"Ho! ho! he! he!" laughed the elf. "Well, I'll get the flax;" and away he went, leaving the two girls again alone.
Laura squeezed Kathie, and told her she was a jewel for thinking of the flax, for she certainly would have had to cut off her hair had she not been so shrewd.
By this time they were hungry; so, opening their basket, they sat down to their dinner. Birds hopped tamely near them for the crumbs, and squirrels leaped, chattering, from bough to bough. They finished their lunch, but still the elf did not return; they did not dare to go from the spot where he had left them, and their little hearts were full of anxiety, for if he should not return, how could they ever find their way through the woods without the precious staff? Laura blamed herself for her giddiness, and wondered how she could for a moment have been so forgetful. Kathie tried to comfort her, and suggested that if they found it again it would be well to tie or fasten it in some way to her girdle.
CHAPTER IX.
Just as the girls were thinking what they should do for the night in case they were obliged to remain in this place, they heard a little shout, and their eyes were gladdened by the welcome sight of the rabbit-skin, and trailing behind the elf was a large bunch of flax.
He came slowly towards them, and flung the flax at their feet, saying, "I have had hard work to get this, I can tell you; this is something we have nothing to do with, and I have robbed a garden for it."
"Oh, how could you be so wicked?" exclaimed Laura.
The elf made one of his strange grimaces, and stood on his head a moment.