{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_49001/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_49001","id":"gutenberg_49001","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49001","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Fairy tales"],"text":"[Transcriber's Notes: Small-capped text within the stories is\nsurrounded by +plus signs+ to separate it from the ALL-CAPPED text.\nItalic text is surrounded by _underscores_.]\n\n\nMother\u2019s Nursery Tales\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n    MOTHER\u2019S\n    NURSERY TALES\n\n    _TOLD AND ILLUSTRATED_\n\n    _BY_\n\n    _KATHARINE PYLE_\n\n    [Illustration]\n\n    NEW YORK\n    E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY\n    681 FIFTH AVENUE\n\n\n\n\n    COPYRIGHT, 1918\n\n    BY\n\n    E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY\n\n    _All Rights Reserved_\n\n\n    _Printed in the United States of America_\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                           PAGE\n    The Sleeping Beauty                       1\n    Jack and the Bean Stalk                  13\n    Beauty and the Beast                     31\n    Jack-the-Giant-Killer                    47\n    The Three Wishes                         71\n    The Goose Girl                           75\n    The Little Old Woman and Her Pig         92\n    The White Cat                           100\n    Brittle-Legs                            115\n    \u201cI Went Up One Pair of Stairs,\u201d etc.    124\n    The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean       128\n    The Water-Sprite                        132\n    Star Jewels                             139\n    Sweet Porridge                          146\n    Chicken-Diddle                          152\n    A Pack of Ragamuffins                   157\n    The Frog Prince                         165\n    The Wolf and the Five Little Goats      174\n    The Golden Goose                        183\n    The Three Spinners                      199\n    Goldilocks and the Three Bears          207\n    The Three Little Pigs                   215\n    The Golden Key                          229\n    Mother Hulda                            232\n    The Six Companions                      241\n    The Golden Bird                         256\n    The Nail                                281\n    Little Red Riding-Hood                  284\n    Aladdin, or the Magic Lamp              291\n    The Cobbler and the Fairies             323\n    Cinderella                              328\n    Jack in Luck                            345\n    Puss in Boots                           356\n    The Town Musicians                      369\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n    COLOR PLATES                                          PAGE\n    Goldilocks and the Three Bears               _Frontispiece_\n    Beauty and the Beast                                    31\n    Brittle-Legs                                           115\n    The Water-Sprite                                       132\n    The Three Spinners                                     199\n    Mother Hulda                                           232\n    Little Red Riding-Hood                                 284\n\n\n    BLACK AND WHITE\n    Contents (_Headband_)                                    v\n    Introduction (_Headband_)                               ix\n    The Sleeping Beauty                                     10\n    Jack and the Beanstalk (_Half title_)                   13\n    Beauty and the Beast (_Tailpiece_)                      46\n    The Three Wishes (_Headband_)                           71\n    The Goose Girl (_Half title_)                           75\n    The Goose Girl (_Tailpiece_)                            91\n    \u201cThe Pig would not go over the Stile\u201d                   94\n    The White Cat                                          105\n    The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean (_Headband_)         128\n    The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean (_Tailpiece_)        131\n    Star Jewels (_Half title_)                             139\n    Sweet Porridge (_Headband_)                            146\n    \u201cCome little Pot\u201d                                      150\n    A Pack of Ragamuffins (_Headband_)                     157\n    The Frog Prince (_Headband_)                           165\n    The Frog with the Ball                                 167\n    The Wolf and the Five Little Goats (_Tailpiece_)       182\n    The Golden Goose (_Headband_)                          183\n    The Three Little Pigs (_Half title_)                   215\n    The Three Little Pigs (_Tailpiece_)                    227\n    The Golden Key (_Headband_)                            229\n    Mother Hulda (_Tailpiece_)                             240\n    The Six Companions (_Half title_)                      241\n    The Golden Bird (_Headband_)                           256\n    The Golden Bird (_Tailpiece_)                          280\n    Aladdin, or the Magic Lamp (_Half title_)              291\n    The Cobbler and the Fairies (_Headband_)               323\n    Cinderella (_Headband_)                                328\n    Cinderella and the Prince                              335\n    Cinderella (_Tailpiece_)                               344\n    Puss in Boots                                          363\n    The Town Musicians (_Tailpiece_)                       376\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nThese are not new fairy-tales, the ones in this book that has been\nnewly made for you and placed in your hands. They are old fairy-tales\ngathered together, some from one country, and some from another. They\nare old, old, old. As old as the hills or the human race,\u2014as old as\ntruth itself. Long ago, even so long ago as when your grandmother\u2019s\ngrandmother\u2019s grandmother was a little rosy-cheeked girl, and your\ngrandfather\u2019s grandfather\u2019s grandfather was a noisy shouting little\nboy, these stories were old.\n\nNo one knows who first told them, nor where nor when. Perhaps none of\nthem was told by any one particular person. Perhaps they just grew upon\nthe Tree of Wisdom when the world was young, like shining fruit, and\nour wise and simple first parents plucked them, and gave them to their\nchildren to play with, and to taste. They could not harm the children,\nthese fruits from the tree of wisdom, for each one was a lovely globe\nof truth, rich and wholesome to the taste. Magic fruit, for one could\neat and eat, and still the fruit was there as perfect as ever to be\nhanded down through generations, until at last it comes to you, as\nbeautiful as in those days of long ago.\n\nPerhaps you did not know that fairy tales were ever truths, but they\nare\u2014the best and oldest of them. That does not mean they are facts like\nthe things you see around you or learn from history books. Facts and\ntruths are as different as the body and the spirit. Facts are like the\nbody that we can see and touch and measure; we cannot see or measure\nthe Spirit, but it is there.\n\nWe can think of these truths as of different shapes and colors, like\npears and apples, and plums and other fruits, each with a different\ntaste and color. But there is one great truth that flows through them\nall, and you know very well what it is:\u2014evil in the end must always\ndefeat itself, and in the end good always triumphs. The bad magician is\ntripped up by his own tricks, and the true prince marries the princess\nand inherits the kingdom. If any one of these stories had told it\notherwise, that story would have died and withered away.\n\nSo take this book and read, being very sure that only good will come to\nyou however often you read them over and over and over again.\n\n                                               KATHARINE PYLE.\n\n\n\n\nMother\u2019s Nursery Tales\n\n\n\n\nTHE SLEEPING BEAUTY\n\n\nThere were once a King and Queen who had no children, though they had\nbeen married for many years. At last, however, a little daughter was\nborn to them, and this was a matter of great rejoicing through all the\nkingdom.\n\nWhen the time came for the little Princess to be christened, a grand\nfeast was prepared, and six powerful fairies were asked to stand as her\ngodmothers. Unfortunately the Queen forgot to invite the seventh fairy,\nwho was the most powerful of them all, and was also very wicked and\nmalicious.\n\nOn the day of the christening the six good fairies came early, in\nchariots drawn by butterflies, or by doves or wrens or other birds.\nThey were made welcome by the King and Queen, and after some talk they\nwere led to the hall where the feast had been set out. Everything\nthere was very magnificent. There were delicious fruits and meats\nand pastries and game and everything that could be thought of. The\ndishes were all of gold, and for each fairy there was a goblet cut\nfrom a single precious stone. One was a diamond, one a sapphire, one\na ruby, one an emerald, one an amethyst, and one a topaz. The fairies\nwere delighted with the beauty of everything. Even in their own fairy\npalaces they had no such goblets as those the King had had made for\nthem.\n\nThey were just about to take their places at the table when a great\nnoise was heard outside on the terrace. The Queen looked from the\nwindow and almost fainted at the sight she saw. The bad fairy had\narrived. She had come uninvited, and the Queen guessed that it was for\nno good that she came. Her chariot was of black iron, and was drawn by\nfour dragons with flaming eyes and brass scales. The fairy sprang from\nher chariot in haste, and came tapping into the hall with her staff in\nher hand.\n\n\u201cHow is this? How is this?\u201d she cried to the Queen. \u201cHere all my\nsisters have been invited to come and bring their gifts to the\nPrincess, and I alone have been forgotten.\u201d\n\nThe Queen did not know what to answer. She was frightened. However, she\ntried to hide her fear, and made the seventh fairy as welcome as the\nothers. A place was set for her at the King\u2019s right hand, and he and\nthe Queen tried to pretend they had expected her to come. But for her\nthere was no precious goblet, and when she saw the ones that had been\ngiven to the six other fairies her face grew green with envy, and her\neyes flashed fire. She ate and drank, but she said never a word.\n\nAfter the feast the little Princess was brought into the room, and she\nsmiled so sweetly and looked so innocent that only a wicked heart could\nhave planned evil against her.\n\nThe first fairy took the child in her arms and said, \u201cMy gift to the\nPrincess shall be that of contentment, for contentment is better than\ngold.\u201d\n\n\u201cYet gold is good,\u201d said the second fairy, \u201cand I will give her the\ngift of wealth.\u201d\n\n\u201cHealth shall be hers,\u201d said the third, \u201cfor wealth is of little use\nwithout it.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd I,\u201d said the fourth, \u201cwill gift her with beauty to win all hearts.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd wit to charm all ears,\u201d said the fifth. \u201cThat is my gift to her.\u201d\n\nThe sixth fairy hesitated, and in that moment the wicked one stepped\nforward. While the others had spoken she had been swelling with spite\nlike a toad. \u201cAnd I say,\u201d cried she, \u201cthat in her seventeenth year she\nshall prick her finger with a spindle and fall dead.\u201d\n\nWhen the Queen heard this she shrieked aloud, and the King grew as pale\nas death. But the sixth fairy stepped forward.\n\n\u201cWait a bit,\u201d said she. \u201cI have not spoken yet. I cannot undo what our\nsister has done, but I say that the Princess shall not really die. She\nshall fall into a deep sleep that shall last a hundred years, and all\nin the castle shall sleep with her. At the end of that time she shall\nbe awakened by a kiss.\u201d\n\nWhen the wicked fairy heard this she was filled with rage, but she had\nalready spoken; she could do no more. She rushed out of the castle and\njumped into her chariot, and the dragons carried her away, and where\nshe went no one either knew nor cared.\n\nThe other fairies also went away, and they were sad because of what was\nto happen to the Princess.\n\nBut at once the King gave orders that every spinning-wheel and spindle\nin the land should be destroyed, and when this was done he felt quite\nhappy again. For if all the spindles were gone the Princess could not\nprick her finger with one; and if she did not prick her finger she\nwould not fall into the enchanted sleep.\n\nSo the King and Queen were at peace, and all went well in the castle\nfor seventeen years. All that the fairies had promised to the Princess\ncame true. She was so beautiful that she was the wonder of all who saw\nher, and so witty and gentle-hearted that everyone loved her. Beside\nthis she had health, wealth, and contentment, and was smiling and\njoyous from morn till night.\n\nOne day the King and Queen went away on a journey, and the Princess\ntook it into her head to mount to a high tower where she had never been\nbefore, and to watch for their return from there.\n\nShe found the stairs that led to the tower, and then she mounted them,\nup and up and up, until she was high above the roofs of the castle. At\nlast she reached the very top of the tower, and there was an iron door\nwith a rusty key in it.\n\nThe Princess turned the key and the door swung open. Beyond she saw a\nroom, and an old, old, wrinkled woman sat there at a wheel spinning.\n\nThe Princess had never seen a spinning-wheel before. It seemed a\ncurious thing to her. She went in and stood close to the old woman so\nas to see it better.\n\n\u201cWhat is that you are doing?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cI am spinning,\u201d answered the old woman.\n\n\u201cAnd what is that little thing that flies around so fast?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is a spindle.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is a curious little thing,\u201d said the Princess, and she reached out\nher hand to touch it. Then the point of the spindle pricked her finger,\nand at once the Princess sighed, and her eyes closed, and she sank back\non a couch in a deep sleep.\n\nImmediately a silence fell also upon all in the castle. The King and\nQueen had just returned from their journey; they had alighted from\ntheir horses and had entered the castle, and just then sleep fell upon\nthem. The courtiers who followed them also fell asleep. The dogs and\nhorses in the courtyard slept, and the pigeons on the eaves. The boy\nwho turned the spit in the kitchen slept and the cook did not scold\nhim, for she too was asleep. The meat did not burn, for the fire was\nsleeping. Even the flies in the castle and the bees among the flowers\nhung motionless. All slept.\n\nThen all about the castle sprang up an enchanted forest that shut it in\nlike a wall. The forest grew so dark and high that at last not even the\ntop-most tower of the castle could be seen.\n\nBut though the Princess slept she was not forgotten. Many brave princes\nand heroes came and tried to cut their way through the forest to rescue\nher, but the boughs and branches were as hard as iron, and moreover as\nfast as they were cut away they grew again; also they were twisted so\nclosely together that no one could creep between them. Then as years\npassed by, the brave heroes who had sought the Princess grew old and\nhad children of their own. These, too, grew to be men and married, and\nat last the Princess was forgotten by all, or was remembered only as an\nold tale.\n\nAt last a hundred years had slipped away, and then a young and handsome\nPrince came by that way. He had been hunting, and he had ridden so fast\nand eagerly that he had left his huntsmen far behind. Now he was hot\nand weary, and seeing a hut he stopped and asked for a drink of water.\n\nThe man who lived in the hut was very old. He brought the water the\nPrince asked for, and after the Prince had drank, he sat awhile and\nlooked about him. \u201cWhat is that darkness, like a cloud, that I see over\nyonder?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cI cannot tell you for sure,\u201d said the old man, \u201cfor it is a long\ndistance away and I have never gone to see. But my grandfather told me\nonce that it was an enchanted forest. He said there was a castle hidden\ndeep in the midst of it, and that in that castle lay a Princess asleep.\nThat Princess, so he said, was the most beautiful Princess in all the\nworld, but a spell had been laid on her, and she was to sleep a hundred\nyears. At the end of that time a Prince was to come and waken her with\na kiss.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd how long has she slept now?\u201d asked the Prince, and his heart beat\nin his breast like a bird.\n\n[Illustration: THE SLEEPING BEAUTY]\n\n\u201cThat I cannot say,\u201d answered the old man, \u201cbut a long, long time. My\ngrandfather was an old man when he told me, and he could not remember\nher.\u201d\n\nThe Prince thanked the old man for what he had told him, and then he\nrode away toward the enchanted forest, and he could not go fast enough,\nhe was in such haste.\n\nWhen he was at a distance from the forest, it looked like a dark\ncloud, but as he came nearer it began to grow rosy. All the boughs and\nbriers had begun to bud. By the time he was close to them they were in\nfull flower, and when he reached the edge of the forest the branches\ndivided, leaving an open path before him. Along this path the Prince\nrode and before long he came to the palace. He entered the courtyard\nand looked about him wondering. The dogs lay sleeping in the sunshine\nand never wakened at his coming. The horses stood like statues. The\nguards slept leaning on their arms.\n\nThe Prince dismounted and went on into the palace; on he went through\none room after another, and no one woke to stop nor stay him. At last\nhe came to the stairway that led to the tower and he went on up it,\u2014up\nand up, as the Princess had done before him. He reached the tower-room,\nand then he stopped, and stood amazed. There on the couch lay a maiden\nmore beautiful than he had ever dreamed of. He could scarcely believe\nthere was such beauty in the world. He looked and looked and then he\nstooped and kissed her.\n\nAt once\u2014on the moment\u2014all through the castle sounded the hum of waking\nlife. The King and Queen, down in the throne-room stirred and rubbed\ntheir eyes. The guards started from sleep. The horses stamped, the dogs\nsprang up barking. The meat in the kitchen began to burn, and the cook\nboxed the boy\u2019s ears. The courtiers smiled and bowed and simpered.\n\nUp in the tower the Princess opened her eyes, and as soon as she saw\nthe Prince she loved him. He took her hand and raised her from the\ncouch. \u201cWill you be my own dear bride?\u201d said he. And the Princess\nanswered yes.\n\nAnd so they were married with great rejoicings, and the six fairies\ncame to the wedding and brought with them gifts more beautiful than\never were seen before. As for the seventh fairy, if she did not burst\nwith spite she may be living still. But the Prince and Princess lived\nhappily forever after.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: Jack and the Bean-Stalk]\n\n\n\n\nJACK AND THE BEAN-STALK\n\n\nJack and his mother lived all alone in a little hut with a garden in\nfront of it, and they had nothing else in the world but a cow named\nBlackey.\n\nOne time Blackey went dry; not a drop of milk would she give. \u201cSee\nthere now!\u201d said the mother. \u201cIf Blackey doesn\u2019t give us milk we can\u2019t\nafford to keep her. You\u2019ll have to take her off to market, Jack, and\nsell her for what you can get.\u201d\n\nJack was sorry that the little cow had to be sold, but he put a halter\naround her neck and started off with her.\n\nHe had not gone far, when he met a little old man with a long gray\nbeard.\n\n\u201cWell, Jack,\u201d said the little old man, \u201cwhere are you taking Blackey\nthis fine morning?\u201d\n\nJack was surprised that the stranger should know his name, and that of\nthe cow, too, but he answered politely, \u201cOh, I am taking her to market\nto sell her.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is no need for you to go as far as that,\u201d said the little old\nman, \u201cfor I will buy her from you for a price.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat price would you give me?\u201d asked Jack, for he was a sharp lad.\n\n\u201cOh, I will give you a handful of beans for her,\u201d said the old man.\n\n\u201cNo, no,\u201d Jack shook his head. \u201cThat would be a fine bargain for you;\nbut it is not beans but good silver money that I want for my cow.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut wait till you see the beans,\u201d said the old man; and he drew out a\nhandful of them from his pocket. When Jack saw them his eyes sparkled,\nfor they were such beans as he had never seen before. They were of all\ncolors, red and green and blue and purple and yellow, and they shone as\nthough they had been polished. But still Jack shook his head. It was\nsilver pieces his mother wanted, not beans.\n\n\u201cThen I will tell you something further about these beans,\u201d said the\nman. \u201cThis is such a bargain as you will never strike again; for these\nare magic beans. If you plant them they will grow right up to the sky\nin a single night, and you can climb up there and look about you if\nyou like.\u201d\n\nWhen Jack heard that he changed his mind, for he thought such beans as\nthat were worth more than a cow. He put Blackey\u2019s halter in the old\nman\u2019s hand, and took the beans and tied them up in his handkerchief and\nran home with them.\n\nHis mother was surprised to see him back from market so soon.\n\n\u201cWell, and have you sold Blackey?\u201d she asked.\n\nYes, Jack had sold her.\n\n\u201cAnd what price did you get for her?\u201d\n\nOh, he got a good price.\n\n\u201cBut how much? How much? Twenty-five dollars? Or twenty? Or even ten?\u201d\n\nOh, Jack had done better than that. He had sold her to an old man down\nthere at the turn of the road for a whole handful of magic beans; and\nthen Jack hastened to untie his handkerchief and show the beans to his\nmother.\n\nBut when the widow heard he had sold the cow for beans she was ready to\ncry for anger. She did not care how pretty they were, and as to their\nbeing magic beans she knew better than to believe that. She gave Jack\nsuch a box on the ears that his head rang with it, and sent him up to\nbed without his supper, and the beans she threw out of the window.\n\nThe next morning when Jack awoke he did not know what had happened. All\nof the room was dim and shady and green, and there was no sky to be\nseen from the window,\u2014only greenness.\n\nHe slipped from bed and looked out, and then he saw that one of the\nmagic beans had taken root in the night and grown and grown until it\nhad grown right up to the sky. Jack leaned out of the window and looked\nup and he could not see the top of the vine, but the bean-stalk was\nstout enough to bear him, so he stepped out onto it and began to climb.\n\nHe climbed and he climbed until he was high above the roof-top and\nhigh above the trees. He climbed till he could hardly see the garden\ndown below, and the birds wheeled about him and the wind swayed the\nbean-stalk. He climbed so high that after awhile he came to the sky\ncountry, and it was not blue and hollow as it looks to us down here\nbelow. It was a land of flat green meadows and trees and streams, and\nJack saw a road before him that led straight across the meadows to a\ngreat tall gray castle.\n\nJack set his feet in the road and began to walk toward the castle.\n\nHe had not gone far when he met a lovely lady, and she was a fairy,\nthough Jack did not know it.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going, Jack?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m going to yonder castle to have a look at it,\u201d said Jack.\n\n\u201cThat is well,\u201d said the lady, \u201conly you must be careful how you poke\nabout there, for that castle belongs to a very fierce and rich and\nterrible giant: and now I will tell you something: all the riches he\nhas used to belong to your father; the giant stole them from him, so if\nyou can fetch anything away with you it will be a right and fair thing.\u201d\n\nJack thanked her for what she told him, and then he went on, setting\none foot before the other.\n\nAfter awhile he came to the castle, and there was a woman sweeping the\nsteps, and she was the giant\u2019s wife.\n\nWhen she saw Jack she looked frightened. \u201cWhat do you want here?\u201d she\ncried. \u201cBe off with you before my husband comes home, for if he finds\nyou here it will be the worse for you I can tell you.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, yes, I know\u201d; said Jack, \u201cbut I\u2019ve had no breakfast, and I\u2019m like\nto drop I\u2019m so hungry. Just give me a bite to stay my stomach and I\u2019ll\nbe off.\u201d The giant\u2019s wife did not want to do that at all, but Jack\nbegged and coaxed until at last she let him come into the house and got\nout a bit of bread and cheese for him.\n\nJack had hardly set down to it when there was a great noise and\nstamping outside.\n\n\u201cOh, mercy!\u201d cried the giant\u2019s wife, and she turned quite pale.\n\u201cThere\u2019s my husband coming in, and if he sees you here he\u2019ll swallow\nyou down in a trice, and give me a beating into the bargain.\u201d\n\nWhen Jack heard that he did not like it at all. \u201cCan you not hide me\nsome place?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cHere, creep into this copper pot,\u201d cried the woman, taking off the\nlid. She helped Jack into the pot and put the lid over him, and she had\nno more than done it before the giant came stumping into the room.\n\n    \u201cFee, fi, fo, fum!\n     I smell the blood of an Englishman!\u201d\n\nhe roared.\n\n    \u201cBe he alive or be he dead\n     I\u2019ll grind his bones to make my bread.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat nonsense!\u201d said his wife. \u201cIf anyone had come here don\u2019t you\nsuppose I would have seen him? A crow flew over the roof and dropped a\nbone down the chimney, and that is what you smell.\u201d\n\nWhen she said that the giant believed her. He sat down at the table and\ncalled for breakfast. The woman set before him three whole roasted oxen\nand two loaves of bread each as big as a hogshead, and the giant ate\nthem up in a twinkling.\n\n\u201cNow, wife, bring me my moneybags from the treasure-room,\u201d he said.\n\nHis wife went out through a great door studded with nails, and when\nshe came back she brought two bags with her and set them on the table\nin front of the giant. The giant untied the strings and opened them,\nand they were full of clinking golden money. The giant sat there and\ncounted and counted the money. After it was all counted he put it back\nin the bags again, and then he stretched his legs out in front of him\nand went to sleep and snored until the rafters shook.\n\nThe giant\u2019s wife worked around for awhile and then she went into\nanother room. Jack waited until he was sure she had gone, and then he\npushed the lid of the pot aside and crept out. He crept over to the\ntable and seized hold of the moneybags and made off with them, and\nneither the giant nor his wife knew anything about it until Jack was\nsafe down the bean-stalk and home again.\n\nWhen Jack\u2019s mother saw the moneybags she was filled with wonder and\njoy. \u201cThose were once your father\u2019s,\u201d said she, \u201cbut they were stolen\nfrom him, and never did I think to see them again.\u201d\n\nAfter that Jack and his mother lived well, they had plenty to eat and\ndrink, and good clothes to wear, and everything they wanted. And they\nwere not stingy; they shared their good luck with their neighbors as\nwell.\n\nAfter awhile the money was almost gone. \u201cI\u2019ll just climb up the\nbean-stalk again,\u201d said Jack to himself, \u201cand see what else the giant\nhas in his castle.\u201d\n\nHe climbed and he climbed and he climbed, and after awhile he came to\nthe giant\u2019s country, and there in front of him lay the road to the\ncastle. Jack walked along briskly, setting one foot in front of the\nother till he came to the castle door, and as he saw no one he opened\nthe door and stepped inside.\n\nThere was the giant\u2019s wife scouring the pots and pans, and when she saw\nJack she almost dropped the skillet she was holding.\n\n\u201cYou here again?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, here I am again,\u201d said Jack.\n\n\u201cThen I wish you were some place else,\u201d said the giant\u2019s wife; \u201cwhen\nyou were here before our moneybags were stolen, and I can\u2019t help\nthinking you had something to do with it.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, oh! How can you think that?\u201d cried Jack.\n\n\u201cWell, be off with you, anyway\u201d; and the giant\u2019s wife spoke quite\nglumly. \u201cI want no more strange lads around here.\u201d\n\nYes, Jack would be off in a moment, but wouldn\u2019t she give him a bite of\nbreakfast first?\n\nNo, the giant\u2019s wife wouldn\u2019t, and that was flat.\n\nBut Jack was not to be turned off so easily; he talked and begged and\nargued, and while he was still talking they heard the giant at the door.\n\nThe giant\u2019s wife was terribly scared, \u201cOh, if he finds you here won\u2019t I\nget a beating!\u201d she cried.\n\n\u201cQuick; into the pot again!\u201d\n\nJack crawled into the copper pot and the giant\u2019s wife put the lid over\nhim.\n\nThe next moment the giant stamped into the room.\n\n    \u201cFee, fi, fo, fum,\u201d\n\nhe bawled,\n\n    \u201cI smell the blood of an Englishman;\n     Be he alive or be he dead,\n     I\u2019ll grind his bones to make my bread!\u201d\n\n\u201cNonsense,\u201d said his wife, \u201cyou\u2019re always fancying things. Here, sit\ndown at the table and eat your breakfast. A crow flew over the roof and\ndropped a bone in the fire, and that is what you smell.\u201d\n\nThe giant sniffed about a bit, and then, still muttering to himself,\nhe sat down at the table and began to eat. After he had finished he\ncried, \u201cNow wife, bring me my little red hen from the treasure-room.\u201d\n\nHis wife went into the treasure-room, and presently she came back with\na little red hen in her apron. She set it on the table before the\ngiant. The giant grinned till he showed all his teeth.\n\n\u201cMy little red hen, my pretty red hen, lay,\u201d said the giant.\n\nAs soon as he said that the hen laid an egg all of pure gold.\n\n\u201cMy little red hen, my pretty red hen, lay!\u201d said the giant. Then the\nlittle red hen laid another egg.\n\n\u201cMy little red hen, my pretty red hen, lay,\u201d said the giant. Then the\nhen laid a third egg.\n\n\u201cThere!\u201d said the giant, \u201cthat is enough for to-day. Now, wife, you can\ntake her back to the treasure-room again.\u201d\n\nHis wife took up the hen and carried her off to the treasure-room,\nbut when she came back into the kitchen she forgot to shut the\ntreasure-room door behind her.\n\nThen the giant stretched his legs out in front of him and went to\nsleep and snored till the rafters shook.\n\nHis wife worked around in the kitchen, and after awhile, when she\nwasn\u2019t looking, Jack crept out of the pot. He crept over to the door of\nthe treasure-room and slipped through, and there was the little red hen\nsitting comfortably on a golden nest.\n\nJack caught her up under his arm and she never made a sound. Then he\ncrept back through the kitchen and out through the door, and made off\ndown the road, and the giant\u2019s wife never saw him at all.\n\nBut just as Jack reached the bean-stalk the hen began to cackle. This\nwoke the giant. \u201cWife, wife,\u201d he roared, \u201csomeone is stealing my little\nred hen,\u201d and he ran out of the castle and looked all about him; but he\ncould see no one, for Jack was already half-way down the bean-stalk.\n\nAfter that Jack and his mother never had any lack of anything, for\nwhenever he wanted money he had only to say, \u201cMy little red hen, my\npretty red hen, lay,\u201d and the hen would lay a gold egg.\n\nStill Jack was not satisfied. He wanted to see what else was in the\ngiant\u2019s castle. So one day, without saying a word to his mother,\nhe climbed the bean-stalk and hurried along the road to the giant\u2019s\ncastle. He did not want to meet the giant\u2019s wife, for he thought maybe\nshe had guessed that it was he who had taken the giant\u2019s hen, and the\nmoneybags, and so indeed she had, and what was more she had told the\ngiant all about it, too.\n\nJack crept up to the castle very carefully, and he saw no one. He\nopened the castle door a crack and peeped in, and still he saw no one.\nHe pushed it open a little wider and then he ran in and across the\nkitchen and hid himself in the great oven.\n\nHe had no more than done this before the giant\u2019s wife came in. \u201cPfu!\u201d\nsaid she. \u201cWhat a draft!\u201d and she closed the outside door. Then she set\nthe giant\u2019s breakfast on the table, still talking to herself. \u201cThe door\nmust have blown open,\u201d said she. \u201cI\u2019m sure I closed it when I went out.\u201d\n\nPresently the giant came thumping and stumping into the house. The\nmoment he entered the room he began to bawl\u2014\n\n    \u201cFee, fi, fo, fum!\n     I smell the blood of an Englishman;\n     Be he alive or be he dead,\n     I\u2019ll grind his bones to make my bread.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat? What?\u201d cried his wife, \u201cI found the door open just now. Do you\nsuppose that dratted boy is in the house again?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf he is, I\u2019ll soon put an end to him,\u201d said the giant.\n\nThe giant\u2019s wife ran to the copper pot and lifted the lid, and looked\ninside it, but no one was there. Then she and the giant began to hunt\nabout. They looked in the cupboards and behind the doors, and every\nplace, but they never thought of looking in the oven.\n\n\u201cHe can\u2019t be here after all,\u201d said the wife, \u201cor we would have found\nhim. It must be something else you smell.\u201d\n\nSo the giant sat down and began to eat his breakfast, but as he ate he\nmumbled and grumbled to himself.\n\nAfter he had finished he said, \u201cWife, bring out my golden harp to sing\nfor me.\u201d\n\nHis wife went into the treasure-room and came back carrying a golden\nharp. She set it on the table before the giant and at once it began\nto make music, and the music was so beautiful that it melted the heart\nto hear it. The giant\u2019s wife sat down to listen, too, and presently\nthe music put them both to sleep. Then Jack crept out of the oven and\nseized the harp and made off with it.\n\nAt once the harp began to call, \u201cMaster! master! help! Someone is\nrunning off with me!\u201d\n\nThe giant started out of sleep and looked about him. When he found the\nharp gone he gave a roar like an angry bull. He ran to the door and\nthere was Jack already more than half-way down the road. \u201cStop! stop!\u201d\ncried the giant, but Jack had no idea of stopping. He ran until he\nreached the bean-stalk, and then he began climbing down it as fast as\nhe could, still carrying the harp.\n\nThe giant followed and when he came to the bean-stalk he looked down,\nand there was Jack far, far below him. The giant was not used to\nclimbing. He did not know whether to follow or not. Then the harp cried\nagain, \u201cHelp, master, help!\u201d The giant hesitated no longer. He caught\nhold of the bean-stalk and began to climb down.\n\nBy this time Jack had reached the ground. \u201cQuick! quick, mother!\u201d he\ncried. \u201cBring me an ax.\u201d\n\nHis mother came running with an ax. She did not know what he wanted it\nfor, but she knew he was in a hurry.\n\nJack seized the ax and began to chop the bean-stalk. The giant above\nfelt the stalk tremble. \u201cWait! wait a bit!\u201d he cried, \u201cI want to talk\nto you!\u201d\n\nBut before he could say anything more the bean-stalk was chopped\nthrough and fell with a mighty crash, and as the giant fell with it\nthat was the end of him.\n\nBut Jack and his mother lived in peace and plenty forever after.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nBEAUTY AND THE BEAST\n\n\nThere was once a merchant who had three daughters. The two older ones\nwere handsome enough, but the third was a beauty, and no mistake; her\neyes were as blue as the sky, her hair was as black as ebony, and her\ncheeks were like roses. The merchant loved his two older daughters\ndearly, but this Beauty was the darling of his heart.\n\nThings went along pleasantly for a long time, and the merchant was rich\nand prosperous, but then things began to go wrong with him. One after\nanother of his ships was lost at sea, and a great part of his fortune\nwith them.\n\nOne day the merchant called his daughters to him and said, \u201cMy\nchildren, I find it will be necessary for me to go on a long journey. I\nam no longer a rich man, but I wish to bring home a gift to each one of\nyou, so tell me what you would like to have.\u201d\n\nThen the two older daughters began to think of all the things they\nwanted, and each was afraid the other would get something finer than\nshe did.\n\nAt last the eldest spoke, \u201cDear father,\u201d said she, \u201cI wish you would\nbring me a velvet robe embroidered with gold, and shoes to match, and a\nfan to wave in my hand.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd I,\u201d said the second, \u201cwould like a necklace of pearls, and pearls\nfor my hair, and a fine bracelet.\u201d\n\nThe merchant was troubled that his daughters should ask for such costly\nthings, but he did not like to refuse them. \u201cAnd you, Beauty,\u201d said he,\nturning to his youngest daughter, \u201cwhat will you have?\u201d\n\n\u201cDear father,\u201d said she, \u201cyou have given me so much that I have nothing\nleft to wish for; but if you bring me anything at all let it be a rose.\u201d\n\nWhen her older sisters heard this they were very angry. They thought\nthat Beauty had asked only for a rose so that she might shame them\nbefore their father, and make him think she was more unselfish than\nthey were. But Beauty had had no such thought as that.\n\nThe merchant smiled at his youngest daughter and kissed her thrice,\nbut his older daughters he kissed only once. Then he mounted his horse\nand rode away.\n\nHe journeyed on for several days, and at last he reached the city he\nwas bound for. Here he found he had lost even more of his fortune than\nhe had thought. He was now a poor man. Still he managed to buy the\ngifts his two older daughters had asked for, and then with a sad heart\nhe set out for home.\n\nHe had not journeyed far, however, when he was overtaken by a storm and\nlost himself in a deep forest. He rode this way and that, trying to\nfind the way out, and then suddenly he came to an open place, and there\nhe saw before him a magnificent castle.\n\nThe merchant was amazed. He had never heard of such a castle in that\nforest. He rode up to the door and knocked, hoping to find shelter for\nthe night.\n\nScarcely had he knocked when the great door swung open before him. He\nentered and looked about, no one was there; everything was silent.\nWondering he went on into one room after another. Everything was very\nmagnificent and well arranged, but nowhere was a soul to be seen. At\nlast he came to a room where a supper was set out. The plates were all\nof gold, and the fruits and meats were of the rarest and most delicious\nkinds.\n\nThe merchant was so hungry that he sat down at the table, and at once\nthe food was served to him by invisible hands, while soft music sounded\nfrom a hidden room beyond.\n\nHe ate heartily and then arose and went in search of a place to sleep.\nThis he soon found. A bed had been made ready in a large chamber, and\nhere he undressed and lying down he slept until morning without being\ndisturbed.\n\nWhen he awoke he found his own travel-stained clothes had been taken\naway. In their place a handsome suit had been laid out, and other\nnecessary things, all of the richest kind. There was also a bag filled\nwith gold pieces. Wondering still more, the merchant arose and dressed\nand went out into the gardens to look about him. Here everything was\nmore beautiful than any garden he had ever seen before. There were\nwinding paths and fountains, and fruit-trees and flowering plants.\n\nBeside one of the fountains was a rose-bush covered with the roses. The\nsight of these roses reminded the merchant of Beauty\u2019s wish, and he\nthought it would be no harm to break off one to carry to her. He chose\nthe largest and finest rose. Scarcely had he plucked it, however, when\nthe air was filled with a sound of thunder, the ground rocked under his\nfeet, and a terrible looking beast appeared before him.\n\n\u201cMiserable man!\u201d cried the Beast, \u201cwhat have you done? All the best in\nthe castle was offered to you. Why have you broken my rose-bush that is\ndearer to me than anything in the world? Now for this you must surely\ndie.\u201d\n\nThe merchant was terrified. \u201cOh, dear, good Beast do not kill me!\u201d he\ncried. \u201cI meant no harm. Only let me go, and I will never trouble you\nagain.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no,\u201d answered the Beast. \u201cYou shall not escape so easily. You have\nbroken my rose-bush and you must suffer for it.\u201d\n\nStill the merchant begged and entreated to be spared and at last the\nBeast had pity on him. \u201cIf I spare your life,\u201d said he, \u201cwhat will you\ngive me in return for it?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d said the merchant, \u201cwhat can I give you? I have lost all my\nfortune and I am now a poor man. I have nothing left in the world but\nmy three daughters.\u201d\n\n\u201cGive me one of your daughters for a wife and I will be satisfied,\u201d\nsaid the Beast.\n\nThe merchant was horrified at the thought of such a thing. He would\nhave refused, but he feared that if he did so the Beast would tear him\nto pieces at once.\n\n\u201cYou may have three months in which to think it over,\u201d said the Beast.\n\u201cBut you must promise me that at the end of that time you will return\nhere and either bring me one of your daughters or come prepared to die.\u201d\n\nThe merchant was obliged to promise this; he could not help himself. As\nsoon as he had promised the Beast disappeared and the man was free to\ngo, and this he was not slow to do.\n\nHe rode on toward his home and his heart was heavy within him. He did\nnot see how he could possibly give one of his daughters to be the\nbride of a hideous beast and yet he did not wish to die.\n\nHis daughters met him with joy, and the two older sisters were\ndelighted when they saw the beautiful gifts he had brought them. Only\nBeauty noticed his sad and downcast looks.\n\n\u201cDear father,\u201d said she, \u201cwhy are you troubled? Has something\nunfortunate happened to you?\u201d\n\nAt first her father would not tell her, but she urged and entreated\nhim to tell her until finally he could keep silence no longer. He told\nhis daughters all about the castle and his adventure there and of the\nBeast, and of how unless one of them would consent to marry the Beast\nhe would have to lose his life.\n\nWhen the older daughters heard this they were ready to faint. Not even\nto save their father\u2019s life could they consent to marry such a creature.\n\n\u201cDear father,\u201d said Beauty, \u201cyou shall not die. I will be the Beast\u2019s\nbride.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, yes,\u201d cried her sisters. \u201cThat is only right. If Beauty had not\nasked for the rose this misfortune would not have happened.\u201d\n\nTo this the merchant would not at first agree. Beauty was the dearest\nto him of all his daughters. He had hoped that if any of them was to\nmarry the Beast it might be one of the older sisters. But they would\nnot hear of this and when, at the end of three months, the merchant set\nout to return to the castle he took Beauty with him.\n\nThey rode along and rode along and after awhile they came to the\nforest, and then it did not take the merchant long to find the castle.\nHe knocked at the door, and it opened as before, and he and Beauty went\nin through one room after another, and everything was so magnificent\nthat she could not but admire it. At last they came to the supper-room,\nand here a delicious feast was set out for them. They sat down and ate\nwhile soft music sounded around them. Beauty began to think the master\nof all this could not be such a terrible creature after all.\n\nBut scarcely had they finished their supper before the Beast appeared\nbefore them, and when Beauty saw him she began to shake and tremble,\nfor he was even more dreadful looking than her father had said.\n\n\u201cDo not fear me, Beauty,\u201d he said in a gentle voice. \u201cI will do you no\nharm. Your father has brought you here, and it is true that here you\nmust stay, but you need not marry me unless you are quite willing to.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not wish to marry you, Beast, and you must know that,\u201d said\nBeauty. \u201cBut I fear that if I do not you may harm my father.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, Beauty, I will not harm him. He may go in peace, and perhaps after\nyou have been here awhile you may learn to like me enough to marry me.\u201d\n\nBeauty did not believe this, but the Beast spoke so gently that she no\nlonger feared him and when the time came for her father to go she bade\nhim good-by and did not grieve him by weeping.\n\nAfter that Beauty lived there in the Beast\u2019s castle and was well\ncontent. Every day she went out into the gardens, and the Beast came\nand played with her for awhile, and she grew very fond of him. Every\nday before he left her he said, \u201cBeauty, are you willing to marry me?\u201d\n\nBut always Beauty answered, \u201cNo, dear Beast, I do not wish to marry\nyou.\u201d\n\nThen the Beast would sigh heavily and go away.\n\nOne day Beauty was sitting before a large mirror in her room, and she\nwas sad because she had not seen her father for so long.\n\n\u201cI wish,\u201d said she, \u201cthat I could see what my dear father is doing at\nthis moment.