"My dear children, as you all fancy you would be happier if you were quite free from control, and if you had nothing to do but to play, I have brought you to this beautiful island, where you can amuse yourselves all day long. You will have everything supplied to you, and there will be no one to dictate to you. These pretty houses I give you to live in. The palace is for the king and queen, and the other houses are so precisely alike that none of you will be able to dispute as to choice. You, Philip, who are the eldest boy, shall be king, and you, Pepitia, who are the eldest girl, shall be queen. Be kind and good-natured to one another, and I will always be your friend. Don't eat too much fruit or cake, as that will make you ill. Now, come with me, and I will show you the inside of the palace." Then they followed the good fairy, in a merry crowd, up the marble steps into the hall of the palace, and a grand hall it was, with its rows of pillars and richly decorated walls. The fairy led them up the staircase and through the royal apartments, which consisted of drawing-rooms, dining-rooms, bedrooms, and dressing-rooms, where the looking-glasses reached from floor to ceiling and the wardrooms were filled with magnificent dresses. Then into the throne-room, hung with crimson velvet embroidered in gold, and where, at the upper end, were two golden thrones inlaid with precious stones and cushioned with crimson velvet. The more they saw the more delighted the little folks were; they clapped their hands with joy, and cried, "Oh, my! how beautiful!" at least twenty times in a minute. "Oh! shouldn't I like to be you," said Amanda to Pepitia, "you will be queen, and have all these fine things." After they had seen all that was in the palace, the fairy took them over the other houses, all of which were elegantly furnished, but it would take up too much time to tell you of all the beautiful things that were in them. Just fancy how you would like to furnish a little house that had drawing-rooms, dining-rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, and whatever you fancy you would like to put there _was_ there, and even more than that. No wonder the children were pleased. After the fairy had shown them all the pretty things the houses contained, and had allotted to each set of children the particular house they were to inhabit, a crystal car, drawn by six white swans, was seen to approach the shore. Then the fairy said, "Now, my little dears, I must go, for here is my coach and six come to fetch me." So she kissed them all round, bade them be good children, said she would come to see them again some day, got into her car, and was soon out of sight, the children shouting, "Good-bye, dear Fairy, good-bye," till they could see her no longer. Then they said, "What shall we play at first?"