{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_2435/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_2435","id":"gutenberg_2435","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2435","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Children's Literature","Fairy tales","Folklore"],"text":"THE CRIMSON FAIRY BOOK\n\nBy Various\n\nEdited by Andrew Lang\n\n\n\n\nPreface\n\n\nEach Fairy Book demands a preface from the Editor, and these\nintroductions are inevitably both monotonous and unavailing. A sense of\nliterary honesty compels the Editor to keep repeating that he is the\nEditor, and not the author of the Fairy Tales, just as a distinguished\nman of science is only the Editor, not the Author of Nature. Like\nnature, popular tales are too vast to be the creation of a single\nmodern mind. The Editor\u2019s business is to hunt for collections of these\nstories told by peasant or savage grandmothers in many climes, from New\nCaledonia to Zululand; from the frozen snows of the Polar regions to\nGreece, or Spain, or Italy, or far Lochaber. When the tales are found\nthey are adapted to the needs of British children by various hands, the\nEditor doing little beyond guarding the interests of propriety, and\ntoning down to mild reproofs the tortures inflicted on wicked\nstepmothers, and other naughty characters.\n\nThese explanations have frequently been offered already; but, as far as\nladies and children are concerned, to no purpose. They still ask the\nEditor how he can invent so many stories\u2014more than Shakespeare, Dumas,\nand Charles Dickens could have invented in a century. And the Editor\nstill avers, in Prefaces, that he did not invent one of the stories;\nthat nobody knows, as a rule, who invented them, or where, or when. It\nis only plain that, perhaps a hundred thousand years ago, some savage\ngrandmother told a tale to a savage granddaughter; that the\ngranddaughter told it in her turn; that various tellers made changes to\nsuit their taste, adding or omitting features and incidents; that, as\nthe world grew civilised, other alterations were made, and that, at\nlast, Homer composed the \u201cOdyssey,\u201d and somebody else composed the\nStory of Jason and the Fleece of Gold, and the enchantress Medea, out\nof a set of wandering popular tales, which are still told among\nSamoyeds and Samoans, Hindoos and Japanese.\n\nAll this has been known to the wise and learned for centuries, and\nespecially since the brothers Grimm wrote in the early years of the\nNineteenth Century. But children remain unaware of the facts, and so do\ntheir dear mothers; whence the Editor infers that they do not read his\nprefaces, and are not members of the Folk Lore Society, or students of\nHerr Kohler and M. Cosquin, and M. Henri Guidoz and Professor Child,\nand Mr. Max Muller. Though these explanations are not attended to by\nthe Editor\u2019s customers, he makes them once more, for the relief of his\nconscience. Many tales in this book are translated, or adapted, from\nthose told by mothers and nurses in Hungary; others are familiar to\nRussian nurseries; the Servians are responsible for some; a rather\npeculiarly fanciful set of stories are adapted from the Roumanians;\nothers are from the Baltic shores; others from sunny Sicily; a few are\nfrom Finland, and Iceland, and Japan, and Tunis, and Portugal. No doubt\nmany children will like to look out these places on the map, and study\ntheir mountains, rivers, soil, products, and fiscal policies, in the\ngeography books. The peoples who tell the stories differ in colour;\nlanguage, religion, and almost everything else; but they all love a\nnursery tale. The stories have mainly been adapted or translated by\nMrs. Lang, a few by Miss Lang and Miss Blackley.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n Preface\n Lovely Ilonka\n Lucky Luck\n The Hairy Man\n To Your Good Health!\n The Story of the Seven Simons\n The Language of Beasts\n The Boy Who Could Keep A Secret\n The Prince And The Dragon\n Little Wildrose\n Tiidu The Piper\n Paperarelloo\n The Gifts Of The Magician\n The Strong Prince\n The Treasure Seeker\n The Cottager And His Cat\n The Prince Who Would Seek Immortality\n The Stone-Cutter\n The Gold-Bearded Man\n Tritill, Litill, And The Birds\n The Three Robes\n The Six Hungry Beasts\n How The Beggar Boy Turned Into Count Piro\n The Rogue And The Herdsman\n Eisenkopf\n The Death Of Abu Nowas And Of His Wife\n Motiratika\n Niels And The Giants\n Shepherd Paul\n How The Wicked Tanuki Was Punished\n The Crab And The Monkey\n The Horse Gullfaxi And The Sword Gunnfoder\n The Story Of The Sham Prince, Or The Ambitious Tailor\n The Colony Of Cats\n How To Find Out A True Friend\n Clever Maria\n The Magic Kettle\n\n\n\n\nLovely Ilonka\n\n\nThere was once a king\u2019s son who told his father that he wished to\nmarry.\n\n\u201cNo, no!\u201d said the king; \u201cyou must not be in such a hurry. Wait till\nyou have done some great deed. My father did not let me marry till I\nhad won the golden sword you see me wear.\u201d\n\nThe prince was much disappointed, but he never dreamed of disobeying\nhis father, and he began to think with all his might what he could do.\nIt was no use staying at home, so one day he wandered out into the\nworld to try his luck, and as he walked along he came to a little hut\nin which he found an old woman crouching over the fire.\n\n\u201cGood evening, mother. I see you have lived long in this world; do you\nknow anything about the three bulrushes?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, indeed, I\u2019ve lived long and been much about in the world, but I\nhave never seen or heard anything of what you ask. Still, if you will\nwait till to-morrow I may be able to tell you something.\u201d\n\nWell, he waited till the morning, and quite early the old woman\nappeared and took out a little pipe and blew in it, and in a moment all\nthe crows in the world were flying about her. Not one was missing. Then\nshe asked if they knew anything about the three bulrushes, but not one\nof them did.\n\nThe prince went on his way, and a little further on he found another\nhut in which lived an old man. On being questioned the old man said he\nknew nothing, but begged the prince to stay overnight, and the next\nmorning the old man called all the ravens together, but they too had\nnothing to tell.\n\nThe prince bade him farewell and set out. He wandered so far that he\ncrossed seven kingdoms, and at last, one evening, he came to a little\nhouse in which was an old woman.\n\n\u201cGood evening, dear mother,\u201d said he politely.\n\n\u201cGood evening to you, my dear son,\u201d answered the old woman. \u201cIt is\nlucky for you that you spoke to me or you would have met with a\nhorrible death. But may I ask where are you going?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am seeking the three bulrushes. Do you know anything about them?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know anything myself, but wait till to-morrow. Perhaps I can\ntell you then.\u201d So the next morning she blew on her pipe, and lo! and\nbehold every magpie in the world flew up. That is to say, all the\nmagpies except one who had broken a leg and a wing. The old woman sent\nafter it at once, and when she questioned the magpies the crippled one\nwas the only one who knew where the three bulrushes were.\n\nThen the prince started off with the lame magpie. They went on and on\ntill they reached a great stone wall, many, many feet high.\n\n\u201cNow, prince,\u201d said the magpie, \u201cthe three bulrushes are behind that\nwall.\u201d\n\nThe prince wasted no time. He set his horse at the wall and leaped over\nit. Then he looked about for the three bulrushes, pulled them up and\nset off with them on his way home. As he rode along one of the\nbulrushes happened to knock against something. It split open and, only\nthink! out sprang a lovely girl, who said: \u201cMy heart\u2019s love, you are\nmine and I am yours; do give me a glass of water.\u201d\n\nBut how could the prince give it her when there was no water at hand?\nSo the lovely maiden flew away. He split the second bulrush as an\nexperiment and just the same thing happened.\n\nHow careful he was of the third bulrush! He waited till he came to a\nwell, and there he split it open, and out sprang a maiden seven times\nlovelier than either of the others, and she too said: \u201cMy heart\u2019s love,\nI am yours and you are mine; do give me a glass of water.\u201d\n\nThis time the water was ready and the girl did not fly away, but she\nand the prince promised to love each other always. Then they set out\nfor home.\n\nThey soon reached the prince\u2019s country, and as he wished to bring his\npromised bride back in a fine coach he went on to the town to fetch\none. In the field where the well was, the king\u2019s swineherds and\ncowherds were feeding their droves, and the prince left Ilonka (for\nthat was her name) in their care.\n\nUnluckily the chief swineherd had an ugly old daughter, and whilst the\nprince was away he dressed her up in fine clothes, and threw Ilonka\ninto the well.\n\nThe prince returned before long, bringing with him his father and\nmother and a great train of courtiers to escort Ilonka home. But how\nthey all stared when they saw the swineherd\u2019s ugly daughter! However,\nthere was nothing for it but to take her home; and, two days later, the\nprince married her, and his father gave up the crown to him.\n\nBut he had no peace! He knew very well he had been cheated, though he\ncould not think how. Once he desired to have some water brought him\nfrom the well into which Ilonka had been thrown. The coachman went for\nit and, in the bucket he pulled up, a pretty little duck was swimming.\nHe looked wonderingly at it, and all of a sudden it disappeared and he\nfound a dirty looking girl standing near him. The girl returned with\nhim and managed to get a place as housemaid in the palace.\n\nOf course she was very busy all day long, but whenever she had a little\nspare time she sat down to spin. Her distaff turned of itself and her\nspindle span by itself and the flax wound itself off; and however much\nshe might use there was always plenty left.\n\nWhen the queen\u2014or, rather, the swineherd\u2019s daughter\u2014heard of this, she\nvery much wished to have the distaff, but the girl flatly refused to\ngive it to her. However, at last she consented on condition that she\nmight sleep one night in the king\u2019s room. The queen was very angry, and\nscolded her well; but as she longed to have the distaff she consented,\nthough she gave the king a sleeping draught at supper.\n\nThen the girl went to the king\u2019s room looking seven times lovelier than\never. She bent over the sleeper and said: \u201cMy heart\u2019s love, I am yours\nand you are mine. Speak to me but once; I am your Ilonka.\u201d But the king\nwas so sound asleep he neither heard nor spoke, and Ilonka left the\nroom, sadly thinking he was ashamed to own her.\n\nSoon after the queen again sent to say that she wanted to buy the\nspindle. The girl agreed to let her have it on the same conditions as\nbefore; but this time, also, the queen took care to give the king a\nsleeping draught. And once more Ilonka went to the king\u2019s room and\nspoke to him; whisper as sweetly as she might she could get no answer.\n\nNow some of the king\u2019s servants had taken note of the matter, and\nwarned their master not to eat and drink anything that the queen\noffered him, as for two nights running she had given him a sleeping\ndraught. The queen had no idea that her doings had been discovered; and\nwhen, a few days later, she wanted the flax, and had to pay the same\nprice for it, she felt no fears at all.\n\nAt supper that night the queen offered the king all sorts of nice\nthings to eat and drink, but he declared he was not hungry, and went\nearly to bed.\n\nThe queen repented bitterly her promise to the girl, but it was too\nlate to recall it; for Ilonka had already entered the king\u2019s room,\nwhere he lay anxiously waiting for something, he knew not what. All of\na sudden he saw a lovely maiden who bent over him and said: \u201cMy dearest\nlove, I am yours and you are mine. Speak to me, for I am your Ilonka.\u201d\n\nAt these words the king\u2019s heart bounded within him. He sprang up and\nembraced and kissed her, and she told him all her adventures since the\nmoment he had left her. And when he heard all that Ilonka had suffered,\nand how he had been deceived, he vowed he would be revenged; so he gave\norders that the swineherd, his wife and daughter should all be hanged;\nand so they were.\n\nThe next day the king was married, with great rejoicings, to the fair\nIlonka; and if they are not yet dead\u2014why, they are still living.\n\n[From Ungarische M\u00e4hrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nLucky Luck\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a king who had an only son. When the lad was\nabout eighteen years old his father had to go to fight in a war against\na neighbouring country, and the king led his troops in person. He bade\nhis son act as Regent in his absence, but ordered him on no account to\nmarry till his return.\n\nTime went by. The prince ruled the country and never even thought of\nmarrying. But when he reached his twenty-fifth birthday he began to\nthink that it might be rather nice to have a wife, and he thought so\nmuch that at last he got quite eager about it. He remembered, however,\nwhat his father had said, and waited some time longer, till at last it\nwas ten years since the king went out to war. Then the prince called\nhis courtiers about him and set off with a great retinue to seek a\nbride. He hardly knew which way to go, so he wandered about for twenty\ndays, when, suddenly, he found himself in his father\u2019s camp.\n\nThe king was delighted to see his son, and had a great many questions\nto ask and answer; but when he heard that instead of quietly waiting\nfor him at home the prince was starting off to seek a wife he was very\nangry, and said: \u201cYou may go where you please but I will not leave any\nof my people with you.\u201d\n\nOnly one faithful servant stayed with the prince and refused to part\nfrom him. They journeyed over hill and dale till they came to a place\ncalled Goldtown. The King of Goldtown had a lovely daughter, and the\nprince, who soon heard about her beauty, could not rest till he saw\nher.\n\nHe was very kindly received, for he was extremely good-looking and had\ncharming manners, so he lost no time in asking for her hand and her\nparents gave her to him with joy. The wedding took place at once, and\nthe feasting and rejoicings went on for a whole month. At the end of\nthe month they set off for home, but as the journey was a long one they\nspent the first evening at an inn. Everyone in the house slept, and\nonly the faithful servant kept watch. About midnight he heard three\ncrows, who had flown to the roof, talking together.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s a handsome couple which arrived here tonight. It seems quite a\npity they should lose their lives so soon.\u201d\n\n\u201cTruly,\u201d said the second crow; \u201cfor to-morrow, when midday strikes, the\nbridge over the Gold Stream will break just as they are driving over\nit. But, listen! whoever overhears and tells what we have said will be\nturned to stone up to his knees.\u201d\n\nThe crows had hardly done speaking when away they flew. And close upon\nthem followed three pigeons.\n\n\u201cEven if the prince and princess get safe over the bridge they will\nperish,\u201d said they; \u201cfor the king is going to send a carriage to meet\nthem which looks as new as paint. But when they are seated in it a\nraging wind will rise and whirl the carriage away into the clouds. Then\nit will fall suddenly to earth, and they will be killed. But anyone who\nhears and betrays what we have said will be turned to stone up to his\nwaist.\u201d\n\nWith that the pigeons flew off and three eagles took their places, and\nthis is what they said:\n\n\u201cIf the young couple does manage to escape the dangers of the bridge\nand the carriage, the king means to send them each a splendid gold\nembroidered robe. When they put these on they will be burnt up at once.\nBut whoever hears and repeats this will turn to stone from head to\nfoot.\u201d\n\nEarly next morning the travellers got up and breakfasted. They began to\ntell each other their dreams. At last the servant said:\n\n\u201cGracious prince, I dreamt that if your Royal Highness would grant all\nI asked we should get home safe and sound; but if you did not we should\ncertainly be lost. My dreams never deceive me, so I entreat you to\nfollow my advice during the rest of the journey.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t make such a fuss about a dream,\u201d said the prince; \u201cdreams are\nbut clouds. Still, to prevent your being anxious I will promise to do\nas you wish.\u201d\n\nWith that they set out on their journey.\n\nAt midday they reached the Gold Stream. When they got to the bridge the\nservant said: \u201cLet us leave the carriage here, my prince, and walk a\nlittle way. The town is not far off and we can easily get another\ncarriage there, for the wheels of this one are bad and will not hold\nout much longer.\u201d\n\nThe prince looked well at the carriage. He did not think it looked so\nunsafe as his servant said; but he had given his word and he held to\nit.\n\nThey got down and loaded the horses with the luggage. The prince and\nhis bride walked over the bridge, but the servant said he would ride\nthe horses through the stream so as to water and bathe them.\n\nThey reached the other side without harm, and bought a new carriage in\nthe town, which was quite near, and set off once more on their travels;\nbut they had not gone far when they met a messenger from the king who\nsaid to the prince: \u201cHis Majesty has sent your Royal Highness this\nbeautiful carriage so that you may make a fitting entry into your own\ncountry and amongst your own people.\u201d\n\nThe prince was so delighted that he could not speak. But the servant\nsaid: \u201cMy lord, let me examine this carriage first and then you can get\nin if I find it is all right; otherwise we had better stay in our own.\u201d\n\nThe prince made no objections, and after looking the carriage well over\nthe servant said: \u201cIt is as bad as it is smart\u201d; and with that he\nknocked it all to pieces, and they went on in the one that they had\nbought.\n\nAt last they reached the frontier; there another messenger was waiting\nfor them, who said that the king had sent two splendid robes for the\nprince and his bride, and begged that they would wear them for their\nstate entry. But the servant implored the prince to have nothing to do\nwith them, and never gave him any peace till he had obtained leave to\ndestroy the robes.\n\nThe old king was furious when he found that all his arts had failed;\nthat his son still lived and that he would have to give up the crown to\nhim now he was married, for that was the law of the land. He longed to\nknow how the prince had escaped, and said: \u201cMy dear son, I do indeed\nrejoice to have you safely back, but I cannot imagine why the beautiful\ncarriage and the splendid robes I sent did not please you; why you had\nthem destroyed.\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed, sire,\u201d said the prince, \u201cI was myself much annoyed at their\ndestruction; but my servant had begged to direct everything on the\njourney and I had promised him that he should do so. He declared that\nwe could not possibly get home safely unless I did as he told me.\u201d\n\nThe old king fell into a tremendous rage. He called his Council\ntogether and condemned the servant to death.\n\nThe gallows was put up in the square in front of the palace. The\nservant was led out and his sentence read to him.\n\nThe rope was being placed round his neck, when he begged to be allowed\na few last words. \u201cOn our journey home,\u201d he said, \u201cwe spent the first\nnight at an inn. I did not sleep but kept watch all night.\u201d And then he\nwent on to tell what the crows had said, and as he spoke he turned to\nstone up to his knees. The prince called to him to say no more as he\nhad proved his innocence. But the servant paid no heed to him, and by\nthe time his story was done he had turned to stone from head to foot.\n\nOh! how grieved the prince was to lose his faithful servant! And what\npained him most was the thought that he was lost through his very\nfaithfulness, and he determined to travel all over the world and never\nrest till he found some means of restoring him to life.\n\nNow there lived at Court an old woman who had been the prince\u2019s nurse.\nTo her he confided all his plans, and left his wife, the princess, in\nher care. \u201cYou have a long way before you, my son,\u201d said the old woman;\n\u201cyou must never return till you have met with Lucky Luck. If he cannot\nhelp you no one on earth can.\u201d\n\nSo the prince set off to try to find Lucky Luck. He walked and walked\ntill he got beyond his own country, and he wandered through a wood for\nthree days but did not meet a living being in it. At the end of the\nthird day he came to a river near which stood a large mill. Here he\nspent the night. When he was leaving next morning the miller asked him:\n\u201cMy gracious lord, where are you going all alone?\u201d\n\nAnd the prince told him.\n\n\u201cThen I beg your Highness to ask Lucky Luck this question: Why is it\nthat though I have an excellent mill, with all its machinery complete,\nand get plenty of grain to grind, I am so poor that I hardly know how\nto live from one day to another?\u201d\n\nThe prince promised to inquire, and went on his way. He wandered about\nfor three days more, and at the end of the third day saw a little town.\nIt was quite late when he reached it, but he could discover no light\nanywhere, and walked almost right through it without finding a house\nwhere he could turn in. But far away at the end of the town he saw a\nlight in a window. He went straight to it and in the house were three\ngirls playing a game together. The prince asked for a night\u2019s lodging\nand they took him in, gave him some supper and got a room ready for\nhim, where he slept.\n\nNext morning when he was leaving they asked where he was going and he\ntold them his story. \u201cGracious prince,\u201d said the maidens, \u201cdo ask Lucky\nLuck how it happens that here we are over thirty years old and no lover\nhas come to woo us, though we are good, pretty, and very industrious.\u201d\n\nThe prince promised to inquire, and went on his way.\n\nThen he came to a great forest and wandered about in it from morning to\nnight and from night to morning before he got near the other end. Here\nhe found a pretty stream which was different from other streams as,\ninstead of flowing, it stood still and began to talk: \u201cSir prince, tell\nme what brings you into these wilds? I must have been flowing here a\nhundred years and more and no one has ever yet come by.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will tell you,\u201d answered the prince, \u201cif you will divide yourself so\nthat I may walk through.\u201d\n\nThe stream parted at once, and the prince walked through without\nwetting his feet; and directly he got to the other side he told his\nstory as he had promised.\n\n\u201cOh, do ask Lucky Luck,\u201d cried the brook, \u201cwhy, though I am such a\nclear, bright, rapid stream I never have a fish or any other living\ncreature in my waters.\u201d\n\nThe prince said he would do so, and continued his journey.\n\nWhen he got quite clear of the forest he walked on through a lovely\nvalley till he reached a little house thatched with rushes, and he went\nin to rest for he was very tired.\n\nEverything in the house was beautifully clean and tidy, and a cheerful\nhonest-looking old woman was sitting by the fire.\n\n\u201cGood-morning, mother,\u201d said the prince.\n\n\u201cMay Luck be with you, my son. What brings you into these parts?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am looking for Lucky Luck,\u201d replied the prince.\n\n\u201cThen you have come to the right place, my son, for I am his mother. He\nis not at home just now, he is out digging in the vineyard. Do you go\ntoo. Here are two spades. When you find him begin to dig, but don\u2019t\nspeak a word to him. It is now eleven o\u2019clock. When he sits down to eat\nhis dinner sit beside him and eat with him. After dinner he will\nquestion you, and then tell him all your troubles freely. He will\nanswer whatever you may ask.\u201d\n\nWith that she showed him the way, and the prince went and did just as\nshe had told him. After dinner they lay down to rest.\n\nAll of a sudden Lucky Luck began to speak and said: \u201cTell me, what sort\nof man are you, for since you came here you have not spoken a word?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not dumb,\u201d replied the young man, \u201cbut I am that unhappy prince\nwhose faithful servant has been turned to stone, and I want to know how\nto help him.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd you do well, for he deserves everything. Go back, and when you get\nhome your wife will just have had a little boy. Take three drops of\nblood from the child\u2019s little finger, rub them on your servant\u2019s wrists\nwith a blade of grass and he will return to life.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have another thing to ask,\u201d said the prince, when he had thanked\nhim. \u201cIn the forest near here is a fine stream but not a fish or other\nliving creature in it. Why is this?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause no one has ever been drowned in the stream. But take care, in\ncrossing, to get as near the other side as you can before you say so,\nor you may be the first victim yourself.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnother question, please, before I go. On my way here I lodged one\nnight in the house of three maidens. All were well-mannered,\nhard-working, and pretty, and yet none has had a wooer. Why was this?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause they always throw out their sweepings in the face of the sun.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd why is it that a miller, who has a large mill with all the best\nmachinery and gets plenty of corn to grind is so poor that he can\nhardly live from day to day?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause the miller keeps everything for himself, and does not give to\nthose who need it.\u201d\n\nThe prince wrote down the answers to his questions, took a friendly\nleave of Lucky Luck, and set off for home.\n\nWhen he reached the stream it asked if he brought it any good news.\n\u201cWhen I get across I will tell you,\u201d said he. So the stream parted; he\nwalked through and on to the highest part of the bank. He stopped and\nshouted out:\n\n\u201cListen, oh stream! Lucky Luck says you will never have any living\ncreature in your waters until someone is drowned in you.\u201d\n\nThe words were hardly out of his mouth when the stream swelled and\noverflowed till it reached the rock up which he had climbed, and dashed\nso far up it that the spray flew over him. But he clung on tight, and\nafter failing to reach him three times the stream returned to its\nproper course. Then the prince climbed down, dried himself in the sun,\nand set out on his march home.\n\nHe spent the night once more at the mill and gave the miller his\nanswer, and by-and-by he told the three sisters not to throw out all\ntheir sweepings in the face of the sun.\n\nThe prince had hardly arrived at home when some thieves tried to ford\nthe stream with a fine horse they had stolen. When they were half-way\nacross, the stream rose so suddenly that it swept them all away. From\nthat time it became the best fishing stream in the country-side.\n\nThe miller, too, began to give alms and became a very good man, and in\ntime grew so rich that he hardly knew how much he had.\n\nAnd the three sisters, now that they no longer insulted the sun, had\neach a wooer within a week.\n\nWhen the prince got home he found that his wife had just got a fine\nlittle boy. He did not lose a moment in pricking the baby\u2019s finger till\nthe blood ran, and he brushed it on the wrists of the stone figure,\nwhich shuddered all over and split with a loud noise in seven parts and\nthere was the faithful servant alive and well.\n\nWhen the old king saw this he foamed with rage, stared wildly about,\nflung himself on the ground and died.\n\nThe servant stayed on with his royal master and served him faithfully\nall the rest of his life; and, if neither of them is dead, he is\nserving him still.\n\n[From Ungarische M\u00e4hrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Hairy Man\n\n\nSomewhere or other, but I don\u2019t know where, there lived a king who\nowned two remarkably fine fields of rape, but every night two of the\nrape heaps were burnt down in one of the fields. The king was extremely\nangry at this, and sent out soldiers to catch whoever had set fire to\nthe ricks; but it was all of no use\u2014not a soul could they see. Then he\noffered nine hundred crowns to anyone who caught the evil-doer, and at\nthe same time ordered that whoever did not keep proper watch over the\nfields should be killed; but though there were a great many people,\nnone seemed able to protect the fields.\n\nThe king had already put ninety-nine people to death, when a little\nswineherd came to him who had two dogs; one was called \u201cPsst,\u201d and the\nother \u201cHush\u201d; and the boy told the king that he would watch over the\nricks.\n\nWhen it grew dark he climbed up on the top of the fourth rick, from\nwhere he could see the whole field. About eleven o\u2019clock he thought he\nsaw someone going to a rick and putting a light to it. \u201cJust you wait,\u201d\nthought he, and called out to his dogs: \u201cHi! Psst, Hush, catch him!\u201d\nBut Psst and Hush had not waited for orders, and in five minutes the\nman was caught.\n\nNext morning he was brought bound before the king, who was so pleased\nwith the boy that he gave him a thousand crowns at once. The prisoner\nwas all covered with hair, almost like an animal; and altogether he was\nso curious to look at that the king locked him up in a strong room and\nsent out letters of invitation to all the other kings and princes\nasking them to come and see this wonder.\n\nThat was all very well; but the king had a little boy of ten years old\nwho went to look at the hairy man also, and the man begged so hard to\nbe set free that the boy took pity on him. He stole the key of the\nstrong room from his mother and opened the door. Then he took the key\nback, but the hairy man escaped and went off into the world.\n\nThen the kings and princes began to arrive one after another, and all\nwere most anxious to see the hairy man; but he was gone! The king\nnearly burst with rage and with the shame he felt. He questioned his\nwife sharply, and told her that if she could not find and bring back\nthe hairy man he would put her in a hut made of rushes and burn her\nthere. The queen declared she had had nothing to do with the matter; if\nher son had happened to take the key it had not been with her\nknowledge.\n\nSo they fetched the little prince and asked him all sorts of questions,\nand at last he owned that he had let the hairy man out. The king\nordered his servants to take the boy into the forest and to kill him\nthere, and to bring back part of his liver and lungs.\n\nThere was grief all over the palace when the king\u2019s command was known,\nfor he was a great favourite. But there was no help for it, and they\ntook the boy out into the forest. But the man was sorry for him, and\nshot a dog and carried pieces of his lungs and liver to the king, who\nwas satisfied, and did not trouble himself any more.\n\nThe prince wandered about in the forest and lived as best he could for\nfive years. One day he came upon a poor little cottage in which was an\nold man. They began to talk, and the prince told his story and sad\nfate. Then they recognised each other, for the old fellow was no other\nthan the hairy man whom the prince had set free, and who had lived ever\nsince in the forest.\n\nThe prince stayed here for two years; then he wished to go further. The\nold man begged him hard to stay, but he would not, so his hairy friend\ngave him a golden apple out of which came a horse with a golden mane,\nand a golden staff with which to guide the horse. The old man also gave\nhim a silver apple out of which came the most beautiful hussars and a\nsilver staff; and a copper apple from which he could draw as many foot\nsoldiers as ever he wished, and a copper staff. He made the prince\nswear solemnly to take the greatest care of these presents, and then he\nlet him go.\n\nThe boy wandered on and on till he came to a large town. Here he took\nservice in the king\u2019s palace, and as no one troubled themselves about\nhim he lived quietly on.\n\nOne day news was brought to the king that he must go out to war. He was\nhorribly frightened for he had a very small army, but he had to go all\nthe same.\n\nWhen they had all left, the prince said to the housekeeper:\n\n\u201cGive me leave to go to the next village\u2014I owe a small bill there, and\nI want to go and pay it\u201d; and as there was nothing to be done in the\npalace the housekeeper gave him leave.\n\nWhen he got beyond the town he took out his golden apple, and when the\nhorse sprang out he swung himself into the saddle. Then he took the\nsilver and the copper apples, and with all these fine soldiers he\njoined the king\u2019s army.\n\nThe king saw them approach with fear in his heart, for he did not know\nif it might not be an enemy; but the prince rode up, and bowed low\nbefore him. \u201cI bring your Majesty reinforcements,\u201d said he.\n\nThe king was delighted, and all dread of his enemy at once disappeared.\nThe princesses were there too, and they were very friendly with the\nprince and begged him to get into their carriage so as to talk to them.\nBut he declined, and remained on horseback, as he did not know at what\nmoment the battle might begin; and whilst they were all talking\ntogether the youngest princess, who was also the loveliest, took off\nher ring, and her sister tore her handkerchief in two pieces, and they\ngave these gifts to the prince.\n\nSuddenly the enemy came in sight. The king asked whether his army or\nthe prince\u2019s should lead the way; but the prince set off first and with\nhis hussars he fought so bravely that only two of the enemy were left\nalive, and these two were only spared to act as messengers.\n\nThe king was overjoyed and so were his daughters at this brilliant\nvictory. As they drove home they begged the prince to join them, but he\nwould not come, and galloped off with his hussars.\n\nWhen he got near the town he packed his soldiers and his fine horse all\ncarefully into the apple again, and then strolled into the town. On his\nreturn to the palace he was well scolded by the housekeeper for staying\naway so long.\n\nWell, the whole matter might have ended there; but it so happened that\nthe younger princess had fallen in love with the prince, as he had with\nher. And as he had no jewels with him, he gave her the copper apple and\nstaff.\n\nOne day, as the princesses were talking with their father, the younger\none asked him whether it might not have been their servant who had\nhelped him so much. The king was quite angry at the idea; but, to\nsatisfy her, he ordered the servant\u2019s room to be searched. And there,\nto everyone\u2019s surprise, they found the golden ring and the half of the\nhandkerchief. When these were brought to the king he sent for the\nprince at once and asked if it had been he who had come to their\nrescue.\n\n\u201cYes, your Majesty, it was I,\u201d answered the prince.\n\n\u201cBut where did you get your army?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you wish to see it, I can show it you outside the city walls.\u201d\n\nAnd so he did; but first he asked for the copper apple from the younger\nprincess, and when all the soldiers were drawn up there were such\nnumbers that there was barely room for them.\n\nThe king gave him his daughter and kingdom as a reward for his aid, and\nwhen he heard that the prince was himself a king\u2019s son his joy knew no\nbounds. The prince packed all his soldiers carefully up once more, and\nthey went back into the town.\n\nNot long after there was a grand wedding; perhaps they may all be alive\nstill, but I don\u2019t know.\n\n\n\n\nTo Your Good Health!\n\n\nLong, long ago there lived a king who was such a mighty monarch that\nwhenever he sneezed every one in the whole country had to say \u201cTo your\ngood health!\u201d Every one said it except the shepherd with the staring\neyes, and he would not say it.\n\nThe king heard of this and was very angry, and sent for the shepherd to\nappear before him.\n\nThe shepherd came and stood before the throne, where the king sat\nlooking very grand and powerful. But however grand or powerful he might\nbe the shepherd did not feel a bit afraid of him.\n\n\u201cSay at once, \u2018To my good health!\u2019\u201d cried the king.\n\n\u201cTo my good health!\u201d replied the shepherd.\n\n\u201cTo mine\u2014to mine, you rascal, you vagabond!\u201d stormed the king.\n\n\u201cTo mine, to mine, your Majesty,\u201d was the answer.\n\n\u201cBut to mine\u2014to my own,\u201d roared the king, and beat on his breast in a\nrage.\n\n\u201cWell, yes; to mine, of course, to my own,\u201d cried the shepherd, and\ngently tapped his breast.\n\nThe king was beside himself with fury and did not know what to do, when\nthe Lord Chamberlain interfered:\n\n\u201cSay at once\u2014say this very moment: \u2018To your health, your Majesty\u2019; for\nif you don\u2019t say it you\u2019ll lose your life, whispered he.\n\n\u201cNo, I won\u2019t say it till I get the princess for my wife,\u201d was the\nshepherd\u2019s answer. Now the princess was sitting on a little throne\nbeside the king, her father, and she looked as sweet and lovely as a\nlittle golden dove. When she heard what the shepherd said she could not\nhelp laughing, for there is no denying the fact that this young\nshepherd with the staring eyes pleased her very much; indeed he pleased\nher better than any king\u2019s son she had yet seen.\n\nBut the king was not as pleasant as his daughter, and he gave orders to\nthrow the shepherd into the white bear\u2019s pit.\n\nThe guards led him away and thrust him into the pit with the white\nbear, who had had nothing to eat for two days and was very hungry. The\ndoor of the pit was hardly closed when the bear rushed at the shepherd;\nbut when it saw his eyes it was so frightened that it was ready to eat\nitself. It shrank away into a corner and gazed at him from there, and,\nin spite of being so famished, did not dare to touch him, but sucked\nits own paws from sheer hunger. The shepherd felt that if he once\nremoved his eyes off the beast he was a dead man, and in order to keep\nhimself awake he made songs and sang them, and so the night went by.\n\nNext morning the Lord Chamberlain came to see the shepherd\u2019s bones, and\nwas amazed to find him alive and well. He led him to the king, who fell\ninto a furious passion, and said: \u201cWell, you have learned what it is to\nbe very near death, and now will you say \u2018To my good health\u2019?\u201d\n\nBut the shepherd answered: \u201cI am not afraid of ten deaths! I will only\nsay it if I may have the princess for my wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen go to your death,\u201d cried the king; and ordered him to be thrown\ninto the den with the wild boars. The wild boars had not been fed for a\nweek, and when the shepherd was thrust into their don they rushed at\nhim to tear him to pieces. But the shepherd took a little flute out of\nthe sleeve of his jacket and began to play a merry tune, on which the\nwild boars first of all shrank shyly away, and then got up on their\nhind legs and danced gaily. The shepherd would have given anything to\nbe able to laugh, they looked so funny; but he dared not stop playing,\nfor he knew well enough that the moment he stopped they would fall upon\nhim and tear him to pieces. His eyes were of no use to him here, for he\ncould not have stared ten wild boars in the face at once; so he kept on\nplaying, and the wild boars danced very slowly, as if in a minuet, then\nby degrees he played faster and faster till they could hardly twist and\nturn quickly enough, and ended by all falling over each other in a\nheap, quite exhausted and out of breath.\n\nThen the shepherd ventured to laugh at last; and he laughed so long and\nso loud that when the Lord Chamberlain came early in the morning,\nexpecting to find only his bones, the tears were still running down his\ncheeks from laughter.\n\nAs soon as the king was dressed the shepherd was again brought before\nhim; but he was more angry than ever to think the wild boars had not\ntorn the man to bits, and he said: \u201cWell, you have learned what it\nfeels to be near ten deaths, now say \u2018To my good health!\u2019\u201d\n\nBut the shepherd broke in with, \u201cI do not fear a hundred deaths, and I\nwill only say it if I may have the princess for my wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen go to a hundred deaths!\u201d roared the king, and ordered the\nshepherd to be thrown down the deep vault of scythes.\n\nThe guards dragged him away to a dark dungeon, in the middle of which\nwas a deep well with sharp scythes all round it. At the bottom of the\nwell was a little light by which one could see if anyone was thrown in\nwhether he had fallen to the bottom.\n\nWhen the shepherd was dragged to the dungeons he begged the guards to\nleave him alone a little while that he might look down into the pit of\nscythes; perhaps he might after all make up his mind to say \u201cTo your\ngood health\u201d to the king. So the guards left him alone and he stuck up\nhis long stick near the well, hung his cloak round the stick and put\nhis hat on the top. He also hung his knapsack up inside the cloak so\nthat it might seem to have some body within it. When this was done he\ncalled out to the guards and said that he had considered the matter but\nafter all he could not make up his mind to say what the king wished.\nThe guards came in, threw the hat and cloak, knapsack and stick all\ndown the well together, watched to see how they put out the light at\nthe bottom and came away, thinking that now there really was an end of\nthe shepherd. But he had hidden in a dark corner and was laughing to\nhimself all the time.\n\nQuite early next morning came the Lord Chamberlain, carrying a lamp and\nhe nearly fell backwards with surprise when he saw the shepherd alive\nand well. He brought him to the king, whose fury was greater than ever,\nbut who cried:\n\n\u201cWell, now you have been near a hundred deaths; will you say: \u2018To your\ngood health\u2019?\u201d\n\nBut the shepherd only gave the same answer:\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t say it till the princess is my wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps after all you may do it for less,\u201d said the king, who saw that\nthere was no chance of making away with the shepherd; and he ordered\nthe state coach to be got ready, then he made the shepherd get in with\nhim and sit beside him, and ordered the coachman to drive to the silver\nwood. When they reached it he said: \u201cDo you see this silver wood? Well,\nif you will say, \u2018To your good health,\u2019 I will give it to you.\u201d\n\nThe shepherd turned hot and cold by turns, but he still persisted:\n\n\u201cI will not say it till the princess is my wife.\u201d\n\nThe king was much vexed; he drove further on till they came to a\nsplendid castle, all of gold, and then he said:\n\n\u201cDo you see this golden castle? Well, I will give you that too, the\nsilver wood and the golden castle, if only you will say that one thing\nto me: \u2018To your good health.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe shepherd gaped and wondered and was quite dazzled, but he still\nsaid:\n\n\u201cNo; I will not say it till I have the princess for my wife.\u201d\n\nThis time the king was overwhelmed with grief, and gave orders to drive\non to the diamond pond, and there he tried once more.\n\n\u201cDo you see this diamond pond? I will give you that too, the silver\nwood and the golden castle and the diamond pond. You shall have them\nall\u2014all\u2014if you will but say: \u2018To your good health!\u2019\u201d\n\nThe shepherd had to shut his staring eyes tight not to be dazzled with\nthe brilliant pond, but still he said:\n\n\u201cNo, no; I will not say it till I have the princess for my wife.\u201d\n\nThen the king saw that all his efforts were useless, and that he might\nas well give in, so he said:\n\n\u201cWell, well, it\u2019s all the same to me\u2014I will give you my daughter to\nwife; but, then, you really and truly must say to me: \u2018To your good\nhealth.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course I\u2019ll say it; why should I not say it? It stands to reason\nthat I shall say it then.\u201d\n\nAt this the king was more delighted than anyone could have believed. He\nmade it known all through the country that there were to be great\nrejoicings, as the princess was going to be married. And everyone\nrejoiced to think that the princess, who had refused so many royal\nsuitors, should have ended by falling in love with the staring-eyed\nshepherd.\n\nThere was such a wedding as had never been seen. Everyone ate and drank\nand danced. Even the sick were feasted, and quite tiny new-born\nchildren had presents given them.\n\nBut the greatest merry-making was in the king\u2019s palace; there the best\nbands played and the best food was cooked; a crowd of people sat down\nto table, and all was fun and merry-making.\n\nAnd when the groomsman, according to custom, brought in the great\nboar\u2019s head on a big dish and placed it before the king so that he\nmight carve it and give everyone a share, the savoury smell was so\nstrong that the king began to sneeze with all his might.\n\n\u201cTo your very good health,\u201d cried the shepherd before anyone else, and\nthe king was so delighted that he did not regret having given him his\ndaughter.\n\nIn time, when the old king died, the shepherd succeeded him. He made a\nvery good king and never expected his people to wish him well against\ntheir wills; but, all the same, everyone did wish him well, for they\nall loved him.\n\n[From Russische M\u00e4hrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Story of the Seven Simons\n\n\nFar, far away, beyond all sorts of countries, seas and rivers, there\nstood a splendid city where lived King Archidej, who was as good as he\nwas rich and handsome. His great army was made up of men ready to obey\nhis slightest wish; he owned forty times forty cities, and in each city\nhe had ten palaces with silver doors, golden roofs, and crystal\nwindows. His council consisted of the twelve wisest men in the country,\nwhose long beards flowed down over their breasts, each of whom was as\nlearned as a whole college. This council always told the king the exact\ntruth.\n\nNow the king had everything to make him happy, but he did not enjoy\nanything because he could not find a bride to his mind.\n\nOne day, as he sat in his palace looking out to sea, a great ship\nsailed into the harbour and several merchants came on shore. Said the\nking to himself: \u201cThese people have travelled far and beheld many\nlands. I will ask them if they have seen any princess who is as clever\nand as handsome as I am.\u201d\n\nSo he ordered the merchants to be brought before him, and when they\ncame he said: \u201cYou have travelled much and visited many wonders. I wish\nto ask you a question, and I beg you to answer truthfully.\n\n\u201cHave you anywhere seen or heard of the daughter of an emperor, king,\nor a prince, who is as clever and as handsome as I am, and who would be\nworthy to be my wife and the queen of my country?\u201d\n\nThe merchants considered for some time. At last the eldest of them\nsaid: \u201cI have heard that across many seas, in the Island of Busan,\nthere is a mighty king, whose daughter, the Princess Helena, is so\nlovely that she can certainly not be plainer than your Majesty, and so\nclever that the wisest greybeard cannot guess her riddles.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs the island far off, and which is the way to it?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not near,\u201d was the answer. \u201cThe journey would take ten years,\nand we do not know the way. And even if we did, what use would that be?\nThe princess is no bride for you.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow dare you say so?\u201d cried the king angrily.\n\n\u201cYour Majesty must pardon us; but just think for a moment. Should you\nsend an envoy to the island he will take ten years to get there and ten\nmore to return\u2014twenty years in all. Will not the princess have grown\nold in that time and have lost all her beauty?\u201d\n\nThe king reflected gravely. Then he thanked the merchants, gave them\nleave to trade in his country without paying any duties, and dismissed\nthem.\n\nAfter they were gone the king remained deep in thought. He felt puzzled\nand anxious; so he decided to ride into the country to distract his\nmind, and sent for his huntsmen and falconers. The huntsmen blew their\nhorns, the falconers took their hawks on their wrists, and off they all\nset out across country till they came to a green hedge. On the other\nside of the hedge stretched a great field of maize as far as the eye\ncould reach, and the yellow ears swayed to and fro in the gentle breeze\nlike a rippling sea of gold.\n\nThe king drew rein and admired the field. \u201cUpon my word,\u201d said he,\n\u201cwhoever dug and planted it must be good workmen. If all the fields in\nmy kingdom were as well cared for as this, there would be more bread\nthan my people could eat.\u201d And he wished to know to whom the field\nbelonged.\n\nOff rushed all his followers at once to do his bidding, and found a\nnice, tidy farmhouse, in front of which sat seven peasants, lunching on\nrye bread and drinking water. They wore red shirts bound with gold\nbraid, and were so much alike that one could hardly tell one from\nanother.\n\nThe messengers asked: \u201cWho owns this field of golden maize?\u201d And the\nseven brothers answered: \u201cThe field is ours.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd who are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are King Archidej\u2019s labourers.\u201d\n\nThese answers were repeated to the king, who ordered the brothers to be\nbrought before him at once. On being asked who they were, the eldest\nsaid, bowing low:\n\n\u201cWe, King Archidej, are your labourers, children of one father and\nmother, and we all have the same name, for each of us is called Simon.\nOur father taught us to be true to our king, and to till the ground,\nand to be kind to our neighbours. He also taught each of us a different\ntrade which he thought might be useful to us, and he bade us not\nneglect our mother earth, which would be sure amply to repay our\nlabour.\u201d\n\nThe king was pleased with the honest peasant, and said: \u201cYou have done\nwell, good people, in planting your field, and now you have a golden\nharvest. But I should like each of you to tell me what special trades\nyour father taught you.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy trade, O king!\u201d said the first Simon, \u201cis not an easy one. If you\nwill give me some workmen and materials I will build you a great white\npillar that shall reach far above the clouds.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery good,\u201d replied the king. \u201cAnd you, Simon the second, what is your\ntrade?\u201d\n\n\u201cMine, your Majesty, needs no great cleverness. When my brother has\nbuilt the pillar I can mount it, and from the top, far above the\nclouds, I can see what is happening: in every country under the sun.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood,\u201d said the king; \u201cand Simon the third?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy work is very simple, sire. You have many ships built by learned\nmen, with all sorts of new and clever improvements. If you wish it I\nwill build you quite a simple boat\u2014one, two, three, and it\u2019s done! But\nmy plain little home-made ship is not grand enough for a king. Where\nother ships take a year, mine makes the voyage in a day, and where they\nwould require ten years mine will do the distance in a week.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood,\u201d said the king again; \u201cand what has Simon the fourth learnt?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy trade, O king, is really of no importance. Should my brother build\nyou a ship, then let me embark in it. If we should be pursued by an\nenemy I can seize our boat by the prow and sink it to the bottom of the\nsea. When the enemy has sailed off, I can draw it up to the top again.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is very clever of you,\u201d answered the king; \u201cand what does Simon\nthe fifth do?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy work, your Majesty, is mere smith\u2019s work. Order me to build a\nsmithy and I will make you a cross-bow, but from which neither the\neagle in the sky nor the wild beast in the forest is safe. The bolt\nhits whatever the eye sees.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat sounds very useful,\u201d said the king. \u201cAnd now, Simon the sixth,\ntell me your trade.\u201d\n\n\u201cSire, it is so simple I am almost ashamed to mention it. If my brother\nhits any creature I catch it quicker than any dog can. If it falls into\nthe water I pick it up out of the greatest depths, and if it is in a\ndark forest I can find it even at midnight.\u201d\n\nThe king was much pleased with the trades and talk of the six brothers,\nand said: \u201cThank you, good people; your father did well to teach you\nall these things. Now follow me to the town, as I want to see what you\ncan do. I need such people as you about me; but when harvest time comes\nI will send you home with royal presents.\u201d\n\nThe brothers bowed and said: \u201cAs the king wills.\u201d Suddenly the king\nremembered that he had not questioned the seventh Simon, so he turned\nto him and said: \u201cWhy are you silent? What is your handicraft?\u201d\n\nAnd the seventh Simon answered: \u201cI have no handicraft, O king; I have\nlearnt nothing. I could not manage it. And if I do know how to do\nanything it is not what might properly be called a real trade\u2014it is\nrather a sort of performance; but it is one which no one\u2014not the king\nhimself\u2014must watch me doing, and I doubt whether this performance of\nmine would please your Majesty.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome, come,\u201d cried the king; \u201cI will have no excuses, what is this\ntrade?\u201d\n\n\u201cFirst, sire, give me your royal word that you will not kill me when I\nhave told you. Then you shall hear.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo be it, then; I give you my royal word.\u201d\n\nThen the seventh Simon stepped back a little, cleared his throat, and\nsaid: \u201cMy trade, King Archidej, is of such a kind that the man who\nfollows it in your kingdom generally loses his life and has no hopes of\npardon. There is only one thing I can do really well, and that is\u2014to\nsteal, and to hide the smallest scrap of anything I have stolen. Not\nthe deepest vault, even if its lock were enchanted, could prevent my\nstealing anything out of it that I wished to have.\u201d\n\nWhen the king heard this he fell into a passion. \u201cI will not pardon\nyou, you rascal,\u201d he cried; \u201cI will shut you up in my deepest dungeon\non bread and water till you have forgotten such a trade. Indeed, it\nwould be better to put you to death at once, and I\u2019ve a good mind to do\nso.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t kill me, O king! I am really not as bad as you think. Why, had I\nchosen, I could have robbed the royal treasury, have bribed your judges\nto let me off, and built a white marble palace with what was left. But\nthough I know how to steal I don\u2019t do it. You yourself asked me my\ntrade. If you kill me you will break your royal word.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the king, \u201cI will not kill you. I pardon you. But\nfrom this hour you shall be shut up in a dark dungeon. Here, guards!\naway with him to the prison. But you six Simons follow me and be\nassured of my royal favour.\u201d\n\nSo the six Simons followed the king. The seventh Simon was seized by\nthe guards, who put him in chains and threw him in prison with only\nbread and water for food. Next day the king gave the first Simon\ncarpenters, masons, smiths and labourers, with great stores of iron,\nmortar, and the like, and Simon began to build. And he built his great\nwhite pillar far, far up into the clouds, as high as the nearest stars;\nbut the other stars were higher still.\n\nThen the second Simon climbed up the pillar and saw and heard all that\nwas going on through the whole world. When he came down he had all\nsorts of wonderful things to tell. How one king was marching in battle\nagainst another, and which was likely to be the victor. How, in another\nplace, great rejoicings were going on, while in a third people were\ndying of famine. In fact there was not the smallest event going on over\nthe earth that was hidden from him.\n\nNext the third Simon began. He stretched out his arms, once, twice,\nthrice, and the wonder-ship was ready. At a sign from the king it was\nlaunched, and floated proudly and safely like a bird on the waves.\nInstead of ropes it had wires for rigging, and musicians played on them\nwith fiddle bows and made lovely music. As the ship swam about, the\nfourth Simon seized the prow with his strong hand, and in a moment it\nwas gone\u2014sunk to the bottom of the sea. An hour passed, and then the\nship floated again, drawn up by Simon\u2019s left hand, while in his right\nhe brought a gigantic fish from the depth of the ocean for the royal\ntable.\n\nWhilst this was going on the fifth Simon had built his forge and\nhammered out his iron, and when the king returned from the harbour the\nmagic cross-bow was made.\n\nHis Majesty went out into an open field at once, looked up into the sky\nand saw, far, far away, an eagle flying up towards the sun and looking\nlike a little speck.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the king, \u201cif you can shoot that bird I will reward you.\u201d\n\nSimon only smiled; he lifted his cross-bow, took aim, fired, and the\neagle fell. As it was falling the sixth Simon ran with a dish, caught\nthe bird before it fell to earth and brought it to the king.\n\n\u201cMany thanks, my brave lads,\u201d said the king; \u201cI see that each of you is\nindeed a master of his trade. You shall be richly rewarded. But now\nrest and have your dinner.\u201d\n\nThe six Simons bowed and went to dinner. But they had hardly begun\nbefore a messenger came to say that the king wanted to see them. They\nobeyed at once and found him surrounded by all his court and men of\nstate.\n\n\u201cListen, my good fellows,\u201d cried the king, as soon as he saw them.\n\u201cHear what my wise counsellors have thought of. As you, Simon the\nsecond, can see the whole world from the top of the great pillar, I\nwant you to climb up and to see and hear. For I am told that, far away,\nacross many seas, is the great kingdom of the Island of Busan, and that\nthe daughter of the king is the beautiful Princess Helena.\u201d\n\nOff ran the second Simon and clambered quickly up the pillar. He gazed\naround, listened on all sides, and then slid down to report to the\nking.\n\n\u201cSire, I have obeyed your orders. Far away I saw the Island of Busan.\nThe king is a mighty monarch, but full of pride, harsh and cruel. He\nsits on his throne and declares that no prince or king on earth is good\nenough for his lovely daughter, that he will give her to none, and that\nif any king asks for her hand he will declare war against him and\ndestroy his kingdom.\u201d\n\n\u201cHas the king of Busan a great army?\u201d asked King Archidej; \u201cis his\ncountry far off?\u201d\n\n\u201cAs far as I could judge,\u201d replied Simon, \u201cit would take you nearly ten\nyears in fair weather to sail there. But if the weather were stormy we\nmight say twelve. I saw the army being reviewed. It is not so very\nlarge\u2014a hundred thousand men at arms and a hundred thousand knights.\nBesides these, he has a strong bodyguard and a good many cross-bowmen.\nAltogether you may say another hundred thousand, and there is a picked\nbody of heroes who reserve themselves for great occasions requiring\nparticular courage.\u201d\n\nThe king sat for some time lost in thought. At last he said to the\nnobles and courtiers standing round: \u201cI am determined to marry the\nPrincess Helena, but how shall I do it?\u201d\n\nThe nobles, courtiers and counsellors said nothing, but tried to hide\nbehind each other. Then the third Simon said:\n\n\u201cPardon me, your Majesty, if I offer my advice. You wish to go to the\nIsland of Busan? What can be easier? In my ship you will get there in a\nweek instead of in ten years. But ask your council to advise you what\nto do when you arrive\u2014in one word, whether you will win the princess\npeacefully or by war?\u201d\n\nBut the wise men were as silent as ever.\n\nThe king frowned, and was about to say something sharp, when the Court\nFool pushed his way to the front and said: \u201cDear me, what are all you\nclever people so puzzled about? The matter is quite clear. As it seems\nit will not take long to reach the island why not send the seventh\nSimon? He will steal the fair maiden fast enough, and then the king,\nher father, may consider how he is going to bring his army over here\u2014it\nwill take him ten years to do it!\u2014-no less! What do you think of my\nplan?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do I think? Why, that your idea is capital, and you shall be\nrewarded for it. Come, guards, hurry as fast as you can and bring the\nseventh Simon before me.\u201d\n\nNot many minutes later, Simon the seventh stood before the king, who\nexplained to him what he wished done, and also that to steal for the\nbenefit of his king and country was by no means a wrong thing, though\nit was very wrong to steal for his own advantage.\n\nThe youngest Simon, who looked very pale and hungry, only nodded his\nhead.\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d said the king, \u201ctell me truly. Do you think you could steal the\nPrincess Helena?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy should I not steal her, sire? The thing is easy enough. Let my\nbrother\u2019s ship be laden with rich stuffs, brocades, Persian carpets,\npearls and jewels. Send me in the ship. Give me my four middle brothers\nas companions, and keep the two others as hostages.\u201d\n\nWhen the king heard these words his heart became filled with longing,\nand he ordered all to be done as Simon wished. Every one ran about to\ndo his bidding; and in next to no time the wonder-ship was laden and\nready to start.\n\nThe five Simons took leave of the king, went on board, and had no\nsooner set sail than they were almost out of sight. The ship cut\nthrough the waters like a falcon through the air, and just a week after\nstarting sighted the Island of Busan. The coast appeared to be strongly\nguarded, and from afar the watchman on a high tower called out: \u201cHalt\nand anchor! Who are you? Where do you come from, and what do you want?\u201d\n\nThe seventh Simon answered from the ship: \u201cWe are peaceful people. We\ncome from the country of the great and good King Archidej, and we bring\nforeign wares\u2014rich brocades, carpets, and costly jewels, which we wish\nto show to your king and the princess. We desire to trade\u2014to sell, to\nbuy, and to exchange.\u201d\n\nThe brothers launched a small boat, took some of their valuable goods\nwith them, rowed to shore and went up to the palace. The princess sat\nin a rose-red room, and when she saw the brothers coming near she\ncalled her nurse and other women, and told them to inquire who and what\nthese people were, and what they wanted.\n\nThe seventh Simon answered the nurse: \u201cWe come from the country of the\nwise and good King Archidej,\u201d said he, \u201cand we have brought all sorts\nof goods for sale. We trust the king of this country may condescend to\nwelcome us, and to let his servants take charge of our wares. If he\nconsiders them worthy to adorn his followers we shall be content.\u201d\n\nThis speech was repeated to the princess, who ordered the brothers to\nbe brought to the red-room at once. They bowed respectfully to her and\ndisplayed some splendid velvets and brocades, and opened cases of\npearls and precious stones. Such beautiful things had never been seen\nin the island, and the nurse and waiting women stood bewildered by all\nthe magnificence. They whispered together that they had never beheld\nanything like it. The princess too saw and wondered, and her eyes could\nnot weary of looking at the lovely things, or her fingers of stroking\nthe rich soft stuffs, and of holding up the sparkling jewels to the\nlight.\n\n\u201cFairest of princesses,\u201d said Simon. \u201cBe pleased to order your\nwaiting-maids to accept the silks and velvets, and let your women trim\ntheir head-dresses with the jewels; these are no special treasures. But\npermit me to say that they are as nothing to the many coloured\ntapestries, the gorgeous stones and ropes of pearls in our ship. We did\nnot like to bring more with us, not knowing what your royal taste might\nbe; but if it seems good to you to honour our ship with a visit, you\nmight condescend to choose such things as were pleasing in your eyes.\u201d\n\nThis polite speech pleased the princess very much. She went to the king\nand said: \u201cDear father, some merchants have arrived with the most\nsplendid wares. Pray allow me to go to their ship and choose out what I\nlike.\u201d\n\nThe king thought and thought, frowned hard and rubbed his ear. At last\nhe gave consent, and ordered out his royal yacht, with 100 cross-bows,\n100 knights, and 1,000 soldiers, to escort the Princess Helena.\n\nOff sailed the yacht with the princess and her escort. The brothers\nSimon came on board to conduct the princess to their ship, and, led by\nthe brothers and followed by her nurse and other women, she crossed the\ncrystal plank from one vessel to another.\n\nThe seventh Simon spread out his goods, and had so many curious and\ninteresting tales to tell about them, that the princess forgot\neverything else in looking and listening, so that she did not know that\nthe fourth Simon had seized the prow of the ship, and that all of a\nsudden it had vanished from sight, and was racing along in the depths\nof the sea.\n\nThe crew of the royal yacht shouted aloud, the knights stood still with\nterror, the soldiers were struck dumb and hung their heads. There was\nnothing to be done but to sail back and tell the king of his loss.