le after this.

"It isn't talking I mind," it said, "as long as you're reasonably civil.
But I'm not going to make polite conversation for you. If you talk
nicely to me, perhaps I'll answer you, and perhaps I won't. Now say
something."

Of course no one could think of anything to say, but at last Robert
thought of "How long have you lived here?" and he said it at once.

"Oh, ages--several thousand years," replied the Psammead.

"Tell us about it. Do."

"It's all in books."

"_You_ aren't!" Jane said. "Oh, tell us everything you can about
yourself! We don't know anything about you, and you _are_ so nice."

The Sand-fairy smoothed his long rat-like whiskers and smiled between
them.

"Do please tell!" said the children all together.

It is wonderful how quickly you get used to things, even the most
astonishing. Five minutes before, the children had had no more idea than
you had that there was such a thing as a Sand-fairy in the world, and
now they were talking to it as though they had known it all their lives.

It drew its eyes in and said--

"How very sunny it is--quite like old times! Where do you get your
Megatheriums from now?"

"What?" said the children all at once. It is very difficult always to
remember that "what" is not polite, especially in moments of surprise or
agitation.

"Are Pterodactyls plentiful now?" the Sand-fairy went on.

The children were unable to reply.

"What do you have for breakfast?" the Fairy said impatiently, "and who
gives it to you?"

"Eggs and bacon, and bread and milk, and porridge and things.
Mother gives it to us. What are Mega-what's-its-names and
Ptero-what-do-you-call-thems? And does anyone have them for breakfast?"

"Why, almost everyone had Pterodactyl for breakfast in my time!
Pterodactyls were something like crocodiles and something like birds--I
believe they were very good grilled. You see, it was like this: of
course there were heaps of Sand-fairies then, and in the morning early
you went out and hunted for them, and when you'd found one it gave you
your wish. People used to send their little boys down to the seashore in
the morning before breakfast to get the day's wishes, and very often the
eldest boy in the family would be told to wish for a Megatherium, ready
jointed for cooking. It was as big as an elephant, you see, so there was
a good deal of meat on it. And if they wanted fish, the Ichthyosaurus
was asked for,--he was twenty to forty feet long, so t