hurried and enthusiastic kisses_)
Oh, the dear little girl!... How beautiful she is!... How good she is!...
How beautiful she is, how sweet she is!...I must kiss her!... Once more,
once more, once more!...

THE CAT
What an idiot!... Well, we shall see!... Let us lose no time.... Turn the
diamond....

TYLTYL
Where shall I stand?...

THE CAT
In this moonbeam; you will see better.... There, turn it gently!...

(TYLTYL _turns the Diamond. A long-drawn-out rustling shakes the leaves
and branches. The oldest and most stately trunks open to make way for the
soul which each of them contains. The appearance of these souls differs
according to the appearance and the character of the trees which they
represent. The soul of the_ ELM, _for instance, is a sort of pursy,
pot-bellied, crabbed gnome; the_ LIME-TREE _is placid, familiar and
jovial; the_ BEECH, _elegant and agile; the_ BIRCH, _white,
reserved and restless; the_ WILLOW, _stunted, dishevelled and
plaintive; the_ FIR-TREE, _tall, lean and taciturn; the_ CYPRESS,
_tragic; the_ CHESTNUT-TREE, _pretentious and rather dandified;
the_ POPLAR, _sprightly, cumbersome, talkative. Some emerge slowly
from their trunks, torpidly stretching themselves, as though they had been
imprisoned or asleep for ages; others leap out actively, eagerly; and all
come and stand in a circle round the two_ CHILDREN, _while keeping as
near as they can to the tree in which they were born_.)