tionately kissing
the hand he held. "If you were little, like Nelly and me, mother would
let you be her daughter, I guess."

When the children reached home, Mrs. Gray was most happy to see what an
influence the young teacher had already established over them. She
encouraged their love for her, and appealed to their sympathies by
saying, "She is an orphan, without father or mother; we must all try to
make her forget her sorrows by showing her that she has still many warm
friends."

CHAPTER II.

ONE DAY AT SCHOOL.

I SUPPOSE you will wish to know how Frankie and Nelly liked their new
school, and whether they continued to love their teacher.

In answer to these questions, I shall give you an account of a day they
passed about a week after the school commenced.

It was a lovely morning in June. After breakfast and prayers in the
family of Mr. Gray, Frankie ran out into the garden to gather a bouquet
for his teacher. He and Nelly kept her vase well filled with flowers. He
put the bouquet into a pitcher of water to keep it fresh, and then ran
to the sink to wash his face and hands very clean; after which he went
into the nursery for Sally to pin on a clean collar, and to brush his
hair.

While she was doing this, he called out to his mother, who was in the
next room, "Mamma, mayn't I learn to part my hair myself? I'm almost
seven, you know."

"Yes, indeed," she answered. "You may learn as soon as you please. Sally
will show you how to hold the comb to make the parting straight."

"I wish my hair would lie down," exclaimed the boy, giving the brush a
quick, impatient jerk. It curls up so close, I can't make it look
smooth. And he brushed the front lock with all his strength.

"There, now, that looks well enough," said nurse in a comforting tone.
"You might as well try to keep the wind from blowing as to try to keep
your hair from curling. It will form little rings, do all you can."

"Now I'm ready!" shouted Frankie, taking his bouquet in his hand.

In the mean time, Nelly had been to her aunt's room, and had her long
hair combed out smoothly, and then brushed over the curling stick. It
was quite a tedious operation, and required to be very wet before the
comb could be passed through it; but Nelly bore it patiently, as her
aunt always tried to pass the time away agreeably, by giving her some
easy example in arithmetic, or hearing a line of the multiplication
table, or telling her a short story. By the tim