"I know just what would happen if I spoke to father; a troubled look would come into his face and he would say, 'We must speak to mother about it; she knows best.'
"And then when he told her, she would say, 'The child is fretting because she is left alone so much; we will get another teacher for the needlework, and then I can stay at home with her in the afternoon.'
"Now I don't want that; she is the dearest mother that ever was, but when she sits with me, she always makes me think I am ill, though she does not say a word about it. And then I have a bad night, and I do feel ill the next day. It is funny, but this has happened so often, that I dare not let mother know just how I feel, for fear she should want to stay at home with me, and make me worse."
"But she would let you read some books if I brought them, and, oh! Could you dress a doll for a bazaar?" said Elsie, quickly.
"I think I could, if you would show me how to do it, and cut out the clothes," said Mary. "I should not be so dull if I had things like that to do," she added. "That is what I want,—something to do for other people, and not take all the love and care for myself, without doing anything for anybody else."
"Well, it would be a real help to me and to my friend, if you could dress this doll for us. The bazaar is in aid of the penny dinners for poor children in London; so you may feel sure that you are helping to feed some hungry child while you are doing it. Mother will cut out the frock and other clothes, and I will bring you everything ready fixed."
"Oh! I can fix it, mother has let me help her sometimes to place the work for the girls at school, but she won't bring it home to do now, because I always want to help her. She is afraid I shall get tired, when it would do me good to feel tired sometimes."
So the girls talked on, until it was nearly time for Mrs. Murray to come back from school, and then Elsie went home, taking the shawl and slippers with her, and not even telling her mother what she had wanted them for.
She went again the next afternoon, feeling somewhat anxious lest she should find Mary worse from the previous day's exertions, in which case she had made up her mind that she would not help her to walk again, although she might offend Mary, and sever the friendship that promised to bring so much sweetness and change into her life.
But to her great satisfaction, Mary declared that she was feeling better, and certainly she was looking better, Elsie thought.