Queen could not keep her eyes open. Then they took
her through their garden. Never was there such lovely fruit; the
apricots were larger than her head, and she could only eat a quarter of
one, and the taste was so lovely that the Queen resolved never to eat
anything else as long as she lived. She remained in the palace until the
evening, and then, having thanked the fairies for all they had done for
her, she returned with the Fairy of the Fountain.

Now, when the Queen went home, she found that they were all very upset,
and had been searching for her, and could not think where she had gone.
Some had thought that, as she was so beautiful and young, some stranger
had taken her away: which was reasonable, for she spoke so nicely to
every one. But now at last they had found her, and the King was himself
again.

The Queen soon found that what the fairies had said was true. On a
certain day she had a little daughter, and she called her Desiree. Then,
remembering their words, she at once took the bouquet and named each
flower and thought of the fairies one after the other, and lo!
immediately they were all there. Their arms were crammed full of
presents. And, after they had kissed the Queen and the little Princess,
they began to distribute the presents. There was beautiful lace with the
history of the world worked into it; then came a lovely cover all marked
in gold representing all the toys that children play with. The cot was
then shown, and the Queen went into raptures over it: it surely was the
nicest ever made; it was of beautiful, rare wood, with a canopy of blue
silk, inwrought with diamonds and rubies.

Then the fairies took the little Princess on their knees, and kissed her
and hugged her because she was so good and beautiful. Each fairy wished
her a good quality. One wished her to be wise; another wished that she
might be good; another wished her to be virtuous; another to be
beautiful; another to possess a good fortune; and the fifth asked for
her a long life and good health. Then came the last, and she wished that
Desiree might obtain all that she herself could ever wish for.

The Queen thanked them a hundred times for all the good things they had
given her little daughter, and, while she was doing so, all gave a
sudden start, for the door opened and a tremendous Crayfish--so large
that it could hardly get through the door--came in, waving its feelers
in the air.

'O ungrateful Queen!' said the Crayfish, 'you