d brightened in his cheek. It seemed as if a million of tiny flowers
of every color had been taken from their stems and had gone on a
pic-nic, and were now at the very height of their fun. Such laughing!
such dancing! such eager rushing for the ices and other goodies, just
as you do at your parties. In one corner a small party of extremely
fashionable belles were promenading, each holding a parasol over her
head made of a small green leaf, to preserve her complexion; for you
must know that moonbeams are very tanning. Among the honeysuckles, the
elderly fairies were playing backgammon, talking, and pretending to
admire each others' dresses, thinking their own handsomer all the
time; while the bachelor fairies were smoking poppy leaf cigars, and
ordering any quantity of buttercups of Maydew.

All at once a tremendous shout of laughter was heard, and Charley and
the Queen looking eagerly in the direction whence it came, saw, to
their unspeakable astonishment, the old prime minister turning a
somerset in the air. He got up, walked a few steps, and went
head-over-heels again; while the fairies, ready for any fun, thought
he had become crack-brained and was doing it on purpose, and screamed
with laughter.

But, bless your little heart! what a mistake they made! Rising from
his last leap in the air, with a scowl on his face, breathing forth
fire and fury like a hippogriff or a fiery dragon, he pushed his way
through the crowd and marched straight to the throne, where, kneeling
as well as he could for his bumps and bruises, he demanded of the
Queen in a shrill, gasping, wheezing voice, like the wind whistling
through a broken bellows:

"Your Majesty!! your Majesty!!! that wretch! that Slyboots! confine
him in a nut-shell for a thousand years! tie him fast to a hornet!
cut off his wings! oh! oh! oh! the impertinent little scamp!"

"Why, my lord, calm yourself," said the Queen; while Charley looked on
in bewildered astonishment at the enraged prime minister, and a great
crowd of fairies gathered around.

"Tell me what has happened."

"I need not remind your Majesty that our state affairs are very much
behindhand, and not feeling inclined to mix with coxcombs like Ripple,
(here the Queen frowned, and Ripple, who was just behind him, made a
grimace,) I went to one of the mushroom tables, and sat down to finish
my memorial regarding the loan for the hospital for sick bumble-bees,
when this torment of a Slyboots comes up, and