Kitty's Christmas tree : $b or, the net of the flatterer
| Language | en |
|---|---|
| First published | 2025-11-11 |
| Rights | Public domain in the USA. |
| Gutenberg ID | #77219 |
Description
"L'espionne" by Ernest Daudet is a novel written in the late 19th century. From the provided opening, it reads as a didactic domestic tale for young readers, centered on Kitty Tremain, a kind but pliable girl learning to resist flattery and stand by conscience under the watchful care of her widowed mother and a principled schoolmistress. The likely focus is character formation—firmness versus weakness—set against schoolroom pressures, social coaxing, and Christian duty. The opening of the novel follows Kitty’s recurring weakness for being “coaxed into anything,” shown first in school where Miss Oliver enforces honesty against cheating and rule-bending, and at home where Kitty’s mother warns that such pliancy ruined Kitty’s father. Kitty briefly reforms, then is artfully won back by the flattering Fanny Daskin and the bullying Lizzy Gates. Kitty plans a modest Christmas tree for her French-Canadian Sunday-school “infants,” but, made envious and misled by rumors of a hidden fortune, she lends her entire small budget to Fanny, who deceives her and keeps the money. Growing discontented and neglectful, Kitty even skips Sunday-school; that same day, her beloved pupil Julie dies, pricking Kitty’s conscience. She confesses everything to her mother, resolves to persevere with her class, and offers her own treasured French picture-books as gifts; soon after, an unexpected chest of suitable presents from a deceased relative arrives, enabling the simple Christmas plan to proceed. Throughout, the opening emphasizes the “net of the flatterer” and the hard lesson of saying no. (This is an automatically generated summary.)