visitors, but her father took no heed of such remarks. His daughter’s clothes must be as neat as possible, and always according to his own taste. He always had chosen her clothes for her, for he wanted to keep her a child as long as he could, and liked to look upon her as his own pet doll.
One morning, Ohatsu was working in the kitchen, and turning round suddenly, she saw Sode-ko standing near her. She was extremely pale, and hung her head in silence.
“Sode-ko-san, what is the matter?”
At first, Ohatsu was puzzled, for the child did not answer, but only stood silently with hung head. Suddenly, an older woman’s intuition told her the truth. She was a strong woman, and seeing that the child looked weak and ill, she took her gently in her arms and bore her to the sitting-room. She laid her down in the corner of the room, and said as kindly as possible:
“You need not be anxious, Sode-ko-san. I know what is the matter, and I will attend to you … it is every young woman’s experience … you had better remain away from school today, and keep to your bed.”
Sode-ko had no mother and no grandmamma to tell her what would happen to her when she reached the first stages of womanhood, and such a thing was so unexpected to Sode-ko. It had come just as she was very busy with her lessons preparing for her entrance examinations, and she seldom stayed away from
