e organ, it looked strangely like the
music-box that belonged to Sara's dolls.
Sara had never before seen a city simply swarming with fairies. Any
city was a wide-eyed place to Sara; so what of the wonder of a fairy
city? To be sure, many of them were foreign-looking, like the ones who
followed the organ-man, and in other ways, too; still, as Zinariola
was a seaport, it was very cosmopolitan, and one saw all sorts of
people on its streets. Many were just natural-looking people, like
Pirlaps and Avrillia; but some were of chocolate, like Yassuh, and
some were Chinese, with long pigtails of black buttonhole-twist; and
some were Parisians, with hats exactly like the one that the Japanese
doll wore so unbecomingly. (Yes, Sara knew in her heart that it was
unbecoming, though she would not have admitted it, even to you.) On
the gay Parisian lady-fairies, however, these hats were charming--but
hardly more striking than the many-colored headdresses, made of
humming-bird's feathers, that attracted so much attention when a band
of wild Indians went whooping down one of the principal streets. And
everywhere one saw sailors--rolling along the sidewalks and greeting
each other with loud "Yo-ho's!" (Loud, that is, for their size, but
always hoarsely musical.)
This visit of Sara's took place before automobiles were introduced
into Zinariola, and the carriages were drawn by devil's horses. Of
these Sara was frankly afraid--they reared so, and turned their heads
so weirdly on their long green necks. Sara noticed one in particular,
which was drawing a carriage in a wedding procession that was just
leaving a church. This was a closed carriage, occupied by the bride
and groom; and the devil's horse was not looking where he went at all;
he had turned his head completely around, and was staring through the
little window straight into the carriage! Sara was afraid to cross the
street in front of horses that never looked where they stepped. It
took all her courage to attempt it, and you may be sure she held fast
to Pirlaps. And when Pirlaps had to leave them in order to go to a
barber-shop (Avrillia had not insisted upon his bringing his shaving
things today, but he went to a barber-shop every two hours) she would
not cross the street, but stayed on the sidewalk. Pirlaps changed his
trousers at the barber-shop, too, whenever it was necessary; but today
there were so much to do and see that he did not sit on his step as
much as usual, and s
|