There the naughty sprite stood with a penitent look out of one eye, and winking ridiculously with the other; and the fairies having laughed till they were tired, now waited in breathless silence to hear his sentence p.r.o.nounced.

Charley was really sorry for Slyboots; he was distressed that the fairy had told a falsehood; but, as to the mischief, it was so like the capers his own brothers and sisters were always cutting, that he felt very certain the comical little imp had not one grain of malice in his heart, so he softly touched the Queen's knee, and as she kindly bent down to him, whispered--"Oh, beautiful lady! he has a good heart, and he is very sorry; please to forgive him."

"Slyboots," began the Queen, in a tone which she tried to make very severe, "you have pa.s.sed all reasonable bounds in this last prank; you have outraged and insulted my faithful servant--and, worse than all, you have told an untruth. If it had not been for this last, I might have forgiven you after you had made fitting apologies to the prime minister; even now I shall lighten your punishment, because this pure and lovely mortal has interceded for you. Listen to your sentence. My power tells me that the great wasp, Spiteful, has just entered the chamber where little Minnie, Charley's sister, is lying peacefully asleep, and within the hour he will thrust his poisonous cruel sting into the tender arm of the little child. With your wings to dart here and there, you might easily conquer him; but these must be fastened together by your friend Brownie, and within the hour you must bring me the dead body of the wasp. You have heard; Brownie, to your work!"

In the midst of a deep silence, the poor little trembling spider began to spin thread after thread round and round the beautiful gauzy wings of the disgraced and now sorrowful fay; one after the other the beautiful tints of blue, and gold, and purple, first faded, then were hidden under the misty cloud-color of network.

The court looked on in sorrow, for the elfin was beloved by many, but not a fay dared murmur or question the justice of the sentence. At last his wings, of a dead dull gray, were prisoned fast; and the Queen, waving her sceptre, said--"Go, Slyboots; if you carry a right spirit to your work, you will win the fight."

The fairy said not a word, but bowed him low, and turned sadly away.

The time was short, and he must hasten and don his stoutest armor, for the foe was deadly. A friendly gra.s.shopper offered to take him to the foot of the window where he must enter. With a gleeful spring he mounted, and away with great leaps they went through the ferns and over the gra.s.s, scrambling painfully in and out of bramble bushes, and p.r.i.c.king themselves with the sharp nettles that lay in their path. But the gra.s.shopper (that friend in need) carried him bravely through them all, and came at last to a little house under a great mushroom, where Slyboots kept bachelor's hall.

Here he alighted, and hastily fastened on his acorn helmet, with its beautiful plume from the humming bird's breast; then he donned his close-fitting vest, made of the skin of the p.r.i.c.kly-pear--the sharp points bristling terror to invaders. On his left arm he carried his trusty shield, made of the back of the golden beetle, and his right hand grasped his sharp blade, fashioned out of the blue sword-gra.s.s.

Swiftly he bestrode his gra.s.shopper steed again, and in a few moments they were beneath the open window of the room where lay the sleeping child.

Alighting, and thanking his friendly courser, Slyboots clambered up by the luxuriant rose-vine fastened against the cottage wall, and in a moment had dropped noiselessly into the room.

It was flooded with sweet clear moonlight. Cl.u.s.ters of roses were peeping in at the window, but none were half so lovely as the little human rose-bud lying so quietly in her tiny white bed. She might have come out of Elfin land--she was so fair and sweet; her merry blue eyes closed, her little song-voice stilled, and a lovely flush on her soft cheek from the kissing of the warm and balmy wind, which danced in and out of its own sweet will.

Hovering over her--a malignant gleam in his eyes--was the wasp.

Already was his body curved to inflict the mean and cruel sting upon the defenceless child, when, with a bound, Slyboots was upon him, cut him sharply with his sword, and then scampered out of the window and took refuge in a great rose, apologizing to the little fairy whose home it was. With his back against the rose-leaves, and his shield on guard, Slyboots waited for the fray.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SLYBOOTS FIGHTING THE WASP.]

