“Now,” Flip continued, “you all know that everybody and everything in the world must have some use, no matter how little it may be. It is just the same in Star-land, though most silly people never think what the little twinkling lights are for. Do you know that every single one of them, down to the teeniest, tiniest baby, that you can hardly see, is a world of loveliness all by itself? There is the Rose Star, where gloriously deep red roses, and little shy yellow buds and pink lady-roses grow, and the air is sweeter than the sweetest perfume you can imagine. Then there is the Forget-me-not Star, all covered with the little blue flowers that look like Sister Margaret’s eyes; and the Violet Star, and Pansy Land, and Sun Flower Place (very large and important) and heaps and heaps of other flower stars whose names I have forgotten. Of course there is Fairy Story Star, too, where Puss in Boots, and Little Red Riding Hood, and Cinderella, and Jack the Giant Killer, and all the rest of them live. Right near IT is the Grown-Up Book Star, where there are so very many people that they never get time to know each other. But the most important star, outside, of course, of the Music Land Star and the Bird Star where the loveliest of songs come from, and really, even more important than them, is—guess who! Butterfly Dear!”
“Lady Rumdidoodledum,” said Liza, without even stopping to think.
“Right,” said Flip, “and that is just whom I am going to tell you about.”
“But I thought it was to be about baby sister,” said Martha Mary, rather disappointedly, for she really could think of nothing else this morning.
“It is about them both, Impatient,” answered Flip.
“You see, since Lady Rumdidoodledum is the biggest and brightest and happiest star of them all, she must of course have something very nice to make her so glad. Now, what do you suppose it would be that is even lovelier than all the loveliest flowers or books, or birds, or anything else that you can think of?”
“Give up,” said Walter, although everyone was much too busy listening to Flip to pay any attention.
“I know,” said Martha Mary, her eyes shining. “It’s Babies.”
“Exactly, Ladykin Dear,” answered Flip. “Lady Rumdidoodledum is the Baby Star, and she shines specially for little children all over the world. I must tell you about her. There are oodles and oodles of babies living there, creeping and laughing and cooing all day. They are happy as happy can be, for they have the most adorable little playmates that you ever saw. They are little fairy creatures, scarcely as large as Martha Mary’s finger-nails, and they live in the soft, silky green centers of eucalyptus blossoms. When a Mother down here on the earth wants a little boy child or girl child very badly, she goes out into the woods and picks a eucalyptus blossom. Then, if she is very wise she opens it, whispers her wish, and lets out the tiny creature inside, who flies away up beyond the clouds in the gentle arms of the Southeast wind, straight to Lady Rumdidoodledum. There, the first thing the little fairy-person sees is a big silver cloud. She goes right through it, for she is both a fairy and a dream and can do many wonderful things. Right there, who do you think is waiting? A smiling Mother-person who looks like your Mother Dear, as well as every other Mother in the world.
“‘Happy Day, Little Dream,’ she says, which is Rumdidoodledum for ‘How do you do?’ The little creature whispers the message of the Mother who sent her from earth, then flies back to tell her that all is well, and her wish will be granted.