148 Fairy Tales

brother and sister looked at each other, and
Joan opened her mouth to give a shriek,
which always caused great consternation at
the farm. However, seeing Barthel’s face,
she gulped it down, and only slipped her
hand into her brother's and began to cry
softly. He really was a good boy, though
he was sometimes contradictory. He was
not very big, and he was very tired him-
self, but he turned to the dwarf woman
and said—

‘Please, will you put Joan on my back?
I can carry her a good way.”

“Oh, my dear, you can’t,” she said,
shaking her head. “No, no, I have been
thinking, and I will tell you how we can
manage beautifully. My house is not very
far off, and although my family are small they
are very strong. I will give them a call, and
if they happen to hear they will bring a little
cart, and that will carry you to my house,
and there you shall have nice dry clothes
and hot honey-cakes for supper. Of course
you must sleep the night, but I think I can