“Good-bye, old fellow, I hope you’ll make haste back,” and then, taking Cis’s hand, for he thought she was a little timid, he followed Red Cap until they came to the end of the thick bushes. “Look,” said Red Cap, “this is the dwelling place of our King and Queen.” Beautiful indeed was the sight that met their gaze; from the edge of the lake, tier upon tier of milky white terraces[18] sloped upwards to a great height, and over them fell a glistening veil of water which filled the air with its rippling song as it sought the placid lake below.
“Oh! let us paddle,” said Hal to Cis, and no sooner was it said than done, and how delightful was the soft, warm water trickling over their feet!
The children then followed as Red Cap led the way from tier to tier, looking into the numberless marble baths of all shapes and sizes that they passed, filled with coloured waters, clear and inviting, pale blue and green—the sides of the baths edged with fantastic wreaths and carved alabaster fringe, from the countless points of which overflowing drops fell with a soft musical sound.
How dazzling was the milky white floor as they stepped upwards and looked down on the stretching terraces gemmed with their glistening pools! Truly it was wonderland! A fit dwelling-place for the King and Queen; a fit scene for the midnight revels of Gnomes and Fays! Hal and Cis found many a little petrified treasure as they lingered here and there,—twigs and bits of moss and fern, and even insects white and glistening as the terrace itself.
“Oh! see, Mr. Red Cap,” called out little Cis, picking up what looked like a perfect white dragonfly, “what has happened to the poor dragonfly!” and she held it in her hand tenderly.
“That is the way the gnomes punish any insect that comes near where our King and Queen live,” answered Red Cap; “the singing waters lure them in, and then turn them to stone itself.”
“Poor things,” said little Cis, “how hard-hearted the pretty waters must be, and they look so soft and nice.”
“That is often the way with things,” remarked Red Cap; “at least so I’ve heard it said.”
As they came near the topmost tier of baths, the water became hotter and hotter, and there, in a gorge of the hill side, with the feathery manuka to its very edge, was a huge cauldron of opal-coloured steaming water.
Side by side, with timid steps, the children went close to the edge, and, looking down, saw what Red Cap told them was the entrance to the King’s palace.