XI . FANCY 'S FRIEND . It was a wagon , shaped like a great square basket , on low wheels , and drawn by a stout donkey . There was one seat , on which Miss Fairbairn the governess sat ; and all round her , leaning over the edge of the basket , were children , with little wooden shovels and baskets in their hands , going down to play on the beach . Away they went , over the common , through the stony lane , out upon the wide , smooth sands . All the children but one immediately fell to digging holes , and making ponds , castles , or forts . They did this every day , and were never tired of it ; but little Fancy made new games for herself , and seldom dug in the sand . She had a garden of sea-weed , which the waves watered every day : she had a palace of pretty shells , where she kept all sorts of little water-creatures as fairy tenants ; she had friends and playmates among the gulls and peeps , and learned curious things by watching crabs , horse-shoes , and jelly-fishes ; and every day she looked for a mermaid . It was of no use to tell her that there were no mermaids : Fancy firmly believed in them , and was sure she would see one some day . The other children called the seals mermaids ; and were contented with the queer , shiny creatures who played in the water , lay on the rocks , and peeped at them with soft , bright eyes as they sailed by . Fancy was not satisfied with seals , -- they were not pretty and graceful enough for her , -- and she waited and watched for a real mermaid . On this day she took a breezy run with the beach-birds along the shore ; she planted a pretty red weed in her garden ; and let out the water-beetles and snails who had passed the night in her palace . Then she went to a rock that stood near the quiet nook where she played alone , and sat there looking for a mermaid as the tide came in ; for it brought her many curious things , and it might perhaps bring a mermaid . As she looked across the waves that came tumbling one over the other , she saw something that was neither boat nor buoy nor seal . It was a queer-looking thing , with a wild head , a long waving tail , and something like arms that seemed to paddle it along . The waves tumbled it about , so Fancy could not see very well : but , the longer she looked , the surer she was that this curious thing was a mermaid ; and she waited eagerly for it to reach the shore . Nearer and nearer it came , till a great wave threw it upon the sand ; and Fancy saw that it was only a long piece of kelp , torn up by the roots . She was very much disappointed ; but , all of a sudden , her face cleared up , she clapped her hands , and began to dance round the kelp , saying : `` I 'll make a mermaid myself , since none will come to me . '' Away she ran , higher up the beach , and , after thinking a minute , began her work . Choosing a smooth , hard place , she drew with a stick the outline of her mermaid ; then she made the hair of the brown marsh-grass growing near by , arranging it in long locks on either side the face , which was made of her prettiest pink and white shells , -- for she pulled down her palace to get them .
The eyes were two gray pebbles ; the neck and arms of larger , white shells ; and the dress of XXXXX , -- red , green , purple , and yellow ; very splendid , for Fancy emptied her garden to dress her mermaid .
Fairbairn XI day jelly-fishes mermaids minute night nook sea-weed water-creatures