She carefully found the place in the book, and, with a finger following each line in case she should miss any of it, proceeded to read in that ecstatic and unreal style of voice inevitable to young people when uttering other thoughts than their own. "'... Reaching the top of the hill, the most beautiful little girl in the world, whose eyes were brighter than stars, and whose lips were redder than the heart of a rose' (like me, Louis--yes?) 'sat down on a fallen tree and started to sing a song which she had learned from a solitary shepherd near her home.'--It does not say, Louis, but I think, perhaps, the music goes like this: "'Maman, dites moi ce qu'on sent quand on aime. Est-ce plaisir, est-ce tourment? Je suis tout le jour dans une peine extrême, Et la nuit, je ne sais comment. Si quelqu'un près.... "'And just then she saw a handsome cavalier approaching on foot.' (Is it not exciting, Louis?) 'He was tall and young, and was the bravest soldier in all France. He was so brave and handsome that every one called him "The Fairy Prince"'--Listen, Louis, to the wind." The lowering clouds threw black shadows over the fields; the hurrying water of the mill-stream turned the color of ink as it made, shudderingly, for the fall of the chute. Through the ominous rise and fall of the October wind came the sound of an aeroplane in the clouds, to be lost a moment later in a boisterous rush of wind that swept the girl's tresses. "Come, Louis, under my shawl--so! It is cold, is it not? As soon as we finish this part of the story, we shall go in by the stove and work until bed-time, then.... Do you ever dream, Louis?" The black cat opened one green eye and closed it with the solemnity of an all-understanding wink. "I often dream, my cat"--again the wistfulness lingered about her face--"and always it is of the world that is past the village.... Is it that I must stay here and never, never, see that world but when I dream? _Voyons_--what has all this to do with the Fairy Prince? I continue, Louis: 'As soon as the handsome cavalier saw the loveliest little girl in all the country, he came towards her....'" The droning sound grew louder. She looked up and watched the dark billows of clouds hovering over the fields, when, suddenly, through the heavy, underhanging mist, an aeroplane appeared, descended swiftly towards the earth, straightened out its course, and soared into the clouds again. She could hear the whirring of the machine as it circled round and round, like an angry hornet outside its nest that has been entered by an invader. The sound of the engine grew increasingly loud; again the mists parted as foam from the prow of a ship, and again the aeroplane swooped towards the earth. She could almost make out the features of the helmeted occupant, when, with a deafening roar, the machine checked its downward flight, and rose once more until the clouds took it to their bosom and hid it from sight.