Part 3 (1/2)
”If you are not good to her you'll hear from me,” said, his son as he looked him straight in the eye.
Longstaff then set out to see the world, travelling from one country to another. After a time he came to a place where there was a man pulling up pine trees by the roots as easily as if they were the weeds in your garden.
”Good day,” said Longstaff. ”What is your name?”
”I am called PINEPULLER,” was the reply. ”I'm very strong, as you can see for yourself, but I've heard that there is somebody stronger than I am. His name is LONGSTAFF, I am told.”
Longstaff gave his iron staff a gay toss into the air and caught it again in his hand.
”That happens to be my name,” he said. ”I like you. Won't you join me in my travels about the country? We two would have a jolly time together.”
Pinepuller accepted the invitation and together they journeyed on.
Soon they came to a place where there was a man picking up great rocks and tossing them about as lightly as if they had been rubber b.a.l.l.s.
”Good day,” said Longstaff. ”What is your name?”
”My name is ROCKHEAVER,” replied the other. ”You can see for yourself that I am very strong. I've heard, however, that there is somebody stronger than I am. His name is LONGSTAFF, I am told.”
”That happens to be my name,” said Longstaff, ”and this is my friend Pinepuller. You are just the man to complete our little party. Won't you join us as we travel about the country?”
Rockheaver accepted the invitation with glee and the three friends journeyed on together from that hour. Everywhere they went they had everything their own way because of their great strength.
[Ill.u.s.tration: The three friends journeyed on together]
One day Longstaff, Pinepuller and Rockheaver sat on a rock by the sea.
Suddenly they spied two pretty girls tossing gla.s.s b.a.l.l.s back and forth and catching them. They had not stood there on the sand a moment before when the three friends had pa.s.sed that way. Possibly they had been bathing and had only just come out of the water. Longstaff ran to speak to them. He put out his hand and caught their two gla.s.s b.a.l.l.s at once. Then a strange thing happened. The two beautiful maidens disappeared the very minute Longstaff put their two gla.s.s b.a.l.l.s into his pocket, and he was left standing alone on the sand by the sea.
”That is queer,” he complained as he told Pinepuller and Rockheaver what had happened.
Not far away there was a little house. There were no signs of life about the place and consequently the three friends entered. Inside the house there were beds, beautiful furniture and a kitchen completely furnished with pots and pans.
”I like this house,” said Longstaff, as he seated himself in the largest chair. ”I'm going to rest a bit and you two can go hunting.
When you return I'll have the dinner cooked for you.”
Accordingly, Pinepuller and Rockheaver went away to hunt for game.
Longstaff rested for a while in the big chair and then he went into the kitchen to light the fire. Soon the fire was burning merrily and the water in the kettle was bubbling away cozily. Longstaff cooked the dinner exactly as his mother had taught him long ago in the deep forest. Just for a minute he turned his back to hunt for the salt.
When he turned around the pots and the frying pan were gone from the fire. There was a tiny dwarf with red boots disappearing through the kitchen floor with Longstaff's good dinner.
Longstaff gasped. He was not at all accustomed to having his dinner stolen from under his very nose, as it were.
Soon Pinepuller and Rockheaver came back with the hares they had killed in the hunt. They looked at the dying fire, at the empty pots and frying pan, and at the dazed expression on Longstaff's face.
”Where's the dinner?” asked Pinepuller. ”I'm as hungry as a bear. You said you'd have it ready when we got back.”
”I know what he's done!” cried Rockheaver. ”He has eaten all the dinner and hasn't left a single mouthful for us!”
When Longstaff told them the story of the dwarf with red boots who had stolen the dinner it was difficult to make them believe it.