{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_3282/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_3282","id":"gutenberg_3282","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3282","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Children's Literature","Fairy tales"],"text":"THE BROWN FAIRY BOOK\n\nEdited by Andrew Lang\n\n\n\n\nDedicated\nto\nDiana Scott Lang\n\n\n\n\nPreface\n\n\nThe stories in this Fairy Book come from all quarters of the world. For\nexample, the adventures of \u201cBall-Carrier and the Bad One\u201d are told by\nRed Indian grandmothers to Red Indian children who never go to school,\nnor see pen and ink. \u201cThe Bunyip\u201d is known to even more uneducated\nlittle ones, running about with no clothes at all in the bush, in\nAustralia. You may see photographs of these merry little black fellows\nbefore their troubles begin, in \u201cNorthern Races of Central Australia,\u201d\nby Messrs. Spencer and Gillen. They have no lessons except in tracking\nand catching birds, beasts, fishes, lizards, and snakes, all of which\nthey eat. But when they grow up to be big boys and girls, they are\ncruelly cut about with stone knives and frightened with sham bogies all\nfor their good their parents say and I think they would rather go to\nschool, if they had their choice, and take their chance of being\nbirched and bullied. However, many boys might think it better fun to\nbegin to learn hunting as soon as they can walk. Other stories, like\n\u201cThe Sacred Milk of Koumongo\u00e9,\u201d come from the Kaffirs in Africa, whose\ndear papas are not so poor as those in Australia, but have plenty of\ncattle and milk, and good mealies to eat, and live in houses like very\nbig bee-hives, and wear clothes of a sort, though not very like our\nown. \u201cPivi and Kabo\u201d is a tale from the brown people in the island of\nNew Caledonia, where a boy is never allowed to speak to or even look at\nhis own sisters; nobody knows why, so curious are the manners of this\nremote island. The story shows the advantages of good manners and\npleasant behaviour; and the natives do not now cook and eat each other,\nbut live on fish, vegetables, pork, and chickens, and dwell in houses.\n\u201cWhat the Rose did to the Cypress,\u201d is a story from Persia, where the\npeople, of course, are civilised, and much like those of whom you read\nin \u201cThe Arabian Nights.\u201d Then there are tales like \u201cThe Fox and the\nLapp\u201d from the very north of Europe, where it is dark for half the year\nand day-light for the other half. The Lapps are a people not fond of\nsoap and water, and very much given to art magic. Then there are tales\nfrom India, told to Major Campbell, who wrote them out, by Hindoos;\nthese stories are \u201cWali D\u00e2d the Simple-hearted,\u201d and \u201cThe King who\nwould be Stronger than Fate,\u201d but was not so clever as his daughter.\nFrom Brazil, in South America, comes \u201cThe Tortoise and the Mischievous\nMonkey,\u201d with the adventures of other animals. Other tales are told in\nvarious parts of Europe, and in many languages; but all people, black,\nwhite, brown, red, and yellow, are like each other when they tell\nstories; for these are meant for children, who like the same sort of\nthing, whether they go to school and wear clothes, or, on the other\nhand, wear skins of beasts, or even nothing at all, and live on grubs\nand lizards and hawks and crows and serpents, like the little\nAustralian blacks.\n\nThe tale of \u201cWhat the Rose did to the Cypress,\u201d is translated out of a\nPersian manuscript by Mrs. Beveridge. \u201cPivi and Kabo\u201d is translated by\nthe Editor from a French version; \u201cAsmund and Signy\u201d by Miss Blackley;\nthe Indian stories by Major Campbell, and all the rest are told by Mrs.\nLang, who does not give them exactly as they are told by all sorts of\noutlandish natives, but makes them up in the hope white people will\nlike them, skipping the pieces which they will not like. That is how\nthis Fairy Book was made up for your entertainment.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n Preface\n What the Rose did to the Cypress\n Footnotes\n Ball-carrier and the Bad One\n How Ball-carrier Finished His Task\n The Bunyip\n Father Grumbler\n The Story of the Yara\n The Cunning Hare\n The Turtle and His Bride\n How Geirald The Coward Was Punished\n H\u00e1bogi\n How the Little Brother Set Free His Big Brothers\n The Sacred Milk of Koumongo\u00e9\n The Wicked Wolverine\n The Husband of the Rat\u2019s Daughter\n The Mermaid and the Boy\n Pivi and Kabo\n The Elf Maiden\n How Some Wild Animals Became Tame Ones\n Fortune and the Wood-Cutter\n The Enchanted Head\n The Sister of the Sun\n The Prince and the Three Fates\n The Fox and the Lapp\n Kisa the Cat\n The Lion and the Cat\n Which was the Foolishest?\n Asmund and Signy\n R\u00fcbezahl\n Story Of The King Who Would Be Stronger Than Fate\n Story of Wali D\u00e2d the Simple-Hearted\n Tale of a Tortoise and of a Mischievous Monkey\n The Knights of the Fish\n\n\n\n\nThe Brown Fairy Book\n\n\n\n\nWhat the Rose did to the Cypress[1]\n\n\nOnce upon a time a great king of the East, named Saman-lalposh,[2] had\nthree brave and clever sons\u2014Tahmasp, Qamas, and Almas-ruh-baksh.[3] One\nday, when the king was sitting in his hall of audience, his eldest son,\nPrince Tahmasp, came before him, and after greeting his father with due\nrespect, said: \u201cO my royal father! I am tired of the town; if you will\ngive me leave, I will take my servants to-morrow and will go into the\ncountry and hunt on the hill-skirts; and when I have taken some game I\nwill come back, at evening-prayer time.\u201d His father consented, and sent\nwith him some of his own trusted servants, and also hawks, and falcons,\nhunting dogs, cheetahs and leopards.\n\nAt the place where the prince intended to hunt he saw a most beautiful\ndeer. He ordered that it should not be killed, but trapped or captured\nwith a noose. The deer looked about for a place where he might escape\nfrom the ring of the beaters, and spied one unwatched close to the\nprince himself. It bounded high and leaped right over his head, got out\nof the ring, and tore like the eastern wind into the waste. The prince\nput spurs to his horse and pursued it; and was soon lost to the sight\nof his followers. Until the world-lighting sun stood above his head in\nthe zenith he did not take his eyes off the deer; suddenly it\ndisappeared behind some rising ground, and with all his search he could\nnot find any further trace of it. He was now drenched in sweat, and he\nbreathed with pain; and his horse\u2019s tongue hung from its mouth with\nthirst. He dismounted and toiled on, with bridle on arm, praying and\ncasting himself on the mercy of heaven. Then his horse fell and\nsurrendered its life to God. On and on he went across the sandy waste,\nweeping and with burning breast, till at length a hill rose into sight.\nHe mustered his strength and climbed to the top, and there he found a\ngiant tree whose foot kept firm the wrinkled earth, and whose crest\ntouched the very heaven. Its branches had put forth a glory of leaves,\nand there were grass and a spring underneath it, and flowers of many\ncolours.\n\nGladdened by this sight, he dragged himself to the water\u2019s edge, drank\nhis fill, and returned thanks for his deliverance from thirst.\n\nHe looked about him and, to his amazement, saw close by a royal seat.\nWhile he was pondering what could have brought this into the merciless\ndesert, a man drew near who was dressed like a faqir, and had bare head\nand feet, but walked with the free carriage of a person of rank. His\nface was kind, and wise and thoughtful, and he came on and spoke to the\nprince.\n\n\u201cO good youth! how did you come here? Who are you? Where do you come\nfrom?\u201d\n\nThe prince told everything just as it had happened to him, and then\nrespectfully added: \u201cI have made known my own circumstances to you, and\nnow I venture to beg you to tell me your own. Who are you? How did you\ncome to make your dwelling in this wilderness?\u201d\n\nTo this the faqir replied: \u201cO youth! it would be best for you to have\nnothing to do with me and to know nothing of my fortunes, for my story\nis fit neither for telling nor for hearing.\u201d The prince, however,\npleaded so hard to be told, that at last there was nothing to be done\nbut to let him hear.\n\n\u201cLearn and know, O young man! that I am King Janangir[4] of Babylon,\nand that once I had army and servants, family and treasure; untold\nwealth and belongings. The Most High God gave me seven sons who grew up\nwell versed in all princely arts. My eldest son heard from travellers\nthat in Turkistan, on the Chinese frontier, there is a king named\nQuimus, the son of Timus, and that he has an only child, a daughter\nnamed Mihr-afruz,[5] who, under all the azure heaven, is unrivalled for\nbeauty. Princes come from all quarters to ask her hand, and on one and\nall she imposes a condition. She says to them: \u2018I know a riddle; and I\nwill marry anyone who answers it, and will bestow on him all my\npossessions. But if a suitor cannot answer my question I cut off his\nhead and hang it on the battlements of the citadel.\u2019 The riddle she\nasks is, \u2018What did the rose do to the cypress?\u2019\n\n\u201cNow, when my son heard this tale, he fell in love with that unseen\ngirl, and he came to me lamenting and bewailing himself. Nothing that I\ncould say had the slightest effect on him. I said: \u2018Oh my son! if there\nmust be fruit of this fancy of yours, I will lead forth a great army\nagainst King Quimus. If he will give you his daughter freely, well and\ngood; and if not, I will ravage his kingdom and bring her away by\nforce.\u2019 This plan did not please him; he said: \u2018It is not right to lay\na kingdom waste and to destroy a palace so that I may attain my desire.\nI will go alone; I will answer the riddle, and win her in this way.\u2019 At\nlast, out of pity for him, I let him go. He reached the city of King\nQuimus. He was asked the riddle and could not give the true answer; and\nhis head was cut off and hung upon the battlements. Then I mourned him\nin black raiment for forty days.\n\nAfter this another and another of my sons were seized by the same\ndesire, and in the end all my seven sons went, and all were killed. In\ngrief for their death I have abandoned my throne, and I abide here in\nthis desert, withholding my hand from all State business and wearing\nmyself away in sorrow.\u201d\n\nPrince Tahmasp listened to this tale, and then the arrow of love for\nthat unseen girl struck his heart also. Just at this moment of his\nill-fate his people came up, and gathered round him like moths round a\nlight. They brought him a horse, fleet as the breeze of the dawn; he\nset his willing foot in the stirrup of safety and rode off. As the days\nwent by the thorn of love rankled in his heart, and he became the very\nexample of lovers, and grew faint and feeble. At last his confidants\nsearched his heart and lifted the veil from the face of his love, and\nthen set the matter before his father, King Saman-lal-posh. \u201cYour son,\nPrince Tahmasp, loves distractedly the Princess Mihr-afruz, daughter of\nKing Quimus, son of Timus.\u201d Then they told the king all about her and\nher doings. A mist of sadness clouded the king\u2019s mind, and he said to\nhis son: \u201cIf this thing is so, I will in the first place send a courier\nwith friendly letters to King Quimus, and will ask the hand of his\ndaughter for you. I will send an abundance of gifts, and a string of\ncamels laden with flashing stones and rubies of Badakhsham In this way\nI will bring her and her suite, and I will give her to you to be your\nsolace. But if King Quimus is unwilling to give her to you, I will pour\na whirlwind of soldiers upon him, and I will bring to you, in this way,\nthat most consequential of girls.\u201d But the prince said that this plan\nwould not be right, and that he would go himself, and would answer the\nriddle. Then the king\u2019s wise men said: \u201cThis is a very weighty matter;\nit would be best to allow the prince to set out accompanied by some\npersons in whom you have confidence. Maybe he will repent and come\nback.\u201d So King Saman ordered all preparations for the journey to be\nmade, and then Prince Tahmasp took his leave and set out, accompanied\nby some of the courtiers, and taking with him a string of two-humped\nand raven-eyed camels laden with jewels, and gold, and costly stuffs.\n\nBy stage after stage, and after many days\u2019 journeying, he arrived at\nthe city of King Quimus. What did he see? A towering citadel whose foot\nkept firm the wrinkled earth, and whose battlements touched the blue\nheaven. He saw hanging from its battlements many heads, but it had not\nthe least effect upon him that these were heads of men of rank; he\nlistened to no advice about laying aside his fancy, but rode up to the\ngate and on into the heart of the city. The place was so splendid that\nthe eyes of the ages have never seen its like, and there, in an open\nsquare, he found a tent of crimson satin set up, and beneath it two\njewelled drums with jewelled sticks. These drums were put there so that\nthe suitors of the princess might announce their arrival by beating on\nthem, after which some one would come and take them to the king\u2019s\npresence. The sight of the drums stirred the fire of Prince Tahmasp\u2019s\nlove. He dismounted, and moved towards them; but his companions hurried\nafter and begged him first to let them go and announce him to the king,\nand said that then, when they had put their possessions in a place of\nsecurity, they would enter into the all important matter of the\nprincess. The prince, however, replied that he was there for one thing\nonly; that his first duty was to beat the drums and announce himself as\na suitor, when he would be taken, as such, to the king, who would then\ngive him proper lodgment. So he struck upon the drums, and at once\nsummoned an officer who took him to King Quimus.\n\nWhen the king saw how very young the prince looked, and that he was\nstill drinking of the fountain of wonder, he said: \u201cO youth! leave\naside this fancy which my daughter has conceived in the pride of her\nbeauty. No one can answer er her riddle, and she has done to death many\nmen who had had no pleasure in life nor tasted its charms. God forbid\nthat your spring also should be ravaged by the autumn winds of\nmartyrdom.\u201d All his urgency, however, had no effect in making the\nprince withdraw. At length it was settled between them that three days\nshould be given to pleasant hospitality and that then should follow\nwhat had to be said and done. Then the prince went to his own quarters\nand was treated as became his station.\n\nKing Quimus now sent for his daughter and for her mother, Gulrukh,[6]\nand talked to them. He said to Mibrafruz: \u201cListen to me, you cruel\nflirt! Why do you persist in this folly? Now there has come to ask your\nhand a prince of the east, so handsome that the very sun grows modest\nbefore the splendour of his face; he is rich, and he has brought gold\nand jewels, all for you, if you will marry him. A better husband you\nwill not find.\u201d\n\nBut all the arguments of father and mother were wasted, for her only\nanswer was: \u201cO my father! I have sworn to myself that I will not marry,\neven if a thousand years go by, unless someone answers my riddle, and\nthat I will give myself to that man only who does answer it.\u201d\n\nThe three days passed; then the riddle was asked: \u201cWhat did the rose do\nto the cypress?\u201d The prince had an eloquent tongue, which could split a\nhair, and without hesitation he replied to her with a verse: \u201cOnly the\nOmnipotent has knowledge of secrets; if any man says, \u2018I know\u2019 do not\nbelieve him.\u201d\n\nThen a servant fetched in the polluted, blue-eyed headsman, who asked:\n\u201cWhose sun of life has come near its setting?\u201d took the prince by the\narm, placed him upon the cloth of execution, and then, all merciless\nand stony hearted, cut his head from his body and hung it on the\nbattlements.\n\nThe news of the death of Prince Tahmasp plunged his father into despair\nand stupefaction. He mourned for him in black raiment for forty days;\nand then, a few days later, his second son, Prince Qamas, extracted\nfrom him leave to go too; and he, also, was put to death. One son only\nnow remained, the brave, eloquent, happy-natured Prince\nAlmas-ruh-bakhsh. One day, when his father sat brooding over his lost\nchildren, Almas came before him and said: \u201cO father mine! the daughter\nof King Quimus has done my two brothers to death; I wish to avenge them\nupon her.\u201d These words brought his father to tears. \u201cO light of your\nfather!\u201d he cried, \u201cI have no one left but you, and now you ask me to\nlet you go to your death.\u201d\n\n\u201cDear father!\u201d pleaded the prince, \u201cuntil I have lowered the pride of\nthat beauty, and have set her here before you, I cannot settle down or\nindeed sit down off my feet.\u201d\n\nIn the end he, too, got leave to go; but he went a without a following\nand alone. Like his brothers, he made the long journey to the city of\nQuimus the son of Timus; like them he saw the citadel, but he saw there\nthe heads of Tahmasp and Qamas. He went about in the city, saw the tent\nand the drums, and then went out again to a village not far off. Here\nhe found out a very old man who had a wife 120 years old, or rather\nmore. Their lives were coming to their end, but they had never beheld\nface of child of their own. They were glad when the prince came to\ntheir house, and they dealt with him as with a son. He put all his\nbelongings into their charge, and fastened his horse in their\nout-house. Then he asked them not to speak of him to anyone, and to\nkeep his affairs secret. He exchanged his royal dress for another, and\nnext morning, just as the sun looked forth from its eastern oratory, he\nwent again into the city. He turned over in his mind without ceasing\nhow he was to find out the meaning of the riddle, and to give them a\nright answer, and who could help him, and how to avenge his brothers.\nHe wandered about the city, but heard nothing of service, for there was\nno one in all that land who understood the riddle of Princess\nMihr-afruz.\n\nOne day he thought he would go to her own palace and see if he could\nlearn anything there, so he went out to her garden-house. It was a very\nsplendid place, with a wonderful gateway, and walls like Alexander\u2019s\nramparts. Many gate-keepers were on guard, and there was no chance of\npassing them. His heart was full of bitterness, but he said to himself:\n\u201cAll will be well! it is here I shall get what I want.\u201d He went round\noutside the garden wall hoping to find a gap, and he made supplication\nin the Court of Supplications and prayed, \u201cO Holder of the hand of the\nhelpless! show me my way.\u201d\n\nWhile he prayed he bethought himself that he could get into the garden\nwith a stream of inflowing water. He looked carefully round, fearing to\nbe seen, stripped, slid into the stream and was carried within the\ngreat walls. There he hid himself till his loin cloth was dry. The\ngarden was a very Eden, with running water amongst its lawns, with\nflowers and the lament of doves and the jug-jug of nightingales. It was\na place to steal the senses from the brain, and he wandered about and\nsaw the house, but there seemed to be no one there. In the forecourt\nwas a royal seat of polished jasper, and in the middle of the platform\nwas a basin of purest water that flashed like a mirror. He pleased\nhimself with these sights for a while, and then went back to the garden\nand hid himself from the gardeners and passed the night. Next morning\nhe put on the appearance of a madman and wandered about till he came to\na lawn where several pert-faced girls were amusing themselves. On a\nthrone, jewelled and overspread with silken stuffs, sat a girl the\nsplendour of whose beauty lighted up the place, and whose ambergris and\nattar perfumed the whole air. \u201cThat must be Mihrafruz,\u201d he thought,\n\u201cshe is indeed lovely.\u201d Just then one of the attendants came to the\nwater\u2019s edge to fill a cup, and though the prince was in hiding, his\nface was reflected in the water. When she saw this image she was\nfrightened, and let her cup fall into the stream, and thought, \u201cIs it\nan angel, or a peri, or a man?\u201d Fear and trembling took hold of her,\nand she screamed as women scream. Then some of the other girls came and\ntook her to the princess who asked: \u201cWhat is the matter, pretty one?\u201d\n\n\u201cO princess! I went for water, and I saw an image, and I was afraid.\u201d\nSo another girl went to the water and saw the same thing, and came back\nwith the same story. The princess wished to see for herself; she rose\nand paced to the spot with the march of a prancing peacock. When she\nsaw the image she said to her nurse: \u201cFind out who is reflected in the\nwater, and where he lives.\u201d Her words reached the prince\u2019s ear, he\nlifted up his head; she saw him and beheld beauty such as she had never\nseen before. She lost a hundred hearts to him, and signed to her nurse\nto bring him to her presence. The prince let himself be persuaded to go\nwith the nurse, but when the princess questioned him as to who he was\nand how he had got into her garden, he behaved like a man out of his\nmind\u2014sometimes smiling, sometimes crying, and saying: \u201cI am hungry,\u201d Or\nwords misplaced and random, civil mixed with the rude.\n\n\u201cWhat a pity!\u201d said the princess, \u201che is mad!\u201d As she liked him she\nsaid: \u201cHe is my madman; let no one hurt him.\u201d She took him to her house\nand told him not to go away, for that she would provide for all his\nwants. The prince thought, \u201cIt would be excellent if here, in her very\nhouse, I could get the answer to her riddle; but I must be silent, on\npain of death.\u201d\n\nNow in the princess\u2019s household there was a girl called Dil-aram[7];\nshe it was who had first seen the image of the prince. She came to love\nhim very much, and she spent day and night thinking how she could make\nher affection known to him. One day she escaped from the princess\u2019s\nnotice and went to the prince, and laid her head on his feet and said:\n\u201cHeaven has bestowed on you beauty and charm. Tell me your secret; who\nare you, and how did you come here? I love you very much, and if you\nwould like to leave this place I will go with you. I have wealth equal\nto the treasure of the miserly Qarun.\u201d But the prince only made answer\nlike a man distraught, and told her nothing. He said to himself, \u201cGod\nforbid that the veil should be taken in vain from my secret; that would\nindeed disgrace me.\u201d So, with streaming eyes and burning breast,\nDil-aram arose and went to her house and lamented and fretted.\n\nNow whenever the princess commanded the prince\u2019s attendance, Dil-aram,\nof all the girls, paid him attention and waited on him best. The\nprincess noticed this, and said: \u201cO Dil-aram! you must take my madman\ninto your charge and give him whatever he wants.\u201d This was the very\nthing Dilaram had prayed for. A little later she took the prince into a\nprivate place and she made him take an oath of secrecy, and she herself\ntook one and swore, \u201cBy Heaven! I will not tell your secret. Tell me\nall about yourself so that I may help you to get what you want.\u201d The\nprince now recognised in her words the perfume of true love, and he\nmade compact with her. \u201cO lovely girl! I want to know what the rose did\nto the cypress. Your mistress cuts off men\u2019s heads because of this\nriddle; what is at the bottom of it, and why does she do it?\u201d Then\nDil-aram answered: \u201cIf you will promise to marry me and to keep me\nalways amongst those you favour, I will tell you all I know, and I will\nkeep watch about the riddle.\u201d\n\n\u201cO lovely girl,\u201d rejoined he, \u201cif I accomplish my purpose, so that I\nneed no longer strive for it, I will keep my compact with you. When I\nhave this woman in my power and have avenged my brothers, I will make\nyou my solace.\u201d\n\n\u201cO wealth of my life and source of my joy!\u201d responded Dil-aram, \u201cI do\nnot know what the rose did to the cypress; but so much I know that the\nperson who told Mihr-afruz about it is a negro whom she hides under her\nthrone. He fled here from Waq of the Caucasus\u2014it is there you must make\ninquiry; there is no other way of getting at the truth.\u201cOn hearing\nthese words, the prince said to his heart, \u201cO my heart! your task will\nyet wear away much of your life.\u201d\n\nHe fell into long and far thought, and Dil-aram looked at him and said:\n\u201cO my life and my soul! do not be sad. If you would like this woman\nkilled, I will put poison into her cup so that she will never lift her\nhead from her drugged sleep again.\u201d\n\n\u201cO Dil-aram! such a vengeance is not manly. I shall not rest till I\nhave gone to Waq of the Caucasus and have cleared up the matter.\u201d Then\nthey repeated the agreement about their marriage, and bade one another\ngoodbye.\n\nThe prince now went back to the village, and told the old man that he\nwas setting out on a long journey, and begged him not to be anxious,\nand to keep safe the goods which had been entrusted to him.\n\nThe prince had not the least knowledge of the way to Waq of the\nCaucasus, and was cast down by the sense of his helplessness. He was\nwalking along by his horse\u2019s side when there appeared before him an old\nman of serene countenance, dressed in green and carrying a staff, who\nresembled Khizr.[8] The prince thanked heaven, laid the hands of\nreverence on his breast and salaamed. The old man returned the greeting\ngraciously, and asked: \u201cHow fare you? Whither are you bound? You look\nlike a traveller.\u201d\n\n\u201cO revered saint! I am in this difficulty: I do not know the way to Waq\nof the Caucasus.\u201d The old man of good counsel looked at the young\nprince and said: \u201cTurn back from this dangerous undertaking. Do not go;\nchoose some other task! If you had a hundred lives you would not bring\none out safe from this journey.\u201d But his words had no effect on the\nprince\u2019s resolve. \u201cWhat object have you,\u201d the old man asked, \u201cin thus\nconsuming your life?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have an important piece of business to do, and only this journey\nmakes it possible. I must go; I pray you, ill God\u2019s name, tell me the\nway.\u201d\n\nWhen the saint saw that the prince was not to be moved, he said: \u201cLearn\nand know, O youth! that Waq of Qaf is in the Caucasus and is a\ndependency of it. In it there are jins, demons, and peris. You must go\non along this road till it forks into three; take neither the right\nhand nor the left, but the middle path. Follow this for a day and a\nnight. Then you will come to a column on which is a marble slab\ninscribed with Cufic characters. Do what is written there; beware of\ndisobedience.\u201d Then he gave his good wishes for the journey and his\nblessing, and the prince kissed his feet, said good-bye, and, with\nthanks to the Causer of Causes, took the road.\n\nAfter a day and a night he saw the column rise in silent beauty to the\nheavens. Everything was as the wise old man had said it would be, and\nthe prince, who was skilled in all tongues, read the following Cufic\ninscription: \u201cO travellers! be it known to you that this column has\nbeen set up with its tablet to give true directions about these roads.\nIf a man would pass his life in ease and pleasantness, let him take the\nright-hand path. If he take the left, he will have some trouble, but he\nwill reach his goal without much delay. Woe to him who chooses the\nmiddle path! if he had a thousand lives he would not save one; it is\nvery hazardous; it leads to the Caucasus, and is an endless road.\nBeware of it!\u201d\n\nThe prince read and bared his head and lifted his hands in supplication\nto Him who has no needs, and prayed, \u201cO Friend of the traveller! I, Thy\nservant, come to Thee for succour. My purpose lies in the land of Qaf\nand my road is full of peril. Lead me by it.\u201d Then he took a handful of\nearth and cast it on his collar, and said: \u201cO earth! be thou my grave;\nand O vest! tee thou my winding-sheet!\u201d Then he took the middle road\nand went along it, day after day, with many a silent prayer, till he\nsaw trees rise from the weary waste of sand. They grew in a garden, and\nhe went up to the gate and found it a slab of beautifully worked\nmarble, and that near it there lay sleeping, with his head on a stone,\na negro whose face was so black that it made darkness round him. His\nupper lip, arched like an eyebrow, curved upwards to his nostrils and\nhis lower hung down like a camel\u2019s. Four millstones formed his shield,\nand on a box-tree close by hung his giant sword. His loin-cloth was\nfashioned of twelve skins of beasts, and was bound round his waist by a\nchain of which each link was as big as an elephant\u2019s thigh.\n\nThe prince approached and tied up his horse near the negro\u2019s head. Then\nhe let fall the Bismillah from his lips, entered the garden and walked\nthrough it till he came to the private part, delighting in the great\ntrees, the lovely verdure, and the flowery borders. In the inner garden\nthere were very many deer. These signed to him with eye and foot to go\nback, for that this was enchanted ground; but he did not understand\nthem, and thought their pretty gestures were a welcome. After a while\nhe reached a palace which had a porch more splendid than Caesar\u2019s, and\nwas built of gold and silver bricks. In its midst was a high seat,\noverlaid with fine carpets, and into it opened eight doors, each having\nopposite to it a marble basin.\n\nBanishing care, Prince Almas walked on through the garden, when\nsuddenly a window opened and a girl, who was lovely enough to make the\nmoon writhe with jealousy, put out her head. She lost her heart to the\ngood looks of the prince, and sent her nurse to fetch him so that she\nmight learn where he came from and how he had got into her private\ngarden where even lions and wolves did not venture. The nurse went, and\nwas struck with amazement at the sun-like radiance of his face; she\nsalaamed and said: \u201cO youth! welcome! the lady of the garden calls you;\ncome!\u201d He went with her and into a palace which was like a house in\nParadise, and saw seated on the royal carpets of the throne a girl\nwhose brilliance shamed the shining sun. He salaamed; she rose, took\nhim by the hand and placed him near her. \u201cO young man! who are you?\nWhere do you come from? How did you get into this garden?\u201d He told her\nhis story from beginning to end, and Lady Latifa[9] replied: \u201cThis is\nfolly! It will make you a vagabond of the earth, and lead you to\ndestruction. Come, cease such talk! No one can go to the Caucasus. Stay\nwith me and be thankful, for here is a throne which you can share with\nme, and in my society you can enjoy my wealth. I will do whatever you\nwish; I will bring here King Qulmus and his daughter, and you can deal\nwith them as you will.\u201d\n\n\u201cO Lady Latifa,\u201d he said, \u201cI have made a compact with heaven not to sit\ndown off my feet till I have been to Waq of Qaf and have cleared up\nthis matter, and have taken Mihrafruz from her father, as brave men\ntake, and have put her in prison. When I have done all this I will come\nback to you in state and with a great following, and I will marry you\naccording to the law.\u201d Lady Latifa argued and urged her wishes, but in\nvain; the prince was not to be moved. Then she called to the cupbearers\nfor new wine, for she thought that when his head was hot with it he\nmight consent to stay. The pure, clear wine was brought; she filled a\ncup and gave to him. He said: \u201cO most enchanting sweetheart! it is the\nrule for the host to drink first and then the guest.\u201d So to make him\nlose his head, she drained the cup; then filled it again and gave him.\nHe drank it off, and she took a lute from one of the singers and played\nupon it with skill which witched away the sense of all who heard. But\nit was all in vain; three days passed in such festivities, and on the\nfourth the prince said: \u201cO joy of my eyes! I beg now that you will bid\nme farewell, for my way is long and the fire of your love darts flame\ninto the harvest of my heart. By heaven\u2019s grace I may accomplish my\npurpose, and, if so, I will come back to you.\u201d\n\nNow she saw that she could not in any way change his resolve, she told\nher nurse to bring a certain casket which contained, she said,\nsomething exhilarating which would help the prince on his journey. The\nbox was brought, and she divided off a portion of what was within and\ngave it to the prince to eat. Then, and while he was all unaware, she\nput forth her hand to a stick fashioned like a snake; she said some\nwords over it and struck him so sharply on the shoulder that he cried\nout; then he made a pirouette and found that he was a deer.\n\nWhen he knew what had been done to him he thought, \u201cAll the threads of\naffliction are gathered together; I have lost my last chance!\u201d He tried\nto escape, but the magician sent for her goldsmith, who, coming,\noverlaid the deer-horns with gold and jewels. The kerchief which that\nday she had had in her hand was then tied round its neck, and this\nfreed it from her attentions.\n\nThe prince-deer now bounded into the garden and at once sought some way\nof escape. It found none, and it joined the other deer, which soon made\nit their leader. Now, although the prince had been transformed into the\nform of a deer, he kept his man\u2019s heart and mind. He said to himself,\n\u201cThank heaven that the Lady Latifa has changed me into this shape, for\nat least deer are beautiful.\u201d He remained for some time living as a\ndeer amongst the rest, but at length resolved that an end to such a\nlife must be put ill some way. He looked again for some place by which\nhe could get out of the magic garden. Following round the wall he\nreached a lower part; he remembered the Divine Names and flung himself\nover, saying, \u201cWhatever happens is by the will of God.\u201d When he looked\nabout he found that he was in the very same place he had jumped from;\nthere was the palace, there the garden and the deer! Eight times he\nleaped over the wall and eight times found himself where he had started\nfrom; but after the ninth leap there was a change, there was a palace\nand there was a garden, but the deer were gone.\n\nPresently a girl of such moon-like beauty opened a window that the\nprince lost to her a hundred hearts. She was delighted with the\nbeautiful deer, and cried to her nurse: \u201cCatch it! if you will I will\ngive you this necklace, every pearl of which is worth a kingdom.\u201d The\nnurse coveted the pearls, but as she was three hundred years old she\ndid not know how she could catch a deer. However, she went down into\nthe garden and held out some grass, but when she went near the creature\nran away. The girl watched with great excitement from the palace\nwindow, and called: \u201cO nurse, if you don\u2019t catch it, I will kill you!\u201d\n\u201cI am killing myself,\u201d shouted back the old woman. The girl saw that\nnurse tottering along and went down to help, marching with the gait of\na prancing peacock. When she saw the gilded horns and the kerchief she\nsaid: \u201cIt must be accustomed to the hand, and be some royal pet!\u201d The\nprince had it in mind that this might be another magician who could\ngive him some other shape, but still it seemed best to allow himself to\nbe caught. So he played about the girl and let her catch him by the\nneck. A leash was brought, fruits were given, and it was caressed with\ndelight. It was taken to the palace and tied at the foot of the Lady\nJamila\u2019s raised seat, but she ordered a longer cord to be brought so\nthat it might be able to jump up beside her.\n\nWhen the nurse went to fix the cord she saw tears falling from its\neyes, and that it was dejected and sorrowful \u201cO Lady Jamila! this is a\nwonderful deer, it is crying; I never saw a deer cry before.\u201d Jamila\ndarted down like a flash of lightning, and saw that it was so. It\nrubbed its head on her feet and then shook it so sadly that the girl\ncried for sympathy. She patted it and said: \u201cWhy are you sad, my heart?\nWhy do you cry, my soul? Is it because I have caught you? I love you\nbetter than my own life.\u201d But, spite of her comforting, it cried the\nmore. Then Jamila said: \u201cUnless I am mistaken, this is the work of my\nwicked sister Latifa, who by magic art turns servants of God into\nbeasts of the field.\u201d At these words the deer uttered sounds, and laid\nits head on her feet. Then Jamila was sure it was a man, and said: \u201cBe\ncomforted, I will restore you to your own shape.\u201d She bathed herself\nand ordered the deer to be bathed, put on clean raiment, called for a\nbox which stood in an alcove, opened it and gave a portion of what was\nin it to the deer to eat. Then she slipped her hand under her carpet\nand produced a stick to which she said something. She struck the deer\nhard, it pirouetted and became Prince Almas.\n\nThe broidered kerchief and the jewels lay upon the ground. The prince\nprostrated himself in thanks to heaven and Jamila, and said: \u201cO\ndelicious person! O Chinese Venus! how shall I excuse myself for giving\nyou so much trouble? With what words can I thank you?\u201d Then she called\nfor a clothes-wallet and chose out a royal dress of honour. Her\nattendants dressed him in it, and brought him again before the\ntender-hearted lady. She turned to him a hundred hearts, took his hand\nand seated him beside her, and said: \u201cO youth! tell me truly who you\nare and where you come from, and how you fell into the power of my\nsister.\u201d\n\nEven when he was a deer the prince had much admired Jamila now he\nthought her a thousand times more lovely than before. He judged that in\ntruth alone was safety, and so told her his whole story. Then she\nasked: \u201cO Prince Almas-ruh-bakhsh, do you still wish so much to make\nthis journey to Waq of Qaf? What hope is there in it? The road is\ndangerous even near here, and this is not yet the borderland of the\nCaucasus. Come, give it up! It is a great risk, and to go is not wise.\nIt would be a pity for a man like you to fall into the hands of jins\nand demons. Stay with me, and I will do whatever you wish.\u201d\n\n\u201cO most delicious person!\u201d he answered, \u201cyou are very generous, and the\nchoice of my life lies in truth in your hands; but I beg one favour of\nyou. If you love me, so do I too love you. If you really love me, do\nnot forbid me to make this journey, but help me as far as you can. Then\nit may be that I shall succeed, and if I return with my purpose\nfulfilled I will marry you according to the law, and take you to my own\ncountry, and we will spend the rest of our lives together in pleasure\nand good companionship. Help me, if you can, and give me your counsel.\u201d\n\n\u201cO very stuff of my life,\u201d replied Jamila \u201cI will give you things that\nare not in kings\u2019 treasuries, and which will be of the greatest use to\nyou. First, there are the bow and arrows of his Reverence the Prophet\nSalih. Secondly, there is the Scorpion of Solomon (on whom be peace),\nwhich is a sword such as no king has; steel and stone are one to it; if\nyou bring it down on a rock it will not be injured, and it will cleave\nwhatever you strike. Thirdly, there is the dagger which the sage Timus\nhimself made; this is most useful, and the man who wears it would not\nbend under seven camels\u2019 loads. What you have to do first is to get to\nthe home of the Simurgh,[10] and to make friends with him. If he\nfavours you, he will take you to Waq of Qaf; if not, you will never get\nthere, for seven seas are on the way, and they are such seas that if\nall the kings of the earth, and all their wazirs, and all their wise\nmen considered for a thousand years, they would not be able to cross\nthem.\u201d\n\n\u201cO most delicious person! where is the Simurgh\u2019s home? How shall I get\nthere?\u201d\n\n\u201cO new fruit of life! you must just do what I tell you, and you must\nuse your eyes and your brains, for if you don\u2019t you will find yourself\nat the place of the negroes, who are a bloodthirsty set; and God forbid\nthey should lay hands on your precious person.\u201d\n\nThen she took the bow and quiver of arrows, the sword, and the dagger\nout of a box, and the prince let fall a Bismillah, and girt them all\non. Then Jamila of the houri-face, produced two saddle-bags of ruby-red\nsilk, one filled with roasted fowl and little cakes, and the other with\nstones of price. Next she gave him a horse as swift as the breeze of\nthe morning, and she said: \u201cAccept all these things from me; ride till\nyou come to a rising ground, at no great distance from here, where\nthere is a spring. It is called the Place of Gifts, and you must stay\nthere one night. There you will see many wild beasts\u2014lions, tigers,\nleopards, apes, and so on. Before you get there you must capture some\ngame. On the long road beyond there dwells a lion-king, alla if other\nbeasts did not fear him they would ravage the whole country and let no\none pass. The lion is a red transgressor, so when he comes rise and do\nhim reverence; take a cloth and rub the dust and earth from his face,\nthen set the game you have taken before him, well cleansed, and lay the\nhands of respect on your breast. When he wishes to eat, take your knife\nand cut pieces of the meat and set them before him with a bow. In this\nway you will enfold that lion-king in perfect friendship, and he will\nbe most useful to you, and you will be safe from molestation by the\nnegroes. When you go on from the Place of Gifts, be sure you do not\ntake the right-hand road; take the left, for the other leads by the\nnegro castle, which is known as the Place of Clashing Swords, and where\nthere are forty negro captains each over three thousand or four\nthousand more. Their chief is Taramtaq.[11] Further on than this is the\nhome of the Simurgh.\u201d\n\nHaving stored these things in the prince\u2019s memory, she said: \u201cYou will\nsee everything happen just as I have said.\u201d Then she escorted him a\nlittle way; they parted, and she went home to mourn his absence.\n\nPrince Almas, relying on the Causer of Causes, rode on to the Place of\nGifts and dismounted at the platform. Everything happened just as\nJamila had foretold; when one or two watches of the night had passed,\nhe saw that the open ground around him was full of such stately and\nsplendid animals as he had never seen before. By-and-by, they made way\nfor a wonderfully big lion, which was eighty yards from nose to\ntail-tip, and was a magnificent creature. The prince advanced and\nsaluted it; it proudly drooped its head and forelocks and paced to the\nplatform. Seventy or eighty others were with it, and now encircled it\nat a little distance. It laid its right paw over its left, and the\nprince took the kerchief Jamila had given him for the purpose, and\nrubbed the dust and earth from its face; then brought forward the game\nhe had prepared, and crossing his hands respectfully on his breast\nstood waiting before it. When it wished for food he cut off pieces of\nthe meat and put them in its mouth. The serving lions also came near\nand the prince would have stayed his hand, but the king-lion signed to\nhim to feed them too. This he did, laying the meat on the platform.\nThen the king-lion beckoned the prince to come near and said: \u201cSleep at\nease; my guards will watch.\u201d. So, surrounded by the lion-guard, he\nslept till dawn, when the king lion said good-bye, and gave him a few\nof his own hairs and said: \u201cWhen you are in any difficulty, burn one of\nthese and I will be there.\u201d Then it went off into the jungle.\n\nPrince Almas immediately started; he rode till he came to the parting\nof the ways. He remembered quite well that the right-hand way was short\nand dangerous, but he bethought himself too that whatever was written\non his forehead would happen, and took the forbidden road. By-and-by he\nsaw a castle, and knew from what Jamila had told him that it was the\nPlace of Clashing Swords. He would have liked to go back by the way ho\nhad come, but courage forbade, and he said, \u201cWhat has been preordained\nfrom eternity will happen to me,\u201d and went on towards the castle. He\nwas thinking of tying his horse to a tree which grew near the gate when\na negro came out and spied him. \u201cHa!\u201d said the wretch to himself, \u201cthis\nis good; Taram-taq has not eaten man-meat for a long time, and is\ncraving for some. I will take this creature to him.\u201d He took hold of\nthe prince\u2019s reins, and said: \u201cDismount, man-child! Come to my master.\nHe has wanted to eat man-meat this long time back.\u201d \u201cWhat nonsense are\nyou saying?\u201d said the prince, and other such words. When the negro\nunderstood that he was being abused, he cried: \u201cCome along! I will put\nyou into such a state that the birds of the air will weep for you.\u201d\nThen the prince drew the Scorpion of Solomon and struck him\u2014struck him\non the leathern belt and shore him through so that the sword came out\non the other side. He stood upright for a little while, muttered some\nwords, put out his hand to seize the prince, then fell in two and\nsurrendered his life.\n\nThere was water close at hand, and the prince made his ablution, and\nthen said: \u201cO my heart! a wonderful task lies upon you.\u201d A second negro\ncame out of the fort, and seeing what had been done, went back and told\nhis chief. Others wished to be doubled, and went out, and of every one\nthe Scorpion of Solomon made two. Then Taram-taq sent for a giant negro\nnamed Chil-maq, who in the day of battle was worth three hundred, and\nsaid to him: \u201cI shall thank you to fetch me that man.\u201d\n\nChil-maq went out, tall as a tower, and bearing a shield of eight\nmillstones, and as he walked he shouted: \u201cHo! blunder-head! by what\nright do you come to our country and kill our people? Come! make two of\nme.\u201d As the prince was despicable in his eyes, he tossed aside his club\nand rushed to grip him with his hands. He caught him by the collar,\ntucked him under his arm and set off with him to Taram-taq. But the\nprince drew the dagger of Timus and thrust it upwards through the\ngiant\u2019s armpit, for its full length. This made Chil-maq drop him and\ntry to pick up his club; but when he stooped the mighty sword shore him\nthrough at the waist.\n\nWhen news of his champion\u2019s death reached Taram-taq he put himself at\nthe head of an army of his negroes and led them forth. Many fell before\nthe magic sword, and the prince laboured on in spite of weakness and\nfatigue till he was almost worn out. In a moment of respite from attack\nhe struck his fire-steel and burned a hair of the king-lion; and he had\njust succeeded in this when the negroes charged again and all but took\nhim prisoner. Suddenly from behind the distant veil of the desert\nappeared an army of lions led by their king. \u201cWhat brings these\nscourges of heaven here?\u201d cried the negroes. They came roaring up, and\nput fresh life into the prince. He fought on, and when he struck on a\nbelt the wearer fell in two, and when on a head he cleft to the waist.\nThen the ten thousand mighty lions joined the fray and tore in pieces\nman and horse.\n\nTaram-taq was left alone; he would have retired into his fort, but the\nprince shouted: \u201cWhither away, accursed one? Are you fleeing before\nme?\u201d At these defiant words the chief shouted back, \u201cWelcome, man! Come\nhere and I will soften you to wax beneath my club.\u201d Then he hurled his\nclub at the prince\u2019s head, but it fell harmless because the prince had\nquickly spurred his horse forward. The chief, believing he had hit him,\nwas looking down for him, when all at once he came up behind and cleft\nhim to the waist and sent him straight to hell.\n\nThe king-lion greatly praised the dashing courage of Prince Almas. They\nwent together into the Castle of Clashing Swords and found it adorned\nand fitted in princely fashion. In it was a daughter of Taram taq,\nstill a child She sent a message to Prince Almas saying, \u201cO king of the\nworld! choose this slave to be your handmaid. Keep her with you; where\nyou go, there she will go!\u201d He sent for her and she kissed his feet and\nreceived the Mussulman faith at his hands. He told her he was going a\nlong journey on important business, and that when he came back he would\ntake her and her possessions to his own country, but that for the\npresent she must stay in the castle. Then he made over the fort and all\nthat was in it to the care of the lion, saying: \u201cGuard them, brother!\nlet no one lay a hand on them.\u201d He said goodbye, chose a fresh horse\nfrom the chief\u2019s stable and once again took the road.\n\nAfter travelling many stages and for many days, he reached a plain of\nmarvellous beauty and refreshment. It was carpeted with flowers\u2014roses,\ntulips, and clover; it had lovely lawns, and amongst them running\nwater. This choicest place of earth filled him with wonder. There was a\ntree such as he had never seen before; its branches were alike, but it\nbore flowers and fruit of a thousand kinds. Near it a reservoir had\nbeen fashioned of four sorts of stone\u2014touchstone, pure stone, marble,\nand loadstone. In and out of it flowed water like attar. The prince\nfelt sure this must be the place of the Simurgh.\u201d he dismounted, turned\nhis horse loose to graze, ate some of the food Jamila had given him,\ndrank of the stream and lay down to sleep.\n\nHe was still dozing when he was aroused by the neighing and pawing of\nhis horse. When he could see clearly he made out a mountain-like dragon\nwhose heavy breast crushed the stones beneath it into putty. He\nremembered the Thousand Names of God and took the bow of Salih from its\ncase and three arrows from their quiver. He bound the dagger of Timus\nfirmly to his waist and hung the scorpion of Solomon round his neck.\nThen he set an arrow on the string and released it with such force that\nit went in at the monster\u2019s eye right up to the notch. The dragon\nwrithed on itself, and belched forth an evil vapour, and beat the\nground with its head till the earth quaked. Then the prince took a\nsecond arrow and shot into its throat. It drew in its breath and would\nhave sucked the prince into its maw, but when he was within striking\ndistance he drew his sword and, having committed himself to God, struck\na mighty blow which cut the creature\u2019s neck down to the gullet. The\nfoul vapour of the beast and horror at its strangeness now overcame the\nprince, and he fainted. When he came to himself he found that he was\ndrenched in the gore of the dead monster. He rose and thanked God for\nhis deliverance.\n\nThe nest of the Simurgh was in the wonderful tree above him, and in it\nwere young birds; the parents were away searching for food. They always\ntold the children, before they left them, not to put their heads out of\nthe nest; but, to-day, at the noise of the fight below, they looked\ndown and so saw the whole affair. By the time the dragon had been\nkilled they were very hungry and set up a clamour for food. The prince\ntherefore cut up the dragon and fed them with it, bit by bit, till they\nhad eaten the whole. He then washed himself and lay down to rest, and\nhe was still asleep when the Simurgh came home. As a rule, the young\nbirds raised a clamour of welcome when their parents came near, but on\nthis day they were so full of dragon-meat that they had no choice, they\nhad to go to sleep.\n\nAs they flew nearer, the old birds saw the prince lying under the tree\nand no sign of life in the nest. They thought that the misfortune which\nfor so many earlier years had befallen them had again happened and that\ntheir nestlings had disappeared. They had never been able to find out\nthe murderer, and now suspected the prince. \u201cHe has eaten our children\nand sleeps after it; he must die,\u201d said the father-bird, and flew back\nto the hills and clawed up a huge stone which he meant to let fall on\nthe prince\u2019s head. But his mate said, \u201cLet us look into the nest first\nfor to kill an innocent person would condemn us at the Day of\nResurrection.\u201d They flew nearer, and presently the young birds woke and\ncried, \u201cMother, what have you brought for us?\u201d and they told the whole\nstory of the fight, and of how they were alive only by the favour of\nthe young man under the tree, and of his cutting up the dragon and of\ntheir eating it. The mother-bird then remarked, \u201cTruly, father! you\nwere about to do a strange thing, and a terrible sin has been averted\nfrom you.\u201d Then the Simurgh flew off to a distance with the great stone\nand dropped it. It sank down to the very middle of the earth.\n\nComing back, the Simurgh saw that a little sunshine fell upon the\nprince through the leaves, and it spread its wings and shaded him till\nhe woke. When he got up he salaamed to it, who returned his greeting\nwith joy and gratitude, and caressed him and said: \u201cO youth, tell me\ntrue! who are you, and where are you going? And how did you cross that\npitiless desert where never yet foot of man had trod?\u201d The prince told\nhis story from beginning to end, and finished by saying: \u201cNow it is my\nheart\u2019s wish that you should help me to get to Waq of the Caucasus.\nPerhaps, by your favour, I shall accomplish my task and avenge my\nbrothers.\u201d In reply the Simurgh.\u201d first blessed the deliverer of his\nchildren, and then went on: \u201cWhat you have done no child of man has\never done before; you assuredly have a claim on all my help, for every\nyear up till now that dragon has come here and has destroyed my\nnestlings, and I have never been able to find who was the murderer and\nto avenge myself. By God\u2019s grace you have removed my children\u2019s\npowerful foe. I regard you as a child of my own. Stay with me; I will\ngive you everything you desire, and I will establish a city here for\nyou, and will furnish it with every requisite; I will give you the land\nof the Caucasus, and will make its princes subject to you. Give up the\njourney to Waq, it is full of risk, and the jins there will certainly\nkill you.\u201d But nothing could move the prince, and seeing this the bird\nwent on: \u201cWell, so be it! When you wish to set forth you must go into\nthe plain and take seven head of deer, and must make water-tight bags\nof their hides and keep their flesh in seven portions. Seven seas lie\non our way\u2014I will carry you over them; but if I have not food and drink\nwe shall fall into the sea and be drowned. When I ask for it you must\nput food and water into my mouth. So we shall make the journey safely.\u201d\n\nThe prince did all as he was told, then they took flight; they crossed\nthe seven seas, and at each one the prince fed the Simurgh When they\nalighted on the shore of the last sea, it said: \u201cO my son! there lies\nyour road; follow it to the city. Take thee three feathers of mine,\nand, if you are in a difficulty, burn one and I will be with you in the\ntwinkling of an eye.\u201d\n\nThe prince walked on in solitude till he reached the city. He went in\nand wandered about through all quarters, and through bazaars and lanes\nand squares, in the least knowing from whom he could ask information\nabout the riddle of Mihr-afruz. He spent seven days thinking it over in\nsilence. From the first day of his coming he had made friends with a\nyoung cloth-merchant, and a great liking had sprung up between them.\nOne day he said abruptly to his companion: \u201cO dear friend! I wish you\nwould tell me what the rose did to the cypress, and what the sense of\nthe riddle is.\u201d The merchant started, and exclaimed: \u201cIf there were not\nbrotherly affection between us, I would cut off your head for asking me\nthis!\u201d \u201cIf you meant to kill me,\u201d retorted the prince, \u201cyou would still\nhave first to tell me what I want to know.\u201d When the merchant saw that\nthe prince was in deadly earnest, he said: \u201cIf you wish to hear the\ntruth of the matter you must wait upon our king. There is no other way;\nno one else will tell you. I have a well-wisher at the Court, named\nFarrukh-fal,[12] and will introduce you to him.\u201d \u201cThat would be\nexcellent,\u201d cried the prince. A meeting was arranged between Farrukhfal\nand Almas, and then the amir took him to the king\u2019s presence and\nintroduced him as a stranger and traveller who had come from afar to\nsit in the shadow of King Sinaubar.\n\nNow the Simurgh had given the prince a diamond weighing thirty misqals,\nand he ordered this to the king, who at once recognised its value, and\nasked where it had been obtained. \u201cI, your slave, once had riches and\nstate and power; there are many such stones in my country. On my way\nhere I was plundered at the Castle of Clashing Swords, and I saved this\none thing only, hidden in my bathing-cloth.\u201d In return for the diamond,\nKing Sinaubar showered gifts of much greater value, for he remembered\nthat it was the last possession of the prince. He showed the utmost\nkindness and hospitality, and gave his wazir orders to instal the\nprince in the royal guest-house. He took much pleasure in his visitor\u2019s\nsociety; they were together every day and spent the time most\npleasantly. Several times the king said: \u201cAsk me for something, that I\nmay give it you.\u201cOne day he so pressed to know what would pleasure the\nprince, that the latter said: \u201cI have only one wish, and that I will\nname to you in private.\u201d The king at once commanded every one to\nwithdraw, and then Prince Almas said: \u201cThe desire of my life is to know\nwhat the rose did to the cypress, and what meaning there is in the\nwords.\u201d The king was astounded. \u201cIn God\u2019s name! if anyone else had said\nthat to me I should have cut off his head instantly.\u201d The prince heard\nthis in silence, and presently so beguiled the king with pleasant talk\nthat to kill him was impossible.\n\nTime flew by, the king again and again begged the prince to ask some\ngift of him, and always received this same reply: \u201cI wish for your\nMajesty\u2019s welfare, what more can I desire?\u201d One night there was a\nbanquet, and cupbearers carried round gold and silver cups of sparkling\nwine, and singers with sweetest voices contended for the prize. The\nprince drank from the king\u2019s own cup, and when his head was hot with\nwine he took a lute from one of the musicians and placed himself on the\ncarpet border and sang and sang till he witched away the sense of all\nwho listened. Applause and compliments rang from every side. The king\nfilled his cup and called the prince and gave it him and said: \u201cName\nyour wish! it is yours.\u201d The prince drained off the wine and answered:\n\u201cO king of the world! learn and know that I have only one aim in life,\nand this is to know what the rose did to the cypress.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever yet,\u201d replied the king, \u201chas any man come out from that question\nalive. If this is your only wish, so be it; I will tell you. But I will\ndo this on one condition only, namely, that when you have heard you\nwill submit yourself to death.\u201d To this the prince agreed, and said: \u201cI\nset my foot firmly on this compact.\u201d\n\nThe king then gave an order to an attendant; a costly carpet overlaid\nwith European velvet was placed near him, and a dog was led in by a\ngolden and jewelled chain and set upon the splendid stuffs. A band of\nfair girls came in and stood round it in waiting.\n\nThen, with ill words, twelve negroes dragged in a lovely woman,\nfettered on hands and feet and meanly dressed, and they set her down on\nthe bare floor. She was extraordinarily beautiful, and shamed the\nglorious sun. The king ordered a hundred stripes to be laid on her\ntender body; she sighed a long sigh. Food was called for and\ntable-cloths were spread. Delicate meats were set before the dog, and\nwater given it in a royal cup of Chinese crystal. When it had eaten its\nfill, its leavings were placed before the lovely woman and she was made\nto eat of them. She wept and her tears were pearls; she smiled and her\nlips shed roses. Pearls and flowers were gathered up and taken to the\ntreasury.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the king, \u201cyou have seen these things and your purpose is\nfulfilled.\u201d \u201cTruly,\u201d said the prince, \u201cI have seen things which I have\nnot understood; what do they mean, and what is the story of them? Tell\nme and kill me.\u201d\n\nThen said the king: \u201cThe woman you see there in chains is my wife; she\nis called Gul, the Rose, and I am Sinaubar, the Cypress. One day I was\nhunting and became very thirsty. After great search I discovered a well\nin a place so secret that neither bird nor beast nor man could find it\nwithout labour. I was alone, I took my turban for a rope and my cap for\na bucket. There was a good deal of water, but when I let down my rope,\nsomething caught it, and I could not in any way draw it back. I shouted\ndown into the well: \u2018O! servant of God! whoever you are, why do you\ndeal unfairly with me? I am dying of thirst, let go! in God\u2019s name.\u2019 A\ncry came up in answer, \u2018O servant of God! we have been in the well a\nlong time; in God\u2019s name get us out!\u2019 After trying a thousand schemes,\nI drew up two blind women. They said they were peris, and that their\nking had blinded them in his anger and had left them in the well alone.\n\n\u201c\u2018Now,\u2019 they said, \u2018if you will get us the cure for our blindness we\nwill devote ourselves to your service, and will do whatever you wish.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018What is the cure for your blindness?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Not far from this place,\u2019 they said, \u2018a cow comes up from the great\nsea to graze; a little of her dung would cure us. We should be\neternally your debtors. Do not let the cow see you, or she will\nassuredly kill you.\u2019\n\n\u201cWith renewed strength and spirit I went to the shore. There I watched\nthe cow come up from the sea, graze, and go back. Then I came out of my\nhiding, took a little of her dung and conveyed it to the peris. They\nrubbed it on their eyes, and by the Divine might saw again.\n\n\u201cThey thanked heaven and me, and then considered what they could do to\nshow their gratitude to me. \u2018Our peri-king,\u2019 they said, \u2018has a daughter\nwhom he keeps under his own eye and thinks the most lovely girl on\nearth. In good sooth, she has not her equal! Now we will get you into\nher house and you must win her heart, and if she has an inclination for\nanother, you must drive it out and win her for yourself. Her mother\nloves her so dearly that she has no ease but in her presence, and she\nwill give her to no one in marriage. Teach her to love you so that she\ncannot exist without you. But if the matter becomes known to her mother\nshe will have you burned in the fire. Then you must beg, as a last\nfavour, that your body may be anointed with oil so that you may burn\nthe more quickly and be spared torture. If the peri-king allows this\nfavour, we two will manage to be your anointers, and we will put an oil\non you such that if you were a thousand years in the fire not a trace\nof burning would remain.\u2019\n\n\u201cIn the end the two peris took me to the girl\u2019s house. I saw her\nsleeping daintily. She was most lovely, and I was so amazed at the\nperfection of her beauty that I stood with senses lost, and did not\nknow if she were real or a dream. When at last I saw that she was a\nreal girl, I returned thanks that I, the runner, had come to my goal,\nand that I, the seeker, had found my treasure.\n\n\u201cWhen the peri opened her eyes she asked in affright: \u2018Who are you?\nHave you come to steal? How did you get here? Be quick! save yourself\nfrom this whirlpool of destruction, for the demons and peris. who guard\nme will wake and seize you.\u2019\n\n\u201cBut love\u2019s arrow had struck me deep, and the girl, too, looked kindly\non me. I could not go away. For some months I remained hidden in her\nhouse. \u201cWe did not dare to let her mother know of our love. Sometimes\nthe girl was very sad and fearful lest her mother should come to know.\nOne day her father said to her: \u2018Sweetheart, for some time I have\nnoticed that your beauty is not what it was. How is this? Has sickness\ntouched you? Tell me that I may seek a cure.\u2019 Alas! there was now no\nway of concealing the mingled delight and anguish of our love; from\nsecret it became known. I was put in prison and the world grew dark to\nmy rose, bereft of her lover.\n\n\u201cThe peri-king ordered me to be burnt, and said: \u2018Why have you, a man,\ndone this perfidious thing in my house?\u2019 His demons and peris.\ncollected amber-wood and made a pile, and would have set me on it, when\nI remembered the word of life which the two peris. I had rescued had\nbreathed into my ear, and I asked that my body might be rubbed with oil\nto release me the sooner from torture. This was allowed, and those two\ncontrived to be the anointers. I was put into the fire and it was kept\nup for seven days and nights. By the will of the Great King it left no\ntrace upon me. At the end of a week the pert-king ordered the ashes to\nbe cast upon the dust-heap, and I was found alive and unharmed.\n\n\u201cPeris who had seen Gul consumed by her love for me now interceded with\nthe king, and said: \u2018It is clear that your daughter\u2019s fortunes are\nbound up with his, for the fire has not hurt him. It is best to give\nhim the girl, for they love one another. He is King of Waq of Qaf, and\nyou will find none better.\u2019\n\n\u201cTo this the king agreed, and made formal marriage between Gul and me.\nYou now know the price I paid for this faithless creature. O prince!\nremember our compact.\u201d\n\n\u201cI remember,\u201d said the prince; \u201cbut tell me what brought Queen Gul to\nher present pass?\u201d\n\n\u201cOne night,\u201d continued King Sinaubar, \u201cI was aroused by feeling Gul\u2019s\nhands and feet, deadly cold, against my body. I asked her where she had\nbeen to get so cold, and she said she had had to go out. Next morning,\nwhen I went to my stable I saw that two of my horses, Windfoot and\nTiger, were thin and worn out. I reprimanded the groom and beat him. He\nasked where his fault lay, and said that every night my wife took one\nor other of these horses and rode away, and came back only just before\ndawn. A flame kindled in my heart, and I asked myself where she could\ngo and what she could do. I told the groom to be silent, and when next\nGul took a horse from the stable to saddle another quickly and bring it\nto me. That day I did not hunt, but stayed at home to follow the matter\nup. I lay down as usual at night and pretended to fall asleep. When I\nseemed safely off Gul got up and went to the stable as her custom was.\nThat night it was Tiger\u2019s turn. She rode off on him, and I took\nWindfoot and followed. With me went that dog you see, a faithful friend\nwho never left me.