{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_5615/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_5615","id":"gutenberg_5615","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5615","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Children's Literature","Fairy tales","Folklore"],"text":"Produced by JC Byers, Carrie Lorenz, Gaston Picard and David Widger\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE PINK FAIRY BOOK\n\nBy Various\n\n\nEdited by Andrew Lang\n\n\n\n\nPreface\n\n\nAll people in the world tell nursery tales to their children. The\nJapanese tell them, the Chinese, the Red Indians by their camp fires,\nthe Eskimo in their dark dirty winter huts. The Kaffirs of South Africa\ntell them, and the modern Greeks, just as the old Egyptians did, when\nMoses had not been many years rescued out of the bulrushes. The Germans,\nFrench, Spanish, Italians, Danes, Highlanders tell them also, and the\nstories are apt to be like each other everywhere. A child who has read\nthe Blue and Red and Yellow Fairy Books will find some old friends with\nnew faces in the Pink Fairy Book, if he examines and compares. But the\nJapanese tales will probably be new to the young student; the Tanuki is\na creature whose acquaintance he may not have made before. He may remark\nthat Andersen wants to \u2018point a moral,\u2019 as well as to \u2018adorn a tale; \u2018\nthat he is trying to make fun of the follies of mankind, as they exist\nin civilised countries. The Danish story of \u2018The Princess in the Chest\u2019\nneed not be read to a very nervous child, as it rather borders on a\nghost story. It has been altered, and is really much more horrid in the\nlanguage of the Danes, who, as history tells us, were not a nervous or\ntimid people. I am quite sure that this story is not true. The other\nDanish and Swedish stories are not alarming. They are translated by\nMr. W. A. Craigie. Those from the Sicilian (through the German) are\ntranslated, like the African tales (through the French) and the Catalan\ntales, and the Japanese stories (the latter through the German), and an\nold French story, by Mrs. Lang. Miss Alma Alleyne did the stories from\nAndersen, out of the German. Mr. Ford, as usual, has drawn the monsters\nand mermaids, the princes and giants, and the beautiful princesses, who,\nthe Editor thinks, are, if possible, prettier than ever. Here, then, are\nfancies brought from all quarters: we see that black, white, and yellow\npeoples are fond of just the same kinds of adventures. Courage, youth,\nbeauty, kindness, have many trials, but they always win the battle;\nwhile witches, giants, unfriendly cruel people, are on the losing hand.\nSo it ought to be, and so, on the whole, it is and will be; and that is\nall the moral of fairy tales. We cannot all be young, alas! and pretty,\nand strong; but nothing prevents us from being kind, and no kind man,\nwoman, or beast or bird, ever comes to anything but good in these oldest\nfables of the world. So far all the tales are true, and no further.\n\n\n\nContents\n\n\n     The Cat\u2019s Elopement.\n     How the Dragon was Tricked\n     The Goblin and the Grocer\n     The House in the Wood\n     Uraschimataro and the Turtle\n     The Slaying of the Tanuki\n     The Flying Trunk\n     The Snow Man.\n     The Shirt-Collar\n     The Princess in the Chest\n     The Three Brothers\n     The Snow-queen\n     The Fir-Tree\n     Hans, the Mermaid\u2019s Son\n     Peter Bull\n     The Bird \u2018Grip\u2019\n     Snowflake\n     I know what I have learned\n     The Cunning Shoemaker\n     The King who would have a Beautiful Wife\n     Catherine and her Destiny\n     How the Hermit helped to win the King\u2019s Daughter\n     The Water of Life\n     The Wounded Lion\n     The Man without a Heart\n     The Two Brothers\n     Master and Pupil\n     The Golden Lion\n     The Sprig of Rosemary\n     The White Dove\n     The Troll\u2019s Daughter\n     Esben and the Witch\n     Princess Minon-Minette\n     Maiden Bright-eye\n     The Merry Wives\n     King Lindorm\n     The Jackal, the Dove, and the Panther\n     The Little Hare\n     The Sparrow with the Slit Tongue\n     The Story of Ciccu\n     Don Giovanni de la Fortuna.\n\n\n\n\nThe Cat\u2019s Elopement\n\n[From the Japanische Marchen und Sagen, von David Brauns (Leipzig:\nWilhelm Friedrich).]\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a cat of marvellous beauty, with a skin as\nsoft and shining as silk, and wise green eyes, that could see even in\nthe dark. His name was Gon, and he belonged to a music teacher, who\nwas so fond and proud of him that he would not have parted with him for\nanything in the world.\n\nNow not far from the music master\u2019s house there dwelt a lady who\npossessed a most lovely little pussy cat called Koma. She was such a\nlittle dear altogether, and blinked her eyes so daintily, and ate her\nsupper so tidily, and when she had finished she licked her pink nose so\ndelicately with her little tongue, that her mistress was never tired of\nsaying, \u2018Koma, Koma, what should I do without you?\u2019\n\nWell, it happened one day that these two, when out for an evening\nstroll, met under a cherry tree, and in one moment fell madly in love\nwith each other. Gon had long felt that it was time for him to find a\nwife, for all the ladies in the neighbourhood paid him so much attention\nthat it made him quite shy; but he was not easy to please, and did not\ncare about any of them. Now, before he had time to think, Cupid had\nentangled him in his net, and he was filled with love towards Koma. She\nfully returned his passion, but, like a woman, she saw the difficulties\nin the way, and consulted sadly with Gon as to the means of overcoming\nthem. Gon entreated his master to set matters right by buying Koma, but\nher mistress would not part from her. Then the music master was asked to\nsell Gon to the lady, but he declined to listen to any such suggestion,\nso everything remained as before.\n\nAt length the love of the couple grew to such a pitch that they\ndetermined to please themselves, and to seek their fortunes together.\nSo one moonlight night they stole away, and ventured out into an unknown\nworld. All day long they marched bravely on through the sunshine, till\nthey had left their homes far behind them, and towards evening they\nfound themselves in a large park. The wanderers by this time were very\nhot and tired, and the grass looked very soft and inviting, and the\ntrees cast cool deep shadows, when suddenly an ogre appeared in this\nParadise, in the shape of a big, big dog! He came springing towards them\nshowing all his teeth, and Koma shrieked, and rushed up a cherry tree.\nGon, however, stood his ground boldly, and prepared to give battle, for\nhe felt that Koma\u2019s eyes were upon him, and that he must not run away.\nBut, alas! his courage would have availed him nothing had his enemy once\ntouched him, for he was large and powerful, and very fierce. From her\nperch in the tree Koma saw it all, and screamed with all her might,\nhoping that some one would hear, and come to help. Luckily a servant of\nthe princess to whom the park belonged was walking by, and he drove off\nthe dog, and picking up the trembling Gon in his arms, carried him to\nhis mistress.\n\nSo poor little Koma was left alone, while Gon was borne away full of\ntrouble, not in the least knowing what to do. Even the attention paid\nhim by the princess, who was delighted with his beauty and pretty ways,\ndid not console him, but there was no use in fighting against fate, and\nhe could only wait and see what would turn up.\n\nThe princess, Gon\u2019s new mistress, was so good and kind that everybody\nloved her, and she would have led a happy life, had it not been for a\nserpent who had fallen in love with her, and was constantly annoying her\nby his presence. Her servants had orders to drive him away as often as\nhe appeared; but as they were careless, and the serpent very sly, it\nsometimes happened that he was able to slip past them, and to frighten\nthe princess by appearing before her. One day she was seated in her\nroom, playing on her favourite musical instrument, when she felt\nsomething gliding up her sash, and saw her enemy making his way to kiss\nher cheek. She shrieked and threw herself backwards, and Gon, who had\nbeen curled up on a stool at her feet, understood her terror, and with\none bound seized the snake by his neck. He gave him one bite and one\nshake, and flung him on the ground, where he lay, never to worry the\nprincess any more. Then she took Gon in her arms, and praised and\ncaressed him, and saw that he had the nicest bits to eat, and the\nsoftest mats to lie on; and he would have had nothing in the world to\nwish for if only he could have seen Koma again.\n\nTime passed on, and one morning Gon lay before the house door, basking\nin the sun. He looked lazily at the world stretched out before him,\nand saw in the distance a big ruffian of a cat teasing and ill-treating\nquite a little one. He jumped up, full of rage, and chased away the big\ncat, and then he turned to comfort the little one, when his heart nearly\nburst with joy to find that it was Koma. At first Koma did not know him\nagain, he had grown so large and stately; but when it dawned upon her\nwho it was, her happiness knew no bounds. And they rubbed their heads\nand their noses again and again, while their purring might have been\nheard a mile off.\n\nPaw in paw they appeared before the princess, and told her the story of\ntheir life and its sorrows. The princess wept for sympathy, and promised\nthat they should never more be parted, but should live with her to the\nend of their days. By-and-bye the princess herself got married, and\nbrought a prince to dwell in the palace in the park. And she told him\nall about her two cats, and how brave Gon had been, and how he had\ndelivered her from her enemy the serpent.\n\nAnd when the prince heard, he swore they should never leave them, but\nshould go with the princess wherever she went. So it all fell out as\nthe princess wished; and Gon and Koma had many children, and so had the\nprincess, and they all played together, and were friends to the end of\ntheir lives.\n\n\n\n\nHow the Dragon Was Tricked\n\nFrom Griechtsche und Albanesische Marchen, von J. G. von Hahn. (Leipzig:\nEngelmann. 1864.)\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a man who had two sons but they did not\nget on at all well together, for the younger was much handsomer than his\nelder brother who was very jealous of him. When they grew older, things\nbecame worse and worse, and at last one day as they were walking through\na wood the elder youth seized hold of the other, tied him to a tree, and\nwent on his way hoping that the boy might starve to death.\n\nHowever, it happened that an old and humpbacked shepherd passed the tree\nwith his flock, and seeing the prisoner, he stopped and said to him,\n\u2018Tell me, my son why are you tied to that tree?\u2019\n\n\u2018Because I was so crooked,\u2019 answered the young man; \u2018but it has quite\ncured me, and now my back is as straight as can be.\u2019\n\n\u2018I wish you would bind me to a tree,\u2019 exclaimed the shepherd, \u2018so that\nmy back would get straight.\u2019\n\n\u2018With all the pleasure in life,\u2019 replied the youth. \u2018If you will loosen\nthese cords I will tie you up with them as firmly as I can.\u2019\n\nThis was soon done, and then the young man drove off the sheep, leaving\ntheir real shepherd to repent of his folly; and before he had gone very\nfar he met with a horse boy and a driver of oxen, and he persuaded them\nto turn with him and to seek for adventures.\n\nBy these and many other tricks he soon became so celebrated that his\nfame reached the king\u2019s ears, and his majesty was filled with curiosity\nto see the man who had managed to outwit everybody. So he commanded his\nguards to capture the young man and bring him before him.\n\nAnd when the young man stood before the king, the king spoke to him\nand said, \u2018By your tricks and the pranks that you have played on other\npeople, you have, in the eye of the law, forfeited your life. But on one\ncondition I will spare you, and that is, if you will bring me the flying\nhorse that belongs to the great dragon. Fail in this, and you shall be\nhewn in a thousand pieces.\u2019\n\n\u2018If that is all,\u2019 said the youth, \u2018you shall soon have it.\u2019\n\nSo he went out and made his way straight to the stable where the flying\nhorse was tethered. He stretched his hand cautiously out to seize the\nbridle, when the horse suddenly began to neigh as loud as he could. Now\nthe room in which the dragon slept was just above the stable, and at\nthe sound of the neighing he woke and cried to the horse, \u2018What is the\nmatter, my treasure? is anything hurting you?\u2019 After waiting a little\nwhile the young man tried again to loose the horse, but a second time it\nneighed so loudly that the dragon woke up in a hurry and called out\nto know why the horse was making such a noise. But when the same thing\nhappened the third time, the dragon lost his temper, and went down\ninto the stable and took a whip and gave the horse a good beating. This\noffended the horse and made him angry, and when the young man stretched\nout his hand to untie his head, he made no further fuss, but suffered\nhimself to be led quietly away. Once clear of the stable the young man\nsprang on his back and galloped off, calling over his shoulder, \u2018Hi!\ndragon! dragon! if anyone asks you what has become of your horse, you\ncan say that I have got him!\u2019\n\n\nBut the king said, \u2018The flying horse is all very well, but I want\nsomething more. You must bring me the covering with the little bells\nthat lies on the bed of the dragon, or I will have you hewn into a\nthousand pieces.\u2019\n\n\u2018Is that all?\u2019 answered the youth. \u2018That is easily done.\u2019\n\nAnd when night came he went away to the dragon\u2019s house and climbed up on\nto the roof. Then he opened a little window in the roof and let down\nthe chain from which the kettle usually hung, and tried to hook the bed\ncovering and to draw it up. But the little bells all began to ring, and\nthe dragon woke and said to his wife, \u2018Wife, you have pulled off all the\nbed-clothes!\u2019 and drew the covering towards him, pulling, as he did so,\nthe young man into the room. Then the dragon flung himself on the\nyouth and bound him fast with cords saying as he tied the last knot,\n\u2018To-morrow when I go to church you must stay at home and kill him and\ncook him, and when I get back we will eat him together.\u2019\n\nSo the following morning the dragoness took hold of the young man and\nreached down from the shelf a sharp knife with which to kill him. But as\nshe untied the cords the better to get hold of him, the prisoner caught\nher by the legs, threw her to the ground, seized her and speedily cut\nher throat, just as she had been about to do for him, and put her body\nin the oven. Then he snatched up the covering and carried it to the\nking.\n\nThe king was seated on his throne when the youth appeared before him and\nspread out the covering with a deep bow. \u2018That is not enough,\u2019 said his\nmajesty; \u2018you must bring me the dragon himself, or I will have you hewn\ninto a thousand pieces.\u2019\n\n\u2018It shall be done,\u2019 answered the youth; \u2018but you must give me two years\nto manage it, for my beard must grow so that he may not know me.\u2019\n\n\u2018So be it,\u2019 said the king.\n\nAnd the first thing the young man did when his beard was grown was to\ntake the road to the dragon\u2019s house and on the way he met a beggar, whom\nhe persuaded to change clothes with him, and in the beggar\u2019s garments he\nwent fearlessly forth to the dragon.\n\nHe found his enemy before his house, very busy making a box, and\naddressed him politely, \u2018Good morning, your worship. Have you a morsel\nof bread?\u2019\n\n\u2018You must wait,\u2019 replied the dragon, \u2018till I have finished my box, and\nthen I will see if I can find one.\u2019\n\n\u2018What will you do with the box when it is made?\u2019 inquired the beggar.\n\n\u2018It is for the young man who killed my wife, and stole my flying horse\nand my bed covering,\u2019 said the dragon.\n\n\n\u2018He deserves nothing better,\u2019 answered the beggar, \u2018for it was an ill\ndeed. Still that box is too small for him, for he is a big man.\u2019\n\n\u2018You are wrong,\u2019 said the dragon. \u2018The box is large enough even for me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, the rogue is nearly as tall as you,\u2019 replied the beggar, \u2018and,\nof course, if you can get in, he can. But I am sure you would find it a\ntight fit.\u2019\n\n\u2018No, there is plenty of room,\u2019 said the dragon, tucking himself\ncarefully inside.\n\nBut no sooner was he well in, than the young man clapped on the lid and\ncalled out, \u2018Now press hard, just to see if he will be able to get out.\u2019\n\nThe dragon pressed as hard as he could, but the lid never moved.\n\n\u2018It is all right,\u2019 he cried; \u2018now you can open it.\u2019\n\nBut instead of opening it, the young man drove in long nails to make it\ntighter still; then he took the box on his back and brought it to the\nking. And when the king heard that the dragon was inside, he was so\nexcited that he would not wait one moment, but broke the lock and lifted\nthe lid just a little way to make sure he was really there. He was\nvery careful not to leave enough space for the dragon to jump out, but\nunluckily there was just room for his great mouth, and with one snap\nthe king vanished down his wide red jaws. Then the young man married the\nking\u2019s daughter and ruled over the land, but what he did with the dragon\nnobody knows.\n\n\n\n\nThe Goblin and the Grocer\n\nTranslated from the German of Hans Andersen.\n\n\nThere was once a hard-working student who lived in an attic, and he had\nnothing in the world of his own. There was also a hard-working grocer\nwho lived on the first floor, and he had the whole house for his own.\n\nThe Goblin belonged to him, for every Christmas Eve there was waiting\nfor him at the grocer\u2019s a dish of jam with a large lump of butter in the\nmiddle.\n\nThe grocer could afford this, so the Goblin stayed in the grocer\u2019s shop;\nand this teaches us a good deal. One evening the student came in by the\nback door to buy a candle and some cheese; he had no one to send, so he\ncame himself.\n\n\nHe got what he wanted, paid for it, and nodded a good evening to the\ngrocer and his wife (she was a woman who could do more than nod; she\ncould talk).\n\nWhen the student had said good night he suddenly stood still, reading\nthe sheet of paper in which the cheese had been wrapped.\n\nIt was a leaf torn out of an old book--a book of poetry\n\n\u2018There\u2019s more of that over there!\u2019 said the grocer \u2018I gave an old woman\nsome coffee for the book. If you like to give me twopence you can have\nthe rest.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said the student, \u2018give me the book instead of the cheese. I can\neat my bread without cheese. It would be a shame to leave the book to\nbe torn up. You are a clever and practical man, but about poetry you\nunderstand as much as that old tub over there!\u2019\n\nAnd that sounded rude as far as the tub was concerned, but the grocer\nlaughed, and so did the student. It was only said in fun.\n\nBut the Goblin was angry that anyone should dare to say such a thing to\na grocer who owned the house and sold the best butter.\n\nWhen it was night and the shop was shut, and everyone was in bed except\nthe student, the Goblin went upstairs and took the grocer\u2019s wife\u2019s\ntongue. She did not use it when she was asleep, and on whatever object\nin the room he put it that thing began to speak, and spoke out its\nthoughts and feelings just as well as the lady to whom it belonged. But\nonly one thing at a time could use it, and that was a good thing, or\nthey would have all spoken together.\n\nThe Goblin laid the tongue on the tub in which were the old newspapers.\n\n\u2018Is it true,\u2019 he asked, \u2018 that you know nothing about poetry?\u2019\n\n\u2018Certainly not!\u2019 answered the tub. \u2018Poetry is something that is in the\npapers, and that is frequently cut out. I have a great deal more in\nme than the student has, and yet I am only a small tub in the grocer\u2019s\nshop.\u2019\n\nAnd the Goblin put the tongue on the coffee-mill, and how it began to\ngrind! He put it on the butter-cask, and on the till, and all were\nof the same opinion as the waste-paper tub. and one must believe the\nmajority.\n\n\u2018Now I will tell the student!\u2019 and with these words he crept softly up\nthe stairs to the attic where the student lived.\n\nThere was a light burning, and the Goblin peeped through the key-hole\nand saw that he was reading the torn book that he had bought in the\nshop.\n\n\nBut how bright it was! Out of the book shot a streak of light which grew\ninto a large tree and spread its branches far above the student. Every\nleaf was alive, and every flower was a beautiful girl\u2019s head, some with\ndark and shining eyes, others with wonderful blue ones. Every fruit was\na glittering star, and there was a marvellous music in the student\u2019s\nroom. The little Goblin had never even dreamt of such a splendid sight,\nmuch less seen it.\n\nHe stood on tiptoe gazing and gazing, till the candle in the attic\nwas put out; the student had blown it out and had gone to bed, but the\nGoblin remained standing outside listening to the music, which very\nsoftly and sweetly was now singing the student a lullaby.\n\n\u2018I have never seen anything like this!\u2019 said the Goblin. \u2018I never\nexpected this! I must stay with the student.\u2019\n\nThe little fellow thought it over, for he was a sensible Goblin. Then he\nsighed, \u2018The student has no jam!\u2019\n\nAnd on that he went down to the grocer again. And it was a good thing\nthat he did go back, for the tub had nearly worn out the tongue. It had\nread everything that was inside it, on the one side, and was just going\nto turn itself round and read from the other side when the Goblin came\nin and returned the tongue to its owner.\n\nBut the whole shop, from the till down to the shavings, from that night\nchanged their opinion of the tub, and they looked up to it, and had such\nfaith in it that they were under the impression that when the grocer\nread the art and drama critiques out of the paper in the evenings, it\nall came from the tub.\n\nBut the Goblin could no longer sit quietly listening to the wisdom and\nintellect downstairs. No, as soon as the light shone in the evening\nfrom the attic it seemed to him as though its beams were strong ropes\ndragging him up, and he had to go and peep through the key-hole. There\nhe felt the sort of feeling we have looking at the great rolling sea in\na storm, and he burst into tears. He could not himself say why he wept,\nbut in spite of his tears he felt quite happy. How beautiful it must be\nto sit under that tree with the student, but that he could not do; he\nhad to content himself with the key-hole and be happy there!\n\nThere he stood out on the cold landing, the autumn wind blowing through\nthe cracks of the floor. It was cold--very cold, but he first found it\nout when the light in the attic was put out and the music in the wood\ndied away. Ah! then it froze him, and he crept down again into his warm\ncorner; there it was comfortable and cosy.\n\nWhen Christmas came, and with it the jam with the large lump of butter,\nah! then the grocer was first with him.\n\nBut in the middle of the night the Goblin awoke, hearing a great noise\nand knocking against the shutters--people hammering from outside. The\nwatchman was blowing his horn: a great fire had broken out; the whole\ntown was in flames.\n\nWas it in the house? or was it at a neighbour\u2019s? Where was it?\n\nThe alarm increased. The grocer\u2019s wife was so terrified that she took\nher gold earrings out of her ears and put them in her pocket in order\nto save something. The grocer seized his account books. and the maid her\nblack silk dress.\n\nEveryone wanted to save his most valuable possession; so did the Goblin,\nand in a few leaps he was up the stairs and in the student\u2019s room. He\nwas standing quietly by the open window looking at the fire that was\nburning in the neighbour\u2019s house just opposite. The Goblin seized the\nbook lying on the table, put it in his red cap, and clasped it with both\nhands. The best treasure in the house was saved, and he climbed out on\nto the roof with it--on to the chimney. There he sat, lighted up by the\nflames from the burning house opposite, both hands holding tightly on\nhis red cap, in which lay the treasure; and now he knew what his heart\nreally valued most--to whom he really belonged. But when the fire was\nput out, and the Goblin thought it over--then--\n\n\u2018I will divide myself between the two,\u2019 he said. \u2018I cannot quite give up\nthe grocer, because of the jam!\u2019\n\nAnd it is just the same with us. We also cannot quite give up the\ngrocer--because of the jam.\n\n\n\n\nThe House in the Wood\n\nFrom the German of Grimm.\n\n\nA poor woodcutter lived with his wife and three daughters in a little\nhut on the borders of a great forest.\n\nOne morning as he was going to his work, he said to his wife, \u2018Let our\neldest daughter bring me my lunch into the wood; and so that she shall\nnot lose her way, I will take a bag of millet with me, and sprinkle the\nseed on the path.\u2019\n\nWhen the sun had risen high over the forest, the girl set out with a\nbasin of soup. But the field and wood sparrows, the larks and finches,\nblackbirds and green finches had picked up the millet long ago, and the\ngirl could not find her way.\n\nShe went on and on, till the sun set and night came on. The trees\nrustled in the darkness, the owls hooted, and she began to be very much\nfrightened. Then she saw in tile distance a light that twinkled between\nthe trees. \u2018There must be people living yonder,\u2019 she thought, \u2018who will\ntake me in for the night,\u2019 and she began walking towards it.\n\nNot long afterwards she came to a house with lights in the windows.\n\nShe knocked at the door, and a gruff voice called, \u2018Come in!\u2019\n\nThe girl stepped into the dark entrance, and tapped at the door of the\nroom.\n\n\u2018Just walk in,\u2019 cried the voice, and when she opened the door there sat\nan old gray-haired man at the table. His face was resting on his hands,\nand his white beard flowed over the table almost down to the ground.\n\nBy the stove lay three beasts, a hen, a cock, and a brindled cow. The\ngirl told the old man her story, and asked for a night\u2019s lodging.\n\nThe man said:\n\n     Pretty cock,\n     Pretty hen,\n     And you, pretty brindled cow,\n     What do you say now?\n\n\u2018Duks,\u2019 answered the beasts; and that must have meant, \u2018We are quite\nwilling,\u2019 for the old man went on, \u2018Here is abundance; go into the back\nkitchen and cook us a supper.\u2019\n\nThe girl found plenty of everything in the kitchen, and cooked a good\nmeal, but she did not think of the beasts.\n\nShe placed the full dishes on the table, sat down opposite the\ngray-haired man, and ate till her hunger was appeased.\n\nWhen she was satisfied, she said, \u2018But now I am so tired, where is a bed\nin which I can sleep? \u2018\n\nThe beasts answered:\n\n     You have eaten with him,\n     You have drunk with him,\n     Of us you have not thought,\n     Sleep then as you ought!\n\nThen the old man said, \u2018Go upstairs, and there you will find a bedroom;\nshake the bed, and put clean sheets on, and go to sleep.\u2019\n\nThe maiden went upstairs, and when she had made the bed, she lay down.\n\nAfter some time the gray-haired man came, looked at her by the light\nof his candle, and shook his head. And when he saw that she was sound\nasleep, he opened a trapdoor and let her fall into the cellar.\n\nThe woodcutter came home late in the evening, and reproached his wife\nfor leaving him all day without food.\n\n\u2018No, I did not,\u2019 she answered; \u2018the girl went off with your dinner. She\nmust have lost her way, but will no doubt come back to-morrow.\u2019\n\nBut at daybreak the woodcutter started off into the wood, and this time\nasked his second daughter to bring his food.\n\n\u2018I will take a bag of lentils,\u2019 said he; \u2018they are larger than millet,\nand the girl will see them better and be sure to find her way.\u2019\n\nAt midday the maiden took the food, but the lentils had all gone; as on\nthe previous day, the wood birds had eaten them all.\n\nThe maiden wandered about the wood till nightfall, when she came in\nthe same way to the old man\u2019s house, and asked for food and a night\u2019s\nlodging.\n\nThe man with the white hair again asked the beasts:\n\n     Pretty cock,\n     Pretty hen,\n     And you, pretty brindled cow,\n     What do you say now?\n\nThe beasts answered, \u2018Duks,\u2019 and everything happened as on the former\nday.\n\nThe girl cooked a good meal, ate and drank with the old man, and did not\ntrouble herself about the animals.\n\nAnd when she asked for a bed, they replied:\n\n     You have eaten with him\n     You have drunk with him,\n     Of us you have not thought,\n\nNow sleep as you ought!\n\nAnd when she was asleep, the old man shook his head over her, and let\nher fall into the cellar.\n\nOn the third morning the woodcutter said to his wife, \u2018Send our youngest\nchild to-day with my dinner. She is always good and obedient, and will\nkeep to the right path, and not wander away like her sisters, idle\ndrones!\u2019\n\nBut the mother said, \u2018Must I lose my dearest child too?\u2019\n\n\u2018Do not fear,\u2019 he answered; \u2018she is too clever and intelligent to lose\nher way. I will take plenty of peas with me and strew them along; they\nare even larger than lentils, and will show her the way.\u2019\n\nBut when the maiden started off with the basket on her arm, the wood\npigeons had eaten up the peas, and she did not know which way to go. She\nwas much distressed, and thought constantly of her poor hungry father\nand her anxious mother. At last, when it grew dark, she saw the little\nlight, and came to the house in the wood. She asked prettily if she\nmight stay there for the night, and the man with the white beard asked\nhis beasts again:\n\n     Pretty cock,\n     Pretty hen,\n     And you, pretty brindled cow,\n     What do you say now?\n\n\u2018Duks,\u2019 they said. Then the maiden stepped up to the stove where the\nanimals were lying, and stroked the cock and the hen, and scratched the\nbrindled cow between its horns.\n\nAnd when at the bidding of the old man she had prepared a good supper,\nand the dishes were standing on the table, she said, \u2018Shall I have\nplenty while the good beasts have nothing? There is food to spare\noutside; I will attend to them first.\u2019\n\nThen she went out and fetched barley and strewed it before the cock and\nhen, and brought the cow an armful of sweet-smelling hay.\n\n\u2018Eat that, dear beasts,\u2019 she said,\u2019 and when you are thirsty you shall\nhave a good drink.\u2019\n\nThen she fetched a bowl of water, and the cock and hen flew on to the\nedge, put their beaks in, and then held up their heads as birds do when\nthey drink, and the brindled cow also drank her fill. When the beasts\nwere satisfied, the maiden sat down beside the old man at the table and\nate what was left for her. Soon the cock and hen began to tuck their\nheads under their wings, and the brindled cow blinked its eyes, so the\nmaiden said, \u2018Shall we not go to rest now?\u2019\n\n     Pretty cock,\n     Pretty hen,\n     And you, pretty brindled cow,\n     What do you say now?\n\nThe animals said, \u2018Duks:\n\n     You have eaten with us,\n     You have drunk with us,\n     You have tended us right,\n     So we wish you good night.\u2019\n\nThe maiden therefore went upstairs, made the bed and put on clean sheets\nand fell asleep. She slept peacefully till midnight, when there was such\na noise in the house that she awoke. Everything trembled and shook; the\nanimals sprang up and dashed themselves in terror against the wall; the\nbeams swayed as if they would be torn from their foundations, it seemed\nas if the stairs were tumbling down, and then the roof fell in with a\ncrash. Then all became still, and as no harm came to the maiden she lay\ndown again and fell asleep. But when she awoke again in broad daylight,\nwhat a sight met her eyes! She was lying in a splendid room furnished\nwith royal splendour; the walls were covered with golden flowers on a\ngreen ground; the bed was of ivory and the counterpane of velvet, and on\na stool near by lay a pair of slippers studded with pearls. The maiden\nthought she must be dreaming, but in came three servants richly dressed,\nwho asked what were her commands. \u2018Go,\u2019 said the maiden, \u2018I will get up\nat once and cook the old man\u2019s supper for him, and then I will feed the\npretty cock and hen and the brindled cow.\u2019\n\nBut the door opened and in came a handsome young man, who said, \u2018I am a\nking\u2019s son, and was condemned by a wicked witch to live as an old man\nin this wood with no company but that of my three servants, who were\ntransformed into a cock, a hen, and a brindled cow. The spell could only\nbe broken by the arrival of a maiden who should show herself kind\nnot only to men but to beasts. You are that maiden, and last night at\nmidnight we were freed, and this poor house was again transformed into\nmy royal palace.\n\nAs they stood there the king\u2019s son told his three servants to go and\nfetch the maiden\u2019s parents to be present at the wedding feast.\n\n\u2018But where are my two sisters?\u2019 asked the maid.\n\n\u2018I shut them up in the cellar, but in the morning they shall be led\nforth into the forest and shall serve a charcoal burner until they have\nimproved, and will never again suffer poor animals to go hungry.\u2019\n\n\n\n\nUraschimataro and the Turtle\n\nFrom the Japanische Marchen und Sagen, von David Brauns (Leipzig:\nWilhelm Friedrich).\n\n\nThere was once a worthy old couple who lived on the coast, and supported\nthemselves by fishing. They had only one child, a son, who was their\npride and joy, and for his sake they were ready to work hard all day\nlong, and never felt tired or discontented with their lot. This son\u2019s\nname was Uraschimataro, which means in Japanese, \u2018Son of the island,\u2019\nand he was a fine well-grown youth and a good fisherman, minding neither\nwind nor weather. Not the bravest sailor in the whole village dared\nventure so far out to sea as Uraschimataro, and many a time the\nneighbours used to shake their heads and say to his parents, \u2018If your\nson goes on being so rash, one day he will try his luck once too often,\nand the waves will end by swallowing him up.\u2019 But Uraschimataro paid no\nheed to these remarks, and as he was really very clever in managing a\nboat, the old people were very seldom anxious about him.\n\nOne beautiful bright morning, as he was hauling his well-filled nets\ninto the boat, he saw lying among the fishes a tiny little turtle. He\nwas delighted with his prize, and threw it into a wooden vessel to\nkeep till he got home, when suddenly the turtle found its voice, and\ntremblingly begged for its life. \u2018After all,\u2019 it said, \u2018what good can\nI do you? I am so young and small, and I would so gladly live a little\nlonger. Be merciful and set me free, and I shall know how to prove my\ngratitude.\u2019\n\nNow Uraschimataro was very good-natured, and besides, he could never\nbear to say no, so he picked up the turtle, and put it back into the\nsea.\n\nYears flew by, and every morning Uraschimataro sailed his boat into the\ndeep sea. But one day as he was making for a little bay between some\nrocks, there arose a fierce whirlwind, which shattered his boat to\npieces, and she was sucked under by the waves. Uraschimataro himself\nvery nearly shared the same fate. But he was a powerful swimmer, and\nstruggled hard to reach the shore. Then he saw a large turtle coming\ntowards him, and above the howling of the storm he heard what it said:\n\u2018I am the turtle whose life you once saved. I will now pay my debt and\nshow my gratitude. The land is still far distant, and without my help\nyou would never get there. Climb on my back, and I will take you where\nyou will.\u2019 Uraschimataro did not wait to be asked twice, and thankfully\naccepted his friend\u2019s help. But scarcely was he seated firmly on the\nshell, when the turtle proposed that they should not return to the shore\nat once, but go under the sea, and look at some of the wonders that lay\nhidden there.\n\nUraschimataro agreed willingly, and in another moment they were deep,\ndeep down, with fathoms of blue water above their heads. Oh, how quickly\nthey darted through the still, warm sea! The young man held tight, and\nmarvelled where they were going and how long they were to travel, but\nfor three days they rushed on, till at last the turtle stopped before\na splendid palace, shining with gold and silver, crystal and precious\nstones, and decked here and there with branches of pale pink coral and\nglittering pearls. But if Uraschimataro was astonished at the beauty of\nthe outside, he was struck dumb at the sight of the hall within, which\nwas lighted by the blaze of fish scales.\n\n\u2018Where have you brought me?\u2019 he asked his guide in a low voice.\n\n\u2018To the palace of Ringu, the house of the sea god, whose subjects we all\nare,\u2019 answered the turtle. \u2018I am the first waiting maid of his daughter,\nthe lovely princess Otohime, whom you will shortly see.\u2019\n\nUraschimataro was still so puzzled with the adventures that had befallen\nhim, that he waited in a dazed condition for what would happen next. But\nthe turtle, who had talked so much of him to the princess that she had\nexpressed a wish to see him, went at once to make known his arrival.\nAnd directly the princess beheld him her heart was set on him, and she\nbegged him to stay with her, and in return promised that he should never\ngrow old, neither should his beauty fade. \u2018Is not that reward enough?\u2019\nshe asked, smiling, looking all the while as fair as the sun itself. And\nUraschimataro said \u2018Yes,\u2019 and so he stayed there. For how long? That he\nonly knew later.\n\nHis life passed by, and each hour seemed happier than the last, when\none day there rushed over him a terrible longing to see his parents. He\nfought against it hard, knowing how it would grieve the princess, but it\ngrew on him stronger and stronger, till at length he became so sad that\nthe princess inquired what was wrong. Then he told her of the longing he\nhad to visit his old home, and that he must see his parents once more.\nThe princess was almost frozen with horror, and implored him to stay\nwith her, or something dreadful would be sure to happen. \u2018You will never\ncome back, and we shall meet again no more,\u2019 she moaned bitterly. But\nUraschimataro stood firm and repeated, \u2018Only this once will I leave you,\nand then will I return to your side for ever.\u2019 Sadly the princess shook\nher head, but she answered slowly, \u2018One way there is to bring you safely\nback, but I fear you will never agree to the conditions of the bargain.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will do anything that will bring me back to you,\u2019 exclaimed\nUraschimataro, looking at her tenderly, but the princess was silent: she\nknew too well that when he left her she would see his face no more. Then\nshe took from a shelf a tiny golden box, and gave it to Uraschimataro,\npraying him to keep it carefully, and above all things never to open it.\n\u2018If you can do this,\u2019 she said as she bade him farewell, \u2018your friend\nthe turtle will meet you at the shore, and will carry you back to me.\u2019\n\nUraschimataro thanked her from his heart, and swore solemnly to do her\nbidding. He hid the box safely in his garments, seated himself on the\nback of the turtle, and vanished in the ocean path, waving his hand to\nthe princess. Three days and three nights they swam through the sea, and\nat length Uraschimataro arrived at the beach which lay before his old\nhome. The turtle bade him farewell, and was gone in a moment.\n\nUraschimataro drew near to the village with quick and joyful steps.\nHe saw the smoke curling through the roof, and the thatch where green\nplants had thickly sprouted. He heard the children shouting and calling,\nand from a window that he passed came the twang of the koto, and\neverything seemed to cry a welcome for his return. Yet suddenly he\nfelt a pang at his heart as he wandered down the street. After all,\neverything was changed. Neither men nor houses were those he once knew.\nQuickly he saw his old home; yes, it was still there, but it had a\nstrange look. Anxiously he knocked at the door, and asked the woman who\nopened it after his parents. But she did not know their names, and could\ngive him no news of them.\n\nStill more disturbed, he rushed to the burying ground, the only place\nthat could tell him what he wished to know. Here at any rate he would\nfind out what it all meant. And he was right. In a moment he stood\nbefore the grave of his parents, and the date written on the stone\nwas almost exactly the date when they had lost their son, and he had\nforsaken them for the Daughter of the Sea. And so he found that since he\nhad deft his home, three hundred years had passed by.\n\n\nShuddering with horror at his discovery he turned back into the village\nstreet, hoping to meet some one who could tell him of the days of old.\nBut when the man spoke, he knew he was not dreaming, though he felt as\nif he had lost his senses.\n\nIn despair he bethought him of the box which was the gift of the\nprincess. Perhaps after all this dreadful thing was not true. He\nmight be the victim of some enchanter\u2019s spell, and in his hand lay the\ncounter-charm. Almost unconsciously he opened it, and a purple vapour\ncame pouring out. He held the empty box in his hand, and as he looked he\nsaw that the fresh hand of youth had grown suddenly shrivelled, like the\nhand of an old, old man. He ran to the brook, which flowed in a clear\nstream down from the mountain. and saw himself reflected as in a mirror.\nIt was the face of a mummy which looked back at him. Wounded to death,\nhe crept back through the village, and no man knew the old, old man to\nbe the strong handsome youth who had run down the street an hour before.\nSo he toiled wearily back, till he reached the shore, and here he sat\nsadly on a rock, and called loudly on the turtle. But she never came\nback any more, but instead, death came soon, and set him free. But\nbefore that happened, the people who saw him sitting lonely on the shore\nhad heard his story, and when their children were restless they used to\ntell them of the good son who from love to his parents had given up for\ntheir sakes the splendour and wonders of the palace in the sea, and the\nmost beautiful woman in the world besides.\n\n\n\n\nThe Slaying of the Tanuki\n\nFrom the Japanische Murchen und Sagen.\n\n\nNear a big river, and between two high mountains, a man and his wife\nlived in a cottage a long, long time ago. A dense forest lay all round\nthe cottage, and there was hardly a path or a tree in the whole wood\nthat was not familiar to the peasant from his boyhood. In one of his\nwanderings he had made friends with a hare, and many an hour the two\npassed together, when the man was resting by the roadside, eating his\ndinner.\n\nNow this strange friendship was observed by the Tanuki, a wicked,\nquarrelsome beast, who hated the peasant, and was never tired of doing\nhim an ill turn. Again and again he had crept to the hut, and finding\nsome choice morsel put away for the little hare, had either eaten it if\nhe thought it nice, or trampled it to pieces so that no one else should\nget it, and at last the peasant lost patience, and made up his mind he\nwould have the Tanuki\u2019s blood.\n\nSo for many days the man lay hidden, waiting for the Tanuki to come by,\nand when one morning he marched up the road thinking of nothing but the\ndinner he was going to steal, the peasant threw himself upon him and\nbound his four legs tightly, so that he could not move. Then he dragged\nhis enemy joyfully to the house, feeling that at length he had got the\nbetter of the mischievous beast which had done him so many ill turns.\n\u2018He shall pay for them with his skin,\u2019 he said to his wife. \u2018We will\nfirst kill him, and then cook him.\u2019 So saying, he hanged the Tanuki,\nhead downwards, to a beam, and went out to gather wood for a fire.\n\nMeanwhile the old woman was standing at the mortar pounding the rise\nthat was to serve them for the week with a pestle that made her arms\nache with its weight. Suddenly she heard something whining and weeping\nin the corner, and, stopping her work, she looked round to see what it\nwas. That was all that the rascal wanted, and he put on directly his\nmost humble air, and begged the woman in his softest voice to loosen his\nbonds, which her hurting him sorely. She was filled with pity for him,\nbut did not dare to set him free, as she knew that her husband would be\nvery angry. The Tanuki, however, did not despair, and seeing that her\nheart was softened, began his prayers anew. \u2018He only asked to have his\nbonds taken from him,\u2019 he said. \u2018He would give his word not to attempt\nto escape, and if he was once set free he could soon pound her rice for\nher.\u2019 \u2018Then you can have a little rest,\u2019 he went on, \u2018for rice pounding\nis very tiring work, and not at all fit for weak women.\u2019 These last\nwords melted the good woman completely, and she unfastened the bonds\nthat held him. Poor foolish creature! In one moment the Tanuki had\nseized her, stripped off all her clothes, and popped her in the mortar.\nIn a few minutes more she was pounded as fine as the rice; and not\ncontent with that, the Tanuki placed a pot on the hearth and made ready\nto cook the peasant a dinner from the flesh of his own wife!\n\nWhen everything was complete he looked out of the door, and saw the old\nman coming from the forest carrying a large bundle of wood. Quick as\nlightning the Tanuki not only put on the woman\u2019s clothes, but, as he was\na magician, assumed her form as well. Then he took the wood, kindled the\nfire, and very soon set a large dinner before the old man, who was very\nhungry, and had forgotten for the moment all about his enemy. But when\nthe Tanuki saw that he had eaten his fill and would be thinking about\nhis prisoner, he hastily shook off the clothes behind a door and took\nhis own shape. Then he said to the peasant, \u2018You are a nice sort of\nperson to seize animals and to talk of killing them! You are caught in\nyour own net. It is your own wife that you have eaten, and if you want\nto find her bones you have only to look under the floor.\u2019 With these\nwords he turned and made for the forest.\n\nThe old peasant grew cold with horror as he listened, and seemed frozen\nto the place where he stood. When he had recovered himself a little,\nhe collected the bones of his dead wife, buried them in the garden, and\nswore over the grave to be avenged on the Tanuki. After everything was\ndone he sat himself down in his lonely cottage and wept bitterly, and\nthe bitterest thought of all was that he would never be able to forget\nthat he had eaten his own wife.\n\nWhile he was thus weeping and wailing his friend the hare passed by,\nand, hearing the noise, pricked up his ears and soon recognised the old\nman\u2019s voice. He wondered what had happened, and put his head in at the\ndoor and asked if anything was the matter. With tears and groans the\npeasant told him the whole dreadful story, and the hare, filled with\nanger and compassion, comforted him as best he could, and promised to\nhelp him in his revenge. \u2018The false knave shall not go unpunished,\u2019 said\nhe.\n\nSo the first thing he did was to search the house for materials to make\nan ointment, which he sprinkled plentifully with pepper and then put in\nhis pocket. Next he took a hatchet, bade farewell to the old man, and\ndeparted to the forest. He bent his steps to the dwelling of the Tanuki\nand knocked at the door. The Tanuki, who had no cause to suspect the\nhare, was greatly pleased to see him, for he noticed the hatchet at\nonce, and began to lay plots how to get hold of it.\n\nTo do this he thought he had better offer to accompany the hare, which\nwas exactly what the hare wished and expected, for he knew all the\nTanuki\u2019s cunning, and understood his little ways. So he accepted the\nrascal\u2019s company with joy, and made himself very pleasant as they\nstrolled along. When they were wandering in this manner through the\nforest the hare carelessly raised his hatchet in passing, and cut down\nsome thick boughs that were hanging over the path, but at length,\nafter cutting down a good big tree, which cost him many hard blows, he\ndeclared that it was too heavy for him to carry home, and he must just\nleave it where it was. This delighted the greedy Tanuki, who said that\nthey would be no weight for him, so they collected the large branches,\nwhich the hare bound tightly on his back. Then he trotted gaily to the\nhouse, the hare following after with his lighter bundle.\n\nBy this time the hare had decided what he would do, and as soon as they\narrived, he quietly set on fire the wood on the back of the Tanuki. The\nTanuki, who was busy with something else, observed nothing, and only\ncalled out to ask what was the meaning of the crackling that he heard.\n\u2018It is just the rattle of the stones which are rolling down the side of\nthe mountain,\u2019 the hare said; and the Tanuki was content, and made no\nfurther remarks, never noticing that the noise really sprang from the\nburning boughs on his back, until his fur was in flames, and it was\nalmost too late to put it out. Shrieking with pain, he let fall the\nburning wood from his back, and stamped and howled with agony. But the\nhare comforted him, and told him that he always carried with him an\nexcellent plaster in case of need, which would bring him instant relief,\nand taking out his ointment he spread it on a leaf of bamboo, and\nlaid it on the wound. No sooner did it touch him than the Tanuki leapt\nyelling into the air, and the hare laughed, and ran to tell his friend\nthe peasant what a trick he had played on their enemy. But the old man\nshook his head sadly, for he knew that the villain was only crushed for\nthe moment, and that he would shortly be revenging himself upon them.\nNo, the only way every to get any peace and quiet was to render the\nTanuki harmless for ever. Long did the old man and the hare puzzle\ntogether how this was to be done, and at last they decided that they\nwould make two boats, a small one of wood and a large one of clay. Then\nthey fell to work at once, and when the boats were ready and properly\npainted, the hare went to the Tanuki, who was still very ill, and\ninvited him to a great fish-catching. The Tanuki was still feeling angry\nwith the hare about the trick he had played him, but he was weak and\nvery hungry, so he gladly accepted the proposal, and accompanied the\nhare to the bank of the river, where the two boats were moored, rocked\nby the waves. They both looked exactly alike, and the Tanuki only saw\nthat one was bigger than the other, and would hold more fish, so he\nsprang into the large one, while the hare climbed into the one which was\nmade of wood. They loosened their moorings, and made for the middle of\nthe stream, and when they were at some distance from the bank, the hare\ntook his oar, and struck such a heavy blow at the other boat, that it\nbroke in two. The Tanuki fell straight into the water, and was held\nthere by the hare till he was quite dead. Then he put the body in his\nboat and rowed to land, and told the old man that his enemy was dead at\nlast. And the old man rejoiced that his wife was avenged, and he took\nthe hare into his house, and they lived together all their days in peace\nand quietness upon the mountain.\n\n\n\n\nThe Flying Trunk\n\nTranslated from the German of Hans Andersen.\n\n\nThere was once a merchant who was so rich that he could have paved\nthe whole street, and perhaps even a little side-street besides, with\nsilver. But he did not do that; he knew another way of spending his\nmoney. If he spent a shilling he got back a florin-such an excellent\nmerchant he was till he died.\n\nNow his son inherited all this money. He lived very merrily; he went\nevery night to the theatre, made paper kites out of five-pound notes,\nand played ducks and drakes with sovereigns instead of stones. In this\nway the money was likely to come soon to an end, and so it did.\n\nAt last he had nothing left but four shillings, and he had no clothes\nexcept a pair of slippers and an old dressing-gown.\n\nHis friends did not trouble themselves any more about him; they would\nnot even walk down the street with him.\n\nBut one of them who was rather good-natured sent him an old trunk with\nthe message, \u2018Pack up!\u201d That was all very well, but he had nothing to\npack up, so he got into the trunk himself.\n\nIt was an enchanted trunk, for as soon as the lock was pressed it could\nfly. He pressed it, and away he flew in it up the chimney, high into the\nclouds, further and further away. But whenever the bottom gave a little\ncreak he was in terror lest the trunk should go to pieces, for then he\nwould have turned a dreadful somersault-just think of it!\n\nIn this way he arrived at the land of the Turks. He hid the trunk in a\nwood under some dry leaves, and then walked into the town. He could\ndo that quite well, for all the Turks were dressed just as he was-in a\ndressing-gown and slippers.\n\nHe met a nurse with a little child.\n\n\u2018Halloa! you Turkish nurse,\u2019 said he, \u2018what is that great castle there\nclose to the town? The one with the windows so high up?\u2019\n\n\u2018The sultan\u2019s daughter lives there,\u2019 she replied. \u2018It is prophesied that\nshe will be very unlucky in her husband, and so no one is allowed to see\nher except when the sultan and sultana are by.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thank you,\u2019 said the merchant\u2019s son, and he went into the wood, sat\nhimself in his trunk, flew on to the roof, and crept through the window\ninto the princess\u2019s room.\n\nShe was lying on the sofa asleep, and was so beautiful that the young\nmerchant had to kiss her. Then she woke up and was very much frightened,\nbut he said he was a Turkish god who had come through the air to see\nher, and that pleased her very much.\n\nThey sat close to each other, and he told her a story about her eyes.\nThey were beautiful dark lakes in which her thoughts swam about like\nmermaids. And her forehead was a snowy mountain, grand and shining.\nThese were lovely stories.\n\nThen he asked the princess to marry him, and she said yes at once.\n\n\u2018But you must come here on Saturday,\u2019 she said, \u2018for then the sultan and\nthe sultana are coming to tea with me. They will be indeed proud that\nI receive the god of the Turks. But mind you have a really good story\nready, for my parents like them immensely. My mother likes something\nrather moral and high-flown, and my father likes something merry to make\nhim laugh.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, I shall only bring a fairy story for my dowry,\u2019 said he, and so\nthey parted. But the princess gave him a sabre set with gold pieces\nwhich he could use.\n\nThen he flew away, bought himself a new dressing-gown, and sat down\nin the wood and began to make up a story, for it had to be ready by\nSaturday, and that was no easy matter.\n\nWhen he had it ready it was Saturday.\n\nThe sultan, the sultana, and the whole court were at tea with the\nprincess.\n\nHe was most graciously received.\n\n\u2018Will you tell us a story?\u2019 said the sultana; \u2018one that is thoughtful\nand instructive?\u2019\n\n\u2018But something that we can laugh at,\u2019 said the sultan.\n\n\u2018Oh, certainly,\u2019 he replied, and began: \u2018Now, listen attentively. There\nwas once a box of matches which lay between a tinder-box and an old iron\npot, and they told the story of their youth.\n\n\u2018\u201cWe used to be on the green fir-boughs. Every morning and evening\nwe had diamond-tea, which was the dew, and the whole day long we had\nsunshine, and the little birds used to tell us stories. We were very\nrich, because the other trees only dressed in summer, but we had green\ndresses in summer and in winter. Then the woodcutter came, and our\nfamily was split up. We have now the task of making light for the lowest\npeople. That is why we grand people are in the kitchen.\u201d\n\n\u2018\u201cMy fate was quite different,\u201d said the iron pot, near which the\nmatches lay.\n\n\u2018\u201cSince I came into the world I have been many times scoured, and have\ncooked much. My only pleasure is to have a good chat with my companions\nwhen I am lying nice and clean in my place after dinner.\u201d\n\n\u2018\u201cNow you are talking too fast,\u201d spluttered the fire.\n\n\u2018\u201cYes, let us decide who is the grandest!\u201d said the matches.\n\n\u2018\u201cNo, I don\u2019t like talking about myself,\u201d said the pot.\n\n\u2018\u201cLet us arrange an evening\u2019s entertainment. I will tell the story of my\nlife.\n\n\u2018\u201cOn the Baltic by the Danish shore-\u201d\n\n\u2018What a beautiful beginning!\u201d said all the plates. \u201cThat\u2019s a story that\nwill please us all.\u201d\n\n\u2018And the end was just as good as the beginning. All the plates clattered\nfor joy.\n\n\u2018\u201cNow I will dance,\u201d said the tongs, and she danced. Oh! how high she\ncould kick!\n\n\u2018The old chair-cover in the corner split when he saw her.\n\n\u2018The urn would have sung but she said she had a cold; she could not sing\nunless she boiled.\n\n\u2018In the window was an old quill pen. There was nothing remarkable about\nher except that she had been dipped too deeply into the ink. But she was\nvery proud of that.\n\n\u2018\u201cIf the urn will not sing,\u201d said she, \u201coutside the door hangs a\nnightingale in a cage who will sing.\u201d\n\n\u2018\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s proper,\u201d said the kettle, \u201cthat such a foreign bird\nshould be heard.\u201d\n\n\u2018\u201cOh, let us have some acting,\u201d said everyone. \u201cDo let us!\u201d\n\n\u2018Suddenly the door opened and the maid came in. Everyone was quite\nquiet. There was not a sound. But each pot knew what he might have done,\nand how grand he was.\n\n\u2018The maid took the matches and lit the fire with them. How they\nspluttered and flamed, to be sure! \u201cNow everyone can see,\u201d they thought,\n\u201cthat we are the grandest! How we sparkle! What a light-\u201d\n\n\u2018But here they were burnt out.\u2019\n\n\u2018That was a delightful story!\u2019 said the sultana. \u2018I quite feel myself in\nthe kitchen with the matches. Yes, now you shall marry our daughter.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, indeed,\u2019 said the sultan, \u2018you shall marry our daughter on\nMonday.\u2019 And they treated the young man as one of the family.\n\nThe wedding was arranged, and the night before the whole town was\nilluminated.\n\nBiscuits and gingerbreads were thrown among the people, the street boys\nstood on tiptoe crying hurrahs and whistling through their fingers. It\nwas all splendid.\n\n\u2018Now I must also give them a treat,\u2019 thought the merchant\u2019s son. And\nso he bought rockets, crackers, and all the kinds of fireworks you can\nthink of, put them in his trunk, and flew up with them into the air.\n\nWhirr-r-r, how they fizzed and blazed!\n\nAll the Turks jumped so high that their slippers flew above their heads;\nsuch a splendid glitter they had never seen before.\n\nNow they could quite well understand that it was the god of the Turks\nhimself who was to marry the princess.\n\nAs soon as the young merchant came down again into the wood with his\ntrunk he thought, \u2018Now I will just go into the town to see how the show\nhas taken.\u2019\n\nAnd it was quite natural that he should want to do this.\n\nOh! what stories the people had to tell!\n\nEach one whom he asked had seen it differently, but they had all found\nit beautiful.\n\n\u2018I saw the Turkish god himself,\u2019 said one. \u2018He had eyes like glittering\nstars, and a beard like foaming water.\u2019\n\n\u2018He flew away in a cloak of fire,\u2019 said another. They were splendid\nthings that he heard, and the next day was to be his wedding day.\n\nThen he went back into the wood to sit in his trunk; but what had become\nof it? The trunk had been burnt. A spark of the fireworks had set it\nalight, and the trunk was in ashes. He could no longer fly, and could\nnever reach his bride.\n\nShe stood the whole day long on the roof and waited; perhaps she is\nwaiting there still.\n\nBut he wandered through the world and told stories; though they are not\nso merry as the one he told about the matches.\n\n\n\n\nThe Snow-man\n\nTranslated from the German of Hans Andersen.\n\n\n\u2018How astonishingly cold it is! My body is cracking all over!\u2019 said the\nSnow-man. \u2018The wind is really cutting one\u2019s very life out! And how that\nfiery thing up there glares!\u2019 He meant the sun, which was just setting.\n\u2018It sha\u2019n\u2019t make me blink, though, and I shall keep quite cool and\ncollected.\u2019\n\nInstead of eyes he had two large three-cornered pieces of slate in his\nhead; his mouth consisted of an old rake, so that he had teeth as well.\n\nHe was born amidst the shouts and laughter of the boys, and greeted by\nthe jingling bells and cracking whips of the sledges.\n\nThe sun went down, the full moon rose, large, round, clear and\nbeautiful, in the dark blue sky.\n\n\u2018There it is again on the other side!\u2019 said the Snow-man, by which he\nmeant the sun was appearing again. \u2018I have become quite accustomed to\nits glaring. I hope it will hang there and shine, so that I may be\nable to see myself. I wish I knew, though, how one ought to see about\nchanging one\u2019s position. I should very much like to move about. If I\nonly could, I would glide up and down the ice there, as I saw the boys\ndoing; but somehow or other, I don\u2019t know how to run.\u2019\n\n\u2018Bow-wow!\u2019 barked the old yard-dog; he was rather hoarse and couldn\u2019t\nbark very well. His hoarseness came on when he was a house-dog and used\nto lie in front of the stove. \u2018The sun will soon teach you to run! I saw\nthat last winter with your predecessor, and farther back still with his\npredecessors! They have all run away!\u2019\n\n\u2018I don\u2019t understand you, my friend,\u2019 said the Snow-man. \u2018That thing up\nthere is to teach me to run?\u2019 He meant the moon. \u2018Well, it certainly did\nrun just now, for I saw it quite plainly over there, and now here it is\non this side.\u2019\n\n\u2018You know nothing at all about it,\u2019 said the yard-dog. \u2018Why, you have\nonly just been made. The thing you see there is the moon; the other\nthing you saw going down the other side was the sun. He will come up\nagain tomorrow morning, and will soon teach you how to run away down the\ngutter. The weather is going to change; I feel it already by the pain in\nmy left hind-leg; the weather is certainly going to change.\u2019\n\n\u2018I can\u2019t understand him,\u2019 said the Snow-man; \u2018but I have an idea that he\nis speaking of something unpleasant. That thing that glares so, and then\ndisappears, the sun, as he calls it, is not my friend. I know that by\ninstinct.\u2019\n\n\u2018Bow-wow!\u2019 barked the yard-dog, and walked three times round himself,\nand then crept into his kennel to sleep. The weather really did change.\nTowards morning a dense damp fog lay over the whole neighbourhood; later\non came an icy wind, which sent the frost packing. But when the sun\nrose, it was a glorious sight. The trees and shrubs were covered with\nrime, and looked like a wood of coral, and every branch was thick with\nlong white blossoms. The most delicate twigs, which are lost among the\nfoliage in summer-time, came now into prominence, and it was like a\nspider\u2019s web of glistening white. The lady-birches waved in the wind;\nand when the sun shone, everything glittered and sparkled as if it were\nsprinkled with diamond dust, and great diamonds were lying on the snowy\ncarpet.\n\n\u2018Isn\u2019t it wonderful?\u2019 exclaimed a girl who was walking with a young\nman in the garden. They stopped near the Snow-man, and looked at the\nglistening trees. \u2018Summer cannot show a more beautiful sight,\u2019 she said,\nwith her eyes shining.\n\n\u2018And one can\u2019t get a fellow like this in summer either,\u2019 said the young\nman, pointing to the Snow-man. \u2018He\u2019s a beauty!\u2019\n\nThe girl laughed, and nodded to the Snow-man, and then they both danced\naway over the snow.\n\n\u2018Who were those two?\u2019 asked the Snow-man of the yard-dog. \u2018You have been\nin this yard longer than I have. Do you know who they are?\u2019\n\n\u2018Do I know them indeed?\u2019 answered the yard-dog. \u2018She has often stroked\nme, and he has given me bones. I don\u2019t bite either of them!\u2019\n\n\u2018But what are they?\u2019 asked the Snow-man.\n\n\u2018Lovers!\u2019 replied the yard-dog. \u2018They will go into one kennel and gnaw\nthe same bone!\u2019\n\n\u2018Are they the same kind of beings that we are?\u2019 asked the Snow-man.\n\n\u2018They are our masters,\u2019 answered the yard-dog. \u2018Really people who have\nonly been in the world one day know very little.\u2019 That\u2019s the conclusion\nI have come to. Now I have age and wisdom; I know everyone in the house,\nand I can remember a time when I was not lying here in a cold kennel.\nBow-wow!\u2019\n\n\u2018The cold is splendid,\u2019 said the Snow-man. \u2018Tell me some more. But don\u2019t\nrattle your chain so, it makes me crack!\u2019\n\n\u2018Bow-wow!\u2019 barked the yard-dog. \u2018They used to say I was a pretty little\nfellow; then I lay in a velvet-covered chair in my master\u2019s house. My\nmistress used to nurse me, and kiss and fondle me, and call me her dear,\nsweet little Alice! But by-and-by I grew too big, and I was given to the\nhousekeeper, and I went into the kitchen. You can see into it from where\nyou are standing; you can look at the room in which I was master, for so\nI was when I was with the housekeeper. Of course it was a smaller place\nthan upstairs, but it was more comfortable, for I wasn\u2019t chased about\nand teased by the children as I had been before. My food was just as\ngood, or even better. I had my own pillow, and there was a stove there,\nwhich at this time of year is the most beautiful thing in the world. I\nused to creep right under that stove. Ah me! I often dream of that stove\nstill! Bow-wow!\u2019\n\n\u2018Is a stove so beautiful?\u2019 asked the Snow-man. \u2018Is it anything like me?\u2019\n\n\u2018It is just the opposite of you! It is coal-black, and has a long neck\nwith a brass pipe. It eats firewood, so that fire spouts out of its\nmouth. One has to keep close beside it-quite underneath is the nicest of\nall. You can see it through the window from where you are standing.