her her eyes grew used to the
darkness, or a slight light began to come, and in a few minutes she saw
before her a very, very high staircase. It went straight up, without
turnings or landings, and the steps were quite white, so she saw them
plainly though the light was dim, and as there was nowhere else to go,
she just went straight on. I can't tell you what a long time she seemed
to keep going upstairs, but at last the steps stopped, and before her
she saw another door. It wasn't a door like the one down below, it was
more like a gate, for it was a sort of a grating that you could see
through. Sunny pressed her face against it and peeped in. She saw a
large dark room, with a rounded roof something like a church, and in
one corner a very old, grim-looking man was sitting. He had a very long
beard, but he didn't look so awfully big as Sunny had expected, for she
knew he must be the giant. He was sitting quite still, and it seemed to
Sunny that he was shivering. Any way he looked very old and very lonely
and sad, and instead of feeling frightened of him the little girl felt
very sorry for him. She stood there quite still, but though she didn't
make the least noise he found out she was there. He waved his hand, and
the barred door opened and Sunny walked in. She walked right up to the
giant and made him a curtsey. Rather to her surprise he made her a bow,
then he waved his hands about and moved his lips as if he were speaking,
but no sound came, and Sunny stared at him in surprise. She began to
wonder if he was deaf and dumb, and if so how could she explain to him
what she had come for?

"'I can't understand what you are saying, sir,' she said very politely,
and then, to her still greater surprise, the waving of his hands and
the moving of his lips seemed to succeed, for in a very queer deep voice
he answered her.

"'What do you want?' he said. 'I sent my voice downstairs to speak to
you, and he has been loitering on the way, lazy fellow, all this time.
There are no good servants to be had nowadays, none. I've not had one
worth his salt since I sent my old ones back to Ogreland when they got
past work. What do you want?'

"'Sunshine for the forest people.'

"That was all Sunny said, and she looked at the grim old giant straight
in the face. He looked at her, and went on shivering and rubbing his
hands. Then he said, with a frown,

"'Why should they have sunshine? I can't get it myself, since I'm too
old to get up to