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' So nice ! " she whispered when the dolls were laid beside her. — Frontispiece. 
 
THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 
 
 BY 
 
 LOUISA M. ALCOTT 
 
 AUTHOR OF " LITTLE WOMEN," " LITTLE MEN 
 "PANSIES AND WATER-LILIES," ETC. 
 
 JIlustratEtJ 
 
 BOSTON 
 LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, 
 
 By Louisa M. Alcott, 
 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at V/ashington. 
 
 Copyright, 1882, 
 Br Louisa M. Alcott. 
 
 Copyright, 1901, 1902, 
 By John S. P. Alcott. 
 
 ^rtntera 
 8. J. Pabkhill & Co., Boston, U. S. A. 
 
THE DOLLS' JOURNEY FROM 
 MINNESOTA TO MAINE 
 
 Mk. Plum lived in St. Paul, Minnesota, U. S. A. 
 There were six little Plums, all girls, varying in 
 ages from fourteen to seven, and named Kate, 
 Lucy, Susy, Lizzie, Marjory, and Maggie. There 
 was no mamma, but Mrs. Gibbs, the housekeeper, 
 was a kind old soul, and papa did everything he 
 could to make the small daughters good and 
 happy. 
 
 One stormy Saturday afternoon the children 
 were all together in the school-room, and papa 
 busy at his desk in the library, with the door 
 open because he hked to hear the pleasant voices 
 and catch glimpses of the droll plays that went 
 on there. 
 
 Kate lay on the sofa reading " The Daisy 
 Chain " for the fourth time. Susy, Lucy, and 
 Lizzie were having a select tea party in their own 
 recess, the entrance to which was barricaded with 
 chairs to keep out the " babies," as they called 
 1 
 
THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 
 
 the little ones, who were much offended at being 
 excluded and sat up ia the cushioned window- 
 seat pensively watching the rain. 
 
 " If it had only waited till to-morrow we should 
 have had time for our journey ; now we can't go 
 till next Saturday. Flora is so disappointed she 
 would cry if I had not taught her to behave," 
 said Maggie with a sigh, as she surveyed the doll 
 on her knee in its new summer suit. 
 
 " So is Dora. Just see how sweet she looks 
 with her hat and cape on and her travelling-bag 
 all ready. Could n't we play travel in the house ? 
 It is such a pity to wait when the children are in 
 such a hurry to go," answered Marjory, settling 
 the tiny bag that held Dora's night-cap and gown 
 as well as the morsels of cake that were to serve 
 for her lunch. 
 
 " No," said Maggie decidedly, " we can't do it, 
 because there is no room for carriages, and boats, 
 and railroads, and hotels, and accidents. It is a 
 long journey from Minnesota to Maine, and we 
 could n't get it all into one room I 'm sure." 
 
 "I don't think papa would mind our coming 
 into the library, if we did n't ring the car bells 
 very loud or scream much when the accidents 
 happen," said Marjory, who hated to give up the 
 plan they had been cherishing all the week. 
 
THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 
 
 " What is it, little ones ? Come and tell me 
 what is the matter," called Mr. Plum, hearing his 
 name and the magic word " railroad," for he was 
 the president of one and had his hands full just 
 then. 
 
 Down jumped the little girls and ran to perch 
 on either arm of his chair, pouring out their small 
 tribulations as freely as if he had been the most 
 sympathizing of mothers. 
 
 "We planned to take a long, long journey 
 roimd the garden with our dolls to-day, and play 
 go to Maine and see Aunt Maria. You know she 
 asked us, and we looked out the way on the map 
 and got all ready, and now it rains and we are 
 dreadfully disappointed," said Maggie, while Mar- 
 jory sighed as she looked at the red D. worked on 
 the inch square travelling-bag. 
 
 " As you can't go, why not send the dolls to 
 make aunty a visit, and she will send them back 
 when they get homesick," proposed Mr. Plum, 
 smiling, as if a sudden idea had popped into his 
 head. 
 
 " Eeally ? " cried Maggie. 
 
 " How could we ? " asked Marjory. 
 
 "They could go and come by mail, and tell 
 you all about their adventures when they got 
 back," said papa. 
 
THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 
 
 Both children were speechless for a moment, 
 then as the full splendor of this proposition 
 dawned upon them they clapped their hands, 
 crying eagerly : 
 
 " We will ! we will ! Let 's do it at once." 
 
 " What ? where ? who ? " asked Susy, Lucy, and 
 Lizzie, forgetting their tea party to run and see 
 what was going on. 
 
 They were told; and in their turn exclaimed so 
 loudly that Kate came to join in the fun. 
 
 After a great deal of talking and laughing, the 
 dolls were prepared for the long journey. They 
 were common wooden-headed dollies, a hand long, 
 with stuffed bodies and stout legs ornamented 
 with very small feet in red and blue boots. Dora 
 was a blonde and Flora a brunette, otherwise they 
 were just alike and nearly new. Usually when 
 people go travelling they put on their hats and 
 cloaks, but these pilgrims, by papa's advice, left 
 all encumbrances behind them, for they were to 
 travel in a peculiar way, and blue gingham dresses 
 were chosen for the expedition. 
 
 " It is possible that they may never come back. 
 Accidents will happen, you know. Are you pre- 
 pared for that ? " asked Mr. Plum, pausing with 
 the brown paper spread out before him. 
 
 " I am," answered Maggie firmly, as she laid 
 
THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 
 
 Flora on the table, her black eyes staring as if 
 rather alarmed at this sudden start. 
 
 Marjory hesitated a moment, clasping Dora to 
 her bosom with a face full of maternal anxiety. 
 But Susy, Lucy and Lizzie cried : " Let her go, do 
 let her go, and if she is lost papa will give you a 
 new doll." 
 
 " Good-by, my darling dear. Have a splendid 
 time, and be sure you come back to me," whis- 
 pered Marjory, with a tender farewell kiss as she 
 gave up her child. 
 
 All stood watching silently while papa tied the 
 dolls back to back with the ribbon Kate pulled 
 from her neck, then folded them carefully in 
 strong brown paper, leaving their heads out that 
 they might see the world as they went along. 
 Being carefully fastened up with several turns of 
 cord, Mr. Plum directed the precious parcel to 
 " Miss Maria Plum, Portland, Maine. With care." 
 Then it was weighed, stamped, and pronounced 
 ready for the post. 
 
 " I shall write and tell aunty they are coming, 
 because she will want to be prepared for such dis- 
 tinguished visitors," said papa, taking up his pen 
 with a glance at the six excited little faces round 
 him. 
 
 Silence reigned while the letter was written, 
 
6 THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 
 
 and as he sealed it up, Mr. Plum said solemnly, 
 with his hand on the parcel : 
 
 " For the last time, shall they go ? " 
 
 " Yes ! " answered the Spartan mothers with 
 one voice, while the other sisters danced round 
 them, and Kate patted the curly heads approv- 
 ingly. 
 
 " Going, going, gone ! " answered papa as he 
 whisked on his coat and hat, and slammed the 
 door behind him. 
 
 The children clustered at the window to see 
 him set out on this momentous errand, and he 
 often looked back waving his umbrella at them, 
 till he vanished round the corner, with a re-assur- 
 ing pat on the pocket out of which dear Do and 
 Flo popped their heads for a last look at their 
 sweet home. 
 
 " Now, let us take out poor old Lucinda and 
 Eose Augusta to play with. I know their feel- 
 ings were hurt at our leaving them for the new 
 dolls," said Maggie, rummaging in the baby-house, 
 whither Marjory soon followed her to reinstate 
 the old darlings in the place of the departed new 
 ones. 
 
 " Safely off, " reported Mr. Plum, when he came 
 in to tea, " and we may expect to hear from them 
 in a week or two. Parcels go more slowly than 
 
THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 
 
 letters, and this is aunty's busy season, so wait 
 patiently and see what will happen." 
 
 " We will," said the little girls ; and they did, 
 but week after week went by and nothing was 
 heard of the wanderers. 
 
 We, however, can follow them and learn much 
 that their anxious mothers never knew. 
 
 As soon as Flora and Dora recovered from the 
 bewilderment occasioned by the confusion of the 
 post ofi&ce, they found themselves in one of the 
 many leathern mail bags rumbling Eastward. As 
 it was perfectly dark they could not see their 
 companions, so listened to the whispering and 
 rustling that went on about them. The news- 
 papers all talked politics, and some of them used 
 such bad language that the dolls would have 
 covered their ears, if their hands had not been 
 tied down. The letters were better behaved and 
 more interesting, for they told one another the 
 news they carried, because nothing is private in 
 America, and even gummed envelopes cannot 
 keep gossip from leaking out. 
 
 "It is very interesting, but I should enjoy it 
 more if I was not grinding my nose against the 
 rough side of this leather bag," whispered Dora, 
 who lay undermost just then. 
 
 " So should I, if a heavy book was not pinching 
 
8 THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 
 
 my toes. I 've tried to kick it away, but it won't 
 stir, and keeps droning on about reports and 
 tariffs and such dull things," answered Flora, with 
 a groan. 
 
 " Do you like travelling ? " asked Dora, pres- 
 ently, when the letters and papers fell asleep, 
 lulled by the motion of the cars. 
 
 " Not yet, but I shall when I can look about 
 me. This bundle near by says the mails are often 
 sorted in the cars, and in that way we shall see 
 something of the world, I hope," answered Flora, 
 cheering up, for, like her mamma, she was of an 
 enquiring turn. 
 
 The dolls took a nap of some hours, and were 
 roused by a general tumbling out on a long shelf, 
 where many other parcels lay, and lively men 
 sent letters and papers flying here and there as if 
 a whirlwind was blowing. A long box lay beside 
 the dolls who stood nearly erect leaning against a 
 pile of papers. Several holes were cut in the lid, 
 and out of one of them was thrust a little black 
 nose, as if trying to get air. 
 
 " Dear me ! what can be in it ? " said Flora, who 
 was nearest. 
 
 " I 'm a poor little alligator, going to a boy in 
 Chicago, if you please, and I want my mother," 
 sobbed a voice from the box, and there was a rap 
 on the lid as of an agitated tail. 
 
THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 9 
 
 " Mercy on us ! I hope we shall not have to 
 travel with the monster," whispered Dora, trying 
 to see over her shoulder. 
 
 " I 'm not afraid. He can't be very dreadful, for 
 the box is not any longer than we are. Natural 
 history is very useful ; I 've heard mamma say so, 
 and I shall talk with him while we rest here," 
 answered Flo, nodding toward the eye which now 
 took the place of the nose. 
 
 So the little alligator told her something of his 
 home on the banks of a great river, where he was 
 just learning to play happily with his brothers 
 and sisters, when he was caught and sent away 
 to pine in captivity. 
 
 The dolls comforted him as well as they could, 
 and a pair of baby's shoes travelling in an en- 
 velope sympathized with him, while a shabby 
 bundle directed to " Michael Dolan, at Mrs. Judy 
 Quin's, next door to Mr. Pat Murphy, Boston, 
 Korth Street," told them to " Whisht and slape 
 quite till they came forninst the place." 
 
 " Such low people ! " whispered Do to Flo, and 
 both stood primly silent till they were tumbled 
 into another mail bag, and went rattling on again 
 with a new set of companions. 
 
 " I hope that poor baby will go safely and the 
 boy be good to him," said Flora, for the little 
 
10 THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 
 
 alligator went with the live stock in some other 
 way. 
 
 " Thank goodness he did n't go with us ! I 
 shall dream about that black nose and winking 
 eye, I 'm sure. The dangers of travelling are 
 great, but we are safe and comfortable now, I 
 think," and Dora settled down in a cosy corner 
 of the bag, wondering when they should reach 
 Chicago. 
 
 " I like adventures and hope we shall have 
 some," answered Flora, briskly, little dreaming 
 how soon her wish was to be granted. 
 
 A few hours later there came a bump, a crash, 
 a cry, and then all the mail bags rolled one over 
 the other with the car down an embankment into 
 a river. 
 
 " Now we are dead ! " shrieked the poor dolls, 
 clinging together as they heard the splash of 
 water, the shouting of men, the splintering of 
 wood, and the hiss of steam. 
 
 "Don't be frightened, ladies, mail bags are 
 always looked after," said a large envelope with 
 an official seal and the name of a Senator on it. 
 
 " Any bones broken, dear madam ? " asked a 
 jaunty pink letter, with a scent of musk about it, 
 evidently a love-letter. 
 
 " I think one foot is hurt, and my clothes are 
 dripping," sighed Dora, faintly. 
 
THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 11 
 
 " "Water won't hurt calico," called out a maga- 
 zine full of fashion plates, adding dolefully, as its 
 gay colors began to run, " I shall be in a nice 
 mess if I ever get out of this. People will wear 
 odd fashions if they follow me this time." 
 
 "Hope they will telegraph news of this acci- 
 dent in time for the evening papers," said a dingy 
 sheet called the " Barahoo Thunderbolt," as it lay 
 atop of the heap in its yellow wrapper. 
 
