Irene wondered to hear her voice so plainly through the door; having
shut the other, she opened it and went in. Oh, what a lovely haven to
reach from the darkness and fear through which she had come! The
soft
light made her feel as if she were going into the heart of the milkiest
pearl; while the blue walls and their silver stars for a moment
perplexed her with the fancy that they were in reality the sky which she
had left outside a minute ago covered with rainclouds.
[Illustration: "Come," and she still held out her arms.]
"I've lighted a fire for you, Irene: you're cold and wet," said her
grandmother.
Then Irene looked again, and saw that what she had taken for a huge
bouquet of red roses on a low stand against the wall, was in fact a fire
which burned in the shapes of the loveliest and reddest roses, glowing
gorgeously between the heads and wings of two cherubs of shining
silver.
And when she came nearer, she found that the smell of roses with
which
the room was filled, came from the fire-roses on the hearth. Her
Madhuri Noah
C:\Users\MNoah\Documents\The Princess and the Goblin1.docx
Page 466 of 634