“We are on the Brook of Mists, which empties into the Enchanted River. You came out of Shadow-Land when you entered the Valley of Rest.”
Then the boat went on quietly again. Only for a time, however, and presently Eva heard a voice, in a squeaky tone, calling to her:
“Stop, little girl, and take me in.”
And there, apparently crawling along the surface of the water, was a queer little dwarf. He had a large head, with round, green eyes; a fat, round body; and he was dressed in a yellow coat with scarlet facings, and his legs were so long and thin that they bent under him as he walked. And when he came up to the boat and laid his hand upon it, Eva saw that it was not a hand, but only a sharp black claw.
“Stop, little girl, and take me in.” [Page 112.]
“Take me in!” he repeated.
Eva peeped at the trout over the side of the boat before she answered him, but they were taking no notice of the dwarf, and were swimming along as quietly as ever.
“Take me in!” he squeaked again.
“No,” Eva said; “the boat is too small to hold us both.”