arth again. But I would do a favor to the
poor peasant children who were so good to me."

"What favor would you ask for the poor peasant children?" asked the
Gnome King.

"I would send them a Magic Basket filled with food," answered the dwarf.

No sooner had he spoken, than the Gnome ordered his subjects to fill a
Magic Basket with all kinds of good things to eat. There was a golden
bowl of smoking stew, a crystal goblet of wine, a golden dish of mashed
potatoes and another of rice pudding.

And when the Magic Basket was covered with a damask napkin, it was
handed to a dwarf messenger to take to the poor woodcutter's children,
while all the little dwarfs stood around him and sang:

"In this basket they will find
Food and drink of magic kind.
Never will it empty grow
And no hunger they shall know."

"Hereafter," said the Gnome King, looking kindly at Ned, "a bluebird
shall be your companion and will show you many and curious things. I can
spare no more time, for my people must be governed, and while I have
given you more attention than any other mortal because of your great
fondness for fairy tales, I must now leave you in the care of this
bluebird, unless, perchance, you wish to return to earth at once."

To which Ned answered eagerly that he would much rather see more of
Gnomeland before again returning to the everyday routine of grammar
school and lessons.

"Good luck to you, then!" cried his friend, as he shook Ned warmly by
the hand.

The door opened and Ned once more found himself by the side of the great
flat stone in the hillside, where rippling waters of the little stream
flowed into the pool at the foot of the great oak tree, on which sat a
lovely bluebird.

Following the bluebird, Ned turned to one side to avoid climbing the
hill, and continued his journey for some time, keeping ever in sight the
bluebird's beautiful form.

It was almost dark when they were confronted by a dense forest. This was
not particularly reassuring to Ned, especially as the bluebird flew back
and settled herself on his shoulder, evidently not wishing to enter the
woods at so late an hour. For in a deep, black forest, with all sorts of
strange shadows and ghostly trees, one never knows what may be lurking
about, and the same Ned who, with his two stout fists, in broad daylight
would have undertaken to keep any living boy or man from doing serious
mischief, felt his teeth set hard