tter nor worse than most little children you
and I know--said, the governess, before he went to business, had
mentioned that they had of late attended to their lessons, and he should
be pleased to grant them anything in reason. They all blushed,--Eva, a
soldier's coat colour! James, a light red! and Edwin, a rose-lozenge
hue! The fact was, they had all been saying how they should like to
gather some flowers and have a game at playing at lady and gentleman and
gardener.

They spoke right out and told their father what was in their minds.

He said "By all means, my dears."

Tom became gardener. You can guess who were the others. A very
gentlemanly one he was, too. Full of nice bows and smiles. As for Eva,
she looked quite the grown lady, and acted so well, that when she put
her hand in her pocket for her purse, Edwin was quite surprised to find
that only threepenny and fourpenny pieces came out of it.

"Now what sort of bouquets would your ladyship like me to cut?" asked
Tom, holding up a very pretty rose before his sister.

"I have consulted his lordship, here," answered, Eva, very grandly, "and
I'll have ten dozen in five minutes, like this one in my hand!"

"I'm pleased, your ladyship," said Tom, respectfully, "that you give me
plenty of time to execute so large an order, or I might not have been
able to have come up with them to time!"

"Oh! great people are never in a hurry," quietly remarked Edwin.

Tom cut all the flowers he knew could be spared from the greenhouse, and
her ladyship and his lordship took them and gave them to a poor girl
whose sick mother wanted some little pleasure; and the girl sold the
flowers for gentlemen's button-holes.

When Mr. Woffles heard all about it, he was very pleased, and kissed the
little Woffles all round. Wasn't it a nice game for rich children to
play at; to do good to poor ones?

[Illustration: The Little Cooks]

_When children try their best to please,
It makes them good and kind,
And gives to those they love some ease,
And ev'ry comfort find._

THE LITTLE COOKS.

Everybody who knew Frank Green, liked him. He was always trying to do
something to make those around him comfortable. His brothers, George and
Edwin, were nice little fellows enough; but Franky, as people loved to
call him, was the favourite. And he was generally so careful in all he
undertook, that his parents let him do nearly everything in reason he
desired.

So, one fine mor