They came to summon her to join their party . It was a dance . If ever little foot were made for dancing , hers was , surely . But she laughed , and shook her head , and pointed to her cookery on the fire , and her table ready spread ; with an exulting defiance that rendered her more charming than she was before . And so she merrily dismissed them , nodding to her would-be partners , one by one , as they passed out , with a comical indifference , enough to make them go and drown themselves immediately if they were her admirers -- and they must have been so , more or less ; they could n't help it . And yet indifference was not her character . Oh no ! For presently there came a certain Carrier to the door ; and , bless her , what a welcome she bestowed upon him ! Again the staring figures turned upon him all at once , and seemed to say , `` Is this the wife who has forsaken you ? '' A shadow fell upon the mirror or the picture : call it what you will . A great shadow of the Stranger , as he first stood underneath their roof ; covering its surface , and blotting out all other objects . But , the nimble Fairies worked like bees to clear it off again . And Dot again was there . Still bright and beautiful . Rocking her little Baby in its cradle , singing to it softly , and resting her head upon a shoulder which had its counterpart in the musing figure by which the Fairy Cricket stood . The night -- I mean the real night : not going by Fairy clocks -- was wearing now ; and , in this stage of the Carrier 's thoughts , the moon burst out , and shone brightly in the sky . Perhaps some calm and quiet light had risen also in his mind ; and he could think more soberly of what had happened . Although the shadow of the Stranger fell at intervals upon the glass -- always distinct , and big , and thoroughly defined -- it never fell so darkly as at first . Whenever it appeared , the Fairies uttered a general cry of consternation , and plied their little arms and legs with inconceivable activity to rub it out . And whenever they got at Dot again , and showed her to him once more , bright and beautiful , they cheered in the most inspiring manner .
They never showed her otherwise than beautiful and bright , for they were Household Spirits XXXXX whom falsehood is an annihilation ; and being so , what Dot was there for them , but the one active , beaming , pleasant little creature who had been the light and sun of the Carrier 's Home ?
For If by in of on so than to with