[Illustration:  STORY SPINNING.—­p. 141.]

Hugh and Jeanne did as she told them.  They leaned their heads, the smooth black one of the little girl, the fair-haired curly one of the boy, on the lady’s white robe.  You can hardly imagine how soft and pleasant it was to the touch.  A half-sleepy feeling came over them; they shut their eyes and did not feel inclined to open them again.  But they did not really go to sleep; the fairy lady began to work the wheel, and through the soft whirr came the sound of a voice—­whether it was the voice of the lady or of the wheel they could not tell.  And this was the old, old story the wheel spun for them.

“Listen, children,” it began.

“We are listening,” said Jeanne, rather testily.  “You needn’t say that again.”

“Hush, Jeanne,” said Hugh; “you’ll stop the story if you’re not quiet.”

“Listen, children,” said the voice again.  And Jeanne was quite quiet.

“Once on a time—­a very long time ago—­in a beautiful castle there lived a beautiful Princess.  She was young and sweet and very fair to see.  And she was the only child of her parents, who thought nothing too rare or too good for her.  At her birth all the fairies had given her valuable gifts—­no evil wishes had been breathed over her cradle.  Only the fairy who had endowed her with good sense and ready wit had dropped certain words, which had left some anxiety in the minds of her parents.

“‘She will need my gifts,’ the fairy had said.  ’If she uses them well, they and these golden balls will stand her in good need.

“And as she kissed the baby she left by her pillow three lovely golden balls, at which, as soon as the little creature saw them, she smiled with pleasure, and held out her tiny hands to catch them.

“They were of course balls of fairy make—­they were small enough for the little Princess at first to hold in her baby hands, but as she grew they grew, till, when she had reached her sixteenth year, they were the size of an orange.  They were golden, but yet neither hard nor heavy, and nothing had power to dint or stain them.  And all through her babyhood and childhood, and on into her girlhood, they were the Princess’s favourite toy.  They were never away from her, and by the time she had grown to be a tall and beautiful girl, with constant practice she had learnt to catch them as cleverly as an Indian juggler.  She could whiz them all three in the air at a time, and never let one drop to the ground.  And all the people about grew used to seeing their pretty Princess, as she wandered through the gardens and woods near the castle, throwing her balls in the air as she walked, and catching them again without the slightest effort.

“And remembering the words of the fairy who had given them, naturally her father and mother were pleased to see her love for the magic gift, and every one about the palace was forbidden to laugh at her, or to say that it was babyish for a tall Princess to play so much with a toy that had amused her as an infant.