fortelling Mrs Gordon they had no carriage, but of course she did notventure to say anything, so no one noticed her. She was not sorry whenMrs Gordon and Frances said good-bye and went away.
That same evening, a little before bed-time, Louisa happened to be againin the drawing-room alone with her mother.
"Louisa," said her mother, who was sewing at the table, "you did notleave my workbox as neat as usual this morning. I suppose it wasbecause you were interrupted by Frances Gordon. Come here, dear, andtake the box and put it on a chair near the fire and arrange it rightly.Here is a whole collection of reels rolling about. Put them all intheir places."
Louisa did as she was told, but without speaking. Indeed she had beenvery silent all day, but her mother had been occupied with other thingsand had not noticed her particularly. Louisa quietly put the reels intotheir places, giving the most comfortable corners to her favourites asusual, and huddling some of the others together rather unceremoniously.Then she sat down on the hearth-rug, and began to think of what FrancesGordon had said to her, and to wish all sorts of not very wise things.She felt herself at last growing drowsy, so she leant her little roundhead on the chair beside her, and was almost asleep, when she heard hermother say, "Louisa, my dear, you are getting sleepy, you must really goto bed."
"Yes, mamma," she said, or intended to say, but the words sounded faintand dreamlike, and before they were fully pronounced she was fairlyasleep!
She remembered nothing more for what seemed a very long time--then toher surprise she found herself already undressed and in her own littlebed! "Nurse must have carried me upstairs and undressed me," shethought, and she opened her eyes very wide to see if it was still themiddle of the night. No, surely it could not be; the room was quitelight, yet where was the light coming from? It was not coming in at thewindow--there was no window to be seen; the curtains were drawn across,and no tiny chink even was visible; there was no lamp or candle in theroom,--the light was simply there, but where it came from Louisa couldnot discover. She got tired of wondering about it at last, and wascomposing herself to sleep again, when suddenly a small but very clearvoice called her by name. "Louisa, Louisa," it said. She did not feelat all frightened. She half raised herself in bed and exclaimed, "Whois speaking to me? what do you want?"
"Louisa, Louisa," the voice repeated, "would you like to be a queen?"
"Very much indeed, thank you," Louisa replied promptly.
"Then rub your eyes and look about you," said the voice.
Louisa rubbed her eyes and looked about her to some purpose, for what_do_ you think she saw? All the white counterpane of her little bed wascovered with tiny figures, of various sizes, from one inch to three orfour in height. They were hopping, and dancing, and twirling themselvesabout in every imaginable way, like nothing anybody ever saw before, orsince, or ever will again.
"Fairies!" thought Louisa at once, and without any feeling ofoverwhelming surprise, for, like most children, she had always beenhoping, and indeed half expecting, that _some day_ an adventure of thiskind would fall to her share.
"Yes, fairies," said the same voice as before, which seemed to hear herthoughts as distinctly as if she had spoken them; "but what kind offairies? Look at us again, Louisa."
Louisa opened her eyes wider and stared harder. There were all kinds offairies, gentlemen and ladies, little and big; but as she looked she sawthat every one of them, without exception, wore a curious sort of roundstiff jacket, more like a little barrel than anything else. It gavethem a queer high-shouldered look, very like the little figures of Noahand his family in toy arks; but as Louisa was staring at them themystery was explained. A big, rather clumsy-looking gentleman fairy,stopped for a moment in his gymnastics, and Louisa read on the ledgeround his shoulders the familiar words "Clarke and Company's bestsix-cord, extra quality, Number 12."
"I know," she cried, clapping her hands; "you're mamma's reels!"
At these words a sensation ran through the company; they all stoodstock-still, and Louisa began to feel a little afraid.
"She says," exclaimed the voice, "she says _we're her mamma's reels_!"
There fell a dead silence; Louisa expected to be sentenced to undergocapital punishment on the spot. "It's too bad," she said to herself,"it's too bad; they asked me to guess who they were."
