"What is it?" said her mother; "who gave it to you?"

"The princess," said Prue, as plainly as she could, considering the size of the bonbon which she was eating. Mrs. Weston looked puzzled, and Randy, helping herself to a bit of the candy, explained:-

"It was that beautiful, tall girl with Mrs. Gray. She gave Prue the candy for being good and keeping still this morning, and she's coming to see me soon's ever she takes a walk past our house, and isn't she the handsomest person that ever lived?"

"Wal', I don't know as I noticed," said Mrs. Weston.

"Why, how could you help seeing her?" said Randy, in amazement.

"Wal', I s'pose I did see her, but I didn't 'specially notice her, 'cept that she was talkin' to you children, for Mrs. Gray was tellin' me a new way to make cookies with two eggs instead of four, and I made her tell me twice so's I'd remember; two eggs is quite a savin'." But this new bit of economy was lost on Randy.

"Did Mrs. Gray tell you her name?" asked Randy, eagerly.

"Seems to me she said it was Dayton, or something like that, but I was so took up with that two-egg rule for cookies that I didn't notice." So, failing to interest her mother, Randy subsided.

CHAPTER IV-PRUE'S MISHAP

Down the long, dusty road trudged Randy and Prue one hot morning on their way to the village store.

At every step the dust arose like smoke, then settled upon their shoes, making a thick coating like that which whitened the blackberry vines growing luxuriantly over the wall by the roadside.

Randy was far from pleased to be taking this long walk in the dust and heat. She had been sitting upon the rough, wooden seat just outside the kitchen door, reading the beloved fairy book, when her mother had stepped briskly to the doorway, calling her back from fairyland abruptly, saying: "Come, Randy, you must go down to the store after some sugar. I've got my cookies 'bout half done and my sugar's given out, so you must put on your sunbonnet and take Prue, and go as quick as you can. Ye needn't run, only don't waste time."

"Oh, mother," said Randy, "it'll take me twice as long if I have to take Prue, she's so little, and she walks so slow."

"I know it," said Mrs. Weston, "but I've got lots to do while you're gone, and I can't watch her and work at the same time; so you take her 'long o' you, and I'll know she's all right."

Randy took her sunbonnet from its peg on the wall and called little Prue, who was playing in the sun. The child's delight when told that she might go to the store with Randy made the elder girl regret that she had demurred when told that she must take her little sister with her.

Prue laughed with delight, and, thrusting her little sunburned hand into Randy's, she trudged along, scuffling her feet and laughing to see the dust rise in little gray clouds.

At any other time Randy would have checked Prue, but that day her mind was too much occupied with the heroine of the fairy tale to notice Prue's movements or comment upon them; but Prue was getting tired of walking in silence, while Randy indulged herself in day-dreams.

"Why don't you talk, Randy? You haven't talked any since we started,"

said Prue.

"Oh, it's too hot to talk," answered Randy, and she once more relapsed into silence.

Prue dropped Randy's hand, and, leaving the road, she clambered upon the wall to hunt among the dusty vines for blackberries. There were more leaves than fruit, so the little girl, after finding a few small berries, walked along upon the wall until she came to another lot of vines, where she again searched for fruit.

While Prue looked for berries Randy was critically inspecting her own and her little sister's costume. How ugly they looked! The girl who, up to that time, had never seen any one arrayed in anything more beautiful than a print or gingham gown, varied by a long ap.r.o.n of blue-checked cotton, or a dark, chocolate-colored calico, now looked with startling dislike upon that style of apparel.

"Only think," mused Randy, "if we wore white dresses and fine shoes, and big hats, 'twouldn't seem near as hot doing errands. Seems as though we could sit still in meeting if we had on different clothes and-why, Prue, what's the matter?" cried Randy, in answer to a doleful wail from the little sister.

"Oh, my foot, my foot!" screamed Prue; "it hurts drefful, and I can't get it out."

"Let me see," said Randy. "Hold still a minute; I can get it out, Prue,"

which, however, proved to be easier said than done. While walking upon the wall the little foot had slipped between the stones and seemed firmly fixed.

