A collection of small toys on the shelf, for each of the four children — an aeroplane, a yo-yo, a bat, a feather, a mirror, a teapot, and all the rest of them, everything was in perfect order.

“There you are, my little friends,” she said to them, one by one.

Then came the bedtime story, the funny little poem, and finally, the frightful song that made them skitter around the room, each to their own corner.