"'Poor, tired little chap, he has watched with his mother, till he is worn out,' said father; and he took you gently in his arms and laid you down here. Then he sat by your mother's bedside some time, to watch the effect of some famous medicine he gave her; and when she was in a pleasant sleep, he and I went home.
"But we came here this morning early, and found your mother much better, and you, you little monkey, still as sound as a top.
"I've been making your mother's room more comfortable; and Betty, mamma's maid, has brought a great basket full of all sorts of nice things for her. Come and see her; she looks real bright! she is getting well already."
Little Mark had listened, with his senses getting clearer every minute, and at last he understood, with a sigh of disappointment, that his wonderful adventures and the fairy Benevolence were only a dream. He was almost crying as he said, "Oh, Mr. Harry, if you knew what I had been dreaming, you would be sorry for me. I was so sure it was all true about the fairy Benevolence."
"So it is," laughed Harry; "only the fairy has got whiskers. Come along."
Mark suffered Harry to lead him into the other room; and then, forgetting everything and everybody, he rushed up to his mother, and bursting into tears on her neck, sobbed out, "Oh, mother! if it only could have been true, you would have been cured, and we should have been living in such a nice house! with cows, and hens, and turkeys, and all—oh! oh—!"
His mother was sitting up in the bed, and Harry's father was mixing a pleasant drink for her. Mark looked up as Harry said: "Come, Mark, don't cry so: here is a fairy who will help you, and your mother too." When the little boy saw the genial, kindly smile of the doctor, he felt comforted; and sitting down on the side of the bed, he told his wonderful dream.
It was listened to with the deepest interest; and when he had finished, the doctor patted him on the head, and said, "Never mind, my fine little fellow! if we can't give you a grand house and a snuff box full of servants, and a thistle which drops out of it all the clothes you want, I think we can cure your mother; and when she is well, we will find her something better to do than making shirts at ten cents apiece; and you shall go to school, and learn to be a great scholar; and I don't see the first thing to prevent your having a good chance to become, one of these days, the President of the United States. So hurrah!"
The kind doctor was as good as his word. The poor widow recovered rapidly under his excellent care, which did her heart more good than her body, for it was both sweet and strange to receive so much kindness. Good Samaritans are very scarce nowadays.
When she was well enough to go out, she found that her rent was paid, a load of wood was piled away in the wood shed, half a barrel of flour was in the pantry, and some nice hams were hanging up. Plenty of work at good prices soon poured in. Little Mark was sent to the district school, for now he had comfortable clothes and shoes on his poor little feet; and really, as he told his mother one happy evening—"After all, dear mother, I like my waking fairy Benevolence best—whiskers and all!"