A BARGAIN 3r

once on his way to the forest. The nurse
only stayed long enough to tell the hedge-
hog that although he had not learned the
way to speak to a lady, and she was not in
the habit of milking the cows, she would
take care that, if things went well with the
young Princes and Princesses, he should.
have the milk which he desired. Then she
set off home, and left the animal in peace.
Hurly-Burly walked forward at his best
pace, and before long saw the forest very
near him. Between him and it there was
a kind of common, on which grew a great
many patches of gorse, and here and there
rose a stunted thorn tree. The ground
was hard and dry, and there seemed little
risk of the boy getting his feet wet, as the
nurse had feared. But the common was
larger than it appeared at first, or else some
magic power kept the traveller back, for he
did not seem to get any nearer. He had
taken his handkerchief in his right hand, as
the hedgehog had told him to do, and walked
steadily on for.some way until all of a sudden
a little man about three feet high, with bright
red hair and only one eye, jumped from be-
hind a gorse-bush, and ‘stood right in front