and the grown people sat in chairs on the floor. It was great fun. One
of the plays they acted was _Jack and the Beanstalk_. They had a ladder
from the floor to the loft, and on the ladder they tied a vine all the
way up to the loft, to look like the wonderful beanstalk. One of the
little girls was dressed up to look like Jack, and she acted that part.
When it came to the place in the story where the giant tried to follow
Jack, the little girl cut down the beanstalk, and down came the giant
tumbling from the loft. The giant was made out of pillows, with a great,
fierce head of paper, and funny clothes.

Another story that they acted was _Cinderella_. They made a wonderful
big pumpkin out of the wheelbarrow, trimmed with yellow paper, and
Cinderella rolled away in it, when the fairy godmother waved her wand.

One other beautiful story they used to play. It was the story of
_Pilgrim's Progress_; if you have never heard it, you must be sure to
read it as soon as you can read well enough to understand the
old-fashioned words. The little girls used to put shells in their hats
for a sign they were on a pilgrimage, as the old pilgrims used to do;
then they made journeys over the hill behind the house, and through the
woods, and down the lanes; and when the pilgrimage was over they had
apples and nuts to eat, in the happy land of home.

Louisa loved all these plays, and she made some of her own and wrote
them down so that the children could act them.

But better than fun or writing Louisa loved her mother, and by and by,
as the little girl began to grow into a big girl, she felt very sad to
see her dear mother work so hard. She helped all she could with the
housework, but nothing could really help the tired mother except money;