it was a cold november storm, and everything looked forlorn. even the pert sparrows were draggle-tailed and too much out of spirits to fight for crumbs with the fat pigeons who tripped through the mud with their little red boots as if in haste to get back to their cosy home in the dove-cot.
but the most forlorn creature out that day was a small errand girl, with a bonnet-box on each arm, and both hands struggling to hold a big broken umbrella. a pair of worn-out boots let in the wet upon her tired feet; a thin cotton dress and an old shawl poorly protected her from the storm; and a faded hood covered her head.
the face that looked out from this hood was too pale and anxious for one so young; and when a sudden gust turned the old umbrella inside out with a crash, despair fell upon poor lizzie, and she was so miserable she could have sat down in the rain and cried.
but there was no time for tears; so, dragging the dilapidated umbrella along, she spread her shawl over the bonnet-boxes and hurried down the broad street, eager to hide her misfortunes from a pretty young girl who stood at a window laughing at her.
she could not find the number of the house where one of the fine hats was to be left; and after hunting all down one side of the street, she crossed over, and came at last to the very house where the pretty girl lived. she was no longer to be seen; and, with a sigh of relief, lizzie rang the bell, and was told to wait in the hall while miss belle tried the hat on.
glad to rest, she warmed her feet, righted her umbrella, and then sat looking about her with eyes quick to see the beauty and the comfort that made the place so homelike and delightful. a small waiting-room opened from the hall, and in it stood many blooming plants, whose fragrance attracted lizzie as irresistibly as if she had been a butterfly or bee.
slipping in, she stood enjoying the lovely colors, sweet odors, and delicate shapes of these household spirits; for lizzie loved flowers passionately; and just then they possessed a peculiar charm for her.
one particularly captivating little rose won her heart, and made her long for it with a longing that became a temptation too strong to resist. it was so perfect; so like a rosy face smiling out from the green leaves, that lizzie could not keep her hands off it, and having smelt, touched, and kissed it, she suddenly broke the stem and hid it in her pocket. then, frightened at what she had done, she crept back to her place in the hall, and sat there, burdened with remorse.
a servant came just then to lead her upstairs; for miss belle wished the hat altered, and must give directions. with her heart in a flutter, and pinker roses in her cheeks than the one in her pocket, lizzie followed to a handsome room, where a pretty girl stood before a long mirror with the hat in her hand.
“tell madame tifany that i don't like it at all, for she hasn't put in the blue plume mamma ordered; and i won't have rose-buds, they are so common,” said the young lady, in a dissatisfied tone, as she twirled the hat about.
“yes, miss,” was all lizzie could say; for she considered that hat the loveliest thing a girl could possibly own.
“you had better ask your mamma about it, miss belle, before you give any orders. she will be up in a few moments, and the girl can wait,” put in a maid, who was sewing in the ante-room.
“i suppose i must; but i won't have roses,” answered belle, crossly. then she glanced at lizzie, and said more gently, “you look very cold; come and sit by the fire while you wait.”
“i'm afraid i'll wet the pretty rug, miss; my feet are sopping,” said lizzie, gratefully, but timidly.
“so they are! why didn't you wear rubber boots?”
“i haven't got any.”
“i'll give you mine, then, for i hate them; and as i never go out in wet weather, they are of no earthly use to me. marie, bring them here; i shall be glad to get rid of them, and i'm sure they'll be useful to you.”
“oh, thank you, miss! i'd like 'em ever so much, for i'm out in the rain half the time, and get bad colds because my boots are old,” said lizzie, smiling brightly at the thought of the welcome gift.
“i should think your mother would get you warmer things,” began belle, who found something rather interesting in the shabby girl, with shy bright eyes, and curly hair bursting out of the old hood.
“i haven't got any mother,” said lizzie, with a pathetic glance at her poor clothes.
“i'm so sorry! have you brothers and sisters?” asked belle, hoping to find something pleasant to talk about; for she was a kind little soul.
“no, miss; i've got no folks at all.”
“oh, dear; how sad! why, who takes care of you?” cried belle, looking quite distressed.
“no one; i take care of myself. i work for madame, and she pays me a dollar a week. i stay with mrs. brown, and chore round to pay for my keep. my dollar don't get many clothes, so i can't be as neat as i'd like.” and the forlorn look came back to poor lizzie's face.
belle said nothing, but sat among the sofa cushions, where she had thrown herself, looking soberly at this other girl, no older than she was, who took care of herself and was all alone in the world. it was a new idea to belle, who was loved and petted as an only child is apt to be. she often saw beggars and pitied them, but knew very little about their wants and lives; so it was like turning a new page in her happy life to be brought so near to poverty as this chance meeting with the milliner's girl.
“aren't you afraid and lonely and unhappy?” she said, slowly, trying to understand and put herself in lizzie's place.
“yes; but it's no use. i can't help it, and may be things will get better by and by, and i'll have my wish,” answered lizzie, more hopefully, because belle's pity warmed her heart and made her troubles seem lighter.
