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 FIRST HISTORIAN OP I fTBRARY 
 
 TITLE CONFGftWBD BV CALIFORNIA 
 
 UBQiaLATURB, 
 SANFRAACUCO. 
 
GIFT OF 
 Ella Sterling Mighels 
 
MAYFLOWER SERIES FOR GIRLS 
 
 A series of books of sterling 
 worth for girls, by well-known 
 and popular authors, inculcating 
 principles of truth and honor 
 through bright and interesting 
 narratives full of life, action, and 
 interest, and decidedly \v hole- 
 some and instructive. 
 
 EACH VOLUME COMPLETE IN 
 ITSKLF UNIFORM CLOTH BIND 
 ING NEW ATTRACTIVE DIES 
 ILLUSTRATED Trice 75 cents 
 each 
 
 1. ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER 
 
 THAN WORDS By Kate J. 
 Neely 
 
 2. ANGEL CHILDREN or Stories 
 
 from Cloud Land By 
 Charlotte M. Higgins. 
 
 3. BIRDS OF A FKATHER By Mrs. M. E. Bradley 
 
 4. CELESTA a Girl s Book By Mrs. Martha E Berry 
 
 5. CHILDREN OF AMITY COURT By Louise C. Thurston 
 
 6. CRUISE OF THE DASHAWAY or Katie Putnam s Voyage 
 
 By May Manneririg 
 
 7. DAISY or the Fairy Spectacles 
 
 8. FINE FEATHERS DO NOT MAKE FINE BIRDS Bv Kate J. 
 
 Neely 
 
 9. GREAT ROSY DIAMOND By Ann Augusta Carter 
 10 GOING ON A MISSION By Paul Cobden 
 
 11. HANDSOME is THAT HANDSOME DOES By Mrs. M JL 
 
 Bradley 
 
 12. How EVA ROBERTS GAINED HER EDUCATION B., Louise 
 
 C. Thurston 
 
 13. LITTLE MAID OF OXBOW By May Mannering 
 
 14. LITTLE BLOSSOM S REWARD By Emily Hare 
 15 THOUSAND A YEAR By Mrs M. E. Bruce 
 16. MAY COVERLY A Story for Girls 
 
 IT. MINNIE or the Little Woman 
 
 15. XKTTIE S TRIAL By Mrs. S. B. C. Samuels 
 
 I 1 .). ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTIIKK By Kale J. Neel v 
 . (J PINKS AND BLUES or the Orphan Asylum J>y Mrs. Rosa 
 
 Abbott Parker 
 
 VI. SHIPWKKCKKD Gnu. or Adele P>y Mrs. S. B. C. Samuels 
 1. TAKE A PEEP By Paul Cobden 
 
 28. UPSIDE DOWN or Will and Work By Rosa Abbott Parker 
 24 VIOLET a Fairy Story 
 25. WRONG CONFESSED is HALF REDRESSED By Mrs. M E 
 
 Bradley 
 
 LEE and SHEPARD Publishers BOSTON 
 

 VIOLET 
 
V I L E T 
 
 F A I R STORY 
 
 UOSTOX : 
 LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS. 
 
Entend, wording to Act of Oongrww, in the T ear 1U5, by 
 
 PHILLIPS, SAMPSON, AND COMPANY, 
 In the Clerk B Offlo* of the District Court of the District of MMMebntetti 
 
PUBLISHERS ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 IT? the absence of any preface by the author, the publishers 
 desire to call soecial attention to this most exquisite little 
 story. It breathes such a love of Nature in all her forms, 
 inculcates such excellent principles, and is so full of beauty 
 ana simplicity, that it will delight not only children, but all 
 readers of unsophisticated tastes. The author seems to teach 
 the gentle creed which Coleridge has imbodied in those 
 
 iliar lines, 
 
 44 He prayeth well who loveth. well 
 Both man, and bird, and beaat" 
 
 89234 1 
 
VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 VIOLET S HOME. 
 
 ONCE there was a garde, w who Hve& in an 
 old hut of a house, with dive table inside, and 
 some rough stools,. an^vA; large boi-ilia^oeired 
 for a bed, all of which he had made himself. 
 
 There was one window ; but when it stormed 
 the rain beat in so that the old lady, his wife, 
 had to pin her shawl against it, and tken the 
 whole house was dark as night. 
 
 Every body thought these people poor except 
 themselves ; but they had one treasure which \S 
 seemed to them better than a whole mountain 
 of golf 1 and all the ^lendid houses and gay 
 
10 VIOLET I A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 carriages in the world. This was their little 
 daughter Violet, whose presence in their home 
 made it beautiful and stately, and whoso ab 
 sence, they thought, would have made a pal 
 ace dull. 
 
 Violet was not as beautiful as some children. 
 She was pale and slender, and her soft, light 
 hair did not curl in ringlets, but floated over 
 j/ her shoulders like a golden veil. But O, she 
 had such beautiful eyes! They were large, 
 and so bright ar4 clear, and such a deep, 
 deep blue 1 Sometimes they made you think 
 of a b?obk in the shady wood when gleams 
 of sunshine have found their way to it ; some 
 times they were like nothing so much as the 
 violets that grew beside the doorway of her 
 own father s hut. 
 
 The old man had, besides his daughter, a 
 garden, which was dear to him ; and well it 
 might be, for in summer it did one s eyes good 
 to look at the blossoms all tangled together 
 and sprinkled over with great drops of pearly 
 
VIOLET S HOME. 11 
 
 dew. Roses there were, and lilies, and fox 
 gloves, and mignonette, and a great many 
 other flowers that had long names, which Vio 
 let could not remember. Then there were 
 long, neatly-kept beds of vegetables and sweet 
 herbs, which Reuben for that was the gar 
 dener s name carried to market. 
 
 Now, while Reuben was digging his vege 
 tables, his wife and Violet would gather the 
 prettiest flowers and buds, and tie them into 
 bouquets with so much taste that soon the old 
 gardener became famous for his flowers, and 
 many rich people sought him out, promising 
 to buy all he would bring to their houses. 
 
 Flowers only grow in summer time ; and all 
 the year round people must eat, and drink, and 
 wear clothes ; and then Reuben had to pay 
 rent for his garden ; so, notwithstanding their 
 industry, Violet s friends were poor. 
 4 But they were happier than a great many 
 rich people, and certainly loved Violet as well 
 
12 VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 as though she had been a queen. They werfl 
 so kind to her that sometimes the little girl 
 thought, if there were such beings as fairies, 
 they must look into her heart every day, find 
 out her wishes, and tell them to her good par 
 ents. 
 Between you and me, there were two fairies 
 
 one named Love and the other Contentment 
 
 that lived all the time in Reuben s hut ; 
 and though Violet had never seen their faces, 
 and did not even know their names, they were 
 always doing something for her. It was because 
 these excellent friends had touched her coarse 
 garments that they looked fine and soft as vel 
 vet to her eyes ; it was because they never 
 left the old black hut that it looked so clean 
 and sunny cheerful as a palace. 
 
 You may wonder, if these fairies were so 
 powerful, why they didn t have a palace of 
 their own ; but you must remember directly 
 they enter a place it becomes a palace ; and 
 
VIOLET S HOME. 13 
 
 besides, Yiolet possessed a charm so powerful 
 that even the fairies could not fly away unless 
 she gave them leavej) and yet wasn t it 
 queer ? she did not know this herself. 
 3 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 STRANGE PLAYFELLOWS. 
 
 VIOLET S birthday was very near ; but she had 
 forgotten all about it, birthdays came so far 
 apart in her happy life. From morning until 
 evening seemed long enough for a year to her ; 
 she found so much work to do, and such beau 
 tiful walks to take, and had so many play 
 fellows, to say nothing of the two good fairies 
 that always watched over and followed her. 
 
 Perhaps you wonder how the little girl found 
 friends, living as she did away out in a lone 
 some field among the mountains. She could 
 have described her pets to you better than 
 I can, because the fairy Love dressed them up 
 for her in jewels and rainbows, while to others 
 they were only toads, and snakes, a^r 1 flies ; 
 and trees, and brooks, and clouds. 
 
 Jhi) 
 
8TEANGE PLAYFELLOWS. 
 
 Funny playfellows, you will think. There 
 was one good thing about them they never 
 quarrelled or used bad words ; and then it 
 was sport for Violet, after her work was 
 finished, to scamper away with them. 
 
 But if she ran ever so fast, the fairy Love 
 always kept up with her ; and it is well she 
 did ; for if she had staid at home, or fallen 
 into a pit on the way, all Violet s dear play 
 fellows would have changed in an instant 
 have grown ugly and coarse, and, what is worse, 
 she would have trodden on them and crushed 
 their wings by mistake, I hope, for she never 
 had been so wicked ; and Violet herself would 
 have changed into a little peevish girl, with 
 a sickly face and loose yellow hair, and wear 
 ing a dress so coarse and rough you would 
 not give it to a beggar child. 
 
 But Violet kept the charm locked safe in 
 her heart, and therefore, wander wherever she 
 i?culd, the fairies had to follow. They were 
 up with her early in s lmmer mornings, for she 
 
16 VIOLET I A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 lovod dearly to watch the sun rise. Sh^ would 
 climb a hill, at the foot of which Reuben s hut 
 was built, and all alone up there, close, she 
 thought, to the soft, rosy sky, would wait and 
 watch, and at last clap her little hands for 
 joy when the great golden sun came i a sight 
 above the woods. She would stand or tiptoe, 
 and laugh aloud when she -saw the shadows 
 fly away, like frightened birds, before 1he sun 
 shine, which flooded all the valley n->w, and 
 which lay upon the beautiful wreaths of mist 
 that went curling up to meet it from the ponda 
 and brooks, brightening them to dazzling white 
 ness so like the clouds in heaven that Violet 
 half believed the earth about her was beautiful 
 as that far-off blue sky. 
 
 So it would be if every little girl and boy 
 kept two good fairies, like Love and Content 
 ment, flying about with them. 
 
 How the grass glittered with dew! how 
 the slender wild flowers were bowed down 
 with its weight! pearl and diamond beads 
 
STRANGE PLAYFELLOWS. 17 
 
 strung all along the stems, and edging 
 petal. Children who keep in bed until eight 
 o clock know very little about the beauty of 
 summer mornings. Perhaps, even if they did 
 arise in time, they would be afraid of wetting 
 their shoes in the grass ; but Violet was very 
 poor, you know, and never wore a shoe in her 
 ]I C H. oixl l^yed out of doors so much that she 
 >r&,c not ir. t)\o least delicate. 
 
 At soon at .he sunshine had crept near their 
 nes -s among the green boughs of the wood, 
 all the wild birds began to flutter about and 
 sing such loud, clear, sweet songs that Violet 
 could not help joining the chorus ; and any 
 one else would have known that fairies Love 
 and Contentment were singing loudest of all. 
 Violet heard their music, but supposed it came 
 from the birds. How she wanted to fly away 
 with them, up among the beautiful rosy clouds I 
 but Love whispered in her ear, 
 
 "Won t your mother want you, little girl, 
 at home ? Cannot you help her thers ? " and 
 2* 
 
18 VIOLET : A PAIBY 8TOBY. 
 
 just then a bird fluttered away from a dew- 
 wet bough, dashing a whole shower of drops 
 in Violet s face. Instead of being angry, she 
 laughed, and shouted, 
 
 " Do it again, bird. If I can t fly away with 
 you, you may wash my face before you go. Do 
 it again." 
 
 But the bird was soon out of sight among 
 the clouds, and Violet, with these pearly dew- 
 drops clustering in her golden hair, went dajxo- 
 ing down the MIL 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE MOUNTAIN BROOK. 
 
 CLOSE beside the pathway ran a little mur 
 muring brook, foaming and sparkling over its 
 rocky bed, gliding just as merrily through 
 the dark shadows as when its course lay open 
 to the sun. It seemed as if fairy Content 
 ment must have bathed in it, or planted some 
 of the flowers along its brink ; never was 
 there a merrier little stream. 
 
 "I know what you re singing about," said 
 Violet ; " I know, Mr. Brook ; you re trying 
 to make me think you can run down the hill 
 faster than any one else. Let us see ; " and 
 away she flew, and away the brook went after 
 her, and by her side flew the fairies, and over 
 her head the birds all singing, " Success to 
 Violet ! " while the leaves " clapped their little 
 
20 VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 hands " in favor of their friend the brook, and 
 the young birds looked over the edge of their 
 nests to find out what in the world this stir 
 could be about. 
 
 Nobody ever knew which won the race. Up 
 in the clouds the birds sang, " Good, good, 
 good ; it was Violet, Violet ! " while the leaves 
 whispered, " No, no, no, no ; it was the brook ! " 
 But Violet and the brook were as good friends 
 as were the birds and trees ; so they all 
 laughed together, instead of quarrelling. 
 
 When Violet reached home her breakfast 
 was ready, and she sat down on the doorstep 
 with her tin porringer of bread and milk. 
 She was so hungry that it tasted better than 
 a great many nicer breakfasts which have been 
 eaten from silver cups ; but, hungry as she 
 was, she did not forget her kitten, who came, 
 saying, plainly as she could purr, "Leave a 
 little for me." 
 
 Violet had found out that it makes one 
 Unite as happy to be generoug as to eat a 
 
THE MOUNTAIN BROOK. 21 
 
 good breakfast, and kitty had her share. Then 
 she washed her porringer, hung it up in the 
 sun to dry, and ran out in the garden, where 
 her mother was picking flowers, whole baskets 
 full of them, for the market, and told Violet 
 to look among the thickly-clustering leaves of 
 her namesakes, and gather all the blossoms 
 she could find. 
 
 She found a whole apron full, white and 
 blue violets, single and double ones ; these she 
 tied in bunches, with a few bright green leaves 
 around each bouquet. The whole garden was 
 scented with their fragrance, and Violet thought 
 them the prettiest flowers in the world, as well 
 as the sweetest, and wished in her heart that 
 she could, just once, have one of these whole 
 bunches for her own. 
 
 While she knelt on the ground admiring 
 her lovely flowers, and wish ng v. ney need not 
 all be sent away and sold, the fairy Love flew 
 to her mother s side, and whispered in her eai 
 
22 VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 all that Violet was thinking about. Then hei 
 mother remembered that to-morrow would be 
 Violet s birthday, and on that occasion she 
 never forgot to give her a present. But about 
 this I must tell in another chapter. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 TOADY. 
 
 VIOLET passed such long, long, busy days, 
 talking all the time to her mother, her kitten, 
 her toads, or the birds that alighted now and 
 then upon a bush, and sang to her while she 
 worked ; for Violet s mother, though she gave 
 her plenty of time to play, had taught her 
 little girl to sew and read. 
 
 She might have forgotten to do this amid 
 all her own hard work ; but fairy Contentment 
 whispered in her ear that, unless Violet be 
 came useful and industrious, she must fly away, 
 never to return ; and Love, close by, sang, 
 " gee I have brought her these books ; and 
 I ll make the learning easy." 
 
 I told you that some of Violet s playfellows 
 were toads the same ugly brown toads yon 
 
24 VIOLET : A FAIRY 8TOBY. 
 
 have seen hopping about your own gardei, 
 walks. You must not think they were ugly 
 to her ; for, soon as they came in sight, it al 
 ways happened that the shadow of Love s purple 
 wings would fall upon them, and then their 
 brown backs changed to crimson and violet, 
 and the poisonous-looking spots became jew 
 elled studs ; and I will not say they were very 
 graceful pets even then ; but Violet loved them, 
 and they loved her. 
 
 This is the way their acquaintance began : 
 It was a hot day blazing hot ; so light too 
 not a shadow to be seen. Violet had been 
 in the garden at work, and, as she hastened 
 homeward through the scorching sun, almost 
 fell over a great toad, that had been crossing 
 the path, but was so dusty she had mistaken 
 him for a stone or a ball of earth. 
 
