"Did you ever see such a tiny specimen?" asked Queen Mab of Puck.
The little fiddler came forward and drawing his instrument from under
his arm, proceeded to scrape the strings. He had on a pair of moss
trousers, and his coat was a yellow gorse flower. His feet were clad
in shoes made of beetles' wings, which always kept bright, as if
polished with a brush.
When one looked at the fiddle, he could see that it was only a wooden
spoon, with strings across the bowl. But the moment he drew the bow
from one side to the other, all the elves, from every part of the
hills, came tripping along to hear the music, and at once began
dancing.
Some of these elves were dressed in pink, some in blue, others in
yellow, and many had glow worms in their hands. Their tread was so
light that the flower stems never bent, nor was a petal crushed, when
they walked over the turf. All, as they came near, bowed or dropped a
curtsey. Then the little musician took off his cap to each, and bowed
in return.
There was too much business before the meeting for dancing to be kept
up very long, but when the violin solo was over, at a sign given by
the fiddler, the dancers took seats wherever they could find them, on
the grass, or gorse, or heather, or on the stones.
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