t gave a hoarse cry and vanished; and the enchanted fire
blazed up famously, red, blue, and yellow, with poor Harold in the
midst of it.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE GOLDEN IVY.

Now, or never, it was the time for Hilda and the cat to come back.
And, sure enough, at this very instant there was a sound like the
whistling of a blast of wind through the forest, and a hurrying and a
skurrying, and behold! there was Tom the Cat, with Hilda on his back.

Tom said nothing, but he sprang into the circle, and without losing an
instant he dug a little hole in the ground with his fore paws,
throwing up the dirt in a heap behind him. When it was finished he
said:

'Open the hollow pearl, Hilda, and put the Golden Ivy-seed in this
hole; and make haste, for Harold is burning for Hector's sake!'

So Hilda made haste to open the hollow pearl and to put the Golden
Ivy-seed in the hole; and the cat spread the earth over it, and then
said:

'Now take the crystal phial, Hilda, and pour half the Diamond
Waterdrop upon the place where the seed is planted, and the other half
upon the enchanted fire; and make haste, for Harold is burning for
Hector's sake!'

So Hilda made haste and did what the cat had told her to do.

When the half of the Diamond Waterdrop fell upon the fire in which
Harold had all this while been burning the fire was immediately put
out. And there lay Harold, alive and well, amidst the embers; but the
black spot upon his nose was all burned away, and his hair and eyes,
which had until then been brown, were now quite black.

So up he jumped, and he and Hilda kissed each other heartily, for they
felt as if they had been separated for a long time.

'What has become of the black spot on your forehead, Hilda?' asked
Harold. 'It is not there any more.'

'Ah!' said Tom, 'that disappeared when the King of the Gnomes kissed
her. But now make yourselves ready, children, for we are going to take
a ride to Rumpty-Dudget's tower.'

On hearing this the young prince and princess were greatly surprised,
and looked about for the horses on which they were to ride.

But behold! the Golden Ivy-seed, watered with the Diamond Waterdrop,
was already growing and sprouting with marvellous vigour and rapidity.
A strong stem, with leaves of glistening gold, had pushed itself out
of the earth, and was creeping along the ground towards
Rumpty-Dudget's tower: hardly creeping, either, for it moved faster
than a man could run. The cat hel