{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_53766/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_53766","id":"gutenberg_53766","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53766","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Short Stories","Children's stories","Fairy tales","Readers (Primary)"],"text":"[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                              MERRY TALES\n\n\n                                   BY\n\n                           ELEANOR L. SKINNER\n\n                 TEACHER OF ENGLISH, NORTH HIGH SCHOOL\n                             COLUMBUS, OHIO\n\n                                  AND\n\n                             ADA M. SKINNER\n\n                  ST. AGATHA SCHOOL, CITY OF NEW YORK\n\n[Illustration]\n\n                         AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY\n\n NEW YORK                      CINCINNATI                        CHICAGO\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                          COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY\n\n                           ELEANOR L. SKINNER\n\n                                  AND\n\n                            ADA M. SKINNER.\n\n\n                                E. P. I.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                FOREWORD\n\n\nFrom a knowledge and love of children both extending through many years,\nI wish to speak of the pleasure and profit they will derive from reading\nand possessing _Merry Tales_.\n\nTo keep children sane and sweet they must be given bright and cheery\nstories to read. They will find them in _Merry Tales_. Early in life\nthey should learn something of myths and folklore. These tales are\nfounded on these old treasures, but are charmingly adapted to the\nunderstanding of present-day children. I have read few books for\nchildren possessing such literary value and yet using words that\nchildren can master without difficulty, thereby being able to enjoy\ntheir own reading.\n\nI hope that _Merry Tales_ will find a place not only in the schoolroom\nfor that time of delight in a well-taught school,\u2014\u201cthe period for\nsupplementary reading,\u201d\u2014but that parents may find the book out to place\nit in the child\u2019s own library, a thing that a child must have if it is\never to have in later life the joys of a genuine booklover.\n\n                            MARGARET W. SUTHERLAND,\n                              _Principal of the Columbus Normal School_.\n\n\n\n\n                                PREFACE\n\n\nThe stories in this collection have been chosen, first, because they are\nstories children have always loved, and second, because they are free\nfrom much of the grewsome or grotesque which figures in so many of the\nfolk tales and fables of the past. Although there are elements of\nsurprise and danger in the adventures of the various characters, yet\neach story ends happily. The little book is intended as a supplementary\nreader for children in the third or fourth year of school and the\nvocabulary has been carefully graded to meet that need. Some of the\nstories have dramatic qualities and will be found to lend themselves\nreadily to dramatization.\n\n\n\n\n                                CONTENTS\n\n\n                                                                    PAGE\n\n THE MONKEY AND THE CROCODILE      _Jataka Tale_                      11\n\n THE HILLMAN AND THE HOUSEWIFE     _Juliana H. Ewing_                 15\n\n THE FISHING PARTY                 _Southern Folk Tale_               18\n\n THE FOREST BAILIFF                _Russian Legend_                   27\n\n BRUIN AND REYNARD PARTNERS        _Scandinavian Folk Tale_           35\n\n THE THREE WISHES                  _Swedish Legend_                   39\n\n THE PIGTAIL (POEM)                _Translated by William Makepeace   46\n                                     Thackeray_\n\n THE STONE LION                    _Captain W. P. O\u2019Connor_           48\n\n THE STORY THAT HAD NO END         _Old Folk Tale_                    54\n\n THE KING\u2019S RABBIT KEEPER          _Norse Legend_                     62\n\n THE LEAPING MATCH                 _H. C. Andersen_                   72\n\n THE CLEVER TURTLE                 _East Indian Tale_                 79\n\n ROBIN GOODFELLOW (POEM)           _Percy\u2019s Reliques_                 83\n\n MERLIN\u2019S CRAG                     _Irish Folk Tale_                  86\n\n THE STORY OF LI\u2019L\u2019 HANNIBAL       _Carolyn Sherwin Bailey_           97\n\n HOW TIMOTHY WON THE PRINCESS      _Irish Fairy Tale_                106\n\n THE OVERTURNED CART               _Agnes C. Herbertson_             123\n\n CHANTICLEER                       _Chaucer_                         138\n\n THE JACKAL AND THE ALLIGATOR      _East Indian Tale_                149\n\n FINN AND THE FAIRY SHOEMAKER      _Irish Legend_                    158\n\n MAKING THE BEST OF IT             _Frances Fox_                     173\n\n THE BROWNIE OF BLEDNOCK           _Elizabeth Grierson_              178\n\n HOW OLAF BROUGHT THE BROWNIE BACK _Old English Tale_                189\n\n THE POOR LITTLE TURKEY GIRL       _F. Cushing_                      197\n\n MEADOW FIDDLERS (POEM)            _Agnes McLellan Daulton_          211\n\n CASTLE FORTUNE                    _German Legend_                   213\n\n A LITTLE DUTCH GARDEN (POEM)      _Harriet Durban_                  222\n\n TRUE FRIENDSHIP                   _Translated from the Greek by     224\n                                     Mrs. Symonds_\n\n\n\n\n                            ACKNOWLEDGMENTS\n\n\nFor permission to reprint, or to use in adapted form, certain\ncopyrighted and valuable material in this volume, the following\nacknowledgments are made:\n\nTo Sturgis and Walton Company, for \u201cThe Stone Lion,\u201d by Captain W. P.\nO\u2019Connor, from _Story Telling in School and Home_, copyright, 1912, by\nSturgis and Walton Company;\n\nTo Carolyn Sherwin Bailey and the publishers of _Good Housekeeping_, for\n\u201cThe Story of Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal,\u201d reprinted by permission of _Good\nHousekeeping_;\n\nTo the Grolier Society, publishers of _The Book of Knowledge_, for \u201cHow\nOlaf Brought the Brownie Back\u201d;\n\nTo George H. Doran Company, for \u201cThe Overturned Cart\u201d from _Cap\nO\u2019Yellow_, by Agnes Crozier Herbertson;\n\nTo Frances Fox and The Outlook Company, for \u201cMaking the Best of It\u201d;\n\nTo Elizabeth Grierson and Frederick A. Stokes Company, publishers of\n_Scottish Fairy Tales_, for \u201cThe Brownie of Blednock\u201d;\n\nTo F. Cushing and G. P. Putnam\u2019s Sons for \u201cThe Poor Little Turkey Girl\u201d\nfrom _Zu\u00f1i Folk Tales_; and\n\nTo T. Fisher Unwin for \u201cTrue Friendship.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                      THE MONKEY AND THE CROCODILE\n\n\n\u201cIt is no use trying to live here any longer,\u201d thought the monkey,\nlooking down, from his home in the tree, at a big crocodile sleeping on\nthe sunlit bank of the river. \u201cWhenever that creature opens his great\nmouth, I shudder to think what might happen if I were near.\u201d\n\nJust then the crocodile yawned. Wider and wider and wider he opened his\nmouth. Away whisked the monkey to the topmost branch of the tree.\n\n\u201cThis very day I shall move farther down the river!\u201d he said.\n\nSo the monkey slipped away to a tree about half a mile distant. There he\nlived peaceably for some time. He was delighted with his new home. The\nwater was cool and clear. In the middle of the stream was an island\ncovered with fruit trees.\n\nIt was very easy to reach the little island. One leap from his tree\nbrought the monkey to the end of a large rock which jutted out into the\nriver; another leap brought him to the island, where he could get a fine\nfeast and frisk about all the day long. In the evening he went back to\nhis home in the great tree on the river\u2019s bank.\n\nOne day he stayed later than usual on the island. When he came to the\nwater\u2019s edge, he looked and blinked and looked and blinked! \u201cHow strange\nthat rock looks!\u201d he said to himself. \u201cSurely it was never so high\nbefore! What can be the matter with it?\u201d Suddenly the monkey\u2019s heart\nbeat very fast. The crocodile was lying on the top of that rock!\n\n\u201cOho! Mr. Crocodile,\u201d thought the monkey, \u201cI see I must put my wits to\nwork very, very quickly indeed if I am to escape from you!\u201d\n\n\u201cGood evening, Big Rock,\u201d he called.\n\nThe crocodile lay very still.\n\n\u201cThis is a fine evening, Big Rock!\u201d called the monkey.\n\nThe crocodile lay very, very still.\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter, Big Rock? You have always been a good friend of\nmine. Why are you so silent this evening?\u201d\n\nThen the crocodile thought, \u201cNow I see I must pretend to be the rock, or\nthe monkey may not come this way to-night.\u201d So with his mouth shut he\nmumbled as best he could, \u201cGood evening, Mr. Monkey.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! Is that you, Mr. Crocodile?\u201d said the monkey, pleasantly. \u201cI\u2019m\nafraid I have awakened you!\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind that,\u201d said the crocodile, raising his head. \u201cCome, make\nyour leap! You cannot escape me this time.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I\u2019m afraid not,\u201d said the monkey, meekly.\n\nAnd all the time he was thinking, \u201cCrocodiles shut their eyes when they\nopen their mouths wide.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome along and make haste, Monkey,\u201d said the crocodile.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m caught, that is sure, for I must leap your way. Well, as you say, I\ncannot escape you, Crocodile. Open your mouth. Oh, wider than that,\nplease, if I am to leap into it. Wider! There! Here I go! Ready!\u201d\n\nBefore the crocodile knew what was happening, the monkey gave three\nbounds\u2014first to the top of the crocodile\u2019s head,\u2014then to the bank,\u2014then\nto his tree. Away he whisked to the topmost branch.\n\n\u201cThank you, Mr. Crocodile,\u201d he called.\n\n\n\n\n                     THE HILLMAN AND THE HOUSEWIFE\n\n\nOne day a hillman knocked at the door of a selfish housewife.\n\n\u201cCan you lend me a saucepan, good mother?\u201d said he. \u201cThere\u2019s a wedding\nin the hill, and all the pots are in use.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs he to have one?\u201d asked the servant girl who had opened the door.\n\n\u201cAy, to be sure,\u201d said the housewife. But when the maid was taking a\nsaucepan from the shelf, the housewife whispered slyly to her, \u201cDo not\nlend him a good pan; get the old one out of the cupboard. It leaks, and\nthe hillmen are so neat and such nimble workers that they are sure to\nmend it before they send it home. So one does a good turn and saves\nsixpence from the tinker.\u201d\n\nThe maid fetched the old saucepan which had been laid by till the\ntinker\u2019s next visit and gave it to the dwarf, who thanked her and went\naway.\n\nThe saucepan was soon returned neatly mended and ready for use. At\nsupper time the maid filled the pan with milk and set it on the fire for\nthe children\u2019s supper, but in a few minutes the milk was so burned and\nsmoked that no one could touch it. Even the pigs would not drink the\nwash into which the milk was thrown.\n\n\u201cAh, you good-for-nothing girl!\u201d cried the housewife as this time she\nfilled the pan herself. \u201cYour careless ways would ruin the richest.\nThere\u2019s a whole quart of milk spoiled at once.\u201d\n\n\u201cA quart of milk costs twopence!\u201d cried a queer small voice from the\nchimney corner.\n\nThe housewife had not left the saucepan for two minutes when the milk\nboiled over and was all burned and smoked as before.\n\n\u201cThe pan must be dirty,\u201d cried the housewife in a rage; \u201cand there are\ntwo full quarts of milk as good as thrown to the dogs. Oh, what dreadful\nwaste!\u201d\n\n\u201cTwo quarts of milk cost fourpence!\u201d cried the queer small voice.\n\nAfter a long scrubbing, the saucepan was once more filled with milk and\nset on the fire, but in a little while the milk was burned and smoked\nagain.\n\nThe housewife burst into tears at the waste, and cried out, \u201cNever\nbefore did such a thing happen to me since I kept house! Three quarts of\nmilk burned for one meal.\u201d\n\n\u201cThree quarts of milk cost sixpence!\u201d cried the queer small voice. \u201cYou\ndidn\u2019t save the tinker after all!\u201d\n\nThen the hillman himself came tumbling down the chimney and went off\nlaughing through the door. But from that time the saucepan was as good\nas any other.\n\n\n\n\n                           THE FISHING PARTY\n\n\nOne clear, warm evening about sunset Brother Rabbit was walking down a\nroad which led to the old mill. He was saying to himself: \u201cIt has been a\nweek or more since I have had any fun. I do wish something would happen\nto make times a little livelier. I\u2019m\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cA fine sunset, Brother Rabbit! A penny for your thoughts. I do believe\nyou would have passed me without speaking.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood evening, Brother Terrapin,\u201d said the rabbit, stopping and holding\nout his hand in a most cordial way. \u201cI am very glad to see you, for I\nlike your opinion immensely. I\u2019ll tell you what I was thinking about, my\nfriend. I was planning a little fishing party. Come, let us sit down\nhere on the roadside and talk it over.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\nBrother Terrapin replied: \u201cA fishing party! That will be fine sport. We\nshould become very dull indeed in this neighborhood, Brother Rabbit, if\nit were not for your plans. Have you decided whom to invite?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Brother Rabbit, \u201cI think it unwise to invite too many.\nPerhaps five, including ourselves, are enough, because, you see, we must\nkeep very quiet, and if the party is large, there is danger of too much\nmerriment. Have you any particular friend who enjoys fishing?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes, indeed. Brother Bear is very quiet and sensible, and he loves\nto fish for mud turtles,\u201d replied Brother Terrapin.\n\n\u201cWell, I have in mind Brother Fox and Brother Wolf. Look, here they\ncome! What good luck! Let us see what they think about the plan.\u201d And\nthe rabbit danced away up the road to meet his friends and tell them\nabout the fishing party.\n\n\u201cExactly the kind of sport I enjoy most,\u201d said Brother Wolf,\ninterrupting Brother Rabbit. \u201cI\u2019ll fish for hornyheads. Come, Brother\nFox, what do you say?\u201d\n\n\u201cFirst, I wish to thank Brother Rabbit for his kind invitation,\u201d said\nBrother Fox, politely. \u201cOf course, you all know that I shall fish for\nperch, and I think I shall use a dip net. Good evening, Brother\nTerrapin. What an interesting party ours will be. What will you fish\nfor?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d laughed Brother Terrapin, \u201cminnows suit my taste very well.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right,\u201d said Brother Rabbit. \u201cNow let us meet at the mill pond\nabout eight o\u2019clock this evening. Brother Terrapin, may I trouble you to\nbring the bait? The others will each bring a hook and line, and, Brother\nFox, please do not forget your fine dip net. About twelve o\u2019clock you\nare all invited to a fish supper at my house. Don\u2019t forget the time and\nplace of meeting. Farewell.\u201d\n\nAll hurried away to prepare for the evening\u2019s amusement, and, at the\nappointed time, the five merry brothers met at the mill pond.\n\nBrother Rabbit was very anxious to begin; so he baited his hook and\nstepped up to the very edge of the water. Then he stopped suddenly,\nlooked straight down into the pond, dropped his fishing pole, and\nscratched his head.\n\n\u201cMercy!\u201d said Brother Fox. \u201cWhat in the world is the matter with Brother\nRabbit? Let us slip up to him and see what is the trouble. Come, all\ntogether.\u201d\n\nBut Brother Rabbit turned and walked toward them, shook his head\nseriously, and said: \u201cNo fishing to-night, my friends. We might as well\ngo home.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is it? What did you see?\u201d began the bear, the fox, and the wolf.\nBrother Terrapin crept up to the edge of the pond, looked straight into\nthe water, jumped back, and said, \u201cTut, tut, tut! To be sure! To be\nsure!\u201d\n\n\u201cCome, come, tell us. We cannot bear this suspense,\u201d snapped the fox.\n\nThen Brother Rabbit said slowly, \u201cThe moon has dropped into the mill\npond, and if you don\u2019t believe me, go and look for yourselves.\u201d\n\n\u201cImpossible!\u201d cried Brother Bear.\n\nThey all crept up to the edge of the pond and looked in and there they\nsaw the golden moon right down in the clear water.\n\n\u201cIsn\u2019t that too bad?\u201d said Brother Wolf.\n\n\u201cWell, well, well,\u201d sighed Brother Fox; and Brother Bear shook his head\nslowly and said, \u201cThe impossible has happened!\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, I\u2019ll tell you something,\u201d began the rabbit, who was not to be\neasily daunted, \u201cwe must get that moon out of the water before we begin\nto fish. I tell you truly no fish will bite while that great golden ball\nis near.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, Brother Rabbit,\u201d said the wolf, \u201ccan\u2019t you make a suggestion in\nthis matter? You usually know what to do.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have it, my friends,\u201d said the rabbit jumping up and down. \u201cI have\nit! I know where I can borrow a sieve. I\u2019ll run and get it and then we\ncan dip up the moon in no time. We\u2019ll have our fishing party yet!\u201d and\noff he ran.\n\nBrother Terrapin was thinking. In a little while he looked up and said,\n\u201cMy friends, I have often heard that there is a pot of gold in the\nmoon.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d said Brother Fox, quickly.\n\n\u201cI was saying that my grandmother has often told me that there is a pot\nof gold in the moon. But here comes Brother Rabbit with the sieve.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy good friend,\u201d said Brother Fox, \u201cyou were kind enough to go after\nthat sieve and now you must let Brother Bear, Brother Wolf, and myself\ndo the work. No, don\u2019t take off your coat. You are such a little fellow\nthat it would be dangerous for you to go into the water. You and Brother\nTerrapin stand here on the bank and watch us. Come, give me the sieve.\u201d\n\nSo Brother Terrapin and Brother Rabbit stood on the bank and watched the\nothers wade into the pond.\n\nThey dipped the sieve down once. \u201cNo moon,\u201d said Brother Bear.\n\nAgain they dipped. \u201cNo moon,\u201d said Brother Wolf.\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d said Brother Fox, \u201cwe must go farther in.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, do be careful, my friends,\u201d called the rabbit, \u201cyou are near a very\ndeep hole.\u201d\n\nBuzz, buzz! The water was roaring in Brother Bear\u2019s ears and he shook\nhis head violently. Down went the sieve again.\n\n\u201cNo moon,\u201d sighed Brother Fox. \u201cA little farther out, friends. Now, down\nagain with the sieve.\u201d\n\nSplash! Splash! Splash! Down they all went with the sieve. They kicked\nand tumbled and splashed as if they would throw all the water out of the\nmill pond. Then they swam for the shore and all came out dripping wet.\n\u201cNo moon,\u201d said Brother Fox, sulkily. \u201cWhat! No moon? Well, well, well!\u201d\nsaid Brother Rabbit.\n\n\u201cToo bad! Too bad!\u201d said Brother Terrapin.\n\n\u201cMy friends,\u201d said the rabbit, seriously, \u201cI think you ought to go home\nand put on some dry clothes. I do, indeed. And I hope we shall have\nbetter luck next time. Good night.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n                           THE FOREST BAILIFF\n\n\nOnce upon a time a peasant owned a cat which was so disagreeable and\nmischievous that all the neighbors complained about him. Finally the\npeasant became impatient and said to his wife, \u201cI have decided to get\nrid of our cat. He is such a nuisance that I feel we ought not to keep\nhim any longer.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not blame you,\u201d replied his wife. \u201cMy patience, too, is worn out\nlistening to the stories told about that mischievous animal.\u201d\n\nIn a few days the peasant put the cat into a large sack and walked far\ninto a leafy forest. Then he opened the sack and let the cat bound away.\nHow many interesting things there were in the depths of the beautiful\nwood! After wandering about for a few hours the cat began to feel quite\nat home, especially when he found a little deserted cabin where he took\nup his abode and dined bountifully on mice and birds.\n\nOne day when Master Cat was walking proudly along a path which led to a\npond, he met Miss Fox, who looked at him with great interest and\ncuriosity. When she came close enough to be heard, she said, \u201cYour\npardon, good sir, but may I ask who you are, and why you are walking in\nthe forest?\u201d\n\nMaster Cat raised his head very high and replied proudly: \u201cI am the\nbailiff of the forest. My name is Ivan, and I have been sent from\nSiberia to become governor of this vast wood.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, indeed,\u201d said Miss Fox. \u201cDear Master Bailiff, will you not honor me\nwith your presence at dinner? I shall be most proud to entertain such a\ndistinguished guest.\u201d\n\n\u201cLady, I accept your invitation,\u201d replied Master Cat, making a profound\nbow.\n\nNow Miss Fox knew well how to entertain. She not only provided the\ngreatest delicacies for her table, but she chatted in the merriest\nfashion and told the bailiff many interesting things about life in the\nforest.\n\n\u201cMy dear Sir Bailiff, do have another serving of this savory pie. The\nforest, you know, gives one a good appetite,\u201d said she, with a side\nglance at her visitor.\n\n\u201cThank you, dear lady,\u201d returned Master Ivan. \u201cIt is indeed delicious. I\nhave tasted nothing so good for weeks. What a cozy home you have here.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is very comfortable,\u201d replied Miss Fox. \u201cBut I am often a little\nlonely. May I ask, sir, are you married or single?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am single,\u201d replied Mr. Bailiff.\n\n\u201cWhy, so am I,\u201d said his companion, dropping her eyes shyly. \u201cMaster\nIvan, the Bailiff, will you not marry me?\u201d\n\nThe guest was a little astonished, but he finally consented to marry\nMiss Fox. Their wedding was attended with much ceremony, and the bailiff\ncame to live in his wife\u2019s cozy home.\n\nA few days after their marriage Ivan said: \u201cMadam, I am very hungry. Go\non a little hunting trip and bring me home a fine dinner.\u201d Away went the\nwife toward a deep hollow. She had not gone very far when she met her\nold friend the wolf.\n\n\u201cGood morning, my dear friend,\u201d he began. \u201cI have been looking in vain\nfor you in the forest. Do tell me where you have been.\u201d\n\nMadam Fox replied coyly: \u201cOh, I am married, you know. My husband is the\nbailiff of the forest.\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed,\u201d said the wolf. \u201cHow I should like to see his honor, your\nhusband.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat can be managed if you will follow my advice closely. You see, my\nhusband is very ferocious, and unless you do as I say he might devour\nyou. However, I\u2019ll see what can be done. Let me see. You had better get\na lamb and place it on our doorstep. Then hide in the bushes which grow\nnear. When my husband opens the door, you can get a very good look at\nhim,\u201d said Madam Fox, proudly.\n\nThe wolf ran away in search of a lamb, and Madam continued on her way.\nIn a short time she met a bear. \u201cGood day, my good friend,\u201d he said. \u201cI\nhave missed you for some time. May I ask where you have been?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said Madam, \u201cis it possible you have not heard of my marriage with\nIvan, the bailiff of the forest?\u201d\n\n\u201cIs it true? Then I offer you my sincere congratulations! The bailiff of\nthe forest, you say?