HOW SAMMY WENT TO CORAL-LAND


"Well, children," said grandma, "which shall it be, fairy stories,
stories about giants, or 'really truly,' stories?"

They had been spending a month at the seashore, grandma, Bob and
Eleanor. Little Bob had been very ill in the spring, and when hot
weather came the doctor ordered sea air and sea bathing to bring back
color to the pale cheeks, and strength to the thin little body.

But Bob's father was a poor country parson and there seemed no way to
fill the doctor's prescription. At this juncture grandma, like the
charming fairy godmother that she was, appeared on the scene. She knew
a quiet spot (one of the few still in existence), where there were no
big hotels, no board-walks, and no merry-go-rounds. It was the very
place where she wanted to go to get rid of her rheumatism; Bob and
Eleanor should go with her, and their father and mother could follow
later when the parson's vacation came.

It took but a short time to carry out this delightful plan, and at the
opening of my story the children had already been a week at the
seashore. Such fun as they had been having bathing, digging in the
sand, gathering shells and seaweed, or sitting quietly with grandma
under the big umbrella, watching the waves break and roll up on the
shore! And after supper there was always that pleasant half hour, on
the little balcony overlooking the ocean, when grandma told her
bedtime stories.

They were all sitting there on this particular evening, grandma in her