fully dressed. Most of the little men wore green
velvet, trimmed with scarlet, and their long green caps, which most of
them were waving frantically, had long scarlet feathers in them.
They all wore little red boots, too, and large silver spurs,--at least,
large for fairies.

The ladies were very consequential little people indeed, and swept about
in their long-trained gowns as though they were Court ladies at a
Drawing-room. On their little shoes they had diamond buckles, and their
great steeple-crowned hats were garlanded with beautiful flowers.
Such flowers as are seldom seen on Christmas Eve, but the Little People
have gardens under the sea where the flowers bloom in wonderful beauty all
the year round. Fishermen see them sometimes on moonlight nights, when
the water is clear and the wind calm, and if they listen closely they can
hear exquisite fairy music floating across the waters from bay to bay.

Back in the corner by Betty's wood heap were a lot of Spriggans, poor
depressed little creatures, dirty and sullen-looking. They were not
lively like the others, for you know they have to guard the Fairy
treasures all the year round, and they get no fun at all, as other fairies
do. So they are naturally not very lively.

While Joan was standing gazing, open-mouthed, bewildered by what she saw,
strains of the most beautiful music reached her ears, and gradually a
change began to come over the whole house. It was no wonder that she
thought her head was turned! The music came nearer and nearer, and
mingling with it was the tramp of hundreds of little feet; at last it came
quite close, and through the window marched a regiment of robins as
unconcernedly as a regiment of soldiers entering their barracks.
Quite gravely they stepped down from the window, marched across the room,
and flew up to the beam, where they perched themselves in perfect order,
and began to sing as hard as they possibly could. In a moment or two they
were followed through the window by a regiment of wrens, and then by a
regiment of Little People, all playing on every kind of musical instrument
ever invented, and on a number made out of reeds, and shells, such as had
never been seen before or since.

Stepping down gracefully from the window to the floor, the band, followed
by numbers of little ladies and gentlemen, carrying branches of herbs and
flowers, marched with stately tread past old Betty Trenance, bowed to her
in a most respectful manne