o they waved more and more wildly, and Robert's tea-cloth
caught the golden egg and whisked it off the mantelpiece, and it fell
into the fender and rolled under the grate.

'Oh, crikey!' said more than one voice.

And every one instantly fell down flat on its front to look under the
grate, and there lay the egg, glowing in a nest of hot ashes.

'It's not smashed, anyhow,' said Robert, and he put his hand under the
grate and picked up the egg. But the egg was much hotter than any one
would have believed it could possibly get in such a short time, and
Robert had to drop it with a cry of 'Bother!' It fell on the top bar of
the grate, and bounced right into the glowing red-hot heart of the fire.

'The tongs!' cried Anthea. But, alas, no one could remember where they
were. Every one had forgotten that the tongs had last been used to fish
up the doll's teapot from the bottom of the water-butt, where the Lamb
had dropped it. So the nursery tongs were resting between the water-butt
and the dustbin, and cook refused to lend the kitchen ones.

'Never mind,' said Robert, 'we'll get it out with the poker and the
shovel.'

'Oh, stop,' cried Anthea. 'Look at it! Look! look! look! I do believe
something IS going to happen!'

For the egg was now red-hot, and inside it something was moving. Next
moment there was a soft cracking sound; the egg burst in two, and out of
it came a flame-coloured bird. It rested a moment among the flames, and
as it rested there the four children could see it growing bigger and
bigger under their eyes.

Every mouth was a-gape, every eye a-goggle.

The bird rose in its nest of fire, stretched its wings, and flew out
into the room. It flew round and round, and round again, and where it
passed the air was warm. Then it perched on the fender. The children
looked at each other. Then Cyril put out a hand towards the bird. It put
its head on one side and looked up at him, as you may have seen a parrot
do when it is just going to speak, so that the children were hardly
astonished at all when it said, 'Be careful; I am not nearly cool yet.'

They were not astonished, but they were very, very much interested.

They looked at the bird, and it was certainly worth looking at. Its
feathers were like gold. It was about as large as a bantam, only its
beak was not at all bantam-shaped. 'I believe I know what it is,' said
Robert. 'I've seen a picture.'

He hurried away. A hasty dash and scramble among the papers o