This done, she took
a long breath, and looked over the railing, to be sure it was not
all a dream. No; the wheel marks were still there, the brown water
was not yet clear, and, if a witness was needed, there sat the big
frog again, looking so like the old gentleman, with his bottle-green
coat, speckled trousers, and twinkling eyes, that Marjorie burst out
laughing, and clapped her hands, saying aloud,--
"I'll play he was the Brownie, and this is the good-luck penny he
gave me. Oh, what fun!" and away she skipped, rattling the dear new
bank like a castanet.
When she had told granny all about it, she got knife and basket, and
went out to dig dandelions; for the desire to increase her fortune
was so strong, she could not rest a minute. Up and down she went, so
busily peering and digging, that she never lifted up her eyes till
something like a great white bird skimmed by so low she could not
help seeing it. A pleasant laugh sounded behind her as she started
up, and, looking round, she nearly sat down again in sheer surprise,
for there close by was a slender little lady, comfortably
established under a big umbrella.
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