face. It was well it had a door--wasn't it?”

“You dreamed of the door because you wanted it,” said Diamond.

“No, I didn't; it came of itself. It was there, in the true dream.”

“There--I've caught you!” said Diamond. “I knew you believed in the

dream as much as I do.”

“Oh, well, if you will lay traps for a body!” said Nanny. “Anyhow, I was

safe inside the summer-house. And what do you think?--There was the moon

beginning to shine again--but only through one of the panes--and that

one was just the colour of the ruby. Wasn't it funny?”

“No, not a bit funny,” said Diamond.

“If you will be contrary!” said Nanny.

“No, no,” said Diamond; “I only meant that was the very pane I should

have expected her to shine through.”

“Oh, very well!” returned Nanny.

What Diamond meant, I do not pretend to say. He had curious notions

about things.

“And now,” said Nanny, “I didn't know what to do, for the dog kept

barking at the door, and I couldn't get out. But the moon was so

beautiful that I couldn't keep from looking at it through the red pane.

And as I looked it got larger and larger till it filled the whole pane

and outgrew it, so that I could see it through the other panes; and

it grew till it filled them too and the whole window, so that the

summer-house was nearly as bright as day.

“The dog stopped barking, and I heard a gentle tapping at the door, like

the wind blowing a little branch against it.”

“Just like her,” said Diamond, who thought everything strange and

beautiful must be done by North Wind.

“So I turned from the window and opened the door; and what do you think

I saw?”

“A beautiful lady,” said Diamond.

“No--the moon itself, as big as a little house, and as round as a ball,

shining like yellow silver. It stood on the grass--down on the very

grass: I could see nothing else for the brightness of it: And as I

stared and wondered, a door opened in the side of it, near the ground,

and a curious little old man, with a crooked thing over his shoulder,

looked out, and said: 'Come along, Nanny; my lady wants you. We're come

to fetch you.” I wasn't a bit frightened. I went up to the beautiful

bright thing, and the old man held down his hand, and I took hold of it,

and gave a jump, and he gave me a lift, and I was inside the moon. And

what do you think it was like? It was such a pretty little house, with

blue windows and white curtains! At one of the windows sat a beautiful

lady, with her head leaning on her hand, looking out. She seemed rather

sad, and I was sorry for her, and stood staring at her.

“`You didn't think I had such a beautiful mistress as that!' said the

queer little man. `No, indeed!' I answered: `who would have thought it?'

`Ah! who indeed? But you see you don't know everything.' The little man

closed the door, and began to pull at a rope which hung behind it with

a weight at the end. After he had pulled a while, he said--`There, that

will do; we're all right now.' Then he took me by the hand and opened a

little trap in the floor, and led me down two or three steps, and I saw

like a great hole below me. `Don't be frightened,' said the tittle

man. `It's not a hole. It's only a window. Put your face down and

look through.' I did as he told me, and there was the garden and the

summer-house, far away, lying at the bottom of the moonlight. `There!'

said the little man; `we've brought you off! Do you see the little

dog barking at us down there in the garden?' I told him I couldn't see

anything so far. `Can you see anything so small and so far off?' I said.

`Bless you, child!' said the little man; `I could pick up a needle out

of the grass if I had only a long enough arm. There's one lying by the

door of the summer-house now.' I looked at his eyes. They were very

small, but so bright that I think he saw by the light that went out of

them. Then he took me up, and up again by a little stair in a corner of

the room, and through another trapdoor, and there was one great round

window above us, and I saw the blue sky and the clouds, and such lots of

stars, all so big and shining as hard as ever they could!”

“The little girl-angels had been polishing them,” said Diamond.

“What nonsense you do talk!” said Nanny.

“But my nonsense is just as good as yours, Nanny. When you have done,

I'll tell you my dream. The stars are in it--not the moon, though. She

was away somewhere. Perhaps she was gone to fetch you then. I don't

think that, though, for my dream was longer ago than yours. She might

have been to fetch some one else, though; for we can't fancy it's only

us that get such fine things done for them. But do tell me what came

next.”

Perhaps one of my child-readers may remember whether the moon came down

to fetch him or her the same night that Diamond had his dream. I cannot

tell, of course. I know she did not come to fetch me, though I did think

I could make her follow me when I was a boy--not a very tiny one either.

“The little man took me all round the house, and made me look out of

every window. Oh, it was beautiful! There we were, all up in the air, in

such a nice, clean little house! `Your work will be to keep the windows

bright,' said the little man. `You won't find it very difficult,

for there ain't much dust up here. Only, the frost settles on them

sometimes, and the drops of rain leave marks on them.' `I can easily

clean them inside,' I said; `but how am I to get the frost and rain off

the outside of them?' `Oh!' he said, `it's quite easy. There are ladders

all about. You've only got to go out at the door, and climb about. There

are a great many windows you haven't seen yet, and some of them look

into places you don't know anything about. I used to clean them myself,

but I'm getting rather old, you see. Ain't I now?' `I can't tell,' I

answered. `You see I never saw you when you were younger.' `Never saw

the man in the moon?' said he. `Not very near,' I answered, `not to tell

how young or how old he looked. I have seen the bundle of sticks on his

back.' For Jim had pointed that out to me. Jim was very fond of looking

at the man in the moon. Poor Jim! I wonder he hasn't been to see me. I'm

afraid he's ill too.”

“I'll try to find out,” said Diamond, “and let you know.”

“Thank you,” said Nanny. “You and Jim ought to be friends.”

“But what did the man in the moon say, when you told him you had seen

him with the bundle of sticks on his back?”

“He laughed. But I thought he looked offended too. His little nose

turned up sharper, and he drew the corners of his mouth down from the

tips of his ears into his neck. But he didn't look cross, you know.”

“Didn't he say anything?”

“Oh, yes! He said: `That's all nonsense. What you saw was my bundle of

dusters. I was going to clean the windows. It takes a good many, you

know. Really, what they do say of their superiors down there!' `It's

only because they don't know better,' I ventured to say. `Of course,

of course,' said the little man. `Nobody ever does know better. Well,

I forgive them, and that sets it all right, I hope.' `It's very good

of you,' I said. `No!' said he, `it's not in the least good of me. I

couldn't be comfortable otherwise.' After this he said nothing for a

while, and I laid myself on the floor of his garret, and stared up and

around at the great blue beautifulness. I had forgotten him almost,

when at last he said: `Ain't you done yet?' `Done what?' I asked. `Done