The Bad Seed

by William March

She was like a charming little animal that can never be trained to fit into the conventional patterns of existence.…

unwillingness to accept Rhoda for the coming term; she spoke of the death of the old lady in Baltimore.

thinking about how you hit that little boy with a stick.

In the first place, good people are rarely suspicious. They cannot imagine others doing the things they themselves are incapable of doing; usually they accept the undramatic solution as the correct one, and let matters rest there.

“I’m the guilty one,” she said again to herself. “I was the carrier of the bad seed.” Mrs.

Rhoda giggled, nodded her head, and said in a matter-of-fact voice, “I know what you mean. But I won’t do anything to her.” And then, pressing her hands together, rolling her eyes roguishly, she added, “Aunt Jessie hasn’t got anything I want.”