The San Francisco call., 1903-12-20
Copyright BY Josephine Dodge Daskam.l

CTNBE sun-glare lies on the road and
the field and the house. There are
only three little white clouds in
all the warm blue sky. No one
passes up or down the road
Suddenly comes the grating sound OF
something dragged over the floor, and
the door opens. The Child pushes out
with q little wooden rocking chair and
a great tin pan heaped with unshelled
peas Her blue-checked apron is tied
By the waistband around her neck it
is q grown woman's apron. and covers
her and the chair, which is far too
small for her now. But one cannot be
always eight years old, and when one
IL IL shall one relInquish without a
psng the birthday gifts OF ones child
hoodf
She lays the pan beside her and puts
q handful OF peas into her blue-checked
lap She presses her brown little thumb
against the sharp green edge and drags
It down the pod Out patter the little
green balls. and rattle into the pan
Truly, pleasant soundi Like the rain
on the roof When she was very little
and slept with her mother. she woke
Once IN the night, and # was raining
hard The thunder frightened her, and
her mother comforted her and sang her
70 sleep IN the bed And when the
lightning flashed and all the room was
bright and dreadful, her mother told
her to keep her eyes shut and then the
flashes would not trouble her. So she
screwed her eyes hard together and
held her mothers hand and drifted OF
% sleep.
That was 20 long agoi But whenever
anything rattles and patters she shuts
her eyes quickly, and sees for a mo-
u1ent the dark room and the square
white counterpane. and hears her
mother singing Mary OF Argyle" She
wonders II when We die and go to
heaven we are reminded by little sights
and sounds OF what We used to do on
earth OF course. we shall do only
pleasant things there, but they might
remind US Of the pleasant things here
the pasture IN the early morning, when
strange; the barn. fun OF sweet piles OF
hay, musical with amber sunlight:
fairly palace, on whose fragrant divans
one sits with Sultans and slavegirls,
and listens 10 Sindbad and Aladdin:
the shady porch. where cool white milk
and dark shiny gingerbread wait the
weary berry-stained wanderer. In the
brown book In the parlor is a poem
about q little girl who used to take
her little porringer and eat her supper
there" The Child feels like that little
girl when she eats on the porch.
There Is another little girl in the
brown boOk-''Sweet Lucy Gray" She
thinks Of Lucy when she comes home
alone at dusk. and quickens her steps.
How frightened she would be- Not
that the Child has been foolishly
taught to fear. Only that she is
imaginative and knows enough to be
afraid
II she could have one wish in all
her life she knows what it would be.
A beautiful gold watch all chased
with figures and a cherry-colored rib
bon tied into the handle. Then she
would put it into her waist-but
her dresses open in the back The
Disadvantages Of youth are obvious
enough. In all conscience, without that
last pathetic touch When can she
have a separate waist and skirt?
Suppose she should die before she
grows old enough to attain this glory?
People have died when they were
yOung-much younger than she. The
little Waters girl died and she was
only g. The Child went to the funeral
but not with her mother. She
slipped into the kitchen and listened
at the door. When she told her
mother that she had gone her mother
looked at her so strangely.