WASSA’S THEFT, 2m

be so stupid? I suppose thou hast seen them,
hast thou not?”

“Tam not quite sure,” replied the blue-eyed
maid gently, “but I have often looked for them,
and once I was almost certain I saw a little
fairy fly out of one of the blossoms, but it went
so fast I couldn’t say for sure.”

“There are not any fairies, nor any giants,
nor anything else of that kind,” retorted Wassa
positively, shaking her black locks.

The blue-eyed maid did not reply, much to.
Wassa’s disappointment, for she would have
liked to draw her into a quarrel.

“Dost thou mean to say thou believ’st in
such nonsense?” asked Wassa.

© 1 believe there are fairies and giants,”
answered the blue-eyed maid, “although we
cannot see them; and I think we ought to be
very careful not to step on the flowers, nor
break them off their stems unless we mean to
care for them, for, for all we know, they may
be the homes of fairies who love them as much
as we do our own homes.”

“The fairies will have to look out for their
homes then,” exclaimed Wassa loudly, and
roughly seized all the beautiful white blossoms