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MRS. LESLIE'S BOOKS FOR LITTLE CHILDREN.

THE LITTLE FRANKIE SERIES.




BOOKS WRITTEN OR EDITED

By A. R. BAKER,

AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.

       *       *       *       *       *

QUESTION BOOKS on the Topics of Christ's Sermon on the Mount.

          VOL. I. FOR CHILDREN.  VOL. II. FOR YOUTH.
          VOL. III. FOR ADULTS.
          LECTURES ON THESE TOPICS, _in press_.


MRS. LESLIE'S SABBATH SCHOOL BOOKS.

          TIM, THE SCISSORS GRINDER.
          SEQUEL TO "TIM, THE SCISSORS GRINDER."
          PRAIRIE FLOWER.
          THE BOUND BOY.
          THE BOUND GIRL.
          VIRGINIA.
          THE TWO HOMES; OR, EARNING AND SPENDING.
          THE ORGAN-GRINDER, _in press_.


QUESTION BOOKS. The Catechism tested by the Bible.

          VOL. I. FOR CHILDREN.     VOL. II. FOR ADULTS.


THE DERMOTT FAMILY; or, Stories Illustrating the Catechism.

          VOL. I. DOCTRINES RESPECTING GOD AND MANKIND.
           "  II. DOCTRINES OF GRACE.
           " III. COMMANDMENTS OF THE FIRST TABLE.
           "  IV. COMMANDMENTS OF THE SECOND TABLE.
           "   V. CONDITIONS OF ETERNAL LIFE.


MRS. LESLIE'S HOME LIFE.

          VOL. I. CORA AND THE DOCTOR.
           "  II. COURTESIES OF WEDDED LIFE.
           " III. THE HOUSEHOLD ANGEL.


MRS. LESLIE'S JUVENILE SERIES.

          VOL. I. THE MOTHERLESS CHILDREN.
           "  II. PLAY AND STUDY.
           " III. HOWARD AND HIS TEACHER.
           "  IV. TRYING TO BE USEFUL.
           "   V. JACK, THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER.
           "  VI. THE YOUNG HOUSEKEEPER.
           " VII. LITTLE AGNES.


THE ROBIN REDBREAST SERIES.

          THE ROBINS' NEST.
          LITTLE ROBINS IN THE NEST.
          LITTLE ROBINS LEARNING TO FLY.
          LITTLE ROBINS IN TROUBLE.
          LITTLE ROBINS' FRIENDS.
          LITTLE ROBINS' LOVE ONE TO ANOTHER.

       *       *       *       *       *

THE LITTLE FRANKIE SERIES.

          LITTLE FRANKIE AND HIS MOTHER.
          LITTLE FRANKIE AT HIS PLAYS.
          LITTLE FRANKIE AND HIS COUSIN.
          LITTLE FRANKIE AND HIS FATHER.
          LITTLE FRANKIE ON A JOURNEY.
          LITTLE FRANKIE AT SCHOOL.

[Illustration: UNPACKING NELLY'S TRUNKS.]




LITTLE FRANKIE AND HIS COUSIN.

BY

MRS. MADELINE LESLIE,

          AUTHOR OF "THE HOME LIFE SERIES;" "MRS. LESLIE'S
          JUVENILE SERIES," ETC.

[Illustration]

          BOSTON:
          CROSBY AND NICHOLS.
          117 WASHINGTON STREET.




  Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1860, by
  A. R. BAKER,
  In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of
        Massachusetts.


  ELECTROTYPED AT THE
  BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY.




LITTLE FRANKIE AND HIS COUSIN.




CHAPTER I.

FRANKIE'S COUSIN NELLY.


IN another little book I have given you an account of Frankie when he
was a baby, and have spoken of some things which he said and did when he
began to talk and to walk.

In this book I shall tell you more about him, and also about his cousin
Nelly, who came to pass some months in his father's house, while her
parents visited Europe.

Nelly was six years old, while Frankie was but just past his fourth
birthday. Nelly was a pale, delicate child, with light flaxen hair,
which curled in ringlets about her face. Her features were very small;
but her eyes were bright and sparkling,  and her motions quick and
graceful.

Sally, the nurse, used often to say that Nelly looked like the great wax
dolls which were put up in the shop windows; but her cousin Willie
laughed, and said, "Nelly flies about so, I can't tell what she does
look like."

When Nelly was a baby, she had learned to suck her finger; and since
that time she had never been taught to give up the habit. Before her
mother went to Europe, Mrs. Gray showed her that the poor little finger
was wasting away, and would never grow like the others, unless Nelly
would stop sucking it. But the lady only laughed, and said, "I have not
the heart to forbid her, she takes such a world of comfort with it."

Mrs. Gray said no more, but she determined to break up the habit before
Nelly left her.

The little girl was to have a small room, opening out of her aunt's
chamber. There her trunks were carried for Sally to unpack, and put the
clothes into the wardrobe and drawers.

"Come in here!" said Nelly to her little cousin, "and we will take out
the playthings. This trunk is full of them."

Frankie's eyes grew very round and large as Sally selected the right
key, and displayed a great variety of toys packed as closely as
possible into the large trunk.

