{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_68071/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_68071","id":"gutenberg_68071","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68071","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Fairy tales"],"text":"YOU SAW\n these little men\n on the cover guarding the\n road that leads to Fairy Land.\n Do you believe in Fairy Land?\n If so, they will let you pass. If\n not, they will make you\n turn back the way you\n came and will not let\n you into\n\n[Illustration:\n\n THE FIR-TREE FAIRY BOOK\n]\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n THE PIED PIPER ORDERS THE RATS INTO THE WATER\n]\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n +THE\n FIR-TREE\n FAIRY\n BOOK+\n\n\n +FAVORITE FAIRY TALES+\n\n +EDITED BY+\n\n +CLIFTON JOHNSON+\n\n +ILLUSTRATED BY\n ALEXANDER POPINI+\n\n[Illustration]\n\n BOSTON\n\n LITTLE, BROWN, & COMPANY\n\n 1912\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n Copyright, 1912,\n BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n All rights reserved\n\n\n\n Published, November, 1912\n\n\n\n\n THE COLONIAL PRESS\n C. H. SIMONDS & CO., BOSTON, U.S.A.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n INTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\n\nIN the volumes that make up this series of fairy books are to be found\nthe favorite wonder tales of many nations in a version especially suited\nfor the home fireside. The interest, the charm and all the sweetness of\nthe stories have been retained, but savagery, distressing details and\nexcessive pathos have been dropped, and the books can be read aloud or\nplaced in the hands of children with entire confidence.\n\nThe reasons for such changes as I have made in the stories are perhaps\nself-evident. Surely, most parents and teachers will agree that our\nlittle people are better off without some of the sentiments of the\nbarbaric past when the tales originated. We can well spare most of the\nspectacles of falsehood, gluttony, drunkenness, torture and gore that\nare found in the usual tellings, and we can get along without the cruel\nfathers and wicked stepmothers. Civilization and culture have advanced\nvastly since the time when the stories started. Our primal instincts are\nmore controlled, and law, education and ethics mean vastly more. The\nnecessity therefore seems clear for softening or changing the crude\nideals and doubtful morals and coarseness that have so often survived in\nthe old stories.\n\nThe tales are drawn from many sources, and usually are the result of a\ncomparison of several versions, and a combination of the best features\nof these versions into a simple straightforward whole such as children\nwill read with understanding and pleasure.\n\nThe plan I have indicated was begun with \u201cThe Oak-Tree Fairy Book,\u201d the\ninitial volume of this tree named series, and has been consistently\npursued in all the later volumes.\n\n CLIFTON JOHNSON.\n\nHADLEY, MASS.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS\n\n\n SOURCE PAGE\n\n THE PIED PIPER England 3\n\n THE FIR-TREE Andersen 14\n\n THE BABES IN THE WOOD England 27\n\n ALEXANDER JONES Scotland 35\n\n THE SLEEPING BEAUTY Grimm 43\n\n THE LOVE OF THE SNOW-WHITE FOX Japan 52\n\n THE GRAZIER\u2019S WIFE Spain 56\n\n THE MAGIC HORN Norway 60\n\n THE ENVIOUS NEIGHBOR Siam 72\n\n BLUEBEARD France 76\n\n THE SPENDTHRIFT MERCHANT\u2019S SON Russia 84\n\n THE AMBITIOUS THRUSH India 92\n\n THE BEWITCHED BOTTLES Ireland 99\n\n A PEACE MEETING China 117\n\n THE SOLDIER AND THE DRAGON France 121\n\n THE FAIRIES OF MERLIN\u2019S CRAG Scotland 134\n\n THE LITTLE BOY AND THE BIG COW England 141\n\n A BOTTLE OF BRAINS England 144\n\n THE PEDDLER OF SWAFFHAM England 154\n\n THE ORANGE FAIRY Turkey 158\n\n THE MYSTERIOUS VOICE Roumania 173\n\n JOHNNY GLOKE England 179\n\n HANS THE HEDGEHOG Grimm 184\n\n THE MAGPIE\u2019S NEST England 194\n\n PUSS IN BOOTS France 197\n\n THE MASTER AND HIS PUPIL England 208\n\n THE WHITE TROUT Ireland 213\n\n THE FORTY-NINE DRAGONS Greece 217\n\n THE FOUR CLEVER BROTHERS Grimm 233\n\n THE YOUTH WITHOUT FEAR Grimm 242\n\n THE WONDERFUL TURNIP Grimm 259\n\n THE ENCHANTED DOVE Grimm 264\n\n THE THREE WISHES England 270\n\n THE OLD HORSE Grimm 276\n\n THE DONKEY CABBAGES Grimm 279\n\n SWEET PORRIDGE Grimm 290\n\n THE PRAYING GEESE Grimm 292\n\n THE DARNING NEEDLE Andersen 294\n\n THE RABBIT AND THE GREEDY India 300\n MONKEY\n\n THE NIGHTINGALE Andersen 306\n\n THE PRINCESS AND THE GIANT Ireland 325\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n PAGE\n\n The Pied Piper orders the rats Frontispiece\n into the water\n\n The Mayor hears something 6\n\n The fir-tree 16\n\n The babes in the wood 31\n\n They ran around the table 37\n\n The sleeping beauty 48\n\n There were hunters who wanted 52\n to kill the fox\n\n Barbara admires herself in the 58\n mirror\n\n Philip blew into the large end 67\n of his horn\n\n He gathered all the gold he 74\n could carry\n\n At the door of Bluebeard\u2019s 78\n secret room\n\n They carried him away through 89\n the air\n\n The thrush in her new clothes 95\n\n Two tiny men climbed out of 109\n the bottle\n\n At the peace meeting 119\n\n The bear and rabbit begin the 126\n attack on the dragon\n\n The two brothers and the fairy 135\n\n The cow wouldn\u2019t stand still 142\n\n The lass stopped and looked at 149\n him\n\n The peddler of Swaffham 155\n\n The dervish 158\n\n He met a giantess 161\n\n He rushed forth from the shop 177\n\n Johnny loses control of his 182\n fiery steed\n\n Hans rode away to the forest 187\n\n First she took some mud 194\n\n Puss in Boots greets the king 198\n\n Puss and the ogre 203\n\n The learned man and his big 209\n book\n\n While he was looking a number 223\n of dragons came out\n\n The dragon pursues the ship 239\n\n He threw the sexton downstairs 244\n\n The bed began to move 252\n\n Away he went with the turnip 260\n\n The door in the tree 266\n\n A noble string of sausages 273\n hung from his nose\n\n The horse started for home 278\n\n To his horror he perceived 284\n that he had been transformed\n into a donkey\n\n Begging for mercy 292\n\n The proud darning needle 295\n\n The man gave chase 301\n\n The nightingales at court 315\n\n The giant bringing home a bear 331\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n +THE\n FIR-TREE FAIRY BOOK+\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE PIED PIPER\n\n\nTHERE is a sleepy little town by the seashore, which for a time, long\nago, was decidedly noisy. But the noise was not so much due to the\nnumber of people in the place, or the traffic on the streets, as it was\nto the fact that the town had been invaded by a horde of rats. Such an\ninvasion had never been seen before nor ever will be seen again. The\nplace was scarcely worth living in, so infested was it with these rats.