The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1894-01-18
Maria's Experiment.


out of five in most of the weeks this was
her lot. Sometimes it was Il spelling or
geography lesson that she missed; some
times she had whispered, or thrown pa
per balls, or chewed gum, or quarrelled
with her seat innate, or pulled johnny
Bennei's hair. There was always rea-
son for Maria troubles. If had II photo
graph of her, you would not care To see
it al least, not TO give 1t a second look.
y body ever cared to look a second time
Al Maria.
Her hair was red-a sort of carrotv
red. the girls said; her face was freek-
led: her mouth was very wide; two
teeth were gone and, altogether, | sup
pose it would have been hard to find a
homelier girl. Perhaps the ugly scowl
hat was nearly always on her face was
The worst feature of it; but this Maria
lid not understand. Nobody liked
Maria. aud perhaps it is safe also to say
hat Maria liked nobody. There was not
a girl or boy in her grade with whom
he had not had trouble. Half a dozen
Of the girls at this present time would
not speak to her when they met her in
the playground; and, as for the boys,
they seldom took the trouble To speak,
except to shout some teasing rhyme at
her about the color of her hair or the
llrgeness Of her mouth.
Miss Henderson, who sat at her desk.
hook in hand, was not reading, instead,
she Was carefully studying Maria's face
and manner, and trying to decide What
She could do for her. \ new teacher
was Miss Henderson, who had come from
Il PARKWAY home to take the place of u
friend of hers who had had the position
+ for two years. As she studied Maria :
scowling face. she recalled what her
friend had said. sin the main, they are
good children, rs good as the average.
sometimes think they are better than the
other grades in the same school; but
there is one eXeeption--a little girl about
twelve years old, who is certainly the
worst child ever knew. Her name is
Maria Coleman; and, really, | do not
think she has one redecming trait. She
is ii fearfully homely child to begin with.
and her fnger-nails are always soiled,
and her red hair is frowzle. As for her
/ teeth, She never even thought of brush
/ ing them. OF course, all thi makes her
/ repulsive in appearance, and her temper
matches her hair, it is fiery in the eX-
IRENE. She has bccp in my room for
six months, and during that time | do
{ l
4 her smile
/ What record for a scholar Mis-
Henderson had asked more questions
had found out, indeed. what she could
about Maria. and had been study ing her
ever since, She WAS not willing to spend
six months in that room without helping
the girl in some way. As she watched
/ her on this day, she decided to try an eN-
/ har ha al
/ ed over to where the heels were kicking,
and, sitting down in the seat in front,
she said, with a pleasant smile on her
/ face: docs not your hair curl. Maria
How pretty it would look in curls,
The heels stopped kicking, and Maria
turned scowling eyes on her teacher.
Was she being made fun of:
| The pleasant voice went on; II had a
/ little friend whose hair was just the color
of yours; and it curled naturally, IA !
think yours would with little care.
You cannot think how pretty it look
ed -
did she have freckles:'
! "Why, yes" said Miss Henderson,
still smiling kindly. snow YOU speak
of it, remember she had; and little
squint in her eve. besides. In fact, one
! .
/ Vet for all that she had one of the sweet
est faces ever saw. Mamie Wells her
name was and she was general favor
tie. Everybody loved and admired her. =
with red hair and freckles. The
words seemed to burst from Maria's lips
without having intended to speak.
why, certainly" said Miss Hender-
son. .'lhose accidents have nothing to
do with either liking or dislking people,
you know
Haven't they" said Maria, with a
wise toss of her head as if she meant,
Much you know about it :"
"Certainly not, said Miss Henderson.
people are liked for the words they
speak and the helpful and loving ways
( they have, without regard to any looks,
save the kind that they can manage.
Folks can't manage their looks" said
Maria decidedly.
.Oh, indeed they can-the kind that
mean neatly arranged hair, aud neatly
brushed shoes. and teeth and hands and
tinger-nails as clean as soap and water
can make them have a wonderful effect
on looks; and, if all such matters are
cared for, people take very little notice
of any other kind of looks"
II don't believe it, said Maria frank
ly.
Miss Henderson decided that she
would not at this time reprove any rude
ness that might be shown her.
Try it," she said. with a wise mol OF
her shapely head. "rhat is the best
way | know for proving the truth of Il
thing. Take the best possible care OF
your looks for the next few weeks.
| Mako all the pbnnUn. ynu can StnpntI