hing the air filled him with
delight and made him think of the big night-bird that had flown past the
window during the night. He told the governess about it, and she burst
out laughing.

"I was that big bird!" she said.

"You!"

"I perched on the roof every night to watch over you. I flew down that
time because I was afraid you were trying to climb out of the window."

This was indeed a proof of devotion, and Jimbo felt that he could never
doubt her again; and when she went on to tell him about his wings and
how to use them he listened with his very best attention and tried hard
to learn and understand.

"The great difficulty is that you can't practise properly," she
explained. "There's no room in here, and yet you can't get out till you
_fly_ out. It's the first swoop that decides all. You have to drop
straight out of this window, and if you use the wings properly they will
carry you in a single swoop over the wall and right up into the sky."

"But if I miss----?"

"You can't miss," she said with decision, "but, if you did, you would be
a prisoner here for ever. HE would catch you in the yard and tear your
wings off. It is just as well that you should know this at once."

Jimbo shuddered as he heard her.

"When can we try?" he asked anxiously.

"Very soon now. The muscles must harden first, and that takes a little
time. You must practise flapping your wings until you can do it easily
four hundred times a minute. When you can do that it will be time for
the first start. You must keep your head steady and not get giddy; the
novelty of the motion--the ground rushing up into your face and the
whistling of the wind--are apt to confuse at first, but it soon passes,
and you must have confidence. I can only help you up to a certain
point; the rest depends on you."

"And the first jump?"

"You'll have to make that by yourself," she said; "but you'll do it all
right. You're very light, and won't go too near the ground. You see,
we're like bats, and cannot rise from the earth. We can only fly by
dropping from a height, and that's what makes the first plunge rather
trying. But you won't fall," she added, "and remember, I shall always be
within reach."

"You're awfully kind to me," said Jimbo, feeling his little soul more
than ever invaded by the force of her unselfish care. "I promise you
I'll do my best." He climbed on to her knee and stared into her anxious
face.

"Then you are beginning to love me a little,