“O.ho!” said the Porter. “That’s quite a different story. ome in, little people, come in. You‘d best come into the dge while I’m sending word to his Majesty.” He looked at he children with curiosity. “Blue faces,” he said. “I didn‘t now they were that colour. Don’t care about it myself. But dare say you look quite nice to one another. Beetles fancy ther beetles, they do say.”
“Our faces are only blue with cold,” said Jill. “We‘re not this colour really.”
“Then come in and get warm. Come in, little shrimps,”
said the Porter. They followed him into the lodge. And though it was rather terrible to hear such a big door clang shut behind them, they forgot about it as soon as they saw the thing they had been longing for ever since supper time last night.afire. And such a fire! It looked as if four or five whole trees were blazing on it, and it was so hot they couldn’t go within yards of it. But they all flopped down on the brick floor, as near as they could bear the heat, and heaved great sighs of relief.