he asked the girl. But _she_ only smiled. "No,
I can't say I am," she said, "because I know he'll be very happy with
you. And though I love him very much, I love my brother better, and I'm
_very_ glad to go with him instead of being left behind, even with
Rollo."

We _quite_ liked her then. Her face was so nice. And she kissed us when
she went away. Persis liked it, and I didn't mind.

Our Bruno has been with us ever since, and we love him more and more. He
is quite happy, even in London, for he has a nice home in the stables,
and we take him a walk every day, and he comes very often into the
house. And in the country, where we now go for much longer every year,
he is always with us.

The girl writes to us sometimes, and we answer, and tell her about
Bruno. She is coming to see him next year, when they come back to
England. She calls him "Rollo," but we like "Bruno" best, and _he_
doesn't mind, the dear old fellow.

THE BLUE DWARFS:

AN ADVENTURE IN THUeRINGEN

"And then on the top of the Caldon Low
There was no one left but me."
MARY HOWITT.

"I LIKED the blue dwarfs the best--far, far the best of anything," said
Olive.

"'The blue dwarfs!'" repeated Rex. "What _do_ you mean? Why can't you
say what you mean plainly? Girls have such a stupid way of talking!"

"What can be plainer than _the blue dwarfs_?" said Olive rather
snappishly, though, it must be allowed, with some reason. "We were
talking about the things we liked best at the china place. _You_ said
the stags' heads and the inkstands, and _I_ say the blue dwarfs."

"But I didn't see any dwarfs," persisted Rex.

"Well, I can't help it if you didn't. You had just as much chance of
seeing them as I had. They were in a corner by themselves--little
figures about two inches high, all with blue coats on. There were about
twelve of them, all different, but all little dwarfs or gnomes. One was
sitting on a barrel, one was turning head-over-heels, one was cuddling
his knees--all funny ways like that. Oh, they were lovely!"

"I wish I had seen them better," said Rex regretfully. "I do remember
seeing a tray full of little blue-looking dolls, but I didn't notice
what they were."

Olive did not at once answer. Her eyes were fixed on something she saw
passing before the window. It was a very, very little man. He was not
exactly hump-backed, but his figure was somewhat deformed, and he was so
sm