\u201d said the bear, in a puzzled tone. \u201cMadam, it would\ngive me the greatest pleasure to see his honor, your husband.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Madam, \u201cthat would be a great privilege, but I must tell you\nthat the bailiff is very fierce. In fact, he is likely to devour anyone\nwho does not please him. But perhaps I can help you out a little. Let me\nsee. You had better procure an ox. And be sure to offer your gift very\nhumbly. The wolf, who is also most anxious to see my husband, is going\nto bring a lamb for a present.\u201d\n\nAway went the bear in search of his gift, which he soon found; then he\nhurried clumsily along, and in a little while he met the wolf with a\nlamb.\n\n\u201cGood day to you, my friend,\u201d began the wolf. \u201cMay I ask where you are\ngoing with such a burden?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am going to see the husband of Madam Fox, to whom I shall give this\nox. Will you tell me where you are going?\u201d said the bear.\n\n\u201cWhy, I am bound for the same place, my friend. Madam Fox told me her\nhusband is terrible. He devours anyone who displeases him, so I am\ntaking a lamb for a present.\u201d The wolf\u2019s voice trembled a little as he\ncontinued, \u201cI do hope he will take kindly to me.\u201d\n\nThe friends went on their way, and in a short time they came to the\nhouse of the cat. The wolf pushed the bear a little ahead and whispered,\n\u201cGo, my good comrade, knock on the door and say to the husband of Madam\nFox that we have brought an ox and a lamb as gifts.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d shivered the bear, \u201cI dare not! I am so filled with fear. Indeed,\nindeed, I cannot. You go, good wolf! Do.\u201d\n\n\u201cImpossible,\u201d returned the wolf, in a quaking voice. \u201cI am trembling all\nover. I haven\u2019t strength enough to walk there much less to rap on the\ndoor. Come, let us hide ourselves and bide our time.\u201d\n\nSo the wolf hid himself under some dry leaves, and the bear jumped into\na tree and carefully hid himself among the branches. In a few moments\nMadam Fox and her husband, who had been walking in the forest, came\nhome.\n\n\u201cHow very small the bailiff is,\u201d whispered the wolf.\n\n\u201cHe is, indeed,\u201d gasped the bear, a little scornfully.\n\nThe cat now saw the ox and leaped to the step saying, \u201cOh, a small meal\nfor me.\u201d\n\n\u201cA _small_ meal,\u201d said the bear, with surprise. \u201cHow very, very hungry\nthe bailiff must be! And he is so small, too. Why, a bull is a good meal\nfor four bears. What an immense appetite he must have!\u201d\n\nThe wolf was too much frightened to answer. There was a slight rustling\nsound in the dry leaves and, thinking a mouse was hidden there, the cat\ngave a bound and fastened his claws in the snout of the wolf. With a\ngasp of fear the wolf leaped up and ran away as fast as he could go.\nNow, the cat was very much afraid of a wolf, and so he gave one leap\ninto the tree where the bear lay hidden. \u201cOh, mercy, mercy!\u201d cried the\nbear. \u201cThe cat is after me. He will devour me. Oh, help, help!\u201d and down\nthe tree scrambled the bear. Off he ran, as fast as he could go, after\nthe wolf. Madam Fox screamed out: \u201cMy husband is terrible! He will\ndevour you! He will devour you!\u201d\n\nAway sped the wolf and the bear, and they told their adventure to the\nother animals of the forest, who took good care to stay far away from\nthe terrible bailiff. Meanwhile the cat and the fox were very happy, and\nthey had plenty to eat for a long time.\n\n\n\n\n                       BRUIN AND REYNARD PARTNERS\n\n\nOnce upon a time Bruin and Reynard were to plant a field in common and\nto share the crops in a fair way. \u201cIf you\u2019ll have the root, I\u2019ll take\nthe top,\u201d said Reynard. Bruin thought that plan would do very well.\n\nThe first year they sowed rye. But when they had thrashed out the crop,\nReynard got all the grain and Bruin got nothing but roots and rubbish.\nHe did not like that at all, but Reynard said that was how they had\nagreed to share the crop, and it was fair and right.\n\n\u201cThe tops come to me this year,\u201d said Reynard, \u201cbut next year it will be\nyour turn. Then you will have the tops and I shall have to put up with\nthe roots.\u201d\n\nSpring came and it was time to sow again. Sly Reynard asked Bruin what\nhe thought of sowing turnip seed for the second year\u2019s crop.\n\n\u201cYes, yes,\u201d said Bruin, \u201cwe will have turnips. Turnips are better food\nthan rye.\u201d\n\nReynard agreed with him. Harvest time came. \u201cWe will divide the crops as\nis fair and right,\u201d said Reynard. \u201cI get the roots this time and you get\nthe tops.\u201d So Reynard got all the turnip roots and Bruin the turnip\ntops. When Bruin saw what Reynard had done, he was very angry, and he\nput an end to his partnership with him at once.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                            THE THREE WISHES\n\n\nOnce upon a time in the heart of a forest lived a woodcutter and his\nwife. They were very poor indeed. Their little cabin, built of\nrough-hewn logs, had only one room, which was very scantily and poorly\nfurnished. One day the woodcutter said to his wife,\n\n\u201cHow miserable we are! We work all day, and we have barely enough food\nto keep life in our bodies! Surely there are few who work as hard as we\ndo and have so little!\u201d\n\nThe housewife replied, \u201cYes, indeed, we are very miserable.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I\u2019m off for another day\u2019s work,\u201d sighed the husband. \u201cMy lot is\ntoo hard.\u201d\n\nHe picked up his ax and made his way to the place in the forest where he\nwas to perform his task. Suddenly, a dear little fairy whose face was\nwreathed in smiles danced into the path and stood before him.\n\n\u201cI am the wishing fairy,\u201d she began. \u201cI heard what you said about your\nwork and your life, and my heart aches for you. Now, because I am a\nfairy, it is in my power to grant you three wishes. Ask for any three\nthings you desire and your wishes shall be granted.\u201d The fairy\ndisappeared in the twinkling of an eye, and the woodcutter was left\nstanding alone in the forest. Was he dreaming? He couldn\u2019t believe his\nown senses! He thought of a thousand wishes all in an instant. He would\ngo home and talk the matter over with his wife. He turned in his path\nand retraced his steps to the cabin.\n\n\u201cArt thou ill?\u201d demanded his wife, who came to the door.\n\n\u201cOh, no, indeed, I am not ill; I am very, very happy!\u201d he burst forth.\n\u201cI met a fairy in the forest. She told me that she was very, very sorry\nfor me, and that she would help me by granting three wishes. Think of\nit! Any three wishes in the world will be granted by the charming\nfairy.\u201d\n\n\u201cWonderful!\u201d responded the housewife.\n\n\u201cOh, how happy the very thought of it makes me! Come, let us sit down\nand talk the matter over; for I assure you it is not easy to come to a\ndecision. I am indeed, very, very happy.\u201d\n\nThey drew up their chairs to the little table and sat down.\n\n\u201cI am _so_ hungry,\u201d began the woodcutter. \u201cLet us have dinner, and then,\nwhile we are eating, we can talk about our wishes and see which three\nare nearest our hearts\u2019 desires.\u201d\n\nThey began their humble meal immediately, and the husband continued: \u201cOf\ncourse one of our wishes must be great riches. What do you say?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes, indeed,\u201d said his wife. \u201cI should love a beautiful house to\nlive in, also carriages and fine clothes, and servants and\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, for that matter,\u201d said the husband, \u201cwe could wish for an empire.\u201d\n\n\u201cOr rich jewels, such as great numbers of pearls and diamonds! What a\nwish that would be,\u201d said the wife, whose face was all aglow.\n\n\u201cI have it,\u201d burst forth the woodman, \u201clet us wish for a fine large\nfamily, five sons and five daughters, What say you to that?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d returned his wife, \u201cI think I prefer six sons and four daughters.\u201d\n\nSo they continued weighing one wish with another until they seemed\nalmost in despair about coming to a decision regarding which three\nwishes would be the wisest and best. They finally stopped talking and\nate their simple food in silence. The woodcutter did not seem to relish\nhis soup and dry bread.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d he cried out suddenly, \u201chow I wish I had some nice savory sausage\nfor dinner!\u201d No sooner had the words fallen from his lips than a large\ndish of fine sausages appeared on the table. What a surprise! The two\nwere so astonished that for a few moments they could not speak. Then the\nwife said impatiently:\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean by making such a foolish wish? Do you not see that\nthis dish of sausage means that one wish has been granted and that there\nare but two left? How could you make such a stupid, stupid wish?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d replied the husband, \u201cto be sure I have been foolish. I really\ndid not think what I was saying. However, we may still wish for great\nriches and an empire.\u201d\n\n\u201cHumph!\u201d grumbled the wife, \u201cwe may wish for riches and an empire, but\nwhat about a fine large family? You have certainly been foolish in\nwishing for that horrid sausage. I suppose, however, you prefer sausage\nto a fine family;\u201d and she burst out into tears of lamentation, crying:\n\u201cHow could you? How could you be so foolish? Oh, dear! Oh, dear! How\nvery foolish and stupid you have been.\u201d\n\nFinally her husband lost all patience and cried out: \u201cI\u2019m tired of your\ngrumbling! I wish the sausage were on the end of your nose!\u201d\n\nIn an instant the sausage was fastened to the end of the poor woman\u2019s\nnose. How comical she did look! The husband and wife were so astonished\nthat they could not speak. The poor woman again burst into tears.\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d she cried. \u201cHow could you? How could you? First, you wished for\nsausage, and second, you wished that the sausage were fastened to my\npoor nose. It is terrible. It is cruel. Two wishes have been granted.\nThere remains but one! Oh, dear, dear!\u201d\n\nThe husband, who now saw what a dreadful mistake he had made, said\nmeekly,\n\n\u201cWe may still wish for great riches.\u201d\n\n\u201cRiches indeed!\u201d snapped his wife. \u201cHere I am with this great sausage\nfastened to the end of my nose. What good would riches do me? How\nridiculous I am. It is all your fault. I was so happy at the thought of\ngreat riches, beautiful jewels, and a fine family, and now I am sad and\nmiserable.\u201d She continued to weep so pitifully that her husband\u2019s heart\nwas touched.\n\n\u201cI wish with all my heart that the sausage were not on your nose,\u201d he\nsaid. In an instant the sausage disappeared. There the two sat\nlamenting; but as the three wishes had been granted there is nothing\nfurther to be said.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                              THE PIGTAIL\n\n\n               There lived a sage in days of yore,\n               And he a handsome pigtail wore;\n               But wondered much and sorrowed more\n               Because it hung behind him.\n\n               He mused upon the curious case,\n               And vowed he\u2019d change the pigtail\u2019s place,\n               And have it hanging at his face,\n               Not dangling there behind him.\n\n               Says he, \u201cThe mystery I\u2019ve found.\n               I\u2019ll turn me round,\u201d\u2014He turned him round,\u2014\n               But still it hung behind him.\n\n               Then round and round and out and in,\n               All day the puzzled sage did spin\n               In vain; it mattered not a pin,\n               The pigtail hung behind him.\n\n               And up and down and in and out\n               He turned, but still the pigtail stout\n               Hung dangling there behind him;\n               And though his efforts never slack,\n               And though he twist and twirl and tack,\n               Alas! still faithful to his back\n               The pigtail hangs behind him.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                             THE STONE LION\n\n\nOnce there were two brothers who lived with their mother in a large\nhouse on a farm. Their father was dead. The older brother was clever and\nselfish, but the younger was kind and gentle. The older brother did not\nlike the younger because he was so honest that he never could get the\nbest of a bargain. One day he said to him: \u201cYou must go away. I cannot\nafford to support you any longer.\u201d\n\nSo the younger brother packed all his belongings, and went to bid his\nmother good-by. When she heard what the older brother had done, she\nsaid, \u201cI will go with you, my son. I will not live here any longer with\nso hard-hearted a man as your brother.\u201d\n\nThe next morning the mother and the younger brother started out\ntogether. Toward night when they reached the foot of the hill, they came\nto a hut with nothing in it except an ax which stood behind the door.\nBut they managed to get their supper and stayed in the hut all night.\n\nIn the morning they saw that on the side of the hill near the hut was a\ngreat forest. The son took the ax, went up on the hillside and chopped\nenough wood for a load to carry to the town on the other side of the\nhill. He easily sold it, and with a happy heart brought back food and\nsome clothing to make his mother and himself comfortable.\n\n\u201cNow, mother,\u201d he said, \u201cI can earn enough to keep us both, and we shall\nbe happy here together.\u201d\n\nOne day, in search of timber, the boy went farther up the hill than he\nhad ever gone before. As he climbed up the steep hillside, he suddenly\ncame upon a lion carved from stone.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d thought the boy, \u201cthis must be the guardian spirit of the\nmountain. I will make him some offering to-morrow morning without fail.\u201d\n\nThat night he bought two candles and carried them to the lion. He\nlighted them, put one on each side of the lion, and asked that his own\ngood fortune might continue.\n\nAs he stood there, suddenly, the lion opened his great stone mouth and\nsaid:\n\n\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d\n\nThe boy told him how cruel the elder brother had been; how the mother\nand himself had been obliged to leave home and live in a hut at the foot\nof the hill. When he had heard all of the story, the lion said:\n\n\u201cIf you will bring a bucket here to-morrow and put it under my mouth, I\nwill fill it with gold for you.\u201d\n\nThe next day the boy brought the bucket.\n\n\u201cYou must be very careful to tell me when it is nearly full,\u201d said the\nlion, \u201cfor if even one piece of gold should fall to the ground, great\ntrouble would be in store for you.\u201d\n\nThe boy was very careful to do exactly as the lion told him, and soon he\nwas on his way home to his mother with a bucketful of gold. They were so\nrich now that they bought a beautiful farm and went there to live.\n\nAt last the hard-hearted brother heard of their good fortune. He had\nmarried since his mother and brother had gone away, so he took his wife\nand went to pay a visit to his younger brother. It was not long before\nhe had heard the whole story of their good fortune, and how the lion had\ngiven them all the gold.\n\n\u201cI will try that, too,\u201d he said.\n\nHe and his wife went to the same hut his brother had lived in, and there\nthey passed the night.\n\nThe next morning he started out with a bucket to visit the stone lion.\nWhen he had told the lion his errand, the lion said:\n\n\u201cI will grant your wish, but you must be very careful to tell me when\nthe bucket is nearly full; for if even one little piece of gold touches\nthe ground, great misery will surely fall upon you.\u201d\n\nNow the elder brother was so greedy that he kept shaking the bucket to\nget the gold pieces closer together. And when the bucket was full he did\nnot tell the lion, as the younger brother had done, for he wanted all he\ncould possibly get.\n\nSuddenly one of the gold pieces fell upon the ground.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d cried the lion, \u201ca big piece of gold is stuck in my throat. Put\nyour hand in and get it out. It is the largest piece of all.\u201d\n\nThe greedy man thrust his hand at once into the lion\u2019s mouth and the\nlion snapped his jaws together! And there the man stayed, for the lion\nwould not let him go. And the gold in the bucket turned into earth and\nstones.\n\nWhen night came and the husband did not return, the wife became anxious\nand went out to search for him. At last she found him with his arm held\nfast in the lion\u2019s mouth. He was tired and cold and hungry.\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d she said, \u201cI wish we had not tried to get the gold. There is no\nfood in the hut for us and we shall have to die.\u201d\n\nThe lion was listening to all that was said, and he was so pleased at\ntheir misfortune that he began to laugh at them, \u201cHa, ha, ha!\u201d As he\nlaughed, _he opened his mouth_ and the greedy man _quickly_ drew out his\nhand, before the lion had a chance to close his jaws again. They were\nglad enough to get away, and they went to their brother\u2019s house once\nmore. The brother was sorry for them and gave them enough money to buy a\nhome.\n\nThe younger brother and his mother lived very happily in their beautiful\nhome, but they always remembered the Stone Lion on the hillside, who\ngave them their good fortune.\n\n\n\n\n                       THE STORY THAT HAD NO END\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a king who was so fond of hearing stories\ntold that he would listen to them all day long. He cared for no other\nkind of amusement and he was always angry when the story came to an end.\n\u201cYour stories are too short,\u201d he said to the many story-tellers who\ntried to amuse him. Indeed no one had ever been found who was able to\ntell him a story that lasted long enough.\n\nAll the people of his court had tried again and again to please him.\nSome had told stories that lasted three months, some had told stories\nthat lasted six months, and a few courtiers had been able to carry on\ntheir stories for one whole year. Still the king complained, for sooner\nor later the story was sure to come to an end.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nAt last he sent out the following proclamation to all the people of his\nkingdom:\n\n                              PROCLAMATION\n\n    TO THE MAN WHO WILL TELL ME A STORY WHICH SHALL LAST FOREVER, I\n    WILL GIVE THE PRINCESS, MY DAUGHTER, IN MARRIAGE; ALSO, I WILL\n    MAKE THE SUCCESSFUL ONE MY HEIR AND HE SHALL BE KING AFTER ME.\n    BUT MARK, LET NO MAN PRETEND THAT HE CAN DO SO, AND FAIL; FOR,\n    IF THE STORY COMES TO AN END, THE STORY-TELLER SHALL BE THROWN\n    INTO PRISON. THE KING.\n\nThe king\u2019s daughter was a very beautiful princess, and there were many\nsuitors in the kingdom who came to the court in hope of winning such a\nprize. But it was all of no use. Each tried as hard as he could to spin\nthe story out, but sooner or later it came to an end and the unfortunate\none met the fate the king had threatened.\n\nThis grieved the princess very much, and each time she begged the king\nto lighten the punishment of the poor story-teller who had risked so\nmuch for her sake.\n\nAt last one man sent word to the king that he had a story which would\nlast forever and ever, and that he was ready to come to the court at\nonce. On hearing this the princess sent for the man and warned him of\nhis danger. She begged him not to be so rash as to try the king\u2019s\npatience, for no one had ever pleased his majesty, and she feared he\nwould meet the fate of all those who had tried and failed. But he said\nhe was not afraid, and he asked to be taken at once before the king.\n\n\u201cSo you are the man who is to tell me a story that will have no end?\u201d\nsaid the king.\n\n\u201cIf it please your majesty,\u201d answered the man.\n\n\u201cIf you can do this, you shall be king after me, and you shall marry the\nprincess, my daughter. But if you fail, you shall be cast into prison.\u201d\n\n\u201cI understand, O king. I have a story about locusts which I shall be\npleased to tell you.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well. Begin the story.\u201d\n\nThe story-teller began his tale.\n\n\u201cO king, there was once a ruler who was a great tyrant. He wished to be\nthe richest in the land, so he seized all the corn and grain in his\nkingdom and had it stored away. Year after year he did this until all\nhis granaries were filled full. But one year there came a swarm of\nlocusts and they discovered where all the grain had been stored. After a\nlong search, they found near the top of the granary a very small hole\nthat was just large enough for one locust at a time to pass through. So\none locust went in and carried off one grain of corn; then another\nlocust went in and carried off one grain of corn; then another locust\nwent in and carried off one grain of corn; then another locust went in\nand carried off one grain of corn\u2014\u201d\n\nThus the story-teller went on day after day, week after week, from\nmorning till night. After hearing about the locusts for nearly a year\nthe king became rather tired of them, patient though he was, and one day\nhe interrupted the story-teller with:\n\n\u201cYes, yes, we\u2019ve had enough of those locusts. Let us take for granted\nthat they got all the grain they wanted. Now go on with the story. What\nhappened afterwards?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf it please your majesty, I cannot tell you what happened afterwards\nuntil I have told you all that took place in the beginning. I go on with\nthe story. Then another locust went in and carried off one grain of\ncorn; then another locust went in and carried off one grain of corn.\u201d\n\nAnother month passed by. At the end of this time the king asked\nimpatiently, \u201cCome, sir, how long will it take those locusts to carry\naway all the corn?\u201d\n\n\u201cO king, I cannot tell. They have cleared away but a small space round\nthe inside of the hole, and there are still thousands and thousands of\nlocusts on the outside. Have patience, O king, there are enough grains\nfor each locust to have one, and in time they, no doubt, will all pass\nin and each in turn carry away one grain of corn. Permit me, O king, to\ngo on with my story. Then another locust went in and carried off one\ngrain of corn; then another locust went in and carried off one grain of\ncorn\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cStop, stop,\u201d called out the king at last. \u201cI cannot stand those locusts\nany longer. Take my kingdom, be king after me, marry my daughter, take\neverything, only never let me hear about those ridiculous locusts\nagain.\u201d\n\nSo the story-teller married the princess and succeeded to the throne\nupon the death of the king.\n\n\n\n\n                        THE KING\u2019S RABBIT KEEPER\n\n\nOnce upon a time a king wanted a good rabbit keeper. He made it known\nthroughout the country that he would give not only good pay, but also\nthe hand of the princess, to any youth who could take good care of his\nwonderful rabbits.\n\nNow it happened that an old farmer had three very lazy sons, Jan, Hans,\nand Olaf. They disliked the work on the farm and spent most of their\ntime amusing themselves, or doing as they pleased. When Jan heard that\nthe king wanted a rabbit keeper, he told his father he would go to the\npalace and try to get the place.\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d cried the old man. \u201cThe king does not want an idler. The rabbits\nare brisk and lively and need care every moment. A lazybones like you\ncould never be His Majesty\u2019s rabbit keeper.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I am determined to go. I should like the work better than the\nfarm drudgery,\u201d replied Jan. He filled a bag with things to eat, and a\nfew clothes, and started to the palace of the king. After he had\ntraveled a few miles he heard a voice calling him: \u201cHelp! Help!