"Here, Charlotte," said Mamma one day.
"These stockings knit while I'm away,
And should you fail, be sure you'll find
Mamma is strict, although she's kind."
But Charlotte took a lazy fit,
And did not feel inclined to knit;
And soon upon the ground let fall
Needles, and worsted, hose, and all.
"I shall not knit," said she, "not I;
At least not now, but by and by;"
Then stretched, and yawned, and rubbed her eyes,
Like sluggards, when 'tis time to rise.
But when Mamma came home, and found
The work all strewed upon the ground,
Quoth she, "You will not knit, and so
To school barefooted you shall go."
This put poor Charlotte in a fright.
And though she knew it served her right,
She wept, and begged, and prayed; but still
She could not change her mother's will.
To school, where all were spruce and neat,
Poor Charlotte went with naked feet.
Some showed their pity, some their pride,
While Charlotte hid her face and cried.