“What is it? What is it?” croaked all the owls.
“Kitten-tails!” said Merrimeg, sobbing with fright as she said it.
The black bird overhead gave a piercing scream, spread its wings, and tried to fly away. But before it could fly, while it was flapping and struggling, a change came over it, and in its place was a horrible little old woman, hanging on to the branch and kicking and screaming, and trying to keep from falling down out of the tree. She was much heavier than the bird had been, and the branch was not strong enough to bear her; it snapped in half under her, and down she fell, still kicking, directly into the opening of the well. She was gone.
Merrimeg heard a splash far down in the well, and at the same time the green walls disappeared, and the well-opening was covered over, and the green marble floor turned into soft green moss, raised in the middle like a roof, and the owls flew away among the trees.
Merrimeg looked down at the bodies of the two gnomes, lying on the bright green moss. One of them opened his eyes and yawned and stretched his arms; and the other yawned and stretched his arms and opened his eyes; and they both got up together, and looked down at their feet.
“I suppose we’d better put on our shoes,” said one of them.
“I suppose we had, brother,” said the other one.
They put on their wooden shoes quickly, and then they noticed Merrimeg.
“Oh, yes,” said one of the gnomes, “I remember everything now. Brother Nibby, we ought to thank her for helping us get our bodies back.”
“That we ought, brother, that we ought, indeed,” said Nibby.
“Which one of us should tell her?” said Malkin.
“I think you could do it much better,” said Nibby. “You’re always so clever.”
“Please don’t bother about thanking me,” said Merrimeg. “I’m so glad I could help you.”
“Really, she isn’t rude at all to-day,” said Malkin.
“Not a bit, brother Malkin, not a bit,” said Nibby.
“Then we’d better go home,” said Malkin. “Why, bless me, we’re home right now! This is the roof of our own house!”
“Now it’s queer I didn’t notice that before,” said Nibby. “How you do notice everything, brother!”
“Good-by,” said Merrimeg. “I must get home before mother comes back from church. Good-by.”
“Brother Nibby,” said Malkin, “will you ask her to stay and have dinner with us in our own house?”