d,
and held out her little white hand to the traveller. Her castle in the
air vanished like a puff of smoke the moment she stepped out of it.

"What would be the use of that?" asked the traveller, smiling. He took
the little white hand, however, for no one could have refused that much
to such a very charming Princess.

"Why," said the Princess in the gold and silver frock, "then we could
make their real houses just like their castles in the air; and only
think how packed with happiness they would be!"

The traveller looked at her in amazement. It was certainly astonishing
that so great a builder as he should find out what was wrong with his
houses, from a Princess with a bright little crown on her head who had
never done anything but build castles in the air. Still, we must
remember that it all happened in Nonamia; and that accounts for a great
deal.

"You are quite right," said the traveller; "you know far more about it
than I do. You shall come and help me to build real houses, and they
shall be the most wonderful houses that have ever been built."

"All beautiful to look at, and packed with happiness inside!" cried the
dainty little Princess, clapping her hands for joy. "And we won't let
that stupid magician spoil our real houses, will we?"

The magician was looking out of his window at nothing at all, when they
came past his castle, hand in hand.

"We are going to build the most wonderful houses in the world," cried
the Princess,--"ever so much more wonderful than the stupid castle in
the air you gave _me_!"

This was not very gracious of her, for, after all, the magician had
given her exactly what she had built for herself. However, as he had
already forgotten both of them and could not think of anything to say,
and as they were in too great a hurry to stay and help him, there is
nothing more to be said about the magician, except that he is still
living in his castle in the air and looking out of his window at
nothing at all, which is a right and proper occupation for a magician
who is absent-minded. As for the traveller and the charming Princess,
they spent the rest of their days in building the most wonderful houses
in the world for the people who had nowhere to live. And as for the
people who had nowhere to live, it was only natural that they should
all find their way to the country called Nonamia, where a little lady
in a gold and silver gown taught them to build a castle in the air, and
a gr