El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-12-02

4 FIERCE LOOKING GOBLIN STOOD GUARD
ING AN IRON SAFE
boy climbed up and set the pretty ami
NAL free. He felt himself we'll re-
warded when as the cat ran gayly
away he found golden key which had
been fastened to her neck and little
note saying that it was for him.
Tommy was soon hurrying down to
the village store, with the idea of ex-
changing the bit of gold for some
bread and meat to take home, when
q poorly dressed old woman stopped
him and asked him to help her along.
So good a boy could not refuse, in spite
Of his haste, and the old woman, who
must have been fairy, told him not to
sell his golden key, but to come with
it to a certain big oak tree just as the
clock was striking II that night and
he would surely find his fortune. The
old woman then seemed to melt into
the air.
The boy had no secrets from his
mother, and it was she who Weakened
him that night in time to reach the
oak tree before midnight. But it SO
happened that, while he was running
as fast as he could, sick man asked
him to fill golden cup with water. A
the cup, but his true heart said no,
and when the sick man had drunk the
water which Tommy brought him he
went with the boy to the oak, and sud
denly a door appeared in it's rough
bark which the golden key unlocked.
"OnIy the bad need be afraid" said
the man just as the clock began strik-
ing the hour of II, and he then melted
int hn OF a n
man had done. A long passage stretch
ed before the boy, ending in a little
room, where a fierce looking goblin
stood guarding an iron safe. Tommy
thought his promised fortune must be
within the safe, so he asked the goblin
to open it, although sounds seemed to
come from it like the roaring Of lions.
But when the door was thrown open
there were no lions or other fierce ami
mails in sight nor yet any treasures,
but only another long and very low
and narrow passage, through which,
with much discomfort and sinking of
heart, the brave little boy finally crept.
To his delight, he came out into
large and beautiful room, where many
children were playing games, and,
something which pleased him even
more, there was set a table of dainties,
to which he was hidden to seat him
self. After eating such a meal as he
had never known before he Joined the
children at play and would perhaps
have been playing yet if suddenly his
conscience had not reminded him that
he had come in search of fortune to
help his parents and his brothers and
sisters and not merely to amuse him
s,o1f 10 h1 kh0 III,
dren, who at that began to call him
bad names, and, opening a door, he
saw indeed all the treasures any one
could DESIRE great shining heaps of
silver of all shapes and kinds, and he
found number of other boys looking
longfngly at the treasures, but hesitat-
ing to go toward them because the
path was full of very sharp thorns,
and, as was said by those who, after
making a trial, came back, the few
stepping stones were hot enough to
burn ones feet.
One of the little fellows, however,
followed Tommy across, although both
of them suffered a good deal before
they reached the other side. Filling
their pockets with all the silver they
could carry, Tommy and his comrade
were just about to seek the shortest
way home when they were told that if
they would open the door right before
them they would see treasures Of gold
to which the silver was nothing. And
30 they found it to be, but Tommy's
comrade was not brave enough to at
tempt to make the passage over the
plank to the place where the treasures
Lay. And small wonder was it, since
. deep pit beneath it, and, while the