ying over,
this discovery that she was homely. She knew it was a tragedy, from
what Ellen and Mary said about girls who were not pretty. And the
worst of it was that even the Grant Girls, who were her mother's very
best and closest friends, admitted the shameful fact. Mrs. Johnnie
Dunn would say even Joanna Falls was ugly, just to be mean, but the
Grant Girls always said the very best about any one that could be said.
Flora Grant had admitted that she was a "Nice bit lassock," but that
was small comfort. Christina would have preferred to be pronounced the
most disagreeable little girl in all the Province of Ontario, provided
her accuser had added that she was a beauty. Character might be
improved, but what hope was there for an ugly face?

The Lindsay habit of industry forbade that she sit long under a bush
covered with berries bewailing her lack of comeliness, for even a
person as homely as a day-old colt might make use of twenty-five cents.
So she wiped her eyes on her blue-checked pinafore, and crawling out
from her hiding-place, set stoically to work.

She had been following a path led by the ripest and largest fruit, and
rounding a clump of briars, she came upon some one's dinner basket,
tucked away in a cool corner. There was a pink silk sash folded on the
top of the basket, and from underneath peeped the edge of a hand
mirror. The basket undoubtedly belonged to Joanna Falls, who was here
with a party of girls from the village. Joanna was quite the
handsomest girl in Orchard Glen, and Mrs. Johnnie Dunn said she
believed she never went even to church without a looking-glass in her
pocket. Christina glanced about her guiltily, and then, trembling,
took up the little mirror. For the first time in her life she looked
carefully and critically at her own countenance.

She saw a thin, little, brown face, framed by a blue sunbonnet, big
blue eyes that made the sunbonnet look faded, some untidy wisps of
straight fair hair, and a great many freckles scattered over a shapely
nose. Christina carefully replaced the mirror and moved on feeling
like a thief.

Yes, she understood now why she was homely. It was her straight hair
and those dreadful freckles. Mary had beautiful long black curls, and
Ellen had brown wavy hair, and both of them tanned a lovely even brown
with never a spot or blemish. Well, she would cure both maladies, see
if she wouldn't! Mary said Joanna Falls washed her face and hands
every nigh