\nThe people found them in their breeches or petticoats when they put on\ntheir clothes in the morning, and it was nothing unusual to discover a\nrat\u2019s nest in one\u2019s shoes or pockets, or in one\u2019s Sunday hat or bonnet.\n\nThe rats were great black creatures that ran boldly through the streets\nin broad daylight, and swarmed all over the houses. There was not a\nbarn, or a cornrick, or a storeroom, or a cupboard, but they gnawed\ntheir way into it.\n\n They fought the dogs and killed the cats\n And bit the babies in their cradles,\n And ate the cheeses out of the vats\n And licked the soup from the cook\u2019s own ladle.\n\nEven the barrels of beer were not safe from them. They would gnaw a hole\nin the barrel head, and into this hole some master rat would thrust his\ntail, and when he withdrew it dripping with beer all his friends and\nrelatives would crowd around and each would have a suck at the tail.\n\nThey were bad enough in the daytime, but they were still worse at night.\nThen they were busy everywhere\u2014in the walls and ceilings, and also in\nthe rooms from cellar to garret. There was such a chase and a rummage,\nand such a squeaking and squealing, and such a noise as of gimlets,\npincers and saws that a deaf man could not have rested for one hour\ntogether. The people could hardly hear themselves think, and many a\nmother felt obliged to sit up and keep watch over her children lest some\nbig ugly rat should run across their faces.\n\nCats and dogs, poison and traps were of no avail. Nor were prayers any\nmore effective. Of course many of the rats were killed, yet others\nconstantly came to take the place of the dead ones. The mayor and the\ntown council were at their wits\u2019 end. They were sitting one day in the\ntown hall racking their brains, when a queer-looking stranger arrived in\nthe place. As he tramped up the chief street he played the bagpipes,\npausing in his playing now and then to sing this refrain:\n\n \u201cWho lives shall see\n This is he,\n The ratcatcher.\u201d\n\nHe was a tall, gawky fellow with swarthy skin, a crooked nose, a long\nmoustache, and piercing eyes. His broad-brimmed felt hat had a scarlet\ncock\u2019s feather stuck into its band, and there was not a color of the\nrainbow that could not be found in his jacket and breeches. A leather\nbelt girded his waist, and on his feet were sandals fastened by thongs\npassed round his legs. He stopped in the great market-place before the\ntown hall and went on with his piping and singing. The town beadle heard\nthe purport of the song, and asked the stranger if he could rid the town\nof the rats with which it was overrun.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d was the reply, \u201cif you will make it worth my while.\u201d\n\nThen the beadle hurried off to report the stranger\u2019s words to the\ncouncil. As he approached their place of meeting the mayor was saying:\n\u201cWhat to do, I know not. My poor head aches, I\u2019ve scratched it so, and\nall in vain.\u201d\n\n Just as he said this, what should hap\n At the chamber door, but a gentle tap?\n\n[Illustration]\n\n \u201cBless us!\u201d cried the mayor, \u201cwhat\u2019s that?\n Anything like the sound of a rat\n Makes my heart go pit-a-pat!\u201d\n\nThen he said in a louder voice, \u201cCome in,\u201d and the beadle entered.\n\n\u201cPlease, your honor,\u201d said the beadle, \u201ca very queer fellow has come to\ntown who says he is a ratcatcher, and that he can clear the place of\nrats if we make it worth his while.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen he is a sorcerer,\u201d said the councilors with one voice. \u201cWe must\nbeware of him.\u201d\n\nThe mayor, who was considered clever, reassured them. \u201cSorcerer or not,\u201d\nsaid he, \u201cif this bagpiper speaks the truth, I doubt not it was he who\nsent us this horrible vermin in order to get money from us for inducing\nthem to go away. Well, we must catch the evil-minded in their own\nsnares. You leave it to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cLeave it to the mayor,\u201d said the councilors one to the other.\n\n\u201cShow him in,\u201d said the mayor, and the beadle soon brought the\nratcatcher before them.\n\n\u201cI am called the Pied Piper,\u201d he said, \u201cand ratcatching is my trade.\nWhat would you pay me to rid you of every rat in the town?\u201d\n\nMuch as they disliked the rats they disliked parting with their money\nstill more, and they fain would have higgled and haggled. But the Piper\nwas not a man to stand nonsense, and the upshot of the matter was that\nthey agreed to pay him at the rate of a penny a head as soon as there\nwas not a rat left to squeak or scurry in the place.\n\nThe bagpiper announced that he would operate that very evening when the\nmoon rose, and he requested that the inhabitants should leave the\nstreets free, and content themselves with looking out of their windows\nwhile he was at his task.\n\nWhen the townspeople heard of the bargain they exclaimed: \u201cA penny a\nhead! This will cost us a great deal of money!\u201d\n\n\u201cLeave it to the mayor,\u201d said the town councilors with a sly shrug of\nthe shoulders.