"Why, my dear, where did you find that queer child?"
"Down on the beach. Isn't she pretty?" answered Fancy, feeling very proud of her new friend.
"She hasn't got any shoes on; so she's a beggar, and we mustn't play with her," said one boy, who had been taught that to be poor was a very dreadful thing.
"What pretty earrings and bracelets she's got!" said a little girl, who thought a great deal of her dress.
"She doesn't look as if she knew much," said another child, who was kept studying so hard that she never had time to dig and run, and make dirt-pies, till she fell ill, and had to be sent to the sea-side.
"What's your name? and who are your parents?" asked Miss Fairbairn.
"I've got no parents; and my name is Lorelei," answered the mermaiden.
"You mean Luly; mind your pronunciation, child," said Miss Fairbairn, who corrected every one she met in something or other. "Where do you live?"
"I haven't got any home now," said Lorelei, smiling at the lady's tone.
"Yes, you have: my home is yours; and you are going to stay with me always," cried Fancy, heartily. "She is my little sister, Miss Fairbairn: I found her; and I'm going to keep her, and make her happy."