A slender white figure stepped from behind a tree so quickly as to bring
little screams of alarm from several girls. The figure was dressed in
white with a white mask covering her face. Some of the girls recognized
Harriet Burrell, but the majority did not. They did, however, shout with
laughter when a second ghost, the assistant to the first tripped out from
behind another tree with a little chirp that was distinctly unghostly.
"Hello, girlth," she piped.
The second ghost's usefulness was thereupon ended for the evening. The
girls grabbed and unmasked her. Harriet raised a wand, in this case a
burning fagot.
"Maidens fair," she began in a deep impressive voice. "Do you know what a
banshee is?"
"I know," cried Hazel. "A banshee is a ghost, that the peasants in Ireland
believe in. It stands outside their windows at night and wails dismally.
Its appearance is supposed to foretell the death of a member of the
family."
"Quite right," replied Harriet. "Now listen to my story. Once upon a time
there lived a family of poor people in County Mooreland in Ireland. With
them lived their beautiful child Muriel. Now the fairies and the banshees,
the wood nymphs and the sprites coveted this beautiful child Muriel
because they knew she would make a good fairy.
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