nine 
 
 KATHERINE M. YATES
 
 On the Way There 
 
 A wonder tale for boys and girls, both little and 
 "grown tall"
 
 Books by {Catherine M. Yates 
 
 [ Board 
 
 Cloth 
 
 Leather 
 
 GREY STORY BOOK Eight stories for little 
 folk, each demonstrating the true sense of 
 
 65<fJ 
 
 
 
 WHAT THE PINE TREE HEARD A story 
 of a little girl to whom came the light 
 CHET A story for both young and old with 
 a very practical vein of Christian Science 
 
 65<!J 
 
 $1.00J 
 
 
 MARJORIE AND THE DREAM SERIES: 
 eight volumes as follows 
 ON THE WAY THERE A wonder tale for 
 boys and girls both little and grown tall . 
 AT THE DOOR Marjorie finds further wis- 
 dom in her wanderings and discovers "her 
 
 65tfJ 
 65tfJ 
 
 
 
 THROUGH THE WOODS Wherein Mar- 
 jorie meets her "brothers" and a number of 
 
 65#J 
 
 
 
 BY THE ROADSIDE In which Marjorie 
 learns that work needs love and thought 
 
 65tfJ 
 
 
 
 ALONG THE TRAIL In which Marjorie 
 finds that everyone does not hurry past the 
 rough places in the trail and why 
 UP THE SUNBEAMS In which Marjorie 
 learns how to see folks as they really are, 
 
 65<fJ 
 65tfJ 
 
 
 
 ON THE HILLTOP In which Marjorie learns 
 a great deal about one particular molehill . . 
 IN THE VALLEY In which Marjorie finds 
 out what was the matter in the valley, and 
 
 65<!J 
 65tfJ 
 
 
 
 THE LORD'S PRAYER IN DAILY LIFE, by 
 V. C. Bath It is possible for all who study 
 the Lord's Prayer with its import and uplift 
 to gain some knowledge of the purity and 
 truth of the teachings of Christ Jesus. In- 
 
 
 $1.00J 
 
 $1.50J 
 
 Books by Minny M. H. Ayers 
 
 (Author of Hymn, "Come Walk with Love") 
 WHAT MANNER OF LOVE Simple Songs 
 
 
 $1.SOJ 
 
 
 JESUS THE FRIEND OF MAN.. 
 
 35<;j 
 
 
 
 SAMMY SEEKS SANTA CLAUS 
 
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 THREE HAPPY FAIRY TALES: 
 1. The Delightsome Duchy A tale of the 
 
 35tfJ 
 
 
 
 2. The Fairy of the Lady's Slipper A tale 
 
 35tfJ 
 
 
 
 3. The Quest of the Golden Key A tale of 
 the power of love. "And now abideth 
 Faith, Hope and Love; these three . . ." 
 
 35tfJ 
 
 
 
 BIBLE STORIES RETOLD, by H. W. Hayes 
 (See C. S. Journal), Washington, D. C 
 THE CHILD ON THE JUDGMENT SEAT, 
 by Elizabeth Charles. Printed in a beautiful 
 folder style. Cover design, The Three Wise 
 Men. Size, 734x5. Mailing envelope in- 
 cluded 
 
 25<fJ 
 
 $1.25J 
 
 
 THE SHERWOOD PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 NEW YORK CITY
 
 A book hath more of the reader than of the 
 writer between its covers. See that thou dost 
 find good within thy books.
 
 ON THE WAY THERE 
 
 A WONDER TALE FOR BOYS AND 
 
 GIRLS, BOTH LITTLE AND 
 
 "GROWN TALL" 
 
 Gy 
 
 Katherine M. Yates 
 
 Author of "What the Pine Tree Heard," "The Grey 
 Story Book," etc. 
 
 THE SHERWOOD PUBLISHING GO. 
 
 New York, N. Y.
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1904 
 
 BY 
 KATHERINE M. YATES
 
 PREFACE 
 
 An allegory may tell much or little, according 
 as the reader reads between the lines or sees 
 only the printed page. The story is but the 
 symbol of a greater truth lying behind and in- 
 spiring it, just as man, as we seem to see him, 
 is but the imperfect symbol of the perfect man 
 which is, the only man, the man which we 
 should learn to recognize despite the appear- 
 ance which he seems to show to us. 
 
