ing a little way off, and now, before she began again, he felt
that already her searching eyes had found him out, and taken notice
that he was different from the other people.

When she began to sing her selling song, he felt a most curious
sensation. He felt as if there were some cobwebs before his face, and
he put up his hand as if to clear them away. There were no real
cobwebs, of course; and yet he again felt as if they floated from the
gypsy woman to him, like gossamer threads, and attracted him towards
her. So he gazed at her, and she at him, till Jack began to forget how
the parrot had warned him.

He saw her baby too, wondered whether it was heavy for her to carry,
and wished he could help her. I mean, he saw that she had a baby on
her arm. It was wrapped in a shawl, and had a handkerchief over its
face. She seemed very fond of it, for she kept hushing it; and Jack
softly moved nearer and nearer to the cart, till the gypsy woman
smiled, and suddenly began to sing,--

My good man--he's an old, old man
And my good man got a fall,
To buy me a bargain so fast he ran
When he heard the gypsies call:
"Buy, buy brushes,
Baskets wrought o' rushes.
Buy them, buy them, take them, try them,
Buy, dames all."

My old man, he has money and land,
And a young, young wife am I.
Let him put the penny in my white hand
When he hears the gypsies cry:
"Buy, buy laces,
Veils to screen your faces.
Buy them, buy them, take and try them.
Buy, maids, buy."

When the gypsy had finished her song, Jack felt as if he was covered
all over with cobwebs; but he could not move away, and he did not mind
them now. All his wish was to please her, and get close to her; so
when she said, in a soft, wheedling voice, "What will you please to
buy, my pretty gentleman?" he was just going to answer that he would
buy anything she recommended, when, to his astonishment and
displeasure, for he thought it very rude, the parrot suddenly burst
into a violent fit of coughing, which made all the customers stare.
"That's to clear my throat," he said, in a most impertinent tone of
voice; and then he began to beat time with his foot, and sing, or
rather scream out, an extremely saucy imitation of the gypsy's song,
and all his parrot friends in the other cages joined in the chorus.

My fair lady's a dear, dear lady--
I walked by her side to woo.
In