"The dance will warm you," answered the fairy. "And in the morning before we go, we will lay you back in your warm bed." So Ivy joined the dance, and right merrily they went round and round, till they all had to sit down to take breath. [Illustration: POPPY] [Illustration: WILLOW] Highest of all, on a tuft of soft earth, sat Rusialka. All the little white fairies sat in a circle round her. And Ivy and Christmas Rose took one another by the hand and curtsied to Rusialka. "White Lady," said the Ivy, "if you like we will go and wake up our little sisters, and when we are all here we will dance to your company a dance that the breezes taught us last spring." "Go then," said Rusialka, "and bring your sisters to me." So Christmas Rose and Ivy went away, and returned presently with another little sister-flower, the Yellow Jasmine. "Jasmine," said Rusialka, "you are slight and slender, and winsome! I can see that your blossoms will bring a pang to tender hearts, for you mean 'separation,' but of all the messengers of woe you are the gentlest, sweet Jasmine." Then the Michaelmas Daisy came forward too. [Illustration: ROSE] [Illustration: CHRYSANTHEMUM] "And you, Daisy," added Rusialka, "you soften the bitter parting with a fond farewell." The Jasmine gave a sigh and curtsied. "If I bring a sad message," she said, "my sister the Snowdrop is ever close at hand--and her meaning is 'hope.'" The Snowdrop came forward and curtsied to the fairy. "I am the herald in all our flower pageants," she said. "And some call me the 'Fair Maid of February.'" Rusialka waved her crystal wand three times and said: "I can see a walled-in garden in a distant land. A bell is ringing for vespers, and all the nuns with downcast eyes hasten across a cloister to the chapel door. The youngest of them all sees a bed of snowdrops lift their white heads and she smiles, because they are an emblem of hope, and a symbol of her life." The Snowdrop curtsied, and stepped aside to make room for the Violet. [Illustration: PERIWINKLE] [Illustration: CARNATION] She peeped out shyly from under a bunch of leaves and a sweet perfume filled the air. "Violets for faithfulness," she said, turning to the Yellow Jasmine, "I comfort friends who are parted. What pictures do you see for me, Lady Rusialka?" Rusialka waved her crystal wand and said: "Call up your bright sisters who bring both joy and hope, and stand before me." The Snowdrop turned to obey the fairy's command, and presently returned holding the Hawthorn and the Poppy by the hands. "I bring security and hope," the Hawthorn said, "and I protect the good country people from harm, if they do but hang a spray of my blossoms over their houses in May. For then the wicked fairies and elves who are your enemies, White Ladies, as well as the enemies of men, can do no harm." [Illustration: WOOD ANEMONE] [Illustration: WIND FLOWER]