But grandmother was awake, and lifted her head just in time to see the
tongue of fire.

She was over the side of the bed in a minute, and, snatching up a
pitcher of water, dashed it over the rug.

Ethelwyn jumped up too and snatched Johnny Bear in her arms.

"I don't think twelve o'clock at night looks stiller, do you,
grandmother?" she asked. "Aren't you glad Johnny Bear came to live with
us, and--oh! oh!" he cried, for she had stepped on a soft little mouse,
lying quite still now on the floor.

"O Johnny, how could you?" she said sorrowfully, quite forgetting her
instructions to him in the afternoon.

"But he is brave, isn't he, grandmother?"

"Very," said grandmother, "and he shall have a saucer of cream in the
morning. But come now, chicken; I've put out the fire, and covered the
other, so I think we can sleep in peace."

So they both went to sleep, and Johnny Bear from that time on wept no
more.

The next morning, Ethelwyn joyfully told Hannah and Peter all about it.
Their praise was unstinted enough to suit even her swelling heart, and
she proudly took the saucer of cream to Johnny, saying, "There,
darling, everybody loves you now, even Peter and Hannah and Nancy,
because you did your duty so nobly. I knew you would, so I loved you all