 " Be calm, my friends, and wait with fortitude 
 for death or deliverance, as I do." With which 
 philosophic remark " The St. Louis Cosmos " folded 
 the pages which for the first time since the paper 
 was started, were not dry. 
 
 Here the water rose over the topmost letter and 
 a moist silence prevailed till a sudden jerk fished 
 up the bag, and before the dolls could recover 
 their wits they were spread out on the floor of 
 a mail car to dry, while several busy men sorted 
 and saved such papers and letters as still held 
 together. 
 
 " Now we shall see something," said Flora, feel- 
 ing the warm air blow over her as they spun 
 along, for a slight accident like this did not delay 
 the energetic Westerners a moment longer than 
 was absolutely necessary. 
 
 " I can't see you, dear, but I hope you look 
 
12 THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 
 
 better than I do, for the yellow of my hair has 
 washed into my eyes, and the red of my cheeks 
 is quite gone, I 'm sure," answered Dora, as her 
 wet dress flopped in the breeze and the broken 
 foot sticking up showed her that her blue boots 
 were ruined. 
 
 " I don't care a bit how I look. It 's great fun 
 now we are safe. Pop up your head and see the 
 wide prairie flying past. I do hope that poor 
 baby got away and swam home to his mother. 
 The upset into the river was quite to his taste, I 
 fancy," said Flora, who was much excited by her 
 adventure and eager for more. 
 
 Presently one of the men set the dolls up in 
 the corner of a window to dry, and there they 
 stood viewing the fine landscape with one eye 
 while the other watched the scene of devastation 
 within. Everything was in great confusion after 
 the accident, so it is not strange that the dolls 
 were not missed when they slowly slid lower and 
 lower till a sudden lurch of the car sent them 
 out of the window to roll into a green field where 
 cows were feeding and children picking straw- 
 berries. 
 
 " This is the end of us ! Here we shall lie and 
 mould forgotten by everybody," said Dora, who 
 always took a tragical view of things. 
 
THE DOLLS' JOURNEY V6 
 
 " Not a bit of it ! I see cows eating toward 
 us, and they may give us a lift. I 've heard of 
 their tossing people up, though I don't know just 
 how it's done.. If they don't, we are in the path 
 and some of those children are sure to find us," 
 answered Flora cheerfully, though she stood on 
 her head with a bunch of burrs pricking her nose. 
 
 She was right. A bright-eyed little German 
 girl presently came trotting along the path with 
 a great basket full of berries on her head arranged 
 in pretty pottles ready for the market. Seeing 
 the red cow sniffing at a brown paper parcel she 
 drove her away, picked it up, and peeped in at 
 the open end. 
 
 The sight of two dolls in such a place made her 
 feel as if fairies had dropped them there for her. 
 She could not read the direction, and hurried 
 home to show her treasure to her brothers and 
 sisters of whom there were eight. 
 
 " What will become of us now ! " exclaimed 
 Dora, as eager hands slipped them out of the 
 wrapper and smoothed their damp skirts in a 
 room that seemed swarming with boys and girls 
 of all sizes. 
 
 " Don't worry, we shall get on nicely, I 'm 
 sure, and learn German of these young persons. 
 It is a great relief to be able to stretch one's 
 
14 THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 
 
 limbs, and stand up, is n't it ? " answered Flora, 
 undismayed by anything that had happened as 
 yet. 
 
 " Yes, dear, I love you, but T am tired of being 
 tied to you all day. I hope we shall live through 
 this noise and get a little rest, but I give up the 
 idea of ever seeing Portland," answered Dora, 
 staring with all her blue eyes at the display of 
 musical instruments about the room, and longing 
 to stop her ears, for several of the children were 
 playing on the violin, flute, horn or harp. They 
 were street musicians, and even the baby seemed 
 to be getting ready to take part in the concert, 
 for he sat on the floor beside an immense bass 
 horn taller than himself, with his rosy lips at the 
 mouth-piece and his cheeks puffed out in vain 
 attempts to make a " boom ! boom ! " as brother 
 Fritz did. 
 
 Flora was delighted, and gave skips on her red 
 boots in time to the lively tooting of the boys, 
 while the girls gazed at the lovely dolls and jab- 
 bered away with their yellow braids quivering 
 with excitement. 
 
 The wrapper was laid aside till a neighbor who 
 read English came in to translate it. Meantime 
 they enjoyed the new toys immensely, and even 
 despondent Dora was cheered up by the admira- 
 
THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 15 
 
 tion she received ; while they in their turn were 
 deeply interested in the pretty dolls' furniture 
 some of the children made. 
 
 Beds, tables, and chairs covered the long bench, 
 and round it sat the neat-handed little maidens 
 gluing, tacking and trimming, while they sang 
 and chatted at their work as busy and happy as 
 a hive of bees. 
 
 All day the boys went about the streets play- 
 ing, and in the evening trooped off to the beer 
 gardens to play again, for they lived in Chicago, 
 and the dolls had got so far on their way to Aunt 
 Maria, as they soon discovered. 
 
 For nearly two months they lived happily with 
 Minna, Gretchen and Nanerl, then they set out 
 on their travels again, and this was the way it 
 happened. A little girl came to order a set of 
 furniture for her new baby-house, and seeing two 
 shabby dolls reposing in a fine bed she asked 
 about them. Her mamma spoke German so 
 Minna told how they were found, and showed the 
 old wrapper, saying that they always meant to 
 send the dolls on their way but grew so fond of 
 them they kept putting it off. 
 
 " I am going as far as New York very soon and 
 will take them along if you like, for I think little 
 Miss Maria Plum must have been expecting hei 
 
16 THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 
 
 dolls all this time. Shall I ? " asked the mamma, 
 as she read the address and saw the dash under 
 " With care," as if the dollies were of great im- 
 portance to some one. 
 
 " Ja, ja," answered Minna, glad to oblige a lady 
 who bought two whole sets of their best furniture 
 and paid for it at once. 
 
 So again the dolls were put in their brown 
 paper cover and sent away with farewell kisses. 
 
 " This now is genteel and just suits me," said 
 Dora, as they drove along with little Clara to the 
 handsome house where she was staying. 
 
 " I have a feeling that she is a spoilt child, and 
 we shall not be as happy with her as with the 
 dear Poppleheimers. We shall see," answered 
 Flora, wisely, for Clara had soon tossed the dolls 
 into a corner and was fretting because mamma 
 would not buy her the big horn to blow on. 
 
 The party started for New York in a day or 
 two, and to the delight of Flo and Do, they were 
 left out of the trunks for Clara to play with on 
 the way, her own waxen Blanche Marie Annabel 
 being too delicate to be used. 
 
 " Oh, my patience, this is worse than tumbling 
 about in a mail-bag," groaned Dora, after hours of 
 great suffering, for Clara treated the poor dolls as 
 if they had no feeling. 
 
THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 17 
 
 She amused herself with knocking their heads 
 together, shutting them in the window with their 
 poor legs hanging out, swinging them by one arm, 
 and drawing lines with a pencil all over their faces 
 till they looked as if tattooed by savages. Even 
 brave Flora was worn out and longed for rest, 
 finding her only comfort in saying, " I told you 
 so," when Clara banged them about, or dropped 
 them on the dusty floor to be trampled on by 
 passing feet. 
 
 There they were left, and would have been 
 swept away if a little dog had not found them as 
 the passengers were leaving the car and carried 
 them after his master, trotting soberly along with 
 the bundle in his mouth, for fortunately Clara had 
 put them into the paper before she left them, 
 so they were still together in the trials of the 
 journey. 
 
 " Hullo, Jip, what have you got ? " asked the 
 young man as the little dog jumped up on the 
 carriage seat and laid his load on his master's 
 knee, panting and wagging his tail as if he had 
 done something to be praised for. 
 
 " Dolls, I declare ! What can a bachelor do 
 with the poor things ? Wonder who Maria Plum 
 is ? Midge will like a look at them before we 
 send them along ; " and into the young man's 
 
18 THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 
 
 pocket they went, trembling with fear of the 
 dog, but very grateful for being rescued from 
 destruction. 
 
 Jip kept his eye on them, and gave an occa- 
 sional poke with his cold nose to be sure they 
 were there as they drove through the bustling 
 streets of New York to a great house with an in- 
 scription over the door. 
 
 "I do hope Midge will be a nicer girl than 
 Flora. Children ought to be taught to be kind 
 to dumb dolls as well as dumb animals," said 
 Dora, as the young man ran up the steps and 
 hurried along a wide hall. 
 
 "I almost wish we were at home with our 
 own kind little mothers," began Flo, for even her 
 spirits were depressed by bad treatment, but just 
 then a door opened and she cried out in amaze- 
 ment, " Bless my heart, this man has more chil- 
 dren than even Mr. Poppleheimer ! " 
 
 She might well think so, for all down both 
 sides of the long room stood little white beds with 
 a small pale face on every pillow. All the eyes 
 that were opened brightened when Jip and his 
 master came in, and several thin hands were out- 
 stretched to meet them. 
 
 " I 've been good. Doctor, let me pat him first," 
 cried one childish voice. 
 
THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 19 
 
 " Did you bring me a flower, please ? " asked 
 another feeble one. 
 
 " I know he 's got something nice for us, I see a 
 bundle in his pocket," and a little fellow who sat 
 up among his pillows gave a joyful cough as he 
 could not shout. 
 
 "Two dollies for Midge to play with. Jip 
 found them, but I think the little girl they are 
 going to will lend them for a few days. We 
 shall not need them longer, I 'm afraid," added the 
 young man to a rosy-faced nurse who came along 
 with a bottle in her hand. 
 
 " Dear no, the poor child is very low to-day. 
 But she will love to look at the babies if she is n't 
 strong enough to hold 'em," said the woman, lead- 
 ing the way to a corner where the palest of all the 
 pale faces lay smiling on the pillow, and the thin- 
 nest of the thin hands were feebly put up to greet 
 the Doctor. 
 
 " So nice ! " she whispered when the dolls were 
 laid beside her, while Jip proudly beat his tail on 
 the floor to let her know that she owed the wel- 
 come gift to him. 
 
 For an hour Flo and Do lay on the arm of poor 
 Midge, who never moved except to touch them 
 now and then with a tender little finger, or to kiss 
 them softly, saying, " Dear babies, it is very nice 
 
20 THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 
 
 not to be all alone. Are you comfy, darlings ? " 
 till she fell asleep, still smiling. 
 
 " Sister, do you think this can be the Heaven we 
 hear people talk about ? It is so still and white, 
 and maybe these children are angels," whispered 
 Dora, looking at the sweet face turned toward her 
 with the long lashes lying on the colorless cheek, 
 and the arms outstretched like wings. 
 
 " No, dear, it is a hospital, I heard that man say 
 so, and those are sick children come to be cured. 
 It is a sweet place, I think, and this child much 
 nicer than that horrid Clara," answered Flo, who 
 was quicker to hear, see and understand what 
 went on than Dora. 
 
 " I love to lie here safe and warm, but there 
 does n't seem to be much breath to rock me," said 
 Do, who lay nearest the little bosom that very 
 slowly rose and fell with the feeble flutter of the 
 heart below. 
 
 "Hush, we may disturb her," and lively Flo 
 controlled her curiosity, contenting herself with 
 looking at the other children and listening to their 
 quiet voices, for pain seemed to have hushed 
 them all. 
 
 For a week the dolls lay in Midge's bed, and 
 though their breasts were full of sawdust, and 
 their heads were only wood, the sweet patience of 
 
THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 21 
 
 the little creature seemed to waken something 
 like a heart in them, and set them thinking, for 
 dolls don't live in vain, I am firmly persuaded. 
 
 All day she tended them till the small hands 
 could no longer hold them, and through the 
 weary nights she tried to murmur bits of lullabies 
 lest the dollies would not be able to sleep because 
 of the crying or the moans some of the poor 
 babies could not repress. She often sent one or 
 the other to cheer up some little neighbor, and in 
 this way Do and Flo became small sisters of char- 
 ity, welcomed eagerly, reluctantly returned, and 
 loved by all, although they never uttered a word 
 and their dingy faces could not express the emo- 
 tion that stirred their sawdust bosoms. 
 
 When Saturday night came they were laid in 
 their usual place on Midge's arm. She was too 
 weak to kiss them now, and nurse laid their bat- 
 tered cheeks against the lips that whispered 
 faintly, " Be sure you send 'em to the little girl, 
 and tell her — tell her — all about it." Then she 
 turned her cheek to the pillow with a little sigh, 
 and lay so still the dolls thought she had gone to 
 sleep. 
 
 She had, but the sweet eyes did not open in the 
 morning, and there was no breath in the little 
 breast to rock the dolls any more. 
 
22 THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 
 
 " I knew she was an angel, and now she has 
 flown away," said Dora softly, as they watched 
 the white image carried out in the weeping nurse's 
 arms, with the early sunshine turning all the 
 pretty hair to gold. 
 
