggy that my father was handsome, meaning my make-believe one.
The girls asked me about him, and I told them a lot of stories about
him. They were always asking me to tell more."

"They were all about rescuing beautiful girls, and catching burglars,
and saving children. You ought to have heard what she told us about
him!" exclaimed Agnes Pollock.

"Why, Isabelle!"

"But they were true! They did happen to the other one!"

"There isn't any other one!" retorted Peggy.

"Yes, there is. I believe in him, and so do you, every one of you!"
countered Isabelle. "He was just as real as Mr. Benjamin. You said so
yourselves."

"But he's only made up."

"Oh, can't you see that the things you make up are lots realer than the
things that are?" cried Isabelle with such conviction that they were all
silenced.

"The matter comes to this, doesn't it? Isabelle, not intending to lie,
misled all of ye about her father," said Mr. Benjamin, gravely.

"Yes, and we adored him so! When that little wizened man came in, we
almost died!" blurted out Peggy.

The light broke upon the Benjamins, but they tried not to smile at each
other.

"Isabelle's imagination can prove a gift or a curse," Mr. Benjamin
continued. "Its possession lays a great obligation upon her. If it is
used to mislead, or to obscure the truth, it is a dangerous power.
Whatever the extenuating circumstances, it comes to this, that Isabelle
lied to her friends. Phoebe, what does thee think about this situation?"

"I think thee is right in saying that this is a very serious matter. I
agree with Isabelle, that she should be punished, if only to remind her
that such misuse of a talent is a very ugly thing."

"I have been punished by the way the girls have treated me! I am
punished when Mr. Benjamin says I have told a lie! But I want you to do
something to hurt me! I wish Mr. Benjamin would beat me, or put me on
bread and water. I hate myself. I'm just a common, mean liar! Whatever
you decide to do to me is all right, and I deserve it!"

As she denounced herself, she fairly glowed with indignation; she was
radiant with humility. The girls were hypnotized by her!

"I think Isabelle should miss the recreation hour for a month," said Mr.
Benjamin.

The girls gasped, for this was the extreme penalty, but Isabelle never
flinched.

"I will, Mr. Benj