I won't, truly!"

Ivra laughed. And it was like spring coming into winter. "Yes, play with
them all you like! I love them, too. I've often watched them. The
littlest boy, the one with the funny curls, laughs at me and stares and
stares. But the other two . . . they just give me a glance and then forget
all about me. They don't think I'm real. But they are awfully jolly. You
play with them and when you tell me about it afterwards I'll pretend I
was there playing too."

Then the two clasped hands and went skipping home.




CHAPTER XIV

SPRING COMES


One morning when Ivra woke up she knew spring had come before her eyes
were open. But Eric had to go outdoors to make sure. He was sure enough
when he smelled the ground, a good earth smell. Snow still clung to the
garden in spots here and there, but the warm sun promised it would not
be for long. Something in the sky, something in the air, a smell of
earth, and a stirring in his own heart told him it was true. Spring had
come!

Ivra had felt and known it before her eyes were open, and now that they
were open, those eyes of hers looked like two blue spring flowers just