nce was over, he placed himself
with his partner opposite, near the King of the Ball, and if this man
sprang three feet high, Peter would fly up four, and if the other
accomplished wonderfully intricate steps, Peter would throw out his
legs in such a marvelous style that all present were beside themselves
with delight and amazement. But as soon as it was known that Peter had
bought a glass-factory, and as the dancers saw him tossing sixpences to
the musicians every time he passed them in the dance, their
astonishment knew no bounds. Some thought he must have found treasure
in the forest; others, that he had inherited an estate; but all
deferred to him and looked upon him as a great man, simply because he
had money. On the same evening he lost twenty guldens at play; and
still the coins chinked in his pocket as though there were still a
hundred guldens there.

When Peter saw how important a person he had become, he could not
contain himself for joy and pride He threw his money right and left,
and divided it generously among the poor, remembering how sorely
poverty pressed on him. The skill of the King of the Ball was brought
to shame by the supernatural art of the new dancer, and Peter was
dubbed Emperor of the Ball. The most adventurous gamblers of a Sunday
did not risk as much as he; but neither did they lose as much. And yet
the more he lost the more he won. This happened through the agency of
the Little Glass-Man. He had wished always to have as much money in his
pocket as the Stout Ezekiel had in his; and the latter was the very man
to whom Peter lost his money. And when he lost twenty or thirty guldens
at a throw, he had just as many more when Ezekiel pocketed them.

By degrees, however, he got deeper into gambling and drinking than the
worst topers in the Black Forest, so that he was oftener called Gambler
Pete than Emperor of the Ball, for he played now nearly every work-day
as well. Hence it was that his business was soon ruined, and Peter's
lack of understanding was to blame for it. He had as much glass made as
the works could possibly produce; but he had not bought with the
business the secret of how to dispose of the glass. He did not know
what in the world to do with his stock, and finally sold it to peddlers
at half the cost price, in order to pay the men's wages.

One evening he was returning home as usual from the tavern, and in
spite of the wine he had drunk in order to make himself merry, he
reflecte