The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1888-12-15
HOW BESSIE WAS GENEROUS.
Her Sclr-Dcnial and Willingness 20 Share
with Her Dear Baby Brother.

with Her Dear Baby Brother.
Bessie was a dear little girl of five
years, with blue eyes and yellow hair,
that looked as if the sunbeams had
mistaken it for their home and decided
to stay in it. She had playthiugs and
| pets without number, but the dearest
and most wonderful of all was a baby
brother three months old. Bessie was
very proud of him, but one thing
troubled her-he had no hair. She
could not understand it, and she was
almost ashamed to have the little girls
| in the neighborhood come TO see him,
especially after one OF them said: my
brothers only two weeks old, and he's
got lots of hair"
Bessic's mamma had talked to her u
great deal about being generous, and
had told her that she ought to be will
| ing to share what she had with others,
and to go without things herself some
times, that others might have them.
One day, when nurse was busy in the
kitchen, mamma was called down stairs
to see u lady. Baby was fast asleep in
his cradle, and Bessie was sitting on
the floor cutting out pictures and
pasting them in an old blank book.
AS mamma went out Of the door she
said: "If baby stirs, just touch the
cradle, dear. Nurse will be up in a
moment" Baby did stir, and Bessie
jumped up and swung the cradle to and
fro, as she had seen nurse do so many
times. AS she did so she caught sight
of the little bald head. "Oh, dear"
thought Bessie, 'if he only had some
hair he'd be the cunningest baby in the
world" Then the thought came to
her: Why couldn't she give him some
of hers9 She took one Of her curls in
her hand and looked at it. Yes, she
would give baby half OF her hair. II
must do it right away before mamma
or nurse come back. How pleased they
they will bc!'' So the little girl took
the scissors from the floor where she
had left them, climbed up in chair
before the bureau. and commenced
her work. Snip, snip, snip,
went the scissors. and three shining
curls fell to the floor. ''He shall have
them ALL" said generous little Bessie:
and soon all the curls but one which
was directly behind, and which Bessie
could not reach, lay on the floor. Then
she jumped down, gathered the hair in
her hands, and tiptOed across the room
to the cradle. There was the mucilage
bottle on the floor, and, quick as
Al,
covered the little head with mucilage.
or course il felt very cold to poor baby,
and he awoke with cry; but Bessie
rocked him, and he soon fell asleep
again. Then she took up the curls, and
stuck them one by one on the baby's
head. To be sure they did not look
very much as If they had grown there;
but that did not trouble Bessie. just
then she heard the front door close and |
mammals step on the stairs. She ran
quickly into the closet and shut the
door-all but little crack out of
which she could peep. Mann
ma came into the room, hum
ming softly to herself, but sud-
denly she stopped and gave little
scream as she caught sight OF baby's |
head. Bessie could wait no longer, but |
burst out of the closet and jumped up |
and down before mamma, saying: II
did it, mamma! / wanted to be gen.
'rous! She could not understand why |
mamma sat down on the floor and |
laughed until she cried, nor why papa
did very nearly the same thing when he
came home to dinner and was shown
first the baby's head and then Bessie's.
After all the auntics and cousins had
been in to see the baby's wonderful
growth OF hair, mamma told Bessie she
thought they would give baby chance
to have some hair of his own and she
washed the little head with hot water.
putting the curls very carefully into a
box, which she keeps in her bureau
drawer to this day,-Sarah S. Bisseli,
in Christian Union.
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