at seeing them so full of life and
spirits. Besides, Daddy Tyl was so calm and placid. He sat eating his
porridge and laughing:

"You see, they are _playing_ at being happy!" he said.

Of course, the poor dear man did not know that a wonderful dream had
taught his little children not to play at being happy, but to _be_
happy, which is the greatest and most difficult of lessons.

"I like Light best of all," said Tyltyl to Mytyl, standing on tip-toe
by the window. "You can see her over there, through the trees of the
forest. To-night, she will be in the lamp. Dear, oh, dear, how lovely
it all is and how glad I feel, how glad I...."

He stopped and listened. Everybody lent an ear. They heard laughter
and merry voices; and the sounds came nearer.

"It's her voice!" cried Tyltyl. "Let me open the door!"

As a matter of fact, it was the little girl, with her mother, Neighbor
Berlingot.

"Look at her," said Goody Berlingot, quite overcome with joy. "She can
run, she can dance, she can fly! It's a miracle! When she saw the
bird, she jumped, just like that...."

And Goody Berlingot hopped from one leg to the other at the risk of
falling and breaking her long, hooked nose.

The Children clapped their hands and everybody laughed.

The little girl was there, in her long white night-dress, standing in
the middle of the kitchen, a little surprised to find herself on her
feet after so many months' illness. She smiled and pressed Tyltyl's
dove to her heart.

Tyltyl looked first at the child and then at Mytyl:

"Don't you think she's very like Light?" he asked.

"She is much smaller," said Mytyl.

"Yes, indeed!" said Tyltyl. "But she will grow!..."

And the three Children tried to put a little food down the Bird's
beak, while the parents began to feel easier in their minds and looked
at them and smiled.

Tyltyl was radiant. I will not conceal from you, my dear little
readers, that the Dove had hardly changed colour at all and that it
was joy and happiness that decked him with a magnificent bright blue
plumage in our hero's eyes. No matter! Tyltyl, without knowing it, had
discovered Light's great secret, which is _that we draw nearer to
happiness by trying to give it to others_.

But now something happened. Everybody became excited, the Children
screamed, the parents threw up their arms and rushed to the open door:
the Bird had suddenly escaped! He was flying away as fast as he could.

"My bird! My bird!" sobbed th