"'Such singing!' cried little Maud, as she turned toward her still dazed brother.
"'Such a band!' he exclaimed, merrily clapping his hands as he glanced from his sister to 'Aunt Twaddles;' while down in the Village of Hide and Seek the dolls were filing back into the Temple of Music.
"'Look!' exclaimed 'Aunt Twaddles,' as she pointed away toward the village. 'The dolls are going back into the Temple to practise and the streets of the village will now be deserted for at least an hour.'
"The happy children turned about just in time to see the last of the great army of dolls as they entered the doors of the Temple. All now throughout the village lay quiet and still.
"Off in the far end of the valley flowed a golden stream. It was quite wide indeed and its current, as yellow as any gold that was ever made into a finger ring, rippled at a surprisingly rapid rate.
"The banks on this side were clear of bushes and nothing grew to hide any of the swift-flowing river from view. On the opposite side, and close to the edge of the tide, arose tall buildings surrounded by huge piles of well-seasoned lumber, from which came a buzzing sound as if this might be a factory of some kind.
"Farther down on the edge of the stream stood several long sheds filled with bolts of silk and ribbon, satins and laces in great piles without number; while standing well up in the sky and high over all, as if suspended from the arched heavens above, hung a tall, golden sign with shining letters that glistened in the dazzling sun light.
"For a long time the strange sign greatly puzzled the children, for the letters seemed to be put up backward and failed to spell anything in particular; while through the open spaces between them they could just see the outlines of a herd of reindeer feeding afar in a field of spotless snow.
"Arthur's inquisitive nature could permit no such puzzle to remain long unsolved, and turning to 'Aunt Twaddles' he excitedly asked:
"'Aunt Twaddles, what are those tall buildings with the strange sign over them?'