Part 26

Teddy felt so sorry to think of her having such an ugly dream that he stood still. “You won’t frighten her very much, will you?” he asked.

“Yes, I shall!” said the ugly dream. “I’ll frighten her just as much as ever I can; I’ll make her cry.”

“No, you mustn’t,” said Teddy, almost crying himself. “I won’t let you.”

“You can’t help it,” cried the dream, tauntingly.

Suddenly a bright thought came into Teddy’s mind. “Anyway, you’re not so very ugly,” he said. “Harriet has a Jack-in-the-box that’s a great deal—oh! ever so much uglier than you.”

“I don’t believe it,” said the dream.

“Yes, she has,” said Teddy; “and it’s right there in the closet.”

“Then I’ll get it, and make myself look like it.” With that the dream crawled into the closet, and pushed back the hook of the box where Jack lived, and pop! up shot the most hideous little man that ever was seen, with a bright red face and white whiskers. “Hi! he is ugly!” cried the dream with delight, and sitting down before the box he began to make his face like the Jack’s.

Then softly and quickly Teddy closed the closet door, and turned the key in the lock, fastening the dream in. “Hi there! let me out! let me out!” cried the dream, beating softly on the door with its shadowy hands.

“No, I won’t,” cried Teddy. “You can just stay in there, you ugly dream, for the pretty dream is going to Harriett now.” Then he turned to the pretty dream and took her by the hand, and her face shone as brightly as one of her own bubbles.

Together they ran into Harriett’s room, and there she lay in her little white bed, with her eyes closed and her curls spread out over the pillow, and when they came in she smiled in her sleep.

The dream shook the bubbles above the bed, and the dimples came into Harriett’s cheeks. “Oh! pretty, pretty!” she whispered with her eyes still closed. “Oh, Teddy? isn’t it pretty?”

“Yes, it is pretty!” cried Teddy.

“Did you call me, dear?” asked mamma, opening the door.

Teddy was back in his own room, and all he could see of the Counterpane Fairy was the tip of her brown hood disappearing behind the counterpane hill, and that was gone in an instant.

“Oh, Mamma! it was such a pretty dream,” cried Teddy.

“Was it, darling?” said mamma. “Try to go to sleep again, dear, for it is very late, and you can tell me all about it to-morrow. Good-night, my little boy.”

CHAPTER NINTH. DOWN THE RAT-HOLE.

The next day Teddy was allowed to go about and follow mamma into the sewing-room, where he had the little cutting-table drawn out and his toys put on it, and played for a long time.

In the afternoon Harriett stopped for a little while, and as soon as Teddy saw her his thoughts went back to the Counterpane Fairy and the story, and he cried out: “Oh, Harriett! I know what you dreamed last night.”

“What did I dream?” asked Harriett.

“Why, you dreamed about the soap-bubbles and me; didn’t you?”

“How did you know I dreamed that?” asked Harriett.

Then Teddy told her all about standing by the lake and seeing the dreams go past, and how he had shut the ugly one up in the toy-closet.

Harriett listened with great interest. “Wasn’t that a funny dream?” she cried when he had ended.

“A dream!” said Teddy. “Why, that wasn’t a dream, Harriett. That’s the story the Counterpane Fairy showed me. And don’t you know you did dream about the bubbles?”

Harriet was silent awhile as if pondering it, and then she said, “My canary-bird flew away this morning.”

“Who let it out?” asked Teddy, with interest. “Did you?”