with a lantern in one hand,
a stick in the other, and his red nightcap on, to look round the garden
and see what was the matter. No sooner was he out on the lawn than all
the stupid birds began to look about his light to see what it was made
of, and how it was that what they took for a glow-worm should be going
about the lawn; and still all this while the dreadful cry kept coming,
now higher, now lower, and the gardener could not find out what it was;
but at last he stood stock-still and scratched his head, until the
tassel of his red nightcap went jiffle-iffle, and danced up and down
like a loose leaf on a twig.

"There, I don't care," said the gardener; "I'm going home to bed again;
so ye may shout all night, whatever ye are, unless ye like to speak.
But, hallo, Boxer, boy! what is it?" he said, as the dog laid hold of
his leg and then ran on before him, turning round every now and then to
see if his master would follow; and at last he did follow the dog till
it stopped, barking and smelling, at the edge of the dip well, where the
water-grotto was, and the cresses grew under the trickling spring--a
little well-like place it was; and just as the old man came up the cry
seemed to rise out of the water so wildly and shrilly, that he gave a
jump and dropped his lantern.

Fortunately, however, the lantern did not go out, and so he quickly
picked it up again and held it down, and there, swimming round and
round, and unable to get out, was poor Blacknose, the hedgehog, getting
fainter and fainter, and nearly drowned, and crying out for somebody to
pull him out.

"Well, only to think of that little thornball making all that noise,"
said the gardener, helping the poor thing out and setting it on the
grass; when it was so grateful that it would have thanked him if it
could, but it could not, and so stopped there quite still while Boxer
put his cold black nose up to it, and stood wagging his thick stumpy
tail; for he was too generous a dog to meddle with anyone in trouble,
even a hedgehog; and piggy, feeling that he was in distress, and an
object of sympathy, did not even attempt to curl up, but lay quite
still, waiting for his visitors to go.

"Well," said the old man, "I suppose I am not going to hurt ye, for the
master won't have anything hurt; so come along, Boxer; and dinna ye be
fetchin' a chiel oot o' bed at sic a time o' nicht again, or ye may e'en
stop i' the water." And then the old gardener went off to his cotta