'Yes,' said Tommy, 'those ones!'
'And the great wood with the shifting green and violet lights, and the white bands of fairies dancing in circles—didn't you like them?'
'Oh yes,' said the candid Tommy; 'pretty well. I didn't care much for them.'
'Well,' she said, 'but you liked the grand processions, with all their gorgeous dresses and monstrous figures, surely you liked them?'
'There was such a lot of it,' said Tommy. 'The clown was the best.'
'And if you could, you'd rather see those last scenes again than all the rest?' she said, frowning a little.
'Oh, wouldn't I just!' said Tommy; 'but may I—really and truly?'
'I see you are not one of my boys,' said the Genius of Pantomime, rather sadly. 'It so happens that those closing scenes are the very ones I have least control over—they are a part of my kingdom which has fallen into sad decay and rebellion. But one thing, O Tommy, I can do for you. I will give you the clown for a friend and companion—and much good may he do you!'
'But would he come?' he asked, hardly daring to believe in such condescension.