When Fairy birds are singing;
When the court doth ride by their monarch’s side,
With bit and bridle ringing.”
Walter Scott.
There were many fruit-trees on that slope of the mountain, and Jack and Mopsa, as they came down, gathered some fruit for breakfast, and did not feel very tired, for the long ride on the wing had rested them.
They could not see the plain, for a slight blue mist hung over it; but the sun was hot already, and as they came down they saw a beautiful bed of high reeds, and thought they would sit awhile and rest in it. A rill of clear water ran beside the bed, so when they had reached it they sat down, and began to consider what they should do next.
“Jack,” said Mopsa, “did you see anything particular as you came down with the shooting stars?”
“No, I saw nothing so interesting as they were,” answered Jack. “I was looking at them and watching how they squeaked to one another, and how they had little hooks in their wings, with which they held the large wing that we sat on.”
“But I saw something,” said Mopsa. “Just as the sun rose I looked down, and in the loveliest garden I ever saw, and all among trees and woods, I saw a most beautiful castle. O Jack! I am sure that castle is the place I am to live in, and now we have nothing to do but to find it. I shall soon be a queen, and there I shall reign.”
“Then I shall be king there,” said Jack; “shall I?”