 The loyal Christian Scientist "reads between 
 the lines" whichever way he turns; for his won- 
 derful text-book, Science and Health with Key to 
 the Scriptures, by Mary Baker G. Eddy, is a key 
 to the understanding of all which comes into 
 his consciousness; and with this joyous com 
 prehension of "a new heaven and a new earth" 
 comes a heartfelt love and gratitude of which 
 there are no words to tell. 
 
 The little story of what Marjorie saw "On 
 the Way There, " is for big or little folks, ac- 
 cording as he who reads it, finds it worth while, 
 in the best sense of the phrase. 
 
 KATHERINE M. YATES. 
 
 2073633
 
 FOREWORD 
 
 The little books of the "Marjorie and the 
 Dream" series are not written primarily for 
 children in years; but are for the little girl or 
 boy within, who never has grown up, and 
 never will grow up. Those who would find 
 the kernel of these bits of allegory, have but 
 to know that Marjorie is this ever-young 
 child within; and the Dream is the prosecut- 
 ing attorney, self-analysis, who asks us ques- 
 tions questions which we all must answer 
 either now or sometime in the years to come. 
 
 K. M. Y. 
 
 Honolulu, 1919.
 
 ON THE WAY THERE 
 
 " I don't see what you are good for, anyway," 
 said Marjorie, crossly. "It's queer that I can't 
 go to bed and to sleep quietly, without a horrid 
 old Dream like you coming to bother me." 
 
 The Dream balanced himself on the foot- 
 board and cracked his heels together saucily. 
 He was little and thin and brown ; and he wore 
 a tight fitting brown velvet suit, and very 
 pointed little brown velvet slippers, and a little 
 brown velvet cap perched jauntily on one side 
 of his head. 
 
 "Well," he said, grinning in a most aggravat- 
 ing manner, "what is it that you don't like 
 about me? Didn't I just let yooi walk along 
 the ridge-pole of the house ? Even your mother 
 never lets you do that." 
 
 "Yes, and when I got to the edge of the roof 
 you pushed me off, and I kept falling, and 
 falling why, I'd be falling yet if I hadn't 
 wakened up." 
 
 The Dream giggled. He had a very un- 
 pleasant way of giggling when things were not 
 at all funny.
 
 8 On the Way There 
 
 Marjorie went on. "It wouldn't be so bad 
 if you would take me to places where I really 
 want to go, and let me see really interesting 
 things; but you never let me have anything to 
 say about it. You just take me anywhere that 
 you have a notion to, and you don't care in the 
 least whether I like it or not." 
 
 "You think that you could plan your trips 
 better, yourself, do you?'* asked the Dream. 
 
 "Of course I could," said Marjorie. "You 
 don't know where I want to go, and I 
 do." 
 
 "Well, where do you want to go to-night?" 
 asked the Dream. 
 
 "Nowhere," said Marjorie. "I want to be 
 let alone to-night." 
 
 "All right," said the Dream, "we'll go there, 
 then." 
 
 "Where?" asked Marjorie, in surprise. 
 
 "To Nowhere, of course," said the Dream. 
 "That's where you said you wanted to go, isn't 
 it?" 
 
 "Yes, but " began Marjorie. 
 
 "Then what are you waiting for?" asked the 
 Dream. 
 
 "Well, I I guess I don't want to go there,
 
 On the Way There 9 
 
 after all," said Marjorie, looking somewhat 
 worried. 
 
 " I guess you don't know where you do want 
 to go," sniffed the Dream, contemptuously. 
 
 Marjorie hesitated. "I'll tell you what!" 
 she exclaimed, suddenly, " take me to the very 
 nicest place that you know of, will you?" 
 
 "Sure," agreed the Dream, cheerfully, "only 
 the way there isn't so very nice." 
 
 "Oh, I don't mind that," said Marjorie, "if 
 it's only nice when I get there." 
 
 "Look out for that mud -puddle!" exclaimed 
 the Dream. 
 
