{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_48351/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_48351","id":"gutenberg_48351","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48351","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Short Stories","Fairy tales","Folk literature"],"text":"WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS\n\n\n\n\n_Uniform with this Volume_\n\n\nFAIRY TALES OF OLD JAPAN\n\nBy Dr W. E. GRIFFIS. Illustrated in Colour.\n\n\n\nCHINESE FAIRY STORIES\n\nBy NORMAN H. PITMAN. Illustrated in Colour.\n\n[Illustration: THE BABA YAGA AND PETER\n\n_Fr._]\n\n\n\n\nWONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS\n\n    WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED\n    BY\n    KATHARINE PYLE\n\n[Illustration]\n\n    LONDON\n    GEORGE G. HARRAP & COMPANY LTD.\n    2 & 3 PORTSMOUTH STREET KINGSWAY W.C.\n    AND AT SYDNEY\n\n\n\n\n    _First published August 1920_\n\n\n    _Printed in Great Britain\n    by Turnbull & Spears, Edinburgh_\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                              PAGE\n  LONG, BROAD, AND SHARPSIGHT                    9\n    _A Story from Bohemia_\n\n  THE DWARF WITH THE GOLDEN BEARD               30\n    _A Slavonic Fairy Tale_\n\n  THE GREAT WHITE BEAR AND THE TROLLS           55\n    _A Story from the Norse_\n\n  THE STORY OF THE THREE BILLY GOAT GRUFFS      61\n    _A Story from the Norse_\n\n  THE STONES OF PLOUVINEC                       67\n    _A Tale from Brittany_\n\n  THE KING OF THE BUFFALOES                     81\n    _An American Indian Tale_\n\n  THE JACKAL AND THE ALLIGATOR                  88\n    _A Hindu Fairy Tale_\n\n  THE BABA YAGA                                 93\n    _A Russian Fairy Tale_\n\n  TAMLANE                                       99\n    _A Story from an Old Scotch Ballad_\n\n  THE FARMER AND THE PIXY                      104\n    _An English Fairy Tale_\n\n  RABBIT\u2019S EYES                                109\n    _A Korean Fairy Tale_\n\n  MUDJEE MONEDO                                114\n    _An American Indian Tale_\n\n  DAPPLEGRIM                                   126\n    _A Tale adapted from the Norse_\n\n  THE FISH PRINCE                              146\n    _A Hindu Folk Tale_\n\n  THE MAGIC RICE KETTLE                        161\n    _A Korean Story_\n\n  THE CROW PERI                                178\n    _A Persian Story_\n\n  THE FOUR WISHES                              199\n    _A German Story_\n\n  WHY THE ANIMALS NO LONGER FEAR THE SHEEP     229\n    _A French Creole Story_\n\n  PRINCESS ROSETTA                             240\n    _A French Fairy Tale_\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n                                                           PAGE\n  THE BABA YAGA AND PETER                         _Frontispiece_\n\n  THERE WAS A GREAT BLACK RAVEN IN THE ROOM WITH THEM        28\n\n  HE SPOKE TO HER IN THE SOFTEST VOICE HE COULD MANAGE       82\n\n  THEN IT WAS A SWAN THAT BEAT ITS WINGS IN HER FACE        102\n\n  \u201cNOT SO FAST, MY FINE LITTLE FELLOW,\u201d HE SAID             106\n\n  SHE MANAGED TO THROW THE THIRD STONE AT HIM               152\n\n  \u201cDO NOT BE AFRAID, MY CHILD,\u201d SAID THE NIXIE TO MATILDA   202\n\n  THE MATTRESS UPON WHICH SHE LAY HAD FLOATED ON AND ON     248\n\n\n\n\nWONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS\n\n\n\n\nLONG, BROAD, AND SHARPSIGHT\n\nA STORY FROM BOHEMIA\n\n\nTHERE was once a King who had one only son, and him he loved better\nthan anything in the whole world\u2014better even than his own life. The\nKing\u2019s greatest desire was to see his son married, but though the\nPrince had travelled in many lands, and had seen many noble and\nbeautiful ladies, there was not one among them all whom he wished to\nhave for a wife.\n\nOne day the King called his son to him and said, \u201cMy son, for a long\ntime now I have hoped to see you choose a bride, but you have desired\nno one. Take now this silver key. Go to the top of the castle, and\nthere you will see a steel door. This key will unlock it. Open the door\nand enter. Look carefully at everything in the room, and then return\nand tell me what you have seen. But, whatever you do, do not touch nor\ndraw aside the curtain that hangs at the right of the door. If you\nshould disobey me and do this thing, you will suffer the greatest\ndangers, and may even pay for it with your life.\u201d\n\nThe Prince wondered greatly at his father\u2019s words, but he took the key\nand went to the top of the castle, and there he found the steel door\nhis father had described. He unlocked it with the silver key, stepped\ninside, and looked about him. When he had done so, he was filled with\namazement at what he saw. The room had twelve sides, and on eleven of\nthese sides were pictures of eleven princesses more beautiful than\nany the Prince had ever seen in all his life before. Moreover, these\npictures were as though they were alive. When the Prince looked at\nthem, they moved and smiled and blushed and beckoned to him. He went\nfrom one to the other, and they were so beautiful that each one he\nlooked upon seemed lovelier than the last. But lovely though they were,\nthere was not one of them whom the Prince wished to have for a wife.\n\nLast of all, the Prince came to the twelfth side of the room, and it\nwas covered over with a curtain, and the curtain was of velvet richly\nembroidered with gold and precious stones. The Prince stood before it\nand looked at it and looked at it. He tried to peer under its edges,\nbut he could see nothing; never in all his life had he longed for\nanything as he longed to lift that curtain and see what was behind it.\n\nAt last his longing grew so great that he could withstand it no\nlonger. He laid his hand upon the folds and drew it aside, and when he\nhad done so, his heart melted within him for love and joy. For there\nwas the portrait of a maiden so fair and lovely that all the other\neleven beauties were as nothing beside her.\n\nThe Prince stood and looked at her, and she looked back at him, and she\ndid not blush or beckon to him as the others had done, but rather she\ngrew pale.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the Prince at last, \u201cyou and you only shall be my bride,\neven though I should have to go to the ends of the world to find you.\u201d\n\nWhen he said that, the picture bowed its head gravely.\n\nThen the Prince dropped the curtain and left the room and went down to\nwhere the old King was waiting for him. As soon as he came before his\nfather, the old man asked whether he had found the room and entered it.\n\n\u201cI did,\u201d answered the Prince.\n\n\u201cAnd what did you see in the room, my son?\u201d\n\n\u201cI saw a picture of the maiden whom I wish to have for a wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd which of the eleven was it?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was none of the eleven; it was the twelfth\u2014she whose portrait hangs\nbehind the curtain.\u201d\n\nWhen the old King heard this, he gave a cry of grief. \u201cAlas, alas, my\nson! What have you done! Did I not warn you not to lift the curtain\nand not to look behind it?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou warned me, my father, and yet I could not but look, and now I have\nseen the only one whom I will ever marry. Tell me, I pray of you, who\nshe is, that I may go in search of her.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell did I know that misfortune would come upon you if ever you\nentered that room. That Princess whom you have seen is indeed the\nmost beautiful Princess in all the world, but she is also the most\nunfortunate. Because of her beauty, she was carried away by a wicked\nand powerful Magician who wished to marry her. To this, however, she\nwould not consent. He still keeps her a prisoner in an iron castle far\naway beyond forest, plain, and mountain at the very end of the world.\nMany princes and heroes and brave men have tried to rescue her, but\nnone has ever succeeded. They have lost their lives in the attempt,\nand the Magician has turned them all into stone statues to adorn his\ncastle. And now you are determined to throw away your life also.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat may be,\u201d said the Prince; \u201cand yet it may also be that I shall\nsucceed even though others have failed. At any rate, I must try, for I\ncannot live without her.\u201d\n\nWhen the King found that his son was determined to go, and that nothing\ncould stay him, he gave him a jewelled sword and the finest steed in\nhis stable and bade him God-speed.\n\nSo the Prince set out with his father\u2019s blessing, and he rode along and\nrode along until at last he came to a forest that was so vast there\nseemed to be no end to it. In this forest he quite lost his way. He was\ntherefore very glad when he saw some one trudging along in front of him.\n\nThe Prince rode on until he overtook the man, and then he reined in his\nhorse and bade him good day.\n\n\u201cGood day,\u201d answered the man.\n\n\u201cDo you know the ways through this forest?\u201d asked the Prince.\n\n\u201cNo, I know nothing about them, but that never bothers me. If at any\ntime I think I am going in the wrong direction, it is easy to right\nmyself.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow is that?\u201d said the Prince.\n\n\u201cOh, I have the power of stretching myself out to any length, and if\nI lose my way I have only to make myself tall enough to see over the\ntree-tops, and then I can easily tell where I am.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat must be very curious. I should like to see that,\u201d said the Prince.\n\nWell, that was easy enough, and the man would be glad enough to oblige\nhim. So he began to stretch himself. He stretched and stretched and\nstretched until he was taller than the tallest tree in the forest. His\nhead and body were quite lost to sight among the branches, and all that\nthe Prince could see were his legs and feet.\n\n\u201cIs that enough?\u201d the man called down to the Prince.\n\n\u201cYes, that is enough,\u201d answered the Prince, and he had to shout to make\nhimself heard, the man\u2019s head was so far away.\n\nThen the man began to shrink. He shrank and shrank until he was no\ntaller than the Prince himself.\n\n\u201cYou are a wonderful fellow,\u201d said the Prince. \u201cWhat is your name?\u201d\n\nThe man\u2019s name was Long.\n\n\u201cAnd what did you see up there?\u201d\n\n\u201cI saw a plain and great mountains beyond, and still beyond that an\niron castle, and it was so far away that it must be at the very end of\nthe world.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is that castle that I am seeking,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cand now I see\nthat you are the very man to guide me there. Tell me, Long, will you\ntake service with me? If you will, I will pay you well.\u201d\n\nYes, Long would do that, and not for the sake of the money either, but\nbecause he had taken a fancy to the Prince.\n\nSo the Prince and his new servant travelled along together, and\npresently they came out of the forest on to a plain, and there, far\nin front of them, was another man also travelling along toward the\nmountains.\n\n\u201cLook, Master!\u201d said Long. \u201cDo you see that man? His name is Broad.\nYou ought to have him for a servant too, for he is even more wonderful\nthan I am.\u201d\n\n\u201cCall him, then,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cand I will speak with him.\u201d\n\nNo, Long could not call him, for Broad was too far away to hear him,\nbut he could soon overtake him. So Long stretched himself out until he\nwas tall enough to go half a mile at every step. In this way he soon\novertook Broad and stopped him, and then he and Broad waited until the\nPrince had caught up to them.\n\n\u201cGood day,\u201d said the Prince to Broad.\n\n\u201cGood day,\u201d answered Broad.\n\n\u201cMy servant here tells me that you are a very wonderful person,\u201d said\nthe Prince. \u201cWhat can you do that is so wonderful?\u201d\n\nWhat Broad could do was to spread himself out until he was as broad\nacross as he wished to be.\n\n\u201cI should like to see that,\u201d said the Prince.\n\nVery well! Nothing was easier, and Broad was willing to show him.\n\u201cBut first,\u201d said Broad, \u201cdo you get behind those rocks over yonder.\nOtherwise you may get hurt. And now I will begin.\u201d\n\n\u201cQuick! quick, Master!\u201d cried Long, in a voice of fear. \u201cWe have not\na moment to lose,\u201d and he ran at full speed and crouched down behind\nthe rocks. The Prince followed him, and he also got behind the rocks,\nbut he did not know why Long was in such a hurry, nor why he seemed so\nfrightened. He soon saw, however, for when Broad began to spread, he\nspread so fast and with such force that unless the Prince and Long had\nbeen behind the rocks, they would certainly have been pushed against\nthem and crushed.\n\n\u201cIs that enough?\u201d cried Broad, after he had spread out so wide that the\nPrince could scarcely see across him.\n\n\u201cYes, that is enough.\u201d\n\nSo Broad began to shrink, and soon he was no fatter than he had been\nbefore.\n\n\u201cYes, you are certainly a very wonderful fellow, and I should like to\nhave you for a servant,\u201d said the Prince. \u201cWill you come with me also?\u201d\n\nYes, Broad would come, for a master who was good enough for Long was\ngood enough for him too. So now the Prince had two servants. He rode on\nacross the plain toward the mountains, and the two followed him.\n\nAfter a while they came to a man sitting by the way with a bandage over\nhis eyes. The Prince stopped and spoke to him.\n\n\u201cAre you blind, my poor fellow, that you wear a bandage over your eyes?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d answered the man, \u201cI am not blind. I wear the bandage because\nI see too well without it. Even now, with this bandage, I can see as\nclearly as you ever can. If I take it off, I can see for hundreds of\nmiles, and when I look at anything steadily my sight is so strong that\nthe thing is riven to pieces, or bursts into flame and is burned.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is a very curious thing,\u201d said the Prince. \u201cCould you break\nyonder rock to pieces merely by looking at it?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I could do that.\u201d\n\n\u201cI would like to see it done,\u201d said the Prince.\n\nWell, the man was ready to oblige him. So he took the bandage from\nhis eyes and fixed his gaze on the rock. First the rock grew hot, and\nthen it smoked, and then, with a great noise, it exploded into tiny\nfragments, so that the pieces flew about through the air.\n\n\u201cYes, you are even more wonderful than these other two,\u201d said the\nPrince, \u201cand they are wonderful enough. How are you called?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy name is Sharpsight.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, Sharpsight, will you take service with me, for I need just such\na servant as you?\u201d\n\nYes, Sharpsight would do that; so now the Prince had three servants,\nand they were such servants as no one in the world ever had before.\n\nThey travelled along over the plain, and at last they came to the foot\nof the mountain that lay between them and the iron castle.\n\n\u201cNow we must either go over it or round it,\u201d said the Prince; \u201cand\nwhich shall it be?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo need for that, Master,\u201d answered Sharpsight. \u201cJust let me\nunbandage my eyes, but be careful you are not struck by any of the\nflying pieces when the mountain begins to split.\u201d\n\nSo the Prince and Broad and Long took shelter behind a clump of\ntrees, and then Sharpsight uncovered his eyes. He fixed his eyes on\nthe mountain, and presently it began to groan and split and splinter.\nPieces of sharp rock and stones flew through the air. It was not long\nbefore Sharpsight\u2019s gaze had bored a way straight through the mountain\nand out on the other side. Then he put back the bandage over his eyes\nand called to the Prince that the way was clear.\n\nThe Prince and his companions came out from their shelter, and when\nthey saw the way that Sharpsight had made through the mountain they\ncould not wonder enough. It was so broad and clear that ten men could\nhave ridden through it abreast.\n\nWith such a way before them it did not take them long to go through the\nmountain, and then they found themselves in the country beyond, and a\nblack and terrible land it was too. Nowhere was there any sound or sign\nof life. There were fields, but no grass. There were trees, but they\nbore neither leaves nor fruit. There was a river, but it did not flow,\nand there was light, and yet they saw no sun. But darker and gloomier\nthan all the rest was the castle which rose before them. It was the\niron castle where the Black Magician lived.\n\nThere was a moat round the castle and an iron bridge across it. The\ncompanions rode across the bridge, and no sooner were they over than\nthe bridge rose behind them and they were prisoners.\n\nThey could not have turned back even if they had wished to, but none of\nthem had any thought of such a thing.\n\nThe Prince struck with his sword upon the great door of the castle,\nand at once it opened before him, but when he entered he saw no one.\nBefore him was a great hall, and on either side of it was a long row\nof stone figures. These statues were all figures of knights and kings\nand princes. The Prince looked at them and wondered, for they were so\nlifelike that it seemed scarcely possible to believe that they were of\nstone.\n\nHe and his companions went on farther into the castle, and everywhere\nthey found rooms magnificently furnished, but silent and deserted.\nNowhere was there any sign of life.\n\nLast of all they entered what seemed to be a dining-hall. Here was a\ntable set with the most delicious things to eat and drink. There were\nfour places about the table, and one of them was somewhat higher than\nthe others, as though intended for the prince or king.\n\n\u201cOne might think this table had been set for us,\u201d said the Prince. \u201cWe\nwill wait for a while, and then, if no one comes, we will eat, at any\nrate.\u201d\n\nThey waited for some time and then took their places at the table.\nAt once invisible hands filled the goblets and other invisible hands\npassed the dishes.\n\nThe Prince and his companions ate and drank all they wished, and then\nthey rose from the table, meaning to look farther through the castle.\n\nAt this moment the door opened and a tall man with a long grey beard\ncame into the room. From head to foot he was dressed entirely in\nblack velvet, even to his cap and shoes, and round his waist his robe\nwas fastened with three iron bands. In one hand was an ivory wand,\ncuriously carved; with the other he led a lady so beautiful, and yet so\npale and sad-looking, that the heart ached to look at her. The moment\nthe Prince saw her he knew her as the one whose picture he had seen\nbehind the golden curtain\u2014the one whom he had said should be his bride.\n\nThe Magician, for it was he, spoke at once to the Prince. \u201cI know why\nyou have come here, and that you hope to win this Princess for your\nbride. Many others have come here with the same wish and have failed.\nNow you shall have your turn. For three nights you must watch here with\nher. If each morning I return and find her still with you, then you\nshall have her for a bride after the third morning. But if she is gone,\nyou shall be turned into a stone statue, such as those you have already\nseen about my palace.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat ought not to be a hard task,\u201d said the Prince. \u201cGladly will I\nwatch with her for three nights; if in the morning you find her gone,\nI am willing to suffer whatever you will. But my three companions must\nalso watch with me.\u201d\n\nYes, the Magician was willing to agree to that, so he left the lady\nthere with the four, and then went away, closing the door behind him.\n\nAs soon as the Magician had gone the Prince and his followers made\nready to guard the room so that no one could come in to take the lady\naway, nor could she herself leave without their knowing it.\n\nLong lay down and stretched himself out until he encircled the whole\nroom, and anyone who went in or out would have to step over him.\nSharpsight sat down to watch, while Broad stood in the doorway and made\nhimself so broad that no one could possibly have squeezed in past him.\nMeanwhile the Prince tried to talk to the lady, but she would not look\nat him nor answer him.\n\nIn this way some time passed, and then suddenly the Prince began to\nfeel very drowsy. He tried to rouse himself, but in spite of his\nefforts his eyes closed, and he fell into a deep sleep.\n\nIt was not until the early morning that he woke. Then he roused\nhimself and looked about him. His companions too were only just opening\ntheir eyes, for they, like himself, had been asleep, and the lady was\ngone from the room.\n\nWhen the Prince saw this he began to groan and lament, but his\ncompanions told him not to despair.\n\n\u201cWait until I see if I can tell you where she is,\u201d said Sharpsight. He\nleaned from the window and looked about.\n\n\u201cYes, I see her,\u201d he said. \u201cA hundred miles away from here is a forest.\nIn that forest is an oak-tree. On the topmost bough of that oak-tree is\nan acorn, and in that acorn is the Princess hidden.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut what good is it to know where she is unless we can get her back\nbefore the Magician comes?\u201d cried the Prince. \u201cIt would take us days to\njourney there and to return.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot so long as that, Master,\u201d answered Long. \u201cHave patience for a\nmoment until I see what I can do.\u201d He then stepped outside and made\nhimself so tall that he could go ten miles at a step. He set Sharpsight\non his shoulder to show him the way, and away he went, and he made such\ngood time that he was back in the castle again before the Prince could\nhave walked three times round the room.\n\n\u201cHere, Master,\u201d he said, \u201chere is the acorn. Take it and throw it upon\nthe floor.\u201d\n\nThe Prince threw the acorn upon the floor, and at once it flew open,\nand there stood the Princess before him.\n\nHardly had this happened when the door opened and the Magician came\ninto the room. When he saw the Princess he gave a cry of rage, and one\nof the iron bands about his middle broke with a loud noise.\n\nHe looked at the Prince, and his eyes flashed as if with red fire.\n\u201cThis time you have succeeded in keeping the Princess with you,\u201d he\ncried, \u201cbut do not be too sure that you can do the same thing again.\nTo-night you shall try once more.\u201d\n\nSo saying he went away, taking the Princess with him. In the evening he\ncame again, and again he brought the Princess.\n\n\u201cWatch her well,\u201d said he to the Prince, with an evil smile. \u201cRemember,\nif she is not still here to-morrow morning you will share the fate of\nthe others who have tried to watch her and have failed.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d answered the Prince. \u201cWhat must be must be, and I can only\ndo my best.\u201d\n\nThe Magician then went away, leaving the Princess with them as before.\n\nThe Prince and his companions had determined that this night they would\nstay awake, whatever happened, but presently their eyelids grew as\nheavy as lead, and soon, in spite of themselves, they all fell into a\ndeep sleep.\n\nWhen they awoke the day was breaking, and the Princess had again\ndisappeared. The Prince was ready to tear his hair with despair, but\nSharpsight bade him take heart.\n\n\u201cWait until I take a look about,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I cannot see her, then\nit will be time for you to despair.\u201d\n\nHe leaned from the window, and first he looked east, and then he looked\nwest, and then he looked toward the north. \u201cYes, now I see her,\u201d he\nsaid, \u201cbut she is far enough away. Two hundred miles from here is a\ndesert. In that desert is a rock, in that rock is a golden ring, and\nthat ring is the Princess.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is far away indeed,\u201d groaned the Prince, \u201cand at any moment the\nMagician may be here.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind, Master,\u201d cried Long. \u201cTwo hundred miles is not so far when\none can go twenty miles at a step.\u201d He then made himself twice as tall\nas the day before, and taking Sharpsight on his shoulders he set out\nfor the desert.\n\nIt was not long before he was back again, and in his hand he carried\nthe golden ring. \u201cIf it had not been for Sharpsight,\u201d he said, \u201cI would\nhave been forced to bring back the whole rock with me, but he fixed his\neyes upon it, and at once it split into a thousand pieces and the ring\nfell out. Here! Take the ring, Master, quick, and throw it upon the\nfloor.\u201d\n\nThe Prince did so, and as soon as the ring touched the ground it was\ntransformed into the Princess.\n\nAt this moment the Magician opened the door and came into the room.\nWhen he saw the Princess he stopped short, and his face turned black\nwith rage and fear. At the same moment the second band about his middle\nflew apart.\n\n\u201cAh, well!\u201d he cried to the Prince, \u201cno doubt you think you are very\nclever, but remember there is still another night, and next time you\nmay not prove so lucky in keeping the Princess with you.\u201d\n\nSo saying he went away with the Princess, and the Prince saw him no\nmore until evening. Then for the third time he came, and brought the\nPrincess with him.\n\n\u201cWatch her well,\u201d said he, \u201cfor I promise you will not have so easy a\ntask this time as you have had before.\u201d\n\nThen he went away, and the four comrades set themselves to watch. But\nagain all happened as it had before. In spite of themselves they could\nnot stay awake. First they nodded and then they snored, and then they\nfell into such a deep sleep that if the walls had fallen about them\nthey would not have known it. For this was an enchanted sleep that the\nMagician had thrown upon them in order to take away the Princess.\n\nNot until day began to dawn did the four awake, and when they did there\nwas nothing to be seen of the Princess.\n\n\u201cWell, she is not here in the room,\u201d said Sharpsight, \u201cso methinks I\u2019d\nbetter look outside.\u201d\n\nThen he leaned from the window, and for a long time he looked about\nhim. At last he spoke. \u201cMaster, I see the Princess, but to bring her\nback will not be such an easy task as it was before. Three hundred\nmiles from here is a sea. At the bottom of the sea is a shell. In that\nshell is a pearl, and that pearl is the Princess. But to bring that\npearl up from the sea is a task for Broad as well as Long.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cthen Long must take Broad with him on\none shoulder. Only make haste and return again quickly, in heaven\u2019s\nname, or the Magician may be here before you are back, and we shall be\nturned into stone.\u201d\n\nWell, the three servants were willing enough to be off. Long stretched\nhimself out until he was three times as tall as he had been the first\ntime, and that was the most he could stretch. Then he went away, thirty\nmiles at a step. At that rate it was no time before he came to the sea.\nBut the sea was fathoms deep, and the shell lay at the very bottom of\nit, and try as he might he could not reach it.\n\n\u201cNow it is my turn,\u201d said Broad. Then he lay down and put his mouth to\nthe sea and began to drink. He drank and drank and swelled and swelled\nuntil it was wonderful to see him, and in the end he swallowed so much\nof the water that it was easy enough for Long to reach down and pick\nup the shell.\n\n\u201cAnd now we must make haste,\u201d cried Sharpsight, \u201cfor as I look back at\nthe castle I see that the Magician is already waking.\u201d\n\nAt once Long took his companions on his shoulders and started back the\nway he had come. But Broad had drunk so much water and was so heavy\nthat Long could not go as fast as he otherwise would. \u201cBroad, you will\nhave to wait here, and I will come back for you later,\u201d he cried, and\nwith that he threw Broad down from his shoulder as though he had been a\nsack full of grain.\n\nBroad had not been expecting such a fall and was not prepared for\nit. He gasped and choked, and then the sea he had swallowed rose all\nabout them; it filled the valley and washed up over the foot of the\nmountains. Long was so tall that he was able to wade out of it, though\nthe water was up to his waist, and Sharpsight too was safe, for he was\non Long\u2019s shoulder; but Broad was like to have been drowned. He only\nsaved himself by catching hold of Long\u2019s hand, and so he was drawn out\nof the water and up on dry land.\n\n\u201cThat was a pretty trick to play upon me,\u201d he gasped and spluttered.\n\nBut Long had no time to answer him, for already Sharpsight was\nwhispering in his ear that the Magician had awakened and was now on\nhis way to the Prince. He caught Broad by the belt and swung him up on\nhis shoulder, and this he could easily do, because now Broad was so\nshrunken that he was quite light.\n\n[Illustration: THERE WAS A GREAT BLACK RAVEN IN THE ROOM WITH THEM]\n\nIn two more steps Long had reached the castle, but already the Magician\nwas opening the door of the chamber where the Prince was.\n\n\u201cQuick! Quick!\u201d cried Sharpsight. \u201cThrow the pearl in at the window.\u201d\n\nAnd indeed there was no time to be lost. Long threw the pearl in\nthrough the window, and the moment it touched the floor it turned into\nthe Princess. She stood there before the Prince, no longer pale and\nsad, but smiling and as rosy as the dawn.\n\nAlready the Magician was in the room, with an evil smile upon his face.\nWhen he saw the Princess standing there he gave a cry so loud and\nterrible that the whole castle shook with it. And now the third iron\nband that was about his waist broke.\n\nAt once the black velvet robe that had been held about him by the bands\nrose and spread into two great black wings. His eyes shrank, his nose\ngrew long and sharp, and instead of the Magician there was a great\nblack raven in the room with them. Heavily flapping, it rose from the\nground. Three times round the room it flew, croaking mournfully, and\nthen out through the window.\n\nAnd now through all the castle arose a stir and hum of life. The stone\nfigures in the hall stirred and looked about them, and stepped down, no\nlonger cold dead stone, but living, breathing people. They were those\nwho had come to the castle to search for the Princess, and had been\nbewitched by the Magician and turned into statues; the evil charm was\nbroken, and they were alive once more.\n\nWhen they found that it was the Prince and his followers who had\ndelivered them they did not know how to thank them enough. They could\nnot even grudge the Princess to the Prince, for it was he who had\nbrought them back to life. They all said they would return with the\nPrince to his own country, so as to be at the wedding when he was\nmarried to the Princess.\n\nAnd what a wedding it was! There was enough cake and ale for all to\nfeast to their hearts\u2019 content.\n\nThe old King was so happy that he at once made over the kingdom to his\nson, that he and his bride might reign.\n\nAs for the three companions, they ate and drank till they were full,\nand then they set out into the world again. The Prince begged and\nentreated them to stay with him, but they would not. They were too fond\nof travelling about the world, and for all I know they may be in some\ncorner of it still.\n\n\n\n\nTHE DWARF WITH THE GOLDEN BEARD\n\nA SLAVONIC FAIRY TALE\n\n\nTHE Princess Beautiful was the daughter of the King of the Silver\nMountains, and she was no less lovely than her name. Because of her\nbeauty many heroes and princes came to her father\u2019s kingdom, all\nseeking her in marriage. The Princess cared for none of them, however,\nexcept the young Prince Dobrotek. Him she loved with all her heart, and\nher father was quite willing that she should choose him for a husband,\nfor the Prince was rich and powerful as well as handsome.\n\nThe marriage between them was arranged, and the guests from far and\nnear were invited to attend. Among those asked was a dwarf who had also\nbeen a suitor for the hand of the Princess.\n\nThis dwarf was a very powerful magician, and as he was very malicious\nas well as powerful, he was greatly feared by every one. He was\nscarcely two feet high, and so ugly that it was enough to frighten one\nonly to look at him. His great pride was his beard, which was seven\nfeet long, and every hair of it was of pure gold. Because of its length\nhe wore it twisted round and round his neck like a golden collar. Thus\nhe avoided tripping over it at every step.\n\nWhen this dwarf heard that the Princess was to marry Dobrotek he was\nfilled with rage and chagrin. In spite of his hideousness he was so\nvain of his beard that he could not imagine why the Princess should\nhave chosen another instead of himself. He swore that even still she\nshould take him for a husband, and that if she did not do this then she\nshould marry no one. However, he said nothing of this vow to anyone. He\naccepted the invitation to the wedding, and when the day came he was\none of the first of the guests to arrive.\n\nAll went to the church and took their places, and when the Prince and\nPrincess stood before the altar they were so handsome that every one\nwas filled with admiration.\n\nThe priest opened his book and was just about to make them man and wife\nwhen a frightful noise arose outside. It was a sound of whistling and\nroaring and rending. Then the doors were burst open, and a terrible\nhurricane swept into the church.\n\nThe guests were so frightened that they hid themselves under the seats,\nbut the storm touched none of them. It swept up the aisle and caught up\nthe Princess Beautiful as though she were a feather. The Prince threw\nhis arms about her and tried to hold her. But he could do nothing\nagainst such a hurricane. She was torn from his grasp and swept out of\nthe church and away, no one knew whither.\n\nWhen the storm was over the people came out from under the seats and\nlooked about them, but look as they might they could see no bride. Only\nthe Prince was standing before the altar, tearing his hair with despair\nbecause the Princess was lost to him.\n\nAnd well might he despair, for the hurricane that had carried the\nPrincess away was no common storm. It had been raised by the wicked\nenchantments of the dwarf, and had swept Princess Beautiful far away,\nover plain and mountain, over sea and forest, to the very castle of the\ndwarf himself. There she was lying in an enchanted sleep, and it would\nbe a bold man who could hope to rescue her.\n\nWhen the King of the Silver Mountains found his daughter gone he was in\na terrible rage. \u201cIt was for you to save her,\u201d cried he to the Prince.\n\u201cShe was your bride, and you should have lost your life before you\nallowed her to be torn from you.\u201d\n\nTo this the Prince answered nothing, for he thought the same himself.\nYet who can stand against magic? Only enchantment, indeed, could have\nprevailed against him.\n\n\u201cGo!\u201d cried the King, \u201cfind her and bring her back to me, or your life\nshall answer for it.\u201d\n\nThe Prince wished nothing better than to go in search of his bride.\nLife was worth nothing to him without her, and at once he made ready\nto depart. He was in such haste that he stopped for neither sword nor\narmour, but leaped upon his horse and rode forth as he was.\n\nOn and on he rode, many miles and many leagues, but the farther he\nrode the less he heard of the Princess, and the more he despaired of\never finding her. At last he entered a forest so dark and vast that it\nseemed to have no end. As he rode on through the shadows he suddenly\nheard a sharp and piteous cry. He looked about him to see whence it\ncame, and presently he found a hare struggling in the clutch of a great\ngrey owl.\n\nThe Prince had a kind heart. He seized a stick and quickly drove the\nowl away from its prey. For awhile the hare lay stretched out and\npanting, but presently it recovered itself.\n\n\u201cPrince,\u201d it said to Dobrotek, \u201cyou have saved my life, and I am not\nungrateful. I know why you are here and whom you seek. To rescue the\nPrincess Beautiful will be no easy task. It was the Dwarf of the Golden\nBeard who raised the tempest that carried the Princess away. Even now\nhe holds her a prisoner in his castle. Whoever would rescue her must\nfirst overcome the dwarf, and to do this one must be in possession of\nthe Sword of Sharpness.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd where is that sword to be found?\u201d asked the Prince.\n\n\u201cOn a mountain many leagues away. It is guarded by a dragon who keeps\nwatch over it night and day. Only when the sun is at its highest\ndoes the dragon sleep, and then but for a few short minutes. To gain\npossession of the sword one must ride the wild horse that lives here in\nthe forest and that moves faster than the wind.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd can I find that horse and ride him?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt can be done. Under yonder rock lies a golden bridle. It has lain\nhidden there for over a hundred years. With it lies a golden whistle.\nThe sound of that whistle will call the horse, wherever he is. But he\nis very terrible to look upon, for his eyes are like burning coals,\nand he breathes smoke and fire from his nostrils. He will come at you\nas though to tear you to pieces, but do not be afraid. Cast the bridle\nover his head, and he will at once become quite tame and gentle. Then\nyou can ride him wheresoever you wish. He will bear you to the mountain\nwhere the dragon lies and will help you to gain possession of the\nsword.\u201d\n\nThe Prince thanked the hare for its advice. He lifted the rock from\nits place, and there beneath it lay the golden bridle and the golden\nwhistle. The Prince took up the bridle, and at once the whole glade\nwas filled with light; and no wonder, for the bridle was studded with\nprecious stones and glittered like the sun. He raised the whistle to\nhis lips and blew upon it loud and clear.\n\nAt once, from far away in the forest, came a loud sound of neighing,\nand of galloping hoofs. The wild horse was coming. On and on it came,\nnearer and nearer. Its eyes shone like coals of fire, and the leaves\nwere withered on either side of it because of its fiery breath.\n\nIt rushed at the Prince as though it would tear him to pieces; but he\nwas ready for it, and as soon as it was near enough he threw the bridle\nover its head. At once the fire faded from its eyes. Its breath grew\nquiet, and it stood there as gentle and harmless as a lamb.\n\n\u201cMaster,\u201d it said to Dobrotek, \u201cI am yours now. Whatsoever you wish me\nto do, I will do, and I will bear you wherever you wish to go.\u201d\n\n\u201cFirst, then,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cI wish you to carry me to the mountain\nwhere I can find the Sword of Sharpness.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, Master, I will do so. But before we start on such a\ndangerous adventure as that you should be properly armed. Do you enter\nin at one of my ears and go on until you come out of the other.\u201d\n\nAt once it seemed to the Prince as though the horse\u2019s ear were a great\ncave opening out before him. He entered in and went on and on, though\nit was very dark there in the horse\u2019s head. Presently he saw another\nopening before him, and that was the horse\u2019s other ear. He came out\nthrough it and found himself in the forest again, but now he was\nclothed as a warrior prince should be, in shining armour, and he held a\nsword in his hand.\n\n\u201cThat is right,\u201d said the horse. \u201cNow mount and ride, for we have far\nto go.\u201d\n\nSo the Prince said good-bye to the friendly hare and thanked it again.\nHe mounted upon the horse\u2019s back and away they went like the wind. Soon\nthey were out of the forest, and the dark was left behind them. On\nthey went and on they went, until they came within sight of a smoking\nmountain; there the horse stopped.\n\n\u201cMaster,\u201d said he, \u201cdo you see that mountain in front of us and the\nsmoke that rises over it?\u201d\n\nYes, the Prince saw it.\n\n\u201cThat smoke is the breath of the dragon that guards the Sword of\nSharpness. Just now he is awake, and if we were to venture within reach\nhe would soon scorch us to cinders with his breath. There are, as the\nhare told you, only a few short minutes at midday when he sleeps, and\nwhen we may approach him safely. To gain the sword I must, in those few\nminutes, cross the plain before us and climb the mountain. Only I, who\ngo like the wind, could do such a thing, and even for me it will be\ndifficult. We may both lose our lives in the attempt.