Page:The Children Who Followed the Piper.djvu/61

 And saying this, each one raised up what he held in his hands—a little bronze axe.

"They came in without asking permission, and they will have to serve us," said one of the dwarfs.

"We will make them go down into the well and bring up the witch's spindle to us," said another of the dwarfs.

"Yes, yes," said all of them together, "we will make them bring up to us the witch's sharp-pointed spindle."

They took the children to the well, and they showed them, deep down in the bottom of it, the witch's sharp-pointed spindle. "Go now and bring us the spindle," said the dwarfs, "and whoever fails to bring it to us we will cut off their hands with our sharp axes. This one must be the first to go down."

As they said this, Jumping Joan tumbled head over heels, and so amazed were the dwarfs to see her do this that they ran back to their tree hollows. And when they were coming near the