\n\n\u201cWhen I came to the foot of those hills which lie outside the city I\nsaw Gul dismount and go towards a house which some negroes have built\nthere. Over against the door was a high seat, and on it lay a giant\nnegro, before whom she salaamed. He got up and beat her till she was\nmarked with weals, but she uttered no complaint. I was dumfounded, for\nonce when I had struck her with a rose stalk she had complained and\nfretted for three days! Then the negro said to her: \u2018How now, ugly one\nand shaven head! Why are you so late, and why are you not wearing\nwedding garments?\u2019 She answered him: \u2018That person did not go to sleep\nquickly, and he stayed at home all day, so that I was not able to adorn\nmyself. I came as soon as I could.\u2019 In a little while he called her to\nsit beside him; but this was more than I could bear. I lost control of\nmyself and rushed upon him. He clutched my collar and we grappled in a\ndeath struggle. Suddenly she came behind me, caught my feet and threw\nme. While he held me on the ground, she drew out my own knife and gave\nit to him. I should have been killed but for that faithful dog which\nseized his throat and pulled him down and pinned him to the ground.\nThen I got up and despatched the wretch. There were four other negroes\nat the place; three I killed and the fourth got away, and has taken\nrefuge beneath the throne of Mihr-afruz, daughter of King Quimus. I\ntook Gul back to my palace, and from that time till now I have treated\nher as a dog is treated, and I have cared for my dog as though it were\nmy wife. Now you know what the rose did to the cypress; and now you\nmust keep compact with me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall keep my word,\u201d said the prince; \u201cbut may a little water be\ntaken to the roof so that I may make my last ablution?\u201d\n\nTo this request the king consented. The prince mounted to the roof,\nand, getting into a corner, struck his fire-steel and burned one of the\nSirurgh\u2019s feathers in the flame. Straightway it appeared, and by the\nmajesty of its presence made the city quake. It took the prince on its\nback and soared away to the zenith.\n\nAfter a time King Sinaubar said: \u201cThat young man is a long time on the\nroof; go and bring him here.\u201d But there was no sign of the prince upon\nthe roof; only, far away in the sky, the Simurgh was seen carrying him\noff. When the king heard of his escape he thanked heaven that his hands\nwere clean of this blood.\n\nUp and up flew the Simurgh, till earth looked like an egg resting on an\nocean. At length it dropped straight down to its own place, where the\nkind prince was welcomed by the young birds and most hospitably\nentertained. He told the whole story of the rose and the cypress, and\nthen, laden with gifts which the Simurgh had gathered from cities far\nand near, he set his face for the Castle of Clashing Swords. The\nking-lion came out to meet him; he took the negro chief\u2019s\ndaughter\u2014-whose name was also Gul\u2014in lawful marriage, and then marched\nwith her and her possessions and her attendants to the Place of Gifts.\nHere they halted for a night, and at dawn said good-bye to the\nking-lion and set out for Jamila\u2019s country.\n\nWhen the Lady Jamila heard that Prince Almas was near, she went out,\nwith many a fair handmaid, to give him loving reception. Their meeting\nwas joyful, and they went together to the garden-palace. Jamila\nsummoned all her notables, and in their presence her marriage with the\nprince was solemnised. A few days later she entrusted her affairs to\nher wazir, and made preparation to go with the prince to his own\ncountry. Before she started she restored all the men whom her sister,\nLatifa, had bewitched, to their own forms, and received their\nblessings, and set them forward to their homes. The wicked Latifa\nherself she left quite alone in her garden-house. When all was ready\nthey set out with all her servants and slaves, all her treasure and\ngoods, and journeyed at ease to the city of King Quimus.\n\nWhen King Quimus heard of the approach of such a great company, he sent\nout his wazir to give the prince honourable meeting, and to ask what\nhad procured him the favour of the visit. The prince sent back word\nthat he had no thought of war, but he wrote: \u201cLearn and know, King\nQuimus, that I am here to end the crimes of your insolent daughter who\nhas tyrannously done to death many kings and kings sons, and has hung\ntheir heads on your citadel. I am here to give her the answer to her\nriddle.\u201d Later on he entered the city, beat boldly on the drums, and\nwas conducted to the presence.\n\nThe king entreated him to have nothing to do with the riddle, for that\nno man had come out of it alive. \u201cO king!\u201d replied the prince, \u201cit is\nto answer it that I am here; I will not withdraw.\u201d\n\nMihr-afruz was told that one man more had staked his head on her\nquestion, and that this was one who said he knew the answer. At the\nrequest of the prince, all the officers and notables of the land were\nsummoned to hear his reply to the princess. All assembled, and the king\nand his queen Gul-rakh, and the girl and the prince were there.\n\nThe prince addressed Mihr-afruz: \u201cWhat is the question you ask?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did the rose do to the cypress?\u201d she rejoined.\n\nThe prince smiled, and turned and addressed the assembly.\n\n\u201cYou who are experienced men and versed in affairs, did you ever know\nor hear and see anything of this matter?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo!\u201d they answered, \u201cno one has ever known or heard or seen aught\nabout it; it is an empty fancy.\u201d\n\n\u201cFrom whom, then, did the princess hear of it? This empty fancy it is\nthat has done many a servant of God to death!\u201d\n\nAll saw the good sense of his words and showed their approval. Then he\nturned to the princess: \u201cTell us the truth, princess; who told you of\nthis thing? I know it hair by hair, and in and out; but if I tell you\nwhat I know, who is there that can say I speak the truth? You must\nproduce the person who can confirm my words.\u201d\n\nHer heart sank, for she feared that her long-kept secret was now to be\nnoised abroad. But she said merely: \u201cExplain yourself.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall explain myself fully when you bring here the negro whom you\nhide beneath your throne.\u201d\n\nHere the king shouted in wonderment: \u201cExplain yourself, young man! What\nnegro does my daughter hide beneath her throne?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat,\u201d said the prince, \u201cyou will see if you order to be brought here\nthe negro who will be found beneath the throne of the princess.\u201d\n\nMessengers were forthwith despatched to the garden house, and after\nawhile they returned bringing a negro whom they had discovered in a\nsecret chamber underneath the throne of Mihr-afruz, dressed in a dress\nof honour, and surrounded with luxury. The king was overwhelmed with\nastonishment, but the girl had taken heart again. She had had time to\nthink that perhaps the prince had heard of the presence of the negro,\nand knew no more. So she said haughtily: \u201cPrince! you have not answered\nmy riddle.\u201d\n\n\u201cO most amazingly impudent person,\u201d cried he, \u201cdo you not yet repent?\u201d\n\nThen he turned to the people, and told them the whole story of the rose\nand the cypress, of King Sinaubar and Queen Gul. When he came to the\nkilling of the negroes, he said to the one who stood before them: \u201cYou,\ntoo, were present.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is so; all happened as you have told it!\u201d\n\nThere was great rejoicing in the court and all through the country over\nthe solving of the riddle, and because now no more kings and princes\nwould be killed. King Quimus made over his daughter to Prince Almas,\nbut the latter refused to marry her, and took her as his captive. He\nthen asked that the heads should be removed from the battlements and\ngiven decent burial. This was done. He received from the king\neverything that belonged to Mihr-afruz; her treasure of gold and\nsilver; her costly stuffs and carpets; her household plenishing; her\nhorses and camels; her servants and slaves.\n\nThen he returned to his camp and sent for Dil-aram, who came bringing\nher goods and chattels, her gold and her jewels. When all was ready,\nPrince Almas set out for home, taking with him Jamila, and Dil-aram and\nGul, daughter of Taram-taq, and the wicked Mihr-afruz, and all the\nbelongings of the four, packed on horses and camels, and in carts\nwithout number.\n\nAs he approached the borders of his father\u2019s country word of his coming\nwent before him, and all the city came forth to give him welcome. King\nSaman-lal-posh\u2014Jessamine, wearer of rubies\u2014had so bewept the loss of\nhis sons that he was now blind. When the prince had kissed his feet and\nreceived his blessing, he took from a casket a little collyrium of\nSolomon, which the Simurgh had given him, and which reveals the hidden\nthings of earth, and rubbed it on his father\u2019s eyes. Light came, and\nthe king saw his son.\n\nMihr-afruz was brought before the king, and the prince said: \u201cThis is\nthe murderer of your sons; do with her as you will.\u201d The king fancied\nthat the prince might care for the girl\u2019s beauty, and replied: \u201cYou\nhave humbled her; do with her as you will.\u201d\n\nUpon this the prince sent for four swift and strong horses, and had the\nnegro bound to each one of them; then each was driven to one of the\nfour quarters, and he tore in pieces like muslin.\n\nThis frightened Mihr-afruz horribly, for she thought the same thing\nmight be done to herself. She cried out to the prince: \u201cO Prince Almas!\nwhat is hardest to get is most valued. Up till now I have been subject\nto no man, and no man had had my love. The many kings and kings sons\nwho have died at my hands have died because it was their fate to die\nlike this. In this matter I have not sinned. That was their fate from\neternity; and from the beginning it was predestined that my fate should\nbe bound up with yours.\u201d\n\nThe prince gave ear to the argument from pre-ordainment, and as she was\na very lovely maiden he took her too in lawful marriage. She and\nJamila, set up house together, and Dil-aram and Gul set up theirs; and\nthe prince passed the rest of his life with the four in perfect\nhappiness, and in pleasant and sociable entertainment.\n\nNow has been told what the rose did to the cypress.\n\nFinished, finished, finished!\n\n\n\n\nFootnotes:\n\n1 (return)\n[Translated from two Persian MSS. in the possession of the British\nMuseum and the India Office, and adapted, with some reservations, by\nAnnette S. Beveridge.]\n\n2 (return)\n[Jessamine, ruby-decked.]\n\n3 (return)\n[Life-giving diamond.]\n\n4 (return)\n[World-gripper.]\n\n5 (return)\n[Love-enkindler.]\n\n6 (return)\n[Rose-cheek.]\n\n7 (return)\n[Heartsease.]\n\n8 (return)\n[Elias.]\n\n9 (return)\n[Pleasure.]\n\n10 (return)\n[Thirty-birds.]\n\n11 (return)\n[Pomp and Pride.]\n\n12 (return)\n[Of happy omen.]\n\n\n\n\nBall-carrier and the Bad One\n\n\nFar, far in the forest there were two little huts, and in each of them\nlived a man who was a famous hunter, his wife, and three or four\nchildren. Now the children were forbidden to play more than a short\ndistance from the door, as it was known that, away on the other side of\nthe wood near the great river, there dwelt a witch who had a magic ball\nthat she used as a means of stealing children.\n\nHer plan was a very simple one, and had never yet failed. When she\nwanted a child she just flung her ball in the direction of the child\u2019s\nhome, and however far off it might be, the ball was sure to reach it.\nThen, as soon as the child saw it, the ball would begin rolling slowly\nback to the witch, just keeping a little ahead of the child, so that he\nalways thought that he could catch it the next minute. But he never\ndid, and, what was more, his parents never saw him again.\n\nOf course you must not suppose that all the fathers and mothers who had\nlost children made no attempts to find them, but the forest was so\nlarge, and the witch was so cunning in knowing exactly where they were\ngoing to search, that it was very easy for her to keep out of the way.\nBesides, there was always the chance that the children might have been\neaten by wolves, of which large herds roamed about in winter.\n\nOne day the old witch happened to want a little boy, so she threw her\nball in the direction of the hunters\u2019 huts. A child was standing\noutside, shooting at a mark with his bow and arrows, but the moment he\nsaw the ball, which was made of glass whose blues and greens and\nwhites, all frosted over, kept changing one into the other, he flung\ndown his bow, and stooped to pick the ball up. But as he did so it\nbegan to roll very gently downhill. The boy could not let it roll away,\nwhen it was so close to him, so he gave chase. The ball seemed always\nwithin his grasp, yet he could never catch it; it went quicker and\nquicker, and the boy grew more and more excited. That time he almost\ntouched it\u2014no, he missed it by a hair\u2019s breadth! Now, surely, if he\ngave a spring he could get in front of it! He sprang forward, tripped\nand fell, and found himself in the witch\u2019s house!\n\n\u201cWelcome! welcome! grandson!\u201d said she; \u201cget up and rest yourself, for\nyou have had a long walk, and I am sure you must be tired!\u201d So the boy\nsat down, and ate some food which she gave him in a bowl. It was quite\ndifferent from anything he had tasted before, and he thought it was\ndelicious. When he had eaten up every bit, the witch asked him if he\nhad ever fasted.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d replied the boy, \u201cat least I have been obliged to sometimes, but\nnever if there was any food to be had.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will have to fast if you want the spirits to make you strong and\nwise, and the sooner you begin the better.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the boy, \u201cwhat do I do first?\u201d\n\n\u201cLie down on those buffalo skins by the door of the hut,\u201d answered she;\nand the boy lay down, and the squirrels and little bears and the birds\ncame and talked to him.\n\nAt the end of ten days the old woman came to him with a bowl of the\nsame food that he had eaten before.\n\n\u201cGet up, my grandson, you have fasted long enough. Have the good\nspirits visited you, and granted you the strength and wisdom that you\ndesire?\u201d\n\n\u201cSome of them have come, and have given me a portion of both,\u201d answered\nthe boy, \u201cbut many have stayed away from me.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said she, \u201cyou must fast ten days more.\u201d\n\nSo the boy lay down again on the buffalo skins, and fasted for ten\ndays, and at the end of that time he turned his face to the wall, and\nfasted for twenty days longer. At length the witch called to him, and\nsaid:\n\n\u201cCome and eat something, my grandson.\u201d At the sound of her voice the\nboy got up and ate the food she gave him. When he had finished every\nscrap she spoke as before: \u201cTell me, my grandson, have not the good\nspirits visited you all these many days that you have fasted?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot all, grandmother,\u201d answered he; \u201cthere are still some who keep\naway from me and say that I have not fasted long enough.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you must fast again,\u201d replied the old woman, \u201cand go on fasting\ntill you receive the gifts of all the good spirits. Not one must be\nmissing.\u201d\n\nThe boy said nothing, but lay down for the third time on the buffalo\nskins, and fasted for twenty days more. And at the end of that time the\nwitch thought he was dead, his face was so white and his body so still.\nBut when she had fed him out of the bowl he grew stronger, and soon was\nable to sit up.\n\n\u201cYou have fasted a long time,\u201d said she, \u201clonger than anyone ever\nfasted before. Surely the good spirits must be satisfied now?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, grandmother,\u201d answered the boy, \u201cthey have all come, and have\ngiven me their gifts.\u201d\n\nThis pleased the old woman so much that she brought him another basin\nof food, and while he was eating it she talked to him, and this is what\nshe said: \u201cFar away, on the other side of the great river, is the home\nof the Bad One. In his house is much gold, and what is more precious\neven than the gold, a little bridge, which lengthens out when the Bad\nOne waves his hand, so that there is no river or sea that he cannot\ncross. Now I want that bridge and some of the gold for myself, and that\nis the reason that I have stolen so many boys by means of my ball. I\nhave tried to teach them how to gain the gifts of the good spirits, but\nnone of them would fast long enough, and at last I had to send them\naway to perform simple, easy little tasks. But you have been strong and\nfaithful, and you can do this thing if you listen to what I tell you!\nWhen you reach the river tie this ball to your foot, and it will take\nyou across\u2014you cannot manage it in any other way. But do not be afraid;\ntrust to the ball, and you will be quite safe!\u201d\n\nThe boy took the ball and put it in a bag. Then he made himself a club\nand a bow, and some arrows which would fly further than anyone else\u2019s\narrows, because of the strength the good spirits had given him. They\nhad also bestowed on him the power of changing his shape, and had\nincreased the quickness of his eyes and ears so that nothing escaped\nhim. And in some way or other they made him understand that if he\nneeded more help they would give it to him.\n\nWhen all these things were ready the boy bade farewell to the witch and\nset out. He walked through the forest for several days without seeing\nanyone but his friends the squirrels and the bears and the birds, but\nthough he stopped and spoke to them all, he was careful not to let them\nknow where he was going.\n\nAt last, after many days, he came to the river, and beyond it he\nnoticed a small hut standing on a hill which he guessed to be the home\nof the Bad One. But the stream flowed so quickly that he could not see\nhow he was ever to cross it, and in order to test how swift the current\nreally was, he broke a branch from a tree and threw it in. It seemed\nhardly to touch the water before it was carried away, and even his\nmagic sight could not follow it. He could not help feeling frightened,\nbut he hated giving up anything that he had once undertaken, and,\nfastening the ball on his right foot, he ventured on the river. To his\nsurprise he was able to stand up; then a panic seized him, and he\nscrambled up the bank again. In a minute or two he plucked up courage\nto go a little further into the river, but again its width frightened\nhim, and a second time he turned back. However, he felt rather ashamed\nof his cowardice, as it was quite clear that his ball could support\nhim, and on his third trial he got safely to the other side.\n\nOnce there he replaced the ball in the bag, and looked carefully round\nhim. The door of the Bad One\u2019s hut was open, and he saw that the\nceiling was supported by great wooden beams, from which hung the bags\nof gold and the little bridge. He saw, too, the Bad One sitting in the\nmidst of his treasures eating his dinner, and drinking something out of\na horn. It was plain to the boy that he must invent some plan of\ngetting the Bad One out of the way, or else he would never be able to\nsteal the gold or the bridge.\n\nWhat should he do? Give horrible shrieks as if he were in pain? But the\nBad One would not care whether he were murdered or not! Call him by his\nname? But the Bad One was very cunning, and would suspect some trick.\nHe must try something better than that! Then suddenly an idea came to\nhim, and he gave a little jump of joy. \u201cOh, how stupid of me not to\nthink of that before!\u201d said he, and he wished with all his might that\nthe Bad One should become very hungry\u2014so hungry that he could not wait\na moment for fresh food to be brought to him. And sure enough at that\ninstant the Bad One called out to his servant, \u201cYou did not bring food\nthat would satisfy a sparrow Fetch some more at once, for I am\nperfectly starving.\u201d Then, without giving the woman time to go to the\nlarder, he got up from his chair, and rolled, staggering from hunger,\ntowards the kitchen.\n\nDirectly the door had closed on the Bad One the boy ran in, pulled down\na bag of gold from the beam, and tucked it under his left arm. Next he\nunhooked the little bridge and put it under his right. He did not try\nto escape, as most boys of his age would have done, for the wisdom put\ninto his mind by the good spirits taught him that before he could reach\nthe river and make use of the bridge the Bad One would have tracked him\nby his footsteps and been upon him. So, making himself very small and\nthin, he hid himself behind a pile of buffalo skins in the corner,\nfirst tearing a slit through one of them, so that he could see what was\ngoing on.\n\nHe had hardly settled himself when the servant entered the room, and,\nas she did so, the last bag of gold on the beam fell to the ground\u2014for\nthey had begun to fall directly the boy had taken the first one. She\ncried to her master that someone had stolen both the bag and the\nbridge, and the Bad One rushed in, mad with anger, and bade her go and\nseek for footsteps outside, that they might find out where the thief\nhad gone. In a few minutes she returned, saying that he must be in the\nhouse, as she could not see any footsteps leading to the river, and\nbegan to move all the furniture in the room, without discovering Ball\nCarrier.\n\n\u201cBut he must be here somewhere,\u201d she said to herself, examining for the\nsecond time the pile of buffalo skins; and Ball-Carrier, knowing that\nhe could not possibly escape now, hastily wished that the Bad One\nshould be unable to eat any more food at present.\n\n\u201cAh, there is a slit in this one,\u201d cried the servant, shaking the skin;\n\u201cand here he is.\u201d And she pulled out Ball-Carrier, looking so lean and\nsmall that he would hardly have made a mouthful for a sparrow.\n\n\u201cWas it you who took my gold and bridge?\u201d asked the Bad One.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered Ball-Carrier, \u201cit was I who took them.\u201d\n\nThe Bad One made a sign to the woman, who inquired where he had hidden\nthem. He lifted his left arm where the gold was, and she picked up a\nknife and scraped his skin so that no gold should be left sticking to\nit.\n\n\u201cWhat have you done with the bridge?\u201d said she. And he lifted his right\narm, from which she took the bridge, while the Bad One looked on, well\npleased. \u201cBe sure that he does not run away,\u201d chuckled he. \u201cBoil some\nwater, and get him ready for cooking, while I go and invite my friends\nthe water-demons to the feast.\u201d\n\nThe woman seized Ball-Carrier between her finger and thumb, and was\ngoing to carry him to the kitchen, when the boy spoke:\n\n\u201cI am very lean and small now,\u201d he said, \u201chardly worth the trouble of\ncooking; but if you were to keep me two days, and gave me plenty of\nfood, I should get big and fat. As it is, your friends the water-demons\nwould think you meant to laugh at them, when they found that I was the\nfeast.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, perhaps you are right,\u201d answered the Bad One; \u201cI will keep you\nfor two days.\u201d And he went out to visit the water-demons.\n\nMeanwhile the servant, whose name was Lung Woman, led him into a little\nshed, and chained him up to a ring in the wall. But food was given him\nevery hour, and at the end of two days he was as fat and big as a\nChristmas turkey, and could hardly move his head from one side to the\nother.\n\n\u201cHe will do now,\u201d said the Bad One, who came constantly to see how he\nwas getting on. \u201cI shall go and tell the water-demons that we expect\nthem to dinner to-night. Put the kettle on the fire, but be sure on no\naccount to taste the broth.\u201d\n\nLung-Woman lost no time in obeying her orders. She built up the fire,\nwhich had got very low, filled the kettle with water, and passing a\nrope which hung from the ceiling through the handle, swung it over the\nflames. Then she brought in Ball-Carrier, who, seeing all these\npreparations, wished that as long as he was in the kettle the water\nmight not really boil, though it would hiss and bubble, and also, that\nthe spirits would turn the water into fat.\n\nThe kettle soon began to sing and bubble, and Ball Carrier was lifted\nin. Very soon the fat which was to make the sauce rose to the surface,\nand Ball-Carrier, who was bobbing about from one side to the other,\ncalled out that Lung-Woman had better taste the broth, as he though\nthat some salt should be added to it. The servant knew quite well that\nher master had forbidden her to do any thing of the kind, but when once\nthe idea was put into her head, she found the smell from the kettle so\ndelicious that she unhooked a long ladle from the wall and plunged it\ninto the kettle.\n\n\u201cYou will spill it all, if you stand so far off,\u201d said the boy; \u201cwhy\ndon\u2019t you come a little nearer?\u201d And as she did so he cried to the\nspirits to give him back his usual size and strength and to make the\nwater scalding hot Then he gave the kettle a kick, which upset all the\nboiling water upon her, and jumping over her body he seized once more\nthe gold and the bridge, picked up his club and bow and arrows, and\nafter setting fire to the Bad One\u2019s hut, ran down to the river, which\nhe crossed safely by the help of the bridge.\n\nThe hut, which was made of wood, was burned to the ground before the\nBad One came back with a large crowd of water-demons. There was not a\nsign of anyone or anything, so he started for the river, where he saw\nBall Carrier sitting quietly on the other side. Then the Bad One knew\nwhat had happened, and after telling the water demons that there would\nbe no feast after all, he called to Ball-Carrier, who was eating an\napple.\n\n\u201cI know your name now,\u201d he said, \u201cand as you have ruined me, and I am\nnot rich any more, will you take me as your servant?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I will, though you have tried to kill me,\u201d answered Ball-Carrier,\nthrowing the bridge across the water as he spoke. But when the Bad One\nwas in the midst of the stream, the boy wished it to become small; and\nthe Bad One fell into the water and was drowned, and the world was rid\nof him.\n\n[U.S.. Bureau of Ethnology.]\n\n\n\n\nHow Ball-carrier Finished His Task\n\n\nAfter Ball-Carrier had managed to drown the Bad One so that he could\nnot do any more mischief, he forgot the way to his grandmother\u2019s house,\nand could not find it again, though he searched everywhere. During this\ntime he wandered into many strange places, and had many adventures; and\none day he came to a hut where a young girl lived. He was tired and\nhungry and begged her to let him in and rest, and he stayed a long\nwhile, and the girl became his wife. One morning he saw two children\nplaying in front of the hut, and went out to speak to them. But as soon\nas they saw him they set up cries of horror and ran away. \u201cThey are the\nchildren of my sister who has been on a long journey,\u201d replied his\nwife, \u201cand now that she knows you are my husband she wants to kill\nyou.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, well, let her try,\u201d replied Ball-Carrier. \u201cIt is not the first\ntime people have wished to do that. And here I am still, you see!\u201d\n\n\u201cBe careful,\u201d said the wife, \u201cshe is very cunning.\u201d But at this moment\nthe sister-in-law came up.\n\n\u201cHow do you do, brother-in-law? I have heard of you so often that I am\nvery glad to meet you. I am told that you are more powerful than any\nman on earth, and as I am powerful too, let us try which is the\nstrongest.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat will be delightful,\u201d answered he. \u201cSuppose we begin with a short\nrace, and then we will go on to other things.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat will suit me very well,\u201d replied the woman, who was a witch. \u201cAnd\nlet us agree that the one who wins shall have the right to kill the\nother.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, certainly,\u201d said Ball-Carrier; and I don\u2019t think we shall find a\nflatter course than the prairie itself\u2014no one knows how many miles it\nstretches. We will run to the end and back again.\u201d\n\nThis being settled they both made ready for the race, and Ball-Carrier\nsilently begged the good spirits to help him, and not to let him fall\ninto the hands of this wicked witch.\n\n\u201cWhen the sun touches the trunk of that tree we will start,\u201d said she,\nas they both stood side by side. But with the first step Ball-Carrier\nchanged himself into a wolf and for a long way kept ahead. Then\ngradually he heard her creeping up behind him, and soon she was in\nfront. So Ball-Carrier took the shape of a pigeon and flew rapidly past\nher, but in a little while she was in front again and the end of the\nprairie was in sight. \u201cA crow can fly faster than a pigeon,\u201d thought\nhe, and as a crow he managed to pass her and held his ground so long\nthat he fancied she was quite beaten. The witch began to be afraid of\nit too, and putting out all her strength slipped past him. Next he put\non the shape of a hawk, and in this form he reached the bounds of the\nprairie, he and the witch turning homewards at the moment.\n\nBird after bird he tried, but every time the witch gained on him and\ntook the lead. At length the goal was in sight, and Ball-Carrier knew\nthat unless he could get ahead now he would be killed before his own\ndoor, under the eyes of his wife. His eyes had grown dim from fatigue,\nhis wings flapped wearily and hardly bore him along, while the witch\nseemed as fresh as ever. What bird was there whose flight was swifter\nthan his? Would not the good spirits tell him? Ah, of course he knew;\nwhy had he not thought of it at first and spared himself all that\nfatigue? And the next instant a humming bird, dressed in green and\nblue, flashed past the woman and entered the house. The witch came\npanting up, furious at having lost the race which she felt certain of\nwinning; and Ball-Carrier, who had by this time changed back into his\nown shape, struck her on the head and killed her.\n\nFor a long while Ball-Carrier was content to stay quietly at home with\nhis wife and children, for he was tired of adventures, and only did\nenough hunting to supply the house with food. But one day he happened\nto eat some poisonous berries that he had found in the forest, and grew\nso ill that he felt he was going to die.\n\n\u201cWhen I am dead do not bury me in the earth,\u201d he said, \u201cbut put me over\nthere, among that clump of trees.\u201d So his wife and her three children\nwatched by him as long as he was alive, and after he was dead they took\nhim up and laid the body on a platform of stakes which they had\nprepared in the grove. And as they returned weeping to the hut they\ncaught a glimpse of the ball rolling away down the path back to the old\ngrandmother. One of the sons sprang forward to stop it, for\nBall-Carrier had often told them the tale of how it had helped him to\ncross the river, but it was too quick for him, and they had to content\nthemselves with the war club and bow and arrows, which were put\ncarefully away.\n\nBy-and-by some travellers came past, and the chief among them asked\nleave to marry Ball-Carrier\u2019s daughter. The mother said she must have a\nlittle time to think over it, as her daughter was still very young; so\nit was settled that the man should go away for a month with his\nfriends, and then come back to see if the girl was willing.\n\nNow ever since Ball-Carrier\u2019s death the family had been very poor, and\noften could not get enough to eat. One morning the girl, who had had no\nsupper and no breakfast, wandered off to look for cranberries, and\nthough she was quite near home was astonished at noticing a large hut,\nwhich certainly had not been there when last she had come that way. No\none was about, so she ventured to peep in, and her surprise was\nincreased at seeing, heaped up in one corner, a quantity of food of all\nsorts, while a little robin redbreast stood perched on a beam looking\ndown upon her.\n\n\u201cIt is my father, I am sure,\u201d she cried; and the bird piped in answer.\n\nFrom that day, whenever they wanted food they went to the hut, and\nthough the robin could not speak, he would hop on their shoulders and\nlet them feed him with the food they knew he liked best.\n\nWhen the man came back he found the girl looking so much prettier and\nfatter than when he had left her, that he insisted that they should be\nmarried on the spot. And the mother, who did not know how to get rid of\nhim, gave in.\n\nThe husband spent all his time in hunting, and the family had never had\nso much meat before; but the man, who had seen for himself how poor\nthey were, noticed with amazement that they did not seem to care about\nit, or to be hungry. \u201cThey must get food from somewhere,\u201d he thought,\nand one morning, when he pretended to be going out to hunt, he hid in a\nthicket to watch. Very soon they all left the house together, and\nwalked to the other hut, which the girl\u2019s husband saw for the first\ntime, as it was hid in a hollow. He followed, and noticed that each one\nwent up to the redbreast, and shook him by the claw; and he then\nentered boldly and shook the bird\u2019s claw too. The whole party\nafterwards sat down to dinner, after which they all returned to their\nown hut.\n\nThe next day the husband declared that he was very ill, and could not\neat anything; but this was only a presence so that he might get what he\nwanted. The family were all much distressed, and begged him to tell\nthem what food he fancied.\n\n\u201cOh! I could not eat any food,\u201d he answered every time, and at each\nanswer his voice grew fainter and fainter, till they thought he would\ndie from weakness before their eyes.\n\n\u201cThere must be some thing you could take, if you would only say what it\nis,\u201d implored his wife.\n\n\u201cNo, nothing, nothing; except, perhaps\u2014but of course that is\nimpossible!\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I am sure it is not,\u201d replied she; \u201cyou shall have it, I\npromise\u2014only tell me what it is.\u201d\n\n\u201cI think\u2014but I could not ask you to do such a thing. Leave me alone,\nand let me die quietly.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shall not die,\u201d cried the girl, who was very fond of her husband,\nfor he did not beat her as most girls\u2019 husbands did. \u201cWhatever it is, I\nwill manage to get it for you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, then, I think, if I had that\u2014redbreast, nicely roasted, I could\neat a little bit of his wing!\u201d\n\nThe wife started back in horror at such a request; but the man turned\nhis face to the wall, and took no notice, as he thought it was better\nto leave her to herself for a little.\n\nWeeping and wringing her hands, the girl went down to her mother. The\nbrothers were very angry when they heard the story, and declared that,\nif any one were to die, it certainly should not be the robin. But all\nthat night the man seemed getting weaker and weaker, and at last, quite\nearly, the wife crept out, and stealing to the hut, killed the bird,\nand brought him home to her husband.\n\nJust as she was going to cook it her two brothers came in. They cried\nout in horror at the sight, and, rushing out of the hut, declared they\nwould never see her any more. And the poor girl, with a heavy heart,\ntook the body of the redbreast up to her husband.\n\nBut directly she entered the room the man told her that he felt a great\ndeal better, and that he would rather have a piece of bear\u2019s flesh,\nwell boiled, than any bird, however tender. His wife felt very\nmiserable to think that their beloved redbreast had been sacrificed for\nnothing, and begged him to try a little bit.\n\n\u201cYou felt so sure that it would do you good before,\u201d said she, \u201cthat I\ncan\u2019t help thinking it would quite cure you now.\u201d But the man only flew\ninto a rage, and flung the bird out of the window. Then he got up and\nwent out.\n\nNow all this while the ball had been rolling, rolling, rolling to the\nold grandmother\u2019s hut on the other side of the world, and directly it\nrolled into her hut she knew that her grandson must be dead. Without\nwasting any time she took a fox skin and tied it round her forehead,\nand fastened another round her waist, as witches always do when they\nleave their own homes. When she was ready she said to the ball: \u201cGo\nback the way you came, and lead me to my grandson.\u201d And the ball\nstarted with the old woman following.\n\nIt was a long journey, even for a witch, but, like other things, it\nended at last; and the old woman stood before the platform of stakes,\nwhere the body of Ball-Carrier lay.\n\n\u201cWake up, my grandson, it is time to go home,\u201d the witch said. And\nBall-Carrier stepped down oft the platform, and brought his club and\nbow and arrows out of the hut, and set out, for the other side of the\nworld, behind the old woman.\n\nWhen they reached the hut where Ball-Carrier had fasted so many years\nago, the old woman spoke for the first time since they had started on\ntheir way.\n\n\u201cMy grandson, did you ever manage to get that gold from the Bad One?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, grandmother, I got it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is it?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cHere, in my left arm-pit,\u201d answered he.\n\nSo she picked up a knife and scraped away all the gold which had stuck\nto his skin, and which had been sticking there ever since he first\nstole it. After she had finished she asked again:\n\n\u201cMy grandson, did you manage to get that bridge from the Bad One?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, grandmother, I got that too,\u201d answered he.\n\n\u201cWhere is it?\u201d she asked, and Ball-Carrier lifted his right arm, and\npointed to his arm-pit.\n\n\u201cHere is the bridge, grandmother,\u201d said he.\n\nThen the witch did something that nobody in the world could have\nguessed that she would do. First, she took the gold and said to\nBall-carrier:\n\n\u201cMy grandson, this gold must be hidden in the earth, for if people\nthink they can get it when they choose, they will become lazy and\nstupid. But if we take it and bury it in different parts of the world\nthey will have to work for it if they want it, and then will only find\na little at a time.\u201d And as she spoke, she pulled up one of the poles\nof the hut, and Ball-Carrier saw that underneath was a deep, deep hole,\nwhich seemed to have no bottom. Down this hole she poured all the gold,\nand when it was out of sight it ran about all over the world, where\npeople that dig hard sometimes find it. And after that was done she put\nthe pole back again.\n\nNext she lifted down a spade from a high shelf, where it had grown\nquite rusty, and dug a very small hole on the opposite side of the\nhut\u2014very small, but very deep.\n\n\u201cGive me the bridge,\u201d said she, \u201cfor I am going to bury it here. If\nanyone was to get hold of it, and find that they could cross rivers and\nseas without any trouble, they would never discover how to cross them\nfor themselves. I am a witch, and if I had chosen I could easily have\ncast my spells over the Bad One, and have made him deliver them to you\nthe first day you came into my hut. But then you would never have\nfasted, and never have planned how to get what you wanted, and never\nhave known the good spirits, and would have been fat and idle to the\nend of your days. And now go; in that hut, which you can just see far\naway, live your father and mother, who are old people now, and need a\nson to hunt for them. You have done what you were set to do, and I need\nyou no more.\u201d\n\nThen Ball-Carrier remembered his parents and went back to them.\n\n[From Bureau of Ethnology. \u201cIndian Folklore.\u201c]\n\n\n\n\nThe Bunyip\n\n\nLong, long ago, far, far away on the other side of the world, some\nyoung men left the camp where they lived to get some food for their\nwives and children. The sun was hot, but they liked heat, and as they\nwent they ran races and tried who could hurl his spear the farthest, or\nwas cleverest in throwing a strange weapon called a boomerang, which\nalways returns to the thrower. They did not get on very fast at this\nrate, but presently they reached a flat place that in time of flood was\nfull of water, but was now, in the height of summer, only a set of\npools, each surrounded with a fringe of plants, with bulrushes standing\nin the inside of all. In that country the people are fond of the roots\nof bulrushes, which they think as good as onions, and one of the young\nmen said that they had better collect some of the roots and carry them\nback to the camp. It did not take them long to weave the tops of the\nwillows into a basket, and they were just going to wade into the water\nand pull up the bulrush roots when a youth suddenly called out: \u201cAfter\nall, why should we waste our time in doing work that is only fit for\nwomen and children? Let them come and get the roots for themselves; but\nwe will fish for eels and anything else we can get.\u201d\n\nThis delighted the rest of the party, and they all began to arrange\ntheir fishing lines, made from the bark of the yellow mimosa, and to\nsearch for bait for their hooks. Most of them used worms, but one, who\nhad put a piece of raw meat for dinner into his skin wallet, cut off a\nlittle bit and baited his line with it, unseen by his companions.\n\nFor a long time they cast patiently, without receiving a single bite;\nthe sun had grown low in the sky, and it seemed as if they would have\nto go home empty-handed, not even with a basket of roots to show; when\nthe youth, who had baited his hook with raw meat, suddenly saw his line\ndisappear under the water. Something, a very heavy fish he supposed,\nwas pulling so hard that he could hardly keep his feet, and for a few\nminutes it seemed either as if he must let go or be dragged into the\npool. He cried to his friends to help him, and at last, trembling with\nfright at what they were going to see, they managed between them to\nland on the bank a creature that was neither a calf nor a seal, but\nsomething of both, with a long, broad tail. They looked at each other\nwith horror, cold shivers running down their spines; for though they\nhad never beheld it, there was not a man amongst them who did not know\nwhat it was\u2014the cub of the awful Bunyip!\n\nAll of a sudden the silence was broken by a low wail, answered by\nanother from the other side of the pool, as the mother rose up from her\nden and came towards them, rage flashing from her horrible yellow eyes.\n\u201cLet it go! let it go!\u201d whispered the young men to each other; but the\ncaptor declared that he had caught it, and was going to keep it. \u201cHe\nhad promised his sweetheart,\u201d he said, \u201cthat he would bring back enough\nmeat for her father\u2019s house to feast on for three days, and though they\ncould not eat the little Bunyip, her brothers and sisters should have\nit to play with.\u201d So, flinging his spear at the mother to keep her\nback, he threw the little Bunyip on to his shoulders, and set out for\nthe camp, never heeding the poor mother\u2019s cries of distress.\n\nBy this time it was getting near sunset, and the plain was in shadow,\nthough the tops of the mountains were still quite bright. The youths\nhad all ceased to be afraid, when they were startled by a low rushing\nsound behind them, and, looking round, saw that the pool was slowly\nrising, and the spot where they had landed the Bunyip was quite\ncovered. \u201cWhat could it be?\u201d they asked one of another; \u201cthere was not\na cloud in the sky, yet the water had risen higher already than they\nhad ever known it do before.\u201d For an instant they stood watching as if\nthey were frozen, then they turned and ran with all their might, the\nman with the Bunyip running faster than all. When he reached a high\npeak over-looking all the plain he stopped to take breath, and turned\nto see if he was safe yet. Safe! why only the tops of the trees\nremained above that sea of water, and these were fast disappearing.\nThey must run fast indeed if they were to escape. So on they flew,\nscarcely feeling the ground as they went, till they flung themselves on\nthe ground before the holes scooped out of the earth where they had all\nbeen born. The old men were sitting in front, the children were\nplaying, and the women chattering together, when the little Bunyip fell\ninto their midst, and there was scarcely a child among them who did not\nknow that something terrible was upon them. \u201cThe water! the water!\u201d\ngasped one of the young men; and there it was, slowly but steadily\nmounting the ridge itself. Parents and children clung together, as if\nby that means they could drive back the advancing flood; and the youth\nwho had caused all this terrible catastrophe, seized his sweetheart,\nand cried: \u201cI will climb with you to the top of that tree, and there no\nwaters can reach us.\u201d But, as he spoke, something cold touched him, and\nquickly he glanced down at his feet. Then with a shudder he saw that\nthey were feet no longer, but bird\u2019s claws. He looked at the girl he\nwas clasping, and beheld a great black bird standing at his side; he\nturned to his friends, but a flock of great awkward flapping creatures\nstood in their place He put up his hands to cover his face, but they\nwere no more hands, only the ends of wings; and when he tried to speak,\na noise such as he had never heard before seemed to come from his\nthroat, which had suddenly become narrow and slender. Already the water\nhad risen to his waist, and he found himself sitting easily upon it,\nwhile its surface reflected back the image of a black swan, one of\nmany.\n\nNever again did the swans become men; but they are still different from\nother swans, for in the night-time those who listen can hear them talk\nin a language that is certainly not swan\u2019s language; and there are even\nsounds of laughing and talking, unlike any noise made by the swans whom\nwe know.\n\nThe little Bunyip was carried home by its mother, and after that the\nwaters sank back to their own channels. The side of the pool where she\nlives is always shunned by everyone, as nobody knows when she may\nsuddenly put out her head and draw him into her mighty jaws. But people\nsay that underneath the black waters of the pool she has a house filled\nwith beautiful things, such as mortals who dwell on the earth have no\nidea of. Though how they know I cannot tell you, as nobody has ever\nseen it.\n\n[From Journal of Anthropological-Institute.]\n\n\n\n\nFather Grumbler\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a man who had nearly as many children as\nthere were sparrows in the garden. He had to work very hard all day to\nget them enough to eat, and was often tired and cross, and abused\neverything and everybody, so that people called him \u201cFather Grumbler.\u201d\n\nBy-and-by he grew weary of always working, and on Sundays he lay a long\nwhile in bed, instead of going to church. Then after a time he found it\ndull to sit so many hours by himself, thinking of nothing but how to\npay the rent that was owing, and as the tavern across the road looked\nbright and cheerful, he walked in one day and sat down with his\nfriends. \u201cIt was just to chase away Care,\u201d he said; but when he came\nout, hours and hours after, Care came out with him.\n\nFather Grumbler entered his house feeling more dismal than when he left\nit, for he knew that he had wasted both his time and his money.\n\n\u201cI will go and see the Holy Man in the cave near the well,\u201d he said to\nhimself, \u201cand perhaps he can tell me why all the luck is for other\npeople, and only misfortunes happen to me.\u201d And he set out at once for\nthe cave.\n\nIt was a long way off, and the road led over mountains and through\nvalleys; but at last he reached the cave where the Holy Man dwelt, and\nknocked at the door.\n\n\u201cWho is there?\u201d asked a voice from within.\n\n\u201cIt is I, Holy Man, Father Grumbler, you know, who has as many children\nas sparrows in the garden.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, and what is it that you want?\u201d\n\n\u201cI want to know why other people have all the luck, and only\nmisfortunes happen to me!\u201d\n\nThe Holy Man did not answer, but went into an inner cave, from which he\ncame out bearing something in his hand. \u201cDo you see this basket?\u201d said\nhe. \u201cIt is a magical basket, and if you are hungry you have only got to\nsay: \u2018Little basket, little basket, do your duty,\u2019 and you will eat the\nbest dinner you ever had in your life. But when you have had enough, be\nsure you don\u2019t forget to cry out: \u2018That will do for to-day.\u2019 Oh!\u2014and\none thing more\u2014you need not show it to everybody and declare that I\nhave give it to you. Do you understand?\u201d\n\nFather Grumbler was always accustomed to think of himself as so unlucky\nthat he did not know whether the Holy Man was not playing a trick upon\nhim; but he took the basket without being polite enough to say either\n\u201cThank you,\u201d or \u201cGood-morning,\u201d and went away. However, he only waited\ntill he was out of sight of the cave before he stooped down and\nwhispered: \u201cLittle basket, little basket, do your duty.\u201d\n\nNow the basket had a lid, so that he could not see what was inside, but\nhe heard quite clearly strange noises, as if a sort of scuffling was\ngoing on. Then the lid burst open, and a quantity of delicious little\nwhite rolls came tumbling out one after the other, followed by a stream\nof small fishes all ready cooked. What a quantity there were to be\nsure! The whole road was covered with them, and the banks on each side\nwere beginning to disappear. Father Grumbler felt quite frightened at\nthe torrent, but at last he remembered what the Holy Man had told him,\nand cried at the top of his voice: \u201cEnough! enough! That will do for\nto-day!\u201d And the lid of the basket closed with a snap.\n\nFather Grumbler sighed with relief and happiness as he looked around\nhim, and sitting down on a heap of stones, he ate till he could eat no\nmore. Trout, salmon, turbot, soles, and a hundred other fishes whose\nnames he did not know, lay boiled, fried, and grilled within reach of\nhis hands. As the Holy Man had said, he had never eaten such a dinner;\nstill, when he had done, he shook his head, and grumbled; \u201cYes, there\nis plenty to eat, of course, but it only makes me thirsty, and there is\nnot a drop to drink anywhere.\u201d\n\nYet, somehow, he could never tell why, he looked up and saw the tavern\nin front of him, which he thought was miles, and miles, and miles away.\n\n\u201cBring the best wine you have got, and two glasses, good mother,\u201d he\nsaid as he entered, \u201cand if you are fond of fish there is enough here\nto feed the house. Only there is no need to chatter about it all over\nthe place. You understand? Eh?\u201d And without waiting for an answer he\nwhispered to the basket: \u201cLittle basket, little basket, do your duty.\u201d\nThe innkeeper and his wife thought that their customer had gone\nsuddenly mad, and watched him closely, ready to spring on him if he\nbecame violent; but both instinctively jumped backwards, nearly into\nthe fire, as rolls and fishes of every kind came tumbling out of the\nbasket, covering the tables and chairs and the floor, and even\noverflowing into the street.\n\n\u201cBe quick, be quick, and pick them up,\u201d cried the man. \u201cAnd if these\nare not enough, there are plenty more to be had for the asking.\u201d\n\nThe innkeeper and his wife did not need telling twice. Down they went\non their knees and gathered up everything they could lay hands on. But\nbusy though they seemed, they found time to whisper to each other:\n\n\u201cIf we can only get hold of that basket it will make our fortune!\u201d\n\nSo they began by inviting Father Grumbler to sit down to the table, and\nbrought out the best wine in the cellar, hoping it might loosen his\ntongue. But Father Grumbler was wiser than they gave him credit for,\nand though they tried in all manner of ways to find out who had given\nhim the basket, he put them off, and kept his secret to himself.\nUnluckily, though he did not SPEAK, he did drink, and it was not long\nbefore he fell fast asleep. Then the woman fetched from her kitchen a\nbasket, so like the magic one that no one, without looking very\nclosely, could tell the difference, and placed it in Father Grumbler\u2019s\nhand, while she hid the other carefully away.\n\nIt was dinner time when the man awoke, and, jumping up hastily, he set\nout for home, where he found all the children gathered round a basin of\nthin soup, and pushing their wooden bowls forward, hoping to have the\nfirst spoonful. Their father burst into the midst of them, bearing his\nbasket, and crying:\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t spoil your appetites, children, with that stuff. Do you see this\nbasket? Well, I have only got to say, \u2018Little basket, little basket, do\nyour duty,\u2019 and you will see what will happen. Now you shall say it\ninstead of me, for a treat.\u201d\n\nThe children, wondering and delighted, repeated the words, but nothing\nhappened. Again and again they tried, but the basket was only a basket,\nwith a few scales of fish sticking to the bottom, for the innkeeper\u2019s\nwife had taken it to market the day before.\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter with the thing?\u201d cried the father at last,\nsnatching the basket from them, and turning it all over, grumbling and\nswearing while he did so, under the eyes of his astonished wife and\nchildren, who did not know whether to cry or to laugh.\n\n\u201cIt certainly smells of fish,\u201d he said, and then he stopped, for a\nsudden thought had come to him.\n\n\u201cSuppose it is not mine at all; supposing\u2014Ah, the scoundrels!\u201d\n\nAnd without listening to his wife and children, who were frightened at\nhis strange conduct and begged him to stay at home, he ran across to\nthe tavern and burst open the door.\n\n\u201cCan I do anything for you, Father Grumbler?\u201d asked the innkeeper\u2019s\nwife in her softest voice.\n\n\u201cI have taken the wrong basket\u2014by mistake, of course,\u201d said he. \u201cHere\nis yours, will you give me back my own?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, what are you talking about?\u201d answered she. \u201cYou can see for\nyourself that there is no basket here.\u201d\n\nAnd though Father Grumbler DID look, it was quite true that none was to\nbe seen.\n\n\u201cCome, take a glass to warm you this cold day,\u201d said the woman, who was\nanxious to keep him in a good temper, and as this was an invitation\nFather Grumbler never refused, he tossed it off and left the house.\n\nHe took the road that led to the Holy Man\u2019s cave, and made such haste\nthat it was not long before he reached it.\n\n\u201cWho is there?\u201d said a voice in answer to his knock.\n\n\u201cIt is me, it is me, Holy man. You know quite well. Father Grumbler,\nwho has as many children as sparrows in the garden.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, my good man, it was only yesterday that I gave you a handsome\npresent.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Holy Man, and here it is. But something has happened, I don\u2019t\nknow what, and it won\u2019t work any more.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, put it down. I will go and see if I can find anything for you.\u201d\n\nIn a few minutes the Holy Man returned with a cock under his arm.\n\n\u201cListen to me,\u201d he said, \u201cwhenever you want money, you only have to\nsay: \u2018Show me what you can do, cock,\u2019 and you will see some wonderful\nthings. But, remember, it is not necessary to let all the world into\nthe secret.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh no, Holy Man, I am not so foolish as that.\u201d\n\n\u201cNor to tell everybody that I gave it to you,\u201d went on the Holy Man. \u201cI\nhave not got these treasures by the dozen.\u201d\n\nAnd without waiting for an answer he shut the door.\n\nAs before, the distance seemed to have wonderfully shortened, and in a\nmoment the tavern rose up in front of Father Grumbler. Without stopping\nto think, he went straight in, and found the innkeeper\u2019s wife in the\nkitchen making a cake.\n\n\u201cWhere have you come from, with that fine red cock in your basket,\u201d\nasked she, for the bird was so big that the lid would not shut down\nproperly.\n\n\u201cOh, I come from a place where they don\u2019t keep these things by the\ndozen,\u201d he replied, sitting down in front of the table.\n\nThe woman said no more, but set before him a bottle of his favourite\nwine, and soon he began to wish to display his prize.\n\n\u201cShow me what you can do, cock,\u201d cried he. And the cock stood up and\nflapped his wings three times, crowing \u201ccoquerico\u201d with a voice like a\ntrumpet, and at each crow there fell from his beak golden drops, and\ndiamonds as large as peas.\n\nThis time Father Grumbler did not invite the innkeeper\u2019s wife to pick\nup his treasures, but put his own hat under the cock\u2019s beak, so as to\ncatch everything he let fall; and he did not see the husband and wife\nexchanging glances with each other which said, \u201cThat would be a\nsplendid cock to put with our basket.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave another glass of wine?\u201d suggested the innkeeper, when they had\nfinished admiring the beauty of the cock, for they pretended not to\nhave seen the gold or the diamonds. And Father Grumbler, nothing loth,\ndrank one glass after another, till his head fell forward on the table,\nand once more he was sound asleep. Then the woman gently coaxed the\ncock from the basket and carried it off to her own poultry yard, from\nwhich she brought one exactly like it, and popped it in its place.\n\nNight was falling when the man awoke, and throwing proudly some grains\nof gold on the table to pay for the wine he had drunk, he tucked the\ncock comfortably into his basket and set out for home.\n\nHis wife and all the children were waiting for him at the door, and as\nsoon as she caught sight of him she broke out:\n\n\u201cYou are a nice man to go wasting your time and your money drinking in\nthat tavern, and leaving us to starve! Aren\u2019t you ashamed of yourself?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou don\u2019t know what you are talking of,\u201d he answered. \u201cMoney? Why, I\nhave gold and diamonds now, as much as I want. Do you see that cock?\nWell, you have only to say to him, \u2018Show me what you can do, cock,\u2019 and\nsomething splendid will happen.\u201d\n\nNeither wife nor children were inclined to put much faith in him after\ntheir last experience; however, they thought it was worth trying, and\ndid as he told them. The cock flew round the room like a mad thing, and\ncrowed till their heads nearly split with the noise; but no gold or\ndiamonds dropped on the brick floor\u2014not the tiniest grain of either.\n\nFather Grumbler stared in silence for an instant, and then he began to\nswear so loudly that even his family, accustomed as they were to his\nlanguage, wondered at him.\n\nAt last he grew a little quieter, but remained as puzzled as ever.\n\n\u201cCan I have forgotten the words? But I KNOW that was what he said! And\nI saw the diamonds with my own eyes!\u201d Then suddenly he seized the cock,\nshut it into the basket, and rushed out of the house.\n\nHis heavy wooden shoes clattered as he ran along the road, and he made\nsuch haste that the stars were only just beginning to come out when he\nreached the cave of the Holy Man.\n\n\u201cWho is that knocking?\u201d asked a voice from within.\n\n\u201cIt is me! It is me! Holy Man! you know! Father\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, my good fellow, you really should give some one else a chance.\nThis is the third time you have been\u2014and at such an hour, too!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes, Holy Man, I know it is very late, but you will forgive me! It\nis your cock\u2014there is something the matter. It is like the basket.\nLook!\u201d\n\n\u201cTHAT my cock? THAT my basket? Somebody has played you a trick, my good\nman!\u201d\n\n\u201cA trick?\u201d repeated Father Grumbler, who began to understand what had\nhappened. \u201cThen it must have been those two\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cI warned you not to show them to anybody,\u201d said the Holy Man. \u201cYou\ndeserve\u2014but I will give you one more chance.\u201d And, turning, he unhooked\nsomething from the wall.\n\n\u201cWhen you wish to dust your own jacket or those of your friends,\u201d he\nsaid, \u201cyou have only got to say, \u2018Flack, flick, switch, be quick,\u2019 and\nyou will see what happens. That is all I have to tell you.\u201d And,\nsmiling to himself, the Holy Man pushed Father Grumbler out of the\ncave.\n\n\u201cAh, I understand now,\u201d muttered the good man, as he took the road\nhome; \u201cbut I think I have got you two rascals!\u201d and he hurried on to\nthe tavern with his basket under his arm, and the cock and the switch\nboth inside.\n\n\u201cGood evening, friends!\u201d he said, as he entered the inn. \u201cI am very\nhungry, and should be glad if you would roast this cock for me as soon\nas possible. THIS cock and no other\u2014mind what I say,\u201d he went on. \u201cOh,\nand another thing! You can light the fire with this basket. When you\nhave done that I will show you something I have in my bag,\u201d and, as he\nspoke, he tried to imitate the smile that the Holy Man had given HIM.\n\nThese directions made the innkeeper\u2019s wife very uneasy. However, she\nsaid nothing, and began to roast the cock, while her husband did his\nbest to make the man sleepy with wine, but all in vain.\n\nAfter dinner, which he did not eat without grumbling, for the cock was\nvery tough, the man struck his hand on the table, and said: \u201cNow listen\nto me. Go and fetch my cock and my basket, at once. Do you hear?\u201d\n\n\u201cYour cock, and your basket, Father Grumbler? But you have just\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cMY cock and MY basket!\u201d interrupted he. \u201cAnd, if you are too deaf and\ntoo stupid to understand what that means, I have got something which\nmay help to teach you.\u201d And opening the bag, he cried: \u201cFlack, flick,\nswitch, be quick.\u201d\n\nAnd flack! flick! like lightening a white switch sprang out of the bag,\nand gave such hearty blows to the innkeeper and his wife, and to Father\nGrumbler into the bargain, that they all jumped as high as feathers\nwhen a mattress is shaken.\n\n\u201cStop! stop! make it stop, and you shall have back your cock and\nbasket,\u201d cried the man and his wife. And Father Grumbler, who had no\nwish to go on, called out between his hops: \u201cStop then, can\u2019t you? That\nis enough for to-day!\u201d\n\nBut the switch paid no attention, and dealt out its blows as before,\nand MIGHT have been dealing them to this day, if the Holy Man had not\nheard their cries and come to the rescue. \u201cInto the bag, quick!\u201d said\nhe, and the switch obeyed.\n\n\u201cNow go and fetch me the cock and the basket,\u201d and the woman went\nwithout a word, and placed them on the table.\n\n\u201cYou have all got what you deserved,\u201d continued the Holy Man, \u201cand I\nhave no pity for any of you. I shall take my treasures home, and\nperhaps some day I may find a man who knows how to make the best of the\nchances that are given to him. But that will never be YOU,\u201d he added,\nturning to Father Grumbler.\n\n[From Contes Populaires.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Story of the Yara\n\n\nDown in the south, where the sun shines so hotly that everything and\neverybody sleeps all day, and even the great forests seem silent,\nexcept early in the morning and late in the evening\u2014down in this\ncountry there once lived a young man and a maiden. The girl had been\nborn in the town, and had scarcely ever left it; but the young man was\na native of another country, and had only come to the city near the\ngreat river because he could find no work to do where he was.\n\nA few months after his arrival, when the days were cooler, and the\npeople did not sleep so much as usual, a great feast was held a little\nway out of the town, and to this feast everyone flocked from thirty\nmiles and more. Some walked and some rode, some came in beautiful\ngolden coaches; but all had on splendid dresses of red or blue, while\nwreaths of flowers rested on their hair.\n\nIt was the first time that the youth had been present on such an\noccasion, and he stood silently aside watching the graceful dances and\nthe pretty games played by the young people. And as he watched, he\nnoticed one girl, dressed in white with scarlet pomegranates in her\nhair, who seemed to him lovelier than all the rest.\n\nWhen the feast was over, and the young man returned home, his manner\nwas so strange that it drew the attention of all his friends.\n\nThrough his work next day the youth continued to see the girl\u2019s face,\nthrowing the ball to her companions, or threading her way between them\nas she danced. At night sleep fled from him, and after tossing for\nhours on his bed, he would get up and plunge into a deep pool that lay\na little way in the forest.\n\nThis state of things went on for some weeks, then at last chance\nfavoured him. One evening, as he was passing near the house where she\nlived, he saw her standing with her back to the wall, trying to beat\noff with her fan the attacks of a savage dog that was leaping at her\nthroat. Alonzo, for such was his name, sprang forward, and with one\nblow of his fist stretched the creature dead upon the road. He then\nhelped the frightened and half-fainting girl into the large cool\nverandah where her parents were sitting, and from that hour he was a\nwelcome guest in the house, and it was not long before he was the\npromised husband of Julia.\n\nEvery day, when his work was done, he used to go up to the house, half\nhidden among flowering plants and brilliant creepers, where\nhumming-birds darted from bush to bush, and parrots of all colours, red\nand green and grey, shrieked in chorus. There he would find the maiden\nwaiting for him, and they would spend an hour or two under the stars,\nwhich looked so large and bright that you felt as if you could almost\ntouch them.\n\n\u201cWhat did you do last night after you went home?\u201d suddenly asked the\ngirl one evening.