“what is your wish?” asked belle, hoping mamma wouldn't come just yet, for she was getting interested in the stranger.
“to have a nice little room, and make flowers, like a french girl i know. it's such pretty work, and she gets lots of money, for every one likes her flowers. she shows me how, sometimes, and i can do leaves first-rate; but—”
there lizzie stopped suddenly, and the color rushed up to her forehead; for she remembered the little rose in her pocket and it weighed upon her conscience like a stone.
before belle could ask what was the matter, marie came in with a tray of cake and fruit, saying:
“here's your lunch, miss belle.”
“put it down, please; i'm not ready for it yet.”
and belle shook her head as she glanced at lizzie, who was staring hard at the fire with such a troubled face that belle could not bear to see it.
jumping out of her nest of cushions, she heaped a plate with good things, and going to lizzie, offered it, saying, with a gentle courtesy that made the act doubly sweet:
“please have some; you must be tired of waiting.”
but lizzie could not take it; she could only cover her face and cry; for this kindness rent her heart and made the stolen flower a burden too heavy to be borne.
“oh, don't cry so! are you sick? have i been rude? tell me all about it; and if i can't do anything, mamma can,” said belle, surprised and troubled.
“no; i'm not sick; i'm bad, and i can't bear it when you are so good to me,” sobbed lizzie, quite overcome with penitence; and taking out the crumpled rose, she confessed her fault with many tears.
“don't feel so much about such a little thing as that,” began belle, warmly; then checked herself, and added, more soberly, “it was wrong to take it without leave; but it's all right now, and i'll give you as many roses as you want, for i know you are a good girl.”
“thank you. i didn't want it only because it was pretty, but i wanted to copy it. i can't get any for myself, and so i can't do my make-believe ones well. madame won't even lend me the old ones in the store, and estelle has none to spare for me, because i can't pay her for teaching me. she gives me bits of muslin and wire and things, and shows me now and then. but i know if i had a real flower i could copy it; so she'd see i did know something, for i try real hard. i'm so tired of slopping round the streets, i'd do anything to earn my living some other way.”
lizzie had poured out her trouble rapidly; and the little story was quite affecting when one saw the tears on her cheeks, the poor clothes, and the thin hands that held the stolen rose. belle was much touched, and, in her impetuous way, set about mending matters as fast as possible.
“put on those boots and that pair of dry stockings right away. then tuck as much cake and fruit into your pocket as it will hold. i'm going to get you some flowers, and see if mamma is too busy to attend to me.”
with a nod and a smile, belle flew about the room a minute; then vanished, leaving lizzie to her comfortable task, feeling as if fairies still haunted the world as in the good old times.
when belle came back with a handful of roses, she found lizzie absorbed in admiring contemplation of her new boots, as she ate sponge-cake in a blissful sort of waking-dream.
“mamma can't come; but i don't care about the hat. it will do very well, and isn't worth fussing about. there, will those be of any use to you?” and she offered the nosegay with a much happier face than the one lizzie first saw.
“oh, miss, they're just lovely! i'll copy that pink rose as soon as ever i can, and when i've learned how to do 'em tip-top, i'd like to bring you some, if you don't mind,” answered lizzie, smiling all over her face as she buried her nose luxuriously in the fragrant mass.
“i'd like it very much, for i should think you'd have to be very clever to make such pretty things. i really quite fancy those rosebuds in my hat, now i know that you're going to learn how to make them. put an orange in your pocket, and the flowers in water as soon as you can, so they'll be fresh when you want them. good-by. bring home our hats every time and tell me how you get on.”
with kind words like these, belle dismissed lizzie, who ran downstairs, feeling as rich as if she had found a fortune. away to the next place she hurried, anxious to get her errands done and the precious posy safely into fresh water. but mrs. turretviile was not at home, and the bonnet could not be left till paid for. so lizzie turned to go down the high steps, glad that she need not wait. she stopped one instant to take a delicious sniff at her flowers, and that was the last happy moment that poor lizzie knew for many weary months.
the new boots were large for her, the steps slippery with sleet, and down went the little errand girl, from top to bottom, till she landed in the gutter directly upon mrs. turretville's costly bonnet.
“i've saved my posies, anyway,” sighed lizzie, as she picked herself up, bruised, wet, and faint with pain; “but, oh, my heart! won't madame scold when she sees that band-box smashed flat,” groaned the poor child, sitting on the curbstone to get her breath and view the disaster.
the rain poured, the wind blew, the sparrows on the park railing chirped derisively, and no one came along to help lizzie out of her troubles. slowly she gathered up her burdens; painfully she limped away in the big boots; and the last the naughty sparrows saw of her was a shabby little figure going round the corner, with a pale, tearful face held lovingly over the bright bouquet that was her one treasure and her only comfort in the moment which brought to her the great misfortune of her life.
