"That is quite unnecessary," responded the boy. "I'm sorry indeed to hear that you have inconvenienced yourself."
He picked up the staff and tossed it about as jauntily as if it had been a slender cane. The blacksmith stared at him in amazement, his mouth wide open and his eyes bulging out of his head.
"May I ask who you are?" he asked as soon as he could catch his breath.
"My name from this day forth shall be Longstaff," replied the lad. "And it so happens that I am your own son."
The blacksmith listened in surprise while the boy told the story of the years he and his mother had lived in the deep forest. He embraced his son tenderly.
"You are indeed a son to be proud of!" he cried. "Come and live with me. We shall have a happy life together."
The blacksmith was thinking that a strong young man like this would be a great help around the shop.
Longstaff shook his head. "Thank you, but I cannot tarry here," he said. "I must go away and see the world a bit. My mother, however, is waiting behind the bushes. I fear she will be very lonely while I am away."
When Longstaff's mother came in response to his call her husband embraced her lovingly and kissed her. "I've really missed you about the house while you have been away," he told her.
"If you are not good to her you'll hear from me," said, his son as he looked him straight in the eye.