His mates shook their heads when they saw the wreck , and drew their rough hands over their eyes ; for Ben was a good seaman , and they knew he never would desert his boat alive . They looked for him far and wide , but could hear nothing of him , and felt sure that he had perished in the storm . They tried to comfort poor Hetty , but she would not be comforted . Her heart seemed broken ; and if it had not been for her baby , her neighbours feared that she would have gone to join Ben in his grave under the sea . Dandelion did n't understand why every one was so sad , and why his father stayed away so long ; but he never lost his cheerfulness , never gave up hoping , or stopped saying , with a contented smile , ` Daddy tummin ' soon . ' The sunshiny little face was Hetty 's only comfort . The sight of the fuzzy yellow head , bobbing round the house , alone made it endurable ; and the touch of the loving baby hands kept her from the despair which made her long to end her sorrow in the sea . 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 .
XXXXX used to humour the child , though it made her heart ache to know that the light shone in vain .
Baby Daddy Dandelion Hetty Labor gulls lobsters night now-a-days storm