FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   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   115   116   117   118   119   >>  
what I had to have done to my hair." Maude stood up and helped to pat the bed straight and flat again. She knew that, as Mrs. Boardman had said, she would have to obey the rules, whether she wanted to or not, and she did realize that it would be much more sensible to follow them willingly than to be in disgrace and be forced into compliance. And there was a better feeling than that in her heart, too. She felt that she was in a place where no one cared for her clothes nor for the little airs she liked to put on, whenever she found any one to admire her, but where she would be valued just for herself, and for her behavior. In that one morning she had noticed how little girls who had not thought of themselves, but only of pleasing others, had found friends at once, while no one had seemed to care for her society; and she realized that if she was to have any love she must try to deserve it. Mrs. Boardman was the one person who seemed willing to be her friend, and who tried to help her do right, and was patient with her ill-temper; and selfish little Maude was grateful for the first time in her life for kindness, and she did not want to disappoint any one who thought that she meant to be good. She would try to be good, at any rate, even if it was not very pleasant. After the bed was in order again, she stood still while Mrs. Boardman brushed her hair out and braided it for her. "I must tell you what happened to my hair," she began cheerfully. "I had had typhoid fever, and my hair was all dropping out, so that the doctor said it must be shaved off. I did not want to have it shaved one bit, for it was quite long and had been thick, but of course I had to do as my mother said, and have it shaved. Oh, I felt so badly about it. I cried and cried the day it was all shaved off, and when I first looked at myself in the glass afterwards, I was almost frightened, I looked so dreadfully. Did you ever see any one's head after the hair had been shaved off?" "No, ma'am," answered Maude. "Well, then, you cannot imagine what it looks like. My head looked more like a ball than anything else, and where the hair had been it was perfectly smooth and bald, and there was only a purplish look to show where it had grown. I ran away and hid myself in the barn and cried harder than ever. But I had something nice happen to make up for all this." "What was it?" asked Maude. "When my hair grew again it was curly, and
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   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   115   116   117   118   119   >>  



Top keywords:
shaved
 

looked

 

Boardman

 
thought
 

helped

 

frightened

 

dreadfully

 

dropping

 

doctor

 

typhoid


happened

 
cheerfully
 

mother

 
straight
 
harder
 

happen

 

imagine

 

answered

 

smooth

 

purplish


perfectly

 

braided

 

forced

 

compliance

 

morning

 
noticed
 

disgrace

 

pleasing

 

follow

 

willingly


friends

 

behavior

 
feeling
 

clothes

 

valued

 

admire

 

society

 

realized

 

wanted

 

disappoint


kindness
 
brushed
 

pleasant

 

realize

 

grateful

 
person
 

friend

 
deserve
 
temper
 

selfish