Page Thirty-Seven

How the Peacock Came to Be
About fo Be By Betty de Pencier

A! the Art School, once upon a time, O my dear friends, there was a
student and she tried to work. She drew, and she painted, and she
designed, and she modelled. And she was very ambitious.

One day, O my dear friends, she was told to make a design; she was
told to make a spot design; and she thought, and she thought, and she
thought, until she could think no more. When all of a sudden, O my dear
friends, she thought of a peacock. She was very ambitious (you must
not forget), and she started to draw. She drew, and she drew, and she
drew, and she concocted a little design. This, O my dear friends, was in
October.

She drew, and she painted, her little design, and then one day came
the master. He looked, and he blinked, and he spoke; and he told the
student it was all wrong, O my dear friends. He started to show her how
to draw it right, and she watched, and she learned, and he drew.

When it was all drawn, O my dear friends, she painted, and she
painted, and she painted! Then Christmas came, and the exams. and
such, and for a long time she did no more.

One day in February, O my dear friends, she took it out, and
decided to finish it. She worked; and she worked, and she worked, and
when it was nearly finished, along came the master again. He looked,
and he blinked, and he spoke. He said, “It is quite good, but too small,
do it again, three times as big!” She looked and she sighed, but she
started. She was ambitious (you must not forget), O my dear friends.

So she started again;—when it was drawn again, after weeks of
work, she was going to commence to paint it, when along came the master
again, O my dear friends, and he looked, and he blinked, and he spoke ;—
he said, “Change your color scheme.” He started to paint,—she did not
like the color, but he painted, and he painted, and he painted, and then
he told her what to do next.

She painted, then she waited, and she wasted so much time waiting,
O my dear friends, it is April now and still the peacock is about to be.