The Brownies & Other Tales — J.H. Ewing / Juliana Horatia Ewing

CONTENTS.THE BROWNIESTHE LAND OF LOST TOYSTHREE CHRISTMAS TREESAN IDYLL OF THE WOODCHRISTMAS CRACKERSAMELIA AND THE DWARFSTHE BROWNIES.A little girl sat sewing and crying on a garden seat. She had fairfloating hair, which the breeze blew into her eyes, and between thecloud of hair, and the mist of tears, she could not see her work veryclearly. She neither tied up her locks, nor dried her eyes, however;for when one is miserable, one may as well be completely so.What is the matter? said the Doctor, who was a friend of theRector's, and came into the garden whenever he pleased.The Doctor was a tall stout man, with hair as black as crow's featherson the top, and grey underneath, and a bushy beard. When young, he hadbeen slim and handsome, with wonderful eyes, which were wonderfulstill; but that was many years past. He had a great love for children,and this one was a particular friend of his.What is the matter? said he.I'm in a row, murmured the young lady through her veil; and theneedle went in damp, and came out with a jerk, which is apt to resultin what ladies called puckering.You are like London in a yellow fog, said the Doctor, throwinghimself on to the grass, and it is very depressing to my feelings.What is the row about, and how came you to get into it?We're all in it, was the reply; and apparently the fog wasthickening, for the voice grew less and less distinct--the boys andeverybody. It's all about forgetting, and not putting away, and leavingabout, and borrowing, and breaking, and that sort of thing. I've hadFather's new pocket-handkerchiefs to hem, and I've been out climbingwith the boys, and kept forgetting and forgetting, and Mother says Ialways forget; and I can't help it. I forget to tidy his newspapers forhim, and I forget to feed Puss, and I forgot these; besides, they're agreat bore, and Mother gave them to Nurse to do, and this one was lost,and we found it this morning tossing about in the toy-cupboard.It looks as if it had been taking violent exercise, said the Doctor.But what have the boys to do with it?