 Marjorie stepped over the mud-puddle very 
 carefully. "It's bad walking," she said, look- 
 ing about her. 
 
 They were making their way through some 
 very low and swampy ground, and there was 
 mud and water upon every side, much of it 
 hidden by a growth of long, rank grass, which 
 looked particularly green and coarse. There 
 seemed to be a great many other children going 
 along the same way, and Marjorie looked at 
 them curiously. Some appeared to be intel- 
 ligent and well dressed, and others stupid and 
 poorly clad; but all showed, upon their features
 
 io On the Way There 
 
 and clothing, spots of mud and dirt from the 
 marsh through which they were passing. 
 
 "Do we have to go far in this swamp?" 
 asked Marjorie. 
 
 The Dream pointed to where, a long, long 
 way ahead, they could see roofs and spires shin- 
 ing in the distance, surrounded by groves of 
 trees. 
 
 "It seems a pretty long way," said Marjorie. 
 turning from the sight to look about her once 
 more. The swamp stretched away as far as 
 she could see upon one hand, and upon the other 
 was a high, thick hedge. Here and there, about 
 the marsh, were scattered little islands which 
 were fairly dry and sported a few trees and 
 bushes; and upon each of these knolls was a 
 crowd of children, still soiled and grimy from 
 plodding through the mud, but laughing and 
 singing and playing games in the gayest and 
 noisiest manner. 
 
 "Let's go and watch them," said Marjorie, 
 pointing to a near-by island. 
 
 "All right," agreed the Dream, "only you 
 won't get to the nice place so quickly." 
 
 "I don't mind," said Marjorie. "I'd like to 
 see what they are doing."
 
 On the Way There n 
 
 As the two drew near, they saw that the 
 children were not having such a very good time, 
 after all; for, scattered thickly about among 
 them, were a lot of unpleasant looking little 
 dwarfs about ten inches high, and with very 
 ugly faces. The dwarfs did not seem to have 
 any games of their own ; but merely spent their 
 time hanging on to the arms or perched upon 
 the shoulders of the children as they played, 
 and appeared to be annoying them in every 
 way possible. The children did not pay much 
 attention to them, though they really almost 
 spoiled the fun, being such a weight and hin- 
 drance; and besides, every once in a while, one 
 of the dwarfs would bite or kick the child to 
 whose arm it was clinging, or begin to fight 
 with others of its own kind. 
 
 Marjorie glanced about and noticed now, 
 that nearly all of the children who were plod- 
 ding through the swamp, carried one or two, or 
 sometimes even more, of these ugly little fel- 
 
 t 
 
 lows; so that, in some cases, they were so 
 hampered that they could scarcely step. It 
 seemed as if the dwarfs could not walk alone; 
 but when a child would shake one off, which 
 was not very often, for they clung most ob-
 
 12 On the Way There 
 
 stinately; it would crouch down in the long 
 grass, out of sight; and then, when some other 
 child would pass along, it would spring out and 
 catch her hand, almost before she knew it; and 
 then it was very hard indeed to shake it off. 
 
 Marjorie was about to ask the Dream con- 
 cerning these queer little fellows, when she 
 noticed a little girl who was just stepping up 
 on to the island. She was the very prettiest 
 child that Marjorie had ever seen, and her hair 
 was much longer than Marjorie's, and of a 
 brighter brown. Just as Marjorie observed this, 
 one of the little dwarfs sprang up from the 
 ground at her own feet, and caught hold of her 
 arm. 
 
 For a moment she scarcely noticed him., so 
 intent was she upon getting nearer to the 
 lovely little girl; but, presently, as a slight 
 breeze tossed the bright hair so that it looked 
 as if it were full of sun-beams, the dwarf set his 
 teeth in one of her fingers and bit it quite 
 hard. 
 
 "Oh!" exclaimed Marjorie, trying to shake 
 him off. "You ugly little thing! What did 
 you do that for?" 
 
 The dwarf made no answer, but the Dream
 
 On the Way There 13 
 
 giggled his unpleasant little giggle. Marjorie 
 turned upon him angrily. 
 
 "What made you bring me to such a horrid 
 place?" she exclaimed, "and what makes these 
 abominable dwarfs act this way? Why don't 
 you help me get it off ?" and she tried in vain to 
 shake the little fellow from her arm. 
 
