, "I think you are the very greediest little
boy I ever knew!"

"That cake belongs to Manunderthebed, and you know it," said Rudolf
sternly. "It's a dream cake, of course, a Bad-dream cake, so you can't
eat it."

Peter clasped the small round cake tightly to his breast.

"It's a nice seed-cake like Cook makes," he said stubbornly, "and I
_must_ eat it."

"The seeds in it are poppy-seeds," explained Rudolf, "and you'll go
to sleep and dream Bad Dreams forever, like the Knight-mare said, so
you _sha'n't_ eat it!" He tried to get the cake away from his naughty
little brother who only grasped it the more tightly. There would have
been a quarrel, and a fierce one, if it had not been for Ann.

"I tell you," said she, "let's try it on the animals!"

This seemed a really bright idea, and Rudolf agreed at once, though
Peter considered it wasteful. Ann had to coax some time, but at last
she persuaded him to part with his cake. Rudolf would not trust Peter
with the distributing, so he piled three fat dictionaries that lay on
the table one on top of another and climbed upon them himself,
managing in this way to bring his eye to the level of the little
window. The plum-pudding fire was burning very low by this time, and
Rudolf could barely make out the forms of some of the Bad Dreams who
were stretched on the ground around it.

Suddenly he gave a great start and nearly tumbled off the
dictionaries, for he found himself staring down into the yellow hungry
eyes of the big white wolf. Peter had described him truly, he was very
fierce, wolfier-looking, Rudolf thought, than any of his kind the boy
had seen in the dens at the park. Now the beast gave a low growl and
opened his great red mouth. Rudolf dropped a generous bit of cake
straight into it. The big jaws closed with a snap, and the white wolf
looked up for more. By this time the other beasts had discovered the
presence of refreshments, and came slinking forward, squatting
themselves one on either side of their companion.

Rudolf could hardly help a squeal of surprise at the sight of the
yellow lion and the big shambling bear. He remembered in time, though,
to smother it, and hastily divided the rest of the cake between the
two animals. When they had licked it up greedily, Rudolf turned his
attention again to the white wolf, and this time he could not suppress
an exclamation of delight.

"Oh, what _is_ it, tell us," cried Ann, while Peter jumped up and down
impatiently,