in a horrified tone—“Their feet are green! They are monstrosities!” and at that very moment heralds were heard outside announcing the arrival of the Princesses of Goldenland.

Now the king was a shrewd old gentleman, and the true state of affairs suddenly flashed upon him. “They are impostors!” he cried, rising to his feet, “turn the deceitful minxes out.”

At that the maidens rose and fled. They never stopped for shoes or stockings, but ran like hunted hares out of the tent across the fields; and when the people saw their little green feet a great shout of laughter went up, in which the king and the princes joined. As for the daffodils, they ran and ran and ran, not daring even to look behind them, till they suddenly stopped for want of breath; and where do you think they were? Why in their old home under the oak tree. Most of the daffodils had gone to sleep, but a few were left, and among them their little sister. At her side stood the fairy.

“Well, my dears, do you like being girls?” and there was a twinkle in her eye as she spoke.

But the daffodils were sobbing too bitterly to answer, and the fairy had a kind heart and did not press the question. “Would you be content to be daffodils again?” she asked, and smiled at them sweetly.

They murmured a thankful “Yes”; the fairy waved her wand, and in a trice the maidens were gone and there were three more flowers, very pale faded ones, growing under the gnarled oak tree. Poor discontented daffodils! They had to pay a heavy price for their folly.

The cuckoo came back time after time, and never wearied of teasing them; and their little sister made many very true but disagreeable remarks on the extreme silliness of being discontented with one’s surroundings.

Perhaps by next spring things may be better; but of this you may be quite sure, no amount of cuckoos will ever persuade the flowers in that nook to be anything but what nature intended them to be—sweet little daffodils.

p. 128The Fairy Fluffikins

p. 128

The Fairy Fluffikins lived in a warm woolly nest in a hole down an old oak tree. She was the sweetest, funniest little fairy you ever saw. She wore a little, soft, fluffy brown dress, and on her head a little red woolly cap; she had soft red hair and the brightest, naughtiest, merriest, sharpest brown eyes imaginable.

 Prev. P 37/43 next