Out came the wasp, breathing fire and fury; his usual snarling hum changed into a fiendish roar of rage. Then did begin a most tremendous battle!! The fairy's blows fell thick and fast upon the h.o.r.n.y head of his enemy, who vainly sought to sting him; but the trusty shield was never off duty. The wasp kept up a horrid din, as with maddening ferocity and desperation, he tried to find his foe, for he was now blinded with the blows. Panting with pain, and roaring with rage, he flew wildly round and round, returning each time with fourfold fury to the charge, till at last a well-directed stroke of the elfin's sword cleft his head asunder, and he fell p.r.o.ne to the earth, with one prodigious kick of all his feet in the air together.

Down jumped Slyboots from the friendly rose, and making sure of the death of his enemy by sundry bangs and whacks with the flat of his sword, quickly made a stout rope of corn silk, and fastening it round the head of the wasp, began his joyful journey back to the fairy hollow.

The good gra.s.shopper had been a deeply interested spectator of the battle; his eyes hanging out like a lobster's with anxiety, and chirping a perfectly continuous rattle of encouragement to Slyboots, so that really he was as hoa.r.s.e as a bull-frog when it was all over.

With cheerful alacrity he helped the breathless fairy tie up the dead body of the wasp, and willingly allowed the other end of the corn silk rope to be fastened to one of his long hind legs; and then Slyboots mounting him once more, he tugged and scrambled along with his double burthen with so much hearty _will_, that they arrived at the fairy ground at least one minute and a quarter within the hour.

Meanwhile harmony and order had been restored in the beautiful hollow.

The old prime minister was fast asleep under a fern leaf, with his precious b.u.mble-bee memorial under his head, and Charley was watching with delighted interest the many happy groups upon which the moonbeams lovingly rested. Some were dancing the Fairy Lancers, some eating and laughing at the little tables, some having a childish game of cats-cradle with the tendrils of the grape-vine, and all were full of mirth and gaiety, as noisy and happy as it was possible to be; in fact, the fairies were marvellously like you, little reader; you are both full of fun and noise, and have no idea of going through the world slowly and carefully, as if you were stepping on one feather-bed, and had your head tied up in another. Not at all! they and you just jump and tumble about with prodigious talents for frolic, wearing out your shoes, and tearing your clothes--that is, _you_, for the fairies' shoes and clothes have a patent trick of always looking fresh and new. Charley thought his dear brothers and sisters were very like these little creatures in their fondness for fun, and he did wish that they were here this Midsummer night to have "a real good time."

Presently the Queen said to him, "Charley, did you ever blow bubbles?"

"Yes, often, beautiful lady."

"And what have you seen in them?" asked the Queen.

"Oh! the most lovely colors! and sometimes a charming tiny picture of the room where we were."

"Would you like to see some _fairy_ bubbles?"

"Ah, yes! I should like it of all things."

The Queen gently clapped her hands, and instantly a page was kneeling at her feet.

"Go, Light-wing," said the Queen, "and tell Fancy to come here with her basin of foam and magic pipe."

The fairy rose from his knee, bowed low, and sped away. In an instant he returned in company with the daintiest, most ethereal little elf in fairy-land. Her wings were of air--her golden ringlets danced in the "tremulous, singing wind," giving out the perfume of the blossoming lily; her tiny rose-bud of a mouth opened, disclosing the whitest and smallest seed-pearl teeth, as with a smile beaming with love and sweetness, she said:

"Beloved Queen, most gladly have I come at your bidding. Deign but to command, and I will hasten to obey."

"Dear Fancy," said the Queen, placing her hand tenderly upon Charley's shoulder, "here is a lovely mortal who has suffered from his infancy; but all his pain has not been sufficient to sour his temper, or conquer his grat.i.tude and love for the blessings and mercies which remain to him. As flowers spring from the dust, so have love, and truth, and every n.o.ble quality, sprung from the dark and bitter suffering of his life. For this I love him, and will strive to make the few days left to him on earth less sad, less painful; and I will do this by showing him all our fairy life. I have sent for you to ask you to exhibit, for his amus.e.m.e.nt, some magic bubbles; I would like him to look at them now."

For answer, the little elf bowed gracefully, dipped her pipe in the foaming dew, and began to breathe softly through the stem.

Soon the thin bubble rose in the twinkling fire-fly light. At first it was all of a gray-dark color; but out of this dark, like the sun breaking through the mist, bright golden and ruby tints began to appear.

