Hewasinanecstasy。Howhehadlongedforawatch，justsuchaturnip-shapedone，andapaint-box。Whatcolourshecouldmake！EvenAuntAmy’sprayerbookwassomething，withitssquashycoverandsilkmarkeronlywhydidAuntAmynevergivehimanythingsensible？。Hestoodthere，hisfaceflushed，hiseyessparkling，thewatchinonehandandthepaint-boxintheother。Remarkswereheardlike：“Youmustn’tpokeitwith，yourfinger，Jerrydarling，oryou’llbreakthehandsoff“；and“Ithoughthe’d，betterhavethesquaresort，andnotthetubes。They’resosquashy“；and“You’llbeabletolearnyourCollectsoeasilywiththatbigprint，Jerrydear。Verykindofyou，Amy。“
MeanwhilehewasawarethatUncleSamuelhadgivenhimnothing。
Therewasalittlethickcatchofdisappointmentinhisthroat，notbecausehewantedapresent，butbecausehelikedUncleSamuel。
Suddenly，fromsomewherebehindhimhisunclesaid：“Shutyoureyes，Jerry。Don’topenthemuntilItellyou“——thenrathercrossly，“No，Amy，leavemealone。IknowwhatI’mabout，thankyou。“
Jeremyshuthiseyestight。Heclosedthemsothattheeyelidsseemedtoturnrightinwardsandredlightsflashed。Hestoodthereforatleastacentury，allindarkness，noonesayinganythingsavethatonceMarycried“Oh！“andclappedherhands，whichsamecryexcitedhimtosuchapitchthathewouldhavedughisnailsintohishandshadhenotsoconsistentlyinthepastbittenthemthattherewerenonailswithwhichtodig。Hewaited。Hewaited。Hewaited。Hewasnoteight，hewaseightywhenatlastUncleSamuelsaid，“Nowyoumaylook。“
Heopenedhiseyesandturned；foramomentthenursery，too，rockedintheunfamiliarlight。Thenhesaw。Onthemiddleofthenurserycarpetwasavillage，arealvillage，sixhouseswithredroofs，greenwindowsandwhiteporches，achurchwithatowerandatinybell，anorchardwithflowersonthefruittrees，agreenlawn，astreetwithabutcher’sshop，apostoffice，andagrocer’s。
VillagerNoah，Mrs。NoahandthelittleNoahs，afieldwithcows，horses，dogs，afarmwithchickensandeventwopigs……
Hestood，hestared，hedrewadeepbreath。
“ItcomesallthewayfromGermany，“saidAuntAmy，whoalwaysmadethingsuninterestingifshepossiblycould。
Therewasmuchdelightedtalk。Jeremysaidnothing。ButUncleSamuelunderstood。
“Gladyoulikeit，“hesaid，andlefttheroom。
“Aren’tyoupleased？“saidHelen。
Jeremystillsaidnothing。
“Sausages。Sausages！“criedMary，asGladys，grinning，enteredwithadishofalovelyandpleasantsmell。ButJeremydidnotturn。Hesimplystoodthere——staring。
III
Itisoftheessenceofbirthdaysthattheycannotmaintainthroughoutalongdaythegloriouscharacteroftheirearlydawning。
InPolchesterthirtyyearsagotherewerenocinematographs，notheatresaveforanoccasionalamateurperformanceattheAssemblyRoomsand，onceandagain，amagic-lanternshow。Onthisparticularday，moreover，Mr。andMrs。Colewereimmenselybusiedwithpreparationsforsomeparochialtea。MissTrefusishadcallstomake，and，ofcourse，UncleSamuelwasinvisible。TheBirthdaythensuddenlybecamenolongerabirthdaybutanordinaryday——withanextraordinarystandard。Thisiswhysomanybirthdaysendintears。
ButJeremy，aswasusualwithhim，tookeverythingquietly。Hemightcryaloudaboutsuchanaffairastheconquestofthewickerchairbecausethatdidnotdeeplymattertohim，butabouttherealthingshewassilent。Thevillagewasoneoftherealthings；duringallthemorningheremainedshutupinhissoulwithit，thewideworldclosedofffromthembymanymuffleddoors。HowhadUncleSamuelknownthathehaddeepinhisowninside，sodeepthathehadnotmentionediteventohimself，wantedsomethingjustlikethis？
