ready, a little dwarf with a pointed beard strolled up to the place.
'What are you cooking?' asked he, 'give me some of it.'

'I'll give you some on your back, if you like,' answered Tree
Comber rudely. The dwarf took no notice, but waited patiently till
the dinner was cooked, then suddenly throwing Tree Comber on
the ground, he ate up the contents of the saucepan and vanished.
Tree Comber felt rather ashamed of himself, and set about boiling
some more vegetables, but they were still very hard when the
hunters returned, and though they complained of his bad cooking,
he did not tell them about the dwarf.

Next day Stone Crusher was left behind, and after him Iron
Kneader, and each time the dwarf appeared, and they fared no
better than Tree Comber had done. The fourth day Paul said to
them: 'My friends, there must be some reason why your cooking
has always been so bad, now you shall go and hunt and I will stay
behind.' So they went off, amusing themselves by thinking what
was in store for Paul.

He set to work at once, and had just got all his vegetables
simmering in the pot when the dwarf appeared as before, and asked
to have some of the stew. 'Be off,' cried Paul, snatching up the
saucepan as he spoke. The dwarf tried to get hold of his collar, but
Paul seized him by the beard, and tied him to a big tree so that he
could not stir, and went on quietly with his cooking. The hunters
came back early, longing to see how Paul had got on, and, to their
surprise, dinner was quite ready for them.

'You are great useless creatures,' said he, 'who couldn't even outwit