AMONG THE GNOMES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1915, 3 August 1888, Page 34

AMONG THE GNOMES.

(By Margaret M'Kay.)

Ohaptee V.

After some time had passed in came the gnome.

" His Gracious Majesty the King is ready," said he with a grin, " you must come and see your work."

The children's hearts beat very fast as they followed the servant down the passage. They found the King in the cavern again, and with him Sir Boolaboo and three other gnomes. Clara bowed, but Bessie did not. The King looked at her.

"Ha 1 " he said, "we will soon make you mend your manners, miss. In less than a week you will bow very nicely to me." '• Will you bet on that 1" asked Bessie. The King stared." " I never bet," he said stiffly.

"Do you not think, your Majesty," interposed Sir Boolaboo, " that it will be best to set these mortals to work at once ?"

"Yes," said the King grandly, "let us start."

They went up the stairs they had descended the night before. As the children's eyes had now become more accustomed to the gloom they noticed that there were small caves opening off each side of the stairs. Through one of these caves went the King, and they followed. They all went through a small opening at one side, and found they had come to a much larger cave. A low narrow platform ran all round it, on the platform there were a lot of lizards ; up near the roof, where the lizards could not get them, flew millions of tiny flies.

11 This is your work," said the King ; " yon must catch these flies and feed my pet lizards. If any of them are ill this," pointing to a smaller cave, "is the lizards' hospital, and this box is full of medicine for them. Every lizard that dies you will have to pay for by having one of your lingers cut off. Now, then, set to work, and take care to feed them well."

Then he left them. When his footsteps had died away in the distance Bessie said :

" I thought he would leave someone to see that we would do the work. It is better work than I expected to get. I wonder what he wants such a lot of lizards for ?"

"To eat, I expect," said Clara, " don't you remember when you made the gnome bring us more bread, he said that we had taken him away from his dinner of fried lizard."

•• Yes, of course. I never thought of that ; I hope they won't expect us to eat them ; though. I wonder how we will feed them, will they take the flies properly, or will we have to stuff them down their throats."

Bessie caught a fly and held it over a lizard, it opened its mouth and she dropped the fly into it.

" That is all fight," she cried, " now we had better start, each at one end, and go on till we meet at the middle, and then start again."

" I hope none of them will die," remarked Clara, " I don't want to lose my fingers." Then they commenced their work. They were nearly at the middle when the' door opened and in came a very fat gnome. In one hand he held a sword about the size of a darning needle. He looked round, and when he saw they were working he said :

" Ah ! that is right, work hard and I won't interfere with you." 18 Then he dived into the lizards' hospital and brought out a little table, this he placed in the centre of the room, then went back and brought an arm-chair and some cushions. He put the chair beside the table and sab down on it. *

" Come and put the cushions round me." Clara went and put the cushions in the places he told her.

" That is all I want," he said, as he settled himself "comfortably ; " now go and work hard. If you are idle I will punish you, for I hate laziness."

When Clara went to her work he looked round, and not seeing what he looked for, he got up and went into the hospital again. Presently he returned with a footstool and a tray with a bottle, a loaf of bread, some fruit, and a little dish of some black looking mixture upon it. He set them all on the table, then sat down again himself. "Come here again, mortal," he said. Bessie would not go, so Clara did, and he continued :

" Put this stool at my feet, and this cushion at my back, this at one side ; now, then, this at the other. There now, that is comfortable."

" Stop !" he cried, just as Clara was goinpr away, " go into the hospital and bring me the rug that is there."

Clara went and found a tiny rug, about an inch square. She took it to the gnome, who spread it over his knees, and told her to go to her work again. Then he ate some fruit, took a drink from the bottle, and prepared to go to sleep.

(To he continued,.)