nd the little Sea-gulls looked gloomy.

One of the Mer-babies stepped forward, holding something.

"Please take care of our pretty ball for us," she said, "until holidays
come again."

As she was speaking the Mermaids sprang up, and they and all the
grown-up Sea-gulls cried with one accord:

"The Philosopher's Stone!"

And, sure enough, it was. It lay in the Mermaid's hand, all glowing with
its magic blue, pale and dark by turns, its wonderful veins panting as
if it were a living thing, its threads of gold moving and twining
underneath, round the red heart burning deep in the midst of it.

"That!" cried every one of the Mer-babies and every one of the little
Sea-gulls. "Why, we have had _that_ all the time! We found it on the
sand, and we have played with it every day since!"

Then the Sea-gulls remembered what the Albatross had said, and the
Mermaids remembered what the Sea-serpent had said, and the Mer-babies
remembered what the Wise White Bear had said, and they all looked at one
another.

Now arose the question, What should be done with the Stone?

It needed no long discussion to settle. Every one agreed that it should
be given to the Youngest Lady-in-Waiting; for she had done for the
Princess what no one else had thought of doing, in carrying her letter
to her true love so that he might be in time to win her. The happy day
just past was entirely owing to her devotion.

The Stone was duly presented to her, and, accordingly, she became the
richest and most beautiful woman in the land, as she was already the
kindest, while the Sea-folks generally, and the Mer-babies in
particular, gained great fame and distinction; for had they not found
the Magic Stone when it was lost, and given it to the nation's favorite?
And they do say that the Favorite Lady-in-Waiting married a charming
Prince almost (but not quite!) as captivating as the husband of the
Princess.

[Illustration: "IT WAS ONE MINUTE PAST MIDNIGHT, AND THE MORNING OF HER
WEDDING DAY!"]

[Illustration: THE BAD TEMPER OF THE PRINCESS]

By Marian Burton

1

Once upon a time, in a dainty little kingdom all parks and rivers
and cottages and flowers, there lived a jolly, red-faced king named
Rudolpho. Every one of his subjects loved him, the surrounding kings
were his loyal friends, and the neighboring kingdoms were on the best
of terms with him. Indeed, they had a happy way, these old kings, of
exchanging thrones for a week now and