gold-diggers,and we've sailed the Spanish Main and things like that. Wecould tell stories for years if you'd like to hear them, and ifyour friends would not mind if we came back here occasionally--inour best clothes--after we've quite stopped being robbers."
"O, let them--et them!" Barty cried out joyfully.
"That was what I was thinking of," said the Good Wolf. "There isnothing more entertaining than a tame pirate or robber."
"Tell them," said the lion, "that they may come back twice a week.They shall be called 'The Combined Robbers and PiratesStory-telling Club.' And we shall be here to listen and see that theybehave themselves."
So it was agreed that the robbers should be allowed to go away andbegin working as hard as possible at not being robbers. And theywere so relieved that they were going to slip off as quietly asthey could, touching their hats meekly to everybody, but Bartycould not help shaking hands with the captain just to encourage hima little.
"I was frightened at first," he said, "but it has all turned out tobe so nice that I am very glad you came."
When they were gone he sat down and fanned himself with his hat,and the great big lions and tigers standing round him made him lookvery little indeed.
"Could you get small again, please?" he said. "I'm not a bitfrightened, but you are rather too big for my size."
Every one of them began to un-swell that moment, and they gotsmaller and smaller, and smaller and smaller, until they were justthe right size again--Snow Feast size--and they sat down in a ringaround Barty; and the circus lady crept out from under a leaf andsat on his shoulder, and the clown crawled out of the bushes andsat down on his foot again but not before he had turned twentysomersaults.
"Well," chuckled Barty, fanning away, "you did stand by me, didn'tyou? And it has been a 'normous adventure. I shall so like to lieawake and think of it. I know now why you all winked at me, andsaid you were going to stay to see the fun."
And they all laughed like anything--the Good Wolf more than all therest.
In fact, they laughed and laughed and laughed until they couldscarcely stop themselves, and when at last it was time for Barty togo home, and he said good-by to them, and the little elephantsthrew up their trunks and trumpeted for him as if he were a kinggoing back to his palace, he ran down the path in the woodchuckling to himself nearly all the way.
"Oh!" he said, "what wonderful things happen in the deep forestwhere things sing and things build nests and burrow in the earth,and make little warm caves to live in."
THE END
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