Alice was annoyed by this; she was a little vain of my beauty, and the disregard of her looks, which she thought these words indicated, fretted her.
Her father saw this, and, to make the tying less disagreeable, said to her, one day, "Alice, I see you don't like to have your hair tied up; you don't think it reasonable. Come now, bear it patiently for a month; and, at the end of that time, I will give you the little work box I am ornamenting with straw."
Alice agreed, and promised to be patient, and to keep her hair tied up.
During the month, it happened that Alice was invited to a little party of girls at her aunt's.
Alice hoped that her father and mother would absolve her from the promise, that afternoon; but no, her mother only tied up her hair with a new ribbon for the occasion. I, with all my beautiful curls, was drawn away from her dear face as far as possible. Alice found this hard to bear.
As she was on the way to the party, she could hardly keep from crying.
"What is the matter?" said her father.
"Nothing, father," said Alice, "only a little headache; mother has tied my hair too tight."
"Loosen it," said her father.
Alice did loosen it, so that the string was just ready to come off.