It was a beautiful summer day and little Mary Jane wanted to go out to play. She was helping her mother do the work around the house. Her mother had promised Mary that when she had finished sweeping the floor she could go out.

Instead of sweeping the dirt out, Mary Jane swept it under the stove. When her mother learned what she had done, she planned to punish her. The punishment was to keep Mary Jane in for the rest of the afternoon.

Mary Jane decided she would make her mother sorry, so she went to the attic to hide. The hours passed very slowly and she grew restless. It began to get dark and Mary Jane became frightened. She heard the boards crack and imagined she heard mice. At last she gave up and went downstairs only to learn her cousins had been to see her and had gone.

Mary Jane realized that instead of her mother being sorry, she was sorry herself.