"Goodness me!" exclaimed nurse, holding up both hands. "Why, you'll be
able to set up a toy shop, miss."

"I have more at home," said Nelly. "Maria couldn't get them all in."

Maria was the name of the colored woman who had taken care of Nelly ever
since she was a tiny baby. She had wished to come with her to Mrs.
Gray's, and cried bitterly when she knew that she could not. But her
aunt was sure that if Maria was there, Nelly would be too much indulged,
that is, she would have her own way, and would be spoiled. She loved her
little niece, and was sorry that her brother's wife did not take more
pains to teach her little girl to be good and kind. She hoped Nelly
would learn, while her mother was away, to wait upon herself, and to be
generous and truthful.

When Sally had unlocked the trunk of playthings for the little miss, she
went on unpacking the other one. She took out the dresses, and laid them
on the bed. There was a pink muslin, and a blue tarleton, and a white
one with the skirt tucked up to the waist. Then there were two silks,
and one or two delaines, and ever so many French calicoes.

Mrs. Gray came in at this moment, and Sally exclaimed, "Where I am to
put all these dresses, ma'am, is more than I can tell. The wardrobe
won't hold half of them."

The lady glanced toward the bed, and said, "You may hang the best ones
in the parlor-chamber closet."

By this time Frankie had helped his cousin to take out the toys; and
they were spread all over the floor, so that neither his mamma nor nurse
could walk at all without stepping on them.

"Why, Nelly," said her aunt, "what a quantity of playthings you have
there!"

"May we play with them here?" asked Frankie.

"I am afraid you will be in Sally's way," replied mamma.

"She can wait, then, till we are done," said Nelly, taking up a large
dolly.

"No," said her aunt; "nurse has a great deal to do; and first of all she
wants to clear up this room. See how untidy it looks, with the clothes
all lying about."

"Can't we go up in Willie's play room, then?" asked the little boy.

"Yes, my dear; there is a large case up there, which will make a nice
play house for Nelly. You can have one shelf for the parlor, and put
these little sofas and chairs in it. Then have another for the closet,
and set out the cups and saucers. You and your cousin may carry them up
stairs; and when Margie comes home, she will love to help you arrange
them."

"O mamma, see this pretty carriage!" cried Frankie.

"That's a pedler's wagon," said Nelly. "There is the front seat for him
to sit on, and the top comes way over to keep off the rain. The horses
can take out too. When I first had it, I used to play 'get to the
tavern, and put them up in the barn.'"

"O Nelly!" exclaimed the little fellow, "let us play that as soon as we
get up stairs."

"I'm tired," said Nelly, sitting down on the floor, and putting her
finger in her mouth.

"I'll carry the things up then," said Frankie, running into the next
room for a basket. "See, I'm real strong."

"If you are tired, you had better go and lie down on the lounge," said
her aunt.

"No," said Nelly; "I want to stay here, and see Sally put away my
clothes."

Nurse did not take a fancy to the little girl; that was very plain. She
kept muttering to herself all the time she was arranging the drawers,
and was quite vexed that her darling, as she called Frankie, should be
doing the work while Nelly sat idly looking on.

At last, when her mistress had left the room, she asked, "Do you never
work any, miss?"

Nelly shook her head.

"Well, I expect your aunt will teach you to wait upon yourself," said
Sally; "you'd be a great deal happier if you had something to do."

"Maria does every thing for me," said Nelly, still holding her finger in
her mouth. "If I don't like to stay without her, I shall send for her to
come. Mamma said I might."

"Indeed!" said nurse, laughing. "We'll see what your aunt says to that.
Here, darling," she called out to Frankie, "let Sally help you carry
that heavy basket. I'm afraid you can't get it through the door alone."

"Yet I can," said Frankie, "cause I belong to the Try Company."

"I guess your cousin had better join it too," said nurse to herself.

[Illustration]




CHAPTER II.

MOSES AND THE ORANGE.


"MAMMA," said Frankie one day, "you promised to tell me a toly."

"So I did," said mamma; "and what shall it be about?"

"Bout Moses."

"Moses in the bulrushes?" asked mamma.

"No; bout Moses and the olange."

The lady thought a minute before she could remember what he meant. Then
she smiled, and said, "O, yes, I'll tell that. Do you like to hear
stories, Nelly?" she asked.

"I don't know," answered Nelly. "Maria sometimes tells me pretty ones."

"Well, you may bring the cricket, and sit down by Frankie. I think you
will like to hear about Moses," said aunty. "He was just as old as you
are, Nelly; and like you, he was an only child. His father and mother
were very fond of him, and loved to do every thing to make him happy. I
don't mean that they always let him have his own way, or allowed him to
do what was wrong, for that would have made him grow very selfish and
wicked.

"The day before he was six years old, his mother thought she would let
him have a party. So she asked his father to bring from the city some
oranges, and figs, and nuts, that the little folks might have a feast.

"When papa had gone to town, which he did every day, because his store
was there, she went to the kitchen, and helped the cook make some light
sponge cake for Moses to have for his party.

