And then that little, black Thing nearly burst with laughing.  “If that is all, it’s easy mended!” it says.  “I’ll come to your window every morning, take the flax, and bring it back spun into five skeins at night.  Come! shall it be a bargain?”

Now she, for all she was so gatless and thoughtless, said, cautious like: 

“But what is your pay?”

Then That twirled its tail so fast you couldn’t see it, and stuck out its beautiful toes, and smirked and looked out of the corners of its eyes.  “I will give you three guesses every night to guess my name, and if you haven’t guessed it before the month is up, why”—­and That twirled its tail faster and stuck out its toes further, and smirked and sniggered more than ever—­“you shall be mine, my beauty.”

Three guesses every night for a whole month!  She felt sure she would be able for so much; and there was no other way out of the business, so she just said, “Yes!  I agree!”

And lor! how That twirled its tail, and bowed, and smirked, and stuck out its beautiful toes.

Well, the very next day her husband led her to the strange room again, and there was the day’s food, and a spinning-wheel and a great bundle of flax.

“There you are, my dear,” says he as polite as polite.  “And remember! if there are not five whole skeins to-night, I fear your head will come off!”

At that she began to tremble, and after he had gone away and locked the door, she was just thinking of a good cry, when she heard a queer knocking at the window.  She upped at once and opened it, and sure enough there was the small, little, black Thing sitting on the window-ledge, dangling its beautiful toes and twirling its tail so that you could scarcely see it.

“Good-morning, my beauty,” says That.  “Come! hand over the flax, sharp, there’s a good girl.”

So she gave That the flax and shut the window and, you may be sure, ate her victuals, for, as you know, she had a good appetite, and the King, her husband, had promised to give her everything she liked to eat.  So she ate to her heart’s content, and when evening came and she heard that queer knocking at the window again, she upped and opened it, and there was the small, little, black Thing with five spun skeins on his arm!

And it twirled its tail faster than ever, and stuck out its beautiful toes, and bowed and smirked and gave her the five skeins.

Then That said, “And now, my beauty, what is That’s name?”

And she answered quite easy like: 

“That is Bill.”

“No, it ain’t,” says That, and twirled its tail.

“Then That is Ned,” says she.

“No, it ain’t,” says That, and twirled its tail faster.

“Well,” says she a bit more thoughtful, “That is Mark.”

“No, it ain’t,” says That, and laughs and laughs and laughs, and twirls its tail so as you couldn’t see it, as away it flew.