and he patted the little boy encouragingly on the head, slipped a quarter of a dollar—all the money he had with him—in his hand, and walked quickly away.

Harry's father was a skilful physician, with one of the largest and most loving hearts I ever knew; and when Harry told Mark to call upon the fairy for assistance, his idea was that the fairy this time would come in the shape of a rather stout gentleman, with the pleasantest smile and finest set of snow-white teeth that ever were seen. He had a kind, delicate way of doing a service, which made it better to take, and did more good than all the medicine in Mr. Hegeman's apothecary shop.

Very soon little Mark got up and went into the cottage. His mother was still sleeping. It was now sunset, and the shadows began to deepen and darken in the room. Mark sat down by the bedside, and commenced thinking of what Harry had told him. He was a little bit of a fellow, you know, and of course would believe what such a great boy would say. So he concluded it must be true that the fairies were still to be found; and at last his longing grew so intense that he cried aloud, "Oh, Fairy Benevolence! come quickly, and make my poor mother well."

A sweet strain of music seemed to float in the air; the poor, whitewashed wall of the cottage opened in the middle, through which a beautiful lady entered, with a wreath of flowers round her head, and a wand of ivory in her hand.

"Well, my little friend," said she in a soft voice, "what do you want of me?"

Mark was almost speechless with astonishment and admiration; but he managed to say, "Oh, lady, if you are the fairy Benevolence, save my poor mother."

"It is not in my power, my good child. You must do it yourself. You can, if you have the courage to go where I tell you, and hunt for a certain plant. It grows on the top of a mountain, and is called 'The Plant of Life.' The juice of that plant will cure your mother the moment she tastes of it."

"I will go this instant," he cried; "but who will take care of my mother?"

"Trust her to me, my dear boy, while you are absent. She shall have everything she wants."

"Oh, thank you," said Mark; "now I will go."

"But you must have great courage and perseverance: there is nothing of importance ever gained in this world without them."

"Oh, I have lots of courage!—only tell me where I shall find the plant."

"Well—when you get to the top of the mountain, you must call the doctor who has charge of the plant; tell him that I sent you, and he will give you a sprig."

Mark thanked the kind fairy, and kissed her hand; he then leaned over and softly kissed his mother, and then departed.

He walked quickly, but found the mountain further off than he expected. He had hardly got a third of the way when he saw a crow caught in a trap.

"Oh, poor crow!" exclaimed the kind little fellow, and he pressed down the spring and released him. The crow flew off with a "caw, caw," and then spoke like a human being, saying, "Thank you; I will repay you."

Mark was surprised to hear a bird talk; but he hurried on, and soon after he saw a rooster chased by a fox. Mark caught the rooster up in his arms, and concealed him under his coat; and the fox, staring, surprised, in every direction, ran off disappointed. As soon as he was out of sight Mark let the rooster go, who turned and said, with a grateful and very long crow, "Thank you, Mark; I will repay you."

"Why, they can all talk!" exclaimed Mark; "they must be fairy people, turned into birds!"

He walked on a long way, and jumped quickly on one side as he came up to a great ugly bullfrog, who, charmed by a snake, was too terrified to move. The snake was just about to swallow it whole, when Mark seized a large stone and threw it with all his strength into the reptile's wide-open mouth. Down went the stone into his throat, and choked him directly.

The frog hopped joyfully into the ditch at the side of the road, croaking out, "Thank you, Mark; I will repay you!"

"I declare the frog said the same thing," said Mark; "it is very strange! But no doubt they are all fairies."

By this time he had arrived at the foot of the mountain; but, alas! between it and him flowed a deep river, and so broad you could scarcely see the other side.

"Oh dear," cried Mark, "what shall I do? I can't walk on water, and there is neither boat or bridge." He sat down on the bank, covered his face with his hands, and cried aloud, "Oh, Fairy Benevolence, come and help me! Why did you tell me about the wonderful plant which would save my dear mother's life, when you knew very well I could never get to the mountain!"

At this instant, the rooster he had saved from the fox appeared, and said, "Listen to me, Mark; the fairy Benevolence cannot help you here. This mountain is beyond her dominions. But you have saved my life, and I am not ungrateful: get on my back, and I promise you, on the faith of an honorable rooster, I will carry you to the other side of the river."

Little Mark was overjoyed to hear this. He gave a spring, and was in a moment astride of his comical steed, holding on by two feathers. The rooster carried him as smoothly and easily as a steamboat; but not quite so fast, for it took twenty-one days' paddling to accomplish the journey; but at last he was landed high and dry on the opposite bank of the river.

Mark now travelled for a long time, but the mountain seemed to recede; and when at last he arrived at its foot, and began to climb, he thought it was growing up in the air, like Jack's beanstalk. He journeyed twenty-one days up and up, but did not get the least bit discouraged: his great love for his mother gave him both patience and perseverance. "If I have to walk for twenty-one years," he said aloud, "I will never stop till I get to the top."

"Twenty-one years," echoed a malicious, sneering voice. "You are a very conceited little chap! Pray, what do you want?" and out came, from a cave in the mountain, a little man with one eye in the middle of his face, and two noses side by side.

"I wish to find the plant of life, sir," answered Mark, with a bow.

"Oh, you do! Pray, whom for?"

"For my dear mother, who is lying very ill at home."

"Oh, well you look like a tolerably good boy, and I believe I will permit you to go, under certain conditions. I am a génie; so, you see, I could cook and eat you, if I liked. You must reap all my wheat, thrash out the grains, grind them into flour, and knead the flour into loaves, and bake them. You will find all the tools you want in the cave. When all is done, you can call me; but till you have finished, you shall not stir a step." So saying, he disappeared in a streak of blue smoke.

Mark had listened in terror, and, when the génie was out of sight, he looked all round him. On every side were immense fields of wheat. He raised his arms, then dropped them in despair, and, covering his face with his hands, cried out, "Oh, fairy Benevolence, come and help me!"

"Go to work, Mark," said a soft voice close to his ear.

Mark, upon this, took up a scythe and began to cut the wheat. This took five times twenty-one days; four times twenty-one days were spent in thrashing the grain; three times twenty-one days in grinding it into flour; and twice twenty-one days in making it into loaves, and baking them.

As fast as the loaves were taken out of the oven, they arranged themselves in even rows, like books on the shelves.