So the jackdaw hopped out, and Eva followed him. And when he told her what her work for that week was to be, she thought it was very funny work. And then he told her she might do as she pleased for the rest of that day, but the next morning she must go to work. And Eva amused herself by looking everywhere for Aster. But he was not to be seen. Only, just over the back-door of the hut, there hung a little wire cage, and in it there sat a little green bird, which screamed whenever the jackdaw or the Frog even looked at it. And when it began to grow dark, these two took the little bird out of his cage and picked out his tail and wing-feathers, the bird screaming and struggling all the time, and then they put him back into the cage. And it was just as much afraid of Eva as it was of the jackdaw and the Frog. There was neither sun nor moon in this place,--as in the forest, when the moon was gone, all the light seemed to come from the earth. And every morning Eva noticed that the tail and wing-feathers of the little green bird had grown again, though every evening either the Frog or the jackdaw pulled them out. I said that when Eva was told of the work she would have to do she thought it was very queer work. Every morning, when the light drove away the darkness, she was to wipe off and dust the tops of the toad-stools on which the frogs sat, and she thought it would be very easy to do. So she tried to do it, and the jackdaw stood on one foot and cawed at her all the time,--and the more she rubbed and wiped the top of the toad-stool post the dirtier it became,--and she was nearly in despair, when she heard one of the frogs whisper to the other,-- “If she would only catch the jackdaw and sweep one off with his tail, she would have no more trouble.” And Eva did as the frog had said, and though the jackdaw screamed and struggled, and tried to get away, it did him no good. But she found that when she had swept one toad-stool off that all the rest were as clean and nice as possible, and there was nothing more to be done to any of them. And every evening before the Green Frog went to sleep--she slept every night in a little pond or pool in the corner of the hut--Eva had to walk around the inclosure and count the spiders and see that their webs were whole. But she never had any trouble,--the webs were always whole; and one of the spiders was sure to tell her how many of them there were. So a whole week went by, and every morning Eva caught the jackdaw and swept one toad-stool off with his tail. Now, Mr. Jackdaw did not at all approve of this, and in the morning, when he saw Eva coming, he would run away and hide himself. Then Eva would stoop down and pretend to whisper to one of the frogs; and the jackdaw, who was very inquisitive, would be so terribly afraid that something might be said that he would like to hear, that he would come running up in a great hurry, only to be caught and used as a living duster.