 "I can't take it off for you," said the Dream. 
 "You'll have to get rid of it for yourself." 
 
 "But what is it?" cried Marjorie, "and what 
 does it hold on to me for, and bite me, too?" 
 
 "It holds on to you because it can't get 
 around by itself. It has to attach itself to 
 somebody. It has no power of its own." 
 
 "But what is it?" repeated Marjorie. 
 
 "It's an Error," said the Dream, looking at 
 her with a broad grin. 
 
 "An Error!" echoed Marjorie, in surprise. 
 
 "Yes," said the Dream, "that's what it is." 
 
 "And are all of those Errors?" asked Mar- 
 jorie, pointing to the multitude of little dwarfs 
 scattered about among the children. 
 
 "Yes," said the Dream. 
 
 "But they are not all alike," said Marjorie. 
 "Some are larger than others, and some are 
 uglier."
 
 14 On the Way There 
 
 "Why, of course they are not all alike," said 
 the Dream. "They only belong to the same 
 family. They have any number of different 
 names." 
 
 "Have they, really?" asked Marjorie, growing 
 interested. "Well, what is the name of this 
 one?" and she held up her arm to which the 
 ugly little fellow was still clinging. 
 
 "Don't you know?" asked the Dream, with 
 a funny grin. 
 
 "Of course I don't, how should I?" cried 
 Marjorie, impatiently. 
 
 "Well," said the Dream, slowly, and still 
 grinning, "his name is Envy." 
 "Oh-h-h!" said Marjorie. 
 "Yes," said the Dream, nodding his head 
 several times, "that is his name. Do you like 
 him?" 
 
 "No," said Marjorie, "I don't. But how 
 did he happen to catch hold of me just then?" 
 The Dream glanced toward the very pretty 
 little girl, and Marjorie followed his gaze. 
 
 "Oh-h-h!" she said again, her face flushing. 
 Just then the wind fluttered the bright hair 
 once more and the dwarf bit her sharply upon 
 the hand.
 
 On the Way There 15 
 
 Marjorie stood silently for some minutes and 
 then she began anew to try to dislodge the 
 little pest; but she could not pull him off nor 
 shake him off, and at last she gave up in de- 
 spair. "Can't you really help me?" she asked 
 the Dream, pleadingly. 
 
 The Dream shook his head. "No," he said; 
 "you may be able to shake him off if you shake 
 hard enough, but it will hurt you. Or," he 
 added, consolingly, "he may drop off, of him- 
 self, in time, though he isn't likely to," 
 
 Marjorie looked about her miserably; and 
 just then she noticed that the little girl with 
 the bright hair, was surrounded by a whole 
 swarm of the little dwarfs, all bent upon making 
 her as wretched as possible. As Marjorie saw 
 and half started forward, as if to go to the res- 
 cue, the dwarf which had been holding her own 
 arm, suddenly dropped off and hid in the grass 
 at her feet. 
 
 "There!" she exclaimed, delightedly, " He's 
 gone! How glad I am!" 
 
 The Dream looked amused. " Of course you 
 are," he said, grinning, "but you are probably 
 not thinking of the hundreds of his brothers of 
 
 the same name, who are hiding in the tall grass 
 2
 
 1 6 On the Way There 
 
 all about you; and this one is just waiting for 
 some other child to happen along." 
 
 "Oh, dear!" cried Marjorie, "what shall I 
 do?" 
 
 "There's just one way to get entirely rid of 
 these fellows," said the Dream. 
 
 "And what is it?" asked Marjorie, eagerly. 
 
 "Wait a while," said the Dream. "Perhaps 
 you'll find it out for yourself. Shall we go on 
 now?" 
 
 "Yes," said Marjorie, and they started on, 
 plodding through the mud and long, tangled 
 grass, and going out of their way to avoid great 
 black-looking pools, or clumps of tall rushes 
 and other water-plants. Many times Marjorie 
 stumbled, and sometimes even fell over logs 
 or stones lying buried in the soft mud and 
 ooze. 
 
