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three hundred years before, and just as the Goths and the Vandals did five hundred years afterwards, when they came and plundered and pillaged every thing, and carried off or destroyed the beautiful marble statues and other works of art."

"What bad times Rome did have!" exclaimed all the fairies.

"But I do not think these events were half as bad," said Glassée, "as the things they sometimes did among themselves, -as the civil war, for instance, between that very Marius and Sylla, when thousands of persons were massacred in the streets, which made dreadfully unhappy times among the people."

They all agreed, unless it were Vial and Pebble, who would have gone on listening to any extent, no matter how awful the accounts might be, that almost all the stories ended in such a distressing way, that they had no desire to hear any more such; and Glassée said, that, the next time, she would tell a different kind altogether.

CHAPTER VII.

THE SIXTH DAY.

THE fairies felt happy again after their pleasant, busy occupations of one kind and another; and so do we in recounting them. Misty had found a poor, tiny, green lizard, with a broken leg; and, as she was such a tender little thing that she could never bear to witness any pain, she flew to the stout-hearted Pebble to get her to do something for the suffering creature. Pebble had the right sort of medicament exactly; and, when the unfortunate little animal was asleep, she poured this into the bruised and broken part; and, before morning, the delicate bone had quite knit together again.

The two companions went early to see if it

was restored; and the little lizard had not yet crept from its hiding-place in the soft grass close by the stone wall, where it was accustomed to run in and out twenty times a day, and where they had found it the day before. But, as they looked, it awoke, and turned up its little bright eyes to them, as much as to say, "Are you the kind fairies, who, when I came wounded to this place, healed me, and now let me go out well? I thank you with all my heart." And with that its little heart went beating pitapat, pitapat, as if it were half frightened too. In a minute it gave a little start, and then another and another, and went darting away among the grass under the tall shrubbery.

The two fairies had had real pleasure in doing for the poor lizard what they could, like the little girl who has a lame brother to tend. She says to him, "Johnny, shall I draw you a pretty picture?"

and she takes her slate, and

sits down and

amuses him for half an hour. Then she says, "Johnny, shall I play with you?" or, "Shall I

read to you?" And so, when the poor lame brother gets well, she will be as glad and happy in her heart as the fairies, because she had done. for him all that she could.

So busy had the little elves been in this way and that, that they were quite glad, when lounging-time came, for their rest and quiet story. Although Glassée had been not the least busy of them all that day, she was as prompt as any; and they were curiously wondering what sort of stories her head was filled with now, that would be so different from any thing they had heard before. But she, mum and quiet, yet looking very archly all the while, said not a word until the queen waved her wand for silence; and then she began:

"I am going to tell you of another race of beings, the gods and goddesses, who lived here in those times, at least, people thought they did, of Jupiter and Juno and Apollo and Diana, and of nymphs and naiads and fawns

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and satyrs; and of the Olympian Palace, where the gods and goddesses dwelt.

"This celestial dwelling was on the top of the lofty Mount Olympus, in Greece. Of course we could not see this royal palace from the earth below; for it was up in the blue ether, invisible to mortals, like a fairy-palace. Its walls were the rosy clouds; and its roof was the golden sun by day, and the sparkling, shining stars by night. The road by which the divinities - the gods and goddesses -came to the Olympian Palace was that path along the heavens strewn so thick and white with stars, which is called the 'Milky Way.' Here, ever and anon, on this starry road, they travelled when going on some errand, or when summoned to Olympus for some grand council. The gates, which opened and shut as they went in and out, were the pearllike clouds, just fit for such invisible beings."

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"Were they invisible?" inquired Vial and Pebble, almost in a breath, as they sat side by

side. The question was not replied to; but down

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