's high time you went to sleep. Bless me! what's Miss Shadow doing
with _her_ baby?" said Polly.

Miss Shadow took out the big pin and laid it away, put on a dry bib, and
gave _her_ baby a nice ivory ring to bite; then began to dance up and
down the room, till the shadowy baby clapped its hands and kicked
delightedly. Polly laughed, and did the same, feeling sorry she had been
so pettish. Presently both babies grew quiet, went to sleep, and were
laid in the cradle.

"Now, I hope we shall rest a little," said Polly, stretching her arms.

But, no: down sat the shadow, and began to sew, making her needle fly
like a real little seamstress.

"Oh, dear!" groaned Polly. "I promised to hem those handkerchiefs for
Ned, and so I must; but I do think handkerchiefs are the most pokey
things in the world to sew. I dare say you think you can sew faster than
I can. Just wait a bit, and see what I can do, miss," she said to the
shadow.

It took some time to find her thimble and needles and spools, for Polly
wasn't a very neat little girl; but she got settled at last, and
stitched away as if bent on beating her dumb friend.

Little Will's shadow went up to the nursery, and stopped before a basin
of water. "Oh! ah! ain't this drefful?" cried Will, with a shiver; for
he knew he'd got to have his face washed, because he wouldn't have it
done properly when he got up, but ran away. Now, Will was a good child;
but this one thing was his great trouble, and sometimes he couldn't bear
it. Jane was so rough. She let soap get in his eyes, and water run down
his neck, and she pinched his nose when she wiped him, and brushed his
hair so hard that really it _was_ dreadful; and even a bigger boy would
have found it hard to bear. He shivered and sighed: but Jane came in;
and, when he saw that the shadow stood still and took the scrubbing like
a little hero, he tried to do the same, and succeeded so well that Jane
actually patted his head and called him "a deary;" which was something
new, for old Nurse Jane was always very busy and rather cross.

Feeling that nothing worse could possibly happen to him, Will ran after
his shadow, as it flitted away into the barn, and began to feed the
chickens.

"There, now! I forgetted all about my chickeys, and the shadow 'membered
'em; and I'm glad of it," said Will, scattering dabs of meal and water
to the chirping, downy little creatures who pecked and fluttered at his
feet. Little shadow hunted for eggs, d