nswered Jack; "you can get it yourself.
Say your words again."

But the gypsy's spell would only open places where she had confined
fairies, and no fairies were in the cage now.

"No, no, no!" she screamed; "too late! Hide me! O good people, hide
me!"

But it was indeed too late. The parrots had been wheeling in the air,
hundreds and hundreds of them, high above her head; and as she ceased
speaking, she fell shuddering on the ground, drew her cloak over her
face, and down they came, swooping in one immense flock, and settled
so thickly all over her that she was completely covered; from her
shoes to her head not an atom of her was to be seen.

All the people stood gravely looking on. So did Jack, but he could not
see much for the fluttering of the parrots, nor hear anything for
their screaming voices; but at last he made one of the cross people
hear when he shouted to her, "What are they going to do to the poor
gypsy?"

"Make her take her other form," she replied; "and then she cannot hurt
us while she stays in our country. She is a fairy, as we have just
found out, and all fairies have two forms."

"Oh!" said Jack; but he had no time for more questions.

The screaming and fighting, and tossing about of little bits of cloth
and cotton, ceased; a black lump heaved itself up from the ground
among the parrots; and as they flew aside, an ugly great condor, with
a bare neck, spread out its wings, and, skimming the ground, sailed
slowly away.

"They have pecked her so that she can hardly rise," exclaimed the
parrot fairy. "Set me on your shoulder, Jack, and let me see the end
of it."

Jack set him there; and his little wife, who had recovered herself,
sprang from her friend the brown woman, and sat on the other shoulder.
He then ran on,--the tribe of brown people and mushroom people, and
the feather-coated folks running too,--after the great black bird, who
skimmed slowly on before them till she got to the gypsy carts, when
out rushed the gypsies, armed with poles, milking-stools, spades, and
everything they could get hold of to beat back the people and the
parrots from hunting their relation, who had folded her tired wings,
and was skulking under a cart, with ruffled feathers and a scowling
eye.

Jack was so frightened at the violent way in which the gypsies and the
other tribes were knocking each other about, that he ran off, thinking
he had seen enough of such a dangerous country.

As he passed the place whe