said his prayers, and I heard
them; at least, I mean, we tried; but I couldn't always remember what
came next, and then _he_ remembered that he wanted Mother, and burst out
crying.

So I did not know what to do any more, and I could only huggle him, as
he calls it, and wipe his eyes on my frock, and we sat there and huggled
each other.

And I think we fell asleep in the chimney corner after that.

At least, the next thing we remember is being picked up by Father and
Nurse, and Nurse carried Rupert upstairs, and Father carried me.

And I said:

"We've tried to be good, Father, but we were obliged to go to sleep on
the floor--just there; we really and truly couldn't keep awake any
longer."

[Illustration]

And Father did not think it naughty, I am sure, for he kissed us both
ever so many times at the nursery door, with a great big hug, although
he went away without speaking.

And Nurse undressed us as quickly as she could, and as Rupert calls it,
"'scused" our baths, for we were so dreadfully sleepy; and I did think
once that Nurse seemed to be crying, but I was too tired to notice any
more.

And that was the end of the dreadfullest day we have ever known.

It began to be happier quite soon next day, for Granny came, and stayed
with us, and had time to love us very much.

We told her about the chestnuts, and she thought it ever so nice.

And she told us something too, two things, and one was very beautiful,
and one was very dreadful.

And the beautiful thing was that God had sent us a baby sister on that
dreadful evening. But then He saw that He could take better care of her
than even Mother and Nurse, and He loved her so much that He sent an
angel to fetch her away again.

And though we were sorry not to have the little sister (and that was
another reason to make Rupert and me love each other all the more,
Granny said), yet she told us how beautiful it was to know that Baby
Lucy would never do a naughty thing, or say a naughty word, but always
be kept quite safe now.

And the dreadful thing was--but I can only say it in a whisper--that
God had almost taken _Mother_ away, to be with Baby Lucy too.

But He looked down at us, and at Father, Granny said, and was sorry for
us; and I think the time when He was sorry was when Rupert was crying,
and I was trying to hear his prayers, because He must have seen that I
could not be like Mother to Rupert, not however much I tried.

And so He was sorry for us, a