tops. But I suppose I must get you something, or she will fire
you. I'll give you a dress that'll be long enough all right--one that
goes right down to the floor, and if Mrs. Belshow doesn't like it,
she'll have to lump it. I can't afford to get you new dresses every year
and you not through growing yet. Gee, that Mrs. Belshow must think we're
millionaires!'

"When I made my appearance the next Sunday morning in a neat long skirt,
the honourable lady praised me very highly, saying that now I looked
like a respectable young woman. 'Why, you actually look pretty, my
child,' she said. 'You must get a nice ribbon for your neck, and then
you will be fine.' This remark made me very happy, for I had been
secretly longing for a dress of this kind. Now, at last, I was a real
grown-up lady. Perhaps I might soon have a fellow, who would take me to
the show, just like the girls in the factory. I thrilled with joy. Later
I looked into the mirror a long while, admiring myself and dreaming of
the afternoon, when I would be free. I decided that I would go to the
dance, and pictured to myself how surprised and envious the other girls
would be, when they saw me looking so fine. I would certainly not miss
one single dance the whole afternoon, for I was sure the boys would be
fascinated and that the swellest among them would see me home in the
evening.

"These joys made the morning an unforgettable one; but soon it was time
to get ready to go. I went to my room and curled my hair, and then was
more pleased with myself than ever. I really looked pretty! Oh, the joy
of it! I do not need to explain, even to a man. Briefly, I looked
sweller than ever. The only thing needed to complete my toilet were some
bright ribbons to fix in my hair and around my throat. I recollected
having seen some very pretty ribbons in my mistress's scrap-bag which
would do admirably. So I brought the scrap bag from the store room and
dumped the contents on my bed, and soon found just what I wanted--two
beautiful bits of silk. I hastily stitched them together, and was all
ready to go. I could return the silk to the bag the next morning and my
mistress would never know they had been gone. I thought regretfully what
a shame it was to throw such beautiful things into a scrap-bag.

"Poor, vain little me! I came home later than usual, that
never-to-be-forgotten night!--very tired, but very happy. And I had been
escorted all the way by the grandest young man I had ever kn