The Purple Jar

by Maria Edgeworth
Rosamond, a little girl of about seven years old, was walking with her mother in the
streets of London. As she passed along, she looked in at the windows of several shops,
and she saw a great variety of diferent sorts of things, of which she did not know the
use, or even the names. She wished to stop to look at them; but there was a great
number of people in the streets, and a great many carts and carriages and
wheelbarrows, and she was afraid to let go her mothers hand.
!"h# mother, how happy $ should be,% said she, as she passed a toy&shop, !if $ had all
these pretty things#%
!'hat, all# (o you wish for them all, Rosamond)%
!*es, mamma, all.%
As she spoke, they came to a milliners shop; the windows were hung with ribbons, and
lace, and festoons of arti+cial ,owers.
!"h# mamma, what beautiful roses# 'ont you buy some of them)%
!-o, my dear.%
!'hy)%
!.ecause $ dont want them, my dear.%
/hey went a little farther, and they came to another shop, which caught Rosamonds
eye. $t was a 0ewelers shop; and there were a great many pretty baubles, ranged in
drawers behind glass.
!1amma, youll buy some of these)%
!'hich of them, Rosamond)%
!'hich) $ dont know which; but any of them, for they are all pretty.%
!*es, they are all pretty; but of what use would they be to me)%
!2se# "h, $m sure you could +nd some use or other, if you would only buy them +rst.%
!.ut $ would rather +nd out the use +rst.%
Rosamond was very sorry that her mother wanted nothing. 3resently, however, they
came to a shop, which appeared to her far more beautiful than the rest. $t was a
chemists shop; but she did not know that.
!"h, mother# oh#% cried she, pulling her mothers hand. !Look# Look# .lue, green, red,
yellow, and purple# "h, mamma, what beautiful things# 'ont you buy some of these)%
Still her mother answered as before, !'hat use would they be to me, Rosamond)%
!*ou might put ,owers in them, mamma, and they would look so pretty on the chimney&
piece. $ wish $ had one of them.%
!*ou have a ,ower&vase,% said her mother; !and that is not for ,owers.%
!.ut $ could use it for a ,ower&vase, mamma, you know.%
!3erhaps if you were to see it nearer, if you were to e4amine it, you might be
disappointed.%
!-o, indeed; $m sure $ should not. $ should like it e4ceedingly.%
Rosamond kept her head turned to look at the purple vase till she could see it no longer.
!/hen, mother,% said she, after a pause, !perhaps you have no money.%
!*es, $ have.%
!(ear me# if $ had money, $ would buy roses, and bo4es, and purple ,ower&pots, and
everything.% Rosamond was obliged to pause in the midst of her speech.
!"h, mamma, would you stop a minute for me) $ have got a stone in my shoe; it hurts
me very much.%
!5ow comes there to be a stone in your shoe)%
!.ecause of this great hole, mamma6it comes in there7 my shoes are 8uite worn out; $
wish youd be so very good as to give me another pair.%
!-ay, Rosamond, but $ have not money enough to buy shoes, and ,ower&pots, and
bo4es, and everything.%
Rosamond thought that was a great pity. .ut now her foot, which had been hurt by the
stone, began to give her so much pain that she was obliged to hop every other step, and
she could think of nothing else. /hey came to a shoemakers shop soon afterwards.
!/here# there# mamma, there are shoes6there are little shoes that would 0ust +t me;
and you know shoes would be really of use to me.%
!*es, so they would, Rosamond. 9ome in.%
She followed her mother into the shop.
1r. Sole, the shoemaker, had a great many customers, and his shop was full, so they
were obliged to wait.
!'ell, Rosamond,% said her mother, !you dont think this shop so pretty as the rest)%
!-o, not nearly; its black and dark, and there are nothing but shoes all round; and
besides, theres a very disagreeable smell.%
!/hat smell is the smell of new leather.%
!$s it) "h#% said Rosamond, looking round, !there is a pair of little shoes; theyll 0ust +t
me, $m sure.%
!3erhaps they might, but you cannot be sure till you have tried them on, any more than
you can be 8uite sure that you should like the purple vase e4ceedingly , till you have
e4amined it more attentively.%
!'hy, $ dont know about the shoes, certainly, till $ve tried; but, mamma, $m 8uite sure
$ should like the ,ower&pot.%
!'ell, which would you rather have, that 0ar, or a pair of shoes) $ will buy either for
you.%
!(ear mamma, thank you6but if you could buy both)%
!-o, not both.%
!/hen the 0ar, if you please.%
!.ut $ should tell you that $ shall not give you another pair of shoes this month.%
!/his month# /hats a very long time indeed. *ou cant think how these hurt me. $
believe $d better have the new shoes6but yet, that purple ,ower&pot6"h, indeed,
mamma, these shoes are not so very, very bad; $ think $ might wear them a little longer;
and the month will soon be over7 $ can make them last to the end of the month, cant $)
(ont you think so, mamma)%
!-ay, my dear, $ want you to think for yourself7 you will have time enough to consider
about it whilst $ speak to 1r. Sole about my boots.%
1r. Sole was by this time at leisure; and whilst her mother was speaking to him,
Rosamond stood in profound meditation, with one shoe on, and the other in her hand.
