At the same moment as he put his foot outside the church door, he
saw standing before him a little man, who said, 'Good evening,
Christian, where are you going?'

With that he felt as if he were rooted to the spot and could not
move.

'Nowhere,' said he.

'Oh, yes,' said the little man, 'You were just about to run away,
but you have taken upon you to stand sentinel in the church
to-night, and there you must stay.'

Christian said, very humbly, that he dared not, and therefore
wanted to get away, and begged to be let go.

'No,' said the little one, 'you must remain at your post, but I
shall give you a piece of good advice; you shall go up into the
pulpit, and remain standing there. You need never mind what you
see or hear, it will not be able to do you any harm, if you
remain in your place until you hear the lid of the chest slam
down again behind the dead; then all danger is past, and you can
go about the church, wherever you please.'

The little man then pushed him in at the door again, and locked
it after him. Christian made haste to get up into the pulpit,
and stood there, without noticing anything, until the clock
struck twelve. Then the lid of the princess's chest sprang up,
and out of it there came something like the princess, dressed as