But what was little Jacob’s astonishment on entering the house to find it most beautiful. The walls and ceiling were of marble, the furniture of ebony, inlaid with gold and polished jewels, and the floor was of glass and so slippery that the little boy fell down several times. The old woman drew a little silver whistle from her pocket and blew it so shrilly that the tones resounded all through the house. A number of guinea-pigs at once came hurrying down the stairs, and Jacob was astounded to see that they were walking erect on their hind legs and had their feet thrust into nut-shells instead of shoes. They wore men’s clothing and had hats on their heads made in the newest fashion. “Where have you put my slippers, you ragamuffins?” asked the old woman, striking them with her staff, so that they began to whine and jump about. “How much longer do you expect to keep me standing here?” The guinea-pigs bounded up the stairs and soon returned with a pair of cocoa-nut shells, lined and bound with leather. These they put on the old woman’s feet and at once she ceased to hobble and limp, flung away her staff, and began to glide about over the slippery floor with the greatest rapidity, dragging Jacob after her. She came at length to a room bearing some resemblance to a kitchen, though the tables were of mahogany, and the couches and chairs covered with exquisite tapestries. “Sit down,” said the old woman in friendly tones, pushing him as she spoke into a corner of a sofa and then rolling a table in front of him, so that he could not get out again. “You must be tired, walking so far, and carrying such a heavy burden,” she said, “now I am going to reward you for your trouble and make you some soup such as you have never tasted before, and will remember all your life long.” She again blew her whistle and again a number of guinea-pigs appeared, dressed in human attire. They wore cook’s aprons, and had cooking spoons and carving knives stuck in their waistbands. After them came a crowd of squirrels, clad in wide Turkish trousers, with little green velvet caps on their heads. They appeared to be the kitchen servants, for they at once began to clamber up and down the walls and brought pots and pans, eggs and butter, herbs and flour, and carried them to the fireplace, where the old woman seemed to be very busy with her cookery. The fire burned merrily and the contents of the pans began to steam and hiss and send forth a very pleasant smell. At length the soup was cooked and the old woman poured some into a silver dish and set it before little Jacob. “Eat, my little man,” said she, “and you will have all that you have coveted in me. You shall become a clever cook too, but you shall never, never find the herb that was missing in your mother’s basket.”