 "I think that is what they call dying, sister. 
 It is a much lovelier way to end than as we do in 
 the dust-bin or rag-bag. I wonder if there is a 
 little Heaven anywhere for good dolls ? " answered 
 Flora, with what looked like a tear on her cheek ; 
 but it was only a drop from the violets sent by the 
 kind Doctor last night. 
 
 " I hope so, for I think the souls of little chil- 
 dren might miss us if they loved us as dear Midge 
 did," whispered Dora, trying to kiss the blue 
 flower in her hand, for the child had shared her 
 last gift with these friends. 
 
 " Why did n't you let her take them along, poor 
 motherless baby ? " asked the Doctor, when he saw 
 the dolls lying as she had left them. 
 
 "I promised her they should go to the girl 
 they were sent to, and please, I 'd like to keep 
 my word to the little darling," answered Nurse 
 with a sob. 
 
 " You shall," said the Doctor, and put them in 
 his breast pocket with the faded violets, for every- 
 body loved the pauper child sent to die in a hos- 
 
THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 23 
 
 pital, because Christian charity makes every man 
 and woman father and mother to these little 
 ones. 
 
 All day the dolls went about in the busy Doc- 
 tor's pocket, and I think the violets did them 
 good, for the soft perfume clung to them long 
 afterward like the memory of a lovely life, as 
 short and sweet as that of the flowers. 
 
 In the evening they were folded up in a fresh 
 paper and re-directed carefully. The Doctor wrote 
 a little note telling why he had kept them, and 
 was just about to put on some stamps, when a 
 friend came in who was going to Boston in the 
 morning. 
 
 "Anything to take along, Fred?" asked the 
 new-comer. 
 
 "This parcel, if you will. I have a feeling 
 that I 'd rather not have it knocked about in a 
 mail bag," and the Doctor told him why. 
 
 It was pleasant to see how carefully the 
 traveller put away the parcel after that, and to 
 hear him say that he was going through Boston 
 to the mountains for his holiday, and would 
 deliver it in Portland to Miss Plum herself. 
 
 "Now there is some chance of our getting 
 there," said Flora, as they set off next day in a 
 new Eussia leather bag. 
 
24 THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 
 
 On the way they overheard a long chat be- 
 tween some New York and Boston ladies which 
 impressed them very much. Flora liked to hear 
 the fashionable gossip about clothes and people 
 and art and theatres, but Dora preferred the 
 learned conversation of the young Boston ladies, 
 who seemed to know a little of everything, or 
 think they did. 
 
 " I hope mamma will give me an entirely new 
 wardrobe when I get home; and we will have 
 dolls' weddings and balls, and a play, and be as 
 fine and fashionable as those ladies down there," 
 said Flora, after listening a while. 
 
 " You have got your head full of dressy ideas 
 and high life, sister. I don't care for such things, 
 but mean to cultivate my mind as fast as I can. 
 That girl says she is in college, and named over 
 more studies than I can count. I do wish we 
 were to stop and see a little of the refined society 
 of Boston," answered Dora, primly. 
 
 " Pooh ! " said Flo, " don't you try to be intel- 
 lectual, for you are only a wooden-headed doll. 
 I mean to be a real Westerner, and just enjoy 
 myself as I please, without caring what other 
 folks do or think ; Boston is no better than the 
 rest of the world, I guess." 
 
 Groans from every article in the bag greeted 
 
THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 25 
 
 this disrespectful speech, and an avalanche of 
 Boston papers fell upon the audacious doll. But 
 Flo was undaunted, and shouted from underneath 
 the pile : " I don't care ! Minnesota forever ! " till 
 her breath gave out. 
 
 Dora was so mortified that she never said a 
 word till they were let out in a room at the 
 Parker House. Here she admired everything, and 
 read all the evening in a volume of Emerson's 
 Poems from the bag, for Mr. Mt. Vernon Beacon 
 was a Boston man, and never went anywhere 
 without a wise book or two in his pocket. 
 
 Flo turned up her nose at all she saw, and de- 
 voted herself to a long chat with the smart bag 
 which came from New York and was full of 
 gossip. 
 
 The next afternoon they really got to Portland, 
 and as soon as Mr. Beacon had made his toilet he 
 set out to find little Miss Plum. When the par- 
 lor door opened to admit her he was much em- 
 barrassed, for, advancing with a paternal smile 
 and the dolls extended to the expected child, he 
 found himself face to face with a pretty young 
 lady, who looked as if she thought him a little 
 mad. 
 
 A few words explained the errand, however, 
 and when she read the note Aunt Maria's bright 
 
26 THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 
 
 eyes were full of tears as she said, hugging the 
 dilapidated dolls : 
 
 " I '11 write the story of their travels, and send 
 the dear old things back to the children as soon 
 as possible." 
 
 And so she did with Mr. Beacon's help, for 
 he decided to try the air of Portland, and spent 
 his vacation there. The dolls were re-painted 
 and redressed till they were more beautiful than 
 ever, and their clothes fine enough to suit even 
 Flo. 
 
 They were a good while doing this, and when 
 all was ready, Aunt Maria took it into her head 
 to run out to St. Paul and surprise the children. 
 By a singular coincidence Mr. Beacon had rail- 
 road business in that direction, so they set off to- 
 gether with two splendid dolls done up in a gay 
 box. 
 
 All that was ever known about that journey 
 was that these travellers stopped at the hospital 
 in New York, and went on better friends than be- 
 fore after hearing from the good Doctor all the 
 pathetic story of little Midge. 
 
 The young Plums had long ago given up the 
 hope of ever seeing Do and Flo again, for they 
 started in June, and it was early in September 
 when Aunt Maria appeared before them without 
 
THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 27 
 
 the least warning, accompanied by a pleasant gen- 
 tleman from Boston. 
 
 Six kisses had hardly resounded from aunty's 
 blooming cheeks when a most attractive box was 
 produced from the Eussia leather bag, and the 
 wandering dolls restored to the arms of their en- 
 raptured mammas. 
 
 A small volume neatly written and adorned 
 with a few pictures of the most exciting incidents 
 of the trip also appeared. 
 
 " Every one writes or prints a book in Boston, 
 you know, so we did both," said Aunt Maria, 
 laughing, as she handed over the remarkable his- 
 tory which she had composed and Mr. Beacon 
 illustrated. 
 
 It was read with intense interest, and was as 
 true as most stories are nowadays. 
 
 " Nothing more delightful can happen now ! " 
 exclaimed the children, as they laid by the pre 
 cious work and enthroned the travelled dolls ir 
 the place of honor on the roof of the baby-house 
 
 But something much more delightful did hap- 
 pen ; for at Thanksgiving time there was a wed- 
 ding at the Plums'. Not a dolls wedding, as Flo 
 had planned, but a real one, for the gentleman 
 from Boston actually married Aunt Maria. 
 
 There were six bridesmaids, all in blue, and 
 
28 THE DOLLS' JOURNEY 
 
 Flora and Dora, in the loveliest of new pink 
 gowns, were set aloft among the roses on the 
 wedding-cake, their proper place as every one said, 
 for there never would have been any marriage at 
 all but for this Dolls' Journey From Minnesota 
 to Maine. 
 
SHADOW-CHILDREN 
 
 Ned, Polly, and Will sat on the steps one sun- 
 shiny morning, doing nothing, except wishing they 
 had something pleasant to do. 
 
 " Something new, something never heard of be- 
 fore, — would n't that be jolly ? " said Ned, with 
 a great yawn. 
 
 "It must be an amusing play, and one that 
 we don't get tired of very soon," added Polly, 
 gravely. 
 
 " And something that did n't be wrong, else 
 mamma would n't like it," said little Will, who 
 was very good for a small boy. 
 
 As no one could suggest anything to suit, they 
 all sat silent a few minutes. Suddenly Ned said, 
 rather crossly, " I wish my shadow would n't 
 mock me. Every time I stretch or gape it does 
 the same, and I don't like it." 
 
 "Poor thing, it can't help that; it has to do 
 just what you do, and be your slave all day. I 'm 
 glad I ain't a shadow," said Polly. 
 
30 SHADOW-CHILDREN 
 
 " I try to run away from mine sometimes, but 
 I can't, ever. It will come after me, and in the 
 night it scares me, if it gets big and black," said 
 Will, looking behind him. 
 
 " Would n't it be fun to see shadows going 
 about alone, and doing things like people ? " asked 
 Polly. 
 
 " I just wish they would. I 'd like to see ours 
 cut capers ; that would be a jolly new game, 
 would n't it ? " said Ned. 
 
 No one had time to speak ; for suddenly the 
 three little shadows on the sunny wall behind 
 them stood up straight, and began to bow. 
 
 " Mercy me I " cried Polly, staring at them. 
 
 " By Jove, that 's odd ! " said Ned, looking 
 queer. 
 
 " Are they alive ? " asked Will, a little fright- 
 ened. 
 
 " Don't be alarmed, they won't hurt you," said 
 a soft voice. " To-day is midsummer-day, and 
 whoever wishes a wish can have it till midnight. 
 You want to see your shadows by themselves ; 
 and you can, if you promise to follow them as 
 they have followed you so long. They will not 
 get you into harm, so you may safely try it, if you 
 like. Do you agree for the day to do as they do, 
 and so have your wish ? " 
 
"Mercy me! " cried Polly. — Page 30. 
 
SHADOW-CHILDREN 31 
 
 " Yes, we promise," answered the children. 
 
 " Tell no one till night, and be faithful shadows 
 to the shadows." 
 
 The voice was silent, but with more funny little 
 bows the shadows began to move off in different 
 directions. The children knew their own, for 
 Ned's was the tallest, and had its hands in its 
 pockets ; Polly's had a frock on, and two bows 
 where its hair was tied up ; while Will's was a 
 plump little shadow in a blouse, with a curly head 
 and a pug nose. Each child went after its shadow, 
 laughing, and enjoying the fun. 
 
 Ned's master went straight to the shed, took 
 down a basket, and marched away to the garden, 
 where it began to move its hands as if busily 
 picking peas. Ned stopped laughing when he 
 saw that, and looked rather ashamed ; for he 
 remembered that his mother had asked him to 
 do that little job for her, and he had an- 
 swered, — 
 
 " Oh, bother the old peas ! I 'm busy, and I 
 can't." 
 
 " Who told you about this ? " he asked, begin- 
 ning to work. 
 
 The shadow shook its head, and pointed first to 
 Ned's new jacket, then to a set of nice garden 
 tools near by, and then seemed to blow a kiss 
 
32 SHADOW-CHILDREN 
 
 from its shadowy fingers towards mamma, who 
 was just passing the open gate. 
 
 " Oh ! you mean that she does lots for me ; so 
 I ought to do what I can for her, and love her 
 dearly," said Ned, getting a pleasanter face every 
 minute. 
 
 The shadow nodded, and worked away as busily 
 as the bees tumbling heels over head in the great 
 yellow squash blossoms, and getting as dusty as 
 little millers. Somehow Ned rather liked the 
 work, with such an odd comrade near by ; for, 
 though the shadow didn't really help a bit, it 
 seemed to try, and set an excellent example. 
 When the basket was full, the shadow took one 
 handle, and Ned the other, and they carried it in. 
 
 "Thank you, dear. I was afraid we should 
 have to give up our peas to-day ; I 'm so busy, 
 I can't stop," said mamma, looking surprised and 
 pleased. 
 
 Ned could n't stop to talk, for the shadow ran 
 away to the woodpile and began to chop with all 
 its might. 
 
 " Well, I suppose I must ; but I never saw such 
 a fellow for work as this shadow is. He is n't a 
 bit like me, though he 's been with me so long," 
 said Ned, swinging the real hatchet in time with 
 the shadowy one. 
 
SHADO W-CHILDREN 33 
 
 Polly's new mistress went to the dining-room 
 and fell to washing up the breakfast cups. Polly 
 hated that work, and sulkily began to rattle the 
 spoons and knock the things about. But the 
 shadow wouldn't allow that; and Polly had to 
 do just what it did, though she grumbled all the 
 while. 
 
 " She does n't splash a bit, or make any clatter, 
 so I guess she 's a tidy creature," said Polly. 
 " How long she does rub each spoon and glass. 
 We never shall get done. What a fuss she makes 
 with the napkins, laying them all even in the 
 drawer. And now she 's at the salt-cellars, doing 
 them just as mamma likes. I wish she 'd live 
 here, and do my work for me. Why, what's 
 that ? " And Polly stopped fretting to listen, for 
 she seemed to hear the sound of singing, — so 
 sweet, and yet so very faint she could catch no 
 words, and only make out a cheerful little tune. 
 
 " Do you hear any one singing, mamma ? " she 
 asked. 
 
 " No, I wish I did." And mamma sighed ; for 
 baby was poorly, piles of sewing lay waiting for 
 her, Biddy was turning things topsy-turvy in the 
 kitchen for want of a word from the mistress, and 
 Polly was looking sullen. 
 
