Page:Zodiac stories by Blanche Mary Channing.pdf/42

Rh was seven. They had round, merry faces, with small, bright eyes, running up a little at the corners; and they had been taught always to smile, whatever happened.

The Japanese are a very polite people, and they think it is impolite not to smile; so if Cherry-Bloom's mother had to reprove her for being naughty, Cherry-Bloom smiled all the time; and when a bad little boy nearly drowned Plum-Blossom's white kitten, one day, she ran away to cry, and did not come back till a pitiful little smile struggled through her tears.

Cherry-Bloom wore a sort of wrapper called a "kimono," of pink and gray, with a pink "obi," or sash, round her waist; and Plum-Blossom wore a blue and white kimono, with a blue obi. These sashes were tied in a bow, like a very big butterfly, behind.

The two little girls had no chairs, but sat on their heels on the floor, and ate