et up like two perpendicular eggs, one on the
broad, the other on the small end. Her mouth was no bigger than a
small buttonhole until she laughed, when it stretched from ear to
ear--only, to be sure, her ears were very nearly in the middle of her
cheeks.

Anxious to hear everything they might say, Curdie ventured to slide
down a smooth part of the rock just under him, to a projection below,
upon which he thought to rest. But whether he was not careful enough,
or the projection gave way, down he came with a rush on the floor of
the cavern, bringing with him a great rumbling shower of stones.

The goblins jumped from their seats in more anger than consternation,
for they had never yet seen anything to be afraid of in the palace.
But when they saw Curdie with his pick in his hand their rage was
mingled with fear, for they took him for the first of an invasion of
miners. The king notwithstanding drew himself up to his full height of
four feet, spread himself to his full breadth of three and a half, for
he was the handsomest and squarest of all the goblins, and strutting up
to Curdie, planted himself with outspread feet before him, and said
with dignity:

'Pray what right have you in my palace?'

'The right of necessity, Your Majesty,' answered Curdie. 'I lost my
way and did not know where I was wandering to.'

'How did you get in?'

'By a hole in the mountain.'

'But you are a miner! Look at your pickaxe!'

Curdie did look at it, answering:

'I came upon it lying on the ground a little way from here. I tumbled
over some wild beasts who were playing with it. Look, Your Majesty.'
And Curdie showed him how he was scratched and bitten.

The king was pleased to find him behave more politely than he had
expected from what his people had told him concerning the miners, for
he attributed it to the power of his own presence; but he did not
therefore feel friendly to the intruder.

'You will oblige me by walking out of my dominions at once,' he said,
well knowing what a mockery lay in the words.

'With pleasure, if Your Majesty will give me a guide,' said Curdie.

'I will give you a thousand,' said the king with a scoffing air of
magnificent liberality.

'One will be quite sufficient,' said Curdie.

But the king uttered a strange shout, half halloo, half roar, and in
rushed goblins till the cave was swarming. He said something to the
first of them which Curdie could not hear, and it was passed from one
to