'I am going to carry you, of course,' said Sister Agatha. 'All you have to do is to shut your eyes and keep very still and not to open them until I give you leave.'
Mary shut her eyes so tightly that her little face was full of wrinkles. 'Oh!' she exclaimed, opening them the next moment, 'will the prince be there? Shall I see him?'
'It wouldn't be anything without the prince,' said Sister Agatha, and then Mary shut her eyes again and knew that she was lifted in Sister Agatha's arms. Although she felt very curious to know where she was being carried to, she did not peep once, because she felt afraid of spoiling everything. Presently she knew that Sister Agatha had opened a door, and although her eyes were still tightly closed, Mary felt sure she was in a very light place, the darkness looked so red, you see.
'Please, mayn't I open my eyes now?' she cried.
But she could not hear Sister Agatha's answer, because there was such a loud noise in her ears. She must be close to a band, and a great many persons seemed to be laughing and talking at once. Mary was just thinking it was of no use; she must open her eyes just for a moment to see what was going on around her when she felt Sister Agatha's lips close to her ear.
'You won't be frightened,' she whispered, 'and you mustn't cry out or even speak. Now, open your eyes!'
But though Mary opened her eyes at once, it was some time before she could see anything clearly. It seemed exactly the same as last night, when she first saw Evangeline's wings. The bright light dazzled her, although it was not very long before she knew that she must be really in fairy-land, as Sister Agatha had said.
In front of her were a lot of men in light blue uniforms, with silver lace on their coats, playing all manner of curious instruments. Beyond the band and a little lower, Mary saw an enormous room with no carpet on the floor, and each fresh person astonished her more than the last. Some were dancing, some were sitting down, some were talking and laughing, but although there were so many of them, not one looked cross or sad, which was quite different from anything Mary had been used to.
Of course, she recognised some of the people at once, and she would certainly have called out their names if Sister Agatha had not placed a hand over her lips. She saw Bluebeard, and Jack-the-Giant-killer, Old Mother Hubbard, Aladdin with his lamp, her dear Cinderella, Puss-in-Boots, the White Cat, and ever so many more whose portraits she had seen in Sister Agatha's books upstairs. As to ordinary fairies, there were far too many to count—some tall, some short, some fat and some thin, some fair and some dark, but all with wings exactly like Evangeline's. And yet it was quite easy to pick out Evangeline Royal from the rest, and any one could see that she was their queen.
'Do tell me which is the prince?' asked Mary. 'Oh!' she said, in a very excited whisper the next instant, 'that must be the prince, that one in the white and gold clothes. Look, he's going to dance with Evangeline!'