\u2019\n\nAnd the Snow-man looked in that direction, and saw a smooth polished\nobject with a brass pipe. The flicker from the fire reached him across\nthe snow. The Snow-man felt wonderfully happy, and a feeling came over\nhim which he could not express; but all those who are not snow-men know\nabout it.\n\n\u2018Why did you leave her?\u2019 asked the Snow-man. He had a feeling that such\na being must be a lady. \u2018How could you leave such a place?\u2019\n\n\u2018I had to!\u2019 said the yard-dog. \u2018They turned me out of doors, and chained\nme up here. I had bitten the youngest boy in the leg, because he took\naway the bone I was gnawing; a bone for a bone, I thought! But they were\nvery angry, and from that time I have been chained here, and I have lost\nmy voice. Don\u2019t you hear how hoarse I am? Bow-wow! I can\u2019t speak like\nother dogs. Bow-wow! That was the end of happiness!\u2019\n\nThe Snow-man, however, was not listening to him any more; he was looking\ninto the room where the housekeeper lived, where the stove stood on its\nfour iron legs, and seemed to be just the same size as the Snow-man.\n\n\u2018How something is cracking inside me!\u2019 he said. \u2018Shall I never be able\nto get in there? It is certainly a very innocent wish, and our innocent\nwishes ought to be fulfilled. I must get there, and lean against the\nstove, if I have to break the window first!\u2019\n\n\u2018You will never get inside there!\u2019 said the yard-dog; \u2018and if you were\nto reach the stove you would disappear. Bow-wow!\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019m as good as gone already!\u2019 answered the Snow-man. \u2018I believe I\u2019m\nbreaking up!\u2019\n\nThe whole day the Snow-man looked through the window; towards dusk the\nroom grew still more inviting; the stove gave out a mild light, not at\nall like the moon or even the sun; no, as only a stove can shine, when\nit has something to feed upon. When the door of the room was open, it\nflared up-this was one of its peculiarities; it flickered quite red upon\nthe Snow-man\u2019s white face.\n\n\u2018I can\u2019t stand it any longer!\u2019 he said. \u2018How beautiful it looks with its\ntongue stretched out like that!\u2019\n\nIt was a long night, but the Snow-man did not find it so; there he\nstood, wrapt in his pleasant thoughts, and they froze, so that he\ncracked.\n\nNext morning the panes of the kitchen window were covered with ice, and\nthe most beautiful ice-flowers that even a snow-man could desire, only\nthey blotted out the stove. The window would not open; he couldn\u2019t see\nthe stove which he thought was such a lovely lady. There was a cracking\nand cracking inside him and all around; there was just such a frost as a\nsnow-man would delight in. But this Snow-man was different: how could he\nfeel happy?\n\n\u2018Yours is a bad illness for a Snow-man!\u2019 said the yard-dog. \u2018I also\nsuffered from it, but I have got over it. Bow-wow!\u2019 he barked. \u2018The\nweather is going to change!\u2019 he added.\n\nThe weather did change. There came a thaw.\n\nWhen this set in the Snow-man set off. He did not say anything, and he\ndid not complain, and those are bad signs.\n\nOne morning he broke up altogether. And lo! where he had stood there\nremained a broomstick standing upright, round which the boys had built\nhim!\n\n\u2018Ah! now I understand why he loved the stove,\u2019 said the yard-dog.\n\u2018That is the raker they use to clean out the stove! The Snow-man had a\nstove-raker in his body! That\u2019s what was the matter with him! And now\nit\u2019s all over with him! Bow-wow!\u2019\n\nAnd before long it was all over with the winter too! \u2018Bow-wow!\u2019 barked\nthe hoarse yard-dog.\n\nBut the young girl sang:\n\n     Woods, your bright green garments don!\n     Willows, your woolly gloves put on!\n     Lark and cuckoo, daily sing--     February has brought the spring!\n     My heart joins in your song so sweet;\n     Come out, dear sun, the world to greet!\n\nAnd no one thought of the Snow-man.\n\n\n\n\nThe Shirt-collar\n\nTranslated from the German of Hans Andersen.\n\n\nThere was once a fine gentleman whose entire worldly possessions\nconsisted of a boot-jack and a hair-brush; but he had the most beautiful\nshirt-collar in the world, and it is about this that we are going to\nhear a story.\n\nThe shirt-collar was so old that he began to think about marrying;\nand it happened one day that he and a garter came into the wash-tub\ntogether.\n\n\u2018Hulloa!\u2019 said the shirt-collar, \u2018never before have I seen anything so\nslim and delicate, so elegant and pretty! May I be permitted to ask your\nname?\u2019\n\n\u2018I shan\u2019t tell you,\u2019 said the garter.\n\n\u2018Where is the place of your abode?\u2019 asked the shirt-collar.\n\nBut the garter was of a bashful disposition, and did not think it proper\nto answer.\n\n\u2018Perhaps you are a girdle?\u2019 said the shirt-collar, \u2018an under girdle? for\nI see that you are for use as well as for ornament, my pretty miss!\u2019\n\n\u2018You ought not to speak to me!\u2019 said the garter\u2019 \u2018I\u2019m sure I haven\u2019t\ngiven you any encouragement!\u2019\n\n\u2018When anyone is as beautiful as you,\u2019 said the shirt-collar, \u2018is not\nthat encouragement enough?\u2019\n\n\u2018Go away, don\u2019t come so close!\u2019 said the garter. \u2018You seem to be a\ngentleman!\u2019\n\n\u2018So I am, and a very fine one too!\u2019 said the shirt-collar; \u2018I possess a\nboot-jack and a hair-brush!\u2019\n\nThat was not true; it was his master who owned these things; but he was\na terrible boaster.\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t come so close,\u2019 said the garter. \u2018I\u2019m not accustomed to such\ntreatment!\u2019\n\n\u2018What affectation!\u2019 said the shirt-collar. And then they were taken out\nof the wash-tub, starched, and hung on a chair in the sun to dry, and\nthen laid on the ironing-board. Then came the glowing iron.\n\n\u2018Mistress widow!\u2019 said the shirt-collar, \u2018dear mistress widow! I am\nbecoming another man, all my creases are coming out; you are burning a\nhole in me! Ugh! Stop, I implore you!\u2019\n\n\u2018You rag!\u2019 said the iron, travelling proudly over the shirt-collar, for\nit thought it was a steam engine and ought to be at the station drawing\ntrucks.\n\n\u2018Rag!\u2019 it said.\n\nThe shirt-collar was rather frayed out at the edge, so the scissors came\nto cut off the threads.\n\n\u2018Oh!\u2019 said the shirt-collar, \u2018you must be a dancer! How high you can\nkick! That is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! No man can\nimitate you!\u2019\n\n\u2018I know that!\u2019 said the scissors.\n\n\u2018You ought to be a duchess!\u2019 said the shirt-collar. \u2018My worldly\npossessions consist of a fine gentleman, a boot-jack, and a hair-brush.\nIf only I had a duchy!\u2019\n\n\u2018What! He wants to marry me?\u2019 said the scissors, and she was so angry\nthat she gave the collar a sharp snip, so that it had to be cast aside\nas good for nothing.\n\n\u2018Well, I shall have to propose to the hair-brush!\u2019 thought the\nshirt-collar. \u2018It is really wonderful what fine hair you have, madam!\nHave you never thought of marrying?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, that I have!\u2019 answered the hair-brush; \u2018I\u2019m engaged to the\nboot-jack!\u2019\n\n\u2018Engaged!\u2019 exclaimed the shirt-collar. And now there was no one he could\nmarry, so he took to despising matrimony.\n\nTime passed, and the shirt-collar came in a rag-bag to the paper-mill.\nThere was a large assortment of rags, the fine ones in one heap, and the\ncoarse ones in another, as they should be. They had all much to tell,\nbut no one more than the shirt-collar, for he was a hopeless braggart.\n\n\u2018I have had a terrible number of love affairs!\u2019 he said. \u2018They give me\nno peace. I was such a fine gentleman, so stiff with starch! I had a\nboot-jack and a hair-brush, which I never used! You should just have\nseen me then! Never shall I forget my first love! She was a girdle, so\ndelicate and soft and pretty! She threw herself into a wash-tub for my\nsake! Then there was a widow, who glowed with love for me. But I\nleft her alone, till she became black. Then there was the dancer, who\ninflicted the wound which has caused me to be here now; she was very\nviolent! My own hair-brush was in love with me, and lost all her hair\nin consequence. Yes, I have experienced much in that line; but I grieve\nmost of all for the garter,-I mean, the girdle, who threw herself into a\nwash-tub. I have much on my conscience; it is high time for me to become\nwhite paper!\u2019\n\nAnd so he did! he became white paper, the very paper on which this story\nis printed. And that was because he had boasted so terribly about things\nwhich were not true. We should take this to heart, so that it may not\nhappen to us, for we cannot indeed tell if we may not some day come to\nthe rag-bag, and be made into white paper, on which will be printed our\nwhole history, even the most secret parts, so that we too go about the\nworld relating it, like the shirt-collar.\n\n\n\n\nThe Princess in the Chest\n\nTranslated from the Danish.\n\n\nThere were once a king and a queen who lived in a beautiful castle, and\nhad a large, and fair, and rich, and happy land to rule over. From\nthe very first they loved each other greatly, and lived very happily\ntogether, but they had no heir.\n\nThey had been married for seven years, but had neither son nor daughter,\nand that was a great grief to both of them. More than once it happened\nthat when the king was in a bad temper, he let it out on the poor queen,\nand said that here they were now, getting old, and neither they nor the\nkingdom had an heir, and it was all her fault. This was hard to listen\nto, and she went and cried and vexed herself.\n\nFinally, the king said to her one day, \u2018This can\u2019t be borne any longer.\nI go about childless, and it\u2019s your fault. I am going on a journey and\nshall be away for a year. If you have a child when I come back again,\nall will be well, and I shall love you beyond all measure, and never\nmore say an angry word to you. But if the nest is just as empty when I\ncome home, then I must part with you.\u2019\n\nAfter the king had set out on his journey, the queen went about in her\nloneliness, and sorrowed and vexed herself more than ever. At last her\nmaid said to her one day, \u2018I think that some help could be found, if\nyour majesty would seek it.\u2019 Then she told about a wise old woman in\nthat country, who had helped many in troubles of the same kind, and\ncould no doubt help the queen as well, if she would send for her. The\nqueen did so, and the wise woman came, and to her she confided her\nsorrow, that she, was childless, and the king and his kingdom had no\nheir.\n\nThe wise woman knew help for this. \u2018Out in the king\u2019s garden,\u2019 said she,\n\u2018under the great oak that stands on the left hand, just as one goes out\nfrom the castle, is a little bush, rather brown than green, with hairy\nleaves and long spikes. On that bush there are just at this moment three\nbuds. If your majesty goes out there alone, fasting, before sunrise, and\ntakes the middle one of the three buds, and eats it, then in six months\nyou will bring a princess into the world. As soon as she is born, she\nmust have a nurse, whom I shall provide, and this nurse must live with\nthe child in a secluded part of the palace; no other person must visit\nthe child; neither the king nor the queen must see it until it is\nfourteen years old, for that would cause great sorrow and misfortune.\u2019\n\nThe queen rewarded the old woman richly, and next morning, before the\nsun rose, she was down in the garden, found at once the little bush\nwith the three buds, plucked the middle one and ate it. It was sweet to\ntaste, but afterwards was as bitter as gall. Six months after this, she\nbrought into the world a little girl. There was a nurse in readiness,\nwhom the wise woman had provided, and preparations were made for her\nliving with the child, quite alone, in a secluded wing of the castle,\nlooking out on the pleasure-park. The queen did as the wise woman had\ntold her; she gave up the child immediately, and the nurse took it and\nlived with it there.\n\nWhen the king came home and heard that a daughter had been born to him,\nhe was of course very pleased and happy, and wanted to see her at once.\n\nThe queen had then to tell him this much of the story, that it had been\nforetold that it would cause great sorrow and misfortune if either he or\nshe got a sight of the child until it had completed its fourteenth year.\n\nThis was a long time to wait. The king longed so much to get a sight of\nhis daughter, and the queen no less than he, but she knew that it was\nnot like other children, for it could speak immediately after it was\nborn, and was as wise as older folk. This the nurse had told her, for\nwith her the queen had a talk now and again, but there was no one who\nhad ever seen the princess. The queen had also seen what the wise woman\ncould do, so she insisted strongly that her warning should be obeyed.\nThe king often lost his patience, and was determined to see his\ndaughter, but the queen always put him off the idea, and so things went\non, until the very day before the princess completed her fourteenth\nyear.\n\nThe king and the queen were out in the garden then, and the king said,\n\u2018Now I can\u2019t and I won\u2019t wait any longer. I must see my daughter at\nonce. A few hours, more or less, can\u2019t make any difference.\u2019\n\nThe queen begged him to have patience till the morning. When they had\nwaited so long, they could surely wait a single day more. But the king\nwas quite unreasonable. \u2018No nonsense,\u2019 said he; \u2018she is just as much\nmine as yours, and I will see her,\u2019 and with that he went straight up to\nher room.\n\nHe burst the door open, and pushed aside the nurse, who tried to\nstop him, and there he saw his daughter. She was the loveliest young\nprincess, red and white, like milk and blood, with clear blue eyes and\ngolden hair, but right in the middle of her forehead there was a little\ntuft of brown hair.\n\nThe princess went to meet her father, fell on his neck and kissed him,\nbut with that she said, \u2018O father, father! what have you done now?\nto-morrow I must die, and you must choose one of three things: either\nthe land must be smitten with the black pestilence, or you must have a\nlong and bloody war, or you must as soon as I am dead, lay me in a plain\nwooden chest, and set it in the church, and for a whole year place a\nsentinel beside it every night.\u2019\n\nThe king was frightened indeed, and thought she was raving, but in order\nto please her, he said, \u2018Well, of these three things I shall choose the\nlast; if you die, I shall lay you at once in a plain wooden chest, and\nhave it set in the church, and every night I shall place a sentinel\nbeside it. But you shall not die, even if you are ill now.\u2019\n\nHe immediately summoned all the best doctors in the country, and they\ncame with all their prescriptions and their medicine bottles, but next\nday the princess was stiff and cold in death. All the doctors could\ncertify to that and they all put their names to this and appended their\nseals, and then they had done all they could.\n\nThe king kept his promise. The princess\u2019s body was lain the same day in\na plain wooden chest, and set in the chapel of the castle, and on that\nnight and every night after it, a sentinel was posted in the church, to\nkeep watch over the chest.\n\nThe first morning when they came to let the sentinel out, there was no\nsentinel there. They thought he had just got frightened and run away,\nand next evening a new one was posted in the church. In the morning he\nwas also gone. So it went every night. When they came in the morning to\nlet the sentinel out, there was no one there, and it was impossible to\ndiscover which way he had gone if he had run away. And what should they\nrun away for, every one of them, so that nothing more was over heard\nor seen of them, from the hour that they were set on guard beside the\nprincess\u2019s chest?\n\nIt became now a general belief that the princess\u2019s ghost walked, and ate\nup all those who were to guard her chest, and very soon there was no one\nleft who would be placed on this duty, and the king\u2019s soldiers deserted\nthe service, before their turn came to be her bodyguard. The king then\npromised a large reward to the soldier who would volunteer for the post.\nThis did for some time, as there were found a few reckless fellows,\nwho wished to earn this good payment. But they never got it, for in the\nmorning, they too had disappeared like the rest.\n\nSo it had gone on for something like a whole year; every night a\nsentinel had been placed beside the chest, either by compulsion or of\nhis own free will, but not a single one of the sentinels was to be seen,\neither on the following day or any time thereafter. And so it had also\ngone with one, on the night before a certain day, when a merry young\nsmith came wandering to the town where the king\u2019s castle stood. It was\nthe capital of the country, and people of every king came to it to\nget work. This smith, whose name was Christian, had come for that same\npurpose. There was no work for him in the place he belonged to, and he\nwanted now to seek a place in the capital.\n\nThere he entered an inn where he sat down in the public room, and got\nsomething to eat. Some under-officers were sitting there, who were out\nto try to get some one enlisted to stand sentry. They had to go in this\nway, day after day, and hitherto they had always succeeded in finding\none or other reckless fellow. But on this day they had, as yet, found no\none. It was too well known how all the sentinels disappeared, who were\nset on that post, and all that they had got hold of had refused with\nthanks. These sat down beside Christian, and ordered drinks, and drank\nalong with him. Now Christian was a merry fellow who liked good company;\nhe could both drink and sing, and talk and boast as well, when he got a\nlittle drop in his head. He told these under-officers that he was one of\nthat kind of folk who never are afraid of anything. Then he was just\nthe kind of man they liked, said they, and he might easily earn a good\npenny, before he was a day older, for the king paid a hundred dollars to\nanyone who would stand as sentinel in the church all night, beside his\ndaughter\u2019s chest.\n\nChristian was not afraid of that he wasn\u2019t afraid of anything, so they\ndrank another bottle of wine on this, and Christian went with them up\nto the colonel, where he was put into uniform with musket, and all the\nrest, and was then shut up in the church, to stand as sentinel that\nnight.\n\nIt was eight o\u2019clock when he took up his post, and for the first hour\nhe was quite proud of his courage; during the second hour he was well\npleased with the large reward that he would get, but in the third hour,\nwhen it was getting near eleven, the effects of the wine passed off, and\nhe began to get uncomfortable, for he had heard about this post; that\nno one had ever escapeed alive from it, so far as was known. But neither\ndid anyone know what had become of all the sentinels. The thought of\nthis ran in his head so much, after the wine was out of it, that he\nsearched about everywhere for a way of escape, and finally, at eleven\no\u2019clock, he found a little postern in the steeple which was not locked,\nand out at this he crept, intending to run away.\n\nAt the same moment as he put his foot outside the church door, he saw\nstanding before him a little man, who said, \u2018Good evening, Christian,\nwhere are you going?\u2019\n\nWith that he felt as if he were rooted to the spot and could not move.\n\n\u2018Nowhere,\u2019 said he.\n\n\u2018Oh, yes,\u2019 said the little man, \u2018You were just about to run away, but\nyou have taken upon you to stand sentinel in the church to-night, and\nthere you must stay.\u2019\n\nChristian said, very humbly, that he dared not, and therefore wanted to\nget away, and begged to be let go.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said the little one, \u2018you must remain at your post, but I shall\ngive you a piece of good advice; you shall go up into the pulpit, and\nremain standing there. You need never mind what you see or hear, it will\nnot be able to do you any harm, if you remain in your place until you\nhear the lid of the chest slam down again behind the dead; then all\ndanger is past, and you can go about the church, wherever you please.\u2019\n\nThe little man then pushed him in at the door again, and locked it after\nhim. Christian made haste to get up into the pulpit, and stood there,\nwithout noticing anything, until the clock struck twelve. Then the lid\nof the princess\u2019s chest sprang up, and out of it there came something\nlike the princess, dressed as you see in the picture. It shrieked and\nhowled, \u2018Sentry, where are you? Sentry, where are you? If you don\u2019t\ncome, you shall get the most cruel death anyone had ever got.\u2019\n\nIt went all round the church, and when it finally caught sight of the\nsmith, up in the pulpit, it came rushing thither and mounted the steps.\nBut it could not get up the whole way, and for all that it stretched and\nstrained, it could not touch Christian, who meanwhile stood and trembled\nup in the pulpit. When the clock struck one, the appearance had to go\nback into the chest again, and Christian heard the lid slam after it.\nAfter this there was dead silence in the church. He lay down where he\nwas and fell asleep, and did not awake before it was bright daylight,\nand he heard steps outside, and the noise of the key being put into the\nlock. Then he came down from the pulpit, and stood with his musket in\nfront of the princess\u2019s chest.\n\nIt was the colonel himself who came with the patrol, and he was not a\nlittle surprised when he found the recruit safe and sound. He wanted\nto have a report, but Christian would give him none, so he took him\nstraight up to the king, and announced for the first time that here\nwas the sentinel who had stood guard in the church over-night. The king\nimmediately got out of bed, and laid the hundred dollars for him on the\ntable, and then wanted to question him. \u2018Have you seen anything?\u2019 said\nhe. \u2018Have you seen my daughter?\u2019 \u2018I have stood at my post,\u2019 said the\nyoung smith, \u2018and that is quite enough; I undertook nothing more.\u2019\nHe was not sure whether he dared tell what he had seen and heard, and\nbesides he was also a little conceited because he had done what no other\nman had been able to do, or had had courage for. The king professed to\nbe quite satisfied, and asked him whether he would engage himself\nto stand on guard again the following night. \u2018No, thank you,\u2019 said\nChristian, \u2018I will have no more of that!\u2019\n\n\u2018As you please,\u2019 said the king, \u2018you have behaved like a brave fellow,\nand now you shall have your breakfast. You must be needing something to\nstrengthen you after that turn.\u2019\n\nThe king had breakfast laid for him, and sat down at the table with him\nin person; he kept constantly filling his glass for him and praising\nhim, and drinking his health. Christian needed no pressing, but did full\njustice both to the food and drink, and not least to the latter. Finally\nhe grew bold, and said that if the king would give him two hundred\ndollars for it, he was his man to stand sentry next night as well.\n\nWhen this was arranged, Christian bade him \u2018Good-day,\u2019 and went down\namong the guards, and then out into the town along with other soldiers\nand under-officers. He had his pocket full of money, and treated them,\nand drank with them and boasted and made game of the good-for-nothings\nwho were afraid to stand on guard, because they were frightened that the\ndead princess would eat them. See whether she had eaten him! So the day\npassed in mirth and glee, but when eight o\u2019clock came, Christian was\nagain shut up in the church, all alone.\n\nBefore he had been there two hours, he got tired of it, and thought only\nof getting away. He found a little door behind the altar which was not\nlocked, and at ten o\u2019clock he slipped out at it, and took to his heels\nand made for the beach. He had got half-way thither, when all at once\nthe same little man stood in front of him and said, \u2018Good evening,\nChristian, where are you going?\u2019 \u2018I\u2019ve leave to go where I please,\u2019\nsaid the smith, but at the same time he noticed that he could not move a\nfoot. \u2018No, you have undertaken to keep guard to-night as well,\u2019 said the\nlittle man, \u2018and you must attend to that.\u2019 He then took hold of him, and\nhowever unwilling he was, Christian had to go with him right back to\nthe same little door that he had crept out at. When they got there, the\nlittle man said to him, \u2018Go in front of the altar now, and take in your\nhand the book that is lying there. There you shall stay till you hear\nthe lid of the chest slam down over the dead. In that way you will come\nto no harm.\u2019\n\nWith that the little man shoved him in at the door, and locked it.\nChristian then immediately went in front of the altar, and took the\nbook in his hand, and stood thus until the clock struck twelve, and\nthe appearance sprang out of the chest. \u2018Sentry, where are you? Sentry,\nwhere are you?\u2019 it shrieked, and then rushed to the pulpit, and right\nup into it. But there was no one there that night. Then it howled and\nshrieked again,\n\n     My father has set no sentry in,\n     War and Pest this night begin.\n\nAt the same moment, it noticed the smith standing in front of the altar,\nand came rushing towards him. \u2018Are you there?\u2019 it screamed; \u2018now I\u2019ll\ncatch you.\u2019 But it could not come up over the step in front of the\naltar, and there it continued to howl, and scream, and threaten, until\nthe clock struck one, when it had to go into the chest again, and\nChristian heard the lid slam above it. That night, however, it had not\nthe same appearance as on the previous one; it was less ugly.\n\nWhen all was quiet in the church, the smith lay down before the altar\nand slept calmly till the following morning, when the colonel came to\nfetch him. He was taken up to the king again, and things went on as the\nday before. He got his money, but would give no explanation whether he\nhad seen the king\u2019s daughter, and he would not take the post again,\nhe said. But after he had got a good breakfast, and tasted well of the\nking\u2019s wines, he undertook to go on guard again the third night, but he\nwould not do it for less than the half of the kingdom, he said, for it\nwas a dangerous post, and the king had to agree, and promise him this.\n\nThe remainder of the day went like the previous one. He played\nthe boastful soldier, and the merry smith, and he had comrades and\nboon-companions in plenty. At eight o\u2019clock he had to put on his uniform\nagain, and was shut up in the church. He had not been there for an hour\nbefore he had come to his senses, and thought, \u2018It\u2019s best to stop now,\nwhile the game is going well.\u2019 The third night, he was sure, would be\nthe worst; he had been drunk when he promised it, and the half of the\nkingdom, the king could never have been in earnest about that! So he\ndecided to leave, without waiting so long as on the previous nights. In\nthat way he would escape the little man who had watched him before. All\nthe doors and posterns were locked, but he finally though of creeping\nup to a window, and opening that, and as the clock struck nine, he crept\nout there. It was fairly high in the wall, but he got to the ground with\nno bones broken, and started to run. He got down to the shore without\nmeeting anyone, and there he got into a boat, and pushed off from land.\nHe laughed immensely to himself at the thought of how cleverly he had\nmanaged and how he had cheated the little man. Just then he heard a\nvoice from the shore, \u2018Good evening, Christian, where are you going?\u2019 He\ngave no answer. \u2018To-night your legs will be too short,\u2019 he thought, and\npulled at the oars. But he then felt something lay hold of the boat, and\ndrag it straight in to shore, for all that he sat and struggled with the\noars.\n\nThe man then laid hold of him, and said, \u2018You must remain at your post,\nas you have promised,\u2019 and whether he liked it or not, Christian had\njust to go back with him the whole way to the church.\n\nHe could never get in at that window again, Christian said; it was far\ntoo high up.\n\n\u2018You must go in there, and you shall go in there,\u2019 said the little man,\nand with that he lifted him up on to the window-sill. Then he said to\nhim: \u2018Notice well now what you have to do. This evening you must stretch\nyourself out on the left-hand side of her chest. The lid opens to the\nright, and she comes out to the left. When she has got out of the chest\nand passed over you, you must get into it and lie there, and that in\na hurry, without her seeing you. There you must remain lying until day\ndawns, and whether she threatens you or entreats you, you must not come\nout of it, or give her any answer. Then she has no power over you, and\nboth you and she are freed.\u2019\n\nThe smith then had to go in at the window, just as he came out, and\nwent and laid himself all his length on the left side of the princess\u2019s\nchest, close up to it, and there he lay stiff as a rock until the clock\nstruck twelve. Then the lid sprang up to the right, and the princess\ncame out, straight over him, and rushed round the church, howling and\nshrieking \u2018Sentry, where are you? Sentry, where are you?\u2019 She went\ntowards the altar, and right up to it, but there was no one there; then\nshe screamed again,\n\n     My father has set no sentry in,\n     War and Pest will now begin.\n\nThen she went round the whole church, both up and down, sighing and\nweeping,\n\n     My father has set no sentry in,\n     War and Pest will now begin.\n\nThen she went away again, and at the same moment the clock in the tower\nstruck one.\n\nThen the smith heard in the church a soft music, which grew louder and\nlouder, and soon filled the whole building. He heard also a multitude of\nfootsteps, as if the church was being filled with people. He heard\nthe priest go through the service in front of the altar, and there was\nsinging more beautiful than he had ever heard before. Then he also heard\nthe priest offer up a prayer of thanksgiving because the land had been\nfreed from war and pestilence, and from all misfortune, and the king\u2019s\ndaughter delivered from the evil one. Many voices joined in, and a hymn\nof praise was sung; then he heard the priest again, and heard his own\nname and that of the princess, and thought that he was being wedded to\nher. The church was packed full, but he could see nothing. Then he heard\nagain the many footsteps as ol\u2019 folk leaving the church, while the music\nsounded fainter and fainter, until it altogether died away. When it was\nsilent, the light of day began to break in through the windows.\n\nThe smith sprang up out of the chest and fell on his knees and thanked\nGod. The church was empty, but up in front of the altar lay the\nprincess, white and red, like a human being, but sobbing and crying, and\nshaking with cold in her white shroud. The smith took his sentry coat\nand wrapped it round her; then she dried her tears, and took his hand\nand thanked him, and said that he had now freed her from all the sorcery\nthat had been in her from her birth, and which had come over her again\nwhen her father broke the command against seeing her until she had\ncompleted her fourteenth year.\n\nShe said further, that if he who had delivered her would take her in\nmarriage, she would be his. If not, she would go into a nunnery, and he\ncould marry no other as long as she lived, for he was wedded to her with\nthe service of the dead, which he had heard.\n\nShe was now the most beautiful young princess that anyone could wish to\nsee, and he was now lord of half the kingdom, which had been promised\nhim for standing on guard the third nigh. So they agreed that they would\nhave each other, and love each other all their days.\n\nWith the first sunbeam the watch came and opened the church, and not\nonly was the colonel there, but the king in person, come to see what had\nhappened to the sentinel. He found them both sitting hand in hand on the\nstep in front of the altar, and immediately knew his daughter again,\nand took her in his arms, thanking God and her deliverer. He made no\nobjections to what they had arranged, and so Christian the smith held\nhis wedding with the princess, and got half the kingdom at once, and the\nwhole of it when the king died.\n\nAs for the other sentries, with so many doors and windows open, no doubt\nthey had run away, and gone into the Prussian service. And as for what\nChristian said he saw, he had been drinking more wine than was good for\nhim.\n\n\n\n\nThe Three Brothers\n\nTranslated from the German of the Brothers Grimm.\n\n\nThere was once a man who had three sons, and no other possessions\nbeyond the house in which he lived. Now the father loved his three sons\nequally, so that he could not make up his mind which of them should have\nthe house after his death, because he did not wish to favour any one\nmore than the others. And he did not want to sell the house, because\nit had belonged to his family for generations; otherwise he could have\ndivided the money equally amongst them. At last an idea struck him, and\nhe said to his sons: \u2018You must all go out into the world, and look about\nyou, and each learn a trade, and then, when you return, whoever can\nproduce the best masterpiece shall have the house.\u2019\n\nThe sons were quite satisfied. The eldest wished to be a blacksmith, the\nsecond a barber, and the third a fencing-master. They appointed a time\nwhen they were to return home, and then they all set out.\n\nIt so happened that each found a good master, where he learnt all that\nwas necessary for his trade in the best possible way. The blacksmith had\nto shoe the king\u2019s horses, and thought to himself, \u2018Without doubt the\nhouse will be yours!\u2019 The barber shaved the best men in the kingdom,\nand he, too, made sure that the house would be his. The fencing-master\nreceived many a blow, but he set his teeth, and would not allow himself\nto be troubled by them, for he thought to himself, \u2018If you are afraid of\na blow you will never get the house.\u2019\n\nWhen the appointed time had come the three brothers met once more, and\nthey sat down and discussed the best opportunity of showing off their\nskill. Just then a hare came running across the field towards them.\n\u2018Look!\u2019 said the barber, \u2018here comes something in the nick of time!\u2019\nseized basin and soap, made a lather whilst the hare was approaching,\nand then, as it ran at full tilt, shaved its moustaches, without cutting\nit or injuring a single hair on its body.\n\n\u2018I like that very much indeed,\u2019 said the father. \u2018Unless the others\nexert themselves to the utmost, the house will be yours.\u2019\n\nSoon after they saw a man driving a carriage furiously towards them.\n\u2018Now, father, you shall see what I can do!\u2019 said the blacksmith, and he\nsprang after the carriage, tore off the four shoes of the horse as\nit was going at the top of its speed, and shod it with four new ones\nwithout checking its pace.\n\n\u2018You are a clever fellow!\u2019 said the father, \u2018and know your trade as well\nas your brother. I really don\u2019t know to which of you I shall give the\nhouse.\u2019\n\nThen the third son said, \u2018Father, let me also show you something;\u2019 and,\nas it was beginning to rain, he drew his sword and swung it in cross\ncuts above his head, so that not a drop fell on him, and the rain fell\nheavier and heavier, till at last it was coming down like a waterspout,\nbut he swung his sword faster and faster, and kept as dry as if he were\nunder cover.\n\nWhen the father saw this he was astonished, and said, \u2018You have produced\nthe greatest masterpiece: the house is yours.\u2019\n\nBoth the other brothers were quite satisfied, and praised him too, and\nas they were so fond of each other they all three remained at home and\nplied their trades: and as they were so experienced and skilful they\nearned a great deal of money. So they lived happily together till they\nwere quite old, and when one was taken ill and died the two others were\nso deeply grieved that they were also taken ill and died too. And so,\nbecause they had all been so clever, and so fond of each other, they\nwere all laid in one grave.\n\n\n\n\nThe Snow-queen\n\nTranslated from the German of Hans Andersen by Miss Alma Alleyne.\n\n\nThere was once a dreadfully wicked hobgoblin. One day he was in capital\nspirits because he had made a looking-glass which reflected everything\nthat was good and beautiful in such a way that it dwindled almost to\nnothing, but anything that was bad and ugly stood out very clearly and\nlooked much worse. The most beautiful landscapes looked like boiled\nspinach, and the best people looked repulsive or seemed to stand on\ntheir heads with no bodies; their faces were so changed that they could\nnot be recognised, and if anyone had a freckle you might be sure it\nwould be spread over the nose and mouth.\n\nThat was the best part of it, said the hobgoblin.\n\nBut one day the looking-glass was dropped, and it broke into a\nmillion-billion and more pieces.\n\nAnd now came the greatest misfortune of all, for each of the pieces\nwas hardly as large as a grain of sand and they flew about all over the\nworld, and if anyone had a bit in his eye there it stayed, and then he\nwould see everything awry, or else could only see the bad sides of a\ncase. For every tiny splinter of the glass possessed the same power that\nthe whole glass had.\n\nSome people got a splinter in their hearts, and that was dreadful, for\nthen it began to turn into a lump of ice.\n\nThe hobgoblin laughed till his sides ached, but still the tiny bits of\nglass flew about.\n\nAnd now we will hear all about it.\n\nIn a large town, where there were so many people and houses that there\nwas not room enough for everybody to have gardens, lived two poor\nchildren. They were not brother and sister, but they loved each other\njust as much as if they were. Their parents lived opposite one another\nin two attics, and out on the leads they had put two boxes filled with\nflowers. There were sweet peas in it, and two rose trees, which grow\nbeautifully, and in summer the two children were allowed to take their\nlittle chairs and sit out under the roses. Then they had splendid games.\n\nIn the winter they could not do this, but then they put hot pennies\nagainst the frozen window-panes, and made round holes to look at each\nother through.\n\nHis name was Kay, and hers was Gerda.\n\nOutside it was snowing fast.\n\n\u2018Those are the white bees swarming,\u2019 said the old grandmother.\n\n\u2018Have they also a queen bee?\u2019 asked the little boy, for he knew that the\nreal bees have one.\n\n\u2018To be sure,\u2019 said the grandmother. \u2018She flies wherever they swarm\nthe thickest. She is larger than any of them, and never stays upon the\nearth, but flies again up into the black clouds. Often at midnight she\nflies through the streets, and peeps in at all the windows, and then\nthey freeze in such pretty patterns and look like flowers.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, we have seen that,\u2019 said both children; they knew that it was\ntrue.\n\n\u2018Can the Snow-queen come in here?\u2019 asked the little girl.\n\n\u2018Just let her!\u2019 cried the boy, \u2018I would put her on the stove, and melt\nher!\u2019\n\nBut the grandmother stroked his hair, and told some more stories.\n\nIn the evening, when little Kay was going to bed, he jumped on the chair\nby the window, and looked through the little hole. A few snow-flakes\nwere falling outside, and one of the, the largest, lay on the edge of\none of the window-boxes. The snow-flake grew larger and larger till it\ntook the form of a maiden, dressed in finest white gauze.\n\nShe was so beautiful and dainty, but all of ice, hard bright ice.\n\nStill she was alive; her eyes glittered like two clear stars, but there\nwas no rest or peace in them. She nodded at the window, and beckoned\nwith her hand. The little boy was frightened, and sprang down from the\nchair. It seemed as if a great white bird had flown past the window.\n\nThe next day there was a harder frost than before.\n\nThen came the spring, then the summer, when the roses grew and smelt\nmore beautifully than ever.\n\nKay and Gerda were looking at one of their picture-books--the clock in\nthe great church-tower had just struck five, when Kay exclaimed, \u2018Oh!\nsomething has stung my heart, and I\u2019ve got something in my eye!\u2019\n\nThe little girl threw her arms round his neck; he winked hard with both\nhis eyes; no, she could see nothing in them.\n\n\u2018I think it is gone now,\u2019 said he; but it had not gone. It was one of\nthe tiny splinters of the glass of the magic mirror which we have heard\nabout, that turned everything great and good reflected in it small and\nugly. And poor Kay had also a splinter in his heart, and it began to\nchange into a lump of ice. It did not hurt him at all, but the splinter\nwas there all the same.\n\n\u2018Why are you crying?\u2019 he asked; \u2018it makes you look so ugly! There\u2019s\nnothing the matter with me. Just look! that rose is all slug-eaten, and\nthis one is stunted! What ugly roses they are!\u2019\n\nAnd he began to pull them to pieces.\n\n\u2018Kay, what are you doing?\u2019 cried the little girl.\n\nAnd when he saw how frightened she was, he pulled off another rose, and\nran in at his window away from dear little Gerda.\n\nWhen she came later on with the picture book, he said that it was only\nfit for babies, and when his grandmother told them stories, he was\nalways interrupting with, \u2018But--\u2019 and then he would get behind her and\nput on her spectacles, and speak just as she did. This he did very well,\nand everybody laughed. Very soon he could imitate the way all the people\nin the street walked and talked.\n\nHis games were now quite different. On a winter\u2019s day he would take a\nburning glass and hold it out on his blue coat and let the snow-flakes\nfall on it.\n\n\u2018Look in the glass, Gerda! Just see how regular they are! They are much\nmore interesting than real flowers. Each is perfect; they are all made\naccording to rule. If only they did not melt!\u2019\n\nOne morning Kay came out with his warm gloves on, and his little\nsledge hung over his shoulder. He shouted to Gerda, \u2018I am going to the\nmarket-place to play with the other boys,\u2019 and away he went.\n\nIn the market-place the boldest boys used often to fasten their sledges\nto the carts of the farmers, and then they got a good ride.\n\nWhen they were in the middle of their games there drove into the square\na large sledge, all white, and in it sat a figure dressed in a rough\nwhite fur pelisse with a white fur cap on.\n\nThe sledge drove twice round the square, and Kay fastened his little\nsledge behind it and drove off. It went quicker and quicker into the\nnext street. The driver turned round, and nodded to Kay ina friendly\nway as if they had known each other before. Every time that Kay tried\nto unfasten his sledge the driver nodded again, and Kay sat still once\nmore. Then they drove out of the town, and the snow began to fall so\nthickly that the little boy could not see his hand before him, and on\nand on they went. He quickly unfastened the cord to get loose from the\nbig sledge, but it was of no use; his little sledge hung on fast, and it\nwent on like the wind.\n\nThen he cried out, but nobody heard him. He was dreadfully frightened.\n\nThe snowflakes grew larger and larger till they looked like great white\nbirds. All at once they flew aside, the large sledge stood still, and\nthe figure who was driving stood up. The fur cloak and cap were all\nof snow. It was a lady, tall and slim, and glittering. It was the\nSnow-queen.\n\n\u2018We have come at a good rate,\u2019 she said; \u2018but you are almost frozen.\nCreep in under my cloak.\u2019\n\nAnd she set him close to her in the sledge and drew the cloak over him.\nHe felt as though he were sinking into a snow-drift.\n\n\u2018Are you cold now?\u2019 she asked, and kissed his forehead. The kiss was\ncold as ice and reached down to his heart, which was already half a lump\nof ice.\n\n\u2018My sledge! Don\u2019t forget my sledge!\u2019 He thought of that first, and it\nwas fastened to one of the great white birds who flew behind with the\nsledge on its back.\n\nThe Snow-queen kissed Kay again, and then he forgot all about little\nGerda, his grandmother, and everybody at home.\n\n\u2018Now I must not kiss you any more,\u2019 she said, \u2018or else I should kiss you\nto death.\u2019\n\nThen away they flew over forests and lakes, over sea and land. Round\nthem whistled the cold wind, the wolves howled, and the snow hissed;\nover them flew the black shrieking crows. But high up the moon shone\nlarge and bright, and thus Kay passed the long winter night. In the day\nhe slept at the Snow-queen\u2019s feet.\n\nBut what happened to little Gerda when Kay did not come back?\n\nWhat had become of him? Nobody knew. The other boys told how they had\nseen him fasten his sledge on to a large one which had driven out of the\ntown gate.\n\nGerda cried a great deal. The winter was long and dark to her.\n\nThen the spring came with warm sunshine. \u2018I will go and look for Kay,\u2019\nsaid Gerda.\n\nSo she went down to the river and got into a little boat that was there.\nPresently the stream began to carry it away.\n\n\u2018Perhaps the river will take me to Kay,\u2019 thought Gerda. She glided down,\npast trees and fields, till she came to a large cherry garden, in which\nstood a little house with strange red and blue windows and a straw roof.\nBefore the door stood two wooden soldiers, who were shouldering arms.\n\nGerda called to them, but they naturally did not answer. The river\ncarried the boat on to the land.\n\nGerda called out still louder, and there came out of the house a very\nold woman. She leant upon a crutch, and she wore a large sun-hat which\nwas painted with the most beautiful flowers.\n\n\u2018You poor little girl!\u2019 said the old woman.\n\nAnd then she stepped into the water, brought the boat in close with her\ncrutch, and lifted little Gerda out.\n\n\u2018And now come and tell me who you are, and how you came here,\u2019 she said.\n\nThen Gerda told her everything, and asked her if she had seen Kay. But\nshe said he had not passed that way yet, but he would soon come.\n\nShe told Gerda not to be sad, and that she should stay with her and take\nof the cherry trees and flowers, which were better than any picture-bok,\nas they could each tell a story.\n\nShe then took Gerda\u2019s hand and led her into the little house and shut\nthe door.\n\nThe windows were very high, and the panes were red, blue, and yellow,\nso that the light came through in curious colours. On the table were the\nmost delicious cherries, and the old woman let Gerda eat as many as she\nliked, while she combed her hair with a gold comb as she ate.\n\nThe beautiful sunny hair rippled and shone round the dear little face,\nwhich was so soft and sweet. \u2018I have always longed to have a dear little\ngirl just like you, and you shall see how happy we will be together.\u2019\n\nAnd as she combed Gerda\u2019s hair, Gerda thought less and less about Kay,\nfor the old woman was a witch, but not a wicked witch, for she only\nenchanted now and then to amuse herself, and she did want to keep little\nGerda very much.\n\nSo she went into the garden and waved her stick over all the rose bushes\nand blossoms and all; they sank down into the black earth, and no one\ncould see where they had been.\n\nThe old woman was afraid that if Gerda saw the roses she would begin to\nthink about her own, and then would remember Kay and run away.\n\nThen she led Gerda out into the garden. How glorious it was, and what\nlovely scents filled the air! All the flowers you can think of blossomed\nthere all the year round.\n\nGerda jumped for joy and played there till the sun set behind the\ntall cherry trees, and then she slept in a beautiful bed with red silk\npillows filled with violets, and she slept soundly and dreamed as a\nqueen does on her wedding day.\n\nThe next day she played again with the flowers in the warm sunshine, and\nso many days passed by. Gerda knew every flower, but although there were\nso many, it seemed to her as if one were not there, though she could not\nremember which.\n\nShe was looking one day at the old woman\u2019s sun-hat which had hte painted\nflowers on it, and there she saw a rose.\n\nThe witch had forgotten to make that vanish when she had made the\nother roses disappear under the earth. it was so difficult to think of\neverything.\n\n\u2018Why, there are no roses here!\u2019 cried Gerda,, and she hunted amongst all\nthe flowers, but not one was to be found. Then she sat down and cried,\nbut her tears fell just on the spot where a rose bush had sunk, and when\nher warm tears watered the earth, the bush came up in full bloom just\nas it had been before. Gerda kissed the roses and thought of the lovely\nroses at home, and with them came the thought of little Kay.\n\n\u2018Oh, what have I been doing!\u2019 said the little girl. \u2018I wanted to look\nfor Kay.\u2019\n\nShe ran to the end of the garden. The gate was shut, but she pushed\nagainst the rusty lock so that it came open.\n\nShe ran out with her little bare feet. No one came after her. At last\nshe could not run any longer, and she sat down on a large stone. When\nshe looked round she saw that the summer was over; it was late autumn.\nIt had not changed in the beautiful garden, where were sunshine and\nflowers all the year round.\n\n\u2018Oh, dear, how late I have made myself!\u2019 said Gerda. \u2018It\u2019s autumn\nalready! I cannot rest!\u2019 And she sprang up to run on.\n\nOh, how tired and sore her little feet grew, and it became colder and\ncolder.\n\nShe had to rest again, and there on the snow in front of her was a large\ncrow.\n\nIt had been looking at her for some time, and it nodded its head and\nsaid, \u2018Caw! caw! good day.\u2019 Then it asked the little girl why she was\nalone in the world. She told the crow her story, and asked if he had\nseen Kay.\n\nThe crow nodded very thoughtfully and said, \u2018It might be! It might be!\u2019\n\n\u2018What! Do you think you have?\u2019 cried the little girl, and she almost\nsqueezed the crow to death as she kissed him.\n\n\u2018Gently, gently!\u2019 said the crow. \u2018I think--I know I think--it might be\nlittle Kay, but now he has forgotten you for the princess!\u2019\n\n\u2018Does he live with a princess?\u2019 asked Gerda.\n\n\u2018Yes, listen,\u2019 said the crow.\n\nThen he told her all he knew.\n\n\u2018In the kingdom in which we are now sitting lives a princess who is\ndreadfully clever. She has read all the newspapers in the world and has\nforgotten them again. She is as clever as that. The other day she came\nto the throne, and that is not so pleasant as people think. Then she\nbegan to say, \u201cWhy should I not marry?\u201d But she wanted a husband who\ncould answer when he was spoken to, not one who would stand up stiffly\nand look respectable--that would be too dull.\n\n\u2018When she told all the Court ladies, they were delighted. You can\nbelieve every word I say,\u2019 said the crow, \u2018I have a tame sweetheart in\nthe palace, and she tells me everything.\u2019\n\nOf course his sweetheart was a crow.\n\n\u2018The newspapers came out next morning with a border of hearts round it,\nand the princess\u2019s monogram on it, and inside you could read that every\ngood-looking young man might come into the palace and speak to the\nprincess, and whoever should speak loud enough to be heard would be\nwell fed and looked after, and the one who spoke best should become the\nprincess\u2019s husband. Indeed,\u2019 said the crow, \u2018you can quite believe me.\nIt is as true as that I am sitting here.\n\n\u2018Young men came in streams, and there was such a crowding and a mixing\ntogether! But nothing came of it on the first nor on the second day.\nThey could all speak quite well when they were in the street, but as\nsoon as they came inside the palace door, and saw the guards in silver,\nand upstairs the footmen in gold, and the great hall all lighted up,\nthen their wits left them! And when they stood in front of the throne\nwhere the princess was sitting, then they could not think of anything to\nsay except to repeat the last word she had spoken, and she did not much\ncare to hear that again. It seemed as if they were walking in their\nsleep until they came out into the street again, when they could speak\nonce more. There was a row stretching from the gate of the town up to\nthe castle.\n\n\u2018They were hungry and thirsty, but in the palace they did not even get a\nglass of water.\n\n\u2018A few of the cleverest had brought some slices of bread and butter\nwith them, but they did not share them with their neighbour, for they\nthought, \u201cIf he looks hungry, the princess will not take him!\u201d\u2019\n\n\u2018But what about Kay?\u2019 asked Gerda. \u2018When did he come? Was he in the\ncrowd?\u2019\n\n\u2018Wait a bit; we are coming to him! On the third day a little figure came\nwithout horse or carriage and walked jauntily up to the palace. His eyes\nshone as yours do; he had lovely curling hair, but quite poor clothes.\u2019\n\n\u2018That was Kay!\u2019 cried Gerda with delight. \u2018Oh, then I have found him!\u2019\nand she clapped her hands.\n\n\u2018He had a little bundle on his back,\u2019 said the crow.\n\n\u2018No, it must have been his skates, for he went away with his skates!\u2019\n\n\u2018Very likely,\u2019 said the crow, \u2018I did not see for certain. But I know\nthis from my sweetheart, that when he came to the palace door and saw\nthe royal guards in silver, and on the stairs the footmen in gold, he\nwas not the least bit put out. He nodded to them, saying, \u201cIt must be\nrather dull standing on the stairs; I would rather go inside!\u201d\n\n\u2018The halls blazed with lights; councillors and ambassadors were walking\nabout in noiseless shoes carrying gold dishes. It was enough to make one\nnervous! His boots creaked dreadfully loud, but he was not frightened.\u2019\n\n\u2018That must be Kay!\u2019 said Gerda. \u2018I know he had new boots on; I have\nheard them creaking in his grandmother\u2019s room!\u2019\n\n\u2018They did creak, certainly!\u2019 said the crow. \u2018And, not one bit afraid, up\nhe went to the princess, who was sitting on a large pearl as round as a\nspinning wheel. All the ladies-in-waiting were standing round, each with\ntheir attendants, and the lords-in-waiting with their attendants. The\nnearer they stood to the door the prouder they were.\u2019\n\n\u2018It must have been dreadful!\u2019 said little Gerda. \u2018And Kay did win the\nprincess?\u2019\n\n\u2018I heard from my tame sweetheart that he was merry and quick-witted; he\nhad not come to woo, he said, but to listen to the princess\u2019s wisdom.\nAnd the end of it was that they fell in love with each other.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, yes; that was Kay!\u2019 said Gerda. \u2018He was so clever; he could do sums\nwith fractions. Oh, do lead me to the palace!\u2019\n\n\u2018That\u2019s easily said!\u2019 answered the crow, \u2018but how are we to manage that?\nI must talk it over with my tame sweetheart. She may be able to advise\nus, for I must tell you that a little girl like you could never get\npermission to enter it.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, I will get it!\u2019 said Gerda. \u2018When Kay hears that I am there he\nwill come out at once and fetch me!\u2019\n\n\u2018Wait for me by the railings,\u2019 said the crow, and he nodded his head and\nflew away.\n\nIt was late in the evening when he came back.\n\n\u2018Caw, caw!\u2019 he said, \u2018I am to give you her love, and here is a little\nroll for you. She took it out of the kitchen; there\u2019s plenty there,\nand you must be hungry. You cannot come into the palace. The guards in\nsilver and the footmen in gold would not allow it. But don\u2019t cry! You\nshall get in all right. My sweetheart knows a little back-stairs which\nleads to the sleeping-room, and she knows where to find the key.\u2019\n\nThey went into the garden, and when the lights in the palace were put\nout one after the other, the crow led Gerda to a back-door.\n\nOh, how Gerda\u2019s heart beat with anxiety and longing! It seemed as if she\nwere going to do something wrong, but she only wanted to know if it were\nlittle Kay. Yes, it must be he! She remembered so well his clever eyes,\nhis curly hair. She could see him smiling as he did when they were at\nhome under the rose trees! He would be so pleased to see her, and to\nhear how they all were at home.\n\nNow they were on the stairs; a little lamp was burning, and on the\nlanding stood the tame crow. She put her head on one side and looked at\nGerda, who bowed as her grandmother had taught her.\n\n\u2018My betrothed has told me many nice things about you, my dear young\nlady,\u2019 she said. \u2018Will you take the lamp while I go in front? We go this\nway so as to meet no one.\u2019\n\nThrough beautiful rooms they came to the sleeping-room. In the middle of\nit, hung on a thick rod of gold, were two beds, shaped like lilies, one\nall white, in which lay the princess, and the other red, in which Gerda\nhoped to find Kay. She pushed aside the curtain, and saw a brown neck.\nOh, it was Kay! She called his name out loud, holding the lamp towards\nhim.\n\nHe woke up, turned his head and--it was not Kay!\n\nIt was only his neck that was like Kay\u2019s, but he was young and handsome.\nThe princess sat up in her lily-bed and asked who was there.\n\nThen Gerda cried, and told her story and all that the crows had done.\n\n\u2018You poor child!\u2019 said the prince and princess, and they praised the\ncrows, and said that they were not angry with them, but that they must\nnot do it again. Now they should have a reward.\n\n\u2018Would you like to fly away free?\u2019 said the princess, \u2018or will you have\na permanent place as court crows with what you can get in the kitchen?\u2019\n\nAnd both crows bowed and asked for a permanent appointment, for they\nthought of their old age.\n\nAnd they put Gerda to bed, and she folded her hands, thinking, as she\nfell asleep, \u2018How good people and animals are to me!\u2019\n\nThe next day she was dressed from head to foot in silk and satin.\nThey wanted her to stay on in the palace, but she begged for a little\ncarriage and a horse, and a pair of shoes so that she might go out again\ninto the world to look for Kay.\n\nThey gave her a muff as well as some shoes; she was warmly dressed, and\nwhen she was ready, there in front of the door stood a coach of pure\ngold, with a coachman, footmen and postilions with gold crowns on.\n\nThe prince and princess helped her into the carriage and wished her good\nluck.\n\nThe wild crow who was now married drove with her for the first three\nmiles; the other crow could not come because she had a bad headache.\n\n\u2018Good-bye, good-bye!\u2019 called the prince and princess; and little Gerda\ncried, and the crow cried.\n\nWhen he said good-bye, he flew on to a tree and waved with his black\nwings as long as the carriage, which shone like the sun, was in sight.\n\nThey came at last to a dark wood, but the coach lit it up like a torch.\nWhen the robbers saw it, they rushed out, exclaiming, \u2018Gold! gold!\u2019\n\nThey seized the horses, killed the coachman, footmen and postilions, and\ndragged Gerda out of the carriage.\n\n\u2018She is plump and tender! I will eat her!\u2019 said the old robber-queen,\nand she drew her long knife, which glittered horribly.\n\n\u2018You shall not kill her!\u2019 cried her little daughter. \u2018She shall play\nwith me. She shall give me her muff and her beautiful dress, and she\nshall sleep in my bed.\u2019\n\nThe little robber-girl was as big as Gerda, but was stronger, broader,\nwith dark hair and black eyes. She threw her arms round Gerda and said,\n\u2018They shall not kill you, so long as you are not naughty. Aren\u2019t you a\nprincess?\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said Gerda, and she told all that had happened to her, and how\ndearly she loved little Kay.\n\nThe robber-girl looked at her very seriously, and nodded her head,\nsaying, \u2018They shall not kill you, even if you are naughty, for then I\nwill kill you myself!\u2019\n\nAnd she dried Gerda\u2019s eyes, and stuck both her hands in the beautiful\nwarm muff.\n\nThe little robber-girl took Gerda to a corner of the robbers\u2019 camp where\nshe slept.\n\nAll round were more than a hundred wood-pigeons which seemed to be\nasleep, but they moved a little when the two girls came up.\n\nThere was also, near by, a reindeer which the robber-girl teased by\ntickling it with her long sharp knife.\n\nGerda lay awake for some time.\n\n\u2018Coo, coo!\u2019 said the wood-pigeons. \u2018We have seen little Kay. A white\nbird carried his sledge; he was sitting in the Snow-queen\u2019s carriage\nwhich drove over the forest when our little ones were in the nest. She\nbreathed on them, and all except we two died. Coo, coo!\u2019\n\n\u2018What are you saying over there?\u2019 cried Gerda. \u2018Where was the Snow-queen\ngoing to? Do you know at all?\u2019\n\n\u2018She was probably travelling to Lapland, where there is always ice and\nsnow. Ask the reindeer.\u2019\n\n\u2018There is capital ice and snow there!\u2019 said the reindeer. \u2018One can jump\nabout there in the great sparkling valleys. There the Snow-queen has\nher summer palace, but her best palace is up by the North Pole, on the\nisland called Spitzbergen.\u2019\n\n\u2018O Kay, my little Kay!\u2019 sobbed Gerda.\n\n\u2018You must lie still,\u2019 said the little robber-girl, \u2018or else I shall\nstick my knife into you!\u2019\n\nIn the morning Gerda told her all that the wood-pigeons had said. She\nnodded. \u2018Do you know where Lapland is?\u2019 she asked the reindeer.\n\n\u2018Who should know better than I?\u2019 said the beast, and his eyes sparkled.\n\u2018I was born and bred there on the snow-fields.\u2019\n\n\u2018Listen!\u2019 said the robber-girl to Gerda; \u2018you see that all the robbers\nhave gone; only my mother is left, and she will fall asleep in the\nafternoon--then I will do something for you!\u2019\n\nWhen her mother had fallen asleep, the robber-girl went up to the\nreindeer and said, \u2018I am going to set you free so that you can run\nto Lapland. But you must go quickly and carry this little girl to the\nSnow-queen\u2019s palace, where her playfellow is. You must have heard all\nthat she told about it, for she spoke loud enough!\u2019\n\nThe reindeer sprang high for joy. The robber-girl lifted little Gerda\nup, and had the foresight to tie her on firmly, and even gave her a\nlittle pillow for a saddle. \u2018You must have your fur boots,\u2019 she said,\n\u2018for it will be cold; but I shall keep your muff, for it is so cosy!\nBut, so that you may not freeze, here are my mother\u2019s great fur gloves;\nthey will come up to your elbows. Creep into them!\u2019\n\nAnd Gerda cried for joy.\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t make such faces!\u2019 said the little robber-girl. \u2018You must look\nvery happy. And here are two loaves and a sausage; now you won\u2019t be\nhungry!\u2019\n\nThey were tied to the reindeer, the little robber-girl opened the door,\nmade all the big dogs come away, cut through the halter with her sharp\nknife, and said to the reindeer, \u2018Run now! But take great care of the\nlittle girl.\u2019\n\nAnd Gerda stretched out her hands with the large fur gloves towards the\nlittle robber-girl and said, \u2018Good-bye!\u2019\n\nThen the reindeer flew over the ground, through the great forest, as\nfast as he could.\n\nThe wolves howled, the ravens screamed, the sky seemed on fire.\n\n\u2018Those are my dear old northern lights,\u2019 said the reindeer; \u2018see how\nthey shine!\u2019\n\nAnd then he ran faster still, day and night.\n\nThe loaves were eaten, and the sausage also, and then they came to\nLapland.\n\nThey stopped by a wretched little house; the roof almost touched the\nground, and the door was so low that you had to creep in and out.\n\nThere was no one in the house except an old Lapland woman who was\ncooking fish over an oil-lamp. The reindeer told Gerda\u2019s whole history,\nbut first he told his own, for that seemed to him much more important,\nand Gerda was so cold that she could not speak.\n\n\u2018Ah, you poor creatures!\u2019 said the Lapland woman; \u2018you have still\nfurther to go! You must go over a hundred miles into Finland, for there\nthe Snow-queen lives, and every night she burns Bengal lights. I will\nwrite some words on a dried stock-fish, for I have no paper, and you\nmust give it to the Finland woman, for she can give you better advice\nthan I can.\u2019\n\nAnd when Gerda was warmed and had had something to eat and drink, the\nLapland woman wrote on a dried stock-fish, and begged Gerda to take care\nof it, tied Gerda securely on the reindeer\u2019s back, and away they went\nagain.\n\nThe whole night was ablaze with northern lights, and then they came to\nFinland and knocked at the Finland woman\u2019s chimney, for door she had\nnone.\n\nInside it was so hot that the Finland woman wore very few clothes; she\nloosened Gerda\u2019s clothes and drew off her fur gloves and boots. She laid\na piece of ice on the reindeer\u2019s head, and then read what was written on\nthe stock-fish. She read it over three times till she knew it by heart,\nand then put the fish in the saucepan, for she never wasted anything.\n\nThen the reindeer told his story, and afterwards little Gerda\u2019s and the\nFinland woman blinked her eyes but said nothing.\n\n\u2018You are very clever,\u2019 said the reindeer. \u2018I know. Cannot you give the\nlittle girl a drink so that she may have the strength of twelve men and\novercome the Snow-queen?\u2019\n\n\u2018The strength of twelve men!\u2019 said the Finland woman; \u2018that would not\nhelp much. Little Kay is with the Snow-queen and he likes everything\nthere very much and thinks it the best place in the world. But that is\nbecause he has a splinter of glass in his heart and a bit in his eye.\nIf these do not come out, he will never be free, and the Snow-queen will\nkeep her power over him.\u2019\n\n\u2018But cannot you give little Gerda something so that she can have power\nover her?\u2019\n\n\u2018I can give her no greater power than she has already; don\u2019t you see\nhow great it is? Don\u2019t you see how men and beasts must help her when she\nwanders into the wide world with her bare feet? She is powerful already,\nbecause she is a dear little innocent child. If she cannot by herself\nconquer the Snow-queen and take away the glass splinters from little\nKay, we cannot help her! The Snow-queen\u2019s garden begins two miles from\nhere. You can carry the little maiden so far; put her down by the large\nbush with red berries growing in the snow. Then you must come back here\nas fast as you can.\u2019\n\nThen the Finland woman lifted little Gerda on the reindeer and away he\nsped.\n\n\u2018Oh, I have left my gloves and boots behind!