As a writer, I'm not particularly fond of chapters that don't do a lot to move the plot forward. Still, this chapter gives us a look at Curdie's methods investigating the goblins in the mine, and gives us some insight into his home life. I like the genuine affection MacDonald shows both Curdie and Curdie's mom, whom he usually calls "Mrs. Peterson." Why so formal, Georgie? These folks live inside your head!

The sources for our text are the cyber-scribes at gutenberg.org;   Our theme song is Jimbo’s Lullaby by Claude Debussy performed by the Riverside Wind Consort via musopen.org. Pleasant dreams.