The Children of the Castle

supper tim

dews the me

silent in

nurses ar

late, or

lovely nig

ill step in

u a little on the way, perhaps, Griselda, as we shall not be g

her tired of shutting my eyes, and I'm getting q

comfortable now? And, by-the-by, as you may be cold, just feel under my left wing. You'll find the feather mantle th

Yes, I've found it. I'll tuck it all round me

girl such a flight before? Floating, darting, gliding, sailing-no word

ue they're all great, big suns? I'd rather they weren't

id the cuckoo. "Not all th

ey all twirling about always, cuckoo? Mr. Kneebreeches has just begun to teach me a

all the same," r

be, then!" said Griselda. "Do t

ev

y n

ers," replie

ave a litt

d. "It would be just as nice if

ou say to no summer; no day, or no night, whichever it happened not to be, you see; nothing growin

dful to think of, but I don't want you to explain. I'll ask Mr. Kneebreeches when I'm at

ty of opinions,"

ey? Tell me

ed work of the world is ke

must be! Why, even my unfinished work makes quite a heap.

ces there you would find the country of the little b

," said Griselda,

him up there when his parents and nurses think he's sleeping quietly in his bed, and make him work hard all night, with his own particular little black dog on his back. And it's so dreadfully heavy-for every time he takes

this opinion about the other side of the moon any better than th

n his back down here it grows a pound lighter up there, so at last any sensible child learns how much better it is to have nothing to say to it at all, and gets out of the way of it, you see. Of course, there a

lk about it any more, cuckoo; tell me your own opinion a

ent. Then suddenly he stopped s

aid. "There would be about time to do it," he added

selda, clasping her hands. "I should rather think

d the cuckoo. "I couldn'

to the other; for, of course, we can see this side from

u one if you like. If I took you to this side of th

uld I b

great many things you don't know. Now, I'll tell you something

n you're going on again, and where you are goin

ted to go to, only you must shut your eyes again, and lie perfectly still without talking

t," said

ly that she was conscious of nothing else. For a moment or two she tried to remember where she was, and where she was going

; wake up, Gris

lda s

e wa

there he was standing beside her, as tiny as usual. Either he had grown little again, o

I, cuckoo?

be," he replied. "Loo

and unlike what she had ever seen before, that only in a dream could you see it as Griselda saw it. And yet why it seemed to h

e pretty, coaxing way that our sea does when it is in a good humour. There were here and there faint ripples on the surface, caused by the slight breezes which now and then came softly round Griselda's face, but that

her eyes. Then she sudde

the cuckoo. "You have the

frightened. The sea is so strange, and so dreadfully big; and the light

h have your cake and eat it, Griselda. Look up

t comes from them, I suppose? And where's the sun, cuckoo? Wil

rtnight long, and nights to match? If it had been daytime here just now, I couldn't have brought you. It's just abou

fact, he was telling me something just like it to-day or yesterday-which should I say?-at my astronomy lesson. And

cidence," sa

had been?" continued Griselda. "Only, you see, cuckoo,

at you could if you tried,' he added to himself

he replied. "But, cuckoo, i

he size of the moon; and, no doubt, Mr. Kneebreeches has told

want to enjoy myself, and not to have lessons. Tell me some

ly," said

There's no sense in that; there either must be

e left their tails behind them, like Bopeep's sheep, you know; and some day they might

ell me, are there any mermaids, or fairies, or wat

are beings here, or rather there have been, and there ma

emn, and again Griselda

k, I shall perhaps find I have been away fifty years or so, like the little boy in the

n't be uneasy, Griselda. Perhaps

e before?" asked Grisel

said th

ey get safe

e all these ideas still about far and near, and big and little, a

mbly; "but you see, cuckoo, I can'

id the cuckoo

poke again. "Look over there, Griseld

t appeared, and minute as it was, it seemed to throw off a thread of light to Griselda's very feet-right across the great sheet of faintly gleaming water. And as

there?" she said s

replied

slowly moving-something from which the light came, for the nearer it got to her the shorter grew t

ear-near enough for Griselda to

by a little figure that at first sight Griselda felt certain was a fairy. For it was a child with b

child in the boat turned and looked at her. For one instant she could n

it is Phil. Have you tu

he sky were all as they had been before, lighted only by the faint, strange gleaming of the stars. Only

eproach and disappointment, "where is

You don't understand. Never mind, but get in

re, all alone at the other side of the m

ou, I can tell you. Get into the boat and make yourself comfortable; lie down at the bottom and cover yourself u

tired, and it certainly was very comfortable at the bottom of t

can't, cuckoo, with your tiny little cla

and whether he rowed or

t dip, dip of the oars as they went along, so regularly that she couldn't help beginning to c