ht out the words but he
felt something tweaking his leg behind, while he jumped with the smart
of it; and soon as he looked down, there was the tiddy thing, with his
shining hair, and wrinkled face, and wicked glinting black eyne.

Tom was in a fine rage, and he would have liked to have kicked him, but
't was no good, there wasn't enough of it to get his boot against; but he
said, "Look here, master, I'll thank thee to leave me alone after this,
dost hear? I want none of thy help, and I'll have nought more to do with
thee--see now."

The horrid thing broke into a screeching laugh, and pointed its brown
finger at Tom. "Ho, ho, Tom!" says he. "Thou 'st thanked me, my lad, and
I told thee not, I told thee not!"

"I don't want thy help, I tell thee," Tom yelled at him--"I only want
never to see thee again, and to have nought more to do with 'ee--thou
can go."

The thing only laughed and screeched and mocked, as long as Tom went on
swearing, but so soon as his breath gave out--

"Tom, my lad," he said with a grin, "I'll tell 'ee summat, Tom. True's
true I'll never help thee again, and call as thou wilt, thou 'lt never
see me after to-day; but I never said that I'd leave thee alone, Tom,
and I never will, my lad! I was nice and safe under the stone, Tom, and
could do no harm; but thou let me out thyself, and thou can't put me
back again! I would have been thy friend and worked for thee if thou had
been wise; but since thou bee'st no more than a born fool I'll give 'ee
no more than a born fool's luck; and when all goes vicey-varsy, and
everything agee--thou 'lt mind that it's Yallery Brown's doing though
m'appen thou doesn't see him. Mark my words, will 'ee?"

And he began to sing, dancing round Tom, like a bairn with his yellow
hair, but looking older than ever with his grinning wrinkled bit of a
face:

"Work as thou will
Thou 'lt never do well;
Work as thou mayst
Thou 'lt never gain grist;
For harm and mischance and Yallery Brown
Thou 'st let out thyself from under the stone."

Tom could never rightly mind what he said next. 'T was all cussing and
calling down misfortune on him; but he was so mazed in fright that he
could only stand there shaking all over, and staring down at the horrid
thing; and if he'd gone on long, Tom would have tumbled down in a fit.
But by-and-by, his yaller shining hair rose up in the air, and wrapt
itself round him till he