Upon which six little fairies flew away; for they had all a sort of butterfly wings growing out from behind their shoulders, which John Kann had not observed before. After a short time they returned, each bringing in his hand a small acorn-cup full of a brown powder, looking very like snuff. Mr. Puck took a pinch of it; and, walking up to John Kann, said, "Now-now I'll shew you how Sit down Upon the groun' You tall man." John Kann nodded assent, and squatted himself upon the turf without more ado. Puck immediately climbed up on his knee, and then reaching up as high as he could, he caught hold of the lowest button of John's waistcoat, and then scrambled up a little higher. At length he got one of his feet firmly planted upon the edge of his waistcoat-pocket, and resting the other upon one of his buttons, he said, "Stoop, Mr. Kann, John bowed his head as he was directed, and Puck immediately crammed some of the dust up his nostrils. John Kann gave a loud sneeze, so violent, indeed, that it shook his hat clean off his head, to John's great dismay, for he thought he must have crushed to death at least a dozen of his little friends. However, they all got out of the way quicker than thought; and, standing in a wide circle round him, they set up a loud shout the moment they heard him sneeze, and kept on cheering for some time. But, what was the most wonderful part of the whole, it seemed to him that the moment he sneezed he grew considerably smaller, shorter, and thinner; yet, as his clothes fitted him just as close, they must have grown smaller at the same time. Mr. Puck administered another pinch of the powder. John Kann sneezed again, and instantly became a size smaller. The fairies set up another shout, hurrahing like wild things. Another pinch-another hurrah,-John had got again a size smaller. This was repeated until John Kann, had become a little thing, like his neighbours ; upon which he said to his friend Puck, "Please, Mr. Puck, don't make me any smaller, or I shall grow into nothing at all, or I might run a dangerous risk of being eaten up by accident by a field-mouse." To which Mr. Puck answered, "That will do For you for you. They immediately prepared for a dance round the ring, and a tiny piper seated himself cross-legged upon the top of a mushroom, and began playing a lively tune. Here there appeared to be a great scramble who should dance next to John Kann, and take his hand. But Mr. Puck soon bustled up, and set matters to rights, and they began their dance. It was curious they did not the first time form a complete circle, but the string of fairy-dancers only reached half round. They footed so many steps one way, and then so many steps the other, and then cut a sort of caper before, and then another caper behind. This they repeated a great many times, singing something in chorus which John Kann did not understand. But, the reason that they did not dance the whole circle appears to me to be more curious than anything else. It was John Kann's hat,-for, the hat having been jogged off before the brown powder had taken effect upon John, it had never been reduced in size at all, like the rest of John's clothes. The next dance, however, they changed the place, and danced the whole circle. "I dare say, sir, that this is just the reason that one sees the fairy rings on the down not always completely round. A snail has been crawling about, or there has been something else that the fairies do not like to cross." They had not danced long in the new circle before a little fairy came fluttering into the centre of the ring, pushing the dancers to the right and left, looking himself quite violet-colour in the face, probably from fear. He shouted as loud as he could, "A rat! a rat! a rat!" Mr. Puck then shouted, "To arms, fairies! to arms! No war's alarms Shall make us fear." The dancers left their ring, and ran about in all directions in search of arms. Some provided themselves with spears formed of the reed stems of the grass, carefully breaking off the ear that the shaft might be more pointed; some seized the dry prickles of gorse, which they held in their hands like daggers; others provided themselves with the crooked thorns of the brier. Scouts were sent out in all directions, and small parties of the most active fairies were ordered to advance, and form pickets in different directions. Then followed a few minutes of awful suspense. John Kann was terribly frightened, and he wished with all his heart, that he had never come near the fairy-ground, or become acquainted with Mr. Puck. He at first thought of hiding himself under his own hat. But, to his utter dismay there was not room enough to creep under, and he found that he was not near strong enough to lift up the brim. At length he found a stalk of ragwort, and he contrived to climb up nearly as high as the yellow flower on the top. But this was by no means a place of safety. What, thought he, could be more likely than that the rat should smell him out, and just bite off his leg, to see how he tasted: or the rat might pull him down; and begin nibbling at his head, till he had ate him all up, like a raddish. To be eaten up by a lion or a tiger was, to be sure, a dreadful thing; but then there was something grand in the idea. It would be put in all the newspapers; and, no doubt an account of it would be engraved upon his tomb; and so his name be handed down to posterity. But, to think of having been sniffed with brown powder till one was only a few inches high, and then to be nibbled up by a rat like a piece of toasted cheese. It was horrible! horrible! If the rat really did come that way, he considered his death as certain. No rat of any sense or taste would think of eating one of those flimsy gossamer fairies, when he could find a real bit of substantial flesh and blood. Besides, if he should prefer a fairy, they were so much