\u201d\n\nAs she said this she raised her eyes to the mirror. What was her\nsurprise to see in it the reflection of a room quite different from the\none she was in. It was a room in her own home that she saw reflected\nthere. She saw in it the images of her father and sisters. She could\nsee them smile and move, and she could tell exactly what they were\ndoing. She found she could watch them in the mirror for as long as she\npleased and whenever she pleased.\n\nAfter this Beauty often came to sit before the mirror, and she had only\nto wish it and she could see her home, and all that was going on there.\n\nBut one day when she sat down before the glass she saw that her\nfather was ill. He lay upon his bed so pale and weak that Beauty was\nterrified. She jumped up and ran out into the garden calling for the\nBeast.\n\nAt once he appeared before her. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d asked the Beast\nanxiously. \u201cWhat has frightened you, Beauty?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d she cried, \u201cmy father is ill. Oh, dear, kind Beast let me go to\nhim I pray, and I will love you for ever after.\u201d\n\nThe Beast looked very grave. \u201cVery well, Beauty,\u201d he said, \u201cI will let\nyou go, for I can refuse you nothing. But promise me you will return at\nthe end of a week, for if you do not some great misfortune will happen\nto me.\u201d\n\nBeauty was very willing to promise this. The Beast then gave her a ring\nset with a large ruby. \u201cWhen you go to bed to-night,\u201d he said, \u201cturn\nthe ruby in toward the palm of your hand and wish you were in your\nfather\u2019s house, and in the morning you will find you are there. When\nyou are ready to return do the same thing, and you will find yourself\nback in the castle again. And do not forget that by the end of a week,\nto an hour, you must return or you will bring suffering upon me.\u201d\n\nBeauty did as the Beast told her. That night when she lay down she\nturned the ruby of the ring in toward the palm of her hand and wished\nshe were in her father\u2019s house, and what was her joy, when she awakened\nthe next morning, to find herself in her own bed at home. She arose and\nran to her father\u2019s room, and the merchant was so delighted to see her\nthat from that hour he began to get better, and in a few days he was as\nwell as ever again.\n\nBeauty\u2019s sisters asked her a great many questions about the castle\nwhere she lived, and when they heard how fine it was, and how happy she\nwas there, they were filled with envy. \u201cBeauty always gets the best\nof everything,\u201d they said to each other. \u201cShe is younger than either\nof us, and see how finely she lives; much better than we do.\u201d They\nthen planned together as to how they could keep Beauty from going back\nto the castle at the end of the week. \u201cIf we can only make her break\nher promise to the Beast,\u201d said they, \u201che might be so angry with her\nthat he would send her away and take one of us to live at his castle\ninstead.\u201d\n\nThe day before Beauty was to return to the Beast they put a\nsleeping-powder in the goblet that she drank from.\n\nAs soon as Beauty had swallowed this powder she became very sleepy.\nHer eyelids weighed like lead, and presently she fell into a deep\nslumber, and she did not awaken for two days and nights. At the end of\nthat time Beauty had a dream, and in her dream she walked in the castle\ngardens. She came to the rose-bush beside the fountain, and there lay\nthe poor Beast stretched out on the ground, and he was almost dead. He\nopened his eyes and looked at her sadly. \u201cAh, Beauty, Beauty,\u201d he said,\n\u201cwhy did you break your promise to return at the end of a week? See\nwhat suffering you have brought on me.\u201d\n\nBeauty awoke, sobbing bitterly. \u201cAlas, alas!\u201d she cried. \u201cI must go at\nonce. I feel some harm has come to the Beast, and that it is my fault,\nthough how I do not know.\u201d For she did not know she had been asleep for\ntwo days and nights.\n\nShe turned the ruby ring with the ruby toward the palm of her hand, and\nwished herself back in the castle and then lay down and went to sleep.\n\nWhen she awoke she was in the castle again, and it was early morning.\nShe ran out into the garden, and straight to the rose-bush. There, as\nin her dream, she saw the Beast stretched out on the ground, and he\nseemed to be without life or breath. Beauty threw herself down on the\nground and took his head in her lap, and her tears ran down and fell\nupon him, and it seemed to her she did not love even her father as\ndearly as she loved the Beast. \u201cOh, Beast\u2014dear, dear Beast,\u201d she cried,\n\u201ccan you not hear me? Are you quite, quite dead?\u201d\n\nThen the Beast opened his eyes and looked at her. \u201cAh, Beauty,\u201d he\nsaid, \u201cI thought you had deserted me. Do you not yet love me enough to\nmarry me?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I do! I do love you enough, and gladly will I be your bride,\u201d\ncried Beauty.\n\nNo sooner had she said this than the rough furry hide of the Beast\nfell apart, and a handsome young prince all dressed in white satin and\nsilver stood before her. Beauty looked at him wondering. \u201cYes, you\nshall indeed be my own dear bride,\u201d cried the Prince, \u201cfor you and you\nalone have broken the enchantment that held me.\u201d\n\nThen the Prince, a Beast no longer, told Beauty that a wicked fairy\nhad changed him into the shape of a Beast, and not until a fair young\nmaiden would love him enough to be his bride would the enchantment be\nbroken. But Beauty had loved him for his kindness and goodness in spite\nof his ugly form, and now never again could the wicked fairy have any\npower over him.\n\nAnd now all through the castle was heard a sound of life and of voices\nand of running to and fro. For the same enchantment that had changed\nthe Prince to a Beast had made all his people invisible, and now, they\ntoo were freed from the spell.\n\nThen how happy Beauty was. If she had loved the Beast she loved the\nhandsome young Prince a thousand times better. A grand wedding feast\nwas prepared, and her father and sisters were sent for. Her father was\ngiven the place of honor, but it was quite different with her sisters;\nbecause of their hard hearts they were changed into two statues and\nthey stood one on either side of the doorway.\n\nBut Beauty was too gentle to bear them any ill-will. After she was\nmarried she often used to go and stand beside the statues and talk to\nthem, and her tears fell upon them so that after awhile their hard\nhearts grew soft and the stone melted back to flesh again. Then they\nwere all very happy together. The two sisters were married to two\nnoblemen of the court.\n\nAs for Beauty and the Prince, nothing could equal their love for each\nother, and they lived together happy forever after, and no further harm\never came to them.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nJACK-THE-GIANT-KILLER\n\n\nThere was once a stout Cornish lad named Jack who had trained himself\nin every sort of sport. He could wrestle and throw and swim better than\nany other lad in the country; indeed there were few, even among the\nmen, who could equal him in strength and skill.\n\nAt that time there lived, on an island just off the coast of Cornwall,\na giant named Cormoran. This giant was the pest of the whole land. He\nwas twenty feet high, and as broad as any three men. People were so\nafraid of him that when he waded over from his island to the mainland\nthey all ran and hid in their houses, and then he carried off their\nflocks and herds as he chose, and asked no leave of anyone. Seven sheep\nhe ate at a meal, and three oxen were not too much for him. There was\nmuch complaining through the land because of the way he wasted it.\n\nNow Jack was as bold as he was strong, and he made up his mind to free\nthe people from this scourge of a giant. He waited for a dark night\nwhen there was no moon, and then he swam from the mainland over to the\nisland. The waves were high and the water cold, but Jack paid no heed\nto that. He took with him a pick, a shovel, an ax, and a horn.\n\nAs soon as he landed on the island he set to work to dig a pit in front\nof the giant\u2019s cave\u2014a pit both wide and deep. The giant was asleep, for\nJack could hear him snoring in his cave, and so he knew nothing of what\nwas being done by the brave lad.\n\nToward morning the pit was finished. Then Jack covered it over with\nbranches, and scattered earth and stones over it so that no one could\nhave told it was any different from the ground around it. After that he\ntook his horn and blew a blast both loud and long.\n\nThe sound awakened the giant from his sleep, and he sprang to his feet\nand came stumbling out from his cave. He glared about him and presently\nhis eyes fell upon Jack.\n\n\u201cMiserable dwarf!\u201d he cried. \u201cIs it you who has dared to disturb my\nsleep? Wait but a moment until I have my hands on you, and I will\npunish you as you deserve!\u201d\n\nJack laughed aloud. \u201cI fear you not!\u201d he cried. \u201cAnd as for punishing\nme, you will find that easier said than done.\u201d\n\nThe giant gave a cry of rage and sprang toward Jack, but no sooner\ndid he step upon the branches that covered the pit than they gave way\nbeneath him, and he fell down into the pit and broke his neck. There he\nlay without sound or motion, and seeing that he was dead Jack left him\nwhere he lay and swam back to the mainland.\n\nWhen the people learned that the giant was dead and would trouble them\nno more they went wild with joy. Jack was hailed as a hero and a belt\nwas given him on which were letters of gold that read\u2014\n\n    \u201cThis is the gallant Cornishman\n     Who killed the giant Cormoran.\u201d\n\nAnd now the lad was no longer called plain Jack, but\nJack-the-Giant-Killer.\n\nNow many miles away in a deep forest there lived still another giant\nnamed Blunderbore. This giant was full as strong and great as Cormoran\nhad ever been.\n\nWhen Blunderbore heard how the Cornish lad had killed Cormoran, and\nthat now he was called \u201cJack-the-Giant-Killer\u201d he was filled with rage.\nHe swore he would find Jack and destroy him even as Cormoran had been\ndestroyed.\n\nBut Jack was no whit afraid. He had made up his mind to altogether free\nthe land from giants; and he wished nothing better than to try his wits\nwith Blunderbore. So one day he took a stout oak in his hand and set\nout in search of the giant.\n\nHe walked along and walked along, and after awhile he came to a forest,\nand there a cool spring bubbled up in the shade of the trees.\n\nJack was hungry and thirsty, and tired too, so he sat him down by the\nspring and ate the bread and cheese he carried, and drank of the fresh\nwater, and then he stretched himself out and went fast asleep.\n\nHe had not been long asleep when the giant Blunderbore came by that\nway. Blunderbore was very much surprised to see a youth lying there\nand sleeping quietly beside his fountain, for none ever before had\ndared to venture here into this forest for fear of him.\n\nHe saw a glitter of golden letters upon a belt the lad wore, and\nstooping he read the words\u2014\n\n    \u201cThis is the gallant Cornishman\n     Who slew the giant Cormoran.\u201d\n\nAt once the giant knew who Jack was, and he was filled with joy at\nthe thought that now he had the lad in his power. He did not wait for\nJack to waken, but swung him up on his shoulder, and made off with him\nthrough the forest.\n\nNow Blunderbore was so tall that his shoulders were up among the\nbranches as he strode along, and the boughs whipped Jack in the face\nand woke him from his sleep. He was greatly amazed to find himself\njourneying along among the leaves on the giant\u2019s shoulder instead of\nresting quietly beside the fountain. However, he was not afraid. \u201cI can\ndo nothing at present,\u201d thought he to himself, \u201cbut after awhile the\ngiant will put me down, and then my wits will soon teach me a way to\nget the better of him.\u201d\n\nThe giant strode along without stop or stay until at last he came to a\ngreat gloomy castle and, this was where he lived. He carried Jack in\nthrough the door into the castle and up a flight of stone steps to a\nroom that was directly over the outer doorway. Here he came to a halt\nand threw Jack down upon a heap of straw in the corner.\n\n\u201cLie there for awhile, my little giant-killer,\u201d cried he. \u201cI have a\nbrother who is not only bigger and stronger than I am, but has more\nwits as well. I will go off and fetch him, and after he gets here then\nwe will decide what to do with you.\u201d\n\nSo saying the giant left the room, and after locking the door behind\nhim he made off across the hills in search of his brother.\n\nNo sooner was Jack left alone than he began to examine the room. He\nquickly noticed that the door of the castle was directly under his\nwindow. In one corner of the room lay a great coil of rope. Jack took\nup this rope and made a slip noose in one end of it. This noose he hung\nfrom the window. The other end he passed over a great beam overhead.\nThen he sat down and waited for the monster to return.\n\nHe did not have long to wait. Soon he heard the giant and his brother\ntalking and grumbling together as they came up the road to the castle.\nHe waited until they had reached the doorway and were directly under\nthe window. Then he dropped the slip noose over both their heads.\nQuickly snatching up the other end of the rope he pulled with all his\nmight and drew the two giants up into the air, struggling and kicking.\nHe then leaned from the window and with his sword he cut off both their\nheads.\n\nIt did not take him long after that to slide down the rope and get\nthe keys that hung from Blunderbore\u2019s belt. With these in his hand he\nre\u00ebntered the castle and went all through it, unlocking door after door.\n\nHe opened the giant\u2019s treasure-chamber and found it full of gold and\nsilver and jewels and all sorts of precious stuffs that had been stolen\nfrom the people of the land, for Blunderbore was a great robber.\n\nIn the dungeons under the castle were many merchants and noblemen and\nfair ladies whom the giant had robbed and kept as prisoners.\n\nWhen these people found that Jack had come to free them, and that he\nhad killed the giant, they were so glad and grateful that there was\nnothing they would not have done for the lad. Some of them wept for joy.\n\nJack led them to the treasure-chamber and bade them take all they could\ncarry of the treasures that were there. They would gladly have left it\nall for him, but the lad would have none of it.\n\n\u201cNo, no,\u201d he said. \u201cI have no need of riches, and if I were loaded down\nwith gold and silver I could not travel about so lightly as I do.\u201d\n\nHe bade the grateful people good-by and journeyed on his way, leaving\nthem to find their own way home, which, no doubt they all did in good\ntime.\n\nBy evening of the next day Jack was well away from Blunderbore\u2019s\nforest, and just as he was wondering where he should find food and\nshelter for the night he came to a great house and saw a light shining\nfrom the windows.\n\nHe knocked, and the door was opened to him by a giant with two heads.\nThis giant was quite as wicked as either Cormoran or Blunderbore, but\nhe was very sly and cunning. Instead of seizing Jack and throwing him\ninto a dungeon he made him welcome. He set a hot supper before him, and\ntalked with him pleasantly, and after awhile he showed the lad to a\nroom where he could sleep.\n\nBut smiling and pleasant though the giant was Jack did not trust him.\nHe felt sure the monster was planning some mischief, so instead of\ngoing to bed after the giant left him, he stole to the door of the room\nand listened. He heard the giant striding up and down, and presently he\nheard him mutter to himself,\n\n    \u201cThough here with me you lodge to-night,\n     You shall not see the morning light,\n     Because I mean to kill you quite.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat you shall not,\u201d thought Jack to himself. \u201cAnd if you think I am\ngoing to get into bed and lie there while you beat me with a cudgel you\nare mistaken.\u201d\n\nHe began to feel about the room, and presently he found a great billet\nof wood. This he laid in the bed in his place, and drew the coverlet\nover it, and then he hid in a corner of the room.\n\nNot long afterward the giant opened the door. He crept over to the bed\nvery quietly and felt where the billet of wood was lying under the\ncovers. Then he took his club and beat it until, if Jack had been lying\nthere, he would certainly have been pounded to a jelly. After that the\nmonster went back to his own bed well satisfied, and slept and snored.\n\nBut what was his astonishment the next morning when Jack appeared brisk\nand smiling and without so much as even a bruise upon him.\n\n\u201cDid\u2014did you sleep well last night?\u201d stammered the giant.\n\n\u201cOh, well enough,\u201d answered Jack, \u201cbut a rat must have run over the\nbed, for I thought I felt him whisk his tail in my face once or twice.\nI looked for him this morning, but I could not find him, so perhaps I\ndreamed it.\u201d\n\nWhen the giant heard this he was frightened. He thought Jack must be\na wonderful hero to stand such blows as his and scarcely feel them.\nHowever, he said no more, and the two sat down to breakfast together.\nThe giant ate and drank as much as ten men, but Jack had hidden a\nleather bag under his doublet and he kept slipping the food into\nthis as fast as the giant set it before him. The monster wondered and\nwondered that such a small man could eat so much.\n\nAfter breakfast Jack said, \u201cNow I will show you a trick, and if you\ncannot do the same thing then you will have to own that I am the better\nfellow of us two.\u201d\n\nTo this the giant agreed. Jack then took a knife and ripped open the\nleather bag that was hidden under his doublet.\n\n\u201cThere!\u201d he cried. \u201cCan you do the like?\u201d\n\nThe giant was amazed, for he never guessed that it was only a bag that\nJack had cut open. However, he was not to be outdone. Catching up a\nknife he ripped himself open, and that was the end of him.\n\n\u201cThe world is well rid of another monster,\u201d said Jack, and leaving the\ngiant where he lay he set out in search of further adventures.\n\nHe had not gone far along the road when he met a young prince riding\nalong without any attendants to follow him. This Prince was the son of\nthe great King Arthur of Britain, and he had left his father\u2019s court\nand ridden out into the world in search of a lovely lady who had been\ncarried off by a magician. This magician held her prisoner by his\nenchantments and it was to free her that the Prince had ridden forth\nalone.\n\nWhen Jack learned who the Prince was, and the adventure he was bent on,\nhe begged to be allowed to go along as an attendant.\n\n\u201cThat is all very well,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cbut if you travel with me\nyou will fare hard indeed. I have given away all my money, and I do not\nknow where to find food or even a place to sleep.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not let that trouble you,\u201d said Jack. \u201cNot far from here lives a\nthree-headed giant. He has a fine castle and a well-stocked larder.\nOnly leave the matter to me and I will arrange it so that you can spend\nthe night there and have a fine feast beside.\u201d\n\nAt first the Prince was very unwilling to agree to this. The adventure\nseemed to him a very dangerous one, but in the end Jack persuaded him\nto agree to it, and mounting on the Prince\u2019s horse he set out for the\ncastle, leaving the Prince to await him by the wayside.\n\nJack rode briskly along and it did not take him long to reach the\ncastle. He knocked boldly at the door.\n\n\u201cWho is there?\u201d called the giant from within.\n\n\u201cIt is your Cousin Jack, and I bring you news,\u201d answered Jack.\n\nThe giant opened the door and looked out. \u201cWell, Cousin Jack, and what\nis the news you bring?\u201d\n\nWhy, the news was that a Prince and his company intended to spend the\nnight in the giant\u2019s castle, and were even then almost at the door.\nIf the giant were wise he would flee away and leave the castle to the\nPrince. Then after the Prince and his company had gone the giant might\nsafely return again.\n\nBut no, the monster was not so easily to be scared out of his castle.\n\u201cI can drive back five hundred men,\u201d cried he, \u201cso why should I be\nafraid?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, but can you drive back two thousand?\u201d asked Jack.\n\n\u201cTwo thousand! Two thousand, did you say?\u201d Why that was a different\nmatter, and if the Prince were coming with two thousand men at his\nback, then it was indeed time for the giant to hide away. He then told\nJack where there was a secret chamber all made of iron. There he would\nhide, and he begged the lad to lock him in, and not, for any cause to\nunlock the door until the Prince had gone.\n\nThis Jack promised. He locked the giant in the secret chamber, and then\nhe rode back to fetch his master.\n\nThat night Jack and the Prince feasted right merrily on the good things\nfrom the monster\u2019s larder, and the next morning the Prince rode on his\nway and Jack unlocked the chamber door and let the giant out.\n\n\u201cWhat a blockhead I am!\u201d cried the monster as soon as he was free.\n\u201cYonder in the corner lie the cap of darkness, the cloak of wisdom, and\nthe sword of sharpness. If I had only thought of putting on the cap no\none could have seen me, and I would not have had to hide in the secret\nchamber.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is true,\u201d answered Jack. \u201cBut thanks to me you are safe at any\nrate, and I think I should be rewarded.\u201d\n\nHe then asked the giant to give him the cap, the cloak, and the sword,\nand out of gratitude the giant agreed right gladly. \u201cThey will be of\nmore use to you than to me at any rate,\u201d said the giant, \u201cfor when I\nneed them most is the time when I forget all about them.\u201d\n\nJack took the cap, the cloak, and the sword and thanked the giant for\nthe gifts, and at once set out after the Prince, whom he found waiting\nfor him not far away.\n\nThey now journeyed on until they came to another castle where they\nhoped to spend the night. Here they were made welcome, and bidden to\nfeast with the noble lady who was the mistress there. This lady was,\nindeed, the very one of whom the Prince was in search, but he did not\nknow her, and she did not know him because of the spell of enchantment\nthat was upon her.\n\nAfter the lady, the Prince, and Jack had feasted together the lady drew\nout a precious handkerchief and passed it over her lips. \u201cTo-morrow,\u201d\nsaid she, \u201cyou shall tell me to whom I have given this handkerchief\nin the night. If you cannot tell me this, you shall never leave this\ncastle alive.\u201d\n\nThe Prince was greatly troubled when he heard these words, but Jack\nbade him have no fear. He waited until the lady left them, and then\nhe put the cap of darkness on his head and followed her, and she could\nnot see him because of the cap. She did not know that anyone followed\nher, and she went out from the castle and along a path to the edge of a\nwood. There she was met by a tall dark man, and because of the cloak of\nwisdom which he wore, Jack knew this man at once as a magician.\n\nThe lady gave him the handkerchief. \u201cThat is well,\u201d said the magician.\n\u201cTo-morrow I will change this bold Prince into another marble statue to\nadorn my hall. As to his servant I will change him into a dog, a fox,\nor a deer as the fancy strikes me.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat you shall not!\u201d cried Jack, and drawing the sword of sharpness he\nstruck the magician\u2019s head from his shoulders with one blow.\n\nAt once the lady was freed from the enchantment, and she looked about\nher like one wakening from a dream. She did not know where she was nor\nhow she came there.\n\nJack led her back to the castle and no sooner did the Prince and she\nmeet than they knew each other. They were filled with joy, and the\nPrince made ready to take her back with him to his father\u2019s court. He\nwished Jack to come with him, and promised that if he would he should\nbe made a great nobleman, but to this the giant-killer would not\nconsent. He still had work to do in his own country, and he would never\nleave Wales until it was freed entirely from the pest of giants.\n\nSo the Prince and his lady bade Jack farewell, and rode away together,\nwhile Jack set out in search of further adventures.\n\nHe had traveled a long distance, and night was falling when he heard\ndoleful cries sounding from a wood near by. A moment later a giant came\nbreaking out from the wood dragging a knight and a lady with him. He\nhad captured them and was taking them with him to his cave.\n\nWithout a moment\u2019s pause, Jack put on his cap of darkness, and running\nup close to the giant he cut him down with one single blow of his\nsword. The lady and the knight were amazed. They had seen no one, and\nyet the giant had suddenly fallen dead, cleft through with a sword.\nThey were still more amazed when Jack lifted the cap from his head and\nappeared before them. He then explained to them who he was, and how he\nhad been able to kill the giant so strangely.\n\n\u201cThis is a wonderful story,\u201d said the knight, \u201cand you have saved us\nfrom worse than death.\u201d He and his lady then begged Jack to come back\nwith them to their castle, and to this he agreed, for he was weary with\nall his adventures.\n\nWhen they reached the castle, a great feast was made ready, and Jack\nwas treated with the greatest honor. He sat at the knight\u2019s right hand,\nand all the best in the castle was none too good for him.\n\nBut while they were still in the midst of their feasting, a messenger\narrived in great haste. His face was pale, and his teeth chattered with\nfear.\n\n\u201cWhat is it?\u201d cried the knight. \u201cWhat is the news you bring?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe giant! The great giant Thundel!\u201d cried the messenger. \u201cHe has\nheard that Jack-the-Giant-Killer is here, and he is coming to destroy\nthis castle and all who are in it.\u201d\n\nEven the knight turned pale at this news, but Jack bade him have no\nfear. \u201cI had intended to set out in search of this giant,\u201d said he,\n\u201cbut now he has saved me the trouble.\u201d He then asked the knight to\nsend for a dozen stout workmen. This was done and Jack at once led the\nworkmen out to the bridge that crossed the moat, and bade them cut the\ntimbers almost through so that they would only bear the weight of one\nman, or of two at most. This bridge was the only way of entrance, and\nunless the giant crossed it he could not get to the castle.\n\nWhile the workmen were still busy over their task, the giant appeared,\nstriding along toward the castle. At once Jack slipped on his cap of\ndarkness and hurried out to meet him.\n\nThe giant could not see Jack because of his cap of darkness, but his\nsense of smell was very keen. He stopped short, and began to snuff\nabout him like a hound.\n\n    \u201cFee, fi, fo, fum!\n     I smell the blood of an Englishman;\n     Be he alive or be he dead,\n     I\u2019ll grind his bones to make my bread!\u201d\n\ncried the giant.\n\n\u201cThat is all very well,\u201d said Jack, \u201cbut first you will have to catch\nhim.\u201d He then jumped about from one side of the giant to the other.\n\u201cHere! Here I am!\u201d he cried. \u201cHere to the right of you! No, to the\nleft. Quick, quick, if you would catch me.\u201d\n\nThe giant turned first one way and then the other, clutching at the\nempty air, for Jack was invisible and so was easily able to keep out of\nhis reach.\n\nAt last the lad tired of the game. He looked behind him and saw that\nthe workmen had finished their task and had retreated to the castle.\nHe then caught the cap of darkness from his head and ran across the\nbridge. \u201cNow, you miller-giant, who would grind my bones, catch me if\nyou can,\u201d he cried.\n\nThe giant gave a bellow of rage and ran after Jack, who had already\nreached the other side. The timbers held till the giant was in the\nmiddle of the bridge; then, with a great crash, they gave way beneath\nhim, and down he fell into the moat and was drowned. So Jack saved the\nlives of the knight and his lady for the second time, and freed the\nland of still another giant.\n\nBut now came the most dangerous of all of Jack\u2019s adventures.\n\nGargantua was the greatest and most powerful of all the giants, and he\nwas a magician as well. He lived on the top of a high mountain, and\nfrom there he would come down to rob and steal and carry off prisoners.\nThese prisoners he changed into various sorts of wild animals, and he\nkept them in the gardens that surrounded his palace. He had carried off\na duke\u2019s only daughter in this way, and had changed her into a doe.\n\nThe duke had been in despair over the loss of his daughter for she was\nhis only child and he loved her dearly. He promised that anyone who\nbrought her back to him should have her for his bride, and because she\nwas very beautiful many princes and brave heroes had gone in search of\nher, but of them all none had ever returned.\n\nIt was this dangerous giant that Jack determined to seek out and\ndestroy.\n\nHe girded the sword of sharpness at his side and took his cap of\ndarkness and his cloak of wisdom and set out.\n\nHe journeyed on and journeyed on, and after awhile he came to a high\nand rocky mountain, and at the very top of it he could see a great\ncastle with gardens around it and high walls.\n\nJack climbed up and up over rock and brier, stump and stone, until he\ncame to the gate of the garden. There he stopped to put the cap of\ndarkness on his head; then he ventured in.\n\nThe gardens were very fine, as he saw at once, and many animals were\ngrazing on the grass, or resting in the shadows. One of them, a\nbeautiful doe, raised its head and looked toward him, then at once came\nover to him and rested its head on his arm, and looked up at him with\nits great dark eyes.\n\nJack was very much troubled at this. He feared there was some\nenchantment about the place that made him visible in spite of his cap\nof darkness. However, none of the other animals paid any attention to\nhim, so he hoped it was only the doe that could see him.\n\nHe went on through the gardens until he came to the door of the castle,\nand there hanging beside it was a golden horn, and on the horn were\nthese words:\n\n    \u201cWhoever doth this trumpet blow\n     Shall soon the giant overthrow,\n     And break the black enchantment straight,\n     So all shall be in happy state.\u201d\n\nJack raised the horn to his lips and blew a blast so loud and clear\nthat the castle echoed with it.\n\nAt once a wonderful change came over the garden. The doe beside him\nchanged into a maiden more beautiful than any Jack had ever dreamed of.\nThe wild animals became princes and heroes and noble ladies.\n\nAs for the castle itself, it fell into ruins; a great chasm yawned\nunder it, and into this chasm it crumbled with a dreadful noise,\ncarrying the giant with it. Then the ground closed over the ruins and\nnot a single stone was left to mark the place where the castle had\nstood.\n\nSo ended the last of Jack\u2019s adventures, and so perished the last and\nmost wicked of all his giant foes. From then on the land was at peace.\n\nJack was married to the beautiful maiden who had followed him as a\ndoe, and as she was the duke\u2019s daughter the poor lad became very rich\nand powerful. He and the duke\u2019s daughter loved each other dearly, and\nso they lived in great happiness all their lives, honored by everyone\nabout them.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE THREE WISHES\n\n\nOnce upon a time a poor man took his ax and went out into the forest\nto cut wood. He was a lazy fellow, so as soon as he was in the forest\nhe began to look about to see which tree would be the easiest to cut\ndown. At last he found one that was hollow inside, as he could tell by\nknocking upon it with his ax. \u201cIt ought not to take long to cut this\ndown,\u201d said he to himself. He raised his ax and struck the tree such a\nblow that the splinters flew.\n\nAt once the bark opened and a little old fairy with a long beard came\nrunning out of the tree.\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean by chopping into my house?\u201d he cried; and his eyes\nshone like red hot sparks, he was so angry.\n\n\u201cI did not know it was your house,\u201d said the man.\n\n\u201cWell, it is my house, and I\u2019ll thank you to let it alone,\u201d cried the\nfairy.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the man. \u201cI\u2019d just as lieve cut down some other tree.\nI\u2019ll chop down the one over yonder.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is well,\u201d said the fairy. \u201cI see that you are an obliging fellow,\nafter all. I have it in my mind to reward you for sparing my house, so\nthe next three wishes you and your wife make shall come true, whatever\nthey are; and that is your reward.\u201d\n\nThen the fairy went back into the tree again and pulled the bark\ntogether behind him.\n\nThe man stood looking at the tree and scratching his head. \u201cNow that is\na curious thing,\u201d said he. Then he sat down and began to wonder what\nhe should wish for. He thought and he thought, but he could decide on\nnothing. \u201cI\u2019ll just go home and talk it over with my wife,\u201d said he; so\nhe shouldered his ax, and set off for home. As soon as he came in at\nthe door he began to bawl for his wife, and she came in a hurry, for\nshe did not know what had happened to him.\n\nHe told his story and his wife listened. \u201cThis is a fine thing to have\nhappen to us,\u201d said she. \u201cNow we must be very careful what we wish for.\u201d\n\nThey sat down one on each side of the fire to talk it over. They\nthought of ever so many things they would like to have\u2014a bag of gold,\nand a coach and four, and a fine house to live in, and fine clothes to\nwear, but nothing seemed just the right thing to choose.\n\nThey talked so long that they grew hungry. \u201cWell, here we sit,\u201d said\nthe man, \u201cand not a thing cooked for dinner. I wish we had one of those\nfine black puddings you used to make.\u201d\n\nNo sooner had he spoken than there was a great thumping and bumping in\nthe chimney and a great black pudding fell down on the hearth before\nhim.\n\n\u201cWhat is this?\u201d cried the man staring.\n\n\u201cOh, you oaf! you stupid!\u201d shrieked his wife. \u201cIt\u2019s the pudding you\nwished for. There\u2019s one of our wishes wasted. I wish the pudding were\nstuck on the end of your nose! It would serve you right!\u201d\n\nThe moment she said this the pudding flew up and stuck to the man\u2019s\nnose, and there it was and he couldn\u2019t get it off; the man pulled and\ntugged, and his wife pulled and tugged, but it was all of no use.\n\n\u201cWell, there\u2019s no help for it,\u201d said the husband; \u201cwe\u2019ll have to wish\nit off again.\u201d\n\nHis wife begun to cry and bawl. \u201cNo, no,\u201d she cried. \u201cWe only have one\nwish left, and we can\u2019t waste it that way. Let\u2019s wish ourselves the\nrichest people in the world.\u201d\n\nBut to this the man would not agree. He wanted the pudding off his\nnose whatever it cost. So at last the wife was obliged to let him have\nhis own way. \u201cI wish the pudding was off my nose again,\u201d said the\nman, and that was the third of their wishes. So all the good they had\nof the fairy\u2019s gift was a black pudding for dinner; but then it was\nthe best black pudding they had ever eaten. \u201cAnd after all,\u201d said the\nman, \u201cthere\u2019s nothing much better in the world to wish for than a full\nstomach.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: The Goose Girl]\n\n\n\n\nTHE GOOSE GIRL\n\n\nThere was once a beautiful young Princess who had been promised in\nmarriage to the Prince of a far country.\n\nWhen the time for the marriage came she made ready to journey to his\ncountry, for it was there that the wedding was to be celebrated, and\nnot in her own land.\n\nHer mother furnished her with all sorts of grand jewels and beautiful\nclothes to carry with her, and furniture and linens, and she also made\nher a present of a wonderful horse named Falada, that could talk.\n\nJust before the Princess was ready to set out, her mother called her to\nher, and made a little cut in her finger, and allowed three drops of\nblood to fall upon a handkerchief.\n\n\u201cHere, my child, take this with you,\u201d said the Queen; \u201cput it in the\nbosom of your dress, and guard it carefully. It is a charm, and as long\nas you have it no evil of any kind can have power over you.\u201d\n\nThe Princess thanked her mother, and put the handkerchief in the bosom\nof her dress as she was told. Then she kissed the Queen tenderly, and\nbade her farewell, and set out upon the journey with her waiting-maid\nriding beside her.\n\nNow this waiting-maid, who rode with the Princess, had a very bad\nheart. She was both sly and deceitful. She pretended to the Queen that\nshe loved the Princess dearly, but all the while she hated and envied\nher, and would have been glad enough to do her an ill turn.\n\nShe and the Princess journeyed on together for some time, and the sun\nshone bright and hot and the road was dusty, so the Princess became\nvery thirsty. Presently they came to a stream, and there the Princess\ndrew rein, and said to the waiting-maid, \u201cLight down, I pray of you,\nand fill my little golden cup that I may drink, for I am thirsty.\u201d\n\nBut the waiting-maid scowled and answered rudely, \u201cLight down yourself,\nand drink from the stream, if you are thirsty. I am tired of serving\nyou.\u201d\n\nThe Princess was very much surprised at being answered in such a\nmanner. However, she was young and timid, and without more words she\nslipped from her horse, and as she was afraid to ask for the cup, which\nthe waiting-maid carried, she stooped over and drank from the brook as\nit rippled over its stones.\n\nAs she did so the drops of blood upon the handkerchief said to her:\u2014\n\n    \u201cIf thy mother knew thy fate\n     Then her heart would surely break.\u201d\n\nThe Princess made no answer, but having quenched her thirst she mounted\nher horse again and rode forward, and presently forgot her maid\u2019s\nrudeness.\n\nAfter awhile they reached another stream, and as the Princess was again\nthirsty, she said to the waiting-maid, \u201cLight down, I pray you, and\nfill my cup with water, that I may drink.\u201d\n\nBut the waiting-maid answered even more rudely than before, \u201cNo, I will\nnot; get down and get the water for yourself, for I will serve you no\nmore.\u201d\n\nThe Princess slipped from her horse, sighing deeply, and as she bent\nover the stream the three drops of blood said to her:\n\n    \u201cIf thy mother knew thy fate,\n     Then her heart would surely break.\u201d\n\nThe Princess made no answer, but as she stooped still lower to drink\nthe handkerchief slipped from her bosom and floated away on the stream,\nbut the Princess did not notice this because her eyes were full of\ntears. The waiting-maid noticed it, however, and her heart was filled\nwith joy, because now the Princess had nothing to protect her, and the\nwicked servant could do with her as she chose.\n\nWhen the Princess arose and was about to mount Falada the waiting-maid\nsaid to her, \u201cWait a bit! I am tired of acting as your servant. Now, we\nwill try it the other way around. Give me your fine clothes, and you\ncan dress yourself in these common things I am wearing.\u201d\n\nThe Princess was afraid to refuse; she gave the waiting-maid her\nbeautiful dress and her jewels, and dressed herself in the common\nclothes.\n\nAgain she was about to mount Falada, but again the waiting-maid bade\nher stay; \u201cYou shall ride my horse,\u201d said she, \u201cand I will ride\nFalada.\u201d As she said so it was done. The waiting-maid also made the\nPrincess swear that she would tell no living soul who she was. The\nPrincess dared not refuse for fear of her life. But Falada made no such\npromise, and he had seen and heard all that had happened.\n\nWhen they rode on again the waiting-maid was in front, dressed in the\nfine clothes and mounted on Falada, and the Princess came behind on the\nwaiting-maid\u2019s horse, and she was dressed in the common clothes, but\neven so she was far more beautiful than the servant.\n\nThey reached the palace, and the Prince came out to meet his bride. He\nlifted down the waiting-maid from Falada, for he thought she was the\nPrincess, and he led her up the grand stairway and into the room where\nthe King sat, but the Princess was left below in the courtyard, and no\none paid any attention to her.\n\nThe King was surprised when he saw the waiting-maid, for he supposed\nher to be the Princess, and he had expected her to be much more\nbeautiful. However, he said nothing about it to anyone, but made her\nwelcome. Presently he happened to look out of the window, and there\nhe saw the true Princess down below. \u201cWho is that standing in the\ncourtyard?\u201d he asked, for he saw at once that she was very beautiful,\nand he was curious about it.\n\n\u201cOh, that is only my waiting-maid,\u201d answered the false bride\ncarelessly. \u201cI wish you would give her some work to do so that she may\nnot be spoiled by idleness.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know what she can do except take care of the geese,\u201d answered\nthe King. \u201cConrad, who is the goose-herd, is only a boy, and he would\nbe glad of help in caring for them.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well; then let her be a goose-herd,\u201d answered the false bride.\n\nSo the Princess went out in the field to help tend the geese, and the\nwaiting-maid lived in the palace, and was treated to all that was\nbest there. But the Prince was not happy, for his bride was rude and\nill-tempered, and he could not love her.\n\nOne day the false bride said to the Prince, \u201cI wish you would have\nFalada\u2019s head cut off. I am weary of him, and besides he stumbles when\nI ride him.\u201d But really she feared Falada might speak and tell all he\nhad seen.\n\nThe Prince was shocked. \u201cWhy should you kill a horse that is so\nbeautiful and gentle?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cBecause, as I tell you, I do not like him,\u201d answered the waiting-maid.\n\u201cBesides the horse is mine, and I can do as I like with him. If you\nrefuse to have this done I shall know very well that it is because you\ndo not love me.\u201d\n\nThe Prince dared refuse no longer. He sent for a man and had Falada\u2019s\nhead cut off.\n\nWhen the true Princess heard this she wept bitterly. She sent for the\nman and offered him a piece of gold if he would bring Falada\u2019s head and\nnail it up over the gateway through which she passed every morning.\n\nThe man was anxious to have the gold. He took the money and nailed\nFalada\u2019s head up over the gateway where the Princess wished it put.\n\nThe next morning as the Princess and Conrad drove the geese out to\npasture she looked up at Falada and said:\n\n    \u201cAh, Falada, that thou shouldst hang there!\u201d\n\nAnd Falada answered:\n\n    \u201cAh, Princess, that thou shouldst pass here!\n     If thy mother knew thy fate,\n     Then her heart would surely break!\u201d\n\nThe little goose-herd stared and wondered to hear this talk between\nthe goose-girl and the horse\u2019s head, but he said nothing. He and the\nPrincess went on out to the meadows driving the geese before them,\nand when they were far off in the meadows where no one could see, the\nPrincess sat down and unbound her golden hair, so that it fell all\nabout her in a shower, and began to comb it.\n\nConrad had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life before,\nfor her hair shone and glittered in the sunshine until it was enough\nto dazzle one. He longed to have just one thread of it to keep, so he\ncrept up behind the Princess, meaning to steal one. But the Princess\nknew what he was about. Just as he reached out his hand she sang:\n\n    \u201cBlow, wind, blow!\n     Blow Conrad\u2019s hat away.\n     It is rolling! Do not stay\n     Till I have combed my hair\n     And tied it up again.\u201d\n\nAt once the wind caught Conrad\u2019s hat from his head and sent it flying\nand rolling across the meadows, and Conrad was obliged to run after it\nor he would have lost it.\n\nBy the time he came back again with the hat the Princess had combed her\nhair and fastened it up under her cap so that not a thread of it could\nbe seen.\n\nConrad was very cross when he went home with the Princess that evening.\nHe would not speak a word to her.\n\nThe next morning when they started out with the geese they passed under\nthe gateway as usual, and the Princess looked up and said:\n\n    \u201cAh, Falada, that thou shouldst hang there!\u201d\n\nAnd the head answered:\n\n    \u201cAh, Princess, that thou shouldst pass here!\n     If thy mother knew thy fate,\n     Then her heart would surely break.\u201d\n\nConrad listened and wondered, but said nothing.\n\nWhen they reached the meadow the Princess let down her hair as before\nand began to comb it. It looked so beautiful and glittering and bright\nthat Conrad felt he must have a hair of it. He crept up behind her and\nthen, just as he was about to seize it, the Princess sang:\n\n    \u201cBlow, wind, blow!\n     Blow Conrad\u2019s hat away.\n     It is rolling! Do not stay\n     Till I have combed my hair\n     And tied it up again.\u201d\n\nAt once the wind whirled Conrad\u2019s hat away across the meadows, and he\nhad to run after it to catch it.\n\nWhen he came back he was so sulky that he would not even look at the\nPrincess, but already she had her hair combed and fastened up under her\ncap.\n\nThat evening the goose-herd went to the King and said, \u201cI do not wish\nthat girl to go out to the meadows with me any more. I would rather\ntake care of the geese by myself.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy?\u201d asked the King. \u201cWhat is the matter with her?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, she vexes me, and she has strange ways that I cannot understand.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat ways?\u201d asked the King.\n\nThen Conrad told him how every day as he and the girl passed through\nthe gateway she would look up at the horse\u2019s head and say:\n\n    \u201cAh, Falada, that thou shouldst hang there!\u201d\n\nAnd how the head would answer:\n\n    \u201cAh, Princess that thou shouldst pass here!