FAIRY WELL AND PLOT OF GNOMES. 51

Long the blue dragon-fly and the brown
beetle pondered over the words of the elf, but
it meant nothing to them; for how could
moonlight disclose the nets that lay at the
bottom of the lake, when they could not be
seen in the brighter sunlight?

While the blue dragon-fly and the brown
beetle are pondering over the words of the elf
Toto, we will turn to other friends.

That same night, as soon as the woods were
quiet and dark, a little gnome might have
been seen coming down Blue Hill. Bounding
over stones and bushes, swinging on grape-
vines, leaping across streams and chasms, on
went the little gnome until he reached the
hollow tree in which dwelt the elf Toto the
Slim. Standing at the foot of the tree,
the gnome called out : —

“Wake up, wake up, friend elf, I pray,
And hear the words I have to say.”

No sooner were these words spoken than
the rosy, roguish face of Toto appeared at the
opening that led to his snug home, and in a
trice he slid down the tree and alighted at the
gnome’s feet, saying : —