In the meantime there was a noise outside, and in stumped an elderly woman. She had very thick boots on, a short gown of red print, an orange cotton handkerchief over her shoulders, and a black silk bonnet. She was exactly the same height as the Queen—for of course nobody in Fairyland is allowed to be any bigger than the Queen; so, if they are not children when they arrive, they are obliged to shrink.
“How are you, dear?” said the Queen.
“I am as well as can be expected,” answered the apple-woman, sitting down in the empty chair. “Now, then, where’s my tea? They’re never ready with my cup of tea.”
Two attendants immediately brought a cup of tea, and set it down before the apple-woman, with a plate of bread and butter; and she proceeded to pour it out into the saucer, and blow it, because it was hot. In so doing her wandering eyes caught sight of Jack and little Mopsa, and she set down the saucer, and looked at them with attention.
Now Mopsa, I am sorry to say, was behaving so badly that Jack was quite ashamed of her. First, she got out of her dish, took something nice out of the Queen’s plate with her fingers, and ate it; and then, as she was going back, she tumbled over a melon, and upset a glass of red wine, which she wiped up with her white frock; after which she got into her dish again, and there she sat smiling, and daubing her pretty face with a piece of buttered muffin.
“Mopsa,” said Jack, “you are very naughty; if you behave in this way, I shall never take you out to parties again.”
“Pretty lamb!” said the apple-woman; “it’s just like a child.” And then she burst into tears, and exclaimed, sobbing, “Its many a long day since I’ve seen a child. Oh dear! oh deary me!”
Upon this, to the astonishment of Jack, every one of the guests began to cry and sob too.
“Oh dear! oh dear!” they said to one another, “we’re crying; we can cry just as well as men and women. Isn’t it delightful? What a luxury it is to cry, to be sure!”
They were evidently quite proud of it; and when Jack looked at the Queen for an explanation, she only gave him a still little smile.