"A needle-case would not hold him, for he has a beard two yards long."
"It must trail on the ground!" said Rupert, full of astonishment.
"Well, now," said the witch, "while I go and mend some clothes, begin to look for my pet."
This said, she disappeared.
The boy was confused by so many comings and goings, appearances and disappearances; but as hunger afflicted him, he proposed to find Trompetin, and taking a turn round the room, began to shout:
"Trompetin, where are you?"
"Here!" groaned a tiny voice.
"Where? I can't see you."
"In this crack," replied the voice.
Rupert searched, and at last found the witch's son in a crack between two bricks. The enormous beard was a hair two yards long, which grew out of his nose.