though I be fair,
For thou'lt never see me mair,
Man Johnnie!

While the apple-woman sang Mopsa finished her story; and the Queen
untied the fastening which held her carpet to the boat, and went
floating upon it down the river.

"Good-by," she said, kissing her hand to them. "I must go and prepare
for the deputation."

So Jack and Mopsa played about all the morning, sometimes in the boat
and sometimes on the shore, while the apple-woman sat on the grass,
with her arms folded, and seemed to be lost in thought. At last she
said to Jack, "What was the name of the great bird that carried you
two here?"

"I have forgotten," answered Jack. "I've been trying to remember ever
since we heard the Queen tell her first story, but I cannot."

"I remember," said Mopsa.

"Tell it then," replied the apple-woman; but Mopsa shook her head.

"I don't want Jack to go," she answered.

"I don't want to go, nor that you should," said Jack.

"But the Queen said, 'there cannot be two queens in one hive,' and
that means that you are going to be turned out of this beautiful
country."

"The other fairy lands are just as nice," answered Mopsa; "she can
only turn me out of this one."

"I never heard of more than one Fairyland," observed Jack.

"It's my opinion," said the apple-woman, "that there are hundreds! And
those one-foot-one fairies are such a saucy set, that if I were you I
should be very glad to get away from them. You've been here a very
little while as yet, and you've no notion what goes on when the leaves
begin to drop."

"Tell us," said Jack.

"Well, you must know," answered the apple-woman, "that fairies cannot
abide cold weather; so, when the first rime frost comes, they bury
themselves."

"Bury themselves?" repeated Jack.

"Yes, I tell you, they bury themselves. You've seen fairy rings, of
course, even in your own country; and here the fields are full of
them. Well, when it gets cold, a company of fairies forms itself into
a circle, and every one digs a little hole. The first that has
finished jumps into his hole, and his next neighbor covers him up,
and then jumps into his own little hole, and he gets covered up in his
turn, till at last there is only one left, and he goes and joins
another circle, hoping he shall have better luck than to be last
again. I've often asked them why they do that, but no fairy can ever
give a reason for anything. They always say that old Mother Fate makes
them do it.