e months slipped by, and Christmas came round again. The
evening before, the youth went down to the rocks and into the copse,
collecting all the drift wood the sea had washed up or the gale had
blown down, and he piled it up in a great stack outside the door, so
that he might not have to fetch any all the next day. As soon as his
task was done, he paused and looked out towards the mainland, thinking
of Christmas Eve last year, and the merry dance they had had. The night
was still and cold, and by the help of the Northern Lights he could
almost sea across to the opposite coast, when, suddenly, he noticed a
boat, which seemed steering straight for the island. At first he could
hardly stand for joy, the chance of speaking to another man was so
delightful; but as the boat drew near there was something, he could not
tell what, that was different from the boats which he had been used to
all his life, and when it touched the shore he saw that the people
that filled it were beings of another world than ours. Then he hastily
stepped behind the wood stack, and waited for what might happen next.

The strange folk one by one jumped on to the rocks, each bearing a load
of something that they wanted. Among the women he remarked two young
girls, more beautiful and better dressed than any of the rest, carrying
between them two great baskets full of provisions. The young man peeped
out cautiously to see what all this crowd could be doing inside the
tiny hut, but in a moment he drew back again, as the girls returned,
and looked about as if they wanted to find out what sort of a place the
island was.

Their sharp eyes soon discovered the form of a man crouching behind
the bundles of sticks, and at first they felt a little frightened, and
started as if they would run away. But the youth remained so still,
that they took courage and laughed gaily to each other. 'What a strange
creature, let us try what he is made of,' said one, and she stooped down
and gave him a pinch.

Now the young man had a pin sticking in the sleeve of his jacket, and
the moment the girl's hand touched him she pricked it so sharply that
the blood came. The girl screamed so loudly that the people all ran out
of their huts to see what was the matter. But directly they caught sight
of the man they turned and fled in the other direction, and picking up
the goods they had brought with them scampered as fast as they could
down to the shore. In an instant, boat, people, and