Thirtyyearsagotherewerenoneofthepresentsthatthereareforchildrennow——nowonderfulrailwaysthatrunroundthenurseryfromMonteCarlotoPariswithallthestationsmarked；nodollsthataresolikefashionablewomenthatyouaregivenamanicuresetwiththemtokeeptheirnailstidy；nominiaturemotor-carsthatrunofthemselvesandgoformilesroundthefloorwithoutbeingwoundup。
Jeremyknewnoneofthesethings，andwasthehappierthathedidnot。Tosuchaboysuchavillagewasamiracle……IthadnotcomefromGermany，asAuntAmysaid，butfromheaven。ButitwasevenmoreofUncleSamuelthanthevillagethathewasthinking。
Whentheystarted——Helen，MaryandheinchargeoftheJampot——upontheirafternoonwalk，hewasstillaskinghimselfthesamequestions。HowhadUncleSamuelknownsoexactly？Haditbeenagreattroubletobringfromsofaraway？HadUncleSamuelthoughtitbadofhimnottothankhim？
HewaslostinsuchconsiderationswhentheJampotinquiredofhimthewaythattheirwalkshouldtake——itwashischoicebecauseitwashisBirthday。Hehadnochoice。Therewasonewalkthatfarexceededallothersinglory，straightdownOrangeStreet，straightagainthroughtheMarket，pasttheAssemblyRoomsandtheTownHall，pasttheflowerandfruitstalls，andtheoldbananawomanunderthegreenumbrellaandthetoystallwithcolouredballoons，thechinadogsandthenoddingdonkeys，uptheHighStreet，intothecobble-
stonesoftheClose，whenceonecouldlookdown，betweenthehousesontotheorchards，roundtheCathedralwiththemeadows，PolMeadsslopingdowntotheriver，sothroughOrchardLaneintoOrangeStreetonceagain。
Suchawalkcombinedeverymagicanddelightknowntotheheartofman，butitwasnotgenerallyallowed，becauseJeremywoulddragpasttheshops，thestallsintheMarketPlaceandthewalkbehindtheCathedral，whenceonemightsometimesseeboatsontheriver，sheepandcowsinthemeads，and，intheirproperseason，delightofdelights——lambs。
Theysetout……
ThirtyyearsagothewinterweatherinPolchesterwaswonderful。
Now，ofcourse，therearenohardwinters，nofrost，nosnow，nowaits，nosnowmen，andnoskatingonthePol。Thentherewereallthosethings。To-daywasofahard，glitteringfrost；thesun，likearound，redlacquertray，fellheavily，slowlythroughafaintpaleskythatwasnotstrongenoughtosustainit。Theairhadthecold，sweettwangofpeppermintsinthethroat。Polchesterwasapaintedtownuponabluescreen，theCathedraltowerspurpleagainstthesky；theairwasscentedwithburningleaves，andcriesfromthetownroseupclearandhard，lingeringandfallinglikenotesofmusic。Somewheretheywereplayingfootball，andtheshoutingwasdistantandregularlikethetrampofarmedmen。“Three“strucktheCathedralclock，asthoughitwerecalling“OpenSesame。“Otherlesserclocksrepeatedthechallengecrythroughthetown。“Woppley——
Woppley——Why！“sungthemanwhowassellingskinsdownOrangeStreet。Thesky，turningslowlyfrombluetogold，shonemysteriouslythroughtheglassofthestreetlamps，andthesunbegantowrapitselfintintsofpurpleandcrocusandiris。
“Woppley——Woppley——Why！“screamedtheskin-mansuddenlyappearingatthetopofthestreet。
“Now’urry，MasterJeremy，“saidtheJampot，“orweshallneverget’omethisnight，andImighthaveknownyou’dchoosethelongestwalkpossible。Comealong，MissMary，now——noneofthatdawdling。“
