sing. We might _play_ at being
engaged! that would not matter."

"Have you a gold ring for me?"

"O we will go and buy one at the flower shop," said he.

"At the _flower_ shop, that is a funny place to buy rings at," said
Kaethe.

"Buttercups and dandelions melted to a yellow heat make splendid fairy
gold," he replied.

"Ah, then you really _are_ a fairy!" said the little girl.

"Why of course, did you think I was a human child like you? What _did_
they teach you at school?"

"Reading, writing and arithmetic, history and geography and scripture
and sewing," said Kaethe.

"But not how to know a fairy when you see one, O my stars!" said our
hero.

"What is the good of learning
To read and write and sew,
To count and do addition
If fairies you don't know?

How do you know a fairy?
O by his glittering eye,
And by his light, light footsteps
You know when he goes by.

O what are school and lessons,
My little maiden, pray,
If to the land of fairy
They do not show the way?"

So he sang, and Kaethchen thought to herself: "I've always suspected that
we did not learn _everything_ at school."

By this time her little head was completely turned; she thought no more
of supper or mother or baby, but only wondered with round eyes what
would happen next.

The moon shone brilliantly through the branches, and she noticed that
the trees began to move, and some of them quickly changed places.

"Have you ever seen the trees dance?" said our hero. We will call him
Green Ears; for I had forgotten to say that being a tree-imp, his ears
were shaped like oak leaves, and were green tinged with pinky red. It
was peculiar of course, but not so very noticeable on account of his
thick curly hair. He was able to move them if anything startled him, to
prick up his ears in very truth; then you saw that they really
_belonged_ to him.

The trees did not wait for Kaethe to reply; they formed themselves in
long avenues and began a stately dance, something like a quadrille.

A soft fairy music was played by an invisible band. Squirrels sprang at
intervals from one tree to another, spreading out their bushy tails and
uttering strange cries like new-born babies.

Birds flew in and out singing and keeping time to the music and rhythm
of the dance. It was a strange sight, grotesque yet beautiful; the trees
took half human forms and faces; it was funny to see how they joined
hands (or branches) from t