“We will help,” said the three girls.
* * *
The teacher came back and school began again. When he called for the names of the pupils, they gave those which they liked best—Lily, Beauty, and Moon—as before, but the teacher said, “No, these names are all wrong.
“There is only one Lily, one Beauty, and one Moon in this school now. You boys can not use the names I gave you. You had beautiful names, but your acts were not beautiful.
“You ran away when your schoolmates were hurt. You had no pity for them. Had it not been for Lily, Beauty, and Moon, they would have died. These names mean something. Beauty makes the world a pleasant place for us to live in. The Moon shines and gives us [[197]]soft light. The Lily gives us beauty and sweet-smelling odors.
“Your acts were not like the names. After this, when boys want such names they must do something to be worthy of them.”
[[198]]
[1] In China the girls do not attend the private schools with the boys, after they are about twelve years old. A little education at home is considered enough for the girls, for the Chinese say, “We want our women to be gentle, kind and obedient, and too much wisdom might not be good for them.”