ked to play
about here all day long, I could do so."

And in this way she went on all the day. After going to the house and
listening to a few words from the owner, and in return singing one of
their prettiest songs, the children were sent off to play, and in a
few minutes they were scattered in all directions, amusing themselves
in different ways; and though Bessie joined in many games, yet that
one word "_if_" was in her mind the whole time, and she did not play
as merrily as usual. Dinner came, and the children, called together by
a bugle, sat down in a tent; but though the fare provided was better
than Bessie was accustomed to, even on a Sunday, yet this spirit of
discontent had so possessed her that it was only because she was very
hungry that she ate what was given her, all the time wondering what
the people who lived at the great house were eating for their dinner,
and thinking over and over again, "_If_ I had the chickens and other
good things which they are sure to have, I should like it much better
than this mutton and cherry pie."

Oh, Bessie, Bessie! when you are older and know more of the world, you
will discover that living in a grand house and having good things to
eat do not make people happier; they in their turn may be as
discontented as you are, and be always wishing they had something else
which does not belong to them, and that word "_if_" may be as
frequently in _their_ mouths as in _yours_.

But now the dinner is over, and the merry troop have dispersed
again--the boys eager to return to their game of cricket, and the
girls to haymaking and swinging under the trees or other modes of
spending the hours of this pleasant day; and judging by the laughter
and shouts of joy, all are as happy as it is possible to be--indeed,
it is a surprise to many when the bugle calls them once more together
for tea, and they find that even a summer's day must come to an end at
last, and that within two hours they will all be starting once more on
their homeward journey. Very quickly did most of the children drink up
the fragrant tea and the delicious milk, for they wanted to have a
last look at the places where they had spent the day and picked wild
flowers or made hay. Bessie was among the foremost of these; for now
that she was going away so soon from it, she grew yet more
discontented, and that little word "_if_" was used more than ever as
she went about, not, as the others did, just to say good-bye to the
fiel