Clematis Part 5

"A tooth brus.h.!.+ Why, there is no hair on my teeth."

Miss Rose laughed. "No dear, perhaps not, but we must brush them carefully each night with water, or they will soon be aching."

"Will that stop teeth from aching?"

"Yes indeed, it will help very much to keep them from aching."

"All right, then." Clematis began to brush her teeth. "My teeth ached last week. I nearly died," she answered.

The teeth were cleaned, and Clematis was ready for bed.

"Now dear, let us say our prayers."

"I don't know any prayers."

Miss Rose looked at Clematis in pity. "Don't you really know any prayers at all?"

"Would you know any prayers if you had never learned any?"

Miss Rose smiled sadly.

"Well, then," she said, "we will learn the Lord's Prayer, and then you will know the most beautiful prayer of all."

They knelt down together, and Clematis said over the words after Miss Rose.

"Now good night, dear, and pleasant dreams," said Miss Rose, as she tucked her in.

"Good night," said Clematis.

The door closed, and all was dark.

The maple trees swayed gently outside the window.

They nodded to Clematis, as she watched them with sleepy eyes.

One little star peeped in at her through the maple tree.

CHAPTER IV

WHO IS CLEMATIS?

The bright sun was s.h.i.+ning on the red buds of the maple tree when Clematis woke the next morning.

It was early. The rising bell had not rung. Clematis got up and looked out of the open window.

She could see nothing but houses across the street, but the buds of the maple were beautiful in the sun.

"I wish I had some of those buds to put in my room," said Clematis to herself.

She took her clothes, and began to dress. While she was dressing, she looked again at the maple buds, and wanted them more than ever.

"If I reached out a little way, I could get some of those, I just know I could," she thought.

As soon as she got her shoes on she pushed the window wide open.

She leaned out. Some beautiful buds were very near, but she could not quite reach them.

She leaned out a little farther. Then she climbed upon the window sill.

They were still out of her reach.

For a minute she stopped. Then she put one foot out in the gutter.

With one hand she held the blind, and reached out to the nearest branch.

At last she had it. She drew it nearer, and broke off a piece with many buds.

As the piece broke off, the branch flew back again to its place, and Clematis almost fell back through the window to the floor.

She patted the red buds and made a little bunch of them. She filled her cup with water and put the buds in it; then she put it on the bureau.

Clematis was looking proudly at them, when the door opened, and Miss Rose came in.

She looked at Clematis, and then at the buds.

"Why, Clematis!" she said.

Then she looked out the window. There, several feet beyond the window, was the broken end. Drops of sap were running from the white wood.

"How did you get those buds?" asked Miss Rose.

"I reached out of the window," said Clematis, "why, was that stealing?"

Miss Rose gasped.

"Clematis, do you mean to tell me that you climbed out of the window and reached for that branch?"

Clematis nodded. Tears came into her eyes. She must have done something very wrong, but she did not know just what was so wicked about taking a small branch from a maple tree.

"I didn't know it was stealing," she sobbed.

"It isn't that, Clematis. It is not wrong to take a twig, but think of the danger. Don't you know you might have fallen and killed yourself?"

Clematis wiped her eyes on her sleeve.