“Lord have mercy, this place is haunted,” cried the poor woman, and, flinging away the bag, she ran for her life.
Hop-o’-my-Thumb was greatly pleased and crawled out of the piece of meat.
At that moment he saw a soldier who had had too much to drink staggering along, so he quickly hid himself in a mole-hole. The soldier fell down on the hole and went to sleep.
Hop-o’-my-Thumb pulled his knife out of his pocket and stuck the point into the soldier’s leg. The latter bounded on to his feet, stamped savagely on the hole, and returned home.
Hop-o’-my-Thumb was now a prisoner; the soldier had stamped the ground so hard that it was impossible to get out. He heard people coming down the road, and on overhearing their conversation, concluded they were robbers. He cried out, “Captain, if you will let me out of this hole, I will follow you and be your faithful servant.”
“What is this whispering I hear?” said the captain.
Every one listened attentively, and finally they were able to catch what little Hop-o’-my-Thumb was saying. They scraped the earth away, and Hop-o’-my-Thumb appeared. He was at once enrolled as a member of the band.
The same night the robbers went to a provision shop. Hop-o’-my-Thumb was pushed through the ventilator, and handed a number of cheeses through this opening. He then went to the cellar where the eggs were stored, but he made such a noise that the servant jumped out of bed to see what was happening. Quick as lightning, Hop-o’-my-Thumb crept under an egg. The servant was about to crush the egg with his foot, when the clock struck midnight. Hop-o’-my-Thumb felt himself lifted into the air. He was drawn out through the cellar window, and presently found himself at the door of his mother’s cottage. He knew that his fairy godmother had saved him, and from that day forward he never did anything to forfeit her protection.
