t
was.

"And so," said Pennie, "you've both spent every bit of your money."

"We couldn't let them hang the kitten, you see," remarked Ambrose.

At another time Pennie would have been the first to agree to this, and
to feel interested in the rescue of the kitten; but now she was so full
of her own good deed, that she only said coldly:

"It wasn't worth nearly all that. Why, you can get a kitten for
nothing--anywhere."

David, still grasping his treasure, stared at her solemnly, for this
speech was strangely unlike Pennie.

"What did you buy?" he asked.

The moment had come. Pennie looked round her with conscious virtue as
she replied, "I saw a book I wanted very much, quite as much as you
wanted the kitten, but I saved all my money for the mandarin."

"How stupid!" said Ambrose.

"It's much better to save someone's life than to buy a mandarin," said
David.

Pennie felt hurt and disappointed; the reward of virtue was not
supporting under these circumstances. She wanted a word of praise or
admiration. If someone had only said, "That _was_ good of you," she
would have been satisfied; but no one seemed even surprised at what she
had done. And yet how much she would have liked to buy Siegfried! The
boys had the kitten; Nancy had her cocoa-nut, even Dickie was clasping a
rabbit on a green stand, and a gingerbread man. Pennie alone had
brought nothing home from the fair; she was very sorry for herself.

A sudden outburst from Dickie roused her, as she sat sad and silent in
the midst of chatter and laughter. No one could make out at first what
was the matter, and Dickie could not tell them: she only kicked out her
fat little legs and sobbed more convulsively at every fresh attempt to
comfort her. But at last she managed to make them understand that her
gingerbread man was spoilt; she had eaten his head, and he would never,
never be whole again. This was followed by a torrent of tears, for
Dickie never did anything by halves, and when she cried she put her
whole heart into it.

"Bless the child, she'll make herself ill," said Nurse, taking her upon
her knee. "Now, Dickie, my dear, don't give way. You know you can stop
if you like. Look at your pretty rabbit!"

Dickie dealt the offered rabbit a blow on the nose with her doubled
fist.

She did not want the rabbit, she sobbed out, but she thought she could
stop if she had the black kitten to hold. To this David had a decided
objection. It was his k