\n\nToward nine o\u2019clock the Piper reappeared in the market-place, and as\nsoon as the moon showed above the roofs he put his bagpipes to his lips\nand began a shrill, keen tune that penetrated to the remotest nooks and\nalleys of the town. Then a strange sight was seen. From every hole the\nrats came tumbling, and ran to the market-place, until it was so full of\nthem that the pavement was hidden from sight. At length the piper faced\nabout, and, still playing briskly, went down a street that led toward\nthe harbor. At his heels followed the rats with eager feet and upturned\nnoses. Every fifty yards he stopped and gave an extra flourish of the\npipes while he waited for the toddling little rats and the less vigorous\nones to catch up with those that were stronger. Meanwhile the townsfolk\nlooked on from their windows, and many a blessing they called down on\nhis head.\n\nWhen he reached the harbor and had marched to the outer end of a wharf,\nhe turned about and looked at the multitude of rats. \u201cHop, hop!\u201d he\ncried, pointing with his finger toward the water.\n\nNot far from the end of the wharf a big whirlpool had formed, and the\nrats, obedient to the Piper\u2019s orders, began to leap from the wharf, and\nswim straight to the center of the whirlpool, where they disappeared.\nThis continued till midnight, when only one rat was left\u2014a big rat,\nwhite with age, who dragged himself along with difficulty. It was the\nking of the band.\n\n\u201cAre they all there, friend Whitey?\u201d asked the Piper.\n\n\u201cThey are all there,\u201d replied Whitey.\n\n\u201cHow many?\u201d the Piper questioned.\n\n\u201cNine hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine,\u201d\nwas the answer.\n\n\u201cThen go and join them, old sire,\u201d said the Piper. \u201cGood-by.\u201d\n\nSo the old rat jumped into the water, swam to the whirlpool, and down he\nwent out of sight.\n\nThe Piper walked back into the town and went to bed at an inn; and for\nthe first time in three months the people slept quietly through the\nnight. There was no noise to disturb them, and they slept the more\nserenely because now there was a prospect they would have a chance to\nenjoy food that the rats had not tasted before them. In the morning, so\nrejoiced were they over their delivery from the plague of vermin that\nthey threw up their caps and hurrahed, and they rang the church bells\ntill they rocked the steeples. But at nine o\u2019clock, when the Piper went\nto the town hall to get his pay, the mayor and the council and the\ntownsfolk generally began to hum and ha, and to shake their heads, for\nwhere was all that money to come from? Besides, it had been a very easy\njob that the Piper had done and had only taken him a little while.\n\n\u201cSirs,\u201d said the Piper, \u201call your rats took a jump into the harbor last\nnight, and I guarantee that not one of them will come back. There were\none million, and you can reckon how much is due me at a penny a head.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy good man,\u201d said the mayor, \u201cyou must know that we are poor folk;\nsurely you will not ask us to pay such a sum.\u201d\n\n\u201cI only want you to do as you agreed to do,\u201d responded the Piper.\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d said the mayor, \u201cthen let us reckon the heads. Have the kindness\nto bring them here that we may count them.\u201d\n\nThe ratcatcher did not expect this treacherous stroke. He paled with\nanger, and his eyes flashed fire. \u201cThe heads!\u201d he cried, \u201cif you care\nabout them, go and find them in the harbor.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo you refuse to hold to the terms of your bargain,\u201d said the mayor.\n\u201cWe have good reason to refuse you all payment, but you have been of use\nto us, and we will be glad to recompense you to the extent of twenty\npounds.\u201d\n\n\u201cKeep your recompense to yourself,\u201d retorted the ratcatcher proudly. \u201cIt\nwould be better for you if you paid me quickly all that is my due. For I\ncan pipe many kinds of tunes, as folk sometimes find to their cost. If\nyou do not pay me I will be paid by your heirs.\u201d\n\n\u201cWould you threaten us, you strolling vagabond?\u201d shrieked the mayor.\n\u201cBegone and do your worst now that the rats are drowned.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the Piper, and he pulled his hat down over his eyes,\nturned short on his heel, and left the hall.\n\nThe townspeople were much pleased over this outcome. They rubbed their\nhands gleefully, and laughed over the ratcatcher, who they said was\ncaught in his own trap. Above all they laughed at his threat of getting\nhimself paid by their heirs. \u201cHa, ha!\u201d\n\nBut when the Piper reached the market-place, he again put his pipes to\nhis lips. This time there came forth no shrill notes, but a tune that\nwas joyous and resonant, full of happy laughter and merry play. At this\ncall the children all ran forth to the Piper from schoolroom and\nplayroom and nursery. Every little boy and girl in town hurried to the\nmarket-place, attracted by the magic music. Then the stranger began to\nwalk up a street that led out of the town, and they followed him,\ndancing, laughing, and singing.\n\n Small feet were pattering, wooden shoes clattering,\n Little hands clapping and little tongues chattering.\n\nOn they went out of the town gate and into a forest that was near by, a\nforest full of old oaks and wide-spreading beeches. In among the trees\nwent the Piper in his many-colored garments, and the laughter of the\nchildren gradually faded away as they went deeper and deeper into the\ncool green wood.\n\nHour after hour passed, and the children did not return. Then their\nparents went in search of them, but at nightfall came back desolate to\nthe town. Nor was searching in future days any better rewarded. The\nmayor sent east, west, north, and south, to offer the Piper, if he could\nbe found,\n\n Silver and gold to his heart\u2019s content,\n If he\u2019d only return the way he went,\n And bring the children behind him.