 She stooped to see if she had injured him, 
 and patting the toad s back, said, 
 
 "You poor little dirty fellow, don t you 
 know enough to keep out of the sun and dust ? " 
 
TOADY. 25 
 
 Toady looked up at her as if he would 
 Answer if he did but know how to talk ; he 
 only opened and shut, opened and shut, his 
 great wide mouth ; but Violet understood 
 very well what he meant by this ; for the 
 fairy Love teaches a language that is not set 
 down in books or studied in colleges. I have 
 known of great scholars, who could talk in 
 twenty or thirty different tongues, and who 
 yet knew less about this language of Love, 
 which is the very best in the whole wide world, 
 than our poor little barefooted Violet. 
 
 " You re thirsty, are you, toady ? " said she ; 
 " stand still, and I ll give you a drink." 
 
 The toad opened his mouth again, and Violet 
 poured over him a few drops she had left in 
 her watering pot. She was half afraid he 
 would not be very well pleased with such a 
 showering ; but there he stood, stock still, 
 blinking his round red eyes, and opening his 
 mouth at her as if he would say, "More 
 more!" 
 
 S 
 
26 VIOLET I A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 u Well, wait," she said, laughing ; " I ll go 
 to the brook and bring you more water in 
 welcome, just for the sake of seeing your face 
 clean once." 
 
 Away she ran, and toady not only waited 
 for her, but, when she came back, there, one on 
 each side of him, were two smaller toads the 
 three ranged in a row, looking so sober and 
 funny that Violet laughed louder than ever. 
 
 She sprinkled the poor dusty toads all over 
 with cool, bright water from the mountain 
 brook ; and when they had enough, they began 
 to shake their heads and hop away, without 
 even saying, " Thank you," and hid themselves 
 in the grass. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 LOVE S CHARM. 
 
 BUT the next day, (and this is a true story,) 
 when it had grown so warm that Yiolet could 
 not work any longer in the garden, and was 
 going home with her hoe and watering pot, 
 there stood the three toads again in the walk, 
 just as they were the day before, with Toady, 
 as she called him, between the two smaller 
 ones. All three gave a little hop when Yiolet 
 came in sight, and then stood still again. 
 
 This was their way of saying, " Good morn 
 ing ; we hope you haven t forgotten us." 
 
 And long afterwards, whenever Violet passed 
 through the garden walk, especially if the day 
 was warm, she was pretty sure of meeting 
 her new acquaintances. 
 
 They even grew so tame that they would 
 
28 VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 follow her about the garden ; and often she 
 would walk up and down the same path for 
 half an hour at a time, just for the sake of 
 seeing how soberly her droll IHtle pets would 
 hop along after her, turning whenever she 
 turned, and waiting for her whenever she 
 stopped. 
 
 Violet thought them the wisest and most 
 loving toads that ever hopped. She did not 
 know that Love, directly their mistress entered 
 the garden, fastened them to her by a delicate 
 silken cord, just the color of Love s own purple 
 wings, and they could not very well help fol 
 lowing her ; though, if Violet had treated 
 them unkindly, in an instant the purple cord 
 would have lost all its strength, and grown 
 slender as the slenderest thread in a spider 
 web. 
 
 Now, my dear readers, though I hope with 
 all my heart that you will try to be as good 
 and loving as Violet, I don t want you to do 
 every thing she did. All toads are not as 
 
LOVE S CHARM. 29 
 
 fond of a sprinkling as Toady and his young 
 brothers were ; so you mustn t drown the poor 
 things in water every time you meet one. 
 
 What you need is, to persuade the fairies 
 Love and Contentment to live in your home, 
 aod trust to your keeping a charm like the 
 one they had placed in Violet s heart. 
 
 Then, every morning of your lives, they will 
 tell something which you can do, and no one 
 else can do as well, to make others happy 
 kind deeds that will lighten misfortune, and 
 loving words that may enter like music, and 
 dwell in some lonely, sorrowing heart. 
 
 Believe always this one thing that every 
 kind deed you do for others will make you 
 happier then and always, and every unkind 
 deed will make you feel ashamed and sorry 
 BO long as you remember it. No matter to 
 whom the kindness or unkindness may be done 
 a king or a butterfly, your own dear mother 
 or a little toad in the garden walk. I have 
 known children who could not bear to see even 
 8* 
 
80 VIOLET : A PAIEY STORY. 
 
 a lily broken down by rain, its beautiful white 
 flowers all lying in the dirt. I have watched 
 them prop it up with sticks, and gently wash 
 the earth away from its delicate petals, and 
 have said to myself, " Ah, little one, the fairy 
 Love is nestling in your heart." 
 
 And I have seen the fairy Contentment start 
 from her nest among the lilies, and follow the 
 little one as she ran off to play. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HOW FAIRIES LOOK. 
 
 Do yon want to know how Contentment 
 looks ? Some people think she is the most 
 beautiful among all the fairies ; (and there are 
 hosts of them, and some of the bad ones, even, 
 have handsome faces.) Her cheeks are not 
 quite as rosy as Love s, and her mild eyes do 
 not sparkle and glitter as brilliantly ; but she 
 has a smile even brighter than Love s own ; 
 this sheds a peaceful light about Contentment 
 wherever she goes ; and wherever it falls, beau 
 tiful flowers will blossom, and the air grow 
 clear and fragrant. 
 
 She wears a wreath of starbeams, braided 
 into a delicate but brilliant crown ; and there 
 is no place so dark but this will light a path 
 through it. Her pure white wincrs look likf 
 
&2 VIOLET : A FAIRY STOBI . 
 
 two lily petals, and though always clean and 
 fresh themselves, I suppose they have dusted 
 away more heaps of care, and though so deli 
 cate, have lifted people safely over wider seas 
 of trouble, than all the strong arms in the 
 world all the railroads and steamships put 
 together. 
 
 She always carries in her hand an urn, from 
 which a sweet and delicate odor arises like 
 incense. 
 
 Perhaps you will be surprised when I tell 
 where she found this urn. It was the largest 
 and most perfect blossom on a branch of lilies 
 of the valley. Did you ever notice what 
 lovely little vases they form when you turn 
 them stem side down ? I never saw one half 
 as pretty made of Parian ; but, then, of course 
 nothing could be as beautiful as a flower ; they 
 are God s vases, and his work is always the 
 most perfect. 
 
 The lily never faded ; nothing can fade in 
 the light of Contentment s smile; and the 
 
HOW FAIRIES LOOK. 33 
 
 modest little flower that might only have shed 
 fragrance about its own green leaves, borne by 
 the fairy, has sprinkled its incense odor through 
 every land. 
 
 Love is more splendid than Contentment, 
 but not any more beautiful ; her wings are 
 larger, richer, and more delicate. They are 
 like petals of the fleur-de-lis, or iris, perhaps 
 you call it the splendid, feathery, purple 
 flower, with leaves like long ribbon streamers. 
 They are transparent too ; and wherever Love 
 goes, the light, shining through these wings, 
 casts a rich purple glow about her dyed, 
 as you may have seen the sunshine in falling 
 through the great stained window of some 
 church. Love s crown is a broad band of 
 golden sunshine, and she scatters roses and 
 violets about everv where. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE BIRTHDAY PRESENT. 
 
 Bur I must tell you what happened to poor 
 Toady one day, and see if you wonder that 
 Violet felt badly. 
 
 She was sitting on the doorstep sewing, with 
 kitty in her lap, sound asleep, and the three 
 toads watching her from the walk as happy 
 a little girl as ever breathed. 
 
 It was her birthday ; and when she awoko 
 that morning, the first thing her eyes rested 
 upon was the largest bunch of sweet violets 
 she had ever seen in her life. They were 
 set in a beautiful white cup, with VIOLET 
 printed in gold letters on the front. 
 
 She hardly stopped to look twice at them, 
 but, in her nightgown, ran to the door to 
 find and thank her good, kind parents. They 
 
 (84) 
 
THE BIRTHDAY PRESENT. 85 
 
 were not in the field or the garden ; and then 
 Violet remembered that this was market day, 
 and they must have gone to the town, and 
 might not be home again until afternoon. 
 
 It was an hour before Violet could dress 
 herself. She looked at and smelt of the flowers 
 a hundred times set them in every corner 
 and on every ledge to see where they would 
 look prettiest talked to them, and danced 
 around them, and even pinched her finger to 
 see if she could be awake. 
 
 All these beautiful, fragrant blossoms her 
 own for a whole day for a week as long 
 as they did not fade 1 
 
 Then she went to the brook for water, and 
 setting her basin on the bank, knelt down 
 among the dewy flowers to wash her face and 
 smooth her long, soft, golden hair, and as she 
 went home, sang her morning hymn ; for Vio 
 let knew that every morning the birds poured 
 lorth their songs, and the flowers their odors, 
 and the brook ita v*po? wreaths, in grati- 
 
$& VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 tude to Heaven ; and she had no idea ox being 
 the only ungrateful thing on earth. 
 
 She met kitty, and taking her in her arms, 
 hurried into the house, thinking how surprised 
 and delighted puss would be with the violets. 
 But kitty was thinking of something else ; she 
 only sneezed when Violet put her nose among 
 the wet flowers, and struggled to get away. 
 
 " Well, there go," said Violet, a little hurt. 
 
 Puss had no thought of going ; she purred 
 louder than ever, and rubbed her white face 
 against Violet s dress, and looked up at her 
 wistfully. 
 
 " 0, you greedy kit ! " said Violet, at last ; 
 " you re thinking about breakfast, and not my 
 flowers. I ll eat it right away, so as to leave 
 you some." 
 
 But, for joy, she could hardly eat a spoonful ; 
 and however kitty slighted what was in the 
 gilded cup, it was plain enough that she en 
 joyed the contents of the old tin porringer. 
 
 While puss was eating, Violet brought her 
 
THE BIRTHDAY PRESENT. 37 
 
 flowers to the door again, and began to look 
 about for the toads. Pretty soon out they 
 hopped from the wet grass, half drowned 
 themselves in dew, and hop, hop, hop they came 
 towards Violet. 
 
 You may think she was very silly ; but you 
 must remember she was all alone out in the 
 fields, and had no other playmates ; so she 
 made the most of these. 
 
 The toads stood still when they came to the 
 cup of violets, and looked up at her, winking 
 their round, lazy eyes, until she felt sure they 
 were trying to congratulate her and praise 
 her flowers. 
 
 Then kitty came along, gaping, for she had 
 eaten more breakfast than usual ; and Love 
 reminded Yiolet that she had work to do, 
 although it was her birthday ; so she took 
 kitty in her lap, left the toads staring at her 
 flowers, and seated herself on the doorstep 
 to sew. 
 
 4 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 VIOLET S TROUBLES. 
 
 JUST then she heard a light, rolling sound, 
 which came nearer and nearer, till at last she 
 saw a carriage, drawn by two white horses. 
 This entered the green field, and, to Violet s 
 surprise, stopped before old Reuben s little 
 hut. 
 
 In the carriage were two children not much 
 older than Violet, and their father, a tall, 
 stately gentleman ; besides, there were two 
 footmen and a driver. 
 
 The carriage was painted in gay colors, and 
 gilded so that it fairly glittered in the sun ; 
 and the little girl inside was so gayly dressed, 
 in silks, and ribbons, and artificial flowers, that 
 Violet thought it must be one of the dolls sh 
 had seen in a milliner s window. 
 
 (W) 
 
VIOLET S TROUBLES. 3H 
 
 But the doll, if it was one, spoke, tossing 
 Dack her curls, and beckoning with her gloved 
 hand to Violet, while the gentleman, placing 
 a purse in his daughter s outstretched hand, 
 said, 
 
 " Buy as many flowers as you want, Nar- 
 cissa. Meantime I will climb the hill yonder, 
 which must overlook a fine prospect, it seems 
 to me. What do you say, Alfred ? Will you 
 accompany me ? " 
 
 Now, when the carriage stopped, the boy, 
 Narcissa s brother, had taken a book from his 
 pocket, and was reading it attentively ; he ap 
 peared so unwilling to leave it, although he 
 arose to follow his father, that the indulgent 
 parent said, 
 
 " Well, never mind ; you can read on." 
 
 " Little girl," exclaimed Narcissa, " run quick 
 ly into the house and call your mother or 
 father, or somebody ; I want them." 
 
 " We are the only bodies here," said Viole^ 
 Booking Lt her pots. 
 
40 VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 " Well, then, go and pick me all the violet* 
 In jour garden ; I shall pay for them." 
 
 " They were sent to market this morning," 
 said Violet, stroking kitty s back, and not 
 feeling very sorry at Narcissa s disappointment, 
 for the little girl in the carriage did not seem 
 to her well bred. 
 
 "But you must, you shall, find me some, 
 girl," said Narcissa, in a rage. " Don t you 
 know that I m going to a fancy ball to-night, 
 and my maid must have fifteen bunches of vio 
 lets to dress me with, and we have only found 
 twelve so far ? I know you re not telling the 
 truth, for there in the grass is a whole bunch 
 of beautiful ones. Bring them to me," turning 
 to the footman, " and kill those dirty toads in 
 the path ; I hate the sight of them." 
 
 Violet rushed to the rescue of her pets. 
 
 " 0, no, no ! they are mine my own my 
 best friends my toads and violets 1 " she 
 Bcreamed. 
 
 But in vain. The footman stepped on pool 
 
VIOLET S TROUBLES. 
 
 ro?dy, kicked him across and across the 
 till, all bruised and bleeding, he lay stnl, 
 Violet thought, dead, while Narcissa clapped 
 uer hands and laughed at Violet s sorrow. 
 
 " Your toav?s and violets!" she said; "I 
 ftould think you were crazy. But I don t 
 svant to hurt your feelings, girl. Go and 
 bring me two more large handfuls of violets, 
 and I will forgive all your impudence and 
 wrong stories. Why don t you go? What 
 are you etaring at V " 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FAIRIES AGAIN. 
 
 IT had just come into Violet s head thai 
 this proud and imperious little mortal in the 
 carriage must be a queen, such as her story 
 books told about, and had a right to every 
 body s service and every body s goods. What 
 strengthened this belief was the fact that, flut 
 tering about Narcissa s head, she saw (and 
 though her face was wet with tears, she stared 
 at it) the queerest little fairy ; now, too, she 
 saw another fairy perched on Alfred s arm as 
 he read, and turning over the leaves of his 
 book ; while all about the carriage flew a third, 
 the largest and most splendid of all ; he trod 
 upon the servant s heads, right over the crown 
 of their hats ; he would sit down to rest on 
 the necks of the beautiful white horses, as they 
 
 (42) 
 
FAIRIES AGAIN. 43 
 
 pawed the ground; he whirled round a ad 
 round Narcissa, even daring to pull her o wn 
 fairy s hair, while he patted Alfred s fairy on 
 the back quite condescendingly. 
 
 This little imp was named Pri de. He looked, 
 as he flew, like a great scarlet cactus blossom, 
 in his long rich cloak, with heavy tassels, that 
 swept the ground, and left wherever they trailed 
 a very fine dust of gold. In this dust tho 
 tassels were dipped continually powdered 
 over with it, finer than the yellow pollen you 
 may have seen on the stamens of a lily. 
 
 The flower pollen is good for something, 
 but not so pride s gold dust, He only scatters 
 it because it is so expensive, and common peo 
 ple cannot do the same. 
 
 I have known persons who sold comfortable 
 homes, cheerful hearts, and good consciences, 
 all for a little gold, which they ground into 
 this silly powder, and threw away. 
 
 I think Pride makes people a little insane ; 
 you must take care that none of his gold dust 
 gets into your eyes. 
 
44 VIOLET I A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 The good thing about Pride and there 
 is something good about every body was hia 
 affection for Alfred s fairy, Ambition. I cannot 
 describe this being, he is so dazzlingly bright. 
 He is the best and the worst fairy I know, 
 for he is at times like each one, and often 
 like all together. 
 
