"Never mind," said our imp consolingly, "you can't help it now, you have run away with me you see." "I didn't, indeed I didn't," interrupted Kaethe indignantly. "I will send a moonshine Kaethchen to take your place for the night. You _are_ fond of dreaming, aren't you?" "O yes, mother often calls me 'Traeum Lies' (Dreaming Liese)." "Well then, it's all right, she will not notice anything, and you and I will have fine times together. If you won't marry me, at least, we can get _engaged_ you know, that will be fine fun." "Hum----" said Kaethe, "that _would_ be amusing. We might _play_ at being engaged! that would not matter." "Have you a gold ring for me?" "O we will go and buy one at the flower shop," said he. "At the _flower_ shop, that is a funny place to buy rings at," said Kaethe. "Buttercups and dandelions melted to a yellow heat make splendid fairy gold," he replied. "Ah, then you really _are_ a fairy!" said the little girl. "Why of course, did you think I was a human child like you? What _did_ they teach you at school?" "Reading, writing and arithmetic, history and geography and scripture and sewing," said Kaethe. "But not how to know a fairy when you see one, O my stars!" said our hero. "What is the good of learning To read and write and sew, To count and do addition If fairies you don't know? How do you know a fairy? O by his glittering eye, And by his light, light footsteps You know when he goes by. O what are school and lessons, My little maiden, pray, If to the land of fairy They do not show the way?" So he sang, and Kaethchen thought to herself: "I've always suspected that we did not learn _everything_ at school." By this time her little head was completely turned; she thought no more of supper or mother or baby, but only wondered with round eyes what would happen next. The moon shone brilliantly through the branches, and she noticed that the trees began to move, and some of them quickly changed places. "Have you ever seen the trees dance?" said our hero. We will call him Green Ears; for I had forgotten to say that being a tree-imp, his ears were shaped like oak leaves, and were green tinged with pinky red. It was peculiar of course, but not so very noticeable on account of his thick curly hair. He was able to move them if anything startled him, to prick up his ears in very truth; then you saw that they really _belonged_ to him. The trees did not wait for Kaethe to reply; they formed themselves in long avenues and began a stately dance, something like a quadrille. A soft fairy music was played by an invisible band. Squirrels sprang at intervals from one tree to another, spreading out their bushy tails and uttering strange cries like new-born babies.