White Oaks eagle. (White Oaks, N.M.) 189?-190?, 1897-09-30
Taking Without Asking.
BY HORATIA CARLIN.

90 at the words Bette did find.
She told her mother she wanted to
go to that picnic lust awfully, aWfuIly,
awfully!" But if can't talk as gIibly
as | would like, this much | do know,
anyway, that aWfully means a great
deal with little girls, full as much as
earnestly desire" or "deyoutly trust
means with grown folks.
But when IA girl says awfully three
times in a row-well, it is beyond me,
then, TO tell how much she does mean.
1t is too confusing, like trying to count
the stars on clear night.
This picnic which Bette so ardently
desired to attend was to be under the
grove of oaks in Judge Potter's big
field.
Three long tables of rough boards
had already IDcen nailed together for
the occasion, and they were to be
spread with everything good to eat that
the women folks of the town knew
how to make. And especially there was
to be plenty of cake, from the richest
plum down to one-cgg-in-the-ha
cookies for they always have cake at
picnics, whatever else they don't have.
There was a band of music from
the city, and Mamie Brown told
Bette there was going to be a
real fountain that would shoot
water up ever so high in the air;
and she wasn't sure, but she had heard
that Judge Potter was going to send
from his fine residence in the city his
four big stone frogs, to sit under the
fountain right among the falling
drops.
"Oh, dear!' Bette exclaimed, catch
ing her breath. "What if | can't go!"
The idea of not going was appalling.
And the more Bette wanted to go, the
more she was afraid that she couldn't
go. To tell the truth, she had pretty
good grounds for her fears.
IN the first place, the only dress she
had eft to be seem was a thick green
and white and black wooden plaid, and
the waist was lined with heavy drilling
besides.
= S'S
that would have been appropriate to
wear TO a picnic in January, if ever they
do have picnics in that month. But,
unlucllilN, it was not January now. 1t
was August, the hottest month in the
year. And Bette could not wear that
warm dress of hers without feeling
| pretty uncomfortable in it, and making
| everybody else feel uncomfortable just
from seeing her wearit.
To be sure, she did have two other
| cooler dresses that she wore around at
! home-a yellow calico and a pink one.
But the yellow in the one had basely
deserted in great patches here and
| there all over the dress, leaving queer
looking white spots; and as for the
| pink one, it was neither one thing nor
another-not exactly pink, not exact
| ly white; but, as Settle herself de-
| scribed it, Just faded to death"
Certainly, neither of these dresses
would do any more than the plaid one.
/ Bette had thoughtfully considered
/ them all.
J
! ton, it happened that Betties mother
was more than usually busy about
! this time.
She expected to have to go to Mrs.
! MOntandon's to clean house the very
day Of the picnic. And if she did 20,
she wanted Rettie to stay at home and
/ take care of her little sister Cora, do up
the hOusework, milk the cow at night
and carry around the milk to their two
or three customers, and have supper
ready when ilc got home.
Bette had often done all this before,
for she was used to working as well rs
her mother. She hoped to work for
wages some time.
She had secretly resolved to coax her
= mother into buying her a new calico
dress for the picnic, if she should find
out in time that Mrs Montandon did
not want her mother on the picnic day.
Then, If her mother would Just cut
and fit the dress, sic would sew up the
seams herself in very short time. But
Mrs. Cochran positively could not af-
ford to lose this chance of earning a
days wages, and so. when Mrs. Montan.
don sent around word that she would
need her The day of the picnic, Mrs.
Cochran agreed to 20.
i "Of course there's no use in talking
about buying dress now" thought dis
appointed Bette.
She'd have TO stay at home, even if she
did have one.
And now I've reached that part Of my
story where Bette gets into trouble
falls into temptation-and do declare
il makes me feel real bad to go on
What a pity that she did not try harder
TO resist the temptation!
1t seems to me, if were little girl
wouldn't do such thing as she did fol
the world. And that's about what you'll
say, | suppose, when you hear the rest
But let us be charitable. Perhaps
we've all of us done things quite al
: wrong as this that Bette did, if no
worse. And then you must remcmbc
that Bette wanted to go to the picni
awfully Besides, she got punished Sc
r Nercly enough In the end for what sh
did. For, sooner or later, in some form
or another, punishment and sorrow dl
: come for wrOng-doing.