\n\nHow he wept and stormed! \u201cOh, light of my eyes,\u201d he sobbed; \u201cI am\nindeed punished for my pride. I thought no one good enough to be your\nhusband, and now you are lost in the depths of the sea, and have left\nme alone! As for all of you who saw this thing\u2014away with you! Let them\nbe put in irons and lock them up in prison, whilst I think how I can\nbest put them to death!\u201d\n\nWhilst the King of Busan was raging and lamenting in this fashion,\nSimon\u2019s ship was swimming like any fish under the sea, and when the\nisland was well out of sight he brought it up to the surface again. At\nthat moment the princess recollected herself. \u201cNurse,\u201d said she, \u201cwe\nhave been gazing at these wonders only too long. I hope my father won\u2019t\nbe vexed at our delay.\u201d\n\nShe tore herself away and stepped on deck. Neither the yacht nor the\nisland was in sight! Helena wrung her hands and beat her breast. Then\nshe changed herself into a white swan and flew off. But the fifth Simon\nseized his bow and shot the swan, and the sixth Simon did not let it\nfall into the water but caught it in the ship, and the swan turned into\na silver fish, but Simon lost no time and caught the fish, when, quick\nas thought, the fish turned into a black mouse and ran about the ship.\nIt darted towards a hole, but before it could reach it Simon sprang\nupon it more swiftly than any cat, and then the little mouse turned\nonce more into the beautiful Princess Helena.\n\nEarly one morning King Archidej sat thoughtfully at his window gazing\nout to sea. His heart was sad and he would neither eat nor drink. His\nthoughts were full of the Princess Helena, who was as lovely as a\ndream. Is that a white gull he sees flying towards the shore, or is it\na sail? No, it is no gull, it is the wonder-ship flying along with\nbillowing sails. Its flags wave, the fiddlers play on the wire rigging,\nthe anchor is thrown out and the crystal plank laid from the ship to\nthe pier. The lovely Helena steps across the plank. She shines like the\nsun, and the stars of heaven seem to sparkle in her eyes.\n\nUp sprang King Archidej in haste: \u201cHurry, hurry,\u201d he cried. \u201cLet us\nhasten to meet her! Let the bugles sound and the joy bells be rung!\u201d\n\nAnd the whole Court swarmed with courtiers and servants. Golden carpets\nwere laid down and the great gates thrown open to welcome the princess.\n\nKing Archidej went out himself, took her by the hand and led her into\nthe royal apartments.\n\n\u201cMadam,\u201d said he, \u201cthe fame of your beauty had reached me, but I had\nnot dared to expect such loveliness. Still I will not keep you here\nagainst your will. If you wish it, the wonder-ship shall take you back\nto your father and your own country; but if you will consent to stay\nhere, then reign over me and my country as our queen.\u201d\n\nWhat more is there to tell? It is not hard to guess that the princess\nlistened to the king\u2019s wooing, and their betrothal took place with\ngreat pomp and rejoicings.\n\nThe brothers Simon were sent again to the Island of Busan with a letter\nto the king from his daughter to invite him to their wedding. And the\nwonder-ship arrived at the Island of Busan just as all the knights and\nsoldiers who had escorted the princess were being led out to execution.\n\nThen the seventh Simon cried out from the ship: \u201cStop! stop! I bring a\nletter from the Princess Helena!\u201d\n\nThe King of Busan read the letter over and over again, and ordered the\nknights and soldiers to be set free. He entertained King Archidej\u2019s\nambassadors hospitably, and sent his blessing to his daughter, but he\ncould not be brought to attend the wedding.\n\nWhen the wonder-ship got home King Archidej and Princess Helena were\nenchanted with the news it brought.\n\nThe king sent for the seven Simons. \u201cA thousand thanks to you, my brave\nfellows,\u201d he cried. \u201cTake what gold, silver, and precious stones you\nwill out of my treasury. Tell me if there is anything else you wish for\nand I will give it you, my good friends. Do you wish to be made nobles,\nor to govern towns? Only speak.\u201d\n\nThen the eldest Simon bowed and said: \u201cWe are plain folk, your Majesty,\nand understand simple things best. What figures should we cut as nobles\nor governors? Nor do we desire gold. We have our fields which give us\nfood, and as much money as we need. If you wish to reward us then grant\nthat our land may be free of taxes, and of your goodness pardon the\nseventh Simon. He is not the first who has been a thief by trade and he\nwill certainly not be the last.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo be it,\u201d said the king; \u201cyour land shall be free of all taxes, and\nSimon the seventh is pardoned.\u201d\n\nThen the king gave each brother a goblet of wine and invited them to\nthe wedding feast. And what a feast that was!\n\n[From Ungarischen M\u00e4hrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Language of Beasts\n\n\nOnce upon a time a man had a shepherd who served him many years\nfaithfully and honestly. One day, whilst herding his flock, this\nshepherd heard a hissing sound, coming out of the forest near by, which\nhe could not account for. So he went into the wood in the direction of\nthe noise to try to discover the cause. When he approached the place he\nfound that the dry grass and leaves were on fire, and on a tree,\nsurrounded by flames, a snake was coiled, hissing with terror.\n\nThe shepherd stood wondering how the poor snake could escape, for the\nwind was blowing the flames that way, and soon that tree would be\nburning like the rest. Suddenly the snake cried: \u201cO shepherd! for the\nlove of heaven save me from this fire!\u201d\n\nThen the shepherd stretched his staff out over the flames and the snake\nwound itself round the staff and up to his hand, and from his hand it\ncrept up his arm, and twined itself about his neck. The shepherd\ntrembled with fright, expecting every instant to be stung to death, and\nsaid: \u201cWhat an unlucky man I am! Did I rescue you only to be destroyed\nmyself?\u201d But the snake answered: \u201cHave no fear; only carry me home to\nmy father who is the King of the Snakes.\u201d The shepherd, however, was\nmuch too frightened to listen, and said that he could not go away and\nleave his flock alone; but the snake said: \u201cYou need not be afraid to\nleave your flock, no evil shall befall them; but make all the haste you\ncan.\u201d\n\nSo he set off through the wood carrying the snake, and after a time he\ncame to a great gateway, made entirely of snakes intertwined one with\nanother. The shepherd stood still with surprise, but the snake round\nhis neck whistled, and immediately all the arch unwound itself.\n\n\u201cWhen we are come to my father\u2019s house,\u201d said his own snake to him, \u201che\nwill reward you with anything you like to ask\u2014silver, gold, jewels, or\nwhatever on this earth is most precious; but take none of all these\nthings, ask rather to understand the language of beasts. He will refuse\nit to you a long time, but in the end he will grant it to you.\u201d\n\nSoon after that they arrived at the house of the King of the Snakes,\nwho burst into tears of joy at the sight of his daughter, as he had\ngiven her up for dead. \u201cWhere have you been all this time?\u201d he asked,\ndirectly he could speak, and she told him that she had been caught in a\nforest fire, and had been rescued from the flames by the shepherd. The\nKing of the Snakes, then turning to the shepherd, said to him: \u201cWhat\nreward will you choose for saving my child?\u201d\n\n\u201cMake me to know the language of beasts,\u201d answered the shepherd, \u201cthat\nis all I desire.\u201d\n\nThe king replied: \u201cSuch knowledge would be of no benefit to you, for if\nI granted it to you and you told any one of it, you would immediately\ndie; ask me rather for whatever else you would most like to possess,\nand it shall be yours.\u201d\n\nBut the shepherd answered him: \u201cSir, if you wish to reward me for\nsaving your daughter, grant me, I pray you, to know the language of\nbeasts. I desire nothing else\u201d; and he turned as if to depart.\n\nThen the king called him back, saying: \u201cIf nothing else will satisfy\nyou, open your mouth.\u201d The man obeyed, and the king spat into it, and\nsaid: \u201cNow spit into my mouth.\u201d The shepherd did as he was told, then\nthe King of the Snakes spat again into the shepherd\u2019s mouth. When they\nhad spat into each other\u2019s mouths three times, the king said:\n\n\u201cNow you know the language of beasts, go in peace; but, if you value\nyour life, beware lest you tell any one of it, else you will\nimmediately die.\u201d\n\nSo the shepherd set out for home, and on his way through the wood he\nheard and understood all that was said by the birds, and by every\nliving creature. When he got back to his sheep he found the flock\ngrazing peacefully, and as he was very tired he laid himself down by\nthem to rest a little. Hardly had he done so when two ravens flew down\nand perched on a tree near by, and began to talk to each other in their\nown language: \u201cIf that shepherd only knew that there is a vault full of\ngold and silver beneath where that lamb is lying, what would he not\ndo?\u201d When the shepherd heard these words he went straight to his master\nand told him, and the master at once took a waggon, and broke open the\ndoor of the vault, and they carried off the treasure. But instead of\nkeeping it for himself, the master, who was an honourable man, gave it\nall up to the shepherd, saying: \u201cTake it, it is yours. The gods have\ngiven it to you.\u201d So the shepherd took the treasure and built himself a\nhouse. He married a wife, and they lived in great peace and happiness,\nand he was acknowledged to be the richest man, not only of his native\nvillage, but of all the country-side. He had flocks of sheep, and\ncattle, and horses without end, as well as beautiful clothes and\njewels.\n\nOne day, just before Christmas, he said to his wife: \u201cPrepare\neverything for a great feast, to-morrow we will take things with us to\nthe farm that the shepherds there may make merry.\u201d The wife obeyed, and\nall was prepared as he desired. Next day they both went to the farm,\nand in the evening the master said to the shepherds: \u201cNow come, all of\nyou, eat, drink, and make merry. I will watch the flocks myself\nto-night in your stead.\u201d Then he went out to spend the night with the\nflocks.\n\nWhen midnight struck the wolves howled and the dogs barked, and the\nwolves spoke in their own tongue, saying:\n\n\u201cShall we come in and work havoc, and you too shall eat flesh?\u201d And the\ndogs answered in their tongue: \u201cCome in, and for once we shall have\nenough to eat.\u201d\n\nNow amongst the dogs there was one so old that he had only two teeth\nleft in his head, and he spoke to the wolves, saying: \u201cSo long as I\nhave my two teeth still in my head, I will let no harm be done to my\nmaster.\u201d\n\nAll this the master heard and understood, and as soon as morning dawned\nhe ordered all the dogs to be killed excepting the old dog. The farm\nservants wondered at this order, and exclaimed: \u201cBut surely, sir, that\nwould be a pity?\u201d\n\nThe master answered: \u201cDo as I bid you\u201d; and made ready to return home\nwith his wife, and they mounted their horses, her steed being a mare.\nAs they went on their way, it happened that the husband rode on ahead,\nwhile the wife was a little way behind. The husband\u2019s horse, seeing\nthis, neighed, and said to the mare: \u201cCome along, make haste; why are\nyou so slow?\u201d And the mare answered: \u201cIt is very easy for you, you\ncarry only your master, who is a thin man, but I carry my mistress, who\nis so fat that she weights as much as three.\u201d When the husband heard\nthat he looked back and laughed, which the wife perceiving, she urged\non the mare till she caught up with her husband, and asked him why he\nlaughed. \u201cFor nothing at all,\u201d he answered; \u201cjust because it came into\nmy head.\u201d She would not be satisfied with this answer, and urged him\nmore and more to tell her why he had laughed. But he controlled himself\nand said: \u201cLet me be, wife; what ails you? I do not know myself why I\nlaughed.\u201d But the more he put her off, the more she tormented him to\ntell her the cause of his laughter. At length he said to her: \u201cKnow,\nthen, that if I tell it you I shall immediately and surely die.\u201d But\neven this did not quiet her; she only besought him the more to tell\nher.\n\nMeanwhile they had reached home, and before getting down from his horse\nthe man called for a coffin to be brought; and when it was there he\nplaced it in front of the house, and said to his wife:\n\n\u201cSee, I will lay myself down in this coffin, and will then tell you why\nI laughed, for as soon as I have told you I shall surely die.\u201d So he\nlay down in the coffin, and while he took a last look around him, his\nold dog came out from the farm and sat down by him, and whined. When\nthe master saw this, he called to his wife: \u201cBring a piece of bread to\ngive to the dog.\u201d The wife brought some bread and threw it to the dog,\nbut he would not look at it. Then the farm cock came and pecked at the\nbread; but the dog said to it: \u201cWretched glutton, you can eat like that\nwhen you see that your master is dying?\u201d The cock answered: \u201cLet him\ndie, if he is so stupid. I have a hundred wives, which I call together\nwhen I find a grain of corn, and as soon as they are there I swallow it\nmyself; should one of them dare to be angry, I would give her a lesson\nwith my beak. He has only one wife, and he cannot keep her in order.\u201d\n\nAs soon as the man understood this, he got up out of the coffin, seized\na stick, and called his wife into the room, saying: \u201cCome, and I will\ntell you what you so much want to know\u201d; and then he began to beat her\nwith the stick, saying with each blow: \u201cIt is that, wife, it is that!\u201d\nAnd in this way he taught her never again to ask why he had laughed.\n\n\n\n\nThe Boy Who Could Keep A Secret\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a poor widow who had one little boy. At\nfirst sight you would not have thought that he was different from a\nthousand other little boys; but then you noticed that by his side hung\nthe scabbard of a sword, and as the boy grew bigger the scabbard grew\nbigger too. The sword which belonged to the scabbard was found by the\nlittle boy sticking out of the ground in the garden, and every day he\npulled it up to see if it would go into the scabbard. But though it was\nplainly becoming longer and longer, it was some time before the two\nwould fit.\n\nHowever, there came a day at last when it slipped in quite easily. The\nchild was so delighted that he could hardly believe his eyes, so he\ntried it seven times, and each time it slipped in more easily than\nbefore. But pleased though the boy was, he determined not to tell\nanyone about it, particularly not his mother, who never could keep\nanything from her neighbours.\n\nStill, in spite of his resolutions, he could not hide altogether that\nsomething had happened, and when he went in to breakfast his mother\nasked him what was the matter.\n\n\u201cOh, mother, I had such a nice dream last night,\u201d said he; \u201cbut I can\u2019t\ntell it to anybody.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou can tell it to me,\u201d she answered. \u201cIt must have been a nice dream,\nor you wouldn\u2019t look so happy.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, mother; I can\u2019t tell it to anybody,\u201d returned the boy, \u201ctill it\ncomes true.\u201d\n\n\u201cI want to know what it was, and know it I will,\u201d cried she, \u201cand I\nwill beat you till you tell me.\u201d\n\nBut it was no use, neither words nor blows would get the secret out of\nthe boy; and when her arm was quite tired and she had to leave off, the\nchild, sore and aching, ran into the garden and knelt weeping beside\nhis little sword. It was working round and round in its hole all by\nitself, and if anyone except the boy had tried to catch hold of it, he\nwould have been badly cut. But the moment he stretched out his hand it\nstopped and slid quietly into the scabbard.\n\nFor a long time the child sat sobbing, and the noise was heard by the\nking as he was driving by. \u201cGo and see who it is that is crying so,\u201d\nsaid he to one of his servants, and the man went. In a few minutes he\nreturned saying: \u201cYour Majesty, it is a little boy who is kneeling\nthere sobbing because his mother has beaten him.\u201d\n\n\u201cBring him to me at once,\u201d commanded the monarch, \u201cand tell him that it\nis the king who sends for him, and that he has never cried in all his\nlife and cannot bear anyone else to do so.\u201d On receiving this message\nthe boy dried his tears and went with the servant to the royal\ncarriage. \u201cWill you be my son?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cYes, if my mother will let me,\u201d answered the boy. And the king bade\nthe servant go back to the mother and say that if she would give her\nboy to him, he should live in the palace and marry his prettiest\ndaughter as soon as he was a man.\n\nThe widow\u2019s anger now turned into joy, and she came running to the\nsplendid coach and kissed the king\u2019s hand. \u201cI hope you will be more\nobedient to his Majesty than you were to me,\u201d she said; and the boy\nshrank away half-frightened. But when she had gone back to her cottage,\nhe asked the king if he might fetch something that he had left in the\ngarden, and when he was given permission, he pulled up his little\nsword, which he slid into the scabbard.\n\nThen he climbed into the coach and was driven away.\n\nAfter they had gone some distance the king said: \u201cWhy were you crying\nso bitterly in the garden just now?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause my mother had been beating me,\u201d replied the boy.\n\n\u201cAnd what did she do that for?\u201d asked the king again.\n\n\u201cBecause I would not tell her my dream.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd why wouldn\u2019t you tell it to her?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause I will never tell it to anyone till it comes true,\u201d answered\nthe boy.\n\n\u201cAnd won\u2019t you tell it to me either?\u201d asked the king in surprise.\n\n\u201cNo, not even to you, your Majesty,\u201d replied he.\n\n\u201cOh, I am sure you will when we get home,\u201d said the king smiling, and\nhe talked to him about other things till they came to the palace.\n\n\u201cI have brought you such a nice present,\u201d he said to his daughters, and\nas the boy was very pretty they were delighted to have him and gave him\nall their best toys.\n\n\u201cYou must not spoil him,\u201d observed the king one day, when he had been\nwatching them playing together. He has a secret which he won\u2019t tell to\nanyone.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe will tell me,\u201d answered the eldest princess; but the boy only shook\nhis head.\n\n\u201cHe will tell me,\u201d said the second girl.\n\n\u201cNot I,\u201d replied the boy.\n\n\u201cHe will tell me,\u201d cried the youngest, who was the prettiest too.\n\n\u201cI will tell nobody till it comes true,\u201d said the boy, as he had said\nbefore; \u201cand I will beat anybody who asks me.\u201d\n\nThe king was very sorry when he heard this, for he loved the boy\ndearly; but he thought it would never do to keep anyone near him who\nwould not do as he was bid. So he commanded his servants to take him\naway and not to let him enter the palace again until he had come to his\nright senses.\n\nThe sword clanked loudly as the boy was led away, but the child said\nnothing, though he was very unhappy at being treated so badly when he\nhad done nothing. However, the servants were very kind to him, and\ntheir children brought him fruit and all sorts of nice things, and he\nsoon grew merry again, and lived amongst them for many years till his\nseventeenth birthday.\n\nMeanwhile the two eldest princesses had become women, and had married\ntwo powerful kings who ruled over great countries across the sea. The\nyoungest one was old enough to be married too, but she was very\nparticular, and turned up her nose at all the young princes who had\nsought her hand.\n\nOne day she was sitting in the palace feeling rather dull and lonely,\nand suddenly she began to wonder what the servants were doing, and\nwhether it was not more amusing down in their quarters. The king was at\nhis council and the queen was ill in bed, so there was no one to stop\nthe princess, and she hastily ran across the gardens to the houses\nwhere the servants lived. Outside she noticed a youth who was handsomer\nthan any prince she had ever seen, and in a moment she knew him to be\nthe little boy she had once played with.\n\n\u201cTell me your secret and I will marry you,\u201d she said to him; but the\nboy only gave her the beating he had promised her long ago, when she\nasked him the same question. The girl was very angry, besides being\nhurt, and ran home to complain to her father.\n\n\u201cIf he had a thousand souls, I would kill them all,\u201d swore the king.\n\nThat very day a gallows was built outside the town, and all the people\ncrowded round to see the execution of the young man who had dared to\nbeat the king\u2019s daughter. The prisoner, with his hands tied behind his\nback, was brought out by the hangman, and amidst dead silence his\nsentence was being read by the judge when suddenly the sword clanked\nagainst his side. Instantly a great noise was heard and a golden coach\nrumbled over the stones, with a white flag waving out of the window. It\nstopped underneath the gallows, and from it stepped the king of the\nMagyars, who begged that the life of the boy might be spared.\n\n\u201cSir, he has beaten my daughter, who only asked him to tell her his\nsecret. I cannot pardon that,\u201d answered the princess\u2019s father.\n\n\u201cGive him to me, I\u2019m sure he will tell me the secret; or, if not, I\nhave a daughter who is like the Morning Star, and he is sure to tell it\nto her.\u201d\n\nThe sword clanked for the third time, and the king said angrily: \u201cWell,\nif you want him so much you can have him; only never let me see his\nface again.\u201d And he made a sign to the hangman. The bandage was removed\nfrom the young man\u2019s eyes, and the cords from his wrists, and he took\nhis seat in the golden coach beside the king of the Magyars. Then the\ncoachman whipped up his horses, and they set out for Buda.\n\nThe king talked very pleasantly for a few miles, and when he thought\nthat his new companion was quite at ease with him, he asked him what\nwas the secret which had brought him into such trouble. \u201cThat I cannot\ntell you,\u201d answered the youth, \u201cuntil it comes true.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will tell my daughter,\u201d said the king, smiling.\n\n\u201cI will tell nobody,\u201d replied the youth, and as he spoke the sword\nclanked loudly. The king said no more, but trusted to his daughter\u2019s\nbeauty to get the secret from him.\n\nThe journey to Buda was long, and it was several days before they\narrived there. The beautiful princess happened to be picking roses in\nthe garden, when her father\u2019s coach drove up.\n\n\u201cOh, what a handsome youth! Have you brought him from fairyland?\u201d cried\nshe, when they all stood upon the marble steps in front of the castle.\n\n\u201cI have brought him from the gallows,\u201d answered the king; rather vexed\nat his daughter\u2019s words, as never before had she consented to speak to\nany man.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t care where you brought him from,\u201d said the spoilt girl. \u201cI\nwill marry him and nobody else, and we will live together till we die.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will tell another tale,\u201d replied the king, \u201cwhen you ask him his\nsecret. After all he is no better than a servant.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is nothing to me,\u201d said the princess, \u201cfor I love him. He will\ntell his secret to me, and will find a place in the middle of my\nheart.\u201d\n\nBut the king shook his head, and gave orders that the lad was to be\nlodged in the summer-house.\n\nOne day, about a week later, the princess put on her finest dress, and\nwent to pay him a visit. She looked so beautiful that, at the sight of\nher, the book dropped from his hand, and he stood up speechless. \u201cTell\nme,\u201d she said, coaxingly, \u201cwhat is this wonderful secret? Just whisper\nit in my ear, and I will give you a kiss.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy angel,\u201d he answered, \u201cbe wise, and ask no questions, if you wish to\nget safely back to your father\u2019s palace; I have kept my secret all\nthese years, and do not mean to tell it now.\u201d\n\nHowever, the girl would not listen, and went on pressing him, till at\nlast he slapped her face so hard that her nose bled. She shrieked with\npain and rage, and ran screaming back to the palace, where her father\nwas waiting to hear if she had succeeded. \u201cI will starve you to death,\nyou son of a dragon,\u201d cried he, when he saw her dress streaming with\nblood; and he ordered all the masons and bricklayers in the town to\ncome before him.\n\n\u201cBuild me a tower as fast as you can,\u201d he said, \u201cand see that there is\nroom for a stool and a small table, and for nothing else. The men set\nto work, and in two hours the tower was built, and they proceeded to\nthe palace to inform the king that his commands were fulfilled. On the\nway they met the princess, who began to talk to one of the masons, and\nwhen the rest were out of hearing she asked if he could manage to make\na hole in the tower, which nobody could see, large enough for a bottle\nof wine and some food to pass through.\n\n\u201cTo be sure I can,\u201d said the mason, turning back, and in a few minutes\nthe hole was bored.\n\nAt sunset a large crowd assembled to watch the youth being led to the\ntower, and after his misdeeds had been proclaimed he was solemnly\nwalled up. But every morning the princess passed him in food through\nthe hole, and every third day the king sent his secretary to climb up a\nladder and look down through a little window to see if he was dead. But\nthe secretary always brought back the report that he was fat and rosy.\n\n\u201cThere is some magic about this,\u201d said the king.\n\nThis state of affairs lasted some time, till one day a messenger\narrived from the Sultan bearing a letter for the king, and also three\ncanes. \u201cMy master bids me say,\u201d said the messenger, bowing low, \u201cthat\nif you cannot tell him which of these three canes grows nearest the\nroot, which in the middle, and which at the top, he will declare war\nagainst you.\n\nThe king was very much frightened when he heard this, and though he\ntook the canes and examined them closely, he could see no difference\nbetween them. He looked so sad that his daughter noticed it, and\ninquired the reason.\n\n\u201cAlas! my daughter,\u201d he answered, \u201chow can I help being sad? The Sultan\nhas sent me three canes, and says that if I cannot tell him which of\nthem grows near the root, which in the middle, and which at the top, he\nwill make war upon me. And you know that his army is far greater than\nmine.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, do not despair, my father,\u201d said she. \u201cWe shall be sure to find\nout the answer\u201d; and she ran away to the tower, and told the young man\nwhat had occurred.\n\n\u201cGo to bed as usual,\u201d replied he, \u201cand when you wake, tell your father\nthat you have dreamed that the canes must be placed in warm water.\nAfter a little while one will sink to the bottom; that is the one that\ngrows nearest the root. The one which neither sinks nor comes to the\nsurface is the cane that is cut from the middle; and the one that\nfloats is from the top.\u201d\n\nSo, the next morning, the princess told her father of her dream, and by\nher advice he cut notches in each of the canes when he took them out of\nthe water, so that he might make no mistake when he handed them back to\nthe messenger. The Sultan could not imagine how he had found out, but\nhe did not declare war.\n\nThe following year the Sultan again wanted to pick a quarrel with the\nking of the Magyars, so he sent another messenger to him with three\nfoals, begging him to say which of the animals was born in the morning,\nwhich at noon, and which in the evening. If an answer was not ready in\nthree days, war would be declared at once. The king\u2019s heart sank when\nhe read the letter. He could not expect his daughter to be lucky enough\nto dream rightly a second time, and as a plague had been raging through\nthe country, and had carried off many of his soldiers, his army was\neven weaker than before. At this thought his face became so gloomy that\nhis daughter noticed it, and inquired what was the matter.\n\n\u201cI have had another letter from the Sultan,\u201d replied the king, \u201cand he\nsays that if I cannot tell him which of three foals was born in the\nmorning, which at noon, and which in the evening, he will declare war\nat once.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, don\u2019t be cast down,\u201d said she, \u201csomething is sure to happen\u201d; and\nshe ran down to the tower to consult the youth.\n\n\u201cGo home, idol of my heart, and when night comes, pretend to scream out\nin your sleep, so that your father hears you. Then tell him that you\nhave dreamt that he was just being carried off by the Turks because he\ncould not answer the question about the foals, when the lad whom he had\nshut up in the tower ran up and told them which was foaled in the\nmorning, which at noon, and which in the evening.\u201d\n\nSo the princess did exactly as the youth had bidden her; and no sooner\nhad she spoken than the king ordered the tower to be pulled down, and\nthe prisoner brought before him.\n\n\u201cI did not think that you could have lived so long without food,\u201d said\nhe, \u201cand as you have had plenty of time to repent your wicked conduct,\nI will grant you pardon, on condition that you help me in a sore\nstrait. Read this letter from the Sultan; you will see that if I fail\nto answer his question about the foals, a dreadful war will be the\nresult.\u201d\n\nThe youth took the letter and read it through. \u201cYes, I can help you,\u201d\nreplied he; \u201cbut first you must bring me three troughs, all exactly\nalike. Into one you must put oats, into another wheat, and into the\nthird barley. The foal which eats the oats is that which was foaled in\nthe morning; the foal which eats the wheat is that which was foaled at\nnoon; and the foal which eats the barley is that which was foaled at\nnight.\u201d The king followed the youth\u2019s directions, and, marking the\nfoals, sent them back to Turkey, and there was no war that year.\n\nNow the Sultan was very angry that both his plots to get possession of\nHungary had been such total failures, and he sent for his aunt, who was\na witch, to consult her as to what he should do next.\n\n\u201cIt is not the king who has answered your questions,\u201d observed the\naunt, when he had told his story. \u201cHe is far too stupid ever to have\ndone that! The person who has found out the puzzle is the son of a poor\nwoman, who, if he lives, will become King of Hungary. Therefore, if you\nwant the crown yourself, you must get him here and kill him.\u201d\n\nAfter this conversation another letter was written to the Court of\nHungary, saying that if the youth, now in the palace, was not sent to\nTurkey within three days, a large army would cross the border. The\nking\u2019s heart was sorrowful as he read, for he was grateful to the lad\nfor what he had done to help him; but the boy only laughed, and bade\nthe king fear nothing, but to search the town instantly for two youths\njust like each other, and he would paint himself a mask that was just\nlike them. And the sword at his side clanked loudly.\n\nAfter a long search twin brothers were found, so exactly resembling\neach other that even their own mother could not tell the difference.\nThe youth painted a mask that was the precise copy of them, and when he\nhad put it on, no one would have known one boy from the other. They set\nout at once for the Sultan\u2019s palace, and when they reached it, they\nwere taken straight into his presence. He made a sign for them to come\nnear; they all bowed low in greeting. He asked them about their\njourney; they answered his questions all together, and in the same\nwords. If one sat down to supper, the others sat down at the same\ninstant. When one got up, the others got up too, as if there had been\nonly one body between them. The Sultan could not detect any difference\nbetween them, and he told his aunt that he would not be so cruel as to\nkill all three.\n\n\u201cWell, you will see a difference to-morrow,\u201d replied the witch, \u201cfor\none will have a cut on his sleeve. That is the youth you must kill.\u201d\nAnd one hour before midnight, when witches are invisible, she glided\ninto the room where all three lads were sleeping in the same bed. She\ntook out a pair of scissors and cut a small piece out of the boy\u2019s\ncoat-sleeve which was hanging on the wall, and then crept silently from\nthe room. But in the morning the youth saw the slit, and he marked the\nsleeves of his two companions in the same way, and all three went down\nto breakfast with the Sultan. The old witch was standing in the window\nand pretended not to see them; but all witches have eyes in the backs\nof their heads, and she knew at once that not one sleeve but three were\ncut, and they were all as alike as before. After breakfast, the Sultan,\nwho was getting tired of the whole affair and wanted to be alone to\ninvent some other plan, told them they might return home. So, bowing\nlow with one accord, they went.\n\nThe princess welcomed the boy back joyfully, but the poor youth was not\nallowed to rest long in peace, for one day a fresh letter arrived from\nthe Sultan, saying that he had discovered that the young man was a very\ndangerous person, and that he must be sent to Turkey at once, and\nalone. The girl burst into tears when the boy told her what was in the\nletter which her father had bade her to carry to him. \u201cDo not weep,\nlove of my heart,\u201d said the boy, \u201call will be well. I will start at\nsunrise to-morrow.\u201d\n\nSo next morning at sunrise the youth set forth, and in a few days he\nreached the Sultan\u2019s palace. The old witch was waiting for him at the\ngate, and whispered as he passed: \u201cThis is the last time you will ever\nenter it.\u201d But the sword clanked, and the lad did not even look at her.\nAs he crossed the threshold fifteen armed Turks barred his way, with\nthe Sultan at their head. Instantly the sword darted forth and cut off\nthe heads of everyone but the Sultan, and then went quietly back to its\nscabbard. The witch, who was looking on, saw that as long as the youth\nhad possession of the sword, all her schemes would be in vain, and\ntried to steal the sword in the night, but it only jumped out of its\nscabbard and sliced off her nose, which was of iron. And in the\nmorning, when the Sultan brought a great army to capture the lad and\ndeprive him of his sword, they were all cut to pieces, while he\nremained without a scratch.\n\nMeanwhile the princess was in despair because the days slipped by, and\nthe young man did not return, and she never rested until her father let\nher lead some troops against the Sultan. She rode proudly before them,\ndressed in uniform; but they had not left the town more than a mile\nbehind them, when they met the lad and his little sword. When he told\nthem what he had done they shouted for joy, and carried him back in\ntriumph to the palace; and the king declared that as the youth had\nshown himself worthy to become his son-in-law, he should marry the\nprincess and succeed to the throne at once, as he himself was getting\nold, and the cares of government were too much for him. But the young\nman said he must first go and see his mother, and the king sent him in\nstate, with a troop of soldiers as his bodyguard.\n\nThe old woman was quite frightened at seeing such an array draw up\nbefore her little house, and still more surprised when a handsome young\nman, whom she did not know, dismounted and kissed her hand, saying:\n\u201cNow, dear mother, you shall hear my secret at last! I dreamed that I\nshould become King of Hungary, and my dream has come true. When I was a\nchild, and you begged me to tell you, I had to keep silence, or the\nMagyar king would have killed me. And if you had not beaten me nothing\nwould have happened that has happened, and I should not now be King of\nHungary.\u201d\n\n[From the Folk Tales of the Magyars.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Prince And The Dragon\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived an emperor who had three sons. They were\nall fine young men, and fond of hunting, and scarcely a day passed\nwithout one or other of them going out to look for game.\n\nOne morning the eldest of the three princes mounted his horse and set\nout for a neighbouring forest, where wild animals of all sorts were to\nbe found. He had not long left the castle, when a hare sprang out of a\nthicket and dashed across the road in front. The young man gave chase\nat once, and pursued it over hill and dale, till at last the hare took\nrefuge in a mill which was standing by the side of a river. The prince\nfollowed and entered the mill, but stopped in terror by the door, for,\ninstead of a hare, before him stood a dragon, breathing fire and flame.\nAt this fearful sight the prince turned to fly, but a fiery tongue\ncoiled round his waist, and drew him into the dragon\u2019s mouth, and he\nwas seen no more.\n\nA week passed away, and when the prince never came back everyone in the\ntown began to grow uneasy. At last his next brother told the emperor\nthat he likewise would go out to hunt, and that perhaps he would find\nsome clue as to his brother\u2019s disappearance. But hardly had the castle\ngates closed on the prince than the hare sprang out of the bushes as\nbefore, and led the huntsman up hill and down dale, till they reached\nthe mill. Into this the hare flew with the prince at his heels, when,\nlo! instead of the hare, there stood a dragon breathing fire and flame;\nand out shot a fiery tongue which coiled round the prince\u2019s waist, and\nlifted him straight into the dragon\u2019s mouth, and he was seen no more.\n\nDays went by, and the emperor waited and waited for the sons who never\ncame, and could not sleep at night for wondering where they were and\nwhat had become of them. His youngest son wished to go in search of his\nbrothers, but for long the emperor refused to listen to him, lest he\nshould lose him also. But the prince prayed so hard for leave to make\nthe search, and promised so often that he would be very cautious and\ncareful, that at length the emperor gave him permission, and ordered\nthe best horse in the stables to be saddled for him.\n\nFull of hope the young prince started on his way, but no sooner was he\noutside the city walls than a hare sprang out of the bushes and ran\nbefore him, till they reached the mill. As before, the animal dashed in\nthrough the open door, but this time he was not followed by the prince.\nWiser than his brothers, the young man turned away, saying to himself:\n\u201cThere are as good hares in the forest as any that have come out of it,\nand when I have caught them, I can come back and look for you.\u201d\n\nFor many hours he rode up and down the mountain, but saw nothing, and\nat last, tired of waiting, he went back to the mill. Here he found an\nold woman sitting, whom he greeted pleasantly.\n\n\u201cGood morning to you, little mother,\u201d he said; and the old woman\nanswered: \u201cGood morning, my son.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me, little mother,\u201d went on the prince, \u201cwhere shall I find my\nhare?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy son,\u201d replied the old woman, \u201cthat was no hare, but a dragon who\nhas led many men hither, and then has eaten them all.\u201d At these words\nthe prince\u2019s heart grew heavy, and he cried, \u201cThen my brothers must\nhave come here, and have been eaten by the dragon!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have guessed right,\u201d answered the old woman; \u201cand I can give you\nno better counsel than to go home at once, before the same fate\novertakes you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you not come with me out of this dreadful place?\u201d said the young\nman.\n\n\u201cHe took me prisoner, too,\u201d answered she, \u201cand I cannot shake off his\nchains.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen listen to me,\u201d cried the prince. \u201cWhen the dragon comes back, ask\nhim where he always goes when he leaves here, and what makes him so\nstrong; and when you have coaxed the secret from him, tell me the next\ntime I come.\u201d\n\nSo the prince went home, and the old woman remained in the mill, and as\nsoon as the dragon returned she said to him:\n\n\u201cWhere have you been all this time\u2014you must have travelled far?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, little mother, I have indeed travelled far.\u201d answered he. Then\nthe old woman began to flatter him, and to praise his cleverness; and\nwhen she thought she had got him into a good temper, she said: \u201cI have\nwondered so often where you get your strength from; I do wish you would\ntell me. I would stoop and kiss the place out of pure love!\u201d The dragon\nlaughed at this, and answered:\n\n\u201cIn the hearthstone yonder lies the secret of my strength.\u201d\n\nThen the old woman jumped up and kissed the hearth; whereat the dragon\nlaughed the more, and said:\n\n\u201cYou foolish creature! I was only jesting. It is not in the\nhearthstone, but in that tall tree that lies the secret of my\nstrength.\u201d Then the old woman jumped up again and put her arms round\nthe tree, and kissed it heartily. Loudly laughed the dragon when he saw\nwhat she was doing.\n\n\u201cOld fool,\u201d he cried, as soon as he could speak, \u201cdid you really\nbelieve that my strength came from that tree?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is it then?\u201d asked the old woman, rather crossly, for she did\nnot like being made fun of.\n\n\u201cMy strength,\u201d replied the dragon, \u201clies far away; so far that you\ncould never reach it. Far, far from here is a kingdom, and by its\ncapital city is a lake, and in the lake is a dragon, and inside the\ndragon is a wild boar, and inside the wild boar is a pigeon, and inside\nthe pigeon a sparrow, and inside the sparrow is my strength.\u201d And when\nthe old woman heard this, she thought it was no use flattering him any\nlonger, for never, never, could she take his strength from him.\n\nThe following morning, when the dragon had left the mill, the prince\ncame back, and the old woman told him all that the creature had said.\nHe listened in silence, and then returned to the castle, where he put\non a suit of shepherd\u2019s clothes, and taking a staff in his hand, he\nwent forth to seek a place as tender of sheep.\n\nFor some time he wandered from village to village and from town to\ntown, till he came at length to a large city in a distant kingdom,\nsurrounded on three sides by a great lake, which happened to be the\nvery lake in which the dragon lived. As was his custom, he stopped\neverybody whom he met in the streets that looked likely to want a\nshepherd and begged them to engage him, but they all seemed to have\nshepherds of their own, or else not to need any. The prince was\nbeginning to lose heart, when a man who had overheard his question\nturned round and said that he had better go and ask the emperor, as he\nwas in search of some one to see after his flocks.\n\n\u201cWill you take care of my sheep?\u201d said the emperor, when the young man\nknelt before him.\n\n\u201cMost willingly, your Majesty,\u201d answered the young man, and he listened\nobediently while the emperor told him what he was to do.\n\n\u201cOutside the city walls,\u201d went on the emperor, \u201cyou will find a large\nlake, and by its banks lie the richest meadows in my kingdom. When you\nare leading out your flocks to pasture, they will all run straight to\nthese meadows, and none that have gone there have ever been known to\ncome back. Take heed, therefore, my son, not to suffer your sheep to go\nwhere they will, but drive them to any spot that you think best.\u201d\n\nWith a low bow the prince thanked the emperor for his warning, and\npromised to do his best to keep the sheep safe. Then he left the palace\nand went to the market-place, where he bought two greyhounds, a hawk,\nand a set of pipes; after that he took the sheep out to pasture. The\ninstant the animals caught sight of the lake lying before them, they\ntrotted off as fast as their legs would go to the green meadows lying\nround it. The prince did not try to stop them; he only placed his hawk\non the branch of a tree, laid his pipes on the grass, and bade the\ngreyhounds sit still; then, rolling up his sleeves and trousers, he\nwaded into the water crying as he did so: \u201cDragon! dragon! if you are\nnot a coward, come out and fight with me!\u201d And a voice answered from\nthe depths of the lake:\n\n\u201cI am waiting for you, O prince\u201d; and the next minute the dragon reared\nhimself out of the water, huge and horrible to see. The prince sprang\nupon him and they grappled with each other and fought together till the\nsun was high, and it was noonday. Then the dragon gasped:\n\n\u201cO prince, let me dip my burning head once into the lake, and I will\nhurl you up to the top of the sky.\u201d But the prince answered, \u201cOh, ho!\nmy good dragon, do not crow too soon! If the emperor\u2019s daughter were\nonly here, and would kiss me on the forehead, I would throw you up\nhigher still!\u201d And suddenly the dragon\u2019s hold loosened, and he fell\nback into the lake.\n\nAs soon as it was evening, the prince washed away all signs of the\nfight, took his hawk upon his shoulder, and his pipes under his arm,\nand with his greyhounds in front and his flock following after him he\nset out for the city. As they all passed through the streets the people\nstared in wonder, for never before had any flock returned from the\nlake.\n\nThe next morning he rose early, and led his sheep down the road to the\nlake. This time, however, the emperor sent two men on horseback to ride\nbehind him, with orders to watch the prince all day long. The horsemen\nkept the prince and his sheep in sight, without being seen themselves.\nAs soon as they beheld the sheep running towards the meadows, they\nturned aside up a steep hill, which overhung the lake. When the\nshepherd reached the place he laid, as before, his pipes on the grass\nand bade the greyhounds sit beside them, while the hawk he perched on\nthe branch of the tree. Then he rolled up his trousers and his sleeves,\nand waded into the water crying:\n\n\u201cDragon! dragon! if you are not a coward, come out and fight with me!\u201d\nAnd the dragon answered:\n\n\u201cI am waiting for you, O prince,\u201d and the next minute he reared himself\nout of the water, huge and horrible to see. Again they clasped each\nother tight round the body and fought till it was noon, and when the\nsun was at its hottest, the dragon gasped:\n\n\u201cO prince, let me dip my burning head once in the lake, and I will hurl\nyou up to the top of the sky.\u201d But the prince answered:\n\n\u201cOh, ho! my good dragon, do not crow too soon! If the emperor\u2019s\ndaughter were only here, and would kiss me on the forehead, I would\nthrow you up higher still!\u201d And suddenly the dragon\u2019s hold loosened,\nand he fell back into the lake.\n\nAs soon as it was evening the prince again collected his sheep, and\nplaying on his pipes he marched before them into the city. When he\npassed through the gates all the people came out of their houses to\nstare in wonder, for never before had any flock returned from the lake.\n\nMeanwhile the two horsemen had ridden quickly back, and told the\nemperor all that they had seen and heard. The emperor listened eagerly\nto their tale, then called his daughter to him and repeated it to her.\n\n\u201cTo-morrow,\u201d he said, when he had finished, \u201cyou shall go with the\nshepherd to the lake, and then you shall kiss him on the forehead as he\nwishes.\u201d\n\nBut when the princess heard these words, she burst into tears, and\nsobbed out:\n\n\u201cWill you really send me, your only child, to that dreadful place, from\nwhich most likely I shall never come back?\u201d\n\n\u201cFear nothing, my little daughter, all will be well. Many shepherds\nhave gone to that lake and none have ever returned; but this one has in\nthese two days fought twice with the dragon and has escaped without a\nwound. So I hope to-morrow he will kill the dragon altogether, and\ndeliver this land from the monster who has slain so many of our bravest\nmen.\u201d\n\nScarcely had the sun begun to peep over the hills next morning, when\nthe princess stood by the shepherd\u2019s side, ready to go to the lake. The\nshepherd was brimming over with joy, but the princess only wept\nbitterly. \u201cDry your tears, I implore you,\u201d said he. \u201cIf you will just\ndo what I ask you, and when the time comes, run and kiss my forehead,\nyou have nothing to fear.\u201d\n\nMerrily the shepherd blew on his pipes as he marched at the head of his\nflock, only stopping every now and then to say to the weeping girl at\nhis side:\n\n\u201cDo not cry so, Heart of Gold; trust me and fear nothing.\u201d And so they\nreached the lake.\n\nIn an instant the sheep were scattered all over the meadows, and the\nprince placed his hawk on the tree, and his pipes on the grass, while\nhe bade his greyhounds lie beside them. Then he rolled up his trousers\nand his sleeves, and waded into the water, calling:\n\n\u201cDragon! dragon! if you are not a coward, come forth, and let us have\none more fight together.\u201d And the dragon answered: \u201cI am waiting for\nyou, O prince\u201d; and the next minute he reared himself out of the water,\nhuge and horrible to see. Swiftly he drew near to the bank, and the\nprince sprang to meet him, and they grasped each other round the body\nand fought till it was noon. And when the sun was at its hottest, the\ndragon cried:\n\n\u201cO prince, let me dip my burning head in the lake, and I will hurl you\nto the top of the sky.\u201d But the prince answered:\n\n\u201cOh, ho! my good dragon, do not crow too soon! If the emperor\u2019s\ndaughter were only here, and she would kiss my forehead, I would throw\nyou higher still.\u201d\n\nHardly had he spoken, when the princess, who had been listening, ran up\nand kissed him on the forehead. Then the prince swung the dragon\nstraight up into the clouds, and when he touched the earth again, he\nbroke into a thousand pieces. Out of the pieces there sprang a wild\nboar and galloped away, but the prince called his hounds to give chase,\nand they caught the boar and tore it to bits. Out of the pieces there\nsprang a hare, and in a moment the greyhounds were after it, and they\ncaught it and killed it; and out of the hare there came a pigeon.\nQuickly the prince let loose his hawk, which soared straight into the\nair, then swooped upon the bird and brought it to his master. The\nprince cut open its body and found the sparrow inside, as the old woman\nhad said.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d cried the prince, holding the sparrow in his hand, \u201cnow you\nshall tell me where I can find my brothers.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not hurt me,\u201d answered the sparrow, \u201cand I will tell you with all\nmy heart.\u201d Behind your father\u2019s castle stands a mill, and in the mill\nare three slender twigs. Cut off these twigs and strike their roots\nwith them, and the iron door of a cellar will open. In the cellar you\nwill find as many people, young and old, women and children, as would\nfill a kingdom, and among them are your brothers.\u201d\n\nBy this time twilight had fallen, so the prince washed himself in the\nlake, took the hawk on his shoulder and the pipes under his arm, and\nwith his greyhounds before him and his flock behind him, marched gaily\ninto the town, the princess following them all, still trembling with\nfright. And so they passed through the streets, thronged with a\nwondering crowd, till they reached the castle.\n\nUnknown to anyone, the emperor had stolen out on horseback, and had\nhidden himself on the hill, where he could see all that happened. When\nall was over, and the power of the dragon was broken for ever, he rode\nquickly back to the castle, and was ready to receive the prince with\nopen arms, and to promise him his daughter to wife. The wedding took\nplace with great splendour, and for a whole week the town was hung with\ncoloured lamps, and tables were spread in the hall of the castle for\nall who chose to come and eat. And when the feast was over, the prince\ntold the emperor and the people who he really was, and at this everyone\nrejoiced still more, and preparations were made for the prince and\nprincess to return to their own kingdom, for the prince was impatient\nto set free his brothers.\n\nThe first thing he did when he reached his native country was to hasten\nto the mill, where he found the three twigs as the sparrow had told\nhim. The moment that he struck the root the iron door flew open, and\nfrom the cellar a countless multitude of men and women streamed forth.\nHe bade them go one by one wheresoever they would, while he himself\nwaited by the door till his brothers passed through. How delighted they\nwere to meet again, and to hear all that the prince had done to deliver\nthem from their enchantment. And they went home with him and served him\nall the days of their lives, for they said that he only who had proved\nhimself brave and faithful was fit to be king.\n\n[From Volksmarehen der Serben.]\n\n\n\n\nLittle Wildrose\n\n\nOnce upon a time the things in this story happened, and if they had not\nhappened then the story would never have been told. But that was the\ntime when wolves and lambs lay peacefully together in one stall, and\nshepherds dined on grassy banks with kings and queens.\n\nOnce upon a time, then, my dear good children, there lived a man. Now\nthis man was really a hundred years old, if not fully twenty years\nmore. And his wife was very old too\u2014how old I do not know; but some\nsaid she was as old as the goddess Venus herself. They had been very\nhappy all these years, but they would have been happier still if they\nhad had any children; but old though they were they had never made up\ntheir minds to do without them, and often they would sit over the fire\nand talk of how they would have brought up their children if only some\nhad come to their house.\n\nOne day the old man seemed sadder and more thoughtful than was common\nwith him, and at last he said to his wife: \u201cListen to me, old woman!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d asked she.\n\n\u201cGet me some money out of the chest, for I am going a long journey\u2014all\nthrough the world\u2014to see if I cannot find a child, for my heart aches\nto think that after I am dead my house will fall into the hands of a\nstranger. And this let me tell you: that if I never find a child I\nshall not come home again.\u201d\n\nThen the old man took a bag and filled it with food and money, and\nthrowing it over his shoulders, bade his wife farewell.\n\nFor long he wandered, and wandered, and wandered, but no child did he\nsee; and one morning his wanderings led him to a forest which was so\nthick with trees that no light could pass through the branches. The old\nman stopped when he saw this dreadful place, and at first was afraid to\ngo in; but he remembered that, after all, as the proverb says: \u201cIt is\nthe unexpected that happens,\u201d and perhaps in the midst of this black\nspot he might find the child he was seeking. So summoning up all his\ncourage he plunged boldly in.\n\nHow long he might have been walking there he never could have told you,\nwhen at last he reached the mouth of a cave where the darkness seemed a\nhundred times darker than the wood itself. Again he paused, but he felt\nas if something was driving him to enter, and with a beating heart he\nstepped in.\n\nFor some minutes the silence and darkness so appalled him that he stood\nwhere he was, not daring to advance one step. Then he made a great\neffort and went on a few paces, and suddenly, far before him, he saw\nthe glimmer of a light. This put new heart into him, and he directed\nhis steps straight towards the faint rays, till he could see, sitting\nby it, an old hermit, with a long white beard.\n\nThe hermit either did not hear the approach of his visitor, or\npretended not to do so, for he took no notice, and continued to read\nhis book. After waiting patiently for a little while, the old man fell\non his knees, and said: \u201cGood morning, holy father!\u201d But he might as\nwell have spoken to the rock. \u201cGood morning, holy father,\u201d he said\nagain, a little louder than before, and this time the hermit made a\nsign to him to come nearer. \u201cMy son,\u201d whispered he, in a voice that\nechoed through the cavern, \u201cwhat brings you to this dark and dismal\nplace? Hundreds of years have passed since my eyes have rested on the\nface of a man, and I did not think to look on one again.\u201d.\n\n\u201cMy misery has brought me here,\u201d replied the old man; \u201cI have no child,\nand all our lives my wife and I have longed for one. So I left my home,\nand went out into the world, hoping that somewhere I might find what I\nwas seeking.\u201d\n\nThen the hermit picked up an apple from the ground, and gave it to him,\nsaying: \u201cEat half of this apple, and give the rest to your wife, and\ncease wandering through the world.\u201d\n\nThe old man stooped and kissed the feet of the hermit for sheer joy,\nand left the cave. He made his way through the forest as fast as the\ndarkness would let him, and at length arrived in flowery fields, which\ndazzled him with their brightness. Suddenly he was seized with a\ndesperate thirst, and a burning in his throat. He looked for a stream\nbut none was to be seen, and his tongue grew more parched every moment.\nAt length his eyes fell on the apple, which all this while he had been\nholding in his hand, and in his thirst he forgot what the hermit had\ntold him, and instead of eating merely his own half, he ate up the old\nwoman\u2019s also; after that he went to sleep.\n\nWhen he woke up he saw something strange lying on a bank a little way\noff, amidst long trails of pink roses. The old man got up, rubbed his\neyes, and went to see what it was, when, to his surprise and joy, it\nproved to be a little girl about two years old, with a skin as pink and\nwhite as the roses above her. He took her gently in his arms, but she\ndid not seem at all frightened, and only jumped and crowed with\ndelight; and the old man wrapped his cloak round her, and set off for\nhome as fast as his legs would carry him.\n\nWhen they were close to the cottage where they lived he laid the child\nin a pail that was standing near the door, and ran into the house,\ncrying: \u201cCome quickly, wife, quickly, for I have brought you a\ndaughter, with hair of gold and eyes like stars!\u201d\n\nAt this wonderful news the old woman flew downstairs, almost tumbling\ndown ill her eagerness to see the treasure; but when her husband led\nher to the pail it was perfectly empty! The old man was nearly beside\nhimself with horror, while his wife sat down and sobbed with grief and\ndisappointment. There was not a spot round about which they did not\nsearch, thinking that somehow the child might have got out of the pail\nand hidden itself for fun; but the little girl was not there, and there\nwas no sign of her.\n\n\u201cWhere can she be?\u201d moaned the old man, in despair. \u201cOh, why did I ever\nleave her, even for a moment? Have the fairies taken her, or has some\nwild beast carried her off?\u201d And they began their search all over\nagain; but neither fairies nor wild beasts did they meet with, and with\nsore hearts they gave it up at last and turned sadly into the hut.\n\nAnd what had become of the baby? Well, finding herself left alone in a\nstrange place she began to cry with fright, and an eagle hovering near,\nheard her, and went to see what the sound came from. When he beheld the\nfat pink and white creature he thought of his hungry little ones at\nhome, and swooping down he caught her up in his claws and was soon\nflying with her over the tops of the trees. In a few minutes he reached\nthe one in which he had built his nest, and laying little Wildrose (for\nso the old man had called her) among his downy young eaglets, he flew\naway. The eaglets naturally were rather surprised at this strange\nanimal, so suddenly popped down in their midst, but instead of\nbeginning to eat her, as their father expected, they nestled up close\nto her and spread out their tiny wings to shield her from the sun.\n\nNow, in the depths of the forest where the eagle had built his nest,\nthere ran a stream whose waters were poisonous, and on the banks of\nthis stream dwelt a horrible lindworm with seven heads. The lindworm\nhad often watched the eagle flying about the top of the tree, carrying\nfood to his young ones and, accordingly, he watched carefully for the\nmoment when the eaglets began to try their wings and to fly away from\nthe nest. Of course, if the eagle himself was there to protect them\neven the lindworm, big and strong as he was, knew that he could do\nnothing; but when he was absent, any little eaglets who ventured too\nnear the ground would be sure to disappear down the monster\u2019s throat.\nTheir brothers, who had been left behind as too young and weak to see\nthe world, knew nothing of all this, but supposed their turn would soon\ncome to see the world also. And in a few days their eyes, too, opened\nand their wings flapped impatiently, and they longed to fly away above\nthe waving tree-tops to mountain and the bright sun beyond. But that\nvery midnight the lindworm, who was hungry and could not wait for his\nsupper, came out of the brook with a rushing noise, and made straight\nfor the tree. Two eyes of flame came creeping nearer, nearer, and two\nfiery tongues were stretching themselves out closer, closer, to the\nlittle birds who were trembling and shuddering in the farthest corner\nof the nest. But just as the tongues had almost reached them, the\nlindworm gave a fearful cry, and turned and fell backwards. Then came\nthe sound of battle from the ground below, and the tree shook, though\nthere was no wind, and roars and snarls mixed together, till the\neaglets felt more frightened than ever, and thought their last hour had\ncome. Only Wildrose was undisturbed, and slept sweetly through it all.\n\nIn the morning the eagle returned and saw traces of a fight below the\ntree, and here and there a handful of yellow mane lying about, and here\nand there a hard scaly substance; when he saw that he rejoiced greatly,\nand hastened to the nest.\n\n\u201cWho has slain the lindworm?\u201d he asked of his children; there were so\nmany that he did not at first miss the two which the lindworm had\neaten. But the eaglets answered that they could not tell, only that\nthey had been in danger of their lives, and at the last moment they had\nbeen delivered. Then the sunbeam had struggled through the thick\nbranches and caught Wildrose\u2019s golden hair as she lay curled up in the\ncorner, and the eagle wondered, as he looked, whether the little girl\nhad brought him luck, and it was her magic which had killed his enemy.\n\n\u201cChildren,\u201d he said, \u201cI brought her here for your dinner, and you have\nnot touched her; what is the meaning of this?\u201d But the eaglets did not\nanswer, and Wildrose opened her eyes, and seemed seven times lovelier\nthan before.\n\nFrom that day Wildrose lived like a little princess. The eagle flew\nabout the wood and collected the softest, greenest moss he could find\nto make her a bed, and then he picked with his beak all the brightest\nand prettiest flowers in the fields or on the mountains to decorate it.\nSo cleverly did he manage it that there was not a fairy in the whole of\nthe forest who would not have been pleased to sleep there, rocked to\nand fro by the breeze on the treetops. And when the little ones were\nable to fly from their nest he taught them where to look for the fruits\nand berries which she loved.\n\nSo the time passed by, and with each year Wildrose grew taller and more\nbeautiful, and she lived happily in her nest and never wanted to go out\nof it, only standing at the edge in the sunset, and looking upon the\nbeautiful world. For company she had all the birds in the forest, who\ncame and talked to her, and for playthings the strange flowers which\nthey brought her from far, and the butterflies which danced with her.\nAnd so the days slipped away, and she was fourteen years old.\n\nOne morning the emperor\u2019s son went out to hunt, and he had not ridden\nfar, before a deer started from under a grove of trees, and ran before\nhim. The prince instantly gave chase, and where the stag led he\nfollowed, till at length he found himself in the depths of the forest,\nwhere no man before had trod.\n\nThe trees were so thick and the wood so dark, that he paused for a\nmoment and listened, straining his ears to catch some sound to break a\nsilence which almost frightened him. But nothing came, not even the\nbaying of a hound or the note of a horn. He stood still, and wondered\nif he should go on, when, on looking up, a stream of light seemed to\nflow from the top of a tall tree. In its rays he could see the nest\nwith the young eaglets, who were watching him over the side. The prince\nfitted an arrow into his bow and took his aim, but, before he could let\nfly, another ray of light dazzled him; so brilliant was it, that his\nbow dropped, and he covered his face with his hands. When at last he\nventured to peep, Wildrose, with her golden hair flowing round her, was\nlooking at him. This was the first time she had seen a man.\n\n\u201cTell me how I can reach you?\u201d cried he; but Wildrose smiled and shook\nher head, and sat down quietly.\n\nThe prince saw that it was no use, and turned and made his way out of\nthe forest. But he might as well have stayed there, for any good he was\nto his father, so full was his heart of longing for Wildrose. Twice he\nreturned to the forest in the hopes of finding her, but this time\nfortune failed him, and he went home as sad as ever.