"The little fellow knelt in a chair close by the table, and watched her
sift the sugar and beat the eggs; then, when she put in the lemon, and
took a clean spoon to taste a little to know whether it was seasoned
right, Moses said, 'I should like to taste too.'

"By and by the cake was done, and smelled so good that Moses asked for a
piece; but his mother told him to wait until his cousins were there to
eat it with him.

"Then the carriage came up to the door, and James, the hostler, rung the
bell to let his mistress know he was ready to drive her out. She dressed
her little boy in his new suit, and told him he might go with her.

"They drove first to aunt Mary's, and mamma invited George and Walter,
and little Katy. Then they went a mile farther, to uncle John's, where
Susy, William, and Grace gladly promised to come. On their way home,
they called upon three of their neighbors, where the number was
increased to eleven.

"When his father came home from the city, he brought a basket in one
hand, and two large bundles under his other arm.

"Moses ran to meet him, and said, 'Let me carry the basket, papa. It
isn't too heavy for me.'

"Before he put it on the table, he peeped in, and said, 'O, what nice
oranges, papa!' The little boy was very fond of oranges.

"That night Moses went to bed very happy. He longed for the time when
his young companions would come, and lay awake nearly an hour, thinking
what a very pleasant party his would be.

"The next morning he was up long before his mother, and ran down stairs
to see if breakfast was ready. The table was not yet laid; and he went
into the large store closet to see where his mother had put the oranges
and cake. There was the basket upon the first shelf, and on lifting the
lid he saw that the oranges were still in it. How fresh and good they
smelt! He put in his hand and took one out. 'O, what a large one!'

"The basket was so full, he thought there must be more than twelve; so
he stood up on a box, and began to count them. 'Yes, there are,' he said
to himself; 'there are twelve, and one more.'

"Then he took the largest, and laid it on the next shelf, while he put
the others back again into the basket, wishing all the time that he
could have it for his own. He knew that he should have one at the party,
but he couldn't wait. 'I want one now,' he said.

"He sat down on the box, and began to smell the large orange which he
had left out. Then he made a small hole in the peel, and began to suck
the juice through it. It tasted so sweet, he could not get his mouth
away. So he squeezed and sucked, and sucked and squeezed, until the
juice was all gone, and nothing remained but the skin and the pulp.

"'O, dear! I'm sorry I've eaten it,' he whispered; 'I didn't mean to. I
only thought I would suck it a little. How quick it all came out!'

"Just then he heard cook come into the room to set the table for
breakfast, and he knew his mother would soon be down. He began to be
very unhappy, and to wish he were back again in his little bed. Then he
remembered it was his birthday; but some how the thought of his party
gave him no pleasure."

"I guess Satan was whispering to him," said Frankie. "If I had been
there, I would open the door, and say, 'Satan, go wight out.'"

"Who is Satan?" asked Nelly, who had been listening with great interest.

"Satan's naughty man," said Frankie. "He don't love good boys."

"He is the evil spirit," replied aunty, "who tries to make boys and
girls, and men and women too, behave naughty and sin against God."

"Does he live in Moses' house?" asked the little girl.

"He is every where, my dear," said the lady, "trying to make people do
mischief. He was there in the closet with Moses, and when the little
boy's naughty heart said, 'I would steal one of my mother's oranges and
eat it,' he said, 'Yes; no one will know it, and if your mother asks
you about it, you can tell her a lie, and say you didn't touch it.'"

"I wouldn't take your olange, mamma," said Frankie, putting his arms
round his mother's neck and kissing her. "I would ask you, 'May I?'"

At this moment a lady called to see mamma, and she said, "You may go and
play now, and I will finish the story about Moses some other time."




CHAPTER III.

FRANKIE'S SICKNESS.


THAT night Frankie was quite sick, and his mother, after being up with
him several times, lay down by him in his trundle-bed. He was very much
pleased at this, and put up his little hot hand on her face. The fever
made him quite wakeful, and he wanted to talk. She began to repeat the
little rhyme,--

          "Once there was a little man,
           Where a little river ran,"

when he said, "Mamma, please tell me 'bout heaven."

"Do you want to go to heaven?" she asked.

"Yes, mamma, when I die; but I can't go 'lone. I want you to go with me.
Won't you please to ask God to let us take hold of hands and go wight up
to heaven together. That would be a pretty way; wouldn't it?"

Mrs. Gray bent over her darling boy and kissed his cheek. She whispered
a prayer to God to preserve her dear child from death for a long time to
come.

Pretty soon he spoke again: "How can you get up to heaven, mamma?"

"God will send his angels, my dear, and take me there."

"I 'fraid they can't lift you, mamma, you so heavy. But you can go up on
the barn, and then they can get you up there; can't they?" In a minute,
he asked, "Does God have horses in heaven, mamma?"

Toward morning, he sank into a quiet sleep, and did not awake until
Willie and Margie had gone to school. When he opened his eyes, his mamma
was standing over him with a cup of milk and water in her hand.

"Frankie feel better," he said, starting up to receive her kiss.

As he still felt weak, his mamma held him in her lap, where he could
look at Ponto, who was washing his paws on the rug. Presently Nelly came
in, carrying a wax doll nearly as large as herself. She was a little
afraid of Ponto, and when he went and put his nose on her arm, and tried
to lick her hand, she cried, "Get away, you ugly dog! I hate you, I do!"
and she struck him with the doll.

