she went sailing away in the moonlight.

"The mill pond, at midnight, by moonlight," thought Tommy. What could
the old owl mean? It was midnight then, and moonlight, too; and there
he was right down by the water. "Silly old thing," said Tommy,
"brownies don't live in the water." But for all that Tommy went to the
bank and peeped in. The moon was shining as bright as day; and what do
you suppose he saw? Why, just a picture of himself in the water, and
that was all. "Humph! I'm no brownie," said he to himself; but the
longer he looked the harder he thought. At last he said:

"Am I a brownie? Perhaps I am one, after all. Grandmother said they
are about as large as I, and the old owl said that I would see a very
lazy one if I looked in the water. Am I lazy? That must be what she
meant. I am the brownie myself." The longer he thought about it the
surer he was that he must be a brownie. "Why," he said, "if I am one,
Johnnie must be another; then there are two of us. I'll go home and
tell Johnnie all about it."

Off he ran as fast as his legs could carry him, and just as he was
calling, "Johnnie, Johnnie! We are brownies! The old owl told me!" he
found himself wide awake, sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes, while
Johnnie lay fast asleep by his side. The first faint rays of morning
light were just creeping in at their chamber window. "Johnnie,
Johnnie, wake up! I have something to tell you!"

After telling his brother all about his strange dream, Tommy said: "Let
us play we really are brownies, John, even if we are not; it will be
such fun for once to surprise father and grandmother. We will keep out
of sight and tell about it afterwards. Oh, do come! It will be such