shining in the brook. It looked as if his twin were lying there in the
water, and he laughed out loud--that is he thought he did. But he
found he wasn't making any sound. Instead of words, sparkles seemed to
come from his mouth, like the twinkles of a star.

He asked the Star Lady about that. It was very funny, but now that
they were getting up in the clouds he couldn't hear his own voice and
she couldn't hear it, either, but they understood each other just the
same.

"When a star twinkles, it is laughing," she explained, and it all
seemed very clear to him.

Now they passed through great clouds. When they rose above them he
looked down. They seemed like white islands in a clear blue sea. And
the sky was the sea. It wasn't like water, but just as cool, and the
earth, and the towns, and the trees lay like places buried at the
bottom of the ocean.

He tried to step on a cloud, and he couldn't feel anything at all
under him, yet it didn't give way--he could sit down on it. He did lie
down for a little while, it felt so soft and nice, but the Star Lady
made him get up.

"We must hurry, for way over there I see the Sun. He's stirring in his
sleep, and when he gets up and washes his face--"

"Does he wash his face?" interrupted Marmaduke, "just like real
people?"