whisper,
"Look there; our old uncle's come to the feast too." "No," answered
others, "it seems that this stranger has our uncle's hat, shoes, and
stick, but uncle himself isn't here." Meantime, covered dishes were
brought in for the feast. Then the stranger saw what nobody else could
perceive, that the good food was abstracted from the dishes with
wonderful quickness, and worse put in its place. It went just the same
with the jugs and bottles. Then the stranger asked for the master of the
house, greeted him politely, and said, "Don't be offended that I have
come to the feast as an uninvited stranger." "You are welcome,"
returned the host. "We have plenty to eat and drink, so that we are not
inconvenienced by a few uninvited guests." The stranger rejoined, "I can
well believe that one or two uninvited guests would make no difference,
but if the uninvited guests are far more numerous than those who are
invited, the richest host may run short." "I don't understand you," said
the host. The stranger gave him the hat, saying, "Put my hat on, and
raise your eyes to the crossbeams, and then you'll see them." The host
did so, and when he saw the tricks that the little guests were playing
with the feast, he turned as pale as death, and cried out with a
trembling voice, "Ah! my friend, my heart never dreamed of such guests;
and now I've taken off your hat, they've all vanished. How can I ever
get rid of them?" The owner of the hat returned, "I will soon rid you of
these little guests, if you will ask the invited guests to step out for
a short time, closing the doors and windows carefully, and taking care
that no chink or crack in the wall remains unstopped." Although the
founder of the feast did not quite understand what he meant, he
consented to the stranger's offer, and asked him to get rid of the
little nuisances.

In a short time the room was cleared of all the invited guests, the
doors, windows, and other openings were carefully closed, and the
stranger was left alone with the little guests. Then he began to swing
his cudgel towards the crossbeams and corners of the room so vigorously
that it was a pleasure to behold. In a few moments the whole mob of
little guests was annihilated, and as many drops of water were left on
the floor as if it had been raining heavily. Only one auger-hole had
been accidentally left unstopped, through which one of the dwarfs
slipped out, although the cudgel might still have reached the fugitive.