 It is ambition that makes men good as an 
 gels ; and every one knows it is Ambition 
 that makes Satan so bad. This fairy is useful ; 
 but he cannot be trusted for a moment ; he 
 may serve you faithfully through a long life, 
 and at the end plunge you into some pitfall, 
 just for mischief. He will whisper sweet words 
 in your ear, and build you a glittering boat, 
 and promise to row you down the pleasantest 
 river to Paradise itself. Perhaps he will do 
 all he promises ; perhaps he will only land 
 you in a madhouse or a jail. 
 
 Ambition had taken a fancy to Alfred, and 
 never left his side. He would urge him away 
 from his companions and sports, to work over 
 
FAIRIES AGAIN. 41 
 
 books, always to work and study, and prom 
 ised to make him a great and useful man. 
 
 There is one strange thing about these fairy 
 people; beautiful and rich as they are, and 
 free and powerful, they will follow and make 
 their home with the poorest little child, and 
 shelter him with their splendid wings, and 
 light up his pathway with their gleaming 
 crowns; but only on one condition that the 
 child follow wherever they lead, and is true 
 to the fairies as they are true to him; which 
 is but fair, you know. Who wants to give 
 advice that is not followed? 
 
 We all, though at the time we do not know it, 
 choose our own fairies, and, once chosen, they 
 love us and make us love them so well that it is 
 no easy matter to escape from them, or to avoid 
 obeying their advice. 
 
 {So, when you see any one and grown-up 
 men and women have fairies as well as chil 
 drenwho is led about by a wicked fairy 
 you must pity instead of blaming the sufferer 
 
46 VIOLET I A FAIRY STOBY. 
 
 and if he offend you, you must take care thai 
 his fairy doesn t fly into your heart and frighten 
 away your own, or make you forget, and give 
 unkind answers back. 
 
 Be very sure no one wants to be bad ; only 
 if a spiteful little spirit perched on your shoul 
 der, and whispered evil thoughts and angry 
 words into your ear, don t you suppose that 
 sometimes you would obey him and believe 
 what he said? 
 
 Whenever you feel these wicked spirits near, 
 3all loud for Violet s fairy, Love. She will 
 be sure to come ; and they know vary wo3! 
 they cannot live in her presence ; for the light 
 of her starry crown puts out their eyes, and 
 tb.e incense from Contentment s urn will take 
 ax ay their breath. 
 
 . T ? Love come, Content will be stre to tol* 
 lou ; :c only keei) these faV/pfl nn** wid you 
 we s*e.. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE STRANGERS. 
 
 BUT we were talking about Violet and poo* 
 Toady, who lay on the ground all bruised and 
 bleeding, one of his legs so broken that it 
 dragged along after him when he tried to hop, 
 and one of his eyes torn out and hanging by 
 the skin ; while the poor thing quivered all 
 over with pain, and looked up at Violet with 
 his one eye, as if he would say, "Do help me, 
 Violet. Why didn t you keep them away ? " 
 
 She lifted him into the grass, smoothing it 
 first into something like a nest ; then she 
 poured some water from her violet cup to 
 wash away the dust and blood, and stroked 
 his back gently, while Toady looked up at 
 her, and shut and opened his one eye, and 
 
48 VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 tried to hop which was his way of thanking 
 her, you know. 
 
 Whon she found how stiff and sore he was, 
 Violet burst into tears again, and wondered 
 if the little queen in the carriage was any 
 happier for doing all this mischief. Let us see. 
 
 Having taken care of her pet, the little girl 
 looked to see if the carriage had gone ; and 
 though she was almost as blind as Toady, 
 her eyes were ^ full of tears, she knew plainly 
 enough by the sound that it was waiting still ; 
 for Alfred had thrown his book aside, and he 
 and Narcissa were talking angrily. 
 
 " You re an ugly, envious thing," said Alfred. 
 " That poor little girl had nothing on earth 
 but those few flowers and a miserable toad ; 
 and you, who have every thing you want, 
 could not rest till you had stolen these. If 
 I were king, I d send you to state s prison." 
 
 " And if you were a queen, what would you 
 do to the girl in the carriage ? " asked Nap 
 
THE STRANGERS. 49 
 
 dssa s father of Violet ; for the gentleman had 
 returned from his walk, and coming quietly 
 behind, had been watching her as she wept 
 and watched over Toady, who seemed to be 
 fast asleep. 
 
 " 0, 1 would send her away to the end of 
 the world, so I might never see her again. 
 Do take her away," she pleaded. 
 
 " But she has done wrong ; she had no more 
 right to hurt your toad than you have to hurt 
 my horses in the carriage there. Shall I not 
 punish her?" 
 
 " It wouldn t do me any good," said Violet, 
 mournfully. " Tell her she may have the flow 
 ers in welcome now. I don t care about them 
 or any thing else if Toady must die." 
 
 " And why do you care about Toady ? " 
 
 " About him ? " asked Violet, shaking away 
 the golden hair as she looked up wonderingly 
 with her beautiful blue eyes, care about him ? 
 Why, did you ever see such a handsome toad? 
 And then I have known him so long, and he 
 6 
 
50 VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 hops about alter me and lets me feed him ; 
 and now, now, when I come here in the morn 
 ing, how lonesome I shall be, for he can t come 
 hopping out from the grass any more, all wet 
 with dew, and winking his round eyes, as if 
 he d say, * Good morning. " 
 
 The gentleman laughed, and then looked very 
 sober, as he said, 
 
 " I can t see much beauty in your pet ; but 
 I like you, little girl, for loving him so well ; 
 and here is money to pay for the harm my 
 daughter has done." 
 
 " Why," said Violet, who had never seen any 
 coin before, " I thought money was made to 
 buy flour and meal with." 
 
 " So it is," replied the gentleman, " and to 
 buy cake, and fine clothes, and artificial flowers 
 like those in Narcissa s bonnet." 
 
 " I shouldn t want to look like her. I am 
 not a queen," said Violet, " and I can find a 
 great deal prettier flowers on the mountain 
 than she wears, and prettier-looking stonea 
 
THE STRANGERS. 51 
 
 fchan these ; " and she looked at the silver care 
 lessly ; then, brightening up all at once, she 
 asked, 
 
 "Will they cure Toady s leg? 0, if they 
 will, I ll give you my flowers and the new cup 
 both for them." 
 
 The gentleman shook his head. 
 
 " Then take them away. I don t want any 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE DOCTOR DOCTORED. 
 
 IP Narcissa s father had looked then, he 
 would have seen the fairy Love bending over 
 Violet till the sunny crown she wore brightened 
 up her face, and made it look beautiful as an 
 angel s, and Contentment, too, pouring perfume 
 out of her lily urn. 
 
 But the gentleman had a great deal of Pride s 
 gold dust in his eyes, and therefore he could 
 not see very clearly. 
 
 He did see the beautiful love Violet had for 
 her ugly little pet, and felt how much better 
 it was to be contented, like Violet, with so 
 little, than to have almost every thing, like 
 Narcissa, and be always wishing for more. 
 
 And what do you think the fairies did ? 
 They looked out of Violet s eyes, right through 
 
THE DOCTOR DOCTORED. 53 
 
 Ihem, into his ; and whenever she spoke they 
 flew into his heart with the words, till the 
 proud man, who had not wept since Narcissa s 
 mother died, long and long ago, felt great tears 
 gathering in his eyes ; and as these fell into 
 the grass, Contentment took care to wash away 
 all the pride dust with her own white wings. 
 
 " The money will not cure your toad," said 
 lie ; "but I can mend his leg, for I am a phy 
 sician, and know all about broken bones." 
 
 So he made the servant bring a case from 
 the carriage, and taking a sharp little knife 
 from it, he cut away the eye, which was too 
 much crushed to be of any use, and then bound 
 up the leg. 
 
 But Toady kicked, and struggled, and made 
 such a time about it, and seemed in such pain, 
 that Violet begged him to unfasten the bandage. 
 
 " Well, you are right/ he said : " the limb 
 cannot be cured, and if I cut it off it will be 
 out of his way, at least." 
 
 "He had no sooner done this than Toadj 
 5* 
 
54 VIOLET : A FAIRY 
 
 hopped right out of his grassy nest, and look 
 ing at Violet, winked so drolly with his one 
 eye that she laughed and cried at once, and 
 thanked the doctor over and over again. 
 
 "You needn t thank me," he said; "for it 
 seems you knew better what would suit him 
 than I did, little girl. I wonder who taught 
 you." 
 
 Then Love and Contentment looked at each 
 other and smiled ; they knew very well who 
 had taught Violet, and they knew besides that 
 Violet was teaching the proud, rich, learned 
 man a lesson better than he could find in all 
 his books or buy with all his money ; for the 
 sweet smile of Contentment and the beautiful 
 words of Love, which had come to him through 
 the lips of the little berry girl, Violet, would 
 be remembered for long years, and prompt him 
 to perform kind deeds, and thus to forget his 
 pride and his cares, and be sometimes lightr 
 hearted as a little child. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 WHO ABB HAPPIEST. 
 
 Do you know, dear children, that as soon as 
 people have grown up they begin to wish they 
 were young again, and had not troublesome 
 servants to manage, and great houses to take 
 care of, and purses full of money to spend or to 
 save, and, worst of all, whole troops of wicked 
 fairies? They call them habits ; but fairies 
 they are, for all that. 
 
 These spirits lead into so much mischief that 
 there are very few men and women who don t 
 sometimes fold their hands and say, " 0, dear ! 
 if I could go back and be a little child once 
 more I " 
 
 Ask your mother if she wouldn t give all her 
 jewels away in exchange for as pure a heart 
 as children have. Ask your father whether 
 
56 VIOLET : A PAIEY STORY. 
 
 he wouldn t give all his bonds and railroad 
 stocks if that would make him as merry and 
 free from care as you are when you climb upon 
 his knee to ask ttie question. 
 
 And if they say " No," ask them which fairy 
 they would rather you took for a friend 
 Pride or Truth. 
 
 Now, here you are, children still ; and if I 
 were you, I d enjoy being young while it lasts. 
 I d make friends with as many good fairies, and 
 scare away as many bad ones, as I could find. 
 Scare them away I I wouldn t wait to look at 
 them or hear them talk ; for some have pretty 
 faces and sweet words, but they are dreadful 
 cheats. 
 
 I would find out ever so many things, and 
 there s no end to the number there are, ever 
 so many things which are right, and good, 
 and beautiful. I wouldn t look for any thing 
 else, but would be so happy among these that 
 other people would notice it, and look after 
 them too ; and ther I would give them as manj 
 
WHO ABE HAPPIEST. 57 
 
 as they wanted of my treasures, and teach 
 them where to find more ; for fairy Love takes 
 care that the more we give the more we shall 
 have ; and even if we didn t, who wants to be 
 a miser ? 
 
 Think how much God has given us! this 
 whole great world, all the sky over your 
 head, and the air, and sunshine, and woods, 
 and gardens full of Sobers, and fathers and 
 mothers to love and take care of us, and a 
 million other things. 
 
 And what do we give God? Every thing 
 that we give away at all we give to him just 
 as much as if we laid it in his hand. 
 
 Don t you know that Christ called the poor 
 and ignorant God s little children, and declared 
 he loved them all better than your mother and 
 father love you ? 
 
 And not only this, God cares when even a 
 bird falls to the ground with his wing broken, 
 and is watching to see how much you are will 
 ing to do for his creature. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 VIOLET BERRYING. 
 
 I CALLED Violet a little berry girl, and 111 
 tell you why. 
 
 On the great hill :, we their hut, all over 
 one side of it, were "i lGv kWrry vines; and in 
 autumn, when the berries were ripe, Yiolet 
 and her mother would spend hours and hours 
 picking them. 
 
 The sun would be scorching hot sometimes, 
 and the thorny vines would tangle into Violet s 
 dress and tear her arms, and rnosquitos would 
 buzz around her, until she was ready to cry or 
 to declare she could not pick any more. 
 
 Poor VioleV ! You think, perhaps, that it is 
 hard to walk to school under your parasol 
 these sunny days ; and she had, day after day 
 to stand out there among the vines, picking 
 
 (68) 
 
VIOLET BERRYING. 
 
 and picking, and picking, till the two great 
 water pails were full of berries. 
 
 But when she grew tired, Love would point 
 to her poor old mother working so patiently, 
 and looking so tired and warm ; and when the 
 fairy whispered, " Will you leave her here to 
 finish the work alone ? " Violet would forget 
 in a minute her own weariness, and sing and 
 laugh so merrily, and tell so often how fast 
 her pail was filling up, that the mother would 
 forget her weariness too, and only think how 
 fortunate and how rich she was to have such 
 a good, bright child. 
 
 When she found a place where the berries 
 grew thick and large, Violet would call her 
 mother to pick there ; and old Mary, Reuben s 
 wife, said that " somehow she never could find 
 such splendid places as Violet did." 
 
 So, leaving her there, the little girl would 
 move on ; and no matter how low she found 
 the bushes, or how thinly covered with fruit, 
 fairy Contentment, hovering over her head. 
 
60 VIOLET I A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 would sing, "Who cares? The fewer, the 
 aweeter." 
 
 What wifti Contentment s singing, and that 
 of Violet, and the crickets and locusts, and the 
 bees and bobolinks, there was music enough 
 in the blackberry pasture : and it all chimed 
 together just like the instruments in an or 
 chestra. 
 
OHAPTBB XIV. 
 
 THE BIRDS HARVEST TIME. 
 
 Bur I was telling you about Violet s birth 
 day ; 83 let us go back to the doorstep of 
 her father s little hut. 
 
 Narcissa called impatiently that she was 
 tired of waiting ; so her father, bidding good 
 by to his new acquaintance, sprang into the 
 carriage, and it rolled lightly through the 
 green field once more. 
 
 Violet sat watching until it was out of sight, 
 and she could no longer see Narcissa s feathers 
 and flowers fluttering in the wind. Some how 
 she never thought of her afterwards, except as 
 a whole bunch of lace and finery, with a little 
 girl inside of it. 
 
 Then she looked around for her violets ; they 
 6 CD 
 
62 VIOLET : A PAIEY 8TOEY. 
 
 were gone, and in their place lay the stranger f 
 money. 
 
 But Toady hopped in eight just then, looking 
 so brisk, and getting about so well on his 
 three legs, she thought her flowers were little 
 enough to pay for o much good as he had 
 received. 
 
 So, happy as ever, Violet took her pail and 
 went towards the blackberry hill. 
 
 It seemed to her the berries were never so 
 thick and large ; she soon had enough, and 
 setting them in a shady place, she went to the 
 brook to wash her hands. 
 
 There were long, deep scratches on her arms. 
 How they smarted when the water touched 
 them I but Violet only thought how much worse 
 Toady s scratches and bruises were ; and then 
 she loved to be clean, for she had watched 
 how the birds wash in the brook a dozen times 
 a day, and how smooth the squirrels keep theh 
 fur, and how the flowers and leaves bathe thei* 
 
THE BIRDS 7 HARVEST TIME. 63 
 
 faces every morning in dew. She didn t want 
 the leaves and birds to be ashamed of her. 
 
 The little girl strolled on towards the wood, 
 singing and laughing, and talking to every 
 thing she met, but most of all to kitty, who fol 
 lowed after her ; while whole troops of grass 
 hoppers and little yellow butterflies flew before, 
 and settled in advance of Violet, and when she 
 came up, flew a little farther, as if they wanted 
 to lead her on. 
 
 Then there were flocks and flocks of birds ; 
 the ground seemed alive with them, for it was 
 harvest time, and they came for the ripe grain 
 tfhich had fallen when the farmers cut their 
 crops, and was scattered all over the fields. 
 
 The thistle seeds were ripe too ; and the 
 birds, and butterflies, and bees seemed to love 
 this best of all. Violet stood watching them 
 eat, and laughed as she told puss that must 
 be where she learned to be so greedy. 
 
