plum-owner, and said, 'We have had some of your plums; we thought
it wasn't stealing, but now I am not so sure. So here's some money
to pay for them.'

She swooped down towards the terror-stricken grower of plums, and
slipped the coin into the pocket of his jacket, and in a few flaps
she had rejoined the others.

The farmer sat down on the grass, suddenly and heavily.

'Well - I'm blessed!' he said. 'This here is what they call
delusions, I suppose. But this here threepenny' - he had pulled it
out and bitten it - 'THAT'S real enough. Well, from this day forth
I'll be a better man. It's the kind of thing to sober a chap for
life, this is. I'm glad it was only wings, though. I'd rather see
birds as aren't there, and couldn't be, even if they pretend to
talk, than some things as I could name.'

He got up slowly and heavily, and went indoors, and he was so nice
to his wife that day that she felt quite happy, and said to
herself, 'Law, whatever have a-come to the man!' and smartened
herself up and put a blue ribbon bow at the place where her collar
fastened on, and looked so pretty that he was kinder than ever. So
perhaps the winged children really did do one good thing that day.
If so, it was the only one; for really there is nothing like wings
for getting you into trouble. But, on the other hand, if you arc
in trouble, there is nothing like wings for getting you out of it.

This was the case in the matter of the fierce dog who sprang out at
them when they had folded up their wings as small as possible and