Jeremy，inhisH。M。S。Adventure’scapandroughbluenavycoat，felthimselfsuperiortotheJampot，soheonlysaid，“Oh，don’tbother，Nurse，“andtheninthesamebreath，“I’llrunyoudownthehill，Mary，“andbeforeanyonecouldsayawordtheretheywereatthebottomofOrangeStreet，asthoughtheyhadfallenintoawell。Thesunwasgone，thegoldenhorizonwasgone——onlythepurplelightsbegantogatherabouttheirfeetandclimbslowlythehighblackhouses。
Marylikedthis，becauseshenowhadJeremytoherself。Shebeganhurriedly，sothatsheshouldlosenotime：
“ShallItellyouastory，Jeremy？I’vegotanewone。Onceuponatimetherewerethreelittleboys，andtheylivedinawood，andanoldwitchatethem，andthePrincesswhohadheapsofjewelleryandawhitehorseandalovelygolddresscame，anditwassnowingandthewitch——“
ThiswasalwaysMary’sway。ShelovedtotellJeremyinterestingstories，andhedidnotmindbecausehedidnotlistenandcouldmeanwhilethinkhisownthoughts。
Hischiefdecisionarrivedatashemarchedalongwasthathewouldkeepthevillagetohimself；nooneelseshouldputtheirfingersintoit，arrangetheorchardwiththecolouredtrees，decideuponthenamesoftheNoahfamily，settlethevillagestreetinitsfinalorder，ringthebellofthechurch，ormilkthecows。Healonewoulddoallthesethings。And，soconsidering，heseemedtohimselfverylikeGod。God，hesupposed，couldpullPolchesterabout，rootoutahousehere，anotherthere，knocktheAssemblyRoomsdownandsendathunderboltontotheapplewoman’sumbrella。Well，then——socouldhewithhisvillage。Hewalkedswollenwithpride。HearrivedatthefirstIslandofCirce，namely，thewindowofMr。Thompson，thejewellerinMarketStreet，pressedhisnosetothepane，andrefusedtolistenwhentheJampotsuggestedthatheshouldmoveforward。
Hecouldseethediamondslikedropsofwaterinthesun，andthepearlslikedropsofmilk，andtherubieslikedropsofblood，butitwasnotofdiamonds，pearlsorrubiesthathewasthinking——hethoughtonlyofhisvillage。Hewouldringthechurchbell，andthenalltheNoahfamilyshouldstartoutofthedoor，downthegarden，upthevillagestreet……ItdidnotmatterifoneoftheyoungerNoahsshouldbelazyandwishtostayathomebeneaththefloweringtreesoftheorchard。Shewouldnotbeallowed……HewasasGod……HewasasGod……Thebutchershouldgoifhewasnotstucktohisshop，andevensomeofhiscowsmightgo……HewasasGod……
HeheardMary’svoiceinhisear。
“Andafterthattheyallatechocolateswithwhitecreamandredcream，andtheysuckeditoffpins，andtherewerehardbitsandsoftbits，andthePrincessshewasafrognow。Youremember，don’tyou，Jeremy？Thewitchturnedherhottedtheovenlikecookhas，withblackdoors，andhotteditandhottedit，butsuddenlytherewasanoise——“
And，ontheotherside，theJampot’svoice：“Younaughtyboy，stoppin’’ereforeveryonetosee，justbecauseit’syourbirthday，whichIwishtherewasn’tnobirthdays，northerewouldn’tbeifI
hadmyway。“
JeremyturnedfromMr。Thompson’swindow，ascornfulsmileonhisface：
“I’mbigger’nyou，Nurse，“hesaid。“IfIsaidoutloud，’Iwon’tgo，’Iwouldn’tgo，andnoonecouldmakeme。“
“Well，comealong，then，“saidNurse。
“Don’tbesostupid，Jerry，“saidHelencalmly。“Ifapolicemancameandsaidyouhadtogohomeyou’dhavetogo。“
“NoIwouldn’t，“saidJeremy。
“Thenthey’dputyouinprison。“
“Theycould。“
“They’dhangyou，perhaps。“
“Theycould，“repliedJeremy。
Fartherthanthisargumentcannotgo，soHelenshruggedhershouldersandsaid：“Youaresilly。“
Andtheyallmovedforward。