"That"s all very well," objected the kite, who had stopped trembling and become impudent again; "but I don"t want to go back among a lot of girls and boys who do not know how to appreciate me. When a fellow has once been a comet, you cannot expect him to end his days as a common kite."
"Oh, well," said the Lady of the Moon, gathering her mantle closely round her and stepping away from them, "settle that among yourselves, only please go out of my country first. For my part, I must go and put the finishing touches to that h.o.a.r-frost of mine before dawn."
She had hardly finished speaking when a faint gleam of pink pierced the white light around her and touched the edge of her mantle. She gave a shrill cry instantly, and waved her arms about her in the greatest excitement.
"Go, go, go! Dawn is coming, and you will be swallowed up in the setting of the moon," she screamed at them. "Go, go, go!"
Chubby began to feel tearful, for it is not pleasant to be told that one is going to be swallowed up in anything. But Jerry had a sudden inspiration.
"Jump, Chubby, jump!" he shouted, seizing her by the arm and springing away from the comet. Chubby must have done as she was told, for the next minute she found herself sitting beside him, on the top of the biggest kite in the village. As for the comet, it was only too anxious to get back to the place where it could shine and be seen; so it took a great dive down into the country of the stars, just as the wymp had done, and they never saw it again.
"Now," said Jerry sternly to his kite, "you"ve just got to take us home straightway without any more nonsense! If you want to stay and be swallowed up, we don"t. You can come back again and be a comet for the rest of your days, for all I care; but I"m determined that you shall show the village first that you know how to fly. Now, down you go!"
Evidently, the kite felt that there was some sense in Jerry"s words, for it made no further objections, but sailed swiftly out of the country of the moon just in time to escape being swallowed up. The downward journey was much simpler than the one of the night before, for the sun was rising as fast as it could, and the stars were disappearing so rapidly that there were hardly any of them left to get in the way. This was a very good thing, for, as I said before, Jerry"s kite had not been trained to be a comet, and it takes a good deal of steering to get through the countries of the sky without an accident on the way.
Chubby was hungry enough to remember her fairy cake; and as it was nearly breakfast time, of course it tasted of milk and porridge and eggs and bacon. But Jerry refused to touch a mouthful. He was busy thinking of what the other boys and girls would say, when they saw him come sailing home on his kite.
The sun was shining brightly, and the birds were singing, and the children were laughing on their way to school, when Jerry and Chubby at last reached home on the biggest kite in the village.
"Oh, oh!" cried all the boys and girls, rushing up to them in great excitement. "Here"s Jerry and Chubby been sailing about on the biggest kite in the village! Where have you been, Jerry?"
Jerry smiled in a superior manner, and waved them all back with his hand.
"What a fuss you do make, to be sure!" he observed. "Didn"t I tell you my kite was going to the moon?"
Then Jerry went home to breakfast; but Jerry"s kite sailed back to the countries of the sky, and it has been a comet ever since.