eams of the moon with a
sweet face like the Queen's smiling at her, of her father looking as
proud and handsome as the King, with his axe on his shoulder and the
great boar dead at his feet; and Bonnibelle, rosy, gay, and strong,
working and playing with her like a little sister in the cottage, while
all the birds sang gayly:--

"Bonnibelle! Bonnibelle!
Listen, listen, while we tell
A sweet secret all may know,
How a little child may grow
Like a happy wayside flower,
Warmed by sun, fed by shower,
Rocked by wind, loved by elf,
Quite forgetful of itself;
Full of honey for the bee,
Beautiful for all to see,
Nodding to the passers-by,
Smiling at the summer sky,
Sweetening all the balmy air,
Happy, innocent, and fair.
Flowers like these blossom may
In a palace garden gay;
Lilies tall or roses red,
For a royal hand or head.
But be they low, or be they high,
Under the soft leaves must lie
A true little heart of gold,
Never proud or hard or cold,
But brave and tender, just and free,
Whether it queen or beggar be;
Else its beauty is in vain,
And never will it bloom again.
This the secret we would tell,
Bonnibelle! Bonnibelle!"

IX.

MERMAIDS.

[Illustration: Nelly spied two pretty little creatures floating to and
fro on the rocking waves.--PAGE 175.]

"I wish I were a sea-gull or a fish or a mermaid; then I could swim as
much as I like, and not have to stay on this stupid dry land all day,"
said Nelly, as she sat frowning and punching holes in the sand one
summer morning, while the waves came murmuring up on the beach, and a
fresh wind sang its pleasant song.

The little girl loved to bathe so well that she wanted to be in the
water all the time, and had been forbidden to go into the sea for a day
or two because she had a cold. So she was in a pet, and ran away from
her playmates to sit and sulk in a lonely spot among the rocks. She had
been watching the gulls fly and float, with their white wings shining as
they dipped down or soared away in the sunshine. As she wished her wish
a very large one swept down upon the sand before her, and startled her
by saying in a hoarse tone, as she stared at its bright eyes, the red
ring round its neck, and the little tuft on its head,--

"I am the King of the gulls, and I can grant any one of your wishes.
Which will you be,--a fish, a bird, or a mermaid