At last she asked the delighted children whether the fairies had come to their aid.  “No,” they answered, “but all the children in the neighborhood did, and we had such a good time that it was almost the same as giving a party.”

“The children were very kind,” Mrs. Watson said, when she had heard all about the happy afternoon.  “We could not have managed the coal without their assistance, and some day we must try to help them.”

* * * * *

Johnnie Jones’s Story of the Stars

The stars were just beginning to show themselves in the dark blue sky, when Mother and Johnnie Jones sat down by the window to watch for Father.  Mother and Johnnie Jones loved the stars.  Almost every evening they sat and looked up at them.  Sometimes they tried to count them, but they never could, because there were so very many.  Often, too, they could see the bright, round moon.  Johnnie Jones said that a queer, fat little man lived in the moon, who winked and bowed whenever little boys looked at him.  To be polite, Johnnie Jones always returned the winks and bows.  But this night there was no moon, just the little stars were appearing, and twinkling as fast as they could.

“Mother,” said Johnnie Jones, “I’ll tell you a story all my own, about the shining stars.”

“I’d like very much to hear it,” Mother answered.

“Once upon a time, oh! such a very long time ago that it must have been before you were born, Mother dear, all the stars fell down from the sky.  I think it was the wind that blew and blew until they became loose.  They fell down whirling and twirling just like the snow flakes, except that they weren’t cold and white, but all bright and shining.  They were so beautiful that the people looked out of their windows and wished the stars would never stop raining down from the sky.”

“Is that all the story?” asked Mother, much interested.

“No, there is another part,” said Johnnie Jones.  “When all the stars had fallen down to the ground, what do you suppose they really were?”

“I can’t imagine,” Mother answered.

“Why, Mother, they were beautiful little flowers all different colors.  Some were red, some were yellow, and some were purple violets.  They began to grow, and nobody gathered any, for they were so pretty there on the ground.”

“But,” asked Mother, “when it was night time again, what did the poor people do without any stars to shine in the sky?”

“Don’t you see,” Johnnie Jones explained, “when the stars fell down they left little holes in the sky, and the light behind shone through and seemed just like the stars.”

“I think that is a beautiful story,” and Mother thanked him with a kiss, before they ran down-stairs to meet Father coming home.

* * * * *

Johnnie Jones and Jack