d Faith, as excited and happy as
Louise, slipped on the coat, put the cap on her head and held out her
hands for the mittens.

"Oh, Louise! They are lovely. I may keep them, mayn't I, Aunt Prissy?"
she asked, turning about for her aunt to see how nicely the coat
fitted.

Neither of the little girls noticed that Mrs. Scott looked grave and a
little troubled, for she was thinking that this was almost too fine a
present for her little niece to accept from the shoemaker's daughter.
But she knew that to refuse to let Faith accept it would not only make
both the girls very unhappy, but that Mr. Trent would forbid Louise
coming to the house, and so stop all her friendly efforts to help
Louise; so she added her thanks to those of Faith, and the two little
friends were as happy as it is possible to be over giving and
receiving a beautiful gift. Faith even forgot her blue beads in the
pleasure of possessing the pretty coat and cap.

CHAPTER XIV

A BIRTHDAY

"Can you skate, Cousin Faith?" asked Donald, on their way to school
one morning in late December. There had been a week of very cold
weather, and the ice of the lake glittered temptingly in the morning
sun.

"No, I never had any skates, and there wasn't a very good chance for
skating at home," answered Faith regretfully; for many of the school
children were eager for the sport, and told her of their good times on
the ice.

"Mother has a pair of skates for you; I heard her say so; and father
is going to teach you to skate," responded Donald. "I can skate," he
added, "and after you learn we'll have a fine time. Nat Beaman comes
across the lake on the ice in no time."

It was rather difficult for Faith to pay attention to her studies that
day. She wondered when Aunt Prissy would give her the skates, and
Uncle Phil teach her how to use them. And when the schoolmaster
announced that there would be no school for the remainder of the week
Faith felt that everything was planned just right for her. Now, she
thought, she could begin the very next day, if only the cold, clear
weather would continue.

The sun set clear and red that night, and the stars shone brightly.
Faith was sure the next day would be pleasant. Donald found a chance
to tell Faith that the skates were a "secret." "But I didn't know it
until just a few minutes ago," he explained, adding briefly: "I hate
secrets."

Faith agreed heartily. If the skates were a secret who could tell when
Aunt Prissy w