-"Very well, my dears, you want to be girls, and girls you shall
be."

With that she waved her wand over the three daffodils and in a
twinkle they were gone; in their places stood three tall pretty
maidens dressed in soft yellow silk frocks with green stockings and
shoes. For a minute they were too much astonished to speak, then
clapping their hands they laughed and skipped for joy, and wanted
to kiss the old fairy because they were so pleased at getting their
own way; but the fairy would not look at them, and stooped over the
little flower now growing all alone, saying kindly:-

"Well, little one, don't you want to be a pretty maiden, too?"

But the daffodil shook her head with great determination:-

"I don't want legs and I won't have legs. I was meant to be a
flower and a flower I will be, but if you could keep that meddling,
chattering cuckoo away from this tree for a time I should be much
obliged."

And the fairy laughed and promised.

Meanwhile the three pretty maidens had set of hand in hand to seek
their fortunes.

They went singing and dancing over the meadows in the soft
afternoon sunshine, and thought how wise and clever they were to be
girls instead of little unnoticed flowers growing in a wood.