"She says," continued the voice, "she says `it's too bad.' _What_ istoo bad? My friends, let the deputation stand forward."
Instantly about a dozen fairies separated themselves from the others andadvanced, slowly marching two and two up the counterpane, till havingmade their way across the various hills and valleys formed by Louisa'slittle figure under the bedclothes, they drew up just in front of hernose. Foremost of the deputation she recognised, the one clad in pinksatin, the other in glistening white, her two favourites the PrincessesBlanche and Rose.
"Beautiful Louisa," said the deputation, all speaking at once, "we havecome to ask you to be our queen."
"Thank you," said Louisa, not knowing what else to say.
"She consents!" exclaimed the deputation, "let the royal chariotappear."
Thereupon there suddenly started up in the middle of the bed, as largeas life, but no larger, her mamma's big workbox! The fairies allclambered on to it with a rush, and hung upon it in every direction,like bees on a hive, or firemen on a fire-engine; and no sooner werethey all mounted than the workbox slowly glided along till it was closeto Louisa's face.
"Will your majesty please to get in?" said one of the fairies, "Clarke'sNumber 12, extra quality," I think it was.
"How can I?" said Louisa piteously, "how can I? I'm far too big. Howcan I get into a workbox?"
"Please to rub your eyes and try," said the big fairy, "right footforemost, if you please."
Louisa rubbed her eyes, and pulling her right foot out from under theclothes, stepped on to the workbox.
To her surprise, or rather not to her surprise, everything seemed tocome quite naturally, she found that she was not at all too big, and shesettled herself in the place the fairies had kept for her, the nicelittle division lined with satin, in which her mamma's thimble and emerycushion always lay. It was pretty comfortable, only rather hard, butLouisa had no time to think about that, for no sooner was she seatedthan off flew the workbox, that is to say the royal chariot, away, away,Louisa knew not where, and felt too giddy to try to think. It stoppedat last as suddenly as it had started, and quick as thought all thefairies jumped down. Louisa followed them more deliberately. She foundherself in a great shining hall, the walls seemed to be oflooking-glass, but when she observed them more closely she found theywere made of innumerable needles, all fastened together in somewonderful fairy fashion, which she had not time to examine, for justthen the Chinese princesses approached her, carrying between them aglistening dress, which they begged her to put on. They were quite astall as she by-the-by, so she allowed them to dress her, and thenexamined herself with great satisfaction in the looking-glass walls.The dress was lovely, of that there was no doubt; it was just such aone, curiously enough, as Frances Gordon had described; the onlydrawback was her short hair, which certainly did not add to her regalappearance.
"It won't show so much when your majesty has the crown on," said theChinese princesses, answering as before to Louisa's unspoken thoughts.Then some gentlemen fairies appeared with the crown, which fittedexactly, only it felt rather heavy. But it would never do for a queento complain, even in thought, of so trifling a matter, so with greatdignity Louisa ascended the throne which stood at one end of the hall,and sat down upon it to see what would come next.
The _Fairies_ came next. One after the other, by dozens, and scores,and hundreds, they passed before her, each as he passed making thehumblest of obeisances, as if to the great Mogul himself. It was veryfine indeed, but after a while Louisa began to get rather tired of it,and though the throne was very grand to look at, it too felt ratherhard, and the crown grew decidedly heavier.
"I think I'd like to come down for a
little," she said to some of theladies and gentlemen beside her, but they took no notice. "I'd like toget down for a little and to take off my crown--it's hurting my head,and this spangly dress is _so_ cold," she continued. Still the fairiestook no notice.
"Don't you hear what I say?" she exclaimed again, getting angry; "what'sthe use of being a queen if you won't answer me?"
Then at last some of the fairies standing beside the throne appeared tohear what she was saying.
"Her majesty wishes to take a little exercise," said "Clarke's Number12," and immediately the words were repeated in a sort of