As soon as breakfast was over, Clara brought her books, and began to learn her lessons, and nurse asked Charles if he would do the same.  But Charles said, “No, indeed!  I do not mean to learn any lessons while mother is away, for I mean to please myself and be happy.”

“You did as you pleased yesterday, Master Charles,” said nurse; “yet I do not think you were so very happy, unless happiness consists in lying under a table and crying all day, and going without dinner and tea, merely to indulge a sullen, froward temper.”

Now, Charles hated to be told of his faults, so he left nurse, and went into the garden to try and amuse himself.  When there, instead of keeping in the walks, as he ought to have done, he ran on the beds, trampled down the flowers, and pulled the blossoms from the fruit-trees.

The gardener’s boy earnestly requested Charles not to do so much mischief; but Charles told him he was a gentleman’s son, and would do as he pleased.  So he again ran over the new-raked borders, and pulled up the flowers; and the poor boy was sadly vexed to see his nice work all spoiled.

Charles did not care for that, and would have behaved still worse, had not the gardener, who then came up, taken him in his arms, and carried him into the house, in spite of his kicking and screaming.  He cried for a long time, and made a sad noise; but, finding that no one paid any regard to him, he became quiet, and went into the nursery, and asked Clara to come and play with him.

“I cannot come just now, brother Charles,” said she; “for I want to finish this frock that I am making for Giles Bloomfield’s little sister.”

“I am sure,” said Charles, “if I were you, I would much rather play than sit still and sew.”

“Not if you knew what pleasure there is in doing good,” said Clara; “but if you will wait till I have finished it, you shall go with me and give it to the poor woman, and then you will see how pleased she will be, and how nicely the baby will look when she is dressed in this pretty frock, instead of her old faded, ragged one.”

Charles did not know how to amuse himself, so he sat down on his little stool, and watched his sister while she worked.

When Clara had finished making the frock, she said:  “Thank you, dear nurse, for cutting out and fixing the frock for me.”  So she threw her arms round nurse’s neck, and kissed her cheek; and nurse put on Clara’s tippet and her new bonnet, and walked with Charles and her to Dame Bloomfield’s cottage.

The good woman took the baby out of the cradle, and laid it on Clara’s lap, and Clara had the pleasure of dressing it herself in the nice new frock; and the baby looked so neat and pretty, and the poor mother was so pleased, that Clara was much happier than if she had spent her time in playing or working for her doll.

While Clara was nursing and caressing the baby, Charles went into the little garden, where he found Giles Bloomfield, who had just returned from working in the fields, with a beautiful milk-white rabbit in his arms, which he had taken out of the hutch, and was nursing with much affection.