was not a single nettle in the whole island. I know, also, that the
grass was the greenest, the trees the shadiest, the flowers the
brightest, and the fruit the ripest to be found anywhere. As to the
animals, there were none but the gentlest kind. Little white mice went
peeping about with their wee pink eyes, pretty tame squirrels bounded
from tree to tree, and a herd of graceful fawns fed and played in the
meadows. Birds of the gayest plumage and sweetest song were there;
pretty poll-parrots hopped among the trees, crying, "What's o'clock?
What's o'clock?" In short, it was the brightest, merriest, sunniest spot
in the world, and I can say no more in its praise than that. All day
long the sun shone gently down upon the little isle, and the wind never
raised its voice above a whisper.

But, besides birds and butterflies, fawns, and flowers, there was
something else in this pretty isle. Now, what do you guess that
something was? Why, a beautiful fairy palace.

I call it a fairy palace, not because fairies lived there, for they did
not, but because it was the work of fairy hands, and was more beautiful
than any other palace in the world. It stood in the midst of a lovely
garden, but no wall or railing shut it in from the rest of the island;
and you and I, had we been there, might have walked across the green
lawn, and plucked some of the gay flowers, and gone up the marble steps,
without anyone saying, "Stop! You must not go there." Round about the
palace, in groups of twos and threes, were several little houses, all
very beautiful and all exactly alike.

[Illustration]

Now, I daresay you will think that this was a very pretty place, at the
same time, very strange; yet the strangest and, to me, the most charming
thing of all was that there were none but children in this little
island. They were all quite young, the eldest amongst them were not
twelve years old; they were the king and the queen, who, of course,
lived in the beautiful palace. And thus, because only children dwelt
there, it was called Child Island.

[Illustration]

Well, these little folks had nothing to do but to play; and a rare time
they had of it, as you shall hear; but perhaps you would first like to
know how it happened that they were alone in this island without any
grown people to take care of them. Then listen, and I will tell you.

The Silver Lake and Child Island belonged to the good fairy Corianda,
who was very fond of little children, a