 The bees went buzzing down into the very 
 heart of the purple flowers, and took suci 
 
64 VIOLET I A PAIEY STORY. 
 
 long, deep honey draughts, and went back 
 again and again, as if they could never have 
 enough, and hurried away to their hives, for 
 the sake of hurrying back for more. 
 
 The birds were not much better. They 
 would hover an instant over the whole thistle 
 bed, and then, selecting a good large flower, 
 they would fly at it, fanning away with their 
 fluttering wings till they were lost in a cloud 
 of down, and tear out the rich, ripe seeds, 
 swallowing them so fast it seemed as if they 
 were eating for all winter. 
 
 Violet was never tired of watching, for she 
 loved to see every creature happy, and knew, 
 besides, that the birds and bees only have so 
 good a chance to eat once in the year ; and 
 therefore, though she laughed at it, she couldn t 
 blame them for their greediness. 
 
 There were such handsome yellow birds, with 
 black spots and stripes over their bright breasts 
 and wings. They buried their black and golden 
 toads away in among the thistle down, while 
 
THE BIRDS HARVEST TIME. 65 
 
 they clung to the stem with claws and wings, 
 and were so busy eating that they did not see 
 how near Violet crept to them. 
 
 Then a beautiful great butterfly, its rich 
 brown wings spotted with blue and orange, 
 settled upon a flower, and sipped daintily, and 
 fluttered away again to take another sip some 
 where else, and then went sailing off into the 
 sunshine. So she skipped along after it, kitty 
 running close behind her, until they came to 
 a bank covered with white everlasting flowers 
 so many it looked a little way off like snow ; 
 And Violet, whose mother had told her that 
 in heaven flowers did not fade, but were all 
 everlasting, wondered if the door of heaven 
 had not been left ajar, some day, long enough 
 for a whole shower of seed to blow down 
 towards this hill, and planting itself, come up 
 in these pearl-white flowers. 
 
 Ah, Violet ! the commonest seeds sprang up 
 into heavenly flowers if they fell in y&ur path 
 way, 
 
 6* 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 WHERE THE SQUIRREL LED VIOLET. 
 
 WHILE Violet stood wondering thus, she 
 Baw a squirrel on the fence, nibbling upon a 
 nut. As soon as she stirred, he darted along 
 a rail or two, and then, waiting till she came 
 up with him, went nibbling again. 
 
 " You needn t feel so grand with your spry 
 legs. I guess I can run as well as you," said 
 Violet. 
 
 The squirrel tucked the nut under one arm, 
 and with a whisk of his bushy tail, darted 
 like lightning along the rails, leaving Violet 
 so far behind she thought he had gone into 
 the wood ; but when she had reached far enough 
 herself, there he sat, quietly nibbling at his 
 nut again, and soon as he saw her, whisked 
 up into a tree, and from among the high boughs 
 
 (66) 
 
WHERE THE SQUIRREL LED VIOLET. 67 
 
 called, " Cheep, cheep, chip! Which beat, little 
 girl ? " 
 
 Violet could not see him, he went so fast 
 and far ; and as she looked up among the leafy 
 boughs, he dropped the nut right into her face, 
 and ran round and round the limb, and called 
 " Cheep, cheep, chip ! " again, as if he were 
 laughing at her. 
 
 Violet laughed too, and threw the nut back 
 at him, looking first to see how clean he hatf 
 eaten out the meat. 
 
 Away darted squirrel, without waiting to 
 chip this time, and Violet called, as he ran, 
 
 "It s all very fine to whisk along so fast, 
 mister ; but I should like to know how much 
 good your travelling does. I know you can t 
 see A thing, any more than they can in the rail 
 cars I ve heard about. You re welcome to 
 your legs so long as you leave the brook, 
 and the flowers, and birds for puss and me." 
 
 But he only answered by dropping another 
 nut from directly over her head, and she fol- 
 
68 VIOLET ! A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 lowed him into the wood the beautiful, cool, 
 Btill wood. Violet left off singing as she en 
 tered it ; for she loved to hear the rustle of 
 the ripe leaves, and to watch the tiny fibres 
 falling lightly from the pines, and hear the 
 nuts and acorns rattle down, and to see the 
 spider webs and insects glitter wherever a 
 gleam of sunshine had stolen through the 
 boughs. 
 
 Her hands were full of flowers, which she 
 had gathered on the way ; for she did not 
 mean her new cup should be empty when the 
 good parents came home. 
 
 So she had picked such a splendid bunch ! 
 bright red cardinal flowers from the swamp ; 
 and along by the brook side, where it was 
 sunniest, she found beautiful blue fringed gen 
 tians ; and farther on branches of golden rod, 
 that looked like little elm trees changed to 
 gold ; and on farther still, by the edge of the 
 wood, where, as they waved, they seemed beck 
 oning her, she found plenty of asters, white 
 
WHERE THE SQUIRREL LED VIOLET. 69 
 
 as snow, with little yellow eyes twinkling out 
 among the petals, or else rich purple with 
 deep gold inside ; and she had some of the 
 everlasting flowers too, like bunches of pure 
 pearls. 
 
 Violet crept under the deep paade of the 
 boughs, where the brool". ~;.rv ^fgling over 
 its mossy stones, and lal^ ,i_ , stems of her 
 flowers there to keep taem fresh, making a 
 wall of pebbles around them, 40 that the water, 
 which tripped along so fast, should not carry 
 them away. 
 
 .For once, when she forgot to do this, she 
 had no sooner planed her flowers 111 fe r:?v, T 
 than off they sailed down stream, and :*cati*t <?. 
 ao fast and far she couldn t think of finding loexu 
 all again. 
 
 Violet laughed when she remembered friti 
 day, and how the brook, full of its mischief, 
 ^ad run away with her treasures, and scattered 
 them any and every where along its banks, 
 getting some upright, as if they were growing 
 
70 VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 again, and wedging some under the stones, 
 and tangling some under the fence, and float 
 ing some down the hill and through the sunny 
 field, so fast they seemed chasing the little 
 fish that made their home in the brook. 
 
 Even away down by Reuben s house a few 
 had strayed, and reached home so much before 
 Violet that she began to think the waves had, 
 after all, a? n pry feet as her own. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 ALONE IN THE WOOD. 
 
 HER flowers safe in the water, the little girl 
 seated herself on a stone that seemed made 
 purposely for her, it was cushioned so softly 
 with moss ; and overhead the boughs of the 
 great trees bent towards her, and rustled and 
 waved like so many fans, and shut her in so 
 closely from the rest of the wood that you 
 might have passed close by, and never guessed 
 she was there. 
 
 The kitten went fast asleep in her lap, and 
 Violet, folding her hands, looked up among 
 the leaves, and across where the boughs parted 
 a little into the wood, and down at her feet, 
 where the grass grew so long and fine, and 
 was sprinkled over with such pretty little 
 leaves as tiny, some of them, as Violet J t 
 
 (71) 
 
72 VIOLET: A FAIKY STORY. 
 
 finger nails, and yet as beautifully scolloped 
 or pointed, and as perfectly finished, as the 
 stoutest laurel or broadest oak leaf in the wood ; 
 and, noticing this. Violet wondered if God, who 
 had taken as much pains in making little leaves 
 as big ones, had not taken as much pains with, 
 and didn t care as much for, little people as big 
 ones. 
 
 Who knew but he loved her, in her ragged 
 dress, just as well as Narcissa in all her finery, 
 sr even the tall, rich doctor, who tried to mend 
 Toady s leg? 
 
 Then she listened, and felt how s^ill it was 
 there alone with the trees; and the sweet, low 
 sounds that came through this stillness were 
 beautiful as music. 
 
 Far off she could hear the cool, sparkling 
 brook foaming and hurrying over its stony bed ; 
 and then th<. air came breathing through the 
 trees, as if they sighed for joy; and each leaf 
 trembled, and seemed rising to meet the air %r.(\ 
 Qy away with it, and then, falling baor 
 
ALONE IN THE WOOD. 13 
 
 nestled closer to its neighbor leaves, and whis 
 pered softly, as if it were making love to them. 
 
 But there came a louder rustling among the 
 boughs, and a flutter of wings, and then burst 
 forth a clear, wild song, so near that Violet 
 held her breath; for a golden oriole had 
 alighted close beside her, and chirped, and 
 twittered, and trilled, as if he meant to say 
 aloud what the leaves and the brook had been 
 whispering. 
 
 When he paused, the leaves all clapped their 
 hands for m^re ; and oriole understood them, 
 for he gave another and another song, waiting 
 between each to wet his bill in some bunch 
 of bright, juicy berries. 
 
 Violet did not suspect that the reason the 
 sunshine looked so bright, and the shadows 
 so cool and refreshing, and the leaves and 
 brook so wide awake and so musical, was 
 because the good fairies Love and Content 
 ment tfere wr.tching over her; and the tean- 
 tifd pi*rplo light from Love e wings, and from 
 7 
 
74 
 
 VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 Contentment s starry crown, and the fragrance 
 from her lily urn, would make any, the dullest 
 place, bright. 
 
 But as the bird flew away, Fairy Love whis 
 pered inside of Violet s heart, " The bird has 
 gone to her nest. Isn t it time for Violet to 
 be thinking about her nest, and the good 
 mother, who will be there first if she does 
 not make haste and run home?" 
 
 Love s voice was lower than the whisper 
 of the leaves or the far-off murmur cf thj 
 brook ; but the little girl heard and obey UK* 
 it for all that. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 THE KITTEN S BATH. 
 
 VIOLET had picked a whole apron fall of 
 leaves, reaching up in the trees for the largest 
 and handsomest, and then, kneeling where they 
 grew close to the ground, had collected the 
 lovely, delicate ones that were so small you 
 would not notice unless you were looking 
 for them broad, shining oak leaves, long, 
 graceful chestnut leaves, and some from the flut 
 tering poplar, and some from the hemlocks and 
 pines, tall ferns, and maiden s-hair, and grass, 
 clover, sorrel, ground pine, and hundreds more. 
 
 Violet had been counting how many kinds 
 there were ; and as I have forgotten, the first 
 time you go into the woods you must try your 
 self, and lay them side by side, as she did, to 
 see which is prettiest 
 
 <7) 
 
76 VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 But away flew all the leaves, as, directly she 
 heard Love s voice, the little girl sprang to 
 her feet, waking puss out of her n;>p so sud 
 denly that she spit, and put up her back, 
 and her hair stood all on end with fright. 
 
 Then you might have heard Violet s laughter 
 ringing merrily enough through the silent wood. 
 
 Such an unusual noise startled a whole flock 
 of crows, where, hid in a tall pine tree, they 
 had, like pussy, been taking a nap, and scolded 
 well because they were awakened. 
 
 Violet wondered if it would help the matter 
 to make such a noise about it with their hoarse 
 voices, which sounded as if they were made 
 on purpose to scold so grating and shrill. 
 
 She went to the brook for her flowers, while 
 the kitten followed, gaping such great gapes 
 that Violet told her she d better take care, 
 or she wouldn t be able to close her mouth 
 ugain. And looking back among the trees, 
 as she climbed the sV?r>e wall and was going 
 out into the sunshi: e again, Violet wondered 
 
THE KITTEN S BATH. 77 
 
 if God cmtld have made that beautiful place 
 for no one but her ; no one else entered it, 
 she knew. 
 
 " I guess God thinks it s no matter how 
 small I am, so long as Fm large enough to 
 love it all," she thought ; and I don t believe 
 Violet was wrong. 
 
 As they went home, a great cricket flew 
 from under the kitten s feet and frightened 
 her again, for she was hardly awake. Away 
 she sprang to catch it, and away sprang the 
 cricket, while Violet had to run fast to keep 
 up with them, laughing to see how puzzled 
 puss would be when the cricket hid under 
 the long grass ; and while she was pawing, 
 and purring, and looking up to Violet as if 
 she d ask, " Where is he ? " out he d spring 
 again, direr tf.y past her nose, and in among 
 the grass wou jd hide, and peep at her, while 
 she looked every where but in the right place. 
 
 At last, in her eagerness, the kitten jumped 
 rather too far, and went into the brook ; and 
 7* 
 
18 VIOLET I A PAIBY BTOBY. 
 
 in her fright I don t know what would have 
 happened next if Violet had not seized he* 
 just as, mewing and trembling, the water was 
 washing her down stream. 
 
 She lapped Violet s face and purred as the 
 little girl tried to dry her fur and warm her 
 again in her bosom ; but she was a wilftd 
 puss, and preferred creeping along in the sun 
 shine, shaking each of her four paws at every 
 step in the drollest fashion. But she didn t 
 chase any more crickets that day. 
 
 This affair of the kitten s, and waiting to 
 look for her berries, which Violet had hid 
 among the bushes so safely she could not find 
 them herself at first, delayed her so long that 
 she almost flew the rest of the way ; for when 
 the old people went to market with their goods, 
 they always came home tired and hungry, and 
 were very glad of a cup of warm tea. 
 
 So she did not stop flying until a fire was 
 made and the table set ; and just then she heard 
 voices at the door. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 THE PRICE OP TOADY S LEG. 
 
 REUBEN and Mary had come ; and glad 
 enough Violet was to see them ; but this, 
 like all her days, had been so long that she 
 forgot to say a word about her flowers and 
 the gilded cup ; she could not remember back 
 to the morning, until her mother asked if she 
 knew whose birthday this was ; and then it 
 all came back, and she gave more thanks 
 and kisses than there had been flowers in 
 the cup. 
 
 " But why is it empty ? n asked Reuben. 
 
 And Violet told about the carriage, and 
 Narcissa, and Toady s misfortune, and the kind 
 doctor, who had waited to mend the mischief 
 his daughter had done, and how he took he/ 
 riolets, leaving money in their stead. 
 
VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 You should have seen the old people hold 
 up their hands when Violet showed them the 
 coin she had only looked upon as so many 
 bright stones. 
 
 Their marketing had not sold as well as 
 usual, and the winter was to be a hard one 
 for poor people, every one said ; and they 
 had been telling each other, as they came 
 home, that if Providence had not taken care 
 of them so well thus far, they should certainly 
 expect to starve now. 
 
 And here stood Violet with six silver dol 
 lars! They could hardly believe their eyes. 
 Some fairy must have given it to the child. 
 
 True enough, old Reuben the fairy LOVE ! 
 
 The rich doctor might have given six times 
 as much, and never have felt the loss enough 
 to remember it. But I cannot tell you how 
 many comforts his money procured for the poor 
 old people. 
 
 Mary had a new warm gown, and Reuben a 
 pair of rubbers and some flannel, and Violet a 
 
THE PRICE OP TOADY 8 LEG. 81 
 
 blanket shawl, and what was left they spent 
 in tea, rice, flour, and molasses. 
 
 Every afternoon, when the old lady sat down 
 to sew that wi iter, feeling warmer than she 
 had for many a cold month, and seeing so 
 beautifully, too, from the light that came in 
 at a new window they had bought for the 
 hut where they lived, Mary would bless the 
 rich man, and the good child God had given 
 her. 
 
 And every time Reuben waded through the 
 snow towards town, and did not wet his feet, 
 nor come home with rheumatism, as he used 
 to the winter before, he, too, would think of the 
 rich man, and thank God for his little daughter, 
 and wonder if ever any one had so many bles^ 
 ings as he. 
 
 Violet too, with her thick, warm shawl, 
 could go to the district school ; and very 
 soon she learned more out of books than Ren 
 ben and Mary had known in all their lives 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 GOING TO SCHOOL. 
 
 VIOLET S years were like her days busy 
 and joyous ; for they were spent in making 
 all about her happy, and in finding new wonder 
 and beauty in the world. 
 
 Winter evenings she would sit on her cricket 
 at the old people s feet, and amuse them by 
 telling her adventures on the way to and from 
 school, or the wonderful things she had learned 
 there. 
 
