In an instant the little man whirled round and hit him three tremendous
raps over the head with his cudgel, shouting, or rather _squeaking_,

"Smaller! smaller! smaller!"

The blows made Simon's head ring, but when he recovered himself, he found
that the turtle-shell boat appeared a great deal larger than before. Not
only that, but every thing about him appeared larger. He soon discovered,
however, that he was smaller, and that that was what made other things
seem larger. For you know we measure everything by ourselves.

("Mamma doesn't," said the Chicken; "she measures with a yard-stick.")

Well, Simon prided himself on being so big, and it was not pleasant to
him to find himself suddenly become so small that a large rooster could
have looked down upon him. But he did not say any thing, for fear of old
Garuly's stick, but just got into the boat as soon as possible. The old
man got in, too, and they were soon floating down the stream. The brook
seemed like a river, and the grass upon the banks was like trees, to
Simon, now. The old Garuly guided the boat over the rapids, that seemed
frightful to Simon, and floated it down to where the cliffs were steep,
and presently came to a place where the water runs under a large rock.
The old man steered the queer craft into this dark, cave-like place, and
shot up to a shelving landing-place.

"Get out!" he squeaked.

Simon did as he was commanded.

"Go in! go in!" cried the Garuly, pointing to a hole in the cliff.

"I am too large," said Simon.

And immediately the old man struck him over the head three times, as
before, crying,

"Smaller! smaller! smaller!"

Simon now found himself not more than half as large as he was before. He
went in with the Garuly, who had also grown smaller. Inside there was the
daintiest chamber, all full of beautiful shells wrought into tiny
articles of furniture. The floor was paved with shining pebbles, and the
room was lit up by three fire-flies and two glow-worms.

"How could you make the place so beautiful?" cried Simon.

"The Garulies work together," said the old man, sharply.

The little man told Simon to go in through another door, but Simon was
still too large for that, and so the Garuly again pounded him, crying,

"Smaller! smaller! smaller!"

Once in, Simon saw indeed the treasures of the Garuly's household. There
were easy-chairs, made of the hulls of hickory-nuts; hammocks, made of
the inside bark of the paw-paw; wash-bow