It was quite an important occasion for Prudy, who always liked to be the centre of attraction. The truth was, she felt faint and dizzy, though only for a short time. The prongs of the chair pushed right into my side. But it did not appear that Prudy was much injured, after all. In a few minutes she was skipping about the room almost as nimbly as ever, only stopping to groan every now and then, when she happened to think of it.
Some little ones seem to be making hair-breadth escapes almost every day of their lives.
I believe Prudy would have been in her grave long ago, if it had not been for her guardian angel. The long-expected Christmas had come at last, and Prudy had stumbled into it, as she stumbled into everything else. When Mrs. Parlin found that the children were too thoroughly awake to go to sleep again that morning, she told them they might dress themselves in the parlor if they would keep as quiet as possible, and let the rest of the household take another nap. It all seemed very strange and delightful to the little girls. It was like another sort of life, this new arrangement of stealing about the house in the silent hours before daybreak.