\n\nAt length the emperor, who could not think what had caused this change,\nsent for his son and asked him what was the matter. Then the prince\nconfessed that the image of Wildrose filled his soul, and that he would\nnever be happy without her. At first the emperor felt rather\ndistressed. He doubted whether a girl from a tree top would make a good\nempress; but he loved his son so much that he promised to do all he\ncould to find her. So the next morning heralds were sent forth\nthroughout the whole land to inquire if anyone knew where a maiden\ncould be found who lived in a forest on the top of a tree, and to\npromise great riches and a place at court to any person who should find\nher. But nobody knew. All the girls in the kingdom had their homes on\nthe ground, and laughed at the notion of being brought up in a tree. \u201cA\nnice kind of empress she would make,\u201d they said, as the emperor had\ndone, tossing their heads with disdain; for, having read many books,\nthey guessed what she was wanted for.\n\nThe heralds were almost in despair, when an old woman stepped out of\nthe crowd and came and spoke to them. She was not only very old, but\nshe was very ugly, with a hump on her back and a bald head, and when\nthe heralds saw her they broke into rude laughter. \u201cI can show you the\nmaiden who lives in the tree-top,\u201d she said, but they only laughed the\nmore loudly.\n\n\u201cGet away, old witch!\u201d they cried, \u201cyou will bring us bad luck\u201d; but\nthe old woman stood firm, and declared that she alone knew where to\nfind the maiden.\n\n\u201cGo with her,\u201d said the eldest of the heralds at last. \u201cThe emperor\u2019s\norders are clear, that whoever knew anything of the maiden was to come\nat once to court. Put her in the coach and take her with us.\u201d\n\nSo in this fashion the old woman was brought to court.\n\n\u201cYou have declared that you can bring hither the maiden from the wood?\u201d\nsaid the emperor, who was seated on his throne.\n\n\u201cYes, your Majesty, and I will keep my word,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cThen bring her at once,\u201d said the emperor.\n\n\u201cGive me first a kettle and a tripod,\u201d asked the old w omen, and the\nemperor ordered them to be brought instantly. The old woman picked them\nup, and tucking them under her arm went on her way, keeping at a little\ndistance behind the royal huntsmen, who in their turn followed the\nprince.\n\nOh, what a noise that old woman made as she walked along! She chattered\nto herself so fast and clattered her kettle so loudly that you would\nhave thought that a whole campful of gipsies must be coming round the\nnext corner. But when they reached the forest, she bade them all wait\noutside, and entered the dark wood by herself.\n\nShe stopped underneath the tree where the maiden dwelt and, gathering\nsome dry sticks, kindled a fire. Next, she placed the tripod over it,\nand the kettle on top. But something was the matter with the kettle. As\nfast as the old woman put it where it was to stand, that kettle was\nsure to roll off, falling to the ground with a crash.\n\nIt really seemed bewitched, and no one knows what might have happened\nif Wildrose, who had been all the time peeping out of her nest, had not\nlost patience at the old woman\u2019s stupidity, and cried out: \u201cThe tripod\nwon\u2019t stand on that hill, you must move it!\u201d\n\n\u201cBut where am I to move it to, my child?\u201d asked the old woman, looking\nup to the nest, and at the same moment trying to steady the kettle with\none hand and the tripod with the other.\n\n\u201cDidn\u2019t I tell you that it was no good doing that,\u201d said Wildrose, more\nimpatiently than before. \u201cMake a fire near a tree and hang the kettle\nfrom one of the branches.\u201d\n\nThe old woman took the kettle and hung it on a little twig, which broke\nat once, and the kettle fell to the ground.\n\n\u201cIf you would only show me how to do it, perhaps I should understand,\u201d\nsaid she.\n\nQuick as thought, the maiden slid down the smooth trunk of the tree,\nand stood beside the stupid old woman, to teach her how things ought to\nbe done. But in an instant the old woman had caught up the girl and\nswung her over her shoulders, and was running as fast as she could go\nto the edge of the forest, where she had left the prince. When he saw\nthem coming he rushed eagerly to meet them, and he took the maiden in\nhis arms and kissed her tenderly before them all. Then a golden dress\nwas put on her, and pearls were twined in her hair, and she took her\nseat in the emperor\u2019s carriage which was drawn by six of the whitest\nhorses in the world, and they carried her, without stopping to draw\nbreath, to the gates of the palace. And in three days the wedding was\ncelebrated, and the wedding feast was held, and everyone who saw the\nbride declared that if anybody wanted a perfect wife they must go to\nseek her on top of a tree.\n\n[ Adapted from file Roumanian.]\n\n\n\n\nTiidu The Piper\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a poor man who had more children than\nbread to feed them with. However, they were strong and willing, and\nsoon learned to make themselves of use to their father and mother, and\nwhen they were old enough they went out to service, and everyone was\nvery glad to get them for servants, for they worked hard and were\nalways cheerful. Out of all the ten or eleven, there was only one who\ngave his parents any trouble, and this was a big lazy boy whose name\nwas Tiidu. Neither scoldings nor beatings nor kind words had any effect\non him, and the older he grew the idler he got. He spent his winters\ncrouching close to a warm stove, and his summers asleep under a shady\ntree; and if he was not doing either of these things he was playing\ntunes on his flute.\n\nOne day he was sitting under a bush playing so sweetly that you might\neasily have mistaken the notes for those of a bird, when an old man\npassed by. \u201cWhat trade do you wish to follow, my son?\u201d he asked in a\nfriendly voice, stopping as he did so in front of the youth.\n\n\u201cIf I were only a rich man, and had no need to work,\u201d replied the boy,\n\u201cI should not follow any. I could not bear to be anybody\u2019s servant, as\nall my brothers and sisters are.\u201d\n\nThe old man laughed as he heard this answer, and said: \u201cBut I do not\nexactly see where your riches are to come from if you do not work for\nthem. Sleeping cats catch no mice. He who wishes to become rich must\nuse either his hands or his head, and be ready to toil night and day,\nor else\u2014\u201d\n\nBut here the youth broke in rudely:\n\n\u201cBe silent, old man! I have been told all that a hundred times over;\nand it runs off me like water off a duck\u2019s back. No one will ever make\na worker out of me.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have one gift,\u201d replied the old man, taking no notice of this\nspeech, \u201cand if you would only go about and play the pipes, you would\neasily earn, not only your daily bread, but a little money into the\nbargain. Listen to me; get yourself a set of pipes, and learn to play\non them as well as you do on your flute, and wherever there are men to\nhear you, I promise you will never lack money.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut where am I to get the pipes from?\u201d asked the youth.\n\n\u201cBlow on your flute for a few days,\u201d replied the old man, \u201cand you will\nsoon be able to buy your pipes. By-and-by I will come back again and\nsee if you have taken my advice, and whether you are likely to grow\nrich.\u201d And so saying he went his way.\n\nTiidu stayed where he was a little longer, thinking of all the old man\nhad told him, and the more he thought the surer he felt that the old\nman was right. He determined to try whether his plan would really bring\nluck; but as he did not like being laughed at he resolved not to tell\nanyone a word about it. So next morning he left home\u2014and never came\nback! His parents did not take his loss much to heart, but were rather\nglad that their useless son had for once shown a little spirit, and\nthey hoped that time and hardship might cure Tiidu of his idle folly.\n\nFor some weeks Tiidu wandered from one village to another, and proved\nfor himself the truth of the old man\u2019s promise. The people he met were\nall friendly and kind, and enjoyed his flute-playing, giving him his\nfood in return, and even a few pence. These pence the youth hoarded\ncarefully till he had collected enough to buy a beautiful pair of\npipes. Then he felt himself indeed on the high road to riches. Nowhere\ncould pipes be found as fine as his, or played in so masterly a manner.\nTiidu\u2019s pipes set everybody\u2019s legs dancing. Wherever there was a\nmarriage, a christening, or a feast of any kind, Tiidu must be there,\nor the evening would be a failure. In a few years he had become so\nnoted a piper that people would travel far and wide to hear him.\n\nOne day he was invited to a christening where many rich men from the\nneighbouring town were present, and all agreed that never in all their\nlives had they heard such playing as his. They crowded round him, and\npraised him, and pressed him to come to their homes, declaring that it\nwas a shame not to give their friends the chance of hearing such music.\nOf course all this delighted Tiidu, who accepted gladly, and left their\nhouses laden with money and presents of every kind; one great lord\nclothed him in a magnificent dress, a second hung a chain of pearls\nround his neck, while a third handed him a set of new pipes encrusted\nin silver. As for the ladies, the girls twisted silken scarves round\nhis plumed hat, and their mothers knitted him gloves of all colours, to\nkeep out the cold. Any other man in Tiidu\u2019s place would have been\ncontented and happy in this life; but his craving for riches gave him\nno rest, and only goaded him day by day to fresh exertions, so that\neven his own mother would not have known him for the lazy boy who was\nalways lying asleep in one place or the other.\n\nNow Tiidu saw quite clearly that he could only hope to become rich by\nmeans of his pipes, and set about thinking if there was nothing he\ncould do to make the money flow in faster. At length he remembered\nhaving heard some stories of a kingdom in the Kungla country, where\nmusicians of all sorts were welcomed and highly paid; but where it was,\nor how it was reached, he could not recollect, however hard he thought.\nIn despair, he wandered along the coast, hoping to see some ship or\nsailing boat that would take him where he wished to go, and at length\nhe reached the town of Narva, where several merchantmen were lying at\nanchor. To his great joy, he found that one of them was sailing for\nKungla in a few days, and he hastily went on board, and asked for the\ncaptain. But the cost of the passage was more than the prudent Tiidu\ncared to pay, and though he played his best on his pipes, the captain\nrefused to lower his price, and Tiidu was just thinking of returning on\nshore when his usual luck flew to his aid. A young sailor, who had\nheard him play, came secretly to him, and offered to hide him on board,\nin the absence of the captain. So the next night, as soon as it was\ndark, Tiidu stepped softly on deck, and was hidden by his friend down\nin the hold in a corner between two casks. Unseen by the rest of the\ncrew the sailor managed to bring him food and drink, and when they were\nwell out of sight of land he proceeded to carry out a plan he had\ninvented to deliver Tiidu from his cramped quarters. At midnight, while\nhe was keeping watch and everyone else was sleeping, the man bade his\nfriend Tiidu follow him on deck, where he tied a rope round Tiidu\u2019s\nbody, fastening the other end carefully to one of the ship\u2019s ropes.\n\u201cNow,\u201d he said, \u201cI will throw you into the sea, and you must shout for\nhelp; and when you see the sailors coming untie the rope from your\nwaist, and tell them that you have swum after the ship all the way from\nshore.\u201d\n\nAt first Tiidu did not much like this scheme, for the sea ran high, but\nhe was a good swimmer, and the sailor assured him that there was no\ndanger. As soon as he was in the water, his friend hastened to rouse\nhis mates, declaring that he was sure that there was a man in the sea,\nfollowing the ship. They all came on deck, and what was their surprise\nwhen they recognised the person who had bargained about a passage the\nprevious day with the captain.\n\n\u201cAre you a ghost, or a dying man?\u201d they asked him trembling, as they\nstooped over the side of the ship.\n\n\u201cI shall soon indeed be a dead man if you do not help me,\u201d answered\nTiidu, \u201cfor my strength is going fast.\u201d\n\nThen the captain seized a rope and flung it out to him, and Tiidu held\nit between his teeth, while, unseen by the sailors; he loosed the one\ntied round his waist.\n\n\u201cWhere have you come from?\u201d said the captain, when Tiidu was brought up\non board the ship.\n\n\u201cI have followed you from the harbour,\u201d answered he, \u201cand have been\noften in sore dread lest my strength should fail me. I hoped that by\nswimming after the ship I might at last reach Kungla, as I had no money\nto pay my passage.\u201d The captain\u2019s heart melted at these words, and he\nsaid kindly: \u201cYou may be thankful that you were not drowned. I will\nland you at Kungla free of payment, as you are so anxious to get there.\nSo he gave him dry clothes to wear, and a berth to sleep in, and Tiidu\nand his friend secretly made merry over their cunning trick.\n\nFor the rest of the voyage the ship\u2019s crew treated Tiidu as something\nhigher than themselves, seeing that in all their lives they had never\nmet with any man that could swim for as many hours as he had done. This\npleased Tiidu very much, though he knew that he had really done nothing\nto deserve it, and in return he delighted them by tunes on his pipes.\nWhen, after some days, they cast anchor at Kungla, the story of his\nwonderful swim brought him many friends, for everybody wished to hear\nhim tell the tale himself. This might have been all very well, had not\nTiidu lived in dread that some day he would be asked to give proof of\nhis marvellous swimming powers, and then everything would be found out.\nMeanwhile he was dazzled with the splendour around him, and more than\never he longed for part of the riches, about which the owners seemed to\ncare so little.\n\nHe wandered through the streets for many days, seeking some one who\nwanted a servant; but though more than one person would have been glad\nto engage him, they seemed to Tiidu not the sort of people to help him\nto get rich quickly. At last, when he had almost made up his mind that\nhe must accept the next place offered him, he happened to knock at the\ndoor of a rich merchant who was in need of a scullion, and gladly\nagreed to do the cook\u2019s bidding, and it was in this merchant\u2019s house\nthat he first learned how great were the riches of the land of Kungla.\nAll the vessels which in other countries are made of iron, copper,\nbrass, or tin, in Kungla were made of silver, or even of gold. The food\nwas cooked in silver saucepans, the bread baked in a silver oven, while\nthe dishes and their covers were all of gold. Even the very pigs\u2019\ntroughs were of silver too. But the sight of these things only made\nTiidu more covetous than before. \u201cWhat is the use of all this wealth\nthat I have constantly before my eyes,\u201d thought he, \u201cif none of it is\nmine? I shall never grow rich by what I earn as a scullion, even though\nI am paid as much in a month as I should get elsewhere in a year.\u201d\n\nBy this time he had been in his place for two years, and had put by\nquite a large sum of money. His passion of saving had increased to such\na pitch that it was only by his master\u2019s orders that he ever bought any\nnew clothes, \u201cFor,\u201d said the merchant, \u201cI will not have dirty people in\nmy house.\u201d So with a heavy heart Tiidu spent some of his next month\u2019s\nwages on a cheap coat.\n\nOne day the merchant held a great feast in honour of the christening of\nhis youngest child, and he gave each of his servants a handsome garment\nfor the occasion. The following Sunday, Tiidu, who liked fine clothes\nwhen he did not have to pay for them, put on his new coat, and went for\na walk to some beautiful pleasure gardens, which were always full of\npeople on a sunny day. He sat down under a shady tree, and watched the\npassers-by, but after a little he began to feel rather lonely, for he\nknew nobody and nobody knew him. Suddenly his eyes fell on the figure\nof an old man, which seemed familiar to him, though he could not tell\nwhen or where he had seen it. He watched the figure for some time, till\nat length the old man left the crowded paths, and threw himself on the\nsoft grass under a lime tree, which stood at some distance from where\nTiidu was sitting. Then the young man walked slowly past, in order that\nhe might look at him more closely, and as he did so the old man smiled,\nand held out his hand.\n\n\u201cWhat have you done with your pipes?\u201d asked he; and then in a moment\nTiidu knew him. Taking his arm he drew him into a quiet place and told\nhim all that had happened since they had last met. The old man shook\nhis head as he listened, and when Tiidu had finished his tale, he said:\n\u201cA fool you are, and a fool you will always be! Was there ever such a\npiece of folly as to exchange your pipes for a scullion\u2019s ladle? You\ncould have made as much by the pipes in a day as your wages would have\ncome to in half a year. Go home and fetch your pipes, and play them\nhere, and you will soon see if I have spoken the truth.\u201d\n\nTiidu did not like this advice\u2014he was afraid that the people would\nlaugh at him; and, besides, it was long since he had touched his\npipes\u2014but the old man persisted, and at last Tiidu did as he was told.\n\n\u201cSit down on the bank by me,\u201d said the old man, when he came back, \u201cand\nbegin to play, and in a little while the people will flock round you.\u201d\nTiidu obeyed, at first without much heart; but somehow the tone of the\npipes was sweeter than he had remembered, and as he played, the crowd\nceased to walk and chatter, and stood still and silent round him. When\nhe had played for some time he took off his hat and passed it round,\nand dollars, and small silver coins, and even gold pieces, came\ntumbling in. Tiidu played a couple more tunes by way of thanks, then\nturned to go home, hearing on all sides murmurs of \u201cWhat a wonderful\npiper! Come back, we pray you, next Sunday to give us another treat.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did I tell you?\u201d said the old man, as they passed through the\ngarden gate. \u201cWas it not pleasanter to play for a couple of hours on\nthe pipes than to be stirring sauces all day long? For the second time\nI have shown you the path to follow; try to learn wisdom, and take the\nbull by the horns, lest your luck should slip from you! I can be your\nguide no longer, therefore listen to what I say, and obey me. Go every\nSunday afternoon to those gardens; and sit under the lime tree and play\nto the people, and bring a felt hat with a deep crown, and lay it on\nthe ground at your feet, so that everyone can throw some money into it.\nIf you are invited to play at a feast, accept willingly, but beware of\nasking a fixed price; say you will take whatever they may feel inclined\nto give. You will get far more money in the end. Perhaps, some day, our\npaths may cross, and then I shall see how far you have followed my\nadvice. Till then, farewell\u201d; and the old man went his way.\n\nAs before, his words came true, though Tiidu could not at once do his\nbidding, as he had first to fulfil his appointed time of service.\nMeanwhile he ordered some fine clothes, in which he played every Sunday\nin the gardens, and when he counted his gains in the evening they were\nalways more than on the Sunday before. At length he was free to do as\nhe liked, and he had more invitations to play than he could manage to\naccept, and at night, when the citizens used to go and drink in the\ninn, the landlord always begged Tiidu to come and play to them. Thus he\ngrew so rich that very soon he had his silver pipes covered with gold,\nso that they glistened in the light of the sun or the fire. In all\nKungla there was no prouder man than Tiidu.\n\nIn a few years he had saved such a large sum of money that he was\nconsidered a rich man even in Kungla, where everybody was rich. And\nthen he had leisure to remember that he had once had a home, and a\nfamily, and that he should like to see them both again, and show them\nhow well he could play. This time he would not need to hide in the\nship\u2019s hold, but could hire the best cabin if he wished to, or even\nhave a vessel all to himself. So he packed all his treasures in large\nchests, and sent them on board the first ship that was sailing to his\nnative land, and followed them with a light heart. The wind at starting\nwas fair, but it soon freshened, and in the night rose to a gale. For\ntwo days they ran before it, and hoped that by keeping well out to sea\nthey might be able to weather the storm, when, suddenly, the ship\nstruck on a rock, and began to fill. Orders were given to lower the\nboats, and Tiidu with three sailors got into one of them, but before\nthey could push away from the ship a huge wave overturned it, and all\nfour were flung into the water. Luckily for Tiidu an oar was floating\nnear him, and with its help he was able to keep on the surface of the\nwater; and when the sun rose, and the mist cleared away, he saw that he\nwas not far from shore. By hard swimming, for the sea still ran high,\nhe managed to reach it, and pulled himself out of the water, more dead\nthan alive. Then he flung himself down on the ground and fell fast\nasleep.\n\nWhen he awoke he got up to explore the island, and see if there were\nany men upon it; but though he found streams and fruit trees in\nabundance, there was no trace either of man or beast. Then, tired with\nhis wanderings he sat down and began to think.\n\nFor perhaps the first time in his life his thoughts did not instantly\nturn to money. It was not on his lost treasures that his mind dwelt,\nbut on his conduct to his parents: his laziness and disobedience as a\nboy; his forgetfulness of them as a man. \u201cIf wild animals were to come\nand tear me to pieces,\u201d he said to himself bitterly, \u201cit would be only\nwhat I deserve! My gains are all at the bottom of the sea\u2014well! lightly\nwon, lightly lost\u2014but it is odd that I feel I should not care for that\nif only my pipes were left me.\u201d Then he rose and walked a little\nfurther, till he saw a tree with great red apples shining amidst the\nleaves, and he pulled some down, and ate them greedily. After that he\nstretched himself out on the soft moss and went to sleep.\n\nIn the morning he ran to the nearest stream to wash himself, but to his\nhorror, when he caught sight of his face, he saw his nose had grown the\ncolour of an apple, and reached nearly to his waist. He started back\nthinking he was dreaming, and put up his hand; but, alas! the dreadful\nthing was true. \u201cOh, why does not some wild beast devour me?\u201d he cried\nto himself; \u201cnever, never, can I go again amongst my fellow-men! If\nonly the sea had swallowed me up, how much happier it had been for me!\u201d\nAnd he hid his head in his hands and wept. His grief was so violent,\nthat it exhausted him, and growing hungry he looked about for something\nto eat. Just above him was a bough of ripe, brown nuts, end he picked\nthem and ate a handful. To his surprise, as he was eating them, he felt\nhis nose grow shorter and shorter, and after a while he ventured to\nfeel it with his hand, and even to look in the stream again! Yes, there\nwas no mistake, it was as short as before, or perhaps a little shorter.\nIn his joy at this discovery Tiidu did a very bold thing. He took one\nof the apples out of his pocket, and cautiously bit a piece out of it.\nIn an instant his nose was as long as his chin, and in a deadly fear\nlest it should stretch further, he hastily swallowed a nut, and awaited\nthe result with terror. Supposing that the shrinking of his nose had\nonly been an accident before! Supposing that that nut and no other was\nable to cause its shrinking! In that case he had, by his own folly, in\nnot letting well alone, ruined his life completely. But, no! he had\nguessed rightly, for in no more time than his nose had taken to grow\nlong did it take to return to its proper size. \u201cThis may make my\nfortune,\u201d he said joyfully to himself; and he gathered some of the\napples, which he put into one pocket, and a good supply of nuts which\nhe put into the other. Next day he wove a basket out of some rushes, so\nthat if he ever left the island he might be able to carry his treasures\nabout.\n\nThat night he dreamed that his friend the old man appeared to him and\nsaid: \u201cBecause you did not mourn for your lost treasure, but only for\nyour pipes, I will give you a new set to replace them.\u201d And, behold! in\nthe morning when he got up a set of pipes was lying in the basket. With\nwhat joy did he seize them and begin one of his favourite tunes; and as\nhe played hope sprang up in his heart, and he looked out to sea, to try\nto detect the sign of a sail. Yes! there it was, making straight for\nthe island; and Tiidu, holding his pipes in his hand, dashed down to\nthe shore.\n\nThe sailors knew the island to be uninhabited, and were much surprised\nto see a man standing on the beach, waving his arms in welcome to them.\nA boat was put off, and two sailors rowed to the shore to discover how\nhe came there, and if he wished to be taken away. Tiidu told them the\nstory of his shipwreck, and the captain promised that he should come on\nboard, and sail with them back to Kungla; and thankful indeed was Tiidu\nto accept the offer, and to show his gratitude by playing on his pipes\nwhenever he was asked to do so.\n\nThey had a quick voyage, and it was not long before Tiidu found himself\nagain in the streets of the capital of Kungla, playing as he went\nalong. The people had heard no music like his since he went away, and\nthey crowded round him, and in their joy gave him whatever money they\nhad in their pockets. His first care was to buy himself some new\nclothes, which he sadly needed, taking care, however, that they should\nbe made after a foreign fashion. When they were ready, he set out one\nday with a small basket of his famous apples, and went up to the\npalace. He did not have to wait long before one of the royal servants\npassed by and bought all the apples, begging as he did so that the\nmerchant should return and bring some more. This Tiidu promised, and\nhastened away as if he had a mad bull behind him, so afraid was he that\nthe man should begin to eat an apple at once.\n\nIt is needless to say that for some days he took no more apples back to\nthe palace, but kept well away on the other side of the town, wearing\nother clothes, and disguised by a long black beard, so that even his\nown mother would not have known him.\n\nThe morning after his visit to the castle the whole city was in an\nuproar about the dreadful misfortune that had happened to the Royal\nFamily, for not only the king but his wife and children, had eaten of\nthe stranger\u2019s apples, and all, so said the rumour, were very ill. The\nmost famous doctors and the greatest magicians were hastily summoned to\nthe palace, but they shook their heads and came away again; never had\nthey met with such a disease in all the course of their experience.\nBy-and-bye a story went round the town, started no one knew how, that\nthe malady was in some way connected with the nose; and men rubbed\ntheir own anxiously, to be sure that nothing catching was in the air.\n\nMatters had been in this state for more than a week when it reached the\nears of the king that a man was living in an inn on the other side of\nthe town who declared himself able to cure all manner of diseases.\nInstantly the royal carriage was commanded to drive with all speed and\nbring back this magician, offering him riches untold if he could\nrestore their noses to their former length. Tiidu had expected this\nsummons, and had sat up all night changing his appearance, and so well\nhad he succeeded that not a trace remained either of the piper or of\nthe apple seller. He stepped into the carriage, and was driven post\nhaste to the king, who was feverishly counting every moment, for both\nhis nose and the queen\u2019s were by this time more than a yard long, and\nthey did not know where they would stop.\n\nNow Tiidu thought it would not look well to cure the royal family by\ngiving them the raw nuts; he felt that it might arouse suspicion. So he\nhad carefully pounded them into a powder, and divided the powder up\ninto small doses, which were to be put on the tongue and swallowed at\nonce. He gave one of these to the king and another to the queen, and\ntold them that before taking them they were to get into bed in a dark\nroom and not to move for some hours, after which they might be sure\nthat they would come out cured.\n\nThe king\u2019s joy was so great at this news that he would gladly have\ngiven Tiidu half of his kingdom; but the piper was no longer so greedy\nof money as he once was, before he had been shipwrecked on the island.\nIf he could get enough to buy a small estate and live comfortably on it\nfor the rest of his life, that was all he now cared for. However, the\nking ordered his treasure to pay him three times as much as he asked,\nand with this Tiidu went down to the harbour and engaged a small ship\nto carry him back to his native country. The wind was fair, and in ten\ndays the coast, which he had almost forgotten, stood clear before him.\nIn a few hours he was standing in his old home, where his father, three\nsisters, and two brothers gave him a hearty welcome. His mother and his\nother brothers had died some years before.\n\nWhen the meeting was over, he began to make inquiries about a small\nestate that was for sale near the town, and after he had bought it the\nnext thing was to find a wife to share it with him. This did not take\nlong either; and people who were at the wedding feast declared that the\nbest part of the whole day was the hour when Tiidu played to them on\nthe pipes before they bade each other farewell and returned to their\nhomes.\n\n[From Esthnische M\u00e4hrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nPaperarelloo\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a king and a queen who had one son. The\nking loved the boy very much, but the queen, who was a wicked woman,\nhated the sight of him; and this was the more unlucky for, when he was\ntwelve years old, his father died, and he was left alone in the world.\n\nNow the queen was very angry because the people, who knew how bad she\nwas, seated her son on the throne instead of herself, and she never\nrested till she had formed a plan to get him out of the way.\nFortunately, however, the young king was wise and prudent, and knew her\ntoo well to trust her.\n\nOne day, when his mourning was over, he gave orders that everything\nshould be made ready for a grand hunt. The queen pretended to be\ngreatly delighted that he was going to amuse himself once more, and\ndeclared that she would accompany him. \u201cNo, mother, I cannot let you\ncome,\u201d he answered; \u201cthe ground is rough, and you are not strong.\u201d But\nhe might as well have spoken to the winds: when the horn was sounded at\ndaybreak the queen was there with the rest.\n\nAll that day they rode, for game was plentiful, but towards evening the\nmother and son found themselves alone in a part of the country that was\nstrange to them. They wandered on for some time, without knowing where\nthey were going, till they met with a man whom they begged to give them\nshelter. \u201cCome with me,\u201d said the man gladly, for he was an ogre, and\nfed on human flesh; and the king and his mother went with him, and he\nled them to his house. When they got there they found to what a\ndreadful place they had come, and, falling on their knees, they offered\nhim great sums of money, if he would only spare their lives. The ogre\u2019s\nheart was moved at the sight of the queen\u2019s beauty, and he promised\nthat he would do her no harm; but he stabbed the boy at once, and\nbinding his body on a horse, turned him loose in the forest.\n\nThe ogre had happened to choose a horse which he had bought only the\nday before, and he did not know it was a magician, or he would not have\nbeen so foolish as to fix upon it on this occasion. The horse no sooner\nhad been driven off with the prince\u2019s body on its back than it galloped\nstraight to the home of the fairies, and knocked at the door with its\nhoof. The fairies heard the knock, but were afraid to open till they\nhad peeped from an upper window to see that it was no giant or ogre who\ncould do them harm. \u201cOh, look, sister!\u201d cried the first to reach the\nwindow, \u201cit is a horse that has knocked, and on its back there is bound\na dead boy, the most beautiful boy in all the world!\u201d Then the fairies\nran to open the door, and let in the horse and unbound the ropes which\nfastened the young king on its back. And they gathered round to admire\nhis beauty, and whispered one to the other: \u201cWe will make him alive\nagain, and will keep him for our brother.\u201d And so they did, and for\nmany years they all lived together as brothers and sisters.\n\nBy-and-by the boy grew into a man, as boys will, and then the oldest of\nthe fairies said to her sisters: \u201cNow I will marry him, and he shall be\nreally your brother.\u201d So the young king married the fairy, and they\nlived happily together in the castle; but though he loved his wife he\nstill longed to see the world.\n\nAt length this longing grew so strong on him that he could bear it no\nmore; and, calling the fairies together, he said to them: \u201cDear wife\nand sisters, I must leave you for a time, and go out and see the world.\nBut I shall think of you often, and one day I shall come back to you.\u201d\n\nThe fairies wept and begged him to stay, but he would not listen, and\nat last the eldest, who was his wife, said to him: \u201cIf you really will\nabandon us, take this lock of my hair with you; you will find it useful\nin time of need.\u201d So she cut off a long curl, and handed it to him.\n\nThe prince mounted his horse, and rode on all day without stopping\nonce. Towards evening he found himself in a desert, and, look where he\nwould, there was no such thing as a house or a man to be seen. \u201cWhat am\nI to do now?\u201d he thought. \u201cIf I go to sleep here wild beasts will come\nand eat me! Yet both I and my horse are worn out, and can go no\nfurther.\u201d Then suddenly he remembered the fairy\u2019s gift, and taking out\nthe curl he said to it: \u201cI want a castle here, and servants, and\ndinner, and everything to make me comfortable tonight; and besides\nthat, I must have a stable and fodder for my horse.\u201d And in a moment\nthe castle was before him just as he had wished.\n\nIn this way he travelled through many countries, till at last he came\nto a land that was ruled over by a great king. Leaving his horse\noutside the walls, he clad himself in the dress of a poor man, and went\nup to the palace. The queen, who was looking out of the window, saw him\napproaching, and filled with pity sent a servant to ask who he was and\nwhat he wanted. \u201cI am a stranger here,\u201d answered the young king, \u201cand\nvery poor. I have come to beg for some work.\u201d \u201cWe have everybody we\nwant,\u201d said the queen, when the servant told her the young man\u2019s reply.\n\u201cWe have a gate-keeper, and a hall porter, and servants of all sorts in\nthe palace; the only person we have not got is a goose-boy. Tell him\nthat he can be our goose-boy if he likes.\u201d The youth answered that he\nwas quite content to be goose-boy; and that was how he got his nickname\nof Paperarello. And in order that no one should guess that he was any\nbetter than a goose-boy should be, he rubbed his face and his rags over\nwith mud, and made himself altogether such a disgusting object that\nevery one crossed over to the other side of the road when he was seen\ncoming.\n\n\u201cDo go and wash yourself, Paperarello!\u201d said the queen sometimes, for\nhe did his work so well that she took an interest in him. \u201cOh, I should\nnot feel comfortable if I was clean, your Majesty,\u201d answered he, and\nwent whistling after his geese.\n\nIt happened one day that, owing to some accident to the great flour\nmills which supplied the city, there was no bread to be had, and the\nking\u2019s army had to do without. When the king heard of it, he sent for\nthe cook, and told him that by the next morning he must have all the\nbread that the oven, heated seven times over, could bake. \u201cBut, your\nMajesty, it is not possible,\u201d cried the poor man in despair. \u201cThe mills\nhave only just begun working, and the flour will not be ground till\nevening, and how can I heat the oven seven times in one night?\u201d \u201cThat\nis your affair,\u201d answered the King, who, when he took anything into his\nhead, would listen to nothing. \u201cIf you succeed in baking the bread you\nshall have my daughter to wife, but if you fail your head will pay for\nit.\u201d\n\nNow Paperarello, who was passing through the hall where the king was\ngiving his orders, heard these words, and said: \u201cYour Majesty, have no\nfears; I will bake your bread.\u201d \u201cVery well,\u201d answered the king; \u201cbut if\nyou fail, you will pay for it with your head!\u201d and signed that both\nshould leave his presence.\n\nThe cook was still trembling with the thought of what he had escaped,\nbut to his surprise Paperarello did not seem disturbed at all, and when\nnight came he went to sleep as usual. \u201cPaperarello,\u201d cried the other\nservants, when they saw him quietly taking off his clothes, \u201cyou cannot\ngo to bed; you will need every moment of the night for your work.\nRemember, the king is not to be played with!\u201d\n\n\u201cI really must have some sleep first,\u201d replied Paperarello, stretching\nhimself and yawning; and he flung himself on his bed, and was fast\nasleep in a moment. In an hour\u2019s time, the servants came and shook him\nby the shoulder. \u201cPaperarello, are you mad?\u201d said they. \u201cGet up, or you\nwill lose your head.\u201d \u201cOh, do let me sleep a little more, answered he.\nAnd this was all he would say, though the servants returned to wake him\nmany times in the night.\n\nAt last the dawn broke, and the servants rushed to his room, crying:\n\u201cPaperarello! Paperarello! get up, the king is coming. You have baked\nno bread, and of a surety he will have your head.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, don\u2019t scream so,\u201d replied Paperarello, jumping out of bed as he\nspoke; and taking the lock of hair in his hand, he went into the\nkitchen. And, behold! there stood the bread piled high\u2014four, five, six\novens full, and the seventh still waiting to be taken out of the oven.\nThe servants stood and stared in surprise, and the king said: \u201cWell\ndone, Paperarello, you have won my daughter.\u201d And he thought to\nhimself: \u201cThis fellow must really be a magician.\u201d\n\nBut when the princess heard what was in store for her she wept\nbitterly, and declared that never, never would she marry that dirty\nPaperarello! However, the king paid no heed to her tears and prayers,\nand before many days were over the wedding was celebrated with great\nsplendour, though the bridegroom had not taken the trouble to wash\nhimself, and was as dirty as before.\n\nWhen night came he went as usual to sleep among his geese, and the\nprincess went to the king and said: \u201cFather, I entreat you to have that\nhorrible Paperarello put to death.\u201d \u201cNo, no!\u201d replied her father, \u201che\nis a great magician, and before I put him to death, I must first find\nout the secret of his power, and then\u2014we shall see.\u201d\n\nSoon after this a war broke out, and everybody about the palace was\nvery busy polishing up armour and sharpening swords, for the king and\nhis sons were to ride at the head of the army. Then Paperarello left\nhis geese, and came and told the king that he wished to go to fight\nalso. The king gave him leave, and told him that he might go to the\nstable and take any horse he liked from the stables. So Paperarello\nexamined the horses carefully, but instead of picking out one of the\nsplendid well-groomed creatures, whose skin shone like satin, he chose\na poor lame thing, put a saddle on it, and rode after the other\nmen-at-arms who were attending the king. In a short time he stopped,\nand said to them: \u201cMy horse can go no further; you must go on to the\nwar without me, and I will stay here, and make some little clay\nsoldiers, and will play at a battle.\u201d The men laughed at him for being\nso childish, and rode on after their master.\n\nScarcely were they out of sight than Paperarello took out his curl, and\nwished himself the best armour, the sharpest sword, and the swiftest\nhorse in the world, and the next minute was riding as fast as he could\nto the field of battle. The fight had already begun, and the enemy was\ngetting the best of it, when Paperarello rode up, and in a moment the\nfortunes of the day had changed. Right and left this strange knight\nlaid about him, and his sword pierced the stoutest breast-plate, and\nthe strongest shield. He was indeed \u201ca host in himself,\u201d and his foes\nfled before him thinking he was only the first of a troop of such\nwarriors, whom no one could withstand. When the battle was over, the\nking sent for him to thank him for his timely help, and to ask what\nreward he should give him. \u201cNothing but your little finger, your\nMajesty,\u201d was his answer; and the king cut off his little finger and\ngave it to Paperarello, who bowed and hid it in his surcoat. Then he\nleft the field, and when the soldiers rode back they found him still\nsitting in the road making whole rows of little clay dolls.\n\nThe next day the king went out to fight another battle, and again\nPaperarello appeared, mounted on his lame horse. As on the day before,\nhe halted on the road, and sat down to make his clay soldiers; then a\nsecond time he wished himself armour, sword, and a horse, all sharper\nand better than those he had previously had, and galloped after the\nrest. He was only just in time: the enemy had almost beaten the king\u2019s\narmy back, and men whispered to each other that if the strange knight\ndid not soon come to their aid, they would be all dead men. Suddenly\nsomeone cried: \u201cHold on a little longer, I see him in the distance; and\nhis armour shines brighter, and his horse runs swifter, than\nyesterday.\u201d Then they took fresh heart and fought desperately on till\nthe knight came up, and threw himself into the thick of the battle. As\nbefore, the enemy gave way before him, and in a few minutes the victory\nremained with the king.\n\nThe first thing that the victor did was to send for the knight to thank\nhim for his timely help, and to ask what gift he could bestow on him in\ntoken of gratitude. \u201cYour Majesty\u2019s ear,\u201d answered the knight; and as\nthe king could not go back from his word, he cut it off and gave it to\nhim. Paperarello bowed, fastened the ear inside his surcoat and rode\naway. In the evening, when they all returned from the battle, there he\nwas, sitting in the road, making clay dolls.\n\nOn the third day the same thing happened, and this time he asked for\nthe king\u2019s nose as the reward of his aid. Now, to lose one\u2019s nose, is\nworse even than losing one\u2019s ear or one\u2019s finger, and the king\nhesitated as to whether he should comply. However, he had always prided\nhimself on being an honourable man, so he cut off his nose, and handed\nit to Paperarello. Paperarello bowed, put the nose in his surcoat, and\nrode away. In the evening, when the king returned from the battle, he\nfound Paperarello sitting in the road making clay dolls. And\nPaperarello got up and said to him: \u201cDo you know who I am? I am your\ndirty goose-boy, yet you have given me your finger, and your ear, and\nyour nose.\u201d\n\nThat night, when the king sat at dinner, Paperarello came in, and\nlaying down the ear, and the nose, and the finger on the table, turned\nand said to the nobles and courtiers who were waiting on the king: \u201cI\nam the invincible knight, who rode three times to your help, and I also\nam a king\u2019s son, and no goose-boy as you all think.\u201d And he went away\nand washed himself, and dressed himself in fine clothes and entered the\nhall again, looking so handsome that the proud princess fell in love\nwith him on the spot. But Paperarello took no notice of her, and said\nto the king: \u201cIt was kind of you to offer me your daughter in marriage,\nand for that I thank you; but I have a wife at home whom I love better,\nand it is to her that I am going. But as a token of farewell, I wish\nthat your ear, and nose, and finger may be restored to their proper\nplaces.\u201d So saying, he bade them all goodbye, and went back to his home\nand his fairy bride, with whom he lived happily till the end of his\nlife.\n\n[From Sicilianisohen M\u00e4hrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Gifts Of The Magician\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was an old man who lived in a little hut in the\nmiddle of a forest. His wife was dead, and he had only one son, whom he\nloved dearly. Near their hut was a group of birch trees, in which some\nblack-game had made their nests, and the youth had often begged his\nfather\u2019s permission to shoot the birds, but the old man always strictly\nforbade him to do anything of the kind.\n\nOne day, however, when the father had gone to a little distance to\ncollect some sticks for the fire, the boy fetched his bow, and shot at\na bird that was just flying towards its nest. But he had not taken\nproper aim, and the bird was only wounded, and fluttered along the\nground. The boy ran to catch it, but though he ran very fast, and the\nbird seemed to flutter along very slowly, he never could quite come up\nwith it; it was always just a little in advance. But so absorbed was he\nin the chase that he did not notice for some time that he was now deep\nin the forest, in a place where he had never been before. Then he felt\nit would be foolish to go any further, and he turned to find his way\nhome.\n\nHe thought it would be easy enough to follow the path along which he\nhad come, but somehow it was always branching off in unexpected\ndirections. He looked about for a house where he might stop and ask his\nway, but there was not a sign of one anywhere, and he was afraid to\nstand still, for it was cold, and there were many stories of wolves\nbeing seen in that part of the forest. Night fell, and he was beginning\nto start at every sound, when suddenly a magician came running towards\nhim, with a pack of wolves snapping at his heels. Then all the boy\u2019s\ncourage returned to him. He took his bow, and aiming an arrow at the\nlargest wolf, shot him through the heart, and a few more arrows soon\nput the rest to flight. The magician was full of gratitude to his\ndeliverer, and promised him a reward for his help if the youth would go\nback with him to his house.\n\n\u201cIndeed there is nothing that would be more welcome to me than a\nnight\u2019s lodging,\u201d answered the boy; \u201cI have been wandering all day in\nthe forest, and did not know how to get home again.\n\n\u201cCome with me, you must be hungry as well as tired,\u201d said the magician,\nand led the way to his house, where the guest flung himself on a bed,\nand went fast asleep. But his host returned to the forest to get some\nfood, for the larder was empty.\n\nWhile he was absent the housekeeper went to the boy\u2019s room and tried to\nwake him. She stamped on the floor, and shook him and called to him,\ntelling him that he was in great danger, and must take flight at once.\nBut nothing would rouse him, and if he did ever open his eyes he shut\nthem again directly.\n\nSoon after, the magician came back from the forest, and told the\nhousekeeper to bring them something to eat. The meal was quickly ready,\nand the magician called to the boy to come down and eat it, but he\ncould not be wakened, and they had to sit down to supper without him.\nBy-and-by the magician went out into the wood again for some more\nhunting, and on his return he tried afresh to waken the youth. But\nfinding it quite impossible, he went back for the third time to the\nforest.\n\nWhile he was absent the boy woke up and dressed himself. Then he came\ndownstairs and began to talk to the housekeeper. The girl had heard how\nhe had saved her master\u2019s life, so she said nothing more about his\nrunning away, but instead told him that if the magician offered him the\nchoice of a reward, he was to ask for the horse which stood in the\nthird stall of the stable.\n\nBy-and-by the old man came back and they all sat down to dinner. When\nthey had finished the magician said: \u201cNow, my son, tell me what you\nwill have as the reward of your courage?\u201d\n\n\u201cGive me the horse that stands in the third stall of your stable,\u201d\nanswered the youth. \u201cFor I have a long way to go before I get home, and\nmy feet will not carry me so far.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh! my son,\u201d replied the magician, \u201cit is the best horse in my stable\nthat you want! Will not anything else please you as well?\u201d\n\nBut the youth declared that it was the horse, and the horse only, that\nhe desired, and in the end the old man gave way. And besides the horse,\nthe magician gave him a zither, a fiddle, and a flute, saying: \u201cIf you\nare in danger, touch the zither; and if no one comes to your aid, then\nplay on the fiddle; but if that brings no help, blow on the flute.\u201d\n\nThe youth thanked the magician, and fastening his treasures about him\nmounted the horse and rode off. He had already gone some miles when, to\nhis great surprise, the horse spoke, and said: \u201cIt is no use your\nreturning home just now, your father will only beat you. Let us visit a\nfew towns first, and something lucky will be sure to happen to us.\u201d\n\nThis advice pleased the boy, for he felt himself almost a man by this\ntime, and thought it was high time he saw the world. When they entered\nthe capital of the country everyone stopped to admire the beauty of the\nhorse. Even the king heard of it, and came to see the splendid creature\nwith his own eyes. Indeed, he wanted directly to buy it, and told the\nyouth he would give any price he liked. The young man hesitated for a\nmoment, but before he could speak, the horse contrived to whisper to\nhim:\n\n\u201cDo not sell me, but ask the king to take me to his stable, and feed me\nthere; then his other horses will become just as beautiful as I.\u201d\n\nThe king was delighted when he was told what the horse had said, and\ntook the animal at once to the stables, and placed it in his own\nparticular stall. Sure enough, the horse had scarcely eaten a mouthful\nof corn out of the manger, when the rest of the horses seemed to have\nundergone a transformation. Some of them were old favourites which the\nking had ridden in many wars, and they bore the signs of age and of\nservice. But now they arched their heads, and pawed the ground with\ntheir slender legs as they had been wont to do in days long gone by.\nThe king\u2019s heart beat with delight, but the old groom who had had the\ncare of them stood crossly by, and eyed the owner of this wonderful\ncreature with hate and envy. Not a day passed without his bringing some\nstory against the youth to his master, but the king understood all\nabout the matter and paid no attention. At last the groom declared that\nthe young man had boasted that he could find the king\u2019s war horse which\nhad strayed into the forest several years ago, and had not been heard\nof since. Now the king had never ceased to mourn for his horse, so this\ntime he listened to the tale which the groom had invented, and sent for\nthe youth. \u201cFind me my horse in three days,\u201d said he, \u201cor it will be\nthe worse for you.\u201d\n\nThe youth was thunderstruck at this command, but he only bowed, and\nwent off at once to the stable.\n\n\u201cDo not worry yourself,\u201d answered his own horse. \u201cAsk the king to give\nyou a hundred oxen, and to let them be killed and cut into small\npieces. Then we will start on our journey, and ride till we reach a\ncertain river. There a horse will come up to you, but take no notice of\nhim. Soon another will appear, and this also you must leave alone, but\nwhen the third horse shows itself, throw my bridle over it.\u201d\n\nEverything happened just as the horse had said, and the third horse was\nsafely bridled. Then the other horse spoke again: \u201cThe magician\u2019s raven\nwill try to eat us as we ride away, but throw it some of the oxen\u2019s\nflesh, and then I will gallop like the wind, and carry you safe out of\nthe dragon\u2019s clutches.\u201d\n\nSo the young man did as he was told, and brought the horse back to the\nking.\n\nThe old stableman was very jealous, when he heard of it, and wondered\nwhat he could do to injure the youth in the eyes of his royal master.\nAt last he hit upon a plan, and told the king that the young man had\nboasted that he could bring home the king\u2019s wife, who had vanished many\nmonths before, without leaving a trace behind her. Then the king bade\nthe young man come into his presence, and desired him to fetch the\nqueen home again, as he had boasted he could do. And if he failed, his\nhead would pay the penalty.\n\nThe poor youth\u2019s heart stood still as he listened. Find the queen? But\nhow was he to do that, when nobody in the palace had been able to do\nso! Slowly he walked to the stable, and laying his head on his horse\u2019s\nshoulder, he said: \u201cThe king has ordered me to bring his wife home\nagain, and how can I do that when she disappeared so long ago, and no\none can tell me anything about her?\u201d\n\n\u201cCheer up!\u201d answered the horse, \u201cwe will manage to find her. You have\nonly got to ride me back to the same river that we went to yesterday,\nand I will plunge into it and take my proper shape again. For I am the\nking\u2019s wife, who was turned into a horse by the magician from whom you\nsaved me.\u201d\n\nJoyfully the young man sprang into the saddle and rode away to the\nbanks of the river. Then he threw himself off, and waited while the\nhorse plunged in. The moment it dipped its head into the water its\nblack skin vanished, and the most beautiful woman in the world was\nfloating on the water. She came smiling towards the youth, and held out\nher hand, and he took it and led her back to the palace. Great was the\nking\u2019s surprise and happiness when he beheld his lost wife stand before\nhim, and in gratitude to her rescuer he loaded him with gifts.\n\nYou would have thought that after this the poor youth would have been\nleft in peace; but no, his enemy the stableman hated him as much as\never, and laid a new plot for his undoing. This time he presented\nhimself before the king and told him that the youth was so puffed up\nwith what he had done that he had declared he would seize the king\u2019s\nthrone for himself.\n\nAt this news the king waxed so furious that he ordered a gallows to be\nerected at once, and the young man to be hanged without a trial. He was\nnot even allowed to speak in his own defence, but on the very steps of\nthe gallows he sent a message to the king and begged, as a last favour,\nthat he might play a tune on his zither. Leave was given him, and\ntaking the instrument from under his cloak he touched the strings.\nScarcely had the first notes sounded than the hangman and his helper\nbegan to dance, and the louder grew the music the higher they capered,\ntill at last they cried for mercy. But the youth paid no heed, and the\ntunes rang out more merrily than before, and by the time the sun set\nthey both sank on the ground exhausted, and declared that the hanging\nmust be put off till to-morrow.\n\nThe story of the zither soon spread through the town, and on the\nfollowing morning the king and his whole court and a large crowd of\npeople were gathered at the foot of the gallows to see the youth\nhanged. Once more he asked a favour\u2014permission to play on his fiddle,\nand this the king was graciously pleased to grant. But with the first\nnotes, the leg of every man in the crowd was lifted high, and they\ndanced to the sound of the music the whole day till darkness fell, and\nthere was no light to hang the musician by.\n\nThe third day came, and the youth asked leave to play on his flute.\n\u201cNo, no,\u201d said the king, \u201cyou made me dance all day yesterday, and if I\ndo it again it will certainly be my death. You shall play no more\ntunes. Quick! the rope round his neck.\u201d\n\nAt these words the young man looked so sorrowful that the courtiers\nsaid to the king: \u201cHe is very young to die. Let him play a tune if it\nwill make him happy.\u201d So, very unwillingly, the king gave him leave;\nbut first he had himself bound to a big fir tree, for fear that he\nshould be made to dance.\n\nWhen he was made fast, the young man began to blow softly on his flute,\nand bound though he was, the king\u2019s body moved to the sound, up and\ndown the fir tree till his clothes were in tatters, and the skin nearly\nrubbed off his back. But the youth had no pity, and went on blowing,\ntill suddenly the old magician appeared and asked: \u201cWhat danger are you\nin, my son, that you have sent for me?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey want to hang me,\u201d answered the young man; \u201cthe gallows are all\nready and the hangman is only waiting for me to stop playing.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I will put that right,\u201d said the magician; and taking the gallows,\nhe tore it up and flung it into the air, and no one knows where it came\ndown. \u201cWho has ordered you to be hanged?\u201d asked he.\n\nThe young man pointed to the king, who was still bound to the fir; and\nwithout wasting words the magician took hold of the tree also, and with\na mighty heave both fir and man went spinning through the air, and\nvanished in the clouds after the gallows.\n\nThen the youth was declared to be free, and the people elected him for\ntheir king; and the stable helper drowned himself from envy, for, after\nall, if it had not been for him the young man would have remained poor\nall the days of his life.\n\n[From Finnische M\u00e4hrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Strong Prince\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a king who was so fond of wine that he\ncould not go to sleep unless he knew he had a great flaskful tied to\nhis bed-post. All day long he drank till he was too stupid to attend to\nhis business, and everything in the kingdom went to rack and ruin. But\none day an accident happened to him, and he was struck on the head by a\nfalling bough, so that he fell from his horse and lay dead upon the\nground.\n\nHis wife and son mourned his loss bitterly, for, in spite of his\nfaults, he had always been kind to them. So they abandoned the crown\nand forsook their country, not knowing or caring where they went.\n\nAt length they wandered into a forest, and being very tired, sat down\nunder a tree to eat some bread that they had brought with them. When\nthey had finished the queen said: \u201cMy son, I am thirsty; fetch me some\nwater.\u201d\n\nThe prince got up at once and went to a brook which he heard gurgling\nnear at hand. He stooped and filled his hat with the water, which he\nbrought to his mother; then he turned and followed the stream up to its\nsource in a rock, where it bubbled out clear and fresh and cold. He\nknelt down to take a draught from the deep pool below the rock, when he\nsaw the reflection of a sword hanging from the branch of a tree over\nhis head. The young man drew back with a start; but in a moment he\nclimbed the tree, cutting the rope which held the sword, and carried\nthe weapon to his mother.\n\nThe queen was greatly surprised at the sight of anything so splendid in\nsuch a lonely place, and took it in her hands to examine it closely. It\nwas of curious workmanship, wrought with gold, and on its handle was\nwritten: \u201cThe man who can buckle on this sword will become stronger\nthan other men.\u201d The queen\u2019s heart swelled with joy as she read these\nwords, and she bade her son lose no time in testing their truth. So he\nfastened it round his waist, and instantly a glow of strength seemed to\nrun through his veins. He took hold of a thick oak tree and rooted it\nup as easily as if it had been a weed.\n\nThis discovery put new life into the queen and her son, and they\ncontinued their walk through the forest. But night was drawing on, and\nthe darkness grew so thick that it seemed as if it could be cut with a\nknife. They did not want to sleep in the wood, for they were afraid of\nwolves and other wild beasts, so they groped their way along, hand in\nhand, till the prince tripped over something which lay across the path.\nHe could not see what it was, but stooped down and tried to lift it.\nThe thing was very heavy, and he thought his back would break under the\nstrain. At last with a great heave he moved it out of the road, and as\nit fell he knew it was a huge rock. Behind the rock was a cave which it\nwas quite clear was the home of some robbers, though not one of the\nband was there.\n\nHastily putting out the fire which burned brightly at the back, and\nbidding his mother come in and keep very still, the prince began to\npace up and down, listening for the return of the robbers. But he was\nvery sleepy, and in spite of all his efforts he felt he could not keep\nawake much longer, when he heard the sound of the robbers returning,\nshouting and singing as they marched along. Soon the singing ceased,\nand straining his ears he heard them discussing anxiously what had\nbecome of their cave, and why they could not see the fire as usual.\n\u201cThis must be the place,\u201d said a voice, which the prince took to be\nthat of the captain. \u201cYes, I feel the ditch before the entrance.\nSomeone forgot to pile up the fire before we left and it has burnt\nitself out! But it is all right. Let every man jump across, and as he\ndoes so cry out \u2018Hop! I am here.\u2019 I will go last. Now begin.\u201d\n\nThe man who stood nearest jumped across, but he had no time to give the\ncall which the captain had ordered, for with one swift, silent stroke\nof the prince\u2019s sword, his head rolled into a corner. Then the young\nman cried instead, \u201cHop! I am here.\u201d\n\nThe second man, hearing the signal, leapt the ditch in confidence, and\nwas met by the same fate, and in a few minutes eleven of the robbers\nlay dead, and there remained only the captain.\n\nNow the captain had wound round his neck the shawl of his lost wife,\nand the stroke of the prince\u2019s sword fell harmless. Being very cunning,\nhowever, he made no resistance, and rolled over as if he were as dead\nas the other men. Still, the prince was no fool, and wondered if indeed\nhe was as dead as he seemed to be; but the captain lay so stiff and\nstark, that at last he was taken in.\n\nThe prince next dragged the headless bodies into a chamber in the cave,\nand locked the door. Then he and his mother ransacked the place for\nsome food, and when they had eaten it they lay down and slept in peace.\n\nWith the dawn they were both awake again, and found that, instead of\nthe cave which they had come to the night before, they now were in a\nsplendid castle, full of beautiful rooms. The prince went round all\nthese and carefully locked them up, bidding his mother take care of the\nkeys while he was hunting.\n\nUnfortunately, the queen, like all women, could not bear to think that\nthere was anything which she did not know. So the moment that her son\nhad turned his back, she opened the doors of all the rooms, and peeped\nin, till she came to the one where the robbers lay. But if the sight of\nthe blood on the ground turned her faint, the sight of the robber\ncaptain walking up and down was a greater shock still. She quickly\nturned the key in the lock, and ran back to the chamber she had slept\nin.\n\nSoon after her son came in, bringing with him a large bear, which he\nhad killed for supper. As there was enough food to last them for many\ndays, the prince did not hunt the next morning, but, instead, began to\nexplore the castle. He found that a secret way led from it into the\nforest; and following the path, he reached another castle larger and\nmore splendid than the one belonging to the robbers. He knocked at the\ndoor with his fist, and said that he wanted to enter; but the giant, to\nwhom the castle belonged, only answered: \u201cI know who you are. I have\nnothing to do with robbers.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am no robber,\u201d answered the prince. \u201cI am the son of a king, and I\nhave killed all the band. If you do not open to me at once I will break\nin the door, and your head shall go to join the others.\u201d\n\nHe waited a little, but the door remained shut as tightly as before.\nThen he just put his shoulder to it, and immediately the wood began to\ncrack. When the giant found that it was no use keeping it shut, he\nopened it, saying: \u201cI see you are a brave youth. Let there be peace\nbetween us.\u201d\n\nAnd the prince was glad to make peace, for he had caught a glimpse of\nthe giant\u2019s beautiful daughter, and from that day he often sought the\ngiant\u2019s house.\n\nNow the queen led a dull life all alone in the castle, and to amuse\nherself she paid visits to the robber captain, who flattered her till\nat last she agreed to marry him. But as she was much afraid of her son,\nshe told the robber that the next time the prince went to bathe in the\nriver, he was to steal the sword from its place above the bed, for\nwithout it the young man would have no power to punish him for his\nboldness.\n\nThe robber captain thought this good counsel, and the next morning,\nwhen the young man went to bathe, he unhooked the sword from its nail\nand buckled it round his waist. On his return to the castle, the prince\nfound the robber waiting for him on the steps, waving the sword above\nhis head, and knowing that some horrible fate was in store, fell on his\nknees and begged for mercy. But he might as well have tried to squeeze\nblood out of a stone. The robber, indeed, granted him his life, but\ntook out both his eyes, which he thrust into the prince\u2019s hand, saying\nbrutally:\n\n\u201cHere, you had better keep them! You may find them useful!\u201d\n\nWeeping, the blind youth felt his way to the giant\u2019s house, and told\nhim all the story.\n\nThe giant was full of pity for the poor young man, but inquired\nanxiously what he had done with the eyes. The prince drew them out of\nhis pocket, and silently handed them to the giant, who washed them\nwell, and then put them back in the prince\u2019s head. For three days he\nlay in utter darkness; then the light began to come back, till soon he\nsaw as well as ever.\n\nBut though he could not rejoice enough over the recovery of his eyes,\nhe bewailed bitterly the loss of his sword, and that it should have\nfallen to the lot of his bitter enemy.\n\n\u201cNever mind, my friend,\u201d said the giant, \u201cI will get it back for you.\u201d\nAnd he sent for the monkey who was his head servant.