\n\nBut never were the hearts of the townspeople gladdened by the sight of\nthe Piper and his following of singing, dancing children issuing from\nthe ancient oaks of the forest. What became of the children is a mystery\neven to this day.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE FIR-TREE\n\n\nON the borders of a forest a pretty little fir-tree once started to\ngrow. The sun shone full on him, the breezes played freely around him,\nand in the neighborhood grew many companion fir-trees, both large and\nsmall. But the little fir-tree was not happy. He was always longing to\nbe full grown. He thought not of the warm sun and the fresh air. He took\nno pleasure in the songs of birds, or in the clouds that sailed over\nhim. He cared not for the merry, prattling peasant children who came to\nthe forest to look for berries.\n\nBy and by it was winter, and the ground was covered with the glistening\nsnow. Then the fir-tree often saw a hare scampering about, and sometimes\nthe hare would jump right over the little fir-tree\u2019s head. The tree did\nnot like that at all. However, when two winters had passed, the fir-tree\nwas so tall the hare was obliged to run around him; for each year he\nsent upward a long green shoot, just as all fir-trees do, and you could\ntell how old he was by counting the number of joints on the main stem.\n\n\u201cOh, that I was as tall as the big trees I see near me!\u201d sighed the\nlittle tree. \u201cThen I should spread out my branches so far, and I could\nlook over the wide world around. The birds would build their nests among\nmy branches, and when the wind blew I would bend my head so grandly just\nas all the big trees do. Yes, I want to become tall and old. That is the\nonly thing worth living for.\u201d\n\nEvery autumn the woodcutters came and felled some of the largest trees.\nThe young fir-tree shuddered when he saw the grand trees crash to the\nground. He watched the men chop off all the boughs from the fallen\ntrees, and how terribly naked and lanky and long they looked then. They\ncould hardly be recognized. Finally they were loaded on wagons, and were\ndrawn away from the forest. Where could they be going? What might be\ntheir fortunes?\n\nWhen it was spring, and the swallows and the storks returned from the\nsouth, the tree called to them, and said: \u201cKnow you whither they have\ntaken the great trees that have been cut? Have you met these friends of\nmine?\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe swallows knew nothing about the matter, but one of the storks looked\nthoughtful for a moment, nodded his head, and said: \u201cYes, I believe I\nhave seen them. As I was flying from Egypt to this place I noticed\nseveral ships, and those ships had splendid masts. I have little doubt\nthose masts were the trees of which you speak. They supported the sails\nso that the ships moved on gloriously.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh that I too were tall enough to be a mast, and journey on the sea!\u201d\nexclaimed the fir-tree.\n\n\u201cRejoice in your youth,\u201d said the sunbeams. \u201cRejoice in the fresh life\nthat is within you.\u201d And the sunbeams caressed the tree, and the wind\nkissed him, but he understood them not.\n\nChristmas was drawing near, after the little fir-tree had lived and\ngrown for several years, and many small trees were felled by the\nwoodmen. Some were no taller than the restless young fir-tree who was\nalways longing to be away. The branches were not cut off, but the trees\nwere put on wagons, green boughs and all. When the wagons had gone, the\nfir-tree asked where his companions were being taken.\n\n\u201cWe know, we know,\u201d twittered the sparrows. \u201cThey are on the way to the\ntown. You cannot imagine what honor and glory they will receive. We have\npeeped through the house windows in years gone by, and we know. They\nwill be planted in a warm room, and be decked with the most beautiful\nthings\u2014sweetmeats, playthings, and hundreds of bright candles.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what happens afterward?\u201d asked the fir-tree, quivering with\nexcitement in every bough.\n\n\u201cWe saw no more,\u201d the sparrows replied, \u201cbut what we did see was\nbeautiful beyond compare.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is far better than sailing over the sea,\u201d cried the fir-tree with\ndelight. \u201cHow I wish such a glorious lot might be mine! And there must\nbe something still better to follow, else why should any one take such\ntrouble to decorate the trees.\u201d\n\n\u201cRejoice in our love,\u201d said the air and the sunshine. \u201cRejoice in your\nfreedom.\u201d\n\nBut rejoice he never would. Time went on and he grew more and more\nsturdy and full of dark green foliage, and when the next Christmas drew\nnear he was the first tree that was cut. Then for a moment he forgot to\nthink of his good fortune, and was sorry to be compelled to leave his\nhome. He knew he should not see the other trees again, or the little\nbushes and flowers that had flourished under his shadow\u2014perhaps not even\nthe birds.\n\nAt last he found himself in the courtyard of a house in the town whither\nhe had been carried with a load of his fellows, and a man picked him out\nfrom among the rest and said: \u201cThis is a beautiful one\u2014the very thing we\nwant.\u201d\n\nThen two smartly dressed servants came and carried the fir-tree into a\nlarge and handsome parlor where he was planted in a stout tub filled\nwith sand. A young lady, assisted by the servants, now began to adorn\nhim. On some branches they hung little bags filled with candy. From\nothers apples and walnuts were suspended, looking just as if they had\ngrown there; and a great number of tiny wax tapers, red, white, and\nblue, were fastened to the boughs. Here and there were hung dolls and\npicture books and toys, and on the summit was fastened a large star of\ngold tinsel. This was indeed splendid!