"Rise!" called the River God, "and tell me where you are going?"
"Oh! Your Majesty," said the sly little Goblin, "I was about to go to the Fairy Queen and tell her one of her fairies was being carried off, but of course I shall not do so now. I see whom she is with. I thought it was old Neptune himself and he might change her into a mermaid."
The River God knew the bad little fellow was telling him a wrong story, but something must be done, so he pretended to believe the Goblin, and said: "Well, now you know the Fairy is safe, what can I do for you if you keep our secret?"
"Give me a silver cap," said the Goblin, quickly.
"Very well. Come here to-morrow night at midnight hour and you shall have the cap if you have not told the Fairy Queen what you have seen," said the River God.
The Goblin promised and off he ran to his home in the rocks, and the River God took the Fairy back to the willow tree. "Come tomorrow without your wand, my love," he said; "we must not delay, now that the Goblin has seen us, for he cannot be trusted after he gets the silver cap."
The next night the Goblin was by the river waiting when the Little Fairy arrived.
"Where is your wand?" he asked, for he saw at once she did not have it.
Before she could reply there was splash in the middle of the river and out of the mist and foam the River God lifted his head and called to the Fairy. At the same time he held up a little silver cap to the Goblin.
The Little Fairy went to her lover by the same path as before, but she took from his hand the little silver cap and tossed it to the Goblin before she flew into her lover's outstretched arms.