"And I had made up my mind what to do," added Flora. "I thought I would go and carry the plant back, and tell Mrs. Hausen all about it. And now it is gone, and I can't; and what shall I do?"
"Try to think whether you have not something else with which to replace the red plant," said Mrs. Lester.
Florry looked at her mother, and then her eyes wandered round the room till they rested on her beautiful fuchsia.
"Do you mean my fuchsia, mother?"
"I will leave you to think about that, Florry. You are truly sorry, are you not, my child?"
"Indeed I am, mother; and, oh, so ashamed. Mrs. Hausen has been so good to me; and Emma and I have always been such good friends. It seems as if I had been so mean and ungrateful—worse than if I had taken it from any one else."
"There is some one else who has done a great deal more for you than Mrs. Hausen, Florry—one to whom you owe it that you have such kind friends. Have you thought about Him, and how you have offended Him, my dear?"
"Yes, mother," answered Florry, in a low voice. "And I asked Him to forgive me, and help me not to do so again."
"That was right, my daughter; and if you truly repent, as I have no doubt you do, He will surely forgive you. And you should ask Him to show you some way by which you can make amends. And if you are honest, and really wish to do so, I have no doubt He will teach you the right way. Now try to go to sleep, and another time we will talk more about this matter, and see whether we cannot get at the root of the trouble."
"I know what the root was," said Florry, humbly. "I have been naughty this long time, mother. I have been so envious of Emma because she was so much richer than I: and this afternoon, when I was looking at Mr. Hausen's garden, I said to myself that it was a great shame for them to be so rich, while we were so poor; and I almost wished something would happen to them. I knew it was wrong, and yet I kept on thinking about it. I don't believe I should have taken the red plant at all, only for that."