` Then you sha 'n' t have any , but a head stuck close between your shoulders so that it may be quite sure not to fall off . ' ` Do n't talk such nonsense to the child , ' said the mother at last . ` If you wish to buy , please make haste , as you are keeping other customers away . ' ` Very well , I will do as you ask , ' said the old woman , with an angry look . ' I will buy these six cabbages , but , as you see , I can only walk with my stick and can carry nothing . Let your boy carry them home for me and I 'll pay him for his trouble . ' The little fellow did n't like this , and began to cry , for he was afraid of the old woman , but his mother ordered him to go , for she thought it wrong not to help such a weakly old creature ; so , still crying , he gathered the cabbages into a basket and followed the old woman across the Market Place . It took her more than half an hour to get to a distant part of the little town , but at last she stopped in front of a small tumble-down house . She drew a rusty old hook from her pocket and stuck it into a little hole in the door , which suddenly flew open . How surprised Jem was when they went in ! The house was splendidly furnished , the walls and ceiling of marble , the furniture of ebony inlaid with gold and precious stones , the floor of such smooth slippery glass that the little fellow tumbled down more than once . The old woman took out a silver whistle and blew it till the sound rang through the house . Immediately a lot of guinea pigs came running down the stairs , but Jem thought it rather odd that they all walked on their hind legs , wore nutshells for shoes , and men 's clothes , whilst even their hats were put on in the newest fashion . ` Where are my slippers , lazy crew ? ' cried the old woman , and hit about with her stick . ` How long am I to stand waiting here ? ' They rushed upstairs again and returned with a pair of cocoa nuts lined with leather , which she put on her feet . Now all limping and shuffling was at an end . She threw away her stick and walked briskly across the glass floor , drawing little Jem after her . At last she paused in a room which looked almost like a kitchen , it was so full of pots and pans , but the tables were of mahogany and the sofas and chairs covered with the richest stuffs .
` Sit down , ' said the old woman pleasantly , and she pushed XXXXX into a corner of a sofa and put a table close in front of him .
Jem cabbages fall fellow hour nothing nutshells shoulders stuffs upstairs