“It’s not there now, but it was there,” persisted Violet stoutly, “and it was the most dreadful looking thing you ever saw.”
“It was worse than that,” added Daffodil. “It was the most dreadful looking thing you never saw.”
“Well, even if there was such a horrid creature, it’s gone,” said Queen Titania comfortingly, “so why should we trouble ourselves about it any longer? It’s time for our revels to begin, and if we don’t hurry up the ice cream will all melt, and remember there’s angel-cake, charlotte russe, and lemonade besides!”
The tiny Cupids, whose hearts were going pit-a-pat, for they believed implicitly every word that Violet and Daffodil had said, hastily gathered up Her Majesty’s train.
All started from the palace, the portcullis being raised to let them pass, and from his hiding-place in the urn the Human Octopus with his big, gloating, goggle eyes noted every movement that they made. But they had no suspicion that he lurked among the palms and ferns.
After they had disappeared from sight he flopped down, and keeping his eyes close to the earth followed the wee footprints that they made.
His sleuth-like, sneaky search led him straight to where the fairies sported on the green, and as he drew nearer to them he exercised more caution.
He compressed himself more closely to the ground, and picking out a luxuriant clump of peculiar rainbow roses whose leaves afforded a most effective screen he crawled to it to wait and bide his time.