THE children were very much puzzled what to do,
for it was Midsummer-night, and they knew that there was a dream
belonging to it; but how to come across it they could not tell. They
knew that the dream had something to do with fairies, a queen, and all
manner of lovely things; but that was all. At first they thought they
would sit up with the doors and windows open, and the dog on the steps
ready to bark if he saw anything unusual. Then they felt sure that they
could not dream while they were wide-awake, so three of them went to
bed, and one dozed in a corner of the porch, with her clothes on.
Presently the dog barked, and two children in their night-gowns ran out
to see, and one took off her night-cap and looked out of window; but
it was only old Nurse coming back from a long gossip with the village
blacksmith's wife and mother-in-law. So the dog looked foolish, and
Nurse was angry, and put them all to bed without any more ado.
"Oh," they cried, "but the fairies, and the queen, and the flowers! What shall we do to see them?
“Go to sleep," said Nurse,” and the
dream may come to you; you can't go to a dream," she added, for you see
she was just a peasant woman, and had never travelled far, or into any
land but her own.
So the children shut their eyes tightly
and went to sleep, and I think that they saw something, for their eyes
were very bright next morning, and one of them whispered to me, softly,
“The queen wore a wreath of flowers last night, dear mother, and, oh,
she was very beautiful."
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