\n     If thy mother knew thy fate,\n     Then her heart would surely break.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not like such strange ways,\u201d said Conrad.\n\nThe King looked thoughtful and stroked his beard. Then he told Conrad\nnot to say anything about this matter to anyone. \u201cI myself,\u201d said he,\n\u201cwill watch by the gateway to-morrow morning, for I wish to hear for\nmyself exactly what passes between the girl and Falada.\u201d\n\nSo the next morning very early the King hid himself in the shadow\nbeside the gateway, and presently the Princess and Conrad came along\ndriving the geese before them.\n\nAs they reached the gateway the Princess looked up and sighed:\n\n    \u201cAh, Falada, that thou shouldst hang there!\u201d\n\nAnd the head answered:\n\n    \u201cAh, Princess, that thou shouldst pass here!\n     If thy mother knew thy fate,\n     Then her heart would surely break.\u201d\n\nAfter they had spoken thus the King stepped out from the shadow and\ncalled to the Princess. \u201cWhat is the meaning of these words?\u201d asked he.\n\u201cWho are you, and what is your story?\u201d\n\nThe Princess began to weep. \u201cAlas, I cannot answer,\u201d said she, \u201cfor I\nhave sworn that I would not tell a single living soul.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the King, \u201cif you have sworn, then you must keep your\noath; but to-night, after all the servants have left the bakehouse go\nand tell your story to the great oven that is there.\u201d\n\nThis the Princess promised she would do. So that night, when she came\nhome, she went into the bakehouse and looked about her. She saw no one,\nand she thought she was alone there, but the King had hidden himself\ninside the oven, though she did not know it.\n\nThen the Princess began to tell her story to the oven. She told how\nshe had left home with her false-hearted waiting-maid. She told of how\nshe had lost the kerchief with the drops of blood upon it, and how the\nwaiting-maid had made her exchange clothing with her and dress herself\nas a servant; and she told how she had been forced to swear that she\nwould not tell all this to a living soul. All, the whole story, she\ntold to the bake-oven, and the King sat inside of it and listened and\nunderstood.\n\nWhen she had made an end of speaking the King came out and took her by\nthe hand. \u201cYou have been very cruelly treated,\u201d said he, \u201cbut now your\nsorrows are over.\u201d\n\nHe then led the Princess into the palace, and she was dressed in the\nrichest clothes that were there, and when this was done she was as\nbeautiful as the moon when the clouds drift over it.\n\nThe King sent for the Prince, and when he saw the Princess he was\nfilled with joy and love, and he knew at once that this must be his\ntrue bride.\n\nHe and the King planned together as to how the false bride should be\npunished. And this is what was done:\n\nA grand feast and entertainment were arranged. The Prince sat upon a\nhigh seat with the false bride upon one hand and the true bride upon\nthe other. But the false bride was so dazzled by all the splendor, and\nby her own pride that she did not even see the Princess.\n\nEveryone ate and drank to his heart\u2019s content, and then the King\nbegan asking riddles. After the riddles he said he would tell the\nguests a story, and the story he told was that of the Princess and the\nwaiting-maid, and still the false bride was too dazzled by her own\nsplendor to understand the story.\n\nWhen he had finished the story the King asked, \u201cWhat should be the\npunishment of such a false servant as that?\u201d\n\nThen the false bride cried boldly, \u201cShe should be taken to a high cliff\nand thrown over into the sea.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo shall it be,\u201d cried the King sternly, \u201cfor you yourself are that\nfalse servant, and here sits the true bride whom you have wronged.\u201d\n\nThen the waiting-maid understood what she had done, and she was filled\nwith terror. But the Princess had pity on her, and begged for mercy\nfor her. So the waiting-maid was not thrown into the sea, but her fine\nclothes were stripped from her, and she was driven out to beg her way\nthrough the world.\n\nThen the Prince and Princess were married and lived happily ever after,\nand Falada\u2019s head was taken down and placed upon his body and he came\nto life again and lived for many years in the castle stable, and the\nPrincess loved him dearly.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE LITTLE OLD WOMAN AND HER PIG\n\n\nOne time a little old woman was sweeping her room, and she found in the\ncorner a bright silver shilling. \u201cThere!\u201d said the old woman, \u201cNow I\ncan buy that little pig I have been wanting for such a long time.\u201d\n\nShe finished her sweeping in a hurry and put on her bonnet and her\nshawl and started off to market to buy her pig, and she carried a tin\npail with her so she could gather blackberries along the way.\n\nThe bushes were fairly loaded down with berries, so it did not take her\nlong to fill her pail, and after that she got to market in no time.\n\nAt first she could not find just the pig she wanted. Some were too\nlittle and some were too big; some were too fat and some were too thin.\nBut at last she found just exactly the right pig; it was round and\npink and it had one black ear, and the curliest tail there was in the\nmarket. She paid just exactly a shilling for it, and then she tied a\nrope around its hind leg and started home with it, driving it before\nher, and carrying the pail of blackberries on her arm.\n\nAt first all went well. The little pig trotted quietly along, and the\nsun shone, and the birds sang, and the little white clouds floated\nacross the sky. But presently they came to a stile, and the pig did not\nwant to go over it. Now, there was no way to go round, and no way to\nget home except over this stile.\n\n\u201cGo on, piggy,\u201d said the old woman, shaking the rope. But piggy\nwouldn\u2019t go on. The old woman tried to drive him, and he wouldn\u2019t go,\nand then she tried to lead him, and then she coaxed him and talked to\nhim, but he just _wouldn\u2019t_ go over the stile.\n\nAt last the old woman quite lost patience with him. She saw a dog\ntrotting along the road, and she called to him. \u201cHere! here, good dog;\ncome and bite piggy, for I can\u2019t make pig go over the stile, and at\nthis rate I won\u2019t get home till midnight with my pail of fine ripe\nblackberries.\u201d\n\nThe dog stopped and looked at her and looked at the pig, but he would\nnot bite it.\n\n[Illustration: THE PIG WOULD NOT GO OVER THE STILE]\n\nClose by a stick lay in the road, and the woman called to it (and she\nwas quite cross by this time). \u201cStick, stick, beat dog; dog won\u2019t bite\npig, pig won\u2019t go over the stile, and at this rate I shan\u2019t get home\ntill midnight with my pail of fine ripe blackberries.\u201d\n\nBut the stick wouldn\u2019t. It lay there quietly in the road just as though\nshe hadn\u2019t spoken to it.\n\nOver in the field a fire was burning, and the old woman called to it,\n\u201cFire, fire, burn stick; stick won\u2019t beat dog, dog won\u2019t bite pig,\npig won\u2019t go over the stile, and at this rate I won\u2019t get home till\nmidnight with my pail of fine ripe blackberries.\u201d\n\nBut the fire wouldn\u2019t.\n\nThen the old woman called to a brook near by, \u201cWater, water, quench\nfire; fire won\u2019t burn stick, stick won\u2019t beat dog, dog won\u2019t bite pig,\npig won\u2019t go over the stile, and I shan\u2019t get home till midnight with\nmy pail of fine ripe blackberries.\u201d\n\nBut the brook wouldn\u2019t.\n\nShe saw an ox over in the field. \u201cOx, ox,\u201d she cried, \u201cdrink water;\nwater won\u2019t quench fire, fire won\u2019t burn stick, stick won\u2019t beat dog,\ndog won\u2019t bite pig, pig won\u2019t go over the stile, and I shan\u2019t get home\ntill midnight with my pail of fine ripe blackberries.\u201d\n\nBut the ox wouldn\u2019t.\n\nShe saw a butcher riding along the road, and she called to him\n\u201cButcher, butcher, kill ox; ox won\u2019t drink water, water won\u2019t quench\nfire, fire won\u2019t burn stick, stick won\u2019t beat dog, dog won\u2019t bite pig,\npig won\u2019t go over the stile, and I won\u2019t get home till midnight with my\npail of fine ripe blackberries.\u201d\n\nBut the butcher wouldn\u2019t.\n\nThere was a piece of rope twisted about the fence. \u201cRope, rope,\u201d she\ncried, \u201chang butcher; butcher won\u2019t kill ox, ox won\u2019t drink water,\nwater won\u2019t quench fire, fire won\u2019t burn stick, stick won\u2019t beat dog,\ndog won\u2019t bite pig, pig won\u2019t go over the stile, and I shan\u2019t get home\ntill midnight with my pail of fine ripe blackberries.\u201d\n\nBut the rope wouldn\u2019t.\n\nThen she called to a rat that lived in a hole under the stile, \u201cRat,\nrat, gnaw rope; rope won\u2019t hang butcher, butcher won\u2019t kill ox, ox\nwon\u2019t drink water, water won\u2019t quench fire, fire won\u2019t burn stick,\nstick won\u2019t beat dog, dog won\u2019t bite pig, pig won\u2019t go over the\nstile, and I shan\u2019t get home till midnight with my pail of fine ripe\nblackberries.\u201d\n\nBut the rat wouldn\u2019t.\n\nA cat was sitting on a gate-post. \u201cPuss, puss, catch rat,\u201d called the\nold woman. \u201cRat won\u2019t gnaw rope, rope won\u2019t hang butcher, butcher\nwon\u2019t kill ox, ox won\u2019t drink water, water won\u2019t quench fire, fire\nwon\u2019t burn stick, stick won\u2019t beat dog, dog won\u2019t bite pig, and I\nshan\u2019t get home till midnight with my pail of fine ripe blackberries.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d answered puss, \u201cI am very comfortable sitting here. Why should I\ndisturb myself just to please you. But if you will get the red cow to\ngive you a saucerful of milk for me then I will catch the rat.\u201d\n\nSo the little old woman tied the pig to the stile, and then she climbed\nover the fence into the field where the red cow was standing.\n\n\u201cPlease, good cow, give me a saucerful of milk for puss,\u201d she said, \u201cso\nthat puss will catch the rat that won\u2019t gnaw the rope that won\u2019t hang\nthe butcher who won\u2019t kill the ox that won\u2019t drink the water that won\u2019t\nquench the fire that won\u2019t burn the stick that won\u2019t beat the dog that\nwon\u2019t bite the pig that won\u2019t go over the stile so that I can get home\nbefore midnight with my pail of fine ripe blackberries.\u201d\n\nSaid the cow, \u201cIf you will go over yonder to where the haymakers are\nworking and fetch me a wisp of hay to eat, then I will give you the\nmilk.\u201d\n\nSo the little old woman went over to the haymakers and said, \u201cPlease,\ngood kind haymakers, give me a wisp of hay to give to the cow so that\nshe may give me some milk to give to the cat.\u201d\n\nThe haymakers were very hot and thirsty and they said, \u201cVery well; if\nyou will go down to the stream and fetch us a pailful of water we will\ngive you the hay.\u201d\n\nSo the little old woman emptied out her blackberries on the ground very\ncarefully and then she hurried down to the stream and brought back to\nthe haymakers a pailful of fresh cool water.\n\nThe haymakers drank deep of it and then they gave the little old woman\nall the hay she wanted. She put the blackberries back in the pail and\nhurried back to the cow with the hay.\n\nThe cow gladly gave her a saucerful of milk in return for the hay.\n\nThe old woman took the milk to the cat, and while puss was drinking it\nthe old woman untied the rope that fastened the pig to the stile.\n\nPuss finished the milk and licked up the last drop of it, and then she\nbounded down beside the stile and began to catch the rat.\n\nThe rat squeaked with terror and began to gnaw the rope.\n\nThe rope began to hang the butcher, the butcher began to kill the ox,\nthe ox began to drink the water, the water began to quench the fire,\nthe fire began to burn the stick, the stick began to beat the dog, the\ndog began to bite the pig, and the pig squealed at the top of its lungs\nand scrambled over the stile and ran for home so fast that the little\nold woman could hardly keep up with it.\n\nThey got home in less than no time; it wasn\u2019t even midday, and the\nlittle old woman had her blackberries for dinner, and what was left\nover she gave to the pig.\n\n\n\n\nTHE WHITE CAT\n\n\nThere was once a king who had three sons, and he loved them all so\ntenderly that each one was dearer to him than the others. He loved them\nall so well that he could not make up his mind to which one to leave\nhis kingdom. He thought and thought, and then he called his wise old\ncouncilor to him and asked his advice.\n\n\u201cYour Majesty,\u201d said the Councilor, \u201cyou love all three of the princes\nequally, and so my advice is to leave the kingdom to the one who loves\nyou best.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I do not know which one loves me best,\u201d said the King.\n\n\u201cThen set them three tasks. The one who performs the tasks the best,\nand who takes the most trouble to please you,\u2014he must be the one who\nbears you the most love.\u201d\n\nThis advice pleased the King, and he sent for his three sons, and told\nthem what he had decided to do. \u201cI have,\u201d said he, \u201ca great wish for a\nlittle dog to amuse me. I will give you a year in which to find me the\nsmallest and prettiest little dog in the world. Whichever of you will\nbring me such a dog shall receive a third of my kingdom.\u201d\n\nAs soon as the princes heard this they were eager to set out in search\nof such a dog. The two older brothers were sure one of them would find\nit, for they did not think much of their younger brother. Each one\nrode away to a great city, and went to the best dog dealers there. The\neldest son bought a little white dog no larger than a small kitten,\nand very pretty and playful. The second son bought a red dog so small\nit could curl up in the palm of his hand. Each was content with his\nchoice, and rode home without searching further.\n\nThe King was delighted with the dogs they brought, and his sons wished\nhim to decide at once as to which of them deserved the kingdom, but\nthis the King would not do. \u201cNo, no,\u201d said he, \u201cwe must wait until your\nbrother comes. He can hardly find another dog as pretty as these, but\nstill it is only right to wait until he returns, or until the year is\nup.\u201d\n\nMeanwhile the youngest prince had ridden on and on, much farther\nthan either of his other brothers. Everywhere he asked for dogs, and\nhundreds of them were brought to him, big and little, fat and thin,\nblack and white, and gray and red and yellow. But not one of them was\nwhat the Prince wanted.\n\nAt last one day he came to a deep forest. A storm had risen; the Prince\nwas wet to the skin with rain, and covered with mud. He saw a light\nbefore him shining through the trees, and he rode toward it. He hoped\nhe might find there some shelter for the night.\n\nWhat was his surprise, as he drew near the light, to see it came from a\nmagnificent palace that had been built here in the deep forest far away\nfrom any city. The Prince knocked at the door and at once it opened\nbefore him. He went in and looked about him, but he saw no one, though\ninvisible hands closed the door behind him. An unseen hand took his and\nhe was led through several rooms to a handsome chamber that seemed to\nhave been made ready for him. His wet and muddy clothes were removed\nand he was dressed in a suit of white and silver; but with all this he\nstill saw no one.\n\nHe was then led to a banquet hall where a fine feast was laid out.\n\nSuddenly, while the Prince stood looking about him there was a sound\nof trumpets; the doors opposite to him swung open, and a strange\nprocession marched into the room. First, walking upright came a small\nand very pretty white cat. She was dressed all in black, and wore a\nlong black veil, and an ebony crown. She was followed by other cats.\nSome of these were dressed as ladies-in-waiting, some as courtiers, and\nsome as trumpeters.\n\nThe White Cat came up to the Prince and bade him welcome. \u201cI saw you as\nyou rode through the forest,\u201d she said, \u201cand this feast was made ready\nfor you. Come, Prince, let us take our places at the table and eat.\u201d\n\nThe cat then seated herself at the head of the table and motioned the\nPrince to sit beside her.\n\nUnseen hands at once served them with the most rare and delicious\ndishes. The cat ate daintily, and the Prince noticed that she touched\nnothing but some oddly cooked birds, and some cream.\n\nHe himself was hungry and ate of everything, and while he ate the White\nCat talked to him with so much sense and wit that he was delighted with\nher.\n\nAfter supper the White Cat left him and he was led by invisible hands\nto a magnificent chamber, where he spent the night.\n\nThe next morning when he awoke he found a hunting-suit of green laid\nout for him, and high riding-boots and a plumed hat. Unseen hands\ndressed him, and food was served to him in a breakfast-room hung about\nwith curtains of satin embroidered with gold.\n\nAfter he had eaten, the Prince went in search of the White Cat. He\nfound her in the courtyard. She and her attendants and several cats\ndressed as huntsmen were about to set out on a hunt. She invited the\nPrince to go with them, and he gladly accepted.\n\n[Illustration: THE PRINCE GOES HUNTING WITH THE WHITE CAT]\n\nA troop of monkeys all saddled and bridled were led up to the palace\nsteps. The Prince looked on in wonder while the White Cat sprang\nupon the back of the largest and finest monkey. The other cats also\nmounted, but as the Prince was too large to ride a monkey a large\nwooden horse on wheels was brought for him to ride. This seemed so\nabsurd to the Prince that he was about to refuse, but the White Cat\nmotioned him to it so politely that he was ashamed to say no. He sprang\nto the back of the wooden steed, and at once he felt it move and stir\nunder him as though it were alive. The cat-huntsmen sounded their\nhorns, and away the hunting-party went. The White Cat and the Prince\nrode first, and the Prince found the wooden horse rolled along so\nsmoothly and swiftly that nothing could have been pleasanter.\n\nThe day was spent in hunting through the forest, and in the evening\nthere was another grand feast at the palace, this time with music and\ndancing. The dancers were six large black cats dressed in spangled\nclothes, and their leaps and bounds and twirlings were wonderful. The\nPrince had never been so well amused in his life before.\n\nDay after day slipped by, and still the Prince stayed at the White\nCat\u2019s palace, and he was so happy there that he quite forgot his father\nand the kingdom he had hoped to win. The year had passed, all but three\ndays, when suddenly the Prince remembered his errand. He was filled\nwith dismay, for now it was too late for him to seek for a little dog,\nand he feared he had lost all chance of winning the kingdom.\n\nBut the White Cat saw his trouble. \u201cDo not be dismayed, Prince,\u201d she\nsaid. \u201cI know the errand that brought you here, and I am ready to help\nyou.\u201d She then handed him an acorn. \u201cHere,\u201d she said, \u201ctake this and\nyou will find in it the thing you seek.\u201d\n\nThe Prince thought the cat was mocking him, but she bade him put the\nacorn to his ear and listen. When he did this he could hear from within\nthe acorn a sound of barking as thin and small as the squeaking of a\nmouse.\n\n\u201cDo not open it until you reach home,\u201d said the White Cat. \u201cThen, when\nyour father sees what is inside of it he will know that you are the one\nwho deserves the kingdom.\u201d\n\nThe Prince thanked the cat, and mounted his own horse, which had been\nbrought from the stables, and rode on home. Just before he reached his\nfather\u2019s palace he bought an ugly dog from a beggar, and took it with\nhim.\n\nWhen he entered the palace he went at once to the room where his\nfather sat upon his throne with his two elder sons by him.\n\nWhen the two princes saw their younger brother enter the court with the\nugly dog at his heels they laughed aloud with scorn. They felt very\nsure that now the kingdom would belong to them.\n\nThe King was very much offended. He spoke to the young Prince harshly.\n\u201cWhy do you bring such an ugly cur to my court?\u201d he asked. \u201cHave you no\nmore respect for my wishes than to present me with such a dog as that?\u201d\n\nThe Prince, however, answered gently, \u201cDear father, have patience for a\nmoment and I may offer you something that will please you better.\u201d\n\nHe then drew out the acorn and opened it. Inside it was a tiny satin\ncushion, and upon this cushion lay a dog so small and so exquisite that\nthe King was filled with wonder. He could scarcely believe his eyes.\n\n\u201cTruly you deserve to have the kingdom at once,\u201d cried he, \u201cbut I have\npromised that there shall be three trials before I give the kingdom to\nany one of you.\u201d\n\nThe King then told the princes that he wished them to bring him a\npiece of muslin so fine and delicate that it could be drawn through the\neye of a needle. Whichever one succeeded best should receive at least a\npart of the kingdom.\n\nThe three princes at once set out on this new errand. The elder\nbrothers sought out the dealers in great cities as before, but the\nyoungest Prince rode straight to the castle of the White Cat.\n\nThe cat received him kindly. \u201cI know what is required of you,\u201d she\nsaid. \u201cDo not trouble yourself in the matter. Stay here with me, and\nwhen the proper time arrives you shall have what is needed.\u201d\n\nSo the Prince stayed there in the White Cat\u2019s palace for a year, all\nbut three days, and the time passed even more pleasantly than before.\nAt the end of that time the White Cat gave a walnut to the Prince.\n\u201cTake this,\u201d she said, \u201cand do not open it until you are at home again.\nWithin it you will find what you desire.\u201d\n\nThe Prince took the walnut and rode away. When he reached the court\nhis brothers were already there. Each had brought with him a piece of\nmuslin so fine that it would pass through the eye of a darning-needle,\nbut they could not draw it through the eye of a cambric needle.\n\nThen the third Prince took out the walnut and cracked it. Within\nit he expected to see a piece of muslin, but instead he found\nonly a hazel-nut. He cracked the hazel-nut and inside of it was a\ncherry-stone. He cracked the cherry-stone and inside of it was a grain\nof wheat. The Prince began to fear the White Cat had deceived him, and\nthat he must lose the kingdom. As for his brothers, they laughed aloud\nand mocked at him.\n\n\u201cWhat trick is this that you are playing on us?\u201d they asked. \u201cIf you\nhave the muslin show it to us, and if not then confess to our father\nthat you have failed.\u201d\n\nWithout answering, the Prince cracked the grain of wheat, and inside it\nwas a millet-seed. His heart sank. However, he cracked the millet seed,\nand there was the piece of muslin the cat had promised to him. He shook\nit out and there were ells and ells of it and all as fine as gossamer.\nNever had such a piece of cloth been seen before. The King looked and\nwondered and admired. The muslin was so fine it could be drawn not\nonly through the eye of a darning-needle, but through the eye of a\ncambric needle as well.\n\n\u201cThis is a wonderful piece of cloth,\u201d said the King to the young\nPrince. \u201cYou have indeed again deserved the kingdom, but there is one\nmore task to be performed before I can give it to anyone. I wish you to\nbring to me the most beautiful princess in the world. Whichever of you\ncan do this shall receive at least a half of the kingdom.\u201d\n\nWhen the elder brothers heard this they were in haste to set out. The\nyoungest brother had already brought to their father the smallest and\nprettiest dog in the world, and the finest piece of muslin, but with\ngood luck one of them might still bring to him the most beautiful\nprincess. They journeyed away to far kingdoms where there were\nprincesses who were famed for their beauty; but the youngest prince\nrode no place at all but to the palace of the White Cat.\n\nThe cat welcomed him even more kindly than before. \u201cI know what you\nhave come to seek,\u201d said she. \u201cThis matter is not so easy as the others\nwere. But do not be downhearted. I will help you when the proper time\ncomes.\u201d\n\nAgain the days passed pleasantly in the White Cat\u2019s castle, and the\nPrince was well content to stay there. He was so happy that a whole\nyear, all but a day, slipped by before he thought about it. Then one\nmorning he awoke, and remembered that the next day he must be back at\nthe King\u2019s palace with the most beautiful princess in the world, if\nhe were to win the kingdom. \u201cAlas, alas!\u201d he cried. \u201cThe kingdom is\ncertainly lost to me. I have no time left to seek for a princess, and\nmoreover it is a three days\u2019 journey back to the palace. Before I reach\nthere the kingdom will certainly have been divided between my brothers.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave I not promised to help you?\u201d asked the cat. \u201cWhy do you trouble\nyourself? If you do exactly as I tell you the kingdom will be yours;\nand not that kingdom only, but others beside.\u201d\n\nThe cat then told the Prince to draw his sword and cut off her head,\nbut the Prince refused to do such an act. He was filled with horror at\nthe bare thought of it.\n\nThe White Cat began to weep bitterly. \u201cWhat have I not done for you?\u201d\nshe cried; \u201cand you will not do even this one thing for me.\u201d\n\nShe wept and lamented so bitterly that at last the Prince could refuse\nno longer. He drew his sword to cut off the cat\u2019s head, but at the same\ntime he closed his eyes that he might not see the cruel deed.\n\nWhen he opened his eyes again what was his wonder to see no cat, but a\nbeautiful princess who stood before him smiling. Never had he seen such\nbeauty before.\n\n\u201cPrince,\u201d said the Princess, \u201cyou have saved me from a cruel fate. I\nwas taken by the fairies when I was a baby and lived with them as a\ndaughter until I grew up. Then I made them angry because I would not\nmarry a very rich and ugly dwarf who was a friend of theirs. They then\nchanged me and all my companions into cats, and we were obliged to live\nin these shapes until some young and kind-hearted prince would cut off\nmy head. This you have done, and now we are all restored to our proper\nshapes again. This shows me that the fairies have forgiven me and will\ngive me back the two kingdoms that were mine by rights.\u201d\n\nThe Princess, a cat no longer, then ordered the wooden horse to be\nbrought to the door. She and the Prince mounted upon it, and away\nthey went, so fast that the wind whistled past their ears. The three\nday\u2019s journey was made in less than a day, and when the Prince led the\nPrincess into court, everyone was obliged to own that now he had indeed\nfairly won the kingdom. His two brothers had also brought home with\nthem beautiful princesses, but neither could compare in beauty with the\nbride of the youngest Prince; for his bride she had promised to be.\n\nAs soon as a feast could be prepared, she and the young Prince were\nmarried.\n\nAs the Princess had already two kingdoms of her own she begged the old\nKing to divide his kingdom between his two elder sons. This was done,\nthe older princes were married to the beauties they had brought home\nwith them, and they all lived in love and happiness forever after.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nBRITTLE-LEGS\n\n\nThere was once a man who was such a boaster that scarcely a word he\nsaid was true. One day he was talking with some companions and he said,\n\u201cI have no need to work or worry over anything. I could be richer than\nthe King himself if I chose, for I have a daughter who can spin straw\ninto gold.\u201d\n\nA nobleman who was passing by overheard this, and he went to the King\nand repeated to him what the man had said.\n\nNow the King of that country was very fond of gold; he never could\nhave enough of it. He at once sent to the boaster\u2019s house and had him\nand his daughter brought to the palace. They were brought to where the\nKing sat, and the King said, \u201cI hear that you have boasted that your\ndaughter can spin straw into gold. Is that true?\u201d\n\nThe man was very much frightened when he heard this, but he was afraid\nto deny what he had already said.\n\n\u201cYes, your majesty, that is what I said,\u201d he answered.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the King. \u201cWe shall soon know whether you have spoken\nthe truth or not. I have had a large room made ready for your daughter.\nIt is filled with straw. I will have her taken to it, and if she spins\nit into gold you shall be well rewarded, but if she fails you shall\nboth be punished severely.\u201d\n\nBoth the father and daughter were terrified at these words. They did\nnot know what would become of them. The boaster was allowed to go home,\nbut the girl was taken to a large room filled with straw, and was left\nthere. She sat and cried and cried.\n\nPresently the door opened and a crooked little brown dwarf came into\nthe room.\n\n\u201cTut, tut, what a noise,\u201d said he. \u201cWhy are you crying so bitterly.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am crying because the King has put me here to spin this straw into\ngold, and I do not know how to set about it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat should not be such a hard matter. What will you give me if I do\nit for you?\u201d\n\n\u201cThis necklace around my neck,\u201d said the girl.\n\n\u201cVery well, give it to me.\u201d The dwarf took the necklace and sat down to\nthe spinning wheel, and it did not take him long to spin all the straw\ninto gold\u2014heaps and heaps of it. Then he hopped away, and no one saw\nhim come or go but the girl.\n\nEarly the next morning the King came to see how the girl was getting\non. When he saw the room full of glittering gold instead of straw he\nwas filled with joy and wonder. But for all that he was not satisfied.\nHe led the girl into a still larger room, and it, too, was full of\nstraw.\n\n\u201cYou have done very well,\u201d said he, \u201cbut I expect you to do still\nbetter. Spin this straw into gold for me and the reward shall not be\nlacking.\u201d Then he went away, leaving the girl alone.\n\nShe sat and cried and cried.\n\nPresently the door opened, and the same little dwarf came hopping into\nthe room.\n\n\u201cWhat will you give me,\u201d said he, \u201cif I spin this straw into gold for\nyou?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give you the gold ring from my finger,\u201d answered the girl.\n\nThe dwarf sat down at the spinning wheel, and soon all the straw was\nspun into gold. Then the dwarf took the ring from the girl\u2019s finger and\nwent away.\n\nThe next day, when the King came and saw all the gold he was even more\ndelighted than before. He was now as rich as any emperor, but even yet\nhe was not content. He took the girl into a still larger room, and it,\nlike the others, was full of straw.\n\n\u201cIf you will spin this, too, into gold, then you shall be my bride,\u201d\nsaid he.\n\nThe King had scarcely left her before the dwarf came hopping into the\nroom. \u201cWell,\u201d said he, \u201cwhat will you give me this time if I spin the\nstraw into gold for you?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas, alas!\u201d cried the girl, \u201cI have nothing more to give.\u201d\n\n\u201cPromise me that if the King marries you, you will give me your first\nchild, and I will help you,\u201d said the dwarf.\n\nAt first the girl did not want to promise this, but then she thought\nthat after all it was very unlikely the King would marry her, and even\nif he did she might never have a child. \u201cVery well,\u201d said she, \u201cI\npromise.\u201d\n\nThe dwarf laughed aloud and snapped his fingers with joy. Then he\nsat down at the spinning wheel and spun till the wheel whirred. You\ncould scarcely see it, it flew so fast. Soon all the straw was spun.\n\u201cThere,\u201d said he, \u201cnow you will not need me again. But do not forget\nyour promise, for at the right time I shall certainly come to claim the\nchild.\u201d Then he hopped away, laughing as he went.\n\nNot long afterward the King came into the room. He could wait no longer\nto see whether the girl had finished her task. When he saw the heaps of\ngold, more than ever before, he hardly knew what to do with himself, he\nwas so happy.\n\n\u201cNow I am satisfied,\u201d said he. \u201cYou shall be my wife, as I promised,\nand your father shall be brought to court and become a great nobleman.\u201d\n\nAs the King said, so it was done. He and the girl were married, and her\nfather was sent for to come and live at the court.\n\nAnd now the girl was very happy. She loved the King, and she had\nforgotten all about the promise she had made to the dwarf.\n\nAt the end of a year a fine little child was born to the Queen. The\nwhole kingdom was filled with rejoicings. As to the King he was almost\nbeside himself with joy.\n\nOne day, as the Queen was sitting by the baby\u2019s cradle, the door\nopened, and the crooked little dwarf hopped into the room. When the\nQueen saw him she turned as white as paper.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the dwarf, \u201cand are you ready to keep the promise you made\nwhen I spun the straw into gold for you?\u201d\n\nThen the Queen began to beg and entreat that the dwarf would leave the\nbaby with her, and not take it away. She offered him gold and jewels,\nand even the golden crown from her head, if he would only leave her the\nchild. But no\u2014no\u2014the dwarf had gold and jewels, more than he cared for.\nIt was the young Prince he wanted.\n\nAt last he said, \u201cListen, I will give you one chance. If within three\ndays you can guess what my name is you shall keep the child, but if you\nfail in this then you must give him to me, and no more words about it.\u201d\n\nTo this the Queen agreed willingly, for she had no fear but what she\ncould guess the dwarf\u2019s name.\n\nAs soon as he had gone she sent out to all the neighbors round to learn\nwhat were the names of all the men they knew, and when the dwarf came\nthe next day she was ready for him.\n\n\u201cWas his name John?\u201d \u201cNo, it was not.\u201d \u201cWas it Henry?\u201d \u201cNo.\u201d \u201cWas it\nJames or Conrad or Phillip or Habbakuk?\u201d \u201cNo, no, no; it was none of\nthem.\u201d The Queen went over all the names she had learned, but not one\nof them was the right one, and the dwarf went away rejoicing.\n\nThe next day he came again and the Queen had a fresh list of names\nready, for she had sent out messengers far and wide, and they had\nbrought back every name they could hear of. But the dwarf said no to\nall of them. Not one of them was right. Then the Queen\u2019s heart sank\nwithin her, but she plucked up courage, and as soon as the dwarf had\ngone, sent out other messengers, but these brought back not a single\nname but those she knew already. The Queen was in despair. She sat at\nthe window and waited for the dwarf to come, and she held the baby in\nher arms.\n\nThen she heard the King\u2019s forester talking to his sweetheart in the\ncourtyard below. He had heard nothing of how the Queen had sent far\nand wide to gather names, for he had been off in the forest for three\ndays. The forester told his sweetheart how he had lost his way in the\nforest the night before. Then he had come to a hollow, and it was full\nof rocks, and a red fire was burning among them. Around this fire a\ncrooked little dwarf was dancing and as he danced he sang:\n\n    \u201cTo-day I brew, to-night I bake,\n     To-morrow I the young prince take,\n     For none could guess, unless they were told\n     That Brittle-Legs is the name I hold.\u201d\n\nWhen the Queen heard that, she laughed aloud. Then she arose and put\nthe baby down, and sent word to the forester that he should tell no one\nelse of what he had seen in the forest.\n\nNot long afterward the dwarf came as usual.\n\n\u201cWell, and have you guessed my name?\u201d he asked; \u201cfor if you have not I\nmust have the child.\u201d\n\nThe Queen pretended to be in great trouble. \u201cIs it\u2014is it Short-Shanks?\u201d\nshe asked.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d cried the dwarf and his eyes shone like sparks.\n\n\u201cIs it Long-Arms?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d shouted the dwarf, and he hopped up and down with joy.\n\n\u201cIs it\u2014is it by any chance Brittle-Legs?\u201d\n\nWhen the Queen said that the dwarf gave a scream of rage. His face grew\nfirst as black as thunder, and then as red as fire.\n\n\u201cSomeone has told you! Someone has told you!\u201d he shrieked and he\nstamped so hard that his foot sank down into the floor and he could not\npull it out, so he shook it off and hopped away, leaving one leg behind\nhim, and what became of him after that nobody ever knew. But the Queen\nlived happy and untroubled forever after.\n\n\n\n\n\u201cI WENT UP ONE PAIR OF STAIRS,\u201d ETC.\n\n\nNow I will tell you a joke; whatever I say to you, you must answer\n\u201cJust like me.\u201d Now we will begin.\n\nI went up one pair of stairs.\n\n_Just like me._\n\nI went up two pair of stairs.\n\n_Just like me._\n\nI turned myself round about.\n\n_Just like me._\n\nI went up three pair of stairs.\n\n_Just like me._\n\nI made a cross on the wall.\n\n_Just like me._\n\nI went up four pair of stairs.\n\n_Just like me._\n\nI looked out of a window.\n\n_Just like me._\n\nAnd I found I was up as high as the highest tree-top.\n\n_Just like me._\n\nI saw something moving about in the highest tree-top.\n\n_Just like me._\n\nI stared and stared to see what it was.\n\n_Just like me._\n\nAnd then I saw it was a little monkey.\n\n_Just like me._\n\nJust like you! Ha, ha! You said the monkey was just like you; I think\nyou must be a little monkey yourself if it looked just like you.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nNow I will tell you something else. I will say _one_ and then you must\nsay _two_; I will say _three_, and you must say _four_ and so on; but\neach time we must say after the number \u201ca dead horse.\u201d Like this. I say\n_one_ a dead horse, and you must say _two_ a dead horse.\n\nNow begin.\n\nOne a dead horse.\n\n_Two a dead horse._\n\nThree a dead horse.\n\n_Four a dead horse._\n\nFive a dead horse.\n\n_Six a dead horse._\n\nSeven a dead horse.\n\n_Eight a dead horse._\n\nEight a dead horse! Ate a dead horse! You said you ate a dead horse.\nOh! oh! Did it taste good? I hope you enjoyed it. For my part I\nwouldn\u2019t care to eat a dead horse.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nNow I will tell you what kind of a lock I am, and you must be the same\nkind of a key. If I say I am a gray lock, you must say you are a gray\nkey. If I say I am a queer lock you must say you are a queer key. If I\nsay I am a rusty lock you must say you are a rusty key.\n\nI am a gray lock.\n\n_I\u2019m a gray key._\n\nI\u2019m a red lock.\n\n_I\u2019m a red key._\n\nI\u2019m a dull lock.\n\n_I\u2019m a dull key._\n\nI\u2019m a monk lock.\n\n_I\u2019m a monk key._\n\nYou\u2019re a monkey! You\u2019re a monkey. That\u2019s the second time you\u2019ve said\nit, so now I\u2019m sure it must be so. Well, what other kinds of locks and\nkeys are we? Let us begin all over again.\n\nI\u2019m a don lock.\n\n_I\u2019m a don key._\n\nAre you indeed? Are you really a dear little donkey? Who would have\nthought it?\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE STRAW, THE COAL, AND THE BEAN\n\n\nA bean and a hot coal met each other on the highroad, and as they\nwere both rolling along in the same direction they soon struck up a\nfriendship.\n\nPresently they were joined by a straw, and the three began talking\ntogether. They were all going out in the world to seek their fortunes.\n\n\u201cIt is just a bit of luck that I can travel about in this way,\u201d said\nthe bean. \u201cIf I had not been a stout active fellow I would have been\nboiled into soup by now. The mistress was about to throw me into the\npot with a lot of other beans, but I managed to slip through her\nfingers and rolled out through the doorway and down the steps without\nher even noticing I was gone.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat was a clever trick,\u201d said the hot coal. \u201cI, too, am a lively\nchap. I and my brothers were set to heat a kettle, but I jumped out\nof the fire, and I was so hot the cook did not dare to touch me. She\npushed me out of doors with her foot, and now I am free to go about the\nworld as I choose, and seek my fortune.\u201d\n\nThe straw sighed. \u201cI was never as active as that,\u201d she said. \u201cAlways\nwherever the wind blew me I went. The farmer had picked up a whole\narmful of straws to make a bed for the cow; but the wind caught me up\nand carried me off\u2014and here I am.\u201d\n\nWhile they were talking in this way the comrades came to a brook, and\nthis stopped their journey, for they did not know how to get across.\nThe straw could easily have sailed over on the first puff of wind, but\nthat way would not do for the other two.\n\n\u201cListen!\u201d said the straw. \u201cI am long enough to reach from one side of\nthe stream to the other. I will lay myself across it like a bridge,\nand then you can both walk on over me without getting wet.\u201d\n\nTo this plan the other two were glad to agree, so the straw laid\nherself across the stream.\n\n\u201cYou go first,\u201d said the bean, for he was a cautious fellow, and wanted\nto see whether the bridge was safe before he tried it.\n\nThe coal, however, was quick and fiery. He ran out on the straw, but\nhalf-way over he grew dizzy and had to stop.\n\n\u201cQuick! quick!\u201d cried the straw. \u201cI am burning\u201d; for the coal was still\nvery hot.\n\n\u201cWait,\u201d said the coal, balancing himself. \u201cJust a minute!\u201d\n\nBut the straw could not wait even for a minute. The coal had burned\nthrough it, and down they both went into the water, the coal hissing as\nit fell.\n\nThat seemed so comical to the bean that it began to laugh. It laughed\nand laughed; it laughed so hard that at last it split its skin, and\nthat would have been the end of it if a tailor had not chanced to come\nby just then.\n\n\u201cHelp! help!\u201d cried the bean.\n\nThe tailor looked all about him, and then he saw the bean lying on the\nground. He picked it up, and it did not take him long to see what was\nthe matter with it. \u201cThis slit can be easily mended,\u201d said he, and he\nwhipped out his needle and thread and sewed up the bean in a trice.\nUnluckily he had only black thread, and the stitches made a line of\nblack down the side of the bean. And ever since then, if you look, you\nwill see that every bean of that kind has a black line down one side of\nit.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE WATER-SPRITE\n\n\nA little brother and sister were playing one day on the edge of a well\nthat belonged to a water-sprite. The little girl held her brother\u2019s\nhand, and leaned far over to look down into it.\n\n\u201cIt seems to me that down below there I can see green meadows and\nflocks of sheep moving over them,\u201d she said.\n\n\u201cIt is only the reflection of the clouds,\u201d said the little boy. \u201cBut be\ncareful. I fear you will fall in.\u201d\n\nEven as he spoke the little girl slipped and fell into the well, and as\nshe had hold of her brother\u2019s hand she pulled him in after her.\n\nThe two children went down\u2014down\u2014down\u2014through the waters, and when they\ncame to the bottom they found themselves in a country of green meadows\nand trees and streams, and before them stood a shining castle with\ndomes and towers.\n\nThis castle belonged to the water-sprite who owned the well.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe little brother and sister went up to the castle and knocked at the\ndoor, and at once the water-sprite opened it to them.\n\n\u201cCome in, come in,\u201d said she. \u201cI saw you playing on the edge of the\nwell, and it was I who caused you to fall in. I am lonely here, so you\nshall stay with me and be my servants, and whatever I bid you do that\nyou must do.\u201d\n\nThe water-sprite would have been beautiful if only she had not been so\ngreen. Her face was green and her hair was green, and her eyes were\ngreen. Only her teeth were white.\n\nThe sprite led the children into the kitchen and there she gave the\nlittle girl a bucket that had no bottom. \u201cGo,\u201d said she, \u201cand fetch me\nsome water to boil the dumplings for supper. And you,\u201d said she to the\nboy, \u201cmust cut me some wood,\u201d and she gave him an ax that had no edge.\nIt was as blunt as a hammer.\n\nThe little sister went out to the spring that the water-sprite showed\nher, and tried to dip up water, but as fast as she dipped it up it ran\nout again, for the bucket had no bottom.\n\nThe brother began to chop at a tree near by. He chopped and he chopped\nand he chopped, but he could scarcely make a dent, the ax was so blunt.\n\nWhen the children came back to the castle without either wood or water,\nthe sprite was very cross with them. \u201cI can easily see that you are\nboth very stupid,\u201d said she. \u201cBut sit down; sit down at the table. Even\nif you are stupid I suppose you must eat.\u201d\n\nThe children sat down at the table, and the water-sprite set before\nthem a dish of dumplings, but as the dumplings had not been cooked and\nwere only dough the children could not eat them. They slipped them into\ntheir pockets, and then, when the sprite was not looking they gave the\ndumplings to the water-cat that rubbed about their chairs.\n\nAfter that the children went to bed and slept.\n\nThe next day it was the same thing over again. The water-sprite set\nthem tasks that they could not possibly do, and gave them only dough\nto eat, so the children made up their minds to run away. They waited,\nhowever, until afternoon, when the water-sprite went up to the top of\nthe well to look about her.\n\nWhen they were about to set out, the water-cat said to them, \u201cYou do\nwell to run away. You would not be happy here. But do not think my\nmistress will allow you to escape if she can help it. When she comes\nhome and finds you gone, she will at once set out in pursuit of you.