The Dwarf Woman 141

and disagreeable, and that he should not
speak to him again.

With the farm-men kept so hard at work
you may imagine that the children’s mother
was also busy, and that she made them run
about and fetch things, and turn the hoard-
apples in the loft, and do all they could to
help: her, which they enjoyed more than the
spelling or the spinning; and one after-
noon, when the rain was still coming down
as if it never meant to stop, and the men
were away as usual looking after the sheep,
she wrapped them up, and told them to run
across to the hen-house and see whether
they could not find some eggs for supper.
Between the farm and the hen-house there
lay first the garden, which at this time of
year was generally as gay as a garden could
be, with late roses, and yellow evening prim-
roses, and great starry daisies,—though now
the poor things were all sodden and drenched
with rain,—and then a very small stream, use-
ful in dry weather for watering the cattle,
and crossed by a little wooden foot-bridge.