colds, but all the girls mind her, and even those who break the rules
always wish they had n't when she looks at them. I can hardly wait, I
am in such a hurry to begin my school."

"And I will come and see you, and look at the girls the way that lady
looked at us the other day when she came to visit the school," said
Ruby. "Do you remember how beautifully she was dressed, Agnes, and how
pretty she was? I wonder if she meant to send her little girl here,
and that was why she came. Won't it be fun to go and visit your school
when I don't have any of the lessons to study, nor anything. I will be
very grand, and they will never guess that we used to be little girls
and go to school together. I don't want to be a school-teacher,
though."

"What do you want to be?" asked Agnes.

"I think I shall write books," announced Ruby.

"Why, what ever made you think of that?" asked Agnes, in astonishment.
"You don't even like to write compositions, and how could you ever
write books?"

"Oh, compositions are different from books," returned Ruby, airily. "I
am sure I could write poetry, I like it so much. There is n't anything
I like better than poetry day. I wish it was poetry day every Friday,
instead of every other one being compositions. I don't think
compositions are at all interesting. We have to write a composition
for next time upon one of our walks. I think I will write about our
walk this afternoon. I don't think there is ever very much to write
about the walks we take. We just go out two and two, and we see the
same things every time, and that is all there is of it."

"Perhaps something may happen to-day to give you something to write
about," Agnes answered; and though she had only spoken in fun, without
any idea that her words would come true, something did happen that
afternoon, quite out of the usual course, and I am not sure but that
Ruby would have rather that it had not happened, and that she would
have had less to write about.

Miss Ketchum announced at the close of the afternoon school that the
girls would go for their walk half an hour earlier than usual, as they
were going to gather persimmons, and would want to have more time than
for their regular walk.

This gathering of persimmons was a treat looked forward to by the
girls, and they were very much pleased when they heard that they were
to go this afternoon. They each had a little basket in which to bring
home their spoils, and Ruby was qu