\n\n\u201cIn the evening the tree will be lighted up,\u201d they said.\n\n\u201cWould that it were evening,\u201d thought the tree. \u201cWould that the candles\nwere already lighted. What will happen then? Will the trees come out of\nthe forest to see me? Will the sparrows look in at the windows? Shall I\nstand here adorned both winter and summer?\u201d\n\nAt last evening came, and the candles were lighted. Oh, what radiance!\nThe tree trembled in all his branches so that one of the lights set fire\nto a bough. \u201cHeaven preserve us!\u201d exclaimed the young ladies, and they\nsprang forward and extinguished the flame.\n\nThe tree dared not tremble again, though he felt greatly bewildered in\nthe midst of all this glory and brightness. Suddenly, both the folding\ndoors that communicated with the next room were flung open, and a troop\nof children rushed in. The older people followed more quietly. At first\nthe children gathered about the tree soberly gazing and admiring. Then\nthey began dancing and shouting and tearing off the presents.\n\n\u201cWhat are they doing?\u201d thought the tree. \u201cWhat will happen now?\u201d\n\nThe candles burned down to the branches, and were blown out, and the\nchildren amused themselves with their beautiful playthings. No one\nthought any more of the tree except the old nurse, who came and peeped\namong the boughs, but it was only to see whether perchance an apple or a\ncandy bag had been left among them.\n\nLater in the evening the children tired of their play and begged their\nfather to tell a story. \u201cVery well,\u201d said he. \u201cWould you like to hear\nabout Chicken Licken, or about Thumpty Klump, who fell down stairs, but\nafterward won a princess and came to a throne?\u201d\n\n\u201cChicken Licken!\u201d cried some.\n\n\u201cThumpty Klump!\u201d cried others, and there was a great uproar.\n\nWhen they grew quieter the man told the story of Thumpty Klump, and, as\nsoon as he had finished, the children clapped their hands and called for\nanother story, but they did not get it.\n\nThe fir-tree stood meanwhile quite silent and thoughtful. \u201cThe birds in\nthe forest never related anything like this,\u201d said he. \u201cThumpty Klump\nfell down stairs, and yet won a princess and was raised to a throne.\nYes, yes, strange things come to pass in the world. Who knows but I may\nfall down stairs and win a princess?\u201d\n\nHe rejoiced in the expectation of being next day again decked out with\ncandles and glittering ornaments and playthings. In the morning the\nmaids came in. \u201cNow begins my magnificence anew,\u201d said the tree to\nhimself.\n\nBut they dragged him out of the room, up the stairs, and into an attic,\nwhere they thrust him into a dark corner and left him. \u201cWhat can be the\nmeaning of this?\u201d thought the tree. \u201cWhat am I to do here?\u201d And he\nleaned against the wall and thought and thought.\n\nHe had plenty of time to think as much as he pleased, for day after day\nand night after night passed, and yet no one entered the attic. \u201cIt is\nwinter,\u201d said the tree. \u201cThe ground is hard and covered with snow. They\ncannot plant me now. So I am to stay in shelter till spring. How kind\nthey are! I only wish it was not so dark and so dreadfully lonesome.\u201d\n\n\u201cSqueak! squeak!\u201d cried a little mouse, just then gliding out of a hole\nin the wall.\n\nAnother followed. They snuffed at the fir-tree and slipped in and out\namong the branches. \u201cIt is horribly cold,\u201d said the little mice. \u201cDon\u2019t\nyou think so, you old fir-tree?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not old,\u201d responded the fir-tree. \u201cThere are many trees much older\nthan I am.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow came you here?\u201d questioned the mice, \u201cand what do you know? Tell us\nabout the most delightful place on earth. Have you ever been there? Have\nyou been into the storeroom where cheeses lie on the shelves, and bacon\nhangs from the ceiling, where one can dance over tallow-candles, where\none goes in thin and comes out fat?\u201d\n\n\u201cI know nothing about that,\u201d the tree answered, \u201cbut I know the forest,\nwhere the sun shines and where the birds sing.\u201d\n\nThen he spoke of his youth and its pleasures. The little mice had never\nheard anything like it before. They listened with all their ears, and\nsaid: \u201cWell, to be sure, how much you have seen! How happy you have\nbeen!\u201d\n\n\u201cHappy!\u201d repeated the fir-tree in surprise, and he thought a moment over\nall he had been saying. \u201cYes, on the whole, those were pleasant times.\u201d\n\nHe then told about the Christmas Eve when he had been decked with toys\nand candles.\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d cried the little mice, \u201chow happy you have been, you old\nfir-tree!\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not old at all,\u201d declared the tree, \u201cand it is only this winter\nthat I left the forest.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow well you can talk!\u201d said the little mice, and the next night they\ncame again and brought with them four other little mice who also wanted\nto hear the tree\u2019s history.\n\nThe more the tree spoke of his youth in the forest the more vividly he\nremembered it. \u201cThose were pleasant times,\u201d he remarked in conclusion,\n\u201cand they may come again. Thumpty Klump fell down stairs, and yet for\nall that he won the princess. Perhaps I, too, may win a princess;\u201d and\nthen the fir-tree thought of a pretty little birch-tree that grew in the\nforest. She was a very real and very lovely princess to him.\n\n\u201cWho is this Thumpty Klump?\u201d the little mice inquired.