\n\n\u201cTell the fox and the squirrel that they are to go with you, and fetch\nme back the prince\u2019s sword,\u201d ordered he.\n\nThe three servants set out at once, one seated on the back of the\nothers, the ape, who disliked walking, being generally on top. Directly\nthey came to the window of the robber captain\u2019s room, the monkey sprang\nfrom the backs of the fox and the squirrel, and climbed in. The room\nwas empty, and the sword hanging from a nail. He took it down, and\nbuckling it round his waist, as he had seen the prince do, swung\nhimself down again, and mounting on the backs of his two companions,\nhastened to his master. The giant bade him give the sword to the\nprince, who girded himself with it, and returned with all speed to the\ncastle.\n\n\u201cCome out, you rascal! come out, you villain!\u201d cried he, \u201cand answer to\nme for the wrong you have done. I will show you who is the master in\nthis house!\u201d\n\nThe noise he made brought the robber into the room. He glanced up to\nwhere the sword usually hung, but it was gone; and instinctively he\nlooked at the prince\u2019s hand, where he saw it gleaming brightly. In his\nturn he fell on his knees to beg for mercy, but it was too late. As he\nhad done to the prince, so the prince did to him, and, blinded, he was\nthrust forth, and fell down a deep hole, where he is to this day. His\nmother the prince sent back to her father, and never would see her\nagain. After this he returned to the giant, and said to him:\n\n\u201cMy friend, add one more kindness to those you have already heaped on\nme. Give me your daughter as my wife.\u201d\n\nSo they were married, and the wedding feast was so splendid that there\nwas not a kingdom in the world that did not hear of it. And the prince\nnever went back to his father\u2019s throne, but lived peacefully with his\nwife in the forest, where, if they are not dead, they are living still.\n\n[From Ungarische Volksmarchen.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Treasure Seeker\n\n\nOnce, long ago, in a little town that lay in the midst of high hills\nand wild forests, a party of shepherds sat one night in the kitchen of\nthe inn talking over old times, and telling of the strange things that\nhad befallen them in their youth.\n\nPresently up spoke the silver-haired Father Martin.\n\n\u201cComrades,\u201d said he, \u201cyou have had wonderful adventures; but I will\ntell you something still more astonishing that happened to myself. When\nI was a young lad I had no home and no one to care for me, and I\nwandered from village to village all over the country with my knapsack\non my back; but as soon as I was old enough I took service with a\nshepherd in the mountains, and helped him for three years. One autumn\nevening as we drove the flock homeward ten sheep were missing, and the\nmaster bade me go and seek them in the forest. I took my dog with me,\nbut he could find no trace of them, though we searched among the bushes\ntill night fell; and then, as I did not know the country and could not\nfind my way home in the dark, I decided to sleep under a tree. At\nmidnight my dog became uneasy, and began to whine and creep close to me\nwith his tail between his legs; by this I knew that something was\nwrong, and, looking about, I saw in the bright moonlight a figure\nstanding beside me. It seemed to be a man with shaggy hair, and a long\nbeard which hung down to his knees. He had a garland upon his head, and\na girdle of oak-leaves about his body, and carried an uprooted fir-tree\nin his right hand. I shook like an aspen leaf at the sight, and my\nspirit quaked for fear. The strange being beckoned with his hand that I\nshould follow him; but as I did not stir from the spot he spoke in a\nhoarse, grating voice: \u2018Take courage, faint-hearted shepherd. I am the\nTreasure Seeker of the mountain. If you will come with me you shall dig\nup much gold.\u2019\n\n\u201cThough I was still deadly cold with terror I plucked up my courage and\nsaid: \u2018Get away from me, evil spirit; I do not desire your treasures.\u2019\n\n\u201cAt this the spectre grinned in my face and cried mockingly:\n\n\u201c\u2018Simpleton! Do you scorn your good fortune? Well, then, remain a\nragamuffin all your days.\u2019\n\n\u201cHe turned as if to go away from me, then came back again and said:\n\u2018Bethink yourself, bethink yourself, rogue. I will fill your knapsack\u2014I\nwill fill your pouch.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Away from me, monster,\u2019 I answered, \u2018I will have nothing to do with\nyou.\u2019\n\n\u201cWhen the apparition saw that I gave no heed to him he ceased to urge\nme, saying only: \u2018Some day you will rue this,\u2019 and looked at me sadly.\nThen he cried: \u2018Listen to what I say, and lay it well to heart, it may\nbe of use to you when you come to your senses. A vast treasure of gold\nand precious stones lies in safety deep under the earth. At twilight\nand at high noon it is hidden, but at midnight it may be dug up. For\nseven hundred years have I watched over it, but now my time has come;\nit is common property, let him find it who can. So I thought to give it\ninto your hand, having a kindness for you because you feed your flock\nupon my mountain.\u2019\n\n\u201cThereupon the spectre told me exactly where the treasure lay, and how\nto find it. It might be only yesterday so well do I remember every word\nhe spoke.\n\n\u201c\u2018Go towards the little mountains,\u2019 said he, \u2018and ask there for the\nBlack King\u2019s Valley, and when you come to a tiny brook follow the\nstream till you reach the stone bridge beside the saw-mill. Do not\ncross the bridge, but keep to your right along the bank till a high\nrock stands before you. A bow-shot from that you will discover a little\nhollow like a grave. When you find this hollow dig it out; but it will\nbe hard work, for the earth has been pressed down into it with care.\nStill, work away till you find solid rock on all sides of you, and soon\nyou will come to a square slab of stone; force it out of the wall, and\nyou will stand at the entrance of the treasure house. Into this opening\nyou must crawl, holding a lamp in your mouth. Keep your hands free lest\nyou knock your nose against a stone, for the way is steep and the\nstones sharp. If it bruises your knees never mind; you are on the road\nto fortune. Do not rest till you reach a wide stairway, down which you\nwill go till you come out into a spacious hall, in which there are\nthree doors; two of them stand open, the third is fastened with locks\nand bolts of iron. Do not go through the door to the right lest you\ndisturb the bones of the lords of the treasure. Neither must you go\nthrough the door to the left, it leads to the snake\u2019s chamber, where\nadders and serpents lodge; but open the fast-closed door by means of\nthe well-known spring-root, which you must on no account forget to take\nwith you, or all your trouble will be for naught, for no crowbar or\nmortal tools will help you. If you want to procure the root ask a\nwood-seller; it is a common thing for hunters to need, and it is not\nhard to find. If the door bursts open suddenly with great crackings and\ngroanings do not be afraid, the noise is caused by the power of the\nmagic root, and you will not be hurt. Now trim your lamp that it may\nnot fail you, for you will be nearly blinded by the flash and glitter\nof the gold and precious stones on the walls and pillars of the vault;\nbut beware how you stretch out a hand towards the jewels! In the midst\nof the cavern stands a copper chest, in that you will find gold and\nsilver, enough and to spare, and you may help yourself to your heart\u2019s\ncontent. If you take as much as you can carry you will have sufficient\nto last your lifetime, and you may return three times; but woe betide\nyou if you venture to come a fourth time. You would have your trouble\nfor your pains, and would be punished for your greediness by falling\ndown the stone steps and breaking your leg. Do not neglect each time to\nheap back the loose earth which concealed the entrance of the king\u2019s\ntreasure chamber.\u2019\n\n\u201cAs the apparition left off speaking my dog pricked up his ears and\nbegan to bark. I heard the crack of a carter\u2019s whip and the noise of\nwheels in the distance, and when I looked again the spectre had\ndisappeared.\u201d\n\nSo ended the shepherd\u2019s tale; and the landlord who was listening with\nthe rest, said shrewdly:\n\n\u201cTell us now, Father Martin, did you go to the mountain and find what\nthe spirit promised you; or is it a fable?\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, nay,\u201d answered the greybeard. \u201cI cannot tell if the spectre lied,\nfor never a step did I go towards finding the hollow, for two\nreasons:\u2014one was that my neck was too precious for me to risk it in\nsuch a snare as that; the other, that no one could ever tell me where\nthe spring-root was to be found.\u201d\n\nThen Blaize, another aged shepherd, lifted up his voice.\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis a pity, Father Martin, that your secret has grown old with you.\nIf you had told it forty years ago truly you would not long have been\nlacking the spring-root. Even though you will never climb the mountain\nnow, I will tell you, for a joke, how it is to be found. The easiest\nway to get it is by the help of a black woodpecker. Look, in the\nspring, where she builds her nest in a hole in a tree, and when the\ntime comes for her brood to fly off block up the entrance to the nest\nwith a hard sod, and lurk in ambush behind the tree till the bird\nreturns to feed her nestlings. When she perceives that she cannot get\ninto her nest she will fly round the tree uttering cries of distress,\nand then dart off towards the sun-setting. When you see her do this,\ntake a scarlet cloak, or if that be lacking to you, buy a few yards of\nscarlet cloth, and hurry back to the tree before the woodpecker returns\nwith the spring-root in her beak. So soon as she touches with the root\nthe sod that blocks the nest, it will fly violently out of the hole.\nThen spread the red cloth quickly under the tree, so that the\nwoodpecker may think it is a fire, and in her terror drop the root.\nSome people really light a fire and strew spikenard blossoms in it; but\nthat is a clumsy method, for if the flames do not shoot up at the right\nmoment away will fly the woodpecker, carrying the root with her.\u201d\n\nThe party had listened with interest to this speech, but by the time it\nwas ended the hour was late, and they went their ways homeward, leaving\nonly one man who had sat unheeded in a corner the whole evening\nthrough.\n\nMaster Peter Bloch had once been a prosperous innkeeper, and a\nmaster-cook; but he had gone steadily down in the world for some time,\nand was now quite poor.\n\nFormerly he had been a merry fellow, fond of a joke, and in the art of\ncooking had no equal in the town. He could make fish-jelly, and quince\nfritters, and even wafer-cakes; and he gilded the ears of all his\nboars\u2019 heads. Peter had looked about him for a wife early in life, but\nunluckily his choice fell upon a woman whose evil tongue was well known\nin the town. Ilse was hated by everybody, and the young folks would go\nmiles out of their way rather than meet her, for she had some ill-word\nfor everyone. Therefore, when Master Peter came along, and let himself\nbe taken in by her boasted skill as a housewife, she jumped at his\noffer, and they were married the next day. But they had not got home\nbefore they began to quarrel. In the joy of his heart Peter had tasted\nfreely of his own good wine, and as the bride hung upon his arm he\nstumbled and fell, dragging her down with him; whereupon she beat him\nsoundly, and the neighbours said truly that things did not promise well\nfor Master Peter\u2019s comfort. Even when the ill-matched couple were\npresently blessed with children, his happiness was but short-lived, the\nsavage temper of his quarrelsome wife seemed to blight them from the\nfirst, and they died like little kids in a cold winter.\n\nThough Master Peter had no great wealth to leave behind him, still it\nwas sad to him to be childless; and he would bemoan himself to his\nfriends, when he laid one baby after another in the grave, saying: \u201cThe\nlightning has been among the cherry-blossoms again, so there will be no\nfruit to grow ripe.\u201d\n\nBut, by-and-by, he had a little daughter so strong and healthy that\nneither her mother\u2019s temper nor her father\u2019s spoiling could keep her\nfrom growing up tall and beautiful. Meanwhile the fortunes of the\nfamily had changed. From his youth up, Master Peter had hated trouble;\nwhen he had money he spent it freely, and fed all the hungry folk who\nasked him for bread. If his pockets were empty he borrowed of his\nneighbours, but he always took good care to prevent his scolding wife\nfrom finding out that he had done so. His motto was: \u201cIt will all come\nright in the end\u201d; but what it did come to was ruin for Master Peter.\nHe was at his wits\u2019 end to know how to earn an honest living, for try\nas he might ill-luck seemed to pursue him, and he lost one post after\nanother, till at last all he could do was to carry sacks of corn to the\nmill for his wife, who scolded him well if he was slow about it, and\ngrudged him his portion of food.\n\nThis grieved the tender heart of his pretty daughter, who loved him\ndearly, and was the comfort of his life.\n\nPeter was thinking of her as he sat in the inn kitchen and heard the\nshepherds talking about the buried treasure, and for her sake he\nresolved to go and seek for it. Before he rose from the landlord\u2019s\narm-chair his plan was made, and Master Peter went home more joyful and\nfull of hope than he had been for many a long day; but on the way he\nsuddenly remembered that he was not yet possessed of the magic\nspring-root, and he stole into the house with a heavy heart, and threw\nhimself down upon his hard straw bed. He could neither sleep nor rest;\nbut as soon as it was light he got up and wrote down exactly all that\nwas to be done to find the treasure, that he might not forget anything,\nand when it lay clear and plain before his eyes he comforted himself\nwith the thought that, though he must do the rough work for his wife\nduring one more winter at least, he would not have to tread the path to\nthe mill for the rest of his life. Soon he heard his wife\u2019s harsh voice\nsinging its morning song as she went about her household affairs,\nscolding her daughter the while. She burst open his door while he was\nstill dressing: \u201cWell, Toper!\u201d was her greeting, \u201chave you been\ndrinking all night, wasting money that you steal from my housekeeping?\nFor shame, drunkard!\u201d\n\nMaster Peter, who was well used to this sort of talk, did not disturb\nhimself, but waited till the storm blew over, then he said calmly:\n\n\u201cDo not be annoyed, dear wife. I have a good piece of business in hand\nwhich may turn out well for us.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou with a good business?\u201d cried she, \u201cyou are good for nothing but\ntalk!\u201d\n\n\u201cI am making my will,\u201d said he, \u201cthat when my hour comes my house may\nbe in order.\u201d\n\nThese unexpected words cut his daughter to the heart; she remembered\nthat all night long she had dreamed of a newly dug grave, and at this\nthought she broke out into loud lamentations. But her mother only\ncried: \u201cWretch! have you not wasted goods and possessions, and now do\nyou talk of making a will?\u201d\n\nAnd she seized him like a fury, and tried to scratch out his eyes. But\nby-and-by the quarrel was patched up, and everything went on as before.\nFrom that day Peter saved up every penny that his daughter Lucia gave\nhim on the sly, and bribed the boys of his acquaintance to spy out a\nblack woodpecker\u2019s nest for him. He sent them into the woods and\nfields, but instead of looking for a nest they only played pranks on\nhim. They led him miles over hill and vale, stock and stone, to find a\nraven\u2019s brood, or a nest of squirrels in a hollow tree, and when he was\nangry with them they laughed in his face and ran away. This went on for\nsome time, but at last one of the boys spied out a woodpecker in the\nmeadow-lands among the wood-pigeons, and when he had found her nest in\na half-dead alder tree, came running to Peter with the news of his\ndiscovery. Peter could hardly believe his good fortune, and went\nquickly to see for himself if it was really true; and when he reached\nthe tree there certainly was a bird flying in and out as if she had a\nnest in it. Peter was overjoyed at this fortunate discovery, and\ninstantly set himself to obtain a red cloak. Now in the whole town\nthere was only one red cloak, and that belonged to a man of whom nobody\never willingly asked a favour\u2014Master Hammerling the hangman. It cost\nMaster Peter many struggles before he could bring himself to visit such\na person, but there was no help for it, and, little as he liked it, he\nended by making his request to the hangman, who was flattered that so\nrespectable a man as Peter should borrow his robe of office, and\nwillingly lent it to him.\n\nPeter now had all that was necessary to secure the magic root; he\nstopped up the entrance to the nest, and everything fell out exactly as\nBlaize had foretold. As soon as the woodpecker came back with the root\nin her beak out rushed Master Peter from behind the tree and displayed\nthe fiery red cloak so adroitly that the terrified bird dropped the\nroot just where it could be easily seen. All Peter\u2019s plans had\nsucceeded, and he actually held in his hand the magic root\u2014that\nmaster-key which would unlock all doors, and bring its possessor\nunheard-of luck. His thoughts now turned to the mountain, and he\nsecretly made preparations for his journey. He took with him only a\nstaff, a strong sack, and a little box which his daughter Lucia had\ngiven him.\n\nIt happened that on the very day Peter had chosen for setting out,\nLucia and her mother went off early to the town, leaving him to guard\nthe house; but in spite of that he was on the point of taking his\ndeparture when it occurred to him that it might be as well first to\ntest the much-vaunted powers of the magic root for himself. Dame Ilse\nhad a strong cupboard with seven locks built into the wall of her room,\nin which she kept all the money she had saved, and she wore the key of\nit always hung about her neck. Master Peter had no control at all of\nthe money affairs of the household, so the contents of this secret\nhoard were quite unknown to him, and this seemed to be a good\nopportunity for finding out what they were. He held the magic root to\nthe keyhole, and to his astonishment heard all the seven locks creaking\nand turning, the door flew suddenly wide open, and his greedy wife\u2019s\nstore of gold pieces lay before his eyes. He stood still in sheer\namazement, not knowing which to rejoice over most\u2014this unexpected find,\nor the proof of the magic root\u2019s real power; but at last he remembered\nthat it was quite time to be starting on his journey. So, filling his\npockets with the gold, he carefully locked the empty cupboard again and\nleft the house without further delay. When Dame Ilse and her daughter\nreturned they wondered to find the house door shut, and Master Peter\nnowhere to be seen. They knocked and called, but nothing stirred within\nbut the house cat, and at last the blacksmith had to be fetched to open\nthe door. Then the house was searched from garret to cellar, but no\nMaster Peter was to be found.\n\n\u201cWho knows?\u201d cried Dame Ilse at last, \u201cthe wretch may have been idling\nin some tavern since early morning.\u201d\n\nThen a sudden thought startled her, and she felt for her keys. Suppose\nthey had fallen into her good-for-nothing husband\u2019s hands and he had\nhelped himself to her treasure! But no, the keys were safe in their\nusual place, and the cupboard looked quite untouched. Mid-day came,\nthen evening, then midnight, and still no Master Peter appeared, and\nthe matter became really serious. Dame Ilse knew right well what a\ntorment she had been to her husband, and remorse caused her the\ngloomiest forebodings.\n\n\u201cAh! Lucia,\u201d she cried, \u201cI greatly fear that your father has done\nhimself a mischief.\u201d And they sat till morning weeping over their own\nfancies.\n\nAs soon as it was light they searched every corner of the house again,\nand examined every nail in the wall and every beam; but, luckily,\nMaster Peter was not hanging from any of them. After that the\nneighbours went out with long poles to fish in every ditch and pond,\nbut they found nothing, and then Dame Ilse gave up the idea of ever\nseeing her husband again and very soon consoled herself, only wondering\nhow the sacks of corn were to be carried to the mill in future. She\ndecided to buy a strong ass to do the work, and having chosen one, and\nafter some bargaining with the owner as to its price, she went to the\ncupboard in the wall to fetch the money. But what were her feelings\nwhen she perceived that every shelf lay empty and bare before her! For\na moment she stood bewildered, then broke into such frightful ravings\nthat Lucia ran to her in alarm; but as soon as she heard of the\ndisappearance of the money she was heartily glad, and no longer feared\nthat her father had come to any harm, but understood that he must have\ngone out into the world to seek his fortune in some new way.\n\nAbout a month after this, someone knocked at Dame Ilse\u2019s door one day,\nand she went to see if it was a customer for meal; but in stepped a\nhandsome young man, dressed like a duke\u2019s son, who greeted her\nrespectfully, and asked after her pretty daughter as if he were an old\nfriend, though she could not remember having ever set eyes upon him\nbefore.\n\nHowever, she invited him to step into the house and be seated while he\nunfolded his business. With a great air of mystery he begged permission\nto speak to the fair Lucia, of whose skill in needlework he had heard\nso much, as he had a commission to give her. Dame Ilse had her own\nopinion as to what kind of commission it was likely to be\u2014brought by a\nyoung stranger to a pretty maiden; however, as the meeting would be\nunder her own eye, she made no objection, but called to her industrious\ndaughter, who left off working and came obediently; but when she saw\nthe stranger she stopped short, blushing, and casting down her eyes. He\nlooked at her fondly, and took her hand, which she tried to draw away,\ncrying:\n\n\u201cAh! Friedlin, why are you here? I thought you were a hundred miles\naway. Are you come to grieve me again?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, dearest girl,\u201d answered he; \u201cI am come to complete your happiness\nand my own. Since we last met my fortune has utterly changed; I am no\nlonger the poor vagabond that I was then. My rich uncle has died,\nleaving me money and goods in plenty, so that I dare to present myself\nto your mother as a suitor for your hand. That I love you I know well;\nif you can love me I am indeed a happy man.\u201d\n\nLucia\u2019s pretty blue eyes had looked up shyly as he spoke, and now a\nsmile parted her rosy lips; and she stole a glance at her mother to see\nwhat she thought about it all; but the dame stood lost in amazement to\nfind that her daughter, whom she could have declared had never been out\nof her sight, was already well acquainted with the handsome stranger,\nand quite willing to be his bride. Before she had done staring, this\nhasty wooer had smoothed his way by covering the shining table with\ngold pieces as a wedding gift to the bride\u2019s mother, and had filled\nLucia\u2019s apron into the bargain; after which the dame made no\ndifficulties, and the matter was speedily settled.\n\nWhile Ilse gathered up the gold and hid it away safely, the lovers\nwhispered together, and what Friedlin told her seemed to make Lucia\nevery moment more happy and contented.\n\nNow a great hurly-burly began in the house, and preparations for the\nwedding went on apace. A few days later a heavily laden waggon drove\nup, and out of it came so many boxes and bales that Dame Ilse was lost\nin wonder at the wealth of her future son-in-law. The day for the\nwedding was chosen, and all their friends and neighbours were bidden to\nthe feast. As Lucia was trying on her bridal wreath she said to her\nmother: \u201cThis wedding-garland would please me indeed if father Peter\ncould lead me to the church. If only he could come back again! Here we\nare rolling in riches while he may be nibbling at hunger\u2019s table.\u201d And\nthe very idea of such a thing made her weep, while even Dame Ilse said:\n\n\u201cI should not be sorry myself to see him come back\u2014there is always\nsomething lacking in a house when the good man is away.\u201d\n\nBut the fact was that she was growing quite tired of having no one to\nscold. And what do you think happened?\n\nOn the very eve of the wedding a man pushing a wheelbarrow arrived at\nthe city gate, and paid toll upon a barrel of nails which it contained,\nand then made the best of his way to the bride\u2019s dwelling and knocked\nat the door.\n\nThe bride herself peeped out of the window to see who it could be, and\nthere stood father Peter! Then there was great rejoicing in the house;\nLucia ran to embrace him, and even Dame Ilse held out her hand in\nwelcome, and only said: \u201cRogue, mend your ways,\u201d when she remembered\nthe empty treasure cupboard. Father Peter greeted the bridegroom,\nlooking at him shrewdly, while the mother and daughter hastened to say\nall they knew in his favour, and appeared to be satisfied with him as a\nson-in-law. When Dame Ilse had set something to eat before her husband,\nshe was curious to hear his adventures, and questioned him eagerly as\nto why he had gone away.\n\n\u201cGod bless my native place,\u201d said he. \u201cI have been marching through the\ncountry, and have tried every kind of work, but now I have found a job\nin the iron trade; only, so far, I have put more into it than I have\nearned by it. This barrel of nails is my whole fortune, which I wish to\ngive as my contribution towards the bride\u2019s house furnishing.\u201d\n\nThis speech roused Dame Ilse to anger, and she broke out into such\nshrill reproaches that the bystanders were fairly deafened, and\nFriedlin hastily offered Master Peter a home with Lucia and himself,\npromising that he should live in comfort, and be always welcome. So\nLucia had her heart\u2019s desire, and father Peter led her to the church\nnext day, and the marriage took place very happily. Soon afterwards the\nyoung people settled in a fine house which Friedlin had bought, and had\na garden and meadows, a fishpond, and a hill covered with vines, and\nwere as happy as the day was long. Father Peter also stayed quietly\nwith them, living, as everybody believed, upon the generosity of his\nrich son-in law. No one suspected that his barrel of nails was the real\n\u201cHorn of Plenty,\u201d from which all this prosperity overflowed.\n\nPeter had made the journey to the treasure mountain successfully,\nwithout being found out by anybody. He had enjoyed himself by the way,\nand taken his own time, until he actually reached the little brook in\nthe valley which it had cost him some trouble to find. Then he pressed\non eagerly, and soon came to the little hollow in the wood; down he\nwent, burrowing like a mole into the earth; the magic root did its\nwork, and at last the treasure lay before his eyes. You may imagine how\ngaily Peter filled his sack with as much gold as he could carry, and\nhow he staggered up the seventy-seven steps with a heart full of hope\nand delight. He did not quite trust the gnome\u2019s promises of safety, and\nwas in such haste to find himself once more in the light of day that he\nlooked neither to the right nor the left, and could not afterwards\nremember whether the walls and pillars had sparkled with jewels or not.\n\nHowever, all went well\u2014he neither saw nor heard anything alarming; the\nonly thing that happened was that the great iron-barred door shut with\na crash as soon as he was fairly outside it, and then he remembered\nthat he had left the magic root behind him, so he could not go back for\nanother load of treasure. But even that did not trouble Peter much; he\nwas quite satisfied with what he had already. After he had faithfully\ndone everything according to Father Martin\u2019s instructions, and pressed\nthe earth well back into the hollow, he sat down to consider how he\ncould bring his treasure back to his native place, and enjoy it there,\nwithout being forced to share it with his scolding wife, who would give\nhim no peace if she once found out about it. At last, after much\nthinking, he hit upon a plan. He carried his sack to the nearest\nvillage, and there bought a wheelbarrow, a strong barrel, and a\nquantity of nails. Then he packed his gold into the barrel, covered it\nwell with a layer of nails, hoisted it on to the wheelbarrow with some\ndifficulty, and set off with it upon his homeward way. At one place\nupon the road he met a handsome young man who seemed by his downcast\nair to be in some great trouble. Father Peter, who wished everybody to\nbe as happy as he was himself, greeted him cheerfully, and asked where\nhe was going, to which he answered sadly:\n\n\u201cInto the wide world, good father, or out of it, wherever my feet may\nchance to carry me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy out of it?\u201d said Peter. \u201cWhat has the world been doing to you?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt has done nothing to me, nor I to it,\u201d he replied. \u201cNevertheless\nthere is not anything left in it for me.\u201d\n\nFather Peter did his best to cheer the young man up, and invited him to\nsup with him at the first inn they came to, thinking that perhaps\nhunger and poverty were causing the stranger\u2019s trouble. But when good\nfood was set before him he seemed to forget to eat. So Peter perceived\nthat what ailed his guest was sorrow of heart, and asked him kindly to\ntell him his story.\n\n\u201cWhere is the good, father?\u201d said he. \u201cYou can give me neither help nor\ncomfort.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho knows?\u201d answered Master Peter. \u201cI might be able to do something\nfor you. Often enough in life help comes to us from the most unexpected\nquarter.\u201d\n\nThe young man, thus encouraged, began his tale.\n\n\u201cI am,\u201d said he, \u201ca crossbow-man in the service of a noble count, in\nwhose castle I was brought up. Not long ago my master went on a\njourney, and brought back with him, amongst other treasures, the\nportrait of a fair maiden so sweet and lovely that I lost my heart at\nfirst sight of it, and could think of nothing but how I might seek her\nout and marry her. The count had told me her name, and where she lived,\nbut laughed at my love, and absolutely refused to give me leave to go\nin search of her, so I was forced to run away from the castle by night.\nI soon reached the little town where the maiden dwelt; but there fresh\ndifficulties awaited me. She lived under the care of her mother, who\nwas so severe that she was never allowed to look out of the window, or\nset her foot outside the door alone, and how to make friends with her I\ndid not know. But at last I dressed myself as an old woman, and knocked\nboldly at her door. The lovely maiden herself opened it, and so charmed\nme that I came near forgetting my disguise; but I soon recovered my\nwits, and begged her to work a fine table-cloth for me, for she is\nreported to be the best needlewoman in all the country round. Now I was\nfree to go and see her often under the pretence of seeing how the work\nwas going on, and one day, when her mother had gone to the town, I\nventured to throw off my disguise, and tell her of my love. She was\nstartled at first; but I persuaded her to listen to me, and I soon saw\nthat I was not displeasing to her, though she scolded me gently for my\ndisobedience to my master, and my deceit in disguising myself. But when\nI begged her to marry me, she told me sadly that her mother would scorn\na penniless wooer, and implored me to go away at once, lest trouble\nshould fall upon her.\n\n\u201cBitter as it was to me, I was forced to go when she bade me, and I\nhave wandered about ever since, with grief gnawing at my heart; for how\ncan a masterless man, without money or goods, ever hope to win the\nlovely Lucia?\u201d\n\nMaster Peter, who had been listening attentively, pricked up his ears\nat the sound of his daughter\u2019s name, and very soon found out that it\nwas indeed with her that this young man was so deeply in love.\n\n\u201cYour story is strange indeed,\u201d said he. \u201cBut where is the father of\nthis maiden\u2014why do you not ask him for her hand? He might well take\nyour part, and be glad to have you for his son-in-law.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d said the young man, \u201cher father is a wandering good-for-naught,\nwho has forsaken wife and child, and gone off\u2014who knows where? The wife\ncomplains of him bitterly enough, and scolds my dear maiden when she\ntakes her father\u2019s part.\u201d\n\nFather Peter was somewhat amused by this speech; but he liked the young\nman well, and saw that he was the very person he needed to enable him\nto enjoy his wealth in peace, without being separated from his dear\ndaughter.\n\n\u201cIf you will take my advice,\u201d said he, \u201cI promise you that you shall\nmarry this maiden whom you love so much, and that before you are many\ndays older.\u201d\n\n\u201cComrade,\u201d cried Friedlin indignantly, for he thought Peter did but\njest with him, \u201cit is ill done to mock at an unhappy man; you had\nbetter find someone else who will let himself be taken in with your\nfine promises.\u201d And up he sprang, and was going off hastily, when\nMaster Peter caught him by the arm.\n\n\u201cStay, hothead!\u201d he cried; \u201cit is no jest, and I am prepared to make\ngood my words.\u201d\n\nThereupon he showed him the treasure hidden under the nails, and\nunfolded to him his plan, which was that Friedlin should play the part\nof the rich son-in-law, and keep a still tongue, that they might enjoy\ntheir wealth together in peace.\n\nThe young man was overjoyed at this sudden change in his fortunes, and\ndid not know how to thank father Peter for his generosity. They took\nthe road again at dawn the next morning, and soon reached a town, where\nFriedlin equipped himself as a gallant wooer should. Father Peter\nfilled his pockets with gold for the wedding dowry, and agreed with him\nthat when all was settled he should secretly send him word that Peter\nmight send off the waggon load of house plenishings with which the rich\nbridegroom was to make such a stir in the little town where the bride\nlived. As they parted, father Peter\u2019s last commands to Friedlin were to\nguard well their secret, and not even to tell it to Lucia till she was\nhis wife.\n\nMaster Peter long enjoyed the profits of his journey to the mountain,\nand no rumour of it ever got abroad. In his old age his prosperity was\nso great that he himself did not know how rich he was; but it was\nalways supposed that the money was Friedlin\u2019s. He and his beloved wife\nlived in the greatest happiness and peace, and rose to great honour in\nthe town. And to this day, when the citizens wish to describe a wealthy\nman, they say: \u201cAs rich as Peter Bloch\u2019s son-in-law!\u201d\n\n\n\n\nThe Cottager And His Cat\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived an old man and his wife in a dirty,\ntumble-down cottage, not very far from the splendid palace where the\nking and queen dwelt. In spite of the wretched state of the hut, which\nmany people declared was too bad even for a pig to live in, the old man\nwas very rich, for he was a great miser, and lucky besides, and would\noften go without food all day sooner than change one of his beloved\ngold pieces.\n\nBut after a while he found that he had starved himself once too often.\nHe fell ill, and had no strength to get well again, and in a few days\nhe died, leaving his wife and one son behind him.\n\nThe night following his death, the son dreamed that an unknown man\nappeared to him and said: \u201cListen to me; your father is dead and your\nmother will soon die, and all their riches will belong to you. Half of\nhis wealth is ill-gotten, and this you must give back to the poor from\nwhom he squeezed it. The other half you must throw into the sea. Watch,\nhowever, as the money sinks into the water, and if anything should\nswim, catch it and keep it, even if it is nothing more than a bit of\npaper.\u201d\n\nThen the man vanished, and the youth awoke.\n\nThe remembrance of his dream troubled him greatly. He did not want to\npart with the riches that his father had left him, for he had known all\nhis life what it was to be cold and hungry, and now he had hoped for a\nlittle comfort and pleasure. Still, he was honest and good-hearted, and\nif his father had come wrongfully by his wealth he felt he could never\nenjoy it, and at last he made up his mind to do as he had been bidden.\nHe found out who were the people who were poorest in the village, and\nspent half of his money in helping them, and the other half he put in\nhis pocket. From a rock that jutted right out into the sea he flung it\nin. In a moment it was out of sight, and no man could have told the\nspot where it had sunk, except for a tiny scrap of paper floating on\nthe water. He stretched down carefully and managed to reach it, and on\nopening it found six shillings wrapped inside. This was now all the\nmoney he had in the world.\n\nThe young man stood and looked at it thoughtfully. \u201cWell, I can\u2019t do\nmuch with this,\u201d he said to himself; but, after all, six shillings were\nbetter than nothing, and he wrapped them up again and slipped them into\nhis coat.\n\nHe worked in his garden for the next few weeks, and he and his mother\ncontrived to live on the fruit and vegetables he got out of it, and\nthen she too died suddenly. The poor fellow felt very sad when he had\nlaid her in her grave, and with a heavy heart he wandered into the\nforest, not knowing where he was going. By-and-by he began to get\nhungry, and seeing a small hut in front of him, he knocked at the door\nand asked if they could give him some milk. The old woman who opened it\nbegged him to come in, adding kindly, that if he wanted a night\u2019s\nlodging he might have it without its costing him anything.\n\nTwo women and three men were at supper when he entered, and silently\nmade room for him to sit down by them. When he had eaten he began to\nlook about him, and was surprised to see an animal sitting by the fire\ndifferent from anything he had ever noticed before. It was grey in\ncolour, and not very big; but its eyes were large and very bright, and\nit seemed to be singing in an odd way, quite unlike any animal in the\nforest. \u201cWhat is the name of that strange little creature?\u201d asked he.\nAnd they answered, \u201cWe call it a cat.\u201d\n\n\u201cI should like to buy it\u2014if it is not too dear,\u201d said the young man;\n\u201cit would be company for me.\u201d And they told him that he might have it\nfor six shillings, if he cared to give so much. The young man took out\nhis precious bit of paper, handed them the six shillings, and the next\nmorning bade them farewell, with the cat lying snugly in his cloak.\n\nFor the whole day they wandered through meadows and forests, till in\nthe evening they reached a house. The young fellow knocked at the door\nand asked the old man who opened it if he could rest there that night,\nadding that he had no money to pay for it. \u201cThen I must give it to\nyou,\u201d answered the man, and led him into a room where two women and two\nmen were sitting at supper. One of the women was the old man\u2019s wife,\nthe other his daughter. He placed the cat on the mantel shelf, and they\nall crowded round to examine this strange beast, and the cat rubbed\nitself against them, and held out its paw, and sang to them; and the\nwomen were delighted, and gave it everything that a cat could eat, and\na great deal more besides.\n\nAfter hearing the youth\u2019s story, and how he had nothing in the world\nleft him except his cat, the old man advised him to go to the palace,\nwhich was only a few miles distant, and take counsel of the king, who\nwas kind to everyone, and would certainly be his friend. The young man\nthanked him, and said he would gladly take his advice; and early next\nmorning he set out for the royal palace.\n\nHe sent a message to the king to beg for an audience, and received a\nreply that he was to go into the great hall, where he would find his\nMajesty.\n\nThe king was at dinner with his court when the young man entered, and\nhe signed to him to come near. The youth bowed low, and then gazed in\nsurprise at the crowd of little black creatures who were running about\nthe floor, and even on the table itself. Indeed, they were so bold that\nthey snatched pieces of food from the King\u2019s own plate, and if he drove\nthem away, tried to bite his hands, so that he could not eat his food,\nand his courtiers fared no better.\n\n\u201cWhat sort of animals are these?\u201d asked the youth of one of the ladies\nsitting near him.\n\n\u201cThey are called rats,\u201d answered the king, who had overheard the\nquestion, \u201cand for years we have tried some way of putting an end to\nthem, but it is impossible. They come into our very beds.\u201d\n\nAt this moment something was seen flying through the air. The cat was\non the table, and with two or three shakes a number of rats were lying\ndead round him. Then a great scuffling of feet was heard, and in a few\nminutes the hall was clear.\n\nFor some minutes the King and his courtiers only looked at each other\nin astonishment. \u201cWhat kind of animal is that which can work magic of\nthis sort?\u201d asked he. And the young man told him that it was called a\ncat, and that he had bought it for six shillings.\n\nAnd the King answered: \u201cBecause of the luck you have brought me, in\nfreeing my palace from the plague which has tormented me for many\nyears, I will give you the choice of two things. Either you shall be my\nPrime Minister, or else you shall marry my daughter and reign after me.\nSay, which shall it be?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe princess and the kingdom,\u201d said the young man.\n\nAnd so it was.\n\n[From Islandische Marchen.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Prince Who Would Seek Immortality\n\n\nOnce upon a time, in the very middle of the middle of a large kingdom,\nthere was a town, and in the town a palace, and in the palace a king.\nThis king had one son whom his father thought was wiser and cleverer\nthan any son ever was before, and indeed his father had spared no pains\nto make him so. He had been very careful in choosing his tutors and\ngovernors when he was a boy, and when he became a youth he sent him to\ntravel, so that he might see the ways of other people, and find that\nthey were often as good as his own.\n\nIt was now a year since the prince had returned home, for his father\nfelt that it was time that his son should learn how to rule the kingdom\nwhich would one day be his. But during his long absence the prince\nseemed to have changed his character altogether. From being a merry and\nlight-hearted boy, he had grown into a gloomy and thoughtful man. The\nking knew of nothing that could have produced such an alteration. He\nvexed himself about it from morning till night, till at length an\nexplanation occurred to him\u2014the young man was in love!\n\nNow the prince never talked about his feelings\u2014for the matter of that\nhe scarcely talked at all; and the father knew that if he was to come\nto the bottom of the prince\u2019s dismal face, he would have to begin. So\none day, after dinner, he took his son by the arm and led him into\nanother room, hung entirely with the pictures of beautiful maidens,\neach one more lovely than the other.\n\n\u201cMy dear boy,\u201d he said, \u201cyou are very sad; perhaps after all your\nwanderings it is dull for you here all alone with me. It would be much\nbetter if you would marry, and I have collected here the portraits of\nthe most beautiful women in the world of a rank equal to your own.\nChoose which among them you would like for a wife, and I will send an\nembassy to her father to ask for her hand.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas! your Majesty,\u201d answered the prince, \u201cit is not love or marriage\nthat makes me so gloomy; but the thought, which haunts me day and\nnight, that all men, even kings, must die. Never shall I be happy again\ntill I have found a kingdom where death is unknown. And I have\ndetermined to give myself no rest till I have discovered the Land of\nImmortality.\n\nThe old king heard him with dismay; things were worse than he thought.\nHe tried to reason with his son, and told him that during all these\nyears he had been looking forward to his return, in order to resign his\nthrone and its cares, which pressed so heavily upon him. But it was in\nvain that he talked; the prince would listen to nothing, and the\nfollowing morning buckled on his sword and set forth on his journey.\n\nHe had been travelling for many days, and had left his fatherland\nbehind him, when close to the road he came upon a huge tree, and on its\ntopmost bough an eagle was sitting shaking the branches with all his\nmight. This seemed so strange and so unlike an eagle, that the prince\nstood still with surprise, and the bird saw him and flew to the ground.\nThe moment its feet touched the ground he changed into a king.\n\n\u201cWhy do you look so astonished?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cI was wondering why you shook the boughs so fiercely,\u201d answered the\nprince.\n\n\u201cI am condemned to do this, for neither I nor any of my kindred can die\ntill I have rooted up this great tree,\u201d replied the king of the eagles.\n\u201cBut it is now evening, and I need work no more to-day. Come to my\nhouse with me, and be my guest for the night.\u201d\n\nThe prince accepted gratefully the eagle\u2019s invitation, for he was tired\nand hungry. They were received at the palace by the king\u2019s beautiful\ndaughter, who gave orders that dinner should be laid for them at once.\nWhile they were eating, the eagle questioned his guest about his\ntravels, and if he was wandering for pleasure\u2019s sake, or with any\nspecial aim. Then the prince told him everything, and how he could\nnever turn back till he had discovered the Land of Immortality.\n\n\u201cDear brother,\u201d said the eagle, \u201cyou have discovered it already, and it\nrejoices my heart to think that you will stay with us. Have you not\njust heard me say that death has no power either over myself or any of\nmy kindred till that great tree is rooted up? It will take me six\nhundred years\u2019 hard work to do that; so marry my daughter and let us\nall live happily together here. After all, six hundred years is an\neternity!\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, dear king,\u201d replied the young man, \u201cyour offer is very tempting!\nBut at the end of six hundred years we should have to die, so we should\nbe no better off! No, I must go on till I find the country where there\nis no death at all.\u201d\n\nThen the princess spoke, and tried to persuade the guest to change his\nmind, but he sorrowfully shook his head. At length, seeing that his\nresolution was firmly fixed, she took from a cabinet a little box which\ncontained her picture, and gave it to him saying:\n\n\u201cAs you will not stay with us, prince, accept this box, which will\nsometimes recall us to your memory. If you are tired of travelling\nbefore you come to the Land of Immortality, open this box and look at\nmy picture, and you will be borne along either on earth or in the air,\nquick as thought, or swift as the whirlwind.\u201d\n\nThe prince thanked her for her gift, which he placed in his tunic, and\nsorrowfully bade the eagle and his daughter farewell.\n\nNever was any present in the world as useful as that little box, and\nmany times did he bless the kind thought of the princess. One evening\nit had carried him to the top of a high mountain, where he saw a man\nwith a bald head, busily engaged in digging up spadefuls of earth and\nthrowing them in a basket. When the basket was full he took it away and\nreturned with an empty one, which he likewise filled. The prince stood\nand watched him for a little, till the bald-headed man looked up and\nsaid to him: \u201cDear brother, what surprises you so much?\u201d\n\n\u201cI was wondering why you were filling the basket,\u201d replied the prince.\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d replied the man, \u201cI am condemned to do this, for neither I nor\nany of my family can die till I have dug away the whole of this\nmountain and made it level with the plain. But, come, it is almost\ndark, and I shall work no longer.\u201d And he plucked a leaf from a tree\nclose by, and from a rough digger he was changed into a stately\nbald-headed king. \u201cCome home with me,\u201d he added; \u201cyou must be tired and\nhungry, and my daughter will have supper ready for us.\u201d The prince\naccepted gladly, and they went back to the palace, where the\nbald-headed king\u2019s daughter, who was still more beautiful than the\nother princess, welcomed them at the door and led the way into a large\nhall and to a table covered with silver dishes. While they were eating,\nthe bald-headed king asked the prince how he had happened to wander so\nfar, and the young man told him all about it, and how he was seeking\nthe Land of Immortality. \u201cYou have found it already,\u201d answered the\nking, \u201cfor, as I said, neither I nor my family can die till I have\nlevelled this great mountain; and that will take full eight hundred\nyears longer. Stay here with us and marry my daughter. Eight hundred\nyears is surely long enough to live.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, certainly,\u201d answered the prince; \u201cbut, all the same, I would\nrather go and seek the land where there is no death at all.\u201d\n\nSo next morning he bade them farewell, though the princess begged him\nto stay with all her might; and when she found that she could not\npersuade him she gave him as a remembrance a gold ring. This ring was\nstill more useful than the box, because when one wished oneself at any\nplace one was there directly, without even the trouble of flying to it\nthrough the air. The prince put it on his finger, and thanking her\nheartily, went his way.\n\nHe walked on for some distance, and then he recollected the ring and\nthought he would try if the princess had spoken truly as to its powers.\n\u201cI wish I was at the end of the world,\u201d he said, shutting his eyes, and\nwhen he opened them he was standing in a street full of marble palaces.\nThe men who passed him were tall and strong, and their clothes were\nmagnificent. He stopped some of them and asked in all the twenty-seven\nlanguages he knew what was the name of the city, but no one answered\nhim. Then his heart sank within him; what should he do in this strange\nplace if nobody could understand anything? he said. Suddenly his eyes\nfell upon a man dressed after the fashion of his native country, and he\nran up to him and spoke to him in his own tongue. \u201cWhat city is this,\nmy friend?\u201d he inquired.\n\n\u201cIt is the capital city of the Blue Kingdom,\u201d replied the man, \u201cbut the\nking himself is dead, and his daughter is now the ruler.\u201d\n\nWith this news the prince was satisfied, and begged his countryman to\nshow him the way to the young queen\u2019s palace. The man led him through\nseveral streets into a large square, one side of which was occupied by\na splendid building that seemed borne up on slender pillars of soft\ngreen marble. In front was a flight of steps, and on these the queen\nwas sitting wrapped in a veil of shining silver mist, listening to the\ncomplaints of her people and dealing out justice. When the prince came\nup she saw directly that he was no ordinary man, and telling her\nchamberlain to dismiss the rest of her petitioners for that day, she\nsigned to the prince to follow her into the palace. Luckily she had\nbeen taught his language as a child, so they had no difficulty in\ntalking together.\n\nThe prince told all his story and how he was journeying in search of\nthe Land of Immortality. When he had finished, the princess, who had\nlistened attentively, rose, and taking his arm, led him to the door of\nanother room, the floor of which was made entirely of needles, stuck so\nclose together that there was not room for a single needle more.\n\n\u201cPrince,\u201d she said, turning to him, \u201cyou see these needles? Well, know\nthat neither I nor any of my family can die till I have worn out these\nneedles in sewing. It will take at least a thousand years for that.\nStay here, and share my throne; a thousand years is long enough to\nlive!\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly,\u201d answered he; \u201cstill, at the end of the thousand years I\nshould have to die! No, I must find the land where there is no death.\u201d\n\nThe queen did all she could to persuade him to stay, but as her words\nproved useless, at length she gave it up. Then she said to him: \u201cAs you\nwill not stay, take this little golden rod as a remembrance of me. It\nhas the power to become anything you wish it to be, when you are in\nneed.\u201d\n\nSo the prince thanked her, and putting the rod in his pocket, went his\nway.\n\nScarcely had he left the town behind him when he came to a broad river\nwhich no man might pass, for he was standing at the end of the world,\nand this was the river which flowed round it. Not knowing what to do\nnext, he walked a little distance up the bank, and there, over his\nhead, a beautiful city was floating in the air. He longed to get to it,\nbut how? neither road nor bridge was anywhere to be seen, yet the city\ndrew him upwards, and he felt that here at last was the country which\nhe sought. Suddenly he remembered the golden rod which the mist-veiled\nqueen had given him. With a beating heart he flung it to the ground,\nwishing with all his might that it should turn into a bridge, and\nfearing that, after all, this might prove beyond its power. But no,\ninstead of the rod, there stood a golden ladder, leading straight up to\nthe city of the air. He was about to enter the golden gates, when there\nsprang at him a wondrous beast, whose like he had never seen. \u201cOut\nsword from the sheath,\u201d cried the prince, springing back with a cry.\nAnd the sword leapt from the scabbard and cut off some of the monster\u2019s\nheads, but others grew again directly, so that the prince, pale with\nterror, stood where he was, calling for help, and put his sword back in\nthe sheath again.\n\nThe queen of the city heard the noise and looked from her window to see\nwhat was happening. Summoning one of her servants, she bade him go and\nrescue the stranger, and bring him to her. The prince thankfully obeyed\nher orders, and entered her presence.\n\nThe moment she looked at him, the queen also felt that he was no\nordinary man, and she welcomed him graciously, and asked him what had\nbrought him to the city. In answer the prince told all his story, and\nhow he had travelled long and far in search of the Land of Immortality.\n\n\u201cYou have found it,\u201d said she, \u201cfor I am queen over life and over\ndeath. Here you can dwell among the immortals.\u201d\n\nA thousand years had passed since the prince first entered the city,\nbut they had flown so fast that the time seemed no more than six\nmonths. There had not been one instant of the thousand years that the\nprince was not happy till one night when he dreamed of his father and\nmother. Then the longing for his home came upon him with a rush, and in\nthe morning he told the Queen of the Immortals that he must go and see\nhis father and mother once more. The queen stared at him with\namazement, and cried: \u201cWhy, prince, are you out of your senses? It is\nmore than eight hundred years since your father and mother died! There\nwill not even be their dust remaining.\u201d\n\n\u201cI must go all the same,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cWell, do not be in a hurry,\u201d continued the queen, understanding that\nhe would not be prevented. \u201cWait till I make some preparations for your\njourney.\u201d So she unlocked her great treasure chest, and took out two\nbeautiful flasks, one of gold and one of silver, which she hung round\nhis neck. Then she showed him a little trap-door in one corner of the\nroom, and said: \u201cFill the silver flask with this water, which is below\nthe trap-door. It is enchanted, and whoever you sprinkle with the water\nwill become a dead man at once, even if he had lived a thousand years.\nThe golden flask you must fill with the water here,\u201d she added,\npointing to a well in another corner. \u201cIt springs from the rock of\neternity; you have only to sprinkle a few drops on a body and it will\ncome to life again, if it had been a thousand years dead.\u201d\n\nThe prince thanked the queen for her gifts, and, bidding her farewell,\nwent on his journey.\n\nHe soon arrived in the town where the mist-veiled queen reigned in her\npalace, but the whole city had changed, and he could scarcely find his\nway through the streets. In the palace itself all was still, and he\nwandered through the rooms without meeting anyone to stop him. At last\nhe entered the queen\u2019s own chamber, and there she lay, with her\nembroidery still in her hands, fast asleep. He pulled at her dress, but\nshe did not waken. Then a dreadful idea came over him, and he ran to\nthe chamber where the needles had been kept, but it was quite empty.\nThe queen had broken the last over the work she held in her hand, and\nwith it the spell was broken too, and she lay dead.\n\nQuick as thought the prince pulled out the golden flask, and sprinkled\nsome drops of the water over the queen. In a moment she moved gently,\nand raising her head, opened her eyes.\n\n\u201cOh, my dear friend, I am so glad you wakened me; I must have slept a\nlong while!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou would have slept till eternity,\u201d answered the prince, \u201cif I had\nnot been here to waken you.\u201d\n\nAt these words the queen remembered about the needles. She knew now\nthat she had been dead, and that the prince had restored her to life.\nShe gave him thanks from her heart for what he had done, and vowed she\nwould repay him if she ever got a chance.\n\nThe prince took his leave, and set out for the country of the\nbald-headed king. As he drew near the place he saw that the whole\nmountain had been dug away, and that the king was lying dead on the\nground, his spade and bucket beside him. But as soon as the water from\nthe golden flask touched him he yawned and stretched himself, and\nslowly rose to his feet. \u201cOh, my dear friend, I am so glad to see you,\u201d\ncried he, \u201cI must have slept a long while!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou would have slept till eternity if I had not been here to waken\nyou,\u201d answered the prince. And the king remembered the mountain, and\nthe spell, and vowed to repay the service if he ever had a chance.\n\nFurther along the road which led to his old home the prince found the\ngreat tree torn up by its roots, and the king of the eagles sitting\ndead on the ground, with his wings outspread as if for flight. A\nflutter ran through the feathers as the drops of water fell on them,\nand the eagle lifted his beak from the ground and said: \u201cOh, how long I\nmust have slept! How can I thank you for having awakened me, my dear,\ngood friend!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou would have slept till eternity if I had not been here to waken\nyou\u201d; answered the prince. Then the king remembered about the tree, and\nknew that he had been dead, and promised, if ever he had the chance, to\nrepay what the prince had done for him.\n\nAt last he reached the capital of his father\u2019s kingdom, but on reaching\nthe place where the royal palace had stood, instead of the marble\ngalleries where he used to play, there lay a great sulphur lake, its\nblue flames darting into the air. How was he to find his father and\nmother, and bring them back to life, if they were lying at the bottom\nof that horrible water? He turned away sadly and wandered back into the\nstreets, hardly knowing where he was going; when a voice behind him\ncried: \u201cStop, prince, I have caught you at last! It is a thousand years\nsince I first began to seek you.\u201d And there beside him stood the old,\nwhite-bearded, figure of Death. Swiftly he drew the ring from his\nfinger, and the king of the eagles, the bald-headed king, and the\nmist-veiled queen, hastened to his rescue. In an instant they had\nseized upon Death and held him tight, till the prince should have time\nto reach the Land of Immortality. But they did not know how quickly\nDeath could fly, and the prince had only one foot across the border,\nwhen he felt the other grasped from behind, and the voice of Death\ncalling: \u201cHalt! now you are mine.\u201d\n\nThe Queen of the Immortals was watching from her window, and cried to\nDeath that he had no power in her kingdom, and that he must seek his\nprey elsewhere.\n\n\u201cQuite true,\u201d answered Death; \u201cbut his foot is in my kingdom, and that\nbelongs to me!\u201d\n\n\u201cAt any rate half of him is mine,\u201d replied the Queen, \u201cand what good\ncan the other half do you? Half a man is no use, either to you or to\nme! But this once I will allow you to cross into my kingdom, and we\nwill decide by a wager whose he is.\u201d\n\nAnd so it was settled. Death stepped across the narrow line that\nsurrounds the Land of Immortality, and the queen proposed the wager\nwhich was to decide the prince\u2019s fate. \u201cI will throw him up into the\nsky,\u201d she said, \u201cright to the back of the morning star, and if he falls\ndown into this city, then he is mine. But if he should fall outside the\nwalls, he shall belong to you.\u201d\n\nIn the middle of the city was a great open square, and here the queen\nwished the wager to take place. When all was ready, she put her foot\nunder the foot of the prince and swung him into the air. Up, up, he\nwent, high amongst the stars, and no man\u2019s eyes could follow him. Had\nshe thrown him up straight? the queen wondered anxiously, for, if not,\nhe would fall outside the walls, and she would lose him for ever. The\nmoments seemed long while she and Death stood gazing up into the air,\nwaiting to know whose prize the prince would be. Suddenly they both\ncaught sight of a tiny speck no bigger than a wasp, right up in the\nblue. Was he coming straight? No! Yes! But as he was nearing the city,\na light wind sprang up, and swayed him in the direction of the wall.\nAnother second and he would have fallen half over it, when the queen\nsprang forward, seized him in her arms, and flung him into the castle.\nThen she commanded her servants to cast Death out of the city, which\nthey did, with such hard blows that he never dared to show his face\nagain in the Land of Immortality.\n\n[From Ungarischen Volksmurchen.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Stone-Cutter\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a stone-cutter, who went every day to a\ngreat rock in the side of a big mountain and cut out slabs for\ngravestones or for houses. He understood very well the kinds of stones\nwanted for the different purposes, and as he was a careful workman he\nhad plenty of customers. For a long time he was quite happy and\ncontented, and asked for nothing better than what he had.\n\nNow in the mountain dwelt a spirit which now and then appeared to men,\nand helped them in many ways to become rich and prosperous. The\nstone-cutter, however, had never seen this spirit, and only shook his\nhead, with an unbelieving air, when anyone spoke of it. But a time was\ncoming when he learned to change his opinion.\n\nOne day the stone-cutter carried a gravestone to the house of a rich\nman, and saw there all sorts of beautiful things, of which he had never\neven dreamed. Suddenly his daily work seemed to grow harder and\nheavier, and he said to himself: \u201cOh, if only I were a rich man, and\ncould sleep in a bed with silken curtains and golden tassels, how happy\nI should be!\u201d\n\nAnd a voice answered him: \u201cYour wish is heard; a rich man you shall\nbe!\u201d\n\nAt the sound of the voice the stone-cutter looked round, but could see\nnobody. He thought it was all his fancy, and picked up his tools and\nwent home, for he did not feel inclined to do any more work that day.\nBut when he reached the little house where he lived, he stood still\nwith amazement, for instead of his wooden hut was a stately palace\nfilled with splendid furniture, and most splendid of all was the bed,\nin every respect like the one he had envied. He was nearly beside\nhimself with joy, and in his new life the old one was soon forgotten.\n\nIt was now the beginning of summer, and each day the sun blazed more\nfiercely. One morning the heat was so great that the stone-cutter could\nscarcely breathe, and he determined he would stay at home till the\nevening. He was rather dull, for he had never learned how to amuse\nhimself, and was peeping through the closed blinds to see what was\ngoing on in the street, when a little carriage passed by, drawn by\nservants dressed in blue and silver. In the carriage sat a prince, and\nover his head a golden umbrella was held, to protect him from the sun\u2019s\nrays.\n\n\u201cOh, if I were only a prince!\u201d said the stone-cutter to himself, as the\ncarriage vanished round the corner. \u201cOh, if I were only a prince, and\ncould go in such a carriage and have a golden umbrella held over me,\nhow happy I should be!\u201d\n\nAnd the voice of the mountain spirit answered: \u201cYour wish is heard; a\nprince you shall be.\u201d\n\nAnd a prince he was. Before his carriage rode one company of men and\nanother behind it; servants dressed in scarlet and gold bore him along,\nthe coveted umbrella was held over his head, everything heart could\ndesire was his. But yet it was not enough. He looked round still for\nsomething to wish for, and when he saw that in spite of the water he\npoured on his grass the rays of the sun scorched it, and that in spite\nof the umbrella held over his head each day his face grew browner and\nbrowner, he cried in his anger: \u201cThe sun is mightier than I; oh, if I\nwere only the sun!\u201d\n\nAnd the mountain spirit answered: \u201cYour wish is heard; the sun you\nshall be.\u201d\n\nAnd the sun he was, and felt himself proud in his power. He shot his\nbeams above and below, on earth and in heaven; he burnt up the grass in\nthe fields and scorched the faces of princes as well as of poorer folk.\nBut in a short time he began to grow tired of his might, for there\nseemed nothing left for him to do. Discontent once more filled his\nsoul, and when a cloud covered his face, and hid the earth from him, he\ncried in his anger: \u201cDoes the cloud hold captive my rays, and is it\nmightier than I? Oh, that I were a cloud, and mightier than any!