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THE STRAND MAGAZINE . 
visit, them in flocks at midnight. Only you 
must never, never tell/’ 5 
“ Oh, never, 55 said Robin. “ T didn’t know 
you came to gardens. Did you ever come to 
ours ? 55 
“ Many a time/ 5 replied Goldheart ; “ but 
you were always in bed and sound asleep. 
About half an hour after midnight is a good 
time to open your window and look for fairies 
on the sweet-peas ; but you will hardly be 
able to see them, even by bright moonlight, 
because a fairy always lights on a flower the 
same colour as her dress.’ 5 
Here they were suddenly interrupted by 
an elf in the Queen’s livery. He came to 
tell Robin that Her Majesty was coming to 
inspect his work. So Goldheart flew off in 
a great hurry, and Robin bent to his task 
in earnest. He enjoyed the building of the 
swimming-bath, and was much entertained 
by Goldheart’s conversation, but of course 
longed to get back to his own home and 
tell his mother and sister of his strange 
adventures. 
The Queen came shortly after the noon 
hour, attended by sixty fairies. But as soon 
as she saw Robin’s w r ork she frowned and 
stamped her foot. Then the sixty fairies 
stamped their feet, and all the babies in a 
family of crickets near by woke up suddenly 
and began to chirp. 
“ What is this ? ” cried the Queen. “ What 
careless work 1 Here is a green stone next 
to a blue one.” 
It was quite true. The sixteenth pebble 
in the twentieth row was green, when it ought 
to have been blue. Robin gazed in dismay 
at his mistake. 
“ I’m sorry, your Majesty, but I matched 
the stones by moonlight, and thought it was 
blue.” 
“ No excuses,” replied the Queen. “ Here- 
after you shall not do any night work, but 
you must rise earlier in the morning. Don’t 
let me find such a mistake when I come again.” 
And she flew away. 
The next morning Robin was up even before 
the birds, and had the pleasure, for the first 
time in his life, of waking them. 
“ Lazy things,” cried Robin, knocking at 
the door of a woodpecker’s nest. It was in 
a knot-hole in a tree. “Lazy things, get 
up ! ” 
The woodpecker came to his little door, 
gazing at Robin in astonishment, not under- 
standing him in the least, for they had never 
heard that word before. 
Goldheart did not come again to talk with 
him, and it must be admitted he did his work 
more quickly when alone. 
At length the pool was finished. Fleet- 
wing, who had brought Robin his noonday 
meal in six bur-baskets (she had to make 
six trips to do it), was sent to call the Queen 
and her attendants. 
When they arrived Robin showed them 
the swimming-pool. They were speechless 
for a moment with admiration, and all that 
could be heard was the gentle rustling of 
their wings. 
Do you like it ? asked Robin, timidly. 
“ Like it ? ” said the Queen. “ It is" the 
most beautiful swimming-pool in the world.” 
And surely it was. 
At the bottom of the pool there was a circle 
of jet-black pebbles ; next to these four rows 
of dark red, then blue, then white, and at the 
top three rows of bright green pebbles. And 
all around the sides maidenhair fern was 
growing thickly. 
Robin now removed his dam very carefully, 
and the crystal water flowed into his pool and 
filled it to the brim. 
The Queen thanked him warmly. All the 
other fairies came up and praised his work, 
and Puffball, standing on the tip of an iris, 
made a little speech. 
“ I am sure,” said Puffball, “ it gives me 
much pleasure to congratulate you on your 
beautiful work. I shall find the bath a great 
convenience, I know. I shall think of you 
whenever I bathe. I ” 
And just then the iris, bending with her 
Weight, threw the unlucky Puffball off her 
balance, and she fell plump into the pool. 
Too many ‘ I’s, 5 ” remarked the Queen, 
dryly, as Robin fished the poor fairy out. And 
when he was escorted to the edge of the woods 
by all the fairies Puffball had to remain at 
home and dry her wings in the sun. 
Robin was the centre of a gay procession, for 
he was no longer a prisoner, but a friend. 
The Queen’s own band, composed of 
crickets, locusts, and katydids, and led by a 
dragon-fly, accompanied them, making music 
all the way. 
At the spot where Robin had first entered 
the woods the fairies left him. He climbed 
the fence and went up. the hill, and when he 
looked back to the woods a moment later 
all he could see was trees and flowers and one 
little speck of yellow. That was Goldheart, 
he knew, and he waved his hand to her 
in farewell. 