\u201d\n\n\u201cNevertheless, we must try it,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cfor unless I can gain\nthe sword, and free the Princess from the dwarf, life is worth nothing\nto me.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d answered the horse. \u201cThen we will attempt it, for you are\nmy master.\u201d\n\nSo all the rest of that day the horse and the Prince lay hidden, for\nit was already afternoon. Through the night and the next morning they\nwaited, and the Prince could see the flames and columns of smoke that\nthe dragon breathed forth. But as the sun rose high in the heavens the\ndragon became sleepy, and the flames burned lower and with less smoke.\nAt last the sun was at its height.\n\n\u201cAnd now, Master, is our time,\u201d cried the horse. With that he galloped\nout on to the plain and made for the mountain. On he flew as fast as\nthe wind, and faster. The Prince could hardly breathe, and he could not\nsee at all, so fast the horse went. The plain was crossed, the mountain\nclimbed, but already the dragon was awakening. \u201cQuick, quick! the\nsword. There it lies beside him!\u201d cried the horse.\n\nThe Prince stooped and caught up the Sword of Sharpness, and in that\ninstant the dragon awoke. It reared its head and seemed about to devour\nthe Prince, but when it saw what he held in his hand it dropped its\ncrest and fawned at his feet.\n\n\u201cYou are my master,\u201d it said, \u201cfor you hold the Sword of Sharpness.\nBut do not kill me. Spare my life, and I will give you advice that may\nsave your own.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is the advice?\u201d asked the Prince.\n\n\u201cWhen you reach the dwarf\u2019s castle (for I know that you are going\nthere, and why), you may with this sword be able to overcome the dwarf.\nBut after you have done that, you must cut off his beard and carry it\naway with you. It will serve as proof that you and you alone have slain\nhim. You must also fill a flask with water from the fountain in the\nmidst of the garden. It is the Water of Life, and you will need it. You\nwill need the Cap of Invisibility too that the dwarf sometimes wears\nupon his head. All three of these things you must have. Do not neglect\nwhat I tell you, for if you do evil will certainly come upon you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is well,\u201d said the Prince. \u201cI will remember what you say, and if no\ngood comes of it, no harm can either.\u201d\n\nSo saying, the Prince drew his own sword from its sheath and left it\non the mountain, taking the Sword of Sharpness in its place. Then he\nrode down the mountain and away over the plain. Once he looked back,\nbut he saw neither flame nor smoke behind him. The dragon lay there as\nharmless as any worm, for with the Sword of Sharpness all its power was\ngone.\n\nOn and on rode the Prince, so fast that the wind was left behind, and\nat last he and his horse came within sight of a castle all of iron.\nAbout it was a wall that was seven times the height of a man, and this\nalso was of iron.\n\n\u201cLook, Prince,\u201d said the horse. \u201cThat is the dwarf\u2019s castle that we see\nbefore us.\u201d\n\nThen on they went again and never stopped until they reached the castle\ngate. Beside the gate hung a great brazen war trumpet. The Prince\nlifted it to his lips and blew upon it such a blast that it was like to\nsplit the ears of those who heard it. Again he blew, and once again.\n\n\u201cAnd now, Master, take out the sword from its sheath and make ready,\nfor the dwarf will soon be here,\u201d said the horse.\n\nMeanwhile the Princess Beautiful had been living behind those iron\nwalls, and she had been not unhappy, though she had often grieved\nbecause Prince Dobrotek was not with her.\n\nWhen the dwarf had caused her to be swept away by the hurricane he had\nthrown her into an enchanted sleep, and in this sleep she lay until\nshe was safely placed in a room that the dwarf had specially prepared\nfor her. This room was made entirely of mirrors, only divided here and\nthere by curtains of cloth of gold. These curtains were embroidered\nwith scenes from the dwarf\u2019s own life and from the life of the\nPrincess. In the mirrors Beautiful could see her own beauty repeated\nendlessly. The furniture of the room was all of gold, curiously\ncarved, and the cushions were embroidered with gold and precious stones.\n\nWhen the Princess opened her eyes and looked about her she did not know\nwhere she was. She had no remembrance of the storm that had brought her\nhither. She remembered only that she had stood beside Prince Dobrotek\nin the church, and that a great noise had arisen outside. After that\nshe had known nothing until she awoke in this chamber.\n\nShe arose from the couch where she was lying and began to examine the\nroom. All the light came from a dome overhead. She could find neither\ndoors nor windows, and she wondered much how she had been brought into\na room like this.\n\nWhile she was looking about her she heard a noise behind her that made\nher turn quickly. At one side the mirrors had swung apart like doors,\nand through this opening came a procession of enormous black slaves\nbearing a golden throne in their midst. Upon this throne sat the Dwarf\nwith the Golden Beard. The slaves set the throne down in the middle of\nthe room and at once withdrew, closing the mirrored doors behind them.\n\nWhen the Princess saw the dwarf she was very much alarmed. She at once\nsuspected that it was he who had brought her here, and that he meant to\nkeep her a prisoner until she would consent to marry him.\n\nThe dwarf stepped down from the throne and approached her with a\nsmiling air, but she shrank away from him into the farthest corner of\nthe room.\n\nThe dwarf was magnificently dressed. His beard had been brushed till it\nshone like glass, and he had thrown it over one arm as though it were a\nmantle. But in his left hand he carried a cap of some coarse grey stuff\nthat was in strange contrast with the rest of his dress.\n\n\u201cMost beautiful Princess,\u201d said he, \u201cyou are welcome indeed in my\ncastle. None could be more so, and I hope to make you so happy that you\nwill be more than content to spend your life here with me.\u201d\n\n\u201cMiserable dwarf!\u201d cried the Princess, \u201cdo you really think you will\nbe able to make me stay here with you? Do you not know that Prince\nDobrotek will come in search of me soon? He will certainly find me!\nThen he will punish you as you deserve for your insolence.\u201d\n\nThe Princess was trembling now, but with rage rather than fear. The\ndwarf seemed not at all disturbed by her anger, however.\n\n\u201cBeautiful one,\u201d he said, still smiling, \u201cyou are even more beautiful\nwhen you are angry than when you are pleased. Let Prince Dobrotek come.\nI fear him not at all. But do not let us waste our time in talking of\nhim. Instead let us talk of ourselves, and of how pleasantly we will\npass our days together.\u201d\n\nSo saying, the dwarf came close to the Princess and attempted to take\nher hand. But instead of permitting this, the Princess gave him such a\nblow upon the ear that he fairly staggered under it. His beard slipped\nfrom his arm, and in trying to steady himself he tripped on it and fell\nhis length upon the floor.\n\nThe Princess laughed maliciously. At the sound of her laughter the\ndwarf became filled with fury. His eyes flashed fire as he scrambled\nto his feet. \u201cMiserable girl!\u201d he cried. \u201cDo you dare to laugh? The\ntime will come when you will feel more like weeping, if not for me then\nfor yourself. Some day you will be glad enough to receive my caresses.\nNow I will leave you, and when I come again it will be in a different\nmanner.\u201d So saying, he gathered up his beard and rushed through the\nmirror door, closing it behind him.\n\nHis words, and his manner of going, frightened the Princess. She again\nbegan to look about her for some way of escape. Suddenly she saw upon\nthe floor the grey cap that the dwarf had carried in his hand. He must\nhave dropped it when he fell, and he had been too angry to notice\nthat he was leaving it behind. She picked it up and stood turning it\nthoughtfully in her hands. Then, without considering why she did so,\nshe placed it upon her head. She was standing directly in front of a\nmirror at the time. To her amazement, the moment she had the cap on\nher head every reflection of her vanished from every mirror in the\nroom. The Princess could hardly believe her eyes. She might have been\nthin air for any impression she made upon the glass. She took the\ncap from her head, and immediately her reflections appeared again in\nthe mirrors. She replaced it, and they vanished from sight. Then the\nPrincess knew that she held the Cap of Invisibility\u2014the cap that causes\nanyone who wears it to become invisible.\n\nAs she stood there with the cap still upon her head, the mirror door\nwas burst open and the dwarf rushed into the room. His dress was\ndisordered and his eyes glared wildly.\n\nHe looked hastily about him, but he could see neither the cap nor the\nPrincess. At once he knew that she had found the cap and had put it on.\n\n\u201cAh, ha!\u201d he cried to the invisible Princess. \u201cSo you have found it!\nYou have put it on, and hope so to escape me. But I know you are still\nhere, even though I cannot see you. I will find you, never fear.\u201d\n\nSpreading his arms wide, he rushed about the room, hoping to touch the\nPrincess and seize her, but as he could not see her she was easily\nable to escape him. Now and then he stopped and listened, hoping the\nPrincess would make some sound that would tell him where she was,\nbut at these times Beautiful too stood still. She did not move, she\nscarcely breathed, lest he should hear her.\n\nSuddenly the Princess saw something that gave her a hope of escape. The\ndwarf had neglected to fasten the swinging mirror behind him when he\nentered. She flew to it and pushed it open. Beyond lay a long corridor.\nDown this the Princess fled, not knowing where it would lead her.\n\nBut the dwarf saw the mirror move, and guessed she had passed out\nthrough it. With a cry of rage he sprang after her.\n\nAt the end of the corridor was a barred door. Beautiful had scarcely\ntime to unfasten this door and run through before the dwarf reached it.\nBut once outside the door she found herself in a wide and open garden.\nHere she could pause and take breath. The dwarf had no means of knowing\nin which direction she had gone. He could not hear her footsteps upon\nthe soft grass, and the rustling of the wind among the leaves prevented\nhis hearing the sound of her dress as she moved.\n\nFor a while the dwarf ran up and down the garden, hoping some accident\nmight bring him to the Princess. But he grasped nothing except empty\nair. Discouraged, he turned back to the castle at last, muttering\nthreats as he went.\n\nAfter he had gone the Princess began to look about her. She found the\ngarden very beautiful. There were winding paths and fountains and fruit\ntrees and pergolas where she could rest when she was weary. She tasted\nthe fruit and found it delicious. It seemed to her she could live there\nfor ever very happily, if only her dear Prince Dobrotek were with her.\n\nAs for the dwarf, in the days that followed the Princess quite lost her\nfear of him, though he often came to the garden in search of her. After\na time she even amused herself by teasing him. She would take off her\ncap and allow him to see her. Then, as he rushed toward her, she would\nput it on again and vanish from his sight. Or she would run just in\nfront of him, singing as she went, that he might know where she was.\nThe poor dwarf would chase madly after the sound. Then, when it seemed\nthat he was just about to catch her, she would suddenly become silent\nand step aside on the grass, and laugh to herself to see him run past\nher, grasping at the air.\n\nBut this was a dangerous game for the Princess to play; she was not\nalways to escape so easily. One day she was running before him, just\nout of reach, and calling to him to follow, when a low branch caught\nher cap and brushed it from her head. Immediately she became visible.\n\nWith a cry of triumph the dwarf caught the cap as it fell and thrust it\nin his bosom. Then he seized the Princess by the wrist.\n\n\u201cI have you now, my pretty bird. No use to struggle. You shall not\nescape again.\u201d\n\nIn despair the Princess tried to tear herself loose from his hold, but\nthe dwarf\u2019s fingers were like iron.\n\nAt this moment from outside the gate sounded the loud blast of a war\ntrumpet. At once the dwarf guessed that it was Prince Dobrotek who blew\nit, and that he had come in search of the Princess.\n\nSuddenly, and before Beautiful could hinder him, he drew her to him and\nbreathed upon her eyelids; at the same time he muttered the words of a\nmagic charm.\n\nAt once the Princess felt her senses leaving her. In vain she strove to\nmove or speak. In spite of herself her eyes closed, and she sank softly\nto the ground in a deep sleep.\n\nAs soon as the dwarf saw that his charm had worked he caused a dark\ncloud to gather about him, which entirely hid him from view. Rising in\nthis cloud, he floated high above the iron walls and paused directly\nover Prince Dobrotek. He drew his sword and made ready to slay the bold\nPrince who had come against him.\n\nDobrotek looked up and wondered to see the dark cloud that had so\nsuddenly gathered above him.\n\n\u201cBeware!\u201d cried the wild horse loudly. \u201cIt is the dwarf. He is about to\nstrike.\u201d\n\nScarcely had he spoken when the darkness drew down about them. Through\nthis darkness shot a flash as bright as lightning. It was the dwarf\u2019s\nsword that had struck at the Prince. But swift as the stroke was, the\nhorse was no less swift. He sprang aside, and the sword drove so deep\ninto the earth that the dwarf was not able to draw it out again.\n\n\u201cStrike! Strike!\u201d cried the horse to Dobrotek. \u201cIt is your chance!\u201d\n\nDobrotek raised the Sword of Sharpness and struck into the cloud, and\nhis blow was so sharp and true that the dwarf\u2019s head was cut from his\nbody and fell at the Prince\u2019s feet.\n\nDobrotek alighted, and cutting off the dwarf\u2019s beard, he wound it about\nhim like a glittering golden belt. Then, leaving the head where it lay,\nhe opened the gate and went into the garden.\n\nHe had not far to go in his search for Beautiful, for she was lying\nasleep upon the grass close to the gate. Dobrotek was filled with joy\nat the sight.\n\n\u201cPrincess, awake! awake!\u201d he cried. \u201cIt is I, Dobrotek. I have come to\nrescue you.\u201d\n\nThe Princess neither stirred nor woke. Her lashes rested on her cheeks,\nand she breathed so gently that her breast scarcely moved.\n\n\u201cMaster,\u201d said the horse, \u201cthis is no natural sleep. It is some\nenchantment. Take up that cap that lies beside her. Then fill your\nflask at the fountain of the Water of Life and let us go. Do not try\nto wake her now. When it is time, you can do so by sprinkling upon her\na few drops of the water. But first let us make haste to leave this\nplace, for it is still full of evil magic.\u201d\n\nDobrotek was not slow to do as the horse bade him. He filled a flask\nwith the Water of Life and hid the Cap of Invisibility in his bosom.\nThen, lifting the Princess in his arms, he mounted the horse and rode\nback with her the way they had come.\n\nIt was not long before they reached the place where the Prince had\nsaved the hare from the owl in the forest. Here the Prince found his\nown horse. It had not wandered away, but had stayed there, browsing on\nthe grass and leaves and drinking from a stream near by.\n\n\u201cAnd now, Prince,\u201d said the wild steed, \u201cit is time for us to part.\nLight down and take the bridle from my head. Put it back again where\nyou found it, and cover it with the rock; but keep the whistle by you.\nIf ever you need me, blow upon it, and I will come to your aid.\u201d\n\nDobrotek did as the steed bade him. He lighted down and took the bridle\nfrom its head. He put it in the hole where he had found it and rolled\nback the rock upon it. Then the horse bade him farewell, and tore away\nthrough the forest, neighing as it went and breathing flames of fire.\n\nAfter it had gone the Prince felt very weary. He had not yet awakened\nthe Princess, but had laid her, still asleep, upon the soft moss of the\nforest. Now he stretched himself at her feet, and at once fell into a\ndeep slumber.\n\nNow it so chanced that while he was asleep King Sarudine, the King of\nthe Black Country, came riding through the forest. He too had been a\nsuitor for the hand of the Princess, but he had been refused. When\nhe heard that she had been spirited away, and that Prince Dobrotek\nhad gone to seek for her, he also determined to set out on the same\nmission. He hoped that he might be the first to find her and so win her\nfor his bride. For the King, her father, had sent out a proclamation\nthat whoever could find the Princess Beautiful and rescue her should\nhave her for his wife.\n\nWhat was the amazement of Sarudine, as he came through the lonely wood,\nsuddenly to see the Princess lying there asleep, with Dobrotek at her\nfeet.\n\nAt first he drew his sword, thinking to kill the Prince; but after\na moment\u2019s thought he put it back in its sheath. Then bending over\nBeautiful he very quietly lifted her in his arms, mounted his horse,\nand rode away with her.\n\nDobrotek was so wearied with his adventures that he slept on for some\ntime, not knowing that the Princess had again been stolen from him.\n\nBut when at last he woke and found her gone, he was like one mad, so\ngreat was his despair. He rushed about hither and thither through the\nforest, calling her name aloud, and seeking her everywhere, but nowhere\ncould he find her.\n\nSuddenly he bethought him of his golden whistle, and putting it to his\nlips he blew so loud and shrill that the forest echoed to the sound. At\nonce the great grey horse came galloping through the forest to him.\n\nDobrotek ran to meet it. \u201cTell me,\u201d he cried, \u201cyou who know all things,\nwhere is Beautiful? She has been stolen from me, and I cannot find her.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe is no longer here in the forest,\u201d answered the horse. \u201cShe has\nbeen carried away by King Sarudine. He has taken her back to her\nfather\u2019s castle, and now he claims her as his bride, for he says that\nhe is the one who found and rescued her. But she still sleeps her\nenchanted sleep, and none can waken her. You alone can do this, for\nyou have the Waters of Life. Hasten back to the castle, therefore,\nbut before you go to waken her, put on the Cap of Invisibility. King\nSarudine fears you, and he has set guards about the castle with orders\nto slay you if you attempt to enter. All their watchfulness will be in\nvain, however, if you wear the cap upon your head.\u201d\n\nThe advice was wise, and Dobrotek at once did as the horse told him.\nHe drew out the cap and put it upon his head. So he became invisible.\nThen he rode away in the direction of the country of the Silver\nMountains.\n\nHe rode on and on, and after a while he came to where the first line\nof guards was set. They heard the galloping of a horse, and looked all\nabout them, but they could see no one, so he passed in safety. Not long\nafter he came to a second line of soldiers, and he went by them unseen\nalso. Then he passed a third line of guards, and after that he was at\nthe palace.\n\nThe Prince entered in, and went from one room to another, and presently\nhe came to the great audience hall. There sat the King upon a golden\nthrone. At his right hand sat King Sarudine, and at his left the\nPrincess lay upon a golden couch, and so beautiful she looked as she\nlay asleep that the Prince\u2019s heart melted within him for love. He\nlifted the cap from his head, and there they all saw him standing\nbefore them.\n\nThe King of the Black Mountains turned pale and trembled at the sight\nof him, but the old King gave a loud cry of surprise. He had thought\nthat Prince Dobrotek had met his death long ago, or that if he lived\nhe would be afraid to return to the Silver Mountain Country without\nbringing the Princess with him.\n\n\u201cRash Prince!\u201d he cried; \u201cwhat are you doing here? Do you not fear to\nappear before me, having failed in your search?\u201d\n\n\u201cI did not fail,\u201d answered the Prince, \u201cthere lies the Princess, and\nwere it not for me she would still be a prisoner in the castle of the\nDwarf of the Golden Beard.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow is that?\u201d asked the King.\n\nThen Dobrotek told them his story. He told of how he had become master\nof the wild horse in the forest, of how he had gained possession of the\nSword of Sharpness, and then of how he had ridden to the dwarf\u2019s castle\nand slain him in battle. He also told how he had brought the Princess\naway with him, how he had fallen asleep in the forest, and of how the\nKing of the Black Country had stolen Beautiful from him while he slept.\n\nThe old King listened attentively to all that Dobrotek told him. When\nthe Prince had made an end to his story the old King turned to King\nSarudine beside him.\n\n\u201cAnd what have you to say to this?\u201d he asked. \u201cIs this story true?\u201d\n\n\u201cMuch of it is true,\u201d answered Sarudine, hardily, \u201cbut still more of it\nis false. It is true that it was the dwarf who carried Beautiful away.\nIt is true that he kept her a prisoner, and that he was slain by the\nSword of Sharpness. But it was I who won the sword and slew the dwarf,\nand it was I who rescued the Princess. What better proof of this is\nneeded than that it was I who brought her here?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is only proof that you stole her from me,\u201d cried the Prince. \u201cThe\nproof that I can offer is better still. If you slew the dwarf, where is\nhis beard?\u201d\n\nTo this the King of the Black Country could answer nothing, for he did\nnot know where the beard was.\n\n\u201cThen I can tell you,\u201d cried the Prince. With these words he threw\naside his mantle, and there, wound about him like a glittering girdle,\nwas the golden beard of the dwarf.\n\nWhen the old King saw the beard he could doubt no longer as to which of\nthe two had slain the dwarf and rescued the Princess. He turned such a\nterrible look upon Sarudine that the young King trembled.\n\n\u201cSo you would have deceived me!\u201d he cried. \u201cYou thought to win the\nPrincess by a trick. Away! Away with you! Let me never see your face\nagain; and if ever again you venture into my country, you shall be\nthrown into a dungeon and remain there as long as you live.\u201d\n\nThen, as Sarudine was hurried away by the guards, the old King turned\nagain to the Prince. \u201cYou have indeed rescued the Princess,\u201d he said,\n\u201cbut your task is still only half completed. She sleeps, and none can\nwake her. Until that is done, no man can have her for wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is not such a hard matter, either,\u201d said the Prince. With that\nhe drew from his bosom the flask that held the Waters of Life and\nscattered a few drops upon the Princess.\n\nAt once she drew a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. As soon as\nshe saw the Prince she sprang to her feet and threw herself into his\narms. The enchantment was broken, and she had awakened at last.\n\nThen throughout the palace there was the greatest happiness and\nrejoicing. There never had been anything like the favours the old King\nheaped upon Dobrotek. The marriage between him and the Princess was\nagain prepared for, and this time all went well. Nothing happened to\ninterfere with the wedding, and the Prince and Beautiful were made man\nand wife. They loved each other all the more tenderly for the dangers\nthey had shared, and from that time on they lived in all the happiness\nthat true love brings.\n\n\n\n\nTHE GREAT WHITE BEAR AND THE TROLLS\n\nA STORY FROM THE NORSE\n\n\nTHERE was once a man in Finmark named Halvor, who had a great white\nbear, and this great white bear knew many tricks. One day the man\nthought to himself, \u201cThis bear is very wonderful. I will take it as a\npresent to the King of Denmark, and perhaps he will give me in return a\nwhole bag of money.\u201d So he set out along the road to Denmark, leading\nthe bear behind him.\n\nHe journeyed on and journeyed on, and after a while he came to a deep,\ndark forest. There was no house in sight, and as it was almost night\nHalvor began to be afraid he would have to sleep on the ground, with\nonly the trees overhead for a shelter.\n\nPresently, however, he heard the sound of a woodcutter\u2019s axe. He\nfollowed the sound, and soon he came to an opening in the forest.\nThere, sure enough, was a man hard at work cutting down trees. \u201cAnd\nwherever there\u2019s a man,\u201d thought Halvor to himself, \u201cthere must be a\nhouse for him to live in.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood day,\u201d said Halvor.\n\n\u201cGood day!\u201d answered the man, staring with all his eyes at the great\nwhite bear.\n\n\u201cWill you give us shelter for the night, my bear and me?\u201d asked Halvor.\n\u201cAnd will you give us a bit of food too? I will pay you well if you\nwill.\u201d\n\n\u201cGladly would I give you both food and shelter,\u201d answered the man, \u201cbut\nto-night, of all nights in the year, no one may stop in my home except\nat the risk of his life.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow is that?\u201d asked Halvor; and he was very much surprised.\n\n\u201cWhy, it is this way. This is the eve of St John, and on every St\nJohn\u2019s Eve all the trolls in the forest come to my house. I am obliged\nto spread a feast for them, and there they stay all night, eating and\ndrinking. If they found anyone in the house at that time, they would\nsurely tear him to pieces. Even I and my wife dare not stay. We are\nobliged to spend the night in the forest.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is a strange business,\u201d said Halvor. \u201cNevertheless, I have a mind\nto stop there and see what these same trolls look like. As to their\nhurting me, as long as I have my bear with me there is nothing in the\nworld that I am afraid of.\u201d\n\nThe woodcutter was alarmed at these words. \u201cNo, no; do not risk it, I\nbeg of you!\u201d he cried. \u201cDo you spend the night with us out under the\ntrees, and to-morrow we can safely return to our home.\u201d\n\nBut Halvor would not listen to this. He was determined to sleep in a\nhouse that night, and, moreover, he had a great curiosity to see what\ntrolls looked like.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the woodcutter at last, \u201csince you are determined to\nrisk your life, do you follow yonder path, and it will soon bring you\nto my house.\u201d\n\nHalvor thanked him and went on his way, and it was not long before he\nand his bear reached the woodcutter\u2019s home. He opened the door and went\nin, and when he saw the feast the woodcutter had spread for the trolls\nhis mouth fairly watered to taste of it. There were sausages and ale\nand fish and cakes and rice porridge and all sorts of good things. He\ntasted a bit here and there and gave his bear some, and then he sat\ndown to wait for the coming of the trolls. As for the bear, he lay down\nbeside his master and went to sleep.\n\nThey had not been there long when a great noise arose in the forest\noutside. It was a sound of moaning and groaning and whistling and\nshrieking. So loud and terrible it grew that Halvor was frightened in\nspite of himself. The cold crept up and down his back and the hair\nrose on his head. The sound came nearer and nearer, and by the time\nit reached the door Halvor was so frightened that he could bear it no\nlonger. He jumped up and ran to the stove. Quickly he opened the oven\ndoor and hid himself inside, pulling the door to behind him. The great\nwhite bear paid no attention, however, but only snored in his sleep.\n\nScarcely was Halvor inside the oven when the door of the house was\nburst open and all the trolls of the forest came pouring into the room.\n\nThere were big trolls and little trolls, fat trolls and thin. Some\nhad long tails and some had short tails and some had no tails at all.\nSome had two eyes and some had three, and some had only one set in the\nmiddle of the forehead. One there was, and the others called him Long\nNose, who had a nose as long and as thin as a poker.\n\nThe trolls banged the door behind them, and then they gathered round\nthe table where the feast was spread.\n\n\u201cWhat is this?\u201d cried the biggest troll in a terrible voice (and\nHalvor\u2019s heart trembled within him). \u201cSome one has been here before us.\nThe food has been tasted and ale has been spilled.\u201d\n\nAt once Long Nose began snuffing about. \u201cWhoever has been here is here\nstill,\u201d he cried. \u201cLet us find him and tear him to pieces.\u201d\n\n\u201cHere is his pussy-cat, anyway,\u201d cried the smallest troll of all,\npointing to the white bear. \u201cOh, what a pretty cat it is! Pussy! Pussy!\nPussy!\u201d And the little troll put a piece of sausage on a fork and stuck\nit against the white bear\u2019s nose.\n\nAt that the great white bear gave a roar and rose to its feet. It gave\nthe troll a blow with its paw that sent him spinning across the room.\nHe of the long nose had it almost broken off, and the big troll\u2019s ears\nrang with the box he got. This way and that the trolls were knocked and\nbeaten by the bear, until at last they tore the door open and fled away\ninto the forest, howling.\n\nWhen they had all gone Halvor crawled out and closed the door, and then\nhe and the white bear sat down and feasted to their hearts\u2019 content.\nAfter that the two of them lay down and slept quietly for the rest of\nthe night.\n\nIn the morning the woodcutter and his family stole back to the house\nand peeped in at the window. What was their surprise to see Halvor and\nhis bear sitting there and eating their breakfasts as though nothing in\nthe world had happened to them.\n\n\u201cHow is this?\u201d cried the woodcutter. \u201cDid the trolls not come?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes, they came,\u201d answered Halvor, \u201cbut we drove them away, and I\ndo not think they will trouble you again.\u201d He then told the woodcutter\nall that had happened in the night. \u201cAfter the beating they received,\nthey will be in no hurry to visit you again,\u201d he said.\n\nThe woodcutter was filled with joy and gratitude when he heard this.\nHe and his wife entreated Halvor to stay there in the forest and\nmake his home with them, but this he refused to do. He was on his\nway to Denmark to sell his bear to the King, and to Denmark he would\ngo. So off he set, after saying good-bye, and the good wishes of the\nwoodcutter and his wife went with him.\n\nNow the very next year, on St John\u2019s Eve, the woodcutter was out in the\nforest cutting wood, when a great ugly troll stuck his head out of a\ntree near by.\n\n\u201cWoodcutter! Woodcutter!\u201d he cried.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the woodcutter, \u201cwhat is it?\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me, have you that great white cat with you still?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I have; and, moreover, now she has five kittens, and each one of\nthem is larger and stronger than she is.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs that so?\u201d cried the troll, in a great fright. \u201cThen good-bye,\nwoodcutter, for we will never come to your house again.\u201d\n\nThen he drew in his head and the tree closed together, and that was the\nlast the woodcutter heard or saw of the trolls. After that he and his\nfamily lived undisturbed and unafraid.\n\nAs for Halvor, he had already reached Denmark, and the King had been so\npleased with the bear that he paid a whole bag of money for it, just as\nHalvor had hoped, and with that bag of money Halvor set up in trade so\nsuccessfully that he became one of the richest men in Denmark.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF THE THREE BILLY GOAT GRUFFS\n\nA STORY FROM THE NORSE\n\n\nTHERE were once three Billy Goats who lived in a meadow at the foot of\na mountain, and their last name was Gruff. There was the Big Billy Goat\nGruff, and the Middle-sized Billy Goat Gruff, and the Little Billy Goat\nGruff. They all three jumped about among the rocks in the meadow and\nate what grass they could find, but it wasn\u2019t very much.\n\nOne day the Littlest Billy Goat Gruff looked up at the high mountain\noverhead, and he thought to himself, \u201cIt looks as though there were a\ngreat deal of fine grass up on the mountain. I believe I\u2019ll just run up\nthere all by myself, without telling anyone, and eat so much grass\nand eat so much grass that I\u2019ll grow to be as big as anybody.\u201d\n\nSo off the Little Billy Goat Gruff started without telling his brothers\na word about it. He ran along, tip-tap, tip-tap, tip-tap, until at last\nhe came to a wide river, with a bridge over it.\n\nNow the Little Billy Goat did not know it, but this bridge belonged\nto a great, terrible Troll, and the little goat had not gone more than\nhalf-way across when he heard the Troll shouting from under the bridge.\n\n\u201cWho\u2019s that going across my bridge?\u201d shouted the Troll in his great\nloud voice.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s me, the Littlest Billy Goat Gruff!\u201d answered the Little Billy\nGoat in his little bit of voice.\n\n\u201cOh! it\u2019s the Littlest Billy Goat Gruff, is it? Well, you won\u2019t go much\nfarther, for I\u2019m the Troll that owns this bridge, and now I\u2019m coming\nto eat you up.\u201d And with that the Troll looked up over the edge of the\nbridge.\n\nWhen the Little Billy Goat Gruff saw him, he was very much frightened.\n\u201cOh, dear, good Mr Troll, please don\u2019t eat me up,\u201d he cried. \u201cI\u2019m such\na very little goat that I would scarcely be a mouthful for you. I have\na brother who is a great deal bigger than I am; wait till he comes, for\nhe\u2019d make a much better meal for you than I would.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut if he\u2019s much bigger than you are he may be tough.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, no, he\u2019s just as tender as I am.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd a great deal bigger?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes, a great deal bigger.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well then, I\u2019ll wait for him. Run along!\u201d\n\nSo the little goat ran on, tip-tap! tip-tap! tip-tap! across the\nbridge, and on up the mountain to where he was safe. And glad enough he\nwas to be out of that scrape, I can tell you.\n\nNow it was not very long after this that the Middle-sized Billy Goat\nGruff began to think he\u2019d like to go up on the mountain too. He did not\nsay anything about it to the Great Big Billy Goat Gruff, but off he\nset, all by himself\u2014trap-trap! trap-trap! trap-trap! After a while he\ncame to the bridge, where the Troll lived, and he stepped out upon it,\ntrap-trap! trap-trap! trap-trap!\n\nHe\u2019d barely reached the middle of it when the Troll began shouting at\nhim in his great, terrible voice:\n\n\u201cWho\u2019s that going across my bridge?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s me, the Middle-sized Billy Goat Gruff,\u201d answered the Middle-sized\nBilly Goat in his middle-sized voice.\n\n\u201cOh, it is, is it? Then you\u2019re the very one I\u2019ve been waiting for. I\u2019m\nthe Troll that owns this bridge, and now I\u2019m coming to eat you up.\u201d\n\nAt that the Middle-sized Billy Goat Gruff was in a great fright. \u201cOh,\ndear Mr Troll, good Mr Troll, please don\u2019t eat me up! I have a brother\nthat\u2019s a great deal bigger than I am. Just wait till he comes along,\nfor he\u2019d make a much better meal for you than I would.\u201d\n\n\u201cA great deal bigger?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, a great deal bigger.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well then, run along and I\u2019ll wait till he comes. Only the\nbiggest goat there is is fit to make a meal for me.\u201d\n\nThe Middle-sized Billy Goat was not slow to run along as the Troll\nbade him. He hurried across the river and up the mountain as fast as\nhe could go, trappity-trap! trappity-trap! trappity-trap! And just\nweren\u2019t he and his little brother glad to see each other again, and to\nbe safely over the Troll\u2019s bridge, and up where the good grass was!\n\nAnd now it was the turn of the Big Billy Goat Gruff to begin to think\nhe\u2019d like to go up on the mountain too. \u201cI believe that\u2019s where the\nLittle Billy Goat Gruff and the Middle-sized Billy Goat Gruff have\ngone,\u201d said he to himself. \u201cIf I don\u2019t look out they\u2019ll be growing so\nfat up there that they\u2019ll be as big as I am. I think I\u2019d better go and\neat the long green mountain grass too.\u201d So the next morning off he set\nin the pleasant sunshine. Klumph-klumph! klumph-klumph! He was so big\nyou could hear his hoofs pounding on the stones while he was still a\nmile away.\n\nAfter a while he came to the bridge where the Troll lived, and out he\nstepped on it, klumph-klumph! klumph-klumph! and the bridge shook and\nbent under his weight as he walked. Then the Troll that lived under\nit was in a fearful rage. \u201cWho\u2019s that going across my bridge?\u201d he\nbellowed, and his voice was so terrible that all the little fish in the\nriver swam away and hid under the rocks at the sound of it.\n\nBut the Big Billy Goat was not one bit frightened.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s me, the Biggest Billy Goat Gruff,\u201d he answered, in a voice as big\nas the Troll\u2019s own.\n\n\u201cOh, it is, is it? Then just stop a bit\u2014for you\u2019re the one I\u2019ve been\nwaiting for. I\u2019m the Troll that owns this bridge, and now I\u2019m coming to\neat you up!\u201d and with that the great grey Troll poked his head up over\nthe bridge, and his eyes looked like two great mill-wheels, and they\nwere going round and round in his head with rage. But still the Big\nBilly Goat was not one bit frightened.\n\n\u201cSo you\u2019re a Troll, are you! And you own this bridge, do you? And now\nyou\u2019re going to eat me up? We\u2019ll just see about that:\n\n    \u201cI have a forehead as hard as stone,\n     And I\u2019ll mash you all up, body and bone!\u201d\n\nWhen the Troll heard the Big Billy Goat talk to him that way he\nbellowed so that the Middle-sized Billy Goat and the Little Billy Goat\nheard him all the way up on the mountain where they were. He jumped up\non the bridge and put down his big, bushy head and ran at the Billy\nGoat, and the Big Billy Goat put down his head and ran at the Troll,\nand they met in the middle of the bridge. But the Billy Goat\u2019s head\nwas harder than the Troll\u2019s, so he knocked him down and thumped him\nabout, and then he took him up on his horns and threw him over the edge\nof the bridge into the river below, and the Troll sank like a piece of\nlead and never was seen or heard of again.\n\nBut the Big Billy Goat went on up the mountain; and you may believe\nthat his two brothers were glad to see him again, and to hear that the\ngreat wicked Troll was gone from under the bridge.\n\nAnd after that they all stayed up on the mountain together, and the\nsmaller goats ate so much grass and grew so fat and big that after a\nwhile no one could have told one Billy Goat from the other.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STONES OF PLOUVINEC\n\nA TALE FROM BRITTANY\n\n\nIN the little village of Plouvinec there once lived a poor stone-cutter\nnamed Bernet.\n\nBernet was an honest and industrious young man, and yet he never seemed\nto succeed in the world. Work as he might, he was always poor. This was\na great grief to him, for he was in love with the beautiful Madeleine\nPornec, and she was the daughter of the richest man in Plouvinec.\n\nMadeleine had many suitors, but she cared for none of them except\nBernet. She would gladly have married him in spite of his poverty, but\nher father was covetous as well as rich. He had no wish for a poor\nson-in-law, and Madeleine was so beautiful he expected her to marry\nsome rich merchant, or a well-to-do farmer at least. But if Madeleine\ncould not have Bernet for a husband, she was determined that she would\nhave no one.\n\nThere came a winter when Bernet found himself poorer than he had\never been before. Scarcely anyone seemed to have any need for a\nstone-cutter, and even for such work as he did get he was poorly paid.