"Stolen property?" repeated Dulcie in surprise.
But the Bird-Fairy had flown away and disappeared. The Crab had disappeared too. Cyril stood before her, white and trembling, and the next second his little sister was safe and snug in his arms.
For some time the Twins sat silent, huddled close together on the variegated carpet of clover, and cowslips, and poppies, and bluebells.
"That was awful!" exclaimed Dulcie at last. Cyril shivered.
"You saw the Bird-Fairy; did you hear what she said?"
"Yes, I understood what she said—I s'pose I understood 'cos she's a Fairy."
"Well, what do you think of it, Cyril?"
"I dunno; floors me completely. All I know is that I shouldn't like to go through that scare again."
"It was very kind of her, wasn't it?"
The boy nodded thoughtfully and answered—