He was charmed with the improvement that neat clothes made in both the children, and could hardly take his eyes off Kit, and when she lisped out, "Mother gave me these," the mother's eyes filled with happy tears. "Let's have tea on the green, wife, it will please the children, and Ben and Kit must each feel in one of my big pockets for a parcel, when I get home. I saw something pretty in a shop this morning that I think will please my little girl." "And something for baby, too?" asked Kit. "Yes; I'll have something for Harry, too," replied the father as he prepared to return to work. CHAPTER III. A PRAYER IN THE WOOD SHED. About an hour after dinner Kit fell into a sound sleep, and her mother laid her in her little bed, thankful that she should get a good rest, for the least exertion seemed to fatigue her. Ben took the opportunity to look about him, as Mrs. Gray had given him leave to go where he liked, so long as he kept the cottage in sight. He examined each corner of the little garden, for every plant and shrub was a wonder to the little fellow, who had lived all his days in the back streets of a squalid part of London. Half of the garden was laid out in cabbages, onions, beans, and parsley, with a border of sweet-smelling country flowers round it. The other half was a nice even plot of green grass, where Mrs. Gray hung her clothes to dry, but a wide-spreading apple tree threw a pleasant shade on the one side, and here the little family had often sat in the summer evenings, before Ben and Kit so unexpectedly joined them. There was a little shed, too, where the garden tools were kept, and beside it a hen-house and a dog's kennel, and next the hen-house, where the hens roosted and had their nests, was a small yard enclosed by wire-fence to keep them off the garden, and here a hole had been made into the field beyond, so that "Master Scott," as they called the Scotch grey cock, could roam about with his four companions, Speckle, Beauty, Black Bess, and Snowflake, without doing mischief. At roosting time, Mrs. Gray let them come round the cottage door to eat their supper, and then "Master Scott" would grow very bold and fly on to the kitchen dresser and give a triumphant crow. Ben asked if he might look into the hen-house, and Mrs. Gray said she would come and show him the hen that was sitting on thirteen eggs. "You must never disturb her, Ben; for, if she sits steadily, this day week there will be a brood of young chicks, and Kit and you shall each have one for your own." Of course, Ben was highly delighted, and promised to be careful. After this he went into the meadows and made friends with "Master Scott" and the old hen who had so carefully gathered her chicks under her wing the night before.