At that very minute the Ink-Bottle Babies stood still for they heard a voice cry, “Out of my house and off my land! How you came here I don’t understand!” There stood a fierce little dwarf stamping his foot at them. All the Ink-Bottle Babies bowed politely and said, “If you please, Sir, may we gather a few violets and buttercups?” Then the little dwarf said, “I love all the little flowers that grow, You shall not gather them, no! no!” [Illustration: “_A fierce little dwarf stamping his feet_”] Then Molly and Polly said, “If we each give you a cookie, would you let us gather a few flowers?” Then the little dwarf came and peeked into each one of the baskets and saw, sure enough, that each Baby had a cookie in the basket. Then the little dwarf clapped his hands and cried, “Cookies big and cookies round, Put them all upon the ground!” Then the Ink-Bottle Babies all put their cookies on a large, flat stone, and the little dwarf filled his pockets and his cap full of them. Then he made a bow and said, “Pick all the flowers you like to-day, But after sundown do not stay!” Then whisk, bound, the little dwarf was gone! The Ink-Bottle Babies lost no time in picking flowers, you may be sure. They found violets, daisies, and buttercups, and before they could believe it, it was sundown. They said, “We do not care what the little dwarf said, we will not hurry home.” Then they sat down and ate the sandwiches and apples they had brought with them. Just as the sun was setting Molly cried, “Oh, oh, oh,” and Polly cried, “Oh, oh, oh,” and all the Ink-Bottle Babies cried, “Oh, oh, oh.” What do you suppose was the matter? They all began to sink down, down, down, and it became quite dark! They sank down until they came to the top of the magic tower, which was built under the sea! They saw the fishes swim past them and they cried, “Oh, oh, oh, where are we going?” The roof of the magic tower opened and down the Ink-Bottle Babies went to the very bottom of the tower. They were just beginning to get their breath when the most beautiful princess in the world came and stood before them. She said, “Where did you come from, Babies dear, And how did you happen to come here?” She saw only Molly at first; then Polly and all the rest of the Babies came tumbling down the staircase. The princess gathered up an armful of Babies and cried, “I am so happy, the charm is broken; I welcome the Babies now as a token.” [Illustration: “_They had to work days and days to braid her hair_”] The Babies patted the princess’ dress; it was soft and silky. Then they all begged to braid her hair. They had to work days and days to braid all her hair, it was so long and heavy. “Tell us a story, please,” said the Babies. And the princess began, “Once upon a time I went into the woods to gather flowers!” “Just like we did,” shouted all the Ink-Bottle Babies together.