Constance was so afraid of the smallest worm which happened to lie inher path, was so terrified at every fly which passed her, that she couldenjoy nothing. She walked on, with her eyes bent on the ground, watchingeach blade of grass, and stepping with the utmost precaution, expectingevery moment to be stung to death, or bit by some dangerous insect.
Julia had passed the whole time of dinner in bewailing the loss of acold chicken on which she had set her heart; but her dear little pussyhaving wandered into the pantry in search of a mouse, and being just asfond of cold chicken as her young mistress, and thinking it preferableto the finest mouse (perhaps because it was a greater rarity to her),this ill-bred pussy had dragged it away into a corner, where, if she didnot eat it all at one meal, she had leave to finish it the next day.
Julia had lost her dinner: disappointed of her cold chicken, she sawnothing else on the table (though there were several dishes which therest of the family commended extremely) which she could possibly eat of.She was too nice to eat any thing common, and had persuaded herself thatnothing but delicacies agreed with her: she could not taste either beefor mutton, or ever dine without fish, lamb, or poultry; she hated thewinter because there were no vegetables to be had but potatoes, and wasdelighted when the season came for her to dine on green peas,cauliflower, and asparagus.
The delicate Julia often rose hungry from table; and as this had beenthe case on the day of their walk, she was sick and uncomfortable,sauntered along, complaining at every step, and, had she not suddenlyrecollected having a nice biscuit in her pocket, would probably havebeen unable to proceed.
Dorothy troubled herself as little as her sisters about the birds or theflowers, the lowing of the cattle, or the fine prospect. Naturallyindolent, and hating to move from her place, she was much less inclinedto do so after dinner, than at any other time of the day; for she had noobjection to either beef, mutton, or potatoes, and would (if she hadbeen suffered to do so) eat of all three, and as many more differentthings, as much as would have been sufficient, either of them, for thedinner of any child of her age.
"Come, Miss Dorothy," cried Susan, "do pray walk a little faster. Dearme! how heavy do you trudge along, with your arms hanging down by yoursides! Why, you will not take the trouble to lift your feet from theground--pray look what a dust you raise at every step. Come, take me bythe arm--look, what a pretty wood this is we are got into, and--oh dear!what a quantity of strawberries there are upon that bank. Do you see howbeautiful and red they appear among the brambles and dry sticks whichlie over them?"
The very idea of something to eat was sure to rouse Dorothy. Constanceand Julia also advanced to look at the strawberries; they were verytempting, and they each wished to taste them, but there weredifficulties in the way not likely to be conquered.
Julia's desire for them soon vanished, for she recollected that she hadneither cream nor sugar, without which she did not think them eatable.
Dorothy said they were very good without either, and she wished she hada good basket-full, she would soon shew them how well she liked them;but they could not be got at without removing the brambles and wood,which appeared to have been purposely laid over them, to preserve themtill they were ripe; and Dorothy, after taking away three or foursticks, and a bush or two, began to puff and blow, as if she had beenrunning a race, and declared she could do no more, much as she wishedfor the strawberries, if it would save her life.
"How can you be so extremely lazy?" exclaimed Constance, eager to get atthe tempting fruit. "You cannot bear to take the least trouble,Dorothy--come, let me help you; I should be sorry to leave them. What abeautiful scarlet they are, and how finely they smell!--Come, come, letus remove these brambles."
Dorothy had thrown herself upon the grass, declaring she could not stir;and Susan, who was well acquainted with the dispositions of her threeyoung ladies, determined not to interfere.
Constance began very briskly to take away the brambles; but she hadscarcely uncovered a few of the strawberries, when a small insect, whichshe had disturbed, flew out of a bush directly against her, entangledits little wings in her hair, and almost frightened her into fits. Sheran to Susan in the most terrible alarm, insisting that a hornet hadgot into her hair, and that she should be stung to death in an instant.She prevailed upon her sisters to leave the spot immediately, and nobodycould persuade her but that she had disturbed a hornet's nest, and hadhad a most miraculous escape.
They spent the afternoon with their young friend much in the usualmanner; each of them constantly meeting with something or other todisturb them and spoil their pleasure.
Returning in the evening through the wood, they saw a group of littleboys and girls sitting under the trees, and eating strawberries; somehad their hats full, some held them in their hands, and others in littlebaskets of their own making.
Susan asked them where they had gathered so many strawberries. "Whythere," answered one of the boys, "where you see the bushes and bramblesall in a heap. We covered them up above a week ago, to let them ripen;but I wonder we did not lose them all, for somebody has been here, I amsure, though I suppose they did not see the nice strawberries, or theynever would have been such fools as to leave them: but it was well forus that they were so blind."
"And whom did you get to take the trouble to remove all those things foryou?" inquired Dorothy, as she hung on Susan's arm with all her weight.
"Lauk-a-day! Miss," said the boy, grinning in her face, "to be sure yoube joking. Do you call that trouble?"
Constance said he was very right; that it certainly could be _notrouble_; but she really wondered they had not been terrified fromattempting to get at the strawberries, when they saw what a number offrightful and dangerous creatures were creeping and flying about them.And now the whole party not only grinned, but laughed aloud; and Juliatold her sisters they had better not make such foolish observations,which only served to make the children laugh at them: that it wasridiculous to suppose they should think it a labour to remove a fewbrambles, or that they should be so weak as to be afraid of harmlessflies and worms; but she must say, she was a little surprised that theydid not go home with their strawberries, and get some cream and sugar toeat with them: no house in the country was without cream; there couldbe no difficulty in getting a bit of sugar, and it would make them sonice, that they would never afterwards relish them alone.
"That would be very unfortunate," replied a girl some years older thanthe others (who only noticed Julia's speech by redoubled peals oflaughter), "for we should lose many such a treat as we are now enjoying,if we were to take such a foolish whim into our heads. Pray, Miss, doyou imagine that my mother keeps a cow, to give us the cream to eat withstrawberries? No! no! she sells her butter, and buys us clothes with themoney. I wish you could all three spend a month in our cottage, youwould learn to be glad enough of having one nicety, without wishing toadd another to it; and to know that those who choose to eat must learnto work, and not call trouble that which is no more than play. You wouldalso perceive, after spending two or three days on your knees in weedingthe corn or the garden, that you are in no danger of being either stungor bit by innocent flies or caterpillars, and that till you get rid ofall your foolish fancies, you will have no pleasure in any thing in theworld, but that all your happiness and comfort will be sacrificed towhim, indolence, and weakness?"
THE END.
E. Hemsted, Printer, Great New-street, Gough-square.
A cup of sweets, that can never cloy: or, delightful tales for good children Page 8
