Tom, Dot and Talking Mouse | Page 9

unhappy."
"As you like," said the kingfisher, "but you would not catch me
spending my life under those barren walls," and away flew the
kingfisher.
A swallow came and wheeled round and round the tower. "Swallow,"
called the water-lily, "come to me." And the swallow came twittering
down.
"I am in a great hurry," he said; "what do you want?"
"Bite through my stem, swallow, and carry me up to the grating in the
tower, and place me on that window-sill."

"But you will die--and you are so beautiful," said the swallow, looking
regretfully at the lily.
"Ah, some deaths are better than living," said the water-lily.
So the swallow plucked the water-lily and carried her up to the
prisoner's window. A thin hand passed through the bars and took the
flower. The captive pressed her passionately to his lips, and his tears
fell fast on the waxen petals. As the tears fell the water-lily revived.
"How beautiful you are," said the captive, and he took his tin mug of
water from a shelf and tenderly placed her in it so she would not die.
Just then a jailer entered, "Ho, ho!" he said, "how did you come by that;
it will just do for my button-hole." And he seized the water-lily and
placed it in his coat.
The poor prisoner fell upon his knees and begged hard that the flower
might be left to him. "Let me have a few days' joy," he pleaded. "The
flower will soon die, and you are free, and can gather the flowers when
you will."
But the rough jailer only laughed, and departed to his own pleasant
room, leaving the captive in tears.
[Illustration: Child with basket of flowers]
"Look here," said the jailer to his little daughter, "there is a flower I
have just taken away from the prisoner in the tower. I don't know how
he got it, but he cried like a baby when I took it away."
"Poor prisoner!" said the little girl, with tears in her own eyes.
"Nay, my little maid, do not weep," said the jailer, taking the child in
his arms.
But the little one hid her face against her father's breast and sobbed.
"See, my Lily, I will take his flower back to him, only do not cry so,"

said the jailer.
"Father, may I take it to him?" said the little girl, raising her
tear-stained face to her father's, and gazing at him eagerly.
"Won't it do if I take it?" asked the jailer.
"Oh, please let me take it," said the child.
The rough jailer had such tenderness for his child that it was difficult
for him to refuse her anything. So it was that when the prisoner lifted
his weary head as he heard his door open, he beheld a beautiful child
with blue eyes and yellow hair, and in her hand stretched out to him
was the water-lily.
"Oh, but it is an angel!" cried the prisoner, a smile lighting his haggard
face. "An angel from heaven; I must be going to die."
"No, poor man, it's little Lily," said the child, and she slid a round arm
about his neck. "I am so sorry for you!"
The prisoner burst into passionate weeping, and kissed the small hand
that lay upon his shoulder.
The jailer blew his nose like a trumpet.
"You may be called anything," said the prisoner, "but you are surely an
angel."
From this time Lily came to see her prisoner every day, and he grew
almost gay.
In the meantime the water-lily drooped and died, but she was happy,
for she had fulfilled her mission.
The prisoner took the dead flower and laid it on his heart. "Poor little
dead flower," he said, "it was you who brought me my little comforter."
As he said these words he fancied he felt the dead flower move; but it

might have been the beating of his own heart.

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOM, DOT
AND TALKING MOUSE AND OTHER BEDTIME STORIES***
******* This file should be named 19409.txt or 19409.zip *******
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/9/4/0/19409

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will be
renamed.
Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set
forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying
and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the
PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge
for the eBooks, unless you