\u201d\n\nAnd the mountain spirit answered: \u201cYour wish is heard; a cloud you\nshall be!\u201d\n\nAnd a cloud he was, and lay between the sun and the earth. He caught\nthe sun\u2019s beams and held them, and to his joy the earth grew green\nagain and flowers blossomed. But that was not enough for him, and for\ndays and weeks he poured forth rain till the rivers overflowed their\nbanks, and the crops of rice stood in water. Towns and villages were\ndestroyed by the power of the rain, only the great rock on the mountain\nside remained unmoved. The cloud was amazed at the sight, and cried in\nwonder: \u201cIs the rock, then, mightier than I? Oh, if I were only the\nrock!\u201d\n\nAnd the mountain spirit answered: \u201cYour wish is heard; the rock you\nshall be!\n\nAnd the rock he was, and gloried in his power. Proudly he stood, and\nneither the heat of the sun nor the force of the rain could move him.\n\u201cThis is better than all!\u201d he said to himself. But one day he heard a\nstrange noise at his feet, and when he looked down to see what it could\nbe, he saw a stone-cutter driving tools into his surface. Even while he\nlooked a trembling feeling ran all through him, and a great block broke\noff and fell upon the ground. Then he cried in his wrath: \u201cIs a mere\nchild of earth mightier than a rock? Oh, if I were only a man!\u201d\n\nAnd the mountain spirit answered: \u201cYour wish is heard. A man once more\nyou shall be!\u201d\n\nAnd a man he was, and in the sweat of his brow he toiled again at his\ntrade of stone-cutting. His bed was hard and his food scanty, but he\nhad learned to be satisfied with it, and did not long to be something\nor somebody else. And as he never asked for things he had not got, or\ndesired to be greater and mightier than other people, he was happy at\nlast, and heard the voice of the mountain spirit no longer.\n\n[From Japanische M\u00e4hrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Gold-Bearded Man\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a great king who had a wife and one son\nwhom he loved very much. The boy was still young when, one day, the\nking said to his wife: \u201cI feel that the hour of my death draws near,\nand I want you to promise that you will never take another husband but\nwill give up your life to the care of our son.\u201d\n\nThe queen burst into tears at these words, and sobbed out that she\nwould never, never marry again, and that her son\u2019s welfare should be\nher first thought as long as she lived. Her promise comforted the\ntroubled heart of the king, and a few days after he died, at peace with\nhimself and with the world.\n\nBut no sooner was the breath out of his body, than the queen said to\nherself, \u201cTo promise is one thing, and to keep is quite another.\u201d And\nhardly was the last spadeful of earth flung over the coffin than she\nmarried a noble from a neighbouring country, and got him made king\ninstead of the young prince. Her new husband was a cruel, wicked man,\nwho treated his stepson very badly, and gave him scarcely anything to\neat, and only rags to wear; and he would certainly have killed the boy\nbut for fear of the people.\n\nNow by the palace grounds there ran a brook, but instead of being a\nwater-brook it was a milk-brook, and both rich and poor flocked to it\ndaily and drew as much milk as they chose. The first thing the new king\ndid when he was seated on the throne, was to forbid anyone to go near\nthe brook, on pain of being seized by the watchmen. And this was purely\nspite, for there was plenty of milk for everybody.\n\nFor some days no one dared venture near the banks of the stream, but at\nlength some of the watchmen noticed that early in the mornings, just at\ndawn, a man with a gold beard came down to the brook with a pail, which\nhe filled up to the brim with milk, and then vanished like smoke before\nthey could get near enough to see who he was. So they went and told the\nking what they had seen.\n\nAt first the king would not believe their story, but as they persisted\nit was quite true, he said that he would go and watch the stream that\nnight himself. With the earliest streaks of dawn the gold-bearded man\nappeared, and filled his pail as before. Then in an instant he had\nvanished, as if the earth had swallowed him up.\n\nThe king stood staring with eyes and mouth open at the place where the\nman had disappeared. He had never seen him before, that was certain;\nbut what mattered much more was how to catch him, and what should be\ndone with him when he was caught? He would have a cage built as a\nprison for him, and everyone would talk of it, for in other countries\nthieves were put in prison, and it was long indeed since any king had\nused a cage. It was all very well to plan, and even to station a\nwatchman behind every bush, but it was of no use, for the man was never\ncaught. They would creep up to him softly on the grass, as he was\nstooping to fill his pail, and just as they stretched out their hands\nto seize him, he vanished before their eyes. Time after time this\nhappened, till the king grew mad with rage, and offered a large reward\nto anyone who could tell him how to capture his enemy.\n\nThe first person that came with a scheme was an old soldier who\npromised the king that if he would only put some bread and bacon and a\nflask of wine on the bank of the stream, the gold-bearded man would be\nsure to eat and drink, and they could shake some powder into the wine,\nwhich would send him to sleep at once. After that there was nothing to\ndo but to shut him in the cage.\n\nThis idea pleased the king, and he ordered bread and bacon and a flask\nof drugged wine to be placed on the bank of the stream, and the\nwatchers to be redoubled. Then, full of hope, he awaited the result.\n\nEverything turned out just as the soldier had said. Early next morning\nthe gold-bearded man came down to the brook, ate, drank, and fell sound\nasleep, so that the watchers easily bound him, and carried him off to\nthe palace. In a moment the king had him fast in the golden cage, and\nshowed him, with ferocious joy, to the strangers who were visiting his\ncourt. The poor captive, when he awoke from his drunken sleep, tried to\ntalk to them, but no one would listen to him, so he shut himself up\naltogether, and the people who came to stare took him for a dumb man of\nthe woods. He wept and moaned to himself all day, and would hardly\ntouch food, though, in dread that he should die and escape his\ntormentors, the king ordered his head cook to send him dishes from the\nroyal table.\n\nThe gold-bearded man had been in captivity about a month, when the king\nwas forced to make war upon a neighbouring country, and left the\npalace, to take command of his army. But before he went he called his\nstepson to him and said:\n\n\u201cListen, boy, to what I tell you. While I am away I trust the care of\nmy prisoner to you. See that he has plenty to eat and drink, but be\ncareful that he does not escape, or even walk about the room. If I\nreturn and find him gone, you will pay for it by a terrible death.\u201d\n\nThe young prince was thankful that his stepfather was going to the war,\nand secretly hoped he might never come back. Directly he had ridden off\nthe boy went to the room where the cage was kept, and never left it\nnight and day. He even played his games beside it.\n\nOne day he was shooting at a mark with a silver bow; one of his arrows\nfell into the golden cage.\n\n\u201cPlease give me my arrow,\u201d said the prince, running up to him; but the\ngold-bearded man answered:\n\n\u201cNo, I shall not give it to you unless you let me out of my cage.\u201d\n\n\u201cI may not let you out,\u201d replied the boy, \u201cfor if I do my stepfather\nsays that I shall have to die a horrible death when he returns from the\nwar. My arrow can be of no use to you, so give it to me.\u201d\n\nThe man handed the arrow through the bars, but when he had done so he\nbegged harder than ever that the prince would open the door and set him\nfree. Indeed, he prayed so earnestly that the prince\u2019s heart was\ntouched, for he was a tender-hearted boy who pitied the sorrows of\nother people. So he shot back the bolt, and the gold-bearded man\nstepped out into the world.\n\n\u201cI will repay you a thousand fold for that good deed.\u201d said the man,\nand then he vanished. The prince began to think what he should say to\nthe king when he came back; then he wondered whether it would be wise\nto wait for his stepfather\u2019s return and run the risk of the dreadful\ndeath which had been promised him. \u201cNo,\u201d he said to himself, \u201cI am\nafraid to stay. Perhaps the world will be kinder to me than he has\nbeen.\u201d\n\nUnseen he stole out when twilight fell, and for many days he wandered\nover mountains and through forests and valleys without knowing where he\nwas going or what he should do. He had only the berries for food, when,\none morning, he saw a wood-pigeon sitting on a bough. In an instant he\nhad fitted an arrow to his bow, and was taking aim at the bird,\nthinking what a good meal he would make off him, when his weapon fell\nto the ground at the sound of the pigeon\u2019s voice:\n\n\u201cDo not shoot, I implore you, noble prince! I have two little sons at\nhome, and they will die of hunger if I am not there to bring them\nfood.\u201d\n\nAnd the young prince had pity, and unstrung his bow.\n\n\u201cOh, prince, I will repay your deed of mercy, said the grateful\nwood-pigeon.\n\n\u201cPoor thing! how can you repay me?\u201d asked the prince.\n\n\u201cYou have forgotten,\u201d answered the wood-pigeon, \u201cthe proverb that runs,\n\u2018mountain and mountain can never meet, but one living creature can\nalways come across another.\u2019\u201d The boy laughed at this speech and went\nhis way.\n\nBy-and-by he reached the edge of a lake, and flying towards some rushes\nwhich grew near the shore he beheld a wild duck. Now, in the days that\nthe king, his father, was alive, and he had everything to eat he could\npossibly wish for, the prince always had wild duck for his birthday\ndinner, so he quickly fitted an arrow to his bow and took a careful\naim.\n\n\u201cDo not shoot, I pray you, noble prince!\u201d cried the wild duck; \u201cI have\ntwo little sons at home; they will die of hunger if I am not there to\nbring them food.\u201d\n\nAnd the prince had pity, and let fall his arrow and unstrung his bow.\n\n\u201cOh, prince! I will repay your deed of mercy,\u201d exclaimed the grateful\nwild duck.\n\n\u201cYou poor thing! how can you repay me?\u201d asked the prince.\n\n\u201cYou have forgotten,\u201d answered the wild duck, \u201cthe proverb that runs,\n\u2018mountain and mountain can never meet, but one living creature can\nalways come across another.\u2019\u201d The boy laughed at this speech and went\nhis way.\n\nHe had not wandered far from the shores of the lake, when he noticed a\nstork standing on one leg, and again he raised his bow and prepared to\ntake aim.\n\n\u201cDo not shoot, I pray you, noble prince,\u201d cried the stork; \u201cI have two\nlittle sons at home; they will die of hunger if I am not there to bring\nthem food.\u201d\n\nAgain the prince was filled with pity, and this time also he did not\nshoot.\n\n\u201cOh, prince, I will repay your deed of mercy,\u201d cried the stork.\n\n\u201cYou poor stork! how can you repay me?\u201d asked the prince.\n\n\u201cYou have forgotten,\u201d answered the stork, \u201cthe proverb that runs,\n\u2018mountain and mountain can never meet, but one living creature can\nalways come across another.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe boy laughed at hearing these words again, and walked slowly on. He\nhad not gone far, when he fell in with two discharged soldiers.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going, little brother?\u201d asked one.\n\n\u201cI am seeking work,\u201d answered the prince.\n\n\u201cSo are we,\u201d replied the soldier. \u201cWe can all go together.\u201d\n\nThe boy was glad of company and they went on, and on, and on, through\nseven kingdoms, without finding anything they were able to do. At\nlength they reached a palace, and there was the king standing on the\nsteps.\n\n\u201cYou seem to be looking for something,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cIt is work we want,\u201d they all answered.\n\nSo the king told the soldiers that they might become his coachmen; but\nhe made the boy his companion, and gave him rooms near his own. The\nsoldiers were dreadfully angry when they heard this, for of course they\ndid not know that the boy was really a prince; and they soon began to\nlay their heads together to plot his ruin.\n\nThen they went to the king.\n\n\u201cYour Majesty,\u201d they said, \u201cwe think it our duty to tell you that your\nnew companion has boasted to us that if he were only your steward he\nwould not lose a single grain of corn out of the storehouses. Now, if\nyour Majesty would give orders that a sack of wheat should be mixed\nwith one of barley, and would send for the youth, and command him to\nseparate the grains one from another, in two hours\u2019 time, you would\nsoon see what his talk was worth.\u201d\n\nThe king, who was weak, listened to what these wicked men had told him,\nand desired the prince to have the contents of the sack piled into two\nheaps by the time that he returned from his council. \u201cIf you succeed,\u201d\nhe added, \u201cyou shall be my steward, but if you fail, I will put you to\ndeath on the spot.\u201d\n\nThe unfortunate prince declared that he had never made any such boast\nas was reported; but it was all in vain. The king did not believe him,\nand turning him into an empty room, bade his servants carry in the huge\nsack filled with wheat and barley, and scatter them in a heap on the\nfloor.\n\nThe prince hardly knew where to begin, and indeed if he had had a\nthousand people to help him, and a week to do it in, he could never\nhave finished his task. So he flung himself on the ground in despair,\nand covered his face with his hands.\n\nWhile he lay thus, a wood-pigeon flew in through the window.\n\n\u201cWhy are you weeping, noble prince?\u201d asked the wood-pigeon.\n\n\u201cHow can I help weeping at the task set me by the king. For he says, if\nI fail to do it, I shall die a horrible death.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, there is really nothing to cry about,\u201d answered the wood-pigeon\nsoothingly. \u201cI am the king of the wood-pigeons, whose life you spared\nwhen you were hungry. And now I will repay my debt, as I promised.\u201d So\nsaying he flew out of the window, leaving the prince with some hope in\nhis heart.\n\nIn a few minutes he returned, followed by a cloud of wood-pigeons, so\ndense that it seemed to fill the room. Their king showed them what they\nhad to do, and they set to work so hard that the grain was sorted into\ntwo heaps long before the council was over. When the king came back he\ncould not believe his eyes; but search as he might through the two\nheaps, he could not find any barley among the wheat, or any wheat\namongst the barley. So he praised the prince for his industry and\ncleverness, and made him his steward at once.\n\nThis made the two soldiers more envious still, and they began to hatch\nanother plot.\n\n\u201cYour Majesty,\u201d they said to the king, one day, as he was standing on\nthe steps of the palace, \u201cthat fellow has been boasting again, that if\nhe had the care of your treasures not so much as a gold pin should ever\nbe lost. Put this vain fellow to the proof, we pray you, and throw the\nring from the princess\u2019s finger into the brook, and bid him find it. We\nshall soon see what his talk is worth.\u201d\n\nAnd the foolish king listened to them, and ordered the prince to be\nbrought before him.\n\n\u201cMy son,\u201d he said, \u201cI have heard that you have declared that if I made\nyou keeper of my treasures you would never lose so much as a gold pin.\nNow, in order to prove the truth of your words, I am going to throw the\nring from the princess\u2019s finger into the brook, and if you do not find\nit before I come back from council, you will have to die a horrible\ndeath.\u201d\n\nIt was no use denying that he had said anything of the kind. The king\ndid not believe him; in fact he paid no attention at all, and hurried\noff, leaving the poor boy speechless with despair in the corner.\nHowever, he soon remembered that though it was very unlikely that he\nshould find the ring in the brook, it was impossible that he should\nfind it by staying in the palace.\n\nFor some time the prince wandered up and down peering into the bottom\nof the stream, but though the water was very clear, nothing could he\nsee of the ring. At length he gave it up in despair, and throwing\nhimself down at the foot of the tree, he wept bitterly.\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter, dear prince?\u201d said a voice just above him, and\nraising his head, he saw the wild duck.\n\n\u201cThe king of this country declares I must die a horrible death if I\ncannot find the princess\u2019s ring which he has thrown into the brook,\u201d\nanswered the prince.\n\n\u201cOh, you must not vex yourself about that, for I can help you,\u201d replied\nthe bird. \u201cI am the king of the wild ducks, whose life you spared, and\nnow it is my turn to save yours.\u201d Then he flew away, and in a few\nminutes a great flock of wild ducks were swimming all up and down the\nstream looking with all their might, and long before the king came back\nfrom his council there it was, safe on the grass beside the prince.\n\nAt this sight the king was yet more astonished at the cleverness of his\nsteward, and at once promoted him to be the keeper of his jewels.\n\nNow you would have thought that by this time the king would have been\nsatisfied with the prince, and would have left him alone; but people\u2019s\nnatures are very hard to change, and when the two envious soldiers came\nto him with a new falsehood, he was as ready to listen to them as\nbefore.\n\n\u201cGracious Majesty,\u201d said they, \u201cthe youth whom you have made keeper of\nyour jewels has declared to us that a child shall be born in the palace\nthis night, which will be able to speak every language in the world and\nto play every instrument of music. Is he then become a prophet, or a\nmagician, that he should know things which have not yet come to pass?\u201d\n\nAt these words the king became more angry than ever. He had tried to\nlearn magic himself, but somehow or other his spells would never work,\nand he was furious to hear that the prince claimed a power that he did\nnot possess. Stammering with rage, he ordered the youth to be brought\nbefore him, and vowed that unless this miracle was accomplished he\nwould have the prince dragged at a horse\u2019s tail until he was dead.\n\nIn spite of what the soldiers had said, the boy knew no more magic than\nthe king did, and his task seemed more hopeless than before. He lay\nweeping in the chamber which he was forbidden to leave, when suddenly\nhe heard a sharp tapping at the window, and, looking up, he beheld a\nstork.\n\n\u201cWhat makes you so sad, prince?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cSomeone has told the king that I have prophesied that a child shall be\nborn this night in the palace, who can speak all the languages in the\nworld and play every musical instrument. I am no magician to bring\nthese things to pass, but he says that if it does not happen he will\nhave me dragged through the city at a horse\u2019s tail till I die.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not trouble yourself,\u201d answered the stork. \u201cI will manage to find\nsuch a child, for I am the king of the storks whose life you spared,\nand now I can repay you for it.\u201d\n\nThe stork flew away and soon returned carrying in his beak a baby\nwrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid it down near a lute. In an\ninstant the baby stretched out its little hands and began to play a\ntune so beautiful that even the prince forgot his sorrows as he\nlistened. Then he was given a flute and a zither, but he was just as\nwell able to draw music from them; and the prince, whose courage was\ngradually rising, spoke to him in all the languages he knew. The baby\nanswered him in all, and no one could have told which was his native\ntongue!\n\nThe next morning the king went straight to the prince\u2019s room, and saw\nwith his own eyes the wonders that baby could do. \u201cIf your magic can\nproduce such a baby,\u201d he said, \u201cyou must be greater than any wizard\nthat ever lived, and shall have my daughter in marriage.\u201d And, being a\nking, and therefore accustomed to have everything the moment he wanted\nit, he commanded the ceremony to be performed without delay, and a\nsplendid feast to be made for the bride and bridegroom. When it was\nover, he said to the prince:\n\n\u201cNow that you are really my son, tell me by what arts you were able to\nfulfil the tasks I set you?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy noble father-in-law,\u201d answered the prince, \u201cI am ignorant of all\nspells and arts. But somehow I have always managed to escape the death\nwhich has threatened me.\u201d And he told the king how he had been forced\nto run away from his stepfather, and how he had spared the three birds,\nand had joined the two soldiers, who had from envy done their utmost to\nruin him.\n\nThe king was rejoiced in his heart that his daughter had married a\nprince, and not a common man, and he chased the two soldiers away with\nwhips, and told them that if they ever dared to show their faces across\nthe borders of his kingdom, they should die the same death he had\nprepared for the prince.\n\n[From Ungarische M\u00e4hrchen]\n\n\n\n\nTritill, Litill, And The Birds\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a princess who was so beautiful and so\ngood that everybody loved her. Her father could hardly bear her out of\nhis sight, and he almost died of grief when, one day, she disappeared,\nand though the whole kingdom was searched through and through, she\ncould not be found in any corner of it. In despair, the king ordered a\nproclamation to be made that whoever could bring her back to the palace\nshould have her for his wife. This made the young men start afresh on\nthe search, but they were no more successful than before, and returned\nsorrowfully to their homes.\n\nNow there dwelt, not far from the palace, an old man who had three\nsons. The two eldest were allowed by their parents to do just as they\nliked, but the youngest was always obliged to give way to his brothers.\nWhen they were all grown up, the eldest told his father that he was\ntired of leading such a quiet life, and that he meant to go away and\nsee the world.\n\nThe old people were very unhappy at the thought that they must part\nwith him, but they said nothing, and began to collect all that he would\nwant for his travels, and were careful to add a pair of new boots. When\neverything was ready, he bade them farewell, and started merrily on his\nway.\n\nFor some miles his road lay through a wood, and when he left it he\nsuddenly came out on a bare hillside. Here he sat down to rest, and\npulling out his wallet prepared to eat his dinner.\n\nHe had only eaten a few mouthfuls when an old man badly dressed passed\nby, and seeing the food, asked if the young man could not spare him a\nlittle.\n\n\u201cNot I, indeed!\u201d answered he; \u201cwhy I have scarcely enough for myself.\nIf you want food you must earn it.\u201d And the beggar went on.\n\nAfter the young man had finished his dinner he rose and walked on for\nseveral hours, till he reached a second hill, where he threw himself\ndown on the grass, and took some bread and milk from his wallet. While\nhe was eating and drinking, there came by an old man, yet more wretched\nthan the first, and begged for a few mouthfuls. But instead of food he\nonly got hard words, and limped sadly away.\n\nTowards evening the young man reached an open space in the wood, and by\nthis time he thought he would like some supper. The birds saw the food,\nand flew round his head in numbers hoping for some crumbs, but he threw\nstones at them, and frightened them off. Then he began to wonder where\nhe should sleep. Not in the open space he was in, for that was bare and\ncold, and though he had walked a long way that day, and was tired, he\ndragged himself up, and went on seeking for a shelter.\n\nAt length he saw a deep sort of hole or cave under a great rock, and as\nit seemed quite empty, he went in, and lay down in a corner. About\nmidnight he was awakened by a noise, and peeping out he beheld a\nterrible ogress approaching. He implored her not to hurt him, but to\nlet him stay there for the rest of the night, to which she consented,\non condition that he should spend the next day in doing any task which\nshe might choose to set him. To this the young man willingly agreed,\nand turned over and went to sleep again. In the morning, the ogress\nbade him sweep the dust out of the cave, and to have it clean before\nher return in the evening, otherwise it would be the worse for him.\nThen she left the cave.\n\nThe young man took the spade, and began to clean the floor of the cave,\nbut try as he would to move it the dirt still stuck to its place. He\nsoon gave up the task, and sat sulkily in the corner, wondering what\npunishment the ogress would find for him, and why she had set him to do\nsuch an impossible thing.\n\nHe had not long to wait, after the ogress came home, before he knew\nwhat his punishment was to be! She just gave one look at the floor of\nthe cave, then dealt him a blow on the head which cracked his skull,\nand there was an end of him.\n\nMeanwhile his next brother grew tired of staying at home, and let his\nparents have no rest till they had consented that he also should be\ngiven some food and some new boots, and go out to see the world. On his\nroad, he also met the two old beggars, who prayed for a little of his\nbread and milk, but this young man had never been taught to help other\npeople, and had made it a rule through his life to keep all he had to\nhimself. So he turned a deaf ear and finished his dinner.\n\nBy-and-by he, too, came to the cave, and was bidden by the ogress to\nclean the floor, but he was no more successful than his brother, and\nhis fate was the same.\n\nAnyone would have thought that when the old people had only one son\nleft that at least they would have been kind to him, even if they did\nnot love him. But for some reason they could hardly bear the sight of\nhim, though he tried much harder to make them comfortable than his\nbrothers had ever done. So when he asked their leave to go out into the\nworld they gave it at once, and seemed quite glad to be rid of him.\nThey felt it was quite generous of them to provide him with a pair of\nnew boots and some bread and milk for his journey.\n\nBesides the pleasure of seeing the world, the youth was very anxious to\ndiscover what had become of his brothers, and he determined to trace,\nas far as he could, the way that they must have gone. He followed the\nroad that led from his father\u2019s cottage to the hill, where he sat down\nto rest, saying to himself: \u201cI am sure my brothers must have stopped\nhere, and I will do the same.\u201d\n\nHe was hungry as well as tired, and took out some of the food his\nparents had given him. He was just going to begin to eat when the old\nman appeared, and asked if he could not spare him a little. The young\nman at once broke off some of the bread, begging the old man to sit\ndown beside him, and treating him as if he was an old friend. At last\nthe stranger rose, and said to him: \u201cIf ever you are in trouble call\nme, and I will help you. My name is Tritill.\u201d Then he vanished, and the\nyoung man could not tell where he had gone.\n\nHowever, he felt he had now rested long enough, and that he had better\nbe going his way. At the next hill he met with the second old man, and\nto him also he gave food and drink. And when this old man had finished\nhe said, like the first: \u201cIf you ever want help in the smallest thing\ncall to me. My name is Litill.\u201d\n\nThe young man walked on till he reached the open space in the wood,\nwhere he stopped for dinner. In a moment all the birds in the world\nseemed flying round his head, and he crumbled some of his bread for\nthem and watched them as they darted down to pick it up. When they had\ncleared off every crumb the largest bird with the gayest plumage said\nto him: \u201cIf you are in trouble and need help say, \u2018My birds, come to\nme!\u2019 and we will come.\u201d Then they flew away.\n\nTowards evening the young man reached the cave where his brothers had\nmet their deaths, and, like them, he thought it would be a good place\nto sleep in. Looking round, he saw some pieces of the dead men\u2019s\nclothes and of their bones. The sight made him shiver, but he would not\nmove away, and resolved to await the return of the ogress, for such he\nknew she must be.\n\nVery soon she came striding in, and he asked politely if she would give\nhim a night\u2019s lodging. She answered as before, that he might stay on\ncondition that he should do any work that she might set him to next\nmorning. So the bargain being concluded, the young man curled himself\nup in his corner and went to sleep.\n\nThe dirt lay thicker than ever on the floor of the cave when the young\nman took the spade and began his work. He could not clear it any more\nthan his brothers had done, and at last the spade itself stuck in the\nearth so that he could not pull it out. The youth stared at it in\ndespair, then the old beggar\u2019s words flashed into his mind, and he\ncried: \u201cTritill, Tritill, come and help me!\u201d\n\nAnd Tritill stood beside him and asked what he wanted. The youth told\nhim all his story, and when he had finished, the old man said: \u201cSpade\nand shovel do your duty,\u201d and they danced about the cave till, in a\nshort time, there was not a speck of dust left on the floor. As soon as\nit was quite clean Tritill went his way.\n\nWith a light heart the young man awaited the return of the ogress. When\nshe came in she looked carefully round, and then said to him: \u201cYou did\nnot do that quite alone. However, as the floor is clean I will leave\nyour head on.\u201d\n\nThe following morning the ogress told the young man that he must take\nall the feathers out of her pillows and spread them to dry in the sun.\nBut if one feather was missing when she came back at night his head\nshould pay for it.\u201d\n\nThe young man fetched the pillows, and shook out all the feathers, and\noh! what quantities of them there were! He was thinking to himself, as\nhe spread them out carefully, how lucky it was that the sun was so\nbright and that there was no wind, when suddenly a breeze sprang up,\nand in a moment the feathers were dancing high in the air. At first the\nyouth tried to collect them again, but he soon found that it was no\nuse, and he cried in despair: \u201cTritill, Litill, and all my birds, come\nand help me!\u201d\n\nHe had hardly said the words when there they all were; and when the\nbirds had brought all the feathers back again, Tritill, and Litill, and\nhe, put them away in the pillows, as the ogress had bidden him. But one\nlittle feather they kept out, and told the young man that if the ogress\nmissed it he was to thrust it up her nose. Then they all vanished,\nTritill, Litill, and the birds.\n\nDirectly the ogress returned home she flung herself with all her weight\non the bed, and the whole cave quivered under her. The pillows were\nsoft and full instead of being empty, which surprised her, but that did\nnot content her. She got up, shook out the pillow-cases one by one, and\nbegan to count the feathers that were in each. \u201cIf one is missing I\nwill have your head,\u201d said she, and at that the young man drew the\nfeather from his pocket and thrust it up her nose, crying \u201cIf you want\nyour feather, here it is.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou did not sort those feathers alone,\u201d answered the ogress calmly;\n\u201chowever, this time I will let that pass.\u201d\n\nThat night the young man slept soundly in his corner, and in the\nmorning the ogress told him that his work that day would be to slay one\nof her great oxen, to cook its heart, and to make drinking cups of its\nhorns, before she returned home \u201cThere are fifty oxen,\u201d added she, \u201cand\nyou must guess which of the herd I want killed. If you guess right,\nto-morrow you shall be free to go where you will, and you shall choose\nbesides three things as a reward for your service. But if you slay the\nwrong ox your head shall pay for it.\u201d\n\nLeft alone, the young man stood thinking for a little. Then he called:\n\u201cTritill, Litill, come to my help!\u201d\n\nIn a moment he saw them, far away, driving the biggest ox the youth had\never seen. When they drew near, Tritill killed it, Litill took out its\nheart for the young man to cook, and both began quickly to turn the\nhorns into drinking cups. The work went merrily on, and they talked\ngaily, and the young man told his friends of the payment promised him\nby the ogress if he had done her bidding. The old men warned him that\nhe must ask her for the chest which stood at the foot of her bed, for\nwhatever lay on the top of the bed, and for what lay under the side of\nthe cave. The young man thanked them for their counsel, and Tritill and\nLitill then took leave of him, saying that for the present he would\nneed them no more.\n\nScarcely had they disappeared when the ogress came back, and found\neverything ready just as she had ordered. Before she sat down to eat\nthe bullock\u2019s heart she turned to the young man, and said: \u201cYou did not\ndo that all alone, my friend; but, nevertheless, I will keep my word,\nand to-morrow you shall go your way.\u201d So they went to bed and slept\ntill dawn.\n\nWhen the sun rose the ogress awoke the young man, and called to him to\nchoose any three things out of her house.\n\n\u201cI choose,\u201d answered he, \u201cthe chest which stands at the foot of your\nbed; whatever lies on the top of the bed, and whatever is under the\nside of the cave.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou did not choose those things by yourself, my friend,\u201d said the\nogress; \u201cbut what I have promised, that will I do.\u201d\n\nAnd then she gave him his reward.\n\n\u201cThe thing which lay on the top of the bed\u201d turned out to be the lost\nprincess. \u201cThe chest which stood at the foot of the bed\u201d proved full of\ngold and precious stones; and \u201cwhat was under the side of the cave\u201d he\nfound to be a great ship, with oars and sails that went of itself as\nwell on land as in the water. \u201cYou are the luckiest man that ever was\nborn,\u201d said the ogress as she went out of the cave as usual.\n\nWith much difficulty the youth put the heavy chest on his shoulders and\ncarried it on board the ship, the princess walking by his side. Then he\ntook the helm and steered the vessel back to her father\u2019s kingdom. The\nking\u2019s joy at receiving back his lost daughter was so great that he\nalmost fainted, but when he recovered himself he made the young man\ntell him how everything had really happened. \u201cYou have found her, and\nyou shall marry her,\u201d said the king; and so it was done. And this is\nthe end of the story.\n\n[From Ungarische M\u00e4hrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Three Robes\n\n\nLong, long ago, a king and queen reigned over a large and powerful\ncountry. What their names were nobody knows, but their son was called\nSigurd, and their daughter Lineik, and these young people were famed\nthroughout the whole kingdom for their wisdom and beauty.\n\nThere was only a year between them, and they loved each other so much\nthat they could do nothing apart. When they began to grow up the king\ngave them a house of their own to live in, with servants and carriages,\nand everything they could possibly want.\n\nFor many years they all lived happily together, and then the queen fell\nill, and knew that she would never get better.\n\n\u201cPromise me two things,\u201d she said one day to the king; \u201cone, that if\nyou marry again, as indeed you must, you will not choose as your wife a\nwoman from some small state or distant island, who knows nothing of the\nworld, and will be taken up with thoughts of her grandeur. But rather\nseek out a princess of some great kingdom, who has been used to courts\nall her life, and holds them at their true worth. The other thing I\nhave to ask is, that you will never cease to watch over our children,\nwho will soon become your greatest joy.\u201d\n\nThese were the queen\u2019s last words, and a few hours later she was dead.\nThe king was so bowed down with sorrow that he would not attend even to\nthe business of the kingdom, and at last his Prime Minister had to tell\nhim that the people were complaining that they had nobody to right\ntheir wrongs. \u201cYou must rouse yourself, sir,\u201d went on the minister,\n\u201cand put aside your own sorrows for the sake of your country.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou do not spare me,\u201d answered the king; \u201cbut what you say is just,\nand your counsel is good. I have heard that men say, likewise, that it\nwill be for the good of my kingdom for me to marry again, though my\nheart will never cease to be with my lost wife. But it was her wish\nalso; therefore, to you I entrust the duty of finding a lady fitted to\nshare my throne; only, see that she comes neither from a small town nor\na remote island.\u201d\n\nSo an embassy was prepared, with the minister at its head, to visit the\ngreatest courts in the world, and to choose out a suitable princess.\nBut the vessel which carried them had not been gone many days when a\nthick fog came on, and the captain could see neither to the right nor\nto the left. For a whole month the ship drifted about in darkness, till\nat length the fog lifted and they beheld a cliff jutting out just in\nfront. On one side of the cliff lay a sheltered bay, in which the\nvessel was soon anchored, and though they did not know where they were,\nat any rate they felt sure of fresh fruit and water.\n\nThe minister left the rest of his followers on board the ship, and\ntaking a small boat rowed himself to land, in order to look about him\nand to find out if the island was really as deserted as it seemed.\n\nHe had not gone far, when he heard the sound of music, and, turning in\nits direction, he saw a woman of marvellous beauty sitting on a low\nstool playing on a harp, while a girl beside her sang. The minister\nstopped and greeted the lady politely, and she replied with\nfriendliness, asking him why he had come to such an out-of-the way\nplace. In answer he told her of the object of his journey.\n\n\u201cI am in the same state as your master,\u201d replied the lady; \u201cI was\nmarried to a mighty king who ruled over this land, till Vikings\n[sea-robbers] came and slew him and put all the people to death. But I\nmanaged to escape, and hid myself here with my daughter.\u201d\n\nAnd the daughter listened, and said softly to her mother: \u201cAre you\nspeaking the truth now?\u201d\n\n\u201cRemember your promise,\u201d answered the mother angrily, giving her a\npinch which was unseen by the minister.\n\n\u201cWhat is your name, madam?\u201d asked he, much touched by this sad story.\n\n\u201cBlauvor,\u201d she replied \u201cand my daughter is called Laufer\u201d; and then she\ninquired the name of the minister, and of the king his master. After\nthis they talked of many things, and the lady showed herself learned in\nall that a woman should know, and even in much that men only were\ncommonly taught. \u201cWhat a wife she would make for the king,\u201d thought the\nminister to himself, and before long he had begged the honour of her\nhand for his master. She declared at first that she was too unworthy to\naccept the position offered her, and that the minister would soon\nrepent his choice; but this only made him the more eager, and in the\nend he gained her consent, and prevailed on her to return with him at\nonce to his own country.\n\nThe minister then conducted the mother and daughter back to the ship;\nthe anchor was raised, the sails spread, and a fair wind was behind\nthem.\n\nNow that the fog had lifted they could see as they looked back that,\nexcept just along the shore, the island was bare and deserted and not\nfit for men to live in; but about that nobody cared. They had a quick\nvoyage, and in six days they reached the land, and at once set out for\nthe capital, a messenger being sent on first by the minister to inform\nthe king of what had happened.\n\nWhen his Majesty\u2019s eyes fell on the two beautiful women, clad in\ndresses of gold and silver, he forgot his sorrows and ordered\npreparations for the wedding to be made without delay. In his joy he\nnever remembered to inquire in what kind of country the future queen\nhad been found. In fact his head was so turned by the beauty of the two\nladies that when the invitations were sent by his orders to all the\ngreat people in the kingdom, he did not even recollect his two\nchildren, who remained shut up in their own house!\n\nAfter the marriage the king ceased to have any will of his own and did\nnothing without consulting his wife. She was present at all his\ncouncils, and her opinion was asked before making peace or war. But\nwhen a few months had passed the king began to have doubts as to\nwhether the minister\u2019s choice had really been a wise one, and he\nnoticed that his children lived more and more in their palace and never\ncame near their stepmother.\n\nIt always happens that if a person\u2019s eyes are once opened they see a\ngreat deal more than they ever expected; and soon it struck the king\nthat the members of his court had a way of disappearing one after the\nother without any reason. At first he had not paid much attention to\nthe fact, but merely appointed some fresh person to the vacant place.\nAs, however, man after man vanished without leaving any trace, he began\nto grow uncomfortable and to wonder if the queen could have anything to\ndo with it.\n\nThings were in this state when, one day, his wife said to him that it\nwas time for him to make a progress through his kingdom and see that\nhis governors were not cheating him of the money that was his due. \u201cAnd\nyou need not be anxious about going,\u201d she added, \u201cfor I will rule the\ncountry while you are away as carefully as you could yourself.\u201d\n\nThe king had no great desire to undertake this journey, but the queen\u2019s\nwill was stronger than his, and he was too lazy to make a fight for it.\nSo he said nothing and set about his preparations, ordering his finest\nship to be ready to carry him round the coast. Still his heart was\nheavy, and he felt uneasy, though he could not have told why; and the\nnight before he was to start he went to the children\u2019s palace to take\nleave of his son and daughter.\n\nHe had not seen them for some time, and they gave him a warm welcome,\nfor they loved him dearly and he had always been kind to them. They had\nmuch to tell him, but after a while he checked their merry talk and\nsaid:\n\n\u201cIf I should never come back from this journey I fear that it may not\nbe safe for you to stay here; so directly there are no more hopes of my\nreturn go instantly and take the road eastwards till you reach a high\nmountain, which you must cross. Once over the mountain keep along by\nthe side of a little bay till you come to two trees, one green and the\nother red, standing in a thicket, and so far back from the road that\nwithout looking for them you would never see them. Hide each in the\ntrunk of one of the trees and there you will be safe from all your\nenemies.\u201d\n\nWith these words the king bade them farewell and entered sadly into his\nship. For a few days the wind was fair, and everything seemed going\nsmoothly; then, suddenly, a gale sprang up, and a fearful storm of\nthunder and lightning, such as had never happened within the memory of\nman. In spite of the efforts of the frightened sailors the vessel was\ndriven on the rocks, and not a man on board was saved.\n\nThat very night Prince Sigurd had a dream, in which he thought his\nfather appeared to him in dripping clothes, and, taking the crown from\nhis head, laid it at his son\u2019s feet, leaving the room as silently as he\nhad entered it.\n\nHastily the prince awoke his sister Lineik, and they agreed that their\nfather must be dead, and that they must lose no time in obeying his\norders and putting themselves in safety. So they collected their jewels\nand a few clothes and left the house without being observed by anyone.\n\nThey hurried on till they arrived at the mountain without once looking\nback. Then Sigurd glanced round and saw that their stepmother was\nfollowing them, with an expression on her face which made her uglier\nthan the ugliest old witch. Between her and them lay a thick wood, and\nSigurd stopped for a moment to set it on fire; then he and his sister\nhastened on more swiftly than before, till they reached the grove with\nthe red and green trees, into which they jumped, and felt that at last\nthey were safe.\n\nNow, at that time there reigned over Greece a king who was very rich\nand powerful, although his name has somehow been forgotten. He had two\nchildren, a son and a daughter, who were more beautiful and\naccomplished than any Greeks had been before, and they were the pride\nof their father\u2019s heart.\n\nThe prince had no sooner grown out of boyhood than he prevailed on his\nfather to make war during the summer months on a neighbouring nation,\nso as to give him a chance of making himself famous. In winter,\nhowever, when it was difficult to get food and horses in that wild\ncountry, the army was dispersed, and the prince returned home.\n\nDuring one of these wars he had heard reports of the Princess Lineik\u2019s\nbeauty, and he resolved to seek her out, and to ask for her hand in\nmarriage. All this Blauvor, the queen, found out by means of her black\narts, and when the prince drew near the capital she put a splendid\ndress on her own daughter and then went to meet her guest.\n\nShe bade him welcome to her palace, and when they had finished supper\nshe told him of the loss of her husband, and how there was no one left\nto govern the kingdom but herself.\n\n\u201cBut where is the Princess Lineik?\u201d asked the prince when she had ended\nher tale.\n\n\u201cHere,\u201d answered the queen, bringing forward the girl, whom she had\nhitherto kept in the background.\n\nThe prince looked at her and was rather disappointed. The maiden was\npretty enough, but not much out of the common.\n\n\u201cOh, you must not wonder at her pale face and heavy eyes,\u201d said the\nqueen hastily, for she saw what was passing in his mind. \u201cShe has never\ngot over the loss of both father and mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat shows a good heart,\u201d thought the prince; \u201cand when she is happy\nher beauty will soon come back.\u201d And without any further delay he\nbegged the queen to consent to their betrothal, for the marriage must\ntake place in his own country.\n\nThe queen was enchanted. She had hardly expected to succeed so soon,\nand she at once set about her preparations. Indeed she wished to travel\nwith the young couple, to make sure that nothing should go wrong; but\nhere the prince was firm, that he would take no one with him but\nLaufer, whom he thought was Lineik.\n\nThey soon took leave of the queen, and set sail in a splendid ship; but\nin a short time a dense fog came on, and in the dark the captain\nsteered out of his course, and they found themselves in a bay which was\nquite strange to all the crew. The prince ordered a boat to be lowered,\nand went on shore to look about him, and it was not long before he\nnoticed the two beautiful trees, quite different from any that grew in\nGreece. Calling one of the sailors, he bade him cut them down, and\ncarry them on board the ship. This was done, and as the sky was now\nclear they put out to sea, and arrived in Greece without any more\nadventures.\n\nThe news that the prince had brought home a bride had gone before them,\nand they were greeted with flowery arches and crowns of coloured\nlights. The king and queen met them on the steps of the palace, and\nconducted the girl to the women\u2019s house, where she would have to remain\nuntil her marriage. The prince then went to his own rooms and ordered\nthat the trees should be brought in to him.\n\nThe next morning the prince bade his attendants bring his future bride\nto his own apartments, and when she came he gave her silk which she was\nto weave into three robes\u2014one red, one green, and one blue\u2014and these\nmust all be ready before the wedding. The blue one was to be done first\nand the green last, and this was to be the most splendid of all, \u201cfor I\nwill wear it at our marriage,\u201d said he.\n\nLeft alone, Laufer sat and stared at the heap of shining silk before\nher. She did not know how to weave, and burst into tears as she thought\nthat everything would be discovered, for Lineik\u2019s skill in weaving was\nas famous as her beauty. As she sat with her face hidden and her body\nshaken by sobs, Sigurd in his tree heard her and was moved to pity.\n\u201cLineik, my sister,\u201d he called, softly, \u201cLaufer is weeping; help her, I\npray you.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave you forgotten the wrongs her mother did to us\u201d answered Lineik,\n\u201cand that it is owing to her that we are banished from home?\u201d\n\nBut she was not really unforgiving, and very soon she slid quietly out\nof her hiding-place, and taking the silk from Laufer\u2019s hands began to\nweave it. So quick and clever was she that the blue dress was not only\nwoven but embroidered, and Lineik was safe back in her tree before the\nprince returned.\n\n\u201cIt is the most beautiful work I have ever seen,\u201d said he, taking up a\nbit. \u201cAnd I am sure that the red one will be still better, because the\nstuff is richer,\u201d and with a low bow he left the room.\n\nLaufer had hoped secretly that when the prince had seen the blue dress\nfinished he would have let her off the other two; but when she found\nshe was expected to fulfil the whole task, her heart sank and she began\nto cry loudly. Again Sigurd heard her, and begged Lineik to come to her\nhelp, and Lineik, feeling sorry for her distress, wove and embroidered\nthe second dress as she had done the first, mixing gold thread and\nprecious stones till you could hardly see the red of the stuff. When it\nwas done she glided into her tree just as the prince came in.\n\n\u201cYou are as quick as you are clever,\u201d said he, admiringly. \u201cThis looks\nas if it had been embroidered by the fairies! But as the green robe\nmust outshine the other two I will give you three days in which to\nfinish it. After it is ready we will be married at once.\u201d\n\nNow, as he spoke, there rose up in Laufer\u2019s mind all the unkind things\nthat she and her mother had done to Lineik. Could she hope that they\nwould be forgotten, and that Lineik would come to her rescue for the\nthird time? And perhaps Lineik, who had not forgotten the past either,\nmight have left her alone, to get on as best she could, had not Sigurd,\nher brother, implored her to help just once more. So Lineik again slid\nout of her tree, and, to Laufer\u2019s great relief, set herself to work.\nWhen the shining green silk was ready she caught the sun\u2019s rays and the\nmoon\u2019s beams on the point of her needle and wove them into a pattern\nsuch as no man had ever seen. But it took a long time, and on the third\nmorning, just as she was putting the last stitches into the last flower\nthe prince came in.\n\nLineik jumped up quickly, and tried to get past him back to her tree;\nbut the folds of the silk were wrapped round her, and she would have\nfallen had not the prince caught her.\n\n\u201cI have thought for some time that all was not quite straight here,\u201d\nsaid he. \u201cTell me who you are, and where you come from?\u201d\n\nLineik then told her name and her story. When she had ended the prince\nturned angrily to Laufer, and declared that, as a punishment for her\nwicked lies, she deserved to die a shameful death.\n\nBut Laufer fell at his feet and begged for mercy. It was her mother\u2019s\nfault, she said: \u201cIt was she, and not I, who passed me off as the\nPrincess Lineik. The only lie I have ever told you was about the robes,\nand I do not deserve death for that.\u201d\n\nShe was still on her knees when Prince Sigurd entered the room. He\nprayed the Prince of Greece to forgive Laufer, which he did, on\ncondition that Lineik would consent to marry him. \u201cNot till my\nstepmother is dead,\u201d answered she, \u201cfor she has brought misery to all\nthat came near her.\u201d Then Laufer told them that Blauvor was not the\nwife of a king, but an ogress who had stolen her from a neighbouring\npalace and had brought her up as her daughter. And besides being an\nogress she was also a witch, and by her black arts had sunk the ship in\nwhich the father of Sigurd and Lineik had set sail. It was she who had\ncaused the disappearance of the courtiers, for which no one could\naccount, by eating them during the night, and she hoped to get rid of\nall the people in the country, and then to fill the land with ogres and\nogresses like herself.\n\nSo Prince Sigurd and the Prince of Greece collected an army swiftly,\nand marched upon the town where Blauvor had her palace. They came so\nsuddenly that no one knew of it, and if they had, Blauvor had eaten\nmost of the strong men; and others, fearful of something they could not\ntell what, had secretly left the place. Therefore she was easily\ncaptured, and the next day was beheaded in the market-place. Afterwards\nthe two princes marched back to Greece.\n\nLineik had no longer any reason for putting off her wedding, and\nmarried the Prince of Greece at the same time that Sigurd married the\nprincess. And Laufer remained with Lineik as her friend and sister,\ntill they found a husband for her in a great nobleman; and all three\ncouples lived happily until they died.\n\n[From Islandische Muhrchen Poestion Wien.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Six Hungry Beasts\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a man who dwelt with his wife in a little\nhut, far away from any neighbours. But they did not mind being alone,\nand would have been quite happy, if it had not been for a marten, who\ncame every night to their poultry yard, and carried off one of their\nfowls. The man laid all sorts of traps to catch the thief, but instead\nof capturing the foe, it happened that one day he got caught himself,\nand falling down, struck his head against a stone, and was killed.\n\nNot long after the marten came by on the look out for his supper.\nSeeing the dead man lying there, he said to himself: \u201cThat is a prize,\nthis time I have done well\u201d; and dragging the body with great\ndifficulty to the sledge which was waiting for him, drove off with his\nbooty. He had not driven far when he met a squirrel, who bowed and\nsaid: \u201cGood-morning, godfather! what have you got behind you?\u201d\n\nThe marten laughed and answered: \u201cDid you ever hear anything so\nstrange? The old man that you see here set traps about his hen-house,\nthinking to catch me but he fell into his own trap, and broke his own\nneck. He is very heavy; I wish you would help me to draw the sledge.\u201d\nThe squirrel did as he was asked, and the sledge moved slowly along.\n\nBy-and-by a hare came running across a field, but stopped to see what\nwonderful thing was coming. \u201cWhat have you got there?\u201d she asked, and\nthe marten told his story and begged the hare to help them pull.\n\nThe hare pulled her hardest, and after a while they were joined by a\nfox, and then by a wolf, and at length a bear was added to the company,\nand he was of more use than all the other five beasts put together.\nBesides, when the whole six had supped off the man he was not so heavy\nto draw.\n\nThe worst of it was that they soon began to get hungry again, and the\nwolf, who was the hungriest of all, said to the rest:\n\n\u201cWhat shall we eat now, my friends, as there is no more man?\u201d\n\n\u201cI suppose we shall have to eat the smallest of us,\u201d replied the bear,\nand the marten turned round to seize the squirrel who was much smaller\nthan any of the rest. But the squirrel ran up a tree like lightning,\nand the marten remembering, just in time, that he was the next in size,\nslipped quick as thought into a hole in the rocks.\n\n\u201cWhat shall we eat now?\u201d asked the wolf again, when he had recovered\nfrom his surprise.\n\n\u201cWe must eat the smallest of us,\u201d repeated the bear, stretching out a\npaw towards the hare; but the hare was not a hare for nothing, and\nbefore the paw had touched her, she had darted deep into the wood.\n\nNow that the squirrel, the marten, and the hare had all gone, the fox\nwas the smallest of the three who were left, and the wolf and the bear\nexplained that they were very sorry, but they would have to eat him.\nMichael, the fox, did not run away as the others had done, but smiled\nin a friendly manner, and remarked: \u201cThings taste so stale in a valley;\none\u2019s appetite is so much better up on a mountain.\u201d The wolf and the\nbear agreed, and they turned out of the hollow where they had been\nwalking, and chose a path that led up the mountain side. The fox\ntrotted cheerfully by his two big companions, but on the way he managed\nto whisper to the wolf: \u201cTell me, Peter, when I am eaten, what will you\nhave for your next dinner?\u201d\n\nThis simple question seemed to put out the wolf very much. What would\nthey have for their next dinner, and, what was more important still,\nwho would there be to eat it? They had made a rule always to dine off\nthe smallest of the party, and when the fox was gone, why of course, he\nwas smaller than the bear.\n\nThese thoughts flashed quickly through his head, and he said hastily:\n\n\u201cDear brothers, would it not be better for us to live together as\ncomrades, and everyone to hunt for the common dinner? Is not my plan a\ngood one?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is the best thing I have ever heard,\u201d answered the fox; and as they\nwere two to one the bear had to be content, though in his heart he\nwould much have preferred a good dinner at once to any friendship.\n\nFor a few days all went well; there was plenty of game in the forest,\nand even the wolf had as much to eat as he could wish. One morning the\nfox as usual was going his rounds when he noticed a tall, slender tree,\nwith a magpie\u2019s nest in one of the top branches. Now the fox was\nparticularly fond of young magpies, and he set about making a plan by\nwhich he could have one for dinner. At last he hit upon something which\nhe thought would do, and accordingly he sat down near the tree and\nbegan to stare hard at it.\n\n\u201cWhat are you looking at, Michael?\u201d asked the magpie, who was watching\nhim from a bough.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m looking at this tree. It has just struck me what a good tree it\nwould be to cut my new snow-shoes out of.\u201d But at this answer the\nmagpie screeched loudly, and exclaimed: \u201cOh, not this tree, dear\nbrother, I implore you! I have built my nest on it, and my young ones\nare not yet old enough to fly.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt will not be easy to find another tree that would make such good\nsnow-shoes,\u201d answered the fox, cocking his head on one side, and gazing\nat the tree thoughtfully; \u201cbut I do not like to be ill-natured, so if\nyou will give me one of your young ones I will seek my snow-shoes\nelsewhere.\u201d\n\nNot knowing what to do the poor magpie had to agree, and flying back,\nwith a heavy heart, he threw one of his young ones out of the nest. The\nfox seized it in his mouth and ran off in triumph, while the magpie,\nthough deeply grieved for the loss of his little one, found some\ncomfort in the thought that only a bird of extraordinary wisdom would\nhave dreamed of saving the rest by the sacrifice of the one. But what\ndo you think happened? Why, a few days later, Michael the fox might\nhave been seen sitting under the very same tree, and a dreadful pang\nshot through the heart of the magpie as he peeped at him from a hole in\nthe nest.\n\n\u201cWhat are you looking at?\u201d he asked in a trembling voice.\n\n\u201cAt this tree. I was just thinking what good snowshoes it would make,\u201d\nanswered the fox in an absent voice, as if he was not thinking of what\nhe was saying.\n\n\u201cOh, my brother, my dear little brother, don\u2019t do that,\u201d cried the\nmagpie, hopping about in his anguish. \u201cYou know you promised only a few\ndays ago that you would get your snow-shoes elsewhere.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo I did; but though I have searched through the whole forest, there\nis not a single tree that is as good as this. I am very sorry to put\nyou out, but really it is not my fault. The only thing I can do for you\nis to offer to give up my snow-shoes altogether if you will throw me\ndown one of your young ones in exchange.\u201d\n\nAnd the poor magpie, in spite of his wisdom, was obliged to throw\nanother of his little ones out of the nest; and this time he was not\nable to console himself with the thought that he had been much cleverer\nthan other people.\n\nHe sat on the edge of his nest, his head drooping and his feathers all\nruffled, looking the picture of misery. Indeed he was so different from\nthe gay, jaunty magpie whom every creature in the forest knew, that a\ncrow who was flying past, stopped to inquire what was the matter.\n\u201cWhere are the two young ones who are not in the nest?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cI had to give them to the fox,\u201d replied the magpie in a quivering\nvoice; \u201che has been here twice in the last week, and wanted to cut down\nmy tree for the purpose of making snow-shoes out of it, and the only\nway I could buy him off was by giving him two of my young ones.\u201d\n\nOh, you fool,\u201d cried the crow, \u201cthe fox was only trying to frighten\nyou. He could not have cut down the tree, for he has neither axe nor\nknife. Dear me, to think that you have sacrificed your young ones for\nnothing! Dear, dear! how could you be so very foolish!\u201d And the crow\nflew away, leaving the magpie overcome with shame and sorrow.\n\nThe next morning the fox came to his usual place in front of the tree,\nfor he was hungry, and a nice young magpie would have suited him very\nwell for dinner. But this time there was no cowering, timid magpie to\ndo his bidding, but a bird with his head erect and a determined voice.\n\n\u201cMy good fox,\u201d said the magpie putting his head on one side and looking\nvery wise\u2014\u201cmy good fox, if you take my advice, you will go home as fast\nas you can. There is no use your talking about making snow-shoes out of\nthis tree, when you have neither knife nor axe to cut it down with!\u201d\n\n\u201cWho has been teaching you wisdom?\u201d asked the fox, forgetting his\nmanners in his surprise at this new turn of affairs.\n\n\u201cThe crow, who paid me a visit yesterday,\u201d answered the magpie.\n\n\u201cThe crow was it?\u201d said the fox, \u201cwell, the crow had better not meet me\nfor the future, or it may be the worse for him.\u201d\n\nAs Michael, the cunning beast, had no desire to continue the\nconversation, he left the forest; but when he came to the high road he\nlaid himself at full length on the ground, stretching himself out, just\nas if he was dead. Very soon he noticed, out of the corner of his eye,\nthat the crow was flying towards him, and he kept stiller and stiffer\nthan ever, with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. The crow, who\nwanted her supper very badly, hopped quickly towards him, and was\nstooping forward to peck at his tongue when the fox gave a snap, and\ncaught him by the wing. The crow knew that it was of no use struggling,\nso he said:\n\n\u201cAh, brother, if you are really going to eat me, do it, I beg of you,\nin good style. Throw me first over this precipice, so that my feathers\nmay be strewn here and there, and that all who see them may know that\nyour cunning is greater than mine.\u201d This idea pleased the fox, for he\nhad not yet forgiven the crow for depriving him of the young magpies,\nso he carried the crow to the edge of the precipice and threw him over,\nintending to go round by a path he knew and pick him up at the bottom.\nBut no sooner had the fox let the crow go than he soared up into the\nair, and hovering just out of teach of his enemy\u2019s jaws, he cried with\na laugh: \u201cAh, fox! you know well how to catch, but you cannot keep.\u201d\n\nWith his tail between his legs, the fox slunk into the forest. He did\nnot know where to look for a dinner, as he guessed that the crow would\nhave flown back before him, and put every one on their guard. The\nnotion of going to bed supperless was very unpleasant to him, and he\nwas wondering what in the world he should do, when he chanced to meet\nwith his old friend the bear.\n\nThis poor animal had just lost his wife, and was going to get some one\nto mourn over her, for he felt her loss greatly. He had hardly left his\ncomfortable cave when he had come across the wolf, who inquired where\nhe was going. \u201cI am going to find a mourner,\u201d answered the bear, and\ntold his story.\n\n\u201cOh, let me mourn for you,\u201d cried the wolf.\n\n\u201cDo you understand how to howl?\u201d said the bear.\n\n\u201cOh, certainly, godfather, certainly,\u201d replied the wolf; but the bear\nsaid he should like to have a specimen of his howling, to make sure\nthat he knew his business. So the wolf broke forth in his song of\nlament: \u201cHu, hu, hu, hum, hoh,\u201d he shouted, and he made such a noise\nthat the bear put up his paws to his ears, and begged him to stop.\n\n\u201cYou have no idea how it is done. Be off with you,\u201d said he angrily.\n\nA little further down the road the hare was resting in a ditch, but\nwhen she saw the bear, she came out and spoke to him, and inquired why\nhe looked so sad. The bear told her of the loss of his wife, and of his\nsearch after a mourner that could lament over her in the proper style.\nThe hare instantly offered her services, but the bear took care to ask\nher to give him a proof of her talents, before he accepted them. \u201cPu,\npu, pu, pum, poh,\u201d piped the hare; but this time her voice was so small\nthat the bear could hardly hear her. \u201cThat is not what I want,\u201d he\nsaid, \u201cI will bid you good morning.\u201d\n\nIt was after this that the fox came up, and he also was struck with the\nbear\u2019s altered looks, and stopped. \u201cWhat is the matter with you,\ngodfather?\u201d asked he, \u201cand where are you going?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am going to find a mourner for my wife,\u201d answered the bear.\n\n\u201cOh, do choose me,\u201d cried the fox, and the bear looked at him\nthoughtfully.\n\n\u201cCan you howl well?