P\e ost Something.

Ore OTHER, can we go sliding on Red Run this afternoon? You
g needn't be afraid, mother; the ice is as hard as—as—”
“As hard as what, Rob: at
' “ As your head,” prompted mischievous Rob; and there
‘was a little scuffle between the boys as to which had the
hardest head—a scuffle full of fun to them, but rather too
noisy for mother.
“T don’t know about that, boys,” answered the mother; “I wanted
you to take care of Rosa this afternoon.”

“Oh, what a bother!” cried Foster, “we wont have a bit of fun.”

“Never mind, mother,” spoke up Rob, quickly, ‘let us have the little kid;
we'll take care of her.”

“T want to go to see poor Mrs. Belt,” said the mother, “and try to help her
with her sick children; Rosa would be in my way, but I wont let her go with
you, Foster, if you are not willing to take her.”

‘Oh, I'll take her,” said the little boy, ungraciously, “but it wont be any
fun; it will be a lost afternoon.”

When twilight_fell over the white, snow-covered world the children’s mother
hurried home, and found little Rosa and her two brothers sitting before the
glowing coal-fire in the nursery. :

‘‘Oh, mamma,” they all cried, together, springing up from the-rug and
hanging on to her snowy cloak, “we had just lots of fun.” And while the
mother dried her damp wraps and boots all three little tongues wagged at once.

‘We p’ayed I was a pwis’ner,” said Baby Rosa, “and Wobb and Foster
put me in pwison; and den I wunned away, and they taught me and slided me
back to pwison.”

“We most died laughing, mamma, to see the tot try to run on ice.”

‘And sometimes her little feet would fly from under her, and down she
would come like a thousand of brick; but she was real plucky—she didn’t cry
at all.”

‘‘How about your afternoon, Foster?” asked the mother, ‘‘was it lost?” —

“Fossy was weal nice to me, mamma,” said Rosa, putting her little fat
arms around him.

“Yes,” said mamma, looking very pleased, ‘““my boy lost something after
all—not his afternoon, I am glad to see, but a selfish, ugly little temper.”