76 Lily and Water-Lily.

Pearl herself, and Pearl never told anybody ; but it
was something that must have made her happy, for
there was a smile upon her face, even though her
tears still flowed sadly down. The moon sailed
through the sky, and, until her silver face had sunk
behind the edge of the world, Pearl sat still and held
the white lily to her heart.

But when the moon was quite gone, he the rosy
morning had crept through the cold dawn once again
to kiss the stream and the meadows into life, Pearl
saw that the lily was dead.

With the rosy colour of the coming day the roses
had crept back into her own cheeks again, but even
as she had grown strong and well, the lily had grown
faint and had drooped, and now that the day was
here in all its beauty, Pearl was as beautiful as ever,
but the white lily was dead. She kissed its faded
leaves, and as she did so one of the little blue flowers
that had grown about its roots, and which the mouse
had plucked with it, fell into her bosom, and she
said to herself that she would never forget. .