Tempest and Sunshine

At last all was ready, and the vehicle got under way. At first it moved

slowly, and the loud, merry laugh of the girls rang out on the clear, cool

air; but each moment it increased in swiftness, and by the time it was

half-way down the hill, was moving at an astonishingly rapid rate. Fanny

lost her presence of mind and, with it, her ability to guide the sled, so

that they passed the point where they should have turned and made directly

for the schoolhouse door, which flew open, as once did the gates for the

famous John Gilpin. There was no entryway to the building, but as the sled

struck the door the jolt threw off all the girls except Fanny, who

manfully kept her seat; and so made her grand entrance into the

schoolroom, stopping not till she reached the stove, and partially

upsetting it, to the great astonishment of the teacher, visitor, and boys,

the latter of whom set up a loud huzza. Poor Fanny! 'Twas her first sled

ride, and she felt sure it would be her last; but she resolved to make the

best of it, so she looked up from under her curls and said very demurely,

"Please, Mr. Wilmot, may I stop at this station? I do not like being so

near the engine!" meaning the stove, whose proximity made her quarters a

little uncomfortable.

Mr. Wilmot gave her permission to take her seat, which she readily did,

wondering why it was that she always managed to do something which made

her appear ridiculous, just when she wanted to appear the best. Her mishap

gave secret pleasure to Julia, who delighted to have Fanny appear as badly

as possible, and she felt particularly pleased when she saw that Fanny's

strange ride had scattered all the ideas from her head, for the

afternoon's lessons were but little better recited than the morning, and

at its close Julia gave her a look of malicious triumph, which Mr. Miller

observing, said, as if apologising for Fanny, that he was sure that she

had every word of her lesson before recess, but it was no wonder she was

somewhat disconcerted at the unexpected termination of her ride. Fanny

smiled gratefully upon him through her tears, which she could not

restrain; but her tears were like April showers--they did not last long,

and that night, at the supper table, when Mr. Miller related her adventure

to her father, she joined as gayly as any one in the laugh which followed.

Julia was much displeased to think that Fanny's "ridiculous conduct," as

she called it, should be told of and laughed at as if it were something

amusing. She was anxious, too, that Mr. Miller should draw his visit to a

close, but as he did not seem inclined to do so, she resolved to make the

most of it, and give him a few new ideas. She knew that Fanny had ever

been his favorite and she very naturally supposed that the reason of his

preference was because he thought she possessed a very lovely, amiable

disposition. She determined to make him think otherwise, and set herself

at work to execute a plan, which fully showed the heartless deception

which almost always characterized her actions.