y had no great difficulty in
scrambling up Tom's side and taking a firm hold of his mane, nor did
Jerry object when Andy and Lowboy mounted him. Tom looked at his riders
in mild surprise, but made no move to get up.

"What next?" asked Lowboy.

"You'll see," said Hortense, who began to repeat the charm which Grater
had spoken:

_Ride, ride, ride
For the world is fair and wide.
The moon shines bright
On a magic night,
And Tom and Jerry
Are able very
To ride, ride, ride._

At the first words Tom turned reproachful eyes upon her.

"I didn't think it of you, Hortense," said he. "Jerry and I are worn
out with riding, and here you abuse us, too."

"We'll be easy on you," said Hortense. "You have only to take us to the
rock on the mountain side where the Little People dance. There you may
rest until we return home. Besides, if we left you here Grater and
Jeremiah might come and ride again."

"That is true," said Tom, "and another such ride as last night's would
be the end of me."

"Quick then, to the rock," said Hortense, and in a twinkling Tom and
Jerry were out of the barn and soaring high in the air over the field
and the orchard, over the brook and the tree tops beyond. The moon
shone full and bright upon them, and every one was so thrilled with its
brightness that he felt like singing. Lowboy did break into a song, but
Hortense silenced him at once for fear of frightening the Little
People.

Over the tree tops they came and down towards the rock. Hortense could
see the Little People dancing, but before Tom and Jerry could alight,
the Little People had seen them and disappeared into the mountain.

"After them, quick," Hortense cried, slipping from Tom's back, and the
others followed her as she ran into the entrance to the mountain.

The passage was small and dark and wound this way and that. Soon it
ended, and Hortense and the others came into the land where the blue
moon was shining as before. But nowhere was there any sign of the
Little People.

"What shall we do now?" Hortense asked when they had all stopped, not
knowing what to do next.

"It's your party," said Lowboy. "You say what we shall do."

"There's a path," said Andy, pointing to a way among the trees.

"I believe," said Highboy, who had been looking around, "that these are
raspberries on this bush. Um--um--good," and he began to eat as rapidly
as he could pick them.

With difficulty Lowboy dragged his brothe