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 They did as he wished, and when Tom had said good-bye to his Father, they went away with him.

They walked on till it was twilight, when the little man said: ‘You must lift me down.’

‘Stay where you are,’ answered the Man on whose head he sat.

‘No,’ said Tom; ‘I will come down. Lift me down immediately.’

The Man took off his hat and set the little creature in a field by the wayside. He jumped and crept about for a time, here and there among the sods, then slipped suddenly into a mouse-hole which he had discovered.

‘Good evening, gentlemen, just you go home without me,’ he called out to them in mockery.

’They ran about and poked with sticks into the mouse-hole, but all in vain. Tom crept further and further back, and, as it soon got quite dark, they were forced to go home, full of anger, and with empty purses.

When Tom noticed that they were gone, he crept out of his underground hiding-place again. ‘It is dangerous walking in this field in the dark,’ he said; ‘one might easily break one’s leg or one’s neck.’ Luckily, he came to an empty snail shell. ‘Thank goodness,’ he said; ‘I can pass the night in safety here,’ and he sat down.

Not long after, just when he was about to go to sleep, he heard two men pass by. One said: ‘How shall we set about stealing the rich parson’s gold and silver?’

‘I can tell you,’ interrupted Tom.

‘What was that?’ said one robber in a fright. ‘I heard some one speak.’

They remained standing and listened.

Then Tom spoke again: ‘Take me with you and I will help you.’

‘Where are you?’ they asked.

‘Just look on the ground and see where the voice comes from,’ he answered.