Then  they  had  tea,  with  all  sorts  of  nice
things ;  and  an  old  lady  in  the  house  brought
out  some  jelly  made  of  the  bright  red  cran-
berries, and  made  her  taste  it  —  which  Chryssa
thought  was  very  kind,  as  she  was  such  a  little
girl.  And  then  Miss  Flint  said  it  was  time
to   go.
HARD      MAPLE.  211

But  here  came  a  little  disappointment  to
Chryssa,  for  her  friends  insisted  that  they  would
take  her  home  in  the  wagon,  and  all  she  could
say  was  to  no  purpose.  It  wouldn't  take  long  to
get  the  wagon  ready,  they  said,  and  it  wasn't  a
bit  of  trouble,  and  they  would  like  the  ride ;  —
and  Chryssa  thought  it  would  not  be  very  po-
lite to  say  that  she  would  much  rather  ride
the  old  horse  than  to  go  with  them  in  the
wagon.  So  quite  sorrowfully  and  very  silently
she  let  them  wrap  her  up  in  a  warm  shawl
and  put  her  in  the  wagon,  while  Miss  Flint
mounted  the  old  horse ;  and  they  set  off  in  the
starlight,  Chryssa  with  one  of  the  thistle  balls  to
take   home.
It  was  a  very  beautiful  night,  —  the  stars  shone
bright  and  clear,  and  the  woods  looked  almost
black  now  the  sun  was  gone.  And  Chryssa,  sit-
ting there  on  a  buffalo  robe,  wrapped  up  in
her  shawl,  would  have  enjoyed  it  very  much  if
Miss  Flint  and  the  old  horse  had  not  been
there  beside  her.  But  how  Miss  Flint  did  ride  !
—  she    cantered,  and   trotted,  and  cantered  again  ;


212  nAKD     MAPLE.
