four o'clock
They had cowslip wine in green glasses , and elderberry wine in red , and they drank each other 's health . The glasses held a thimbleful each ; the Mayor 's wife thought that was all the wine they ought to have . Under each child 's plate there was a pretty present ; and every one had a basket of bonbons and cake to carry home . At four o'clock the fiddlers put up their fiddles and the children went home ; fairies and shepherdesses and pages and princesses all jabbering gleefully about the splendid time they had had . But in a short time what consternation there was throughout the city ! When the proud and fond parents attempted to unbutton their children 's dresses , in order to prepare them for bed , not a single costume would come off . The buttons buttoned again as fast as they were unbuttoned ; even if they pulled out a pin , in it would slip again in a twinkling ; and when a string was untied it tied itself up again into a bow-knot .