Part 4

While the maid baked the top of the pie Boy Blue went at once to ask Cinderella about it. She lived quite close to the palace, so he wasn't long finding her. On the way he met Simple Simon, who was going fishing, and told him about the party, and Simon was so simple that he promised a great many fish, out of his mother's pail, for the feast.

Cinderella was very glad to see Boy Blue. She said she would be at the party, and bring her glass slippers, and as the coach was just starting, she was delighted to have Boy Blue use it. By the time he had returned to the palace the maid had put a lovely fancy top on the pie,--with "Mother Goose" written in large letters upon the crust,--and Boy Blue put it very carefully on the seat opposite to him in Cinderella's pumpkin coach. The drive back was pretty tiresome, for the pie seemed excited at the prospect of the party, and kept sliding backwards and forwards on the seat, in a most annoying way, and once it nearly bounced out the window, and Boy Blue had to push it back so hard that all the four and twenty blackbirds began to twitter very angrily,--they did not like being bounced,--but they got home at last without accident.

The children arrived at half past eight, and were much interested to see Mother Goose's kitchen, her cat, the celebrated goose, and Bo-peep's sheep, which were all there, just as Jack said they would be. Of course their tails weren't fitted on, but this made it all the more interesting. For the children could put the tails on themselves. Bo-peep was so tired doing it, she was glad enough to let them. They visited Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary's garden, and she gave them each a silver bell, with their names written on, to take home.

When supper time came, there was a great deal of excitement as to what there would be to eat, and perhaps you can imagine how the children all felt, when the four-and-twenty blackbirds popped up their heads and sang a cheery welcome to the fairy world. They had all the things to eat that they had read about for years, and they had such a good time that they were ready to cry when the bull tolled the big bell to tell them it was time to go home.

Mother Goose promised them to have another party sometime, but she seems to have forgotten,--at least we have never been asked!

THE END