As Dandelion was not allowed to play on the beach , except at low tide , the little boats sailed safely away on the receding waves , and the child was sure that some of them would get safely into the distant port where Daddy was waiting . All the boats were launched at last , all sailed bravely away ; but none came back , and little Dandy was much disappointed . He babbled about it to himself ; told the peeps and the horse-shoes , the snails and the lobsters , of his trouble ; begged the gulls to fly away and find Daddy ; and every windy night when the sea dashed on the shore and the shutters rattled , he would want the lamp put in the window , as it used to be when they expected Ben , and tried to make home look cheerful , even before he got there . Hetty used to humour the child , though it made her heart ache to know that the light shone in vain . At such times Dandy would prance about the room in his little shirt , and talk about Daddy as happily as if long months had not passed without bringing him back . When fairly in his big , old-fashioned cradle , the boy would lie , looking more like a dandelion than ever , in his yellow flannel night-gown , playing with his toes , or rocking himself to and fro , calling the cradle his boat , and blithely telling his mother that he was sailing ` far way to find Daddy . ' When tired of play , he lay still and asked her to sing to him . She had no heart for the gay old sea-songs she used to sing for lullabies ; so she sung hymns in her soft , motherly voice , till the blue eyes closed and the golden head lay still , looking so pretty , with the circle of bright hair above the rosy face . ` My little saint , ' Hetty called him ; and though she often wept sadly as she watched him , the bitterness of her grief passed away , and a patient hope came to her ; for the child 's firm faith impressed her deeply , the pious music of the sweet old hymns comforted her sore heart , and daily labor kept her cheerful in spite of herself . The neighbours wondered at the change that came over her , but she could not explain it ; and no one knew that the three good spirits called Love , Labor , and Hope , were working their pleasant miracles . Six long months went by , and no one ever thought of seeing Ben again , -- no one but his little son , who still watched for him here , and his wife , who waited to meet him hereafter . One bright spring day something happened . The house was as tidy as ever ; the wheel hummed briskly as Hetty sung softly to herself with a cheerful face , though there were white hairs among the brown , and her eyes had a thoughtful , absent look at times . Dandelion , more chubby and cheery than ever , sat at her feet , with the sunshine making a golden glory of his yellow hair , as he tried his new boat in the tub of water his mother kept for her little sailor , or tugged away with his fat fingers at a big needle which he was trying to pull through a bit of cloth intended for a sail . The faithful little soul had not forgotten his father , but had come to the conclusion that the reason his boats never prospered was because they had n't large enough sails ; so he was intent on rigging a new boat lately given him , with a sail that could not fail to waft Ben safely home . With his mouth puckered up , his downy eyebrows knit , and both hands pulling at the big needle , he was so wrapped in his work that he did not mind the stopping of the wheel when Hetty fell into a reverie , thinking of the happy time when she and Ben should meet again . Sitting so , neither heard a step come softly over the sand ; neither saw an eager , brown face peer in at the door ; and neither knew for a minute , that Ben was watching them , with a love and longing in his heart that made him tremble like a woman . Dandelion saw him first ; for , as he pulled the thread through with a triumphant jerk , the small sailmaker lost his balance , tumbled over , and lay staring up at the tall man with his blue eyes so wide open , they looked as if they would never shut again . All of a sudden , he shouted , with a joyful shout , ` Daddy 's tummin ' ! ' and the next instant , vanished , ship and all , in the arms of the man who wore the rough jacket .
Over XXXXX the spinning-wheel , as Hetty vanished likewise ; and for a time there was nothing but sobbing and kissing , clinging , and thanking Heaven for its kindness to them .
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