194 THE FAIRY-LAND OF SCIENCE. 
the walls of the houses; while in the houses you 
will see no windows, for each house just fits its 
owner, and the door is the only opening in it. 
Though made without hands these houses are most 
evenly and regularly built in tiers one above the 
other ; and here and there a few royal palaces, larger 
and more spacious than the rest, catch the eye con- 
spicuously as they stand out at the corners of the 
streets. 
Some of the ordinary houses are used to live in, 
while others serve as storehouses where food is laid up 
in the summer to feed the inhabitants during the 
winter, when they are not allowed to go outside the 
walls. Not that the gates are ever shut : that is not 
necessary, for in this wonderful city each citizen 
follows the laws ; going out when it is time to go out, 
coming home at proper hours, and staying at home 
when it is his or her duty. And in the winter, when 
it is very cold outside, the inhabitants, having no fires, 
keep themselves warm within the city by clustering 
together, and never venturing out of doors. 
One single queen reigns over the whole of this 
numerous population, and you might perhaps fancy 
that, having so many subjects to work for her and 
wait upon her, she would do nothing but amuse 
herself. On the contrary, she too obeys the laws 
laid down for her guidance, and never, except on one 
or two state occasions, goes out of the city, but works 
as hard as the rest in performing her own royal 
duties. 
From sunrise to sunset, whenever the weather is 
fine, all is life, activity, and bustle in this busy city. 
