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Stratton-Porter, Gene, 1863-1924

"A Daughter of the Land"


Polly thought they were together because they liked to be; doing
the farm work because it suited them better; while she had known
from babyhood that for some reason her mother did not care for her
as she did for Adam. She thought at first that it was because
Adam was a boy. Later, when she noticed her mother watching her
every time she started to speak, and interrupting with the never-
failing caution: "Now be careful! THINK before you speak! Are
you SURE?" she wondered why this should happen to her always, to
Adam never. She asked Adam about it, but Adam did not know. It
never occurred to Polly to ask her mother, while Kate was so
uneasy it never occurred to her that the child would notice or
what she would think. The first time Polly deviated slightly from
the truth, she and Kate had a very terrible time. Kate felt fully
justified; the child astonished and abused.
Polly arrived at the solution of her problem slowly. As she grew
older, she saw that her mother, who always was charitable to
everyone else, was repelled by her grandmother, while she loved
Aunt Ollie.


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