He, who has experienced such things in one evening as Mr. Peregrine Tyss, and who is consequently in such a state of mind, cannot possibly sleep well. He rolled about restless on his bed, and, when he fell into that sort of delirium which usually precedes sleep, he again held the little creature in his arms, and felt warm glowing kisses on his lips. Then he would start up and fancy, even when awake, that he heard the sweet voice of Alina. He would burn with desire that she might not have fled, and yet, again, would fear that she might return and snare him in a net, from which he could not extricate himself. This war of contrary feelings straightened his breast, and filled it at the same time with a sweet pain, such as he had never felt before. "Sleep not, Peregrine; sleep not, generous man: I must speak with you directly,"--was lisped close by Peregrine, and still the voice went on with "sleep not, sleep not," till at last he opened his eyes, which he had closed only to see Alina more distinctly. By the light of the lamp he perceived a little monster, scarce a span long, that sate upon the white counterpane, and which at first terrified him, but in the next moment he grasped boldly at it with his hand, to convince himself whether he was or was not deceived by his fancy; but the little monster had immediately disappeared without leaving a trace behind. Though it was not requisite to give a minute description of the fair Alina, Dörtje Elverdink, or Princess Gamaheh,--for the reader has long ago known that these were one and the same person apparently split into three,--it is, on the contrary, quite requisite to narrowly portray the little monster that sate upon the counterpane, and caused so much terror to Mr. Peregrine Tyss. As already mentioned, the creature was scarcely a span long. In his bird-shaped head gleamed a pair of round sparkling eyes, and from his sparrow-beak protruded a long sharp thing like a rapier, while two horns came out from the forehead close below the beak. The neck began close under the head also, in the manner of a bird, but grew thicker and thicker, so that without any interruption the former grew to a shapeless body, almost like a hazelnut, and seemed covered with dark-brown scales like the armadillo. But the strangest part was the formation of the arms and legs; the two former had joints, and were rooted in the creature's cheeks, close by the beak; immediately under these arms was a pair of legs, and still farther on another pair, both double-jointed like the arms. These last feet appeared to be those on which the creature really relied; for besides that they were longer and stronger than the others, he wore upon them very handsome golden boots with diamond spurs. The little monster having so completely vanished upon Peregrine's attempt to seize it, he would have taken the whole for an illusion of his excited fancy, if directly afterwards a thin voice had not been audible, exclaiming,--