\nHe learned to know what it meant to go without a meal and to be cold as\nwell as hungry.\n\nAs Christmas drew near, the landlord of the inn at Plouvinec decided\nto give a feast for all the good folk of the village, and Bernet was\ninvited along with all the rest.\n\nHe was glad enough to go to the feast, for he knew that Madeleine was\nto be there, and even if he did not have a chance to talk to her, he\ncould at least look at her, and that would be better than nothing.\n\nThe feast was a fine one. There was plenty to eat and drink, and all\nwas of the best, and the more the guests feasted, the merrier they\ngrew. If Bernet and Madeleine ate little and spoke less, no one noticed\nit. People were too busy filling their own stomachs and laughing at the\njokes that were cracked. The fun was at its height when the door was\npushed open, and a ragged, ill-looking beggar slipped into the room.\n\nAt the sight of him the laughter and merriment died away. This beggar\nwas well known to all the people of the village, though none knew\nwhence he came nor where he went when he was away on his wanderings. He\nwas sly and crafty, and he was feared as well as disliked, for it was\nsaid that he had the evil eye. Whether he had or not, it was well known\nthat no one had ever offended him without having some misfortune happen\nsoon after.\n\n\u201cI heard there was a great feast here to-night,\u201d said the beggar in\na humble voice, \u201cand that all the village had been bidden to it.\nPerhaps, when all have eaten, there may be some scraps that I might\npick up.\u201d\n\n\u201cScraps there are in plenty,\u201d answered the landlord, \u201cbut it is not\nscraps that I am offering to anyone to-night. Draw up a chair to the\ntable, and eat and drink what you will. There is more than enough for\nall.\u201d But the landlord looked none too well pleased as he spoke. It was\na piece of ill-luck to have the beggar come to his house this night of\nall nights, to spoil the pleasure of the guests.\n\nThe beggar drew up to the table as the landlord bade him, but the fun\nand merriment were ended. Presently the guests began to leave the\ntable, and after thanking their host, they went away to their own homes.\n\nWhen the beggar had eaten and drunk to his heart\u2019s content, he pushed\nback his chair from the table.\n\n\u201cI have eaten well,\u201d said he to the landlord. \u201cIs there not now some\ncorner where I can spend the night?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is the stable,\u201d answered the landlord grudgingly. \u201cEvery room\nin the house is full, but if you choose to sleep there among the clean\nhay, I am not the one to say you nay.\u201d\n\nWell, the beggar was well content with that. He went out to the stable,\nand there he snuggled down among the soft hay, and soon he was fast\nasleep. He had slept for some hours, and it was midnight, when he\nsuddenly awoke with a startled feeling that he was not alone in the\nstable. In the darkness two strange voices were talking together.\n\n\u201cWell, brother, how goes it since last Christmas?\u201d asked one voice.\n\n\u201cPoorly, brother, but poorly,\u201d answered the other. \u201cMethinks the work\nhas been heavier these last twelve months than ever before.\u201d\n\nThe beggar, listening as he lay in the hay, wondered who could be\ntalking there at this hour of the night. Then he discovered that the\nvoices came from the stalls near by; the ox and the donkey were talking\ntogether.\n\nThe beggar was so surprised that he almost exclaimed aloud, but he\nrestrained himself. He remembered a story he had often heard, but had\nnever before believed, that on every Christmas night it is given to\nthe dumb beasts in the stalls to talk in human tones for a short time.\nIt was said that those who had been lucky enough to hear them at such\ntimes had sometimes learned strange secrets from their talk. Now the\nbeggar lay listening with all his ears, and scarcely daring to breathe\nlest he should disturb them.\n\n\u201cIt has been a hard year for me too,\u201d said the ox, answering what the\ndonkey had just said. \u201cI would our master had some of the treasure that\nlies hidden under the stones of Plouvinec. Then he could buy more oxen\nand more donkeys, and the work would be easier for us.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe treasure! What treasure is that?\u201d asked the donkey.\n\nThe ox seemed very much surprised. \u201cHave you never heard? I thought\nevery one knew of the hidden treasure under the stones.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me about it,\u201d said the donkey, \u201cfor I dearly love a tale.\u201d\n\nThe ox was not loath to do this. At once it began:\n\n\u201cYou know the barren heath just outside of Plouvinec, and the great\nstones that lie there, each so large that it would take more than a\nteam of oxen to drag it from its place?\u201d\n\nYes, the donkey knew that heath, and the stones too. He had often\npassed by them on his journeys to the neighbouring town.\n\n\u201cIt is said that under those stones lies hidden an enormous treasure\nof gold,\u201d said the ox. \u201cThat is the story; it is well known. But none\nhas seen that treasure; jealously the stones guard it. Once in every\nhundred years, however, the stones go down to the river to drink. They\nare only away for a few minutes; then they come rolling back in mad\nhaste to cover their gold again. But if anyone could be there on the\nheath for those few minutes, it is a wonderful sight that he would see\nwhile the stones are away. It is now a hundred years, all but a week,\nsince the stones went down to drink.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen a week from to-night the treasure will be uncovered again?\u201d asked\nthe donkey.\n\n\u201cYes, exactly a week from now, at midnight.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, if only our master knew this,\u201d and the donkey sighed heavily. \u201cIf\nonly we could tell him! Then he might go to the heath and not only see\nthe treasure, but gather a sack full of it for himself.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, but even if he did, he would never return with it alive. As I\ntold you, the stones are very jealous of their treasure, and are away\nfor only a few minutes. By the time he had gathered up the gold and was\nready to escape, the stones would return and would crush him to powder.\u201d\n\nThe beggar, who had become very much excited at the story, felt a cold\nshiver creep over him at these words.\n\n\u201cNo one could ever bring away any of it then?\u201d asked the donkey.\n\n\u201cI did not say that. The stones are enchanted. If anyone could find\na five-leaved clover, and carry it with him to the heath, the stones\ncould not harm him, for the five-leaved clover is a magic plant that\nhas power over all enchanted things, and those stones are enchanted.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen all he would need would be to have a five-leaved clover.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf he carried that with him, the stones could not harm him. He might\nescape safely with the treasure, but it would do him little good. With\nthe first rays of the sun the treasure would crumble away unless the\nlife of a human being had been sacrificed to the stones there on the\nheath before sunrise.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd who would sacrifice a human life for a treasure!\u201d cried the\ndonkey. \u201cNot our master, I am sure.\u201d\n\nThe ox made no answer, and now the donkey too was silent. The hour had\npassed in which they could speak in human voices. For another year they\nwould again be only dumb brutes.\n\nAs for the beggar, he lay among the hay, shaking all over with\nexcitement. Visions of untold wealth shone before his eyes. The\ntreasure of Plouvinec! Why, if he could only get it, he would be the\nrichest man in the village. In the village? No, in the country\u2014in the\nwhole world! Only to see it and handle it for a few hours would be\nsomething. But before even that were possible and safe it would be\nnecessary to find a five-leaved clover.\n\nWith the earliest peep of dawn the beggar rolled from the hay, and,\nwrapping his rags about him, stole out of the stable and away into the\ncountry. There he began looking about for bunches of clover. These were\nnot hard to find; they were everywhere, though the most of them were\nwithered now. He found and examined clump after clump. Here and there\nhe found a stem that bore four leaves, but none had five. Night came\non, and the darkness made him give up the search; but the next day he\nbegan anew. Again he was unsuccessful. So day after day passed by, and\nstill he had not found the thing he sought so eagerly.\n\nThe beggar was in a fever of rage and disappointment. Six days slipped\nby. By the time the seventh dawned he was so discouraged that he hunted\nfor only a few hours. Then, though it was still daylight, he determined\nto give up the search. With drooping head he turned back toward the\nvillage. As he was passing a heap of rocks he noticed a clump of clover\ngrowing in a crevice. Idly, and with no hope of success, he stooped and\nbegan to examine it leaf by leaf.\n\nSuddenly he gave a cry of joy. His legs trembled under him so that\nhe was obliged to sink to his knees. The last stem of all bore five\nleaves. He had found his five-leaved clover!\n\nWith the magic plant safely hidden away in his bosom the beggar hurried\nback toward the village. He would rest in the inn until night. Then he\nwould go to the heath, and if the story the ox had told were true, he\nwould see a sight such as no one living had ever seen before.\n\nHis way led him past the heath. Dusk was falling as he approached it.\nSuddenly the beggar paused and listened. From among the stones sounded\na strange tap-tapping. Cautiously he drew nearer, peering about among\nthe stones. Then he saw what seemed to him a curious sight for such a\nplace and such a time. Before the largest stone of all stood Bernet,\nbusily at work with hammer and chisel. He was cutting a cross upon the\nface of the rock.\n\nThe beggar drew near to him so quietly that Bernet did not notice him.\nHe started as a voice suddenly spoke close to his ear.\n\n\u201cThat is a strange thing for you to be doing,\u201d said the beggar. \u201cWhy\nshould you waste your time in cutting a cross in such a lonely place as\nthis?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe sign of the cross never comes amiss, wherever it may be,\u201d answered\nBernet. \u201cAnd as for wasting my time, no one seems to have any use for\nit at present. It is better for me to spend it in this way than to idle\nit away over nothing.\u201d\n\nSuddenly a strange idea flashed into the beggar\u2019s mind\u2014a thought so\nstrange and terrible that it made him turn pale. He drew nearer to the\nstone-cutter and laid his hand upon his arm.\n\n\u201cListen, Bernet,\u201d said he; \u201cyou are a clever workman and an honest\none as well, and yet all your work scarcely brings you in enough to\nlive on. Suppose I were to tell you that in one night you might become\nrich\u2014richer than the richest man in the village\u2014so that there would be\nno desire that you could not satisfy; what would you think of that?\u201d\n\n\u201cI would think nothing of it, for I would know it was not true,\u201d\nanswered Bernet carelessly.\n\n\u201cBut it _is_ true; it is _true_, I tell you,\u201d cried the beggar.\n\u201cListen, and I will tell you.\u201d\n\nHe drew still nearer to Bernet, so that his mouth almost touched the\nstone-cutter\u2019s ear, and in a whisper he repeated to him the story he\nhad heard the ox telling the donkey\u2014the story of the treasure that was\nburied under the stones of Plouvinec. But it was only a part of the\nstory that he told after all, for he did not tell Bernet that anyone\nwho was rash enough to seek the treasure would be crushed by the stones\nunless he carried a five-leaved clover; nor did he tell him that if the\ntreasure were carried away from the heath it would turn to ashes unless\na human life had been sacrificed to the stones. As Bernet listened to\nthe story he became very grave. His eyes shone through the fading light\nas he stared at the beggar\u2019s face.\n\n\u201cWhy do you tell me this?\u201d he asked. \u201cAnd why are you willing to share\nthe treasure that might be all your own? If you make me rich, what do\nyou expect me to do for you in return?\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you not see?\u201d answered the beggar. \u201cYou are much stronger than I.\nI, as you know, am a weak man and slow of movement. While the stones\nare away we two together could gather more than twice as much as I\ncould gather myself. In return for telling you this secret, all I ask\nis that if we go there and gather all we can, and bring it away with\nus, you will make an even division with me\u2014that you will give me half\nof all we get.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat seems only just,\u201d said Bernet slowly. \u201cIt would be strange if\nthis story of the hidden treasure proved to be true. At any rate, I\nwill come with you to the heath to-night. We will bring with us some\nlarge bags, and if we manage to secure even a small part of the gold\nyou talk of I shall never cease to be grateful to you.\u201d\n\nThe beggar could not answer. His teeth were chattering, half with fear\nand half with excitement. The honest stone-cutter little guessed that\nthe beggar was planning to sacrifice him to the stones in order that he\nhimself might become a rich man.\n\nIt was well on toward midnight when Bernet and the beggar returned\nto the heath with the bags. The moon shone clear and bright, and by\nits light they could see the stones towering up above them, solid and\nmotionless. It seemed impossible to believe that they had ever stirred\nfrom their places, or ever would again. In the moonlight Bernet could\nclearly see the cross that he had carved upon the largest stone.\n\nHe and the beggar lay hidden behind a clump of bushes. All was still\nexcept for the faint sound of the river some short distance away.\nSuddenly a breath seemed to pass over the heath. Far off, in the\nvillage of Plouvinec, sounded the first stroke of twelve.\n\nAt that stroke the two men saw a strange and wonderful thing happen.\nThe motionless stones rocked and stirred in their places. With a\nrending sound they tore themselves from the places where they had stood\nfor so long. Then down the slope toward the river they rolled, bounding\nfaster and faster, while there on the heath an immense treasure\nglittered in the moonlight.\n\n\u201cQuick! quick!\u201d cried the beggar in a shrill voice. \u201cThey will return!\nWe have not a moment to waste.\u201d\n\nGreedily he threw himself upon the treasure. Gathering it up by\nhandfuls he thrust it hurriedly into a sack. Bernet was not slow to\nfollow his example. They worked with such frenzy that soon the two\nlargest sacks were almost full. In their haste everything but the gold\nwas forgotten.\n\nSome sound, a rumbling and crashing, made Bernet look up. At once he\nsprang to his feet with a cry of fear.\n\n\u201cLook! look!\u201d he cried. \u201cThe stones are returning. They are almost on\nus. We shall be crushed.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou, perhaps; but not I,\u201d answered the beggar. \u201cYou should have\nprovided yourself with a five-leaved clover. It is a magic herb, and\nthe stones have no power to touch him who holds it.\u201d\n\nEven as the beggar spoke the stones were almost upon them. Trembling,\nbut secure, he held up the five-leaved clover before them. As he did so\nthe ranks of stones divided, passing around him a rank on either side;\nthen, closing together, they rolled on toward Bernet.\n\nThe poor stone-cutter felt that he was lost. He tried to murmur a\nprayer, but his tongue clove to the roof of his mouth with fear.\n\nSuddenly the largest stone of all, the one upon which he had cut the\ncross, separated itself from the others. Rolling in front of them, it\nplaced itself before him as a shield. Grey and immovable it towered\nabove him. A moment the others paused as if irresolute, while Bernet\ncowered close against the protecting stone. Then they rolled by without\ntouching him and settled sullenly into their places.\n\nThe beggar was already gathering up the sacks. He believed himself\nsafe, but he wished to leave the heath as quickly as possible. He\nglanced fearfully over his shoulder. Then he gave a shriek, and,\nturning, he held up the five-leaved clover. The largest stone was\nrolling toward him. It was almost upon him.\n\nBut the magic herb had no power over a stone marked with a cross. On it\nrolled, over the miserable man, and into the place where it must rest\nagain for still another hundred years.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIt was morning, and the sun was high in the heavens when Bernet\nstaggered into the inn at Plouvinec. A heavy, bulging sack was thrown\nover one shoulder; a second sack he dragged behind him. They were full\nof gold\u2014the treasure from under the stones of Plouvinec.\n\nFrom that time Bernet was the richest man in Plouvinec. Madeleine\u2019s\nfather was glad enough to call him son-in-law and to welcome him into\nhis family. He and Madeleine were married, and lived in the greatest\ncomfort and happiness all their days. But for as long as he lived\nBernet could never be induced to go near the heath nor to look upon the\nstones that had so nearly caused his death.\n\n\n\n\nTHE KING OF THE BUFFALOES\n\nAN AMERICAN INDIAN TALE\n\n\nA LAME Indian and his daughter once lived on the edge of a lonely\nforest, apart from any tribe or village. The Indian, whose name was\nAgodaguada, was a great hunter and fisher in spite of his lameness.\nEvery day he went off into the forest, and while he was away his\ndaughter, Iola, took care of the lodge and did the cooking.\n\nThey would have been very contented there if it had not been for a herd\nof buffaloes that lived on the other side of the forest. The king of\nthis herd was a magician. He had seen Iola once as she was gathering\nwood in the forest, and had fallen in love with her, for she was very\nbeautiful. Agodaguada often came upon him hiding in the bushes near\nthe hut, or heard him bellowing down at a stream near by. Agodaguada\ncautioned his daughter never to leave the lodge while he was away, for\nhe feared the buffalo might seize her and carry her off.\n\nHe himself was tormented by the ungainly beasts. They muddied the\nstreams where he fished and drove away the game by their bellowing.\nGradually he was obliged to go farther and farther from the lodge to\nfind deer or fish. Often as he sat quietly watching for game a hoarse\nvoice would begin to sing at him from behind the bushes or rocks:\n\n    \u201cYou lame mannikin,\n     Don\u2019t you think it a sin\n     To pen up your daughter?\n     \u2014Say, Agodaguada\u2014\n     To shut up your daughter,\n     Don\u2019t you think it a sin?\u201d\n\nSometimes he aimed an arrow or a stone at the place from which the\nvoice sounded, and then a great dark body would go lumbering and\ncrashing away through the forest, and Agodaguada would know that it was\none of the buffaloes that had followed him.\n\n[Illustration: HE SPOKE TO HER IN THE SOFTEST VOICE HE COULD MANAGE]\n\nOne day, when Agodaguada was far from home, his daughter climbed up on\ntop of the lodge, and sat there to comb her hair, for it was very long.\nEvery now and then she stopped to listen and look about her, to make\nsure there was no danger.\n\nFor a long time all was silent except for the singing of the birds.\nShe finished combing her hair, and was just about to go down into the\nlodge when suddenly a great noise arose, a crashing of underbrush and\nthundering of hoofs. The herd of buffaloes, with the king at their\nhead, was charging down upon the hut. Iola had no time to move before\nshe felt the logs breaking away beneath her. They were scattered\nthis way and that like straws. In another moment Iola found herself\nseated on the back of the king of buffaloes. She was being carried\nswiftly away through the forest, while the lodge lay in ruins behind\nthem.\n\nOn and on went the buffalo, until at last, in the deepest and darkest\npart of the forest, he paused and allowed Iola to slip from his back.\n\nThis was the spot where he and his followers had their camp, and it was\nhere he intended to keep Iola until she consented to become his wife.\nHe spoke to her in the softest voice he could manage, telling her that\nthis was to be her home, but Iola would not look at him, nor answer.\nShe only turned away, wringing her hands and weeping bitterly.\n\nBut the buffalo king was not discouraged. He had the power to take the\nshape of a man when he chose, and it was in this shape that he meant to\nwoo her and win her to be his wife. And this he had no doubt of being\nable to do before long.\n\nMeanwhile Agodaguada had been trying to fish, but he found his enemies\nmore tormenting than ever. Their hoarse voices sang after him wherever\nhe went:\n\n    \u201cYou lame mannikin,\n     Don\u2019t you think it a sin\n     To shut up your daughter?\n     \u2014Say, Agodaguada\u2014\n     To shut up your daughter?\n     Do you think she is in?\n     Are you sure she is in?\u201d\n\nAs Agodaguada listened, he became thoughtful. He rolled up his line\nand started back through the forest toward the lodge. As he came near\nhis home he quickened his steps. He noticed that the small trees and\nunderbrush had been trampled down as though a great herd had passed\nthat way. Presently he began to run, and he was still running when he\nbroke into the open where his lodge had stood. But the lodge was there\nno longer. Instead, he saw only the ruins that the buffaloes had left\nbehind them. Iola was gone.\n\nAgodaguada did not at once follow the enemy, however. He ran to the\nruins and began tearing the logs aside and burrowing under them.\nPresently he gave a cry of joy and drew out from beneath them an old\nworn pouch of deerskin. From this pouch he took a pair of moccasins and\nput them on his feet. They were magic moccasins and were Agodaguada\u2019s\ngreatest treasure. And now he was ready to follow Iola and save her\nfrom the buffaloes.\n\nIt was not hard to trace the way they had gone. The herd had left a\nbroad track of broken trees and branches through the dark forest.\n\nThe magic moccasins leaped a hundred yards at each step. They carried\nAgodaguada along faster than a bird can fly. The buffaloes had gone\nat full speed, and had had the start of him by several hours, but so\nswiftly he went that by twilight he found himself close to their camp.\n\nHere he slipped the moccasins from his feet. As silently as a snake he\ncrawled past the other wigwams toward the lodge of the king.\n\nAs he came near it he heard the sound of a flute, and soon he was close\nenough to look inside and see who was playing. It was the king himself.\nHe had taken his human form and was playing upon his flute a love song\nto Iola, but as a man he was even more hideous than he was as a buffalo.\n\nIola sat with her back turned toward him. She looked very sad. Her head\nwas sunk on her breast, and she took no notice of his love song or of\nhis languishing glances.\n\nSuddenly Iola started. From the thicket outside had sounded the whistle\nof a partridge. It was the whistle her father always gave as he came\nnear home after a day of hunting. The buffalo, playing on his flute,\nhad heard nothing.\n\nIola sat still a few moments longer, and then she rose. \u201cI will go down\nto the spring,\u201d she said, \u201cand fetch the water for the cooking.\u201d\n\nWhen the buffalo heard her say this he was filled with joy. He took it\nas a sign that she was now ready to live with him in his wigwam and be\nhis wife. Believing this, he was quite willing to allow her to go down\nto the spring by herself.\n\nIola stepped outside, and as soon as her father saw her alone there he\nrose up from among the bushes. His magic moccasins were once more upon\nhis feet. He motioned her to follow. \u201cQuick!\u201d he whispered. As soon as\nthey were clear of the bushes Agodaguada lifted his daughter in his\narms and leaped away with her through the forest.\n\nIn the lodge the buffalo waited for Iola a long time. Sometimes he\nlistened for her footsteps, and sometimes he played upon his flute.\nAt last he began to grow suspicious and went out to look for her.\nEverywhere he looked and hunted, and at last he came to where her\nfather had hidden in the bushes, and there he saw the marks Agodaguada\nhad made as he had leaped away with Iola in his arms.\n\nThen the buffalo knew he had been tricked. With a bellow of rage he\ncalled his herd together and started after Iola and her father.\n\nAgodaguada had already gone some distance, but his daughter weighed him\ndown, and the moccasins could not move as swiftly as when they had only\nhimself to carry. He had only just reached the edge of the forest when\nhe heard the buffaloes behind him. They had caught sight of him. The\nking gave a bellow of triumph. But now Agodaguada was out of the forest\nand leaping swiftly over an open plain. The whole herd were thundering\nafter him at full speed, but just as the leader reached him Agodaguada\nleaped aside. Before the buffaloes could stop themselves they had\ncharged on past him.\n\nThey turned and again rushed at him. But suddenly a flight of arrows\ndarkened the air. Several buffaloes fell dead upon the plain, and the\nking was wounded. These arrows were shot by a band of hunters who had\ncome to this plain in search of game, and had hidden themselves in a\nthicket. From there they had seen Agodaguada race with the buffaloes.\n\nThough the king was wounded, he would still have pursued Agodaguada,\nbut his followers had turned tail and were fleeing back into the\nforest. He stood pawing the earth and frothing until another arrow\nstruck him, and then, bellowing with rage, he turned and followed his\nherd.\n\nHe did not stop at the camp, however. He was so full of anger and\nchagrin that he went on and on until he reached the wide plains of the\nWest, where he had never been seen or heard of before.\n\nBut Agodaguada joined the band of hunters who had saved him, and Iola\nwas married to their young chief and lived happily with him in his\nlodge for ever after.\n\n\n\n\nTHE JACKAL AND THE ALLIGATOR\n\nA HINDU FAIRY TALE\n\n\nTHERE was once a little jackal who lived near the banks of a great\nriver. Every day he went down to the water to catch the little crabs\nthat were there.\n\nNow in that same river there lived a cruel alligator. He saw the little\njackal come down to the river every day, and he thought to himself,\n\u201cWhat a nice, tender morsel this little jackal would be if I could only\ncatch him.\u201d So one day the alligator hid himself in the mud of the\nriver so that just the tip of his nose stuck out, and it looked almost\nexactly like the back of a crab.\n\nVery soon the little jackal came running along the bank of the river,\nlooking for crabs. When he saw the end of the alligator\u2019s nose, he\nthought, \u201cThat looks like the back of a fine big crab,\u201d and he put in\nhis paw to scoop it out of the mud.\n\nAs soon as he did that, snap!\u2014the teeth of the alligator came together,\nand there he had the jackal by the paw.\n\nThe little jackal was terribly frightened, for he was sure the\nalligator would pull him into the river and eat him. However, he began\nto laugh, though the alligator\u2019s teeth hurt him terribly. \u201cOh, you\nstupid old alligator,\u201d he cried. \u201cYou thought you would catch my paw,\nand you didn\u2019t catch anything but a bulrush root that I stuck down\nthere in the water to tickle your nose. Ah, silly, silly alligator!\u201d\n\nWhen the alligator heard that, he was much disappointed. \u201cI certainly\nthought I had caught that little jackal,\u201d he said to himself, \u201cand it\nseems I have caught nothing but a bulrush root. There is no use in\nholding on to that.\u201d So he opened his mouth.\n\nThen the little jackal snatched his paw out. \u201cOh, stupid one!\u201d he\ncried. \u201cYou did have me, and you let me go again. Oh, ring-a-ting!\nring-a-ting! You\u2019ll never catch me again.\u201d So saying, away he ran up\ninto the jungle.\n\nThe alligator was furiously angry. \u201cWell, he tricked me that time,\u201d he\nsaid, \u201cbut the next time I catch him he will not get away so easily.\u201d\nSo he hid himself again in the mud and waited and watched. But the\nlittle jackal came no more to the river. He was afraid. He stayed up in\nthe country and lived on figs that he gathered under a wild fig-tree.\n\nBut the alligator was determined to have the jackal, so when he found\nthe jackal came no more to the river he crawled out one morning very\nearly, and dragged himself to the wild fig-tree and gathered together a\ngreat heap of figs, and hid himself under them.\n\nIn a little while the jackal came running toward the fig-tree, licking\nhis lips, for he was very hungry. When he saw the great heap of figs he\nwas delighted. \u201cHow nice!\u201d he said. \u201cNow I will not have the trouble of\ngathering the figs together; they are there all ready for me.\u201d\n\nHe went nearer and nearer to the heap of figs, and then he stopped. \u201cIt\nreally looks almost as though something might be hidden under those\nfigs,\u201d he thought. Then he cried out loud, \u201cWhen I come to the fig-tree\nall the figs that are any good roll about in the wind, but those figs\nlie so still that I do not think they can be fit to eat. I will have to\ngo to some other place if I want to get good figs!\u201d\n\nWhen the alligator heard this, he thought, \u201cThis little jackal is very\nparticular. I will just shake myself and make the figs roll about a\nlittle, or he will not come near enough for me to catch him.\u201d So he\nshook himself, and away the figs rolled this way and that.\n\n\u201cOh, you stupid old alligator!\u201d cried the jackal. \u201cIf you had stayed\nquite still, you might have caught me. Ring-a-ting, ring-a-ting! Thank\nyou for shaking yourself and letting me know you were there!\u201d And then\nhe ran away as fast as his legs would carry him.\n\nThe alligator gnashed his teeth with rage. \u201cNever mind! I will have\nthis little jackal yet,\u201d he cried, and he hid himself in the tall grass\nbeside the path that led to the fig-tree. He waited there for several\ndays, but he saw nothing of the jackal. The jackal was afraid to come\nto the fig-tree any more. He stayed in the jungle and fed on such roots\nand berries as he could find there, but as he could find but little, he\ngrew very thin and miserable.\n\nThen one morning the alligator made his way to the jackal\u2019s house while\nthe jackal was away. He squeezed himself in through the doorway (for it\nwas very narrow), and hid under the heap of dead leaves that was the\njackal\u2019s bed.\n\nToward evening the little jackal came running home, and he was very\nhungry, for he had found little to eat all day, and he was very tired\ntoo. He was just about to go in and throw himself down on his bed when\nhe noticed that the sides of the doorway were scraped and broken as\nthough some big animal had forced its way in.\n\nThe little jackal was terribly frightened. \u201cIs it possible,\u201d he\nthought, \u201cthat the wicked alligator has come to hunt for me here in my\nown house and is waiting inside to catch me?\u201d Then he cried out aloud,\n\u201cWhat is the matter, little house? Every day when I come home you say\n\u2018All is well, little jackal,\u2019 but to-day you say nothing, and I am\nafraid to come in.\u201d\n\nThis was not true; the little house did not really speak to him, but\nhe wanted to find out whether the alligator was there. But the stupid\nalligator believed him. He thought to himself, \u201cI will have to speak\nin place of the little house, or this tiresome little jackal will not\ncome in.\u201d He made his voice as small and soft as he could, and said,\n\u201cAll is well, little jackal.\u201d\n\nWhen the jackal heard the alligator speak, and knew he was really\ninside the house, he was more frightened than ever. However, he\nanswered quite cheerfully, \u201cVery well, little house! I will come in as\nsoon as I have been to the brook for a drink of water.\u201d\n\nWhen the alligator heard that he was filled with joy, but he lay quite\nstill under the leaves without moving. \u201cNow I will have that little\njackal at last,\u201d he thought. \u201cThis time he shall not escape me.\u201d\n\nBut while he waited the little jackal gathered together a great heap of\ndead-wood and underbrush and piled it up against the door of the house.\nWhen it was big enough he set fire to it, and it blazed up with a great\nnoise and burned the wicked alligator to death, and that was the end of\nhim. But the little jackal danced about and sang:\n\n    \u201cThe alligator\u2019s dead, and I am so glad!\n     The alligator\u2019s dead, and I am so glad!\n     Ring-a-ting, ring-a-ting! Ring-a-ting, ring-a-ting!\n     The alligator\u2019s dead, and I am so glad!\u201d\n\nAnd always after that the little jackal could go wherever he pleased in\nsafety, and he ate so many ripe figs and so many crabs that he grew as\nfat as fat could be.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BABA YAGA\n\nA RUSSIAN FAIRY TALE\n\n\nTHERE were once a man and wife who had no child, though they wished for\none above all things.\n\nOne day, when the husband was away, the wife laid a big stick of wood\nin the cradle and began to rock it and sing to it. Presently she looked\nand saw that the stick had arms and legs. Filled with joy, she began to\nrock and sing to it again; she kept it up for a long time, and when she\nlooked again, there, instead of the stick of wood, was a fine little\nboy in the cradle.\n\nThe woman took the child up and nursed him, and after that he was to\nher as her own son. She named him Peter, and made a little suit of\nclothes and a cloth cap for him to wear.\n\nOne day Peter put on his little coat and went out in a boat to fish on\nthe river.\n\nAt noon his mother went down to the bank of the stream and called to\nhim, \u201cPeter, Peter, bring your boat to shore, for I have brought a\nlittle cake for you to eat.\u201d\n\nThen Peter said to his boat:\n\n    \u201cLittle boat, little boat, float a little nearer.\n     Little boat, little boat, float a little nearer.\u201d\n\nThe boat floated up to the shore; Peter took the cake and went back to\nhis fishing again.\n\nNow it so happened that a Baba Yaga, a terrible witch, was hiding in\nthe bushes near-by. She heard all that passed between the woman and the\nchild. So after the woman had gone home, the Baba Yaga waited for a\nwhile, and then she went down to the edge of the river and hid herself\nthere, and called out:\n\n\u201cPeter, Peter, bring your boat to the shore, for I have brought another\nlittle cake for you.\u201d\n\nBut when Peter heard her voice, which was very coarse and loud, he knew\nit must be a Baba Yaga calling him, so he said:\n\n    \u201cLittle boat, little boat, float a little farther.\n     Little boat, little boat, float a little farther.\u201d\n\nThen the boat floated away still farther out of the Baba Yaga\u2019s reach.\n\nThe old witch soon guessed what was the matter, and she rushed off to a\nblacksmith, who lived over beyond the forest.\n\n\u201cBlacksmith, blacksmith, forge me a little fine voice as quickly as\nyou can,\u201d she cried, \u201cor I will put you in my mortar and grind you to\npieces with my pestle.\u201d\n\nThe blacksmith was frightened. He made her a little fine voice as\nquickly as he could, and the Baba Yaga took it and hastened back to\nthe river.\n\nThere she hid herself close to the shore and called in her little new\nvoice, \u201cPeter, Peter, bring your boat to the shore, for I have brought\nanother little cake for you to eat.\u201d\n\nWhen Peter heard the Baba Yaga calling him in her fine, small voice, he\nthought it was his mother, so he said to his boat:\n\n    \u201cLittle boat, little boat, float a little nearer.\n     Little boat, little boat, float a little nearer.\u201d\n\nThen the little boat came to the land. Peter looked all about, but saw\nno one. He wondered where his mother had gone, and stepped out of his\nboat to look for her.\n\nImmediately the Baba Yaga seized him. Like a whirlwind she rushed away\nwith him through the forest and never stopped till she reached her own\nhouse. There she shut him up in a cage behind the house to keep him\nuntil he grew fat.\n\nAfter she had shut him up, she went back into the house, and her little\ncat was there. \u201cMistress,\u201d said the cat, \u201cI have cooked the dinner for\nyou, and I am very hungry. Will you not give me something to eat?\u201d\n\n\u201cAll that I leave, that you can have,\u201d answered the Baba Yaga. She sat\ndown at the table and ate up everything but one small bone. That was\nall the cat had.\n\nMeanwhile at home the mother waited and waited for Peter to come back\nfrom the river with his fish. Then at last she went down to look for\nhim. There was his boat drawn up on the shore empty, and all round\nit were marks of the Baba Yaga\u2019s feet, and the trees and bushes were\nbroken where she had rushed away through the forest. Then the mother\nknew that a witch had carried off the little boy.\n\nShe went back home, weeping and wailing.\n\nNow the woman had a very faithful servant, and when this girl heard her\nmistress wailing, she asked her what the matter was.\n\nThe woman told her all that she had seen down at the river, and how she\nwas sure a Baba Yaga had flown away with Peter.\n\n\u201cMistress,\u201d said the girl, \u201cthere is no reason for you to despair.\nJust give me a little wheaten cake to keep the life in me, and I will\nset out and find Peter, even though I have to travel to the end of the\nworld.\u201d\n\nThen the woman was comforted. She gave the servant a cake, and the girl\nset out in search of Peter.\n\nShe went on and on, and after a while she came to the Baba Yaga\u2019s\nhouse. It stood on fowls\u2019 legs, and turned whichever way the wind blew.\nThe girl knocked at the door, and the Baba Yaga opened it.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want here?\u201d she asked. \u201cAre you seeking work or shunning\nwork?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am seeking work,\u201d answered the girl. \u201cCan you give me anything to\ndo?\u201d\n\nThe witch scowled at her terribly. \u201cYou may come in,\u201d she said, \u201cand\nset my house in order, but do not go peeping and prying about, or it\nwill be the worse for you.\u201d\n\nThe girl went in and began to set the house in order, while the Baba\nYaga flew away into the forest, riding in a mortar, urging it along\nwith a pestle, and sweeping away the traces with a broom.\n\nAfter the witch had gone, the little cat said to the girl, \u201cGive me, I\nbeg of you, a little food, for I am starving with hunger.\u201d\n\n\u201cHere is a little cake; it is all I have, but I will give it to you in\nHeaven\u2019s name.\u201d\n\nThe little cat took the cake and ate it all up, every crumb.\n\n\u201cNow listen,\u201d said the cat. \u201cI know why you are here, and that you are\nsearching for the little boy named Peter. He is in a cage behind the\nhouse, but you can do nothing to help him now. Wait until after dinner,\nwhen the Baba Yaga goes to sleep. Then rub her eyes with pitch so that\nshe cannot get them open, and you may escape with the child through the\nforest.\u201d\n\nThe girl thanked the little cat and promised to do in all things as it\nbade her.\n\nWhen the Baba Yaga came home, \u201cWell, have you been peeping and prying?\u201d\nshe asked.\n\n\u201cThat I have not,\u201d answered the girl.\n\nThe Baba Yaga sat down, ate everything there was on the table, bones\nand all. Then she lay down and went to sleep. She snored terribly.\n\nThe girl took some pitch and smeared the witch\u2019s eyelids with it. Then\nshe went out to where Peter was and let him out of the cage, and they\nran away through the forest together.\n\nThe Baba Yaga slept for a long time. At last she yawned and woke, but\nshe could not get her eyes open. They were stuck tight with pitch. She\nwas in a terrible rage; she stamped about and roared terribly. \u201cI know\nwho has done this,\u201d she cried, \u201cand as soon as I get my eyes open, I\nwill go after her and tear her to pieces.\u201d Then she called to the cat\nto come and scratch her eyes open with its sharp little claws.\n\n\u201cThat I will not,\u201d answered the cat. \u201cAs long as I have been with you,\nyou have given me nothing but hard words and bones to gnaw, but she\nstroked my fur, and gave me a cake to eat. Scratch your own eyes open,\nfor you shall have no help from me.\u201d And then the little cat ran away\ninto the forest.\n\nBut the faithful servant and Peter journeyed safely on through the\nforest, and you may guess whether or not the mother was glad to have\nher little Peter safe home again.