"Well, you see, the moon is so nice and easy," explained Chubby. "All you have to do is to draw a circle round the biggest soup plate you can find; and then you take away the soup plate, and you paint in the eyes and the nose and the mouth, and there you are! You can't do much more than that with three paints and a brush that's got hardly any hairs, can you?"
"Yes, you can," retorted the wymp, "you can paint the sun, and that's ever so much better than painting the moon—nasty, silly, chilly thing!"
"Oh, but you can't paint the sun when you've only got three paints," objected Chubby. "It takes ever so many more paints than that to make it shine properly; and even then, it doesn't always."
"Shine!" repeated the wymp. "Who said anything about shining? When I say the sun, I mean the other side of the sun, of course. That doesn't shine,—knows better, indeed!"
He seemed so hurt about it that Chubby hastened to pacify him. "I'm very sorry," she said. "Of course, I should like to paint your side of the sun very much, but it is a little difficult when I haven't ever been there, isn't it?"
"Perhaps it is," admitted the wymp; "but if that is all, I'll take you there this very minute. Will you come?"
Chubby looked round; and there was Jerry still gazing up at the star with the long tail, that was causing so much commotion among the countries of the sky. Just then, it reached the moon and went straight into it with a big splash; and Jerry heaved a deep sigh.
That decided Chubby. "If you please," she said, turning to the wymp in a great hurry, "I think we would rather go to the moon."
The wymp instantly flew into the most violent passion. "What!" he exclaimed, shaking all over with indignation. "You would sooner go to the moon than the back of the sun? Well, I am sorry for you."
Chubby was just going to be frightened, when Jerry came and put his arm round her protectingly. "You see," he explained to the wymp, "it's not the moon we want, it's the kite. And the kite has gone to the moon, unfortunately. I suppose I am glad it has gone," he added rather doubtfully, "but I do wish it had waited to take me with it."