The Flousehold Sprite. 99

“When they ceased dancing they all clustered about Peter,
and the squirrel fairy sat on his shoulder. One little sprite
had a tiny broom made of thistle, and a dust-brush under one
arm, with which she dusted and swept the flowers surrounding
the fairy circle, until not a speck of dust remained. This
sprite had a sharp nose and a prim little waist. One could
plainly see that she was set in her ways.

“«T am a household spirit, and my name is Pucker. I steal
through the keyhole of the silent houses at night, and if I find
the rooms untidy, I nip the housemaid in her sleep until she
is black and blue. I am very severe on housekeepers. If I
discover the dishes improperly washed, or egg-shells and bones
lying about in the humblest cottage, I tweak the good wife's
nose, and box her ears soundly. Every one can be clean, and
they must be happier for neat homes. I stand no nonsense’
—and the brisk little Pucker began to dust the flowers again
with renewed energy, until the roses and pinks blushed a
deeper red from sheer anger.

“* Will you let our beautiful faces alone?’ they exclaimed.

“«My name is Gull, said a merry, romping fairy, dancing on
a spider-web bridge. ‘I love to play tricks better than to work.
I steal cream and sugar from the closet, and whisk away the
glass of water just as a body is about to drink—that is capt
tal fun P

“*«T am Grim,’ said a short, stout elf with a droll face. ‘I
pull the master’s beard, and throw him into ditches by the
roadside when he comes home from the public-house at
night. He may lie there until morning, yet I give him no

rest; he is pricked with nettles, pounded with sharp stones,