PART II
Reading edition
A mile down the river stood a little house.
A very poor woman lived in this house.
She had two little children, a boy and a girl.
Nell, the little girl, was lame.
All day long she had to stay in bed.
Still she tried to be cheerful and happy.
Only one thing she always was wishing for.
“O mother!” she would say, “if I only had a doll, how happy I should be!”
“My child,” her mother would answer, “you know I would buy you a doll if I could.
We are too poor, dear.
Mother is sorry that she cannot buy a doll for her little sick girl.”
“Never mind, mother! I have you and brother Will.
I do not need a doll to make me happy.”
“When I grow to be a man, Nell, I will buy you the finest doll in the world,” said Will.
“Thank you, dear.
But you know when you grow to be a man, I shall no longer be a little girl.”
One summer day, Will rushed into the house.
He had a beautiful doll in his hand.
“O Nell! Nell! See what I have for you!” he cried.
Nell took the doll in her little, white hands.
I wish you could have seen how happy the poor child was.
“Is it for me, Will? Where did you get it?”
“It came sailing down the river in a fine new boat.
The doll is for you, and the boat is for me.
It came ashore near our house.
What fun we will have with our new toys!”
“Children, I am afraid you cannot keep the toys,” said mother.
“Some children must have lost them.
I think they may belong to Tom and Alice who live in the big house up the river.
Will, you must take them back.”
Nell’s eyes filled with tears as she looked at the beautiful doll.
“Mother, if I take the boat back, do you think Nell may keep the doll?” asked Will.
“No, Tom. The toys do not belong to us.
You must take both back.
I am sorry for you, children, but we must be honest.”
Nell kissed the beautiful doll and handed it to Will.
Then she hid her face and cried as if her heart would break.
Slowly Will carried the toys to the big house.
He found Alice, Tom and Grandmother in the garden.
When they saw Will, the children shouted, “There is my doll!” “There is my boat!”
Will gave the doll to Alice and the boat to Tom, and turned to go home.
“Wait,” said grandmother. “Tell us how you found the boat.”
So Will told them the whole story.
“I saw this boat sailing down the river,” said Will.
“It came ashore near my home.
I ran with it to the house.
I wanted to show it to my little sister, Nell.”
When Will came to the part about his little lame sister, he could hardly speak.
Alice was crying.
“The poor little lame girl!” she cried.
“She has no doll, and I have ever so many!
Here, little boy, give her this doll with my very best love!”
Tom did not say anything, but he put his new boat into Will’s hand, and Will knew Tom wanted him to keep it.
How he thanked the kind children, Will does not know to this day.
It was a very happy Will who ran all the way home. And it was a very happy Nell that kissed the beautiful doll, that was now her very own.
But I think Alice and Tom were just as happy.
Don’t you?
