Eye could get from the child.

[Illustration: GRANNY GRIM-EYE FINDS A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GIRL ASLEEP]

"'Well,' said Granny Grim-Eye, 'this is my strawberry-patch, and
everything I find in it belongs to me. I'll take you home and see what
I can make out of you.'

"So she took the girl home and cared for her, giving her the name of
the Strawberry-Girl. In the course of time the Strawberry-Girl grew to
be the most beautiful young woman in the country, but her mind was not
bright. In fact, I have heard my mother say that the Strawberry-Girl
was as stupid and as silly as she could be, but she was so beautiful
that people were inclined to forgive her for being stupid.

"Granny Grim-Eye used to send her with strawberries to sell to the
rich man who owned nearly all the land in that part of the country.
Now, this rich man fell in love with the Strawberry-Girl, but when he
found that she was both stupid and silly he gave up all thought of
marrying her. He was very fond of her, nevertheless, and bought all
the berries she had for sale. But when she began to talk he would turn
away with a sigh, for everything she said was stupid.

"It so happened one day that Granny Grim-Eye was too sick to pick the
strawberries herself, as she always had done, and she was afraid to
trust the Strawberry-Girl to pick them. But the rich man sent word
that he was to have a company of friends to dinner and he must have
some strawberries. There was nothing for Granny Grim-Eye to do but to
send the Strawberry-Girl to the patch. Granny Grim-Eye called her up
and cautioned her not to pick anything but good, ripe strawberries,
and then sent her off to the patch.

"But on the way the Strawberry-Girl saw some red berries growing on
bushes, and these she picked and put in the basket until it was full.
'These are just as red as ripe strawberries,' she said, 'and they will
do just as well. Besides, they are a great deal easier to pick.'

"The way to the rich man's house led through a very thick wood, and
while the Strawberry-Girl was going through this wood a little old man
stepped from a hollow tree and stood in the path before her.

"'Aha!' says he, 'I find you alone at last. Where are you going, and
what have you got?'

[Illustration: THE LITTLE OLD MAN DISCOVERS THE STRAWBERRY-GIRL]

"'I am carrying some strawberries to your master,' says the
Strawberry-Girl, who imagined that the rich man was everybody's
master.

"'My master!' cries the little