Little Prudys Dotty Dimple | Page 5

first thing she saw, as she entered her own door, was the fluttering
of Dotty's pink dress. The runaway was safe and sound. She had only
toddled off after a man with a basket of images, calling out, "baa, baa,"
"moo, moo," "bow-wow." The end of it was, that the image man had
given her a toy lamb, for which she had said, "How do," instead of
thank you; and Florence Eastman had led her home.
Susy was heartily ashamed of her heedlessness.
"Now, mother," said she, "do you think, if I should be kept on bread
and water for a whole day, I should learn to remember? You'll never
trust Dotty with me again."
"Ah," said Mrs. Parlin, with a meaning smile; "the trouble is, Susy,
you've made up your mind that your memory is good for nothing: you
expect to forget! I shall trust you again, and you must fully resolve to
do better."
Dotty was very proud of her "baa, baa," and insisted upon putting it in
her bathing tub every morning, and scrubbing it with her own hands.
Everybody laughed at Prudy's wild story of the soap-boiler.
"We were tired, my feet and I," said she, between laughing and crying;
"but I never'd have rode with that whispering man if I'd known he was
a bone man!"
CHAPTER III.
DOTTY'S VERSES.
By the time Alice Parlin was three years old she could prattle like a
bobolink, and thought herself quite as old and wise as either of her
sisters. Every Sunday morning it made her very wretched to see Susy
and Prudy set out, with bright faces, for Sabbath school!
"Mayn't me go, too?" said she, plaintively. "Me's got the coop; must go
to Sabber school!"

"O," replied Prudy, snatching a kiss from her pouting lips, "if you've
got the croup you certainly can't go."
Dotty shook her curls. "Coop's went off now. Dotty'll go, all o' you."
"O, no, little sister; you'll stay at home and look at your pictures. That's
the way I did when I was little."
"You mustn't contraspute," cried Dotty, shaking her elbows. "I is goin'
to Sabber school." Then suddenly showing her dimples, she added with
a bright smile, "'Cause I's your comfort, you know, Prudy, your darlin',
precious little comfort; isn't I, Prudy?"
"Dear me," thought tender Prudy, "the poor little thing always has to
stay at home. I'll ask mother to let her go with me next time. It is right
for me to ask, for I'm sure I don't want her to go; so it isn't selfish!"
Mrs. Parlin had a great many doubts as to Dotty's good behavior, but at
last consented. She felt pretty safe to trust her with Prudy, who was
very patient, and had even now a memory longer than Susy's.
Before the time came to start for Sabbath school, Dotty stood a long
while before the mirror, looking up at her gay hat and down at her
cunning gaiters. She liked nice clothes, and it pleased her to see herself
so prettily dressed.
"Is that you, O you darlin' Dotty?" said she, nodding her vain little head,
and smiling till her dimples "twinkled." "Well, good by, Dotty; I's goin'
to Sabber school."
"O, hurry, hurry!" cried Susy; "we'll surely be late."
They stepped out upon the pavement, Dotty walking between her
sisters.
"We can't hurry, you know," said Prudy, "because Dotty's feet are so
little."
"I never should have thought of bringing her," exclaimed Susy. "Any

one would think she'd been eating snails. When she takes up her foot
she shakes it before she puts it down."
"O, what a 'tory!" said Dotty Dimple, tossing her head. "I never shaked
my foot; did I, Prudy?"
But Prudy had suddenly turned about, and gone back to the house,
saying she had forgotten something. She had left home without kissing
her mother good by, and nothing could console Prudy for the loss of
one of her mother's caresses.
"There, girls, I'm back again," said she, catching her breath. "Now,
Dotty, let's we see how fast we can walk."
"Drefful dirty," said Dotty, scowling at her overshoes.
"Yes," replied Susy, "this snow has been round on the ground a good
while. It's most time it went back to heaven to get clean."
"What do you mean by snow's going to heaven?" said Prudy, gazing at
the street, which was half white and half black.
"Why, you see," answered Susy, "it says, 'God scattereth the snow like
wool, and his hoar-frost like the shining pearls.' And my Sabbath
school teacher tells us that after a while the sun draws it back, and
makes clouds of it, as 'twas before. So, you see, the snow and the rain
keep sprinkling down, and then rising up to the sky again."