Violet Jacob > Stories told by the miller

174 STORIES TOLD BY THE MILLER
And he laid about so furiously that Laurine
burst into tears. This time she was at her wits’
end, and could not think what to do.
“ Oh, my lady!” said her maid when she
heard what had happened, “ you must get advice
from a Goblin I know. He is the cleverest
person in the whole countryside, and he will be
able to find some way out of it. Only say the
word, and I will go at once to fetch him.”
“ Go ! go!” cried Laurine.
Now, in a wood not far off lived a Goblin
who was well known to his neighbours as one
of the finest musicians in the world. He was
rich too, and it was said that he had a grander
house than the King himself hidden in the heart
of the wood. But, for all that, he generally
chose to live in a little thatched hut near the
edge of the trees, playing on his fiddle and
coming occasionally into the village, where he
was greatly honoured for his wisdom in spite of
his strange appearance. He was only about
four feet high and quite black ; but he had thin
legs and arms, a round, fat body and a head
like a turnip. In spite of this he dressed in
the very height of the fashion, with a pointed
hat and feather, doublet and hose and a