 |
The fairy King and Queen danced in
the center of the ring. |
It was night, and the Popovers sat out under the apple tree and watched the stars in the dark blue sky sparkle and wink like so many fairy candles.
Ellen had left them there in the grass. She had played with them out-of-doors after supper and had forgotten them and had gone to bed. This the Popovers knew, for they had seen the light flare up in her bedroom, had watched the shadow on the blind, and had then seen the windows grow dark again, and they knew it meant that Ellen was safely tucked in bed.
' But the night is warm and the grass is soft and the children are well wrapped up,' said cheerful Mrs. Popover, "so I shall not mind in the least staying out all night.'
'Neither shall I,' said Mr. Popover bravely, 'unless of course I should catch rheumatism in one of my legs.'
'I like it out here,' piped up Velvetina. 'I like the little singing noise I hear in the grass'
'They are crickets, my dear, who are making that noise,' said: Mr. Popover, 'little brown crickets who live in the grass. I used to know a great many crickets when I was a boy and held clothes on the line.'
'I think the music of the crickets makes Loo-Loo sleep well,' said Mrs. Popover, looking down at the Baby she held in her arms. 'He hasn't stirred in ever so long. I do hope they won't stop.',
'They will not stop,' answered Mr. Popover wisely. 'They will play until late in the night. And here comes the moon. It will soon be as bright as day.'
Higher and higher in the sky climbed a big bright moon. It was round as round could be. The Popovers had never before seen a moon so large and so round. But perhaps that is because they had never before spent the night out-of-doors. The moon shone down on the apple tree and turned its leaves to silver. It touched the grass all round about with a soft white light.
The Popovers enjoyed the moonlight. They enjoyed the music of the crickets too. They could not feel lonely nor afraid out under the apple tree so long as these gay little musicians were near by.
A large gray moth came fluttering past. He brushed against Mrs. Popover's hair and Velvetina's cheek with his soft pale wings. He flew round and round in the moonlight, dipping down and stopping every now and then as if to whisper to some one hidden in the grass. Then away he flew, and no sooner was he gone than the noise of the crickets grew louder than before.
Cheep! Cheep! Cheep! Cheep! Cheep!
It sounded as if they were playing a merry little tune. Velvetina could scarcely sit still in the grass, she did so want to stand up and dance in the silver light of the moon.
She was just about to ask her mother if she might not whirl about by herself for a little when out of the shadow behind the apple tree flew a butterfly, a great green butterfly with brown and orange spots upon its wings. Behind this butterfly came another and another and another until the air was filled with butterflies, yellow and blue and green and black, spotted and striped in every shade and hue.
Upon the back of each butterfly rode a fairy, the prettiest, daintiest little creatures that the Popovers had ever seen. They were not so tall as a blade of grass, and the Popovers, who had never before seen any one smaller than themselves, suddenly felt awkward and clumsy and much too large.
'Velvetina must have dancing lessons and learn to be graceful,' thought Mrs. Popover, 'even if I have to teach her myself.'
The fairies drove their butterflies swiftly along, so swiftly that their fairy hair blew out behind them in the wind. Then down, down, down they guided the butterflies to the soft grass before the apple tree where the moon shone the brightest and the crickets played the loudest and the merriest too.
Off the backs of the butterflies stepped the fairies and as they moved about, light as thistledown, the Popovers could see them as plainly as could be.
There were little boy and little girl fairies and father and mother fairies too.
' Perhaps some of them are grandfather and grandmother fairies for all we know,' whispered Mrs. Popover in Mr. Popover's ear.
They were dressed as if for a party in palest rose and blue and violet and green. Some wore sunshine-yellow and others silver-white, and each one, even the tiniest fairy, wore a beautiful pair of filmy wings that seemed to be made of a bit of the rainbow. At least that is what Velvetina thought of them and wished with all her heart that she, too, had a pair of wings like theirs.
The Popovers sat quite still and watched the fairies. They saw them take hands and form a large ring. But instead of dancing about, the fairies stood as if waiting for someone, and each fairy face wore a smile, the happiest smile that any one might see.
'Mother, why are they waiting?' whispered Velvetina, pulling at her mother's dress.
Mrs. Popover shook her head. But in less than a moment Velvetina's question was answered.
Through the air there came flying four fireflies. Their bright orange-yellow torches lighted the way for eight splendid white butterflies who carried on their backs not only six of the prettiest fairies the Popovers had yet seen - ladies and gentlemen-in-waiting they later proved to be - but also no less than the King and the Queen of the Fairies.
The Popovers knew who they were in a moment. For of course the King and the Queen, beside being the prettiest fairies of all, wore each a shining golden crown upon his and her tiny fairy head. The Queen's dress was of finest cobweb lace, while about the shoulders of the King was flung a golden cape that sparkled like sunlight on the water when the waves are dancing
in the wind.
When the fairies in the ring saw that the King and Queen had come, they not only smiled more sweetly than before, but they clapped their hands and laughed aloud. And when the King and the Queen stepped into the ring the fairies bowed to them as gracefully as cornstalks bow when a summer breeze passes over a field of corn.
Then the fairies danced about their King and Queen, to and fro, round about, in and out, while the moon shone brightly and the apple tree rustled softly and the crickets played their wing fiddles as gay as gay could be.
