"Begone!" commanded the Gnome to the small bakers, who still stood around curiously watching their cake disappearing down the mouth of a mortal as rapidly as its owner could cram it in; "begone and leave us to enjoy the cake alone!"
At this they turned away and descended the steep hill which lay to the right and disappeared below.
"Be careful," admonished the Gnome, as Ned showed no signs of finishing, "you may eat too much. Gnome cake, while most delicious, is more filling than that of mortal make!"
But Ned paid no heed. Already he had eaten a great hole in the cake and, finding the inside warm and flaky, he squeezed himself in.
It was much easier to eat the inside, as it was softer, and the crust had already grown quite hard.
He was so busy eating and, I'm sorry to say, so greedy, that he did not notice that as he ate away the interior of the sponge cake the outside gradually grew tighter, and the opening which he had made at the beginning of his feast, and through which he had crowded, became smaller and smaller, until finally it closed altogether.
When Ned perceived this, and it was some time after, I assure you, he was indeed frightened. He pounded on the walls of his sponge cake prison and called loudly to the Gnome, but for some time he heard nothing.
Finally, after frantically running around and around inside the huge cake ball, he thought he heard the voice of his small friend. He pressed his ear close to the wall and listened.
Sure enough, he could just hear the words, "Hold on tight to one side, and brace your feet," and the next moment he perceived that the cake was in motion.
Slowly at first, but in a few minutes the great cake ball began to revolve faster and faster.