would leave her play, at any moment, to run and rock the baby, or to
hold him in her lap; for, even if she felt inclined, at any time, to be
a little out of patience for a moment, she would recollect how many
hours she had herself been nursed, by night and by day, and she was glad
of an opportunity to relieve her mother of some of her care and fatigue.
Her cousin, Ellen Weston, called, one afternoon, to ask her to
accompany a party of little girls, who were going to gather berries in
the wood near Maria's house. It happened that Maria had been left with
the care of Willy, just as her cousin called; and it happened, too, that
Willy was that afternoon unusually fretful and difficult to please. If
Maria left him for a moment, or if she did not hold him exactly in the
posture which suited him, or if she had not precisely the thing ready
which he wanted at the moment, he would act just as all babies of nine
or ten months sometimes take it into their heads to act. With all her
patience and good-humor, she hardly knew how to manage him; and
especially after having been obliged to reject so agreeable an
invitation as the one her cousin brought, she found her task a little
irksome.

She could hardly repress an occasional expression of impatience, as she
tried in vain to please the wayward little fellow. But her patience and
good-humor were very soon restored; and as she reflected that she was
doing her mother a great deal of good, by staying at home with Willy,
she felt quite willing to dismiss all thoughts of the berrying
expedition. The girls, however, did not forget her. It was proposed by
one of the party, when Ellen had stated the reason why Maria could not
join them, that each should contribute some portion of her berries to be
carried to her on their way home. All agreed very readily to the plan,
and each took pains to select the largest and the ripest of her berries
for Maria's basket. The gratification afforded Maria by this little