 At last she stopped short in desperation, and 
 turned upon the Dream. "You abominable 
 Dream!" she cried. "What on earth did you 
 bring me here for?" 
 
 Just at that moment a particularly ugly little 
 dwarf sprang out of a clump of rushes and 
 alighted on her shoulder. 
 
 Marjorie started, with an exclamation of dis<
 
 On the Way There 17 
 
 gust, and tried to shake him off. The Dream 
 chuckled. 
 
 "Oh, dear!" cried Marjorie. "What is it?" 
 
 "Anger," said the Dream, grinning. 
 
 "Well, I don't care," sobbed Marjorie; "it 
 is dreadful here, and I know I shall never get 
 through this awful swamp." 
 
 Here another dwarf sprang out and landed 
 beside the first. 
 
 "Discouragement," remarked the Dream. 
 
 Marjorie began to look frightened. "Why, 
 what shall I do " she began, glancing hurriedly 
 about for a way of escape, and instantly up 
 sprang another little fellow and took possession 
 of the other shoulder, 
 
 "Fear," chanted the Dream, monotonously, 
 as if he were repeating a roll-call. 
 
 "Oh, dear, I can't bear it!" cried Marjorie, 
 trying to fight them off. "And they bite so! 
 Oh, what shall I do?" 
 
 "Pain," called the Dream, as a fourth little 
 fellow clutched one of her arms. 
 
 The Dream's dry, teasing little voice was 
 most aggravating to Marjorie's suffering, and 
 she turned upon him in a perfect passion of 
 anger. "I'll get even with you!" she cried,.
 
 1 8 On the Way There 
 
 "I hate you. I didn't want to come with you, 
 anyway, and you know it!" 
 
 Here three more of the ugly little fellows 
 threw themselves upon her, while the Dream 
 called out, in his monotonous tones: "Revenge, 
 Hatred, Falsehood." 
 
 Poor Marjorie was nearly overwhelmed. She 
 could scarcely take a step, and the dwarfs kept 
 fighting among themselves, and now and then 
 biting her viciously. 
 
 "Oh, dear," she cried, "what shall I do? 
 What shall I do?" 
 
 Just then she became conscious of a sweet, 
 earnest voice calling to her. In fact, she sud- 
 denly remembered that she had been hearing 
 the voice for a long time; but she had been too 
 much occupied with her own interests and 
 troubles to pay any attention to it. Now she 
 listened. 
 
 "Little girl, little girl," it called, "don't be 
 afraid! God is taking care of you." 
 
 Marjorie looked all about. At first she could 
 see no one to whom the voice could belong; but 
 presently she turned toward the tall hedge ; and 
 there, above its top, she saw, peering through 
 the branches, the sweet face of a woman.
 
 On the Way There 19 
 
 "Don't be afraid," called the loving voice 
 again. "Nothing can hurt you. Just come 
 through the hedge. There is a fine, dry high- 
 way here, which leads clear across the swamp to 
 the beautiful city where you wish to go. " 
 
 Marjorie hesitated and looked around over 
 the great, dismal morass where she stood. She 
 noticed now, that there were many painted 
 signs sticking up out of the mud all about, 
 Just in front of her lay a broad pool of dingy 
 water, at the side of which stood one of the 
 signs, which read: "DANGER! The Pool of 111 
 Health." A little farther on was another, 
 marked: "BEWARE! Pool of Accidents;" and 
 one of the small islands near by was marked: 
 "The Island of Bad Company;" and just to one 
 side was a pool marked: "DANGER! Pool of 
 Death." It seemed as if she were so surrounded 
 by dangers that she could not hope to get 
 through them alive; and meanwhile, the little 
 dwarfs were weighing her down, as well as tor- 
 menting her almost beyond endurance. 
 
 Marjorie looked back at the bright, loving 
 face above the hedge. "How do I know 
 that there is a high-road there?" she asked 
 doubtfully.
 
 2o On the Way There 
 
 "Come closer and see," said the woman; and 
 Marjorie, with her heavy load of Errors, stag- 
 gered nearer until she could look between the 
 leaves and branches of the hedge; and there, 
 sure enough, she saw an embankment with a 
 smooth road running along the top of it, upon 
 which were passing many happy-faced children. 
 
