CHAPTER II.
The morning following the night on which the Moths took Lily away dawned brightly. The farmer and his wife fancied somehow that their little girl looked rather pale and thin; the mother thought poor Lily was ill; the father thought she was sorry for saying she didn’t break the clock. But the Moths are very clever people, and of course had contrived to make Scarlet Mantle look as like Lily as possible. So she took up the child’s place in the house, and ate bread and butter, pudding, lollies, wore the girl’s new clothes, and was much happier than she had ever been in Mothland. One or two little things Scarlet Mantle could not entirely forget; still, on the whole, she managed to conduct herself as a civilised human child should.
But where was Lily? She was away in the [[191]]dells with the Moths, and very unhappy. Firstly, she was very tired; secondly, she was hungry; and thirdly, she was made ridiculous. These things were most tantalising, and she was ready to cry her eyes out. No wonder she was tired, because instead of going to bed at seven o’clock, and sleeping soundly every night, she had to go out on the circles and dance till the moon set. She was cold, too, for in place of her warm frocks she had nothing in the world but Scarlet Mantle’s old clothes, made of rose-leaves and gossamer. She might well be hungry also, for the Moths gave her nothing but dew and locusts for food. Still there was one thing more dreadful than all these put together. For some reason or other Lily’s tongue had begun to grow very long.
Yes, it was not painful, but exceedingly ugly, as you may imagine. Little by little it increased and grew longer, until she was obliged to tie it round her neck to keep it out of her way, and the Moths were always laughing about it, which made our little girl very melancholy.
The Queen of the Moths was a very motherly person, and Lily soon made friends with her.
“Your Majesty,” she said one day, “I am very miserable. Indeed, I think I shall die if I am kept here much longer.” [[192]]
“What is amiss, my child?” inquired the Queen.
“Why am I detained here?” replied Lily. “And why have I so little to eat and drink?”
“My dear child, you know the reason,” answered the Queen. “You told a wicked falsehood, and you are paying the penalty for it now.”