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181 never would have come near you! I wish I had n't, and then the mice would have finished you—and a good riddance!"

As I paused for breath the little man held his lantern as near my face as possible, and after a long, earnest look, said with great gravity and deliberation:

"I think I must have made a mistake!"

Then, turning suddenly, he gave a great skip and shouted out, "And then—I am free!" "Certainly you are, so far as I am concerned," I replied carelessly; "but I can't imagine what all this fuss is about. So long as you are pleased, I suppose I must be satisfied."

Meanwhile he had continued to jump and whirl about, until he dropped his lantern and it went out, leaving us in the dark. Then he calmed down enough to say, "What can you know about it? You—only twenty-three years old!" He chuckled as though this were a great joke at my expense, and went on, "If you will offer me a chair and something to eat, I 'll tell you the whole story."

So I stepped down from the chair, lighted my student-lamp, and offered my little guest my hand. Into it he climbed, and I deposited him upon the table under the light, where I could see him plainly.

He was about six inches in height, and dressed in what seemed to be mouse-skin. He wore a little belt, and a helmet the size