Ponto growled, and turned away to Frankie. The little fellow slipped
down from his mother's lap, and clasped his arms around Ponto's neck.
"O, you good dog," he said, "I love you, I do."

Ponto knew very well what this meant, and he rapped with his tail as
hard as he could on the rug. Then Frankie made the dog lie down, and he
laid his head upon him.

Ponto was delighted to have his little master use him for a pillow; so
he lay very still indeed. I suppose he thought Frankie wished to go to
sleep.

Then Mrs. Gray told Nelly how the good dog had pulled Frankie out of the
water, and how much they all loved him. But Nelly only said, "I hate
dogs, I do, they're so ugly and cross;" and then she put her finger in
her mouth again.

"Mamma," said Frankie, "I want to hear 'bout Moses 'gen. Pease, mamma,
tell me toly 'bout Moses."

"Well," said mamma, "I'll get my sewing and tell you the rest of the
story." So Frankie lay with his head on Ponto, and listened to mamma.
Nelly sat in her little chair, and sucked her finger and tended her
doll. "I told you," said the lady, "that Moses began to wish he had not
touched the orange; but it was of no use to wish that now, for there it
was all squeezed and sucked, and what should he do with it?

"When the cook had set the table, she rang the bell, and presently his
father and mother came down to breakfast.

"'Where's Moses?' asked his mamma; 'I expected to find him at the
table.'

"'He came down early,' said the cook; 'but I have not seen him for a
good while.'

"'Won't you see if he is out doors?' said the lady.

"Moses knew it was of no use for him to wait any longer; so he came out
laughing.

"'Why, what were you doing, my dear?' asked the lady.

"'I was hiding,' said the boy."

"O, that was a naughty lie!" exclaimed Frankie.

"Yes, dear, when children do one naughty thing, they almost always do
another. Moses had stolen his mother's orange, and now he told a lie to
hide it. His mother did not think he would act so wickedly. She asked,
'Do you remember, Moses, this is your birthday.'

"'Yes, mamma.'

"'You have a very pleasant day for your party,' said his father; and
then Moses began to talk about what he should play when his company
came. 'Shall you have the supper first?' he asked.

"'No, my dear. I shall wait until you have played a while.'

"After breakfast the lady swept and dusted the parlors, to have them
ready for the party. Then she sat down to her sewing, while she heard
Moses read and spell. After this he went out doors to play with his
hoop.

"In the middle of the afternoon she began to arrange for her little
feast. First, she took the nut-cracker and cracked the large walnuts,
the almonds, and the filberts, and put them in the glass dishes ready to
set them on the table. Then she cut the cake into square pieces, and
grated sugar over them. After that, she put the figs into plates, and
then brought out the basket of oranges.

"All this time, Moses had been kneeling in his chair by the table,
watching her as she worked. He looked very sober. He was thinking about
the orange, and wished he had not taken it.

"When his mother began to take the oranges from the basket, he felt as
if he should cry, he was so afraid she would find out what he had done.

"'Why,' said the lady to herself, 'here are only twelve. I asked him to
get thirteen.' She counted them over again. All at once she looked at
Moses, and said, 'I hope you have not eaten one of mother's oranges, my
dear.'

"'No,' said the little boy, 'I haven't touched one.'"

"O, dear!" said Frankie. "I'm afraid God won't love Moses any more, he
is so naughty, and tells so many lies."

Frankie jumped up when he said this, and Ponto took the opportunity to
turn himself over. He had lain very still before, for fear of disturbing
his little master.

"'What did you want thirteen for?' asked Moses. 'You said there would be
twelve at the party.'

"'Because I meant to send one to Sarah Christie. Joseph and Belle are
coming, but Sarah is sick, you know; so I meant to send her one. I
suppose your father forgot it; but I'm very sorry.'"

Mrs. Gray was going on to tell the rest of the story, but she saw that
Frankie looked very pale, and she stopped.

"I want to womit," said he, and she ran quickly to get the bowl. Then
she gave him some medicine, and put him into bed, while she sent Nelly
to play out doors until he awoke.




CHAPTER IV.

NELLY'S PUNISHMENT.


IN a few days Frankie was quite well again, and able to play merrily
with Nelly, who had sadly missed him in her out-door exercise.

The little girl had not been long with her aunt before the lady saw that
the right training of her niece would require much skill and patience.
Nelly had never been taught to obey, and could not be made to
understand why she should not have her own way, as she had done at home.
There was another thing which made her aunt feel very badly. She found
that, young as Nelly was, she had already learned to deceive, and no one
could trust her word a moment. Then she was selfish, and while she would
not oblige her cousins by lending them her books or toys, she was very
angry if they did not at once yield theirs to her, when she asked for
them.

She was so pert and uncivil in her talk, that Sally, and even Jane,
disliked to have her about; and at last her aunt was obliged to shut her
in her own room, she spoke so impudently to the servants. Instead of
asking the nurse to do her a favor, as the other children did, she used
to say, "Go right up stairs quick, Sally, and get my bonnet;" and once,
when Sally did not start, she said, "You're an ugly girl," and struck
her in the face.