\u2019 cried Gerda. She missed\nthem in the piercing cold, but the reindeer did not dare to stop. On he\nran till he came to the bush with red berries. Then he set Gerda down\nand kissed her mouth, and great big tears ran down his cheeks, and then\nhe ran back. There stood poor Gerda, without shoes or gloves in the\nmiddle of the bitter cold of Finland.\n\nShe ran on as fast as she could. A regiment of gigantic snowflakes came\nagainst her, but they melted when they touched her, and she went on with\nfresh courage.\n\nAnd now we must see what Kay was doing. He was not thinking of Gerda,\nand never dreamt that she was standing outside the palace.\n\nThe walls of the palace were built of driven snow, and the doors and\nwindows of piercing winds. There were more than a hundred halls in\nit all of frozen snow. The largest was several miles long; the bright\nNorthern lights lit them up, and very large and empty and cold and\nglittering they were! In the middle of the great hall was a frozen lake\nwhich had cracked in a thousand pieces; each piece was exactly like the\nother. Here the Snow-queen used to sit when she was at home.\n\nLittle Kay was almost blue and black with cold, but he did not feel it,\nfor she had kissed away his feelings and his heart was a lump of ice.\n\nHe was pulling about some sharp, flat pieces of ice, and trying to fit\none into the other. He thought each was most beautiful, but that was\nbecause of the splinter of glass in his eye. He fitted them into a\ngreat many shapes, but he wanted to make them spell the word \u2018Love.\u2019 The\nSnow-queen had said, \u2018If you can spell out that word you shalt be your\nown master. I will give you the whole world and a new pair of skates.\u2019\n\nBut he could not do it.\n\n\u2018Now I must fly to warmer countries,\u2019 said the Snow-queen. \u2018I must go\nand powder my black kettles!\u2019 (This was what she called Mount Etna and\nMount Vesuvius.) \u2018It does the lemons and grapes good.\u2019\n\nAnd off she flew, and Kay sat alone in the great hall trying to do his\npuzzle.\n\nHe sat so still that you would have thought he was frozen.\n\nThen it happened that little Gerda stepped into the hall. The biting\ncold winds became quiet as if they had fallen asleep when she appeared\nin the great, empty, freezing hall.\n\nShe caught sight of Kay; she recognised him, and ran and put her arms\nround his neck, crying, \u2018Kay! dear little Kay! I have found you at\nlast!\u2019\n\nBut he sat quite still and cold. Then Gerda wept hot tears which fell\non his neck and thawed his heart and swept away the bit of the\nlooking-glass. He looked at her and then he burst into tears. He cried\nso much that the glass splinter swam out of his eye; then he knew her,\nand cried out, \u2018Gerda! dear little Gerda! Where have you been so long?\nand where have I been?\u2019\n\nAnd he looked round him.\n\n\u2018How cold it is here! How wide and empty!\u2019 and he threw himself on\nGerda, and she laughed and wept for joy. It was such a happy time that\nthe pieces of ice even danced round them for joy, and when they were\ntired and lay down again they formed themselves into the letters that\nthe Snow-queen had said he must spell in order to become his own master\nand have the whole world and a new pair of skates.\n\nAnd Gerda kissed his cheeks and they grew rosy; she kissed his eyes and\nthey sparkled like hers; she kissed his hands and feet and he became\nwarm and glowing. The Snow-queen might come home now; his release--the\nword \u2018Love\u2019--stood written in sparkling ice.\n\nThey took each other\u2019s hands and wandered out of the great palace; they\ntalked about the grandmother and the roses on the leads, wherever they\ncame the winds hushed and the sun came out. When they reached the bush\nwith red berries there stood the reindeer waiting for them.\n\nHe carried Kay and Gerda first to the Finland woman, who warmed them in\nher hot room and gave them advice for their journey home.\n\nThen they went to the Lapland woman, who gave them new clothes and\nmended their sleigh. The reindeer ran with them until they came to the\ngreen fields fresh with the spring green. Here he said good-bye.\n\nThey came to the forest, which was bursting into bud, and out of it came\na splendid horse which Gerda knew; it was the one which had drawn the\ngold coach ridden by a young girl with a red cap on and pistols in her\nbelt. It was the little robber girl who was tired of being at home and\nwanted to go out into the world. She and Gerda knew each other at once.\n\n\u2018You are a nice fellow!\u2019 she said to Kay. \u2018I should like to know if you\ndeserve to be run all over the world!\u2019\n\nBut Gerda patted her cheeks and asked after the prince and princess.\n\n\u2018They are travelling about,\u2019 said the robber girl.\n\n\u2018And the crow?\u2019 asked Gerda.\n\n\u2018Oh, the crow is dead!\u2019 answered the robber-girl. \u2018His tame sweetheart\nis a widow and hops about with a bit of black crape round her leg. She\nmakes a great fuss, but that\u2019s all nonsense. But tell me what happened\nto you, and how you caught him.\u2019\n\nAnd Kay and Gerda told her all.\n\n\u2018Dear, dear!\u2019 said the robber-girl, shook both their hands, and promised\nthat if she came to their town she would come and see them. Then she\nrode on.\n\nBut Gerda and Kay went home hand in hand. There they found the\ngrandmother and everything just as it had been, but when they went\nthrough the doorway they found they were grown-up.\n\nThere were the roses on the leads; it was summer, warm, glorious summer.\n\n\n\n\nThe Fir-tree\n\nTranslated from the German of Hans Christian Andersen.\n\n\nThere was once a pretty little fir-tree in a wood. It was in a capital\nposition, for it could get sun, and there was enough air, and all around\ngrew many tall companions, both pines and firs. It did not heed the warm\nsun and the fresh air, or notice the little peasant children who ran\nabout chattering when they came out to gather wild strawberries and\nraspberries. Often they found a whole basketful and strung strawberries\non a straw; they would sit down by the little fir-tree and say, \u2018What a\npretty little one this is!\u2019 The tree did not like that at all.\n\nBy the next year it had grown a whole ring taller, and the year after\nthat another ring more, for you can always tell a fir-tree\u2019s age from\nits rings.\n\n\u2018Oh! if I were only a great tree like the others!\u2019 sighed the little\nfir-tree, \u2018then I could stretch out my branches far and wide and look\nout into the great world! The birds would build their nests in my\nbranches, and when the wind blew I would bow to it politely just like\nthe others!\u2019 It took no pleasure in the sunshine, nor in the birds, nor\nin the rose-coloured clouds that sailed over it at dawn and at sunset.\nThen the winter came, and the snow lay white and sparkling all around,\nand a hare would come and spring right over the little fir-tree, which\nannoyed it very much. But when two more winters had passed the fir-tree\nwas so tall that the hare had to run round it. \u2018Ah! to grow and grow,\nand become great and old! that is the only pleasure in life,\u2019 thought\nthe tree. In the autumn the woodcutters used to come and hew some of the\ntallest trees; this happened every year, and the young fir-tree would\nshiver as the magnificent trees fell crashing and crackling to the\nground, their branches hewn off, and the great trunks left bare, so that\nthey were almost unrecognisable. But then they were laid on waggons\nand dragged out of the wood by horses. \u2018Where are they going? What will\nhappen to them?\u2019\n\nIn spring, when the swallows and storks came, the fir-tree asked them,\n\u2018Do you know where they were taken? Have you met them?\u2019\n\nThe swallows knew nothing of them, but the stork nodded his head\nthoughtfully, saying, \u2018I think I know. I met many new ships as I flew\nfrom Egypt; there were splendid masts on the ships. I\u2019ll wager those\nwere they! They had the scent of fir-trees. Ah! those are grand, grand!\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! if I were only big enough to sail away over the sea too! What sort\nof thing is the sea? what does it look like?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! it would take much too long to tell you all that,\u2019 said the stork,\nand off he went.\n\n\u2018Rejoice in your youth,\u2019 said the sunbeams, \u2018rejoice in the sweet\ngrowing time, in the young life within you.\u2019\n\nAnd the wind kissed it and the dew wept tears over it, but the fir-tree\ndid not understand.\n\nTowards Christmas-time quite little trees were cut down, some not as big\nas the young fir-tree, or just the same age, and now it had no peace or\nrest for longing to be away. These little trees, which were chosen for\ntheir beauty, kept all their branches; they were put in carts and drawn\nout of the wood by horses.\n\n\u2018Whither are those going?\u2019 asked the fir-tree; \u2018they are no bigger than\nI, and one there was much smaller even! Why do they keep their branches?\nWhere are they taken to?\u2019\n\n\u2018We know! we know!\u2019 twittered the sparrows. \u2018Down there in the city we\nhave peeped in at the windows, we know where they go! They attain to the\ngreatest splendour and magnificence you can imagine! We have looked in\nat the windows and seen them planted in the middle of the warm room and\nadorned with the most beautiful things-golden apples, sweet-meats, toys\nand hundreds of candles.\u2019\n\n\u2018And then?\u2019 asked the fir-tree, trembling in every limb with eagerness,\n\u2018and then? what happens then?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, we haven\u2019t seen anything more than that. That was simply\nmatchless!\u2019\n\n\u2018Am I too destined to the same brilliant career?\u2019 wondered the fir-tree\nexcitedly. \u2018That is even better than sailing over the sea! I am sick\nwith longing. If it were only Christmas! Now I am tall and grown-up like\nthose which were taken away last year. Ah, if I were only in the cart!\nIf I were only in the warm room with all the splendour and magnificence!\nAnd then? Then comes something better, something still more beautiful,\nelse why should they dress us up? There must be something greater,\nsomething grander to come--but what? Oh! I am pining away! I really\ndon\u2019t know what\u2019s the matter with me!\u2019\n\n\u2018Rejoice in us,\u2019 said the air and sunshine, \u2018rejoice in your fresh youth\nin the free air!\u2019\n\nBut it took no notice, and just grew and grew; there it stood fresh and\ngreen in winter and summer, and all who saw it said, \u2018What a beautiful\ntree!\u2019 And at Christmas-time it was the first to be cut down. The axe\nwent deep into the pith; the tree fell to the ground with a groan; it\nfelt bruised and faint. It could not think of happiness, it was sad at\nleaving its home, the spot where it had sprung up; it knew, too, that it\nwould never see again its dear old companions, or the little shrubs\nand flowers, perhaps not even the birds. Altogether the parting was not\npleasant.\n\nWhen the tree came to itself again it was packed in a yard with other\ntrees, and a man was saying, \u2018This is a splendid one, we shall only want\nthis.\u2019\n\nThen came two footmen in livery and carried the fir-tree to a large and\nbeautiful room. There were pictures hanging on the walls, and near the\nDutch stove stood great Chinese vases with lions on their lids; there\nwere armchairs, silk-covered sofas, big tables laden with picture-books\nand toys, worth hundreds of pounds-at least, so the children said. The\nfir-tree was placed in a great tub filled with sand, but no one could\nsee that it was a tub, for it was all hung with greenery and stood on a\ngay carpet. How the tree trembled! What was coming now? On its\nbranches they hung little nets cut out of coloured paper, each full of\nsugarplums; gilt apples and nuts hung down as if they were growing, over\na hundred red, blue, and white tapers were fastened among the branches.\nDolls as life-like as human beings--the fir-tree had never seen any\nbefore were suspended among the green, and right up at the top was fixed\na gold tinsel star; it was gorgeous, quite unusually gorgeous!\n\n\u2018To-night,\u2019 they all said, \u2018to-night it will be lighted!\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah!\u2019 thought the tree, \u2018if it were only evening! Then the tapers would\nsoon be lighted. What will happen then? I wonder whether the trees will\ncome from the wood to see me, or if the sparrows will fly against the\nwindow panes? Am I to stand here decked out thus through winter and\nsummer?\u2019\n\nIt was not a bad guess, but the fir-tree had real bark-ache from sheer\nlonging, and bark-ache in trees is just as bad as head-ache in human\nbeings.\n\nNow the tapers were lighted. What a glitter! What splendour! The tree\nquivered in all its branches so much, that one of the candles caught\nthe green, and singed it. \u2018Take care!\u2019 cried the young ladies, and they\nextinguished it.\n\nNow the tree did not even dare to quiver. It was really terrible! It was\nso afraid of losing any of its ornaments, and it was quite bewildered by\nall the radiance.\n\nAnd then the folding doors were opened, and a crowd of children rushed\nin, as though they wanted to knock down the whole tree, whilst the older\npeople followed soberly. The children stood quite silent, but only for\na moment, and then they shouted again, and danced round the tree, and\nsnatched off one present after another.\n\n\u2018What are they doing?\u2019 thought the tree. \u2018What is going to happen?\u2019 And\nthe tapers burnt low on the branches, and were put out one by one, and\nthen the children were given permission to plunder the tree. They rushed\nat it so that all its boughs creaked; if it had not been fastened by the\ngold star at the top to the ceiling, it would have been overthrown.\n\nThe children danced about with their splendid toys, and no one looked at\nthe tree, except the old nurse, who came and peeped amongst the boughs,\njust to see if a fig or an apple had been forgotten.\n\n\u2018A story! a story!\u2019 cried the children, and dragged a little stout\nman to the tree; he sat down beneath it, saying, \u2018Here we are in the\ngreenwood, and the tree will be delighted to listen! But I am only going\nto tell one story. Shall it be Henny Penny or Humpty Dumpty who fell\ndownstairs, and yet gained great honour and married a princess?\u2019\n\n\u2018Henny Penny!\u2019 cried some; \u2018Humpty Dumpty!\u2019 cried others; there was a\nperfect babel of voices! Only the fir-tree kept silent, and thought, \u2018Am\nI not to be in it? Am I to have nothing to do with it?\u2019\n\nBut it had already been in it, and played out its part. And the man told\nthem about Humpty Dumpty who fell downstairs and married a princess. The\nchildren clapped their hands and cried, \u2018Another! another!\u2019 They wanted\nthe story of Henny Penny also, but they only got Humpty Dumpty. The\nfir-tree stood quite astonished and thoughtful; the birds in the wood\nhad never related anything like that. \u2018Humpty Dumpty fell downstairs and\nyet married a princess! yes, that is the way of the world!\u2019 thought the\ntree, and was sure it must be true, because such a nice man had told\nthe story. \u2018Well, who knows? Perhaps I shall fall downstairs and marry a\nprincess.\u2019 And it rejoiced to think that next day it would be decked out\nagain with candles, toys, glittering ornaments, and fruits. \u2018To-morrow\nI shall quiver again with excitement. I shall enjoy to the full all my\nsplendour. To-morrow I shall hear Humpty Dumpty again, and perhaps Henny\nPenny too.\u2019 And the tree stood silent and lost in thought all through\nthe night.\n\nNext morning the servants came in. \u2018Now the dressing up will begin\nagain,\u2019 thought the tree. But they dragged it out of the room, and up\nthe stairs to the lumber-room, and put it in a dark corner, where no ray\nof light could penetrate. \u2018What does this mean?\u2019 thought the tree. \u2018What\nam I to do here? What is there for me to hear?\u2019 And it leant against the\nwall, and thought and thought. And there was time enough for that, for\ndays and nights went by, and no one came; at last when some one did\ncome, it was only to put some great boxes into the corner. Now the tree\nwas quite covered; it seemed as if it had been quite forgotten.\n\n\u2018Now it is winter out-doors,\u2019 thought the fir-tree. \u2018The ground is hard\nand covered with snow, they can\u2019t plant me yet, and that is why I am\nstaying here under cover till the spring comes. How thoughtful they are!\nOnly I wish it were not so terribly dark and lonely here; not even\na little hare! It was so nice out in the wood, when the snow lay all\naround, and the hare leapt past me; yes, even when he leapt over me: but\nI didn\u2019t like it then. It\u2019s so dreadfully lonely up here.\u2019\n\n\u2018Squeak, squeak!\u2019 said a little mouse, stealing out, followed by a\nsecond. They sniffed at the fir-tree, and then crept between its boughs.\n\u2018It\u2019s frightfully cold,\u2019 said the little mice. \u2018How nice it is to be\nhere! Don\u2019t you think so too, you old fir-tree?\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019m not at all old,\u2019 said the tree; \u2018there are many much older than I\nam.\u2019\n\n\u2018Where do you come from?\u2019 asked the mice, \u2018and what do you know?\u2019 They\nwere extremely inquisitive. \u2018Do tell us about the most beautiful\nplace in the world. Is that where you come from? Have you been in the\nstoreroom, where cheeses lie on the shelves, and hams hang from the\nceiling, where one dances on tallow candles, and where one goes in thin\nand comes out fat?\u2019\n\n\u2018I know nothing about that,\u2019 said the tree. \u2018But I know the wood, where\nthe sun shines, and the birds sing.\u2019 And then it told them all about\nits young days, and the little mice had never heard anything like that\nbefore, and they listened with all their ears, and said: \u2018Oh, how much\nyou have seen! How lucky you have been!\u2019\n\n\u2018I?\u2019 said the fir-tree, and then it thought over what it had told them.\n\u2018Yes, on the whole those were very happy times.\u2019 But then it went on to\ntell them about Christmas Eve, when it had been adorned with sweet-meats\nand tapers.\n\n\u2018Oh!\u2019 said the little mice, \u2018how lucky you have been, you old fir-tree!\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019m not at all old\u2019 said the tree. \u2018I only came from the wood this\nwinter. I am only a little backward, perhaps, in my growth.\u2019\n\n\u2018How beautifully you tell stories!\u2019 said the little mice. And next\nevening they came with four others, who wanted to hear the tree\u2019s story,\nand it told still more, for it remembered everything so clearly and\nthought: \u2018Those were happy times! But they may come again. Humpty dumpty\nfell downstairs, and yet he married a princess; perhaps I shall also\nmarry a princess!\u2019 And then it thought of a pretty little birch-tree\nthat grew out in the wood, and seemed to the fir-tree a real princess,\nand a very beautiful one too.\n\n\u2018Who is Humpty Dumpty?\u2019 asked the little mice.\n\nAnd then the tree told the whole story; it could remember every single\nword, and the little mice were ready to leap on to the topmost branch\nout of sheer joy! Next night many more mice came, and on Sunday even\ntwo rats; but they did not care about the story, and that troubled the\nlittle mice, for now they thought less of it too.\n\n\u2018Is that the only story you know?\u2019 asked the rats.\n\n\u2018The only one,\u2019 answered the tree. \u2018I heard that on my happiest evening,\nbut I did not realise then how happy I was.\u2019\n\n\u2018That\u2019s a very poor story. Don\u2019t you know one about bacon or tallow\ncandles? a storeroom story?\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said the tree.\n\n\u2018Then we are much obliged to you,\u2019 said the rats, and they went back to\ntheir friends.\n\nAt last the little mice went off also, and the tree said, sighing:\n\u2018Really it was very pleasant when the lively little mice sat round and\nlistened whilst I told them stories. But now that\u2019s over too. But now I\nwill think of the time when I shall be brought out again, to keep up my\nspirits.\u2019\n\nBut when did that happen? Well, it was one morning when they came to\ntidy up the lumber-room; they threw it really rather roughly on the\nfloor, but a servant dragged it off at once downstairs, where there was\ndaylight once more.\n\n\u2018Now life begins again!\u2019 thought the tree. It felt the fresh air, the\nfirst rays of the sun, and there it was out in the yard! Everything\npassed so quickly; the tree quite forgot to notice itself, there was so\nmuch to look at all around. The yard opened on a garden full of flowers;\nthe roses were so fresh and sweet, hanging over a little trellis,\nthe lime-trees were in blossom, and the swallows flew about, saying:\n\u2018Quirre-virre-vil, my husband has come home;\u2019 but it was not the\nfir-tree they meant.\n\n\u2018Now I shall live,\u2019 thought the tree joyfully, stretching out its\nbranches wide; but, alas! they were all withered and yellow; and it was\nlying in a corner among weeds and nettles. The golden star was still on\nits highest bough, and it glittered in the bright sunlight. In the yard\nsome of the merry children were playing, who had danced so gaily round\nthe tree at Christmas. One of the little ones ran up, and tore off the\ngold star.\n\n\u2018Look what was left on the ugly old fir-tree!\u2019 he cried, and stamped on\nthe boughs so that they cracked under his feet.\n\nAnd the tree looked at all the splendour and freshness of the flowers in\nthe garden, and then looked at itself, and wished that it had been left\nlying in the dark corner of the lumber-room; it thought of its fresh\nyouth in the wood, of the merry Christmas Eve, and of the little mice\nwho had listened so happily to the story of Humpty Dumpty.\n\n\u2018Too late! Too late!\u2019 thought the old tree. \u2018If only I had enjoyed\nmyself whilst I could. Now all is over and gone.\u2019\n\nAnd a servant came and cut the tree into small pieces, there was quite\na bundle of them; they flickered brightly under the great copper in\nthe brew-house; the tree sighed deeply, and each sigh was like a\npistol-shot; so the children who were playing there ran up, and sat in\nfront of the fire, gazing at it, and crying, \u2018Piff! puff! bang!\u2019 But\nfor each report, which was really a sigh, the tree was thinking of a\nsummer\u2019s day in the wood, or of a winter\u2019s night out there, when the\nstars were shining; it thought of Christmas Eve, and of Humpty Dumpty,\nwhich was the only story it had heard, or could tell, and then the tree\nhad burnt away.\n\nThe children played on in the garden, and the youngest had the golden\nstar on his breast, which the tree had worn on the happiest evening of\nits life; and now that was past--and the tree had passed away--and the\nstory too, all ended and done with.\n\nAnd that\u2019s the way with all stories!\n\nHere our Danish author ends. This is what people call sentiment, and I\nhope you enjoy it!\n\n\n\n\nHans, the Mermaid\u2019s Son\n\nTranslated from the Danish.\n\n\nIn a village there once lived a smith called Basmus, who was in a very\npoor way. He was still a young man, and a strong handsome fellow to\nboot, but he had many little children and there was little to be earned\nby his trade. He was, however, a diligent and hard-working man, and when\nhe had no work in the smithy he was out at sea fishing, or gathering\nwreckage on the shore.\n\nIt happened one time that he had gone out to fish in good weather,\nall alone in a little boat, but he did not come home that day, nor the\nfollowing one, so that all believed he had perished out at sea. On the\nthird day, however, Basmus came to shore again and had his boat full\nof fish, so big and fat that no one had ever seen their like. There\nwas nothing the matter with him, and he complained neither of hunger or\nthirst. He had got into a fog, he said, and could not find land again.\nWhat he did not tell, however, was where he had been all the time; that\nonly came out six years later, when people got to know that he had been\ncaught by a mermaid out on the deep sea, and had been her guest during\nthe three days that he was missing. From that time forth he went out no\nmore to fish; nor, indeed, did he require to do so, for whenever he went\ndown to the shore it never failed that some wreckage was washed up, and\nin it all kinds of valuable things. In those days everyone took what\nthey found and got leave to keep it, so that the smith grew more\nprosperous day by day.\n\nWhen seven years had passed since the smith went out to sea, it happened\none morning, as he stood in the smithy, mending a plough, that a\nhandsome young lad came in to him and said, \u2018Good-day, father; my mother\nthe mermaid sends her greetings, and says that she has had me for six\nyears now, and you can keep me for as long.\u2019\n\nHe was a strange enough boy to be six years old, for he looked as if he\nwere eighteen, and was even bigger and stronger than lads commonly are\nat that age.\n\n\u2018Will you have a bite of bread?\u2019 said the smith.\n\n\u2018Oh, yes,\u2019 said Hans, for that was his name.\n\nThe smith then told his wife to cut a piece of bread for him. She did\nso, and the boy swallowed it at one mouthful and went out again to the\nsmithy to his father.\n\n\u2018Have you got all you can eat?\u2019 said the smith.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said Hans, \u2018that was just a little bit.\u2019\n\nThe smith went into the house and took a whole loaf, which he cut into\ntwo slices and put butter and cheese between them, and this he gave to\nHans. In a while the boy came out to the smithy again.\n\n\u2018Well, have you got as much as you can eat?\u2019 said the smith.\n\n\u2018No, not nearly,\u2019 said Hans; \u2018I must try to find a better place than\nthis, for I can see that I shall never get my fill here.\u2019\n\nHans wished to set off at once, as soon as his father would make a staff\nfor him of such a kind as he wanted.\n\n\u2018It must be of iron,\u2019 said he, \u2018and one that can hold out.\u2019\n\nThe smith brought him an iron rod as thick as an ordinary staff, but\nHans took it and twisted it round his finger, so that wouldn\u2019t do. Then\nthe smith came dragging one as thick as a waggon-pole, but Hans bent it\nover his knee and broke it like a straw. The smith then had to collect\nall the iron he had, and Hans held it while his father forged for him a\nstaff, which was heavier than the anvil. When Hans had got this he said,\n\u2018Many thanks, father; now I have got my inheritance.\u2019 With this he set\noff into the country, and the smith was very pleased to be rid of that\nson, before he ate him out of house and home.\n\nHans first arrived at a large estate, and it so happened that the squire\nhimself was standing outside the farmyard.\n\n\u2018Where are you going?\u2019 said the squire.\n\n\u2018I am looking for a place,\u2019 said Hans, \u2018where they have need of strong\nfellows, and can give them plenty to eat.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said the squire, \u2018I generally have twenty-four men at this time\nof the year, but I have only twelve just now, so I can easily take you\non.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well,\u2019 said Hans, \u2018I shall easily do twelve men\u2019s work, but then I\nmust also have as much to eat as the twelve would.\u2019\n\nAll this was agreed to, and the squire took Hans into the kitchen, and\ntold the servant girls that the new man was to have as much food as the\nother twelve. It was arranged that he should have a pot to himself, and\nhe could then use the ladle to take his food with.\n\nIt was in the evening that Hans arrived there, so he did nothing more\nthat day than eat his supper--a big pot of buck-wheat porridge, which\nhe cleaned to the bottom and was then so far satisfied that he said he\ncould sleep on that, so he went off to bed. He slept both well and long,\nand all the rest were up and at their work while he was still sleeping\nsoundly. The squire was also on foot, for he was curious to see how the\nnew man would behave who was both to eat and work for twelve.\n\nBut as yet there was no Hans to be seen, and the sun was already high in\nthe heavens, so the squire himself went and called on him.\n\n\u2018Get up, Hans,\u2019 he cried; \u2018you are sleeping too long.\u2019\n\nHans woke up and rubbed his eyes. \u2018Yes, that\u2019s true,\u2019 he said, \u2018I must\nget up and have my breakfast.\u2019\n\nSo he rose and dressed himself, and went into the kitchen, where he got\nhis pot of porridge; he swallowed all of this, and then asked what work\nhe was to have.\n\nHe was to thresh that day, said the squire; the other twelve men were\nalready busy at it. There were twelve threshing-floors, and the twelve\nmen were at work on six of them--two on each. Hans must thresh by\nhimself all that was lying upon the other six floors. He went out to the\nbarn and got hold of a flail. Then he looked to see how the others did\nit and did the same, but at hte first stroke he smashed the flail in\npieces. There were several flails hanging there, and Hans took the one\nafter the other, but they all went the same way, every one flying in\nsplinters at the first stroke. He then looked round for something else\nto work with, and found a pair of strong beams lying near. Next he\ncaught sight of a horse-hide nailed up on the barn-door. With the beams\nhe made a flail, using the skin to tie them together. The one beam he\nused as a handle, and the other to strike with, and now that was all\nright. But the barn was too low, there was no room to swing the flail,\nand the floors were too small. Hans, however, found a remedy for\nthis--he simply lifted the whole roof off the barn, and set it down in\nthe field beside. He then emptied down all the corn that he could lay\nhis hands on and threshed away. He went through one lot after another,\nand it was ll the same to him what he got hold of, so before midday he\nhad threshed all the squire\u2019s grain, his rye and wheat and barley and\noats, all mixed through each other. When he was finished with this, he\nlifted the roof up on the barn again, like setting a lid on a box, and\nwent in and told the squire that the job was done.\n\nThe squire opened his eyes at this announcement; and came out to see\nif it was really true. It was true, sure enough, but he was scarcely\ndelighted with the mixed grain that he got from all his crops. However,\nwhen he saw the flail that Hans had used, and learned how he had made\nroom for himself to swing it, he was so afraid of the strong fellow,\nthat he dared not say anything, except that it was a good thing he had\ngot it threshed; but it had still to be cleaned.\n\n\u2018What does that mean?\u2019 asked Hans.\n\nIt was explained to him that the corn and the chaff had to be separated;\nas yet both were lying in one heap, right up to the roof. Hans began\nto take up a little and sift it in his hands, but he soon saw that\nthis would never do. He soon thought of a plan, however; he opened both\nbarn-doors, and then lay down at one end and blew, so that all the chaff\nflew out and lay like a sand-bank at the other end of the barn, and the\ngrain was as clean as it could be. Then he reported to the squire that\nthat job also was done. The squire said that that was well; there was\nnothing more for him to do that day. Off went Hans to the kitchen, and\ngot as much as he could eat; then he went and took a midday nap which\nlasted till supper-time.\n\nMeanwhile the squire was quite miserable, and made his moan to his wife,\nsaying that she must help him to find some means to getting rid of this\nstrong fellow, for he durst not give him his leave. She sent for the\nsteward, and it was arranged that next day all the men should go to the\nforest for fire-wood, and that they should make a bargain among them,\nthat the one who came home last with his load should be hanged. They\nthought they could easily manage that it would be Hans who would lose\nhis life, for the others would be early on the road, while Hans would\ncertainly oversleep himself. In the evening, therefore, the men sat and\ntalked together, saying that next morning they must set out early to\nthe forest, and as they had a hard day\u2019s work and a long journey before\nthem, they would, for their amusement, make a compact, that whichever of\nthem came home last with his load should lose his life on the gallows.\nSo Hans had no objections to make.\n\nLong before the sun was up next morning, all the twelve men were on\nfoot. They took all the best horses and carts, and drove off to the\nforest. Hans, however, lay and slept on, and the squire said, \u2018Just let\nhim lie.\u2019\n\nAt last, Hans thought it was time to have his breakfast, so he got up\nand put on his clothes. He took plenty of time to his breakfast, and\nthen went out to get his horse and cart ready. The others had taken\neverything that was any good, so that he had a difficulty in scraping\ntogether four wheels of different sizes and fixing them to an old cart,\nand he could find no other horses than a pair of old hacks. He did not\nknow where it lay, but he followed the track of the other carts, and in\nthat way came to it all right. On coming to the gate leading into the\nforest, he was unfortunate enough to break it in pieces, so he took a\nhuge stone that was lying on the field, seven ells long, and seven ells\nbroad, and set this in the gap, then he went on and joined the others.\nThese laughed at him heartily, for they had laboured as hard as they\ncould since daybreak, and had helped each other to fell trees and put\nthem on the carts, so that all of these were now loaded except one.\n\nHans got hold of a woodman\u2019s axe and proceeded to fell a tree, but he\ndestroyed the edge and broke the shaft at the first blow. He therefore\nlaid down the axe, put his arms round the tree, and pulled it up by the\nroots. This he threw upon his cart, and then another and another, and\nthus he went on while all the others forgot their work, and stood with\nopen mouths, gazing at this strange woodcraft. All at once they began to\nhurry; the last cart was loaded, and they whipped up their horses, so as\nto be the first to arrive home.\n\nWhen Hans had finished his work, he again put his old hacks into the\ncart, but they could not move it from the spot. He was annoyed at this,\nand took them out again, twisted a rope round the cart, and all the\ntrees, lifted the whole affair on his back, and set off home, leading\nthe horses behind him by the rein. When he reached the gate, he found\nthe whole row of carts standing there, unable to get any further for the\nstone which lay in the gap.\n\n\u2018What!\u2019 said Hans, \u2018can twelve men not move that stone?\u2019 With that he\nlifted it and threw it out of hte way, and went on with his burden on\nhis back, and the horses behind him, and arrived at the farm long before\nany of the others. The squire was walking about there, looking and\nlooking, for he was very curious to know what had happened. Finally, he\ncaught sight of Hans coming along in this fashion, and was so frightened\nthat he did not know what to do, but he shut the gate and put on the\nbar. When Hans reached the gate of the courtyard, he laid down the trees\nand hammered at it, but no one came to open it. He then took the trees\nand tossed them over the barn into the yard, and the cart after them, so\nthat every wheel flew off in a different direction.\n\nWhen the squire saw this, he thought to himself, \u2018The horses will come\nthe same way if I don\u2019t open the door,\u2019 so he did this.\n\n\u2018Good day, master,\u2019 said Hans, and put the horses into the stable, and\nwent into the kitchen, to get something to eat. At length the other men\ncame home with their loads. When they came in, Hans said to them, \u2018Do\nyou remember the bargain we made last night? Which of you is it that\u2019s\ngoing to be hanged?\u2019 \u2018Oh,\u2019 said they, \u2018that was only a joke; it didn\u2019t\nmean anything.\u2019 \u2018Oh well, it doesn\u2019t matter, \u2018said Hans, and there was\nno more about it.\n\nThe squire, however, and his wife and the steward, had much to say to\neach other about the terrible man they had got, and all were agreed that\nthey must get rid of him in some way or other. The steward said that he\nwould manage this all right. Next morning they were to clean the well,\nand they would use of that opportunity. They would get him down into\nthe well, and then have a big mill-stone ready to throw down on top of\nhim--that would settle him. After that they could just fill in the well,\nand then escape being at any expense for his funeral. Both the squire\nand his wife thought this a splendid idea, and went about rejoicing at\nthe thought that now they would get rid of Hans.\n\nBut Hans was hard to kill, as we shall see. He slept long next morning,\nas he always did, and finally, as he would not waken by himself, the\nsquire had to go and call him. \u2018Get up, Hans, you are sleeping too\nlong,\u2019 he cried. Hans woke up and rubbed his eyes. \u2018That\u2019s so,\u2019 said\nhe, \u2018I shall rise and have my breakfast.\u2019 He got up then and dressed\nhimself, while the breakfast stood waiting for him. When he had finished\nthe whole of this, he asked what he was to do that day. He was told to\nhelp the other men to clean out the well. That was all right, and he\nwent out and found the other men waiting for him. To these he said that\nthey could choose whichever task they liked--either to go down into the\nwell and fill the buckets while he pulled them up, or pull them up, and\nhe alone would go down to the bottom of the well. They answered that\nthey would rather stay above-ground, as there would be no room for so\nmany of them down in the well.\n\nHans therefore went down alone, and began to clean out the well, but\nthe men had arranged how they were to act, and immediately each of them\nseized a stone from a heap of huge blocks, and threw them down above\nhim, thinking to kill him with these. Hans, however, gave no more heed\nto this than to shout up to them, to keep the hens away from the well,\nfor they were scraping gravel down on the top of him.\n\nThey then saw that they could not kill him with little stones, but they\nhad still the big one left. The whole twelve of them set to work with\npoles and rollers and rolled the big mill-stone to the brink of the\nwell. It was with the greatest difficulty that they got it thrown down\nthere, and now they had no doubt that he had got all that he wanted. But\nthe stone happened to fall so luckily that his head went right through\nthe hole in the middle of the mill-stone, so that it sat round his neck\nlike a priest\u2019s collar. At this, Hans would stay down no longer. He came\nout of the well, with the mill-stone round his neck, ad went straight to\nthe squire and complained that the other men were trying to make a\nfool of him. He would not be their priest, he said; he had too little\nlearning for that. Saying this, he bent down his head and shook the\nstone off, so that it crushed one of the squire\u2019s big toes.\n\nThe squire went limping in to his wife, and the steward was sent for. He\nwas told that he must devise some plan for getting rid of this terrible\nperson. The scheme he had devised before had been of no use, and now\ngood counsel was scarce.\n\n\u2018Oh, no\u2019 said the steward, \u2018there are good enough ways yet. The squire\ncan send him this evening to fish in Devilmoss Lake: he will never\nescape alive from there, for no one can go there by night for Old Eric.\u2019\n\nThat was a grand idea, both the squire and his wife thought, and so\nhe limped out again to Hans, and said that he would punish his men for\nhaving tried to make a fool of him. Meanwhile, Hans could do a little\njob where he would be free from these rascals. He should go out on the\nlake and fish there that night, and would then be free from all work on\nthe following day.\n\n\u2018All right,\u2019 said Hans; \u2018I am well content with that, but I must have\nsomething with me to eat--a baking of bread, a cask of butter, a barrel\nof ale, and a keg of brandy. I can\u2019t do with less than that.\u2019\n\nThe squire said that he could easily get all that, so Hans got all of\nthese tied up together, hung them over his shoulder on his good staff,\nand tramped away to Devilmoss Lake.\n\nThere he got into the boat, rowed out upon the lake, and got everything\nready to fish. As he now lay out there in the middle of the lake, and\nit was pretty late in the evening, he thought he would have something to\neat first, before starting to work. Just as he was at his busiest with\nthis, Old Eric rose out of the lake, caught him by the cuff of the neck,\nwhipped him out of the boat, and dragged him down to the bottom. It was\na lucky thing that Hans had his walking-stick with him that day, and had\njust time to catch hold of it when he felt Old Eric\u2019s claws in his neck,\nso when they got down to the bottom he said, \u2018Stop now, just wait a\nlittle; here is solid ground.\u2019 With that he caught Old Eric by the back\nof the neck with one hand, and hammered away on his back with the staff,\ntill he beat him out as flat as a pancake. Old Eric then began to lament\nand howl, begging him just to let him go, and he would never come back\nto the lake again.\n\n\u2018No, my good fellow,\u2019 said Hans, \u2018you won\u2019t get off until you promise\nto bring all the fish in the lake up to the squire\u2019s courtyard, before\nto-morrow morning.\u2019\n\nOld Eric eagerly promised this, if Hans would only let him go; so Hans\nrowed ashore, ate up the rest of his provisions, and went home to bed.\n\nNext morning, when the squire rose and opened his front door, the fish\ncame tumbling into the porch, and the whole yard was crammed full of\nthem. He ran in again to his wife, for he could never devise anything\nhimself, and said to her, \u2018What shall we do with him now? Old Eric\nhasn\u2019t taken him. I am certain that all the fish are out of the lake,\nfor the yard is just filled with them.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, that\u2019s a bad business,\u2019 said she; \u2018you must see if you can\u2019t get\nhim sent to Purgatory, to demand tribute.\u2019 The squire therefore made\nhis way to the men\u2019s quarters, to speak to Hans, and it took him all his\ntime to push his way along the walls, under the eaves, on account of the\nfish that filled the yard. He thanked Hans for having fished so well,\nand said that now he had an errand for him, which he could only give to\na trusty servant, and that was to journey to Purgatory, and demand three\nyears tribute, which, he said, was owing to him from that quarter.\n\n\u2018Willingly,\u2019 said Hans; \u2018but what road do I go, to get there?\u2019\n\nThe squire stood, and did not know what to say, and had first to go in\nto his wife to ask her.\n\n\u2018Oh, what a fool you are!\u2019 said she, \u2018can\u2019t you direct him straight\nforward, south through the wood? Whether he gets there or not, we shall\nbe quit of him.\u2019\n\nOut goes the squire again to Hans.\n\n\u2018The way lies straight forward, south through the wood,\u2019 said he.\n\nHans then must have his provisions for the journey; two bakings of\nbread, two casks of butter, two barrels of ale, and two kegs of brandy.\nHe tied all these up together, and got them on his shoulder hanging on\nhis good walking-stick, and off he tramped southward.\n\nAfter he had got through the wood, there was more than one road, and he\nwas in doubt which of them was the right one, so he sat down and opened\nup his bundle of provisions. He found he had left his knife at home, but\nby good chance, there was a plough lying close at hand, so he took the\ncoulter of this to cut the bread with. As he sat there and took his\nbite, a man came riding past him.\n\n\u2018Where are you from?\u2019 said Hans.\n\n\u2018From Purgatory,\u2019 said the man.\n\n\u2018Then stop and wait a little,\u2019 said Hans; but the man was in a hurry,\nand would not stop, so Hans ran after him and caught the horse by the\ntail. This brought it down on its hind legs, and the man went flying\nover its head into a ditch. \u2018Just wait a little,\u2019 said Hans; \u2018I am going\nthe same way.\u2019 He got his provisions tied up again, and laid them on the\nhorse\u2019s back; then he took hold of the reins and said to the man, \u2018We\ntwo can go along together on foot.\u2019\n\nAs they went on their way Hans told the stranger both about the errand\nhe had on hand and the fun he had had with Old Eric. The other said but\nlittle but he was well acquainted with the way, and it was no long time\nbefore they arrived at the gate. There both horse and rider disappeared,\nand Hans was left alone outside. \u2018They will come and let me in\npresently,\u2019 he thought to himself; but no one came. He hammered at the\ngate; still no one appeared. Then he got tired of waiting, and smashed\nat the gate with his staff until he knocked it in pieces and got inside.\nA whole troop of little demons came down upon him and asked what he\nwanted. His master\u2019s compliments, said Hans, and he wanted three years\u2019\ntribute. At this they howled at him, and were about to lay hold of him\nand drag him off; but when they had got some raps from his walking-stick\nthey let go again, howled still louder than before, and ran in to Old\nEric, who was still in bed, after his adventure in the lake. They told\nhim that a messenger had come from the squire at Devilmoss to demand\nthree years\u2019 tribute. He had knocked the gate to pieces and bruised\ntheir arms and legs with his iron staff.\n\n\u2018Give him three years\u2019! give him ten!\u2019 shouted Old Eric, \u2018only don\u2019t let\nhim come near me.\u2019\n\nSo all the little demons came dragging so much silver and gold that it\nwas something awful. Hans filled his bundle with gold and silver coins,\nput it on his neck, and tramped back to his master, who was scared\nbeyond all measure at seeing him again.\n\nBut Hans was also tired of service now. Of all the gold and silver\nhe brought with him he let the squire keep one half, and he was glad\nenough, both for the money and at getting rid of Hans. The other half\nhe took home to his father the smith in Furreby. To him also he said,\n\u2018Farewell;\u2019 he was now tired of living on shore among mortal men, and\npreferred to go home again to his mother. Since that time no one has\never seen Hans, the Mermaid\u2019s son.\n\n\n\n\nPeter Bull\n\nFrom the Danish.\n\n\nThere once lived in Denmark a peasant and his wife who owned a very good\nfarm, but had no children. They often lamented to each other that they\nhad no one of their own to inherit all the wealth that they possessed.\nThey continued to prosper, and became rich people, but there was no heir\nto it all.\n\nOne year it happened that they owned a pretty little bull-calf, which\nthey called Peter. It was the prettiest little creature they had ever\nseen--so beautiful and so wise that it understood everything that was\nsaid to it, and so gentle and so full of play that both the man and his\nwife came to be as fond of it as if it had been their own child.\n\nOne day the man said to his wife, \u2018I wonder, now, whether our parish\nclerk could teach Peter to talk; in that case we could not do better\nthan adopt him as our son, and let him inherit all that we possess.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, I don\u2019t know,\u2019 said his wife, \u2018our clerk is tremendously learned,\nand knows much more than his Paternoster, and I could almost believe\nthat he might be able to teach Peter to talk, for Peter has a\nwonderfully good head too. You might at least ask him about it.\u2019\n\nOff went the man to the clerk, and asked him whether he thought he could\nteach a bull-calf that they had to speak, for they wished so much to\nhave it as their heir.\n\nThe clerk was no fool; he looked round about to see that no one could\noverhear them, and said, \u2018Oh, yes, I can easily do that, but you must\nnot speak to anyone about it. It must be done in all secrecy, and the\npriest must not know of it, otherwise I shall get into trouble, as it is\nforbidden. It will also cost you something, as some very expensive books\nare required.\u2019\n\nThat did not matter at all, the man said; they would not care so very\nmuch what it cost. The clerk could have a hundred dollars to begin with\nto buy the books. He also promised to tell no one about it, and to bring\nthe calf round in the evening.\n\nHe gave the clerk the hundred dollars on the spot, and in the evening\ntook the calf round to him, and the clerk promised to do his best with\nit. In a week\u2019s time he came back to the clerk to hear about the calf\nand see how it was thriving. The clerk, however, said that he could not\nget a sight of it, for then Peter would long after him and forget all\nthat he had already learned. He was getting on well with his learning,\nbut another hundred dollars were needed, as they must have more books.\nThe peasant had the money with him, so he gave it to the clerk, and went\nhome again with high hopes.\n\nIn another week the man came again to learn what progress Peter had made\nnow.\n\n\u2018He is getting on very well,\u2019 said the clerk.\n\n\u2018I suppose he can\u2019t say anything yet?\u2019 said the man.\n\n\u2018Oh, yes,\u2019 said the clerk, \u2018he can say \u201cMoo\u201d now.\u2019\n\n\u2018Do you think he will get on with his learning?\u2019 asked the peasant.\n\n\u2018Oh, yes,\u2019 said the clerk, \u2018but I shall want another hundred dollars for\nbooks. Peter can\u2019t learn well out of the ones that he has got.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, well,\u2019 said the man, \u2018what must be spent shall be spent.\u2019\n\nSo he gave the clerk the third hundred dollars for books, and a cask of\ngood old ale for Peter. The clerk drank the ale himself, and gave the\ncalf milk, which he thought would be better for it.\n\nSome weeks passed, during which the peasant did not come round to ask\nafter the calf, being frightened lest it should cost him another hundred\ndollars, for he had begun to squirm a bit at having to part with so much\nmoney. Meanwhile the clerk decided that the calf was as fat as it could\nbe, so he killed it. After he had got all the beef out of the way he\nwent inside, put on his black clothes, and made his way to the peasant\u2019s\nhouse.\n\nAs soon as he had said \u2018Good-day\u2019 he asked, \u2018Has Peter come home here?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, indeed, he hasn\u2019t,\u2019 said the man; \u2018surely he hasn\u2019t run away?\u2019\n\n\u2018I hope,\u2019 said the clerk, \u2018that he would not behave so contemptibly\nafter all the trouble I have had to teach him, and all that I have spent\nupon him. I have had to spend at least a hundred dollars of my own money\nto buy books for him before I got him so far on. He could say anything\nhe liked now, so he said to-day that he longed to see his parents\nagain. I was willing to give him that pleasure, but I was afraid that he\nwouldn\u2019t be able to find the way here by himself, so I made myself ready\nto go with him. When we had got outside the house I remembered that I\nhad left my stick inside, and went in again to get it. When I came out\nagain Peter had gone off on his own account. I thought he would be here,\nand if he isn\u2019t I don\u2019t know where he is.\u2019\n\nThe peasant and his wife began to lament bitterly that Peter had run\naway in this fashion just when they were to have so much joy of him, and\nafter they had spent so much on his education. The worst of it was that\nnow they had no heir after all. The clerk comforted them as best he\ncould; he also was greatly distressed that Peter should have behaved\nin such a way just when he should have gained honour from his pupil.\nPerhaps he had only gone astray, and he would advertise him at church\nnext Sunday, and find out where anyone had seen him. Then he bade them\n\u2018Good-bye,\u2019 and went home nad dined on a good fat veal roast.\n\nNow it so happened that the clerk took in a newspaper, and one day he\nchanced to read in its columns of a new merchant who had settled in\na town at some distance, and whose name was \u2018Peter Bull.\u2019 He put the\nnewspaper in his pocket, and went round to the sorrowing couple who had\nlost their heir. He read the paragraph to them, and added, \u2018I wonder,\nnow, whether that could be your bull-calf Peter?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, of course it is,\u2019 said the man; \u2018who else would it be?\u2019\n\nHis wife then spoke up and said, \u2018You must set out, good man, and see\nabout him, for it is him, I am perfectly certain. Take a good sum of\nmoney with you, too; for who knows but what he may want some cash now\nthat he has turned a merchant!\u2019\n\nNext day the man got a bag of money on his back and a sandwich in his\npocket, and his pipe in his mouth, and set out for the town where the\nnew merchant lived. It was no short way, and he travelled for many days\nbefore he finally arrived there. He reached it one morning, just at\ndaybreak, found out the right place, and asked if the merchant was at\nhome. Yes, he was, said the people, but he was not up yet.\n\n\u2018That doesn\u2019t matter,\u2019 said the peasant, \u2018for I am his father. Just show\nme up to his bedroom.\u2019\n\nHe was shown up to the room, and as soon as he entered it, ad caught\nsight of the merchant, he recognised him at once. He had the same broad\nforehead, the same thick neck, and same red hair, but in other respects\nhe was now like a human being. The peasant rushed straight up to him\nand took a firm hold of him. \u2018O Peter,\u2019 said he, \u2018what a sorrow you have\ncaused us, both myself and your mother, by running off like this just\nas we had got you well educated! Get up, now, so that I can see you\nproperly, and have a talk with you.\u2019\n\nThe merchant thought that it was a lunatic who had made his way in to\nhim, and thought it best to take things quietly.\n\n\u2018All right,\u2019 said he, \u2018I shall do so at once.\u2019 He got out of bed and\nmade haste to dress himself.\n\n\u2018Ay,\u2019 said the peasant, \u2018now I can see how clever our clerk is. He\nhas done well by you, for now you look just like a human being. If one\ndidn\u2019t know it, one would never think that it was you we got from the\nred cow; will you come home with me now?\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said the merchant, \u2018I can\u2019t find time just now. I have a big\nbusiness to look after.\u2019\n\n\u2018You could have the farm at once, you know,\u2019 said the peasant, \u2018and we\nold people would retire. But if you would rather stay in business, of\ncourse you may do so. Are you in want of anything?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, yes,\u2019 said the merchant; \u2018I want nothing so much as money. A\nmerchant has always a use for that.\u2019\n\n\u2018I can well believe that,\u2019 said the peasant, \u2018for you had nothing at all\nto start with. I have brought some with me for that very end.\u2019 With\nthat he emptied his bag of money out upon the table, so that it was all\ncovered with bright dollars.\n\nWhen the merchant saw what kind of man he had before him he began to\nspeak him fair, and invited him to stay with him for some days, so that\nthey might have some more talk together.\n\n\u2018Very well,\u2019 said the peasant, \u2018but you must call me \u201cFather.\u201d\u2019\n\n\u2018I have neither father nor mother alive,\u2019 said Peter Bull.\n\n\u2018I know that,\u2019 said the man; \u2018your real father was sold at Hamburg last\nMichaelmas, and your real mother died while calving in spring; but my\nwife and I have adopted you as our own, and you are our only heir, so\nyou must call me \u201cFather.\u201d\u2019\n\nPeter Bull was quite willing to do so, and it was settled that he should\nkeep the money, while the peasant made his will and left to him all that\nhe had, before he went home to his wife, and told her the whole story.\n\nShe was delighted to hear that it was true enough about Peter Bull--that\nhe was no other than their own bull-calf.\n\n\u2018You must go at once and tell the clerk,\u2019 said she, \u2018and pay him the\nhundred dollars of his own money that he spent upon our son. He has\nearned them well, and more besides, for all the joy he has given us in\nhaving such a son and heir.\u2019\n\nThe man agreed with this, and thanked the clerk for all he had done, and\ngave him two hundred dollars. Then he sold the farm, and removed with\nhis wife to the town where their dear son and heir was living. To him\nthey gave all their wealth, and lived with him till their dying day.\n\n\n\n\nThe Bird \u2018Grip\u2019\n\nTranslated from the Swedish.\n\n\nIt happened once that a king, who had a great kingdom and three sons,\nbecame blind, and no human skill or art could restore to him his sight.\nAt last there came to the palace an old woman, who told him that in the\nwhole world there was only one thing that could give him back his sight,\nand that was to get the bird Grip; his song would open the King\u2019s eyes.\n\nWhen the king\u2019s eldest son heard this he offered to bring the bird Grip,\nwhich was kept in a cage by a king in another country, and carefully\nguarded as his greatest treasure. The blind king was greatly rejoiced at\nhis son\u2019s resolve, fitted him out in the best way he could, and let him\ngo. When the prince had ridden some distance he came to an inn, in which\nthere were many guests, all of whom were merry, and drank and sang and\nplayed at dice. This joyous life pleased the prince so well that he\nstayed in the inn, took part in the playing and drinking, and forgot\nboth his blind father and the bird Grip.\n\nMeanwhile the king waited with both hope and anxiety for his son\u2019s\nreturn, but as time went on and nothing was heard of him, the second\nprince asked leave to go in search of his brother, as well as to bring\nthe bird Grip. The king granted his request, and fitted him out in\nthe finest fashion. But when the prince came to the inn and found his\nbrother among his merry companions, he also remained there and forgot\nboth the bird Grip and his blind father.\n\nWhen the king noticed that neither of his sons returned, although a long\ntime had passed since the second one set out, he was greatly distressed,\nfor not only had he lost all hope of getting back his sight, but he had\nalso lost his two eldest sons. The youngest now came to him, and offered\nto go in search of his brothers and to bring the bird Grip; he was quite\ncertain that he would succeed in this. The king was unwilling to risk\nhis third son on such an errand, but he begged so long that his father\nhad at last to consent. This prince also was fitted out in the finest\nmanner, like his brothers, and so rode away.\n\nHe also turned into the same inn as his brothers, and when these saw\nhim they assailed him with many entreaties to remain with them and share\ntheir merry life. But he answered that now, when he had found them,\nhis next task was to get the bird Grip, for which his blind father was\nlonging, and so he had not a single hour to spare with them in the inn.\nHe then said farewell to his brothers, and rode on to find another inn\nin which to pass the night. When he had ridden a long way, and it began\nto grow dark, he came to a house which lay deep in the forest. Here he\nwas received in a very friendly manner by the host, who put his horse\ninto the stable, and led the prince himself into the guest-chamber,\nwhere he ordered a maid-servant to lay the cloth and set down the\nsupper. It was now dark, and while the girl was laying the cloth and\nsetting down the dishes, and the prince had begun to appease his hunger,\nhe heard the most piteous shrieks and cries from the next room. He\nsprang up from the table and asked the girl what those cries were, and\nwhether he had fallen into a den of robbers. The girl answered that\nthese shrieks were heard every night, but it was no living being who\nuttered them; it was a dead man, who life the host had taken because\nhe could not pay for the meals he had had in the inn. The host further\nrefused to bury the dead man, as he had left nothing to pay the expenses\nof the funeral, and every night he went and scourged the dead body of\nhis victim.\n\nWhen she had said this she lifted the cover off one of the dishes, and\nthe prince saw that there lay on it a knife and an axe. He understood\nthen that the host meant to ask him by this what kind of death he\npreferred to die, unless he was willing to ransom his life with his\nmoney. He then summoned the host, gave him a large sum for his own life,\nand paid the dead man\u2019s debt as well, besides paying him for burying the\nbody, which the murderer now promised to attend to.\n\nThe prince, however, felt that his life was not safe in this murderer\u2019s\nden, and asked the maid to help him to escape that night. She replied\nthat the attempt to do so might cost her her own life, as the key of the\nstable in which the prince\u2019s horse stood lay under the host\u2019s pillow;\nbut, as she herself was a prisoner there, she would help him to escape\nif he would take her along with him. He promised to do so, and they\nsucceeded in getting away from the inn, and rode on until they came to\nanother far away from it, where the prince got a good place for the girl\nbefore proceeding on his journey.\n\nAs he now rode all alone through a forest there met him a fox, who\ngreeted him in a friendly fashion, and asked him where he was going, and\non what errand he was bent. The prince answered that his errand was too\nimportant to be confided to everyone that he met.\n\n\u2018You are right in that,\u2019 said the fox, \u2018for it relates to the bird Grip,\nwhich you want to take and bring home to your blind father; I could help\nyou in this, but in that case you must follow my counsel.\u2019\n\nThe prince thought that this was a good offer, especially as the fox was\nready to go with him and show him the way to the castle, where the bird\nGrip sat in his cage, and so he promised to obey the fox\u2019s instructions.\nWhen they had traversed the forest together they saw the castle at some\ndistance. Then the fox gave the prince three grains of gold, one of\nwhich he was to throw into the guard-room, another into the room where\nthe bird Grip sat, and the third into its cage. He could then take the\nbird, but he must beware of stroking it; otherwise it would go ill with\nhim.\n\nThe prince took the grains of gold, and promised to follow the fox\u2019s\ndirections faithfully. When he came to the guard-room of the castle he\nthrew one of the grains in there, and the guards at once fell asleep.\nThe same thing happened with those who kept watch in the room beside the\nbird Grip, and when he threw the third grain into its cage the bird also\nfell asleep. When the prince got the beautiful bird into his hand he\ncould not resist the temptation to stroke it, whereupon it awoke and\nbegan to scream. At this the whole castle woke up, and the prince was\ntaken prisoner.\n\nAs he now sat in his prison, and bitterly lamented that his own\ndisobedience had brought himself into trouble, and deprived his father\nof the chance of recovering his sight, the fox suddenly stood in front\nof him. The prince was very pleased to see it again, and received\nwith great meekness all its reproaches, as well as promised to be more\nobedient in the future, if the fox would only help him out of his fix.\nThe fox said that he had come to assist him, but he could do no more\nthan advise the prince, when he was brought up for trial, to answer\n\u2018yes\u2019 to all the judge\u2019s questions, and everything would go well. The\nprince faithfully followed his instructions, so that when the judge\nasked him whether he had meant to steal the bird Grip he said \u2018Yes,\u2019\nand when the judge asked him if he was a master-thief he again answered\n\u2018Yes.\u2019\n\nWhen the king heard that he admitted being a master-thief, he said that\nhe would forgive him the attempt to steal the bird if he would go to\nthe next kingdom and carry off the world\u2019s most beautiful princess, and\nbring her to him. To this also the prince said \u2018Yes.\u2019\n\nWhen he left the castle he met the fox, who went along with him to the\nnext kingdom, and when they came near the castle there, gave him three\ngrains of gold--one to throw into the guard-room, another into the\nprincess\u2019s chamber, and the third into her bed. At the same time he\nstrictly warned him not to kiss the princess. The prince went into the\ncastle, and did with the grains of gold as the fox had told him, so that\nsleep fell upon everyone there; but when he had taken the princess into\nhis arms he forgot the fox\u2019s warning, at the sight of her beauty, and\nkissed her. Then both she and all the others in the castle woke; the\nprince was taken prisoner, and put into a strong dungeon.\n\nHere the fox again came to him and reproached him with his disobedience,\nbut promised to help him out of this trouble also if he would answer\n\u2018yes\u2019 to everything they asked him at his trial. The prince willingly\nagreed to this, and admitted to the judge that he had meant to steal the\nprincess, and that he was a master-thief.\n\nWhen the king learned this he said he would forgive his offence if he\nwould go to the next kingdom and steal the horse with the four golden\nshoes. To this also the prince said \u2018Yes.\u2019\n\nWhen he had gone a little way from the castle he met the fox, and they\ncontinued on their journey together. When they reached the end of it the\nprince for the third time received three grains of gold from the fox,\nwith directions to throw one into the guard-chamber, another into the\nstable, and the third into the horse\u2019s stall. But the fox told him that\nabove the horse\u2019s stall hung a beautiful golden saddle, which he must\nnot touch, if he did not want to bring himself into new troubles worse\nthan those he had escaped from, for then the fox could help him no\nlonger.\n\nThe prince promised to be firm this time. He threw the grains of gold in\nthe proper places, and untied the horse, but with that he caught\nsight of the golden saddle, and thought that none but it could suit so\nbeautiful a horse, especially as it had golden shoes. But just as he\nstretched out his hand to take it he received from some invisible being\nso hard a blow on the arm that it was made quite numb. This recalled to\nhim his promise and his danger, so he led out the horse without looking\nat the golden saddle again.\n\nThe fox was waiting for him outside the castle, and the prince confessed\nto him that he had very nearly given way to temptation this time as\nwell. \u2018I know that,\u2019 said the fox, \u2018for it was I who struck you over the\narm.\u2019\n\nAs they now went on together the prince said that he could not forget\nthe beautiful princess, and asked the fox whether he did not think that\nshe ought to ride home to his father\u2019s palace on this horse with the\ngolden shoes. The fox agreed that this would be excellent; if the prince\nwould now go and carry her off he would give him three grains of gold\nfor that purpose. The prince was quite ready, and promised to keep\nbetter command of himself this time, and not kiss her.