At the same time she said that Mary gave her some trouble, and was a great care to her. Mrs. Lee, finding she could do no more, offered to take the troublesome little girl home with her, and keep her for two or three weeks.
Mrs. Lee did this kind act in a very quiet and pretty way. She did not tell Susan she would take her sister in order to make less work in the family, for she saw that she took pride in doing it all herself. But she invited Mary to go up to her house and spend two or three weeks with Flora.
I do not think it is wicked to do a kind act in this way, for it can hardly be called deception. Some people do their good deeds so that every body may see them; and some do all their kind acts so that no person’s feelings shall be hurt.
The New Testament tells us not to let the right hand know what the left hand doeth; that is, we must not parade our deeds of charity and kindness before the world. If you had a little friend who was very poor, but very proud, you might do something for him in such a way that he would not feel as though he was accepting a gift.
Susan was very glad of this relief, and Mary was very glad to go up to the great house, and walk through its handsome rooms, and over its rich carpets. For the first day she could do nothing but walk through the rooms and look at the fine things she saw. There were a great many books with pretty pictures in them. The walls of the parlor and sitting room were covered over with fine paintings, and on the mantel-pieces were beautiful statues. There were, indeed, so many nice things to be seen, that one day was scarcely enough to allow her to look at them as much as she wished.
But my story is not about fine pictures, and statues, and carpets, and sofas. It will be a story within a story which Mr. Lee told to the children, with the reason why he told it; and I hope my young friends will learn the same good lesson from it that poor Mary Long learned.
When Mary had been at Mr. Lee’s a few days, and got used to the fine things there, Flora missed a little gold thimble, which one of her aunts had given her as a Christmas present.
Flora felt very badly when she found that the thimble was gone; not because it was gold, and worth two or three dollars, but because it was the gift of her aunt.
“Don’t cry, Flora,” said Mrs. Lee. “You will probably find the thimble again. If you do not, crying will not mend the matter.”
“But aunt Sarah gave it to me, and I wouldn’t lose it for any thing,” sobbed Flora.