rst came that I just love to
get her caterpillars or do anything else I can for her."

"She was so glad to get that new one, was n't she?" said Ruby. "I will
help you get some for her, Agnes, the very next time we go out walking.
We will walk together, and then we can both watch for them."

"That will be ever so nice," said Agnes. "You see most of the girls
make fun of Miss Ketchum because she wears those little curls on her
forehead, and is absent-minded sometimes, and likes caterpillars so
much, and it will please her ever so much if you like her, and help her
instead of laughing at her."

It had not occurred to Ruby before that she could please any of the
teachers by showing them little kindnesses and being thoughtful of
them, and she remembered remorsefully how she had laughed during recess
when one of the girls had drawn on her slate a funny caricature of Miss
Ketchum, with the two little curls that she wore on each side of her
forehead standing up like ears, and her glasses on crookedly. She made
up her mind that she would never laugh at her teacher again, but try to
help her in every way she could by being good herself and setting
others a good example.

CHAPTER XVIII.

MISADVENTURES.

By the time Ruby had been at school a week she was quite happy, and had
been so good that Aunt Emma wrote home to her father and mother that no
one could ask for a better little girl, or one who made more progress
in her studies.

In fact, Ruby had begun to be quite proud of herself for being so good,
and quite enjoyed comparing herself with some of the other girls, who
could not learn their lessons as quickly as she did, and who did not
try so hard to be good and not give the teacher any trouble.

If Ruby's mother had been with her she would have warned the little
girl that this was the very time for her to be most watchful lest she
should do wrong, for it was generally when Ruby had the highest opinion
of herself that her pride had a fall.

If any one had told Ruby upon this particular morning that she should
laugh out loud in school, and more than that, laugh at Miss Ketchum,
she would not have believed it, and yet that is just exactly what she
did. Still, I think you will hardly blame Ruby when I tell you how it
happened.

It was quite true that, as Agnes had said, Miss Ketchum was apt to be
absent-minded sometimes. She was so interested in her studies that she
sometimes forgot about other things, and wh