l
at all." Then she was silent for a little while and then she went on
talking about Naggeneen herself. "Are you sorry he left us?"

"Who?" said the King.

"Naggeneen," said the Queen.

"I'm not sorry," said the King. "We've more peace without him. Though
he was clever and he often told us the right thing to do and he might
tell us the right thing to do now."

"Did he tell us the right thing to do when he told us to bring Terence
here to learn the ways of men and to teach them to us?"

"Sure Terence is a good boy," said the King, "and he plays the fiddle
as well as Naggeneen himself, so we don't miss Naggeneen for the only
thing that he was good for. And Terence is easier to have about other
ways."

"But has he ever learned the ways of men and taught them to us?" the
Queen asked.

The King was getting annoyed. "He has learned them, I think," he said,
"but he has never taught them to us. And you know Naggeneen himself
said the plan would be no use."

"He did," said the Queen; "only you would try it. And just so all this
talk is no use. What will we do for a nurse for the baby?"

"We'll find one some way," the King answered. "Was you thinking of
anyone in particular?"

"I was not thinking of anyone in particular."

"How would Kathleen O'Brien do, do you think?" the King asked.

"I don't want to be troubling the O'Briens," the Queen said, "and they
always so kind to us."

"It would not be troubling them much; we'ld only keep her a little
while and they'ld hardly miss her."

"If she was once here," said the Queen, "some one of your men would
want to keep her, and it would break the heart of her grandmother. So
it would her father's, too, but I'm not thinking so much of him."

"We'll not keep her," said the King, "only as long as the child needs
her."

"You say that now," said the Queen; "it would be different if she was
once here--I'ld like to have her as well as anyone I know."

"We could find no one else so good," said the King. "It's May Eve, you
mind. There's no time when we have more power, and few when we have so
much. We'll all be dancing to-night, and Kathleen often passes along
just about dark. It's likely we could get her to dance with us, and
then we'ld be sure enough of her. If that fails, there's other ways.
Our power lasts till sunrise."

"And you think we'ld not be keeping her long?" said the Queen.

"We'ld have her home almost before she was missed," the King answered.

"I wouldn't