Last of the Huggermuggers | Page 6

in his workshop, he contrived to

peep out a little, and saw, instead of another Huggermugger, only a
crooked little dwarf, not more than two or three times bigger than
himself. He went by the name of Kobboltozo.
"Tell your husband," says he, "that I will look into his boot presently--I
am busy just at this moment--and will bring it myself to his house."
Little Jacket was quite relieved to feel that he was safe out of the giant's
house, and that the giantess had gone. "Now," thought he, "I think I
know what to do."
After a while, Kobboltozo took up the bout and put his hand down into
it slowly and cautiously. But Little Jacket resolved to keep quiet this
time. The dwarf were felt around so carefully, for fear of having his
finger pricked, and his hand was so small in comparison with that of
the giant's, that Little Jacket had time to dodge around his fingers and
down into the toe of the boot, so that Kobboltozo could feel nothing
there. He concluded, therefore, that whatever it was that hurt the giant
and his wife, whether needle, or pin, or tack, or thorn, it must have
dropped out on the way to his shop. So he laid the boot down, and went
for his coat and hat. Little Jacket knew that now was his only chance of
escape--he dreaded being carried back to Huggermugger--so he
resolved to make a bold move. No sooner was the dwarf's back turned,
as he went to reach down his coat, than Little Jacket rushed out of the
boot, made a spring from the table on which it lay, reached the floor,
and made his way as fast as he could to a great pile of old boots and
shoes that lay in a corner of the room, where he was soon hidden safe
from any present chance of detection.
[Illustration: THE SHOEMAKER AT WORK.]
CHAPTER SIX.
HOW LITTLE JACKET ESCAPED FROM KOBBLETOZO'S SHOP.
Great was Huggermugger's astonishment, and his wife's, when they
found that the shoemaker told them the truth, and that there was
nothing in the boot which could in any way interfere with the entrance

of Mr. Huggermugger's toes. For a whole month and a day, it puzzled
him to know what it could have been that pricked him so sharply.
Leaving the giant and his wife to their wonderment, let us return to
Little Jacket. As soon as he found the dwarf was gone, and that all was
quiet, he came out from under the pile of old shoes, and looked around
to see how he should get out. The door was shut, and locked on the
outside, for Kobboltozo had no wife to look after the shop while he was
out. The window was shut too, the only window in the shop. This
window, however, not being fastened on the outside, the little sailor
thought he might be able to open it by perseverance. It was very high,
so he pushed along a chair towards a table, on which he succeeded in
mounting, and from the table, with a stick which he found in the room,
he could turn the bolt which fastened the window inside. This, to his
great joy, he succeeded in doing, and in pulling open the casement. He
could now, with ease, step upon the window sill. The thing was now to
let himself down on the other side. By good luck, he discovered a large
piece of leather on the table. This he took the and cut into strips, and
tying them together, fastened one end to a nail inside, and boldly swung
himself down in sailor fashion, as he had done at the giant's, and
reached the ground. Then looking around, and seeing nobody near, he
ran off as fast as his legs could carry him. But alas! he knew not where
he was. If he could but find a road which would lead him back to the
seaside where his companions were, how happy would he had been! He
saw nothing around him but huge rocks and trees, with here and there
an enormous fence or stone wall. Under these fences, and through the
openings in the stone walls he crept, but could find no road. He
wandered on for some time, clambering over great rocks and wading
through long grasses, and began to be very tired and very hungry; for
he had not eaten any thing since the evening before, when he feasted on
the huge beach plums. He soon found himself in a sort of blackberry
pasture, where the berries were as big as apples; and having eaten some
of these, he sat down to consider what was to be done. He felt that he
was all alone in