Randy worked gently and patiently, and at last the little foot was out of prison. Prue insisted upon having her shoe and stocking taken off, saying that her foot felt "awful big," and sure enough it had become a trifle swollen. Randy tried in every way to soothe her, a.s.suring her that it was but a short walk to the store, but Prue wailed dismally.

"Oh, I can't walk, Randy, my foot aches just drefful, and I can't have any shoes on, 'cause my foot has grown big."

Randy blamed herself for the mishap. "I ought to have been taking care of Prue instead of thinking of fine clothes," thought Randy. "It ought to have been me that got hurt instead of little Prue. 'Twould have served me right for being real silly, almost vain, I do believe." And thus she berated herself.

Poor, repentant Randy! Careless she had been, but surely not wicked. She was utterly at a loss to know what to do. "Don't you think you could walk slowly, Prue, if I put my hands under your arms to help you?" she asked coaxingly.

"Randy, how can I walk when this foot is most twice as big as my other foot?" said Prue.

Randy thought a moment. Then she said: "There's only one thing to do, Prue. You can look right down the road and see the store from here. You sit still where you are, and I'll run and get the sugar; it won't take but a few minutes, and when I get back I'll carry you home in my arms.

You can hold the sugar and I'll carry you."

Prue tried bravely to stop crying, and although she declared that her foot felt "worser," she promised to be patient until Randy should return. The store was in the front part of a farm-house but a short distance from where the two sat upon the wall, and Randy rushed off down the road and in at the open door, in such evident haste that Silas Barnes looked at the girl in amazement.

"In a kind of hurry, ain't ye?" said he, as in his usual deliberate manner he weighed the sugar.

"Yes, oh, yes," answered Randy, as she almost s.n.a.t.c.hed the bundle and darted out of the door and ran up the road to where Prue sat upon the wall, a most disconsolate little heap, trying very hard to be brave, but sobbing in spite of all endeavor.

"Now, you carry the sugar-just think what a sweet bundle-and I'll take you. My arms are real strong, so I believe I can carry you easily."

Prue hugged the parcel, and taking her little sister in her arms Randy stepped out bravely toward home. It seemed to her that she could not remember such intense heat as she that day experienced. They had taken off their sunbonnets as they sat upon the wall, and in their haste they had started for home, leaving them where they had dropped them, so that their heads were unprotected from the scorching rays of the sun, which was now directly overhead.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Randy carrying Prue in her Arms]

Many times Randy was obliged to set Prue upon the wall, just long enough to rest her aching arms; then taking her again, she bravely trudged on toward home.

Just as she concluded that her arms would surely break, she heard the sound of wheels behind her, and looking over her shoulder she saw Obadiah Gray's old mare, Clover, jogging along and in the wagon the beautiful young girl whom she had so much admired at church.

"There's that pretty girl whom I saw in church last Sunday," thought Helen Dayton. "How much prettier she looks without that ugly sunbonnet.

Why, she has her little sister in her arms, and the little one is crying. I'll stop and speak to them." Old Clover, always delighted to stop, came to a standstill, and Randy looked up shyly at Helen's beautiful face.

"Are you not tired?" said Miss Dayton. "I see that you are carrying your little sister." Then, as she noticed the swollen foot, she said: "Oh, how did she hurt her foot? Do let me take you home."

Randy was only too glad to accept the invitation so sweetly given; so Prue was gently lifted to a place beside Miss Dayton, and then Randy clambered in, not only thankful for the ride, but positively charmed to be with the lovely driver.

"Now, tell me," said Helen, "how your little sister injured her foot."

So Randy told her the whole story, and blamed herself more than she deserved. "If I hadn't been wishing that I had a big, beautiful hat like"-but here Randy stopped abruptly, as she noticed, for the first time, that Miss Dayton was wearing the very hat and dress which so filled her mind that morning.

"What was the hat like? Anything like the one I am wearing this morning?" asked Helen, sweetly.

"Well, yes, just like it," admitted Randy, blushing.

"Did you so much admire my hat?" said Helen. "Well, who knows but that on some fine day you may have one quite like it."