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‘I’m afraid so,’ admitted Priscilla; ‘but we mustn’t blame them,’ she added gently, ‘we must remember that they don’t know any better–mustn’t we, ma’am?’

‘You sweet child!’ said the old lady with enthusiasm; ‘I must see if I can’t do something to help you, though I’m not the fairy I used to be–still, there are tricks I can manage still, if I’m put to it. What you want is something that will prove to them that they ought to pay more attention to you, eh?–something there can be no possible mistake about?’

‘Yes!’ cried Priscilla eagerly, ‘and–and–how would it be if you changed them into something else, just to show them, and then I could ask for them to be transformed back again, you know?’

‘What an ingenious little thing you are!’ exclaimed the fairy; ‘but, let us see–if you came home and found your cruel papa doing duty as the family hatstand, or strutting about as a Cochin China fowl—-‘

‘Oh, yes; and I’d feed him every day, till he was sorry!’ interrupted the warmhearted little girl impulsively.

‘Ah, but you’re so hasty, my dear. Who would write all the clever articles and tales to earn bread and meat for you all?–fowls can’t use a pen. No, we must find a prettier trick than that–there was one I seem to remember, long, long ago, performing for a good little ill-used girl, just like you, my dearie, just like you! Now what was it? some gift I gave her whenever she opened her lips—-‘

‘Why, I remember–how funny that you should have forgotten! Whenever she opened her lips, roses, and diamonds, and rubies fell out. That would be the very thing! Then they’d have to attend to me! Oh, do be a kind old fairy and give me a gift like that–do, do!’

‘Now, don’t be so impetuous! You forget that this is not the time of year for roses, and, as for jewels, well, I don’t think I can be very far wrong in supposing that you open your lips pretty frequently in the course of the day?’

‘Alick does call me a “mag,”‘ said Priscilla; ‘but that’s wrong, because I never speak without having something to say. I don’t think people ought to–it may do so much harm; mayn’t it?’

‘Undoubtedly. But, anyhow, if we made it every time you opened your lips, you would soon ruin me in precious stones, that’s plain! No, I think we had better say that the jewels shall only drop when you are saying something you wish to be particularly improving–how will that do?’

‘Very nicely indeed, ma’am, thank you,’ said Priscilla, ‘because, you see, it comes to just the same thing.’

‘Ah, well, try to be as economical of your good things as you can–remember that in these hard times a poor old fairy’s riches are not as inexhaustible as they used to be.’

‘And jewels really will drop out?’

‘Whenever they are wanted to “point a moral and adorn a tale,”‘ said the old woman (who, for a fairy, was particularly well-read). ‘There, run along home, do, and scatter your pearls before your relations.’

It need scarcely be said that Priscilla was only too willing to obey; she ran all the way home with a light heart, eager to exhibit her wonderful gift. ‘How surprised they will be!’ she was thinking. ‘If it had been Betty, instead of me, I suppose she would have come back talking toads! It would have been a good lesson for her–but still, toads are nasty things, and it would have been rather unpleasant for the rest of us. I think I won’t tell Betty where I met the fairy.’

She came in and took her place demurely at the family luncheon, which was the children’s dinner; they were all seated already, including her father, who had got through most of his writing in the course of the morning.

‘Now make haste and eat your dinner, Priscilla,’ said her mother, ‘or it will be quite cold.’