"Am I to answer politely or truthfully?"

"Truthfully! Oh, truthfully! What is life without truth?"

"Even though one believes in fairies?"

"Fairies are truthful, in a certain way. But you are not truthful.
You were not thinking of fairies when you--"

"When I what?"

"Found fault with me."

"I am not sure of that. But I will translate to you my thoughts, so
far as I can read them myself, and to do so I will resort to the
fairies. Let us suppose that a fairy has placed her changeling into
the cradle of a mortal: that into the cradle she drops all manner of
fairy gifts which are not bestowed on mere mortals; but that one
mortal attribute she forgets. The changeling grows up; she charms
those around her: they humour, and pet, and spoil her. But there
arises a moment in which the omission of the one mortal gift is felt
by her admirers and friends. Guess what that is."

Lily pondered. "I see what you mean; the reverse of truthfulness,
politeness."

"No, not exactly that, though politeness slides into it unawares: it
is a very humble quality, a very unpoetic quality; a quality that many
dull people possess; and yet without it no fairy can fascinate