“And the—­the gentleman,” said Everychild.  “Is he somebody who belongs to you?”

The Masked Lady seemed surprised by this question, until she perceived the little man with the note-book.  Then she replied lightly—­“Oh—­him!  That’s Mr. Literal.  No, he doesn’t belong with me.  Quite the contrary.  Though I believe he likes to be seen in my company.”

Everychild stared at the little man called Mr. Literal.  “I don’t like his looks at all,” he admitted.  “Maybe he’ll go away after awhile?”

The Masked Lady aroused herself slightly.  “I can tell you something about him,” she said.  “He’s . . . you know the kind of boy who is forever tagging along—­when you want to go anywhere, I mean?  Who is forever disagreeing with you, and wanting things done in a different way?  Who winds up by tattling?  A tattle-tale I think perhaps you call it.”

Everychild nodded his head.  “You mean a snitch?” he asked.

The Masked Lady flinched a little, though she smiled too.  “Is that the word?” she asked.  “Well, I’ve no doubt it’s as good as another.  If you like you may think of Mr. Literal as a—­a snitch.”

The little man made a period on his note-book and drew his pencil away with a precise movement.  He looked at the Masked Lady with a smug smile.  “That word snitch,” he said.  “It’s entirely out of place, you know—­after you’ve once introduced Aladdin and Hansel and Grettel in your story.  And a giant.  It’s slang, and it came into use long after the race of giants became extinct.”

The Masked Lady replied calmly:  “The race of giants has never become extinct.”

Mr. Literal had not ceased to smile in his smug fashion.  “Ah, well,” he said; and he began to scribble again, and while he did so he wandered away.  You’d have said he had not the slightest idea where he was.  He had not even seen Hansel and Grettel!

Everychild looked after the retreating Mr. Literal until he remembered suddenly that he had asked Hansel and Grettel to go along with him.  Then he heard Grettel say in a really eager voice:  “A quest of Truth!  That sounds very interesting to me!”

But Hansel had to spoil it all by saying:  “It would sound more interesting to me if he said he was looking for something to eat.”

Grettel said, “Oh, Hansel!” in such a tone that Everychild regarded her more closely.  She was really quite charming in her wooden shoes, and her ample blue skirt, somewhat short, and her waist of terra-cotta color, with white sleeves.  She had on a linen cap shaped somewhat like a sunbonnet.  She turned to her brother and spoke with a good deal of emphasis.  “Anyway, it’s plain you’ll not find any sausages growing on the trees.  For my part, I’d rather go somewhere.  Especially since we’ve got a nice boy to go with us.  Anything would be better than spending another night in the woods.  I simply don’t believe I could bear it.  The noises . . . there’s something dreadful about the noises, when you can’t bar a door between you and them.”