see if Nanny was married again.

He watched her wash the kids' little faces for the night with her
soft tongue and give them a good-night kiss on their little noses
before they cuddled down to sleep beside her. It made Billy groan
with lonesomeness to see it all, and he lay there broken in
spirit and wished he could die, and closed his eyes to shut out
the sight.

But he could not keep them closed. He had to open them to look
once more on Nanny's sweet, patient face. As he did so, he
noticed that the moon was just rising; and as it came up, Nanny
rose also and stepping carefully so as not to waken her babies,
she walked toward the fence where Billy was.

Closer and closer she came with her pretty, sweet face showing
plainly in the moonlight. Billy scarcely breathed, he was so
excited, wondering if she would recognize him, and what she would
say when she saw him.

She came straight to the fence and stuck her nose through the
rail just above Billy's head before she saw him.

When she did, her eyes dilated with surprise, and then with a
bleat of joy, she called:

"Billy! My Billy! Have you come back!" And she commenced to cry
as if her heart would break for joy.

No words can express Billy's joy when he felt her tears on his
face and her warm nose kissing his cold one, and all Billy could
say was, "My darling, you are not married to Satan after all, are
you?"

This made Nanny laugh and she called him a silly, old goose.

But what was the matter with Billy? He felt as strong and young
as Nanny herself, and had forgotten his thirst and weariness of a
few moments ago. Being only a goat, he did not know that
happiness is the greatest elixir of life yet discovered.

"Wait a second, Nanny. I can't have this old fence between us,"
and Billy backed off, gave a spring and was over the fence beside
Nanny in no time.

[Illustration]

"Oh! Billy, how good it seems to have you back again. Now I have
a great surprise for you. Come and see our two beautiful
children. One is as white as snow and her I call Day. The other
is as black as a coal, and him I call Night. They are twins, and
two smarter, healthier kids you never saw.

"Night is very mischievous and reminds me of you all the time.
Ever since you have been gone, I have walked to the fence every
night and looked and waited for you to come back and it nearly
broke my heart when night after night went by and you did not
come."

Billy and Nanny walked over to whe