Käthchen and the Kobold

"

"O we will go and buy one at the flower shop," said he.

"At the flower shop, that is a funny place to buy rings at," said Käthe.

"Buttercups and dandelions melted to a yellow heat make splendid fairy gold," he replied.

"Ah, then you really are a fairy!" said the little girl.

"Why of course, did you think I was a human child like you? What did they teach you at school?"

"Reading, writing and arithmetic, history and geography and scripture and sewing," said Käthe.

"But not how to know a fairy when you see one, O my stars!" said our hero.

"What is the good of learning

To read and write and sew,

To count and do addition

If fairies you don't know?

How do you know a fairy?

O by his glittering eye,

And by his light, light footsteps

You know when he goes by.

O what are school and lessons,

My little maiden, pray,

If to the land of fairy

They do not show the way?"

So he sang, and Käthchen thought to herself: "I've always suspected that we did not learn everything at school."

By this time her little head was completely turned; she thought no more of supper or mother or baby, but only wondered with round eyes what would happen next.

The moon shone brilliantly through the branches, and she noticed that the trees began to move, and some of them quickly changed places.

"Have you ever seen the trees dance?" said our hero. We will call him Green Ears; for I had forgotten to say that being a tree-imp, his ears were shaped like oak leaves, and were green tinged with pinky red. It was peculiar of course, but not so very noticeable on account of his thick curly hair. He was able to move them if anything startled him, to prick up his ears in very truth; then you saw that they really belonged to him.

The trees did not wait for Käthe to reply; they formed themselves in long avenues and began a stately dance, something like a quadrille.

A soft fairy music was played by an invisible band. Squirrels sprang at intervals from one tree to another, spreading out their bushy tails and uttering strange cries like new-born babies.