Beautiful Girlhood compiled by Debra Maffett

Mary was treated as a little girl in that she seldom was allowed out at night,
never "went with the boys," was kept regularly in school, and was referred
to as Mr. Wells' little daughter.
Bessie, on the other hand, dressed like a young woman, was often out to
parties and theaters, had a sweetheart, and passed among the older girls as
one of them.
In school Mary was ahead of Bessie, who was just ready to quit because she
was "tired of school" and had so little time for it.
"Papa," said Mary one day, "I am as old as Bessie Wilson, I am in a higher
class in school, and I am as tall as she is — yet I may never do the things she
does — but have to look and act like a child. When are you going to let me
grow up?"
"Mary, do you remember that lily which blossomed here in the window so
early this spring?"
"Yes — but it is dead now. It seemed to give its whole strength to make that
one blossom. It looked pretty then — but really those which blossomed at
the right time were prettier," said Mary.
"That is just what I wanted you to remember. That lily was pretty — but it
was forced along too fast, blossomed before its time, and died. That is the
way with many girls. They blossom before their time. I want my daughter to
come to her full, mature beauty."
"Do you mean that Bessie is blossoming too young?" asked Mary.
"When you come to the fullness of your youth, when you are like a rose in
full bloom — then poor Bessie will already be fading."
Mary said no more — but she watched, and her father's prophecy was true.
When Mary came to the full beauty of her young womanhood — Bessie was
already a disappointed young wife, with her health gone.
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