"Why I don't understand it at all."
"Dear me!" said the wee yellow man rather impatiently, "you are very
dense. Now listen carefully. The world, you know, turns round from
West to East, and that makes it seem as if the sun is going round the
world from East to West. Very well. So what you have to do is to ride
West upon the Cloud horse much faster than the sun appears to travel,
and catch him up again before he gets well away from here. The Cloud
horse is in good condition, and you should easily do it in a few
minutes."
"A few minutes!" gasped Neville.
"Keep quiet and listen," snapped the wee yellow man. "A few miles West
from here you will come into broad daylight. That will be afternoon.
After that you will meet mid-day, and, passing that, you will reach
the place where it is only dawn. That's about half-way round the
earth. Show the Sky Flower to the porter of the Dawn, and he will let
you through. Then you get to the half of the world where it is night,
and you must race round that till you reach the place where it is only
evening. That will be THIS evening, somewhere about here, for you will
have taken only a few minutes altogether. And when you see your own
home or the bald hill again, grasp the Sky Flower tightly in your
hand, jump off the Cloud horse, and you will float gracefully down to
the earth.
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