36 WHISPERS FROM FAIRYLAND. [1.

 

and although their trot was rather rough, the
Princesses found their canter quite tolerable, and in
any case, as they had come some distance, this kind
of conveyance was just then far more agreeable than
walking. The Dwarf rode between them for some
way, discoursing in an ordinary manner about things
and people, and making himself as agreeable as he
could to his companions.

Presently the forest got thicker and they had to ride
in single file, and then again the trees became fewer
in number, the bushes and underwood less thick, and it
was evident that they were approaching the outskirts
of the forest. Their way now lay up rising ground,
or in fact the side of a mountain, upon which the trees
became still fewer, and masses of rock lay around
the travellers, gradually taking the place of the
vegetation they were leaving behind them. The
journey was no longer so pleasant, but as it was late
in the afternoon and the sun had lost its power, the
sisters continued to travel without inconvenience.
Suddenly the Dwarf stopped.

. ‘Now,’ said he, ‘my dear young ladies, we are very
near the boundary which divides us from the Giant’s
kingdom, which you will presently see. Before entering
it, however, it is desirable to let the sun set, which he
will very shortly do. You must not be surprised or
alarmed at any change which you may see take place
in my personal appearance. I shall have to disguise
myself, probably in more than one shape, as to appear
in my natural form would be fatal both to your success
and to my own existence. As, however, it is most
desirable that you should both keep those shapes