Fortunately the mischievous fellow was out of earshot , but a chrysanthemum heard her , and said so pointedly , ` Hoity-toity , what is this ? ' that she had to come out and show herself . Then the whole vegetable kingdom was rather puzzled what to do . -LSB- Illustration : An afternoon when the Gardens were white with snow -RSB- ` Of course it is no affair of ours , ' a spindle-tree said after they had whispered together , ` but you know quite well you ought not to be here , and perhaps our duty is to report you to the fairies ; what do you think yourself ? ' ' I think you should not , ' Maimie replied , which so perplexed them that they said petulantly there was no arguing with her . ' I would n't ask it of you , ' she assured them , ` if I thought it was wrong , ' and of course after this they could not well carry tales . They then said , ` Well-a-day , ' and ` Such is life , ' for they can be frightfully sarcastic ; but she felt sorry for those of them who had no crutches , and she said good-naturedly , ` Before I go to the fairies ' ball , I should like to take you for a walk one at a time ; you can lean on me , you know . ' At this they clapped their hands , and she escorted them up the Baby Walk and back again , one at a time , putting an arm or a finger round the very frail , setting their leg right when it got too ridiculous , and treating the foreign ones quite as courteously as the English , though she could not understand a word they said . They behaved well on the whole , though some whimpered that she had not taken them as far as she took Nancy or Grace or Dorothy , and others jagged her , but it was quite unintentional , and she was too much of a lady to cry out . So much walking tired her , and she was anxious to be off to the ball , but she no longer felt afraid . The reason she felt no more fear was that it was now night-time , and in the dark , you remember , Maimie was always rather strange . They were now loth to let her go , for , ` If the fairies see you , ' they warned her , ` they will mischief you -- stab you to death , or compel you to nurse their children , or turn you into something tedious , like an evergreen oak . ' As they said this they looked with affected pity at an evergreen oak , for in winter they are very envious of the evergreens . ` Oh , la ! ' replied the oak bitingly , ` how deliciously cosy it is to stand here buttoned to the neck and watch you poor naked creatures shivering . ' This made them sulky , though they had really brought it on themselves , and they drew for Maimie a very gloomy picture of the perils that would face her if she insisted on going to the ball . -LSB- Illustration : She ran to St. Govor 's Well and hid -RSB- She learned from a purple filbert that the court was not in its usual good temper at present , the cause being the tantalising heart of the Duke of Christmas Daisies . He was an Oriental fairy , very poorly of a dreadful complaint , namely , inability to love , and though he had tried many ladies in many lands he could not fall in love with one of them . Queen Mab , who rules in the Gardens , had been confident that her girls would bewitch him , but alas ! his heart , the doctor said , remained cold .
This rather irritating doctor , who was his private physician , felt the XXXXX 's heart immediately after any lady was presented , and then always shook his bald head and murmured , ` Cold , quite cold . '
Duke Mab Maimie Nancy afternoon chrysanthemum earshot evergreens fall right