little goblins, and I noticed that
all their toys were made of silver or gold. Merry little creatures
they were, running swiftly hither and thither after the ball, nor was
it easy to see whether they were standing on their heads or on their
heels, or whether they were running on their hands or on their feet.
No sooner was their game ended than they pelted each other with their
playthings, then in a mad frolic lifted handfuls of gold dust and
flung it each in the other's eyes.

'All this time the ugly little man was standing half on the ground and
half within the great cavern where the tiny goblins played their
games. Now I heard him call to the mischievous imps to give him
handfuls of gold.

[Illustration: 'I saw in a great cavern a group of little goblins']

'This they did, and then he, laughing in my face, showed the gold to
me ere he flung it back again into the cavern.

'Then the ugly little man called to the tiny goblins to stop their
pranks and look at the coins I had given to him. When they caught
sight of them they held their little sides, shaking with laughter;
then all at once they turned and hissed at me.

'In spite of myself terror crept over me. Again I plunged my spurs
into my horse's sides, and it dashed madly off into the midst of the
forest.

'When at length the flight ended, the evening lay cool and quiet
around me. A white footpath seemed to point out the way which led back
to the city. But each time I tried to approach it a face peered at me
from between the trees. I turned to escape from this new phantom, but
in vain, for whichever way I turned there was the face still staring
at me.

'I grew angry and urged my horse in the direction of the shadowy face,
only however to find myself drenched by a stream of white foam.

'Thus I was driven away from the white footpath, and only one way,
rough and tangled, was left open to me. As soon as I began to follow
it, the face, though it kept close behind, did me no further harm.

'Yet again and again I turned, hoping to find that the face had
disappeared. Instead I found it closer than before, and now I could
see that it belonged to a tall white man. It was true that at times
the long white figure seemed to be but a wandering stream, but of this
I was never sure.

I was weary now and my horse was exhausted. It seemed useless to try
any longer to force my way past the white face, so I went on riding
quietly along the one path left open to me. The he