"Bother!" exclaimed Snip. "His ears have gone off again. How awfully inconvenient!" "I always let them off after breakfast," explained the tailor apologetically and just as if he had read Snip's thoughts. "It rests them, you know." "But we've had no breakfast," began Snip impatiently. Then, realizing that Tora could not hear one word, he walked along in a resigned silence, thinking how annoying it must be to have butterfly ears. "And yet," mused Snip slowly, "it might be rather fun, too. One could send one's ears to places one didn't care to go--to school and to lectures and all that sort of thing, and take them off when folks scolded or the conversation grew dull." He had thought up quite a number of uses for butterfly ears, when the tailor, himself, broke the silence. "Perhaps it would amuse you to hear a little about the Blanks," began Tora in his pleasant voice. "They were not always invisible as now, but they were always vain and haughty and trying to outshine one another in appearance. In fact," sighed the old man, with a grave nod, "they thought of nothing but dress and all of their time and money was spent for new and splendid apparel. As some of the inhabitants were handsomer than others there was always an argument as to who really looked the best. "Shortly after I, myself, came to Blankenburg, Vanette, the Queen, walking in a small woods behind the palace, discovered a hidden pool. Looking into the water to admire her reflection, she accidentally dropped her handkerchief. Before she could snatch it out the handkerchief had disappeared and, when she reached into the pond to search for it, her hand and arm suddenly became invisible." Tora looked down to see how Snip was taking the story and, finding him interested, continued dreamily: "For a time the Queen was exceedingly frightened, but all at once a wicked plan popped into her head. Hurrying back to the palace, she ordered her servants to carry a bucket of the magic water to everyone in the city. She then commanded them to bathe in the enchanted water and since then they have been perfectly invisible. Vanette, herself, who is old and fat and exceedingly jealous of the young girls, bathed in the water too and is now as invisible as the rest of her subjects. So now, when they dress up in their fine clothes, faces don't count at all, and the Queen always wins all the beauty prizes. That's why it's against the law to have a face in Blankenburg," continued Tora solemnly. "I'm glad we escaped before they got yours." Snip was glad, too, but wanted to ask how Tora had managed to save his own face, and the tailor, guessing what was in the little boy's mind, finished up quickly: "For some reason or other the magic water had no effect upon me and as I was old and ugly and quite useful in my own way, they finally stopped bothering me."