"'Is it true, mother ?' Ay used to ask when she told us a story.

'Yes, of course,' she'd say, 'if it didn't happen in this world, it happened in some other,' so, go on, may dear." "Well," said Valmai, laughing rather nervously, "this happened in this world, whatever! Once upon a time, there was a young girl who was living on a wild sea-coast.

It was very beautiful, but she was very lonely sometimes, for she had no father nor mother, nor sister nor brother." "Poor thing," said the old man.
"Yes, certainly, she was very lonely," continued Valmai; "but one day she met a young man, bright and brave and true." "Handsome ?" "Yes, handsome, with sparkling black eyes, and--and--oh, very handsome! and they loved each other truly, and--and--" "Yes, yes! skip that.

Ay know that.

Go on." "You can imagine that the poor lonely girl gave all her heart to her lover, as there was no one else who cared for it; and so the days were going by, and they were all in all to each other.