\n\n\u201cJust the same as I always do,\u201d answered he. \u201cIt was too hot to sleep,\nso it was no use going to bed, and I walked straight of to the forest\nand bathed in one of those deep dark pools at the edge of the river. I\nhave been there constantly for several months, but last night a strange\nthing happened. I was taking my last plunge, when I heard\u2014sometimes\nfrom one side, and sometimes from another\u2014the sound of a voice singing\nmore sweetly than any nightingale, though I could not catch any words.\nI left the pool, and, dressing myself as fast as I could, I searched\nevery bush and tree round the water, as I fancied that perhaps it was\nmy friend who was playing a trick on me, but there was not a creature\nto be seen; and when I reached home I found my friend fast asleep.\u201d\n\nAs Julia listened her face grew deadly white, and her whole body\nshivered as if with cold. From her childhood she had heard stories of\nthe terrible beings that lived in the forests and were hidden under the\nbanks of the rivers, and could only be kept off by powerful charms.\nCould the voice which had bewitched Alonzo have come from one of these?\nPerhaps, who knows, it might be the voice of the dreaded Yara herself,\nwho sought young men on the eve of their marriage as her prey.\n\nFor a moment the girl sat choked with fear, as these thoughts rushed\nthrough her; then she said: \u201cAlonzo, will you promise something?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cIt is something that has to do with our future happiness.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! it is serious, then? Well, of course I promise. Now tell me!\u201d\n\n\u201cI want you to promise,\u201d she answered, lowering her voice to a whisper,\n\u201cnever to bathe in those pools again.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut why not, queen of my soul; have I not gone there always, and\nnothing has harmed me, flower of my heart?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo; but perhaps something will. If you will not promise I shall go mad\nwith fright. Promise me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, what is the matter? You look so pale! Tell me why you are so\nfrightened?\u201d\n\n\u201cDid you not hear the song?\u201d she asked, trembling.\n\n\u201cSuppose I did, how could that hurt me? It was the loveliest song I\never heard!\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, and after the song will come the apparition; and after that\u2014\nafter that\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t understand. Well\u2014after that?\u201d\n\n\u201cAfter that\u2014death.\u201d\n\nAlonzo stared at her. Had she really gone mad? Such talk was very\nunlike Julia; but before he could collect his senses the girl spoke\nagain:\n\n\u201cThat is the reason why I implore you never to go there again; at any\nrate till after we are married.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what difference will our marriage make?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, there will be no danger then; you can go to bathe as often as you\nlike!\u201d\n\n\u201cBut tell me why you are so afraid?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause the voice you heard\u2014I know you will laugh, but it is quite\ntrue\u2014it was the voice of the Yara.\u201d\n\nAt these words Alonzo burst into a shout of laughter; but it sounded so\nharsh and loud that Julia shrank away shuddering. It seemed as if he\ncould not stop himself, and the more he laughed the paler the poor girl\nbecame, murmuring to herself as she watched him:\n\n\u201cOh, heaven! you have seen her! you have seen her! what shall I do?\u201d\n\nFaint as was her whisper, it reached the ears of Alonzo, who, though he\nstill could not speak for laughing, shook his head.\n\n\u201cYou may not know it, but it is true. Nobody who has not seen the Yara\nlaughs like that.\u201d And Julia flung herself on the ground weeping\nbitterly.\n\nAt this sight Alonzo became suddenly grave, and kneeling by her side,\ngently raised her up.\n\n\u201cDo not cry so, my angel,\u201d he said, \u201cI will promise anything you\nplease. Only let me see you smile again.\u201d\n\nWith a great effort Julia checked her sobs, and rose to her feet.\n\n\u201cThank you,\u201d she answered. \u201cMy heart grows lighter as you say that! I\nknow you will try to keep your word and to stay away from the forest.\nBut\u2014the power of the Yara is very strong, and the sound of her voice is\napt to make men forget everything else in the world. Oh, I have seen\nit, and more than one betrothed maiden lives alone, broken-hearted. If\never you should return to the pool where you first heard the voice,\npromise me that you will at least take this with you.\u201d And opening a\ncuriously carved box, she took out a sea-shell shot with many colours,\nand sang a song softly into it. \u201cThe moment you hear the Yara\u2019s voice,\u201d\nsaid she, \u201cput this to your ear, and you will hear my song instead.\nPerhaps\u2014I do not know for certain\u2014but perhaps, I may be stronger than\nthe Yara.\u201d\n\nIt was late that night when Alonzo returned home. The moon was shining\non the distant river, which looked cool and inviting, and the trees of\nthe forest seemed to stretch out their arms and beckon him near. But\nthe young man steadily turned his face in the other direction, and went\nhome to bed.\n\nThe struggle had been hard, but Alonzo had his reward next day in the\njoy and relief with which Julia greeted him. He assured her that having\novercome the temptation once the danger was now over; but she, knowing\nbetter than he did the magic of the Yara\u2019s face and voice, did not fail\nto make him repeat his promise when he went away.\n\nFor three nights Alonzo kept his word, not because he believed in the\nYara, for he thought that the tales about her were all nonsense, but\nbecause he could not bear the tears with which he knew that Julia would\ngreet him, if he confessed that he had returned to the forest. But, in\nspite of this, the song rang in his ears, and daily grew louder.\n\nOn the fourth night the attraction of the forest grew so strong that\nneither the thought of Julia nor the promises he had made her could\nhold him back. At eleven o\u2019clock he plunged into the cool darkness of\nthe trees, and took the path that led straight to the river. Yet, for\nthe first time, he found that Julia\u2019s warnings, though he had laughed\nat her at the moment, had remained in his memory, and he glanced at the\nbushes with a certain sense of fear which was quite new to him.\n\nWhen he reached the river he paused and looked round for a moment to\nmake sure that the strange feeling of some one watching him was fancy,\nand he was really alone. But the moon shone brightly on every tree, and\nnothing was to be seen but his own shadow; nothing was to be heard but\nthe sound of the rippling stream.\n\nHe threw off his clothes, and was just about to dive in headlong, when\nsomething\u2014he did not know what\u2014suddenly caused him to look round. At\nthe same instant the moon passed from behind a cloud, and its rays fell\non a beautiful golden-haired woman standing half hidden by the ferns.\n\nWith one bound he caught up his mantle, and rushed headlong down the\npath he had come, fearing at each step to feel a hand laid on his\nshoulder. It was not till he had left the last trees behind him, and\nwas standing in the open plain, that he dared to look round, and then\nhe thought a figure in white was still standing there waving her arms\nto and fro. This was enough; he ran along the road harder than ever,\nand never paused till he was save in his own room.\n\nWith the earliest rays of dawn he went back to the forest to see\nwhether he could find any traces of the Yara, but though he searched\nevery clump of bushes, and looked up every tree, everything was empty,\nand the only voices he heard were those of parrots, which are so ugly\nthat they only drive people away.\n\n\u201cI think I must be mad,\u201d he said to himself, \u201cand have dreamt all that\nfolly\u201d; and going back to the city he began his daily work. But either\nthat was harder than usual, or he must be ill, for he could not fix his\nmind upon it, and everybody he came across during the day inquired if\nanything had happened to give him that white, frightened look.\n\n\u201cI must be feverish,\u201d he said to himself; \u201cafter all, it is rather\ndangerous to take a cold bath when one is feeling so hot.\u201d Yet he knew,\nwhile he said it, that he was counting the hours for night to come,\nthat he might return to the forest.\n\nIn the evening he went as usual to the creeper-covered house. But he\nhad better have stayed away, as his face was so pale and his manner so\nstrange, that the poor girl saw that something terrible had occurred.\nAlonzo, however, refused to answer any of her questions, and all she\ncould get was a promise to hear everything the next day.\n\nOn pretence of a violent headache, he left Julia much earlier than\nusual and hurried quickly home. Taking down a pistol, he loaded it and\nput it in his belt, and a little before midnight he stole out on the\ntips of his toes, so as to disturb nobody. Once outside he hastened\ndown the road which led to the forest.\n\nHe did not stop till he had reached the river pool, when holding the\npistol in his hand, he looked about him. At every little noise\u2014the\nfalling of a leaf, the rustle of an animal in the bushes, the cry of a\nnight-bird\u2014he sprang up and cocked his pistol in the direction of the\nsound. But though the moon still shone he saw nothing, and by and by a\nkind of dreamy state seemed to steal over him as he leant against a\ntree.\n\nHow long he remained in this condition he could not have told, but\nsuddenly he awoke with a start, on hearing his name uttered softly.\n\n\u201cWho is that?\u201d he cried, standing upright instantly; but only an echo\nanswered him. Then his eyes grew fascinated with the dark waters of the\npool close to his feet, and he looked at it as if he could never look\naway.\n\nHe gazed steadily into the depths for some minutes, when he became\naware that down in the darkness was a bright spark, which got rapidly\nbigger and brighter. Again that feeling of awful fear took possession\nof him, and he tried to turn his eyes from the pool. But it was no use;\nsomething stronger than himself compelled him to keep them there.\n\nAt last the waters parted softly, and floating on the surface he saw\nthe beautiful woman whom he had fled from only a few nights before. He\nturned to run, but his feet were glued to the spot.\n\nShe smiled at him and held out her arms, but as she did so there came\nover him the remembrance of Julia, as he had seen her a few hours\nearlier, and her warnings and fears for the very danger in which he now\nfound himself.\n\nMeanwhile the figure was always drawing nearer, nearer; but, with a\nviolent effort, Alonzo shook off his stupor, and taking aim at her\nshoulder he pulled the trigger. The report awoke the sleeping echoes,\nand was repeated all through the forest, but the figure smiled still,\nand went on advancing. Again Alonzo fired, and a second time the bullet\nwhistled through the air, and the figure advanced nearer. A moment\nmore, and she would be at his side.\n\nThen, his pistol being empty, he grasped the barrel with both hands,\nand stood ready to use it as a club should the Yara approach and\ncloser. But now it seemed her turn to feel afraid, for she paused an\ninstant while he pressed forward, still holding the pistol above his\nhead, prepared to strike.\n\nIn his excitement he had forgotten the river, and it was not till the\ncold water touched his feet that he stood still by instinct. The Yara\nsaw that he was wavering, and suffering herself to sway gently\nbackwards and forwards on the surface of the river, she began to sing.\nThe song floated through the trees, now far and now near; no one could\ntell whence it came, the whole air seemed full of it. Alonzo felt his\nsenses going and his will failing. His arms dropped heavily to his\nside, but in falling struck against the sea shell, which, as he had\npromised Julia, he had always carried in his coat.\n\nHis dimmed mind was just clear enough to remember what she had said,\nand with trembling fingers, that were almost powerless to grasp, he\ndrew it out. As he did so the song grew sweeter and more tender than\nbefore, but he shut his ears to it and bent his head over the shell.\nOut of its depths arose the voice of Julia singing to him as she had\nsung when she gave him the shell, and though the notes sounded faint at\nfirst, they swelled louder and louder till the mist which had gathered\nabout him was blown away.\n\nThen he raised his head, feeling that he had been through strange\nplaces, where he could never wander any more; and he held himself erect\nand strong, and looked about him. Nothing was to be seen but the\nshining of the river, and the dark shadows of the trees; nothing was to\nbe heard but the hum of the insects, as they darted through the night.\n\n[Adapted from Folklore Bresilien.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Cunning Hare\n\n\nIn a very cold country, far across the seas, where ice and snow cover\nthe ground for many months in the year, there lived a little hare, who,\nas his father and mother were both dead, was brought up by his\ngrandmother. As he was too young, and she was too old, to work, they\nwere very poor, and often did not have enough to eat.\n\nOne day, when the little fellow was hungrier than usual, he asked his\ngrandmother if he might go down to the river and catch a fish for their\nbreakfast, as the thaw had come and the water was flowing freely again.\nShe laughed at him for thinking that any fish would let itself be\ncaught by a hare, especially such a young one; but as she had the\nrheumatism very badly, and could get no food herself, she let him go.\n\u201cIf he does not catch a fish he may find something else,\u201d she said to\nherself. So she told her grandson where to look for the net, and how he\nwas to set it across the river; but just as he was starting, feeling\nhimself quite a man, she called him back.\n\n\u201cAfter all, I don\u2019t know what is the use of your going, my boy! For\neven if you should catch a fish, I have no fire to cook it with.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet me catch my fish, and I will soon make you a fire,\u201d he answered\ngaily, for he was young, and knew nothing about the difficulties of\nfire-making.\n\nIt took him some time to haul the net through bushes and over fields,\nbut at length he reached a pool in the river which he had often heard\nwas swarming with fish, and here he set the net, as his grandmother had\ndirected him.\n\nHe was so excited that he hardly slept all night, and at the very first\nstreak of dawn he ran as fast as ever he could down to the river. His\nheart beat as quickly as if he had had dogs behind him, and he hardly\ndared to look, lest he should be disappointed. Would there be even one\nfish? And at this thought the pangs of hunger made him feel quite sick\nwith fear. But he need not have been afraid; in every mesh of the net\nwas a fine fat fish, and of course the net itself was so heavy that he\ncould only lift one corner. He threw some of the fish back into the\nwater, and buried some more in a hole under a stone, where he would be\nsure to find them. Then he rolled up the net with the rest, put it on\nhis back and carried it home. The weight of the load caused his back to\nache, and he was thankful to drop it outside their hut, while he rushed\nin, full of joy, to tell his grandmother. \u201cBe quick and clean them!\u201d he\nsaid, \u201cand I will go to those people\u2019s tents on the other side of the\nwater.\u201d\n\nThe old woman stared at him in horror as she listened to his proposal.\nOther people had tried to steal fire before, and few indeed had come\nback with their lives; but as, contrary to all her expectations, he had\nmanaged to catch such a number of fish, she thought that perhaps there\nwas some magic about him which she did not know of, and did not try to\nhinder him.\n\nWhen the fish were all taken out, he fetched the net which he had laid\nout to dry, folded it up very small, and ran down to the river, hoping\nthat he might find a place narrow enough for him to jump over; but he\nsoon saw that it was too wide for even the best jumper in the world.\nFor a few moments he stood there, wondering what was to be done, then\nthere darted into his head some words of a spell which he had once\nheard a wizard use, while drinking from the river. He repeated them, as\nwell as he could remember, and waited to see what would happen. In five\nminutes such a grunting and a puffing was heard, and columns of water\nrose into the air, though he could not tell what had made them. Then\nround the bend of the stream came fifteen huge whales, which he ordered\nto place themselves heads to tails, like stepping stones, so that he\ncould jump from one to the other till he landed on the opposite shore.\nDirectly he got there he told the whales that he did not need them any\nmore, and sat down in the sand to rest.\n\nUnluckily some children who were playing about caught sight of him, and\none of them, stealing softly up behind him, laid tight hold of his\nears. The hare, who had been watching the whales as they sailed down\nthe river, gave a violent start, and struggled to get away; but the boy\nheld on tight, and ran back home, as fast as he could go.\n\n\u201cThrow it in the pot,\u201d said the old woman, as soon as he had told his\nstory; \u201cput it in that basket, and as soon as the water boils in the\npot we will hang it over the fire!\u201d\n\n\u201cBetter kill it first,\u201d said the old man; and the hare listened,\nhorribly frightened, but still looking secretly to see if there was no\nhole through which he could escape, if he had a chance of doing so.\nYes, there was one, right in the top of the tent, so, shaking himself,\nas if with fright, he let the end of his net unroll itself a little.\n\n\u201cI wish that a spark of fire would fall on my net,\u201d whispered he; and\nthe next minute a great log fell forward into the midst of the tent,\ncausing every one to spring backwards. The sparks were scattered in\nevery direction, and one fell on the net, making a little blaze. In an\ninstant the hare had leaped through the hole, and was racing towards\nthe river, with men, women, and children after him. There was no time\nto call back the whales, so, holding the net tight in his mouth, he\nwished himself across the river. Then he jumped high into the air, and\nlanded safe on the other side, and after turning round to be sure that\nthere was no chance of anyone pursuing him, trotted happily home to his\ngrandmother.\n\n\u201cDidn\u2019t I tell you I would bring you fire?\u201d said he, holding up his\nnet, which was now burning briskly.\n\n\u201cBut how did you cross the water?\u201d inquired the old woman.\n\n\u201cOh, I just jumped!\u201d said he. And his grandmother asked him no more\nquestions, for she saw that he was wiser than she.\n\n[\u201cIndian Folk Tales.\u201d Bureau of Ethnology.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Turtle and His Bride\n\n\nThere was once a turtle who lived among a great many people of\ndifferent kinds, in a large camp near a big river which was born right\nup amongst the snows, and flowed straight away south till it reached a\nsea where the water was always hot.\n\nThere were many other turtles in the camp, and this turtle was kind and\npleasant to them all, but he did not care for any of them very much,\nand felt rather lonely.\n\nAt last he built himself a hut, and filled it with skins for seats, and\nmade it as comfortable as any hut for miles round; and when it was\nquite finished he looked about among the young women to see which of\nthem he should ask to be his wife.\n\nIt took him some time to make up his mind, for no turtle likes being\nhurried, but at length he found one girl who seemed prettier and more\nindustrious than the rest, and one day he entered her home, and said:\n\u201cWill you marry me?\u201d\n\nThe young woman was so surprised at this question that she dropped the\nbeaded slipper she was making, and stared at the turtle. She felt\ninclined to laugh\u2014the idea was so absurd; but she was kind-hearted and\npolite, so she looked as grave as she could, and answered:\n\n\u201cBut how are you going to provide for a family? Why, when the camp\nmoves, you will not even be able to keep up with the rest!\u201d\n\n\u201cI can keep up with the best of them,\u201d replied the turtle, tossing his\nhead. But though he was very much offended he did not let the girl see\nit, and begged and, prayed her so hard to marry him that, at last, she\nconsented, very unwillingly.\n\n\u201cYou will have to wait till the spring, though,\u201d she said; \u201cI must make\na great many slippers and dresses for myself, as I shall not have much\ntime afterwards.\u201d\n\nThis did not please the turtle; but he knew it was no use talking, so\nall he answered was:\n\n\u201cI shall go to war and take some captives, and I shall be away several\nmonths. And when I return I shall expect you to be ready to marry me.\u201d\n\nSo he went back to his hut, and at once set about his preparations. The\nfirst thing he did was to call all his relations together, and ask them\nif they would come with him and make war on the people of a\nneighbouring village. The turtles, who were tired of doing nothing,\nagreed at once, and next day the whole tribe left the camp. The girl\nwas standing at the door of her hut as they passed, and laughed out\nloud\u2014they moved so slowly. Her lover, who was marching at the head,\ngrew very angry at this, and cried out:\n\n\u201cIn four days from now you will be weeping instead of laughing, because\nthere will be hundreds of miles between you and me.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn four days,\u201d replied the girl\u2014who only promised to marry him in\norder to get rid of him\u2014\u201cin four days you will hardly be out of sight.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I did not mean four days, but four YEARS,\u201d answered the turtle,\nhastily; \u201cwhatever happens I shall be back by then.\u201d\n\nThe army marched on, till one day, when they felt as if they must have\ngot half round the earth, though they were scarcely four miles from the\ncamp, they found a large tree lying across their path. They looked at\nit with dismay, and the oldest among them put their heads together to\nsee what was to be done.\n\n\u201cCan\u2019t we manage to get past by the top?\u201d asked one.\n\n\u201cWhy, it would take us YEARS,\u201d exclaimed another. \u201cJust look at all\nthose tall green branches, spreading in every direction. If once we got\nentangled in THEM, we should never get out again!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell then, let us go round by the bottom,\u201d said a third.\n\n\u201cHow are we to do that, when the roots have made a deep hole, and above\nthat is a high bank?\u201d replied a fourth. \u201cNo; the only way I can think\nof, is to burn a large hole in the trunk.\u201d And this they did, but the\ntrunk was very thick, and would not burn through.\n\n\u201cIt is no use, we must give it up,\u201d they agreed at last. \u201cAfter all,\nnobody need ever know! We have been away such a long while that we\nmight easily have had all sorts of adventures.\u201d And so the whole\ncompany turned homewards again.\n\nThey took even longer to go back than they had to come, for they were\ntired and footsore with their journey. When they drew near the camp\nthey plucked up their courage, and began to sing a war-song. At this\nthe villagers came flocking to see what spoils the turtles had won,\nbut, as they approached, each turtle seized some one by the wrist,\nexclaiming: \u201cYou are our spoils; you are our prisoners!\u201d\n\n\u201cNow that I have got you I will keep you,\u201d said the leader, who had\nhappened to seize his betrothed.\n\nEverybody was naturally very angry at this behaviour, and the girl most\nof all, and in her secret heart she determined to have her revenge.\nBut, just at present, the turtles were too strong, so the prisoners had\nto put on their smartest slippers and their brightest clothes, and\ndance a war dance while the turtles sang. They danced so long that it\nseemed as if they would never stop, till the turtle who was leading the\nsinging suddenly broke into a loud chant:\n\nWhoever comes here, will die, will die!\n\nAt this all the dancers grew so frightened that they burst through the\nring of their captors, and ran back to the village, the turtles\nfollowing\u2014very slowly. On the way the chief turtle met a man, who said\nto him:\n\n\u201cThat woman who was to have been your wife has married another man!\u201d\n\n\u201cIs that true?\u201d said the turtle. \u201cThen I must see him.\u201d\n\nBut as soon as the villager was out of sight the turtle stopped, and\ntaking a bundle containing fringes and ornaments from his back, he hung\nthem about him, so that they rattled as he walked. When he was quite\nclose to the hut where the woman lived, he cried out:\n\n\u201cHere I am to claim the woman who promised to be my wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, here is the turtle,\u201d whispered the husband hurriedly; \u201cwhat is to\nbe done now?\u201d\n\n\u201cLeave that to me; I will manage him,\u201d replied the wife, and at that\nmoment the turtle came in, and seized her by the wrist. \u201cCome with me,\u201d\nhe said sternly.\n\n\u201cYou broke your promise,\u201d answered she. \u201cYou said you would be back\nsoon, and it is more than a year since you went! How was I to know that\nyou were alive?\u201d\n\nAt her words the husband took courage, and spoke hastily:\n\n\u201cYes, you promised you would go to war and bring back some prisoners,\nand you have not done it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI DID go, and made many prisoners,\u201d retorted the turtle angrily,\ndrawing out his knife. \u201cLook here, if she won\u2019t be MY wife, she sha\u2019n\u2019t\nbe YOURS. I will cut her in two; and you shall have one half, and I the\nother.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut half a woman is no use to me,\u201d answered the man. \u201cIf you want her\nso much you had better take her.\u201d And the turtle, followed by his\nrelations, carried her off to his own hut.\n\nNow the woman saw she would gain nothing by being sulky, so she\npretended to be very glad to have got rid of her husband; but all the\nwhile she was trying to invent a plan to deliver herself from the\nturtle. At length she remembered that one of her friends had a large\niron pot, and when the turtle had gone to his room to put away his\nfringes, she ran over to her neighbour\u2019s and brought it back. Then she\nfilled it with water and hung it over the fire to boil. It was just\nbeginning to bubble and hiss when the turtle entered.\n\n\u201cWhat are you doing there?\u201d asked he, for he was always afraid of\nthings that he did not understand.\n\n\u201cJust warming some water,\u201d she answered. \u201cDo you know how to swim?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, of course I do. What a question! But what does it matter to you?\u201d\nsaid the turtle, more suspicious than ever.\n\n\u201cOh, I only thought that after your long journey you might like to\nwash. The roads are so muddy, after the winter\u2019s rains. I could rub\nyour shell for you till it was bright and shining again.\n\n\u201cWell, I AM rather muddy. If one is fighting, you know, one cannot stop\nto pick one\u2019s way. I should certainly be more comfortable if my back\nwas washed.\u201d\n\nThe woman did not wait for him to change his mind. She caught him up by\nhis shell and popped him straight into the pot, where he sank to the\nbottom, and died instantly.\n\nThe other turtles, who were standing at the door, saw their leader\ndisappear, and felt it was their duty as soldiers to follow him; and,\nspringing into the pot, died too. All but one young turtle, who,\nfrightened at not seeing any of his friends come out again, went as\nfast as he could to a clump of bushes, and from there made his way to\nthe river. His only thought was to get away as far as possible from\nthat dreadful hut; so he let the river carry him where it was going\nitself, and at last, one day, he found himself in the warm sea, where,\nif he is not dead, you may meet him still.\n\n[Bureau of Ethnology.]\n\n\n\n\nHow Geirald The Coward Was Punished\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a poor knight who had a great many\nchildren, and found it very hard to get enough for them to eat. One day\nhe sent his eldest son, Rosald, a brave and honest youth, to the\nneighbouring town to do some business, and here Rosald met a young man\nnamed Geirald, with whom he made friends.\n\nNow Geirald was the son of a rich man, who was proud of the boy, and\nhad all his life allowed him to do whatever he fancied, and, luckily\nfor the father, he was prudent and sensible, and did not waste money,\nas many other rich young men might have done. For some time he had set\nhis heart on travelling into foreign countries, and after he had been\ntalking for a little while to Rosald, he asked if his new friend would\nbe his companion on his journey.\n\n\u201cThere is nothing I should like better,\u201d answered Rosald, shaking his\nhead sorrowfully; \u201cbut my father is very poor, and he could never give\nme the money.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, if that is your only difficulty, it is all right,\u201d cried Geirald.\n\u201cMy father has more money than he knows what to do with, and he will\ngive me as much as I want for both of us; only, there is one thing you\nmust promise me, Rosald, that, supposing we have any adventures, you\nwill let the honour and glory of them fall to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, of course, that is only fair,\u201d answered Rosald, who never cared\nabout putting himself forward. \u201cBut I cannot go without telling my\nparents. I am sure they will think me lucky to get such a chance.\u201d\n\nAs soon as the business was finished, Rosald hastened home. His parents\nwere delighted to hear of his good fortune, and his father gave him his\nown sword, which was growing rusty for want of use, while his mother\nsaw that his leather jerkin was in order.\n\n\u201cBe sure you keep the promise you made to Geirald,\u201d said she, as she\nbade him good-bye, \u201cand, come what may, see that you never betray him.\u201d\n\nFull of joy Rosald rode off, and the next day he and Geirald started\noff to seek adventures. To their disappointment their own land was so\nwell governed that nothing out of the common was very likely to happen,\nbut directly they crossed the border into another kingdom all seemed\nlawlessness and confusion.\n\nThey had not gone very far, when, riding across a mountain, they caught\na glimpse of several armed men hiding amongst some trees in their path,\nand remembered suddenly some talk they had heard of a band of twelve\nrobbers who lay in wait for rich travellers. The robbers were more like\nsavage beasts than men, and lived somewhere at the top of the mountain\nin caves and holes in the ground. They were all called \u201cHankur,\u201d and\nwere distinguished one from another by the name of a colour\u2014blue, grey,\nred, and so on, except their chief, who was known as Hankur the Tall.\nAll this and more rushed into the minds of the two young men as they\nsaw the flash of their swords in the moonlight.\n\n\u201cIt is impossible to fight them\u2014they are twelve to two,\u201d whispered\nGeirald, stopping his horse in the path. \u201cWe had much better ride back\nand take the lower road. It would be stupid to throw away our lives\nlike this.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, we can\u2019t turn back,\u201d answered Rosald, \u201cwe should be ashamed to\nlook anyone in the face again! And, besides, it is a grand opportunity\nto show what we are made of. Let us tie up our horses here, and climb\nup the rocks so that we can roll stones down on them.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, we might try that, and then we shall always have our horses,\u201d\nsaid Geirald. So they went up the rocks silently and carefully.\n\nThe robbers were lying all ready, expecting every moment to see their\nvictims coming round the corner a few yards away, when a shower of huge\nstones fell on their heads, killing half the band. The others sprang up\nthe rock, but as they reached the top the sword of Rosald swung round,\nand one man after another rolled down into the valley. At last the\nchief managed to spring up, and, grasping Rosald by the waist, flung\naway his sword, and the two fought desperately, their bodies swaying\nalways nearer the edge. It seemed as if Rosald, being the smaller of\nthe two, MUST fall over, when, with his left hand, he drew the robber\u2019s\nsword out of its sheath and plunged it into his heart. Then he took\nfrom the dead man a beautiful ring set with a large stone, and put it\non his own finger.\n\nThe fame of this wonderful deed soon spread through the country, and\npeople would often stop Geirald\u2019s horse, and ask leave to see the\nrobber\u2019s ring, which was said to have been stolen from the father of\nthe reigning king. And Geirald showed them the ring with pride, and\nlistened to their words of praise, and no one would ever have guessed\nanyone else had destroyed the robbers.\n\nIn a few days they left the kingdom and rode on to another, where they\nthought they would stop through the remainder of the winter, for\nGeirald liked to be comfortable, and did not care about travelling\nthrough ice and snow. But the king would only grant them leave to stop\non condition that, before the winter was ended, they should give him\nsome fresh proof of the courage of which he had heard so much. Rosald\u2019s\nheart was glad at the king\u2019s message, and as for Geirald, he felt that\nas long as Rosald was there all would go well. So they both bowed low\nand replied that it was the king\u2019s place to command and theirs to obey.\n\n\u201cWell, then,\u201d said his Majesty, \u201cthis is what I want you to do: In the\nnorth-east part of my kingdom there dwells a giant, who has an iron\nstaff twenty yards long, and he is so quick in using it, that even\nfifty knights have no chance against him. The bravest and strongest\nyoung men of my court have fallen under the blows of that staff; but,\nas you overcame the twelve robbers so easily, I feel that I have reason\nto hope that you may be able to conquer the giant. In three days from\nthis you will set out.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will be ready, your Majesty,\u201d answered Rosald; but Geirald remained\nsilent.\n\n\u201cHow can we possibly fight against a giant that has killed fifty\nknights?\u201d cried Geirald, when they were outside the castle. \u201cThe king\nonly wants to get rid of us! He won\u2019t think about us for the next three\ndays\u2014that is one comfort\u2014so we shall have plenty of time to cross the\nborders of the kingdom and be out of reach.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe mayn\u2019t be able to kill the giant, but we certainly can\u2019t run away\ntill we have tried,\u201d answered Rosald. \u201cBesides, think how glorious it\nwill be if we DO manage to kill him! I know what sort of weapon I shall\nuse. Come with me now, and I will see about it.\u201d And, taking his friend\nby the arm, he led him into a shop where he bought a huge lump of solid\niron, so big that they could hardly lift it between them. However, they\njust managed to carry it to a blacksmith\u2019s where Rosald directed that\nit should be beaten into a thick club, with a sharp spike at one end.\nWhen this was done to his liking he took it home under his arm.\n\nVery early on the third morning the two young men started on their\njourney, and on the fourth day they reached the giant\u2019s cave before he\nwas out of bed. Hearing the sound of footsteps, the giant got up and\nwent to the entrance to see who was coming, and Rosald, expecting\nsomething of the sort, struck him such a blow on the forehead that he\nfell to the ground. Then, before he could rise to his feet again,\nRosald drew out his sword and cut off his head.\n\n\u201cIt was not so difficult after all, you see,\u201d he said, turning to\nGeirald. And placing the giant\u2019s head in a leathern wallet which was\nslung over his back, they began their journey to the castle.\n\nAs they drew near the gates, Rosald took the head from the wallet and\nhanded it to Geirald, whom he followed into the king\u2019s presence.\n\n\u201cThe giant will trouble you no more,\u201d said Geirald, holding out the\nhead. And the king fell on his neck and kissed him, and cried joyfully\nthat he was the \u201cbravest knight in all the world, and that a feast\nshould be made for him and Rosald, and that the great deed should be\nproclaimed throughout the kingdom.\u201d And Geirald\u2019s heart swelled with\npride, and he almost forgot that it was Rosald and not he, who had\nslain the giant.\n\nBy-and-by a whisper went round that a beautiful lady who lived in the\ncastle would be present at the feast, with twenty-four lovely maidens,\nher attendants. The lady was the queen of her own country, but as her\nfather and mother had died when she was a little girl, she had been\nleft in the care of this king who was her uncle.\n\nShe was now old enough to govern her own kingdom, but her subjects did\nnot like being ruled by a woman, and said that she must find a husband\nto help her in managing her affairs. Prince after prince had offered\nhimself, but the young queen would have nothing to say to any of them,\nand at last told her ministers that if she was to have a husband at all\nshe must choose him for herself, as she would certainly not marry any\nof those whom they had selected for her. The ministers replied that in\nthat case she had better manage her kingdom alone, and the queen, who\nknew nothing about business, got things into such a confusion that at\nlast she threw them up altogether, and went off to her uncle.\n\nNow when she heard how the two young men had slain the giant, her heart\nwas filled with admiration of their courage, and she declared that if a\nfeast was held she would certainly be present at it.\n\nAnd so she was; and when the feast was over she asked the king, her\nguardian, if he would allow the two heroes who had killed the robbers\nand slain the giant to fight a tourney the next day with one of her\npages. The king gladly gave his consent, and ordered the lists to be\nmade ready, never doubting that two great champions would be eager for\nsuch a chance of adding to their fame. Little did he guess that Geirald\nhad done all he could to persuade Rosald to steal secretly out of the\ncastle during the night, \u201cfor,\u201d said he, \u201cI don\u2019t believe they are\npages at all, but well-proved knights, and how can we, so young and\nuntried, stand up against them?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe honour will be all the higher if we gain the day,\u201d answered\nRosald; but Geirald would listen to nothing, and only declared that he\ndid not care about honour, and would rather be alive than have every\nhonour in the world heaped upon him. Go he would, and as Rosald had\nsworn to give him his company, he must come with him.\n\nRosald was much grieved when he heard these words, but he knew that it\nwas useless attempting to persuade Geirald, and turned his thoughts to\nforming some plan to prevent this disgraceful flight. Suddenly his face\nbrightened. \u201cLet us change clothes,\u201d he said, \u201cand I will do the\nfighting, while you shall get the glory. Nobody will ever know.\u201d And to\nthis Geirald readily consented.\n\nWhether Geirald was right or not in thinking that the so-called page\nwas really a well-proved knight, it is certain that Rosald\u2019s task was a\nvery hard one. Three times they came together with a crash which made\ntheir horses reel; once Rosald knocked the helmet off his foe, and\nreceived in return such a blow that he staggered in his saddle. Shouts\nwent up from the lookers-on, as first one and then the other seemed\ngaining the victory; but at length Rosald planted his spear in the\narmour which covered his adversary\u2019s breast and bore him steadily\nbackward. \u201cUnhorsed! unhorsed!\u201d cried the people; and Rosald then\nhimself dismounted and helped his adversary to rise.\n\nIn the confusion that followed it was easy for Rosald to slip away and\nreturn Geirald his proper clothes. And in these, torn and dusty with\nthe fight, Geirald answered the king\u2019s summons to come before him.\n\n\u201cYou have done what I expected you to do,\u201d said he, \u201cand now, choose\nyour reward.\u201d\n\n\u201cGrant me, sire, the hand of the queen, your niece,\u201d replied the young\nman, bowing low, \u201cand I will defend her kingdom against all her\nenemies.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe could choose no better husband,\u201d said the king, \u201cand if she\nconsents I do.\u201d And he turned towards the queen, who had not been\npresent during the fight, but had just slipped into a seat by his right\nhand. Now the queen\u2019s eyes were very sharp, and it seemed to her that\nthe man who stood before her, tall and handsome though he might be, was\ndifferent in many slight ways, and in one in particular, from the man\nwho had fought the tourney. How there could be any trickery she could\nnot understand, and why the real victor should be willing to give up\nhis prize to another was still stranger; but something in her heart\nwarned her to be careful. She answered: \u201cYou may be satisfied, uncle,\nbut I am not. One more proof I must have; let the two young men now\nfight against each other. The man I marry must be the man who killed\nthe robbers and the giant, and overcame my page.\u201d Geirald\u2019s face grew\npale as he heard these words. He knew there was no escape from him now,\nthough he did not doubt for one moment that Rosald would keep his\ncompact loyally to the last. But how would it be possible that even\nRosald should deceive the watchful eyes of the king and his court, and\nstill more those of the young queen whom he felt uneasily had suspected\nhim from the first?\n\nThe tourney was fought, and in spite of Geirald\u2019s fears Rosald managed\nto hang back to make attacks which were never meant to succeed, and to\nallow strokes which he could easily have parried to attain their end.\nAt length, after a great show of resistance, he fell heavily to the\nground. And as he fell he knew that it was not alone the glory that was\nhis rightfully which he gave up, but the hand of the queen that was\nmore precious still.\n\nBut Geirald did not even wait to see if he was wounded; he went\nstraight to the wall where the royal banner waved and claimed the\nreward which was now his.\n\nThe crowd of watchers turned towards the queen, expecting to see her\nstoop and give some token to the victor. Instead, to the surprise of\neveryone, she merely smiled gracefully, and said that before she\nbestowed her hand one more test must be imposed, but this should be the\nlast. The final tourney should be fought; Geirald and Rosald should\nmeet singly two knights of the king\u2019s court, and he who could unhorse\nhis foe should be master of herself and of her kingdom. The combat was\nfixed to take place at ten o\u2019clock the following day.\n\nAll night long Geirald walked about his room, not daring to face the\nfight that lay in front of him, and trying with all his might to\ndiscover some means of escaping it. All night long he moved restlessly\nfrom door to window; and when the trumpets sounded, and the combatants\nrode into the field, he alone was missing. The king sent messengers to\nsee what had become of him, and he was found, trembling with fear,\nhiding under his bed. After that there was no need of any further\nproof. The combat was declared unnecessary, and the queen pronounced\nherself quite satisfied, and ready to accept Rosald as her husband.\n\n\u201cYou forgot one thing,\u201d she said, when they were alone. \u201cI recognized\nmy father\u2019s ring which Hankur the Tall had stolen, on the finger of\nyour right hand, and I knew that it was you and not Geirald who had\nslain the robber band. I was the page who fought you, and again I saw\nthe ring on your finger, though it was absent from his when he stood\nbefore me to claim the prize. That was why I ordered the combat between\nyou, though your faith to your word prevented my plan being successful,\nand I had to try another. The man who keeps his promise at all costs to\nhimself is the man I can trust, both for myself and for my people.\u201d\n\nSo they were married, and returned to their own kingdom, which they\nruled well and happily. And many years after a poor beggar knocked at\nthe palace gates and asked for money, for the sake of days gone by\u2014and\nthis was Geirald.\n\n[From Neuislandischem Volksm\u00e4rchen.]\n\n\n\n\nH\u00e1bogi\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived two peasants who had three daughters, and,\nas generally happens, the youngest was the most beautiful and the best\ntempered, and when her sisters wanted to go out she was always ready to\nstay at home and do their work.\n\nYears passed quickly with the whole family, and one day the parents\nsuddenly perceived that all three girls were grown up, and that very\nsoon they would be thinking of marriage.\n\n\u201cHave you decided what your husband\u2019s name is to be?\u201d said the father,\nlaughingly, to his eldest daughter, one evening when they were all\nsitting at the door of their cottage. \u201cYou know that is a very\nimportant point!\u201d\n\n\u201cYes; I will never wed any man who is not called Sigmund,\u201d answered\nshe.\n\n\u201cWell, it is lucky for you that there are a great many Sigmunds in this\npart of the world,\u201d replied her father, \u201cso that you can take your\nchoice! And what do YOU say?\u201d he added, turning to the second.\n\n\u201cOh, I think that there is no name so beautiful as Sigurd,\u201d cried she.\n\n\u201cThen you won\u2019t be an old maid either,\u201d answered he. \u201cThere are seven\nSigurds in the next village alone! And you, Helga?\u201d\n\nHelga, who was still the prettiest of the three, looked up. She also\nhad her favourite name, but, just as she was going to say it, she\nseemed to hear a voice whisper: \u201cMarry no one who is not called\nH\u00e1bogi.\u201d\n\nThe girl had never heard of such a name, and did not like it, so she\ndetermined to pay no attention; but as she opened her mouth to tell her\nfather that her husband must be called Njal, she found herself\nanswering instead: \u201cIf I do marry it will be to no one except H\u00e1bogi.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho IS H\u00e1bogi?\u201d asked her father and sisters; \u201cWe never heard of such\na person.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll I can tell you is that he will be my husband, if ever I have one,\u201d\nreturned Helga; and that was all she would say.\n\nBefore very long the young men who lived in the neighbouring villages\nor on the sides of the mountains, had heard of this talk of the three\ngirls, and Sigmunds and Sigurds in scores came to visit the little\ncottage. There were other young men too, who bore different names,\nthough not one of them was called \u201cH\u00e1bogi,\u201d and these thought that they\nmight perhaps gain the heart of the youngest. But though there was more\nthan one \u201cNjal\u201d amongst them, Helga\u2019s eyes seemed always turned another\nway.\n\nAt length the two elder sisters made their choice from out of the\nSigurds and the Sigmunds, and it was decided that both weddings should\ntake place at the same time. Invitations were sent out to the friends\nand relations, and when, on the morning of the great day, they were all\nassembled, a rough, coarse old peasant left the crowd and came up to\nthe brides\u2019 father.\n\n\u201cMy name is H\u00e1bogi, and Helga must be my wife,\u201d was all he said. And\nthough Helga stood pale and trembling with surprise, she did not try to\nrun away.\n\n\u201cI cannot talk of such things just now,\u201d answered the father, who could\nnot bear the thought of giving his favourite daughter to this horrible\nold man, and hoped, by putting it off, that something might happen. But\nthe sisters, who had always been rather jealous of Helga, were secretly\npleased that their bridegrooms should outshine hers.\n\nWhen the feast was over, H\u00e1bogi led up a beautiful horse from a field\nwhere he had left it to graze, and bade Helga jump up on its splendid\nsaddle, all embroidered in scarlet and gold. \u201cYou shall come back\nagain,\u201d said he; \u201cbut now you must see the house that you are to live\nin.\u201d And though Helga was very unwilling to go, something inside her\nforced her to obey.\n\nThe old man settled her comfortably, then sprang up in front of her as\neasily as if he had been a boy, and, shaking the reins, they were soon\nout of sight.\n\nAfter some miles they rode through a meadow with grass so green that\nHelga\u2019s eyes felt quite dazzled; and feeding on the grass were a\nquantity of large fat sheep, with the curliest and whitest wool in the\nworld.\n\n\u201cWhat lovely sheep! whose are they?\u201d cried Helga.\n\n\u201cYour H\u00e1bogi\u2019s,\u201d answered he, \u201call that you see belongs to him; but the\nfinest sheep in the whole herd, which has little golden bells hanging\nbetween its horns, you shall have for yourself.\u201d\n\nThis pleased Helga very much, for she had never had anything of her\nown; and she smiled quite happily as she thanked H\u00e1bogi for his\npresent.\n\nThey soon left the sheep behind them, and entered a large field with a\nriver running through it, where a number of beautiful grey cows were\nstanding by a gate waiting for a milk-maid to come and milk them.\n\n\u201cOh, what lovely cows!\u201d cried Helga again; \u201cI am sure their milk must\nbe sweeter than any other cows. How I should like to have some! I\nwonder to whom they belong?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo your H\u00e1bogi,\u201d replied he; \u201cand some day you shall have as much milk\nas you like, but we cannot stop now. Do you see that big grey one, with\nthe silver bells between her horns? That is to be yours, and you can\nhave her milked every morning the moment you wake.\u201d\n\nAnd Helga\u2019s eyes shone, and though she did not say anything, she\nthought that she would learn to milk the cow herself.\n\nA mile further on they came to a wide common, with short, springy turf,\nwhere horses of all colours, with skins of satin, were kicking up their\nheels in play. The sight of them so delighted Helga that she nearly\nsprang from her saddle with a shriek of joy.\n\n\u201cWhose are they?\u201d Oh! whose are they?\u201d she asked. \u201cHow happy any man\nmust be who is the master of such lovely creatures!\u201d\n\n\u201cThey are your H\u00e1bogi\u2019s,\u201d replied he, \u201cand the one which you think the\nmost beautiful of all you shall have for yourself, and learn to ride\nhim.\u201d\n\nAt this Helga quite forgot the sheep and the cow.\n\n\u201cA horse of my own!\u201d said she. \u201cOh, stop one moment, and let me see\nwhich I will choose. The white one? No. The chestnut? No. I think,\nafter all, I like the coal-black one best, with the little white star\non his forehead. Oh, do stop, just for a minute.\u201d\n\nBut H\u00e1bogi would not stop or listen. \u201cWhen you are married you will\nhave plenty of time to choose one,\u201d was all he answered, and they rode\non two or three miles further.\n\nAt length H\u00e1bogi drew rein before a small house, very ugly and\nmean-looking, and that seemed on the point of tumbling to pieces.\n\n\u201cThis is my house, and is to be yours,\u201d said H\u00e1bogi, as he jumped down\nand held out his arms to lift Helga from the horse. The girl\u2019s heart\nsank a little, as she thought that the man who possessed such wonderful\nsheep, and cows, and horses, might have built himself a prettier place\nto live in; but she did not say so. And, taking her arm, he led her up\nthe steps.\n\nBut when she got inside, she stood quite bewildered at the beauty of\nall around her. None of her friends owned such things, not even the\nmiller, who was the richest man she knew. There were carpets\neverywhere, thick and soft, and of deep rich colours; and the cushions\nwere of silk, and made you sleepy even to look at them; and curious\nlittle figures in china were scattered about. Helga felt as if it would\ntake her all her life to see everything properly, and it only seemed a\nsecond since she had entered the house, when H\u00e1bogi came up to her.\n\n\u201cI must begin the preparations for our wedding at once,\u201d he said; \u201cbut\nmy foster-brother will take you home, as I promised. In three days he\nwill bring you back here, with your parents and sisters, and any guests\nyou may invite, in your company. By that time the feast will be ready.\u201d\n\nHelga had so much to think about, that the ride home appeared very\nshort. Her father and mother were delighted to see her, as they did not\nfeel sure that so ugly and cross-looking a man as H\u00e1bogi might not have\nplayed her some cruel trick. And after they had given her some supper\nthey begged her to tell them all she had done. But Helga only told them\nthat they should see for themselves on the third day, when they would\ncome to her wedding.\n\nIt was very early in the morning when the party set out, and Helga\u2019s\ntwo sisters grew green with envy as they passed the flocks of sheep,\nand cows, and horses, and heard that the best of each was given to\nHelga herself; but when they caught sight of the poor little house\nwhich was to be her home their hearts grew light again.\n\n\u201cI should be ashamed of living in such a place,\u201d whispered each to the\nother; and the eldest sister spoke of the carved stone over HER\ndoorway, and the second boasted of the number of rooms SHE had. But the\nmoment they went inside they were struck dumb with rage at the\nsplendour of everything, and their faces grew white and cold with fury\nwhen they saw the dress which H\u00e1bogi had prepared for his bride\u2014a dress\nthat glittered like sunbeams dancing upon ice.\n\n\u201cShe SHALL not look so much finer than us,\u201d they cried passionately to\neach other as soon as they were alone; and when night came they stole\nout of their rooms, and taking out the wedding-dress, they laid it in\nthe ash-pit, and heaped ashes upon it. But H\u00e1bogi, who knew a little\nmagic, and had guessed what they would do, changed the ashes into\nroses, and cast a spell over the sisters, so that they could not leave\nthe spot for a whole day, and every one who passed by mocked at them.\n\nThe next morning when they all awoke the ugly tumble-down house had\ndisappeared, and in its place stood a splendid palace. The guests\u2019 eyes\nsought in vain for the bridegroom, but could only see a handsome young\nman, with a coat of blue velvet and silver and a gold crown upon his\nhead.\n\n\u201cWho is that?\u201d they asked Helga.\n\n\u201cThat is my H\u00e1bogi,\u201d said she.\n\n[From Neuislandischem Volksm\u00e4rchen.]\n\n\n\n\nHow the Little Brother Set Free His Big Brothers\n\n\nIn a small hut, right in the middle of the forest, lived a man, his\nwife, three sons and a daughter. For some reason, all the animals\nseemed to have left that part of the country, and food grew very\nscarce; so, one morning, after a night of snow, when the tracks of\nbeasts might be easily seen, the three boys started off to hunt.\n\nThey kept together for some time, till they reached a place where the\npath they had been following split into two, and one of the brothers\ncalled his dog and went to the left, while the others took the trail to\nthe right. These had not gone far when their dogs scented a bear, and\ndrove him out from the thicket. The bear ran across a clearing, and the\nelder brother managed to place an arrow right in his head.\n\nThey both took up the bear, and carried it towards home, meeting the\nthird at the spot where they had parted from him. When they reached\nhome they threw the bear down on the floor of the hut saying,\n\n\u201cFather, here is a bear which we killed; now we can have some dinner.\u201d\n\nBut the father, who was in a bad temper, only said:\n\n\u201cWhen I was a young man we used to get two bears in one day.\u201d\n\nThe sons were rather disappointed at hearing this, and though there was\nplenty of meat to last for two or three days, they started off early in\nthe morning down the same trail that they had followed before. As they\ndrew near the fork a bear suddenly ran out from behind a tree, and took\nthe path on the right. The two elder boys and their dogs pursued him,\nand soon the second son, who was also a good shot, killed him instantly\nwith an arrow. At the fork of the trail, on their way home, they met\nthe youngest, who had taken the left-hand road, and had shot a bear for\nhimself. But when they threw the two bears triumphantly on the floor of\nthe hut their father hardly looked at them, and only said:\n\n\u201cWhen I was a young man I used to get three bears in one day.\u201d\n\nThe next day they were luckier than before, and brought back three\nbears, on which their father told them that HE had always killed four.\nHowever, that did not prevent him from skinning the bears and cooking\nthem in a way of his own, which he thought very good, and they all ate\nan excellent supper.\n\nNow these bears were the servants of the great bear chief who lived in\na high mountain a long way off. And every time a bear was killed his\nshadow returned to the house of the bear chief, with the marks of his\nwounds plainly to bee seen by the rest.\n\nThe chief was furious at the number of bears the hunters had killed,\nand determined that he would find some way of destroying them. So he\ncalled another of his servants, and said to him:\n\n\u201cGo to the thicket near the fork, where the boys killed your brothers,\nand directly they or the dogs see you return here as fast as ever you\ncan. The mountain will open to let you in, and the hunters will follow\nyou. Then I shall have them in my power, and be able to revenge\nmyself.\u201d\n\nThe servant bowed low, and started at once for the fork, where he hid\nhimself in the bushes.\n\nBy-and-by the boys came in sight, but this time there were only two of\nthem, as the youngest had stayed at home. The air was warm and damp,\nand the snow soft and slushy, and the elder brother\u2019s bowstring hung\nloose, while the bow of the younger caught in a tree and snapped in\nhalf. At that moment the dogs began to bark loudly, and the bear rushed\nout of the thicket and set off in the direction of the mountain.\nWithout thinking that they had nothing to defend themselves with,\nshould the bear turn and attack them, the boys gave chase. The bear,\nwho knew quite well that he could not be shot, sometimes slackened his\npace and let the dogs get quite close; and in this way the elder son\nreached the mountain without observing it, while his brother, who had\nhurt his foot, was still far behind.\n\nAs he ran up, the mountain opened to admit the bear, and the boy, who\nwas close on his heels, rushed in after him, and did not know where he\nwas till he saw bears sitting on every side of him, holding a council.\nThe animal he had been chasing sank panting in their midst, and the\nboy, very much frightened, stood still, letting his bow fall to the\nground.\n\n\u201cWhy are you trying to kill all my servants?\u201d asked the chief. \u201cLook\nround and see their shades, with arrows sticking in them. It was I who\ntold the bear to-day how he was to lure you into my power. I shall take\ncare that you shall not hurt my people any more, because you will\nbecome a bear yourself.\u201d\n\nAt this moment the second brother came up\u2014for the mountain had been\nleft open on purpose to tempt him also\u2014and cried out breathlessly:\n\u201cDon\u2019t you see that the bear is lying close to you? Why don\u2019t you shoot\nhim?\u201d And, without waiting for a reply, pressed forward to drive his\narrow into the heart of the bear. But the elder one caught his raised\narm, and whispered: \u201cBe quiet! can\u2019t you tell where you are?\u201d Then the\nboy looked up and saw the angry bears about him. On the one side were\nthe servants of the chief, and on the other the servants of the chief\u2019s\nsister, who was sorry for the two youths, and begged that their lives\nmight be spared. The chief answered that he would not kill them, but\nonly cast a spell over them, by which their heads and bodies should\nremain as they were, but their arms and legs should change into those\nof a bear, so that they would go on all fours for the rest of their\nlives. And, stooping over a spring of water, he dipped a handful of\nmoss in it and rubbed it over the arms and legs of the boys. In an\ninstant the transformation took place, and two creatures, neither beast\nnor human stood before the chief.\n\nNow the bear chief of course knew that the boys\u2019 father would seek for\nhis sons when they did not return home, so he sent another of his\nservants to the hiding-place at the fork of the trail to see what would\nhappen. He had not waited long, when the father came in sight, stooping\nas he went to look for his sons\u2019 tracks in the snow. When he saw the\nmarks of snow-shoes along the path on the right he was filled with joy,\nnot knowing that the servant had made some fresh tracks on purpose to\nmislead him; and he hastened forward so fast that he fell headlong into\na pit, where the bear was sitting. Before he could pick himself up the\nbear had quietly broken his neck, and, hiding the body under the snow,\nsat down to see if anyone else would pass that way.\n\nMeanwhile the mother at home was wondering what had become of her two\nsons, and as the hours went on, and their father never returned, she\nmade up her mind to go and look for him. The youngest boy begged her to\nlet him undertake the search, but she would not hear of it, and told\nhim he must stay at home and take care of his sister. So, slipping on\nher snow-shoes, she started on her way.\n\nAs no fresh snow had fallen, the trail was quite easy to find, and she\nwalked straight on, till it led her up to the pit where the bear was\nwaiting for her. He grasped her as she fell and broke her neck, after\nwhich he laid her in the snow beside her husband, and went back to tell\nthe bear chief.\n\nHour after hour dragged heavily by in the forest hut, and at last the\nbrother and sister felt quite sure that in some way or other all the\nrest of the family had perished. Day after day the boy climbed to the\ntop of a tall tree near the house, and sat there till he was almost\nfrozen, looking on all sides through the forest openings, hoping that\nhe might see someone coming along. Very soon all the food in the house\nwas eaten, and he knew he would have to go out and hunt for more.\nBesides, he wished to seek for his parents.\n\nThe little girl did not like being left alone in the hut, and cried\nbitterly; but her brother told her that there was no use sitting down\nquietly to starve, and that whether he found any game or not he would\ncertainly be back before the following night. Then he cut himself some\narrows, each from a different tree, and winged with the feathers of\nfour different birds. He then made himself a bow, very light and\nstrong, and got down his snow-shoes. All this took some time, and he\ncould not start that day, but early next morning he called his little\ndog Redmouth, whom he kept in a box, and set out.\n\nAfter he had followed the trail for a great distance he grew very\ntired, and sat upon the branch of a tree to rest. But Redmouth barked\nso furiously that the boy thought that perhaps his parents might have\nbeen killed under its branches, and stepping back, shot one of his\narrows at the root of the tree. Whereupon a noise like thunder shook it\nfrom top to bottom, fire broke out, and in a few minutes a little heap\nof ashes lay in the place where it had stood.\n\nNot knowing quite what to make of it all, the boy continued on the\ntrail, and went down the right-hand fork till he came to the clump of\nbushes where the bears used to hide.\n\nNow, as was plain by his being able to change the shape of the two\nbrothers, the bear chief knew a good deal of magic, and he was quite\naware that the little boy was following the trail, and he sent a very\nsmall but clever bear servant to wait for him in the bushes and to try\nto tempt him into the mountain. But somehow his spells could not have\nworked properly that day, as the bear chief did not know that Redmouth\nhad gone with his master, or he would have been more careful. For the\nmoment the dog ran round the bushes barking loudly, the little bear\nservant rushed out in a fright, and set out for the mountains as fast\nas he could.\n\nThe dog followed the bear, and the boy followed the dog, until the\nmountain, the house of the great bear chief, came in sight. But along\nthe road the snow was so wet and heavy that the boy could hardly get\nalong, and then the thong of his snow-shoes broke, and he had to stop\nand mend it, so that the bear and the dog got so far ahead that he\ncould scarcely hear the barking. When the strap was firm again the boy\nspoke to his snow-shoes and said:\n\n\u201cNow you must go as fast as you can, or, if not, I shall lose the dog\nas well as the bear.\u201d And the snow-shoes sang in answer that they would\nrun like the wind.\n\nAs he came along, the bear chief\u2019s sister was looking out of the\nwindow, and took pity on this little brother, as she had on the two\nelder ones, and waited to see what the boy would do, when he found that\nthe bear servant and the dog had already entered the mountain.\n\nThe little brother was certainly very much puzzled at not seeing\nanything of either of the animals, which had vanished suddenly out of\nhis sight. He paused for an instant to think what he should do next,\nand while he did so he fancied he heard Redmouth\u2019s voice on the\nopposite side of the mountain. With great difficulty he scrambled over\nsteep rocks, and forced a path through tangled thickets; but when he\nreached the other side the sound appeared to start from the place from\nwhich he had come. Then he had to go all the way back again, and at the\nvery top, where he stopped to rest, the barking was directly beneath\nhim, and he knew in an instant where he was and what had happened.\n\n\u201cLet my dog out at once, bear chief!\u201d cried he. \u201cIf you do not, I shall\ndestroy your palace.\u201d But the bear chief only laughed, and said\nnothing. The boy was very angry at his silence, and aiming one of his\narrows at the bottom of the mountain, shot straight through it.\n\nAs the arrow touched the ground a rumbling was heard, and with a roar a\nfire broke out which seemed to split the whole mountain into pieces.\nThe bear chief and all his servants were burnt up in the flames, but\nhis sister and all that belonged to her were spared because she had\ntried to save the two elder boys from punishment.\n\nAs soon as the fire had burnt itself out the little hunter entered what\nwas left of the mountain, and the first thing he saw was his two\nbrothers\u2014half bear, half boy.\n\n\u201cOh, help us! help us!\u201d cried they, standing on their hind legs as they\nspoke, and stretching out their fore-paws to him.\n\n\u201cBut how am I to help you?\u201d asked the little brother, almost weeping.