ntered and began to speak,
quickly and breathlessly, stressing every word with impartial
regularity.

"A little maid am I--Red Riding-Hood.
My journey lies along this dark, thick wood.
Within my basket is a little jar
Of jam--a present for my grand-mamma."

Then Cuthbert entered--a Prince in white satin with a blue sash. There
was a rapt murmur of admiration in the audience as he made his
appearance.

William waited impatiently and uneasily behind the scenes. His wolf's
head was very hot. One of the eye-holes was beyond his range of
vision; through the other he had a somewhat prescribed view of what
went on around him. He had been pinned tightly into the dining-room
hearth-rug, his arms pinioned down by his side. He was distinctly
uncomfortable.

At last his cue came.

Red Riding-Hood and the Prince parted after a short conversation in
which their acquaintance made rapid strides, and at the end of which
the Prince said casually as he turned to go:

"So sweet a maid have I never seen,
Ere long I hope to make her my wife and queen."

Red Riding-Hood gazed after him, remarking (all in the same breath and
tone):

"How kind he is, how gentle and how good!
But, see what evil beast comes through the wood!"

Here William entered amid wild applause. On the stage he found that
his one eye-hole gave him an excellent view of the audience. His
mother and father were in the second row. Turning his head round
slowly he discovered his sister Ethel sitting with a friend near the
back.

"William," hissed the prompter, "go on! 'A wolf am I----'"

But William was engrossed in the audience. There was Mrs. Clive about
the middle of the room.

"'A wolf am I'--_go on_, William!"

William had now found the cook and housemaid in the last row of all
and was turning his eye-hole round in search of fresh discoveries.

The prompter grew desperate.

"'A wolf am I--a wolf on mischief bent.' _Say_ it, William."

William turned his wolf's head towards the wings. "Well, I was _goin'_
to say it," he said irritably, "if you'd lef' me alone."

The audience tittered.

"Well, say it," said the voice of the invisible prompter.

"Well, I'm going to," said William. "I'm not goin' to say that again
wot you said 'cause they all heard it. I'll go on from there."

The audience rocked in wild delight. Behind the scenes Mrs. de Vere
Carter wrung her hands and sniffed strong smelling-salts. "That boy!"