Nurse started forward to hold her hands, when at this moment Mrs. Gray
entered the room.

Nelly was ashamed that her aunt had heard her, for she loved her aunt
better than any one in the house; but when the lady took her hand firmly
to lead her up stairs, she screamed and struggled to get away. "I don't
like to stay here," she cried; "this is an ugly house. I wish my mamma
would come home and take me away."

Mrs. Gray led her to a chair in her own room, and going out locked the
door after her. But Nelly kicked and pounded the door so hard, and threw
over the chairs, that her aunt was obliged to call Sally to help her tie
the naughty girl to a chair.

She was very sorry to do this, and the tears were in her eyes; but Sally
was right glad to have the child punished as she deserved. Indeed, she
had told Jane the day before that she did not see how mistress had so
much patience with the naughty child.

Mrs. Gray did not intend to hurt Nelly. She only meant to fasten her
hands and feet to the chair so as to prevent her doing any more
mischief. She took large towels from the washstand to do this; but Nelly
kicked and screamed, and at last made a great scratch on her aunt's
face. After that Sally took the child in her arms, and held her so tight
she could not move.

When they had fastened her firmly to her seat, they went out, and left
her to think of her bad conduct.

Mrs. Gray went into her closet, and asked God to direct her what to do
in order to make Nelly a good, obedient child.

After an hour she went back, and said, "Are you sorry, my dear, that you
have been so naughty?"

"I don't love you. I want to go to Maria," was the only reply.

Her aunt sighed, when she found the little girl was not at all subdued,
and she went out again.

If Nelly could have put her finger in her mouth, it would have been no
punishment for her to stay there, for she could lie back in the chair
and go to sleep.

When her uncle came home to dinner, he found Willie, and Frankie, and
mamma, sitting silent and sad in the parlor, while from above stairs
came the sound of loud and angry crying. The lady wept as she told her
husband how naughty Nelly had behaved. "I had no idea," she said, "that
she had so bad a temper."

"Shall I go up and talk with her?" asked the gentleman.

"If you think it best," replied mamma; "but I fear it will do no good. I
have already been to her three times."

"Well, perhaps I had better leave her with you, then. I hope this will
be a good lesson to her."

After dinner, Mrs. Gray carried a plate full of pudding to Nelly, and
offered to feed her with it; but the stubborn child refused to eat. She
made up faces at her aunt, and said many naughty words, which I should
not want any little boy or girl to hear.

The lady came out of her room looking very pale and anxious, and at last
began to cry. She was quite discouraged, and thought she would write to
her brother, and tell him she could do nothing with his child. But if I
do so, she thought, Nelly will be ruined. If she grows up with such a
bad temper, is so untruthful and selfish, she will be a trial to herself
and to her parents; and what is more than that, she can never have the
blessing of God. "I will not give up yet," she said, aloud. "I will try
her a little longer."

She then went down stairs, and told Frankie he might go out doors and
play with his wheel-barrow; but the little fellow said, "I want to stay
with you, mamma. Nelly makes my head ache." Poor child, he did not feel
like play while his cousin was so naughty.

It was almost time for tea, when the lady, having once more asked God to
direct her, entered the little chamber where her niece was sitting.
Nelly was quiet now; but her lips stuck out with an ugly pout.

"My dear child," said the lady, sitting down near her, "it makes us all
very unhappy to have you up here by yourself, when you might be playing
and enjoying yourself with your cousins. When you came to live with us,
we thought it was so pleasant to have a dear little girl running and
dancing about the house! But now it seems sad because we know by your
naughty temper you have not only offended us, but you have displeased
God. I wish you would let me untie your hands, and see you my darling
little Nelly once more."

"I'm sorry now," said Nelly, her lip quivering. "I will be good, aunty."
The tears ran down the little girl's cheeks, but this time they were not
angry tears.

Her aunt made haste to untie the towels, and took Nelly in her arms.

"I love you now," sobbed Nelly; "I love you dearly."

"And I love you, my dear, or I could not have kept you here so long,"
said her aunt, kissing her again and again. "I came a great many times
to the door, and longed to take you from this great chair, and hear your
happy voice once more; but I knew it would be wrong in me to do so
until you were ready to say you were sorry, and to promise to be a good
girl. You have offended God, my dear child. Shall I ask him to forgive
you?"

"Yes, aunty."

Mrs. Gray then knelt with Nelly by the chair, and prayed God to forgive
all her sins, and to help her to keep her new resolution to be good.




CHAPTER V.

TAKING MEDICINE.


AFTER tea Nelly had a fine romp with her cousins on the lawn. Margie and
Ponto were there too; and papa and mamma sat on the front steps,
laughing and enjoying their sport. As the children ran round and round,
the lady saw that Nelly's apron was unbuttoned, and that it troubled her
as she played. She called, "Nelly, come here a minute."

The little girl stopped at once, and then ran to her aunt. Before this,
when any one called her, she would say, "I can't come now;" or, "In a
minute I will." The lady was very much pleased to see that the child
obeyed promptly. When she had fastened the apron, Nelly clasped her arms
about her aunt's neck, and kissed her. Her uncle smiled, and said, "You
look very happy now, Nelly; I wish your mamma could see your rosy
cheeks."

