very happy indeed when her father and her brothers were at home, for
they petted her and played games with her and loved her very dearly
But when the "Skylark" went to sea, and her mother and herself were
left alone in the little white cottage, the hours were very dull and
tedious, and Mary counted the days until the sailors came home again.

One spring, just as the grasses began to grow green upon the cliff and
the trees were dressing their stiff, barren branches in robes of
delicate foliage, the father and brothers bade good-bye to Mary and
her mother, for they were starting upon a voyage to the Black Sea.

"And how long will you be gone, papa?" asked Mary, who was perched
upon her father's knee, where she could nestle her soft cheek against
his bushy whiskers.

"How long?" he repeated, stroking her curls tenderly as he spoke;
"well, well, my darling, it will be a long time indeed! Do you know
the cowslips that grow in the pastures, Mary?"

"Oh, yes; I watch for them every spring," she answered.

"And do you know the dingle-bells that grow near the edge of the
wood?" he asked again.

"I know them well, papa," replied Mary, "for often I gather their blue
blossoms and put them in a vase upon the table."

"And how about the cockle-shells?"

"Them also I know," said Mary eagerly, for she was glad her father