One would think that Lonicera’s curved fingers, all in one piece, and Clare’s blue leather hands had been very moveable and mischievous, judging by the number of times this warning came; but of course it was Lucy herself who wanted it most, for her own little plump, pinky hands did almost tingle to handle and turn round those pretty shells.  She wanted to know whether the amber tasted like barley-sugar, as it looked; and there was a little musk deer, no bigger than Don, whom she longed to stroke, or still better to let Lonicera ride; but she was a good little girl, and had real sense of honor, which never betrays a trust; so she never laid a finger on anything but what Uncle Joe had once given them leave to move.

This was a very big pair of globes—­bigger than globes commonly are now, and with more frames round them—­one great flat one, with odd names painted on it, and another brass one, nearly upright, going half-way round from top to bottom, and with the globe hung upon it by two pins, which Lucy’s elder sisters called the poles, or the ends of the axis.  The huge round balls went very easily with a slight touch, and there was something very charming in making them go whisk, whisk, whisk; now faster, now slower, now spinning so quickly that nothing on them could be seen, now turning slowly and gradually over and showing all that was on them.

The mere twirling was quite enough for Lucy at first, but soon she liked to look at what was on them.  One she thought more entertaining than the other.  It was covered with wonderful creatures:  one bear was fastened by his long tail to the pole; another bigger one was trotting round; a snake was coiling about anywhere; a lady stood disconsolate against a rock; another sat in a chair; a giant sprawled with a club in one hand and a lion’s skin in the other; a big dog and a little dog stood on their hind legs; a lion seemed* just about to spring on a young maiden’s head; and all were thickly spotted over, just as if they had Lucy’s rash, with stars big and little:  and still more strange, her brothers declared these were the stars in the sky, and this was the way people found their road at sea; but if Lucy asked how, they always said she was not big enough to understand, and it had occurred to Lucy to ask whether the truth was not that they were not big enough to explain.

The other globe was all in pale green, with pink and yellow outlines on it, and quantities of names.  Lucy had had to learn some of these names for her geography, and she rather kept out of the way of looking at it first, till she had really grown tired of all the odd men and women and creatures upon the celestial sphere; but by and by she began to roll the other by way of variety.

CHAPTER II.  VISITORS FROM THE SOUTH SEAS.

“Miss Lucy, you’re as quiet as a mouse.  Not in any mischief?” said Mrs. Bunker, looking into the museum; “why, what are you doing there?”