"Come, Nelly, it's your turn now," shouted Willie from the lawn.

A few days after this, Mrs. Gray sat busily sewing, while Frankie made a
barn with his blocks, in which to put up the pedler's cart, and Nelly
was undressing her doll. The sleeve did not come off easily, and as she
pulled it roughly it tore. The little girl was angry, and began to cry.

"What is the matter?" asked her aunt.

"Dolly's dress is ugly, and it's all torn."

"Should you like to have a needle, and mend it, my dear?"

"O, yes, aunty."

"May I sew some too?" asked Frankie.

"Yes, darling, you may mend this stocking." She then threaded a needle
for the little girl, and showed her how to put the stitches through, and
afterwards gave Frankie a darning needle with some yarn. He had often
sewed before, and he liked the business very much. There was no knot in
the thread, and so he pulled it through and through. But he thought it
was sewing for all that.

Nelly sat steadily at her work for a minute; but at last she threw it
on the floor, and said, "I hate sewing, it's so hard."

"Let me see it, dear," said aunty.

Nelly picked it up, and put it into her hand.

She laughed when she looked at it, and Nelly laughed too; and then
Frankie said, "O, what funny sewing!"

"I'll baste you some easier work," said her aunt; "and you shall have a
little thimble to put on your finger. Then you will like to sew."

Nelly had behaved much better since she was punished, so that her uncle,
aunt, and cousins loved her better than ever. Still there were many
things in which they hoped she would improve.

One day her aunt found her sitting on the piazza alone, eating
something, and as soon as she saw some one coming, she put it hastily
in her pocket. It was not more than an hour before she complained of a
bad pain in her stomach.

"What have you been eating, my dear?" asked her aunt.

"Nothing," said Nelly.

"Are you sure?" and the lady looked earnestly in her face.

"Yes, I am very sure," answered Nelly.

Mrs. Gray sent Sally for some warm peppermint water, and then laid the
child on the lounge.

For some time she lay quite still, sucking her finger; but when her aunt
glanced toward her to see if she were asleep, she noticed that Nelly
looked very pale about the mouth; and presently she jumped up, and
carried her to the closet, where she threw up a great quantity of
raisins, which she had stolen from her aunt's box.

She continued very sick all that night, and in the morning the doctor
came, and said she must take a large dose of castor oil.

The sight of oil always made the lady very sick, and so her uncle said
he would give it to her. He poured it out, and mixed it with a little
hot milk, and held it to her lips. But she would not take it. He tried
to persuade her, promised her a ride, told her she would be very sick
if she did not obey the doctor, but all was of no use. She shut her
teeth, and would not touch it.

Then Sally tried her skill. "I'll make your great dolly a new dress,"
she said; "come, now, be a good girl, and then I'll tell you how Frankie
took his medicine." It was all in vain; Nelly still shook her head, and
refused to obey.

Mrs. Gray then took the child in her lap, and spread a large cloth under
her chin, at the same time telling Sally to bring a cup of blackberry
jelly from the store closet. "Now, my little Nelly," she said, "you must
take this to make you well. If you will open your mouth and swallow it
all down like a good girl, I will give you some nice jelly to take the
taste out, for it is very bad. But if you don't take it before I count
three, I shall hold you and force it down your throat."

Then she began to count,--"one, two,"--but before she could say three,
Nelly caught the spoon and swallowed the medicine, and then took some
jelly so quickly, that she hardly tasted the oil.

"That was a right good girl," said her uncle. "I couldn't have taken it
any better myself."

When Nelly was well, her aunt kindly talked with her of the great sin
which she had committed. "You have done just as naughty Moses did," she
said. "First, you stole the raisins, as he stole the orange; and then
you told a wicked lie to hide it from me, as he did to hide his sin from
his mother." Then she told Nelly, "God hears all we say, and sees all we
do. We can hide nothing from him; and he says in his holy book, 'liars
shall have their portion in the lake which burneth with fire and
brimstone.'"

Nelly cried; and promised over and over again to be a good girl, and she
really tried to improve. She saw how happy her cousins were, and how
every body loved them, and she said to herself, "I mean to try to be
just as good as I can."




CHAPTER VI.

THE LOST ORANGE FOUND.


WHEN little girls or boys try to do right, every body loves to help
them. Mrs. Gray knew that for six years her little niece had been
indulged in every wish, and that she had never been taught to restrain
her ill humor. She could not, therefore, expect her to be cured at once
of all her bad habits; but she was much pleased to see that Nelly grew
every day more amiable, more ready to give up her own wishes, and to try
to make others happy. Sometimes, in playing with Frankie, she would
forget, and say an unkind word; but the moment she saw the eye of her
aunt fixed mournfully upon her, she would say, "I'm sorry, Frankie."

When she said this, the dear child always put up his little red lips to
kiss her, and say, "I sorry, too, Nelly." Sometimes he would add, "God
is sorry, too."

