right under the sole.
She did not succeed at once in getting the right size, so she undid the
binding and tried again, whilst the little girl cried aloud for pain.
Over and over again the process was begun, but not finished, as the
shoes were so small that the feet could not be squeezed into them. But
at last they were made to fit the shoes, and Everlasting Pearl walked
about with sore and aching feet, wondering if they could ever become as
small as those of some young girls she knew. Night after night she
cried herself to sleep, wondering whether the pain would ever come to
an end, and how she could possibly endure it much longer. But there
were compensations. Month by month and year by year her feet grew
smaller, until her shoes were tinier than those she had worn in her
babyhood. Her little girl-companions admired the tiny feet, and
respected their owner, and both she and her mother received a great
deal of praise from the older women. Her small feet were a sign that
her mother cared for her, and meant to marry her well: so the future
looked bright and promising.

CHAPTER III

CHILDHOOD DAYS

A few uneventful years passed by; happy ones for the little girl, as
she was loved and appreciated by all. Two little brothers had been
born in the home, and Everlasting Pearl might often be seen with the
younger of them strapped to her back, rocking herself to and fro, and
softly cooing to the babe. Or she might be found crouching before the
cooking-stove, feeding the fire with brushwood, dried bracken, and
fern, trying to use as little fuel as possible; for strict economy had
to be practised in that home. At other times she would be sitting on a
low stool beside her mother, spinning hemp, not with a spinning-wheel,
but separating the threads with her fingers, and afterwards winding the
thread into balls. Or she would be learning to sew, to embroider, and
to make silk braid. By all these occupations she could only earn about
a farthing a day; but that small sum would pay at least for her
vegetables, salt, and oil, and even leave a little balance.

[Illustration: Plaiting silk braid.]

During the summer and autumn she often had to take her low stool and
work outside, so as to watch the grain, which was drying on a large
bamboo mat in front of the house. On such occasions a long bamboo
stick lay at her side, and this she used most vigorously, and with as
much noise as possible, whenever the inhabitants of