People do n't believe in fairies now-a-days ; nevertheless , good spirits still exist , and help us in our times of trouble , better even than the little people we used to read about . One of these household spirits is called Love , and it took the shape of Dandelion to comfort poor Hetty . Another is called Labor : a beautiful , happy spirit this is , and it did its part so well that there was little time for bitter thoughts or vain regrets ; for Hetty 's spinning-wheel must go , in order to earn bread for Dandelion , whose mouth was always ready for food , like a hungry bird 's . Busily hummed the wheel : and , as it flew , it seemed to catch an echo of the baby 's cheerful song , saying , over and over , ` Daddy tummin ' soon , ' till Hetty stopped crying as she worked , and listened to the cheerful whirr . ` Yes , I shall see my good Ben again , if I wait patiently . Baby takes comfort in saying that , and I will , too ; though the poor dear will get tired of it soon , ' she said . But Dandelion did n't get tired . He firmly believed what he said , and nothing could change his mind . He had been much troubled at seeing the boat laid up on the beach all broken and dismantled , but his little mind could n't take in the idea of shipwreck and death ; so , after thinking it over , he decided that Daddy was waiting somewhere for a new boat to be sent to bring him home . This idea was so strong that the child gathered together his store of toy-boats , -- for he had many , as they were his favourite plaything , -- and launched them , one after another , telling them to find his father , and bring him home . As Dandelion was not allowed to play on the beach , except at low tide , the little boats sailed safely away on the receding waves , and the child was sure that some of them would get safely into the distant port where Daddy was waiting . All the boats were launched at last , all sailed bravely away ; but none came back , and little Dandy was much disappointed . He babbled about it to himself ; told the peeps and the horse-shoes , the snails and the lobsters , of his trouble ; begged the gulls to fly away and find Daddy ; and every windy night when the sea dashed on the shore and the shutters rattled , he would want the lamp put in the window , as it used to be when they expected Ben , and tried to make home look cheerful , even before he got there . Hetty used to humour the child , though it made her heart ache to know that the light shone in vain . At such times Dandy would prance about the room in his little shirt , and talk about Daddy as happily as if long months had not passed without bringing him back . When fairly in his big , old-fashioned cradle , the boy would lie , looking more like a dandelion than ever , in his yellow flannel night-gown , playing with his toes , or rocking himself to and fro , calling the cradle his boat , and blithely telling his mother that he was sailing ` far way to find Daddy . ' When tired of play , he lay still and asked her to sing to him . She had no heart for the gay old sea-songs she used to sing for lullabies ; so she sung hymns in her soft , motherly voice , till the blue eyes closed and the golden head lay still , looking so pretty , with the circle of bright hair above the rosy face . ` My little saint , ' Hetty called him ; and though she often wept sadly as she watched him , the bitterness of her grief passed away , and a patient hope came to her ; for the child 's firm faith impressed her deeply , the pious music of the sweet old hymns comforted her sore heart , and daily labor kept her cheerful in spite of herself . The neighbours wondered at the change that came over her , but she could not explain it ; and no one knew that the three good spirits called Love , Labor , and Hope , were working their pleasant miracles .
Six long months went by , and no one ever thought of seeing XXXXX again , -- no one but his little son , who still watched for him here , and his wife , who waited to meet him hereafter .
Baby Ben Daddy Dandelion horse-shoes lobsters now-a-days peeps sea-songs whirr