The wings flopped at the same time, raising her slowly from the ground, and she began to soar gracefully above the heads of the astonished people, who thronged the streets below. “Stop! Help! Murder!” shrieked Rivette, kicking her feet in great agitation, and at the same time flopping nervously her new wings. “Save me, some one! Save me!” “Why don’t you save yourself?” asked a man below. “Stop flying, if you want to reach the earth again!” This struck old Rivette as a sensible suggestion. She was quite a distance in the air by this time; but she tried to hold her wings steady and not flop them, and the result was that she began to float slowly downward. Then, with horror, she saw she was sinking directly upon the branches of a prickly-pear tree; so she screamed and began flying again, and the swift movement of her wings sent her high into the air. So great was her terror that she nearly fainted; but she shut her eyes so that she might not see how high up she was, and held her wings rigid and began gracefully to float downward again. By and by she opened her eyes and found one of her sleeves was just missing the sharp point of a lightning-rod on a tower of the palace. So she began struggling and flopping anew, and, almost before she knew it, Aunt Rivette had descended to the roof of the royal stables. Here she sat down and began to weep and wail, while a great crowd gathered below and watched her. [Illustration: “‘HELP! GET A LADDER!’ WAILED THE OLD WOMAN.”] “Get a ladder! _Please_ get a ladder!” begged old Rivette. “If you don’t, I shall fall and break my neck.” By this time Bud and Fluff had come out to see what caused the excitement; and, to their amazement they found their old aunt perched high up on the stable roof, with two great wings growing out from her back. For a moment they could not understand what had happened. Then Margaret cried: “Oh, Bud, I let her wear the magic cloak! She must have made a wish!” “Help! Help! Get a ladder!” wailed the old woman, catching sight of her nephew and niece. “Well, you _are_ a bird, Aunt Rivette!” shouted Bud, gleefully, for he was in a teasing mood. “You don’t need a ladder! I don’t see why you can’t fly down the same way you flew up.” And all the people shouted: “Yes, yes! The king is right! Fly down!” Just then Rivette’s feet began to slip on the sloping roof; so she made a wild struggle to save herself, and the result was that she fluttered her wings in just exactly the right way to sink down gradually to the ground. “You’ll be all right as soon as you know how to use your wings,” said Bud, with a laugh. “But where did you get ’em, anyhow?” “I don’t know,” said Aunt Rivette, much relieved to be on earth again, and rather pleased to have attracted so much attention. “Are the wings pretty?” “They are perfectly lovely!” cried Fluff, clapping her hands in glee. “Why, Aunt Rivette, I do believe you must be the only person in all the world who can fly!”