water jumped and sprang about, devouring each other, or tearing each
other to bits.

"Upon my word this is really shocking. There must surely be some way to
make them live in peace and quiet, so that each attends only to his own
concerns." And he thought and thought, but still could not hit upon any
plan, so he must needs have recourse to conjuring.

"I must give them color so that they may be seen more plainly," said he.
Accordingly he poured something that looked like a drop of red wine--but
which in reality was witch's blood--upon the drop of water. Immediately
all the strange little creatures became red all over, and looked for all
the world like a whole town full of naked red Indians.

"Why, what have you here?" asked another old magician, who had no name
at all, which made him even more remarkable than Cribbley Crabbley.

"If you can find out what it is," replied Cribbley Crabbley, "I will
give it you; but I warn you you'll not do so easily."

The conjurer without a name looked through the microscope, and it seemed
to him that the scene before him was a whole town, in which the people
ran about naked in the wildest way. It was quite shocking! Still more
horrible was it to see how they kicked and cuffed, struggled and fought,
pecked, bit, tore, and swallowed, each his neighbor. Those that were
under wanted to be at the top, while those that chanced to be at the top
must needs thrust themselves underneath.

"And now look, his leg is longer than mine, so off with it!" one seemed
to be saying. Another had a little lump behind his ear,--an innocent
little lump enough,--but it seemed to pain him, and therefore the others
seemed determined that it should pain him more. So they hacked at it,
and dragged the poor thing about, and at last ate him up, all on account
of the little lump. One only of the creatures was quiet, a modest
little maid, who sat by herself evidently wishing for nothing but peace
and quietness. The others would not have it so, however. They soon
pulled the little damsel forward, cuffed and tore her, and then ate her
up.

"This is uncommonly droll and amusing!" said the nameless magician.

"Yes. But what do you think it is?" asked Cribbley Crabbley. "Can you
make it out?"

"It is easy enough to guess, to be sure," was the reply of the nameless
magician; "easy enough. It is either Paris or Copenhagen, or some other
great city; I don't know which, for they are all alike. It is some great
city, o