第 三十二 章 · The Last Chapter

. The Last Chapter

All the rest went up the mountain, and separated in groups to the homes

of the miners. Curdie and his father and mother took Lootie with them.

And the whole way a light, of which all but Lootie understood the

origin, shone upon their path. But when they looked round they could

see nothing of the silvery globe.

For days and days the water continued to rush from the doors and

windows of the king's house, and a few goblin bodies were swept out

into the road.

Curdie saw that something must be done. He spoke to his father and the

rest of the miners, and they at once proceeded to make another outlet

for the waters. By setting all hands to the work, tunnelling here and

building there, they soon succeeded; and having also made a little

tunnel to drain the water away from under the king's house, they were

soon able to get into the wine cellar, where they found a multitude of

dead goblins--among the rest the queen, with the skin-shoe gone, and

the stone one fast to her ankle--for the water had swept away the

barricade, which prevented the men-at-arms from following the goblins,

and had greatly widened the passage. They built it securely up, and

then went back to their labours in the mine.

A good many of the goblins with their creatures escaped from the

inundation out upon the mountain. But most of them soon left that part

of the country, and most of those who remained grew milder in

character, and indeed became very much like the Scotch brownies. Their

skulls became softer as well as their hearts, and their feet grew

harder, and by degrees they became friendly with the inhabitants of the

mountain and even with the miners. But the latter were merciless to

any of the cobs' creatures that came in their way, until at length they

all but disappeared.

The rest of the history of The Princess and Curdie must be kept for

another volume.