border first, with little flowers and leaves, and I thought it looked quite pretty. Ma agreed.
"You are doing better than I expected, Mabel," she said. "If you do as well on the words, you may have a chance at winning that book."
"Of course I'll win, Ma! Sarah Jane's looks nice, but it's not as smooth as mine. She said so herself."
"Just don't be disappointed if you aren't first," Ma warned. "It doesn't pay to be too sure of yourself."
But I was sure of myself. I just knew that mine was going to be the best one.
About two weeks before the end of the term, Sarah Jane and I sat on the porch, working on our samplers.
"I have just two more words to do, then my name and the date," I announced, and I spread the sampler out on my lap to inspect it again. Sarah Jane looked at it carefully; then an odd expression came over her face.
"Something is wrong, Mabel," she said.
"There can't be!" I exclaimed. "What is it?"
"I think you spelled friend wrong."
Horrified, I looked at the word. Sure enough, I had written "A FREND LOVETH AT . . . "
"Oh, no! What can I do to fix it up?"
"You'll have to take it out, back to there," Sarah Jane said. "There isn't room to squeeze in an i without looking funny."
"But I don't have time to take it all out," I cried. "Besides it will leave holes where I sewed it, and that will look worse!"
Sarah Jane was sorry, and so was I. It was either take the stitching all out, and probably not finish in time, or leave it in and hope the judges wouldn't notice, but I knew I wouldn't win.
Ma was sympathetic. "I think you should put an i in here, even though it looks crowded. That would be better than having the judges believe you thought it was spelled correctly. As many times as you've looked at that sampler, I can't understand how you missed it."
"That's what Sarah Jane said too," I replied sadly. "When I looked at it, I just thought how pretty it was. I wasn't expecting anything to be wrong. I did so want to win that book! I was sure the Lord would answer my prayers."
"Maybe you should have prayed to do your best rather than to win, Mabel. The Lord is willing to help us, but we need to do all we can with the intelligence He gave us." '
I knew Ma was right, but I was pretty sad the day I took the sampler to school. The teacher agreed that if it hadn't been for that mistake, it might have been a winner.
The last day of school was exciting, anyway. When the contest winners were announced, Roy was in first place in the wood-carving division with a small squirrel he had whittled.
"You can be the first one to read my book, Mabel," he offered generously. "Maybe next year you can enter again and win your own prize."
"That was a good lesson for me," Grandma said. "I was often careless after that, but I was careful not to be quite so positive about what I would do again. And I never blamed the Lord for my mistakes, either!"
Mrs. Carter's Fright
Grandma, you never told me you dressed a pig in baby's clothes! What did you do that for?" I asked wondering why my commonsense grandma would do such a thing, even when she was a little girl like me.
"Oh, my friend Sarah Jane and I should have been whipped for that prank! We frightened poor Mrs. Carter nearly out of her senses. If she hadn't been such a kind, forgiving lady, I'm sure we would have been punished severely."
"Tell me what happened, Grandma," I begged.
"After I get the bread in the oven, we'll sit on the porch. You can help me pick over the beans for supper."
Soon we were seated on the porch, and Grandma began.
This story happened right on this porch. At least, most of it did. It was a beautiful day in the spring, shortly after hoof was over for the year. Sarah Jane and I were wandering about, trying to think of the best way to spend the day. We had about decided on a trip to the woods to look for berries when Ma changed our minds.
' "Don't go too far from the house, girls," she called. "Mrs. Carter is coming to spend the day sewing, and
"You are doing better than I expected, Mabel," she said. "If you do as well on the words, you may have a chance at winning that book."
"Of course I'll win, Ma! Sarah Jane's looks nice, but it's not as smooth as mine. She said so herself."
"Just don't be disappointed if you aren't first," Ma warned. "It doesn't pay to be too sure of yourself."
But I was sure of myself. I just knew that mine was going to be the best one.
About two weeks before the end of the term, Sarah Jane and I sat on the porch, working on our samplers.
"I have just two more words to do, then my name and the date," I announced, and I spread the sampler out on my lap to inspect it again. Sarah Jane looked at it carefully; then an odd expression came over her face.
"Something is wrong, Mabel," she said.
"There can't be!" I exclaimed. "What is it?"
"I think you spelled friend wrong."
Horrified, I looked at the word. Sure enough, I had written "A FREND LOVETH AT . . . "
"Oh, no! What can I do to fix it up?"
"You'll have to take it out, back to there," Sarah Jane said. "There isn't room to squeeze in an i without looking funny."
"But I don't have time to take it all out," I cried. "Besides it will leave holes where I sewed it, and that will look worse!"
Sarah Jane was sorry, and so was I. It was either take the stitching all out, and probably not finish in time, or leave it in and hope the judges wouldn't notice, but I knew I wouldn't win.
Ma was sympathetic. "I think you should put an i in here, even though it looks crowded. That would be better than having the judges believe you thought it was spelled correctly. As many times as you've looked at that sampler, I can't understand how you missed it."
"That's what Sarah Jane said too," I replied sadly. "When I looked at it, I just thought how pretty it was. I wasn't expecting anything to be wrong. I did so want to win that book! I was sure the Lord would answer my prayers."
"Maybe you should have prayed to do your best rather than to win, Mabel. The Lord is willing to help us, but we need to do all we can with the intelligence He gave us." '
I knew Ma was right, but I was pretty sad the day I took the sampler to school. The teacher agreed that if it hadn't been for that mistake, it might have been a winner.
The last day of school was exciting, anyway. When the contest winners were announced, Roy was in first place in the wood-carving division with a small squirrel he had whittled.
"You can be the first one to read my book, Mabel," he offered generously. "Maybe next year you can enter again and win your own prize."
"That was a good lesson for me," Grandma said. "I was often careless after that, but I was careful not to be quite so positive about what I would do again. And I never blamed the Lord for my mistakes, either!"
Mrs. Carter's Fright
Grandma, you never told me you dressed a pig in baby's clothes! What did you do that for?" I asked wondering why my commonsense grandma would do such a thing, even when she was a little girl like me.
"Oh, my friend Sarah Jane and I should have been whipped for that prank! We frightened poor Mrs. Carter nearly out of her senses. If she hadn't been such a kind, forgiving lady, I'm sure we would have been punished severely."
"Tell me what happened, Grandma," I begged.
"After I get the bread in the oven, we'll sit on the porch. You can help me pick over the beans for supper."
Soon we were seated on the porch, and Grandma began.
This story happened right on this porch. At least, most of it did. It was a beautiful day in the spring, shortly after hoof was over for the year. Sarah Jane and I were wandering about, trying to think of the best way to spend the day. We had about decided on a trip to the woods to look for berries when Ma changed our minds.
' "Don't go too far from the house, girls," she called. "Mrs. Carter is coming to spend the day sewing, and
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