Come hither, come hither, come hither,
Here shall he see
No enemy
But winter and rough weather.”
“Oh, Fairy, Fairy Honeysqueak,” they breathed, when the miraculous loveliness of it ended.
“That was right, wasn’t it, every word?” asked the fairy briskly.
“Think of your knowing Shakespeare’s song.”
“Why shouldn’t I? He loved fairies, and did a great deal to make us known. He is a prime favourite with us all.”
“How wonderful. Did he ever see any of you?”
“Probably. I never met him myself, however. I was rather new then, and not going about a great deal. I’d recently come from the moon; you know many of us come from there; and I hadn’t quite got the hang of things here yet. But talking about greenwood trees, why don’t you girls let me take you to visit Maid Marian? She lives in Sherwood Forest, and you’ll probably meet Robin Hood, and may see some of the real greenwood life. You know, after all, there’s nothing else quite as good, or so we fairies think.”