she 's in Athens , and does n't hear a word . She ought to leave off , though , and go out . My darling , put the baby to sleep , and go for a run . Aunt Meg is in the parlour ; go and show her the new pictures till we come , ' added Laurie , looking at his tall girl as Pygmalion might have looked at Galatea ; for he considered her the finest statue in the house . ` Yes , papa ; but please tell me if it is good ' ; and Bess obediently put down her tools , with a lingering glance at the bust . ` My cherished daughter , truth compels me to confess that one cheek is plumper than the other ; and the curls upon its infant brow are rather too much like horns for perfect grace ; otherwise it rivals Raphael 's Chanting Cherubs , and I 'm proud of it . ' Laurie was laughing as he spoke ; for these first attempts were so like Amy 's early ones , it was impossible to regard them as soberly as the enthusiastic mamma did . ` You ca n't see beauty in anything but music , ' answered Bess , shaking the golden head that made the one bright spot in the cool north lights of the great studio . ` Well , I see beauty in you , dear . And if you are not art , what is ? I wish to put a little more nature into you , and get you away from this cold clay and marble into the sunshine , to dance and laugh as the others do . I want a flesh-and-blood girl , not a sweet statue in a grey pinafore , who forgets everything but her work . ' As he spoke , two dusty hands came round his neck , and Bess said earnestly , punctuating her words with soft touches of her lips : ' I never forget you , papa ; but I do want to do something beautiful that you may be proud of me by and by . Mamma often tells me to stop ; but when we get in here we forget there is any world outside , we are so busy and so happy . Now I 'll go and run and sing , and be a girl to please you . ' And throwing away the apron , Bess vanished from the room , seeming to take all the light with her . ` I 'm glad you said that . The dear child is too much absorbed in her artistic dreams for one so young . It is my fault ; but I sympathize so deeply in it all , I forget to be wise , ' sighed Amy , carefully covering the baby with a wet towel . ' I think this power of living in our children is one of the sweetest things in the world ; but I try to remember what Marmee once said to Meg -- that fathers should have their share in the education of both girls and boys ; so I leave Ted to his father all I can , and Fritz lends me Rob , whose quiet ways are as restful and good for me as Ted 's tempests are for his father .
Now I advise you , Amy , to let XXXXX drop the mud-pies for a time , and take up music with Laurie ; then she wo n't be one-sided , and he wo n't be jealous . '
Amy Bess Cherubs Fritz Laurie Marmee Raphael Rob first tempests