en I'm sick. Besides I only hear
her stories and I see yours."

The fairy smiled. "Well, then, which square will you choose this time?"
she said.

"I think I would like that one," said Teddy, pointing to a square of
watered ribbon that shaded from white to a sea-green.

"That's rather a long story," said the fairy, doubtfully.

"Oh, please show it!" begged Teddy.

"Well," said the Fairy, "fix your eyes on it while I count."

Then she began and he heard her voice going on and on. "FORTY-NINE!" she
cried.

* * * * * * * *

Teddy was floating on a block of ice across the wide, green Polar sea.
The Counterpane Fairy was with him, and all around were great fields of
ice and floating white bergs. The air was very still and cold, but Teddy
liked it all the better for that, for now he was an ice-fairy. He was
dressed from head to foot in a suit that shone and sparkled like woven
frost, and in his belt was a knife as shining as an icicle. Something
kept bobbing and tickling his forehead, and when he caught hold of it he
found it was the end of the long cap he wore.

As they drifted along, sometimes they saw a walrus with long tusks lying
on the ice, or a soft-eyed seal. Once some strange little beings that
looked like dwarfs, with goggle eyes and straggling black hair, caught
hold of the block of ice, and lifting themselves out of the water made
faces at Teddy, but the moment they saw the Counterpane Fairy their
looked changed to one of fear, and with a queer gurgling cry they
dropped from the ice and were gone.

"What were those things?" asked Teddy.

"They were ice-mermen," said the Counterpane Fairy. "Naughty,
mischievous things they are. I'd like to pack them all off to the North
Pole if I could."

"Oh, look! look!" cried Teddy. "Just look at those little bears playing
over there."

They had drifted in quite near to the shore, and in among the blocks of
ice three white bear cubs were playing together like fat little boys.
They were climbing to the top of an ice-hillock and then sliding down
again.

As soon as they saw Teddy and the Counterpane Fairy they began to call:
"Oh, Father Bear! Father Bear! Just come look at these funny things
floating in to shore on a block of ice."

In a moment from behind the ice-hill came a great white father bear
galloping up as fast as he could to see what the matter was. He came
over toward Teddy growling, "Gur-r-r! gur-r-r-r! Who are you, coming
an