But here the third sister, whose name was Shakejoint, began to complain, and said that it was her turn to have the eye, and that Scarecrow and Nightmare wanted to keep it all to themselves.  To end the dispute, old Dame Scarecrow took the eye out of her forehead, and held it forth in her hand.

“Take it, one of you,” cried she, “and quit this foolish quarrelling.  For my part, I shall be glad of a little thick darkness.  Take it quickly, however, or I must clap it into my own head again!”

Accordingly, both Nightmare and Shakejoint put out their hands, groping eagerly to snatch the eye out of the hand of Scarecrow.  But, being both alike blind, they could not easily find where Scarecrow’s hand was; and Scarecrow, being now just as much in the dark as Shakejoint and Nightmare, could not at once meet either of their hands, in order to put the eye into it.  Thus (as you will see, with half an eye, my wise little auditors), these good old dames had fallen into a strange perplexity.  For, though the eye shone and glistened like a star, as Scarecrow held it out, yet the Gray Women caught not the least glimpse of its light, and were all three in utter darkness, from too impatient a desire to see.

Quicksilver was so much tickled at beholding Shakejoint and Nightmare both groping for the eye, and each finding fault with Scarecrow and one another, that he could scarcely help laughing aloud.

“Now is your time!” he whispered to Perseus.  “Quick, quick! before they can clap the eye into either of their heads.  Rush out upon the old ladies, and snatch it from Scarecrow’s hand!”

In an instant, while the Three Gray Women were still scolding each other, Perseus leaped from behind the clump of bushes, and made himself master of the prize.  The marvellous eye, as he held it in his hand, shone very brightly, and seemed to look up into his face with a knowing air, and an expression as if it would have winked, had it been provided with a pair of eyelids for that purpose.  But the Gray Women knew nothing of what had happened; and, each supposing that one of her sisters was in possession of the eye, they began their quarrel anew.  At last, as Perseus did not wish to put these respectable dames to greater inconvenience than was really necessary, he thought it right to explain the matter.

“My good ladies,” said he, “pray do not be angry with one another.  If anybody is in fault, it is myself; for I have the honour to hold your very brilliant and excellent eye in my own hand!”

“You! you have our eye!  And who are you?” screamed the Three Gray Women, all in a breath; for they were terribly frightened, of course, at hearing a strange voice, and discovering that their eyesight had got into the hands of they could not guess whom.  “Oh, what shall we do, sisters? what shall we do?  We are all in the dark!  Give us our eye!  Give us our one, precious, solitary eye!  You have two of your own!  Give us our eye!”