With a roar, and a whirr, and a rush so high,
That the bright drops sparkle and dance in the sky,
Then fall with a soft tra la la! tra la la!
And we laugh as they fall, ha, ha! ha, ha!”
Then all the little gnomes, headed by Red Cap, their leader, jumped with merry shouts and laughter into the clear warm pool near by.
The children watched them for awhile, then Cis wandered off, picking up bits of petrified ferns and sticks out of a hot bubbling pool, and choice pieces of yellow sulphur, which, when broken off the steaming ground, showed myriads of sparkling crystals, and kind Santa Claus packed all her treasures in soft moss in a bag which he carried on his back.
Meanwhile, Hal envied the merry bathers, and as they called out to him to “come, too,” he quickly threw off his clothes and jumped into the little lake.
How glorious it was! The hot bubbling waters, the clear crystal depths, and the sides and floor of the bath yielding to the touch, as though padded with velvet! Was ever such a bath enjoyed before? Shouting and singing, the little gnomes seized Hal and popped him over the edge of the basin, and plump he fell into a stream of cold water on the other side. What a big breath he pulled at first, and then, how delicious the glow and the dive into the clear depths! What a good swim Hal had up the cold stream, racing the little gnomes who spluttered and splashed after him! Then back they all went into the blue lake, revelling in the tingling warmth. Again, out of that into another bath close by, where countless crystal bubbles rose from the soft sandy floor, playing round the bathers like the dancing bubbles of sparkling wine.
But Hal heard Santa Claus calling to him to make haste, and he reluctantly jumped out, and flinging on his clothes, shouted to the gnomes, “I’ll come here for my Saturday-night tub, if you don’t mind; it’s awfully jolly.”
“All right,” answered the gnomes, running after Hal, who by this time had joined Cis and Santa Claus.