y darkness.

There were a whir-r-r and a buzz, and a whir-r-r, as if a swarm of bees
were flying by him, and the old man felt himself fastened so securely to
the ground that, do what he would, he could not move an inch, and all the
time he felt himself being pinched, and pricked, and tweaked from top to
toe, so that not an inch of him was free from torment. He was lying on
his back at the foot of the Gump, though how he got there he could never
tell. His arms were stretched out and fastened down, so that he could not
do anything to drive off his tormentors, his legs were so secured that he
could not even relieve himself by kicking, and his tongue was tied with
cords, so that he could not call out.

There he lay, no one knows how long, for to him it seemed hours, and no
one else but the fairies knew anything about it. At last he felt a lot of
little feet running over him, but whose they were he had no idea until
something perched on his nose, and by the light of the moon he saw it was
a Spriggan. His wicked old heart sank when he realized that he had got
into their clutches, for all his life he had heard what wicked little
creatures they were.

The little imp on his nose kicked and danced and stamped about in great
delight at finding himself perched up so high. We all know how painful it
is to have one's nose knocked, even ever so little, so you may imagine
that the old miser did not enjoy himself at all. Master Spriggan did,
though. He roared with laughter, as though he were having a huge joke,
until at last, rising suddenly to his feet and standing on the tips of his
tiny toes, he shouted sharply, "Away! away! I smell the day!" and to the
old man's great relief off he flew in a great hurry, followed by all his
mischievous little companions who had been playing games, and running
races all over their victim's body.

Left at last to himself, the mortified old man lay for some time, thinking
over all that had happened, trying to collect his senses, and wondering
how he should manage to escape from his bonds, for he might lie there for
a week without any human being coming near the place.

Till sunrise he lay there, trying to think of some plan, and then, what do
you think he saw? Why, that he had not been tied down by ropes at all,
but only by thousands of gossamer webs! And there they were now, all over
him, with the dew on them sparkling like the diamonds that the princess
had worn the night before. And t