2 THE MAGIC OAK TREE

ready to do a friendly action towards those
mortals who come in their way. But this
particular fairy was unhappily ofa very differ-
ent character. Her name was Venomista,
and her chief pleasure was to do all the
harm she could to every living creature
except three, which were her special
favourites. These three, a bat, a weasel, and
an adder, lived with her in the tree, and woe
to any mortal who approached it when they
were at home. The bat flew into his face
and flipped at his eyes with its quickly
flapping wings, the weasel bit his heels, and
the adder stung him, and as these three
things generally happened at the same
moment, the traveller had a bad time of it.
Travellers, however, were scarce in those
parts, and the old fairy would never have
found enough mischief to do if she had
stayed at home in her oak. She was there-
fore accustomed to rove abroad a great deal,
and her favourite occupation and amusement
was to look out for children wherever she
could, and when she found any, she almost
always changed the poor little things into
brown frogs, and went away roaring with
delight at the thoughts of the misery of the