The starlight fairies stood on tiptoe for a moment, and fluttered their wings; and then they rose quietly in the air, and flew straight up. When they were above the tree tops, they began to circle round and round, going higher and higher; far, far up through the night they went on circling; and long after Merrimeg could see them no more, she could see the star, bright as a diamond, go circling up and up.... She ran away home, and crept in quietly at the front door, and lay down in her bed and snuggled under the covers. Her mother was still asleep. She must have gone to sleep herself presently; she woke up and thought of the lost star, and remembered that she had not waited to see if it was in its place. She got out of bed and tiptoed to the window, and putting her head out looked up. A star was sparkling just overhead, where there had been none before. The star was in its place. “I’m glad of that,” she said out loud. “What did you say?” said her mother, waking up. “I was only saying--only saying----” “Never mind what you were saying. Go back to bed, and go to sleep. You’ll catch your death of cold.” “Yes, mother,” said Merrimeg. [Illustration: MERRIMEG AND THE ECHO DWARFS] _MERRIMEG AND THE ECHO DWARFS_ “Now, Merrimeg,” said Merrimeg’s mother, “take this basket and go to the brook in the woods, and bring me back a basketful of water cress for supper. And be sure to come straight back.” “Yes, mother,” said Merrimeg. And she went off down the village street singing, with her basket on her arm. But first she put in her pocket the blue saltcellar from the kitchen, full of salt. She walked a long way into the woods, and at last she came to a little brook running along over the stones. There in the clear water she found plenty of fresh green water cress growing. She pulled it up by the handful and filled her basket with it. She knew that she ought to go straight home, but this was not one of her days for being good. She left the basket on the grass, and took out of her pocket the saltcellar with the salt in it. Then she looked around for birds. A blue bird came hopping by on the ground, and Merrimeg stole up behind it on tiptoe, and sprinkled a little salt right down over its tail. But just at that minute the bird flew up into a tree, and Merrimeg was too late. Off went the bird from tree to tree, and Merrimeg ran after it as fast as she could, holding out her saltcellar. Pretty soon the bird hopped down onto the ground again, and Merrimeg tiptoed up behind it and sprinkled her salt down over its tail. But she was just a bit too late, and the bird flew up into a tree. Merrimeg followed the bird a long, long way, and whenever it hopped down onto the ground she tried to sprinkle a little salt on its tail; but she was always just a wee bit too late. At last, when she was at the foot of a hill that rose up out of the woods, she stamped her foot and cried out: “Oh, you good-for-nothing naughty bird!”