Aunt Jo’s Scrap-Bag Vol. 1

cried out, 'Be 'till, or me'll fall!' How they laughed at that; and what
fun they had talking to Ranza, while Miss Rose stripped the tree, for
the angel could not resist temptation, and amused herself by eating all
the bonbons she could reach, till she was taken down, to dance about
like a fairy in a white frock and red shoes. Tessa and her friends had
many presents; the boys were perfect lambs, Tommo played for the little
folks to dance, and every one said something friendly to the strangers,
so that they did not feel shy, in spite of shabby clothes. It was a
happy night: and all their lives they remembered it as something too
beautiful and bright to be quite true. Before they went home, the kind
mamma told Tessa she should be her friend, and gave her a motherly kiss,
which warmed the child's heart and seemed to set a seal upon that
promise. It was faithfully kept, for the rich lady had been touched by
Tessa's patient struggles and sacrifices; and for many years, thanks to
her benevolence, there was no end to Tessa's Surprises.




BUZZ.


I live high up in a city house all alone. My room is a cosy little
place, though there is nothing very splendid in it,--only my pictures