\nShe can go very much faster than you, and she will certainly catch you\nunless you take with you her comb, her brush, and her mirror. These are\nmagic things. Each time you find she is about to catch you, throw one\nor other of these things over your shoulder. By this means, and by this\nmeans only, can you hope to escape.\u201d\n\nThe children thanked the little cat, and did as it advised them. They\ntook the water-sprite\u2019s brush and comb and mirror, and carried them off\nwith them, and ran as fast as they could along the road that led to the\nupper world.\n\nSoon after they had left, the water-sprite came home. When she found\nthem gone she only stopped long enough to scold the cat, and then she\nput on her shoes of swiftness and started after them.\n\nPresently the children looked behind them and saw her coming. She came\nso fast on her shoes of swiftness, that it seemed as though they could\nnot possibly escape her.\n\nHowever, the children remembered what the water-cat had told them. They\nthrew the comb behind them, and at once it spread and grew into a wall\nof spikes, tremendously stiff and high. It took the water-sprite a long\ntime to climb over this wall, and the children were well on their way\nbefore they heard her behind them again.\n\nThen the little girl threw the brush over her shoulder. At once the\nbrush became a great thick forest, through which the water-sprite could\nhardly find her way.\n\nBut she got through it at last, and then it did not take her long to be\nat their heels again.\n\n\u201cAnd now we have only one more thing left,\u201d said the brother, and he\nthrew the mirror behind him.\n\nAt once the mirror became a hill of glass so steep and smooth that no\none could possibly climb it. The sprite tried to run up it, but no\nsooner had she gone a step or so than she slipped back again. At last,\nwith a shriek of rage, she turned and fled back to her castle, and\nthat was the last of her.\n\nBut the children went on their way, and the road led them straight to\nthe upper world and the door of their home. After that they were always\ncareful to keep away from the edge of the water-sprite\u2019s well.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: Star Jewels]\n\n\n\n\nSTAR JEWELS\n\n\nA little girl once lived all alone with her old grandmother upon the\nborders of a forest. They were so poor that they were scarcely able to\nbuy food for their mouths, or clothes to cover them.\n\n\u201cNever mind, Granny,\u201d the little girl would say. \u201cSome day I will be\nbig enough to work, and then I will earn so much that I will be able to\nbuy everything that we need, and to give something to other poor folk\nas well.\u201d\n\nOne day the child went off into the forest to gather fagots. These she\nhoped to sell for a few pennies in the town over beyond the hill. She\nwas to be gone all day, so she took with her into the forest a bit of\nthe black bread, which was all they had left to eat.\n\nIt was winter, and the air was bitterly cold. The child wrapped her\nlittle shawl about her, and ran on as fast as she could. She was\nhungry, but she intended to save her crust until after the fagots were\ngathered.\n\nJust as she reached the edge of the forest she met a boy, even smaller\nthan she herself, and he was crying bitterly.\n\nThe little girl had a tender heart. She stopped and asked the child why\nhe was weeping.\n\n\u201cI am weeping,\u201d he answered, \u201cbecause I am hungry.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave you had nothing to eat to-day?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cI have had nothing, and I am like to starve, for I know not where to\ngo for food.\u201d\n\nThe little girl sighed. \u201cYou are, perhaps, hungrier than I,\u201d she said,\nand she took the crust from her pocket and gave it to the boy. Then she\nagain hurried on.\n\nA little farther on, she met another child who was even more\nmiserable-looking than the first, for this child seemed almost frozen\nwith cold. Her clothing hung about her in rags, and her skin looked\nblue through the rents.\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d cried she, \u201cif I had but a warm little dress like yours! Help me,\nI pray of you, or I will certainly die of cold.\u201d\n\nThe good little girl was filled with pity. \u201cIt is not right,\u201d thought\nshe, \u201cthat I should have both a dress and a shawl. I will give one of\nthem to this poor child.\u201d\n\nShe took off her dress and gave it to the child, and then wrapped the\nshawl closely about her shoulders. In spite of the shawl she felt very\ncold. Still she was near the place where the fagots were to be found,\nand as soon as she had gathered them she would run home again.\n\nShe hastened on, but when she reached the place where the fagots were\nshe saw an old woman already there, gathering up the fallen wood. The\nold woman was so bent and poor and miserable-looking that the little\ngirl\u2019s heart ached for her.\n\n\u201cOh, oh!\u201d groaned the old woman. \u201cHow my poor bones do ache. If I had\nbut a shawl to wrap about my shoulders I would not suffer so.\u201d\n\nThe child thought of her own grandmother, and of how she sometimes\nsuffered, and she had pity on the old woman.\n\n\u201cHere,\u201d said she, \u201ctake my shawl\u201d; and slipping it from her shoulders\nshe gave it to the old woman.\n\nAnd now she stood there in the forest with her arms and shoulders\nbare, and with nothing on her but her little shift. The sharp wind blew\nabout her, but she was not cold. She had eaten nothing, but she was not\nhungry. She was fed and warmed by her own kindness.\n\nShe gathered her fagots and started home again. It was growing dusk,\nand the stars shown through the bare branches of the trees. Suddenly an\nold man stood beside her. \u201cGive me of your fagots,\u201d said he, \u201cfor my\nhearth is cold, and I am too old to gather wood for myself.\u201d\n\nThe little girl sighed. If she gave him the fagots she would have to\nstop to gather more. Still she would not refuse him. \u201cTake them,\u201d she\nsaid, \u201cin heaven\u2019s name.\u201d\n\nNo sooner had she said this than she saw it was not an old man who\nstood before her, but a shining angel.\n\n\u201cYou have fed the hungry,\u201d said the angel, \u201cyou have clothed the\nnaked, and you have given help to those who asked it. You shall not go\nunrewarded. See!\u201d\n\nAt once a light shone around the child, and it seemed to her that all\nthe stars of heaven were falling through the bare branches of the\ntrees, but these stars were diamonds and rubies and other precious\nstones. They lay thick upon the ground. \u201cGather them together,\u201d said\nthe angel, \u201cfor they are yours.\u201d\n\nWondering, the child gathered them together\u2014all that she could carry in\nthe skirt of her little shift.\n\nWhen she looked about her again the angel was gone, but the child\nhastened home with her treasure. It was enough to make her and her old\ngrandmother rich. From then on they lacked for nothing. They were not\nonly able to have all they wished for, but to give to many who were\npoor. So they were not only rich, but beloved by all who knew them.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nSWEET PORRIDGE\n\n\nThere was once a poor widow who had only one daughter, a child who was\nso good and gentle that everyone who knew her, loved her.\n\nOne day the child went into the forest to gather firewood, and she\nwas very sad because there was nothing left in the house to eat, and\nbecause she and her mother were so often obliged to go hungry.\n\nShe had already gathered a bundle of sticks, and was about to go home,\nwhen she saw a poor old woman who had also come to the forest for wood.\nThe woman was so bent and stiff that it was pitiful to see her. The\nchild felt sorry for her and wished to help her.\n\n\u201cGood mother,\u201d said she, \u201clet me gather the wood for you; it must be\nhard for you to stoop.\u201d\n\nShe put down her own load, and gathered for the old woman as much as\nshe was able to carry. \u201cI would take it home for you,\u201d said the little\ngirl, \u201cbut my mother is waiting for me, and I must make haste, for I am\nalready late.\u201d\n\n\u201cChild,\u201d said the old woman, \u201cyou have a good heart, and you deserve to\nbe rewarded.\u201d She then drew out from under her cloak a little iron pot.\n\u201cTake this,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is a magic pot. Whenever you are hungry you\nhave only to say\u2014\n\n    \u201c\u2018Boil little pot\n      Till the porridge is hot,\u2019\n\nand it will begin to boil and fill up with sweet porridge. When you\nhave had enough say\u2014\n\n    \u201c\u2018Cease little pot,\n      The porridge is hot,\u2019\n\nand it will stop boiling.\u201d\n\nShe made the child repeat the words after her several times, and she\nthen gave her the pot and hobbled away through the forest.\n\nThe child was filled with joy at the thought that now she and her\nmother need never be hungry again. She ran home as fast as she could,\ncarrying the pot with both hands.\n\nWhen she came in her mother asked her where the wood was.\n\n\u201cI have brought home something better than wood,\u201d cried the child. \u201cThe\nwood only warms us, but here is something that will feed us as well.\u201d\nShe set the pot upon the table and said:\n\n    \u201cBoil little pot\n     Till the porridge is hot.\u201d\n\nThe pot at once began to bubble and boil, and soon it was full and\nbrimming over with sweet porridge. The widow caught up a spoon and\ndipped some of the porridge out into a bowl, but the more she dipped\nout the more there was in it. When all the bowls in the house were\nfull, the child said:\n\n    \u201cCease little pot,\n     The porridge is hot,\u201d\n\nand at once the pot stopped boiling.\n\nThe widow was overjoyed at the treasure the little girl had brought\nhome. \u201cCome,\u201d cried she, \u201clet us sit down and eat.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, dear mother,\u201d said the child, \u201cbut first I will carry some of the\nporridge to the neighbors who were so kind to us when we had nothing.\u201d\n\nShe filled a large kettle with porridge and started out with it, but\nno sooner had she gone than the widow began to wonder whether they had\nkept enough for themselves. She did not feel satisfied, so she said to\nthe pot:\n\n    \u201cBoil little pot\n     Till the porridge is hot.\u201d\n\nImmediately the pot began to bubble and boil. Soon it was full and\nthe porridge began to run over. The widow wished to stop it, but she\nhad forgotten what to say. \u201cEnough!\u201d she cried. \u201cStop! Stop!\u201d but the\nporridge still boiled up and over the edge of the pot. The widow caught\nup the spoon and again began dipping out the porridge; she dipped as\nfast as she could. Soon all the pots and pans in the house were full\nand still the pot continued to boil out porridge. In despair the widow\nseized the pot and threw it outside the door, but the porridge flowed\nout from it in a stream, and ran down the road.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe little girl was coming home when she met the stream of porridge,\nand at once she guessed what had happened. She ran as fast as she could\nand when she came to the place where the pot lay she cried:\n\n    \u201cCease little pot,\n     The porridge is hot.\u201d\n\nAt once the pot stopped boiling, but already enough porridge had been\nwasted to have fed the whole countryside.\n\nAfter that the widow never again dared to tell the pot to boil. When\nthey wished for porridge it was the child who spoke to it. But from\nthen on she and her mother never lacked for anything, for the porridge\nwas so delicious that people came from far and near to buy from them.\n\n\n\n\nCHICKEN-DIDDLE\n\n\nOne day Chicken-diddle had gone to sleep under a rose-bush, and a cow\nreached over the fence and bit off the top of the rose-bush. The noise\nwakened Chicken-diddle, and just as she woke a rose-leaf fell on her\ntail.\n\n\u201cSquawk! Squawk!\u201d cried Chicken-diddle, \u201cthe sky\u2019s falling down\u201d; and\naway she ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She ran until she\ncame to the barnyard, and there was Hen-pen rustling in the dust of the\nbarnyard.\n\n\u201cOh, Hen-pen, don\u2019t rustle\u2014run, run!\u201d cried Chicken-diddle. \u201cThe sky\u2019s\nfalling down.\u201d\n\nThe hen stopped rustling. \u201cHow do you know that Chicken-diddle?\u201d asked\nHen-pen.\n\n\u201cI saw it with my eyes, I heard it with my ears, and part of it fell on\nmy tail. Oh, let us run, run, until we get some place.\u201d\n\n\u201cQuawk! Quawk,\u201d cried the hen, and she began to run, and Chicken-diddle\nran after her.\n\nThey ran till they came to the duck-pond, and there was Duck-luck just\ngoing in for a swim.\n\n\u201cOh, Duck-luck! Duck-luck! don\u2019t try to swim,\u201d cried Hen-pen. \u201cThe\nsky\u2019s falling down.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you know that, Hen-pen?\u201d asked Duck-luck.\n\n\u201cChicken-diddle told me.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you know that, Chicken-diddle?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy shouldn\u2019t I know it? I saw it with my eyes, I heard it with my\nears, and part of it fell on my tail. Oh, let us run, run until we get\nsome place.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, we had better run,\u201d quacked Duck-luck, and away he waddled with\nHen-pen, and Chicken-diddle after him.\n\nThey ran and ran till they came to a green meadow, and there was\nGoose-loose eating the green grass.\n\n\u201cOh, Goose-loose, Goose-loose, don\u2019t eat; run, run,\u201d cried Duck-luck.\n\n\u201cWhy should I run?\u201d asked Goose-loose.\n\n\u201cBecause the sky\u2019s falling down.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you know that, Duck-luck?\u201d\n\n\u201cHen-pen told me.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you know that, Hen-pen?\u201d\n\n\u201cChicken-diddle told me.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you know that, Chicken-diddle?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause I saw it with my eyes, and heard it with my ears, and part of\nit fell on my tail. Oh, let us run, run some place.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, we\u2019d better run,\u201d cried Goose-loose.\n\nAway they all ran, Goose-loose at the head of them, and they ran and\nran until they came to the turkey-yard, and there was Turkey-lurkey\nstrutting and gobbling.\n\n\u201cOh, Turkey-lurkey! don\u2019t strut! Don\u2019t strut!\u201d cried Goose-loose.\n\n\u201cWhy should I not strut?\u201d asked Turkey-lurkey.\n\n\u201cBecause the sky\u2019s falling down.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you know it is?\u201d\n\n\u201cDuck-luck told me!\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you know, Duck-luck?\u201d\n\n\u201cHen-pen told me!\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you know, Hen-pen?\u201d\n\n\u201cChicken-diddle told me!\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you know, Chicken-diddle?\u201d\n\n\u201cI couldn\u2019t help knowing! I saw it with my eyes, I heard it with my\nears, and a part of it fell on my tail. Oh, let us run, run until we\nget some place.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, we\u2019d better run,\u201d said Turkey-lurkey, so away they all ran, first\nTurkey-lurkey, and then Goose-loose, and then Duck-luck, and then\nHen-pen, and then Chicken-diddle.\n\nThey ran and ran until they came to Fox-lox\u2019s house, and there was\nFox-lox lying in the doorway and yawning until his tongue curled up in\nhis mouth. When he saw Turkey-lurkey and Goose-loose and Duck-luck and\nHen-pen and Chicken-diddle he stopped yawning, and pricked up his ears,\nand he was very glad to see them.\n\n\u201cWell, well,\u201d said he, \u201cand what brings you all here?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Fox-lox, Fox-lox, don\u2019t yawn,\u201d cried Turkey-lurkey, \u201cthe sky\u2019s\nfalling down.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you know that, Turkey-lurkey?\u201d asked the fox.\n\n\u201cGoose-loose told me.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you know that, Goose-loose?\u201d\n\n\u201cDuck-luck told me.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you know that, Duck-luck?\u201d\n\n\u201cHen-pen told me.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you know that, Hen-pen?\u201d\n\n\u201cChicken-diddle told me.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you know that, Chicken-diddle?\u201d\n\n\u201cI couldn\u2019t help knowing, for I saw it with my eyes, and I heard it\nwith my ears, and part of it fell on my tail. Oh, where shall we run?\nWe ought to go some place.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the Fox, \u201cyou come right in here, and I\u2019ll take such good\ncare of you that even if the sky falls down you won\u2019t know anything\nabout it.\u201d\n\nSo in ran Turkey-lurkey, and Fox-lox put him in the big room, and shut\nthe door. In ran Goose-loose, and he put him in the little room, and\nshut the door. In ran Duck-luck, and he put him in the cellar, and shut\nthe door. In ran Hen-pen, and he put her in the attic, and shut the\ndoor. In ran Chicken-diddle, and Fox-lox kept him right there in the\nroom with him. And what happened to them after that I don\u2019t know, but\nnobody ever saw them again; if the sky really fell, I never heard about\nit. They were only a pack of silly fowls, anyway.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nA PACK OF RAGAMUFFINS\n\n\n\u201cMy dear,\u201d said the cock to the hen one day, \u201cwhat do you say to our\ntaking a walk over to Mulberry Hill? The mulberries must be ripe by\nnow, and we can have a fine feast.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat would suit me exactly,\u201d answered the hen. \u201cI am very fond of ripe\nfruit, and it is a long time since I have tasted any.\u201d So the cock and\nhen set off together.\n\nThe way was long, and the day was hot, and before the two had reached\nthe top of the hill they were both of them tired and out of breath. The\nmulberries lay thick on the ground, and the cock and the hen ran about\nhither and yon, pecking and eating\u2014pecking and eating, until they could\neat no more, and the sun was near setting.\n\n\u201cOh! oh!\u201d groaned the hen, \u201chow weary I am. How in the world are we to\nget home again. My legs are so tired, I could not go another step if my\nlife depended on it.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy dear,\u201d said the cock, \u201cI too am weary, but I see here a number of\nfallen twigs. If I could but weave them into a coach we might ride home\nin comfort.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is a clever thought,\u201d sighed the hen. \u201cMake it by all means.\nThere is nothing I like better than riding in a coach.\u201d\n\nThe cock at once set to work, and by weaving sticks and grasses\ntogether he made a little coach with body, wheels, and shafts all\ncomplete.\n\nThe hen was delighted. She at once hopped into the coach, and seated\nherself. \u201cNow, my dear Cock-a-lorum,\u201d she cried, \u201cnothing more is\nneeded but for you to get between the shafts and step out briskly, and\nwe will be at home in less than no time.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d asked the cock sharply. \u201cI have no idea\nof pulling the coach myself. My legs ache as well as yours, and if you\nwait for me to pull you home you may sit there till doomsday.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut how then are we to get home?\u201d asked the hen, beginning to weep.\n\n\u201cI do not know,\u201d answered the cock. \u201cBut what I do know is that I am\nnot going to pull you.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut you must pull me,\u201d wept the hen.\n\n\u201cBut I won\u2019t pull you,\u201d stormed the cock.\n\nSo they scolded and disputed and there is no knowing how it would have\nended, but suddenly a duck appeared from behind some bushes.\n\nWhen the duck saw the hen and the cock it ruffled up its feathers and\nwaddled toward them, quacking fiercely. \u201cWhat is this! What is this!\u201d\ncried the duck. \u201cDo you not know that this hill belongs to me? Be off\nat once or I will give you a sound beating.\u201d\n\nIt flew at the cock with outspread wings. The cock, however, was\na brave little fellow. Instead of running away he met the duck\nvaliantly, and seizing it he pulled out a beakful of feathers. The hen\nshrieked, but the cock continued to punish the duck until it cried for\nmercy.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the cock, settling his feathers. \u201cI will let you\ngo this time, but only if you will promise to draw our coach to the\nnearest inn, where we can spend the night.\u201d\n\nThe duck was afraid to refuse the cock\u2019s demand. He put himself between\nthe shafts, the cock mounted the coach and cracked his whip, and away\nthey all went as fast as the duck could waddle. The coach rocked and\nbumped over the stones, and suddenly the duck gave a jump that almost\nupset it. \u201cOuch! ouch!\u201d it cried. \u201cSomething stuck me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do well to stick you,\u201d replied a small sharp voice. \u201cI may teach you\nto look where you are going, and not step on honest travelers who are\nsmaller than you.\u201d\n\nThe voice was that of a needle, who, with a pin for a comrade, was\njourneying along the same road.\n\nThe cock looked out from the coach. \u201cI am sorry,\u201d said he, \u201cthat my\nduck should be so careless. Will you not get in and ride with us?\u201d\n\nThis the pin and the needle were glad to do. The hen was somewhat\nnervous at first, lest one of them might tread on her foot, but they\nwere so polite, and so careful not to crowd her, that she soon lost her\nfear of them.\n\nJust before nightfall the coach reached the door of an inn. Here the\nduck stopped, and the cock called loudly for the landlord.\n\nThe man came running, but when he saw the strange guests that sat in\nthe coach he almost shut the door on them. \u201cWe want no ragamuffins\nhere,\u201d he cried.\n\n\u201cWait a bit,\u201d cried the cock. \u201cJust see this fine white egg that the\nhen has laid. And every morning the duck lays an egg also. Both of\nthese shall be yours if you will take us in for the night.\u201d\n\nWell, the landlord was willing to agree to that bargain. He bade the\ncompanions enter and make themselves comfortable. This they did,\neating and drinking to their hearts\u2019 content. Then the cock and the\nhen made themselves comfortable in the best bed, and the others tucked\nthemselves away as best they could.\n\nAs soon as they were all asleep the landlord said to his wife, \u201cListen!\nThis is a fine bargain that I have made. Roast duck is very good, and\nso is chicken pie, and to-morrow our travelers shall furnish us with\nboth of them. As for the needle and pin you can put them away in your\nwork-basket, and they will always be useful.\u201d\n\nAfter saying this the landlord and his wife also went to sleep, for the\nlandlord intended to be up early in the morning before his guests had\nwakened.\n\nThe cock, however, was not one to let anyone catch him sleeping. While\nit was still dark the next morning, he awakened the hen. \u201cCome,\u201d said\nhe; \u201cwe\u2019d best be up and away. This landlord of ours seems to me a sly\nand greedy man; he might take a notion to have roast chicken for dinner\nto-day, so we had better be gone before he is stirring.\u201d\n\nTo this the hen agreed, but she and the cock were both hungry, so\nbefore starting they shared the egg between them. The shells they threw\nin among the ashes on the hearth. Then they took the needle and stuck\nit in the back of the landlord\u2019s chair; the pin they put in the towel\nthat hung behind the door, and this done they took to their wings and\naway they flew.\n\nThe sound of their going awoke the duck. It opened its eyes and looked\nafter them. \u201cWell, well! So they\u2019re off. I think I\u2019d better be moving\nmyself,\u201d and so saying it waddled down to the river, and swam back to\nthe place whence it had come.\n\nIt was not long after this the landlord himself awoke. \u201cI\u2019ll just slip\ndown and see to the travelers before breakfast,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cDo,\u201d answered his wife.\n\nFirst, however, the landlord stopped to wash in the kitchen. He picked\nup the towel to dry his face, and the pin that was in it scratched\nhim from ear to ear. He went to the hearth to light his pipe and the\negg-shells flew up in his face. He sat down in his chair for a moment,\nbut scarcely had he leaned back, when he jumped up with a cry. The\nneedle had run into him.\n\n\u201cIt is all the fault of those ragamuffins,\u201d cried the landlord in a\nrage, and he caught up a knife and ran to find them. But search as he\nmight there was not a sign of them anywhere, for they were already\nsafely home again.\n\nSo all the landlord had for his trouble after all, was his pains.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE FROG PRINCE\n\n\nThere was once a king who had one only daughter, and her he loved as he\nloved the apple of his eye.\n\nOne day the Princess sat beside a fountain in the gardens, and played\nwith a golden ball. She threw it up into the air and caught it again,\nand the ball shone and glittered in the sunshine so that she laughed\naloud with pleasure. But presently as she caught at the ball she missed\nit, and it rolled across the grass and fell into the fountain. There it\nsank to the bottom. The Princess tried and tried to reach it, but she\ncould not. Then she began to weep, and her tears dripped down into the\nfountain.\n\n\u201cPrincess, Princess, why are you weeping?\u201d asked a hoarse voice.\n\nThe Princess looked about her, and there was a great squat green frog\nsitting on the edge of the fountain.\n\n\u201cI am weeping, Froggie, because I have dropped my ball into the water\nand I cannot get it again,\u201d answered the Princess.\n\n\u201cAnd what will you give me if I get it for you?\u201d\n\n\u201cAnything in the world, dear Frog, except the ball itself.\u201d\n\n\u201cI wish you to give me nothing, Princess,\u201d said the frog. \u201cBut if I\nbring back your ball to you will you let me be your little playmate?\nWill you let me sit at your table, and eat from your plate, and drink\nfrom your mug, and sleep in your little bed?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, yes,\u201d cried the Princess. She was very willing to promise, for\nshe did not believe the frog could ever leave the fountain, or come up\nthe palace steps.\n\n\u201cVery well, then that is a promise,\u201d said the frog, and at once he\nplunged into the fountain and brought back the ball to the Princess in\nhis arms.\n\nThe little girl took the ball and ran away with it without even\nstopping to thank him.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThat evening the child sat at supper with her father, and she ate from\nher golden plate, and drank from her golden mug, and she did not even\ngive a thought to the frog down in the fountain.\n\nPresently there came a knocking at the door, but it was so soft that\nno one heard it but the Princess. Then the knocking came again, and a\nhoarse voice cried, \u201cKing\u2019s daughter, King\u2019s daughter, let me in. Have\nyou forgotten the promise you made me by the fountain?\u201d\n\nThe Princess was frightened. She slipped down from her chair, and ran\nto the door, and opened it and looked out. There on the top-most step\nsat the great green frog.\n\nWhen the Princess saw him she shut the door quickly, and came back to\nthe table, and she was very pale.\n\n\u201cWho was that at the door?\u201d asked the King.\n\n\u201cIt was no one,\u201d answered the Princess.\n\n\u201cBut there was surely someone there,\u201d said the King.\n\n\u201cIt was only a great green frog from the fountain,\u201d said the Princess.\nAnd then she told her father how she had dropped her ball into the\nfountain, and how the frog had brought it back to her, and of what she\nhad promised him.\n\n\u201cWhat you have promised that you must perform,\u201d said the King. \u201cOpen\nthe door, my daughter, and let him in.\u201d\n\nVery unwillingly the child went back to the door and opened it; the\nfrog hopped into the room. When she returned to the table, the frog\nhopped along close at her heels.\n\nShe sat down and began to eat. \u201cKing\u2019s daughter, King\u2019s daughter, set\nme upon the table that I too may eat from your golden plate,\u201d said the\nfrog.\n\nThe Princess would have refused, but she dared not because of what her\nfather had said. She lifted the frog to the table, and there he ate\nfrom her plate, but she herself could touch nothing.\n\n\u201cI am thirsty,\u201d said the frog. \u201cTilt your golden mug that I may drink\nfrom it.\u201d\n\nThe Princess did as he bade her, but as she did so she could not help\nweeping so that her tears ran down into the milk.\n\nWhen supper was ended the Princess was about to hurry away to her room,\nbut the frog called to her, \u201cKing\u2019s daughter, King\u2019s daughter, take me\nalong. Have you forgotten that I was to sleep in your little white bed?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat you shall not,\u201d cried the Princess in a passion. \u201cGo back to the\nstones of the fountain, where you belong.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat you have said that you must do,\u201d said the King. \u201cTake the frog\nwith you.\u201d\n\nThe Princess shuddered, but she dared not refuse.\n\nShe took the frog with her up to her room, and put him down in the\ndarkest corner, where she would not see him. Then she undressed and\nwent to bed. But scarcely had her head touched the pillow when she\nheard the frog calling her.\n\n\u201cKing\u2019s daughter, King\u2019s daughter! Is this the way you keep your\npromise? Lift me up to the bed, for the floor is cold and hard.\u201d\n\nThe Princess sprang from the bed and seized the frog in her hands.\n\u201cMiserable frog,\u201d she cried, \u201cyou shall not torment me in this way.\u201d So\nsaying she threw the frog against the wall with all her force.\n\nBut no sooner did the frog touch the wall than it turned into a\nhandsome young prince, all dressed in green, with a golden crown upon\nhis head, and a chain of emeralds about his neck.\n\nThe Prince came to her, and took her by the hand.\n\n\u201cDear Princess,\u201d said he, \u201cyou have broken the enchantment that held\nme. A cruel fairy was angry with my father, and so she changed me into\na frog, and put me there in the fountain. But now that the enchantment\nis broken we can really be playmates, and when you are old enough you\nshall be my wife.\u201d\n\nThe Princess did not say no. She was delighted at the thought of having\nsuch a handsome playmate. And as for marrying him later on, she was\nquite willing for that, too.\n\nSo the Prince stayed there in the palace, and the King was very glad to\nthink he was to have him for a son-in-law, and when he and the Princess\nwere married, there was great rejoicing and feasting through all the\nkingdom.\n\nThe Prince, however, was not willing to stay away from his own kingdom\nany longer. He said he must return to see his old father.\n\nOne day a handsome golden coach drawn by eight white horses drove up\nto the door. It had been sent by the Prince\u2019s father to fetch him home\nagain. Upon the box rode the faithful servant who had cared for the\nPrince when he was a child.\n\nWhen the Prince had been carried away by the fairy this faithful\nservant had grieved so bitterly he had feared his heart would break. To\nkeep this from happening he had put three great iron bands around his\nbody.\n\nThe Prince and the Princess entered the coach, and away went the\nhorses. They had not driven far, however, when a loud crack was heard.\n\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d cried the Princess. \u201cSurely something has broken.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, mistress,\u201d answered the faithful servant,\n\n    \u201cIt was a band that bound my heart.\n     My joy hath broken it apart.\u201d\n\nThey drove a little farther, and then there came another crack, even\nlouder than the first.\n\n\u201cSurely the coach is breaking down,\u201d cried the Prince.\n\n\u201cNay, master,\u201d answered the faithful servant,\n\n    \u201c\u2019Tis but my joy that rives apart\n     The second band that held my heart.\u201d\n\nA little farther on there came a crack that was louder than any.\n\n\u201cNow surely something has broken,\u201d cried the Prince and Princess\ntogether.\n\n    \u201c\u2019Tis the last band that held my heart,\n     And joy has riven all apart,\u201d\n\nanswered the servant.\n\nAfter that they drove on quietly until they reached their own country.\nThere the Prince and Princess lived in happiness to the end of their\nlives, and the faithful servant with them.\n\n\n\n\nTHE WOLF AND THE FIVE LITTLE GOATS\n\n\nThere was once a mother goat who had five little kids, and these kids\nwere so dear to her that nothing could have been dearer.\n\nOne day the mother goat was going to the forest to gather some wood for\nher fire. \u201cNow, my little kids,\u201d said she, \u201cyou must be very careful\nwhile I am away. Bar the door behind me, and open it to nobody until I\nreturn. If the wicked wolf should get in he would certainly eat you.\u201d\n\nThe little kids promised they would be careful, and then their mother\nstarted out, and as soon as she had gone they barred the door behind\nher.\n\nNow it so happened the old wolf was on the watch that day. He saw\nthe mother goat trotting away toward the forest, and as soon as she\nwas out of sight, he crept down to the house and knocked at the\ndoor\u2014rap-tap-tap!\n\n\u201cWho is there?\u201d called the little kids within.\n\n\u201cIt is I, your mother, my dears,\u201d answered the wolf in his great rough\nvoice. \u201cOpen the door and let me in.\u201d\n\nBut the kids were very clever little kids. \u201cNo, no,\u201d they cried. \u201cYou\nare not our mother. Our mother has a soft, sweet voice, and your voice\nis harsh and rough. You must be the wolf.\u201d\n\nWhen the wolf heard this he was very angry. He battered and battered at\nthe door, but they would not let him in. Then he turned and galloped\naway as fast as he could until he came to a dairy. There he stuck his\nhead in at the window, and the woman had just finished churning her\nbutter.\n\n\u201cWoman, woman,\u201d cried the wolf, \u201cgive me some butter. If you do not I\nwill come in and upset your churn.\u201d\n\nThe woman was frightened. At once she gave him a great deal of\nbutter\u2014all he could eat.\n\nThe wolf swallowed it down, and then he ran back to the goat\u2019s house\nand knocked at the door\u2014rat-tat-rat!\n\n\u201cWho is there?\u201d asked the little goats within.\n\n\u201cYour mother, my dears,\u201d answered the wolf, and now his voice was very\nsoft and smooth because of the butter he had swallowed.\n\n\u201cIt _is_ our mother,\u201d cried the little kids, and they were about to\nopen the door, but the littlest kid of all, who was a very wise little\nkid, stopped them.\n\n\u201cWait a bit,\u201d said he. \u201cIt sounds like our mother\u2019s voice, but before\nwe open the door we had better be very, very sure it is not the wolf.\u201d\nThen he called through the door, \u201cPut your paws up on the windowsill.\u201d\n\nThe wolf suspected nothing. He put his paws up on the windowsill, and\nas soon as the little kids saw them they knew at once that it was not\ntheir mother. \u201cNo, no,\u201d they cried, \u201cyou are not our mother. Our mother\nhas pretty white feet, and your feet are as black as soot. You must be\nthe wolf.\u201d\n\nWhen the wolf heard this he was angrier than ever. He turned and\ngalloped away again, and as he galloped he growled to himself and\ngnashed his teeth.\n\nPresently he came to a baker\u2019s shop, and there he stuck his head in at\nthe window.\n\n\u201cBaker, baker, give me some dough,\u201d he cried. \u201cIf you do not I will\nupset your pans and spoil your baking.\u201d\n\nThe baker was frightened. At once he gave the wolf all the dough he\nwanted. The wolf seized it and ran away with it. He ran until he came\nto the goat\u2019s house. There he sat down and covered his black feet all\nover with the white dough. Then he knocked at the door\u2014rat-tat-tat!\n\n\u201cWho is there?\u201d cried the little goats within.\n\n\u201cYour mother, my dears, come home again,\u201d answered the wolf, in his\nsmooth buttery voice.\n\n\u201cPut your paws up on the windowsill.\u201d\n\nThe wolf put his paws up on the windowsill, and they looked quite white\nbecause of the dough. Then the little kids felt sure it was their\nmother, and they gladly opened the door.\n\n\u201cWoof!\u201d In bounded the wicked wolf.\n\nThe little goats cried out and away they ran, some in one direction,\nand some in another. They hid themselves one behind the door, and\none in the dough-trough, and one in the wash-tub, and one under the\nbed, and one (and he was the littlest one of all) hid in the tall\nclock-case. The wolf stood there glaring about him, and not as much as\na tail of one of them could he see.\n\nThen he began to hunt about for them, but he had to be in a hurry,\nbecause he was afraid the mother goat would come home again.\n\nHe found the kid behind the door, and he was in such a hurry he\nswallowed it whole without hurting it in the least. He found the one in\nthe wash-tub, and he swallowed it whole, too. He found the one in the\ndough-trough, and it, too, he swallowed whole. He found the one under\nthe bed and he swallowed it whole. The only one he did not find was the\none in the clock-case, and he never thought of looking there. He hunted\naround and hunted around, and he was afraid to stay any longer for fear\ntheir mother would come home.\n\nBut now the old wolf felt very heavy and sleepy. He looked around for a\nplace to go in order to lie down and rest.\n\nNot far away were some rocks and trees that made a pleasant shadow.\nHere the wolf stretched himself out, and presently he was snoring so\nloudly that the leaves of the trees shook overhead.\n\nSoon after this the mother goat came home. As soon as she saw the door\nof the house standing open, she knew at once that some misfortune had\nhappened. She went in and looked about her. The furniture was all upset\nand scattered about the room. \u201cAlas, alas! My dear little kids!\u201d cried\nthe mother. \u201cThe wicked wolf has certainly been here and eaten them\nall.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe didn\u2019t eat me,\u201d said a little voice in the clock-case.\n\nThe mother goat opened the door of the clock-case and the littlest kid\nof all hopped out.\n\n\u201cBut why were you in the clock-case? And what has happened?\u201d asked the\nmother.\n\nThen the little kid told her all about how the wolf had come there with\nhis buttery voice and his whitened paws, and how they had let him in,\nand how he had swallowed all four of the other little kids, so that he\nalone was left.\n\nAfter the mother goat had heard the story she went to the door and\nlooked about. Then she heard the old wolf snoring where he lay asleep\nunder the nut-trees in the shade of the rocks.\n\n\u201cThat must be the old wolf snoring,\u201d said the mother goat, \u201cand he\ncannot be far away. Do not make a noise, my little kid, but come with\nme.\u201d\n\nThe mother goat stole over to the heap of rocks, and the little kid\nfollowed her on tiptoes. She peeped and peered, and there lay the old\nwolf so fast asleep that nothing less than an earthquake would have\nwakened him.\n\n\u201cNow, my little kid,\u201d whispered the mother, \u201crun straight home again\nas fast as you can, and fetch me my shears and a needle and some stout\nthread.\u201d\n\nThis the little kid did, and he ran so softly over the grass that not\neven a mouse could have heard him.\n\nAs soon as he returned the mother goat crept up to the old wolf, and\nwith the sharp shears she slit his hide up just as though it had been a\nsack. Out popped one little kid, and out popped another little kid, and\nanother, and another, and there they all were, just as safe and sound\nas though they had never been swallowed. And all this while the old\nwolf never stirred nor stopped snoring.\n\n\u201cAnd now, my little kids,\u201d whispered the mother, \u201cdo you each one of\nyou bring me a big round stone, but be very quick and quiet, for your\nlives depend upon it.\u201d\n\nSo the little kids ran away, and hunted around, and each fetched her\nback a big round stone, and they were very quick and quiet about it,\njust as their mother had bade them be.\n\nThe old goat put the stones inside the wolf, where the little kids had\nbeen, and then she drew the hide together and sewed it up, using the\nstout, strong thread. After that she and the little kids hid themselves\nbehind the rocks, and watched and waited.\n\nPresently the old wolf yawned and opened his eyes. Then he got up\nand shook himself, and when he did so the stones inside him rattled\ntogether so that the goat and the little kids could hear them, where\nthey hid behind the rocks.\n\n\u201cOh, dear! Oh, dear me!\u201d groaned the wolf;\n\n    \u201cWhat rattles, what rattles against my poor bones?\n     Not little goats, I fear, but only big stones.\u201d\n\nNow what with the stones inside of him and the hot sun overhead the\nwolf grew very thirsty. Near by was a deep well, with water almost up\nto the brink of it. The old wolf went to drink. He leaned over, and all\nthe stones rolled up to his head and upset him. Plump! he went down\ninto the water, and the stones carried him straight to the bottom. He\ncould not swim at all, and so he was drowned.\n\nBut all the little kids ran out from behind the rocks and began to\ndance around the well.\n\n    \u201cThe old wolf is dead, A-hey! A-hey!\n     The old wolf is dead, A-hey!\u201d\n\nthey sang, and the mother goat came and danced with them, they were all\nso delighted.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE GOLDEN GOOSE\n\n\nThere was once an honest laborer who had three sons. The two eldest\nwere stout clever lads, but as to the youngest one, John, he was little\nbetter than a simpleton.\n\nOne day their mother wanted some wood from the forest, and it was the\neldest lad who was to go and get it for her. It was a long way to the\nforest, so the mother filled a wallet with food for him. There was a\nloaf of fine white bread, and a bit of cheese, and a leathern bottle\nof good red wine as well.\n\nThe lad set off and walked along and walked along and after awhile he\ncame to the place where he was going, and there under a tree sat an\nold, old man. His clothes were gray, and his hair was gray, and his\nface was gray, so he was gray all over.\n\n\u201cGood-day,\u201d said the man.\n\n\u201cGood-day,\u201d said the lad.\n\n\u201cI am hungry,\u201d said the gray man. \u201cHave you not a bite and sup that you\ncan share with me?\u201d\n\n\u201cFood I have, and drink too,\u201d said the lad, \u201cbut it is for myself, and\nnot for you. It would be a simple thing for me to carry it this far\njust to give it to a beggar\u201d; and he went on his way.\n\nBut it was bad luck the lad had that day. Scarcely had he begun\nchopping wood when the head of the ax flew off, and cut his foot so\nbadly that he was obliged to go limping home, with not even so much as\na fagot to carry with him.\n\nThe next day it was the second son who said he would go to the forest\nfor wood.\n\n\u201cAnd see that you are more careful than your brother,\u201d said his\nmother. Then she gave him a loaf of bread, and a bit of cheese, and a\nbottle of wine, and off he set.\n\nPresently he came to the forest, and there, sitting in the same place\nwhere he had sat before, was the old gray man.\n\n\u201cGood-day,\u201d said the man.\n\n\u201cGood-day,\u201d said the lad.\n\n\u201cI am hungry,\u201d said the gray man. \u201cHave you not a bite or a sup to\nshare with me?\u201d\n\n\u201cFood I have and drink as well, but I am not such a simpleton as to\ngive it away when I need all for myself.\u201d\n\nThe lad went on to the place where he was going, and took his ax and\nbegan to chop, but scarcely had he begun when the ax slipped and cut\nhis leg so badly that the blood ran, and he could scarcely get home\nagain.\n\nThat was a bad business, for now both of the elder brothers were lame.\n\nThe next day the simpleton said he would go to the forest for wood.\n\n\u201cYou, indeed!\u201d cried his mother. \u201cIt is not enough that your two\nbrothers are hurt? Do you think you are smarter than they are? No, no;\ndo you stay quietly here at home. That is the best place for you.\u201d\n\nBut the simpleton was determined to go, so his mother gave him an end\nof dough that was left from the baking and a bottle of sour beer, for\nthat was good enough for him. With these in his wallet John started\noff, and after awhile he came to the forest, and there was the gray man\nsitting just as before.\n\n\u201cGood-day,\u201d said the man.\n\n\u201cGood-day,\u201d answered the simpleton.\n\n\u201cI am hungry,\u201d said the gray man. \u201cHave you not a bite or sup that you\ncan share with me?\u201d\n\nOh yes, the simpleton had both food and drink in his wallet. It was\nnone of the best, but such as it was he was willing to share it.\n\nHe reached into his wallet and pulled out the piece of dough, but what\nwas his surprise to find that it was dough no longer, but a fine cake,\nall made of the whitest flour. The old man snatched the cake from John\nand ate it all up in a trice. There was not so much as a crumb of it\nleft.\n\n\u201cPoor pickings for me!\u201d said John.\n\nAnd now the old gray man was thirsty. \u201cWhat have you in that bottle?\u201d\nhe asked.\n\n\u201cOh, that was only sour beer.\u201d\n\nThe old man took the bottle and opened it. \u201cSour beer! Why it is wine,\u201d\nhe cried, \u201cand of the very best, too.\u201d\n\nAnd the simpleton could tell it was by the smell of it. But the smell\nof it was all he got, for the old man raised the bottle to his lips,\nand when he put it down there was not a drop left in it.\n\n\u201cAnd now I may go thirsty as well as hungry,\u201d said John.\n\n\u201cNever mind that,\u201d said the old man. \u201cAfter this you may eat and drink\nof the best whenever you will. Go on into the forest and take the first\nturning to the right. There you will see a hollow oak tree. Cut it\ndown, and whatever you find inside of it you may keep; it belongs to\nme, and it is I who give it to you.