Near him, Pluizer—just as small as himself—grasped the stone with both hands, and, exerting all his strength, turned it over. Confused cries of shrill, high-pitched little voices rose up from the cleared ground.
"Hey! Who is doing that? What does that mean? Blockhead!" shouted the voices.
Johannes saw black objects running hurriedly past one another. He recognized the brisk black tumble-bug, the shining brown earwig with his fine pinchers, big humpbacked ants, and snake-like millipedes.
In the middle of them a long earth-worm pulled himself, quick as lightning, back into his hole.
Pluizer tore impatiently through the raving, scolding crowd up to the worm-hole.
"Hey, there! you long, naked lout! Come to daylight with your pointed red nose," he cried.
"What do you want?" asked the worm, out of the depths.
"You must come out because I want to go in. Do you hear? You bald dirt-eater!"
The worm stretched his pointed head cautiously out of the opening, felt all around with it a number of times, and then slowly dragged his bare, ringed body farther toward the surface.
Pluizer looked round at the other creatures that were crowding about him in their curiosity.