Categories
- Antiques & Collectibles 13
- Architecture 36
- Art 47
- Bibles 22
- Biography & Autobiography 813
- Body, Mind & Spirit 137
- Business & Economics 27
- Computers 4
- Cooking 94
- Crafts & Hobbies 3
- Drama 346
- Education 45
- Family & Relationships 57
- Fiction 11812
- Games 19
- Gardening 17
- Health & Fitness 34
- History 1377
- House & Home 1
- Humor 147
- Juvenile Fiction 1873
- Juvenile Nonfiction 202
- Language Arts & Disciplines 88
- Law 16
- Literary Collections 686
- Literary Criticism 179
- Mathematics 13
- Medical 41
- Music 39
- Nature 179
- Non-Classifiable 1768
- Performing Arts 7
- Periodicals 1453
- Philosophy 63
- Photography 2
- Poetry 896
- Political Science 203
- Psychology 42
- Reference 154
- Religion 498
- Science 126
- Self-Help 79
- Social Science 80
- Sports & Recreation 34
- Study Aids 3
- Technology & Engineering 59
- Transportation 23
- Travel 463
- True Crime 29
Polly of the Hospital Staff
by: Emma C. Dowd
Categories:
Description:
Excerpt
Chapter I
The Cherry-Pudding Story
The June breeze hurried up from the harbor to the big house on the hill, and fluttered playfully past the window vines into the children's convalescent ward. It was a common saying at the hospital that the tidal breeze always reached the children's ward first. Sometimes the little people were waiting for it, ready with their welcome; but to-day there were none to laugh a greeting. The room was very quiet. The occupants of the little white cots had slept unusually long, and the few that had awakened from their afternoon naps were still too drowsy to be astir. Besides, Polly was not there, and the ward was never the same without Polly.
As the young nurse in charge passed noiselessly between the rows of beds, a small hand pulled at her apron.
"Ain't it 'most time for Polly to come?"
"Yes, I think she will be back pretty soon now." Miss Lucy smiled down into the wistful little face.
"I want Polly to tell me a story," Elsie went on, with a bit of a whine: "my hip aches so bad."
"Does it feel worse to-day?" asked the nurse sympathetically.
"No; I guess not," answered the little girl, glad of a listener. "It aches all the time, 'cept when I'm asleep or Polly's tellin' stories."
"I know," and Miss Lucy's face grew grave. "We shall miss Polly."
"When's she goin' home?" The blue eyes went suddenly anxious.
"Oh, not until next week!" was the cheerful response. "There'll be time for plenty of stories before then."
"A-h-h!" wailed little French Aimee, from the opposite cot. "Pollee go?"
"Why, yes," smiled Miss Lucy, with a quick turn. "Polly is almost well, and well little girls don't stay at the hospital, you know. Pretty soon you will go home, too."
The nurse passed on, but Aimee's face remained clouded. Next week—no Pollee!
Other ears besides Aimee's had overheard the news about Polly. Maggie O'Donnell and Otto Kriloff stared at each other in dismay. Why, Polly had been there long before they came! It had never occurred to them that Polly could leave.
When Miss Lucy reached Maggie's bed, the little girl was softly crying.
"I—don't—want—Polly to go!" she sobbed.
"Dear me! Dear me!" exclaimed the nurse, "this will never do!" Then, listening, she whispered, "Hark! Who is that skipping along the hall?"
At the instant, the door opened, and a little girl, her brown eyes shining with pleasure, her cheeks pink as the poppies on the front lawn, and her yellow curls all tossed and tumbled by the wind, whirled into the ward.
"Oh, Polly!" passed, a breath of joy, from lip to lip.
"I've had a lovelicious time!" she began.
"We went 'way down to Rockmoor!—Did you ever ride in an auto, Miss Lucy?"
The nurse nodded happily. It was good to have Polly back.
"Seems's if you'd never come!" broke out Elsie Meyer. "I've been waitin' an' waitin' for a story."
"I'll have my things off in a minute," responded Polly, "and you'll say my story is worth waiting for."
"A new one?"
"Brand-new!"
"Where'd you get it?"
"A lady told me—a lady Dr. Dudley took me to see. It's a 'Cherry-Pudding Story.'—Oh, you just wait till I put my coat and hat away, and change my dress!" Polly danced off, the young nurse following with a soft sigh....