110 The Catskill Fairies.

ing a shoe at the door of his shop; there a beautiful lady,
with a high satin ruff about her neck and pearls in her dark
hair. The gems of the collection were the two largest wood-
cuts, according to Job’s ideas, and one of these was a palace,
with gables and pointed roof, and the other a beach, where a
fisherman’s wife waited for the boats to come in.

Nip had bewitched these pictures, and he now sat on the pin
that held the palace to the wall.

The old negro cobbler in the shop door began to work—tap,
tap sounded his hammer; while the parrot in the cage above
scolded a monkey that was slyly stealing its food.

Then the beautiful lady smiled, showing her white teeth, and
unfurled her large fan—one could see that she was a Spaniard ~
from the grace with which she used it. As for the fisherman’s
wife, she took several steps along the beach, shading her eyes
with her hand, and the white sails gleamed off the bar. The
fishing fleet was coming in safely after the storm.

“Now look at the palace,” said Nip, from his seat on the

large brass pin.