tories are known to be sad
ones. And there was Aladdin again!--carrying his lamp, and smiling a
little mischievously.

Then the Masked Lady, in the guise of the Pied Piper, resumed her
march, facing straight ahead, and moving with grace and majesty. And
the entire procession began to move.

The children scarcely gave a thought to where they were going. Nor did
they give a thought to going back. They were moved by a power which
they did not understand to keep step with the music of the pipe.

On and on they marched--on and on. They passed through silent forests
and across beautiful plains, up gentle hills and through sheltered
fells. And the melody of the piper became so strongly accented that
they could not help keeping step, even if they had wished not to do so.

At last, however, they came to where there was a great dark mountain
ahead; and Everychild thought to himself, "Now we shall have to turn
back, since it would be too much for us to ascend that high mountain."

But the Masked Lady continued to march straight toward that dark
mountain--which was, as she well knew, the fearful Mountain of Reality.

The other children all beheld the mountain and they looked at one
another with questioning eyes, as if each were asking the other, "Do
you not consider it a terrible mountain?" Still, they never ceased to
keep step with the music.

They could see the mountain clearly now. It was cold and bleak and
rose into the mists of the sky. There were great chasms in its sides,
and precipitous heights and walls which it would have seemed impossible
to scale. It seemed of a frightful hardness, too.

Most terrible of all, wild hunters were to be seen all the way up to
the summit, and terrible beasts; and also one could catch a glimpse of
solitary individuals who were climbing to the highest visible points,
and some of these were falling back and hurting themselves terribly.

"We cannot advance another step," thought Everychild; for now they were
indeed at the very base of the mountain.

And then a miracle occurred, just when it seemed that the Masked Lady
would be compelled to turn back.

The mountain opened! There was a cavity as large as an immense
archway. Through this the Masked Lady advanced; and then the entire
band of children marched straight into the heart of the mountain.

Everychild, looking back, perceived that the mountain had closed again
after the last child had entered, so that they were now