pronounced in a whisper. She turned over towards her sister.
"What is it?" she said sleepily.
"Open your eyes and listen: to-morrow I go to the castle of the Dragon!"
Plum-Blossom opened, not only her eyes, but her mouth also, and sat up in bed.
"And you will go with me!" her sister proceeded.
"Never!" said Plum-Blossom. "Do I want to be eaten up?"
"That is all nonsense, that eating up!" said Cherry-Bloom scornfully. "I was there myself alone this morning, and was I eaten up? No!"
Plum-Blossom gasped.
"Yes," continued Cherry-Bloom, "I went up to the gate, and touched it, and yet, you see, nothing happened to me!"
Plum-Blossom was speechless. She was overwhelmed by her sister's courage.
"And to-morrow, I am going through the gate,—yes, right into the garden, and
