THE DOCTOR DOCTORED.
If Narcissa's father had looked then, he would have seen the fairy Love
bending over Violet till the sunny crown she wore brightened up her
face, and made it look beautiful as an angel's, and Contentment, too,
pouring perfume out of her lily urn.
But the gentleman had a great deal of Pride's gold dust in his eyes, and
therefore he could not see very clearly.
He _did_ see the beautiful love Violet had for her ugly little pet, and
felt how much better it was to be contented, like Violet, with so
little, than to have almost every thing, like Narcissa, and be always
wishing for more.
And what do you think the fairies did? They looked out of Violet's eyes,
right through them, into his; and whenever she spoke they flew into his
heart with the words, till the proud man, who had not wept since
Narcissa's mother died, long and long ago, felt great tears gathering in
his eyes; and as these fell into the grass, Contentment took care to
wash away all the pride dust with her own white wings.
"The money will not cure your toad," said he; "but _I_ can mend his leg,
for I am a physician, and know all about broken bones."
So he made the servant bring a case from the carriage, and taking a
sharp little knife from it, he cut away the eye, which was too much
crushed to be of any use, and then bound up the leg.
But Toady kicked, and struggled, and made such a time about it, and
seemed in such pain, that Violet begged him to unfasten the bandage.
"Well, you are right," he said; "the limb cannot be cured, and if I cut
it off it will be out of his way, at least."
He had no sooner done _this_ than Toady hopped right out of his grassy
nest, and looking at Violet, winked so drolly with his one eye that she
laughed and cried at once, and thanked the doctor over and over again.
"You needn't thank _me_," he said; "for it seems you knew better what
would suit him than I did, little girl. I wonder who taught you."
Then Love and Contentment looked at each other and smiled; _they_ knew
very well who had taught Violet, and they knew besides that Violet was
teaching the proud, rich, learned man a lesson better than he could find
in all his books or buy with all his money; for the sweet smile of
Contentment and the beautiful words of Love, which had come to him
through the lips of the little berry girl, Violet, would be remembered
for long years, and prompt him to perform kind deeds, and thus to forget
his pride and his cares, and be sometimes light-hearted as a little
child.