he always went along with them in a
diamond chariot--she made the General halloo out: 'Fix dusters! Make
ready! Aim! Dust!' And then the place would be cleaned up. But the
General-in-Chief used to go out behind the church and cry, it mortified
him so to have to give such orders, and it reminded him so painfully of
the good old times when he would order his men to charge the enemy, and
cover the field with gore and blood, instead of having it so awfully
spick-and-span as it was now. Still he did what the fairy godmother told
him, because he said it was his duty; and he kept his troops supplied
with sudsine and dustene, to clean up with, and brushes and towels. The
fairy godmother--"

[Illustration: "'FIX DUSTERS! MAKE READY! AIM! DUST!'"]

"Excuse me, uncle," said the nephew, with extreme deference, "but I
should just like to ask you one question. Will you let me?"

"What is it?" said the papa, in the grimmest kind of manner he could put
on.

"Ah, brother!" murmured the niece; for she knew that he was rather
sarcastic, and she was afraid that something ironical was coming.

[Illustration: "THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF USED TO GO BEHIND THE CHURCH AND
CRY."]

"Well, I just wanted to ask whether this story was about the fairy
godmother, or about the Prince and Princess."

"Very well, now," said the papa. "You've asked your question. I didn't
promise to answer it, and I'm happy to say it stops the story. I'll
guess _I'll_ go to sleep again. I don't like being waked up this way in
the middle of the night, anyhow."

"Now, brother, I hope you're satisfied!" said the niece.

The nephew evaded the point. He said: "Well, sister, if the story really
isn't going on, I should like to ask uncle another question. How big was
the fairy godmother's diamond chariot?"

"It was the usual sized chariot," answered the papa.

"Whew! It must have been a pretty big diamond, then!"

"It was a _very_ big diamond," said the papa; and he seemed to forget
all about being mad, or else he had thought up some more of the story
to tell, for he went on just as if nothing had happened. "The fairy
godmother was so severe with the dirt she found because it was a royal
prerogative--that is, nobody but the King, or the King's family, had a
right to make a mess, and if other people did it, they were infringing
on the royal prerogative.

"You know," the papa explained, "that in old times and countries the
royal family have been allowed to do things that