Page:The Children Who Followed the Piper.djvu/182

 Then those who had been with Valentine and John Ball in the Wood of Daylight-Gone took out of their pouches the present that Silvanus had given them—the nuts that opened with a hinge and that held the little birds. The birds perched on their finger nails and sang. They brought them near John Ball. On the fingers of his stony hand the little birds perched, but their singing did not awaken him.

The wise Emperor had gone into the nursing chamber. When he came into the hall he carried in his arms the little child that had been born to Valentine and Golden Hood. He set the child upon the floor. It crawled to the man of stone. It stretched out a hand and touched him. Golden Hood, who had come into the hall, and Valentine watched the child, and they were both upon their knees.

The feet of stone moved, as far as to the knees. Golden Hood lifted up the child and the child touched the man above the knees. He moved from the knees up to the middle of the