She had lost the Cup! Even if it were found, yet she had still lost it in another way to the Daisy patrol! The prefects had said so. She, their mascot, who had been taken on by Sybil in spite of the fact that she might ruin their chances. And she had done this! As she lay there face down in the bracken and blue-bells, life seemed unhappier than it had ever seemed before. It was not until she had sobbed till she was weary and weak that she fell asleep. It was from a medley of dreams that she was roused. She had been dreaming of the piper and the cottage in the wood; and that the fairies were guarding the Cup; and that the patrol had adopted a fairy as a mascot instead of herself. She gave a little sob as she woke up, however, and as she did so she heard a voice. “Oh, poor little thing!” said the voice. “Wake up.” It was Sybil’s voice, and Sybil was seated beside her among the bracken. It may have been the first waking sight of her that had given the Mascot the fairy dream, so she thought suddenly; because, with a background of blue-bells and green trees, Sybil, sitting there crowned with her halo of corn-coloured hair, and with the old kind look in her eyes again, might have been, to Betty’s eyes anyhow, a most beautiful fairy princess. “I--” began Betty, sitting up and rubbing her eyes; “I heard what they said; and it’s true. And I--” She began to cry again. “I know what you heard,” said Sybil’s voice, “for they told me. They told me, too, that they were sorry that you heard. Well, in one way, Sylvia is right; but in another way she was not. Betty, listen. Even although, just because of your helter-skelter ways, it seems that we may lose the Cup for the patrol, yet I shall never be sorry we took you as mascot.” Sybil’s voice was quiet, and felt like cool, refreshing springs to Betty’s thirsty heart. “Why?” whispered Betty, turning tear-stained eyes on the head girl. “Just because you came to us to be trained to be a true Guide; and if, in your learning, we have to help you to buy your experience, we’ll do it gladly, because we’re your fellow-Guides,” said Sybil. “You’ll learn more by this, I’m sure, than in any other way. Well, that will be knowledge gained by all of us because you’re a part of the patrol. Betty, do you understand?” Sybil bent down and kissed her. And as Sybil kissed her, Betty knew one thing; and that was that some day, even if it took a whole lifetime of trying, she would hope to be like Sybil herself, and to help other would-be Guides in just the same way to try again. She got up without a word and smoothed back her hair. “Go straight to the dormitory,” said Sybil in a different tone. “I guessed you might be here, so I came to see. It is nearly bedtime, and I will ask Nurse if you may have something in bed instead of supper. Don’t fuss any more.” Betty went.