Page:Legends of Rubezahl, and Other Tales (1845).djvu/153

 spection, returned to the gallows, and our waggish Gnome then took it into his head to indulge these philosophers with a second exhibition; he therefore not only recommenced his odd capers, throwing up his toes to his head, so as to become a regular hoop, but taking off his cap, made such horrible faces at them that the whole party fled, horror-struck. In the evening a report was current that the tailor had been so unartistically hanged that he was not yet dead, but was still jigging away on the gallows, which, coming to the ears of the magistrates, they assembled in conclave, and the first thing next morning, for nobody would venture in the dark, a deputation of the more valorous burghers proceeded to investigate the matter on the spot. On reaching the gallows they found hanging thereon nothing but a straw manikin, such as the farmers put into the fields to frighten birds withal. The worthy magistrates were altogether dumb-founded; however, as the only thing to be done, they privately burned the man of straw, and buried his memory; and to silence all popular rumours, gave out, that during the night a high wind had carried off the body of the thin slender tailor into the mountains.