for a moment she stood staring up in Aunt Abigail's face, and yet not
seeing her at all, because she was thinking so hard. She was thinking!
"Why! There were real people living when the Declaration of Independence
was signed--real people, not just history people--old women teaching
little girls how to do things--right in this very room, on this very
floor--and the Declaration of Independence just signed!"

To tell the honest truth, although she had passed a very good
examination in the little book on American history they had studied in
school, Elizabeth Ann had never to that moment had any notion that there
ever had been really and truly any Declaration of Independence at all.
It had been like the ounce, living exclusively inside her schoolbooks
for little girls to be examined about. And now here Aunt Abigail,
talking about a butter-pat, had brought it to life!

Of course all this only lasted a moment, because it was such a new idea!
She soon lost track of what she was thinking of; she rubbed her eyes as
though she were coming out of a dream, she thought, confusedly: "What
did butter have to do with the Declaration of Independence? Nothing, of
course! It couldn't!" and the whole impression seemed to pass out of her
mind. But it was an impression which was to come again and again during
the next few months.





CHAPTER IV

BETSY GOES TO SCHOOL