Mary: A Nursery Story for Very Little Children

by Mrs. Molesworth

Mary;"you're too little to understand what I'm crying for. I'm crying 'costhe angels or the fairies has forgotten about your teeth, and I'm afraidyou'll never be able to speak--not all your life, poor baby!"

  But baby only cooed louder than before. And Mary, looking up, saw whatbaby saw too--that nurse was coming over the lawn; and baby's face brokeout into quite a wide smile; she was very fond of nurse.

  Poor nurse did not smile when she got close to the two little girls, forshe saw that Mary was crying, and she was afraid there was something thematter.

  "Have you hurt yourself, Miss Mary?" she said. "Miss Baby's all right,but what are you crying about?"

  "Oh, nurse, I've been calling you so," said Mary,--"calling and_calling_. I'm so unhappy about baby;" and then she told nurse the sadthought that had come into her mind, and how troubled she was about it.

  Nurse listened very gravely, but--would you believe it?--when Mary hadfinished all her story, what do you think she did? She sat down on thegrass and picked up baby in her arms and burst out laughing. I do notthink she had laughed so much for a long time.

  "Oh, Miss Mary, my dear," she said, "you are a funny child!"

  Mary looked up at her, her face still wet with tears and with a verysolemn expression; she did not quite like nurse's laughing at her whenshe had been so unhappy.

  "I'm not funny," she said. "It's very sad for poor baby," and new tearscame into her eyes at the thought that even nurse did not care.

  But nurse had left off laughing by this time. "Miss Mary, my dear," shesaid, "don't make a trouble about it. Miss Baby's teeth will come allin good time. I shouldn't wonder if she has several dear little pearlsin her mouth to show you before Christmas. Don't you remember that daywhen we were talking about her teeth, I told you how yours had come, oneafter the other, and that they used to hurt you sometimes."

  Mary's face cleared at this.

  "Oh, yes," she said, "I 'amember. Does everybody's teeth come likethat? Doesn't any babies have them all ready?"

  "No," said nurse; "why, even the Perrys' baby that's more than a yearold hasn't got all its teeth yet, and it can't say many words. Don'tyou trouble, Miss Mary, the teeth and the talking will come all right.There now," as little Dolly looked up with a crow in nurse's smilingface, "Miss Baby knows all about it, you see!"

  Mary put her arms round baby and gave her another big hug.

  "Oh, you dear little sweet!" she said. "Oh, nurse, I do think she's gotsuch lots of things to tell me if only she could speak!"

  Baby gave a little chuckle as much as to say, "No fear, I'll talk fastenough before long;" and Mary, who was rather like an April day, set offlaughing so much that she did not hear steps coming along the terracetill a voice said, quite close to her--

  "Well, Mary, darling, what are you and baby so merry about?"

  It was mamma. Mary looked at her, and then mamma saw that her eyes werered.

  "It's all right now ma'am," said nurse, for she knew that mamma waswondering what was the matter even though she had not asked; so mammawent on to tell them what she had come out about, for she knew that whenMary had had a fit of crying the tears were rather ready to come backagain if anything more was said about her troubles.

  "Nurse," she said, "I want you to dress Miss Mary as quickly as possibleafter her dinner. I'm going to take her a drive with me--quite a longdrive; I'm going to the town to choose a perambulator for baby."

  "Oh, mamma!" said Mary in great delight, "how lovely! And may I getinto the p'ram-bilator to see if it's comfor'ble for baby?"

  "Yes," said mamma, "though a tight fit for you will be all right forbaby. And I've other things to buy as well! You've got a list readyfor me, nurse, haven't you? I'm quite sure the boys need new boots, andwasn't there something about a sash for Mary?"

  "She wouldn't be the worse for another blue one, ma'am," said nurse."Her papa always likes her in blue."

  "Ah! well, I won't forget about it. I like her in blue best too. Andbaby--doesn't she want anything?" asked mamma.