 The little girl did n't say any more, but worked 
 3 
 
34 SHADOW-CHILDREN 
 
 quietly and watched the shadow, feeling sure the 
 faint song came from it. Presently she began to 
 hum the tune she caught by snatches ; and, before 
 she knew it, she was singing away like a black- 
 bird. Baby stopped crying, and mamma said, 
 smiling : 
 
 " Now I hear somebody singing, and it 's the 
 music I like best in the world. " 
 
 That pleased Polly ; but, a minute after, she 
 stopped smiling, for the shadow went and took 
 baby, or seemed to, and Polly really did. Now 
 baby was heavy, and cross with his teeth, and 
 Polly did n't feel like tending it one bit. Mamma 
 hurried away to the kitchen, and Polly walked 
 up and down the room with poor baby hanging 
 over her arm, crying dismally, with a pin in its 
 back, a wet bib under its chin, and nothing cold 
 and hard to bite with its hot, aching gums, where 
 the little teeth were trying to come through, 
 
 " Do stop, you naughty, fretty baby. I 'm tired 
 of your screaming, and it 's high time you went 
 to sleep. Bless me ! what 's Miss Shadow doing 
 with her baby ? " said Polly. 
 
 Miss Shadow took out the big pin and laid it 
 away, put on a dry bib, and gave her baby a nice 
 ivory ring to bite ; then began to dance up and 
 down the room, till the shadow baby clapped its 
 
SHADOW-CHILDREN 35 
 
 hands and kicked delightedly. Polly laughed, 
 and did the same, feeling sorry she had been so 
 pettish. Presently both babies grew quiet, went 
 to sleep, and were laid in the cradle. 
 
 " Now, I hope we shall rest a little," said Polly, 
 stretching her arms. 
 
 But no : down sat the shadow and began to sew, 
 making her needle fly like a real little seamstress. 
 
 " Oh, dear ! " groaned Polly. " I promised to 
 hem those handkerchiefs for Ned, and so I must ; 
 but I do think handkerchiefs are the most pokey 
 things in the world to sew. I dare say you think 
 you can sew faster than I can. Just wait a bit, 
 and see what I can do, miss," she said to the 
 shadow. 
 
 It took some time to find her thimble and 
 needles and spools, for Polly was n't a very neat 
 little girl ; but she got settled at last, and stitched 
 away as if bent on beating her dumb friend. 
 
 Little Will's shadow went up to the nursery, 
 and stopped before a basin of water. " Oh ! ah ! 
 ain't this drefful ? " cried Will, with a shiver ; for 
 he knew he 'd got to have his face washed, be- 
 cause he wouldn't have it done properly when 
 he got up, but ran away. Now Will was a good 
 child ; but this one thing was his great trouble, 
 and sometimes he could n't bear it. Jane was so 
 
36 SHADOW-CHILDREN 
 
 rough. She let soap get in his eyes, and water 
 run down his neck, and she pinched his nose 
 when she wiped him, and brushed his hair so 
 hard that really it was dreadful ; and even a big- 
 ger boy would have found it hard to bear. He 
 shivered and sighed ; but Jane came in ; and, 
 when he saw that the shadow stood still and took 
 the scrubbing like a little hero, he tried to do the 
 same, and succeeded so well that Jane actually 
 patted his head and called him " a deary," which 
 was something new, for old Nurse Jane was 
 always very busy and rather cross. 
 
 Feeling that nothing worse could possibly 
 happen to him, Will ran after his shadow, as it 
 flitted away into the barn, and began to feed the 
 chickens. 
 
 " There, now ! I forgetted all about my chic- 
 keys, and the shadow 'membered 'em, and I 'm 
 glad of it," said Will, scattering dabs of meal and 
 water to the chirping, downy little creatures who 
 pecked and fluttered at his feet. Little Shadow 
 hunted for eggs, drove the turkeys out of the gar- 
 den, and picked a basket of chips ; then it went 
 to play with Sammy, a neighbor's child ; for, being 
 a small shadow, it hadn't many jobs to do, and 
 plenty of active play was good for it. 
 
 Sammy was a rough little boy and rather 
 
SHADOW-CHILDREN 37 
 
 selfish; so when they played ball he wanted to 
 throw all the time ; and, when Will objected, he 
 grew angry and struck him. The blow didn't 
 hurt Will's cheek much, but it did his little 
 feelings, and he lifted his hand to strike back, 
 when he saw his shadow go and kiss Sammy's 
 shadow. All his anger was gone in a minute, 
 and he just put his arm round Sammy's neck 
 and kissed him. This kiss for a blow made him 
 so ashamed that he began to cry, and could n't 
 be comforted till he had given Will his best 
 marble and a ride on his pony. 
 
 About an hour before dinner the three shadows 
 and the children met in the garden and had a 
 grand game of play, after they had told each 
 other what they had been doing since they 
 parted. Now the shadows did n't forget baby 
 even then, but got out the wagon, and Miss Baby, 
 all fresh from her nap, sat among her pillows like 
 a queen, while Ned was horse, Polly footman, and 
 Will driver ; and in this way she travelled all 
 round the garden and barn, up the lane and down 
 to the brook, where she was much delighted with 
 the water sparkling along and the fine splash of 
 the stones they threw in. 
 
 Wlien the dinner-bell rang mamma saw four 
 clean, rosy faces and four smooth heads at the 
 
38 SHADOW-CHILDREN 
 
 table ; for the shadow-cMldren made themselves 
 neat without being told. Every one was merry 
 and hungry and good-natured. Even poor baby 
 forgot her teeth, and played a regular rub-a-dub 
 with her spoon on her mug, and tried to tell about 
 the fine things she saw on her drive. The chil- 
 dren said nothing about the new play, and no one 
 observed the queer actions of their shadows but 
 themselves. They saw that there was no gobbling, 
 or stretching over, or spilling of things, among the 
 shadows ; but that they waited to be helped, 
 served others first, and ate tidily, which was a 
 great improvement upon the usual state of things. 
 
 It was Saturday afternoon ; the day was fine, 
 and mamma told them they could go for a 
 holiday frolic in the woods. " Don't go to the 
 pond, and be home early," she said. 
 
 " Yes, mamma ; we 11 remember," they an- 
 swered, as they scampered away to get ready. 
 
 " We shall go through the village, and Mary 
 King will be looking out, so I shall wear my 
 best hat. Mamma won't see me if I slip down 
 the back way, and I do so want Mary to know- 
 that my hat is prettier than hers," said Polly, up 
 in her little room. 
 
 Now Polly was rather vain, and liked to prink ; 
 so she got out the new hat, and spent some time 
 
SHADOW-CHILDREN 39 
 
 in smoothing her braids and putting on her blue 
 ribbons. But when all was ready, and the boys 
 getting impatient, she found her shadow, with a 
 sunbonnet on, standing by the door, as if to 
 prevent her going out. 
 
 " You tiresome thing ! do you mean that I 
 must n't wear my hat, but that old bonnet ? " 
 asked Polly. 
 
 The Shadow nodded and beckoned and patted 
 its head, as if it was all right. 
 
 " I wish I had n't promised to do as you do, 
 then I could do as I like, and not make a fright 
 of myself," said Polly, rather sulkily, as she put 
 away the hat, and tied on the old bonnet with a 
 jerk. 
 
 Once out in the lovely sunshine she soon 
 forgot the little disappointment ; and, as they 
 didn't go through the village, but by a green 
 lane, where she found some big blackberries, she 
 was quite contented. Polly had a basket to hold 
 fruit or flowers, Ned his jack-knife, and Will a 
 long stick on which he rode, fancying that this 
 sort of horse would help his short legs along ; so 
 they picked, whittled, and trotted their way to 
 the wood, finding all manner of interesting things 
 on the road. 
 
 The wood was full of pleasant sights and 
 
40 SHADOW-CHILDREN 
 
 sounds ; for wild roses bloomed all along the 
 path, ferns and scarlet berries filled the little 
 dells, squirrels chattered, birds sang, and pines 
 whispered musically overhead. 
 
 " I 'm going to stop here and rest, and make a 
 wreath of these pretty wild roses for baby ; it 's 
 her birthday, and it will please mamma," said 
 Polly, sitting down on a mound of moss, with a 
 lapful of flowers. 
 
 " I 'm going to cut a fishing-pole, and will be 
 back in a minute." And Ned went crashing into 
 the thickest part of the wood. 
 
 " I shall see where that rabbit went to, and 
 maybe I '11 find some berries," said Will, trotting 
 down the path the wild rabbit had gone. 
 
 The sound of the boys' steps died away, and 
 Polly was wondering how it would seem to live 
 all alone in the wood, when a little girl came 
 trudging by with a great pail of berries on her 
 arm. She was a poor child : her feet were bare, 
 her gown was ragged, she wore an old shawl over 
 her head, and walked as if lame. Polly sat 
 behind the ferns, and the child did not see her 
 till Polly called out. The sudden sound startled 
 her, and she dropped her pail, spilling the berries 
 all over the path. The little girl began to cry, 
 and Polly to laugh, saying, in a scornful tone : 
 
SHADOW-CHILDREN 41 
 
 " How silly to cry for a few berries ! " 
 
 " I 've been all day picking 'em," said the girl ; 
 " and I 'm so tired and hungry, 'cause I did n't 
 dare to go home till my pail was full — mother 
 scolds if I do — and now they 're all spoilt. Oh, 
 dear ! dear me ! " And she cried so hard that 
 great tears fell on the moss. 
 
 Polly was sorry now, and sat looking at her till 
 she saw her shadow down on its knees, picking 
 up the berries ; then it seemed to fold its little 
 handkerchief round the girl's bruised foot, and 
 give her something from its pocket. Polly jumped 
 up and imitated the kind shadow, even to giving 
 the great piece of gingerbread she had brought 
 for fear she should be hungry. 
 
 " Take this," she said gently. " I 'm sorry I 
 frightened you. Here are the berries all picked 
 up, and none the worse for falling in the grass. 
 If you '11 take them to the white house on the hill, 
 my mamma will buy them, and then your mother 
 won't scold you." 
 
 " Oh, thank you, miss ! It 's ever so good. I '11 
 take the berries to your mother, and bring her 
 more whenever she likes," said the child grate- 
 fully, as she walked away munching the ginger- 
 bread, and smiling till there were little rainbows 
 in her tears. 
 
42 SHADOW-CHILDREN 
 
 Meanwhile Ned had poked about in the bushes 
 looking for a good pole. Presently he saw a willow 
 down by the pond, and thought that would give 
 him a nice, smooth pole. He forgot his promise, 
 and down he went to the pond, where he cut his 
 stick, and was whitthng the end, when he saw a 
 boat by the shore. It was untied, and oars lay 
 in it, as if waiting for some one to come and 
 row out. 
 
 " 1 11 just take a little pull across and get those 
 cardinal-flowers for Polly," he said, and went to 
 the boat. 
 
 He got in, and was about to push off, when he 
 saw his shadow standing on the shore. 
 
 " Don't be a fool ; get in, and come along," he 
 said to it, remembering his promise now, but de- 
 ciding to break it, and ask pardon afterwards. 
 
 But the shadow shook its head ; pointed to the 
 swift stream that ran between the banks, the rocks 
 and mud on the opposite side, and the leaky boat 
 itself. 
 
 " I ain't afraid, mamma won't mind, if I tell 
 her I 'm sorry ; and it will be such fun to row 
 alone. Be a good fellow, and let me go," said 
 Ned, beckoning. 
 
 But the shadow would not stir, and Ned was 
 obliged to mind. He did so very reluctantly, and 
 
SHADOW-CHILDREN 43 
 
 scolded the shadow well as he went back to Polly ; 
 though all the time he felt he was doing right, 
 and knew he should be glad afterwards. 
 
 Will trotted after the rabbit, but did n't find it ; 
 he found a bird's-nest instead with four little birds 
 in it. He had an empty cage at home, and longed 
 for something to put in it ; for kittens did n't like 
 it, and caterpillars and beetlebugs got away. He 
 chose the biggest bird, and, holding him carefully, 
 walked away to find Polly. The poor mother- 
 bird chirped and fluttered in great distress ; but 
 Will kept on till his little shadow came before 
 him, and tried to make him turn back. 
 
 " No, no, I want him," said Will. " I won't hurt 
 him, and his mother has three left: she won't 
 mind if I take one." 
 
 Here the mother-bird chirped so loud it was 
 impossible to help seeing that she did care very 
 much ; and the shadow stamped its foot and waved 
 its hand as if ordering the young robber to carry 
 back the baby-bird. Will stood still and thought 
 a minute ; but his little heart was a very kind one, 
 and he soon turned about, saying pleasantly : 
 
 " Yes, it is naughty, and I won't do it. I '11 
 ask mamma to get me a canary, and will let this 
 birdie stay with his brothers." 
 
 The shadow patted him on the shoulder and 
 
44 SHADOW-CHILDREN 
 
 seemed to be delighted as Will put the bird in the 
 nest and walked on, feeling much happier than if 
 he had kept it. A bush of purple berries grew by 
 the path, and Will stopped to pick some. He 
 didn't know what they were, and mamma had 
 often told him never to eat strange things. But 
 they smelt so good, and looked so nice, he could n't 
 resist, and lifted one to his mouth, when little 
 Shadow motioned for him to stop. 
 