\n\nAs to the old Baba Yaga, she may be shouting and stamping and rubbing\nthe pitch from her eyes yet, for all I know.\n\n\n\n\nTAMLANE\n\nA STORY FROM AN OLD SCOTCH BALLAD\n\n\nFAIR Janet was the daughter of the Earl of March, and she was so\nbeautiful that many knights and noble gentlemen had asked her to marry\nthem, but she would say yes to none of them.\n\nOne day she sat at her window sewing a seam, and she heard the sound of\na horn down in the forest. It blew so sweet and it blew so clear that\nshe laid down her seam to listen, and it seemed to her that it called\n\u201cJanet, fair Janet, come hither!\u201d\n\nFair Janet dropped her sewing and down to the wood she ran. She looked\nabout her, and there stood a handsome knight. From head to foot he was\ndressed in green, and in his hand he held a silver horn, and when he\nsaw her he raised it to his lips and blew again so soft and clear that\nJanet had never heard anything like it.\n\n\u201cNow tell me,\u201d said she, \u201cis that a fairy horn that it blows so sweet a\nnote?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is indeed a fairy horn,\u201d answered the stranger, \u201cand it was in\nFairyland that I learned to wind it. In many a forest have I blown it,\nnorth and south, and east and west, and you are the first to hear and\nanswer it.\u201d\n\nThen fair Janet was afraid, for she thought the stranger must be a\nfairy knight, and she did not know what charm he might cast about her.\n\nThe knight saw she was frightened, so he said, \u201cFrom Fairyland I\nbrought it, yet I am of human flesh and blood like you. I am the son of\nthe Earl of Murray, and once my name was John, though in Fairyland they\ncall me Tamlane. When I was a child, the fairies stole me, and they\nhave kept me with them ever since. Bright and fair it is in Fairyland,\nand I am the Queen\u2019s favoured knight, but my heart wearies to be back\nin my own country and living with my own kind once more.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd will not the fairies let you go?\u201d asked fair Janet, and now she\nwas not afraid.\n\n\u201cThat they will not of their own wills, and only a lady brave and true\ncan set me free. You yourself are that lady, fair Janet, for you alone\nhave heard and answered my horn.\u201d\n\nThen Janet promised she would do whatever Tamlane bade her do, if by so\ndoing she might bring him back from Fairyland, for he was very good to\nlook upon. She let him put a ring upon her finger, and they kissed each\nother as a sign that they were betrothed.\n\nThen Tamlane told her what she must do. On every Hallowe\u2019en at midnight\nthe fairies ride abroad, and on that night she must go to Milescross\nand wait for them to pass. At midnight they would come.\n\nFirst would ride the Fairy Queen, her horse hung round with bells.\nAfter her would come all her ladies and esquires, and then her band of\nknights, and it was among these that Tamlane would ride.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll know me from among them all,\u201d said he, \u201cby the snow-white horse\nI ride. Moreover, I\u2019ll wear a glove on my right hand, but my left hand\nwill hang bare. Then is the time for you, Janet. Spring up and pull me\nfrom my horse and hold me tight. There will be a loud cry raised, and\nthey\u2019ll change me into many shapes in your arms, but hold me tight,\nwhatever I seem to be. Always it will be I, and I will not harm you. Do\nthis, and when I take my own shape again I will be free of the fairies\nfor ever.\u201d\n\nJanet promised to do all that he told her to, though she was terrified\nat the thought of what might happen, and then they kissed each other\nagain and parted.\n\nNow three nights after it was Hallowe\u2019en, and Janet went out to\nMilescross, and hid herself there and waited.\n\nWhen midnight came there was a sound of bells, and a white light, and\nthe fairies came riding by. First came the Queen, and she was very\nbeautiful, with a circlet of stars about her head. Then came her\nladies and squires, talking and laughing together; and next a troop\nof knights all in green, and each with a silver horn. Some rode on\nblack horses, and some on brown, but one knight there was who rode a\nmilk-white steed. His right hand was gloved, but his left hand hung\ndown bare at his side. He rode on and never turned his head, but when\nJanet saw him she knew him for her true love, Tamlane, and she sprang\nforward and caught him by the mantle and pulled him down from off his\nhorse and gripped him tight. Then from all the fairy train there arose\na cry, \u201cTamlane\u2019s awa\u2019!\u201d \u201cTamlane\u2019s awa\u2019!\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THEN IT WAS A SWAN THAT BEAT ITS WINGS IN HER FACE]\n\nSuddenly it was no knight that Janet held in her arms, but a great grey\nwolf. It struggled and snapped, and its breath was hot in her face.\nAlmost it broke from her, but she remembered Tamlane\u2019s words and held\nit tight. And then it was not a wolf she held, but a bale of burning\nstraw. The flames roared in her ears, but she clasped it close, and it\ndid not scorch her. Then it was a great serpent that wrapped itself\nabout her, and tried to slip from her arms, but she held it tight and\ndid not let it go. Then it was a swan that beat its wings in her face,\nbut she shut her eyes and held it. Then the wings were still, and she\nopened her eyes, and saw it was her own true love, Tamlane, that she\nclasped in her arms.\n\nThe Fairy Queen turned herself about, and she cried, \u201cTamlane, Tamlane,\nif I had known yesterday what I know to-day, I would have taken out\nyour two blue eyes and given you eyes of stone; had I known yesterday\nwhat I know to-day, I would have taken the heart of flesh out of your\nbosom and put in a heart of clay; had I but known yesterday what I know\nnow, never should you have ridden abroad with me this night!\u201d\n\nThen suddenly the fairies were gone, and Tamlane and Janet stood there\nalone. He took her by the hand, and they went back to her father\u2019s\ncastle together. There they were married with great joy and feasting,\nand they lived together happily all the rest of their lives, a faithful\nand loving man and wife.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FARMER AND THE PIXY\n\nAN ENGLISH FAIRY TALE\n\n\nFARMER BOGGINS lived on a lonely farm, and there were a great many\npixies and other fairies all around.\n\nOne morning in threshing-time Farmer Boggins went out to the barn\nbefore anyone else, and what was his surprise to find that a great heap\nof grain had been threshed out in the night. He wondered who had done\nit. When his labourers came to work he questioned them, but none of\nthem knew anything about it.\n\nThe next night the same thing happened; no one went near the barn, but\nin the morning there was a heap of clean grain on the floor.\n\nThe third night the farmer made up his mind to find out who it was\nthat was helping him, so he hid himself behind some hay, and lay there\nwatching. The moon shone in and lighted all the floor, but for a long\ntime the farmer heard and saw nothing.\n\nThen suddenly he heard a sound of threshing, and there was a pixy\nbeating out the grain with a flail. The little man was not a foot high.\nHe was as brown as a nut and had scarce a rag of clothes upon him.\n\nHe worked so hard that the sweat poured down his forehead, and now and\nthen he stopped to wipe it away. Then he would cry out proudly, \u201cHow I\nsweat! How I sweat!\u201d\n\nThe farmer was filled with admiration, and the third time the little\nman cried \u201cHow I sweat!\u201d the farmer could hold his tongue no longer,\nbut answered him, \u201cThat you do!\u201d\n\nNo sooner had he spoken, however, than the pixy was gone.\n\nThe farmer waited for a while, but the little man did not return. At\nlast Farmer Boggins went back to the house and told his good wife all\nthat had happened.\n\n\u201cYou stupid!\u201d she cried, when he had made an end of the story. \u201cYou\nshould never have spoken to him. The small folk cannot bear to be\nspoken to!\u201d\n\nWell, the mischief was done, and now the only thing to do was to think\nof some way to coax the pixy back again to the work.\n\nEarly the next morning the good wife woke her husband.\n\n\u201cHusband,\u201d said she, \u201cdid you say the little man had scarce a stitch of\nclothes upon him?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s what I said,\u201d answered the farmer.\n\n\u201cThen listen,\u201d said his wife. \u201cTo-day I will make a little suit of\nclothes for him, and you shall take it out and lay it in the barn where\nhe will be likely to see it if he comes back. Maybe then he\u2019ll be so\npleased he\u2019ll get over his anger and begin to work for you again.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cNOT SO FAST, MY FINE LITTLE FELLOW,\u201d HE SAID]\n\nWell, that seemed a good plan to the farmer, so his wife set to work,\nand by evening she had made a complete set of little clothes just the\nsize for a pixy. The farmer took it out to the barn and spread it out\nin the moonlight and hid himself where he could watch and see what\nwould happen.\n\nFor a long time all was still, and Farmer Boggins was beginning to feel\nsleepy, when suddenly he saw the pixy was there. The little man had a\nflail in his hands and was going toward a heap of grain. Then he saw\nthe little suit lying there in the moonlight. At first he stood quite\nstill, and then he laid down the flail and took up the clothes. He\nlooked at them all over, and then he put them on.\n\nWhen he was dressed he began to hop about and sing:\n\n    \u201cHow fine I am, how fine I am:\n     Now I am nobody\u2019s working-man.\u201d\n\nSo singing, he danced across the floor and out of the barn and down the\nhill.\n\nThen the farmer was in a rage. His wife had taken all the trouble\nto make the clothes, and the little man had taken them and gone off\nwithout doing a stroke of work to pay for them. But this should not be\nthe end of the matter.\n\nAt the foot of the hill the farm road crossed a stream, and there was a\nbridge. The farmer went down to the bridge and hid himself beside it,\nfor he thought that if the pixy were really leaving the farm, this was\nthe way he would go.\n\nSure enough, Boggins had not been hidden there long when he heard a\nsound of voices, and along came a whole troop of pixies. They all\nlooked exactly like the little man the farmer had seen in the barn, but\nnone of them were dressed. Last of all came a pixy in a little suit of\nclothes, so the farmer knew he must be the one who had threshed out the\ngrain.\n\nJust as this pixy reached the bridge, Farmer Boggins stepped out in\nfront of him. \u201cNot so fast, my fine little fellow,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s\nsome work owing me in payment for that suit you\u2019re wearing.\u201d\n\nThe farmer had scarcely got the words out of his mouth when he heard a\ngreat splash in the stream behind him, and a voice that sounded like\nhis wife\u2019s cried, \u201cHusband! Husband! Come quick and help me, or I\u2019ll\ndrown.\u201d\n\nThe farmer turned about, and immediately there was a burst of elfin\nlaughter. The stream lay silent and smooth in the moonlight. No one was\nthere, and when the farmer turned back to the bridge again every pixy\nwas gone from it.\n\nThen the farmer knew that he had been tricked, and he had to go home\nwithout either the pixy or the suit of clothes. His wife was there\nthough. She had never been out of the house at all, and a fine scolding\nshe gave him for letting himself be tricked that way by the little men.\n\nBut the pixy never came back to help him with his grain, or to thank\nhim for the suit of clothes either.\n\n\n\n\nRABBIT\u2019S EYES\n\nA KOREAN FAIRY TALE\n\n\nONCE upon a time the king of the fishes fell ill, and no one knew what\nwas the matter with him. All the doctors in the sea were called in, one\nafter another, and not one of them could cure him.\n\nOnce when the fishes were talking about it, a turtle stuck its head out\nof a crack in a rock. \u201cIt is a pity,\u201d said the turtle, \u201cthat no one has\never thought of asking my advice. I could cure the king in a twinkling.\nAll he has to do is to swallow the eye of a live rabbit, and he will\nbecome perfectly well again.\u201d\n\nThis the turtle said, not because he knew anything at all about the\nmatter, but because he wished to appear wise before the fishes.\n\nNow it so chanced that one of the fishes that heard him was the son of\nthe king\u2019s councillor, and he swam straight home and told his father\nwhat he had heard the turtle say. The councillor told the king, and the\nking, who was feeling very ill that day, bade them bring the turtle to\nhim immediately.\n\nWhen the messengers told the turtle that the king wished to speak to\nhim, the turtle was very much frightened. He drew his head and his tail\ninto his shell and pretended that he was asleep, but in the end he was\nobliged to go with the messengers.\n\nThey soon reached the palace, and the turtle was taken immediately to\nwhere the king was. He was lying on a bed of seaweed and looking very\nill indeed, and all his doctors were gathered round him.\n\nThe king turned his eyes toward the turtle, and spoke in a weak voice.\n\u201cTell me, friend, is it true that you said you could cure me?\u201d\n\nYes, it was true.\n\n\u201cAnd that all I have to do is to swallow the eye of a live rabbit, and\nI will be well again?\u201d\n\nYes, that was true too.\n\n\u201cThen go get a live rabbit and bring it here immediately, that I may be\nwell.\u201d\n\nWhen the turtle heard these words he was in despair. It did not seem at\nall likely that he could catch a rabbit and bring it down into the sea,\nbut he was so much afraid of the king that he did not dare to explain\nthis to him. He said nothing, but crawled away as soon as he could,\nwishing he could find some crack where he could hide himself and never\nbe found again.\n\nSuddenly he remembered he had once seen a rabbit frisking about on a\nhill not far from the seashore, and he determined to set out to find\nit.\n\nHe crawled out of the sea and started up the hill. He climbed and he\nclimbed, and after a while he came to the top, and there he sat down to\nrest.\n\nPresently along came the rabbit, and it stopped to speak to him.\n\n\u201cGood day,\u201d said the rabbit.\n\n\u201cGood day,\u201d said the turtle.\n\n\u201cAnd what are you doing so far away from the sea?\u201d asked the rabbit.\n\n\u201cOh, I only came up here to look about and see what the green world was\nlike,\u201d answered the turtle.\n\n\u201cAnd what do you think of it, now you are here?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, it\u2019s not so bad; but you ought to see the beautiful palaces and\ngardens we have down under the sea.\u201d The turtle began telling the\nrabbit about them, and he talked so long and said so many fine things\nabout them, that the rabbit began to wish to see them for himself.\n\n\u201cWould it be very hard for me to live down under the water?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cOh, no,\u201d said the turtle. \u201cIt might be a little inconvenient at\nfirst, but that would not last long. If you like, I will take you on\nmy back and carry you down to the bottom of the sea, and then you can\nsee whether it is not all just as grand and beautiful as I have been\ntelling you.\u201d\n\nWell, the rabbit could not resist his curiosity, and he agreed to go\nwith the turtle.\n\nThey went to the edge of the sea, and then the rabbit got on the\nturtle\u2019s back, and down they went through the water to the very bottom\nof the sea. The rabbit did not like it at first, but he soon grew used\nto it, and when he saw all the fine palaces and gardens that were\nthere, he was filled with wonder.\n\nThe turtle took him directly to the palace of the king. There he bade\nthe rabbit get down and wait awhile, and he promised that presently he\nwould show him the king of all this magnificence.\n\nThe rabbit was delighted and willingly agreed to wait there while the\nturtle went to announce him.\n\nBut while the turtle was away the rabbit heard two fishes talking in\nthe room next to where he was. He was very inquisitive, so he cocked\nhis ears forward and listened to what they were saying. What was his\nhorror to find that they were talking about taking out his eyes and\ngiving them to the king. The rabbit did not know what to do, nor how he\nwas to escape from the dangerous position he was in.\n\nPresently the turtle came back, and the chief councillor came with\nhim, and immediately the rabbit began to talk. \u201cWell,\u201d said he, \u201cit\nall seems very fine here, and I am glad I came, but I wish now I had\nbrought my own eyes with me so that I could see it better. You see,\nthe eyes I have in my head now are only glass eyes. I am so afraid of\ngetting my own eyes hurt or dusty that I generally keep them in a safe\nplace, and wear these glass eyes instead. But if I had only known how\nmuch there would be to look at, I would certainly have brought my own\neyes.\u201d\n\nWhen the turtle and the councillor heard this, they were very much\ndisappointed, for they believed the rabbit was speaking the truth, and\nthat the eyes he had in his head at the time were only glass eyes.\n\n\u201cI will take you back to the shore,\u201d said the turtle, \u201cand then you can\ngo and get your real eyes and come back again, for there are many more\nthings for you to see here\u2014things more wonderful and beautiful than\nanything I have yet shown you.\u201d\n\nWell, the rabbit was willing to do that, so he got upon the turtle\u2019s\nback, and the turtle swam up and up with him through the sea.\n\nAs soon as they reached the shore the rabbit leaped from the turtle\u2019s\nback, and away he went up the hill as fast as he could scamper, and\nhe was glad enough to be out of that scrape, I can tell you. But the\nturtle waited, and he waited, and he waited, but the rabbit never did\ncome back, and at last the turtle was obliged to go home without him.\n\nAs for the king of the fishes, if he ever got well, it was not the eye\nof a live rabbit that cured him; of that you may be sure.\n\n\n\n\nMUDJEE MONEDO\n\nAN AMERICAN INDIAN TALE\n\n\nUPON the banks of the broad Ogechee River there once stood a little\nIndian village. The people who lived there were prosperous and happy.\nThere were fish in the river and game in the forest, and no one lacked\nfor anything.\n\nBut after a time a terrible misfortune fell upon the people. An ogre\nnamed Mudjee Monedo came to live near them. Upon an open plain he laid\nout a racecourse, and it was his amusement to challenge the young men\nof the village to race with him there. None dared to refuse, for the\nogre was cruel and revengeful, and they feared what he might do to the\nold men and children if they should refuse; and yet to race with him\nmeant death.\n\n\u201cLife against life,\u201d the ogre would cry, laying his hand on the\ngoal-post. \u201cMy life in wager against yours. This post is the goal,\nyonder charred stump the turning-point. The loser pays the forfeit with\nhis life.\u201d\n\nBut none of the Indian warriors ever could win in that race with\nMudjee Monedo. The ogre had the power to turn himself at will into\nany four-footed animal that he might choose. If he found he was being\noutstripped in the race he would change himself into a wolf, a deer, or\na buffalo, and so easily win the race against the swiftest runner of\nthem all. So, one after another, the finest young men of the village\nwere slain at the goal-post.\n\nA deep gloom settled over those who were still left alive. They would\nhave taken their wives and children and gone elsewhere to live, but\nthey knew the ogre would follow on their tracks. Their only hope was\nthat some time a warrior might rise among them who would be able to\noutwit the ogre and win the race.\n\nSomewhat away from the other lodges, and in the shadow of the forest,\nlived a widow with a daughter and a young son. This son was a boy of\ntwelve named Manedowa. The widow\u2019s husband and her ten eldest sons had\nall raced with the ogre at one time or another, and all had paid the\nforfeit with their lives. Now Manedowa was fast growing tall and manly.\nInstead of being glad of this the widow was terrified. She dreaded the\ntime when the ogre might think the boy old enough to race with him.\nAlready Mudjee Monedo had his eye upon him. Often he would make some\nexcuse to come to the lodge when the boy was busy there. Then the ogre\nwould look him up and down.\n\n\u201cYou are growing fast,\u201d he would say. \u201cYou will make a famous runner.\nSome time you must come and look at my racecourse. Perhaps we may even\nrun a friendly race together\u2014though I am growing too old and stiff to\nhave any chance against young limbs like yours.\u201d\n\nThen the widow would shudder and make some excuse to send the boy away\nout of sight. She knew that when he was fully grown it would not be for\nlong that the ogre would spare him.\n\nOne day the boy was away fishing and the widow and her daughter were\nbusy in the lodge together. Suddenly a shadow fell across the floor.\nThey looked up in terror, expecting to see the ogre peering in.\nInstead, a handsome young warrior stood there in the doorway. He was a\nstranger. They had never seen him before. The sunshine played upon his\nshining limbs like fire. His eyes were bright and piercing, and above\nhis forehead waved a plume of gorgeous feathers. For a moment he stood\nlooking in upon them. Then he laid a deer down upon the threshold, and\nsilently turned and disappeared in the green depths of the forest.\n\nWondering, the mother and her daughter stared after him. They did not\nknow who he could be. They waited for some time, and then, as he did\nnot return, they cut up the deer and hung it up to dry.\n\nTwo days after this the stranger again came to the lodge. As silently\nas before he laid a bear down before them, and again disappeared among\nthe thickets; but that night they heard the sound of his pipe not far\nfrom the lodge; it was a love song to the girl that he was playing.\n\nThe next evening he came again, bringing more game, but this time he\nentered and sat down. After that he stayed in the widow\u2019s lodge, and\nthe girl became his wife. She was very happy, for no other hunter\nbrought home such fine game as he, and no other was as handsome and as\nnoble-looking.\n\nEvery morning he went away, gliding off silently into the depths of the\nforest and disappearing from their sight. Where he went they did not\nknow, but every night he came again, bringing to them the choicest of\ngame and fish. The plume above his forehead shone with strange colours,\nand sometimes it seemed as though the light about him came from\nhimself, and not from the sunshine or the firelight. Neither the girl\nnor her mother dared to question him as to who he was or whence he came.\n\nWith so much game hanging about the lodge it was not long before Mudjee\nMonedo grew suspicious. He suspected that some warrior had come to\nlive with the widow and her daughter and that they were hiding it from\nhim. Often he stole up silently to the lodge hoping to find the hunter\nthere, but he never saw him. At last he questioned the widow openly.\n\n\u201cAll this game,\u201d he said, trying to smile at her pleasantly, \u201cwhere\ndoes it come from?\u201d\n\nThe widow began to tremble. \u201cMy son\u2014\u201d she began.\n\n\u201cYour son!\u201d interrupted the Magician. \u201cDo you mean to tell me that your\nson could shoot a bear or a buffalo such as I have seen here?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is very large and strong for his age,\u201d said the poor widow.\n\n\u201cIf he is old enough to shoot such game he is old enough to race with\nme,\u201d cried the ogre. \u201cI will come again when he is at home, and he and\nI will talk of it.\u201d\n\nThe Mudjee Monedo turned on his heel and strode away through the\nforest, breaking the young trees and muttering to himself as he went.\n\nThe widow and her daughter were almost dead with fright. If they told\nthe ogre of the strange warrior who had come to live in their lodge he\nwould without doubt challenge the stranger to race with him. If they\ndid not, it would be the boy who would be slain.\n\nThat night when the hunter returned as usual with his game the widow\ntold him of all that had happened\u2014of how Mudjee Monedo had come to the\nlodge and questioned her, of how she had pretended it was her son who\nhad shot the game, and of the threat that the ogre had used.\n\nThe warrior listened to all she had to say in silence. When she had\nended he answered calmly, \u201cIt is well. I will run a race with this\nMudjee Monedo. To-morrow he will come this way again. Then ask him to\nstop and eat with you, and I too will be here.\u201d\n\nHis wife and her mother began to beg and implore him not to let the\nMagician see him, but he silenced them. \u201cLet it be as I say,\u201d said he.\n\u201cTo-morrow do you put corn meal and herbs in a pot to cook, and add to\nit three birch buds. Mudjee Monedo and I will eat of it together.\u201d\n\nThe next morning very early the ogre appeared at the lodge door, but\nthe stranger had already gone into the forest. Mudjee Monedo looked\nabout him and saw all the fresh meat. \u201cTruly your son has become a\nmighty hunter,\u201d he sneered.\n\n\u201cNo, Mudjee Monedo,\u201d answered the widow. \u201cI knew it was useless to try\nto deceive you. It is not my son, but my son-in-law, who has shot all\nthis game. He is a mighty warrior. He will soon return from the forest.\nSit down, and when he comes you can eat together.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid I not know it?\u201d cried the ogre triumphantly. \u201cNo one may hope to\ndeceive Mudjee Monedo for long.\u201d\n\nHe entered the lodge and sat down. He had not been there long before\nthe stranger appeared in the doorway. The brave was in the full dress\nof a warrior. Across his forehead was a broad band of red paint, and\nthe feathers above his forehead were red and blue. The ogre\u2019s eyes\nglistened at the sight of him. The hunter greeted Mudjee Monedo, and\nsat down not far from him.\n\nPresently, while his wife and mother-in-law made ready the food, he and\nthe ogre talked. Soon Mudjee Monedo asked the warrior whether he would\nnot run a race with him upon his racecourse.\n\nCalmly the stranger agreed.\n\n\u201cBut I am growing old,\u201d said Mudjee Monedo slyly. \u201cI am not strong and\ntireless as I was once. Because of that, if I race with you you must\nlet me set the wager.\u201d\n\nTo this, also, the stranger agreed. Then the food was ready, and he\ncourteously asked Mudjee Monedo to eat with him. The ogre could not\nrefuse, but when he saw the dish that was set before them he became\nvery uneasy. Well he knew that for him there was evil in that food.\nThe strange warrior, however, took no notice of his confusion. He\ndipped into the dish and ate of it, and Mudjee Monedo was obliged to do\nlikewise, though the herbs that were in it tickled his throat and set\nhim coughing.\n\nFinally the warrior lifted the dish, drank deep of it, and handed it to\nthe other. The ogre hesitated a moment. The broth was hateful to him,\nbut he was afraid to refuse. In haste to be done with it he raised it\nto his mouth and swallowed what was left of it at one gulp.\n\nSuddenly he coughed and choked. One of the birch buds at the bottom of\nthe pot had lodged in his windpipe. His face turned purple and his eyes\nseemed starting from their sockets. He got to his feet and staggered\nout into the open air. A moment he turned and tried to speak, but a\nviolent fit of coughing stopped him, and he hurried away through the\nthickets, still wheezing and choking as he went.\n\nBy the next day the news had gone through the village that a strange\nwarrior was to run a race with Mudjee Monedo, and a great crowd\ngathered on the hills near by to see the race.\n\nWhen the stranger appeared upon the course a murmur of wonder arose.\nNever had the people seen such a warrior before. He was taller by a\nhead than the tallest youth in the village, and his feet scarce seemed\nto touch the earth, so lightly did he walk. Then hope sprang up in the\npeople\u2019s hearts. Might it not be that this wondrous stranger would in\nsome way win the race and free them from the power of the ogre.\n\nMudjee Monedo looked about him at the waiting people, and seemed to\nread what was in their hearts. His lips drew back in a cruel smile.\nThen he laid his hand upon the goal-post.\n\n\u201cYou have let me choose my own wager,\u201d he cried aloud, so that all\nmight hear what he said to the stranger. \u201cIt is this: life against\nlife; my life against yours. This post is the goal, yonder charred\nstump the turning-point. The loser pays the forfeit.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo be it,\u201d answered the stranger in a clear ringing voice. \u201cI will\nabide by the wager, as must you.\u201d\n\nAt a signal he and the ogre sprang forward on the course. Mudjee Monedo\nran well, but the stranger soon outstripped him. So swiftly he ran his\nfeet scarce seemed to touch the ground. The light played about him, and\nhis feathers streamed behind him in the wind. Never had the ogre been\nso easily outrun. Sooner than usual he was obliged to turn himself into\na wolf or he would have been left too far behind. In that shape he tore\npast the warrior, but as he passed the stranger heard a wheezing in his\nthroat and knew that the birch bud was still there.\n\nA low moan sounded from the crowd of watching Indians on the hill-side\nas they saw the grey wolf leading in the race. But the next moment, the\nmoan changed to a shout of surprise. The strange warrior had changed\nhimself into a partridge; he rose swiftly in the air, flew past over\nMudjee Monedo, and lighted on the course far ahead of him. Then he\nresumed his natural form and again ran forward.\n\nThe ogre did not know what had happened. He heard the shout and the\nwhirr of wings above him, and now he saw the stranger far ahead. He was\nvery much surprised, but again he used his magic and turned himself\ninto a deer. With long leaps and bounds he overtook and passed beyond\nthe running warrior.\n\nAgain there was a whirr of wings. The partridge flew past overhead, and\na mocking voice cried in the ogre\u2019s ear, \u201cMudjee Monedo, is this the\nbest you can do?\u201d A moment later the ogre saw the stranger once more\nfar ahead, and running as lightly and gracefully as ever.\n\nThe charred stump was passed and Mudjee Monedo\u2019s heart began to beat\nhard against his sides. Never had he had to strive so hard. For the\nthird time he used his magic, and turned himself into his third and\nlast form, that of a buffalo. It was in this shape that he generally\nwon the race. With his great shaggy head down, his eyes as red as blood\nand his tongue lolling from his mouth, the ogre thundered past the\nstranger.\n\nOnce again there was a whirr of wings. The partridge rose from the\nground and flew past over the head of the straining buffalo. \u201cMudjee\nMonedo,\u201d he called from above, \u201cis this the best you can do? I fear you\nwill lose the wager.\u201d\n\nWith despair the ogre saw that the stranger had once more flown far\nahead of him, and was now almost within reach of the goal-post.\nSuddenly stopping, Mudjee Monedo resumed his natural form. \u201cHold!\nhold!\u201d he called to the warrior. \u201cA word with you.\u201d\n\nThe stranger gave a mocking laugh. Springing forward he laid his hand\nupon the goal-post, and a mighty shout burst from the watching people\non the hill. Then a stillness fell upon them. In silence they watched\nthe ogre as he slowly went forward toward the goal-post.\n\nAs he drew near the stranger Mudjee Monedo tried to smile, but his pale\nlips trembled. \u201cIt was all a joke,\u201d he muttered. \u201cYou will spare my\nlife, as I would have spared yours. You run well and we must have many\nraces together.\u201d\n\n\u201cWretch!\u201d cried the stranger. \u201cWhat was the wager? Life against life;\nthe loser pays the forfeit.\u201d\n\nSwift as lightning he caught up the club that hung from the goal-post,\nand with one blow he struck the ogre to the earth. Then again a great\nshout arose from the people, and like a stream they flowed down from\nthe hill-side and gathered around the warrior.\n\nFor a time there was great rejoicing. Fires were lighted and a great\nfeast made. When night came and the stranger went back to his lodge a\nvast crowd followed him. It was growing dark, but suddenly a pale light\nshone about the warrior. He turned to them, and as they looked at his\nface they suddenly knew it was no human warrior who stood before them,\nbut the Good Genius, Minno Monedo. Silent and in awe they drew back\nfrom him. He motioned them to leave him, and they obeyed him, still in\nawe and silence.\n\nAfter they had all gone Minno Monedo turned to his wife and took her by\nthe hand. \u201cThe time has now come,\u201d he said, \u201cwhen I must return to the\nSpirit-land. It is for you to choose whether you will come with me or\nstay here with your own people. Which shall it be?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go with you,\u201d answered the wife.\n\nSo it was; she and the Good Genius disappeared from the earth, and her\ntribe saw them no more.\n\nFor a while her mother grieved for her, but Manedowa grew up strong and\nbrave, and in time brought home a wife who bore him many children.\n\nGrass grew over the course where the ogre had run his races; his lodge\nfell into ruins, but still around the camp-fires the Indians tell the\nstory of Minno Monedo, and of how he came to save their tribe from\nMudjee Monedo.\n\n\n\n\nDAPPLEGRIM\n\nA TALE ADAPTED FROM THE NORSE\n\n\nTHERE was once a rich man who had seven sons, and they were all stout,\nwell-grown lads.\n\nWhen the man\u2019s time came to die he called his sons about him that he\nmight divide his goods among them. He asked each one, beginning at the\neldest, what he wished to have left to him. One said one thing, and one\nanother; one wanted the house, and one the land; one wanted gold, and\none the flocks and herds. At last it came the turn of the youngest,\nwho was called Boots, to say what he wished to have. But by this time\nnothing was left to choose but seven wild mares that ran about free on\none of the farther hills. All the other things had been promised to his\nbrothers.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Boots; \u201cI am satisfied. The seven mares will do for\nme. When they have colts, I will leave the colts with their mothers\nuntil they are big enough and then I will sell them, and so I will have\nenough to live upon.\u201d\n\nThe six older sons thought Boots a great simpleton to be satisfied\nwith so little, but since he was content, it was not for them to\nquarrel over it.\n\nSoon afterward the man died, and the six older brothers divided his\nriches among them in very friendly fashion.\n\nAs for Boots, he asked for nothing, but he took his staff in his hand,\nand set out for the farther hill to look at his seven wild mares. It\nwas half a day\u2019s journey to the hill, but Boots thought nothing of\nthat. He reached it before his shoes were worn out, and there were the\nseven wild mares grazing hither and thither, and each one had a foal\nwith her. They were fat and well-grown foals, but beside the seven\nthere was another colt there on the hill, and he was a wonder. His coat\nwas a beautiful dappled grey, and shone like silk; and he was more than\ntwice the size of any of the other foals.\n\n\u201cNow in all my life never have I seen a colt like that colt,\u201d cried\nBoots. \u201cThe other seven foals I will leave here with their mothers, but\nthis one I will take out into the world with me, for already he is big\nenough and stout enough for me to ride him.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, Master,\u201d answered the colt; \u201cthat is not what you should do. Do\nyou leave me here for another year to run free and grow, and it will\nbe well worth your while. But as for the other seven foals, take them\nto the market and sell them, and with the money you receive buy me\nfodder. Store the fodder in yonder old ruined building and leave the\ndoor open, so that I can go in and out and eat at will, and by next\nyear I will be better fit for riding.\u201d\n\nBoots was willing to do this, so he gathered the seven foals together\nand drove them away to market. There he sold them as the dappled colt\nhad bade him and bought fodder, and this fodder he stored in the old\nruined building for the colt to feed upon at will. Then the lad went\naway to a city near-by and took service to wait until the year was up.\n\nAt the end of the year, to a day, Boots came back again to the hill,\nand there were the seven wild mares at graze, and again each had a\nwell-grown foal beside her. But as for the dappled colt, it was a\nwonder. It was twice as large as before, and if before its coat had\nbeen like silk, now it was like satin, it shone so.\n\nBoots looked and wondered and wondered and looked. \u201cWell it is,\u201d he\nsaid, \u201cthat I left you here a year longer. But now you must go with\nme, for with such a horse as you to ride upon, the king of the country\nhimself will be glad to take me into his service.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, Master,\u201d answered the foal, \u201cthe time is not yet. Let me run free\nfor still another year, but take the seven mares and their foals to\nmarket, and sell them for what you can get. With the money buy fodder\nand place it where you did before, and if you do this thing you will\nnever regret it.\u201d\n\nWell, Boots was willing to do that too. He drove the mares and their\nfoals to market, and sold them and bought fodder with the money. Then\nhe went away to the city again and took service for another twelve\nmonths.\n\nAt the end of the year, to a day, Boots came back to the hill to look\nat his dappled colt, but before he reached there he saw a light in the\nsky and heard a sound as of thunder. The sound drew nearer and nearer,\nand then Boots saw the colt coming to meet him, and the noise was made\nby its hoofs, for it was so huge that the earth trembled under it as\nit came; and if its coat had been like satin before, now it shone like\nglass, so that the light was reflected all about it, and that was what\nBoots had seen.\n\n\u201cBy my faith,\u201d cried Boots, \u201cnever have I beheld such a horse before.\nThe King himself hath not another like it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is true,\u201d answered the steed. \u201cAnd now, Master, the time has come\nfor you to ride me out into the world, and together we will make your\nfortune.\u201d\n\nThen Boots tried to mount, but Dapplegrim (for so Boots named the\nhorse) was so huge that he was obliged to lie down before his master\ncould get upon his back.\n\nOnce Boots was up, away the horse went, so fast that the wind whistled\npast their ears, and they never stopped nor stayed until they came to\nthe castle of the King of the country.\n\nHere Boots knocked at the door and asked the King if he might take\nservice with him, and the King could have jumped for joy at the thought\nof having him. For never in his life before had he seen such a horse as\nDapplegrim; and as for Boots, the King was sure that only a hero could\nbe the master of such a steed.\n\nSo now Boots was one of the King\u2019s own men, and soon he became such a\nfavourite that the King would have him always by his side, and talked\nto him more than to anyone else.\n\nBut this made the noblemen who were about the castle very jealous. And\nnot only did they have to make way for Boots, but all their own horses\nhad to be taken out of the castle stable so that Dapplegrim might have\nthe more room. Before long they began to plot and plan as to how they\ncould rid themselves of Boots, and his great grey steed as well.\n\nNow, though the King of that country was very rich and powerful, he\nwas so sad that he was never seen to smile, for he had had only one\nchild, a daughter, and her a troll had stolen away. The troll kept her\na prisoner in his house at the top of a great glass hill. This hill was\nas slippery as ice and as steep as a house.\n\nMany princes and brave men had tried to rescue the Princess, for she\nwas as beautiful as the day, and the King had promised her in marriage\nto anyone who would bring her back to him. None had succeeded, however,\nand those who had tried had always lost their lives; for though the\nKing had promised her as a wife to whoever could save her, he had also\nsworn to cut off the heads of all those who tried and failed.\n\nNow one day several of the noblemen who were jealous of Boots came to\nthe King and told him that Boots had been saying this and that, and\nthat he could ride up the hill on Dapplegrim as easily as not, and\ncould rescue the Princess if only the King would ask him to.\n\nAs soon as the King heard this he sent for Boots to come before him.\n\n\u201cHow is this?