It was a merry company,

And they were just afloat,

When lo! a man, of dwarfish span,

Came up and hailed the boat.

“Good morrow to ye, gentle folks,

And will you let me in?

A slender space will serve my case,

For I am small and thin.”

They saw he was a dwarfish man,

And very small and thin;

Not seven such would matter much,

And so they took him in.

They laughed to see his little hat,

With such a narrow brim;

They laughed to note his dapper coat,

With skirts so scant and trim.

But barely had they gone a mile,

When, gravely, one and all

At once began to think the man

Was not so very small:

His coat had got a broader skirt,

His hat a broader brim;

His leg grew stout, and soon plumped out

A very proper limb.

Still on they went, and as they went,

More rough the billows grew —

And rose and fell, a greater swell,

And he was swelling too!

And lo! where room had been for seven,

For six there scarce was space!

For five! — for four! — for three! — not more

Th............