 " Oh, dear ! you don't let me do anything I 
 want to," sighed Will. " I shall ask Polly if I 
 tar n't eat these ; and if she says I may, I shall, 
 so now." 
 
 He ran off to ask Polly, but she said they 
 were poisonous, and begged him to throw them 
 away. 
 
 " Good little shadow, to keep me safe ! " cried 
 Will. " I like you ; and I '11 mind better next 
 time, 'cause you are always right." 
 
 The shadow seemed to like this, and bobbed 
 about so comically it made Will laugh till his 
 eyes were full of tears. Ned came back, and they 
 went on, having grand times in the wood. They 
 found plenty of berries to fill the basket ; they 
 swung down on slender birches, and got rolls of 
 white bark for canoes ; they saw all sorts of wild- 
 wood insects and birds, and frolicked till they 
 
SHADOW-CHILDREN 45 
 
 were tired. As they crossed a field a cow sud- 
 denly put down her head and ran at them, as if 
 she was afraid they meant to hurt her calf. All 
 turned and ran as fast as they could toward the 
 wall ; but poor Will in his fright tumbled down 
 and lay screaming. Ned and Polly had reached 
 the wall, and, looking back, saw that their shadows 
 had not followed. Ned's stood before Will, brand- 
 ishing his pole ; and Polly's was flapping a shadowy 
 sun-bonnet with all its might. As soon as they 
 saw that, back they went, — -Ned to threaten till 
 he broke his pole, and Polly to flap till the strings 
 came off. As if anxious to do its part, the bonnet 
 flew up in the air, and coming down lit on the 
 cross cow's head, which so astonished her that 
 she ran away as hard as she could pelt. 
 
 " Was n't that funny ? " said Will, when they 
 had tumbled over the wall, and lay laughing in 
 the grass on the safe side. 
 
 " I 'm glad I wore the old bonnet, for I sup- 
 pose my best hat would have gone just the same," 
 said Polly, thankfully. 
 
 " The calf does n't know its own mother with 
 that thing on," laughed Ned. 
 
 " How brave and kind you were to come back 
 and save me ! I 'd have been deaded if you 
 hadn't," said Will, looking at his brother and 
 
46 SHADOW-CHILDREN 
 
 sister with his little face full of grateful admira- 
 tion. 
 
 They turned towards home after this flurry, 
 feeling quite like heroes. When they came to 
 the corner where two roads met, Ned proposed 
 they should take the river-road ; for, though the 
 longest, it was much the pleasantest. 
 
 " We shan't be home at supper-time," said Polly. 
 " You won't be able to do your jobs, Ned, nor I 
 mine, and Will's chickens will have to go to bed 
 hungry." 
 
 " Never mind, it 's a holiday, so let 's enjoy it 
 and not bother," answered Ned. 
 
 " We promised mamma we 'd come home early," 
 said WiU. 
 
 They stood looking at the two roads, — one 
 sandy, hot and hilly ; the other green and cool 
 and level, along the river-side. They all chose 
 the pleasant path, and walked on till Ned cried 
 out, " Why, where are our shadows ? " 
 
 They looked behind, before, and on either side ; 
 but nowhere could they see them. 
 
 " They were with us at the corner," said Will 
 
 " Let 's run back, and try to find them," said 
 Polly. 
 
 " No, let 'em go ; I 'm tired of minding mine, 
 and don't care if I never see it again," said Ned. 
 
SHADOW-CHILDREN 47 
 
 " Don't say so ; for I remember hearing about a 
 man who sold his shadow, and then got into lots 
 of trouble because he had none. We promised 
 to follow them, and we must," said Polly. 
 
 " I wish," began Ned in a pet, but Polly clapped 
 her hand over his mouth, saying : 
 
 " Pray don't wish now, for it may come to 
 pass as the man's wish in the fairy tale did, and 
 the black pudding flew up and stuck tiglit to his 
 wife's nose." 
 
 This made Ned laugh, and they all turned 
 back to the corner. Looking up the hilly road, 
 they saw the three shadows trudging along, as if 
 bent on getting home in good time. Without 
 saying a word, the children followed ; and, when 
 they got to the garden gate, they all said at once : 
 
 " Are n't you glad you came ? " 
 
 Under the elm-tree stood a pretty tea-table, 
 covered with bread and butter, custards, and ber- 
 ries, and in the middle a fine cake with sugar- 
 roses on the top, and mamma and baby, all nicely 
 dressed, were waiting to welcome them to the 
 birthday feast. Polly crowned the little queen, 
 Ned gave her a willow whistle he had made, and 
 Will some pretty, bright pebbles he had found; 
 and Miss Baby was as happy as a bird, with 
 her treasures. 
 
48 SHADOW-CHILDREN 
 
 A pleasant supper-time ; then the small duties 
 for each one ; and then the go-to-bed frolic. 
 The nursery" was a big room, and in the even- 
 ing a bright wood fire always burned there for 
 baby. Mamma sat before it, softly rubbing baby's 
 little rosy limbs before she went to bed, singing 
 and telling stories meanwhile to the three children 
 who pranced about in their long nightgowns. This 
 evening they had a gay time ; for the shadows 
 amused them by all sorts of antics, and kept them 
 laughing till they were tired. As they sat rest- 
 ing on the big sofa, they heard a soft, sweet voice 
 singing. It was n't mamma, for she was only 
 talking to baby, and this voice sang a real song. 
 Presently they saw mamma's shadow on the wall, 
 and found it was the shadow-mother singing to 
 the shadow-children. They listened intently, and 
 this is what they heard : 
 
 " Little shadows, little shadows, 
 
 Dancing on the chamber wall, 
 While I sit beside the hearthstone 
 
 Where the red flames rise and fall. 
 Caps and nightgowns, caps and nightgowns, 
 
 My three antic shadows wear ; 
 And no sound they make in playing, 
 
 For the six small feet are bare. 
 
 ** Dancing gayly, dancing gayly, 
 To and fro all together, 
 
SHADOW-CHILDREN 49 
 
 Like a family of daisies 
 
 Blown about in windy weather; 
 Nimble fairies, nimble fairies, 
 
 Playing pranks in the warm glow, 
 While I sing the nursery ditties 
 
 Childish phantoms love and know. 
 
 " Now what happens, now what happens P 
 
 One small shadow 's tumbled down : 
 I can see it on the carpet. 
 
 Softly rubbing its hurt crown. 
 No one whimpers, no one whimpers ; 
 
 A brave-hearted sprite is this: 
 See 1 the others offer comfort 
 
 In a silent, shadowy kiss. 
 
 ** Hush ! they 're creeping ; hush ! they 're creeping, 
 Up about my rocking-chair : 
 I can feel their loving fingers 
 
 Clasp my neck and touch my hair. 
 Little shadows, little shadows, 
 
 Take me captive, hold me tight, 
 As they climb and cling and whisper, 
 ' Mother dear, good night ! good night ! ' " 
 
 As the song ended, the real children, as well as 
 the' shadows, lovingly kissed mamma, and said 
 " Good-night ; " then went away into their rooms, 
 said their prayers, and nestled down into their 
 beds. Ned slept alone in the room next that 
 which Polly and Will had ; and, after lying quiet 
 a little while, he called out softly : 
 
 " I say, Polly, are you asleep ? " 
 4 
 
50 SHADOW-CHILDREN 
 
 " No, I 'm thinking what a queer day we 've 
 had," answered Polly. 
 
 " It 's been a good day, and I 'm glad we tried 
 our wish ; for the shadows showed us, as well as 
 they could, what we ought to do and be. I 
 shan't forget it, shall you ? " said Ned. 
 
 " No, I 'm much obliged for the lesson." 
 
 " So is I," called out Will, in a very earnest, 
 but rather a sleepy little voice. 
 
 " I wonder what mamma will say, when we tell 
 her about it," said Ned. 
 
 " And I wonder if our shadows will come back 
 to us at midnight, and follow us as they used to 
 do," added Polly. 
 
 "I shall be very careful where I lead my 
 shadow, 'cause he 's a good little one, and set me 
 a righter zarmple than ever I did him," said Will, 
 and then dropped asleep. 
 
 The others agreed with him, and resolved that 
 their shadows should not be ashamed of them. 
 All were fast asleep ; and no one but the moon 
 saw the shadows come stealing back at midnight, 
 and, having danced about the little beds, vanish 
 as the clock struck twelve. 
 
THE MOSS PEOPLE 
 
 " Eain, rain, go away, 
 Come again another day," 
 
 Sang little Marnie, as she stood at the window 
 watching the drops patter on the pane, the elm- 
 boughs toss in the wind, and the clover-blossoms 
 lift up their rosy faces to be washed. But the 
 rain did not go away, and, finding that mamma 
 had fallen asleep over her book, Marnie said to 
 herself : 
 
 " I will go and play quietly with my fairy-land 
 till mamma wakes up and cuts me some paper 
 fairies to put in it." 
 
 Mamie's fairy -land was as pretty a plaything as 
 any child could wish for, and, as every child can 
 make one in the summer time, let us tell what it 
 was. The little girl firmly believed in elves, and was 
 always wishing she could go to fairy-land. That 
 rainy day, when she had longed for something to 
 do, her mother said : 
 
 " As you can't go to fairy-land, why don't you 
 make one for yourself ? " 
 
62 THE MOSS PEOPLE 
 
 Such a happy thought, and such a busy little 
 girl as Marnie was, working away, forgetful of 
 rain or loneliness ! Mamma was so kind and 
 helpful in suggesting ways and supplying means, 
 that the new fairy-land really did seem to rise as 
 if by enchantment. 
 
 A long, shallow box, filled with earth, which 
 was covered with moss of all kinds, gathered by 
 Marnie the day before ; some green as grass, some 
 soft as velvet, some full of red-brimmed cups, 
 some feathery and tall, some pale and dry ; marsh, 
 rock, tree, and field had given their share, and out 
 of this the little hands fashioned a dainty pleasure- 
 ground for the elves. Ferns and spires of ever- 
 green were the trees fencing in the garden, standing 
 in groups, or making shady avenues. Silver- white 
 mushrooms with rosy lining stood here and there 
 like little tables, and mossy mounds or colored 
 pebbles served for seats. Mamie's china bowl 
 was sunk deep in the moss, filled with water, on 
 which floated pea-pod boats with roseleaf sails. 
 Acorn-cups, with blue and white comfits for eggs, 
 were fastened in the trees, and toy birds brooded 
 over their nests in the most natural manner. 
 Dead butterflies, lady-bugs, and golden-green 
 beetles from Mamie's museum hung here and 
 there, as if alive. On a small mound stood a 
 
THE MOSS PEOPLE 53 
 
 pretty Swiss chalet, with some droll wooden men 
 and women near it. One girl was churning, an- 
 other rocking a mite of a baby, a man and his 
 donkey were just going up the hill, and a family 
 of wooden bears from Berne sat round a table eat- 
 ing dinner. A little marble hound with a golden 
 chain about its neck guarded this child's paradise, 
 and nothing was wanted to make it quite perfect 
 but some of the winged paper-dolls with prettily 
 painted faces that mamma made so nicely. 
 
 " I must wait till she wakes up," said Marnie, 
 with a patient sigh, as she drew her little chair 
 before the table where the box stood, and, leaning 
 her chin on her chubby hand, sat looking ad- 
 miringly at her work. 
 
 The ruddy glow of the fire shone warmly over 
 the green hills and dales of fairy-land, the soft 
 patter of the rain sounded like tiny feet tripping 
 to and fro, and all the motionless inhabitants of 
 the garden seemed waiting for some spell to break 
 their sleep. Marnie never knew how it happened, 
 but, as she sat looking at the Swiss cottage, she 
 suddenly heard a rustling inside, and saw some- 
 thing pass before the open windows. She thought 
 the chrysalis she had put in there had come to 
 life, and waited, hoping to see a pretty butterfly 
 pop its head out. But what a start she gave 
 
64 THE MOSS PEOPLE 
 
 when suddenly the little door opened and a wee 
 man came marching out. Yes, actually a living, 
 tiny man, dressed like a hunter in green from top 
 to toe, with a silver horn slung over his shoulder 
 and a bow in his hand ! 
 
 Marnie held her breath lest she should blow 
 him away, and peeped with all her eyes from be- 
 hind the hemlock-boughs, wondering what would 
 happen next. Up the steps ran the little man to 
 the balcony that always hangs outside a Swiss 
 chalet, and lifting his horn to his lips blew a blast 
 so soft and clear it sounded like the faint, far-off 
 carol of a bird. Three times the fairy bugle 
 sounded, and at the third blast, swarming up from 
 the moss below, dropping from the ferns above, 
 floating on the ripples of the mimic lake, and 
 turning somersaults over the mushrooms, came 
 hundreds of lovely little creatures, all gay, all 
 graceful, all in green. How they danced to and 
 fro, airy as motes in a sunbeam ! how they sung 
 and shouted, as they peeped everywhere ! and how 
 their tiny faces shone as they rejoiced over the 
 pleasant land they had found ! For the same 
 peal that brought the moss people from their beds 
 woke up every inanimate thing in fairy-land. 
 