\u201d said he. \u201cWhy do you tell others that you can rescue the\nPrincess if you choose, and yet you never tell me?\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I never said such a thing,\u201d said Boots.\n\n\u201cYes, but you did.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, but I didn\u2019t.\u201d\n\nThe King would not listen to him, however. He was determined that Boots\nmust set out on the adventure at once. If he rescued the Princess, he\nshould have her for a wife, but if he failed his head should be cut\nfrom his shoulders.\n\nAs soon as Boots left the King, he went straight out to Dapplegrim\u2019s\nstall, and he was down in the mouth, as you may well believe.\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter, Master?\u201d asked Dapplegrim.\n\n\u201cMatter enough,\u201d answered Boots; and then he told the great grey horse\nall that the King had been saying to him.\n\nThe great grey horse listened attentively. \u201cThis is no easy thing the\nKing has asked of you,\u201d he said; \u201cbut it might have been worse. And\nthen it isn\u2019t every day one has a chance of winning a princess for a\nwife. Do you go back to the King and ask him for ten pounds of iron and\ntwelve pounds of steel, and six blacksmiths to do some work for us, for\nI must be properly shod before we start out on this adventure.\u201d\n\nWell, Boots went back to the King and asked him for just that, ten\npounds of iron and twelve pounds of steel, and six blacksmiths to work\nfor him.\n\nThe King did not say no. Ten pounds of iron and twelve pounds of steel\nwere brought to the palace, and six blacksmiths came to shoe the great\nhorse Dapplegrim, and it was a task for all six of them; for after\nthe shoes were made, it took three blacksmiths to hold up each one of\nDapplegrim\u2019s feet and three more to fit the shoe to it, but when it was\ndone never any other horse in all the world was shod like him.\n\nThen Boots mounted and rode forth. On and on went Dapplegrim, so fast\nand far that you might have thought they would have ridden over the\nvery edge of the world.\n\nFinally Dapplegrim asked, \u201cMaster, do you see anything?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Boots, \u201cI see something far before us. It looks like a wall\nof snow with a black spot on top of it no bigger than a nut.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat white wall is the hill of glass,\u201d said the grey horse, \u201cand the\nspot on top of it is the troll\u2019s house, but we have still a journey to\nmake before we reach it.\u201d\n\nThen on they went and on they went, and after a while they came to the\nfoot of the hill. When Boots looked at it his heart sank within him,\nfor he did not see how any living thing could keep a foothold on it.\n\n\u201cWell, here we are, Master,\u201d said Dapplegrim. \u201cAnd now, unless we can\nmount the hill, it is an ill day for you and me too.\u201d\n\nThen Boots gathered up the reins and rode the great grey horse straight\nat it, and the fire flashed from under Dapplegrim\u2019s feet. Three times\nBoots rode Dapplegrim at the hill. The first time the great horse\nscarcely mounted as high as a man could reach, and then his feet\nslipped from under him and back he fell.\n\nThe second time he rode half-way up the hill, and then again back, back\nhe slipped.\n\nThe third time he sprang forward upon the hill of glass, and as his\ngreat feet struck it the glass cracked and crashed beneath him, and up\nand up he went, to the very top, and on into the troll\u2019s house.\n\nThe beautiful Princess was sitting beside the window, weeping, her\ngolden hair all loose and falling about her, and the troll was there\nbeside her.\n\nDapplegrim thundered into the hall and over to the Princess, and Boots\nstopped and caught her up to the saddle beside him. Then Dapplegrim\nwheeled, and away they went, faster than the wind, and the troll did\nnot even have time to catch up the sword that lay beside him or to try\nto stop them.\n\nIt was a long way back to the castle, and Dapplegrim had two to carry\nnow, but that was nothing to him. On and on they went, and when they\nthundered up to the castle gate the King and all his court came out to\nmeet them. Then there were great rejoicings and kissings and shoutings,\nas you may believe.\n\nBoots stood there among them, and he was the hero of it all. \u201cAnd now,\nwhen am I to marry the Princess?\u201d he asked.\n\nAt that the King began to hum and haw. It had been all very well to\npromise her to Boots as long as she was sitting in the troll\u2019s house at\nthe top of the hill, but now that she was back in the castle again it\nwas a different matter.\n\n\u201cListen,\u201d said the King; \u201cyou shall have her as a bride, of course. I\nhave never said anything different, but first you must level down the\nridge of rock there in front of the castle, for it is so high and black\nthat never a ray of sunlight comes in at the windows from one year\u2019s\nend to the other.\u201d\n\nWell, that was not in the bargain at all, and Boots did not know how\nhe was to level down a whole mountain of rock. But the King would not\nlisten to him. Not till the ridge was levelled down could he marry the\nPrincess, and moreover, if he failed in doing it, his head should be\ncut from his shoulders.\n\nThen Boots went out to Dapplegrim\u2019s stall, and his mouth was down at\nthe corners, as you may well believe.\n\n\u201cWell, Master, and what is the matter now?\u201d asked Dapplegrim.\n\nThen Boots told him all about it, and what he had said, and what the\nKing had said, and how he feared he was to lose his head after all.\n\n\u201cOh, well, this is not such an easy task,\u201d said the great grey steed,\n\u201cbut, after all, we may be able to do it. But first do you ask the King\nfor twelve pounds of iron and fifteen pounds of steel, and have new\nshoes put upon my feet, for we will need them.\u201d\n\nThat is just what Boots did. He asked the King for twelve pounds of\niron and fifteen pounds of steel, and the King did not refuse him. And\nthis time it took eight blacksmiths to shoe the great grey horse.\n\nWhen Dapplegrim was newly shod, Boots mounted upon his back and rode\naway toward the ridge of rock, and the King and all his court came out\nto watch what he would do.\n\nDapplegrim rode up to the top of the rocky ridge, and then he stamped\nwith his great iron-shod feet, and he was so heavy that at once the\nridge sank down fifteen ells into the earth.\n\nThen Boots rode up and down, and every time Dapplegrim stamped the\nridge sank down under him, until at last it was as level with the earth\nas the palm of your hand.\n\n\u201cAnd now may I have the Princess for my wife?\u201d asked Boots.\n\nOf course, of course! The King had never intended anything else, but\nbefore she could go to church with Boots she must have a horse as great\nand fine as Dapplegrim to ride upon. Boots might have three days to\nfind such a horse for his bride, but at the end of that time, if he had\nnot found it, his head would be cut from his shoulders.\n\nWell, that seemed a hard thing to Boots. That had never been in the\nbargain at all. Besides, he doubted if there was such another horse as\nDapplegrim in all the world beside.\n\nOut he went to Dapplegrim\u2019s stall, and if he had been down in the\nmouth before he was ten times more so now.\n\n\u201cWell, Master, what is it this time?\u201d asked the great grey horse. \u201cAre\nyou not to have the Princess for your wife?\u201d\n\nYes, Boots was to have her, but not before he should do this and that,\nand he told the whole story to Dapplegrim.\n\n\u201cThis is a harder task than either of the others,\u201d said the great\nhorse. \u201cThere is only one other horse in the whole world that is my\nmatch in size and strength. Whether or not we can get him I do not\nknow, for he is very wild and fierce. But before we start out on this\nadventure I must be new shod with fifteen pounds of iron and fifteen\npounds of steel. Besides this, you must ask the King to give you a\nbarrel of tar, twelve sacks of grain, and the carcasses of twelve oxen,\nand twelve hides of bullocks set all over with sharp spikes. Have these\nloaded upon me, and then we will set out, and what is to happen will\nhappen.\u201d\n\nWell, Boots went to the King and asked for all these things, and the\nKing did not refuse him. Dapplegrim was new shod with fifteen pounds of\niron and fifteen pounds of steel, and upon his back were loaded twelve\nsacks of grain, and the carcasses of twelve oxen, and the hides of\ntwelve bullocks set all over with sharp spikes, and a barrel of tar.\n\nLast of all, Boots mounted his steed and away they rode, and the earth\nshook beneath them, and the wind whistled past their ears.\n\nThey went on and on and on, till all the world seemed left behind, and\nat last they came out into a barren plain, and all the air around them\nand overhead seemed filled with the sound of the beating of great wings.\n\n\u201cNow tell me,\u201d said Boots, \u201cwhat is that sound I hear, for it almost\nmakes me feel afraid?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat,\u201d answered Dapplegrim, \u201cis the beating of the wings of all the\nbirds of the air that have been sent out to stop us. But do not be\nafraid. Cut a hole in each of the bags we carry, so that the grain will\nrun out, and the birds will be so busy picking it up that they will\nnever notice us.\u201d\n\nThis Boots did, and the grain ran out in a stream behind them. Then\nthe birds gathered in such countless numbers that the whole plain was\ncovered with them. But they were so busy pecking up the grain that they\nnever even looked at Boots or the great grey horse.\n\nOn rode Boots and on he rode, and after a while he and Dapplegrim came\ninto a great black forest.\n\nThen from all around there sounded a mighty roaring that fairly shook\nthe trees, it was so loud.\n\n\u201cWhat is that sound?\u201d asked Boots. \u201cNow tell me, for it almost makes me\nfeel afraid.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat,\u201d said Dapplegrim, \u201cis the roaring of all the beasts of the earth\nthat have been sent out to stop us, but do you throw down the twelve\ncarcasses of the oxen, and the beasts will be so busy eating them that\nthey will never even look at us.\u201d\n\nBoots did as Dapplegrim bade him, and immediately from behind the trees\nand thickets sprang out a multitude of wild beasts, and they fell upon\nthe carcasses and began to tear them and eat. They did not even so much\nas look at Dapplegrim or his master.\n\nOn and on went Boots and his great grey steed, and now they came out of\nthe forest upon a place that was covered with great rocks and boulders,\nand here Dapplegrim bade Boots light down.\n\n\u201cMaster, the time has now come for the hardest part of all our\nventure,\u201d said the horse. \u201cIt may be I will not come out of it alive,\nnor you either, but that is as it may be. Take down the barrel of tar\nand set it yonder among the rocks, take off my bridle and then cover me\nall over with the spiked hides. When this is done, do you climb up in\nyonder tree, where you will be out of harm\u2019s way. Presently the steed\nthat we are in search of will come, and he and I will fight together.\nWatch carefully that barrel of tar, for while we are fighting it will\nbe set on fire. If the fire burns low and smoky, I will be overcome,\nand then you must try to escape as best you can, but if the flame\nrises straight and clear, then I am winning. In that case make haste to\ncome down and slip the bridle over the head of the strange horse. Then\nhe will become gentle and quiet, and you may do with him what you will.\u201d\n\nBoots obeyed Dapplegrim in everything. He took down the barrel of tar\nand set it among the rocks. He took off Dapplegrim\u2019s bridle and covered\nhim all over with the spiked hides. Then he climbed up in the tall tree\nnear-by and hid himself among its leaves.\n\nNo sooner had he done all this than Dapplegrim struck the ground three\ntimes and neighed loud and clear.\n\nAt once from far away there came a sound of neighing. Nearer and nearer\nit came, and so loud and terrible it was that Boots was filled with\nfear. Then from beyond the rocks came galloping a great grey dappled\nhorse, and if Dapplegrim was big, this one was full as large. If\nDapplegrim was strong, this one was as strong, if not stronger. Fire\nflashed from his eyes and smoke poured from his nostrils.\n\nAt once he and Dapplegrim began to fight. Up and down they fought, and\nsometimes one seemed to be winning and sometimes the other, but always,\nwhenever the strange horse tried to seize Dapplegrim with his teeth, he\ncould not, because of the spiked hides that covered him.\n\nAs they fought, a spark from their hoofs fell upon the barrel of tar\nand set it on fire. The flame of it rose straight and clear through the\nair.\n\nAt once Boots slipped down from the tree and ran over to where the two\nhorses were fighting. As soon as he did so, he saw that Dapplegrim had\nseized the strange horse by the neck and was holding him with his teeth.\n\nBoots made haste to slip the bridle over the strange horse\u2019s head, and\nat once it became quiet and gentle, only it still shook and sweated\nfrom the fight.\n\nThen Boots mounted on the new Dapplegrim\u2019s back and rode back toward\nthe castle, and the old Dapplegrim trotted along beside him. Safely\nthey passed through the forest and crossed the plain, and as they\nneared the castle they saw that the King and all his court had come out\nto meet them, for they had heard the news of their coming.\n\nBoots lighted down from the new Dapplegrim and led both horses to the\nKing, and the King was filled with wonder and amazement at the sight of\ntwo such horses, and both exactly alike.\n\n\u201cAnd now,\u201d said Boots, \u201ccan you tell me which is the new Dapplegrim and\nwhich the old?\u201d\n\nWell, the King looked them all over from head to tail; he looked at\ntheir eyes and their ears and their hoofs, and not a hair did one have\nthat was different from the other\u2019s. The King was obliged to own that\nhe could not tell which was which.\n\n\u201cSo I have brought the horse as you bade me,\u201d said Boots, \u201cand now am I\nto have the Princess for a wife?\u201d\n\nWell, there was nothing more for the King to do but to let Boots marry\nthe Princess. But now the Princess herself had something to say about\nit.\n\n\u201cLook,\u201d said she to Boots. \u201cYou have shown how brave you are: now let\nus see whether you are clever as well. I will hide twice, and you shall\nhide twice. If you can find me, and I cannot find you, then we will\nknow you are more clever than I am, and I will marry you. But if you\nfail, then you must look elsewhere for a wife.\u201d\n\nWell, Boots did not like that very much, but he did not know how to\nrefuse. \u201cVery well,\u201d said he. \u201cThen that is the bargain.\u201d\n\nThe Princess was to hide first, and this is what she did. She changed\nherself into a white duck and floated on the pond that was behind the\ncastle stable.\n\nBoots hunted for her high and low; he looked everywhere, but he could\nnot find her. Then he went out to Dapplegrim\u2019s stall and told him all\nabout it.\n\n\u201cYou should have come to me in the first place,\u201d said Dapplegrim. \u201cDo\nyou take a gun and go out to the pond behind the castle stable. Aim at\nthe white duck that is floating there, as though you meant to shoot it,\nand you will find the Princess fast enough.\u201d\n\nBoots did as Dapplegrim bade him. He took his gun out to the pond\nbehind the stable, and there, sure enough, was a white duck floating\nabout in the sunshine.\n\nBoots took aim at it as though to shoot. Then the Princess was terribly\nfrightened. \u201cDo not shoot,\u201d she cried; \u201cit is I, the Princess.\u201d\n\nSo Boots had found her once.\n\nThe next time the Princess hid she turned herself into a loaf of bread,\nand lay with the other loaves on the kitchen table. Boots hunted for\nher high and low, but nowhere could he find her. Then he went out to\nDapplegrim\u2019s stall.\n\n\u201cWhat shall I do about it now?\u201d he said. \u201cI have hunted for the\nPrincess everywhere, and still I cannot find her.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy did you not come to me in the first place?\u201d asked Dapplegrim. \u201cDo\nyou take a knife and lay it on the middle loaf that is on the kitchen\ntable, as though to cut it, and you will find the Princess fast enough.\u201d\n\nWell, Boots was not slow to do as Dapplegrim bade him. He took a sharp\nknife and went into the castle kitchen, and there were seven fresh\nloaves of bread on the table.\n\nBoots drew the middle loaf toward him, and laid the sharp edge of the\nknife on it as though to cut it.\n\nThen the loaf cried aloud in a woeful voice, \u201cAlas, do not cut me! It\nis I, your Princess.\u201d\n\nAnd so Boots had found the Princess for the second time.\n\nNow it was Boots\u2019 turn to hide, and while the Princess was not looking\nhe changed himself into a fly and hid in Dapplegrim\u2019s ear.\n\nThe Princess hunted for him everywhere, all through the castle, but she\ncould not find him. Last of all she came to Dapplegrim\u2019s stall to look\nthere, but when she tried to enter Dapplegrim would not let her. He\nkicked and snorted and bit until the Princess was fairly frightened.\n\nAt last she was obliged to own that she could not find Boots. Then at\nonce he stood before her in his own proper shape.\n\n\u201cYou have failed once,\u201d he said. \u201cNow let us see whether you will be\nany more clever the second time.\u201d\n\nThe next thing Boots did was to change himself into a clod of earth and\nhide in the hollow of Dapplegrim\u2019s foot.\n\nThe Princess hunted for him everywhere, but she could not find him.\nThen she came to Dapplegrim\u2019s stall, and this time he let her enter.\nThe Princess looked him all over but could not find Boots. Last of all\nshe tried to lift Dapplegrim\u2019s feet to look under them, but this she\ncould not do. The great grey horse stood like a rock, and she could not\nmove him.\n\nThen the Princess was obliged to own herself beaten.\n\nAt once Boots stood before her. \u201cNow,\u201d said he, \u201cI have fairly won you\nfor a bride, and you shall not say no to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, yes; that is right,\u201d said the Princess. \u201cNow I know that you are\nthe cleverest as well as the bravest man in all the world, and you and\nyou alone shall be my husband.\u201d\n\nSo Boots and the Princess were married with great rejoicing and\nmagnificence, and if anyone were sorry it was not the Princess nor\nBoots.\n\nAs for Dapplegrim, nothing was too good for him. If he had wished it,\nhe might have had a bridle of gold and a saddle set with precious gems,\nand a silver bed to lie on. He lived to a good old age, and they were\nall happy for ever after.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FISH PRINCE\n\nA HINDU FOLK TALE\n\n\nTHERE were once a Rajah and Ranee who had no child, though every day\nthey prayed that one might be sent to them. For this reason the Ranee\nat last became quite melancholy, and took no more pleasure in anything.\n\nOne day some fish were brought to the palace kitchen to be prepared\nas usual for the Rajah\u2019s dinner. Among them was one such as the cook\nhad never seen before. Its scales shone with all the colours of the\nrainbow, and upon its head was a mark that looked like a little golden\ncrown. The cook examined it curiously, and then was about to prepare it\nfor cooking as he had done with the others, but it lifted up its head\nand spoke to him.\n\n\u201cDo not kill me,\u201d said the fish. \u201cInstead, put me in a basin of water\nand carry me to the Ranee, and it may be I will amuse her.\u201d\n\nThe cook was very much surprised to hear a fish speaking, and it seemed\nto him such a wonderful creature that it might very well amuse even the\nRanee; he therefore put it in a basin of water, and gave it to a maid,\nand bade her carry it to the queen.\n\nThe maid did as she was told, and the Ranee was indeed very much\npleased with the beautiful little fish. All day she kept it beside her\nand watched its quick movements and its changing colours. The next day\nshe was even more pleased with it, and before long she became so fond\nof it that she could not have loved it better if it had been her own\nchild. She named it Muchie Rajah, or the Fish Prince, and called it her\nson.\n\nAfter a time the fish grew so large that it could no longer live in the\nbasin, and then it was put in a marble bath. As it still continued to\ngrow, the Ranee had a great tank made for it out in the palace gardens.\nHere every day she went to visit it. She always carried some rice with\nher, and when she called it, the great fish would rise through the\nwater and eat from her hand, and play about where she could see it.\n\nBut one day when the Ranee came to the tank she saw Muchie Rajah lying\non the water very still. His colours looked dull, and when she called\nto him he came to her slowly, and would not eat the rice she had\nbrought to him.\n\nThe Ranee was greatly troubled. \u201cAlas, my dear son,\u201d she cried, \u201cwhat\nis it that ails you? Are you sick, that you will not eat the good rice\nI have brought to you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not sick,\u201d answered the great fish, \u201cbut I am very, very lonely.\nMy mother, I beg of you to have a little room built in the side of\nthe tank, and bring some young girl to live in it all the time and be\ncompany for me.\u201d\n\nThe Ranee could refuse nothing to her dear Muchie Rajah. She\nimmediately sent for masons and stone-cutters, and had a little room\nmade in the side of the tank. The room was so cleverly built that the\nfish could reach his head over the side of it, and yet it was protected\nfrom the water in such a way that one could live in it safely and not\nbe drowned. The walls of it were carved and coloured and set with\nprecious stones, so that it was very beautiful, and there were hanging\nlamps in it to give light by day and night.\n\nAfter all was finished, the Ranee sent out messengers through the\ncountry to find some beautiful girl to come and live in the little\nroom, and be the bride of her dear Muchie Rajah. To the parents of such\na girl she promised to give a lac of gold mohurs.\n\nBut though the messengers journeyed far and near, they could find no\nparents who were willing to give their daughter to the Fish Prince.\n\u201cNo, no,\u201d they said; \u201cour daughters are worth more to us than a lac of\ngold mohurs. This Muchie Rajah is very large and strong and fierce, and\nwhat he wishes is not a bride, but some young girl to eat.\u201d\n\nNow not far from the palace there lived a fakir, whose wife had died\nand left him with one daughter. This girl, whose name was Balna, was\nvery beautiful. After the death of his first wife the fakir married\nagain. The second wife also had a daughter, but her daughter was as\nugly as Balna was beautiful, and as ill-tempered as Balna was sweet and\ngentle.\n\nThe stepmother hated Balna and was very jealous of her, and would have\ndone anything to rid the house of her.\n\nOne time the fakir went away on a long journey, leaving his house and\nall that was in it in the charge of his wife. The messengers were still\nseeking for a bride for the Muchie Rajah, and as soon as the fakir\nhad gone his wife sent for them, and said, \u201cI have a daughter whom I\nam willing to let you have for the Fish Prince, and as she is very\nbeautiful I am sure you will be delighted with her.\u201d\n\nThe messengers were very glad to hear this, and said they would come\nfor the girl the next day, and bring a lac of gold mohurs to the woman\nin payment for her.\n\nAfter they had gone the stepmother called Balna to her and told her\nwhat she had promised.\n\nThe girl was very much frightened. \u201cAlas!\u201d she cried, \u201cwhat have you\ndone? The great fish will certainly eat me. If my father had been here\nhe would never have allowed you to sell me.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is silly talk,\u201d answered the stepmother. \u201cWhy should the fish\neat you? He is lonely and wishes a companion. You ought to be proud and\nhappy to be the wife of a Rajah, even if he is only a fish.\u201d\n\nShe then bade the girl go down to the river and wash her _saree_,[1]\nthat she might be clean and neat when the messengers came for her.\n\nBalna took her _saree_ and went down to the river to wash it, and as\nshe washed it she wept bitterly.\n\nNow it so happened that an old seven-headed cobra had a hole in the\nbank of the river, and lived there with his wife and children. He heard\nthe sound of weeping just above him, and it kept on for so long that\nafter a while he stuck one of his heads out of the hole and spoke to\nthe girl.\n\n\u201cWhy are you weeping here?\u201d he said. \u201cDo you not know that your tears\nare dropping down into my house like rain, and that they are very salt?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Father Cobra, excuse me,\u201d answered the girl, \u201cbut I have good\ncause to weep. My stepmother has sold me to be the bride of Muchie\nRajah, and I know he will certainly eat me, for he is very large and\nfierce.\u201d\n\n\u201cListen to me, daughter,\u201d said the cobra, \u201cfor I am very wise and know\nall things. This great fish you speak of is not a fish at all, but the\nRajah of a far country. In some way he offended the gods, and as a\npunishment he was changed into the shape of a fish and sent to live in\nthe river. Now if you will do exactly what I tell you to do, you can\nbreak this enchantment and become his Ranee; but if you do not do as I\nsay, then he will of a certainty eat you as you fear.\u201d\n\nThe cobra then gave the girl three stones, and bade her tie them into\nthe corner of her _saree_ so as not to lose them. \u201cTo-morrow the\nmessengers will come and take you to Muchie Rajah,\u201d he said. \u201cThey will\nput you in the little room in the side of the tank. When it is night,\nyou must not on any account go to sleep. If you do, you will be lost.\nBut take these stones in your hand and watch. When he comes near you,\nthrow a stone at him. Immediately he will sink to the bottom of the\ntank and will lie there for a while. When he comes again, throw the\nsecond stone at him and he will again go away, and when he comes for\nthe third time, throw the third stone. Then the enchantment will be\nbroken, and he will resume his natural form, and you will have nothing\nmore to fear from him.\u201d\n\nThe girl heard with joy what the cobra said to her. She thanked him and\ntied the stones in the corner of the _saree_, and then she ran on home\nagain. When she went into the house her stepmother was surprised to see\nhow cheerful she had become. She no longer wept nor complained, and\nwhen, the next day, the messengers came for her, she was quite willing\nto go away with them.\n\n[Illustration: SHE MANAGED TO THROW THE THIRD STONE AT HIM]\n\nAt the palace the old Ranee was waiting impatiently for the bride, and\nshe was delighted when she saw what a beautiful girl the messengers had\nbrought with them.\n\nBalna was taken out to the tank, and a great crowd of people followed\nto see what would become of her. Many of them pitied her, and they\nwondered that she went so cheerfully, for they expected no less than\nthat she would be eaten by the great fish.\n\nAfter she was put in the little room in the side of the tank the crowd\nwaited about for a long time. Every moment they expected to see Muchie\nRajah rise through the water and swallow her, but nothing happened. The\nwater lay black and still, and there was no sound but the lapping of\nthe little waves against the stonework.\n\nAfter a while night came, and the people grew tired of waiting and went\naway to their homes. Balna was left in the little room all alone. She\nuntied the corner of her saree and took out the three stones. Two she\nlaid on the floor beside her, and one she kept in her hand.\n\nAbout midnight the water was disturbed. The waves dashed louder against\nthe stones. There was a hissing sound, and Muchie Rajah rose through\nthe water. He came rushing on toward the room, his mouth open, and\nhis scales as red as rubies.\n\nBalna was terribly frightened, but she held the stone fast and waited.\nWhen he was almost near enough to seize her, she threw the stone at him.\n\nImmediately Muchie Rajah closed his jaws and sank down into the depths\nof the water where she could not see him.\n\nAfter that she waited and watched for some time, but all was still.\nThen again the waves dashed louder. They rose to the edge of the\nstonework. Muchie Rajah came rushing through the water again, his mouth\nopen, and his scales shining like fire.\n\nBalna was more frightened than ever, but she threw the second stone at\nhim, and again he sank through the water, and all was still.\n\nThis time he was gone longer than before, and the girl watched and\nwaited. Then, suddenly, with a roaring sound, he came rushing at her\nagain; his tail beat the waters into foam about him; his scales shone\nso red that the whole tank seemed full of blood.\n\nBalna was almost dead with fright, but she managed to throw the third\nstone at him. No sooner did it touch Muchie Rajah than the enchantment\nwas broken. Instead of the great fish, a handsome young Rajah stood\nthere before her. He was dressed in cloth of gold embroidered in\nwonderful colours. His turban was fastened with an enormous ruby, and\non his breast hung a chain set with precious stones. He took Balna by\nthe hand and spoke to her.\n\n\u201cYou have saved both my life and your own,\u201d he said. \u201cThe enchantment\nis broken, and now we can live together happily, and you and you only\nshall be my bride.\u201d\n\nVery early the next morning the Ranee and her attendants came out\nto the tank to see whether the girl was still alive, or whether she\nhad been eaten by the great fish. What was their surprise to find in\nthe tank room not only Balna, but a handsome young prince, who told\nthem he was Muchie Rajah. He also told them how Balna had broken the\nenchantment, and that now he would marry her and live in his own proper\nshape for ever.\n\nThen there was great rejoicing, and the old Rajah and Ranee adopted\nthe Fish Prince as their own son, and Balna was to them in place of a\ndaughter.\n\nWhen the fakir\u2019s wife heard what had happened to Balna, and how,\ninstead of being eaten by the fish, she had become the bride of a\ngreat Rajah, she was ready to die with rage and spite. However, she\nhid her feelings and went to the palace and made friends with Balna.\nShe pretended that she had only wished her well, and had known all\nalong how it would turn out. Balna, who was very simple and forgiving,\nbelieved all the wicked stepmother said to her. She made her and the\nstep-sister welcome at the palace, and gave them many gifts, but they\nonly hated her more and more and were always plotting how they could\ninjure her.\n\nOne time Balna and her stepmother and her step-sister went down to walk\nby the river in the cool of the afternoon. Presently the step-sister\nbegan to admire the young Ranee\u2019s jewels, and she asked Balna to let\nher try them on: \u201cFor,\u201d said she, \u201cI have never worn such beautiful\njewels as those are.\u201d\n\nBalna was quite willing, and she took off the jewels and put them upon\nher sister\u2014the armlets, the necklaces, the rings, and the bracelets.\nJust at the last the step-sister allowed one of the earrings to fall to\nthe ground. \u201cLook,\u201d cried she, \u201cI have dropped an earring. Do you pick\nit up for me, Balna, for I fear that if I stoop others may fall off\ntoo.\u201d\n\nThe young Ranee stooped for the earring. Then the stepmother gave her\nsuch a push that she fell into the river. The place where she fell in\nwas very deep, and she sank out of sight immediately.\n\nThe two wicked women waited there for a while, but they saw nothing of\nher, so they were sure she must be drowned; then they went back to the\npalace.\n\nThe step-sister was still wearing all of Balna\u2019s jewels, and she was so\ncovered up with them that every one thought she was the young Ranee.\nThey went at once to Balna\u2019s apartments, and there the fakir\u2019s wife put\nher daughter to bed, and gave out that the Ranee was very ill and could\nsee no one. It was a long time before even Muchie Rajah himself was\nallowed to enter the room. When he did, he was shocked to see how his\nbeautiful bride had changed.\n\n\u201cIt is because of her illness,\u201d said the fakir\u2019s wife. \u201cWait until she\nis well again, then all will be as it was before.\u201d\n\nThe young Rajah never doubted but that it was his bride who lay there,\nand he was very unhappy because his delicate Ranee had become so coarse\nand ugly and stupid. Still he was kind to her, and often came to visit\nher in her apartments.\n\nBut Balna had not been drowned as her stepmother and her sister\nthought. It so happened that the place where she had fallen into the\nriver was close to where the old seven-headed cobra had his hole. He\nhad heard the sound of voices overhead, and then a great splash; he\nlooked out to see what had caused it, and there he saw the young Ranee\nstruggling in the water. He felt sorry for her, and reached out and\ndrew her into his hole. Then he carried her up to where she could get\nsome air, for his hole had two openings, one into the river and one out\non to the bank overhead.\n\nThe young Ranee was almost drowned, but presently she came to herself\nagain. Then she wished to set out for the palace, but this the cobra\nwould not allow her to do.\n\n\u201cYour stepmother and your sister are there even now,\u201d he said, \u201cand if\nyou went back they would certainly do you some harm. Stay here with me,\nand if your husband, the Rajah, comes to look for you, I will let you\ngo back with him, but not otherwise.\u201d\n\nWhen Balna heard this she was very sad, but she was obliged to stay\nthere in the cobra\u2019s hole, as he said. After a time her little son was\nborn there, and she named him Muchie Lal, the Ruby Fish, after his\nfather.\n\nThe little Muchie Lal grew up strong and straight and handsome, and the\nold cobra became so fond of him that he loved him better than he did\nhis own children; there was scarcely anything he would refuse him.\n\nOne day a bangle-seller came past the cobra\u2019s hole, and Muchie Lal\nwished to buy some of his bangles, but the cobra said, \u201cNo, these are\nvery common bangles, and not suitable for a prince to wear. I will give\nthe man some jewels, and he shall make for you bangles such as you\nought to have.\u201d\n\nThe cobra then brought from his treasure-house a number of diamonds and\nrubies and other precious stones. He gave them to the bangle-seller.\n\u201cTake these,\u201d he said, \u201cand make them into bangles, and bring them back\nto me as quickly as possible and you shall be well paid. And remember,\nthey must be very handsome, for they are for this prince, Muchie Lal.\u201d\n\nThe bangle-seller took the stones home with him and made the bangles,\nand they were finished in a week\u2019s time. Then he started out to carry\nthem back to the cobra. They were very handsome, and he was so proud of\nthem that he carried them so that every one might see.\n\nNow on his way it so chanced that he met Muchie Rajah, and the prince\nwas so surprised to see a poor man carrying such costly bangles that he\nstopped and began to question him.\n\n\u201cThose are very handsome jewels,\u201d said he. \u201cI have never seen finer.\nEven I myself have none like them. Tell me, how did you come by them?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey are not mine,\u201d answered the bangle-seller; \u201cthey belong to an old\nseven-headed cobra who lives down by the river. He gave them to me to\nmake into bangles for a young prince named Muchie Lal, who lives with\nhim.\u201d\n\nThe Rajah was very much surprised at what the bangle-seller told him.\n\u201cThis is a strange story,\u201d said he. \u201cI will go with you, for I should\nlike to see this young prince who lives in a cobra\u2019s hole.\u201d\n\nSo Muchie Rajah went down to the river bank with the bangle-seller.\nMuchie Lal was there playing close to the cobra\u2019s hole with the young\ncobras. When he saw the bangle-seller he ran to meet him, calling to\nhim to know whether he had brought the bangles; and the young prince\nwas so exactly like his mother, the beautiful Balna, that the Rajah was\nfilled with joy and sorrow.\n\n\u201cTell me, child,\u201d he cried, \u201cwho are you, and who was your mother?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am Muchie Lal,\u201d answered the boy, \u201cand my mother is the Ranee Balna,\nand we live here by the river in the hole of an old seven-headed cobra.\u201d\n\nThen Muchie Rajah knelt down by the cobra\u2019s hole and called, \u201cOh, my\ndear wife, if it is you, and you are still alive, answer me!\u201d\n\nBalna heard his voice down in the cobra\u2019s hole, and came running out\nand threw herself into his arms.\n\n\u201cOh, I have waited for you so long,\u201d she cried, \u201cbut you have come at\nlast, and now I can go back with you to the palace.\u201d\n\nSo they were very happy. Only the cobra was sad to have them go, and\nthe cobra\u2019s children were grieved to lose their little playmate. But he\npromised them to come back sometimes and play with them there by the\nriver.\n\nThen the Rajah and the Ranee and Muchie Lal all went back to the palace\ntogether, and there was great rejoicing.\n\nBut when the fakir\u2019s wife and her daughter heard that Balna was still\nalive, and that her husband had found her, they were so frightened that\nthey ran away and hid themselves in the deep forest, and no one has\never heard of them again from that day to this.\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[1] A long piece of cotton or silk cloth, forming the principal garment\nof Hindu women.\n\n\n\n\nTHE MAGIC RICE KETTLE\n\nA KOREAN STORY\n\n\nTHERE was once an old man who was so poor he was scarcely able to buy\nfood enough to keep him alive.\n\nHe had never married, and so he had no children, but he had a little\ndog and cat that lived with him, and these two he loved as though they\nwere his own son and daughter. What little he had was shared with them,\nand if they were sometimes hungry, it was because he had nothing in the\nhouse to eat.\n\nOne day the old man found that all he had was one scant handful of rice.\n\n\u201cAlas, my little dog and cat, what will become of us now?\u201d he cried.\n\u201cThis handful of rice is all that is left to keep us alive. After it is\ngone, you must seek another master who can feed you better than I. Even\nif I must starve, that is no reason why you should too.\u201d\n\nThe little cat mewed, and the dog looked up into his master\u2019s face, as\nthough they had understood all he said to them.\n\nThe old man put the rice over the fire to cook, and just as it was\ndone, and he was about to feed the animals, the light in the hut was\ndarkened; looking round, he saw a tall stranger standing in the open\ndoorway.\n\n\u201cGood day,\u201d said the stranger.\n\n\u201cGood day,\u201d answered the old man.\n\n\u201cI have come a long way,\u201d said the stranger, \u201cand I am footsore and\nweary. May I come in and rest?\u201d\n\nYes, he might do that and welcome.\n\nThe stranger came in and sat down in the most comfortable place. \u201cI am\nhungry as well as weary.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d cried the old man, \u201cthis is a poor house in which to seek for\nfood.\u201d\n\nThe stranger looked all about him. \u201cIs not that rice that I see?\u201d he\nasked, pointing to the kettle.\n\n\u201cYes, it is rice, but my little dog and cat are hungry also, and not\nanother morsel have we in the house beside that.\u201d\n\n\u201cNevertheless, it is right that a man should be fed before dumb\nbrutes,\u201d said the stranger. \u201cGive me at least a taste of the rice\nbefore you feed them.\u201d\n\nThe old man did not know how to refuse him.\n\n\u201cTake some of it, then,\u201d he said, \u201cbut leave a little for them, I beg\nof you.\u201d\n\nAt once the stranger dipped into the kettle and began to eat, and he\nate so fast that before the old man could stop him, all the rice was\ngone from the kettle, to the very last grain.\n\nThe old man was cut to the heart to think that his guest could have\ndone this. Now his little dog and cat would have to go to bed hungry.\nAll the same, he said nothing. He took up the empty kettle and was\nabout to put it back on the shelf when the stranger said to him, \u201cFill\nthe kettle with water and hang it over the fire again.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy should I do that?\u201d asked the old man. \u201cWater will not fill our\nstomachs or satisfy our hunger.\u201d\n\n\u201cNevertheless, do as I bid you,\u201d said the stranger.\n\nHe spoke in such a way that the old man did not dare to disobey him.