 Perhaps it had stormed, and she would de 
 scribe how beautiful it was to see every thing 
 folded in a mantle of white snow, and to run 
 through the pearly dust, and scatter it far and 
 wide, and to see it gathering like a world of 
 blossoms in the branches of the dark pine trees. 
 
 Then she would tell how, when it cleared 
 
 (82) 
 
GOING TO S<3fcOOL 8B 
 
 away, every thing shone, and glittered, and 
 stood so still in the cold, blue air, and she 
 could not hear her own footsteps any more 
 than those of the squirrels that darted along 
 the stone wall, and how she had sung, and 
 shouted, and clapped her hands for company. 
 
 Or she had found a half-frozen bird, and, 
 picking it up with her own half-frozen hands, 
 had warmed it to life, while she felt its little 
 frightened heart beating beneath her shawl 
 that heart and her own the only moving things 
 in the wide, white silence. 
 
 And then how glad it made her feel when 
 her bird sprang forth into the sky again, and 
 she watched his shadow circling round and 
 round her, until he alighted in a tree just as 
 she passed underneath, and, with his fluttering 
 wings sent down a shower of snow flakes all 
 over her. 
 
 This, she supposed, was the only way he had 
 of telling how well and strong he felt, and how 
 he loved her for what she had done to him. 
 
B4 VIOLET . A FAIRY STURY. 
 
 But \iolet could hardly make the old folks 
 believe what she heard at school about far-off 
 countries and strange animals snakes large 
 enough to crush a horse and rider in their 
 folds, and fishes so huge that half a dozen 
 people could sit inside of them. 
 
 Every child knows these things now, and 
 has pictures of them in his books ; but when 
 Reuben and Mary were young there were few 
 schools ; and they, poor people, had to work 
 instead of study. 
 
 On summer mornings, after her work was 
 done, Violet would bring home roots from her 
 favorite wood, and plant them about the house, 
 until you would hardly know it, it was so buried 
 in beautiful green vines. 
 
 You could not have made Violet think there 
 was a pleasanter home on earth than hers, when 
 the clematis was starred all over with white 
 blossoms, and the honeysuckle she had trained 
 over the door was full of bright yellow flowers, 
 and the hop vine hung full of its beautiful 
 
GOING TO SCHOOL. 85 
 
 and among all shone the bright pint 
 roses, and the whole air was sweet with 
 ler own favorite violets. 
 
 Birds built nests within the vino, and hatched 
 theii youag and sang loudly and sweetly to 
 their friends in the hut as often as they cared 
 to hear. 
 
 8 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 OLD REUBEN DEAD. 
 
 NOTHING pleased Reuben half as much aa 
 50 sit in the shadow of the vines, watch the 
 dowers grow, and feel that all this beauty was 
 V ioiet s work ; for the old gardener loved 
 flowers dearly ; and when he had grown too 
 old to work himself, he was so glad to feel 
 that his garden pets need not be smothered 
 up in weeds, and die. 
 
 So there he sat in the sun day after day, 
 while he grew thinner and more feeble ; and 
 one pleasant afternoon, when Violet thought 
 he had taken too long a nap, she went to 
 waken him for fear he might take cold. 
 
 But she paused to look at the good old man 
 as he sat there with his hands folded on his 
 bosom, and such a beautiful smile on the 
 
 OMB 
 
OLD REUBEN DEAD. ft? 
 
 wrinkled face, and the wind stirring the gray 
 locks, while his head rested among the fresh 
 Bummer leaves. 
 
 Reuben never awoke ; he was dead. 
 
 Violet burst into tears, and wished for a 
 moment that she could die herself; but she 
 thought of the mother who was too infirm to 
 take care of herself, and who had lived with 
 Reuben longer and would feel his loss more 
 than she. 
 
 Just then a bird flew from his nest in the 
 vine, and soaring slowly, sang low at first, and 
 sweetly, and then louder and louder, till he 
 was lost among the clouds. 
 
 And Violet remembered what her father had 
 said so often, that one of these days he should 
 shake off the old aching body, and soar as 
 lightly as any bird, and live as happily, up in 
 that calm heaven. 
 
 They buried Reuben under a great elin tree 
 in sight of his own garden, and where he had 
 often rested after his work, and watched the 
 
88 VIOLETI A FAIEY 8TOEY. 
 
 orioles building their nests or teaching their 
 young to sing. 
 
 Lonely and sad enough it was in the hut 
 when Violet and her mother went home and 
 saw the old man s empty chair, and his garden 
 tools hanging on the wall. 
 
 " It won t be long before I shall follow him/ 
 said old Mary, " and then God will take care 
 of our child." 
 
 " But I will take care of my mother first, for a 
 great many years," said Violet, drawing closer, 
 and putting her arms around Mary protecting- 
 ly ; for Violet, though still young, was no 
 longer a little child, as when we knew her first. 
 The blue eyes, though, were just as bright and 
 as full of love and tenderness ; and the light 
 hair, which was fol ded now in wavy bands 
 over a calm white forehead, when the light 
 touched it, had the same golden look as of old. 
 She had grown tall too, and healthy, and was . 
 graceful as a bird, and had a low, musical voice 
 
OLD REtFiaS DEAD. fc 
 
 Hke the brook, and a smiis like sunshine, and, 
 in short, was beautiful m ft fairy herself. 
 
 While she sat there, with her low, sweet 
 voice, trying to consoto her mother, and now 
 and then her own sunnj smile breaking through 
 even her tears, the door opened, and their land 
 lord entered. 
 
 He had sold the pastt and the whole black 
 berry hill to a rich man who would build there 
 immediately ; and thej must move this verj 
 night, for the hut stood ia his fray, 
 8* 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 A NEW HOME AND OLD FRIENDS. 
 
 TROUBLE seemed to come all at once ; they 
 had no money and no place to store their hum 
 ble furniture ; but Violet always hoped for the 
 best, and only smiled when they began to move 
 the rough chairs and table her father had nailed 
 together. 
 
 " There s one comfort," she said ; " our things 
 are not so fine that a little dew will hurt them. 
 We may leave them here till we find a better 
 place." 
 
 But it did make her heart ache to see the 
 men tear away her vines, even Irom above old 
 Reuben s seat, and then, with a few axe strokes, 
 batter down the wall, till nothing was left of 
 the dear old home but a little pile of boards. 
 
 " We had better go to this rich man and 
 
 (90) 
 
A NEW HOME AND OLD PBIBNDB. 
 
 tell our story," said her mother, as they walked 
 sadly out of the pasture for, as they thought, 
 the last time. 
 
 "He was boarding," the landlord said, "at 
 a hotel in the village where Reuben had carried 
 his marketing, only three or four miles thence." 
 
 So, leaning on Violet s arm, old Mary crept 
 along the dusty road, farther than she had 
 walked for many a day, and was tired enough 
 when they reached the hotel door. 
 
 Not so Violet, who was full of hope, and had 
 in her head more plans than one for finding a 
 new home. 
 
 They asked for the stranger, Dr. Story, were 
 led to his parlor, and told their simple tale. 
 He was interested at once, and very angry that 
 they had been treated so badly on his account, 
 and offered to give them money, while he hardly 
 took his eyes from Violet s face. 
 
 " No," she said, smiling ; " we did not come 
 to beg, but thought, as we had lost our home 
 through you, you might be willing to help ui 
 find another." 
 
92 VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 "And how shall I do that?" asked tt* 
 doctor. 
 
 Then Violet told him that she had studied 
 evenings so long it seemed to her she could 
 teach in the village school ; but she was poor, 
 and had no friends to speak a good word for 
 her with the committee. 
 
 " What is your name ? " asked the gentleman, 
 suddenly. 
 
 "Violet." 
 
 "I thought so; and what has become of 
 Toady?" 
 
 It was the doctor who had mended Toady s 
 leg so many years ago, and the young man who 
 sat reading on the sofa was no other than Al 
 fred, his son, with the fairy Ambition still keep 
 ing him hard at work, and making him care vr 
 little else but books. 
 
 He looked up though, and listened to Viowefr f 
 story, and, as he watched her, actually closed 
 Ws book, and always afterwards closed it if she 
 entt-red the room ; for fairy Love was stronger 
 
A NEW HOME AND OLD FRIENDS. 9* 
 
 than Imbition, and he could no more see t 
 the purple light which fell from her wines than 
 an owl could in broad noonday. 
 
 " But where is Narcissa ? " asked Violet. 
 
 The father s face grew sad as lie told ho^, 
 the very day they were at the hut, in riding 
 home the carriage was overturned, and Na* 
 cissa not only lamed for life, but thrown 
 against a tree, ono o? whose branches entered 
 her eye and put it out. 
 
 When Violet heard of this her eyes filled 
 with tears, and forgetting all the unkindness 
 she had received from this girl, she only re 
 membered how handsome Narcissa was, and 
 how happy she seemed as they drove away. 
 
 And the fairy Love shed such a beautiful 
 light around the poor berry girl, that Ambition 
 hid in a corner,, and Alfred didn t think of his 
 books again that day. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE NEW OLD HOME. 
 
 THE doctor lent them money enough to hirt 
 & pleasant, sunny room in the village street, 
 where her mother could sit and watch the 
 passers by when she was tired of knitting and 
 reading, for she was alone now almost all the 
 day, and Violet was mistress of the village 
 school. 
 
 One morning, as Mary sat in her comfortable 
 chair, and was wishing old Reuben could see 
 what a beautiful home she had, a carriage 
 drove to the door below, and then came a 
 knock at her own door, and Dr. Story entered. 
 
 " I have come to give you a ride this pleas 
 ant day," he said. " We will call for Violet 
 Wouldn t you like to see how I have improved 
 tiie old blackberry field ? " 
 
*HE NEW OLD HOME. % 
 
 Mary was delighted. She had never ridden 
 in a carriage in her life ; and to go in that 
 splendid one of the doctor s, with velvet cush 
 ions, and footmen behind I She sat very 
 straight, you may be sure, and kept tucking 
 in her gown ; for though it was new, she was 
 afraid it might harm the seats, and her wrin 
 kled face was shining all over with smiles. 
 
 They met Violet on her way home from 
 school, and she was almost as much pleased 
 as the old lady with her ride. 
 
 But what was their surprise to find, instead 
 of the little footpath, a broad avenue through 
 the pasture, with young trees on each side, and 
 the hill where the blackberry vines had been, 
 covered with waving oats, and in front of Vio 
 let s own beloved wood a beautiful great house 
 large as a palace ! 
 
 " But now look on the other side," said Dr. 
 Story. 
 
 Where the old hut had stood was the pret 
 tiest little cottage you ever saw, with the very 
 
96 VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 clematis and honeysuckle, and wild roses Vio 
 let had planted trained over it ; and there was 
 Reuben s garden all in order, just as they had 
 left it ; and under the great elm tree there was 
 his grave, with a new white stone at the head, 
 and the old man s name and age cut in it. 
 
 They alighted at the cottage door, and Violet 
 noticed how the air was perfumed with her 
 own favorite flowers. While Alfred stooped 
 to gather some of these for Violet, his father 
 said, 
 
 " Do you remember, Mary, whose birthday 
 this is ? " 
 
 " Sure enough, it s Violet s 1 " exclaimed the 
 old woman. 
 
 " And this," said the doctor, " is Violet s 
 birthday present this house and garden, and 
 these beds of flowers." 
 
 Bu v , before they could thank him, he added, 
 
 " IL return, you are to give up your school, 
 arid teach my own children. Will you do it, 
 Violet ? They are so young it will be easy at 
 
THE NEW OLD HOMfe. 97 
 
 first, and meantime you shall have teachers 
 yourself." 
 
 Pleased as Violet and Mary were, I don t 
 think they were half as fflad as Alfred, who 
 threw his book down into tne i?rass so suddenly 
 at his father s speecn, i should not be surprised 
 if it broke fairy Ambition s head. 
 9 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 ALFRED. 
 
 THE cottage was all furnished, and had even 
 a foot stove for the old lady, and a soft, stuffed 
 easy chair in the parlor, while on the woodshed 
 wall hung Reuben s tools ; and what do you 
 think hopped up from under a board as Violet 
 stood looking at these? Toady, on his three 
 legs, who winked his one round eye at her, as 
 if he would say, " Isn t all this fine ? " 
 
 Then there was a school room, where Violet s 
 pupils came every morning, and learned to love 
 her as if she were their own sister. 
 
 After school she would tell them stories 
 about the birds, and squirrels, and flowers, 
 among which she had lived so long, or take 
 them to walk in the old pleasant places. 
 
 They told their sister Narcissa, who, like 
 
ALFRED. 
 
 99 
 
 Violet, was grown to a young lady now, so 
 much about the new teacher, that one pleasant 
 day she went to the cottage with them. 
 
 Violet was grieved to see how the handsome 
 face was scarred and spoiled ; but Narcissa 
 said, 
 
 u lt was the best thing that ever happened 
 to me, Violet that accident ; it cured me of 
 pride and selfishness." 
 
 And it had, truly. Narcissa was so gentle 
 and patient, you would not have known her 
 for the same person. She grew as fond of 
 Violet as the children were ; and when they 
 were busy in the school room, studying, she 
 would often sit and read to the old lady in 
 the sunny little room where she slept and 
 spent almost all her time. This room looked 
 out towards the violet beds, and over it the 
 vines grew most luxuriantly ; their blossoms 
 looked in at her window, and their shadows 
 flickered over the bright-red carpet ; while old 
 Mary sat in her easy chair thinking of Reuben, 
 
100 VIOLET : A PAIEY STORY. 
 
 who was dead and gone, and rejoicing that she 
 could live and die where every thing reminded 
 her of him, and be buried by his side. 
 
 By his side she was buried, under the great 
 elm tree, but not until she had lived many 
 years in the cottage with Violet the happiest 
 years of her life. 
 
 Then Violet s friends at the great house said 
 she had better go and live with them, it was 
 so lonely in the old place now ; and about this 
 time Alfred came home from India, where he 
 had lived long enough to grow very sickly 
 and very rich. 
 
 He told Violet that he had been earning 
 money to take care of her, and now, if she 
 would be his wife, they might still live in the 
 cottage and be happy all their days. 
 
 But Alfred s father was proud and ambitious, 
 and would not be satisfied to have his son 
 marry a poor berry girl. This Violet knew 
 well enough , so she never told Alfred that 
 she loved him, but only said " No " to his 
 
ALFRED. 
 
 101 
 
 offers, at which he felt so badly he threat 
 ened to shoot himself, i^ v ; V , . 
 
 But instead of this /he, cjonclwdeA Sfkrjflaisas 
 to marry some one else a * lady, rich, and 
 accomplished, and gay, who made the great 
 house merrier than it had ever been before she 
 went to it. 
 
 There were balls, and parties, and concerts, 
 strangers coming and going constantly j there 
 was no such thing as quiet. 
 
 Violet was unwilling to exchange for this 
 her pleasant, sunny little cottage ; the vines 
 and the elm tree and crowded garden beds 
 had grown so dear to her, and the very birds 
 and squirrels seemed to know and love Violet, 
 and sing and chip to her, "Do stay." 
 
 How could she refuse? Who would take 
 care of poor Toady if she went? and who 
 would feed the old faded cat lying now on 
 the doorstep half asleep, opening half an eye 
 sometimes to watch her kittens play, and then 
 9* 
 
102 VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 going off into a doze again like a worn-out 
 granifn6ther,<as she liad become. 
 , r , W;ha will b:eHe\ e if? - she was the same 
 kitten ttiat followed Violet into the wood about 
 the time our story began, and wasn t old enough 
 then to catch a cricket or keep from drowning 
 in the brook. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 NABCI8SA. 
 
 WHILE Violet sat on the doorstep wondering 
 whether to please Alfred and his father by 
 going to live with them or to stay with her 
 favorites in the cottage, Narcissa came in sight. 
 
