nd she never knew. She slept until the dream
was quite finished and woke feeling deliciously cosy just as morning was
breaking from its egg, and then she almost fell asleep again, and then
she called out,

"Tony," for she thought she was at home in the nursery. As Tony made no
answer, she sat up, whereupon her head hit the roof, and it opened like
the lid of a box, and to her bewilderment she saw all around her the
Kensington Gardens lying deep in snow. As she was not in the nursery she
wondered whether this was really herself, so she pinched her cheeks, and
then she knew it was herself, and this reminded her that she was in
the middle of a great adventure. She remembered now everything that had
happened to her from the closing of the gates up to her running away
from the fairies, but however, she asked herself, had she got into this
funny place? She stepped out by the roof, right over the garden, and
then she saw the dear house in which she had passed the night. It so
entranced her that she could think of nothing else.

"Oh, you darling, oh, you sweet, oh, you love!" she cried.

Perhaps a human voice frightened the little house, or maybe it now knew
that its work was done, for no sooner had Maimie spoken than it began to
grow smaller; it shrank so slowly that she could scarce believe it
was shrinking, yet she soon knew that it could not contain her now. It
always remained as complete as ever, but it became smaller and smaller,
and the garden dwindled at the same time, and the snow crept closer,
lapping house and garden up. Now the house was the size of a little
dog's kennel, and now of a Noah's Ark, but still you could see the smoke
and the door-handle and the roses on the wall, every one complete.
The glow-worm fight was waning too, but it was still there. "Darling,
loveliest, don't go!" Maimie cried, falling on her knees, for the little
house was now the size of a reel of thread, but still quite complete.
But as she stretched out her arms imploringly the snow crept up on all
sides until it met itself, and where the little house had been was now
one unbroken expanse of snow.

Maimie stamped her foot naughtily, and was putting her fingers to her
eyes, when she heard a kind voice say, "Don't cry, pretty human, don't
cry," and then she turned round and saw a beautiful little naked boy
regarding her wistfully. She knew at once that he must be Peter Pan.

Lock-out Time

It is frightfully difficult to know much