“‘Weren’t you allowed to have it?’ asked Orion.
“‘Did you lothe it, coming back?’ asked Draco.
“‘Answer, Merope!’ said Cassiopeia.
“Merope looked confused, and she bent over Little Bear once more (he was a very convenient Little Bear), but she had to speak.
“‘There were plenty of stars,’ she said slowly, ‘and I might have taken one, but when I saw them—all so splendid—they didn’t seem like me; and then I thought you all loved me, and I knew you didn’t care really, for the star; and I liked my own best. So—I just came home.’
“‘We’re glad, Merope,’ said Andromeda. ‘We love you best like this.’
“And every one of the Star People felt the same.”
“We do too, Dearie,”said Phyllisy. “That was the best ending.”
Pat and the Kitten wriggled and nodded, and the Princess smiled at them, but she held up her finger for them to wait for the very end.
“Then it was Merope’s turn to ask a question. But it didn’t occur to her until a little later.