of it if she had only gathered wisdom at that time, seeing what ill came
of her speech. But, like many other old dames that I wot of, no sound
was so pleasant to her ears as the words of her own mouth.

Now, about a twelvemonth after the time that the dame had nursed the
fairy lady, the great fair was held at Tavistock. All the world and his
wife were there, so, of course, Dame Margery went also. And the fair was
well worth going to, I can tell you! Booths stood along in a row in the
yellow sunlight of the summer-time, and flags and streamers of many
colors fluttered in the breeze from long poles at the end of each booth.
Ale flowed like water, and dancing was going on on the green, for Peter
Weeks the piper was there, and his pipes were with him. It was a fine
sight to see all of the youths and maids, decked in fine ribbons of pink
and blue, dancing hand-in-hand to his piping. In the great tent the
country people had spread out their goods--butter, cheese, eggs, honey,
and the like--making as goodly a show as you would want to see. Dame
Margery was in her glory, for she had people to gossip with everywhere;
so she went hither and thither, and at last into the great tent where
these things of which I have spoken were all spread out for show.

[Illustration: Dame Twist sees the little man in green for the last
time]

Then, lo and behold! who should she see, gliding here and there among
the crowd of other people, but the little man in green whom she had seen
a year ago. She opened her eyes mightily wide, for she saw that he was
doing a strange thing. By his side hung a little earthenware pot, and
in his hand he held a little wooden scraper, which he passed over the
rolls of butter, afterwards putting that which he scraped from the rolls
into the pot that hung beside him. Dame Margery peeped into the pot, and