"I don't know. I used to, but I'm sort of sorry for her, Dolly."
"I don't see why!"
"Well, since I've been away from the farm, I've seen that she didn't have a very much better time than I did. She had to work all day long, and she never got much pleasure."
"That wasn't any excuse for her treating you so badly."
"I think maybe it was, Dolly. I suppose she was nervous, like a whole lot of other women, and she had to have something to wear herself out on. She took things out on me. I'm beginning to think that maybe she wasn't really mad at me when she acted like that. I believe she used to get so upset about things that she had to sort of kick out at whatever was nearest—and it happened to be me."
"Well, I hate her, just the same! You can forgive her if you like, but I'm not going to!"
"It's a good thing she never did anything to you, Dolly. If you hate her like that when you've never even seen her, what would you do if you had some real reason for it?"
Dolly laughed.
"I suppose I am silly," she said, "but I can't help it. I just feel that way, that's all. Do you know what I wish, Bessie?"
"Nothing dreadful, I hope, Dolly."