mead. I do not
know why. And they do not know why. But I daresay you can guess.

The day after Uncle Richard had behaved so handsomely was a very hot day
indeed. The people who decide what the weather is to be, and put its
orders down for it in the newspapers every morning, said afterwards that
it was the hottest day there had been for years. They had ordered it to
be "warmer--some showers," and warmer it certainly was. In fact it was
so busy being warmer that it had no time to attend to the order about
showers, so there weren't any.

Have you ever been up at five o'clock on a fine summer morning? It is
very beautiful. The sunlight is pinky and yellowy, and all the grass and
trees are covered with dew-diamonds. And all the shadows go the opposite
way to the way they do in the evening, which is very interesting and
makes you feel as though you were in a new other world.

Anthea woke at five. She had made herself wake, and I must tell you how
it is done, even if it keeps you waiting for the story to go on.

You get into bed at night, and lie down quite flat on your little back,
with your hands straight down by your sides. Then you say "I _must_ wake
up at five" (or six, or seven, or eight, or nine, or whatever the time
is that you want), and as you say it you push your chin down on your
chest and then whack your head back on the pillow. And you do this as
many times as there are ones in the time you want to wake up at. (It is
quite an easy sum.) Of course everything depends on your really wanting
to get up at five (or six, or seven, or eight, or nine); if you don't
really want to, it's all of no use. But if you do--well, try it and see.
Of course in this, as in doing Latin proses or getting into mischief,
practice makes perfect.

Anthea was quite perfect.

At the very moment when she opened her eyes she heard the black-and-gold
clock down in the dining-room strike eleven. So she knew it was three
minutes to five. The black-and-gold clock always struck wrong, but it
was all right when you knew what it meant. It was like a person talking
a foreign language. If you know the language it is just as easy to
understand as English. And Anthea knew the clock language. She was very
sleepy, but she jumped out of bed and put her face and hands into a
basin of cold water. This is a fairy charm that prevents your wanting to
get back into bed again. Then she dressed, and folded up her night
dress. She did not tumble it together by