“The whole night long. But I begin to think it was not so much of an event after-all; you girls are so critical. It seems to me sometimes we are like those stones which are full of caves, and grottoes of crystal inside, to ourselves, while to others we are only common paving stones.”
“But you must remember it is just so with all, and not contrast the inside of your paving stone with the outside of others',” said Anna.
“I was thinking whether there was outside enough to my little adventure to make it worth telling. But if it is thinner than that of the rest, it will be easier to break open.”
“There, Linda, you have let that stone roll long enough; now let it rest with me and gather moss.”
“I understand you, Ella. You are off now on one of your fairy stories, and I shall have one listener the less. Well, I am glad of it, for I shall not have you looking at me in your calm way all the time, and thinking how much better you could tell the story.”
“O Ella, let us have the fairy story, and call it the paving stone if you please. Never mind if it is not clear to you yet, but think as you go along,” said Fanny.
“No; leave me alone. Perhaps it is nothing, and I know too well that no story is good for any thing, unless one knows what it is going to be before one begins.”
“I hate stories with morals; they are just like going in the cars, where all you think of is the end of your journey,” said Kate.
“But unless you know where you are going, you would never go at all.”
“But it is so pleasant to go off for a day's walk without knowing where you are going, and with nothing to do but to enjoy what you see.”