'I never heard of animals' bodies being turned into men before,' said Mary. 'Did Evangeline do that?' she asked; but before Sister Agatha answered she led Mary into a pretty room with two beds in it. And Mary became so deeply interested in the room that she forgot all about the animals' heads. She looked into each corner; she wanted to know which bed she was to sleep in, and then she went to one of the three windows. 'Sister Agatha!' she exclaimed the next moment, 'Sister Agatha!' 'What is the matter now?' asked Sister Agatha, with a smile. 'Do come here!' cried Mary excitedly; 'do come here! Look!' she said, pointing out at the window; 'there are two skies. This is a wonderful place!' 'I only see one,' answered Sister Agatha, coming to her side. 'But look! there are two. There's one up above and another down there.' 'That is the sea,' said Sister Agatha. 'Haven't you seen the sea before? But, of course, you have not. Yes,' said Sister Agatha quietly, as she placed a hand on Mary's shoulder, 'the sea is very wonderful!' 'What is the sea?' asked Mary. 'A great, great piece of water----' 'The same as we drink?' asked Mary. 'It would not be at all nice to drink,' was the answer. 'It would taste salt, you know.' 'Then what's the use of it if you can't drink it?' said Mary. Then she suddenly began to jump about more excitedly than ever. 'Look! look!' she cried. 'Look at that funny thing with smoke coming out of it! How fast it goes! What is that?' 'That is a ship,' Sister Agatha explained. 'It takes people on long journeys.' 'Where does it take them?' asked Mary. 'To countries a long way off.' 'Farther than we've come to-day?' cried Mary. 'Yes,' said Sister Agatha, 'a great deal farther--to countries where there are all kinds of wonderful things to be seen.' 'Not more wonderful than there are here,' said Mary. 'No,' answered Sister Agatha; 'they only seem more wonderful because we are not used to them. Everything is wonderful, you know; only we become so accustomed to things we see every day that they don't seem wonderful any longer. Now there's nothing more wonderful than a little girl, unless it is a big girl.' 'Oh, I think there is!' said Mary. 'I think ships are much more wonderful, and the sea, and the ponies, and primroses, and Evangeline, and----' 'And tea!' exclaimed Sister Agatha. 'I am going to ring for it, and then, when you have had tea, it will be time to go to bed. Now,' she added, 'we will pull down the blind.' IX EVANGELINE GIVES MARY SOME MAGIC COUNTERS Sister Agatha felt afraid that Mary would be too excited to go to sleep that night, but as soon as her head touched the pillow she shut her eyes, although she dreamed of all manner of strange things. When she awoke the next morning Sister Agatha was already dressed, and as the blinds had been drawn up, Mary slipped out of bed and limped to the window.