Belle sat still for a few moments after Mrs. Bradford left her, not looking at the pictures, but thinking of her own naughtiness; and at last she said aloud,—
"I guess if God took so much trouble to punish me just enough to make me remember, and not enough to make me a lame girl all my life, I'd better punish myself a little too."
Belle sometimes punished herself when she knew she had been naughty, and her way of doing this was to shut herself up in the closet.
There was one which opened out of the library. It was not dark, but the little window which lighted it was high up in the wall, so that she could not see out; and there was nothing there to amuse her, for it was hung around with overcoats and hats, so that it was really disagreeable to her to shut herself up there, as she had done more than once since she had been at Mrs. Bradford's.
She slipped down from the sofa, and went into the closet, where she pulled the door to, and sat down upon the floor, still thinking how sorry papa would look. But presently she felt tired, and, looking around her, she saw a carriage-robe lying in the corner. She rolled up one end of this for a pillow, and curled herself up upon it; and there, a few moments later, Mrs. Bradford found her fast asleep. She called Jane, and had Belle carried to her crib, feeling very thankful that the little girl truly repented of her fault; for she saw she was quite in earnest about punishing herself. Belle took a long nap, and the children had been home some time. She awoke, and it was then nearly time for her papa to come. When at last he arrived, he did indeed look grieved to see the hurt foot, and hear how it had happened, but he was glad she had not tried to hide it.
"But, papa," said Belle, when she had finished her confession, "Bessie and I could not find that skin. I wonder what did become of it."
The children were all three greatly puzzled and disturbed at the disappearance of the piece of skin which had been scraped from Belle's foot; and late that night, when mamma was herself going to bed, and went to give her birdies a last kiss, Bessie roused a little as her mother leaned over her, and murmured sleepily,—
"I wonder what did become of Belle's skin."