r, and begged in as supplicating a tone as if
his life depended upon it, that he would give him back his cap. "No,"
said John, "you sly little rogue, you'll get the cap no more. That's
not the sort of thing: I should be in a nice perplexity if I had not
something of yours; now you have no power over me, but must do what I
please. And I will go down with you, and see how you live below and
you shall be my servant.--Nay, no grumbling, you know you must. And I
know it too, just as well as you do, for Klas Starkwolt told it to me
often and often."

The little man made as if he had not heard or understood one word of
all this; he began all his crying and whining over again, and wept,
and screamed, and howled most piteously for his little cap. But John
cut the matter short by saying to him, "Have done; you are my servant,
and I intend to take a trip with you." So the underground man gave up
the point; especially as he well knew there was no remedy.

John now flung away his old hat, and put on the cap, and set it firmly
on his head, lest it should slip off or fly away, for all his power
lay in it. He lost no time in trying its virtues, but commanded his
new servant to fetch him food and drink. The servant ran away like the
wind, and in a second was there again with bottles of wine, and bread,
and rich fruits. So John ate and drank, and looked on at the sports
and the dancing of the little people, and it pleased him right well,
and he behaved himself stoutly and wisely, as if he was a born master.

When the cock had now crowed for the third time, and the little larks
had made their first flutter in the sky, and the daybreak appeared in
slender white streaks in the east, then there went a whisper, hush,
hush, hush, through the bushes, and flowers, and trees; and the hills
rang again, and opened up, and the little men stole down and
disappeared. John gave close attention to every thing, and found that
it was exactly as he had been told. And behold! on the top of the hill
where they had just been dancing, and which was now full of grass and
flowers, as people see it by day, there rose, of a sudden, a small
glass door. Whosoever wanted to go in stepped upon this; it opened,
and he glided gently in, the glass closing again after him; and when
they had all entered it vanished, and there was no farther trace of it
to be seen. Those who descended through the glass door sank quite
gently into a wide silver tun or barrel, which held th