Suddenly the wall parted and moved aside, and Peter could hardly restrain his cries of astonishment, for what he now saw was like nothing he had ever seen before.  He was looking into a great big hall.  It was as light as day.  Dazzling lustres of crystal, with thousands and thousands of wax tapers, whose flames were reflected from the mirrors suspended round the room, hung from the roof.  Strange music shook the walls, and to the time of this music hundreds and hundreds of little Parsnip-men twirled and danced.  All of them were dressed in yellow coats and green hats, and many of them wore long white beards.  And oh, how they chirped and smirked, and laughed and jumped about, as if they were mad!

For a long time Peter stood bewildered.  At last the little Parsnip-men who had brought him so far led him right into the room, and the wall closed behind them.

“Now for the Queen!” whispered one of them.  “Come along.”

They went down the side of the room, against the wall of which were ranged chairs with grand purple coverings and gilded arms.  Once or twice Peter nearly slipped, so polished was the floor.  From time to time some little Parsnip-man in the company nodded to him; otherwise no one paid much attention to him.

In this way they reached the farther end of the hall, where there was a throne, raised on a dais and covered by a canopy hung with purple.  It was something like the throne Peter once saw when his aunt took him with her to the palace.  A few steps led up to the throne, with a wonderfully elaborate balustrade made of gold.

The little mannikins seized his hands and led him up the steps between them.  Then they drew back the purple curtains, and displayed a grand throne on which was seated a little girl in a snow-white dress.  On her head she wore a little gold crown, from which hung a long transparent veil.  She was resting her head on her hand, and did not look up till Peter and the Parsnip-men were quite close to her.  Then she gave a cry of joy.

“So you’ve come at last, Peter!” she cried, her eyes brightening with delight; and as she took his hand, he saw that she was no other than his favourite playfellow and neighbour, little Mary.

There was a second seat beside her, and to this she drew Peter.  Then she beckoned to the Parsnip-men, and said, “You have got everything ready, have you not?” The Parsnip-men bowed low, and hurried away.

In a minute or two they returned, followed by about thirty mannikins like themselves, who bore a magnificent dress which they deposited before Peter.  There was a coat of blue silk, turned up with fur, and trimmed with precious stones.  Besides this there were knee-breeches of the same material, slashed with white and fringed with gold, white silk stockings, and smart shoes with gold buckles.  To complete the whole, there lay on the top a cap, with a heron’s plume fastened by an aigrette of gold.

But Peter’s attention all this time had been fixed upon Mary.  He fancied she looked bigger than usual and unfamiliar in some way.