THE STRAWBERRY PARTY. 211 



said ; " father was very sick, and mother could not leave him, 

 and the lady who lived on the hill wanted a great many quarts 

 of strawberries for a dinner party, and she had got so few that 

 she should not get money enough to pay for father's doctor's 

 stuff." The tears rolled down her cheeks, as she told her 

 simple tale, and in an instant Alice and myself had emptied our 

 baskets into her tin kettle. We then went to work to procure 

 for her the " great many quarts" she wanted, and Alice was as 

 industrious as if she had been educated all her life for a straw- 

 berry-picker. When we had finished our task we found the 

 kettle quite too heavy for the child to carry, so we took it 

 between us, and the little girl guided us to a cottage at the 

 edge of the wood, where we found her sick father and her 

 patient, toil-worn mother. As we were coming away Alice 

 stepped back to speak to the poor woman, and I saw her slip 

 a bank-note into her hand. Ah ! thought I, Alice May is not 

 as heartless as I supposed ; only give her a motive, and she can 

 be natural and unselfish. 



But I am spinning out my tale without coming to the chief 

 adventure of the day, so I will say nothing of our delicious 

 feast within the forest, where we sat beside a bubbling spring, 

 with a leafy canopy over our heads and a mossy carpet beneath 

 our feet, while our rustic board was spread with delicate condi- 

 ments, better suited to the pampered tastes of the company, 

 than to the simple beauty of our sylvan hall. It was near sun- 

 down ere we set out on our return, and though we were wearied 

 yet we were scarcely less merry than when we went forth in 

 the freshness of the morning. 



