wo lit-tle girls from where you are?" she
asked.

"I don't see them," he an-swered, stand-ing up and look-ing a-round.

Miss Gray turned a-way, when all at once she heard a laugh be-hind her.
She looked back, and there were the laugh-ing fa-ces of Bell and Car-rie.
They had been on the cart, all hid-den un-der the hay in or-der to play
a lit-tle joke on Miss Gray. Then they scram-bled down, and came run-ning
to her.

The man on the cart smiled to see their fun. Then he said sadly, "Dear me,
I wish my lit-tle lass could run a-bout like that."

[Illustration]

"Is she ill?" asked Car-rie.

"Yes," said the man; "but she is get-ting bet-ter now."

"We'll ask mam-ma to take us to see her," said Bell.

The ver-y next day their mam-ma did take them. They found Ruth sit-ting
pil-lowed up in a chair, ver-y pale and white. Bell had picked her a
bunch of flow-ers, which she seemed ver-y glad to get; and the three
girls soon be-came good friends. Car-ree found a lit-tle gray kitten
with which she played.

The vis-it seemed to do Ruth a great deal of good; for a pink flush came
in her cheeks, and she e-ven laughed, which her moth-er said she had not
done before for weeks.

They came a-gain the ver-y next day. Miss Gray was with them, and car-ried
a bas-ket on her arm in which were some dain-ties to tempt the sick girl's
ap-pe-tite. She was glad to see them, and told them they should have the
kit-ten for their ver-y own. So pus-sy went back in the bas-ket which had
brought the dain-ties.

Near-ly ev-er-y day af-ter this the chil-dren went to see Ruth, for at
least a week. By that time she was well e-nough to be out, and some-times
came to see them.

[Illustration]

What is it that these lit-tle tots are all so anx-ious to see? It must
be a Christ-mas-tree.

ROB JACKSON'S DOG.

[Illustration]

Rob Jack-son's dog jumped off the lit-tle bridge in-to the mill pond to
fetch a stick that Hal Jones threw for him. The wheel was in full mo-tion,
and Jack, for that was the dog's name, was drawn in toward it. Rob was
a-fraid that Jack was go-ing to be drowned and was just a-bout to jump
in af-ter him, when one of the mill hands held him fast. "Wait a bit,"
said the man, and he held out a long pole to Jack who clutched it with
his teeth and was drawn safely to land.

[Illustration]

THE WIVES OF BRIXHAM.

The merry boats of Brixham
Go out to search the seas;
A staunch and sturdy fleet are t