Untitled

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 958, 24 December 1881, Page 2 (Supplement)

' f "AndAVlmt havO you : got in your hand ;Mag?" questioned her mother, noticing bow. tightly the tiny fingers were clasped over something in her palm, " The lady gave it to me', mother," replied Mog, opening her hand as she spoke, and disclosing a piece of gold; a half-sovereign •Mrs. Grey discovered it to be. At any other time, Mrs. Grey would havo felt inclined to scold Meg soundly for going out without permission,' artd on such an errand, but she could not find it in her heart torcbuko the children to-day, they were so habpy, and "Pbor.little things," sho sighed, " they' did hot know any better. 'Twas but a ! childish trick, after all." But she told Meg decidedly sho should be very angry if ever such a thing happened again, "And w.e'll have a plum-pudding on Christmas day, won't we, mother?" said Robbie, who, being a little boy, took a.very practical view of the matter.

"Yes, Robbie, mother'll make a beauty, stuffed full of raisins and currants I"

Robbie's dreams that night wore of playing ball with a plum-pudding stuffed full of currants arid raisins, while Meg had visions of a lovely fairy princess who bent to kiss her and called her darling, The next day there came a gentle tap, tap at the door, and'Mcg ran to open it. There stood her fairy princess. "Well, little Margaret," she said, "I've come to wish you a merry Christinas." Meg was so sorry mother was out, but would the lady step in and take a seat? Mother wouldn't be long, At which . invitation the fairy princess came in and took the chair Meg offered her. .. Meg stood by in silent admiration, feasting her eyes on the lady's lovely face, and smoothing with timid fingers the soft gatin of her dress.

_ Robbie, too, crept up, and stood with finger in mouth eyeing the stranger, A visitor was such an unusual occurrence in their small parlor that Robbie thought they were made to be stared at and acted accordingly, But Meg, naturally a regular little chatterbox, soon found her tongue again, and told how poor papa was dead and mamma did embroidery to buy them food and pay the rent, but she couldn't earn much money, and oh! she had quite forgotten to thank the kind lady for the half-sovereign; and here Robbie chimed in about the splendid pudding mother was going to make,, stuffed full of raisins mid currants. So. they soon became quite like old friends, when Mrs. Grey came in unperceived and stood watching, them. There sat Meg's fairy, with tho little ones at her knee, as if they had known each other all their lives,

The lady had her back turned towards Mrs, Grey, but Meg, happening to look round, exclaimed, "There'smother!" At which the lady stood up, and, with one cry of "Margaret I" threw herself sobbing into Mrs. Grey's amis; and to Meg and Bobbie's utter astonishment their mother began to cry too, and kept kissing the strange lady and calling her her dear, dear sister Alice,

So the fairy princess turned out, after all, to be their own aunt Alice, and Meg's resolve of turning street singer was a very fortunate experiment; for,when Aunt Alice, taking little Meg by the hand, led her into grandfather Dane's presence, the old man, who long in secret had prayed to be once more united to his still fondly-loved daughter, but was too unbending to seek her out and take her to his heart again, shed tears of joy that the " lost was found !" the one who had been as " dead " to him " alive."

There was a very happy party assembled at grandfather Dane's on Christinas day. Meg and Robbie could scarcely believe that it was not all a dream as they gazed on the splendor around them—tho beautiful purple velvet furniture, the handsome pictures in their gold frames, the glittering silver and painted china. Had it not been for mother sitting opposite, looking just the same as she did in the little cottage at Collingwood that | bad so short a time ago been their home, they would certainly have fancied themselves m an enchanted palace; but there was mother, and there too was beautiful Aunt Alice, so it must be all real; and Meg and Robbie thought themselves the two luckiest little children in Melbourne, to have such a good grandpapa and grandmamma, and such kind uncles and aunts, and such a lot of dear little cousins to play with, Frank and Lily, Harry and Nelly, and a whole host of others; but Nita was always Meg's favorite, for was she not Aunt Alice's little girl ?—the fairy princess who had brought about nil this happiness, and Meg fairly worshipped her.