istle,
and Ragged Sailor. (Fairies and Mice are usually very good
friends; in fact, Great-Grandfather Goodheart says--but I'll tell
you about that some other time.)

Grasshopper Green had met Ragged Sailor before. He was quite a
musician and carried his tiny golden accordion in the sailor
blouse he always wore.

It wasn't long before Grasshopper Green had his tiny fiddle tuned
up, and Ragged Sailor got out his accordion. Then they started
to play the liveliest little tunes you ever heard.

[Illustration: Fairies & Mice are usually very good Friends]

The rest of the party pushed the chairs and table back against
the wall, to make room for dancing and then--Bless your heart!
_What_ a good time they all had. I sometimes wish that I were
small enough to dance with a Fairy or a Mouse. Don't _you_?

First they played the Pansy Petal Polka--a great favorite with
the Fairies; then the Dragon Fly Dance and the Wheatfield
Gavotte.[2]

[Footnote 2: This is a very simple but beautiful little dance in which
all the dancers stand in a circle and sway like wheat-blades when the
gentle west wind passes over the field.]

They danced everything they could think of, from the ridiculous
Caterpillar Crawl to the lovely Moon-Moth Minuet, ending up with
the Grasshopper Hornpipe. In this dance, the object was to see
which dancer could leap the highest and crack his heels together
oftenest before he touched the floor.

[Illustration: They danced everything they could think of]

Sunflower Seed did this the best of all, for she had a pair of
beautiful striped wings, like a butterfly's, which enabled her to
stay in the air as long as she pleased.

[Illustration]

The Meadow-Mouse Children, who had gone to bed soon after the
company came, were awakened by the noise of the Grasshopper
Hornpipe, which was the most boisterous of all the dances.

Everybody was in such good humor that the little Meadow-Mice were
allowed to stay up and come in, to join the fun.

Dancing so much had made everyone hungry; so Father Meadow-Mouse
got the corn popper and they popped, and popped, and popped, and
ate, and ate, and ate! I don't dare to tell you how much they
ate. Especially the four youngsters. The Fairies, too, seemed
very fond of the popcorn.

"It's such a nice change from rose pollen and honeysuckle juice,"
Thistle-Whistle remarked.

Well, finally, Mr. White-Mouse said, "We must really be going
now, for it's getting very late."

"And