Poor Gofaster, so soon as his tormentors had gone, wandered into the woodland in no very pleasant frame of mind. Bewailing his unhappy lot, he came across a wretched hut with a low door, through which he entered by stooping. He found there no occupants nor sign of human habitation but a small heap of clothes, which lay upon the earthen floor. Examining these, he found them to consist of a cap, a jerkin, and a pair of shoes. They all seemed too small for him, but on trying them on they fitted admirably.
"They are just what I want," said he, "and it is good fortune to find them. On second thoughts, however, I shall put them off, for they are not mine, and I must not, because of my need, rob another."
"You may take them and welcome," said a voice. "I have no use for them for eleven months, and before that time you can return them to me, as you will then have other garments to wear."
"But who are you," said Gofaster, "and where are you?"
"I am a Phooka," said the voice, "and my name is Shon. I am condemned to be invisible for eleven months of the year, and banishment from Wales, from whence I came, is also my penalty."
"But what was your fault?" asked Gofaster.
"My fault is like yours," said the goblin: "I am naturally too good-natured. The Phookas, to whom I belong, are not only full of mischief, but ill-natured in the pranks they play upon men. I am mischievous also, but never to any one's hurt or serious annoyance. Hence it is that the King of the Phookas has banished me from Wales for three years, and my term will not expire for a twelvemonth. He has also condemned me to be visible for only one month in the year. I have watched you for months. I am the little old man whom you helped out of a ditch to your own discomfort. I sympathize with you in your distress, and, if you take my counsel, will bring you to good fortune."
"That is very kind of you," said Gofaster. "But how?"
"A thousand miles from here, in the far north," replied the Phooka, "in the city of Huperborea, there reigns a King named Jornet, who has an only child—a daughter called Amber. The Huperboreans are what you would call dwarfs, being under five feet in height, with the exception of the King, who is three inches taller than any of his subjects. He married in the country of the giants where you live, and his daughter, though much smaller than her mother, is within two inches of your height. She is beautiful, intelligent, and affectionate, but no one of the princes around have sought her hand, because of her height. Her father has been enraged at this, and declares that the first man coming to his country, though he be a private gentleman, if taller than she, provided he does three things for the benefit of the state, shall be her husband and succeed to the crown. Many have tried, having heard of these conditions, but have done nothing worthy of the prize; besides, none of them found favor in the eyes of the Princess Amber, and that is a part of the conditions. You shall go, and you shall win."
"But how am I to get there, so great a distance? and how am I to support myself when there? and what am I to do if I were to get there?"