\n\nSo he related the tale. He could remember every word of it perfectly,\nand the little mice were so pleased they jumped for joy. The night\nfollowing, several more mice came, and on Sunday they returned and\nbrought with them two rats. The rats, however, declared that the story\nwas not at all amusing, and the little mice, after hearing the rats\u2019\nopinion, did not like it so well either.\n\n\u201cDo you know only that one story?\u201d asked the rats.\n\n\u201cOnly that one,\u201d answered the tree. \u201cI heard it on the happiest evening\nof my life, though I did not then know how happy I was.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is a miserable story,\u201d the rats declared. \u201cDo you know none about\npork and tallow? Don\u2019t you know some storeroom story?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the tree.\n\n\u201cWell, then, we have heard enough,\u201d said the rats, and they went their\nway.\n\nThey did not come again, nor did the little mice. As the lonely days\npassed, the tree sighed and said: \u201cIt was very pleasant when those\nlively little mice sat around me listening to my words. Now that, too,\nis all past. However, I still have the pleasure of remembering it.\u201d\n\nOne morning people came and gave the attic a cleaning out. The tree was\ndragged from the corner and carried down stairs. Once more he beheld the\noutdoor daylight. \u201cLife is about to begin again,\u201d he thought.\n\nHe felt the fresh air and the warm sunbeams. He was out in the court,\nand the court adjoined a garden where everything was fresh and blooming.\nThe roses clustered bright and fragrant round the trellis work, the\napple-trees were in blossom, and the swallows flew backward and forward\ntwittering, \u201cQuirri-virri-vit, my beloved is come!\u201d But it was not the\nfir-tree whom they meant.\n\nThe tree was filled with delightful hope. He tried to spread out his\nbranches. Alas! they were all dry and stiff. He was thrown down on a\nheap of weeds and rubbish. The star that had been fastened on his top\nsparkled brightly in the sunshine. Some children were playing in the\ncourt. They were the same who at Christmas-time had danced round the\ntree in the parlor. The youngest perceived the gold star and ran to tear\nit off. \u201cLook at it, still on the ugly old Christmas-tree,\u201d cried he,\ntrampling and breaking the boughs under his feet.\n\nThe tree looked at the flowers of the garden blooming in the freshness\nof their beauty, and he called to mind his happy forest life, the merry\nChristmas Eve, and the little mice who had listened so eagerly when he\nrelated the story of Thumpty Klump. \u201cPast, all past,\u201d sighed the poor\ntree.\n\nPresently a servant came and set fire to the rubbish heap. The children\nall ran to the place and jumped about in front of the blaze, crying,\n\u201cHurrah, hurrah!\u201d\n\nThe tree burned to ashes and the fire flickered out. Then the boys began\nto play about in the court as before, and on the breast of the youngest\nsparkled the gold star that the tree had worn on the happiest evening of\nhis life. But now the tree has come to an end, and the story also has\ncome to an end.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE BABES IN THE WOOD\n\n\nA GREAT many years ago there was a brave and kind gentleman who was held\nin high esteem by all who knew him. His wife was good and beautiful, and\nthey loved each other most tenderly. They lived together happily for\nmany years, but at last the gentleman fell sick, and day after day he\ngrew worse. So grieved was his lady by his illness that she, too,\nsickened. No medicine or anything else gave them any relief, and they\nrealized that soon they would die. It troubled them greatly to think\nthat they would be taken away from their two children, one a fine boy\nthree years old, and the other a pretty little girl not quite two. They\ntalked together about the children\u2019s future, and decided to give their\nbabes into the care of the gentleman\u2019s brother.\n\nHe was sent for, and when he came, the dying man said to him: \u201cAh!\nbrother, you can plainly see that the time of both my wife and myself on\nearth is short. As for pain or death, we fear them not, but we are\ndistressed to think of what our poor babes will do without their\nparents. Brother, they will have no one but you to be kind to them, and\nI commend them to your care.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you treat them well,\u201d said the mother, \u201cGod will reward you.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave no fear as to my taking good care of them,\u201d said the brother. \u201cMay\nGod never prosper me or mine if I should do them wrong.\u201d\n\nNot long afterward the gentleman and the lady died, and they were buried\nside by side in the same grave. It was found that the gentleman\u2019s will\ngave his son three hundred pounds a year after he came of age, and the\ngirl was to be paid five hundred pounds in gold on the day that she\nmarried. But if they happened to die before the money was paid to them\ntheir property was all to go to their uncle.\n\nHe took them to his own home, and for a time made much of them and\nshowed them great kindness. At length, however, he began to covet their\nwealth, and to wish that they were dead so he could possess it; but they\ncontinued sturdy and well. Finally he said to himself: \u201cIt would not be\nvery difficult for me to have them killed in such a way that my\nneighbors would never suspicion that I was responsible for the deed.\nThen their property would be mine, and that would be an end of the\nmatter.\u201d\n\nWith this thought in mind the cruel uncle soon determined how to dispose\nof the children. He hired two burly ruffians, who were used to doing\ndesperate deeds, to take the little boy and girl into a thick, dark\nwood, some distance away, and slay them. To his wife he told an artful\nstory of intending to send the children to London where they could be\nbrought up by one of his friends. \u201cWould you not like that, my pretty\nones?