\u201d\n\nThen of a sudden the old man was gone, and where he went the simpleton\ncould have told no one.\n\nThe lad went on into the forest, as the gray man had told him, and took\nthe first turn to the left, and there sure enough was a hollow oak\ntree. The lad could tell it was hollow from the sound it made when his\nax struck it.\n\nJohn set to work, and chopped so hard the splinters flew.\n\nAfter awhile he cut through it so that the tree fell, and there,\nsitting in the hollow, was a goose, with eyes like diamonds, and every\nfeather of pure gold.\n\nWhen John saw the goose he could not wonder enough. He took it up under\nhis arm and off he set for home, for there was no more chopping for him\nthat day.\n\nBut if the goose shone like gold it weighed like lead. The farther John\nwent the wearier he grew. After awhile he came to an inn, just outside\nof the city where the King lived. There the simpleton sat him down to\nrest. He pulled a feather from the golden goose, and gave it to the\nlandlord and bade him bring him food and drink, and with such payment\nas that it was the very best that the landlord sat before him you may\nbe sure.\n\nWhile the simpleton ate and drank the landlord\u2019s wife and daughter\nwatched him from a window.\n\n\u201cOh, if we only had a second feather,\u201d sighed the daughter.\n\n\u201cOh, if we only had!\u201d sighed the mother.\n\nThen the two agreed between them that when the simpleton had finished\neating and drinking, the daughter should creep up behind him and pluck\nanother feather from the bird.\n\nPresently John could eat and drink no more. He rose up and tucked the\ngolden goose under his arm, and off he set.\n\nThe landlord\u2019s daughter was watching, and she stole up behind him and\ncaught hold of a feather in the goose\u2019s tail. No sooner had she touched\nit, however, than her fingers stuck, and she could not let go. Off\nmarched John with the goose under his arm, and the girl tagging along\nafter him.\n\nThe mother saw her following John down the road, and first she called,\nand then she shouted, and then she ran after her and caught hold of her\nto bring her home. But no sooner had she laid hands on the girl than\nshe, too, stuck, and was obliged to follow John and the golden goose.\n\nThe landlord was looking from the window. \u201cWife, wife,\u201d he cried,\n\u201cwhere are you going?\u201d And he hurried after her and caught her by the\nsleeve. Then he could not let go any more than the others.\n\nThe simpleton marched along with the three tagging at his heels, and he\nnever so much as turned his head to look over his shoulder at them.\n\nThe road ran past a church, and there was the clergyman just coming\nout of the door. \u201cStop, stop!\u201d he cried to the landlord. \u201cHave you\nforgotten you have a christening feast to cook to-day?\u201d And he ran\nafter the landlord and caught hold of him, and then he too stuck.\n\nThe sexton saw his master following the landlord, and he ran and caught\nhold of his coat, and he too had to follow. So it went. Everyone who\ntouched those who followed the golden goose could not let go, and were\nobliged to tag along at John\u2019s heels.\n\nNow the King of that country had a daughter who was so sad and doleful\nthat she was never known to smile. For this reason a gloom hung over\nthe whole country, and the King had promised that any one who could\nmake the Princess laugh should have her as a wife and a half of the\nkingdom as well.\n\nIt so chanced the simpleton\u2019s way led him through the city and by the\ntime he came in front of the King\u2019s palace the whole street was in an\nuproar, and John had a long train of people tagging along after him.\n\nThe Princess heard the noise in the room where she sat sighing and\nwiping her eyes, and as she was very curious she went to the window and\nlooked out to see what all the uproar was about.\n\nWhen she saw the simpleton marching along with a goose under his arm\nand a whole string of people after him, all crying and bawling and\ncalling for help, it seemed to her the funniest thing she had ever\nseen. She began to laugh, and she laughed and laughed. She laughed\nuntil the tears ran down her cheeks and she had to hold her sides for\nlaughing.\n\nBut it was no laughing matter for the King, as you may believe. Here\nwas a poor common lad, and a simpleton at that, who had made the\nPrincess laugh; so now, by all rights, he might claim her for a wife,\nand the half of the kingdom, too.\n\nThe King frowned and bit his nails, and then he sent for John to be\nbrought before him, and the lad came in alone, for he had set the\npeople free at the gates.\n\n\u201cListen, now,\u201d said the King to John. \u201cIt is true I promised that\nanyone who made the Princess laugh should have her for a wife, but\nthere is more to the matter than that. Before I hand over part of the\nkingdom to anyone, I must know what sort of friends he has, and whether\nthey are good fellows. If you can bring here a man who can drink a\nwhole cellar full of wine at one sitting then you shall have the\nPrincess and part of the kingdom, just as promised; but if you cannot\nyou shall be sent home with a good drubbing to keep you quiet.\u201d\n\nWhen John heard that he made a wry face. He did not know where he could\nfind a man who could drink a whole cellar full of wine at one sitting.\n\nHe went out from the castle, and suddenly he remembered the old gray\nman who had given him the golden goose. If the old man had helped him\nonce perhaps he might again.\n\nHe set out for the forest, and it was not long before he came to it.\nThere, sitting where the old gray man had sat before, was a man with\na sad and rueful face. He looked as though he had never smiled in all\nhis life. He was talking to himself, and when the simpleton drew near\nhe found the man was saying over and over, \u201cHow dry I am! How dry I am!\nNot even the dust of a summer\u2019s day is as dry as I.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you are so thirsty, friend,\u201d said John, \u201crise up and follow me. Do\nyou think you could drink a whole cellar full of wine at one sitting?\u201d\n\nYes, the man could do that, and glad to get it, too. A whole cellar\nfull of wine would be none too much to satisfy such a thirst as his.\n\n\u201cThen, come along,\u201d said John.\n\nHe took the man back to the castle and down into the cellar where all\nthe casks of wine were stored. When the man saw all that wine his eyes\nsparkled with joy. He sat him down to drink, and one after another he\ndrained the casks until the very last one of them was empty. Then he\nstretched himself and sighed. \u201cNow I am content,\u201d said he.\n\nAs for the King his eyes bulged with wonder that any one man could\ndrink so much at one sitting.\n\n\u201cYes, that is all very well,\u201d said he to the simpleton. \u201cI see you have\na friend who can drink. Have you also a friend who can eat a whole\nmountain of bread without stopping? If you have, you may claim the\nPrincess for your wife, but if you have not, then you shall be sent\nhome with a good drubbing.\u201d\n\nWell, that was not in the bargain, but perhaps the simpleton might be\nable to find such a man.\n\nHe set off for the forest once more, and when he came near the place\nwhere the thirsty man had sat he saw there another man, and he was\nenough like the thirsty man to be his brother.\n\nAs John came near to where he sat he heard him talking to himself, and\nwhat he was saying over-and-over was, \u201cHow hungry I am. Oh, how hungry\nI am.\u201d\n\n\u201cFriend,\u201d said the simpleton, \u201care you hungry enough to eat a whole\nmountain of bread? If you are I may satisfy you.\u201d\n\nYes, a whole mountain of bread would be none too much for the hungry\nman.\n\nSo John bade the stranger follow him and then he led the way back to\nthe castle.\n\nThere all the flour in the kingdom had been gathered together into one\ngreat enormous mountain of dough. When John saw how big it was his\nheart failed him.\n\n\u201cCan you eat that much?\u201d he asked of the hungry man.\n\n\u201cOh, yes, I can eat that much, and more, too, if need be,\u201d said the man.\n\nThen he sat down before the mountain of bread and began to eat. He ate\nand he ate, and he ate, and when he finished not so much as a crumb of\nbread was left.\n\nAs for the King he was a sad and sorry man. Not only was his daughter\nand part of the kingdom promised to a simpleton, but he had not even a\ncupful of flour left in the palace for his breakfast.\n\nAnd still the King was not ready to keep the promises he had made.\nThere was one thing more required of the simpleton before he could have\nthe Princess and part of the kingdom for himself. Let him bring to the\nKing a ship that would sail both on land and water, and he should at\nonce marry the Princess, and no more words about it.\n\nWell, John did not know about that, but he would do the best he could.\nHe took the road that led back to the forest, and when he reached the\nplace where the old man had sat, there was the old man sitting again\njust as though he had never moved from that one spot.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the old man, \u201cand has the golden goose made your fortune?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat,\u201d answered John, \u201cis as it may be. It may be I am to have the\nhalf of a kingdom and a princess for a wife, and it may be that I am\nonly to get a good drubbing. Before I win the Princess I must find a\nship that will sail on land as well as on water, and if there is such a\nthing as that in the world I have never heard of it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, there might be harder things than that to find,\u201d said the old\nman. It might be he could help John out of that ditch, and what was\nmore he would, too, and all that because John had once been kind to\nhim. The old man then reached in under his coat and brought out the\nprettiest little model of a ship that ever was seen. Its sails were of\nsilk, its hull of silver, and its masts of beaten gold.\n\nThe old man set the ship on the ground, and at once it began to grow.\nIt grew and grew and grew, until it was so large that it could have\ncarried a score of men if need be.\n\n\u201cLook,\u201d said the old man. \u201cThis I give to you because you were kind to\nme and willing to share the best you had. Moreover it was I who drank\nthe wine and ate the mountain of bread for you. Enter into the ship and\nit will carry you over land and water, and back to the King\u2019s castle.\nAnd when he sees this ship he will no longer dare to refuse you the\nPrincess for your wife.\u201d\n\nAnd so it was. John stepped into the ship and sailed away until he\ncame to the King\u2019s palace, and when the King saw the ship he was so\ndelighted with it that he was quite willing to give the Princess to the\nsimpleton for a bride.\n\nThe marriage was held with much feasting and rejoicing, and John\u2019s\nfather and mother and his two brothers were invited to the feast. But\nthey no longer called him the simpleton; instead he was His Majesty,\nthe wise King John.\n\nAs for the old gray man he was never seen again, and as the golden\ngoose had disappeared also, perhaps he flew away on it.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE THREE SPINNERS\n\n\nThere was once a girl who was so idle and lazy that she would do\nnothing but sit in the sunshine all day. She would not bake, she would\nnot brew, she would not spin, she would not sew. One morning her mother\nlost patience with her entirely, and gave her a good beating. The girl\ncried out until she could be heard even into the street.\n\nNow it so chanced the queen of the country was driving by at that time,\nand she heard the cries. She wished to find out what the trouble was,\nso she stopped her coach and entered the house. She went through one\nroom after another, and presently she came to where the girl and her\nmother were.\n\n\u201cWhat is all this noise?\u201d she asked. \u201cWhy is your daughter crying out?\u201d\n\nThe mother was ashamed to confess what a lazy girl she had for a\ndaughter, so she told the queen what was not true.\n\n\u201cOh, your majesty,\u201d cried she, \u201cthis girl is the worry of my life. She\nwill do nothing but spin all day, and I have spent all my money buying\nflax for her. This morning she asked me for more, but I have no money\nleft to buy it. It was because of that she began to cry, as you heard.\u201d\n\nThe Queen was very much surprised. \u201cThis girl of yours must be a very\nfine spinner,\u201d she said. \u201cYou must bring her to the palace, for there\nis nothing I love better than spinning. Bring her to-morrow, and if she\nis as wonderful a spinner as I suspect, she shall be to me as my own\ndaughter, and shall have my eldest son as a husband.\u201d\n\nWhen the girl heard she was to go to the palace and spin she was\nterrified. She had never spun a thread in her life, and she feared that\nwhen the Queen found this out she would be angry and would have her\npunished. However, she dared say nothing.\n\nThe next day she and her mother went to the palace, and the Queen\nreceived them kindly. The mother was sent home again, but the daughter\nwas taken to a tower where there were three great rooms all filled with\nflax.\n\n\u201cSee,\u201d said the Queen. \u201cHere is enough flax to satisfy you for awhile\nat least. When you have spun this you shall marry my son, and after\nthat you shall have all the flax you want. Now you may begin, and\nto-morrow I will come to see how much you have done.\u201d\n\nSo saying the Queen went away, closing the door behind her.\n\nNo sooner was the girl alone than she burst into tears. Not if she\nlived a hundred years could she spin all that flax. She sat and cried\nand cried and cried.\n\nThe next morning the Queen came back to see how much she had done.\nShe was very much surprised to find the flax untouched, and the girl\nsitting there with idle hands. \u201cHow is this?\u201d she asked. \u201cWhy are you\nnot at your spinning?\u201d\n\nThe girl began to make excuses. \u201cI was so sad at being parted from my\nmother that I could do nothing but sit and weep.\u201d\n\n\u201cI see you have a tender heart,\u201d said the Queen. \u201cBut to-morrow you\nmust begin to work. When I come again I shall expect to see a whole\nroomful done.\u201d\n\nAfter she had gone the girl began to weep again. She did not know what\nwas to become of her.\n\nSuddenly the door opened, and three ugly old women slipped into the\nroom. The first had a splayfoot. The second had a lip that hung down on\nher chin. The third had a hideous broad thumb.\n\nThe girl looked at them with fear and wonder. \u201cWho are you?\u201d she asked.\n\nThe one with the splayfoot answered. \u201cWe are three spinners. We know\nwhy you are weeping, and we have come to help you, but before we help\nyou, you must promise us one thing: that is that when you are married\nto the Prince, we may come to your wedding feast, that you will let us\nsit at your table, and that you will call us your aunts.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, yes; I will, I will,\u201d cried the girl. She was ready to promise\nanything if they would only help her.\n\nAt once the splayfoot sat down at the wheel, and began to spin and\ntread. She with the hanging lip moistened the thread, and the woman\nwith the broad thumb pressed and twisted it. They worked so fast that\nthe thread flowed on like a swift stream. Before the next evening they\nhad finished the whole roomful of flax.\n\nWhen the Queen came again she was delighted to find so much done.\n\u201cTo-morrow,\u201d said she, \u201cyou shall begin in the second room.\u201d\n\nThe next day the girl was taken into the second room, and it was larger\nthan the first and was also full of flax.\n\nScarcely had the Queen left her when the door was pushed open, and the\nthree old women came into the room.\n\n\u201cRemember your promise,\u201d said they.\n\n\u201cI remember,\u201d answered the girl.\n\nThe old women then took their places and began to spin. Before the next\nevening they had finished all the flax that was in the room.\n\nWhen the Queen came to look at what had been done, she was filled with\nwonder. Not only had all the flax in the room been spun, but she had\nnever seen such smooth and even threads.\n\n\u201cTo-morrow,\u201d said she, \u201cyou shall spin the flax that is in the third\nroom, and the day after you shall be married to my son.\u201d\n\nThe third day all happened just as it had before. The girl was taken\nto the third room and it was even larger than the others. Scarcely had\nshe been left alone when the three old women opened the door and came\nin.\n\n\u201cRemember your promise,\u201d said they.\n\n\u201cI will remember,\u201d answered the girl.\n\nThe old women took their places, and before night all the flax was\nspun. Then they rose. \u201cTo-morrow will be your wedding day, and we will\nbe at the feast. If you keep your word to us, all will go well with\nyou, but if you forget it, misfortune will surely come upon you.\u201d Then\nthey disappeared through the door as they had come, the eldest first.\n\nWhen the Queen came that evening she was even more delighted than\nbefore. Never had she seen such thread, so smooth it was and even.\n\nThe girl was led down from the tower and dressed in silks and velvets\nand jewels, and when thus dressed she was so beautiful that the Prince\nwas filled with love and joy at the sight of her. The next day they\nwere married, and a grand feast was spread. To this feast all the\nnoblest in the land were invited.\n\nThe bride sat beside her husband, and he could look at no one else, she\nwas so beautiful.\n\nJust as the feast was about to begin the door opened and the three old\nwomen who had spun the flax came in.\n\nThe Prince looked at them wonderingly. Never had he seen such hideous,\nugly creatures before. \u201cWho are these?\u201d he asked of the girl.\n\n\u201cThese,\u201d said she, \u201care my three old aunts, and I have promised they\nshall sit at the table with us, for they have been so kind to me that\nno one could be kinder.\u201d\n\nThe girl then rose, and went to meet the old women. \u201cWelcome, my\naunts,\u201d she said, and led them to the table. The Prince loved the girl\nso dearly that all she did seemed right to him. He commanded that\nplaces should be put for the old women, and they sat at the table with\nhim and his bride.\n\nThey were so hideous, however, that the Prince could not keep his eyes\noff them. At length he said to the eldest, \u201cForgive me, good mother,\nbut why is your foot so broad?\u201d\n\n\u201cFrom treading the thread, my son, from treading the thread,\u201d she\nanswered.\n\nThe Prince wondered; he turned to the second old woman. \u201cAnd you, good\nmother,\u201d he said, \u201cwhy does your lip hang down?\u201d\n\n\u201cFrom wetting the thread,\u201d she answered. \u201cFrom wetting the thread.\u201d\n\nThe Prince was frightened. He spoke to the third old woman. \u201cAnd you,\nwhy is your thumb so broad, if I may ask it?\u201d\n\n\u201cFrom pressing and twisting,\u201d she answered. \u201cFrom pressing and\ntwisting.\u201d\n\nThe Prince turned pale. \u201cIf this is what comes of spinning,\u201d said he,\n\u201cnever shall my bride touch the flax again.\u201d\n\nAnd so it was. Never was the girl allowed even to look at a spinning\nwheel again; and that did not trouble her, as you may guess.\n\nAs for the old women, they disappeared as soon as the feast was over,\nand no one saw them again, but the bride lived happy forever after.\n\n\n\n\nGOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS\n\n\nThere was once a little girl whose hair was so bright and yellow that\nit glittered in the sun like spun-gold. For this reason she was called\nGoldilocks.\n\nOne day Goldilocks went out into the meadows to gather flowers. She\nwandered on and on, and after a while she came to a forest, where she\nhad never been before. She went on into the forest, and it was very\ncool and shady.\n\nPresently she came to a little house, standing all alone in the forest,\nand as she was tired and thirsty she knocked at the door. She hoped the\ngood people inside would give her a drink, and let her rest a little\nwhile.\n\nNow, though Goldilocks did not know it, this house belonged to three\nbears. There was a GREAT BIG FATHER BEAR, +and a middling-sized mother\nbear+, and a _dear little baby bear_, no bigger than Goldilocks\nherself. But the three bears had gone out to take a walk in the forest\nwhile their supper was cooling, so when Goldilocks knocked at the door\nno one answered her.\n\nShe waited awhile and then she knocked again, and as still nobody\nanswered her she pushed the door open and stepped inside. There in a\nrow stood three chairs. One was a GREAT BIG CHAIR, and it belonged to\nthe father bear. And one was a +middling-sized chair+, and it belonged\nto the mother bear, and one was a _dear little chair_, and it belonged\nto the baby bear. And on the table stood three bowls of smoking hot\nporridge. \u201cAnd so,\u201d thought Goldilocks, \u201cthe people must be coming back\nsoon to eat it.\u201d\n\nShe thought she would sit down and rest until they came, so first she\nsat down in the GREAT BIG CHAIR, but the cushion was too soft. It\nseemed as though it would swallow her up. Then she sat down in the\n+middle-sized chair+, and the cushion was too hard, and it was not\ncomfortable. Then she sat down in the _dear little chair_, and it was\njust right, and fitted her as though it had been made for her. So there\nshe sat, and she rocked and she rocked, and she sat and she sat, until\nwith her rocking and her sitting she sat the bottom right out of it.\n\nAnd still nobody had come, and there stood the bowls of porridge on\nthe table. \u201cThey can\u2019t be very hungry people,\u201d thought Goldilocks to\nherself, \u201cor they would come home to eat their suppers.\u201d And she went\nover to the table just to see whether the bowls were full.\n\nThe first bowl was a GREAT BIG BOWL with a GREAT BIG WOODEN SPOON\nin it, and that was the father bear\u2019s bowl. The second bowl was a\n+middle-sized bowl+, with a +middle-sized wooden spoon+ in it, and\nthat was the mother bear\u2019s bowl. And the third bowl was a _dear little\nbowl_, with a _dear little silver spoon_ in it, and that was the baby\nbear\u2019s bowl.\n\nThe porridge that was in the bowls smelled so very good that Goldilocks\nthought she would just taste it.\n\nShe took up the GREAT BIG SPOON, and tasted the porridge in the GREAT\nBIG BOWL, but it was too hot. Then she took up the +middle-sized\nspoon+ and tasted the porridge in the +middle-sized bowl+, and it was\ntoo cold. Then she took up the _little silver spoon_ and tasted the\nporridge in the _dear little bowl_, and it was just right, and it\ntasted so good that she tasted and tasted, and tasted and tasted until\nshe tasted it all up.\n\nAfter that she felt very sleepy, so she went upstairs and looked about\nher, and there were three beds all in a row. The first bed was the\nGREAT BIG BED that belonged to the father bear. And the second bed was\na +middling-sized bed+ that belonged to the mother bear, and the third\nbed was a _dear little bed_ that belonged to the dear little baby bear.\n\nGoldilocks lay down on the GREAT BIG BED to try it, but the pillow was\ntoo high, and she wasn\u2019t comfortable at all.\n\nThen she lay down on the +middle-sized bed+, and the pillow was too\nlow, and that wasn\u2019t comfortable either.\n\nThen she lay down on the _little baby bear\u2019s bed_ and it was exactly\nright, and so very comfortable that she lay there and lay there until\nshe went fast asleep.\n\nNow while Goldilocks was still asleep in the little bed the three\nbears came home again, and as soon as they stepped inside the door and\nlooked about them they knew that somebody had been there.\n\n\u201cSOMEBODY\u2019S BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR,\u201d growled the father bear in his\ngreat big voice, \u201cAND LEFT THE CUSHION CROOKED.\u201d\n\n\u201c+And somebody\u2019s been sitting in my chair+,\u201d said the mother bear,\n\u201c+and left it standing crooked+.\u201d\n\n\u201c_And somebody\u2019s been sitting in my chair_,\u201d squeaked the baby bear, in\nhis shrill little voice, \u201c_and they\u2019ve sat and sat till they\u2019ve sat the\nbottom out_\u201d; and he felt very sad about it.\n\nThen the three bears went over to the table to get their porridge.\n\n\u201cWHAT\u2019S THIS!\u201d growled the father bear, in his great big voice,\n\u201cSOMEBODY\u2019S BEEN TASTING MY PORRIDGE, AND LEFT THE SPOON ON THE TABLE.\u201d\n\n\u201c+And somebody\u2019s been taking my porridge+,\u201d said the mother bear in her\nmiddle-sized voice, \u201c+and they\u2019ve splashed it over the side+.\u201d\n\n\u201c_And somebody\u2019s been tasting my porridge_,\u201d squealed the baby bear,\n\u201c_and they\u2019ve tasted and tasted until they\u2019ve tasted it all up_.\u201d And\nwhen he said so the baby bear looked as if he were about to cry.\n\n\u201c+If somebody\u2019s been here they must be here still+,\u201d said the mother\nbear; so the three bears went upstairs to look.\n\nFirst the father bear looked at his bed. \u201cSOMEBODY\u2019S BEEN LYING ON MY\nBED AND PULLED THE COVERS DOWN,\u201d he growled in his great big voice.\n\nThen the mother bear looked at her bed. \u201c+Somebody\u2019s been lying on my\nbed and pulled the pillow off+,\u201d said she in her middle-sized voice.\n\nThen the baby bear looked at his bed, and there lay little Goldilocks\nwith her cheeks as pink as roses, and her golden hair all spread over\nthe pillow.\n\n\u201c_Somebody\u2019s been lying in my bed_,\u201d squeaked the baby bear joyfully,\n\u201c_and here she is still!_\u201d\n\nNow when Goldilocks in her dreams heard the great big father bear\u2019s\nvoice she dreamed it was the thunder rolling through the heavens.\n\nAnd when she heard the mother bear\u2019s middle-sized voice she dreamed it\nwas the wind blowing through the trees.\n\nBut when she heard the baby bear\u2019s voice it was so shrill and sharp\nthat it woke her right up. She sat up in bed and there were the three\nbears standing around and looking at her.\n\n\u201cOh, my goodness me!\u201d cried Goldilocks. She tumbled out of bed and ran\nto the window. It was open, and out she jumped before the bears could\nstop her. Then home she ran as fast as she could, and she never went\nnear the forest again. But the little baby bear cried and cried because\nhe had wanted the pretty little girl to play with.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: The Three Little Pigs]\n\n\n\n\nTHE THREE LITTLE PIGS\n\n\nA mother pig and her three little pigs lived together in a wood very\nhappily all through the long summertime, but towards autumn the mother\npig called her little ones to her and said, \u201cMy dear little pigs,\nthe time has come for you to go out into the world and seek your own\nfortunes. You will each want to build a little house to live in, but do\nnot build them of straw or leaves; straws are brittle and leaves are\nfrail. Build your houses of bricks, for then you will always have a\nsafe place to live in; you can go in and lock the door, and nothing can\nharm you.\u201d She then bade the little pigs farewell, and away they ran\nout into the world to make their fortunes.\n\nThe first little pig had not gone far when he met a man with a load of\nstraw. The straw looked so warm, and smelled so good that the little\npig quite forgot what his mother had told him.\n\n\u201cPlease, Mr. Man,\u201d said the little pig, \u201cgive me enough straw to build\na house to keep me warm through the long winter.\u201d\n\nThe man did not say no. He gave the little pig all the straw he wanted,\nand then he drove on.\n\nThe little pig built himself a house of straw, and it was so warm and\ncosy that he was quite delighted with it. \u201cHow much better,\u201d said he\n\u201cthan a house of cold hard bricks.\u201d\n\nSo he lay there snug and warm, and presently the old wolf knocked at\nthe door.\n\n\u201cPiggy-wig, piggy-wig, let me in!\u201d he cried.\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t, by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin,\u201d answered the pig.\n\n\u201cThen I\u2019ll huff, and I\u2019ll puff, and I\u2019ll blow your house in.\u201d\n\nThe little pig laughed aloud, for he felt very safe in his snug straw\nhouse.\n\n\u201cWell, then huff, and then puff, and then blow my house in!\u201d he cried.\n\nWell, the old wolf _did_ huff and puff, and he _did_ blow the house in,\nfor it was only made of straw, and then he ate up the pig.\n\nThe second little pig when he left the forest ran along and ran along\nand presently he met a man with a great load of leaves.\n\n\u201cOh, kind Mr. Man, please give me some leaves to build me a little\nhouse for the winter time,\u201d cried the piggy.\n\nThe man was willing to do this. He gave the pig all the leaves he\nwanted, and then he went on his way.\n\nThe pig built himself a house of leaves and it was even snugger and\nwarmer than the straw house had been. \u201cHow silly my mother was,\u201d said\nthe pig, \u201cto tell me to build a brick house. What could be warmer and\ncosier and safer than this.\u201d And he snuggled down among the leaves and\nwas very happy.\n\nPresently along came the great wolf, and he stopped and knocked at the\ndoor.\n\n\u201cPiggy-wig, piggy-wig, let me in!\u201d he cried.\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t, by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin!\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I\u2019ll huff, and I\u2019ll puff, and I\u2019ll blow your house in.\u201d\n\nThe little pig laughed when he heard that, for the walls were thick,\nand he felt secure.\n\n\u201cWell, then huff, and then puff, and then _blow_ my house in.\u201d\n\nSo the wolf huffed, and he puffed, and he _did_ blow the house in, and\nhe ate up the little pig that was inside of it.\n\nNow the third little pig was the smallest pig of all, but he was a very\nwise little pig, and he meant to do exactly as his mother had told him\nto do. After he left the forest he met a man driving a wagon-load of\nstraw, but he did not ask for any of it. He met the man with the load\nof leaves, but he did not ask for any of it. He met a man with a load\nof bricks, and _then_ he stopped and begged so prettily for enough\nbricks to build himself a little house that the man could not refuse\nhim.\n\nThe pig took the bricks and built himself a little red house with them,\nand it was not an easy task either. When it was done it was not so soft\nas the little straw house, and it was not so warm as the little leaf\nhouse, but it was a very _safe_ little house.\n\nPresently the old wolf came along and knocked at the door\u2014rat-tat-tat!\n\n\u201cPiggy-wig, piggy-wig, let me in,\u201d he called.\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t, by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I\u2019ll huff, and I\u2019ll puff, and I\u2019ll blow your house in.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, then huff, and then puff, and then blow my house in,\u201d answered\nthe pig.\n\nSo the old wolf huffed and he puffed, and he _puffed and he huffed_,\nand he +HUFFED AND HE PUFFED+ till he almost split his sides, and\nhe just _couldn\u2019t_ blow the house in, and the little pig laughed to\nhimself as he sat safe and comfortable inside there.\n\nThe old wolf saw there was nothing to be done by blowing, so he sat\ndown and thought and thought. Then he said, \u201cPiggy-wig, I know where\nthere is a field of fine turnips.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere?\u201d asked the little pig.\n\n\u201cOpen the door and I will tell you.\u201d\n\nNo, the little pig could hear quite well with the door closed.\n\n\u201cIt is just up the road three fields away,\u201d said the wolf, \u201cand if you\nwould like to have some I will come for you at six o\u2019clock to-morrow\nmorning, and we will go and dig them up together.\u201d\n\n\u201cAt six o\u2019clock!\u201d said the little pig. \u201cVery well.\u201d\n\nThen the old wolf trotted off home, licking his lips, and he was well\ncontent, for he thought he would have pig for breakfast the next day.\n\nBut the next morning the little pig was up and astir by five o\u2019clock.\nOff he trotted to the turnip field and gathered a whole bagful of\nturnips and was home again before the old wolf thought of coming.\n\nAt six o\u2019clock the old wolf knocked at the door.\n\n\u201cAre you ready to go for the turnips, Piggy?\u201d he cried.\n\n\u201cReady!\u201d answered the pig. \u201cWhy I was up and off to the field an\nhour ago and I have all the turnips I want, and I\u2019m boiling them for\nbreakfast.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s what you did!\u201d said the wolf. And then he thought a bit.\n\u201cPiggy, do you like fine ripe apples?\u201d he asked.\n\nYes, the pig was very fond of apples.\n\n\u201cThen I can tell you where to find some.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is that?\u201d\n\n\u201cOver beyond the hill in the squire\u2019s orchard, and if you will play me\nno tricks I will come for you at five o\u2019clock to-morrow, and we will go\ntogether, and gather some.\u201d\n\nVery well; the pig would be ready.\n\nSo the wolf trotted off home, and this time he was very sure that he\nwould have a nice fat little piggy for breakfast the next morning.\n\nThe little pig got up at four o\u2019clock the next day, and off he started\nfor the orchard as fast as his four little feet would carry him. But\nthe way was long, and the tree was hard to climb, and while he was\nstill up among the branches gathering apples the old wolf came trotting\ninto the orchard. The little pig was very much frightened, but he kept\nvery still and hoped, up among the leaves, the wolf would not see him.\n\nThe wolf peered about, first up one tree and then up another, and\nfinally he spied the piggy up among the branches.\n\n\u201cWhy did you not wait for me?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I knew you would be along presently.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow soon are you coming down?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen I have picked a few more apples.\u201d\n\nThe old wolf sat down at the foot of the tree, and the pig sat up among\nthe branches crunching apples and smacking his lips.\n\n\u201cAre they good?\u201d asked the wolf looking up; and his mouth watered.\n\nYes, they were very good.\n\n\u201cCould you not throw one down to me?\u201d\n\nYes, the little pig could do that.\n\nHe picked the biggest, reddest apple he could, and then he threw it,\nbut he threw it far off, and in such a way that it went bounding and\nrolling down the hill slope. The wolf bounded down the hill after it,\nand while he was catching it, the little pig climbed down the tree and\nran safely home with his basketful of apples.\n\nWhen the old wolf found the pig had tricked him again he was very\nangry. He was more determined than ever that he would catch the little\npig. He trotted off to the little red house and knocked at the door.\n\n\u201cDid you get all the apples you wanted?\u201d asked the wolf.\n\nYes, the little pig had all he wanted, and he was very much obliged to\nthe wolf for telling him about the orchard.\n\n\u201cListen, Piggy, there\u2019s to be a fine fair over in the town to-morrow,\u201d\nsaid the wolf. \u201cWouldn\u2019t you like to go?\u201d\n\nYes, the little pig would like very much to go.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the wolf. \u201cThen I will come for you at half-past\nthree to-morrow, and we will go together.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the little pig. But long before half-past three the\nnext day, piggy was off to the fair, and he took four bright silver\npieces with him, for he wanted to buy himself a butter-churn. It did\nnot take him long to buy the churn, and then he started home again,\ncarrying it on his back.\n\nBut the wolf had learned a thing or two about the little pig\u2019s tricks.\nHe, too, started off to the fair long before half-past three, and so\nit was that the little pig was scarcely half-way home, and had just\nreached the top of a high hill, when he saw the wolf come trotting up\nthe hill directly toward him. The little pig was terrified. He looked\nall around but he could not see any place to hide. He decided the\nbest thing he could do was to get inside the churn. So he put it down\nand crept inside it. But the hill was very steep, and no sooner was\nthe piggy inside the churn than it began to roll down the hill slope\nbumpety-bumpety-bump, over rocks and stones, leaping and bounding like\na live thing. The little pig did not know what was happening to him.\nHe began to squeal at the top of his voice.\n\nThe old wolf was half-way up the hill when he heard the noise. He\nlooked up, and there was a great round thing coming bounding over the\nrocks straight at him, and squeaking and squeaking as it came. He gave\none look and his hair bristled with fear, and with a howl he turned\ntail and ran home as fast as he could. He never stopped till he was\nsafe inside his house, and had shut and locked the door behind him.\nThere he crouched, trembling and wondering what would happen. But\nnothing happened, and all was quiet, so after awhile the wolf ventured\nout and ran over to the pig\u2019s house.\n\n\u201cPiggy, Piggy! Are you in there?\u201d\n\nYes, the little pig was sitting by the fire roasting apples.\n\n\u201cThen, listen while I tell you what happened to me on the way to the\nfair.\u201d Then the wolf put his nose close to the crack of the door, and\ntold the little pig all about the great round squealing thing that had\nchased him down the hill.\n\nThe little pig laughed and laughed. \u201cAnd I can tell you exactly what\nthe great squealing thing was; it was a churn I had bought at the fair,\nand I was inside it.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\nWhen the old wolf heard this he was so furious that he determined to\nhave the little pig whether or no, even if he had to climb up on the\nroof and down the chimney to get him. He stuck his sharp nails in\nbetween the bricks of the house and climbed right up the side of it and\nonto the roof. Then he climbed up on the chimney and slid down it into\nthe fire-place.\n\nBut the little pig had heard what he was doing, and was ready for him.\nHe had a great pot of boiling water on the fire, and when he heard the\nwolf slipping and scrabbling down the chimney he took the lid off the\nkettle, and plump! the old wolf fell right into the boiling water. Then\nthe little pig clapped the lid tight down over him, and that was the\nend of the wolf.\n\nBut the little pig lived on in peace and plenty forever after, and if\nany other wolf ever came along to bother him I never heard of it.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE GOLDEN KEY\n\n\nIt was winter, and a little lad had gone out into the forest to gather\nwood to keep the fire going at home. As there was snow upon the ground\nhe took his little sledge with him, for he could carry home a larger\nload on the sledge than on his back.\n\nHe gathered together a heap of fallen branches, and then piled them\nneatly on the sledge, putting the larger pieces at the bottom. Before\nhe had finished the task his fingers were almost frozen, for he had no\nmittens. \u201cBefore I start to drag my sled home,\u201d said he to himself, \u201cI\nwill build a fire and warm my hands a bit.\u201d\n\nHe took a stick, and cleared away some of the snow, so as to have a\nplace to build the fire. When he had done this he saw a little golden\nkey lying there on the ground. The little lad picked it up, wondering.\n\u201cWherever there is a key, there must be a lock,\u201d he said.\n\nHe began to scrape away the earth, and presently he found a curious\nlooking chest made of iron inlaid with silver. There were words written\non the lid of the chest, but the little boy could not read them.\n\nHe lifted the chest out from the earth, and it seemed to him that\nsomething was stirring inside of it. Then a little thin voice, as thin\nas a thread, cried to him. \u201cLet me out! Let me out, and I will make\nyour fortune.\u201d\n\nThe little boy was very much surprised. The chest seemed too small for\nany living being to be in it.\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cOpen the chest and see. If you will only let me out you will never be\nsorry.\u201d\n\nThe little boy put the golden key in the lock and it fitted exactly.\nHe turned it round and the lock flew back. But as to what was in the\nchest you will have to wait until he lifts the lid before you can see.\n\n\n\n\nMOTHER HULDA\n\n\nThere was once a widow who had two daughters; the elder of the girls\nwas cross and ugly, but the mother loved her dearly because she was\nexactly like herself, and also because she was her own daughter. The\nyounger girl was only her stepdaughter, and because of this, and also\nbecause the girl was good and pretty the mother hated her, and did all\nshe could to make her miserable.\n\nOne day the good daughter sat by the well spinning, and as she spun\nshe wept because she was so unhappy. The tears blinded her eyes, and\npresently she pricked her finger, and a drop of blood fell on the flax.\nThe girl was frightened, for she feared her stepmother would scold her\nwhen she saw the flax, so she stooped over the edge of the well to try\nto wash the blood off it. But the spindle slipped from her hand and\nsank down and down through the water until it was lost to sight.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThat was worse than ever; the girl did not know what her stepmother\nwould do to her when she heard the spindle had been lost down the well.\nStill she was obliged to confess.\n\nThe widow was indeed very angry.\n\n\u201cYou good-for-nothing!\u201d she cried. \u201cYou are the trouble of my life. Out\nof my sight, and do not dare to return until you can bring the spindle\nwith you,\u201d and she gave the girl a push so that she almost fell over.\n\nThe girl was so frightened and unhappy that she ran out of the door;\nwithout stopping to think, she jumped into the well. Down, down she\nsank, through the waters, just as the spindle had done, and when she\nreached the bottom she found herself in a broad green meadow with a\nroad leading across it.\n\nThe girl followed the road, and presently she came to a baker\u2019s oven\nthat stood beside the way, and it was full of bread. The girl was about\nto pass by, but the loaves inside called to her, \u201cTake us out! Take us\nout! If we are left in the oven any longer we will burn.\u201d\n\nShe was surprised to hear the bread speak to her, but she opened the\ndoor and drew the loaves out, and set them neatly on end to cool. Then\nshe went on.\n\nA little farther, she came to an apple-tree. It was so loaded down with\nfruit that the branches bent with the weight of it.\n\n\u201cShake me! Shake me!\u201d cried the apple-tree. \u201cMy apples are ripe and my\nboughs are like to break with the weight of them.\u201d\n\nThe girl shook the apple-tree till the apples fell about her in a\nshower. She piled the apples neatly about the tree and went on her way.\n\nAfter awhile she came to a little house, and an ugly old woman\nwith long yellow teeth was looking out of the window. The girl was\nfrightened at the old woman\u2019s looks, and was about to turn away, but\nthe woman called to her, \u201cDo not be afraid. I will not hurt you. I need\na serving-maid. Come in, and if you serve me faithfully I will reward\nyou well.\u201d\n\nThe girl did not feel afraid any longer. She opened the door and went\nin.\n\nThe old woman took her upstairs and showed her a great feather bed. \u201cI\nam Mother Hulda,\u201d said she. \u201cIt is I who send out the frost and snow\nover the world. Every day you must give my bed a good beating. Then,\nwhen the feathers fly, it snows upon the earth.\u201d\n\nThe girl stayed with Mother Hulda many months. Every day she gave the\nbed such a good beating that the feathers flew, and there was much snow\nthat year. Mother Hulda was very much pleased with her. She was kind to\nher, and the girl had all she wanted to eat, and that of the best, and\na comfortable bed to sleep in; but all the same, by the time the winter\nwas over she began to feel sad and dull. She longed to see her home and\nher mother and sister, too, even though they were unkind to her.\n\n\u201cNow I see it is time for you to go back to the earth again,\u201d said\nMother Hulda. \u201cYou have served me well and faithfully, and you shall be\nrewarded as I promised you.\u201d\n\nShe then opened a closet door and brought out the girl\u2019s spindle and\ngave it to her. After that she took the girl by the hand and led her\nout of the house and along a road to a great gate that stood open.\n\n\u201cThere lies your way,\u201d said Mother Hulda.\n\nThe girl passed out through the gate, and as she did so a shower\nof gold fell all about her like rain, and stuck to her so that she\nglittered from head to foot with gold; even her shoes and her clothes\nwere golden.\n\n\u201cThat is my reward to you because you have been a good servant,\u201d cried\nMother Hulda. Then the gate closed, and the girl ran along the road and\nquickly came to the house of her stepmother.\n\nAs she entered the gate the cock crowed loudly, \u201cCock-a-doodle-doo! Our\ngolden girl\u2019s come home again.\u201d\n\nShe entered the house, and now her mother and sister were glad to see\nher because she was covered with gold. They asked her where she had\nbeen and who had given her all that treasure.\n\nThe girl told them. Then they were filled with envy.\n\n\u201cHere! Take your spindle,\u201d cried the widow to her own daughter. \u201cThrow\nit in the well and jump down after it. If Mother Hulda has rewarded\nyour sister in this way what will she not do for you? No doubt you will\ncome home all covered with diamonds and rubies.\u201d\n\nThe ugly girl took her spindle and threw it down the well, as her\nmother bade her, and jumped in after it. Down, down she went, just\nas her sister had done, and there was the green meadow with the road\nleading across it.\n\nThe girl hurried along the road, for she was in haste to reach Mother\nHulda\u2019s house and get a reward, and presently she came to the oven.\n\n\u201cTake us out! Take us out!\u201d cried the loaves inside. \u201cWe will burn if\nwe are left in here any longer.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy should I blacken my hands for you?\u201d cried the girl. \u201cStay\nwhere you are, and if you burn no one will be the worse for it but\nyourselves.\u201d And so saying she went on her way.