"Hello, you!" said Jimmieboy, as the sounds first attracted his attention. "What are you doing up there?"
"Sitting on a limb and counting the stars in the sky," answered the dwarf.
Jimmieboy laughed. This seemed such a curious thing to do.
"How many are there?" he asked.
"Seventeen," replied the dwarf.
"There are, really," said the dwarf. "I counted 'em myself."
"There's more than that," said Jimmieboy. "I've had stories told me of twenty-seven or twenty-eight."
"That doesn't prove anything," returned the dwarf, "that is, nothing but what I said. If there are twenty-eight there must be seventeen, so you can't catch me up on that."
"Come down," said Jimmieboy. "I want to see you."