The giants will come, If we cease from our song, And eat us all up, So sing, sing along." Another curious thing Teddy noticed, was the presence of about a hundred blue elephants. They walked in solemn procession around the outskirts of the open space, each one holding with his trunk the tail of the one in front of him. Occasionally, the largest would put up his trunk and trumpet, and then they all would do the same, solemnly turn around, and walk the other way. While Teddy stood watching these strange sights one of the gnomes, who seemed to be an overseer, looked up and saw him. He gave a cry, which was echoed by the others, then with one accord they stopped working, ran up the hill, and threw themselves on the ground before Teddy, shouting. "He has come, he has come, our preserver, our preserver!" Teddy was a good deal embarrassed at this reception, and didn't know exactly what to say, so he took off his hat, and bowed very politely, and said nothing. The gnomes, on the contrary, talked all the time, and all together, which made a great deal of noise, and was pretty confusing. Teddy heard the word "giant," again and again, also the word "kill," and he wondered if he were to kill a giant, and if so, with what. After a while, they seemed to realize that he didn't understand so they all fell back a little way, and the leader, the one who had given notice of Teddy's arrival, stepped forward and said: "Teddy, we are glad to see you. We have watched you for a long, long time, and always hoped to have a visit from you, but we were obliged to wait before putting up the steps and the trap door, until you yourself had expressed a desire to help us, which you did last Saturday. Perhaps you remember saving one of my people from being killed by a cat on Saturday." Teddy looked puzzled. "It was a frog I saved," he said. "Topsy was going to eat it, and I was afraid she would get sick." "It was _not_ a frog," said the gnome with much displeasure, "you may have _thought_ it was a frog, but it was not." He seemed so put out that Teddy felt himself growing very red and embarrassed. "I am sure I am very sorry," he said, "and I am glad I was able to help you." The gnome continued, but with much severity, "you then said, after you had driven away the savage animal,----" "Topsy is not a savage animal," interrupted Ted, "she is a very nice cat." "She is a savage animal to us," said the gnome, and all the other gnomes repeated, "savage animal," in a sort of a growl. "As I was saying," the gnome went on, "after having driven away the savage animal, you said you wished you could be like the celebrated "Jack the Giant-Killer," and then we decided you would help us, and we put up the steps and door." "What am I to do, now that I am here?" asked Teddy, much perplexed, "am I to kill a giant?" "You are to kill six," replied the gnome, calmly, while a joyful chorus of "_six_" came from the hundreds of little gnomes standing by.