\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cYes, beautifully, just listen,\u201d and the fox lifted up his voice and\nsang weeping: \u201cLou, lou, lou! the famous spinner, the baker of good\ncakes, the prudent housekeeper is torn from her husband! Lou, lou, lou!\nshe is gone! she is gone!\u201d\n\n\u201cNow at last I have found some one who knows the art of lamentation,\u201d\nexclaimed the bear, quite delighted; and he led the fox back to his\ncave, and bade him begin his lament over the dead wife who was lying\nstretched out on her bed of grey moss. But this did not suit the fox at\nall.\n\n\u201cOne cannot wail properly in this cave,\u201d he said, \u201cit is much too damp.\nYou had better take the body to the storehouse. It will sound much\nfiner there.\u201d So the bear carried his wife\u2019s body to the storehouse,\nwhile he himself went back to the cave to cook some pap for the\nmourner. From time to time he paused and listened for the sound of\nwailing, but he heard nothing. At last he went to the door of the\nstorehouse, and called to the fox:\n\n\u201cWhy don\u2019t you howl, godfather? What are you about?\u201d\n\nAnd the fox, who, instead of weeping over the dead bear, had been\nquietly eating her, answered:\n\n\u201cThere only remain now her legs and the soles of her feet. Give me five\nminutes more and they will be gone also!\u201d\n\nWhen the bear heard that he ran back for the kitchen ladle, to give the\ntraitor the beating he deserved. But as he opened the door of the\nstorehouse, Michael was ready for him, and slipping between his legs,\ndashed straight off into the forest. The bear, seeing that the traitor\nhad escaped, flung the ladle after him, and it just caught the tip of\nhis tail, and that is how there comes to be a spot of white on the\ntails of all foxes.\n\n[From Finnische M\u00e4hrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nHow the Beggar Boy Turned into Count Piro\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a man who had only one son, a lazy, stupid\nboy, who would never do anything he was told. When the father was\ndying, he sent for his son and told him that he would soon be left\nalone in the world, with no possessions but the small cottage they\nlived in and a pear tree which grew behind it, and that, whether he\nliked it or not, he would have to work, or else he would starve. Then\nthe old man died.\n\nBut the boy did not work; instead, he idled about as before, contenting\nhimself with eating the pears off his tree, which, unlike other pear\ntrees before or since, bore fruit the whole year round. Indeed, the\npears were so much finer than any you could get even in the autumn,\nthat one day, in the middle of the winter, they attracted the notice of\na fox who was creeping by.\n\n\u201cDear me; what lovely pears!\u201d he said to the youth. \u201cDo give me a\nbasket of them. It will bring you luck!\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, little fox, but if I give you a basketful, what am I to eat?\u201d\nasked the boy.\n\n\u201cOh, trust me, and do what I tell you,\u201d said the fox; \u201cI know it will\nbring you luck.\u201d So the boy got up and picked some of the ripest pears\nand put them into a rush basket. The fox thanked him, and, taking the\nbasket in his mouth, trotted off to the king\u2019s palace and made his way\nstraight to the king.\n\n\u201cYour Majesty, my master sends you a few of his best pears, and begs\nyou will graciously accept them,\u201d he said, laying the basket at the\nfeet of the king.\n\n\u201cPears! at this season?\u201d cried the king, peering down to look at them;\n\u201cand, pray, who is your master?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Count Piro,\u201d answered the fox.\n\n\u201cBut how does he manage to get pears in midwinter?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cOh, he has everything he wants,\u201d replied the fox; \u201che is richer even\nthan you are, your Majesty.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen what can I send him in return for his pears?\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cNothing, your Majesty, or you would hurt his feelings,\u201d answered the\nfox.\n\n\u201cWell, tell him how heartily I thank him, and how much I shall enjoy\nthem.\u201d And the fox went away.\n\nHe trotted back to the cottage with his empty basket and told his tale,\nbut the youth did not seem as pleased to hear as the fox was to tell.\n\n\u201cBut, my dear little fox,\u201d said he, \u201cyou have brought me nothing in\nreturn, and I am so hungry!\u201d\n\n\u201cLet me alone,\u201d replied the fox; \u201cI know what I am doing. You will see,\nit will bring you luck.\u201d\n\nA few days after this the fox came back again.\n\n\u201cI must have another basket of pears,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cAh, little fox, what shall I eat if you take away all my pears?\u201d\nanswered the youth.\n\n\u201cBe quiet, it will be all right,\u201d said the fox; and taking a bigger\nbasket than before, he filled it quite full of pears. Then he picked it\nup in his mouth, and trotted off to the palace.\n\n\u201cYour Majesty, as you seemed to like the first basket of pears, I have\nbrought you some more,\u201d said he, \u201cwith my master, the Count Piro\u2019s\nhumble respects.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, surely it is not possible to grow such pears with deep snow on\nthe ground?\u201d cried the king.\n\n\u201cOh, that never affects them,\u201d answered the fox lightly; \u201che is rich\nenough to do anything. But to-day he sends me to ask if you will give\nhim your daughter in marriage?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf he is so much richer than I am,\u201d said the king, \u201cI shall be obliged\nto refuse. My honour would not permit me to accept his offer.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, your Majesty, you must not think that,\u201d replied the fox; \u201cand do\nnot let the question of a dowry trouble you. The Count Piro would not\ndream of asking anything but the hand of the princess.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs he really so rich that he can do without a dowry?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cDid I not tell your Majesty that he was richer than you?\u201d answered the\nfox reproachfully.\n\n\u201cWell, beg him to come here, that we may talk together,\u201d said the king.\n\nSo the fox went back to the young man and said: \u201cI have told the king\nthat you are Count Piro, and have asked his daughter in marriage.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, little fox, what have you done?\u201d cried the youth in dismay; \u201cwhen\nthe king sees me he will order my head to be cut off.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, no, he won\u2019t!\u201d replied the fox; \u201cjust do as I tell you.\u201d And he\nwent off to the town, and stopped at the house of the best tailor.\n\n\u201cMy master, the Count Piro, begs that you will send him at once the\nfinest coat that you have in your shop,\u201d said the fox, putting on his\ngrandest air, \u201cand if it fits him I will call and pay for it to-morrow!\nIndeed, as he is in a great hurry, perhaps it might be as well if I\ntook it round myself.\u201d The tailor was not accustomed to serve counts,\nand he at once got out all the coats he had ready. The fox chose out a\nbeautiful one of white and silver, bade the tailor tie it up in a\nparcel, and carrying the string in his teeth, he left the shop, and\nwent to a horse-dealer\u2019s, whom he persuaded to send his finest horse\nround to the cottage, saying that the king had bidden his master to the\npalace.\n\nVery unwillingly the young man put on the coat and mounted the horse,\nand rode up to meet the king, with the fox running before him.\n\n\u201cWhat am I to say to his Majesty, little fox?\u201d he asked anxiously; \u201cyou\nknow that I have never spoken to a king before.\u201d\n\n\u201cSay nothing,\u201d answered the fox, \u201cbut leave the talking to me. \u2018Good\nmorning, your Majesty,\u2019 will be all that is necessary for you.\u201d\n\nBy this time they had reached the palace, and the king came to the door\nto receive Count Piro, and led him to the great hall, where a feast was\nspread. The princess was already seated at the table, but was as dumb\nas Count Piro himself.\n\n\u201cThe Count speaks very little,\u201d the king said at last to the fox, and\nthe fox answered: \u201cHe has so much to think about in the management of\nhis property that he cannot afford to talk like ordinary people.\u201d The\nking was quite satisfied, and they finished dinner, after which Count\nPiro and the fox took leave.\n\nThe next morning the fox came round again.\n\n\u201cGive me another basket of pears,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cVery well, little fox; but remember it may cost me my life,\u201d answered\nthe youth.\n\n\u201cOh, leave it to me, and do as I tell you, and you will see that in the\nend it will bring you luck,\u201d answered the fox; and plucking the pears\nhe took them up to the king.\n\n\u201cMy master, Count Piro, sends you these pears,\u201d he said, \u201cand asks for\nan answer to his proposal.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell the count that the wedding can take place whenever he pleases,\u201d\nanswered the king, and, filled with pride, the fox trotted back to\ndeliver his message.\n\n\u201cBut I can\u2019t bring the princess here, little fox?\u201d cried the young man\nin dismay.\n\n\u201cYou leave everything to me,\u201d answered the fox; \u201chave I not managed\nwell so far?\u201d\n\nAnd up at the palace preparations were made for a grand wedding, and\nthe youth was married to the princess.\n\nAfter a week of feasting, the fox said to the king: \u201cMy master wishes\nto take his young bride home to his own castle.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, I will accompany them,\u201d replied the king; and he ordered\nhis courtiers and attendants to get ready, and the best horses in his\nstable to be brought out for himself, Count Piro and the princess. So\nthey all set out, and rode across the plain, the little fox running\nbefore them.\n\nHe stopped at the sight of a great flock of sheep, which was feeding\npeacefully on the rich grass. \u201cTo whom do these sheep belong?\u201d asked he\nof the shepherd. \u201cTo an ogre,\u201d replied the shepherd.\n\n\u201cHush,\u201d said the fox in a mysterious manner. \u201cDo you see that crowd of\narmed men riding along? If you were to tell them that those sheep\nbelonged to an ogre, they would kill them, and then the ogre would kill\nyou! If they ask, just say the sheep belong to Count Piro; it will be\nbetter for everybody.\u201d And the fox ran hastily on, as he did not wish\nto be seen talking to the shepherd.\n\nVery soon the king came up.\n\n\u201cWhat beautiful sheep!\u201d he said, drawing up his horse. \u201cI have none so\nfine in my pastures. Whose are they?\u201d\n\n\u201cCount Piro\u2019s,\u201d answered the shepherd, who did not know the king.\n\n\u201cWell, he must be a very rich man,\u201d thought the king to himself, and\nrejoiced that he had such a wealthy son-in-law.\n\nMeanwhile the fox had met with a huge herd of pigs, snuffling about the\nroots of some trees.\n\n\u201cTo whom do these pigs belong?\u201d he asked of the swineherd.\n\n\u201cTo an ogre,\u201d replied he.\n\n\u201cHush!\u201d whispered the fox, though nobody could hear him; \u201cdo you see\nthat troop of armed men riding towards us? If you tell them that the\npigs belong to the ogre they will kill them, and then the ogre will\nkill you! If they ask, just say that the pigs belong to Count Piro; it\nwill be better for everybody.\u201d And he ran hastily on.\n\nSoon after the king rode up.\n\n\u201cWhat fine pigs!\u201d he said, reining in his horse. \u201cThey are fatter than\nany I have got on my farms. Whose are they?\u201d\n\n\u201cCount Piro\u2019s,\u201d answered the swineherd, who did not know the king; and\nagain the king felt he was lucky to have such a rich son-in-law.\n\nThis time the fox ran faster than before, and in a flowery meadow he\nfound a troop of horses feeding. \u201cWhose horses are these?\u201d he asked of\nthe man who was watching them.\n\n\u201cAn ogre\u2019s,\u201d replied he.\n\n\u201cHush!\u201d whispered the fox, \u201cdo you see that crowd of armed men coming\ntowards us? If you tell them the horses belong to an ogre they will\ndrive them off, and then the ogre will kill you! If they ask, just say\nthey are Count Piro\u2019s; it will be better for everybody.\u201d And he ran on\nagain.\n\nIn a few minutes the king rode up.\n\n\u201cOh, what lovely creatures! how I wish they were mine!\u201d he exclaimed.\n\u201cWhose are they?\u201d\n\nCount Piro\u2019s,\u201d answered the man, who did not know the king; and the\nking\u2019s heart leapt as he thought that if they belonged to his rich\nson-in-law they were as good as his.\n\nAt last the fox came to the castle of the ogre himself. He ran up the\nsteps, with tears falling from his eyes, and crying:\n\n\u201cOh, you poor, poor people, what a sad fate is yours!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat has happened?\u201d asked the ogre, trembling with fright.\n\n\u201cDo you see that troop of horsemen who are riding along the road? They\nare sent by the king to kill you!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, dear little fox, help us, we implore you!\u201d cried the ogre and his\nwife.\n\n\u201cWell, I will do what I can,\u201d answered the fox. \u201cThe best place is for\nyou both to hide in the big oven, and when the soldiers have gone by I\nwill let you out.\u201d\n\nThe ogre and ogress scrambled into the oven as quick as thought, and\nthe fox banged the door on them; just as he did so the king came up.\n\n\u201cDo us the honour to dismount, your Majesty,\u201d said the fox, bowing low.\n\u201cThis is the palace of Count Piro!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy it is more splendid than my own!\u201d exclaimed the king, looking\nround on all the beautiful things that filled the hall. But why are\nthere no servants?\u201d\n\n\u201cHis Excellency the Count Piro wished the princess to choose them for\nherself,\u201d answered the fox, and the king nodded his approval. He then\nrode on, leaving the bridal pair in the castle. But when it was dark\nand all was still, the fox crept downstairs and lit the kitchen fire,\nand the ogre and his wife were burned to death. The next morning the\nfox said to Count Piro:\n\n\u201cNow that you are rich and happy, you have no more need of me; but,\nbefore I go, there is one thing I must ask of you in return: when I\ndie, promise me that you will give me a magnificent coffin, and bury me\nwith due honours.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, little, little fox, don\u2019t talk of dying,\u201d cried the princess,\nnearly weeping, for she had taken a great liking to the fox.\n\nAfter some time the fox thought he would see if the Count Piro was\nreally grateful to him for all he had done, and went back to the\ncastle, where he lay down on the door-step, and pretended to be dead.\nThe princess was just going out for a walk, and directly she saw him\nlying there, she burst into tears and fell on her knees beside him.\n\n\u201cMy dear little fox, you are not dead,\u201d she wailed; \u201cyou poor, poor\nlittle creature, you shall have the finest coffin in the world!\u201d\n\n\u201cA coffin for an animal?\u201d said Count Piro. \u201cWhat nonsense! just take\nhim by the leg and throw him into the ditch.\u201d\n\nThen the fox sprang up and cried: \u201cYou wretched, thankless beggar; have\nyou forgotten that you owe all your riches to me?\u201d\n\nCount Piro was frightened when he heard these words, as he thought that\nperhaps the fox might have power to take away the castle, and leave him\nas poor as when he had nothing to eat but the pears off his tree. So he\ntried to soften the fox\u2019s anger, saying that he had only spoken in\njoke, as he had known quite well that he was not really dead. For the\nsake of the princess, the fox let himself be softened, and he lived in\nthe castle for many years, and played with Count Piro\u2019s children. And\nwhen he actually did die, his coffin was made of silver, and Count Piro\nand his wife followed him to the grave.\n\n[From Sicilianische M\u00e4hrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Rogue And The Herdsman\n\n\nIn a tiny cottage near the king\u2019s palace there once lived an old man,\nhis wife, and his son, a very lazy fellow, who would never do a stroke\nof work. He could not be got even to look after their one cow, but left\nher to look after herself, while he lay on a bank and went to sleep in\nthe sun. For a long time his father bore with him, hoping that as he\ngrew older he might gain more sense; but at last the old man\u2019s patience\nwas worn out, and he told his son that he should not stay at house in\nidleness, and must go out into the world to seek his fortune.\n\nThe young man saw that there was no help for it, and he set out with a\nwallet full of food over his shoulder. At length he came to a large\nhouse, at the door of which he knocked.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d asked the old man who opened it. And the youth told\nhim how his father had turned him out of his house because he was so\nlazy and stupid, and he needed shelter for the night.\n\n\u201cThat you shall have,\u201d replied the man; \u201cbut to-morrow I shall give you\nsome work to do, for you must know that I am the chief herdsman of the\nking.\u201d\n\nThe youth made no answer to this. He felt, if he was to be made to work\nafter all, that he might as well have stayed where he was. But as he\ndid not see any other way of getting a bed, he went slowly in.\n\nThe herdsman\u2019s two daughters and their mother were sitting at supper,\nand invited him to join them. Nothing more was said about work, and\nwhen the meal was over they all went to bed.\n\nIn the morning, when the young man was dressed, the herdsman called to\nhim and said:\n\n\u201cNow listen, and I will tell you what you have to do.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is it?\u201d asked the youth, sulkily.\n\n\u201cNothing less than to look after two hundred pigs,\u201d was the reply.\n\n\u201cOh, I am used to that,\u201d answered the youth.\n\n\u201cYes; but this time you will have to do it properly,\u201d said the\nherdsman; and he took the youth to the place where the pigs were\nfeeding, and told him to drive them to the woods on the side of the\nmountain. This the young man did, but as soon as they reached the\noutskirts of the mountain they grew quite wild, and would have run away\naltogether, had they not luckily gone towards a narrow ravine, from\nwhich the youth easily drove them home to his father\u2019s cottage.\n\n\u201cWhere do all these pigs come from, and how did you get them?\u201d asked\nthe old man in surprise, when his son knocked at the door of the hut he\nhad left only the day before.\n\n\u201cThey belong to the king\u2019s chief herdsman,\u201d answered his son. \u201cHe gave\nthem to me to look after, but I knew I could not do it, so I drove them\nstraight to you. Now make the best of your good fortune, and kill them\nand hang them up at once.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d cried the father, pale with horror. \u201cWe\nshould certainly both be put to death if I did any such thing.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no; do as I tell you, and I will get out of it somehow,\u201d replied\nthe young man. And in the end he had his way. The pigs were killed, and\nlaid side by side in a row. Then he cut off the tails and tied them\ntogether with a piece of cord, and swinging the bundle over his back,\nhe returned to the place where they should have been feeding. Here\nthere was a small swamp, which was just what he wanted, and finding a\nlarge stone, he fastened the rope to it, and sank it in the swamp,\nafter which he arranged the tails carefully one by one, so that only\ntheir points were seen sticking out of the water. When everything was\nin order, he hastened home to his master with such a sorrowful face\nthat the herdsman saw at once that something dreadful had happened.\n\n\u201cWhere are the pigs?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cOh, don\u2019t speak of them!\u201d answered the young man; \u201cI really can hardly\ntell you. The moment they got into the field they became quite mad, and\neach ran in a different direction. I ran too, hither and thither, but\nas fast as I caught one, another was off, till I was in despair. At\nlast, however, I collected them all and was about to drive them back,\nwhen suddenly they rushed down the hill into the swamp, where they\nvanished completely, leaving only the points of their tails, which you\ncan see for yourself.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have made up that story very well,\u201d replied the herdsman.\n\n\u201cNo, it is the real truth; come with me and I\u2019ll prove it.\u201d And they\nwent together to the spot, and there sure enough were the points of the\ntails sticking up out of the water. The herdsman laid hold of the\nnearest, and pulled at it with all his might, but it was no use, for\nthe stone and the rope held them all fast. He called to the young man\nto help him, but the two did not succeed any better than the one had\ndone.\n\n\u201cYes, your story was true after all; it is a wonderful thing,\u201d said the\nherdsman. \u201cBut I see it is no fault of yours, and I must put up with my\nloss as well as I can. Now let us return home, for it is time for\nsupper.\n\nNext morning the herdsman said to the young man: \u201cI have got some other\nwork for you to do. To-day you must take a hundred sheep to graze; but\nbe careful that no harm befalls them.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will do my best,\u201d replied the youth. And he opened the gate of the\nfold, where the sheep had been all night, and drove them out into the\nmeadow. But in a short time they grew as wild as the pigs had done, and\nscattered in all directions. The young man could not collect them, try\nas he would, and he thought to himself that this was the punishment for\nhis laziness in refusing to look after his father\u2019s one cow.\n\nAt last, however, the sheep seemed tired of running about, and then the\nyouth managed to gather them together, and drove them, as before,\nstraight to his father\u2019s house.\n\n\u201cWhose sheep are these, and what are they doing here?\u201d asked the old\nman in wonder, and his son told him. But when the tale was ended the\nfather shook his head.\n\n\u201cGive up these bad ways and take them back to your master,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cNo, no,\u201d answered the youth; \u201cI am not so stupid as that! We will kill\nthem and have them for dinner.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will lose your life if you do,\u201d replied the father.\n\n\u201cOh, I am not sure of that!\u201d said the son, \u201cand, anyway, I will have my\nwill for once.\u201d And he killed all the sheep and laid them on the grass.\nBut he cut off the head of the ram which always led the flock and had\nbells round its horns. This he took back to the place where they should\nhave been feeding, for here he had noticed a high rock, with a patch of\ngreen grass in the middle and two or three thick bushes growing on the\nedge. Up this rock he climbed with great difficulty, and fastened the\nram\u2019s head to the bushes with a cord, leaving only the tips of the\nhorns with the bells visible. As there was a soft breeze blowing, the\nbushes to which the head was tied moved gently, and the bells rang.\nWhen all was done to his liking he hastened quickly back to his master.\n\n\u201cWhere are the sheep?\u201d asked the herdsman as the young man ran panting\nup the steps.\n\n\u201cOh! don\u2019t speak of them,\u201d answered he. \u201cIt is only by a miracle that I\nam here myself.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me at once what has happened,\u201d said the herdsman sternly.\n\nThe youth began to sob, and stammered out: \u201cI\u2014I hardly know how to tell\nyou! They\u2014they\u2014they were so\u2014so troublesome\u2014that I could not manage them\nat all. They\u2014ran about in\u2014in all directions, and I\u2014I\u2014ran after them and\nnearly died of fatigue. Then I heard a\u2014a noise, which I\u2014I thought was\nthe wind. But\u2014but\u2014it was the sheep, which, be\u2014before my very eyes, were\ncarried straight up\u2014up into the air. I stood watching them as if I was\nturned to stone, but there kept ringing in my ears the sound of the\nbells on the ram which led them.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is nothing but a lie from beginning to end,\u201d said the herdsman.\n\n\u201cNo, it is as true as that there is a sun in heaven,\u201d answered the\nyoung man.\n\n\u201cThen give me a proof of it,\u201d cried his master.\n\n\u201cWell, come with me,\u201d said the youth. By this time it was evening and\nthe dusk was falling. The young man brought the herdsman to the foot of\nthe great rock, but it was so dark you could hardly see. Still the\nsound of sheep bells rang softly from above, and the herdsman knew them\nto be those he had hung on the horns of his ram.\n\n\u201cDo you hear?\u201d asked the youth.\n\n\u201cYes, I hear; you have spoken the truth, and I cannot blame you for\nwhat has happened. I must bear the loss as best as I can.\u201d\n\nHe turned and went home, followed by the young man, who felt highly\npleased with his own cleverness.\n\n\u201cI should not be surprised if the tasks I set you were too difficult,\nand that you were tired of them,\u201d said the herdsman next morning; \u201cbut\nto-day I have something quite easy for you to do. You must look after\nforty oxen, and be sure you are very careful, for one of them has\ngold-tipped horns and hoofs, and the king reckons it among his greatest\ntreasures.\u201d\n\nThe young man drove out the oxen into the meadow, and no sooner had\nthey got there than, like the sheep and the pigs, they began to scamper\nin all directions, the precious bull being the wildest of all. As the\nyouth stood watching them, not knowing what to do next, it came into\nhis head that his father\u2019s cow was put out to grass at no great\ndistance; and he forthwith made such a noise that he quite frightened\nthe oxen, who were easily persuaded to take the path he wished. When\nthey heard the cow lowing they galloped all the faster, and soon they\nall arrived at his father\u2019s house.\n\nThe old man was standing before the door of his hut when the great herd\nof animals dashed round a corner of the road, with his son and his own\ncow at their head.\n\n\u201cWhose cattle are these, and why are they here?\u201d he asked; and his son\ntold him the story.\n\n\u201cTake them back to your master as soon as you can,\u201d said the old man;\nbut the son only laughed, and said:\n\n\u201cNo, no; they are a present to you! They will make you fat!\u201d\n\nFor a long while the old man refused to have anything to do with such a\nwicked scheme; but his son talked him over in the end, and they killed\nthe oxen as they had killed the sheep and the pigs. Last of all they\ncame to the king\u2019s cherished ox.\n\nThe son had a rope ready to cast round its horns, and throw it to the\nground, but the ox was stronger than the rope, and soon tore it in\npieces. Then it dashed away to the wood, the youth following; over\nhedges and ditches they both went, till they reached the rocky pass\nwhich bordered the herdsman\u2019s land. Here the ox, thinking itself safe,\nstopped to rest, and thus gave the young man a chance to come up with\nit. Not knowing how to catch it, he collected all the wood he could\nfind and made a circle of fire round the ox, who by this time had\nfallen asleep, and did not wake till the fire had caught its head, and\nit was too late for it to escape. Then the young man, who had been\nwatching, ran home to his master.\n\n\u201cYou have been away a long while,\u201d said the herdsman. \u201cWhere are the\ncattle?\u201d\n\nThe young man gasped, and seemed as if he was unable to speak. At last\nhe answered:\n\n\u201cIt is always the same story! The oxen are\u2014gone\u2014gone!\u201d\n\n\u201cG-g-gone?\u201d cried the herdsman. \u201cScoundrel, you lie!\u201d\n\n\u201cI am telling you the exact truth,\u201d answered the young man. \u201cDirectly\nwe came to the meadow they grew so wild that I could not keep them\ntogether. Then the big ox broke away, and the others followed till they\nall disappeared down a deep hole into the earth. It seemed to me that I\nheard sounds of bellowing, and I thought I recognised the voice of the\ngolden horned ox; but when I got to the place from which the sounds had\ncome, I could neither see nor hear anything in the hole itself, though\nthere were traces of a fire all round it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWretch!\u201d cried the herdsman, when he had heard this story, \u201ceven if\nyou did not lie before, you are lying now.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, master, I am speaking the truth. Come and see for yourself.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I find you have deceived me, you are a dead man, said the herdsman;\nand they went out together.\n\n\u201cWhat do you call that?\u201d asked the youth. And the herdsman looked and\nsaw the traces of a fire, which seemed to have sprung up from under the\nearth.\n\n\u201cWonder upon wonder,\u201d he exclaimed, \u201cso you really did speak the truth\nafter all! Well, I cannot reproach you, though I shall have to pay\nheavily to my royal master for the value of that ox. But come, let us\ngo home! I will never set you to herd cattle again, henceforward I will\ngive you something easier to do.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have thought of exactly the thing for you,\u201d said the herdsman as\nthey walked along, \u201cand it is so simple that you cannot make a mistake.\nJust make me ten scythes, one for every man, for I want the grass mown\nin one of my meadows to-morrow.\u201d\n\nAt these words the youth\u2019s heart sank, for he had never been trained\neither as a smith or a joiner. However, he dared not say no, but smiled\nand nodded.\n\nSlowly and sadly he went to bed, but he could not sleep, for wondering\nhow the scythes were to be made. All the skill and cunning he had shown\nbefore was of no use to him now, and after thinking about the scythes\nfor many hours, there seemed only one way open to him. So, listening to\nmake sure that all was still, he stole away to his parents, and told\nthem the whole story. When they had heard everything, they hid him\nwhere no one could find him.\n\nTime passed away, and the young man stayed at home doing all his\nparents bade him, and showing himself very different from what he had\nbeen before he went out to see the world; but one day he said to his\nfather that he should like to marry, and have a house of his own.\n\n\u201cWhen I served the king\u2019s chief herdsman,\u201d added he, \u201cI saw his\ndaughter, and I am resolved to try if I cannot win her for my wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt will cost you your life, if you do,\u201d answered the father, shaking\nhis head.\n\n\u201cWell, I will do my best,\u201d replied his son; \u201cbut first give me the\nsword which hangs over your bed!\u201d\n\nThe old man did not understand what good the sword would do, however he\ntook it down, and the young man went his way.\n\nLate in the evening he arrived at the house of the herdsman, and\nknocked at the door, which was opened by a little boy.\n\n\u201cI want to speak to your master,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cSo it is you?\u201d cried the herdsman, when he had received the message.\n\u201cWell, you can sleep here to-night if you wish.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have come for something else besides a bed,\u201d replied the young man,\ndrawing his sword, \u201cand if you do not promise to give me your youngest\ndaughter as my wife I will stab you through the heart.\u201d\n\nWhat could the poor man do but promise? And he fetched his youngest\ndaughter, who seemed quite pleased at the proposed match, and gave the\nyouth her hand.\n\nThen the young man went home to his parents, and bade them get ready to\nwelcome his bride. And when the wedding was over he told his\nfather-in-law, the herdsman, what he had done with the sheep, and pigs,\nand cattle. By-and-by the story came to the king\u2019s ears, and he thought\nthat a man who was so clever was just the man to govern the country; so\nhe made him his minister, and after the king himself there was no one\nso great as he.\n\n[From Islandische M\u00e4hrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nEisenkopf\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived an old man who had only one son, whom he\nloved dearly; but they were very poor, and often had scarcely enough to\neat. Then the old man fell ill, and things grew worse than ever, so he\ncalled his son and said to him:\n\n\u201cMy dear boy, I have no longer any food to give you, and you must go\ninto the world and get it for yourself. It does not matter what work\nyou do, but remember if you do it well and are faithful to your master,\nyou will always have your reward.\u201d\n\nSo Peter put a piece of black bread in his knapsack, and strapping it\non his back, took a stout stick in his hand, and set out to seek his\nfortune. For a long while he travelled on and on, and nobody seemed to\nwant him; but one day he met an old man, and being a polite youth, he\ntook off his hat and said: \u201cGood morning,\u201d in a pleasant voice. \u201cGood\nmorning,\u201d answered the old man; \u201cand where are you going?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am wandering through the country trying to get work,\u201d replied Peter.\n\n\u201cThen stay with me, for I can give you plenty,\u201d said the old man, and\nPeter stayed.\n\nHis work did not seem hard, for he had only two horses and a cow to see\nafter, and though he had been hired for a year, the year consisted of\nbut three days, so that it was not long before he received his wages.\nIn payment the old man gave him a nut, and offered to keep him for\nanother year; but Peter was home-sick; and, besides, he would rather\nhave been paid ever so small a piece of money than a nut; for, thought\nhe, nuts grow on every tree, and I can gather as many as I like.\nHowever, he did not say this to the old man, who had been kind to him,\nbut just bade him farewell.\n\nThe nearer Peter drew to his father\u2019s house the more ashamed he felt at\nhaving brought back such poor wages. What could one nut do for him?\nWhy, it would not buy even a slice of bacon. It was no use taking it\nhome, he might as well eat it. So he sat down on a stone and cracked it\nwith his teeth, and then took it out of his mouth to break off the\nshell. But who could ever guess what came out of that nut? Why, horses\nand oxen and sheep stepped out in such numbers that they seemed as if\nthey would stretch to the world\u2019s end! The sight gave Peter such a\nshock that he wrung his hands in dismay. What was he to do with all\nthese creatures, where was he to put them? He stood and gazed in\nterror, and at this moment Eisenkopf came by.\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter, young man?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cOh, my friend, there is plenty the matter,\u201d answered Peter. \u201cI have\ngained a nut as my wages, and when I cracked it this crowd of beasts\ncame out, and I don\u2019t know what to do with them all!\u201d\n\n\u201cListen to me, my son,\u201d said Eisenkopf. \u201cIf you will promise never to\nmarry I will drive them all back into the nut again.\u201d\n\nIn his trouble Peter would have promised far harder things than this,\nso he gladly gave the promise Eisenkopf asked for; and at a whistle\nfrom the stranger the animals all began crowding into the nut again,\nnearly tumbling over each other in their haste. When the last foot had\ngot inside, the two halves of the shell shut close. Then Peter put it\nin his pocket and went on to the house.\n\nNo sooner had he reached it than he cracked his nut for the second\ntime, and out came the horses, sheep, and oxen again. Indeed Peter\nthought that there were even more of them than before. The old man\ncould not believe his eyes when he saw the multitudes of horses, oxen\nand sheep standing before his door.\n\n\u201cHow did you come by all these?\u201d he gasped, as soon as he could speak;\nand the son told him the whole story, and of the promise he had given\nEisenkopf.\n\nThe next day some of the cattle were driven to market and sold, and\nwith the money the old man was able to buy some of the fields and\ngardens round his house, and in a few months had grown the richest and\nmost prosperous man in the whole village. Everything seemed to turn to\ngold in his hands, till one day, when he and his son were sitting in\nthe orchard watching their herds of cattle grazing in the meadows, he\nsuddenly said: \u201cPeter, my boy, it is time that you were thinking of\nmarrying.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, my dear father, I told you I can never marry, because of the\npromise I gave to Eisenkopf.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, one promises here and promises there, but no one ever thinks of\nkeeping such promises. If Eisenkopf does not like your marrying, he\nwill have to put up with it all the same! Besides, there stands in the\nstable a grey horse which is saddled night and day; and if Eisenkopf\nshould show his face, you have only got to jump on the horse\u2019s back and\nride away, and nobody on earth can catch you. When all is safe you will\ncome back again, and we shall live as happily as two fish in the sea.\u201d\n\nAnd so it all happened. The young man found a pretty, brown-skinned\ngirl who was willing to have him for a husband, and the whole village\ncame to the wedding feast. The music was at its gayest, and the dance\nat its merriest, when Eisenkopf looked in at the window.\n\n\u201cOh, ho, my brother! what is going on here? It has the air of being a\nwedding feast. Yet I fancied\u2014was I mistaken?\u2014that you had given me a\npromise that you never would marry.\u201d But Peter had not waited for the\nend of this speech. Scarcely had he seen Eisenkopf than he darted like\nthe wind to the stable and flung himself on the horse\u2019s back. In\nanother moment he was away over the mountain, with Eisenkopf running\nfast behind him.\n\nOn they went through thick forests where the sun never shone, over\nrivers so wide that it took a whole day to sail across them, up hills\nwhose sides were all of glass; on they went through seven times seven\ncountries till Peter reined in his horse before the house of an old\nwoman.\n\n\u201cGood day, mother,\u201d said he, jumping down and opening the door.\n\n\u201cGood day, my son,\u201d answered she, \u201cand what are you doing here, at the\nworld\u2019s end?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am flying for my life, mother, flying to the world which is beyond\nall worlds; for Eisenkopf is at my heels.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome in and rest then, and have some food, for I have a little dog who\nwill begin to howl when Eisenkopf is still seven miles off.\u201d\n\nSo Peter went in and warmed himself and ate and drank, till suddenly\nthe dog began to howl.\n\n\u201cQuick, my son, quick, you must go,\u201d cried the old woman. And the\nlightning itself was not quicker than Peter.\n\n\u201cStop a moment,\u201d cried the old woman again, just as he was mounting his\nhorse, \u201ctake this napkin and this cake, and put them in your bag where\nyou can get hold of them easily.\u201d Peter took them and put them into his\nbag, and waving his thanks for her kindness, he was off like the wind.\n\nRound and round he rode, through seven times seven countries, through\nforests still thicker, and rivers still wider, and mountains still more\nslippery than the others he had passed, till at length he reached a\nhouse where dwelt another old woman.\n\n\u201cGood day, mother,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cGood day, my son! What are you seeking here at the world\u2019s end?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am flying for my life, mother, flying to the world that is beyond\nall worlds, for Eisenkopf is at my heels.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome in, my son, and have some food. I have a little dog who will\nbegin to howl when Eisenkopf is still seven miles off; so lie on this\nbed and rest yourself in peace.\u201d\n\nThen she went to the kitchen and baked a number of cakes, more than\nPeter could have eaten in a whole month. He had not finished a quarter\nof them, when the dog began to howl.\n\n\u201cNow, my son, you must go,\u201d cried the old woman \u201cbut first put these\ncakes and this napkin in your bag, where you can easily get at them.\u201d\nSo Peter thanked her and was off like the wind.\n\nOn he rode, through seven times seven countries, till he came to the\nhouse of a third old woman, who welcomed him as the others had done.\nBut when the dog howled, and Peter sprang up to go, she said, as she\ngave him the same gifts for his journey: \u201cYou have now three cakes and\nthree napkins, for I know that my sisters have each given you one.\nListen to me, and do what I tell you. Ride seven days and nights\nstraight before you, and on the eighth morning you will see a great\nfire. Strike it three times with the three napkins and it will part in\ntwo. Then ride into the opening, and when you are in the middle of the\nopening, throw the three cakes behind your back with your left hand.\u201d\n\nPeter thanked her for her counsel, and was careful to do exactly all\nthe old woman had told him. On the eighth morning he reached a fire so\nlarge that he could see nothing else on either side, but when he struck\nit with the napkins it parted, and stood on each hand like a wall. As\nhe rode through the opening he threw the cakes behind him. From each\ncake there sprang a huge dog, and he gave them the names of\nWorld\u2019s-weight, Ironstrong, and Quick-ear. They bayed with joy at the\nsight of him, and as Peter turned to pat them, he beheld Eisenkopf at\nthe edge of the fire, but the opening had closed up behind Peter, and\nhe could not get through.\n\n\u201cStop, you promise-breaker,\u201d shrieked he; \u201cyou have slipped through my\nhands once, but wait till I catch you again!\u201d\n\nThen he lay down by the fire and watched to see what would happen.\n\nWhen Peter knew that he had nothing more to fear from Eisenkopf, he\nrode on slowly till he came to a small white house. Here he entered and\nfound himself in a room where a gray-haired woman was spinning and a\nbeautiful girl was sitting in the window combing her golden hair. \u201cWhat\nbrings you here, my son?\u201d asked the old woman.\n\n\u201cI am seeking for a place, mother,\u201d answered Peter.\n\n\u201cStay with me, then, for I need a servant,\u201d said the old woman.\n\n\u201cWith pleasure, mother,\u201d replied he.\n\nAfter that Peter\u2019s life was a very happy one. He sowed and ploughed all\nday, except now and then when he took his dogs and went to hunt. And\nwhatever game he brought back the maiden with the golden hair knew how\nto dress it.\n\nOne day the old woman had gone to the town to buy some flour, and Peter\nand the maiden were left alone in the house. They fell into talk, and\nshe asked him where his home was, and how he had managed to come\nthrough the fire. Peter then told her the whole story, and of his\nstriking the flames with the three napkins as he had been told to do.\nThe maiden listened attentively and wondered in herself whether what he\nsaid was true. So after Peter had gone out to the fields, she crept up\nto his room and stole the napkins and then set off as fast as she could\nto the fire by a path she knew of over the hill.\n\nAt the third blow she gave the flames divided, and Eisenkopf, who had\nbeen watching and hoping for a chance of this kind, ran down the\nopening and stood before her. At this sight the maiden was almost\nfrightened to death, but with a great effort she recovered herself and\nran home as fast as her legs would carry her, closely pursued by\nEisenkopf. Panting for breath she rushed into the house and fell\nfainting on the floor; but Eisenkopf entered behind her, and hid\nhimself in the kitchen under the hearth.\n\nNot long after, Peter came in and picked up the three napkins which the\nmaiden had dropped on the threshold. He wondered how they got there,\nfor he knew he had left them in his room; but what was his horror when\nhe saw the form of the fainting girl lying where she had dropped, as\nstill and white as if she had been dead. He lifted her up and carried\nher to her bed, where she soon revived, but she did not tell Peter\nabout Eisenkopf, who had been almost crushed to death under the\nhearth-stone by the body of World\u2019s-weight.\n\nThe next morning Peter locked up his dogs and went out into the forest\nalone. Eisenkopf, however, had seen him go, and followed so closely at\nhis heels that Peter had barely time to clamber up a tall tree, where\nEisenkopf could not reach him. \u201cCome down at once, you gallows bird,\u201d\nhe cried. \u201cHave you forgotten your promise that you never would marry?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I know it is all up with me,\u201d answered Peter, \u201cbut let me call out\nthree times.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou can call a hundred times if you like,\u201d returned Eisenkopf, \u201cfor\nnow I have got you in my power, and you shall pay for what you have\ndone.\u201d\n\n\u201cIron-strong, World\u2019s-weight, Quick-ear, fly to my help!\u201d cried Peter;\nand Quick-ear heard, and said to his brothers: \u201cListen, our master is\ncalling us.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are dreaming, fool,\u201d answered World\u2019s-weight; \u201cwhy he has not\nfinished his breakfast.\u201d And he gave Quick-ear a slap with his paw, for\nhe was young and needed to be taught sense.\n\n\u201cIron-strong, World\u2019s-weight, Quick-ear, fly to my help!\u201d cried Peter\nagain.\n\nThis time World\u2019s-weight heard also, and he said, \u201cAh, now our master\nis really calling.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow silly you are!\u201d answered Iron-strong; \u201cyou know that at this hour\nhe is always eating.\u201d And he gave World\u2019s-weight a cuff, because he was\nold enough to know better.\n\nPeter sat trembling on the tree dreading lest his dogs had never heard,\nor else that, having heard, they had refused to come. It was his last\nchance, so making a mighty effort he shrieked once more:\n\n\u201cIron-strong, World\u2019s-weight, Quick-ear, fly to my help, or I am a dead\nman!\u201d\n\nAnd Iron-strong heard, and said: \u201cYes, he is certainly calling, we must\ngo at once.\u201d And in an instant he had burst open the door, and all\nthree were bounding away in the direction of the voice. When they\nreached the foot of the tree Peter just said: \u201cAt him!\u201d And in a few\nminutes there was nothing left of Eisenkopf.\n\nAs soon as his enemy was dead Peter got down and returned to the house,\nwhere he bade farewell to the old woman and her daughter, who gave him\na beautiful ring, all set with diamonds. It was really a magic ring,\nbut neither Peter nor the maiden knew that.\n\nPeter\u2019s heart was heavy as he set out for home. He had ceased to love\nthe wife whom he had left at his wedding feast, and his heart had gone\nout to the golden-haired girl. However, it was no use thinking of that,\nso he rode forward steadily.\n\nThe fire had to be passed through before he had gone very far, and when\nhe came to it, Peter shook the napkins three times in the flames and a\npassage opened for trim. But then a curious thing happened; the three\ndogs, who had followed at his heels all the way, now became three cakes\nagain, which Peter put into his bag with the napkins. After that he\nstopped at the houses of the three old women, and gave each one back\nher napkin and her cake.\n\n\u201cWhere is my wife?\u201d asked Peter, when he reached home.\n\n\u201cOh, my dear son, why did you ever leave us? After you had vanished, no\none knew where, your poor wife grew more and more wretched, and would\nneither eat nor drink. Little by little she faded away, and a month ago\nwe laid her in her grave, to hide her sorrows under the earth.\u201d\n\nAt this news Peter began to weep, for he had loved his wife before he\nwent away and had seen the golden-haired maiden.\n\nHe went sorrowfully about his work for the space of half a year, when,\none night, he dreamed that he moved the diamond ring given him by the\nmaiden from his right hand and put it on the wedding finger of the\nleft. The dream was so real that he awoke at once and changed the ring\nfrom one hand to the other. And as he did so guess what he saw? Why,\nthe golden-haired girl standing before him. And he sprang up and kissed\nher, and said: \u201cNow you are mine for ever and ever, and when we die we\nwill both be buried in one grave.\u201d\n\nAnd so they were.\n\n[From Ungarische M\u00e4hrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Death Of Abu Nowas And Of His Wife\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a man whose name was Abu Nowas, and he was\na great favourite with the Sultan of the country, who had a palace in\nthe same town where Abu Nowas dwelt.\n\nOne day Abu Nowas came weeping into the hall of the palace where the\nSultan was sitting, and said to him: \u201cOh, mighty Sultan, my wife is\ndead.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is bad news,\u201d replied the Sultan; \u201cI must get you another wife.\u201d\nAnd he bade his Grand Vizir send for the Sultana.\n\n\u201cThis poor Abu Nowas has lost his wife,\u201d said he, when she entered the\nhall.\n\n\u201cOh, then we must get him another,\u201d answered the Sultana; \u201cI have a\ngirl that will suit him exactly,\u201d and clapped her hands loudly. At this\nsignal a maiden appeared and stood before her.\n\n\u201cI have got a husband for you,\u201d said the Sultana.\n\n\u201cWho is he?\u201d asked the girl.\n\n\u201cAbu Nowas, the jester,\u201d replied the Sultana.\n\n\u201cI will take him,\u201d answered the maiden; and as Abu Nowas made no\nobjection, it was all arranged. The Sultana had the most beautiful\nclothes made for the bride, and the Sultan gave the bridegroom his\nwedding suit, and a thousand gold pieces into the bargain, and soft\ncarpets for the house.\n\nSo Abu Nowas took his wife home, and for some time they were very\nhappy, and spent the money freely which the Sultan had given them,\nnever thinking what they should do for more when that was gone. But\ncome to an end it did, and they had to sell their fine things one by\none, till at length nothing was left but a cloak apiece, and one\nblanket to cover them. \u201cWe have run through our fortune,\u201d said Abu\nNowas, \u201cwhat are we to do now? I am afraid to go back to the Sultan,\nfor he will command his servants to turn me from the door. But you\nshall return to your mistress, and throw yourself at her feet and weep,\nand perhaps she will help us.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you had much better go,\u201d said the wife. \u201cI shall not know what to\nsay.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, then, stay at home, if you like,\u201d answered Abu Nowas, \u201cand I\nwill ask to be admitted to the Sultan\u2019s presence, and will tell him,\nwith sobs, that my wife is dead, and that I have no money for her\nburial. When he hears that perhaps he will give us something.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, that is a good plan,\u201d said the wife; and Abu Nowas set out.\n\nThe Sultan was sitting in the hall of justice when Abu Nowas entered,\nhis eyes streaming with tears, for he had rubbed some pepper into them.\nThey smarted dreadfully, and he could hardly see to walk straight, and\neveryone wondered what was the matter with him.\n\n\u201cAbu Nowas! What has happened?\u201d cried the Sultan.\n\n\u201cOh, noble Sultan, my wife is dead,\u201d wept he.\n\n\u201cWe must all die,\u201d answered the Sultan; but this was not the reply for\nwhich Abu Nowas had hoped.\n\n\u201cTrue, O Sultan, but I have neither shroud to wrap her in, nor money to\nbury her with,\u201d went on Abu Nowas, in no wise abashed by the way the\nSultan had received his news.\n\n\u201cWell, give him a hundred pieces of gold,\u201d said the Sultan, turning to\nthe Grand Vizir. And when the money was counted out Abu Nowas bowed\nlow, and left the hall, his tears still flowing, but with joy in his\nheart.\n\n\u201cHave you got anything?\u201d cried his wife, who was waiting for him\nanxiously.\n\n\u201cYes, a hundred gold pieces,\u201d said he, throwing down the bag, \u201cbut that\nwill not last us any time. Now you must go to the Sultana, clothed in\nsackcloth and robes of mourning, and tell her that your husband, Abu\nNowas, is dead, and you have no money for his burial. When she hears\nthat, she will be sure to ask you what has become of the money and the\nfine clothes she gave us on our marriage, and you will answer, \u2018before\nhe died he sold everything.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe wife did as she was told, and wrapping herself in sackcloth went up\nto the Sultana\u2019s own palace, and as she was known to have been one of\nSubida\u2019s favourite attendants, she was taken without difficulty into\nthe private apartments.\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter?\u201d inquired the Sultana, at the sight of the dismal\nfigure.\n\n\u201cMy husband lies dead at home, and he has spent all our money, and sold\neverything, and I have nothing left to bury him with,\u201d sobbed the wife.\n\nThen Subida took up a purse containing two hundred gold pieces, and\nsaid: \u201cYour husband served us long and faithfully. You must see that he\nhas a fine funeral.\u201d\n\nThe wife took the money, and, kissing the feet of the Sultana, she\njoyfully hastened home. They spent some happy hours planning how they\nshould spend it, and thinking how clever they had been. \u201cWhen the\nSultan goes this evening to Subida\u2019s palace,\u201d said Abu Nowas, \u201cshe will\nbe sure to tell him that Abu Nowas is dead. \u2018Not Abu Nowas, it is his\nwife,\u2019 he will reply, and they will quarrel over it, and all the time\nwe shall be sitting here enjoying ourselves. Oh, if they only knew, how\nangry they would be!\u201d\n\nAs Abu Nowas had foreseen, the Sultan went, in the evening after his\nbusiness was over, to pay his usual visit to the Sultana.\n\n\u201cPoor Abu Nowas is dead!\u201d said Subida when he entered the room.\n\n\u201cIt is not Abu Nowas, but his wife who is dead,\u201d answered the Sultan.\n\n\u201cNo; really you are quite wrong. She came to tell me herself only a\ncouple of hours ago,\u201d replied Subida, \u201cand as he had spent all their\nmoney, I gave her something to bury him with.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou must be dreaming,\u201d exclaimed the Sultan. \u201cSoon after midday Abu\nNowas came into the hall, his eyes streaming with tears, and when I\nasked him the reason he answered that his wife was dead, and they had\nsold everything they had, and he had nothing left, not so much as would\nbuy her a shroud, far less for her burial.\u201d\n\nFor a long time they talked, and neither would listen to the other,\ntill the Sultan sent for the door-keeper and bade him go instantly to\nthe house of Abu Nowas and see if it was the man or his wife who was\ndead. But Abu Nowas happened to be sitting with his wife behind the\nlatticed window, which looked on the street, and he saw the man coming,\nand sprang up at once. \u201cThere is the Sultan\u2019s door-keeper! They have\nsent him here to find out the truth. Quick! throw yourself on the bed\nand pretend that you are dead.\u201d And in a moment the wife was stretched\nout stiffly, with a linen sheet spread across her, like a corpse.\n\nShe was only just in time, for the sheet was hardly drawn across her\nwhen the door opened and the porter came in. \u201cHas anything happened?\u201d\nasked he.\n\n\u201cMy poor wife is dead,\u201d replied Abu Nowas. \u201cLook! she is laid out\nhere.\u201d And the porter approached the bed, which was in a corner of the\nroom, and saw the stiff form lying underneath.\n\n\u201cWe must all die,\u201d said he, and went back to the Sultan.\n\n\u201cWell, have you found out which of them is dead?\u201d asked the Sultan.\n\n\u201cYes, noble Sultan; it is the wife,\u201d replied the porter.\n\n\u201cHe only says that to please you,\u201d cried Subida in a rage; and calling\nto her chamberlain, she ordered him to go at once to the dwelling of\nAbu Nowas and see which of the two was dead. \u201cAnd be sure you tell the\ntruth about it,\u201d added she, \u201cor it will be the worse for you.\u201d\n\nAs her chamberlain drew near the house, Abu Nowas caught sight of him.\n\u201cThere is the Sultana\u2019s chamberlain,\u201d he exclaimed in a fright. \u201cNow it\nis my turn to die. Be quick and spread the sheet over me.\u201d And he laid\nhimself on the bed, and held his breath when the chamberlain came in.\n\u201cWhat are you weeping for?\u201d asked the man, finding the wife in tears.\n\n\u201cMy husband is dead,\u201d answered she, pointing to the bed; and the\nchamberlain drew back the sheet and beheld Abu Nowas lying stiff and\nmotionless. Then he gently replaced the sheet and returned to the\npalace.\n\n\u201cWell, have you found out this time?\u201d asked the Sultan.\n\n\u201cMy lord, it is the husband who is dead.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I tell you he was with me only a few hours ago,\u201d cried the Sultan\nangrily. \u201cI must get to the bottom of this before I sleep! Let my\ngolden coach be brought round at once.\u201d\n\nThe coach was before the door in another five minutes, and the Sultan\nand Sultana both got in. Abu Nowas had ceased being a dead man, and was\nlooking into the street when he saw the coach coming. \u201cQuick! quick!\u201d\nhe called to his wife. \u201cThe Sultan will be here directly, and we must\nboth be dead to receive him.\u201d So they laid themselves down, and spread\nthe sheet over them, and held their breath. At that instant the Sultan\nentered, followed by the Sultana and the chamberlain, and he went up to\nthe bed and found the corpses stiff and motionless. \u201cI would give a\nthousand gold pieces to anyone who would tell me the truth about this,\u201d\ncried he, and at the words Abu Nowas sat up. \u201cGive them to me, then,\u201d\nsaid he, holding out his hand. \u201cYou cannot give them to anyone who\nneeds them more.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Abu Nowas, you impudent dog!\u201d exclaimed the Sultan, bursting into\na laugh, in which the Sultana joined. \u201cI might have known it was one of\nyour tricks!\u201d But he sent Abu Nowas the gold he had promised, and let\nus hope that it did not fly so fast as the last had done.\n\n[From Tunische M\u00e4hrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nMotiratika\n\n\nOnce upon a time, in a very hot country, a man lived with his wife in a\nlittle hut, which was surrounded by grass and flowers. They were\nperfectly happy together till, by-and-by, the woman fell ill and\nrefused to take any food. The husband tried to persuade her to eat all\nsorts of delicious fruits that he had found in the forest, but she\nwould have none of them, and grew so thin he feared she would die. \u201cIs\nthere nothing you would like?\u201d he said at last in despair.\n\n\u201cYes, I think I could eat some wild honey,\u201d answered she. The husband\nwas overjoyed, for he thought this sounded easy enough to get, and he\nwent off at once in search of it.\n\nHe came back with a wooden pan quite full, and gave it to his wife. \u201cI\ncan\u2019t eat that,\u201d she said, turning away in disgust. \u201cLook! there are\nsome dead bees in it! I want honey that is quite pure.\u201d And the man\nthrew the rejected honey on the grass, and started off to get some\nfresh. When he got back he offered it to his wife, who treated it as\nshe had done the first bowlful. \u201cThat honey has got ants in it: throw\nit away,\u201d she said, and when he brought her some more, she declared it\nwas full of earth. In his fourth journey he managed to find some that\nshe would eat, and then she begged him to get her some water. This took\nhim some time, but at length he came to a lake whose waters were\nsweetened with sugar. He filled a pannikin quite full, and carried it\nhome to his wife, who drank it eagerly, and said that she now felt\nquite well. When she was up and had dressed herself, her husband lay\ndown in her place, saying: \u201cYou have given me a great deal of trouble,\nand now it is my turn!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter with you?\u201d asked the wife.\n\n\u201cI am thirsty and want some water,\u201d answered he; and she took a large\npot and carried it to the nearest spring, which was a good way off.\n\u201cHere is the water,\u201d she said to her husband, lifting the heavy pot\nfrom her head; but he turned away in disgust.\n\n\u201cYou have drawn it from the pool that is full of frogs and willows; you\nmust get me some more.\u201d So the woman set out again and walked still\nfurther to another lake.\n\n\u201cThis water tastes of rushes,\u201d he exclaimed, \u201cgo and get some fresh.\u201d\nBut when she brought back a third supply he declared that it seemed\nmade up of water-lilies, and that he must have water that was pure, and\nnot spoilt by willows, or frogs, or rushes. So for the fourth time she\nput her jug on her head, and passing all the lakes she had hitherto\ntried, she came to another, where the water was golden like honey. She\nstooped down to drink, when a horrible head bobbed up on the surface.\n\n\u201cHow dare you steal my water?\u201d cried the head.\n\n\u201cIt is my husband who has sent me,\u201d she replied, trembling all over.\n\u201cBut do not kill me! You shall have my baby, if you will only let me\ngo.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow am I to know which is your baby?\u201d asked the Ogre.\n\n\u201cOh, that is easily managed. I will shave both sides of his head, and\nhang some white beads round his neck. And when you come to the hut you\nhave only to call \u2018Motikatika!\u2019 and he will run to meet you, and you\ncan eat him.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the ogre, \u201cyou can go home.\u201d And after filling the\npot she returned, and told her husband of the dreadful danger she had\nbeen in.\n\nNow, though his mother did not know it, the baby was a magician and he\nhad heard all that his mother had promised the ogre; and he laughed to\nhimself as he planned how to outwit her.\n\nThe next morning she shaved his head on both sides, and hung the white\nbeads round his neck, and said to him: \u201cI am going to the fields to\nwork, but you must stay at home. Be sure you do not go outside, or some\nwild beast may eat you.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d answered he.\n\nAs soon as his mother was out of sight, the baby took out some magic\nbones, and placed them in a row before him. \u201cYou are my father,\u201d he\ntold one bone, \u201cand you are my mother. You are the biggest,\u201d he said to\nthe third, \u201cso you shall be the ogre who wants to eat me; and you,\u201d to\nanother, \u201care very little, therefore you shall be me. Now, then, tell\nme what I am to do.\u201d\n\n\u201cCollect all the babies in the village the same size as yourself,\u201d\nanswered the bones; \u201cshave the sides of their heads, and hang white\nbeads round their necks, and tell them that when anybody calls\n\u2018Motikatika,\u2019 they are to answer to it. And be quick for you have no\ntime to lose.\u201d\n\nMotikatika went out directly, and brought back quite a crowd of babies,\nand shaved their heads and hung white beads round their little black\nnecks, and just as he had finished, the ground began to shake, and the\nhuge ogre came striding along, crying: \u201cMotikatika! Motikatika!\u201d\n\n\u201cHere we are! here we are!\u201d answered the babies, all running to meet\nhim.\n\n\u201cIt is Motikatika I want,\u201d said the ogre.\n\n\u201cWe are all Motikatika,\u201d they replied. And the ogre sat down in\nbewilderment, for he dared not eat the children of people who had done\nhim no wrong, or a heavy punishment would befall him. The children\nwaited for a little, wondering, and then they went away.\n\nThe ogre remained where he was, till the evening, when the woman\nreturned from the fields.\n\n\u201cI have not seen Motikatika,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cBut why did you not call him by his name, as I told you?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cI did, but all the babies in the village seemed to be named\nMotikatika,\u201d answered the ogre; \u201cyou cannot think the number who came\nrunning to me.\u201d\n\nThe woman did not know what to make of it, so, to keep him in a good\ntemper, she entered the hut and prepared a bowl of maize, which she\nbrought him.\n\n\u201cI do not want maize, I want the baby,\u201d grumbled he \u201cand I will have\nhim.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave patience,\u201d answered she; \u201cI will call him, and you can eat him at\nonce.\u201d And she went into the hut and cried, \u201cMotikatika!\u201d\n\n\u201cI am coming, mother,\u201d replied he; but first he took out his bones,\nand, crouching down on the ground behind the hut, asked them how he\nshould escape the ogre.\n\n\u201cChange yourself into a mouse,\u201d said the bones; and so he did, and the\nogre grew tired of waiting, and told the woman she must invent some\nother plan.\n\n\u201cTo-morrow I will send him into the field to pick some beans for me,\nand you will find him there, and can eat him.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d replied the ogre, \u201cand this time I will take care to have\nhim,\u201d and he went back to his lake.\n\nNext morning Motikatika was sent out with a basket, and told to pick\nsome beans for dinner. On the way to the field he took out his bones\nand asked them what he was to do to escape from the ogre. \u201cChange\nyourself into a bird and snap off the beans,\u201d said the bones. And the\nogre chased away the bird, not knowing that it was Motikatika.\n\nThe ogre went back to the hut and told the woman that she had deceived\nhim again, and that he would not be put off any longer.\n\n\u201cReturn here this evening,\u201d answered she, \u201cand you will find him in bed\nunder this white coverlet. Then you can carry him away, and eat him at\nonce.\u201d\n\nBut the boy heard, and consulted his bones, which said: \u201cTake the red\ncoverlet from your father\u2019s bed, and put yours on his,\u201d and so he did.\nAnd when the ogre came, he seized Motikatika\u2019s father and carried him\noutside the hut and ate him. When his wife found out the mistake, she\ncried bitterly; but Motikatika said: \u201cIt is only just that he should be\neaten, and not I; for it was he, and not I, who sent you to fetch the\nwater.