 "Children," she called, "is that truly a 
 smooth, dry road? and does it really lead to the 
 beautiful city where I am trying to go ? " 
 
 "Yes," called the children; "yes, it does. 
 Come up out of the mud. ' ' 
 
 Marjorie turned again toward the sweet, 
 smiling face which she had first seen, and 
 took a step forward. Then she stopped. "It 
 isn't any use!" she cried, woefully. "These 
 dreadful dwarfs ! They won't let me come ! I 
 can never get through the hedge and up the 
 bank with them." 
 
 "No, you cannot," said the woman, gently; 
 "but you do not wish to, do you? You do r.ot 
 wish to take them with you?" 
 
 "No, no!" cried Marjorie; "but I can't get 
 rid of them. I've tried and tried. ' ' 
 
 ' ' You have not tried in the right way, Dear, ' ' 
 said the woman, earnestly. *'Do you know 
 what they are?"
 
 On the Way There 21 
 
 "Yes, they are Errors," said Marjorie, sor- 
 rowfully. 
 
 "Do you know what they are made of?" 
 asked the woman. 
 
 "No," said Marjorie. 
 
 ' ' Of just the same stuff as the Dream, ' ' said 
 her friend, smiling. 
 
 "What!" exclaimed Marjorie, in astonish- 
 ment. 
 
 "Just the same," said the woman, nodding 
 and smiling again. 
 
 "But but the Dream isn't really any- 
 thing," said Marjorie. 
 
 "No, and neither are the Errors," said the 
 woman. "They are no more real than you 
 let them be, by believing in them. ' ' 
 
 "Oh-h-h-h," said Marjorie. "But how 
 shall I get rid of them, then?" 
 
 "Only by knowing that they are not any- 
 thing. Just hold one up to the light and look 
 through it." 
 
 Marjorie did so. At first it looked pretty 
 solid; but as she kept on looking, she could see 
 that it appeared to be only a sort of a misty and 
 dusty shape, and here and there she could see 
 the light through it; and the longer she looked,
 
 22 On the Way There 
 
 the mistier it grew, until at last there was noth- 
 ing but a little wavering, smoky column, which 
 faded away into the air as she gazed. 
 
 "Oh, how strange!" cried Marjorie, delight- 
 edly. ' ' Now I know that they really are not 
 anything. I can see it plainly. How glad I 
 am ! ' ' and she tried to shake the rest of them off. 
 However, to her surprise, they clung as tightly 
 as ever. 
 
 The woman smiled. "What are you trying 
 to do?" she asked. 
 
 "Why, I'm trying to shake them off, because 
 they're not anything. ' ' 
 
 ' ' If they are not anything, how can you shake 
 them off?" asked her friend. "You are mak- 
 ing them seem to be something when you try 
 to shake them off. ' ' 
 
 " Oh! " said Marjorie. "Then what must I do?" 
 
 ' ' See through them, ' ' said the woman, con- 
 fidently. 
 
 "But I can't see through them all at once, 
 they squirm so," said Marjorie, "and I'm in a 
 hurry. ' ' 
 
 Her friend smiled again. "You must not 
 try to do too much at once," she said, gently, 
 "or you may not do it thoroughly. If you 
 leave even a whiff of the little last column of
 
 On the Way There 23 
 
 mist, as soon as your back is turned, it will seem 
 to get solid once more." 
 
 "And if I get rid of them this way, won't they 
 ever attack any one any more?" 
 
 "No, they are blown out like the flame of a 
 candle, and can never come back. Of course 
 there are ever so many of their brothers, bear- 
 ing the same names, left; but there will never 
 be so many again, when you have disposed of 
 these ; and if every one did it, there would soon 
 be no Errors left at all." 
 
 "Oh, why don't they?" cried Marjorie. 
 "Well, I'm going to do my part, anyway." 
 
 And so she went to work, very carefully, to 
 see through every one of the Errors that had 
 attacked her; and even sooner than she had 
 expected, they seemed all gone, and she and the 
 Dream crept through the hedge to the side 
 where lay the high-road. 
 
