FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89  
90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   >>   >|  
y to her as a cloak. Iris gazed at her in perplexity. "Di," she said, "I never saw you like this before. What are you turning away from me for? Come to me, Di; do come to me." Diana's little breast heaved more than ever, tears came into her eyes, but she blinked them furiously away. "You can come to me, if you want; I shan't come to you. You isn't much of a mother," she repeated. "But I did not know you were in trouble, darling. Do, do come to your own Iris. Do tell me what is the matter." "Oh, Iris!" sobbed Diana. The first kind note utterly melted her little heart; she rushed to her sister, flung herself upon her, and sobbed as if she would never stop crying. "We can't stay in this howid place, Iris," she said; "all my darlin's has gone and got deaded. That howid old woman upstairs said they was wermin. She has killed 'em all. I can't stay here; I won't stay here. Take me back to the beautiful garden. Do, Iris; do. I'se just so mis'ble." Iris sat down on one of the hard-backed chairs. "Look here, Di," she said, "I have no time now to talk things over with you. Of course, everything is altered, and our lives are completely changed. When mother was dying, when I last saw her, she told me that I must expect this. She said she knew that, when she went away to the angels, we four children would have to go out into the world and fight our battles. She said that everybody in the world has got a battle to fight, and even little children have to fight theirs. She said, too, that if we were brave and the kind of children she wants us to be, we would follow the names she gave us and conquer our enemies. Now, Di, you are called after Diana, the great Diana, who was supposed to be a sort of goddess. Do you think she would have given in? Don't you think she would have been brave?" "Yes, course," said the little nineteenth-century Diana. "She would have shotted people down dead with her bow and arrows--I know kite well she was a bwave sort of a lady. All wight, Iris, I'll copy her if you wishes." "Indeed I do wish, darling. I think it would be splendid of you." "She was a very bwave lady," repeated Diana. "She had her bow and her arrows; she was a gweat huntwess, and she shotted people. I don't mind copying her one little bit." Diana dried away her tears and looked fixedly at her sister. "Then you really mean to be good and brave, Di?" "Certain sure, Iris." "And you won't call Aunt Jane any m
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89  
90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

children

 

sobbed

 

darling

 
people
 
shotted
 

sister

 

arrows

 

mother

 
repeated
 

battle


battles
 

fixedly

 

follow

 

looked

 

Certain

 

expect

 

angels

 

enemies

 
splendid
 

century


nineteenth

 

wishes

 

Indeed

 

called

 

conquer

 

supposed

 

huntwess

 

goddess

 

copying

 

beautiful


trouble

 

utterly

 
melted
 

rushed

 

matter

 

furiously

 

turning

 
perplexity
 
blinked
 

breast


heaved

 
backed
 

chairs

 

altered

 
completely
 
things
 

garden

 

darlin

 

deaded

 

crying