Fairies I Have Met

  _THE CLOUD THAT HAD NO LINING_

  There was once a cloud that had no lining. You have often, I dare say,heard grown-up people say that every cloud has a silver lining, and soyou will understand that a cloud without a lining is a very uncommonthing.

  The fairies who lived in the cloud found it very uncomfortable, because,you see, it let the rain come through.

  "If only our cloud had a lining," they said, "the rain would not comethrough, and that would be very nice for us."

  "We must really have it lined," said one.

  "What with?" asked another.

  "Why, with silver, of course," said a third. "Every one knows that acloud ought to be lined with silver."

  "But we have no silver!"

  "Then we must get some. It is ridiculous to go on living in this stateof dampness. Other fairies have comfortable clouds over their heads, andwhy should we be always drenched? And all for want of a simple silverlining!"

  "Where does one find silver?" asked one of the fairies.

  "There are a good many kinds of silver," said a fairy who had been aboutthe world a great deal. "There is the kind that is dug out of theearth,--but that is a common kind of stuff, and no use for lining cloudswith. Then there is the silver stream that you can see far below,winding through the fields and shining white in the sun. That is a muchbetter kind of silver than the other. Then, of course, moonshine makesbeautiful silver: you can see it glittering on the sea whenever the moonshines. But I really don't know what would be the best kind of silver toline clouds with."

  "We must try them all, and see which is the best," said another fairy.

  They went on talking about it for some time, because such an importantmatter could not be settled in a hurry. At last it was arranged thatthree of them should fly away and look for some silver to line theircloud with. The names of the three fairies were Pearlywing, andSkybright, and Mist-of-the-Morning.

  Now, all the time that the fairies were talking, Pearlywing was lookingdown at the silver stream far below, winding through the meadows. It wasso white and shining that he felt sure the silver of it would make abeautiful lining for the cloud. So when he was told to fly away and lookfor some silver, he lost no time in wondering where to go. He spread hiswings--the soft grey wings that cloud-fairies have--and he flew down anddown, away from the cloud to the meadows where the silver stream wasshining. The nearer he came to it the more it sparkled. He felt sure itmust be made of the very best silver.

  But how could he carry it? A fairy's cap is not very large, and he hadnothing else.

  "I must just carry up a capful at a time, and empty it, and come backfor another. I must go on till there is enough silver to line the cloudwith," he said to himself.

  So he filled his tiny cap with the silver of the stream, and flew upagain to his cloud, carrying the cap very carefully for fear of spillingthe silver. Then he went round to the back of the cloud where the liningought to have been, and poured the silver out of his cap.

  Now, as I dare say you have guessed, the silver of the stream was reallynothing but water. So when it was poured out of the cap it fell rightthrough the cloud, and made the fairies on the other side much wetterthan they had ever been before! I need not say that they were very muchannoyed. They made so much commotion, spluttering and grumbling andscolding, that Pearlywing heard them through the cloud, and went roundto see what was the matter.

  "What we want," said one of them angrily, shaking the water off hiswings, "is something to keep us dry, not something to make us wet!"

  "I am so sorry!" said Pearlywing; "but I thought it was such goodsilver! And now, I suppose, you don't want any more of it."

  "Certainly not!" said all the fairies very quickly.

  "It is most unfortunate," said Pearlywing. "I can't understand it atall. The silver looked so _very_ nice."

  He was not a very clever fairy, I am afraid.

  "I hope Skybright will have more sense," grumbled the wet fairies.

  Skybright meanwhile was waiting on the sea-shore, far below the clouds.He was waiting for the moon to rise above the sea. He had to wait along time, but he did not mind that, because there are always such nicefairies to talk to on the sea-shore.

  At last the big round moon sailed slowly up into the sky. At the samemoment a hundred thousand moonshine-fairies rushed out across the seatowards Skybright, flying and dancing on the water, and turning it intoa sheet of silver as they came. For the moonshine-fairies carry silverwith them wherever they fly, and scatter it as they go.

  This was the moment that Skybright had been waiting for.

  "Please, pretty moonshine-fairies," he cried, running to the water'sedge and holding out his arms, "give me some of your silver to line mycloud with, and keep the rain from coming through!"