It grew in size and splendor, till at last the fairy gently waving the pipe, the bubble slowly and gracefully floated away, and up a little, and then poised itself, and rested just before Charley.

It was like a moving picture in an oval frame. Within appeared a large and handsome parlor; a number of beautiful little children were grouped about the room, evidently waiting for some event to happen.

Presently a baby-boy entered--a perfect bud of beauty. His fine and snowy-white garment was daintily embroidered and trimmed after a most royal fashion, with ivy leaves. Upon his beautiful head, crowned with light and lovely pale golden curls, was a wreath also of ivy.

With his luminous starry eyes uplifted, and the dimples peeping in and out of his rose-pink cheeks, he went around and offered a welcoming kiss to every one in the room. It was his birthday. Two sweet, happy years, had been unfurled in his little life, and the children were now gathered together in honor of the event.

Charley gazed with lips apart, intent and eager.

All at once he exclaimed,--

"Why! it is Howard! little Howard! Why, yes! and there is sweet little Carrie, his sister, with the beautiful wreath of roses, and the roses on her dress! Oh! what wonders I am seeing!"

As he spoke, a lady entered, Howard's loving and lovely mother, with an immense paper bag, and proceeded to fasten it to the chandelier in the centre of the ceiling; then some one else came in, and spread a large white sheet upon the carpet immediately underneath.

Then one of the little ones was blindfolded, and a cane was put into his hands. He was to try to strike the bag, but instead, he made a tremendous whack at nothing half a yard one side of the bag, which made the children laugh merrily.

Charley laughed, too; you could _hear_ him, but he could only _see_ that the children in the magic bubble were laughing.

"I know them almost all!" he cried, in a voice of delight; "there are Eva, and Robbie, and Alice, and Hattie, and Minnie, and Eddie, and sweet little Kitty and Mortie; and oh! how happy they all look! how perfect! and what a nice time they must be having!"

After two or three had tried to strike the bag, little baby Howard had the handkerchief tied _above_ his eyes, just for fun, because he was too little to be _really_ blindfolded; and, armed with the cane, he grasped it with both tiny hands, his eyes dancing with glee, and a gladsome smile parting his sweet little mouth, showing the pearly teeth within. He gave the bag a sounding thump, and instantly it burst asunder, and a perfect cataract of candies and sugar-plums poured down upon the carpet. Quick as a flash every child in the room was cl.u.s.tered together upon the sheet helter-skelter, head-over-heels, laughing, screaming, dashing after the candies; and then--the bubble burst, and Charley saw no more.

"Oh! oh! how beautiful! how wonderful!" said the lame boy; "dear, dear little fairy! I thank you; but I should so like to know what the children did after that."

Again the pipe was dipped in the foam-dew, and the fairy blew out another bubble, that floated away and rested as before.

This time a wide hall, with a table in the centre, appeared. Upon the table the colored waiters were quickly placing large dishes of cakes, oranges, mottoes, and pyramids of cream. A door, within which shone a bright light, opened into this hall, and a little dancing form flitting past now and then, showed that the children were frolicking inside.

When the table was so perfectly covered, that it very nearly broke down under the weight of goodies, there was seen issuing from the parlor-door, first, the beautiful little king of the feast, carried in his father's arms, his eyes sparkling, and his whole face radiant with smiles. After him came, two and two, all the lovely little band; they marched entirely round the table, and you may be sure they all looked one way--and that way was the table-way, of course, where such a grand feast was spread out. _That_ was the party, as I once heard a little girl say, and who added, "Oh! I'm so glad! the party has come--look what a lot of it!"

And now what a tremendous time the boys had helping the little girls, and filling their laps with every thing they could lay their hands on, and then cramming their own pockets till they stuck out all over like balloons.

Just as they were in the height of eating, and laughing, and presenting each other with mottoes, on which were printed the most beautiful poetry, declaring that they would love each other as long as they lived, and n.o.body knows how much longer; and Charley was looking on wild with delight--presto! the bubble suddenly burst, and the picture was gone.

"Oh! can any thing be more perfect!" cried Charley. "I am so happy!

Dear little fairy! do let me kiss you for making me so happy."