more active, and would be sure to get out of the way. The fairies, too, knew all the footpaths, and nooks and corners, amongst the blades of grass. And, as for what Mr. Puck called his arms, he never saw a more complete farce in his life. What would an old rat care for spears made of grass straw, or swords made of briarthorns. It was most ridiculous, and at the same time, most melancholy. While John Kann was thus musing to himself, and lamenting his hard fate, he was suddenly roused by a great bustle among the fairies. The cause was evident: one of the advanced-posts had been carried, and the picket had been driven in, and a number of fairies rushed back among the others, waving their arms above their heads, and shouting, "He comes-he comes, With whiskers grey As long as my arm," "All's lost! all's lost," thought John Kann; and he contrived to squeeze himself a little higher up into the yellow flower of the ragwort, upon which he was perched. Quite different was the conduct of Mr. Puck. John Kann, however, merely attributed his courage to the fact of his feeling conscious that he was not wholesome food for a rat. Mr. Puck flourished his truncheon above his head, and shouted, "Spears to the front, Couch your spears, When he appears: And poke his eye He'll sneeze and wink, And turn round, I think; For the rat!" Snapping his fingers as he repeated the last line. "He's a fine little fellow," thought John Kann; "nevertheless, I heartily wish I was at home." Presently the rat was seen approaching, bending the grass-blades to the right and left, as his huge carcass passed between them. What an awful state of suspense John Kann was in. Life and death seemed to hang upon a thread. The rat came along very leisurely, without seeming at all to be aware that he was invading an enemy's territory. Neither did he appear to notice the fairies who were drawn up in battle array before him. At length, when two of the sharp points of the grass-stalks ran up his nostril, and one or two more went into his eye, he drew back a step or two, shook his head, and winked his eye. He then VOL. VI. 2 D began to walk on again. The fairies were, if possible, this time still more courageous, and one of them, with his lance tipped with & gorse-prick, struck the rat full in the eye. The rat stepped back again, shook his head, and then, turning round, commenced his retreat. The light troops, armed with gorse pricks and briar thorns, now charged valiantly, hanging upon his flanks and rear, sticking the weapons into him with all their might and main. The retreating enemy was pinched and pricked until he squealed again. His retreat was not very rapid, for numbers of the fairy army endeavoured with their utmost strength to hold him back by the tail. The retreat of the rat, sir, I hold to have been very bad generalship; for, it is very well known that whenever a person falls in with fairies, spirits, or goblins of any sort, whatever may be the danger of going on, there is always much greater danger in turning back. The generalship of Mr. Puck, however, seems to me to have been capital; for, with a very weak force he defeated a powerful enemy, repulsing his attack twice, and then forcing him to retreat in a disgraceful manner. When the enemy had been fairly driven out of the neighbourhood, the fairy militia threw away their arms, and, taking off their red caps, gave three little shrill cheers, as loud, however, as they could hollow. Their caps, you must know, were made of the flowers of the foxglove, which gave them a very knowing appearance. John Kann had had one put on him as soon as his head had grown small enough to fit it. When they had done cheering one of them cried, "The night is fair, And the morning air Is swinging the blue harebells; And the moon's faint light, To the eye of the fairy tells." The remainder of the fairies in full chorus continued, "A court-a court! Blow, south wind, blow; And a mushroom broad And, in midst of all Presently a warm air came up from the sea, and the circle round which they had been dancing, was dotted all along with little round white spots. These kept growing larger and larger. John Kann could plainly perceive that they were young mushrooms coming up. They grew, and they grew, and they grew. It was quite surprising to see how fast they rose out of the earth. Presently they began to spread out their table-shaped tops, and gradually displayed their slender stalks. While all this was going on round the ring a large catsup mushroom and a puff-ball were gradually swelling themselves out side by side in the middle. John Kann observed all this with astonishment, and his curiosity was still more excited at the puff-ball, which was diligently puffing itself out. sit "What's the puff-ball for?" said John Kann. upon a mushroom, like the rest of you?" To which question he received for answer, "Your eye, Will tell you why." Why mayn't I Mr. Puck then hopped in merrily, and took his seat crosslegged the large catsup mushroom in the centre, and motioning John Kann to the puff-ball by his side, he said, upon "Sit, John, Which John Kann immediately did, while all the rest of Mr. Puck's courtiers took their seats upon the smaller and slenderer mushrooms that grew round the ring. Where the tops of these mushrooms had spread out flat, they squatted themselves cross-legged upon them; but where they were sugar-loaf shaped, they sate themselves upon the point, with their legs dangling down to the edge. Puck now endeavoured to put as much solemnity as he could into his merry face, and then thus began, "Fays, as I call, appear, appear! "Here, Puck, here." "Where have you and your party been, You would have laugh'd, Sir Puck, to see She oped her eyes with her sweetest grace, In the hidden depths of her deep dark eye. I knelt me down on her arching brow, And peep'd through her eye at her soul below; |