ow was
rather severe.

"What did you do that for?" she exclaimed angrily. "Why did you scream
out like that? I----" But she said no more. The cry was repeated, and
this time it did its work effectually, for Olive awoke. Awoke--was it
waking?--to find herself all in the dark, stiff and cold, and her head
aching with the bump she had given it against the old tree-trunk, while
farther off now she heard the same shrill hoot or cry of some early
astir night-bird, which had sounded before in her dreams.

"Oh dear! oh dear!" she sobbed, "what shall I do? Where am I? How can I
ever find my way in the dark? I believe it was all a trick of those
nasty blue dwarfs. I don't believe I _was_ dreaming. They must be
spiteful goblins. I wish I had not gone with them to see their village."
And so for some minutes, half asleep and half awake, Olive stayed
crouching by the tree, which seemed her only protector. But by degrees,
as her senses--her common sense particularly--came back to her, she
began to realise that it was worse than useless to sit there crying.
Dark as it was, she must try to find her way back to the little inn,
where, doubtless, Auntie and the others were in the greatest distress
about her, the thought of which nearly made her burst out crying again;
and poor Olive stumbled up to her feet as best she could, fortunately
not forgetting to feel for her book and parasol which were lying beside
her, and slowly and tremblingly made her way on a few steps, hoping that
perhaps if she could manage to get out of the shadow of the trees it
might not be quite so dark farther on. She was not altogether
disappointed. It certainly grew a very little less black, but that it
was a very dark night there was no denying. And, indeed, though it had
not been dark, she would have had the greatest difficulty in finding her
way out of the wood, into which she had so thoughtlessly penetrated.
Terrifying thoughts, too, began to crowd into her mind, though, as I
think I have shown you, she was not at all a timid child. But a forest
on a dark night, and so far away from everywhere--it was enough to shake
her nerves. She hoped and trusted there was no fear of wolves in
summer-time; but bears!--ah! as to bears there was no telling. Even the
hooting cries of the birds which she now and then again heard in the
distance frightened her, and she felt that a bat flapping against her
would send her nearly out of her mind. And after a while she began to
lose