“YOU SEE,” THEY BOTH REMARKED CONFIDENTIALLY, “WE KNEW ALICE, SO OF COURSE WE HAD TO CHOOSE YOU”
Ruth was quite willing. And when the two girls reached home, and had unsaddled their mounts and tied them up in the barn, with plenty of hay to chew on, they ran eagerly into the house, feeling that the fairy might be waiting for them. But Marmie met them at the door, and in the excitement of telling all about the ride, and the race, and how good the lunch was, they forgot the fairy.
It wasn’t till after supper that they found themselves alone in the living room, snuggled cosily before the fire, deliciously tired after their energetic day. And then, before they had a chance to remember that they were expecting to see, or at least to hear, her, there she was:
“A penny for your thoughts,” said that chiming, crystal voice, close beside Ruth.
Ruth jumped, and then laughed. “You darling fairy, how you startled me,” she exclaimed. “And how wonderful of you to come. Rose and I’ve been longing for you all day.”
“Were you thinking of me just now?” the fairy asked.
“N-no. I wasn’t thinking at all. I was feeling warm....”
“Me too,” agreed Rose. “Warm and lazy.”
“Altogether too lazy for a little visit with me, I suppose?”