Surely, surely there must be some mistake?
She went to Miss Potts about it, looking worried. “Miss Potts,” she began, rather timidly, for the mistress was correcting papers and looked very busy, “Miss Potts, excuse my interrupting you, but can I ask you something?”
“What is it?” said Miss Potts, running her blue pencil across a line of writing.
“Well—it's about the form order,” said Darrell. “Am I really so low down as that?”
“Let me see—what were you? Quite a long way down,” said Miss Potts, pulling the list to her and looking at it. “Yes, that's right. I was surprised and disappointed, Darrell. You did so well in the first two weeks.”
“But Miss Potts,” said Darrell, and then stopped. She didn't know quite how to say what she wanted to say. She wanted to say that she had much better brains than at least half the form, so why was she so low? But somehow that sounded conceited.
However Miss Potts, who was very quick-minded, saw her difficulty. “You have come to ask me how it is you are nearer the bottom than the top when you could so easily be among the top ones?” she said. “Well, I'll tell you, Darrell. There are people like Alicia, who can play the fool in class and waste their time and everyone else's, and yet still come out well in their work. And there are people like you, who can also play the fool and waste their time—but unfortunately it affects their work and they slide down to the bottom. Do you understand?”
Darrell flushed very red and looked as if she could sink through the floor. She nodded.
“Yes, thank you,” she said in a small voice. She looked at Miss Potts out of her clear brown eyes. “I wouldn't have been so silly if I'd known it was going to affect my place in the form,” she said. “I—I just thought as I had good brains and a good memory I'd be all right, anyhow. Daddy and Mother will be disappointed.”
“They probably will,” said Miss Potts, taking up her pencil again. “I shouldn't copy Alicia and Betty too much if I were you, Darrell. You will be a finer character if you go along on your own, than if you copy other people. You see, what vow do, you do whole-heartedly—so if you play the fool, naturally other things will suffer. Alicia is able to do two or three things quite well at one and the same time. That certainly has its points—but the best people in this world are the whole-hearted ones, if they can only make for the right things.”
“I see,” said Darrell. “Like my father. He's whole-hearted. He's a surgeon and he just goes in for giving back people their health and happiness with all this heart—so he's marvellous.”
“Exactly,” said Miss Potts. “But if he split himself up, so to speak, and dabbled in half a dozen things, he would probably not be nearly such a remarkable surgeon. And when you choose something worthwhile like doctoring—or teaching— or writing or painting, it is best to be whole-hearted about it. It doesn't so much matter for a second rate or third-rate person. But if you happen to have the makings of a first-rate person and you mean to choose a first-rate job when you grow up, then you must learn to be whole-hearted when you are young.”
Darrell didn't like to ask Miss Potts if she thought she had the makings of a first-rate person in her, but she couldn't help hoping that she had. She went away rather subdued. What a pity she hadn't been whole-hearted over her work and got up to the top, instead of being whole-hearted over playing the fool with Alicia and Betty, and sliding down towards the bottom.
Gwendoline's mother and her old governess, Miss Winter, were coming on Saturday too. Gwendoline was very much looking forward to showing off in front of them. How small she would make Miss Winter feel, when she talked of her lessons and how wonderful she was at everything!
Mary-Lou's people were not coming and she was disappointed. Gwendoline spoke kindly to her. “Never mind, Mary-Lou. You
She went to Miss Potts about it, looking worried. “Miss Potts,” she began, rather timidly, for the mistress was correcting papers and looked very busy, “Miss Potts, excuse my interrupting you, but can I ask you something?”
“What is it?” said Miss Potts, running her blue pencil across a line of writing.
“Well—it's about the form order,” said Darrell. “Am I really so low down as that?”
“Let me see—what were you? Quite a long way down,” said Miss Potts, pulling the list to her and looking at it. “Yes, that's right. I was surprised and disappointed, Darrell. You did so well in the first two weeks.”
“But Miss Potts,” said Darrell, and then stopped. She didn't know quite how to say what she wanted to say. She wanted to say that she had much better brains than at least half the form, so why was she so low? But somehow that sounded conceited.
However Miss Potts, who was very quick-minded, saw her difficulty. “You have come to ask me how it is you are nearer the bottom than the top when you could so easily be among the top ones?” she said. “Well, I'll tell you, Darrell. There are people like Alicia, who can play the fool in class and waste their time and everyone else's, and yet still come out well in their work. And there are people like you, who can also play the fool and waste their time—but unfortunately it affects their work and they slide down to the bottom. Do you understand?”
Darrell flushed very red and looked as if she could sink through the floor. She nodded.
“Yes, thank you,” she said in a small voice. She looked at Miss Potts out of her clear brown eyes. “I wouldn't have been so silly if I'd known it was going to affect my place in the form,” she said. “I—I just thought as I had good brains and a good memory I'd be all right, anyhow. Daddy and Mother will be disappointed.”
“They probably will,” said Miss Potts, taking up her pencil again. “I shouldn't copy Alicia and Betty too much if I were you, Darrell. You will be a finer character if you go along on your own, than if you copy other people. You see, what vow do, you do whole-heartedly—so if you play the fool, naturally other things will suffer. Alicia is able to do two or three things quite well at one and the same time. That certainly has its points—but the best people in this world are the whole-hearted ones, if they can only make for the right things.”
“I see,” said Darrell. “Like my father. He's whole-hearted. He's a surgeon and he just goes in for giving back people their health and happiness with all this heart—so he's marvellous.”
“Exactly,” said Miss Potts. “But if he split himself up, so to speak, and dabbled in half a dozen things, he would probably not be nearly such a remarkable surgeon. And when you choose something worthwhile like doctoring—or teaching— or writing or painting, it is best to be whole-hearted about it. It doesn't so much matter for a second rate or third-rate person. But if you happen to have the makings of a first-rate person and you mean to choose a first-rate job when you grow up, then you must learn to be whole-hearted when you are young.”
Darrell didn't like to ask Miss Potts if she thought she had the makings of a first-rate person in her, but she couldn't help hoping that she had. She went away rather subdued. What a pity she hadn't been whole-hearted over her work and got up to the top, instead of being whole-hearted over playing the fool with Alicia and Betty, and sliding down towards the bottom.
Gwendoline's mother and her old governess, Miss Winter, were coming on Saturday too. Gwendoline was very much looking forward to showing off in front of them. How small she would make Miss Winter feel, when she talked of her lessons and how wonderful she was at everything!
Mary-Lou's people were not coming and she was disappointed. Gwendoline spoke kindly to her. “Never mind, Mary-Lou. You
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