\u201d he said to them. \u201cYou will see famous London Town; and you, my\nlad, can buy a fine wooden horse there, and ride on it all day long, and\nyou can buy a whip to make him gallop, and you can buy a sword to wear\nby your side. As for your sister, she shall have pretty frocks, and she\nshall have dolls and other nice playthings.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes, I will go, uncle,\u201d said the little boy.\n\n\u201cGoody-good,\u201d said the little girl, \u201cand I will go, too.\u201d\n\nSo he got them ready, as if for a long journey, and sent them off in a\nfine coach in charge of the two wretches. As they rode along the\nchildren prattled pleasantly to the men who intended to be their\nbutchers. When they reached the borders of the dark, thick wood, the\nruffians took their charges out of the coach and told them they might\nwalk a little way and gather some flowers. While the children were\nrunning about, the men turned their backs on them and began to talk\nabout what they had to do.\n\n\u201cTruly,\u201d said one, \u201cnow that I have seen their sweet faces and heard\ntheir pretty talk, I have no heart to do the cruel deed.\u201d\n\n\u201cNor have I,\u201d said the other, \u201cbut we have been paid so much to do this\nthing that I shall complete my part of the bargain.\u201d\n\nThe more kindly disposed ruffian would not agree to such a course, and\nthey argued till they got angry and began to fight. They drew the big\nknives with which they had planned to kill the babes, and the one who\nwished to spare the children stabbed his comrade so that the fellow fell\ndead in the grass.\n\nThe victor now knew not what to do with the children, for he wanted to\nget away as quickly as possible lest he should be found there and made\nto suffer for the death of his companion. He thought the best thing he\ncould do would be to leave them in the wood, and trust that they would\nbe kindly treated by whoever passed that way and discovered them. So he\nwent to where they had rambled in their flower-picking, and said, \u201cTake\nmy hands, and come with me.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n The babes in the wood\n]\n\nFor two long miles he led them on, and then they began to complain that\nthey were hungry. \u201cStay here,\u201d quoth he, \u201cand I will go and get you\nsomething to eat.\u201d\n\nSo away he went, and the babes sat there a long time waiting for him to\nreturn. \u201cWill the strange man come soon with some cakes for us?\u201d said\nthe little girl.\n\n\u201cIn a little while, I think,\u201d responded the boy.\n\n\u201cI wish I had some cakes,\u201d said she.\n\nThen they stood up and looked all about as far as they could among the\ntrees, and no one could they see. They listened, too, but heard no sound\nof approaching footsteps\u2014nothing, only the wind fluttering in the\nfoliage above their heads.\n\n\u201cPerhaps we had better go to meet the man,\u201d said the boy; and hand in\nhand they wandered about in the wood.\n\nThey found some blackberries, and stained their lips eating them. At\nlast night came, and they sat down and cried themselves to sleep. When\nday dawned again they resumed their wandering, but they could not find\ntheir way out of the wood, nor were they any more successful in the days\nthat followed, and as they could not live on blackberries, they died.\nThere was no one to bury the pretty babes; but Robin Redbreast saw them\nlying in the woodland, and he covered them with leaves.\n\nMeanwhile the wicked uncle supposed they had been killed according to\nhis orders, and he let it be understood that they had died in London of\nthe smallpox. He took their fortune to himself, and thought he had\nprovided amply for his comfort and pleasure to the end of his days. But\ninstead of happiness he experienced only misfortune. He had no peace of\nmind, because he had an evil conscience, and his thoughts dwelt on the\ndeath of the babes. Moreover, his barns burned, his harvests failed, his\ncattle died in the field, and his two sons, who had gone on a voyage to\nPortugal, were wrecked and drowned. In the end he was brought to want\nand misery. He pawned his jewels and mortgaged his land, and he was\nthrown into jail for debt, and there died.\n\nAbout that time the ruffian who had left the children in the wood was\ncaptured, after committing some crime, and was sentenced to be hanged.\nWhen he knew that he must die, he sent for the keeper of the prison,\nwhere he had been shut up, and confessed all the wicked deeds he had\ndone. Among other things he told of the two babes he and his companion\nhad been hired to kill, and thus their sad fate was made known.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n ALEXANDER JONES\n\n\n\u201cJEAN, move a wee bit east,\u201d requested the town clerk as he sat at one\nend of the high-backed bench before his fire on a chilly autumn evening.\n\u201cYou\u2019re taking too much room. You have more than your share of the\nseat.\u201d\n\nBut Jean, his wife, had just got her knitting into a tangle, and was not\nin the best of humor. So she declined to move an inch, or to attend to\nwhat her husband was saying.\n\n\u201cJean,\u201d said he again, \u201cmove a wee bit east. It\u2019s not right to sit so\nselfish. I\u2019m at the very end of the bench, and here you are with your\nelbows digging into me. Sit a bit east, do you hear?\u201d And when she did\nnot respond, the town clerk gave his wife a rude shove.\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean by pushing me like that?\u201d she demanded; \u201cand what do\nyou mean by east? There\u2019s no such thing as east, and I can prove it.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo such thing as east!\u201d shouted the town clerk. \u201cWill you not believe\nthe sun?\u201d\n\nThen he affirmed in a loud voice that, as the sun went around the earth\nevery day and was always rising every moment somewhere in the east,\ntherefore, everywhere was the east all over the world. So he hoped his\nwife would not make a goose of herself and talk nonsense.