ords flashing for her blood, and she uttered a cry of
terror and fled.

How she ran! and all the time her eyes were starting out of her head.
Many times she lay down, and then quickly jumped up and ran on again.
Her little mind was so entangled in terrors that she no longer knew she
was in the Gardens. The one thing she was sure of was that she must
never cease to run, and she thought she was still running long after
she had dropped in the Figs and gone to sleep. She thought the
snowflakes falling on her face were her mother kissing her good-night.
She thought her coverlet of snow was a warm blanket, and tried to pull
it over her head. And when she heard talking through her dreams she
thought it was mother bringing father to the nursery door to look at
her as she slept. But it was the fairies.

I am very glad to be able to say that they no longer desired to
mischief her. When she rushed away they had rent the air with such
cries as 'Slay her!' 'Turn her into something extremely unpleasant!'
and so on, but the pursuit was delayed while they discussed who should
march in front, and this gave Duchess Brownie time to cast herself
before the Queen and demand a boon.

Every bride has a right to a boon, and what she asked for was Maimie's
life. 'Anything except that,' replied Queen Mab sternly, and all the
fairies echoed, 'Anything except that.' But when they learned how
Maimie had befriended Brownie and so enabled her to attend the ball to
their great glory and renown, they gave three huzzas for the little
human, and set off, like an army, to thank her, the court advancing in
front and the canopy keeping step with it. They traced Maimie easily
by her footprints in the snow.

But though they found her deep in snow in the Figs, it seemed
impossible to thank Maimie, for they could not waken her. They went
through the form of thanking her--that is to say, the new King stood on
her body and read her a long address of welcome, but she heard not a
word of it. They also cleared the snow off her, but soon she was
covered again, and they saw she was in danger of perishing of cold.

'Turn her into something that does not mind the cold,' seemed a good
suggestion of the doctor's, but the only thing they could think of that
does not mind cold was a snowflake. 'And it might melt,' the Queen
pointed out, so that idea had to be given up.

A magnificent attempt was made to carry her to a sheltered spot, but
though there were