It was very rainy one morning, and the children were obliged to keep in
doors. Frankie had for some time been amusing himself by hiding a ball,
which he made Ponto find and bring to him in his teeth, while Nelly
shouted and danced at every new discovery, saying "I never saw such a
funny dog before."

At last they grew tired of this, and even Ponto began to think they had
played this game quite long enough; so Frankie sat down on the floor,
and putting one arm around the dog's neck, said, "Mamma, I want to hear
a toly."

"You said some time you would tell us some more about Moses," exclaimed
Nelly.

"So I will," said mamma. "I told you that his mother counted the
oranges, and found there were but twelve. 'I'm sorry,' she said to
Moses, 'because I wanted one for Sarah Christie; but I suppose your
father forgot to get it, and I'll send her one another time.'

"'You can give her some figs,' said Moses.

"'So I can,' replied his mother; and then she went on cutting the peel
and tearing it down a little way, so that, when they were put into the
large glass dish, they looked like great yellow flowers.

"'O, how pretty they are!' said Moses.

"His mother then set all the dishes on the sideboard, and covered them
over with a clean table cloth. After tea, she said, 'I will set them out
on the table, and then when the children have done playing, they can
come here and eat them.'

"When Moses' father came home from the city, the lady said, 'I'm sorry
you forgot to get thirteen oranges. There were only twelve in the
basket.'

"'There were thirteen when I brought them home,' said papa; 'I am sure
of it, because I counted them myself, and they were nice ones too; I had
to give three cents apiece for them, though they are quite plenty now.'

"'I don't know where the other can have gone,' said mamma, looking very
sober, as a painful suspicion flashed through her.

"'I hope Moses wouldn't take one without leave,' said the gentleman.

"'I asked him,' replied mamma, 'and he said he hadn't touched them.'

"'Where is he?' asked papa, 'I will ask him. I don't care at all about
the orange, because I can easily get another; but somebody must have
taken it, and I am afraid it was our little boy.' The gentleman then
went to the door and called, 'Moses! Moses!'

"Presently Moses came, and his father took him in his lap, and said,
'Tell me, my dear, have you taken an orange from the basket?'

"'No, papa,' said the boy, his face growing very red. 'I told mamma I
hadn't touched them.'

"The gentleman couldn't think that his darling child would tell a lie;
so he put him down to the floor, and inquired, 'Have you asked cook?'

"'No,' said mamma; 'I am quite sure she wouldn't meddle with my things.'

"'Just then, cook came in with the cloth for supper, and mamma said to
Moses, 'I shall have time, I think, to dress you before tea. Run up
quick to my room, and I will get a clean ruffle, and baste it in your
new sack."

"While she was doing this, he pulled off his sack and pantaloons that
he had worn every day, and threw them on the floor. Then his mother
washed his face, and neck, and arms, and hands, very clean, and brushed
his hair smoothly off his forehead, so that he looked very nicely
indeed. And all the time Moses was talking about his party, and telling
what a pleasant time he should have.

"'It's your birthday,' said his mother, kissing him, 'and you must
remember to be a very good boy. Be kind to your dear little cousins and
playmates, and let them play with any of your toys. Here, let me hang up
your clothes, and we will go down to tea.'

"She took the pantaloons from the floor, and said, 'Why, Moses, what
have you stuffed into your pocket? Here is your handkerchief wet
through.' She pulled out first an India rubber ball, and then--O, what
do you think?--why, the lost orange, all sucked and gone except the
peel.

"'O Moses!' was all the poor mother could say. She sank into a chair,
and covered her face with her hands; but the tears trickled down through
her fingers.

"The little boy began to cry; he wished his mother had not found him
out, because it made her feel so badly. Presently the tea bell rang;
but the lady never stirred from her seat. She was mourning over her son,
and thinking what she ought to do to punish him for his great sin.

"'Supper is ready,' called out papa from the stairs.

"'Don't wait for me,' answered the lady; 'I can't go down.'

"'What is the matter?' asked the gentleman, springing up the stairs and
coming into the room.

"Mamma began to weep again. She could not speak, but she held up the
skin of the orange, and glanced toward Moses, who was sitting in a chair
by himself crying bitterly.

"'So he did take it, after all,' said papa, in a stern voice.

"'I'm sorry, papa,' sobbed the boy.

"'What a wicked boy you must be, to steal and lie, and on your birthday
too,' said his father, 'when we were trying to make you so happy!'

"'I never will do so again,' said Moses.

"'You must be punished, so that you will remember it,' said his father.

"'Stay here,' said his mother; 'I will send cook up with some supper for
you.'"




CHAPTER VII.

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY.


"SHE sat down at the table, and poured the tea, but she could not eat.
Her heart was too sorrowful. She arose, and returned to the chamber,
where Moses was eating a slice of bread and butter. When he had finished
it, she said, 'Wipe your hands on the towel, and take off your
clothes.'

"'Are you going to whip me, mamma? I never will be so naughty again,'
exclaimed the boy, beginning to cry louder than ever.

"'No,' said his mother, 'I am going to put you to bed.'

"'I can't see my party, then,' screamed Moses, catching hold of his
mother's dress.

