"And I
teased her, mother. I told her she was afraid of having her nose put
out of joint when Be--I can't say her name--when the little girl
comes."
"O Colin, how could you?" said his mother sadly. "When I had explained
to you about Beata coming, and that I hoped it might do Rosy good! I
thought you would have tried to help me, Colin."
Colin felt very vexed with himself.
"I won't do it any more, mother, I won't indeed," he said. "I wish I
could leave off teasing; but at school, you know, one gets into the
way, and one has to learn not to mind it."
"Yes," said his mother, "I know, and it is a very good thing to learn
not to mind it. But I don't think teasing will do Rosy any good just
now, especially not about little Beata."
"Mother," said Colin.
"Well, my boy," said his mother.
"I wish she hadn't such a stupid name. It's so hard to say."
"I think they sometimes have called her Bee," said his mother; "I
daresay you can call her so."
"Yes, that would be much better," said Colin, in a more contented
tone.
"Only," said his mother again, and she couldn't help smiling a little
when she said it, "if you call her 'Bee,' don't make it the beginning
of any new teasing by calling Rosy 'Wasp.'"
"Mother!" said Colin. "I daresay I would never have thought of it. But
I promise you I won't."
This was what had upset Rosy so terribly--the coming of little Beata.
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