\n\u201cI can kill people, and destroy trees and mountains, but I have no\npower over men.\u201d And the two elder brothers came up and put their paws\non his shoulders, and they all three wept together.\n\nThe heart of the bear chief\u2019s sister was moved when she saw their\nmisery, and she came gently up behind, and whispered:\n\n\u201cLittle boy, gather some moss from the spring over there, and let your\nbrothers smell it.\u201d\n\nWith a bound all three were at the spring, and as the youngest plucked\na handful of wet moss, the two others sniffed at it with all their\nmight. Then the bearskin fell away from them, and they stood upright\nonce more.\n\n\u201cHow can we thank you? how can we thank you?\u201d they stammered, hardly\nable to speak; and fell at her feet in gratitude. But the bear\u2019s sister\nonly smiled, and bade them go home and look after the little girl, who\nhad no one else to protect her.\n\nAnd this the boys did, and took such good care of their sister that, as\nshe was very small, she soon forgot that she had ever had a father and\nmother.\n\n[From the Bureau of Ethnology, U.S.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Sacred Milk of Koumongo\u00e9\n\n\nFar way, in a very hot country, there once lived a man and woman who\nhad two children, a son named Koane and a daughter called Thakane.\n\nEarly in the morning and late in the evenings the parents worked hard\nin the fields, resting, when the sun was high, under the shade of some\ntree. While they were absent the little girl kept house alone, for her\nbrother always got up before the dawn, when the air was fresh and cool,\nand drove out the cattle to the sweetest patches of grass he could\nfind.\n\nOne day, when Koane had slept later than usual, his father and mother\nwent to their work before him, and there was only Thakane to be seen\nbusy making the bread for supper.\n\n\u201cThakane,\u201d he said, \u201cI am thirsty. Give me a drink from the tree\nKoumongo\u00e9, which has the best milk in the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Koane,\u201d cried his sister, \u201cyou know that we are forbidden to touch\nthat tree. What would father say when he came home? For he would be\nsure to know.\u201d\n\n\u201cNonsense,\u201d replied Koane, \u201cthere is so much milk in Koumongo\u00e9 that he\nwill never miss a little. If you won\u2019t give it to me, I sha\u2019n\u2019t take\nthe cattle out. They will just have to stay all day in the hut, and you\nknow that they will starve.\u201d And he turned from her in a rage, and sat\ndown in the corner.\n\nAfter a while Thakane said to him: \u201cIt is getting hot, had you better\ndrive out the cattle now?\u201d\n\nBut Koane only answered sulkily: \u201cI told you I am not going to drive\nthem out at all. If I have to do without milk, they shall do without\ngrass.\u201d\n\nThakane did not know what to do. She was afraid to disobey her parents,\nwho would most likely beat her, yet the beasts would be sure to suffer\nif they were kept in, and she would perhaps be beaten for that too. So\nat last she took an axe and a tiny earthen bowl, she cut a very small\nhole in the side of Koumongo\u00e9, and out gushed enough milk to fill the\nbowl.\n\n\u201cHere is the milk you wanted,\u201d said she, going up to Koane, who was\nstill sulking in his corner.\n\n\u201cWhat is the use of that?\u201d grumbled Koane; \u201cwhy, there is not enough to\ndrown a fly. Go and get me three times as much!\u201d\n\nTrembling with fright, Thakane returned to the tree, and struck it a\nsharp blow with the axe. In an instant there poured forth such a stream\nof milk that it ran like a river into the hut.\n\n\u201cKoane! Koane!\u201d cried she, \u201ccome and help me to plug up the hole. There\nwill be no milk left for our father and mother.\u201d But Koane could not\nstop it any more than Thakane, and soon the milk was flowing through\nthe hut downhill towards their parents in the fields below.\n\nThe man saw a white stream a long way off, and guessed what had\nhappened.\n\n\u201cWife, wife,\u201d he called loudly to the woman, who was working at a\nlittle distance: \u201cDo you see Koumongo\u00e9 running fast down the hill? That\nis some mischief of the children\u2019s, I am sure. I must go home and find\nout what is the matter.\u201d And they both threw down their hoes and\nhurried to the side of Koumongo\u00e9.\n\nKneeling on the grass, the man and his wife made a cup of their hands\nand drank the milk from it. And no sooner had they done this, than\nKoumongo\u00e9 flowed back again up the hill, and entered the hut.\n\n\u201cThakane,\u201d said the parents, severely, when they reached home panting\nfrom the heat of the sun, \u201cwhat have you been doing? Why did Koumongo\u00e9\ncome to us in the fields instead of staying in the garden?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was Koane\u2019s fault,\u201d answered Thakane. \u201cHe would not take the cattle\nto feed until he drank some of the milk from Koumongo\u00e9. So, as I did\nnot know what else to do, I gave it to him.\u201d\n\nThe father listened to Thakane\u2019s words, but made no answer. Instead, he\nwent outside and brought in two sheepskins, which he stained red and\nsent for a blacksmith to forge some iron rings. The rings were then\npassed over Thakane\u2019s arms and legs and neck, and the skins fastened on\nher before and behind. When all was ready, the man sent for his\nservants and said:\n\n\u201cI am going to get rid of Thakane.\u201d\n\n\u201cGet rid of your only daughter?\u201d they answered, in surprise. \u201cBut why?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause she has eaten what she ought not to have eaten. She has\ntouched the sacred tree which belongs to her mother and me alone.\u201d And,\nturning his back, he called to Thakane to follow him, and they went\ndown the road which led to the dwelling of an ogre.\n\nThey were passing along some fields where the corn was ripening, when a\nrabbit suddenly sprang out at their feet, and standing on its hind\nlegs, it sang:\n\nWhy do you give to the ogre Your child, so fair, so fair?\n\n\u201cYou had better ask her,\u201d replied the man, \u201cshe is old enough to give\nyou an answer.\u201d\n\nThen, in her turn, Thakane sang:\n\nI gave Koumongo\u00e9 to Koane, Koumongo\u00e9 to the keeper of beasts; For\nwithout Koumongo\u00e9 they could not go to the meadows: Without Koumongo\u00e9\nthey would starve in the hut; That was why I gave him the Koumongo\u00e9 of\nmy father.\n\nAnd when the rabbit heard that, he cried: \u201cWretched man! it is you whom\nthe ogre should eat, and not your beautiful daughter.\u201d\n\nBut the father paid no heed to what the rabbit said, and only walked on\nthe faster, bidding Thakane to keep close behind him. By-and-by they\nmet with a troop of great deer, called elands, and they stopped when\nthey saw Thakane and sang:\n\nWhy do you give to the ogre Your child, so fair, so fair?\n\n\u201cYou had better ask her, replied the man, \u201cshe is old enough to give\nyou an answer.\u201d\n\nThen, in her turn, Thakane sang:\n\nI gave Koumongo\u00e9 to Koane, Koumongo\u00e9 to the keeper of beasts; For\nwithout Koumongo\u00e9 they could not go to the meadows: Without Koumongo\u00e9\nthey would starve in the hut; That was why I gave him the Koumongo\u00e9 of\nmy father.\n\nAnd the elands all cried: \u201cWretched man! it is you whom the ogre should\neat, and not your beautiful daughter.\u201d\n\nBy this time it was nearly dark, and the father said they could travel\nno further that night, and must go to sleep where they were. Thakane\nwas thankful indeed when she heard this, for she was very tired, and\nfound the two skins fastened round her almost too heavy to carry. So,\nin spite of her dread of the ogre, she slept till dawn, when her father\nwoke her, and told her roughly that he was ready to continue their\njourney.\n\nCrossing the plain, the girl and her father passed a herd of gazelles\nfeeding. They lifted their heads, wondering who was out so early, and\nwhen they caught sight of Thakane, they sang:\n\nWhy do you give to the ogre Your child, so fair, so fair?\n\n\u201cYou had better ask her, replied the man, \u201cshe is old enough to answer\nfor herself.\u201d\n\nThen, in her turn, Thakane sang:\n\nI gave Koumongo\u00e9 to Koane, Koumongo\u00e9 to the keeper of beasts; For\nwithout Koumongo\u00e9 they could not go to the meadows: Without Koumongo\u00e9\nthey would starve in the hut; That was why I gave him the Koumongo\u00e9 of\nmy father.\n\nAnd the gazelles all cried: \u201cWretched man! it is you whom the ogre\nshould eat, and not your beautiful daughter.\u201d\n\nAt last they arrived at the village where the ogre lived, and they went\nstraight to his hut. He was nowhere to be seen, but in his place was\nhis son Masilo, who was not an ogre at all, but a very polite young\nman. He ordered his servants to bring a pile of skins for Thakane to\nsit on, but told her father he must sit on the ground. Then, catching\nsight of the girl\u2019s face, which she had kept down, he was struck by its\nbeauty, and put the same question that the rabbit, and the elands, and\nthe gazelles had done.\n\nThakane answered him as before, and he instantly commanded that she\nshould be taken to the hut of his mother, and placed under her care,\nwhile the man should be led to his father. Directly the ogre saw him he\nbade the servant throw him into the great pot which always stood ready\non the fire, and in five minutes he was done to a turn. After that the\nservant returned to Masilo and related all that had happened.\n\nNow Masilo had fallen in loved with Thakane the moment he saw her. At\nfirst he did not know what to make of this strange feeling, for all his\nlife he had hated women, and had refused several brides whom his\nparents had chosen for him. However, they were so anxious that he\nshould marry, that they willingly accepted Thakane as their\ndaughter-in-law, though she did bring any marriage portion with her.\n\nAfter some time a baby was born to her, and Thakane thought it was the\nmost beautiful baby that ever was seen. But when her mother-in-law saw\nit was a girl, she wrung her hands and wept, saying:\n\n\u201cO miserable mother! Miserable child! Alas for you! why were you not a\nboy!\u201d\n\nThakane, in great surprise, asked the meaning of her distress; and the\nold woman told her that it was the custom in that country that all the\ngirls who were born should be given to the ogre to eat.\n\nThen Thakane clasped the baby tightly in her arms, and cried:\n\n\u201cBut it is not the customer in MY country! There, when children die,\nthey are buried in the earth. No one shall take my baby from me.\u201d\n\nThat night, when everyone in the hut was asleep, Thakane rose, and\ncarrying her baby on her back, went down to a place where the river\nspread itself out into a large lake, with tall willows all round the\nbank. Here, hidden from everyone, she sat down on a stone and began to\nthink what she should do to save her child.\n\nSuddenly she heard a rustling among the willows, and an old woman\nappeared before her.\n\n\u201cWhat are you crying for, my dear?\u201d said she.\n\nAnd Thakane answered: \u201cI was crying for my baby\u2014I cannot hide her for\never, and if the ogre sees her, he will eat her; and I would rather she\nwas drowned than that.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat you say is true,\u201d replied the old woman. \u201cGive me your child, and\nlet me take care of it. And if you will fix a day to meet me here I\nwill bring the baby.\u201d\n\nThen Thakane dried her eyes, and gladly accepted the old woman\u2019s offer.\nWhen she got home she told her husband she had thrown it in the river,\nand as he had watched her go in that direction he never thought of\ndoubting what she said.\n\nOn the appointed day, Thakane slipped out when everybody was busy, and\nran down the path that led to the lake. As soon as she got there, she\ncrouched down among the willows, and sang softly:\n\nBring to me Dilah, Dilah the rejected one, Dilah, whom her father\nMasilo cast out!\n\nAnd in a moment the old woman appeared holding the baby in her arms.\nDilah had become so big and strong, that Thakane\u2019s heart was filled\nwith joy and gratitude, and she stayed as long as she dared, playing\nwith her baby. At last she felt she must return to the village, lest\nshe should be missed, and the child was handed back to the old woman,\nwho vanished with her into the lake.\n\nChildren grow up very quickly when they live under water, and in less\ntime than anyone could suppose, Dilah had changed from a baby to a\nwoman. Her mother came to visit her whenever she was able, and one day,\nwhen they were sitting talking together, they were spied out by a man\nwho had come to cut willows to weave into baskets. He was so surprised\nto see how like the face of the girl was to Masilo, that he left his\nwork and returned to the village.\n\n\u201cMasilo,\u201d he said, as he entered the hut, \u201cI have just beheld your wife\nnear the river with a girl who must be your daughter, she is so like\nyou. We have been deceived, for we all thought she was dead.\u201d\n\nWhen he heard this, Masilo tried to look shocked because his wife had\nbroken the law; but in his heart he was very glad.\n\n\u201cBut what shall we do now?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cMake sure for yourself that I am speaking the truth by hiding among\nthe bushes the first time Thakane says she is going to bathe in the\nriver, and waiting till the girl appears.\u201d\n\nFor some days Thakane stayed quietly at home, and her husband began to\nthink that the man had been mistaken; but at last she said to her\nhusband: \u201cI am going to bathe in the river.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, you can go,\u201d answered he. But he ran down quickly by another\npath, and got there first, and hid himself in the bushes. An instant\nlater, Thakane arrived, and standing on the bank, she sang:\n\nBring to me Dilah, Dilah the rejected one, Dilah, whom her father\nMasilo cast out!\n\nThen the old woman came out of the water, holding the girl, now tall\nand slender, by the hand. And as Masilo looked, he saw that she was\nindeed his daughter, and he wept for joy that she was not lying dead in\nthe bottom of the lake. The old woman, however, seemed uneasy, and said\nto Thakane: \u201cI feel as if someone was watching us. I will not leave the\ngirl to-day, but will take her back with me\u201d; and sinking beneath the\nsurface, she drew the girl after her. After they had gone, Thakane\nreturned to the village, which Masilo had managed to reach before her.\n\nAll the rest of the day he sat in a corner weeping, and his mother who\ncame in asked: \u201cWhy are you weeping so bitterly, my son?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy head aches,\u201d he answered; \u201cit aches very badly.\u201d And his mother\npassed on, and left him alone.\n\nIn the evening he said to his wife: \u201cI have seen my daughter, in the\nplace where you told me you had drowned her. Instead, she lives at the\nbottom of the lake, and has now grown into a young woman.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know what you are talking about,\u201d replied Thakane. \u201cI buried\nmy child under the sand on the beach.\u201d\n\nThen Masilo implored her to give the child back to him; but she would\nnot listen, and only answered: \u201cIf I were to give her back you would\nonly obey the laws of your country and take her to your father, the\nogre, and she would be eaten.\u201d\n\nBut Masilo promised that he would never let his father see her, and\nthat now she was a woman no one would try to hurt her; so Thakane\u2019s\nheart melted, and she went down to the lake to consult the old woman.\n\n\u201cWhat am I to do?\u201d she asked, when, after clapping her hands, the old\nwoman appeared before her. \u201cYesterday Masilo beheld Dilah, and ever\nsince he has entreated me to give him back his daughter.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I let her go he must pay me a thousand head of cattle in exchange,\u201d\nreplied the old woman. And Thakane carried her answer back to Masilo.\n\n\u201cWhy, I would gladly give her two thousand!\u201d cried he, \u201cfor she has\nsaved my daughter.\u201d And he bade messengers hasten to all the\nneighbouring villages, and tell his people to send him at once all the\ncattle he possessed. When they were all assembled he chose a thousand\nof the finest bulls and cows, and drove them down to the river,\nfollowed by a great crowd wondering what would happen.\n\nThen Thakane stepped forward in front of the cattle and sang:\n\nBring to me Dilah, Dilah the rejected one, Dilah, whom her father\nMasilo cast out!\n\nAnd Dilah came from the waters holding out her hands to Masilo and\nThakane, and in her place the cattle sank into the lake, and were\ndriven by the old woman to the great city filled with people, which\nlies at the bottom.\n\n[Contes Populaires des Bassoutos.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Wicked Wolverine\n\n\nOne day a wolverine was out walking on the hill-side, when, on turning\na corner, he suddenly saw a large rock.\n\n\u201cWas that you I heard walking about just now?\u201d he asked, for wolverines\nare cautious animals, and always like to know the reasons of things.\n\n\u201cNo, certainly not,\u201d answered the rock; \u201cI don\u2019t know how to walk.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I SAW you walking,\u201d continued the wolverine.\n\n\u201cI am afraid that you were not taught to speak the truth,\u201d retorted the\nrock.\n\n\u201cYou need not speak like that, for I have SEEN you walking,\u201d replied\nthe wolverine, \u201cthough I am quite sure that you could never catch ME!\u201d\nand he ran a little distance and then stopped to see if the rock was\npursuing him; but, to his vexation, the rock was still in the same\nplace. Then the wolverine went up close, and struck the rock a blow\nwith his paw, saying: \u201cWell, will you catch me NOW?\u201d\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t walk, but I can ROLL,\u201d answered the rock.\n\nAnd the wolverine laughed and said: \u201cOh, that will do just as well\u201d;\nand began to run down the side of the mountain.\n\nAt first he went quite slowly, \u201cjust to give the rock a chance,\u201d he\nthought to himself; but soon he quickened his pace, for he found that\nthe rock was almost at his heels. But the faster the wolverine ran, the\nfaster the rock rolled, and by-and-by the little creature began to get\nvery tired, and was sorry he had not left the rock to itself. Thinking\nthat if he could manage to put on a spurt he would reach the forest of\ngreat trees at the bottom of the mountain, where the rock could not\ncome, he gathered up all his strength, and instead of running he leaped\nover sticks and stones, but, whatever he did, the rock was always close\nbehind him. At length he grew so weary that he could not even see where\nhe was going, and catching his foot in a branch he tripped and fell.\nThe rock stopped at once, but there came a shriek from the wolverine:\n\n\u201cGet off, get off! can\u2019t you see that you are on my legs?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy did you not leave me alone?\u201d asked the rock. \u201cI did not want to\nmove\u2014I hate moving. But you WOULD have it, and I certainly sha\u2019n\u2019t move\nnow till I am forced to.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will call my brothers,\u201d answered the wolverine. \u201cThere are many of\nthem in the forest, and you will soon see that they are stronger than\nyou.\u201d And he called, and called, and called, till wolves and foxes and\nall sorts of other creatures all came running to see what was the\nmatter.\n\n\u201cHow DID you get under that rock?\u201d asked they, making a ring round him;\nbut they had to repeat their question several times before the\nwolverine would answer, for he, like many other persons, found it hard\nto confess that he had brought his troubles on himself.\n\n\u201cWell, I was dull, and wanted someone to play with me,\u201d he said at\nlast, in sulky voice, \u201cand I challenged the rock to catch me. Of course\nI thought I could run the fastest; but I tripped, and it rolled on me.\nIt was just an accident.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt serves you right for being so silly,\u201d said they; but they pushed\nand hauled at the rock for a long time without making it move an inch.\n\n\u201cYou are no good at all,\u201d cried the wolverine crossly, for it was\nsuffering great pain, \u201cand if you cannot get me free, I shall see what\nmy friends the lightning and thunder can do.\u201d And he called loudly to\nthe lightning to come and help him as quickly as possible.\n\nIn a few minutes a dark cloud came rolling up the sky, giving out such\nterrific claps of thunder that the wolves and the foxes and all the\nother creatures ran helter-skelter in all directions. But, frightened\nthough they were, they did not forget to beg the lightning to take off\nthe wolverine\u2019s coat and to free his legs, but to be careful not to\nhurt him. So the lightning disappeared into the cloud for a moment to\ngather up fresh strength, and then came rushing down, right upon the\nrock, which it sent flying in all directions, and took the wolverine\u2019s\ncoat so neatly that, though it was torn into tiny shreds, the wolverine\nhimself was quite unharmed.\n\n\u201cThat was rather clumsy of you,\u201d said he, standing up naked in his\nflesh. \u201cSurely you could have split the rock without tearing my coat to\nbits!\u201d And he stooped down to pick up the pieces. It took him a long\ntime, for there were a great many of them, but at last he had them all\nin his hand.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll go to my sister the frog,\u201d he thought to himself, \u201cand she will\nsew them together for me\u201d; and he set off at once for the swamp in\nwhich his sister lived.\n\n\u201cWill you sew my coat together? I had an unlucky accident, and it is\nquite impossible to wear,\u201d he said, when he found her.\n\n\u201cWith pleasure,\u201d she answered, for she had always been taught to be\npolite; and getting her needle and thread she began to fit the pieces.\nBut though she was very good-natured, she was not very clever, and she\ngot some of the bits wrong. When the wolverine, who was very particular\nabout his clothes, came to put it on, he grew very angry.\n\n\u201cWhat a useless creature you are!\u201d cried he. \u201cDo you expect me to go\nabout in such a coat as that? Why it bulges all down the back, as if I\nhad a hump, and it is so tight across the chest that I expect it to\nburst every time I breathe. I knew you were stupid, but I did not think\nyou were as stupid as that.\u201d And giving the poor frog a blow on her\nhead, which knocked her straight into the water, he walked off in a\nrage to his younger sister the mouse.\n\n\u201cI tore my coat this morning,\u201d he began, when he had found her sitting\nat the door of her house eating an apple. \u201cIt was all in little bits,\nand I took it to our sister the frog to ask her to sew it for me. But\njust look at the way she has done it! You will have to take it to\npieces and fit them together properly, and I hope I shall not have to\ncomplain again.\u201d For as the wolverine was older than the mouse, he was\naccustomed to speak to her in this manner. However, the mouse was used\nto it and only answered: \u201cI think you had better stay here till it is\ndone, and if there is any alteration needed I can make it.\u201d So the\nwolverine sat down on a heap of dry ferns, and picking up the apple, he\nfinished it without even asking the mouse\u2019s leave.\n\nAt last the coat was ready, and the wolverine put it on.\n\n\u201cYes, it fits very well,\u201d said he, \u201cand you have sewn it very neatly.\nWhen I pass this way again I will bring you a handful of corn, as a\nreward\u201d; and he ran off as smart as ever, leaving the mouse quite\ngrateful behind him.\n\nHe wandered about for many days, till he reached a place where food was\nvery scarce, and for a whole week he went without any. He was growing\ndesperate, when he suddenly came upon a bear that was lying asleep.\n\u201cAh! here is food at last!\u201d thought he; but how was he to kill the\nbear, who was so much bigger than himself? It was no use to try force,\nhe must invent some cunning plan which would get her into his power. At\nlast, after thinking hard, he decided upon something, and going up to\nthe bear, he exclaimed: \u201cIs that you, my sister?\u201d\n\nThe bear turned round and saw the wolverine, and murmuring to herself,\nso low that nobody could hear, \u201cI never heard before that I had a\nbrother,\u201d got up and ran quickly to a tree, up which she climbed. Now\nthe wolverine was very angry when he saw his dinner vanishing in front\nof him, especially as HE could not climb trees like the bear, so he\nfollowed, and stood at the foot of the tree, shrieking as loud as he\ncould, \u201cCome down, sister; our father has sent me to look for you! You\nwere lost when you were a little girl and went out picking berries, and\nit was only the other day that we heard from a beaver where you were.\u201d\nAt these words, the bear came a little way down the tree, and the\nwolverine, seeing this, went on:\n\n\u201cAre you not fond of berries? I am! And I know a place where they grow\nso thick the ground is quite hidden. Why, look for yourself! That\nhillside is quite red with them!\u201d\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t see so far,\u201d answered the bear, now climbing down altogether.\n\u201cYou must have wonderfully good eyes! I wish I had; but my sight is\nvery short.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo was mine till my father smashed a pailful of cranberries, and\nrubbed my eyes with them,\u201d replied the wolverine. \u201cBut if you like to\ngo and gather some of the berries I will do just as he did, and you\nwill soon be able to see as far as me.\u201d\n\nIt took the bear a long while to gather the berries, for she was slow\nabout everything, and, besides, it made her back ache to stoop. But at\nlast she returned with a sackful, and put them down beside the\nwolverine. \u201cThat is splendid, sister!\u201d cried the wolverine. \u201cNow lie\nflat on the ground with your head on this stone, while I smash them.\u201d\n\nThe bear, who was very tired, was only too glad to do as she was bid,\nand stretched herself comfortably on the grass.\n\n\u201cI am ready now,\u201d said the wolverine after a bit; \u201cjust at first you\nwill find that the berries make your eyes smart, but you must be\ncareful not to move, or the juice will run out, and then it will have\nto be done all over again.\u201d\n\nSo the bear promised to lie very still; but the moment the cranberries\ntouched her eyes she sprang up with a roar.\n\n\u201cOh, you mustn\u2019t mind a little pain,\u201d said the wolverine, \u201cit will soon\nbe over, and then you will see all sorts of things you have never\ndreamt of.\u201d The bear sank down with a groan, and as her eyes were full\nof cranberry juice, which completely blinded her, the wolverine took up\na sharp knife and stabbed her to the heart.\n\nThen he took off the skin, and, stealing some fire from a tent, which\nhis sharp eyes had perceived hidden behind a rock, he set about\nroasting the bear bit by bit. He thought the meat was the best he ever\nhad tasted, and when dinner was done he made up his mind to try that\nsame trick again, if ever he was hungry.\n\nAnd very likely he did!\n\n[Adapted from Bureau of Ethnology.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Husband of the Rat\u2019s Daughter\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived in Japan a rat and his wife who came of an\nold and noble race, and had one daughter, the loveliest girl in all the\nrat world. Her parents were very proud of her, and spared no pains to\nteach her all she ought to know. There was not another young lady in\nthe whole town who was as clever as she was in gnawing through the\nhardest wood, or who could drop from such a height on to a bed, or run\naway so fast if anyone was heard coming. Great attention, too, was paid\nto her personal appearance, and her skin shone like satin, while her\nteeth were as white as pearls, and beautifully pointed.\n\nOf course, with all these advantages, her parents expected her to make\na brilliant marriage, and, as she grew up, they began to look round for\na suitable husband.\n\nBut here a difficulty arose. The father was a rat from the tip of his\nnose to the end of his tail, outside as well as in, and desired that\nhis daughter should wed among her own people. She had no lack of\nlovers, but her father\u2019s secret hopes rested on a fine young rat, with\nmoustaches which almost swept the ground, whose family was still nobler\nand more ancient than his own. Unluckily, the mother had other views\nfor her precious child. She was one of those people who always despise\ntheir own family and surroundings, and take pleasure in thinking that\nthey themselves are made of finer material than the rest of the world.\n\u201cHER daughter should never marry a mere rat,\u201d she declared, holding her\nhead high. \u201cWith her beauty and talents she had a right to look for\nsomeone a little better than THAT.\u201d\n\nSo she talked, as mothers will, to anyone that would listen to her.\nWhat the girl thought about the matter nobody knew or cared\u2014it was not\nthe fashion in the rat world.\n\nMany were the quarrels which the old rat and his wife had upon the\nsubject, and sometimes they bore on their faces certain marks which\nlooked as if they had not kept to words only.\n\n\u201cReach up to the stars is MY motto,\u201d cried the lady one day, when she\nwas in a greater passion than usual. \u201cMy daughter\u2019s beauty places her\nhigher than anything upon earth,\u201d she cried; \u201cand I am certainly not\ngoing to accept a son-in-law who is beneath her.\u201d\n\n\u201cBetter offer her in marriage to the sun,\u201d answered her husband\nimpatiently. \u201cAs far as I know there is nothing greater than he.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I WAS thinking of it,\u201d replied the wife, \u201cand as you are of the\nsame mind, we will pay him a visit to-morrow.\u201d\n\nSo the next morning, the two rats, having spent hours in making\nthemselves smart, set out to see the sun, leading their daughter\nbetween them.\n\nThe journey took some time, but at length they came to the golden\npalace where the sun lived.\n\n\u201cNoble king,\u201d began the mother, \u201cbehold our daughter! She is so\nbeautiful that she is above everything in the whole world. Naturally,\nwe wish for a son-in-law who, on his side, is greater than all.\nTherefore we have come to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI feel very much flattered,\u201d replied the sun, who was so busy that he\nhad not the least wish to marry anybody. \u201cYou do me great honour by\nyour proposal. Only, in one point you are mistaken, and it would be\nwrong of me to take advantage of your ignorance. There is something\ngreater than I am, and that is the cloud. Look!\u201d And as he spoke a\ncloud spread itself over the sun\u2019s face, blotting out his rays.\n\n\u201cOh, well, we will speak to the cloud,\u201d said the mother. And turning to\nthe cloud she repeated her proposal.\n\n\u201cIndeed I am unworthy of anything so charming,\u201d answered the cloud;\n\u201cbut you make a mistake again in what you say. There is one thing that\nis even more powerful than I, and that is the wind. Ah, here he comes,\nyou can see for yourself.\u201d\n\nAnd she DID see, for catching up the cloud as he passed, he threw it on\nthe other side of the sky. Then, tumbling father, mother and daughter\ndown to the earth again, he paused for a moment beside them, his foot\non an old wall.\n\nWhen she had recovered her breath, the mother began her little speech\nonce more.\n\n\u201cThe wall is the proper husband for your daughter,\u201d answered the wind,\nwhose home consisted of a cave, which he only visited when he was not\nrushing about elsewhere; \u201cyou can see for yourself that he is greater\nthan I, for he has power to stop me in my flight.\u201d And the mother, who\ndid not trouble to conceal her wishes, turned at once to the wall.\n\nThen something happened which was quite unexpected by everyone.\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t marry that ugly old wall, which is as old as my grandfather,\u201d\nsobbed the girl, who had not uttered one word all this time. \u201cI would\nhave married the sun, or the cloud, or the wind, because it was my\nduty, although I love the handsome young rat, and him only. But that\nhorrid old wall\u2014I would sooner die!\u201d\n\nAnd the wall, rather hurt in his feelings, declared that he had no\nclaim to be the husband of so beautiful a girl.\n\n\u201cIt is quite true,\u201d he said, \u201cthat I can stop the wind who can part the\nclouds who can cover the sun; but there is someone who can do more than\nall these, and that is the rat. It is the rat who passes through me,\nand can reduce me to powder, simply with his teeth. If, therefore, you\nwant a son-in-law who is greater than the whole world, seek him among\nthe rats.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, what did I tell you?\u201d cried the father. And his wife, though for\nthe moment angry at being beaten, soon thought that a rat son-in-law\nwas what she had always desired.\n\nSo all three returned happily home, and the wedding was celebrated\nthree days after.\n\n[Contes Populaires.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Mermaid and the Boy\n\n\nLong, long ago, there lived a king who ruled over a country by the sea.\nWhen he had been married about a year, some of his subjects, inhabiting\na distant group of islands, revolted against his laws, and it became\nneedful for him to leave his wife and go in person to settle their\ndisputes. The queen feared that some ill would come of it, and implored\nhim to stay at home, but he told her that nobody could do his work for\nhim, and the next morning the sails were spread, and the king started\non his voyage.\n\nThe vessel had not gone very far when she ran upon a rock, and stuck so\nfast in a cleft that the strength of the whole crew could not get her\noff again. To make matters worse, the wind was rising too, and it was\nquite plain that in a few hours the ship would be dashed to pieces and\neverybody would be drowned, when suddenly the form of a mermaid was\nseen dancing on the waves which threatened every moment to overwhelm\nthem.\n\n\u201cThere is only one way to free yourselves,\u201d she said to the king,\nbobbing up and down in the water as she spoke, \u201cand that is to give me\nyour solemn word that you will deliver to me the first child that is\nborn to you.\u201d\n\nThe king hesitated at this proposal. He hoped that some day he might\nhave children in his home, and the thought that he must yield up the\nheir to his crown was very bitter to him; but just then a huge wave\nbroke with great force on the ship\u2019s side, and his men fell on their\nknees and entreated him to save them.\n\nSo he promised, and this time a wave lifted the vessel clean off the\nrocks, and she was in the open sea once more.\n\nThe affairs of the islands took longer to settle than the king had\nexpected, and some months passed away before he returned to his palace.\nIn his absence a son had been born to him, and so great was his joy\nthat he quite forgot the mermaid and the price he had paid for the\nsafety of his ship. But as the years went on, and the baby grew into a\nfine big boy, the remembrance of it came back, and one day he told the\nqueen the whole story. From that moment the happiness of both their\nlives was ruined. Every night they went to bed wondering if they should\nfind his room empty in the morning, and every day they kept him by\ntheir sides, expecting him to be snatched away before their very eyes.\n\nAt last the king felt that this state of things could not continue, and\nhe said to his wife:\n\n\u201cAfter all, the most foolish thing in the world one can do is to keep\nthe boy here in exactly the place in which the mermaid will seek him.\nLet us give him food and send him on his travels, and perhaps, if the\nmermaid ever blocs come to seek him, she may be content with some other\nchild.\u201d And the queen agreed that his plan seemed the wisest.\n\nSo the boy was called, and his father told him the story of the voyage,\nas he had told his mother before him. The prince listened eagerly, and\nwas delighted to think that he was to go away all by himself to see the\nworld, and was not in the least frightened; for though he was now\nsixteen, he had scarcely been allowed to walk alone beyond the palace\ngardens. He began busily to make his preparations, and took off his\nsmart velvet coat, putting on instead one of green cloth, while he\nrefused a beautiful bag which the queen offered him to hold his food,\nand slung a leather knapsack over his shoulders instead, just as he had\nseen other travellers do. Then he bade farewell to his parents and went\nhis way.\n\nAll through the day he walked, watching with interest the strange birds\nand animals that darted across his path in the forest or peeped at him\nfrom behind a bush. But as evening drew on he became tired, and looked\nabout as he walked for some place where he could sleep. At length he\nreached a soft mossy bank under a tree, and was just about to stretch\nhimself out on it, when a fearful roar made him start and tremble all\nover. In another moment something passed swiftly through the air and a\nlion stood before him.\n\n\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d asked the lion, his eyes glaring fiercely at\nthe boy.\n\n\u201cI am flying from the mermaid,\u201d the prince answered, in a quaking\nvoice.\n\n\u201cGive me some food then,\u201d said the lion, \u201cit is past my supper time,\nand I am very hungry.\u201d\n\nThe boy was so thankful that the lion did not want to eat him, that he\ngladly picked up his knapsack which lay on the ground, and held out\nsome bread and a flask of wine.\n\n\u201cI feel better now,\u201d said the lion when he had done, \u201cso now I shall go\nto sleep on this nice soft moss, and if you like you can lie down\nbeside me.\u201d So the boy and the lion slept soundly side by side, till\nthe sun rose.\n\n\u201cI must be off now,\u201d remarked the lion, shaking the boy as he spoke;\n\u201cbut cut off the tip of my ear, and keep it carefully, and if you are\nin any danger just wish yourself a lion and you will become one on the\nspot. One good turn deserves another, you know.\u201d\n\nThe prince thanked him for his kindness, and did as he was bid, and the\ntwo then bade each other farewell.\n\n\u201cI wonder how it feels to be a lion,\u201d thought the boy, after he had\ngone a little way; and he took out the tip of the ear from the breast\nof his jacket and wished with all his might. In an instant his head had\nswollen to several times its usual size, and his neck seemed very hot\nand heavy; and, somehow, his hands became paws, and his skin grew hairy\nand yellow. But what pleased him most was his long tail with a tuft at\nthe end, which he lashed and switched proudly. \u201cI like being a lion\nvery much,\u201d he said to himself, and trotted gaily along the road.\n\nAfter a while, however, he got tired of walking in this unaccustomed\nway\u2014it made his back ache and his front paws felt sore. So he wished\nhimself a boy again, and in the twinkling of an eye his tail\ndisappeared and his head shrank, and the long thick mane became short\nand curly. Then he looked out for a sleeping place, and found some dry\nferns, which he gathered and heaped up.\n\nBut before he had time to close his eyes there was a great noise in the\ntrees near by, as if a big heavy body was crashing through them. The\nboy rose and turned his head, and saw a huge black bear coming towards\nhim.\n\n\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d cried the bear.\n\n\u201cI am running away from the mermaid,\u201d answered the boy; but the bear\ntook no interest in the mermaid, and only said: \u201cI am hungry; give me\nsomething to eat.\u201d\n\nThe knapsack was lying on the ground among the fern, but the prince\npicked it up, and, unfastening the strap, took out his second flask of\nwine and another loaf of bread. \u201cWe will have supper together,\u201d he\nremarked politely; but the bear, who had never been taught manners,\nmade no reply, and ate as fast as he could. When he had quite finished,\nhe got up and stretched himself.\n\n\u201cYou have got a comfortable-looking bed there,\u201d he observed. \u201cI really\nthink that, bad sleeper as I am, I might have a good night on it. I can\nmanage to squeeze you in,\u201d he added; \u201cyou don\u2019t take up a great deal of\nroom.\u201d The boy was rather indignant at the bear\u2019s cool way of talking;\nbut as he was too tired to gather more fern, they lay down side by\nside, and never stirred till sunrise next morning.\n\n\u201cI must go now,\u201d said the bear, pulling the sleepy prince on to his\nfeet; \u201cbut first you shall cut off the tip of my ear, and when you are\nin any danger just wish yourself a bear and you will become one. One\ngood turn deserves another, you know.\u201d And the boy did as he was bid,\nand he and the bear bade each other farewell.\n\n\u201cI wonder how it feels to be a bear,\u201d thought he to himself when he had\nwalked a little way; and he took out the tip from the breast of his\ncoat and wished hard that he might become a bear. The next moment his\nbody stretched out and thick black fur covered him all over. As before,\nhis hands were changed into paws, but when he tried to switch his tail\nhe found to his disgust that it would not go any distance. \u201cWhy it is\nhardly worth calling a tail!\u201d said he. For the rest of the day he\nremained a bear and continued his journey, but as evening came on the\nbear-skin, which had been so useful when plunging through brambles in\nthe forest, felt rather heavy, and he wished himself a boy again. He\nwas too much exhausted to take the trouble of cutting any fern or\nseeking for moss, but just threw himself down under a tree, when\nexactly above his head he heard a great buzzing as a bumble-bee\nalighted on a honeysuckle branch. \u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d asked the\nbee in a cross voice; \u201cat your age you ought to be safe at home.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am running away from the mermaid,\u201d replied the boy; but the bee,\nlike the lion and the bear, was one of those people who never listen to\nthe answers to their questions, and only said: \u201cI am hungry. Give me\nsomething to eat.\u201d\n\nThe boy took his last loaf and flask out of his knapsack and laid them\non the ground, and they had supper together. \u201cWell, now I am going to\nsleep,\u201d observed the bee when the last crumb was gone, \u201cbut as you are\nnot very big I can make room for you beside me,\u201d and he curled up his\nwings, and tucked in his legs, and he and the prince both slept soundly\ntill morning. Then the bee got up and carefully brushed every scrap of\ndust off his velvet coat and buzzed loudly in the boy\u2019s ear to waken\nhim.\n\n\u201cTake a single hair from one of my wings,\u201d said he, \u201cand if you are in\ndanger just wish yourself a bee and you will become one. One good turn\ndeserves another, so farewell, and thank you for your supper.\u201d And the\nbee departed after the boy had pulled out the hair and wrapped it\ncarefully in a leaf.\n\n\u201cIt must feel quite different to be a bee from what it does to be a\nlion or bear,\u201d thought the boy to himself when he had walked for an\nhour or two. \u201cI dare say I should get on a great deal faster,\u201d so he\npulled out his hair and wished himself a bee.\n\nIn a moment the strangest thing happened to him. All his limbs seemed\nto draw together, and his body to become very short and round; his head\ngrew quite tiny, and instead of his white skin he was covered with the\nrichest, softest velvet. Better than all, he had two lovely gauze wings\nwhich carried him the whole day without getting tired.\n\nLate in the afternoon the boy fancied he saw a vast heap of stones a\nlong way off, and he flew straight towards it. But when he reached the\ngates he saw that it was really a great town, so he wished himself back\nin his own shape and entered the city.\n\nHe found the palace doors wide open and went boldly into a sort of hall\nwhich was full of people, and where men and maids were gossiping\ntogether. He joined their talk and soon learned from them that the king\nhad only one daughter who had such a hatred to men that she would never\nsuffer one to enter her presence. Her father was in despair, and had\nhad pictures painted of the handsomest princes of all the courts in the\nworld, in the hope that she might fall in love with one of them; but it\nwas no use; the princess would not even allow the pictures to be\nbrought into her room.\n\n\u201cIt is late,\u201d remarked one of the women at last; \u201cI must go to my\nmistress.\u201d And, turning to one of the lackeys, she bade him find a bed\nfor the youth.\n\n\u201cIt is not necessary,\u201d answered the prince, \u201cthis bench is good enough\nfor me. I am used to nothing better.\u201d And when the hall was empty he\nlay down for a few minutes. But as soon as everything was quiet in the\npalace he took out the hair and wished himself a bee, and in this shape\nhe flew upstairs, past the guards, and through the keyhole into the\nprincess\u2019s chamber. Then he turned himself into a man again.\n\nAt this dreadful sight the princess, who was broad awake, began to\nscream loudly. \u201cA man! a man!\u201d cried she; but when the guards rushed in\nthere was only a bumble-bee buzzing about the room. They looked under\nthe bed, and behind the curtains, and into the cupboards, then came to\nthe conclusion that the princess had had a bad dream, and bowed\nthemselves out. The door had scarcely closed on them than the bee\ndisappeared, and a handsome youth stood in his place.\n\n\u201cI knew a man was hidden somewhere,\u201d cried the princess, and screamed\nmore loudly than before. Her shrieks brought back the guards, but\nthough they looked in all kinds of impossible places no man was to be\nseen, and so they told the princess.\n\n\u201cHe was here a moment ago\u2014I saw him with my own eyes,\u201d and the guards\ndared not contradict her, though they shook their heads and whispered\nto each other that the princess had gone mad on this subject, and saw a\nman in every table and chair. And they made up their minds that\u2014let her\nscream as loudly as she might\u2014they would take no notice.\n\nNow the princess saw clearly what they were thinking, and that in\nfuture her guards would give her no help, and would perhaps, besides,\ntell some stories about her to the king, who would shut her up in a\nlonely tower and prevent her walking in the gardens among her birds and\nflowers. So when, for the third time, she beheld the prince standing\nbefore her, she did not scream but sat up in bed gazing at him in\nsilent terror.\n\n\u201cDo not be afraid,\u201d he said, \u201cI shall not hurt you\u201d; and he began to\npraise her gardens, of which he had heard the servants speak, and the\nbirds and flowers which she loved, till the princess\u2019s anger softened,\nand she answered him with gentle words. Indeed, they soon became so\nfriendly that she vowed she would marry no one else, and confided to\nhim that in three days her father would be off to the wars, leaving his\nsword in her room. If any man could find it and bring it to him he\nwould receive her hand as a reward. At this point a cock crew, and the\nyouth jumped up hastily saying: \u201cOf course I shall ride with the king\nto the war, and if I do not return, take your violin every evening to\nthe seashore and play on it, so that the very sea-kobolds who live at\nthe bottom of the ocean may hear it and come to you.\u201d\n\nJust as the princess had foretold, in three days the king set out for\nthe war with a large following, and among them was the young prince,\nwho had presented himself at court as a young noble in search of\nadventures. They had left the city many miles behind them, when the\nking suddenly discovered that he had forgotten his sword, and though\nall his attendants instantly offered theirs, he declared that he could\nfight with none but his own.\n\n\u201cThe first man who brings it to me from my daughter\u2019s room,\u201d cried he,\n\u201cshall not only have her to wife, but after my death shall reign in my\nstead.\u201d\n\nAt this the Red Knight, the young prince, and several more turned their\nhorses to ride as fast as the wind back to the palace. But suddenly a\nbetter plan entered the prince\u2019s head, and, letting the others pass\nhim, he took his precious parcel from his breast and wished himself a\nlion. Then on he bounded, uttering such dreadful roars that the horses\nwere frightened and grew unmanageable, and he easily outstripped them,\nand soon reached the gates of the palace. Here he hastily changed\nhimself into a bee, and flew straight into the princess\u2019s room, where\nhe became a man again. She showed him where the sword hung concealed\nbehind a curtain, and he took it down, saying as he did so: \u201cBe sure\nnot to forget what you have promised to do.\u201d\n\nThe princess made no reply, but smiled sweetly, and slipping a golden\nring from her finger she broke it in two and held half out silently to\nthe prince, while the other half she put in her own pocket. He kissed\nit, and ran down the stairs bearing the sword with him. Some way off he\nmet the Red Knight and the rest, and the Red Knight at first tried to\ntake the sword from him by force. But as the youth proved too strong\nfor him, he gave it up, and resolved to wait for a better opportunity.\n\nThis soon came, for the day was hot and the prince was thirsty.\nPerceiving a little stream that ran into the sea, he turned aside, and,\nunbuckling the sword, flung himself on the ground for a long drink.\nUnluckily, the mermaid happened at that moment to be floating on the\nwater not very far off, and knew he was the boy who had been given her\nbefore he was born. So she floated gently in to where he was lying, she\nseized him by the arm, and the waves closed over them both. Hardly had\nthey disappeared, when the Red Knight stole cautiously up, and could\nhardly believe his eyes when he saw the king\u2019s sword on the bank. He\nwondered what had become of the youth, who an hour before had guarded\nhis treasure so fiercely; but, after all, that was no affair of his!\nSo, fastening the sword to his belt, he carried it to the king.\n\nThe war was soon over, and the king returned to his people, who\nwelcomed him with shouts of joy. But when the princess from her window\nsaw that her betrothed was not among the attendants riding behind her\nfather, her heart sank, for she knew that some evil must have befallen\nhim, and she feared the Red Knight. She had long ago learned how clever\nand how wicked he was, and something whispered to her that it was he\nwho would gain the credit of having carried back the sword, and would\nclaim her as his bride, though he had never even entered her chamber.\nAnd she could do nothing; for although the king loved her, he never let\nher stand in the way of his plans.\n\nThe poor princess was only too right, and everything came to pass\nexactly as she had foreseen it. The king told her that the Red Knight\nhad won her fairly, and that the wedding would take place next day, and\nthere would be a great feast after it.\n\nIn those days feasts were much longer and more splendid than they are\nnow; and it was growing dark when the princess, tired out with all she\nhad gone through, stole up to her own room for a little quiet. But the\nmoon was shining so brightly over the sea that it seemed to draw her\ntowards it, and taking her violin under her arm, she crept down to the\nshore.\n\n\u201cListen! listen! said the mermaid to the prince, who was lying\nstretched on a bed of seaweeds at the bottom of the sea. \u201cListen! that\nis your old love playing, for mermaids know everything that happens\nupon earth.\u201d\n\n\u201cI hear nothing,\u201d answered the youth, who did not look happy. \u201cTake me\nup higher, where the sounds can reach me.\u201d\n\nSo the mermaid took him on her shoulders and bore him up midway to the\nsurface. \u201cCan you hear now?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d answered the prince, \u201cI hear nothing but the water rushing; I\nmust go higher still.\u201d\n\nThen the mermaid carried him to the very top. \u201cYou must surely be able\nto hear now?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cNothing but the water,\u201d repeated the youth. So she took him right to\nthe land.\n\n\u201cAt any rate you can hear now?\u201d she said again.\n\n\u201cThe water is still rushing in my ears,\u201d answered he; \u201cbut wait a\nlittle, that will soon pass off.\u201d And as he spoke he put his hand into\nhis breast, and seizing the hair wished himself a bee, and flew\nstraight into the pocket of the princess. The mermaid looked in vain\nfor him, and coated all night upon the sea; but he never came back, and\nnever more did he gladden her eyes. But the princess felt that\nsomething strange was about her, though she knew not what, and returned\nquickly to the palace, where the young man at once resumed his own\nshape. Oh, what joy filled her heart at the sight of him! But there was\nno time to be lost, and she led him right into the hall, where the king\nand his nobles were still sitting at the feast. \u201cHere is a man who\nboasts that he can do wonderful tricks,\u201d said she, \u201cbetter even than\nthe Red Knight\u2019s! That cannot be true, of course, but it might be well\nto give this impostor a lesson. He pretends, for instance, that he can\nturn himself into a lion; but that I do not believe. I know that you\nhave studied the art of magic,\u201d she went on, turning to the Red Knight,\n\u201cso suppose you just show him how it is done, and bring shame upon\nhim.\u201d\n\nNow the Red Knight had never opened a book of magic in his life; but he\nwas accustomed to think that he could do everything better than other\npeople without any teaching at all. So he turned and twisted himself\nabout, and bellowed and made faces; but he did not become a lion for\nall that.\n\n\u201cWell, perhaps it is very difficult to change into a lion. Make\nyourself a bear,\u201d said the princess. But the Red Knight found it no\neasier to become a bear than a lion.\n\n\u201cTry a bee,\u201d suggested she. \u201cI have always read that anyone who can do\nmagic at all can do that.\u201d And the old knight buzzed and hummed, but he\nremained a man and not a bee.\n\n\u201cNow it is your turn,\u201d said the princess to the youth. \u201cLet us see if\nyou can change yourself into a lion.\u201d And in a moment such a fierce\ncreature stood before them, that all the guests rushed out of the hall,\ntreading each other underfoot in their fright. The lion sprang at the\nRed Knight, and would have torn him in pieces had not the princess held\nhim back, and bidden him to change himself into a man again. And in a\nsecond a man took the place of the lion.\n\n\u201cNow become a bear,\u201d said she; and a bear advanced panting and\nstretching out his arms to the Red Knight, who shrank behind the\nprincess.\n\nBy this time some of the guests had regained their courage, and\nreturned as far as the door, thinking that if it was safe for the\nprincess perhaps it was safe for them. The king, who was braver than\nthey, and felt it needful to set them a good example besides, had never\nleft his seat, and when at a new command of the princess the bear once\nmore turned into a man, he was silent from astonishment, and a\nsuspicion of the truth began to dawn on him. \u201cWas it he who fetched the\nsword?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cYes, it was,\u201d answered the princess; and she told him the whole story,\nand how she had broken her gold ring and given him half of it. And the\nprince took out his half of the ring, and the princess took out hers,\nand they fitted exactly. Next day the Red Knight was hanged, as he\nrichly deserved, and there was a new marriage feast for the prince and\nprincess.\n\n[Lapplandische Mahrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nPivi and Kabo\n\n\nWhen birds were men, and men were birds, Pivi and Kabo lived in an\nisland far away, called New Claledonia. Pivi was a cheery little bird\nthat chirps at sunset; Kabo was an ugly black fowl that croaks in the\ndarkness. One day Pivi and Kabo thought that they would make slings,\nand practice slinging, as the people of the island still do. So they\nwent to a banyan tree, and stripped the bark to make strings for their\nslings, and next they repaired to the river bank to find stones. Kabo\nstood on the bank of the river, and Pivi went into the water. The game\nwas for Kabo to sling at Pivi, and for Pivi to dodge the stones, if he\ncould. For some time he dodged them cleverly, but at last a stone from\nKabo\u2019s sling hit poor Pivi on the leg and broke it. Down went Pivi into\nthe stream, and floated along it, till he floated into a big hollow\nbamboo, which a woman used for washing her sweet potatoes.\n\n\u201cWhat is that in my bamboo?\u201d said the woman. And she blew in at one\nend, and blew little Pivi out at the other, like a pea from a\npea-shooter.\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d cried the woman, \u201cwhat a state you are in! What have you been\ndoing?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was Kabo who broke my leg at the slinging game,\u201d said Pivi.\n\n\u201cWell, I am sorry for you,\u201d said the woman; \u201cwill you come with me, and\ndo what I tell you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will!\u201d said Pivi, for the woman was very kind and pretty. She took\nPivi into a shed where she kept her fruit laid him on a bed of mats,\nand made him as comfortable as she could, and attended to his broken\nleg without cutting off the flesh round the bone, as these people\nusually do.\n\n\u201cYou will be still, won\u2019t you, Pivi?\u201d she said. \u201cIf you hear a little\nnoise you will pretend to be dead. It is the Black Ant who will come\nand creep from your feet up to your head. Say nothing, and keep quiet,\nwon\u2019t you, Pivi?\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly, kind lady,\u201d said Pivi, \u201cI will lie as still as can be.\u201d\n\n\u201cNext will come the big Red Ant\u2014you know him?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I know him, with his feet like a grasshopper\u2019s.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe will walk over your body up to your head. Then you must shake all\nyour body. Do you understand, Pivi?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, dear lady, I shall do just as you say.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery good,\u201d said the woman, going out and shutting the door.\n\nPivi lay still under his coverings, then a tiny noise was heard, and\nthe Black Ant began to march over Pivi, who lay quite still. Then came\nthe big Red Ant skipping along his body, and then Pivi shook himself\nall over. He jumped up quite well again, he ran to the river, he looked\ninto the water and saw that he was changed from a bird into a fine\nyoung man!\n\n\u201cOh, lady,\u201d he cried, \u201clook at me now! I am changed into a man, and so\nhandsome!\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you obey me again?\u201d said the woman.\n\n\u201cAlways; whatever you command I will do it,\u201d said Pivi, politely.\n\n\u201cThen climb up that cocoa-nut tree, with your legs only, not using your\nhands,\u201d said the woman.\n\nNow the natives can run up cocoa-nut trees like squirrels, some using\nonly one hand; the girls can do that. But few can climb without using\ntheir hands at all.\n\n\u201cAt the top of the tree you will find two cocoa-nuts. You must not\nthrow them down, but carry them in your hands; and you must descend as\nyou went up, using your legs only.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall try, at least,\u201d said Pivi. And up he went, but it was very\ndifficult, and down he came.\n\n\u201cHere are your cocoa-nuts,\u201d he said, presenting them to the woman.\n\n\u201cNow, Pivi, put them in the shed where you lay, and when the sun sets\nto cool himself in the sea and rise again not so hot in the dawn you\nmust go and take the nuts.\u201d\n\nAll day Pivi played about in the river, as the natives do, throwing\nfruit and silvery showers of water at each other. When the sun set he\nwent into the hut. But as he drew near he heard sweet voices talking\nand laughing within.\n\n\u201cWhat is that? People chattering in the hut! Perhaps they have taken my\ncocoa-nuts,\u201d said Pivi to himself.\n\nIn he went, and there he found two pretty, laughing, teasing girls. He\nhunted for his cocoanuts, but none were there.\n\nDown he ran to the river. \u201cOh, lady, my nuts have been stolen!\u201d he\ncried.\n\n\u201cCome with me, Pivi, and there will be nuts for you,\u201d said the woman.\n\nThey went back to the hut, where the girls were laughing and playing.\n\n\u201cNuts for you?\u201d said the woman, \u201cthere are two wives for you, Pivi,\ntake them to your house.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, good lady,\u201d cried Pivi, \u201chow kind you are!\u201d\n\nSo they were married and very happy, when in came cross old Kabo.\n\n\u201cIs this Pivi?\u201d said he. \u201cYes, it is\u2014no, it isn\u2019t. It is not the same\nPivi\u2014but there is a kind of likeness. Tell me, are you Pivi?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes!\u201d said Pivi. \u201cBut I am much better looking, and there are my\ntwo wives, are they not beautiful?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are mocking me, Pivi! Your wives? How? Where did you get them?\nYou, with wives!\u201d\n\nThen Pivi told Kabo about the kind woman, and all the wonderful things\nthat had happened to him.\n\n\u201cWell, well!\u201d said Kabo, \u201cbut I want to be handsome too, and to have\npretty young wives.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut how can we manage that?\u201d asked Pivi.\n\n\u201cOh, we shall do all the same things over again\u2014play at slinging, and,\nthis time, you shall break my leg, Pivi!\u201d\n\n\u201cWith all the pleasure in life,\u201d said Pivi, who was always ready to\noblige.\n\nSo they went slinging, and Pivi broke Kabo\u2019s leg, and Kabo fell into\nthe river, and floated into the bamboo, and the woman blew him out,\njust as before. Then she picked up Kabo, and put him in the shed, and\ntold him what to do when the Black Ant came, and what to do when the\nRed Ant came. But he didn\u2019t!\n\nWhen the Black Ant came, he shook himself, and behold, he had a twisted\nleg, and a hump back, and was as black as the ant.\n\nThen he ran to the woman.\n\n\u201cLook, what a figure I am!\u201d he said; but she only told him to climb the\ntree, as she had told Pivi.\n\nBut Kabo climbed with both hands and feet, and he threw down the nuts,\ninstead of carrying them down, and he put them in the hut. And when he\nwent back for them there he found two horrid old black hags, wrangling,\nand scolding, and scratching! So back he went to Pivi with his two\nbeautiful wives, and Pivi was very sorry, but what could he do?\nNothing, but sit and cry.\n\nSo, one day, Kabo came and asked Pivi to sail in his canoe to a place\nwhere he knew of a great big shell-fish, enough to feed on for a week.\nPivi went, and deep in the clear water they saw a monstrous shell-fish,\nlike an oyster, as big as a rock, with the shell wide open.\n\n\u201cWe shall catch it, and dry it, and kipper it,\u201d said Pivi, \u201cand give a\ndinner to all our friends!\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall dive for it, and break it off the rock,\u201d said Kabo, \u201cand then\nyou must help me to drag it up into the canoe.\u201d\n\nThere the shell-fish lay and gaped, but Kabo, though he dived in, kept\nwell out of the way of the beast.\n\nUp he came, puffing and blowing: \u201cOh, Pivi,\u201d he cried, \u201cI cannot move\nit. Jump in and try yourself!\u201d\n\nPivi dived, with his spear, and the shell-fish opened its shell wider\nyet, and sucked, and Pivi disappeared into its mouth, and the shell\nshut up with a snap!\n\nKabo laughed like a fiend, and then went home.\n\n\u201cWhere is Pivi?\u201d asked the two pretty girls. Kabo pretended to cry, and\ntold how Pivi had been swallowed.\n\n\u201cBut dry your tears, my darlings,\u201d said Kabo, \u201cI will be your husband,\nand my wives shall be your slaves. Everything is for the best, in the\nbest of all possible worlds.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no!\u201d cried the girls, \u201cwe love Pivi. We do not love anyone else.\nWe shall stay at home, and weep for Pivi!\u201d\n\n\u201cWretched idiots!\u201d cried Kabo; \u201cPivi was a scoundrel who broke my leg,\nand knocked me into the river.\u201d\n\nThen a little cough was heard at the door, and Kabo trembled, for he\nknew it was the cough of Pivi!\n\n\u201cAh, dear Pivi!\u201d cried Kabo, rushing to the door. \u201cWhat joy! I was\ntrying to console your dear wives.\u201d\n\nPivi said not one word. He waved his hand, and five and twenty of his\nfriends came trooping down the hill. They cut up Kabo into little\npieces. Pivi turned round, and there was the good woman of the river.\n\n\u201cPivi,\u201d she said, \u201chow did you get out of the living tomb into which\nKabo sent you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI had my spear with me,\u201d said Pivi. \u201cIt was quite dry inside the\nshell, and I worked away at the fish with my spear, till he saw reason\nto open his shell, and out I came.\u201d Then the good woman laughed; and\nPivi and his two wives lived happy ever afterwards.\n\n[Moncelon. Bulletin de la Societe d\u2019Anthropologie. Series iii. vol.\nix., pp. 613-365.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Elf Maiden\n\n\nOnce upon a time two young men living in a small village fell in love\nwith the same girl. During the winter, it was all night except for an\nhour or so about noon, when the darkness seemed a little less dark, and\nthen they used to see which of them could tempt her out for a sleigh\nride with the Northern Lights flashing above them, or which could\npersuade her to come to a dance in some neighbouring barn. But when the\nspring began, and the light grew longer, the hearts of the villagers\nleapt at the sight of the sun, and a day was fixed for the boats to be\nbrought out, and the great nets to be spread in the bays of some\nislands that lay a few miles to the north. Everybody went on this\nexpedition, and the two young men and the girl went with them.\n\nThey all sailed merrily across the sea chattering like a flock of\nmagpies, or singing their favourite songs. And when they reached the\nshore, what an unpacking there was! For this was a noted fishing\nground, and here they would live, in little wooden huts, till autumn\nand bad weather came round again.