“No,” answered Fairyfoot.

“Well,” said Robin, “I guess I won’t.  Let’s go and have some fun.  They are all that way.  You can’t depend on any of them.  Never trust one of them.  I believe that creature has been engaged as much as twice since I left.  By a singular coincidence,” he added, “I have been married twice myself—­but, of course, that’s different.  I’m a man, you know, and—­well, it’s different.  We won’t dwell on it.  Let’s go and dance.  But wait a minute first.”  He took a little bottle from his pocket.

“If you remain the size you are,” he continued, “you will tread on whole sets of lancers and destroy entire germans.  If you drink this, you will become as small as we are; and then, when you are going home, I will give you something to make you large again.”  Fairyfoot drank from the little flagon, and immediately he felt himself growing smaller and smaller until at last he was as small as his companion.

“Now, come on,” said Robin.

On they went and joined the fairies, and they danced and played fairy games and feasted on fairy dainties, and were so gay and happy that Fairyfoot was wild with joy.  Everybody made him welcome and seemed to like him, and the lady fairies were simply delightful, especially Gauzita, who took a great fancy to him.  Just before the sun rose, Robin gave him something from another flagon, and he grew large again, and two minutes and three seconds and a half before daylight the ball broke up, and Robin took him home and left him, promising to call for him the next night.

Every night throughout the whole summer the same thing happened.  At midnight he went to the fairies’ dance; and at two minutes and three seconds and a half before dawn he came home.  He was never lonely any more, because all day long he could think of what pleasure he would have when the night came; and, besides that, all the fairies were his friends.  But when the summer was coming to an end, Robin Goodfellow said to him:  “This is our last dance—­at least it will be our last for some time.  At this time of the year we always go back to our own country, and we don’t return until spring.”

This made Fairyfoot very sad.  He did not know how he could bear to be left alone again, but he knew it could not be helped; so he tried to be as cheerful as possible, and he went to the final festivities, and enjoyed himself more than ever before, and Gauzita gave him a tiny ring for a parting gift.  But the next night, when Robin did not come for him, he felt very lonely indeed, and the next day he was so sorrowful that he wandered far away into the forest, in the hope of finding something to cheer him a little.  He wandered so far that he became very tired and thirsty, and he was just making up his mind to go home, when he thought he heard the sound of falling water.  It seemed to come from behind a thicket of climbing roses; and he went towards the place and pushed the branches aside a little, so that he could look through.  What he saw was a great surprise to him.  Though it was the end of summer, inside the thicket the roses were blooming in thousands all around a pool as clear as crystal, into which the sparkling water fell from a hole in the rock above.  It was the most beautiful, clear pool that Fairyfoot had ever seen, and he pressed his way through the rose branches, and, entering the circle they inclosed, he knelt by the water and drank.