one that knows, and she says I'm a busybody. Mamma hugs me
tight, and says I will be a great help when I am big, but papa tosses me
high up to the ceiling, and says I won't wait to grow up, and that I
make the very best use of my time now. He knows as much as Maria, for
that's just what I do--I use my time. I did so much work yesterday that
I nearly got tired. First, mamma said she was going to Cousin Alice's
wedding. I knew she was, for I saw her best bonnet out of its box on her
bed. So, while she was talking to Katy in the kitchen, I climbed all the
way up stairs, and dragged it down to her myself.

I don't know what they'd have done without me yesterday, for after mamma
had gone, Maria was careless. She left the basin of water on Nelly's
little table. She forgot all about it, so I went, like a good girl, to
put it away for her, 'cause I was afraid that mamma might come back and
knock it over on to the carpet. It wasn't _my_ fault that it slid out of
my hands and broke itself. _I_ was careful, and Maria said nobody else
but just me would ever have thought of putting it away for her.

My sister Bessie don't try half so hard to help people. She sat in her
little arm-chair all the time, tying up Susan Hopkins's joints. She
thinks Susan is the best of all our dolls, but I don't. Her joints are
all loose, and her legs rattle. Bessie isn't so much use as I am. She
kept out of the way, tending to Susan, while Maria had to change every
one of my clothes, 'cause the naughty water sloshed; and Bessie didn't
even pick up the broken pieces of basin for poor Maria! Maria told her
not to touch 'em, for fear of getting her feet wet and cutting her
fingers.

Afraid! They're afraid of everything. The very minute Maria had me
dressed again, I began to pick up the pieces for her, and I didn't cry
even when I _did_ cut my hand, and the bleed got all over my nice clean
apron. I don't think it was very polite of Maria to set me down so hard
on the sewing machine, and tell me not to move 'till she'd cleared up
the floor.

Bessie is bigger than I am, but she isn't a busybody at all. She only
plays while there's work going on; and only see how much work I've done
this morning! I've fixed up mamma's work-basket for her, and I've
stuffed all the rags and little pieces of our new dresses that were
piled up on the machine into papa's collar drawer. Then I cleared up a
whole lot of muss after Maria. She went to answer the door-bell, and
whil