d Lady cocked her head. She ruffled herself. It looked like
feathers.

"Derry?" said the Blinded Lady. "Who's Derry?--A _beau_?"

My Father gruffed his throat.

"Oh Derry's just a young friend of ours," he said.

"He lives in Cuba," said my Mother.

"Cuba's an island!" I said. "It floats in water! They eat bananas! They
have fights! It's very hot! There's lots of moonlight! Derry's father
says that when Rosalee's married he'll build a----."

"Hush, Ruthy!" said my Father. "You've talked quite enough already!"

The Blinded Lady patted her skirts. They billowed all around her like
black silk waves. It looked funny.

"H-m-m-mmm!" she said. "Let the Child-Who's-Talked-Too-Much-Already come
forward now so that I can feel her face!"

I went forward just as fast as I could.

The Blinded Lady touched my forehead.

She smoothed my nose,--my cheeks,--my chin.

"U-m-mmm," she said. "And 'Ruthy' you say is what you call her?"

My Father twinkled his eyes.

"We have to call her something!" he said politely.

"And is this bump on the forehead a natural one?" said the Blinded Lady.
"Or an accidental one?"

"Both!" said my Father. "That is, it's pre-em-i-nently natural for our
daughter Ruthy to have an accidental bump on her forehead."

"And there are, I infer," said the Blinded Lady, "one or two freckles on
either side of the nose?"

"Your estimate," said my Father, "is conservative."

"And the hair?" said the Blinded Lady. "It hasn't exactly the texture of
gold."

"'Penny-colored' we call it!" said my Mother.

"And not exactly a _new_ penny at that, is it?" said the Blinded Lady.

"N--o," said my Mother. "But rather jolly all the same like a penny
that's just bought two sticks of candy instead of one!"

"And the nose turns up a little?" said the Blinded Lady.

"Well maybe just a--trifle," admitted my Mother.

The Blinded Lady stroked my face all over again. "U-m-m-m," she said.
"Well at least it's something to be thankful for that everything is
perfectly normal!" She put her hands on my shoulders. She shook me a
little. "Never, _never_, Ruthie," she said, "be so foolish as to
complain because you're not pretty!"

"No'm!" I promised.

"Put all the Beauty you can _inside_ your head!" said the Blinded Lady.

"Yes'm!" I promised. "And I've just thought of another one that I know!
It's about

You must wake and call me early, call me early, mother dear,
For I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother, I'