afore you an' I was born, Trot."

"I know that fairies still live," said Trot reflectively. She didn't
like to contradict Cap'n Bill, who knew "ever'thing."

"So do I," added Button-Bright. "And I know there's magic still in the
world--or in my umbrella, anyhow."

"Tell us about it!" begged the girl excitedly.

"Well," said the boy, "I found it all out by accident. It rained in
Philadelphia for three whole days, and all the umbrellas in our house
were carried out by the family and lost or mislaid or something, so
that when I wanted to go to Uncle Bob's house, which is at Germantown,
there wasn't an umbrella to be found. My governess wouldn't let me go
without one, and--"

"Oh," said Trot. "Do you have a governess?"

"Yes, but I don't like her. She's cross. She said I couldn't go to
Uncle Bob's because I had no umbrella. Instead she told me to go up in
the attic and play. I was sorry 'bout that, but I went up in the attic,
and pretty soon I found in a corner this old umbrella. I didn't care
how it looked. It was whole and strong and big, and would keep me from
getting wet on the way to Uncle Bob's. So off I started for the car,
but I found the streets awful muddy, and once I stepped in a mud-hole
way up to my ankle. 'Gee!,' I said, 'I wish I could fly through the air
to Uncle Bob's.'

"I was holding up the open umbrella when I said that, and as soon as I
spoke, the umbrella began lifting me up into the air. I was awful
scared at first, but I held on tight to the handle, and it didn't pull
very much, either. I was going pretty fast, for when I looked down all
the big buildings were sliding past me so swift that it made me dizzy,
and before I really knew what had happened the umbrella settled down
and stood me on my feet at Uncle Bob's front gate.

"I didn't tell anybody about the wonderful thing that had happened,
'cause I thought no one would believe me. Uncle Bob looked sharp at the
thing an' said, 'Button-Bright, how did your father happen to let you
take that umbrella?' 'He didn't,' I said. 'Father was away at the
office, so I found it in the attic an' I jus' took it.' Then Uncle Bob
shook his head an' said I ought to leave it alone. He said it was a
fam'ly relic that had been handed down from father to son for many
generations. But I told him my father had never handed it to me, though
I'm his son. Uncle Bob said our fam'ly always believed that it brought
'em good luck to own this umbrella. He couldn't say w