People said afterwards that there had not been such sunshine in
December for years and years and years.

'And now,' said the bird, 'we will go out into the city, and you
shall take me to see one of my temples.'

'Your temples?'

'I gather from the carpet that I have many temples in this land.'

'I don't see how you CAN find anything out from it,' said Jane: 'it
never speaks.'

'All the same, you can pick up things from a carpet,' said the
bird; 'I've seen YOU do it. And I have picked up several pieces of
information in this way. That papyrus on which you showed me my
picture--I understand that it bears on it the name of the street of
your city in which my finest temple stands, with my image graved in
stone and in metal over against its portal.'

'You mean the fire insurance office,' said Robert. 'It's not
really a temple, and they don't--'

'Excuse me,' said the Phoenix, coldly, 'you are wholly misinformed.
It IS a temple, and they do.'

'Don't let's waste the sunshine,' said Anthea; 'we might argue as
we go along, to save time.'

So the Phoenix consented to make itself a nest in the breast of