In a Garden 117

fell, ran round in an agony. The little elf
alone kept his presence of mind, for he called
to the others to fetch Dick, and then he
scooped up a handful of sand, and flung
it straight at the hard unwinking eyes of
the great bird. It gave Agrippa just the
moment of time he wanted in which to
fasten his teeth in the hawk’s neck, so that
he could strike no more; and when Dick ran
back as fast as his legs could carry him,
he found Agrippa standing stiff with pride,
rage, and wounds, his head almost buried
in the hawk’s thick feathers, while the strong
pinions trailed on the ground. He was
much too angry at first to do anything but
growl and flash green fire from his eyes,
while all the other creatures were chirping
and squeaking and trembling with delight;
but after a while, to please Dick, he dropped
the bird on the ground, though he still stood
over him so that no one should take him
away. And when Dick praised him, he was
very short in his answers, though really
extremely happy, for a hawk is a foe worth