aid the wizard
coolly.

Babette felt indignant and thought that he might offer to help her, but
not a bit of it. There he stood, leaning against the door, smoking his
long pipe, the picture of laziness.

"Please where is the coffee?" said Babette.

"Use your eyes and you will find it," said her polite host.

Then she saw a jar on a shelf labelled "Coffee," and near it the
coffee-mill.

Babette ground the beans till she was red in the face. Then she waited
for the water to boil. Whilst she was attending to the coffee, rolls and
butter appeared on the table and a blue and white china coffee service.
The table seemed to have laid itself; for Babette was sure that the man
had never moved from the door. Now breakfast was ready. They sat down
together, the wizard saying never a word, but lifting one eyebrow at
times in a peculiar way that made Babette feel very uncomfortable.

After breakfast he went out of the house saying: "Clean the house, make
the beds, cook the dinner."

"But there is no dinner to cook," said poor Babette.

"Find it," was all the reply she could get out of him.

Now Babette had not been remarkable for obedience and docility, and if
anyone had spoken to her like that at home, she would have rebelled at
once; but she felt instinctively that her safety here lay in doing
exactly as she was told. The man was half-mad she feared, and if she
aroused his wrath, he might do her bodily harm.

The tears came into her eyes; she felt quite in despair; but she was a
brave girl and determined to make the best of things.

The vegetables in the garden occurred to her. She would cook some
carrots; that was easy. Stewed plums would do for pudding; but what
about the soup and the joint?

At this point of her deliberations a hare was thrown over the hedge.
This settled the question. Evidently the man did not wish to starve.

"But how shall I get its fur off?" thought Babette. "Bah! I shall never
be able to skin the creature!"

Just then she heard to her joy a "caw caw," seven times repeated, and
there she saw her dear ravens sitting on a tree just outside the garden.

Now the limit of invisibility did not exist for the witch's favourites.
They flew at once to Babette; she told them her troubles, and showed
them the hare.

"That is an easy matter," said the ravens, "the hare has seven skins; we
are seven ravens, each of us will take off one skin, and may we have the
pickings?" said the greedy fellows.

"