FAIRY. But how? He fears and obeys his father.
ELF. Fiddlesticks! Do your hokus-pokus and show him all the glories
down there, in the Christmas-bedecked homes. Then it will go fast
enough!
FAIRY. Do you think so?
ELF. I know the young. Here's my ring--and now to business!
FAIRY. Is it right to play with human destiny?
ELF. We only play with human beings, their destinies we do not
control. Soon or late, the boy will go out into the world, and he
is better equipped than many who have faced life before him. When
his journey is over, we can discuss the subject more at length. Are
you ready?
FAIRY. [Going toward post.] Immediately. [Fairy disappears.]
ELF. Then I'll whistle. [Disappears behind the other post.]
[Pehr comes down steps leading from top of tower.]
PEHR. Who's there?
FAIRY. [Appears suddenly, dressed in white.] Your godmother, Pehr.
Don't you know me?
PEHR. Ah! you are the one who caught me in your arms that time,
when I fell from the tower. What do you want of me to-day?
FAIRY. I want to give you a Christmas gift.
PEHR. A gift? What is that?
FAIRY. Something that gives one pleasure.
PEHR. Pleasure?
FAIRY. Fulfillment of one's wishes.
PEHR. Wishes! Now I begin to understand.
FAIRY. When standing out there on the balcony, have you never felt
as if something were drawing you--sort of enticing you down?
PEHR. Yes, that I have felt. You see the black streak over there,
where light and darkness meet? In the daytime it looks different;
and when the wind blows, it moves.
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