!'ell, my dear, have you decided)%
!1amma#6*es6$ believe. $f you please6$ should like the ,ower&pot; that is, if you
wont think me very silly, mamma.%
!'hy, as to that, $ cant promise you, Rosamond; but when you are to 0udge for yourself,
you should choose what will make you the happiest; and then it would not signify who
thought you silly.%
!/hen, mamma, if thats all, $m sure the ,ower&pot would make me the happiest,% said
she, putting on her old shoe again; !so $ choose the ,ower&pot.%
!:ery well, you shall have it7 clasp your shoe and come home.%
Rosamond clasped her shoe, and ran after her mother7 it was not long before the shoe
came down at the heel, and many times was she obliged to stop, to take the stones out
of her shoe, and often was she obliged to hop with pain; but still the thoughts of the
purple ,ower&pot prevailed, and she persisted in her choice.
'hen they came to the shop with the large window, Rosamond felt her 0oy redouble,
upon hearing her mother desire the servant, who was with them, to buy the purple 0ar,
and bring it home. 5e had other commissions, so he did not return with them.
Rosamond, as soon as she got in, ran to gather all her own ,owers, which she had in a
corner of her mothers garden.
!$m afraid theyll be dead before the ,ower&pot comes, Rosamond,% said her mother to
her, when she was coming in with the ,owers in her lap.
!-o, indeed, mamma, it will come home very soon, $ dare say; and shant $ be very
happy putting them into the purple ,ower&pot)%
!$ hope so, my dear.%
/he servant was much longer returning home than Rosamond had e4pected; but at
length he came, and brought with him the long&wished&for 0ar. /he moment it was set
down upon the table, Rosamond ran up with an e4clamation of 0oy.
!$ may have it now, mamma)%
!*es, my dear, it is yours.%
Rosamond poured the ,owers from her lap upon the carpet, and sei;ed the purple
,ower&pot. !"h, dear mother#% cried she, as soon as she had taken of the top, !but
theres something dark in it 6it smells very disagreeable7 what is in it) $ didnt want
this black stuf.%
!-or $ neither, my dear.%
!.ut what shall $ do with it, mamma)%
!/hat $ cannot tell.%
!.ut it will be of no use to me, mamma.%
!/hat $ cant help.%
!.ut $ must pour it out, and +ll the ,ower&pot with water.%
!/hats as you please, my dear.%
!'ill you lend me a bowl to pour it into, mamma)%
!/hat was more than $ promised you, my dear; but $ will lend you a bowl.%
/he bowl was produced, and Rosamond proceeded to empty the purple vase. .ut what
was her surprise and disappointment, when it was entirely empty, to +nd that it was no
longer a purple vase# $t was a plain white glass 0ar, which had appeared to have that
beautiful color merely from the li8uor with which it had been +lled.
Little Rosamond burst into tears.
!'hy should you cry, my dear)% said her mother; !it will be of as much use to you now
as ever for a ,ower&vase.%
!.ut it wont look so pretty on the chimney&piece. $ am sure, if $ had known that it was
not really purple, $ should not have wished to have it so much.%
!.ut didnt $ tell you that you had not e4amined it, and that perhaps you would be
disappointed)%
!And so $ am disappointed indeed. $ wish $ had believed you beforehand. -ow $ had
much rather have the shoes, for $ shall not be able to walk all this month7 even walking
home that little way hurt me e4ceedingly. 1amma, $ll give you the ,ower&pot back
again, and that purple stuf and all, if youll only give me the shoes.%
!-o, Rosamond, you must abide by your own choice; and now the best thing you can
possibly do is to bear your disappointment with good&humor.%
!$ will bear it as well as $ can,% said Rosamond, wiping her eyes, and she began slowly
and sorrowfully to +ll the vase with ,owers.
.ut Rosamonds disappointment did not end here7 many were the dificulties and
distresses into which her imprudent choice brought her before the end of the month.
<very day her shoes grew worse and worse, till at last she could neither run, dance,
0ump, nor walk in them. 'henever Rosamond was called to see anything, she was
pulling up her shoes at the heels, and was sure to be too late. 'henever her mother
was going out to walk, she could not take Rosamond with her, for Rosamond had no
soles to her shoes; and at length, on the very last day of the month, it happened that her
father proposed to take her and her brother to a glass&house which she had long wished
to see. She was very happy; but, when she was 8uite ready, had her hat and gloves on,
and was making haste downstairs to her brother and father, who were waiting at the
hall door for her, the shoe dropped of; she put it on again in a great hurry; but, as she
was going across the hall, her father turned round.
!'hy are you walking slipshod) no one must walk slipshod with me. 'hy, Rosamond,%
said he, looking at her shoes with disgust, !$ thought that you were always neat. =o, $
cannot take you with me.%
Rosamond colored and retired. !"h, mamma,% said she, as she took of her hat, !how $
wish that $ had chosen the shoes# they would have been of so much more use to me
than that 0ar7 however, $ am sure6no, not 8uite sure6but $ hope $ shall be wiser
another time.%