\n\nHe got the grains of gold and entered the castle, where he carried off\nthe princess, set her on the beautiful horse, and held on his way. When\nthey came near to the castle where the bird Grip sat in his cage he\nagain asked the fox for three grains of gold. These he got, and with\nthem he was successful in carrying off the bird.\n\nHe was now full of joy, for his blind father would now recover his\nsight, while he himself owned the world\u2019s most beautiful princess and\nthe horse with the golden shoes.\n\nThe prince and princess travelled on together with mirth and happiness,\nand the fox followed them until they came to the forest where the prince\nfirst met with him.\n\n\u2018Here our ways part,\u2019 said the fox. \u2018You have now got all that your\nheart desired, and you will have a prosperous journey to your father\u2019s\npalace if only you do not ransom anyone\u2019s life with money.\u2019\n\nThe prince thanked the fox for all his help, promised to give heed to\nhis warning, said farewell to him, and rode on, with the princess by his\nside and the bird Grip on his wrist.\n\nThey soon arrived at the inn where the two eldest brothers had stayed,\nforgetting their errand. But now no merry song or noise of mirth was\nheard from it. When the prince came nearer he saw two gallows erected,\nand when he entered the inn along with the princess he saw that all the\nrooms were hung with black, and that everything inside foreboded sorrow\nand death. He asked the reason of this, and was told that two princes\nwere to be hanged that day for debt; they had spent all their money in\nfeasting and playing, and were now deeply in debt to the host, and as\nno one could be found to ransom their lives they were about to be hanged\naccording to the law.\n\nThe prince knew that it was his two brothers who had thus forfeited\ntheir lives and it cut him to the heart to think that two princes should\nsuffer such a shameful death; and, as he had sufficient money with him,\nhe paid their debts, and so ransomed their lives.\n\nAt first the brothers were grateful for their liberty, but when they\nsaw the youngest brother\u2019s treasures they became jealous of his good\nfortune, and planned how to bring him to destruction, and then take the\nbird Grip, the princess, and the horse with the golden shoes, and convey\nthem to their blind father. After they had agreed on how to carry out\ntheir treachery they enticed the prince to a den of lions and threw him\ndown among them. Then they set the princess on horseback, took the bird\nGrip, and rode homeward. The princess wept bitterly, but they told her\nthat it would cost her her life if she did not say that the two brothers\nhad won all the treasures.\n\nWhen they arrived at their father\u2019s palace there was great rejoicing,\nand everyone praised the two princes for their courage and bravery.\n\nWhen the king inquired after the youngest brother they answered that\nhe had led such a life in the inn that he had been hanged for debt. The\nking sorrowed bitterly over this, because the youngest prince was his\ndearest son, and the joy over the treasures soon died away, for the\nbird Grip would not sing so that the king might recover his sight, the\nprincess wept night and day, and no one dared to venture so close to the\nhorse as to have a look at his golden shoes.\n\nNow when the youngest prince was thrown down into the lions\u2019 den he\nfound the fox sitting there, and the lions, instead of tearing him to\npieces, showed him the greatest friendliness. Nor was the fox angry with\nhim for having forgot his last warning. He only said that sons who could\nso forget their old father and disgrace their royal birth as those had\ndone would not hesitate to betray their brother either. Then he took the\nprince up out of the lion\u2019s den and gave him directions what to do now\nso as to come by his rights again.\n\nThe prince thanked the fox with all his heart for his true friendship,\nbut the fox answered that if he had been of any use to him he would now\nfor his own part ask a service of him. The prince replied that he would\ndo him any service that was in his power.\n\n\u2018I have only one thing to ask of you,\u2019 said the fox, \u2018and that is, that\nyou should cut off my head with your sword.\u2019\n\nThe prince was astonished, and said that he could not bring himself to\ncut the had off his truest friend, and to this he stuck in spite of all\nthe fox\u2019s declarations that it was the greatest service he could do him.\nAt this the fox became very sorrowful, and declared that the prince\u2019s\nrefusal to grant his request now compelled him to do a deed which he was\nvery unwilling to do--if the prince would not cut off his head, then\nhe must kill the prince himself. Then at last the prince drew his good\nsword and cut off the fox\u2019s head, and the next moment a youth stood\nbefore him.\n\n\u2018Thanks,\u2019 said he, \u2018for this service, which has freed me from a spell\nthat not even death itself could loosen. I am the dead man who lay\nunburied in the robber\u2019s inn, where you ransomed me and gave me\nhonourable burial, and therefore I have helped you in your journey.\u2019\n\nWith this they parted and the prince, disguising himself as a\nhorse-shoer, went up to his father\u2019s palace and offered his services\nthere.\n\nThe king\u2019s men told him that a horse-shoer was indeed wanted at the\npalace, but he must be one who could lift up the feet of the horse with\nthe golden shoes, and such a one they had not yet been able to find. The\nprince asked to see the horse, and as soon as he entered the stable the\nsteed began to neigh in a friendly fashion, and stood as quiet and still\nas a lamb while the prince lifted up his hoofs, one after the other, and\nshowed the king\u2019s men the famous golden shoes.\n\nAfter this the king\u2019s men began to talk about the bird Grip, and how\nstrange it was that he would not sing, however well he was attended to.\nThe horse-shoer then said that he knew the bird very well; he had seen\nit when it sat in its cage in another king\u2019s palace, and if it did\nnot sing now it must be because it did not have all that it wanted. He\nhimself knew so much about the bird\u2019s ways that if he only got to see it\nhe could tell at once what it lacked.\n\nThe king\u2019s men now took counsel whether they ought to take the stranger\nin before the king, for in his chamber sat the bird Grip along with the\nweeping princess. It was decided to risk doing so, and the horse-shoer\nwas led into the king\u2019s chamber, where he had no sooner called the bird\nby its name than it began to sing and the princess to smile. Then the\ndarkness cleared away from the king\u2019s eyes, and the more the bird sang\nthe more clearly did he see, till at last in the strange horse-shoer\nhe recognised his youngest son. Then the princess told the king how\ntreacherously his eldest sons had acted, and he had them banished from\nhis kingdom; but the youngest prince married the princess, and got the\nhorse with the golden shoes and half the kingdom from his father, who\nkept for himself so long as he lived the bird Grip, which now sang with\nall its heart to the king and all his court.\n\n\n\n\nSnowflake\n\nSlavonic story. Contes Populaires Slaves, traduits par Louis Leger.\nParis: Leroux, Editeur.\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a peasant called Ivan, and he had a wife\nwhose name was Marie. They would have been quite happy except for one\nthing: they had no children to play with, and as they were now old\npeople they did not find that watching the children of their neighbours\nat all made up to them for having one of their own.\n\nOne winter, which nobody living will ever forget, the snow lay so deep\nthat it came up to the knees of even the tallest man. When it had all\nfallen, and the sun was shining again, the children ran out into the\nstreet to play, and the old man and his wife sat at their window and\ngazed at them. The children first made a sort of little terrace, and\nstamped it hard and firm, and then they began to make a snow woman. Ivan\nand Marie watched them, the while thinking about many things.\n\nSuddenly Ivan\u2019s face brightened, and, looking at his wife, he said,\n\u2018Wife, why shouldn\u2019t we make a snow woman too?\u2019\n\n\u2018Why not?\u2019 replied Marie, who happened to be in a very good temper; \u2018it\nmight amuse us a little. But there is no use making a woman. Let us make\na little snow child, and pretend it is a living one.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, let us do that,\u2019 said Ivan, and he took down his cap and went into\nthe garden with his old wife.\n\nThen the two set to work with all their might to make a doll out of\nthe snow. They shaped a little body and two little hands and two little\nfeet. On top of all they placed a ball of snow, out of which the head\nwas to be.\n\n\u2018What in the world are you doing?\u2019 asked a passer-by.\n\n\u2018Can\u2019t you guess?\u2019 returned Ivan.\n\n\u2018Making a snow-child,\u2019 replied Marie.\n\nThey had finished the nose and the chin. Two holes were left for the\neyes, and Ivan carefully shaped out the mouth. No sooner had he done so\nthan he felt a warm breath upon his cheek. He started back in surprise\nand looked--and behold! the eyes of the child met his, and its lips,\nwhich were as red as raspberries, smiled at him!\n\n\u2018What is it?\u2019 cried Ivan, crossing himself. \u2018Am I mad, or is the thing\nbewitched?\u2019\n\nThe snow-child bent its head as if it had been really alive. It moved\nits little arms and its little legs in the snow that lay about it just\nas the living children did theirs.\n\n\u2018Ah! Ivan, Ivan,\u2019 exclaimed Marie, trembling with joy, \u2018heaven has sent\nus a child at last!\u2019 And she threw herself upon Snowflake (for that was\nthe snow-child\u2019s name) and covered her with kisses. And the loose snow\nfell away from Snowflake as an egg shell does from an egg, and it was a\nlittle girl whom Marie held in her arms.\n\n\u2018Oh! my darling Snowflake!\u2019 cried the old woman, and led her into the\ncottage.\n\nAnd Snowflake grew fast; each hour as well as each day made a\ndifference, and every day she became more and more beautiful. The old\ncouple hardly knew how to contain themselves for joy, and thought of\nnothing else. The cottage was always full of village children, for they\namused Snowflake, and there was nothing in the world they would not\nhave done to amuse her. She was their doll, and they were continually\ninventing new dresses for her, and teaching her songs or playing with\nher. Nobody knew how clever she was! She noticed everything, and could\nlearn a lesson in a moment. Anyone would have taken her for thirteen\nat least! And, besides all that, she was so good and obedient; and\nso pretty, too! Her skin was as white as snow, her eyes as blue as\nforget-me-nots, and her hair was long and golden. Only her cheeks had no\ncolour in them, but were as fair as her forehead.\n\nSo the winter went on, till at last the spring sun mounted higher in the\nheavens and began to warm the earth. The grass grew green in the fields,\nand high in the air the larks were heard singing. The village girls met\nand danced in a ring, singing, \u2018Beautiful spring, how came you here?\nHow came you here? Did you come on a plough, or was it a harrow?\u2019 Only\nSnowflake sat quite still by the window of the cottage.\n\n\u2018What is the matter, dear child?\u2019 asked Marie. \u2018Why are you so sad? Are\nyou ill? or have they treated you unkindly?\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 replied Snowflake, \u2018it is nothing, mother; no one has hurt me; I\nam well.\u2019\n\nThe spring sun had chased away the last snow from its hiding place under\nthe hedges; the fields were full of flowers; nightingales sang in the\ntrees, and all the world was gay. But the gayer grew the birds and the\nflowers the sadder became Snowflake. She hid herself from her playmates,\nand curled herself up where the shadows were deepest, like a lily\namongst its leaves. Her only pleasure was to lie amid the green willows\nnear some sparkling stream. At the dawn and at twilight only she seemed\nhappy. When a great storm broke, and the earth was white with hail, she\nbecame bright and joyous as the Snowflake of old; but when the clouds\npassed, and the hail melted beneath the sun, Snowflake would burst into\ntears and weep as a sister would weep over her brother.\n\nThe spring passed, and it was the eve of St. John, or Midsummer Day.\nThis was the greatest holiday of the year, when the young girls met in\nthe woods to dance and play. They went to fetch Snowflake, and said to\nMarie: \u2018Let her come and dance with us.\u2019\n\nBut Marie was afraid; she could not tell why, only she could not bear\nthe child to go. Snowflake did not wish to go either, but they had no\nexcuse ready. So Marie kissed the girl and said: \u2018Go, my Snowflake, and\nbe happy with your friends, and you, dear children, be careful of her.\nYou know she is the light of my eyes to me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, we will take care of her,\u2019 cried the girls gaily, and they ran off\nto the woods. There they wore wreaths, gathered nosegays, and sang songs\nsome sad, some merry. And whatever they did Snowflake did too.\n\nWhen the sun set they lit a fire of dry grass, and placed themselves in\na row, Snowflake being the last of all. \u2018Now, watch us,\u2019 they said, \u2018and\nrun just as we do.\u2019\n\nAnd they all began to sing and to jump one after another across the\nfire.\n\nSuddenly, close behind them, they heard a sigh, then a groan. \u2018Ah!\u2019 They\nturned hastily and looked at each other. There was nothing. They\nlooked again. Where was Snowflake? She has hidden herself for fun, they\nthought, and searched for her everywhere. \u2018Snowflake! Snowflake!\u2019 But\nthere was no answer. \u2018Where can she be? Oh, she must have gone home.\u2019\nThey returned to the village, but there was no Snowflake.\n\nFor days after that they sought her high and low. They examined every\nbush and every hedge, but there was no Snowflake. And long after\neveryone else had given up hope Ivan and Marie would wander through the\nwoods crying \u2018Snowflake, my dove, come back, come back!\u2019 And sometimes\nthey thought they heard a call, but it was never the voice of Snowflake.\n\nAnd what had become of her? Had a fierce wild beast seized her and\ndragged her into his lair in the forest? Had some bird carried her off\nacross the wide blue sea?\n\nNo, no beast had touched her, no bird had borne her away. With the\nfirst breath of flame that swept over her when she ran with her friends\nSnowflake had melted away, and a little soft haze floating upwards was\nall that remained of her.\n\n\n\n\nI Know What I Have Learned\n\nFrom the Danish.\n\n\nThere was once a man who had three daughters, and they were all married\nto trolls, who lived underground. One day the man thought that he would\npay them a visit, and his wife gave him some dry bread to eat by the\nway. After he had walked some distance he grew both tired and hungry, so\nhe sat down on the east side of a mound and began to eat his dry bread.\nThe mound then opened, and his youngest daughter came out of it, and\nsaid, \u2018Why, father! why are you not coming in to see me?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh,\u2019 said he, \u2018if I had known that you lived here, and had seen any\nentrance, I would have come in.\u2019\n\nThen he entered the mound along with her.\n\nThe troll came home soon after this, and his wife told him that her\nfather was come, and asked him to go and buy some beef to make broth\nwith.\n\n\u2018We can get it easier than that!\u2019 said the troll.\n\nHe fixed an iron spike into one of the beams of the roof, and ran his\nhead against this till he had knocked several large pieces off his head.\nHe was just as well as ever after doing this, and they got their broth\nwithout further trouble.\n\nThe troll then gave the old man a sackful of money, and laden with this\nhe betook himself homewards. When he came near his home he remembered\nthat he had a cow about to calve, so he laid down the money on the\nground, ran home as fast as he could, and asked his wife whether the cow\nhad calved yet.\n\n\u2018What kind of a hurry is this to come home in?\u2019 said she. \u2018No, the cow\nhas not calved yet.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then you must come out and help me in with a sackful of money,\u2019 said\nthe man.\n\n\u2018A sackful of money?\u2019 cried his wife.\n\n\u2018Yes, a sackful of money,\u2019 said he. \u2018Is that so very wonderful?\u2019\n\nHis wife did not believe very much what he told her, but she humoured\nhim, and went out with him.\n\nWhen they came to the spot where he had left it there was no money\nthere; a thief had come along and stolen it. His wife then grew angry\nand scolded him heartily.\n\n\u2018Well, well!\u2019 said he, \u2018hang the money! I know what I have learned.\u2019\n\n\u2018What have you learned?\u2019 said she.\n\n\u2018Ah! I know that,\u2019 said the man.\n\nAfter some time had passed the man had a mind to visit his second eldest\ndaughter. His wife again gave him some dry bread to eat, and when he\ngrew tired and hungry he sat down on the east side of a mound and began\nto eat it. As he sat there his daughter came up out of the mound, and\ninvited him to come inside, which he did very willingly.\n\nSoon after this the troll came home. It was dark by that time, and his\nwife bade him go and buy some candles.\n\n\u2018Oh, we shall soon get a light,\u2019 said the troll. With that he dipped his\nfingers into the fire, and they then gave light without being burned in\nthe least.\n\nThe old man got two sacks of money here, and plodded away homewards with\nthese. When he was very nearly home he again thought of the cow that\nwas with calf, so he laid down the money, ran home, and asked his wife\nwhether the cow had calved yet.\n\n\u2018Whatever is the matter with you?\u2019 said she. \u2018You come hurrying as if\nthe whole house was about to fall. You may set your mind at rest: the\ncow has not calved yet.\u2019\n\nThe man now asked her to come and help him home with the two sacks of\nmoney. She did not believe him very much, but he continued to assure her\nthat it was quite true, till at last she gave in and went with him. When\nthey came to the spot there had again been a thief there and taken the\nmoney. It was no wonder that the woman was angry about this, but the man\nonly said, \u2018Ah, if you only knew what I have learned.\u2019\n\nA third time the man set out--to visit his eldest daughter. When he\ncame to a mound he sat down on the east side of it and ate the dry bread\nwhich his wife had given him to take with him. The daughter then came\nout of the mound and invited her father to come inside.\n\nIn a little the troll came home, and his wife asked him to go and buy\nsome fish.\n\n\u2018We can get them much more easily than that,\u2019 said the troll. \u2018Give me\nyour dough trough and your ladle.\u2019\n\nThey seated themselves in the trough, and rowed out on the lake which\nwas beside the mound. When they had got out a little way the troll said\nto his wife, \u2018Are my eyes green?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, not yet,\u2019 said she.\n\nHe rowed on a little further and asked again, \u2018Are my eyes not green\nyet?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said his wife, \u2018they are green now.\u2019\n\nThen the troll sprang into the water and ladled up so many fish that in\na short time the trough could hold no more. They then rowed home again,\nand had a good meal off the fish.\n\nThe old man now got three sacks full of money, and set off home with\nthem. When he was almost home the cow again came into his head, and he\nlaid down the money. This time, however, he took his wooden shoes and\nlaid them above the money, thinking that no one would take it after\nthat. Then he ran home and asked his wife whether the cow had calved. It\nhad not, and she scolded him again for behaving in this way, but in the\nend he persuaded her to go with him to help him with the three sacks of\nmoney.\n\nWhen they came to the spot they found only the wooden shoes, for a thief\nhad come along in the meantime and taken all the money. The woman was\nvery angry, and broke out upon her husband; but he took it all very\nquietly, and only said, \u2018Hang the money! I know what I have learned.\u2019\n\n\u2018What have you learned I should like to know?\u2019 said his wife.\n\n\u2018You will see that yet,\u2019 said the man.\n\nOne day his wife took a fancy for broth, and said to him, \u2018Oh, go to the\nvillage, and buy a piece of beef to make broth.\u2019\n\n\u2018There\u2019s no need of that,\u2019 said he; \u2018we can get it an easier way.\u2019 With\nthat he drove a spike into a beam, and ran his head against it, and in\nconsequence had to lie in bed for a long time afterwards.\n\nAfter he had recovered from this his wife asked him one day to go and\nbuy candles, as they had none.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 he said, \u2018there\u2019s no need for that;\u2019 and he stuck his hand into\nthe fire. This also made him take to bed for a good while.\n\nWhen he had got better again his wife one day wanted fish, and asked him\nto go and buy some. The man, however, wished again to show what he had\nlearned, so he asked her to come along with him and bring her dough\ntrough and a ladle. They both seated themselves in this, and rowed upon\nthe lake. When they had got out a little way the man said, \u2018Are my eyes\ngreen?\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said his wife; \u2018why should they be?\u2019\n\nThey rowed a little further out, and he asked again, \u2018Are my eyes not\ngreen yet?\u2019\n\n\u2018What nonsense is this?\u2019 said she; \u2018why should they be green?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, my dear,\u2019 said he, \u2018can\u2019t you just say that they are green?\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well,\u2019 said she, \u2018they are green.\u2019\n\nAs soon as he heard this he sprang out into the water with the ladle for\nthe fishes, but he just got leave to stay there with them!\n\n\n\n\nThe Cunning Shoemaker\n\nSicilianische Mahrchen.\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a shoemaker who could get no work to do,\nand was so poor that he and his wife nearly died of hunger. At last he\nsaid to her, \u2018It is no use waiting on here--I can find nothing; so I\nshall go down to Mascalucia, and perhaps there I shall be more lucky.\u2019\n\nSo down he went to Mascalucia, and walked through the streets crying,\n\u2018Who wants some shoes?\u2019 And very soon a window was pushed up, and a\nwoman\u2019s head was thrust out of it.\n\n\u2018Here are a pair for you to patch,\u2019 she said. And he sat down on her\ndoorstep and set about patching them.\n\n\u2018How much do I owe you?\u2019 she asked when they were done.\n\n\u2018A shilling.\u2019\n\n\u2018Here is eighteen pence, and good luck to you.\u2019 And he went his way. He\nturned into the next street and set up his cry again, and it was not\nlong before another window was pushed up and another head appeared.\n\n\u2018Here are some shoes for you to patch.\u2019\n\nAnd the shoemaker sat down on the doorstep and patched them.\n\n\u2018How much do I owe you?\u2019 asked the woman when the shoes were finished.\n\n\u2018A florin.\u2019\n\n\u2018Here is a crown piece, and good luck to you.\u2019 And she shut the window.\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 thought the shoemaker, \u2018I have done finely. But I will not go\nback to my wife just yet, as, if I only go on at this rate, I shall soon\nhave enough money to buy a donkey.\u2019\n\nHaving made up his mind what was best to do, he stayed in the town a few\ndays longer till he had four gold pieces safe in his purse. Then he went\nto the market and for two of them he bought a good strong donkey, and,\nmounting on its back, he rode home to Catania. But as he entered a thick\nwood he saw in the distance a band of robbers who were coming quickly\ntowards him.\n\n\u2018I am lost,\u2019 thought he; \u2018they are sure to take from me all the money\nthat I have earned, and I shall be as poor as ever I was. What can I\ndo?\u2019 However, being a clever little man and full of spirit, he did not\nlose heart, but, taking five florins, he fastened them out of sight\nunder the donkey\u2019s thick mane. Then he rode on.\n\nDirectly the robber came up to him they seized him exactly as he had\nforetold and took away all his money.\n\n\u2018Oh, dear friends!\u2019 he cried, wringing his hands, \u2018I am only a poor\nshoemaker, and have nothing but this donkey left in the world.\u2019\n\nAs he spoke the donkey gave himself a shake, and down fell the five\nflorins.\n\n\u2018Where did that come from?\u2019 asked the robbers.\n\n\u2018Ah,\u2019 replied the shoemaker, \u2018you have guessed my secret. The donkey is\na golden donkey, and supplies me with all my money.\u2019\n\n\u2018Sell him to us,\u2019 said the robbers. \u2018We will give you any price you\nlike.\u2019\n\nThe shoemaker at first declared that nothing would induce him to sell\nhim, but at last he agreed to hand him over to the robbers for fifty\ngold pieces. \u2018But listen to what I tell you,\u2019 said he. \u2018You must each\ntake it in turn to own him for a night and a day, or else you will all\nbe fighting over the money.\u2019\n\nWith these words they parted, the robbers driving the donkey to their\ncave in the forest and the shoemaker returning home, very pleased with\nthe success of his trick. He just stopped on the way to pick up a good\ndinner, and the next day spent most of his gains in buying a small\nvineyard.\n\nMeanwhile the robbers had arrived at the cave where they lived, and the\ncaptain, calling them all round him, announced that it as his right to\nhave the donkey for the first night. His companions agreed, and then he\ntold his wife to put a mattress in the stable. She asked if he had gone\nout of his mind, but he answered crossly, \u2018What is that to you? Do as\nyou are bid, and to-morrow I will bring you some treasures.\u2019\n\nVery early the captain awoke and searched the stable, but could find\nnothing, and guessed that Master Joseph had been making fun of them.\n\u2018Well,\u2019 he said to himself, \u2018if I have been taken in, the others shall\nnot come off any better.\u2019\n\nSo, when one of his men arrived and asked him eagerly how much money he\nhad got, he answered gaily, \u2018Oh, comrade, if you only knew! But I shall\nsay nothing about it till everyone has had his turn!\u2019\n\nOne after another they all took the donkey, but no money was forthcoming\nfor anybody. At length, when all the band had been tricked, they held a\ncouncil, and resolved to march to the shoemaker\u2019s house and punish him\nwell for his cunning. Just as before, the shoemaker saw them a long way\noff, and began to think how he could outwit them again. When he had hit\nupon a plan he called his wife, and said to her, \u2018Take a bladder and\nfill it with blood, and bind it round your neck. When the robbers come\nand demand the money they gave me for the donkey I shall shout to you\nand tell you to get it quickly. You must argue with me, and decline to\nobey me, and then I shall plunge my knife into the bladder, and you must\nfall to the ground as if you were dead. There you must lie till I play\non my guitar; then get up and begin to dance.\u2019\n\nThe wife made haste to do as she was bid, and there was no time to lose,\nfor the robbers were drawing very near the house. They entered with a\ngreat noise, and overwhelmed the shoemaker with reproaches for having\ndeceived them about the donkey.\n\n\u2018The poor beast must have lost its power owing to the change of\nmasters,\u2019 said he; \u2018but we will not quarrel about it. You shall have\nback the fifty gold pieces that you gave for him. \u2018Aite,\u2019 he cried to his\nwife, \u2018go quickly to the chest upstairs, and bring down the money for\nthese gentlemen.\u2019\n\n\u2018Wait a little,\u2019 answered she; \u2018I must first bake this fish. It will be\nspoilt if I leave it now.\u2019\n\n\u2018Go this instant, as you are bid,\u2019 shouted the shoemaker, stamping as if\nhe was in a great passion; but, as she did not stir, he drew his knife,\nand stabbed her in the neck. The blood spurted out freely, and she fell\nto the ground as if she was dead.\n\n\u2018What have you done?\u2019 asked the robbers, looking at him in dismay. \u2018The\npoor woman was doing nothing.\u2019\n\n\u2018Perhaps I was hasty, but it is easily set right,\u2019 replied the\nshoemaker, taking down his guitar and beginning to play. Hardly had he\nstruck the first notes than his wife sat up; then got on her feet and\ndanced.\n\nThe robbers stared with open mouths, and at last they said, \u2018Master\nJoseph, you may keep the fifty gold pieces. But tell us what you will\ntake for your guitar, for you must sell it to us?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, that is impossible!\u2019 replied the shoemaker, \u2018for every time I have\na quarrel with my wife I just strike her dead, and so give vent to my\nanger. This has become such a habit with me that I don\u2019t think I could\nbreak myself of it; and, of course, if I got rid of the guitar I could\nnever bring her back to life again.\u2019\n\nHowever, the robbers would not listen to him, and at last he consented\nto take forty gold pieces for the guitar.\n\nThen they all returned to their cave in the forest, delighted with their\nnew purchase, and longing for a chance of trying its powers. But the\ncaptain declared that the first trial belonged to him, and after that\nthe others might have their turn.\n\nThat evening he called to his wife and said, \u2018What have you got for\nsupper?\u2019\n\n\u2018Macaroni,\u2019 answered she.\n\n\u2018Why have you not boiled a fish?\u2019 he cried, and stabber in the neck so\nthat she fell dead. The captain, who was not in the least angry, seized\nthe guitar and began to play; but, let him play as loud as he would, the\ndead woman never stirred. \u2018Oh, lying shoemaker! Oh, abominable knave!\nTwice has he got the better of me. But I will pay him out!\u2019\n\nSo he raged and swore, but it did him no good. The fact remained that he\nhad killed his wife and could not bring her back again.\n\nThe next morning came one of the robbers to fetch the guitar, and to\nhear what had happened.\n\n\u2018Well, how have you got on?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, splendidly! I stabbed my wife, and then began to play, and now she\nis as well as ever.\u2019\n\n\u2018Did you really? Then this evening I will try for myself.\u2019\n\nOf course the same thing happened over again, till all the wives had\nbeen killed secretly, and when there were no more left they whispered to\neach other the dreadful tale, and swore to be avenged on the shoemaker.\n\nThe band lost no time in setting out for his house, and, as before,\nthe shoemaker saw them coming from afar. He called to his wife, who was\nwashing in the kitchen: \u2018Listen, Aita: when the robbers come and ask for\nme say I have gone to the vineyard. Then tell the dog to call me, and\nchase him from the house.\u2019\n\nWhen he had given these directions he ran out of the back door and hid\nbehind a barrel. A few minutes later the robbers arrived, and called\nloudly for the shoemaker.\n\n\u2018Alas! good gentlemen, he is up in the vineyard, but I will send the\ndog after him at once. Here! now quickly to the vineyard, and tell your\nmaster some gentlemen are here who wish to speak to him. Go as fast as\nyou can.\u2019 And she opened the door and let the dog out.\n\n\u2018You can really trust the dog to call your husband?\u2019 asked the robbers.\n\n\u2018Dear me, yes! He understands everything, and will always carry any\nmessage I give him.\u2019\n\nBy-and-bye the shoemaker came in and said, \u2018Good morning, gentlemen; the\ndog tells me you wish to speak to me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, we do,\u2019 replied the robber; \u2018we have come to speak to you about\nthat guitar. It is your fault that we have murdered all our wives; and,\nthough we played as you told us, none of them ever came back to life.\u2019\n\n\u2018You could not have played properly,\u2019 said the shoemaker. \u2018It was your\nown fault.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, we will forget all about it,\u2019 answered the robbers, \u2018if you will\nonly sell us your dog.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, that is impossible! I should never get on without him.\u2019\n\nBut the robbers offered him forty gold pieces, and at last he agreed to\nlet them have the dog.\n\nSo they departed, taking the dog with them, and when they got back to\ntheir cave the captain declared that it was his right to have the first\ntrial.\n\nHe then called his daughter, and said to her, \u2018I am going to the inn; if\nanybody wants me, loose the dog, and send him to call me.\u2019\n\nAbout an hour after some one arrived on business, and the girl untied\nthe dog and said, \u2018Go to the inn and call my father!\u2019 The dog bounded\noff, but ran straight to the shoemaker.\n\nWhen the robber got home and found no dog he thought \u2018He must have gone\nback to his old master,\u2019 and, though night had already fallen, he went\noff after him.\n\n\u2018Master Joseph, is the dog here?\u2019 asked he.\n\n\u2018Ah! yes, the poor beast is so fond of me! You must give him time to get\naccustomed to new ways.\u2019\n\nSo the captain brought the dog back, and the following morning handed\nhim over to another of the band, just saying that the animal really\ncould do what the shoemaker had said.\n\nThe second robber carefully kept his own counsel, and fetched the dog\nsecretly back from the shoemaker, and so on through the whole band. At\nlength, when everybody had suffered, they met and told the whole story,\nand next day they all marched off in fury to the man who had made game\nof them. After reproaching him with having deceived them, they tied him\nup in a sack, and told him they were going to throw him into the sea.\nThe shoemaker lay quite still, and let them do as they would.\n\nThey went on till they came to a church, and the robbers said, \u2018The sun\nis hot and the sack is heavy; let us leave it here and go in and rest.\u2019\nSo they put the sack down by the roadside, and went into the church.\n\nNow, on a hill near by there was a swineherd looking after a great herd\nof pigs and whistling merrily.\n\nWhen Master Joseph heard him he cried out as loud as he could, \u2018I won\u2019t;\nI won\u2019t, I say.\u2019\n\n\u2018What won\u2019t you do?\u2019 asked the swineherd.\n\n\u2018Oh,\u2019 replied the shoemaker. \u2018They want me to marry the king\u2019s daughter,\nand I won\u2019t do it.\u2019\n\n\u2018How lucky you are!\u2019 sighed the swineherd. \u2018Now, if it were only me!\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, if that\u2019s all!\u2019 replied the cunning shoemaker, \u2018get you into this\nsack, and let me out.\u2019\n\nThen the swineherd opened the sack and took the place of the shoemaker,\nwho went gaily off, driving the pigs before him.\n\nWhen the robbers were rested they came out of the church, took up the\nsack, and carried it to the sea, where they threw it in, and it sank\ndirectly. As they came back they met the shoemaker, and stared at him\nwith open mouths.\n\n\u2018Oh, if you only knew how many pigs live in the sea,\u2019 he cried. \u2018And the\ndeeper you go the more there are. I have just brought up these, and mean\nto return for some more.\u2019\n\n\u2018There are still some left there?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, more than I could count,\u2019 replied the shoemaker. \u2018I will show you\nwhat you must do.\u2019 Then he led the robbers back to the shore. \u2018Now,\u2019\nsaid he, \u2018you must each of you tie a stone to your necks, so that you\nmay be sure to go deep enough, for I found the pigs that you saw very\ndeep down indeed.\u2019\n\nThen the robbers all tied stones round their necks, and jumped in, and\nwere drowned, and Master Joseph drove his pigs home, and was a rich man\nto the end of his days.\n\n\n\n\nThe King Who Would Have a Beautiful Wife\n\nSicilianische Mahrchen.\n\n\nFifty years ago there lived a king who was very anxious to get married;\nbut, as he was quite determined that his wife should be as beautiful as\nthe sun, the thing was not so easy as it seemed, for no maiden came up\nto his standard. Then he commanded a trusty servant to search through\nthe length and breadth of the land till he found a girl fair enough to\nbe queen, and if he had the good luck to discover one he was to bring\nher back with him.\n\nThe servant set out at once on his journey, and sought high and low-in\ncastles and cottages; but though pretty maidens were plentiful as\nblackberries, he felt sure that none of them would please the king.\n\nOne day he had wandered far and wide, and was feeling very tired and\nthirsty. By the roadside stood a tiny little house, and here he knocked\nand asked for a cup of water. Now in this house dwelt two sisters, and\none was eighty and the other ninety years old. They were very poor, and\nearned their living by spinning. This had kept their hands very soft and\nwhite, like the hands of a girl, and when the water was passed through\nthe lattice, and the servant saw the small, delicate fingers, he said to\nhimself: \u2018A maiden must indeed be lovely if she has a hand like that.\u2019\nAnd he made haste back, and told the king.\n\n\u2018Go back at once,\u2019 said his majesty, \u2018and try to get a sight of her.\u2019\n\nThe faithful servant departed on his errand without losing any time,\nand again he knocked at the door of the little house and begged for some\nwater. As before, the old woman did not open the door, but passed the\nwater through the lattice.\n\n\u2018Do you live here alone?\u2019 asked the man.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 replied she, \u2018my sister lives with me. We are poor girls, and have\nto work for our bread.\u2019\n\n\u2018How old are you?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am fifteen, and she is twenty.\u2019\n\nThen the servant went back to the king, and told him all he knew. And\nhis majesty answered: \u2018I will have the fifteen-year-old one. Go and\nbring her here.\u2019\n\nThe servant returned a third time to the little house and knocked at the\ndoor. In reply to his knock the lattice window was pushed open, and a\nvoice inquired what it was he wanted.\n\n\u2018The king has desired me to bring back the youngest of you to become his\nqueen,\u2019 he replied.\n\n\u2018Tell his majesty I am ready to do his bidding, but since my birth no\nray of light has fallen upon my face. If it should ever do so I shall\ninstantly grow black. Therefore beg, I pray you, his most gracious\nmajesty to send this evening a shut carriage, and I will return in it to\nthe castle.\n\nWhen the king heard this he ordered his great golden carriage to be\nprepared, and in it to be placed some magnificent robes; and the old\nwoman wrapped herself in a thick veil, and was driven to the castle.\n\nThe king was eagerly awaiting her, and when she arrived he begged her\npolitely to raise her veil and let him see her face.\n\nBut she answered: \u2018Here the tapers are too bright and the light too\nstrong. Would you have me turn black under your very eyes?\u2019\n\nAnd the king believed her words, and the marriage took place without the\nveil being once lifted. Afterwards, when they were alone, he raised the\ncorner, and knew for the first time that he had wedded a wrinkled old\nwoman. And, in a furious burst of anger, he dashed open the window and\nflung her out. But, luckily for her, her clothes caught on a nail in the\nwall, and kept her hanging between heaven and earth.\n\nWhile she was thus suspended, expecting every moment to be dashed to the\nground, four fairies happened to pass by.\n\n\u2018Look, sisters,\u2019 cried one, \u2018surely that is the old woman that the king\nsent for. Shall we wish that her clothes may give way, and that she\nshould be dashed to the ground?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh no! no!\u2019 exclaimed another. \u2018Let us wish her something good. I\nmyself will wish her youth.\u2019\n\n\u2018And I beauty.\u2019\n\n\u2018And I wisdom.\u2019\n\n\u2018And I a tender heart.\u2019\n\nSo spake the fairies, and went their way, leaving the most beautiful\nmaiden in the world behind them.\n\nThe next morning when the king looked from his window he saw this lovely\ncreature hanging on the nail. \u2018Ah! what have I done? Surely I must have\nbeen blind last night!\u2019\n\nAnd he ordered long ladders to be brought and the maiden to be rescued.\nThen he fell on his knees before her, and prayed her to forgive him, and\na great feast was made in her honour.\n\nSome days after came the ninety-year-old sister to the palace and asked\nfor the queen.\n\n\u2018Who is that hideous old witch?\u2019 said the king.\n\n\u2018Oh, an old neighbour of mine, who is half silly,\u2019 she replied.\n\nBut the old woman looked at her steadily, and knew her again, and said:\n\u2018How have you managed to grow so young and beautiful? I should like to\nbe young and beautiful too.\u2019\n\nThis question she repeated the whole day long, till at length the queen\nlost patience and said: \u2018I had my old head cut off, and this new head\ngrew in its place.\u2019\n\nThen the old woman went to a barber, and spoke to him, saying, \u2018I will\ngive you all you ask if you will only cut off my head, so that I may\nbecome young and lovely.\u2019\n\n\u2018But, my good woman, if I do that you will die!\u2019\n\nBut the old woman would listen to nothing; and at last the barber took\nout his knife and struck the first blow at her neck.\n\n\u2018Ah!\u2019 she shrieked as she felt the pain.\n\n\u2018Il faut souffrir pour etre belle,\u2019 said the barber, who had been in\nFrance.\n\nAnd at the second blow her head rolled off, and the old woman was dead\nfor good and all.\n\n\n\n\nCatherine and Her Destiny\n\nSicilianische Mahrchen von Laura Gonzenbach. Leipzig, Engelmann, 1870.\n\n\nLong ago there lived a rich merchant who, besides possessing more\ntreasures than any king in the world, had in his great hall three\nchairs, one of silver, one of gold, and one of diamonds. But his\ngreatest treasure of all was his only daughter, who was called\nCatherine.\n\nOne day Catherine was sitting in her own room when suddenly the door\nflew open, and in came a tall and beautiful woman holding in her hands a\nlittle wheel.\n\n\u2018Catherine,\u2019 she said, going up to the girl, \u2018which would you rather\nhave-a happy youth or a happy old age?\u2019\n\nCatherine was so taken by surprise that she did not know what to answer,\nand the lady repeated again, \u2018Which would you rather have-a happy youth\nor a happy old age?\u2019\n\nThen Catherine thought to herself, \u2018If I say a happy youth, then I shall\nhave to suffer all the rest of my life. No, I would bear trouble now,\nand have something better to look forward to.\u2019 So she looked up and\nreplied, \u2018Give me a happy old age.\u2019\n\n\u2018So be it,\u2019 said the lady, and turned her wheel as she spoke, vanishing\nthe next moment as suddenly as she had come.\n\nNow this beautiful lady was the Destiny of poor Catherine.\n\nOnly a few days after this the merchant heard the news that all his\nfinest ships, laden with the richest merchandise, had been sunk in a\nstorm, and he was left a beggar. The shock was too much for him. He took\nto his bed, and in a short time he was dead of his disappointment.\n\nSo poor Catherine was left alone in the world without a penny or a\ncreature to help her. But she was a brave girl and full of spirit, and\nsoon made up her mind that the best thing she could do was to go to the\nnearest town and become a servant. She lost no time in getting herself\nready, and did not take long over her journey; and as she was passing\ndown the chief street of the town a noble lady saw her out of the\nwindow, and, struck by her sad face, said to her: \u2018Where are you going\nall alone, my pretty girl?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah, my lady, I am very poor, and must go to service to earn my bread.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will take you into my service,\u2019 said she; and Catherine served her\nwell.\n\nSome time after her mistress said to Catherine, \u2018I am obliged to go out\nfor a long while, and must lock the house door, so that no thieves shall\nget in.\u2019\n\nSo she went away, and Catherine took her work and sat down at the\nwindow. Suddenly the door burst open, and in came her Destiny.\n\n\u2018Oh! so here you are, Catherine! Did you really think I was going to\nleave you in peace?\u2019 And as she spoke she walked to the linen press\nwhere Catherine\u2019s mistress kept all her finest sheets and underclothes,\ntore everything in pieces, and flung them on the floor. Poor Catherine\nwrung her hands and wept, for she thought to herself, \u2018When my lady\ncomes back and sees all this ruin she will think it is my fault,\u2019 and\nstarting up, she fled through the open door. Then Destiny took all the\npieces and made them whole again, and put them back in the press, and\nwhen everything was tidy she too left the house.\n\nWhen the mistress reached home she called Catherine, but no Catherine\nwas there. \u2018Can she have robbed me?\u2019 thought the old lady, and looked\nhastily round the house; but nothing was missing. She wondered why\nCatherine should have disappeared like this, but she heard no more of\nher, and in a few days she filled her place.\n\nMeanwhile Catherine wandered on and on, without knowing very well where\nshe was going, till at last she came to another town. Just as before,\na noble lady happened to see her passing her window, and called out to\nher, \u2018Where are you going all alone, my pretty girl?\u2019\n\nAnd Catherine answered, \u2018Ah, my lady, I am very poor, and must go to\nservice to earn my bread.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will take you into my service,\u2019 said the lady; and Catherine served\nher well, and hoped she might now be left in peace. But, exactly as\nbefore, one day that Catherine was left in the house alone her Destiny\ncame again and spoke to her with hard words: \u2018What! are you here now?\u2019\nAnd in a passion she tore up everything she saw, till in sheer misery\npoor Catherine rushed out of the house. And so it befell for seven\nyears, and directly Catherine found a fresh place her Destiny came and\nforced her to leave it.\n\nAfter seven years, however, Destiny seemed to get tired of persecuting\nher, and a time of peace set in for Catherine. When she had been chased\naway from her last house by Destiny\u2019s wicked pranks she had taken\nservice with another lady, who told her that it would be part of her\ndaily work to walk to a mountain that overshadowed the town, and,\nclimbing up to the top, she was to lay on the ground some loaves\nof freshly baked bread, and cry with a loud voice, \u2018O Destiny, my\nmistress,\u2019 three times. Then her lady\u2019s Destiny would come and take away\nthe offering. \u2018That will I gladly do,\u2019 said Catherine.\n\nSo the years went by, and Catherine was still there, and every day\nshe climbed the mountain with her basket of bread on her arm. She was\nhappier than she had been, but sometimes, when no one saw her, she would\nweep as she thought over her old life, and how different it was to the\none she was now leading. One day her lady saw her, and said, \u2018Catherine,\nwhat is it? Why are you always weeping?\u2019 And then Catherine told her\nstory.\n\n\u2018I have got an idea,\u2019 exclaimed the lady. \u2018To-morrow, when you take the\nbread to the mountain, you shall pray my Destiny to speak to yours, and\nentreat her to leave you in peace. Perhaps something may come of it!\u2019\n\nAt these words Catherine dried her eyes, and next morning, when she\nclimbed the mountain, she told all she had suffered, and cried, \u2018O\nDestiny, my mistress, pray, I entreat you, of my Destiny that she may\nleave me in peace.\u2019\n\nAnd Destiny answered, \u2018Oh, my poor girl, know you not your Destiny lies\nburied under seven coverlids, and can hear nothing? But if you will come\nto-morrow I will bring her with me.\u2019\n\nAnd after Catherine had gone her way her lady\u2019s Destiny went to find\nher sister, and said to her, \u2018Dear sister, has not Catherine suffered\nenough? It is surely time for her good days to begin?\u2019\n\nAnd the sister answered, \u2018To-morrow you shall bring her to me, and I\nwill give her something that may help her out of her need.\u2019\n\nThe next morning Catherine set out earlier than usual for the mountain,\nand her lady\u2019s Destiny took the girl by the hand and led her to her\nsister, who lay under the seven coverlids. And her Destiny held out\nto Catherine a ball of silk, saying, \u2018Keep this--it may be useful some\nday;\u2019 then pulled the coverings over her head again.\n\nBut Catherine walked sadly down the hill, and went straight to her lady\nand showed her the silken ball, which was the end of all her high hopes.\n\n\u2018What shall I do with it?\u2019 she asked. \u2018It is not worth sixpence, and it\nis no good to me!\u2019\n\n\u2018Take care of it,\u2019 replied her mistress. \u2018Who can tell how useful it may\nbe?\u2019\n\nA little while after this grand preparations were made for the king\u2019s\nmarriage, and all the tailors in the town were busy embroidering fine\nclothes. The wedding garment was so beautiful nothing like it had ever\nbeen seen before, but when it was almost finished the tailor found that\nhe had no more silk. The colour was very rare, and none could be found\nlike it, and the king made a proclamation that if anyone happened to\npossess any they should bring it to the court, and he would give them a\nlarge sum.\n\n\u2018Catherine!\u2019 exclaimed the lady, who had been to the tailors and seen\nthe wedding garment, \u2018your ball of silk is exactly the right colour.\nBring it to the king, and you can ask what you like for it.\u2019\n\nThen Catherine put on her best clothes and went to the court, and looked\nmore beautiful than any woman there.\n\n\u2018May it please your majesty,\u2019 she said, \u2018I have brought you a ball of\nsilk of the colour you asked for, as no one else has any in the town.\u2019\n\n\u2018Your majesty,\u2019 asked one of the courtiers, \u2018shall I give the maiden its\nweight in gold?\u2019\n\nThe king agreed, and a pair of scales were brought; and a handful of\ngold was placed in one scale and the silken ball in the other. But lo!\nlet the king lay in the scales as many gold pieces as he would, the silk\nwas always heavier still. Then the king took some larger scales, and\nheaped up all his treasures on one side, but the silk on the other\noutweighed them all. At last there was only one thing left that had not\nbeen put in, and that was his golden crown. And he took it from his head\nand set it on top of all, and at last the scale moved and the ball had\nfounds its balance.\n\n\u2018Where got you this silk?\u2019 asked the king.\n\n\u2018It was given me, royal majesty, by my mistress,\u2019 replied Catherine.\n\n\u2018That is not true,\u2019 said the king, \u2018and if you do not tell me the truth\nI will have your head cut off this instant.\u2019\n\nSo Catherine told him the whole story, and how she had once been as rich\nas he.\n\nNow there lived at the court a wise woman, and she said to Catherine,\n\u2018You have suffered much, my poor girl, but at length your luck has\nturned, and I know by the weighing of the scales through the crown that\nyou will die a queen.\u2019\n\n\u2018So she shall,\u2019 cried the king, who overheard these words; \u2018she shall\ndie my queen, for she is more beautiful than all the ladies of the\ncourt, and I will marry no one else.\u2019\n\nAnd so it fell out. The king sent back the bride he had promised to wed\nto her own country, and the same Catherine was queen at the marriage\nfeast instead, and lived happy and contented to the end of her life.\n\n\n\n\nHow the Hermit Helped to Win the King\u2019s Daughter\n\nSicilianische Mahrchen\n\n\nLong ago there lived a very rich man who had three sons. When he felt\nhimself to be dying he divided his property between them, making them\nshare alike, both in money and lands. Soon after he died the king set\nforth a proclamation through the whole country that whoever could build\na ship that should float both on land and sea should have his daughter\nto wife.\n\nThe eldest brother, when he heard it, said to the other, \u2018I think I will\nspend some of my money in trying to build that ship, as I should like\nto have the king for my father-in-law.\u2019 So he called together all the\nshipbuilders in the land, and gave them orders to begin the ship without\ndelay. And trees were cut down, and great preparations made, and in a\nfew days everybody knew what it was all for; and there was a crowd of\nold people pressing round the gates of the yard, where the young man\nspent the most of his day.\n\n\u2018Ah, master, give us work,\u2019 they said, \u2018so that we may earn our bread.\u2019\n\nBut he only gave them hard words, and spoke roughly to them. \u2018You are\nold, and have lost your strength; of what use are you?\u2019 And he drove\nthem away. Then came some boys and prayed him, \u201cmaster, give us work,\u2019\nbut he answered them, \u2018Of what use can you be, weaklings as you are! Get\nyou gone!\u2019 And if any presented themselves that were not skilled workmen\nhe would have none of them.\n\nAt last there knocked at the gate a little old man with a long white\nbeard, and said, \u2018Will you give me work, so that I may earn my bread?\u2019\nBut he was only driven away like the rest.\n\nThe ship took a long while to build, and cost a great deal of money, and\nwhen it was launched a sudden squall rose, and it fell to pieces, and\nwith it all the young man\u2019s hopes of winning the princess. By this time\nhe had not a penny left, so he went back to his two brothers and\ntold his tale. And the second brother said to himself as he listened,\n\u2018Certainly he has managed very badly, but I should like to see if I\ncan\u2019t do better, and win the princess for my own self.\u2019 So he called\ntogether all the shipbuilders throughout the country, and gave them\norders to build a ship which should float on the land as well as on the\nsea. But his heart was no softer than his brother\u2019s, and every man that\nwas not a skilled workman was chased away with hard words. Last came the\nwhite-bearded man, but he fared no better than the rest.\n\nWhen the ship was finished the launch took place, and everything seemed\ngoing smoothly when a gale sprang up, and the vessel was dashed to\npieces on the rocks. The young man had spent his whole fortune on it,\nand now it was all swallowed up, was forced to beg shelter from his\nyoungest brother. When he told his story the youngest said to himself,\n\u2018I am not rich enough to support us all three. I had better take my\nturn, and if I manage to win the princess there will be her fortune\nas well as my own for us to live on.\u2019 So he called together all the\nshipbuilders in the kingdom, and gave orders that a new ship should be\nbuilt. Then all the old people came and asked for work, and he answered\ncheerfully, \u2018Oh, yes, there is plenty for everybody;\u2019 and when the boys\nbegged to be allowed to help he found something that they could do. And\nwhen the old man with the long white beard stood before him, praying\nthat he might earn his bread, he replied, \u2018Oh, father, I could not\nsuffer you to work, but you shall be overseer, and look after the rest.\u2019\n\nNow the old man was a holy hermit, and when he saw how kind-hearted the\nyouth was he determined to do all he could for him to gain the wish of\nhis heart.\n\nBy-and-bye, when the ship was finished, the hermit said to his young\nfriend, \u2018Now you can go and claim the king\u2019s daughter, for hte ship will\nfloat both by land and sea.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, good father,\u2019 cried the young man, \u2018you will not forsake me? Stay\nwith me, I pray you, and lead me to the king!\u2019\n\n\u2018If you wish it, I will,\u2019 said the hermit, \u2018on condition that you will\ngive me half of anything you get.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, if that is all,\u2019 answered he, \u2018it is easily promised!\u2019 And they set\nout together on the ship.\n\nAfter they had gone some distance they saw a man standing in a thick\nfog, which he was trying to put into a sack.\n\n\u2018Oh, good father,\u2019 exclaimed the youth, \u2018what can he be doing?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ask him,\u2019 said the old man.\n\n\u2018What are you doing, my fine fellow?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am putting the fog into my sack. That is my business.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ask him if he will come with us,\u2019 whispered the hermit.\n\nAnd the man answered: \u2018If you will give me enough to eat and drink I\nwill gladly stay with you.\u2019\n\nSo they took him on their ship, and the youth said, as they started off\nagain, \u2018Good father, before we were two, and now we are three!\u2019\n\nAfter they had travelled a little further they met a man who had torn up\nhalf the forest, and was carrying all the trees on his shoulders.\n\n\u2018Good father,\u2019 exclaimed the youth, \u2018only look! What can he have done\nthat for?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ask him why he has torn up all those trees.\u2019\n\nAnd the man replied, \u2018Why, I\u2019ve merely been gathering a handful of\nbrushwood.\u2019\n\n\u2018Beg him to come with us,\u2019 whispered the hermit.\n\nAnd the strong man answered: \u2018Willingly, as long as you give me enough\nto eat and drink.\u2019 And he came on the ship.\n\nAnd the youth said to the hermit, \u2018Good father, before we were three,\nand now we are four.\u2019\n\nThe ship travelled on again, and some miles further on they saw a man\ndrinking out of a stream till he had nearly drunk it dry.\n\n\u2018Good father,\u2019 said the youth, \u2018just look at that man! Did you ever see\nanybody drink like that?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ask him why he does it,\u2019 answered the hermit.\n\n\u2018Why, there is nothing very odd in taking a mouthful of water!\u2019 replied\nthe man, standing up.\n\n\u2018Beg him to come with us.\u2019 And the youth did so.\n\n\u2018With pleasure, as long as you give me enough to eat and drink.\u2019\n\nAnd the youth whispered to the hermit, \u2018Good father, before we were\nfour, and now we are five.\u2019\n\nA little way along they noticed another man in the middle of a stream,\nwho was shooting into the water.\n\n\u2018Good father,\u2019 said the youth, \u2018what can he be shooting at?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ask him,\u2019 answered the hermit.\n\n\u2018Hush, hush!\u2019 cried the man; \u2018now you have frightened it away. In the\nUnderworld sits a quail on a tree, and I wanted to shoot it. That is my\nbusiness. I hit everything I aim at.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ask him if he will come with us.\u2019\n\nAnd the man replied, \u2018With all my heart, as long as I get enough to eat\nand drink.\u2019\n\nSo they took him into the ship, and the young man whispered, \u2018Good\nfather, before we were five, and now we are six.\u2019\n\nOff they went again, and before they had gone far they met a man\nstriding towards them whose steps were so long that while one foot was\non the north of the island the other was right down in the south.\n\n\u2018Good father, look at him! What long steps he takes!\u2019\n\n\u2018Ask him why he does it,\u2019 replied the hermit.\n\n\u2018Oh, I am only going out for a little walk,\u2019 answered he.\n\n\u2018Ask him if he will come with us.\u2019\n\n\u2018Gladly, if you will give me as much as I want to eat and drink,\u2019 said\nhe, climbing up into the ship.\n\nAnd the young man whispered, \u2018Good father, before we were six, and\nnow we are seven.\u2019 But the hermit knew what he was about, and why he\ngathered these strange people into the ship.\n\nAfter many days, at last they reached the town where lived the king and\nhis daughter. They stopped the vessel right in front of the palace, and\nthe young man went in and bowed low before the king.\n\n\u2018O Majesty, I have done your bidding, and now is the ship built that\ncan travel over land and sea. Give me my reward, and let me have your\ndaughter to wife.\u2019\n\nBut the king said to himself, \u2018What! am I to wed my daughter to a man of\nwhom I know nothing. Not even whether he be rich or poor--a knight or a\nbeggar.\u2019\n\nAnd aloud he spake: It is not enough that you have managed to build the\nship. You must find a runner who shall take this letter to the ruler of\nthe Underworld, and bring me the answer back in an hour.\u2019\n\n\u2018That is not in the bond,\u2019 answered the young man.\n\n\u2018Well, do as you like,\u2019 replied the king, \u2018only you will not get my\ndaughter.\u2019\n\nThe young man went out, sorely troubled, to tell his old friend what had\nhappened.\n\n\u2018Silly boy!\u2019 cried the hermit, \u2018Accept his terms at once. And send off\nthe long-legged man with the letter. He will take it in no time at all.\u2019\n\nSo the youth\u2019s heard leapt for joy, and he returned to the king.\n\u2018Majesty, I accept your terms. HEre is the messenger who will do what\nyou wish.\u2019\n\nThe king had no choice but to give the man the letter, and he strode\noff, making short work of the distance that lay between the palace and\nthe Underworld. He soon found the ruler, who looked at the letter, and\nsaid to him, \u2018Wait a little while i write the answer;\u2019 but the man was\nsoo tired with his quick walk that he went sound asleep and forgot all\nabout his errand.\n\nAll this time the youth was anxiously counting the minutes till he\ncould get back, and stood with his eyes fixed on the road down which his\nmessenger must come.\n\n\u2018What can be keeping him,\u2019 he said to the hermit when the hour was\nnearly up. Then the hermit sent for the man who could hit everything he\naimed at, and said to him, \u2018Just see why the messenger stays so long.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, he is sound asleep in the palace of the Underworld. However, I can\nwake him.\u2019\n\nThen he drew his bow, and shot an arrow straight into the man\u2019s knee.\nThe messenger awoke with such a start, and when he saw that the hour had\nalmost run out he snatched up the answer and rushed back with such speed\nthat the clock had not yet struck when he entered the palace.\n\nNow the young man thought he was sure of his bride, but the king said,\n\u201cStill you have not done enough. Before I give you my daughter you must\nfind a man who can drink half the contents of my cellar in one day.\u2019\n\n\u2018That is not in the bond,\u2019 complained the poor youth.\n\n\u2018Well, do as you like, only you will not get my daughter.\u2019\n\nThe young man went sadly out, and asked the hermit what he was to do.\n\n\u2018Silly boy!\u2019 said he. \u2018Why, tell the man to do it who drinks up\neverything.\u2019\n\nSo they sent for the man and said, \u2018Do you think you are able to drink\nhalf the royal cellar in one day?\u2019\n\n\u2018Dear me, yes, and as much more as you want,\u2019 answered he. \u2018I am never\nsatisfied.\u2019\n\nThe king was not pleased at the young man agreeing so readily, but he\nhad no choice, and ordered the servant to be taken downstairs. Oh, how\nhe enjoyed himself! All day long he drank, and drank, and drank, till\ninstead of half the cellar, he had drunk the whole, and there was not\na cask but what stood empty. And when the king saw this he said to the\nyouth, \u2018You have conquered, and I can no longer withhold my daughter.\nBut, as her dowry, I shall only give so much as one man can carry away.\u2019\n\n\u2018But,\u2019 answered he, \u2018let a man be ever so strong, he cannot carry more\nthan a hundredweight, and what is that for a king\u2019s daughter?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, do as you like; I have said my say. It is your affair--not mine.\u2019\n\nThe young man was puzzled, and did not know what to reply, for, though\nhe would gladly have married the princess without a sixpence, he had\nspent all his money in building the ship, and knew he could not give her\nall she wanted. So he went to the hermit and said to him, \u2018The king will\nonly give for her dowry as much as a man can carry. I have no money of\nmy own left, and my brothers have none either.\u2019\n\n\u2018Silly boy! Why, you have only got to fetch the man who carried half the\nforest on his shoulders.\u2019\n\nAnd the youth was glad, and called the strong man, and told him what he\nmust do. \u2018Take everything you can, till you are bent double. Never mind\nif you leave the palace bare.\u2019\n\nThe strong man promised, and nobly kept his word. He piled all he\ncould see on his back--chairs, tables, wardrobes, chests of gold and\nsilver--till there was nothing left to pile. At last he took the king\u2019s\ncrown, and put it on the top. He carried his burden to the ship and\nstowed his treasures away, and the youth followed, leading the king\u2019s\ndaughter. But the king was left raging in his empty palace, and he\ncalled together his army, and got ready his ships of war, in order that\nhe might go after the vessel and bring back what had been taken away.\n\nAnd the king\u2019s ships sailed very fast, and soon caught up the little\nvessel, and the sailors all shouted for joy. Then the hermit looked out\nand saw how near they were, and he said to the youth, \u2018Do you see that?\u2019\n\nThe youth shrieked and cried, \u2018Ah, good father, it is a fleet of ships,\nand they are chasing us, and in a few moments they will be upon us.\u2019\n\nBut the hermit bade him call the man who had the fog in his sack, and\nthe sack was opened and the fog flew out, and hung right round the\nking\u2019s ships, so that they could see nothing. So they sailed back to the\npalace, and told the king what strange things had happened. Meanwhile\nthe young man\u2019s vessel reached home in safety.\n\n\u2018Well, here you are once more\u2019 said the hermit; \u2018and now you can fulfil\nthe promise you made me to give me the half of all you had.\u2019\n\n\u2018That will I do with all my heart,\u2019 answered the youth, and began to\ndivide all his treasures, putting part on one side for himself and\nsetting aside the other for his friend. \u2018Good father, it is finished,\u2019\nsaid he at length; \u2018there is nothing more left to divide.\u2019\n\n\u2018Nothing more left!\u2019 cried the hermit. \u2018Why, you have forgotten the best\nthing of all!\u2019\n\n\u2018What can that be?\u2019 asked he. \u2018We have divided everything.\u2019\n\n\u2018And the king\u2019s daughter?\u2019 said the hermit.