\u201d Jan\nhurried toward the sound and came to a deep pit. He looked down into it,\nand there was a shriveled old woman. She spoke very sharply to him.\n\u201cPull me up! Pull me up!\u201d she cried. \u201cI have been here for one year, and\nhave had no food in all that time. Pull me up!\u201d\n\n\u201cNot I,\u201d replied Jan. \u201cOnly a witch could live a year in such a place\nwithout food. I\u2019ll have nothing to do with you,\u201d and on he went.\n\nAt length he came to the palace of the king and asked to serve as rabbit\nkeeper. The delighted king said, \u201cHe who guards the rabbits well and\nlets none escape shall have fine food, good pay, and perhaps the hand of\na beautiful princess.\u201d\n\nThe next day Jan took the rabbits into a large field to browse. During\nthe daytime they nibbled the tender grass and stayed together, but when\nthe sun began to set, they darted toward a wood which bordered a meadow\nand they soon became lost in the shadows of the trees. Jan called to\nthem and ran after them until he was out of breath, but he could not\nbring them together. He rested awhile and tried again. It was of no use;\nthey had scattered in every direction. Surely they were playing hide and\nseek, and Jan was not in the game. When he reached the palace, he told\nhis story to the king, who burst into a rage and banished Jan from the\ncountry.\n\nIn a short time the king got another warren of rabbits and again made it\nknown that he wanted a keeper. Jan\u2019s brother, Hans, now determined that\nhe would try to serve the king and perhaps gain the rich reward. Off he\nwalked. He passed the pit and heard the old woman calling for help, but\nhe hurried on without even stopping to see what was the matter with her.\n\nThe king made him keeper of the rabbits, but the first time he took them\nout to browse he failed in his work. All was well during the day, but\nwhen the sun sank, the rabbits scurried away to the woods, and no matter\nwhat he did, Hans could not gather them together again. When he returned\nto the palace without a single rabbit, the furious king banished him,\ntoo, from the country.\n\nA third time the king got beautiful rabbits and made it known that he\nwanted a keeper. \u201cFather,\u201d said Olaf, the youngest of the three\nbrothers, \u201cit is my turn to try. I am sure I could guard the king\u2019s\nrabbits.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt will be the same old story,\u201d said the farmer. \u201cIf you take no better\ncare of the rabbits than you do of the calves, you will share your\nbrothers\u2019 fate.\u201d\n\n\u201cAt any rate I mean to try,\u201d replied Olaf. Throwing his bag over his\nshoulder, he set out for the palace of the king.\n\n\u201cHelp! Help!\u201d called a voice from the field near the road. Olaf ran in\nthe direction of the sound and saw the old woman in the pit.\n\n\u201cWhat can I do for you, my good woman?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cPlease reach me your hand and help me out. I\u2019ve had nothing to eat for\na year and I can\u2019t get out without help.\u201d\n\nOlaf willingly reached down and pulled the old woman up. Then he gave\nher food from his bag and brought her water from a spring. She ate a\nlarge share of Olaf\u2019s store while he good-naturedly looked on. When she\nhad finished, she drew from her pocket a magic horn.\n\n\u201cTake this for your pains,\u201d said she. \u201cIt is a wonderful horn and will\nhelp you in many ways. If you blow into the small end of it, you will\nscatter to the four winds whatever you wish away from you. If you blow\ninto the large end of it, you will bring near you whatever you wish. If\nyou should lose it, or if by chance it should be stolen from you, a wish\nwill bring it back again.\u201d\n\n\u201cA wonderful help it will be to me,\u201d said Olaf, as he took it eagerly\nfrom the old woman\u2019s hand.\n\nHe sauntered on again, and after some time he came to the palace of the\nking. The rabbits were put into his charge, and Olaf\u2019s heart beat high\nwhen he thought of the princess he might win.\n\nThe next morning he took the rabbits out into the meadow. They danced\nabout in high glee for several hours. But about noon, Olaf noticed two\nof them scamper away to the woods. These two were soon followed by\nothers. \u201cVery well,\u201d said Olaf, \u201cgo away from me if you like.\u201d He blew\ninto the small end of the magic horn, and then cried out, \u201cBe off, every\none of you!\u201d and away they scattered in every direction.\n\nOlaf then ate his noonday lunch and stretched himself out for a nap on\nthe soft green bank. When he awoke, the sun was low in the west. He took\nup the magic horn and blew into the large end of it. From every\ndirection came the frisky rabbits dancing and hopping about him. Olaf\ncounted them and was well pleased to find exactly the right number. When\nhe reached the palace with the rabbits, he saw that the king, the queen,\nand the princess were on the lookout for him. Also he noticed that each\none counted the rabbits and then glanced at the others in wonder.\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d sighed the princess, \u201chow I wish he were of noble birth! But a\nfarmer\u2019s lad! Dear me!\u201d\n\nDay after day Olaf took the rabbits out to browse in the meadow. At noon\nhe scattered them in the deep wood, and when the sun began to sink\nbehind a distant hill, he gathered them together and led them back to\nthe palace.\n\nThe king was very much puzzled and determined to send a servant to spy\nupon Olaf. With greatest care the servant slipped into the field and\nnoticed Olaf asleep on the soft green bank near the edge of the wood.\nThe servant hid himself in the low underbrush of the wood and waited\nuntil evening. At sunset, Olaf awoke, drew out his magic horn, gathered\ntogether the rabbits, and led them back to the palace. The servant\nexplained to the king what he had seen, and the king told his queen and\nthe princess. \u201cI shall steal his horn while he is asleep in the meadow,\u201d\nsaid the princess, \u201cfor I am determined not to marry a common farmer\u2019s\nson.\u201d\n\nThe next day she stole carefully to Olaf\u2019s side while he lay asleep and\ntook the magic horn from his pocket. She had not reached the palace\nbefore Olaf awoke and thought of his rabbits. But where was his horn? He\nsearched about the banks in vain. \u201cOh, how I wish I had my magic horn!\u201d\nhe cried. No sooner had he made his wish than he found the horn in his\nhands. He blew into the larger end of it and again the rabbits danced\nand frisked about him ready to return.\n\nNow the queen thought she would try her skill in getting Olaf\u2019s horn.\nShe had no trouble in getting it from his pocket, but as she neared the\npalace, the horn slipped away from her. In the evening, Olaf returned\nwith his flock as usual.\n\n\u201cI see that I must do the thing myself,\u201d muttered the king. \u201cThat\nfarmer\u2019s lad shall not outwit me. I\u2019ll tie the horn in one of my hunting\nbags to make sure of it.\u201d\n\nAnxiously the queen and princess awaited the king\u2019s return. At last he\ncame, untied the bag, and reached in for the horn. Alas! it had\ndisappeared. And there in the distance came Olaf and the rabbits. The\nking sent word for Olaf to appear before the royal family. \u201cTell me\nabout that horn of yours. Where did you get it? Hasn\u2019t it magic power?\u201d\nsaid the king, impatiently.\n\n\u201cSire, it is a magic horn,\u201d began Olaf.\n\n\u201cProve it,\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cI would rather not,\u201d said Olaf.\n\n\u201cDo as I bid you, without a word!\u201d roared the king, becoming red with\nanger.\n\nOlaf raised the little end of his horn to his lips and blew a strong\nblast, while secretly he made a wish. In a moment the royal family\nscattered in all directions.\n\n\u201cBring us back! Bring us back! How dare you? I\u2019ll have you punished for\nthis!\u201d roared the king, as he tumbled into the distance.\n\nOlaf blew into the big end of his horn and instantly the royal family\nwere back at the palace. The king, in a rage, tried to seize Olaf, but\njust then the rabbit keeper raised the small end of the horn to his\nlips.\n\n\u201cHold, hold!\u201d cried the king. \u201cI will do you no harm if you will keep\nthat wicked horn from your lips. I would rather give up half my kingdom\nthan take another flighty trip. You are a wonderful lad and the best of\nrabbit keepers. The reward is yours.\u201d\n\nIn a short time there was a beautiful wedding at the palace. Olaf had\nwon the princess.\n\n\n\n\n                           THE LEAPING MATCH\n\n\nA flea, a grasshopper, and a frog once wanted to see which one of them\ncould jump the highest. So they made a festival and invited the whole\nworld and everybody else besides, who would like to come, to see the\nfrolic. When the people assembled to see the contest they all admitted\nthat these three famous jumpers were indeed well worth seeing.\n\n\u201cI will give the princess, my daughter, to the one who can jump the\nhighest,\u201d said the king. \u201cThe champion in such a trial of skill must be\nrewarded.\u201d\n\nThe flea was the first to come forward. His manners were perfect and he\nbowed to the company on every side, for noble blood flowed in his veins;\nand, besides, he had been accustomed to associating with human beings,\nwhich was much to his advantage.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe grasshopper came next. The green uniform, which he always wore, set\noff his figure very well. He carried himself with great dignity, for he\nbelonged to a very old Egyptian family, he said, and was highly thought\nof in the house in which he lived.\n\nIn fact when he was brought out of the fields he was put into a card\nhouse, three stories high. The colored sides of the cards were turned in\nand the doors and windows were cut out of the Queen of Hearts. \u201cIt was\nbuilt on purpose for me,\u201d he said, \u201cand I sing so well that sixteen\ncrickets who had chirped all their life, and still had no card house to\nlive in, were so angry at hearing me that they grew thinner than they\never had been before.\u201d\n\nIn this way the flea and the grasshopper went on with their long\npraises, each thinking himself quite an excellent match for the\nprincess.\n\nThe frog said nothing, but his silence only made the people think he\nknew a great deal, and the house dog who sniffed at him walked away with\nan air of approval.\n\nThe old counselor who had issued three orders for keeping quiet, said at\nlast, that the frog was a prophet, for one could tell from his back\nwhether the coming winter would be severe or mild. Such wisdom could\nnever be gained from the back of the man who writes almanacs.\n\n\u201cI shall say nothing,\u201d said the king, \u201cbut I have my own opinion; for I\nsee everything.\u201d\n\nAnd now the leaping match began. The flea jumped first. He jumped so\nhigh that no one could see what had become of him. So the people said he\ndid not jump at all. How shameful it was of him after all his boasting!\n\nThe grasshopper jumped only half as high; but he jumped right into the\nking\u2019s face. This act the king thought extremely rude.\n\nThe frog stood still for a long time; some began to think that he did\nnot mean to jump at all.\n\n\u201cPerhaps he\u2019s ill,\u201d said the house dog; so he went up to sniff at the\nfrog again; when \u201cpop\u201d he made a side jump which landed him right into\nthe lap of the princess, who was sitting on a little golden stool.\n\n\u201cThere is nothing in the world higher than my daughter,\u201d called out the\nking. \u201cThe frog has made the highest jump that can be made. Only one who\nhas a good mind could have done anything so clever as that.\u201d And so the\nleaping frog won the princess.\n\n\u201cI jumped the highest,\u201d said the flea, \u201cin spite of what the king said,\nbut the decision does not matter to me. The princess may have that\nheavy, stiff-legged, ugly creature if he\u2019s to her taste. Dullness and\nheaviness win in this stupid world. I\u2019m too light and airy.\u201d So the flea\nwent into foreign lands.\n\nThe grasshopper sat down upon a green bank and thought about the world\nand its ways. \u201cYes,\u201d he said to himself, \u201cdullness and heaviness do win\nin this stupid world. People care most about fine looks nowadays.\u201d Then\nhe began to sing in the grasshopper way; and from his song we have taken\nthis little story.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                           THE CLEVER TURTLE\n\n\nA turtle lay upon a large rock sunning himself. His eyes were turned\ntoward the palace of the king which overlooked the beautiful river. He\ncould hear the merry voices of the little princes playing in the royal\ncourtyard.\n\n\u201cWhat happy times they have!\u201d thought the turtle. \u201cI have heard that\nthere is a lovely little lake in the princes\u2019 playground, where they\nhave fine fun, swimming and sailing tiny boats. How dull it is living\nout here on the rocks! I\u2019m sure I should be happier if I lived in a\nroyal courtyard.\u201d\n\nAt that moment the turtle was startled by the voices of two men who were\ncarrying fishing nets and large buckets to the river. He slipped under\nthe rock and lay very still and listened.\n\n\u201cYou see,\u201d said one of the men, \u201cwe are to put the fishes into the\ncourtyard lake and surprise the young princes. His majesty, the king,\nheard them wish that fishes swam in their lake, and he decided to\nsurprise them.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow happy they will be in the morning!\u201d replied the other man. \u201cCome,\nlet us climb to the edge of these rocks and throw our nets into the\nriver. Then we will draw them in, empty the fishes into those buckets,\nand carry them to the courtyard lake this evening.\u201d\n\nWhen the turtle heard that some of his neighbors were to live in the\nroyal courtyard, he was very jealous indeed!\n\n\u201cFishes are such stupid creatures!\u201d he said to himself. \u201cHow much more\ndelight a turtle would give those young princes. I\u2019ll not live on this\nrock any longer. I\u2019ll slip very quietly into one of those buckets, and\nthe men will carry me into the royal courtyard. They will never notice\nme. Fishes for the delight of royalty! It is absurd!\u201d\n\nThe next morning the little princes took their sailboats and ran to the\nlake in the courtyard.\n\n\u201cSee, see!\u201d cried one of them. \u201cOur wish has come true! There are fishes\nswimming about in the water. Oh, what fun?\u201d\n\n\u201cCome away! Come, come, brother!\u201d shouted the other little prince in\nterror. \u201cSee, there is a demon on the bank! Perhaps the fishes belong to\nhim! Come!\u201d\n\nTo the turtle\u2019s great surprise off ran the lads, crying out, \u201cA demon\nhas come to live on the bank of our lake!\u201d\n\nWhen the king saw how frightened the princes were, he ordered an\nattendant to capture the demon and bring him to the palace. So, before\nthe poor turtle could make up his mind what to do, he was caught and\nbrought before the king.\n\n\u201cHow shall we kill him?\u201d asked an attendant.\n\n\u201cThrow him into the fire,\u201d said one.\n\n\u201cDrop a large rock on his head and crush him,\u201d said another.\n\n\u201cOh, that would not do,\u201d said one of the princes. \u201cSee! He has pulled\nhis head inside that shell back of his. Perhaps his back is too strong\nto be crushed by a rock.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have it,\u201d said an old servant who was afraid of the water, \u201clet us\nfling him over the rocks into the river. Then he will be swept away into\nthe sea and drowned.\u201d\n\nIn a twinkling out came the turtle\u2019s head.\n\n\u201cMy friends,\u201d he said, \u201cpray do not throw me into the river that flows\nto the great wide sea! Of all your plans to punish me, that is the\nworst! Burn me, or crush me if you will, but do not throw me into the\nriver that flows to the great wide sea! I shudder at the thought of it.\u201d\n\n\u201cTake the demon to the rocks and throw him into the river,\u201d said the\nking.\n\n\u201cHa! ha! ha!\u201d laughed the turtle when he whirled about in the water and\nswam back to the friendly rocks where he had lived so long.\n\n\n\n\n                            ROBIN GOODFELLOW\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n              From Oberon, in fairy land,\n              The king of ghosts and shadows there,\n              Mad Robin, I, at his command,\n              Am sent to view the night sports here.\n                What revel rout\n                Is kept about\n              In every corner where I go,\n                I will o\u2019ersee\n                And merry be,\n              And make good sport, with ho, ho, ho!\n\n              More swift than lightning can I fly\n              About this airy welkin soon;\n              And, in a minute\u2019s space, descry\n              Each thing that\u2019s done below the moon.\n                There\u2019s not a hag\n                Or ghost shall wag\n              Or cry, \u2018ware goblins! where I go;\n                But, Robin, I,\n                Their feats will spy\n              And send them home with ho, ho, ho!\n\n              Whene\u2019er such wanderers I meet,\n              As from their night sports they trudge home,\n              With counterfeiting voice I greet,\n              And call them on with me to roam;\n                Through woods, through lakes,\n                Through bogs, through brakes,\n              Or else, unseen, with them I go,\n                All in the nick\n                To play some trick,\n              And frolic it, with ho, ho, ho!\n\n              Sometimes I meet them like a man,\n              Sometimes an ox, sometimes a hound;\n              And to a horse I turn me can,\n              To trip and trot about them round.\n                But if to ride,\n                My back they stride,\n              More swift than wind away I go,\n                O\u2019er hedge and lands\n                Through pools and ponds\n              I hurry laughing, ho, ho, ho!\n\n              By wells and rills in meadows green\n              We nightly dance our heyday guise;\n              And to our fairy King and Queen\n              We chant our moonlight minstrelsies.\n                When larks \u2018gin sing\n                Away we fling;\n              And babes new born steal as we go;\n                And elf in bed,\n                We leave instead,\n              And wend us, laughing ho, ho, ho!\n\n              From hag-bred Merlin\u2019s time have I\n              Thus nightly revel\u2019d to and fro;\n              And for my pranks men call me by\n              The name of Robin Goodfellow.\n                Fiends, ghosts, and sprites\n                Who haunt the nights,\n              The hags and goblins do me know;\n                And beldames old\n                My feats have told,\n              So _vale, vale_, ho, ho, ho!\n\n\n\n\n                             MERLIN\u2019S CRAG\n\n\nOne evening the master of a fine estate and a farm laborer were walking\nover the fields. The master said, \u201cTo-morrow I want the peat cut from\nyonder crag, which rises at the end of the moorland.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you mean Merlin\u2019s Crag, master?\u201d asked the laborer.\n\n\u201cYou have been here but a short time. How did you learn that name?\u201d said\nthe master in surprise.\n\n\u201cOne of the old servants told me about it, sir. He said that long, long\nago an enchanter named Merlin lived there. And, master, there is a\nhaunted cave under the crag where\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cNonsense! Pay no attention to the stories servants tell, but see to it\nthat the peat is cut to-morrow,\u201d said the owner impatiently.\n\nThe next afternoon the laborer began to cut the peat which covered the\ncuriously shaped crag. He was about to lift up a piece of turf when,\nsuddenly, there appeared before him the daintiest little creature he had\never seen. She was twelve inches tall and was dressed in a gown of\nsparkling green. She wore red stockings and dainty red sandals with\njeweled buckles. On her head was a tiny, dazzling coronet. Her lovely\ngolden hair rippled down under the crown and over her shoulders.\n\nThe laborer stopped his work and in amazement gazed silently at this\nexquisite little queen. She raised her tiny wand in warning and said in\na silvery small voice:\n\n\u201cNow tell me, pray, what would you think if I should send one of my\npeople to unroof your home? I am out of patience with you mortals! I am,\nindeed. You are selfish creatures. You do anything that pleases you and\nyou consider no one but yourselves.\u201d Here she stamped her tiny sandaled\nfoot and continued, \u201cNow listen to me! Put back that turf this instant,\nor I declare you shall rue the day that you disturbed the roof of\nMerlin\u2019s Crag.\u201d Then she vanished.\n\nThe poor bewildered laborer could hardly believe his senses. He put back\nthe turf exactly where it belonged, took up his spade, and went back to\nhis master.\n\n\u201cWhy, where is the peat?\u201d began the landlord.\n\n\u201cO master,\u201d said the poor man, \u201cthe fairies live in Merlin\u2019s Crag! I\nhave seen the queen, and she warned me not to take the turf from the\ntop. May I cut the peat from the other side of the moor?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean? I believe your senses are wandering, or you would not\nsay such stupid things,\u201d replied the master. \u201cGo back immediately and\ncut all the peat from Merlin\u2019s Crag. Even if the old wizard himself\nappears, you must do as I command.\u201d\n\nThe poor laborer was obliged to obey, so he went back to the crag and\ncut the peat. His heart beat very fast, for every minute he expected the\nfairy to reappear and upbraid him, but strange to say, nothing of the\nkind happened.\n\nExactly one year from the day when the peat was cut from the top of\nMerlin\u2019s Crag, the laborer started on his way home across the fields.\nThe master had given him a present of a can of milk and some cheese for\nhis wife and children; so he whistled a merry tune as he hurried along.\nIn the distance he noticed the queerly-shaped outline of Merlin\u2019s Crag\nagainst a pale amber sky and his thoughts wandered back to the day one\nyear ago. How strange that he had never again seen the exquisite little\nfairy! What a funny threat she had made! As he drew near the crag he\nbegan to feel strangely tired. He seemed to drag his leaden feet, and\nhis eyelids grew heavier and heavier.\n\n\u201cI must rest a bit,\u201d he thought. \u201cHow long the road seems this evening!\u201d\nSo he sat down in a shadow near the crag and fell into a deep sleep.\n\nWhen he awoke, the soft silvery moonlight flooded the fields, and he\nheard distinctly the village bell striking the midnight hour. Then there\nfloated to his ears the happiest ripple of laughter. He rubbed his eyes\nand aroused himself. He heard a sweet, small voice singing:\n\n                   \u201cCome, follow, follow me\n                   Ye fairy elves that be,\n                   Which circle on the green,\n                   Come follow Mab, your queen;\n                   Hand in hand, let\u2019s dance around,\n                   For the place is fairy ground.\u201d\n\nAnd a fairy chorus answered:\n\n                 \u201cO\u2019er tops of dewy grass\n                 So nimbly do we pass,\n                 The young and tender stalk\n                 Ne\u2019er bends when we do walk;\n                 Yet in the morning may be seen\n                 Where we the night before have been.\u201d\n\nRinged about him was a host of dainty fairies singing and dancing, and\nlaughing and pointing wee elfin fingers at him as if he were the\nfunniest object in the whole world. What could it all mean?\n\n[Illustration]\n\nHe determined to break through their circle and make for home, but, when\nhe rose and tried to walk away, the magic green ring and the dancing\nfairies accompanied him and held him prisoner. How the wee folks enjoyed\nhis dilemma! They fairly shrieked with laughter. In a little while the\nqueen, whom he had met before, danced forward and said slyly, \u201cWilt thou\nnot tread a measure, O mortal? Come, thou mayest have our loveliest\nmaiden for a partner. Join our sport, do. Then thou wilt not be so eager\nto depart.