\n\nThe maiden and the two young men happened to share the same hut with\nsome friends, and fished daily from the same boat. And as time went on,\none of the youths remarked that the girl took less notice of him than\nshe did of his companion. At first he tried to think that he was\ndreaming, and for a long while he kept his eyes shut very tight to what\nhe did not want to see, but in spite of his efforts, the truth managed\nto wriggle through, and then the young man gave up trying to deceive\nhimself, and set about finding some way to get the better of his rival.\n\nThe plan that he hit upon could not be carried out for some months; but\nthe longer the young man thought of it, the more pleased he was with\nit, so he made no sign of his feelings, and waited patiently till the\nmoment came. This was the very day that they were all going to leave\nthe islands, and sail back to the mainland for the winter. In the\nbustle and hurry of departure, the cunning fisherman contrived that\ntheir boat should be the last to put off, and when everything was\nready, and the sails about to be set, he suddenly called out:\n\n\u201cOh, dear, what shall I do! I have left my best knife behind in the\nhut. Run, like a good fellow, and get it for me, while I raise the\nanchor and loosen the tiller.\u201d\n\nNot thinking any harm, the youth jumped back on shore and made his way\nup the steep hank. At the door of the hut he stopped and looked back,\nthen started and gazed in horror. The head of the boat stood out to\nsea, and he was left alone on the island.\n\nYes, there was no doubt of it\u2014he was quite alone; and he had nothing to\nhelp him except the knife which his comrade had purposely dropped on\nthe ledge of the window. For some minutes he was too stunned by the\ntreachery of his friend to think about anything at all, but after a\nwhile he shook himself awake, and determined that he would manage to\nkeep alive somehow, if it were only to revenge himself.\n\nSo he put the knife in his pocket and went off to a part of the island\nwhich was not so bare as the rest, and had a small grove of trees. From\none of these he cut himself a bow, which he strung with a piece of cord\nthat had been left lying about the huts.\n\nWhen this was ready the young man ran down to the shore and shot one or\ntwo sea-birds, which he plucked and cooked for supper.\n\nIn this way the months slipped by, and Christmas came round again. The\nevening before, the youth went down to the rocks and into the copse,\ncollecting all the drift wood the sea had washed up or the gale had\nblown down, and he piled it up in a great stack outside the door, so\nthat he might not have to fetch any all the next day. As soon as his\ntask was done, he paused and looked out towards the mainland, thinking\nof Christmas Eve last year, and the merry dance they had had. The night\nwas still and cold, and by the help of the Northern Lights he could\nalmost sea across to the opposite coast, when, suddenly, he noticed a\nboat, which seemed steering straight for the island. At first he could\nhardly stand for joy, the chance of speaking to another man was so\ndelightful; but as the boat drew near there was something, he could not\ntell what, that was different from the boats which he had been used to\nall his life, and when it touched the shore he saw that the people that\nfilled it were beings of another world than ours. Then he hastily\nstepped behind the wood stack, and waited for what might happen next.\n\nThe strange folk one by one jumped on to the rocks, each bearing a load\nof something that they wanted. Among the women he remarked two young\ngirls, more beautiful and better dressed than any of the rest, carrying\nbetween them two great baskets full of provisions. The young man peeped\nout cautiously to see what all this crowd could be doing inside the\ntiny hut, but in a moment he drew back again, as the girls returned,\nand looked about as if they wanted to find out what sort of a place the\nisland was.\n\nTheir sharp eyes soon discovered the form of a man crouching behind the\nbundles of sticks, and at first they felt a little frightened, and\nstarted as if they would run away. But the youth remained so still,\nthat they took courage and laughed gaily to each other. \u201cWhat a strange\ncreature, let us try what he is made of,\u201d said one, and she stooped\ndown and gave him a pinch.\n\nNow the young man had a pin sticking in the sleeve of his jacket, and\nthe moment the girl\u2019s hand touched him she pricked it so sharply that\nthe blood came. The girl screamed so loudly that the people all ran out\nof their huts to see what was the matter. But directly they caught\nsight of the man they turned and fled in the other direction, and\npicking up the goods they had brought with them scampered as fast as\nthey could down to the shore. In an instant, boat, people, and goods\nhad vanished completely.\n\nIn their hurry they had, however, forgotten two things: a bundle of\nkeys which lay on the table, and the girl whom the pin had pricked, and\nwho now stood pale and helpless beside the wood stack.\n\n\u201cYou will have to make me your wife,\u201d she said at last, \u201cfor you have\ndrawn my blood, and I belong to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy not? I am quite willing,\u201d answered he. \u201cBut how do you suppose we\ncan manage to live till summer comes round again?\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not be anxious about that,\u201d said the girl; \u201cif you will only marry\nme all will be well. I am very rich, and all my family are rich also.\u201d\n\nThen the young man gave her his promise to make her his wife, and the\ngirl fulfilled her part of the bargain, and food was plentiful on the\nisland all through the long winter months, though he never knew how it\ngot there. And by-and-by it was spring once more, and time for the\nfisher-folk to sail from the mainland.\n\n\u201cWhere are we to go now?\u201d asked the girl, one day, when the sun seemed\nbrighter and the wind softer than usual.\n\n\u201cI do not care where I go,\u201d answered the young man; \u201cwhat do you\nthink?\u201d\n\nThe girl replied that she would like to go somewhere right at the other\nend of the island, and build a house, far away from the huts of the\nfishing-folk. And he consented, and that very day they set off in\nsearch of a sheltered spot on the banks of a stream, so that it would\nbe easy to get water.\n\nIn a tiny bay, on the opposite side of the island they found the very\nthing, which seemed to have been made on purpose for them; and as they\nwere tired with their long walk, they laid themselves down on a bank of\nmoss among some birches and prepared to have a good night\u2019s rest, so as\nto be fresh for work next day. But before she went to sleep the girl\nturned to her husband, and said: \u201cIf in your dreams you fancy that you\nhear strange noises, be sure you do not stir, or get up to see what it\nis.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, it is not likely we shall hear any noises in such a quiet place,\u201d\nanswered he, and fell sound asleep.\n\nSuddenly he was awakened by a great clatter about his ears, as if all\nthe workmen in the world were sawing and hammering and building close\nto him. He was just going to spring up and go to see what it meant,\nwhen he luckily remembered his wife\u2019s words and lay still. But the time\ntill morning seemed very long, and with the first ray of sun they both\nrose, and pushed aside the branches of the birch trees. There, in the\nvery place they had chosen, stood a beautiful house\u2014doors and windows,\nand everything all complete!\n\n\u201cNow you must fix on a spot for your cow-stalls,\u201d said the girl, when\nthey had breakfasted off wild cherries; \u201cand take care it is the proper\nsize, neither too large nor too small.\u201d And the husband did as he was\nbid, though he wondered what use a cow-house could be, as they had no\ncows to put in it. But as he was a little afraid of his wife, who knew\nso much more than he, he asked no questions.\n\nThis night also he was awakened by the same sounds as before, and in\nthe morning they found, near the stream, the most beautiful cow-house\nthat ever was seen, with stalls and milk-pails and stools all complete,\nindeed, everything that a cow-house could possibly want, except the\ncows. Then the girl bade him measure out the ground for a storehouse,\nand this, she said, might be as large as he pleased; and when the\nstorehouse was ready she proposed that they should set off to pay her\nparents a visit.\n\nThe old people welcomed them heartily, and summoned their neighbours,\nfor many miles round, to a great feast in their honour. In fact, for\nseveral weeks there was no work done on the farm at all; and at length\nthe young man and his wife grew tired of so much play, and declared\nthat they must return to their own home. But, before they started on\nthe journey, the wife whispered to her husband: \u201cTake care to jump over\nthe threshold as quick as you can, or it will be the worse for you.\u201d\n\nThe young man listened to her words, and sprang over the threshold like\nan arrow from a bow; and it was well he did, for, no sooner was he on\nthe other side, than his father-in-law threw a great hammer at him,\nwhich would have broken both his legs, if it had only touched them.\n\nWhen they had gone some distance on the road home, the girl turned to\nher husband and said: \u201cTill you step inside the house, be sure you do\nnot look back, whatever you may hear or see.\u201d\n\nAnd the husband promised, and for a while all was still; and he thought\nno more about the matter till he noticed at last that the nearer he\ndrew to the house the louder grew the noise of the trampling of feet\nbehind him. As he laid his hand upon the door he thought he was safe,\nand turned to look. There, sure enough, was a vast herd of cattle,\nwhich had been sent after him by his father-in-law when he found that\nhis daughter had been cleverer than he. Half of the herd were already\nthrough the fence and cropping the grass on the banks of the stream,\nbut half still remained outside and faded into nothing, even as he\nwatched them.\n\nHowever, enough cattle were left to make the young man rich, and he and\nhis wife lived happily together, except that every now and then the\ngirl vanished from his sight, and never told him where she had been.\nFor a long time he kept silence about it; but one day, when he had been\ncomplaining of her absence, she said to him: \u201cDear husband, I am bound\nto go, even against my will, and there is only one way to stop me.\nDrive a nail into the threshold, and then I can never pass in or out.\u201d\n\nAnd so he did.\n\n[Lapplandische Mahrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nHow Some Wild Animals Became Tame Ones\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a miller who was so rich that, when he was\ngoing to be married, he asked to the feast not only his own friends but\nalso the wild animals who dwelt in the hills and woods round about. The\nchief of the bears, the wolves, the foxes, the horses, the cows, the\ngoats, the sheep, and the reindeer, all received invitations; and as\nthey were not accustomed to weddings they were greatly pleased and\nflattered, and sent back messages in the politest language that they\nwould certainly be there.\n\nThe first to start on the morning of the wedding-day was the bear, who\nalways liked to be punctual; and, besides, he had a long way to go, and\nhis hair, being so thick and rough, needed a good brushing before it\nwas fit to be seen at a party. However, he took care to awaken very\nearly, and set off down the road with a light heart. Before he had\nwalked very far he met a boy who came whistling along, hitting at the\ntops of the flowers with a stick.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d said he, looking at the bear in surprise, for he\nwas an old acquaintance, and not generally so smart.\n\n\u201cOh, just to the miller\u2019s marriage,\u201d answered the bear carelessly. \u201cOf\ncourse, I would much rather stay at home, but the miller was so anxious\nI should be there that I really could not refuse.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t go, don\u2019t go!\u201d cried the boy. \u201cIf you do you will never come\nback! You have got the most beautiful skin in the world\u2014just the kind\nthat everyone is wanting, and they will be sure to kill you and strip\nyou of it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI had not thought of that,\u201d said the bear, whose face turned white,\nonly nobody could see it. \u201cIf you are certain that they would be so\nwicked\u2014but perhaps you are jealous because nobody has invited you?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, nonsense!\u201d replied the boy angrily, \u201cdo as you see. It is your\nskin, and not mine; I don\u2019t care what becomes of it!\u201d And he walked\nquickly on with his head in the air.\n\nThe bear waited until he was out of sight, and then followed him\nslowly, for he felt in his heart that the boy\u2019s advice was good, though\nhe was too proud to say so.\n\nThe boy soon grew tired of walking along the road, and turned off into\nthe woods, where there were bushes he could jump and streams he could\nwade; but he had not gone far before he met the wolf.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d asked he, for it was not the first time he had\nseen him.\n\n\u201cOh, just to the miller\u2019s marriage,\u201d answered the wolf, as the bear had\ndone before him. \u201cIt is rather tiresome, of course\u2014weddings are always\nso stupid; but still one must be good-natured!\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t go!\u201d said the boy again. \u201cYour skin is so thick and warm, and\nwinter is not far off now. They will kill you, and strip it from you.\u201d\n\nThe wolf\u2019s jaw dropped in astonishment and terror. \u201cDo you really think\nthat would happen?\u201d he gasped.\n\n\u201cYes, to be sure, I do,\u201d answered the boy. \u201cBut it is your affair, not\nmine. So good-morning,\u201d and on he went. The wolf stood still for a few\nminutes, for he was trembling all over, and then crept quietly back to\nhis cave.\n\nNext the boy met the fox, whose lovely coat of silvery grey was shining\nin the sun.\n\n\u201cYou look very fine!\u201d said the boy, stopping to admire him, \u201care you\ngoing to the miller\u2019s wedding too?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered the fox; \u201cit is a long journey to take for such a thing\nas that, but you know what the miller\u2019s friends are like\u2014so dull and\nheavy! It is only kind to go and amuse them a little.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou poor fellow,\u201d said the boy pityingly. \u201cTake my advice and stay at\nhome. If you once enter the miller\u2019s gate his dogs will tear you in\npieces.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, well, such things have occurred, I know,\u201d replied the fox gravely.\nAnd without saying any more he trotted off the way he had come.\n\nHis tail had scarcely disappeared, when a great noise of crashing\nbranches was heard, and up bounded the horse, his black skin glistening\nlike satin.\n\n\u201cGood-morning,\u201d he called to the boy as he galloped past, \u201cI can\u2019t wait\nto talk to you now. I have promised the miller to be present at his\nwedding-feast, and they won\u2019t sit down till I come.\u201d\n\n\u201cStop! stop!\u201d cried the boy after him, and there was something in his\nvoice that made the horse pull up. \u201cWhat is the matter?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cYou don\u2019t know what you are doing,\u201d said the boy. \u201cIf once you go\nthere you will never gallop through these woods any more. You are\nstronger than many men, but they will catch you and put ropes round\nyou, and you will have to work and to serve them all the days of your\nlife.\u201d\n\nThe horse threw back his head at these words, and laughed scornfully.\n\n\u201cYes, I am stronger than many men,\u201d answered he, \u201cand all the ropes in\nthe world would not hold me. Let them bind me as fast as they will, I\ncan always break loose, and return to the forest and freedom.\u201d\n\nAnd with this proud speech he gave a whisk of his long tail, and\ngalloped away faster than before.\n\nBut when he reached the miller\u2019s house everything happened as the boy\nhad said. While he was looking at the guests and thinking how much\nhandsomer and stronger he was than any of them, a rope was suddenly\nflung over his head, and he was thrown down and a bit thrust between\nhis teeth. Then, in spite of his struggles, he was dragged to a stable,\nand shut up for several days without any food, till his spirit was\nbroken and his coat had lost its gloss. After that he was harnessed to\na plough, and had plenty of time to remember all he had lost through\nnot listening to the counsel of the boy.\n\nWhen the horse had turned a deaf ear to his words the boy wandered idly\nalong, sometimes gathering wild strawberries from a bank, and sometimes\nplucking wild cherries from a tree, till he reached a clearing in the\nmiddle of the forest. Crossing this open space was a beautiful\nmilk-white cow with a wreath of flowers round her neck.\n\n\u201cGood-morning,\u201d she said pleasantly, as she came up to the place where\nthe boy was standing.\n\n\u201cGood-morning,\u201d he returned. \u201cWhere are you going in such a hurry?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo the miller\u2019s wedding; I am rather late already, for the wreath took\nsuch a long time to make, so I can\u2019t stop.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t go,\u201d said the boy earnestly; when once they have tasted your\nmilk they will never let you leave them, and you will have to serve\nthem all the days of your life.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, nonsense; what do you know about it?\u201d answered the cow, who always\nthought she was wiser than other people. \u201cWhy, I can run twice as fast\nas any of them! I should like to see anybody try to keep me against my\nwill.\u201d And, without even a polite bow, she went on her way, feeling\nvery much offended.\n\nBut everything turned out just as the boy had said. The company had all\nheard of the fame of the cow\u2019s milk, and persuaded her to give them\nsome, and then her doom was sealed. A crowd gathered round her, and\nheld her horns so that she could not use them, and, like the horse, she\nwas shut in the stable, and only let out in the mornings, when a long\nrope was tied round her head, and she was fastened to a stake in a\ngrassy meadow.\n\nAnd so it happened to the goat and to the sheep.\n\nLast of all came the reindeer, looking as he always did, as if some\nserious business was on hand.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d asked the boy, who by this time was tired of\nwild cherries, and was thinking of his dinner.\n\n\u201cI am invited to the wedding,\u201d answered the reindeer, \u201cand the miller\nhas begged me on no account to fail him.\u201d\n\n\u201cO fool!\u201d cried the boy, \u201chave you no sense at all? Don\u2019t you know that\nwhen you get there they will hold you fast, for neither beast nor bird\nis as strong or as swift as you?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is exactly why I am quite safe,\u201d replied the reindeer. \u201cI am so\nstrong that no one can bind me, and so swift that not even an arrow can\ncatch me. So, goodbye for the present, you will soon see me back.\u201d\n\nBut none of the animals that went to the miller\u2019s wedding ever came\nback. And because they were self-willed and conceited, and would not\nlisten to good advice, they and their children have been the servants\nof men to this very day.\n\n[Lapplandische Mahrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nFortune and the Wood-Cutter\n\n\nSeveral hundreds of years ago there lived in a forest a wood-cutter and\nhis wife and children. He was very poor, having only his axe to depend\nupon, and two mules to carry the wood he cut to the neighbouring town;\nbut he worked hard, and was always out of bed by five o\u2019clock, summer\nand winter.\n\nThis went on for twenty years, and though his sons were now grown up,\nand went with their father to the forest, everything seemed to go\nagainst them, and they remained as poor as ever. In the end the\nwood-cutter lost heart, and said to himself:\n\n\u201cWhat is the good of working like this if I never am a penny the richer\nat the end? I shall go to the forest no more! And perhaps, if I take to\nmy bed, and do not run after Fortune, one day she may come to me.\u201d\n\nSo the next morning he did not get up, and when six o\u2019clock struck, his\nwife, who had been cleaning the house, went to see what was the matter.\n\n\u201cAre you ill?\u201d she asked wonderingly, surprised at not finding him\ndressed. \u201cThe cock has crowed ever so often. It is high time for you to\nget up.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy should I get up?\u201d asked the man, without moving.\n\n\u201cWhy? to go to the forest, of course.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes; and when I have toiled all day I hardly earn enough to give us\none meal.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut what can we do, my poor husband?\u201d said she. \u201cIt is just a trick of\nFortune\u2019s, who would never smile upon us.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I have had my fill of Fortune\u2019s tricks,\u201d cried he. \u201cIf she wants\nme she can find me here. But I have done with the wood for ever.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy dear husband, grief has driven you mad! Do you think Fortune will\ncome to anybody who does not go after her? Dress yourself, and saddle\nthe mules, and begin your work. Do you know that there is not a morsel\nof bread in the house?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t care if there isn\u2019t, and I am not going to the forest. It is\nno use your talking; nothing will make me change my mind.\u201d\n\nThe distracted wife begged and implored in vain; her husband persisted\nin staying in bed, and at last, in despair, she left him and went back\nto her work.\n\nAn hour or two later a man from the nearest village knocked at her\ndoor, and when she opened it, he said to her: \u201cGood-morning, mother. I\nhave got a job to do, and I want to know if your husband will lend me\nyour mules, as I see he is not using them, and can lend me a hand\nhimself?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is upstairs; you had better ask him,\u201d answered the woman. And the\nman went up, and repeated his request.\n\n\u201cI am sorry, neighbour, but I have sworn not to leave my bed, and\nnothing will make me break my vow.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, then, will you lend me your two mules? I will pay you something\nfor them.\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly, neighbour. Take them and welcome.\u201d\n\nSo the man left the house, and leading the mules from the stable,\nplaced two sacks on their back, and drove them to a field where he had\nfound a hidden treasure. He filled the sacks with the money, though he\nknew perfectly well that it belonged to the sultan, and was driving\nthem quietly home again, when he saw two soldiers coming along the\nroad. Now the man was aware that if he was caught he would be condemned\nto death, so he fled back into the forest. The mules, left to\nthemselves, took the path that led to their master\u2019s stable.\n\nThe wood-cutter\u2019s wife was looking out of the window when the mules\ndrew up before the door, so heavily laden that they almost sank under\ntheir burdens. She lost no time in calling her husband, who was still\nlying in bed.\n\n\u201cQuick! quick! get up as fast as you can. Our two mules have returned\nwith sacks on their backs, so heavily laden with something or other\nthat the poor beasts can hardly stand up.\u201d\n\n\u201cWife, I have told you a dozen times already that I am not going to get\nup. Why can\u2019t you leave me in peace?\u201d\n\nAs she found she could get no help from her husband the woman took a\nlarge knife and cut the cords which bound the sacks on to the animals\u2019\nbacks. They fell at once to the ground, and out poured a rain of gold\npieces, till the little court-yard shone like the sun.\n\n\u201cA treasure!\u201d gasped the woman, as soon as she could speak from\nsurprise. \u201cA treasure!\u201d And she ran off to tell her husband.\n\n\u201cGet up! get up!\u201d she cried. \u201cYou were quite right not to go to the\nforest, and to await Fortune in your bed; she has come at last! Our\nmules have returned home laden with all the gold in the world, and it\nis now lying in the court. No one in the whole country can be as rich\nas we are!\u201d\n\nIn an instant the wood-cutter was on his feet, and running to the\ncourt, where he paused dazzled by the glitter of the coins which lay\naround him.\n\n\u201cYou see, my dear wife, that I was right,\u201d he said at last. \u201cFortune is\nso capricious, you can never count on her. Run after her, and she is\nsure to fly from you; stay still, and she is sure to come.\u201d\n\n[Traditions Populaires de l\u2019Asie Mineure.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Enchanted Head\n\n\nOnce upon a time an old woman lived in a small cottage near the sea\nwith her two daughters. They were very poor, and the girls seldom left\nthe house, as they worked all day long making veils for the ladies to\nwear over their faces, and every morning, when the veils were finished,\nthe other took them over the bridge and sold them in the city. Then she\nbought the food that they needed for the day, and returned home to do\nher share of veil-making.\n\nOne morning the old woman rose even earlier than usual, and set off for\nthe city with her wares. She was just crossing the bridge when,\nsuddenly, she knocked up against a human head, which she had never seen\nthere before. The woman started back in horror; but what was her\nsurprise when the head spoke, exactly as if it had a body joined on to\nit.\n\n\u201cTake me with you, good mother!\u201d it said imploringly; \u201ctake me with you\nback to your house.\u201d\n\nAt the sound of these words the poor woman nearly went mad with terror.\nHave that horrible thing always at home? Never! never! And she turned\nand ran back as fast as she could, not knowing that the head was\njumping, dancing, and rolling after her. But when she reached her own\ndoor it bounded in before her, and stopped in front of the fire,\nbegging and praying to be allowed to stay.\n\nAll that day there was no food in the house, for the veils had not been\nsold, and they had no money to buy anything with. So they all sat\nsilent at their work, inwardly cursing the head which was the cause of\ntheir misfortunes.\n\nWhen evening came, and there was no sign of supper, the head spoke, for\nthe first time that day:\n\n\u201cGood mother, does no one ever eat here? During all the hours I have\nspent in your house not a creature has touched anything.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d answered the old woman, \u201cwe are not eating anything.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd why not, good mother?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause we have no money to buy any food.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs it your custom never to eat?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, for every morning I go into the city to sell my veils, and with\nthe few shillings I get for them I buy all we want. To-day I did not\ncross the bridge, so of course I had nothing for food.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I am the cause of your having gone hungry all day?\u201d asked the\nhead.\n\n\u201cYes, you are,\u201d answered the old woman.\n\n\u201cWell, then, I will give you money and plenty of it, if you will only\ndo as I tell you. In an hour, as the clock strikes twelve, you must be\non the bridge at the place where you met me. When you get there call\nout \u2018Ahmed,\u2019 three times, as loud as you can. Then a negro will appear,\nand you must say to him: \u2018The head, your master, desires you to open\nthe trunk, and to give me the green purse which you will find in it.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, my lord,\u201d said the old woman, \u201cI will set off at once for\nthe bridge.\u201d And wrapping her veil round her she went out.\n\nMidnight was striking as she reached the spot where she had met the\nhead so many hours before.\n\n\u201cAhmed! Ahmed! Ahmed!\u201d cried she, and immediately a huge negro, as tall\nas a giant, stood on the bridge before her.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cThe head, your master, desires you to open the trunk, and to give me\nthe green purse which you will find in it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will be back in a moment, good mother,\u201d said he. And three minutes\nlater he placed a purse full of sequins in the old woman\u2019s hand.\n\nNo one can imagine the joy of the whole family at the sight of all this\nwealth. The tiny, tumble-down cottage was rebuilt, the girls had new\ndresses, and their mother ceased selling veils. It was such a new thing\nto them to have money to spend, that they were not as careful as they\nmight have been, and by-and-by there was not a single coin left in the\npurse. When this happened their hearts sank within them, and their\nfaces fell.\n\n\u201cHave you spent your fortune?\u201d asked the head from its corner, when it\nsaw how sad they looked. \u201cWell, then, go at midnight, good mother, to\nthe bridge, and call out \u2018Mahomet!\u2019 three times, as loud as you can. A\nnegro will appear in answer, and you must tell him to open the trunk,\nand to give you the red purse which he will find there.\u201d\n\nThe old woman did not need twice telling, but set off at once for the\nbridge.\n\n\u201cMahomet! Mahomet! Mahomet!\u201d cried she, with all her might; and in an\ninstant a negro, still larger than the last, stood before her.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cThe head, your master, bids you open the trunk, and to give me the red\npurse which you will find in it.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, good mother, I will do so,\u201d answered the negro, and, the\nmoment after he had vanished, he reappeared with the purse in his hand.\n\nThis time the money seemed so endless that the old woman built herself\na new house, and filled it with the most beautiful things that were to\nbe found in the shops. Her daughters were always wrapped in veils that\nlooked as if they were woven out of sunbeams, and their dresses shone\nwith precious stones. The neighbours wondered where all this sudden\nwealth had sprung from, but nobody knew about the head.\n\n\u201cGood mother,\u201d said the head, one day, \u201cthis morning you are to go to\nthe city and ask the sultan to give me his daughter for my bride.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo what?\u201d asked the old woman in amazement. \u201cHow can I tell the sultan\nthat a head without a body wishes to become his son-in-law? They will\nthink that I am mad, and I shall be hooted from the palace and stoned\nby the children.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo as I bid you,\u201d replied the head; \u201cit is my will.\u201d\n\nThe old woman was afraid to say anything more, and, putting on her\nrichest clothes, started for the palace. The sultan granted her an\naudience at once, and, in a trembling voice, she made her request.\n\n\u201cAre you mad, old woman?\u201d said the sultan, staring at her.\n\n\u201cThe wooer is powerful, O Sultan, and nothing is impossible to him.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs that true?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is, O Sultan; I swear it,\u201d answered she.\n\n\u201cThen let him show his power by doing three things, and I will give him\nmy daughter.\u201d\n\n\u201cCommand, O gracious prince,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cDo you see that hill in front of the palace?\u201d asked the sultan.\n\n\u201cI see it,\u201d answered she.\n\n\u201cWell, in forty days the man who has sent you must make that hill\nvanish, and plant a beautiful garden in its place. That is the first\nthing. Now go, and tell him what I say.\u201d\n\nSo the old woman returned and told the head the sultan\u2019s first\ncondition.\n\n\u201cIt is well,\u201d he replied; and said no more about it.\n\nFor thirty-nine days the head remained in its favourite corner. The old\nwoman thought that the task set before was beyond his powers, and that\nno more would be heard about the sultan\u2019s daughter. But on the\nthirty-ninth evening after her visit to the palace, the head suddenly\nspoke.\n\n\u201cGood mother,\u201d he said, \u201cyou must go to-night to the bridge, and when\nyou are there cry \u2018Ali! Ali! Ali!\u2019 as loud as you can. A negro will\nappear before you, and you will tell him that he is to level the hill,\nand to make, in its place, the most beautiful garden that ever was\nseen.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go at once,\u201d answered she.\n\nIt did not take her long to reach the bridge which led to the city, and\nshe took up her position on the spot where she had first seen the head,\nand called loudly \u201cAli! Ali! Ali.\u201d In an instant a negro appeared\nbefore her, of such a huge size that the old woman was half frightened;\nbut his voice was mild and gentle as he said: \u201cWhat is it that you\nwant?\u201d\n\n\u201cYour master bids you level the hill that stands in front of the\nsultan\u2019s palace and in its place to make the most beautiful garden in\nthe world.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell my master he shall be obeyed,\u201d replied Ali; \u201cit shall be done\nthis moment.\u201d And the old woman went home and gave Ali\u2019s message to the\nhead.\n\nMeanwhile the sultan was in his palace waiting till the fortieth day\nshould dawn, and wondering that not one spadeful of earth should have\nbeen dug out of the hill.\n\n\u201cIf that old woman has been playing me a trick,\u201d thought he, \u201cI will\nhang her! And I will put up a gallows to-morrow on the hill itself.\u201d\n\nBut when to-morrow came there was no hill, and when the sultan opened\nhis eyes he could not imagine why the room was so much lighter than\nusual, and what was the reason of the sweet smell of flowers that\nfilled the air.\n\n\u201cCan there be a fire?\u201d he said to himself; \u201cthe sun never came in at\nthis window before. I must get up and see.\u201d So he rose and looked out,\nand underneath him flowers from every part of the world were blooming,\nand creepers of every colour hung in chains from tree to tree.\n\nThen he remembered. \u201cCertainly that old woman\u2019s son is a clever\nmagician!\u201d cried he; \u201cI never met anyone as clever as that. What shall\nI give him to do next? Let me think. Ah! I know.\u201d And he sent for the\nold woman, who by the orders of the head, was waiting below.\n\n\u201cYour son has carried out my wishes very nicely,\u201d he said. \u201cThe garden\nis larger and better than that of any other king. But when I walk\nacross it I shall need some place to rest on the other side. In forty\ndays he must build me a palace, in which every room shall be filled\nwith different furniture from a different country, and each more\nmagnificent than any room that ever was seen.\u201d And having said this he\nturned round and went away.\n\n\u201cOh! he will never be able to do that,\u201d thought she; \u201cit is much more\ndifficult than the hill.\u201d And she walked home slowly, with her head\nbent.\n\n\u201cWell, what am I to do next?\u201d asked the head cheerfully. And the old\nwoman told her story.\n\n\u201cDear me! is that all? why it is child\u2019s play,\u201d answered the head; and\ntroubled no more about the palace for thirty-nine days. Then he told\nthe old woman to go to the bridge and call for Hassan.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want, old woman?\u201d asked Hassan, when he appeared, for he\nwas not as polite as the others had been.\n\n\u201cYour master commands you to build the most magnificent palace that\never was seen,\u201d replied she; \u201cand you are to place it on the borders of\nthe new garden.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe shall be obeyed,\u201d answered Hassan. And when the sultan woke he saw,\nin the distance, a palace built of soft blue marble, resting on slender\npillars of pure gold.\n\n\u201cThat old woman\u2019s son is certainly all-powerful,\u201d cried he; \u201cwhat shall\nI bid him do now?\u201d And after thinking some time he sent for the old\nwoman, who was expecting the summons.\n\n\u201cThe garden is wonderful, and the palace the finest in the world,\u201d said\nhe, \u201cso fine, that my servants would cut but a sorry figure in it. Let\nyour son fill it with forty slaves whose beauty shall be unequalled,\nall exactly like each other, and of the same height.\u201d\n\nThis time the king thought he had invented something totally\nimpossible, and was quite pleased with himself for his cleverness.\n\nThirty-nine days passed, and at midnight on the night of the last the\nold woman was standing on the bridge.\n\n\u201cBekir! Bekir! Bekir!\u201d cried she. And a negro appeared, and inquired\nwhat she wanted.\n\n\u201cThe head, your master, bids you find forty slaves of unequalled\nbeauty, and of the same height, and place them in the sultan\u2019s palace\non the other side of the garden.\u201d\n\nAnd when, on the morning of the fortieth day, the sultan went to the\nblue palace, and was received by the forty slaves, he nearly lost his\nwits from surprise.\n\n\u201cI will assuredly give my daughter to the old woman\u2019s son,\u201d thought he.\n\u201cIf I were to search all the world through I could never find a more\npowerful son-in-law.\u201d\n\nAnd when the old woman entered his presence he informed her that he was\nready to fulfil his promise, and she was to bid her son appear at the\npalace without delay.\n\nThis command did not at all please the old woman, though, of course,\nshe made no objections to the sultan.\n\n\u201cAll has gone well so far,\u201d she grumbled, when she told her story to\nthe head,\u201d but what do you suppose the sultan will say, when he sees\nhis daughter\u2019s husband?\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind what he says! Put me on a silver dish and carry me to the\npalace.\u201d\n\nSo it was done, though the old woman\u2019s heart beat as she laid down the\ndish with the head upon it.\n\nAt the sight before him the king flew into a violent rage.\n\n\u201cI will never marry my daughter to such a monster,\u201d he cried. But the\nprincess placed her head gently on his arm.\n\n\u201cYou have given your word, my father, and you cannot break it,\u201d said\nshe.\n\n\u201cBut, my child, it is impossible for you to marry such a being,\u201d\nexclaimed the sultan.\n\n\u201cYes, I will marry him. He had a beautiful head, and I love him\nalready.\u201d\n\nSo the marriage was celebrated, and great feasts were held in the\npalace, though the people wept tears to think of the sad fate of their\nbeloved princess. But when the merry-making was done, and the young\ncouple were alone, the head suddenly disappeared, or, rather, a body\nwas added to it, and one of the handsomest young men that ever was seen\nstood before the princess.\n\n\u201cA wicked fairy enchanted me at my birth,\u201d he said, \u201cand for the rest\nof the world I must always be a head only. But for you, and you only, I\nam a man like other men.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd that is all I care about,\u201d said the princess.\n\n[Traditions populaires de toutes les nations (Asie Mineure)].\n\n\n\n\nThe Sister of the Sun\n\n\nA long time ago there lived a young prince whose favourite playfellow\nwas the son of the gardener who lived in the grounds of the palace. The\nking would have preferred his choosing a friend from the pages who were\nbrought up at court; but the prince would have nothing to say to them,\nand as he was a spoilt child, and allowed his way in all things, and\nthe gardener\u2019s boy was quiet and well-behaved, he was suffered to be in\nthe palace, morning, noon, and night.\n\nThe game the children loved the best was a match at archery, for the\nking had given them two bows exactly alike, and they would spend whole\ndays in trying to see which could shoot the highest. This is always\nvery dangerous, and it was a great wonder they did not put their eyes\nout; but somehow or other they managed to escape.\n\nOne morning, when the prince had done his lessons, he ran out to call\nhis friend, and they both hurried off to the lawn which was their usual\nplayground. They took their bows out of the little hut where their toys\nwere kept, and began to see which could shoot the highest. At last they\nhappened to let fly their arrows both together, and when they fell to\nearth again the tail feather of a golden hen was found sticking in one.\nNow the question began to arise whose was the lucky arrow, for they\nwere both alike, and look as closely as you would you could see no\ndifference between them. The prince declared that the arrow was his,\nand the gardener\u2019s boy was quite sure it was HIS\u2014and on this occasion\nhe was perfectly right; but, as they could not decide the matter, they\nwent straight to the king.\n\nWhen the king had heard the story, he decided that the feather belonged\nto his son; but the other boy would not listen to this and claimed the\nfeather for himself. At length the king\u2019s patience gave way, and he\nsaid angrily:\n\n\u201cVery well; if you are so sure that the feather is yours, yours it\nshall be; only you will have to seek till you find a golden hen with a\nfeather missing from her tail. And if you fail to find her your head\nwill be the forfeit.\u201d\n\nThe boy had need of all his courage to listen silently to the king\u2019s\nwords. He had no idea where the golden hen might be, or even, if he\ndiscovered that, how he was to get to her. But there was nothing for it\nbut to do the king\u2019s bidding, and he felt that the sooner he left the\npalace the better. So he went home and put some food into a bag, and\nthen set forth, hoping that some accident might show him which path to\ntake.\n\nAfter walking for several hours he met a fox, who seemed inclined to be\nfriendly, and the boy was so glad to have anyone to talk to that he sat\ndown and entered into conversation.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d asked the fox.\n\n\u201cI have got to find a golden hen who has lost a feather out of her\ntail,\u201d answered the boy; \u201cbut I don\u2019t know where she lives or how I\nshall catch her!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I can show you the way!\u201d said the fox, who was really very\ngood-natured. \u201cFar towards the east, in that direction, lives a\nbeautiful maiden who is called \u2018The Sister of the Sun.\u2019 She has three\ngolden hens in her house. Perhaps the feather belongs to one of them.\u201d\n\nThe boy was delighted at this news, and they walked on all day\ntogether, the fox in front, and the boy behind. When evening came they\nlay down to sleep, and put the knapsack under their heads for a pillow.\n\nSuddenly, about midnight, the fox gave a low whine, and drew nearer to\nhis bedfellow. \u201cCousin,\u201d he whispered very low, \u201cthere is someone\ncoming who will take the knapsack away from me. Look over there!\u201d And\nthe boy, peeping through the bushes, saw a man.\n\n\u201cOh, I don\u2019t think he will rob us!\u201d said the boy; and when the man drew\nnear, he told them his story, which so much interested the stranger\nthat he asked leave to travel with them, as he might be of some use. So\nwhen the sun rose they set out again, the fox in front as before, the\nman and boy following.\n\nAfter some hours they reached the castle of the Sister of the Sun, who\nkept the golden hens among her treasures. They halted before the gate\nand took counsel as to which of them should go in and see the lady\nherself.\n\n\u201cI think it would be best for me to enter and steal the hens,\u201d said the\nfox; but this did not please the boy at all.\n\n\u201cNo, it is my business, so it is right that I should go,\u201d answered he.\n\n\u201cYou will find it a very difficult matter to get hold of the hens,\u201d\nreplied the fox.\n\n\u201cOh, nothing is likely to happen to me,\u201d returned the boy.\n\n\u201cWell, go then,\u201d said the fox, \u201cbut be careful not to make any mistake.\nSteal only the hen which has the feather missing from her tail, and\nleave the others alone.\u201d\n\nThe man listened, but did not interfere, and the boy entered the court\nof the palace.\n\nHe soon spied the three hens strutting proudly about, though they were\nreally anxiously wondering if there were not some grains lying on the\nground that they might be glad to eat. And as the last one passed by\nhim, he saw she had one feather missing from her tail.\n\nAt this sight the youth darted forward and seized the hen by the neck\nso that she could not struggle. Then, tucking her comfortably under his\narm, he made straight for the gate. Unluckily, just as he was about to\ngo through it he looked back and caught a glimpse of wonderful\nsplendours from an open door of the palace. \u201cAfter all, there is no\nhurry,\u201d he said to himself; \u201cI may as well see something now I AM\nhere,\u201d and turned back, forgetting all about the hen, which escaped\nfrom under his arm, and ran to join her sisters.\n\nHe was so much fascinated by the sight of all the beautiful things\nwhich peeped through the door that he scarcely noticed that he had lost\nthe prize he had won; and he did not remember there was such a thing as\na hen in the world when he beheld the Sister of the Sun sleeping on a\nbed before him.\n\nFor some time he stood staring; then he came to himself with a start,\nand feeling that he had no business there, softly stole away, and was\nfortunate enough to recapture the hen, which he took with him to the\ngate. On the threshold he stopped again. \u201cWhy should I not look at the\nSister of the Sun?\u201d he thought to himself; \u201cshe is asleep, and will\nnever know.\u201d And he turned back for the second time and entered the\nchamber, while the hen wriggled herself free as before. When he had\ngazed his fill he went out into the courtyard and picked up his hen who\nwas seeking for corn.\n\nAs he drew near the gate he paused. \u201cWhy did I not give her a kiss?\u201d he\nsaid to himself; \u201cI shall never kiss any woman so beautiful.\u201d And he\nwrung his hands with regret, so that the hen fell to the ground and ran\naway.\n\n\u201cBut I can do it still!\u201d he cried with delight, and he rushed back to\nthe chamber and kissed the sleeping maiden on the forehead. But, alas!\nwhen he came out again he found that the hen had grown so shy that she\nwould not let him come near her. And, worse than that, her sisters\nbegan to cluck so loud that the Sister of the Sun was awakened by the\nnoise. She jumped up in haste from her bed, and going to the door she\nsaid to the boy:\n\n\u201cYou shall never, never, have my hen till you bring me back my sister\nwho was carried off by a giant to his castle, which is a long way off.\u201d\n\nSlowly and sadly the youth left the palace and told his story to his\nfriends, who were waiting outside the gate, how he had actually held\nthe hen three times in his arms and had lost her.\n\n\u201cI knew that we should not get off so easily,\u201d said the fox, shaking\nhis head; \u201cbut there is no more time to waste. Let us set off at once\nin search of the sister. Luckily, I know the way.\u201d\n\nThey walked on for many days, till at length the fox, who, as usual,\nwas going first, stopped suddenly.\n\n\u201cThe giant\u2019s castle is not far now,\u201d he said, \u201cbut when we reach it you\ntwo must remain outside while I go and fetch the princess. Directly I\nbring her out you must both catch hold of her tight, and get away as\nfast as you can; while I return to the castle and talk to the\ngiants\u2014for there are many of them\u2014so that they may not notice the\nescape of the princess.\u201d\n\nA few minutes later they arrived at the castle, and the fox, who had\noften been there before, slipped in without difficulty. There were\nseveral giants, both young and old, in the hall, and they were all\ndancing round the princess. As soon as they saw the fox they cried out:\n\u201cCome and dance too, old fox; it is a long time since we have seen\nyou.\u201d\n\nSo the fox stood up, and did his steps with the best of them; but after\na while he stopped and said:\n\n\u201cI know a charming new dance that I should like to show you; but it can\nonly be done by two people. If the princess will honour me for a few\nminutes, you will soon see how it is done.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, that is delightful; we want something new,\u201d answered they, and\nplaced the princess between the outstretched arms of the fox. In one\ninstant he had knocked over the great stand of lights that lighted the\nhall, and in the darkness had borne the princess to the gate. His\ncomrades seized hold of her, as they had been bidden, and the fox was\nback again in the hall before anyone had missed him. He found the\ngiants busy trying to kindle a fire and get some light; but after a bit\nsomeone cried out:\n\n\u201cWhere is the princess?\u201d\n\n\u201cHere, in my arms,\u201d replied the fox. \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid; she is quite\nsafe.\u201d And he waited until he thought that his comrades had gained a\ngood start, and put at least five or six mountains between themselves\nand the giants. Then he sprang through the door, calling, as he went:\n\u201cThe maiden is here; take her if you can!\u201d\n\nAt these words the giants understood that their prize had escaped, and\nthey ran after the fox as fast as their great legs could carry them,\nthinking that they should soon come up with the fox, who they supposed\nhad the princess on his back. The fox, on his side, was far too clever\nto choose the same path that his friends had taken, but would in and\nout of the forest, till at last even HE was tired out, and fell fast\nasleep under a tree. Indeed, he was so exhausted with his day\u2019s work\nthat he never heard the approach of the giants, and their hands were\nalready stretched out to seize his tail when his eyes opened, and with\na tremendous bound he was once more beyond their reach. All the rest of\nthe night the fox ran and ran; but when bright red spread over the\neast, he stopped and waited till the giants were close upon him. Then\nhe turned, and said quietly: \u201cLook, there is the Sister of the Sun!\u201d\n\nThe giants raised their eyes all at once, and were instantly turned\ninto pillars of stone. The fox then made each pillar a low bow, and set\noff to join his friends.\n\nHe knew a great many short cuts across the hills, so it was not long\nbefore he came up with them, and all four travelled night and day till\nthey reached the castle of the Sister of the Sun. What joy and feasting\nthere was throughout the palace at the sight of the princess whom they\nhad mourned as dead! and they could not make enough of the boy who had\ngone through such dangers in order to rescue her. The golden hen was\ngiven to him at once, and, more than that, the Sister of the Sun told\nhim that, in a little time, when he was a few years older, she would\nherself pay a visit to his home and become his wife. The boy could\nhardly believe his ears when he heard what was in store for him, for\nhis was the most beautiful princess in all the world; and however thick\nthe darkness might be, it fled away at once from the light of a star on\nher forehead.\n\nSo the boy set forth on his journey home, with his friends for company;\nhis heart full of gladness when he thought of the promise of the\nprincess. But, one by one, his comrades dropped off at the places where\nthey had first met him, and he was quite alone when he reached his\nnative town and the gates of the palace. With the golden hen under his\narm he presented himself before the king, and told his adventures, and\nhow he was going to have for a wife a princess so wonderful and unlike\nall other princesses, that the star on her forehead could turn night\ninto day. The king listened silently, and when the boy had done, he\nsaid quietly: \u201cIf I find that your story is not true I will have you\nthrown into a cask of pitch.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is true\u2014every word of it,\u201d answered the boy; and went on to tell\nthat the day and even the hour were fixed when his bride was to come\nand seek him.\n\nBut as the time drew near, and nothing was heard of the princess, the\nyouth became anxious and uneasy, especially when it came to his ears\nthat the great cask was being filled with pitch, and that sticks were\nlaid underneath to make a fire to boil it with. All day long the boy\nstood at the window, looking over the sea by which the princess must\ntravel; but there were no signs of her, not even the tiniest white\nsail. And, as he stood, soldiers came and laid hands on him, and led\nhim up to the cask, where a big fire was blazing, and the horrid black\npitch boiling and bubbling over the sides. He looked and shuddered, but\nthere was no escape; so he shut his eyes to avoid seeing.\n\nThe word was given for him to mount the steps which led to the top of\nthe cask, when, suddenly, some men were seen running with all their\nmight, crying as they went that a large ship with its sails spread was\nmaking straight for the city. No one knew what the ship was, or whence\nit came; but the king declared that he would not have the boy burned\nbefore its arrival, there would always be time enough for that.\n\nAt length the vessel was safe in port, and a whisper went through the\nwatching crowd that on board was the Sister of the Sun, who had come to\nmarry the young peasant as she had promised. In a few moments more she\nhad landed, and desired to be shown the way to the cottage which her\nbridegroom had so often described to her; and whither he had been led\nback by the king\u2019s order at the first sign of the ship.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you know me?\u201d asked the Sister of the Sun, bending over him\nwhere he lay, almost driven out of his senses with terror.\n\n\u201cNo, no; I don\u2019t know you,\u201d answered the youth, without raising his\neyes.\n\n\u201cKiss me,\u201d said the Sister of the Sun; and the youth obeyed her, but\nstill without looking up.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you know me NOW?\u201d asked she.\n\n\u201cNo, I don\u2019t know you\u2014I don\u2019t know you,\u201d he replied, with the manner of\na man whom fear had driven mad.\n\nAt this the Sister of the Sun grew rather frightened, and beginning at\nthe beginning, she told him the story of his meeting with her, and how\nshe had come a long way in order to marry him. And just as she had\nfinished in walked the king, to see if what the boy had said was really\ntrue. But hardly had he opened the door of the cottage when he was\nalmost blinded by the light that filled it; and he remembered what he\nhad been told about the star on the forehead of the princess. He\nstaggered back as if he had been struck, then a curious feeling took\nhold of him, which he had never felt before, and falling on his knees\nbefore the Sister of the Sun, he implored her to give up all thought of\nthe peasant boy, and to share his throne. But she laughed, and said she\nhad a finer throne of her own, if she wanted to sit on it, and that she\nwas free to please herself, and would have no husband but the boy whom\nshe would never have seen except for the king himself.\n\n\u201cI shall marry him to-morrow,\u201d ended she; and ordered the preparations\nto be set on foot at once.\n\nWhen the next day came, however, the bridegroom\u2019s father informed the\nprincess that, by the law of the land, the marriage must take place in\nthe presence of the king; but he hoped his majesty would not long delay\nhis arrival. An hour or two passed, and everyone was waiting and\nwatching, when at last the sound of trumpets was heard and a grand\nprocession was seen marching up the street. A chair covered with velvet\nhad been made ready for the king, and he took his seat upon it, and,\nlooking round upon the assembled company, he said:\n\n\u201cI have no wish to forbid this marriage; but, before I can allow it to\nbe celebrated, the bridegroom must prove himself worthy of such a bride\nby fulfilling three tasks. And the first is that in a single day he\nmust cut down every tree in an entire forest.\n\nThe youth stood aghast as the king\u2019s words. He had never cut down a\ntree in his life, and had not the least idea how to begin. And as for a\nwhole forest\u2014! But the princess saw what was passing in his mind, and\nwhispered to him:\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid. In my ship you will find an axe, which you must carry\noff to the forest. When you have cut down one tree with it just say:\n\u2018So let the forest fall,\u2019 and in an instant all the trees will be on\nthe ground. But pick up three chips of the tree you felled, and put\nthem in your pocket.\u201d\n\nAnd the young man did exactly as he was bid, and soon returned with the\nthree chips safe in his coat.\n\nThe following morning the princess declared that she had been thinking\nabout the matter, and that, as she was not a subject of the king, she\nsaw no reason why she should be bound by his laws; and she meant to be\nmarried that very day. But the bridegroom\u2019s father told her that it was\nall very well for her to talk like that, but it was quite different for\nhis son, who would pay with his head for any disobedience to the king\u2019s\ncommands. However, in consideration of what the youth had done the day\nbefore, he hoped his majesty\u2019s heart might be softened, especially as\nhe had sent a message that they might expect him at once. With this the\nbridal pair had to be content, and be as patient as they could till the\nking\u2019s arrival.\n\nHe did not keep them long, but they saw by his face that nothing good\nawaited them.\n\n\u201cThe marriage cannot take place,\u201d he said shortly, \u201ctill the youth has\njoined to their roots all the trees he cut down yesterday.\u201d\n\nThis sounded much more difficult than what he had done before, and he\nturned in despair to the Sister of the Sun.\n\n\u201cIt is all right,\u201d she whispered encouragingly. \u201cTake this water and\nsprinkle it on one of the fallen trees, and say to it: \u2018So let all the\ntrees of the forest stand upright,\u2019 and in a moment they will be erect\nagain.\u201d\n\nAnd the young man did what he was told, and left the forest looking\nexactly as it had done before.\n\nNow, surely, thought the princess, there was no longer any need to put\noff the wedding; and she gave orders that all should be ready for the\nfollowing day. But again the old man interfered, and declared that\nwithout the king\u2019s permission no marriage could take place. For the\nthird time his majesty was sent for, and for the third time he\nproclaimed that he could not give his consent until the bridegroom\nshould have slain a serpent which dwelt in a broad river that flowed at\nthe back of the castle. Everyone knew stories of this terrible serpent,\nthough no one had actually seen it; but from time to time a child\nstrayed from home and never came back, and then mothers would forbid\nthe other children to go near the river, which had juicy fruits and\nlovely flowers growing along its banks.\n\nSo no wonder the youth trembled and turned pale when he heard what lay\nbefore him.\n\n\u201cYou will succeed in this also,\u201d whispered the Sister of the Sun,\npressing his hand, \u201cfor in my ship is a magic sword which will cut\nthrough everything. Go down to the river and unfasten a boat which lies\nmoored there, and throw the chips into the water. When the serpent\nrears up its body you will cut off its three heads with one blow of\nyour sword. Then take the tip of each tongue and go with it to-morrow\nmorning into the king\u2019s kitchen. If the king himself should enter, just\nsay to him: \u2018Here are three gifts I offer you in return for the\nservices you demanded of me!\u2019 and throw the tips of the serpent\u2019s\ntongues at him, and hasten to the ship as fast as your legs will carry\nyou. But be sure you take great care never to look behind you.\u201d\n\nThe young man did exactly what the princess had told him. The three\nchips which he flung into the river became a boat, and, as he steered\nacross the stream, the serpent put up its head and hissed loudly. The\nyouth had his sword ready, and in another second the three heads were\nbobbing on the water. Guiding his boat till he was beside them, he\nstooped down and snipped off the ends of the tongues, and then rowed\nback to the other bank. Next morning he carried them into the royal\nkitchen, and when the king entered, as was his custom, to see what he\nwas going to have for dinner, the bridegroom flung them in his face,\nsaying: \u201cHere is a gift for you in return for the services you asked of\nme.\u201d And, opening the kitchen door, he fled to the ship. Unluckily he\nmissed the way, and in his excitement ran backwards and forwards,\nwithout knowing whither he was going. At last, in despair, he looked\nround, and saw to his amazement that both the city and palace had\nvanished completely. Then he turned his eyes in the other direction,\nand, far, far away, he caught sight of the ship with her sails spread,\nand a fair wind behind her.\n\nThis dreadful spectacle seemed to take away his senses, and all day\nlong he wandered about, without knowing where he was going, till, in\nthe evening, he noticed some smoke from a little hut of turf near by.\nHe went straight up to it and cried: \u201cO mother, let me come in for\npity\u2019s sake!\u201d The old woman who lived in the hut beckoned to him to\nenter, and hardly was he inside when he cried again: \u201cO mother, can you\ntell me anything of the Sister of the Sun?\u201d\n\nBut the woman only shook her head. \u201cNo, I know nothing of her,\u201d said\nshe.\n\nThe young man turned to leave the hut, but the old woman stopped him,\nand, giving him a letter, begged him to carry it to her next eldest\nsister, saying: \u201cIf you should get tired on the way, take out the\nletter and rustle the paper.\u201d\n\nThis advice surprised the young man a good deal, as he did not see how\nit could help him; but he did not answer, and went down the road\nwithout knowing where he was going. At length he grew so tired he could\nwalk no more; then he remembered what the old woman had said. After he\nhad rustled the leaves only once all fatigue disappeared, and he strode\nover the grass till he came to another little turf hut.\n\n\u201cLet me in, I pray you, dear mother,\u201d cried he. And the door opened in\nfront of him. \u201cYour sister has sent you this letter,\u201d he said, and\nadded quickly: \u201cO mother! can you tell me anything of the Sister of the\nSun?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I know nothing of her,\u201d answered she. But as he turned hopelessly\naway, she stopped him.\n\n\u201cIf you happen to pass my eldest sister\u2019s house, will you give her this\nletter?\u201d said she. \u201cAnd if you should get tired on the road, just take\nit out of your pocket and rustle the paper.\u201d\n\nSo the young man put the letter in his pocket, and walked all day over\nthe hills till he reached a little turf hut, exactly like the other\ntwo.\n\n\u201cLet me in, I pray you, dear mother,\u201d cried he. And as he entered he\nadded: \u201cHere is a letter from your sister and\u2014can you tell me anything\nof the Sister of the Sun?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I can,\u201d answered the old woman. \u201cShe lives in the castle on the\nBanka. Her father lost a battle only a few days ago because you had\nstolen his sword from him, and the Sister of the Sun herself is almost\ndead of grief. But, when you see her, stick a pin into the palm of her\nhand, and suck the drops of blood that flow. Then she will grow calmer,\nand will know you again. Only, beware; for before you reach the castle\non the Banka fearful things will happen.\u201d\n\nHe thanked the old woman with tears of gladness for the good news she\nhad given him, and continued his journey. But he had not gone very far\nwhen, at a turn of the road, he met with two brothers, who were\nquarrelling over a piece of cloth.\n\n\u201cMy good men, what are you fighting about?\u201d said he. \u201cThat cloth does\nnot look worth much!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, it is ragged enough,\u201d answered they, \u201cbut it was left us by our\nfather, and if any man wraps it round him no one can see him; and we\neach want it for our own.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet me put it round me for a moment,\u201d said the youth, \u201cand then I will\ntell you whose it ought to be!\u201d\n\nThe brothers were pleased with this idea, and gave him the stuff; but\nthe moment he had thrown it over his shoulder he disappeared as\ncompletely as if he had never been there at all.\n\nMeanwhile the young man walked briskly along, till he came up with two\nother men, who were disputing over a table-cloth.\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter?\u201d asked he, stopping in front of them.\n\n\u201cIf this cloth is spread on a table,\u201d answered they, \u201cthe table is\ninstantly covered with the most delicious food; and we each want to\nhave it.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet me try the table-cloth,\u201d said the youth, \u201cand I will tell you\nwhose it ought to be.\u201d\n\nThe two men were quite pleased with this idea, and handed him the\ncloth. He then hastily threw the first piece of stuff round his\nshoulders and vanished from sight, leaving the two men grieving over\ntheir own folly.\n\nThe young man had not walked far before he saw two more men standing by\nthe road-side, both grasping the same stout staff, and sometimes one\nseemed on the point of getting it, and sometimes the other.\n\n\u201cWhat are you quarrelling about? You could cut a dozen sticks from the\nwood each just as good as that!\u201d said the young man. And as he spoke\nthe fighters both stopped and looked at him.\n\n\u201cAh! you may think so,\u201d said one, \u201cbut a blow from one end of this\nstick will kill a man, while a touch from the other end will bring him\nback to life. You won\u2019t easily find another stick like that!\u201d\n\n\u201cNo; that is true,\u201d answered the young man. \u201cLet me just look at it,\nand I will tell you whose it ought to be.\u201d\n\nThe men were pleased with the idea, and handed him the staff.\n\n\u201cIt is very curious, certainly,\u201d said he; \u201cbut which end is it that\nrestores people to life? After all, anyone can be killed by a blow from\na stick if it is only hard enough!\u201d But when he was shown the end he\nthrew the stuff over his shoulders and vanished.\n\nAt last he saw another set of men, who were struggling for the\npossession of a pair of shoes.\n\n\u201cWhy can\u2019t you leave that pair of old shoes alone?\u201d said he. \u201cWhy, you\ncould not walk a yard in them!\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, they are old enough,\u201d answered they; \u201cbut whoever puts them on\nand wishes himself at a particular place, gets there without going.