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the fair was growing thin, for many dealers had packed up their stalls and departed; but there was a mossy hollow in the great hill-side, to which the outskirts of the fair had reached, and Merrymind thought he would see what might be there. The first thing was a stall of fiddles, kept by a young merchant from a far country, who had many customers, his goods being fine and new; but hard by sat a little grey-haired man, at whom everybody had laughed that day, because he had nothing on his stall but one old dingy fiddle, and all its strings were broken. Nevertheless, the little man sat as stately, and cried, ‘Fiddles to sell!’ as if he had the best stall in the fair.

“‘Buy a fiddle, my young master?’ he said, as Merrymind came forward. ‘You shall have it cheap: I ask but a silver penny for it; and if the strings were mended, its like would not be in the north country.’

“Merrymind thought this a great bargain. He was a handy boy, and could mend the strings while watching his father’s sheep. So down went the silver penny on the little man’s stall, and up went the fiddle under Merrymind’s arm.

“‘Now, my young master,’ said the little man, ‘you see that we merchants have a deal to look after, and if you help me to bundle up my stall,