\n\nA little farther she came to the apple-tree, and its boughs were bent\nwith the weight of the fruit it bore.\n\n\u201cShake me! Shake me!\u201d cried the apple-tree. \u201cMy fruit is ripe, and my\nboughs are like to break with the weight of it.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot I!\u201d cried the girl. \u201cI will not shake you. Suppose one of the\napples should fall upon my head. Your boughs may break for all of me!\u201d\nAnd so she went on her way, munching an apple that she had picked up\nfrom off the ground.\n\nIt was not long before she came to Mother Hulda\u2019s house, and there was\nMother Hulda herself looking out of the window. The ugly girl was not\nafraid of her and her long teeth, for the good sister had already told\nher about them. She marched up to the door and opened it as bold as\nbold.\n\n\u201cI have come to take service with you,\u201d she said, \u201cand to get the\nreward.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d answered Mother Hulda. \u201cIf you serve me well and\nfaithfully the reward shall not be lacking.\u201d\n\nShe then took the ugly girl upstairs and showed her the bed, and told\nher how she was to shake and beat it. Then she left her there.\n\nThe ugly girl began to beat the bed, but she soon tired of it and came\ndownstairs and asked if supper were ready. Mother Hulda frowned, but\nshe said nothing, and she gave the girl a good supper of bread and meat.\n\nThe next day the ugly girl hardly beat the bed at all, and the next day\nit was still worse. At the end of the week hardly a flake of snow had\nfloated out over the world.\n\n\u201cYou will never do for me,\u201d said Mother Hulda. \u201cYou will have to go.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d answered the girl. \u201cI am willing, but give me my reward\nfirst.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, you shall have your reward,\u201d said Mother Hulda, \u201cand you deserve\nit.\u201d\n\nShe opened the closet and took out the spindle and gave it to her,\nand led her along the road to the open gate. The girl was very much\npleased. \u201cNow in a moment,\u201d thought she, \u201cI will be all covered with\ngold the way my sister was, unless I am covered with diamonds and\nrubies.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere lies your way,\u201d cried Mother Hulda.\n\nThe girl ran through the gate, but instead of gold or precious stones,\na shower of soot fell over her so that she was black from head to foot.\n\n\u201cThat is the reward of your services,\u201d cried Mother Hulda to the girl,\nand then she banged the gate and locked it so that the girl could not\ncome back.\n\nSo the lazy daughter ran home, crying, and as she entered the gate the\ncock crowed loudly, \u201cCock-a-doodle-doo! Our sooty girl\u2019s come home\nagain.\u201d\n\nAnd try as she might the ugly girl could never get the soot entirely\noff her. But as to the good sister she was married to a great nobleman,\nand lived happy ever after.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: The Six Companions]\n\n\n\n\nTHE SIX COMPANIONS\n\n\nA certain man named John had been a faithful soldier, and had served\nthe King all through the war, and had been wounded, too; but when the\nwar came to an end and he was discharged he only received three pieces\nof silver as payment.\n\n\u201cThat is a mean way to treat a fellow,\u201d said John. \u201cBut never mind! If\nI can only get the right sort of friends to help me we will get all the\nKing\u2019s treasure from him before we are done.\u201d\n\nSo he shouldered his knapsack and off he set into the world to find the\nright sort of friends to help him do this.\n\nHe walked along and walked along till he came to a wood, and there was\na man pulling up trees by the roots as though they were no more than\ngrasses.\n\n\u201cYou are the very man for me,\u201d said John. \u201cCome along with me and we\nwill make our fortunes.\u201d\n\nThe man was willing. \u201cBut wait,\u201d said he, \u201cuntil I tie these fagots\ntogether and take them home to my mother.\u201d\n\nHe laid six of the trees together and twisted the seventh around them\nto hold them. Then he walked off with them on his shoulder as easily as\nthough they were nothing.\n\nWhen he came back he and the soldier started out in search of their\nfortunes.\n\nThey had not gone far when they came to a hunter who had raised his gun\nto his shoulder and was taking careful aim. The soldier looked about\nover the meadows, but could see nothing to shoot.\n\n\u201cWhat are you aiming at?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cTwo miles away there is a forest,\u201d said the man. \u201cIn the forest is an\noak tree. On the top-most leaf of that oak tree there is a fly. I am\ngoing to shoot out the left eye of that fly.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome along with me,\u201d said the soldier, \u201cwe three will certainly make\nour fortunes together.\u201d\n\nVery well; the hunter was willing. So he shouldered the gun and off he\ntramped alongside of the other.\n\nPresently they came to seven mill-wheels, and the sails were turning\nmerrily, and yet there was not a breath of wind stirring. \u201cThat is a\ncurious thing!\u201d said the soldier. \u201cNow what is turning those sails I\nshould like to know.\u201d\n\nTwo miles farther on they came to a man sitting on top of a hill. He\nheld a finger on one side of his nose and blew through the other.\n\n\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d asked the soldier.\n\n\u201cI am blowing to turn the wheels of seven windmills two miles away, so\nthat the miller can grind his corn,\u201d answered the man.\n\n\u201cCome with us,\u201d said the soldier. \u201cWe are going out into the world to\nmake our fortunes.\u201d\n\nVery well, the man was willing; the wind was springing up, anyway,\nso the miller would not need him. So now there were four of them\njourneying along together.\n\nAfter awhile they came to a heap of rocks, and there in the shade of it\nsat a man. He had unfastened one of his legs, and taken it off, and he\nsat with the other stretched out before him.\n\n\u201cThat is a good way to rest,\u201d said the soldier.\n\n\u201cI am not doing this to rest,\u201d said the man. \u201cI am a runner. If I were\nto put on this other leg and start off I would be out of sight in a\ntwinkling. I have arranged to take off one leg so that I can go more\nslowly; though ordinary people find it hard to keep up with me even so.\u201d\n\n\u201cTake up your leg and come with us,\u201d said the soldier. \u201cWe are going to\nmake our fortunes, and it shall be share and share alike with us if you\nwill come along.\u201d\n\nTo this the runner agreed. He took up his one leg and hopped along on\nthe other, and they found it hard work to keep up with him, he went so\nfast.\n\nThey had gone but a mile or so when they met a man who wore a little\nhat cocked down over one ear.\n\n\u201cHello!\u201d called the soldier. \u201cWhy do you wear your hat in that fashion\ninstead of straight on your head like other people?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, every time I set it straight there comes such a heavy frost that\nthe flowers are blighted, and even the birds freeze in the trees.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is a wonderful gift,\u201d said the soldier. \u201cCome along with us, and\nwe will make our fortunes together. And now there are six of us, and\nthat is enough. We will have no more in our company.\u201d\n\nSo the six stout comrades journeyed on until they came to the town\nwhere the King lived. This King had one daughter, and she could run so\nfast that it was like a bird skimming along, and the King had said that\nno one should marry her unless he could run faster than she could; if\nsuch a one came along he should have her for a wife. But so far no one\nhad been able to outrun her.\n\nThe soldier with his five comrades marched up to the palace and knocked\nat the door as bold as bold, and asked to see the King.\n\nAt first the gatekeeper did not wish to let the six in, for they were\nworn and dusty, but the soldier looked at him so fiercely that he did\nnot dare to refuse.\n\nThe six comrades were brought into the great hall where the King sat\nwith his daughter beside him and all his nobles about him.\n\nWell, and what did the soldier and his fellows want with the King.\n\nOh, the soldier wanted to try a race with the princess; but he was not\nmuch of a runner himself, so he would let his servant run for him.\n\nThe King was willing for that, but he warned the soldier that if he\nfailed in the race he and his servant, too, would lose their lives.\n\nThe soldier was not afraid to risk that, so the race course was laid\nout, and the Princess and the runner made ready. They were to run to a\nfountain miles and miles and miles away, and each was to fill a pitcher\nwith water and bring it back to the palace. Whichever first returned\nwith the water would win the race.\n\nThe runner stooped down and buckled on his second leg, and then he was\nready, and he and the Princess set out. The Princess flew like a bird,\nbut the runner ran like the wind. He was out of sight in a twinkling,\nand had filled his pitcher and started home again before the Princess\nwas half-way to the fountain.\n\nThe runner sat down to rest a bit. He was very sleepy and he thought he\nwould just take a little nap before going the rest of the way. In order\nnot to be too comfortable and sleep too long he picked up a horse\u2019s\nskull that lay in a field near by and put it under his head for a\npillow.\n\nBut the runner slept more soundly than he meant to do.\n\nThe Princess also reached the fountain and filled her pitcher and\nstarted home again, and then, half-way home, she came across the runner\nfast asleep with his pitcher of water beside him.\n\nThis was the chance for the Princess. Very quietly she poured the water\nfrom the runner\u2019s pitcher, and set it down beside him empty. Then she\nhurried on toward the palace, leaving the runner still asleep.\n\nAnd now all would have been lost except for the hunter. He had been\nwatching from the palace window and had seen everything that happened.\nHe made haste to load his gun, and took aim and shot the skull from\nunder the sleeper\u2019s head. This awakened the runner. He sat up and\nlooked about him.\n\nThere was the Princess almost back at the palace, and his pitcher lay\nempty beside him.\n\nHowever, this was nothing to him. He picked up his pitcher and away he\nwent, swifter than the wind. He ran back to the fountain and filled the\npitcher, and got back with it to the castle door before the Princess\nhad come in at the outer gate.\n\nAnd now by rights the Princess belonged to the soldier, but the King\ncould not make up his mind to have her married to a common man like\nthat. As for the Princess she was ready to cry her eyes out at the\nthought of it. She and the King talked and talked together, and at last\nthey made up a plan between them.\n\nThe King had a room made that was all of iron and could be heated until\nit was hotter than any oven. Then he called the comrades to him and\nsaid, \u201cNow you have fairly won the race, and I have ordered food and\ndrink to be set out for you, so that you may make merry over it.\u201d\n\nHe then showed the companions into the iron room, and there a grand\nfeast had been made ready. The six sat down at table and began to eat\nand drink, but the king went on out and locked the doors behind him.\nThen he ordered a fire to be built under the room, and to be kept up\nuntil the room was red hot.\n\nThe six companions sat around the table eating and drinking merrily\nenough, until they began to feel too warm. Then they got up to leave\nthe room, but they found the door was locked and they were fastened in.\nAt once they guessed the trick that had been played upon them, but\nthey were not troubled over that in the least.\n\n\u201cThis is something for you to see to,\u201d said the soldier to the man with\nthe hat over one ear.\n\nThe man set his hat straight and at once a frost fell upon the room. It\ngrew so cold that the comrades had to turn up their coat collars and\nwalk about to keep warm.\n\nThe King waited until he thought the six would certainly be suffocated\nby the heat, and then he ordered the door to be opened. What was his\nsurprise when all the men walked out just as well and hearty as ever,\nexcept that they looked somewhat pinched with the cold.\n\nBut the King was as unwilling as ever to give his daughter to the\nsoldier. He called the soldier to him and said, \u201cListen, if you will\ngive up marrying the Princess I will make you rich for life.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, but how much will you give me?\u201d asked the soldier.\n\n\u201cI will give you all the gold you can carry.\u201d\n\nWell, the soldier hardly knew what to say to that. Ever since he had\nbeen in the war his back had been weak; but if the King would give him\nas much as his servant could carry he would give up the Princess and\nwelcome.\n\nThe King did not care who carried off the gold. He was quite willing to\ngive as much as the servant could carry.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the soldier. \u201cIn a week\u2019s time I will come back for\nthe gold, and do you gather it together and have it ready for me.\u201d\n\nThe next thing the soldier did was to hire all the tailors he could\nget, and have them make for him an enormous sack, and when it was\nfinished it was as big as a house.\n\nWhen it was done he and the strong man went back to the palace\ntogether, and the week was just up. The strong man carried the sack,\nrolled up, on his shoulders.\n\nMeanwhile the King had had a ton of gold brought up from his\ntreasure-house, and that, he was sure, was more than the strongest man\ncould carry.\n\nWhen the soldier and his comrade came where the gold was the strong\nman opened up the sack, and taking up the ton of gold with one hand he\nthrew it into the sack. \u201cThat will do for a beginning,\u201d said he, \u201cbut\nwe will have to have more than that.\u201d\n\nThe King was frightened. He ordered more gold and more to be brought up\nfrom his treasure-house, and still there did not begin to be enough. \u201cI\ncan easily carry twice as much, and more,\u201d cried the strong man.\n\nAt last the King\u2019s treasure-house was empty, and he sent out all over\nthe kingdom for more gold, and still there was not enough.\n\n\u201cOh, well!\u201d cried the strong man at last, \u201cI see you have done your\nbest; we will have to be content with what we have.\u201d Then he swung the\nsack up over his shoulder and marched off with it, and the soldier and\nthe other comrades went along with him.\n\nBut the King was in a terrible state of mind. Here all his treasure had\nbeen carried off by a common soldier and his followers. He would almost\nrather have given up the Princess than that. He stamped and raged, and\nthen he called his horsemen together, and sent out two regiments after\nthe comrades to bring them back again and the treasure with them.\n\nIt did not take the horsemen long to catch up to the comrades for they\nwere traveling along quietly enough, and without any haste.\n\n\u201cStop! stop!\u201d cried the captain of the regiment. \u201cI have come to take\nyou and the treasure back to the King. Will you come along quietly, or\nwill we have to drag you?\u201d\n\n\u201cWait a bit,\u201d said the blower. \u201cBefore we talk further about it suppose\nyou take a dance in the air.\u201d He put one finger to his nostril and blew\nthrough the other and away went the captain and his regiment, whirling\nand dancing through the air like dry leaves when the wind blows them.\n\nAfter awhile he allowed them to settle down to earth again. \u201cThere!\u201d\nsaid he. \u201cHave you had enough, or would you like another dance?\u201d\n\nNo! the regiment had no wish for another whirl through the air. All\nthey wished for now was to get safely back to the palace again.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the blower. \u201cThen go back to the King and tell him if\nhe sends his whole army out after us I will treat it in the same way.\u201d\n\nBut this the King dared not do. His treasure was gone and he could not\nrisk having his army blown away, into the bargain. The comrades went\non their way with no further hindrance, and after awhile they sat down\nand divided the treasure among them and each one had enough to make him\nrich and prosperous for life.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE GOLDEN BIRD\n\n\nThere was once a King who had in his gardens an apple-tree that bore\ngolden apples. Every day the King went out to count the apples, and no\none was allowed to touch them but himself.\n\nOne morning, when the King went out to count them as usual he found\nthat one of them was gone. He was very much vexed, and ordered that at\nnight a guard should be set around the garden, that no one might steal\nthe apples, but the very next morning still another one was missing.\nSo it happened day after day. Every gate to the garden was carefully\nguarded, and yet every morning another apple was gone from the tree,\nand they could not tell who had taken it.\n\nNow the King had three sons, and one day the eldest came to his father\nand said, \u201cFather, to-night I will watch under the apple-tree, and you\nmay be sure that no one will be able to come near it without my seeing\nhim.\u201d\n\nThe King was quite willing for his son to keep watch, so that night the\nPrince took his place under the tree.\n\nFor some hours he sat there and watched, and scarcely winked an eyelid;\nbut in the middle of the night a light shone around him and he heard a\nsound of music. Then, in spite of himself, he fell into a deep sleep,\nand when he awoke in the morning another apple had been stolen.\n\nThat day the second son came to the King and asked that he might be\nallowed to watch the apple-tree that night.\n\nAgain the King consented, and as soon as night came the second son went\nout and sat under the apple-tree just as his brother had done. Then\njust the same thing happened as had happened before. Toward midnight a\nlight shone around the tree, and there was a sound of music, and then,\ndo what he would, he could not stay awake. He slept, and while he\nslept another apple was taken.\n\nThe third day it was the turn of the third son to ask to be allowed to\nwatch under the apple-tree. But the King refused. \u201cDo you think that\nyou are cleverer than your brothers?\u201d he asked. \u201cWhy should you succeed\nwhen they have failed?\u201d But the Prince begged and entreated until at\nlast the King gave him permission to watch under the tree.\n\nNow the third Prince was a wise youth; he had heard what happened to\nhis brothers on the other two nights, so when evening came he stuffed\nhis ears with cotton, and then he went out and took his place under\nthe apple-tree. There he sat, and just before midnight a light shone\nthrough the branches, and there was a sound of music. But the young\nPrince had stuffed his ears with cotton so he could not hear the music,\nand he did not go to sleep.\n\nAfter the music came a sound of wings, though this, too, the Prince\ncould not hear, and a golden bird alighted on the apple-tree. The bird\nwas about to pick one of the apples when the Prince raised his crossbow\nand shot a bolt at it.\n\nThe bird escaped, but one of its golden feathers fluttered down and\nfell at the Prince\u2019s feet. He picked it up, and the next morning he\ntook it to his father and told him what he had seen in the night.\n\nAs soon as the King saw the feather he was filled with the greatest\ndesire to have the bird. \u201cLife is worth nothing to me without that\nbird,\u201d said he. \u201cI would give my kingdom to possess it.\u201d\n\nWhen the eldest brother heard that, he at once made up his mind to set\nout in search of the bird, for he thought it would be a fine thing to\ngain the kingdom for himself. He went by himself, taking no one with\nhim, for he did not wish anyone else to have a hand in the search.\n\nHe journeyed on for some distance and then he came to a cross-road, and\nthere at the cross-roads he saw a little red fox sitting. The Prince\ndrew his bow to shoot, but the animal called to him, \u201cDo not shoot me,\nPrince, and I will give you a piece of good advice that is worth more\nthan my skin.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat can a beast tell me that is worth hearing?\u201d asked the Prince.\n\n\u201cListen!\u201d said the fox. \u201cI know where you are going, that it is in\nsearch of the Golden Bird, but unless you do as I say you will never\nfind it. To-night you will reach a village. In this village there are\ntwo inns that stand opposite to each other. One is a fine place. It\nwill be lighted up, and there will be music and dancing inside. But do\nnot enter there. The other inn is poor and miserable looking, but that\nis where you must stay if you hope to find the Golden Bird.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is foolish talk, and I would be even more foolish to heed it,\u201d\ncried the Prince, and again drawing his bow he shot a bolt at the fox.\nThe bolt missed the mark, and the fox ran away unharmed.\n\nThe King\u2019s son rode on, and at nightfall he entered a village. There\non each side of the street stood an inn, and they were just such inns\nas the fox had told him of. One was a fine place, well-lighted, and\nwith dancing and music going on inside. The other was dark and poor and\nmiserable-looking.\n\nThe Prince never gave another thought to the fox\u2019s advice. He turned in\nto the fine inn, and there he ate and drank and laughed with those who\nwere there before him, and forgot all about the Golden Bird, and his\nfather and the kingdom, too.\n\nTime passed on, and still the eldest son did not return home, and no\none knew what had become of him. Then the second son wished to try his\nluck at finding the Golden Bird. The King did not wish him to go, but\nthe Prince was so eager that at last the father gave his consent.\n\nThe Prince journeyed on until he came to the cross-roads, and there sat\nthe fox, just as it had before. The second son was about to shoot it,\nbut the little animal called to him to spare its life and it would give\nhim a piece of good advice.\n\nThe Prince was curious to hear what the fox had to say, but after he\nhad heard of the two inns, and that it was the poor mean-looking one he\nmust choose, he laughed aloud.\n\n\u201cA pretty piece of advice,\u201d he cried, \u201cand I would be a great simpleton\nto follow it.\u201d Then he shot a bolt at the fox, but he missed his aim,\nand the little animal ran away unharmed.\n\nThen it happened with the second Prince just as it had with his elder\nbrother. He came to the two inns just at nightfall, and it was at the\nfine well-lighted inn that he stopped. There he spent the night in\nfeasting and merry-making, and by the next day he had forgotten all\nabout the Golden Bird, and his father, and the kingdom he had hoped to\ngain.\n\nNow when time passed and the second son did not return either, it was\nthe third Prince who wished to set out upon the search. But, \u201cNo, no,\u201d\nsaid his father, \u201cthat I cannot allow. I have lost two sons already,\nand am I to lose my third son also?\u201d\n\nBut the Prince had set his heart on going.\n\nHe begged and entreated until the King could no longer refuse him.\n\nThe Prince set out upon his journey, and it was not long before he\nreached the cross-roads, and found the fox sitting there, just as his\nbrothers had before him. The Prince had his bow slung at his back, but\nhe did not draw it.\n\n\u201cDo not shoot me, Prince,\u201d cried the fox, \u201cand I will give you a piece\nof good advice.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy should I shoot you?\u201d answered the Prince. \u201cI have no quarrel with\nyou. And as for your advice, who knows but what it may be well worth\nhaving?\u201d\n\n\u201cThen listen,\u201d said the fox; and he told the Prince about the two inns,\njust as he had told the other brothers.\n\n\u201cThat may or may not be good advice,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cbut at least it\nwill do me no harm to follow it.\u201d\n\nSo when he entered the village he did not go to the fine inn as his\nbrothers had done. Instead he turned in at the poor, mean-looking inn,\nand there he spent the night quietly, and the next day he arose, and\nwent on his way.\n\nJust outside the village he came across the fox sitting in a field and\nwaiting for him.\n\n\u201cPrince,\u201d said the fox, \u201cyou did well indeed to follow my advice. Now\nseat yourself upon my tail and I will carry you on your journey far\nfaster than you can walk.\u201d\n\nThe Prince did as the fox bade him. He seated himself upon its tail and\nthen away they went, so fast that the wind whistled past the Prince\u2019s\nears. Presently they came within sight of a great castle, and there the\nfox stopped. \u201cIn that castle is the Golden Bird,\u201d said the fox, \u201cbut\nnow you must go on alone. Follow this road, and it will lead you to\nthe gate of the castle. All around you will see soldiers lying asleep\non the ground, but do not fear them. They will not awake unless you\ndisobey what I am about to tell you.\u201d\n\nThe fox then told the Prince in which room of the castle he would\nfind the Golden Bird. \u201cIt is in an ugly, mean-looking cage,\u201d said he,\n\u201cand close by hangs a handsome golden cage that is empty. But do not\nby any means put the bird in the golden cage. Bring it away in the\nmean-looking cage, for unless you do this some great misfortune will\ncome upon you.\u201d\n\nThe Prince was so happy to think he was soon to find the Golden Bird\nthat he scarcely listened to anything else the fox told him.\n\nHe sprang from the fox\u2019s tail and hastened along the road to the\ncastle, and soon he came to the soldiers lying asleep upon the ground.\nHe went past them safely and they did not wake. He entered the\ncastle and it did not take him long to find the Golden Bird. There\nit was in the very room the fox had told him of. It was in a mean,\ncommon-looking cage, and beside it hung a handsome golden cage that\nwas empty.\n\n\u201cIt is a foolish thing,\u201d thought the Prince, \u201cto put a golden bird in\na cage like that. It would be much better to put it in the cage that\nsuits it.\u201d So thinking, he took the bird from the ugly cage and put it\nin the handsome one. As soon as he did this the bird began to shriek.\nThis sound awakened the soldiers. They ran in and seized the Prince,\nand carried him before the King of the country.\n\nWhen the King heard how the Prince had tried to steal the Golden Bird\nhe was very angry. \u201cYou deserve to be put to death,\u201d said he, \u201cbut I\nwill spare your life on one condition. If you will bring me the Golden\nHorse that goes swifter than the wind, you shall be pardoned, and I\nwill give you the Golden Bird into the bargain.\u201d\n\nWell, there was no help for it; the Prince had to set out to find the\nGolden Horse, but he was very sad, for he did not know where to look\nfor it, and unless he found it he would have to return and lose his\nlife.\n\nHe went along the road and he had not gone far when he saw the fox\nsitting in a field and waiting for him.\n\n\u201cWhy did you not follow my advice?\u201d said the fox. \u201cNow you are in a\npretty scrape. But mount upon my tail and I will see what I can do to\nhelp you.\u201d\n\nThe Prince seated himself upon the fox\u2019s tail and away they went, over\nbush and brake, over rock and brier, so fast the wind whistled by the\nPrince\u2019s ears.\n\nPresently they came within sight of another castle, and there the fox\nstopped. \u201cLight down,\u201d said he, \u201cfor I can carry you no farther. In\nthe stable of that castle is the Golden Horse you are in search of.\nGo on boldly and open the stable door. No one will stop you, for the\nstableman is asleep. Only when you find the Golden Horse do not take\nthe golden saddle that hangs beside the stall. Take the worn old saddle\nthat lies in the corner. Unless you do as I tell you misfortune will\nsurely come upon you.\u201d\n\nThe Prince scarcely listened to the fox, he was in such a hurry to find\nthe Golden Horse. He hurried up the road to the stable and opened the\nstable door, and no one stopped nor stayed him. There in the stall\nstood the Golden Horse, and it shone so that the light from it filled\nthe whole place. Hanging beside the stall was a golden saddle set\nwith precious stones, and in the corner lay an old worn-out saddle of\nleather. \u201cThis golden saddle is the saddle that belongs with the Golden\nHorse,\u201d thought the Prince. \u201cIt would be a shame to put the other upon\nits back.\u201d\n\nSo he took down the golden saddle and laid it on the horse. As soon\nas he did so, the horse began to neigh and stamp. The sound awoke the\nstableman, and he called the guard. The soldiers came running in haste\nand seized the Prince and carried him before the King and told him the\nyouth had been trying to steal the Golden Horse.\n\n\u201cYou deserve to die for this,\u201d said the King, \u201cbut I will forgive you\non one condition. If you will bring me the Princess of the Golden\nCastle for a wife then you shall not only receive my pardon, but the\nGolden Horse into the bargain.\u201d\n\nWell, the Prince did not see how he was to find the Princess of the\nGolden Castle, but he promised to do his best. He set out and he had\nnot gone far when he found the fox waiting for him.\n\n\u201cYou do not deserve my help,\u201d said the fox. \u201cWhy did you disobey me and\nput the golden saddle upon the horse? But mount upon my tail. I suppose\nI must do the best I can to pull you out of this scrape also.\u201d\n\nThe Prince set himself upon the fox\u2019s tail, and away they went again so\nfast that the wind whistled through his hair.\n\nOn and on they went, and after a time they came to another castle, and\nthis castle was all of shining gold. \u201cNow listen,\u201d said the fox. \u201cIn\nthis castle lives the beautiful Princess we are in search of. Do you go\nand hide yourself by the bathhouse down by the lake. Every night, when\nall in the castle are asleep, the Princess comes down to the lake to\nbathe. When she comes near the bathhouse you must seize her and kiss\nher. Then she will willingly follow you wherever you lead. But whatever\nyou do do not allow her to go back to bid farewell to her parents. If\nyou do you may answer for it with your life.\u201d\n\nThe Prince promised to do as the fox told him, and then he went away\nand hid himself behind the bathhouse.\n\nThat night, as soon as all in the castle were asleep, the Princess\ncame down to the lake to bathe as usual. As soon as she came near the\nbathhouse the Prince sprang out from behind it and caught her in his\narms and kissed her. Then the Princess loved him, and was quite willing\nto leave her home and her father and mother and follow him.\n\n\u201cBut before I follow you, let me go and say good-by to my parents,\u201d she\nsaid, \u201cfor they love me dearly, and their hearts will surely break if I\nleave them without one word.\u201d\n\nIt seemed to the Prince that it would be cruel to refuse what she\nasked. Beside, what harm could it do for her to see her parents once\nmore?\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said he. \u201cGo, but return quickly, for we must be off\nbefore the day breaks.\u201d\n\nThe Princess hurried away to the room where the King, her father, lay\nasleep, and she stooped and kissed him on the forehead. At once the\nKing awoke and asked her where she was going.\n\nWhen he heard she was going out into the world to follow an unknown\nyouth, he sent out and had the Prince brought into the palace. There\nthe King said to him, \u201cYou have come here to steal the Princess from\nme, and for this you deserve to die. But I will give you one chance for\nyour life. Outside my windows is a mountain so high and dark that not\na ray of sunlight ever comes into the castle. If in three days you can\nlevel down this mountain, then I will grant you your life, and give you\nmy daughter for a bride.\u201d\n\nWhen the Prince heard this he was in despair, for he did not see how he\ncould possibly level down a mountain in three years, let alone three\ndays. However, he took a pick and shovel and set to work. For two days\nhe dug and shoveled, and at the end of that time he had scarcely dug\naway enough to fill a ditch.\n\nAt the end of that time the fox came to him. \u201cNow you see how little\nyou can do,\u201d said he. \u201cYou do not deserve that I should help you again,\nbut I have a soft heart. Do you lie down and rest awhile, and I will do\nthe work for you.\u201d\n\nThe Prince trusted the fox, and he was very tired. He flung himself\ndown upon the ground, and fell into a deep sleep.\n\nWhen he awoke the next morning the mountain had disappeared. The place\nwhere it had stood was as flat as the palm of the hand.\n\nWhen the King looked from his windows and found the mountain gone\nhe was filled with joy and wonder. \u201cYou have indeed fairly won the\nPrincess,\u201d said he to the Prince, \u201cand I will not say you nay.\u201d\n\nSo he gave his daughter to the stranger youth, and much treasure as\nwell. He also gave them each a horse trapped out in gold and precious\nstones, and then the two set out together, riding side by side.\n\nThey had not gone far when they met the little red fox, and he was on\nthe watch for them.\n\n\u201cNow you have indeed won the best of all,\u201d said he. \u201cBut it is you and\nyou alone who should have the Princess for a wife. But in order to keep\nher for yourself you must do exactly as I say. First of all you must go\nto the King who sent you to the golden castle. When he sees you have\nbrought the Princess to him, he will gladly give you the Golden Horse.\nMount upon the horse, and when you say farewell to the King and his\ncourt, take the hand of each one in turn. Last of all you must take the\nhand of the Princess. Grasp it firmly, and draw her up into the saddle\nin front of you, and then ride away for your life. They may pursue you,\nbut none can overtake you, for the Golden Horse goes faster than the\nwind.\u201d\n\nThe Prince did exactly as the fox bade him. He took the Princess to the\npalace of the King who had sent him to find her. When the King saw her\nhe gladly gave the Golden Horse to the Prince. The Prince said farewell\nto all and then at the last he caught the Princess by the hand and drew\nher up in front of him, and away they went faster than the wind, and\nnone pursed them, for they knew they could never catch them.\n\nAfter awhile the Prince and Princess came to the fox seated by the road\nwaiting for them.\n\n\u201cThat is well,\u201d said the fox. \u201cYou have now the beautiful Princess and\nthe Golden Horse, but you must have the Golden Bird also.\u201d\n\nThe fox then told the Prince what he must do. He must leave the\nPrincess there to wait for him, and ride on to the palace alone. \u201cWhen\nyou reach the palace of the King,\u201d said the fox, \u201che will gladly give\nyou the Golden Bird in exchange for the horse. Take the cage in your\nhand and then spring upon the horse and ride away with it till you\ncome to where the Princess is. They will not try to overtake you, for\nthey know how fast the horse goes. Then you will have all three, the\nPrincess, the horse, and the bird.\u201d\n\nThe Prince did exactly as the little animal bade him. He left the\nPrincess there with the fox, and rode on to the palace, and it was not\nlong before he was back again with the Golden Bird in his hand.\n\n\u201cNow you have all your heart desires,\u201d said the fox, \u201cand it is time I\nhad my reward for serving you.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is true,\u201d said the Prince. \u201cTell me how to reward you, and if I\ncan do it, I will.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen take your bow,\u201d said the fox, \u201cand shoot me dead, and after that\ncut off my head and paws.\u201d\n\nThe Prince was filled with horror. \u201cNo, no,\u201d he cried, \u201cthat I can\nnever do.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the fox. \u201cIf you will not do that, then you can do\nnothing for me. I must leave you, but before I go there is one more\npiece of advice that I will give you. Beware of two things. Buy no\nhuman flesh and bones, and do not sit on the edge of a well.\u201d Then the\nfox left him and ran away into the forest near by.\n\nBut the Prince and Princess rode on together. \u201cThat was a curious piece\nof advice,\u201d said the Prince. \u201cWhy should I want to buy human flesh and\nbones, and why should I not sit on the edge of a well if it pleases me?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy indeed?\u201d said the Princess.\n\nThe two journeyed on until they came to the village where the two inns\nstood, and there the Prince stopped at the larger inn to water his\nhorse, and who should come out to fetch water for the horse but the\nPrince\u2019s second brother, and he was all in rags.\n\n\u201cOh, my dear brother,\u201d cried the Prince, \u201cwhat has happened to you? Why\nare you all in rags?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is because I am in debt to the landlord,\u201d answered the second\nPrince. \u201cI spent all my own money and more beside in feasting and\ndrinking, and now he keeps me as a servant and will not let me go.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd our eldest brother\u2014is he here also?\u201d\n\nYes, he was there also. He too was in debt to the landlord, and was\nobliged to work about in the kitchen.\n\nWhen the youngest brother heard this the tears ran down his cheeks. He\ncalled the landlord to him and paid him all that the two brothers owed,\nand bought them free. He also bought for each of them proper clothes\nand fine horses to ride upon.\n\nThen they all started home together. But the elder brothers were not\ngrateful to him. They envied and hated him because he had won the\nPrincess and the Golden Horse and the bird, and because he would have\ntheir father\u2019s kingdom, too. So they plotted together as to how they\ncould get rid of him.\n\nThey journeyed on for some hours until it was midday and the sun was\nhot. Then they came to a place where there was a well with trees around\nit.\n\n\u201cLet us sit here and rest awhile,\u201d said the elder brothers, and the\nyoungest was willing.\n\nThey all lighted down from their horses, and then the two elder\nbrothers seized the younger one and threw him into the well.\n\nAfter that they took the Princess, the horse, and the bird, and rode on\nwith them.\n\nWhen at last they reached the palace of their father there was the\ngreatest rejoicing. Not only had the princes brought home with them the\nGolden Bird, but they had brought the Golden Horse, and the beautiful\nPrincess as well, and now the kingdom was to be divided between them.\nAs for the youngest Prince no one knew what had become of him except\nhis brothers and the Princess.\n\nBut the Princess took no part in any of the rejoicings. She sat and\ngrieved and grieved. The horse would not eat and the bird would not\nsing. The King was greatly distressed over all this. He could not guess\nwhat ailed them all.\n\nBut though the brothers had thrown the youngest brother into a well,\nthat was not the last of him by any means. The well was a dry one, and\nthe Prince fell softly on the moss at the bottom of it, and was not\nhurt at all except for a few bruises. But the sides of the well were so\nsteep that he could not climb out of it, and there in the well he might\nhave stayed had it not been for the faithful fox. The Prince had not\nbeen long in the well when the fox looked down over the edge of it and\nspoke to him.\n\n\u201cYou little deserve that I should help you again,\u201d said the fox. \u201cIf\nyou had heeded my warnings all this trouble would not have come upon\nyou. Nevertheless, I cannot leave you here to perish. Catch hold of my\ntail, and I will pull you out.\u201d\n\nThe fox then let its tail hang down in the well, the Prince caught hold\nof it, and the fox managed to drag him out of the well and up into the\nsunlight.\n\nThe Prince thanked the fox with tears in his eyes, and then he\njourneyed on toward his father\u2019s palace. On the way he met an old\nbeggar-man, and exchanged clothes with him. He put on the beggar\u2019s\nrags, and stained his hands and face so that he was as dark as a gypsy,\nand when he came at last into the palace not even his father knew him.\nNo sooner did he enter the gate of the palace, however, than the bird\nbegan to sing, the horse began to eat, and the Princess wiped away her\ntears, and laughed aloud with joy.\n\nThe King was amazed. \u201cHow is this?\u201d he asked the Princess. \u201cHow is it\nthat you have so suddenly ceased grieving and become cheerful?\u201d\n\n\u201cI know not,\u201d answered the Princess. \u201cOnly this morning I was so sad\nthat my heart was like lead, and now suddenly I feel quite happy, just\nas though my own dear promised husband had come home again.\u201d\n\nThe Princess then told the King the whole story, how it was the\nyoungest Prince who had won the bird and the horse, and her also for\nhis bride; how he had bought his brothers\u2019 lives from the landlord at\nthe inn, and how they had afterward thrown him into a dry well and left\nhim there.\n\n\u201cIt may be,\u201d said the King, \u201cthat my son has in truth come home, and is\nhere in the palace, and that that is why you feel so happy.\u201d\n\nHe then gave orders that everyone in the palace was to come before him.\nThis was done, and among all the rest came the young Prince disguised\nas an old beggar-man.\n\nBut though he was disguised the Princess knew him at once. She ran to\nhim and threw her arms about his neck and kissed him. \u201cYou are my own\ndear one,\u201d she cried, \u201cand to you and you only do I belong.\u201d\n\nThen there was great rejoicing all through the palace because the\nPrince had come home again. But as for the elder brothers they were\nsent out from before the King\u2019s presence and punished as they deserved.\n\nNow some time after this as the young Prince was hunting in the forest\nhe met the little red fox, and it looked very sad and thin and worn.\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d said he to the Prince, \u201cnow you are happy and have everything\nyour heart can wish, but I am hunted about the world, miserable and\nforlorn.\u201d\n\nThen the Prince was filled with pity. \u201cWhatever I can do for you I\nwill,\u201d he said, \u201cfor everything I have I owe to you.\u201d\n\nThen again the fox begged and implored the Prince to shoot it and cut\noff its head and its paws. At last the Prince consented.\n\nNo sooner had he done as the fox asked him, than instead of the little\nanimal a handsome young man stood before him. This young man was the\nbrother of the Princess Beautiful. He had been enchanted, and obliged\nto wander about the world in the shape of a fox, but now the young\nPrince had broken the enchantment.\n\nThe two princes embraced each other tenderly, and returned to the\npalace together, and after that they all lived together in the greatest\nhappiness.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE NAIL\n\n\nA merchant had been trading in a far city and had made much money,\nwhich he was now bringing home with him. He rode in haste, for he knew\nhe would not feel easy until he had locked away the gold in his strong\nroom at home.\n\nToward the middle of the morning he stopped at an inn to give his horse\nwater. \u201cSir,\u201d said the ostler who waited on him, \u201ca nail is loose in\nyour horse\u2019s shoe.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo matter,\u201d answered the merchant. \u201cI am in haste, and the shoe must\ngo as it is till I get home.\u201d\n\nA little later he stopped at another inn. \u201cSir,\u201d said the ostler, \u201cyour\nhorse\u2019s shoe is loose; shall I not take him to the blacksmith near by\nand have the shoe fastened on?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d answered the merchant, \u201cI have not time to wait. I must be home\nbefore nightfall.\u201d\n\nThe merchant rode still farther, but presently his horse began to\nlimp. It limped more and more, until at last, in the very midst of a\ndeep forest, it stumbled and fell, and could not get up again.\n\nThe merchant was in despair. Dusk was coming on, and there seemed\nnothing for it but to spend the night in the forest. However, he\ndiscovered a house near by, and the old woman who was in charge of it\npromised him food and a lodging for the night.\n\nWhen the merchant went up to bed he put his bag of gold under his\npillow. He meant to watch all night, but he was very tired, and\npresently, in spite of himself his eyes closed and he fell into a deep\nsleep.\n\nNow this house belonged to a band of robbers, and the old woman was\ntheir housekeeper. Soon after the merchant was asleep the robbers came\nhome. The housekeeper told them of the rich man who had come to the\nhouse while they were away, and of how she had given him a bed for the\nnight.\n\nThe robbers went up to the merchant\u2019s room and finding him asleep they\nstole the bag of money from under his pillow, and made off with it.\n\nIn the morning, when the merchant awoke, he felt under his pillow for\nthe bag, but it was gone. He called aloud, but no one answered. He\nsearched the house from top to bottom, but could find nobody.\n\nSo the merchant lost both his gold and his horse. \u201cAnd all,\u201d said he,\n\u201cbecause I was in such haste that I would not stop for a nail to be\nput in my horse\u2019s shoe. It is a true saying\u2014\u2018the more haste the less\nspeed.\u2019\u201d\n\n\n\n\nLITTLE RED RIDING-HOOD\n\n\nThere was once a little girl whose father and mother loved her so\ndearly that they thought nothing too good for her. Her mother made for\nher the prettiest of little dresses; her stockings were of fine yarn,\nand there were bright buckles on her shoes. Her mother also made for\nher a little cloak and hood of red cloth, and the little girl looked\nso pretty in them that her mother called her Little Red Riding-Hood\ninstead of Mary, as she had been christened.\n\nLittle Red Riding-Hood had a grandmother who was so old that sometimes\nshe lay in bed all day and felt too weak to get up.\n\nOne day the mother called the little girl to her and said, \u201cMy child,\nI have put a pat of butter and some fresh eggs and a wheatcake in this\nbasket. Take it and carry it to your grandmother. Run along quickly,\nand do not loiter nor stop to talk to anyone along the way, for I want\nyou to get back before the afternoon is late.