"Yes, I guess you're right, it'll have to go. Would you please do it Alicia? I don't think that I could bear to cut it off.”

All right, but what are we going to tell Mr. Emanon?"

"We'll have to tell him the truth, of course, it wasn't anyone's fault, not even Chrissy's."

So I took Chrissy by the hand and led her up to her bedroom. Seating her away from the mirror, I got out my scissors. She started to cry as soon as I came near her.

“No . . . NO . . . NO . . . Don't cut off my hair, I don't want to be bald. NNNOOOO! Please, please!

"Chrissy, we have to darling, so that good new hair can grow in for you. Besides short hair is in the style. Here, look!”

I showed her a current copy of Hair-Do that had been laying on my dresser. Carefully avoiding all of the longer styles, I showed her the short- est ones and told her how lovely they would look.

"Why do you have such long hair then if you like these so much?"

I was stumped. What can you say to the honesty of a child's question? The only thing was to lie gracefully.

"Oh, I was sort of planning on having my hair cut real short soon, too!"

"Do it now Do it now, or you can't cut mine."

...

What could I do? How can you tell a child what it all means, the months that I waited and watched and almost tugged on my long soft hair so that it would rest where it did on my shoulders. But right at that moment I knew that the fate of my hair was sealed too.

“Julia... Julia, will you please come here a minute."

"Yes, Alicia," she said entering the room.

"I just had a talk with Chrissy about getting her hair cut, and, and, well, she, she won't do it, unless I get mine styled short too," I stammered

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