This is the way in which the boggart came into Farmer Griggs's house,
and there he was to stay, for it is no such easy matter getting rid of
the likes of him when we once let him in, I can tell you.
The boggart came straightway over to the warm fire, and the dog
growled--"chur-r-r-r!"--and showed his teeth, and the cat spit anger and
jumped up on the dresser, with her back arched and her tail on end. But
the boggart cared never a whit for this, but laid himself comfortably
down among the warm ashes.
Now imps, like this boggart, can only be seen as the frost is seen--when
it is cold. So as he grew warmer and warmer, he grew thin, like a
jelly-fish, and at last, when he had become thoroughly warmed through,
Farmer Griggs and the dame could see him no more than though he was thin
air. But he was in the house, and he stayed there, I can tell you. For a
time everything went as smooth as cream; all of the work of the house
was done as though by magic, for the boggart did all that he had
promised; he made the fires, he baked the bread, he washed the dishes,
he scoured the pans, he scrubbed the floors, he brewed the beer, he
roasted the meat, he stuffed the sausages, he skimmed the milk, he made
the butter, he pressed the cheese, he plucked the geese, he spun the
thread, he knit the stockings, he mended the clothes, he patched the
shoes--he was everywhere and did all of the work of the house.
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