"They're screamingly funny!" said Phœbe. "I expect we shall die of laughing when we're acting. Shall we have 'Beauty and the Beast', or 'Bluebeard'?"
"Which has the easier dresses?" asked Mabel.
"They're pretty much the same, and there are the same number of characters, eight in each. We can't take 'Cinderella', because there are too many parts; and 'Goody Two Shoes' has too few."
"'Bluebeard' seems the more dramatic," said Aldred, hastily dipping into the book.
"Who votes for 'Bluebeard'?" queried Mabel.
Six hands went up immediately; so the matter was considered settled, Myfanwy and Agnes, who preferred 'Beauty and the Beast', being in the minority.
"And now we shall have to decide the caste," said Ursula. "I think the tallest ought to be Bluebeard."
"Oh, I dare say, when you're an inch above everyone else in the Form!" Agnes sounded indignant.
"No, we must draw lots for the parts, as we always have done," said Mabel. "It's the fairest way, because then nobody can complain. We're all pretty equal at acting, so it doesn't much matter who gets Bluebeard or Fatima. There are eight characters, so get eight slips of paper, Dora, and we'll write one on each."
"We must fold them exactly evenly," said Dora, "so that they all feel the same. What shall we shuffle them in? Can you make a place on your lap? Now, each girl must draw one in turn."