sure
enough, at the usual hour, along came the notes of the pipes as clear
and strong as they ever had been; and he was obliged to work as long
as Old Pipes played. The Echo-dwarf was very angry. He had supposed,
of course, that the pipe-playing had ceased forever, and he felt that
he had a right to be indignant at being thus deceived. He was so much
disturbed that he made up his mind to go and try to find out whether
this was to be a temporary matter or not. He had plenty of time, as
the pipes were played but once a day, and he set off early in the
morning for the hill on which Old Pipes lived. It was hard work for
the fat little fellow, and when he had crossed the valley and had
gone some distance into the woods on the hill-side, he stopped to
rest, and, in a few minutes, the Dryad came tripping along.

"Ho, ho!" exclaimed the dwarf; "what are you doing here? and how did
you get out of your tree?"

"Doing!" cried the Dryad; "I am being happy; that's what I am doing.
And I was let out of my tree by the good old man who plays the pipes
to call the cattle down from the mountain. And it makes me happier to
think that I have been of service to him. I gave him two kisses of
gratitude, and now he is young enough to play his pipes as well as
ever."

The Echo-dwarf stepped forward, his face pale with passion. "Am I to
believe," he said, "that you are the cause of this great evil that
has come upon me? and that you are the wicked creature who has again
started this old man upon his career of pipe-playing? What have I
ever done to you that you should have condemned me for years and
years to echo back the notes of those wretched pipes?"

At this the Dryad laughed loudly.

"What a funny little fellow you are!" she said. "Any one would think
you had been condemned to toil from morning till night; while what
you really have to do is merely to imitate for half an hour every day
the merry notes of Old Pipes's piping. Fie upon you, Echo-dwarf! You
are lazy and selfish; and that is what is the matter with you.
Instead of grumbling at being obliged to do a little wholesome work,
which is less, I am sure, than that of any other echo-dwarf upon the
rocky hill-side, you should rejoice at the good fortune of the old
man who has regained so much of his strength and vigor. Go home and
learn to be just and generous; and then, perhaps, you may be happy.
Good-by."

"Insolent creature!" shouted the dwarf, as he shook his fat little
fist