Daisy's hands and eyes welcomed it. She asked for
nothing more in a good while after that; and June curiously watched her,
with immense reverence. The thin pale little face, a little turned from
the light, so that she could see better; the intent eyes; the wise
little mouth, where childish innocence and oldish prudence made a queer
meeting; the slim little fingers that held the book; above all, the
sweet calm of the face. June would not gaze, but she looked and looked,
as she could, by glances; and nearly worshipped her little mistress in
her heart. She thought it almost ominous and awful to see a child read
the Bible so. For Daisy looked at it with loving eyes, as at words that
were a pleasure to her. It was no duty-work, that reading. At last Daisy
shut the book, to June's relief.
"June, I want to see my old things. I would like to have them here on
the bed."
"What things, Miss Daisy?"
"I would like my bird of paradise first. You can put a big book here for
it to stand on, where it will be steady."
The bird of paradise June brought, and placed as ordered. It was a bird
of spun glass only, but a great beauty in Daisy's eyes. Its tail was of
such fine threads of glass that it waved with the least breath.
"How pretty it is! You may take it away, June, for I am afraid it will
get broken; and now bring me my Chinese puzzle, and set my cathedral
here. You can bring it here without hurting it, can't you?"
"Where is your puzzle, Miss Daisy?"
"It is in the upper drawer of my cabinet," (so Daisy called a small
chest of drawers which held her varieties) "and the cathedral stands on
the top, under the glass shade.
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