...
Awakened by the silence, presently, the ball of black unrolled itself
beside the wire fender, it stretched its four black legs. And the
children, hushed, happy, and with a mysterious burning in their
hearts, went off willingly to bed, to dream of wonder all night long,
and to ask themselves in sleep, _"Why God has put blue dust upon the
body of a dragon-fly?"_
CHAPTER VI
THE GROWTH OF WONDER
The story of the dragon-fly marked a turning-point in their lives;
they realised that life was crammed with things that nobody could
understand. Daddy's reign was over, and Uncle Felix had ascended the
throne. Wonder--but a growing wonder--ruled the world. The great
Stranger they had always been vaguely expecting had drawn nearer; it
was not Uncle Felix, yet he seemed the forerunner somehow. That "Some
Day" of Daddy's--they had almost forgotten its existence--became more
and more a possibility. Life had two divisions now: Before Uncle Felix
came--and Now. To Maria alone there seemed no interval. To her it was
always Now. She had so much wonder in her that she _knew_.
Outwardly the household ran along as usual, but inwardly this enormous
change was registered in three human hearts.
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