Some instinct made him hold it tighter.
"What do you want?" he muttered, in his hoarse voice.
The man was no less astonished than the children.
"What on earth are you doing here?" he cried. His voice was mild and
reassuring, and the girl answered him promptly.
"I came out to look for fairies."
"Oh, that's right enough," commented the man; "and you," he said,
turning to the boy, "are you after fairies, too? Oh, I see; picking
flowers. Do you mean to sell them?"
The boy shook his head.
"For my sister," he said, and stopped abruptly.
"Is your sister fond of flowers?"
"Yes; she's dead."
The man looked at him gravely.
"That's a phrase," he said, "and phrases are the devil. Who told you
that dead people like flowers?"
"They always have them," said the boy, blushing for shame of his
pretty thought.
"And what are _you_ looking for?" the girl interrupted.
The man made a mocking grimace, and glanced around the glade as if he
were afraid of being overheard.
"Dreams," he said bluntly.
The girl pondered this for a moment.
"And your knapsack?" she began.
"Yes," said the man, "it's full of them."
The children looked at the knapsack with interest, the girl's fingers
tingling to undo the straps of it.
"What are they like?" she asked.
The man gave a short laugh.
"Very like yours and his, I expect; when you grow older, young woman,
you'll find there's really only one dream possible for a sensible
person.
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