midnight
When the priest told them that it was a mystery , they knew that it was so , and came along bowing and curtsying as if all the persons they met were their betters , though really only one or two were half so good . Miss Muffet ran to them and put her hands in theirs . -LSB- Illustration : _ Scampering off into the dark _ -RSB- `` I have just loved you since the time I heard what you did for the little elves who used to come at night after you had gone to bed and finish your work for you . Some people take what 's done for them and think no more about it except that they 're lucky ; but you sat up till midnight and peeped into the room where the elves were working , and saw that they did n't have enough clothes to keep them warm . Then you made each one a shirt and a coat and waistcoat and a pair of trousers and a little pair of shoes . What fun it must have been , next night , to watch them putting on their things and scampering off into the dark . I never heard of elves being dressed up like that . ''