eyes fixed upon him.

"Whither so fast to-day?" said the gray man, with his queer smile.

"That's nothing to you," answered Gaspar; and on he tried to go; but
hop went the little man, to and fro, just as he did before, and Gaspar
did not like to run his horse directly over him; indeed he might as
well have tried to ride over the winds of heaven; so he jumped off,
exclaiming, "It's no use dodging about in this way; come, now, let's
fight it out;" and he drew his oaken dagger with a great flourish.

"Ah, ha! that is it, is it?" said the magician; and out flashed a
steel dagger. At it they went, striking their weapons against each
other with might and main. At every stroke Gaspar's wooden dagger
became sharper and sharper, and when he left off fighting he found it
was changed into good steel; but it was useless to hope for victory
from such a combatant, who might have pierced him through and through
at any moment, as Gaspar very soon saw; so he put up his dagger, and
they sat down on the stone, cracking their nuts and jokes together in
the old way.

"Now," said Gaspar, "if I had a few bags of nuts like these, I could
make my fortune. They do not grow in our village, and I have told the
boys about them until they are all wild to have some. But I suppose
you cannot give me any, for although you never get out of them, you
seem only to have a handful at a time."

"Gaspar," answered the gray man, "there is no end to my nuts; we might
crack here until doomsday, and I should still have thousands and
thousands of uncracked ones left. I do not think much of them myself,