"But would you like to?" persisted Sapphira. The Pig moved restlessly in the straw. "Don't talk about it, please," he said, "it makes me feel wakeful." Sapphira laughed and ran off to the house, thinking gleefully how pleased he would be to-morrow. To-morrow was a beautiful day, and Sapphira was up early, and by nine o'clock was out by the cage, and here a new difficulty appeared for the first time. How was she to distract the attention of the two page boys, while the Squawking Cockatoo bit through the bars? While she was thinking, she suddenly remembered a beautiful pale blue and pink ball that had been given her by her Fairy Godmother on her last birthday. She couldn't tell why she had thought of it, but it seemed almost as though someone had said to her, "Go and get your fairy ball." She brought it out, and invited the boys to a game. The ball, being a fairy one, and knowing perfectly well what was expected of it, led the boys farther and farther away from the cage until they were quite out of sight, and Sapphira, running to the bars, called "Flying Pig! Flying Pig! wake up. The Squawking Cockatoo is coming, he's going to bite through the bars of your cage, and you are to take me on your back to the Walruses, so that I may spend the day with them. Do you hear, Flying Pig?" Of course he heard, and he was quite as excited as Sapphira. "And after I've taken you to the Walruses," he said, "may I fly around myself?" "Yes indeed, you may," said Sapphira, "only you must bring me back by five, so that I won't be missed." "But _I_ shall be missed," said the Flying Pig, very sadly, "No use, Sapphira. When they come out to give me my dinner, they'll find the cage empty, and the magic weathervane would show where I was. I tell you it's no use," and he sank down, and large tears rolled down his cheeks. "Why couldn't one of the common pigs come in, in your place? I'm sure they would love to spend the day in your cage, and they would never say a word." The Flying Pig brightened considerably. "That would do," he said. "Could you get one of them up here?" "Oh, yes," said Sapphira, "I'm sure the fattest one would follow me, he knows me quite well, and oh, _here_ is the Squawking Cockatoo." [Illustration: "SAPPHIRA SEATED ON THE BACK OF THE FLYING PIG"] Sure enough, the beautiful bird swooped down like a glittering rainbow on the top of the gilded cage. "Is everything all ready?" he asked. Sapphira explained about her having to get the common pig, and the Cockatoo agreed, only saying she must do it at once, as there was not a minute to be lost.