CHAPTER XXXVIII.



It was about this time that I installed myself in my aunt Claire's room
for the purpose of study, and there too I busied myself manufacturing
wonders for the "Donkey's Skin." I took possession of the place as
entirely as an army occupies a conquered country--I would not admit the
possibility of being in the way.

My aunt Claire was the person who petted me most. And it was she who was
always so careful of my little things. She always looked after my finery
or anything uncommonly fragile, things that the least breath of air
would have blown away--such exquisitely delicate trifles, for example,
as the wings of a butterfly, or the bright scale of a beetle, intended
for the costumes of our nymphs and fairies--when I said to her: "Will
you please take care of this, dear auntie?" I felt that I could be easy
about it, for I knew that no one would be allowed to touch it.

One of the great attractions in her room was a bear that was used
for holding burnt-almonds; and I often visited the place for the sole
purpose of paying my respects to this animal. He was made of china and
he sat upon his hind legs in the corner of the mantelpiece. According to
a compact that I had with my aunt, every time that his head was turned
to the side (and I found it so several times during a day) it meant that
there was an almond or some other kind of candy for me. When I had eaten
this I straightened his head to indicate that I had been there, and then
I departed.