What was to be done?
A sudden inspiration struck me.
I ran across to the study, and undoing my desk, I found a little yellow-covered book attached to a golden chain which I had picked up just after my friend Shin Shira had vanished the last time he had visited me.
It was the book which the fairies had given him, and contained directions as to what to do when in any difficulty. I hurriedly turned to the letter C, intending to look for "collar-stud"—but, to my great disappointment, there was no such word to be found.
"Of course not," I suddenly thought; "the people who live in the land from which Shin Shira comes don't wear such things," and I let my mind wander back to my little friend with his yellow silk costume and turban.
"Hullo! though," I exclaimed a moment later, "what's this?"
My eyes had caught the words "To obtain your wishes" at the top of one of the pages.
I hastily read what followed, and gathered from what was written that anybody could have at least two wishes granted by the fairies if he only went about it in the right way and followed the given directions closely. It appeared that one must hop round three times, first on one foot and then on the other, repeating the following words aloud, and wishing very hard—
"Fairies! fairies! grant my wishes,
You can do so if you will,
Birds and beasts and little fishes
One and all obey you still.
Fairies! Please to show me how
You can grant my wishes now."
Of course I immediately wished for a collar-stud, and I was just hopping round on my right leg for the third time, having begun with the left one, when Mrs. Putchy entered the room.