“Poor little Peggs!” and if you had looked very closely you would have seen dew drops in her eyes.

“What did she do?” asked Kernel Cob, and his voice was slow, for you must remember that it took him a long time to think, because his head was heavy and so filled up with corn cob.  But, like most people who are slow, he was very determined, and once he made up his mind to do a thing you might be sure he would do it, no matter what.

“She lost her motheranfather,” said Sweetclover.

“Did Jackie lose his motheranfather too?” asked Kernel Cob.

“Of course,” answered Sweetclover.  “Don’t you know that Jackie and Peggs are brother and sister?”

“Sure,” said Kernel Cob.

“Well then,” said Sweetclover.

“You didn’t tell me,” said Kernel Cob.

“Tell you what?” asked Sweetclover.

“If Jackie lost his motheranfather,” said Kernel Cob.

“Jackie’s motheranfather are the same as Peggs’,” explained Sweetclover.

“Doesn’t everybody have his own motheranfather?” asked Kernel Cob.

“Not always,” says Sweetclover.  “Why?” asks Kernel Cob.

“Please keep quiet,” said Sweetclover, “I can’t hear what they are saying.”

“If our mother and father are lost,” says Peggs, “why doesn’t Auntie try to find them?”

“I wish she would,” says Jackie.

“Did you hear that?” says Sweetclover.

“What?” asked Kernel Cob.

“That they would like to find their motheranfather,” says Sweetclover.

“Are they lost?” asks Kernel Cob.

“Yes,” says Sweetclover.

“Who lost them?” asks Kernel Cob.

“Hush!” says Sweetclover.

For a long time nobody spoke and pretty soon a little breeze swayed Kernel Cob over toward Sweetclover and he said: 

“Let’s try to find Jackie and Peggs’ motheranfather.  Let us pray to the fairies that something will come along to help us.”

“Good!” said Sweet clover, and they prayed and prayed and prayed.

And just then a great wind came and raised the parasol from the ground, and the hook of the handle caught in Kernel Cob’s belt and pulled him up with it and Sweetclover was just in time to catch hold of him as he sailed away.  And Jackie and Peggs sat upon the grass and cried because they had lost their little dolls.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

CHAPTER III

And the parasol went up and up in the sky all the afternoon, and, try as he would, Kernel Cob could not get it to stop.

“I wonder what the fairies are sending us up here for?” shouted Kernel Cob.

“Maybe they’re in Heaven,” said Sweetclover, and just then the parasol went skimming through a beautiful white cloud, and the sun was dancing on it, making it look like pink eiderdown.

And soon they came out of the cloud and were in the blue sky again.