chin, then spoke.

"Come over here, Seumas Beg," said he, "and I'll
measure you for a pair of shoes. Put your foot up on
that root."

The boy did so, and the Leprecaun took the measure
of his foot with a wooden rule.

"Now, Brigid Beg, show me your foot," and he meas-
ured her also. "They'll be ready for you in the morn-
ing."

"Do you never do anything else but make shoes, sir?"
said Seumas.

"We do not," replied the Leprecaun, "except when
we want new clothes, and then we have to make them,
but we grudge every minute spent making anything else
except shoes, because that is the proper work for a Lep-
recaun. In the night time we go about the country
into people's houses and we clip little pieces off their
money, and so, bit by bit, we get a crock of gold together,
because, do you see, a Leprecaun has to have a crock of
gold so that if he's captured by men folk he may be able
to ransom himself. But that seldom happens, because
it's a great disgrace altogether to be captured by a man,
and we've practiced so long dodging among the roots
here that we can easily get away from them. Of course,
now and again we are caught; but men are fools, and we