w it the dwarfs set up a shout, and as it died away,
to Olive's surprise, they began to sing. And what do you think they
sang? Olive at first could hardly believe her ears as they listened to
the thoroughly English song of "Home, sweet Home." And the queerest
thing was that they sang it very prettily, and that it sounded exactly
like her aunt's voice! And though they were walking close beside her,
their voices when they left off singing did not so much seem to stop as
to move off, to die away into the distance, which struck Olive as very
odd.

They had now arrived at the trunk of a large tree, half way up which
hung the little lamp--at least Olive supposed it must be a lamp--from
which came the bright blue light.

"Here we are," said one of the dwarfs, she did not see which, "at the
entrance to our village." And thereupon all the dwarfs began climbing up
the tree, swarming about it like a hive of bees, till they got some way
up, when one after another they suddenly disappeared. Olive could see
all they did by the blue light. She was beginning to wonder if she would
be left standing there alone, when a shout made her look up, and she saw
two dwarfs standing on a branch holding a rope ladder, which they had
just thrown down, and making signs to her to mount up by it. It was
quite easy; up went Olive, step by step, and when she reached the place
where the two dwarfs were standing, she saw how it was that they had all
disappeared. The tree trunk was hollow, and there were steps cut in it
like a stair, down which the dwarfs signed to her that she was to go.
She did not need to be twice told, so eager was she to see what was to
come. The stair was rather difficult for her to get down without
falling, for the steps were too small, being intended for the dwarfs,
but Olive managed pretty well, only slipping now and then. The stair
seemed very long, and as she went farther it grew darker, till at last
it was quite dark; by which time, fortunately, however, she felt herself
again on level ground, and after waiting half a minute a door seemed to
open, and she found herself standing outside the tree stair, with the
prettiest sight before her eyes that she had ever seen or even imagined.

It was the dwarf village! Rows and rows of tiny houses--none of them
more than about twice as high as Olive herself, for that was quite big
enough for a dwarf cottage, each with a sweet little garden in front,
like what one sees in English village