The Book People
I shall go down with the provisions and keep their hearts up."
"Yes, dear, do," said the Princess Maia; "but don't do anything rash. No sorties now. You Lobsters are so terribly brave. But you know Mother said you weren't to. Ah me! War is a terrible thing! What a state the rivers will get into with all this water going on, and the winds all loose and doing as they like. It's horrible to think about. It will take ages to get things straight again."
(Her fears were only too well founded. All this happened last year—and you know what a wet summer that was.)
"I know, dear," said Freia; "but I know now who broke the sky, and it is very, very sorry—so we won't rub it in, will we?"
"I didn't mean to," said Maia, smiling kindly at the children, and went off to encourage her Lobsters.
"And now," said Francis, when the meal was over, "what are we going to do next?"
"We can't do anything but wait for news," said the Princess. "Our Scouts will let us know soon enough. I only hope the Book People won't attack us at the same time as the Under Folk. That's always the danger."
"How could they get in?" Mavis asked.
"Through the golden door," said the Princess. "Of course they couldn't do anything if we hadn't read the books they're in. That's the worst of Education. We've all read such an awful lot, and that unlocks the books and they can come out if anyone calls them. Even our fish are intolerably well read—except the Porpoises, dear things, who never could read anything. That's why the golden door is guarded by them, of course."
"If not having read things is useful," said Mavis, "we've read almost nothing. Couldn't we help guard the door?"
"The very thing," said the Princess joyously; "for you possess the only weapon that can be used against these people or against
117