\u201d\n\nShe waved her wand to the circle of fairies, and a charming little\ncreature flitted up to him. Before the poor man realized what was\nhappening the wee dancer took one of his fingers in each of her tiny\nhands and away they went, swinging, whirling, waltzing about in the\ngayest manner. The little people shrieked again and again with elfin\nlaughter at the sight of this strange couple treading a measure. All\nnight long the merriment continued.\n\nFinally the moon set behind the dark crag, and rosy streaks broke\nthrough the gray curtain in the east. Then the queen held up her tiny\nwand and said, \u201cCome, the cock is welcoming the dawn.\u201d She led the way\nand the other fairies forced our friend to accompany them. As she drew\nnear the crag a mysterious door opened and the fairies trooped through\ninto a beautiful hall carpeted with velvet moss and dimly lighted by\nglow-worms. On tiny couches the wee people soon fell asleep. Our friend\nthe countryman sat on a fragment of rock in the corner of the hall.\n\nWhen the fairies woke each went, about some special task. Some mixed\nwonderful colors for flower petals, birds\u2019 eggs, and delicate shells,\nothers powdered gold dust for pollen and spun gossamer threads, while\nstill others mixed the most delicious odors for violets, wild roses, and\nhyacinths.\n\nThe countryman was so charmed with the sight that he desired nothing\nmore than the joy of watching these elfin people forever. Toward evening\nthe queen touched his arm with her wand and said,\n\n\u201cYour punishment is over.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d asked our friend.\n\nShe replied, \u201cThe turf you cut from the roof of Merlin\u2019s Crag has grown\nagain. Once more the roof of our hall is whole. You may go back to your\nfriends now. But first you must take a solemn oath that you will never\ndisclose to mortal ears where you have been, or what you have seen. Do\nyou promise?\u201d\n\n\u201cI promise,\u201d said the countryman.\n\nThen the fairy led the way to the cave\u2019s door which opened of its own\naccord, and he passed out into the fields.\n\nAs he made his way to the village, he noticed that the people looked at\nhim in astonishment. When he reached his cottage his wife, who came to\nthe door, drew back in fear and wonder.\n\n\u201cIs it indeed you, my husband?\u201d she cried out. \u201cWhere have you been so\nlong?\u201d\n\n\u201cSo long?\u201d the dazed countryman echoed. \u201cSo long? What do you mean? I\ndon\u2019t understand. Where are the children?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere they are,\u201d said his wife, pointing to a well-grown boy and girl.\n\u201cYou have been gone from us seven years. No wonder you do not know us.\u201d\n\n\u201cSeven years!\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cSeven years do you say? Let me think.\u201d\n\nThen suddenly he knew what the fairy queen meant by his punishment. He\nhad been imprisoned seven long years by the wee folk of fairyland.\n\nHe was besieged with questions when the village people learned about his\nreturn, but he shook his head and said nothing.\n\nHe never explained the mystery of his long absence, but many noticed\nthat there was one name which always made him hasten to change the\nsubject, and that name was\u2014Merlin\u2019s Crag.\n\n\n\n\n                      THE STORY OF LI\u2019L\u2019 HANNIBAL\n\n\nOnce on a time, \u2018way down South, there lived a little boy named\nHannibal, Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal. He lived along with his gran\u2019mammy and his\ngran\u2019daddy in a li\u2019l\u2019 one-story log cabin that was set right down in a\ncotton field. Well, from morning until night, Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal\u2019s\ngran\u2019mammy kept him toting things. As soon as he woke up in the morning\nit was:\n\n\u201cOh, Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal, fetch a pine knot and light the kitchen fire.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal, fetch the teakettle to the well and get some water\nfor the tea.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal, mix a li\u2019l\u2019 hoecake for your gran\u2019daddy\u2019s\nbrea\u2019fus\u2019.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal, take the bunch of turkeys\u2019 feathers and dust the\nashes off the hearth.\u201d\n\nAnd from morning until night, Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal\u2019s gran\u2019daddy kept him\ntoting things, too.\n\n\u201cOh, Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal,\u201d his gran\u2019daddy would say, \u201cfetch the corn and feed\nthe turkeys.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal, take your li\u2019l\u2019 ax and chop some lightwood for\ngran\u2019mammy\u2019s fire.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal, run \u2018round to the store and buy a bag of flour.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal, fetch your basket and pick a li\u2019l\u2019 cotton off the\nedge of the field.\u201d\n\nSo they kept poor little Hannibal toting \u2018most all day long, and he had\nonly four or five hours to play.\n\nWell, one morning when Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal woke up, he made up his mind to\nsomething. Before they could ask him to light the kitchen fire, or fill\nthe teakettle, or mix the hoecake, or dust the hearth, or feed the\nturkeys, or chop any wood, or go to the store, or pick any cotton, he\nhad made up his mind that he was not going to tote for his gran\u2019mammy\nand his gran\u2019daddy any longer. He was going to run away!\n\nSo Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal got out of bed very quietly. He put on his li\u2019l\u2019\ntrousers, and his li\u2019l\u2019 shirt, and his li\u2019l\u2019 suspenders, and his li\u2019l\u2019\nshoes\u2014he never wore stockings. He pulled his li\u2019l\u2019 straw hat down tight\nover his ears, and then Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal ran away!\n\nHe went down the road past all the cabins. He went under the fence and\nacross the cotton fields. He went through the pine grove past the\nschoolhouse, stooping down low\u2014so the schoolmistress couldn\u2019t see\nhim\u2014and then he went \u2018way, \u2018way off into the country.\n\nWhen he was a long way from town, Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal met a possum loping\nalong by the edge of the road, and the possum stopped and looked at\nLi\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal.\n\n\u201cHow do? Where you goin\u2019, Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal?\u201d asked the possum.\n\nLi\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal sat down by the side of the road and took off his straw\nhat to fan himself, for he felt quite warm, and he said,\n\n\u201cI done run away, Br\u2019er Possum, my gran\u2019mammy and my gran\u2019daddy kept me\ntotin\u2019, totin\u2019 for them all the time. I don\u2019t like to work, Br\u2019er\nPossum.\u201d\n\n\u201cPo\u2019 Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal!\u201d said the possum, sitting up and scratching\nhimself. \u201cAny special place you bound for?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t reckon so,\u201d said Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal, for he was getting tired, and\nhe had come away without any breakfast.\n\n\u201cYou come along with me, Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal,\u201d said the possum; \u201cI reckon I\nkin take you somewhere.\u201d\n\nSo the possum and Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal went along together, the possum loping\nalong by the side of the road and Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal going very slowly in\nthe middle of the road, for his shoes were full of sand and it hurt his\ntoes. They went on and on until they came, all at once, to a sort of\nopen space in the woods and then they stopped. There was a big company\nthere\u2014Br\u2019er Rabbit and Br\u2019er Partridge, and Br\u2019er Jay Bird and Br\u2019er\nRobin, and Ol\u2019 Miss Guinea Hen.\n\n\u201cHere\u2019s po\u2019 Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal come to see you,\u201d said the possum. \u201cLi\u2019l\u2019\nHannibal done run away from his gran\u2019mammy and gran\u2019daddy.\u201d\n\nLi\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal hung his head as if he was ashamed, but nobody noticed\nhim. They were all as busy as they could be, and so he just sat down on\na pine stump and watched them.\n\nEach one had his own special work and he was keeping at it right smart.\nBr\u2019er Robin was gathering all the holly berries from the south side of\nthe holly tree and singing as he worked:\n\n                        \u201cCheer up, cheer-u-up!\u201d\n\nBr\u2019er Partridge was building a new house down low in the bushes. As he\nhurried back and forth with twigs, he would stop and drum a little, he\nfelt so happy to be busy.\n\nBr\u2019er Jay Bird was taking corn down below. You know that is what Br\u2019er\nJay Bird does all the time. He takes one kernel of corn in his bill to\nthe people down below and then comes back for another. It is a very long\ntrip to take with one kernel of corn, but Br\u2019er Jay Bird doesn\u2019t seem to\nmind how hard he works.\n\nOl\u2019 Miss Guinea Hen was almost the busiest of the whole company, for she\nwas laying eggs. As soon as ever she laid one she would get up on a low\nbranch and screech, \u201cCatch it! Catch it! Catch it!\u201d like to deafen\neverybody.\n\nBut Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal was most interested to see what Br\u2019er Rabbit was\ndoing. Br\u2019er Rabbit had on a li\u2019l\u2019 apron, and he kept bringing things in\nhis market basket. Then he cooked the things over a fire back in the\nbushes, and when it got to be late in the afternoon, he spread a\ntablecloth on a big stump and then he pounded on his stewpan with his\nsoup ladle. \u201cSupper\u2019s ready,\u201d said Br\u2019er Rabbit.\n\nThen Br\u2019er Robin, and Br\u2019er Partridge, and Br\u2019er Jay Bird, and Br\u2019er\nPossum, and Ol\u2019 Miss Guinea Hen all scrambled to their places at the\ntable and Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal tried to find a place to sit at, but there\nwasn\u2019t any.\n\n\u201cPo\u2019 Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal!\u201d said Br\u2019er Rabbit as he poured the soup. \u201cDoesn\u2019t\nlike work! Doesn\u2019t like to tote for his gran\u2019mammy. Can\u2019t have no\nsupper!\u201d\n\n\u201cCatch him! Catch him!\u201d said Ol\u2019 Miss Guinea Hen, but no one did it.\nThey were all too busy eating.\n\nThey had a grand supper. There was breakfast strip, and roast turkey,\nand fried chicken, and mutton and rice, and hominy and sweet potatoes,\nand peas and beans, and baked apples, and cabbage, and hoe cake, and hot\nbiscuits, and corn muffins, and butter cakes and waffles and maple\nsyrup.\n\nWhen they were through eating, it was dark, and they all went home, and\nthey left Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal all by himself.\n\nWell, after a while it began to get darker. Br\u2019er Mocking Bird came out,\nand he looked at Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal and then he began to scream, just like\nOl\u2019 Miss Guinea Hen,\n\n\u201cCatch him! Catch him! Catch him!\u201d Br\u2019er Screech Owl looked down from a\ntree and he said very hoarsely:\n\n                          \u201cWho! Who! Who-oo!\u201d\n\nThen all the frogs began to say, loud and shrill, \u201cLi\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal! Li\u2019l\u2019\nHannibal!\u201d like they thought he was deaf.\n\nSo Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal got up from his pine stump and he said, \u201cI reckon I\nbetter go home to my gran\u2019mammy.\u201d\n\nWell, Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal started for home slowly, because his feet hurt and\nhe was hungry. When he came to the pine grove by the schoolhouse the\nshadows came out from behind the trees and followed him, and that was\nmuch worse than seeing the schoolmistress. But Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal got away\nfrom them all right. He crawled under the fence and ran across the\ncotton field, and there in the door of the cabin was his gran\u2019daddy with\na lantern. His gran\u2019daddy had been out looking for Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal.\n\n\u201cWhy, Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal, where you been all day?\u201d asked his gran\u2019daddy.\n\n\u201cOh, Li\u2019l\u2019 Han\u2019,\u201d said his gran\u2019mammy, \u201chere\u2019s your corn mush. I kep\u2019 it\nwarm on the hearth, but afore you eat your supper, Li\u2019l\u2019 Han, jus\u2019 take\nyour li\u2019l\u2019 basket and run \u2018round to the chicken house for a couple of\neggs.\u201d\n\nSo Li\u2019l\u2019 Hannibal took his li\u2019l\u2019 basket, and he started for those eggs\nsinging all the way. You see, he reckoned he was mighty glad to be at\nhome, and toting again.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                      HOW TIMOTHY WON THE PRINCESS\n\n\nOnce upon a time a poor widow and her son Timothy lived in a little\ncottage near a village. One day Tim\u2019s mother said: \u201cTim, my boy, the\nlandlord\u2019s rent must be paid and I haven\u2019t a bit of money in the house.\nI\u2019ve made up my mind to sell one of our three cows.\u201d\n\nTim replied: \u201cAll right! I\u2019ll take the old red cow to the fair in the\nmorning, and sell her for a good price, mother mine.\u201d\n\nBright and early Tim was ready. It was a fine spring morning, and the\nbirds sang merrily in the trees. The hedgerows were white with May\nblossoms. Tim drove the old cow along the mossy green lanes until he\ncame to the village, where a fair was being held.\n\nA great crowd had gathered in a ring near the main road, and Timothy\nhurried there to see what caused the excitement. In the middle of this\nring, on a tiny platform, was a little man with a tiny harp and a tiny\nstool. The dwarf reached down deep into his pocket and brought out a\nbee, all dressed up in a blue suit of clothes with bright buttons and\ngold braid. Perched on one side of his head was a cunning little cap\nwhich matched his suit. Again the little man reached down into his\npocket and drew out a cockroach and a tiny mouse.\n\nThe cockroach was dressed in a very full skirt of flowered silk, a lace\nbodice, and bright panniers of velvet. On her head was a dainty bit of a\nhat wreathed with flowers.\n\nThe little mouse wore a dress suit and a tall silk hat. At a sign from\nthe little man, the bee jumped on the stool and began to play a tune on\nthe harp. Then Mr. Mouse bowed to Miss Cockroach. She courtesied\ngracefully, and the two began to waltz to the music.\n\nNow the moment they began to dance every man and woman, youth and maid,\njoined them. Soon everything in sight, pots and pans, pigs and cows,\nducks and hens, began to reel about as if they had all gone mad! The old\ncow began to whirl round and round, and then Timothy started. His feet\nkept time to the music which grew louder and faster as the sport\nproceeded. In a short time the little man picked up the harp, stool, and\nanimals and put them back into his pocket.\n\nInstantly, everybody and everything came to a standstill! Then such a\nroar of laughter burst forth as was never heard before. The people\nlaughed until their sides ached, and Timothy\u2019s voice was heard above all\nthe others. The little man walked up to him.\n\n\u201cWhat do you think of that for sport?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cOh, indeed, it was fine fun, sir,\u201d answered Tim.\n\n\u201cAnd how would you like to own my little animals?\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cLike to own them, sir? Indeed I should, but I have no money, nor have I\nany way of getting it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll tell you how to make a good bargain though,\u201d said the little man,\ncoming closer. \u201cI\u2019ll trade you the harp and my musician, the bee, for\nthe cow you\u2019ve brought to the fair to sell. Come, what do you say to\nthat?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, how I should like to have them, sir! But mother must have money for\nthe landlord. She is very sad and downhearted because we cannot pay the\nrent.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, yes, but think how the tiny musician will make her laugh, my boy.\nShe needs cheering,\u201d persuaded the little man.\n\n\u201cSo she does, sir,\u201d said Tim. \u201cI\u2019ll trade with you.\u201d\n\nThe little man took the cow and disappeared, and Timothy put the harp,\nthe stool, and the bee into his pocket and went home.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ve sold the cow, my boy?\u201d said his mother, anxiously. \u201cHow much\nmoney did you get for her?\u201d\n\n\u201cMoney, mother! I got something much better than money,\u201d said Tim,\nexcitedly.\n\nThen out of his pocket he took the harp, the stool, and the bee, and set\nthem on the floor. After a deep bow the bee seated himself on the stool,\ncocked his head on one side, and began to play a lively tune. The little\nfellow looked so comical that Timothy\u2019s mother couldn\u2019t keep a straight\nface. She burst into a peal of laughter. The lad joined her, and then\nthe pots and the pans, the table and chairs, everything in the house\nbegan to reel and jig. Tim and his mother began to hop up and down in\nthe funniest manner. This kept on for some time, and then Tim took up\nthe harp, the stool, and the bee, and put them into his pocket. In a\nsecond, everything quieted down. Tim\u2019s mother, however, kept on laughing\nfor some minutes. Finally she stopped, and then she grew very angry.\n\n\u201cWhat a foolish bargain you\u2019ve made!\u201d she cried. \u201cHere we are without\nfood or money, and you have traded the red cow for such worthless toys!\nOh, what shall I do? You must go back to the fair and sell the white\ncow, I suppose. See that you keep your wits about you this time.\u201d\n\nEarly next morning Timothy started to the fair, driving the white cow.\nThey soon arrived, and there in the main road he saw a big crowd\ngathered. He pushed forward to see what was going on. In the middle of\nthe ring stood the little man with twinkling eyes. His mouth was screwed\nup in a very queer way, and he was whistling. The mouse and the\ncockroach were dancing an Irish jig; bowing, reeling, scraping,\ncourtesying in the finest manner. Tim\u2019s heart beat fast at the sight.\nSoon everybody and everything in the fair began to imitate the movements\nof the queer little creatures. Men and women, youths and maidens, pots\nand pans, carts and gigs, all hopped about and jigged exactly like the\nmouse and the cockroach; even the stalls and the buildings seemed to hop\nup and down in time with the music. In a little while the tiny man\nstopped whistling, picked up the little animals, and put them into his\npocket. Then there was no more dancing, but everybody burst into a\nhearty roar of laughter. How they did laugh! The little man now spied\nTim.\n\n\u201cAh, my lad,\u201d he said, \u201cwouldn\u2019t you like to own those wonderful little\ncreatures?\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed I should, sir, but I have no money,\u201d said Tim, shaking his head.\n\n\u201cOh! that makes no difference, I\u2019ll trade with you again. Give me the\nold white cow, and I\u2019ll give you the mouse.\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed I can\u2019t, sir. Mother is so sad because we can\u2019t pay our rent or\nbuy any food. I must get money to pay the landlord,\u201d replied Tim,\nlooking longingly at the little man\u2019s pocket.\n\n\u201cOh, stuff and nonsense! Better be lighthearted than rich! What will\ncheer her like the sight of my little gentleman mouse dancing to the\nmusic of your musician, the bee?\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right, sir,\u201d answered Tim, meekly, and he traded the white cow for\nthe mouse.\n\nWhen he reached home, his mother cried out, \u201cYou\u2019ve sold the cow, my\nboy?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow much money did you get?\u201d\n\nTimothy said not one word, but took the mouse, the harp, and the bee out\nof his pocket and put them on the floor. Tim began to whistle. The bee\naccompanied him with beautiful chords on the harp. After a grand\nsweeping bow the mouse fell into a gay Irish jig. Soon everything in the\nhouse seemed to be hopping and jigging about. Even Tim and his mother\ncould not hold their feet still. In a little while Tim took up the\nmouse, the bee, and the harp and put them into his pocket. Then\neverything quieted down except the peals of laughter which his mother\ncould not stop. She laughed and laughed until her sides ached. After\nsome time she began to look serious; then she grew very, very angry.\n\n\u201cTim, you are the most foolish boy in the whole world,\u201d she began. \u201cHow\ncould you take such worthless toys for our fine old white cow? Oh, dear.\nWhat shall I do? There is no money, and the landlord will turn us out.\nThe old spotted cow must go, I see. Take her to the fair to-morrow and\nsee you bring back _nothing_ but money.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll do that mother,\u201d said Tim. His intentions were good, but alas!\nwhen he reached the fair, there was the little man again with the\ncockroach. He was whistling merrily and the whole fair went jigging and\ndancing about, all led by the lively cockroach. Soon the little man put\nthe tiny, graceful dancer into his pocket. Then, as before, the dancing\nstopped. But the laughter! You should have heard the merry peals in\nevery direction.\n\n\u201cHa, my boy! Here again! You\u2019ve brought me the spotted cow, I see! Good!\nYou ought to have the cockroach to complete your wonders. Take her\nalong.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, sir, I promised mother,\u201d began Tim, \u201cthat\u2014\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cSee her pretty bright dress. Master Mouse and she make a charming\ncouple. How your mother will be cheered when she sees them dancing\ntogether. There is no sight like it. Here you are.\u201d Carefully he lifted\nthe cockroach, and Tim could not resist the offer of such a wonderful\nlittle creature. He put her into his pocket, and the little man\ndisappeared with the spotted cow.\n\nTim hurried home. He slipped into the house. He took out of his pocket\nMiss Cockroach, Master Mouse, Musician Bee, the harp, and the stool, and\narranged them in a corner of the room, telling them to remain quiet\nuntil he came back. Then he went into the kitchen.\n\n\u201cTim, my boy,\u201d cried the mother, \u201chow much money did you get?\u201d\n\n\u201cMother,\u201d replied Tim, \u201cdon\u2019t talk about money. Come with me.\u201d\n\nHe led her into the next room. The minute they entered, Tim began to\nwhistle. The bee joined him with a lively tune on the harp; the mouse\nmade a deep bow, hat in hand, and the cockroach courtesied most\ngracefully. Then the two danced toward each other and began a real Irish\njig, keeping excellent time to the music. Everything in the house joined\nin the merriment, pots and pans, chairs and tables, forks and spoons,\nall went hopping and jigging about in the most comical way. Tim clapped\nhis hands. His mother nodded her head in time with the music and a broad\nsmile spread over her face, although she tried and tried to frown.\nFinally Tim took up the tiny dancers, the musician, and the harp, and\nput them into his pocket. In an instant everything quieted down. Then\nhow Tim\u2019s mother did laugh! She laughed until the tears streamed down\nher cheeks. After some time she quieted herself; then she frowned and\ngrew very angry.\n\n\u201cOh! you foolish, foolish boy,\u201d she began; \u201cyou\u2019ve traded away all my\ncows for those worthless things. Where shall I get money to pay the\nrent? We are much worse off than before. Oh, dear! Oh, dear!\u201d\n\nTim couldn\u2019t bear to hear her cry, and so he took his hat and hastened\nout of doors. He was strolling down the lane toward the distant hills\nwhen suddenly he saw a tiny woman who held up her finger in a very\nmysterious way. Tim politely raised his hat and bowed.\n\n\u201cGood morning!\u201d she said pleasantly. \u201cI thought all gallant youths were\nat the palace of the king.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd why should they be there?\u201d asked Tim astonished.\n\n\u201cOh, haven\u2019t you heard that the king is in great trouble about his\nbeautiful daughter, the princess? She is so sad and downhearted that the\ncourt physicians fear she will die. She hasn\u2019t laughed for years, and\nthe king has sent word throughout the land that he will give the\nprincess in marriage to any youth who can make her laugh three times.