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IX . The Broom in the Corner The girl walks home . She feels very happy , and her pockets are heavy with money . On the way she thinks about the little people . She thinks about the bed with the pearls and the bath of gold . “ Nobody will believe me , ” she thinks . “ But my master and mistress will be glad to see me . And now I must get back to my work . ” She goes into the house . Her broom is still in the corner , in the same place . She takes it in her hands , and she goes out to sweep in front of the door , as always . Then some people come out of the house . The girl does not know them . “ Who are you ? ” they ask . “ And what are you doing here ? ” “ I work here , ” says the girl . “ I am the servant girl . Where are my master and mistress ? ” The people look at her in a strange way . “ The man and his wife who lived here ? ” they say . “ They died years ago . ” “ But that is not true ! ” says the girl . “ I was away for only three days ! ” The people shake their heads . They do not understand her . Then the girl understands . She was not in the mountain for only three days . She was there for seven years ! And in those seven years , her old master and mistress died . X . The Third Story : The Strange Child Here is one more story about the elves . A mother lives in a little house with her baby . She loves her baby very much . The baby sleeps in a cradle . A cradle is a small bed for a baby . One night the elves come quietly to the house . They take the baby out of the cradle . They put a different child in its place . In the morning the mother goes to the cradle . She wants to pick up her baby . She looks in , and she stops . This is not her baby ! This child has a very big head and big round eyes . He looks and looks with his big eyes , but he does not smile . He does not play . He only wants to eat and drink . He eats and drinks all day long . This strange child is an elf child . People call a child like this a changeling . Day after day , the mother looks at the strange child . She gives him milk and bread . He eats it all , and he wants more . But he never laughs , and he never says a word . The mother is very sad . “ Where is my baby ? ” she cries . “ What can I do ? ” She goes to her neighbour . “ Please help me , ” she says . “ The elves took my baby . There is a strange child in the cradle . He only eats and drinks . What should I do ? ” The neighbour knows many old stories . She thinks for a moment . “ Listen to me , ” she says . “ Carry the strange child into the kitchen . Put him down on the hearth . The hearth is the stone floor in front of the fire . Then light a fire . Take two eggshells , and put water in them . Then boil the water on the fire . ” “ Water in eggshells ? ” asks the mother . “ But why ? ” “ The child will see the eggshells , and he will laugh , ” says the neighbour . “ And when he laughs , he cannot stay with you any more . ” “ Thank you , ” says the mother . “ I will do it . ”
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