On
the third day, the Cabinetmaker and his wife were distraught.
They had come to realize how much Understump had done for them
around the house. If Sacco failed to catch the elusive fairy it
would be too much to bear. Gregorio found his son sitting out on
a tree stump behind their house, playing with a wooden ball.
"Shouldn't you be getting
ready for Understump?" his father asked.
Sacco looked around and smiled and
said, "I'm ready."
Atalaya put her arm around the boy
and said, "Dear, there are far too many places for
Understump to hide out here. How can you expect to catch
him?"
Sacco put his arms around his
mother's waist and gave her a hug. "Don't worry."
But the couple did worry, and as
they walked away Gregorio said, "If the fairy was too clever
for us, there's no way little Sacco is going to be able to trick
him."
"I can see that he doesn't
even have a plan," said Atalaya as they went inside the
house to watch what would happen from the window.