big flat stone under
a tree. She said ter herse'f, 'I ain't gwine ter be like dat foolish
Cheery, dancin' an' laughin' foreber, caze she thinks sich things ez
flowers an' grass kin make folks happy; but I'm gwine ter do er rael
good ter eb'ybody;' so she laid er spell on de stone, so dat w'en
anybody sot on de stone an' wush anything dey'd hab jes w'at dey wush
fur; an' so as ter let er heap er folks wush at once, she made it so dat
eb'y wush would make de stone twice ez big ez 'twuz befo'.

"Po' little Cheery was mighty troubled in her min' w'en she foun' out
bout'n hit, an' she beg Dreary ter tuck de spell off; but no, she
wouldn't do it. She 'lowed, do, ef anybody should eber wush anything fur
anybody else, dat den de stone might shrink up ergin; fur who, she sez
ter herse'f, is gwine ter wush fur things fur tudder folks? An' she tol'
de little birds dat stay in de tree de stone wuz under, when anybody
sot on de stone dey mus' sing,' I wush I had,' an' 'I wush I wuz,' so as
ter min 'em bout'n de wushin'-stone. Well, 'twan't long fo' de gyarden
wuz plum crowded wid folks come ter wush on de stone, an' hit wuz er
growin' bigger an' bigger all de time, an' mashin' de blossoms an'
grass; an' dar wan't no mo' merry chil'en playin' 'mong de trees an'
wadin' in de streams; no soun's ob laughin' and joy in de gyarden;
eb'ybody wuz er quarlin' bout'n who should hab de nex' place, or wuz
tryin' ter study up what dey'd wush fur; an' Cheery wuz jes ez mizer'bul
as er free nigger, 'bout her gyarden.

"De folks would set on de stone, while de little birds would sing,' I
wush I had;' an' dey'd wush dey had money, an' fren's, an' sense, an'
happiness, an' 'ligion; an' 'twould all come true jes like dey wush fur.
Den de little birds would sing,' I wush I wuz;' an' dey'd wush dey wuz
lubly, an' good, an' gran'; un' 'twould all come ter pass jes so.

"But all dat time nobody neber wush nobody else was rich, an' good, an'
lubly, an' happy; fur don't yer see de birds neber sung,' I wush _you_
wuz,' 'I wush _dey_ had;' but all de time 'I wush _I_ wuz,' 'I wush _I_
had.' At last, one day dar come inter de gyarden er po' little cripple
gal, who lived 'way off in er ole tumble-down house. She wuz er little
po' white chile, an' she didn't hab no farder nor mudder, nor niggers
ter do fur her, an' she had to do all her own wuck herse'f."

"Bress de Lord!" ejaculated Aunt Milly, who was becoming very much
interested in the story, while tears