{"product_id":"2940148791133","title":"Little Bessie the Careless Girl","description":"Excerpt:\u003cbr\u003eThe two girls now set about searching for a hickory nut-tree, quite encouraged in the thought that their walk was to be rewarded at last. Nelly was right in her conjecture. It was not long before they recognized the well-known leaf of the species of tree of which they were in quest. A small group of them stood together, not far distant, and great was the delight of the children to find the ground beneath well strewed with nuts, some of them lying quite free from their rough outer shells, others only partially opened, while many of them were still in the exact state in which they hung upon the tree. Of course the former were preferred by the little nut gatherers, but it was found that as these did not fill the bag and baskets, it was necessary to shell some of the remainder. Accordingly, Bessie selected a large flat stone, as the scene of operation, and providing herself with another small one, as a hammer, she began pounding the unshelled nuts, and by these means accumulated a second store; Nelly gathering them, and making a pile beside her, ready to be denuded of their hard green coverings.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"There,\" triumphantly said Nelly, after a little while; \"that dear little squirrel told the truth. Here is quite a pile of shells showing the mark of his teeth. See, Bessie, he has nibbled away the sides of all these, and eaten the meat. How neatly it is done, and what sharp little fangs he must have!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe bag and baskets were soon filled, and the two children turned homeward. The day was a warm one for that season of the year, and their burdens were very hard to carry on that account. Many a time they paused on the path to put down the baskets and rest.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I hope,\" said Nelly, \"that when we get out to the open road, some wagon will come along that will give us a lift. Who would have thought that nuts could be so heavy? I am so warm and so thirsty, I do not know how to get along, and there isn't a single brook about here that we can drink out of.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I'll tell you how we will fix it,\" said Bessie. \"I remember, last year, when I came nutting, I saw a little house, a poor little concern,—not half as nice as ours, and dear knows that is poor enough,—standing in the edge of the wood, about half a mile below where we are now. We can stop when we get there, and I will go in and borrow a tin cup to drink out of the well.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A half mile!\" echoed Nelly, in a tone of weariness; \"I don't believe we shall get there in an hour, I am so very, very tired.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThey walked on slowly, the peculiar heaviness of the warm October day making each of them feel that to go nutting in such weather was very hard work. At last the little house presented itself. It was a poor place indeed. It was built of rough pine boards that had never been painted. A dog lay sleeping before the door, the upper half of which was open, and through which the sunshine poured into the room. The house stood, as Bessie had said, on the edge of the wood, large, fertile fields extending in the distance, on the opposite side from that by which the children had approached it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"You knock,\" said Bessie, getting struck with a fit of shyness, as the two walked up the path to the door.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"No, you,\" said Nelly, \"I don't know what to say.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe dog got up, stretched himself, and gave vent to a low growl, as he surveyed the new comers.","brand":"Unforgotten Classics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47079610122480,"sku":"2940148791133","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940148791133_p0.jpg?v=1763708374","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940148791133","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}