Gloriana
Willow Shaw, the little fenced wood where the hop-poles are stacked like Indian wigwams, had been given to Dan and Una for their very own kingdom when they were quite small. As they grew older, they contrived to keep it most particularly private. Even Phillips, the gardener, told them every time that he came in to take a hop-pole for his beans, and old Hobden would no more have thought of setting his rabbit-wires there without leave, given fresh each spring, than he would have torn down the calico and marking ink notice on the big willow which said: “Grown-ups not allowed in the Kingdom unless brought.’
Now you can understand their indignation when, one blowy July afternoon, as they were going up for a potato-roast, they saw somebody moving among the trees. They hurled themselves over the gate, dropping half the potatoes, and while they were picking them up Puck came out of a wigwam.
“Oh, it’s you, is it?’ said Una. “We thought it was people.’ “I saw you were angry–from your legs,’ he answered with a grin.
“Well, it’s our own Kingdom–not counting you, of course.’
“That’s rather why I came. A lady here wants to see you.’
“What about?’ said Dan cautiously. “Oh, just Kingdoms and things. She knows about Kingdoms.’
There was a lady near the fence dressed in a long dark cloak that hid everything except her high red-heeled shoes. Her face was half covered by a black silk fringed mask, without goggles. And yet she did not look in the least as if she motored.
Puck led them up to her and bowed solemnly. Una made the best dancing-lesson curtsy she could remember. The lady answered with a long, deep, slow, billowy one.
“Since it seems that you are a Queen of this Kingdom,’ she said, “I can do no less than acknowledge your sovereignty.’ She turned sharply on staring Dan. “What’s in your head, lad? Manners?’
“I was thinking how wonderfully you did that curtsy,’ he answered.
She laughed a rather shrill laugh. “You’re a courtier already. Do you know anything of dances, wench–or Queen, must I say?’
“I’ve had some lessons, but