 As she stood up straight, beyond the hedge, 
 Marjorie stretched her arms in delight at her 
 freedom. "Oh, I'm so glad to be rid of them!" 
 she cried. "I think that I did finely to manage 
 it so quickly, don't you?" 
 
 Just here the Dream giggled, and Marjorie 
 felt a sharp nip on the back of her neck.
 
 24 On the Way There 
 
 "Oh, what is it?" she cried, reaching back 
 to knock it off. 
 
 "Self-conceit," called the Dream, in a teasing 
 voice. 
 
 Marjorie's face flushed. "And I never even 
 knew it was there!" she exclaimed. 
 
 "I did," said the Dream; "I've been watch- 
 ing it for a long time." 
 
 "Well, it's hour has come now, anyway," 
 said Marjorie, taking a firmer grasp upon the 
 small torment, and, after a short tussle, breaking 
 its grip and holding it up to the light. "You 
 little no-account nothing!" she said, laughing 
 and shaking the little monster ; and then, with 
 a puff of her breath, blowing the last tiny, 
 smoky column that remained, away into the air. 
 "Are there any more on me?" she asked, turning 
 around to show her back, just as one asks if 
 there are burrs sticking to one's dress. 
 
 "No," laughed the woman, holding out her 
 hand; "now come up where it is high and 
 dry." 
 
 The bank was somewhat steep; but, with the 
 help of the gentle hand, she soon stood upon 
 the broad, white road, beside her new friend. ' ' 
 
 "Oh, how good!" she cried, drawing a deep
 
 On the Way There 25 
 
 breath. "Why don't everybody come up here? 
 There is room for all. ' ' 
 
 The woman shook her head, sadly. ' ' They 
 do not believe me when I tell them that the 
 road is here, ' ' she said. 
 
 "But if they would come and look, they 
 could see for themselves, ' ' said Marjorie. 
 
 "Yes," said her friend, "but they are too 
 busy, plodding along in the mud, and dancing 
 on the islands, and fighting with the dwarfs. 
 They do not wish to take the trouble to look. ' ' 
 
 As the three walked along the road, they 
 could see, through the thin top of the hedge, 
 much that was going on in the swamp; and 
 again and again the loving woman stopped to 
 call to some one who had fallen into one of the 
 pools of 111 Health or Sorrow, or was being tor- 
 mented by the dwarfs. Sometimes those called 
 to, would pay no attention at all, or would argue 
 that there was no road there, and would even 
 laugh, jeeringly. Others would listen, and ask 
 questions, but make no effort; but some would 
 follow the directions of the sweet, earnest voice, 
 see through the Errors, and come creeping 
 through the hedge to the high-road. 
 
 Once a crowd of childien, who chanced to
 
 26 On the Way There 
 
 look up and see the woman helping one of 
 their number on to the road, grew angry, and a 
 shower of stones came flying from their direc- 
 tion; but the stones all fell short of their mark, 
 and the Errors soon swarmed about so thickly 
 as to put a stop to the throwing. 
 
 ' ' Why did they throw stones at you ? ' ' asked 
 Marjorie, her eyes full of tears. 
 
 Her friend looked back at the angry group, 
 compassionately, "They did not do it," she 
 said. ' ' The Errors did it. ' ' 
 
 "Why," cried Marjorie, "it looked as if the 
 children began it, and then as if the Errors 
 crowded in and stopped them; but there were 
 so many Errors around them all the time, that 
 I couldn't be very sure. ' ' 
 
 ' ' The Errors did stop the throwing, but they 
 began it, too. Errors always get to fighting 
 among themselves, and destroy everything that 
 they try to do. They are nothing, and they can 
 do nothing." 
 
 And so Marjorie and the Dream and the loving 
 woman walked on, along the high-road, and more 
 and more happy children joined them on the way. 
 
 ' ' Who built the beautiful city in front of us ? " 
 asked Marjorie, as they drew near its gates.
 
 On the Way There 27 
 
 "The King," said the woman, reverently. 
 
 ' ' And who built the high-road ? ' ' asked Mar- 
 jorie. 
 
