In a distant corner of the court-yard lay an old comet, with his tail comfortably curled up around him. He was too old to go out, so he enjoyed himself at home in a quiet way. Beside him stood a very young comet, with a very short tail. He was quivering with excitement, and occasionally cast sharp impatient glances at the Comet Master.
"Will he _never_ call me?" he exclaimed, but in an undertone, so that only his companion could hear. "He knows I am dying to go out, and for that very reason he pays no attention to me. I dare not leave my place, for you know what he is."
"Ah!" said the old comet, slowly, "if you had been out as often as I have, you would not be in such a hurry. Hot, tiresome work, _I_ call it. And what does it all amount to?"
"Ay, that's the point!" exclaimed the young comet. "What _does_ it all amount to? That is what I am determined to find out. I cannot understand your going on, travelling and travelling, and never finding out why you do it. _I_ shall find out, you may be very sure, before I have finished my first journey."
"Better not! better not!" answered the old comet. "You'll only get into trouble. Nobody knows except the Comet Master and the Sun. The Master would cut you up into inch pieces if you asked him, and the Sun--"
"Well, what about the Sun?" asked the young comet, eagerly.
"Short-tailed Comet No. 73!" rang suddenly, clear and sharp, through the court-yard.
The young comet started as if he had been shot, and in three bounds he stood before the Comet Master, who looked fixedly at him.
"You have never been out before," said the Master.
"No, sir!" replied No. 73; and he knew better than to add another word.
"You will go out now," said the Comet Master. "You will travel for thirteen weeks and three days, and will then return. You will avoid the neighborhood of the Sun, the Earth, and the planet Bungo. You will turn to the left on meeting other comets, and you are not allowed to speak to meteors. These are your orders. Go!"
At the word, the comet shot out of the gate and off into space, his short tail bobbing as he went.
Ah! here was something worth living for. No longer shut up in that tiresome court-yard, waiting for one's tail to grow, but out in the free, open, boundless realm of space, with leave to shoot about here and there and everywhere--well, _nearly_ everywhere--for thirteen whole weeks! Ah, what a glorious prospect! How swiftly he moved! How well his tail looked, even though it was still rather short! What a fine fellow he was, altogether!