“Now is it a suitable time to tell it?” asked Pat.
And the Princess thought it was, while they rested, sitting on the tilting deck, with the sea running in and out in the dark hollow place under it.
“You know how you feel about something that is always there,” she began; “a tree on the lawn, or a church steeple, or something you take for granted and expect to see when you look for it. You don’t look the first thing in the morning to see if it has gone away in the night.
“That was the way with Major. The Star People were so used to seeing him in his place that they thought very little about him.
“It was rather cloudy one morning when it was time to fade away, and it promised to be more cloudy by night. The Star People had plans for what they wanted to do; and they waked up, quite full of their own affairs. So, though each one of them in Major’s neighborhood had a feeling that something was strange and lacking, they didn’t think enough about it to realize what it was. And it wasn’t until Cepheus said suddenly: ‘Why, where’s Major?’ that they saw that he was gone, and that was what they missed.
“‘Now, what do you thuppoth pothethed him?’ said Draco.
“‘I’ve no idea,’ said Cassiopeia. ‘But we must find him and bring him back. We can’t let the silly old thing go wandering about, nobody knows where. Perseus!’ she called. ‘You and Andromeda come and help.’
“They were so interested in some scheme of their own they weren’t noticing what was going on. But as soon as they did, they were just as much concerned as anybody, ‘Major gone!’ they said. ‘Why, where can he be?’
“‘I thee him!’ called Draco, excitedly. He had flown up to look about. Now he dropped again. ‘He’th almotht to Orion’th garden, and going Thouth ath fatht ath ever he can!’
“‘Run, Perseus. You’re young,’ said Cassiopeia; and off he started, with Andromeda after him. She and Perseus very easily ran faster than the other Star People who followed: Cepheus and Cassiopeia, with Draco, half flopping his wings and half running on his short crooked legs, like a dachshund’s, and after them Hercules and Little Bear. Hercules picked him up and put him on his shoulder, and came after the others—all racing down toward the Southern Sky, to find Major and bring him back home.