“Come, Alice, come! See the silver pennies shining at the bottom of the clear water! There must be a hundred of them! Come, sister, dear!”
Then Alice, waking, tried to sit up. But she screamed with fright, for she could not move her hands and feet. Indeed, she could not rise at all! And that day, and the next, and for many days after, she lay helpless on her bed, and Mary fed and comforted her.
And every night the hundred little green Pixies came creeping, creeping into the kitchen. They swept, they baked, they sewed, they spun, and they drank from Mary’s water-pail. And every night they left one piece of silver there.
And so a whole year passed, and Alice lay and thought, and thought, and thought about her idle ways. And one night she called Mary to her, and wept and said:—
“Oh, sister, if only I could get up to-morrow, and feel the warm sunshine and play among the flowers! And if only I were strong enough to work for you, as you have worked for me!”
And Mary kissed and comforted her.
The next morning came, and Mary got up at break of day. She ran and looked into the water-pail. Then she clapped her hands and called:—
“Come, Alice, come! See the silver pennies shining at the bottom of the clear water! There must be a hundred of them! Come, sister, dear!”
And Alice forgot that she could not move. She sprang lightly out of bed and ran into the kitchen. And she was all well and happy again!
And oh, how glad the sisters were! How they kissed each other and laughed with joy! They milked the cow, and churned, and baked, and cooked, and sat spinning on the porch. And the bees buzzed, and the butterflies fluttered, and the sisters sang:—