"Yes, yes, of course!" coaxed Ch'ang. "He gave you such a beating that he won't be afraid of your taking to your heels again very soon."
Hurriedly they went to the miser's compound. Hu-lin's heart was beating fast as she tried to decide what to say when she should actually stand before the fairy. The gate was still partly open and the two friends entered boldly.
"Come this way," said Ch'ang. "He must be in the back-yard digging in his garden."
But when they reached the vegetable patch there was no one to be seen.
"This is very strange," whispered the gander. "I don't understand it, for I have never known him to grow tired of work so early. Surely he cannot have gone in to rest."
Led by her friend, Hu-lin entered the house on tiptoe. The door of the miser's bedroom stood wide open, and they saw that there was no one either in that room or any other room of the miserable cottage.
"Come! let's see what kind of bed he sleeps on," said Hu-lin, filled with curiosity. "I have never been in a fairy's room. It must be different from other people's rooms."
"No, no! just a plain brick bed, like all the rest," answered Ch'ang, as they crossed the threshold.
"Does he have a fire in cold weather?" asked Hu-lin, stooping to examine the small fire hole in the bricks.
"Oh, yes, a hot fire every night, and even in spring when other people have stopped having fires, the brick bed is hot every night."