Little Sister and Big Sister
By Anna Love Oliver, Seventh Grade
“Little sister, get up. Did you hear the news?”
“What news?” asked little sister very eagerly.
“Why didn’t you hear the queen was coming to our own town? But the sad part is she is to be disguised,” said the big sister. “It is her birthday and you know every one is supposed to give her something. The funny thing is she said people would certainly know her disguised or no disguise. I certainly wish we had something to give her, don’t you?”
“I certainly do. This is the first I ever heard of this, though.”
“Anyway, come on,” called big sister. “Have your breakfast and then we can take the linen to the river to shrink.”
In the meantime the queen in disguise had come to a wealthy woman’s house. Expecting the woman to recognize her some way, she asked for some washing. The woman said to herself, “that woman looks very much like the queen, bur of course she would not want washing to do, the idea of me insulting our lovely queen so!”
“Yes, I have some washing I would like to have done and you may take it.”
“All right, I’ll take it and will be back very soon as you do not expect me to iron the clothes.”
On going to the river she heard a queer conversation. “Little sister, we must hurry and shrink the linen or the lady will scold us badly.”
“Yes, big sister. I know she will; but I was thinking how I would love to do something for the queen. You know we haven’t any money, and the only thing we could do would be to wash something for her, but of course we couldn’t wash anything of our queen’s.”
“Anyway, little sister, we would not know her if we saw her, but I wish we could do something for her.”
The queen had heard the words of little sister and do you know what she did? She walked right up before them, pulled off the little gray dress and the little dutch cap and a mass of golden hair fell upon her shoulders.
“The queen, the queen!” they cried. “And she was washing right behind us all the time,” cried the little sister.
“Yes, I was. If you want to give me a present you can wash this linen which I took from a woman’s house.” And she told them the whole story. Never were there such happy girls as they were and the only thing they could say was, “Ah!”
In the basket they found something besides clothes. It was something the queen had given them.
When the queen left she changed her clothes and rode all over the town in a lovely carriage, and the people were very bewildered. They had thought the queen was to be in disguise, especially the woman whom the queen had taken the washing from.
No one knew why the queen had decided not to be in disguise but the geese that had crossed the path of little sister and big sister, when the queen came up to them, and the windmill in the distance swaying its arms in the wind.
From page 2 of the Reidsville Review, Nov. 19, 1923
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What I Did
(An Event on the Car)
By Anna Love Oliver, Seventh Grade
“Nanette, do you realize that you have only fifteen minutes to get dressed, catch the car and get to work?” called Mrs. La Blanc from the stairway for the third time.
“Why mamma, I am ashamed of myself and this my first day, too! But I am sure I can get there on time,” answered Nanette sleepily.
“Your breakfast is ready, but as you won’t have time to eat, you may take this franc and pay your carfare and get your breakfast also, down street. Please hurry. Mamma doesn’t want her baby to be late to teach her first music lesson,” said Mrs. La Blanc.
“There I’m dressed, and now for the car,” and with a kiss on each cheek for her mother she left. “Thanks to goodness I’m not late for the car,” she said.
The car was crowded, but at the next stop a very fat woman got off and Nanette took her seat. Beside her was a precious puppy. Then the conductor came for her fare. The man that had the puppy paid his and it was her time next.
“Fare, please miss.”
“Yes, sir, here it is.” And when she reached her hand into her little handbag the franc was gone! Did she bring it? “Yes, I am sure because I put it in my purse as soon as mamma told me to,” said Nanette to herself.
“I can’t find it,” she faltered. The conductor and every one on the car began to laugh at the funny sight before them. For sitting on his haunches with the franc in his mouth sat the puppy.
“You mean thing,” cried Nanette as she took the money from his mouth.”
No you’re not mean at all. Should have known you would have t by the way you looked at my purse so queerly,” and she gave the dirty little puppy a hug. In her excitement she had not heard the conductor call out Chays Elyees. And the car was just moving out when Nanette jumped off. With a backward look to the puppy, she started happily down the street.
From page 2 of the Reidsville Review, Nov. 19, 1923. Proper spelling for that famous street in Paris is Champs-Elysees.
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