out on the dark cloudy night. But though she heard the wind blowing, none of it blew upon her. In a moment more the clouds themselves parted, or rather vanished like the wall, and she looked straight into the starry herds, flashing gloriously in the dark blue. It was but for a moment. The clouds gathered again and shut out the stars; the wall gathered again and shut out the clouds; and there stood the lady beside her with the loveliest smile on her face, and a shimmering ball in her hand, about the size of a pigeon’s egg.
“There, Irene; there is my work for you!” she said, holding out the ball to the princess.
She took it in her hand, and looked at it all over. It sparkled a little, and shone here and there, but not much. It was of a sort of grey-whiteness, something like spun glass.
“Is this all your spinning, grandmother?” she asked.
“All since you came to the house. There is more there than you think.”
“How pretty it is! What am I to do with it, please?”
“That I will now explain to you,” answered the lady, turning from her and going to her cabinet. She came back with a small ring in her hand. Then she took the ball from Irene’s, and did something with the ring—Irene could not tell what.
“Give me your hand,” she said. Irene held up her right hand.
“Yes, that is the hand I want,” said the lady, and put the ring on the forefinger of it.
“What a beautiful ring!” said Irene. “What is the stone called?”
“It is a fire-opal.”