"Ah," said Joshua in a voice as soft as hers, "that is because I am going to be a sailor."
"For that reason. Yes. Call me little Minnie."
"Little Minnie!" said Joshua tenderly; for Minnie's voice and manner were very winsome, and he could not help thinking how quaintly pretty her fancy was.
"Little Minnie, little Minnie!" whispered Minnie in so soft a tone that Joshua could scarcely hear it,--"little Minnie, little Minnie! The sea is singing it. How kind the sea is! and how soft and gentle I should like to go to sleep like this."
"Does the shell sing any thing else, little Minnie?"
"Listen! Ah, but you cannot hear! It is singing, 'Little Minnie, little Minnie, Joshua is going to be a sailor. Little Minnie, little Minnie, would you like to go with him?'"
"And you answer?"
"Yes, yes, yes! I should like to go with him, and hear the sea always singing like this. I should like to go with him because"--But here Minnie stopped.
"Because what?"
"Because nothing," said Minnie, taking the shell from her ear. "Now the sea is gone, and the singing is gone, and we are waiting at home for father."