"We never have looked so neat and clean"
"Somebody must have been here," said one of the dwarfs.
"It is surely a kind friend," said another.
"Perhaps they are here yet!" cried another.
"If they are men we'll treat them like brothers and if they are women we'll treat them like sisters," said the seventh dwarf who had not spoken before. He had been looking around the house carefully, but he had seen no one.
Honoria crawled out from under the table. The dwarfs joined hands and danced around her in a circle.
"We have a big sister now!" they cried. "A big sister to take care of us!"
Honoria knew that if she said anything about leaving the dwarfs they would be heartbroken. She knew, too, that her grandmother would give her a terrible beating for staying away from home so long. The easiest thing seemed to be to remain in the forest and keep house for the seven dwarfs.
Weeks and months went by and Honoria led a happy life in the forest. The dwarfs brought home plenty of delicious food and they also brought her the prettiest dresses she had ever seen. They were green like the moss and the leaves of the forest and brown like the rich earth about the house. There was a little hat with red berries upon it which Honoria thought the most charming hat in the world. She tried it on and ran to the brook to look at her reflection, for there was not a single mirror in the house.