l you could do.
We are only human beings, you know, dear Ted, always likely to make
mistakes, even to say what is not true at the very moment we are most
anxious to be truthful. We can only do our best, and ask God to help us.
So don't trouble any more, even if we never find out how it happened."

Then she stooped and gave Ted an extra good-night kiss, and in five
minutes his loving anxious little spirit was asleep.

But the very next day the mystery was explained.

"Ted's _new_seum is bootly neat," Cissy announced at breakfast-time,
"but he wants some more fevvers. I tried to get down muzzer's screen off
the mantelpiece to see if there was some loose ones, but I couldn't
reach it. Muzzer, _won't_ you give Ted some loose ones?"

Mother looked at Ted, and Ted looked at mother.

"So _you_ were the mouse that knocked over my little vase, Miss Cissy!"
said mother. "Do you know, dear, that it was broken? You should not try
to reach things down yourself. You will be having an accident, like
'Darling' in the picture-book, some day, if you don't take care."

The corners of Cissy's mouth went down, and her eyes filled with tears.

"I didn't know," she said in a very melancholy voice. "I only wanted to
find some loose fevvers for Ted."

"I know that, dear," said her mother. "Only if you had asked me you
would have got the feathers without breaking my vase. Come with me now,
and you'll show me what you want."

There proved to be two or three loose feathers as Ted had said--beautiful
rainbow eyes, which would not be missed from the screen with the careful
way in which Ted's mother cut them out, and the children carried them
off in delight. They were neatly tacked on to the feather card, which
had a very fine effect on the wall of the museum. And for both Ted and
Cissy there was a little lesson, though the two were of different kinds,
fastened up with the feathers on the card.

Illustration:
"They were neatly tacked on to the feather card, which had a very
fine effect on the wall of the museum".--P. 170.

Before long the holidays were over. Percy went back to school, and
poor Ted hid himself for a few hours, as he always did on these sad
occasions, that his red eyes might not be seen. Then he came out again,
looking paler than usual, but quite cheerful and bright. Still he missed
Percy so much that he was not at all sorry that his own holidays were
over. For Ted now went early every morning to a regular big school-