"I told nurse I would be back in a minute," she replied.
"A minute!" said her father, laughing heartily; "why, you have been here nearly an hour. So you want your father to have wings, do you, you little rogue! Wait till I show you how you would fly if you had wings." The next moment he put her up on his shoulder, dollie and all, and ran with her across the meadow at full speed, while she laughed merrily and clapped her hands with delight.
"So the party is broken up," said Harry's nurse, who came to look after her charge.
"Yes; one of the audience has flown," said Harry, laughing.
"And I must fly, too," said Mary, as she kissed Harry lovingly. "And I shall tell you about the rest of Giant Sun's family to-morrow. Good-by."
STORY OF JUPITER AND HIS MOONS.
It was several days before Mary could see Harry again and tell him "sky-stories," as he called them, for he had been suffering much pain. Even her gentle voice irritated him, and perfect quiet was ordered by the doctor until the little sufferer was better. At last he was able to enjoy the sunlight and the flowers and the song of the birds again, and one bright morning he was all ready, as he told his sister, to take another trip to Starland. As Mary arranged the pillows on the couch for him, and a large sunshade, so that the glare of sunlight would not hurt his eyes, he caught hold of her hand and, pressing it lovingly, he said:
"Darling, what should I do without you? You are so good to me."
"How can I help it, little sweetheart!" said Mary, as she turned her head aside to keep him from seeing the tears that would come to her eyes; "how can I help it, when I love you so dearly. Besides, you are my own dear little brother, and you don't know how I missed you all last week."
"Did you really, sister? And I was dreaming away all day long about the wonderful stories you have been telling me. I played football on Mars, and had beautiful wings when I lived on the baby planets, and flew from one to another, and now I want to know something about the giant planets. You said they lived next door to the little tiny planets."