CHILDREN AGAIN 61

who, with one shrill sound, something be-
tween a scream and a groan, fell to the earth
and perished then and there; then, as if
enraged beyond all control, the evil creature
uttered another sigh of rage, and struck the
weasel a blow which broke his back, and
ended him at once. She raised her crutch
a third time, and was about to strike the
adder, when that reptile, who saw no reason
for the wrath with which his mistress was
apparently turning upon her old and tried
servants, darted forward and bit her sharply
in the knee. With a cry of fury, Venomista,
who was now really angry with the creature,
struck him fiercely to the ground, and set
her foot upon his head in a manner which
effectually prevented his ever biting anybody
else. No sooner, however, had she done
so, than she set up a cry of agony. She
had quite forgotten that, although she had
been safe from the poisonous fangs of the
adder as long as she ruled under the oak,
yet by the laws of magic she was no longer
protected as soon as she was in the presence
‘of a fairy of superior power to her own.
Moreover, the adder was one of a particularly
venomous sort, and the moment his fangs