  Then the moonshine-fairies danced towards him across the sea, with theirtiny hands full of silver.

  "Take our silver, little cloud-fairy," they said, "and line your cloudwith it, and dip your wings in it, and scatter it over the earth as youfly, for everything is made more beautiful by our silver."

  Then they poured the silver out of their hands into his, and because thesilver of the moonshine-fairies is very light he was able to carry agreat deal of it. He filled the pockets of his pretty grey coat with it,and he filled his cap, and took a quantity of it in his hands. And hesaid Good-bye to the moonshine-fairies, and flew away up to the clouds.

  AND BECAUSE THE SILVER OF THE MOONSHINE-FAIRIES IS VERYLIGHT HE WAS ABLE TO CARRY A GREAT DEAL OF IT]

  When the other cloud-fairies saw the beautiful silver he had broughtwith him they were delighted. They all set to work to line the cloudwith it, spreading it out carefully and making it nice and tidy at theedges. When the lining was finished it looked lovely, and the fairieswere much pleased with it. They sat down under the cloud, feeling quitesafe from the rain.

  But unfortunately their satisfaction did not last long. Presently itbegan to rain. The fairies smiled and nodded at each other, and agreedthat it was very pleasant to be safe from a wetting. Then a big heavydrop fell right through the cloud and lining and all--and another--andanother, and soon the fairies were as wet and uncomfortable and cross asif the cloud had never been lined. It was really very annoying.

  The truth is that the silver of the moonshine-fairies is ratherthin--altogether too thin to keep the rain out, and of very little usefor lining clouds with.

  "It is really too bad!" cried the poor cloud-fairies, wringing the waterout of their nice little grey coats. "What are we to do? Any one wouldhave thought that such beautiful silver would keep the rain out!"

  "Perhaps," said one of them who liked to be cheerful,"Mist-of-the-Morning may bring us a better kind of silver even thanthis."

  So they decided to grumble no more till Mist-of-the-Morning came home.

  Now, when Mist-of-the-Morning started out to look for silver he did notfly down to the earth at all.

  "Every cloud but ours has a silver lining," he said to himself; "so thebest way to find the right kind of silver will be to ask the fairies wholive in the other clouds."

  He saw the clouds all about him, each with a bright rim round it, whichwas the edge of its lining. He went to the nearest one and spoke to thefairies that lived in it.

  "Brother fairies," he said, "where can I find silver to make my cloud alining as beautiful as yours?"

  And the fairies answered--

  "Go to the sunbeam-fairies. Their silver is the best for lining cloudswith."

  Then Mist-of-the-Morning went to one cloud after another, and asked allthe fairies that lived in them the same question. And they allanswered--

  "Go to the sunbeam-fairies. Their silver is the very best."

  So Mist-of-the-Morning flew away to the nearest sunbeam. It was crowdedwith fairies, who were all hard at work, for the sunbeam-fairies havemore work to do than any others. As they worked they were laughing andsinging, for the sunbeam-fairies are always happy.

  "Please, kind sunbeam-fairies," said Mist-of-t
he-Morning, "I want somesilver to line my cloud with. It must be the very best silver, and everyone says that none but yours is good enough."

  Then all the sunbeam-fairies shouted out--

  "Quite right, little cloud-fairy, quite right! It is waste of time toline a cloud with any silver but ours. Our silver is the very best!"

  While they were speaking they all rushed to the end of the sunbeam, andbefore Mist-of-the-Morning knew what they were going to do, they had cutoff a great piece of it. There it lay in a shining heap!Mist-of-the-Morning had to shade his eyes, because its silverybrightness dazzled him.

  "Sunbeam silver!" sang the fairies. "Sunbeam silver is the best of all!"

  Then Mist-of-the-Morning spread his wings and flew home, trailing thesunbeam after him. And all the fairies in his own cloud welcomed himwith shouts and singing, because they saw at once that sunbeam silverwas the best of all.

  They made their cloud a beautiful thick lining of it, with the silvershining all round the edge. And the rain never came through any more.

  Now that I have told you this story I hope you will not forget that itis waste of time to line a cloud with any kind of silver except the kindthat sunbeams are made of.