"_Jiminy_!" he ejaculated. "Somebody ought ter do _suthin'_!"

A second later he cried:

"Stop! Oh, stop just a minute, will ye? I'll _fix_ that puddle!"

Polly _did_ stop.

Snatching a piece of board that chanced to be lying on the ground just
over the wall, he flew to where Polly was standing, placed his tiny
plank over the puddle, and felt the greatest pride when he saw her
walk across, her dainty shoes without a spot upon them.

"Oh, Gyp, you were nice to do that for me! Thank you, so much!" she
said.

He hardly knew what to reply, but muttering something about being "no
bother at all," he ran around to the other side of the school-house
that she might not see his confusion. One thought filled his mind. He
would go to school! Yes, he would go to school every day, so that
morning and afternoon he might be where he could see her, and do any
little favor, or offer any aid, that she might need.

Another thought soon followed. He would _work_ at his studies. He would
not be at the foot of the class.

He must work for promotion! He must catch up with pupils of his own
age, for then he would be nearer Princess Polly, and thus able to do
any little favor, or any slight service that might please her.