“Yes, I know,” said Sweetclover, “but you have to go through such terrible things first.”

“Well, we got along pretty well before we met the bird,” said Kernel Cob.  “Didn’t we get to the Moon and all that?”

“That was because we prayed to the Fairies,” said Sweetclover.

“And maybe if we pray now, something will happen to help us.”

Sweetclover had a very beautiful faith.  She believed, as all good people do, that you must put your faith in something good, and then everything will be for the best, no matter what happens.

So they knelt down by the side of the rock and prayed.

“How do you pray?” whispered the Villain to Sweetclover.  “I never prayed before in my life.”

“Just say, ’Please good, kind Fairies, I am a poor little Villain, and I need your help, and I’ll never be bad any more.’”

So they prayed, and pretty soon along came a team of horses drawing a big wagon packed with boxes of oranges.

And the wagon stopped on the road where they were, and the driver got down to fix the harness of one of the horses.

“I’m glad that buckle got loose,” said the horse to his team-mate, “I was getting tired and needed a rest.”

“Hello there, Master Horse,” shouted Kernel Cob.

“Who are you?” neighed the horse.

“I’m Kernel Cob.  Where are you going?”

“We’re going to the city to pack these oranges on a train,” was the reply.

“Here’s our chance!” cried Kernel Cob.  “Come, let us hide in one of these boxes, and we’ll get a ride on the train.”

“Good idea,” said the Villain.

So they waited till the man climbed up on his seat again, and shouted, “get up” to the horses; then they ran out and got on one of the spokes of the wheel when it was near the ground, and when the wheel turned and the spoke came up to the top, they sprang off onto the wagon and crawled into a box which is called a crate, and is open a little so the oranges do not get too hot and spoil.  And it was perfectly safe and very comfortable.

And they must have fallen asleep; for the next thing they knew they felt a rocking and a rocking and Kernel Cob got out of the crate and crawled along till he came to a stairway, and, climbing this, discovered that they were on a ship.

He hurried back to tell his news to Sweetclover and the Villain.

And Sweetclover began to cry.

“A woman is the crybabiest person in the world,” said Kernel Cob.

[Illustration]

Noble Deeds!

If you attempt a noble deed
You’re almost certain to succeed,
So do not give up hope, but try,
However rough your path may lie,
To forge ahead with all your might
And everything will come out right.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XII