But, alas, no one knew about the swamp fairy, and she was not invited,—­which really pleased her, because it gave her an excuse for doing something mean.

The good fairies came to the christening party, and, one after another, five of them gave little Daylight good gifts.  The other two stood among the guests, so that no one noticed them.  The swamp fairy thought there were no more of them; so she stepped forward, just as the archbishop was handing the baby back to the lady-in-waiting.

“I am just a little deaf,” she said, mumbling a laugh with her toothless gums.  “Will your reverence tell me the baby’s name again?”

“Certainly, my good woman,” said the bishop; “the infant is little Daylight.”

“And little Daylight it shall be, forsooth,” cried the bad fairy.  “I decree that she shall sleep all day.”  Then she laughed a horrid shrieking laugh, “He, he, hi, hi!”

Everyone looked at everyone else in despair, but out stepped the sixth good fairy, who by arrangement with her sisters had remained in the background to undo what she could of any evil that the swamp fairy might decree.

“Then at least she shall wake all night,” she said, sadly.

“Ah!” screamed the swamp fairy, “you spoke before I had finished, which is against the law, and gives me another chance.”  All the fairies started at once to say, “I beg your pardon!” But the bad fairy said, “I had only laughed ‘he, he!’ and ‘hi, hi!’ I had still ‘ho, ho!’ and ‘hu, hu!’ to laugh.”

The fairies could not gainsay this, and the bad fairy had her other chance.  She said,—­

“Since she is to wake all night, I decree that she shall wax and wane with the moon!  Ho, ho, hu, hu!”

Out stepped the seventh good fairy.  “Until a prince shall kiss her without knowing who she is,” she said, quickly.

The swamp fairy had been prepared for the trick of keeping back one good fairy, but she had not suspected it of two, and she could not say a word, for she had laughed “ho, ho!” and “hu, hu!”

The poor king and queen looked sad enough.  “We don’t know what you mean,” they said to the good fairy who had spoken last.  But the good fairy smiled.  “The meaning of the thing will come with the thing,” she said.

That was the end of the party, but it was only the beginning of the trouble.  Can you imagine what a queer household it would be, where the baby laughed and crowed all night, and slept all day?  Little Daylight was as merry and bright all night as any baby in the world, but with the first sign of dawn she fell asleep, and slept like a little dormouse till dark.  Nothing could waken her while day lasted.  Still, the royal family got used to this; but the rest of the bad fairy’s gift was a great deal worse,—­that about waxing and waning with the moon.  You know how the moon grows bigger and brighter each night, from the time it is a curly silver thread low in the sky till it is round and