Charles Edward Carryl

“ Oh, lor!” cried the Goblin, in an uncontrollable fit of merriment. “Another minute and you wouldn’t have been bigger than a peanut!”
“What’s the matter with me?” said Davy, not knowing what to make of it all.
“Matter?” cried the Goblin. “Why, you’ve been and gone and fallen into an Elastic Spring, that’s all. If you’d got in at stretch tide, early in the morning, you’d have been a perfect giraffe; but you got in at shrink tide and—oh, my! oh, my!” and here he went off into another fit of laughter. ”

“ When Davy sat up and looked around him he found himself in a beautiful meadow, with the sun shining brightly on the grass and the wild flowers. The air was filled with dainty-colored insects, darting about in the warm sunshine, and chirping cheerily as they flew, and at a little distance the Goblin was sitting on the grass, attentively examining a great, struggling creature that he was holding down by its wings. ”

“ The Cricket-Bat made a swoop at Davy, knocking him over like a feather, and then, with a loud snort, flew away across the meadow. It dashed here and there at flying things of every kind, and, turning on its side, knocked them, one after another, quite out of sight, until, to Davy’s delight, the Cockalorum came into view, flying across the meadow in his usual blundering fashion. At sight of him the Cricket-Bat gave another triumphant snort, and with a wild plunge at the great creature knocked him floundering into the tall grass, and with a loud, whirring sound disappeared in a distant wood. ”