“Are you coming?” she asked; “have you decided to come, Fleuriss?”
“Y-y-es,” said Fleuriss, “I really have, Eepersip. I thought all dinner time, and couldn’t eat, I was so 'xcited! But we must go quickly now, or they will run after us.”
So they ran quickly into the woods—ran amid the trees and flowers until they were far from the house. Eepersip showed her little sister how to dance, and they danced together. She also showed her how to leap and run fast, and Fleuriss was delighted. When they grew tired, they sat down together and made fern dresses and flower wreaths. Fleuriss followed Eepersip’s example, casting aside her dress, shoes, and stockings.
“Oh, how 'licious the grass feels on my bare toes!” she said, “and the soft moss. Eepersip, I feel just like a nymph.” (A slight pause.) “When I saw the flowers I said: 'Mother, I think a nymph left them there,' and she said: 'Oh, no, there aren’t any nymphs. You’re only dreaming!' Are there nymphs, Eepersip?”
“Oh, yes, Fleuriss, and if we dance and run and dress just like them, we’ll pretend we’re nymphs, too.”
“But why can’t we see them, Eepersip?”
“Oh, we can, if we look very hard. They’re all around in the trees, the flowers, and the woods. Sometimes we can’t see them, and they turn into butterflies so we can. I can see them.”
“Well, sometimes,” said Fleuriss thoughtfully, “it seems as if they were everywhere—when it’s windy, you know, and sunny, and there are shadows. In my garden it’s so beautiful I think there must be nymphs. I can feel them, not exactly see.”
There was a pause.
Then—“Where we going now, Eepersip?” for Eepersip was gradually working off to a hill which was a peak of Mount Varcrobis, north of Eiki-ennern Peak.