must do nothing to hurt him,
that he may not fall out with thee.' I had heard of such fellows, but
before this could never believe in them. In the smithy the baiting
began as usual; old Ulric put me quite in a fury; for they had remarkt
my soreness, and this made them think it the better sport to badger
me. I was just going to dash a redhot iron at the grizzly-bearded
lubber's snow-white head, when Silly came across my thoughts. 'And the
brown fire scar up there!' I said; 'you know, Ulric!' Thus I cried,
without thinking there was anything in it, when on the sudden the old
giant became so quiet, timid, and meek, that it made me stare my eyes
out. From that moment forward the fierce fellow became my friend. Nay
he was so humble in his behaviour to me, that I rose mightily in
everybody's opinion, and thenceforth stood near the top of the board.
When we grew better acquainted, he told me in confidence that in his
youth he had once let himself be misled into engaging in an attempt to
steal with the help of a servant maid. He had already crept into the
room, supposing that everybody was asleep; but the smith being still
awake had rusht against him with a fire brand snatcht up from the
hearth; and thus his head and hair had been singed. He fancied that no
mortal creature knew the story, of which he was heartily ashamed; and
therefore he entreated me by all my hopes of heaven never to tell any
one of it; indeed he was unable to make out how I could have learnt
the affair. On this point however he was mistaken; for without his own
confession I had never known a word of it. After this my life flowed
along very peaceably, and the little creature came every now and then,
and helpt me in what I had to do. Before long however we quarrelled.
He often came upon me so suddenly, so unexpectedly, and many a time
when nothing was further from my thoughts, that I was frightened to
the very core. Whenever I said a word to him about this, he grew very
pettish, and told me, I was an ungrateful fellow, not to acknowledge
his manifold services. Now I had heard a little before from an English
traveller, that the name of my goblin in his language meant _foolish_,
and that in England such a creature was called Puck, or Robin
Goodfellow; and when in the openness of my heart I told all this to my
little guest, and at the same time, because he had just frightened me
again, wanted to hang a bell about his neck, that I might always hear
him when he was