Miss Cicely’s eyes grew soft and bright. “I think I know what the dream is,” she said, “and I also hope it will come true. I think it will come true. In fact, I came here to-day to tell you about it, though it is to be kept a secret from others for a while. But you are a privileged person and I thought it would interest you and I wanted to say that when the dream does come true you are to have a part in it, my dear.”
This time it was sister’s eyes that grew soft and bright, seeing which Miss Cissy began to chatter very fast.
“Don’t you want me to tell you a story?” she asked. “Well, I intend to do it anyway. Once upon a time there was a dear little uncomplaining woman who was so dutiful and kind that every one loved and respected her. She kept her wee bit of a home in apple-pie order and she taught her little sister to be as dutiful and good and uncomplaining as she was. It was mighty difficult, I can tell you, to be dutiful and good and uncomplaining where that little woman lived, for it was in a great wilderness of a place where there were wolves that it was almost impossible to keep from the door. But the little woman, by working early and late, managed to fight them off and she never complained. Then one day a great, cruel tyrant came and said: ‘Hark, little woman! My name is Pain. I am going to chain you to this chair. Now will you complain?’
“But the little woman shook her head. Then as the days grew cold and bleak a great wolf came and howled hungrily at her door. ‘Let me in! Let me in!’ And still the little woman shook her head and did not complain. Then up sprang the small sister crying: ‘I’m not very big to be sure, but I think I can help keep that wolf from our door if you will let me try. He’s a great nuisance and ought to be put away. I’m sure some one will get hurt if he’s allowed to stay where he is, even if he doesn’t eat us both up beforehand.’
“This was so sensible that the little woman consented to let small sister take a hand in the fight. She gave her a heart full of courage and many other splendid weapons for use in such struggles and, do you believe it? Small sister actually did help to keep that wolf at a distance. Them one day the story of all this came to the ears of a person——”
“No, a princess,” corrected sister.
“I’m afraid not,” objected Miss Cicely. “I’m afraid she was only a person; well, one day the story of all this came to the ears of a person who said to herself, ‘dear me! these two ladies are just precisely the ones I have been searching for. They can teach me ever so many things I don’t know, and if they will only consent to it, I think I’d like to begin a course of instruction under them at once.’ So she carried them off quite out of the wolf’s reach, for she was a very strong, athletic person, and watched them closely and little by little she really did begin to learn of them. Oh, I can’t begin to tell you the number of things they taught her, but one was to distinguish between real and make-believe people. Where she lived there were a great many make-believe people; in fact, she just escaped being one herself, though please don’t mention it. But as she grew wiser she learned to tell the difference between the real thing and the make-believers, and that changed her whole life, for it seemed, there were two suitors for her hand and as both were dressed exactly alike she hadn’t been able to tell them apart and hadn’t known at all which one was real and which only make-believe. But after she had taken several lessons of the little woman and small sister she searched for the heart of one of them and, to her horror, found he hadn’t any, that he was just a poor make-believer dressed up in fine clothes. And then she searched for the heart of the other and there it was all safe and sound! the jolliest, biggest, truest one you ever saw, only his fine clothes hid it from every one who hadn’t clear enough eyes to see. Well, of course that settled it. The person said: ‘Yes’ to the real-one-with-the-heart and they are going to live happy ever after, unless I’m much mistaken. But you needn’t think the story ends there. The little woman is going to be rescued from her awful tyrant and is going to be quite free to come and go as she chooses. Then the person and the real-one-with-the-heart are going to take her with them—over the hills and far away, and she is to study in books as she longs to do, and is to hear music and see pictures and grow, oh! very wise and learned; only, for my part, I don’t believe she can learn anything better than what she knows already which is to be dutiful and kind and uncomplaining and—well, that’s the beginning of the end of the story, and I think it’s almost the best of all.”
By the looks of her, sister did too, for when Mr. Cameron and Polly managed to glance up from the mazes of the wonderful cat’s-cradle they were weaving, they were surprised to see the change that had come over her face. All the traces of pain and care were gone and it was as glad and as young as Polly’s own.