"George!" Ah, it was the witch this time. He knew her voice well enough. She must have come back again. It felt like a dream, but there were dreams within dreams, and he didn't really know which was the true dream. He must be back in his little house again ... but hadn't the fairies brought him home? The fairies? Then had he been dreaming about these adventures, and, if so, where was he now? There were really fairies, anyway; he was quite sure about that!
And so he went on thinking and thinking, although the voice, such a sweet voice, kept repeating "George, darling!"
What was that? Alexander's bark! "Wuff! Wuff!" That was all right. Alexander would explain everything.
"Wuff! Wuff!" right in his ear. He sat up with a start.
Why, he was in bed in his own room! There was Alexander sitting with his head a little on one side looking at him, and thump-thumping with his tail on the bed-clothes.
And there were the beautiful Queen and the witch ... no, it wasn't ... it was Mother bending over him and saying "George, darling!" and there was Nurse sitting knitting. How odd!
"You have been sound asleep, dear. It was Alexander who woke you up at last," said Mother. Nurse said nothing, but she smiled such a peculiar smile. Where had George seen that smile before? Could Nurse be a witch?
His head was so full of all his wonderful adventures that he wanted to begin to tell them all about it at once. But Mother said "No!" and Nurse said "No!" and Alexander said nothing, but just lay on the bed and smiled all the time.