midnight
`` Nay ! '' cried Wattie sternly , `` the drink must be as pure as crystal . '' `` For your noble warrior , '' added the fairy rising ; `` but the beverage will taste the sweeter with the drops that I put into it . '' And so saying , she stretched forth her hand , and shook the contents of her tiny flask into the pitcher ; and her gay laugh rang merrily and scornfully through the midnight air . Wattie and Mattie , half-frightened , hastened homewards ; and lo , when crossing the bridge , an old hag overtook them , and , as she hurried past , she uttered a spiteful laugh . `` There is something strange in the air to-night , '' said Mattie . `` See that weird old woman , and hark , Wattie , how Oscar , the miller 's dog , barks at the moon . ''