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat sounds very clever,\u201d said the youth. \u201cLet me try them, and then I\nshall be able to tell you whose they ought to be.\u201d\n\nThe idea pleased the men, and they handed him the shoes; but the moment\nthey were on his feet he cried:\n\n\u201cI wish to be in the castle on the Banka!\u201d And before he knew it, he\nwas there, and found the Sister of the Sun dying of grief. He knelt\ndown by her side, and pulling a pin he stuck it into the palm of her\nhand, so that a drop of blood gushed out. This he sucked, as he had\nbeen told to do by the old woman, and immediately the princess came to\nherself, and flung her arms round his neck. Then she told him all her\nstory, and what had happened since the ship had sailed away without\nhim. \u201cBut the worst misfortune of all,\u201d she added, \u201cwas a battle which\nmy father lost because you had vanished with his magic sword; and out\nof his whole army hardly one man was left.\u201d\n\n\u201cShow me the battle-field,\u201d said he. And she took him to a wild heath,\nwhere the dead were lying as they fell, waiting for burial. One by one\nhe touched them with the end of his staff, till at length they all\nstood before him. Throughout the kingdom there was nothing but joy; and\nTHIS time the wedding was REALLY celebrated. And the bridal pair lived\nhappily in the castle on the Banka till they died.\n\n[Lapplandische Mahrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Prince and the Three Fates\n\n\nOnce upon a time a little boy was born to a king who ruled over a great\ncountry through which ran a wide river. The king was nearly beside\nhimself with joy, for he had always longed for a son to inherit his\ncrown, and he sent messages to beg all the most powerful fairies to\ncome and see this wonderful baby. In an hour or two, so many were\ngathered round the cradle, that the child seemed in danger of being\nsmothered; but the king, who was watching the fairies eagerly, was\ndisturbed to see them looking grave. \u201cIs there anything the matter?\u201d he\nasked anxiously.\n\nThe fairies looked at him, and all shook their heads at once.\n\n\u201cHe is a beautiful boy, and it is a great pity; but what IS to happen\nWILL happen,\u201d said they. \u201cIt is written in the books of fate that he\nmust die, either by a crocodile, or a serpent, or by a dog. If we could\nsave him we would; but that is beyond our power.\u201d\n\nAnd so saying they vanished.\n\nFor a time the king stood where he was, horror-stricken at what he had\nheard; but, being of a hopeful nature, he began at once to invent plans\nto save the prince from the dreadful doom that awaited him. He\ninstantly sent for his master builder, and bade him construct a strong\ncastle on the top of a mountain, which should be fitted with the most\nprecious things from the king\u2019s own palace, and every kind of toy a\nchild could wish to play with. And, besides, he gave the strictest\norders that a guard should walk round the castle night and day.\n\nFor four or five years the baby lived in the castle alone with his\nnurses, taking his airings on the broad terraces, which were surrounded\nby walls, with a moat beneath them, and only a drawbridge to connect\nthem with the outer world.\n\nOne day, when the prince was old enough to run quite fast by himself,\nhe looked from the terrace across the moat, and saw a little soft\nfluffy ball of a dog jumping and playing on the other side. Now, of\ncourse, all dogs had been kept from him for fear that the fairies\u2019\nprophecy should come true, and he had never even beheld one before. So\nhe turned to the page who was walking behind him, and said:\n\n\u201cWhat is that funny little thing which is running so fast over there?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is a dog, prince,\u201d answered the page.\n\n\u201cWell, bring me one like it, and we will see which can run the faster.\u201d\nAnd he watched the dog till it had disappeared round the corner.\n\nThe page was much puzzled to know what to do. He had strict orders to\nrefuse the prince nothing; yet he remembered the prophecy, and felt\nthat this was a serious matter. At last he thought he had better tell\nthe king the whole story, and let him decide the question.\n\n\u201cOh, get him a dog if he wants one,\u201d said the king, \u201che will only cry\nhis heart out if he does not have it.\u201d So a puppy was found, exactly\nlike the other; they might have been twins, and perhaps they were.\n\nYears went by, and the boy and the dog played together till the boy\ngrew tall and strong. The time came at last when he sent a message to\nhis father, saying:\n\n\u201cWhy do you keep me shut up here, doing nothing? I know all about the\nprophecy that was made at my birth, but I would far rather be killed at\nonce than live an idle, useless life here. So give me arms, and let me\ngo, I pray you; me and my dog too.\u201d\n\nAnd again the king listened to his wishes, and he and his dog were\ncarried in a ship to the other side of the river, which was so broad\nhere it might almost have been the sea. A black horse was waiting for\nhim, tied to a tree, and he mounted and rode away wherever his fancy\ntook him, the dog always at his heels. Never was any prince so happy as\nhe, and he rode and rode till at length he came to a king\u2019s palace.\n\nThe king who lived in it did not care about looking after his country,\nand seeing that his people lived cheerful and contented lives. He spent\nhis whole time in making riddles, and inventing plans which he had much\nbetter have let alone. At the period when the young prince reached the\nkingdom he had just completed a wonderful house for his only child, a\ndaughter. It had seventy windows, each seventy feet from the ground,\nand he had sent the royal herald round the borders of the neighbouring\nkingdoms to proclaim that whoever could climb up the walls to the\nwindow of the princess should win her for his wife.\n\nThe fame of the princess\u2019s beauty had spread far and wide, and there\nwas no lack of princes who wished to try their fortune. Very funny the\npalace must have looked each morning, with the dabs of different colour\non the white marble as the princes were climbing up the walls. But\nthough some managed to get further than others, nobody was anywhere\nnear the top.\n\nThey had already been spending several days in this manner when the\nyoung prince arrived, and as he was pleasant to look upon, and civil to\ntalk to, they welcomed him to the house, which had been given to them,\nand saw that his bath was properly perfumed after his long journey.\n\u201cWhere do you come from?\u201d they said at last. \u201cAnd whose son are you?\u201d\n\nBut the young prince had reasons for keeping his own secret, and he\nanswered:\n\n\u201cMy father was master of the horse to the king of my country, and after\nmy mother died he married another wife. At first all went well, but as\nsoon as she had babies of her own she hated me, and I fled, lest she\nshould do me harm.\u201d\n\nThe hearts of the other young men were touched as soon as they heard\nthis story, and they did everything they could think of to make him\nforget his past sorrows.\n\n\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d said the youth, one day.\n\n\u201cWe spend our whole time climbing up the walls of the palace, trying to\nreach the windows of the princess,\u201d answered the young men; \u201cbut, as\nyet, no one has reached within ten feet of them.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, let me try too,\u201d cried the prince; \u201cbut to-morrow I will wait and\nsee what you do before I begin.\n\nSo the next day he stood where he could watch the young men go up, and\nhe noted the places on the wall that seemed most difficult, and made up\nhis mind that when his turn came he would go up some other way.\n\nDay after day he was to be seen watching the wooers, till, one morning,\nhe felt that he knew the plan of the walls by heart, and took his place\nby the side of the others. Thanks to what he had learned from the\nfailure of the rest, he managed to grasp one little rough projection\nafter another, till at last, to the envy of his friends, he stood on\nthe sill of the princess\u2019s window. Looking up from below, they saw a\nwhite hand stretched forth to draw him in.\n\nThen one of the young men ran straight to the king\u2019s palace, and said:\n\u201cThe wall has been climbed, and the prize is won!\u201d\n\n\u201cBy whom?\u201d cried the king, starting up from his throne; \u201cwhich of the\nprinces may I claim as my son-in-law?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe youth who succeeded in climbing to the princess\u2019s window is not a\nprince at all,\u201d answered the young man. \u201cHe is the son of the master of\nthe horse to the great king who dwells across the river, and he fled\nfrom his own country to escape from the hatred of his stepmother.\u201d\n\nAt this news the king was very angry, for it had never entered his head\nthat anyone BUT a prince would seek to woo his daughter.\n\n\u201cLet him go back to the land whence he came,\u201d he shouted in wrath;\n\u201cdoes he expect me to give my daughter to an exile?\u201d And he began to\nsmash the drinking vessels in his fury; indeed, he quite frightened the\nyoung man, who ran hastily home to his friends, and told the youth what\nthe king had said.\n\nNow the princess, who was leaning from her window, heard his words and\nbade the messenger go back to the king her father and tell him that she\nhad sworn a vow never to eat or drink again if the youth was taken from\nher. The king was more angry than ever when he received this message,\nand ordered his guards to go at once to the palace and put the\nsuccessful wooer to death; but the princess threw herself between him\nand his murderers.\n\n\u201cLay a finger on him, and I shall be dead before sunset,\u201d said she; and\nas they saw that she meant it, they left the palace, and carried the\ntale to her father.\n\nBy this time the king\u2019s anger was dying away, and he began to consider\nwhat his people would think of him if he broke the promise he had\npublicly given. So he ordered the princess to be brought before him,\nand the young man also, and when they entered the throne room he was so\npleased with the noble air of the victor that his wrath quite melted\naway, and he ran to him and embraced him.\n\n\u201cTell me who you are?\u201d he asked, when he had recovered himself a\nlittle, \u201cfor I will never believe that you have not royal blood in your\nveins.\u201d\n\nBut the prince still had his reasons for being silent, and only told\nthe same story. However, the king had taken such a fancy to the youth\nthat he said no more, and the marriage took place the following day,\nand great herds of cattle and a large estate were given to the young\ncouple.\n\nAfter a little while the prince said to his wife: \u201cMy life is in the\nhands of three creatures\u2014a crocodile, a serpent, and a dog.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, how rash you are!\u201d cried the princess, throwing her arms round his\nneck. \u201cIf you know that, how can you have that horrid beast about you?\nI will give orders to have him killed at once.\u201d\n\nBut the prince would not listen to her.\n\n\u201cKill my dear little dog, who had been my playfellow since he was a\npuppy?\u201d exclaimed he. \u201cOh, never would I allow that.\u201d And all that the\nprincess could get from him was that he would always wear a sword, and\nhave somebody with him when he left the palace.\n\nWhen the prince and princess had been married a few months, the prince\nheard that his stepmother was dead, and his father was old and ill, and\nlonging to have his eldest son by his side again. The young man could\nnot remain deaf to such a message, and he took a tender farewell of his\nwife, and set out on his journey home. It was a long way, and he was\nforced to rest often on the road, and so it happened that, one night,\nwhen he was sleeping in a city on the banks of the great river, a huge\ncrocodile came silently up and made its way along a passage to the\nprince\u2019s room. Fortunately one of his guards woke up as it was trying\nto steal past them, and shut the crocodile up in a large hall, where a\ngiant watched over it, never leaving the spot except during the night,\nwhen the crocodile slept. And this went on for more than a month.\n\nNow, when the prince found that he was not likely to leave his father\u2019s\nkingdom again, he sent for his wife, and bade the messenger tell her\nthat he would await her coming in the town on the banks of the great\nriver. This was the reason why he delayed his journey so long, and\nnarrowly escaped being eaten by the crocodile. During the weeks that\nfollowed the prince amused himself as best he could, though he counted\nthe minutes to the arrival of the princess, and when she did come, he\nat once prepared to start for the court. That very night, however,\nwhile he was asleep, the princess noticed something strange in one of\nthe corners of the room. It was a dark patch, and seemed, as she\nlooked, to grow longer and longer, and to be moving slowly towards the\ncushions on which the prince was lying. She shrank in terror, but,\nslight as was the noise, the thing heard it, and raised its head to\nlisten. Then she saw it was the long flat head of a serpent, and the\nrecollection of the prophecy rushed into her mind. Without waking her\nhusband, she glided out of bed, and taking up a heavy bowl of milk\nwhich stood on a table, laid it on the floor in the path of the\nserpent\u2014for she knew that no serpent in the world can resist milk. She\nheld her breath as the snake drew near, and watched it throw up its\nhead again as if it was smelling something nice, while its forky tongue\ndarted out greedily. At length its eyes fell upon the milk, and in an\ninstant it was lapping it so fast that it was a wonder the creature did\nnot choke, for it never took its head from the bowl as long as a drop\nwas left in it. After that it dropped on the ground and slept heavily.\nThis was what the princess had been waiting for, and catching up her\nhusband\u2019s sword, she severed the snake\u2019s head from its body.\n\nThe morning after this adventure the prince and princess set out for\nthe king\u2019s palace, but found when they reached it, that he was already\ndead. They gave him a magnificent burial, and then the prince had to\nexamine the new laws which had been made in his absence, and do a great\ndeal of business besides, till he grew quite ill from fatigue, and was\nobliged to go away to one of his palaces on the banks of the river, in\norder to rest. Here he soon got better, and began to hunt, and to shoot\nwild duck with his bow; and wherever he went, his dog, now grown very\nold, went with him.\n\nOne morning the prince and his dog were out as usual, and in chasing\ntheir game they drew near the bank of the river. The prince was running\nat full speed after his dog when he almost fell over something that\nlooked like a log of wood, which was lying in his path. To his surprise\na voice spoke to him, and he saw that the thing which he had taken for\na branch was really a crocodile.\n\n\u201cYou cannot escape from me,\u201d it was saying, when he had gathered his\nsenses again. \u201cI am your fate, and wherever you go, and whatever you\ndo, you will always find me before you. There is only one means of\nshaking off my power. If you can dig a pit in the dry sand which will\nremain full of water, my spell will be broken. If not death will come\nto you speedily. I give you this one chance. Now go.\u201d\n\nThe young man walked sadly away, and when he reached the palace he shut\nhimself into his room, and for the rest of the day refused to see\nanyone, not even his wife. At sunset, however, as no sound could be\nheard through the door, the princess grew quite frightened, and made\nsuch a noise that the prince was forced to draw back the bolt and let\nher come in. \u201cHow pale you look,\u201d she cried, \u201chas anything hurt you?\nTell me, I pray you, what is the matter, for perhaps I can help!\u201d\n\nSo the prince told her the whole story, and of the impossible task\ngiven him by the crocodile.\n\n\u201cHow can a sand hole remain full of water?\u201d asked he. \u201cOf course, it\nwill all run through. The crocodile called it a \u2018chance\u2019; but he might\nas well have dragged me into the river at once. He said truly that I\ncannot escape him.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, if that is all,\u201d cried the princess, \u201cI can set you free myself,\nfor my fairy godmother taught me to know the use of plants and in the\ndesert not far from here there grows a little four-leaved herb which\nwill keep the water in the pit for a whole year. I will go in search of\nit at dawn, and you can begin to dig the hole as soon as you like.\n\nTo comfort her husband, the princess had spoken lightly and gaily; but\nshe knew very well she had no light task before her. Still, she was\nfull of courage and energy, and determined that, one way or another,\nher husband should be saved.\n\nIt was still starlight when she left the palace on a snow-white donkey,\nand rode away from the river straight to the west. For some time she\ncould see nothing before her but a flat waste of sand, which became\nhotter and hotter as the sun rose higher and higher. Then a dreadful\nthirst seized her and the donkey, but there was no stream to quench it,\nand if there had been she would hardly have had time to stop, for she\nstill had far to go, and must be back before evening, or else the\ncrocodile might declare that the prince had not fulfilled his\nconditions. So she spoke cheering words to her donkey, who brayed in\nreply, and the two pushed steadily on.\n\nOh! how glad they both were when they caught sight of a tall rock in\nthe distance. They forgot that they were thirsty, and that the sun was\nhot; and the ground seemed to fly under their feet, till the donkey\nstopped of its own accord in the cool shadow. But though the donkey\nmight rest the princess could not, for the plant, as she knew, grew on\nthe very top of the rock, and a wide chasm ran round the foot of it.\nLuckily she had brought a rope with her, and making a noose at one end,\nshe flung it across with all her might. The first time it slid back\nslowly into the ditch, and she had to draw it up, and throw it again,\nbut at length the noose caught on something, the princess could not see\nwhat, and had to trust her whole weight to this little bridge, which\nmight snap and let her fall deep down among the rocks. And in that case\nher death was as certain as that of the prince.\n\nBut nothing so dreadful happened. The princess got safely to the other\nside, and then became the worst part of her task. As fast as she put\nher foot on a ledge of the rock the stone broke away from under her,\nand left her in the same place as before. Meanwhile the hours were\npassing, and it was nearly noon.\n\nThe heart of the poor princess was filled with despair, but she would\nnot give up the struggle. She looked round till she saw a small stone\nabove her which seemed rather stronger than the rest, and by only\npoising her foot lightly on those that lay between, she managed by a\ngreat effort to reach it. In this way, with torn and bleeding hands,\nshe gained the top; but here such a violent wind was blowing that she\nwas almost blinded with dust, and was obliged to throw herself on the\nground, and feel about after the precious herb.\n\nFor a few terrible moments she thought that the rock was bare, and that\nher journey had been to no purpose. Feel where she would, there was\nnothing but grit and stones, when, suddenly, her fingers touched\nsomething soft in a crevice. It was a plant, that was clear; but was it\nthe right one? See she could not, for the wind was blowing more\nfiercely than ever, so she lay where she was and counted the leaves.\nOne, two, three\u2014yes! yes! there were four! And plucking a leaf she held\nit safe in her hand while she turned, almost stunned by the wind, to go\ndown the rock.\n\nWhen once she was safely over the side all became still in a moment,\nand she slid down the rock so fast that it was only a wonder that she\ndid not land in the chasm. However, by good luck, she stopped quite\nclose to her rope bridge and was soon across it. The donkey brayed\njoyfully at the sight of her, and set off home at his best speed, never\nseeming to know that the earth under his feet was nearly as hot as the\nsun above him.\n\nOn the bank of the great river he halted, and the princess rushed up to\nwhere the prince was standing by the pit he had digged in the dry sand,\nwith a huge water pot beside it. A little way off the crocodile lay\nblinking in the sun, with his sharp teeth and whity-yellow jaws wide\nopen.\n\nAt a signal from the princess the prince poured the water in the hole,\nand the moment it reached the brim the princess flung in the\nfour-leaved plant. Would the charm work, or would the water trickle\naway slowly through the sand, and the prince fall a victim to that\nhorrible monster? For half an hour they stood with their eyes rooted to\nthe spot, but the hole remained as full as at the beginning, with the\nlittle green leaf floating on the top. Then the prince turned with a\nshout of triumph, and the crocodile sulkily plunged into the river.\n\nThe prince had escape for ever the second of his three fates!\n\nHe stood there looking after the crocodile, and rejoicing that he was\nfree, when he was startled by a wild duck which flew past them, seeking\nshelter among the rushes that bordered the edge of the stream. In\nanother instant his dog dashed by in hot pursuit, and knocked heavily\nagainst his master\u2019s legs. The prince staggered, lost his balance and\nfell backwards into the river, where the mud and the rushes caught him\nand held him fast. He shrieked for help to his wife, who came running;\nand luckily brought her rope with her. The poor old dog was drowned,\nbut the prince was pulled to shore. \u201cMy wife,\u201d he said, \u201chas been\nstronger than my fate.\u201d\n\n[Adapted from Les Contes Populaires de l\u2019Egypte Ancienne.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Fox and the Lapp\n\n\nOnce upon a time a fox lay peeping out of his hole, watching the road\nthat ran by at a little distance, and hoping to see something that\nmight amuse him, for he was feeling very dull and rather cross. For a\nlong while he watched in vain; everything seemed asleep, and not even a\nbird stirred overhead. The fox grew crosser than ever, and he was just\nturning away in disgust from his place when he heard the sound of feet\ncoming over the snow. He crouched eagerly down at the edge of the road\nand said to himself: \u201cI wonder what would happen if I were to pretend\nto be dead! This is a man driving a reindeer sledge, I know the\ntinkling of the harness. And at any rate I shall have an adventure, and\nthat is always something!\u201d\n\nSo he stretched himself out by the side of the road, carefully choosing\na spot where the driver could not help seeing him, yet where the\nreindeer would not tread on him; and all fell out just as he had\nexpected. The sledge-driver pulled up sharply, as his eyes lighted on\nthe beautiful animal lying stiffly beside him, and jumping out he threw\nthe fox into the bottom of the sledge, where the goods he was carrying\nwere bound tightly together by ropes. The fox did not move a muscle\nthough his bones were sore from the fall, and the driver got back to\nhis seat again and drove on merrily.\n\nBut before they had gone very far, the fox, who was near the edge,\ncontrived to slip over, and when the Laplander saw him stretched out on\nthe snow he pulled up his reindeer and put the fox into one of the\nother sledges that was fastened behind, for it was market-day at the\nnearest town, and the man had much to sell.\n\nThey drove on a little further, when some noise in the forest made the\nman turn his head, just in time to see the fox fall with a heavy thump\non to the frozen snow. \u201cThat beast is bewitched!\u201d he said to himself,\nand then he threw the fox into the last sledge of all, which had a\ncargo of fishes. This was exactly what the cunning creature wanted, and\nhe wriggled gently to the front and bit the cord which tied the sledge\nto the one before it so that it remained standing in the middle of the\nroad.\n\nNow there were so many sledges that the Lapp did not notice for a long\nwhile that one was missing; indeed, he would have entered the town\nwithout knowing if snow had not suddenly begun to fall. Then he got\ndown to secure more firmly the cloths that kept his goods dry, and\ngoing to the end of the long row, discovered that the sledge containing\nthe fish and the fox was missing. He quickly unharnessed one of his\nreindeer and rode back along the way he had come, to find the sledge\nstanding safe in the middle of the road; but as the fox had bitten off\nthe cord close to the noose there was no means of moving it away.\n\nThe fox meanwhile was enjoying himself mightily. As soon as he had\nloosened the sledge, he had taken his favourite fish from among the\npiles neatly arranged for sale, and had trotted off to the forest with\nit in his mouth. By-and-by he met a bear, who stopped and said: \u201cWhere\ndid you find that fish, Mr. Fox?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, not far off,\u201d answered he; \u201cI just stuck my tail in the stream\nclose by the place where the elves dwell, and the fish hung on to it of\nitself.\u201d\n\n\u201cDear me,\u201d snarled the bear, who was hungry and not in a good temper,\n\u201cif the fish hung on to your tail, I suppose he will hang on to mine.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, certainly, grandfather,\u201d replied the fox, \u201cif you have patience\nto suffer what I suffered.\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course I can,\u201d replied the bear, \u201cwhat nonsense you talk! Show me\nthe way.\u201d\n\nSo the fox led him to the bank of a stream, which, being in a warm\nplace, had only lightly frozen in places, and was at this moment\nglittering in the spring sunshine.\n\n\u201cThe elves bathe here,\u201d he said, \u201cand if you put in your tail the fish\nwill catch hold of it. But it is no use being in a hurry, or you will\nspoil everything.\u201d\n\nThen he trotted off, but only went out of sight of the bear, who stood\nstill on the bank with his tail deep in the water. Soon the sun set and\nit grew very cold and the ice formed rapidly, and the bear\u2019s tail was\nfixed as tight as if a vice had held it; and when the fox saw that\neverything had happened just as he had planned it, he called out\nloudly:\n\n\u201cBe quick, good people, and come with your bows and spears. A bear has\nbeen fishing in your brook!\u201d\n\nAnd in a moment the whole place was full of little creatures each one\nwith a tiny bow and a spear hardly big enough for a baby; but both\narrows and spears could sting, as the bear knew very well, and in his\nfright he gave such a tug to his tail that it broke short off, and he\nrolled away into the forest as fast as his legs could carry him. At\nthis sight the fox held his sides for laughing, and then scampered away\nin another direction. By-and-by he came to a fir tree, and crept into a\nhole under the root. After that he did something very strange.\n\nTaking one of his hind feet between his two front paws, he said softly:\n\n\u201cWhat would you do, my foot, if someone was to betray me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI would run so quickly that he should not catch you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat would you do, mine ear, if someone was to betray me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI would listen so hard that I should hear all his plans.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat would you do, my nose, if someone was to betray me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI would smell so sharply that I should know from afar that he was\ncoming.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat would you do, my tail, if someone was to betray me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI would steer you so straight a course that you would soon be beyond\nhis reach. Let us be off; I feel as if danger was near.\u201d\n\nBut the fox was comfortable where he was, and did not hurry himself to\ntake his tail\u2019s advice. And before very long he found he was too late,\nfor the bear had come round by another path, and guessing where his\nenemy was began to scratch at the roots of the tree. The fox made\nhimself as small as he could, but a scrap of his tail peeped out, and\nthe bear seized it and held it tight. Then the fox dug his claws into\nthe ground, but he was not strong enough to pull against the bear, and\nslowly he was dragged forth and his body flung over the bear\u2019s neck. In\nthis manner they set out down the road, the fox\u2019s tail being always in\nthe bear\u2019s mouth.\n\nAfter they had gone some way, they passed a tree-stump, on which a\nbright coloured woodpecker was tapping.\n\n\u201cAh! those were better times when I used to paint all the birds such\ngay colours,\u201d sighed the fox.\n\n\u201cWhat are you saying, old fellow?\u201d asked the bear.\n\n\u201cI? Oh, I was saying nothing,\u201d answered the fox drearily. \u201cJust carry\nme to your cave and eat me up as quick as you can.\u201d\n\nThe bear was silent, and thought of his supper; and the two continued\ntheir journey till they reached another tree with a woodpecker tapping\non it.\n\n\u201cAh! those were better times when I used to paint all the birds such\ngay colours,\u201d said the fox again to himself.\n\n\u201cCouldn\u2019t you paint me too?\u201d asked the bear suddenly.\n\nBut the fox shook his head; for he was always acting, even if no one\nwas there to see him do it.\n\n\u201cYou bear pain so badly,\u201d he replied, in a thoughtful voice, \u201cand you\nare impatient besides, and could never put up with all that is\nnecessary. Why, you would first have to dig a pit, and then twist ropes\nof willow, and drive in posts and fill the hole with pitch, and, last\nof all, set it on fire. Oh, no; you would never be able to do all\nthat.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt does not matter a straw how hard the work is,\u201d answered the bear\neagerly, \u201cI will do it every bit.\u201d And as he spoke he began tearing up\nthe earth so fast that soon a deep pit was ready, deep enough to hold\nhim.\n\n\u201cThat is all right,\u201d said the fox at last, \u201cI see I was mistaken in\nyou. Now sit here, and I will bind you.\u201d So the bear sat down on the\nedge of the pit, and the fox sprang on his back, which he crossed with\nthe willow ropes, and then set fire to the pitch. It burnt up in an\ninstant, and caught the bands of willow and the bear\u2019s rough hair; but\nhe did not stir, for he thought that the fox was rubbing the bright\ncolours into his skin, and that he would soon be as beautiful as a\nwhole meadow of flowers. But when the fire grew hotter still he moved\nuneasily from one foot to the other, saying, imploringly: \u201cIt is\ngetting rather warm, old man.\u201d But all the answer he got was: \u201cI\nthought you would never be able to suffer pain like those little\nbirds.\u201d\n\nThe bear did not like being told that he was not as brave as a bird, so\nhe set his teeth and resolved to endure anything sooner than speak\nagain; but by this time the last willow band had burned through, and\nwith a push the fox sent his victim tumbling into the grass, and ran\noff to hide himself in the forest. After a while he stole cautiously\nand found, as he expected, nothing left but a few charred bones. These\nhe picked up and put in a bag, which he slung over his back.\n\nBy-and-by he met a Lapp driving his team of reindeer along the road,\nand as he drew near, the fox rattled the bones gaily.\n\n\u201cThat sounds like silver or gold,\u201d thought the man to himself. And he\nsaid politely to the fox:\n\n\u201cGood-day, friend! What have you got in your bag that makes such a\nstrange sound?\u201d\n\n\u201cAll the wealth my father left me,\u201d answered the fox. \u201cDo you feel\ninclined to bargain?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I don\u2019t mind,\u201d replied the Lapp, who was a prudent man, and did\nnot wish the fox to think him too eager; \u201cbut show me first what money\nyou have got.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, but I can\u2019t do that,\u201d answered the fox, \u201cmy bag is sealed up. But\nif you will give me those three reindeer, you shall take it as it is,\nwith all its contents.\u201d\n\nThe Lapp did not quite like it, but the fox spoke with such an air that\nhis doubts melted away. He nodded, and stretched out his hand; the fox\nput the bag into it, and unharnassed the reindeer he had chosen.\n\n\u201cOh, I forgot!\u201d he exclaimed, turning round, as he was about to drive\nthem in the opposite direction, \u201cyou must be sure not to open the bag\nuntil you have gone at least five miles, right on the other side of\nthose hills out there. If you do, you will find that all the gold and\nsilver has changed into a parcel of charred bones.\u201d Then he whipped up\nhis reindeer, and was soon out of sight.\n\nFor some time the Lapp was satisfied with hearing the bones rattle, and\nthinking to himself what a good bargain he had made, and of all the\nthings he would buy with the money. But, after a bit, this amusement\nceased to content him, and besides, what was the use of planning when\nyou did not know for certain how rich you were? Perhaps there might be\na great deal of silver and only a little gold in the bag; or a great\ndeal of gold, and only a little silver. Who could tell? He would not,\nof course, take the money out to count it, for that might bring him bad\nluck. But there could be no harm in just one peep! So he slowly broke\nthe seal, and untied the strings, and, behold, a heap of burnt bones\nlay before him! In a minute he knew he had been tricked, and flinging\nthe bag to the ground in a rage, he ran after the fox as fast as his\nsnow-shoes would carry him.\n\nNow the fox had guessed exactly what would happen, and was on the look\nout. Directly he saw the little speck coming towards him, he wished\nthat the man\u2019s snow-shoes might break, and that very instant the Lapp\u2019s\nshoes snapped in two. The Lapp did now know that this was the fox\u2019s\nwork, but he had to stop and fetch one of his other reindeer, which he\nmounted, and set off again in pursuit of his enemy. The fox soon heard\nhim coming, and this time he wished that the reindeer might fall and\nbreak its leg. And so it did; and the man felt it was a hopeless chase,\nand that he was no match for the fox.\n\nSo the fox drove on in peace till he reached the cave where all his\nstores were kept, and then he began to wonder whom he could get to help\nhim kill his reindeer, for though he could steal reindeer he was too\nsmall to kill them. \u201cAfter all, it will be quite easy,\u201d thought he, and\nhe bade a squirrel, who was watching him on a tree close by, take a\nmessage to all the robber beasts of the forest, and in less than half\nan hour a great crashing of branches was heard, and bears, wolves,\nsnakes, mice, frogs, and other creatures came pressing up to the cave.\n\nWhen they heard why they had been summoned, they declared themselves\nready each one to do his part. The bear took his crossbow from his neck\nand shot the reindeer in the chin; and, from that day to this, every\nreindeer has a mark in that same spot, which is always known as the\nbear\u2019s arrow. The wolf shot him in the thigh, and the sign of his arrow\nstill remains; and so with the mouse and the viper and all the rest,\neven the frog; and at the last the reindeer all died. And the fox did\nnothing, but looked on.\n\n\u201cI really must go down to the brook and wash myself,\u201d said he (though\nhe was perfectly clean), and he went under the bank and hid himself\nbehind a stone. From there he set up the most frightful shrieks, so\nthat the animals fled away in all directions. Only the mouse and the\nermine remained where they were, for they thought that they were much\ntoo small to be noticed.\n\nThe fox continued his shrieks till he felt sure that the animals must\nhave got to a safe distance; then he crawled out of his hiding-place\nand went to the bodies of the reindeer, which he now had all to\nhimself. He gathered a bundle of sticks for a fire, and was just\npreparing to cook a steak, when his enemy, the Lapp, came up, panting\nwith haste and excitement.\n\n\u201cWhat are you doing there?\u201d cried he; \u201cwhy did you palm off those bones\non me? And why, when you had got the reindeer, did you kill them?\u201d\n\n\u201cDear brother,\u201d answered the fox with a sob, \u201cdo not blame me for this\nmisfortune. It is my comrades who have slain them in spite of my\nprayers.\u201d\n\nThe man made no reply, for the white fur of the ermine, who was\ncrouching with the mouse behind some stones, had just caught his eye.\nHe hastily seized the iron hook which hung over the fire and flung it\nat the little creature; but the ermine was too quick for him, and the\nhook only touched the top of its tail, and that has remained black to\nthis day. As for the mouse, the Lapp threw a half-burnt stick after\nhim, and though it was not enough to hurt him, his beautiful white skin\nwas smeared all over with it, and all the washing in the world would\nnot make him clean again. And the man would have been wiser if he had\nlet the ermine and the mouse alone, for when he turned round again he\nfound he was alone.\n\nDirectly the fox noticed that his enemy\u2019s attention had wandered from\nhimself he watched his chance, and stole softly away till he had\nreached a clump of thick bushes, when he ran as fast as he could, till\nhe reached a river, where a man was mending his boat.\n\n\u201cOh, I wish, I wish, I had a boat to mend too!\u201d he cried, sitting up on\nhis hind-legs and looking into the man\u2019s face.\n\n\u201cStop your silly chatter!\u201d answered the man crossly, \u201cor I will give\nyou a bath in the river.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I wish, I do wish, I had a boat to mend,\u201d cried the fox again, as\nif he had not heard. And the man grew angry and seized him by the tail,\nand threw him far out in the stream close to the edge of an island;\nwhich was just what the fox wanted. He easily scrambled up, and sitting\non the top, he called: \u201cHasten, hasten, O fishes, and carry me to the\nother side!\u201d And the fishes left the stones where they had been\nsleeping, and the pools where they had been feeding, and hurried to see\nwho could get to the island first.\n\n\u201cI have won,\u201d shouted the pike. \u201cJump on my back, dear fox, and you\nwill find yourself in a trice on the opposite shore.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, thank you,\u201d answered the fox, \u201cyour back is much too weak for me.\nI should break it.\u201d\n\n\u201cTry mine,\u201d said the eel, who had wriggled to the front.\n\n\u201cNo, thank you,\u201d replied the fox again, \u201cI should slip over your head\nand be drowned.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou won\u2019t slip on MY back,\u201d said the perch, coming forward.\n\n\u201cNo; but you are really TOO rough,\u201d returned the fox.\n\n\u201cWell, you can have no fault to find with ME,\u201d put in the trout.\n\n\u201cGood gracious! are YOU here?\u201d exclaimed the fox. \u201cBut I\u2019m afraid to\ntrust myself to you either.\u201d\n\nAt this moment a fine salmon swam slowly up.\n\n\u201cAh, yes, you are the person I want,\u201d said the fox; \u201cbut come near, so\nthat I may get on your back, without wetting my feet.\u201d\n\nSo the salmon swam close under the island, and when he was touching it\nthe fox seized him in his claws and drew him out of the water, and put\nhim on a spit, while he kindled a fire to cook him by. When everything\nwas ready, and the water in the pot was getting hot, he popped him in,\nand waited till he thought the salmon was nearly boiled. But as he\nstooped down the water gave a sudden fizzle, and splashed into the\nfox\u2019s eyes, blinding him. He started backwards with a cry of pain, and\nsat still for some minutes, rocking himself to and fro. When he was a\nlittle better he rose and walked down a road till he met a grouse, who\nstopped and asked what was the matter.\n\n\u201cHave you a pair of eyes anywhere about you?\u201d asked the fox politely.\n\n\u201cNo, I am afraid I haven\u2019t,\u201d answered the grouse, and passed on.\n\nA little while after the fox heard the buzzing of an early bee, whom a\ngleam of sun had tempted out.\n\n\u201cDo you happen to have an extra pair of eyes anywhere?\u201d asked the fox.\n\n\u201cI am sorry to say I have only those I am using,\u201d replied the bee. And\nthe fox went on till he nearly fell over an asp who was gliding across\nthe road.\n\n\u201cI should be SO glad if you would tell me where I could get a pair of\neyes,\u201d said the fox. \u201cI suppose you don\u2019t happen to have any you could\nlend me?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, if you only want them for a short time, perhaps I could manage,\u201d\nanswered the asp; \u201cbut I can\u2019t do without them for long.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, it is only for a very short time that I need them,\u201d said the fox;\n\u201cI have a pair of my own just behind that hill, and when I find them I\nwill bring yours back to you. Perhaps you will keep these till them.\u201d\nSo he took the eyes out of his own head and popped them into the head\nof the asp, and put the asp\u2019s eyes in their place. As he was running\noff he cried over his shoulder: \u201cAs long as the world lasts the asps\u2019\neyes will go down in the heads of foxes from generation to generation.\u201d\n\nAnd so it has been; and if you look at the eyes of an asp you will see\nthat they are all burnt; and though thousands and thousands of years\nhave gone by since the fox was going about playing tricks upon\neverybody he met, the asp still bears the traces of the day when the\nsly creature cooked the salmon.\n\n[Lapplandische Mahrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nKisa the Cat\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a queen who had a beautiful cat, the\ncolour of smoke, with china-blue eyes, which she was very fond of. The\ncat was constantly with her, and ran after her wherever she went, and\neven sat up proudly by her side when she drove out in her fine glass\ncoach.\n\n\u201cOh, pussy,\u201d said the queen one day, \u201cyou are happier than I am! For\nyou have a dear kitten just like yourself, and I have nobody to play\nwith but you.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t cry,\u201d answered the cat, laying her paw on her mistress\u2019s arm.\n\u201cCrying never does any good. I will see what can be done.\u201d\n\nThe cat was as good as her word. As soon as she returned from her drive\nshe trotted off to the forest to consult a fairy who dwelt there, and\nvery soon after the queen had a little girl, who seemed made out of\nsnow and sunbeams. The queen was delighted, and soon the baby began to\ntake notice of the kitten as she jumped about the room, and would not\ngo to sleep at all unless the kitten lay curled up beside her.\n\nTwo or three months went by, and though the baby was still a baby, the\nkitten was fast becoming a cat, and one evening when, as usual, the\nnurse came to look for her, to put her in the baby\u2019s cot, she was\nnowhere to be found. What a hunt there was for that kitten, to be sure!\nThe servants, each anxious to find her, as the queen was certain to\nreward the lucky man, searched in the most impossible places. Boxes\nwere opened that would hardly have held the kitten\u2019s paw; books were\ntaken from bookshelves, lest the kitten should have got behind them,\ndrawers were pulled out, for perhaps the kitten might have got shut in.\nBut it was all no use. The kitten had plainly run away, and nobody\ncould tell if it would ever choose to come back.\n\nYears passed away, and one day, when the princess was playing ball in\nthe garden, she happened to throw her ball farther than usual, and it\nfell into a clump of rose-bushes. The princess of course ran after it\nat once, and she was stooping down to feel if it was hidden in the long\ngrass, when she heard a voice calling her: \u201cIngibjorg! Ingibjorg!\u201d it\nsaid, \u201chave you forgotten me? I am Kisa, your sister!\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I never HAD a sister,\u201d answered Ingibjorg, very much puzzled; for\nshe knew nothing of what had taken place so long ago.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you remember how I always slept in your cot beside you, and how\nyou cried till I came? But girls have no memories at all! Why, I could\nfind my way straight up to that cot this moment, if I was once inside\nthe palace.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy did you go away then?\u201d asked the princess. But before Kisa could\nanswer, Ingibjorg\u2019s attendants arrived breathless on the scene, and\nwere so horrified at the sight of a strange cat, that Kisa plunged into\nthe bushes and went back to the forest.\n\nThe princess was very much vexed with her ladies-in-waiting for\nfrightening away her old playfellow, and told the queen who came to her\nroom every evening to bid her good-night.\n\n\u201cYes, it is quite true what Kisa said,\u201d answered the queen; \u201cI should\nhave liked to see her again. Perhaps, some day, she will return, and\nthen you must bring her to me.\u201d\n\nNext morning it was very hot, and the princess declared that she must\ngo and play in the forest, where it was always cool, under the big\nshady trees. As usual, her attendants let her do anything she pleased,\nand sitting down on a mossy bank where a little stream tinkled by, soon\nfell sound asleep. The princess saw with delight that they would pay no\nheed to her, and wandered on and on, expecting every moment to see some\nfairies dancing round a ring, or some little brown elves peeping at her\nfrom behind a tree. But, alas! she met none of these; instead, a\nhorrible giant came out of his cave and ordered her to follow him. The\nprincess felt much afraid, as he was so big and ugly, and began to be\nsorry that she had not stayed within reach of help; but as there was no\nuse in disobeying the giant, she walked meekly behind.\n\nThey went a long way, and Ingibjorg grew very tired, and at length\nbegan to cry.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t like girls who make horrid noises,\u201d said the giant, turning\nround. \u201cBut if you WANT to cry, I will give you something to cry for.\u201d\nAnd drawing an axe from his belt, he cut off both her feet, which he\npicked up and put in his pocket. Then he went away.\n\nPoor Ingibjorg lay on the grass in terrible pain, and wondering if she\nshould stay there till she died, as no one would know where to look for\nher. How long it was since she had set out in the morning she could not\ntell\u2014it seemed years to her, of course; but the sun was still high in\nthe heavens when she heard the sound of wheels, and then, with a great\neffort, for her throat was parched with fright and pain, she gave a\nshout.\n\n\u201cI am coming!\u201d was the answer; and in another moment a cart made its\nway through the trees, driven by Kisa, who used her tail as a whip to\nurge the horse to go faster. Directly Kisa saw Ingibjorg lying there,\nshe jumped quickly down, and lifting the girl carefully in her two\nfront paws, laid her upon some soft hay, and drove back to her own\nlittle hut.\n\nIn the corner of the room was a pile of cushions, and these Kisa\narranged as a bed. Ingibjorg, who by this time was nearly fainting from\nall she had gone through, drank greedily some milk, and then sank back\non the cushions while Kisa fetched some dried herbs from a cupboard,\nsoaked them in warm water and tied them on the bleeding legs. The pain\nvanished at once, and Ingibjorg looked up and smiled at Kisa.\n\n\u201cYou will go to sleep now,\u201d said the cat, \u201cand you will not mind if I\nleave you for a little while. I will lock the door, and no one can hurt\nyou.\u201d But before she had finished the princess was asleep. Then Kisa\ngot into the cart, which was standing at the door, and catching up the\nreins, drove straight to the giant\u2019s cave.\n\nLeaving her cart behind some trees, Kisa crept gently up to the open\ndoor, and, crouching down, listened to what the giant was telling his\nwife, who was at supper with him.\n\n\u201cThe first day that I can spare I shall just go back and kill her,\u201d he\nsaid; \u201cit would never do for people in the forest to know that a mere\ngirl can defy me!\u201d And he and his wife were so busy calling Ingibjorg\nall sorts of names for her bad behaviour, that they never noticed Kisa\nstealing into a dark corner, and upsetting a whole bag of salt into the\ngreat pot before the fire.\n\n\u201cDear me, how thirsty I am!\u201d cried the giant by-and-by.\n\n\u201cSo am I,\u201d answered the wife. \u201cI do wish I had not taken that last\nspoonful of broth; I am sure something was wrong with it.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I don\u2019t get some water I shall die,\u201d went on the giant. And rushing\nout of the cave, followed by his wife, he ran down the path which led\nto the river.\n\nThen Kisa entered the hut, and lost no time in searching every hole\ntill she came upon some grass, under which Ingibjorg\u2019s feet were\nhidden, and putting them in her cart, drove back again to her own hut.\n\nIngibjorg was thankful to see her, for she had lain, too frightened to\nsleep, trembling at every noise.\n\n\u201cOh, is it you?\u201d she cried joyfully, as Kisa turned the key. And the\ncat came in, holding up the two neat little feet in their silver\nslippers.\n\n\u201cIn two minutes they shall be as tight as they ever were!\u201d said Kisa.\nAnd taking some strings of the magic grass which the giant had\ncarelessly heaped on them, she bound the feet on to the legs above.\n\n\u201cOf course you won\u2019t be able to walk for some time; you must not expect\nTHAT,\u201d she continued. \u201cBut if you are very good, perhaps, in about a\nweek, I may carry you home again.\u201d\n\nAnd so she did; and when the cat drove the cart up to the palace gate,\nlashing the horse furiously with her tail, and the king and queen saw\ntheir lost daughter sitting beside her, they declared that no reward\ncould be too great for the person who had brought her out of the\ngiant\u2019s hands.\n\n\u201cWe will talk about that by-and-by,\u201d said the cat, as she made her best\nbow, and turned her horse\u2019s head.\n\nThe princess was very unhappy when Kisa left her without even bidding\nher farewell. She would neither eat nor drink, nor take any notice of\nall the beautiful dresses her parents bought for her.\n\n\u201cShe will die, unless we can make her laugh,\u201d one whispered to the\nother. \u201cIs there anything in the world that we have left untried?\u201d\n\n\u201cNothing except marriage,\u201d answered the king. And he invited all the\nhandsomest young men he could think of to the palace, and bade the\nprincess choose a husband from among them.\n\nIt took her some time to decide which she admired the most, but at last\nshe fixed upon a young prince, whose eyes were like the pools in the\nforest, and his hair of bright gold. The king and the queen were\ngreatly pleased, as the young man was the son of a neighbouring king,\nand they gave orders that a splendid feast should be got ready.\n\nWhen the marriage was over, Kisa suddenly stood before them, and\nIngibjorg rushed forward and clasped her in her arms.\n\n\u201cI have come to claim my reward,\u201d said the cat. \u201cLet me sleep for this\nnight at the foot of your bed.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs that ALL?\u201d asked Ingibjorg, much disappointed.\n\n\u201cIt is enough,\u201d answered the cat. And when the morning dawned, it was\nno cat that lay upon the bed, but a beautiful princess.\n\n\u201cMy mother and I were both enchanted by a spiteful fairy,\u201d said she,\n\u201cwe could not free ourselves till we had done some kindly deed that had\nnever been wrought before. My mother died without ever finding a chance\nof doing anything new, but I took advantage of the evil act of the\ngiant to make you as whole as ever.\u201d\n\nThen they were all more delighted than before, and the princess lived\nin the court until she, too, married, and went away to govern one of\nher own.\n\n[Adapted from Neuislandischen Volksm\u00e4rchen.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Lion and the Cat\n\n\nFar away on the other side of the world there lived, long ago, a lion\nand his younger brother, the wild cat, who were so fond of each other\nthat they shared the same hut. The lion was much the bigger and\nstronger of the two\u2014indeed, he was much bigger and stronger than any of\nthe beasts that dwelt in the forest; and, besides, he could jump father\nand run faster than all the rest. If strength and swiftness could gain\nhim a dinner he was sure never to be without one, but when it came to\ncunning, both the grizzly bear and the serpent could get the better of\nhim, and he was forced to call in the help of the wild cat.\n\nNow the young wild cat had a lovely golden ball, so beautiful that you\ncould hardly look at it except through a piece of smoked glass, and he\nkept it hidden in the thick fur muff that went round his neck. A very\nlarge old animal, since dead, had given it to him when he was hardly\nmore than a baby, and had told him never to part with it, for as long\nas he kept it no harm could ever come near him.\n\nIn general the wild cat did not need to use his ball, for the lion was\nfond of hunting, and could kill all the food that they needed; but now\nand then his life would have been in danger had it not been for the\ngolden ball.\n\nOne day the two brothers started to hunt at daybreak, but as the cat\ncould not run nearly as fast as the lion, he had quite a long start. At\nleast he THOUGHT it was a long one, but in a very few bounds and\nsprings the lion reached his side.\n\n\u201cThere is a bear sitting on that tree,\u201d he whispered softly. \u201cHe is\nonly waiting for us to pass, to drop down on my back.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, you are so big that he does not see I am behind you,\u201d answered the\nwild cat. And, touching the ball, he just said: \u201cBear, die!\u201d And the\nbear tumbled dead out of the tree, and rolled over just in front of\nthem.\n\nFor some time they trotted on without any adventures, till just as they\nwere about to cross a strip of long grass on the edge of the forest,\nthe lion\u2019s quick ears detected a faint rustling noise.\n\n\u201cThat is a snake,\u201d he cried, stopping short, for he was much more\nafraid of snakes than of bears.\n\n\u201cOh, it is all right,\u201d answered the cat. \u201cSnake, die!\u201d And the snake\ndied, and the two brothers skinned it. They then folded the skin up\ninto a very small parcel, and the cat tucked it into his mane, for\nsnakes\u2019 skins can do all sorts of wonderful things, if you are lucky\nenough to have one of them.\n\nAll this time they had had no dinner, for the snake\u2019s flesh was not\nnice, and the lion did not like eating bear\u2014perhaps because he never\nfelt sure that the bear was REALLY dead, and would not jump up alive\nwhen his enemy went near him. Most people are afraid of SOME thing, and\nbears and serpents were the only creatures that caused the lion\u2019s heart\nto tremble. So the two brothers set off again and soon reached the side\nof a hill where some fine deer were grazing.\n\n\u201cKill one of those deer for your own dinner,\u201d said the boy-brother,\n\u201cbut catch me another alive. I want him.\u201d\n\nThe lion at once sprang towards them with a loud roar, but the deer\nbounded away, and they were all three soon lost to sight. The cat\nwaited for a long while, but finding that the lion did not return, went\nback to the house where they lived.\n\nIt was quite dark when the lion came home, where his brother was\nsitting curled up in one corner.\n\n\u201cDid you catch the deer for me?\u201d asked the boy-brother, springing up.\n\n\u201cWell, no,\u201d replied the man-brother. \u201cThe fact is, that I did not get\nup to them till we had run half way across the world and left the wind\nfar behind us. Think what a trouble it would have been to drag it here!\nSo\u2014I just ate them both.\u201d\n\nThe cat said nothing, but he did not feel that he loved his big\nbrother. He had thought a great deal about that deer, and had meant to\nget on his back to ride him as a horse, and go to see all the wonderful\nplaces the lion talked to him about when he was in a good temper. The\nmore he thought of it the more sulky he grew, and in the morning, when\nthe lion said that it was time for them to start to hunt, the cat told\nhim that he might kill the bear and snake by himself, as HE had a\nheadache, and would rather stay at home. The little fellow knew quite\nwell that the lion would not dare to go out without him and his ball\nfor fear of meeting a bear or a snake.\n\nThe quarrel went on, and for many days neither of the brothers spoke to\neach other, and what made them still more cross was, that they could\nget very little to eat, and we know that people are often cross when\nthey are hungry. At last it occurred to the lion that if he could only\nsteal the magic ball he could kill bears and snakes for himself, and\nthen the cat might be as sulky as he liked for anything that it would\nmatter. But how was the stealing to be done? The cat had the ball hung\nround his neck day and night, and he was such a light sleeper that it\nwas useless to think of taking it while he slept. No! the only thing\nwas to get him to lend it of his own accord, and after some days the\nlion (who was not at all clever) hit upon a plan that he thought would\ndo.\n\n\u201cDear me, how dull it is here!\u201d said the lion one afternoon, when the\nrain was pouring down in such torrents that, however sharp your eyes or\nyour nose might be, you could not spy a single bird or beast among the\nbushes. \u201cDear me, how dull, how dreadfully dull I am. Couldn\u2019t we have\na game of catch with that golden ball of yours?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t care about playing catch, it does not amuse me,\u201d answered the\ncat, who was as cross as ever; for no cat, even to this day, ever\nforgets an injury done to him.\n\n\u201cWell, then, lend me the ball for a little, and I will play by myself,\u201d\nreplied the lion, stretching out a paw as he spoke.\n\n\u201cYou can\u2019t play in the rain, and if you did, you would only lose it in\nthe bushes,\u201d said the cat.\n\n\u201cOh, no, I won\u2019t; I will play in here. Don\u2019t be so ill-natured.\u201d And\nwith a very bad grace the cat untied the string and threw the golden\nball into the lion\u2019s lap, and composed himself to sleep again.\n\nFor a long while the lion tossed it up and down gaily, feeling that,\nhowever sound asleep the boy-brother might LOOK, he was sure to have\none eye open; but gradually he began to edge closer to the opening, and\nat last gave such a toss that the ball went up high into the air, and\nhe could not see what became of it.\n\n\u201cOh, how stupid of me!\u201d he cried, as the cat sprang up angrily, \u201clet us\ngo at once and search for it. It can\u2019t really have fallen very far.\u201d\nBut though they searched that day and the next, and the next after\nthat, they never found it, because it never came down.\n\nAfter the loss of his ball the cat refused to live with the lion any\nlonger, but wandered away to the north, always hoping he might meet\nwith his ball again. But months passed, and years passed, and though he\ntravelled over hundreds of miles, he never saw any traces of it.\n\nAt length, when he was getting quite old, he came to a place unlike any\nthat he had ever seen before, where a big river rolled right to the\nfoot of some high mountains. The ground all about the river bank was\ndamp and marshy, and as no cat likes to wet its feet, this one climbed\na tree that rose high above the water, and thought sadly of his lost\nball, which would have helped him out of this horrible place. Suddenly\nhe saw a beautiful ball, for all the world like his own, dangling from\na branch of the tree he was on. He longed to get at it; but was the\nbranch strong enough to bear his weight? It was no use, after all he\nhad done, getting drowned in the water. However, it could do no harm,\nif he was to go a little way; he could always manage to get back\nsomehow.\n\nSo he stretched himself at full length upon the branch, and wriggled\nhis body cautiously along. To his delight it seemed thick and stout.\nAnother movement, and, by stretching out his paw, he would be able to\ndraw the string towards him, when the branch gave a loud crack, and the\ncat made haste to wriggle himself back the way he had come.\n\nBut when cats make up their minds to do anything they generally DO it;\nand this cat began to look about to see if there was really no way of\ngetting at his ball. Yes! there was, and it was much surer than the\nother, though rather more difficult. Above the bough where the ball was\nhung was another bough much thicker, which he knew could not break with\nhis weight; and by holding on tight to this with all his four paws, he\ncould just manage to touch the ball with his tail. He would thus be\nable to whisk the ball to and fro till, by-and-by, the string would\nbecome quite loose, and it would fall to the ground. It might take some\ntime, but the lion\u2019s little brother was patient, like most cats.\n\nWell, it all happened just as the cat intended it should, and when the\nball dropped on the ground the cat ran down the tree like lightning,\nand, picking it up, tucked it away in the snake\u2019s skin round his neck.\nThen he began jumping along the shore of the Big Water from one place\nto another, trying to find a boat, or even a log of wood, that would\ntake him across. But there was nothing; only, on the other side, he saw\ntwo girls cooking, and though he shouted to them at the top of his\nvoice, they were too far off to hear what he said. And, what was worse,\nthe ball suddenly fell out of its snake\u2019s skin bag right into the\nriver.\n\nNow, it is not at all an uncommon thing for balls to tumble into\nrivers, but in that case they generally either fall to the bottom and\nstay there, or else bob about on the top of the water close to where\nthey first touched it. But this ball, instead of doing either of these\nthings, went straight across to the other side, and there one of the\ngirls saw it when she stooped to dip some water into her pail.\n\n\u201cOh! what a lovely ball!\u201d cried she, and tried to catch it in her pail;\nbut the ball always kept bobbing just out of her reach.\n\n\u201cCome and help me!\u201d she called to her sister, and after a long while\nthey had the ball safe inside the pail. They were delighted with their\nnew toy, and one or the other held it in her hand till bedtime came,\nand then it was a long time before they could make up their minds where\nit would be safest for the night. At last they locked it in a cupboard\nin one corner of their room, and as there was no hole anywhere the ball\ncould not possibly get out. After that they went to sleep.\n\nIn the morning the first thing they both did was to run to the cupboard\nand unlock it, but when the door opened they started back, for, instead\nof the ball, there stood a handsome young man.\n\n\u201cLadies,\u201d he said, \u201chow can I thank you for what you have done for me?\nLong, long ago, I was enchanted by a wicked fairy, and condemned to\nkeep the shape of a ball till I should meet with two maidens, who would\ntake me to their own home. But where was I to meet them? For hundreds\nof years I have lived in the depths of the forest, where nothing but\nwild beasts ever came, and it was only when the lion threw me into the\nsky that I was able to fall to earth near this river. Where there is a\nriver, sooner or later people will come; so, hanging myself on a tree,\nI watched and waited. For a moment I lost heart when I fell once more\ninto the hands of my old master the wild cat, but my hopes rose again\nas I saw he was making for the river bank opposite where you were\nstanding. That was my chance, and I took it. And now, ladies, I have\nonly to say that, if ever I can do anything to help you, go to the top\nof that high mountain and knock three times at the iron door at the\nnorth side, and I will come to you.\u201d\n\nSo, with a low bow, he vanished from before them, leaving the maidens\nweeping at having lost in one moment both the ball and the prince.\n\n[Adapted from North American Indian Legends.]\n\n\n\n\nWhich was the Foolishest?\n\n\nIn a little village that stood on a wide plain, where you could see the\nsun from the moment he rose to the moment he set, there lived two\ncouples side by side. The men, who worked under the same master, were\nquite good friends, but the wives were always quarrelling, and the\nsubject they quarrelled most about was\u2014which of the two had the\nstupidest husband.\n\nUnlike most women\u2014who think that anything that belongs to them must be\nbetter than what belongs to anyone else\u2014each thought her husband the\nmore foolish of the two.\n\n\u201cYou should just see what he does!\u201d one said to her neighbour. \u201cHe puts\non the baby\u2019s frock upside down, and, one day, I found him trying to\nfeed her with boiling soup, and her mouth was scalded for days after.\nThen he picks up stones in the road and sows them instead of potatoes,\nand one day he wanted to go into the garden from the top window,\nbecause he declared it was a shorter way than through the door.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is bad enough, of course,\u201d answered the other; \u201cbut it is really\nNOTHING to what I have to endure every day from MY husband. If, when I\nam busy, I ask him to go and feed the poultry, he is certain to give\nthem some poisonous stuff instead of their proper food, and when I\nvisit the yard next I find them all dead. Once he even took my best\nbonnet, when I had gone away to my sick mother, and when I came back I\nfound he had given it to the hen to lay her eggs in. And you know\nyourself that, only last week, when I sent him to buy a cask of butter,\nhe returned driving a hundred and fifty ducks which someone had induced\nhim to take, and not one of them would lay.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I am afraid he IS trying,\u201d replied the first; \u201cbut let us put\nthem to the proof, and see which of them is the most foolish.\u201d\n\nSo, about the time that she expected her husband home from work, she\ngot out her spinning-wheel, and sat busily turning it, taking care not\neven to look up from her work when the man came in. For some minutes he\nstood with his mouth open watching her, and as she still remained\nsilent, he said at last:\n\n\u201cHave you gone mad, wife, that you sit spinning without anything on the\nwheel?\u201d\n\n\u201cYOU may think that there is nothing on it,\u201d answered she, \u201cbut I can\nassure you that there is a large skein of wool, so fine that nobody can\nsee it, which will be woven into a coat for you.