"Do you feel sick now, Sarah?" said good-hearted little Nelly.
Sarah did not speak. Her brain was not yet clear. She looked helplessly from Mrs. March to the children, and from the children to Mrs. March. Then she rose and walked unsteadily to the table, and tried to take the towel out of Nelly's hands.
"Let me wipe the dishes," she said: "my head's better now."
"No, Sarah," said Mrs. March, sternly. "Go back to your room. You're not yet fit to be on your feet."
The children wondered very much that their mamma, who was usually so kind, should speak so sternly to Sarah; but they asked no questions. They were too full of the excitement of doing all the work, and looking at their presents, and talking about them. The hours flew by so quickly that it was dark before they knew it; and, when they went to bed, they both exclaimed together:—
"Oh, Nell!" and "Oh, Rob! hasn't it been a splendid Christmas!"
They remembered it for a great many years, for it was the last Christmas they spent in their pleasant home at Mayfield.