BARTY'S eyes grew round and big with excitement. A wonderful procession was entering the hall. First came a band of tiny jet black monkeys playing on golden trumpet's – the Drum Major walking backward before them and twirling his staff; then came two black and two white rabbits, and they were carrying a throne on which sat two old, old, old, white rabbits. They were so old that their hair had grown long enough to hang down below their feet, and their eyes were large and strange and had an ancient, solemn look in them, as if they had been gazing at the rabbit world for thousands of years. Barty thought their large, strange eyes looked nice, and he said so to the Good Wolf.

"They look kind," he whispered.

"They were the two rabbits who went into the Ark with Noah," the Good Wolf whispered back. "And they have lived so long and grown so wise that they have found out that the best thing in the world is to be kind. They never find fault with any one. They know too much."

"But I thought they died long ago," said Barty.

"Everybody thought so," answered his friend. "But they didn't. They are the great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather and grandmother of all the rabbits in the world."

"How int'resting," said Barty, jumping up and down a little. "How 'normously interesting!"

The procession behind them was made up of their courtiers, and they were all either black or white rabbits – a black one and a white one – a black one and a white one. They all wore gold collars and gold stars on their breasts. These were the Order of the Ancient Rabbit.

The black monkey musicians took their places on a little band stand, and as soon as the bearers of the throne set it down at the end of the hall, a grand blast of golden trumpets was heard, and every one of the animals made a profound bow.

Then the gentleman Noah's Ark Rabbit waved his long-haired front foot gracefully.

"Greeting, brothers and sisters," he said. "Welcome to the Snow Feast. What is first to be done?"

The Good Wolf whispered to a very grand Court Rabbit who was standing near. He carried a wand and was black all over, except for a white place on his breast, which made him look as if he were in evening dress, and gave him a very fashionable air. The Court Rabbit waved his wand.

"Your Majesty, I have a new guest to present to you," he said, and he made a sign to Barty.

"Walk forward and make a bow," the Good Wolf said. "You are going to be introduced."

Barty did as he was told, and made a very nice bow indeed. His Majesty, the Noah's Ark Rabbit, pointed to him with a benevolent, puzzled look.

"What kind of little animal is that?" he inquired. "I seem to remember seeing some like him when I was in the Ark, but I cannot remember what they were called."

The Good Wolf answered him.

"He is a boy, your Majesty," he said. "There are a good many of them on the top." (He meant on the top of the earth, outside rabbit burrows.)

"Turn round, Boy," said the Noah's Ark Rabbit, "and let me look at you." And when Barty very politely turned round and round, his Majesty scratched himself behind his long ear and repeated, "Boy- Boy-Boy?" as if he were trying to remember something, and at last he turned to his wife and said, "My dear, do you remember anything about a Boy?"

The Queen Noah's Ark Rabbit had an ivory cane which she leaned on when she walked, and she lifted it and began to poke Barty gently all over, as if she were trying to find out what he was made of. She was a kind looking old thing, and suddenly she began to smile.

"Of course I remember," she said, "and so will you if you think a moment. Who saved us from the Flood by taking us into the Ark? He would take us. And he cried like anything when his grandfather chose another pair. Who was it?"

His Majesty slapped his knee and rocked with laughter.

"It was a Boy!" he said. "It was a Boy as sure as I am a Noah's Ark Rabbit.

"It was a little Boy of Shem's, and he had made pets of us," said her Majesty. "He kept us in a hutch, and when the animals were picked out in pairs he huddled us in his arms and ran to his grandfather, and said, "Grandfather, you must take these – you must. If they are left behind I shall stay with them and let the Flood drown me! And though his grandfather had picked out a much bigger pair, he was obliged to take us or let the Boy be drowned."

His Majesty slapped his knee again. "And that is why we are here to-day!" he exclaimed. "How did we forget about Boys!"

"It was because the Flood frightened us so much, that as soon as we were let out of the Ark we ran away as fast as we could, and burrowed deep into the earth, and we never have been on top since, so we never have seen any until this minute. Dear! Dear! Dear!" said her Majesty. "Deary, deary me!"

Barty quite blushed with pleasure. They were such nice, old, long- haired, aged, aged benevolent things.

"I am very glad that I am a boy," he said, "if it was a boy who saved you."