 She was limping along with her crutches 
 through the grass, and looked very pale and 
 tired ; for the walk from the wood to the cot 
 tage, which was nothing to Violet, was a great 
 undertaking to the lame girl. She never walked 
 as far in any other direction ; but some how 
 the path to Violet s seemed the smoothest and 
 easiest. 
 
 Shall I tell you why? Because the fairy 
 Love went before her, picking up every rough 
 Btone and bur or brier, and when the sun was 
 
104 VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 hottest, shaded the invalid with her delicate 
 purple wings. 
 
 Violet, too, had tau^t Narcissa how many 
 pleasant things there are in the world even for 
 one who is sick. So, instead of fretting be 
 cause the way was dusty and the sunshine hot t 
 Narcissa looked up at the cool green leaves 
 which were fanning her, and watched along all 
 the way to see what beautiful flowers the heat 
 and light were opening. She, too, had learned 
 to love the cool song of the brook ; to be glad 
 though she could not follow them herself, poor 
 cripple ! that the butterflies corld flutter 
 about and drink honey from all the flowers, 
 and the squirrels could dart away with their 
 nuts, and the birds go sailing and singing up 
 into the far blue sky. 
 
 Her old fairy, Envy, was banished forever 
 from Narcissa s heart, and in its place dwelt 
 Violet s fairy, Love, and Contentment, Love s 
 unfailing friend. 
 
 The moment these fairies came, her heart 
 
began to grow larger and purer ; for it only 
 takes a small soul to hold such a miserable 
 little sprite as Envy, who is so mean and poor 
 that he makes every place poor into which he 
 enters, though he looks fine enough in his cloak 
 streaked with purple, gold, and red, like the 
 gaudiest of tulips. 
 
 No wonder Narcia was glad to make the 
 exchange of friends : for Love soon taught her 
 that the way to be happy is to forget all about 
 ourselves, and be glad whenever another is 
 glad, no matter how humble a thing. So 
 when she watched the sunshine creep towards 
 a flower that had been waiting for it in the 
 shade, or when she saw a young bird fly for 
 the first time, or, in frosty mornings that made 
 her sick frame shiver, when she heard the nuts 
 rattle down, and knew the frost had opened 
 their burs, and that the children would be 
 glad, Narcissa s heart would be so full of sym 
 pathy that I am not sure but she was the haj> 
 piest of all. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 NEW PLANS. 
 
 VIOLET saw Narcissa s white dress among 
 the trees, for the young elins in the avenue 
 had grown so high as to meet now overhead, 
 and ran out to welcome her. 
 
 She helped the invalid into her house, brought 
 her mother s easy chair out to the porch, and 
 a footstool and fan, and last of all a little 
 table, upon which she placed fresh flowers and 
 a new book that had been given her, and then 
 hurried away to mix a cooling drink, of which 
 N"arcissa was very fond. 
 
 " How good you are, Violet," said Narcissa 
 when she came back, " and how little I deserve 
 so much from you ! A toad just hopped over 
 the step the queerest old fellow looked as 
 if he had been through a dozen wars, with his 
 
 106) 
 
NEW PLANS. 107 
 
 one eye and a missing leg. I could havo 
 laughed, we were so much alike ; and yet J 
 couldn t, for he made me think of that first day 
 we came to your father s house, and " 
 
 " 0, yes," interrupted Violet ; " and only 
 think how much good has come to its from 
 that first visit how comfortably we have 
 lived ever since ! your father was so kind." 
 
 " But I wasn t kind," said Narcissa, looking 
 very sorrowful ; " I did you nothing but harm ; 
 and think what you have done for me." 
 
 "Brought you a chair and a fan," lauqrhftrt 
 Violet ; "wonderful deeds ! " 
 
 " You may laugh if you will," answered the 
 lady ; "bui i would not give what I have gained 
 from you in exchange for a hundred times what 
 I ever had before. My beauty only made me 
 vexed if I was not admired ; my health and 
 strength made me restless, kept me always in 
 search or wnat I could not find nor buj. 
 Beauty, and health, and money are goo<i for 
 nothing by themselves. Violet, you have 
 
108 VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 given health and beauty to my heart, and no\? 
 I am rich and happy because no living thing 
 can be glad but I grow richer by sharing it? 
 joy those cool cloud shadows flickering over 
 the grass this sweetness the air has caught 
 from your violet beds ; and look how that hum 
 ming bird enjoys the dew and honey he is 
 drinking out of the roses, hanging among them 
 by his long, slim bill ; I can almost taste it 
 with him as clearly as I smell the odor he 
 shakes from the roses with his glittering 
 wings ; and I feel, too, the coolness the shad 
 ows must bring to the heated grass. For all 
 of this, my friend, I thank you constantly." 
 
 Violet was not fond of hearing herself 
 praised ; she thought it pleasure enough to 
 help any one ; so she changed the subject by 
 oftering Narciss? some more of the refreshing 
 3 nnk. She answered, 
 
 " Not now, I thank you ; but pray where do 
 you buy this cordiaJ ? it is so much pleas- 
 
NEW PLANS 109 
 
 anter to me than the rich winea w< lave at 
 home, which always make me sick," 
 
 When Violet told how she had made the 
 cordial herself from wild raspberries of her 
 own picking, had pressed the juice out with 
 her own white hands, and that the same 
 hands had made the light biscuit she brought 
 with it, and arranged the tasteful bouquet, and 
 nailed up the luxuriant rosebushes, Narcissa 
 was quite enchanted, and wished she could 
 live as independently herself. 
 
 " 0," she said, " I am so tired of the noise 
 and confusion at home, and so many new faces, 
 such rich food. If I could live here, Violet, 
 with you ! " 
 
 " Why not make me a visit? and if you are 
 contented with my simple fare, I shall be very 
 glad to have you stay as long as you will. 
 We might have beautiful times together." 
 
 " Are you in earnest ? " asked Narcissa, ea 
 gerly. " I shall be so happy and so independ 
 ent here! and I won t be in the way either, 
 10 
 
1 10 VIOLET : A FAIRY 8TOBY. 
 
 for you shall teach me to work, and I can paint, 
 and draw, and play on the piano, and read ever 
 BO many languages. All these I will teach 
 you." She smiled, and Violet asked why. 
 
 " I was thinking that the accomplishment of 
 which I was proudest once must be taught by 
 some one else." 
 
 " Why ? " 
 
 "Every one praised my dancing; but how 
 in the world could I teach you with my wooden 
 leg? I will learn of you to work, to help 
 others, to find out the best things in books, 
 and the most beautiful things every where 
 Why, we shall be like two fairy queens in 
 our little cottage palace." 
 
 Narcissa s father, instead of objecting to this 
 plan, was very much pleased with it said the 
 change would be better than any medicine foi 
 the invalid. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 SPRING AT THE COTTAGE. 
 
 LOVE and Contentment waved their bright 
 wings now ; for the two friends became so 
 fond of each other they were not contented 
 apart. Narcissa even grew beautiful again, 
 there was such a peaceful smile upon her face, 
 and such an earnest, loving look within her 
 eyes. 
 
 It was a real pleasure for Violet to comfort 
 and amuse this friend, from whom she was con 
 stantly learning some new thing. 
 
 Narcissa painted beautifully, and Violet 
 would bring her the freshest and lovelier . 
 flowers to copy ; so there was hardly a bios- 
 Bom or a green leaf in the neighborhood, from 
 April to November, but you could find it almost 
 living again in their portfolio. 
 
 Uli) 
 
112 VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 They would watch the birds too, find out 
 all their names, and their different notes, and 
 how they fed and taught their young ; and 
 Violet worked in her garden more than ever 
 now, because Narcissa s maid took care of the 
 cottage, and kept it as neat as even Us mis 
 tress wished. 
 
 She had the lawn before the house enclosed 
 in a border shaped like the half of a great 
 ring, and this was planted full of snowdrops, 
 which blossom quite early, you know, and are 
 very delicate and beautiful. It was like a ring 
 of living pearls ; and when these wilted, odors 
 began to steal towards the cottage door, which 
 tempted violet to look under another border 
 thick with green leaves, and there would be 
 more violets than you could count ; so the 
 pearl ring changed to one of emerald and am 
 ethyst. 
 
 Meantime the sweetbrier by the doorway 
 would begin to have pale green buds on its 
 orown stems, and the honeysuckle and bitter 
 
SPBING AT THE COllAOA. 113 
 
 sweet came forth in fresh green shoots, until 
 there were so many new, tender, fragrant 
 leaves, and buds, and blossoms that the birds 
 were sure to select it as the place for their 
 nests. 
 
 Narcissa loved to watch them while Violet 
 was busy with her work. A flock of rob 
 ins would settle upon the plum tree in the 
 garden, peck at the gum, and dig inject eggs 
 out from the bark, and then fly away towards 
 the wood, singing all together; but soon two 
 would steal back to the plum f ree, and chirp 
 and twitter to each other, and look at the 
 cottage, and then at the wood, and then at 
 the thickest boughs of the plum. 
 
 Presently both would fly together towards 
 the house, one settling on the sweetbrier, and 
 one on the roof, and then on the chimney, and 
 then hop along the porch, and then back both 
 would go to have another talk in the plum 
 tree, and then fly off to find their brothwi 
 and sisters in the wood. 
 10* 
 
J14 VIOLET : A FAIRY STOKf. 
 
 But sure as another morning carne, back 
 would come the birds too, looking with their 
 little bright eyes all about the cottage, and 
 always settling at last on that one sweetbrier 
 branch. 
 
 Then they would begin to bring straws and 
 hair, which they wove together into a soft little 
 nest, working away as busy and happy as birds 
 could be, now and then going back to the plum 
 tree, as if from a distance to admire their tiny 
 home. 
 
 Before very long, looking out of the cottage 
 frindow, you might find the nest full of little 
 cunning eggs ; but you could not see these 
 often, for the birds kept them almost constant 
 ly sheltered with their own warm breasts, wait 
 ing until the little things within should grow 
 strong enough to break and creep out of their 
 shells. 
 
 All this time the father bird would bring 
 the mother food bring her ripe cherries, 
 seeds, buds, and worms ; and sometimes he 
 
SPRING AT THE COTTAGE. 115 
 
 would take her place, letting her fly away for 
 a look at the woods, or a drink from the 
 sparkling brook. 
 
 But some bright morning you would hear 
 the old birds twittering so joyfully, you might 
 know something had come to pass; and the 
 first time they flew away, if you looked from 
 the window again, there would be, instead of 
 the eggs, a little heap of the homeliest things 
 in the world, with great eyes, and great legs 
 and claws, and long red necks, and mouths 
 half as large as the bodies, gaping at you 
 not a feather to be seen except a little down, 
 like whiskers, about their ears. 
 
 Birds grow very fast ; you would be sur 
 prised to find how soon they began to fill, 
 and more than fill, the nest, until some morning 
 one after another would hop out among the 
 sweetbrier stems, and show you their glossy 
 backs and speckled breasts, while the old birds 
 watched so proud and happy, and began teach 
 ing them to fly and to sing. 
 
116 VIOLfcT : A FAittY 8TOBY. 
 
 One morning towards the last of May, when 
 Violet was in the garden transplanting her 
 forget-me-nots, and Narcissa, in the porch, sat 
 watching her, enjoying the cool, fresh air, the 
 new life that bndded forth from every thing, 
 and the freedom and joy of the golden orioles 
 as they flashed in and out among the elm 
 boughs, and twittered forth their wild and 
 plaintive melodies, her attention was caught by 
 a stir and fluttering in the sweetbrier, and then 
 a song from the larch tree opposite. These 
 sounds came from two yellow birds, a mother 
 and her little one. The young one would go, 
 " Twe-te-twee," timidly and sweetly, with such 
 a tired tremble at the end ; then forth poured 
 the old bird a clear, conneated strain, half 
 repeated it, and then paused ; and the little 
 sweet voice came again, "Pee-te-wee pee-te- 
 we e twee-te-wee." It was too cunning, and 
 the old bird took up the trembling, broken 
 strain so clearly, with such ease, " Twitter, wit 
 ter witter wee-te-twee-te-twee twitter, wit- 
 
SPRING AT THE COTTAGE. 117 
 
 tor, witter" " Wee-te-twee," ended the young 
 one, with that same little tremble in the midst, 
 the same baby sweetness, just such as in a child 
 would make you snatch it up and kiss it 
 twee-te-wee." Narcissa wondered if there 
 could have been more exquisite music in par* 
 dim. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 VIOLET S SCHOLARS. 
 
 VIOLET still had her little school of Narcis- 
 BR B brothers and sisters ; but she was so gentle 
 and patient that study was never very hard 
 to them, though the lessons might be long ; 
 and then at recess time the boys would go 
 out and pick cherries, or apples, or plums, from 
 the garden, bring them in on fresh green leaves, 
 and they would all sit in the porch and have 
 a little feast together. 
 
 Saturday afternoons they would take a walk 
 in the woods ; and Violet taught thers how to 
 weave oak leaves into crowns, and to make 
 necklaces out of dandelion stems and lilac 
 flowers, and baskets of rushes. 
 
 They always took something home to Nar- 
 eissa, who could not enjoy long walks because 
 
VIOLET S SCHOLARS. 
 
 of her lameness. One would pick up a pocket 
 foil of checkerberries, and one a handful of 
 the young, spicy leaves ; and the prettiest 
 branch of hawthorn, the longest-stemmed vio 
 lets, the largest-leaved bough of oak, were sore 
 to go home for her. 
 
 When it grew late in the year, they had 
 such sport gathering chestnuts, hazelnuts, and 
 shagbarks ; the boys climbed the trees, and 
 shook or beat them with long poles, and 
 down the nuts would come rattling by baskets 
 full. These were stored away in the cottage ; 
 for they all knew that what Violet kept for 
 them was safe. 
 
 When they came near the cottage again after 
 one of these excursions, looking so bright, with 
 their rosy cheeks, and flying hair, and laughing 
 faces, Narcissa s smiling face was always at the 
 window watching, and quickly appeared at the 
 door to welcome them. Sometimes they all 
 went home crowned with autumn leaves, some- 
 
120 VIOLET : A FAIRY 8TOEY. 
 
 times with woodbine or ground pine, and early 
 in spring with bloodroots, violets, or anemones. 
 
 But the prettiest crown, and the rarest flower, 
 and the juiciest burch of berries were always 
 for Narcissa. 
 
 In stormy days, or when the ground was cov 
 ered with snow, Violet still made the holidays 
 pleasant for her scholars ; they would play 
 games and sing in the afternoon. She would 
 teach the girls how to dress their dolls, and 
 the boys how to make pasteboard boxes and 
 kites, and how to put puzzles together. Then 
 at evening they would gather around the fire 
 place, with Narcissa s great chair in the midst 
 of the circle, and she or Violet would tell 
 stories for hours together. 
 
 One of these stories Narcissa liked so much 
 that she wrote it down, and after Violet was 
 dead, for, like the snowdrops and wild roses, 
 our Violet died at last, she read it to me. 
 I will try and remember it for you ; but first 1 
 
VIOLET S SCHOULBS. 121 
 
 must tell what sorrow there was in the great 
 house on the hill, and not there only, but 
 among all the poor in the neighborhood, when 
 Violet went to heaven. 
 
 Under the elm tree they buried her, beside 
 Mary and Reuben ; and the orioles she loved 
 to watch still hatch their young and sing sweet 
 songs above her grave. 
 
 Alfred wanted to build a great marble mon 
 ument over her ; for he said the whole world 
 did not contain a better or lovelier woman. 
 But Narcissa said, 
 
 " No ; she has built her own monument of 
 good deeds, which will last after marble has 
 mouldered away. Let us cover her grave with 
 her own sweet violets, that whenever we pass 
 we may think of our Violet." 
 
