His lips moved, but no words came to them.

Down below was the sound of voices and running steps. The
clangour of rolling in the shed ceased abruptly.

A MOONLIGHT FABLE

There was once a little man whose mother made him a beautiful suit
of clothes. It was green and gold and woven so that I cannot
describe how delicate and fine it was, and there was a tie of
orange fluffiness that tied up under his chin. And the buttons
in their newness shone like stars. He was proud and pleased by his
suit beyond measure, and stood before the long looking-glass when
first he put it on, so astonished and delighted with it that he
could hardly turn himself away.

He wanted to wear it everywhere and show it to all sorts of
people. He thought over all the places he had ever visited and all
the scenes he had ever heard described, and tried to imagine what
the feel of it would be if he were to go now to those scenes and
places wearing his shining suit, and he wanted to go out forthwith
into the long grass and the hot sunshine of the meadow wearing it.
Just to wear it! But his mother told him, "No." She told him he
must take great care of his suit, for never would he have another
nearly so fine; he must save it and save it and only wear it on
rare and great occasions. It was his wedding suit, she said. And
she took his buttons and twisted them up with tissue paper for fear
their bright newness should be tarnished, and she tacked little
guards over the cuffs and elbows and wherever the suit was most
likely to come to harm. He hated and resisted these things, but
what could he do? And at last her warnings and persuasions had
effect and he consented to take off his beautiful suit and fold it
into its proper creases and put it away. It was almost as though
he gave it up again. But he was always thinking of wearing it
and of the supreme occasion when some day it might be worn without
the guards, without the tissue paper on the buttons, utterly and
delightfully, never caring, beautiful beyond measure.

One night when he was dreaming of it, after his habit, he
dreamed he took the tissue paper from one of the buttons and found
its brightness a little faded, and that distressed him mightily in
his dream. He polished the poor faded button and polished it, and
if anything it grew duller. He woke up and lay awake thinking of
the brightness a little dulled and wondering how he would feel if
perhaps when the great occasion (what