THE LITTLE GRAY MAN’S DECISION. 237

be banished to far-off lands. Come _ hither,
friends,” continued the little gray man, beckon-
ing to the rover and his family, who, searching
for the missing Wassa, had heard the tumult
caused by the giants, and had ascended the hill
to learn the cause of the commotion. ‘Come
hither, friends, and harken tomy words. Thou
art well known to me. Thy daughter has
been taught a lesson that she will not soon
forget, and I command thee to keep at peace
with thy neighbors. In future thou shalt
have the right to fish only in the waters of
yonder lake, and till the land that lies about it. —
No farther shalt thou go, neither shalt thou
cast thy nets in any other waters. If thou
shouldst disobey me, even that will be taken
from thee, and thou must go to less pleasant
lands.

“As for ye, my big and turbulent children,”
continued the little man in gray, addressing
the giants once more, “ye are too dangerous
when ye become angry, and ye must depart
to yonder far-away mountains where ye will
find nobody to injure. Now go, for the journey
is a long one.”

The giants dared not disobey the little man