Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1922-01-05
FAIRIES
BY IRENE BEERS

$50 the fire fairies found the lost
prince, and he and the forgotten prin-
cess were married and lived happily
ever after Now kiss me. Betty Lou,
and let nurse put you 10 bed
Betty Lou did So, rejecting tina,
Aunt Louise was most uusatlsfac-
tory StOryteller OF late. She would
pause and stare into the fire ms though
she saw the fire fairies themselves,
quite obliyious Of her small niece. Dur
ing the progress of being undressed
and put to bed, Betty Lou recalled the
joyous times she used to have with
Aunt Louise-special trips to the Won
derland of dolls jars Of barley candy
and the jollieSt automobile rides. Of
course, those were mostly in Mr.. Har-
rison's roadster, when tucked in be
tween him and Aunt Louise. the car
tore over miles of country road. And
once there had been a picnic! Betty
Lou sighed rapturously over the mem
DRY Of 1t, and, signing, fell asleep.
Meanwhile, Louise Birch the best
beloved aunt, sat frowning nj the blue
and red fire fairies, dancing impudent-
ly over the crumbing log.
'And they lived happily ever after"
she murmured. Yes, | will write TO
Wallie and put II in the fire At least
it will be safety valve for my feel
ings He'll never see it, so I'll Just
write exactly as ! feel 1t Is seven
weeks today that it happened Surely
he must have known there was some
reason why | didn't keep that engage
ment-only he's too stubborn to ask
for an explanation :" She reached
back to the table for her writing case.
"Tll write a couple Of letters first and
save Wallle's TIL last"
1t was late when at last letter,
whimsically addressed to Wallace In
care of the fire fairies, lay sealed on
the little pile Of letters, and Louise
rose to crush piece Of paper to
enliven the fire. 1t may have been
the semi-darkness of, the fire-lit room,
or the binding tears in her brown
eyes or perhaps the fire fairies them
selves that saved Wallaces letter from
the flames. At any rate, when she
reached down a fumbling hand and,
with a bitter little laugh tossed let
ter on the leaping fire the envelope
was addressed to Mrs. Lawrence Cur
It's, and made no mention of fire fair
les.
Kind of pOst-mortem for Wal
lie she managed between sobs, and
without a glance at the other letters,
she went YEARLY TO bed, determined
to rout all thought of Wallace from
her mind.
Mother forbade Betty Lou to so
much us tip-toe into Aunt Loulse's
room, The home of the fire fairies
Of Aunt Louise's stories drew her over
TO the fireplace There stood the big
armchair where she and Aunt Louise
had sat when the latter told of the
adventures Of the forgotten prin
cess band living on the cushion was
little pile Of letters, all sealed and
addressed, waiting for stamps.
Guess Aunt Louise wants these
mailed" remarked Betty lingering
them curiously. "She'd let me stick
the stamps on and put 'em In the
box if she was awake P'baps
they're awful important. ia better
mail EN-"
Now what do you think of that !"
she expostulated as she labOriously
deciphered +To Wallace, In care Of the
Fire Fairies" "Aunt Louise does be
ieve in fairies | told Billy so Fire
fairies don't bother with mail. The
postman brings letters. She must
have forgotten-Oh, goody, goody !
IN write the address myself | can
print most as good as Billy n he's
nine.
Without further ado, she pumped
wrinkings Of her small forehead she
printed the well-known address, for
Wallace lived right next door, except
now, IN the summer, when he was at
the seashore Now that Betty Lou
considered. It seemed funny that he
had not been TO see them all sum
mer, and 1t was September now. He
used to spend lots Of time at their
house. and once she had heard nurse
tell cook that she guessed Mr.. Wal
lace was Miss Louises beau.
Betty Lou mentioned this M the
table. and mother replied that she
must not mention Mr. Wallace while
Aunt Louise was there.
The next night there was no good
night story for Betty Lon Aunt
Louise seemed TO have forgotten all
about the fire fairies, although she
had entrusted them with a very i'm
portant letter. But as Betty Lou
could have assured you, the fire fair
les never forget II you believe in
them. They fly up the chimney
abroad In the world and bring you
your hearts desire. Didn't Betty
Lon have n new fairy tale book with
colored pictures7 Hadn't Aunt Louise
kissed her small niece and told her
that fairies really liyedY For that
afternoon Betty Lou had seen Mr.,
Wallace race up the drive and catch
ing Aunt Louise in his arms. kiss her.