“Oh, how lovely!” cried Nelly, gently touching the spangled sparkling bodice, the satin slippers and the tinsel wand. Anne held up the crown of flowers and looked at it with her head on one side.
“It is pretty, isn’t it?” she said. “I danced in it at a fancy-dress party last winter. But that was indoors. It will look even lovelier out of doors, in the moon-light, under the trees! This crown will be nice on your curly hair.”
“I never saw anything so sweet!” exclaimed Nelly. “But it might get hurt.”
“You and I are about the same size,” Anne went on, not noticing the objection. “I’m sure you can wear the slippers and everything. Won’t you try them on?”
“But what are you going to wear?” asked Nelly. “Yes,” added Aunt Polly, “what about you, Anne?”
“Oh, I have something,” said Anne carelessly. “There’s another dress I wore in a play, at school—a nun’s dress; that will do very nicely.” She could not help thinking how ugly the nun’s costume really was. Nelly had been thinking too.
“I don’t believe it is half as pretty as this,” she said. “I can’t wear your things, when you ought to wear them yourself. Besides, I never had on a dress like this in my life, and I’d feel funny wearing it out of doors.”
“She would so,” agreed Aunt Polly wagging her head. “But it was kind of you to think of it, Anne.”
“It isn’t kind,” protested Anne. “Please take the dress, Nelly. I’d like to give it to you. I have lots of dresses at home.”
Nelly hesitated, fingering the tarlatan folds. “No,” she said slowly, “I’d rather not, thank you. It wouldn’t be nice. I’ll fix something else. I guess I can think of something easy.”