a new stick put into
him, and he will be better than ever. Look! he's smiling at you to
tell you not to cry. Boys of your age ought never to cry; you don't
want to be a baby.'

Nurse got her work-basket out, and very cleverly tied Nobbles together
with a bit of tape.

'There!' she said, laying him in Bobby's arms. 'Be gentle with him,
and he'll last like that till we get him mended; and now tell me all
about it.'

The story was told; and Nurse was proud of her charge's pluck. When
she undressed him that evening and found marks across his back and
legs, which told of the beating he received, she declared she would
find out the names of the cowardly bullies who had done it, and get
them richly punished. But Bobby made light of his own hurt; he got
into bed and clasped Nobbles to him, and after a long whispered
conversation he suddenly called for Nurse.

'How does a heart get broken, Nurse? Jane said her mother died of a
broken heart.'

''Tis sorrow that does it generally,' replied Nurse. 'Now you go to
sleep, like a good boy.'

But Bobby's brown eyes were very wide awake, and shining with a great
light behind them.

'Nobbles isn't dead, Nurse; he's very, very hurt; but he's told me just
how it was. That wicked boy took hold of him and made him hit me, and
that just broked his heart in two. He couldn't bear to hurt me, so he
broke his heart and snapped in two, because he wanted to stop it. It
was sorrow that did it!'

'Oh! I see,' said Nurse, smiling. 'Now don't talk any more, like a
good boy.'

Bobby drew Nobbles' ugly smiling little head close to his. 'I loves
you, Nobbles, darling, I loves you; and we'll make you quite better
soon; it is only your body, you see. Oh, I loves you for breaking
yourself in two, so that you couldn't hurt me!' And then, tired and
exhausted by his emotions, Bobby fell asleep, and Nobbles lay and
smiled by his side.

The next morning Nurse informed him that she was going to drive into
the neighbouring town to do some shopping for his grandmother, and he
was to go with her.

This was a great treat to the small boy, and it only happened on very
rare occasions.

'And if you bring your stick with you we'll see if we can get it
mended.'

So Bobby climbed into the dogcart with his nurse in the greatest
delight, and John, the groom, drove them the five miles to the town.

When they arrived there, Nurse good-naturedly took him first to a
little old man who mended umb