"That would be cowardly," answered Mervyn; "I'm very sorry I pulled the box, and I'll stay here and tell her so;" and he went down on his knees and began to gather up the sweetmeats and put them into a sheet of paper.
"Don't eat any, Mervyn," said Bunny, "they look awfully nice, but—"
"Eat them!" exclaimed the boy indignantly, "I should think not indeed! I am not so mean as that; I wouldn't—"
"Mean—is it mean?" cried Bunny, rubbing her mouth; "oh, I didn't know, and I just took one—but Miss Kerr won't mind."
"Well, you are nasty! You tell me not to eat them, and then you go and take some yourself. Go away, I won't speak to you or be friends with you any more; you're a mean—"
"Oh, Mervyn, Mervyn, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" cried Bunny, flinging herself on her knees beside her cousin. "I didn't want to take the chocolate cream, but it looked so nice, and I just longed to take it and—"
"Children! what are you doing?" cried Miss Kerr in astonishment as her eyes fell upon the two kneeling figures and she heard Bunny's miserable tone of voice; "why are you on the floor? Come back to the table at once."
"Bunny," whispered Mervyn, "we must tell Miss Kerr now what we have done;" and springing to his feet he caught the little girl by the hand and dragged her over to the other side of the room, where the governess had seated herself, ready to begin lessons again.
"We have been very naughty," he began, looking down at the floor; "we didn't learn our lessons—and—we—broke—the box—and spilt all the chocolates—but we are very sorry, indeed we are," and he raised his blue eyes full of tears to Miss Kerr's face.
"Yes, we are very sorry—and—I eat a chocolate cream—but Mervyn didn't because it was mean," cried Bunny, and then, overcome with grief, she buried her face in her pinafore and sobbed aloud.