Now as she sate sobbing and crying she heard a queer little noise at the bottom of the door. At first she thought it was a mouse. Then she thought it must be something knocking. So she upped and opened the door and what did she see? Why! a small, little, black Thing with a long tail that whisked round and round ever so fast. "What are you crying for?" said that Thing, making a bow, and twirling its tail so fast that she could scarcely see it. "What's that to you?" said she, shrinking a bit, for that Thing was very queer like. "Don't look at my tail if you're frightened," says That, smirking. "Look at my toes. Ain't they beautiful?" And sure enough That had on buckled shoes with high heels and big bows, ever so smart. [Illustration: A small, little, black Thing with a long tail] So she kind of forgot about the tail, and wasn't so frightened, and when That asked her again why she was crying, she upped and said, "It won't do no good if I do." "You don't know that," says That, twirling its tail faster and faster, and sticking out its toes. "Come, tell me, there's a good girl." "Well," says she, "it can't do any harm if it doesn't do good." So she dried her pretty eyes and told That all about the pies, and the skeins, and everything from first to last. And then that little, black Thing nearly burst with laughing. "If that is all, it's easy mended!" it says. "I'll come to your window every morning, take the flax, and bring it back spun into five skeins at night. Come! shall it be a bargain?" Now she, for all she was so gatless and thoughtless, said, cautious like: "But what is your pay?" Then That twirled its tail so fast you couldn't see it, and stuck out its beautiful toes, and smirked and looked out of the corners of its eyes. "I will give you three guesses every night to guess my name, and if you haven't guessed it before the month is up, why"--and That twirled its tail faster and stuck out its toes further, and smirked and sniggered more than ever--"you shall be mine, my beauty." Three guesses every night for a whole month! She felt sure she would be able for so much; and there was no other way out of the business, so she just said, "Yes! I agree!" And lor! how That twirled its tail, and bowed, and smirked, and stuck out its beautiful toes. Well, the very next day her husband led her to the strange room again, and there was the day's food, and a spinning-wheel and a great bundle of flax. "There you are, my dear," says he as polite as polite. "And remember! if there are not five whole skeins to-night, I fear your head will come off!" At that she began to tremble, and after he had gone away and locked the door, she was just thinking of a good cry, when she heard a queer knocking at the window. She upped at once and opened it, and sure enough there was the small, little, black Thing sitting on the window-ledge, dangling its beautiful toes and twirling its tail so that you could scarcely see it.