\u201d\n\n[Adapted from the Ba-Ronga (H. Junod).]\n\n\n\n\nNiels And The Giants\n\n\nOn one of the great moors over in Jutland, where trees won\u2019t grow\nbecause the soil is so sandy and the wind so strong, there once lived a\nman and his wife, who had a little house and some sheep, and two sons\nwho helped them to herd them. The elder of the two was called Rasmus,\nand the younger Niels. Rasmus was quite content to look after sheep, as\nhis father had done before him, but Niels had a fancy to be a hunter,\nand was not happy till he got hold of a gun and learned to shoot. It\nwas only an old muzzle-loading flint-lock after all, but Niels thought\nit a great prize, and went about shooting at everything he could see.\nSo much did he practice that in the long run he became a wonderful\nshot, and was heard of even where he had never been seen. Some people\nsaid there was very little in him beyond this, but that was an idea\nthey found reason to change in the course of time.\n\nThe parents of Rasmus and Niels were good Catholics, and when they were\ngetting old the mother took it into her head that she would like to go\nto Rome and see the Pope. The others didn\u2019t see much use in this, but\nshe had her way in the end: they sold all the sheep, shut up the house,\nand set out for Rome on foot. Niels took his gun with him.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want with that?\u201d said Rasmus; \u201cwe have plenty to carry\nwithout it.\u201d But Niels could not be happy without his gun, and took it\nall the same.\n\nIt was in the hottest part of summer that they began their journey, so\nhot that they could not travel at all in the middle of the day, and\nthey were afraid to do it by night lest they might lose their way or\nfall into the hands of robbers. One day, a little before sunset, they\ncame to an inn which lay at the edge of a forest.\n\n\u201cWe had better stay here for the night,\u201d said Rasmus.\n\n\u201cWhat an idea!\u201d said Niels, who was growing impatient at the slow\nprogress they were making. \u201cWe can\u2019t travel by day for the heat, and we\nremain where we are all night. It will be long enough before we get to\nRome if we go on at this rate.\u201d\n\nRasmus was unwilling to go on, but the two old people sided with Niels,\nwho said, \u201cThe nights aren\u2019t dark, and the moon will soon be up. We can\nask at the inn here, and find out which way we ought to take.\u201d\n\nSo they held on for some time, but at last they came to a small opening\nin the forest, and here they found that the road split in two. There\nwas no sign-post to direct them, and the people in the inn had not told\nthem which of the two roads to take.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s to be done now?\u201d said Rasmus. \u201cI think we had better have\nstayed at the inn.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s no harm done,\u201d said Niels. \u201cThe night is warm, and we can wait\nhere till morning. One of us will keep watch till midnight, and then\nwaken the other.\u201d\n\nRasmus chose to take the first watch, and the others lay down to sleep.\nIt was very quiet in the forest, and Rasmus could hear the deer and\nfoxes and other animals moving about among the rustling leaves. After\nthe moon rose he could see them occasionally, and when a big stag came\nquite close to him he got hold of Niels\u2019 gun and shot it.\n\nNiels was wakened by the report. \u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve just shot a stag,\u201d said Rasmus, highly pleased with himself.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s nothing,\u201d said Niels. \u201cI\u2019ve often shot a sparrow, which is a\nmuch more difficult thing to do.\u201d\n\nIt was now close on midnight, so Niels began his watch, and Rasmus went\nto sleep. It began to get colder, and Niels began to walk about a\nlittle to keep himself warm. He soon found that they were not far from\nthe edge of the forest, and when he climbed up one of the trees there\nhe could see out over the open country beyond. At a little distance he\nsaw a fire, and beside it there sat three giants, busy with broth and\nbeef. They were so huge that the spoons they used were as large as\nspades, and their forks as big as hay-forks: with these they lifted\nwhole bucketfuls of broth and great joints of meat out of an enormous\npot which was set on the ground between them. Niels was startled and\nrather scared at first, but he comforted himself with the thought that\nthe giants were a good way off, and that if they came nearer he could\neasily hide among the bushes. After watching them for a little,\nhowever, he began to get over his alarm, and finally slid down the tree\nagain, resolved to get his gun and play some tricks with them.\n\nWhen he had climbed back to his former position, he took good aim, and\nwaited till one of the giants was just in the act of putting a large\npiece of meat into his mouth. Bang! went Niels\u2019 gun, and the bullet\nstruck the handle of the fork so hard that the point went into the\ngiant\u2019s chin, instead of his mouth.\n\n\u201cNone of your tricks,\u201d growled the giant to the one who sat next him.\n\u201cWhat do you mean by hitting my fork like that, and making me prick\nmyself?\u201d\n\n\u201cI never touched your fork,\u201d said the other. \u201cDon\u2019t try to get up a\nquarrel with me.\u201d\n\n\u201cLook at it, then,\u201d said the first. \u201cDo you suppose I stuck it into my\nown chin for fun?\u201d\n\nThe two got so angry over the matter that each offered to fight the\nother there and then, but the third giant acted as peace-maker, and\nthey again fell to their eating.\n\nWhile the quarrel was going on, Niels had loaded the gun again, and\njust as the second giant was about to put a nice tit-bit into his\nmouth, bang! went the gun again, and the fork flew into a dozen pieces.\n\nThis giant was even more furious than the first had been, and words\nwere just coming to blows, when the third giant again interposed.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t be fools,\u201d he said to them; \u201cwhat\u2019s the good of beginning to\nfight among ourselves, when it is so necessary for the three of us to\nwork together and get the upper hand over the king of this country. It\nwill be a hard enough task as it is, but it will be altogether hopeless\nif we don\u2019t stick together. Sit down again, and let us finish our meal;\nI shall sit between you, and then neither of you can blame the other.\u201d\n\nNiels was too far away to hear their talk, but from their gestures he\ncould guess what was happening, and thought it good fun.\n\n\u201cThrice is lucky,\u201d said he to himself; \u201cI\u2019ll have another shot yet.\u201d\n\nThis time it was the third giant\u2019s fork that caught the bullet, and\nsnapped in two.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said he, \u201cif I were as foolish as you two, I would also fly\ninto a rage, but I begin to see what time of day it is, and I\u2019m going\noff this minute to see who it is that\u2019s playing these tricks with us.\u201d\n\nSo well had the giant made his observations, that though Niels climbed\ndown the tree as fast as he could, so as to hide among the bushes, he\nhad just got to the ground when the enemy was upon him.\n\n\u201cStay where you are,\u201d said the giant, \u201cor I\u2019ll put my foot on you, and\nthere won\u2019t be much of you left after that.\u201d\n\nNiels gave in, and the giant carried him back to his comrades.\n\n\u201cYou don\u2019t deserve any mercy at our hands,\u201d said his captor \u201cbut as you\nare such a good shot you may be of great use to us, so we shall spare\nyour life, if you will do us a service. Not far from here there stands\na castle, in which the king\u2019s daughter lives; we are at war with the\nking, and want to get the upper hand of him by carrying off the\nprincess, but the castle is so well guarded that there is no getting\ninto it. By our skill in magic we have cast sleep on every living thing\nin the castle, except a little black dog, and, as long as he is awake,\nwe are no better off than before; for, as soon as we begin to climb\nover the wall, the little dog will hear us, and its barking will waken\nall the others again. Having got you, we can place you where you will\nbe able to shoot the dog before it begins to bark, and then no one can\nhinder us from getting the princess into our hands. If you do that, we\nshall not only let you off, but reward you handsomely.\u201d\n\nNiels had to consent, and the giants set out for the castle at once. It\nwas surrounded by a very high rampart, so high that even the giants\ncould not touch the top of it. \u201cHow am I to get over that?\u201d said Niels.\n\n\u201cQuite easily,\u201d said the third giant; \u201cI\u2019ll throw you up on it.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, thanks,\u201d said Niels. \u201cI might fall down on the other side, or\nbreak my leg or neck, and then the little dog wouldn\u2019t get shot after\nall.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo fear of that,\u201d said the giant; \u201cthe rampart is quite wide on the\ntop, and covered with long grass, so that you will come down as softly\nas though you fell on a feather-bed.\u201d\n\nNiels had to believe him, and allowed the giant to throw him up. He\ncame down on his feet quite unhurt, but the little black dog heard the\ndump, and rushed out of its kennel at once. It was just opening its\nmouth to bark, when Niels fired, and it fell dead on the spot.\n\n\u201cGo down on the inside now,\u201d said the giant, \u201cand see if you can open\nthe gate to us.\u201d\n\nNiels made his way down into the courtyard, but on his way to the outer\ngate he found himself at the entrance to the large hall of the castle.\nThe door was open, and the hall was brilliantly lighted, though there\nwas no one to be seen. Niels went in here and looked round him: on the\nwall there hung a huge sword without a sheath, and beneath it was a\nlarge drinking-horn, mounted with silver. Niels went closer to look at\nthese, and saw that the horn had letters engraved on the silver rim:\nwhen he took it down and turned it round, he found that the inscription\nwas:\u2014\n\nWhoever drinks the wine I hold\n    Can wield the sword that hangs above;\nThen let him use it for the right,\n    And win a royal maiden\u2019s love.\n\n\nNiels took out the silver stopper of the horn, and drank some of the\nwine, but when he tried to take down the sword he found himself unable\nto move it. So he hung up the horn again, and went further in to the\ncastle. \u201cThe giants can wait a little,\u201d he said.\n\nBefore long he came to an apartment in which a beautiful princess lay\nasleep in a bed, and on a table by her side there lay a gold-hemmed\nhandkerchief. Niels tore this in two, and put one half in his pocket,\nleaving the other half on the table. On the floor he saw a pair of\ngold-embroidered slippers, and one of these he also put in his pocket.\nAfter that he went back to the hall, and took down the horn again.\n\u201cPerhaps I have to drink all that is in it before I can move the\nsword,\u201d he thought; so he put it to his lips again and drank till it\nwas quite empty. When he had done this, he could wield the sword with\nthe greatest of ease, and felt himself strong enough to do anything,\neven to fight the giants he had left outside, who were no doubt\nwondering why he had not opened the gate to them before this time. To\nkill the giants, he thought, would be using the sword for the right;\nbut as to winning the love of the princess, that was a thing which the\nson of a poor sheep-farmer need not hope for.\n\nWhen Niels came to the gate of the castle, he found that there was a\nlarge door and a small one, so he opened the latter.\n\n\u201cCan\u2019t you open the big door?\u201d said the giants; \u201cwe shall hardly be\nable to get in at this one.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe bars are too heavy for me to draw,\u201d said Niels; \u201cif you stoop a\nlittle you can quite well come in here.\u201d The first giant accordingly\nbent down and entered in a stooping posture, but before he had time to\nstraighten his back again Niels made a sweep with the sword, and oft\nwent the giant\u2019s head. To push the body aside as it fell was quite easy\nfor Niels, so strong had the wine made him, and the second giant as he\nentered met the same reception. The third was slower in coming, so\nNiels called out to him: \u201cBe quick,\u201d he said, \u201cyou are surely the\noldest of the three, since you are so slow in your movements, but I\ncan\u2019t wait here long; I must get back to my own people as soon as\npossible.\u201d So the third also came in, and was served in the same way.\nIt appears from the story that giants were not given fair play!\n\nBy this time day was beginning to break, and Niels thought that his\nfolks might already be searching for him, so, instead of waiting to see\nwhat took place at the castle, he ran off to the forest as fast as he\ncould, taking the sword with him. He found the others still asleep, so\nhe woke them up, and they again set out on their journey. Of the\nnight\u2019s adventures he said not a word, and when they asked where he got\nthe sword, he only pointed in the direction of the castle, and said,\n\u201cOver that way.\u201d They thought he had found it, and asked no more\nquestions.\n\nWhen Niels left the castle, he shut the door behind him, and it closed\nwith such a bang that the porter woke up. He could scarcely believe his\neyes when he saw the three headless giants lying in a heap in the\ncourtyard, and could not imagine what had taken place. The whole castle\nwas soon aroused, and then everybody wondered at the affair: it was\nsoon seen that the bodies were those of the king\u2019s great enemies, but\nhow they came to be there and in that condition was a perfect mystery.\nThen it was noticed that the drinking-horn was empty and the sword\ngone, while the princess reported that half of her handkerchief and one\nof her slippers had been taken away. How the giants had been killed\nseemed a little clearer now, but who had done it was as great a puzzle\nas before. The old knight who had charge of the castle said that in his\nopinion it must have been some young knight, who had immediately set\noff to the king to claim the hand of the princess. This sounded likely,\nbut the messenger who was sent to the Court returned with the news that\nno one there knew anything about the matter.\n\n\u201cWe must find him, however,\u201d said the princess; \u201cfor if he is willing\nto marry me I cannot in honour refuse him, after what my father put on\nthe horn.\u201d She took council with her father\u2019s wisest men as to what\nought to be done, and among other things they advised her to build a\nhouse beside the highway, and put over the door this\ninscription:\u2014\u201cWhoever will tell the story of his life, may stay here\nthree nights for nothing.\u201d This was done, and many strange tales were\ntold to the princess, but none of the travellers said a word about the\nthree giants.\n\nIn the meantime Niels and the others tramped on towards Rome. Autumn\npassed, and winter was just beginning when they came to the foot of a\ngreat range of mountains, towering up to the sky. \u201cMust we go over\nthese?\u201d said they. \u201cWe shall be frozen to death or buried in the snow.\u201d\n\n\u201cHere comes a man,\u201d said Niels; \u201clet us ask him the way to Rome.\u201d They\ndid so, and were told that there was no other way.\n\n\u201cAnd is it far yet?\u201d said the old people, who were beginning to be worn\nout by the long journey. The man held up his foot so that they could\nsee the sole of his shoe; it was worn as thin as paper, and there was a\nhole in the middle of it.\n\n\u201cThese shoes were quite new when I left Rome,\u201d he said, \u201cand look at\nthem now; that will tell you whether you are far from it or not.\u201d\n\nThis discouraged the old people so much that they gave up all thought\nof finishing the journey, and only wished to get back to Denmark as\nquickly as they could. What with the winter and bad roads they took\nlonger to return than they had taken to go, but in the end they found\nthemselves in sight of the forest where they had slept before.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s this?\u201d said Rasmus. \u201cHere\u2019s a big house built since we passed\nthis way before.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo it is,\u201d said Peter; \u201clet\u2019s stay all night in it.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, we can\u2019t afford that,\u201d said the old people; \u201cit will be too dear\nfor the like of us.\u201d\n\nHowever, when they saw what was written above the door, they were all\nwell pleased to get a night\u2019s lodging for nothing. They were well\nreceived, and had so much attention given to them, that the old people\nwere quite put out by it. After they had got time to rest themselves,\nthe princess\u2019s steward came to hear their story.\n\n\u201cYou saw what was written above the door,\u201d he said to the father. \u201cTell\nme who you are and what your history has been.\u201d\n\n\u201cDear me, I have nothing of any importance to tell you,\u201d said the old\nman, \u201cand I am sure we should never have made so bold as to trouble you\nat all if it hadn\u2019t been for the youngest of our two sons here.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind that,\u201d said the steward; \u201cyou are very welcome if you will\nonly tell me the story of your life.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, well, I will,\u201d said he, \u201cbut there is nothing to tell about it.\nI and my wife have lived all our days on a moor in North Jutland, until\nthis last year, when she took a fancy to go to Rome. We set out with\nour two sons but turned back long before we got there, and are now on\nour way home again. That\u2019s all my own story, and our two sons have\nlived with us all their days, so there is nothing more to be told about\nthem either.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes there is,\u201d said Rasmus; \u201cwhen we were on our way south, we slept\nin the wood near here one night, and I shot a stag.\u201d\n\nThe steward was so much accustomed to hearing stories of no importance\nthat he thought there was no use going further with this, but reported\nto the princess that the newcomers had nothing to tell.\n\n\u201cDid you question them all?\u201d she said.\n\n\u201cWell, no; not directly,\u201d said he; \u201cbut the father said that none of\nthem could tell me any more than he had done.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are getting careless,\u201d said the princess; \u201cI shall go and talk to\nthem myself.\u201d\n\nNiels knew the princess again as soon as she entered the room, and was\ngreatly alarmed, for he immediately supposed that all this was a device\nto discover the person who had run away with the sword, the slipper and\nthe half of the handkerchief, and that it would fare badly with him if\nhe were discovered. So he told his story much the same as the others\ndid (Niels was not very particular), and thought he had escaped all\nfurther trouble, when Rasmus put in his word. \u201cYou\u2019ve forgotten\nsomething, Niels,\u201d he said; \u201cyou remember you found a sword near here\nthat night I shot the stag.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is the sword?\u201d said the princess.\n\n\u201cI know,\u201d said the steward, \u201cI saw where he laid it down when they came\nin;\u201d and off he went to fetch it, while Niels wondered whether he could\nmake his escape in the meantime. Before he had made up his mind,\nhowever, the steward was back with the sword, which the princess\nrecognised at once.\n\n\u201cWhere did you get this?\u201d she said to Niels.\n\nNiels was silent, and wondered what the usual penalty was for a poor\nsheep-farmer\u2019s son who was so unfortunate as to deliver a princess and\ncarry off things from her bed-room.\n\n\u201cSee what else he has about him,\u201d said the princess to the steward, and\nNiels had to submit to be searched: out of one pocket came a\ngold-embroidered slipper, and out of another the half of a gold-hemmed\nhandkerchief.\n\n\u201cThat is enough,\u201d said the princess; \u201cnow we needn\u2019t ask any more\nquestions. Send for my father the king at once.\u201d\n\n\u201cPlease let me go,\u201d said Niels; \u201cI did you as much good as harm, at any\nrate.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, who said anything about doing harm?\u201d said the princess. \u201cYou must\nstay here till my father comes.\u201d\n\nThe way in which the princess smiled when she said this gave Niels some\nhope that things might not be bad for him after all, and he was yet\nmore encouraged when he thought of the words engraver on the horn,\nthough the last line still seemed too good to be true. However, the\narrival of the king soon settled the matter: the princess was willing\nand so was Niels, and in a few days the wedding bells were ringing.\nNiels was made an earl by that time, and looked as handsome as any of\nthem when dressed in all his robes. Before long the old king died, and\nNiels reigned after him; but whether his father and mother stayed with\nhim, or went back to the moor in Jutland, or were sent to Rome in a\ncarriage and four, is something that all the historians of his reign\nhave forgotten to mention.\n\n\n\n\nShepherd Paul\n\n\nOnce upon a time a shepherd was taking his flock out to pasture, when\nhe found a little baby lying in a meadow, left there by some wicked\nperson, who thought it was too much trouble to look after it. The\nshepherd was fond of children, so he took the baby home with him and\ngave it plenty of milk, and by the time the boy was fourteen he could\ntear up oaks as if they were weeds. Then Paul, as the shepherd had\ncalled him, grew tired of living at home, and went out into the world\nto try his luck.\n\nHe walked on for many miles, seeing nothing that surprised him, but in\nan open space of the wood he was astonished at finding a man combing\ntrees as another man would comb flax.\n\n\u201cGood morning, friend,\u201d said Paul; \u201cupon my word, you must be a strong\nman!\u201d\n\nThe man stopped his work and laughed. \u201cI am Tree Comber,\u201d he answered\nproudly; \u201cand the greatest wish of my life is to wrestle with Shepherd\nPaul.\u201d\n\n\u201cMay all your wishes be fulfilled as easily, for I am Shepherd Paul,\nand can wrestle with you at once,\u201d replied the lad; and he seized Tree\nComber and flung him with such force to the ground that he sank up to\nhis knees in the earth. However, in a moment he was up again, and\ncatching hold of Paul, threw him so that he sank up to his waist; but\nthen it was Paul\u2019s turn again, and this time the man was buried up to\nhis neck. \u201cThat is enough,\u201d cried he; \u201cI see you are a smart fellow,\nlet us become friends.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery good,\u201d answered Paul, and they continued their journey together.\n\nBy-and-by they reached a man who was grinding stones to powder in his\nhands, as if they had been nuts.\n\n\u201cGood morning,\u201d said Paul politely; \u201cupon my word, you must be a strong\nfellow!\u201d\n\n\u201cI am Stone Crusher,\u201d answered the man, and the greatest wish of my\nlife is to wrestle with Shepherd Paul.\u201d\n\n\u201cMay all your wishes be as easily fulfilled, for I am Shepherd Paul,\nand will wrestle with you at once,\u201d and the sport began. After a short\ntime the man declared himself beaten, and begged leave to go with them;\nso they all three travelled together.\n\nA little further on they came upon a man who was kneading iron as if it\nhad been dough. \u201cGood morning,\u201d said Paul, \u201cyou must be a strong\nfellow.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am Iron Kneader, and should like to fight Shepherd Paul,\u201d answered\nhe.\n\n\u201cLet us begin at once then,\u201d replied Paul; and on this occasion also,\nPaul got the better of his foe, and they all four continued their\njourney.\n\nAt midday they entered a forest, and Paul stopped suddenly. \u201cWe three\nwill go and look for game,\u201d he said, \u201cand you, Tree Comber, will stay\nbehind and prepare a good supper for us.\u201d So Tree Comber set to work to\nboil and roast, and when dinner was nearly ready, a little dwarf with a\npointed beard strolled up to the place. \u201cWhat are you cooking?\u201d asked\nhe, \u201cgive me some of it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll give you some on your back, if you like,\u201d answered Tree Comber\nrudely. The dwarf took no notice, but waited patiently till the dinner\nwas cooked, then suddenly throwing Tree Comber on the ground, he ate up\nthe contents of the saucepan and vanished. Tree Comber felt rather\nashamed of himself, and set about boiling some more vegetables, but\nthey were still very hard when the hunters returned, and though they\ncomplained of his bad cooking, he did not tell them about the dwarf.\n\nNext day Stone Crusher was left behind, and after him Iron Kneader, and\neach time the dwarf appeared, and they fared no better than Tree Comber\nhad done. The fourth day Paul said to them: \u201cMy friends, there must be\nsome reason why your cooking has always been so bad, now you shall go\nand hunt and I will stay behind.\u201d So they went off, amusing themselves\nby thinking what was in store for Paul.\n\nHe set to work at once, and had just got all his vegetables simmering\nin the pot when the dwarf appeared as before, and asked to have some of\nthe stew. \u201cBe off,\u201d cried Paul, snatching up the saucepan as he spoke.\nThe dwarf tried to get hold of his collar, but Paul seized him by the\nbeard, and tied him to a big tree so that he could not stir, and went\non quietly with his cooking. The hunters came back early, longing to\nsee how Paul had got on, and, to their surprise, dinner was quite ready\nfor them.\n\n\u201cYou are great useless creatures,\u201d said he, \u201cwho couldn\u2019t even outwit\nthat little dwarf. When we have finished supper I will show you what I\nhave done with him!\u201d But when they reached the place where Paul had\nleft the dwarf, neither he nor the tree was to be seen, for the little\nfellow had pulled it up by the roots and run away, dragging it after\nhim. The four friends followed the track of the tree and found that it\nended in a deep hole. \u201cHe must have gone down here,\u201d said Paul, \u201cand I\nwill go after him. See! there is a basket that will do for me to sit\nin, and a cord to lower me with. But when I pull the cord again, lose\nno time in drawing the basket up.\u201d\n\nAnd he stepped into the basket, which was lowered by his friends.\n\nAt last it touched the ground and he jumped out and looked about him.\nHe was in a beautiful valley, full of meadows and streams, with a\nsplendid castle standing by. As the door was open he walked in, but a\nlovely maiden met him and implored him to go back, for the owner of the\ncastle was a dragon with six heads, who had stolen her from her home\nand brought her down to this underground spot. But Paul refused to\nlisten to all her entreaties, and declared that he was not afraid of\nthe dragon, and did not care how many heads he had; and he sat down\ncalmly to wait for him.\n\nIn a little while the dragon came in, and all the long teeth in his six\nheads chattered with anger at the sight of the stranger.\n\n\u201cI am Shepherd Paul,\u201d said the young man, \u201cand I have come to fight\nyou, and as I am in a hurry we had better begin at once.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery good,\u201d answered the dragon. \u201cI am sure of my supper, but let us\nhave a mouthful of something first, just to give us an appetite.\u201d\n\nWhereupon he began to eat some huge boulders as if they had been cakes,\nand when he had quite finished, he offered Paul one. Paul was not fond\nof boulders, but he took a wooden knife and cut one in two, then he\nsnatched up both halves in his hands and threw them with all his\nstrength at the dragon, so that two out of the six heads were smashed\nin. At this the dragon, with a mighty roar, rushed upon Paul, but he\nsprang on one side, and with a swinging blow cut off two of the other\nheads. Then, seizing the monster by the neck, he dashed the remaining\nheads against the rock.\n\nWhen the maiden heard that the dragon was dead, she thanked her\ndeliverer with tears in her eyes, but told him that her two younger\nsisters were in the power of dragons still fiercer and more horrible\nthan this one. He vowed that his sword should never rest in its sheath\ntill they were set free, and bade the girl come with him, and show him\nthe way.\n\nThe maiden gladly consented to go with him, but first she gave him a\ngolden rod, and bade him strike the castle with it. He did so, and it\ninstantly changed into a golden apple, which he put in his pocket.\nAfter that, they started on their search.\n\nThey had not gone far before they reached the castle where the second\ngirl was confined by the power of the dragon with twelve heads, who had\nstolen her from her home. She was overjoyed at the sight of her sister\nand of Paul, and brought him a shirt belonging to the dragon, which\nmade every one who wore it twice as strong as they were before.\nScarcely had he put it on when the dragon came back, and the fight\nbegan. Long and hard was the struggle, but Paul\u2019s sword and his shirt\nhelped him, and the twelve heads lay dead upon the ground.\n\nThen Paul changed the castle into an apple, which he put into his\npocket, and set out with the two girls in search of the third castle.\n\nIt was not long before they found it, and within the walls was the\nthird sister, who was younger and prettier than either of the other\ntwo. Her husband had eighteen heads, but when he quitted the lower\nregions for the surface of the earth, he left them all at home except\none, which he changed for the head of a little dwarf, with a pointed\nbeard.\n\nThe moment that Paul knew that this terrible dragon was no other than\nthe dwarf whom he had tied to the tree, he longed more than ever to fly\nat his throat. But the thought of the eighteen heads warned him to be\ncareful, and the third sister brought him a silk shirt which would make\nhim ten times stronger than he was before.\n\nHe had scarcely put it on, when the whole castle began to shake\nviolently, and the dragon flew up the steps into the hall.\n\n\u201cWell, my friend, so we meet once more! Have you forgotten me? I am\nShepherd Paul, and I have come to wrestle with you, and to free your\nwife from your clutches.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, I am glad to see you again,\u201d said the dragon. \u201cThose were my two\nbrothers whom you killed, and now your blood shall pay for them.\u201d And\nhe went into his room to look for his shirt and to drink some magic\nwine, but the shirt was on Paul\u2019s back, and as for the wine, the girl\nhad given a cupful to Paul and then had allowed the rest to run out of\nthe cask.\n\nAt this the dragon grew rather frightened, but in a moment had\nrecollected his eighteen heads, and was bold again.\n\n\u201cCome on,\u201d he cried, rearing himself up and preparing to dart all his\nheads at once at Paul. But Paul jumped underneath, and gave an upward\ncut so that six of the heads went rolling down. They were the best\nheads too, and very soon the other twelve lay beside them. Then Paul\nchanged the castle into an apple, and put it in his pocket. Afterwards\nhe and the three girls set off for the opening which led upwards to the\nearth.\n\nThe basket was still there, dangling from the rope, but it was only big\nenough to hold the three girls, so Paul sent them up, and told them to\nbe sure and let down the basket for him. Unluckily, at the sight of the\nmaidens\u2019 beauty, so far beyond anything they had ever seen, the friends\nforgot all about Paul, and carried the girls straight away into a far\ncountry, so that they were not much better off than before. Meanwhile\nPaul, mad with rage at the ingratitude of the three sisters, vowed he\nwould be revenged upon them, and set about finding some way of getting\nback to earth. But it was not very easy, and for months, and months,\nand months, he wandered about underground, and, at the end, seemed no\nnearer to fulfilling his purpose than he was at the beginning.\n\nAt length, one day, he happened to pass the nest of a huge griffin, who\nhad left her young ones all alone. Just as Paul came along a cloud\ncontaining fire instead of rain burst overhead, and all the little\ngriffins would certainly have been killed had not Paul spread his cloak\nover the nest and saved them. When their father returned the young ones\ntold him what Paul had done, and he lost no time in flying after Paul,\nand asking how he could reward him for his goodness.\n\n\u201cBy carrying me up to the earth,\u201d answered Paul; and the griffin\nagreed, but first went to get some food to eat on the way, as it was a\nlong journey.\n\n\u201cNow get on my back,\u201d he said to Paul, \u201cand when I turn my head to the\nright, cut a slice off the bullock that hangs on that side, and put it\nin my mouth, and when I turn my head to the left, draw a cupful of wine\nfrom the cask that hangs on that side, and pour it down my throat.\u201d\n\nFor three days and three nights Paul and the griffin flew upwards, and\non the fourth morning it touched the ground just outside the city where\nPaul\u2019s friends had gone to live. Then Paul thanked him and bade him\nfarewell, and he returned home again.\n\nAt first Paul was too tired to do anything but sleep, but as soon as he\nwas rested he started off in search of the three faithless ones, who\nalmost died from fright at the sight of him, for they had thought he\nwould never come back to reproach them for their wickedness.\n\n\u201cYou know what to expect,\u201d Paul said to them quietly. \u201cYou shall never\nsee me again. Off with you!\u201d He next took the three apples out of his\npocket and placed them all in the prettiest places he could find; after\nwhich he tapped them with his golden rod, and they became castles\nagain. He gave two of the castles to the eldest sisters, and kept the\nother for himself and the youngest, whom he married, and there they are\nliving still.\n\n[From Ungarische M\u00e4hrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nHow The Wicked Tanuki Was Punished\n\n\nThe hunters had hunted the wood for so many years that no wild animal\nwas any more to be found in it. You might walk from one end to the\nother without ever seeing a hare, or a deer, or a boar, or hearing the\ncooing of the doves in their nest. If they were not dead, they had\nflown elsewhere. Only three creatures remained alive, and they had\nhidden themselves in the thickest part of the forest, high up the\nmountain. These were a grey-furred, long-tailed tanuki, his wife the\nfox, who was one of his own family, and their little son.\n\nThe fox and the tanuki were very clever, prudent beasts, and they also\nwere skilled in magic, and by this means had escaped the fate of their\nunfortunate friends. If they heard the twang of an arrow or saw the\nglitter of a spear, ever so far off, they lay very still, and were not\nto be tempted from their hiding-place, if their hunger was ever so\ngreat, or the game ever so delicious. \u201cWe are not so foolish as to risk\nour lives,\u201d they said to each other proudly. But at length there came a\nday when, in spite of their prudence, they seemed likely to die of\nstarvation, for no more food was to be had. Something had to be done,\nbut they did not know what.\n\nSuddenly a bright thought struck the tanuki. \u201cI have got a plan,\u201d he\ncried joyfully to his wife. \u201cI will pretend to be dead, and you must\nchange yourself into a man, and take me to the village for sale. It\nwill be easy to find a buyer, tanukis\u2019 skins are always wanted; then\nbuy some food with the money and come home again. I will manage to\nescape somehow, so do not worry about me.\u201d\n\nThe fox laughed with delight, and rubbed her paws together with\nsatisfaction. \u201cWell, next time I will go,\u201d she said, \u201cand you can sell\nme.\u201d And then she changed herself into a man, and picking up the stiff\nbody of the tanuki, set off towards the village. She found him rather\nheavy, but it would never have done to let him walk through the wood\nand risk his being seen by somebody.\n\nAs the tanaki had foretold, buyers were many, and the fox handed him\nover to the person who offered the largest price, and hurried to get\nsome food with the money. The buyer took the tanuki back to his house,\nand throwing him into a corner went out. Directly the tanaki found he\nwas alone, he crept cautiously through a chink of the window, thinking,\nas he did so, how lucky it was that he was not a fox, and was able to\nclimb. Once outside, he hid himself in a ditch till it grew dusk, and\nthen galloped away into the forest.\n\nWhile the food lasted they were all three as happy as kings; but there\nsoon arrived a day when the larder was as empty as ever. \u201cIt is my turn\nnow to pretend to be dead,\u201d cried the fox. So the tanuki changed\nhimself into a peasant, and started for the village, with his wife\u2019s\nbody hanging over his shoulder. A buyer was not long in coming forward,\nand while they were making the bargain a wicked thought darted into the\ntanuki\u2019s head, that if he got rid of the fox there would be more food\nfor him and his son. So as he put the money in his pocket he whispered\nsoftly to the buyer that the fox was not really dead, and that if he\ndid not take care she might run away from him. The man did not need\ntwice telling. He gave the poor fox a blow on the head, which put an\nend to her, and the wicked tanuki went smiling to the nearest shop.\n\nIn former times he had been very fond of his little son; but since he\nhad betrayed his wife he seemed to have changed all in a moment, for he\nwould not give him as much as a bite, and the poor little fellow would\nhave starved had he not found some nuts and berries to eat, and he\nwaited on, always hoping that his mother would come back.\n\nAt length some notion of the truth began to dawn on him; but he was\ncareful to let the old tanuki see nothing, though in his own mind he\nturned over plans from morning till night, wondering how best he might\navenge his mother.\n\nOne morning, as the little tanuki was sitting with his father, he\nremembered, with a start, that his mother had taught him all she knew\nof magic, and that he could work spells as well as his father, or\nperhaps better. \u201cI am as good a wizard as you,\u201d he said suddenly, and a\ncold chill ran through the tanuki as he heard him, though he laughed,\nand pretended to think it a joke. But the little tanaki stuck to his\npoint, and at last the father proposed they should have a wager.\n\n\u201cChange yourself into any shape you like,\u201d said he, \u201cand I will\nundertake to know you. I will go and wait on the bridge which leads\nover the river to the village, and you shall transform yourself into\nanything you please, but I will know you through any disguise.\u201d The\nlittle tanuki agreed, and went down the road which his father had\npointed out. But instead of transforming himself into a different\nshape, he just hid himself in a corner of the bridge, where he could\nsee without being seen.\n\nHe had not been there long when his father arrived and took up his\nplace near the middle of the bridge, and soon after the king came by,\nfollowed by a troop of guards and all his court.\n\n\u201cAh! he thinks that now he has changed himself into a king I shall not\nknow him,\u201d thought the old tanuki, and as the king passed in his\nsplendid carriage, borne by his servants, he jumped upon it crying: \u201cI\nhave won my wager; you cannot deceive me.\u201d But in reality it was he who\nhad deceived himself. The soldiers, conceiving that their king was\nbeing attacked, seized the tanuki by the legs and flung him over into\nthe river, and the water closed over him.\n\nAnd the little tanoki saw it all, and rejoiced that his mother\u2019s death\nhad been avenged. Then he went back to the forest, and if he has not\nfound it too lonely, he is probably living there still.\n\n[From Japanische M\u00e4hrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Crab And The Monkey\n\n\nThere was once a crab who lived in a hole on the shady side of a\nmountain. She was a very good housewife, and so careful and industrious\nthat there was no creature in the whole country whose hole was so neat\nand clean as hers, and she took great pride in it.\n\nOne day she saw lying near the mouth of her hole a handful of cooked\nrice which some pilgrim must have let fall when he was stopping to eat\nhis dinner. Delighted at this discovery, she hastened to the spot, and\nwas carrying the rice back to her hole when a monkey, who lived in some\ntrees near by, came down to see what the crab was doing. His eyes shone\nat the sight of the rice, for it was his favourite food, and like the\nsly fellow he was, he proposed a bargain to the crab. She was to give\nhim half the rice in exchange for the kernel of a sweet red kaki fruit\nwhich he had just eaten. He half expected that the crab would laugh in\nhis face at this impudent proposal, but instead of doing so she only\nlooked at him for a moment with her head on one side and then said that\nshe would agree to the exchange. So the monkey went off with his rice,\nand the crab returned to her hole with the kernel.\n\nFor some time the crab saw no more of the monkey, who had gone to pay a\nvisit on the sunny side of the mountain; but one morning he happened to\npass by her hole, and found her sitting under the shadow of a beautiful\nkaki tree.\n\n\u201cGood day,\u201d he said politely, \u201cyou have some very fine fruit there! I\nam very hungry, could you spare me one or two?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, certainly,\u201d replied the crab, \u201cbut you must forgive me if I cannot\nget them for you myself. I am no tree-climber.\u201d\n\n\u201cPray do not apologise,\u201d answered the monkey. \u201cNow that I have your\npermission I can get them myself quite easily.\u201d And the crab consented\nto let him go up, merely saying that he must throw her down half the\nfruit.\n\nIn another moment he was swinging himself from branch to branch, eating\nall the ripest kakis and filling his pockets with the rest, and the\npoor crab saw to her disgust that the few he threw down to her were\neither not ripe at all or else quite rotten.\n\n\u201cYou are a shocking rogue,\u201d she called in a rage; but the monkey took\nno notice, and went on eating as fast as he could. The crab understood\nthat it was no use her scolding, so she resolved to try what cunning\nwould do.\n\n\u201cSir Monkey,\u201d she said, \u201cyou are certainly a very good climber, but now\nthat you have eaten so much, I am quite sure you would never be able to\nturn one of your somersaults.\u201d The monkey prided himself on turning\nbetter somersaults than any of his family, so he instantly went head\nover heels three times on the bough on which he was sitting, and all\nthe beautiful kakis that he had in his pockets rolled to the ground.\nQuick as lightning the crab picked them up and carried a quantity of\nthem into her house, but when she came up for another the monkey sprang\non her, and treated her so badly that he left her for dead. When he had\nbeaten her till his arm ached he went his way.\n\nIt was a lucky thing for the poor crab that she had some friends to\ncome to her help or she certainly would have died then and there. The\nwasp flew to her, and took her back to bed and looked after her, and\nthen he consulted with a rice-mortar and an egg which had fallen out of\na nest near by, and they agreed that when the monkey returned, as he\nwas sure to do, to steal the rest of the fruit, that they would punish\nhim severely for the manner in which he had behaved to the crab. So the\nmortar climbed up to the beam over the front door, and the egg lay\nquite still on the ground, while the wasp set down the water-bucket in\na corner. Then the crab dug itself a deep hole in the ground, so that\nnot even the tip of her claws might be seen.\n\nSoon after everything was ready the monkey jumped down from his tree,\nand creeping to the door began a long hypocritical speech, asking\npardon for all he had done. He waited for an answer of some sort, but\nnone came. He listened, but all was still; then he peeped, and saw no\none; then he went in. He peered about for the crab, but in vain;\nhowever, his eyes fell on the egg, which he snatched up and set on the\nfire. But in a moment the egg had burst into a thousand pieces, and its\nsharp shell struck him in the face and scratched him horribly. Smarting\nwith pain he ran to the bucket and stooped down to throw some water\nover his head. As he stretched out his hand up started the wasp and\nstung him on the nose. The monkey shrieked and ran to the door, but as\nhe passed through down fell the mortar and struck him dead. \u201cAfter that\nthe crab lived happily for many years, and at length died in peace\nunder her own kaki tree.\n\n[From _Japanische M\u00e4hrchen_.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Horse Gullfaxi And The Sword Gunnfoder\n\n\nMany many years ago there lived a king and queen who had one only son,\ncalled Sigurd. When the little boy was only ten years old the queen,\nhis mother, fell ill and died, and the king, who loved her dearly,\nbuilt a splendid monument to his wife\u2019s memory, and day after day he\nsat by it and bewailed his sad loss.\n\nOne morning, as he sat by the grave, he noticed a richly dressed lady\nclose to him. He asked her name and she answered that it was Ingiborg,\nand seemed surprised to see the king there all alone. Then he told her\nhow he had lost his queen, and how he came daily to weep at her grave.\nIn return, the lady informed him that she had lately lost her husband,\nand suggested that they might both find it a comfort if they made\nfriends.\n\nThis pleased the king so much that he invited her to his palace, where\nthey saw each other often; and after a time he married her.\n\nAfter the wedding was over he soon regained his good spirits, and used\nto ride out hunting as in old days; but Sigurd, who was very fond of\nhis stepmother, always stayed at home with her.\n\nOne evening Ingiborg said to Sigurd: \u201cTo-morrow your father is going\nout hunting, and you must go with him.\u201d But Sigurd said he would much\nrather stay at home, and the next day when the king rode off Sigurd\nrefused to accompany him. The stepmother was very angry, but he would\nnot listen, and at last she assured him that he would be sorry for his\ndisobedience, and that in future he had better do as he was told.\n\nAfter the hunting party had started she hid Sigurd under her bed, and\nbade him be sure to lie there till she called him.\n\nSigurd lay very still for a long while, and was just thinking it was no\ngood staying there any more, when he felt the floor shake under him as\nif there were an earthquake, and peeping out he saw a great giantess\nwading along ankle deep through the ground and ploughing it up as she\nwalked.\n\n\u201cGood morning, Sister Ingiborg,\u201d cried she as she entered the room, \u201cis\nPrince Sigurd at home?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Ingiborg; \u201che rode off to the forest with his father this\nmorning.\u201d And she laid the table for her sister and set food before\nher. After they had both done eating the giantess said: \u201cThank you,\nsister, for your good dinner\u2014the best lamb, the best can of beer and\nthe best drink I have ever had; but\u2014is not Prince Sigurd at home?\u201d\n\nIngiborg again said \u201cNo\u201d; and the giantess took leave of her and went\naway. When she was quite out of sight Ingiborg told Sigurd to come out\nof his hiding-place.\n\nThe king returned home at night, but his wife told him nothing of what\nhad happened, and the next morning she again begged the prince to go\nout hunting with his father. Sigurd, however, replied as before, that\nhe would much rather stay at home.\n\nSo once more the king rode off alone. This time Ingiborg hid Sigurd\nunder the table, and scolded him well for not doing as she bade him.\nFor some time he lay quite still, and then suddenly the floor began to\nshake, and a giantess came along wading half way to her knees through\nthe ground.\n\nAs she entered the house she asked, as the first one had done: \u201cWell,\nSister Ingiborg, is Prince Sigurd at home?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d answered Ingiborg,\u201d he rode off hunting with his father this\nmorning\u201d; and going to the cupboard she laid the table for her sister.\nWhen they had finished their meal the giantess rose and said: \u201cThank\nyou for all these nice dishes, and for the best lamb, the best can of\nbeer and the nicest drink I have ever had; but\u2014is Prince Sigurd really\nnot at home?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, certainly not!\u201d replied Ingiborg; and with that they took leave of\neach other.\n\nWhen she was well out of sight Sigurd crept from under the table, and\nhis stepmother declared that it was most important that he should not\nstay at home next day; but he said he did not see what harm could come\nof it, and he did not mean to go out hunting, and the next morning,\nwhen the king prepared to start, Ingiborg implored Sigurd to accompany\nhis father. But it was all no use, he was quite obstinate and would not\nlisten to a word she said. \u201cYou will have to hide me again,\u201d said he,\nso no sooner had the king gone than Ingiborg hid Sigurd between the\nwall and the panelling, and by-and-by there was heard once more a sound\nlike an earthquake, as a great giantess, wading knee deep through the\nground, came in at the door.\n\n\u201cGood day, Sister Ingiborg!\u201d she cried, in a voice like thunder; \u201cis\nPrince Sigurd at home?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, no,\u201d answered Ingiborg, \u201che is enjoying himself out there in the\nforest. I expect it will be quite dark before he comes back again.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s a lie!\u201d shouted the giantess. And they squabbled about it till\nthey were tired, after which Ingiborg laid the table; and when the\ngiantess had done eating she said: \u201cWell, I must thank you for all\nthese good things, and for the best lamb, the best can of beer and the\nbest drink I have had for a long time; but\u2014are you quite sure Prince\nSigurd is not at home?\u201d\n\n\u201cQuite,\u201d said Ingiborg. \u201cI\u2019ve told you already that he rode off with\nhis father this morning to hunt in the forest.\u201d\n\nAt this the giantess roared out with a terrible voice: \u201cIf he is near\nenough to hear my words, I lay this spell on him: Let him be half\nscorched and half withered; and may he have neither rest nor peace till\nhe finds me.\u201d And with these words she stalked off.\n\nFor a moment Ingiborg stood as if turned to stone, then she fetched\nSigurd from his hiding-place, and, to her horror, there he was, half\nscorched and half withered.\n\n\u201cNow you see what has happened through your own obstinacy,\u201d said she;\n\u201cbut we must lose no time, for your father will soon be coming home.\u201d\n\nGoing quickly into the next room she opened a chest and took out a ball\nof string and three gold rings, and gave them to Sigurd, saying: \u201cIf\nyou throw this ball on the ground it will roll along till it reaches\nsome high cliffs. There you will see a giantess looking out over the\nrocks. She will call down to you and say: \u2018Ah, this is just what I\nwanted! Here is Prince Sigurd. He shall go into the pot to-night\u2019; but\ndon\u2019t be frightened by her. She will draw you up with a long boat-hook,\nand you must greet her from me, and give her the smallest ring as a\npresent. This will please her, and she will ask you to wrestle with\nher. When you are exhausted, she will offer you a horn to drink out of,\nand though she does not know it, the wine will make you so strong that\nyou will easily be able to conquer her. After that she will let you\nstay there all night. The same thing will happen with my two other\nsisters. But, above all, remember this: should my little dog come to\nyou and lay his paws on you, with tears running down his face, then\nhurry home, for my life will be in danger. Now, good-bye, and don\u2019t\nforget your stepmother.\u201d\n\nThen Ingiborg dropped the ball on the ground, and Sigurd bade her\nfarewell.\n\nThat same evening the ball stopped rolling at the foot of some high\nrocks, and on glancing up, Sigurd saw the giantess looking out at the\ntop.\n\n\u201cAh, just what I wanted!\u201d she cried out when she saw him; \u201chere is\nPrince Sigurd. He shall go into the pot to-night. Come up, my friend,\nand wrestle with me.\u201d\n\nWith these words she reached out a long boat hook and hauled him up the\ncliff. At first Sigurd was rather frightened, but he remembered what\nIngiborg had said, and gave the giantess her sister\u2019s message and the\nring.\n\nThe giantess was delighted, and challenged him to wrestle with her.\nSigurd was fond of all games, and began to wrestle with joy; but he was\nno match for the giantess, and as she noticed that he was getting faint\nshe gave him a horn to drink out of, which was very foolish on her\npart, as it made Sigurd so strong that he soon overthrew her.\n\n\u201cYou may stay here to-night,\u201d said she; and he was glad of the rest.\n\nNext morning Sigurd threw down the ball again and away it rolled for\nsome time, till it stopped at the foot of another high rock. Then he\nlooked up and saw another giantess, even bigger and uglier than the\nfirst one, who called out to him: \u201cAh, this is just what I wanted! Here\nis Prince Sigurd. He shall go into the pot to-night. Come up quickly\nand wrestle with me.\u201d And she lost no time in hauling him up.\n\nThe prince gave her his stepmother\u2019s message and the second largest\nring. The giantess was greatly pleased when she saw the ring, and at\nonce challenged Sigurd to wrestle with her.\n\nThey struggled for a long time, till at last Sigurd grew faint; so she\nhanded him a horn to drink from, and when he had drunk he became so\nstrong that he threw her down with one hand.\n\nOn the third morning Sigurd once more laid down his ball, and it rolled\nfar away, till at last it stopped under a very high rock indeed, over\nthe top of which the most hideous giantess that ever was seen looked\ndown.\n\nWhen she saw who was there she cried out: \u201cAh, this is just what I\nwanted! Here comes Prince Sigurd. Into the pot he goes this very night.\nCome up here, my friend, and wrestle with me.\u201d And she hauled him up\njust as her sisters had done.\n\nSigurd then gave her his stepmother\u2019s message and the last and largest\nring. The sight of the red gold delighted the giantess, and she\nchallenged Sigurd to a wrestling match. This time the fight was fierce\nand long, but when at length Sigurd\u2019s strength was failing the giantess\ngave him something to drink, and after he had drunk it he soon brought\nher to her knees. \u201cYou have beaten me,\u201d she gasped, so now, listen to\nme. \u201cNot far from here is a lake. Go there; you will find a little girl\nplaying with a boat. Try to make friends with her, and give her this\nlittle gold ring. You are stronger than ever you were, and I wish you\ngood luck.\u201d\n\nWith these words they took leave of each other, and Sigurd wandered on\ntill he reached the lake, where he found the little girl playing with a\nboat, just as he had been told. He went up to her and asked what her\nname was.\n\nShe was called Helga, she answered, and she lived near by.\n\nSo Sigurd gave her the little gold ring, and proposed that they should\nhave a game. The little girl was delighted, for she had no brothers or\nsisters, and they played together all the rest of the day.\n\nWhen evening came Sigurd asked leave to go home with her, but Helga at\nfirst forbade him, as no stranger had ever managed to enter their house\nwithout being found out by her father, who was a very fierce giant.\n\nHowever, Sigurd persisted, and at length she gave way; but when they\ncame near the door she held her glove over him and Sigurd was at once\ntransformed into a bundle of wool. Helga tucked the bundle under her\narm and threw it on the bed in her room.\n\nAlmost at the same moment her father rushed in and hunted round in\nevery corner, crying out: \u201cThis place smells of men. What\u2019s that you\nthrew on the bed, Helga?\u201d\n\n\u201cA bundle of wool,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cOh, well, perhaps it was that I smelt,\u201d said the old man, and troubled\nhimself no more.\n\nThe following day Helga went out to play and took the bundle of wool\nwith her under her arm. When she reached the lake she held her glove\nover it again and Sigurd resumed his own shape.\n\nThey played the whole day, and Sigurd taught Helga all sorts of games\nshe had never even heard of. As they walked home in the evening she\nsaid: \u201cWe shall be able to play better still to-morrow, for my father\nwill have to go to the town, so we can stay at home.\u201d\n\nWhen they were near the house Helga again held her glove over Sigurd,\nand once more he was turned into a bundle of wool, and she carried him\nin without his being seen.\n\nVery early next morning Helga\u2019s father went to the town, and as soon as\nhe was well out of the way the girl held up her glove and Sigurd was\nhimself again. Then she took him all over the house to amuse him, and\nopened every room, for her father had given her the keys before he\nleft; but when they came to the last room Sigurd noticed one key on the\nbunch which had not been used and asked which room it belonged to.\u201d\n\nHelga grew red and did not answer.\n\n\u201cI suppose you don\u2019t mind my seeing the room which it opens?\u201d asked\nSigurd, and as he spoke he saw a heavy iron door and begged Helga to\nunlock it for him. But she told him she dared not do so, at least if\nshe did open the door it must only be a very tiny chink; and Sigurd\ndeclared that would do quite well.\n\nThe door was so heavy, that it took Helga some time to open it, and\nSigurd grew so impatient that he pushed it wide open and walked in.\nThere he saw a splendid horse, all ready saddled, and just above it\nhung a richly ornamented sword on the handle of which was engraved\nthese words: \u201cHe who rides this horse and wears this sword will find\nhappiness.\u201d\n\nAt the sight of the horse Sigurd was so filled with wonder that he was\nnot able to speak, but at last he gasped out: \u201cOh, do let me mount him\nand ride him round the house! Just once; I promise not to ask any\nmore.\u201d\n\n\u201cRide him round the house!\u201d cried Helga, growing pale at the mere idea.\n\u201cRide Gullfaxi! Why father would never, never forgive me, if I let you\ndo that.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut it can\u2019t do him any harm,\u201d argued Sigurd; \u201cyou don\u2019t know how\ncareful I will be. I have ridden all sorts of horses at home, and have\nnever fallen off not once. Oh, Helga, do!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, perhaps, if you come back directly,\u201d replied Helga, doubtfully;\n\u201cbut you must be very quick, or father will find out!\u201d\n\nBut, instead of mounting Gullfaxi, as she expected, Sigurd stood still.\n\n\u201cAnd the sword,\u201d he said, looking fondly up to the place where it hung.\n\u201cMy father is a king, but he has not got any sword so beautiful as\nthat. Why, the jewels in the scabbard are more splendid than the big\nruby in his crown! Has it got a name? Some swords have, you know.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is called \u2018Gunnfjoder,\u2019 the \u2018Battle Plume,\u2019\u201d answered Helga, \u201cand\n\u2018Gullfaxi\u2019 means \u2018Golden Mane.\u2019 I don\u2019t suppose, if you are to get on\nthe horse at all, it would matter your taking the sword too. And if you\ntake the sword you will have to carry the stick and the stone and the\ntwig as well.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey are easily carried,\u201d said Sigurd, gazing at them with scorn;\n\u201cwhat wretched dried-up things! Why in the world do you keep them?\u201d\n\n\u201cBather says that he would rather lose Gullfaxi than lose them,\u201d\nreplied Helga, \u201cfor if the man who rides the horse is pursued he has\nonly to throw the twig behind him and it will turn into a forest, so\nthick that even a bird could hardly fly through. But if his enemy\nhappens to know magic, and can throw down the forest, the man has only\nto strike the stone with the stick, and hailstones as large as pigeons\u2019\neggs will rain down from the sky and will kill every one for twenty\nmiles round.\u201d\n\nHaving said all this she allowed Sigurd to ride \u201cjust once\u201d round the\nhouse, taking the sword and other things with him. But when he had\nridden round, instead of dismounting, he suddenly turned the horse\u2019s\nhead and galloped away.\n\nSoon after this Helga\u2019s father came home and found his daughter in\ntears. He asked what was the matter, and when he heard all that had\nhappened, he rushed off as fast as he could to pursue Sigurd.\n\nNow, as Sigurd happened to look behind him he saw the giant coming\nafter him with great strides, and in all haste he threw the twig behind\nhim. Immediately such a thick wood sprang up at once between him and\nhis enemy that the giant was obliged to run home for an axe with which\nto cut his way through.\n\nThe next time Sigurd glanced round, the giant was so near that he\nalmost touched Gullfaxi\u2019s tail. In an agony of fear Sigurd turned\nquickly in his saddle and hit the stone with the stick. No sooner had\nhe done this than a terrible hailstorm burst behind, and the giant was\nkilled on the spot.\n\nBut had Sigurd struck the stone without turning round, the hail would\nhave driven right into his face and killed him instead.\n\nAfter the giant was dead Sigurd rode on towards his own home, and on\nthe way he suddenly met his stepmother\u2019s little dog, running to meet\nhim, with tears pouring down its face. He galloped on as hard as he\ncould, and on arriving found nine men-servants in the act of tying\nQueen Ingiborg to a post in the courtyard of the palace, where they\nintended to burn her.\n\nWild with anger Prince Sigurd sprang from his horse and, sword in hand,\nfell on the men and killed them all. Then he released his stepmother,\nand went in with her to see his father.\n\nThe king lay in bed sick with sorrow, and neither eating nor drinking,\nfor he thought that his son had been killed by the queen. He could\nhardly believe his own eyes for joy when he saw the prince, and Sigurd\ntold him all his adventures.\n\nAfter that Prince Sigurd rode back to fetch Helga, and a great feast\nwas made which lasted three days; and every one said no bride was ever\nseen so beautiful as Helga, and they lived happily for many, many\nyears, and everybody loved them.\n\n[From Islandische M\u00e4hrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Story Of The Sham Prince, Or The Ambitious Tailor\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a respectable young tailor called Labakan,\nwho worked for a clever master in Alexandria. No one could call Labakan\neither stupid or lazy, for he could work extremely well and\nquickly\u2014when he chose; but there was something not altogether right\nabout him. Sometimes he would stitch away as fast as if he had a\nred-hot needle and a burning thread, and at other times he would sit\nlost in thought, and with such a queer look about him that his\nfellow-workmen used to say, \u201cLabakan has got on his aristocratic face\ntoday.\u201d\n\nOn Fridays he would put on his fine robe which he had bought with the\nmoney he had managed to save up, and go to the mosque. As he came back,\nafter prayers, if he met any friend who said \u201cGood-day,\u201d or \u201cHow are\nyou, friend Labakan?\u201d he would wave his hand graciously or nod in a\ncondescending way; and if his master happened to say to him, as he\nsometimes did, \u201cReally, Labakan, you look like a prince,\u201d he was\ndelighted, and would answer, \u201cHave you noticed it too?\u201d or \u201cWell, so I\nhave long thought.\u201d\n\nThings went on like this for some time, and the master put up with\nLabakan\u2019s absurdities because he was, on the whole, a good fellow and a\nclever workman.\n\nOne day, the sultan\u2019s brother happened to be passing through\nAlexandria, and wanted to have one of his state robes altered, so he\nsent for the master tailor, who handed the robe over to Labakan as his\nbest workman.\n\nIn the evening, when every one had left the workshop and gone home, a\ngreat longing drove Labakan back to the place where the royal robe\nhung. He stood a long time gazing at it, admiring the rich material and\nthe splendid embroidery in it. At last he could hold out no longer. He\nfelt he must try it on, and lo! and behold, it fitted as though it had\nbeen made for him.\n\n\u201cAm not I as good a prince as any other?\u201d he asked himself, as he\nproudly paced up and down the room. \u201cHas not the master often said that\nI seemed born to be a prince?\u201d\n\nIt seemed to him that he must be the son of some unknown monarch, and\nat last he determined to set out at once and travel in search of his\nproper rank.\n\nHe felt as if the splendid robe had been sent him by some kind fairy,\nand he took care not to neglect such a precious gift. He collected all\nhis savings, and, concealed by the darkness of the night, he passed\nthrough the gates of Alexandria.\n\nThe new prince excited a good deal of curiosity where ever he went, for\nhis splendid robe and majestic manner did not seem quite suitable to a\nperson travelling on foot. If anyone asked questions, he only replied\nwith an important air of mystery that he had his own reasons for not\nriding.\n\nHowever, he soon found out that walking made him ridiculous, so at last\nhe bought a quiet, steady old horse, which he managed to get cheap.\n\nOne day, as he was ambling along upon Murva (that was the horse\u2019s\nname), a horseman overtook him and asked leave to join him, so that\nthey might both beguile the journey with pleasant talk. The newcomer\nwas a bright, cheerful, good-looking young man, who soon plunged into\nconversation and asked many questions. He told Labakan that his own\nname was Omar, that he was a nephew of Elfi Bey, and was travelling in\norder to carry out a command given him by his uncle on his death bed.\nLabakan was not quite so open in his confidences, but hinted that he\ntoo was of noble birth and was travelling for pleasure.\n\nThe two young men took a fancy to each other and rode on together. On\nthe second day of their journey Labakan questioned Omar as to the\norders he had to carry out, and to his surprise heard this tale.\n\nElfi Bey, Pacha of Cairo, had brought up Omar from his earliest\nchildhood, and the boy had never known his parents. On his deathbed\nElfi Bey called Omar to him, and then told him that he was not his\nnephew, but the son of a great king, who, having been warned of coming\ndangers by his astrologers, had sent the young prince away and made a\nvow not to see him till his twenty-second birthday.