This is one of Fitzgerald’s more recognizable stories. The story centers on Bernice, who is an awkward girl visiting her cousin’s family for part of the summer. Bernice’s cousin is a snobby girl who pretends to befriend Bernice in order to teach her about how to act in modern society, but then tricks Bernice into “bobbing” her hair – an act that meets much criticism from the boys who were once so captivated with her. As bobbed hair was a mark of a flapper, this story appeared in Flappers and Philosophers, and was inspired by a series of letters Fitzgerald had sent to his younger sister wherein he instructed her on how to be attractive to boys.