\n\nThen the young man\u2019s heart stood still, for he loved her dearly. But he\nanswered, \u2018It is well; I have sworn, and I will keep my word,\u2019 and drew\nhis sword to cut her in pieces. When the hermit saw that he held his\nhonour dearer than his wife he lifted his hand and cried, \u2018Hold! she\nis yours, and all the treasures too. I gave you my help because you had\npity on those that were in need. And when you are in need yourself, call\nupon me, and I will come to you.\u2019\n\nAs he spoke he softly touched their heads and vanished.\n\nThe next day the wedding took place, and the two brothers came to the\nhouse, and they all lived happily together, but they never forgot the\nholy man who had been such a good friend.\n\n\n\n\nThe Water of Life\n\nCuentos Populars Catalans, per lo Dr. D. Francisco de S. Maspous y\nLabros. Barcelona, 1885.\n\n\nThree brothers and one sister lived together in a small cottage, and\nthey loved one another dearly. One day the eldest brother, who had never\ndone anything but amuse himself from sunrise to sunset, said to the\nrest, \u2018Let us all work hard, and perhaps we shall grow rich, and be able\nto build ourselves a palace.\u2019\n\nAnd his brothers and sister answered joyfully, \u2018Yes, we will all work!\u2019\n\nSo they fell to working with all their might, till at last they became\nrich, and were able to build themselves a beautiful palace; and everyone\ncame from miles round to see its wonders, and to say how splendid it\nwas. No one thought of finding any faults, till at length an old woman,\nwho had been walking through the rooms with a crowd of people, suddenly\nexclaimed, \u2018Yes, it is a splendid palace, but there is still something\nit needs!\u2019\n\n\u2018And what may that be?\u2019\n\n\u2018A church.\u2019\n\nWhen they heard this the brothers set to work again to earn some more\nmoney, and when they had got enough they set about building a church,\nwhich should be as large and beautiful as the palace itself.\n\nAnd after the church was finished greater numbers of people than\never flocked to see the palace and the church and vast gardens and\nmagnificent halls.\n\nBut one day, as the brothers were as usual doing the honours to their\nguests, an old man turned to them and said, \u2018Yes, it is all most\nbeautiful, but there is still something it needs!\u2019\n\n\u2018And what may that be?\u2019\n\n\u2018A pitcher of the water of life, a branch of the tree the smell of whose\nflowers gives eternal beauty, and the talking bird.\u2019\n\n\u2018And where am I to find all those?\u2019\n\n\u2018Go to the mountain that is far off yonder, and you will find what you\nseek.\u2019\n\nAfter the old man had bowed politely and taken farewell of them the\neldest brother said to the rest, \u2018I will go in search of the water of\nlife, and the talking bird, and the tree of beauty.\u2019\n\n\u2018But suppose some evil thing befalls you?\u2019 asked his sister. \u2018How shall\nwe know?\u2019\n\n\n\u2018You are right,\u2019 he replied; \u2018 I had not thought of that!\u2019\n\nThen they followed the old man, and said to him, \u2018My eldest brother\nwishes to seek for the water of life, and the tree of beauty, and the\ntalking bird, that you tell him are needful to make our palace perfect.\nBut how shall we know if any evil thing befall him?\u2019\n\nSo the old man took them a knife, and gave it to them, saying, \u2018Keep\nthis carefully, and as long as the blade is bright all is well; but if\nthe blade is bloody, then know that evil has befallen him.\u2019\n\nThe brothers thanked him, and departed, and went straight to the palace,\nwhere they found the young man making ready to set out for the mountain\nwhere the treasures he longed for lay hid.\n\nAnd he walked, and he walked, and he walked, till he had gone a great\nway, and there he met a giant.\n\n\u2018Can you tell me how much further I have still to go before I reach that\nmountain yonder?\u2019\n\n\u2018And why do you wish to go there?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am seeking the water of life, the talking bird, and a branch of the\ntree of beauty.\u2019\n\n\u2018Many have passed by seeking those treasures, but none have ever come\nback; and you will never come back either, unless you mark my words.\nFollow this path, and when you reach the mountain you will find it\ncovered with stones. Do not stop to look at them, but keep on your way.\nAs you go you will hear scoffs and laughs behind you; it will be the\nstones that mock. Do not heed them; above all, do not turn round. If you\ndo you will become as one of them. Walk straight on till you get to the\ntop, and then take all you wish for.\u2019\n\nThe young man thanked him for his counsel, and walked, and walked, and\nwalked, till he reached the mountain. And as he climbed he heard behind\nhim scoffs and jeers, but he kept his ears steadily closed to them. At\nlast the noise grew so loud that he lost patience, and he stooped to\npick up a stone to hurl into the midst of the clamour, when suddenly his\narm seemed to stiffen, and the next moment he was a stone himself!\n\nThat day his sister, who thought her brother\u2019s steps were long in\nreturning, took out the knife and found the blade was red as blood. Then\nshe cried out to her brothers that something terrible had come to pass.\n\n\u2018I will go and find him,\u2019 said the second. And he went.\n\nAnd he walked, and he walked, and he walked, till he met the giant, and\nasked him if he had seen a young man travelling towards the mountain.\n\nAnd the giant answered, \u2018Yes, I have seen him pass, but I have not seen\nhim come back. The spell must have worked upon him.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then what can I do to disenchant him, and find the water of life, the\ntalking bird, and a branch of the tree of beauty?\u2019\n\n\u2018Follow this path, and when you reach the mountain you will find it\ncovered with stones. Do not stop to look at them, but climb steadily on.\nAbove all, heed not the laughs and scoffs that will arise on all sides,\nand never turn round. And when you reach the top you can then take all\nyou desire.\u2019\n\nThe young man thanked him for his counsel, and set out for the mountain.\nBut no sooner did he reach it than loud jests and gibes broke out on\nevery side, and almost deafened him. For some time he let them rail,\nand pushed boldly on, till he had passed the place which his brother had\ngained; then suddenly he thought that among the scoffing sounds he heard\nhis brother\u2019s voice. He stopped and looked back; and another stone was\nadded to the number.\n\nMeanwhile the sister left at home was counting the days when her two\nbrothers should return to her. The time seemed long, and it would be\nhard to say how often she took out the knife and looked at its polished\nblade to make sure that this one at least was still safe. The blade was\nalways bright and clear; each time she looked she had the happiness of\nknowing that all was well, till one evening, tired and anxious, as she\nfrequently was at the end of the day, she took it from its drawer, and\nbehold! the blade was red with blood. Her cry of horror brought her\nyoungest brother to her, and, unable to speak, she held out the knife!\n\n\u2018I will go,\u2019 he said.\n\nSo he walked, and he walked, and he walked, until he met the giant, and\nhe asked, \u2018Have two young men, making for yonder mountain, passed this\nway?\u2019\n\nAnd the giant answered, \u2018Yes, they have passed by, but they never came\nback, and by this I know that the spell has fallen upon them.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then what must I do to free them, and to get the water of life, and the\ntalking bird, and the branch of the tree of beauty?\u2019\n\n\u2018Go to the mountain, which you will find so thickly covered with stones\nthat you will hardly be able to place your feet, and walk straight\nforward, turning neither to the right hand nor to the left, and paying\nno heed to the laughs and scoffs which will follow you, till you reach\nthe top, and then you may take all that you desire.\u2019\n\nThe young man thanked the giant for his counsel, and set forth to the\nmountain. And when he began to climb there burst forth all around him\na storm of scoffs and jeers; but he thought of the giant\u2019s words, and\nlooked neither to the right hand nor to the left, till the mountain top\nlay straight before him. A moment now and he would have gained it, when,\nthrough the groans and yells, he heard his brothers\u2019 voices. He turned,\nand there was one stone the more.\n\n\nAnd all this while his sister was pacing up and down the palace, hardly\nletting the knife out of her hand, and dreading what she knew she would\nsee, and what she did see. The blade grew red before her eyes, and she\nsaid, \u2018Now it is my turn.\u2019\n\nSo she walked, and she walked, and she walked till she came to the\ngiant, and prayed him to tell her if he had seen three young men pass\nthat way seeking the distant mountain.\n\n\u2018I have seen them pass, but they have never returned, and by this I know\nthat the spell has fallen upon them.\u2019\n\n\u2018And what must I do to set them free, and to find the water of life, and\nthe talking bird, and a branch of the tree of beauty?\u2019\n\n\u2018You must go to that mountain, which is so full of stones that your\nfeet will hardly find a place to tread, and as you climb you will hear\na noise as if all the stones in the world were mocking you; but pay\nno heed to anything you may hear, and, once you gain the top, you have\ngained everything.\u2019\n\nThe girl thanked him for his counsel, and set out for the mountain; and\nscarcely had she gone a few steps upwards when cries and screams broke\nforth around her, and she felt as if each stone she trod on was a living\nthing. But she remembered the words of the giant, and knew not what had\nbefallen her brothers, and kept her face steadily towards the mountain\ntop, which grew nearer and nearer every moment. But as she mounted the\nclamour increased sevenfold: high above them all rang the voices of her\nthree brothers. But the girl took no heed, and at last her feet stood\nupon the top.\n\nThen she looked round, and saw, lying in a hollow, the pool of the water\nof life. And she took the brazen pitcher that she had brought with her,\nand filled it to the brim. By the side of the pool stood the tree of\nbeauty, with the talking bird on one of its boughs; and she caught the\nbird, and placed it in a cage, and broke off one of the branches.\n\nAfter that she turned, and went joyfully down the hill again, carrying\nher treasures, but her long climb had tired her out, and the brazen\npitcher was very heavy, and as she walked a few drops of the water spilt\non the stones, and as it touched them they changed into young men and\nmaidens, crowding about her to give thanks for their deliverance.\n\nSo she learnt by this how the evil spell might be broken, and she\ncarefully sprinkled every stone till there was not one left--only a\ngreat company of youths and girls who followed her down the mountain.\n\nWhen they arrived at the palace she did not lose a moment in planting\nthe branch of the tree of beauty and watering it with the water of life.\nAnd the branch shot up into a tree, and was heavy with flowers, and the\ntalking bird nestled in its branches.\n\nNow the fame of these wonders was noised abroad, and the people flocked\nin great numbers to see the three marvels, and the maiden who had won\nthem; and among the sightseers came the king\u2019s son, who would not go\ntill everything was shown him, and till he had heard how it had all\nhappened. And the prince admired the strangeness and beauty of the\ntreasures in the palace, but more than all he admired the beauty and\ncourage of the maiden who had brought them there. So he went home and\ntold his parents, and gained their consent to wed her for his wife.\n\nThen the marriage was celebrated in the church adjoining the palace.\nThen the bridegroom took her to his own home, where they lived happy for\never after.\n\n\n\n\nThe Wounded Lion\n\nCuentos Populars Catalans.\n\n\nThere was once a girl so poor that she had nothing to live on, and\nwandered about the world asking for charity. One day she arrived at\na thatched cottage, and inquired if they could give her any work. The\nfarmer said he wanted a cowherd, as his own had left him, and if the\ngirl liked the place she might take it. So she became a cowherd.\n\nOne morning she was driving her cows through the meadows when she heard\nnear by a loud groan that almost sounded human. She hastened to the spot\nfrom which the noise came, and found it proceeded from a lion who lay\nstretched upon the ground.\n\nYou can guess how frightened she was! But the lion seemed in such pain\nthat she was sorry for him, and drew nearer and nearer till she saw he\nhad a large thorn in one foot. She pulled out the thorn and bound up the\nplace, and the lion was grateful, and licked her hand by way of thanks\nwith his big rough tongue.\n\nWhen the girl had finished she went back to find the cows, but they had\ngone, and though she hunted everywhere she never found them; and she had\nto return home and confess to her master, who scolded her bitterly, and\nafterwards beat her. Then he said, \u2018Now you will have to look after the\nasses.\u2019\n\nSo every day she had to take the asses to the woods to feed, until one\nmorning, exactly a year after she had found the lion, she heard a groan\nwhich sounded quite human. She went straight to the place from which the\nnoise came, and, to her great surprise, beheld the same lion stretched\non the ground with a deep wound across his face.\n\nThis time she was not afraid at all, and ran towards him, washing the\nwound and laying soothing herbs upon it; and when she had bound it up\nthe lion thanked her in the same manner as before.\n\nAfter that she returned to her flock, but they were nowhere to be\nseen. She searched here and she searched there, but they had vanished\ncompletely!\n\nThen she had to go home and confess to her master, who first scolded her\nand afterwards beat her. \u2018Now go,\u2019 he ended, \u2018and look after the pigs!\u2019\n\nSo the next day she took out the pigs, and found them such good feeding\ngrounds that they grew fatter every day.\n\nAnother year passed by, and one morning when the maiden was out with her\npigs she heard a groan which sounded quite human. She ran to see what\nit was, and found her old friend the lion, wounded through and through,\nfast dying under a tree.\n\nShe fell on her knees before him and washed his wounds one by one, and\nlaid healing herbs upon them. And the lion licked her hands and thanked\nher, and asked if she would not stay and sit by him. But the girl said\nshe had her pigs to watch, and she must go and see after them.\n\nSo she ran to the place where she had left them, but they had vanished\nas if the earth had swallowed them up. She whistled and called, but only\nthe birds answered her.\n\nThen she sank down on the ground and wept bitterly, not daring to return\nhome until some hours had passed away.\n\nAnd when she had had her cry out she got up and searched all up and down\nthe wood. But it was no use; there was not a sign of the pigs.\n\nAt last she thought that perhaps if she climbed a tree she might\nsee further. But no sooner was she seated on the highest branch than\nsomething happened which put the pigs quite out of her head. This was a\nhandsome young man who was coming down the path; and when he had almost\nreached the tree he pulled aside a rock and disappeared behind it.\n\nThe maiden rubbed her eyes and wondered if she had been dreaming. Next\nshe thought, \u2018I will not stir from here till I see him come out, and\ndiscover who he is.\u2019 Accordingly she waited, and at dawn the next\nmorning the rock moved to one side and a lion came out.\n\nWhen he had gone quite out of sight the girl climbed down from the tree\nand went to the rock, which she pushed aside, and entered the opening\nbefore her. The path led to a beautiful house. She went in, swept and\ndusted the furniture, and put everything tidy. Then she ate a very good\ndinner, which was on a shelf in the corner, and once more clambered up\nto the top of her tree.\n\nAs the sun set she saw the same young man walking gaily down the path,\nand, as before, he pushed aside the rock and disappeared behind it.\n\nNext morning out came the lion. He looked sharply about him on all\nsides, but saw no one, and then vanished into the forest.\n\nThe maiden then came down from the tree and did exactly as she had done\nthe day before. Thus three days went by, and every day she went and\ntidied up the palace. At length, when the girl found she was no nearer\nto discovering the secret, she resolved to ask him, and in the evening\nwhen she caught sight of him coming through the wood she came down from\nthe tree and begged him to tell her his name.\n\nThe young man looked very pleased to see her, and said he thought it\nmust be she who had secretly kept his house for so many days. And he\nadded that he was a prince enchanted by a powerful giant, but was only\nallowed to take his own shape at night, for all day he was forced to\nappear as the lion whom she had so often helped; and, more than this,\nit was the giant who had stolen the oxen and the asses and the pigs in\nrevenge for her kindness.\n\nAnd the girl asked him, \u2018What can I do to disenchant you?\u2019\n\nBut he said he was afraid it was very difficult, because the only way\nwas to get a lock of hair from the head of a king\u2019s daughter, to spin\nit, and to make from it a cloak for the giant, who lived up on the top\nof a high mountain.\n\n\u2018Very well,\u2019 answered the girl, \u2018I will go to the city, and knock at\nthe door of the king\u2019s palace, and ask the princess to take me as a\nservant.\u2019\n\nSo they parted, and when she arrived at the city she walked about the\nstreets crying, \u2018Who will hire me for a servant? Who will hire me for a\nservant?\u2019 But, though many people liked her looks, for she was clean and\nneat, the maiden would listen to none, and still continued crying, \u2018Who\nwill hire me for a servant? Who will hire me for a servant?\u2019\n\nAt last there came the waiting-maid of the princess.\n\n\u2018What can you do?\u2019 she said; and the girl was forced to confess that she\ncould do very little.\n\n\u2018Then you will have to do scullion\u2019s work, and wash up dishes,\u2019 said\nshe; and they went straight back to the palace.\n\nThen the maiden dressed her hair afresh, and made herself look very neat\nand smart, and everyone admired and praised her, till by-and-bye it came\nto the ears of the princess. And she sent for the girl, and when she saw\nher, and how beautifully she had dressed her hair, the princess told her\nshe was to come and comb out hers.\n\nNow the hair of the princess was very thick and long, and shone like\nthe sun. And the girl combed it and combed it till it was brighter than\never. And the princess was pleased, and bade her come every day and comb\nher hair, till at length the girl took courage, and begged leave to cut\noff one of the long, thick locks.\n\nThe princess, who was very proud of her hair, did not like the idea of\nparting with any of it, so she said no. But the girl could not give\nup hope, and each day she entreated to be allowed to cut off just one\ntress. At length the princess lost patience, and exclaimed, \u2018You may\nhave it, then, on condition that you shall find the handsomest prince in\nthe world to be my bridegroom!\u2019\n\nAnd the girl answered that she would, and cut off the lock, and wove it\ninto a coat that glittered like silk, and brought it to the young man,\nwho told her to carry it straight to the giant. But that she must be\ncareful to cry out a long way off what she had with her, or else he\nwould spring upon her and run her through with his sword.\n\nSo the maiden departed and climbed up the mountain, but before she\nreached the top the giant heard her footsteps, and rushed out breathing\nfire and flame, having a sword in one hand and a club in the other. But\nshe cried loudly that she had brought him the coat, and then he grew\nquiet, and invited her to come into his house.\n\nHe tried on the coat, but it was too short, and he threw it off, and\ndeclared it was no use. And the girl picked it up sadly, and returned\nquite in despair to the king\u2019s palace.\n\nThe next morning, when she was combing the princess\u2019s hair, she begged\nleave to cut off another lock. At first the princess said no, but the\ngirl begged so hard that at length she gave in on condition that she\nshould find her a prince as bridegroom.\n\nThe maiden told her that she had already found him, and spun the lock\ninto shining stuff, and fastened it on to the end of the coat. And when\nit was finished she carried it to the giant.\n\nThis time it fitted him, and he was quite pleased, and asked her what\nhe could give her in return. And she said that the only reward he could\ngive her was to take the spell off the lion and bring him back to his\nown shape.\n\nFor a long time the giant would not hear of it, but in the end he gave\nin, and told her exactly how it must all be done. She was to kill the\nlion herself and cut him up very small; then she must burn him, and cast\nhis ashes into the water, and out of the water the prince would come\nfree from enchantment for ever.\n\nBut the maiden went away weeping, lest the giant should have deceived\nher, and that after she had killed the lion she would find she had also\nslain the prince.\n\nWeeping she came down the mountain, and weeping she joined the prince,\nwho was awaiting her at the bottom; and when he had heard her story he\ncomforted her, and bade her be of good courage, and to do the bidding of\nthe giant.\n\nAnd the maiden believed what the prince told her; and in the morning\nwhen he put on his lion\u2019s form she took a knife and slew him, and cut\nhim up very small, and burnt him, and cast his ashes into the water, and\nout of the water came the prince, beautiful as the day, and as glad to\nlook upon as the sun himself.\n\n\nThen the young man thanked the maiden for all she had done for him, and\nsaid she should be his wife and none other. But the maiden only wept\nsore, and answered that that she could never be, for she had given her\npromise to the princess when she cut off her hair that the prince should\nwed her and her only.\n\nBut the prince replied, \u2018If it is the princess, we must go quickly. Come\nwith me.\u2019\n\nSo they went together to the king\u2019s palace. And when the king and queen\nand princess saw the young man a great joy filled their hearts, for they\nknew him for the eldest son, who had long ago been enchanted by a giant\nand lost to them.\n\nAnd he asked his parents\u2019 consent that he might marry the girl who had\nsaved him, and a great feast was made, and the maiden became a princess,\nand in due time a queen, and she richly deserved all the honours\nshowered upon her.\n\n\n\n\nThe Man Without a Heart\n\n\nOnce upon a time there were seven brothers, who were orphans, and had no\nsister. Therefore they were obliged to do all their own housework. This\nthey did not like at all; so after much deliberation they decided to get\nmarried. There were, unfortunately, no young girls to be found in the\nplace where they lived; but the elder brothers agreed to go out into the\nworld and seek for brides, promising to bring back a very pretty wife\nfor the youngest also if he would meanwhile stay at home and take care\nof the house. He consented willingly, and the six young men set off in\ngood spirits.\n\nOn their way they came to a small cottage standing quite by itself in\na wood; and before the door stood an old, old man, who accosted the\nbrothers saying, \u2018Hullo, you young fellows! Whither away so fast and\ncheerily?\u2019\n\n\u2018We are going to find bonny brides for ourselves, and one for our\nyoungest brother at home,\u2019 they replied.\n\n\u2018Oh! dear youths,\u2019 said the old man, \u2018I am terribly lonely here; pray\nbring a bride for me also; only remember, she must be young and pretty.\u2019\n\n\u2018What does a shrivelled old grey thing like that want with a pretty\nyoung bride?\u2019 thought the brothers, and went on their way.\n\nPresently they came to a town where were seven sisters, as young and as\nlovely as anyone could wish. Each brother chose one, and the youngest\nthey kept for their brother at home. Then the whole party set out on the\nreturn journey, and again their path led through the wood and past the\nold man\u2019s cottage.\n\nThere he stood before the door, and cried: \u2018Oh! you fine fellows, what a\ncharming bride you have brought me!\u2019\n\n\u2018She is not for you, said the young men. \u2018She is for our youngest\nbrother, as we promised.\u2019\n\n\u2018What!\u2019 said the old man, \u2018promised! I\u2019ll make you eat your promises!\u2019\nAnd with that he took his magic wand, and, murmuring a charm, he touched\nboth brothers and brides, and immediately they were turned into grey\nstones.\n\nOnly the youngest sister he had not bewitched. He took her into the\ncottage, and from that time she was obliged to keep house for him. She\nwas not very unhappy, but one thought troubled her. What if the old man\nshould die and leave her here alone in the solitary cottage deep in the\nheart of the wood! She would be as \u2018terribly lonely\u2019 as he had formerly\nbeen.\n\nOne day she told him of her fear.\n\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t be anxious,\u2019 he said. \u2018You need neither fear my death nor desire\nit, for I have no heart in my breast! However, if I should die, you will\nfind my wand above the door, and with it you can set free your sisters\nand their lovers. Then you will surely have company enough.\u2019\n\n\u2018Where in all the world do you keep your heart, if not in your breast?\u2019\nasked the girl.\n\n\u2018Do you want to know everything?\u2019 her husband said. \u2018Well, if you must\nknow, my heart is in the bed-cover.\u2019\n\nWhen the old man had gone out about his business his bride passed her\ntime in embroidering beautiful flowers on the bed quilt to make his\nheart happy. The old man was much amused. He laughed, and said to\nher: \u2018You are a good child, but I was only joking. My heart is really\nin--in--\u2019\n\n\u2018Now where is it, dear husband?\u2019\n\n\u2018It is in the doorway,\u2019 he replied.\n\nNext day, while he was out, the girl decorated the door with gay\nfeathers and fresh flowers, and hung garlands upon it. And on his return\nthe old fellow asked what it all meant.\n\n\u2018I did it to show my love for your heart,\u2019 said the girl.\n\nAnd again the old man smiled, saying, \u2018You are a dear child, but my\nheart is not in the doorway.\u2019\n\nThen the poor young bride was very vexed, and said, \u2018Ah, my dear! you\nreally have a heart somewhere, so you may die and leave me all alone.\u2019\n\nThe old man did his best to comfort her by repeating all he had said\nbefore, but she begged him afresh to tell her truly where his heart was\nand at last he told her.\n\n\u2018Far, far from here,\u2019 said he, \u2018in a lonely spot, stands a great church,\nas old as old can be. Its doors are of iron, and round it runs a deep\nmoat, spanned by no bridge. Within that church is a bird which flies up\nand down; it never eats, and never drinks, and never dies. No one can\ncatch it, and while that bird lives so shall I, for in it is my heart.\u2019\n\nIt made the little bride quite sad to think she could do nothing to show\nher love for the old man\u2019s heart. She used to think about it as she sat\nall alone during the long days, for her husband was almost always out.\n\nOne day a young traveller came past the house, and seeing such a pretty\ngirl he wished her \u2018Good day.\u2019\n\nShe returned his greeting, and as he drew near she asked him whence he\ncame and where he was going.\n\n\n\u2018Alas!\u2019 sighed the youth, \u2018I am very sorrowful. I had six brothers, who\nwent away to find brides for themselves and one for me; but they have\nnever come home, so now I am going to look for them.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, good friend,\u2019 said the girl, \u2018you need go no farther. Come, sit\ndown, eat and drink, and afterwards I\u2019ll tell you all about it.\u2019\n\nShe gave him food, and when he had finished his meal she told him how\nhis brothers had come to the town where she lived with her sisters, how\nthey had each chosen a bride, and, taking herself with them, had started\nfor home. She wept as she told how the others were turned to stone,\nand how she was kept as the old man\u2019s bride. She left out nothing, even\ntelling him the story of her husband\u2019s heart.\n\nWhen the young man heard this he said: \u2018I shall go in search of the\nbird. It may be that God will help me to find and catch it.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, do go,\u2019 she said; \u2018it will be a good deed, for then you can set\nyour brothers and my sisters free.\u2019 Then she hid the young man, for it\nwas now late, and her husband would soon be home.\n\nNext morning, when the old man had gone out, she prepared a supply of\nprovisions for her guest, and sent him off on his travels, wishing him\ngood luck and success.\n\nHe walked on and on till he thought it must be time for breakfast; so\nhe opened his knapsack, and was delighted to find such a store of good\nthings. \u2018What a feast!\u2019 he exclaimed; \u2018will anyone come and share it?\u2019\n\n\u2018Moo-oo,\u2019 sounded close behind him, and looking round he saw a great\nred ox, which said, \u2018I have much pleasure in accepting your kind\ninvitation.\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019m delighted to see you. Pray help yourself. All I have is at your\nservice,\u2019 said the hospitable youth. And the ox lay down comfortably,\nlicking his lips, and made a hearty meal.\n\n\u2018Many thanks to you,\u2019 said the animal as it rose up. \u2018When you are\nin danger or necessity call me, even if only by a thought,\u2019 and it\ndisappeared among the bushes.\n\nThe young man packed up all the food that was left, and wandered on till\nthe shortening shadows and his own hunger warned him that it was midday.\nhe laid the cloth on the ground and spread out his provisions, saying\nat the same time: \u2018Dinner is ready, and anyone who wishes to share it is\nwelcome.\u2019\n\nThen there was a great rustling in the undergrowth, and out ran a wild\nboar, grunting, \u2018Umph, umph, umph; someone said dinner was ready. Was it\nyou? and did you mean me to come?\u2019\n\n\u2018By all means. Help yourself to what I have,\u2019 said the young traveller.\nAnd the two enjoyed their meal together.\n\nAfterwards the boar got up, saying, \u2018Thank you; when in need you be you\nmust quickly call for me,\u2019 and he rolled off.\n\nFor a long time the youth walked on. By evening he was miles away. He\nfelt hungry again, and, having still some provisions left, thought he\nhad better make ready his supper. When it was all spread out he cried as\nbefore, \u2018Anyone who cares to share my meal is welcome.\u2019\n\nHe heard a sound overhead like the flapping of wings, and a shadow was\ncast upon the ground. Then a huge griffin appeared, saying: \u2018I heard\nsomeone giving an invitation to eat; is there anything for me?\u2019\n\n\u2018Why not?\u2019 said the youth. \u2018Come down and take all you want. There won\u2019t\nbe much left after this.\u2019\n\nSo the griffin alighted and ate his fill, saying, as he flew away, \u2018Call\nme if you need me.\u2019\n\n\u2018What a hurry he was in!\u2019 the youth said to himself. \u2018He might have been\nable to direct me to the church, for I shall never find it alone.\u2019\n\nHe gathered up his things, and started to walk a little farther before\nresting. He had not gone far when all of a sudden he saw the church!\n\nHe soon came to it, or rather to the wide and deep moat which surrounded\nit without a single bridge by which to cross.\n\nIt was too late to attempt anything now; and, besides, the poor youth\nwas very tired, so he lay down on the ground and fell fast asleep.\n\nNext morning, when he awoke, he began to wish himself over the moat;\nand the thought occurred to him that if only the red ox were there,\nand thirsty enough to drink up all the water in the moat, he might walk\nacross it dry shod.\n\nScarcely had the thought crossed his brain before the ox appeared and\nbegan to drink up the water.\n\nThe grateful youth hastened across as soon as the moat was dry, but\nfound it impossible to penetrate the thick walls and strong iron doors\nof the church.\n\n\u2018I believe that big boar would be of more use here than I am,\u2019 he\nthought, and lo! at the wish the wild boar came and began to push hard\nagainst the wall. He managed to loosen one stone with his tusks, and,\nhaving made a beginning, stone after stone was poked out till he had\nmade quite a large hole, big enough to let a man go through.\n\nThe young man quickly entered the church, and saw a bird flying about,\nbut he could not catch it.\n\n\u2018Oh!\u2019 he exclaimed, \u2018if only the griffin were here, he would soon catch\nit.\u2019\n\nAt these words the griffin appeared, and, seizing the bird, gave it to\nthe youth, who carried it off carefully, while the griffin flew away.\n\nThe young man hurried home as fast as possible, and reached the cottage\nbefore evening. He told his story to the little bride, who, after giving\nhim some food and drink, hid him with his bird beneath the bed.\n\nPresently the old man came home, and complained of feeling ill. Nothing,\nhe said, would go well with him any more: his \u2018heart bird\u2019 was caught.\n\nThe youth under the bed heard this, and thought, \u2018This old fellow has\ndone me no particular harm, but then he has bewitched my brothers and\ntheir brides, and has kept my bride for himself, and that is certainly\nbad enough.\u2019\n\nSo he pinched the bird, and the old man cried, \u2018Ah! I feel death\ngripping me! Child, I am dying!\u2019\n\nWith these words he fell fainting from his chair, and as the youth,\nbefore he knew what he was doing, had squeezed the bird to death, the\nold man died also.\n\nOut crept the young man from under the bed, and the girl took the magic\nwand (which she found where the old man had told her), and, touching the\ntwelve grey stones, transformed them at once into the six brothers and\ntheir brides.\n\nThen there was great joy, and kissing and embracing. And there lay the\nold man, quite dead, and no magic wand could restore him to life, even\nhad they wished it.\n\nAfter that they all went away and were married, and lived many years\nhappily together.\n\n\n\n\nThe Two Brothers\n\nSicilianische Malirchen. L. Gonzenbach.\n\n\nLong ago there lived two brothers, both of them very handsome, and both\nso very poor that they seldom had anything to eat but the fish which\nthey caught. One day they had been out in their boat since sunrise\nwithout a single bite, and were just thinking of putting up their lines\nand going home to bed when they felt a little feeble tug, and, drawing\nin hastily, they found a tiny fish at the end of the hook.\n\n\u2018What a wretched little creature!\u2019 cried one brother. \u2018However, it is\nbetter than nothing, and I will bake him with bread crumbs and have him\nfor supper.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, do not kill me yet!\u2019 begged the fish; \u2018I will bring you good\nluck--indeed I will!\u2019\n\n\u2018You silly thing!\u2019 said the young man; \u2018I\u2019ve caught you, and I shall eat\nyou.\u2019\n\nBut his brother was sorry for the fish, and put in a word for him.\n\n\u2018Let the poor little fellow live. He would hardly make one bite, and,\nafter all, how do we know we are not throwing away our luck! Put him\nback into the sea. It will be much better.\u2019\n\n\u2018If you will let me live,\u2019 said the fish, \u2018you will find on the sands\nto-morrow morning two beautiful horses splendidly saddled and bridled,\nand on them you can go through the world as knights seeking adventures.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh dear, what nonsense!\u2019 exclaimed the elder; \u2018and, besides, what proof\nhave we that you are speaking the truth?\u2019\n\nBut again the younger brother interposed: \u2018Oh, do let him live! You know\nif he is lying to us we can always catch him again. It is quite worth\nwhile trying.\u2019\n\nAt last the young man gave in, and threw the fish back into the sea; and\nboth brothers went supperless to bed, and wondered what fortune the next\nday would bring.\n\nAt the first streaks of dawn they were both up, and in a very few\nminutes were running down to the shore. And there, just as the fish had\nsaid, stood two magnificent horses, saddled and bridled, and on their\nbacks lay suits of armour and under-dresses, two swords, and two purses\nof gold.\n\n\u2018There!\u2019 said the younger brother. \u2018Are you not thankful you did not\neat that fish? He has brought us good luck, and there is no knowing how\ngreat we may become! Now, we will each seek our own adventures. If you\nwill take one road I will go the other.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well,\u2019 replied the elder; \u2018but how shall we let each other know if\nwe are both living?\u2019\n\n\u2018Do you see this fig-tree?\u2019 said the younger. \u2018Well, whenever we want\nnews of each other we have only to come here and make a slit with our\nswords in the back. If milk flows, it is a sign that we are well and\nprosperous; but if, instead of milk, there is blood, then we are either\ndead or in great danger.\u2019\n\nThen the two brothers put on their armour, buckled their swords, and\npocketed their purees; and, after taking a tender farewell of each\nother, they mounted their horses and went their various ways.\n\n\nThe elder brother rode straight on till he reached the borders of a\nstrange kingdom. He crossed the frontier, and soon found himself on\nthe banks of a river; and before him, in the middle of the stream, a\nbeautiful girl sat chained to a rock and weeping bitterly. For in this\nriver dwelt a serpent with seven heads, who threatened to lay waste the\nwhole land by breathing fire and flame from his nostrils unless the king\nsent him every morning a man for his breakfast. This had gone on so long\nthat now there were no men left, and he had been obliged to send his\nown daughter instead, and the poor girl was waiting till the monster got\nhungry and felt inclined to eat her.\n\nWhen the young man saw the maiden weeping bitterly he said to her, \u2018What\nis the matter, my poor girl?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh!\u2019 she answered, \u2018I am chained here till a horrible serpent with\nseven heads comes to eat me. Oh, sir, do not linger here, or he will eat\nyou too.\u2019\n\n\u2018I shall stay,\u2019 replied the young man, \u2018for I mean to set you free.\u2019\n\n\u2018That is impossible. You do not know what a fearful monster the serpent\nis; you can do nothing against him.\u2019\n\n\u2018That is my affair, beautiful captive,\u2019 answered he; \u2018only tell me,\nwhich way will the serpent come?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, if you are resolved to free me, listen to my advice. Stand a\nlittle on one side, and then, when the serpent rises to the surface, I\nwill say to him, \u201cO serpent, to-day you can eat two people. But you had\nbetter begin first with the young man, for I am chained and cannot run\naway.\u201d When he hears this most likely he will attack you.\u2019\n\nSo the young man stood carefully on one side, and by-and-bye he heard\na great rushing in the water; and a horrible monster came up to the\nsurface and looked out for the rock where the king\u2019s daughter was\nchained, for it was getting late and he was hungry.\n\nBut she cried out, \u2018O serpent, to-day you can eat two people. And you\nhad better begin with the young man, for I am chained and cannot run\naway.\u2019\n\nThen the serpent made a rush at the youth with wide open jaws to swallow\nhim at one gulp, but the young man leaped aside and drew his sword,\nand fought till he had cut off all the seven heads. And when the great\nserpent lay dead at his feet he loosed the bonds of the king\u2019s daughter,\nand she flung herself into his arms and said, \u2018You have saved me from\nthat monster, and now you shall be my husband, for my father has made\na proclamation that whoever could slay the serpent should have his\ndaughter to wife.\u2019\n\nBut he answered, \u2018I cannot become your husband yet, for I have still far\nto travel. But wait for me seven years and seven months. Then, if I do\nnot return, you are free to marry whom you will. And in case you should\nhave forgotten, I will take these seven tongues with me so that when I\nbring them forth you may know that I am really he who slew the serpent.\u2019\n\nSo saying he cut out the seven tongues, and the princess gave him a\nthick cloth to wrap them in; and he mounted his horse and rode away.\n\nNot long after he had gone there arrived at the river a slave who had\nbeen sent by the king to learn the fate of his beloved daughter. And\nwhen the slave saw the princess standing free and safe before him, with\nthe body of the monster lying at her feet, a wicked plan came into his\nhead, and he said, \u2018Unless you promise to tell your father it was I who\nslew the serpent, I will kill you and bury you in this place, and no one\nwill ever know what befell.\u2019\n\nWhat could the poor girl do? This time there was no knight to come to\nher aid. So she promised to do as the slave wished, and he took up the\nseven heads and brought the princess to her father.\n\nOh, how enchanted the king was to see her again, and the whole town\nshared his joy!\n\nAnd the slave was called upon to tell how he had slain the monster, and\nwhen he had ended the king declared that he should have the princess to\nwife.\n\nBut she flung herself at her father\u2019s feet, and prayed him to delay.\n\u2018You have passed your royal word, and cannot go back from it Yet grant\nme this grace, and let seven years and seven months go by before you\nwed me. When they are over, then I will marry the slave.\u2019 And the king\nlistened to her, and seven years and seven months she looked for her\nbridegroom, and wept for him night and day.\n\nAll this time the young man was riding through the world, and when the\nseven years and seven months were over he came back to the town where\nthe princess lived--only a few days before the wedding. And he stood\nbefore the king, and said to him: \u2018Give me your daughter, O king, for\nI slew the seven-headed serpent. And as a sign that my words are true,\nlook on these seven tongues, which I cut from his seven heads, and on\nthis embroidered cloth, which was given me by your daughter.\u2019\n\nThen the princess lifted up her voice and said, \u2018Yes, dear father, he\nhas spoken the truth, and it is he who is my real bridegroom. Yet pardon\nthe slave, for he was sorely tempted.\u2019\n\nBut the king answered, \u2018Such treachery can no man pardon. Quick, away\nwith him, and off with his head!\u2019\n\nSo the false slave was put to death, that none might follow in his\nfootsteps, and the wedding feast was held, and the hearts of all\nrejoiced that the true bridegroom had come at last.\n\nThese two lived happy and contentedly for a long while, when one\nevening, as the young man was looking from the window, he saw on a\nmountain that lay out beyond the town a great bright light.\n\n\u2018What can it be?\u2019 he said to his wife.\n\n\n\u2018Ah! do not look at it,\u2019 she answered, \u2018for it comes from the house of\na wicked witch whom no man can manage to kill.\u2019 But the princess had\nbetter have kept silence, for her words made her husband\u2019s heart burn\nwithin him, and he longed to try his strength against the witch\u2019s\ncunning. And all day long the feeling grew stronger, till the next\nmorning he mounted his horse, and in spite of his wife\u2019s tears, he rode\noff to the mountain.\n\nThe distance was greater than he thought, and it was dark before he\nreached the foot of the mountain; indeed, he could not have found the\nroad at all had it not been for the bright light, which shone like the\nmoon on his path. At length he came to the door of a fine castle, which\nhad a blaze streaming from every window. He mounted a flight of steps\nand entered a hall where a hideous old woman was sitting on a golden\nchair.\n\nShe scowled at the young man and said, \u2018With a single one of the hairs\nof my head I can turn you into stone.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, what nonsense!\u2019 cried he. \u2018Be quiet, old woman. What could you\ndo with one hair?\u2019 But the witch pulled out a hair and laid it on his\nshoulder, and his limbs grew cold and heavy, and he could not stir.\n\nNow at this very moment the younger brother was thinking of him, and\nwondering how he had got on during all the years since they had parted.\n\u2018I will go to the fig-tree,\u2019 he said to himself, \u2018to see whether he is\nalive or dead.\u2019 So he rode through the forest till he came where the\nfig-tree stood, and cut a slit in the bark, and waited. In a moment a\nlittle gurgling noise was heard, and out came a stream of blood, running\nfast. \u2018Ah, woe is me!\u2019 he cried bitterly. \u2018My brother is dead or dying!\nShall I ever reach him in time to save his life?\u2019 Then, leaping on his\nhorse, he shouted, \u2018Now, my steed, fly like the wind!\u2019 and they rode\nright through the world, till one day they came to the town where the\nyoung man and his wife lived. Here the princess had been sitting every\nday since the morning that her husband had left her, weeping bitter\ntears, and listening for his footsteps. And when she saw his brother\nride under the balcony she mistook him for her own husband, for they\nwere so alike that no man might tell the difference, and her heart\nbounded, and, leaning down, she called to him, \u2018At last! at last! how\nlong have I waited for thee!\u2019 When the younger brother heard these words\nhe said to himself, \u2018So it was here that my brother lived, and this\nbeautiful woman is my sister-in-law,\u2019 but he kept silence, and let her\nbelieve he was indeed her husband. Full of joy, the princess led him to\nthe old king, who welcomed him as his own son, and ordered a feast to\nbe made for him. And the princess was beside herself with gladness, but\nwhen she would have put her arms round him and kissed him he held up\nhis hand to stop her, saying, \u2018Touch me not,\u2019 at which she marvelled\ngreatly.\n\nIn this manner several days went by. And one evening, as the young man\nleaned from the balcony, he saw a bright light shining on the mountain.\n\n\u2018What can that be?\u2019 he said to the princess.\n\n\u2018Oh, come away,\u2019 she cried; \u2018has not that light already proved your\nbane? Do you wish to fight a second time with that old witch?\u2019\n\nHe marked her words, though she knew it not, and they taught him where\nhis brother was, and what had befallen him. So before sunrise he stole\nout early, saddled his horse, and rode off to the mountain. But the way\nwas further than he thought, and on the road he met a little old man who\nasked him whither he was going.\n\nThen the young man told him his story, and added. \u2018Somehow or other I\nmust free my brother, who has fallen into the power of an old witch.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will tell you what you must do,\u2019 said the old man. \u2018The witch\u2019s power\nlies in her hair; so when you see her spring on her and seize her by\nthe hair, and then she cannot harm you. Be very careful never to let her\nhair go, bid her lead you to your brother, and force her to bring him\nback to life. For she has an ointment that will heal all wounds, and\neven wake the dead. And when your brother stands safe and well before\nyou, then cut off her head, for she is a wicked woman.\u2019\n\nThe young man was grateful for these words, and promised to obey them.\nThen he rode on, and soon reached the castle. He walked boldly up the\nsteps and entered the hall, where the hideous old witch came to meet\nhim. She grinned horribly at him, and cried out, \u2018With one hair of my\nhead I can change you into stone.\u2019\n\n\u2018Can you, indeed?\u2019 said the young man, seizing her by the hair. \u2018You old\nwretch! tell me what you have done with my brother, or I will cut your\nhead off this very instant.\u2019 Now the witch\u2019s strength was all gone from\nher, and she had to obey.\n\n\u2018I will take you to your brother,\u2019 she said, hoping to get the better of\nhim by cunning, \u2018but leave me alone. You hold me so tight that I cannot\nwalk.\u2019\n\n\u2018You must manage somehow,\u2019 he answered, and held her tighter than ever.\nShe led him into a large hall filled with stone statues, which once had\nbeen men, and, pointing out one, she said, \u2018There is your brother.\u2019\n\nThe young man looked at them all and shook his head. \u2018My brother is not\nhere. Take me to him, or it will be the worse for you.\u2019 But she tried\nto put him off with other statues, though it was no good, and it was\nnot until they had reached the last hall of all that he saw his brother\nlying on the ground.\n\n\u2018That is my brother,\u2019 said he. \u2018Now give me the ointment that will\nrestore him to life.\u2019\n\nVery unwillingly the old witch opened a cupboard close by filled with\nbottles and jars, and took down one and held it out to the young man.\nBut he was on the watch for trickery, and examined it carefully, and saw\nthat it had no power to heal. This happened many times, till at length\nshe found it was no use, and gave him the one he wanted. And when he\nhad it safe he made her stoop down and smear it over his brother\u2019s face,\ntaking care all the while never to loose her hair, and when the dead\nman opened his eyes the youth drew his sword and cut off her head with\na single blow. Then the elder brother got up and stretched himself, and\nsaid, \u2018Oh, how long I have slept! And where am I?\u2019\n\n\u2018The old witch had enchanted you, but now she is dead and you are free.\nWe will wake up the other knights that she laid under her spells, and\nthen we will go.\u2019\n\nThis they did, and, after sharing amongst them the jewels and gold they\nfound in the castle, each man went his way. The two brothers remained\ntogether, the elder tightly grasping the ointment which had brought him\nback to life.\n\nThey had much to tell each other as they rode along, and at last the\nyounger man exclaimed, \u2018O fool, to leave such a beautiful wife to go and\nfight a witch! She took me for her husband, and I did not say her nay.\u2019\n\nWhen the elder brother heard this a great rage filled his heart, and,\nwithout saying one word, he drew his sword and slew his brother, and his\nbody rolled in the dust. Then he rode on till he reached his home,\nwhere his wife was still sitting, weeping bitterly. When she saw him\nshe sprang up with a cry, and threw herself into his arms. \u2018Oh, how long\nhave I waited for thee! Never, never must you leave me any more!\u2019\n\nWhen the old king heard the news he welcomed him as a son, and made\nready a feast, and all the court sat down. And in the evening, when the\nyoung man was alone with his wife, she said to him, \u2018Why would you not\nlet me touch you when you came back, but always thrust me away when I\ntried to put my arms round you or kiss you?\u2019\n\nThen the young man understood how true his brother had been to him, and\nhe sat down and wept and wrung his hands because of the wicked murder\nthat he had done. Suddenly he sprang to his feet, for he remembered the\nointment which lay hidden in his garments, and he rushed to the place\nwhere his brother still lay. He fell on his knees beside the body, and,\ntaking out the salve, he rubbed it over the neck where the wound was\ngaping wide, and the skin healed and the sinews grew strong, and the\ndead man sat up and looked round him. And the two brothers embraced each\nother, and the elder asked forgiveness for his wicked blow; and they\nwent back to the palace together, and were never parted any more.\n\n\n\n\nMaster and Pupil\n\nFrom the Danish.\n\n\nThere was once a man who had a son who was very clever at reading, and\ntook great delight in it. He went out into the world to seek service\nsomewhere, and as he was walking between some mounds he met a man, who\nasked him where he was going.\n\n\u2018I am going about seeking for service,\u2019 said the boy.\n\n\u2018Will you serve me?\u2019 asked the man.\n\n\u2018Oh, yes; just as readily you as anyone else,\u2019 said the boy.\n\n\u2018But can you read?\u2019 asked the man.\n\n\u2018As well as the priest,\u2019 said the boy.\n\nThen I can\u2019t have you,\u2019 said the man. \u2018In fact, I was just wanting a boy\nwho couldn\u2019t read. His only work would be to dust my old books.\u2019\n\nThe man then went on his way, and left the boy looking after him.\n\n\u2018It was a pity I didn\u2019t get that place,\u2019 thought he \u2018That was just the\nvery thing for me.\u2019\n\nMaking up his mind to get the situation if possible, he hid himself\nbehind one of the mounds, and turned his jacket outside in, so that the\nman would not know him again so easily. Then he ran along behind the\nmounds, and met the man at the other end of them.\n\n\u2018Where are you going, my little boy?\u2019 said the man, who did not notice\nthat it was the same one he had met before.\n\n\u2018I am going about seeking for service?\u2019 said the boy.\n\n\u2018Will you serve me?\u2019 asked the man.\n\n\u2018Oh, yes; just as readily you as anyone else,\u2019 said the boy.\n\n\u2018But can you read?\u2019 said the man.\n\n\u2018No, I don\u2019t know a single letter,\u2019 said the boy.\n\nThe man then took him into his service, and all the work he had to do\nwas to dust his master\u2019s books. But as he did this he had plenty of time\nto read them as well, and he read away at them until at last he was just\nas wise as his master--who was a great wizard--and could perform all\nkinds of magic. Among other feats, he could change himself into the\nshape of any animal, or any other thing that he pleased.\n\nWhen he had learned all this he did not think it worth while staying\nthere any longer, so he ran away home to his parents again. Soon after\nthis there was a market in the next village, and the boy told his mother\nthat he had learned how to change himself into the shape of any animal\nhe chose.\n\n\u2018Now,\u2019 said he, \u2018I shall change myself to a horse, and father can take\nme to market and sell me. I shall come home again all right.\u2019\n\nHis mother was frightened at the idea, but the boy told her that she\nneed not be alarmed; all would be well. So he changed himself to a\nhorse, such a fine horse, too, that his father got a high price for it\nat the market; but after the bargain was made, and the money paid, the\nboy changed again to his own shape, when no one was looking, and went\nhome.\n\nThe story spread all over the country about the fine horse that had been\nsold and then had disappeared, and at last the news came to the ears of\nthe wizard.\n\n\u2018Aha!\u2019 said he, \u2018this is that boy of mine, who befooled me and ran away;\nbut I shall have him yet.\u2019\n\nThe next time that there was a market the boy again changed himself to\na horse, and was taken thither by his father. The horse soon found a\npurchaser, and while the two were inside drinking the luck-penny the\nwizard came along and saw the horse. He knew at once that it was not an\nordinary one, so he also went inside, and offered the purchaser far more\nthan he had paid for it, so the latter sold it to him.\n\nThe first thing the wizard now did was to lead the horse away to a smith\nto get a red-hot nail driven into its mouth, because after that it could\nnot change its shape again. When the horse saw this it changed itself\nto a dove, and flew up into the air. The wizard at once changed himself\ninto a hawk, and flew up after it. The dove now turned into a gold ring,\nand fell into a girl\u2019s lap. The hawk now turned into a man, and offered\nthe girl a great sum of money for the gold ring, but she would not part\nwith it, seeing that it had fallen down to her, as it were, from Heaven.\nHowever, the wizard kept on offering her more and more for it, until at\nlast the gold ring grew frightened, and changed itself into a grain of\nbarley, which fell on the ground. The man then turned into a hen, and\nbegan to search for the grain of barley, but this again changed itself\nto a pole-cat, and took off the hen\u2019s head with a single snap.\n\nThe wizard was now dead, the pole-cat put on human shape, and the youth\nafterwards married the girl, and from that time forward let all his\nmagic arts alone.\n\n\n\n\nThe Golden Lion\n\nSicilianische Mahrchen. L. Gonzenbach.\n\n\nThere was once a rich merchant who had three sons, and when they were\ngrown up the eldest said to him, \u2018Father, I wish to travel and see the\nworld. I pray you let me.\u2019\n\nSo the father ordered a beautiful ship to be fitted up, and the young\nman sailed away in it. After some weeks the vessel cast anchor before a\nlarge town, and the merchant\u2019s son went on shore.\n\nThe first thing he saw was a large notice written on a board saying that\nif any man could find the king\u2019s daughter within eight days he should\nhave her to wife, but that if he tried and failed his head must be the\nforfeit.\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 thought the youth as he read this proclamation, \u2018that ought not\nto be a very difficult matter;\u2019 and he asked an audience of the king,\nand told him that he wished to seek for the princess.\n\n\u2018Certainly,\u2019 replied the king. \u2018You have the whole palace to search in;\nbut remember, if you fail it will cost you your head.\u2019\n\nSo saying, he commanded the doors to be thrown open, and food and drink\nto be set before the young man, who, after he had eaten, began to look\nfor the princess. But though he visited every corner and chest and\ncupboard, she was not in any of them, and after eight days he gave it up\nand his head was cut off.\n\nAll this time his father and brothers had had no news of him, and were\nvery anxious. At last the second son could bear it no longer, and said,\n\u2018Dear father, give me, I pray you, a large ship and some money, and let\nme go and seek for my brother.\u2019\n\nSo another ship was fitted out, and the young man sailed away, and was\nblown by the wind into the same harbour where his brother had landed.\n\nNow when he saw the first ship lying at anchor his heart beat high,\nand he said to himself, \u2018My brother cannot surely be far off,\u2019 and he\nordered a boat and was put on shore.\n\nAs he jumped on to the pier his eye caught the notice about the\nprincess, and he thought, \u2018He has undertaken to find her, and has\ncertainly lost his head. I must try myself, and seek him as well as her.\nIt cannot be such a very difficult matter.\u2019 But he fared no better than\nhis brother, and in eight days his head was cut off.\n\nSo now there was only the youngest at home, and when the other two never\ncame he also begged for a ship that he might go in search of his lost\nbrothers. And when the vessel started a high wind arose, and blew him\nstraight to the harbour where the notice was set.\n\n\u2018Oho!\u2019 said he, as he read, \u2018whoever can find the king\u2019s daughter shall\nhave her to wife. It is quite clear now what has befallen my brothers.\nBut in spite of that I think I must try my luck,\u2019 and he took the road\nto the castle.\n\nOn the way he met an old woman, who stopped and begged.\n\n\u2018Leave me in peace, old woman,\u2019 replied he.\n\n\n\u2018Oh, do not send me away empty,\u2019 she said. \u2018You are such a handsome\nyoung man you will surely not refuse an old woman a few pence.\u2019\n\n\u2018I tell you, old woman, leave me alone.\u2019\n\n\u2018You are in some trouble?\u2019 she asked. \u2018Tell me what it is, and perhaps I\ncan help you.\u2019\n\nThen he told her how he had set his heart on finding the king\u2019s\ndaughter.\n\n\u2018I can easily manage that for you as long as you have enough money.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, as to that, I have plenty,\u2019 answered he.\n\n\u2018Well, you must take it to a goldsmith and get him to make it into a\ngolden lion, with eyes of crystal; and inside it must have something\nthat will enable it to play tunes. When it is ready bring it to me.\u2019\n\nThe young man did as he was bid, and when the lion was made the old\nwoman hid the youth in it, and brought it to the king, who was so\ndelighted with it that he wanted to buy it. But she replied, \u2018It does\nnot belong to me, and my master will not part from it at any price.\u2019\n\n\u2018At any rate, leave it with me for a few days,\u2019 said he; \u2018I should like\nto show it to my daughter.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, I can do that,\u2019 answered the old woman; \u2018but to-morrow I must have\nit back again. And she went away.\n\nThe king watched her till she was quite out of sight, so as to make sure\nthat she was not spying upon him; then he took the golden lion into his\nroom and lifted some loose boards from the floor. Below the floor there\nwas a staircase, which he went down till he reached a door at the\nfoot. This he unlocked, and found himself in a narrow passage closed by\nanother door, which he also opened. The young man, hidden in the golden\nlion, kept count of everything, and marked that there were in all seven\ndoors. After they had all been unlocked the king entered a lovely hall,\nwhere the princess was amusing herself with eleven friends. All twelve\ngirls wore the same clothes, and were as like each other as two peas.\n\n\u2018What bad luck!\u2019 thought the youth. \u2018Even supposing that I managed to\nfind my way here again, I don\u2019t see how I could ever tell which was the\nprincess.\u2019\n\nAnd he stared hard at the princess as she clapped her hands with joy and\nran up to them, crying, \u2018 Oh, do let us keep that delicious beast for\nto-night; it will make such a nice plaything.\u2019\n\nThe king did not stay long, and when he left he handed over the lion to\nthe maidens, who amused themselves with it for some time, till they got\nsleepy, and thought it was time to go to bed. But the princess took the\nlion into her own room and laid it on the floor.\n\n\nShe was just beginning to doze when she heard a voice quite close to\nher, which made her jump. \u2018O lovely princess, if you only knew what\nI have gone through to find you!\u2019 The princess jumped out of bed\nscreaming, \u2018The lion! the lion!\u2019 but her friends thought it was a\nnightmare, and did not trouble themselves to get up.\n\n\u2018O lovely \u00faprincess!\u2019 continued the voice, \u2018fear nothing! I am the son\nof a rich merchant, and desire above all things to have you for my wife.\nAnd in order to get to you I have hidden myself in this golden lion.\u2019\n\n\u2018What use is that?\u2019 she asked. \u2018For if you cannot pick me out from among\nmy companions you will still lose your head.\u2019\n\n\u2018I look to you to help me,\u2019 he said. \u2018I have done so much for you that\nyou might do this one thing for me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then listen to me. On the eighth day I will tie a white sash round my\nwaist, and by that you will know me.\u2019\n\nThe next morning the king came very early to fetch the lion, as the old\nwoman was already at the palace asking for it. When they were safe from\nview she let the young man out, and he returned to the king and told him\nthat he wished to find the princess.\n\n\u2018Very good,\u2019 said the king, who by this time was almost tired of\nrepeating the same words; \u2018but if you fail your head will be the\nforfeit.\u2019\n\nSo the youth remained quietly in the castle, eating and looking at all\nthe beautiful things around him, and every now and then pretending to\nbe searching busily in all the closets and corners. On the eighth day he\nentered the room where the king was sitting. \u2018Take up the floor in this\nplace,\u2019 he said. The king gave a cry, but stopped himself, and asked,\n\u2018What do you want the floor up for? There is nothing there.\u2019\n\nBut as all his courtiers were watching him he did not like to make any\nmore objections, and ordered the floor to be taken up, as the young man\ndesired. The youth then want straight down the staircase till he reached\nthe door; then he turned and demanded that the key should be brought.\nSo the king was forced to unlock the door, and the next and the next and\nthe next, till all seven were open, and they entered into the hall where\nthe twelve maidens were standing all in a row, so like that none might\ntell them apart. But as he looked one of them silently drew a white sash\nfrom her pocket and slipped it round her waist, and the young man sprang\nto her and said, \u2018This is the princess, and I claim her for my wife.\u2019\nAnd the king owned himself beaten, and commanded that the wedding feast\nshould be held.\n\nAfter eight days the bridal pair said farewell to the king, and set\nsail for the youth\u2019s own country, taking with them a whole shipload of\ntreasures as the princess\u2019s dowry. But they did not forget the old woman\nwho had brought about all their happiness, and they gave her enough\nmoney to make her comfortable to the end of her days.\n\n\n\n\nThe Sprig of Rosemary\n\nCuentos Populars Catalans, per lo Dr. D. Francisco de S. Maspons y\nLabros (Barcelona: Libreria de Don Alvar Verdaguer 1885).\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a man with one daughter and he made her\nwork hard all the day. One morning when she had finished everything he\nhad set her to do, he told her to go out into the woods and get some dry\nleaves and sticks to kindle a fire.\n\nThe girl went out, and soon collected a large bundle, and then she\nplucked at a sprig of sweet-smelling rosemary for herself. But the\nharder she pulled the firmer seemed the plant, and at last, determined\nnot to be beaten, she gave one great tug, and the rosemary remained in\nher hands.\n\nThen she heard a voice close to her saying, \u2018Well?\u2019 and turning she saw\nbefore her a handsome young man, who asked why she had come to steal his\nfirewood.\n\nThe girl, who felt much confused, only managed to stammer out as an\nexcuse that her father had sent her.\n\n\u2018Very well,\u2019 replied the young man; \u2018then come with me.\u2019\n\nSo he took her through the opening made by the torn-up root, and they\ntravelled till they reached a beautiful palace, splendidly furnished,\nbut only lighted from the top. And when they had entered he told\nher that he was a great lord, and that never had he seen a maiden so\nbeautiful as she, and that if she would give him her heart they would be\nmarried and live happy for ever after.\n\nAnd the maiden said \u2018yes, she would,\u2019 and so they were married.\n\nThe next day the old dame who looked after the house handed her all the\nkeys, but pointed her out one that she would do well never to use, for\nif she did the whole palace would fall to the ground, and the grass\nwould grow over it, and the damsel herself would be remembered no more.