‘I never thought I should see you alive again. Have you learnt how to shudder now? ’
‘No,’ he answered; ‘it ’s all in vain. If only some one would tell me how.’
The second night came, and up he went again and sat down by the fire, and began his old song: ‘Oh, if only I could learn to shudder.’
In the middle of the night a great noise and uproar began, first soft, and then growing louder; then for a short time there would be silence.
At last, with a loud scream, half the body of a man fell down the chimney in front of him.
‘Hullo!’ he said, ‘another half is wanting here; this is too little.’
The noise began again, and, amidst shrieks and howls, the other half fell down.
‘Wait a bit,’ he said; ‘I ’ll blow up the fire.’
When this was done, and he looked round, the two halves had come together, and a hideous man sat in his place.
‘We didn’t bargain for that,’ said the Youth. ‘The bench is mine.’
The man wanted to push him out of the way, but the Youth would not have it, flung him aside, and took his own seat.
Then more men fell down the chimney, one after the other, and they fetched nine human shin bones and two skulls, and began to play skittles.
The Youth felt inclined to join them, and cried: ‘I say, can I play too?’
‘Yes, if you ’ve got any money.’
‘Money enough,’ he answered, ‘but your balls aren’t quite round.’
Then he took the skulls and turned them on the lathe till they were quite round. ‘Now they will roll better,’ he said. ‘Here goes! The more, the merrier!’
So he played with them, and lost some money, but when it