\u201d\n\n\u201cDear me!\u201d he replied, \u201cwhat a clever wife I have got! If you had not\ntold me I should never have known that there was any wool on the wheel\nat all. But now I really do seem to see something.\u201d\n\nThe woman smiled and was silent, and after spinning busily for an hour\nmore, she got up from her stoop, and began to weave as fast as she\ncould. At last she got up, and said to her husband: \u201cI am too tired to\nfinish it to-night, so I shall go to bed, and to-morrow I shall only\nhave the cutting and stitching to do.\u201d\n\nSo the next morning she got up early, and after she had cleaned her\nhouse, and fed her chickens, and put everything in its place again, she\nbent over the kitchen table, and the sound of her big scissors might be\nheard snip! snap! as far as the garden. Her husband could not see\nanything to snip at; but then he was so stupid that was not surprising!\n\nAfter the cutting came the sewing. The woman patted and pinned and\nfixed and joined, and then, turning to the man, she said:\n\n\u201cNow it is ready for you to try on.\u201d And she made him take off his\ncoat, and stand up in front of her, and once more she patted an pinned\nand fixed and joined, and was very careful in smoothing out every\nwrinkle.\n\n\u201cIt does not feel very warm,\u201d observed the man at last, when he had\nborne all this patiently for a long time.\n\n\u201cThat is because it is so fine,\u201d answered she; \u201cyou do not want it to\nbe as thick as the rough clothes you wear every day.\u201d\n\nHe DID, but was ashamed to say so, and only answered: \u201cWell, I am sure\nit must be beautiful since you say so, and I shall be smarter than\nanyone in the whole village. \u2018What a splendid coat!\u2019 they will exclaim\nwhen they see me. But it is not everybody who has a wife as clever as\nmine.\u201d\n\nMeanwhile the other wife was not idle. As soon as her husband entered\nshe looked at him with such a look of terror that the poor man was\nquite frightened.\n\n\u201cWhy do you stare at me so? Is there anything the matter?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cOh! go to bed at once,\u201d she cried; \u201cyou must be very ill indeed to\nlook like that!\u201d\n\nThe man was rather surprised at first, as he felt particularly well\nthat evening; but the moment his wife spoke he became quite certain\nthat he had something dreadful the matter with him, and grew quite\npale.\n\n\u201cI dare say it would be the best place for me,\u201d he answered, trembling;\nand he suffered his wife to take him upstairs, and to help him off with\nhis clothes.\n\n\u201cIf you sleep well during the might there MAY be a chance for you,\u201d\nsaid she, shaking her head, as she tucked him up warmly; \u201cbut if not\u2014\u201d\nAnd of course the poor man never closed an eye till the sun rose.\n\n\u201cHow do you feel this morning?\u201d asked the woman, coming in on tip-toe\nwhen her house-work was finished.\n\n\u201cOh, bad; very bad indeed,\u201d answered he; \u201cI have not slept for a\nmoment. Can you think of nothing to make me better?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will try everything that is possible,\u201d said the wife, who did not in\nthe least wish her husband to die, but was determined to show that he\nwas more foolish that the other man. \u201cI will get some dried herbs and\nmake you a drink, but I am very much afraid that it is too late. Why\ndid you not tell me before?\u201d\n\n\u201cI thought perhaps the pain would go off in a day or two; and, besides,\nI did not want to make you unhappy,\u201d answered the man, who was by this\ntime quite sure he had been suffering tortures, and had borne them like\na hero. \u201cOf course, if I had had any idea how ill I really was, I\nshould have spoken at once.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, well, I will see what can be done,\u201d said the wife, \u201cbut talking\nis not good for you. Lie still, and keep yourself warm.\u201d\n\nAll that day the man lay in bed, and whenever his wife entered the room\nand asked him, with a shake of the head, how he felt, he always replied\nthat he was getting worse. At last, in the evening, she burst into\ntears, and when he inquired what was the matter, she sobbed out:\n\n\u201cOh, my poor, poor husband, are you really dead? I must go to-morrow\nand order your coffin.\u201d\n\nNow, when the man heard this, a cold shiver ran through his body, and\nall at once he knew that he was as well as he had ever been in his\nlife.\n\n\u201cOh, no, no!\u201d he cried, \u201cI feel quite recovered! Indeed, I think I\nshall go out to work.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will do no such thing,\u201d replied his wife. \u201cJust keep quite quiet,\nfor before the sun rises you will be a dead man.\u201d\n\nThe man was very frightened at her words, and lay absolutely still\nwhile the undertaker came and measured him for his coffin; and his wife\ngave orders to the gravedigger about his grave. That evening the coffin\nwas sent home, and in the morning at nine o\u2019clock the woman put him on\na long flannel garment, and called to the undertaker\u2019s men to fasten\ndown the lid and carry him to the grave, where all their friends were\nwaiting them. Just as the body was being placed in the ground the other\nwoman\u2019s husband came running up, dressed, as far as anyone could see,\nin no clothes at all. Everybody burst into shouts of laughter at the\nsight of him, and the men laid down the coffin and laughed too, till\ntheir sides nearly split. The dead man was so astonished at this\nbehaviour, that he peeped out of a little window in the side of the\ncoffin, and cried out:\n\n\u201cI should laugh as loudly as any of you, if I were not a dead man.\u201d\n\nWhen they heard the voice coming from the coffin the other people\nsuddenly stopped laughing, and stood as if they had been turned into\nstone. Then they rushed with one accord to the coffin, and lifted the\nlid so that the man could step out amongst them.\n\n\u201cWere you really not dead after all?\u201d asked they. \u201cAnd if not, why did\nyou let yourself be buried?\u201d\n\nAt this the wives both confessed that they had each wished to prove\nthat her husband was stupider than the other. But the villagers\ndeclared that they could not decide which was the most foolish\u2014the man\nwho allowed himself to be persuaded that he was wearing fine clothes\nwhen he was dressed in nothing, or the man who let himself be buried\nwhen he was alive and well.\n\nSo the women quarrelled just as much as they did before, and no one\never knew whose husband was the most foolish.\n\n[Adapted from the Neuislandische Volksm\u00e4rchen.]\n\n\n\n\nAsmund and Signy\n\n\nLong, long ago, in the days when fairies, witches, giants and ogres\nstill visited the earth, there lived a king who reigned over a great\nand beautiful country. He was married to a wife whom he dearly loved,\nand had two most promising children\u2014a son called Asmund, and a daughter\nwho was named Signy.\n\nThe king and queen were very anxious to bring their children up well,\nand the young prince and princess were taught everything likely to make\nthem clever and accomplished. They lived at home in their father\u2019s\npalace, and he spared no pains to make their lives happy.\n\nPrince Asmund dearly loved all outdoor sports and an open-air life, and\nfrom his earliest childhood he had longed to live entirely in the\nforest close by. After many arguments and entreaties he succeeded in\npersuading the king to give him two great oak trees for his very own.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said he to his sister, \u201cI will have the trees hollowed out, and\nthen I will make rooms in them and furnish them so that I shall be able\nto live out in the forest.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Asmund!\u201d exclaimed Signy, \u201cwhat a delightful idea! Do let me come\ntoo, and live in one of your trees. I will bring all my pretty things\nand ornaments, and the trees are so near home we shall be quite safe in\nthem.\u201d\n\nAsmund, who was extremely fond of his sister, readily consented, and\nthey had a very happy time together, carrying over all their pet\ntreasures, and Signy\u2019s jewels and other ornaments, and arranging them\nin the pretty little rooms inside the trees.\n\nUnfortunately sadder days were to come. A war with another country\nbroke out, and the king had to lead his army against their enemy.\nDuring his absence the queen fell ill, and after lingering for some\ntime she died, to the great grief of her children. They made up their\nminds to live altogether for a time in their trees, and for this\npurpose they had provisions enough stored up inside to last them a\nyear.\n\nNow, I must tell you, in another country a long way off, there reigned\na king who had an only son named Ring. Prince Ring had heard so much\nabout the beauty and goodness of Princess Signy that he determined to\nmarry her if possible. So he begged his father to let him have a ship\nfor the voyage, set sail with a favourable wind, and after a time\nlanded in the country where Signy lived.\n\nThe prince lost no time in setting out for the royal palace, and on his\nway there he met such a wonderfully lovely woman that he felt he had\nnever seen such beauty in all his life. He stopped her and at once\nasked who she was.\n\n\u201cI am Signy, the king\u2019s daughter,\u201d was the reply.\n\nThen the prince inquired why she was wandering about all by herself,\nand she told him that since her mother\u2019s death she was so sad that\nwhilst her father was away she preferred being alone.\n\nRing was quite deceived by her, and never guessed that she was not\nPrincess Signy at all, but a strong, gigantic, wicked witch bent on\ndeceiving him under a beautiful shape. He confided to her that he had\ntravelled all the way from his own country for her sake, having fallen\nin love with the accounts he had heard of her beauty, and he then and\nthere asked her to be his wife.\n\nThe witch listened to all he said and, much pleased, ended by accepting\nhis offer; but she begged him to return to his ship for a little while\nas she wished to go some way further into the forest, promising to join\nhim later on.\n\nPrince Ring did as she wished and went back to his ship to wait, whilst\nshe walked on into the forest till she reached the two oak trees.\n\nHere she resumed her own gigantic shape, tore up the trees by their\nroots, threw one of them over her back and clasped the other to her\nbreast, carried them down to the shore and waded out with them to the\nship.\n\nShe took care not to be noticed as she reached the ship, and directly\nshe got on board she once more changed to her former lovely appearance\nand told the prince that her luggage was now all on board, and that\nthey need wait for nothing more.\n\nThe prince gave orders to set sail at once, and after a fine voyage\nlanded in his own country, where his parents and his only sister\nreceived him with the greatest joy and affection.\n\nThe false Signy was also very kindly welcomed. A beautiful house was\ngot ready for her, and Prince Ring had the two oaks planted in the\ngarden just in front of her windows so that she might have the pleasure\nof seeing them constantly. He often went to visit the witch, whom he\nbelieved to be Princess Signy, and one day he asked: \u201cDon\u2019t you think\nwe might be married before long?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said she, quite pleased, \u201cI am quite ready to marry you whenever\nyou like.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d replied Ring, \u201clet us decide on this day fortnight. And see, I\nhave brought you some stuff to make your wedding-dress of.\u201d So saying\nhe gave her a large piece of the most beautiful brocade, all woven over\nwith gold threads, and embroidered with pearls and other jewels.\n\nThe prince had hardly left her before the witch resumed her proper\nshape and tore about the room, raging and storming and flinging the\nbeautiful silk on the floor.\n\n\u201cWhat was SHE to do with such things?\u201d she roared. \u201cSHE did not know\nhow to sew or make clothes, and she was sure to die of starvation into\nthe bargain if her brother Ironhead did not come soon and bring her\nsome raw meat and bones, for she really could eat nothing else.\u201d\n\nAs she was raving and roaring in this frantic manner part of the floor\nsuddenly opened and a huge giant rose up carrying a great chest in his\narms. The witch was enchanted at this sight, and eagerly helped her\nbrother to set down and open the chest, which was full of the ghastly\nfood she had been longing for. The horrid pair set to and greedily\ndevoured it all, and when the chest was quite empty the giant put it on\nhis shoulder and disappeared as he had come, without leaving any trace\nof his visit.\n\nBut his sister did not keep quiet for long, and tore and pulled at the\nrich brocade as if she wanted to destroy it, stamping about and\nshouting angrily.\n\nNow, all this time Prince Asmund and his sister sat in their trees just\noutside the window and saw all that was going on.\n\n\u201cDear Signy,\u201d said Asmund, \u201cdo try to get hold of that piece of brocade\nand make the clothes yourself, for really we shall have no rest day or\nnight with such a noise.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will try,\u201d said Signy; \u201cit won\u2019t be an easy matter, but it\u2019s worth\nwhile taking some trouble to have a little peace.\u201d\n\nSo she watched for an opportunity and managed to carry off the brocade\nthe first time the witch left her room. Then she set to work, cutting\nout and sewing as best she could, and by the end of six days she had\nturned it into an elegant robe with a long train and a mantle. When it\nwas finished she climbed to the top of her tree and contrived to throw\nthe clothes on to a table through the open window.\n\nHow delighted the witch was when she found the clothes all finished!\nThe next time Prince Ring came to see her she gave them to him, and he\npaid her many compliments on her skilful work, after which he took\nleave of her in the most friendly manner. But he had scarcely left the\nhouse when the witch began to rage as furiously as ever, and never\nstopped till her brother Ironhead appeared.\n\nWhen Asmund saw all these wild doings from his tree he felt he could no\nlonger keep silence. He went to Prince Ring and said: \u201cDo come with me\nand see the strange things that are happening in the new princess\u2019s\nroom.\u201d\n\nThe prince was not a little surprised, but he consented to hide himself\nwith Asmund behind the panelling of the room, from where they could see\nall that went on through a little slit. The witch was raving and\nroaring as usual, and said to her brother:\n\n\u201cOnce I am married to the king\u2019s son I shall be better off than now. I\nshall take care to have all that pack of courtiers put to death, and\nthen I shall send for all my relations to come and live here instead. I\nfancy the giants will enjoy themselves very much with me and my\nhusband.\u201d\n\nWhen Prince Ring heard this he fell into such a rage that he ordered\nthe house to be set on fire, and it was burnt to the ground, with the\nwitch and her brother in it.\n\nAsmund then told the prince about the two oak trees and took him to see\nthem. The prince was quite astonished at them and at all their\ncontents, but still more so at the extreme beauty of Signy. He fell in\nlove with her at once, and entreated her to marry him, which, after a\ntime, she consented to do. Asmund, on his side, asked for the hand of\nPrince Ring\u2019s sister, which was gladly granted him, and the double\nwedding was celebrated with great rejoicings.\n\nAfter this Prince Asmund and his bride returned to his country to live\nwith the king his father. The two couples often met, and lived happily\nfor many, many years. And that is the end of the story.\n\n[From Islandische Mahrchen.]\n\n\n\n\nR\u00fcbezahl\n\n\nOver all the vast under-world the mountain Gnome R\u00fcbezahl was lord; and\nbusy enough the care of his dominions kept him. There were the endless\ntreasure chambers to be gone through, and the hosts of gnomes to be\nkept to their tasks. Some built strong barriers to hold back the fiery\nrivers in the earth\u2019s heart, and some had scalding vapours to change\ndull stones to precious metal, or were hard at work filling every\ncranny of the rocks with diamonds and rubies; for R\u00fcbezahl loved all\npretty things. Sometimes the fancy would take him to leave those gloomy\nregions, and come out upon the green earth for a while, and bask in the\nsunshine and hear the birds sing. And as gnomes live many hundreds of\nyears he saw strange things. For, the first time he came up, the great\nhills were covered with thick forests, in which wild animals roamed,\nand R\u00fcbezahl watched the fierce fights between bear and bison, or\nchased the grey wolves, or amused himself by rolling great rocks down\ninto the desolate valleys, to hear the thunder of their fall echoing\namong the hills. But the next time he ventured above ground, what was\nhis surprise to find everything changed! The dark woods were hewn down,\nand in their place appeared blossoming orchards surrounding\ncosy-looking thatched cottages; from every chimney the blue smoke\ncurled peacefully into the air, sheep and oxen fed in the flowery\nmeadows, while from the shade of the hedges came the music of the\nshepherd\u2019s pipe. The strangeness and pleasantness of the sight so\ndelighted the gnome that he never thought of resenting the intrusion of\nthese unexpected guests, who, without saying \u201cby your leave\u201d or \u201cwith\nyour leave,\u201d had made themselves so very much at home upon his hills;\nnor did he wish to interfere with their doings, but left them in quiet\npossession of their homes, as a good householder leaves in peace the\nswallows who have built their nests under his eaves. He was indeed\ngreatly minded to make friends with this being called \u201cman,\u201d so, taking\nthe form of an old field labourer, he entered the service of a farmer.\nUnder his care all the crops flourished exceedingly, but the master\nproved to be wasteful and ungrateful, and R\u00fcbezahl soon left him, and\nwent to be shepherd to his next neighbour. He tended the flock so\ndiligently, and knew so well where to lead the sheep to the sweetest\npastures, and where among the hills to look for any who strayed away,\nthat they too prospered under his care, and not one was lost or torn by\nwolves; but this new master was a hard man, and begrudged him his\nwell-earned wages. So he ran away and went to serve the judge. Here he\nupheld the law with might and main, and was a terror to thieves and\nevildoers; but the judge was a bad man, who took bribes, and despised\nthe law. R\u00fcbezahl would not be the tool of an unjust man, and so he\ntold his master, who thereupon ordered him to be thrown into prison. Of\ncourse that did not trouble the gnome at all, he simply got out through\nthe keyhole, and went away down to his underground palace, very much\ndisappointed by his first experience of mankind. But, as time went on,\nhe forgot the disagreeable things that had happened to him, and thought\nhe would take another look at the upper world.\n\nSo he stole into the valley, keeping himself carefully hidden in copse\nor hedgerow, and very soon met with an adventure; for, peeping through\na screen of leaves, he saw before him a green lawn where stood a\ncharming maiden, fresh as the spring, and beautiful to look upon.\nAround her upon the grass lay her young companions, as if they had\nthrown themselves down to rest after some merry game. Beyond them\nflowed a little brook, into which a waterfall leapt from a high rock,\nfilling the air with its pleasant sound, and making a coolness even in\nthe sultry noontide. The sight of the maiden so pleased the gnome that,\nfor the first time, he wished himself a mortal; and, longing for a\nbetter view of the gay company, he changed himself into a raven and\nperched upon an oaktree which overhung the brook. But he soon found\nthat this was not at all a good plan. He could only see with a raven\u2019s\neyes, and feel as a raven feels; and a nest of field-mice at the foot\nof the tree interested him far more than the sport of the maidens. When\nhe understood this he flew down again in a great hurry into the\nthicket, and took the form of a handsome young man\u2014that was the best\nway\u2014and he fell in love with the girl then and there. The fair maiden\nwas the daughter of the king of the country, and she often wandered in\nthe forest with her play fellows gathering the wild flowers and fruits,\ntill the midday heat drove the merry band to the shady lawn by the\nbrook to rest, or to bathe in the cool waters. On this particular\nmorning the fancy took them to wander off again into the wood. This was\nMaster R\u00fcbezahl\u2019s opportunity. Stepping out of his hiding-place he\nstood in the midst of the little lawn, weaving his magic spells, till\nslowly all about him changed, and when the maidens returned at noon to\ntheir favourite resting-place they stood lost in amazement, and almost\nfancied that they must be dreaming. The red rocks had become white\nmarble and alabaster; the stream that murmured and struggled before in\nits rocky bed, flowed in silence now in its smooth channel, from which\na clear fountain leapt, to fall again in showers of diamond drops, now\non this side now on that, as the wandering breeze scattered it.\n\nDaisies and forget-me-nots fringed its brink, while tall hedges of\nroses and jasmine ringed it round, making the sweetest and daintiest\nbower imaginable. To the right and left of the waterfall opened out a\nwonderful grotto, its walls and arches glittering with many-coloured\nrock-crystals, while in every niche were spread out strange fruits and\nsweetmeats, the very sight of which made the princess long to taste\nthem. She hesitated a while, however, scarcely able to believe her\neyes, and not knowing if she should enter the enchanted spot or fly\nfrom it. But at length curiosity prevailed, and she and her companions\nexplored to their heart\u2019s content, and tasted and examined everything,\nrunning hither and thither in high glee, and calling merrily to each\nother.\n\nAt last, when they were quite weary, the princess cried out suddenly\nthat nothing would content her but to bathe in the marble pool, which\ncertainly did look very inviting; and they all went gaily to this new\namusement. The princess was ready first, but scarcely had she slipped\nover the rim of the pool when down\u2014down\u2014down she sank, and vanished in\nits depths before her frightened playmates could seize her by so much\nas a lock of her floating golden hair!\n\nLoudly did they weep and wail, running about the brink of the pool,\nwhich looked so shallow and so clear, but which had swallowed up their\nprincess before their eyes. They even sprang into the water and tried\nto dive after her, but in vain; they only floated like corks in the\nenchanted pool, and could not keep under water for a second.\n\nThey saw at last that there was nothing for it but to carry to the king\nthe sad tidings of his beloved daughter\u2019s disappearance. And what great\nweeping and lamentation there was in the palace when the dreadful news\nwas told! The king tore his robes, dashed his golden crown from his\nhead, and hid his face in his purple mantle for grief and anguish at\nthe loss of the princess. After the first outburst of wailing, however,\nhe took heart and hurried off to see for himself the scene of this\nstrange adventure, thinking, as people will in sorrow, that there might\nbe some mistake after all. But when he reached the spot, behold, all\nwas changed again! The glittering grotto described to him by the\nmaidens had completely vanished, and so had the marble bath, the bower\nof jasmine; instead, all was a tangle of flowers, as it had been of\nold. The king was so much perplexed that he threatened the princess\u2019s\nplayfellows with all sorts of punishments if they would not confess\nsomething about her disappearance; but as they only repeated the same\nstory he presently put down the whole affair to the work of some sprite\nor goblin, and tried to console himself for his loss by ordering a\ngrand hunt; for kings cannot bear to be troubled about anything long.\n\nMeanwhile the princess was not at all unhappy in the palace of her\nelfish lover.\n\nWhen the water-nymphs, who were hiding in readiness, had caught her and\ndragged her out of the sight of her terrified maidens, she herself had\nnot had time to be frightened. They swam with her quickly by strange\nunderground ways to a palace so splendid that her father\u2019s seemed but a\npoor cottage in comparison with it, and when she recovered from her\nastonishment she found herself seated upon a couch, wrapped in a\nwonderful robe of satin fastened with a silken girdle, while beside her\nknelt a young man who whispered the sweetest speeches imaginable in her\near. The gnome, for he it was, told her all about himself and his great\nunderground kingdom, and presently led her through the many rooms and\nhalls of the palace, and showed her the rare and wonderful things\ndisplayed in them till she was fairly dazzled at the sight of so much\nsplendour. On three sides of the castle lay a lovely garden with masses\nof gay, sweet flowers, and velvet lawns all cool and shady, which\npleased the eye of the princess. The fruit trees were hung with golden\nand rosy apples, and nightingales sang in every bush, as the gnome and\nthe princess wandered in the leafy alleys, sometimes gazing at the\nmoon, sometimes pausing to gather the rarest flowers for her adornment.\nAnd all the time he was thinking to himself that never, during the\nhundreds of years he had lived, had he seen so charming a maiden. But\nthe princess felt no such happiness; in spite of all the magic delights\naround her she was sad, though she tried to seem content for fear of\ndispleasing the gnome. However, he soon perceived her melancholy, and\nin a thousand ways strove to dispel the cloud, but in vain. At last he\nsaid to himself: \u201cMen are sociable creatures, like bees or ants.\nDoubtless this lovely mortal is pining for company. Who is there I can\nfind for her to talk to?\u201d\n\nThereupon he hastened into the nearest field and dug up a dozen or so\nof different roots\u2014carrots, turnips, and radishes\u2014and laying them\ncarefully in an elegant basket brought them to the princess, who sat\npensive in the shade of the rose-bower.\n\n\u201cLoveliest daughter of earth,\u201d said the gnome, \u201cbanish all sorrow; no\nmore shall you be lonely in my dwelling. In this basket is all you need\nto make this spot delightful to you. Take this little many-coloured\nwand, and with a touch give to each root the form you desire to see.\u201d\n\nWith this he left her, and the princess, without an instant\u2019s delay,\nopened the basket, and touching a turnip, cried eagerly: \u201cBrunhilda, my\ndear Brunhilda! come to me quickly!\u201d And sure enough there was\nBrunhilda, joyfully hugging and kissing her beloved princess, and\nchattering as gaily as in the old days.\n\nThis sudden appearance was so delightful that the princess could hardly\nbelieve her own eyes, and was quite beside herself with the joy of\nhaving her dear playfellow with her once more. Hand in hand they\nwandered about the enchanted garden, and gathered the golden apples\nfrom the trees, and when they were tired of this amusement the princess\nled her friend through all the wonderful rooms of the palace, until at\nlast they came to the one in which were kept all the marvellous dresses\nand ornaments the gnome had given to his hoped-for bride. There they\nfound so much to amuse them that the hours passed like minutes. Veils,\ngirdles, and necklaces were tried on and admired, the imitation\nBrunhilda knew so well how to behave herself, and showed so much taste\nthat nobody would ever have suspected that she was nothing but a turnip\nafter all. The gnome, who had secretly been keeping an eye upon them,\nwas very pleased with himself for having so well understood the heart\nof a woman; and the princess seemed to him even more charming than\nbefore. She did not forget to touch the rest of the roots with her\nmagic wand, and soon had all her maidens about her, and even, as she\nhad two tiny radishes to spare, her favourite cat, and her little dog\nwhose name was Beni.\n\nAnd now all went cheerfully in the castle. The princess gave to each of\nthe maidens her task, and never was mistress better served. For a whole\nweek she enjoyed the delight of her pleasant company undisturbed. They\nall sang, they danced, they played from morning to night; only the\nprincess noticed that day by day the fresh young faces of her maidens\ngrew pale and wan, and the mirror in the great marble hall showed her\nthat she alone still kept her rosy bloom, while Brunhilda and the rest\nfaded visibly. They assured her that all was well with them; but,\nnevertheless, they continued to waste away, and day by day it became\nharder to them to take part in the games of the princess, till at last,\none fine morning, when the princess started from bed and hastened out\nto join her gay playfellows, she shuddered and started back at the\nsight of a group of shrivelled crones, with bent backs and trembling\nlimbs, who supported their tottering steps with staves and crutches,\nand coughed dismally. A little nearer to the hearth lay the once\nfrolicsome Beni, with all four feet stretched stiffly out, while the\nsleek cat seemed too weak to raise his head from his velvet cushion.\n\nThe horrified princess fled to the door to escape from the sight of\nthis mournful company, and called loudly for the gnome, who appeared at\nonce, humbly anxious to do her bidding.\n\n\u201cMalicious Sprite,\u201d she cried, \u201cwhy do you begrudge me my playmates\u2014the\ngreatest delight of my lonely hours? Isn\u2019t this solitary life in such a\ndesert bad enough without your turning the castle into a hospital for\nthe aged? Give my maidens back their youth and health this very minute,\nor I will never love you!\u201d\n\n\u201cSweetest and fairest of damsels,\u201d cried the gnome, \u201cdo not be angry;\neverything that is in my power I will do\u2014but do not ask the impossible.\nSo long as the sap was fresh in the roots the magic staff could keep\nthem in the forms you desired, but as the sap dried up they withered\naway. But never trouble yourself about that, dearest one, a basket of\nfresh turnips will soon set matters right, and you can speedily call up\nagain every form you wish to see. The great green patch in the garden\nwill provide you with a more lively company.\u201d\n\nSo saying the gnome took himself off. And the princess with her magic\nwand touched the wrinkled old women, and left them the withered roots\nthey really were, to be thrown upon the rubbish heap; and with light\nfeet skipped off across to the meadow to take possession of the freshly\nfilled basket. But to her surprise she could not find it anywhere. Up\nand down the garden she searched, spying into every corner, but not a\nsign of it was to be found. By the trellis of grape vines she met the\ngnome, who was so much embarrassed at the sight of her that she became\naware of his confusion while he was still quite a long way off.\n\n\u201cYou are trying to tease me,\u201d she cried, as soon as she saw him. \u201cWhere\nhave you hidden the basket? I have been looking for it at least an\nhour.\u201d\n\n\u201cDear queen of my heart,\u201d answered he, \u201cI pray you to forgive my\ncarelessness. I promised more than I could perform. I have sought all\nover the land for the roots you desire; but they are gathered in, and\nlie drying in musty cellars, and the fields are bare and desolate, for\nbelow in the valley winter reigns, only here in your presence spring is\nheld fast, and wherever your foot is set the gay flowers bloom. Have\npatience for a little, and then without fail you shall have your\npuppets to play with.\u201d\n\nAlmost before the gnome had finished, the disappointed princess turned\naway, and marched off to her own apartments, without deigning to answer\nhim.\n\nThe gnome, however, set off above ground as speedily as possible, and\ndisguising himself as a farmer, bought an ass in the nearest\nmarket-town, and brought it back loaded with sacks of turnip, carrot,\nand radish seed. With this he sowed a great field, and sent a vast army\nof his goblins to watch and tend it, and to bring up the fiery rivers\nfrom the heart of the earth near enough to warm and encourage the\nsprouting seeds. Thus fostered they grew and flourished marvellously,\nand promised a goodly crop.\n\nThe princess wandered about the field day by day, no other plants or\nfruits in all her wonderful garden pleased her as much as these roots;\nbut still her eyes were full of discontent. And, best of all, she loved\nto while away the hours in a shady fir-wood, seated upon the bank of a\nlittle stream, into which she would cast the flowers she had gathered\nand watch them float away.\n\nThe gnome tried hard by every means in his power to please the princess\nand win her love, but little did he guess the real reason of his lack\nof success. He imagined that she was too young and inexperienced to\ncare for him; but that was a mistake, for the truth was that another\nimage already filled her heart. The young Prince Ratibor, whose lands\njoined her father\u2019s, had won the heart of the princess; and the lovers\nhad been looking forward to the coming of their wedding-day when the\nbride\u2019s mysterious disappearance took place. The sad news drove Ratibor\ndistracted, and as the days went on, and nothing could be heard of the\nprincess, he forsook his castle and the society of men, and spent his\ndays in the wild forests, roaming about and crying her name aloud to\nthe trees and rocks. Meanwhile, the maiden, in her gorgeous prison,\nsighed in secret over her grief, not wishing to arouse the gnome\u2019s\nsuspicions. In her own mind she was wondering if by any means she might\nescape from her captivity, and at last she hit upon a plan.\n\nBy this time spring once more reigned in the valley, and the gnome sent\nthe fires back to their places in the deeps of the earth, for the roots\nwhich they had kept warm through all the cruel winter had now come to\ntheir full size. Day by day the princess pulled up some of them, and\nmade experiments with them, conjuring up now this longed-for person,\nand now that, just for the pleasure of seeing them as they appeared;\nbut she really had another purpose in view.\n\nOne day she changed a tiny turnip into a bee, and sent him off to bring\nher some news of her lover.\n\n\u201cFly, dear little bee, towards the east,\u201d said she, \u201cto my beloved\nRatibor, and softly hum into his ear that I love him only, but that I\nam a captive in the gnome\u2019s palace under the mountains. Do not forget a\nsingle word of my greeting, and bring me back a message from my\nbeloved.\u201d\n\nSo the bee spread his shining wings and flew away to do as he was\nbidden; but before he was out of sight a greedy swallow made a snatch\nat him, and to the great grief of the princess her messenger was eaten\nup then and there.\n\nAfter that, by the power of the wonderful wand she summoned a cricket,\nand taught him this greeting:\n\n\u201cHop, little cricket, to Ratibor, and chirp in his ear that I love him\nonly, but that I am held captive by the gnome in his palace under the\nmountains.\u201d\n\nSo the cricket hopped off gaily, determined to do his best to deliver\nhis message; but, alas! a long-legged stork who was prancing along the\nsame road caught him in her cruel beak, and before he could say a word\nhe had disappeared down her throat.\n\nThese two unlucky ventures did not prevent the princess from trying\nonce more.\n\nThis time she changed the turnip into a magpie.\n\n\u201cFlutter from tree to tree, chattering bird,\u201d said she, \u201ctill you come\nto Ratibor, my love. Tell him that I am a captive, and bid him come\nwith horses and men, the third day from this, to the hill that rises\nfrom the Thorny Valley.\u201d\n\nThe magpie listened, hopped awhile from branch to branch, and then\ndarted away, the princess watching him anxiously as far as she could\nsee.\n\nNow Prince Ratibor was still spending his life in wandering about the\nwoods, and not even the beauty of the spring could soothe his grief.\n\nOne day, as he sat in the shade of an oak tree, dreaming of his lost\nprincess, and sometimes crying her name aloud, he seemed to hear\nanother voice reply to his, and, starting up, he gazed around him, but\nhe could see no one, and he had just made up his mind that he must be\nmistaken, when the same voice called again, and, looking up sharply, he\nsaw a magpie which hopped to and fro among the twigs. Then Ratibor\nheard with surprise that the bird was indeed calling him by name.\n\n\u201cPoor chatterpie,\u201d said he; \u201cwho taught you to say that name, which\nbelongs to an unlucky mortal who wishes the earth would open and\nswallow up him and his memory for ever?\u201d\n\nThereupon he caught up a great stone, and would have hurled it at the\nmagpie, if it had not at that moment uttered the name of the princess.\n\nThis was so unexpected that the prince\u2019s arm fell helplessly to his\nside at the sound, and he stood motionless.\n\nBut the magpie in the tree, who, like all the rest of his family, was\nnot happy unless he could be for ever chattering, began to repeat the\nmessage the princess had taught him; and as soon as he understood it,\nPrince Ratibor\u2019s heart was filled with joy. All his gloom and misery\nvanished in a moment, and he anxiously questioned the welcome messenger\nas to the fate of the princess.\n\nBut the magpie knew no more than the lesson he had learnt, so he soon\nfluttered away; while the prince hurried back to his castle to gather\ntogether a troop of horsemen, full of courage for whatever might\nbefall.\n\nThe princess meanwhile was craftily pursuing her plan of escape. She\nleft off treating the gnome with coldness and indifference; indeed,\nthere was a look in her eyes which encouraged him to hope that she\nmight some day return his love, and the idea pleased him mightily. The\nnext day, as soon as the sun rose, she made her appearance decked as a\nbride, in the wonderful robes and jewels which the fond gnome had\nprepared for her. Her golden hair was braided and crowned with myrtle\nblossoms, and her flowing veil sparkled with gems. In these magnificent\ngarments she went to meet the gnome upon the great terrace.\n\n\u201cLoveliest of maidens,\u201d he stammered, bowing low before her, \u201clet me\ngaze into your dear eyes, and read in them that you will no longer\nrefuse my love, but will make me the happiest being the sun shines\nupon.\u201d\n\nSo saying he would have drawn aside her veil; but the princess only\nheld it more closely about her.\n\n\u201cYour constancy has overcome me,\u201d she said; \u201cI can no longer oppose\nyour wishes. But believe my words, and suffer this veil still to hide\nmy blushes and tears.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy tears, beloved one?\u201d cried the gnome anxiously; \u201cevery tear of\nyours falls upon my heart like a drop of molten gold. Greatly as I\ndesire your love, I do not ask a sacrifice.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh!\u201d cried the false princess, \u201cwhy do you misunderstand my tears? My\nheart answers to your tenderness, and yet I am fearful. A wife cannot\nalways charm, and though YOU will never alter, the beauty of mortals is\nas a flower that fades. How can I be sure that you will always be as\nloving and charming as you are now?\u201d\n\n\u201cAsk some proof, sweetheart,\u201d said he. \u201cPut my obedience and my\npatience to some test by which you can judge of my unalterable love.\u201d\n\n\u201cBe it so,\u201d answered the crafty maiden. \u201cThen give me just one proof of\nyour goodness. Go! count the turnips in yonder meadow. My wedding feast\nmust not lack guests. They shall provide me with bride-maidens too. But\nbeware lest you deceive me, and do not miss a single one. That shall be\nthe test of your truth towards me.\u201d\n\nUnwilling as the gnome was to lose sight of his beautiful bride for a\nmoment, he obeyed her commands without delay, and hurried off to begin\nhis task. He skipped along among the turnips as nimbly as a\ngrasshopper, and had soon counted them all; but, to be quite certain\nthat he had made no mistake, he thought he would just run over them\nagain. This time, to his great annoyance, the number was different; so\nhe reckoned them for the third time, but now the number was not the\nsame as either of the previous ones! And this was hardly to be wondered\nat, as his mind was full of the princess\u2019s pretty looks and words.\n\nAs for the maiden, no sooner was her deluded lover fairly out of sight\nthan she began to prepare for flight. She had a fine fresh turnip\nhidden close at hand, which she changed into a spirited horse, all\nsaddled and bridled, and, springing upon its back, she galloped away\nover hill and dale till she reached the Thorny Valley, and flung\nherself into the arms of her beloved Prince Ratibor.\n\nMeanwhile the toiling gnome went through his task over and over again\ntill his back ached and his head swam, and he could no longer put two\nand two together; but as he felt tolerably certain of the exact number\nof turnips in the field, big and little together, he hurried back eager\nto prove to his beloved one what a delightful and submissive husband he\nwould be. He felt very well satisfied with himself as he crossed the\nmossy lawn to the place where he had left her; but, alas! she was no\nlonger there.\n\nHe searched every thicket and path, he looked behind every tree, and\ngazed into every pond, but without success; then he hastened into the\npalace and rushed from room to room, peering into every hole and corner\nand calling her by name; but only echo answered in the marble\nhalls\u2014there was neither voice nor footstep.\n\nThen he began to perceive that something was amiss, and, throwing off\nthe mortal form that encumbered him, he flew out of the palace, and\nsoared high into the air, and saw the fugitive princess in the far\ndistance just as the swift horse carried her across the boundary of his\ndominions.\n\nFuriously did the enraged gnome fling two great clouds together, and\nhurl a thunderbolt after the flying maiden, splintering the rocky\nbarriers which had stood a thousand years. But his fury was vain, the\nthunderclouds melted away into a soft mist, and the gnome, after flying\nabout for a while in despair, bewailing to the four winds his unhappy\nfate, went sorrowfully back to the palace, and stole once more through\nevery room, with many sighs and lamentations. He passed through the\ngardens which for him had lost their charm, and the sight of the\nprincess\u2019s footprints on the golden sand of the pathway renewed his\ngrief. All was lonely, empty, sorrowful; and the forsaken gnome\nresolved that he would have no more dealings with such false creatures\nas he had found men to be.\n\nThereupon he stamped three times upon the earth, and the magic palace,\nwith all its treasures, vanished away into the nothingness out of which\nhe had called it; and the gnome fled once more to the depths of his\nunderground kingdom.\n\nWhile all this was happening, Prince Ratibor was hurrying away with his\nprize to a place of safety. With great pomp and triumph he restored the\nlovely princess to her father, and was then and there married to her,\nand took her back with him to his own castle.\n\nBut long after she was dead, and her children too, the villagers would\ntell the tale of her imprisonment underground, as they sat carving wood\nin the winter nights.\n\n[Volksm\u00e4rchen der Deutschen.]\n\n\n\n\nStory Of The King Who Would Be Stronger Than Fate\n\n\nOnce upon a time, far away in the east country, there lived a king who\nloved hunting so much that, when once there was a deer in sight, he was\ncareless of his own safety. Indeed, he often became quite separated\nfrom his nobles and attendants, and in fact was particularly fond of\nlonely adventures. Another of his favourite amusements was to give out\nthat he was not well, and could not be seen; and then, with the\nknowledge only of his faithful Grand Wazeer, to disguise himself as a\npedlar, load a donkey with cheap wares, and travel about. In this way\nhe found out what the common people said about him, and how his judges\nand governors fulfilled their duties.\n\nOne day his queen presented him with a baby daughter as beautiful as\nthe dawn, and the king himself was so happy and delighted that, for a\nwhole week, he forgot to hunt, and spent the time in public and private\nrejoicing.\n\nNot long afterwards, however, he went out after some deer which were to\nbe found in a far corner of his forests. In the course of the beat his\ndogs disturbed a beautiful snow-white stag, and directly he saw it the\nking determined that he would have it at any cost. So he put the spurs\nto his horse, and followed it as hard as he could gallop. Of course all\nhis attendants followed at the best speed that they could manage; but\nthe king was so splendidly mounted, and the stag was so swift, that, at\nthe end of an hour, the king found that only his favourite hound and\nhimself were in the chase; all the rest were far, far behind and out of\nsight.\n\nNothing daunted, however, he went on and on, till he perceived that he\nwas entering a valley with great rocky mountains on all sides, and that\nhis horse was getting very tired and trembled at every stride. Worse\nthan all evening was already drawing on, and the sun would soon set. In\nvain had he sent arrow after arrow at the beautiful stag. Every shot\nfell short, or went wide of the mark; and at last, just as darkness was\nsetting in, he lost sight altogether of the beast. By this time his\nhorse could hardly move from fatigue, his hound staggered panting along\nbeside him, he was far away amongst mountains where he had never been\nbefore, and had quite missed his way, and not a human creature or\ndwelling was in sight.\n\nAll this was very discouraging, but the king would not have minded if\nhe had not lost that beautiful stag. That troubled him a good deal, but\nhe never worried over what he could not help, so he got down from his\nhorse, slipped his arm through the bridle, and led the animal along the\nrough path in hopes of discovering some shepherd\u2019s hut, or, at least, a\ncave or shelter under some rock, where he might pass the night.\n\nPresently he heard the sound of rushing water, and made towards it. He\ntoiled over a steep rocky shoulder of a hill, and there, just below\nhim, was a stream dashing down a precipitous glen, and, almost beneath\nhis feet, twinkling and flickering from the level of the torrent, was a\ndim light as of a lamp. Towards this light the king with his horse and\nhound made his way, sliding and stumbling down a steep, stony path. At\nthe bottom the king found a narrow grassy ledge by the brink of the\nstream, across which the light from a rude lantern in the mount of a\ncave shed a broad beam of uncertain light. At the edge of the stream\nsat an old hermit with a long white beard, who neither spoke nor moved\nas the king approached, but sat throwing into the stream dry leaves\nwhich lay scattered about the ground near him.\n\n\u201cPeace be upon you,\u201d said the king, giving the usual country\nsalutation.\n\n\u201cAnd upon you peace,\u201d answered the hermit; but still he never looked\nup, nor stopped what he was doing.\n\nFor a minute or two the king stood watching him. He noticed that the\nhermit threw two leaves in at a time, and watched them attentively.\nSometimes both were carried rapidly down by the stream; sometimes only\none leaf was carried off, and the other, after whirling slowly round\nand round on the edge of the current, would come circling back on an\neddy to the hermit\u2019s feet. At other times both leaves were held in the\nbackward eddy, and failed to reach the main current of the noisy\nstream.\n\n\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d asked the king at last, and the hermit replied\nthat he was reading the fates of men; every one\u2019s fate, he said, was\nsettled from the beginning, and, whatever it were, there was no escape\nfrom it. The king laughed.\n\n\u201cI care little,\u201d he said, \u201cwhat my fate may be; but I should be curious\nto know the fate of my little daughter.\u201d\n\n\u201cI cannot say,\u201d answered the hermit.\n\n\u201cDo you not know, then?\u201d demanded the king.\n\n\u201cI might know,\u201d returned the hermit, \u201cbut it is not always wisdom to\nknow much.\u201d\n\nBut the king was not content with this reply, and began to press the\nold man to say what he knew, which for a long time he would not do. At\nlast, however, the king urged him so greatly that he said:\n\n\u201cThe king\u2019s daughter will marry the son of a poor slave-girl called\nPuruna, who belongs to the king of the land of the north. There is no\nescaping from Fate.\u201d\n\nThe king was wild with anger at hearing these words, but he was also\nvery tired; so he only laughed, and answered that he hoped there would\nbe a way out of THAT fate anyhow. Then he asked if the hermit could\nshelter him and his beasts for the night, and the hermit said \u201cYes\u201d;\nso, very soon the king had watered and tethered his horse, and, after a\nsupper of bread and parched peas, lay down in the cave, with the hound\nat his feet, and tried to go to sleep. But instead of sleeping he only\nlay awake and thought of the hermit\u2019s prophecy; and the more he thought\nof it the angrier he felt, until he gnashed his teeth and declared that\nit should never, never come true.\n\nMorning came, and the king got up, pale and sulky, and, after learning\nfrom the hermit which path to take, was soon mounted and found his way\nhome without much difficulty. Directly he reached his palace he wrote a\nletter to the king of the land of the north, begging him, as a favour,\nto sell him his slave girl Puruna and her son, and saying that, if he\nconsented, he would send a messenger to receive them at the river which\ndivided the kingdoms.\n\nFor five days he awaited the reply, and hardly slept or ate, but was as\ncross as could be all the time. On the fifth day his messenger returned\nwith a letter to say that the king of the land of the north would not\nsell, but he would give, the king the slave girl and her son. The king\nwas overjoyed. He sent for his Grand Wazeer and told him that he was\ngoing on one of his lonely expeditions, and that the Wazeer must invent\nsome excuse to account for his absence. Next he disguised himself as an\nordinary messenger, mounted a swift camel, and sped away to the place\nwhere the slave girl was to be handed over to him. When he got there he\ngave the messengers who brought her a letter of thanks and a handsome\npresent for their master and rewards for themselves; and then without\ndelay he took the poor woman and her tiny baby-boy up on to his camel\nand rode off to a wild desert.\n\nAfter riding for a day and a night, almost without stopping, he came to\na great cave where he made the woman dismount, and, taking her and the\nbaby into the cave, he drew his sword and with one blow chopped her\nhead off. But although his anger made him cruel enough for anything so\ndreadful, the king felt that he could not turn his great sword on the\nhelpless baby, who he was sure must soon die in this solitary place\nwithout its mother; so he left it in the cave where it was, and,\nmounting his camel, rode home as fast as he could.\n\nNow, in a small village in his kingdom there lived an old widow who had\nno children or relations of any kind. She made her living mostly by\nselling the milk of a flock of goats; but she was very, very poor, and\nnot very strong, and often used to wonder how she would live if she got\ntoo weak or ill to attend to her goats. Every morning she drove the\ngoats out into the desert to graze on the shrubs and bushes which grew\nthere, and every evening they came home of themselves to be milked and\nto be shut up safely for the night.\n\nOne evening the old woman was astonished to find that her very best\nnanny-goat returned without a drop of milk. She thought that some\nnaughty boy or girl was playing a trick upon her and had caught the\ngoat on its way home and stolen all the milk. But when evening after\nevening the goat remained almost dry she determined to find out who the\nthief was. So the next day she followed the goats at a distance and\nwatched them while they grazed. At length, in the afternoon, the old\nwoman noticed this particular nanny-goat stealing off by herself away\nfrom the herd and she at once went after her. On and on the goat walked\nfor some way, and then disappeared into a cave in the rocks. The old\nwoman followed the goat into the cave and then, what should she see but\nthe animal giving her milk to a little boy-baby, whilst on the ground\nnear by lay the sad remains of the baby\u2019s dead mother! Wondering and\nfrightened, the old woman thought at last that this little baby might\nbe a son to her in her old age, and that he would grow up and in time\nto come be her comfort and support. So she carried home the baby to her\nhut, and next day she took a spade to the cave and dug a grave where\nshe buried the poor mother.\n\nYears passed by, and the baby grew up into a find handsome lad, as\ndaring as he was beautiful, and as industrious as he was brave. One\nday, when the boy, whom the old woman had named Nur Mahomed, was about\nseventeen years old, he was coming from his day\u2019s work in the fields,\nwhen he saw a strange donkey eating the cabbages in the garden which\nsurround their little cottage. Seizing a big stick, he began to beat\nthe intruder and to drive him out of his garden. A neighbour passing by\ncalled out to him\u2014\u201cHi! I say! why are you beating the pedlar\u2019s donkey\nlike that?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe pedlar should keep him from eating my cabbages,\u201d said Nur Mahomed;\n\u201cif he comes this evening here again I\u2019ll cut off his tail for him!\u201d\n\nWhereupon he went off indoors, whistling cheerfully. It happened that\nthis neighbour was one of those people who make mischief by talking too\nmuch; so, meeting the pedlar in the \u201cserai,\u201d or inn, that evening, he\ntold him what had occurred, and added: \u201cYes; and the young spitfire\nsaid that if beating the donkey would not do, he would beat you also,\nand cut your nose off for a thief!\u201d\n\nA few days later, the pedlar having moved on, two men appeared in the\nvillage inquiring who it was who had threatened to ill-treat and to\nmurder an innocent pedlar. They declared that the pedlar, in fear of\nhis life, had complained to the king; and that they had been sent to\nbring the lawless person who had said these things before the king\nhimself. Of course they soon found out about the donkey eating Nur\nMahomed\u2019s cabbages, and about the young man\u2019s hot words; but although\nthe lad assured them that he had never said anything about murdering\nanyone, they replied they were ordered to arrest him, and bring him to\ntake his trial before the king. So, in spite of his protests, and the\nwails of his mother, he was carried off, and in due time brought before\nthe king. Of course Nur Mahomed never guessed that the supposed pedlar\nhappened to have been the king himself, although nobody knew it.\n\nBut as he was very angry at what he had been told, he declared that he\nwas going to make an example of this young man, and intended to teach\nhim that even poor travelling pedlars could get justice in HIS country,\nand be protected from such lawlessness. However, just as he was going\nto pronounce some very heavy sentence, there was a stir in the court,\nand up came Nur Mahomed\u2019s old mother, weeping and lamenting, and\nbegging to be heard. The king ordered her to speak, and she began to\nplead for the boy, declaring how good he was, and how he was the\nsupport of her old age, and if he were put in prison she would die. The\nking asked her who she was. She replied that she was his mother.\n\n\u201cHis mother?\u201d said the king; \u201cyou are too old, surely, to have so young\na son!\u201d\n\nThen the old woman, in her fright and distress, confessed the whole\nstory of how she found the baby, and how she rescued and brought him\nup, and ended by beseeching the king for mercy.\n\nIt is easy to guess how, as the story came out, the king looked blacker\nand blacker, and more and more grim, until at last he was half fainting\nwith rage and astonishment. This, then, was the baby he had left to\ndie, after cruelly murdering his mother! Surely fate might have spared\nhim this! He wished he had sufficient excuse to put the boy to death,\nfor the old hermit\u2019s prophecy came back to him as strongly as ever; and\nyet the young man had done nothing bad enough to deserve such a\npunishment. Everyone would call him a tyrant if he were to give such an\norder\u2014in fact, he dared not try it!\n\nAt length he collected himself enough to say:\u2014\u201cIf this young man will\nenlist in my army I will let him off. We have need of such as him, and\na little discipline will do him good.\u201d Still the old woman pleaded that\nshe could not live without her son, and was nearly as terrified at the\nidea of his becoming a soldier as she was at the thought of his being\nput in prison. But at length the king\u2014determined to get the youth into\nhis clutches\u2014pacified her by promising her a pension large enough to\nkeep her in comfort; and Nur Mahomed, to his own great delight, was\nduly enrolled in the king\u2019s army.\n\nAs a soldier Nur Mahomed seemed to be in luck. He was rather surprised,\nbut much pleased, to find that he was always one of those chosen when\nany difficult or dangerous enterprise was afoot; and, although he had\nthe narrowest escapes on some occasions, still, the very desperateness\nof the situations in which he found himself gave him special chances of\ndisplaying his courage. And as he was also modest and generous, he\nbecame a favourite with his officers and his comrades.\n\nThus it was not very surprising that, before very long, he became\nenrolled amongst the picked men of the king\u2019s bodyguard. The fact is,\nthat the king had hoped to have got him killed in some fight or\nanother; but, seeing that, on the contrary, he throve on hard knocks,\nhe was now determined to try more direct and desperate methods.\n\nOne day, soon after Nur Mahomed had entered the bodyguard, he was\nselected to be one of the soldiers told off to escort the king through\nthe city. The procession was marching on quite smoothly, when a man,\narmed with a dagger, rushed out of an alley straight towards the king.\nNur Mahomed, who was the nearest of the guards, threw himself in the\nway, and received the stab that had been apparently intended for the\nking. Luckily the blow was a hurried one, and the dagger glanced on is\nbreastbone, so that, although he received a severe wound, his youth and\nstrength quickly got the better of it. The king was, of course, obliged\nto take some notice of this brave deed, and as a reward made him one of\nhis own attendants.\n\nAfter this the strange adventures the young man passed through were\nendless. Officers of the bodyguard were often sent on all sorts of\nsecret and difficult errands, and such errands had a curious way of\nbecoming necessary when Nur Mahomed was on duty. Once, while he was\ntaking a journey, a foot-bridge gave way under him; once he was\nattacked by armed robbers; a rock rolled down upon him in a mountain\npass; a heavy stone coping fell from a roof at his feet in a narrow\ncity alley. Altogether, Nur Mahomed began to think that, somewhere or\nother, he had made an enemy; but he was light-hearted, and the thought\ndid not much trouble him. He escaped somehow every time, and felt\namused rather than anxious about the next adventure.\n\nIt was the custom of that city that the officer for the day of the\npalace guards should receive all his food direct from the king\u2019s\nkitchen. One day, when Nur Mahomed\u2019s turn came to be on duty, he was\njust sitting down to a delicious stew that had been sent in from the\npalace, when one of those gaunt, hungry dogs, which, in eastern\ncountries, run about the streets, poked his nose in at the open\nguard-room door, and looked at Nur Mahomed with mouth watering and\nnostrils working. The kind-hearted young man picked out a lump of meat,\nwent to the door, and threw it outside to him. The dog pounced upon it,\nand gulped it down greedily, and was just turning to go, when it\nstaggered, fell, rolled over, and died. Nur Mahomed, who had been\nlazily watching him, stood still for a moment, then he came back\nwhistling softly. He gathered up the rest of his dinner and carefully\nwrapped it up to carry away and bury somewhere; and then he sent back\nthe empty plates.\n\nHow furious the king was when, at the next morning\u2019s durbar, Nur\nMahomed appeared before him fresh, alert and smiling as usual. He was\ndetermined, however, to try once more, and bidding the young man come\ninto his presence that evening, gave orders that he was to carry a\nsecret despatch to the governor of a distant province. \u201cMake your\npreparations at once,\u201d added he, \u201cand be ready to start in the morning.\nI myself will deliver you the papers at the last moment.\u201d\n\nNow this province was four or five days\u2019 journey from the palace, and\nthe governor of it was the most faithful servant the king had. He could\nbe silent as the grave, and prided himself on his obedience. Whilst he\nwas an old and tried servant of the king\u2019s, his wife had been almost a\nmother to the young princess ever since the queen had died some years\nbefore. It happened that, a little before this time, the princess had\nbeen sent away for her health to another remote province; and whilst\nshe was there her old friend, the governor\u2019s wife, had begged her to\ncome and stay with them as soon as she could.\n\nThe princess accepted gladly, and was actually staying in the\ngovernor\u2019s house at the very time when the king made up his mind to\nsend Nur Mahomed there with the mysterious despatch.\n\nAccording to orders Nur Mahomed presented himself early the next\nmorning at the king\u2019s private apartments. His best horse was saddled,\nfood placed in is saddle-bag, and with some money tied up in his\nwaist-band, he was ready to start. The king handed over to him a sealed\npacket, desiring him to give it himself only into the hands of the\ngovernor, and to no one else. Nur Mahomed hid it carefully in his\nturban, swung himself into the saddle, and five minutes later rode out\nof the city gates, and set out on his long journey.\n\nThe weather was very hot; but Nur Mahomed thought that the sooner his\nprecious letter was delivered the better; so that, by dint of riding\nmost of each night and resting only in the hottest part of the day, he\nfound himself, by noon on the third day, approaching the town which was\nhis final destination.\n\nNot a soul was to be seen anywhere; and Nur Mahomed, stiff, dry,\nthirsty, and tired, looked longingly over the wall into the gardens,\nand marked the fountains, the green grass, the shady apricot orchards,\nand giant mulberry trees, and wished he were there.\n\nAt length he reached the castle gates, and was at once admitted, as he\nwas in the uniform of the king\u2019s bodyguard. The governor was resting,\nthe soldier said, and could not see him until the evening. So Nur\nMahomed handed over his horse to an attendant, and wandered down into\nthe lovely gardens he had seen from the road, and sat down in the shade\nto rest himself. He flung himself on his back and watched the birds\ntwittering and chattering in the trees above him. Through the branches\nhe could see great patches of sky where the kites wheeled and circled\nincessantly, with shrill whistling cried. Bees buzzed over the flowers\nwith a soothing sound, and in a few minutes Nur Mahomed was fast\nasleep.\n\nEvery day, through the heat of the afternoon, the governor, and his\nwife also, used to lie down for two or three hours in their own rooms,\nand so, for the matter of that, did most people in the palace. But the\nprincess, like many other girls, was restless, and preferred to wander\nabout the garden, rather than rest on a pile of soft cushions. What a\ntorment her stout old attendants and servants sometime thought her when\nshe insisted on staying awake, and making them chatter or do something,\nwhen they could hardly keep their eyes open! Sometimes, however, the\nprincess would pretend to go to sleep, and then, after all her women\nhad gladly followed her example, she would get up and go out by\nherself, her veil hanging loosely about her. If she was discovered her\nold hostess scolded her severely; but the princess only laughed, and\ndid the same thing next time.\n\nThis very afternoon the princess had left all her women asleep, and,\nafter trying in vain to amuse herself indoors, she had slipped out into\nthe great garden, and rambled about in all her favourite nooks and\ncorners, feeling quite safe as there was not a creature to be seen.\nSuddenly, on turning a corner, she stopped in surprise, for before her\nlay a man fast asleep! In her hurry she had almost tripped over him.\nBut there he was, a young man, tanned and dusty with travel, in the\nuniform of an officer of the king\u2019s guard. One of the few faults of\nthis lovely princess was a devouring curiosity, and she lived such an\nidle life that she had plenty of time to be curious. Out of one of the\nfolds of this young man\u2019s turban there peeped the corner of a letter!\nShe wondered what the letter was\u2014whom it was for! She drew her veil a\nlittle closer, and stole across on tip-toe and caught hold of the\ncorner of the letter. Then she pulled it a little, and just a little\nmore! A great big seal came into view, which she saw to be her\nfather\u2019s, and at the sight of it she paused for a minute half ashamed\nof what she was doing. But the pleasure of taking a letter which was\nnot meant for her was more than she could resist, and in another moment\nit was in her hand. All at once she remembered that it would be death\nto this poor officer if he lost the letter, and that at all hazards she\nmust put it back again. But this was not so easy; and, moreover, the\nletter in her hand burnt her with longing to read it, and see what was\ninside. She examined the seal. It was sticky with being exposed to the\nhot sun, and with a very little effort it parted from the paper. The\nletter was open and she read it! And this was what was written:\n\n\u201cBehead the messenger who brings this letter secretly and at once. Ask\nno questions.\u201d\n\nThe girl grew pale. What a shame! she thought. SHE would not let a\nhandsome young fellow like that be beheaded; but how to prevent it was\nnot quite clear at the moment. Some plan must be invented, and she\nwished to lock herself in where no one could interrupt her, as might\neasily happen in the garden. So she crept softly to her room, and took\na piece of paper and wrote upon it: \u201cMarry the messenger who brings\nthis letter to the princess openly at once. Ask no questions.