ball began to
revolve faster and faster.

Ned was terrified at first, as it was with great difficulty that he kept
his body from playing battledore and shuttlecock. The greater the speed
of the huge mass, however, the less inclination there was to bounce
about, and he soon found himself literally glued, as it were, to one
side.

While thus traveling in this novel way, he began to entertain some fear
as to what would happen should an obstacle be encountered, and by some
strange coincidence no sooner had, the idea come than it was followed by
a terrific crash!

The crust of the cake ball broke into a thousand pieces, and Ned landed
safely some distance from the spot, still clinging to a huge piece of
sponge cake, which acted like a cushion between him and the ground.

Looking anxiously around, after wiping some stray crumbs from his eyes,
he saw his little friend, the Gnome, running frantically down the steep
incline, which, luckily for Ned, had been the cause of his liberation.

Finding him unhurt, the Gnome sat down on the piece of cake to rest
himself and regain his breath before speaking.

When he did, however, what he said caused Ned to run quickly over to the
brook to look at himself in the water.

To his dismay, what the Gnome had said was, indeed, too true. Ned was
nearly as broad as he was high.

The cake he had eaten had evidently occupied the same space inside of
him as it had inside the brown crust.

"What am I ever going to do?" said Ned.

"'Twas a lucky think I kept you from drinking another gobletful of the
watermelon juice," answered the Gnome. "Otherwise you might have eaten
the whole cake, and then you might have been twice as large as you are
now."

"I don't think there is anything to laugh at," said Ned, as his small
friend burst into a hearty peal of laughter.

"Of course you don't," replied the Gnome, "you can't see yourself. If
you could, though--oh, my!" and he again burst into peals of laughter.

Ned waited a few moments and then asked: "Well, what are we going to
do?"

"Don't worry, Ned, dear," replied his little friend, touched by his good
nature and feeling sorry for him, "don't worry. The watermelon juice
made the sponge cake swell. All that is necessary now is to take the
antidote, and I know where it can be found without any trouble."

THE MAGIC NECTAR

The Fairies brought a lily filled with the Magic Nectar.

[Illustration]

THE MAGIC NECTAR

NED and the G