p entirely. You are a capital man, a practical man, but you
understand no more about poetry than does that cask yonder."

Now, that was an insulting speech, especially towards the cask; but
the huckster laughed and the student laughed, for it was only said in
fun. But the goblin was angry that any one should dare to say such
things to a huckster who lived in his own house and sold the best
butter.

When it was night, and the shop was closed and all were in bed, the
goblin came forth, went into the bedroom, and took away the good
lady's tongue; for she did not want that while she was asleep; and
whenever he put this tongue upon any object in the room, the said
object acquired speech and language, and could express its thoughts
and feelings as well as the lady herself could have done; but only one
object could use it at a time, and that was a good thing, otherwise
they would have interrupted each other.

And the goblin laid the tongue upon the cask in which the old
newspapers were lying.

"Is it true," he asked, "that you don't know what poetry means?"

"Of course I know it," replied the cask: "poetry is something that
always stands at the foot of a column in the newspapers, and is
sometimes cut out. I dare swear I have more of it in me than the
student, and I'm only a poor tub compared to the huckster."

Then the goblin put the tongue upon the coffee-mill, and, mercy! how
it began to go! And he put it upon the butter-cask, and on the
cash-box: they were all of the waste-paper cask's opinion, and the
opinion of the majority must be respected.

"Now I shall tell it to the student!" And with these words the goblin
went quite quietly up the back stairs to the garret, where the student
lived. The student had still a candle burning, and the goblin peeped
through the keyhole, and saw that he was reading in the torn book that
he had carried up out of the shop downstairs.

But how light it was in his room! Out of the book shot a clear beam,
expanding into a thick stem, and into a mighty tree, which grew
upward and spread its branches far over the student. Each leaf was
fresh, and every blossom was a beautiful female head, some with dark
sparkling eyes, others with wonderfully clear blue orbs; every fruit
was a gleaming star, and there was a glorious sound of song in the
student's room.

Never had the little goblin imagined such splendour, far less had he
ever seen or heard anything like it. He stood still on tiptoe, an