e pause was occasioned by Mr. Rabbit. He had fallen into a doze
while Mrs. Meadows was telling her story, and just as she came to the
point where the Conjurer had lifted the little girl in his arms and
carried her into his cave, Mr. Rabbit had dreamed that he was falling.
His chair was tilted back a little, and he made such a mighty effort
to keep himself from falling in his dream that he lost his balance and
went over sure enough.

"I declare!" he exclaimed. "I ought to be ashamed of myself to be
falling heels over head this way without any reason in the world, and
right before company too. Wasn't there something in your story about
falling?"

"Not a word!" replied Mrs. Meadows firmly.

"Well, well, well!" exclaimed Mr. Rabbit. "I'll try and keep my eyes
open hereafter."

The children tried their best to keep from laughing at Mr. Rabbit's
predicament, but Drusilla was finally compelled to give way to her
desire, and then they all joined in, even Mr. Rabbit smiling somewhat
grimly.

"Let me see," said Mrs. Meadows, after a while; "the last we heard of
the little girl I was telling you about, the Conjurer had carried her
into his cave?"

"Yes," answered Sweetest Susan; "and now I want to know what became of
her."

"Well," said Mrs. Meadows, "the shortest way to tell you that is the
best way. It happened that on the very day the little girl ran away to
visit her nurse, the nurse had concluded to visit the little girl. So
she put on her best things and went to the little girl's home. When
the woman came to the garden she saw the gate open, and presently her
husband, the gardener, came out trundling a load of weeds and trash in
his wheelbarrow. She asked about the little girl.

"'She was playing under the trees yonder awhile ago,' said the man. 'I
haven't seen her since.'

"The woman went into the garden and searched among the trees and
arbors, but no little girl could she find.

"'Having come so far,' she said to herself, 'I'll not go back without
seeing the precious little creature.' So she went towards the house,
searching for the child. She inquired of every servant she met where
the little girl was, and finally went into the house searching for
her. At last she came to the room where sat her former mistress. But
the child was not there.

"In a very short while there was a tremendous uproar in the place. The
maid servants and the men servants went running about through the
house, through the yard, and th