fresh and bright for the day, like little boys with clean faces ready
for school, the young strangers were all assembled on the lawn in front
of the palace, and the fairy spoke to them as follows:--

"My dear children, as you all fancy you would be happier if you were
quite free from control, and if you had nothing to do but to play, I
have brought you to this beautiful island, where you can amuse
yourselves all day long. You will have everything supplied to you, and
there will be no one to dictate to you. These pretty houses I give you
to live in. The palace is for the king and queen, and the other houses
are so precisely alike that none of you will be able to dispute as to
choice. You, Philip, who are the eldest boy, shall be king, and you,
Pepitia, who are the eldest girl, shall be queen. Be kind and
good-natured to one another, and I will always be your friend. Don't eat
too much fruit or cake, as that will make you ill. Now, come with me,
and I will show you the inside of the palace."

Then they followed the good fairy, in a merry crowd, up the marble
steps into the hall of the palace, and a grand hall it was, with its
rows of pillars and richly decorated walls. The fairy led them up the
staircase and through the royal apartments, which consisted of
drawing-rooms, dining-rooms, bedrooms, and dressing-rooms, where the
looking-glasses reached from floor to ceiling and the wardrooms were
filled with magnificent dresses. Then into the throne-room, hung with
crimson velvet embroidered in gold, and where, at the upper end, were
two golden thrones inlaid with precious stones and cushioned with
crimson velvet. The more they saw the more delighted the little folks
were; they clapped their hands with joy, and cried, "Oh, my! how
beautiful!" at least twenty times in a minute.