things, all the beauty seemed to fall away
from her friend, all the sweetness from their love, and all her faith in
the little dream which had made her so happy. Mermaids became
treacherous, unlovely, unreal creatures; and Lorelei seemed like a
naughty, selfish child, who deceived her, and made her do wrong things.
Her uncle had been very kind to her all her life; and she loved him, was
grateful, and wanted to show that she was, by pleasing him. But her
heart clung to the friend she had made, trusted, and loved; and it
seemed impossible to give up the shadow, even though the substance was
gone. She put her hands before her face for a moment; then laid her arms
about the old man's neck, and whispered, with a little sob:

"I'll give her up; but you'll be kind to her, because I was fond of her
once."

As the last word left Fancy's lips, a long, sad cry sounded through the
room; Lorelei sprung in, gave her one kiss, and was seen to run swiftly
toward the beach, wringing her hands. Fancy flew after; but, when she
reached the shore, there was nothing to be seen but the scattered
pebbles, shells, and weeds that made the mock mermaid, floating away on
a receding wave.

"Do you believe now?" cried Fancy, weeping bitterly, as she pointed to
the wreck of her friend, and turned reproachfully toward Uncle Fact, who
had followed in great astonishment.

The old gentleman looked well about him; then shook his head, and
answered decidedly:

"No, my dear, I _don't_. It's an odd affair; but, I've no doubt, it will
be cleared up in a natural way sometime or other."

But there he was mistaken; for this mystery never _was_ cleared up.
Other people soon forgot it, and Fancy never spoke of it; yet she made
very few friends, and, though she learned to love and value Uncle Fact
as well as Aunt Fiction, she could not forget her dearest playmate. Year
after year she came back to the sea-side; and the first thing she always
did was to visit the place where she used to play, and stretch her arms
toward the sea, crying tenderly:

"O my little friend! come back to me!"

But Lorelei never came again.

THE END.

* * * * *

LOUISA M. ALCOTT'S FAMOUS BOOKS

[Illustration: "Sing, Tessa; sing!" cried Tommo, twanging away with all
his might.--PAGE 47.]

AUNT JO'S SCRAP-BAG: Containing "My Boys," "Shawl-Straps," "Cupid and
Chow-Chow," "My Girls," "Jimmy's Cruise in the Pinafore," "An
Old-Fashioned Thanksgiv