They all hurried and carried the table outside and laid it with a nice white table-cloth and put a plate for each; and, lastly, Granny brought out the steaming soup-tureen in state. The lamp was lit and the grandparents and grandchildren sat down to supper, jostling and elbowing one another and laughing and shouting with pleasure. Then, for a time, nothing was heard but the sound of the wooden spoons noisily clattering against the soup-plates. "How good it is! Oh, how good it is!" shouted Tyltyl, who was eating greedily. "I want some more! More! More! More!" "Come, come, a little more quiet," said Grandad. "You're just as ill-behaved as ever; and you'll break your plate...." Tyltyl took no notice of the remark, stood up on his stool, caught hold of the tureen and dragged it towards him and upset it; and the hot soup trickled all over the table and down upon everybody's lap. The children yelled and screamed with pain. Granny was quite scared; and Grandad was furious. He dealt our friend Tyltyl a tremendous box on the ear. Tyltyl was staggered for a moment; and then he put his hand to his cheek with a look of rapture and exclaimed: "Grandad, how good, how jolly! It was just like the slaps you used to give me when you were alive!... I must give you a kiss for it!..." Everybody laughed. "There's more where that came from, if you like them!" said Grandad, grumpily. But he was touched, all the same, and turned to wipe a tear from his eyes. "Goodness!" cried Tyltyl, starting up. "There's half-past eight striking!... Mytyl, we've only just got time!..." Granny in vain implored them to stay a few minutes longer. "No, we can't possibly," said Tyltyl firmly; "I promised Light!" And he hurried to take up the precious cage. "Good-bye, Grandad.... Good-bye, Granny.... Good-bye, brothers and sisters, Pierrot, Robert, Pauline, Madeleine, Riquette and you, too, Kiki.... We can't stay.... Don't cry, Granny; we will come back often!" Poor old Grandad was very much upset and complained lustily: "Gracious me, how tiresome the Living are, with all their fuss and excitement!" Tyltyl tried to console him and again promised to come back very often. "Come back every day!" said Granny. "It is our only pleasure; and it's such a treat for us when your thoughts pay us a visit!" "Good-bye! Good-bye!" cried the brothers and sisters in chorus. "Come back very soon! Bring us some barley sugar!" There were more kisses; all waved their handkerchiefs; all shouted a last good-bye. But the figures began to fade away; the little voices could no longer be heard; the two Children were once more wrapped in mist; and the old forest covered them with its great dark mantle. "I'm so frightened!" whimpered Mytyl. "Give me your hand, little brother! I'm so frightened!" Tyltyl was shaking too, but it was his duty to try and comfort and console his sister: "Hush!" he said. "Remember that we are bringing back the Blue Bird!"