 The toy -birds began to sing, the butterflies and 
 lady-bugs fluttered gayly about, the white hound 
 
THE MOSS PEOPLE 55 
 
 broke his chain and frisked away, the wooden 
 maid began to churn, the mother set the cradle 
 rocking, while the mite of a baby kicked up its 
 wooden legs, and the man whipped the donkey, 
 which gave such a natural bray Marnie couldn't 
 help laughing, it was so droll. Smoke rose from 
 the Swiss cottage, as if fairy feasts were being 
 cooked within ; and the merry moss people, 
 charmed with the pretty house, crowded it so full 
 that every window showed half-a-dozen bright 
 faces, the balcony quite creaked with the weight 
 of them, and green caps came bobbing out at the 
 chimney-top. 
 
 Dear me, what fun they did have ! Marnie 
 never saw such capital games before ; and the 
 best of it was, every one joined in them, — moss 
 men and women, wee moss children, even moss 
 grandfathers and mothers, as gray as the lichens 
 from which they came. Delightful little folk 
 they were, so lovely in face, so quaint in dress, so 
 blithe and brisk in spirit, so wonderful and be- 
 witching altogether that Marnie longed to call 
 her mother, but did not, lest a word should 
 frighten them away. 
 
 Presently she caught the sound of delicate 
 noises, and, listening intently, she discovered that 
 they were talking of her. 
 
56 THE MOSS PEOPLE 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! is n't this a fine pleasure-ground for 
 us this rainy day ! " cried one merry moss boy, as 
 he paused to settle his pointed cap, after turning 
 somersaults till he looked like a leaf blown about 
 by the wind. 
 
 " Hush, Prance," whispered a pretty little moss 
 girl, with a wreath of coral in her hair, " you will 
 wake the child if you shout so loud, and then she 
 will no longer see and hear us, which would be 
 a pity ; for we amuse her, as one may guess by 
 the smile on her face." 
 
 Now that surprised Marnie very much, for she 
 was sure she was wide awake, and would have 
 said so, if she had not remembered that it was 
 not pohte to contradict. 
 
 " What shall we do to thank this child for 
 making us a pretty garden ? " said Prance, skip- 
 ping because he could n't keep still. 
 
 " Let us put her baby-house in order," answered 
 little Trip, who was a tidy body. 
 
 " So we will, and play in it afterward," cried all 
 the moss children, whisking away to the corner 
 of the nursery where Mamie's toys were tumb- 
 ling about. Such busy, helpful little people as 
 they were! and such wonders as they worked 
 with their fairy fingers ! Marnie forgot to be 
 ashamed of the disorderly baby-house in her de- 
 light at the change they soon wrought. 
 
THE MOSS PEOPLE 57 
 
 The boys mended broken chairs and tables, 
 pots and pans, trundled the small furniture to 
 its proper place, and attended to the wooden 
 cows and horses in the topsy-turvy barn. The 
 little maids swept and dusted, put the doll's 
 clothes in order, ran about the kitchen, wash- 
 ing cups and dishes, or rubbed up the mirrors 
 in the drawing room, which was a very fine 
 apartment. Yes, indeed ! for the curtains were 
 of red damask, the sofa had real pillows, a tiny 
 piano tinkled its six notes, and the centre-table 
 held a vase of elegant wax-flowers, not to men- 
 tion that there was a grate, gilt clock, two fine 
 candlesticks, and portraits of all the dolls painted 
 by mamma. 
 
 " There ! " said Prance, when not a speck of dust 
 remained, " now things look as they should, and 
 I hope Miss Mamie will take the hint and keep 
 her house tidy. Now what shall we play ? " 
 
 " I 've been thinking this would be a nice 
 chance to try living like real people, as we have 
 often wanted to. Let some be servants, some fine 
 ladies and gentlemen, and all do as much like 
 these persons in the house as we can." 
 
 As Trip spoke, all the moss children clapped 
 their hands and skipped about, crying, — 
 
 "We will! we will!" 
 
58 THE MOSS PEOPLE 
 
 The dear little sprites had no idea that servants 
 were not as nice parts to play as master and mis- 
 tress ; so one was Byelow the nurse, and put on 
 a cap and shawl, and took some very young moss 
 folk into the doll's nursery to play be the fine 
 people's children. Another was cook, and clat- 
 tered the pans about in the kitchen with a big 
 apron on, and her little dress pinned up. A third 
 was Dimity the maid, very smart indeed, and full 
 of airs. A stoutish moss boy was coachman, and 
 began to rub down the painted horses and furbish 
 up the little carriages in the stable, while another 
 with plump legs put powder on his head and 
 played footman. 
 
 Prance and Trip took the hardest parts of all, 
 for they said they would be master and mistress. 
 There was no trouble about clothes, for some 
 fashion-books lay on the table, and these queer 
 little things only had to choose what costume 
 they would have, when, lo and behold ! there it 
 was all made and on. Marnie did n't think them 
 half so pretty in the fashionable finery as in their 
 own simple green suits, and she laughed heartily 
 at the funny mistakes they made in getting their 
 furbelows and feathers properly arranged. Poor 
 Prance quite gasped in his little broadcloth suit 
 as he put on a tiny beaver, smoothed his gloves, 
 
THE MOSS PEOPLE 59 
 
 and shouldered a doll's umbrella, saying so like 
 Mamie's papa that she quite started: 
 
 " Mrs. Prance, I wish to dine at three ; don't 
 be behind hand." 
 
 " Yes, dear," meekly answered Trip, who had 
 whisked into an elegant morning-dress and cap, 
 and nodded from the window as Mr. Prance went 
 by to his office. 
 
 " What will you have for dinner, ma'am ? " 
 asked Skillet the cook, popping her head into the 
 parlor where madam was playing read a novel on 
 the sofa. 
 
 " Mercy on us ! I 'm sure I don't know ; ' ' and 
 little Mrs. Prance ran down to see what there 
 was in the pantry. 
 
 Mr. Prance was evidently not a good provider ; 
 for all she could find was a pea which came out 
 of one of the boats, some jelly, sugar, milk, and 
 cake which Mamie had been playing with, and a 
 whole dinner in wood, painted brilliantly and 
 stuck on to the dishes. 
 
 " It 's a rainy day, and no one is likely to come 
 to dinner, so we will have a pease pudding with 
 jelly, and warm up these dishes, for everything 
 is very high, — we must economize," said Mrs. 
 Prance, shaking her head, just as mamma often 
 did when she visited the kitchen. 
 
60 THE MOSS PEOPLE 
 
 " Very well, ma'am," returned Skillet, retiring 
 into the closet to eat cake and jelly, and drink 
 the milk as soon as her mistress left the room. 
 
 " It 's time to dress, I suppose, for some one 
 may call. Get out my blue silk and lace head- 
 dress, Dimity," said Airs. Prance going up to her 
 chamber, too busy about her toilet to mind the 
 baby, who was crying in the nursery. 
 
 " Lace me tightly. I 'm growing stout, I do 
 believe, and my figure will be ruined if I allow 
 it," said madam ; and Dimity squeezed her into 
 such a tight dress that Trip got a pain in her 
 side directly. " I can bear it a little while, but I 
 don't see how ladies can do it all the time, — it 's 
 dreadful ! " she sighed, as Dimity piled her pretty 
 hair in a fuzzy bunch on the top of her head, and 
 hung jewels in her little ears, after putting costly 
 bits of lace here and there, and poking her tiny 
 feet into high-heeled boots that made her totter 
 when she tried to walk. These and her train 
 nearly tripped her up, for, if Dimity had not 
 caught her, Mrs. Prance would have tumbled 
 downstairs. 
 
 Hardly was she safe in the parlor when the 
 bell rang, and Buttons showed in several very 
 fashionable ladies, who sat down and began to 
 talk about dress, servants, gentlemen, and the 
 
THE MOSS PEOPLE 61 
 
 opera, so exactly like some of mamma's callers 
 that Marnie wondered where the sly little moss 
 people could have been hidden to know how to 
 imitate them so well. As soon as one lady left, 
 all the rest said sharp things about her ; and 
 when they got out, after saying good-by most 
 tenderly, they all abused Mrs. Prance, who said 
 to herself when alone : 
 
 "Tiresome, ill-natured creatures, I can't bear 
 any of them ; but I must return their calls as soon 
 as my new bonnet comes from Paris." 
 
 By the time the last gossip was gone, it was 
 past two, and Mrs. Prance was dying for her 
 dinner, being quite exhausted. Imagine her dis- 
 may when her husband arrived with two gentle- 
 men to dine. She clasped her hands and flew 
 into the kitchen, where she found Skillet fuming 
 over the little stove, and scolding because it 
 wasn't a range like the one she used in her 
 last place. Everything was in confusion, and the 
 prospect of dinner a gloomy one. 
 
 "We must have soup," cried distracted Mrs. 
 Prance. 
 
 " No meat to make it of, ma'am," said Skillet, 
 crossly. 
 
 " Boil two or three of these caraway-seeds in a 
 pot of hot water, pepper it well, and add the leg 
 
62 THE MOSS PEOPLE 
 
 of that fly to give it a relish, then call it by 
 some French name, and it will be all right," 
 returned Mrs. Prance, who was suddenly inspired 
 by this bright thought. "Dissolve some of the 
 jelly for wine, and send up those nuts and raisins 
 for dessert. Do your best, Skillet, and don't keep 
 us waiting." 
 
 " I 'd like to give you a week's warning, ma'am, 
 the place don't suit me," said the red-faced cook, 
 with her arms akimbo. 
 
 " Don't be impertinent. Skillet ! You can go to- 
 morrow, if you wish, but till then behave your- 
 self," and Mrs. Prance retired with dignity. 
 
 Dressing her tired countenance in smiles, she 
 went to welcome her undesired guests, and thank 
 them for " this unexpected pleasure." Mr. William 
 Wisp and Mr. Eobin Goodfellow were two very 
 elegant little gentlemen, with ruffled shirt-fronts, 
 eye-glasses, and curled-up mustaches, quite splen- 
 did to behold. They chatted with their host and 
 hostess in the most affable manner, affecting not 
 to see that Mr. Prance's face grew more and more 
 stern every minute, and that poor Mrs. Prance 
 cast despairing glances at the clock, which plainly 
 said " half -past three." 
 
 It really was becoming awkward, when But- 
 tons announced, " Dinner, ma'am," and the cloud 
 
THE MOSS PEOPLE 63 
 
 lifted suddenly from the faces of all. Skillet had 
 done her best, fearing she would n't get her wages 
 if she did n't ; and the first course did very well. 
 
 Greasy warm water, flavored with pepper, was 
 so like a French soup no one knew the difference, 
 and everybody took a few sips and pretended to 
 like it ; but to airy creatures, fed on sun and dew, 
 it was n't nice, of course. There was no fish, for 
 the tin ones melted in the frying-pan ; and there 
 was no time to get any more. The wooden leg of 
 mutton got burnt in the oven, and the painted 
 vegetables were not very satisfactory, though they 
 looked quite fine. Mr, Prance frowned as he 
 chipped away at the meat, and Mrs. Prance wanted 
 to sob behind her napkin as he gave her a black 
 look, saying sternly : 
 
 " Mrs. P., your cook is unbearable. I desire that 
 you will dismiss her at once." 
 
 '•' I have, my dear," meekly answered his wife ; 
 and then good-natured Mr. Wisp struck in with a 
 droll anecdote, while every one pecked at the 
 painted feast, and was glad when the pudding 
 came. 
 
 Here was another blow ; for instead of leaving 
 the pea in its skin, and sending it up a nice, round 
 little pudding. Skillet had taken the skin off as if 
 it was the cloth it was boiled in, and nothing re- 
 
64 THE MOSS PEOPLE 
 
 mained but a mealy ruin. Mrs. Prance groaned, 
 and then coughed to hide the sound of woe, and 
 served out her dish with the calmness of despair. 
 The jelly did n't go round, the cook had eaten so 
 much on the sly ; and when the wine came, Mr. 
 Prance looked disgusted, it was so weak. How- 
 ever, the nuts and raisins were all right ; and after 
 one sip of currant-water, in answer to the gentle- 
 men when they drank her health, unhappy Mrs. 
 Prance left the table, wishing that she never had 
 been born. 
 
 Trip was a clever little sprite, and entered into 
 the spirit of her part so heartily that she really 
 dropped a tear or two as she sat alone in her fine 
 drawing-room. Presently the gentlemen came to 
 say good-by, for they were going to try Prance's 
 horses. Tired Mrs. Prance wished her husband 
 would ask her to join them, — a drive would be 
 so refreshing; but he only nodded grimly, and 
 went away without a word. Mrs. Prance imme- 
 diately took to her bed, for she was to have a 
 party in the evening, and feared she never would 
 live through it if she did n't rest. 
 
