hrough the thick
grass.

"Oh, my! oh, my!" shrieked the Goblin, who was almost bursting with
laughter. "Here's that literary hack again!"

Davy peered through a clump of bushes, and discovered a large red
animal, with white spots on its sides, clumsily rummaging about in the
tall grass and weeds. Its appearance was so formidable that he was just
about whispering to the Goblin, "Let's run!" when the monster raised its
head, and, after gazing about for an instant, gave a loud, triumphant
whistle.

"Why, it's Ribsy!" cried Davy, running forward. "It's Ribsy, only he's
grown enormously fat."

It was Ribsy, indeed, eating with all his might, and with his skin so
stretched by his extreme fatness that the hair stood straight up all
over it like a brush. The name on his side was twisted about beyond all
hope of making it out, and his collar had quite disappeared in a deep
crease about his neck. In fact, his whole appearance was so alarming
that Davy anxiously inquired of him what he had been eating.

"Everything!" said Ribsy, enthusiastically,--"grass, nuts, bugs, birds,
and berries! All of 'em taste good. I could eat both of you easily," he
added, glaring hungrily down upon Davy and the Goblin.

"Try that fellow first," said the Goblin, pointing to a large, round
insect that went flying by, humming like a top. Ribsy snapped at it, and
swallowed it, and the next instant disappeared with a tremendous
explosion in a great cloud of smoke.

"What was that?" said Davy, in a terrified whisper.

"A Hum Bug," said the Goblin, calmly. "When a cab-horse on a vacation
talks about eating you, a Hum Bug is a pretty good thing to take the
conceit out of him. They're loaded, you see, and they go booming along
as innocently as you please; but if you touch 'em--why, 'There you
aren't!' as the Hole-keeper says."

"The Hole-keeper isn't himself any more," said Davy, mournfully.

"Not altogether himself, but somewhat," said a voice; and Davy, looking
around, was astonished to find the Hole-keeper standing beside him. He
was a most extraordinary-looking object, being nothing but Davy's parcel
marked, "CONFEXIONRY," with arms and legs and a head to it. At the sight
of him the Goblin fell flat on his back, and covered his face with his
hands.

"I'm quite aware that my appearance is not prepossessing," said the
Hole-keeper, with a scornful look at the Goblin. "In fact, I'm nothing
but a quarter of a pound of '_plain_,' and the price isn'