And then Maimie went and spoiled everything . She could n't help it . She was crazy with delight over her little friend 's good fortune , so she took several steps forward and cried in an ecstasy , ' O Brownie , how splendid ! ' Everybody stood still , the music ceased , the lights went out , and all in the time you may take to say , ` Oh dear ! ' An awful sense of her peril came upon Maimie ; too late she remembered that she was a lost child in a place where no human must be between the locking and the opening of the gates ; she heard the murmur of an angry multitude ; she saw a thousand swords flashing for her blood , and she uttered a cry of terror and fled . How she ran ! and all the time her eyes were starting out of her head . Many times she lay down , and then quickly jumped up and ran on again . Her little mind was so entangled in terrors that she no longer knew she was in the Gardens . The one thing she was sure of was that she must never cease to run , and she thought she was still running long after she had dropped in the Figs and gone to sleep . She thought the snowflakes falling on her face were her mother kissing her good-night . She thought her coverlet of snow was a warm blanket , and tried to pull it over her head . And when she heard talking through her dreams she thought it was mother bringing father to the nursery door to look at her as she slept . But it was the fairies . I am very glad to be able to say that they no longer desired to mischief her . When she rushed away they had rent the air with such cries as ` Slay her ! ' ` Turn her into something extremely unpleasant ! ' and so on , but the pursuit was delayed while they discussed who should march in front , and this gave Duchess Brownie time to cast herself before the Queen and demand a boon . Every bride has a right to a boon , and what she asked for was Maimie 's life . ` Anything except that , ' replied Queen Mab sternly , and all the fairies echoed , ` Anything except that . '
But when they learned how XXXXX had befriended Brownie and so enabled her to attend the ball to their great glory and renown , they gave three huzzas for the little human , and set off , like an army , to thank her , the court advancing in front and the canopy keeping step with it .
Brownie Figs Gardens Mab Maimie Queen ecstasy right something terrors