Morton is employed in the mill of Ashton. He meets with an accident while working and becomes a cripple for life. Mrs. Morton appeals to Ashton to reimburse the family for the loss of the services of the husband and father; he gruffly tells her it was Morton's own fault. A lawyer takes the case and sues Ashton for damages; his influence wins him the cast. Little Stella Ashton meets Margaret Morton and the little girls become friends. Margaret tells Stella that her father was hurt in the mill of a rich man who will not pay. Stella secretly goes to the Mortons' and sees that they're destitute. She asks her father for "a big lot of money" and he puts her aside. Stella is obsessed with an idea to assist the Morton family. She goes out on the street and sees a beggar on the curb bearing a sign. She sees kind-hearted people drop coins in his battered hat and has an inspiration. She returns home to the nursery, procures a piece of cardboard and, with crayon, prepares a sign reading: "Please help the papa and mama of a poor little girl whose papa got hurt bad in the mill of a rich man who won't pay." She dons soiled clothing and goes out on the street and, seated on the curb, she lays her old hat beside her and holds up the placard. She attracts the attention of passersby who marvel at the strange tableau. Her father drives up to the spot in his machine and is trying to force a way through the crowd when he recognizes his child. He reads the strange placard and divines the meaning. Snatching up the child he places her in the machine where she tells him the whole story. He goes to Morton's home and gives him a check for more than the amount sued for, and the story closes in the Mortons' poor home with Stella's arms around the neck of Margaret, the daughter of the poor cripple.
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