Around went the circle, eager with fun and expectation. Suddenly the blindfolded gnome pounded three times with his stick, and then pointed it straight in front of him, jingling the little bells. Tommy Budd was the happy youth pointed at.
"Help yourself, my dear," squeaked the fairy godmother, as she held the sack toward him. He plunged his arm into the opening and brought out a neat paper parcel.
"Hey! What did you say, dear?" she squeaked. "Take hold of the stick."
Tommy seized the end of the stick, and said, in a hoarse tone, "Thank you, ma'am."
"That's John Stevens," growled the gnome. "Put it back! put it back!"
But it wasn't John Stevens, and so Tommy kept the parcel.
The circle moved again. The gnome knocked three times, and this time the stick pointed to Dorry. She tried to be polite, and direct her neighbor's hand to it, but the godmother would not hear of that.
"Help yourself, child," she squeaked; and Dorry did. The paper parcel which she drew from the sack was so tempting and pretty, all tied with ribbon, that she really tried very hard to disguise her "Thank you," but the blindfolded gnome was too sharp for her.
"No, no!" he growled. "That's Dorothy Reed. Put it back! put it back!"
And Dorry, with a playful air of protest, dropped the pretty parcel into the bag again.