ends with this being
called 'man,' so, taking the form of an old field labourer, he entered
the service of a farmer. Under his care all the crops flourished
exceedingly, but the master proved to be wasteful and ungrateful, and
Ruebezahl soon left him, and went to be shepherd to his next neighbour.
He tended the flock so diligently, and knew so well where to lead the
sheep to the sweetest pastures, and where among the hills to look for
any who strayed away, that they too prospered under his care, and not
one was lost or torn by wolves; but this new master was a hard man,
and begrudged him his well-earned wages. So he ran away and went to
serve the judge. Here he upheld the law with might and main, and was a
terror to thieves and evildoers; but the judge was a bad man, who took
bribes, and despised the law. Ruebezahl would not be the tool of an
unjust man, and so he told his master, who thereupon ordered him to be
thrown into prison. Of course that did not trouble the gnome at all,
he simply got out through the keyhole, and went away down to his
underground palace, very much disappointed by his first experience of
mankind. But, as time went on, he forgot the disagreeable things that
had happened to him, and thought he would take another look at the
upper world.

[Illustration: THE GNOME FALLS IN LOVE WITH THE PRINCESS]

So he stole into the valley, keeping himself carefully hidden in copse
or hedgerow, and very soon met with an adventure; for, peeping through
a screen of leaves, he saw before him a green lawn where stood a
charming maiden, fresh as the spring, and beautiful to look upon.
Around her upon the grass lay her young companions, as if they had
thrown themselves down to rest after some merry game. Beyond them
flowed a little brook, into which a waterfall leapt from a high rock,
filling the air with its pleasant sound, and making a coolness even in
the sultry noontide. The sight of the maiden so pleased the gnome
that, for the first time, he wished himself a mortal; and, longing for
a better view of the gay company, he changed himself into a raven and
perched upon an oak-tree which overhung the brook. But he soon found
that this was not at all a good plan. He could only see with a raven's
eyes, and feel as a raven feels; and a nest of field-mice at the foot
of the tree interested him far more than the sport of the maidens.
When he understood this he flew down again in a great hurry into the
thicket, and took t