as a swaying flower stem.

As Missy watched this radiant being which was herself she could see that
she was as gracious and sweet-mannered as she was beautiful; perhaps a
bit dignified and reserved, but that is always fitting.

No wonder the other girls and the boys gathered round her, captivated.
All the boys were eager to dance with her, and when she danced she
reminded you of a swaying lily. Most often her partner was Raymond
himself. Raymond danced well too. And he was the handsomest boy at his
party. He had blonde hair and deep, soft black eyes like his father,
who was the handsomest as well as the richest man in Cherryvale. And he
liked her, for last year, their first year in high school, he used to
study the Latin lesson with her and wait for her after school and carry
her books home for her. He had done that although Kitty Allen was much
prettier than she and though Beulah Crosswhite was much, much smarter.
The other girls had teased her about him, and the boys must have teased
Raymond, for after a while he had stopped walking home with her. She
didn't know whether she was gladder or sorrier for that. But she knew
that she was glad he did not ignore that radiant, pink-swathed guest
who, in her beautiful vision, was having such a glorious time at his
party.

Next morning she awoke to find a soft, misty rain greying the world
outside her window. Missy did not mind that; she loved rainy days--they
made you feel so pleasantly sad. For a time she lay quiet, watching
the slant, silvery threads and feeling mysteriously, fascinatingly, at
peace. Then Poppy, who always slept at the foot of her bed, awoke with a
tremendous yawning and stretching--exactly the kind of "exercises"
that young Doc Alison prescribed for father, who hated to get up in the
mornings!

Then Poppy, her exercises done, majestically trod the coverlet to salute
her mistress with the accustomed matinal salutation which Missy called
a kiss. Mother did not approve of Poppy's "kisses," but Missy argued
to herself that the morning one, dependable as an alarm clock, kept her
from oversleeping.

She hugged Poppy, jumped out of bed, and began dressing. When she got
downstairs breakfast was ready and the house all sweetly diffused with
the dreamy shadows that come with a rainy day.

Father had heard the great news and bantered her: "So we've got a
society queen in our midst!"

"I think," put in Aunt Nettie, "that it's disgraceful the way they put
child