e gypsy bandaged her eyes
tightly with the handkerchief; and then, stooping low, she began to
murmur something and clap her hands--softly at first, but by degrees
more and more violently. The noise was meant to drown the words she
muttered; but as she went on clapping, the bottom of cage after cage
fell clattering down. Out flew the parrots by hundreds, screaming and
congratulating one another; and there was such a deafening din that
not only the sound of her spell, but the clapping of her hands, was
quite lost in it.

But all this time Jack was very busy; for the moment the gypsy had
tied up her eyes, the old parrot snatched the real handkerchief off
his wife's shoulders, and tied it round her neck. Then she pushed out
her head through the wires, and the old parrot called to Jack, and
said, "Pull!"

Jack took the ends of the handkerchief, pulled terribly hard, and
stopped. "Go on! go on!" screamed the old parrot.

"I shall pull her head off," cried Jack.

"No matter," cried the parrot; "no matter,--only pull."

Well, Jack did pull, and he actually did pull her head off! nearly
tumbling backward himself as he did it; but he saw what the whole
thing meant then, for there was another head inside,--a fairy's head.

Jack flung down the old parrot's head and great beak, for he saw that
what he had to do was to clear the fairy of its parrot covering. The
poor little creature seemed nearly dead, it was so terribly squeezed
in the wires. It had a green gown or robe on, with an ermine collar;
and Jack got hold of this dress, stripped the fairy out of the parrot
feathers, and dragged her through,--velvet robe, and crimson girdle,
and little yellow shoes. She was very much exhausted, but a kind brown
woman took her instantly, and laid her in her bosom. She was a
splendid little creature, about half a foot long.

"There's a brave boy!" cried the parrot. Jack glanced round, and saw
that not all the parrots were free yet, the gypsy was still muttering
her spell.

He returned the handkerchief to the parrot, who put it round his own
neck, and again Jack pulled. But oh! what a tough old parrot that was,
and how Jack tugged before his cunning head would come off! It did,
however, at last; and just as a fine fairy was pulled through, leaving
his parrot skin and the handkerchief behind him, the gypsy untied her
eyes, and saw what Jack had done.

"Give me my handkerchief!" she screamed, in despair.

"It's in the cage, gypsy," a