“Mom, may we have a new sled for Christmas?” she heard Barbara ask her mother.
“No, dear, and I’ve asked you not to keep pestering me about it,” sighed her mother wearily. “With your father out of work, we can’t afford toys this year. We’ll be lucky to keep food on the table.”
“Jane!” called Miss Gordon. She did not consider it proper for the little girl to peep through a window.
Jane quickly rejoined the Brownies. She knew she had not been seen by anyone in the cabin.
“It wasn’t the same tree,” she announced as the Brownies waited for her opinion.
“I thought it wouldn’t be,” declared Connie, while Miss Gordon nodded agreement.
“This proves that one shouldn’t leap to hasty conclusions,” added the leader of the Brownie troop. “How easy it is to misjudge a person.”
As the Brownies started on at a brisk pace toward the Gordon farm, Jane was rather quiet. She kept thinking about what she had heard Mrs. Stone tell Barbara.
Finally, she said: “Miss Gordon, I wish we could give the Stone family more than just a sled. They need all sorts of toys and Christmas food--turkey, cranberries, plum pudding and everything.”
The remark surprised Miss Gordon. She asked Jane why she thought the Stones might be in dire need.
“I heard Mrs. Stone say there would be no money for Christmas toys and maybe not any for food,” Jane related. “All they were having for supper was potatoes and turnips.”
“Oh, surely Mrs. Stone had other food prepared, Jane. Perhaps it was in the oven, or out of sight.”
“What was the kitchen like?” inquired Connie curiously.
“I didn’t notice anything except the Christmas tree and the supper table. Miss Gordon called me before I had a chance to really see very much.”
Now what Jane had reported deeply troubled Miss Gordon. She promised the Brownies she would make inquiries before Christmas to learn if the Stones actually were in need.
“If they are, we’ll send a big basket of food,” she said. “However, the Stones have lived in this community many years and I understand, are quite proud. They might resent charity.”
“Will they be offended if we give them the sled, and perhaps a few other toys?” Connie asked anxiously.
“The children will enjoy the presents--I’m certain of that,” declared Miss Gordon.