“Then there is another thing,” she added, “which I mentioned—being willing to try to do what you think you can’t do, or what you can’t do very well. Once, when I was at a school, there was a girl that sat next to me, and her name was Sarah. The teacher was choosing a copy for her to write. He had several in his hands, and he gave her one that had some figures at the end of it. Sarah looked at it, and then carried it back to the teacher’s desk, and asked him if he would be kind enough to give her another copy, for that one had figures at the end of it.
“‘Well,’ said the teacher, ‘and why is that an objection?’
“‘Why, I can’t make figures very well,’ replied Sarah.
“‘Can’t you?’ said the teacher.
“‘No,’ said Sarah, ‘and so I should like to have a copy that hasn’t got any figures in it.’
“The teacher then began to look over his copies, and Sarah supposed that he was endeavoring to find one which had no figures in it. While he was doing this, she said,—
“‘I think Lucy Dane would like that copy very well, for she can make figures beautifully.’”
“Lucy Dane?” said Lucy; “was her name Lucy?”
“Yes,” said Mary Jay.
“That’s the same as my name,” added Lucy.