o turnips, now changing sunflower seeds into pearls
before the very eyes of his pupils.

The old enchanter liked this life of quiet and study, and doubtless
would have been teaching in Fairyland to this very day, had he not been
so unfortunate as to quarrel with the terrible sorcerer Zidoc, who was
then Lord High Chancellor of the Fairies' College. I have forgotten
exactly what the quarrel was about, but I think that it had to do with
the best spell for causing castles to fall to pieces in an instant. At
any rate, Zidoc, who considered himself quite the most wonderful
enchanter in Fairyland, was furious at being opposed, and told the old
enchanter, very angrily, that he was not to have his classes any more
and must leave the college at once. So the poor old gentleman packed up
his magic books, put his enchanter's wand into its silver case, and went
to the country one pleasant day in search of a house.

Thanks to the advice of a friendly chimney swift, it did not take him
long to find one. The dwelling was the property of the Fairy Jocapa. It
stood just off the high road, close by a lane of great oaks whose shiny,
fringed leaves glistened in the hot noon-day sun; it had a high roof
with sides steep as mountain slopes, and one great chimney; and its
second story thrust itself out over the first in the old-fashioned way.
Green fields, little hills, and pleasant meadows in which red and white
cows were grazing lay behind the dwelling.

Seeing the front door wide open, the enchanter walked in. It was very
quiet. Only the far away klingle-klangle of a cow-bell could be heard.

"Here shall I live," said the enchanter. And he brought his possessions
to the house.

Now, one autumnal morning, when a blue haze hung over the lonely fields
from which the reapers had departed, and the golden leaves were wet
underfoot, the old enchanter went for a walk down the lane, and finding
the day agreeable, kept on until he found himself in the woods. Arriving
at the crest of a little hill in the woodland, he saw below him, almost
at the foot of the slope, a countryman with a white puppy and a black
kitten following at his heels. The little dog barked merrily out of pure
high spirits, whilst the kitten leaped and struck with its tiny paws at
the passing white butterflies.

As the old enchanter approached the countryman, he happened to hear him
say to the animals,--

"Alas, my poor innocents, what a pity that I should have to abandon
you