DRAWING BY HARRY ROUNTREE]

Morning came, and the Fairies were still asleep in his pocket. The boat
moved on through the night, and now he found himself in the outlet of
the wonderful river, the shores of which were guarded, not by real
soldiers, but by rose-colored flamingoes.

Now that he had fairies in his pockets, he could understand bird talk,
and so he heard many wise words from the birds of that country which
guided him on his way.

It was not long before he came to the city that was the capital. It was
a fair day, and the city square was full of white canopies, lined with
splendid flutings of pink. It was impossible to be sure whether they
were real tents, or gigantic mushrooms. Each one of the people who sold
in these tents had a little high cap on his head shaped just like a
bee-hive made of straw. In fact, Jack soon saw bees flying in and out,
and it was evident that these folks had their honey made on the
premises.

THE LITTLE OLD FAIRY WOMAN

After Jack had visited the fairy city, he went back to the river. The
water was so delightfully clear that he thought he would have a swim, so
he took off his clothes and folded them very carefully so as not to hurt
the Fairies, and laid them beside a hay-cock. When he came out he saw a
little old woman with spectacles on, knitting beside his clothes. She
smiled upon him pleasantly.

"I will give you some breakfast out of my basket," said she. So she took
out a saucerful of honey, a roll of bread, and a cup of milk.

"Thank you," said Jack, "but I am not a beggar boy, so I can buy this
breakfast. You look very poor."

It seems that the old woman was very poor; in fact, she was a slave, and
on that very day they were about to sell her in the slave market in the
city square. So Jack went along into the city again with her, and when
she was put up for sale, he bought her from her cruel master, although
it took a half-crown, the biggest piece of money that he had. His next
largest piece he gave to the little woman, and told her to buy some
clothes with it. She came back to the boat where Jack was, with her
hands empty, but her face full of satisfaction.

THE WONDERFUL PURPLE ROBE

"Why, you have not bought any new clothes," said Jack.

"I have bought what I wanted," said the Fairy Woman; and she took out of
her pocket a little tiny piece of purple ribbon, with a gold-colored
satin edge, and a very small tortoise-shell comb.

She took the piece of ribbon