\n\nThe bride promised to be careful, but in a little while, when there was\nnothing left for her to do, she began to wonder what could be in the\nchest, which was opened by the key. As everybody knows, if we once begin\nto think we soon begin to do, and it was not very long before the key\nwas no longer in the maiden\u2019s hand but in the lock of the chest. But the\nlock was stiff and resisted all her efforts, and in the end she had to\nbreak it. And what was inside after all? Why, nothing but a serpent\u2019s\nskin, which her husband, who was, unknown to her, a magician, put on\nwhen he was at work; and at the sight of it the girl was turning away\nin disgust, when the earth shook violently under her feet, the palace\nvanished as if it had never been, and the bride found herself in the\nmiddle of a field, not knowing where she was or whither to go. She burst\ninto a flood of bitter tears, partly at her own folly, but more for the\nloss of her husband, whom she dearly loved. Then, breaking a sprig of\nrosemary off a bush hard by, she resolved, cost what it might, to seek\nhim through the world till she found him. So she walked and she walked\nand she walked, till she arrived at a house built of straw. And she\nknocked at the door, and asked if they wanted a servant. The mistress\nsaid she did, and if the girl was willing she might stay. But day by day\nthe poor maiden grew more and more sad, till at last her mistress begged\nher to say what was the matter. Then she told her story--how she was\ngoing through the world seeking after her husband.\n\nAnd her mistress answered her, \u2018Where he is, none can tell better than\nthe Sun, the Moon, and the Wind, for they go everywhere!\u2019\n\nOn hearing these words the damsel set forth once more, and walked till\nshe reached the Golden Castle, where lived the Sun. And she knocked\nboldly at the door, saying, \u2018All hail, O Sun! I have come to ask if, of\nyour charity, you will help me in my need. By my own fault have I fallen\ninto these straits, and I am weary, for I seek my husband through the\nwide world.\u2019\n\n\u2018Indeed!\u2019 spoke the Sun. \u2018Do you, rich as you are, need help? But though\nyou live in a palace without windows, the Sun enters everywhere, and he\nknows you.\u2019\n\nThen the bride told him the whole story. and did not hide her own\nill-doing. And the Sun listened, and was sorry for her; and though he\ncould not tell her where to go, he gave her a nut, and bid her open it\nin a time of great distress. The damsel thanked him with all her heart,\nand departed, and walked and walked and walked, till she came to another\ncastle, and knocked at the door which was opened by an old woman.\n\n\u2018All hail!\u2019 said the girl. \u2018I have come, of your charity, to ask your\nhelp!\u2019\n\n\u2018It is my mistress, the Moon, you seek. I will tell her of your prayer.\u2019\n\nSo the Moon came out, and when she saw the maiden she knew her again,\nfor she had watched her sleeping both in the cottage and in the palace.\nAnd she spake to her and said:\n\n\u2018Do you, rich as you are, need help?\u2019\n\nThen the girl told her the whole story, and the Moon listened, and\nwas sorry for her; and though she could not tell her where to find her\nhusband, she gave her an almond, and told her to crack it when she was\nin great need. So the damsel thanked her, and departed, and walked and\nwalked and walked till she came to another castle. And she knocked at\nthe door, and said:\n\n\u2018All hail! I have come to ask if, of your charity, you will help me in\nmy need.\u2019\n\n\u2018It is my lord, the Wind, that you want,\u2019 answered the old woman who\nopened it. \u2018I will tell him of your prayer.\u2019\n\nAnd the Wind looked on her and knew her again, for he had seen her in\nthe cottage and in the palace, and he spake to her and said:\n\n\u2018Do you, rich as you are, want help?\u2019\n\nAnd she told him the whole story. And the Wind listened, and was sorry\nfor her, and he gave her a walnut that she was to eat in time of need.\nBut the girl did not go as the Wind expected. She was tired and sad, and\nknew not where to turn, so she began to weep bitterly. The Wind wept too\nfor company, and said:\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t be frightened; I will go and see if I can find out something.\u2019\n\nAnd the Wind departed with a great noise and fuss, and in the twinkling\nof an eye he was back again, beaming with delight.\n\n\u2018From what one person and another have let fall,\u2019 he exclaimed, \u2018I have\ncontrived to learn that he is in the palace of the king, who keeps him\nhidden lest anyone should see him; and that to-morrow he is to marry the\nprincess, who, ugly creature that she is, has not been able to find any\nman to wed her.\u2019\n\nWho can tell the despair which seized the poor maiden when she heard\nthis news! As soon as she could speak she implored the Wind to do all\nhe could to get the wedding put off for two or three days, for it would\ntake her all that time to reach the palace of the king.\n\nThe Wind gladly promised to do what he could, and as he travelled much\nfaster than the maiden he soon arrived at the palace, where he found\nfive tailors working night and day at the wedding clothes of the\nprincess.\n\nDown came the Wind right in the middle of their lace and satin and\ntrimmings of pearl! Away they all went whiz! through the open windows,\nright up into the tops of the trees, across the river, among the dancing\nears of corn! After them ran the tailors, catching, jumping, climbing,\nbut all to no purpose! The lace was torn, the satin stained, the pearls\nknocked off! There was nothing for it but to go to the shops to buy\nfresh, and to begin all over again! It was plainly quite impossible that\nthe wedding clothes could be ready next day.\n\nHowever, the king was much too anxious to see his daughter married to\nlisten to any excuses, and he declared that a dress must be put together\nsomehow for the bride to wear. But when he went to look at the princess,\nshe was such a figure that he agreed that it would be unfitting for her\nposition to be seen in such a gown, and he ordered the ceremony and the\nbanquet to be postponed for a few hours, so that the tailors might take\nthe dress to pieces and make it fit.\n\nBut by this time the maiden had arrived footsore and weary at the\ncastle, and as soon as she reached the door she cracked her nut and\ndrew out of it the most beautiful mantle in the world. Then she rang the\nbell, and asked:\n\n\u2018Is not the princess to be married to-day?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, she is.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ask her if she would like to buy this mantle.\u2019\n\nAnd when the princess saw the mantle she was delighted, for her wedding\nmantle had been spoilt with all the other things, and it was too late to\nmake another. So she told the maiden to ask what price she would, and it\nshould be given her.\n\nThe maiden fixed a large sum, many pieces of gold, but the princess had\nset her heart on the mantle, and gave it readily.\n\nNow the maiden hid her gold in the pocket of her dress, and turned away\nfrom the castle. The moment she was out of sight she broke her almond,\nand drew from it the most magnificent petticoats that ever were seen.\nThen she went back to the castle, and asked if the princess wished to\nbuy any petticoats. No sooner did the princess cast her eyes on the\npetticoats than she declared they were even more beautiful than the\nmantle, and that she would give the maiden whatever price she wanted for\nthem. And the maiden named many pieces of gold, which the princess paid\nher gladly, so pleased was she with her new possessions.\n\nThen the girl went down the steps where none could watch her and\ncracked her walnut, and out came the most splendid court dress that any\ndressmaker had ever invented; and, carrying it carefully in her arms,\nshe knocked at the door, and asked if the princess wished to buy a court\ndress.\n\nWhen the message was delivered the princess sprang to her feet with\ndelight, for she had been thinking that after all it was not much use to\nhave a lovely mantle and elegant petticoats if she had no dress, and she\nknew the tailors would never be ready in time. So she sent at once to\nsay she would buy the dress, and what sum did the maiden want for it.\n\nThis time the maiden answered that the price of the dress was the\npermission to see the bridegroom.\n\nThe princess was not at all pleased when she heard the maiden\u2019s reply,\nbut, as she could not do without the dress, she was forced to give in,\nand contented herself with thinking that after all it did not matter\nmuch.\n\nSo the maiden was led to the rooms which had been given to her husband.\nAnd when she came near she touched him with the sprig of rosemary that\nshe carried; and his memory came back, and he knew her, and kissed her,\nand declared that she was his true wife, and that he loved her and no\nother.\n\nThen they went back to the maiden\u2019s home, and grew to be very old, and\nlived happy all the days of their life.\n\n\n\n\nThe White Dove\n\nFrom the Danish.\n\n\nA king had two sons. They were a pair of reckless fellows, who always\nhad something foolish to do. One day they rowed out alone on the sea in\na little boat. It was beautiful weather when they set out, but as soon\nas they had got some distance from the shore there arose a terrific\nstorm. The oars went overboard at once, and the little boat was tossed\nabout on the rolling billows like a nut-shell. The princes had to hold\nfast by the seats to keep from being thrown out of the boat.\n\nIn the midst of all this they met a wonderful vessel--it was a\ndough-trough, in which there sat an old woman. She called to them, and\nsaid that they could still get to shore alive if they would promise her\nthe son that was next to come to their mother the queen.\n\n\u2018We can\u2019t do that,\u2019 shouted the princes; \u2018he doesn\u2019t belong to us so we\ncan\u2019t give him away.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then you can rot at the bottom of the sea, both of you,\u2019 said the old\nwoman; \u2018and perhaps it may be the case that your mother would rather\nkeep the two sons she has than the one she hasn\u2019t got yet.\u2019\n\nThen she rowed away in her dough-trough, while the storm howled still\nlouder than before, and the water dashed over their boat until it was\nalmost sinking. Then the princes thought that there was something in\nwhat the old woman had said about their mother, and being, of course,\neager to save their lives, they shouted to her, and promised that she\nshould have their brother if she would deliver them from this danger. As\nsoon as they had done so the storm ceased and the waves fell. The boat\ndrove ashore below their father\u2019s castle, and both princes were received\nwith open arms by their father and mother, who had suffered great\nanxiety for them.\n\nThe two brothers said nothing about what they had promised, neither at\nthat time nor later on when the queen\u2019s third son came, a beautiful boy,\nwhom she loved more than anything else in the world. He was brought up\nand educated in his father\u2019s house until he was full grown, and still\nhis brothers had never seen or heard anything about the witch to whom\nthey had promised him before he was born.\n\nIt happened one evening that there arose a raging storm, with mist and\ndarkness. It howled and roared around the king\u2019s palace, and in the\nmidst of it there came a loud knock on the door of the hall where the\nyoungest prince was. He went to the door and found there an old woman\nwith a dough- trough on her back, who said to him that he must go with\nher at once; his brothers had promised him to her if she would save\ntheir lives.\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said he; \u2018if you saved my brothers\u2019 lives, and they promised me\nto you, then I will go with you.\u2019\n\nThey therefore went down to the beach together, where he had to take his\nseat in the trough, along with the witch, who sailed away with him, over\nthe sea, home to her dwelling.\n\nThe prince was now in the witch\u2019s power, and in her service. The first\nthing she set him to was to pick feathers. \u2018The heap of feathers that\nyou see here,\u2019 said she, \u2018you must get finished before I come home in\nthe evening, otherwise you shall be set to harder work.\u2019 He started\nto the feathers, and picked and picked until there was only a single\nfeather left that had not passed through his hands. But then there came\na whirlwind and sent all the feathers flying, and swept them along the\nfloor into a heap, where they lay as if they were trampled together.\nHe had now to begin all his work over again, but by this time it only\nwanted an hour of evening, when the witch was to be expected home, and\nhe easily saw that it was impossible for him to be finished by that\ntime.\n\nThen he heard something tapping at the window pane, and a thin voice\nsaid, \u2018Let me in, and I will help you.\u2019 It was a white dove, which sat\noutside the window, and was pecking at it with its beak. He opened the\nwindow, and the dove came in and set to work at once, and picked all\nthe feathers out of the heap with its beak. Before the hour was past the\nfeathers were all nicely arranged: the dove flew out at the window, and\nat, the same moment the witch came in at the door.\n\n\u2018Well, well,\u2019 said she, \u2018it was more than I would have expected of you\nto get all the feathers put in order so nicely. However, such a prince\nmight be expected to have neat fingers.\u2019\n\nNext morning the witch said to the prince, \u2018To-day you shall have some\neasy work to do. Outside the door I have some firewood lying; you must\nsplit that for me into little bits that I can kindle the fire with. That\nwill soon be done, but you must be finished before I come home.\u2019\n\nThe prince got a little axe and set to work at once. He split and clove\naway, and thought that he was getting on fast; but the day wore on until\nit was long past midday, and he was still very far from having finished.\nHe thought, in fact, that the pile of wood rather grew bigger than\nsmaller, in spite of what he took off it; so he let his hands fall by\nhis side, and dried the sweat from his forehead, and was ill at ease,\nfor he knew that it would be bad for him if he was not finished with the\nwork before the witch came home.\n\nThen the white dove came flying and settled down on the pile of wood,\nand cooed and said, \u2018Shall I help you?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said the prince, \u2018many thanks for your help yesterday, and for\nwhat you offer to-day.\u2019 Thereupon the little dove seized one piece of\nwood after another and split it with its beak. The prince could not take\naway the wood as quickly as the dove could split it, and in a short time\nit was all cleft into little sticks.\n\nThe dove then flew up on his shoulder and sat there and the prince\nthanked it, and stroked and caressed its white feathers, and kissed\nits little red beak. With that it was a dove no longer, but a beautiful\nyoung maiden, who stood by his side. She told him then that she was a\nprincess whom the witch had stolen, and had changed to this shape,\nbut with his kiss she had got her human form again; and if he would be\nfaithful to her, and take her to wife, she could free them both from the\nwitch\u2019s power.\n\nThe prince was quite captivated by the beautiful princess, and was quite\nwilling to do anything whatsoever to get her for himself.\n\nShe then said to him, \u2018When the witch comes home you must ask her to\ngrant you a wish, when you have accomplished so well all that she has\ndemanded of you. When she agrees to this you must ask her straight out\nfor the princess that she has flying about as a white dove. But just now\nyou must take a red silk thread and tie it round my little finger, so\nthat you may be able to recognise me again, into whatever shape she\nturns me.\u2019\n\nThe prince made haste to get the silk thread tied round her little white\nfinger; at the same moment the princess became a dove again and flew\naway, and immediately after that the old witch came home with her\ndough-trough on he back.\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said she, \u2018I must say that you are clever at your work, and it\nis something, too, that such princely hands are not accustomed to.\u2019\n\n\u2018Since you are so well pleased with my work, said the prince, \u2018you\nwill, no doubt, be willing to give me a little pleasure too, and give me\nsomething that I have taken a fancy to.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh yes, indeed,\u2019 said the old woman; \u2018what is it that you want?\u2019\n\n\u2018I want the princess here who is in the shape of a white dove,\u2019 said the\nprince.\n\n\u2018What nonsense!\u2019 said the witch. \u2018Why should you imagine that there are\nprincesses here flying about in the shape of white doves? But if you\nwill have a princess, you can get one such as we have them.\u2019 She then\ncame to him, dragging a shaggy little grey ass with long ears. \u2018Will you\nhave this?\u2019 said she; \u2018you can\u2019t get any other princess!\u2019\n\nThe prince used his eyes and saw the red silk thread on one of the ass\u2019s\nhoofs, so he said, \u2018Yes, just let me have it.\u2019\n\n\u2018What will you do with it?\u2019 asked the witch.\n\n\u2018I will ride on it,\u2019 said the prince; but with that the witch dragged\nit away again, and came back with an old, wrinkled, toothless hag, whose\nhands trembled with age. \u2018You can have no other princess,\u2019 said she.\n\u2018Will you have her?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, I will,\u2019 said the prince, for he saw the red silk thread on the\nold woman\u2019s finger.\n\nAt this the witch became so furious that she danced about and knocked\neverything to pieces that she could lay her hands upon, so that the\nsplinters flew about the ears of the prince and princess, who now stood\nthere in her own beautiful shape.\n\nThen their marriage had to be celebrated, for the witch had to stick\nto what she had promised, and he must get the princess whatever might\nhappen afterwards.\n\nThe princess now said to him, \u2018At the marriage feast you may eat what\nyou please, but you must not drink anything whatever, for if you do that\nyou will forget me.\u2019\n\nThis, however, the prince forgot on the wedding day, and stretched out\nhis hand and took a cup of wine; but the princess was keeping watch over\nhim, and gave him a push with her elbow, so that the wine flew over the\ntable- cloth.\n\nThen the witch got up and laid about her among the plates and dishes, so\nthat the pieces flew about their ears, just as she had done when she was\ncheated the first time.\n\nThey were then taken to the bridal chamber, and the door was shut. Then\nthe princess said, \u2018Now the witch has kept her promise, but she will do\nno more if she can help it, so we must fly immediately. I shall lay two\npieces of wood in the bed to answer for us when the witch speaks to us.\nYou can take the flower-pot and the glass of water that stands in the\nwindow, and we must slip out by that and get away.\u2019\n\nNo sooner said than done. They hurried off out into the dark night, the\nprincess leading, because she knew the way, having spied it out while\nshe flew about as a dove.\n\nAt midnight the witch came to the door of the room and called in to\nthem, and the two pieces of wood answered her, so that she believed they\nwere there, and went away again. Before daybreak she was at the door\nagain and called to them, and again the pieces of wood answered for\nthem. She thus thought that she had them, and when the sun rose the\nbridal night was past: she had then kept her promise, and could vent her\nanger and revenge on both of them. With the first sunbeam she broke into\nthe room, but there she found no prince and no princess--nothing but the\ntwo pieces of firewood, which lay in the bed, and stared, and spoke not\na word. These she threw on the floor, so that they were splintered into\na thousand pieces, and off she hastened after the fugitives.\n\nWith the first sunbeam the princess said to the prince, \u2018Look round; do\nyou see anything behind us?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, I see a dark cloud, far away,\u2019 said he.\n\n\u2018Then throw the flower-pot over your head,\u2019 said she. When this was done\nthere was a large thick forest behind them.\n\nWhen the witch came to the forest she could not get through it until she\nwent home and brought her axe to cut a path.\n\nA little after this the princess said again to the prince, \u2018Look round;\ndo you see anything behind us?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said the prince, \u2018the big black cloud is there again.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then throw the glass of water over your head,\u2019 said she.\n\nWhen he had done this there was a great lake behind them, and this\nthe witch could not cross until she ran home again and brought her\ndough-trough.\n\nMeanwhile the fugitives had reached the castle which was the prince\u2019s\nhome. They climbed over the garden wall, ran across the garden, and\ncrept in at an open window. By this time the witch was just at their\nheels, but the princess stood in the window and blew upon the witch;\nhundreds of white doves flew out of her mouth, fluttered and flapped\naround the witch\u2019s head until she grew so angry that she turned into\nflint, and there she stands to this day, in the shape of a large flint\nstone, outside the window.\n\nWithin the castle there was great rejoicing over the prince and his\nbride. His two elder brothers came and knelt before him and confessed\nwhat they had done, and said that he alone should inherit the kingdom,\nand they would always be his faithful subjects.\n\n\n\n\nThe Troll\u2019s Daughter\n\nFrom the Danish.\n\n\nThere was once a lad who went to look for a place. As he went along he\nmet a man, who asked him where he was going. He told him his errand, and\nthe stranger said, \u2018Then you can serve me; I am just in want of a lad\nlike you, and I will give you good wages--a bushel of money the first\nyear, two the second year, and three the third year, for you must serve\nme three years, and obey me in everything, however strange it seems to\nyou. You need not be afraid of taking service with me, for there is no\ndanger in it if you only know how to obey.\u2019\n\nThe bargain was made, and the lad went home with the man to whom he had\nengaged himself. It was a strange place indeed, for he lived in a bank\nin the middle of the wild forest, and the lad saw there no other person\nthan his master. The latter was a great troll, and had marvellous power\nover both men and beasts.\n\nNext day the lad had to begin his service. The first thing that the\ntroll set him to was to feed all the wild animals from the forest. These\nthe troll had tied up, and there were both wolves and bears, deer and\nhares, which the troll had gathered in the stalls and folds in his\nstable down beneath the ground, and that stable was a mile long. The\nboy, however, accomplished all this work on that day, and the troll\npraised him and said that it was very well done.\n\nNext morning the troll said to him, \u2018To-day the animals are not to be\nfed; they don\u2019t get the like of that every day. You shall have leave to\nplay about for a little, until they are to be fed again.\u2019\n\nThen the troll said some words to him which he did not understand, and\nwith that the lad turned into a hare, and ran out into the wood. He got\nplenty to run for, too, for all the hunters aimed at him, and tried to\nshoot him, and the dogs barked and ran after him wherever they got wind\nof him. He was the only animal that was left in the wood now, for the\ntroll had tied up all the others, and every hunter in the whole country\nwas eager to knock him over. But in this they met with no success; there\nwas no dog that could overtake him, and no marksman that could hit him.\nThey shot and shot at him, and he ran and ran. It was an unquiet life,\nbut in the long run he got used to it, when he saw that there was no\ndanger in it, and it even amused him to befool all the hunters and dogs\nthat were so eager after him.\n\nThus a whole year passed, and when it was over the troll called him\nhome, for he was now in his power like all the other animals. The troll\nthen said some words to him which he did not understand, and the hare\nimmediately became a human being again. \u2018Well, how do you like to serve\nme?\u2019 said the troll, \u2018and how do you like being a hare?\u2019\n\nThe lad replied that he liked it very well; he had never been able to go\nover the ground so quickly before. The troll then showed him the bushel\nof money that he had already earned, and the lad was well pleased to\nserve him for another year.\n\nThe first day of the second year the boy had the same work to do as on\nthe previous one--namely, to feed all the wild animals in the troll\u2019s\nstable. When he had done this the troll again said some words to him,\nand with that he became a raven, and flew high up into the air. This was\ndelightful, the lad thought; he could go even faster now than when he\nwas a hare, and the dogs could not come after him here. This was a great\ndelight to him, but he soon found out that he was not to be left quite\nat peace, for all the marksmen and hunters who saw him aimed at him and\nfired away, for they had no other birds to shoot at than himself, as the\ntroll had tied up all the others.\n\nThis, however, he also got used to, when he saw that they could never\nhit him, and in this way he flew about all that year, until the troll\ncalled him home again, said some strange words to him, and gave him\nhis human shape again. \u2018Well, how did you like being a raven?\u2019 said the\ntroll.\n\n\u2018I liked it very well,\u2019 said the lad, \u2018for never in all my days have I\nbeen able to rise so high.\u2019 The troll then showed him the two bushels\nof money which he had earned that year, and the lad was well content to\nremain in his service for another year.\n\nNext day he got his old task of feeding all the wild beasts. When this\nwas done the troll again said some words to him, and at these he turned\ninto a fish, and sprang into the river. He swam up and he swam down, and\nthought it was pleasant to let himself drive with the stream. In this\nway he came right out into the sea, and swam further and further out. At\nlast he came to a glass palace, which stood at the bottom of the sea. He\ncould see into all the rooms and halls, where everything was very grand;\nall the furniture was of white ivory, inlaid with gold and pearl. There\nwere soft rugs and cushions of all the colours of the rainbow, and\nbeautiful carpets that looked like the finest moss, and flowers and\ntrees with curiously crooked branches, both green and yellow, white and\nred, and there were also little fountains which sprang up from the most\nbeautiful snail-shells, and fell into bright mussel-shells, and at the\nsame time made a most delightful music, which filled the whole palace.\n\nThe most beautiful thing of all, however, was a young girl who went\nabout there, all alone. She went about from one room to another, but did\nnot seem to be happy with all the grandeur she had about her. She walked\nin solitude and melancholy, and never even thought of looking at her\nown image in the polished glass walls that were on every side of her,\nalthough she was the prettiest creature anyone could wish to see. The\nlad thought so too while he swam round the palace and peeped in from\nevery side.\n\n\u2018Here, indeed, it would be better to be a man than such a poor dumb fish\nas I am now,\u2019 said he to himself; \u2018if I could only remember the words\nthat the troll says when he changes my shape, then perhaps I could help\nmyself to become a man again.\u2019 He swam and he pondered and he thought\nover this until he remembered the sound of what the troll said, and then\nhe tried to say it himself. In a moment he stood in human form at the\nbottom of the sea.\n\nHe made haste then to enter the glass palace, and went up to the young\ngirl and spoke to her.\n\nAt first he nearly frightened the life out of her, but he talked to\nher so kindly and explained how he had come down there that she soon\nrecovered from her alarm, and was very pleased to have some company to\nrelieve the terrible solitude that she lived in. Time passed so quickly\nfor both of them that the youth (for now he was quite a young man, and\nno more a lad) forgot altogether how long he had been there.\n\nOne day the girl said to him that now it was close on the time when he\nmust become a fish again--the troll would soon call him home, and he\nwould have to go, but before that he must put on the shape of the fish,\notherwise he could not pass through the sea alive. Before this, while he\nwas staying down there, she had told him that she was a daughter of the\nsame troll whom the youth served, and he had shut her up there to keep\nher away from everyone. She had now devised a plan by which they could\nperhaps succeed in getting to see each other again, and spending the\nrest of their lives together. But there was much to attend to, and he\nmust give careful heed to all that she told him.\n\nShe told him then that all the kings in the country round about were\nin debt to her father the troll, and the king of a certain kingdom,\nthe name of which she told him, was the first who had to pay, and if he\ncould not do so at the time appointed he would lose his head. \u2018And he\ncannot pay,\u2019 said she; \u2018I know that for certain. Now you must, first of\nall, give up your service with my father; the three years are past,\nand you are at liberty to go. You will go off with your six bushels\nof money, to the kingdom that I have told you of, and there enter the\nservice of the king. When the time comes near for his debt becoming due\nyou will be able to notice by his manner that he is ill at ease. You\nshall then say to him that you know well enough what it is that is\nweighing upon him--that it is the debt which he owes to the troll and\ncannot pay, but that you can lend him the money. The amount is six\nbushels--just what you have. You shall, however, only lend them to\nhim on condition that you may accompany him when he goes to make the\npayment, and that you then have permission to run before him as a fool.\nWhen you arrive at the troll\u2019s abode, you must perform all kinds of\nfoolish tricks, and see that you break a whole lot of his windows, and\ndo all other damage that you can. My father will then get very angry,\nand as the king must answer for what his fool does he will sentence him,\neven although he has paid his debt, either to answer three questions or\nto lose his life. The first question my father will ask will be, \u201cWhere\nis my daughter?\u201d Then you shall step forward and answer \u201cShe is at the\nbottom of the sea.\u201d He will then ask you whether you can recognise her,\nand to this you will answer \u201cYes.\u201d Then he will bring forward a whole\ntroop of women, and cause them to pass before you, in order that you may\npick out the one that you take for his daughter. You will not be able\nto recognise me at all, and therefore I will catch hold of you as I go\npast, so that you can notice it, and you must then make haste to catch\nme and hold me fast. You have then answered his first question. His next\nquestion will be, \u201cWhere is my heart?\u201d You shall then step forward again\nand answer, \u201cIt is in a fish.\u201d \u201cDo you know that fish?\u201d he will say,\nand you will again answer \u201cYes.\u201d He will then cause all kinds of fish\nto come before you, and you shall choose between them. I shall take good\ncare to keep by your side, and when the right fish comes I will give you\na little push, and with that you will seize the fish and cut it up. Then\nall will be over with the troll; he will ask no more questions, and we\nshall be free to wed.\u2019\n\nWhen the youth had got all these directions as to what he had to do when\nhe got ashore again the next thing was to remember the words which the\ntroll said when he changed him from a human being to an animal; but\nthese he had forgotten, and the girl did not know them either. He went\nabout all day in despair, and thought and thought, but he could not\nremember what they sounded like. During the night he could not sleep,\nuntil towards morning he fell into a slumber, and all at once it flashed\nupon him what the troll used to say. He made haste to repeat the words,\nand at the same moment he became a fish again and slipped out into the\nsea. Immediately after this he was called upon, and swam through the sea\nup the river to where the troll stood on the bank and restored him to\nhuman shape with the same words as before.\n\n\u2018Well, how do you like to be a fish?\u2019 asked the troll.\n\nIt was what he had liked best of all, said the youth, and that was no\nlie, as everybody can guess.\n\nThe troll then showed him the three bushels of money which he had earned\nduring the past year; they stood beside the other three, and all the six\nnow belonged to him.\n\n\u2018Perhaps you will serve me for another year yet,\u2019 said the troll, \u2018and\nyou will get six bushels of money for it; that makes twelve in all, and\nthat is a pretty penny.\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said the youth; he thought he had done enough, and was anxious to\ngo to some other place to serve, and learn other people\u2019s ways; but he\nwould, perhaps, come back to the troll some other time.\n\nThe troll said that he would always be welcome; he had served him\nfaithfully for the three years they had agreed upon, and he could make\nno objections to his leaving now.\n\nThe youth then got his six bushels of money, and with these he betook\nhimself straight to the kingdom which his sweetheart had told him of.\nHe got his money buried in a lonely spot close to the king\u2019s palace, and\nthen went in there and asked to be taken into service. He obtained his\nrequest, and was taken on as stableman, to tend the king\u2019s horses.\n\nSome time passed, and he noticed how the king always went about\nsorrowing and grieving, and was never glad or happy. One day the king\ncame into the stable, where there was no one present except the youth,\nwho said straight out to him that, with his majesty\u2019s permission, he\nwished to ask him why he was so sorrowful.\n\n\u2018It\u2019s of no use speaking about that,\u2019 said the king; \u2018you cannot help\nme, at any rate.\u2019\n\n\u2018You don\u2019t know about that,\u2019 said the youth; \u2018 I know well enough what\nit is that lies so heavy on your mind, and I know also of a plan to get\nthe money paid.\u2019\n\nThis was quite another case, and the king had more talk with the\nstableman, who said that he could easily lend the king the six bushels\nof money, but would only do it on condition that he should be allowed to\naccompany the king when he went to pay the debt, and that he should\nthen be dressed like the king\u2019s court fool, and run before him. He would\ncause some trouble, for which the king would be severely spoken to, but\nhe would answer for it that no harm would befall him.\n\nThe king gladly agreed to all that the youth proposed, and it was now\nhigh time for them to set out.\n\nWhen they came to the troll\u2019s dwelling it was no longer in the bank, but\non the top of this there stood a large castle which the youth had never\nseen before. The troll could, in fact, make it visible or invisible,\njust as he pleased, and, knowing as much as he did of the troll\u2019s magic\narts, the youth was not at all surprised at this.\n\nWhen they came near to this castle, which looked as if it was of pure\nglass, the youth ran on in front as the king\u2019s fool. Heran sometimes\nfacing forwards, sometimes backwards, stood sometimes on his head, and\nsometimes on his feet, and he dashed in pieces so many of the troll\u2019s\nbig glass windows and doors that it was something awful to see, and\noverturned everything he could, and made a fearful disturbance.\n\nThe troll came rushing out, and was so angry and furious, and abused the\nking with all his might for bringing such a wretched fool with him, as\nhe was sure that he could not pay the least bit of all the damage that\nhad been done when he could not even pay off his old debt.\n\nThe fool, however, spoke up, and said that he could do so quite easily,\nand the king then came forward with the six bushels of money which the\nyouth had lent him. They were measured and found to be correct. This the\ntroll had not reckoned on, but he could make no objection against it.\nThe old debt was honestly paid, and the king got his bond back again.\n\nBut there still remained all the damage that had been done that day, and\nthe king had nothing with which to pay for this. The troll, therefore,\nsentenced the king, either to answer three questions that he would put\nto him, or have his head taken off, as was agreed on in the old bond.\n\nThere was nothing else to be done than to try to answer the troll\u2019s\nriddles. The fool then stationed himself just by the king\u2019s side while\nthe troll came forward with his questions. He first asked, \u2018Where is my\ndaughter?\u2019\n\nThe fool spoke up and said, \u2018She is at the bottom of the sea.\u2019\n\n\u2018How do you know that?\u2019 said the troll.\n\n\u2018The little fish saw it,\u2019 said the fool.\n\n\u2018Would you know her?\u2019 said the troll.\n\n\u2018Yes, bring her forward,\u2019 said the fool.\n\nThe troll made a whole crowd of women go past them, one after the other,\nbut all these were nothing but shadows and deceptions. Amongst the very\nlast was the troll\u2019s real daughter, who pinched the fool as she went\npast him to make him aware of her presence. He thereupon caught her\nround the waist and held her fast, and the troll had to admit that his\nfirst riddle was solved.\n\nThen the troll asked again: \u2018Where is my heart?\u2019\n\n\u2018It is in a fish,\u2019 said the fool.\n\n\u2018Would you know that fish?\u2019 said the troll.\n\n\u2018Yes, bring it forward,\u2019 said the fool.\n\nThen all the fishes came swimming past them, and meanwhile the troll\u2019s\ndaughter stood just by the youth\u2019s side. When at last the right fish\ncame swimming along she gave him a nudge, and he seized it at once,\ndrove his knife into it, and split it up, took the heart out of it, and\ncut it through the middle.\n\nAt the same moment the troll fell dead and turned into pieces of flint.\nWith that a,ll the bonds that the troll had bound were broken; all the\nwild beasts and birds which he had caught and hid under the ground were\nfree now, and dispersed themselves in the woods and in the air.\n\nThe youth and his sweetheart entered the castle, which was now theirs,\nand held their wedding; and all the kings roundabout, who had been\nin the troll\u2019s debt, and were now out of it, came to the wedding, and\nsaluted the youth as their emperor, and he ruled over them all, and kept\npeace between them, and lived in his castle with his beautiful empress\nin great joy and magnificence. And if they have not died since they are\nliving there to this day.\n\n\n\n\nEsben and the Witch\n\nFrom the Danish.\n\n\nThere was once a man who had twelve sons: the eleven eldest were both\nbig and strong, but the twelfth, whose name was Esben, was only a\nlittle fellow. The eleven eldest went out with their father to field and\nforest, but Esben preferred to stay at home with his mother, and so he\nwas never reckoned at all by the rest, but was a sort of outcast among\nthem.\n\nWhen the eleven had grown up to be men they decided to go out into the\nworld to try their fortune, and they plagued their father to give them\nwhat they required for the journey. The father was not much in favour\nof this, for he was now old and weak, and could not well spare them from\nhelping him with his work, but in the long run he had to give in. Each\none of the eleven got a fine white horse and money for the journey, and\nso they said farewell to their father and their home, and rode away.\n\nAs for Esben, no one had ever thought about him; his brothers had not\neven said farewell to him.\n\nAfter the eleven were gone Esben went to his father and said, \u2018Father,\ngive me also a horse and money; I should also like to see round about me\nin the world.\u2019\n\n\u2018You are a little fool,\u2019 said his father. \u2018If I could have let you go,\nand kept your eleven brothers at home, it would have been better for me\nin my old age.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, you will soon be rid of me at any rate,\u2019 said Esben.\n\nAs he could get no other horse, he went into the forest, broke off a\nbranch, stripped the bark off it, so that it became still whiter than\nhis brothers\u2019 horses, and, mounted on this. rode off after his eleven\nbrothers.\n\nThe brothers rode on the whole day, and towards evening they came to\na great forest, which they entered. Far within the wood they came to a\nlittle house, and knocked at the door. There came an old, ugly, bearded\nhag, and opened it, and they asked her whether all of them could get\nquarters for the night.\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said the old, bearded hag, \u2018you shall all have quarters for the\nnight, and, in addition, each of you shall have one of my daughters.\u2019\n\nThe eleven brothers thought that they had come to very hospitable\npeople. They were well attended to, and when they went to bed, each of\nthem got one of the hag\u2019s daughters.\n\nEsben had been coming along behind them, and had followed the same way,\nand had also found the same house in the forest. He slipped into this,\nwithout either the witch or her daughters noticing him, and hid himself\nunder one of the beds. A little before midnight he crept quietly out\nand wakened his brothers. He told these to change night-caps with the\nwitch\u2019s daughters. The brothers saw no reason for this, but, to get rid\nof Esben\u2019s persistence, they made the exchange, and slept soundly again.\n\nWhen midnight came Esben heard the old witch come creeping along. She\nhad a broad-bladed axe in her hand, and went over all the eleven beds.\nIt was so dark that she could not see a hand\u2019s breadth before her, but\nshe felt her way, and hacked the heads off all the sleepers who had the\nmen\u2019s night-caps on--and these were her own daughters. As soon as she\nhad gone her way Esben wakened his brothers, and they hastily took their\nhorses and rode off from the witch\u2019s house, glad that they had escaped\nso well. They quite forgot to thank Esben for what he had done for them.\n\nWhen they had ridden onwards for some time they reached a king\u2019s palace,\nand inquired there whether they could be taken into service. Quite\neasily, they were told, if they would be stablemen, otherwise the king\nhad no use for them. They were quite ready for this, and got the task of\nlooking after all the king\u2019s horses.\n\nLong after them came Esben riding on his stick, and he also wanted to\nget a place in the palace, but no one had any use for him, and he was\ntold that he could just go back the way he had come. However, he stayed\nthere and occupied himself as best he could. He got his food, but\nnothing more, and by night he lay just where he could.\n\nAt this time there was in the palace a knight who was called Sir Red. He\nwas very well liked by the king, but hated by everyone else, for he was\nwicked both in will and deed. This Sir Red became angry with the eleven\nbrothers, because they would not always stand at attention for him, so\nhe determined to avenge himself on them.\n\nOne day, therefore, he went to the king, and said that the eleven\nbrothers who had come to the palace a little while ago, and served as\nstablemen, could do a great deal more than they pretended. One day he\nhad heard them say that if they liked they could get for the king a\nwonderful dove which had a feather of gold and a feather of silver time\nabout. But they would not procure it unless they were threatened with\ndeath.\n\nThe king then had the eleven brothers called before him, and said to\nthem, \u2018You have said that you can get me a dove which has feathers of\ngold and silver time about.\u2019\n\nAll the eleven assured him that they had never said anything of the\nkind, and they did not believe that such a dove existed in the whole\nworld.\n\n\u2018Take your own mind of it,\u2019 said the king; \u2018but if you don\u2019t get that\ndove within three days you shall lose your heads, the whole lot of you.\u2019\n\nWith that the king let them go, and there was great grief among them;\nsome wept and others lamented.\n\nAt that moment Esben came along, and, seeing their sorrowful looks, said\nto them, \u2018Hello, what\u2019s the matter with you?\u2019\n\n\u2018What good would it do to tell you, you little fool? You can\u2019t help us.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, you don\u2019t know that,\u2019 answered Esben. \u2018I have helped you before.\u2019\n\nIn the end they told him how unreasonable the king was, and how he had\nordered them to get for him a dove with feathers of gold and silver time\nabout.\n\n\u2018Give me a bag of peas\u2019 said Esben, \u2018and I shall see what I can do for\nyou.\u2019\n\nEsben got his bag of peas; then he took his white stick, and said,\n\n     Fly quick, my little stick, Carry me across the stream.\n\nStraightway the stick carried him across the river and straight into the\nold witch\u2019s courtyard. Esben had noticed that she had such a dove; so\nwhen he arrived in the courtyard he shook the peas out of the bag, and\nthe dove came fluttering down to pick them up. Esben caught it at once,\nput it into the bag, and hurried off before the witch caught sight of\nhim; but the next moment she came running, and shouted after him, \u2018 I\nHey is that you, Esben.?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ye--e--s!\u2019\n\n\u2018Is it you that has taken my dove?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ye--e--s!\u2019\n\n\u2018Was it you that made me kill my eleven daughters?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ye--e--s!\u2019\n\n\u2018Are you coming back again?\u2019\n\n\u2018That may be,\u2019 said Esben.\n\n\u2018Then you\u2019ll catch it,\u2019 shouted the witch.\n\nThe stick carried Esben with the dove back to the king\u2019s palace, and his\nbrothers were greatly delighted. The king thanked them many times for\nthe dove, and gave them in return both silver and gold. At this Sir Red\nbecame still more embittered, and again thought of how to avenge himself\non the brothers.\n\nOne day he went to the king and told him that the dove was by no means\nthe best thing that the brothers could get for him; for one day he had\nheard them talking quietly among themselves, and they had said that they\ncould procure a boar whose bristles were of gold and silver time about.\n\nThe king again summoned the brothers before him, and asked whether it\nwas true that they had said that they could get for him a boar whose\nbristles were of gold and silver time about.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said the brothers; they had never said nor thought such a thing,\nand they did not believe that there was such a boar in the whole world.\n\n\u2018You must get me that boar within three days,\u2019 said the king, \u2018or it\nwill cost you your heads.\u2019\n\nWith that they had to go. This was still worse than before, they\nthought. Where could they get such a marvellous boar? They all went\nabout hanging their heads; but when only one day remained of the three\nEsben came along. When he saw his brothers\u2019 sorrowful looks he cried,\n\u2018Hallo, what\u2019s the matter now?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, what\u2019s the use of telling you?\u2019 said his brothers. \u2018You can\u2019t help\nus, at any rate.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah, you don\u2019t know that,\u2019 said Esben; \u2018I\u2019ve helped you before.\u2019\n\nIn the end they told him how Sir Red had stirred up the king against\nthem, so that he had ordered them to get for him a boar with bristles of\ngold and silver time about.\n\n\u2018That\u2019s all right,\u2019 said Esben; \u2018give me a sack of malt, and it is not\nquite impossible that I may be able to help you.\u2019\n\nEsben got his sack of malt; then he took his little white stick, set\nhimself upon it, and said,\n\n     Fly quick, my little stick, Carry me across the stream.\n\nOff went the stick with him, and very soon he was again in the witch\u2019s\ncourtyard. There he emptied out the malt, and next moment came the boar,\nwhich had every second bristle of gold and of silver. Esben at once put\nit into his sack and hurried off before the witch should catch sight of\nhim; but the next moment she came running, and shouted after him, \u2018Hey!\nis that you, Esben?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ye--e--s!\u2019\n\n\u2018Is it you that has taken my pretty boar?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ye--e--s!\u2019\n\n\u2018It was also you that took my dove?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ye--e--s!\u2019\n\n\u2018And it was you that made me kill my eleven daughters?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ye--e--s!\u2019\n\n\u2018Are you coming back again?\u2019\n\n\u2018That may be,\u2019 said Esben.\n\n\u2018Then you\u2019ll catch it,\u2019 said the witch.\n\nEsben was soon back at the palace with the boar, and his brothers\nscarcely knew which leg to stand on, so rejoiced were they that they\nwere safe again. Not one of them, however, ever thought of thanking\nEsben for what he had done for them.\n\nThe king was still more rejoiced over the boar than he had been over the\ndove, and did not know what to give the brothers for it. At this Sir\nRed was again possessed with anger and envy, and again he went about and\nplanned how to get the brothers into trouble.\n\nOne day he went again to the king and said, \u2018These eleven brothers have\nnow procured the dove and the boar, but they can do much more than that;\nI know they have said that if they liked they could get for the king a\nlamp that can shine over seven kingdoms.\u2019\n\n\u2018If they have said that,\u2019 said the king, \u2018they shall also be made to\nbring it to me. That would be a glorious lamp for me.\u2019\n\nAgain the king sent a message to the brothers to come up to the palace.\nThey went accordingly, although very unwillingly, for they suspected\nthat Sir Red had fallen on some new plan to bring them into trouble.\n\nAs soon as they came before the king he said to them,\n\n\u2018You brothers have said that you could, if you liked, get for me a lamp\nthat can shine over seven kingdoms. That lamp must be mine within three\ndays, or it will cost you your lives.\u2019\n\nThe brothers assured him that they had never said so, and they were sure\nthat no such lamp existed, but their words were of no avail.\n\n\u2018The lamp!\u2019 said the king, \u2018or it will cost you your heads.\u2019\n\nThe brothers were now in greater despair than ever. They did not know\nwhat to do, for such a lamp no one had ever heard of. But just as things\nlooked their worst along came Esben.\n\n\u2018Something wrong again?\u2019 said he. \u2018What\u2019s the matter with you now?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, it\u2019s no use telling you,\u2019 said they. \u2018You can\u2019t help us, at any\nrate.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, you might at least tell me,\u2019 said Esben; \u2018I have helped you\nbefore.\u2019\n\nIn the end they told him that the king had ordered them to bring him a\nlamp which could shine over seven kingdoms, but such a lamp no one had\never heard tell of.\n\n\u2018Give me a bushel of salt,\u2019 said Esben, \u2018and we shall see how matters\ngo.\u2019\n\nHe got his bushel of salt, and then mounted his little white stick, and\nsaid,\n\n     Fly quick, my little stick, Carry me across the stream.\n\nWith that both he and his bushel of salt were over beside the witch\u2019s\ncourtyard. But now matters were less easy, for he could not get inside\nthe yard, as it was evening and the gate was locked. Finally he hit upon\na plan; he got up on the roof and crept down the chimney.\n\nHe searched all round for the lamp, but could find it nowhere, for the\nwitch always had it safely guarded, as it was one of her most precious\ntreasures. When he became tired of searching for it he crept into the\nbaking- oven, intending to lie down there and sleep till morning; but\njust at that moment he heard the witch calling from her bed to one of\nher daughters, and telling her to make some porridge for her. She had\ngrown hungry, and had taken such a fancy to some porridge. The daughter\ngot out of bed, kindled the fire, and put on a pot with water in it.\n\n\u2018You mustn\u2019t put any salt in the porridge, though,\u2019 cried the witch.\n\n\u2018No, neither will I,\u2019 said the daughter; but while she was away getting\nthe meal Esben slipped out of the oven and emptied the whole bushel of\nsalt into the pot. The daughter came back then and put in the meal, and\nafter it had boiled a little she took it in to her mother. The witch\ntook a spoonful and tasted it.\n\n\u2018Uh!\u2019 said she; \u2018didn\u2019t I tell you not to put any salt in it, and it\u2019s\njust as salt as the sea.\u2019\n\nSo the daughter had to go and make new porridge, and her mother warned\nher strictly not to put any salt in it. But now there was no water in\nthe house, so she asked her mother to give her the lamp, so that she\ncould go to the well for more.\n\n\u2018There you have it, then,\u2019 said the witch; \u2018but take good care of it.\u2019\n\nThe daughter took the lamp which shone over seven kingdoms, and went out\nto the well for water, while Esben slipped out after her. When she was\ngoing to draw the water from the well she set the lamp down on a stone\nbeside her. Esben watched his chance, seized the lamp, and gave her a\npush from behind, so that she plumped head first into the well. Then he\nmade off with the lamp. But the witch got out of her bed and ran after\nhim, crying:\n\n\u2018Hey! is that you again, Esben?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ye--e--s!\u2019\n\n\u2018Was it you that took my dove?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ye--e--s!\u2019\n\n\u2018Was it also you that took my boar?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ye--e--s!\u2019\n\n\u2018And it was you that made me kill my eleven daughters?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ye--e--s!\u2019\n\n\u2018And now you have taken my lamp, and drowned my twelfth daughter in the\nwell?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ye--e--s!\u2019\n\n\u2018Are you coming back again?\u2019\n\n\u2018That may be,\u2019 said Esben.\n\n\u2018Then you\u2019ll catch it,\u2019 said the witch.\n\nIt was only a minute before the stick had again landed Esben at the\nking\u2019s palace, and the brothers were then freed from their distress. The\nking gave them many fine presents, but Esben did not get even so much as\nthanks from them.\n\nNever had Sir Red been so eaten up with envy as he was now, and he\nracked his brain day and night to find something quite impossible to\ndemand from the brothers.\n\nOne day he went to the king and told him that the lamp the brothers had\nprocured was good enough, but they could still get for him something\nthat was far better. The king asked what that was.\n\n\u2018It is,\u2019 said Sir Red, \u2018the most beautiful coverlet that any mortal ever\nheard tell of. It also has the property that, when anyone touches it, it\nsounds so that it can be heard over eight kingdoms.\u2019\n\n\u2018That must be a splendid coverlet,\u2019 said the king, and he at once sent\nfor the brothers.\n\n\u2018You have said that you know of a coverlet, the most beautiful in the\nwhole world, and which sounds over eight kingdoms when anyone touches\nit. You shall procure it for me, or else lose your lives,\u2019 said he.\n\nThe brothers answered him that they had never said a word about such a\ncoverlet, did not believe it existed, and that it was quite impossible\nfor them to procure it. But the king would not hear a word; he drove\nthem away, telling them that if they did not get it very soon it would\ncost them their heads.\n\nThings looked very black again for the brothers, for they were sure\nthere was no escape for them. The youngest of them, indeed, asked where\nEsben was, but the others said that that little fool could scarcely keep\nhimself in clothes, and it was not to be expected that he could help\nthem. Not one of them thought it worth while to look for Esben, but he\nsoon came along of himself.\n\n\u2018Well, what\u2019s the matter now?\u2019 said he.\n\n\u2018Oh, what\u2019s the use of telling you?\u2019 said the brothers. \u2018You can\u2019t help\nus, at any rate.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah! who knows that?\u2019 said Esben. \u2018I have helped you before.\u2019\n\nIn the end the brothers told him about the coverlet which, when one\ntouched it, sounded so that it could be heard over eight kingdoms. Esben\nthought that this was the worst errand that he had had yet, but he could\nnot do worse than fail, and so he would make the attempt.\n\nHe again took his little white stick, set himself on it, and said,\n\n     Fly quick, my little stick, Carry me across the stream.\n\nNext moment he was across the river and beside the witch\u2019s house. It was\nevening, and the door was locked, but he knew the way down the chimney.\nWhen he had got into the house, however, the worst yet remained to do,\nfor the coverlet was on the bed in which the witch lay and slept. He\nslipped into the room without either she or her daughter wakening; but\nas soon as he touched the coverlet to take it it sounded so that it\ncould be heard over eight kingdoms. The witch awoke, sprang out of bed,\nand caught hold of Esben. He struggled with her, but could not free\nhimself, and the witch called to her daughter, \u2018Come and help me; we\nshall put him into the little dark room to be fattened. Ho, ho! now I\nhave him!\u2019\n\nEsben was now put into a little dark hole, where he neither saw sun nor\nmoon, and there he was fed on sweet milk and nut-kernels. The daughter\nhad enough to do cracking nuts for him, and at the end of fourteen days\nshe had only one tooth left in her mouth; she had broken all the rest\nwith the nuts. In this time however, she had taken a liking to Esben,\nand would willingly have set him free, but could not.\n\nWhen some time had passed the witch told her daughter to go and cut a\nfinger off Esben, so that she could see whether he was nearly fat enough\nyet. The daughter went and told Esben, and asked him what she should do.\nEsben told her to take an iron nail and wrap a piece of skin round it:\nshe could then give her mother this to bite at.\n\nThe daughter did so, but when the witch bit it she cried, \u2018Uh! no, no!\nThis is nothing but skin and bone; he must be fattened much longer yet.\u2019\n\nSo Esben was fed for a while longer on sweet milk and nut-kernels, until\none day the witch thought that now he must surely be fat enough, and\ntold her daughter again to go and cut a finger off him. By this time\nEsben was tired of staying in the dark hole, so he told her to go and\ncut a teat off a cow, and give it to the witch to bite at. This the\ndaughter did, and the witch cried, \u2018Ah! now he is fat--so fat that one\ncan scarcely feel the bone in him. Now he shall be killed.\u2019\n\nNow this was just the very time that the witch had to go to Troms\nChurch, where all the witches gather once every year, so she had no time\nto deal with Esben herself. She therefore told her daughter to heat up\nthe big oven while she was away, take Esben out of his prison, and roast\nhim in there before she came back. The daughter promised all this, and\nthe witch went off on her journey.\n\nThe daughter then made the oven as hot as could be, and took Esben out\nof his prison in order to roast him. She brought the oven spade, and\ntold Esben to seat himself on it, so that she could shoot him into the\noven. Esben accordingly took his seat on it, but when she had got him to\nthe mouth of the oven he spread his legs out wide, so that she could not\nget him pushed in.\n\n\u2018You mustn\u2019t sit like that,\u2019 said she.\n\n\u2018How then?\u2019 said Esben.\n\n\u2018You must cross your legs,\u2019 said the daughter; but Esben could not\nunderstand what she meant by this.\n\n\u2018Get out of the way,\u2019 said she, \u2018and I will show you how to place\nyourself.\u2019\n\nShe seated herself on the oven spade, but no sooner had she done so than\nEsben laid hold of it, shot her into the oven, and fastened the door\nof it. Then he ran and seized the coverlet, but as soon as he did so it\nsounded so that it could be heard over eight kingdoms, and the witch,\nwho was at Troms Church, came flying home, and shouted, \u2018Hey! is that\nyou again, Esben?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ye--e--s!\u2019\n\n\u2018It was you that made me kill my eleven daughters?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ye--e--s!\u2019\n\n\u2018And took my dove?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ye--e--s!\u2019\n\n\u2018And my beautiful boar?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ye--e--s!\u2019\n\n\u2018And drowned my twelfth daughter in the well, and took my lamp?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ye--e--s!\u2019\n\n\u2018And now you have roasted my thirteenth and last daughter in the oven,\nand taken my coverlet?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ye\u00c4e\u00c4s!\u2019\n\n\u2018Are you coming back again?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, never again,\u2019 said Esben.\n\nAt this the witch became so furious that she sprang into numberless\npieces of flint, and from this come all the flint stones that one finds\nabout the country.\n\nEsben had found again his little stick, which the witch had taken from\nhim, so he said,\n\n     Fly quick, my little stick, Carry me across the stream.\n\nNext moment he was back at the king\u2019s palace. Here things were in a bad\nway, for the king had thrown all the eleven brothers into prison, and\nthey were to be executed very shortly because they had not brought him\nthe coverlet. Esben now went up to the king and gave him the coverlet,\nwith which the king was greatly delighted. When he touched it it could\nbe heard over eight kingdoms, and all the other kings sat and were angry\nbecause they had not one like it.\n\nEsben also told how everything had happened, and how Sir Red had done\nthe brothers all the ill he could devise because he was envious of\nthem. The brothers were at once set at liberty, while Sir Red, for his\nwickedness, was hanged on the highest tree that could be found, and so\nhe got the reward he deserved.\n\nMuch was made of Esben and his brothers, and these now thanked him for\nall that he had done for them. The twelve of them received as much gold\nand silver as they could carry, and betook themselves home to their old\nfather. When he saw again his twelve sons, whom he had never expected to\nsee more, he was so glad that he wept for joy. The brothers told him\nhow much Esben had done, and how he had saved their lives, and from that\ntime forward he was no longer the butt of the rest at home.\n\n\n\n\nPrincess Minon-minette\n\nBibliotheque des Fees et aes Genies\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a young king whose name was Souci, and he\nhad been brought up, ever since he was a baby, by the fairy Inconstancy.\nNow the fairy Girouette had a kind heart, but she was a very trying\nperson to live with, for she never knew her own mind for two minutes\ntogether, and as she was the sole ruler at Court till the prince grew\nup everything was always at sixes and sevens. At first she determined to\nfollow the old custom of keeping the young king ignorant of the duties\nhe would have to perform some day; then, quite suddenly, she resigned\nthe reins of government into his hands; but, unluckily, it was too late\nto train him properly for the post. However, the fairy did not think of\nthat, but, carried away by her new ideas, she hastily formed a Council,\nand named as Prime Minister the excellent \u2018Ditto,\u2019 so called because he\nhad never been known to contradict anybody.\n\nYoung Prince Souci had a handsome face, and at the bottom a good deal of\ncommon sense; but he had never been taught good manners, and was shy and\nawkward; and had, besides, never learned how to use his brains.\n\nUnder these circumstances it is not surprising that the Council did not\nget through much work. Indeed, the affairs of the country fell into such\ndisorder that at last the people broke out into open rebellion, and it\nwas only the courage of the king, who continued to play the flute while\nswords and spears were flashing before the palace gate, that prevented\ncivil war from being declared.\n\nNo sooner was the revolt put down than the Council turned their\nattention to the question of the young king\u2019s marriage. Various\nprincesses were proposed to him, and the fairy, who was anxious to\nget the affair over before she left the Court for ever, gave it as her\nopinion that the Princess Diaphana would make the most suitable wife.\nAccordingly envoys were sent to bring back an exact report of the\nprincess\u2019s looks and ways, and they returned saying that she was tall\nand well made, but so very light that the equerries who accompanied her\nin her walks had to be always watching her, lest she should suddenly be\nblown away. This had happened so often that her subjects lived in terror\nof losing her altogether, and tried everything they could think of\nto keep her to the ground. They even suggested that she should carry\nweights in her pockets, or have them tied to her ankles; but this idea\nwas given up, as the princess found it so uncomfortable. At length it\nwas decided that she was never to go out in a wind, and in order to make\nmatters surer still the equerries each held the end of a string which\nwas fastened to her waist.\n\nThe Council talked over this report for some days, and then the king\nmade up his mind that he would judge for himself, and pretend to be\nhis own ambassador. This plan was by no means new, but it had often\nsucceeded, and, anyhow, they could think of nothing better.\n\nSuch a splendid embassy had never before been seen in any country.\nThe kingdom was left in the charge of the Prime Minister, who answered\n\u2018Ditto\u2019 to everything; but the choice was better than it seemed, for the\nworthy man was much beloved by the people, as he agreed with all they\nsaid, and they left him feeling very pleased with themselves and their\nown wisdom.\n\nWhen the king arrived at Diaphana\u2019s Court he found a magnificent\nreception awaiting him, for, though they pretended not to know who he\nwas, secrets like this are never hidden. Now the young king had a great\ndislike to long ceremonies, so he proposed that his second interview\nwith the princess should take place in the garden. The princess made\nsome difficulties, but, as the weather was lovely and very still, she\nat last consented to the king\u2019s wishes. But no sooner had they finished\ntheir first bows and curtseys than a slight breeze sprung up, and began\nto sway the princess, whose equerries had retired out of respect. The\nking went forward to steady her, but the wind that he caused only drove\nher further away from him. He rushed after her exclaiming, \u2018O princess!\nare you really running away from me?\u2019\n\n\u2018Good gracious, no!