true that he carried a scythe, just as he had been pictured as doing.
There was a sand-glass too. It was in two parts, connected by a narrow
stem through which the sand was running from one part to the other.

But he did not have a long white beard, and a dark robe, and a stern
face. Not at all. His eyes were all ready to twinkle. They were the
kindest eyes Everychild had ever seen. You could tell by looking at
them that if you were to hurt yourself Father Time would pity you and
comfort you. He had a rather jolly figure. You could imagine he might
be very playful. And he wore the costume of a jester--though you did
not feel like laughing at him, because his eyes were so friendly and
kind. He stood as if he were waiting to begin some sort of play.

Then Everychild looked at the other stranger. She was a lady, and very
distinguished looking. He did not recognize her, though he felt at
once that she was a very important person. She was dressed all in
shimmering white. She was very fair and her hair was dressed
beautifully. She wore a band about her hair and there was a jewel in
it, like a star. She wore a little mask over her eyes so that you
could not be sure at once whether she was a kind person or not. She
sat at a spinning wheel, and the wheel went round and round without
making any noise. She was spinning something. She looked very
tranquil.

Everychild was becoming greatly excited. He touched the cook on the
hand. "Didn't it seem to you to get much lighter?" he asked.

"Lighter? No. It's getting darker," she replied.

"And--and didn't you hear any music, either?"