Undine | Page 8

galloped away.'
Undine looked at the knight, her blue eyes sparkling as she cried, 'But
indeed the wicked creature did not dare to roast you, Sir Knight!'
'In its terror,' continued Huldbrand, 'my horse dashed itself against the
trees, reared and again rushed madly forward. Onward we flew, until at
length I saw before me a dark abyss. Yet still I found it impossible to
pull up my frightened steed.
'Then all at once a tall white man stood still directly in front of my
maddened horse, which swerved aside as soon as it saw the tall man,
and in that moment I was once more master of my steed. I saw also that
my deliverer was not a tall white man, as I had imagined, but a brook,
which shone silver in the sunlight.'
'Dear brook, I will be grateful to you for evermore,' cried Undine,
clapping her hands as she spoke, in childish glee. But the fisherman
shook his head and was silent.
'And now,' said the knight, 'I was anxious to hasten as quickly as
possible through the forest, for it seemed to me that not only might I
find it difficult to regain the pathway I had lost, but that strange beings
might again startle both me and my noble steed.
'I turned my horse away from the dark chasm which lay before us, but
even as I did so I found at my side a strange little man. He was uglier
than any one I had ever seen. His nose was wellnigh as large as all the
rest of his body, and his mouth was so big that it stretched from one ear
to the other.
'This ugly creature, as soon as he saw that I had noticed him, grinned at
me, until his mouth looked even larger than before. He scraped his feet
along the ground and bowed mockingly to me a thousand times.
'My horse was trembling at the sight of the strange figure, so I resolved
to ride on in search of further adventure, or if I found none, to ride back

to the city which I had left in the morning.
'But the ugly little man did not mean to let me escape. Quick as
lightning he sprang round and stood again in front of my horse.
'"Get out of the way," I now cried in anger, "lest my steed tramples you
under its feet."
'This did not seem to frighten the strange creature. He laughed in my
face, and then said in a gruff voice, "You must give me gold, for it was
I who turned your horse aside from yonder dark abyss."
'"Nay, what you say is not true," I answered him, "for it was the silver
brook that saved me and my horse from being dashed to pieces.
Nevertheless, take thy gold and begone."
'As I spoke I flung a coin into the strange-shaped cap which he was
holding before me, then putting spurs to my horse I rode quickly
forward.
'I heard the ugly little man give a loud scream, then to my surprise there
he was, running by my side, grinning and making horrible grimaces.
'My horse was galloping, and I thought I would soon get away from the
little man. But it seemed impossible to go faster than he, for he took a
spring, a jump, and there he was still by my side. He held up the piece
of gold I had thrown to him, and in a hollow voice he cried, "It is a
false coin, a false coin!"
'At length I could bear his horrible shrieks no longer. I pulled up my
steed, and holding out two coins I called to him, "Take the gold, but
follow me no farther!"
'Then the little ugly man began to scrape his feet and bow his head, but
it was plain that he was not yet satisfied.
'"I do not wish your gold," he grumbled. "I have gold enough and to
spare, as you shall soon see."

'As he spoke a strange thing happened. The beautiful green ground
seemed to change into clear green glass. I looked through the glass and
saw in a great cavern a group of little goblins.
'They were playing at ball, these little goblins, and I noticed that all
their toys were made of silver or gold. Merry little creatures they were,
running swiftly hither and thither after the ball, nor was it easy to see
whether they were standing on their heads or on their heels, or whether
they were running on their hands or on their feet. No sooner was their
game ended than they pelted each other with their playthings, then in a
mad frolic lifted handfuls of gold dust and flung it each in the other's
eyes.
'All