“Do you live all alone?”
“Yes, my child.”
“Haven’t you got any little girl like me?”
“No; I’d give all I have in the world if I had.”
“Wouldn’t you like to have me for your little girl?”
“Indeed I would; will you be my little girl?”
The baby face became thoughtful. She thrust one finger in the corner of her mouth and looked down at the floor.
“What would papa do and those other folks? I will be the little girl for all of you.”
This struck the party as the brightest and wittiest expression ever made by a mortal. They laughed, clapped their hands and striking each other on the shoulder wanted to know whether anything of the like had ever before been heard. Certainly not. Without paying any heed to them, Nellie was peering into the room again.
“It’s dark and cold,” she said in an awed voice, turning her face around, the better to communicate the information; “but I ain’t afraid.”