play."

"_We_ act a play! Who ever heard of such a thing?"

"Yes; she has partly written, partly translated a little play, and here
is her letter with it."

"MY DARLING CHILDREN;

"Don't you wish, you could get on faster than ever
with your mittens? Well, here, is a plan that came
into my head a few days ago, and I have been
arranging it very industriously.

"You must go right to work to learn the parts in
this little play. I do not approve of some parts
of it, because a deceit was practised to bring one
of the boys to a sense of his selfish and
undutiful conduct. This was 'doing evil that good
may come,' and was very wrong. If your mother were
to punish you by deceiving you, you would doubt
her ever after; and for a child to doubt a parent
is, I should think, one of the most miserable
feelings in the world.

"With this very important exception, the little
play is pretty good. And this is what your mother
and I will do: When you are perfect in your parts,
we will have a private rehearsal. Then we will
invite about fifty of our friends to witness this
elegant entertainment, for which they must pay
_one pair of mittens apiece_ for the brave
soldiers. We will give them one week to make them,
which will be abundance of time; and I have no
doubt but what they will think it very cheap pay
for so much pleasure."

A long pause took place when the letter was finished; the children were
so astonished, as well as delighted, at the new work prepared for them.

"Well!" cried Harry at last, "what _would_ George say, if he knew the
monkeys and crabs would turn actors next?"

"He would think it splendid," answered Anna. "You know the poor
soldiers, who were made prisoners at that dreadful Bull Run battle,
acted plays in their prisons, to keep themselves from dying of
home-sickness."

"I want to act," said Willie.

"I want to act," echoed Bennie.

"Well," said the Little Mother, "let us see how many characters there
are."

They all crowded round while she unrolled the paper. "Here is the
mother, Mrs. Langdon. You must take that, Anna; and Harry will be
Edward, your son."

"If he is the bad boy," said Anna, laughing, "I'll give him a thrashing
every morning b