enough to make up a name or two if you want 'em," muttered
Wealthy. Then, seeing that Mrs. Bright looked troubled, she was sorry
she had spoken, and made haste to add, "However, the medicine may be
first-rate medicine, and if it does you good, Mrs. Bright, we'll crack
it up everywhere,--that we will."

Eyebright's bedtime was come. She kissed her mother for good-night
with the feeling which she always had, that she must kiss very gently,
or some dreadful thing might happen,--her mother break in two,
perhaps, or something. Wealthy, who was in rather a severe mood for
some reason, undressed her in a sharp, summary way, declined to listen
to the wolf story, and went away, taking the candle with her. But
there was little need of a candle in Eyebright's room that night, for
the shutters stood open, and a bright full moon shone in, making every
thing as distinct, almost, as it was in the daytime. She was not a bit
sleepy, but she didn't mind being sent to bed, at all, for bedtime
often meant to her only a second playtime which she had all to
herself. Getting up very softly, so as to make no noise, she crept to
the closet, and brought out a big pasteboard box which was full of old
ribbons and odds and ends of lace and silk. With these she proceeded
to make herself fine; a pink ribbon went round her head, a blue one
round her neck, a yellow and a purple round either ankle, and round
her waist, over her night-gown a broad red one, very dirty, to serve
as a sash. Each wrist was adorned with a bit of cotton edging, and,
with a broken fan in her hand, Eyebright climbed into bed again, and
putting one pillow on top of the other to make a seat, began to play,
telling herself the story in a low, whispering tone.

"I am a Princess," she said; "the most beautiful Princess that ever
was. But I didn't know that I was a Princess at all, because a wicked
fairy stole me when I was little, and put me in a lonely cottage, and
I thought I wasn't any thing but a shepherdess. But one day, as I was
feeding my sheep, a ne-cro-answer he came by and he said:--

"'Princess, why don't you have any crown?'

"Then I stared, and said, 'I'm not a Princess.'

"'Oh, but you are,' he said; 'a real Princess.'

"Then I was so surprised you can't think, Bessie.--Oh, I forgot that
Bessie wasn't here. And I said, 'I cannot believe such nonsense as
that, sir.'

"Then the necroanswer laughed, and he said:--

"'Mount this winged steed, and I will show you yo