"'I will leave it a month longer where it is, and then I will give it to
the Queen of the Kangaroos, and she will carry it in her pouch for me. It
is best to change, you know, and then my enemies can't find it. But, dear
Doodlem, it's a fretting care to have a heart of one's own to look after.
The responsibility is too much for me. If it were not for a bite of a
radish now and then, I never could bear it.'

"Here the giant looked lovingly towards the row of little boys by the
fire, all of whom were nodding, or asleep on the floor.

"'Why don't you trust it to me, dear Thunderthump?' said his wife. 'I
would take the best possible care of it.'

"'I don't doubt it, my love. But the responsibility would be too much for
you. You would no longer be my darling, light-hearted, airy, laughing
Doodlem. It would transform you into a heavy, oppressed woman, weary of
life--as I am.'

"The giant closed his eyes and pretended to go to sleep. His wife got his
stockings, and went on with her darning. Soon, the giant's pretence became
reality, and the giantess began to nod over her work.

"'Now, Buffy,' whispered Tricksey-Wee, 'now's our time. I think it's
moonlight, and we had better be off. There's a door with a hole for the
cat just behind us.'

"'All right!' said Bob; 'I'm ready.'

"So they got out of the broom-brake, and crept to the door. But, to their
great disappointment, when they got through it, they found themselves in a