 But very little repose did the poor lady get that 
 afternoon, for the children acted as if possessed. 
 Plibberty-Gibbet fell off his rocking-horse and 
 broke the bridge of his nose. Midget set her lit- 
 
THE MOSS PEOPLE 65 
 
 tie dress a-fire and frightened every one out of 
 their wits. Poppet ran out of the back gate, and 
 was lost for a whole hour ; while Weewee, the 
 baby, had a fit, owing to Mrs. Byelow's giving 
 him a pickle when he cried for it. If poor, dear 
 Mrs. Prance was hustled off her bed once that af- 
 ternoon, she was a dozen times, and at last gave 
 it up entirely, whipped the children all round, 
 scolded every servant in the house, had a good cry 
 and a strong cup of tea, and felt better. 
 
 The gentlemen, meantime, had each lighted a 
 tiny cigarette, made from one stolen from papa's 
 box, and had driven off in great style. Mr. 
 Prance had the tin gig with Silver-gray for a horse ; 
 Mr. "Wisp took the straw chaise and yellow Bill 
 harnessed with red ; Mr. Goodfellow chose the 
 smart dog-cart with the creaking wheels, and 
 black Jerry, who had lost his tail, but was a fine 
 beast nevertheless. With their hats on one side, 
 and puffing their cigars, the little gentlemen drove 
 gayly round the squares in the carpet, till Prance 
 proposed a race from one end of a long seam to 
 the other. 
 
 Away they went, with much cracking of whips, 
 and crying out, " Hi, yar ! " looking like three dis- 
 tracted bugs skimming along at a great rate. 
 Prance would have certainly won, if, just as he 
 6 
 
66 THE MOSS PEOPLE 
 
 passed Mr. Wisp, the wheel of the gig had not 
 run against a big knot in the seam, which upset 
 Mr. Prance right in the way of Mr. Wisp, whose 
 straw chaise turned over them all like an extin- 
 guisher, leaving nothing to be seen but yellow 
 Bill's legs sticking straight up in the air. 
 
 Mr. Goodfellow passed the wreck, but soon re- 
 turned in alarm to pull the wounded from the 
 ruins. Prance was only shaken, but poor Mr. 
 Wisp was so much bruised he could not rise, and 
 when they looked about for a carriage in which 
 to get him home, not one of the three could be 
 had, for two were smashed, and Jerry had gal- 
 loped off with the dog-cart, never pausing till he 
 had reached the barn. With much difficulty they 
 lifted the groaning Wisp on to a visiting-card, 
 which fortunately lay on the floor, and bore him 
 away to the residence of Mr. Prance. 
 
 The house had just subsided after the baby's fit, 
 when this arrival set it all in confusion again. 
 Wisp was put into the best bed, where, after a 
 drop of arnica had been applied to his bruises, and 
 a doll's smelling-bottle of hot water to his feet, he 
 groaned himself to sleep. 
 
 Leaving his friend Kobin to take care of him, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Prance snatched a hasty cup of tea, 
 and hurried to dress for their party. 
 
THE MOSS PEOPLE 67 
 
 Mr. Prance, I regret to say, was in a bad humor, 
 for his dinner distressed him, his broken carriages 
 annoyed him, and he did n't feel at all like seeing 
 company. He pulled the bell down ringing for 
 hot water, told the footman he was a " blockhead " 
 because his boots were not blacked to his mind, 
 and asked his wife " why the dickens the buttons 
 were always off his shirts ? " 
 
 Mrs. Prance was likewise out of sorts, and 
 nothing went well. The new pink lace dress was 
 not becoming. Dimity did n't dress her hair well, 
 and she looked so pale and nervous that she was 
 quite discouraged. 
 
 When master and mistress met at last in the 
 lighted drawing-room, two crosser little faces were 
 seldom seen. Trip threw herself into an armchair 
 with a sigh, and put on her gloves in silence. 
 Prance, who was a waggish moss boy, marched 
 solemnly up and down the room with his hands 
 in his pockets, and an air of offended dignity that 
 made Mamie shake with laughter. 
 
 " Mrs. Prance, you gave us a very bad dinner 
 today, and I was much mortified. If you can't 
 manage better, madam, I shall give up house- 
 keeping." 
 
 "I sincerely wish you would, my dear, for what 
 with servants, and children, and company, I am 
 
68 THE MOSS PEOPLE 
 
 nearly worn out," and Mrs. Prance sobbed behind 
 her lace handkerchief. 
 
 " I thought when I married you that you were 
 able to look after things properly," said Mr. 
 Prance, still marching up and down with a frown 
 on his face. 
 
 " I never was taught to do anything but look 
 pretty," sighed Mrs. Prance. 
 
 " Don't be a goose, my dear." 
 
 " You used to call me an angel." 
 
 Here the bell rang. Mr. Prance took his hands 
 out of his pockets, Mrs. Prance dried her tears, 
 and both looked quite gay and beaming when the 
 guests appeared. 
 
 Such dashing little beaux and belles as did ar- 
 rive, dressed in the most astonishing style, — the 
 ladies with bits of bouquets and fans, satin slip- 
 pers, and trailing skirts. The gentlemen had 
 stiff collars, gay ties, wee boots and gloves, and 
 twirled their eyeglasses as if they had been going 
 to parties all their lives. Every one simpered 
 and chatted, laughed and flirted, looked at each 
 other's clothes, and whispered gossip round the 
 room. Then a band of moss people, led by the 
 green huntsman's horn, struck up the blithest 
 dancing tune ever heard, and the little company 
 began to spin round in couples like a party of tee- 
 
THE MOSS PEOPLE 69 
 
 totums. It was not the airy, graceful gambols 
 Mamie had admired in her fairy-land, but it was 
 the fashionable step, and therefore must be ele- 
 gant. There seemed to be a good deal of romping, 
 and the gentlemen twisted the ladies about till 
 they looked quite flushed. 
 
 They kept up the dancing as hard as they 
 could till supper- time, when every one ate as if 
 exhausted. Where the supper came from, Marnie 
 did n't know ; but there it was — ice, salad, cake, 
 coffee, oysters, and wine, all complete, and the 
 company made themselves uncomfortable eating 
 all sorts of stuff at that late hour. After supper, 
 several of the young ladies sang, opening their 
 mouths very wide, and screaming small screams 
 without any music in them, while the little piano 
 tottered under the banging it received. Then 
 Misses Moth, Cobweb, and Peaseblossom gave an 
 air from the famous opera of " Oberon," and every 
 one said, " How sweet ! " as they patted their 
 gloves together and tried to look as if they knew 
 all about it. 
 
 After a good deal of noise, there was dancing 
 again, and Marnie observed that the company got 
 more and more excited. Some of the gentlemen 
 were very silly, but the ladies did not seem to 
 mind it. Poor Mr. and Mrs. Prance were so tired 
 
70 THE MOSS PEOPLE 
 
 they could hardly keep their eyes open, and when 
 at last their guests began to go they could scarcely 
 hide their joy. 
 
 " Such a charming party ! " " Had a most de- 
 lightful time ! " said the people, bidding them 
 good-night ; and then added as soon as the door 
 was shut : " Was n't it a miserable affair ? " 
 " Those Prances are very ordinary people, and I 
 shall not go again," — quite in the regular way. 
 
 I 'm sorry to say that Mr. Prance was one of 
 those who had taken too much wine ; and when 
 Mrs. Prance fell into a chair exhausted, he sat 
 down upon the fender and began to sing : 
 
 " Where the bee sucks, there suck I," 
 
 in a sleepy voice, nodding like an owl. 
 
 This was very trying to Mrs. Prance's feelings, 
 she lost her temper, and scolded him as well as 
 she knew how. Marnie was quite frightened to 
 hear the lecture she gave her naughty husband, 
 who sat smiling and blinking till his little coat- 
 tails took fire. The instant a bright blaze shot 
 up behind him as he skipped off the fender, Mrs. 
 Prance stopped scolding, and ran to put the fire 
 out like a devoted little wife. But, oh ! sad to 
 tell, her dress caught, and in a minute two blazes 
 flew about the room like a pair of lively Will-o'- 
 
THE MOSS PEOPLE 71 
 
 the-wisps. Every one screamed and ran, men 
 and maids, Mr. Goodfellow and his patient, the 
 children tumbled out of bed, and came scamper- 
 ing downstairs, andWeewee roared in his cradle 
 as loud as if he tried to call " Fire ! Fire ! " 
 
 Marnie was so frightened at the idea of those 
 cunning, tricksy imps being burnt up, that she 
 screamed also with all her might, and in a minute 
 every sign of the moss people vanished. She 
 rubbed her eyes, but all was quiet, — nothing 
 stirred in fairy-land ; the doll's house was topsy- 
 turvy as before, and all she saw were hundreds of 
 motes dancing in the sunshine that now shone 
 brightly on her face. Marnie was so sorry to lose 
 her new playmates, that she would have cried 
 about it if mamma had not waked up just then 
 and asked what was the matter. When Marnie 
 had told her all about it, she laughed at the funny 
 dream, and then looked sober, as she said, with a 
 kiss : 
 
 " If these sly rogues are going to come and 
 imitate us to amuse our little children, we must 
 be careful what we do that we may set them a 
 good example." 
 
 " You and papa are not so bad as Mr. and Mrs. 
 Prance, though you do some of the things they 
 did. But the droll little moss boys and girls set 
 
72 THE MOSS PEOPLE 
 
 me a good example in one way, and I 'm going to 
 show them that I don't forget it," said Mamie, 
 beginning to put her playthings in order. 
 
 " So am I," added mamma, laughing again as 
 she put away her novel and took up her sewing, 
 thinking to herself that she really would attend 
 more to the comfort of home, and not care so 
 much for fashionable society. 
 
 So you see some good was done after all by the 
 merry little phantoms of a dream, for Mamie and 
 mamma did not forget the moss people. 
 
New Illustrated Edition of 
 The Spinning-Wheel Series 
 
 THE SPINNING-WHEEL SERIES 
 
 By Louisa M. Alcott. New Illustrated Edition. Uniform in 
 size with the Illustrated Edition of The Little Women Series, 
 printed from entirely new plates, with new and attractive cover 
 design. 4 vols. i2mo. Decorated cloth, in box, $6.00. Separately, 
 
 $1.50. 
 
 1. SPINNING-WHEEL STORIES 
 
 With 8 full-page pictures and vignette on titlepage by Wm. A. 
 McCuUough. '^1.50. 
 
 2. SILVER PITCHERS 
 
 With 8 full-page pictures and vignette on titlepage by J. W. F. Kennedy. 
 
 $1.50. 
 
 3. PROVERB STORIES 
 
 With 8 full-page pictures and vignette on titlepage by Ethel Pennewill 
 Brown. $1.50- 
 
 4. A GARLAND FOR GIRLS 
 
 With 8 full-page pictures and vignette on titlepage by Clara E 
 Atwood and other artists. $1.50. 
 
 FOUR volumes of healthy and hearty stories so told as to 
 fascinate the young people, while inculcating sturdy courage 
 and kindness to the weak in the boys, and in the girls those virtues 
 which fit them for filling a woman's place in the home. The several 
 artists have caught the spirit of the author and have provided capital 
 illustrations for these new editions. 
 
 It is not rash to say that Miss Alcott's stories were never more 
 appealing to young readers than at the present moment. In spite 
 of a profusion of juvenile fiction, they have steadily held their own ; 
 and they persistently refuse, through their inherent merits, to be 
 elbowed aside by pretentious modern stories of unnatural and unreal 
 childhood life. The very genuineness of character and incident, 
 the homely appeal to all that is best in young womanhood and 
 young manhood, have made ''Little Men," ''Little Women," 
 and their successors classics in their kind. — Boston Transcript. 
 
 LITTLE, BROWN, & COMPANY 
 
 Publisher;, 34 BEACON STREET, BOSTON, MASS. 
 
New Illustrated Editions of 
 Miss Alcott's Famous Stories 
 
 THE LITTLE WOMEN SERIES 
 
 By Louisa M. Alcott. Illustrated Edition. With eighty-four 
 full-page plates from drawings especially made for this edition by 
 Reginald B. Birch, Alice Barber Stephens, Jessie Willcox Smith, 
 and Harriet Roosevelt Richards. 8 vols. Crown 8vo. Decorated 
 cloth, gilt, in box, $16.00. 
 
 Separately as follows : 
 
 1. LITTLE MEN : Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys 
 
 With 15 full-page illustrations by Reginald B. Birch. $2.00. 
 
 2. LITTLE WOMEN : or Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy 
 
 With 15 full-page illustrations by Alice Barber Stephens. $2.00. 
 
 3. AN OLD-FASHIONED GIRL 
 
 With 12 full-page pictures by Jessie Willcox Smith. $2.00. 
 
 4. JO'S BOYS, and How They Turned Out 
 
 A Sequel to " Little Men." With 10 full-page plates by Ellen Wetherald 
 Ahrens. $2.00. 
 
 5. EIGHT COUSINS; or, the Aunt-Hill 
 
 With 8 full-page pictures by Harriet Roosevelt Richards. 
 
