On a lark to the planets: A sequel to "The wonderful electric elephant" — John Shaqi
On a lark to the planets: A sequel to "The wonderful electric elephant"Montgomery, Frances Trego
Science
On a lark to the planets: A sequel to "The wonderful electric elephant"
Montgomery, Frances Trego
Fantasy fiction; Interplanetary voyages -- Fiction; Science fiction
Away went the girls, while the boys entered the miniature theatre which
they were only able to do because of the power of their magic robes.
Presently the little brougham turned into a beautiful park where there
were winding drives, fountains, and flowers everywhere, and stopped in
front of a lovely palace of white marble. The footman opened the door of
the brougham, the little lady alighted, passed up the broad steps to the
front entrance and disappeared within the exquisitely carved doors which
were opened by a tiny butler in quaint livery.
With a feeling of disappointment, the girls saw her disappear from view.
“Oh, isn’t she too tiny, sweet, and lovely for words!” exclaimed the
Princess.
“How I wish we were not so large and could go inside to see how her
palace is furnished,” said Ione.
“You have forgotten that our magic robes can make us large or small, as
well as invisible,” replied the Princess.
“To be sure I had. Let us wish ourselves the size of the little lady and
that we may float through one of her windows and be able to explore the
palace unobserved and undisturbed.”
Once inside, the girls found themselves in a marble tessellated hall
with walls lined with ancestral portraits and coats of mail. On either
side of the hall were rooms through the portiers of which they caught
glimpses of rugs of Oriental splendor, brocaded-satin furniture in solid
gold frames, statuettes of Parian marble, while roses and white
hyacinths were everywhere. At the farther end of the hall was the
dining-room with its tapestried walls, old oaken furniture, crystal
chandeliers, dainty silver, and sparkling cut glass.
“Isn’t this magnificent,” exclaimed both girls in a voice of wonder,
“and just as if we were looking through the wrong end of our opera
glasses.”
They next ascended a lovely stairway and entered a boudoir with rose
pink furnishings. Before one of the many miniature mirrors with which
its walls were lined, sat our little lady while a maid was busy in
brushing her fluffy golden hair. The adjoining room was a nursery. Here
in a pretty bassinet, all lace and frills, slept a tiny, rosy-cheeked
baby no larger than one’s little finger; while on the floor near by sat
a small boy doll building a block house, and as he played his nurse read
to him from a diminutive Mother Goose Book.
“Well, I declare! They have Mother Goose even in Toy Land!” exclaimed
Ione.
They next descended to the kitchen where they saw the little cook making
pies no larger than one’s thumb nail and these she baked in a cute
little range as perfect in its mechanism as our larger ones.
“I suppose we must be going or the boys will be waiting for us,” said
the Princess, “but I should enjoy remaining much longer.”
As they floated away they heard the tones of a piano, for the little
daughter of the house was taking her music lesson, while a Canary bird
in its golden-wired cage was trying to outvie her by filling the air
with sweet, flute-like tremulous tones.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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