This has been one of my favourite books since my mum gave it to me when I was a little girl. It belonged to her, and probably was passed along by someone even older—it is over a hundred years old! The edition I have is a battered hardcover with a torn binding and a big chunk of pages falling out, but I pick it up every few years and revisit it. It reads like historical fiction, though I believe it was contemporary when it was published. A little girl who was orphaned grows up with her fussy aunties in the big city, but when one of the aunties falls ill, she is shuffled off to live with some other relations in the country. On the Putney farm (and even on the journey there), she must exercise a dormant common sense and practicality, despite her abject terror. Her fussy aunties had never asked or expected her to do anything for herself, but despite that, she ends up finding an inner strength and independence that sees her through some adventures that may seem trivial, but represent tremendous leaps for a girl who had never had to use such traits. It is a charming story with a straightforward narrative voice that flows smoothly and simply. Although it was written in and for a very different time, the story and the lesson hold up very well.