human
Pretty little Jip! said she;
gpt
Fairies, be it known, are extremely fond of this fruit, and the elf rushed out in eager haste.
human
Ha! ha! said One-eye, as she pounced upon him, and put him in her bag (witches always carry bags),
gpt
On the way home, she has to visit a place some distance from the road, and left Jip meanwhile in the charge of a man who was cutting faggots. No sooner was her back turned, than Jip begged the man to let him out; and they filled the bag with thorns. One-eye called for her burden, and set off towards home, making sure she had her dinner safe on her back.
human
Ay, ay! my lad, said she, as she felt the pricking of the thorns;
gpt
I'll trounce thee when I get home for stinging me with thy pins and needles. When she reached her house, she belaboured the bag with a huge stick, till she thought she had broken every bone in the elf's body; and when she found that she had been wasting her strength upon a
human
of thorns, her rage knew no bounds. Next day, she again got possession of Jip in a similar manner, and this time left him in care of a man who was breaking stones by the road-side. The elf makes his escape as before, and they fill the sack with stones.
gpt
Thou little rogue! said the witch, as she perspired under the burden;
human
I'll soften thy bones nigh-hand. Her appetite was only whetted, not blunted, by these repeated failures, and despairing of again catching her prey in the same way as before, she assumed the shape of a pedlar with a churn on his shoulder, and contrived to meet Jip in a wood.
gpt
Ah! Master Redcap, quoth she;
human
In jumped the elf.
gpt
Pretty bird! chuckled the old Crocodile;
human
This time she went straight home, and gave Jip to her daughter, with strict orders that she should cut off his noddle and boil it. When the time came for beginning the cooking, Miss One-eye led her captive to the chopping-block, and bade him lay down his head.
gpt
How? quoth Jip;
human
I don't know how.
gpt
Like this, to be sure, said she; and, suiting the action to the word, she put her poll in the right position. Instantly the fairy seizes the hatchet, and serves her in the manner she intended to serve him. Then picking up a huge pebble, he climbs up the chimney to watch the progress of events. As he expected, the witch came to the fire to look after her delicacy; and no sooner does she lift up the lid of the pot, than