Produced by Mary Glenn Krause, amsibert, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. Inconsistencies in hyphenation and capitalization have been standardized. THE ELVES OF MOUNT FERN KATHERINE CREIGHTON [Illustration] _The_ Elves of Mount Fern BY KATHERINE CREIGHTON Author of “Nature Songs and Stories,” “Nature Sketches,” etc., etc. [Illustration] _Publishers_ DORRANCE _Philadelphia_ Copyright 1922 Dorrance & Company Inc. _All Rights Reserved_ Printed in the United States of America To lovers of fairies everywhere I dedicate this book _and to_ the wonderful “little people” who helped Cinderella, Prince Prigio and countless others overcome great difficulties in the Giant World K. C. CONTENTS Chapter Page 1 The Elves of Mount Fern 11 2 The Lawn Party 26 3 The Ball 41 4 Emily’s Birthday 57 5 The King of the Elves Visits Mount Fern 83 THE ELVES OF MOUNT FERN THE ELVES 1 THE ELVES OF MOUNT FERN The Elves are the dearest and most mischievous little people in all the wide world. They live in Elfland, and Elfland can be found in every corner of the globe. They take up their abode on wooded hillsides, beside murmuring streams, or in deep, leafy forests. In the dead of night, when all the world is still, they steal forth from their dwellings and start on their merry midnight rounds. They dance in the moonlight on soft dewy lawns under wide-spreading trees. They visit their neighbors and friends among elves, and their neighbors and friends among men. The Elves can see and not be seen; they can hear and not be heard; and are so light and nimble in their movements that they can float through the air like a leaf in the wind. Once upon a time there was a company of Elves that lived in a stone wall. They had left their home in the forest glade for a season in the _Giant World_, as they called our world--because it seemed so big to them. While they were wandering about in search of a place to settle, they came upon a hole in a stone wall that exactly suited them, it was so snug and comfortable. The Elves were very much delighted and at once decided to make their home there. The wall belonged to Dr. Templeton. He liked privacy, and so he had this high stone wall built all around his garden and grounds.