\u201d\n\nTim didn\u2019t wait to hear another word. He darted away and ran as fast as\nhe could to the palace. After a time he reached the outer gates, and\ntold the guards who were stationed there why he had come.\n\n\u201cYou had better think twice before you try,\u201d said one of them, \u201cfor the\nking casts all who fail into a dungeon.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo matter, I shall try,\u201d said Timothy.\n\nWord was sent to the king that a new suitor had arrived at the palace.\nThe king commanded the newcomer to appear immediately.\n\n\u201cYou know the penalty if you fail to make the princess laugh three\ntimes?\u201d said his majesty.\n\n\u201cI do, most gracious sire,\u201d replied Tim, bowing very humbly.\n\n\u201cThen, in a short time, be ready to make your trial.\u201d With a gesture the\nking dismissed him.\n\nIn a few minutes a messenger brought word that the king, the queen, the\nsad princess, and attendants were ready for the trial. Tim took out of\nhis pocket the mouse, the cockroach, the bee, the harp, and the stool.\nHe tied them all together with a long string. Then he marched into the\nking\u2019s room, holding the end of the string in his hand. All the queer\nmenagerie followed after him. He looked so comical as he approached that\nthe king, the queen, and the courtiers burst into a hearty laugh. This\nmade the princess lift her bowed head and look. When her eyes fell on\nTim and his string of queer little followers, she threw back her head\nand laughed heartily.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s once,\u201d nodded Tim.\n\nThen he untied the string. Musician Bee at once took his place on the\nstool near the harp. Mr. Mouse made his deepest bow. Miss Cockroach\ncourtesied deep and long. Tim began to whistle. The bee tuned the harp\nand joined him with silvery chords. The mouse and the cockroach stepped\ngracefully in time to the music until they came near each other. Then\nthey began to perform their merry Irish jig. The sight was too much for\nthe king and queen and courtiers. They all burst into such a merry laugh\nthat the castle walls rang. The princess tried to look serious but she\ncouldn\u2019t! She joined the others and they all laughed heartily.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s twice,\u201d said Tim smiling.\n\nThen he began to whistle faster; the bee followed him in time. The mouse\nand the cockroach bowed and jigged and reeled and whirled,\u2014all to no\npurpose. The king, queen, and courtiers laughed heartily, but the\nprincess kept a grave expression. Finally the mouse whirled around on\none heel three times, and on the last turn his tail swept right into the\ncockroach\u2019s mouth. The cockroach started to cough violently. She coughed\nand coughed, and took out her tiny bit of a handkerchief to hold to her\nmouth. When the princess and her ladies saw this, they threw back their\nheads and shrieked with laughter.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s thrice,\u201d said Timothy. \u201cI\u2019ve won the Princess.\u201d\n\nThe king now ordered the courtiers to take Timothy to a royal dressing\nroom. There he was dressed in a satin suit with gold lace trimmings and\nbeautiful ornaments. He looked so handsome in his new clothes that the\nPrincess fell in love with him. A glorious wedding feast was prepared.\nTimothy\u2019s mother came in a wonderful coach drawn by six beautiful white\nhorses. At the wedding, the bee furnished the music; the mouse and the\ncockroach led the dancing; and such was the merriment that the peals of\nlaughter are still ringing in the valley around the palace.\n\n\n\n\n                          THE OVERTURNED CART\n\n\nOne day, as Oh-I-Am, the wizard, went over Three-Tree Common, his shoe\nbecame untied, and he bent down to refasten it. Then he saw Wry-Face,\nthe gnome, hiding among the bracken and looking as mischievous as\nanything. In one hand he held a white fluff-feather. Now these feathers\nare as light as anything, and will blow in the wind; and whatever they\nare placed under, whether light or heavy, they are bound to topple over\nas soon as the wind blows.\n\nAs Oh-I-Am tied his shoe he saw Wry-Face place his fluff-feather\ncarefully in the roadway, and at the same moment there came along\nOne-Eye, the potato wife, with her cart full of potatoes. The cart went\nrumble, crumble, crack, crack, crack, over the leaves and twigs, and\nOne-Eye sang to her donkey:\n\n                         \u201cSteady, steady,\n                         We\u2019re always ready,\u2014\u201d\n\nin a most cheerful voice.\n\nThen the cart came to the fluff-feather, and over it went\u2014crash, bang,\nsplutter; and the potatoes flew everywhere, like rain.\n\nWry-Face, the gnome, laughed to himself so that he ached, and he rolled\nover the ground with mirth. Then he flew away, laughing as he went.\n\nBut One-Eye, the potato wife, was not laughing. Her tears went drip-drip\nas she started to gather her potatoes together. And as to getting her\ncart straight again, she did not know how she was to do it.\n\nBut, when she turned round from gathering together the potatoes, she\nfound that the cart was all right again, since Oh-I-Am the wizard had\nstraightened it for her, and the donkey was standing on his legs, none\nthe worse for his fall.\n\nOh-I-Am looked stern and straight in his brown robe which trailed behind\nhim. He said,\n\n\u201cOne-Eye, have you got all your potatoes together?\u201d\n\nOne-Eye still wept. She said, \u201cNo, I have not found all of them, for\nsome have wandered far. And I must not seek further, for this is market\nday, and I must away to the town.\u201d\n\nAnd she began to gather up the potatoes, and drop them into the cart,\nthud, thud, thud.\n\nOh-I-Am stooped then, and he, too, gathered up the potatoes; and he\nthrew them into the cart, splish, splash, splutter!\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d said One-Eye, \u201cif you throw them into the cart, splish, splash,\nsplutter, you will bruise and break them. You must throw them in gently,\nthud, thud, thud.\u201d\n\nSo Oh-I-Am held back his anger, and he threw the potatoes in gently,\nthud, thud, thud. But, when the potato wife had gone on her way, he flew\nto his Brown House by the Brown Bramble; and he began to weave a spell.\n\nHe put into it a potato, and a grain of earth, and a down from a pillow,\nand a pearl and an apple pip from a pie. And when the spell was ready,\nhe lay down, and fell asleep.\n\nWry-Face had gone round to all the neighbors to tell them the grand joke\nabout One-Eye, the potato wife. Sometimes he told it through the window,\nand sometimes he stood at the door. Sometimes he told it to a gnome who\nwas fine and feathery, and sometimes to one who was making bread. But\nall the time he laughed, laughed, laughed, till he was scarcely fit to\nstand.\n\nNow he did not call at Oh-I-Am\u2019s fine house to tell _him_, not he! And\nit was quite unnecessary, since Oh-I-Am knew the joke already, every\nbit.\n\nOh-I-Am had hidden the spell in his cupboard. When it was evening time,\nhe stole out and laid it by Wry-Face\u2019s door. Then he went home, and went\nto bed.\n\nWry-Face was making a pie for his supper. Suddenly the room became as\ndark as dark. The darkness was not night coming on, for this was summer\ntime and night never came on as quickly as all that.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cDear me, what can be the matter?\u201d thought Wry-Face; for he could barely\nsee to finish making his pie.\n\nThen he heard a little voice from his window, crying, \u201cHere I am,\nWry-Face, here I am!\u201d But he could not go out to see what it was yet\nawhile.\n\nWhen the apple pie was finished and in the oven, Wry-Face ran outside as\nfast as he could. But he did not see the spell which Oh-I-Am had placed\nby his door.\n\nWhat he did see was a great potato plant which had sprung up suddenly\nclose to his window, and was springing up further still, high, high, and\nhigher.\n\n\u201cGood gracious me!\u201d cried Wry-Face in a rage, \u201cI never planted a potato\nplant there, not in my whole life! Now I should just like to know what\nyou are doing by my window?\u201d\n\nThe potato plant took no notice, but went on climbing high, high, and\nhigher, and, ever so far above, he heard a tiny faint voice crying,\n\n\u201cHere I am, Wry-Face, here I am!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I never did!\u201d cried Wry-Face, and he began to weep; for he saw\nthat the potato plant would climb up to his roof and round his chimney\nand he would never be able to get rid of it.\n\nAnd he wept and wept.\n\nAt last he went in, and took his pie out of the oven, and set it in the\npantry, for it was quite done. And he found a spade, and went out, and\nbegan to dig and dig at the root of the potato plant. But his digging\ndid not seem to make any difference, and the evening began to grow\ndarker.\n\nWry-Face fetched his little lamp, which is named Bright Beauty and which\nalways burns without flickering. Then he went on digging, and he dug and\ndug and dug.\n\nAnd when he had dug for hours and hours, so that he was very, very\ntired, the potato plant began suddenly to dwindle and dwindle. It\ndwindled as fast as anything, the leaves disappeared and the stem\ndisappeared and all the horrid stretching arms. They sank down, down,\nand down, till at last there was nothing left at all but\u2014a big brown\npotato!\n\n\u201cWell, I do declare!\u201d cried Wry-Face. \u201cI should like to know what _you_\nhave to do with my fine garden.\u201d\n\nThe potato replied, \u201cI jumped here from the cart of One-Eye, the potato\nwife, and it is quite certain that unless I am taken back to her\nimmediately, I shall start again, growing and growing and growing.\u201d\n\n\u201cDear potato, you must not start growing again,\u201d cried Wry-Face, in a\ngreat way. \u201cTo-night I am so tired, I cannot do anything, but if you\nwill but wait till to-morrow I will take you back to One-Eye, the potato\nwife\u2014I will, indeed.\u201d\n\nAt first the potato would not listen to this at all; but after a while\nit said, \u201cWell, well, I will wait till to-morrow. But remember, if you\ndo not carry me home to One-Eye, the potato wife, to-morrow, I shall\ngrow into a potato _tree_, without a doubt.\u201d\n\nSo Wry-Face carried the potato into his house, and stored it in his bin.\nBut he never noticed the spell which Oh-I-Am had placed by his door.\n\n\u201cI am so tired, I can scarcely yawn,\u201d said Wry-Face. \u201cIt is quite time\nfor me to have my supper and go to bed.\u201d\n\nSo he fetched the apple pie from the pantry and set it upon the table,\nand presently he sat down to his meal.\n\nAnd he forgot for a moment how tired he was, thinking how delightful it\nwas to sit down to a supper of apple pie.\n\nThen he lifted his knife and fork to cut off a large piece, but alas,\nthe fork stuck fast. As for the knife, it would not move either, not an\ninch. Wry-Face began to weep.\n\n\u201cAlack, what has happened to my apple pie?\u201d cried he, and his tears\nfell, round as round.\n\nThen he got upon his feet, and he caught hold of the knife and fork and\npulled and pulled and pulled. And with the last pull the top of the\napple pie came off, sticking to the knife and fork, and Wry-Face saw\nthat within the pie there was not one piece of apple, but\u2014a big brown\npotato!\n\nWry-Face wept again with horror at the sight.\n\n\u201cI should like to know,\u201d cried he, \u201cwhat _you_ are doing in my fine\napple pie?\u201d\n\nThe brown potato replied, as cool as cool, \u201cI am one of the potatoes\nbelonging to One-Eye, the potato wife, and I turned the apples out, that\nI might hide here awhile. But this I must tell you, Wry-Face, unless you\ntake me home to the potato wife immediately, here, in this pie dish, I\nintend to remain.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d cried Wry-Face, \u201cto-night I am so tired I could never find\nOne-Eye; but if you will but wait till to-morrow, I will carry you home\nto the potato wife\u2014I will, indeed.\u201d\n\nAt first the potato would not agree to this at all, but after a while it\nsaid, \u201cVery well, I will wait till to-morrow. But remember, my Wry-Face,\nif you do not carry me home to One-Eye to-morrow, I will creep into\nevery pie you make; and you will die at last of starvation without a\ndoubt.\u201d\n\nSo Wry-Face stored the potato in the potato bin and went supperless to\nbed. And he knew nothing of the spell which Oh-I-Am had placed by his\ndoor.\n\nNow he got into bed, and thought he would go to sleep; but oh, how hard\nthe mattress was! Wry-Face lay this way, then that, but no matter which\nway he lay, he found a great hump just beneath him which was as hard as\nhard, and as nobbly as could be.\n\nWry-Face tossed and tossed till it was nearly morning; and his bones\nwere so sore that he could lie no longer.\n\nThen he pulled the mattress from the bed and cut a great hole in it, and\nwhen he had searched and searched he found in the middle of the\nmattress\u2014a big brown potato!\n\n\u201cThis,\u201d cried Wry-Face, \u201cis why I have not slept the whole night\nthrough!\u201d And he wept like anything.\n\nBut the potato was as cool as cool.\n\n\u201cI belong,\u201d it said, \u201cto One-Eye, the potato wife; and let me tell you,\nmy little gnome, unless you take me to her immediately, I shall climb\ninto your mattress again, and there I shall remain.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d cried Wry-Face, \u201cI have tossed about for hours and hours and am\ntoo tired to do anything. But if you will wait till to-morrow, dear\npotato, I will carry you to One-Eye, the potato wife\u2014I will, indeed.\u201d\n\nAt first the potato was unwilling to listen to this, but after a while\nit said, \u201cVery well, then, I will wait till the morning. But this much I\nknow, my Wry-Face, if you do not carry me then to One-Eye, the potato\nwife, I shall get into your mattress and you shall roll again _every\nnight_.\u201d\n\nSo Wry-Face put the potato in the bin. When he had done that he went to\nbed, and slept and slept.\n\nWhen the sun was shining he awoke, and he remembered that he had to\ncarry the potatoes back to One-Eye, the potato wife; and he was as cross\nas anything.\n\n\u201cWell, I suppose I must,\u201d he said. And when he had had his breakfast, he\nwent to his cupboard to get a sack.\n\nThen he found that his sack was full of pearls which he had gathered\ntogether for Heigh-Heavy, the giant, whose daughter, So-Small, he wished\nto marry.\n\nSo he thought, \u201cFirst of all I will carry the pearls to Heigh-Heavy, for\nthat is more important.\u201d And away he went with the sack upon his back.\nAnd he never saw the spell which Oh-I-Am had placed beside his door.\n\nWhen he reached the Most Enormous House of Heigh-Heavy, the Giant, there\nthe giant was sitting in his parlor lacing his shoes.\n\nSo Wry-Face cried out in a gay little voice, \u201cHere I am, Heigh-Heavy,\nhere I am. And here is a bag of pearls which I have brought you in\nexchange for your beautiful daughter, So-Small.\u201d\n\nWhen Heigh-Heavy heard this, he stopped lacing his shoes, and said, \u201cYou\nmust bring me in exchange for my daughter So-Small as many pearls as\nwill cover my palm.\u201d\n\nThen Wry-Face ran forward and he tipped up the sack; and, standing high\nupon his toes, he shook out all that it held into the hand of\nHeigh-Heavy, the Giant.\n\nNow all that it held was\u2014one brown potato!\n\nWry-Face the gnome stared and stared and stared, his eyes growing\nrounder and rounder; but he had no time to weep, on account of\nHeigh-Heavy the giant who had fallen into a rage terrible to see.\n\n\u201cNow there is one thing quite certain,\u201d said Heigh-Heavy, \u201cand that is\nthat you shall never marry my daughter So-Small, for, my Wry-Face, I\nwill turn you into a brown potato, and a brown potato you shall remain\nyour whole life through.\u201d\n\nWhen Wry-Face heard this terrible threat he took to his heels, and ran\nfrom the Most Enormous House of Heigh-Heavy, the giant. He ran, and ran,\ntill his coat was torn and his ears were red; and he never rested till\nhe reached his cottage door, and got inside.\n\nHeigh-Heavy laughed till he cried to see the little gnome run. \u201cHe will\nplay no tricks on _me_!\u201d said he. And he went in and shut the door.\n\nBut Wry-Face said to himself, as he carried the potatoes, weeping, to\nthe potato-wife:\n\n\u201cI will never play a trick on _anyone_ again, not as long as I live!\u201d\n\n\n\n\n                              CHANTICLEER\n\n\nOnce upon a time a widow and her two daughters lived in a little cottage\nnear a grove. They were so poor that it took the most careful managing\nto earn a humble living. Their meals were very simple; indeed, they\noften had nothing but milk and brown bread, and once in a while a bit of\nbacon and an egg or two.\n\nAround the cottage was a henyard, fenced in with sticks and a dry ditch,\nand here the old widow kept a handsome rooster called Chanticleer. His\nmatch for crowing could not be found; his voice was merrier than the\nmerry organ heard in the church on Mass days, and the wonder of it was\none could tell the hour of the day by his crowing! His comb was redder\nthan fine coral, and all notched like a castle wall. His bill was black\nand shone like jet, his legs and his toes were like azure, his nails\nwhiter than the lily flower, and his feathers the color of burnished\ngold.\n\nChanticleer lived a happy life. He had with him seven plump wives, all\nvery much like him in color, but by far the cheeriest companion among\nthem was Demoiselle Partlet, who was not only beautiful but also wise\nand courteous. Chanticleer loved her dearly. What joy it was to hear\nthem sing together at sunrise,\n\n                         \u201cMy love is far away.\u201d\n\nEarly one morning when Chanticleer and his seven hens sat on the perch,\nPartlet, who was beside her lord, heard a loud groan. \u201cMy dear,\u201d she\nsaid, astonished and alarmed, \u201cwhat can be the matter with you? For\nshame, to wake us all up in this way!\u201d\n\n\u201cMadam,\u201d replied the rooster, \u201cdo not be anxious about me. It was only a\ndream, but it has frightened me almost beyond words. I thought I was\nroaming up and down the yard, when suddenly I saw a beast somewhat like\na hound ready to spring at me. He was between yellow and red in color,\nhis tail and ears were tipped with black, his nose was small and his\neyes glowed like fire. I almost died of fright! That is what made me\ngroan.\u201d\n\n\u201cFie for shame!\u201d retorted Partlet. \u201cDo you admit to your love that\nanything could fill your heart with fear? Alas! Alas! You know that\ndreams mean nothing. Let me explain what causes them. Overeating creates\ntoo much black humor, and in consequence one is likely to dream that\nblack bears, or black bulls, or even _devils_ will catch him. Then\nagain, if one has too much red humor he may dream of arrows, of fire\nwith red blazes, or of great and small whelps that will bite. I could go\non, but further talk is unnecessary. Dearest, when we fly down from\nthese rafters I will point out to you herbs and berries that will cure\nyou; also for a day or two you shall have a light diet of worms. Cheer\nup, I say, and in a little while all will be well. Should this occur\nagain, remember the words of the wise Cato: \u2018Take no heed of dreams!\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cThank you for your excellent advice, my dear,\u201d replied Chanticleer. \u201cI\nknow that Cato had much wisdom, but I can give you examples of other\nvery wise men who did not agree with him. Do you not remember the story\nof Daniel in the Old Testament? Did he think dreams mean nothing? Also\nread the story of Joseph and you will see that a dream held warnings of\nfuture things. Recall for a moment Pharaoh, King of Egypt, his baker and\nhis butler! See what they thought about the meaning of dreams. Wonderful\nstories on this subject I could point out to you, so do not be surprised\nthat this dream of mine makes me anxious. But now, my dearest Partlet,\nlet us talk about merrier things, for, when I see the beauty of your\nface and the lovely scarlet hue about your eyes, all my fears leave me.\nI am so full of joy and comfort in your company that I forget dreams.\u201d\n\nDaybreak had come and the rooster and his seven wives flew down from the\nperch. \u201cCluck! Cluck!\u201d he called gayly when he found a tidbit in the\nyard. Behold Chanticleer in all his glory! Brave as a lion, he roamed\nproudly on his tiptoes up and down the henyard, never dreaming that an\nenemy was watching him with cunning interest.\n\nNow it happened that a wicked fox had lived for three years in the grove\nnear the cottage. All this time he had been watching his chance to fall\nupon the handsome rooster. During the night of Chanticleer\u2019s dream, the\nfox had pushed slyly through the hedge into the garden and had carefully\nhidden himself among the vegetables.\n\nThe sun was shining gloriously! Partlet and her sisters were bathing\nmerrily in the warm sand! Gallant Chanticleer, singing merrier than a\nmermaid, was watching a butterfly flitting about in the sunshine among\nthe herbs when suddenly his eye caught sight of the fox lying low among\nthe leaves! Terror seized him. The song died in his throat. \u201cCok! Cok!\u201d\nhe gasped. In a moment he would have fled, but the fox began right away\nto speak to him in a very persuasive tone.\n\n\u201cGentle sir, I hope you are not afraid of me, your own good friend.\nCertainly I should be worse than a fiend if I harmed you. Indeed I did\nnot come here to spy upon you, but, pardon me, to hear your glorious\nvoice. No angel in heaven could sing sweeter than you do. How well I\nremember my lord, your father, and my lady, your honorable mother. They\nhave been guests at my house many times. Shall I ever again hear a voice\nas beautiful as your father\u2019s when he greeted the sunrise! I remember\nexactly how he looked. He stood on his tiptoes, shut his eyes tightly,\nstretched out his long slender neck and then poured forth his glorious\nsong. He was indeed a wonder. Also, he was very wise and careful. I have\nheard it said that no one could surpass him in song or wisdom. I wonder,\nkind sir, if your voice is as beautiful as your father\u2019s. For sweet\ncharity\u2019s sake, will you not sing one song for me and let me compare the\ntwo voices?\u201d\n\nHow could Chanticleer refuse one so kind and courteous? He began to flap\nhis wings. He stood on tiptoe. He closed his eyes. He stretched his\nlong, slender neck and began to crow. Snap! In a twinkling the fox\nseized Chanticleer by the throat, swung him across his back, and was off\nto the woods with him.\n\nNever was there such a commotion! The hens screamed and cried pitifully.\nPartlet shrieked at the top of her voice. This brought the widow and her\ndaughters to the door, and then they saw the wicked fox with Chanticleer\nacross his back making for the wood. \u201cHelp! Help! A fox! A fox!\u201d they\ncried, and started after him as fast as they could go. Men snatched up\nsticks and joined them. The dog Coll ran yelping and barking. Malkin\nstarted with the distaff in her hand. The cow and the calf ran. The\nhogs, frightened at the loud barking of the dogs and the screaming of\nthe people, set up a squealing like fiends and followed in the chase.\nThe ducks quacked as if they were being murdered, the geese in terror\ntook flight over the tree tops. The hideous deafening noise started a\nswarm of bees forth from their hive. Soon other people followed with\nhorns of brass, wood, and bone. They blew, they bellowed, they cried,\nthey screamed, they whooped, they shrieked, and made such a bedlam that\nit seemed the very heavens would fall. And on ran the fox with the\nrooster on his back.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nNow Chanticleer in all his breathless terror was rapidly turning over in\nhis mind how he could help his friends to rescue him. Controlling his\nfright as best he could, he said,\n\n\u201cSir, if I were you, I\u2019d scoff at these followers. Say to them, \u2018Turn\nback you proud churls! A plague upon you! The rooster is mine and I\u2019ll\nsoon be where I can eat him.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cIn faith,\u201d replied the fox, \u201cI\u2019ll do what you say.\u201d As soon as the fox\nopened his mouth, Chanticleer flew high up into a tree which stood near.\nNow the fox saw his mistake, but was not ready to give up.