"'Nor eat any of the good things, my child. You have been a wicked boy,
and broken God's holy commands; and I must punish you. You don't know
how you've made mother's heart ache,' said the lady, trying to keep back
her tears. 'I did not think you could be so naughty. When I know how
displeased the dear Saviour must be, I tremble for you.'

"'I didn't mean to eat the orange, mamma; it smelled so good, I only
thought I would suck it a little.'

"'If you had told me that at first, I would gladly have forgiven you,'
said mamma; 'but you told wicked lies to hide your sin. You forgot that
God was looking at you all the time, and knew all that was in your
heart. You must pray to him to forgive you, and to make you a good boy.'

"Moses cried so that he could hardly stand. His mother took off his
clothes, put on his night gown, and helped him into bed. Then she knelt
by his bed side, and prayed that the means used to punish him might help
him to remember what a great sin lying is. She asked God to forgive him,
and help him from that hour to be an honest, truthful boy.

"Moses slept in a small room, next to her own, and as the lady thought
some of the little party might run up there, she locked the door, and
went herself down the back way.

"Pretty soon the bell rang, and Moses stopped crying to listen. He heard
happy voices of children running through the hall. Then they asked,
'Where's Moses?' But he could not hear what his mother answered.

"In a few minutes a carriage drove up, and there was another ring of the
bell. This time it was his cousins, and he heard them laughing and
talking together.

"Before half an hour all the company had assembled. Some of the little
girls went up to the front room, and he could hear his mother's voice as
she went with them. She was talking very kindly, but he thought she did
not feel happy, it was so sad.

"O, what a long evening that was! He could not go to sleep, for every
few minutes there was a merry burst of laughter from the room below;
and he knew that his papa was teaching them some pretty games. Every
time he heard this he began to cry again. And then he wondered whether
his mother would tell them why he was not there, and what they would
say.

"At last he heard them all walk out into the dining room, and papa's
voice saying, 'I will take Katy because she is the youngest.' Now he
knew they were going to sit at table and eat the nice fruit.

"'O, dear!' he sobbed, 'how sorry I am!' And then, for the first time,
he began to think how wicked it was to deceive his dear parents, who had
been so kind to him all his life. 'I made mamma cry,' he said softly.
'I'm sorry for that, too.'

"As soon as Satan heard Moses say that, he ran away and hid; and the
good Spirit came, and whispered to Moses, and presently he got out of
his bed, and knelt down by his low chair, and prayed softly. But Jesus
heard what he said, and looked into his heart, and saw he was really
sorry he had been a wicked boy, and then God forgave him.

"Pretty soon the children all came rushing up the stairs to put on their
clothes, for the carriages had come to take them home. Moses was not
crying now. He lay quiet and still; and he heard them say, 'Good by!
good by! Please give my love to Moses;' and then the door was shut, and
the house all still again.

"When mamma came up stairs she carried the light into her little boy's
room to see if he was awake. His eyes were wide open, and as soon as he
saw her, he said, 'You might give my orange to Sarah Christie, mamma,
because I wasn't down there to eat it.'

"Then mamma put up her handkerchief quick to wipe the tears from her
eyes; and she went up to the bed and kissed her boy, for she knew that
he had repented of his sin.

"'I am sorry, very sorry,' he said, pulling her face down to his; 'I
prayed hard to God to forgive me, and make me good. Will you forgive
me, mamma?'

"'Yes, my darling. I will gladly forgive you, and I hope this may be a
lesson to you as long as you live.'"

Nelly looked very sober while her aunt was telling this story. She began
to see how naughty she had been, and to hope that God would forgive her
too.

As soon as his mother had finished, Frankie said, "O, I'm so glad Moses
became a good boy! Did he ever steal or tell lies again?"

"No, my dear, I am happy to tell you that from the hour when he so
heartily repented of his great sin, and so earnestly asked God to
forgive him, he became an honest and truthful boy. But I have talked a
long time, and can only add one incident, which occurred nearly six
months later than the birthday party.

"Moses had a cousin whose name was Eugene. He lived in a city many
hundred miles distant. He was also an only child; but unlike Moses, he
had been foolishly indulged in every desire of his heart, until he had
become exceedingly selfish, wilful, and passionate. Eugene accompanied
his parents on a visit to his aunt, and though younger than his cousin,
began at once to tyrannize over him.

"One day a loud cry was heard from the play room, and presently Eugene
came running to his mother, complaining that Moses had broken his little
wagon, and then had struck him with his Indian bow.

"'How is this, Moses?' asked his mother; 'did you strike your cousin?'

"The little fellow fixed his large, earnest eyes full upon hers, as he
exclaimed, 'O, no, indeed, mother! Eugene knows I did not touch him. We
were playing together, when the wagon wheel hit the trunk and broke it.
Then he got angry, and pinched me on my arm.

"'I don't mind that,' he added, as his aunt pointed to a large red spot
near his elbow; 'but I'm dreadfully sorry he didn't tell the truth.'"

       *       *       *       *       *

Transcriber's Notes:

Obvious punctuation errors repaired.

Page 108, word "to" added to text (next to her own)





End of Project Gutenberg's Little Frankie and His Cousin, by Madeline Leslie

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