The Bountiful Lady
—or, How Mary was changed from a very Miserable Little Girl to a veryHappy One
BY THOMAS COBB
LONDON: GRANT RICHARDS
1900
CONTENTS
1. Mary finds herself in a different place
2. Mary sees her Fairy-Godmother
3. Mary sees what the Magic Counters can do
4. The Story of the Discontented Boy and the Magician
5. Mary sees the wings, as well as some other wonderful things
6. Mary is taken away
7. The Story of the Little Girl, the Dog, and the Doll
8. Mary sees something which she has never seen before
9. Evangeline gives Mary some Magic Counters
10. The Story of the Prince, the Blue-Bird, and the Cage
11. Mary sees Mrs. Coppert and Mrs. Coppert sees Mary
12. Evangeline says good-bye to Mary Brown
The Dumpy Books for Children
CHILDREN'S BOOKS
The Bountiful Lady
I
MARY FINDS HERSELF IN A DIFFERENT PLACE
It was not a dream, this wonderful thing that happened to Mary Brown,although it seemed very much like a dream at first.
Mary was a pretty, round-faced, dirty little girl who had neither afather nor a mother nor a brother nor a sister. Nobody had kissed hersince she could remember, although it was only the day before yesterdaythat Mrs. Coppert had beaten her.
She lived in a poor, narrow street, and during the daytime she spentmany hours in the road. During the night she lay on a sack on the floorof a small room with three other children. Sometimes, when she played inthe road, Mary almost forgot she was hungry; but for the most part, shewas a sorrowful little girl. She had none of the things which you likethe best—she did not even know there were such things in the world; sheseldom had enough to eat, and her clothes were very ragged and dirtyindeed.
One afternoon she was playing in the gutter, it happened to be a littlepast tea-time, although Mary did not always have any tea; she had notoys, but there was plenty of mud, and you can make very interestingthings out of mud if you only know the way. Mary kneeled in the road,with her back to the turning, the soles of a pair of old boots showingbeneath her ragged skirt, as she stooped over the mud, patting it firston one side then on the other, until it began to look something like theshape of a loaf of bread. Mary thought how very nice it would be if onlyit was a loaf of bread, so that she might eat it, when suddenly sheseemed to hear a loud clap of thunder and the day turned into night.
She did not feel any pain, but the street and the mud all disappeared,and Mary Brown knew nothing. For a long time, although she never knewfor how