for many mornings after, exchanging dolls, books, balls, and strings,
and becoming the best of friends. This new order of things was not
quite satisfactory to Moses, who felt he was no longer necessary to
Cissy's happiness. He still kept his place close beside her, and tried
to be as entertaining as possible. But do what he would he could not
coax her away from her new-found friend, and all the merry plays under
the old elm tree seemed to have come to an end, but Cissy was not
really ungrateful to her old playfellow. She was deeply interested in
her new companion and for the time somewhat forgetful of Moses, which
is not much to be wondered at when we remember what great advantage
over Moses Jamie had in one thing. He could talk with Cissy and Moses
could not. But although the dog's faithful heart ached at the neglect
of his little mistress, he did not desert his place of protector, but
watched and guarded the princess while she and her friend prattled on
all the long, bright days, quite unconscious of his trouble.

One afternoon Cissy's happiness reached its highest point. Her mother
had been watching the visiting going on through the fence, and saw
Cissy's delight in her new companion, so, unknown to her, she wrote a
note asking that Jamie be permitted to come into the yard and play
under the elm tree. When Cissy saw Jamie coming up the walk in her own
yard, her delight knew no bounds. She ran to meet him, and dolls and
buggies and carts and everything she prized was generously turned over
to her visitor. How quickly the afternoon passed.

Moses was as happy as the children themselves--for if he could not talk
he could at least bark, and now they were altogether under the tree,
his troubles were forgotten and which were the happier, children or
dog, it were hard to say. So with merry play the beautiful day came to
a close. The sun was sending up his long golden beams in the west.