Not another little girl down at the harbour mouth had such fine black cashmere stockings and such smart , almost new shoes . Lida was furnished forth for the summer . She had no qualms in the matter . In her eyes the manse people were quite fabulously rich , and no doubt those girls had slathers of shoes and stockings . Then Lida ran down to the Glen village and played for an hour with the boys before Mr. Flagg 's store , splashing about in a pool of slush with the maddest of them , until Mrs. Elliott came along and bade her begone home . `` I do n't think , Faith , that you should have done that , '' said Una , a little reproachfully , after Lida had gone . `` You 'll have to wear your good boots every day now and they 'll soon scuff out . '' `` I do n't care , '' cried Faith , still in the fine glow of having done a kindness to a fellow creature . `` It is n't fair that I should have two pairs of shoes and poor little Lida Marsh not have any . NOW we both have a pair . You know perfectly well , Una , that father said in his sermon last Sunday that there was no real happiness in getting or having -- only in giving . And it 's true . I feel FAR happier now than I ever did in my whole life before . Just think of Lida walking home this very minute with her poor little feet all nice and warm and comfy . '' `` You know you have n't another pair of black cashmere stockings , '' said Una . `` Your other pair were so full of holes that Aunt Martha said she could n't darn them any more and she cut the legs up for stove dusters . You 've nothing but those two pairs of striped stockings you hate so . '' All the glow and uplift went out of Faith . Her gladness collapsed like a pricked balloon . She sat for a few dismal minutes in silence , facing the consequences of her rash act .
`` Oh , XXXXX , I never thought of that , '' she said dolefully .
Flagg Martha Una begone day harbour minute minutes slathers slush