At last she found herself in a large plain of broken stones--"much in want of a steam roller," thought Monica as she bravely hobbled along--and all around were caves. Out of the largest one of these there emerged a tall and majestic figure, which, to her astonishment, slowly glided sideways towards her, wrapped in a cloudy drapery. Then Monica was convinced; and she no longer had any doubt whatever but that there was a Man in the Moon, and that this was he. So very slowly did he advance that she had plenty of time to recover from her surprise, and went forward to meet him and introduce herself. His steely blue eye had a peculiar cold beam in it as he said-- "I bid you unwelcome! Are you not frightened?" "No," replied the child. "Why should I be? I've done no harm." "Do you call coming here no harm?" All the time he never stopped still a second, but kept gloomily mooning about, his profile with its protruding nose and chin in sharp outline always turned towards her. "I've come to--to fetch--" stammered Monica, chilled by her reception. "You're a trespasser! You're evidently a poacher, too," he added, glancing angrily at the bandbox. "Begone!" "But, please sir, do tell me----" With a warning gesture the Man slowly raised his arm till its cloud-like drapery hid his face, and he disappeared. "Dear me! I don't like him a little bit!" murmured Monica, staring vacantly about, and found that where he had stood there was a big board on which in big letters was inscribed-- +-------------------------------------+ | TRESPASSERS WILL BE MOONSTRUCK. + | BY ORDER. + +-------------------------------------+ At the sight of it Monica quickly took refuge in the smallest of the caves. "Who are you?" said a voice; and as soon as her eyes had become accustomed to the gloom she saw a queer creature resembling a great toad swathed in a long white beard. "Whoever you are," said the quaint inhabitant, "I'm too blind to see you. Just lead me to the further corner, there's a good trespasser." Monica did not quite like being talked to like that, but she held out the bandbox and, supporting himself by it, her new acquaintance limped to where he was led and sat down. "Thanks, and many of them. It's not so draughty here," he said. "Have you been long in this cave?" asked Monica. "A few thousand years or so--I can't tell to a minute," he mumbled. "But who are you, my dear? By birth, of course, a Lunarian, but not by accent." Monica mentioned who she was. Whereupon he became quite talkative, and began telling her about the moon, but only what she had read in her lesson books. "Have you a House of Parliament?" she asked, anxious to glean useful information. She had recently been to hear her father speak in theirs at home, and was very proud of that.