e time, their mother sent the children into the wood to
collect fagots. They found there a large tree, which had been cut down
and lay on the ground, and by the trunk something was jumping up and
down, but they could not tell what it was. As they came nearer they
saw that it was a dwarf with an old withered face, and a snow-white
beard a yard long. The end of the beard was stuck fast in a cleft in
the tree, and the little fellow jumped about like a dog on a rope, and
did not know how to help himself. He stared at the girls with his
fiery red eyes, and screamed out: "Why do you stand there? Can't you
come and render me some assistance?"

"What is the matter with you, little man?" asked Rose-red.

"Stupid little goose!" answered the dwarf; "I wanted to chop the tree,
so as to have some small pieces of wood for the kitchen; we only want
little bits; with thick logs the small quantity of food that we cook
for ourselves--we are not, like you, great greedy people--burns
directly. I had driven the wedge well in, and it was all going on
right, but the detestable wood was too smooth, and sprang out
unexpectedly; and the tree closed up so quickly that I could not pull
my beautiful white beard out; now it is sticking there, and I can't
get away. There, you foolish, soft, milk-faces, you are laughing and
crying out: 'How ugly you are! how ugly you are!'"

The children took a great deal of trouble, but they could not pull the
beard out; it stuck too fast.

"I will run and fetch somebody," said Rose-red.

"You great ninny!" snarled the dwarf, "to want to call more people;
you are too many for me now. Can't you think of anything better?"

"Only don't be impatient," said Snow-white. "I have thought of
something;" and she took her little scissors out of her pocket, and
cut the end of the beard off.

As soon as the dwarf felt himself free he seized a sack filled with
gold that was sticking between the roots of the tree; pulling it out,
he growled to himself: "You rude people, to cut off a piece of my
beautiful beard! May evil reward you!" Then he threw his sack over his
shoulders, and walked away without once looking at the children.

Some time afterwards Snow-white and Rose-red wished to catch some fish
for dinner. As they came near to the stream they saw that something
like a grasshopper was jumping towards the water, as if it were going
to spring in. They ran on and recognized the dwarf.

"Where are you going?" asked Rose-re