ements of the Kindergarten, that mamma
tried to think what she could do to interest her. At last a very bright
thought came into her head, and she ran into the hall and whispered it
to papa, who was just putting on his hat and coat to go out.

[Illustration: Colored balls.]

He came back very soon, and brought Annie a box with the Kindergarten
colored balls in it.

"Oh!" she cried, "now I can play Kindergarten with my dolls, for they
are really growing up quite ignorant, especially Arabella Louisa, who
asked me, only yesterday, to cut her apple into three halves."

All the little stools in the house were soon collected and brought to
the nursery, where they were placed in true Kindergarten fashion, and
the dolls seated on them with heels together and toes turned out. Rosie
was there with her beautiful golden curls, her bright blue eyes, and
arms and hands which would move quite as Alice could move her own. Then
there were four younger children, and even old Peggy--the rag-baby--was
made to sit up very stiff and straight with the aid of a little string,
and the lesson began.

Annie took out the yellow ball and asked the babies to point out
something in the room the same color. Rosie managed, with a little help
from her teacher, to raise her kid arm and point with her dainty finger
to the canary-bird.

"Point to something round like the ball," said little Annie, and
Arabella Louisa made herself very cross-eyed looking down at her gold
beads, but was too bashful to speak. Next Annie brought out the purple
ball and laid it down. Then the red and green ones came out, and,
lastly, the orange and blue. Now the teacher began to look very dull,
even duller than her scholars; her eyelids began to droop, and she spoke
very slowly, and said: "Children,--can--you--count--the--balls?" but not
hearing any answer, she looked up and found they had all disappeared,
and that she was no longer in the nursery. Before her was a beautiful
green field dotted all over with buttercups and daisies. After she had
stepped around carefully on the soft grass and smelt the flowers, she
heard some one call her name, and, looking up, she saw a beautiful
castle standing quite alone by itself in the air, while a little fairy
in a yellow, gauzy dress beckoned her to come up.

"Oh!" thought Annie, "how I should like to go and make her a pretty
courtesy, but I have no wings and cannot fly!"

The kind fairy seeing the sad look on the little girl's fa