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cYes, dear mother,\u201d said the little girl, and she took the basket in\nher hand and set out for her grandmother\u2019s house.\n\nAt first she ran along briskly and stopped for nothing, but the fields\nwere full of pretty flowers. \u201cI am sure,\u201d thought Red Riding-Hood\n\u201cthat my grandmother would be glad to have a bunch of daisies and\nbuttercups.\u201d She began to pick one here and another there until she had\nquite a handful.\n\nPresently she heard feet padding along the path, and the old gray wolf\ncame trotting by.\n\n\u201cGood-day, Red Riding-Hood,\u201d said the wolf.\n\n\u201cGood-day,\u201d answered the child.\n\n\u201cAnd where are you going this fine bright day with your basket on your\narm?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I am going to my grandmother\u2019s house. She is so old that sometimes\nshe lies in bed and cannot get up, and I am taking her some butter and\nsome fresh eggs and a wheaten cake.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd where does your grandmother live?\u201d\n\n\u201cShe lives over beyond the wood in a little white house with a thatched\nroof and green blinds, and the path runs straight there.\u201d\n\nThe wolf had now learned all he cared to know. He bade Red Riding-Hood\ngood-by and trotted on briskly.\n\nAs soon as he came into the wood where Red Riding-Hood could not see\nhim he began to gallop. On and on he galloped as fast as he could, for\nhe was anxious to get to the little white house with the thatched roof\nand the green blinds before Red Riding-Hood did.\n\nIn the depths of the wood a woodcutter was busy at his work. He saw the\nold wolf go hurrying by, and he wondered what he was after. \u201cHe\u2019s up to\nsome mischief or other, and that is sure,\u201d said the woodcutter. And he\nshouldered his axe and followed on after the wolf to see what he was\ngoing to do.\n\nOn went Mr. Wolf, and presently he came to the edge of the forest, and\nthere stood the little white house with the thatched roof and green\nblinds, and the path led straight up to the door, so the wolf knew that\nmust be where the grandmother lived.\n\nHe stopped and looked all about him, for he did not want anyone to\nwatch him. He saw no one, however, for the woodchopper had hidden\nbehind some rocks. Then the wolf knocked at the door, rap-tap-tap!\n\nNobody answered, so he knocked again, rap-tap-tap! Still no one\nanswered, and there was no stir within the house, though the wolf\ncocked his ear and listened carefully. The wolf pulled the latchstring,\nthe latch flew up, and he pushed the door open, and slipped inside. He\nlooked about, and there was nobody there, for the old grandmother had\nbeen feeling stronger that day, so she had dressed and had gone out to\nsee a neighbor.\n\nThe old wolf hunted about until he found the grandmother\u2019s bedgown;\nthen he pulled it on over his big hairy body. He tied on a big ruffled\ncap and put the grandmother\u2019s spectacles on his nose, and after that he\ncrawled into bed and drew the coverlet up under his chin.\n\nThe woodcutter, outside, wondered what the wolf was doing in the house,\nbut he did not hear a sound, so he sat down to watch and see what would\nhappen next, and as he was very tired he fell fast asleep.\n\nIt was not long before Little Red Riding-Hood came running along, and\nshe was in a great hurry, for she had spent a long time gathering\nflowers. The woodcutter did not see her, however, for he was asleep.\nThe little girl ran up to the door and knocked upon it, rap-tap-tap!\n\nThen the old wolf made his voice very faint and weak like the\ngrandmother\u2019s. \u201cWho is there?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cIt is I, grandmother; Little Red Riding-Hood,\u201d answered the child.\n\n\u201cPull the latchstring, and lift the latch,\u201d said the wolf.\n\nRed Riding-Hood lifted the latch and pushed the door open and went in.\n\nThere was not much light in the room, for the wolf had pulled the\ncurtains across the window.\n\n\u201cI am not able to get up, dear child,\u201d said the wolf, still in the same\nweak voice. \u201cPut your basket on the table and come over here.\u201d\n\nRed Riding-Hood did as she was told. She put the basket on the table\nand came over to the bedside, but as she came closer she thought her\ngrandmother looked very strange.\n\n\u201cOh, grandmother, what great big eyes you have,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cThe better to see you, my dear,\u201d answered the wolf.\n\n\u201cBut, oh grandmother, what long, long ears you have.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe better to hear you, my dear!\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, grandmother, what big sharp white teeth you have!\u201d\n\n\u201c+The better to eat you!+\u201d howled the wolf, and he sprang out of bed\nand caught Red Riding-Hood by the cloak.\n\nThe little girl cried out, but at this moment the woodcutter burst open\nthe door and rushed in. The howl had awakened him from his sleep, and\njust in time. He struck the wolf such a blow on the head that it fell\ndown dead.\n\nThen he took Red Riding-Hood up in his arms and comforted her, for she\nwas crying bitterly. She was frightened and her pretty red cloak had\nbeen torn. He wiped her eyes, and promised to walk home with her, but\nfirst, he said, they must wait until the grandmother came home.\n\nWhen she came at last, and heard the story and saw the wolf lying there\non the floor, she could not thank the woodcutter enough. And indeed,\nif it had not been for him the little girl would certainly have been\neaten by the wolf.\n\nBut from then on Red Riding-Hood was careful to obey her mother, and\nnot to loiter on the way when she was sent on errands.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: Aladdin or The Magic Lamp]\n\n\n\n\nALADDIN, OR THE MAGIC LAMP\n\n\nIn a far city in China there once lived a lad named Aladdin. Aladdin\u2019s\nmother was a widow, and the boy had never had a father\u2019s care. He did\nas he pleased, and played in the streets all day, and was so idle that\nhe was of no use to anyone.\n\nOne day, as Aladdin was playing with a band of companions, a tall man,\nrichly dressed, stopped to watch them. Suddenly he called to Aladdin,\n\u201cCome here, boy; I wish to speak to you.\u201d\n\nThe lad came, wondering.\n\n\u201cAre you not the son of Mustapha the tailor?\u201d asked the stranger.\n\nAladdin said that he was.\n\n\u201cI knew it,\u201d cried the stranger. \u201cI knew it from your likeness to your\ndear father.\u201d He then embraced the boy tenderly. \u201cI, dear lad, am your\nuncle,\u201d said he. \u201cI have spent many years in strange countries, and\nhave made a fortune. I came back here in search of you, for I heard\nyour father was dead, and I wish to take his place and be a father to\nyou.\u201d\n\nAladdin was very much surprised. He had never known he had an uncle.\nAnd indeed he had not. The stranger was a magician who had need of a\nstout and active lad to help in a certain adventure. He had noticed\nAladdin playing in the streets and had found out the lad\u2019s name and the\nname of his father, so as to pass himself off as Aladdin\u2019s uncle.\n\nAladdin was eager to believe the story the stranger told, for he\nthought it would be a fine thing to have a rich uncle to help him along\nin the world.\n\n\u201cLead me to your mother\u2019s house, Aladdin,\u201d said the magician. \u201cI wish\nto talk with her, and to weep with her over the memory of my dear\nbrother.\u201d\n\nAladdin took the stranger\u2019s hand and led him away through one street\nafter another, each meaner and dirtier than the other. At last he\nstopped before a miserable looking hovel.\n\n\u201cThis is where I live,\u201d said the boy.\n\n\u201cHere!\u201d cried the magician. \u201cOh, what a miserable place for my\nbrother\u2019s child to live. But I will soon change all this. You must move\ninto a handsome house, and you must have some better clothes than\nthose you have on. I will make your fortune for you.\u201d\n\nAladdin was more delighted than ever when he heard this. He made haste\nto open the door and lead the magician to his mother, and to repeat to\nher the story he had been told.\n\nThe widow was even more surprised than her son over the magician\u2019s\nstory, but she was quite as eager to believe it as he. It would indeed\nbe a fine thing if the stranger would lift them out of their poverty.\nShe begged him to sit down and share their evening meal, but this he\nwould not do. He said he had business with some merchants, and went\naway, after promising to come back the next day.\n\nOn the morrow, as he had promised, the magician returned, and he took\nAladdin out with him, and bought him fine clothes, and sweetmeats to\neat, and he talked so much of all he meant to do for his dear nephew\nthat the boy\u2019s head was quite turned.\n\nThe following morning he came again, and asked Aladdin whether he would\nnot like to take a walk in the country, as it was such a fine day.\n\nAladdin gladly agreed to this plan. It was pleasant to be with his new\nuncle, and to hear him talk of all the grand things he intended to do.\n\nThe magician led the boy out of the city, talking pleasantly all the\nwhile, and on and on into the country, so far that at last the lad\nbegan to grow weary and to wonder when they would turn back.\n\nIn time they came to a lonely valley shut in by high hills, and here\nthe stranger stopped. \u201cMy dear nephew, I wish to show you something\nhere that is very curious,\u201d said the false uncle. \u201cBut first gather\ntogether a few dry sticks and build a little fire.\u201d\n\nThis Aladdin did.\n\nWhen the fire was burning brightly the magician drew from under his\nrobe a small box. He opened it, and taking from it a pinch of powder he\nthrew it into the fire, at the same time saying some magic words.\n\nImmediately there was a loud noise like a clap of thunder, and the\nground opened before them, showing a great stone in which was a brass\nring.\n\nAladdin was so frightened by these happenings that he would have run\naway, but the stranger caught him roughly by the arm.\n\n\u201cStay where you are,\u201d he cried. \u201cI have brought you here to do a\nspecial thing for me, and if you refuse you shall not escape alive. If,\nhowever, you are obedient I will make you rich for life.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you wish of me?\u201d asked Aladdin in a trembling voice.\n\n\u201cFirst lift this stone for me.\u201d\n\nAladdin caught hold of the brass ring and tried to lift the stone, but\nit was too heavy for him, and the magician was obliged to help him.\nTogether they dragged away the stone and showed an opening and a flight\nof stairs leading down into the earth.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the pretended uncle, \u201cyou must go down these steps and they\nwill bring you into a palace divided into three halls. You will see in\nthese halls great chests filled with gold and silver, but for your life\ndo not touch them; do not even brush against the walls or touch them\neither, for if you do you will surely perish. Go straight through the\nhalls and you will come to a garden; it is full of fruit-trees, and if\nyou should wish to gather some of the fruit you may safely do so; no\nharm will come to you from so doing. At the farthest side of the garden\nis a wall; in this wall is a niche; in this niche is a small bronze\nlamp. Take it and empty out the oil and bring it to me.\u201d\n\nAladdin had no wish to descend the stairs into the earth, but the\nstranger frightened him, and he dared not refuse. He started down, but\nthe magician called him back. \u201cHere! take this,\u201d he said, and slipping\na ring from his finger he placed it on Aladdin\u2019s hand. \u201cIt will protect\nyou from any dangers you may meet with.\u201d\n\nAladdin now went on down the stairs, and at the foot of them he found\nthe palace halls the stranger had told him of. Everywhere he saw chests\nof silver and gold, but he was careful to touch none of them. He walked\non very warily and out into the garden. He found the lamp without any\ntrouble, emptied out the oil, and thrust it into the sash that was\ntwisted about his waist.\n\nAll about him were fruit-trees loaded with the most beautiful fruits he\nhad ever seen. They were of all colors, and shone as though polished.\nAladdin picked some of them, but instead of being juicy and delicious\nas he had expected, they were so hard he could neither bite nor\nbreak them. They seemed indeed to be made of glass, only much harder\nand brighter; they were so pretty the boy gathered a great quantity\nof them; he filled his pockets and sleeves and shirt with the fruit\nand then hurried back through the hall and up the steps. He saw his\npretended uncle stooping over and watching for him impatiently.\n\n\u201cDid you get the lamp?\u201d cried the magician eagerly.\n\n\u201cYes, I have it here.\u201d\n\nThe magician\u2019s eyes sparkled with triumph. He reached down his hand.\n\u201cGive it to me, quick, quick!\u201d he cried.\n\n\u201cIn a moment,\u201d said Aladdin; \u201cbut my hands are full of fruit and it is\nin my waistband. First help me out, and then I will give it to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no! Give it to me now,\u201d cried the magician sharply. He did not,\nindeed, intend to let Aladdin ever come out alive. He meant as soon as\nhe had the lamp to push the stone back into place and fasten the lad in.\n\nAladdin did not guess this, but for some reason he felt suddenly\nafraid.\n\n\u201cI cannot give you the lamp,\u201d he cried, \u201cuntil you let me out.\u201d\n\n\u201cGive it to me I tell you.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot until you let me out.\u201d\n\nSuddenly the magician flew into a black rage. \u201cThen stay where you\nare,\u201d he cried fiercely.\n\nHe threw another pinch of powder into the fire which was still burning,\nand muttered a magic charm. At once the stone rose and dropped back\ninto its place, and Aladdin found himself shut in, in darkness.\n\nFilled with terror, he beat upon the stone, and called to the magician\nto let him out. But there was no answer. He put his shoulders under the\nstone and tried to lift it, but it would not stir. Aladdin sat down\nand wept bitter tears. He felt he was a prisoner forever. Suddenly he\nremembered the garden. Perhaps he could find some way out through it.\n\nHe made his way slowly down the steps, feeling his way through the\ndarkness. As he did this he happened to rub the magician\u2019s ring against\nthe wall.\n\nAt once a horrible genie appeared before him, as black as pitch, but\nwith eyes that shone like a red fire, and lightened up the darkness.\n\n\u201cWhat wouldst thou have?\u201d asked this terrible being. \u201cI and the other\nslaves of the ring upon thy finger stand ready to serve thee.\u201d\n\nAladdin was astonished beyond measure, but he made shift to say, \u201cIf\nyou are able, take me away from here and back to my mother\u2019s house.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d answered the genie.\n\nAt once Aladdin felt himself caught up and carried through the air\nswifter than the wind, and almost before he could draw breath he was\nback in his mother\u2019s house, and the genie had disappeared.\n\nHis mother could hardly believe her eyes when Aladdin appeared so\nsuddenly before her.\n\n\u201cMy dear son, where did you come from, and where is your uncle?\u201d she\nasked.\n\nAs soon as Aladdin could get his breath he told her the whole story.\nHis mother listened and wondered. \u201cWithout doubt,\u201d said she, \u201cthis man\nis not your uncle at all, but a magician who wished to use you for some\nwicked purpose.\u201d\n\nTo this Aladdin agreed, but he was so hungry that he begged his mother\nto get him something to eat before they talked further.\n\nHis mother began to weep. \u201cAlas!\u201d said she, \u201cI have not a morsel of\nfood in the house, and no money with which to buy any.\u201d\n\nAladdin remembered the lamp which was still in his waist-band. He drew\nit out. \u201cLook!\u201d said he. \u201cThis lamp must be worth something since the\nmagician was so anxious to have it. Take it to some shop, or to one of\nthe neighbors, and perhaps they will pay you enough for it for us to\nbuy some rice.\u201d\n\nThis seemed to the mother a wise plan. \u201cI will do as you say,\u201d said\nshe, \u201cbut first I will brighten the lamp, for it is very black and\ndirty.\u201d\n\nShe took some sand and water to polish it, but scarcely had she begun\nto rub it when a genie, even more terrible looking than the genie of\nthe ring, appeared before them.\n\n\u201cWhat dost thou wish?\u201d he asked in a voice of thunder. \u201cI and the other\nslaves of the lamp stand ready to serve thee in all things.\u201d\n\nThe widow was so terrified at the sight of the genie, and at the sound\nof his voice, that she fell down on her face and lay there. But\nAladdin caught the lamp from her hand.\n\n\u201cIf you would serve me bring us something to eat,\u201d he cried.\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d answered the genie. At once he disappeared, but\nscarcely was he gone before he appeared again with a great silver tray\nand a number of silver dishes and cups full of all sorts of delicious\nthings to eat and drink. The genie set it upon a table. \u201cHast thou any\nfurther commands?\u201d he asked in a voice of thunder.\n\n\u201cNot at present,\u201d answered Aladdin.\n\nAt once the genie disappeared.\n\nAladdin called to his mother, and when she looked up and saw the genie\nhad gone she was able to raise herself from the floor, though she still\nshook and trembled. She and her son sat down and ate and drank to their\nhearts\u2019 content, and there was enough food left over to serve them\nanother day. Aladdin then took the silver tray and the dishes out to a\nmerchant he knew and sold them for a good price; so in this way he had\nmoney to spend.\n\nAfter this Aladdin and his mother lived very comfortably. Whenever\nthey were hungry Aladdin had only to rub the lamp and command the genie\nto bring them food, and it was served to them immediately. It was\nalways brought to them in silver dishes and upon a silver tray, and as\nAladdin could sell these for a good price he and his mother lacked for\nnothing.\n\nAladdin now began to go about among the merchants of the city and talk\nwith them, and before long he learned to his surprise that the fruits\nhe had brought with him from the garden were not glass at all, but\njewels, and jewels so rare and magnificent that they were not to be\nequaled anywhere.\n\nNow the Sultan of that country had one daughter, the Princess Buddir al\nBaddoor, and she was the most beautiful princess in the world.\n\nNo man was ever allowed to see her face. When she rode through the city\nto the public baths the Sultan commanded that all the houses should be\nclosed and that the people should stay indoors and not look out, upon\npain of death.\n\nNow Aladdin was very curious, as well as bold. One day when the\nPrincess was to pass through the city he hid himself near the door of\nthe baths without anyone knowing it.\n\nThe Princess came riding down the street with all her guards and\nladies-in-waiting about her, and just as she reached the door near\nwhich Aladdin was hiding she dropped her veil, and he saw her face. At\nonce he was filled with a violent love for her. It seemed to him he\ncould not live unless he could have the Princess for a wife.\n\nWhen he returned home his mother noticed that he was very thoughtful.\nShe did not know what had happened to him. At last she asked, \u201cMy son,\nwhat ails you? Why are you so thoughtful and silent.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy mother,\u201d answered Aladdin, \u201cI have seen the Princess Buddir al\nBaddoor, and unless I can marry her I no longer wish to live.\u201d\n\nWhen the widow heard these words she thought her son must be crazy.\n\n\u201cHow can you think of such a thing?\u201d she cried. \u201cHave you forgotten\nthat your father was nothing but a tailor? How can a tailor\u2019s son hope\nto marry a princess?\u201d\n\n\u201cNevertheless that is what I intend to do,\u201d said Aladdin. He then\nurged and entreated his mother to go to the palace and ask the Sultan\nto give the Princess to him. The widow was very loth to do this, but\nshe loved her son so tenderly that at last she consented.\n\n\u201cBut have you forgotten,\u201d said she, \u201cthat no one can come before the\nSultan without bringing him a present?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have not forgotten,\u201d said Aladdin, \u201cand I mean to send the Sultan\nsuch a gift as he has never seen before.\u201d\n\nHe then fetched from the cupboard a porcelain dish, and he also brought\nout the fruits he had brought from the garden. He arranged the fruits\nin the dish in a pyramid according to their colors, and when he had\ndone this his mother was amazed at their beauty. They shone so brightly\nthat it dazzled the eyes to look at them. \u201cNow I will tell you,\u201d said\nAladdin, \u201cthat these fruits are jewels so rare and magnificent that not\nthe greatest ruler on earth has any that can equal them.\u201d\n\nThe widow was amazed when she heard this. She could hardly believe it,\nand it was with fear and trembling that she set out at length for the\nSultan\u2019s palace. She carried the dish of jewels with her, covered over\nwith a fine napkin.\n\nWhen she reached the palace she went into the audience chamber with the\nrest of the crowd who had come to bring their cases before the Sultan.\nShe sat down near the wall and stayed there all day, but she found no\nchance to speak to the Sultan or to offer her gift. And so it was day\nafter day. Every morning she came to the audience chamber with the\njewels, and every evening she returned home without having spoken to\nhim.\n\nBut it so chanced the Sultan noticed how she came day after day with\nthe covered dish in her hands, and he grew curious as to who she was\nand what she wanted. At last he spoke to his Grand Vizier about her,\nand commanded that she should be brought before him.\n\nThis was done, but the poor woman was so frightened by the honor done\nher that she stood there trembling and unable to say a word.\n\nThe Sultan saw her terror and spoke to her gently. \u201cMy good woman,\u201d\nsaid he, \u201cdo not be afraid. Tell me why you have come here day after\nday. Is there something you wish to ask of me?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is indeed something that I wish to ask, and yet I dare not,\u201d\nsaid the widow.\n\nThe Sultan, however, encouraged her. \u201cSpeak,\u201d said he. \u201cDo not be\nafraid. Tell me what you wish.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy son,\u201d said the widow, \u201cwishes to marry the Princess Buddir al\nBaddoor, and I have come here to ask you to give her to him as a wife;\nand my son also sends this small present, which he begs you to accept.\u201d\n\nWhen this widow, so poor and meanly dressed, said that her son wished\nto marry the Princess the Sultan could hardly keep from laughing; but\nwhen she uncovered the dish of jewels he was amazed. He took up one\nafter another and examined it with admiration. He turned to the Vizier,\nwho stood beside him: \u201cNever in all my life before,\u201d said he, \u201chave I\nseen such beautiful jewels. Truly a man who can send me such a gift as\nthis is worthy to have a princess for a wife. Do you not agree with me?\u201d\n\nWhen the Grand Vizier heard this he was troubled. He had indeed hoped\nthat his own son might marry the Princess. Now he said, \u201cYour Majesty,\nthese jewels are indeed very wonderful; but we know nothing of the man\nwho sent them. He may be only some beggarly rogue who has stolen them.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is true,\u201d said the Sultan. He thought for a moment, still turning\nthe jewels with his fingers. Then he said to the woman, \u201cI am indeed\nvery much pleased with the gift your son has sent me. Go back and\ntell him I am inclined to give him the Princess for a wife, but first\nhe must send me forty basins of massy gold filled with the same sort\nof jewels as these. If he can do this I will gladly have him for a\nson-in-law.\u201d\n\nThe widow returned home and told her son what the Sultan had said.\nAladdin was overjoyed when he heard the message. He now felt sure that\nbefore long he would be married to the Princess. He took the lamp and\nrubbed it, and at once the genie appeared.\n\n\u201cWhat dost thou wish?\u201d asked the genie. \u201cI and the other slaves of the\nlamp are ready to serve thee in all things.\u201d\n\n\u201cI wish,\u201d said Aladdin, \u201cfor forty basins of massy gold, filled with\njewels such as I gathered in the garden. I also wish for forty black\nslaves, magnificently dressed, to carry the basins, and forty white\nslaves, also magnificently dressed and mounted on fine horses, to ride\nbefore them and behind.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d answered the genie.\n\nAt once he disappeared, but almost in a moment of time a long\nprocession of slaves appeared in the street where Aladdin lived and\ngathered before his house. There were forty black slaves, magnificently\ndressed, and each bearing on his head a golden basin filled with jewels\neven more magnificent than those Aladdin had gathered for himself, and\nthere were also forty white slaves, mounted on horses, to ride before\nthem and behind.\n\nWhen Aladdin saw these slaves and the jewels they bore his eyes\nsparkled with joy. He at once commanded them to march to the palace and\npresent the jewels to the Sultan, and the widow herself hastened away,\nso as to reach the palace at the same time that they did.\n\nThe slaves set out through the city; a great crowd followed them,\nshouting and rejoicing, for never had such a sight been seen there\nbefore.\n\nThe Sultan heard the sound of huzzahing and wondered what was the\nreason for it. But when the slaves entered the palace bearing their\nbasins of jewels he himself was filled with wonder and admiration. He\nturned to his Vizier. \u201cSurely,\u201d said he, \u201canyone who can send me such a\ngift as this is worthy of the Princess Buddir al Baddoor;\u201d and though\nthe Vizier could hardly hide his envy he was obliged to agree with his\nmaster.\n\nWhen Aladdin heard that the Sultan had consented to his marriage with\nthe Princess he could hardly contain his joy. He at once rubbed the\nlamp, and when the genie appeared he commanded him to bring him the\nmost magnificent clothes, such as were suitable for a Sultan\u2019s son\nto wear, also a handsome horse for him to ride upon, and a troop of\nhorsemen, handsomely dressed to ride with him.\n\nAll this the genie did, and after Aladdin had bathed in a scented bath,\nand had dressed himself in his magnificent garments he was so handsome\nand noble-looking that his old friends would not have known him.\n\nHe rode away to the palace, and there the Sultan received him with\nthe greatest respect and honor. He would have married Aladdin to his\ndaughter at once, but this Aladdin did not wish.\n\n\u201cYour Majesty,\u201d said he, \u201cgreatly as I long to see the Princess Buddir\nal Baddoor I wish first to provide a palace for us to live in when we\nare married. For this purpose I beg of your Majesty to give me a plot\nof ground where I can build it.\u201d\n\nThe Sultan was surprised and disappointed when he heard this. He\nthought it would take years to build a palace, and he could not\nunderstand how Aladdin could want to wait that long before marrying the\nPrincess. However, he gave him the ground he asked for.\n\nAladdin then returned home and rubbed the lamp. At once the genie\nappeared before him, and asked him what were his commands.\n\n\u201cI command you,\u201d said Aladdin, \u201cto build me immediately a castle twice\nas handsome as that of the Sultan. I wish it to be furnished throughout\nin the most magnificent manner, and I also wish for a proper number of\nservants and guards to take charge of it. There must also be gardens\naround it with fountains and trees and flowers, and stables full of\nhandsome horses, and above all there must be a treasure-house filled\nwith gold and silver and precious stones.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d answered the genie; and at once he disappeared.\n\nThe next morning, when the Sultan awoke and looked from the window,\nhe could hardly believe his eyes. He stared, and rubbed his eyes,\nand looked again. There, upon the bare piece of ground he had given\nto Aladdin, stood a great palace glittering with gold and silver and\nprecious stones. It was far more magnificent than his own, and it had\nbeen built in one single night.\n\nThe Sultan at once sent for Aladdin, and when he came the Sultan made\nthe tailor\u2019s son sit beside him, and talked with him as an equal. \u201cMy\ndear Aladdin,\u201d said he, \u201cyou are indeed a very wonderful man, and it\nis only fitting that the most beautiful princess in the world should\nbe your wife, and you shall be as dear to me as though you were my own\nson.\u201d\n\nThat very day Aladdin and the Princess were married, and went to live\nin the magic palace, and as they loved each other dearly nothing could\nequal their happiness. Aladdin felt so secure in his good fortune that\nhe never even thought of the magician or wondered whether he might some\nday come to claim the lamp.\n\nThe magician had indeed left China soon after his adventure with\nAladdin. He journeyed back and forth over the earth in many places, and\nat last in his wanderings he came again to the city where he had met\nAladdin. There he heard much talk of how a poor lad had married the\ndaughter of the Sultan, and of the magnificent palace he had built.\nThe magician never thought that Aladdin might be that poor lad, for he\nsupposed he had perished in the hidden garden.\n\nAt last the magician became curious to see the palace that everyone was\ntalking about, and he hired a horse and rode out to where it stood. As\nsoon as he saw it he knew at once that it had been built by the genie\nof the lamp. He hastened home and got out his magic books, and from\nthem learned that Aladdin was still alive, and that it was he who owned\nthe palace and had become the Sultan\u2019s son-in-law.\n\nWhen the magician learned this he was filled with rage and at once\nbegan to plot and plan as to how he could get the lamp for himself, and\ndestroy Aladdin.\n\nIn order to carry out this purpose he bought a number of fine new lamps\nand disguised himself in poor, mean clothing. He waited until one time\nwhen Aladdin had gone hunting with the Sultan, and then he started out\nthrough the city with his tray of lamps, calling, \u201cNew lamps for old!\nNew lamps for old!\u201d\n\nMany people heard his cry and came hurrying out of their houses with\nold broken lamps, and offered them to the magician to exchange. He took\nthem willingly, and for all of these old lamps he gave in return fine\nnew ones. The people thought he must be crazy. A great crowd followed\nhim, shouting and laughing.\n\nAt last the magician arrived in front of Aladdin\u2019s castle. The Princess\nwas sitting in an upper room with her attendants and yawning and\nfeeling quite dull, because Aladdin was away. When she heard the noise\nand hubbub in the street she became curious. She sent one of her women\nto find out what the noise was about. She hoped it might be something\namusing.\n\nPresently the woman came back laughing. \u201cFancy!\u201d cried she. \u201cIt is an\nold man with a tray of the most beautiful new lamps, and he is trading\nthem for old ones.\u201d\n\nThe Princess was much amused at this idea. \u201cWhere is that old blackened\nlamp that I have seen your master have?\u201d asked she. \u201cLook about and see\nif you can find it?\u201d\n\nHer woman began to search the palace, and at last they found the magic\nlamp hidden away in a corner of the treasure-room. They brought it to\nthe Princess, and she at once caused the magician to be brought before\nher. \u201cHere, old man,\u201d said she, laughing. \u201cHere is an old lamp. Will\nyou give me a new one for it?\u201d\n\nWhen the magician saw the lamp he could hardly hide his joy. \u201cGladly,\nmadam,\u201d he answered. \u201cChoose whichever of the lamps you will, and it\nshall be yours.\u201d\n\nThe Princess chose one that pleased her well, and the magician took the\nold lamp and hurried away with it.\n\nNo sooner had he reached home than he shut himself up alone in his room\nand rubbed the lamp. At once the genie appeared.\n\n\u201cWhat do you wish?\u201d cried he. \u201cI and the other slaves of the lamp stand\nready to serve you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI wish,\u201d cried the magician in a terrible voice, \u201cthat the palace of\nAladdin and all that are in it shall be carried away to Africa.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d answered the genie, and immediately disappeared.\n\nThat evening the Sultan and Aladdin came home from their hunt. They\nrode along together, talking pleasantly, until they came within sight\nof the Sultan\u2019s palace. Suddenly the Sultan drew rein and stared with\nblank surprise. The castle that Aladdin had built in a single night was\ngone. Not a sign of it was left.\n\n\u201cYour palace!\u201d cried the Sultan. \u201cWhere is your palace?\u201d\n\nAladdin, too, stared thunderstruck. \u201cI\u2014I do not know!\u201d he faltered.\n\n\u201cYou do not know?\u201d cried the Sultan. \u201cAnd my daughter! Where is she?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know,\u201d answered Aladdin again.\n\nThe Sultan was filled with rage. \u201cYou do not know!\u201d he thundered.\n\u201cMiserable wretch! was your castle only the work of enchantment? Have\nyou carried off my daughter by your magic? Now unless you bring her\nback at once you shall surely die.\u201d\n\nAladdin was in despair. He begged the Sultan to allow him forty days\nin which to search for the Princess, and to this the Sultan at last\nconsented.\n\nAladdin at once set out on the search, but he did not know in which\ndirection to go. He wandered about from one place to another, without\nlearning anything about the fate of the Princess or his palace.\n\nAt last one day he found himself in a rocky spot beside the sea. In\ndescending the rocks he slipped and caught his hand on a sharp point,\nand in so doing he rubbed the magician\u2019s ring which he still wore, but\nwhich he had forgotten.\n\nAt once the genie of the ring appeared before him. \u201cMaster,\u201d said he,\n\u201cwhat wouldst thou have? I and the other slaves of the ring stand ready\nto serve thee.\u201d\n\nAladdin was overjoyed to find that the ring still kept its magic\npowers. \u201cI wish,\u201d said he, \u201cthat you would bring back my palace and\nthe Princess, or else take me where they are.\u201d\n\n\u201cI cannot bring them back,\u201d answered the slave of the ring, \u201cfor they\nhave been carried away by the genie of the lamp, who is mightier than\nI, but I can take you where they are.\u201d\n\nThe slave of the ring then caught up Aladdin, and in less time than it\ntakes to tell he had carried him to Africa and had set him down in the\napartment in the palace where the Princess was.\n\nWhen the Princess saw Aladdin thus suddenly appear before her she gave\na cry of joy and threw herself into his arms.\n\n\u201cThe lamp!\u201d cried Aladdin. \u201cWhere is the lamp?\u201d for he wished to\nprotect himself against the power of the magician.\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d cried the Princess, \u201cI do not know where it is. Already I\nfeared that all our misfortunes had come from my trading off that lamp\nto a beggar.\u201d She then told Aladdin the whole story of how one had come\noffering new lamps for old, and of how her women had hunted up the old\nblackened lamp, and she had given it away for a new one.\n\nAladdin at once guessed that the beggar must have been the magician in\ndisguise. \u201cWe will never be safe,\u201d said he, \u201cuntil we have that lamp in\nour possession again. Does the magician ever come here?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes,\u201d said the Princess; \u201che comes here every day and wearies me\nwith his pretty speeches. He wishes me to marry him, but that I will\nnever do.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, listen,\u201d said Aladdin. \u201cThe next time the magician comes greet\nhim pleasantly. Talk to him for awhile, and then offer him a glass of\nsherbet. In this sherbet you must first put a powder that I will give\nyou. It is a sleeping-powder. After the magician drinks it he will fall\ninto a deep sleep. You must then at once call me. Together we will\nsearch his clothing, for I feel sure he is afraid to leave the lamp\nanywhere, and carries it always about him. If we can once get hold of\nthe lamp all of our troubles are at an end.\u201d\n\nThe Princess promised to do exactly as Aladdin bade her, and then he\ngave her the powder, and hid himself in a room near by.\n\nNot long after this the magician came, as usual, to sit and talk with\nthe Princess. She met him with smiling looks, and was so pleasant and\nfriendly that the magician was delighted. He hoped the Princess was\nbeginning to love him and that before long she would consent to be his\nwife.\n\nPresently the Princess took up a glass of sherbet in which she had\nalready dissolved the powder. \u201cI thought you might be thirsty,\u201d said\nshe, \u201cand I prepared this sherbet for you; will you not drink it?\u201d\n\nThe magician thanked her, and taking the goblet he drank the sherbet at\none draught. Almost at once his head dropped back on the cushions and\nhe sank in a deep sleep.\n\nThe Princess did not delay a moment in calling Aladdin. He came in\nhaste, and together they searched the garments of the magician. It did\nnot take them long to find the lamp, which was hidden in his vest.\n\nAladdin rubbed it, and the genie of the lamp appeared before him.\n\n\u201cWhat dost thou wish?\u201d he cried. \u201cI and all the other slaves of the\nlamp stand ready to obey thee.\u201d\n\n\u201cFirst,\u201d said Aladdin, \u201cI wish this magician carried away to the\nuttermost parts of the earth, and I wish him never to be allowed to\ncome within a hundred miles of the lamp again. Secondly, I wish my\npalace to be returned to the place from which it was taken.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d answered the genie.\n\nHe disappeared with the magician, and as the magician never was seen\nagain he probably never escaped from the ends of the earth.\n\nAs for the palace it and all that was in it were returned to the place\nwhere it first stood, and the Sultan was so delighted to see his\ndaughter again that he gladly forgave Aladdin. The tailor\u2019s son was\nraised to the greatest honors in the kingdom, and upon the Sultan\u2019s\ndeath he became Sultan, and lived happy forever after with his\nbeautiful wife, Buddir al Baddoor.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE COBBLER AND THE FAIRIES\n\n\nThere was once a cobbler who worked hard at his trade, and yet never\nseemed to get on in the world.\n\nOne evening he took his last piece of leather and cut out a pair of\nshoes and laid the pieces neatly on his bench, expecting to finish them\nin the morning.\n\n\u201cThere,\u201d said he to his wife; \u201cthat is my last piece of leather, and I\nwill have no money to buy more until those shoes are made and sold.\u201d\n\nThe next morning he went to his shop early to begin work. What was his\nsurprise to find that in the night the pieces had been made up into a\nfine pair of shoes. He took them up and examined them, and there was\nnot a fault to be found with them. It was indeed much better work than\nthe cobbler could have done. Not even the king\u2019s shoemaker could have\ndone better.\n\nThe cobbler set the shoes out where they could be seen, and he soon had\na customer for them. This customer was a very rich man. \u201cThis is a very\nfine pair of shoes,\u201d said the rich man after he had examined them. \u201cI\nwill take them, and you may make me two more pairs.\u201d He then paid the\ncobbler well, and went away, carrying the shoes with him.\n\nThe cobbler was ready to dance with joy. He hurried out and bought more\nleather, and by evening he had cut out two more pairs of shoes. He left\nthe pieces lying on the bench as before.\n\nWhen he came to the shop the next morning, he found both pairs finished\nand standing side by side on the bench, and they were just as well made\nas the other pair had been. The rich man was delighted with them, and\nhe brought a friend to the shop with him, who also ordered two pairs of\nshoes.\n\nSo it went on. Soon the cobbler had all the customers he could attend\nto, and they paid high prices for his shoes, for they were better than\ncould be bought anywhere else.\n\nBut the cobbler puzzled and puzzled about who was helping him. No\nmatter how late he sat up, nor how early he rose in the morning, he\nnever saw anyone, and he never heard a sound.\n\nAt last he determined he would watch all night and find out who was\ndoing the work. So when his wife went off to bed he hid himself behind\nsome clothes that were hanging in the corner, and stayed there as still\nas a mouse. No one would have known there was anybody in the room. The\nmoon shone in at the window and all the house was still.\n\nSuddenly he saw two little brown fairy-men there in the room, but\nwhere they came from he could not tell. It was cold winter weather,\nbut neither of them had on coats or shoes or trousers. They picked\nup the pieces of leather and looked at them, and then they sat down\ncross-legged and began to work. They fitted and sewed and hammered, so\nfast that in a short time all the shoes were done. The two little men\nset them in a row on the bench, and nodded to each other as though they\nwere well pleased, and then they went as they came, without a sound,\nand the cobbler could not tell what had become of them.\n\nThe next day the cobbler told his wife all that he had seen the night\nbefore. The two talked it over for a long time.\n\n\u201cWe ought to do something to show our gratitude to the little men,\u201d\nsaid his wife. \u201cHow would it be if I made a little shirt and a suit for\neach of them, and you can make them each a pair of shoes.\u201d\n\nTo this the cobbler agreed. He went out and bought some fine cloth and\ncambric, and buttons and also some soft thin leather.\n\nThen his wife set to work and made two little shirts and two little\nsuits all complete, even to the pockets and buttonholes, and the\ncobbler made two tiny pairs of shoes. When all was finished, they laid\nthe clothes out on the bench, and that night they left a light burning\nand hid themselves in the corner behind the clothes, to see what would\nhappen. The clock ticked on, and suddenly they saw the two little\nbrown men there in the room, moving quietly about, though how they had\ncome there neither the cobbler nor his wife knew.\n\nThe little men went to the bench where the leather was generally laid\nout, and there, instead of leather pieces were the two little suits of\nclothes and the two little pairs of shoes. The brownies took up the\nclothes piece by piece and examined them; they held them up and turned\nthem this way and that. Last of all they put the clothes on, and they\nfitted exactly. Then they began to dance with glee, and to sing:\n\n    \u201cHow fine we be, how fine we be!\n     Now we never will work again!\u201d\n\nSo singing they danced about over tables and chairs and benches and so\non out the door into the night, and they never were seen again.\n\nBut the cobbler prospered, and in time became a very rich man.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCINDERELLA\n\n\nThere was once a girl named Ella who was so gentle and beautiful that\neveryone who knew her loved her, except those who should have loved her\nbest, and those were her stepmother and her stepsisters.\n\nHer own mother had died while she was quite young, and then her father\nhad married again. This new wife had two daughters of her own, and she\nwished them to have everything and Ella to have nothing. The stepmother\ndressed her own children in fine clothes, and they sat about and did\nnothing all day, but Cinderella worked in the kitchen and had nothing\nbut rags to wear, and because she often sat close to the ashes to warm\nherself her sisters called her Cinderella.\n\nNow the King and Queen of that country had only one son, and they were\nvery anxious for him to marry, but he had never seen anyone whom he\nwished to have for a bride. At last they determined to give a great\nball, and to ask to it all the fairest ladies in the land. They hoped\nthat among them all the Prince might see someone whom he would choose.\nAll the grand people of the city were invited, and Cinderella\u2019s\nstepmother and her stepsisters were asked with all the rest.\n\nThe stepsisters were very much excited over it. They were both so\nhandsome that they hoped one of them might be chosen by the Prince.\nThey had often watched from the windows to see him riding by, and he\nwas so gay and gallant that anyone might have been glad to marry him.\n\nAll sorts of fine things were bought for the sisters to wear, satins\nand velvets and laces and jewels, feathers for their hair, and\nglittering fans for them to carry, and the stepmother\u2019s dress was no\nless fine than theirs.\n\nCinderella sighed and sighed. \u201cI wish I might go to the ball, too, and\nsee that handsome Prince and all the lovely ladies,\u201d she said.\n\n\u201cYou!\u201d cried the sisters, laughing. \u201cA pretty sight you would be at the\nball; you with your rags and your sooty hands.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo scour your pots and pans,\u201d cried the stepmother. \u201cThat is all you\nare fit for, you cinder-wench.\u201d\n\nSo Cinderella went back to her work, but as she scrubbed and rubbed the\ntears ran down her cheeks so fast she could hardly see.\n\nThe night of the ball the sisters dressed themselves in all their\nfinery and came into the kitchen to show themselves to Cinderella; they\nhoped to make her envious. They swept up and down the room and spread\ntheir gowns and smiled and ogled while Cinderella admired them. After\nthey tired of her admiration they and the stepmother stepped into a\nfine coach and rolled gayly away to the ball.\n\nBut Cinderella sat in a corner by the fire and wept and wept.