ispensable."

This reasoning displeased the dwarfs, and one of them named Tad
denounced it with much indignation. He was such a good dwarf. He
proposed to take the beautiful child back to her kindred who must be
great nobles.

But this advice was rejected as being contrary to the custom of the
dwarfs.

"We ought to follow the ways of justice not custom," said Tad.

But no one paid any further attention to him and the assembly broke into
a tumult as a dwarf named Pau, a simple soul but just, gave his advice
in these terms:

"We must begin by awakening this young lady, seeing she declines to
awake of herself; if she spends the night here her eyelids will be
swollen to-morrow and her beauty will be much impaired, for it is very
unhealthy to sleep in a wood on the borders of a lake."

This opinion met with general approval as it did not clash with any
other.

Pic, who looked like an elderly poet burdened with care, approached the
young girl and looked at her very intently, under the impression that a
single one of his glances would be quite sufficient to rouse the dreamer
out of the deepest sleep. But Pic was quite mistaken as to the power of
his glance, for Honey-Bee continued to sleep with folded hands.

Seeing this the good Tad pulled her gently by her sleeve. Thereupon she
partly opened her eyes and raised herself on her elbow. When she found
herself lying on a bed of moss surrounded by dwarfs she thought what she
saw was nothing but a dream, and she rubbed her eyes to open them, so
that instead of this fantastic vision she should see the pure light of
morning as it entered her little blue room in which she thought she was.
For her mind, heavy with sleep, did not recall to her the adventure of
the lake. But indeed, it was useless to rub her eyes, the dwarfs did not
vanish, and so she was obliged to believe that they were real.

Then she looked about with frightened eyes and saw the forest and
remembered.

"George! my brother George!" she cried in anguish. The dwarfs crowded
about her, and for fear of seeing them she hid her face in her hands.

"George! George! Where is my brother George?" she sobbed.

The dwarfs could not tell her, for the good reason that they did not
know. And she wept hot tears and cried aloud for her mother and brother.

Pau longed to weep with her, and in his efforts to console, he addressed
her with rather vague remarks.

"Do not distress yourself so much," he urged, "it would be