He lost no time in trying its virtues, but commanded his
new servant to fetch him food and drink. The servant ran away like the
wind, and in a second was there again with bottles of wine, and bread,
and rich fruits. So John ate and drank, and looked on at the sports
and the dancing of the little people, and it pleased him right well,
and he behaved himself stoutly and wisely, as if he was a born master.
When the cock had now crowed for the third time, and the little larks
had made their first flutter in the sky, and the daybreak appeared in
slender white streaks in the east, then there went a whisper, hush,
hush, hush, through the bushes, and flowers, and trees; and the hills
rang again, and opened up, and the little men stole down and
disappeared. John gave close attention to every thing, and found that
it was exactly as he had been told. And behold! on the top of the hill
where they had just been dancing, and which was now full of grass and
flowers, as people see it by day, there rose, of a sudden, a small
glass door. Whosoever wanted to go in stepped upon this; it opened,
and he glided gently in, the glass closing again after him; and when
they had all entered it vanished, and there was no farther trace of it
to be seen. Those who descended through the glass door sank quite
gently into a wide silver tun or barrel, which held them all, and
could easily have harboured a thousand such little people.
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