with which children generally prepare themselves to hear a story;
but their faces, and the turning of their heads, and many feeble
exclamations of expected pleasure, showed that all such preparations
were making within them.

Mr. Raymond stood in the middle of the room, that he might turn from
side to side, and give each a share of seeing him. Diamond kept
his place by Nanny's side, with her hand in his. I do not know
how much of Mr. Raymond's story the smaller children understood;
indeed, I don't quite know how much there was in it to be understood,
for in such a story every one has just to take what he can get.
But they all listened with apparent satisfaction, and certainly
with great attention. Mr. Raymond wrote it down afterwards,
and here it is--somewhat altered no doubt, for a good story-teller
tries to make his stories better every time he tells them.
I cannot myself help thinking that he was somewhat indebted for this
one to the old story of The Sleeping Beauty.



CHAPTER XXVIII

LITTLE DAYLIGHT


NO HOUSE of any pretension to be called a palace is in the least
worthy of the name, except it has a wood near it--very near it--
and the nearer the better. Not all round it--I don't mean that,
for a palace ought to be open to the sun and wind, and stand
high and brave, with weathercocks glittering and flags flying;