verything
was perfectly still.

"'What shall I do?' thought Lena. 'Shall I go into the house and look
about me? I wonder if it would be rude.'

"It didn't seem so, for the door was left open--wide open, as if on
purpose; so, after knocking once or twice and no one coming, Lena walked
in. Such a pretty, but such a queer little house it was. It was more
like a nest than a house. There was a little kitchen with cupboards all
round, with open lattice-work doors through which you could see what was
in them. They were filled with all sorts of queer provisions, nuts,
acorns, apples of different kinds, and some fruits that Lena had never
seen before. Then in the parlour the carpet was the prettiest you could
imagine. Lena could not think what it was till she stooped down and felt
it with her hands, and then she found it was moss, real live growing
moss, so bright and green, and so soft and springy. And the sofa and
chairs were all made of growing plants, twisted and trained so that the
roots made the seat and the branches the back. Each was different. Lena
sat down in one or two, and could not tell which was the most
comfortable, they were all so nice, and so pretty. For each was
ornamented with a different flower that seemed to grow in a wreath on
purpose round the back and down the arms. There was no fireplace in the
room, but there were some nice furry-looking rugs lying about, and when
Lena looked at them closely she saw they were made of moss too--moss of
a different kind, browner than the other, plaited together in some
wonderful way with the soft flowery tufts kept outside. Lena lay down on
the sofa and covered herself up with one of these rugs.

"'How comfortable it is! What an awfully nice little house this is!' she
said to herself. 'But how I do wish some one would come to speak to me.
It feels rather like Silverhair in the Three Bears. Mr. Monkey, if this
is your house, please come and speak to me.'

"No sooner had she said this than there stood before her a wee brown
figure--brown all over, face, hands, feet and all--only his eyes, which
sparkled brightly like beads, were black. He was dressed in a short
scarlet jacket, and on his head was a scarlet cap with a long, very long
tassel. He took off the cap and bowed low--very low at Lena's feet--the
top of his head when he stood upright reached about to her knees, and he
bowed so low that his nose nearly touched her toes. Lena felt rather
uncomfortable--she was not