\u2019 she replied. \u2018Run a little quicker and you will be\nable to stop me, and I shall be for ever grateful. That is what comes\nof talking in a garden,\u2019 she added in disgust; \u2018as if one wasn\u2019t much\nbetter in a room that was tightly closed all round.\u2019\n\nThe king ran as fast as he could, but the wind ran faster still, and in\na moment the princess was whirled to the bottom of the garden, which was\nbounded by a ditch. She cleared it like a bird, and the king, who was\nobliged to stop short at the edge, saw the lovely Diaphana flying over\nthe plain, sometimes driven to the right, sometimes to the left, till at\nlast she vanished out of sight.\n\nBy this time the whole court were running over the plain, some on foot\nand some on horseback, all hurrying to the help of their princess, who\nreally was in some danger, for the wind was rising to the force of\na gale. The king looked on for a little, and then returned with his\nattendants to the palace, reflecting all the while on the extreme\nlightness of his proposed bride and the absurdity of having a wife that\nrose in the air better than any kite. He thought on the whole that it\nwould be wiser not to wait longer, but to depart at once, and he started\non horseback at the very moment when the princess had been found by\nher followers, wet to the skin, and blown against a rick. Souci met the\ncarriage which was bringing her home, and stopped to congratulate her on\nher escape, and to advise her to put on dry clothes. Then he continued\nhis journey.\n\nIt took a good while for the king to get home again, and he was rather\ncross at having had so much trouble for nothing. Besides which, his\ncourtiers made fun at his adventure, and he did not like being laughed\nat, though of course they did not dare to do it before his face. And\nthe end of it was that very soon he started on his travels again,\nonly allowing one equerry to accompany him, and even this attendant he\nmanaged to lose the moment he had left his own kingdom behind him.\n\nNow it was the custom in those days for princes and princesses to be\nbrought up by fairies, who loved them as their own children, and did not\nmind what inconvenience they put other people to for their sakes, for\nall the world as if they had been real mothers. The fairy Aveline, who\nlived in a country that touched at one point the kingdom of King Souci,\nhad under her care the lovely Princess Minon-Minette, and had made up\nher mind to marry her to the young king, who, in spite of his awkward\nmanners, which could be improved, was really very much nicer than most\nof the young men she was likely to meet.\n\nSo Aveline made her preparations accordingly, and began by arranging\nthat the equerry should lose himself in the forest, after which she took\naway the king\u2019s sword and his horse while he lay asleep under a tree.\nHer reason for this was that she felt persuaded that, finding himself\nsuddenly alone and robbed of everything, the king would hide his real\nbirth, and would have to fall back on his powers of pleasing, like other\nmen, which would be much better for him.\n\nWhen the king awoke and found that the tree to which he had tied his\nhorse had its lowest branch broken, and that nothing living was in\nsight, he was much dismayed, and sought high and low for his lost\ntreasure, but all in vain. After a time he began to get hungry, so he\ndecided that he had better try to find his way out of the forest, and\nperhaps he might have a chance of getting something to eat. He had only\ngone a few steps when he met Aveline, who had taken the shape of an old\nwoman with a heavy bundle of faggots on her back. She staggered along\nthe path and almost fell at his feet, and Souci, afraid that she might\nhave hurt herself, picked her up and set her on her feet again before\npassing on his way. But he was not to be let off so easy.\n\n\u2018What about my bundle?\u2019 cried the old woman. \u2018Where is your politeness?\nReally, you seem to have been very nicely brought up! What have they\ntaught you?\u2019\n\n\u2018Taught me? Nothing,\u2019 replied he.\n\n\u2018I can well believe it!\u2019 she said. \u2018You don\u2019t know even how to pick up\na bundle. Oh, you can come near; I am cleverer than you, and know how to\npick up a bundle very well.\u2019\n\nThe king blushed at her words, which he felt had a great deal of truth\nin them, and took up the bundle meekly.\n\nAveline, delighted at the success of her first experiment, hobbled along\nafter him, chattering all the while, as old women do.\n\n\u2018I wish,\u2019 she said, \u2018that all kings had done as much once in their\nlives. Then they would know what a lot of trouble it takes to get wood\nfor their fires.\u2019\n\nSouci felt this to be true, and was sorry for the old woman.\n\n\u2018Where are we going to?\u2019 asked he.\n\n\u2018To the castle of the White Demon; and if you are in want of work I will\nfind you something to do.\u2019\n\n\u2018But I can\u2019t do anything,\u2019 he said, \u2018except carry a bundle, and I shan\u2019t\nearn much by that.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, you are learning,\u2019 replied the old woman, \u2018and it isn\u2019t bad for a\nfirst lesson.\u2019 But the king was paying very little attention to her, for\nhe was rather cross and very tired. Indeed, he felt that he really could\nnot carry the bundle any further, and was about to lay it down when\nup came a young maiden more beautiful than the day, and covered with\nprecious stones. She ran to them, exclaiming to the old woman,\n\n\u2018Oh, you poor thing! I was just coming after you to see if I could help\nyou.\u2019\n\n\u2018Here is a young man,\u2019 replied the old woman, \u2018who will be quite ready\nto give you up the bundle. You see he does not look as if he enjoyed\ncarrying it.\u2019\n\n\u2018Will you let me take it, sir?\u2019 she asked.\n\nBut the king felt ashamed of himself, and held on to it tightly, while\nthe presence of the princess put him in a better temper.\n\nSo they all travelled together till they arrived at a very\nordinary-looking house, which Aveline pointed out as the castle of the\nWhite Demon, and told the king that he might put down his bundle in\nthe courtyard. The young man was terribly afraid of being recognised by\nsomeone in this strange position, and would have turned on his heel and\ngone away had it not been for the thought of Minon-Minette. Still, he\nfelt very awkward and lonely, for both the princess and the old woman\nhad entered the castle without taking the slightest notice of the young\nman, who remained where he was for some time, not quite knowing what\nhe had better do. At length a servant arrived and led him up into a\nbeautiful room filled with people, who were either playing on musical\ninstruments or talking in a lively manner, which astonished the king,\nwho stood silently listening, and not at all pleased at the want of\nattention paid him.\n\nMatters went on this way for some time. Every day the king fell more and\nmore in love with Minon-Minette, and every day the princess seemed more\nand more taken up with other people. At last, in despair, the prince\nsought out the old woman, to try to get some advice from her as to\nhis conduct, or, anyway, to have the pleasure of talking about\nMinon-Minette.\n\nHe found her spinning in an underground chamber, but quite ready to tell\nhim all he wanted to know. In answer to his questions he learned that\nin order to win the hand of the princess it was not enough to be born a\nprince, for she would marry nobody who had not proved himself faithful,\nand had, besides, all those talents and accomplishments which help to\nmake people happy.\n\nFor a moment Souci was very much cast down on hearing this, but then\nhe plucked up. \u2018Tell me what I must do in order to win the heart of the\nprincess, and no matter how hard it is I will do it. And show me how I\ncan repay you for your kindness, and you shall have anything I can give\nyou. Shall I bring in your bundle of faggots every day?\u2019\n\n\u2018It is enough that you should have made the offer,\u2019 replied the old\nwoman; and she added, holding out a skein of thread, \u2018Take this; one\nday you will be thankful for it, and when it becomes useless your\ndifficulties will be past.\u2019\n\n\u2018Is it the skein of my life?\u2019 he asked.\n\n\u2018It is the skein of your love\u2019s ill-luck,\u2019 she said.\n\nAnd he took it and went away.\n\nNow the fairy Girouette, who had brought up Souci, had an old friend\ncalled Grimace, the protectress of Prince Fluet. Grimace often talked\nover the young prince\u2019s affairs with Girouette, and, when she decided\nthat he was old enough to govern his own kingdom, consulted Girouette\nas to a suitable wife. Girouette, who never stopped to think or to make\ninquiries, drew such a delightful picture of Minon-Minette that\nGrimace determined to spare no pains to bring about the marriage, and\naccordingly Fluet was presented at court. But though the young man was\npleasant and handsome, the princess thought him rather womanish in some\nways, and displayed her opinion so openly as to draw upon herself and\nAveline the anger of the fairy, who declared that Minon-Minette should\nnever know happiness till she had found a bridge without an arch and a\nbird without feathers. So saying, she also went away.\n\nBefore the king set out afresh on his travels Aveline had restored to\nhim his horse and his sword, and though these were but small consolation\nfor the absence of the princess, they were better than nothing, for he\nfelt that somehow they might be the means of leading him back to her.\n\nAfter crossing several deserts the king arrived at length in a country\nthat seemed inhabited, but the instant he stepped over the border he\nwas seized and flung into chains, and dragged at once to the capital.\nHe asked his guards why he was treated like this, but the only answer he\ngot was that he was in the territory of the Iron King, for in those days\ncountries had no names of their own, but were called after their rulers.\n\nThe young man was led into the presence of the Iron King, who was seated\non a black throne in a hall also hung with black, as a token of mourning\nfor all the relations whom he had put to death.\n\n\u2018What are you doing in my country?\u2019 he cried fiercely.\n\n\u2018I came here by accident,\u2019 replied Souci, \u2018and if I ever escape\nfrom your clutches I will take warning by you and treat my subjects\ndifferently.\u2019\n\n\u2018Do you dare to insult me in my own court?\u2019 cried the king. \u2018Away with\nhim to Little Ease!\u2019\n\nNow Little Ease was an iron cage hung by four thick chains in the middle\nof a great vaulted hall, and the prisoner inside could neither sit,\nnor stand, nor lie; and, besides that, he was made to suffer by turns\nunbearable heat and cold, while a hundred heavy bolts kept everything\nsafe. Girouette, whose business it was to see after Souci, had forgotten\nhis existence in the excitement of some new idea, and he would not have\nbeen alive long to trouble anybody if Aveline had not come to the rescue\nand whispered in his ear, \u2018And the skein of thread?\u2019 He took it up\nobediently, though he did not see how it would help him but he tied it\nround one of the iron bars of his cage, which seemed the only thing he\ncould do, and gave a pull. To his surprise the bar gave way at once, and\nhe found he could break it into a thousand pieces. After this it did\nnot take him long to get out of his cage, or to treat the closely barred\nwindows of the hall in the same manner. But even after he had done all\nthis freedom appeared as far from him as ever, for between him and the\nopen country was a high wall, and so smooth that not even a monkey could\nclimb it. Then Souci\u2019s heart died within him. He saw nothing for it but\nto submit to some horrible death, but he determined that the Iron King\nshould not profit more than he could help, and flung his precious thread\ninto the air, saying, as he did so, \u2018O fairy, my misfortunes are greater\nthan your power. I am grateful for your goodwill, but take back your\ngift!\u2019 The fairy had pity on his youth and want of faith, and took care\nthat one end of the thread remained in his hand. He suddenly felt a\njerk, and saw that the thread must have caught on something, and this\nthought filled him with the daring that is born of despair. \u2018Better,\u2019 he\nsaid to himself, \u2018trust to a thread than to the mercies of a king;\u2019 and,\ngliding down, he found himself safe on the other side of the wall. Then\nhe rolled up the thread and put it carefully into his pocket, breathing\nsilent thanks to the fairy.\n\nNow Minon-Minette had been kept informed by Aveline of the prince\u2019s\nadventures, and when she heard of the way in which he had been treated\nby the Iron King she became furious, and began to prepare for war. She\nmade her plans with all the secrecy she could, but when great armies are\ncollected people are apt to suspect a storm is brewing, and of course it\nis very difficult to keep anything hidden from fairy godmothers. Anyway,\nGrimace soon heard of it, and as she had never forgiven Minon-Minette\nfor refusing Prince Fluet, she felt that here was her chance of revenge.\n\nUp to this time Aveline had been able to put a stop to many of Grimace\u2019s\nspiteful tricks, and to keep guard over Minon-Minette, but she had no\npower over anything that happened at a distance; and when the princess\ndeclared her intention of putting herself at the head of her army,\nand began to train herself to bear fatigue by hunting daily, the fairy\nentreated her to be careful never to cross the borders of her dominions\nwithout Aveline to protect her. The princess at once gave her promise,\nand all went well for some days. Unluckily one morning, as Minon-Minette\nwas cantering slowly on her beautiful white horse, thinking a great deal\nabout Souci and not at all of the boundaries of her kingdom (of which,\nindeed, she was very ignorant), she suddenly found herself in front of\na house made entirely of dead leaves, which somehow brought all sorts of\nunpleasant things into her head. She remembered Aveline\u2019s warning, and\ntried to turn her horse, but it stood as still as if it had been marble.\nThen the princess felt that she was slowly, and against her will, being\ndragged to the ground. She shrieked, and clung tightly to the saddle,\nbut it was all in vain; she longed to fly, but something outside herself\nproved too strong for her, and she was forced to take the path that led\nto the House of Dead Leaves.\n\nScarcely had her feet touched the threshold than Grimace appeared. \u2018So\nhere you are at last, Minon-Minette! I have been watching for you a long\ntime, and my trap was ready for you from the beginning. Come here, my\ndarling! I will teach you to make war on my friends! Things won\u2019t turn\nout exactly as you fancied. What you have got to do now is to go on\nyour knees to the king and crave his pardon, and before he consents to\na peace you will have to implore him to grant you the favour of becoming\nhis wife. Meanwhile you will have to be my servant.\u2019\n\nFrom that day the poor princess was put to the hardest and dirtiest\nwork, and each morning something more disagreeable seemed to await her.\nBesides which, she had no food but a little black bread, and no bed but\na little straw. Out of pure spite she was sent in the heat of the day to\nlook after the geese, and would most likely have got a sunstroke if she\nhad not happened to pick up in the fields a large fan, with which she\nsheltered her face. To be sure, a fan seems rather an odd possession for\na goose girl, but the princess did not think of that, and she forgot\nall her troubles when, on opening the fan to use it as a parasol, out\ntumbled a letter from her lover. Then she felt sure that the fairy had\nnot forgotten her, and took heart.\n\nWhen Grimace saw that Minon-Minette still managed to look as white as\nsnow, instead of being burnt as brown as a berry, she wondered what\ncould have happened, and began to watch her closely. The following day,\nwhen the sun was at its highest and hottest, she noticed her draw a fan\nfrom the folds of her dress and hold it before her eyes. The fairy, in a\nrage, tried to snatch it from her, but the princess would not let it go.\n\u2018Give me that fan at once!\u2019 cried Grimace.\n\n\u2018Never while I live!\u2019 answered the princess, and, not knowing where\nit would be safest, placed it under her feet. In an instant she felt\nherself rising from the ground, with the fan always beneath her, and\nwhile Grimace was too much blinded by her fury to notice what was going\non the princess was quickly soaring out of her reach.\n\nAll this time Souci had been wandering through the world with his\nprecious thread carefully fastened round him, seeking every possible\nand impossible place where his beloved princess might chance to be. But\nthough he sometimes found traces of her, or even messages scratched on a\nrock, or cut in the bark of a tree, she herself was nowhere to be found.\n\u2018If she is not on the earth,\u2019 said Souci to himself, \u2018perhaps she is\nhiding somewhere in the air. It is there that I shall find her.\u2019 So, by\nthe help of his thread, he tried to mount upwards, but he could go such\na little way, and hurt himself dreadfully when he tumbled back to earth\nagain. Still he did not give up, and after many days of efforts and\ntumbles he found to his great joy that he could go a little higher and\nstay up a little longer than he had done at first, and by-and-bye he\nwas able to live in the air altogether. But alas! the world of the air\nseemed as empty of her as the world below, and Souci was beginning to\ndespair, and to think that he must go and search the world that lay in\nthe sea. He was floating sadly along, not paying any heed to where he\nwas going, when he saw in the distance a beautiful, bright sort of bird\ncoming towards him. His heart beat fast--he did not know why--and as\nthey both drew near the voice of the princess exclaimed, \u2018Behold the\nbird without feathers and the bridge without an arch!\u2019\n\nSo their first meeting took place in the air, but it was none the less\nhappy for that; and the fan grew big enough to hold the king as well as\nAveline, who had hastened to give them some good advice. She guided the\nfan above the spot where the two armies lay encamped before each other\nready to give battle. The fight was long and bloody, but in the end the\nIron King was obliged to give way and surrender to the princess, who\nset him to keep King Souci\u2019s sheep, first making him swear a solemn oath\nthat he would treat them kindly.\n\nThen the marriage took place, in the presence of Girouette, whom\nthey had the greatest trouble to find, and who was much astonished to\ndiscover how much business had been got through in her absence.\n\n\n\n\nMaiden Bright-eye\n\nFrom the Danish\n\n\nOnce, upon a time there was a man and his wife who had two children, a\nboy and a girl. The wife died, and the man married again. His new\nwife had an only daughter, who was both ugly and untidy, whereas her\nstepdaughter was a beautiful girl, and was known as Maiden Bright-eye.\nHer stepmother was very cruel to her on this account; she had always to\ndo the hardest work, and got very little to eat, and no attention paid\nto her; but to her own daughter she was all that was good. She was\nspared from all the hardest of the housework, and had always the\nprettiest clothes to wear.\n\nMaiden Bright-eye had also to watch the sheep, but of course it would\nnever do to let her go idle and enjoy herself too much at this work, so\nshe had to pull heather while she was out on the moors with them. Her\nstepmother gave her pancakes to take with her for her dinner, but she\nhad mixed the flour with ashes, and made them just as bad as she could.\n\nThe little girl came out on the moor and began to pull heather on the\nside of a little mound, but next minute a little fellow with a red cap\non his head popped up out of the mound and said:\n\n\u2018Who\u2019s that pulling the roof off my house?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, it\u2019s me, a poor little girl,\u2019 said she; \u2018my mother sent me out\nhere, and told me to pull heather. If you will be good to me I will give\nyou a bit of my dinner.\u2019\n\nThe little fellow was quite willing, and she gave him the biggest share\nof her pancakes. They were not particularly good, but when one is hungry\nanything tastes well. After he had got them all eaten he said to her:\n\n\u2018Now, I shall give you three wishes, for you are a very nice little\ngirl; but I will choose the wishes for you. You are beautiful, and much\nmore beautiful shall you be; yes, so lovely that there will not be your\nlike in the world. The next wish shall be that every time you open your\nmouth a gold coin shall fall out of it, and your voice shall be like the\nmost beautiful music. The third wish shall be that you may be married to\nthe young king, and become the queen of the country. At the same time\nI shall give you a cap, which you must carefully keep, for it can save\nyou, if you ever are in danger of your life, if you just put it on your\nhead.\n\nMaiden Bright-eye thanked the little bergman ever so often, and drove\nhome her sheep in the evening. By that time she had grown so beautiful\nthat her people could scarcely recognise her. Her stepmother asked her\nhow it had come about that she had grown so beautiful. She told the\nwhole story--for she always told the truth--that a little man had come\nto her out on the moor and had given her all this beauty. She did not\ntell, however, that she had given him a share of her dinner.\n\nThe stepmother thought to herself, \u2018If one can become so beautiful by\ngoing out there, my own daughter shall also be sent, for she can well\nstand being made a little prettier.\u2019\n\nNext morning she baked for her the finest cakes, and dressed her\nprettily to go out with the sheep. But she was afraid to go away there\nwithout having a stick to defend herself with if anything should come\nnear her.\n\nShe was not very much inclined for pulling the heather, as she never was\nin the habit of doing any work, but she was only a minute or so at it\nwhen up came the same little fellow with the red cap, and said:\n\n\u2018Who\u2019s that pulling the roof off my house?\u2019\n\n\u2018What\u2019s that to you?\u2019 said she.\n\n\u2018Well, if you will give me a bit of your dinner I won\u2019t do you any\nmischief,\u2019 said he.\n\n\u2018I will give you something else in place of my dinner,\u2019 said she. \u2018I\ncan easily eat it myself; but if you will have something you can have\na whack of my stick,\u2019 and with that she raised it in the air and struck\nthe bergman over the head with it.\n\n\u2018What a wicked little girl you are!\u2019 said he; \u2018but you shall be none the\nbetter of this. I shall give you three wishes, and choose them for you.\nFirst, I shall say, \u201cUgly are you, but you shall become so ugly that\nthere will not be an uglier one on earth.\u201d Next I shall wish that every\ntime you open your mouth a big toad may fall out of it, and your voice\nshall be like the roaring of a bull. In the third place I shall wish for\nyou a violent death.\u2019\n\nThe girl went home in the evening, and when her mother saw her she was\nas vexed as she could be, and with good reason, too; but it was still\nworse when she saw the toads fall out of her mouth and heard her voice.\n\nNow we must hear something about the stepson. He had gone out into the\nworld to look about him, and took service in the king\u2019s palace. About\nthis time he got permission to go home and see his sister, and when he\nsaw how lovely and beautiful she was, he was so pleased and delighted\nthat when he came back to the king\u2019s palace everyone there wanted to\nknow what he was always so happy about. He told them that it was because\nhe had such a lovely sister at home.\n\nAt last it came to the ears of the king what the brother said about his\nsister, and, besides that, the report of her beauty spread far and\nwide, so that the youth was summoned before the king, who asked him if\neverything was true that was told about the girl. He said it was quite\ntrue, for he had seen her beauty with his own eyes, and had heard with\nhis own ears how sweetly she could sing and what a lovely voice she had.\n\nThe king then took a great desire for her, and ordered her brother to\ngo home and bring her back with him, for he trusted no one better to\naccomplish that errand. He got a ship, and everything else that he\nrequired, and sailed home for his sister. As soon as the stepmother\nheard what his errand was she at once said to herself, \u2018This will never\ncome about if I can do anything to hinder it. She must not be allowed to\ncome to such honour.\u2019\n\nShe then got a dress made for her own daughter, like the finest robe for\na queen, and she had a mask prepared and put upon her face, so that she\nlooked quite pretty, and gave her strict orders not to take it off until\nthe king had promised to wed her.\n\nThe brother now set sail with his two sisters, for the stepmother\npretended that the ugly one wanted to see the other a bit on her way.\nBut when they got out to sea, and Maiden Bright-eye came up on deck,\nthe sister did as her mother had instructed her--she gave her a push and\nmade her fall into the water. When the brother learned what had happened\nhe was greatly distressed, and did not know what to do. He could not\nbring himself to tell the truth about what had happened, nor did he\nexpect that the king would believe it. In the long run he decided to\nhold on his way, and let things go as they liked. What he had expected\nhappened--the king received his sister and wedded her at once, but\nrepented it after the first night, as he could scarcely put down his\nfoot in the morning for all the toads that were about the room, and when\nhe saw her real face he was so enraged against the brother that he had\nhim thrown into a pit full of serpents. He was so angry, not merely\nbecause he had been deceived, but because he could not get rid of the\nugly wretch that was now tied to him for life.\n\nNow we shall hear a little about Maiden Bright-eye When she fell into\nthe water she was fortunate enough to get the bergman\u2019s cap put on\nher head, for now she was in danger of her life, and she was at once\ntransformed into a duck. The duck swam away after the ship, and came to\nthe king\u2019s palace on the next evening. There it waddled up the drain,\nand so into the kitchen, where her little dog lay on the hearth-stone;\nit could not bear to stay in the fine chambers along with the ugly\nsister, and had taken refuge down here. The duck hopped up till it could\ntalk to the dog.\n\n\u2018Good evening,\u2019 it said.\n\n\u2018Thanks, Maiden Bright-eye,\u2019 said the dog.\n\n\u2018Where is my brother?\u2019\n\n\u2018He is in the serpent-pit.\u2019\n\n\u2018Where is my wicked sister?\u2019\n\n\u2018She is with the noble king.\u2019\n\n\u2018Alas! alas! I am here this evening, and shall be for two evenings yet,\nand then I shall never come again.\u2019\n\nWhen it had said this the duck waddled off again. Several of the servant\ngirls heard the conversation, and were greatly surprised at it, and\nthought that it would be worth while to catch the bird next evening and\nsee into the matter a little more closely. They had heard it say that it\nwould come again.\n\nNext evening it appeared as it had said, and a great many were present\nto see it. It came waddling in by the drain, and went up to the dog,\nwhich was lying on the hearth-stone.\n\n\u2018Good evening,\u2019 it said.\n\n\u2018Thanks, Maiden Bright-eye,\u2019 said the dog.\n\n\u2018Where is my brother?\u2019\n\n\u2018He is in the serpent-pit.\u2019\n\n\u2018Where is my wicked sister?\u2019\n\n\u2018She is with the noble king.\u2019\n\n\u2018Alas! alas! I am here this evening, and shall be for one evening yet,\nand then I shall never come again.\u2019\n\nAfter this it slipped out, and no one could get hold of it. But the\nking\u2019s cook thought to himself, \u2018I shall see if I can\u2019t get hold of you\nto-morrow evening.\u2019\n\nOn the third evening the duck again came waddling in by the drain, and\nup to the dog on the hearth-stone.\n\n\u2018Good evening,\u2019 it said.\n\n\u2018Thanks, Maiden Bright-eye,\u2019 said the dog.\n\n\u2018Where is my brother?\u2019\n\n\u2018He is in the serpent-pit.\u2019\n\n\u2018Where is my wicked sister?\u2019\n\n\u2018She is with the noble king.\u2019\n\n\u2018Alas! alas! now I shall never come again.\u2019\n\nWith this it slipped out again, but in the meantime the cook had posted\nhimself at the outer end of the drain with a net, which he threw over it\nas it came out. In this way he caught it, and came in to the others with\nthe most beautiful duck they had ever seen--with so many golden feathers\non it that everyone marvelled. No one, however, knew what was to be\ndone with it; but after what they had heard they knew that there was\nsomething uncommon about it, so they took good care of it.\n\nAt this time the brother in the serpent-pit dreamed that his right\nsister had come swimming to the king\u2019s palace in the shape of a duck,\nand that she could not regain her own form until her beak was cut off.\nHe got this dream told to some one, so that the king at last came to\nhear of it, and had him taken up out of the pit and brought before\nhim. The king then asked him if he could produce to him his sister as\nbeautiful as he had formerly described her. The brother said he could if\nthey would bring him the duck and a knife.\n\nBoth of them were brought to him, and he said, \u2018I wonder how you would\nlook if I were to cut the point off your beak.\u2019\n\nWith this he cut a piece off the beak, and there came a voice which\nsaid, \u2018Oh, oh, you cut my little finger!\u2019\n\nNext moment Maiden Bright-eye stood there, as lovely and beautiful as he\nhad seen her when he was home. This was his sister now, he said; and the\nwhole story now came out of how the other had behaved to her. The wicked\nsister was put into a barrel with spikes round it which was dragged\noff by six wild horses, and so she came to her end.:But the king was\ndelighted with Maiden Bright-eye, and immediately made her his queen,\nwhile her brother became his prime minister.\n\n\n\n\nThe Merry Wives\n\nFrom the Danish\n\n\nThere lay three houses in a row, in one of which there lived a tailor,\nin another a carpenter, and in the third a smith. All three were\nmarried, and their wives were very good friends. They often talked about\nhow stupid their husbands were, but they could never agree as to which\nof them had the most stupid one; each one stuck up for her own husband,\nand maintained that it was he.\n\nThe three wives went to church together every Sunday, and had a regular\ngood gossip on the way, and when they were coming home from church they\nalways turned into the tavern which lay by the wayside and drank half\na pint together. This was at the time when half a pint of brandy cost\nthreepence, so that was just a penny from each of them.\n\nBut the brandy went up in price, and the taverner said that he must have\nfourpence for the half-pint.\n\nThey were greatly annoyed at this, for there were only the three of them\nto share it, and none of them was willing to pay the extra penny.\n\nAs they went home from the church that day they decided to wager with\neach other as to whose husband was the most stupid, and the one who, on\nthe following Sunday, should be judged to have played her husband the\ngreatest trick should thereafter go free from paying, and each of the\ntwo others would give twopence for their Sunday\u2019s half-pint.\n\nNext day the tailor\u2019s wife said to her husband, \u2018I have some girls\ncoming to-day to help to card my wool there is a great deal to do, and\nwe must be very busy. I am so annoyed that our watchdog is dead, for in\nthe evening the young fellows will come about to get fun with the girls,\nand they will get nothing done. If we had only had a fierce watchdog he\nwould have kept them away.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said the man, \u2018that would have been a good thing.\u2019\n\n\u2018Listen, good man,\u2019 said the wife, \u2018you must just be the watchdog\nyourself, and scare the fellows away from the house.\u2019\n\nThe husband was not very sure about this, although otherwise he was\nalways ready to give in to her.\n\n\u2018Oh yes, you will see it will work all right,\u2019 said the wife.\n\nAnd so towards evening she got the tailor dressed up in a shaggy fur\ncoat, tied a black woollen cloth round his head, and chained him up\nbeside the dog\u2019s kennel.\u2019\n\nThere he stood and barked and growled at everyone that moved in his\nneighbourhood. The neighbour wives knew all about this, and were greatly\namused at it.\n\nOn the day after this the carpenter had been out at work, and came home\nquite merry; but as soon as he entered the house his wife clapped her\nhands together and cried, \u2018My dear, what makes you look like that? You\nare ill.\u2019\n\nThe carpenter knew nothing about being ill; he only thought that he\nwanted something to eat, so he sat down at the table and began his\ndinner.\n\nHis wife sat straight in front of him, with her hands folded, and shook\nher head, and looked at him with an anxious air.\n\n\u2018You are getting worse, my dear,\u2019 she said; \u2018you are quite pale now; you\nhave a serious illness about you; I can see it by your looks.\u2019\n\nThe husband now began to grow anxious, and thought that perhaps he was\nnot quite well.\n\n\u2018No, indeed,\u2019 said she; \u2018it\u2019s high time that you were in bed.\u2019\n\nShe then got him to lie down, and piled above him all the bedclothes\nshe could find, and gave him various medicines, while he grew worse and\nworse.\n\n\u2018You will never get over it,\u2019 said she; \u2018I am afraid you are going to\ndie.\u2019\n\n\u2018Do you think so?\u2019 said the carpenter; \u2018I can well believe it, for I am\nindeed very poorly.\u2019\n\nIn a little while she said again, \u2018Ah, now I must part with you. Here\ncomes Death. Now I must close your eyes.\u2019 And she did so.\n\nThe carpenter believed everything that his wife said, and so he believed\nnow that he was dead, and lay still and let her do as she pleased.\n\nShe got her neighbours summoned, and they helped to lay him in the\ncoffin--it was one of those he himself had made; but his wife had bored\nholes in it to let him get some air. She made a soft bed under him, and\nput a coverlet over him, and she folded his hands over his breast;\nbut instead of a flower or a psalm-book, she gave him a pint-bottle of\nbrandy in his hands. After he had lain for a little he took a little\npull at this, and then another and another, and he thought this did\nhim good, and soon he was sleeping sweetly, and dreaming that he was in\nheaven.\n\nMeanwhile word had gone round the village that the carpenter was dead,\nand was to be buried next day.\n\nIt was now the turn of the smith\u2019s wife. Her husband was lying sleeping\noff the effects of a drinking bout, so she pulled off all his clothes\nand made him black as coal from head to foot, and then let him sleep\ntill far on in the day.\n\nThe funeral party had already met at the carpenter\u2019s, and marched oft\ntowards the church with the coffin, when the smith\u2019s wife came rushing\nin to her husband.\n\n\u2018Gracious, man,\u2019 said she, \u2018you are lying there yet? You are sleeping\ntoo long. You know you are going to the funeral.\u2019\n\nThe smith was quite confused; he knew nothing about any funeral.\n\n\u2018It\u2019s our neighbour the carpenter,\u2019 said his wife, \u2018who is to be buried\nto-day. They are already half-way to church with him.\u2019\n\n\u2018All right,\u2019 said the smith, \u2018make haste to help me on with my black\nclothes.\u2019\n\n\u2018What nonsense!\u2019 said his wife, \u2018you have them on already. Be off with\nyou now.\u2019\n\nThe smith looked down at his person and saw that he was a good deal\nblacker than he usually was, so he caught up his hat and ran out after\nthe funeral. This was already close to the church, and the smith wanted\nto take part in carrying the coffin, like a good neighbour. So he ran\nwith all his might, and shouted after them, \u2018Hey! wait a little; let me\nget a hold of him!\u2019\n\nThe people turned round and saw the black figure coming, and thought it\nwas the devil himself, who wanted to get hold of the carpenter, so they\nthrew down the coffin and took to their heels.\n\nThe lid sprang off the coffin with the shock, and the carpenter woke up\nand looked out. He remembered the whole affair; he knew that he was dead\nand was going to be buried, and recognising the smith, he said to him,\nin a low voice, \u2018My good neighbour, if I hadn\u2019t been dead already, I\nshould have laughed myself to death now to see you coming like this to\nmy funeral.\u2019\n\nFrom that time forth the carpenter\u2019s wife drank free of expense every\nSunday, for the others had to admit that she had fooled her husband the\nbest.\n\n\n\n\nKing Lindorm\n\nFrom the Swedish.\n\n\nThere once lived a king and a queen who ruled over a very great kingdom.\nThey had large revenues, and lived happily with each other; but, as the\nyears went past, the king\u2019s heart became heavy, because the queen had no\nchildren. She also sorrowed greatly over it, because, although the king\nsaid nothing to her about this trouble, yet she could see that it vexed\nhim that they had no heir to the kingdom; and she wished every day that\nshe might have one.\n\nOne day a poor old woman came to the castle and asked to speak with the\nqueen. The royal servants answered that they could not let such a poor\nbeggar-woman go in to their royal mistress. They offered her a penny,\nand told her to go away. Then the woman desired them to tell the queen\nthat there stood at the palace gate one who would help her secret\nsorrow. This message was taken to the queen, who gave orders to bring\nthe old woman to her. This was done, and the old woman said to her:\n\n\u2018I know your secret sorrow, O queen, and am come to help you in it. You\nwish to have a son; you shall have two if you follow my instructions.\u2019\n\nThe queen was greatly surprised that the old woman knew her secret wish\nso well, and promised to follow her advice.\n\n\u2018You must have a bath set in your room, O queen,\u2019 said she, \u2018and filled\nwith running water. When you have bathed in this you will find. under\nthe bath two red onions. These you must carefully peel and eat, and in\ntime your wish will be fulfilled.\u2019\n\nThe queen did as the poor woman told her; and after she had bathed she\nfound the two onions under the bath. They were both alike in size\nand appearance. When she saw these she knew that the woman had been\nsomething more than she seemed to be, and in her delight she ate up one\nof the onions, skin and all. When she had done so she remembered that\nthe woman had told her to peel them carefully before she ate them. It\nwas now too late for the one of them, but she peeled the other and then\nate it too.\n\nIn due time it happened as the woman had said; but the first that the\nqueen gave birth to was a hideous lindorm, or serpent. No one saw this\nbut her waiting-woman, who threw it out of the window into the forest\nbeside the castle. The next that came into the world was the most\nbeautiful little prince, and he was shown to the king and queen, who\nknew nothing about his brother the lindorm.\n\nThere was now joy in all the palace and over the whole country on\naccount of the beautiful prince; but no one knew that the queen\u2019s\nfirst-born was a lindorm, and lay in the wild forest. Time passed\nwith the king, the queen, and the young prince in all happiness and\nprosperity, until he was twenty years of his age. Then his parents said\nto him that he should journey to another kingdom and seek for himself a\nbride, for they were beginning to grow old, and would fain see their son\nmarried. before they were laid in their grave. The prince obeyed, had\nhis horses harnessed to his gilded chariot, and set out to woo his\nbride. But when he came to the first cross-ways there lay a huge and\nterrible lindorm right across the road, so that his horses had to come\nto a standstill.\n\n\u2018Where are you driving to? \u2018 asked the lindorm with a hideous voice.\n\n\u2018That does not concern you,\u2019 said the prince. \u2018I am the prince, and can\ndrive where I please.\u2019\n\n\u2018Turn back,\u2019 said the lindorm. \u2018I know your errand, but you shall get no\nbride until I have got a mate and slept by her side.\u2019\n\nThe prince turned home again, and told the king and the queen what he\nhad met at the cross-roads; but they thought that he should try again on\nthe following day, and see whether he could not get past it, so that he\nmight seek a bride in another kingdom.\n\nThe prince did so, but got no further than the first cross-roads; there\nlay the lindorm again, who stopped him in the same way as before.\n\nThe same thing happened on the third day when the prince tried to get\npast: the lindorm said, with a threatening voice, that before the prince\ncould get a bride he himself must find a mate.\n\nWhen the king and queen heard this for the third time they could think\nof no better plan than to invite the lindorm to the palace, and they\nshould find him a mate. They thought that a lindorm would be quite well\nsatisfied with anyone that they might give him, and so they would get\nsome slave-woman to marry the monster. The lindorm came to the palace\nand received a bride of this kind, but in the morning she lay torn in\npieces. So it happened every time that the king and queen compelled any\nwoman to be his bride.\n\nThe report of this soon spread over all the country. Now it happened\nthat there was a man who had married a second time, and his wife heard\nof the lindorm with great delight. Her husband had a daughter by his\nfirst wife who was more beautiful than all other maidens, and so gentle\nand good that she won the heart of all who knew her. His second wife,\nhowever, had also a grown-up daughter, who by herself would have\nbeen ugly and disagreeable enough, but beside her good and beautiful\nstepsister seemed still more ugly and wicked, so that all turned from\nher with loathing.\n\nThe stepmother had long been annoyed that her husband\u2019s daughter was\nso much more beautiful than her own, and in her heart she conceived a\nbitter hatred for her stepdaughter. When she now heard that there was in\nthe king\u2019s palace a lindorm which tore in pieces all the women that were\nmarried to him, and demanded a beautiful maiden for his bride, she went\nto the king, and said that her stepdaughter wished to wed the lindorm,\nso that the country\u2019s only prince might travel and seek a bride. At\nthis the king was greatly delighted, and gave orders that the young girl\nshould be brought to the palace.\n\nWhen the messengers came to fetch her she was terribly frightened, for\nshe knew that it was her wicked stepmother who in this way was aiming at\nher life. She begged that she might be allowed to spend another night in\nher father\u2019s house. This was granted her, and she went to her mother\u2019s\ngrave. There she lamented her hard fate in being given over to the\nlindorm, and earnestly prayed her mother for counsel. How long she lay\nthere by the grave and wept one cannot tell, but sure it is that she\nfell asleep and slept until the sun rose. Then she rose up from the\ngrave, quite happy at heart, and began to search about in the fields.\nThere she found three nuts, which she carefully put away in her pocket.\n\n\u2018When I come into very great danger I must break one of these,\u2019 she said\nto herself. Then she went home, and set out quite willingly with the\nking\u2019s messengers.\n\nWhen these arrived at the palace with the beautiful young maiden\neveryone pitied her fate; but she herself was of good courage, and asked\nthe queen for another bridal chamber than the one the lindorm had had\nbefore. She got this, and then she requested them to put a pot full of\nstrong lye on the fire and lay down three new scrubbing brushes. The\nqueen gave orders that everything should be done as she desired; and\nthen the maiden dressed herself in seven clean snow-white shirts, and\nheld her wedding with the lindorm.\n\nWhen they were left alone in the bridal chamber the lindorm, in a\nthreatening voice, ordered her to undress herself.\n\n\u2018Undress yourself first!\u2019 said she.\n\n\u2018None of the others bade me do that,\u2019 said he in surprise.\n\n\u2018But I bid you,\u2019 said she.\n\nThen the lindorm began to writhe, and groan, and breathe heavily; and\nafter a little he had cast his outer skin, which lay on the floor,\nhideous to behold. Then his bride took off one of her snow-white shirts,\nand cast it on the lindorm\u2019s skin. Again he ordered her to undress,\nand again she commanded him to do so first. He had to obey, and with\ngroaning and pain cast off one skin after another, and for each skin the\nmaiden threw off one of her shirts, until there lay on the floor seven\nlindorm skins and six snow-white shirts; the seventh she still had on.\nThe lindorm now lay before her as a formless, slimy mass, which she with\nall her might began to scrub with the lye and new scrubbing brushes.\n\nWhen she had nearly worn out the last of these there stood before her\nthe loveliest youth in the world. He thanked her for having saved him\nfrom his enchantment, and told her that he was the king and queen\u2019s\neldest son, and heir to the kingdom. Then he asked her whether she would\nkeep the promise she had made to the lindorm, to share everything with\nhim. To this she was well content to answer \u2018Yes.\u2019\n\nEach time that the lindorm had held his wedding one of the king\u2019s\nretainers was sent next morning to open the door of the bridal chamber\nand see whether the bride was alive. This next morning also he peeped\nin at the door, but what he saw there surprised him so much that he\nshut the door in a hurry, and hastened to the king and queen, who were\nwaiting for his report. He told them of the wonderful sight he had seen.\nOn the floor lay seven lindorm skins and six snow-white shirts, and\nbeside these three worn-out scrubbing brushes, while in the bed a\nbeautiful youth was lying asleep beside the fair young maiden.\n\nThe king and queen marvelled greatly what this could mean; but just then\nthe old woman who was spoken of in the beginning of the story was again\nbrought in to the queen. She reminded her how she had not followed her\ninstructions, but had eaten the first onion with all its skins, on which\naccount her first-born had been a lindorm. The waiting-woman was then\nsummoned, and admitted that she had thrown it out through the window\ninto the forest. The king and queen now sent for their eldest son and\nhis young bride. They took them both in their arms, and asked him to\ntell about his sorrowful lot during the twenty years he had lived in the\nforest as a hideous lindorm. This he did, and then his parents had it\nproclaimed over the whole country that he was their eldest son, and\nalong with his spouse should inherit the country and kingdom after them.\n\nPrince Lindorm and his beautiful wife now lived in joy and prosperity\nfor a time in the palace; and when his father was laid in the grave,\nnot long after this, he obtained the whole kingdom. Soon afterwards his\nmother also departed from this world.\n\nNow it happened that an enemy declared war against the young king; and,\nas he foresaw that it would be three years at the least before he could\nreturn to his country and his queen, he ordered all his servants who\nremained at home to guard her most carefully. That they might be able to\nwrite to each other in confidence, he had two seal rings made, one for\nhimself and one for his young queen, and issued an order that no one,\nunder pain of death, was to open any letter that was sealed with one of\nthese. Then he took farewell of his queen, and marched out to war.\n\nThe queen\u2019s wicked stepmother had heard with great grief that her\nbeautiful stepdaughter had prospered so well that she had not only\npreserved her life, but had even become queen of the country. She now\nplotted continually how she might destroy her good fortune. While King\nLindorm was away at the war the wicked woman came to the queen,\nand spoke fair to her, saying that she had always foreseen that her\nstepdaughter was destined to be something great in the world, and\nthat she had on this account secured that she should be the enchanted\nprince\u2019s bride. The queen, who did not imagine that any person could be\nso deceitful, bade her stepmother welcome, and kept her beside her.\n\nSoon after this the queen had two children, the prettiest boys that\nanyone could see. When she had written a letter to the king to tell him\nof this her stepmother asked leave to comb her hair for her, as her own\nmother used to do. The queen gave her permission, and the stepmother\ncombed her hair until she fell asleep. Then she took the seal ring off\nher neck, and exchanged the letter for another, in which she had written\nthat the queen had given birth to two whelps.\n\nWhen the king received. this letter he was greatly distressed, but he\nremembered how he himself had lived for twenty years as a lindorm, and\nhad been freed from the spell by his young queen. He therefore wrote\nback to his most trusted retainer that the queen and her two whelps\nshould be taken care of while he was away.\n\nThe stepmother, however, took this letter as well, and wrote a new one,\nin which the king ordered that the queen and the two little princes\nshould be burnt at the stake. This she also sealed with the queen\u2019s\nseal, which was in all respects like the king\u2019s.\n\nThe retainer was greatly shocked and grieved at the king\u2019s orders,\nfor which he could discover no reason; but, as he had not the heart to\ndestroy three innocent beings, he had a great fire kindled, and in this\nhe burned a sheep and two lambs, so as to make people believe that he\nhad carried out the king\u2019s commands. The stepmother had made these known\nto the people, adding that the queen was a wicked sorceress.\n\nThe faithful servant, however, told the queen that it was the king\u2019s\ncommand that during the years he was absent in the war she should keep\nherself concealed in the castle, so that no one but himself should see\nher and the little princes.\n\nThe queen obeyed, and no one knew but that both she and her children had\nbeen burned. But when the time came near for King Lindorm to return home\nfrom the war the old retainer grew frightened because he had not obeyed\nhis orders. He therefore went to the queen, and told her everything, at\nthe same time showing her the king\u2019s letter containing the command to\nburn her and the princes. He then begged her to leave the palace before\nthe king returned.\n\nThe queen now took her two little sons, and wandered out into the wild\nforest. They walked all day without ending a human habitation, and\nbecame very tired. The queen then caught sight of a man who carried some\nvenison. He seemed very poor and wretched, but the queen was glad to see\na human being, and asked him whether he knew where she and her little\nchildren could get a house over their heads for the night.\n\nThe man answered that he had a little hut in the forest, and that she\ncould rest there; but he also said that he was one who lived entirely\napart from men, and owned no more than the hut, a horse, and a dog, and\nsupported himself by hunting.\n\nThe queen followed him to the hut and rested there overnight with her\nchildren, and when she awoke in the morning the man had already gone out\nhunting. The queen then began to put the room in order and prepare food,\nso that when the man came home he found everything neat and tidy, and\nthis seemed to give him some pleasure. He spoke but little, however, and\nall that he said about himself was that his name was Peter.\n\nLater in the day he rode out into the forest, and the queen thought that\nhe looked very unhappy. While he was away she looked about her in the\nhut a little more closely, and found a tub full of shirts stained with\nblood, lying among water. She was surprised at this, but thought that\nthe man would get the blood on his shirt when he was carrying home\nvenison. She washed the shirts, and hung them up to dry, and said\nnothing to Peter about the matter.\n\nAfter some time had passed she noticed that every day he came riding\nhome from the forest he took off a blood-stained shirt and put on a\nclean one. She then saw that it was something else than the blood of the\ndeer that stained his shirts, so one day she took courage and asked him\nabout it.\n\nAt first he refused to tell her, but she then related to him her own\nstory, and how she had succeeded in delivering the lindorm. He then told\nher that he had formerly lived a wild life, and had finally entered\ninto a written contract * with the Evil Spirit. Before this contract\nhad expired he had repented and turned from his evil ways, and withdrawn\nhimself to this solitude. The Evil One had then lost all power to take\nhim, but so long as he had the contract he could compel him to meet him\nin the forest each day at a certain time, where the evil spirits then\nscourged him till he bled.\n\nNext day, when the time came for the man to ride into the forest, the\nqueen asked him to stay at home and look after the princes, and she\nwould go to meet the evil spirits in his place. The man was amazed, and\nsaid that this would not only cost her her life, but would also bring\nupon him a greater misfortune than the one he was already under. She\nbade him be of good courage, looked to see that she had the three nuts\nwhich she had found beside her mother\u2019s grave, mounted her horse, and\nrode out into the forest. When she had ridden for some time the evil\nspirits came forth and said, \u2018Here comes Peter\u2019s horse and Peter\u2019s\nhound; but Peter himself is not with them.\u2019\n\nThen at a distance she heard a terrible voice demanding to know what she\nwanted.\n\n\u2018I have come to get Peter\u2019s contract,\u2019 said she.\n\nAt this there arose a terrible uproar among the evil spirits, and the\nworst voice among them all said, \u2018Ride home and tell Peter that when he\ncomes to-morrow he shall get twice as many strokes as usual.\u2019\n\nThe queen then took one of her nuts and cracked it, and turned her horse\nabout. At this sparks of fire flew out of all the trees, and the evil\nspirits howled as if they were being scourged back to their abode.\n\nNext day at the same time the queen again rode out into the forest;\nbut on this occasion the spirits did not dare to come so near her. They\nwould not, however, give up the contract, but threatened both her and\nthe man. Then she cracked her second nut, and all the forest behind her\nseemed to be in fire and flames, and the evil spirits howled even worse\nthan on the previous day; but the contract they would not give up.\n\nThe queen had only one nut left now, but even that she was ready to give\nup in order to deliver the man. This time she cracked the nut as soon\nas she came near the place where the spirits appeared, and what then\nhappened to them she could not see, but amid wild screams and howls the\ncontract was handed to her at the end of a long branch. The queen rode\nhappy home to the hut, and happier still was the man, who had been\nsitting there in great anxiety, for now he was freed from all the power\nof the evil spirits.\n\nMeanwhile King Lindorm had come home from the war, and the first\nquestion he asked when he entered the palace was about the queen and the\nwhelps. The attendants were surprised: they knew of no whelps. The queen\nhad had two beautiful princes; but the king had sent orders that all\nthese were to be burned.\n\nThe king grew pale with sorrow and anger, and ordered them to summon his\ntrusted retainer, to whom he had sent the instructions that the queen\nand the whelps were to be carefully looked after. The retainer, however,\nshowed him the letter in which there was written that the queen and her\nchildren were to be burned, and everyone then understood that some great\ntreachery had been enacted.\n\nWhen the king\u2019s trusted retainer saw his master\u2019s deep sorrow he\nconfessed to him that he had spared the lives of the queen and the\nprinces, and had only burned a sheep and two lambs, and had kept the\nqueen and her children hidden in the palace for three years, but had\nsent her out into the wild forest just when the king was expected home.\nWhen the king heard this his sorrow was lessened, and he said that he\nwould wander out into the forest and search for his wife and children.\nIf he found them he would return to his palace; but if he did not find\nthem he would never see it again, and in that case the faithful retainer\nwho had saved the lives of the queen and the princes should be king in\nhis stead.\n\nThe king then went forth alone into the wild forest, and wandered there\nthe whole day without seeing a single human being. So it went with him\nthe second day also, but on the third day he came by roundabout ways to\nthe little hut. He went in there, and asked for leave to rest himself\nfor a little on the bench. The queen and the princes were there, but she\nwas poorly clad and so sorrowful that the king did not recognise her,\nneither did he think for a moment that the two children, who were\ndressed only in rough skins, were his own sons.\n\nHe lay down on the bench, and, tired as he was, he soon fell asleep. The\nbench was a narrow one, and as he slept his arm fell down and hung by\nthe side of it.\n\n\u2018My son, go and lift your father\u2019s arm up on the bench,\u2019 said the queen\nto one of the princes, for she easily knew the king again, although\nshe was afraid to make herself known to him. The boy went and took the\nking\u2019s arm, but, being only a child, he did not lift it up very gently\non to the bench.\n\nThe king woke at this, thinking at first that he had fallen into a den\nof robbers, but he decided to keep quiet and pretend that he was asleep\nuntil he should find out what kind of folk were in the house. He lay\nstill for a little, and, as no one moved in the room, he again let his\narm glide down off the bench. Then he heard a woman\u2019s voice say, \u2018My\nson, go you and lift your father\u2019s arm up on the bench, but don\u2019t do\nit so rough!y as your brother did.\u2019 Then he felt a pair of little hands\nsoftly clasping his arm; he opened his eyes, and saw his queen and her\nchildren.\n\nHe sprang up and caught all three in his arms, and afterwards took them,\nalong with the man and his horse and his hound, back to the palace with\ngreat joy. The most unbounded rejoicing reigned there then, as well as\nover the whole kingdom, but the wicked stepmother was burned.\n\nKing Lindorm lived long and happily with his queen, and there are some\nwho say that if they are not dead now they are still living to this day.\n\n\n\n\nThe Jackal, the Dove, and the Panther\n\nContes populaires des Bassoutos. Recueillis et traduits par E. Jacottet.\nParis: Leroux, Editeur.\n\n\nThere was once a dove who built a nice soft nest as a home for her three\nlittle ones. She was very proud of their beauty, and perhaps talked\nabout them to her neighbours more than she need have done, till at last\neverybody for miles round knew where the three prettiest baby doves in\nthe whole country-side were to be found.\n\nOne day a jackal who was prowling about in search of a dinner came by\nchance to the foot of the rock where the dove\u2019s nest was hidden away,\nand he suddenly bethought himself that if he could get nothing better he\nmight manage to make a mouthful of one of the young doves. So he shouted\nas loud as he could, \u2018Ohe, ohe, mother dove.\u2019\n\nAnd the dove replied, trembling with fear, \u2018What do you want, sir?\u2019\n\n\u2018One of your children,\u2019 said he; \u2018and if you don\u2019t throw it to me I will\neat up you and the others as well.\u2019\n\nNow, the dove was nearly driven distracted at the jackal\u2019s words; but,\nin order to save the lives of the other two, she did at last throw\nthe little one out of the nest. The jackal ate it up, and went home to\nsleep.\n\nMeanwhile the mother dove sat on the edge of her nest, crying bitterly,\nwhen a heron, who was flying slowly past the rock, was filled with pity\nfor her, and stopped to ask, \u2018What is the matter, you poor dove?\u2019\n\nAnd the dove answered, \u2018A jackal came by, and asked me to give him one\nof my little ones, and said that if I refused he would jump on my nest\nand eat us all up.\u2019\n\nBut the heron replied, \u2018You should not have believed him. He could never\nhave jumped so high. He only deceived you because he wanted something\nfor supper.\u2019 And with these words the heron flew off.\n\nHe had hardly got out of sight when again the jackal came creeping\nslowly round the foot of the rock. And when he saw the dove he cried out\na second time, \u2018Ohe, ohe, mother dove! give me one of your little ones,\nor I will jump on your nest and eat you all up.\u2019\n\nThis time the dove knew better, and she answered boldly, \u2018Indeed, I\nshall do nothing of the sort,\u2019 though her heart beat wildly with fear\nwhen she saw the jackal preparing for a spring.\n\nHowever, he only cut himself against the rock, and thought he had better\nstick to threats, so he started again with his old cry, \u2018Mother dove,\nmother dove! be quick and give me one of your little ones, or I will eat\nyou all up.\u2019\n\nBut the mother dove only answered as before, \u2018Indeed, I shall do nothing\nof the sort, for I know we are safely out of your reach.\u2019\n\nThe jackal felt it was quite hopeless to get what he wanted, and asked,\n\u2018Tell me, mother dove, how have you suddenly become so wise?\u2019\n\n\u2018It was the heron who told me,\u2019 replied she.\n\n\u2018And which way did he go?\u2019 said the jackal.\n\n\u2018Down there among the reeds. You can see him if you look,\u2019 said the\ndove.\n\nThen the jackal nodded good-bye, and went quickly after the heron. He\nsoon came up to the great bird, who was standing on a stone on the edge\nof the river watching for a nice fat fish. \u2018Tell me, heron,\u2019 said he,\n\u2018when the wind blows from that quarter, to which side do you turn?\u2019\n\n\u2018And which side do you turn to?\u2019 asked the heron.\n\nThe jackal answered, \u2018I always turn to this side.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then that is the side I turn to,\u2019 remarked the heron.\n\n\u2018And when the rain comes from that quarter, which side do you turn to?\u2019\n\nAnd the heron replied, \u2018And which side do you turn to?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, I always turn to this side,\u2019 said the jackal.\n\n\u2018Then that is the side I turn to,\u2019 said the heron.\n\n\u2018And when the rain comes straight down, what do you do?\u2019\n\n\u2018What do you do yourself?\u2019 asked the heron.\n\n\u2018I do this,\u2019 answered the jackal. \u2018I cover my head with my paws.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then that is what I do,\u2019 said the heron. \u2018I cover my head with my\nwings,\u2019 and as he spoke he lifted his large wings and spread them\ncompletely over his head.\n\nWith one bound the jackal had seized him by the neck, and began to shake\nhim.\n\n\u2018Oh, have pity, have pity!\u2019 cried the heron. \u2018I never did you any harm.\u2019\n\n\u2018You told the dove how to get the better of me, and I am going to eat\nyou for it.\u2019\n\n\u2018But if you will let me go,\u2019 entreated the heron, \u2018I will show you the\nplace where the panther has her lair.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then you had better be quick about it,\u2019 said the jackal, holding tight\non to the heron until he had pointed out the panther\u2019s den. \u2018Now you may\ngo, my friend, for there is plenty of food here for me.\u2019\n\nSo the jackal came up to the panther, and asked politely, \u2018Panther,\nwould you like me to look after your children while you are out\nhunting?\u2019\n\n\u2018I should be very much obliged,\u2019 said the panther; \u2018but be sure you take\ncare of them. They always cry all the time that I am away.\u2019\n\nSo saying she trotted off, and the jackal marched into the cave, where\nhe found ten little panthers, and instantly ate one up. By-and-bye the\npanther returned from hunting, and said to him, \u2018Jackal, bring out my\nlittle ones for their supper.\u2019\n\nThe jackal fetched them out one by one till he had brought out nine, and\nhe took the last one and brought it out again, so the whole ten seemed\nto be there, and the panther was quite satisfied.\n\nNext day she went again to the chase, and the jackal ate up another\nlittle panther, so now there were only eight. In the evening, when she\ncame back, the panther said, \u2018Jackal, bring out my little ones!\u2019\n\nAnd the jackal brought out first one and then another, and the last one\nhe brought out three times, so that the whole ten seemed to be there.\n\nThe following day the same thing happened, and the next and the next and\nthe next, till at length there was not even one left, and the rest of\nthe day the jackal busied himself with digging a large hole at the back\nof the den.\n\nThat night, when the panther returned from hunting, she said to him as\nusual, \u2018Jackal, bring out my little ones.\u2019\n\nBut the jackal replied: \u2018Bring out your little ones, indeed! Why, you\nknow as well as I do that you have eaten them all up.\u2019\n\nOf course the panther had not the least idea what the jackal meant by\nthis, and only repeated, \u2018Jackal, bring out my children.\u2019 As she got\nno answer she entered the cave, but found no jackal, for he had crawled\nthrough the hole he had made and escaped. And, what was worse, she did\nnot find the little ones either.\n\nNow the panther was not going to let the jackal get off like that, and\nset off at a trot to catch him. The jackal, however, had got a good\nstart, and he reached a place where a swarm of bees deposited their\nhoney in the cleft of a rock. Then he stood still and waited till the\npanther came up to him: \u2018Jackal, where are my little ones?\u2019 she asked.\n\nAnd the jackal answered: \u2018They are up there. It is where I keep school.\u2019\n\nThe panther looked about, and then inquired, \u2018But where? I see nothing\nof them.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come a little this way,\u2019 said the jackal, \u2018and you will hear how\nbeautifully they sing.\u2019\n\nSo the panther drew near the cleft of the rock.\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t you hear them?\u2019 said the jackal; \u2018they are in there,\u2019 and slipped\naway while the panther was listening to the song of the children.\n\nShe was still standing in the same place when a baboon went by. \u2018What\nare you doing there, panther?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am listening to my children singing. It is here that the jackal keeps\nhis school.\u2019\n\nThen the baboon seized a stick, and poked it in the cleft of the rock,\nexclaiming, \u2018Well, then, I should like to see your children!\u2019\n\nThe bees flew out in a huge swarm, and made furiously for the panther,\nwhom they attacked on all sides, while the baboon soon climbed up out of\nthe way, crying, as he perched himself on the branch of a tree, \u2018I wish\nyou joy of your children!