Enter two Fairies. They walk directly to her bed, and stand one on either side of Ida's head, slowly waving their wands over her. Piano music is softly played, and Ida goes to sleep.
An unseen person now reads the following dream, which may be acted as far as is deemed advisable:
"Ida listened, and then it seemed to her as if she heard some one playing in the next room. Now all the flowers are certainly dancing in there! 'Oh, how glad I should be to see it!' But she dared not get up.
"'If they would only come in,' thought she. But the flowers did not come, and the music continued to play beautifully. Then she could not bear it any longer, for it was too pretty. She crept out of her little bed, and went quietly to the door and looked into the room. Oh, how splendid it was!
"There was no night-lamp burning, but still it was quite light; the moon shone through the window in the middle of the floor. All the hyacinths and tulips stood in two long rows. On the floor all the flowers were dancing very gracefully round one another, making perfect turns, and holding one another by the long green leaves as they swung round. But at the piano sat a great yellow lily, which little Ida had certainly seen in summer, for she remembered its manners in playing, sometimes holding its long yellow face to one side, sometimes to the other, and nodding in tune to the music. (Enter a tall girl, representing a yellow lily.)
"No one noticed little Ida. Then she saw a great blue crocus hop into the middle of the table where the doll's bed stood. (Enter a boy, costumed to represent a blue crocus.)
"There lay the sick flowers, but they got up directly and nodded to the others to say that they wanted to dance too.
"Then it seemed as if something fell down from the table. Ida looked that way. It was the birch rod which was jumping down! And a wax doll, with just such a broad hat as the Councillor wore, sat upon it. The birch rod hopped about among the flowers, for it was dancing the mazourka; and the other flowers could not manage that dance because they were too light and unable to stamp like that.
"The wax doll on the birch rod all at once became quite great and long, and said: 'How can one put such things in a child's head? Those are stupid fancies.' And then the wax doll was exactly like the Councillor in the broad hat, and looked just as yellow and cross as he. But the flowers hit him, and then he shrank up again and became quite a little wax doll. That was very amusing to see, and Ida could not restrain her laughter. The birch rod went on dancing, and the Councillor was obliged to dance too; it was no use, he might make himself great and long, or remain the little yellow wax doll with the big black hat. Then the other flowers put in a good word for him, and the birch rod gave over.
"Then the door opened and a great number of splendid flowers came dancing in. (Enter roses of all sorts and Butterflies, dancing.)