\n\nSuddenly, as she wept, a little old woman in a high-pointed hat and\nbuckled shoes appeared in the kitchen, and where she came from no one\ncould have told. Her eyes shone and twinkled like two stars, and she\ncarried a wand in her hand.\n\n\u201cWhy are you so sad, my child,\u201d she asked; \u201cand why do you weep so\nbitterly?\u201d\n\nCinderella looked at her with wonder. \u201cI am weeping,\u201d she said,\n\u201cbecause my sisters have gone to the ball without me, and because I\nwished to go too.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen dry your tears,\u201d said the little old woman, \u201cI am your fairy\ngodmother, and if you are a good girl and do exactly as I say, there is\nnothing you can wish for that you shall not have. Run to the garden and\nfetch me a pumpkin; and let me see the mousetrap; if there are six fine\nfat mice in it they will be of use.\u201d\n\nCinderella got out the mousetrap as she was told, and there were\nexactly six mice in it. She also hurried out to the garden and fetched\nthe biggest, roundest pumpkin she could find.\n\n\u201cThat is well,\u201d said the godmother. \u201cAnd now the rattrap.\u201d\n\nCinderella brought the trap and there was a rat in it.\n\n\u201cAnd now,\u201d said the godmother, \u201cwe are ready to begin.\u201d\n\nShe touched the pumpkin with her wand, and at once it turned into a\nmagnificent golden coach, lined throughout with pale yellow satin; she\ntouched the mice and they became six handsome sleek gray horses to draw\nthe coach. She touched the rat with her wand and he was turned into a\ncoachman in a livery of scarlet and gold lace. He mounted to the box\nof the coach, and gathered up the reins, and sat there, whip in hand,\nwaiting.\n\n\u201cFootmen! Footmen!\u201d cried the godmother impatiently. \u201cWhere shall we\nget them!\u201d Her sharp eyes glanced this way and that, and presently, in\nthe crack of the wall, she espied two lizards. \u201cThe very thing,\u201d said\nshe. A touch of her wand and they were changed to footmen with powdered\nwigs and cocked hats. They sprang up and took their places behind the\ncoach. \u201cAnd now,\u201d said the fairy, \u201call is ready, and no one has a finer\ncoach in which to go to the ball. Do you not agree with me?\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, Godmother, my rags! I could not go to the ball in rags, no matter\nhow fine my coach,\u201d cried Cinderella.\n\n\u201cWait a bit! I have not done yet.\u201d The godmother touched Cinderella\u2019s\nrags with her wand, and at once they were changed to a gown of white\nsatin embroidered with pearls. There were diamonds in her hair, and her\nclumsy shoes were changed to glass slippers that exactly fitted her\nlittle feet.\n\nCinderella wondered, and her heart was filled with joy. The satin\ngleamed about her like moonshine, and the diamonds shone as bright as\nthe tears she had shed.\n\n\u201cNow, my child, you can go to the ball,\u201d said the godmother. \u201cBut\nremember this: My fairy charm can only last till twelve o\u2019clock. At the\nlast stroke of twelve these fine clothes will change into rags; the\ncoach will again become a pumpkin, the horses mice, and the coachman\nand footman a rat and lizards as they were before; so by twelve you\nmust be home again.\u201d\n\nCinderella promised to obey, and then she stepped into the coach and\nrolled away to the ball.\n\n[Illustration: CINDERELLA AT THE BALL]\n\nWhen she reached the palace the music was sounding and the Prince\nwas about to choose a partner for the dance. All the ladies waited\nanxiously, each hoping she would be the one to be chosen. Many beauties\nwere there, and it was hard to say which was the loveliest. But when\nCinderella entered the room no one had eyes for anyone but her. She was\nfar fairer than the fairest, as the crescent moon is lovelier than the\nstars.\n\nThe Prince came to her and took her by the hand. \u201cYou shall be my\npartner in the dance,\u201d said he, \u201cfor never have I seen anyone as fair\nas you.\u201d\n\nFrom then on the Prince would dance with no one but Cinderella, and\nnone could wonder nor blame him, for she was so beautiful that the\nheart melted at sight of her.\n\nThe Prince begged her to tell him her name and whence she came, but she\nwould not, and when the castle clock struck the quarter before twelve\nshe managed to slip away from him, and run out to her coach. She sprang\ninto it, the rat coachman cracked his whip, and away they went, and the\nPrince did not know what had become of her.\n\nWhen the stepsisters came home, Cinderella was again sitting in the\ncorner beside the fire, dressed in her rags.\n\n\u201cWas it a beautiful ball?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cYes, it was a fine ball indeed,\u201d said the sisters, and they began to\ntell her about it.\n\n\u201cAnd whom did the Prince dance with?\u201d asked Cinderella.\n\n\u201cOh, he danced with a strange princess who came in just after the ball\nbegan. The Prince had bowed to us and smiled, and he might have chosen\none of us as his partner, but after she came he had eyes for no one\nelse. She must be a very great princess indeed, but no one could find\nout who she was, not even the Prince himself, though he begged and\nentreated her to tell him. She slipped away before the ball was over,\nand no one knew where she went. The Prince was like one distracted.\nTo-morrow night another ball is to be given, for the Prince hopes the\nPrincess may come again and that he may find out who she is.\u201d\n\nCinderella sighed. \u201cOh, my dear sisters, let me go with you to-morrow,\nI beg of you. One of your old dresses would do for me to wear.\u201d\n\nBut the sisters laughed and jeered. \u201cYou the cinder-wench!\u201d they\ncried. \u201cNo, no, the kitchen is the place for you. We would die of shame\nif any of those fine folk saw you.\u201d Then they bade her unfasten their\ndresses and help them to bed. They must get to sleep and be fresh and\nhandsome for the second ball.\n\nThe next night the stepsisters dressed again, and drove away to the\nball, and more than ever did Cinderella long to go with them.\n\nScarcely had they gone, however, when the fairy godmother appeared in\nthe kitchen.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said she, \u201cI suppose you would like to go to this ball, too.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, dear Godmother, if I only could!\u201d cried Cinderella.\n\nThe godmother bade Cinderella bring her the pumpkin, the mice, the\nrat, and the lizards. Again she changed them into the grand coach,\nthe horses, driver, and footmen, all complete. She then touched\nCinderella\u2019s rags with her wand, and they were changed into a dress\neven more beautiful than the one she had worn the night before. She\nstepped into the coach and rolled away to the ball.\n\nThe Prince had been watching for her impatiently, and the moment she\nentered the room he hurried forward and took her by the hand.\n\n\u201cWhy did you leave me so suddenly?\u201d he asked her. \u201cI sought you\neverywhere and could not sleep all night for thinking of you.\u201d\n\nHe then again led her to a place in the dance, and he would dance with\nno one else.\n\nAs it drew on toward midnight Cinderella became very uneasy. She tried\nto slip away without being seen, but the Prince followed her everywhere\nshe went. At last she made some excuse and sent him away for a moment.\nThen she drew her cloak around her and sped down the stairs and out to\nwhere her coach was waiting. She sprang into it and rolled away. But\nhalf-way home she heard the castle clock begin to strike the hour. As\nthe last stroke sounded the coach melted away from around her, and a\nyellow pumpkin lay at her feet; the horses changed into mice and ran\naway, squealing; the coachman became a rat, and the lizards made haste\nto hide in the crack of a wall. Cinderella, in her rags, had barely\ntime to run back to the kitchen and take her place beside the fire\nbefore the door opened and her stepsisters swept into the room.\n\n\u201cThis ball was even more beautiful than the other,\u201d they cried. \u201cAnd\nthe Princess was there again, and so lovely that it dazzled the eyes to\nlook at her. The Prince thought of no one but her.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, if I could only see her!\u201d sighed Cinderella.\n\n\u201cYou the cinder-wench!\u201d scoffed the sisters. \u201cWhy she would not even\nallow you in her kitchen. But come! Unfasten our dresses. To-morrow\nthere is to be another ball, and we must get to bed and rest, so as to\nlook our best.\u201d\n\nSo Cinderella helped her sisters to undress, and all the while she\ndid so they could talk of nothing but the unknown princess, of how\nbeautiful she was, and of how much the Prince had admired her.\n\nThe next night Cinderella helped to dress her sisters and make\nthem ready for the ball. They rolled away in their coach, and then\nCinderella waited impatiently for her godmother to come. It was not\nlong before the old fairy appeared.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said she, \u201cand do you wish to go to this ball also?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, dear Godmother!\u201d cried Cinderella. \u201cI wish to go as I never\nwished for anything in all my life before.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, then you shall go,\u201d said the godmother. \u201cBut do not forget,\nyou must leave before the clock strikes twelve, or your fine clothes\nwill turn to rags before them all, and your sisters will know you as\nthe cinder-wench.\u201d\n\nCinderella promised, and the godmother then touched her with her wand,\nand the rags were turned into a dress even more magnificent than\nbefore. If before Cinderella had appeared like the crescent moon,\nnow she shone like the moon in its full glory. When she entered the\nballroom she appeared so beautiful that it dazzled the eyes to look at\nher. The Prince followed her everywhere and begged and entreated her to\ntell him who she was, but she would not. Again and again they danced\ntogether, and Cinderella was so happy she quite forgot to notice how\nfast the time was going.\n\nSuddenly the castle clock began to strike. Cinderella gave a cry of\nterror. She snatched her hand from the Prince and fled away so fast\nthat for a moment he lost sight of her. Such was her haste that as she\nran down the stairs she lost one of her little glass shoes, but she\ndared not wait to pick it up.\n\nJust as she reached the door the last stroke of twelve sounded.\nImmediately her beautiful clothes fell into rags; her jewels melted\naway, and the guard who was on watch saw no one but a little\nkitchen-wench who ran past him, weeping bitterly, and wringing her\nhands.\n\nCinderella ran all the way home, and she scarcely had time to take her\nplace beside the fire before her sisters swept into the room.\n\n\u201cWhat! crying?\u201d they said. \u201cWhy are you not content? You have a warm\ncorner to sit in, and no need to bother your head about anything. But\nyou should have seen the ball to-night. It was more wonderful than\neither of the others; and as for the Princess, she was so beautiful\nthat there never was anything like it. The Prince never looked at\nanyone else. But she went away as before, and no one knows where she\nwent. However, the Prince picked up one of her slippers on the stairs,\nand he may find her by that.\u201d\n\nThe next day the Prince sent out a proclamation far and wide that he\nhad found a glass slipper and whoever could wear that slipper should\nbe his bride. He hoped in this way to find the lovely Princess who had\nthree times escaped him.\n\nThe slipper was sent around from one house to another, and every lady\nwas eager to try it on. All hoped to be able to wear it, but it fitted\nnone of them. Some feet were too long, and some too broad, some too\nfat, and some too thin.\n\nAt last the messenger came to the house where Cinderella and her\nstepsisters lived. The stepsisters could hardly wait to try the slipper\non. Each was sure she could wear it, and they began to quarrel as to\nwhich should try it first. At last it was given to the eldest sister.\nShe sat down and tried to put her foot into it, but she could not. The\ntoes went in easily enough, but her heel would not go down into it.\nThen the second sister tried it, but that was even worse, for she could\nnot even get her toes into it. The stepmother stood by, begging and\nurging them to try again.\n\nBut the messenger shook his head. \u201cNo, no,\u201d he said. \u201cNeither of those\ntwo is the right one. But is there no one else in the house who could\ntry it on?\u201d\n\nNo, there was no one except the little kitchen-maid, and it was not\nworth while for her to try it. If the sisters could not wear it she\ncertainly could not. Nevertheless, the messenger said he must see her.\nHis orders were that everyone in the city should try it on.\n\nVery reluctantly the stepmother sent for Cinderella. She came at once,\nand so modest and lovely were her looks that the messenger wondered\nthat she should be a kitchen-wench.\n\nShe sat down and took the slipper from the messenger, and put it on,\nand it fitted exactly. Then she drew the other slipper out from beneath\nher rags and put it upon her other foot, and at once the messenger knew\nshe must be the one the Prince had been seeking.\n\nHe kneeled before her and said, \u201cYou are my mistress, for you are the\none the Prince has chosen for his bride.\u201d\n\nThe stepmother and the stepsisters were ready to burst with rage\nand envy. They could not believe their eyes, and would have sent\nCinderella back to the kitchen with harsh words and blows; but this\nthe messenger would not allow.\n\nCinderella was taken away to the palace and dressed as a princess\nshould be, and when the Prince saw her again in all her beauty he was\nfilled with love and joy.\n\nSoon after they were married, and though the stepsisters were invited\nto the wedding they were ashamed to come because their faces were so\nswollen with weeping. As for the stepmother she was quite ill with rage\nand spite, but the Prince and Cinderella lived happy together forever\nafter.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nJACK IN LUCK\n\n\nJack had served his master well for seven long years without having\nbeen paid a penny. At the end of that time Jack went to him and said,\n\u201cMaster, I have been with you seven years, and now it is time for me to\ngo home to see my mother. But oughtn\u2019t I to be paid something first?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said his master, \u201cyou have served me well, and you shall be well\npaid in return.\u201d\n\nHe then brought out a lump of gold as big as Jack\u2019s head and gave it to\nthe lad.\n\nJack thanked him and wrapped the gold up in a handkerchief and tied the\ncorners together, so he could carry it. Then he said good-by to his\nmaster, and off he set, whistling merrily. But the way was long and the\nsun was hot. The further Jack went the wearier he grew, and the gold\nweighed as heavy as lead. He shifted it from hand to hand, but every\nmoment it became a heavier burden.\n\nAfter awhile Jack met a man riding merrily along on a fine horse.\n\n\u201cThat is a fine nag you are riding,\u201d said Jack.\n\n\u201cYes, it is,\u201d answered the man.\n\n\u201cWell, you are a lucky fellow,\u201d said Jack. \u201cThere you ride along as\nlight as a bird, and I have to trudge in the dust and carry a lump of\ngold that weighs like lead.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs that gold you have tied up there?\u201d asked the man.\n\n\u201cYes, it is.\u201d\n\n\u201cI would like to see a lump of gold as big as that.\u201d\n\nJack untied the handkerchief and showed the gold to the man. When the\nman saw it his eyes glittered and his mouth worked.\n\n\u201cListen,\u201d said he to Jack, \u201cI am a good-natured sort of a fellow. I am\nalmost home and you have still a long way to go. Give me the gold and\nyou shall have my horse in exchange, and then you can ride along as\nproud as a king, and I will do the trudging.\u201d\n\nThat seemed to Jack a fine bargain. He thanked the man and gave him\nthe gold, and then he mounted the horse. The man put a switch in his\nhand and said, \u201cIf he does not go along fast enough just touch him with\nthis and he will go faster.\u201d Then he tied up the gold in a great hurry,\nand made off with it.\n\nAs for Jack he rode along holding his head high and glancing about him.\n\u201cHow proud mother will be to see me come riding up to the door like a\nnobleman,\u201d thought he. \u201cHow much better to ride with my head in the air\nthan to trudge along in the dust.\u201d\n\nAfter awhile Jack thought he would like to go faster, and he gave the\nhorse a cut with the switch. But the nag was a lively one. When it\nfelt the switch it kicked up its heels, and away it went, jolting and\nbumping. Jack held on as long as he could, and then he fell off into a\nditch full of stinging nettles. Luckily a man passing by stopped the\nhorse and brought it back to him. The man was leading a cow by a rope.\n\n\u201cThat was a nasty fall you had,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered Jack. \u201cNow I see that a horse is a tricky animal. A man\ngave him to me for a lump of gold I was carrying, and he seemed quiet\nenough then.\u201d\n\n\u201cA lump of gold?\u201d asked the man.\n\n\u201cYes, a lump of gold. How lucky you are to have a nice quiet animal\nlike the cow to give you good milk and butter and cheese, instead of a\nhorse that runs away and throws you off.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I am lucky,\u201d said the man. Then he thought a bit. \u201cListen,\u201d said\nhe. \u201cI have had so much butter and cheese and cream that I am tired of\nthem. If you like you shall have my cow and I will take your horse, and\nyou will have the best of the bargain.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I will,\u201d cried Jack joyfully, \u201cand I thank you kindly for\nspeaking of it.\u201d He then gave the horse to the man, and the man gave\nhim the cow. Then the man sprang upon the horse and away he rode in\nhaste without once turning to look behind him.\n\nJack led the cow along by the rope, and his heart was light if his\nheels were not. \u201cNow I can live like a king,\u201d said he. \u201cWhen I am\nthirsty all I have to do is to milk the cow and have a drink of fine\nfresh milk; and when I have a piece of bread\u2014it is easy enough to get\na piece of bread\u2014I can always have some butter with it, or a tasty bit\nof cheese.\u201d\n\nThe sun was high in the sky by now, and it shone so hot that Jack\u2019s\nmouth grew as dry as a nutmeg grater. \u201cNow is the time for a glass of\nmilk,\u201d said he. He tied the cow to a post, and then he sat down and\ntried to milk her; but he had never learned how to milk, and not a drop\ncould he get. Moreover he was so awkward about it that at last the cow\ngave him a kick that sent him head over heels across the road. Jack got\nup and rubbed his head. \u201cThat is a very dangerous animal,\u201d said he, \u201cor\nelse she does not like me.\u201d\n\nJust then a butcher came by, wheeling a fine little pig in a barrow,\nand he stopped to speak with Jack. \u201cWhat ails you,\u201d said he, \u201cthat you\nlook so sad and down in the mouth?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said Jack, \u201cmy cow has kicked me and will not give me a drop of\nmilk,\u201d and he told the butcher the whole story, how he had exchanged\nthe gold for a horse, and the horse for a cow.\n\n\u201cYou made a bad bargain,\u201d said the butcher. \u201cThat cow is old and will\nnever give milk. There is nothing to do with her but to knock her on\nthe head and use her for beef.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow could I do that?\u201d asked Jack. \u201cAnd besides I do not like beef. If\nshe were only a fine little pig, now! There is nothing I love better\nthan a tender juicy bit of pork.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, there now!\u201d said the butcher. \u201cI am too kind-hearted for my own\ngood, but if you like I will take the cow and you shall have my pig in\nexchange.\u201d\n\nJack was delighted. He thanked the butcher and took the pig in exchange\nfor his cow, and off he set, wheeling the pig before him, and he was as\nhappy as a lark.\n\nAfter awhile he met a young man who carried a fine fat white goose\nunder his arm. Jack had known the youth before, and they stopped to\ntalk. Jack told him all about his adventures, and what fine bargains he\nhad made.\n\n\u201cYes, that is well,\u201d said the youth. Then he showed Jack his goose, and\nmade him weigh it by the wings and feel how fat it was, and how soft\nwere its feathers.\n\n\u201cIt is a fine fowl,\u201d said Jack. \u201cBut after all it is not as fine a\ncreature as my fat pig, and it will not taste as good when it is eaten,\neither.\u201d\n\nThe youth looked the pig all over, and scratched his head. \u201cI do not\nknow about that pig,\u201d said he. \u201cA man just over there beyond the hill\nhad his pig stolen two days ago. I misdoubt me but what this may be the\nvery one. I only hope you may not get taken up and put in prison for\nhaving it.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn prison,\u201d cried Jack in alarm. \u201cBut I cannot go to prison. My mother\nis looking for me home, and it would break her heart if I did not come.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will tell you,\u201d said the youth; \u201cI know the ways about here better\nthan you do. If you like I will take the pig and give you my goose in\nexchange. I may suffer for it, but if anyone is taken to prison at\nleast it will not be you.\u201d\n\nJack thanked him with tears in his eyes. He gave him the pig and took\nthe goose and went on his way rejoicing. \u201cAfter all,\u201d thought he, \u201cI\nwould rather have a goose than a pig. Not only is it good to eat, but\nit may lay me a fine big egg, and its feathers will do to make a soft\npillow for mother to lay her head on.\u201d\n\nSo thinking he trudged along with the goose under his arm, and after\nawhile he came to a village, and there was a knife-grinder turning his\nwheel and sharpening knives and scissors for people.\n\nHe worked so quickly and sang so merrily as he worked that Jack stopped\nto watch him.\n\n\u201cThat is a fine trade of yours\u2014that of a knife-grinder,\u201d said Jack.\n\n\u201cYes, it is,\u201d answered the man. \u201cPeople are glad to see me come, and\nthey save their knives and scissors for me to sharpen. I always can\nearn a bit of money, and when I am tired of one place I take my wheel\nand go on to the next. But that is a fine goose you have. Where did you\nbuy it?\u201d\n\n\u201cI did not buy it, I got it in exchange for a pig.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd where did you get the pig?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I took it in exchange for a cow.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere did you get the cow?\u201d\n\n\u201cI got it in exchange for a horse.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere did you get the horse?\u201d\n\n\u201cI bought it for a lump of gold as big as my head.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere did you get the gold?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy master gave it to me in payment for seven years\u2019 service, but the\ngold was too heavy, and the horse ran away, and the cow would give no\nmilk, and the pig had been stolen, but this is a very fine goose, so\nyou see I have been lucky in the end.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat you have,\u201d said the knife-grinder. \u201cBut after all I would rather\nown this grindstone of mine than the very finest, fattest goose. The\ngoose is eaten and that is the end of it, but this grindstone always\nearns me a bit of money to jingle in my pocket.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, that is true,\u201d said Jack. \u201cI wish I had a grindstone.\u201d\n\nThe knife-grinder looked thoughtful. \u201cIt might be managed,\u201d said he. \u201cI\nhave another grindstone that is a bit damaged, but works all right. If\nyou like you can have it in exchange for your goose, and once you have\na grindstone the rest of the business is easy enough.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am in luck indeed,\u201d said Jack. \u201cI have only to wish for a thing and\nI get it. Here, take the goose, and give me the grindstone.\u201d\n\nThe man gave Jack an old cracked grindstone. Then he picked up a heavy\nstone that lay by the roadside. \u201cTake this with you, too,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\nwill be useful to you if you ever have a crooked nail to straighten.\nThen you will only have to lay it on the grindstone and beat it with\nthis rock, and you can straighten it out in no time.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, that will be a fine thing,\u201d said Jack, and he took the grindstone\nand the rock and thanked the man and went on his way.\n\nBut the road was rough and the sun was hot, and before long Jack was\nso weary with the weight he carried that he could hardly drag one foot\nafter another, and the sweat poured down from his forehead.\n\nAfter awhile he came to a place where a well of water bubbled up clear\nand fresh and cool. Jack put his stones down on the edge of it and\nstooped over to drink, but as he rose up again he happened to give the\nstones a push, and plunk! they both fell into the well and sank to the\nbottom.\n\n\u201cNow thanks be to heaven!\u201d cried Jack. \u201cIf I had had to carry those\nstones much farther my back would surely have broken. Oh, what a lucky\nfellow I am! Everything I touch turns to luck.\u201d\n\nThen he started off with a light heart and light heels, and it did not\ntake him long to reach his mother\u2019s house.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS IN BOOTS\n\n\nA miller died, leaving three sons to divide his fortune among them. The\neldest took the mill and the land around it; the second took the flocks\nand herds, and then there was nothing left for the third son, Jack, but\nthree bits of silver money, and a little cat that lived in the mill.\n\n\u201cThis is all very well,\u201d said Jack, \u201cand the cat is a fine little cat\nand can feed on the mice it catches, but I do not see how I am to live\non three pieces of money.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d answered his brothers, \u201cyou will have to start out in the world\nand do the best you can for yourself.\u201d\n\nJack took the little cat and started out.\n\n\u201cDo not be uneasy, master,\u201d said the little cat. \u201cYou have three silver\npieces. Take them and buy me a little pair of boots and a bag, and I\nwill make your fortune for you.\u201d\n\nJack did not like to spend his money on a pair of boots for a cat, but\nhe knew he was a wise little animal, so he did as he said. He went to\na tailor, and for the three pieces of silver the tailor made him the\nprettiest pair of little boots that ever were seen, and when Puss drew\nthem on they fitted exactly. The tailor also gave Jack an old bag that\nlay in the corner, and for which he had no use.\n\nPuss led Jack off into the country, and then he bade him sit down by\nthe roadside and wait for his return. The little cat ran off into a\nwood near by, where there were a great many rabbit-holes, and there he\nmanaged to catch two fine fat rabbits. He put the rabbits in the bag\nand trotted away in his neat little boots until he came to the King\u2019s\npalace. There he asked to see the King, and a cat in boots was such a\nstrange sight that he was at once brought before his majesty.\n\nThe courtiers nudged each other and laughed when the cat came into\ncourt, but Puss marched up to the King and bowed low before him.\n\n\u201cYour Majesty, my master, the Marquis of Carrabas, has sent you a\npresent of these two fine fat rabbits for your supper,\u201d said he, and he\ntook out the rabbits and presented them to the King.\n\nThe King was very much pleased. He ordered a piece of money to be given\nto Puss, and bade the little animal thank his master for the fine\npresent he had sent.\n\nPuss ran back to where Jack was waiting, and gave him the piece of\nmoney. \u201cThere,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is enough to pay for a bed and a supper\nat the inn.\u201d\n\nThe next day Puss set off for the forest again, and this time it was\na pair of fine fat partridges that he caught and carried to the King.\n\u201cThey are sent by my master, the Marquis of Carrabas,\u201d said Puss.\n\nAgain the King sent his thanks to the Marquis, and gave Puss a piece\nof money, which the little cat carried back to his master, and it was\nenough to buy Jack food and lodging.\n\nSo it went on day after day. Every day Puss caught some fine game in\nthe forest and took it to the King with the compliments of the Marquis\nof Carrabas, and every day the King thanked the cat and gave him a\npiece of money. The King began to wonder who the Marquis of Carrabas\nwas and where he lived. He began to think the Marquis was a very\ngenerous fellow.\n\nOne day the King went out for a pleasure ride with his daughter, and\nmany of his court rode with him.\n\nPuss came in haste to his master. \u201cCome quick!\u201d he cried. \u201cWe have done\nwell enough so far, but the time has now come when I will make your\nfortune.\u201d\n\nThe cat then led Jack to a river, where he knew the King would pass\nbefore long. He then bade Jack take off his clothes and hide them under\na rock, and then stand in the river up to his neck.\n\nJack did this, though the water was so cold it made him shudder, and he\ndid not know how Puss was to make his fortune in this way.\n\nPuss waited until he saw his master well in the river, and then he ran\nto the road along which the King was coming.\n\n\u201cHelp! help!\u201d he cried. \u201cOh, help! My master\u2014the noble Marquis of\nCarrabas! He will surely drown.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter?\u201d asked the King, stopping his coach, and the\nPrincess and all the courtiers listened.\n\n\u201cOh, your Majesty!\u201d cried the cat. \u201cMy noble master! He was attacked\nby robbers and they robbed him of everything and threw him in the\nriver, and unless he receives help he will surely drown.\u201d\n\nThe King was very much concerned. He at once sent courtiers to draw\nJack out from the river and dress him in robes of velvet and satin and\ngold lace.\n\nJack had never been so magnificently dressed before, and he looked a\nfine fellow indeed when he was brought to the King. His majesty was so\npleased with Jack\u2019s looks that he made him get into the coach and sit\nbeside him, and the Princess was even better pleased with him than her\nfather.\n\nMeanwhile the little cat had hurried on far ahead of the coaches.\n\nPresently Puss came to a field where the harvesters were harvesting\nthe grain. Puss marched up to them scowling fiercely and bristling out\nhis whiskers until he looked twice as big again. The harvesters were\nfrightened.\n\n\u201cListen, men,\u201d cried Puss. \u201cThe King will soon come by this way with my\nmaster, the Marquis of Carrabas riding beside him. If he should ask\nyou to whom this grain belongs, answer that it belongs to the noble\nMarquis of Carrabas. If you do not do this you shall be torn into\npieces, and the shreds thrown into the river.\u201d\n\nThe harvesters were more frightened than ever. They promised to do\nexactly as the cat bade them.\n\nThen Puss ran on until he met a drover driving a great herd of cattle.\nHim, too, he frightened so that he promised if the King asked him to\nwhom the herd belonged, he would say to the noble Marquis of Carrabas.\n\nA little farther on the cat met a shepherd with his sheep, and he also\npromised to say his flocks belonged to the Marquis of Carrabas.\n\nSo it went on; it seemed as though everything was to be claimed by the\nMarquis of Carrabas.\n\nNow all these things really belonged to an ogre who was very rich and\nfierce and strong and terrible, and after awhile Puss came to the\ncastle where the ogre lived. The little cat was not afraid of ogres,\nhowever. He made his way into the castle and ran along into one room\nafter another until he came to where the ogre was sitting.\n\nWhen the ogre saw the little cat in his fine shiny, creaking boots he\nwas so amused that he laughed aloud. He had never seen such a sight\nbefore.\n\n[Illustration: THE OGRE CHANGES HIMSELF INTO A LION]\n\n\u201cAnd where did you come from, my fine little cat?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cOh, from over the hills and far away.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what do you want here?\u201d\n\n\u201cI only wanted to see you because everyone says you are the strongest\nand most wonderful ogre in all the world.\u201d\n\nWhen the ogre heard that he was much pleased, for he was very vain.\n\n\u201cWell, and now you have seen me, what do you think of me?\u201d he asked.\n\nOh, Puss thought he was a very wonderful ogre indeed. And was it true\nthat he had magic powers, too?\n\nYes, the ogre had magic powers.\n\n\u201cCan you change yourself into animals if you choose? A lion or an\nelephant for instance?\u201d asked Puss.\n\nOh, yes, that was easy enough.\n\n\u201cI should like to see you do that,\u201d said the cat.\n\nWell, the ogre was willing to oblige him. At once he turned himself\ninto a lion, for he really had that power, and he was a very terrible\nlooking lion indeed. He roared and lashed his tail and his mane\nbristled.\n\nPuss was so terrified that he sprang through the window and scrambled\nup the roof, though he almost slipped and fell on account of the boots.\nThere he sat spitting and trembling.\n\nThen the ogre turned himself back into his own shape, and he laughed\nand laughed. \u201cCome back, Puss,\u201d he called, \u201cI will not hurt you; but\nnow you see that everything they told you was true.\u201d\n\nPuss came scrambling back into the room, and he looked very meek and\ntimid.\n\n\u201cYes, I see it was all true,\u201d he said. \u201cBut, Mr. Ogre, could you turn\nyourself into a small animal as well? That must be a great deal harder.\nCould you turn yourself into a mouse?\u201d\n\nYes, the ogre could do that, too, and at once he turned himself into a\nmouse, and ran, scampering gayly about the room. But he did not scamper\nlong. \u201cPs-s-s-t!\u201d with a bound Puss caught him and swallowed him down\nin a moment before he could even squeak, and that was the end of the\nogre.\n\nMeanwhile the King and the Princess and Jack were rolling along\ntogether in the fine coach and talking pleasantly together. The King\nwas so pleased with Jack\u2019s talk that he told the coachman to drive\nslowly, so they could have the more time together.\n\nPresently they came to the field of grain where the harvesters were at\nwork.\n\n\u201cThat is a fine field of grain,\u201d said the King; and he leaned from the\ncoach and called to the harvesters to know to whom the grain belonged.\n\n\u201cTo the noble Marquis of Carrabas!\u201d answered the harvesters.\n\nThe King turned to Jack. \u201cMy dear Marquis, why did you not tell me it\nbelonged to you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI had forgotten,\u201d answered Jack.\n\nSoon after they came to the drover. The King admired the herd of cattle\nand asked the drover to whom they belonged.\n\n\u201cTo the noble Marquis of Carrabas,\u201d answered the drover.\n\nThe King turned to Jack, and complimented him upon his herds. He began\nto think the Marquis must be very rich.\n\nThen they came to the shepherd, and it was the same thing; his flocks\nbelonged to the Marquis of Carrabas. In the forest the woodsmen said\nthe wood belonged to the Marquis. It seemed as though the Marquis were\nricher than the King himself.\n\nAt last they came to the ogre\u2019s grand castle, and the King asked Jack\nto whom it belonged. Before Jack could answer the doors were thrown\nopen, and the little cat ran out into the road. \u201cWelcome, welcome, your\nmajesty,\u201d he cried. \u201cWelcome to the castle of the Marquis of Carrabas.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo this is where you live,\u201d said the King.\n\n\u201cYes, this is where I live,\u201d answered Jack.\n\nThe cat invited them to alight and led the way into a long dining-hall.\nThere the servants had prepared a magnificent feast, for now they, as\nwell as the castle and everything in it, belonged to Jack.\n\nThe King and the Princess took their places at the table, and Jack sat\nbetween them. They ate and drank and feasted to their hearts\u2019 content,\nand the King had never tasted more delicious food, and it was all\nserved on golden plates far finer than those he ate from in his own\ncastle.\n\nAt the end of the feast the King turned to Jack and said, \u201cMy dear\nMarquis, you must be a very rich man.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am so rich,\u201d answered Jack, \u201cthat I really do not know how much I\nhave.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt seems to me,\u201d said the King, \u201cthat you ought to marry a princess,\nfor no everyday girl would do for you.\u201d\n\nYes, Jack would like to marry a princess, but it would have to be the\nright princess.\n\n\u201cThen how would my daughter do?\u201d asked the King.\n\nAt that Jack was ready to jump out of his skin with joy, for the\nPrincess was so sweet and pretty that he loved her already. \u201cYes, she\nwould do better than anyone else in the world.\u201d And the Princess did\nnot say nay.\n\nSo Jack went back with the King and the Princess to his own palace, and\nthen the Princess and Jack were married, and lived happily ever after.\n\nThe little cat lived in the palace with them, and always the softest\ncushion, and the warmest corner by the fire were left for him.\n\nAs for Jack\u2019s brothers, when they heard of the good fortune that had\ncome to Jack, and how he had won a princess for a wife, they wished\nthey had kept Puss and given him the mill and the flocks and herds.\n\n\n\n\nTHE TOWN MUSICIANS\n\n\nA donkey had grown so old and feeble that he was of no more use to his\nmaster.\n\nOne night he heard his master and mistress talking together. \u201cI wonder\nyou still keep that donkey,\u201d said the woman; \u201che is of no use to you,\nand you only waste your money buying food for him.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is true,\u201d answered the man. \u201cI would do well to get rid of him. I\nmight sell his hide to the tanner.\u201d\n\nWhen the donkey heard this he knew it was time for him to be going, if\nhe wished to keep his skin for his own use. He pushed the stable-door\nopen with his nose, and made off down the road without saying good-by\nto anyone. \u201cI may be too weak to work,\u201d said he, \u201cbut my voice is still\nstrong. I will go to the big city and become a musician.\u201d\n\nHe had not gone far when he saw an old hound lying beside the road and\nwhining. \u201cWell, old Bellmouth,\u201d said the donkey, \u201cwhat ails you? You\nseem to be in trouble.\u201d\n\n\u201cTrouble indeed,\u201d answered the hound. \u201cI have grown so old and stiff\nthat I am no longer able to run with the pack, so my master had no\nmore use for me. He drove me away and threw stones after me. What is\nto become of me now I do not know. If my master would not keep me I am\nsure no one else will.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not trouble yourself over that,\u201d said the donkey. \u201cI am going to\nthe city to be a musician, and if you like you shall come along and\nsing with me. I know you have a fine voice, and we two together may\nmake our fortunes.\u201d\n\nThe hound was pleased with this idea. He got to his feet, and he and\nthe donkey went on together in company.\n\nA little while after they came to where a cat sat in the grass by the\nroadside, looking as sad and doleful as a rainy day in fall.\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter with you, Whiskers?\u201d asked the donkey. \u201cYou look as\nthough all the cream were sour and all the rats were dead.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is no cream for me nowadays,\u201d said the cat, \u201cand though there\nare plenty of rats I am too old to catch them. I am no longer quick and\nactive, and I would rather sit by the fire and purr. For this reason\nmy mistress has driven me out of the house with a broom, and I have no\nplace to go. What would you advise me to do in such a case?\u201d\n\n\u201cCome with us,\u201d said the donkey. \u201cBrother Bellmouth and I are going to\nthe city to be musicians, and if you choose to come along and join your\nvoice with ours we shall be glad to have you.\u201d\n\nThe cat was delighted, and leaping out into the road it trotted along\nbeside the others.\n\nPresently they came to a farmyard, and a cock had flown up on the gate\npost. It stretched its neck and crowed, and crowed again.\n\n\u201cEnough! Enough!\u201d cried the donkey. \u201cDo you want to split our ears with\nyour crowing?\u201d\n\n\u201cI must crow while I can,\u201d said the cock, \u201cfor that is my business.\nEvery morning I crow to wake the men, and I also crow to tell what\nweather we will have. But I heard the mistress say that company was\ncoming to-morrow and that she must make me into soup, so my crowing\ndays are almost over.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is a bad business,\u201d said the donkey. \u201cYou had better come with\nus. We are going to the city to become musicians, and such a voice as\nyours would be a great help.\u201d\n\nThe cock did not wait to be asked twice. He flew down from the gatepost\nand flapped along beside them, but this was tiresome, so the donkey\nbade the cock fly up on to his back, and after that Master Red-head\nrode along in comfort.\n\nPresently it began to grow dark, and still the musicians had not come\nwithin sight of the big city. Instead they came to a deep wood, and\nafter wandering about in it for some time they grew so weary that they\ndecided to go no farther that night. The donkey and the hound lay down\nunder a large tree, the cat climbed up to a crotch of the branches,\nwhile the cock was not content to roost anywhere but at the top of the\ntree.\n\nHe had not been sitting there long when he said, \u201cBrothers, I see a\nlight not far off. There must be a house there.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is good news,\u201d said the donkey. \u201cI for one have no liking for\nsleeping on the bare ground. Perhaps if we go there and sing they may\ngive us a night\u2019s lodging.\u201d\n\nThis plan suited the others. The cat and the cock came down from the\ntree, and the four musicians set out together in the direction of the\nlight.\n\nIt was not long before they came to a house and the light the cock had\nseen shone through a lower window. The donkey, being the largest, was\nchosen to look in through the window and tell the others what he saw.\n\nThe donkey looked so long and so silently that the others grew\nimpatient. \u201cWell, Brother Greycoat, what do you see?\u201d asked the hound.\n\n\u201cBrothers,\u201d said the donkey in a low voice, \u201cI can easily see that this\nhouse belongs to a band of robbers. They have a quantity of treasure\npiled up in one corner of the room, and they are sitting around the\ntable eating and drinking.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, if we could only scare them away and take the treasure for\nourselves! Robbers are always cowards,\u201d said the dog.\n\nThe four companions consulted together and laid out a plan for\nfrightening the robbers away. The donkey put his front feet up on the\nwindowsill, the dog mounted on his back, the cat mounted on the dog\u2019s\nback, and the cock flew up on to the cat. Then at a certain signal they\nall began to sing together. The donkey brayed, the dog howled, the cat\nmiaued, and the cock crowed. The noise they made was terrible. The\nrobbers jumped up in a fright, and as soon as the animals saw they were\nfrightened they smashed the glass and sprang into the room.\n\nThe robbers fled out of the door pell-mell and into the woods without\nstopping to look behind them.\n\n\u201cThat was easily done,\u201d said the donkey. The animals then sat down at\nthe table and ate and drank to their hearts\u2019 content. After that they\nput out the lights, and then they settled down for the night, each one\nin the most comfortable place it could find. The donkey lay down on\na heap of straw outside, the dog curled up behind the door, the cat\nsettled down on the warm ashes, and the cock flew up and perched on the\nrafters. Then they all went to sleep.\n\nOut in the forest the robbers wandered about for awhile, and then they\nall got together and talked things over.\n\n\u201cWe were very foolish to be so easily frightened,\u201d said the captain. \u201cI\nhave been listening and watching, and everything is quiet around the\nhouse and the lights are out. Let us go back there and see if anyone is\nthere.\u201d\n\nTo this the others agreed. They crept back to the house, and the\ncaptain sent one of the men inside to see what was doing.\n\nThe man went in and looked about, and saw the cat\u2019s eyes shining in the\ndark. He thought they were live coals, and as he needed a light he went\nup and stuck a stick toward them, meaning to light it.\n\nAt once the cat sprang up with a yowl and scratched his face. The\nman was terrified. He ran to the door and the dog sprang out and\nbit him. He tumbled out into the courtyard and the donkey kicked\nhim. The noise wakened the cock and it stretched its neck and crowed\n\u201cCock-a-doodle-doo!\u201d\n\nThe robber ran back to his captain trembling. \u201cLet us get away!\u201d\nhe cried. \u201cA horrible witch sits by the hearth, and she flew at me\nscreaming, and bit and scratched me. A man back of the door stuck a\nknife in my leg. Outside a hideous black thing hit me with a club, and\non the roof sits a judge who cried, \u2018Bring the rascal here!\u2019\u201d\n\nThe robbers waited to hear no more; they took to their heels and ran\naway, and if they have not stopped they must be running still.\n\nBut the four comrades found it so comfortable in the robbers\u2019 house\nthat they stayed there and enjoyed the robbers\u2019 treasure, and never\nwent to the big city to become musicians after all.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Notes:\n\nObvious punctuation errors repaired.\n\nPage vi, \u201cAlladin\u201d changed to \u201cAladdin\u201d to reflect usage in text\n(Aladdin, or the Magic)","title":"Mother's Nursery Tales","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":66576}