CHAPTER IV.
OFF FOR SOMEWHERE.
The happy party was no sooner in the basket than Even Steven's wings began to buzz as he arose from the grassy spot. Faster and faster went his wings until, finally, the motions were so close together that only a steady hum could be heard.
"Whoey! this is something new for me!" shouted Matthew Mole, so as to make himself heard above Even Steven's humming. "I've tunneled under the ground most of my life, and have spent some time on top of it, but this is my first flying stunt. Old Even Steven knows how to stir up a good breeze, all right. Say, I'm glad that my fur coat is buttoned on so tight, or else I might lose it in the big windstorm that he has made!"
"And it's lucky that the Flower Folks are so young, for a breeze like this would blow older flowers all to pieces," remarked Prince Philip. "Why, I have gone out into the garden after a storm and many of our most beautiful flowers would be lying upon the ground, their petals so scattered about and mixed up that we could scarcely tell which was which."
"Huh! I don't care how hard it blows!" said Caleb Cactus, the single pink blossom on top of his spiny head waving back and forth as the Ramble-Along whizzed through the air like a bullet from a gun. "And I wouldn't care if the breeze was boiling hot and full of sand, either! My cousins out on the desert sit around all day in such a sandy, hot breeze. I could do the same thing, but I really prefer to live in the garden of the Prince and Princess. They treat me very kindly, although they do insist upon giving me too much water. You see, I'm accustomed to the desert life, so I seldom get thirsty."
"And while we're speaking of the wind, wouldn't Clarence Chrysanthemum make a regular snowstorm if his petals should get away from him?" chuckled Rufus Rose.
"Perhaps you had better be careful or some of your big red petals may leave you in a hurry, 'Mr. American Beauty,'" returned Clarence. "Anybody will tell you that I hold my petals longer than you can, even when the wind isn't blowing."
"Now, boys, don't get into any arguments," cautioned Moon Queen. "Everybody may tell as many jokes on each other as they please, but be just as ready to laugh at a joke on yourself as one about another person. Remember that you still have your flower natures, and flowers are always lovable things."
"That's right, it should be just as much fun to take a joke as to give one," chirped truthful little Viola Violet. "Still, some of the biggest jokers I ever met have often been very poor joke takers. They liked to laugh at absurd things other people did, but seemed to think that they themselves never acted foolish enough to be joked about it. I think that fun is fun, no matter who happens to get the worst of the joke."
"I'm certainly glad that our flowers are such lovable things and get along so well together, but what puzzles me is where are we going," said the Prince. "Here we are buzzing through the air so fast that I can hardly get my breath, and yet nobody has said a word about stopping. Good fairy, are you sure that we shall get back to Carol Castle before eight o'clock, for if the governess should come into our rooms to awaken us and we'd be gone -- oh, I don't know what might happen!"
"Why, I hadn't thought of that," added the Princess. "I'm sure that she would be almost frightened to death -- and she is so good to us, too."
"Now, don't either of you be the least bit worried about not getting back home," replied Moon Queen. "Before eight o'clock, and, in fact, before the sun even rises, you shall be in your beds. In the meantime, let us enjoy ourselves in every way that we can and be thankful that Even Steven brought his Ramble-Along to us so quickly."
"But you forgot to tell us wbere we are going," insisted Prince Philip. "The governess had read to us of enchanted woods and castles in which fairies lived, so I was wondering if we might see some of those wonderful things tonight."
"Perhaps you'll remember when we started out that I asked everybody to hold on tight and we would soon be somewhere," laughed Moon Queen. "That is all I'll say now, so just be patient and remember that a fairy always keeps her promises, and prepare for some surprises and adventures which I'm sure each of you will enjoy. We have the whole night before us, as it has only been about ten minutes since we left the flower garden."
The big Bumblebee above them was still buzzing along as fast as ever, when, suddenly, something hit the Ramble-Along so hard that everybody in the basket bumped into each other. However, Moon Queen quickly satisfied the anxious looks on the faces of the frightened passengers, as she laughed and said:
"Ho! ho! that was a good joke on Edgar Eagle, all right. He evidently heard us whizzing through the air and decided to investigate, but was blinded by my wandstar and bumped squarely into the side of the basket. He had no idea of bumping into anything, for Edgar has exceedingly keen eyes and is very proud of them, so you can imagine how surprised he was when the basket hit his outstretched beak. I don't suppose that he will go out flying at night again for some time.
Something hit the Ramble-Along.
"Perhaps you have heard of birds dashing into the windows of lighthouses, and even high buildings in the cities," continued the fairy. "This often happens when the birds are returning to their northern homes, after spending the winter in the warmer southern countries."