"DOG AND BENCH CAME DOWN WITH A CRASH."
"And what became of the mouse?" asked the impatient Charlie.
"Why, I was there for her all ready at the end of the passage, and the dogs had done my work for me. But I did not eat her up. I promised her her life if she would tell me all about how she escaped from them, and what they had suffered—and that's how I know it all."
"Thank you, Pussy dear, for your——"
"What are you thinking about, child, calling me Pussy?" exclaimed my godmother, shaking me from a deep sleep. "I have come to bid you good-bye, as I am going now. Little girls should be more respectful to their elders."
"But, really, I suppose I must have been dreaming that——"
"Little girls should not dream foolish things. You should know better, my dear. Now, good-bye, Nelly!"
And so it was all a dream! Yes, there lay Pussy and Charlie fast asleep, too. Dear me! I wish it had been real, though!