\n\n\u201cAlas, alas, Chanticleer,\u201d he began, \u201cI\u2019ve done you a great wrong. I\nseized you and carried you entirely too roughly. Forgive me for\nfrightening you. Come now, fly down a moment and let me explain.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo thank you,\u201d crowed Chanticleer. \u201cYour flattery will not catch me a\nsecond time, and make me sing again with my eyes closed. For no good can\ncome to anyone who closes his eyes when they should be open.\u201d\n\n\u201cBad luck to the one who talks when he should hold his peace,\u201d grumbled\nthe fox.\n\n\n\n\n                      THE JACKAL AND THE ALLIGATOR\n\n\nA little Jackal, who was very fond of crabs and bits of fish and\nwhatever else he could find, went down to the riverside one morning in\nsearch of something for his dinner. He ran up and down the bank, here\nand there, but he could find nothing to eat. At last, near some tall\nbulrushes and under clear, shallow water he saw a little crab who was\nsidling along as fast as his legs could carry him. The little jackal was\nso very hungry that, without looking, he put his paw into the water\nafter the crab. \u201cSnap!\u201d A great big alligator who lived in the river,\nhad the paw in his jaws.\n\n\u201cOh, dear,\u201d thought the little jackal, \u201ca big alligator has my paw in\nhis mouth. In another minute he will drag me down under the water and\nswallow me. What can I do?\u201d Then a thought came to the little jackal,\n\u201cI\u2019ll fool that old alligator and get away from him.\u201d So he called out\nin a very cheerful voice, \u201cClever Alligator! Clever Alligator! To catch\nhold of that bulrush root for my paw! I hope you will find it very\ntender.\u201d\n\nThe old alligator was so hidden among the bulrushes that he could\nscarcely see anything. On hearing the little jackal call out he said to\nhimself, \u201cDear me, I thought I had caught hold of the jackal\u2019s paw; but\nthere he is calling out in a cheerful voice. I suppose I have made a\nmistake.\u201d So saying he opened his mouth and let the little jackal go.\n\nThe jackal ran away as fast as he could. When he was at a safe distance\nhe called out, \u201cO wise Alligator! O wise Alligator! So you let me go\nagain.\u201d The alligator was very angry, but the little jackal had run too\nfar away to be caught.\n\nThe next day the jackal returned to the riverside to get his dinner as\nbefore. The old alligator was nowhere to be seen, but the little jackal\nthought it best not to take any chances, so he called out, \u201cWherever I\ngo to look for my dinner, I search for the nice little fat crabs that\ncome peeping up through the mud. Then I put my paw down and catch them.\nI wish I could see one now.\u201d\n\nThe old alligator was down in the mud at the bottom of the river, and he\nheard every word the jackal said. He thought to himself, \u201cAha! I\u2019ll just\nshow the tip of my nose up through the mud. He\u2019ll take it for a little\nfat crab and put his paw in to catch me. As soon as he does so, I\u2019ll\ngobble him up!\u201d So he popped the little point of his nose out of the mud\nand waited. No sooner did the jackal see the tip of the alligator\u2019s nose\nthan he called out, \u201cO Friend Alligator, so there you are. No dinner for\nme here, thank you.\u201d And off he ran and fished for his dinner a long,\nlong way from that place. The old alligator snapped his jaws again and\nagain. He was very angry at missing his dinner a second time, and he\nmade up his mind not to let the jackal escape again.\n\nThe following day, the little jackal went down to the waterside as usual\nto look for crabs. He was rather afraid to go too near the river\u2019s edge,\nfor he felt sure the old enemy was hiding somewhere. So he stayed back\nat a safe distance and called out,\n\n\u201cWhere are all the little crabs gone? There is not one here and I am\nvery hungry. When I don\u2019t see them on the shore or peeping up through\nthe mud I see them blowing bubble, bubble, bubble, and all the little\nbubbles go pop! pop! pop!\u201d The old alligator lying low in the mud heard\nthis and he said to himself, \u201cI can fool that little jackal easy enough\n_this_ time. I\u2019ll pretend to be a little crab.\u201d Then he began to blow,\npuff, puff! Bubble, bubble, bubble! And all the great bubbles rushed to\nthe top of the river, and burst there, and the water whirled and whirled\nround and round just above the place where the old alligator lay hidden.\nIt didn\u2019t take the jackal long to know who was underneath those bubbles,\nand off he ran, as fast as he could go, calling out,\n\n\u201cThank you, kind Alligator, thank you, thank you! Indeed it is very kind\nof you to show me just where you are.\u201d\n\nThe old alligator was furious at being deceived by the little jackal\nonce more. \u201cNext time I will be very cunning,\u201d he said. So, for a long\ntime he waited and waited for the jackal, to come to the riverside, but\nthe jackal never returned.\n\n\u201cI shall be caught and eaten by that wicked old alligator some day if I\nam not careful. I must content myself to do without crabs.\u201d He went no\nmore to the river, but stayed in the jungle and ate wild figs and roots\nwhich he dug up with his paws.\n\nWhen the alligator found this out he was angry again, and he determined\nto try to catch the jackal on land. So he crawled over the ground to a\nplace where the largest of the wild fig trees grew. He made a great heap\nof the fallen figs and hid himself under it, and there he waited for the\njackal. No sooner did the cunning little animal spy the great pile of\nfigs than he thought, \u201cOh, ho, that looks much like my friend the\nalligator. I\u2019ll see.\u201d So he called out,\n\n\u201cThe little wild figs I like best always tumble down from the tree, and\nroll here and there as the wind drives them. That great heap of figs is\nquite still. They can not be good figs. I will not eat one of them.\u201d\n\nThe old alligator thought, \u201cOh, ho! How suspicious this jackal is. I\nwill make the figs roll about a little, then he will come and eat them.\u201d\n\nSo the great beast shook himself and all the little figs went roll,\nroll, roll, this way and that, farther than the most blustering wind\ncould have driven them. The jackal knew who was under the heap. Away he\nscampered, calling back, \u201cThank you, Mr. Alligator, for letting me know\nyou are there! I should scarcely have guessed it.\u201d The alligator hearing\nthis was so angry that he ran after the jackal, but the jackal ran away\ntoo quickly to be caught.\n\nThe old alligator was now in a rage. \u201cI will not let him make fun of me\nanother time and then run away out of my reach. I will show him I can be\nmore cunning than he thinks,\u201d he declared.\n\nEarly the next morning he crawled as fast as he could till he came to\nthe little jackal\u2019s den. The jackal was away, and so he crept in and hid\nhimself to wait until the little animal should return. By and by the\njackal came home. He looked all about the place, for the ground around\nhis house was torn up as though some very heavy animal had been crawling\nthere.\n\n\u201cDear me,\u201d he said. Then he saw that the earth on each side of the door\nof his den had been knocked down as if something very big had tried to\nsqueeze through it.\n\n\u201cI certainly will not go inside until I know who has gone in there.\u201d So\nhe called out, \u201cLittle house, why do you not give me an answer when I\ncall? You always call out to me if all is safe and right. Is anything\nwrong that you do not speak?\u201d\n\nThen the alligator who was inside thought, \u201cI must pretend to be the\nlittle house and call out. He will not come in unless he thinks all is\nright in here.\u201d So he called out in as pleasant a voice as he could,\n\u201cSweet little Jackal.\u201d When the little jackal heard that he was\nfrightened indeed.\n\n\u201cSo that dreadful old alligator is in my house. I must try to kill him\nif I can, or he will certainly make an end of me some day.\u201d\n\nThen he answered, \u201cThank you, my dear little house. I like to hear your\npretty voice. I am coming in a minute, but first I must collect some\nfirewood to cook my dinner.\u201d As fast as he could, he gathered all the\ndry branches and bits of sticks and piled them up close to the mouth of\nthe den. The old alligator inside kept as quiet as a mouse, but he could\nnot help laughing a little to himself, \u201cSo I have deceived that little\njackal at last. In a few minutes he will run in here, and then, won\u2019t I\nsnap him up!\u201d\n\nWhen the jackal had gathered as many sticks as he could find, he ran\nback and placed the sticks all round the outside of his den. Then he set\nfire to them. The great fire blazed up, and the smoke filled the den and\nsmothered that wicked old alligator.\n\n\n\n\n                      FINN AND THE FAIRY SHOEMAKER\n\n\nFinn O\u2019Shea\u2019s grandmother knew more about fairies than anyone else in\nthe village. One afternoon when the sun was shining on the tops of the\nNine Hills, which rose up a few fields beyond the edge of the village,\nFinn and his grandmother were coming home from a walk. Suddenly the old\nwoman darted forward and picked up the tiniest bit of a gray feather.\nHer sharp eyes had spied it under the shadow of a foxglove.\n\n\u201cWhat is it, Granny?\u201d asked Finn.\n\n\u201cAn owl\u2019s feather, lad. It fell out of one of their wee red caps,\u201d said\nshe, laughing quietly. \u201cThey had a fine revel in the fields last night,\nmy boy, for it was Midsummer Eve. That is the time when the wee folks\nare gayest, you know.\u201d\n\n\u201cI wish I could see them dancing,\u201d said Finn.\n\n\u201cAh, my lad, no mortal can see them so long as they keep their wee red\ncaps on,\u201d said grandmother. \u201cSometimes in their revels they toss their\ncaps aside, but you see the frogs are always on the lookout to warn the\nfairies if mortal steps are near. These tiny elves are very clever. Do\nyou see those three circles of green which are a little lighter in color\nthan the rest of the grass? That is where they danced until the village\ncocks began to crow. Then they made off to the Nine Hills. Ah! It would\nbe a wonderful sight to see the wee folks whirling and gliding about in\nthe white moonlight to the sweetest fairy music. But as I said, few\nmortals have ever seen them.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo they dance every night, grandmother?\u201d\n\n\u201cEvery night, Finn. If the weather is fine they frolic on the green,\nespecially if the moon is bright. When the nights are wet and stormy\nthey keep inside the hills, where there is an elfin village.\u201d\n\nFinn look very serious. \u201cGrandmother,\u201d he said, \u201cthese wee folks must\nwear out a good many pairs of shoes.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat they do, my lad. I\u2019m sure I don\u2019t know what they would do without\nlittle Leprechaun, the Fairy Shoemaker. He is the only industrious one\namong them.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me about him, Granny,\u201d said Finn.\n\nGrandmother sat down on a large stone and looked toward the Nine Hills.\n\n\u201cThe Fairy Shoemaker is very rich, Finn, richer than my lord O\u2019Toole who\nlives in the castle by the sea. Indeed, there is no one in all Ireland\nwho has as much gold as this elfin shoemaker who spends his days working\nfor the fairies. All kinds of shoes he makes,\u2014stout little brogans and\nbuskins, high hunting boots, bits of satin slippers that you could stand\non a penny, tiny sandals with silver laces and diamond buckles,\u2014all\nkinds of shoes. O Finn, my lad, he is a wonderful wee old man.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere does he keep his money, Granny?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, what a question, my lad! Do you think this sly little Elf would\nlet any mortal know that secret? Not he!\u201d\n\n\u201cI wonder if anyone has ever seen him,\u201d said Finn.\n\n\u201cMy lad, your great-grandmother O\u2019Shea knew a poor farmer who found a\npot of gold buried in one of his fields. The villagers always believed\nthat the man had in some way caught little Leprechaun, and made him\npoint out the spot where his gold was hidden.\u201d\n\n\u201cGranny,\u201d said Finn, \u201cI\u2019d like to catch the Fairy Shoemaker. One pot of\nhis gold would make us very rich, wouldn\u2019t it?\u201d\n\n\u201cCatch little Leprechaun, Finn! My lad, you couldn\u2019t do it.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is very tiny, grandmother. I\u2019m sure I could hold him easily.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou would have to catch him, first, Finn. He is the trickiest Elf of\nall. No one can see him as long as he wears his wee red cap! And if you\nshould chance to find him without it, you wouldn\u2019t dare take your eyes\noff him for one second or away he would go. Some people say bad luck is\nsure to come to mortals who meddle with the fairies,\u201d said grandmother,\nlooking about cautiously. \u201cIt is better to earn your pot of gold, my\nlad. But come, the sun has gone behind the hills.\u201d\n\nFinn was very quiet all the way home. He was wondering how he could\ncatch the Fairy Shoemaker and make the little Elf tell where his\ntreasure crocks were hidden. He would begin the search in good earnest\nthe very next day.\n\nIn the morning when Finn drove the cow to the pasture, he peeped\ncarefully among the low willows that bordered the brook. He looked all\naround the big stones in the meadow. Several times he stopped and\nlistened! Once he felt sure he caught the clicking sound of an elfin\nhammer. It seemed to come from the direction of a tall ragweed, but when\nFinn drew near, the sound stopped suddenly and he could see nothing.\nPatiently each day he searched for the little Leprechaun. One afternoon\nwhen he was sauntering through a shady glen near the Nine Hills he\nstooped down to quench his thirst at a tiny spring of clear water. He\nfancied he heard a faint clicking sound! \u201cTip-tap, tip-tap.\u201d Finn raised\nhis head quickly and listened!\n\n[Illustration]\n\n                            \u201cRip-rap-tip-tap\n                            Tick-a-tack-too;\n                              Tip-tap-tip,\n                              Rip-rap-rip,\n                            Tick-tack-too.\u201d\n\nThe sound came from behind a large stone near the spring. Soon the\ntapping stopped and the shrill voice sang out:\n\n                          \u201cTip-a tap-tip\n                          And tick-a-tack-too,\n                          Every stitch helps\n                          To finish a shoe.\u201d\n\nFinn could hear his heart beat. He crept cautiously along and peeped\naround the stone. There, on a tiny stool, sat the Fairy Shoemaker\nhammering away at a wee hunting boot of scarlet leather, which he held\nbetween his knees. _And his bit of a red cap was hanging on a spear of\ntall grass!_ Finn leaped to his feet, faced little Leprechaun, seized\nthe red cap, and said, \u201cGood day, sir.\u201d\n\nInstantly the little Elf jumped up and looked sharply through his\nspectacles at Finn. He was about twelve inches tall and his queer little\nface was full of wrinkles. A long gray beard reached to the top of a\nleathern apron which almost covered his brown suit.\n\n\u201cGood day, sir,\u201d repeated Finn.\n\n\u201cHumph!\u201d grunted Leprechaun.\n\nFinn went closer, grasped the little Elf\u2019s shoulder, held him tightly,\nand stared sharply at him.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019d better be off,\u201d said the Fairy Shoemaker; \u201cI have work to do.\u201d\n\nFinn kept his eyes fixed on the wee man, and said, \u201cCome, now, where do\nyou keep your treasure crocks? I shall not let you go until you tell\nme.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! Is that all you want?\u201d laughed the Elf. \u201cWell, come along with me.\u201d\n\nFinn was delighted. The old man seemed very easy to manage. Leprechaun\nlooked up pleasantly and said, \u201cYour pardon, sir.\u201d He pulled out a tiny\ngold snuffbox, took a pinch and offered some to Finn. \u201cSnuff, sir?\u201d he\nsaid with a smile.\n\n\u201cWhy, how friendly he seems,\u201d thought Finn, taking a pinch.\n\n\u201cPouf-f!!\u201d The Fairy Shoemaker blew all the snuff right into Finn\u2019s\nface.\n\n\u201cTshoo-oo!\u2014Tshoo-oo! A-a-a-tshoo-oo-oo!\u201d sneezed Finn, _shutting his\neyes_! In a twinkling the wee man had snatched his red cap and was gone!\n\nFinn went home a little discouraged. \u201cWhy didn\u2019t I remember what Granny\ntold me about his tricks?\u201d he said to himself. \u201cI\u2019ll try again, and he\nshall not catch me a second time.\u201d\n\nOne afternoon a few weeks later, Finn walked as far as the Nine Hills.\nHe was very tired, so he lay down on one of the grassy slopes to rest.\nHow quiet it was on the shady hillside!\n\n                          \u201cTip-a-tap-tip\n                          And tick-a-tack-too,\n                            Rip-rap-rip\n                          Tick-tack-too.\u201d\n\nThe sound came from the crest of the hill. After a little pause a shrill\nvoice sang:\n\n                       \u201cA wedding feast to-night\n                       And dancing on the green!\n                       In moonbeams\u2019 silver light\n                       Gay fairies will be seen!\n                       Tiny satin sandals\n                       To grace the dainty bride;\n                       Stitch away Leprechaun\n                       They must be your pride.\u201d\n\nIt was the voice of little Leprechaun! The Fairy Shoemaker was working\naway near the crest of the hill. Finn crept up the grassy slope, and\nthere in the shadow of some low bushes sat the tiny Elf. He was putting\na high heel on the daintiest white satin sandal. And beside him lay his\nwee red cap!\n\n                           \u201cTip-tap-rip-rap\n                           Tick-a-tack-too.\u201d\n\nThe elfin hammer was working busily\u2014busily!\n\nFinn slipped up quietly, and grasping the red cap in one hand laid hold\nof the wee man\u2019s shoulder with the other. Up jumped the Elf. He looked\nround quickly for his cap.\n\n\u201cGood day, sir,\u201d said Finn.\n\nLeprechaun made a deep bow.\n\n\u201cYou are busy, I see.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlways busy, sir,\u201d answered the wee man. \u201cAlways busy.\u201d\n\n\u201cI suppose you like to make shoes, especially such dainty ones?\u201d And all\nthe time Finn kept his eyes on the little Elf\u2019s face and held him fast.\n\n\u201cI like to _work_\u201d said the Fairy Shoemaker slyly. \u201cCome, now, do you?\u201d\n\nFinn felt a little confused at this last question, but he answered,\n\n\u201cYou have plenty of gold and some to spare, I should think. Come, tell\nme where you keep your treasure crocks.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will show you where I keep _one_ of them,\u201d answered Leprechaun.\n\n\u201cAll right,\u201d answered Finn. \u201cIf you\u2019ll lead me to the spot where one\ncrock of gold is buried, I\u2019ll not bother you again.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome, then,\u201d said the Elf.\n\n\u201cMind that you keep your snuffbox in your pocket,\u201d said Finn. \u201cYou\nshan\u2019t catch me that way again.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis way,\u201d laughed the wee man.\n\nDown the hillside and over the fields hurried the Fairy Shoemaker,\nleading Finn along at a good pace. It was wonderful to see this queer\nElf skip across the ditches and hedges, and hop over the stones and\nrough places in the meadow. Finn was becoming very tired. \u201cHow much\nfarther is it?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cCome along, come along,\u201d laughed little Leprechaun.\n\nFinally they came to a field full of ragweed. The Fairy Shoemaker\nstopped suddenly. Then pointing with his tiny finger, he said, \u201cIf you\ndig deep under the roots of this weed, you\u2019ll find one of my treasure\ncrocks filled to the brim with gold.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I can\u2019t dig without a spade,\u201d said Finn excitedly.\n\n\u201cOf course not,\u201d answered Leprechaun. \u201cBut now that you know the spot\nyou can get the gold whenever you like.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall get it to-day,\u201d said Finn. \u201cI\u2019ll run home now and get my spade.\nBut I\u2019d better mark the weed, I think.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat would be a good plan,\u201d said the Shoemaker. \u201cHere I have a bit of\nbright red string in my pocket. Let us tie it around the stem near the\ntop.\u201d\n\nHow deftly the elfin fingers tied the mark!\n\n\u201cThank you very kindly,\u201d said Finn.\n\n\u201cIs there anything else I can do for you, sir?\u201d asked Leprechaun.\n\n\u201cYou will promise not to touch the string?\u201d\n\n\u201cI promise not to touch it, sir. Also I assure you no one else shall\ntouch it,\u201d said Leprechaun.\n\n\u201cWell, then, you may go. Here is your red cap. I thank you very much for\nyour kindness. Good day!\u201d said Finn pleasantly.\n\n\u201cGood day, sir,\u201d said the Fairy Shoemaker, and off he scampered,\nchuckling to himself.\n\nYou may be sure Finn hurried away to fetch his spade. How surprised\nGranny would be to hear that he had caught the Fairy Shoemaker. He would\nnot tell her until he carried home the treasure. In breathless haste he\ngot his spade and hurried back to the field of ragweed. Then Finn stood\nstill and looked! A bit of bright red string was tied around every\nragweed in the field! The Fairy Shoemaker had tricked him again! He\nthought he heard a low chuckling laugh. Finn listened carefully. From\namong the weeds he heard a faint voice singing,\n\n                   \u201cHow does the little Leprechaun\n                     Fill treasure crocks with gold?\n                   The live long day he _works away_\n                     From far-off times of old.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n                         MAKING THE BEST OF IT\n\n\n\u201cWhat a pretty day this is!\u201d said the old gray goose to the brown hen,\nas they stood at the henhouse window and watched the falling snow which\ncovered every nook and corner of the farmyard.\n\n\u201cYes, indeed,\u201d said the brown hen; \u201cI would be almost willing to be made\ninto chicken pie on such a day.\u201d\n\nShe had scarcely stopped talking, when the Pekin duck said, fretfully,\n\u201cI am dreadfully hungry,\u201d and a little flock of speckled chickens all\nhuddled together wailed in sad chorus, \u201cAnd we\u2019re so thirsty!\u201d\n\nIn fact, the feathered folks in the henhouse were very much inclined to\nbe cross and discontented. Since the farmer\u2019s boy fed them, early in the\nmorning, they had been given nothing to eat or drink, and, as hour after\nhour went by, and the cold winter wind howled around their house, it is\nno wonder they felt deserted.\n\nThe handsome white rooster, however, appeared quite as happy as usual,\nand that is saying a great deal, for a jollier, better-natured old\nfellow than he never graced a farmyard. Sunshine, rain, or snow were all\nthe same to him, and he crowed quite as lustily in stormy weather as in\nfair.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d he said, laughing heartily, as his bright eyes glanced about the\nhenhouse, \u201cyou all seem to be having a fit of the dumps.\u201d\n\nNobody answered the white rooster, but a faint cluck or two came from\nsome hens who immediately put their heads back under their wings, as if\nashamed of having spoken at all.\n\nThis was quite too much for the white rooster, who, standing first on\none yellow foot and then on the other, said: \u201cWell, we are a lively set!\nAnyone would think, to look in here, that we were surrounded by a band\nof hungry foxes.\u201d\n\nJust then a daring little white bantam rooster hopped down from his\nperch, and, strutting pompously over to the big rooster, created quite a\nstir among the feathered folk by saying,\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re all lively enough when our crops are full, but when we\u2019re\nstarving the wonder is that we can hold our heads up at all. If I ever\nsee that farmer\u2019s boy again, I\u2019ll\u2014I\u2019ll peck his foot!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou won\u2019t see him until he feeds us,\u201d said the white rooster, \u201cand then\nI think you will peck his corn.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, oh!