rried away from him.

"Wait, wait!" he cried, anxiously; "I don't know where I am. Take me
with you, Mary! I can't see my way. Mary! Mary! Mary!"

Nobody replied.

Peter slid down from his chair and groped his way forward till he
knocked against the corner of the table. Terror fairly overcame him, and
he cried--"Mother! Mother! Mother!"

"What's the matter, dear?" said his mother's gentle voice.

"I am here, Mother," cried Peter; "but I am so frightened! Mary has run
away and left me all alone in the dark hall."

"Come, Peter, come; collect yourself," said his mother, who was
standing by the bed where poor Peter was sitting straight up with an
anxious face, down which big tears were running.

"You're here, Peter, you know; in your own little bed," said his mother,
putting her arms round him.

Peter began to take heart a little, and looked round him with big
wide-open eyes.

"But how did I get here?" he asked, still stupefied with sleep.

"You've never been anywhere else, you know," said his mother.

"But I know the Parsnip-man took me away, and I rode on the mouse, too,"
said little Peter.

"Nonsense, nonsense; you're still dreaming. There, get up and put on
your clothes."

"But I want the other clothes, the beautiful blue dress. These things
are so dreadfully patched and darned," said Peter, in a lamentable tone.
"And I have brought something nice for you too, Mother dear. It's in the
pockets of the blue coat."

"You haven't got a blue coat, child," said his mother. "Come, come. Put
on your clothes and come into the warm kitchen." And she carried Peter
out into the arm-chair by the breakfast-table, and began to pour out
some coffee for him. And she put the Parsnip-man (who had been lying all
night behind the stove) into his hand. "See," she continued, "here's
your Parsnip-man, about whom you have been dreaming all this fine
nonsense."

Peter examined it with eager eyes. It looked exactly the same as it had
done the night before.

"But Mary was there too," he said, still doubtfully. "She is the Queen
of the Parsnip-men, you know. And she gave me cake and wine and fruit."

"Well, we'll ask her about it next time she comes," said his mother,
laughing.

Just then there was a knock at the door. The mother hastened to open it,
and found a messenger waiting with a letter in his hand which had
several seals on it. It was addressed to herself, and beside the address
was written, "_Three pounds enclosed._