'But I must pay for my rudeness in running away without apologising, and you can buy a ribbon for yourself with the extra money.'
'I shall get something a great deal more useful than that,' she said.
'You seem to be a sensible young woman for your age. I wonder what this useful purchase will be?'
'Something to make my little Dicky strong,' Mary said softly.
'And who is Dicky?' asked the pretty grand-daughter; and she looked so sympathetic that somehow the whole story came out, for Mary's heart was full, and words came readily in response to this touch of kindness.
'I shall call and see him,' the girl promised, when she had inquired where Mary lived. And so the misfortune of the broken flower-pot turned out to be the best bit of good fortune Mary had ever enjoyed. Not only did her new friend come laden with delicacies for the invalid, but she interested herself in having him sent with some other children for a month to the sea-side. And when Dicky returned, brown and rosy, and full of life and spirits, Mary felt she could sell her flowers with a smiling face again, and look forward to the future with a light heart.