 Long afterwards, even to this day, when any 
 who knew her witness a kind action, or meet 
 one with a cheerful, hopeful spirit, and a sunny 
 mile, they say, " It is just like Violet" 
 11 
 
122 VIOLET I A PAIBT STORY. 
 
 So, dear children, let us try to make friends 
 with her fairies, Love and Contentment, and 
 let us remember that whenever the thought 
 of her urges us to be cheerful, contented, and 
 loving, we, too, shall plant a flower on Violet i 
 
TIOLET S STORY 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 IT was a snowy night, and the children, as 
 we gathered around the fire, began to ask for 
 stories. I told them a queer dream of my 
 own, and then they insisted that Violet should 
 give one of her fairy tales. 
 
 While she was puzzling her brain for a new 
 one, my little sister Mabel, who had climbed 
 upon the sofa and was nestling close to her, 
 asked, 
 
 "What makes you love violets so much? 
 Here even in winter time you have some in 
 your bosom. Arn t you sweeter than these 
 little homely things?" 
 
 " Narcissa," she answered, " has told a dream, 
 and now I will tell one. It s a kind of fairy 
 story besides, and partly true. You must not 
 ask any questions about the little girl, or make 
 
126 VIOLET . i PAIBY STORY. 
 
 any guesses. Her name happened to be just 
 like yours, Mabel." 
 
 " Little girl ! I thought twas a dream," said 
 Mabel. 
 
 " Listen, then : A little girl went out one 
 day in search of strawberries. She went into 
 a wide green field that was starred all over 
 with dandelions, and clusters of wild lilien 
 hanging like bells around their stems, and 
 violets, and blue-eyed grass. 
 
 " There was not a living being in this place 
 except the birds, and little fishes in the brook ; 
 for through the long grass all around the field 
 ran a stream of clearest water over a dark- 
 brown, pebbly bed. 
 
 " Rising on every side, so as to shut the field 
 ui by itself, were hills closely covered with 
 iroes and vines. Here birds sang all day long, 
 and flowers bloomed, and nuts and berries 
 ripened ; the ground was in some places slip 
 pery with fallen pine leaves, and in othen 
 soft with a carpet of fresh moss. 
 
VIOLET S STORY. 127 
 
 "It was shady in these woods, but in the field 
 the sun shone, opened the lilies, ripened the 
 strawberries, and made the little girl feel 
 bright and glad, although it was so warm. 
 
 " Strawberries are tiny things to pick ; the 
 little girl thought it would take a million to 
 fill her pail ; and often she longed to leave 
 them and gather flowers, or play with the fish 
 in the brook, or rest in the cool wood. 
 
 " But she had always loved violets, just as I 
 love them ; and a gardener s wife had promised 
 Mabel that the first time she brought a pail 
 full of strawberries to her, she should have in 
 return a whole bunch of these fragrant flowers. 
 
 "So, stooping among the lilies, which were 
 almost as tall as herself, and picking one by 
 one, one by one, the bright sun pouring its 
 heat down upon her, after a great while her 
 pail was heaped with berries. Almost as fra 
 grant as violets they were, too, and looked, 
 upon their long green stems, like littl* dropt 
 if coral. 
 
-28 VIOLET : A FAIRY feTORI. 
 
 " Mabel s work was not over now ; she 
 climbed half way up the hill, found a beautiful 
 shady place, where the grass was long, and the 
 roots of a great tree had coiled themselves 
 into a seat, which was cushioned over with 
 moss. 
 
 " She threw aside her sun bonnet, and began 
 to pick off the green hulls from her fruit, while 
 the broad oak leaves overhead kept fanning 
 her, and lifting the matted cnrls from her warm 
 forehead. 
 
 " But then came a great mosquito, and then 
 another, and another ; they would whirl around 
 her head, buzzing and buzzing, and fly from 
 her forehead to her nose, and from nose to 
 hand, and hand to shoulder, and then creep 
 into the curly hair, and buzz so close to her 
 ear it frightened her. 
 
 " Twenty times she had a mind to throw hep 
 berries into the brook and run home ; but then 
 she thought of the violets how splendid it 
 would be to have them all to herself; aha 
 
VIOLET S STOBY. 12* 
 
 should not give away one flower, not one, she 
 had worked so hard for them. 
 
 " Throwing the stems away lowered the con- 
 tents of her pail so much that Mabel had to 
 go out in the hot field and pick again, and 
 then back to the wood where the mosquitoes 
 were, and work another hour. She never had 
 such a long, hard task before. 
 
 "But the little girl travelled home at last 
 with her pail brimful in one hand, and a splen 
 did great bunch of lilies in the other. This 
 last served as a parasol till she reached the 
 gardener s gate. 
 
 " Then, taking her violets, Mabel hurried 
 home. There were more of them, and they were 
 larger and sweeter, than she had even hoped. 
 She hardly took her eyes from them until she 
 reached her mother s door. 
 
 " While she was placing her flowers in water, 
 a woman came up the hot, dusty road, with a 
 young child in her arms. She looked tired 
 and warm, and said she had eaten nothing all 
 
130 VIOLET : A FAIRS 8TOBY. 
 
 day long. Mabel looked in the closet ; there 
 was plenty of bread, but she dared not give it 
 without her mother s leave. She looked in all 
 the rooms ; but her mother was not to be found ; 
 
 and when the poor woman had rested a little, 
 
 
 
 Mabel watched her creep out into the blazing 
 sun again, dragging the little child after her. 
 She could not bear to think that while she had 
 every thing to make her happy, others must 
 go hungry and tired ; and * Suppose it were my 
 mother, Mabel thought ; I must do something 
 for her ; yet I have nothing in the world to 
 give. 
 
 " Except the violets, whispered something 
 inside of Mabel s heart. Snatching them from 
 the table, she ran after the beggar, and said, - 
 
 " * There, I gave a whole pail of strawberries 
 for these ; perhaps you can sell them for a loaf 
 of bread. 
 
 "The poor woman looked so pleased, and 
 thanked Mabel so heartily, that she felt the 
 violets could never have caused her so much 
 .OY as it had done to give them away. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 "NOT many days after these events, Mabel 
 irent again to the field where the lilies and 
 Btrawberries grew, played about in the sun 
 until she was tired, and then seated herself 
 under a shady tree to rest, and hear the birds 
 and rustling leaves, and watch the brook glide 
 through the grass. 
 
 " The grass about her was long, and fine, 
 and soft as any bed ; it was cool too, and 
 Mabel, listening to the quiet murmur of the 
 brook, fell fast asleep; but all the while she 
 thought herself wide awake, and wondered 
 why the sound of the rippling of water changed 
 to something like the tread of tiny feet ; and 
 then there came the sweetest, most delicate mu 
 sic ; and all at once could it be ? she sa^ 
 a multitude of little beings marching through the 
 very pathway he- footsteps had made in the 
 
 (ill) 
 
132 VIOLET I A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 grass, and approaching her. They were hardlj 
 taller than a grasshopper would be if he could 
 stand up like a man, and had formed themselves 
 into the drollest little procession. 
 
 " First came the musicians ; there were flute 
 players, using each a joint of grass stem for in 
 strument, bell ringers, jingling lilies of the val 
 ley, and trumpeters tooting through white lilat 
 blossoms. Then came the guards, dressed in 
 uniform, and bearing each a fern leaf for banner 
 at once and parasol. With these leaves they 
 shaded a <rou] f little women, who marched 
 along as ^niuod AS nun s until they came 
 to a bunch of fennel leaves that grew near 
 Mabel s resting-place. Towards this they flew, 
 for the tiny people had wings ; they climbed 
 the stems and clung to the feathery leaves, 
 and then all at once, espying Mabel, trooped 
 towards her, and ranged themselves upon a 
 platform of plantain leaves. 
 
 "They were funny little women tall, and 
 prim, and slim, wearing green mantles and such 
 
VIOLET S STORY. 133 
 
 Wg purple hoods. They were more polite than 
 gome larger people, and did nothing but bow, 
 and courtesy, and smile to Mabel, who asked 
 them who they were and whence they came. 
 
 " They shook their heads, and laughed, while 
 the air was filled with sweetest odor. At last 
 one said, 
 
 " We are flower spirits. Every year we 
 come to earth and live in some blossom, which 
 we fill with beauty and fragrance ; but when 
 it withers we go back to Fairyland until another 
 spring. We have, besides our fairy queen, a 
 queen whom we choose every year among mor 
 tals, and serve her faithfully. We have just 
 returned from working in her service. 
 
 " Are you not hungry? asked Mabel. I 
 have brought luncheon. Won t yon eat some 
 of my gingerbread ? 
 
 " The fairies laughed again. * We live, they 
 said, upon flower dust and dewdrope ; we 
 should not relish mortal food. 1 
 
 " Then they called from the attendants who 
 12 
 
134 
 
 VIOLET I A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 lingered among the fennel leaves their steward 
 and butler ; and it was Mabel s turn to laugh 
 when she saw how queerly they ate. 
 
 "Some blossoms from the elder bush, little 
 ivory urns, served them for goblets. These 
 were set upon a mushroom, and some red clover 
 blossoms were rolled around the table for seats. 
 The little men had tried in vain to break these 
 blossoms off; so they caught a caterpillar, 
 whipped him along with grass blades, and made 
 him use his teeth for a knife. Then they had 
 caught a toad, and heaped his round back 
 with the blossoms, which rolled off as fast as 
 they could be picked up again ; and by the 
 time they reached their mistresses, the fairy 
 servants were warm and red in the face as 
 any hay makers. 
 
 "The fairies grew so hungry with waiting 
 that they even tasted a crumb of Mabel s gin- 
 gerbread ; but not liking this very well, they 
 took out from among the provisions that were 
 packed in a wild rose, the petals nicely fastened 
 
VIOLET S STORY. 135 
 
 together with cobweb threads, some poppy and 
 caraway seeds, upon which they began to gnaw 
 with their little white teeth. 
 
 " You must have lived in violets, said Ma 
 bel. Every time you shake your bonnets and 
 laugh, the air is full of their odor. Can t you 
 smell it? 
 
 " * Yes, for we were violets once ourselves, 
 and all blossomed in the same garden ; some 
 of us grew from the same root, and a queer 
 life we have led in the last few days. One 
 hot day this very week the gardener s wife 
 picked us in the greatest haste, and tied us 
 together so tightly we were all but smothered 
 for a while. The woman gave us to a little 
 girl, who was just putting our stems in some 
 cool water, and we half dead with thirst, when 
 she must needs give us away to a beggar 
 woman. 
 
 " * Why, exclaimed Mabel, were you my 
 lets? 
 
 " The fairies only laughed. 
 
36 VIOLET I A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 1 The woman held us in her hot hands until 
 we were all but wilted, and she gave one or 
 two of my sisters to the poor tired child that 
 followed her through the dust. 
 
 " What is the matter ? asked Mabel ; * your 
 eyes are full of tears/ 
 
 * I am thinking of my sisters, whom we bhall 
 never meet again ; and the tears ran down thQ 
 fairy s little cheeks. The child was overtired, 
 and so warm that when they came to a resting- 
 place, and she lay down to sleep, she never 
 awoke again. A lady who had taken pity 
 upon her laid the little body out for burial, and 
 finding those few violets still clinched in the 
 dead hand, would not remove them ; so my 
 sisters were buried in her grave, and must re 
 main there no one knows how long ; for while 
 we live on earth we must take care of these 
 bodies, frail flowers though they be. If we 
 omit this, all our happiness and usefulness are 
 gone. The kind lady who buried the beggar 
 child bought us from the woman, all wilted aa 
 
VIOLET S STOBT. 137 
 
 we were. In her shady parlor we soon grew 
 refreshed, lifted our heads again, and in grati 
 tude breathed forth odors, till the room was 
 all perfumed. A lovely girl came to visit the 
 lady, and said so much about our sweetness, 
 that, to our joy, we were divided with her. 
 She took us to her home, a splendid place, all 
 light, and gilding, and flowers, curtains, and 
 cushions, and velvet carpets, and marble stands. 
 Upon one of these last we were placed, in a 
 white Parian cup, but hardly had time to regain 
 our breath when one of the maiden s lovers 
 came, selected me from among the rest, and 
 twirled me around his finger as he talked, until 
 my Btem was broken, and I all but dead. In 
 a lucky hour he let me fall, and, lame as I was, 
 I caught by the leg of a great fly, who whizzed 
 me out of the window in a second, buzzing BO 
 all the while that he almost stunned me. I 
 we just found my friends here, and have not 
 bad time to ask about their adventures. 
 "The little woman, tired with talkkf M 
 12* 
 
13 VIOLET : A FAIRY STORY. 
 
 long, sank into her seat on the plantain leaf, 
 and taking a caraway seed from her pocket 
 began nibbling, while her companions finished 
 the story. 
 
 We have had less trouble, they said. The 
 benevolent lady took us to a dismal prison, to 
 be sure, and we were shut up for a while with 
 a man who had murdered another, and was 
 waiting to be hung. He had forgotten his 
 own mother and his early home ; but when 
 he looked at us, the past came back to him. 
 He remembered the little garden by his father s 
 house, and felt for a moment like an innoceni 
 boy again. From that hour he grew penitent, 
 and he may be forgiven in consequence by God. 
 
 " But didn t the jailer forgive him ? asked 
 Mabel. 
 
 " * No ; he was hung. We belonged to no one 
 then, so we caught our withering bodies under 
 our arms, and flew away through the iron grat 
 ings of his cell. But, Mabel, what are you 
 thinking about ? ended the fairy. 
 
YIOLET S STORY. 139 
 
 " Thinking/ said Mabel, how much better 
 it was to give away my violets than to keep 
 them. I little dreamed they would do so much 
 good in the world. But, fairy, what is the 
 name of the earthly queen you told me about ? 
 
 " Mabel, answered all the little voices ; 
 and the fern leaf banners waved, and violet 
 odors filled the air again, while the tiny flutes 
 and trumpets made sweet music at the mention 
 of their queen. 
 
 " * Why, that is my name/ said the little girl. 
 
 " * And you are our queen/ said the fairies. 
 4 It is a kind and loving heart that gives one 
 power like a fairy wand, and can win all good 
 spirits to serve its owner. This will change 
 selfishness into benevolence, and sin to peni 
 tence, and hatred to forgiveness ; it will trans 
 form haven t you done it ? a prison into a 
 dewy garden, and put love and penitence into 
 a murderer s heart. Whoever uses us to best 
 purposes is our queen ; and this summer oui 
 4ueen is Mabel/ 
 
140 VIOLET : A FAIRY STORf. 
 
 "Mabel reached forward to take her little 
 subjects from the leaf; but lo, it was only a 
 handful of violets. In her surprise, she awoke, 
 with a dim feeling still that she had watched 
 the little procession wind away through her 
 foot tracks in the grass, the fern leaf banners 
 waving over it, while mingled with violet odors 
 came back triumphant music from the tiny 
 flutes and timbrels. Low but clear were the 
 fairy voices ; and Mabel never forgot the word? 
 they sang, which ended, 
 
 All of ut, whoe er w be, 
 May carre u> on t raeh roymKr ~ 
 
PILGRIM SERIES FOR BOYS 
 
 These are genuinely goo.J 
 stories written by authors of 
 established reputation, who ap 
 preciate the wants and tastes 
 of young people, and selected 
 for this series with great care. 
 In all the books of the series 
 the spirit is manly, sincere, and 
 moral. There is enough of in 
 cident and adventure to mak(- 
 them lively and interesting, while 
 the principles of truthfulness, 
 integrity, and self-reliance are 
 quietly inculcated. In a word, 
 they are such books as parents 
 would wish their children to read. 
 
