Little Fanny used to spend part of every afternoon in sitting at work with her Mamma, which she liked very much, especially when she was allowed to talk; but being apt to take very long stitches, her Mother was, at last, obliged to make it a rule that Fanny should not talk while she was at work; and Fanny, being upon the whole a good little girl, seldom gave her Mamma occasion to complain; though she sometimes found it very hard to wait till her work was put away, before she began talking.
One afternoon, her Mother had been amused to see how much interested Fanny looked while she was sitting at needle-work by her side;—a great deal more so than if she had only been thinking about her work.
“What have you been thinking about, that has pleased you so much, Fanny?” said her Mother, as she was folding it up.
“I have been thinking, Mamma,” replied Fanny, “what a pleasant thing it is to be generous and to do good; and, if you please, I will tell you what I should very much like to do.—I should like to have some poor children come every day for me to teach them to read and work; and so I should like to have a nice snug little room, about as large as your dressing-room, Mamma, with two little new forms in it, and a chair beside, for myself, and all sorts of books, and some needles, and thread, and every thing that I should want: and then I should like to have six little girls, nice, clean, good tempered, clever little girls, just the size of Susan Hervey, that would not be much trouble to teach; and for me to be their governess: and I should like them to learn to read and work very fast, (I dare say they would) and then for Papa to give me some money, and I would buy six pretty frocks, (pink ones, I think,) and sister Harriet, I dare say, would cut them out for me, and I would let the little girls make them, but I would not say who they were for; but one day they should all come, and I would pull off their old frocks and put on these nice new ones, and they would be so surprised;—only think what a delightful plan it would be, Mamma, would it not?” said Fanny, almost out of breath.
“It would be delightful, indeed, my love,” said her Mother, smiling: “but, Fanny, did you ever hear of a little governess of ten years old?”
“O, Mamma, I think I am old enough to teach some very little girls; for you know you often let me hear little Edward say his spelling.”
“But suppose there were six little Edwards all saying their spelling together, then what would you do, Fanny?”
“O, Mamma, I think I could manage it,” said Fanny, looking rather puzzled:—“I think I could.”
“And pray where would you find six such very nice little girls as you wish for, Fanny; all clean, and good tempered, and clever, and just the size of Susan Hervey?”
“Why, Mamma, only think how many poor little girls there are in the town: I am sure nothing would be easier than to get such as I should like.”
“I am not quite so certain about that as you seem to be, my love; for really, Fanny, I do not know one little girl who never gives any trouble, and who always does exactly as she ought. However, as you seem so fond of teaching children to read, I think you will be very glad when you are old enough to teach at the Sunday School with sister Harriet.”
“I do not think I shall like that very much,” said Fanny.
“Why not, my love; I know of nothing which is so much like your own plan?”
“Dear Mamma, I think it is very different, and not nearly so pleasant; for sister Harriet often comes home very tired, and says that some of the children behave very badly, and some will not learn at all; beside, you know, Mamma, it would be so nice to have it all to myself, and for me to be the governess.”
“I hope, Fanny, you are not more anxious to please one little girl than you are to do good to half a dozen,” said her Mother.—“But I do not wish to discourage you, my love, for I quite approve of your wish to be generous; and I dare say we shall find some way in which you may be able to do a little good before you are old enough to be a Sunday School Teacher.”
“Well,” said Fanny to herself, as her Mother left the room, “I really believe that Mamma begins to think this a good plan, for she allowed that it would be very delightful; and she says, too, that she approves of my wish to be generous; and as to their being no nice little girls in the town, I really quite wonder at her thinking so.—very likely it would be rather troublesome sometimes if they were at all naughty; but I should soon learn to manage them; beside, if they were ever very naughty, I would ask Mamma to come and help me, and they must mind her.”
So Fanny thought a great deal about it; and the longer she thought, the more sure she felt, not only that it was a good plan, but what is still more strange,—that her Mother approved of it. But several days passed without any thing more being said on the subject, at which Fanny wondered very much, and was many times going to say something about it, only she knew it was best not to teaze, and therefore she resolved, if possible, to wait patiently till her Mother mentioned it.
At last, her Mamma said to her, one morning at breakfast, “Fanny, my love, do you remember telling me a few days ago that you thought it was very pleasant to be generous?”
“O, yes, Mamma;” said Fanny, and her eyes sparkled with joy at the thought of the School.
“Well, my love, we shall see now whether you really wish to do good.”
“O, I am sure I do, Mamma,” interrupted Fanny.
“Then, my love, I think you will cheerfully give some of your own money to the poor woman whom we called on yesterday;—you saw how very ill she was, and how ragged and hungry the poor children looked, because they had nobody to work for them, and take care of them.—Do you think you can afford two shillings, Fanny?”
“O, is that all,” said Fanny, looking very much disappointed.
“You may give as much more as you please, my love; but I thought, perhaps, you could not spare more, as you have not much pocket money.”
“O, no;” said Fanny, hastily, “I cannot afford any more, for I have very little money, very little indeed, just now; but”—
“But what, my love,” said her Mother; “do you feel less generous now than you did a few days ago?”
“No, Mamma, not at all,” said Fanny; “for I was hoping that you were going to say something about the School, and you know that is a much more generous thing.”
“Indeed, Fanny! I must confess I do not think so;—but, on the contrary, I think you would show much more generosity by giving two shillings of your own money to this poor woman, (which you say is as much as you can afford,) than you would, by being governess over six little girls, in a nice snug room, who were to be so good tempered and clever that they would be no trouble to teach, and whose pretty new frocks were to be bought with Papa’s money.—What do you really think, my love?”
Fanny’s eyes filled with tears when she found that she had been totally mistaken in her expectations about the School, and yet she could not help secretly thinking that there was much truth in what her Mother said.—She therefore, after pausing a moment, only said, “I do not know;” in a tone of voice which convinced her Mother that she did know.
“I am very sorry, my love,” said her Mother, “if you imagined that I was going to let you keep a School, because it is what I never intended; and I should have supposed that if you had thought a moment about it, you would have seen how many objections there must be to it.”
“I thought you seemed to think it a very nice plan, Mamma,” said Fanny, almost crying.
“It was, indeed, a very nice plan for spending my money,” said her Papa, good naturedly; “but the way to be generous, Fanny, is to consider how much good we have it in our own power to do; and this, if done cheerfully, though ever so little, is better than a great deal more, done at another person’s expense.”
Fanny felt too much disappointed at first to be quite convinced by her Father and Mother’s arguments; she, however, soon grew reconciled, and was very willing to give her two shillings towards the relief of the poor sick woman and her starving children.