t length all were seated, whereupon the prince gave a signal, on which a
number of footmen came forward carrying a table laden with dainty food in
solid gold dishes, and wines in goblets of precious stones which they
placed on the platform before the prince and princess. As soon as the
royal pair began to eat, all the hosts around them followed their example,
and such a merry, jovial meal they had. The viands disappeared as fast as
they could go, laughter and talk sounded on all sides, and never a sign
did any of them give that they knew that a human being was watching them.
If they knew it, they showed not the slightest concern.

"Ah!" thought the old miser to himself. "I can't get all I'd like to, but
if I could reach up to the prince's table I could get enough at one grab
to set me up for life, and make me the richest man in St. Just parish!"

Stooping down, he slowly and stealthily dragged himself nearer and nearer
to the table. He felt quite sure that no one could see him. What he
himself did not see was that hundreds of wicked little Spriggans had tied
ropes on to him, and were holding fast to the ends. He crawled and
crawled so slowly and carefully that it took him some time to get over the
ground, but he managed it at last, and got quite close up to the lovely
little pair. Once there he paused for a moment and looked back,--perhaps
to see if the way was clear for him to run when he had done what he meant
to do. He was rather startled to find that all was as dark as dark could
be, and that he could see nothing at all behind him. However, he tried to
cheer himself by thinking that it was only that his eyes were dazzled by
looking at the bright lights so long. He was even more startled, though,
when he turned round to the Gump again, to find that every eye of all
those hundreds and thousands of fairies on the hill was looking straight
into his eyes.

At first he was really frightened, but as they did nothing but look, he
told himself that they could not really be gazing at him, and grew braver
with the thought. Then slowly bringing up his hat, as a boy does to catch
a butterfly, he was just going to bring it down on the silken platform and
capture prince and princess, table, gold dishes and all, when hark!
A shrill whistle sounded, the old man's hand, with the hat in it, was
paralysed in the air, so that he could not move it backwards or forwards,
and in an instant every light went out, and all was pitch