story-within-a-story

All through the winter months, Rose kept up the practice of sitting by the fire with Peter and a book telling him stories. The doctor stopped to listen one afternoon out of curiosity, and heard her say, __then the Mermaid said to the Pirate, __ would rather perish with the boy than go with you._ And the Pirate said, __o be it,_ and sealed them both up inside the treasure chest. Then the pirate__ crew got together to lift the chest up, and with a nod from their captain, they cast the chest overboard into the sea. The chest was so heavy, it sank in the water in spite of the air inside, and in seconds it was gone from view, disappearing into the deep blue depths. If the boy and the mermaid were unable to free themselves, they would surely perish._ Peter__ eyes were wide with interest. __ut- I can__ tell you what happened- you__l have to find out next time._ She stopped and closed the book. Peter shook his head and put his hand on the book. She laughed and said, __ou want to hear more now, do you?