  Of course she did, ever so many things. I never knew a baby that didnot want a lot of things--or a baby's nurse perhaps we should say--whenthere was a chance. Ribbons to tie up its sleeves, and little shoes andtiny socks, and some very fine kind of soap that would not make its softskin smart, and more things than I can remember. Babies have plenty ofwants, though they are such small people. And mamma wrote them alldown, saying each aloud as she did so, and Mary stood listening with avery grave face. For she thought to herself, "Just _supposing_ mammalost the paper or couldn't read all the pencil words, or forgot to writedown everything, it would be a very good thing for _her_ to know themall and 'amind mamma."

  Soon it was time to go in to dinner, and Mary was so full of the thoughtof going to the town with mamma, that at first she sat with her spoonand fork in her hands, looking at her plate without eating at all.

  "Why don't you eat your dinner, Mary?" said Leigh.

  "My nungryness has gone away with thinking of going out with mamma andbuyin' such lotses of things," said Mary.

  "How silly you are!" said Leigh. "Why, when I've something nice tothink of, it makes me all the hungrier! If you don't eat your dinner, Idon't believe mamma will take you."

  "Yes, Miss Mary, you must eat it," said nurse. "You'll be later thanusual of getting your tea, too, so you should make an extra gooddinner."

  Mary did not feel as if she _could_ be hungry, but she did not want tobe left behind, so she began to try to eat, and after one or twomouthfuls it got rather easier. Nurse went on talking, for she knew theless Mary thought about not being hungry the better it would be.

  "Perhaps your mamma, will let you bring home a nice bagful of buns fortea," she said. "That would be a treat for Master Leigh and MasterArtie, to make up for their not going to the town too."

  "I don't want to go," said Leigh. "I hate shopping. It's suchrubbish--taking half an hour to choose things you could settle about inhalf a minute. Of course I suppose it's different for women and girls."

  Nurse smiled a little.

  "Have you nothing for Miss Mary to get for you?" she said.

  "What shops are you going to?" asked Leigh.

  "Are you going to the confectioner's?" asked Artie.

  Mary was not quite sure what the confectioner's was. You see, she didnot often see shops, as the children's home was quite in the country.But she knew Leigh would laugh at her if she asked, so she just said--

  "We're going to all the shops there is, I think. We're going to buyBaby Dolly's p'ram-bilator."

  She got rather red as she spoke; but Leigh did not notice it, for he wasvery much interested by this news.

  "To buy the p'rambulator," he repeated. "Oh, I say--I wouldn't mindgoing to choose that! But I couldn't stand the rest of the shopping.Mary--" and he hesitated.

  "What?" said Mary.

  "There's one thing I want, if you think you could choose it for me; it'sa pair of reins. I've got money to pay for them--plenty; so you cantell mamma if she'll pay them in the shop, she can take the money out ofmy best purse that she keeps for me, when she comes home. They'll costabout--" he stopped again, for he really did not know.

  "Do you mean red braid ones, Leigh, like my old ones with the bells on?"asked Artie.

  "No, of course not. I want regular good strong leather ones--properones, d'you hear, Mary?"

  "Yes," said Mary, "I'm listenin'."

  "Well, look here then; they must be of nice brown leather, and you mustpull it well to be sure it's strong. And they must have a kind offront-piece, stiff, you know, that they are fastened to, or perhaps theycross over it, I'm not sure. And they must be about as long as from me,where I'm sitting now, to where Artie is. And if you can't get themnice in one shop, you must ask mamma to let you go to another, and youmustn't be in a hurry to just take the first ones they show you. Youmust _choose_ well, Mary, and--"

  "Don't take half an hour about it when half a minute would do," saidnurse, in rather an
odd voice.

  Leigh grew very red.

  "Nurse," he said, "reins are very pertickler things to get. Leatherthings have to be _good_, you know."

  "And so have silk things and cotton things and all the other things thatladies take so long to shop about," said nurse.