"He is the nicest little animal I ever saw," said his Majesty enthusiastically. "I am perfectly delighted to see him. He must be led to the feasting table and given everything he likes to eat. He must enjoy himself. He must stuff his pockets full of good things to carry home. What can I give you for a Christmas present, Boy? Is there anything in all the wide world I can do for you? Goodness gracious, mercy me! You are the preserver of all our race. You are a Boy!"

He was so delighted that he spoke as fast as lightning, and his words tumbled one over the other; seeing which, the Good Wolf spoke again.

"Your Majesty, he is not only a boy," he said, "but he is a blessing and a privilege, which all boys are not."

"Then he ought to have a Christmas present. He ought to have a hundred thousand million Christmas presents," said the Noah's Ark Rabbit, looking round, and growing so excited that all his long, white fur fluffed up and stood out all over him. "Are there any about here – are there any about? Goodness gracious, mercy me!

There ought to be Christmas presents on every side."

Her dear old Majesty, his wife, began to look about her too, waving her fore-paws in her inexpressible agitation. (Inexpressible agitation means that she was so excited that she did not know what to say.) "I don't see any! I don't see any! I don't see any!" she exclaimed. "Oh my! Oh my! Oh my! Oh my!"

"Never since I came out of the Ark," said his Majesty, "have I known such a dreadful situation. A Boy – a Boy like this, and no presents! The place ought to be strewn with them – it ought to be piled up with them – it ought to be stuffed – and crammed and bulging with them!"

(I wish you knew how Tim used to chuckle when this part was told.)

Then the Good Wolf spoke aloud with a most agreeable smile, and unless you have seen a Good Wolf you can never know how agreeable his smile can be.

"I know what he would like, your Majesty," he said.

"Do you! Do you?" said the Noah's Ark Rabbit, his fur fluffing up and standing out still more because he was so interested. "Then speak up – speak up – speak up! Don't hang back, for goodness mercy's sake!"

"What he would like most of all would be that your Majesty should allow some of your subjects to be his friends and play with him," answered the Good Wolf.

"Would he – would he really?" said the Noah's Ark Rabbit. "Why, that seems a trifle."

"Oh!" cried Barty, "if they only might, if they only would. I should never want any toys again as long as I lived!" and he clasped his hands.

"Well, I can do that for you in the shake of a rabbit's tail," said his Majesty. "How many would you like?"

"Enough," answered Barty, rather timidly, because he was so afraid he might be asking too much, "enough to play circus, so that I could be the ring-master. I've so often wanted to be a ring-master, and once I dreamed I was one."

The Noah's Ark Rabbit put his hand into a pocket under his long white fur, and he drew out a tiny whip.

"Take that and crack it as loud as ever you can, and see what will happen," he commanded.

Barty took it and swung it as he had seen ring-masters do, and he made it crack beautifully. What happened was that all the little animals, every one of them, turned their heads to look at him.

"Crack it again," said the Noah's Ark Rabbit.

When Barty cracked it again the little animals began to crowd into a circle all round him.

"Now, my dear," said the Queen Noah's Ark Rabbit, "you just walk out and choose the ones you would like best, and ask them if they will come and play with you when they hear your whip crack."

"I think I must be in a dream now," said Barty, as he began to go round the circle.

"Will you be my friend and come and play with me?" he said to the little lion, and the little lion frisked and said: "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

And then he went to some little horses and to some more little lions, and to four elephants and a rhinoceros and a hippopotamus, and a little tiger and two tiny polar bears, and they all cried out: "Yes! Yes!" until at last he had enough animals to make a most splendid circus. There was so much shouting of "Yes! Yes! Yes!" that he began to rub his eyes.

"Are you sure I am not dreaming?" he asked the Good Wolf.

"Take him to the feasting tables," said the Noah's Ark Rabbit, "and fill him to the brim. He will know then that he is not dreaming."

Barty's eyes sparkled, because by this time he was very hungry, and when the Good Wolf led him into another illuminated hall where all the nice things to eat that are in the world seemed spread before him on tables, you can imagine what he did. He ate just as much as a little boy could eat after getting up early on a frosty morning and forgetting all about his breakfast. But at last a sweet smile spread over his rosy face, and he drew a long, long breath and said:

"My belt is very tight by now. Thank you ever so much, Good Wolf. I never saw anything as beautiful as the Snow Feast is, and I should like to stay until it is quite over; but if I do not go home my mother will be frightened. Do you think there is time for me to play a little with my circus before I go?"