-branches. They sang
so hard that it seemed to Klara they must burst their little
throats. From the branches hung all kinds of precious stones, all
kinds of delicious-looking fruits and candies.

"Klara could not scramble through the door quickly enough.

"But as she put one foot on the threshold the little old lady
appeared. She looked as if she had stepped out of a fairy-tale. And
yet Klara had a strange feeling of discomfort when she looked at
her. It seemed to Klara that the old lady's mouth was cruel and her
eyes hard.

"'Are you the little girl who's run away?' the old lady asked.

"'Yes,' Klara faltered.

"'And you want to live in the Kingdom of the Moon?'

"'Yes.'

"'Enter then.'

"The old lady stepped aside and Klara marched across the threshold.
She felt the door swinging to behind her. She heard a bang as it
closed, shutting her out of the world and into the moon.

"And then--and then--what do you think happened?"

Billy stopped for a moment. Rosie and Maida rose to their knees.

"What happened?" they asked breathlessly.

"The garden vanished as utterly as if it were a broken soap-bubble.
Gone were the trees and the flowers; gone were the fountains and the
birds; gone, too, were the jewels, the candies and the fruits.

"The place had become a huge, dreary waste, stretching as far as
Klara could see into the distance. It seemed to her as if all the
trash that the world had outgrown had been dumped here--it was so
covered with heaps of old rubbish.

"Klara turned to the old lady. She had not changed except that her
cruel mouth sneered.

"Klara burst into tears. 'I want to go home,' she screamed. 'Let me
go back to my mother.'

"The old lady only smiled. 'You open that door and let me go back to
my mother,' Klara cried passionately.

"'But I can't open it,' the old lady said. 'It's locked. I have no
keys.'

"'Where are the keys?' Klara asked.

"The old lady pointed to the endless heaps of rubbish. 'There,
somewhere,' she said.

"'I'll find them,' Klara screamed, 'and open that door and run back
to my home. You shan't keep me from my own dear mother, you wicked
woman.'

"'Nobody wants to keep you,' the old lady said. 'You came of your
own accord. Find the keys if you want to go back.'

"That was true and Klara wisely did not answer. But you can fancy
how she regretted coming. She began to search among the dump-heaps.
She could find no keys. But the longer she hunted the more
determ