William was an entirely well-meaning boy. That fact must be realised in any attempt to estimate his character, but Fate had a way of putting him into strange situations, and the world in general had a way of misunderstanding him. At least, so it always seemed to William....
William was bored by Aunt Ellen, and Aunt Ellen's house, and Aunt Ellen's garden, and Aunt Ellen's cat, and Aunt Ellen's conversation, and Aunt Ellen's powers of entertainment.
Aunt Ellen had suggested many ways in which he might spend his first afternoon with her while his mother rested. He might sit in the garden and read. She'd rather he didn't go outside the garden alone, because he might meet rough boys, and she was sure his dear mother was most particular whom he met. So she gave him a book called "Little Peter, The Sunshine of the Home," and put a chair for him in the garden.
"It's a beautiful book, William," she said, "and I think will do you good. It's a true book, written by the boy's mother, as the preface tells you. He is a beautiful character. I love the book, myself. We'll have a nice little talk about it when you've read it. It might prove the turning-point in your life. I'm sure you'll wish you knew Peter and his dear mother."
William, after reading a few pages, began, as she had predicted, to wish he knew Peter and his mother. He wished he knew Peter in order to take the curl out of that butter-coloured hair and the fatuous smile from the complacent little mouth that stared at him from every illustration. Driven at last to fury, he dropped Peter down the well, and began to look for more congenial occupations.
He tried to play with the cat, but the cat, not being used to William's method of playing, scratched him on the cheek and escaped under the bicycle shed, whither William could not follow him. William next climbed the apple-tree, but, like the rest of Aunt Ellen's establishment, the apple-tree was not "used to boys," and the first branch upon which William took his stand precipitated him on to the lawn, and almost down the well, to join his victim, "Peter, the Sunshine of the Home." Next he took up a few of Aunt Ellen's cherished chrysanthemums to compare the length of their roots at different stages, replanting them when he heard Aunt Ellen's footsteps approaching——
"William, darling," she said reproachfully, "have you finished the book?"
"Umph," answered William non-committally.
"You must read very quickly, darling. I'll get you another. I have another book about Peter, you'll be glad to hear."
William coughed politely.