break in
the clouds on a stormy day towards evening, settled near us. The child
instantly began murmuring: 'Butterfly, butterfly, give me your wings';
when, the moment after, she fell to the ground, and began crying as if
hurt. I drew my sword and heaved a great blow in the direction in
which the child had fallen. It struck something, and instantly the most
grotesque imitation of a man became visible. You see this Fairy Land is
full of oddities and all sorts of incredibly ridiculous things, which a
man is compelled to meet and treat as real existences, although all the
time he feels foolish for doing so. This being, if being it could be
called, was like a block of wood roughly hewn into the mere outlines
of a man; and hardly so, for it had but head, body, legs, and arms--the
head without a face, and the limbs utterly formless. I had hewn off one
of its legs, but the two portions moved on as best they could, quite
independent of each other; so that I had done no good. I ran after
it, and clove it in twain from the head downwards; but it could not be
convinced that its vocation was not to walk over people; for, as soon as
the little girl began her begging again, all three parts came bustling
up; and if I had not interposed my weight between her and them, she
would have been trampled again under them. I saw that something else
must be done. If the wood was full of the creatures, it would be an
endless work to chop them so small that they could do no injury; and
then, besides, the parts would be so numerous, that the butterflies
would be in danger from the drift of flying chips. I served this one
so, however; and then told the girl to beg again, and point out the
direction in which one was coming. I was glad to find, however, that
I could now see him myself, and wondered how they could have been
invisible before. I would not allow him to walk over the child; but
while I kept him off, and she began begging again, another appeared; and
it was all I could do, from the weight of my armour, to protect her from
the stupid, persevering efforts of the two. But suddenly the right plan
occurred to me. I tripped one of them up, and, taking him by the legs,
set him up on his head, with his heels against a tree. I was delighted
to find he could not move. Meantime the poor child was walked over by
the other, but it was for the last time. Whenever one appeared, I
followed the same plan--tripped him up and set him on his head; and so
the li