\n\nElfi Bey did not tell Omar his father\u2019s name, but expressly desired him\nto be at a great pillar four days\u2019 journey east of Alexandria on the\nfourth day of the coming month, on which day he would be twenty-two\nyears old. Here he would meet some men, to whom he was to hand a dagger\nwhich Elfi Bey gave him, and to say \u201cHere am I for whom you seek.\u201d\n\nIf they answered: \u201cPraised be the Prophet who has preserved you,\u201d he\nwas to follow them, and they would take him to his father.\n\nLabakan was greatly surprised and interested by this story, but after\nhearing it he could not help looking on Prince Omar with envious eyes,\nangry that his friend should have the position he himself longed so\nmuch for. He began to make comparisons between the prince and himself,\nand was obliged to confess that he was a fine-looking young man with\nvery good manners and a pleasant expression.\n\nAt the same time, he felt sure that had he been in the prince\u2019s place\nany royal father might have been glad to own him.\n\nThese thoughts haunted him all day, and he dreamt them all night. He\nwoke very early, and as he saw Omar sleeping quietly, with a happy\nsmile on his face, a wish arose in his mind to take by force or by\ncunning the things which an unkind fate had denied him.\n\nThe dagger which was to act as a passport was sticking in Omar\u2019s\ngirdle. Labakan drew it gently out, and hesitated for a moment whether\nor not to plunge it into the heart of the sleeping prince. However, he\nshrank from the idea of murder, so he contented himself with placing\nthe dagger in his own belt, and, saddling Omar\u2019s swift horse for\nhimself, was many miles away before the prince woke up to realise his\nlosses.\n\nFor two days Labakan rode on steadily, fearing lest, after all, Omar\nmight reach the meeting place before him. At the end of the second day\nhe saw the great pillar at a distance. It stood on a little hill in the\nmiddle of a plain, and could be seen a very long way off. Labakan\u2019s\nheart beat fast at the sight. Though he had had some time in which to\nthink over the part he meant to play his conscience made him rather\nuneasy. However, the thought that he must certainly have been born to\nbe a king supported him, and he bravely rode on.\n\nThe neighbourhood was quite bare and desert, and it was a good thing\nthat the new prince had brought food for some time with him, as two\ndays were still wanting till the appointed time.\n\nTowards the middle of the next day he saw a long procession of horses\nand camels coming towards him. It halted at the bottom of the hill, and\nsome splendid tents were pitched. Everything looked like the escort of\nsome great man. Labakan made a shrewd guess that all these people had\ncome here on his account; but he checked his impatience, knowing that\nonly on the fourth day could his wishes be fulfilled.\n\nThe first rays of the rising sun woke the happy tailor. As he began to\nsaddle his horse and prepare to ride to the pillar, he could not help\nhaving some remorseful thoughts of the trick he had played and the\nblighted hopes of the real prince. But the die was cast, and his vanity\nwhispered that he was as fine looking a young man as the proudest king\nmight wish his son to be, and that, moreover, what had happened had\nhappened.\n\nWith these thoughts he summoned up all his courage sprang on his horse,\nand in less than a quarter of an hour was at the foot of the hill. Here\nhe dismounted, tied the horse to a bush, and, drawing out Prince Omar\u2019s\ndagger climbed up the hill.\n\nAt the foot of the pillar stood six men round a tall and stately\nperson. His superb robe of cloth of gold was girt round him by a white\ncashmere shawl, and his white, richly jewelled turban showed that he\nwas a man of wealth and high rank.\n\nLabakan went straight up to him, and, bending low, handed him the\ndagger, saying: \u201cHere am I whom you seek.\u201d\n\n\u201cPraised be the Prophet who has preserved you! replied the old man with\ntears of joy. \u201cEmbrace me, my dear son Omar!\u201d\n\nThe proud tailor was deeply moved by these solemn words, and with\nmingled shame and joy sank into the old king\u2019s arms.\n\nBut his happiness was not long unclouded. As he raised his head he saw\na horseman who seemed trying to urge a tired or unwilling horse across\nthe plain.\n\nOnly too soon Labakan recognised his own old horse, Murva, and the real\nPrince Omar, but having once told a lie he made up his mind not to own\nhis deceit.\n\nAt last the horseman reached the foot of the hill. Here he flung\nhimself from the saddle and hurried up to the pillar.\n\n\u201cStop!\u201d he cried, \u201cwhoever you may be, and do not let a disgraceful\nimpostor take you in. My name is Omar, and let no one attempt to rob me\nof it.\u201d\n\nThis turn of affairs threw the standers-by into great surprise. The old\nking in particular seemed much moved as he looked from one face to the\nother. At last Labakan spoke with forced calmness, \u201cMost gracious lord\nand father, do not let yourself be deceived by this man. As far as I\nknow, he is a half-crazy tailor\u2019s apprentice from Alexandria, called\nLabakan, who really deserves more pity than anger.\u201d\n\nThese words infuriated the prince. Foaming with rage, he tried to press\ntowards Labakan, but the attendants threw themselves upon him and held\nhim fast, whilst the king said, \u201cTruly, my dear son, the poor fellow is\nquite mad. Let him be bound and placed on a dromedary. Perhaps we may\nbe able to get some help for him.\u201d\n\nThe prince\u2019s first rage was over, and with tears he cried to the king,\n\u201cMy heart tells me that you are my father, and in my mother\u2019s name I\nentreat you to hear me.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! heaven forbid!\u201d was the reply. \u201cHe is talking nonsense again. How\ncan the poor man have got such notions into his head?\u201d\n\nWith these words the king took Labakan\u2019s arm to support him down the\nhill. They both mounted richly caparisoned horses and rode across the\nplain at the head of their followers.\n\nThe unlucky prince was tied hand and foot, and fastened on a dromedary,\na guard riding on either side and keeping a sharp look-out on him.\n\nThe old king was Sached, Sultan of the Wachabites. For many years he\nhad had no children, but at length the son he had so long wished for\nwas born. But the sooth-sayers and magicians whom he consulted as to\nthe child\u2019s future all said that until he was twenty-two years old he\nstood in danger of being injured by an enemy. So, to make all safe, the\nsultan had confided the prince to his trusty friend Elfi Bey, and\ndeprived himself of the happiness of seeing him for twenty-two years.\nAll this the sultan told Labakan, and was much pleased by his\nappearance and dignified manner.\n\nWhen they reached their own country they were received with every sign\nof joy, for the news of the prince\u2019s safe return had spread like\nwildfire, and every town and village was decorated, whilst the\ninhabitants thronged to greet them with cries of joy and thankfulness.\nAll this filled Labakan\u2019s proud heart with rapture, whilst the\nunfortunate Omar followed in silent rage and despair.\n\nAt length they arrived in the capital, where the public rejoicings were\ngrander and more brilliant than anywhere else. The queen awaited them\nin the great hall of the palace, surrounded by her entire court. It was\ngetting dark, and hundreds of coloured hanging lamps were lit to turn\nnight into day.\n\nThe brightest hung round the throne on which the queen sat, and which\nstood above four steps of pure gold inlaid with great amethysts. The\nfour greatest nobles in the kingdom held a canopy of crimson silk over\nthe queen, and the Sheik of Medina fanned her with a peacock-feather\nfan.\n\nIn this state she awaited her husband and her son. She, too, had not\nseen Omar since his birth, but so many dreams had shown her what he\nwould look like that she felt she would know him among a thousand.\n\nAnd now the sound of trumpets and drums and of shouts and cheers\noutside announced the long looked for moment. The doors flew open, and\nbetween rows of low-bending courtiers and servants the king approached\nthe throne, leading his pretended son by the hand.\n\n\u201cHere,\u201d said he, \u201cis he for whom you have been longing so many years.\u201d\n\nBut the queen interrupted him, \u201cThat is not my son!\u201d she cried. \u201cThat\nis not the face the Prophet has shown me in my dreams!\u201d\n\nJust as the king was about to reason with her, the door was thrown\nviolently open, and Prince Omar rushed in, followed by his keepers,\nwhom he had managed to get away from. He flung himself down before the\nthrone, panting out, \u201cHere will I die; kill me at once, cruel father,\nfor I cannot bear this shame any longer.\u201d\n\nEveryone pressed round the unhappy man, and the guards were about to\nseize him, when the queen, who at first was dumb with surprise, sprang\nup from her throne.\n\n\u201cHold!\u201d cried she. \u201cThis and no other is the right one; this is the one\nwhom my eyes have never yet seen, but whom my heart recognises.\u201d\n\nThe guards had stepped back, but the king called to them in a furious\nvoice to secure the madman.\n\n\u201cIt is I who must judge,\u201d he said in tones of command; \u201cand this matter\ncannot be decided by women\u2019s dreams, but by certain unmistakable signs.\nThis one\u201d (pointing to Labakan) \u201cis my son, for it was he who brought\nme the token from my friend Elfi\u2014the dagger.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe stole it from me,\u201d shrieked Omar; \u201che betrayed my unsuspicious\nconfidence.\u201d\n\nBut the king would not listen to his son\u2019s voice, for he had always\nbeen accustomed to depend on his own judgment. He let the unhappy Omar\nbe dragged from the hall, whilst he himself retired with Labakan to his\nown rooms, full of anger with the queen his wife, in spite of their\nmany years of happy life together.\n\nThe queen, on her side, was plunged in grief, for she felt certain that\nan impostor had won her husband\u2019s heart and taken the place of her real\nson.\n\nWhen the first shock was over she began to think how she could manage\nto convince the king of his mistake. Of course it would be a difficult\nmatter, as the man who declared he was Omar had produced the dagger as\na token, besides talking of all sorts of things which happened when he\nwas a child. She called her oldest and wisest ladies about her and\nasked their advice, but none of them had any to give. At last one very\nclever old woman said: \u201cDid not the young man who brought the dagger\ncall him whom your majesty believes to be your son Labakan, and say he\nwas a crazy tailor?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d replied the queen; \u201cbut what of that?\u201d\n\n\u201cMight it not be,\u201d said the old lady, \u201cthat the impostor has called\nyour real son by his own name? If this should be the case, I know of a\ncapital way to find out the truth.\u201d\n\nAnd she whispered some words to the queen, who seemed much pleased, and\nwent off at once to see the king.\n\nNow the queen was a very wise woman, so she pretended to think she\nmight have made a mistake, and only begged to be allowed to put a test\nto the two young men to prove which was the real prince.\n\nThe king, who was feeling much ashamed of the rage he had been in with\nhis dear wife, consented at once, and she said: \u201cNo doubt others would\nmake them ride or shoot, or something of that sort, but every one\nlearns these things. I wish to set them a task which requires sharp\nwits and clever hands, and I want them to try which of them can best\nmake a kaftan and pair of trousers.\u201d\n\nThe king laughed. \u201cNo, no, that will never do. Do you suppose my son\nwould compete with that crazy tailor as to which could make the best\nclothes? Oh, dear, no, that won\u2019t do at all.\u201d\n\nBut the queen claimed his promise, and as he was a man of his word the\nking gave in at last. He went to his son and begged that he would\nhumour his mother, who had set her heart on his making a kaftan.\n\nThe worthy Labakan laughed to himself. \u201cIf that is all she wants,\u201d\nthought he, \u201cher majesty will soon be pleased to own me.\u201d\n\nTwo rooms were prepared, with pieces of material, scissors, needles and\nthreads, and each young man was shut up in one of them.\n\nThe king felt rather curious as to what sort of garment his son would\nmake, and the queen, too, was very anxious as to the result of her\nexperiment.\n\nOn the third day they sent for the two young men and their work.\nLabakan came first and spread out his kaftan before the eyes of the\nastonished king. \u201cSee, father,\u201d he said; \u201csee, my honoured mother, if\nthis is not a masterpiece of work. I\u2019ll bet the court tailor himself\ncannot do better.\n\nThe queen smiled and turned to Omar: \u201cAnd what have you done, my son?\u201d\n\nImpatiently he threw the stuff and scissors down on the floor. \u201cI have\nbeen taught how to manage a horse, to draw a sword, and to throw a\nlance some sixty paces, but I never learnt to sew, and such a thing\nwould have been thought beneath the notice of the pupil of Elfi Bey,\nthe ruler of Cairo.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, true son of your father,\u201d cried the queen; \u201cif only I might\nembrace you and call you son! Forgive me, my lord and husband,\u201d she\nadded, turning to the king, \u201cfor trying to find out the truth in this\nway. Do you not see yourself now which is the prince and which the\ntailor? Certainly this kaftan is a very fine one, but I should like to\nknow what master taught this young man how to make clothes.\u201d\n\nThe king sat deep in thought, looking now at his wife and now at\nLabakan, who was doing his best to hide his vexation at his own\nstupidity. At last the king said: \u201cEven this trial does not satisfy me;\nbut happily I know of a sure way to discover whether or not I have been\ndeceived.\u201d\n\nHe ordered his swiftest horse to be saddled, mounted, and rode off\nalone into a forest at some little distance. Here lived a kindly fairy\ncalled Adolzaide, who had often helped the kings of his race with her\ngood advice, and to her he betook himself.\n\nIn the middle of the forest was a wide open space surrounded by great\ncedar trees, and this was supposed to be the fairy\u2019s favourite spot.\nWhen the king reached this place he dismounted, tied his horse to the\ntree, and standing in the middle of the open place said: \u201cIf it is true\nthat you have helped my ancestors in their time of need, do not despise\ntheir descendant, but give me counsel, for that of men has failed me.\u201d\n\nHe had hardly finished speaking when one of the cedar trees opened, and\na veiled figure all dressed in white stepped from it.\n\n\u201cI know your errand, King Sached,\u201d she said; \u201cit is an honest one, and\nI will give you my help. Take these two little boxes and let the two\nmen who claim to be your son choose between them. I know that the real\nprince will make no mistake.\u201d\n\nShe then handed him two little boxes made of ivory set with gold and\npearls. On the lid of each (which the king vainly tried to open) was an\ninscription in diamonds. On one stood the words \u201cHonour and Glory,\u201d and\non the other \u201cWealth and Happiness.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt would be a hard choice,\u201d thought the king as he rode home.\n\nHe lost no time in sending for the queen and for all his court, and\nwhen all were assembled he made a sign, and Labakan was led in. With a\nproud air he walked up to the throne, and kneeling down, asked:\n\n\u201cWhat does my lord and father command?\u201d\n\nThe king replied: \u201cMy son, doubts have been thrown on your claim to\nthat name. One of these boxes contains the proofs of your birth. Choose\nfor yourself. No doubt you will choose right.\u201d\n\nHe then pointed to the ivory boxes, which were placed on two little\ntables near the throne.\n\nLabakan rose and looked at the boxes. He thought for some minutes, and\nthen said: \u201cMy honoured father, what can be better than the happiness\nof being your son, and what nobler than the riches of your love. I\nchoose the box with the words \u2018Wealth and Happiness.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cWe shall see presently if you have chosen the right one. For the\npresent take a seat there beside the Pacha of Medina,\u201d replied the\nking.\n\nOmar was next led in, looking sad and sorrowful. He threw himself down\nbefore the throne and asked what was the king\u2019s pleasure. The king\npointed out the two boxes to him, and he rose and went to the tables.\nHe carefully read the two mottoes and said: \u201cThe last few days have\nshown me how uncertain is happiness and how easily riches vanish away.\nShould I lose a crown by it I make my choice of \u2018Honour and Glory.\u2019\u201d\n\nHe laid his hand on the box as he spoke, but the king signed to him to\nwait, and ordered Labakan to come to the other table and lay his hand\non the box he had chosen.\n\nThen the king rose from his throne, and in solemn silence all present\nrose too, whilst he said: \u201cOpen the boxes, and may Allah show us the\ntruth.\u201d\n\nThe boxes were opened with the greatest ease. In the one Omar had\nchosen lay a little gold crown and sceptre on a velvet cushion. In\nLabakan\u2019s box was found\u2014a large needle with some thread!\n\nThe king told the two young men to bring him their boxes. They did so.\nHe took the crown in his hand, and as he held it, it grew bigger and\nbigger, till it was as large as a real crown. He placed it on the head\nof his son Omar, kissed him on the forehead, and placed him on his\nright hand. Then, turning to Labakan, he said: \u201cThere is an old\nproverb, \u2018The cobbler sticks to his last.\u2019 It seems as though you were\nto stick to your needle. You have not deserved any mercy, but I cannot\nbe harsh on this day. I give you your life, but I advise you to leave\nthis country as fast as you can.\u201d\n\nFull of shame, the unlucky tailor could not answer. He flung himself\ndown before Omar, and with tears in his eyes asked: \u201cCan you forgive\nme, prince?\u201d\n\n\u201cGo in peace,\u201d said Omar as he raised him.\n\n\u201cOh, my true son!\u201d cried the king as he clasped the prince in his arms,\nwhilst all the pachas and emirs shouted, \u201cLong live Prince Omar!\u201d\n\nIn the midst of all the noise and rejoicing Labakan slipped off with\nhis little box under his arm. He went to the stables, saddled his old\nhorse, Murva, and rode out of the gate towards Alexandria. Nothing but\nthe ivory box with its diamond motto was left to show him that the last\nfew weeks had not been a dream.\n\nWhen he reached Alexandria he rode up to his old master\u2019s door. When he\nentered the shop, his master came forward to ask what was his pleasure,\nbut as soon as he saw who it was he called his workmen, and they all\nfell on Labakan with blows and angry words, till at last he fell, half\nfainting, on a heap of old clothes.\n\nThe master then scolded him soundly about the stolen robe, but in vain\nLabakan told him he had come to pay for it and offered three times its\nprice. They only fell to beating him again, and at last pushed him out\nof the house more dead than alive.\n\nHe could do nothing but remount his horse and ride to an inn. Here he\nfound a quiet place in which to rest his bruised and battered limbs and\nto think over his many misfortunes. He fell asleep fully determined to\ngive up trying to be great, but to lead the life of an honest workman.\n\nNext morning he set to work to fulfil his good resolutions. He sold his\nlittle box to a jeweller for a good price, bought a house and opened a\nworkshop. Then he hung up a sign with, \u201cLabakan, Tailor,\u201d over his\ndoor, and sat down to mend his own torn clothes with the very needle\nwhich had been in the ivory box.\n\nAfter a while he was called away, and when he went back to his work he\nfound a wonderful thing had happened! The needle was sewing away all by\nitself and making the neatest little stitches, such as Labakan had\nnever been able to make even at his best.\n\nCertainly even the smallest gift of a kind fairy is of great value, and\nthis one had yet another advantage, for the thread never came to an\nend, however much the needle sewed.\n\nLabakan soon got plenty of customers. He used to cut out the clothes,\nmake the first stitch with the magic needle, and then leave it to do\nthe rest. Before long the whole town went to him, for his work was both\nso good and so cheap. The only puzzle was how he could do so much,\nworking all alone, and also why he worked with closed doors.\n\nAnd so the promise on the ivory box of \u201cWealth and Happiness\u201d came true\nfor him, and when he heard of all the brave doings of Prince Omar, who\nwas the pride and darling of his people and the terror of his enemies,\nthe ex-prince thought to himself, \u201cAfter all, I am better off as a\ntailor, for \u2018Honour and Glory\u2019 are apt to be very dangerous things.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nThe Colony Of Cats\n\n\nLong, long ago, as far back as the time when animals spoke, there lived\na community of cats in a deserted house they had taken possession of\nnot far from a large town. They had everything they could possibly\ndesire for their comfort, they were well fed and well lodged, and if by\nany chance an unlucky mouse was stupid enough to venture in their way,\nthey caught it, not to eat it, but for the pure pleasure of catching\nit. The old people of the town related how they had heard their parents\nspeak of a time when the whole country was so overrun with rats and\nmice that there was not so much as a grain of corn nor an ear of maize\nto be gathered in the fields; and it might be out of gratitude to the\ncats who had rid the country of these plagues that their descendants\nwere allowed to live in peace. No one knows where they got the money to\npay for everything, nor who paid it, for all this happened so very long\nago. But one thing is certain, they were rich enough to keep a servant;\nfor though they lived very happily together, and did not scratch nor\nfight more than human beings would have done, they were not clever\nenough to do the housework themselves, and preferred at all events to\nhave some one to cook their meat, which they would have scorned to eat\nraw. Not only were they very difficult to please about the housework,\nbut most women quickly tired of living alone with only cats for\ncompanions, consequently they never kept a servant long; and it had\nbecome a saying in the town, when anyone found herself reduced to her\nlast penny: \u201cI will go and live with the cats,\u201d and so many a poor\nwoman actually did.\n\nNow Lizina was not happy at home, for her mother, who was a widow, was\nmuch fonder of her elder daughter; so that often the younger one fared\nvery badly, and had not enough to eat, while the elder could have\neverything she desired, and if Lizina dared to complain she was certain\nto have a good beating.\n\nAt last the day came when she was at the end of her courage and\npatience, and exclaimed to her mother and sister:\n\n\u201cAs you hate me so much you will be glad to be rid of me, so I am going\nto live with the cats!\u201d\n\n\u201cBe off with you!\u201d cried her mother, seizing an old broom-handle from\nbehind the door. Poor Lizina did not wait to be told twice, but ran off\nat once and never stopped till she reached the door of the cats\u2019 house.\nTheir cook had left them that very morning, with her face all\nscratched, the result of such a quarrel with the head of the house that\nhe had very nearly scratched out her eyes. Lizina therefore was warmly\nwelcomed, and she set to work at once to prepare the dinner, not\nwithout many misgivings as to the tastes of the cats, and whether she\nwould be able to satisfy them.\n\nGoing to and fro about her work, she found herself frequently hindered\nby a constant succession of cats who appeared one after another in the\nkitchen to inspect the new servant; she had one in front of her feet,\nanother perched on the back of her chair while she peeled the\nvegetables, a third sat on the table beside her, and five or six others\nprowled about among the pots and pans on the shelves against the wall.\nThe air resounded with their purring, which meant that they were\npleased with their new maid, but Lizina had not yet learned to\nunderstand their language, and often she did not know what they wanted\nher to do. However, as she was a good, kindhearted girl, she set to\nwork to pick up the little kittens which tumbled about on the floor,\nshe patched up quarrels, and nursed on her lap a big tabby\u2014the oldest\nof the community\u2014which had a lame paw. All these kindnesses could\nhardly fail to make a favourable impression on the cats, and it was\neven better after a while, when she had had time to grow accustomed to\ntheir strange ways. Never had the house been kept so clean, the meats\nso well served, nor the sick cats so well cared for. After a time they\nhad a visit from an old cat, whom they called their father, who lived\nby himself in a barn at the top of the hill, and came down from time to\ntime to inspect the little colony. He too was much taken with Lizina,\nand inquired, on first seeing her: \u201cAre you well served by this nice,\nblack-eyed little person?\u201d and the cats answered with one voice: \u201cOh,\nyes, Father Gatto, we have never had so good a servant!\u201d\n\nAt each of his visits the answer was always the same; but after a time\nthe old cat, who was very observant, noticed that the little maid had\ngrown to look sadder and sadder. \u201cWhat is the matter, my child has any\none been unkind to you?\u201d he asked one day, when he found her crying in\nher kitchen. She burst into tears and answered between her sobs: \u201cOh,\nno! they are all very good to me; but I long for news from home, and I\npine to see my mother and my sister.\u201d\n\nOld Gatto, being a sensible old cat, understood the little servant\u2019s\nfeelings. \u201cYou shall go home,\u201d he said, \u201cand you shall not come back\nhere unless you please. But first you must be rewarded for all your\nkind services to my children. Follow me down into the inner cellar,\nwhere you have never yet been, for I always keep it locked and carry\nthe key away with me.\u201d\n\nLizina looked round her in astonishment as they went down into the\ngreat vaulted cellar underneath the kitchen. Before her stood the big\nearthenware water jars, one of which contained oil, the other a liquid\nshining like gold. \u201cIn which of these jars shall I dip you?\u201d asked\nFather Gatto, with a grin that showed all his sharp white teeth, while\nhis moustaches stood out straight on either side of his face. The\nlittle maid looked at the two jars from under her long dark lashes: \u201cIn\nthe oil jar,\u201d she answered timidly, thinking to herself: \u201cI could not\nask to be bathed in gold.\u201d\n\nBut Father Gatto replied: \u201cNo, no; you have deserved something better\nthan that.\u201d And seizing her in his strong paws he plunged her into the\nliquid gold. Wonder of wonders! when Lizina came out of the jar she\nshone from head to foot like the sun in the heavens on a fine summer\u2019s\nday. Her pretty pink cheeks and long black hair alone kept their\nnatural colour, otherwise she had become like a statue of pure gold.\nFather Gatto purred loudly with satisfaction. \u201cGo home,\u201d he said, \u201cand\nsee your mother and sisters; but take care if you hear the cock crow to\nturn towards it; if on the contrary the ass brays, you must look the\nother way.\u201d\n\nThe little maid, having gratefully kissed the white paw of the old cat,\nset off for home; but just as she got near her mother\u2019s house the cock\ncrowed, and quickly she turned towards it. Immediately a beautiful\ngolden star appeared on her forehead, crowning her glossy black hair.\nAt the same time the ass began to bray, but Lizina took care not to\nlook over the fence into the field where the donkey was feeding. Her\nmother and sister, who were in front of their house, uttered cries of\nadmiration and astonishment when they saw her, and their cries became\nstill louder when Lizina, taking her handkerchief from her pocket, drew\nout also a handful of gold.\n\nFor some days the mother and her two daughters lived very happily\ntogether, for Lizina had given them everything she had brought away\nexcept her golden clothing, for that would not come off, in spite of\nall the efforts of her sister, who was madly jealous of her good\nfortune. The golden star, too, could not be removed from her forehead.\nBut all the gold pieces she drew from her pockets had found their way\nto her mother and sister.\n\n\u201cI will go now and see what I can get out of the pussies,\u201d said\nPeppina, the elder girl, one morning, as she took Lizina\u2019s basket and\nfastened her pockets into her own skirt. \u201cI should like some of the\ncats\u2019 gold for myself,\u201d she thought, as she left her mother\u2019s house\nbefore the sun rose.\n\nThe cat colony had not yet taken another servant, for they knew they\ncould never get one to replace Lizina, whose loss they had not yet\nceased to mourn. When they heard that Peppina was her sister, they all\nran to meet her. \u201cShe is not the least like her,\u201d the kittens whispered\namong themselves.\n\n\u201cHush, be quiet!\u201d the older cats said; \u201call servants cannot be pretty.\u201d\n\nNo, decidedly she was not at all like Lizina. Even the most reasonable\nand large-minded of the cats soon acknowledged that.\n\nThe very first day she shut the kitchen door in the face of the\ntom-cats who used to enjoy watching Lizina at her work, and a young and\nmischievous cat who jumped in by the open kitchen window and alighted\non the table got such a blow with the rolling-pin that he squalled for\nan hour.\n\nWith every day that passed the household became more and more aware of\nits misfortune.\n\nThe work was as badly done as the servant was surly and disagreeable;\nin the corners of the rooms there were collected heaps of dust;\nspiders\u2019 webs hung from the ceilings and in front of the window-panes;\nthe beds were hardly ever made, and the feather beds, so beloved by the\nold and feeble cats, had never once been shaken since Lizina left the\nhouse. At Father Gatto\u2019s next visit he found the whole colony in a\nstate of uproar.\n\n\u201cCaesar has one paw so badly swollen that it looks as if it were\nbroken,\u201d said one. \u201cPeppina kicked him with her great wooden shoes on.\nHector has an abscess in his back where a wooden chair was flung at\nhim; and Agrippina\u2019s three little kittens have died of hunger beside\ntheir mother, because Peppina forgot them in their basket up in the\nattic. There is no putting up with the creature\u2014do send her away,\nFather Gatto! Lizina herself would not be angry with us; she must know\nvery well what her sister is like.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome here,\u201d said Father Gatto, in his most severe tones to Peppina.\nAnd he took her down into the cellar and showed her the same two great\njars that he had showed Lizina. \u201cIn which of these shall I dip you?\u201d he\nasked; and she made haste to answer: \u201cIn the liquid gold,\u201d for she was\nno more modest than she was good and kind.\n\nFather Gatto\u2019s yellow eyes darted fire. \u201cYou have not deserved it,\u201d he\nuttered, in a voice like thunder, and seizing her he flung her into the\njar of oil, where she was nearly suffocated. When she came to the\nsurface screaming and struggling, the vengeful cat seized her again and\nrolled her in the ash-heap on the floor; then when she rose, dirty,\nblinded, and disgusting to behold, he thrust her from the door, saying:\n\u201cBegone, and when you meet a braying ass be careful to turn your head\ntowards it.\u201d\n\nStumbling and raging, Peppina set off for home, thinking herself\nfortunate to find a stick by the wayside with which to support herself.\nShe was within sight of her mother\u2019s house when she heard in the meadow\non the right, the voice of a donkey loudly braying. Quickly she turned\nher head towards it, and at the same time put her hand up to her\nforehead, where, waving like a plume, was a donkey\u2019s tail. She ran home\nto her mother at the top of her speed, yelling with rage and despair;\nand it took Lizina two hours with a big basin of hot water and two\ncakes of soap to get rid of the layer of ashes with which Father Gatto\nhad adorned her. As for the donkey\u2019s tail, it was impossible to get rid\nof that; it was as firmly fixed on her forehead as was the golden star\non Lizina\u2019s. Their mother was furious. She first beat Lizina\nunmercifully with the broom, then she took her to the mouth of the well\nand lowered her into it, leaving her at the bottom weeping and crying\nfor help.\n\nBefore this happened, however, the king\u2019s son in passing the mother\u2019s\nhouse had seen Lizina sitting sewing in the parlour, and had been\ndazzled by her beauty. After coming back two or three times, he at last\nventured to approach the window and to whisper in the softest voice:\n\u201cLovely maiden, will you be my bride?\u201d and she had answered: \u201cI will.\u201d\n\nNext morning, when the prince arrived to claim his bride, he found her\nwrapped in a large white veil. \u201cIt is so that maidens are received from\ntheir parents\u2019 hands,\u201d said the mother, who hoped to make the king\u2019s\nson marry Peppina in place of her sister, and had fastened the donkey\u2019s\ntail round her head like a lock of hair under the veil. The prince was\nyoung and a little timid, so he made no objections, and seated Peppina\nin the carriage beside him.\n\nTheir way led past the old house inhabited by the cats, who were all at\nthe window, for the report had got about that the prince was going to\nmarry the most beautiful maiden in the world, on whose forehead shone a\ngolden star, and they knew that this could only be their adored Lizina.\nAs the carriage slowly passed in front of the old house, where cats\nfrom all parts of world seemed to be gathered a song burst from every\nthroat:\n\nMew, mew, mew!\nPrince, look quick behind you!\nIn the well is fair Lizina,\nAnd you\u2019ve got nothing but Peppina.\n\n\nWhen he heard this the coachman, who understood the cat\u2019s language\nbetter than the prince, his master, stopped his horses and asked:\n\n\u201cDoes your highness know what the grimalkins are saying?\u201d and the song\nbroke forth again louder than ever.\n\nWith a turn of his hand the prince threw back the veil, and discovered\nthe puffed-up, swollen face of Peppina, with the donkey\u2019s tail twisted\nround her head. \u201cAh, traitress!\u201d he exclaimed, and ordering the horses\nto be turned round, he drove the elder daughter, quivering with rage,\nto the old woman who had sought to deceive him. With his hand on the\nhilt of his sword he demanded Lizina in so terrific a voice that the\nmother hastened to the well to draw her prisoner out. Lizina\u2019s clothing\nand her star shone so brilliantly that when the prince led her home to\nthe king, his father, the whole palace was lit up. Next day they were\nmarried, and lived happy ever after; and all the cats, headed by old\nFather Gatto, were present at the wedding.\n\n\n\n\nHow To Find Out A True Friend\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a king and queen who longed to have a son.\nAs none came, one day they made a vow at the shrine of St. James that\nif their prayers were granted the boy should set out on a pilgrimage as\nsoon as he had passed his eighteenth birthday. And fancy their delight\nwhen one evening the king returned home from hunting and saw a baby\nlying in the cradle.\n\nAll the people came crowding round to peep at it, and declared it was\nthe most beautiful baby that ever was seen. Of course that is what they\nalways say, but this time it happened to be true. And every day the boy\ngrew bigger and stronger till he was twelve years old, when the king\ndied, and he was left alone to take care of his mother.\n\nIn this way six years passed by, and his eighteenth birthday drew near.\nWhen she thought of this the queen\u2019s heart sank within her, for he was\nthe light of her eyes and how was she to send him forth to the unknown\ndangers that beset a pilgrim? So day by day she grew more and more\nsorrowful, and when she was alone wept bitterly.\n\nNow the queen imagined that no one but herself knew how sad she was,\nbut one morning her son said to her, \u201cMother, why do you cry the whole\nday long?\u201d\n\n\u201cNothing, nothing, my son; there is only one thing in the world that\ntroubles me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is that one thing?\u201d asked he. \u201cAre you afraid your property is\nbadly managed? Let me go and look into the matter.\u201d\n\nThis pleased the queen, and he rode off to the plain country, where his\nmother owned great estates; but everything was in beautiful order, and\nhe returned with a joyful heart, and said, \u201cNow, mother, you can be\nhappy again, for your lands are better managed than anyone else\u2019s I\nhave seen. The cattle are thriving; the fields are thick with corn, and\nsoon they will be ripe for harvest.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is good news indeed,\u201d answered she; but it did not seem to make\nany difference to her, and the next morning she was weeping and wailing\nas loudly as ever.\n\n\u201cDear mother,\u201d said her son in despair, \u201cif you will not tell me what\nis the cause of all this misery I shall leave home and wander far\nthrough the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, my son, my son,\u201d cried the queen, \u201cit is the thought that I must\npart from you which causes me such grief; for before you were born we\nvowed a vow to St. James that when your eighteenth birthday was passed\nyou should make a pilgrimage to his shrine, and very soon you will be\neighteen, and I shall lose you. And for a whole year my eyes will never\nbe gladdened by the sight of you, for the shrine is far away.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill it take no longer than that to reach it?\u201d said he. \u201cOh, don\u2019t be\nso wretched; it is only dead people who never return. As long as I am\nalive you may be sure I will come back to you.\u201d\n\nAfter this manner he comforted his mother, and on his eighteenth\nbirthday his best horse was led to the door of the palace, and he took\nleave of the queen in these words, \u201cDear mother, farewell, and by the\nhelp of fate I shall return to you as soon as I can.\u201d\n\nThe queen burst into tears and wept sore; then amidst her sobs she drew\nthree apples from her pocket and held them out, saying, \u201cMy son, take\nthese apples and give heed unto my words. You will need a companion in\nthe long journey on which you are going. If you come across a young man\nwho pleases you beg him to accompany you, and when you get to an inn\ninvite him to have dinner with you. After you have eaten cut one of\nthese apples in two unequal parts, and ask him to take one. If he takes\nthe larger bit, then part from him, for he is no true friend to you.\nBut if he takes the smaller bit treat him as your brother, and share\nwith him all you have.\u201d Then she kissed her son once more, and blessed\nhim, and let him go.\n\nThe young man rode a long way without meeting a single creature, but at\nlast he saw a youth in the distance about the same age as himself, and\nhe spurred his horse till he came up with the stranger, who stopped and\nasked:\n\n\u201cWhere are you going, my fine fellow?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am making a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James, for before I was\nborn my mother vowed that I should go forth with a thank offering on my\neighteenth birthday.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is my case too,\u201d said the stranger, \u201cand, as we must both travel\nin the same direction, let us bear each other company.\u201d\n\nThe young man agreed to this proposal, but he took care not to get on\nterms of familiarity with the new comer until he had tried him with the\napple.\n\nBy-and-by they reached an inn, and at sight of it the king\u2019s son said,\n\u201cI am very hungry. Let us enter and order something to eat.\u201d The other\nconsented, and they were soon sitting before a good dinner.\n\nWhen they had finished the king\u2019s son drew an apple from his pocket,\nand cut it into a big half and a little half, and offered both to the\nstranger, who took the biggest bit. \u201cYou are no friend of mine,\u201d\nthought the king\u2019s son, and in order to part company with him he\npretended to be ill and declared himself unable to proceed on his\njourney.\n\n\u201cWell, I can\u2019t wait for you,\u201d replied the other; \u201cI am in haste to push\non, so farewell.\u201d\n\n\u201cFarewell,\u201d said the king\u2019s son, glad in his heart to get rid of him so\neasily. The king\u2019s son remained in the inn for some time, so as to let\nthe young man have a good start; them he ordered his horse and rode\nafter him. But he was very sociable and the way seemed long and dull by\nhimself. \u201cOh, if I could only meet with a true friend,\u201d he thought, \u201cso\nthat I should have some one to speak to. I hate being alone.\u201d\n\nSoon after he came up with a young man, who stopped and asked him,\n\u201cWhere are you going, my fine fellow?\u201d The king\u2019s son explained the\nobject of his journey, and the young man answered, as the other had\ndone, that he also was fulfilling the vow of his mother made at his\nbirth.\n\n\u201cWell, we can ride on together,\u201d said the king\u2019s son, and the road\nseemed much shorter now that he had some one to talk to.\n\nAt length they reached an inn, and the king\u2019s son exclaimed, \u201cI am very\nhungry; let us go in and get something to eat.\u201d\n\nWhen they had finished the king\u2019s son drew an apple out of his pocket\nand cut it in two; he held the big bit and the little bit out to his\ncompanion, who took the big bit at once and soon ate it up. \u201cYou are no\nfriend of mine,\u201d thought the king\u2019s son, and began to declare he felt\nso ill he could not continue his journey. When he had given the young\nman a good start he set off himself, but the way seemed even longer and\nduller than before. \u201cOh, if I could only meet with a true friend he\nshould be as a brother to me,\u201d he sighed sadly; and as the thought\npassed through his mind, he noticed a youth going the same road as\nhimself.\n\nThe youth came up to him and said, \u201cWhich way are you going, my fine\nfellow?\u201d And for the third time the king\u2019s son explained all about his\nmother\u2019s vow. Why, that is just like me,\u201d cried the youth.\n\n\u201cThen let us ride on together,\u201d answered the king\u2019s son.\n\nNow the miles seemed to slip by, for the new comer was so lively and\nentertaining that the king\u2019s son could not help hoping that he indeed\nmight prove to be the true friend.\n\nMore quickly than he could have thought possible they reached an inn by\nthe road-side, and turning to his companion the king\u2019s son said, \u201cI am\nhungry; let us go in and have something to eat.\u201d So they went in and\nordered dinner, and when they had finished the king\u2019s son drew out of\nhis pocket the last apple, and cut it into two unequal parts, and held\nboth out to the stranger. And the stranger took the little piece, and\nthe heart of the king\u2019s son was glad within him, for at last he had\nfound the friend he had been looking for. \u201cGood youth,\u201d he cried, \u201cwe\nwill be brothers, and what is mine shall be thine, and what is thine\nshall be mine. And together we will push on to the shrine, and if one\nof us dies on the road the other shall carry his body there.\u201d And the\nstranger agreed to all he said, and they rode forward together.\n\nIt took them a whole year to reach the shrine, and they passed through\nmany different lands on their way. One day they arrived tired and\nhalf-starved in a big city, and said to one another, \u201cLet us stay here\nfor a little and rest before we set forth again.\u201d So they hired a small\nhouse close to the royal castle, and took up their abode there.\n\nThe following morning the king of the country happened to step on to\nhis balcony, and saw the young men in the garden, and said to himself,\n\u201cDear me, those are wonderfully handsome youths; but one is handsomer\nthan the other, and to him will I give my daughter to wife;\u201d and indeed\nthe king\u2019s son excelled his friend in beauty.\n\nIn order to set about his plan the king asked both the young men to\ndinner, and when they arrived at the castle he received them with the\nutmost kindness, and sent for his daughter, who was more lovely than\nboth the sun and moon put together. But at bed-time the king caused the\nother young man to be given a poisoned drink, which killed him in a few\nminutes, for he thought to himself, \u201cIf his friend dies the other will\nforget his pilgrimage, and will stay here and marry my daughter.\u201d\n\nWhen the king\u2019s son awoke the next morning he inquired of the servants\nwhere his friend had gone, as he did not see him. \u201cHe died suddenly\nlast night,\u201d said they, \u201cand is to be buried immediately.\u201d\n\nBut the king\u2019s son sprang up, and cried, \u201cIf my friend is dead I can\nstay here no longer, and cannot linger an hour in this house.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, give up your journey and remain here,\u201d exclaimed the king, \u201cand\nyou shall have my daughter for your wife.\u201d \u201cNo,\u201d answered the king\u2019s\nson, \u201cI cannot stay; but, I pray you, grant my request, and give me a\ngood horse, and let me go in peace, and when I have fulfilled my vow\nthen I will return and marry your daughter.\u201d\n\nSo the king, seeing no words would move him, ordered a horse to be\nbrought round, and the king\u2019s son mounted it, and took his dead friend\nbefore him on the saddle, and rode away.\n\nNow the young man was not really dead, but only in a deep sleep.\n\nWhen the king\u2019s son reached the shrine of St. James he got down from\nhis horse, took his friend in his arms as if he had been a child, and\nlaid him before the altar. \u201cSt. James,\u201d he said, \u201cI have fulfilled the\nvow my parents made for me. I have come myself to your shrine, and have\nbrought my friend. I place him in your hands. Restore him to life, I\npray, for though he be dead yet has he fulfilled his vow also.\u201d And,\nbehold! while he yet prayed his friend got up and stood before him as\nwell as ever. And both the young men gave thanks, and set their faces\ntowards home.\n\nWhen they arrived at the town where the king dwelt they entered the\nsmall house over against the castle. The news of their coming spread\nvery soon, and the king rejoiced greatly that the handsome young prince\nhad come back again, and commanded great feasts to be prepared, for in\na few days his daughter should marry the king\u2019s son. The young man\nhimself could imagine no greater happiness, and when the marriage was\nover they spent some months at the court making merry.\n\nAt length the king\u2019s son said, \u201cMy mother awaits me at home, full of\ncare and anxiety. Here I must remain no longer, and to-morrow I will\ntake my wife and my friend and start for home.\u201d And the king was\ncontent that he should do so, and gave orders to prepare for their\njourney.\n\nNow in his heart the king cherished a deadly hate towards the poor\nyoung man whom he had tried to kill, but who had returned to him\nliving, and in order to do him hurt sent him on a message to some\ndistant spot. \u201cSee that you are quick,\u201d said he, \u201cfor your friend will\nawait your return before he starts.\u201d The youth put spurs to his horse\nand departed, bidding the prince farewell, so that the king\u2019s message\nmight be delivered the sooner. As soon as he had started the king went\nto the chamber of the prince, and said to him, \u201cIf you do not start\nimmediately, you will never reach the place where you must camp for the\nnight.\u201d\n\n\u201cI cannot start without my friend,\u201d replied the king\u2019s son.\n\n\u201cOh, he will be back in an hour,\u201d replied the king, \u201cand I will give\nhim my best horse, so that he will be sure to catch you up.\u201d The king\u2019s\nson allowed himself to be persuaded and took leave of his\nfather-in-law, and set out with his wife on his journey home.\n\nMeanwhile the poor friend had been unable to get through his task in\nthe short time appointed by the king, and when at last he returned the\nking said to him,\n\n\u201cYour comrade is a long way off by now; you had better see if you can\novertake him.\u201d\n\nSo the young man bowed and left the king\u2019s presence, and followed after\nhis friend on foot, for he had no horse. Night and day he ran, till at\nlength he reached the place where the king\u2019s son had pitched his tent,\nand sank down before him, a miserable object, worn out and covered with\nmud and dust. But the king\u2019s son welcomed him with joy, and tended him\nas he would his brother.\n\nAnd at last they came home again, and the queen was waiting and\nwatching in the palace, as she had never ceased to do since her son had\nrode away. She almost died of joy at seeing him again, but after a\nlittle she remembered his sick friend, and ordered a bed to be made\nready and the best doctors in all the country to be sent for. When they\nheard of the queen\u2019s summons they flocked from all parts, but none\ncould cure him. After everyone had tried and failed a servant entered\nand informed the queen that a strange old man had just knocked at the\npalace gate and declared that he was able to heal the dying youth. Now\nthis was a holy man, who had heard of the trouble the king\u2019s son was\nin, and had come to help.\n\nIt happened that at this very time a little daughter was born to the\nking\u2019s son, but in his distress for his friend he had hardly a thought\nto spare for the baby. He could not be prevailed on to leave the sick\nbed, and he was bending over it when the holy man entered the room. \u201cDo\nyou wish your friend to be cured?\u201d asked the new comer of the king\u2019s\nson. \u201cAnd what price would you pay?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat price?\u201d answered the king\u2019s son; \u201conly tell me what I can do to\nheal him.\u201d\n\n\u201cListen to me, then,\u201d said the old man. \u201cThis evening you must take\nyour child, and open her veins, and smear the wounds of your friend\nwith her blood. And you will see, he will get well in an instant.\u201d\n\nAt these words the king\u2019s son shrieked with horror, for he loved the\nbaby dearly, but he answered, \u201cI have sworn that I would treat my\nfriend as if he were my brother, and if there is no other way my child\nmust be sacrificed.\u201d\n\nAs by this time evening had already fallen he took the child and opened\nits veins, and smeared the blood over the wounds of the sick man, and\nthe look of death departed from him, and he grew strong and rosy once\nmore. But the little child lay as white and still as if she had been\ndead. They laid her in the cradle and wept bitterly, for they thought\nthat by the next morning she would be lost to them.\n\nAt sunrise the old man returned and asked after the sick man.\n\n\u201cHe is as well as ever,\u201d answered the king\u2019s son.\n\n\u201cAnd where is your baby?\u201d\n\n\u201cIn the cradle yonder, and I think she is dead,\u201d replied the father\nsadly.\n\n\u201cLook at her once more,\u201d said the holy man, and as they drew near the\ncradle there lay the baby smiling up at them.\n\n\u201cI am St. James of Lizia,\u201d said the old man, \u201cand I have come to help\nyou, for I have seen that you are a true friend. From henceforward live\nhappily, all of you, together, and if troubles should draw near you\nsend for me, and I will aid you to get through them.\u201d\n\nWith these words he lifted his hand in blessing and vanished.\n\nAnd they obeyed him, and were happy and content, and tried to make the\npeople of the land happy and contented too.\n\n[From Sicilianische M\u00e4hrchen Gonzenbach.]\n\n\n\n\nClever Maria\n\n\nThere was once a merchant who lived close to the royal palace, and had\nthree daughters. They were all pretty, but Maria, the youngest, was the\nprettiest of the three. One day the king sent for the merchant, who was\na widower, to give him directions about a journey he wished the good\nman to take. The merchant would rather not have gone, as he did not\nlike leaving his daughters at home, but he could not refuse to obey the\nking\u2019s commands, and with a heavy heart he returned home to say\nfarewell to them. Before he left, he took three pots of basil, and gave\none to each girl, saying, \u201cI am going a journey, but I leave these\npots. You must let nobody into the house. When I come back, they will\ntell me what has happened.\u201d \u201cNothing will have happened,\u201d said the\ngirls.\n\nThe father went away, and the following day the king, accompanied by\ntwo friends, paid a visit to the three girls, who were sitting at\nsupper. When they saw who was there, Maria said, \u201cLet us go and get a\nbottle of wine from the cellar. I will carry the key, my eldest sister\ncan take the light, while the other brings the bottle.\u201d But the king\nreplied, \u201cOh, do not trouble; we are not thirsty.\u201d \u201cVery well, we will\nnot go,\u201d answered the two elder girls; but Maria merely said, \u201cI shall\ngo, anyhow.\u201d She left the room, and went to the hall where she put out\nthe light, and putting down the key and the bottle, ran to the house of\na neighbour, and knocked at the door. \u201cWho is there so late?\u201d asked the\nold woman, thrusting her head out of the window.\n\n\u201cOh, let me in,\u201d answered Maria. \u201cI have quarrelled with my eldest\nsister, and as I do not want to fight any more, I have come to beg you\nto allow me to sleep with you.\u201d\n\nSo the old woman opened the door and Maria slept in her house. The king\nwas very angry at her for playing truant, but when she returned home\nthe next day, she found the plants of her sisters withered away,\nbecause they had disobeyed their father. Now the window in the room of\nthe eldest overlooked the gardens of the king, and when she saw how\nfine and ripe the medlars were on the trees, she longed to eat some,\nand begged Maria to scramble down by a rope and pick her a few, and she\nwould draw her up again. Maria, who was good-natured, swung herself\ninto the garden by the rope, and got the medlars, and was just making\nthe rope fast under her arms so as to be hauled up, when her sister\ncried: \u201cOh, there are such delicious lemons a little farther on. You\nmight bring me one or two.\u201d Maria turned round to pluck them, and found\nherself face to face with the gardener, who caught hold of her,\nexclaiming, \u201cWhat are you doing here, you little thief?\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t call me\nnames,\u201d she said, \u201cor you will get the worst of it,\u201d giving him as she\nspoke such a violent push that he fell panting into the lemon bushes.\nThen she seized the cord and clambered up to the window.\n\nThe next day the second sister had a fancy for bananas and begged so\nhard, that, though Maria had declared she would never do such a thing\nagain, at last she consented, and went down the rope into the king\u2019s\ngarden. This time she met the king, who said to her, \u201cAh, here you are\nagain, cunning one! Now you shall pay for your misdeeds.\u201d\n\nAnd he began to cross-question her about what she had done. Maria\ndenied nothing, and when she had finished, the king said again, \u201cFollow\nme to the house, and there you shall pay the penalty.\u201d As he spoke, he\nstarted for the house, looking back from time to time to make sure that\nMaria had not run away. All of a sudden, when he glanced round, he\nfound she had vanished completely, without leaving a trace of where she\nhad gone. Search was made all through the town, and there was not a\nhole or corner which was not ransacked, but there was no sign of her\nanywhere. This so enraged the king that he became quite ill, and for\nmany months his life was despaired of.\n\nMeanwhile the two elder sisters had married the two friends of the\nking, and were the mothers of little daughters. Now one day Maria stole\nsecretly to the house where her elder sister lived, and snatching up\nthe children put them into a beautiful basket she had with her, covered\nwith flowers inside and out, so that no one would ever guess it held\ntwo babies. Then she dressed herself as a boy, and placing the basket\non her head, she walked slowly past the palace, crying as she went:\n\n\u201cWho will carry these flowers to the king, who lies sick of love?\u201d\n\nAnd the king in his bed heard what she said, and ordered one of his\nattendants to go out and buy the basket. It was brought to his bedside,\nand as he raised the lid cries were heard, and peeping in he saw two\nlittle children. He was furious at this new trick which he felt had\nbeen played on him by Maria, and was still looking at them, wondering\nhow he should pay her out, when he was told that the merchant, Maria\u2019s\nfather, had finished the business on which he had been sent and\nreturned home. Then the king remembered how Maria had refused to\nreceive his visit, and how she had stolen his fruit, and he determined\nto be revenged on her. So he sent a message by one of his pages that\nthe merchant was to come to see him the next day, and bring with him a\ncoat made of stone, or else he would be punished. Now the poor man had\nbeen very sad since he got home the evening before, for though his\ndaughters had promised that nothing should happen while he was away, he\nhad found the two elder ones married without asking his leave. And now\nthere was this fresh misfortune, for how was he to make a coat of\nstone? He wrung his hands and declared that the king would be the ruin\nof him, when Maria suddenly entered. \u201cDo not grieve about the coat of\nstone, dear father; but take this bit of chalk, and go to the palace\nand say you have come to measure the king.\u201d The old man did not see the\nuse of this, but Maria had so often helped him before that he had\nconfidence in her, so he put the chalk in his pocket and went to the\npalace.\n\n\u201cThat is no good,\u201d said the king, when the merchant had told him what\nhe had come for.\n\n\u201cWell, I can\u2019t make the coat you want,\u201d replied he.\n\n\u201cThen if you would save your head, hand over to me your daughter\nMaria.\u201d\n\nThe merchant did not reply, but went sorrowfully back to his house,\nwhere Maria sat waiting for him.\n\n\u201cOh, my dear child, why was I born? The king says that, instead of the\ncoat, I must deliver you up to him.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not be unhappy, dear father, but get a doll made, exactly like me,\nwith a string attached to its head, which I can pull for \u2018Yes\u2019 and\n\u2018No.\u2019\u201d\n\nSo the old man went out at once to see about it.\n\nThe king remained patiently in his palace, feeling sure that this time\nMaria could not escape him; and he said to his pages, \u201cIf a gentleman\nshould come here with his daughter and ask to be allowed to speak with\nme, put the young lady in my room and see she does not leave it.\u201d\n\nWhen the door was shut on Maria, who had concealed the doll under her\ncloak, she hid herself under the couch, keeping fast hold of the string\nwhich was fastened to its head.\n\n\u201cSenhora Maria, I hope you are well,\u201d said the king when he entered the\nroom. The doll nodded. \u201cNow we will reckon up accounts,\u201d continued he,\nand he began at the beginning, and ended up with the flower-basket, and\nat each fresh misdeed Maria pulled the string, so that the doll\u2019s head\nnodded assent. \u201cWho-so mocks at me merits death,\u201d declared the king\nwhen he had ended, and drawing his sword, cut off the doll\u2019s head. It\nfell towards him, and as he felt the touch of a kiss, he exclaimed,\n\u201cAh, Maria, Maria, so sweet in death, so hard to me in life! The man\nwho could kill you deserves to die!\u201d And he was about to turn his sword\non himself, when the true Maria sprung out from under the bed, and\nflung herself into his arms. And the next day they were married and\nlived happily for many years.\n\n[From the Portuguese.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Magic Kettle\n\n\nRight in the middle of Japan, high up among the mountains, an old man\nlived in his little house. He was very proud of it, and never tired of\nadmiring the whiteness of his straw mats, and the pretty papered walls,\nwhich in warm weather always slid back, so that the smell of the trees\nand flowers might come in.\n\nOne day he was standing looking at the mountain opposite, when he heard\na kind of rumbling noise in the room behind him. He turned round, and\nin the corner he beheld a rusty old iron kettle, which could not have\nseen the light of day for many years. How the kettle got there the old\nman did not know, but he took it up and looked it over carefully, and\nwhen he found that it was quite whole he cleaned the dust off it and\ncarried it into his kitchen.\n\n\u201cThat was a piece of luck,\u201d he said, smiling to himself; \u201ca good kettle\ncosts money, and it is as well to have a second one at hand in case of\nneed; mine is getting worn out, and the water is already beginning to\ncome through its bottom.\u201d\n\nThen he took the other kettle off the fire, filled the new one with\nwater, and put it in its place.\n\nNo sooner was the water in the kettle getting warm than a strange thing\nhappened, and the man, who was standing by, thought he must be\ndreaming. First the handle of the kettle gradually changed its shape\nand became a head, and the spout grew into a tail, while out of the\nbody sprang four paws, and in a few minutes the man found himself\nwatching, not a kettle, but a tanuki! The creature jumped off the fire,\nand bounded about the room like a kitten, running up the walls and over\nthe ceiling, till the old man was in an agony lest his pretty room\nshould be spoilt. He cried to a neighbour for help, and between them\nthey managed to catch the tanuki, and shut him up safely in a wooden\nchest. Then, quite exhausted, they sat down on the mats, and consulted\ntogether what they should do with this troublesome beast. At length\nthey decided to sell him, and bade a child who was passing send them a\ncertain tradesman called Jimmu.\n\nWhen Jimmu arrived, the old man told him that he had something which he\nwished to get rid of, and lifted the lid of the wooden chest, where he\nhad shut up the tanuki. But, to his surprise, no tanuki was there,\nnothing but the kettle he had found in the corner. It was certainly\nvery odd, but the man remembered what had taken place on the fire, and\ndid not want to keep the kettle any more, so after a little bargaining\nabout the price, Jimmu went away carrying the kettle with him.\n\nNow Jimmu had not gone very far before he felt that the kettle was\ngetting heavier and heavier, and by the time he reached home he was so\ntired that he was thankful to put it down in the corner of his room,\nand then forgot all about it. In the middle of the night, however, he\nwas awakened by a loud noise in the corner where the kettle stood, and\nraised himself up in bed to see what it was. But nothing was there\nexcept the kettle, which seemed quiet enough. He thought that he must\nhave been dreaming, and fell asleep again, only to be roused a second\ntime by the same disturbance. He jumped up and went to the corner, and\nby the light of the lamp that he always kept burning he saw that the\nkettle had become a tanuki, which was running round after his tail.\nAfter he grew weary of that, he ran on the balcony, where he turned\nseveral somersaults, from pure gladness of heart. The tradesman was\nmuch troubled as to what to do with the animal, and it was only towards\nmorning that he managed to get any sleep; but when he opened his eyes\nagain there was no tanuki, only the old kettle he had left there the\nnight before.\n\nAs soon as he had tidied his house, Jimmu set off to tell his story to\na friend next door. The man listened quietly, and did not appear so\nsurprised as Jimmu expected, for he recollected having heard, in his\nyouth, something about a wonder-working kettle. \u201cGo and travel with it,\nand show it off,\u201d said he, \u201cand you will become a rich man; but be\ncareful first to ask the tanuki\u2019s leave, and also to perform some magic\nceremonies to prevent him from running away at the sight of the\npeople.\u201d\n\nJimmu thanked his friend for his counsel, which he followed exactly.\nThe tanuki\u2019s consent was obtained, a booth was built, and a notice was\nhung up outside it inviting the people to come and witness the most\nwonderful transformation that ever was seen.\n\nThey came in crowds, and the kettle was passed from hand to hand, and\nthey were allowed to examine it all over, and even to look inside. Then\nJimmu took it back, and setting it on the platform, commanded it to\nbecome a tanuki. In an instant the handle began to change into a head,\nand the spout into a tail, while the four paws appeared at the sides.\n\u201cDance,\u201d said Jimmu, and the tanuki did his steps, and moved first on\none side and then on the other, till the people could not stand still\nany longer, and began to dance too. Gracefully he led the fan dance,\nand glided without a pause into the shadow dance and the umbrella\ndance, and it seemed as if he might go on dancing for ever. And so very\nlikely he would, if Jimmu had not declared he had danced enough, and\nthat the booth must now be closed.\n\nDay after day the booth was so full it was hardly possible to enter it,\nand what the neighbour foretold had come to pass, and Jimmu was a rich\nman. Yet he did not feel happy. He was an honest man, and he thought\nthat he owed some of his wealth to the man from whom he had bought the\nkettle. So, one morning, he put a hundred gold pieces into it, and\nhanging the kettle once more on his arm, he returned to the seller of\nit. \u201cI have no right to keep it any longer,\u201d he added when he had ended\nhis tale, \u201cso I have brought it back to you, and inside you will find a\nhundred gold pieces as the price of its hire.\u201d\n\nThe man thanked Jimmu, and said that few people would have been as\nhonest as he. And the kettle brought them both luck, and everything\nwent well with them till they died, which they did when they were very\nold, respected by everyone.\n\n[Adapted from Japanische M\u00e4hrchen]","title":"The Crimson Fairy Book","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":97946}