and waved her hand to and fro as if in
response to music and said--"All the Cinderellas! How beautiful!"

A tall, plain-looking Irish woman came in at midafternoon.

"Tell her it's Bridget," she said. "Can't I see her?"

"Oh, yes," replied Miss Armitage, "But I am afraid she will not
recognize you."

So she led the way upstairs. Marilla lay on the cot now and was moving
her hands as if acting something.

"Ah, the dear!" Bridget knelt down by the side of the bed. "Don't you
remember Bridget whose come to care for you so much? Ah dear! It's
meself that sorry enough to see ye lyin' this way, thin as a ghost."

She opened her eyes, "Bridget! Oh, you know the night I went to the
ball and fairy godmother turned my old frock into the beautifullest
frock, all lace and ribbons. And I danced with the Prince and had such
a lovely time!"

Then the eyelids fell and she lapsed into unconsciousness.

Miss Armitage glanced inquiringly.

"It was along of a dream that she had once; it _was_ a dream for such
things don't happen now-a-days, more's the pity. But she always
believes it real and true, the dear, that she was Cinderella, and had
been there. She's the best little thing I ever saw, and she never told
you a lie or took a bit of cake without asking. In the beginning she
must have belonged to some nice folks; and just look at her pretty
hands and feet, light and small enough to dance at any king's ball.
But it's hard on the nice ones that have to go to Homes and be put out
for little drudges. Though they're nice people, the Bordens, as you
may guess by my stayin' with 'em goin' on five year."

"And she wasn't over-worked," ventured Miss Armitage. "She is so
thin."

"She's been falling away dreadful the last month. Well, she wasn't and
she was. There was an old lady living up on the third floor, an aunt
or something and she was afraid of bad spells, she did have some, and
she'd ring her bell for Marilla an' it would be upstairs an' down,
sometimes way down to my kitchen, and lugging those two fat babies up
and down the street----"

"Did she have to carry them any?"

"Oh, no. The mistress didn't want her to lift them. She was afraid of
a fall and their backs would get broken. So when they were big enough
they sat on the floor and she talked to them and told them funny
things and acted 'em off and laughed, and they'd laugh too. It was
like a play to see 'em. And they'd jabber back and she'd make b'lieve
she understood