 EACH VOLUME COMPLETE IN 
 ITSELF UNIFORM CLOTH BIND 
 ING NEW AND ATTRACTIVE 
 Price 75 cents each 
 
 By Mrs S. E 
 
 DIES ILLUSTRATED 
 
 1. ALEXIS THE RUNAWAY By Rosa Abbott 
 
 2. ABEL GREY A Story for Boys 
 
 3. BURNING PRAIRIE or Johns tone s Farm 
 
 Samuels 
 
 4. BILLY GRIMES FAVORITE By May Mannering 
 
 5. CROOK STRAIGHTENED By Mrs. Martha E. Berry 
 
 6. CROOKED AND STRAIGHT By Mrs. Martha E. Berry 
 
 7. CLIMIUNG THE ROPE By May Mannering 
 8- COUNTRY LIFE 
 
 9 (i OLDEN RULE or Herbert By Mrs S. B. ^. Samuels 
 10. GOOD LUCK Bv Paul Cobden 
 
 I i. How CHARLIE ROBERTS BECAME A MAN By Miss 
 C. Thurston 
 
 12. HOME IN IHE WEST By Miss Louise C. Thurston 
 
 13. HOLIDAYS AT CHESTNUT HILL By Cousin Mary 
 
 14. JACK OF ALL TRADES By Rosa Abbott 
 
 15. KARL KEIGLER or the Fortunes of a Foundling 
 10. SALT-WATER DICK By May Mannering 
 
 17. SMUGGLER S CAVE or Ennisfellen By Mrs. S. B. C. 
 
 Samuels 
 
 18. LITTLE SPANIARD By May Mannering 
 jl J. TOMMY HICKUP By Rosa Abbott 
 
 )20. THE CHARM A Book for Boys and Girk 
 
 21. TURNING WHEEL By Paul Cobden 
 
 / 2. UNDER THE SEA or Eric Py Mrs. S. B. C. Samuels 
 
 ^\. YOUNG DETECTIVE By Rosa Abbott 
 
 24. WALTER SEYTON A Story of Rural Life in Virginia 
 
 J5, WORTH, NOT WEALTH 
 
 LEE and SHEPARD Publishers BOSTON 
 
PATRIOTIC SERIES hCR BOYS AND GIRLS 
 
 " Lives of great men all remind us 
 We can make our li"er sublime." 
 
 The volumes included in this 
 series tend to inculcate the spirit 
 of patriotism and gouf citi/enship. 
 Ti.e boys and girls of to-day are 
 here made" acquainted with the lives 
 and characters ol many noble ruer 
 and women of tl is and oilier 
 countries. The information is pleas 
 antly and vividly imparted in the 
 form of popular biography as well 
 as fiction by well-known and popular* 
 writers. 
 
 UNIFORM CLOTH BINDING NEW 
 AND ATTRACTIVE DIES ILLUS-J 
 TRATED Price per volume $1.00 
 
 1. BOBBIN BOY The Early Life oi 
 
 Gen. N. P. Banks 
 
 2. BORDEK BOY A Popular Life 
 
 of Daniel Boone By V7 H. 
 Bogart 
 
 DARING DEEDS OF THE INVOLUTION By Henry C. Watson 
 DORA DARLING or the Daughter ol the llegiment By Jane G 
 
 Austin 
 
 DORA DARLTNG AND LITTLE SUNSHINE By Jane Q. Austin 
 FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY A Popular Life of George Washington 
 
 Bv Henry C. Watson 
 FRIEND OF WASHINGTON A Popular Life of General Lafayette 
 
 By Henry C. Watson 
 
 GREAT MEN AND GALLANT DEEDS By J.G.Edgar 
 GREAT PEACEMAKER A Popular Life oi William Perm By 
 
 Henry C. Watson 
 
 GREAT EXPOUNDER Young Folks Life of Daniel \\ ebster 
 GOOD AND GREAT MEN Their Brave Deeds and V\ orks By 
 
 LITTLE CORPORAL Young Folks Life of Napoleon Bonaparte 
 
 Bv John Frost LL.D. 
 
 MILL Boy OF THE SLASHES Life of Henry Clay By John Frost 
 NOBLE DEEDS OF AMERICAN WOMEN Edited by J Clement 
 OLD BELL OF INDEPENDENCE By Henry C. Watson 
 61 D HICKORY Life of Andrew Jackson Bv John Frost 
 OLI> HOUGH AND READY Young Folks Lite ol (/en. /acharv 
 
 Tavlor Bv John Frost, LL.D. 
 FIONEER MOTHERS OF THE WEST Daring and Heroic Deed 
 
 American Women By John Frost, LL.I). 
 PRINTER BOY or How Ben Franklin made his Mark 
 Po )it RICHARD S STORY A Popular Life oi Ben Franklin J3y j 
 
 I AUL AND PERSIS or the Revolutionary Struggle in the Moliawk 
 Valley By Mary E. Brush , 
 
 On A KICK AMONG THE INDIANS By Thomas i C. bsittev 
 >WAMP Fox Life of (ten. Francis Marion By John h rost 
 WOMEN OF WORTH, WHOM THE WORLD LOVES -o UOXOR 
 YOUNG IKVINCIBLES or Patriotism at Home By I. H. Andersog 
 
 LEE and SHEPARD Publishers BOSTON 
 
 9. 
 
 10. 
 11. 
 
 12. 
 
 13. 
 H 
 15 
 
 Id 
 
 19 
 
 22 
 
 23. 
 24- 
 25. 
 
AMERICAN BOYS SERIES 
 
 2. 
 3. 
 4. 
 5. 
 6. 
 7. 
 8. 
 9. 
 
 10. 
 
 11. 
 12. 
 
 13. 
 14. 
 15. 
 16. 
 17. 
 18. 
 
 20. 
 21. 
 
 22. 
 23. 
 
 24. 
 
 The books selected for this serta* are 
 all thoroughly American, by such lavo- 
 rite American authors of boys cooks 
 as Oliver Optic, Elijah Kellogg, Prof. 
 James DeMille, and others, now made 
 for the first time at a largely reduced 
 price, in order to bring them within the 
 reach of all. Each volume complete 
 in itself. 
 
 UNIFORM CLOTH BINDING ILLUS 
 TRATED NEW AND ATTRACTIVE DIES 
 Price per volume $1.00 
 
 ADRIFT IN THE ICE FIELDS By Capt. Chas. W. Hall 
 
 ALL ABOARD or Life on the Lake By Oliver Optic 
 
 ARK OF ELM ISLAND By Rev. Elijah Kellogg 
 
 ARTHUR BROWN THE YOUNG CAPTAIN By Rev. Elijah Kellogg 
 
 BOAT CLUB, THE, or the Bunkers of Rippleton By Oliver Optic 
 
 BOY FARMERS OF ELM ISLAND, THE By Rev. Elijah Kellogg 
 
 BOYS OF GRAND PR SCHOOL By Prof. James DeMille 
 
 " B. O. W. C.", THE By Prof. James DeMille 
 
 BROUGHT TO THE FRONT or the Young Defenders By Rev. 
 
 Elijah Kellogg 
 BURYING THE HATCHET or the Young Brave of the Delawarea 
 
 By Rev. Elijah Kellogg 
 
 CAST AWAY IN THE COLD By Dr. Isaac I. Hayes 
 CHARLIE BELL THE WAIF OF ELM ISLAND By Rev. Elijah 
 
 Kellogg 
 
 CHILD OF THE ISLAND GLEN By Rev. Elijah Kellogg 
 CROSSING THE QUICKSANDS By Samuel W. Cozzens 
 CRUISE OF THE CASCO By Rev. Elijah Kellogg 
 FIRE IN THE WOODS By Prof. James DeMille 
 FISHER BOYS OF PLEASANT COVE By Rev. Elijah Kellogg 
 FOREST GLEN or the Mohawk s Friendship By Rev. Elijah 
 
 Kellogg 
 
 GOOD OLD TIMES By Rev. Elijah Kellogg 
 HARDSCRABBLE OF ELM ISLAND By Rev. Elijah Kellogg 
 HASTE OR WASTE or the Young Pilot of Lake Champlain 
 
 By Oliver Optic 
 
 HOPE AND HAVE By Oliver Optic 
 IN SCHOOL AND OUT or the Conquest of Richard Grant By 
 
 Oliver Optic 
 JOHN GODSOE S LEGACY By Rev. Elijah Kellogg 
 
 LEE and SHEPARD Publishers Boston 
 
AMERICAN BOYS SERIES Continued 
 
 *5. JUST His LUCK By Oliver Optic 
 
 26. LION BKN OF ELM ISLAND By Rev. Elijah Kellogg 
 
 27. LITTLE BY LITTLE or the Cruise of the Flyaway By Oliver 
 
 Optic 
 
 28. LIVE OAK BOYS or the Adventures of Richard Constable 
 
 Afloat and Ashore By Rev. Elijah Kellogg 
 
 29. LOST IN THK FOG By Prof. James DeMille 
 
 30. MISSION OF BLACK RIFLE or On the Trail By Rev. Elijah 
 
 Kellogg 
 
 31. Now OK NEVER or the Adventures of Bobby Bright By 
 
 Oliver Optic 
 
 32. POOR AND PROUD or the Fortunes or Kate Redburn By 
 
 Oliver Optic 
 
 33. RICH AND HUMBLE or the Mission of Bertha Grant By 
 
 Oliver Optic 
 
 34. SOPHOMORES o.i RADCLIFFE or James Trafton and His Bos 
 
 ton Friends By Rev. Elijah Kellogg 
 
 35. SOWED BY THE WIND or the Poor Boy s Fortune By Rev. 
 
 Elijah Kellogg 
 
 36. SPARK OF GENIUS or the College Life of James Trafton By 
 
 Elijah Kellogg 
 
 37. STOUT HEART or tbe Student from Over the Sea By Rev. 
 
 Elijah Kellogg 
 
 38. STRONG ARM AND A MOTHER S BLESSING By Rev Elijah 
 
 Kellogg 
 
 39. TREASURE OF THE SEA By Prof James DeMille 
 
 40. TRY AGAIN or the Trials and Triumphs of Harry West By 
 
 Oliver Optic 
 
 41. TURNING OF THE TIDE or Radcliffe Rich, and his Patents 
 
 By Rev. Elijah Kellogg 
 
 42. UNSEEN HAND or James Renfew and His Boy Helpers By 
 
 Rev. Elijah Kellogg 
 
 43. WATCH AND WAIT or the Young Fugitives BV Oliver 
 
 Optic 
 
 *4. WHISPERING PINE or the Graduates of Radcliffe By Rev. 
 Elijah Kellogg 
 
 45. WINNING II is SPURS or Henry Morton s First Trial ^y Rev. 
 
 Elijah Kellogg 
 
 46. WOLF RUN or the Boys of the Wilderness By Rev, Elijah 
 
 Kellogg 
 
 47. WORK AND WIN or Noddy Newman on a Cruise H" Oliver 
 
 Optic 
 
 48. YOUNG DELIVERERS OF PLEASANT COVE By Rev Elijah 
 
 Kellogg 
 
 49. YOUNG SHIPBUILDERS OF ELM ISLAND By Rev. 
 
 Kellogg 
 
 50. YOUNG TRAIL HuNTir,pa By Samuel W. 
 
 LEE and SHEPARD Publishers Boston 
 
THE NORWOOD SERIES 
 
 Newly arranged Standard Col 
 lection of History, Biography, 
 Heroism, and Adventure 
 
 Fifty favorites in new series New uniform 
 cov r design Attractive dies Fine cloth 
 binding Illustrated Price per volume $i 
 
 This series can truly be said to cover 
 the world in its scope, as it chronicles 
 heroic and daring exploits in all climes, 
 told by an exceptionally strong list of 
 authors. In addition we have included 
 the full line of George Makepeace 
 Towle s famous " Heroes of History " 
 
 and the ever popular Headley biographies, It is just the library to 
 entertain and inform a live boy, and while composed of books that 
 arouse eager interest is wholly free from cheap sensationalism. 
 
 1. Andersen, Hans Christian The Sand Hills of Jutland 
 
 2. Armstrong, F, C. The Young Middy 
 
 3. Barrows ; Rev. William Twelve Nights in a Hunter s Camp 
 
 4. Ballantyne, R. M. The Life Boat 
 
 6. Brehat, Alfred de The French Robinson Crusoe 
 
 6. Cozzens, Samuel W, The Young Silver Seekers 
 
 7. Clarke, Mary Cowden Yarns of an Old Mariner 
 
 8. De Mill, Prof James Among the Brigands 
 
 9. The Lily and the Cross 
 
 10. The Winged Lion or Stories of Venice 
 
 11. Farrar Capt. Charles A. J, Down the West Branch or 
 
 Camps and Tramps around Katahdin 
 
 12. Eastward Ho ! or Adventures at Kangeley Lakes 
 
 13. Up the North Branch A Summer s Outing 
 
 14. Wild Woods Life or A Trip to Parmachenee 
 
 15. Frost, John, LL.D. Wild Scenes of a Hunter s Life 
 
 16. Hall, Capt Charles W, Twice Taken A Tale of Louis- 
 
 burg 
 
 17 o Harley, Dr. The Young Crusoe or Adventures of a Ship 
 wrecked Boy 
 
 18. Headley, P. C Facing the Enemy The Life of Gem. 
 Wm. Tecumseh Sherman 
 
 LEE and SHEPARD Publishers Boston 
 
THE NORWOOD SERIES Continued 
 
 59. Fight It Out on This Line The Life and Deeds of Gen. 
 
 U. S. Grant 
 
 20. Fighting Phil The Life of Gen. Philip Henry Sheridan 
 
 21. Old Salamander The Life of Admiral David G. Farragut 
 
 22. Old Stars The Life of Gen. Ormsby M . Mitchell 
 
 23. The Miner Boy and His Monitor The Career of John 
 
 Ericsson, Engineer 
 
 24. Kingston, W. H. K. Anthony Waymouth 
 
 25. Ernest Bracebridge or School Boy Days 
 
 26. The Adventures of Dick Onslow among the Redskins 
 
 27. The Cruise of the Frolic 
 
 28. Lee, Mrs. R. The African Crusoes 
 
 29. The Australian Wanderers 
 
 30. McCabe, James D., Jr. Planting (lie Wilderness 
 
 31. Macy, William H. The Whales We Caught and How We 
 
 Did It 
 
 32. Morecamp, Arthur Live Boys or Charlie and Nasho in 
 
 Texas 
 
 33. Live Boys in the Black Hills or the Young Texas Gold 
 
 Hunters 
 
 34. Pearson, Dr. C. H. The Cabin on the Prairie 
 
 35. The Young Pioneers of the Northwest 
 
 36. Rowcroft, Charles The Australian Crusoes 
 
 37. St. John, Percy B. The Arctic Crusoe Adventures on the 
 
 Sea of Ice 
 
 38. Towle, George Makepeace Drake the Sea King of Devon 
 
 39. Magellan or The First Voyage around the World 
 
 40. Marco Polo His Travels and Adventures 
 
 41. Pizzaro His Adventures and Conquests 
 
 42. Kaleigh His Voyages and Adventures 
 
 43. Vasco da Gama His Voyages and Adventures 
 
 44. The Heroes and Martyrs of Invention 
 
 45. Verne, Jules A Winter in the Ice 
 
 46. Around the World in Eighty Days 
 
 47. The Wreck of the Chancellor 
 
 48. Wraxhall, Sir Lascelles Golden Hair A Tale of the Pil 
 
 grim Fathers 
 
 49. The Prairie Crusoe or Adventures in the Far West 
 
 60. Willis the Pilot A Sequel to the Swiss Family Kobinson 
 
 LEE and SHEPARD Publishers Boston 
 
THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
 STAMPED BELOW 
 
 AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS 
 
 WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN 
 THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY 
 WILL INCREASE TO SO CENTS ON THE FOURTH 
 DAY AND TO $1.OO ON THE SEVENTH DAY 
 OVERDUE. 
 
 FEB 21 1941 
 
 22 
 
 LD 21-100m-7, 39(402s) 
 
U. C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES 
 
 CD5SDfiE3DD 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY