he made
disagreeable remarks?"

"I should say, 'Never mind; I am so happy that my own darling little
girl made the sacrifice of asking her that nothing else matters much.'"

"And you wouldn't say anything to her?"

"I should, no doubt, say several things to her," replied Mrs. Conway
kissing the eager face uplifted toward hers.

Edna went over to the window and stood there a long time, but she saw
none of the things she looked out upon. She was having a sharp struggle.
Clara and her mother against all the girls in the club, that was the way
it seemed to be, but finally the former conquered and she went back to
where her mother still sat. "Mother," she said firmly, "I am going to
invite Clara. I have made up my mind. Will you please ask Agnes and
Celia to take my part?"

"My blessed child, of course I will. What sort of a Golden Rule would it
be that allowed a little girl to be chidden for carrying out its
precepts. As president of your club, Agnes will surely see that you are
acting upon its principles, and Celia, too, must see it. They must not
let their enjoyment and their love of harmony make them forget that
part."

Then Edna snuggled very close to her mother and felt comforted. "I am
not going to keep her from knowing," she said. "I'll tell her first
thing, so she can have the fun of looking forward to it." When Edna did
a thing there was no doing it by halves.

Therefore it was a surprised and delighted Clara who received her
invitation the next day, and to Edna's great satisfaction all the good
in the girl rose to the occasion. "I think you are the very sweetest
girl I ever knew, Edna Conway," she said, "and I am sorry, I really am,
that I haven't always been friends with you. I was horrid, often I was,"
and this was Edna's compensation.

Such a flutter and flurry and whispering and giggling there was on that
afternoon when everything was in readiness for the little flower play.
There was quite a large audience gathered on the smooth green lawn where
seats had been placed for them. The shrubs and flower beds with trees
beyond made a fine background for the stretch of terrace, which became a
stage for the occasion. Jennie in a fuzzy grayish brown frock with a
hood, made a dear little Pussy Willow, Edna in pink with her rosy cheeks
was the very picture of Pinky Blooms, Dorothy's golden head made a
lovely centre for Daisy White, while as for Ben, the big giant, he was
the roughest, toughest old Pine Knot on