64 THE FAIRY-FOLK OF THE BLUE HILL.

as he had appeared, and Swiftstepper, standing
with one foot on each shore of the pond, care-
fully replaced the hunter’s nets, as the little
gray man had bidden, and then he rejoined his
companions.

It was fortunate for the safety of the gnomes
that the giants did not discover the little faces
with their peaked beards and caps peeping out
from behind bushes and rocks, watching with
mischievous enjoyment the success of their
plot; and still more fortunate was it that they
did not hear the shrill, jeering laughs that arose
at the sharp reproof of the little man in gray.

Great was Wassa’s surprise, the next morn-
ing, at finding the hunter's nets cast in the
usual place.

“ Perhaps the fairies did it,” suggested one of
her little sisters.

“ Nonsense! there are no fairies, I tell thee,”
replied Wassa angrily. “How dost thou sup-
pose fairies could get that great rock out of the
water ?”

“Then maybe the giants did it,” said the
brother.

“ There are no giants either; thou know’st
that as well as I,” replied Wassa.