\u201d And even\ncontrived to work the seals off the original letter and to fix them to\nthis, so that no one could tell, unless they examined it closely, that\nit had ever been opened. Then she slipped back, shaking with fear and\nexcitement, to where the young officer still lay asleep, thrust the\nletter into the fold so his turban, and hurried back to her room. It\nwas done!\n\nLate in the afternoon Nur Mahomed woke, and, making sure that the\nprecious despatch was still safe, went off to get ready for his\naudience with the governor. As soon as he was ushered into his presence\nhe took the letter from his turban and placed it in the governor\u2019s\nhands according to orders. When he had read it the governor was\ncertainly a little astonished; but he was told in the letter to \u201cask no\nquestions,\u201d and he knew how to obey orders. He sent for his wife and\ntold her to get the princess ready to be married at once.\n\n\u201cNonsense!\u201d said his wife, \u201cwhat in the world do you mean?\u201d\n\n\u201cThese are the king\u2019s commands,\u201d he answered; \u201cgo and do as I bid you.\nThe letter says \u2018at once,\u2019 and \u2018ask no questions.\u2019 The marriage,\ntherefore, must take place this evening.\u201d\n\nIn vain did his wife urge every objection; the more she argued, the\nmore determined was her husband. \u201cI know how to obey orders,\u201d he said,\n\u201cand these are as plain as the nose on my face!\u201d So the princess was\nsummoned, and, somewhat to their surprise, she seemed to take the news\nvery calmly; next Nur Mahomed was informed, and he was greatly\nstartled, but of course he could but be delighted at the great and\nunexpected honour which he thought the king had done him. Then all the\ncastle was turned upside down; and when the news spread in the town,\nTHAT was turned upside down too. Everybody ran everywhere, and tried to\ndo everything at once; and, in the middle of it all, the old governor\nwent about with his hair standing on end, muttering something about\n\u201cobeying orders.\u201d\n\nAnd so the marriage was celebrated, and there was a great feast in the\ncastle, and another in the soldiers\u2019 barracks, and illuminations all\nover the town and in the beautiful gardens. And all the people declared\nthat such a wonderful sight had never been seen, and talked about it to\nthe ends of their lives.\n\nThe next day the governor despatched the princess and her bridegroom to\nthe king, with a troop of horsemen, splendidly dressed, and he sent a\nmounted messenger on before them, with a letter giving the account of\nthe marriage to the king.\n\nWhen the king got the governor\u2019s letter, he grew so red in the face\nthat everyone thought he was going to have apoplexy. They were all very\nanxious to know what had happened, but he rushed off and locked himself\ninto a room, where he ramped and raved until he was tired. Then, after\nawhile, he began to think he had better make the best of it, especially\nas the old governor had been clever enough to send him back his letter,\nand the king was pretty sure that this was in the princess\u2019s\nhandwriting. He was fond of his daughter, and though she had behaved\nbadly, he did not wish to cut HER head off, and he did not want people\nto know the truth because it would make him look foolish. In fact, the\nmore he considered the matter, the more he felt that he would be wise\nto put a good face on it, and to let people suppose that he had really\nbrought about the marriage of his own free will.\n\nSo, when the young couple arrived, the king received them with all\nstate, and gave his son-in-law a province to govern. Nur Mahomed soon\nproved himself as able and honourable a governor as he was a brave\nsoldier; and, when the old king died, he became king in his place, and\nreigned long and happily.\n\nNur Mahomed\u2019s old mother lived for a long time in her \u201cson\u2019s\u201d palace,\nand died in peace. The princess, his wife, although she had got her\nhusband by a trick, found that she could not trick HIM, and so she\nnever tried, but busied herself in teaching her children and scolding\nher maids. As for the old hermit, no trace of him was ever discovered;\nbut the cave is there, and the leaves lie thick in front of it unto\nthis day.\n\n[Told the writer by an Indian.]\n\n\n\n\nStory of Wali D\u00e2d the Simple-Hearted\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a poor old man whose name was Wali D\u00e2d\nGunjay, or Wali D\u00e2d the Bald. He had no relations, but lived all by\nhimself in a little mud hut some distance from any town, and made his\nliving by cutting grass in the jungle, and selling it as fodder for\nhorses. He only earned by this five halfpence a day; but he was a\nsimple old man, and needed so little out of it, that he saved up one\nhalfpenny daily, and spent the rest upon such food and clothing as he\nrequired.\n\nIn this way he lived for many years until, one night, he thought that\nhe would count the money he had hidden away in the great earthen pot\nunder the floor of his hut. So he set to work, and with much trouble he\npulled the bag out on to the floor, and sat gazing in astonishment at\nthe heap of coins which tumbled out of it. What should he do with them\nall? he wondered. But he never thought of spending the money on\nhimself, because he was content to pass the rest of his days as he had\nbeen doing for ever so long, and he really had no desire for any\ngreater comfort or luxury.\n\nAt last he threw all the money into an old sack, which he pushed under\nhis bead, and then, rolled in his ragged old blanket, he went off to\nsleep.\n\nEarly next morning he staggered off with his sack of money to the shop\nof a jeweller, whom he knew in the town, and bargained with him for a\nbeautiful little gold bracelet. With this carefully wrapped up in his\ncotton waistband he went to the house of a rich friend, who was a\ntravelling merchant, and used to wander about with his camels and\nmerchandise through many countries. Wali D\u00e2d was lucky enough to find\nhim at home, so he sat down, and after a little talk he asked the\nmerchant who was the most virtuous and beautiful lady he had ever met\nwith. The merchant replied that the princess of Khaistan was renowned\neverywhere as well for the beauty of her person as for the kindness and\ngenerosity of her disposition.\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said Wali D\u00e2d, \u201cnext time you go that way, give her this little\nbracelet, with the respectful compliments of one who admires virtue far\nmore than he desires wealth.\u201d\n\nWith that he pulled the bracelet from his waistband, and handed it to\nhis friend. The merchant was naturally much astonished, but said\nnothing, and made no objection to carrying out his friend\u2019s plan.\n\nTime passed by, and at length the merchant arrived in the course of his\ntravels at the capital of Khaistan. As soon as he had opportunity he\npresented himself at the palace, and sent in the bracelet, neatly\npacked in a little perfumed box provided by himself, giving at the same\ntime the message entrusted to him by Wali D\u00e2d.\n\nThe princess could not think who could have bestowed this present on\nher, but she bade her servant to tell the merchant that if he would\nreturn, after he had finished his business in the city, she would give\nhim her reply. In a few days, therefore, the merchant came back, and\nreceived from the princess a return present in the shape of a\ncamel-load or rich silks, besides a present of money for himself. With\nthese he set out on his journey.\n\nSome months later he got home again from his journeyings, and proceeded\nto take Wali D\u00e2d the princess\u2019s present. Great was the perplexity of\nthe good man to find a camel-load of silks tumbled at his door! What\nwas he to do with these costly things? But, presently, after much\nthought, he begged the merchant to consider whether he did not know of\nsome young prince to whom such treasures might be useful.\n\n\u201cOf course,\u201d cried the merchant, greatly amused; \u201cfrom Delhi to\nBaghdad, and from Constantinople to Lucknow, I know them all; and there\nlives none worthier than the gallant and wealthy young prince of\nNekabad.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, then, take the silks to him, with the blessing of an old\nman,\u201d said Wali D\u00e2d, much relieved to be rid of them.\n\nSo, the next time that the merchant journeyed that way he carried the\nsilks with him, and in due course arrived at Nekabad, and sought an\naudience of the prince. When he was shown into his presence he produced\nthe beautiful gift of silks that Wali D\u00e2d had sent, and begged the\nyoung man to accept them as a humble tribute to his worth and\ngreatness. The prince was much touched by the generosity of the giver,\nand ordered, as a return present, twelve of the finest breed of horses\nfor which his country was famous to be delivered over to the merchant,\nto whom also, before he took his leave, he gave a munificent reward for\nhis services.\n\nAs before, the merchant at last arrived at home; and next day, he set\nout for Wali D\u00e2d\u2019s house with the twelve horses. When the old man saw\nthem coming in the distance he said to himself: \u201cHere\u2019s luck! a troop\nof horses coming! They are sure to want quantities of grass, and I\nshall sell all I have without having to drag it to market.\u201d Thereupon\nhe rushed off and cut grass as fast he could. When he got back, with as\nmuch grass as he could possibly carry, he was greatly discomfited to\nfind that the horses were all for himself. At first he could not think\nwhat to do with them, but, after a little, a brilliant idea struck him!\nHe gave two to the merchant, and begged him to take the rest to the\nprincess of Khaistan, who was clearly the fittest person to possess\nsuch beautiful animals.\n\nThe merchant departed, laughing. But, true to his old friend\u2019s request,\nhe took the horses with him on his next journey, and eventually\npresented them safely to the princess. This time the princess sent for\nthe merchant, and questioned him about the giver. Now, the merchant was\nusually a most honest man, but he did not quite like to describe Wali\nD\u00e2d in his true light as an old man whose income was five halfpence a\nday, and who had hardly clothes to cover him. So he told her that his\nfriend had heard stories of her beauty and goodness, and had longed to\nlay the best he had at her feet. The princess then took her father into\nher confidence, and begged him to advise her what courtesy she might\nreturn to one who persisted in making her such presents.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the king, \u201cyou cannot refuse them; so the best thing you\ncan do is to send this unknown friend at once a present so magnificent\nthat he is not likely to be able to send you anything better, and so\nwill be ashamed to send anything at all!\u201d Then he ordered that, in\nplace of each of the ten horses, two mules laden with silver should be\nreturned by her.\n\nThus, in a few hours, the merchant found himself in charge of a\nsplendid caravan; and he had to hire a number of armed men to defend it\non the road against the robbers, and he was glad indeed to find himself\nback again in Wali D\u00e2d\u2019s hut.\n\n\u201cWell, now,\u201d cried Wali D\u00e2d, as he viewed all the wealth laid at his\ndoor, \u201cI can well repay that kind prince for his magnificent present of\nhorses; but to be sure you have been put to great expenses! Still, if\nyou will accept six mules and their loads, and will take the rest\nstraight to Nekabad, I shall thank you heartily.\u201d\n\nThe merchant felt handsomely repaid for his trouble, and wondered\ngreatly how the matter would turn out. So he made no difficulty about\nit; and as soon as he could get things ready, he set out for Nekabad\nwith this new and princely gift.\n\nThis time the prince, too, was embarrassed, and questioned the merchant\nclosely. The merchant felt that his credit was at stake, and whilst\ninwardly determining that he would not carry the joke any further,\ncould not help describing Wali D\u00e2d in such glowing terms that the old\nman would never have known himself had he heard them. The prince, like\nthe king of Khaistan, determined that he would send in return a gift\nthat would be truly royal, and which would perhaps prevent the unknown\ngiver sending him anything more. So he made up a caravan on twenty\nsplendid horses caparisoned in gold embroidered cloths, with fine\nmorocco saddles and silver bridles and stirrups, also twenty camels of\nthe best breed, which had the speed of race-horses, and could swing\nalong at a trot all day without getting tired; and, lastly, twenty\nelephants, with magnificent silver howdahs and coverings of silk\nembroidered with pearls. To take care of these animals the merchant\nhired a little army of men; and the troop made a great show as they\ntravelled along.\n\nWhen Wali D\u00e2d from a distance saw the cloud of dust which the caravan\nmade, and the glitter of its appointments, he said to himself: \u201cBy\nAllah! here\u2019s a grand crowd coming! Elephants, too! Grass will be\nselling well to-day!\u201d And with that he hurried off to the jungle and\ncut grass as fast as he could. As soon as he got back he found the\ncaravan had stopped at his door, and the merchant was waiting, a little\nanxiously, to tell him the news and to congratulate him upon his\nriches.\n\n\u201cRiches!\u201d cried Wali D\u00e2d, \u201cwhat has an old man like me with one foot in\nthe grave to do with riches? That beautiful young princess, now! She\u2019d\nbe the one to enjoy all these fine things! Do you take for yourself two\nhorses, two camels, and two elephants, with all their trappings, and\npresent the rest to her.\u201d\n\nThe merchant at first objected to these remarks, and pointed out to\nWali D\u00e2d that he was beginning to feel these embassies a little\nawkward. Of course he was himself richly repaid, so far as expenses\nwent; but still he did not like going so often, and he was getting\nnervous. At length, however he consented to go once more, but he\npromised himself never to embark on another such enterprise.\n\nSo, after a few days\u2019 rest, the caravan started off once more for\nKhaistan.\n\nThe moment the king of Khaistan saw the gorgeous train of men and\nbeasts entering his palace courtyard, he was so amazed that he hurried\ndown in person to inquire about it, and became dumb when he heard that\nthese also were a present from the princely Wali D\u00e2d, and were for the\nprincess, his daughter. He went hastily off to her apartments, and said\nto her: \u201cI tell you what it is, my dear, this man wants to marry you;\nthat is the meaning of all these presents! There is nothing for it but\nthat we go and pay him a visit in person. He must be a man of immense\nwealth, and as he is so devoted to you, perhaps you might do worse than\nmarry him!\u201d\n\nThe princess agreed with all that her father said, and orders were\nissued for vast numbers of elephants and camels, and gorgeous tents and\nflags, and litters for the ladies, and horses for the men, to be\nprepared without delay, as the king and princess were going to pay a\nvisit to the great and munificent prince Wali D\u00e2d. The merchant, the\nking declared, was to guide the party.\n\nThe feelings of the poor merchant in this sore dilemma can hardly be\nimagined. Willingly would he have run away; but he was treated with so\nmuch hospitality as Wali D\u00e2d\u2019s representative, that he hardly got an\ninstant\u2019s real peace, and never any opportunity of slipping away. In\nfact, after a few days, despair possessed him to such a degree that he\nmade up his mind that all that happened was fate, and that escape was\nimpossible; but he hoped devoutly some turn of fortune would reveal to\nhim a way out of the difficulties which he had, with the best\nintentions, drawn upon himself.\n\nOn the seventh day they all started, amidst thunderous salutes from the\nramparts of the city, and much dust, and cheering, and blaring of\ntrumpets.\n\nDay after day they moved on, and every day the poor merchant felt more\nill and miserable. He wondered what kind of death the king would invent\nfor him, and went through almost as much torture, as he lay awake\nnearly the whole of every night thinking over the situation, as he\nwould have suffered if the king\u2019s executioners were already setting to\nwork upon his neck.\n\nAt last they were only one day\u2019s march from Wali D\u00e2d\u2019s little mud home.\nHere a great encampment was made, and the merchant was sent on to tell\nWali D\u00e2d that the King and Princess of Khaistan had arrived and were\nseeking an interview. When the merchant arrived he found the poor old\nman eating his evening meal of onions and dry bread, and when he told\nhim of all that had happened he had not the heart to proceed to load\nhim with the reproaches which rose to his tongue. For Wali D\u00e2d was\noverwhelmed with grief and shame for himself, for his friend, and for\nthe name and honour of the princess; and he wept and plucked at his\nbeard, and groaned most piteously. With tears he begged the merchant to\ndetain them for one day by any kind of excuse he could think of, and to\ncome in the morning to discuss what they should do.\n\nAs soon as the merchant was gone Wali D\u00e2d made up his mind that there\nwas only one honourable way out of the shame and distress that he had\ncreated by his foolishness, and that was\u2014to kill himself. So, without\nstopping to ask any one\u2019s advice, he went off in the middle of the\nnight to a place where the river wound along at the base of steep rocky\ncliffs of great height, and determined to throw himself down and put an\nend to his life. When he got to the place he drew back a few paces,\ntook a little run, and at the very edge of that dreadful black gulf he\nstopped short! He COULD not do it!\n\nFrom below, unseen in the blackness of the deep night shadows, the\nwater roared and boiled round the jagged rocks\u2014he could picture the\nplace as he knew it, only ten times more pitiless and forbidding in the\nvisionless darkness; the wind soughed through the gorge with fearsome\nsighs, and rustlings and whisperings, and the bushes and grasses that\ngrew in the ledges of the cliffs seemed to him like living creatures\nthat danced and beckoned, shadowy and indistinct. An owl laughed \u201cHoo!\nhoo!\u201d almost in his face, as he peered over the edge of the gulf, and\nthe old man threw himself back in a perspiration of horror. He was\nafraid! He drew back shuddering, and covering his face in his hands he\nwept aloud.\n\nPresently he was aware of a gentle radiance that shed itself before\nhim. Surely morning was not already coming to hasten and reveal his\ndisgrace! He took his hands from before his face, and saw before him\ntwo lovely beings whom his instinct told him were not mortal, but were\nPeris from Paradise.\n\n\u201cWhy do you weep, old man?\u201d said one, in a voice as clear and musical\nas that of the bulbul.\n\n\u201cI weep for shame,\u201d replied he.\n\n\u201cWhat do you here?\u201d questioned the other.\n\n\u201cI came here to die,\u201d said Wali D\u00e2d. And as they questioned him, he\nconfessed all his story.\n\nThen the first stepped forward and laid a hand upon his shoulder, and\nWali D\u00e2d began to feel that something strange\u2014what, he did not know\u2014was\nhappening to him. His old cotton rags of clothes were changed to\nbeautiful linen and embroidered cloth; on his hard, bare feet were\nwarm, soft shoes, and on his head a great jewelled turban. Round his\nneck there lay a heavy golden chain, and the little old bent sickle,\nwhich he cut grass with, and which hung in his waistband, had turned\ninto a gorgeous scimetar, whose ivory hilt gleamed in the pale light\nlike snow in moonlight. As he stood wondering, like a man in a dream,\nthe other peri waved her hand and bade him turn and see; and, lo!\nbefore him a noble gateway stood open. And up an avenue of giant place\ntrees the peris led him, dumb with amazement. At the end of the avenue,\non the very spot where his hut had stood, a gorgeous palace appeared,\nablaze with myriads of lights. Its great porticoes and verandahs were\noccupied by hurrying servants, and guards paced to and fro and saluted\nhim respectfully as he drew near, along mossy walks and through\nsweeping grassy lawns where fountains were playing and flowers scented\nthe air. Wali D\u00e2d stood stunned and helpless.\n\n\u201cFear not,\u201d said one of the peris; \u201cgo to your house, and learn that\nGod rewards the simple-hearted.\u201d\n\nWith these words they both disappeared and left him. He walked on,\nthinking still that he must be dreaming. Very soon he retired to rest\nin a splendid room, far grander than anything he had ever dreamed of.\n\nWhen morning dawned he woke, and found that the palace, and himself,\nand his servants were all real, and that he was not dreaming after all!\n\nIf he was dumbfounded, the merchant, who was ushered into his presence\nsoon after sunrise, was much more so. He told Wali D\u00e2d that he had not\nslept all night, and by the first streak of daylight had started to\nseek out his friend. And what a search he had had! A great stretch of\nwild jungle country had, in the night, been changed into parks and\ngardens; and if it had not been for some of Wali D\u00e2d\u2019s new servants,\nwho found him and brought him to the palace, he would have fled away\nunder the impression that his trouble had sent him crazy, and that all\nhe saw was only imagination.\n\nThen Wali D\u00e2d told the merchant all that had happened. By his advice he\nsent an invitation to the king and princess of Khaistan to come and be\nhis guests, together with all their retinue and servants, down to the\nvery humblest in the camp.\n\nFor three nights and days a great feast was held in honour of the royal\nguests. Every evening the king and his nobles were served on golden\nplates and from golden cups; and the smaller people on silver plates\nand from silver cups; and each evening each guest was requested to keep\nthe places and cups that they had used as a remembrance of the\noccasion. Never had anything so splendid been seen. Besides the great\ndinners, there were sports and hunting, and dances, and amusements of\nall sorts.\n\nOn the fourth day the king of Khaistan took his host aside, and asked\nhim whether it was true, as he had suspected, that he wished to marry\nhis daughter. But Wali D\u00e2d, after thanking him very much for the\ncompliment, said that he had never dreamed of so great an honour, and\nthat he was far too old and ugly for so fair a lady; but he begged the\nking to stay with him until he could send for the Prince of Nekabad,\nwho was a most excellent, brave, and honourable young man, and would\nsurely be delighted to try to win the hand of the beautiful princess.\n\nTo this the king agreed, and Wali D\u00e2d sent the merchant to Nekabad,\nwith a number of attendants, and with such handsome presents that the\nprince came at once, fell head over ears in love with the princess, and\nmarried her at Wali D\u00e2d\u2019s palace amidst a fresh outburst of rejoicings.\n\nAnd now the King of Khaistan and the Prince and Princess of Nekabad,\neach went back to their own country; and Wali D\u00e2d lived to a good old\nage, befriending all who were in trouble and preserving, in his\nprosperity, the simple-hearted and generous nature that he had when he\nwas only Wali D\u00e2d Gunjay, the grass cutter.\n\n[Told the author by an Indian.]\n\n\n\n\nTale of a Tortoise and of a Mischievous Monkey\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a country where the rivers were larger, and\nthe forests deeper, than anywhere else. Hardly any men came there, and\nthe wild creatures had it all to themselves, and used to play all sorts\nof strange games with each other. The great trees, chained one to the\nother by thick flowering plants with bright scarlet or yellow blossoms,\nwere famous hiding-places for the monkeys, who could wait unseen, till\na puma or an elephant passed by, and then jump on their backs and go\nfor a ride, swinging themselves up by the creepers when they had had\nenough. Near the rivers huge tortoises were to be found, and though to\nour eyes a tortoise seems a dull, slow thing, it is wonderful to think\nhow clever they were, and how often they outwitted many of their\nlivelier friends.\n\nThere was one tortoise in particular that always managed to get the\nbetter of everybody, and many were the tales told in the forest of his\ngreat deeds. They began when he was quite young, and tired of staying\nat home with his father and mother. He left them one day, and walked\noff in search of adventures. In a wide open space surrounded by trees\nhe met with an elephant, who was having his supper before taking his\nevening bath in the river which ran close by. \u201cLet us see which of us\ntwo is strongest,\u201d said the young tortoise, marching up to the\nelephant. \u201cVery well,\u201d replied the elephant, much amused at the\nimpertinence of the little creature; \u201cwhen would you like the trial to\nbe?\u201d\n\n\u201cIn an hour\u2019s time; I have some business to do first,\u201d answered the\ntortoise. And he hastened away as fast as his short legs would carry\nhim.\n\nIn a pool of the river a whale was resting, blowing water into the air\nand making a lovely fountain. The tortoise, however, was too young and\ntoo busy to admire such things, and he called to the whale to stop, as\nhe wanted to speak to him. \u201cWould you like to try which of us is the\nstronger?\u201d said he. The whale looked at him, sent up another fountain,\nand answered: \u201cOh, yes; certainly. When do you wish to begin? I am\nquite ready.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen give me one of your longest bones, and I will fasten it to my\nleg. When I give the signal, you must pull, and we will see which can\npull the hardest.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery good,\u201d replied the whale; and he took out one of his bones and\npassed it to the tortoise.\n\nThe tortoise picked up the end of the bone in his mouth and went back\nto the elephant. \u201cI will fasten this to your leg,\u201d said he, \u201cin the\nsame way as it is fastened to mine, and we must both pull as hard as we\ncan. We shall soon see which is the stronger.\u201d So he wound it carefully\nround the elephant\u2019s leg, and tied it in a firm knot. \u201cNow!\u201d cried he,\nplunging into a thick bush behind him.\n\nThe whale tugged at one end, and the elephant tugged at the other, and\nneither had any idea that he had not the tortoise for his foe. When the\nwhale pulled hardest the elephant was dragged into the water; and when\nthe elephant pulled the hardest the whale was hauled on to the land.\nThey were very evenly matched, and the battle was a hard one.\n\nAt last they were quite tired, and the tortoise, who was watching, saw\nthat they could play no more. So he crept from his hiding-place, and\ndipping himself in the river, he went to the elephant and said: \u201cI see\nthat you really are stronger than I thought. Suppose we give it up for\nto-day?\u201d Then he dried himself on some moss and went to the whale and\nsaid: \u201cI see that you really are stronger than I thought. Suppose we\ngive it up for to-day?\u201d\n\nThe two adversaries were only too glad to be allowed to rest, and\nbelieved to the end of their days that, after all, the tortoise was\nstronger than either of them.\n\nA day or two later the young tortoise was taking a stroll, when he met\na fox, and stopped to speak to him. \u201cLet us try,\u201d said he in a careless\nmanner, \u201cwhich of us can lie buried in the ground during seven years.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall be delighted,\u201d answered the fox, \u201conly I would rather that you\nbegan.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is all the same to me,\u201d replied the tortoise; \u201cif you come round\nthis way to-morrow you will see that I have fulfilled my part of the\nbargain.\u201d\n\nSo he looked about for a suitable place, and found a convenient hole at\nthe foot of an orange tree. He crept into it, and the next morning the\nfox heaped up the earth round him, and promised to feed him every day\nwith fresh fruit. The fox so far kept his word that each morning when\nthe sun rose he appeared to ask how the tortoise was getting on. \u201cOh,\nvery well; but I wish you would give me some fruit,\u201d replied he.\n\n\u201cAlas! the fruit is not ripe enough yet for you to eat,\u201d answered the\nfox, who hoped that the tortoise would die of hunger long before the\nseven years were over.\n\n\u201cOh dear, oh dear! I am so hungry!\u201d cried the tortoise.\n\n\u201cI am sure you must be; but it will be all right to-morrow,\u201d said the\nfox, trotting off, not knowing that the oranges dropped down the hollow\ntrunk, straight into the tortoise\u2019s hole, and that he had as many as he\ncould possibly eat.\n\nSo the seven years went by; and when the tortoise came out of his hole\nhe was as fat as ever.\n\nNow it was the fox\u2019s turn, and he chose his hole, and the tortoise\nheaped the earth round, promising to return every day or two with a\nnice young bird for his dinner. \u201cWell, how are you getting on?\u201d he\nwould ask cheerfully when he paid his visits.\n\n\u201cOh, all right; only I wish you had brought a bird with you,\u201d answered\nthe fox.\n\n\u201cI have been so unlucky, I have never been able to catch one,\u201d replied\nthe tortoise. \u201cHowever, I shall be more fortunate to-morrow, I am\nsure.\u201d\n\nBut not many to-morrows after, when the tortoise arrived with his usual\nquestion: \u201cWell, how are you getting on?\u201d he received no answer, for\nthe fox was lying in his hole quite still, dead of hunger.\n\nBy this time the tortoise was grown up, and was looked up to throughout\nthe forest as a person to be feared for his strength and wisdom. But he\nwas not considered a very swift runner, until an adventure with a deer\nadded to his fame.\n\nOne day, when he was basking in the sun, a stag passed by, and stopped\nfor a little conversation. \u201cWould you care to see which of us can run\nfastest?\u201d asked the tortoise, after some talk. The stag thought the\nquestion so silly that he only shrugged his shoulders. \u201cOf course, the\nvictor would have the right to kill the other,\u201d went on the tortoise.\n\u201cOh, on that condition I agree,\u201d answered the deer; \u201cbut I am afraid\nyou are a dead man.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is no use trying to frighten me,\u201d replied the tortoise. \u201cBut I\nshould like three days for training; then I shall be ready to start\nwhen the sun strikes on the big tree at the edge of the great\nclearing.\u201d\n\nThe first thing the tortoise did was to call his brothers and his\ncousins together, and he posted them carefully under ferns all along\nthe line of the great clearing, making a sort of ladder which stretched\nfor many miles. This done to his satisfaction, he went back to the\nstarting place.\n\nThe stag was quite punctual, and as soon as the sun\u2019s rays struck the\ntrunk of the tree the stag started off, and was soon far out of the\nsight of the tortoise. Every now and then he would turn his head as he\nran, and call out: \u201cHow are you getting on?\u201d and the tortoise who\nhappened to be nearest at that moment would answer: \u201cAll right, I am\nclose up to you.\u201d\n\nFull of astonishment, the stag would redouble his efforts, but it was\nno use. Each time he asked: \u201cAre you there?\u201d the answer would come:\n\u201cYes, of course, where else should I be?\u201d And the stag ran, and ran,\nand ran, till he could run no more, and dropped down dead on the grass.\n\nAnd the tortoise, when he thinks about it, laughs still.\n\nBut the tortoise was not the only creature of whose tricks stories were\ntold in the forest. There was a famous monkey who was just as clever\nand more mischievous, because he was so much quicker on his feet and\nwith his hands. It was quite impossible to catch him and give him the\nthrashing he so often deserved, for he just swung himself up into a\ntree and laughed at the angry victim who was sitting below. Sometimes,\nhowever, the inhabitants of the forest were so foolish as to provoke\nhim, and then they got the worst of it. This was what happened to the\nbarber, whom the monkey visited one morning, saying that he wished to\nbe shaved. The barber bowed politely to his customer, and begging him\nto be seated, tied a large cloth round his neck, and rubbed his chin\nwith soap; but instead of cutting off his beard, the barber made a snip\nat the end of his tail. It was only a very little bit and the monkey\nstarted up more in rage than in pain. \u201cGive me back the end of my\ntail,\u201d he roared, \u201cor I will take one of your razors.\u201d The barber\nrefused to give back the missing piece, so the monkey caught up a razor\nfrom the table and ran away with it, and no one in the forest could be\nshaved for days, as there was not another to be got for miles and\nmiles.\n\nAs he was making his way to his own particular palm-tree, where the\ncocoanuts grew, which were so useful for pelting passers-by, he met a\nwoman who was scaling a fish with a bit of wood, for in this side of\nthe forest a few people lived in huts near the river.\n\n\u201cThat must be hard work,\u201d said the monkey, stopping to look; \u201ctry my\nknife\u2014you will get on quicker.\u201d And he handed her the razor as he\nspoke. A few days later he came back and rapped at the door of the hut.\n\u201cI have called for my razor,\u201d he said, when the woman appeared.\n\n\u201cI have lost it,\u201d answered she.\n\n\u201cIf you don\u2019t give it to me at once I will take your sardine,\u201d replied\nthe monkey, who did not believe her. The woman protested she had not\ngot the knife, so he took the sardine and ran off.\n\nA little further along he saw a baker who was standing at the door,\neating one of his loaves. \u201cThat must be rather dry,\u201d said the monkey,\n\u201ctry my fish\u201d; and the man did not need twice telling. A few days later\nthe monkey stopped again at the baker\u2019s hut. \u201cI\u2019ve called for that\nfish,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cThat fish? But I have eaten it!\u201d exclaimed the baker in dismay.\n\n\u201cIf you have eaten it I shall take this barrel of meal in exchange,\u201d\nreplied the monkey; and he walked off with the barrel under his arm.\n\nAs he went he saw a woman with a group of little girls round her,\nteaching them how to dress hair. \u201cHere is something to make cakes for\nthe children,\u201d he said, putting down his barrel, which by this time he\nfound rather heavy. The children were delighted, and ran directly to\nfind some flat stones to bake their cakes on, and when they had made\nand eaten them, they thought they had never tasted anything so nice.\nIndeed, when they saw the monkey approaching not long after, they\nrushed to meet him, hoping that he was bringing them some more\npresents. But he took no notice of their questions, he only said to\ntheir mother: \u201cI\u2019ve called for my barrel of meal.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, you gave it to me to make cakes of!\u201d cried the mother.\n\n\u201cIf I can\u2019t get my barrel of meal, I shall take one of your children,\u201d\nanswered the monkey. \u201cI am in want of somebody who can bake my bread\nwhen I am tired of fruit, and who knows how to make cocoanut cakes.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, leave me my child, and I will find you another barrel of meal,\u201d\nwept the mother.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t WANT another barrel, I want THAT one,\u201d answered the monkey\nsternly. And as the woman stood wringing her hands, he caught up the\nlittle girl that he thought the prettiest and took her to his home in\nthe palm tree.\n\nShe never went back to the hut, but on the whole she was not much to be\npitied, for monkeys are nearly as good as children to play with, and\nthey taught her how to swing, and to climb, and to fly from tree to\ntree, and everything else they knew, which was a great deal.\n\nNow the monkey\u2019s tiresome tricks had made him many enemies in the\nforest, but no one hated him so much as the puma. The cause of their\nquarrel was known only to themselves, but everybody was aware of the\nfact, and took care to be out of the way when there was any chance of\nthese two meeting. Often and often the puma had laid traps for the\nmonkey, which he felt sure his foe could not escape; and the monkey\nwould pretend that he saw nothing, and rejoice the hidden puma\u2019s heart\nby seeming to walk straight into the snare, when, lo! a loud laugh\nwould be heard, and the monkey\u2019s grinning face would peer out of a mass\nof creepers and disappear before his foe could reach him.\n\nThis state of things had gone on for quite a long while, when at last\nthere came a season such as the oldest parrot in the forest could never\nremember. Instead of two or three hundred inches of rain falling, which\nthey were all accustomed to, month after month passed without a cloud,\nand the rivers and springs dried up, till there was only one small pool\nleft for everyone to drink from. There was not an animal for miles\nround that did not grieve over this shocking condition of affairs, not\none at least except the puma. His only thought for years had been how\nto get the monkey into his power, and this time he imagined his chance\nhad really arrived. He would hide himself in a thicket, and when the\nmonkey came down to drink\u2014and come he must\u2014the puma would spring out\nand seize him. Yes, on this occasion there could be no escape!\n\nAnd no more there would have been if the puma had had greater patience;\nbut in his excitement he moved a little too soon. The monkey, who was\nstooping to drink, heard a rustling, and turning caught the gleam of\ntwo yellow, murderous eyes. With a mighty spring he grasped a creeper\nwhich was hanging above him, and landed himself on the branch of a\ntree; feeling the breath of the puma on his feet as the animal bounded\nfrom is cover. Never had the monkey been so near death, and it was some\ntime before he recovered enough courage to venture on the ground again.\n\nUp there in the shelter of the trees, he began to turn over in his head\nplans for escaping the snares of the puma. And at length chance helped\nhim. Peeping down to the earth, he saw a man coming along the path\ncarrying on his head a large gourd filled with honey.\n\nHe waited till the man was just underneath the tree, then he hung from\na bough, and caught the gourd while the man looked up wondering, for he\nwas no tree-climber. Then the monkey rubbed the honey all over him, and\na quantity of leaves from a creeper that was hanging close by; he stuck\nthem all close together into the honey, so that he looked like a\nwalking bush. This finished, he ran to the pool to see the result, and,\nquite pleased with himself, set out in search of adventures.\n\nSoon the report went through the forest that a new animal had appeared\nfrom no one knew where, and that when somebody had asked his name, the\nstrange creature had answered that it was Jack-in-the-Green. Thanks to\nthis, the monkey was allowed to drink at the pool as often as he liked,\nfor neither beast nor bird had the faintest notion who he was. And if\nthey made any inquiries the only answer they got was that the water of\nwhich he had drunk deeply had turned his hair into leaves, so that they\nall knew what would happen in case they became too greedy.\n\nBy-and-by the great rains began again. The rivers and streams filled\nup, and there was no need for him to go back to the pool, near the home\nof his enemy, the puma, as there was a large number of places for him\nto choose from. So one night, when everything was still and silent, and\neven the chattering parrots were asleep on one leg, the monkey stole\ndown softly from his perch, and washed off the honey and the leaves,\nand came out from his bath in his own proper skin. On his way to\nbreakfast he met a rabbit, and stopped for a little talk.\n\n\u201cI am feeling rather dull,\u201d he remarked; \u201cI think it would do me good\nto hunt a while. What do you say?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I am quite willing,\u201d answered the rabbit, proud of being spoken to\nby such a large creature. \u201cBut the question is, what shall we hunt?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is no credit in going after an elephant or a tiger,\u201d replied the\nmonkey stroking his chin, \u201cthey are so big they could not possibly get\nout of your way. It shows much more skill to be able to catch a small\nthing that can hide itself in a moment behind a leaf. I\u2019ll tell you\nwhat! Suppose I hunt butterflies, and you, serpents.\u201d\n\nThe rabbit, who was young and without experience, was delighted with\nthis idea, and they both set out on their various ways.\n\nThe monkey quietly climbed up the nearest tree, and ate fruit most of\nthe day, but the rabbit tired himself to death poking his nose into\nevery heap of dried leaves he saw, hoping to find a serpent among them.\nLuckily for himself the serpents were all away for the afternoon, at a\nmeeting of their own, for there is nothing a serpent likes so well for\ndinner as a nice plump rabbit. But, as it was, the dried leaves were\nall empty, and the rabbit at last fell asleep where he was. Then the\nmonkey, who had been watching him, fell down and pulled his ears, to\nthe rage of the rabbit, who vowed vengeance.\n\nIt was not easy to catch the monkey off his guard, and the rabbit\nwaited long before an opportunity arrived. But one day\nJack-in-the-Green was sitting on a stone, wondering what he should do\nnext, when the rabbit crept softly behind him, and gave his tail a\nsharp pull. The monkey gave a shriek of pain, and darted up into a\ntree, but when he saw that it was only the rabbit who had dared to\ninsult him so, he chattered so fast in his anger, and looked so fierce,\nthat the rabbit fled into the nearest hole, and stayed there for\nseveral days, trembling with fright.\n\nSoon after this adventure the monkey went away into another part of the\ncountry, right on the outskirts of the forest, where there was a\nbeautiful garden full of oranges hanging ripe from the trees. This\ngarden was a favourite place for birds of all kinds, each hoping to\nsecure an orange for dinner, and in order to frighten the birds away\nand keep a little fruit for himself, the master had fastened a waxen\nfigure on one of the boughs.\n\nNow the monkey was as fond of oranges as any of the birds, and when he\nsaw a man standing in the tree where the largest and sweetest oranges\ngrew, he spoke to him at once. \u201cYou man,\u201d he said rudely, \u201cthrow me\ndown that big orange up there, or I will throw a stone at you.\u201d The wax\nfigure took no notice of this request, so the monkey, who was easily\nmade angry, picked up a stone, and flung it with all his force. But\ninstead of falling to the ground again, the stone stuck to the soft\nwax.\n\nAt this moment a breeze shook the tree, and the orange on which the\nmonkey had set his heart dropped from the bough. He picked it up and\nate it every bit, including the rind, and it was so good he thought he\nshould like another. So he called again to the wax figure to throw him\nan orange, and as the figure did not move, he hurled another stone,\nwhich stuck to the wax as the first had done. Seeing that the man was\nquite indifferent to stones, the monkey grew more angry still, and\nclimbing the tree hastily, gave the figure a violent kick. But like the\ntwo stones his leg remained stuck to the wax, and he was held fast.\n\u201cLet me go at once, or I will give you another kick,\u201d he cried, suiting\nthe action to the word, and this time also his foot remained in the\ngrasp of the man. Not knowing what he did, the monkey hit out, first\nwith one hand and then with the other, and when he found that he was\nliterally bound hand and foot, he became so mad with anger and terror\nthat in his struggles he fell to the ground, dragging the figure after\nhim. This freed his hands and feet, but besides the shock of the fall,\nthey had tumbled into a bed of thorns, and he limped away broken and\nbruised, and groaning loudly; for when monkeys ARE hurt, they take\npains that everybody shall know it.\n\nIt was a long time before Jack was well enough to go about again; but\nwhen he did, he had an encounter with his old enemy the puma. And this\nwas how it came about.\n\nOne day the puma invited his friend the stag to go with him and see a\ncomrade, who was famous for the good milk he got from his cows. The\nstag loved milk, and gladly accepted the invitation, and when the sun\nbegan to get a little low the two started on their walk. On the way\nthey arrived on the banks of a river, and as there were no bridges in\nthose days it was necessary to swim across it. The stag was not fond of\nswimming, and began to say that he was tired, and thought that after\nall it was not worth going so far to get milk, and that he would return\nhome. But the puma easily saw through these excuses, and laughed at\nhim.\n\n\u201cThe river is not deep at all,\u201d he said; \u201cwhy, you will never be off\nyour feet. Come, pluck up your courage and follow me.\u201d\n\nThe stag was afraid of the river; still, he was much more afraid of\nbeing laughed at, and he plunged in after the puma; but in an instant\nthe current had swept him away, and if it had not borne him by accident\nto a shallow place on the opposite side, where he managed to scramble\nup the bank, he would certainly have been drowned. As it was, he\nscrambled out, shaking with terror, and found the puma waiting for him.\n\u201cYou had a narrow escape that time,\u201d said the puma.\n\nAfter resting for a few minutes, to let the stag recover from his\nfright, they went on their way till they came to a grove of bananas.\n\n\u201cThey look very good,\u201d observed the puma with a longing glance, \u201cand I\nam sure you must be hungry, friend stag? Suppose you were to climb the\ntree and get some. You shall eat the green ones, they are the best and\nsweetest; and you can throw the yellow ones down to me. I dare say they\nwill do quite well!\u201d The stag did as he was bid, though, not being used\nto climbing, it gave him a deal of trouble and sore knees, and besides,\nhis horns were continually getting entangled in the creepers. What was\nworse, when once he had tasted the bananas, he found them not at all to\nhis liking, so he threw them all down, green and yellow alike, and let\nthe puma take his choice. And what a dinner he made! When he had QUITE\ndone, they set forth once more.\n\nThe path lay through a field of maize, where several men were working.\nAs they came up to them, the puma whispered: \u201cGo on in front, friend\nstag, and just say \u2018Bad luck to all workers!\u2019\u201d The stag obeyed, but the\nmen were hot and tired, and did not think this a good joke. So they set\ntheir dogs at him, and he was obliged to run away as fast as he could.\n\n\u201cI hope your industry will be rewarded as it deserves,\u201d said the puma\nas he passed along; and the men were pleased, and offered him some of\ntheir maize to eat.\n\nBy-and-by the puma saw a small snake with a beautiful shining skin,\nlying coiled up at the foot of a tree. \u201cWhat a lovely bracelet that\nwould make for your daughter, friend stag! said he. The stag stooped\nand picked up the snake, which bit him, and he turned angrily to the\npuma. \u201cWhy did you not tell me it would bite?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cIs it my fault if you are an idiot?\u201d replied the puma.\n\nAt last they reached their journey\u2019s end, but by this time it was late,\nand the puma\u2019s comrade was ready for bed, so they slung their hammocks\nin convenient places, and went to sleep. But in the middle of the night\nthe puma rose softly and stole out of the door to the sheep-fold, where\nhe killed and ate the fattest sheep he could find, and taking a bowl\nfull of its blood, he sprinkled the sleeping stag with it. This done,\nhe returned to bed.\n\nIn the morning the shepherd went as usual to let the sheep out of the\nfold, and found one of them missing. He thought directly of the puma,\nand ran to accuse him of having eaten the sheep. \u201cI, my good man? What\nhad put it into your head to think of such a thing? Have I got any\nblood about me? If anyone has eaten a sheep it must be my friend the\nstag.\u201d Then the shepherd went to examine the sleeping stag, and of\ncourse he saw the blood. \u201cAh! I will teach you how to steal!\u201d cried he,\nand he hit the stag such a blow on his skull that he died in a moment.\nThe noise awakened the comrade above, and he came downstairs. The puma\ngreeted him with joy, and begged he might have some of the famous milk\nas soon as possible, for he was very thirsty. A large bucket was set\nbefore the puma directly. He drank it to the last drop, and then took\nleave.\n\nOn his way home he met the monkey. \u201cAre you fond of milk?\u201d asked he. \u201cI\nknow a place where you get it very nice. I will show you it if you\nlike.\u201d The monkey knew that the puma was not so good-natured for\nnothing, but he felt quite able to take care of himself, so he said he\nshould have much pleasure in accompanying his friend.\n\nThey soon reached the same river, and, as before, the puma remarked:\n\u201cFriend monkey, you will find it very shallow; there is no cause for\nfear. Jump in and I will follow.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you think you have the stag to deal with?\u201d asked the monkey,\nlaughing. \u201cI should prefer to follow; if not I shall go no further. The\npuma understood that it was useless trying to make the monkey do as he\nwished, so he chose a shallow place and began to swim across. The\nmonkey waited till the puma had got to the middle, then he gave a great\nspring and jumped on his back, knowing quite well that the puma would\nbe afraid to shake him off, lest he should be swept away into deep\nwater. So in this manner they reached the bank.\n\nThe banana grove was not far distant, and here the puma thought he\nwould pay the monkey out for forcing him to carry him over the river.\n\u201cFriend monkey, look what fine bananas,\u201d cried he. \u201cYou are fond of\nclimbing; suppose you run up and throw me down a few. You can eat the\ngreen ones, which are the nicest, and I will be content with the\nyellow.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d answered the monkey, swinging himself up; but he ate all\nthe yellow ones himself, and only threw down the green ones that were\nleft. The puma was furious and cried out: \u201cI will punch your head for\nthat.\u201d But the monkey only answered: \u201cIf you are gong to talk such\nnonsense I won\u2019t walk with you.\u201d And the puma was silent.\n\nIn a few minutes more they arrived at the field were the men were\nreaping the maize, and the puma remarked as he had done before: \u201cFriend\nmonkey, if you wish to please these men, just say as you go by: \u2018Bad\nluck to all workers.\u2019\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d replied the monkey; but, instead, he nodded and smiled,\nand said: \u201cI hope your industry may be rewarded as it deserves.\u201d The\nmen thanked him heartily, let him pass on, and the puma followed behind\nhim.\n\nFurther along the path they saw the shining snake lying on the moss.\n\u201cWhat a lovely necklace for your daughter,\u201d exclaimed the puma. \u201cPick\nit up and take it with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are very kind, but I will leave it for you,\u201d answered the monkey,\nand nothing more was said about the snake.\n\nNot long after this they reached the comrade\u2019s house, and found him\njust ready to go to bed. So, without stopping to talk, the guests slung\ntheir hammocks, the monkey taking care to place his so high that no one\ncould get at him. Besides, he thought it would be more prudent not to\nfall asleep, so he only lay still and snored loudly. When it was quite\ndark and no sound was to be heard, the puma crept out to the\nsheep-fold, killed the sheep, and carried back a bowl full of its blood\nwith which to sprinkle the monkey. But the monkey, who had been\nwatching out of the corner of his eye, waited until the puma drew near,\nand with a violent kick upset the bowl all over the puma himself.\n\nWhen the puma saw what had happened, he turned in a great hurry to\nleave the house, but before he could do so, he saw the shepherd coming,\nand hastily lay down again.\n\n\u201cThis is the second time I have lost a sheep,\u201d the man said to the\nmonkey; \u201cit will be the worse for the thief when I catch him, I can\ntell you.\u201d The monkey did not answer, but silently pointed to the puma\nwho was pretending to be asleep. The shepherd stooped and saw the\nblood, and cried out: \u201cAh! so it is you, is it? then take that!\u201d and\nwith his stick he gave the puma such a blow on the head that he died\nthen and there.\n\nThen the monkey got up and went to the dairy, and drank all the milk he\ncould find. Afterwards he returned home and married, and that is the\nlast we heard of him.\n\n[Adapted from Folk-lore Bresilien.]\n\n\n\n\nThe Knights of the Fish\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived an old cobbler who worked hard at his\ntrade from morning till night, and scarcely gave himself a moment to\neat. But, industrious as he was, he could hardly buy bread and cheese\nfor himself and his wife, and they grew thinner and thinner daily.\n\nFor a long while whey pretended to each other that they had no\nappetite, and that a few blackberries from the hedges were a great deal\nnicer than a good strong bowl of soup. But at length there came a day\nwhen the cobbler could bear it no longer, and he threw away his last,\nand borrowing a rod from a neighbour he went out to fish.\n\nNow the cobbler was as patient about fishing as he had been about\ncobbling. From dawn to dark he stood on the banks of the little stream,\nwithout hooking anything better than an eel, or a few old shoes, that\neven he, clever though he was, felt were not worth mending. At length\nhis patience began to give way, and as he undressed one night he said\nto himself: \u201cWell, I will give it one more chance; and if I don\u2019t catch\na fish to-morrow, I will go and hang myself.\u201d\n\nHe had not cast his line for ten minutes the next morning before he\ndrew from the river the most beautiful fish he had ever seen in his\nlife. But he nearly fell into the water from surprise, when the fish\nbegan to speak to him, in a small, squeaky voice:\n\n\u201cTake me back to your hut and cook me; then cut me up, and sprinkle me\nover with pepper and salt. Give two of the pieces to your wife, and\nbury two more in the garden.\u201d\n\nThe cobbler did not know what to make of these strange words; but he\nwas wiser than many people, and when he did not understand, he thought\nit was well to obey. His children wanted to eat all the fish\nthemselves, and begged their father to tell them what to do with the\npieces he had put aside; but the cobbler only laughed, and told them it\nwas no business of theirs. And when they were safe in bed he stole out\nand buried the two pieces in the garden.\n\nBy and by two babies, exactly alike, lay in a cradle, and in the garden\nwere two tall plants, with two brilliant shields on the top.\n\nYears passed away, and the babies were almost men. They were tired of\nliving quietly at home, being mistaken for each other by everybody they\nsaw, and determined to set off in different directions, to seek\nadventures.\n\nSo, one fine morning, the two brothers left the hut, and walked\ntogether to the place where the great road divided. There they embraced\nand parted, promising that if anything remarkable had happened to\neither, he would return to the cross roads and wait till his brother\ncame.\n\nThe youth who took the path that ran eastwards arrived presently at a\nlarge city, where he found everybody standing at the doors, wringing\ntheir hands and weeping bitterly.\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter?\u201d asked he, pausing and looking round. And a man\nreplied, in a faltering voice, that each year a beautiful girl was\nchosen by lot to be offered up to a dreadful fiery dragon, who had a\nmother even worse than himself, and this year the lot had fallen on\ntheir peerless princess.\n\n\u201cBut where IS the princess?\u201d said the young man once more, and again\nthe man answered him: \u201cShe is standing under a tree, a mile away,\nwaiting for the dragon.\u201d\n\nThis time the Knight of the Fish did not stop to hear more, but ran off\nas fast as he could, and found the princess bathed in tears, and\ntrembling from head to foot.\n\nShe turned as she heard the sound of his sword, and removed her\nhandkerchief from his eyes.\n\n\u201cFly,\u201d she cried; \u201cfly while you have yet time, before that monster\nsees you.\u201d\n\nShe said it, and she mean it; yet, when he had turned his back, she\nfelt more forsaken than before. But in reality it was not more than a\nfew minutes before he came back, galloping furiously on a horse he had\nborrowed, and carrying a huge mirror across its neck.\n\n\u201cI am in time, then,\u201d he cried, dismounting very carefully, and placing\nthe mirror against the trunk of a tree.\n\n\u201cGive me your veil,\u201d he said hastily to the princess. And when she had\nunwound it from her head he covered the mirror with it.\n\n\u201cThe moment the dragon comes near you, you must tear off the veil,\u201d\ncried he; \u201cand be sure you hide behind the mirror. Have no fear; I\nshall be at hand.\u201d\n\nHe and his horse had scarcely found shelter amongst some rocks, when\nthe flap of the dragon\u2019s wings could be plainly heard. He tossed his\nhead with delight at the sight of her, and approached slowly to the\nplace where she stood, a little in front of the mirror. Then, still\nlooking the monster steadily in the face, she passed one hand behind\nher back and snatched off the veil, stepping swiftly behind the tree as\nshe did so.\n\nThe princess had not known, when she obeyed the orders of the Knight of\nthe Fish, what she expected to happen. Would the dragon with snaky\nlocks be turned to stone, she wondered, like the dragon in an old story\nher nurse had told her; or would some fiery spark dart from the heart\nof the mirror, and strike him dead? Neither of these things occurred,\nbut, instead, the dragon stopped short with surprise and rage when he\nsaw a monster before him as big and strong as himself. He shook his\nmane with rage and fury; the enemy in front did exactly the same. He\nlashed his tail, and rolled his red eyes, and the dragon opposite was\nno whit behind him. Opening his mouth to its very widest, he gave an\nawful roar; but the other dragon only roared back. This was too much,\nand with another roar which made the princess shake in her shoes, he\nflung himself upon his foe. In an instant the mirror lay at his feet\nbroken into a thousand pieces, but as every piece reflected part of\nhimself, the dragon thought that he too had been smashed into atoms.\n\nIt was the moment for which the Knight of the Fish had watched and\nwaited, and before the dragon could find out that he was not hurt at\nall, the young man\u2019s lance was down his throat, and he was rolling,\ndead, on the grass.\n\nOh! what shouts of joy rang through the great city, when the youth came\nriding back with the princess sitting behind him, and dragging the\nhorrible monster by a cord. Everybody cried out that the king must give\nthe victor the hand of the princess; and so he did, and no one had ever\nseen such balls and feasts and sports before. And when they were all\nover the young couple went to the palace prepared for them, which was\nso large that it was three miles round.\n\nThe first wet day after their marriage the bridegroom begged the bride\nto show him all the rooms in the palace, and it was so big and took so\nlong that the sun was shining brightly again before they stepped on to\nthe roof to see the view.\n\n\u201cWhat castle is that out there,\u201d asked the knight; \u201cit seems to be made\nof black marble?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is called the castle of Albatroz,\u201d answered the princess. \u201cIt is\nenchanted, and no one that has tried to enter it has ever come back.\u201d\n\nHer husband said nothing, and began to talk of something else; but the\nnext morning he ordered his horse, took his spear, called his\nbloodhound, and set off for the castle.\n\nIt needed a brave man to approach it, for it made your hair stand on\nend merely to look at it; it was as dark as the night of a storm, and\nas silent as the grave. But the Knight of the Fish knew no fear, and\nhad never turned his back on an enemy; so he drew out his horn, and\nblew a blast.\n\nThe sound awoke all the sleeping echoes in the castle, and was repeated\nnow loudly, now softly; now near, and now far. But nobody stirred for\nall that.\n\n\u201cIs there anyone inside?\u201d cried the young man in his loudest voice;\n\u201canyone who will give a knight hospitality? Neither governor, nor\nsquire, not even a page?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot even a page!\u201d answered the echoes. But the young man did not heed\nthem, and only struck a furious blow at the gate.\n\nThen a small grating opened, and there appeared the tip of a huge nose,\nwhich belonged to the ugliest old woman that ever was seen.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cTo enter,\u201d he answered shortly. \u201cCan I rest here this night? Yes or\nNo?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, No, No!\u201d repeated the echoes.\n\nBetween the fierce sun and his anger at being kept waiting, the Knight\nof the Fish had grown so hot that he lifted his visor, and when the old\nwoman saw how handsome he was, she began fumbling with the lock of the\ngate.\n\n\u201cCome in, come in,\u201d said she, \u201cso fine a gentleman will do us no harm.\u201d\n\n\u201cHarm!\u201d repeated the echoes, but again the young man paid no heed.\n\n\u201cLet us go in, ancient dame,\u201d but she interrupted him.\n\n\u201cYou must call me the Lady Berberisca,\u201d she answered, sharply; \u201cand\nthis is my castle, to which I bid you welcome. You shall live here with\nme and be my husband.\u201d But at these words the knight let his spear\nfall, so surprised was he.\n\n\u201cI marry YOU? why you must be a hundred at least!\u201d cried he. \u201cYou are\nmad! All I desire is to inspect the castle and then go.\u201d As he spoke he\nheard the voices give a mocking laugh; but the old woman took no\nnotice, and only bade the knight follow her.\n\nOld though she was, it seemed impossible to tire her. There was no\nroom, however small, she did not lead him into, and each room was full\nof curious things he had never seen before.\n\nAt length they came to a stone staircase, which was so dark that you\ncould not see your hand if you held it up before your face.\n\n\u201cI have kept my most precious treasure till the last,\u201d said the old\nwoman; \u201cbut let me go first, for the stairs are steep, and you might\neasily break your leg.\u201d So on she went, now and then calling back to\nthe young man in the darkness. But he did not know that she had slipped\naside into a recess, till suddenly he put his foot on a trap door which\ngave way under him, and he fell down, down, as many good knights had\ndone before him, and his voice joined the echoes of theirs.\n\n\u201cSo you would not marry me!\u201d chuckled the old witch. \u201cHa! ha! Ha! ha!\u201d\n\nMeanwhile his brother had wandered far and wide, and at last he\nwandered back to the same great city where the other young knight had\nmet with so many adventures. He noticed, with amazement, that as he\nwalked through the streets the guards drew themselves up in line, and\nsaluted him, and the drummers played the royal march; but he was still\nmore bewildered when several servants in livery ran up to him and told\nhim that the princess was sure something terrible had befallen him, and\nhad made herself ill with weeping. At last it occurred to him that once\nmore he had been taken for his brother. \u201cI had better say nothing,\u201d\nthought he; \u201cperhaps I shall be able to help him after all.\u201d\n\nSo he suffered himself to be borne in triumph to the palace, where the\nprincess threw herself into his arms.\n\n\u201cAnd so you did go to the castle?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cYes, of course I did,\u201d answered he.\n\n\u201cAnd what did you see there?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am forbidden to tell you anything about it, until I have returned\nthere once more,\u201d replied he.\n\n\u201cMust you really go back to that dreadful place?\u201d she asked wistfully.\n\u201cYou are the only man who has ever come back from it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI must,\u201d was all he answered. And the princess, who was a wise woman,\nonly said: \u201cWell, go to bed now, for I am sure you must be very tired.\u201d\n\nBut the knight shook his head. \u201cI have sworn never to lie in a bed as\nlong as my work in the castle remains standing.\u201d And the princess again\nsighed, and was silent.\n\nEarly next day the young man started for the castle, feeling sure that\nsome terrible thing must have happened to his brother.\n\nAt the blast of his horn the long nose of the old woman appeared at the\ngrating, but the moment she caught sight of his face, she nearly\nfainted from fright, as she thought it was the ghost of the youth whose\nbones were lying in the dungeon of the castle.\n\n\u201cLady of all the ages,\u201d cried the new comer, \u201cdid you not give\nhospitality to a young knight but a short time ago?\u201d\n\n\u201cA short time ago!\u201d wailed the voices.\n\n\u201cAnd how have you ill-treated him?\u201d he went on.\n\n\u201cIll-treated him!\u201d answered the voices. The woman did not stop to hear\nmore; she turned to fly; but the knight\u2019s sword entered her body.\n\n\u201cWhere is my brother, cruel hag?\u201d asked he sternly.\n\n\u201cI will tell you,\u201d said she; \u201cbut as I feel that I am going to die I\nshall keep that piece of news to myself, till you have brought me to\nlife again.\u201d\n\nThe young man laughed scornfully. \u201cHow do you propose that I should\nwork that miracle?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, it is quite easy. Go into the garden and gather the flowers of the\neverlasting plant and some of dragon\u2019s blood. Crush them together and\nboil them in a large tub of water, and then put me into it.\u201d\n\nThe knight did as the old witch bade him, and, sure enough, she came\nout quite whole, but uglier than ever. She then told the young man what\nhad become of his brother, and he went down into the dungeon, and\nbrought up his body and the bodies of the other victims who lay there,\nand when they were all washed in the magic water their strength was\nrestored to them.\n\nAnd, besides these, he found in another cavern the bodies of the girls\nwho had been sacrificed to the dragon, and brought them back to life\nalso.\n\nAs to the old witch, in the end she died of rage at seeing her prey\nescape her; and at the moment she drew her last breath the castle of\nAlbatroz fell into ruins with a great noise.\n\n[From Cuentos, Oraciones, Adivinas recogidos por Fernan Caballaro.]","title":"The Brown Fairy Book","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":97616}