"And I should love to float about in the air, I'm sure!" declared Marjorie. The words were scarcely out of her mouth when she felt herself wafted gently off her feet, while at the same moment Dick, to Fidge's intense surprise, suddenly shot up to the height of over six feet, and looked so very ridiculous, that all three of them burst out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. CHAPTER III. THE SAGE IN THE ONION FIELD. "How absurd," laughed Dick, as he looked down from the--to him--enormous height of six feet. "What a thin, lanky-looking creature, I am, to be sure--and Fidge, too; he looks perfectly ridiculous"--for Fidge, also, was growing amazingly. "How did it happen, Dick, dear?" asked Marjorie, in an awe-stricken voice. "It seems so funny to be up here in the air, and yet I don't feel in the least frightened, do you?" "Of course not," said Dick, contemptuously. "Why, we just said we wished to be as tall as the Pater, you know, and it happened." "Oh, yes; and I said I should like to float in the air. I suppose we can always do what we want to now--how lovely! Like the 'Arabian Nights,' isn't it?" "I don't want to be thin, like a walking-stick," said Fidge, in a dissatisfied voice. "No, it's rather horrid," said Dick. "Let's see; we said as tall as the Pater, didn't we?--not as _big_. I wonder if that makes any difference." "I want to be as fat as old Mrs. Mofflet," said Fidge, mischievously. The words were no sooner out of his mouth than he dwindled down to his usual height, and spread out in girth till he exactly resembled, in appearance, what one looks like in a concave mirror--that is, he was about twice as wide as he was high. "Oh, dear! Oh, dear! That's worse than ever!" laughed the children, while little Fidge waddled about in an absurd way. The gnomes were highly amused, and cut the most extraordinary antics in their glee. "I think perhaps the best thing to do for the present would be to wish ourselves as we were," said Dick. "I have no doubt it wi be very useful by and by to be any size we like, but just now it's rather awkward." "Oh, let's be little, like the gnomes," cried Marjorie. "It will be such fun." "All right," acquiesced Dick; "here goes--I wish I were as little as the gnomes." "So do I," cried Marjorie. [Illustration: "He was about twice as wide as he was high."] "Me, too!" cried Fidge. To their great surprise, nothing happened. They waited a moment or two, staring at each other expectantly, and then Marjorie cried in a troubled voice-- "Oh, dear! I don't believe it's going to work, and we shall have to stay like this forever." "What nonsense!" cried Dick. "I say! I want to be as small as the gnomes," he shouted. There was no result, however, and the children remained as they were. "Oh! I know," he cried; "I ought to have the paper that the Ambassador gave me in my hand. Where is it?" There was a great whispering amongst the gnomes, and at last one of them shouted out--