"Wait, my dear flowers," said she, smiling, to the violets; "wait a
moment: I will comfort and refresh you."

With this she disappeared in the grove, and, in a short time, brought
from it a few twigs and leaves, which she arranged in a little trellis
over the flower-beds, so as to shadow the violets completely from the
sun. After this she took a small watering-pot and ran across the grass
to a basin or tank in the middle of the garden, around which a number
of weeping-willows drooped their branches into the water. On her arrival
its surface was perfectly smooth; but hardly had her image been
reflected in the tank when it appeared to swarm with living creatures.
Hundreds of gold-fishes, of all colors, swam toward her with their
mouths gaping from the water, as if the poor little animals were trying
to speak to her. Holding on by the trunk of the nearest willow, she bent
gracefully over the pond and tried to fill her watering-pot without
touching the gold-fish.

"Come, come; let me alone just now," said she, as she carefully avoided
them; "I haven't time to play with you; I will bring you your dinner
after a while."

But the fish fluttered around the watering-pot until she withdrew it
from the tank; and, even after her departure, continued to crowd toward
the bank she had touched with her foot.

The young lady watered her flowers and replaced the pot gently on the
ground; then, retiring slowly to the solitary house, she returned after
a while at the same slow pace, and, throwing some crumbs to the fish,
began to saunter slowly about the garden-paths, inattentive to every
thing but her own absorbing thoughts. At length she reached a spot where