“What did you buy?” he asked.
The moment had come. Pennie looked round her with conscious virtue as she replied, “I saw a book I wanted very much, quite as much as you wanted the kitten, but I saved all my money for the mandarin.”
“How stupid!” said Ambrose.
“It’s much better to save someone’s life than to buy a mandarin,” said David.
Pennie felt hurt and disappointed; the reward of virtue was not supporting under these circumstances. She wanted a word of praise or admiration. If someone had only said, “That was good of you,” she would have been satisfied; but no one seemed even surprised at what she had done. And yet how much she would have liked to buy Siegfried! The boys had the kitten; Nancy had her cocoa-nut, even Dickie was clasping a rabbit on a green stand, and a gingerbread man. Pennie alone had brought nothing home from the fair; she was very sorry for herself.
A sudden outburst from Dickie roused her, as she sat sad and silent in the midst of chatter and laughter. No one could make out at first what was the matter, and Dickie could not tell them: she only kicked out her fat little legs and sobbed more convulsively at every fresh attempt to comfort her. But at last she managed to make them understand that her gingerbread man was spoilt; she had eaten his head, and he would never, never be whole again. This was followed by a torrent of tears, for Dickie never did anything by halves, and when she cried she put her whole heart into it.
“Bless the child, she’ll make herself ill,” said Nurse, taking her upon her knee. “Now, Dickie, my dear, don’t give way. You know you can stop if you like. Look at your pretty rabbit!”
Dickie dealt the offered rabbit a blow on the nose with her doubled fist.
She did not want the rabbit, she sobbed out, but she thought she could stop if she had the black kitten to hold. To this David had a decided objection. It was his kitten, and if Dickie had it she would let it go. Fresh screams from Dickie.
“Lor, Master David,” said Nurse in despair, “let her have it, do. I’ll take care it don’t get away.”