"Pray, where are you going with me?" asked the Enchanted Banjo of the Twins.
"Where should we be going," replied Zuzu, "if not to the Valley of the Fairies? Will you not go with us?"
"With all my heart," said the Enchanted Banjo, "for it was in that Valley that I was born. You may depend upon me; but we shall need to be very careful indeed."
By this time, as the Twins walked on their way through the forest, they began to hear the voice of the Dragon—"Arrnghgh! Arrnghgh!"—but they went on as bravely as they could, and presently were directly before the Dragon, which again reared and rattled its long body covered with heavy scales. This was a fearful sight, but Zuzu and Lulu tightly grasped the Enchanted Banjo, and it began to play:
THE LULLABY OF ENCHANTMENT
Ho, Little Wind, come out of the west
And whisper the song that is laden with rest.
The world is a-weary,
The day has been long
So sing for my dearie
A lullaby-song.
Lullaby, lullaby, soft and low,
For that is the way that the Fairy-horns blow;
And thither and hither and thither and here
The Fairies bring dreams for the sleep of my dear.
Lullaby, lullaby, low.
Ho, Little Wind, you may creep, if you will
Where the willows bend low at the foot of the hill;
The flowers are closing,
They drowse in the dew—
And dozing, and dozing,
They wait now for you.
Lullaby, lullaby, soft and deep;
The stars far away now are climbing the steep,
And out of the silence is wafted a croon
That murmurs in mellowness under the moon.
Sleep-i-ly, sleep-i-ly, sleep.
At the first verse of this song, the Dragon began to beat time with his good foreleg; then it began to nod a little, and then it yawned very wide and deep, until one could see very far down into its hollow throat. "Dear me!" said the Dragon, "I feel very drowsy this morning. I think I must have a bit of spring fever."