\u201d moaned the brown hen, \u201cdon\u2019t mention a peck of corn.\u201d\n\n\u201cMadam,\u201d remarked the white rooster, bowing politely, \u201cyour trouble is\nmy own\u2014that is, I\u2019m hungry, too. But we might be worse off; we might be\non our way to market in a box. Then, too, suppose we haven\u2019t had enough\nto eat to-day, at least we have room enough to stretch our wings and a\ngood, quiet place to sleep in.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, that is a fact,\u201d answered the brown hen; and all the feathered\nfamily\u2014the smallest chickens included\u2014stretched their wings, preened\ntheir feathers, and looked a trifle more animated.\n\n\u201cNow then,\u201d went on the rooster, \u201csuppose we have a little music to\ncheer us and help pass the hours until roosting time. We will all\ncrow\u2014there, I beg your pardon, ladies; I am sorry you can\u2019t crow\u2014we will\nsing a merry song. Will you be kind enough to start a lively tune, Mrs.\nBrown Hen?\u201d\n\nThe brown hen shook herself proudly, tossed her head back, and began:\n\u201cCut-cut-cut-ca-dak-cut,\u201d and in less than two minutes every one in the\nhenhouse had joined her.\n\nNow the horses, cows, and sheep were not far away, and, hearing the\nhappy voices in the henhouse, they, too, joined in the grand chorus,\nwhile the pigs did their best to sing louder than all the rest. Higher\nand higher, stronger and stronger, rose the chorus; louder and louder\nquacked the ducks, and shriller and shriller squealed the pigs. At\nlength even the dogs barked merrily.\n\nThey were all so happy that they quite forgot their hunger until the\ndoor of the henhouse burst open, and in came three chubby children, each\ncarrying a dish full of steaming chicken food.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t stop your music, Mr. Rooster,\u201d said the little girl, who was so\nsnugly bundled up that you could scarcely see her dear little face. \u201cYou\nsee, we were so lonesome that we didn\u2019t know what to do; but when we\nheard all you folks singing out here in your house, we laughed and\nlaughed until we almost cried. Then we went to tell Jack about you; he\nwas lonesome, too\u2014poor Jack sick with a sore throat\u2014and he said, \u2018Why,\nthose poor hens; they haven\u2019t been fed since morning!\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cCock-a-doodle-do!\u201d said the white rooster. \u201cThis comes of making the\nbest of things. Cock-a-doodle-do!\u201d And nobody asked him to stop his\ncrowing.\n\n\n\n\n                        THE BROWNIE OF BLEDNOCK\n\n\nDid you ever hear how a Brownie came to the village of Blednock and was\nfrightened away again?\n\nIt was one November evening, just when the milking was done and before\nthe children were put to bed. The people of the village were standing by\ntheir doorsteps talking about their bad harvest and the turnips, and\nwhat chances there were of a good price for their cattle at the coming\nfair.\n\nAll at once the queerest humming noise seemed to come up from the\nriverside. It came nearer and nearer, and all the good people stopped\ntalking and began to look down the road. And, indeed, it was no wonder\nthat they stared, for there, coming up the middle of the highway, was\nthe strangest little creature that human eyes had ever seen.\n\nHe looked like a wee, wee man. He had a long blue beard which almost\ntouched the ground. His legs were twisted, his knees knocked together as\nhe walked, and his arms were so long that his hands trailed in the mud\nas he came along. He seemed to be humming something over and over. As he\ncame nearer, the good people of the village could make out the words:\n\n                     \u201cHave ye work for Aiken-Drum?\n                     Any work for Aiken-Drum?\u201d\n\nOh, how frightened the people were! The children screamed and hid their\nfaces in their mothers\u2019 gowns and the milkmaids threw down the pails of\nmilk they were carrying. Even the dogs crept in behind the doors,\nwhining and hiding their tails between their legs. Some of the men who\nwere not too frightened to look the wee man in the face, laughed and\nhooted at him.\n\n\u201cDid you ever see such eyes?\u201d cried one.\n\n\u201cHis mouth is so big he could swallow the moon and never even notice\nit,\u201d said the other.\n\n\u201cLook at his long blue beard!\u201d said a third.\n\nAnd still the poor little man came slowly up the road, crying:\n\n                     \u201cHave ye work for Aiken-Drum?\n                     Any work for Aiken-Drum?\u201d\n\nGood Grannie Duncan, the kindest old woman in the village, called out at\nlast: \u201cHe\u2019s just a Brownie, a simple, kindly Brownie. I\u2019ve heard tell of\nBrownies before. Many a long day\u2019s work will they do for the people who\ntreat them well.\u201d\n\nGathering courage from her words, all the village folk crowded around\nthe little man. When they were close to him, they saw that his face was\nkind and gentle and that his tiny eyes had a merry twinkle in them.\n\n\u201cStrange little creature,\u201d said an old man, \u201ctell us what you want and\nwhere you came from?\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cI cannot well tell thee whence I came,\u201d said the wee man. \u201cMy country\nis a nameless land and is very different from this land of yours. For\nthere we all learn to serve, while here every one wishes to be served.\nWhen there is no work for us to do at home, we sometimes set out to\nvisit thy land to see if there is any work we can do there. If thou\nwilt, I will stay here awhile. I do not wish anyone to wait on me, for I\nwant no wages, nor clothes, nor bedding. All I ask for is a corner of\nthe barn to sleep in, and a bowl of broth set down on the floor at\nbedtime. If no one meddles with me, I shall be ready to help any one who\nneeds me. I\u2019ll gather your sheep on the hill. I\u2019ll take in the harvest\nby moonlight. I\u2019ll sing your bairns to sleep in their cradles. You\u2019ll\nfind that the bairns all love Aiken-Drum. And, good housewives, I\u2019ll\nchurn for you and bake your bread on a busy day. The men folk, too, may\nfind me useful when there is corn to thrash, or untamed colts in the\nstables, or when the waters are out in flood.\u201d\n\nNo one knew quite what to say in answer to the little creature\u2019s strange\nrequest. It was an unheard-of thing for anyone to come and offer his\nservices for nothing. Some thought it could not be true; others said it\nwere better to have nothing to do with the little creature.\n\nThen up spoke good Grannie Duncan again:\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s but a Brownie, I tell you, a harmless Brownie. Many a story I\u2019ve\nheard in my young days about the work that a Brownie can do, if he be\ntreated well and let alone. Have we not all been complaining about bad\ntimes, small wages, and the hard work we all have to do? And now, when a\nworkman comes ready to your hand, you will have nothing to do with him\njust because he is strange looking. And I\u2019ve heard that a Brownie can\nstalk a whole ten-acre field in a single night! Shame on you, say I!\u201d\n\n\u201cA ten-acre field in a single night!\u201d cried out all the men of the\nvillage at once. \u201cA ten-acre field!\u201d repeated one. \u201cAnd in a single\nnight!\u201d added another. That settled the matter. The miller at once\noffered the Brownie a corner of his barn to sleep in, and good Grannie\nDuncan promised to make him some broth at bedtime and to send her\ngrandchild, wee Janie, down to the barn with it every evening. Then all\nthe people of the village said, \u201cGood night,\u201d and went to their homes.\nBut they were careful to look over their shoulders once in a while, for\nfear that the strange little man was following them.\n\nBut if they were afraid of him that night, they had a very different\nstory to tell about him before a week had passed. Whatever he was or\nwherever he came from, he was the most wonderful little worker that\nthese people had ever known. And the strange thing was that he did most\nof the work at night. Village folk came from all parts of the\ncountryside to catch a glimpse of this queer little worker, but they\nwere never successful, for he was never to be seen when one looked for\nhim. They might have gone to the miller\u2019s barn twenty times a day, and\ntwenty times a day they would have found nothing but a heap of straw and\nan empty broth bowl.\n\nBut whenever there was work to be done, whether it was a tired child to\nbe sung to, or a house to be made tidy, or a batch of bread to be worked\nup, or a flock of sheep to be gathered together on a stormy night,\nAiken-Drum always knew of it and appeared ready to help just at the\nright time.\n\nMany a time some poor mother who had been up all night with a crying\nchild would sit down with it on her lap in front of the fire in the\nmorning and fall asleep. When she awoke she would find that Aiken-Drum\nhad made a visit to her house; for the floor would be scrubbed and the\ndishes washed, the fire made up and the kettle put on to boil. But the\nlittle Brownie would have slipped away as if he were afraid of being\nthanked.\n\nThe little children were the only ones who ever saw him when he was not\nworking, and, oh, how they loved him! When school was out you could see\nthem away down by the stream crowding around the little dark brown\nfigure, and you could hear the sound of low, sweet singing; for\nAiken-Drum knew all the songs that children love well.\n\nBy and by the name of Aiken-Drum came to be a household word among the\ngood people of the village, for, although they seldom saw him near at\nhand, they loved him like one of their own people.\n\nAnd he would never have gone away if every one in the village had\nremembered what good Grannie Duncan told them about Brownies. \u201cA Brownie\nworks for love,\u201d she had said to them over and over again. \u201cHe will not\nwork for pay. If anyone tries to pay him, the wee creature\u2019s feelings\nwill be hurt, and he will vanish in the night.\u201d\n\nBut a good man of the village and his wife forgot all that had been\nsaid, and one day they planned to make something for Aiken-Drum.\n\n\u201cHe should not work for nothing,\u201d said the good man.\n\n\u201cHe has already worn out his coat and trousers slaving for us,\u201d said his\nwife.\n\nSo one day they made him a little pair of green trousers and a little\nbrown coat. That night the two good people laid a parcel by the side of\nthe bowl of broth in the miller\u2019s barn.\n\nIn the middle of the night some one heard the Brownie saying to himself,\n\u201cA nice pair of green trousers and a little brown coat for me. I can\ncome here no more till one of the children of this village travels the\nworld over and finds me first.\u201d\n\nSo this strange little creature had to go away. He vanished in the night\nas any Brownie is sure to do if some one tries to pay him.\n\nAnd all the good people of Blednock talked of the kind deeds of the\nlittle strange man who came one evening into their midst, and they\nwondered and wondered if he would ever come back to them again.\n\n\n\n\n                   HOW OLAF BROUGHT THE BROWNIE BACK\n\n\nDid you ever hear how Olaf, one of the village children, went in search\nof the Brownie and brought him back to the good people of Blednock?\n\nIt came about in this way.\n\nOlaf\u2019s father had often told him of the Brownie that had once lived in\nthe village and had helped all the village people to do their work.\n\n\u201cThe little lively thing would come night after night and clean the\nfloor, and scrub the table, and wash the dishes, and keep the whole\nhouse as clean as a new pin. But one night he went away and he never\ncame back.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy did he go away, father?\u201d asked Olaf.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said his father, \u201cthere\u2019s great pride in Brownies. They\u2019ll work\ntheir fingers off for love, but you must never thank them, nor give them\nanything, or away they will go. Good Grannie Duncan had told us that\nover and over again, but your mother and I forgot all about her wise\nwords. We thought that the little thing ought not to work for nothing.\nSo we bought a piece of green cloth and a piece of brown cloth and your\nmother sat up all night cutting and stitching. By morning she had made\nas neat a pair of little trousers and as fine a coat as ever she made\nfor you.\n\n\u201cThat night we laid the clothes in a little parcel beside the bowl of\nbroth, and we heard the little thing saying to himself:\n\n\u201c\u2018A nice pair of green trousers and a little brown coat for me. I can\ncome here no more\u2014_no more_\u2014till one of the children of the village\ntravels the world over and finds me first.\u2019\n\n\u201cAnd the strange little creature vanished in the night and no one has\nseen or heard of him since though we have missed him very, very much.\u201d\n\nOlaf thought about the Brownie all day. He felt that, although the world\naway from the village might be very dangerous, he was quite willing to\ntravel in it if, by so doing, he could bring the Brownie back to\nBlednock.\n\nOlaf asked each person in the village where to find the Brownie. Also,\nhe asked the oldest apple tree in the orchard, but it said nothing. He\nasked the cows, but they said nothing. He asked the dog, but he barked\nabout other things. Only the sheep helped him. They said nothing, but\nthey looked as if they knew. Olaf tended the sheep and the young lambs\nthroughout the year, and he wondered and wondered if the lambs learned\nfrom the old sheep where the Brownie was hidden.\n\n\u201cI will not come back until a child of this village travels the world\nover and finds me first,\u2014travels the world over and finds me first,\u201d\nOlaf kept saying to himself over and over.\n\nAt last one summer evening, as he was coming home from the sheepfolds,\nhe heard the faint sound of bagpipes very near. He heard it again the\nnext night, and the next, and the night after that, and every night,\nuntil, at last, he made up his mind to follow the sound and find out who\nit was that played the pipes so sweetly.\n\nHe left the sheep path and followed the music, walking carefully lest he\nshould lose it. The soft sweet notes seemed to come from a mass of rocks\nwhich lay on the moor behind him. As he came near the rocks he knew the\nmusic was directly above it, so he started to climb up. Halfway up the\npath was easy to climb, and he soon won his way up to a little tree\nwhich thrust itself out of the side of the pile. He twisted himself over\nthe tree and rested there, wondering how he could get up the rest of the\nway, for he saw six feet of smooth rock up to the top.\n\nAll the time the music of the bagpipes, scarcely louder than a concert\nof bees and crickets, sounded close above his head. \u201cOho, there!\u201d\nshouted Olaf at last. The music stopped suddenly. A little brown face\nwith a long blue beard looked eagerly over the top of the rocks.\n\n\u201cSo it is you, is it?\u201d said a voice. \u201cHere, take hold of my wrist and\nthen pull.\u201d\n\nOlaf caught sight of a long brown arm stretched down toward him. He\ncaught hold of the wrist and pulled, and the next moment Olaf found\nhimself scrambling over a thick mass of heather on to the top of the\nrocks. He lay sprawling on the edge of a little cleft in the rock with\nhigh walls on the sides. In one of these walls there was a little cave,\nand just in front of the cave was a little three-legged stool that had\nbeen upset, and a little set of bagpipes was lying on the ground beside\nit.\n\n\u201cSo here you are!\u201d said the little brown creature as he helped Olaf to\nhis feet. \u201cI\u2019ve been waiting for you a long time. Look!\u201d He ran into the\ncave and came out dragging a broom behind him, and holding a stone so\npolished that even in the dim light Olaf could see his face in it. And\nOlaf wondered and wondered.\n\n\u201cLook! I\u2019ve worn out two hundred and thirty of these brooms, and\npolished that rough stone smooth\u2014all for want of proper work, since I\nhad to leave the village.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you the Brownie?\u201d asked Olaf, joyfully.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d was the answer.\n\n\u201cAre you Aiken-Drum?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d came the answer again.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve been looking for you ever since I can remember. That was why the\nsheep knew,\u2014because you live on the moor.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the Brownie, \u201cthe sheep know me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you come back to the village, now?\u201d asked Olaf.\n\n\u201cNot yet,\u201d said the Brownie. \u201cYou and I must travel the world together.\nThen I\u2019ll go back. Your father should have known better than to pay a\nBrownie. He should have known that we work for love. Here I have been\nall this time wearing out brooms on these rocks and polishing a stone,\nwaiting for the village child to find me. And you\u2019ve come!\u201d said the\nBrownie, as he danced into the cave. He soon returned carrying a little\nwooden cage with a big cockroach inside. He opened the cage and took the\ncockroach on his finger.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ve found me,\u201d he kept saying, \u201cyou\u2019ve found me! Now there\u2019s nothing\nleft but the travels. Fly, cockroach,\u201d he cried, \u201cfly fast and straight,\nand tell my brothers that Olaf has come. Tell them to launch the boat.\nTell them we are coming\u2014Olaf and I.\u201d\n\nHe let the cockroach fly from his hand and it boomed away in the still\nair of the summer night. Olaf heard a kr-r-r-r-r-r in the pine woods. It\nmight, he thought, be the Brownies launching the little boat.\n\nAnd that is how Olaf found the Brownie and came to make his travels with\nhim. They sailed away\u2014away to Glittering Harbor where great ships lay\nclose together in the golden sunset; they won the marvelous horse and\nthey found the white flower that can be bought only for love\u2014like the\nBrownies\u2019 services.\n\nBy and by their travels were over and Aiken-Drum returned with Olaf to\nthe village of Blednock. And that is why the kitchen floors of these\nvillage people are so wonderfully scrubbed and why the pans shine\nbrighter than those in any other kitchens of the country side. And\nAiken-Drum has a merry life as he scrubs the pans and washes the dishes,\nand he is very, very happy to know that he will _never_ be paid for it.\n\n\n\n\n                      THE POOR LITTLE TURKEY GIRL\n\n\nAll alone in a very old cottage near the border of a village lived a\nlittle girl who herded turkeys for a living. She was very, very poor.\nHer clothes were patched and tattered. Little was ever given to her\nexcept the food she lived on from day to day, and now and then a piece\nof old worn-out clothing.\n\nBut the child had a winning face and bright eyes. She had also a very\nloving disposition. She was always kind to the turkeys which she drove\nto and from the plains every day, giving to them the affection she\nlonged for but which she herself never received from anyone. The turkeys\nloved their little mistress in return. They would come immediately at\nher call and they would go willingly anywhere she wished to send them.\n\nOne day as the little girl went along, driving her turkeys to the\nplains, she heard a great commotion in the village. She stopped to see\nthe cause of the excitement and found it to be a herald who was\nproclaiming from the house top, \u201cThe great festival will take place in\nfour days. Come youths and maidens. Come one, come all. Join in the\nDance of the Sacred Bird!\u201d\n\nNow this child had never been permitted to join in or even watch this\ngreat festivity of the people, and she longed with all her heart to see\nit.\n\n\u201cMy dear turkeys, how I should love to watch this blessed festival,\nparticularly the Dance of the Sacred Bird!\u201d It was her custom to talk\nmatters over with her turkeys, for they were the child\u2019s only\ncompanions. She told them day after day of the wonderful festival that\nwas to be, and how happy she would feel if she could join in the dance\nwith the others. \u201cBut it is impossible, my beloved turkeys, ugly and\nill-clad as I am,\u201d she would say, when she saw the people of the village\nbusy in cleaning their houses and preparing their clothes, laughing and\ntalking as they made ready for the greatest holiday of the year.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe poor child never dreamed that her turkeys understood every word she\nsaid to them. But they did, and more.\n\nThe fourth day came, and all the people of the village went to join in\nthe festivities. All but one, and that one was the poor little turkey\ngirl who wandered about alone with her beloved flock. Soon she sat down\nupon a stone to rest, for she was sad at the thought of all the\nmerrymaking while she was alone on the plains.\n\nSuddenly it seemed to the little girl that one of her big gobblers,\nmaking a fan of his tail, and skirts of his wings, strutted up to her\nand, stretching out his neck said, \u201cLittle Mother, we know what your\nthoughts and wishes are and we are truly sorry for you. We wish that\nyou, like all the other people of the village, might enjoy this holiday.\nMany times we have said to ourselves at night, after you had safely\nplaced us in our house, that you are as worthy to enjoy these gayeties\nas anyone in the village. Little Mother, would you like to see this\ndance and even join in it and be merry with the rest?\u201d\n\nThe poor child was at first surprised, then it all seemed so very\nnatural that her turkeys should talk to her as she had always done to\nthem, that she looked up and said, \u201cMy dear Gobbler, how glad I am that\nwe may speak together. But tell me what it all means.\u201d\n\n\u201cListen well, then, for I speak the speech of my people. If you will\ndrive us in early this afternoon, when the dance is most gay and the\npeople are happiest, we will help you to make yourself so pretty and so\nbeautifully dressed that no man, woman, or child among all those\nassembled at the dance will know you. Are you willing to do as we\nturkeys say?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my dear turkeys, why should you tell me of things that you well\nknow I long to do but cannot by any possible means in the world?\u201d\n\n\u201cTrust in us,\u201d said the old gobbler. \u201cWhen we begin to call and gobble\nand gobble and turn toward home, follow us and we will show you what we\ncan do for you: Only let me tell you one thing. Much happiness and good\nfortune may come to you through the chance for pleasure which we turkeys\nare going to give you. But if, through your own great happiness, you\nforget us, who are your friends and who depend so much upon you, we\nshall think that our Little Mother, though so humble and poor, deserves\nher hard life. We shall think that, since good fortune came to her, she\ndoes unto others as others now do to her.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome, then,\u201d said the old gobbler, and the little girl followed him.\nAll the turkeys of their own accord followed the old gobbler and their\nLittle Mother homeward. They knew their places well and ran to them as\nsoon as they could. When they had all gone into their home the old\ngobbler called out, \u201cCome in.\u201d The little girl went in. \u201cNow sit down\nand give me and my companions your articles of clothing one by one. You\nwill see what we can do with them.\u201d\n\nThe little girl took off the ragged old shawl that covered her shoulders\nand laid it upon the ground in front of the old gobbler. He seized it in\nhis beak and spread it out. Then he picked and picked at it and trod\nupon it, and, lowering his wings, strutted back and forth, back and\nforth over the old worn-out garment. Once more he took it in his beak\nand strutted and puffed and puffed and strutted, until he finally laid\nit at the feet of the little girl\u2014a beautiful white cloak, all\nsilk-embroidered.\n\nThen another gobbler came forward and took an article of the little\ngirl\u2019s clothing which he made over into a beautiful gown of golden\ncloth. Then another gobbler came, and another and another, until each\ngarment the little girl had worn was new and more beautiful than any\nowned by the richest woman of the land.