The children gathered round the gourd and tried to open it; tapped at
it; called to the little musicians to come back; bent down their pretty
heads to listen; but all was useless, no sound came from it, and they
might as well have tried to open the oak tree 'neath which they stood as
it.

Now, for fear you should think that the good fairy had left these little
children to take care of themselves entirely, to cook their own food,
wash their own clothes, make their own beds, and all that sort of
work--for children, you know, cannot do these things for themselves, and
that is why they are always so good and obedient to mammas and papas and
kind aunts, who see to all these things being done for them--I will tell
you what queer, droll little beings she left in the island to attend to
the domestic concerns of the young king and queen and their little
subjects.

Just shut your eyes and fancy you see a little brown figure with small
dark eyes, like black beads, sharp nose, thin lips, and glossy red hair,
combed off the face, plaited into a long tail behind, and tied by a bow
of black ribbon. Then fancy this little figure, with arms so long that
they reach to its knees, dressed in a dark blue smock frock without
sleeves, a red leather belt round its waist, dark red trousers on its
legs, and green morocco shoes on its feet; then call it a Noman, and you
will see precisely the sort of beings which were left to wait on the
young inhabitants of Child Island. They were all alike and all dressed
alike; they used to make their appearance and begin to dust and sweep,
and light fires, and such like, just after cock-crow every morning, and
they all disappeared every night directly the children were safely
tucked in bed. They came all together and they disappeared all together,