ts.

Just shut your eyes and fancy you see a little brown figure with small
dark eyes, like black beads, sharp nose, thin lips, and glossy red hair,
combed off the face, plaited into a long tail behind, and tied by a bow
of black ribbon. Then fancy this little figure, with arms so long that
they reach to its knees, dressed in a dark blue smock frock without
sleeves, a red leather belt round its waist, dark red trousers on its
legs, and green morocco shoes on its feet; then call it a Noman, and you
will see precisely the sort of beings which were left to wait on the
young inhabitants of Child Island. They were all alike and all dressed
alike; they used to make their appearance and begin to dust and sweep,
and light fires, and such like, just after cock-crow every morning, and
they all disappeared every night directly the children were safely
tucked in bed. They came all together and they disappeared all together,
but where they came from or where they went to nobody ever knew, so you
must not expect me to tell you.

I daresay you will think these Nomen a strange race, but I am going to
tell you something stranger still concerning them, and that is that none
of them could talk, no--not one!

Was not that odd? They had some way of talking amongst themselves by
means of signs, but the only words they could say to their young masters
and mistresses were, "nob, nob," which meant no, and "yah, yah," which
meant yes. These they uttered very quickly, and nodding their heads at
each sound.

Now, the good fairy had charged these little beings to be very kind and
attentive to the children; to cook their meals and serve them nicely,
and to keep their houses in pretty order.

She also charged the children to be kind and gentle to the Nomen; never
in any way to tease, annoy, or insult them, for if they did, the fairy
said, and she looked very grave as she said it, "some punishment would
immediately follow." This Master Edmund found to be quite true, when one
day he attempted to kick the Noman who was brushing his hair, for as he
raised his leg to kick, an invisible hand pulled the other from under
him, and Master Edmund measured his length on the floor. So, also, Miss
Sophia, who said one day, whilst looking in the glass, admiring herself
and sneering at the Noman who was fastening her frock, "What a fright
you are with your squiny eyes and red hair! I shouldn't like to be such
a fright as you are." Upon which she immediately fel