HIE DWARF NOSEY. 
475 
have everything you so admired in me. But 
a good cook you shall become, that at 
least I promise you.” 
Never in his life had Jacob tasted anything 
half so delicious as this soup. He ate and 
ate until not a drop was left in his plate. 
Then drowsiness overcame him and he sank 
into a deep slumber. And he dreamed, so 
he thought, a strange dream ! 
He dreamt that the old hag transformed him 
into a squirrel, and he was taught all sorts of 
menial work. For a whole year he was shoe- 
polisher to the establishment. The next year’s 
work was more difficult, for he had to polish 
the glass floors. When the fourth year was 
past, so Jacob dreamt, he was promoted 
to do kitchen work. There he served from 
scullery-boy upwards until he was the most 
proficient pastrycook in the world. 
When he had been with the old woman 
seven years, so he dreamed, she came into 
the kitchen one day and told him to roast her 
a chicken golden brown and stuff it with 
savoury herbs, to be ready by the time she 
should return home. 
Jacob went into the storeroom for the 
herbs, and there, to his surprise, saw a cup- 
board he had never seen before. It contained 
baskets of herbs that emitted a strong, 
pleasant odour which reminded him of the 
fragrance of the soup the old woman had pre- 
pared for him. He opened one of the baskets, 
and saw a herb he had never seen before ; it 
had blue-green leaves and stalks, and small 
scarlet flowers with a yellow heart. So 
strong was the scent of the herb that he had 
to sneeze ; he sneezed, and sneezed, and 
sneezed so violently that at last he awoke 
— to find himself in the very sofa-corner in 
the kitchen where he had fallen asleep. 
How long he must have slept ! He felt 
quite stiff and uncomfortable, and could 
scarcely move his head. But what a queer 
dream he had had ! How his mother would 
laugh when he told her about it ! His 
mother ? Yes, indeed, it was high 
time to run back to her, for she 
would no doubt be very angry that 
he had left her alone so long. So he 
got up and began to walk towards 
the entrance hall. But how drowsy 
he still must be, so he thought, for he 
kept on hitting his nose against cup- 
boards and doorposts. 
When he came out into the street 
the boy stood for some time blink- 
ing in the sunlight ; then he walked 
quickly through a maze of narrow 
lanes and streets which were filled 
with a dense crowd ; there seemed to be 
something amusing to see, for the people 
shouted to one another, “ Have you seen the 
funny dwarf ? Do come and look at the 
queer little dwarf ! ” 
When he reached the market-place there 
was no mother and no stall, and he learned, 
to his great sorrow, that both his parents 
had died through grief at his mysterious 
disappearance. 
Jacob, now thoroughly heart-sick and 
frightened, stepped across to the barber, 
whom he remembered very well, and accosted 
him by name. 
“ Master Urban,” he said, will you grant 
me a little favour, and allow me to look in 
your mirror ? ” 
A broad smile overspread the barber’s jolly 
face as he answered : “ Most certainly, my 
little man ; please step inside, I won’t charge 
you anything. Oh ! I can quite understand 
that a handsome lad like you must enjoy 
seeing himself in the glass ! ” 
Everyone in the shop had gathered round 
Jacob, and greeted this sally with roars of 
laughter, but the boy heard them not ; he 
stood before the glass and gazed and gazed. 
Could this be himself— this hideous dwarf 
with that disgusting long nose, those small, 
hog-like eyes, and no neck ? 
Then he left the shop. But where was he 
to go, and what was he to do ? Suddenly 
he remembered that the Duke, the ruler of 
that country, was fond of good cheer, and 