\nMuttering to himself, he filled the kettle with water and hung it over\nthe fire.\n\nThe stranger drew out a piece of something that looked like amber and\nthrew it in the pot. At once the water began to boil, and as it did so\nit became filled with rice. And such rice! The grains were twice as big\nas usual, and from them arose a smell more delicious than anything the\nold man had ever smelled before in all his life.\n\nFilled with wonder and fear, he turned toward where the stranger had\nbeen sitting, but the guest was gone. He had disappeared, and only the\nlittle cat and dog were left in the room, waiting hungrily for their\ndinner.\n\nThe old man lifted the kettle from the fire and began to serve out\nthe rice. And now a still more wonderful thing happened. No matter how\nmuch was dipped out from the kettle, still it was always full. He could\nhardly believe his eyes. He dipped and dipped. Soon all the pots and\nkettles and bowls in the house were full of rice, and still the more he\ntook out the more there was.\n\n\u201cIt is magic,\u201d cried the old man. \u201cIt must be that the amber the\nstranger threw in the pot was a charm. If so, puss and my dog and I\nneed never suffer hunger again.\u201d\n\nAnd so it turned out to be. As long as the amber was in the kettle, it\nwas always full of rice to the brim. The rice was always fresh, and\ndelicious too, so that not only the neighbours but the people from the\nvillage across the river came to buy it; and they paid well for it.\n\nThe little cat and dog grew fat and sleek. As for the man, he not only\nhad enough to eat, but he was able to buy for himself all the clothes\nhe needed and to make presents to those who were poorer than himself.\n\nOne evening the old man felt very tired. So many people had come\nthrough the day to buy rice that his arm quite ached with serving it\nout.\n\nHe took a bowl and filled it for the cat and dog, and was about to set\nit on the floor when he noticed to his surprise that the kettle was not\nas full as it had been. He took another bowl and dipped out some more\nof the rice. The kettle failed to fill itself.\n\nAgain he dipped, and the more he took out, the emptier the kettle grew.\nThe old man was very much frightened. He plunged his hands into the\nrice that was left in the kettle and began to feel about for the charm,\nbut it was not there. Somehow, that day, while he was dipping out the\nrice for his customers, he must have dipped out the charm, and some one\nhad carried it off home with his bowl of rice.\n\nThe old man was ready to tear his hair with despair. At once he ran out\nand began to go about the neighbourhood, knocking at all the doors and\nbegging to know whether a piece of amber had been found in the rice the\npeople there had bought that day. But every one told him no. They had\nfound nothing in their bowls but rice.\n\nWorn out with sorrow, he went back to his hut at last and threw himself\non the floor to sleep. It was a long time, however, before he could\nclose his eyes. Soon all the money that had been paid him for the rice\nwould be spent, and he was too old to work. Then there would be nothing\nfor him but the same poverty and hunger he had endured for so many\nyears. And his little dog and cat would have to suffer with him unless\nthey were wise enough to run away and seek another master. At last,\ntoward morning, the old man fell asleep, and then the dog and cat\nbegan to talk together in low tones.\n\n\u201cThis is a bad business,\u201d said the dog.\n\n\u201cBad enough,\u201d answered puss. \u201cOur master has been very careless. He\ndeserves to suffer. As for me, I have no notion of being half-starved\nagain the way I used to be. I shall go away and try to find another\nhome where there will be more to eat than here.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are very ungrateful,\u201d answered the dog. \u201cInstead of planning to\nrun away, you ought to set your wits to work to think how we can help\nour master.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut how could we do that? I know of no way.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet us go out and hunt for the charm. Perhaps we can find it. Our\nsense of smell is so keen that if we came anywhere near where it is I\nam sure we could find it, however well it was hidden. We will go from\nhouse to house\u2014all through the village, if need be. I will nose about\nin the gardens and out-buildings, and you must manage to creep into the\nhouses and hunt about through the rooms.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d answered the cat. \u201cI am sure I would be glad enough to\nhelp our master, and to stay with him too, if only he could give us\nenough to eat.\u201d\n\nSo, early the next day, before the old man was awake, the dog and the\ncat started out together on their search. The people of the village\nwere still asleep, but the cat managed to find a way to creep into\nseveral of the houses, and the dog searched about outside, as he had\npromised to do.\n\nBut with all their searchings, they found nothing except some scraps\nof food here and there. These they ate, and so satisfied their hunger\nsomewhat. Then, when night came, they returned home, footsore and weary.\n\nThe old man was very glad to see them. All day he had missed them and\nhad wondered where they were. He had saved some supper for them and\nwas surprised that they did not seem more hungry for it. He was still\nvery sad. All day people had been coming to the hut to buy rice from\nhim, and when they found he had none to sell, they had been very much\ndisappointed. Some of them had even been angry and had scolded him.\n\nThe following day the dog and cat continued their search, but night\nfound them still unsuccessful. So it went on, day after day and week\nafter week. At last they had visited every house in the village, but\nthey had seen and heard nothing of the charm.\n\n\u201cNow you see how it is. We are only wasting our time,\u201d said the cat.\n\u201cI knew we could not find it, and I, for one, shall begin to look for\nanother home.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, but wait a bit,\u201d answered the dog. \u201cHave you forgotten that many\nof our master\u2019s customers came from the village across the river? We\nhave not searched there yet.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, nor will we as far as I am concerned,\u201d answered the cat. \u201cI am\nno swimmer. I have no idea of getting drowned. If you want to search\nthere, you will have to go by yourself.\u201d\n\nThe dog began to beg and plead with her. \u201cVery soon,\u201d said he, \u201cthe\nriver will be frozen, and then we can cross on the ice without your\nwetting even the smallest toe of your paw. Only come!\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the cat at last. \u201cI will do it; but mind you, we must\nwait until the river is well frozen, and there is no chance of our\nbreaking through.\u201d\n\nThe dog agreed to this, and so, one cold day, when the river was as\nhard as stone, the two friends crossed to the farther side, and at once\nbegan to search the houses there.\n\nAt the first house they found nothing. At the second it was the same\nthing; but no sooner had the cat entered the third house than she\nsmelled something that reminded her of the rice that had bubbled up in\nthe magic kettle. She made her way from one room to the other, and at\nlast she came to a small upper chamber that seemed to be unused. And\nnow she could smell the charm more strongly than ever, and the smell\nseemed to come from the top of a high chest of drawers.\n\nWith a bound puss leaped to the top of it and looked about her. There,\npushed well back against the wall, was a heavy wooden box, and the\nmoment the cat put her nose to the keyhole she knew that the charm was\ninside of it.\n\nShe had found the charm, and that was one thing, but how to get it\nout of the box was quite a different matter. The box was locked, and\npuss soon found it was impossible to raise the lid. She tried to push\nit off the chest of drawers, hoping that if it fell on the floor it\nmight burst open, but the box was so heavy that she could not budge it\na hair\u2019s breadth. It seemed a hopeless matter. If the dog were only\nthere, no doubt he could have pushed the box off; but then he had no\nway of getting into the house; and even if he did, he could not climb\nto the top of the chest of drawers.\n\nBut when puss went down to tell him about it, he did not seem to think\nit was such a hopeless matter after all. He was overjoyed that she had\nfound the charm, and was sure that they could get it out of the box\nsome way or other.\n\n\u201cWhat we need,\u201d said he, \u201cis to get a good big rat to come and gnaw a\nhole in the box for us.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, but that is not so easy to do,\u201d said the cat. \u201cThe rats have no\nlove for me, as you very well know. I have caught and eaten too many\nof them. I believe they would be glad to starve me to death if they\nonly could.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou might make a bargain with them,\u201d said the dog. \u201cThey would be glad\nenough to help you, if you, in return, would promise not to catch any\nof them for ten years to come.\u201d\n\nWell, the cat did not want to make that bargain at all. She was too\nfond of catching the rats whenever she could. She and the dog argued\nabout it for a long time, but at last she agreed to do as he wished.\n\nThe next thing was to get a message to the king of the rats, and puss\nknew of a way to manage that. She had seen a mouse-hole near one of the\nout-buildings, and now she set herself very patiently to wait beside\nit until the mouse should come out. She had to wait for a long time\ntoo. Perhaps the mouse had heard the two friends prowling about. At any\nrate, it lay so still in its hole that no one would have guessed it was\nthere at all except a cat. At length, toward evening, the mouse thought\nit might be safe to venture out. But scarcely had it poked its nose out\nof its hole when the cat pounced upon it and held it in her claws.\n\nThe mouse began to beg and plead for mercy. \u201cOh, good Mrs Cat\u2014oh,\ndear Mrs Cat, spare me, I pray of you! I have a wife and five little\nmouselings at home, and they would surely die of grief if any harm came\nto me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not going to hurt you,\u201d answered the cat, though her mouth\nwatered to eat it. \u201cInstead, I am going to let you go, if you will\npromise to carry a message for me to the king of the rats.\u201d\n\nWhen the mouse heard that the cat would let it go, it could hardly\nbelieve in its good fortune. It promised that it would do anything the\ncat wished it to, and at once the cat took her paws off it and set it\nfree. Then she told it what the message was that she wished it to carry\nfor her: she wished the king to send a rat to gnaw a hole in a box so\nthat she could get a charm that was locked away in it; if the king\nwould do this, she, in return, would promise not to hurt or harm any\nmouse or rat for ten long years.\n\nThe mouse listened attentively, and as soon as he was sure he quite\nunderstood the message he hurried away to carry it to the king of the\nrats. He was only gone for a short time, and when he came back he\nbrought a stout, strong young rat with him. This rat had been sent by\nthe king, who was ready to agree to the bargain the cat had proposed,\nand had sent the strongest, sharpest-toothed rat he had to gnaw the\nhole in the box.\n\nAs soon as the cat heard this, she made her way back into the house,\nwhile the rat and the mouse followed close after her, leaving the dog\nto wait for them outside. The cat led the way to the upper room and\nshowed the rat the box on the chest of drawers. At once he set to work\non it. He gnawed and gnawed and gnawed, but the wood was as hard as\nstone, as well as very thick.\n\nAt last he gnawed through it, but the hole was too small for him to\ncrawl through, and he was too exhausted to make it any larger. The cat,\nindeed, could reach her paw through, and could even feel the charm, but\nshe could not hook it out, though she tried again and again. But here\nthe mouse made itself of use. It slipped through the hole into the box\nand quickly brought the charm out in its mouth.\n\nWhen the cat saw the charm she purred with joy. Once again she promised\nthe rat and mouse that she would not even try to catch them or any of\ntheir kind for ten years. Then she took the charm in her mouth and ran\ndown to where the dog was.\n\nThe dog was even more delighted than she when he saw the charm.\n\n\u201cOh, my dear master!\u201d he cried. \u201cHow happy he will be.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the cat; \u201cbut now make haste. If the people in the house\ndiscover the charm is gone, they might suspect us, and follow us, and\ntry to get it back.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome, then,\u201d said the dog. \u201cBut, oh, my dear master! I can hardly wait\nto show him the charm.\u201d\n\nThe cat and dog hurried on down to the river, but when they reached the\nbank they met with a new difficulty. The weather had suddenly turned\nvery warm and the ice had begun to melt. In many places it was gone\naltogether, and where it was left it was too thin even to bear such\nsmall animals as themselves.\n\n\u201cAnd now what are we to do?\u201d cried the cat. \u201cWe will never be able to\nget back to our village.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes, we can,\u201d replied the dog. \u201cDo you mount upon my back. Dig\nyour claws deep into my long hair and hold on tight, and I will carry\nyou across.\u201d\n\nThe cat was terribly frightened at the thought of such a thing, but\nstill she saw no other way to cross the river. She climbed upon the\ndog\u2019s back, fastened her claws well in his hair, and then he plunged\ninto the water and began to swim across.\n\nAll went well until they neared the other bank. A crowd of children had\ngathered there to see the ice break up. When they saw the dog swimming\nacross with the cat on his back, it seemed to them the funniest thing\nthey had ever seen in all their lives.\n\nThe dog was so busy swimming that he did not even notice them, but\nthe cat, upon his back, saw everything that was going on. She herself\nsuddenly began to think what a funny thing it was that she should be\nriding at ease on the dog\u2019s back, while he was swimming so hard.\n\nShe tried not to laugh, but she was so amused that at last she could\nrefrain no longer. She burst into a loud cat-laugh, and at once the\ncharm slipped from her mouth plump into the river, and sank to the\nbottom.\n\n\u201cThe charm! The charm!\u201d the cat cried. \u201cI have dropped it in the river,\nand it has sunk to the bottom.\u201d\n\nAs soon as the dog heard that, he dived down into the river to regain\nit. He was in such a hurry that he never thought of telling the cat of\nwhat he meant to do.\n\nThe cat\u2019s claws were fastened so firmly in his hair that she could not\nhave let go if she had wished. Also her mouth was open, so that when\nthey went down into the river she swallowed a great deal of water. By\nthe time the dog came to the top again, panting and snorting, the cat\nwas almost drowned.\n\nBut the dog was too angry to think anything of that. \u201cWait till we get\nto the shore,\u201d he growled. \u201cJust wait until we get to the shore, and\nsee what I will do to you for dropping the charm.\u201d\n\nBut the cat had no idea of waiting for this. As they came near the\nshore, she bounded from the dog\u2019s back to the dry land, and then she\nraced away and up a tall tree.\n\nThe dog chased after her, but he could not catch her. For some time he\nstood at the foot of the tree, barking and growling, but at last he\ntrotted on home with drooping head and ears and a sad heart.\n\nThe old man was very glad to welcome the dog home again. He had feared\nit was lost. He looked out from the door in all directions, hoping to\nsee the cat also, but the cat, which had now climbed down from the\ntree, had gone to look for another home. It feared the dog\u2019s anger too\nmuch to venture back to the hut. Moreover, it had no liking for poverty\nand hunger, and it hoped to find some place where it would be better\nfed than with the old man.\n\nAnd now indeed there were hard times in the hut. The old man grew\npoorer and poorer, and thinner and thinner, and it was just as bad with\nthe faithful dog. The dog spent much of his time down at the river\nlooking sadly at the place where the charm had been lost and wishing\nthere were some way for him to find it.\n\nNow there was a great deal of fishing done in that river, and sometimes\none of the fishermen, more kind-hearted than the rest, would throw a\nfish to the hungry dog. This the dog always carried home to his master,\nand the two faithful friends would share it together. It was always a\nfeast day when this happened.\n\nOne day one of the fishermen, who had been very lucky, called to the\ndog and threw him a particularly large fish.\n\nThe dog caught it in his mouth and started home with it. Suddenly he\nsmelled something: it was like the magic rice that had bubbled up in\nthe pot; it must be the charm; it could be nothing but that; and the\nsmell came from the fish he was carrying in his mouth.\n\nAs soon as the dog was sure of this, he began to run. He could not get\nhome fast enough. He reached the hut and bounded in and laid the fish\nupon the table.\n\n\u201cGood dog! Good dog!\u201d cried his master. \u201cHave you brought us a fine\ndinner to-day?\u201d\n\nHe took his knife and began to prepare the fish, but scarcely had he\ncut into it before the blade struck against something hard. The old man\nlooked to see what it was, and what was his joy and amazement to find\nthat it was the charm, which the fish must have swallowed.\n\nThe old man was so delighted that he hardly knew how to contain himself.\n\n\u201cOh, my precious charm!\u201d he cried. \u201cOh, what good fortune! Oh, how\nhappy I am! Wait until I fill the kettle, my dear little dog, and then\nwhat a feast we will have.\u201d\n\nHe took out the pot and filled it with water, and hung it over the\nfire. Then he threw the charm into it. At once the rice began to boil\nand bubble up. The whole house was filled with the delicious smell of\nit.\n\nIt did not take long for the neighbours to find out that the old man\nhad his wonderful rice again. They hastened to buy of him, and soon he\nhad made even more money than before.\n\nOne day the cat, which had grown very lean and thin, came sneaking into\nthe house with one of the customers. As soon as the dog saw her he gave\na snarl and was about to fly at her, but the old man caught the cat up\nin his arms. \u201cOh, my dear little cat,\u201d he cried, \u201chow glad I am to see\nyou. But how thin you have grown! Never mind; there is plenty in the\nhouse now, and soon you will grow fat again.\u201d\n\nSo the cat came back to her master again, but for as long as she lived\nthe dog never forgave her, and they never became friends again. The old\nman did not know that however. He loved them both; he was quite happy\nto have them as companions, and lived very prosperous and contented\nuntil the end of his days.\n\n\n\n\nTHE CROW PERI\n\nA PERSIAN STORY\n\n\nTHERE was once a youth named Hassan, who was so poor that he had\nscarcely rags to cover him, and he was often obliged to go hungry to\nbed.\n\nOne day Hassan went out to the forest beyond the city and set a snare,\nhoping to catch a bird or some small animal that would serve him for a\nmeal. After setting it, he hid himself in the bushes near by to wait.\nHe had not been there long when he heard a loud flapping, and running\nout he saw that a large black crow was caught in the snare.\n\nHassan was greatly disappointed. He had hoped for something more worth\neating than a crow. However, even that was better than nothing. He took\nthe bird from the snare, and was about to wring its neck when it spoke\nto him in a human voice.\n\n\u201cHassan, Hassan, do not kill me! Spare my life and I will make your\nfortune for you.\u201d\n\nHassan was greatly surprised to hear the crow speak, but after a moment\nhe swallowed his surprise and answered it.\n\n\u201cMake my fortune!\u201d cried he. \u201cHow can you make my fortune?\u2014you, a crow?\nNo, no, I am hungry, and the best fortune that can happen to me now is\nto have a full stomach!\u201d\n\nAgain he was about to wring the bird\u2019s neck, but it called to him so\npiteously that he could not but pause.\n\n\u201cHassan! Hassan! You do not know what you are doing. I am no common\ncrow. Let me go now, and do you return to-morrow to this same spot and\nyou will find something in the snare that will be worth more to you\nthan I can possibly be.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Hassan. \u201cI will let you go, but I do this through\npity, and not because I believe in the least that you can better my\nfortunes.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is well,\u201d said the crow. \u201cYou will see, however, that I will keep\nmy promise. But before you let me go, pluck three feathers from my\nwings. If you are ever in trouble, blow one of these feathers into the\nair and call to me, and I will come and give you aid.\u201d\n\nHassan did as the crow bade him. He plucked three feathers from its\nwings, but as he did so he could not keep from laughing.\n\n\u201cYou may laugh,\u201d said the crow, \u201cbut you will soon find that my\npromises are not vain. To-morrow return to your snare, and you will\nfind in it something that will be of value to you.\u201d\n\nIt then spread its wings and flew away over the tree-tops, flapping\nheavily.\n\nHassan returned home, but the next day he came to the forest again. As\nhe approached the spot where the snare was, he gave a cry of joy and\nwonder. Caught in it was the most beautiful bird he had ever seen or\ndreamed of. Its feathers were of pure silver, and over them played the\nmost gorgeous colours, like the colours of a rainbow. Its eyes shone\nlike diamonds, and its crest was tipped with jewels of seven different\nkinds.\n\n\u201cSuch a bird as this is not to be eaten,\u201d said Hassan to himself. \u201cIt\nis a gift that is fit for the King. I will take it to the palace and\npresent it to him, and he will be sure to reward me handsomely.\u201d At the\nsame time he could not help marvelling to think how truly the crow had\nspoken.\n\nThe youth hastened back to the city and borrowed a cage from a\nneighbour. Then he returned to the tree, and put the wonderful bird in\nthe cage, and set out for the palace. He had thrown a piece of cloth\nover the cage, so as to hide the bird, but the light from it was so\nbright that it shone through, and set every one to wondering what it\ncould be that the ragged youth was carrying so carefully.\n\nAt the palace Hassan found that it was a difficult matter to see the\nKing. At last, however, he was allowed to come before his presence,\nand at once he uncovered the cage so that the bird could be seen.\n\nThe King was filled with wonder at the sight. He had never seen such a\nbird before. He questioned Hassan and made him repeat again and again\nthe story of how he had caught the bird, and exactly what it was that\nthe crow had said to him.\n\n\u201cThere is some magic in this,\u201d said the King. \u201cI will keep the bird,\nand never before have I received a gift that pleased me so much. I will\nalso prove to you that the crow spoke the truth, for, from now on, your\nfortune is made.\u201d\n\nThe King then caused the youth to be clothed in magnificent garments,\nand he also gave him for his own a handsome house near to the palace,\nand slaves to serve him, and gold to spend. Every day he sent for\nHassan to come to him, and because the youth was clever and handsome\nand adroit, he soon became the King\u2019s favourite above all others.\n\nBut success is sure to make enemies. The King\u2019s former favourite became\nvery jealous of Hassan, and he began to scheme to destroy the youth,\nand win back the King\u2019s favour to himself. One day he went to the King\nand said, \u201cWhat a pity it is that such a wonderful bird as Hassan has\nbrought you should be kept in a cage! What it should have is an ivory\npalace, in which you could visit it and sit at ease to watch it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is true,\u201d answered the King, \u201cbut I do not know how I could\nobtain such a palace. There is not enough ivory in all my kingdom to\nbuild such a thing.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is plain enough,\u201d answered Hassan\u2019s enemy, \u201cthat Hassan is the\nfavourite of some magic power. Ask him to build the palace, and if he\nrefuses, threaten him with death. Then I am sure that in some way he\nwill be able to provide it for you.\u201d\n\nThis the enemy said, not because he at all believed it, but because he\nwished to destroy Hassan.\n\nAfter spending a short time in thought, the King agreed to this plan.\nHe sent for Hassan and said to him, \u201cI am, as you know, greatly\ndelighted with the bird that you have given me, but now I wish for\nstill another thing. I wish you to build an ivory palace in which the\nbird can live, and in which I can go to visit it.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas, your Majesty, how can I build such a place as that?\u201d cried\nHassan. \u201cI have nothing of my own, as you know, but only what you\nyourself have given me, and in all your kingdom there is not enough\nivory to build a whole palace of it.\u201d\n\n\u201cNevertheless, you must provide it,\u201d answered the King, \u201cand if you do\nnot do so, your life shall answer for it.\u201d\n\nWhen Hassan heard these words, he was greatly troubled. He went out\nfrom the King\u2019s presence and returned home, and there he prepared to\ndie, for he knew not where to find enough ivory to build one room, to\nsay nothing of a whole palace.\n\nSuddenly, in the midst of his despair, he remembered the three feathers\nthat he had plucked from the crow\u2019s wing. He feared they were lost, but\nafter some search he found them laid away in a corner with the rags he\nhad once worn. He took them up, and blowing one of them into the air he\ncalled upon the crow to come and help him.\n\nAlmost at once he heard outside a heavy flapping of wings, and a large\ncrow flew in through the window and lighted beside him.\n\n\u201cWhat do you wish?\u201d asked the crow, \u201cand why have you called upon me?\nAre you in trouble?\u201d\n\n\u201cTrouble enough,\u201d answered Hassan, \u201cand trouble that may end in my\nlosing my life.\u201d He then told the crow what it was that the King had\ndemanded of him, and that he did not see how it would be possible for\nhim to carry it out.\n\n\u201cDo not despair over this,\u201d answered the crow. \u201cIt is not such a\ndifficult matter as you seem to think. Ask the King to give you forty\ncartloads of wine, with bullocks to pull them, and forty slaves to\ndrive the carts, and do you come away with me into the forest, and I\nmay be able to get the ivory for you.\u201d\n\nThe youth had little hope of this. Still, he asked the King for\nthe things, as the crow had bade him,\u2014forty cartloads of wine, the\nbullocks, and the forty slaves, and the King was not slow to give\nthem to him. Then Hassan went away with them into the forest, and the\ncrow flew before to show him in which direction to go. After they had\njourneyed a long distance, they came to a pool, and all round this pool\nwere marks that showed that it was the drinking-place for a great herd\nof elephants. There had been a drought, however, and the water had\nalmost dried up.\n\nThe crow bade Hassan fill the pool with the wine he had brought with\nhim, and this he did. Then, by the crow\u2019s directions, Hassan hid\nhimself and the carts and bullocks and slaves some little distance away.\n\nToward evening there was a great noise of trampling and trumpeting\nin the forest, and a huge herd of elephants came down to the pool to\ndrink. They were very thirsty, for the supply of water had been low for\nsome days. When they found the pool full to the brim, they trumpeted\nwith joy and rushed to it to drink. They drank and drank, and presently\nthey were all overcome with the wine and fell down and lay as though\ndead.\n\nThen Hassan called to the forty slaves, and they came and cut off all\nthe elephants\u2019 tusks and loaded them upon the carts, and there were\nforty cartloads.\n\nHassan and his slaves and carts left the forest before the elephants\nawoke, and by the next day they were back in the city again.\n\nWhen the King saw the loads of ivory that Hassan had brought with him,\nhe could not wonder enough.\n\nHassan\u2019s enemy was filled with rage and envy, but he dissembled. \u201cDid I\nnot know it?\u201d said he to the King. \u201cI tell you there is nothing in the\nworld that Hassan cannot do if only he wishes to.\u201d\n\nThe ivory palace was built, and every day the King went there to sit\nand watch the bird, and Hassan was more of a favourite with him than\never.\n\nBut one day Hassan\u2019s enemy thought of a new plot to destroy him. He\nwent to the King and said, \u201cWhat a pity it is that such a beautiful\nbird as this should never make a sound. No doubt it could make the most\nravishing music if it would but sing.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, it is a pity,\u201d answered the King, and at once he became\ndissatisfied.\n\n\u201cIt must be that the bird misses its former owner,\u201d said the enemy. \u201cIf\nHassan really wished to please you, he would find the former owner and\nbring him here, so that the bird might sing again.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, that is true,\u201d said the King, \u201cand I would greatly like to hear\nit sing.\u201d\n\nHe then sent for Hassan and told him what he wished.\n\n\u201cBut, your Majesty,\u201d cried Hassan in despair, \u201cI do not know who was\nthe owner of the bird, nor have I any means for finding out. As you\nknow, I caught it in a snare far away from the city, and where there is\nno house within sight.\u201d\n\nNevertheless the King was determined that Hassan must find the former\nowner of the bird and bring him to the palace. If he did not, his life\nshould answer for it.\n\nHassan went out from the King\u2019s presence very sad. Then he bethought\nhimself of the crow\u2019s feathers. He took one of the two that still\nremained, and blew it into the air, and called to the crow to come.\n\nAlmost at once the crow appeared and settled on the ground beside him.\n\n\u201cWhat is it that you wish now?\u201d it asked. \u201cAre you again in trouble?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I am in trouble, and my trouble is very grievous.\u201d Hassan then\ntold the crow what it was that the King demanded of him.\n\n\u201cThis is a more difficult matter than the former one,\u201d answered the\ncrow. \u201cNevertheless, it may be managed. Do you ask the King to give\nyou a vessel fitted out in the most complete and magnificent way. The\nsails must be of silk and the figurehead of gold. It must be painted\nand gilded within and without. There must be a dining-hall hung about\nwith velvet curtains, and the dishes must be of solid gold. There must\nalso be a bathroom with a marble bath-tub, and there must be damsels on\nthe ship, dressed in shining colours, and with bracelets and anklets of\ngold set with precious stones. Do this, and then, when the vessel is\nready, I will instruct you further.\u201d\n\nHassan did as the crow bade him. He went to the King and asked him for\na vessel fitted out in exactly the manner the crow had described to\nhim. This the King gave him.\n\nWhen the vessel was finished, Hassan went on board, taking the crow\nwith him. They sailed away and sailed away, and always the crow told\nHassan in which direction to steer. After seven days and seven nights,\nthey came within sight of an island. The island was very pleasant to\nlook upon, for there were flowers and trees loaded with fruit, and\nshining domes and palaces.\n\n\u201cLook, Hassan,\u201d said the crow. \u201cThat is the place whither we are\nbound. Now listen attentively to what I tell you, for I can guide you\nno farther; I must leave you, but if you will follow out exactly all\nmy directions, everything will go well with you. That island belongs\nto the Queen of the Peris. She is a very powerful fairy, and very\nbeautiful. She is very curious as well. When she sees your vessel, she\nwill be anxious to find out about it, whence it comes, and who is the\nowner. She will send her messengers to inquire about it. But you must\nanswer no questions, and you must let no one but the Queen herself come\non board. She will wish to go all over the vessel, and when she sees\nthe bathroom she will admire it so much that she will wish to take a\nbath there. This you must agree to. Then, while she is bathing, you\nmust sail away with her, for she is the owner of the Wonder Bird, and\nfor her and her alone will it sing.\u201d\n\nHassan promised to do exactly as the crow bade him in all things, and\nthen it spread its wings and flew away and out of sight. Hassan ordered\nthe captain to sail the vessel up close to the shore of the island, and\nthere they dropped anchor.\n\nPresently he could see that they had been observed from the island.\nPeople gathered on the shore, many of them magnificently dressed, and\npresently several boats put out and were rowed over to the ship\u2019s side.\nIn them were messengers from the Queen.\n\nThese messengers questioned Hassan as to whence the vessel came and\nwhose it was. But Hassan would answer none of these questions. Neither\nwould he allow them to come on board to examine the vessel, though they\ngreatly wished it, and it had been, indeed, their Queen\u2019s commands that\nthey should do so.\n\n\u201cIf the Queen wishes to know about the vessel, she must come herself,\u201d\nsaid Hassan.\n\nThe messengers returned to shore very much dissatisfied. But presently\nanother boat put forth from the shore, and in it was the Queen herself.\nShe was rowed over to the ship\u2019s side, and she said to the youth that\nshe would now come on board herself and bring her maidens with her.\n\nShe was so beautiful and so magnificent that Hassan scarcely knew\nhow to refuse her. However, he remembered the crow\u2019s words, and was\ndetermined to obey them.\n\n\u201cYour majesty, if you will do me the honour to enter my ship, it and\nall that are in it are yours,\u201d he said; \u201cbut as to anyone\u2019s coming on\nboard with you, that I cannot allow, for I was expressly forbidden to\npermit anyone but yourself to visit the ship.\u201d\n\nThe Queen was very much offended by Hassan\u2019s words. Still, she was so\nvery curious that she could not resist coming on board to see whether\nthe ship was really as magnificent within as it seemed from the outside.\n\nThe youth showed her all over it, and she was filled with admiration\nat the beauty and completeness of its furnishing. When she entered the\nroom where the marble bath was, she was particularly delighted, and\nafter examining all the arrangements she signified to Hassan that she\nwould like to bathe in the marble tub.\n\nHassan at once retired and sent the damsels he had brought with him to\nattend the Queen.\n\nWhile she was bathing, the sails were set, and the ship sailed away\nfrom the island and back across the sea toward Hassan\u2019s own country.\n\nWhen the Queen had finished bathing, and had returned to the deck, she\nwas amazed to find the ship under way and the island already lost to\nview. She commanded Hassan to carry her back at once to her island, but\nthis the youth would in nowise consent to do. He explained to the Queen\nwhy it was that he had carried her off\u2014that it was to save his own\nlife. He said that later on, if she wished, she might return to her own\ncountry, but first she must see whether the bird belonged to her, and\nwhether it would sing for her. He also told her so many pleasant things\nabout the King, his master, that the Queen became quite curious to see\nhim.\n\n\u201cI make no doubt from what you tell me,\u201d said she, \u201cthat the bird is\none that I lost some time ago. If it is, I shall be glad to make it\nsing for your master, but after that I must of course return home, and\nI shall take the bird with me.\u201d\n\nThe youth doubted whether the King would agree to this, but he kept his\nthoughts to himself, and at last brought the Queen to the city and into\nthe King\u2019s palace.\n\nWhen the King saw the lady Hassan had brought with him, he was amazed\nat her beauty. He could think of nothing else. Even the bird was\nforgotten. He caused her to sit at his right hand and did all he could\nto entertain her.\n\nThe Queen was no less pleased with him, and some time was spent in\ntalking pleasantly together.\n\n\u201cAnd now, your Majesty,\u201d said the Queen at last, \u201clet us visit the\nivory palace where the Wonder Bird is kept, and see whether it is mine,\nand if it is, I can promise you that it will immediately begin to sing,\nand that its voice is as beautiful as its plumage.\u201d\n\nThe King at once arose, and together they went to the ivory palace. No\nsooner had the Queen crossed the threshold than the bird burst into\nsong, and its song was so beautiful that all who heard it stood as\nthough enchanted. They could not stir, nor scarcely breathe until the\nsong was ended.\n\nAfter the first day at the King\u2019s palace, the Queen spoke no more of\nreturning to her own island. She had fallen deeply in love with the\nKing, and he with her.\n\nBefore long they were married, and then Hassan became more of a\nfavourite with them than ever. Wealth and honours were heaped upon him,\nand there was nothing that the King and Queen were not ready to do for\nhim.\n\nThe former favourite was more filled with rage and envy than ever. He\ncould scarcely eat or sleep, he was so envious.\n\nNow after the King and Queen had been married for little more than a\nyear the Queen fell ill, and her illness was so grievous that all the\ndoctors in the kingdom could do nothing for her. At last it seemed as\nthough she must surely die.\n\nWhen this became known, Hassan\u2019s enemy went to the King and said, \u201cYour\nMajesty, I am but an ignorant man. I know you think nothing of me or my\nwords, but is it not possible that there is some drug in the Queen\u2019s\nown country that might cure her? And if so, why should not Hassan be\nsent to fetch it for her? For he and he alone knows where her island\nlies.\u201d\n\nThis the enemy said because he hoped that if Hassan returned to the\nisland the people there would either kill him or make a prisoner of him\nbecause he had carried off their Queen.\n\nThe King, however, never thought of that. He thought only of what might\nsave the Queen\u2019s life. The advice he received seemed to him very wise.\nHe at once sent for Hassan and told him what he wished him to do\u2014that\nhe was to return to the Queen\u2019s own country, and demand of her court\nphysician some drug that would make her well.\n\nHassan thoroughly understood how dangerous this errand might prove. He\nknew, too, why his enemy had suggested it; that it was not through any\nlove of the Queen, but from hatred of him.\n\nHowever, he said nothing of this to the King. He only agreed to what\nhis master wished and at once made ready to set out. First, however, he\ntook out the third feather that the crow had given him, blew it into\nthe air, and called the crow to come to him.\n\nAt once the crow appeared.\n\n\u201cWhat would you have of me now?\u201d it asked of the youth. \u201cHas some new\ntrouble come upon you?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I do not know,\u201d answered Hassan, \u201cbut the King is sending me upon\na mission that may, it seems to me, prove very dangerous.\u201d\n\nHe then told the crow what it was that the King required of him.\n\nThe crow seemed greatly disturbed when it heard of the Queen\u2019s illness.\n\u201cYou must go,\u201d it said, \u201cand go at once. There is indeed a drug in\nthe Queen\u2019s palace that will save her life if you can but fetch it in\ntime. You will suffer no harm from the people in the palace. They will,\nindeed, give you the drug at once when they learn that the Queen is\nin need of it. But at the gateway of the palace there are two fierce\nlions. These would certainly tear you to pieces before ever you could\nenter, unless you had my help to depend on.\u201d\n\nThe crow then bade the youth look carefully at its right wing. \u201cYou\nwill find there a single silver feather,\u201d it said. \u201cPluck it out and\ncarry it with you. When the lions spring at you, you must at once\ntouch them with that feather, and then they will become gentle, and you\ncan pass them by unharmed.