Next, the King and the Queen danced, at first alone in the center of the ring, and now the Popovers were sure that this was the prettiest dancing that could be done. But soon the King and the Queen joined the ring, and when the Popovers saw them all dancing together, the happiest, most graceful little people in the world, they changed their minds and murmured to one another that nothing could be more beautiful than this.
'And Ellen would say so, too, I know' said Mrs. Popover.
To which Mr. Popover nodded and added under his breath, 'I wish Ellen were here to see this, I do.'
The fairies were dancing merrily and the Popovers were watching every step, when out from behind the apple tree flew a sober brown butterfly. Seated on his back was a fairy, a grown-up fairy, plump and comfortable-looking, who wore a wide white apron and a neat white cap.
She was skillfully driving her butterfly with one hand, for in the other arm she held a bundle, a tiny white bundle, not much larger than a pea. And from the bundle there came shrieks and screams that sounded so like Loo-Loo when having a crying spell that Mrs. Popover looked down at her side, where she had placed Loo-Loo, to see if he were still safely asleep.
At the sound of these shrieks and screams the dancing ceased. And no sooner had the plump fairy alighted than the Queen rushed forward and took the screaming bundle from her arms.
At that moment the screaming stopped. Yes, as soon as the Queen took the bundle the screaming stopped.
Then the plump fairy spoke.
'Yes, your Majesty,' said the plump fairy, making a bow to the Queen, 'it is Prince Midge. He has been screaming for you ever since you left the palace. No matter what I did, still he screamed. I gave him his bottle, and I danced him up and down, and I even let him have the cat in bed with him, too. But he wouldn't stop screaming for you, and so I brought him here. Yes, your Majesty, that is what I did. I brought him here to you.'
Prince Midge's nurse folded her hands at her waist and looked at the Queen, and the Queen looked at naughty Prince Midge in her arms, and the King looked at the ring of waiting fairies and then at the Queen.
'But now you won't be able to dance with us, my dear,' said the King, 'and it won't seem like a Fairy Ball to any of us if the Queen doesn't dance.'
The Queen shook her head with a little sigh.
'I know it,' said she, rocking Prince Midge to and fro, 'and I do so like to dance. But if Baby won't stay with Nurse, what can I do?'
Now the Popovers had been watching all this with eager eyes. Prince Midge's crying had wakened Loo-Loo and Mrs. Popover was hold- ing him again in her arms.
When she heard what the Queen said, Mrs. Popover stepped forward.
' Perhaps Prince Midge will let me hold him,' said she, pleasantly, to the Queen. 'You see, I have a baby of my own.'
The fairies were much surprised to see the Popovers. They had been so busy with their dancing that they had not noticed the little family sitting under the tree. But they all bowed and smiled politely and then stood back to see how Prince Midge would behave.
As we said, Loo-Loo was now awake and sitting up in his mother's arms. He stared solemnly for a moment at little Prince Midge and then smiled broadly as only Loo-Loo could smile. Little Prince Midge stared solemnly back and then in his turn smiled a little fairy smile into Loo-Loo's face. Mrs. Popover smiled too and held out her arms. And, would you believe it, Prince Midge went straight to Mrs. Popover and cuddled down without a sound. And there they were, one on each shoulder, Loo-Loo and little Prince Midge, both as good as gold and smiling at one another as if they were old friends.
' Wouldn't your little girl like to dance with us?' asked the Queen politely of Mrs. Popover.
So Velvetina, blushing and smiling, stepped forward, and with the Queen on one hand and the King on the other, was taken into the fairy-ring.
Now the dance began again, and Mr. and Mrs. Popover, watching from under the apple tree, thought it the prettiest sight their eyes had ever seen.
'I think that Velvetina is a graceful child' said Mrs. Popover, smiling to see Velvetina whirl about and trip to and fro. 'I have made up my mind that she shall have dancing lessons when we move into the attic again.'
'Yes, she dances nicely,' agreed Mr. Popover. 'I was a good dancer myself when I was a boy.'
When at last the dance was over, it was not because the fairies had grown tired, oh, no! It was because the moon had moved out of sight behind the hill, because the stars were now pale in the sky, and because there was a dim light in the east that told all the fairies that day would soon be here.
"Thank you for holding Midge for me,' said the Queen, shaking Mrs. Popover's little china hand. 'He is a very naughty boy, and I am going to ride home with Nurse and carry him myself for fear he cries again.'
"Thank you for letting the Queen dance,' said the King, making a pretty bow to Mrs. Popover.
Then he kindly patted Velvetina upon the cheek.
'Your little girl dances nicely!' said he.
And at this, Mr. and Mrs. Popover and Velvetina were so pleased that nothing in the world could have made them feel more happy. No, not even if they had been invited to the Fairy Palace for a week.
They watched the fairies mount their butterflies and flutter away, one by one. They waved until the last fairy was out of sight.
Then the crickets and the Popovers fell asleep, not to wake until next morning when the sun was high in the sky.
'Oh, I am so sorry I left out out all night,' said Ellen, when she found them there in the morning under the apple tree. 'I am sorry as I can be. I do hope you didn't take cold.'
The Popovers only smiled, but later, when Ellen was not about, Mr. Popover had something to say.
'Sorry?' said Mr. Popover. 'We are not sorry. We are glad. But I wonder what Ellen would say if we told her about the fairies.'
And I wonder, too, what she would say. Don't you?
