The Dwarf Woman 129

along the road. They were very touchy
about their height, and anything like ridi-
cule affronted them so extremely, that after
a long debate they had come to the con-
clusion that, in order to make themselves
respected, they must have a king and
queen bigger than themselves. Some of
the elders opposed this decree, but the
younger ones were all in its favour, and
talked the loudest, and had it passed. Then
up jumped this difficulty:—Who were they
to get to be king and queen? No grown-
up person could have possibly squeezed
through the hole in the mountain - side
which served them as door, besides which
grown-up people were always busy or
suspicious, or old or ugly, or something
tiresome—so the young ones declared—so
they determined that they would try to get
hold of two men-children, and take them
home, and keep them till they had grown
too big to get out of the door. +The dwarf
woman who had reached the farm was one

of the most keen on the matter, because
I