\n\nThe little girl began to dress herself in the beautiful clothes, but\nbefore she finished her turkeys circled around her, singing and singing\nand clucking and clucking, and brushing her with their wings until she\nwas clean and her face was as smooth and bright as that of the fairest\nmaiden in the village. Her hair was soft and wavy and her cheeks were\nfull of dimples and her eyes danced with smiles, for now she knew how\ntrue were the words of her beloved turkeys. At last one old turkey came\nforward and said, \u201cYou shall have rich jewels, Little Mother; we turkeys\nhave keen eyes and have picked up many valuable things in our\nwanderings. Wait a moment.\u201d He spread out his wings and strutted off,\nbut he soon returned with a beautiful necklace in his beak. \u201cSee, this\nis for you.\u201d The little girl could scarcely believe her own eyes. \u201cAnd\nthis, too,\u201d said another turkey, as he came up and laid a pair of\nearrings in her hand.\n\nWith these beautiful things the Little Mother decorated herself and,\nafter thanking her beloved turkeys again and again, she started to go.\nAs she did so all the turkeys seemed to call out in one voice: \u201cOh,\nLittle Mother, we love you and we would bring you to good fortune. Leave\nour door open, for who knows whether you will remember your turkeys when\nyour fortunes are changed. Perhaps you will grow ashamed that you have\nbeen our Little Mother. Remember us and do not tarry too long.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will surely remember, O my turkeys,\u201d and with that she was on her way\nto the great festival. Hastily she ran down the river path toward the\nvillage until she came to a long covered way that led into the great\ndance court. When she came just inside the court she could see the crowd\nof villagers making merry in the great dance. She drew nearer as if to\njoin the others, when every eye at once seemed to catch sight of her\nbeauty and the richness of her dress. \u201cWho is this beautiful maiden?\u201d\nthey asked one another. \u201cWhere did she come from?\u201d\n\n\u201cShe is the most beautiful maiden I have ever seen,\u201d said a prince. \u201cShe\nshall lead the dance with me.\u201d\n\nWith a smile and a toss of her hair over her eyes the little girl\naccepted the prince\u2019s invitation and stepped forward into the circle.\nHer heart became light and her feet merry, and she danced and danced\nuntil the sun sank low in the west. But alas! so great was her own\nhappiness that she thought little about her turkeys at home and her\npromise to them. \u201cWhy should I go away from all this pleasure, to my\nflock of gobbling turkeys?\u201d she said to herself. \u201cI will stay a little\nlonger at least. Just before the sun sets I\u2019ll run back to them. Then\nthese people will never know who I am, and I shall like to hear them\ntalk day after day and wonder who the little girl was who joined in\ntheir dance.\u201d\n\nSo the time sped on and another dance was called, and another, and never\na moment did the little girl stop. At last she noticed that the sun had\nset. Then, suddenly breaking away, she ran out of the dance court down\nthe long covered way, up the river path toward home, before any one\ncould see where she had gone or which path she had taken. All\nbreathless, she arrived at the door of the turkeys\u2019 house and looked in.\nNot one turkey was there. The little girl called and called them. She\nran into their house, she looked around, but not one of her beloved\nturkeys was to be seen. \u201cWhere are they?\u201d she kept saying to herself, at\nthe same time calling them with all the voice she had, \u201cCome my turkeys,\ncome, come.\u201d But there was no answer. \u201cI must trail them. Perhaps they\nhave gone back to the plains.\u201d She ran to the plains, then on to the\nvalley, but her flock of turkeys was far, far away.\n\nAfter a long, long trail over the plains, up and down the valleys, she\ncame within sound of their voices. \u201cI hear them, I hear my turkeys.\u201d\nFaster and faster ran the little girl until she caught sight of her\nbeloved flock hurrying away toward the woods, round the mountain and on\nup the valley. She could hear them saying something over and over again.\nAs she drew nearer she called and called to them, but it was all of no\nuse. They only quickened their steps and spread their wings to help them\nalong. \u201cShe has forgotten us,\u201d they kept saying. \u201cShe is not worthy of\nbetter things than those she has been accustomed to. Let us go to the\nmountains. Our Little Mother is not as good and true as we once thought\nher.\u201d Then they spread their wings and fluttered away over the plains\nabove and were soon lost from sight. The poor little turkey girl put her\nhands over her face, then she looked down at her dress. Alas! what did\nshe see? Her old clothes, patched and tattered. She was a poor little\nturkey girl again. Sad at heart she looked toward the valley and gave\none loud call, \u201cOh, my turkeys come back to me, come back.\u201d\n\n\u201cGobble, gobble, gobble,\u201d she heard beside her. The poor little girl sat\nup, rubbed her eyes and looked about her. There were her beloved turkeys\ngathered around her calling \u201cGobble, gobble, gobble!\u201d They wanted to go\nhome, for the sun was ready to set and the village people were returning\nfrom the festival.\n\n\u201cOh, my beloved turkeys,\u201d said the little girl, when she understood it\nall. \u201cI would not part with you for all the fine dresses and festivals\nin the whole world. How glad I am it was only a dream!\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                            MEADOW FIDDLERS\n\n\n         The red-legged locust. Oh, my, oh, my!\n         He plays all day. But why? But why?\n         You rub your legs with your dusty wings;\n         Your fiddle shrieks till the welkin rings;\n         On meadow green, through the livelong day,\n         You saw and eat till they\u2019re bare and gray\n         Zee-e-e, zee-e-, zee-e-e!\n\n         The green katydid. Dear me, dear me!\n         The finest chap. Just see, just see;\n         You play so hard and you trill so long,\n         Your midget wife ne\u2019er can sing a song,\n         Still you rub your wings in the drollest way\n         While dancing clover blossoms swing and sway\n         Zig, zig, z-i-g, zig, zig, z-i-g!\n\n         Cone-headed grasshopper, zip-zee, zip-zee,\n         The insects\u2019 clown is he, is he!\n         From Maine o\u2019er plains to the Rockies found,\n         With foolscap forehead and shrilling sound,\n         From bush and bramble your roundelay\n         Comes sharp and clear through the summer day,\n         Z-szip-zee. Z-szip, z-szip-zee!\n\n         The wee tree cricket. So free, so free!\n         Sings night and day! What glee, what glee!\n         Your high held wings make such presto fine\n         No human skill can compare with thine;\n         So fast, so shrill, and so wondrous gay,\n         Such tunes are joy to a dancing fay,\n         T-ree-ee, t-re-ee, t-re-ee! T-re-ee, t-re-ee, t-re-ee!\n\n         Sweet meadow fiddlers, zip, zee, zip, zee!\n         They fill the earth with glee, with glee!\n         We greet your coming with fond delight\n         And gayly hie in the sunshine bright,\n         Where bees and blossoms and birds all day\n         Wing, swing, and sing to your joyful lay.\n         Zip-zip-z-ee! zip-zip-z-ee!\n\n\n\n\n                             CASTLE FORTUNE\n\n\nOne fine morning at sunrise, two strong young men were sauntering along\nthrough the fields. As they journeyed toward the east the gray morning\nmist cleared away in the distance, and there on a very high hill stood a\nbeautiful castle with sparkling windows and glistening towers all bathed\nin the morning light.\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d said one of the youths eagerly, \u201clet us go over to it!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d exclaimed the other, who was a lazy fellow, \u201cdo you not know\nthat it is miles away? I am sure I cannot walk so far.\u201d\n\n\u201cTry,\u201d said a sweet strange voice.\n\nOn turning about they saw a lovely fairy dressed in gauzy white, holding\na golden wand in her hand. She was standing on a magic crystal ball\nwhich rolled along with her toward the distant castle. As she passed the\ntravelers, she pointed with her wand toward the east smilingly, and\nsaid, \u201cFollow me!\u201d\n\n\u201cThat would be easy to do,\u201d mumbled the lazy youth, \u201cif one could roll\nalong as you do with no effort.\u201d He then threw himself down on the grass\nto rest.\n\nHis companion, however, started off after the fairy as fast as he could\nrun, and catching hold of her floating robe he cried, \u201cWho are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am Fortune,\u201d she answered. \u201cYonder is my castle. Follow me there.\nWaste no time, and if you reach the castle before midnight I\u2019ll receive\nyou as a friend. But remember! If you come one moment after the last\nstroke of midnight, the door will be closed against you.\u201d\n\nWith these words the fairy drew her robe about her and rolled swiftly on\nin the morning breeze. And the crystal ball sparkled, sparkled in the\nsunlight.\n\nThe youth now hurried back to his companion and said breathlessly,\n\u201cYonder is the Castle of Fortune. Come! Let us go!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat nonsense!\u201d said the lazy youth. \u201cWith a good horse one might get\nthere easily, but for my part I don\u2019t intend to try to walk all that\nway.\u201d\n\n\u201cFarewell, then,\u201d said his friend, and away he started briskly with his\neyes fixed steadily on the distant towers. The lazy youth sighed wearily\nand threw himself down on the soft grass. \u201cIf only good luck would show\nme an easy way to get there,\u201d he murmured. \u201cHow beautiful the castle\nlooks!\u201d He then stretched himself out and fell fast asleep. In a little\nwhile he was awakened by something like a warm breeze blowing in his\near. He slowly rubbed his eyes and yawned aloud. Then he heard the\nneighing of a horse, and turning, he saw standing near a beautiful milk\nwhite steed all saddled and bridled!\n\n\u201cGood luck,\u201d he cried. \u201cCome here, my fine friend. You and I will soon\nreach the castle.\u201d Then he jumped into the saddle and started off at a\nfine gait.\n\nHe soon passed his comrade and called out, \u201cWhat do you think of my\nsteed?\u201d\n\nThe other did not speak, but nodded cheerily and kept on at a steady\npace.\n\nAbout midday the horse and rider reached the summit of a hill. In the\ndistance the castle towers shone brightly against the clear blue sky.\nPresently the horse turned into a shady grove on the hillside and\nstopped.\n\n\u201cA very good idea!\u201d exclaimed the lazy man. \u201c\u2018Make haste slowly\u2019 is good\nwisdom. This shady slope is a fine place to rest awhile, and my appetite\nis keen enough to enjoy the luncheon I have in my pocket.\u201d So, jumping\noff, he found a cool shady nook and stretched himself out on the grass.\n\nAfter he had eaten his savory sandwich he felt so drowsy that he soon\nfell into a sound sleep. What a pleasant sleep he had! He dreamed he was\nin Castle Fortune resting on downy cushions. Every wish he had was\ngranted! Soft strains of music soothed him, while brilliant fireworks\nall crimson and gold were set off in his honor. This continued for some\ntime, when suddenly the explosion of a beautiful Roman candle awoke him.\nHe sat up rubbing his eyes. In the west the sun was sinking, and he\ncould hear the song of a traveler in the valley below! \u201cI must have been\nasleep a long while!\u201d he murmured. \u201cIt is high time to be off. Ready, my\nsteed! Where are you?\u201d\n\nHe whistled and shouted again and again, but no steed came. An old bony\ngray donkey browsing on the hilltop was the only creature in sight.\n\u201cBetter a donkey than nothing,\u201d the lazy man thought. So he walked\nslowly over to the place where the beast was grazing, and mounted him.\n\nAfter some urging, the donkey set off at a slow jog. The lazy man soon\nfound that this kind of traveling was very uncomfortable. The donkey\ntrudged slowly on. Soon it began to grow dark. In the distance he could\nsee that the castle was being lighted up. How beautiful it looked. He\nwas becoming anxious. If only the donkey would move a little faster. But\ninstead he seemed to be going slower and slower, slower and slower,\nuntil in the midst of a thick wood the beast stood still and refused to\nmove. The rider coaxed and threatened and urged and kicked. It was of no\nuse. The donkey refused to move. At last the lazy man was thoroughly\naroused. He struck the beast a hard blow with his fist, screaming, \u201cGet\non, I say.\u201d Up went the donkey\u2019s heels and over his head into the briers\nand stones went the rider. What a plight to be in! He was bruised and\nsore and bewildered. He sat up and tried to collect his thoughts. Ah!\nThere in the distance the lights were shining in Castle Fortune. Oh, for\na soft comfortable couch on which to rest his aching bones. The stubborn\nold donkey! Where could he be?\n\nHe crept about in every direction, hoping to find his donkey, but after\ntearing his clothes and bruising himself he gave up the search. Suddenly\nhis hand struck something that felt a little like a saddle. It was\nmounted on something soft and slimy.\n\nHe hesitated. Castle Fortune\u2019s clock was striking. He counted the\nstrokes. \u201cEleven o\u2019clock!\u201d he exclaimed in amazement. He threw himself\ninto the queer saddle. \u201cThis is rather comfortable,\u201d he exclaimed as he\nleaned against a high back. How slowly the creature moved. At last they\nreached a clearing, where a long straight road led directly to Castle\nFortune with its beautiful towers and its windows ablaze with lights.\n\nThe sight of the castle filled him with longing. He turned his attention\nfor a minute to the strange creature he was riding. Horror! He was\nmounted on a huge snail, quite as large as a calf. No wonder they had\ncrept along at a snail\u2019s pace.\n\nOne! The great clock struck the first stroke of the midnight hour. He\npushed both heels into his steed\u2019s soft sides. In an instant the snail\ndrew his head into the shell and rolled over on the ground.\n\nTwo! struck the great clock. Had the lazy man taken to his heels he\nmight even now have reached the castle before the last stroke of the\ngreat clock. But no! There he stood filled with regret and fear. \u201cA\nbeast! A beast!\u201d he cried, \u201cOh, for any kind of a beast to carry me to\nthe castle!\u201d\n\nThree! What was moving near him? Was it the long lost steed? Without\nfurther thought he jumped into something like a low saddle. His heart\nleaped as he looked up! There in the open door of Castle Fortune stood\nhis friend waving his cap and beckoning to him.\n\nFour! chimed the great clock. The queer steed began to rouse himself.\n\nFive! The creature moved slowly forward.\n\nSix! What an awkward steed it was.\n\nSeven! Which way were they going?\n\nEight! What! Were they moving backward? Impossible! He would jump off\nand run.\n\nNine! To our rider\u2019s great surprise he found he was held fast by the\ncreature\u2019s claws which extended on all sides. Horror! He was riding on a\ngiant crab!\n\nTen! Backward they moved!\n\nEleven! Farther and farther they were going away from the castle.\n\nTWELVE! The castle doors shut with a clang. Castle Fortune\u2019s doors were\nclosed forever to the lazy man.\n\n\n\n\n                         A LITTLE DUTCH GARDEN\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n          I passed by a garden, a little Dutch garden,\n          Where useful and pretty things grew;\n          Heartsease and tomatoes, and pinks and potatoes,\n          And lilies and onions and rue.\n\n          I saw in that garden, that little Dutch garden,\n          A chubby Dutch man with a spade;\n          And a rosy Dutch frau with a shoe like a scow,\n          And a flaxen-haired little Dutch maid.\n\n          There grew in that garden, that little Dutch garden,\n          Blue flag flowers lovely and tall;\n          And early blush roses, and little pink posies,\n          And Gretchen was fairer than all.\n\n          My heart\u2019s in that garden, that little Dutch garden,\n          It tumbled right in as I passed,\n          \u2018Mid \u2018wildering mazes of spinach and daisies,\n          And Gretchen is holding it fast.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                            TRUE FRIENDSHIP\n\n\nDown yonder by the thrashing floors, where the husbandmen thrash out\ntheir corn, some large black ants once established themselves and built\ntheir nests. They settled themselves in that place in order to be near\ngood and wholesome food, such as wheat, barley, and maize, which they\ncarried off whether the farmers liked it or not.\n\nThese ants prospered and became so numerous that they formed themselves\ninto a kingdom, and had their own king.\n\nThe king, who was an old ant, was very wise and courageous. As he was a\nreal king, he wore a golden crown upon his head and held a golden\nscepter in his hand.\n\nHis crown was a small piece of round gold wire, which fitted his head\nsplendidly. His soldiers in one of their raids had found it in a country\nmaiden\u2019s casket. They took possession of it, and presented it to their\nsovereign. In the same way they had come across the scepter, which they\nsaw one day on the thrashing floor, and appropriated in like manner. It\nwas nothing more than a little gold watch key which had dropped off the\nchain of the village steward, but that was of no consequence, because as\nsoon as the royal hand grasped it, it derived value from that\ncircumstance alone.\n\nThe king had his own carriage. It was made out of a nutshell, and was\ndrawn by two swift and well-harnessed beetles, who, like all royal\nhorses, were well trained. The king generally drove out, because his\nmajesty was now so aged that he had become quite white and feeble.\n\nSo you see that he had every blessing, and his people loved him very\nmuch. But he was not happy for he was weary and no longer found pleasure\nin anything. Perhaps this was because he had so much.\n\nOne day there was a great tumult in the ant kingdom. A regiment of\nsoldiers, which had gone out upon an excursion, returned after a\nbrilliant victory, and brought back great spoils, and also four\nprisoners.\n\nThe king, from the balcony of his palace, with his crown on his head and\nhis scepter in his hand, greeted his army as it marched before him in\ngreat order, saluting him with, \u201cLong live the King!\u201d Then he ordered\nthat the four prisoners should be brought before him, that he might try\nthem.\n\nThe first captive was a spider.\n\n\u201cWhat is your name?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cSpider,\u201d she answered humbly, and did homage with her two forelegs.\n\n\u201cWhere were you born?\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cI was born in the mill\u2019s dark cellar.\u201d\n\nAfter many other questions the king again said, \u201cWhat art do you know?\u201d\n\n\u201cI know how to weave,\u201d said the spider. \u201cNo one can surpass me in\nweaving. I am the very, very best weaver in the whole wide world.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood!\u201d said the king. \u201cYou shall weave some cloth for my palace, and if\nyour work is satisfactory, I will set you free; if not, I shall hand you\nover to my soldiers to be cut to pieces. Shut her up in prison and let\nher begin at once.\u201d\n\nAs the king decreed this, he lowered his scepter and struck it on the\nground, when immediately soldiers dragged off the spider by her feet,\nand put her in a cell.\n\nThe second prisoner, which was a bee, was then brought forward. The king\nin like manner questioned her. She said her name was \u201cBee,\u201d and did him\nobeisance. Upon his inquiring where she was born, she replied, \u201cIn a\nhive, which was a house built for a number of bees to live in.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you know any trade or profession?\u201d inquired the king.\n\n\u201cCertainly, your majesty, I know how to make a most delicious food. No\none can excel me.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood!\u201d said the king. \u201cYou shall make all the sweetmeats that are\nrequired at the forthcoming festival, when the peasants spread their\nthrashing floors. If I am pleased with them, I shall release you; but if\nnot, I shall order my soldiers to cut off your head. Shut her up in\nprison, and let her begin at once.\u201d\n\nAgain he knocked with his scepter, and the detachment of soldiers led\nthe bee off to prison. Then the king said: \u201cBring in the two other\nprisoners together, that we may finish with them; for I have other\nbusiness of the kingdom on hand.\u201d\n\nThe third and fourth captives were brought in together. One was a\ngrasshopper, and the other a cricket.\n\nWhen they were asked the customary questions as to their places of\nbirth, the first replied, \u201cAt the roots of a bush of thyme.\u201d And the\nother, \u201cIn the air!\u201d\n\nThen the king proceeded with: \u201cAnd what arts do you know?\u201d\n\n\u201cI know how to sing,\u201d cried the cricket.\n\n\u201cAnd I, how to dance,\u201d said the grasshopper.\n\n\u201cSplendid arts, truly, both the one and the other,\u201d called out the king\nin a rage, and he knocked with his scepter so loudly that all his\ncourtiers and soldiers, as well as the two prisoners, were frightened.\n\u201cSince you know nothing, you are plainly of no use. I shall have you cut\nup, the pair of you.\u201d\n\n\u201cPlease, your majesty,\u201d said the cricket boldly, while the grasshopper\ntrembled with fear, \u201ccan we do nothing? Do we know nothing? Because this\nlady and myself cannot weave like the spider or make sweetmeats like the\nbee? We are worthy people, and the whole world loves us. We amuse all\nthe insects on both hill and plain; we make life in the long summer days\nwhen the sun is hot a little less wearisome; then I sing, and she\ndances, and for those who see and hear us time soon passes. Allow us the\nsame privilege before your majesty, and you can then judge if we be\ndeserving of freedom or death.\u201d\n\nThe king was not hard-hearted, and after hearing this plea of the\ncricket, he said, \u201cI grant your request. I have a little time in which\nto divert myself, and if you can succeed in giving me pleasure in a\nshort space of time, I will give you both your liberty, and grant you\neach any favor that you may ask.\u201d\n\nHe gave orders to release them. The cricket then began to sing with all\nthe skill that she possessed, and the grasshopper danced at the same\ntime. Neither the king nor any of his courtiers or soldiers had ever\nheard so sweet a voice, or seen so artistic a dance. His majesty was\ndelighted; his old face beamed all over, and he struck merrily with his\nscepter, and shouted: \u201cWell done! Bravo! I\u2019ll free you\u2014I\u2019ll free you. I\nonly request that whenever you have the time or the inclination, you\nwill come and amuse me and my subjects a little. Labor is good, but life\nwants some few pleasures also. I told you that I would grant you any\nfavor that you asked for. Ask now what you will.\u201d Then the cricket said\npleadingly, \u201cYour majesty, I ask this favor\u2014that the poor spider may be\nreleased.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have a good heart,\u201d answered the king; \u201cbe it so.\u201d And he turned to\nthe grasshopper. \u201cAnd what favor do you ask, madam dancer?\u201d\n\n\u201cMay it please your majesty to release the bee?\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd you, too, have a good heart; your wish is granted.\u201d And the king\nordered the release of the prisoners.\n\nThey were immediately set free, and all the ants conducted them out of\nthe ant hills, while the cricket, full of joy, sang along the road:\n\n                  \u201cZi zi zi and zi zi zi,\n                  May our lord the king live joyfully,\n                  And all his people as well as he.\u201d\n\n                  Merry have we met,\n                  And merry have we been;\n                  Merry let us part,\n                  And merry meet again.\n\n                              OLD RIME.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                          TRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTES\n\n\n 1. Silently corrected typographical errors.\n 2. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.\n 3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.","title":"Merry Tales","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":32584}