Ethel’s Darning-balls.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXX, Issue XIX, 9 May 1903, Page 1328

Ethel’s Darning-balls.

Jsy

Fannie L. Brent.

When Ethel came home from school sin- saw her mother sitting in the buy window mending, with the big basket of a chair beside her. Ethel frowned. “O dear!” she said. "1 forgot it was Wednesday afternoon, and 1 told May that p'raps I'd be over.” • Hurry up. Ethel I” May called from across the street. “Ask your mamma.” Ethel turned and shook her head, “C an't come.” said she. ”1 know it’s Wednesday afternoon, and I’ve got to darn my stockings.” she came in and hung up her hat, and got a cooky to eat. and washed her hands and face, and was so long getting round to the sitting-room that at last mamma called. ''lsn’t my little girl coming to help me this afternoon*?” Then Ethel came in. and sitting down rather hard in her little rocker, took up the pretty, red darning-bag mamma had made her. “I just hate to darn!” she said. ‘‘Over one and under one, over one and under Ane, just like wo used to do in the kindergarten” (Ethel was ten and had left the kindergarten very far behind), “and all black and ugly, too.” “Welk” mamflia slid, smiling pleasantly, "if it would make it any more interesting, you might make your threads yellow one way ami blue the other in that biggest hole.” Ethel laughed at the idea of a blue and yellow darn in her black stockings, and when she was done laughing her frown was gone. She put her hand down in the bag and brought out her thimble and ball of darning-cotton, and then she reached in again for her darninggourd. A puzzled look came into her face as she felt for it. “Why, what’s in here instead of my gourd?” she asked, and then drew out a big orange. Mamma looked as surprised as could be. "Why. that's strange.” said she, “but 1 think 1 should like a ball 1 could eat afterward.” "Well.” said Ethel, "1 do. too.’’ She slipped the orange into the first stocking. How the bright colour shone through J he holes! Ethel darned away at her best rate, and after a little the bright spots were closed and the orange rolled out and slipped into another stocking, and by sind by another and still another, and at last two pairs of stockings were neatly rolled up and put away. “Now we’ll eat the darning-ball,” said Ethel, gaily, as she peeled it. But mamma said she had eaten one just before Ethel canui home, and it was all for her. "1 knew yon put it there,” Ethel said. “Did pou really?” mamma said; laughing. t The next Wednesday Ethel was not slow in coming to her darning, and first thing she fell down in Iter bag to see what her ball would be. This time it was a shiny red apple, and the next Wednesday it was a lemon, which, when it had served its purpose as a ball. Ethel made into lemonade. Another time it was a green pomegranate. ami -he learned how to break it open and pick out the pretty red seeds to eat. All through the fall there was some now kind of ball every week, and Ethel looked forward to Wednesday afternoon all the week. The darning was not such Lad work, either, when, instead of pouting and

grumbling, site talked with mamma about all sorts of pleasant things. She did some thinking, too, and one day she gave giamma a surprise. She had just eaten a big russet pear, which had been her darning-ball, and she put her arms around mamma’s neek and gave her a good kiss and said. "I guess I’m ready for my old gourd again, now, mamma.” Mamma shook her head. “No,” she said. “I gave your gourd to Mrs Perry’s baby for a rattle, and when they went home he cried to take it. so I let him. I think you’ll have to get along with oranges and apples for a while yet.” Mamma spoke soberly, but her eyes were laughing, and so Ethel was not very much surprised at Christmas to find' in her stocking a beautiful polished wood darning-ball with a little bundle. The ball unscrewed in the middle, and inside.- it was all lined with velvet, and made- a cunning nest for a beautiful silver thimble with “Ethel” engraved on the rim.