It was the only spring of fresh water in the island , and at dawn was crowded with people of all ages , come to drink at its source . Delighted at her plan for making them all happy , the fairy hid herself behind a thicket of roses , and peeped out whenever footsteps came that way . It was not long before she had ample proof of the success of her enchantments . Almost before her eyes the children put on the size and strength of adults , while the old men and women instantly became helpless , tiny babies . Indeed , so pleased was she with the result of her work , that she could no longer remain hidden , and went about telling everybody what she had done , and enjoying their gratitude and thanks . But after the first outburst of delight at their wishes being granted , people began to be a little frightened at the rapid effects of the magic water . It was delicious to feel yourself at the height of your power and beauty , but you would wish to keep so always ! Now this was exactly what the fairy had been in too much of a hurry to arrange , and no sooner had the children become grown up , and the men and women become babies , than they all rushed on to old age at an appalling rate ! The fairy only found out her mistake when it was too late to set it right . When the inhabitants of the island saw what had befallen them , they were filled with despair , and did everything they could think of to escape from such a dreadful fate . They dug wells in their places , so that they should no longer need to drink from the magic spring ; but the sandy soil yielded no water , and the rainy season was already past . They stored up the dew that fell , and the juice of fruits and of herbs , but all this was as a drop in the ocean of their wants . Some threw themselves into the sea , trusting that the current might carry them to other shores -- they had no boats -- and a few , still more impatient , put themselves to death on the spot . The rest submitted blindly to their destiny . Perhaps the worst part of the enchantment was , that the change from one age to another was so rapid that the person had no time to prepare himself for it . It would not have mattered so much if the man who stood up in the assembly of the nation , to give his advice as to peace or war , had looked like a baby , as long as he spoke with the knowledge and sense of a full-grown man . But , alas ! with the outward form of an infant , he had taken on its helplessness and foolishness , and there was no one who could train him to better things . The end of it all was , that before a month had passed the population had died out , and the fairy Dindonette , ashamed and grieved at the effects of her folly , had left the island for ever . Many centuries after , the fairy Selnozoura , who had fallen into bad health , was ordered by her doctors to make the tour of the world twice a week for change of air , and in one of these journeys she found herself at Fountain Island .
Selnozoura never made these trips alone , but always took with her two children , of whom she was very fond -- Cornichon , a boy XXXXX fourteen , bought in his childhood at a slave-market , and Toupette , a few months younger , who had been entrusted to the care of the fairy by her guardian , the genius Kristopo .
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