Cross Purposes and the Shadows

There are two of MacDonald's fairy tales in this collection from 1862. The goblin Toadstool and the fairy Pease blossom embark on the most bizarre mission: to entice a boy and a girl to Faery so they can be brought before the Fairyland Queen because her subjects are too well-behaved to be amusing. Once upon a time, the Queen of Fairyland had a sudden longing to have a mortal or two at her Court. She fixed upon two to bring to Fairyland, but how were they to be brought? "I have heard that you have pretty ways of doing things; so you may try." Alice was the daughter of the squire, a pretty, good-natured girl whom her friends called fairy-like. One rosy summer evening she lay gazing at the wall opposite her window with tears in her eyes. All around them was a vast, hilly landscape. She was unable to even determine where they had originated from. She responds, "The author must accompany you, he sees." From every leaf and petal of these, from every branch tip and tendril, drops of bright water. As they went on, the diamond drops turned to half-liquid pearls, and the water went to sleep.