That night Frankie was quite sick, and his mother, after being up with him several times, lay down by him in his trundle-bed.  He was very much pleased at this, and put up his little hot hand on her face.  The fever made him quite wakeful, and he wanted to talk.  She began to repeat the little rhyme, ­

“Once there was a little man,
Where a little river ran,”

when he said, “Mamma, please tell me ’bout heaven.”

“Do you want to go to heaven?” she asked.

“Yes, mamma, when I die; but I can’t go ’lone.  I want you to go with me.  Won’t you please to ask God to let us take hold of hands and go wight up to heaven together.  That would be a pretty way; wouldn’t it?”

Mrs. Gray bent over her darling boy and kissed his cheek.  She whispered a prayer to God to preserve her dear child from death for a long time to come.

Pretty soon he spoke again:  “How can you get up to heaven, mamma?”

“God will send his angels, my dear, and take me there.”

“I ’fraid they can’t lift you, mamma, you so heavy.  But you can go up on the barn, and then they can get you up there; can’t they?” In a minute, he asked, “Does God have horses in heaven, mamma?”

Toward morning, he sank into a quiet sleep, and did not awake until Willie and Margie had gone to school.  When he opened his eyes, his mamma was standing over him with a cup of milk and water in her hand.

“Frankie feel better,” he said, starting up to receive her kiss.

As he still felt weak, his mamma held him in her lap, where he could look at Ponto, who was washing his paws on the rug.  Presently Nelly came in, carrying a wax doll nearly as large as herself.  She was a little afraid of Ponto, and when he went and put his nose on her arm, and tried to lick her hand, she cried, “Get away, you ugly dog!  I hate you, I do!” and she struck him with the doll.

Ponto growled, and turned away to Frankie.  The little fellow slipped down from his mother’s lap, and clasped his arms around Ponto’s neck.  “O, you good dog,” he said, “I love you, I do.”

Ponto knew very well what this meant, and he rapped with his tail as hard as he could on the rug.  Then Frankie made the dog lie down, and he laid his head upon him.

Ponto was delighted to have his little master use him for a pillow; so he lay very still indeed.  I suppose he thought Frankie wished to go to sleep.

Then Mrs. Gray told Nelly how the good dog had pulled Frankie out of the water, and how much they all loved him.  But Nelly only said, “I hate dogs, I do, they’re so ugly and cross;” and then she put her finger in her mouth again.

“Mamma,” said Frankie, “I want to hear ’bout Moses ’gen.  Pease, mamma, tell me toly ’bout Moses.”

“Well,” said mamma, “I’ll get my sewing and tell you the rest of the story.”  So Frankie lay with his head on Ponto, and listened to mamma.  Nelly sat in her little chair, and sucked her finger and tended her doll.  “I told you,” said the lady, “that Moses began to wish he had not touched the orange; but it was of no use to wish that now, for there it was all squeezed and sucked, and what should he do with it?

“When the cook had set the table, she rang the bell, and presently his father and mother came down to breakfast.

“‘Where’s Moses?’ asked his mamma; ’I expected to find him at the table.’

“‘He came down early,’ said the cook; ’but I have not seen him for a good while.’

“‘Won’t you see if he is out doors?’ said the lady.

“Moses knew it was of no use for him to wait any longer; so he came out laughing.

“‘Why, what were you doing, my dear?’ asked the lady.

“‘I was hiding,’ said the boy.”

“O, that was a naughty lie!” exclaimed Frankie.

“Yes, dear, when children do one naughty thing, they almost always do another.  Moses had stolen his mother’s orange, and now he told a lie to hide it.  His mother did not think he would act so wickedly.  She asked, ‘Do you remember, Moses, this is your birthday.’

“‘Yes, mamma.’

“‘You have a very pleasant day for your party,’ said his father; and then Moses began to talk about what he should play when his company came.  ‘Shall you have the supper first?’ he asked.

“‘No, my dear.  I shall wait until you have played a while.’

“After breakfast the lady swept and dusted the parlors, to have them ready for the party.  Then she sat down to her sewing, while she heard Moses read and spell.  After this he went out doors to play with his hoop.

“In the middle of the afternoon she began to arrange for her little feast.  First, she took the nut-cracker and cracked the large walnuts, the almonds, and the filberts, and put them in the glass dishes ready to set them on the table.  Then she cut the cake into square pieces, and grated sugar over them.  After that, she put the figs into plates, and then brought out the basket of oranges.

“All this time, Moses had been kneeling in his chair by the table, watching her as she worked.  He looked very sober.  He was thinking about the orange, and wished he had not taken it.

“When his mother began to take the oranges from the basket, he felt as if he should cry, he was so afraid she would find out what he had done.

“‘Why,’ said the lady to herself, ’here are only twelve.  I asked him to get thirteen.’  She counted them over again.  All at once she looked at Moses, and said, ’I hope you have not eaten one of mother’s oranges, my dear.’

“‘No,’ said the little boy, ‘I haven’t touched one.’”

“O, dear!” said Frankie.  “I’m afraid God won’t love Moses any more, he is so naughty, and tells so many lies.”

Frankie jumped up when he said this, and Ponto took the opportunity to turn himself over.  He had lain very still before, for fear of disturbing his little master.

“‘What did you want thirteen for?’ asked Moses.  ’You said there would be twelve at the party.’

“’Because I meant to send one to Sarah Christie.  Joseph and Belle are coming, but Sarah is sick, you know; so I meant to send her one.  I suppose your father forgot it; but I’m very sorry.’”

Mrs. Gray was going on to tell the rest of the story, but she saw that Frankie looked very pale, and she stopped.

“I want to womit,” said he, and she ran quickly to get the bowl.  Then she gave him some medicine, and put him into bed, while she sent Nelly to play out doors until he awoke.