“She didn’t like it.”
67“You didn’t suppose she would, did you?”
“N-o-o, but—”
“Yes?”
“I’d never have got to go if I’d waited for permission. And, Marian,” Chicken Little thought it was time to change the subject, “how do you make yourself be sorry, when you ought to be and aren’t?”
Marian wanted to laugh but she saw her young sister had not intended to be funny. She half guessed the situation.
“Why Jane, I hardly know, the old monks used to set themselves penances to atone for their sins.”
“Did it make them really sorry? Do you think?”
“Well, yes, I should think it must have or they would never have had the courage to persist in them. Some of their penances were terribly severe such as beating themselves with knotted ropes, but I shouldn’t advise anything of that kind for you. You might try to make up for your fault in some way. Perhaps you might give up something you like very much.”
Jane didn’t say anything more, and it was a day or two later before Marian learned the effect of her words.