herefore highly
ridiculous to pretend to be alarmed at the sight of a creature that
would run from the sound of your voice, and wishes never to come near
you, lest, as you are far more able, you should also be disposed to
hurt it.' 'But I am sure, madam,' replied the little girl, whose name I
afterwards heard was Nancy, 'they do not always run away; for one day,
as Miss Betsy Kite was looking among some things which she had in her
box, a mouse jumped out and ran up her frock sleeve--she felt it quite
up on her arm.' 'And what became of it then?' inquired the mother. 'It
jumped down again,' replied Nancy, 'and got into a little hole in the
window-seat; and Betsy did not see it again.' 'Well, then, my dear,'
resumed the lady, 'what harm did it do her? Is not that a convincing
proof of what I say, that you have no cause to be afraid of them, and
that it is very silly to be so? It is certainly foolish to be afraid of
any thing, unless it threatens us with immediate danger; but to pretend
to be so at a mouse, and such like inoffensive things, is a degree of
weakness that I can by no means suffer any of my children to indulge.'
'May I then, madam,' inquired the child, 'be afraid of cows and horses,
and such great beasts as those?' 'Certainly not,' answered her mother,
'unless they are likely to hurt you. If a cow or an horse runs after
you, I would have you fear them so much as to get out of the way; but if
they are quietly walking or grazing in a field, then to fly from them,
as if you thought they would eat you instead of the grass, is most
absurd, and discovers great want of sense. I once knew a young lady,
who, I believe, thought it looked pretty to be terrified at everything,
and scream if dog or even a mouse looked at her: but most severely was
she punished for her folly, by several very disagreeable accidents she
by those means brought upon herself.

'One day when she was drinking tea in a large company, on the door being
opened, a small Italian greyhound walked into the drawing-room. She
happened to be seated near the mistress of the dog, who was making tea:
the dog, therefore, walked toward her, in order to be by his favourite;
but, upon his advancing near her, she suddenly jumped up, without
considering what she was about, overturned the water-urn, the hot iron
of which rolling out, set fire to her clothes, which instantly blazed
up, being only muslin, and burnt her arms, face, and neck, most
dreadfully: she was so