hould be spent on a pair of ducks to
float in a basin of water attracted by a magnet, a toy which they had
seen in a shop window with the price marked in plain figures. And
sixpence should be spent, for Pansy's own special pleasure, in a flower
growing in a pot, such as they had often seen on the flower-stall below
their windows. The ducks could be bought that very morning, which Pansy
was glad of, as she knew that Bob and Ruth were even more anxious to
have them than she was herself. But for the flower she would have to
wait till the next day.

[Illustration: "The birthday passed very happily,"]

However, the birthday passed very happily, and it was very nice to wake
in the morning with the feeling that part of its pleasures were still
to come, and mamma promised to go with her herself to the stall to
choose the flower.

It was to be a pansy. Not a _quite_ fully blown one, her mother advised
her, for then it would be the sooner over, but one nearly so. There had
been quite a good choice of them for the last week or two; the only
difficulty would be what colour to have.

"Yellow ones are very pretty," said the little girl as she skipped along
by her mother's side that Thursday morning on their way to the market,
for though it was just below the vicarage windows, you had to make quite
a round to get to it from the front door, "yellow ones, and those browny
ones too are very nice, but I _think_ I like the purple ones best--I
mean the violet-coloured ones--don't you mamma?"

"I think I do," her mother agreed. "They remind one of the dear little
wild pansies, or dog violets, too."

And by good luck, the old woman who kept the flower-stall, had some
beautiful purple pansies, none of the paler ones were half so pretty
that day, so the choice was not so difficult after all. Mamma picked out
a beauty, with two flowers on it, one almost full blown, and the other
not far behind, and a proud little girl was Pansy, as, after having paid
her sixpence she trotted home again, her precious namesake tightly
clasped in her arms.

"I don't think I've ever had such nice birthday presents, have I,
mamma?" she said, as she lifted up her own soft little face, as sweet
and as soft as the flower, for a kiss, before hurrying upstairs to the
nursery to show her treasure.

[Illustration]

And it made her mother very happy to see that her little daughter had
that best of all fairy gifts, a grateful and contented heart.

But Pansy had h