“Finally Cepheus said: ‘You might as well go home, Orion. These girls don’t want a party to-night.’ “‘Oh, yes, we do!’ they cried. ‘Only Taygeta—’ Then they were off again. “‘Come, come!’ said Cassiopeia. ‘Just pretend you have a little sense!’ “‘Draco has!’ cried Andromeda. ‘_He_ never was a girl!’ “Then everybody laughed together—Draco, and all; and when they were quieted down they were ready to begin the party. “Andromeda and Perseus took Little Bear and went off a little way, while Orion placed the other Star People in two lines that led up to Cassiopeia’s Chair. She and Cepheus stood at the head of the lines, on either side of the chair. And then they began to sing Andromeda’s Birthday Song:— “The stars sang together at the little maiden’s birth; They watched her through the years Of gladness and of tears; And they said: ‘She’ll come to dwell with us when she shall leave the Earth. “‘She shall bring an earthly blessing in which we have no part; We can only shine by night, When the sun has sunk from sight; She shall bring the sunshine with her—though it’s hidden in her heart!’ “A thousand, thousand greetings to the maiden, ever young! As the years the birthdays bring, The stars together sing The praise of maid the sweetest whose praise was ever sung! “As the Star People sang, Perseus led Andromeda slowly up to them. Little Bear walked ahead; and he was so proud and, at the same time, so excited, that he hardly knew whether he wanted to walk in a very dignified way, or to prance and dance. The consequence was, he did both. Every few steps, he made a funny little skip; then he was so embarrassed to think he had done it that he’d rub his paw over his nose, and almost tip over, because he was walking along all the time. “How they did laugh at him! all but Andromeda; she looked very serious and grave, because it was a Ceremony. As she walked, with her hand in Perseus’, between her friends to the chair where her father and mother stood waiting for her, she was so sweet and modest and stately—like a little queen—that no one who saw her could have helped loving her. “There was no doubt how Cepheus and Cassiopeia felt about it, when she stopped before them, and Perseus and Little Bear stepped back; then she clasped her hands and recited, in her clear, fresh voice, her little verse:— “With heartfelt joy and thankfulness, I come to you, that you may bless Your happy child to-day. You, whom I owe all reverence And love and prompt obedience, Accept them now, I pray! “A father-and-mother kiss on one’s birthday isn’t the gayest part of it, but we know it’s the best—don’t we, Kitten?—and Andromeda is the only Star Person who can have it. That is one reason why they love to keep her birthday; it can be so complete.