I thought there would be dragons . ' ' `` Though It shall have happened three thousand year , '' ' said Puck , and counted on his fingers . ` No ; I 'm afraid there were no dragons three thousand years ago . ' ` But there has n't happened anything at all , ' said Dan . ` Wait awhile , ' said Puck . ` You do n't grow an oak in a year -- and Old England 's older than twenty oaks . Let 's sit down again and think . I can do that for a century at a time . ' ` Ah , but you 're a fairy , ' said Dan . ` Have you ever heard me say that word yet ? ' said Puck quickly . ` No . You talk about `` the People of the Hills '' , but you never say `` fairies '' , ' said Una . ' I was wondering at that . Do n't you like it ? ' ` How would you like to be called `` mortal '' or `` human being '' all the time ? ' said Puck ; ` or `` son of Adam '' or `` daughter of Eve '' ? ' ' I should n't like it at all , ' said Dan . ` That 's how the Djinns and Afrits talk in the Arabian Nights . ' ` And that 's how I feel about saying -- that word that I do n't say .
Besides , what you call them are made-up things the People of the XXXXX have never heard of -- little buzzflies with butterfly wings and gauze petticoats , and shiny stars in their hair , and a wand like a schoolteacher 's cane for punishing bad boys and rewarding good ones .
Afrits Dan Djinns England Hills Nights Puck Una century year