\u201d\n\nThe crow stooped before Hassan and spread wide its wings, and Hassan\nsaw that the third feather from the tip of the right wing was of pure\nsilver. He plucked it out, and having hidden it in a safe place in\nhis clothing, he started out on his journey. For seven days and seven\nnights he sailed across the seas in the same direction as he had gone\nbefore, and on the morning of the eighth day he came within sight of\nthe island. He landed and made his way toward the palace, and he saw no\none on his way. No sooner did he approach the gateway than two fierce\nlions sprang out and rushed at him as though to tear him to pieces.\n\nHassan was terrified at their appearance. It seemed as though he must\nsurely lose his life, but he stood firm until they were almost upon\nhim, and then he touched them with the feather. At once they became\nperfectly gentle, and even fawned at his feet as though he were their\nmaster. So Hassan passed by them unharmed and entered the palace.\n\nThose who were there were very much surprised to see a stranger enter.\nThey could not understand how it was he had been able to pass by the\nlions without being torn to pieces.\n\nThe youth explained the matter to them, however, and showed them the\nsilver feather. He also told them the sore need of their Queen, and\nbegged them, if they had any drug that could save her, to bring it to\nhim at once and let him go.\n\nThe people of the palace looked at him strangely when he showed them\nthe feather. But when he made known the illness of the Queen they\nhastened to fetch a drug she always used, and gave it to him.\n\n\u201cThis will save her,\u201d they told him, \u201cfor she has often used it to\nbring back life when it was almost gone.\u201d\n\nThey then escorted him to the seashore, showing him the greatest\nhonour, and many of them wished to return with him to the King\u2019s\ncountry, but this he dared not allow.\n\nIt was again seven days and seven nights before Hassan came to the end\nof the journey, and by that time the King was in despair. He had no\nlonger any hope. However, when he heard that the ship had arrived, he\nsent his swiftest horses and riders to meet Hassan and bring him to the\npalace.\n\nThe youth was at once taken into the room where the Queen was lying\nstretched upon a couch, seemingly lifeless. The King, the court\nphysician, and her attendants were with her.\n\n\u201cHave you brought it? The drug?\u201d cried the King.\n\nHassan drew it forth from his bosom, where he carried it, and placed it\nin the hands of the Queen\u2019s physician. He did not notice that the crow\nhad followed him into the room.\n\nThe physician poured a few drops of the drug into a goblet and held it\nto the Queen\u2019s lips. No sooner had she swallowed it than a wonderful\nchange came over her. The colour returned to her cheeks and the life to\nher limbs. She opened her eyes and sat up and looked about her.\n\nAt once her eyes fell upon the crow, and it was to it that she\naddressed her first words.\n\n\u201cOh, thou careless and disobedient one!\u201d she cried, \u201cinto what danger\ndidst thou not throw thy mistress.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d answered the crow, \u201cthou hast indeed been near to death. But\nall that is over now. There is only happiness before thee. But for me,\nis my misery never to end?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, and that right soon,\u201d cried the Queen. \u201cIf I owe my danger to\nthee, so also do I owe to thee my happiness. Draw near to me.\u201d\n\nAll in the room had listened in wonder to this talk between the Queen\nand the crow. But a still stranger thing was to happen.\n\nAs the crow hopped close to the couch, the Queen took a few drops of\nwater from a vial near by and sprinkled it over the bird, at the same\ntime pronouncing some magic words.\n\nAt once, instead of the crow, a tall and graceful maiden stood there\nbefore the Queen, a maiden of such great beauty that she was even the\nequal of the Queen herself.\n\nThe King and Hassan were filled with wonder at this sight.\n\nThe Queen then turned to the King with a gentle smile.\n\n\u201cThis maiden,\u201d said she, \u201cwas my favourite of all the Peris that once\nattended me. But she grew proud and haughty because of my favour, and\nat last presumed to disobey even me. To punish her, I changed her into\na crow and sent her to fly about the world, despised by all. But I will\nnow forgive her because she brought me to you, and will take her back\ninto favour if she can assure me of her repentance.\u201d\n\nThe Peri sank on her knees before the Queen and kissed her hand,\nweeping. She assured her mistress that her pride was indeed broken, and\nthat from now on she would be her faithful and obedient servant.\n\nThe Queen then raised her from her knees and made her sit beside her,\nand all was joy and happiness.\n\nAs for Hassan, he found the maiden so beautiful that he could not keep\nhis eyes from her. Already he loved her with his whole heart, and\nlonged for nothing so much as to have her for a wife. The Peri returned\nhis love, and with the consent of the King and Queen they were married,\nand from that time on they lived in the greatest joy and contentment.\n\nAs for the former favourite, he was so miserable over the sight of\nHassan\u2019s happiness that at length he could bear it no longer. He sold\nhis house and goods and sailed away, no one knew whither, and if anyone\nregretted him, it was not Hassan.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOUR WISHES\n\nA GERMAN STORY\n\n\nTHERE was once a baron so rich and powerful that only the king himself\nwas greater. He was very fierce and warlike, and what he wished for he\ntook from rich and poor alike, and none was able to withstand him.\n\nThe baron had a very gentle and beautiful wife. Often she wept bitterly\nover the evil deeds her husband did in the world, but this the baron\nnever knew, for she was careful to hide her tears from him.\n\nOne day the lady was sitting beside a fountain in the gardens, and she\nwas very sad. Presently she leaned her head on her hand and began to\nweep. Suddenly the waters of the fountain were disturbed, and up from\nthe midst of them arose the figure of a nixie or water spirit.\n\nThe lady was frightened at such a strange sight, but the nixie spoke to\nher gently and bade her not be afraid.\n\n\u201cI,\u201d said she, \u201cam the spirit who watches over the fortunes of the\ncastle. I have come to tell you that within a year a child will be born\nto you\u2014a little girl. This child will suffer many things, both dangers\nand sorrows. There is only one way in which she can be protected. If\nyou will make me her godmother I will be able to guard her and bring\nher safely through her troubles, but in no other way can she be saved\nfrom them.\u201d\n\nThe lady was filled with amazement at what she heard. She had known\nthere was a spirit that watched over the fortunes of the castle, and\nnow she promised eagerly that if a child came to her the nixie should\nbe its godmother.\n\nAt once the nixie smiled at her and waved its hand, and then sank back\nagain into the waters of the fountain.\n\nIn less than a year, as the nixie had foretold, a little daughter\nwas born to the lady, a child as beautiful as the day. The time for\nchristening the child was set. She was to be called Matilda, after her\nmother, but the lady refused to say who was to stand godmother to the\nchild. A godmother she had chosen, but she would tell no one who that\ngodmother was.\n\nThe hour of the christening arrived, all the ladies and gentlemen of\nthe court were gathered together, and still no godmother. Suddenly,\nwithout a sound, a stranger appeared among them. She was dressed from\nhead to foot in silver that shone and rippled like running water,\nand a silver veil was wound about her head. At once the Lady Matilda\nrecognized her as the nixie.\n\nThe water spirit took her place as godmother to the child, and the\nchristening proceeded. When it was over, every one looked to see what\ngift the godmother would give the child. They had no doubt that it\nwould be something very rare and handsome, but instead it was only\na common little carved wooden ball, such as ladies sometimes use to\ncarry perfume in. This the godmother placed in the child\u2019s hand. Then,\nturning to the lady, she said, \u201cGuard carefully this ball which I have\ngiven to the child. Place it in some safe place for her. Her good\nfortune\u2014yes, even her life itself\u2014depends upon this ball.\u201d\n\nAfter saying this, the stranger at once disappeared, and none could\ntell where she went, nor how.\n\nThe Lady Matilda took the ball and put it away among her jewels in a\nstrong chest, and orders were given that no one should touch or disturb\nit. As soon as the little Matilda was old enough, the mother meant to\ngive the ball to her and tell her of its value.\n\nBefore that time, however, and while the child was still very young,\nthe lady died, and the ball was forgotten. The little Matilda grew up,\nknowing nothing of its worth; indeed, she did not even know that there\nwas such a thing in the castle.\n\nNot long after his wife\u2019s death the baron married again. His second\nwife was a very handsome woman, but she was cold and proud and\nenvious. From the first day she saw Matilda, she hated the child\nbecause of her beauty and her gentleness. She treated her so unkindly\nthat Matilda was very unhappy. She was worse fed and clothed than any\nservant in the castle, and the meanest room and the hardest bed were\ngiven to her. Still she grew in beauty day by day, and every one except\nthe stepmother loved her for her gentle ways and her sweetness.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cDO NOT BE AFRAID, MY CHILD,\u201d SAID THE NIXIE TO MATILDA]\n\nOne day the stepmother wished to examine the jewels that had once\nbelonged to the Lady Matilda. She intended to choose from among them\nsuch as she might admire. She had the jewel casket brought to her room,\nand unlocked it and began to examine the ornaments that were in it.\nSome of them she decided to keep, but others she threw aside. At last,\nhidden away in a corner, she came upon a common little carved wooden\nball.\n\n\u201cWhat is this?\u201d she asked. \u201cWhy should this have been locked away with\nthe jewels as though it were valuable?\u201d\n\nHer ladies whom she had brought with her to the castle could not tell\nher, and she disdainfully threw the ball out through the open window of\nher room.\n\nNow it so chanced that Matilda was passing under the window at that\nvery time, and the ball fell directly at her feet. Surprised, she\nstooped and picked it up, and examined it. The top seemed to be screwed\non, but though she tried again and again she could not unscrew it.\nHowever, Matilda took the greatest fancy to the ball. Through the day\nshe carried it in her pocket or the bosom of her dress, and at night\nshe slipped it under her pillow, and somehow she felt quite happy and\ncontented now in spite of the unkindness of her stepmother.\n\nOne day Matilda sat down beside the fountain in the garden, and, as\nusual, she began to play with the ball, tossing it up into the air and\ncatching it again. Suddenly the ball slipped from her fingers and fell\ninto the fountain. Matilda bent over and tried to reach it, but it had\nfloated beyond her reach. Then a hand appeared in the waters and seized\nit, and the figure of the nixie rose out of the fountain.\n\n\u201cDo not be afraid, my child,\u201d said the nixie to Matilda. \u201cI wish you\nnothing but good. I am your godmother, and it was I who gave this ball\nto your mother to keep for you until you were old enough to take charge\nof it yourself. Unfortunately she died before that time arrived. It is\nwell you have found it at last, for the time is at hand when you will\nneed it. Listen well to what I now tell you. This ball contains three\nwishes which you can use at any time. But be careful. Only in the time\nof your greatest need must you use its magic, for after it has given\nyou three wishes, its power will be gone, and it can do nothing more\nfor you.\u201d\n\nThe nixie then told Matilda that there was one other way in which the\nball could aid her. If at any time she wished to become invisible, she\nhad only to hold it in her hand and say:\n\n        \u201cLight to guide me,\n         Dark to hide me,\n    Let no harm nor ill betide me.\u201d\n\nNo one then would be able to see her until she wished to become visible\nagain.\n\nAt once, after saying this, the nixie disappeared, dissolving back\ninto the waters, but the ball she left lying on the grass beside the\nfountain.\n\nMatilda picked it up and slipped it into her bosom, and then went back\nto the castle, very grave and thoughtful.\n\nNow in the years while Matilda was growing to womanhood, the baron\u2019s\nenemies had grown very strong, so strong indeed that they no longer\nfeared him. A plan was made to attack him in his castle, to take him\nprisoner, and to rob him of the possessions that he himself had stolen\nfrom others. The attack was planned for a certain night when there\nwould be no moon, and it would be too dark for those inside the castle\nto see their enemies approach.\n\nMatilda went to bed early that evening, and soon fell asleep. She slept\nfor only a few hours, however. Suddenly, just before midnight, she\nwas awakened by a great uproar and confusion. The assault had begun.\nThe baron\u2019s enemies had surrounded the castle. They entered in and\ncaptured the baron and his wife, and presently they came to the door\nof Matilda\u2019s room and began to break down the door. The poor girl was\novercome with terror.\n\nSuddenly she remembered the charm the nixie had taught her. She caught\nup the wooden ball from under her pillow, and in a whisper she repeated:\n\n        \u201cLight to guide me,\n         Dark to hide me,\n    Let no harm nor ill betide me.\u201d\n\nAt once she became invisible. The door was broken open, and the foemen\ncame into the room, but they saw no one. Matilda, indeed, was there\nclose beside them, but they could not see her, and she was careful not\nto brush against them. Unseen, she passed from the room and down the\nstairs and out of the castle. There was a light in the heavens now, a\nred glow of flames, for the castle had been set on fire.\n\nMatilda hurried away, and when she had gone far enough to feel that\nshe was safe, she wished and became visible again. Just as day was\nbreaking, she came to a deep forest. So far she had seen no one, but\nbefore venturing farther she gathered roots and herbs, and with them\nshe stained her face and hands so that no one would have known her. She\nlooked like a gipsy, or some poor servant-maid in search of work. She\nhad now no fear of robbers, for who would think of stopping anyone so\npoor and miserable-looking as she?\n\nAll day she travelled through the forest, and by night she came out on\nthe other side of it and saw before her a great castle. Matilda knocked\nat the door and humbly begged the woman who opened it to take her in\nand give her food and shelter. In return for such help she would gladly\ndo any work that might be needed about the castle.\n\nNow it so happened that the old woman was the housekeeper, and she was\nin need of a scullery-maid. Matilda, with her poor clothes and her\ndarkened hands and face, looked just the one for such a place.\n\n\u201cIf you are willing to work,\u201d said the housekeeper, \u201cit may be that we\ncan strike a bargain. You may begin by scouring these pots and pans. If\nyou do it well, I will keep you here as scullery-maid.\u201d\n\nMatilda at once set to work, and soon had the kettles and pans shining\nlike new. The housekeeper was very much pleased, and decided to engage\nher. So Matilda became a scullery-maid in the castle. Sometimes she\nhelped the cook, for she was very clever in cookery.\n\nNow the nobleman to whom this castle belonged was a young and handsome\ncount named Conrad. His father was dead and his mother was anxious\nto see him married; but never yet had the count seen any lady who\nattracted him sufficiently.\n\nAt last the old countess decided to give a ball for the count, and to\ninvite to it all the most beautiful ladies from the country round.\nAmong them all she hoped her son would see some one whom he would care\nto make his wife.\n\nThe invitations were sent out, and everywhere there was great\nexcitement. Not only was the count young and handsome; he was also as\nrich as a prince, and so courteous that he was beloved by all. There\nwere few among the ladies who did not hope that they might be chosen as\nhis bride.\n\nAt the castle nothing was talked of but the ball that was to be given\nfor the count. Matilda listened to all that was said, and the more\nshe heard, the more she wished that she too might go to the dance and\nmingle with the other ladies. All the while she had been at the castle\nshe had kept the ball with her, but she had been careful not to use any\nof the three wishes it contained. But now the time had come when she\ndetermined to try its power. The night of the ball Matilda finished her\nwork early, and then she stole away to her room and fastened the door\nso that no one could come in.\n\nFirst of all she took water and washed off the stain from her face and\nhands. When this was done, her skin was once more as fair as a lily,\nand her cheeks as red as roses. She shook down her wonderful hair so\nthat it fell in a cloud about her. She combed and braided it, and then\nshe took out the little wooden ball and held it in her hand.\n\n    \u201cLittle ball, I hold you close;\n       Little ball, I hold you tight;\n     By your magic power I pray\n       Grant my wish to me to-night,\u201d\n\nshe whispered. And then, \u201cI wish,\u201d she said, \u201cfor a gown more beautiful\nthan any that ever was seen, and for ornaments to go with it\u2014jewels for\nmy neck and jewels for my hair, and slippers, and a fan to wave in my\nhand.\u201d\n\nAt once, upon the bed, appeared a gown more beautiful than Matilda had\never dreamed of. It was woven all of silver, and set with pearls, and\nwith it there were ornaments for her neck and hair and a fan of shining\nplumes; and on the floor beside the bed stood a tiny pair of satin\nslippers embroidered with pearls and threads of silver.\n\nTrembling with haste, Matilda dressed, for already the night was late,\nand when at last she stood clothed all in silvery white, the whole room\nshone with the light of her beauty.\n\nShe stole down the stairs unnoticed, and it was not long before\nshe reached the old countess\u2019s house where the ball was being held.\nMany beautiful ladies were there, the loveliest in the land, but\nwhen Matilda entered the ballroom, she outshone them all as the moon\noutshines the stars at night.\n\nFrom the moment he saw her Count Conrad had eyes for no one else, and\nthere was no one else with whom he would dance. Before the end of the\nevening he drew her aside into another room.\n\n\u201cListen,\u201d said he. \u201cNever before in all my life have I seen anyone as\nbeautiful as you, nor one whom I could love as already I love you. Tell\nme, I pray, who you are. Only some great lady or princess could be as\nbeautiful as you.\u201d\n\nMatilda was filled with joy when the count said he loved her, but\nimmediately after she became sad, for she thought that if he learned\nshe was only a kitchen-maid in his castle, he would no longer care for\nher.\n\n\u201cLook, I beg of you,\u201d she said, \u201cand see whether there is not some one\nlistening at the door.\u201d\n\nThe count thought Matilda wished to tell him some secret, and he at\nonce went to the door to make sure that no one could overhear it.\n\nMatilda drew the wooden ball from her pocket and whispered:\n\n        \u201cLight to guide me,\n         Dark to hide me,\n    Let no harm nor ill betide me.\u201d\n\nAt once she became invisible, and she slipped past the count and\nhurried back to the castle.\n\nWhen the count turned, he was very much surprised to find that his\nbeautiful partner had disappeared. He could not imagine what had become\nof her. He hunted for her everywhere, and asked every one which way she\nhad gone, but no one had seen her.\n\nHe was very much disquieted at this. However, there was to be another\nball the next night, and Count Conrad felt sure Matilda would appear at\nit also. This time he was determined she should not leave him until he\nknew who she was and whence she came. To make sure of this, he decided\nto set a guard about the house, with orders to follow any strange lady\nwho passed out alone, and watch where she went.\n\nAll the next day but little was to be heard anywhere but talk of\nthe wonderful stranger, of how beautiful she had been, and how\nmagnificently dressed, and of how much the count had admired her. Every\none wondered whether she would appear again at the second ball.\n\nWhen evening came, Matilda made haste to finish her work, and then\nstole away to her little garret room. Taking the ball in her hand, she\nsaid:\n\n    \u201cLittle ball, now serve me right,\n     Grant the wish I wish to-night.\n\nI wish I may have a gown even more beautiful than the one I wore last\nnight, and all ornaments that should go with it.\u201d\n\nAt once the room was filled with light, and Matilda saw, lying upon\nthe bed, a gown made entirely of cloth of gold, and set with precious\nstones. There were jewels for her neck and arms, and a pair of golden\nslippers that shone like glass. Matilda dressed in haste, and throwing\na dark cloak over her, she stole away through the night to the ball.\n\nCount Conrad had been watching for her. He would, indeed, look at no\none else, and as soon as she entered, he hastened to her side.\n\nIf she had been beautiful the night before, she was far more so now.\nThen she had shone like the moon, but now she glittered like the sun,\nso that it dazzled the eyes to look at her.\n\nThe count begged her to dance with him, and as soon as he could, he\ndrew her aside into another room. He then took from his hand a ring,\nand placing it upon her finger, he said, \u201cNow you are my own true love,\nfor you wear my ring upon your finger. But tell me, I pray of you, who\nyou are and whence you come, that I may ask your hand in marriage in a\nproper manner.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas, my mother is dead,\u201d answered Matilda, \u201cand my father, I fear,\nhas also been put to death by cruel enemies.\u201d\n\nSo saying she dropped her fan. The count at once stooped to pick it up.\nQuick as thought, as he stooped, Matilda drew her ball from her pocket\nand whispered the magic charm:\n\n        \u201cLight to guide me,\n         Dark to hide me,\n    Let no harm nor ill betide me.\u201d\n\nAt once she became invisible, and slipping from the room, she hastened\nback to the castle.\n\nWhen the count looked up and found that his beautiful partner had once\nmore disappeared, he was in despair. He searched through every room,\nand then sent for his guards and questioned them closely. None of them\ncould tell him anything of the stranger, however. Not one had seen her\npass by. This was not strange, for Matilda had remained invisible until\nshe reached the castle. She was even then in her little attic room,\nslipping off her beautiful clothes, and staining her face and hands\nthat she might again appear as the kitchen wench.\n\nAgain the count had lost her. But now he determined to give a ball\nhimself. He caused it to be made known that this ball was in honour of\nthe unknown beauty, and he had no doubt but that she would appear at it\nas she had at the other two. This time he determined that not for one\ninstant would he lose sight of her.\n\nThe count\u2019s ball was to be much more magnificent than those that the\nold countess had given. All the servants in the castle were set to work\npreparing for it, and Matilda was no less busy than the others. She had\nnot a moment to herself.\n\nThe night of the ball arrived, and there was still much to be done in\nthe kitchen. Matilda began to see that there would be no chance for her\nto slip away from her work and appear at the ball.\n\nShe did indeed ask the housekeeper to allow her an hour that she\nmight go outside and peep in through a window at the dancers, but the\nhousekeeper refused her angrily.\n\n\u201cLook in through the windows!\u201d she cried. \u201cWhat are you thinking of?\nYou would frighten the ladies to death with your gipsy face and your\nbig eyes. No; do you stay here in the kitchen where you belong, and do\nyour work in a proper manner.\u201d\n\nMatilda would not disobey her, but as she scoured the pots and pans,\nshe could not prevent the tears from falling. She could think of\nnothing but Count Conrad, of how handsome he was, and how kind and\ngentle.\n\nMeanwhile the count was standing close to the door of the ballroom,\nwaiting for the beautiful stranger to appear. Great coaches rolled up\nto the entrance of the castle. Beautiful ladies in silks and satins and\njewels swept through the rooms. They waved their fans and smiled at\nthe count, but he had no eyes for any of them. His thoughts were all of\nMatilda. Little he guessed that even then she was scouring kettles in\nthe kitchen below and weeping as she scoured.\n\nAs hour after hour passed and she did not appear, the count\u2019s heart\ngrew heavy with grief. By the time the ball was over and his guests\nwere leaving, he was quite ill with disappointment. He could hardly\nstand to bid them farewell. The beautiful stranger had not come, and\nnow he feared he would never see her again.\n\nThe next day word passed through the castle that the young count\nwas unable to leave his bed. He had fallen ill through grief and\ndisappointment. Doctors were sent for, but they could do nothing\nfor him. One thing could cure him and one alone, and that was some\nknowledge of the beautiful stranger who had danced with him.\n\nMatilda had managed to win the confidence of the old housekeeper, and\nnow she went to her and said, \u201cI have heard how ill the count is and\nhow all the medicines the doctors have given him have failed to help\nhim. If you will but let me, I can make a broth of such wonderful\nqualities that if the count will but taste of it he will be cured.\u201d\n\nAt first the housekeeper refused, but Matilda still urged and\nentreated, until at last the old woman grew tired of saying \u2018no\u2019 to\nher.\n\n\u201cVery well, then,\u201d she said. \u201cIt will do no harm for you to make a bowl\nof broth, but as to its having the power to cure the count, that, of\ncourse, I do not believe.\u201d\n\nMatilda at once set to work, and as she was very clever at cooking, she\nmade a broth so rich and delicious that it made the mouth water just to\nsmell of it. It was as clear as crystal, and of a rich amber colour.\nWhen it was done, she put it in a silver bowl and covered it over with\na napkin, but before doing this she managed to drop into it the ring\nthat the count had given her.\n\nThe broth was so good that the housekeeper was delighted with it, and\nshe herself carried it up to her master\u2019s room.\n\nWhen she entered with it, the count turned away his head. \u201cWhy do you\ncome here?\u201d he said. \u201cDo not trouble me. I wish for nothing.\u201d\n\nBut the housekeeper would not be sent away in this manner. \u201cI have\nbrought you a bowl of broth,\u201d she said, \u201cand it is so delicious that if\nyou will but taste of it, I am sure you will be better.\u201d\n\nWith these words she uncovered the bowl and placed it before the count,\nand the broth was so clear that at once he saw the ring lying at the\nbottom of it.\n\n\u201cWhat is this!\u201d he cried. \u201cWho has made this broth? Tell me\nimmediately.\u201d\n\nThe housekeeper was frightened at his look and tone. \u201cIt is good\nbroth,\u201d she cried; \u201cthe best of broth, I am sure, even though it was\nmade by our little kitchen-maid.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhoever made it, send her to me at once,\u201d demanded the count.\n\nThe housekeeper was very much concerned. She hurried away to the\nkitchen.\n\n\u201cWhat is to be done now?\u201d she said to Matilda. \u201cThe count demands to\nsee you, but the sight of your rags and dark face would surely throw\nhim into a fever. This is a pretty piece of work!\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not be troubled,\u201d said Matilda. \u201cI will wash my face and hands,\nand then do you lend me your cloak and your long veil. With them I can\ncover myself so that he will not be able to see what I look like.\u201d\n\nTo this the housekeeper agreed, as she could think of no better plan.\n\nMatilda took the cloak and veil and hastened away with them to her own\nroom. There she combed her hair and washed off the stain, and then she\nput on her golden dress and her jewels, which she had kept hidden away\nsince the night of the ball. When she was dressed, she covered herself\ncarefully with the cloak and veil, so that even the housekeeper\u2019s\nprying eyes could not catch a glint of the finery beneath. So\ndisguised, Matilda went up to Count Conrad\u2019s room and stood modestly\njust inside the doorway.\n\nThe count had been waiting for her impatiently, and as soon as she\nentered, he said, \u201cWas it you who made the broth the housekeeper\nbrought to me?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was I,\u201d answered Matilda.\n\n\u201cAnd who was it who put the ring in it?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was I.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen tell me,\u201d cried the count, \u201cwho gave you the ring. How came you\nby it?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was you yourself who gave me the ring, and it was you who placed it\non my finger,\u201d said Matilda.\n\nWith these words she put aside the veil and dropped the cloak from her\nshoulders. There she stood before him, blushing, and filling all the\nroom with the light of her beauty.\n\nThe count was transported with joy. \u201cYou have come!\u201d he cried, \u201cand you\nhave come at the time when I most despaired of finding you. Now we will\nbe married, and never again shall you leave me.\u201d\n\nAt these words Matilda grew very sad. \u201cAlas, that may not be,\u201d said\nshe. \u201cHave you forgotten that I am only your kitchen-maid?\u201d\n\nBut the count loved her too dearly to care for that. \u201cYou will be my\nwife,\u201d he said, \u201cand then who will dare to remember what you were\nbefore?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, but there is another reason why we can never, never marry,\u201d\nsighed Matilda. \u201cYou will agree with me as to that when I tell you that\nmy father was your father\u2019s bitterest enemy.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho was your father?\u201d asked the count, wondering.\n\nMatilda then related to him her whole story, who her father was,\nhow her mother had died while she was still a child, and about her\nstepmother and her nixie godmother. She also told him of how she had\nchanced to come to his castle and take service there.\n\nThe count listened to all she had to say, and when she had come to an\nend, he took her in his arms and embraced her tenderly.\n\n\u201cI care not who you are,\u201d he said, \u201cnor whence you come. I know only\nthat I love you, and that you and you alone shall be my bride.\u201d\n\nMatilda was very happy when she heard this. She already loved the count\ndearly, and now she could no longer refuse him.\n\nAlmost at once preparations for the wedding were begun, and people from\nfar and near were invited to come to it.\n\nThe first to be asked was the count\u2019s mother, a proud and covetous old\nwoman. She had been the one who was most eager for her son to marry,\nbut when she heard whom he had chosen for a bride, that it was the\ndaughter of an enemy, and, moreover, a girl both poor and homeless, she\nwas filled with rage.\n\nAt once she hastened to the castle, and urged and entreated the count\nto give up Matilda, but he would not listen to her. He loved his bride\ntoo tenderly for that.\n\nWhen his mother found that all her efforts to separate them were in\nvain, she left the castle in a fury, and drove away to her home. Never\nagain, she vowed, would she set foot in the castle as long as Matilda\nwas there, and the time would come when the young count would bitterly\nregret his choice of a wife.\n\nCount Conrad was grieved at his mother\u2019s anger, but he was too happy\nwith Matilda to grieve long. He and she were soon married, and so sweet\nand gentle was her character that every day the count loved her better\nand was more contented with his choice.\n\nWhen the count and Matilda had been married for a year, a child was\nborn to them, a little boy so handsome and big and strong that the\ncount was filled with joy and pride.\n\nThe nurse who had charge of the child was sent to the castle by the\nold countess, and both the count and Matilda were delighted at what\nthey took to be a sign that his mother had forgiven them. This was not\nthe case however. The old countess still hated Matilda with a bitter\nhatred, and had sent the nurse, hoping she might find some way to\ninjure her, and if possible to separate her from the count.\n\nMatilda always slept with the baby\u2019s cradle close to her own bed. One\nnight, when all the castle was wrapped in sleep, the old nurse slipped\ninto the room, and lifting the child carefully from the cradle, she\ncarried it away without waking anyone.\n\nIn the morning, as soon as Matilda awoke, her eyes as usual turned\nfirst of all to the cradle. She was greatly surprised to see that it\nwas empty, and at once called the nurse and demanded what had become of\nthe child.\n\nThe nurse pretended to be equally surprised. \u201cI do not know,\u201d she\nanswered. \u201cWhen I last saw him, he was asleep in the cradle beside your\nladyship.\u201d\n\nMatilda was very much alarmed. The count was called, the castle\nsearched thoroughly, and every one was questioned, but they could find\nno trace of the baby.\n\n\u201cIt must be some evil spirit or enchantress who has carried him away,\u201d\nsaid the nurse. \u201cLast night I heard a beating of wings outside my\nwindow, and a strange sound of sighing and moaning, but I thought it\nwas only some great bird that was lost in the night.\u201d\n\nThis the nurse said not because she had really heard anything, but\nbecause this was part of a plot that she and the old countess had\nhatched between them.\n\nDays passed, and still nothing was heard of the child. The count was in\ndespair. Even Matilda herself was scarcely more dear to him than his\ninfant son.\n\nAt the end of a year another child was born to Matilda, and this also\nwas a son, a child as strong and handsome as the first.\n\nBut again, when the infant was only a few weeks old, the nurse stole\nit away secretly in the night, without being seen by anyone. In the\nmorning the cradle was empty, and no trace of the child could be found\nanywhere.\n\nThe count was filled with grief and anguish. In his heart he secretly\nblamed Matilda because she had not awakened when the child was carried\naway. But he restrained himself from reproaching her. He could not help\ntreating her somewhat coldly, however, and Matilda was grieved to the\nheart not only over the loss of the child, but because she feared her\nhusband no longer loved her.\n\nAt the end of the year, still a third child was born, and now, in order\nto make sure that it should not be stolen, a watch was kept over the\ninfant\u2014by day and night; and though he slept by Matilda\u2019s side, there\nwas always some one else in the room with them.\n\nBut even this precaution could not keep the nurse from carrying out\nher wicked plans. When the child was still only a few weeks old, she\nmanaged one evening to put a sleeping potion in the repast that was\nserved to Matilda, and in that of the attendant as well.\n\nNight came and the child was laid in the cradle close to Matilda\u2019s\nbed. The attendant took her place at the door. It was not long,\nhowever, before Matilda and the attendant fell into a deep sleep. The\nnurse then stole into the room, and lifting the child from the cradle,\nshe carried it away with her as she had the two others.\n\nWhen morning came, and it was discovered that this child too had been\nstolen, the count could restrain himself no longer. The woman who had\nbeen in attendance was thrown into prison, and he heaped reproaches on\nMatilda for having allowed this third child, the most beautiful of them\nall, to be stolen from her side.\n\n\u201cYou should not be surprised,\u201d said the wicked nurse, \u201cand the\nattendant is not to blame. There is some enchantment in this, and if\nyou will come aside with me into a private room, I will tell you of\nsome things I have seen here in the castle in the last three years.\u201d\n\nThe count was in a state to listen to anything, and he allowed the\nnurse to speak to him in private, and to tell him the story that she\nand the old countess had arranged between them.\n\nShe told him that though Matilda seemed so fair and gentle, she was in\nreality a wicked enchantress. This his mother had known, and it was\nfor this reason she had been so unwilling that he should marry her,\nand for no other cause. During the night when the child was stolen,\nthe nurse said, she had been awakened by a beating of wings, and had\nstolen to the door and looked out. There she had seen Matilda talking\nwith a being that from its looks could be nothing but an evil spirit.\nPresently (so the nurse said) Matilda had gone back into her chamber,\nand when she returned she was carrying the child, and she had given it\ninto the hands of the strange being. \u201cAfter that,\u201d said the nurse, \u201cI\nsaw no more, for I was afraid to look. But I make no doubt that that is\nwhat has become of all the children, and that the young countess caused\nthe attendant to fall into an enchanted sleep so that she might have a\nchance to give the baby to the evil spirit.\u201d\n\nThe count was so distracted with grief that he was ready to believe\nanything. He remembered what Matilda had told him of her godmother the\nnixie, and it seemed to him possible that this water spirit had some\npower over her that might cause her to sacrifice her children. In his\ndistraction he sent for his mother to question her as to what she knew.\n\nThe old countess had been waiting for this summons. She came to him at\nonce and in haste, and her heart was full of evil joy at the thought\nthat at last she was to have Matilda in her power.\n\nWhen she appeared before her son, however, she dissembled her joy, and\npretended to be sad.\n\n\u201cAlas, my dear son,\u201d said she, \u201cwhat I feared has come to pass at\nlast. I would have warned you before that the bride you had chosen\nwas a wicked enchantress, but I knew you would not listen to me. Now,\nhowever, she has shown herself in her own wicked character. She has\nsacrificed her children to an evil spirit, and it is only right that\nshe should be punished for her wickedness.\u201d\n\nThe count knew not what to answer to this. He still loved Matilda, but\nif she had done such a wicked thing as to give her children to an evil\nspirit, she must suffer for it.\n\n\u201cWhat you say may be true,\u201d said he to his mother. \u201cAs for me, I am so\ndistracted that I no longer seem to understand anything. I will go away\non a long journey, and I will leave Matilda in your hands. Do as you\nthink best with her, only treat her as gently as you can.\u201d\n\nAs soon as the count had said this he left his mother and went away,\nand it was well for his mother that he did so. She was so overjoyed\nat the way her plans had turned out that she could no longer hide her\nsatisfaction. The count left the castle without bidding farewell to\nhis wife. Matilda was cut to the heart when she found he had left her\nwithout a word. She was also terrified at the thought that now the old\ncountess had her in her power.\n\nMatilda had indeed good cause for fear. As soon as the count had gone,\nhis mother caused an iron room to be built. All about this room were\novens arranged in such a way that the room could be made so hot that it\nwould be impossible for anyone to remain in it for long and live. After\nit was finished, Matilda was induced to go into it, and as soon as she\nwas inside, the door was shut and locked.\n\nThe moment Matilda found that she had been locked in the room alone,\nshe suspected some evil. She looked about her for a way of escape, but\nthe walls were of iron, and the room had been built in such a way that\nthere were no windows.\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d said Matilda, \u201care my misfortunes never to end? Oh, my dear\nhusband, how had you the heart to leave me here alone and in the power\nof that wicked woman?\u201d\n\nIn her despair Matilda threw herself down upon the floor of the room.\nAs she did so, she felt something hard in the pocket of her dress. She\nslipped her hand into it and drew out the wooden ball that she had so\nlong forgotten. One more wish was left to her. Now, if ever, was her\ntime of need. Holding it in her hand she whispered:\n\n    \u201cLittle ball, so great my need,\n     Only you can help indeed;\n     Save me now and set me free,\n     Give my children back to me.