FEBRUARY 6: In Dreamland
“We’ve got lots of work to do to-night,” said the Dream King, and the Dream Fairies said, “What have we to do?”
“Well,” said the Dream King, “in talking to the Fairy Queen this afternoon, she said that she had quite a lot to tell me and she looked very sad.
“It seems that there have been many children lately she has heard telling each other unkind things they have heard about each other.
“For instance, she heard one little girl say to another little girl, ‘Oh, Sally, I heard Mamie say she thought you were awfully mean and selfish. I told her I didn’t think so. I stood up for you. I was your friend.’
“Well, the Fairy Queen said that made her mad. She said it was far worse of the little girl who came and told such a horrid thing than it even was in the little girl who had said it.
“I am going to give dreams to lots and lots of children who have said mean things. I am going to show them a huge room full of children and all the children will be crying and sobbing, and there won’t be enough handkerchiefs to go around.
“And I will tell them that these children are crying because of the mean speeches they have heard repeated.
“Hurry, Dream Fairies, tie up the dreams for me to take around. You know what I want now.
“And, Dream Fairies,” continued the Dream King, “I’m going to tell each girl and boy how every mean speech she or he thinks of and doesn’t make, or doesn’t repeat, will come straight to Dreamland and every week we will have a great big bonfire of them. Then all the Dream Fairies will laugh and sing as the mean speeches are burnt up.”