She hoped he might be jesting, yet his words were soon proved true; for he not only neglected, but treated her harshly, and when she was saddest, dragged her to the balls which she no longer enjoyed, and laughed about her spectacles, which began to leave their mark upon her handsome face.
"At least," thought Maud, "I am very rich; there is no end to my jewelry. I will find out all its value through the spectacles."
But though there were pearls and diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires, set in heavy gold, they seemed only a handful through the glasses; while she saw whole heaps of finer pearls lying neglected under the sea, and rubies, and emeralds, and diamonds scattered about on the sands, or in the heart of rocks, enough to build a house. Melted along the veins of the earth she discovered so much gold, too, that her own didn't seem worth keeping; for Maud only valued things when she thought others could not have so fine.
Do you remember what the dame said, when she placed the spectacles on little Daisy's breast? "Take care of her heart, now, Peter, and this gift of mine will be a precious one."
Here was the trouble: Maud, with all her beauty and wealth, had not taken care of her heart; and so, when Daisy saw bright, and wise, and pleasant things through the glasses, Maud saw only sad and painful ones.
The beauty grew tired of life; her husband was so jealous that he would not allow any one to admire her; and she found the palace did not make her any happier than the cabin had done, nor did the open country seem any brighter than the wood.
For it isn't whether we live in a palace or a cave, but whether our hearts are cheerful palaces or gloomy caves, that makes the difference between sad lives and merry ones.
So, one day, when the dame appeared with her gifts, Maud said, "O, take them away—take back all the beauty, the power, and money you ever brought, and give me a heart like Daisy's."
"Pretty likely," said the dame. "You asked for money—you and your mother, both; now make the most of it."
But the old woman had hardly left the house when one of Maud's servants brought her in, wounded, and weeping bitterly, for a wagon had run over her.