Che picked another pair, and put them on his own face. Jenny laughed. "You look so funny, Che!"

"And this pair should look nice on you, Gwenny," he said, picking a third pair.

"But I can't—" Gwendolyn protested.

"It is not nice to express it, but the spectacles make Jenny Elf look odd," he said. "It would be courteous to don a similar pair, to share her oddity and make her feel more comfortable, as I have done. My spectacles have no effect on my vision, of course; they are merely decoration."

"Oh, I don't mind—" Jenny protested. But he made a NO signal that Gwendolyn could not see, and she stopped. What was he up to? His sire or dam must have told him to do this, somewhere along the way.

"I don't want Jenny to feel odd," Gwendolyn said. "No one knows me out here, so I suppose I can wear a pair." She put the spectacles on her face.

She stood for a moment, her mouth slowly dropping open in amazement. "I can see!" she exclaimed. "I can see everything, no matter how far away!" She tilted her face up. "Is—is that a cloud?"

"Yes," Jenny said, now understanding. They had given Gwendolyn a reason to wear the spectacles without commenting on what the lenses did. Now she could see as well as they could, without having to admit how it was without them.

"But if we encounter goblins, we may all remove our spectacles," Che said. "Until we are away from them. So that they will not make fun of us."

The two girls nodded, understanding very well.

They returned to the adult centaurs, wearing their spectacles. Even Sammy had a pair, now. "I see you children enjoy playing games," Cheiron remarked. "Perhaps the two of us should complete the effect by donning similar pairs."

"No, Sire," Che said. "Only children are permitted to be childish."

"I stand corrected," Cheiron said, making a droll face.

Jenny did not know Cheiron well, but she could see already that she would like him well enough.

"If you must indulge in such foolishness," Chex said severely, "at least indulge in it while we travel, so as not to waste more time."

They quickly agreed. Gwenny scrambled onto Cheiron's back, and Jenny onto Chex's. The centaurs started off again.

But now it was different. Jenny could see all Xanth, and so could Gwenny. Gwenny's head was constantly turning that way and this, as if she wanted to cram everything into her eyes before it disappeared. Then she faced Jenny, and Jenny winked, and Gwenny broke out laughing, mostly from the sheer joy of being able to see such an expression at this distance.