 6. ROSE IN BLOOM 
 
 A Sequel to "Eight Cousins." With 8 full-page pictures by Harriet 
 Roosevelt Richards, f 2.00. 
 
 7. UNDER THE LILACS 
 
 With 8 original full-page pictures by Alice Barber Stephens. $2.00. 
 
 8. JACK AND JILL 
 
 With 8 full-page pictures from drawings by Harriet Roosevelt Richards. 
 
 $2.00. 
 
 The artists selected to illustrate have caught the spirit cf the orio;inals and contributed a 
 
 series of strikingly beautiful aud faithful pictures of the author's characters and scenes. — 
 
 BoUon Herald. 
 
 Alice Barber Stephens, who is very near the head of American illustrators, has shown 
 
 wonderful ability in delineating the characters and costumes for "Little Women." They are 
 
 almost startlingly realistic. — Worcester Spy. 
 
 Miss Alcott's books have never before had such an attractive typographical dress as the 
 
 present. 'I'hey are printed in large type on heavy paper, artistically bound, and illustrated 
 
 with many full-page drawings. — Philadelphia Press. 
 
 LITTLE, BROWN, G? COMPANY 
 
 Puklishers, 34 BEACON STREET, BOSTON, MASS. 
 
Susan Coolidge's Story Books 
 
 STORIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. Fully Illus- 
 trated. 12 vols. i2mo. Uniformly bound, in box, ^15.00. 
 Separately, ^1.25 each, as follows: 
 
 1. THE NEW YEAR'S BARGAIN. A Christmas Story for 
 
 Children. 
 
 2. MISCHIEF'S THANKSGIVING, and Other Stories. 
 
 3. NINE LITTLE GOSLINGS. 
 
 4. EYEBRIGHT. A Story. 
 
 5. CROSS PATCH, and Other Stories. Adapted from the Myths 
 
 of Mother Goose. 
 
 6. A ROUND DOZEN. 
 
 7. A LITTLE COUNTRY GIRL. 
 
 8. JUST SIXTEEN. 
 
 9. A GUERNSEY LILY; or, How the Feud was Healed. A 
 
 Story of the Channel Islands. 
 
 10. THE BARBERRY BUSH, and Eight Other Stories about 
 
 Girls for Girls. 
 
 11. NOT QUITE EIGHTEEN. 
 
 12. A SHEAF OF STORIES. 
 
 Not even Miss Alcott appreliends child nature with finer sympathy, or pictures its nobler 
 traits with more skill. — Boston Daily Advertiser. 
 
 THE KATY DID SERIES. Illustrated. 5 vols. i2mo. 
 Uniformly bound, in box, ^6.25. Separately, $1.25 each, as 
 follows : 
 
 1. WHAT KATY DID. A Story. 
 
 2. WHAT KATY DID AT SCHOOL. Being more about " What 
 
 Katy Did." 
 
 3. WHAT KATY DID NEXT. 
 
 4. CLOVER. 
 
 5. IN THE HIGH VALLEY. 
 
 Susan Coolidge has always possessed the affection of her young readers, for it seems as if 
 she had ihe happy instinct of planning stories that each girl would like to act out in reality. 
 — The Critic. 
 
 LITTLE, BROWN, & COMPANY 
 
 Publishers, 34 BEACON STREET, BOSTON, MASS. 
 
Stories of War» the Sea» Adventure^ 
 Discovery^ and Inventions 
 
 Collected and Edited by 
 
 EDWARD EVERETT HALE 
 
 Author of ''The Man Without a Country/* etc. 
 
 Stories of War* Told by Soldiers. i6mo. Cloth. $i.oo. 
 
 These stories of great battles of the Civil War told by soldiers in- 
 clude Bull Run, Forts Henry and Donelson, the Peninsula Campaign, 
 Antietam, Pittsburg Landing, Vicksburg, Gettysburg, Chicamauga, 
 Chattanooga, the Wilderness Campaign, Sherman's March, and the 
 Siege of Richmond. 
 
 Stories of the Sea. Told by Sailors. i6mo. Cloth. $i.oo. 
 These stories of great voyages told by sailors include Columbus' 
 return, the Spanish Armada, the voyages of Alexander Selkirk and 
 Paul Jones, Nelson at Trafalgar, and a chapter on shipwrecks. 
 
 Stories of Adventure* Told by Adventurers. New edition. 
 Illustrated. i2mo. Cloth. ^1.25. 
 
 This new edition contains vivid accounts of the adventures of Marco 
 Polo, Mandeville, Cortez, Coronando, the Jesuits, Humboldt, etc., 
 illustrated with valuable portraits and pictures. 
 
 Stories of Discovery. Told by Discoverers. New edition. 
 Illustrated. i2mo. Cloth. ^1.25. 
 
 These stories of great discoverers told by discoverers are now for 
 the first time illustrated. Included in the book are the discoveries of 
 Columbus, Da Gama, Magalhaens, Drake, Verrazzano, Gilbert, Gos- 
 noll, John Smith, Carteret, Matavai, etc. Describes the search for 
 the North West Passage. 
 
 Stories of Invention. Told by Inventors. i6mo. Cloth. 
 Price, $1.00. 
 
 The stories of great inventors told by inventors include the 
 inventions of Archimedes, Friar Bacon, Cellini, Palissy, Franklin, 
 Edgeworth, Watt, Fulton, Stephenson, Whitney, Nasmyth, Bessemer, 
 and Goodyear. Valuable hints are given as to using reference books 
 and doing original research. 
 
 LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY, Publishers 
 34 BEACON STREET, BOSTON, MASS. 
 
ANNA CHAPIN RAY'S 
 
 "TEDDY" STORIES 
 
 Miss Ray's work draws instant comparison with the best of Miss Alcott's : first, 
 because she has the same genuine sympathy with boy and girl life ; secondly, 
 because she creates real characters, individual and natural, like the young people 
 one knows, actually working out the same kind of problems ; and, finally, because 
 her style of writing is equally ur>affected and straightforward, — Christian Register, 
 Boston. 
 
 TEDDY: HER BOOK. A Story of Sweet Sixteen 
 
 Illustrated by Vesper L. George. i2mo. $1.50. 
 
 This bewitching story of "Sweet Sixteen," with its earnestness, impetuosity, 
 merry pranks, and unconscious love for her hero, has the same spring-like charm. — 
 Kate Sanborn. 
 
 PHEBE: HER PROFESSION. A Sequel to "Teddy: 
 
 Her Book 
 
 Illustrated by Frank T. Merrill. i2mo. $1.50. 
 
 This is one of the few books written for young people in which there is to be 
 found the same vigor and grace that one demands in a good story for older people. 
 — Worcester Spy. 
 
 TEDDY: HER DAUGHTER 
 
 A Sequel to "Teddy: Her Book," and "Phebe: Her Profession" 
 
 Illustrated by J. B. Graff. i2mo. $1.50. 
 
 It is a human story, all the characters breathing life and activity. — Buffalo Times. 
 
 NATHALIE'S CHUM 
 
 Illustrated by Ellen Bernard Thompson. i2mo. $1.50. 
 
 Nathalie is the sort of a young girl whom other girls like to read about. — Hartford 
 Courant. 
 
 URSULA'S FRESHMAN. A Sequel to "Nathalie's Chum" 
 Illustrated by Harriet Roosevelt Richards. i2mo. $1.50. 
 The best of a series already the best of its kind. — Boston Herald. 
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER. ^ ^^o,M€i to "Ursula's Fresh- 
 
 man 
 Illustrated by Alice Barber Stephens. i2mo. $1.50. 
 Feggy, the heroine, is a most original little lady who says and does all sorts of 
 interesting things. She has pluck and spirit, and a temper, but she is very lovable, 
 and girls will find h(:r deliglitful to read about. — Louisville Evening Post. 
 
 LITTLE, BROWN, ^COMPANY, Publishers 
 34 BEACON ST., BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 
 
ANNA CHAPIN RAY'S 
 
 "SIDNEY" STORIES 
 
 Having completed the "Teddy" book=, which delighted and continue to entertain 
 thousands of readers, Miss Ray in her new " Sidney " books utilizes new scenes and 
 an entirely new set of characters. 
 
 Anna Chapin Ray is to the present generation of youthful readers what Louisa M. 
 Alcott was to her generation. Her stories may be commended for their straight- 
 forward, simple style, their clean atmosphere, and their uplifting influence on the 
 characters of all who peruse them. — Boston Transcript. 
 
 SIDNEY: HER SUMMER ON THE 
 ST. LAWRENCE 
 
 Illustrated by Alice Barber Stephens. l2nio. $\.^0. 
 
 Sidney Stavre is another of this author's true, helpful, earnest girl characters.— 
 Denver Republican. 
 
 JANET: HER WINTER IN QUEBEC 
 
 Illustrated by Alice Barber Stephens. i2mo. $i 50. 
 
 Gives a delightful picture of Canadian I'fe and introduces a g'oup of young people 
 who are bright and wholesome and good to read about. — New Yoik Globe, 
 
 DAY: HER YEAR IN NEW YORK 
 
 Illustrated by Harriet Roosevelt Richards. i2mo. $1.50. 
 
 The third volume of the " Sidney Books." in which Phyllis, Sidnev's younger 
 sister, develops from a well-meaning blunderer into an affectionate, tactful character. 
 — The Bookman, New York. 
 
 SIDNEY AT COLLEGE 
 
 Illustrated by Harriet Roosevelt Richards. i2mo. {Ji.JO. 
 
 The heroine is a freshman at Smith College and the story reveals the social 
 pleasures and the sorrows of college life. — Boston Transcript. 
 
 JANET AT ODDS 
 
 Illustrated by Harriet Roosevelt Richards. l2mo. $1.50. 
 
 The fifth "Sidney" story tells how Janet conducted a boarding house for her 
 friends during a summer in Quebec. 
 
 LITTLE, BROWN, £5? COMPANY, Publishers 
 34 BEACON STREET, BOSTON, MASS. 
 
Books by Katharine Pyle 
 
 THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL 
 
 With 6 full-page plates and 14- 
 decorative headings, etc., by 
 the Author. ]2mo. |1.25. 
 
 A CHARMING story of Kris 
 Kringle and the Wonder Coun- 
 try whsre all the toys are alive. A 
 little girl finds a door in a tree, and 
 opening it with a tiny key, discovers 
 that it leads to "Toy land." In this 
 "Wonder-Country" she has many 
 adventures. 
 
 A really delightful Christmas 
 book, teeming with marvellous ad- 
 ventures. — Tke Oatlouk. 
 
 AS THE GOOSE FLIES 
 
 Fully Illustrated by the Author. 12mo. SI. 25. 
 
 A pretty fairy story of a little girl who, on the back of a great 
 white gandar, visits Mother Goose land and fairy land and 
 talks and plays with all her favorites there. — Public Opinion. 
 
 IN THE GREEN FOREST 
 
 Fully Illustrated by the Author. Small 4to. $1.50. 
 
 The book is full of pretty, delicate fancies, pleasingly told, 
 with the right spirit of fairy magic and mystery. — Philadelphia 
 Telegraph. 
 
 NANCY HUTLEDGE 
 
 With 6 full-page illustrations by the Author. 12mo. 
 
 $1.25. 
 
 Nancy is a dear little maid, and the story of how she moved 
 to town and all the things she did there is told with charm- 
 ing simplicity. — Chicacjo Record- Herald. 
 
 Little, Brown, & Co., Publishers 
 
 34: Beacon Street, Bostou 
 
Bright, Lively, and Enjoyable 
 
 "JOLLY GOOD TIMES" 
 SERIES 
 
 By MARY P. WELLS SMITH 
 
 1. Jolly Good Times ; or, 5. Jolly Good Times To-Day 
 
 Child Life on a Farm 6. A Jolly Good Summer 
 
 2. Jolly Good Times at School T. The Browns 
 
 3. Jolly Good Times at Hack- 8. Their Canoe Trip 
 
 MATACK 
 
 4. More Good Times at Hack- lUustrated. Cloth. 
 
 MATACK $1.25 each 
 
 THESE books ("Jolly Good Times," etc.) give the best 
 possible picture of New England child life about 
 seventy-five years ago. — Miss Hunt, Supt. Children's Dept. 
 Brooklyn Public Library. 
 
 Allow me to express, unasked, the zest and satisfaction 
 with which I read "Jolly Good Times." I am delighted 
 that the joyous country life of New England is painted in 
 its true colors for children. — CoL. Thomas Wentworth 
 Higginson. 
 
 There is a fine fresh flavor of country life in what Mrs. 
 Smith writes, and her characters, particularly her chil- 
 dren, are thoroughly real and human. — R. H. Stoddard in 
 New York Mail and Express. 
 
 A bit of real literature is " Jolly Good Times at Hack- 
 matack." It has all the vividness of actual experience. — 
 New York Tribune. 
 
 LITTLE, BROWN, & CO., Publishers 
 
 34 BEACON STREET, BOSTON 
 
ii 
 
 II 
 
 ■ 
 
 III'