SHE was christened Anne Lavender, so that her full name was Anne Lavender Lavender. This was an idea of Mr. Lavender’s. He was very proud of his family, and it distressed him to think that when his daughter, the beautiful Miss Lavender, married, her name might be something quite ugly, like Winks.
“Whereas,” he explained to Anne’s Mamma, “if we call her Anne Lavender Lavender, her name, when she marries this man Winks, will be Anne Lavender-Winks, and people will know at once that she is one of us.”
“They will know that anyhow,” said Mrs. Lavender, bending over her baby. “She is just like her old Daddy, aren’t you, darling?”
Anne, being then about none, did not reply.
“She has my hair, certainly,” said Mr. Lavender, and he stroked his raven locks proudly.
He was very dark, and Mrs. Lavender was very fair, and they had often wondered which of them Anne would be like. He used to say “I do hope she will be like you, darling,” and she would say, “I would rather she were like you, dearest,” and he would say, “Well, well, we shall see.” And now she was dark. She was dark, like him; and she was called Anne Lavender Lavender, which was his own idea; and he felt very happy about it all.
And then one day a surprising thing happened. All her dark hair fell off, and she became as fair as fair—just like her Mamma.
“What a pity!” said Mrs. Lavender, “I did want her to be like you.”