nt strode after him; but there was a magic circle in the
forest that he could not pass, and, as he was near it, Peter was
able to escape.

A great secret had been revealed to Peter, and he now thought he had
the clew to the charm. The good dwarf, Glassmanikin, only helped
people who were born on Sunday.

Possessed of this fact, Peter again ventured on into the deep
forest. He found himself at last under a huge pine. He stopped there
to rest, when suddenly a perfect line and rhyme occurred to him. He
leaped into the air with joy, and exclaimed:--

"O treasure-guarder, 'mid the forests green,
Many, full many a century hast thou seen:
Thine are the regions of the dusky pine,
And children born on Sabbath-days are thine."

A little old manikin arose from the earth at the foot of the pine.
He wore a black jerkin, red stockings, and a peaked hat. His face
had a kindly expression, and he sat down and began to smoke a blue
glass pipe.

"Peter, Peter," said the fairy, "I should be sorry to think that the
love of idleness has brought you hither to me."

"No; I know that with idleness vice begins. But I would like a
better trade. It is a low thing to be a charcoal-burner. I would
like to become a glass-blower."

"To every Sunday-child who seeks my aid, I grant three wishes. If,
however, the last wish is a foolish one, I cannot grant it. Peter,
Peter, what are your wishes? Let them be good and useful."

"I wish to dance better than the King of Dancers."

"One."

"Secondly, I would always have as much money in my pocket as 'Fat
Hesekiel.'"

"Oh, you poor lad!" said the gnome sadly. "What despicable things to
wish for! To dance well, and have money to gamble! What is your
third wish?"

"I should like to own the finest glass factory in the forest."

"O stupid Charcoal Peter! you should have wished for wisdom. Wealth
is useless without wisdom to use it. Here are two thousand guldens.
Go."

Peter returned home. At the frolics at the inn, he surpassed the
King of Dancers in dancing, and he was hailed with great admiration
by the young. He began to gamble at the ale-houses, and was able to
produce as much money as Fat Hesekiel himself. People wondered. He
next ordered a glass factory to be built, and in a few months Peter
Munk was rich and famous and envied. People said he had found a
hidden treasure.

But Peter did not kno