“Why do you play alone, dear,” asked the Play Angel, “and look so sadly over your shoulder at the other children?”

“Because they are so selfish!” said the child. “They will not play with me.”

“Oh, what a pity!” said the Angel. “Tell me all about it.”

“I want to play one game, and they all want to play another!” said the child. “It is very unkind of them.”

“Did you ever play Gillyflower Gentleman?” asked the Angel.

“No,” said the child. “What is it?”

“You shall see,” said the Angel. “Let us ask the others if they know it.”

The other children did not know it, but they were eager to learn, and soon they were all playing Gillyflower Gentleman. They played till all their breath was gone, and they had to sit down on the haycocks to rest.

“That was a fine game!” said the first child. “I will play yours now, if you wish me to.”

“We were just going to tell you that we would play yours,” said the other children. So they played both the games, and the Play Angel went back to her work.

—Laura E. Richards.