\u2019 while from afar the jackal\u2019s voice was heard\nexclaiming: \u2018Sting, her well! don\u2019t let her go!\u2019\n\nThe panther galloped away as if she was mad, and flung herself into the\nnearest lake, but every time she raised her head, the bees stung her\nafresh so at last the poor beast was drowned altogether.\n\n\n\n\nThe Little Hare\n\nContes populaires des Bassoutos. Recueillis et traduits par E. Jacottet.\nParis: Leroux, Editeur.\n\n\nA long, long way off, in a land where water is very scarce, there lived\na man and his wife and several children. One day the wife said to her\nhusband, \u2018I am pining to have the liver of a nyamatsane for my dinner.\nIf you love me as much as you say you do, you will go out and hunt for\na nyamatsane, and will kill it and get its liver. If not, I shall know\nthat your love is not worth having.\u2019\n\n\u2018Bake some bread,\u2019 was all her husband answered, \u2018then take the crust\nand put it in this little bag.\u2019\n\nThe wife did as she was told, and when she had finished she said to her\nhusband, \u2018The bag is all ready and quite full.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well,\u2019 said he, \u2018and now good-bye; I am going after the\nnyamatsane.\u2019\n\nBut the nyamatsane was not so easy to find as the woman had hoped. The\nhusband walked on and on and on without ever seeing one, and every now\nand then he felt so hungry that he was obliged to eat one of the\ncrusts of bread out of his bag. At last, when he was ready to drop from\nfatigue, he found himself on the edge of a great marsh, which bordered\non one side the country of the nyamatsanes. But there were no more\nnyamatsanes here than anywhere else. They had all gone on a hunting\nexpedition, as their larder was empty, and the only person left at\nhome was their grandmother, who was so feeble she never went out of\nthe house. Our friend looked on this as a great piece of luck, and made\nhaste to kill her before the others returned, and to take out her liver,\nafter which he dressed himself in her skin as well as he could. He had\nscarcely done this when he heard the noise of the nyamatsanes coming\nback to their grandmother, for they were very fond of her, and never\nstayed away from her longer than they could help. They rushed clattering\ninto the hut, exclaiming, \u2018We smell human flesh! Some man is here,\u2019 and\nbegan to look about for him; but they only saw their old grandmother,\nwho answered, in a trembling voice, \u2018No, my children, no! What should\nany man be doing here?\u2019 The nyamatsanes paid no attention to her, and\nbegan to open all the cupboards, and peep under all the beds, crying\nout all the while, \u2018A man is here! a man is here!\u2019 but they could find\nnobody, and at length, tired out with their long day\u2019s hunting, they\ncurled themselves up and fell asleep.\n\nNext morning they woke up quite refreshed, and made ready to start\non another expedition; but as they did not feel happy about their\ngrandmother they said to her, \u2018Grandmother, won\u2019t you come to-day and\nfeed with us?\u2019 And they led their grandmother outside, and all of them\nbegan hungrily to eat pebbles. Our friend pretended to do the same,\nbut in reality he slipped the stones into his pouch, and swallowed the\ncrusts of bread instead. However, as the nyamatsanes did not see this\nthey had no idea that he was not really their grandmother. When they had\neaten a great many pebbles they thought they had done enough for that\nday, and all went home together and curled themselves up to sleep. Next\nmorning when they woke they said, \u2018Let us go and amuse ourselves by\njumping over the ditch,\u2019 and every time they cleared it with a bound.\nThen they begged their grandmother to jump over it too, end with a\ntremendous effort she managed to spring right over to the other side.\nAfter this they had no doubt at all of its being their true grandmother,\nand went off to their hunting, leaving our friend at home in the hut.\n\nAs soon as they had gone out of sight our hero made haste to take the\nliver from the place where he had hid it, threw off the skin of the old\nnyamatsane, and ran away as hard as he could, only stopping to pick up a\nvery brilliant and polished little stone, which he put in his bag by the\nside of the liver.\n\nTowards evening the nyamatsanes came back to the hut full of anxiety to\nknow how their grandmother had got on during their absence. The first\nthing they saw on entering the door was her skin lying on the floor, and\nthen they knew that they had been deceived, and they said to each other,\n\u2018So we were right, after all, and it was human flesh we smelt.\u2019 Then\nthey stooped down to find traces of the man\u2019s footsteps, and when they\nhad got them instantly set out in hot pursuit.\n\nMeanwhile our friend had journeyed many miles, and was beginning to feel\nquite safe and comfortable, when, happening to look round, he saw in\nthe distance a thick cloud of dust moving rapidly. His heart stood still\nwithin him, and he said to himself, \u2018I am lost. It is the nyamatsanes,\nand they will tear me in pieces,\u2019 and indeed the cloud of dust was\ndrawing near with amazing quickness, and the nyamatsanes almost felt as\nif they were already devouring him. Then as a last hope the man took the\nlittle stone that he had picked up out of his bag and flung it on the\nground. The moment it touched the soil it became a huge rock, whose\nsteep sides were smooth as glass, and on the top of it our hero hastily\nseated himself. It was in vain that the nyamatsanes tried to climb up\nand reach him; they slid down again much faster than they had gone up;\nand by sunset they were quite worn out, and fell asleep at the foot of\nthe rock.\n\nNo sooner had the nyamatsanes tumbled off to sleep than the man stole\nsoftly down and fled away as fast as his legs would carry him, and by\nthe time his enemies were awake he was a very long way off. They sprang\nquickly to their feet and began to sniff the soil round the rock, in\norder to discover traces of his footsteps, and they galloped after him\nwith terrific speed. The chase continued for several days and nights;\nseveral times the nyamatsanes almost reached him, and each time he was\nsaved by his little pebble.\n\nBetween his fright and his hurry he was almost dead of exhaustion when\nhe reached his own village, where the nyamatsanes could not follow him,\nbecause of their enemies the dogs, which swarmed over all the roads. So\nthey returned home.\n\nThen our friend staggered into his own hut and called to his wife:\n\u2018Ichou! how tired I am! Quick, give me something to drink. Then go and\nget fuel and light a fire.\u2019\n\nSo she did what she was bid, and then her husband took the nyamatsane\u2019s\nliver from his pouch and said to her, \u2018There, I have brought you what\nyou wanted, and now you know that I love you truly.\u2019\n\nAnd the wife answered, \u2018It is well. Now go and take out the children, so\nthat I may remain alone in the hut,\u2019 and as she spoke she lifted down an\nold stone pot and put on the liver to cook. Her husband watched her for\na moment, and then said, \u2018Be sure you eat it all yourself. Do not give\na scrap to any of the children, but eat every morsel up.\u2019 So the woman\ntook the liver and ate it all herself.\n\nDirectly the last mouthful had disappeared she was seized with such\nviolent thirst that she caught up a great pot full of water and drank it\nat a single draught. Then, having no more in the house, she ran in next\ndoor and said, \u2018Neighbour, give me, I pray you, something to drink.\u2019 The\nneighbour gave her a large vessel quite full, and the woman drank it off\nat a single draught, and held it out for more.\n\nBut the neighbour pushed her away, saying, \u2018No, I shall have none left\nfor my children.\u2019\n\nSo the woman went into another house, and drank all the water she could\nfind; but the more she drank the more thirsty she became. She wandered\nin this manner through the whole village till she had drunk every\nwater-pot dry. Then she rushed off to the nearest spring, and swallowed\nthat, and when she had finished all the springs and wells about she\ndrank up first the river and then a lake. But by this time she had drunk\nso much that she could not rise from the ground.\n\nIn the evening, when it was time for the animals to have their drink\nbefore going to bed, they found the lake quite dry, and they had to make\nup their minds to be thirsty till the water flowed again and the streams\nwere full. Even then, for some time, the lake was very dirty, and the\nlion, as king of the beasts, commanded that no one should drink till it\nwas quite clear again.\n\nBut the little hare, who was fond of having his own way, and was very\nthirsty besides, stole quietly off when all the rest were asleep in\ntheir dens, and crept down to the margin of the lake and drank his fill.\nThen he smeared the dirty water all over the rabbit\u2019s face and paws, so\nthat it might look as if it were he who had been disobeying Big Lion\u2019s\norders.\n\nThe next day, as soon as it was light, Big Lion marched straight for\nthe lake, and all the other beasts followed him. He saw at once that the\nwater had been troubled again, and was very angry.\n\n\u2018Who has been drinking my water?\u2019 said he; and the little hare gave a\njump, and, pointing to the rabbit, he answered, \u2018Look there! it must be\nhe! Why, there is mud all over his face and paws!\u2019\n\nThe rabbit, frightened out of his wits, tried to deny the fact,\nexclaiming, \u2018Oh, no, indeed I never did;\u2019 but Big Lion would not listen,\nand commanded them to cane him with a birch rod.\n\nNow the little hare was very much pleased with his cleverness in causing\nthe rabbit to be beaten instead of himself, and went about boasting\nof it. At last one of the other animals overheard him, and called out,\n\u2018Little hare, little hare! what is that you are saying?\u2019\n\nBut the little hare hastily replied, \u2018I only asked you to pass me my\nstick.\u2019\n\nAn hour or two later, thinking that no one was near him, he said to\nhimself again, \u2018It was really I who drank up the water, but I made them\nthink it was the rabbit.\u2019\n\nBut one of the beasts whose ears were longer than the rest caught the\nwords, and went to tell Big Lion about it. Do you hear what the little\nhare is saying?\u2019\n\nSo Big Lion sent for the little hare, and asked him what he meant by\ntalking like that.\n\nThe little hare saw that there was no use trying to hide it, so he\nanswered pertly, \u2018It was I who drank the water, but I made them think\nit was the rabbit.\u2019 Then he turned and ran as fast as he could, with all\nthe other beasts pursuing him.\n\nThey were almost up to him when he dashed into a very narrow cleft in\nthe rock, much too small for them to follow; but in his hurry he had\nleft one of his long ears sticking out, which they just managed to\nseize. But pull as hard as they might they could not drag him out of the\nhole, and at last they gave it up and left him, with his ear very much\ntorn and scratched.\n\nWhen the last tail was out of sight the little hare crept cautiously\nout, and the first person he met was the rabbit. He had plenty of\nimpudence, so he put a bold face on the matter, and said, \u2018Well, my good\nrabbit, you see I have had a beating as well as you.\u2019\n\nBut the rabbit was still sore and sulky, and he did not care to talk, so\nhe answered, coldly, \u2018You have treated me very badly. It was really you\nwho drank that water, and you accused me of having done it.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, my good rabbit, never mind that! I\u2019ve got such a wonderful secret\nto tell you! Do you know what to do so as to escape death?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, I don\u2019t.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, we must begin by digging a hole.\u2019\n\nSo they dug a hole, and then the little hare said, \u2018The next thing is to\nmake a fire in the hole,\u2019 and they set to work to collect wood, and lit\nquite a large fire.\n\nWhen it was burning brightly the little hare said to the rabbit,\n\u2018Rabbit, my friend, throw me into the fire, and when you hear my fur\ncrackling, and I call \u201cItchi, Itchi,\u201d then be quick and pull me out.\u2019\n\nThe rabbit did as he was told, and threw the little hare into the fire;\nbut no sooner did the little hare begin to feel the heat of the flames\nthan he took some green bay leaves he had plucked for the purpose and\nheld them in the middle of the fire, where they crackled and made a\ngreat noise. Then he called loudly \u2018Itchi, Itchi! Rabbit, my friend, be\nquick, be quick! Don\u2019t you hear how my skin is crackling?\u2019\n\nAnd the rabbit came in a great hurry and pulled him out.\n\nThen the little hare said, \u2018Now it is your turn!\u2019 and he threw the\nrabbit in the fire. The moment the rabbit felt the flames he cried out\n\u2018Itchi, Itchi, I am burning; pull me out quick, my friend!\u2019\n\nBut the little hare only laughed, and said, \u2018No, you may stay there! It\nis your own fault. Why were you such a fool as to let yourself be thrown\nin? Didn\u2019t you know that fire burns?\u2019 And in a very few minutes nothing\nwas left of the rabbit but a few bones.\n\nWhen the fire was quite out the little hare went and picked up one of\nthese bones, and made a flute out of it, and sang this song:\n\nPii, pii, O flute that I love, Pii, pii, rabbits are but little boys.\nPii, pii, he would have burned me if he could; Pii, pii, but I burned\nhim, and he crackled finely.\n\nWhen he got tired of going through the world singing this the little\nhare went back to his friends and entered the service of Big Lion. One\nday he said to his master, \u2018Grandfather, shall I show you a splendid way\nto kill game?\u2019\n\n\u2018What is it?\u2019 asked Big Lion.\n\n\u2018We must dig a ditch, and then you must lie in it and pretend to be\ndead.\u2019\n\nBig Lion did as he was told, and when he had lain down the little hare\ngot up on a wall blew a trumpet and shouted--\n\nPii, pii, all you animals come and see, Big Lion is dead, and now peace\nwill be.\n\nDirectly they heard this they all came running. The little hare received\nthem and said, \u2018Pass on, this way to the lion.\u2019 So they all entered into\nthe Animal Kingdom. Last of all came the monkey with her baby on her\nback. She approached the ditch, and took a blade of grass and tickled\nBig Lion\u2019s nose, and his nostrils moved in spite of his efforts to keep\nthem still. Then the monkey cried, \u2018Come, my baby, climb on my back and\nlet us go. What sort of a dead body is it that can still feel when it\nis tickled?\u2019 And she and her baby went away in a fright. Then the\nlittle hare said to the other beasts, \u2018Now, shut the gate of the Animal\nKingdom.\u2019 And it was shut, and great stones were rolled against it. When\neverything was tight closed the little hare turned to Big Lion and said\n\u2018Now!\u2019 and Big Lion bounded out of the ditch and tore the other animals\nin pieces.\n\nBut Big Lion kept all the choice bits for himself, and only gave away\nthe little scraps that he did not care about eating; and the little hare\ngrew very angry, and determined to have his revenge. He had long ago\nfound out that Big Lion was very easily taken in; so he laid his plans\naccordingly. He said to him, as if the idea had just come into his head,\n\u2018Grandfather, let us build a hut,\u2019 and Big Lion consented. And when they\nhad driven the stakes into the ground, and had made the walls of the\nhut, the little hare told Big Lion to climb upon the top while he stayed\ninside. When he was ready he called out, \u2018Now, grandfather, begin,\u2019\nand Big Lion passed his rod through the reeds with which the roofs are\nalways covered in that country. The little hare took it and cried, \u2018Now\nit is my turn to pierce them,\u2019 and as he spoke he passed the rod back\nthrough the reeds and gave Big Lion\u2019s tail a sharp poke.\n\n\u2018What is pricking me so?\u2019 asked Big Lion.\n\n\u2018Oh, just a little branch sticking out. I am going to break it,\u2019\nanswered the little hare; but of course he had done it on purpose, as he\nwanted to fix Big Lion\u2019s tail so firmly to the hut that he would not\nbe able to move. In a little while he gave another prick, and Big Lion\ncalled again, \u2018What is pricking me so?\u2019\n\nThis time the little hare said to himself, \u2018He will find out what I am\nat. I must try some other plan. \u2018So he called out, \u2018Grandfather, you had\nbetter put your tongue here, so that the branches shall not touch you.\u2019\nBig Lion did as he was bid, and the little hare tied it tightly to the\nstakes of the wall. Then he went outside and shouted, \u2018Grandfather, you\ncan come down now,\u2019 and Big Lion tried, but he could not move an inch.\n\nThen the little hare began quietly to eat Big Lion\u2019s dinner right before\nhis eyes, and paying no attention at all to his growls of rage. When\nhe had quite done he climbed up on the hut, and, blowing his flute, he\nchanted \u2018Pii, pii, fall rain and hail,\u2019 and directly the sky was full of\nclouds, the thunder roared, and huge hailstones whitened the roof of\nthe hut. The little hare, who had taken refuge within, called out again,\n\u2018Big Lion, be quick and come down and dine with me.\u2019 But there was no\nanswer, not even a growl, for the hailstones had killed Big Lion.\n\nThe little hare enjoyed himself vastly for some time, living comfortably\nin the hut, with plenty of food to eat and no trouble at all in getting\nit. But one day a great wind arose, and flung down the Big Lion\u2019s\nhalf-dried skin from the roof of the hut. The little hare bounded with\nterror at the noise, for he thought Big Lion must have come to life\nagain; but on discovering what had happened he set about cleaning\nthe skin, and propped the mouth open with sticks so that he could get\nthrough. So, dressed in Big Lion\u2019s skin, the little hare started on his\ntravels.\n\nThe first visit he paid was to the hyaenas, who trembled at the sight\nof him, and whispered to each other, \u2018How shall we escape from this\nterrible beast?\u2019 Meanwhile the little hare did not trouble himself\nabout them, but just asked where the king of the hyaenas lived, and\nmade himself quite at home there. Every morning each hyaena thought to\nhimself, \u2018To-day he is certain to eat me;\u2019 but several days went by,\nand they were all still alive. At length, one evening, the little hare,\nlooking round for something to amuse him, noticed a great pot full of\nboiling water, so he strolled up to one of the hyaenas and said, \u2018Go and\nget in.\u2019 The hyaena dared not disobey, and in a few minutes was scalded\nto death. Then the little hare went the round of the village, saying to\nevery hyaena he met, \u2018Go and get into the boiling water,\u2019 so that in a\nlittle while there was hardly a male left in the village.\n\nOne day all the hyaenas that remained alive went out very early into\nthe fields, leaving only one little daughter at home. The little hare,\nthinking he was all alone, came into the enclosure, and, wishing to\nfeel what it was like to be a hare again, threw off Big Lion\u2019s skin, and\nbegan to jump and dance, singing--\n\nI am just the little hare, the little hare, the little hare; I am just\nthe little hare who killed the great hyaenas.\n\nThe little hyaena gazed at him in surprise, saying to herself, \u2018What!\nwas it really this tiny beast who put to death all our best people?\u2019\nwhen suddenly a gust of wind rustled the reeds that surrounded the\nenclosure, and the little hare, in a fright, hastily sprang back into\nBig Lion\u2019s skin.\n\nWhen the hyaenas returned to their homes the little hyaena said to her\nfather: \u2018Father, our tribe has very nearly been swept away, and all this\nhas been the work of a tiny creature dressed in the lion\u2019s skin.\u2019\n\nBut her father answered, \u2018Oh, my dear child, you don\u2019t know what you are\ntalking about.\u2019\n\nShe replied, \u2018Yes, father, it is quite true. I saw it with my own eyes.\u2019\n\nThe father did not know what to think, and told one of his friends, who\nsaid, \u2018To-morrow we had better keep watch ourselves.\u2019\n\nAnd the next day they hid themselves and waited till the little hare\ncame out of the royal hut. He walked gaily towards the enclosure, threw\noff, Big Lion\u2019s skin, and sang and danced as before--\n\nI am just the little hare, the little hare, the little hare, I am just\nthe little hare, who killed the great hyaenas.\n\nThat night the two hyaenas told all the rest, saying, \u2018Do you know that\nwe have allowed ourselves to be trampled on by a wretched creature with\nnothing of the lion about him but his skin?\u2019\n\nWhen supper was being cooked that evening, before they all went to bed,\nthe little hare, looking fierce and terrible in Big Lion\u2019s skin, said as\nusual to one of the hyaenas \u2018Go and get into the boiling water.\u2019 But the\nhyaena never stirred. There was silence for a moment; then a hyaena took\na stone, and flung it with all his force against the lion\u2019s skin. The\nlittle hare jumped out through the mouth with a single spring, and fled\naway like lightning, all the hyaenas in full pursuit uttering great\ncries. As he turned a corner the little hare cut off both his ears,\nso that they should not know him, and pretended to be working at a\ngrindstone which lay there.\n\nThe hyaenas soon came up to him and said, \u2018Tell me, friend, have you\nseen the little hare go by?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, I have seen no one.\u2019\n\n\u2018Where can he be?\u2019 said the hyaenas one to another. \u2018Of course, this\ncreature is quite different, and not at all like the little hare.\u2019 Then\nthey went on their way, but, finding no traces of the little hare,\nthey returned sadly to their village, saying, \u2018To think we should have\nallowed ourselves to be swept away by a wretched creature like that!\u2019\n\n\n\n\nThe Sparrow with the Slit Tongue\n\nFrom the Japanische Marchen und Sagen.\n\n\nA long long time ago, an old couple dwelt in the very heart of a high\nmountain. They lived together in peace and harmony, although they were\nvery different in character, the man being good-natured and honest, and\nthe wife being greedy and quarrelsome when anyone came her way that she\ncould possibly quarrel with.\n\nOne day the old man was sitting in front of his cottage, as he was very\nfond of doing, when he saw flying towards him a little sparrow, followed\nby a big black raven. The poor little thing was very much frightened and\ncried out as it flew, and the great bird came behind it terribly fast,\nflapping its wings and craning its beak, for it was hungry and wanted\nsome dinner. But as they drew near the old man, he jumped up, and beat\nback the raven, which mounted, with hoarse screams of disappointment,\ninto the sky, and the little bird, freed from its enemy, nestled into\nthe old man\u2019s hand, and he carried it into the house. He stroked its\nfeathers, and told it not to be afraid, for it was quite safe; but as\nhe still felt its heart beating, he put it into a cage, where it soon\nplucked up courage to twitter and hop about. The old man was fond of\nall creatures, and every morning he used to open the cage door, and the\nsparrow flew happily about until it caught sight of a cat or a rat or\nsome other fierce beast, when it would instantly return to the cage,\nknowing that there no harm could come to it.\n\nThe woman, who was always on the look-out for something to grumble at,\ngrew very jealous of her husband\u2019s affection for the bird, and would\ngladly have done it some harm had she dared. At last, one morning her\nopportunity came. Her husband had gone to the town some miles away down\nthe mountain, and would not be back for several hours, but before he\nleft he did not forget to open the door of the cage. The sparrow hopped\nabout as usual, twittering happily, and thinking no evil, and all the\nwhile the woman\u2019s brow became blacker and blacker, and at length her\nfury broke out. She threw her broom at the bird, who was perched on a\nbracket high up on the wall. The broom missed the bird, but knocked down\nand broke the vase on the bracket, which did not soothe the angry woman.\nThen she chased it from place to place, and at last had it safe between\nher fingers, almost as frightened as on the day that it had made its\nfirst entrance into the hut.\n\nBy this time the woman was more furious than ever. If she had dared,\nshe would have killed the sparrow then and there, but as it was she only\nventured to slit its tongue. The bird struggled and piped, but there was\nno one to hear it, and then, crying out loud with the pain, it flew from\nthe house and was lost in the depths of the forest.\n\nBy-and-bye the old man came back, and at once began to ask for his pet.\nHis wife, who was still in a very bad temper, told him the whole story,\nand scolded him roundly for being so silly as to make such a fuss over\na bird. But the old man, who was much troubled, declared she was a bad,\nhard-hearted woman, to have behaved so to a poor harmless bird; then he\nleft the house, and went into the forest to seek for his pet. He walked\nmany hours, whistling and calling for it, but it never came, and he went\nsadly home, resolved to be out with the dawn and never to rest till he\nhad brought the wanderer back. Day after day he searched and called; and\nevening after evening he returned in despair. At length he gave up hope,\nand made up his mind that he should see his little friend no more.\n\nOne hot summer morning, the old man was walking slowly under the cool\nshadows of the big trees, and without thinking where he was going,\nhe entered a bamboo thicket. As the bamboos became thinner, he found\nhimself opposite to a beautiful garden, in the centre of which stood\na tiny spick-and-span little house, and out of the house came a lovely\nmaiden, who unlatched the gate and invited him in the most hospitable\nway to enter and rest. \u2018Oh, my dear old friend,\u2019 she exclaimed, \u2018how\nglad I am you have found me at last! I am your little sparrow, whose\nlife you saved, and whom you took such care of.\u2019\n\nThe old man seized her hands eagerly, but no time was given him to ask\nany questions, for the maiden drew him into the house, and set food\nbefore him, and waited on him herself.\n\nWhile he was eating, the damsel and her maids took their lutes, and sang\nand danced to him, and altogether the hours passed so swiftly that the\nold man never saw that darkness had come, or remembered the scolding he\nwould get from his wife for returning home so late.\n\nThus, in dancing and singing, and talking over the days when the maiden\nwas a sparrow hopping in and out of her cage, the night passed away, and\nwhen the first rays of sun broke through the hedge of bamboo, the\nold man started up, thanked his hostess for her friendly welcome, and\nprepared to say farewell. \u2018I am not going to let you depart like that,\u2019\nsaid she; \u2018I have a present for you, which you must take as a sign of my\ngratitude.\u2019 And as she spoke, her servants brought in two chests, one\nof them very small, the other large and heavy. \u2018Now choose which of them\nyou will carry with you.\u2019 So the old man chose the small chest, and hid\nit under his cloak, and set out on his homeward way.\n\nBut as he drew near the house his heart sank a little, for he knew\nwhat a fury his wife would be in, and how she would abuse him for\nhis absence. And it was even worse than he expected. However, long\nexperience had taught him to let her storm and say nothing, so he lit\nhis pipe and waited till she was tired out. The woman was still raging,\nand did not seem likely to stop, when her husband, who by this time had\nforgotten all about her, drew out the chest from under his cloak, and\nopened it. Oh, what a blaze met his eyes! gold and precious stones were\nheaped up to the very lid, and lay dancing in he sunlight. At the\nsight of these wonders even the scolding tongue ceased, and the woman\napproached, and took the stones in her hand, setting greedily aside\nthose that were the largest and most costly. Then her voice softened,\nand she begged him quite politely to tell her where he had spent his\nevening, and how he had come by these wonderful riches. So he told her\nthe whole story, and she listened with amazement, till he came to the\nchoice which had been given him between the two chests. At this her\ntongue broke loose again, as she abused him for his folly in taking\nthe little one, and she never rested till her husband had described the\nexact way which led to the sparrow-princess\u2019s house. When she had got it\ninto her head, she put on her best clothes and set out at once. But in\nher blind haste she often missed the path, and she wandered for several\nhours before she at length reached the little house. She walked boldly\nup to the door and entered the room as if the whole place belonged to\nher, and quite frightened the poor girl, who was startled at the sight\nof her old enemy. However, she concealed her feelings as well as she\ncould, and bade the intruder welcome, placing before her food and wine,\nhoping that when she had eaten and drunk she might take her leave. But\nnothing of the sort.\n\n\u2018You will not let me go without a little present?\u2019 said the greedy wife,\nas she saw no signs of one being offered her. \u2018Of course not,\u2019 replied\nthe girl, and at her orders two chests were brought in, as they had been\nbefore. The old woman instantly seized the bigger, and staggering under\nthe weight of it, disappeared into the forest, hardly waiting even to\nsay good-bye.\n\nIt was a long way to her own house, and the chest seemed to grow heavier\nat every step. Sometimes she felt as if it would be impossible for\nher to get on at all, but her greed gave her strength, and at last she\narrived at her own door. She sank down on the threshold, overcome with\nweariness, but in a moment was on her feet again, fumbling with the lock\nof the chest. But by this time night had come, and there was no light in\nthe house, and the woman was in too much hurry to get to her treasures,\nto go and look for one. At length, however, the lock gave way, and\nthe lid flew open, when, O horror! instead of gold and jewels, she saw\nbefore her serpents with glittering eyes and forky tongues. And they\ntwined themselves about her and darted poison into her veins, and she\ndied, and no man regretted her.\n\n\n\n\nThe Story of Ciccu\n\nFrom Sicilianische Mahrchen.\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a man who had three sons. The eldest was\ncalled Peppe, the second Alfin, and the youngest Ciccu. They were all\nvery poor, and at last things got so bad that they really had not enough\nto eat. So the father called his sons, and said to them, \u2018 My dear boys,\nI am too old to work any more, and there is nothing left for me but to\nbeg in the streets.\u2019\n\n\u2018No, no!\u2019 exclaimed his sons; \u2018that you shall never do. Rather, if it\nmust be, would we do it ourselves. But we have thought of a better plan\nthan that.\u2019\n\n\u2018What is it?\u2019 asked the father.\n\n\u2018Well, we will take you in the forest, where you shall cut wood, and\nthen we will bind it up in bundles and sell it in the town.\u2019 So their\nfather let them do as they said, and they all made their way into the\nforest; and as the old man was weak from lack of food his sons took it\nin turns to carry him on their backs. Then they built a little hut where\nthey might take shelter, and set to work. Every morning early the father\ncut his sticks, and the sons bound them in bundles, and carried them to\nthe town, bringing back the food the old man so much needed.\n\nSome months passed in this way, and then the father suddenly fell ill,\nand knew that the time had come when he must die. He bade his sons fetch\na lawyer, so that he might make his will, and when the man arrived he\nexplained his wishes.\n\n\u2018I have,\u2019 said he, \u2018a little house in the village, and over it grows a\nfig-tree. The house I leave to my sons, who are to live in it together;\nthe fig-tree I divide as follows. To my son Peppe I leave the branches.\nTo my son Alfin I leave the trunk. To my son Ciccu I leave the fruit.\nBesides the house and tree, I have an old coverlet, which I leave to\nmy eldest son. And an old purse, which I leave to my second son. And a\nhorn, which I leave to my youngest son. And now farewell.\u2019\n\nThus speaking, he laid himself down, and died quietly. The brothers wept\nbitterly for their father, whom they loved, and when they had buried him\nthey began to talk over their future lives. \u2018What shall we do now?\u2019 said\nthey. \u2018Shall we live in the wood, or go back to the village?\u2019 And they\nmade up their minds to stay where they were and continue to earn their\nliving by selling firewood.\n\nOne very hot evening, after they had been working hard all day, they\nfell asleep under a tree in front of the hut. And as they slept there\ncame by three fairies, who stopped to look at them.\n\n\u2018What fine fellows!\u2019 said one. \u2018Let us give them a present.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, what shall it be?\u2019 asked another.\n\n\u2018This youth has a coverlet over him,\u2019 said the first fairy. \u2018When\nhe wraps it round him, and wishes himself in any place, he will find\nhimself there in an instant.\u2019\n\nThen said the second fairy: \u2018This youth has a purse in his hand. I will\npromise that it shall always give him as much gold as he asks for.\u2019\n\nLast came the turn of the third fairy. \u2018This one has a horn slung round\nhim. When he blows at the small end the seas shall be covered with\nships. And if he blows at the wide end they shall all be sunk in the\nwaves.\u2019 So they vanished, without knowing that Ciccu had been awake and\nheard all they said.\n\nThe next day, when they were all cutting wood, he said to his brothers,\n\u2018That old coverlet and the purse are no use to you; I wish you would\ngive them to me. I have a fancy for them, for the sake of old times.\u2019\nNow Peppe and Alfin were very fond of Ciccu, and never refused him\nanything, so they let him have the coverlet and the purse without a\nword. When he had got them safely Ciccu went on, \u2018Dear brothers, I\nam tired of the forest. I want to live in the town, and work at some\ntrade.\u2019\n\n\u2018O Ciccu! stay with us,\u2019 they cried. \u2018We are very happy here; and who\nknows how we shall get on elsewhere?\u2019\n\n\u2018We can always try,\u2019 answered Ciccu; \u2018and if times are bad we can come\nback here and take up wood-cutting.\u2019 So saying he picked up his bundle\nof sticks, and his brothers did the same.\n\n\nBut when they reached the town they found that the market was\noverstocked with firewood, and they did not sell enough to buy\nthemselves a dinner, far less to get any food to carry home. They were\nwondering sadly what they should do when Ciccu said, \u2018Come with me to\nthe inn and let us have something to eat.\u2019 They were so hungry by this\ntime that they did not care much whether they paid for it or not, so\nthey followed Ciccu, who gave his orders to the host. \u2018Bring us three\ndishes, the nicest that you have, and a good bottle of wine.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ciccu! Ciccu!\u2019 whispered his brothers, horrified at this extravagance,\n\u2018are you mad? How do you ever mean to pay for it?\u2019\n\n\u2018Let me alone,\u2019 replied Ciccu; \u2018I know what I am about.\u2019 And when they\nhad finished their dinner Ciccu told the others to go on, and he would\nwait to pay the bill.\n\nThe brothers hurried on, without needing to be told twice, \u2018for,\u2019\nthought they, \u2018he has no money, and of course there will be a row.\u2019\n\nWhen they were out of sight Ciccu asked the landlord how much he owed,\nand then said to his purse, \u2018Dear purse, give me, I pray you, six\nflorins,\u2019 and instantly six florins were in the purse. Then he paid the\nbill and joined his brothers.\n\n\u2018How did you manage?\u2019 they asked.\n\n\u2018Never you mind,\u2019 answered he. \u2018I have paid every penny,\u2019 and no more\nwould he say. But the other two were very uneasy, for they felt sure\nsomething must be wrong, and the sooner they parted company with Ciccu\nthe better. Ciccu understood what they were thinking, and, drawing forty\ngold pieces from his pocket, he held out twenty to each, saying, \u2018Take\nthese and turn them to good account. I am going away to seek my own\nfortune.\u2019 Then he embraced them, and struck down another road.\n\nHe wandered on for many days, till at length he came to the town where\nthe king had his court. The first thing Ciccu did was to order himself\nsome fine clothes, and then buy a grand house, just opposite the palace.\n\nNext he locked his door, and ordered a shower of gold to cover the\nstaircase, and when this was done, the door was flung wide open, and\neveryone came and peeped at the shining golden stairs. Lastly the rumour\nof these wonders reached the ears of the king, who left his palace to\nbehold these splendours with his own eyes. And Ciccu received him with\nall respect, and showed him over the house.\n\nWhen the king went home he told such stories of what he had seen that\nhis wife and daughter declared that they must go and see them too. So\nthe king sent to ask Ciccu\u2019s leave, and Ciccu answered that if the queen\nand the princess would be pleased to do him such great honour he would\nshow them anything they wished. Now the princess was as beautiful as the\nsun, and when Ciccu looked upon her his heart went out to her, and he\nlonged to have her to wife. The princess saw what was passing in his\nmind, and how she could make use of it to satisfy her curiosity as to\nthe golden stairs; so she praised him and flattered him, and put cunning\nquestions, till at length Ciccu\u2019s head was quite turned, and he told her\nthe whole story of the fairies and their gifts. Then she begged him to\nlend her the purse for a few days, so that she could have one made like\nit, and so great was the love he had for her that he gave it to her at\nonce.\n\nThe princess returned to the palace, taking with her the purse, which\nshe had not the smallest intention of ever restoring to Ciccu. Very\nsoon Ciccu had spent all the money he had by him, and could get no more\nwithout the help of his purse. Of course, he went at once to the king\u2019s\ndaughter, and asked her if she had done with it, but she put him off\nwith some excuse, and told him to come back next day. The next day it\nwas the same thing, and the next, till a great rage filled Ciccu\u2019s heart\ninstead of the love that had been there. And when night came he took\nin his hand a thick stick, wrapped himself in the coverlet, and wished\nhimself in the chamber of the princess. The princess was asleep, but\nCiccu seized her arm and pulled her out of bed, and beat her till she\ngave back the purse. Then he took up the coverlet, and wished he was\nsafe in his own house.\n\nNo sooner had he gone than the princess hastened to her father and\ncomplained of her sufferings. Then the king rose up in a fury, and\ncommanded Ciccu to be brought before him. \u2018You richly deserve death,\u2019\nsaid he, \u2018but I will allow you to live if you will instantly hand over\nto me the coverlet, the purse, and the horn.\u2019\n\nWhat could Ciccu do? Life was sweet, and he was in the power of the\nking; so he gave up silently his ill-gotten goods, and was as poor as\nwhen he was a boy.\n\nWhile he was wondering how he was to live it suddenly came into his mind\nthat this was the season for the figs to ripen, and he said to himself,\n\u2018I will go and see if the tree has borne well.\u2019 So he set off\nhome, where his brothers still lived, and found them living very\nuncomfortably, for they had spent all their money, and did not know\nhow to make any more. However, he was pleased to see that the fig-tree\nlooked in splendid condition, and was full of fruit. He ran and fetched\na basket, and was just feeling the figs, to make sure which of them were\nripe, when his brother Peppe called to him, \u2018Stop! The figs of course\nare yours, but the branches they grow on are mine, and I forbid you to\ntouch them.\u2019\n\nCiccu did not answer, but set a ladder against the tree, so that he\ncould reach the topmost branches, and had his foot already on the first\nrung when he heard the voice of his brother Alfin: \u2018Stop! the trunk\nbelongs to me, and I forbid you to touch it!\u2019\n\nThen they began to quarrel violently, and there seemed no chance that\nthey would ever cease, till one of them said, \u2018Let us go before a\njudge.\u2019 The others agreed, and when they had found a man whom they could\ntrust Ciccu told him the whole story.\n\n\u2018This is my verdict,\u2019 said the judge. \u2018The figs in truth belong to\nyou, but you cannot pluck them without touching both the trunk and the\nbranches. Therefore you must give your first basketful to your brother\nPeppe, as the price of his leave to put your ladder against the tree;\nand the second basketful to your brother Alfin, for leave to shake his\nboughs. The rest you can keep for yourself.\u2019\n\nAnd the brothers were contented, and returned home, saying one to the\nother, \u2018We will each of us send a basket of figs to the king. Perhaps\nhe will give us something in return, and if he does we will divide it\nfaithfully between us.\u2019 So the best figs were carefully packed in a\nbasket, and Peppe set out with it to the castle.\n\nOn the road he met a little old man who stopped and said to him, \u2018What\nhave you got there, my fine fellow?\u2019\n\n\u2018What is that to you?\u2019 was the answer; \u2018mind your own business.\u2019 But\nthe old man only repeated his question, and Peppe, to get rid of him,\nexclaimed in anger, \u2018Dirt.\u2019\n\n\u2018Good,\u2019 replied the old man; \u2018dirt you have said, and dirt let it be.\u2019\n\nPeppe only tossed his head and went on his way till he got to the\ncastle, where he knocked at the door. \u2018I have a basket of lovely figs\nfor the king,\u2019 he said to the servant who opened it, \u2018if his majesty\nwill be graciously pleased to accept them with my humble duty.\u2019\n\nThe king loved figs, and ordered Peppe to be admitted to his presence,\nand a silver dish to be brought on which to put the figs. When Peppe\nuncovered his basket sure enough a layer of beautiful purple figs met\nthe king\u2019s eyes, but underneath there was nothing but dirt. \u2018How dare\nyou play me such a trick?\u2019 shrieked the king in a rage. \u2018Take him away,\nand give him fifty lashes.\u2019 This was done, and Peppe returned home, sore\nand angry, but determined to say nothing about his adventure. And when\nhis brothers asked him what had happened he only answered, \u2018When we have\nall three been I will tell you.\u2019\n\nA few days after this more figs were ready for plucking, and Alfin\nin his turn set out for the palace. He had not gone far down the road\nbefore he met the old man, who asked him what he had in his basket.\n\n\u2018Horns,\u2019 answered Alfin, shortly.\n\n\u2018Good,\u2019 replied the old man; \u2018horns you have said, and horns let it be.\u2019\n\nWhen Alfin reached the castle he knocked at the door and said to the\nservant: \u2018Here is a basket of lovely figs, if his majesty will be good\nenough to accept them with my humble duty.\u2019\n\nThe king commanded that Alfin should be admitted to his presence, and a\nsilver dish to be brought on which to lay the figs. When the basket\nwas uncovered some beautiful purple figs lay on the top, but underneath\nthere was nothing but horns. Then the king was beside himself with\npassion, and screamed out, \u2018Is this a plot to mock me? Take him away,\nand give him a hundred and fifty lashes!\u2019 So Alfin went sadly home, but\nwould not tell anything about his adventures, only saying grimly, \u2018Now\nit is Ciccu\u2019s turn.\u2019\n\nCiccu had to wait a little before he gathered the last figs on the tree,\nand these were not nearly so good as the first set. However, he plucked\nthem, as they had agreed, and set out for the king\u2019s palace. The old man\nwas still on the road, and he came up and said to Ciccu, \u2018What have you\ngot in that basket?\u2019\n\n\u2018Figs for the king,\u2019 answered he.\n\n\u2018Let me have a peep,\u2019 and Ciccu lifted the lid. \u2018Oh, do give me one, I\nam so fond of figs,\u2019 begged the little man.\n\n\u2018I am afraid if I do that the hole will show,\u2019 replied Ciccu, but as he\nwas very good-natured he gave him one. The old man ate it greedily and\nkept the stalk in his hand, and then asked for another and another and\nanother till he had eaten half the basketful. \u2018But there are not enough\nleft to take to the king,\u2019 murmured Ciccu.\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t be anxious,\u2019 said the old man, throwing the stalks back into\nthe basket; \u2018just go on and carry the basket to the castle, and it will\nbring you luck.\u2019\n\nCiccu did not much like it; however he went on his way, and with a\ntrembling heart rang the castle bell. \u2018Here are some lovely figs for\nthe king,\u2019 said he, \u2018if his majesty will graciously accept them with my\nhumble duty.\u2019\n\nWhen the king was told that there was another man with a basket of figs\nhe cried out, \u2018Oh, have him in, have him in! I suppose it is a wager!\u2019\nBut Ciccu uncovered the basket, and there lay a pile of beautiful ripe\nfigs. And the king was delighted, and emptied them himself on the silver\ndish, and gave five florins to Ciccu, and offered besides to take him\ninto his service. Ciccu accepted gratefully, but said he must first\nreturn home and give the five florins to his brothers.\n\nWhen he got home Peppe spoke: \u2018Now we will see what we each have got\nfrom the king. I myself received from him fifty lashes.\u2019\n\n\u2018And I a hundred and fifty,\u2019 added Alfin.\n\n\u2018And I five florins and some sweets, which you can divide between you,\nfor the king has taken me into his service.\u2019 Then Ciccu went back to the\nCourt and served the king, and the king loved him.\n\nThe other two brothers heard that Ciccu had become quite an important\nperson, and they grew envious, and thought how they could put him to\nshame. At last they came to the king and said to him, \u2018O king! your\npalace is beautiful indeed, but to be worthy of you it lacks one\nthing--the sword of the Man-eater.\u2019\n\n\u2018How can I get it?\u2019 asked the king.\n\n\u2018Oh, Ciccu can get it for you; ask him.\u2019\n\nSo the king sent for Ciccu and said to him, \u2018Ciccu, you must at any\nprice manage to get the sword of the Man-eater.\u2019\n\nCiccu was very much surprised at this sudden command, and he walked\nthoughtfully away to the stables and began to stroke his favourite\nhorse, saying to himself, \u2018Ah, my pet, we must bid each other good-bye,\nfor the king has sent me away to get the sword of the Maneater.\u2019 Now\nthis horse was not like other horses, for it was a talking horse, and\nknew a great deal about many things, so it answered, \u2018Fear nothing, and\ndo as I tell you. Beg the king to give you fifty gold pieces and leave\nto ride me, and the rest will be easy.\u2019 Ciccu believed what the horse\nsaid, and prayed the king to grant him what he asked. Then the two\nfriends set out, but the horse chose what roads he pleased, and directed\nCiccu in everything.\n\nIt took them many days\u2019 hard riding before they reached the country\nwhere the Man-eater lived, and then the horse told Ciccu to stop a group\nof old women who were coming chattering through the wood, and offer them\neach a shilling if they would collect a number of mosquitos and tie\nthem up in a bag. When the bag was full Ciccu put it on his shoulder\nand stole into the house of the Man-eater (who had gone to look for his\ndinner) and let them all out in his bedroom. He himself hid carefully\nunder the bed and waited. The Man-eater came in late, very tired with\nhis long walk, and flung himself on the bed, placing his sword with its\nshining blade by his side. Scarcely had he lain down than the mosquitos\nbegan to buzz about and bite him, and he rolled from side to side trying\nto catch them, which he never could do, though they always seemed to\nbe close to his nose. He was so busy over the mosquitos that he did\nnot hear Ciccu steal softly out, or see him catch up the sword. But the\nhorse heard and stood ready at the door, and as Ciccu came flying down\nthe stairs and jumped on his back he sped away like the wind, and never\nstopped till they arrived at the king\u2019s palace.\n\nThe king had suffered much pain in his absence, thinking that if the\nMan-eater ate Ciccu, it would be all his fault. And he was so overjoyed\nto have him safe that he almost forgot the sword which he had sent him\nto bring. But the two brothers did not love Ciccu any better because\nhe had succeeded when they hoped he would have failed, and one day they\nspoke to the king. \u2018It is all very well for Ciccu to have got possession\nof the sword, but it would have been far more to your majesty\u2019s honour\nif he had captured the Man-eater himself.\u2019 The king thought upon these\nwords, and at last he said to Ciccu, \u2018Ciccu, I shall never rest until\nyou bring me back the Man-eater himself. You may have any help you like,\nbut somehow or other you must manage to do it.\u2019 Ciccu felt very much\ncast, down at these words, and went to the stable to ask advice of his\nfriend the horse. \u2018Fear nothing,\u2019 said the horse; \u2018just say you want me\nand fifty pieces of gold.\u2019 Ciccu did as he was bid, and the two set out\ntogether.\n\nWhen they reached the country of the Man-eater, Ciccu made all the\nchurch bells toll and a proclamation to be made. \u2018Ciccu, the servant of\nthe king, is dead.\u2019 The Man-eater soon heard what everyone was saying,\nand was glad in his heart, for he thought, \u2018Well, it is good news that\nthe thief who stole my sword is dead.\u2019 But Ciccu bought an axe and a\nsaw, and cut down a pine tree in the nearest wood, and began to hew it\ninto planks.\n\n\u2018What are you doing in my wood?\u2019 asked the Maneater, coming up.\n\n\n\u2018Noble lord,\u2019 answered Ciccu, \u2018I am making a coffin for the body of\nCiccu, who is dead.\u2019\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t be in a hurry,\u2019 answered the Man-eater, who of course did not\nknow whom he was talking to, \u2018and perhaps I can help you;\u2019 and they set\nto work sawing and fitting, and very soon the coffin was finished.\n\nThen Ciccu scratched his ear thoughtfully, and cried, \u2018Idiot that I am!\nI never took any measures. How am I to know if it is big enough? But now\nI come to think of it, Ciccu was about your size. I wonder if you would\nbe so good as just to put yourself in the coffin, and see if there is\nenough room.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, delighted!\u2019 said the Man-eater, and laid himself at full length in\nthe coffin. Ciccu clapped on the lid, put a strong cord round it, tied\nit fast on his horse, and rode back to the king. And when the king saw\nthat he really had brought back the Man-eater, he commanded a huge iron\nchest to be brought, and locked the coffin up inside.\n\nJust about this time the queen died, and soon after the king thought he\nshould like to marry again. He sought everywhere, but he could not hear\nof any princess that took his fancy. Then the two envious brothers came\nto him and said, \u2018O king! there is but one woman that is worthy of being\nyour wife, and that is she who is the fairest in the whole world.\u2019\n\n\u2018But where can I find her?\u2019 asked the king\n\n\u2018Oh, Ciccu will know, and he will bring her to you.\u2019\n\nNow the king had got so used to depending on Ciccu, that he really\nbelieved he could do everything. So he sent for him and said, \u2018Ciccu,\nunless within eight days you bring me the fairest in the whole world, I\nwill have you hewn into a thousand pieces.\u2019 This mission seemed to Ciccu\na hundred times worse than either of the others, and with tears in his\neyes he took his way to the stables.\n\n\u2018Cheer up,\u2019 laughed the horse; \u2018tell the king you must have some bread\nand honey, and a purse of gold, and leave the rest to me.\u2019\n\nCiccu did as he was bid, and they started at a gallop.\n\nAfter they had ridden some way, they saw a swarm of bees lying on the\nground, so hungry and weak that they were unable to fly. \u2018Get down, and\ngive the poor things some honey,\u2019 said the horse, and Ciccu dismounted.\nBy-and-bye they came to a stream, on the bank of which was a fish,\nflapping feebly about in its efforts to reach the water. \u2018Jump down, and\nthrow the fish into the water; he will be useful to us,\u2019 and Ciccu did\nso. Farther along the hillside they saw an eagle whose leg was caught\nin a snare. \u2018Go and free that eagle from the snare; he will be useful to\nus; \u2018 and in a moment the eagle was soaring up into the sky.\n\nAt length they came to the castle where the fairest in the world lived\nwith her parents. Then said the horse, \u2018You must get down and sit upon\nthat stone, for I must enter the castle alone. Directly you see me come\ntearing by with the princess on my back, jump up behind, and hold her\ntight, so that she does not escape you. If you fail to do this, we are\nboth lost.\u2019 Ciccu seated himself on the stone, and the horse went on to\nthe courtyard of the castle, where he began to trot round in a graceful\nand elegant manner. Soon a crowd collected first to watch him and then\nto pat him, and the king and queen and princess came with the rest.\nThe eyes of the fairest in the world brightened as she looked, and she\nsprang on the horse\u2019s saddle, crying, \u2018Oh, I really must ride him a\nlittle!\u2019 But the horse made one bound forward, and the princess was\nforced to hold tight by his mane, lest she should fall off. And as they\ndashed past the stone where Ciccu was waiting for them, he swung himself\nup and held her round the waist. As he put his arms round her waist, the\nfairest in the world unwound the veil from her head and cast it to the\nground, and then she drew a ring from her finger and flung it into the\nstream. But she said nothing, and they rode on fast, fast.\n\nThe king of Ciccu\u2019s country was watching for them from the top of a\ntower, and when he saw in the distance a cloud of dust, he ran down\nto the steps so as to be ready to receive them. Bowing low before the\nfairest in the world, he spoke: \u2018Noble lady, will you do me the honour\nto become my wife?\u2019\n\nBut she answered, \u2018That can only be when Ciccu brings me the veil that I\nlet fall on my way here.\u2019\n\nAnd the king turned to Ciccu and said, \u2018Ciccu, if you do not find the\nveil at once, you shall lose your head.\u2019\n\nCiccu, who by this time had hoped for a little peace, felt his heart\nsink at this fresh errand, and he went into the stable to complain to\nthe faithful horse.\n\n\u2018It will be all right,\u2019 answered the horse when he had heard his tale;\n\u2018just take enough food for the day for both of us, and then get on my\nback.\u2019\n\nThey rode back all the way they had come till they reached the place\nwhere they had found the eagle caught in the snare; then the horse bade\nCiccu to call three times on the king of the birds, and when he replied,\nto beg him to fetch the veil which the fairest in the world had let\nfall.\n\n\u2018Wait a moment,\u2019 answered a voice that seemed to come from somewhere\nvery high up indeed. \u2018An eagle is playing with it just now, but he will\nbe here with it in an instant;\u2019 and a few minutes after there was a\nsound of wings, and an eagle came fluttering towards them with the veil\nin his beak. And Ciccu saw it was the very same eagle that he had freed\nfrom the snare. So he took the veil and rode back to the king.\n\nNow the king was enchanted to see him so soon, and took the veil from\nCiccu and flung it over the princess, crying, \u2018Here is the veil you\nasked for, so I claim you for my wife.\u2019\n\n\u2018Not so fast,\u2019 answered she. \u2018I can never be your wife till Ciccu puts\non my finger the ring I threw into the stream. Ciccu, who was standing\nby expecting something of the sort, bowed his head when he heard her\nwords, and went straight to the horse.\n\n\u2018Mount at once,\u2019 said the horse; \u2018this time it is very simple,\u2019 and he\ncarried Ciccu to the banks of the little stream. \u2018Now, call three times\non the emperor of the fishes, and beg him to restore you the ring that\nthe princess dropped.\n\nCiccu did as the horse told him, and a voice was heard in answer that\nseemed to come from a very long way off.\n\n\u2018What is your will?\u2019 it asked; and Ciccu replied that he had been\ncommanded to bring back the ring that the princess had flung away, as\nshe rode past.\n\n\u2018A fish is playing with it just now,\u2019 replied the voice; \u2018however, you\nshall have it without delay.\u2019\n\nAnd sure enough, very soon a little fish was seen rising to the surface\nwith the lost ring in his mouth. And Ciccu knew him to be the fish that\nhe had saved from death, and he took the ring and rode back with it to\nthe king.\n\n\u2018That is not enough,\u2019 exclaimed the princess when she saw the ring;\n\u2018before we can be man and wife, the oven must be heated for three days\nand three nights, and Ciccu must jump in.\u2019 And the king forgot how Ciccu\nhad served him, and desired him to do as the princess had said.\n\nThis time Ciccu felt that no escape was possible, and he went to the\nhorse and laid his hand on his neck. \u2018Now it is indeed good-bye, and\nthere is no help to be got even from you,\u2019 and he told him what fate\nawaited him.\n\nBut the horse said, \u2018Oh, never lose heart, but jump on my back, and make\nme go till the foam flies in flecks all about me. Then get down, and\nscrape off the foam with a knife. This you must rub all over you, and\nwhen you are quite covered, you may suffer yourself to be cast into the\noven, for the fire will not hurt you, nor anything else.\u2019 And Ciccu did\nexactly as the horse bade him, and went back to the king, and before the\neyes of the fairest in the world he sprang into the oven.\n\nAnd when the fairest in the world saw what he had done, love entered\ninto her heart, and she said to the king, \u2018One thing more: before I can\nbe your wife, you must jump into the oven as Ciccu has done.\u2019\n\n\u2018Willingly,\u2019 replied the king, stooping over the oven. But on the brink\nhe paused a moment and called to Ciccu, \u2018Tell me, Ciccu, how did you\nmanage to prevent the fire burning you?\u2019\n\nNow Ciccu could not forgive his master, whom he had served so\nfaithfully, for sending him to his death without a thought, so he\nanswered, \u2018I rubbed myself over with fat, and I am not even singed.\u2019\n\nWhen he heard these words, the king, whose head was full of the\nprincess, never stopped to inquire if they could be true, and smeared\nhimself over with fat, and sprang into the oven. And in a moment the\nfire caught him, and he was burned up.\n\nThen the fairest in the world held out her hand to Ciccu and smiled,\nsaying, \u2018Now we will be man and wife.\u2019 So Ciccu married the fairest in\nthe world, and became king of the country.\n\n\n\n\nDon Giovanni De La Fortuna\n\nSicilianische Mahrchen\n\n\nThere was once a man whose name was Don Giovanni de la Fortuna, and he\nlived in a beautiful house that his father had built, and spent a great\ndeal of money. Indeed, he spent so much that very soon there was none\nleft, and Don Giovanni, instead of being a rich man with everything\nhe could wish for, was forced to put on the dress of a pilgrim, and to\nwander from place to place begging his bread.\n\nOne day he was walking down a broad road when he was stopped by a\nhandsome man he had never seen before, who, little as Don Giovanni knew\nit, was the devil himself.\n\n\u2018Would you like to be rich,\u2019 asked the devil, \u2018and to lead a pleasant\nlife?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, of course I should,\u2019 replied the Don.\n\n\u2018Well, here is a purse; take it and say to it, \u201cDear purse, give me some\nmoney,\u201d and you will get as much as you can want But the charm will only\nwork if you promise to remain three years, three months, and three days\nwithout washing and without combing and without shaving your beard or\nchanging your clothes. If you do all this faithfully, when the time is\nup you shall keep the purse for yourself, and I will let you off any\nother conditions.\u2019\n\nNow Don Giovanni was a man who never troubled his head about the future.\nHe did not once think how very uncomfortable he should be all those\nthree years, but only that he should be able, by means of the purse,\nto have all sorts of things he had been obliged to do without; so he\njoyfully put the purse in his pocket and went on his way. He soon began\nto ask for money for the mere pleasure of it, and there was always as\nmuch as he needed. For a little while he even forgot to notice how dirty\nhe was getting, but this did not last long, for his hair became matted\nwith dirt and hung over his eyes, and his pilgrim\u2019s dress was a mass of\nhorrible rags and tatters.\n\nHe was in this state when, one morning, he happened to be passing a fine\npalace; and, as the sun was shining bright and warm, he sat down on the\nsteps and tried to shake off some of the dust which he had picked up on\nthe road. But in a few minutes a maid saw him, and said to her master,\n\u2018I pray you, sir, to drive away that beggar who is sitting on the steps,\nor he will fill the whole house with his dirt.\u2019\n\nSo the master went out and called from some distance off, for he was\nreally afraid to go near the man, \u2018You filthy beggar, leave my house at\nonce!\u2019\n\n\u2018You need not be so rude,\u2019 said Don Giovanni; \u2018I am not a beggar, and if\nI chose I could force you and your wife to leave your house.\u2019\n\n\u2018What is that you can do?\u2019 laughed the gentleman.\n\n\u2018Will you sell me your house?\u2019 asked Don Giovanni. \u2018I will buy it from\nyou on the spot.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, the dirty creature is quite mad!\u2019 thought the gentleman. \u2018I shall\njust accept his offer for a joke.\u2019 And aloud he said: \u2018 All right;\nfollow me, and we will go to a lawyer and get him to make a contract.\u2019\nAnd Don Giovanni followed him, and an agreement was drawn up by which\nthe house was to be sold at once, and a large sum of money paid down in\neight days. Then the Don went to an inn, where he hired two rooms, and,\nstanding in one of them, said to his purse, \u2018 Dear purse, fill this room\nwith gold;\u2019 and when the eight days were up it was so full you could not\nhave put in another sovereign.\n\nWhen the owner of the house came to take away his money Don Giovanni\nled him into the room and said: \u2018There, just pocket what you want.\u2019 The\ngentleman stared with open mouth at the astonishing sight; but he had\ngiven his word to sell the house, so he took his money, as he was told,\nand went away with his wife to look for some place to live in. And Don\nGiovanni left the inn and dwelt in the beautiful rooms, where his rags\nand dirt looked sadly out of place. And every day these got worse and\nworse.\n\nBy-and-bye the fame of his riches reached the ears of the king, and, as\nhe himself was always in need of money, he sent for Don Giovanni, as he\nwished to borrow a large sum. Don Giovanni readily agreed to lend him\nwhat he wanted, and sent next day a huge waggon laden with sacks of\ngold.\n\n\u2018Who can he be?\u2019 thought the king to himself. \u2018Why, he is much richer\nthan I!\u2019\n\nThe king took as much as he had need of; then ordered the rest to be\nreturned to Don Giovanni, who refused to receive it, saying, \u2018Tell his\nmajesty I am much hurt at his proposal. I shall certainly not take\nback that handful of gold, and, if he declines to accept it, keep it\nyourself.\u2019\n\nThe servant departed and delivered the message, and the king wondered\nmore than ever how anyone could be so rich. At last he spoke to the\nqueen: \u2018Dear wife, this man has done me a great service, and has,\nbesides, behaved like a gentleman in not allowing me to send back the\nmoney. I wish to give him the hand of our eldest daughter.\u2019\n\nThe queen was quite pleased at this idea, and again messenger was sent\nto Don Giovanni, offering him the hand of the eldest princess.\n\n\n\u2018His majesty is too good,\u2019 he replied. \u2018I can only humbly accept the\nhonour.\u2019\n\nThe messenger took back this answer, but a second time returned with the\nrequest that Don Giovanni would present them with his picture, so that\nthey might know what sort of a person to expect. But when it came, and\nthe princess saw the horrible figure, she screamed out, \u2018What! marry\nthis dirty beggar? Never, never!\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah, child,\u2019 answered the king, \u2018how could I ever guess that the rich\nDon Giovanni would ever look like that? But I have passed my royal word,\nand I cannot break it, so there is no help for you.\u2019\n\n\u2018No, father; you may cut off my head, if you choose, but marry that\nhorrible beggar--I never will!\u2019\n\nAnd the queen took her part, and reproached her husband bitterly for\nwishing his daughter to marry a creature like that.\n\nThen the youngest daughter spoke: \u2018Dear father, do not look so sad. As\nyou have given your word, I will marry Don Giovanni.\u2019 The king fell on\nher neck, and thanked her and kissed her, but the queen and the elder\ngirl had nothing for her but laughs and jeers.\n\nSo it was settled, and then the king bade one of his lords go to\nDon Giovanni and ask him when the wedding day was to be, so that the\nprincess might make ready.\n\n\u2018Let it be in two months,\u2019 answered Don Giovanni, for the time was\nnearly up that the devil had fixed, and he wanted a whole month to\nhimself to wash off the dirt of the past three years.\n\nThe very minute that the compact with the devil had come to an end his\nbeard was shaved, his hair was cut, and his rags were burned, and day\nand night he lay in a bath of clear warm water. At length he felt he was\nclean again, and he put on splendid clothes, and hired a beautiful ship,\nand arrived in state at the king\u2019s palace.\n\nThe whole of the royal family came down to the ship to receive him, and\nthe whole way the queen and the elder princess teased the sister about\nthe dirty husband she was going to have. But when they saw how handsome\nhe really was their hearts were filled with envy and anger, so that\ntheir eyes were blinded, and they fell over into the sea and were\ndrowned. And the youngest daughter rejoiced in the good luck that had\ncome to her, and they had a splendid wedding when the days of mourning\nfor her mother and sister were ended.\n\nSoon after the old king died, and Don Giovanni became king. And he was\nrich and happy to the end of his days, for he loved his wife, and his\npurse always gave him money.","title":"The Pink Fairy Book","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":98573}