a burst of stupid laughter; while
the surly Paul shrugged his shoulders, and crossly bade the little
Thumbling hold his tongue, telling him he was an inquisitive little
simpleton.

As they were going along, they came to a dense forest of pines, that
covered the crest of a mountain, on the top of which they heard the
sound of a woodman's axe, and the crackling of branches as they fell to
the ground.

"That is a very strange thing," said Thumbling, "to be cutting trees on
the top of a mountain like this."

"It would astonish me very much to find that you were not astonished at
everything," answered Peter, in a sour tone; "everything is wonderful to
simpletons. I suppose you never heard of woodcutters."

"It's all the same to me what you say," said Thumbling; "but I am going
to see what is going on up there."

"Be off with you!" cried Paul; "tire yourself all out, and that will be
a good lesson to you, for wanting to know more than your big brothers."

Thumbling didn't trouble himself much with what his big brothers said,
but started for the place whence the noise seemed to come, and, after
much hard climbing and running, he arrived at the top of the mountain.
And what do you suppose he found there? You would never guess, and so I
will tell you. A MAGIC AXE, that all by itself was hacking away at one
of the tallest trees on the mountain.

"Good morning, Mistress Axe," cried Thumbling. "Doesn't it tire you to
be chopping all alone there at that old tree?"

"Many long years I have been waiting for you, my son," replied the axe.

"Very well, ma'am, here I am!" said Thumbling; and without being
astonished at anything, he seized the axe, put it in the stout leather
bag he carried over his shoulder, and gayly descended to overtake his
brothers.

"What marvel did Master Moonstruck see up there?" asked Paul, looking at
Thumbling with a very scornful air.

"It _was_ an axe that we heard," answered Thumbling, slyly.

"I could have told you so beforehand," said Peter; "and here you are
now, all tired out, for nothing. You had better stay with us another
time."

A little farther along, they came to a place where the road was hollowed
with extreme difficulty out of a mass of solid rock; and here, in the
distance, the brothers heard a sharp noise, like that of iron striking
against stone.

"It is very wonderful that anybody should be hammering away at rocks
away up there!" remarked Thumbling.

"Truly," said Paul, "y