The Little Girl

       To the little girl he was a figure to be feared and  avoided. every morning before going to work he came into her room and gave her a casual  kiss, to which she responded  with ''Goodbya,father''. And oh , there was a glad sense of relief when she  heard the noise of  the  carriage  growing  fainter and fainter down the long road in the evening when he came home she stood near thestaircase and heard his loud voice in the hall. "Bring my tea into the drawing-room ..... Hasn't the paper comr yet? Mother, go and see if my paper's out there-and bring me my slippers."  

"Kezia,"mother  would call to her,"if you're a good girl you can come down and take off father's boots ." Slowly the  girl  would slip down the stairs,  more Slowly  still across  the hall, and push  open the  drawing-room  door  .by that time he  had  his spectacles on and looked  at  her over them in a way that  was terrifying to the little girl. " well, Kezia, hurty up  and  pull off these boots and take them outside have you been  a good  girl today?" " I have d- d don't  know, father. " ''you d-d don't know? If you stutter like that  mother will have to take  you to the doctor. " 

She  never stuttered with other people‐ had quite  given it up- but  only with father, because then she was trying so was trying so hard to say the words properly. " what 's the matter? What are you looking so wretched about? Mother,  I wish you taught this  child not to appear on the ​​​​the  bring of suicide...here, Kezia,  carry my teacup back to the table carefully. " he was so big- his hands and  his neck, especially his mouth when he yawned. Thinking about  him alone was like Thinking about  a giant. 

On Sunday afternoons grandmother sent her down to the  drawing-room to  have a " nice talk with father  and mother " .but little girl always found  mother  reading  and father stretched out on the  sofa,  his  handkerchief on his  face,  his  feet on one of the best cushions , sleeping soundly  and snoring.  She sat on a stood, gravely watched  him until he work  and stretched, and  asked  the time- then looked at her ." Don't stare so, Kezia. You look like  a little brown owl ." One day  when she was kept indoors with  a cold, her grandmother  told her  that  father's birthday was next week, and  suggested she  should make  him a pin- cushion for a gift  out of a beautiful piece of yellow sulk.

Laborious with a double cotton, the little girl stitched there sides . But Wath to fill it with? That was the question.  The  grandmother was  out in the garden,  and she wandered into  mother 's bedroom to look for  scraps .on the bed- table she  discovered a great many sheets of fine paper,  gathered them up, tore them into tiny pieces ,and stuffed  her case,then sewed up the fourth side. That night there was  a hue and  cry in  the house .father's  great speech for the  port authority had been  lost . Rooms were searched; servents questioned finally mother  came  into  Kezia ' s room.  " Kezia, I  suppose you  didn't see some papers on 

A table  in our  room?" " oh yes, " She said,  " I  tore them up for my  surprise." " what!" Screamed  mother.  " come  straight  down  to the dining - room this instant. " 

And  she  was dragged down to where father  was pacing  to and from, hands behind his back.  " well?" " n- n- no" ,she whispered ." Mother,  go up to her room and fetch down the  damned thing - see that the child 's put to bed this  instant." 

Crying  too much to  explain,  she lay in the  shadowed room  watching  the  evening light make a sad little  pattern on the floor.  Then father came into the room with a  ruler in his hands  . " I am going to beat you for  this, " he ordered,  " and  hold out your  hand.  You must be taught once and for  all not to touch  what  does not belong to you." But it was for your  b- b birthday. " down came  the  ruler on  her little, pink palms.

Hours later, when grandmother had wrapped her in a shawl and rocked her in the . rocking -chair , the child clung to her soft body .''what did god make father for''she sobbed ''Here's a clean hanky , darling . blow your nose . go to sleep , pet ; you 'll forget  all about it in the morning. Itried to explain to father but he was too upset to listen to night .'' but the child never forget .next time she saw him she quikly  put both hands behind her back and a red colour flew into her cheeks.

The macdonalds lived next door . they had five children .looking thorough a gap in the fence the little girl saw the plaing 'tag'in the evening .the father with the body , meo, on his shoulders ,two little girls hanging on to his coat pockets ran round round the flower-beds , shaking with laughter . once shev saw the boys turn the hose on him - and he tride to catch them laughing all the time . then it was she decided  there were different sorts of father . suddenly ,one day , mother became ill, and she and grandmother went to hospital . the little girl was left alone in the house with alice , the cook . that wsa all right in the daytime , but while alice was putting her to bed she grew suddenly afraid. 

" what ll I  do if I have a  nightmare ?" She asked. " I  often  have  nightmares and then  grannie takes me into her bed - I  can't stay in the dark- it all gets 'whispery' ... " " you just go to sleep  , child," said alice  , pulling  of her socks , " and  don't  you scream and  wake your poor  pa ." But  the same  old  nightmare  came  - the butcher  with  a knife  and  a rope, who came nearer and  nearer , smiling  that dreadful  smile , while  she  could  not  move ,could  only stand still, Crying out ," grandma! Grandma  !" She  woke shivering  to see father  beside her  bed ,a candle in his hand ." What 's the matter?" He said. 

" oh,  a butcher- a knife  - I  want grannie. " he  blew out the candle,  bent down  and  caught  up  the child in his arms , carrying  her  along the passage to the  big  bedroom.  A newspaper  ?  was on the bed  .he put  away  the paper,  then carefully tucked up  the child.  He lay down  beside  her  . Half  asleep still with  the  butcher ' s smile  all about  her it seemed , she  crept  close  to him  , snuggled her  head under his  arm , tightly to his  shirt.  Then the  dark did not  matter; she lay still. " here ,  rub your feet against  my  legs  and  get  them warm, " said  father. 

Tired  out , he slept  before the little girl.  A funny  feeling  came  over her  .poor  father, not  so big,  after  all - and  with no one to look  after  him. He was harder than  grandmother   but  it  was  a nice  hardness  . And every day  he had  to work  and  was too tired  to be  a Mr  macdon and...she  had torn up  all his beautiful  writing  ...she  stirred  suddenly , and  sighed ​​​​​​. " what  's the  matter?" Asked her  father " another  deam ?" " oh, " said  the  little girl  ?, " my head 's on  your heart.  I can  hear it  going . What  a big heart  you' ve got ,father  dear.

Thank you so much ?