88 CAROLINE.

Conversation with Annie. The broken image. Elien’s decision.

“« Annie what ?” said Livingston.

“ Annie Linn,” replied Annie.

“ And is Ellen your sister?” said Livingston, looking
toward Ellen.

«“ Yes,” said Annie, “and Rodolphus is my brother.”

Ellen looked up at Livingston with a slight expression
of surprise in her countenance. She wondered how he
came to know her name. She was pleased to find that
he knew it, and yet she did not know why. She felt a
little better acquainted with him than she had before, but
yet she did not feel enough acquainted with him to speak
to him. Livingston wished to speak to her, but he did
not speak, for he did not know what to say-

Just at this time, Annie spied among the toys an image
of a cow with only three legs. She was greatly amused
at this discovery—a cow with three legs being in her es-
timation a very funny thing. She gave it to Ellen to
look at. Livingston told her that one of the legs had
come out. He observed that the legs were formed of pegs
that were cut in the proper shape, and inserted into the
body of the cow. Annie looked for the leg, and found it
at length in the bottom of the box. She took the cow in
one hand and the leg m the other, and ran off to show
it to Caroline. In a few minutes she came back, saying
with an appearance of great delight, that Caroline had
given the cow to her.

«She says it 1s not good for anything, and that I may
have it,” said Annie, “and I mean to get Beechnut to
fasten the leg in again.”

Ellen shook her head as Annie said this, though in an
almost imperceptible manner. She lifted Annie up into
her lap and took the image out of her hand and said,