looks and ways, with her pretty floating curls and her sweet voice that I
forgot everything else, and looked on bewitched, while she made the dolls
say and do all sorts of things that I had never thought of before. I was
quite startled when the lady again asked where she could find my father.

"From that day forth Lili and I were inseparable friends, and a rich and
happy life was opened to me in her lovely home, such as I had never known
nor thought of. I shall never forget the delightful, untroubled days which
I spent in that beautiful house. I was almost as much loved and petted as
if I had been Lili's own sister. Her parents had come from North Germany.
Her father had been induced to buy the factory by the advice of an
acquaintance, and they expected to remain permanently in our neighborhood.
Lili was an only child, and having been hitherto without companionship of
her own age, she clung to me very closely, and I returned her affection
with equal fervor.

"What good, kind people her parents were! They asked as a great favor that
I might make long visits at their house, and my parents allowed me to
pass weeks at a time with my newly found friends. Those visits seemed to
me like prolonged festivals. Such lovely toys and playthings as Lili had!
I had never even dreamed of anything like them. I shall never forget the
innumerable figures cut from fashion plates which we used for paper dolls!
We each had a large family of them, with all their kindred and relatives,
each one fitted with a name, a character and a story of its own. We
almost, nay quite, lived in their imaginary lives, and we shared their
joys and sorrows as if they had been real.

"I always returned home laden with gifts, and I was scarcely settled there,
when new requests came that I would repeat the visit. When we were a
little older we had lessons together, both from a regular teacher and