 ' ' A very great and good man who knew how 
 hard it is to cross the swamp. He spent his 
 whole life and all that he had, planning and 
 building this wonderful roadway, and made it 
 free for every one to use. He did it a long, 
 long time ago," added the woman, glancing 
 down, lovingly, at the smooth, white road. 
 
 "But why doesn't every one know about it? 
 Has it always been used ? ' ' 
 
 The woman shook her head. "No, people 
 forgot that it was here, for a long time. Some 
 never knew about it, and some began going 
 through the swamp again just for the excite- 
 ment of fighting the dwarfs, and wading in the 
 muddy pools, and playing on the islands; and the 
 hedge grew up between, and it was lost sight of 
 and no one knew where it was. We are break- 
 ing down the hedge now, though," she added, 
 happily. "See, each of us breaks off a branch 
 wherever he can, and it is growing thinner and 
 thinner, and by-and-by it will be all broken 
 down and then every one can see the high-road 
 and will come up out of the swamp. ' ' The
 
 28 On the Way There 
 
 woman's face was very beautiful as she said 
 this. 
 
 ' ' And did you find the road when it was lost ? ' ' 
 asked Marjorie. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "But how did you happen to?" Marjorie 's 
 eyes were eager. 
 
 ' ' It was this way, ' ' said the woman earnestly: 
 "I knew that there used to be such a road, 
 and so I knew that it must be somewhere, still. 
 I had read about it in a book that I knew told 
 the truth, and, too, I felt in my heart that it 
 was so; and so I began to search, and search, 
 and study the book, and search again and at 
 last I found it and oh, I was so glad! So many 
 children were struggling out there in the 
 swamp, who were sure that there was a road, 
 and who wanted, so much, to know where it 
 was. ' ' 
 
 "And ever since then, you have been telling 
 people, and helping them?" 
 
 "Yes," said her friend; ever since." 
 
 Marjorie patted her hand softly. "And did 
 you show every one of all these, the way?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 ' ' And don't you ever get tired ? ' '
 
 On the Way There 29 
 
 The woman let her eyes sweep up and down 
 the lines of many, many happy children, troop- 
 ing along the road. ' ' Should you think that I 
 would ever get tired? ' ' she asked, smilingly. 
 
 "No!" cried Marjorie, eagerly. ''No, no!" 
 
 Here her friend stopped to help another child 
 who was calling to her from over the hedge, and 
 Marjorie and the Dream walked slowly on. 
 
 Marjorie looked out over the wide, dreary 
 swamp, and then up at the beautiful city. ' ' Oh," 
 she said at last, with a great sigh, "I'm so 
 thankful!" 
 
 "Thankful for what?" said the Dream. 
 
 4 ' For the beautiful city, and for the smooth, 
 white high-road leading to it, ' ' said Marjorie. 
 
 ' ' Thankful to whom ? ' ' said the Dream. 
 
 ' ' Thankful to the king who built the city ; and 
 to the great, good man who built the road; and 
 to the loving woman who showed me the way. ' ' 
 
 "I don't see why you should be thankful to 
 the woman," said the Dream. "The city and 
 the road were here all the time. She didn't 
 build either of them. I think that it shows lack 
 of respect to the king and to the great man, 
 who both did such wonderful things, to speak 
 of the woman in the same breath. ' '
 
 30 On the Way There 
 
 "Why, I don't think so at all!" exclaimed 
 Marjorie, earnestly. "Of course, the woman 
 didn't do anything nearly so big as to build the 
 city or the high-road, and I'm not pretending 
 that she did, or that she could; but she searched 
 and searched until she found the road, when it 
 was lost; and she showed me, and all the rest 
 of us, the way, and helped us up here out of the 
 swamp; and she's just working and helping all 
 the time, and I think I'd be pretty ungrateful 
 if I couldn't say ' thank you ' for it. Of course 
 what the king did, and what the good man did, 
 are so great that I haven't any words to tell how 
 wonderful they seem to me, and how grateful 
 I am for them; but, even then, I'm sure that I 
 have a right to say 'thank you' to the dear, 
 loving woman who showed me the way, ' ' and 
 Marjorie, strong in her sense of justice, stood up 
 bravely to meet any objection which might 
 come from the Dream. 
 
 But the Dream was gone.
 
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