"I don't know, my dears," said the grandmother; "but they used to say,
in my young days, that if one set a bowl of bread and milk or even a
pan of clear water for him over night he would be sure to come, and
would do all the work just for that."

"Oh! let us try it!" said both the boys; and one ran to get a pan, and
the other to fetch fresh water from the well, for they knew, poor
hungry lads, that there was no bread or milk in the house. Their
father, who was a poor tailor, could scarcely earn money enough to buy
food for them all. His wife had died when the baby was born and he
could not make as many coats as before, for he must now do all the work
of the house. Johnnie and Tommy were idle and lazy and too thoughtless
to help their father, although they were fine grown lads of five and
seven.

One night Tommy had a wonderful dream. He thought he went down in the
meadow by the old mill pond, and there he saw an owl who shook her
feathers, rolled her great eyes, and called: "Tuwhit, tuwhoo! Tuwhoo,
whoo-o-o-o! Tommy, what are you doing way down here this time of
night?"

"Please, I came to find the brownies," said Tommy; "can you tell me
where they live, ma'am?"

"Tuwhoo, tuwhoo!" screamed the old owl; "so it's the brownies you are
after, is it? Tuwhoo, tuwhoo! Go look in the mill pond. Tuwhoo,
tuwhoo! Go look in the water at midnight, and you'll see one. By the
light of the moon a brownie you'll see, to be sure, but such a lazy
one! Tuwhoo, tuwhoo!" screamed the old owl; and, flapping her wings,