THE SEA-FAIRY AND THE LAND-FAIRY
Then the sea-fairy sailed away in his nautilus-shell, and the land-fairy flew home to the heather on the cliff.
Hardly had Laughing Sapphire left the shore when he saw a huge curling wave rolling towards him. The hollow of the wave was like a great green cavern, lit up with magic light; the top of it was sparkling spray. A sunbeam was shining straight down through the spray, and gleaming with every colour you can think of, so that it seemed as if a piece of rainbow had fallen from the sky.
The fairy laughed happily, and steered right into the hollow of the wave, for he knew that his nautilus-boat was safe. In his hand was a little shell. As his boat rode smoothly over the crest of the wave and through the rainbow, he held out the little shell in the beam of coloured light. There was a wonderful change in the shell after it had passed through the rainbow; it was lined with mother-o'-pearl!
The fairy laughed again for joy when he saw the rainbow colours of the little shell.
"They've nothing like that on shore!" he said.
Then the nautilus-boat sailed on and on across the sea.
The next thing that Laughing Sapphire found was a glowing piece of red seaweed. As he pulled it, dripping, out of the sea, it looked like a bit of broad crimson ribbon; except that no ribbon ever had so much colour and so much light in it. It was so transparent that you could see the sunlight through it, and yet it was as strong as a rope.
As the fairy coiled it round and round he smiled.
"That should please them, I think," he muttered.
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