"SO THIS IS STELLA. THIS IS MY NEW LITTLE DAUGHTER!"
"Good-night," she said softly, "good-night. And thank you for being so kind to me."
It was with a feeling of pleasurable excitement that Stella lay down to rest that night, and she fell asleep to dream she was living the events of the day over again, and in her dreams she was quite content.
Such was the advent of the little town mouse, as her aunt had named her, among her country cousins.
[CHAPTER IV]
STELLA BECOMES BETTER ACQUAINTED WITH THE DOCTOR'S FAMILY
IN a few weeks Stella began to feel really at home in the doctor's household. She grew accustomed to the plain but comfortable furniture, and became very fond of her aunt and uncle, and two girl cousins. But she failed to get on with the twins. The boys, romping, mischievous little fellows, soon found that Stella could not bear to be teased, and they consequently devised many ways of provoking her. They laughed at her methodical ways, pulled her hair, hid behind doors and startled her by springing suddenly upon her.
They discovered that she was afraid of animals, doubtless because she had never been accustomed to them as pets. Hector, the big black retriever, made her shriek with alarm when he came prancing towards her, on the first day she had gone for a walk with her cousins, and she had fled to Miss Clarke's side in dire distress, whilst the twins had stood by in fits of laughter, heedless of their governess's reproving looks. It was long before Stella grew accustomed to Hector, or was brought to understand that he was only playful and not savage.
Another time Stella had run away from half-a-dozen harmless cows, and in her fright had fallen on the kerbstone and received a black eye. Mr. Gray, Dr. Knight's assistant, had come to the rescue, and had carried her into the surgery fainting more from fright than from the injury she had received. On this occasion the twins had not taunted her with her cowardice as she had anticipated, having been sent about their business by the kind-hearted young assistant, who was looked upon ever afterwards as Stella's especial friend and protector.