The children were apt to creep
away when Toinette came. It made her angry and unhappy at times that
they should do so, but she did not realize that it was in great part
her own fault, and so did not set herself to mend it.
"Tell me a 'tory," said baby Jeanneton, creeping to her knee a little
later. But Toinette's head was full of the elf; she had no time to
spare for Jeanneton.
"Oh, not to-night," she replied. "Ask mother to tell you one."
"Mother's busy," said Jeanneton wistfully.
Toinette took no notice and the little one crept away disconsolately.
Bedtime at last. Toinette set the casement open, and lay a long time
waiting and watching; then she fell asleep. She waked with a sneeze and
jump and sat up in bed. Behold, on the coverlet stood her elfin friend,
with a long train of other elves beside him, all clad in the
beetle-wing green, and wearing little pointed caps. More were coming in
at the window; outside a few were drifting about in the moon rays,
which lit their sparkling robes till they glittered like so many
fireflies. The odd thing was, that though the caps were on, Toinette
could see the elves distinctly and this surprised her so much, that
again she thought out loud and said, "How funny."
"You mean about the caps," replied her special elf, who seemed to have
the power of reading thought.
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