d to an
impenetrable cloud, and the figures of both the man with the pearl and
of the man with the onion were blotted out. Oscar closed the book. All
the rest of the day he could think of nothing but this strange
picture; and he wondered deeply whether the blind man with the onion
had succeeded in making the other man as blind as himself. If only the
cloud had held back a few minutes longer!

Before Oscar went to bed he looked into the crystal vase, to see
whether there were any change in the shell. For the first time it
seemed to him that it had really moved a little. But the light was so
dim that he could not be sure. Out of the window the sea had a
marvellous twinkle of moonlight over it, and the night air was cool
and sweet. Suddenly, a hideous bat, with broad noiseless wings of
filmy black, hovered into the room, poised itself for a moment over
the crystal vase, and then flitted away again.

The next day was one which Oscar, so long as he lived, never forgot.

He had had a strange dream during the night, and this had taken from
his memory the change which he had fancied he noticed in the shell
before going to bed. But now, when he went as usual to look at it, he
saw that a change had taken place indeed.

The shell was rolled over on its back; the lid, which heretofore had
closed its mouth, was open; and the shell was empty. Oscar could see
far down into the very depths of the curving interior; it was as
smooth as satin, and looked fit to house the queen of the fairies. But
there was nothing in it. When, however, Oscar raised his eyes, he
beheld a sight which made him draw in his breath with a long sigh of
amazement and tremulous delight. The two largest pieces of rock in the
vase leaned together in such a way as to make an arch, upon the sides
of which delicate leaves of pink and green seaweed grew, and other
broader leaves clustered together in a sort of grove further back.
Within this grove Oscar now perceived a movement, as if something were
advancing through them. In a moment they parted, and a fairy-like
little figure floated between, touching the sand with the tips only of
her tiny feet. Forward she came until she stood just beneath the
highest part of the arch. She was scarcely six inches tall, but she
was perfectly formed in every part; and her face, though it was less
than an inch long, was completely and exquisitely beautiful; and,
moreover, it looked even more good than lovely. Her hair, which was
f