Just then from the window in her playroom Dorothy saw her uncle go down the steps and out of the house. She watched his tall, slightly bent form until it was out of sight.
She left the playroom and roamed all over the house. As she walked through the hall, she saw Uncle John Philip’s study door partly open. At first she just took a peek, then she walked into his study.
The first thing she noticed was that he had left his great spectacles on the desk.
“He’s forgotten his glasses,” said Dorothy, and her first impulse was to run after Uncle John Philip and return them.
But he was probably out of sight so Dorothy decided to keep them for him.
“What a dear little star-fish!” said Dorothy, as her eyes fell on a small one, lying on a shelf.
Dorothy had gathered star-fishes and sea-urchins in the summer, among the rocks at the seashore, and she knew all about them.
“I’ll put on Uncle John Philip’s glasses,” said the child, “and make believe I’m a professor.”
I’m afraid the frolicsome fairies were playing a trick on Dorothy, because no sooner did she put on the professor’s spectacles, than the most wonderful change occurred.
The pretty little star-fish assumed the proportions of a gigantic octopus, and Dorothy was so frightened that she quickly took off the glasses, and stared in wonder.