very night, mother, I see a beautiful star in the sky so different
from the others. It comes first and shines so bright that it seems as if
it were the loveliest star in the whole sky. Won't you watch for it
to-night with me?"

The mother smiled, for she thought she knew which one of the stars Mamie
would point out. Sure enough, that night as they both sat in the hammock
watching the sunset, out came the very star she expected. In a moment
Mamie saw it and nearly fell out of the hammock as she screamed and
clapped her hands.

"There it is, mamma! There it is! I know it because it looks straight at
me. It knows me, I believe, for it never trembles a bit, like the other
stars! Did you ever see such a lovely one?"

Her mother smiled an odd little smile.

"What makes you laugh at me, mother? I know you are laughing, by the
corners of your mouth; they go up so queerly. Tell me."

"Why, Mamie, that is Venus you are watching. I have watched her every
year since I first found her long ago."

"Venus? Who is Venus, mother? And what makes you call a star her? I
didn't know a star could have a name. Who named her? Did you, mother?
What made you call her Venus?"

"Seems to me you ask a great many questions, little girl. Which one
shall I answer first?"

"Did you name my star yourself?"

"No, Mamie, it was named hundreds of years ago when many stars had names
given them. You know people have watched and studied the stars almost
since the world began."

"And was Venus a little girl or a woman? I know she must have been
lovely or they would never have given her name to my star."

"Your star, as you call it, Mamie, is at present the evening star.
By and by it will be the morning star. I will tell you where it
got its name.