to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. Title: Proverb Stories Author: Louisa May Alcott Release Date: June 13, 2018 [EBook #57321] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PROVERB STORIES *** Produced by Chris Whitehead, Heather Clark, Barry Abrahamsen and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Books project.) PROVERB STORIES. BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT, AUTHOR OF “SILVER PITCHERS,” “LITTLE WOMEN,” “AN OLD-FASHIONED GIRL,” “LITTLE MEN,” “EIGHT COUSINS,” “ROSE IN BLOOM,” “UNDER THE LILACS,” “JACK AND JILL,” “WORK, A STORY OF EXPERIENCE,” “MOODS, A NOVEL,” “HOSPITAL SKETCHES,” “AUNT JO’S SCRAP-BAG.” ---------- LONDON: SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON, CROWN BUILDINGS, 188 FLEET STREET. 1882. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PREFACE. BEING forbidden to write anything at present I have collected various waifs and strays to appease the young people who clamor for more, forgetting that mortal brains need rest. As many girls have asked to see what sort of tales Jo March wrote at the beginning of her career, I have added “The Baron’s Gloves,” as a sample of the romantic rubbish which paid so well once upon a time. If it shows them what _not_ to write it will not have been rescued from oblivion in vain. L. M. ALCOTT. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENTS. ------- PAGE KITTY’S CLASS DAY 5 AUNT KIPP 26 PSYCHE’S ART 55 A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS 84 ON PICKET DUTY 124 THE BARON’S GLOVES 156 MY RED CAP 251 WHAT THE BELLS SAW AND SAID 271 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PROVERB STORIES. ------- KITTY’S CLASS DAY. “A stitch in time saves nine.” ------- “O PRIS, Pris, I’m really going! Here’s the invitation—rough paper—Chapel—spreads—Lyceum Hall—everything splendid; and Jack to take care of me!” As Kitty burst into the room and performed a rapturous _pas seul_, waving the cards over her head, sister Priscilla looked up from her work with a smile of satisfaction on her quiet face. “Who invites you, dear?” “Why, Jack, of course,—dear old cousin Jack. Nobody else ever thinks of me, or cares whether I have a bit of pleasure now and then. Isn’t he kind? Mayn’t I go? and, O Pris, what _shall_ I wear?” Kitty paused suddenly, as if the last all-important question had a solemnizing effect upon both mind and body. “Why, your white muslin, silk sacque, and new hat, of course,” began Pris with an air of surprise. But Kitty broke in impetuously,— “I’ll never wear that old muslin again; it’s full of darns, up to my knees, and all out of fashion. So is my sacque; and as for my hat, though it does well enough here, it would be absurd for Class Day.” “You don’t expect an entirely new suit for this occasion,—do you?” asked Pris, anxiously. “Yes, I do, and I’ll tell you how I mean to get it. I’ve planned everything; for, though I hardly dreamed of going, I amused myself by thinking how I could manage if I _did_ get invited.” “Let us hear.” And Pris took up her work with an air of resignation. “First, my dress,” began Kitty, perching herself on the arm of the sofa, and entering into the subject with enthusiasm. “I’ve got the ten dollars grandpa sent me, and with eight of it I’m going to buy Lizzie King’s organdie muslin. She got it in Paris; but her aunt providentially—no, unfortunately—died; so she can’t wear it, and wants to get rid of it. She is bigger than I am, you know; so there is enough for a little mantle or sacque,...