\u201d\n\nWithout her willing it, the ball slipped from her fingers and fell\nupon the floor, and was broken to pieces. From these fragments arose\na silvery mist that spread through the room and filled it with a\nrefreshing coolness. In the midst of the mist appeared the nixie, and\nin her arms she carried three beautiful little boys. They were the\nchildren who had been stolen from Matilda.\n\nThe nixie smiled upon her godchild and spoke in a voice like the\nflowing of cool waters. \u201cAt last you have remembered me and my gift,\u201d\nshe said. \u201cLong have I been waiting for you to call upon me, my child.\nNow I am here, and no harm can come to you. Look! Here are the three\nchildren that the wicked old countess caused to be thrown into the\nwater, thinking to drown them. But I saved them. They have been safe in\nmy care until you should call upon me, and now I restore them to you.\u201d\n\nSo saying, she placed the children in Matilda\u2019s arms, and the mother\nclasped them to her, weeping with joy.\n\nMeanwhile the men who had been in charge of the ovens that were to\nheat the room found that in spite of all they could do the walls of it\nremained cool. They went to the old countess and told her this. \u201cOur\nfires are burning brightly,\u201d they said, \u201cand are so hot that we can\nscarcely go near them, and yet the walls of the room are even cooler\nthan when we began.\u201d\n\nThe countess could not understand how this could be. She was about to\ngo and probe the mystery when she heard a clatter of hoofs outside,\nand a sound of loud voices. She looked from a window, and saw to her\nsurprise and alarm that it was her son returning to the castle.\n\nThe count, indeed, had been unable to bear the thought of having left\nMatilda in his mother\u2019s care. He feared some harm might come to her,\nand the farther he went, the more anxious he had grown. At last he had\nturned his horse and ridden back with all speed to tell Matilda that he\nstill loved her, and that whatever their sorrow was, they would bear it\ntogether.\n\nAs soon as the old countess saw her son, she knew that her plots had\nfailed, and she feared his wrath when he should find his wife shut in\nthe iron room. She determined not to wait for that, and calling the\nwicked nurse, they escaped together from the castle and fled away,\nnobody knew whither.\n\nAs for the count, he hurried through the castle, searching everywhere\nfor Matilda, and at last he came to the iron room. When he found that\nshe was locked inside it, and saw the ovens all about it, he was like\none distracted.\n\nHe turned the key and threw open the door, but he scarce dared look\ninside. He dreaded what he might see there.\n\nWhen he did summon courage, however, what was his wonder to see not\nonly his wife, but there in her arms the three children they had lost.\nHe could hardly believe his eyes and was well-nigh crazy with joy.\nFlinging himself on his knees before her, he begged her to forgive him\nfor having doubted her and for having left her as he had done.\n\nMatilda, who was all mildness and sweetness, raised him from his knees\nand placed the children in his arms.\n\n\u201cSee,\u201d said she, \u201cyou have no longer any reason to mistrust me. These\nare our own dear children whom the nixie has returned to us.\u201d\n\nShe then told the count the whole story, and when she came to an end\nthey kissed each other and the children, and from that time on they\nlived in mutual love and happiness.\n\nAs for the wicked old countess, unless she died of spite, she may be\nliving and wandering over the world to this very day.\n\n\n\n\nWHY THE ANIMALS NO LONGER FEAR THE SHEEP\n\nA FRENCH CREOLE STORY\n\n\nLONG, long ago, when the animals were not as wise as they are now, they\nwere all very much afraid of the sheep. Even the lion and tiger were\nafraid of him. They had never seen him angry, but he had such a solemn\nlook, and his beard was so long, and his horns so strong and curly,\nthat they were sure he would be very dangerous indeed if he were once\nroused.\n\nOne day old Papa Sheep invited Mr Tiger to come and spend the day with\nhim, and he also invited him to bring Little Tiger along to play with\nLittle Sheep, for Mr Tiger\u2019s little boy was just the same age as Papa\nSheep\u2019s little boy.\n\nMr Tiger was very pleased at this invitation. He was glad to come\nhimself, and he was glad to have Little Tiger become friendly with\nLittle Sheep, for after a while Little Sheep would probably grow up and\nbe just as big and strong and dangerous as his father was.\n\nMr Tiger and his little boy arrived quite early in the morning at the\nsheep\u2019s house, and they brought a present with them, so that Papa\nSheep would feel pleased with them. The present they brought was a\nbasket of nice fresh green things such as all sheep like.\n\nPapa Sheep thanked them for the present, and patted Little Tiger on the\nhead, and then he told the two children to run out of doors and play,\nbecause he and Mr Tiger wanted to talk big talk together.\n\nThe little ones were very glad to do this, for it was bright and\npleasant outside, and they liked it better than staying in the house.\n\nLittle Tiger was very frisky and frolicsome, and Little Sheep was too.\nAt first they ran about and chased each other, and tried which could\njump highest, but after a while they grew rougher in their play. Little\nSheep butted Little Tiger with his forehead, and then Little Tiger\nraised his paw and gave Little Sheep a blow on the side of the head.\n\nThough the Tiger was young and small, he was also very strong, and his\nblow sent Little Sheep tumbling heels over head. Little Sheep was not\nangry however. He got up and laughed and laughed. When he laughed he\nopened his mouth wide, and Little Tiger was very much surprised to see\nwhat little teeth the sheep had. He did not say anything at the time,\nhowever, but only went on with his play.\n\nBut when Little Tiger and his father were walking home together that\nevening, Little Tiger said, \u201cPapa, I saw Little Sheep\u2019s teeth to-day,\nand he only has little, little bits of teeth. They do not look as\nthough they could bite anyone.\u201d\n\n\u201cHush, hush,\u201d cried the Tiger. \u201cYou mustn\u2019t talk in that way. Some one\nmight hear you.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut it is true,\u201d said Little Tiger. \u201cWhy, I wouldn\u2019t be afraid of\nLittle Sheep now, even if he _did_ get angry.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you be quiet?\u201d cried the Tiger angrily. \u201cIf you ever say such a\nthing again I will box you so hard that you will forget whether you\never saw his teeth or not.\u201d\n\nAll the same Mr Tiger could not help wondering whether what Little\nTiger had said was true. How strange it would be if Little Sheep only\nhad little weak teeth, and stranger still if Papa Sheep\u2019s teeth were\njust the same!\n\nThat night, after all the Tiger family had gone to bed, Mr Tiger began\nto talk to his wife in a low tone.\n\n\u201cDo you know what Little Tiger said to-day?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo; how should I know? Some nonsense, no doubt.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe said he saw Little Sheep\u2019s teeth, and that they were so small and\nweak he did not believe he could bite anybody.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! oh! be quiet,\u201d cried his wife. \u201cAre you crazy to talk so? Suppose\nsome one heard you, and went and told Papa Sheep what you had been\nsaying. He certainly would come and tear us all to pieces.\u201d\n\nMr Tiger said nothing in answer to this, but the less he said, the more\nhe thought. At last he made up his mind to find out for a certainty\nwhether Papa Sheep had biting teeth or no. For this purpose he in his\nturn invited Papa Sheep and Little Sheep to come and spend the day with\nhim and his family.\n\nPapa Sheep accepted the invitation, and on the day named he and Little\nSheep arrived bright and early at the tiger\u2019s house.\n\nAs before, the little ones went out of doors to play, and the big\nanimals sat and talked inside the house.\n\nPresently Mr Tiger brought out a bottle of wine and set it on the\ntable, and he and the sheep began to drink together. The more Papa\nSheep drank, the merrier he grew. He quite lost his solemn look. He\nbegan to laugh loudly, and he threw back his head and opened his mouth\nso wide that the tiger could see every tooth he had. And very poor\nteeth they were too\u2014so small and weak that they were not fit for biting\nanything tougher than grass.\n\nWhen Mr Tiger saw how small the sheep\u2019s teeth were, he became very\nangry. He was in a rage to think he had ever been afraid of Papa Sheep,\nand had treated him with respect. With a roar he sprang at the old\nsheep, and gave him such a blow with his paw that the sheep fell down\ndead.\n\nLittle Tiger, outside, heard the noise, and he ran and looked in at the\nwindow. As soon as he saw what had happened, he called to Little Sheep,\n\u201cRun, Little Sheep! Run away, quick! My papa is biting your papa, and\nif you do not run away he will bite you next.\u201d\n\nWhen Little Sheep heard this he was very much frightened. He did not\nstop to ask any questions. He took to his heels and ran home, crying\nbitterly all the way.\n\nOld Mother Sheep saw him coming and hurried out to meet him. \u201cWhat is\nthe matter?\u201d she cried. \u201cWhere is your father, and why are you crying\nso bitterly?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! oh!\u201d wept Little Sheep. \u201cThe Tiger! He has bitten Papa to pieces,\nand I\u2019m afraid he\u2019ll come and bite me too.\u201d\n\nWhen Mother Sheep heard this, she too began to weep and lament. \u201cWhat\nshall we do now?\u201d she cried. \u201cWhere shall we go? The Tiger will\ncertainly come in search of us next, and tear us to pieces as he did\nyour father.\u201d\n\nAt this the Little Sheep raised his voice and wept more bitterly than\never.\n\nNow it so chanced that when Mother Sheep ran out to meet Little Sheep\nshe met him under a tall tree, and in this tree the Queen of the Birds\nwas sitting. The Queen heard everything the two below her said, and\nshe felt very sorry for them because they were in such distress and\nterror. She flew down to a branch just over their heads and spoke to\nthem in a soothing manner.\n\n\u201cI have overheard all that you have been saying. This Tiger that you\nspeak of is indeed a very wicked animal. You are in great danger, but\ndo not be afraid. I will help you. I have a plan that may rid us of\nhim for ever. Do you go back to your home. Shut yourself in and remain\nthere quietly until I send you further word.\u201d\n\nWhen Mother Sheep heard this she was comforted, for she saw at once\nthat it was a queen that was speaking to her. She promised to do as she\nwas told, and with Little Sheep at her side she returned quickly to\nthe house. There they shut themselves in and sat down to wait for what\nmight happen.\n\nMeanwhile the Queen flew away to the forest where she lived, and called\nall the birds together. \u201cListen now,\u201d she said to them. \u201cDo you know\nwhat the wicked Tiger has done? He has killed poor old Papa Sheep, who\nnever did harm to anyone. We all know how cruel the Tiger is, but this\nis the worst thing he has done yet. It is time for us to rid the forest\nof him.\u201d\n\nThe Queen then told them that she was going to give a grand ball. To\nthis ball she intended to invite the Tiger. And not only should he be\ninvited, but he should be her own partner for the dance. \u201cWhen the\nmusic begins, you also must take partners,\u201d said she. \u201cWe will all\nstand up to dance, and then I will give a sign, and all the herons must\nclap their wings together. When they do this, the rest of you must\ninstantly hide your heads under your wings. When I make another sign,\nthey will again clap their wings, and then you must take your heads out\nagain. If the plan I have in my mind only works out well, we will soon\nput an end to this Tiger.\u201d\n\nThe birds promised to obey their Queen exactly in everything, and then\nshe sent several of them away to the Tiger\u2019s house to invite him to the\nball.\n\nThe Tiger was at home when the birds arrived, and he was very much\nflattered when he heard that the Queen wished him to come to her ball.\nHe was even more delighted when he found that he was to be the Queen\u2019s\nown partner in the dance.\n\nHe at once began to make himself ready, smoothing his whiskers, and\nbrushing his coat until it shone.\n\nThe Tiger\u2019s wife, however, was not at all pleased. \u201cWhat nonsense is\nthis?\u201d cried she. \u201cWhy should you want to go to a ball? You have never\nbeen to court before, and you will not know how to act. You will be\nsure to do something foolish, and then every one will laugh at you.\u201d\n\nThe Tiger became very angry when she said this. \u201cOf course I shall go,\u201d\nhe cried. \u201cI know how to behave as well as anyone. You only talk this\nway because you are jealous at not being asked. If you had been invited\ntoo, you would have been eager enough to go. But you cannot dissuade\nme, whatever you say.\u201d The Tiger then hurried away through the forest\nto the place where the ball was to be held.\n\nAs soon as the Queen of the Birds saw him coming, she made haste to\nwelcome him. A fine feast was already spread, and the Queen made the\nTiger sit down at her right hand, and she offered him so many delicious\nthings that he ate and drank a great deal more than was good for him.\nShe also flattered him until he hardly knew what he was doing.\n\nAfter the feast was ended the music began to play, and the birds all\nstood up to dance. Each one had a partner, but the Queen\u2019s partner was\nthe Tiger himself, as she had promised him. When all were in position,\nthe Queen gave a sign, and the great herons clapped their wings\ntogether with a loud noise. The noise was so very loud and so very\nsudden that it made the Tiger blink, and in that moment that the Tiger\nblinked all the birds hid their heads under their wings.\n\nWhen the Tiger looked about him again he was very much surprised to see\nall the birds standing there apparently without any heads. The Queen\nalone held her head high, and she looked at him with an angry air.\n\n\u201cHow is this?\u201d said she. \u201cAre these your court manners? Do you not know\nthat at court no one except the Queen ever dances without removing his\nhead? Look about you. Do you see even a single one of the birds with\nhis head on?\u201d\n\n\u201cBut\u2014but\u2014\u201d stammered the Tiger, \u201cafter the dance is over, what will\nthey do without their heads? Your Majesty, how could I take care of my\nwife and family without a head?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the Queen smiling, \u201cafter the dance is over they will have\ntheir heads again. It is only while they dance that they are without\nthem. I will show you.\u201d\n\nWith these words the Queen again gave a sign. At once all the herons\nclapped their wings, and in the instant when the Tiger blinked the\nbirds drew their heads from under their wings. The Tiger looked about\nhim. There the birds all stood just as before, only now their heads\nwere in their proper places, and they were all looking at him with a\nscornful air.\n\n\u201cOh, your Majesty,\u201d cried the Tiger, \u201cI am very much ashamed. I have\nnever been to court before, and I did not know what was expected of me.\nIf you will excuse me, I will run home and get rid of my head, and then\nI will return at once to dance with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d answered the Queen, \u201conly do not be gone long\u201d; and she\nsmiled upon him sweetly.\n\nAt once the Tiger bounded away, but the Queen bade a little sparrow\nfollow him and bring her word of what happened to him.\n\nThe Tiger hurried on, leaping over logs and breaking through bushes,\nwhile the sparrow fluttered overhead unnoticed.\n\nHe reached his home, and scarcely had he crossed the threshold before\nhe began to bawl for his wife. \u201cWife! Wife! Come here, quick! Bring an\naxe and chop off my head.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you crazy?\u201d cried his wife. \u201cChop off your head! Why should I do\nthat?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou do not understand. I am to dance with the Queen, and no one may do\nthat as long as he has a head on his shoulders.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll the better for you. Why should you dance with her? And I certainly\nshall not kill you, Queen or no Queen.\u201d\n\nWhen his wife said this, Mr Tiger fell into a terrible rage. \u201cAm I the\nmaster of the house, or am I not?\u201d he cried. \u201cDo as I tell you, or I\nwill tear you to pieces, as I did the poor silly Sheep.\u201d He looked\nso fierce that his wife was terrified. She ran out and got the axe.\nWhen she returned with it, however, she again began to argue with him.\n\u201cThink, husband\u2014think well what you would have me do. If your head is\nonce off, there will be no putting it on again. That will be the end of\nyou.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou do not understand,\u201d cried the Tiger. \u201cThe Queen will see to that.\nShe will see that my head is put back again after the dance.\u201d Then, as\nhis wife still hesitated, he began to roar in such a terrible manner\nthat she almost lost her wits, and seizing the axe, she cut off his\nhead in a hurry. And that was the end of him, for even if the Queen\nhad been able to do it, she would not have restored the head of such a\nwicked beast.\n\nAs soon as the sparrow had seen the end of the Tiger, he flew back to\ncarry the news to the Queen. Then there was the greatest rejoicing all\nthrough the forest. Not a single bird or beast but was glad the Tiger\nwas dead. No one, however, rejoiced as heartily as Mother Sheep and\nLittle Sheep, for they were the ones who had been in most danger. Now\nthey could come out from their house again and go about their usual\nbusiness.\n\nAfter a while, as time passed by, Little Sheep played so hard and ate\nso much that he grew up to be Big Sheep. He was larger and stronger\nthan his father had ever been. His beard was longer, and his horns were\ncurlier, and yet nobody was afraid of him. Word had gone to all the\nanimals that the sheep\u2019s teeth were too small and weak to hurt anyone.\nAnd so it has been ever since. Not one of the animals has been afraid\nof the sheep from that day to this.\n\n\n\n\nPRINCESS ROSETTA\n\nA FRENCH FAIRY TALE\n\n\nTHERE were once a King and Queen who had three of the most beautiful\nchildren in the world. They loved all the children tenderly, one no\nbetter than the others; but the youngest, who was a girl, was always\nkept locked up in a strong tower. She was allowed to see no one but her\nattendants, and her parents and her two brothers, who went every day to\nvisit her.\n\nNo one knew why she was kept shut up in this way except the King and\nQueen. Even her brothers did not know, and they often grieved to think\nthat their sister Rosetta should be a prisoner all her life.\n\nThe fact was that when Rosetta was born a fairy had appeared to her\nparents and had told them that some time the princess would bring a\ngreat misfortune upon her brothers. Because of her they would be cast\ninto a dungeon and perhaps even lose their lives. These misfortunes\nwould happen when the Princess Rosetta was about to be married.\n\nThe royal parents were greatly troubled at hearing this, and they\nimmediately caused a high tower to be built, and in this they placed\nthe child. Every luxury was hers; the most beautiful clothes and\njewels, and the most delicious and delicately cooked food. Her\nfurniture was of gold and was carved in strange and wonderful shapes,\nand the hangings were all woven of gold and silver thread and richly\nembroidered.\n\nNo one, however, as was said, ever came to the tower, or saw her,\nexcept her father and mother and her brothers and the ladies who waited\nupon her.\n\nThe royal parents intended to tell their sons the reason for this\nimprisonment when Rosetta should have reached the age of eighteen. Her\nbrothers would then understand that it was not through any cruelty that\ntheir sister was kept prisoner, but to protect their own lives.\n\nUnfortunately, just before Rosetta\u2019s eighteenth birthday the King and\nQueen both died, and so suddenly that they had no time to reveal to\nanyone what the fairy had told them.\n\nThe keys of the tower were given to the elder prince, and one of his\nfirst acts was to set Rosetta free.\n\nThe princess was delighted to be able to see at last what the world\noutside of her tower was like. Everything was a wonder to her\u2014the\ntrees, the grass, the flowers and fountains. She wished to know the\nnames of everything.\n\nAt one spot in the gardens a peacock sat sunning itself.\n\n\u201cWhat is that beautiful creature called?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cThat, dear sister, is a peacock,\u201d answered the princes.\n\n\u201cA peacock!\u201d cried Rosetta. \u201cNever in my life did I dream that such a\nbeautiful thing existed. I am sure that in all the world there can be\nnothing else that is quite so beautiful. Dear brothers, if you love me,\nfind the King of the Peacocks and bring him here, for he, and he alone,\nshall be my husband. Moreover, unless you find him and bring him to me,\nI shall certainly die of grief.\u201d\n\nThe princes loved their sister so dearly that they could refuse nothing\nthat she asked of them. They at once began to make ready to set out\ninto the world in search of the country of the peacocks. Before\nstarting they caused a portrait of their sister to be painted. This\nthey intended to take with them to the Peacock country, for they were\nsure that if the king of that country could only know how beautiful\nRosetta was, he would never be contented until he had her for his queen.\n\nAs soon as their preparations had been made and the portrait was\nfinished, the two princes set out upon their travels. They journeyed\non and on, over many seas and many mountains and through many strange\nlands, until at last they came to a country where there were nothing\nbut peacocks. There were peacock bakers and peacock tradesmen. Peacocks\nwent in and out of the houses, and drove through the streets in\nmagnificent coaches shining with gold and precious stones. Everywhere\nwere only peacocks spreading their tails and parading in all their\nmagnificence. Strangely enough, however, the King who ruled over this\ncountry was not a peacock at all, but a young man so handsome and\ngraceful that even the peacocks could not equal him in beauty.\n\nThe princes, who had not taken long in finding the castle, were brought\nbefore the King by the peacocks who attended him. The brothers at\nonce told him that they too were sons of a king, and that they were\ntravelling through the world upon a secret errand of great importance.\nThey did not tell him what their errand was, but after they had been\ntalking with him for a short time, they began to speak of their sister,\nand of her beauty and sweetness. The young King became quite eager to\nsee such a lovely creature, and the brothers sent for the portrait they\nhad brought with them and showed it to him.\n\nThe King of the Peacocks had no sooner seen it than he fell violently\nin love with Rosetta, and begged them to promise her to him for a\nbride. The brothers were the more ready to do this because they had\nfound that the Peacock King was not only singularly handsome, but that\nhe was one of the richest and most powerful kings in the whole world.\n\nMessengers were appointed to go to the princes\u2019 country and to bring\nRosetta back with them. They were urged to make all the speed they\ncould, for the young King was so eager to see the Beauty that he was\nready to die with impatience.\n\nAfter they had gone, the King had the portrait put where he could see\nit constantly, and feast his eyes upon it, and he was only happy when\nhe was with it. The more he looked at it, however, the more he doubted\nwhether any human being could be as beautiful as the painting. The\nbrothers were obliged to assure him every day that when he saw Rosetta\nhe would find her even more lovely than her portrait.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the Peacock King at last, \u201cif I find all that you\ntell me is true, I will load you with wealth and honours, but if you\nhave deceived me, I will surely put you to death.\u201d\n\nThe brothers were not dismayed at this threat, for they knew that it\nwas impossible that he should be disappointed in the beauty of their\nsister.\n\nMeanwhile the messengers, after many days, reached the country where\nRosetta lived. They at once were brought before her, and when she heard\nthat they had come to take her to the King of the Peacocks, she was\nwild with joy. She determined to set out at once, and as the journey\nwas shorter by way of the sea, she made up her mind to go in a ship\nrather than in a coach and by land. She took with her only an old nurse\nand her foster-sister, and her little dog Fifine. This little dog was\nvery wonderful, and had been given to her by a fairy. He was of a\nbright green colour and had only one ear, but he understood everything\nthe princess said to him, and he knew a hundred pretty tricks.\n\nThe old nurse and her daughter pretended to be very fond of Rosetta,\nbut in truth they hated her because she was so beautiful and beloved,\nand would have been glad to injure her in any way.\n\nAfter they had sailed along for several days, and were almost within\nsight of the kingdom of the Peacocks, the old nurse brought to Rosetta\na drink that she had mixed, and in which she had put a sleeping potion.\nRosetta suspected nothing, and she drank all the old woman had brought\nher, except for a small part that she gave to Fifine.\n\nRosetta had scarcely swallowed the potion before she became very\ndrowsy. Her eyelids weighed like lead, and before long she fell into\na deep sleep. Fifine also became very sleepy. He crawled in under the\nsilken covering that the princess had drawn over her, and lay there as\nthough dead.\n\nAs soon as the old nurse saw that Rosetta was asleep, and that nothing\ncould awaken her, she went to the sailors, and by means of bribes and\nthreats she obliged them to do exactly as she bade them. Under her\ndirections they carried the mattress upon which Rosetta lay up to the\ndeck. The nurse looked about for Fifine, but could not find the little\ndog anywhere, for it was hidden under the coverlet. \u201cNo matter,\u201d said\nshe. \u201cI wished to keep the little animal for my daughter, but it is\nprobably hiding somewhere about the ship, and I will find it later.\u201d\n\nShe then made the sailors take up the mattress and throw it overboard\ninto the sea. This they did without awakening either Rosetta or Fifine.\nThey then set all sail and sped on toward the shores of the Peacock\ncountry, which could already be seen before them. The wicked nurse\nfelt sure that it would not be long before the mattress would become\nheavy with water and would sink, so she and her daughter need trouble\nthemselves no more about the hated Rosetta.\n\nMeanwhile the King of the Peacocks was growing more and more impatient\nto see his bride. Watchers had been placed upon the seashore to bring\nhim news the moment the sails of the returning ship were seen.\n\nIt was on the twenty-first day after the messengers had departed that\nthese watchers hastened to the palace, all out of breath, and told the\nKing that the ship was approaching.\n\nThe King called his attendants about him, and hurried down to the\nseashore.\n\nThe vessel had already come to land. The wicked nurse had dressed her\ndaughter in the most magnificent of Rosetta\u2019s clothes, which she wore\nas a toad might wear the dress of a fairy. The nurse had also bedecked\nher with the jewels belonging to the princess, and last of all she had\nthrown a silver veil over her, as though to guard her beauty from the\nsun.\n\nAs the prince saw this magnificently dressed person approaching him, he\nassumed it must be his bride. He hastened to meet her, and threw back\nthe veil that covered her face, but when he saw the ugliness beneath\nthe veil he almost fainted. He at once decided that the two princes had\ndeceived him; that they had tricked him into sending for their sister\nand promising to marry her because no other king had been willing to\ntake such a hideous creature for his wife.\n\nFilled with rage, he sent his guards to take the princes and throw\nthem into the deepest and darkest of the palace dungeons. He had given\nhis word that he would marry their sister, and this word he could not\nbreak, but he promised himself that upon the day when he was married to\nthis creature the two brothers should die.\n\nThe princes, meanwhile, had also heard that the ship had returned. They\nhad no doubt that their sister was on board, and they had at once made\nready to appear before the King, to be loaded with wealth and honours\nas he had promised them.\n\n[Illustration: THE MATTRESS UPON WHICH SHE LAY HAD FLOATED ON AND ON]\n\nIt was not long, indeed, before they heard a loud knock on their door,\nbut instead of smiling courtiers coming to congratulate them, a guard\nof soldiers had arrived, and the two brothers were carried away, not to\na grateful king, but to a horrible dungeon where their only companions\nwere snakes and toads and slimy crawling things. The princes could\nnot understand it. They could not imagine what had happened, nor why\nthey were treated in this way. The soldiers would not answer their\nquestions, and after they were shut in the dungeon no living soul came\nnear them except the jailer, who unlocked the door to throw in to them\na few vile crusts, and he was both deaf and dumb.\n\nWhile the princes were lying thus imprisoned, preparations for the\nwedding were being made. A magnificent apartment had been set apart\nfor the bride. Everything she asked for was given her, jewels and\ndresses of every kind, but the King she never saw. He had fallen ill\nwith rage and disappointment, and no one could come near him except his\nattendants and the doctors.\n\nThe old nurse and her daughter were well content, however. The ugly\ngirl was to become a queen, and one of the greatest queens in all\nthe world, and that was enough for them. As for Rosetta, they were\nsure that she had been drowned, and that there was no need to trouble\nthemselves about her.\n\nThe princess had not been drowned however. She was alive and well, and\neven more beautiful than ever, and she was at that very moment living\nin a poor hut in the outskirts of the city, and within sight of the\nvery castle itself.\n\nAfter the ship had sailed away and left her, the mattress upon which\nshe lay had floated on and on until at last it had stranded upon a rock\nnot far out from the shore.\n\nThe jar of striking the rock woke Fifine, for the little dog had only\nswallowed a small portion of the sleeping potion. He crawled out from\nunder the silken coverlet, which was trailing in the sea, and when he\nsaw the water all about him and his mistress still asleep, he began to\nbark as loudly as he could. The noise he made attracted the attention\nof a poor old beggar who lived in a hut not far away.\n\nThe old man hastened down to the water\u2019s edge, and with the aid of a\nboat-hook soon managed to draw the mattress to shore. What was his\namazement to see a beautiful lady lying upon it fast asleep, and a\nlittle green dog keeping guard over her.\n\nThe old man tried to arouse Rosetta, but for a long time he was\nunsuccessful. At length, however, she opened her eyes and sat up and\nlooked about her. She was amazed to find herself stranded upon an\nunknown shore and with only an old man and Fifine for her attendants\ninstead of safely aboard her ship, with her nurse and foster-sister in\nattendance upon her.\n\n\u201cWhere am I?\u201d she cried. \u201cWhere is the ship and where are my\nattendants? And who are you, old man?\u201d\n\nThe old man told her he was only a poor beggar, and of how he had seen\nher mattress stranded upon a rock and had drawn it to shore, and that\nthis country where she found herself was the kingdom of the Peacocks.\nAs to any ship, he knew nothing of it.\n\nRosetta could not wonder enough when she learned she was already in the\nPeacock country. The old man even pointed out to her a shining castle\nand a town not far away, and told her that was the place where the King\nof the Peacocks lived.\n\nSeeing she was now able to raise herself and move about, the old man\ninvited her to come with him to his hut. \u201cIt is but a poor place for a\ngreat princess,\u201d he said (for it was easy for him to see that Rosetta\nwas a princess), \u201cbut at least it will be a safe shelter for you.\u201d\n\nRosetta gladly accepted his invitation. His hut was indeed poor and\nmean, but the old man was so kind and eager to please her that she\ncould not but be grateful. He was greatly distressed because he could\noffer her nothing to eat but a piece of black bread and a cup of water.\n\n\u201cDo not grieve over that,\u201d said the princess. \u201cOnly give me a basket\nand we shall soon be supplied with a fine feast.\u201d\n\nWondering, the old man gave her a basket. Rosetta tied it round the\nneck of Fifine.\n\n\u201cFifine,\u201d said she, \u201crun to the palace of the King and bring us from\nthere a part of the dinner that has been prepared for him.\u201d\n\nFifine understood every word perfectly. He at once set out, and made\nsuch good speed that he quickly reached the palace. He slipped into the\nkitchen without being seen. The King\u2019s dinner was done to a turn, and\nwaiting to be carried to him. Fifine, slipping about here and there,\nmanaged to steal a part of everything, and the best part at that, of\nthe meat, the poultry, the pastries and sweetmeats\u2014he took some of\neach, and hid it in the basket. Then he ran away, still without being\nnoticed, and was soon back at the old man\u2019s hut.\n\nThe old man was filled with amazement when he saw what the dog had\nbrought. Never had he seen such delicious food before. The princess sat\ndown and he served her, and after she had finished he ate his fill, and\nstill there was some left.\n\nThe next day Rosetta wished for some fresh food. She had no love for\ncold dishes. Again she tied the basket round the neck of the little\ndog. \u201cFifine,\u201d she said, \u201cyou did very well yesterday. To-day you must\nagain bring me a portion of all that the King is to have for dinner.\u201d\n\nFifine bounded away with the basket, and it was not long before he\nreturned, bringing a part of all that was to have been served to the\nKing.\n\nSo it went on for some time. Every day the best part of the King\u2019s\ndinner was stolen just before it was ready to be carried to him.\nRosetta and the old man feasted finely every day, and the poor young\nKing was like to die of hunger, because every day his dinner was\nstolen. A guard was set about the palace kitchen to prevent anyone\nexcept the cook and his assistants from going in and out, but still the\nfood continued to disappear; for Fifine was so small and quick that he\nmanaged to escape the notice of the guard.\n\nAt last one day a little scullion, who had grown very curious about the\nmatter, hid himself behind the kitchen door, determined to watch for\nhimself. The dinner was cooked, and ready to be put into the dishes,\nwhen the scullion saw a little green dog, with a basket tied about\nhis neck, slip into the room. The dog looked about to make sure that\nno one was watching. Seeing no one, he hastened to take the best part\nof the dinner and put it in the basket. As soon as he had done this,\nhe slipped silently from the kitchen and ran off as fast as he could\ntoward the old man\u2019s hut. The scullion followed him and saw where he\nwent. Then he returned to the palace and told the cook what he had\nseen. The cook found it hard to believe such a strange tale, but still\nhe repeated it to the Captain of the Guard, the Captain told it to the\nGrand Councillor, the Grand Councillor told it to the King\u2019s favourite,\nand so in time it reached the ears of the King himself.\n\n\u201cThis is a curious thing if it is true,\u201d said the King. \u201cI would like\nto see it for myself.\u201d So the next day he arose, and just before\ndinner-time he went down to the kitchen and hid himself behind the\ndoor. He had not been there long when the door was pushed open, and a\nlittle green dog slipped into the room. The little animal went from\ndish to dish, just as the scullion had said, and helped himself until\nhis basket was full. Then he slipped away and ran home to the old man\u2019s\nhut, and the King followed him without being observed.\n\nHis Majesty did not go as far as the hut, however. He waited until the\nlittle dog had been admitted and the door closed behind him, and then\nhe returned to his palace, very thoughtful.\n\nThe next day he sent to the hut for Rosetta and the old man to appear\nbefore him. The beggar was greatly alarmed when he received the\nmessage.\n\n\u201cSee what you have brought upon us,\u201d he cried to the princess. \u201cNo\ndoubt they have discovered that it is your dog that has been stealing\nthe King\u2019s dinner, and now we shall be punished for it. Perhaps we may\neven lose our lives.\u201d\n\nRosetta, however, was not troubled. She was, indeed, only too glad to\nbe brought before the King. It was what she had been hoping for. She\nwaited only to draw a veil over her face, and then she was ready to go\nwith the guard to the palace.\n\nAs soon as Rosetta, with the beggar and Fifine, entered the room where\nthe young King was, he was struck by the grace and dignity with which\nshe moved. He called her close to him and began to question her.\n\n\u201cWho are you,\u201d he asked, \u201cand whence do you come? And is it you who\nhave caused my dinners to disappear?\u201d\n\nTo all this Rosetta answered nothing. The King then leaned forward and\ndrew the veil aside from her face. As soon as he did so, the beauty\nof the princess shone forth like the sun. Every one was amazed at\nit. As for the King, he was overcome with joy and wonder, for he at\nonce recognized her as the original of the portrait that the princes\nhad shown him, only her living face was far more beautiful than the\npainting, even as the sun surpasses the moon in brightness.\n\n\u201cBeautiful princess, whence come you?\u201d he cried. \u201cWhy have you hidden\nfrom me for all these days and allowed another to take your place? And\none so hideous as she who claims to be my bride?\u201d\n\nRosetta told him her story as far as she knew it, and the King listened\nattentively. He at once guessed that it was the treachery of the old\nnurse and her daughter that had placed Rosetta in this situation. He\nsent for them to appear before him, and while he waited for them to\ncome, he and the princess talked together, and so wise she was and so\nwitty that with every word she said he loved her better.\n\nThe nurse and her daughter, when they received the King\u2019s message, made\nsure that he had sent for them in order to arrange the time for the\nwedding. They were overjoyed, and at once put on their finest clothes.\nBut no sooner had they entered the audience-room, and seen Rosetta\nseated on the throne beside the King, than they almost swooned with\nterror. They knew that now all had been discovered, and they fell on\ntheir knees before him and began to beseech him to pardon them.\n\nThe King was so angry at the wrong they had done the princess that he\nwould have sent them to some miserable dungeon for the rest of their\nlives. But Rosetta was as tender-hearted as she was beautiful. She\npleaded with him to have mercy; so the two wicked women were spared\nthat fate.\n\nInstead, their fine clothes were taken from them, and they were dressed\nin rags and driven from the palace, and as they were too ugly and\nwicked for anyone but Rosetta to pity them, no doubt they ended their\nlives in misery.\n\nThe two princes were brought from their dungeons and given all\nthe wealth and honours the King had promised them, and when they\nlearned how he had been deceived, they could not but forgive him his\nill-treatment of them.\n\nAs for the old beggar-man, he was made rich for life.\n\nThe King and the princess were married, and lived in mutual love and\nhappiness to the end of their days; and as for Fifine, he slept on\nsatin cushions and ate the daintiest fare, and lived long enough to\nplay with Rosetta\u2019s children and show them the hundred pretty tricks he\nknew.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Notes:\n\nObvious punctuation errors repaired.\n\nPage 137, \u201cor\u201d changed to \u201cof\u201d (of iron and fifteen)","title":"Wonder Tales from Many Lands","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":59887}