and scrambled ashore. To
his astonishment he saw that the spring had spread itself out into a
little lake, and that the sedge-grass had grown to an enormous height,
and was waving far above his head. Then he was startled by a tremendous
roar of laughter, and, looking around, he saw the Goblin, who was now
apparently at least twenty feet high, standing beside the spring.

[Illustration: DAVY FALLS INTO THE ELASTIC SPRING.]

"Oh, lor! Oh, lor!" cried the Goblin, in an uncontrollable fit of
merriment. "Another minute and you wouldn't have been bigger than a
peanut!"

"What's the matter with me?" said Davy, not knowing what to make of it
all.

"Matter?" cried the Goblin. "Why, you've been and gone and fallen into
an Elastic Spring, that's all. If you'd got in at stretch tide, early in
the morning, you'd have been a perfect giraffe; but you got in at shrink
tide and--oh, my! oh, my!" and here he went off into another fit of
laughter.

"I don't think it's anything to laugh at," cried Davy, with the tears
starting to his eyes, "and I'm sure I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Oh! don't worry," said the Goblin, good-naturedly. "I'll take a dip
myself, just to be companionable, and tomorrow morning we can get back
to any size you like."

"I wish you'd take these things in with you," said Davy, pointing to his
shoes and stockings. "They're big enough now for Badorful."

"All right!" cried the Goblin. "Here we go;" and, taking the shoes and
stockings in his hand, he plunged into the spring, and a moment
afterward scrambled out exactly Davy's size.

"Now, that's what I call a nice, tidy size," said the Goblin,
complacently, while Davy was squeezing his feet into his wet shoes.
"What do you say to a ride on a field-mouse?"

"That will be glorious!" said Davy.

[Illustration: "'FRECKLES,' SAID THE GOBLIN, 'WHAT TIME IS IT?'"]

"Well, there goes the sun," said the Goblin; "it will be moonlight
presently, and moonlight is the time for mouse-back riding;" and as he
spoke, the sun went down with a boom like a distant gun, and left them
in the dark. The next moment the moon rose above the trees and beamed
down pleasantly upon them, and the Goblin, taking Davy by the hand, led
him into the wood.

* * * * *

"Freckles," said the Goblin, "what time is it?"

They were now in the densest part of the wood, where the moon was
shining brightly on a little pool with rushes growing about it, and t