iscover, if he would go about
veiled or engage a better-looking man to personate him, a speedy
increase in the circulation of his next work, and, if at all sensitive
as to his own shortcomings, he would certainly be spared a
considerable amount of pain, for it is trying for a man who rather
enjoys being idolised to be compelled to act as his own iconoclast.

While Mabel was speculating on the personal appearance of the author
of 'Illusion,' Dolly darted in suddenly. 'Oh, there you are, Mabel,'
she said, 'how lazy of you! Mother thought you were playing tennis,
and some people have called, and she and I had to do all the talking
to them!'

'Come and rest then, Dolly,' said Mabel, putting an arm up and drawing
her down to a low stool by her chair.

'I've got my new sash on,' said Dolly warningly.

'I'll be careful,' said Mabel, 'and I've found a little story in this
book I am going to read to you, Dolly, if you care about it.'

'Not a long story, is it, Mab?' inquired Dolly rather dubiously. But
she finally settled herself comfortably down to listen, with her
bright little face laid against Mabel's side, while she read the
melancholy fate of the sugar fairy prince.

Dolly heard it all out in silence, and with a growing trouble in her
eyes. When it was all over, and the heartless mortal princess had
swallowed the sugar prince, she turned half away and said softly,
'Mabel, that was _me_.'

Mabel laughed. 'What _do_ you mean, Dolly?' she said.

'I thought he was plain sugar,' Dolly protested piteously; 'how was I
to know? I never heard of sugar fairies before. And he did look pretty
at first, but I spilt some tea over him, and the colour got all mixed
up, just as the story says it did, and so I ate him.'

'It's only a story, Dolly, you know; you needn't make yourself unhappy
about it--it isn't true really.'

'But it must be true, it's all put down exactly as it happened.... And
it was me.... I've eaten up a real fairy prince.... Mabel, I'm a
greedy pig. If I hadn't done it, perhaps we could have got him out of
the sugar somehow, and then Colin and I would have had a live fairy to
play with. That's what he expected me to do, and I ate him instead. I
know he was a fairy, Mabel, he tasted so nice.... Poor, poor little
prince!'

Dolly was so evidently distressed that Mabel tried hard to convince
her that the story was about another little girl, the prince was only
a sugar one, and so on; but she did not succeed, un