\n\nJean now rose to her feet, and said he did not look at the matter in the\nright way at all. As for the sun, it was all the time setting somewhere\nin the west and doing it every moment. Therefore, everywhere was west,\nand she trusted her husband would not be so foolish as to mention east\nagain.\n\nHe shook his head and was going to reply, when she began to run around\nthe table to show how the sun went, at the same time crying loudly,\n\u201cWest, west, west!\u201d\n\nThis made the town clerk very angry, and he got up and ran around the\ntable in the opposite direction, yelling, \u201cEast, east, east!\u201d to show\nhow he thought the sun went.\n\nYet it only ended by their getting extremely giddy and banging their\nheads together, a thing which hurt very much, and did not improve their\ntempers, or help the solving of the difficulty, you may be sure.\n\nMeanwhile Alexander Jones sat quiet in a corner and said nothing.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe town clerk and his wife agreed in one thing, which was that the\nquestion was of too deep importance to be left unsettled. So they went\nto the grocer, who had a good-sized house up the street, and Alexander\nJones went with them. They told the grocer about their dispute; and the\ngrocer, and the grocer\u2019s wife, and the grocer\u2019s maiden aunt, and the\ngrocer\u2019s wife\u2019s youngest married sister, and the grocer\u2019s wife\u2019s\nyoungest married sister\u2019s little girl were all much interested. But one\ntook one view and another took another, and they all ran around the\ntable, some this way, crying, \u201cEast!\u201d and some the opposite way, crying,\n\u201cWest!\u201d to show how the sun moved, in their opinion. It only ended in\ntheir getting extremely giddy, and banging their heads together, a thing\nwhich hurt very much and did not improve their tempers or help to solve\nthe difficulty.\n\nMeanwhile Alexander Jones sat quiet in a corner and said nothing.\n\nThey all agreed in one thing, which was that the question was of too\ndeep importance to be left unsettled. So the whole company, including\nAlexander Jones, went to the home of the mayor. It faced on the\nmarket-place, and was the largest house in the town. They told about the\ndispute with all the ins and outs of the matter; and the mayor and the\nmayor\u2019s wife, and the mayor\u2019s favorite uncle, and the mayor\u2019s oldest\nnephew, and the mayor\u2019s oldest nephew\u2019s little boy were all much\ninterested, to say the least. But one took one view, and another took\nanother view, and they ran around the table, some this way, shouting,\n\u201cEast!\u201d and some the opposite way, shouting, \u201cWest!\u201d to show how, in\ntheir opinion, the sun really moved. It only ended in their all getting\nvery giddy and banging their heads together, a thing which hurt and did\nnot improve their tempers or help to solve the difficulty.\n\nMeanwhile Alexander Jones sat quiet in a corner and said nothing.\n\nThey all agreed in one thing, which was that the question was of too\ndeep importance to be left unsettled. So the mayor called a meeting of\nthe whole populace in the town hall. The people assembled, and Alexander\nJones was there among the rest, and the only persons not there were\nPeter the watchman and his sister Jessica. Then the mayor told all about\nthe dispute, and everyone was naturally much interested. But one took\none view, and another took another view, and they all wanted to run\naround a table to show how each thought the sun moved. Here, however, a\ndifficulty arose, for, alas! there was no table in the town hall to run\naround, and what were they to do? They were not going to be balked by a\ntrifle like that, not they. So they requested the mayor to stand in the\nmiddle, and let them all run around him, each in the direction he or she\npleased.\n\nBut the mayor objected strongly. He said it would make him dizzy to see\nsome folks going one way around him, and some the other. \u201cI would\ncertainly be sick,\u201d he declared. \u201cTherefore, I suggest that Alexander\nJones be placed in the middle. Yes, why could we not run around him?\nBetter make use of him, he is so stupid and says nothing. Besides, I\nwant to run around with the rest of you myself, and why should I be cut\nout?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no, no!\u201d cried the people, \u201cAlexander Jones is too small, and we\nshould tread on him. He would not do at all.\u201d\n\nThey insisted that the mayor must do as he had been asked. Hadn\u2019t they\nonly the other day given him a gold badge to wear, and he must make them\nsome return for it, or they would take it away. So the poor man had to\ngive in, but he insisted on having his eyes bandaged, and also on having\na chair to sit in. Otherwise, he knew he would be sick. Then they\nbandaged his eyes, seated him in a chair, and began to run around him,\nsome this way, crying, \u201cEast!\u201d and some the opposite way, crying,\n\u201cWest!\u201d But they only got very giddy, and banged each other\u2019s heads, a\nthing which hurt and did not improve their tempers or help solve the\ndifficulty. Worst of all, just at the end, when they could run no longer\nand were quite out of breath, Eliza MacFadden, the fat widow who kept\nthe candy shop, fell plump against the mayor, and sent him and his chair\ntumbling to the floor.\n\nMeanwhile Alexander Jones sat quiet in a corner and said nothing.\n\nThe mayor pulled the bandage off his eyes in a towering passion and\ndeclared that something must be settled there and then. He threatened,\nif they did not agree, he would put a tax on buttons, which was rather\nclever of him, for everyone, old and young, male and female, wore\nbuttons, and would feel the tax. But he himself would be affected by it\nless than anyone else because he wore a robe, that instead of being\nbuttoned was fastened by a buckle at his neck, and by a jeweled girdle\naround the waist.\n\nNow the town clerk addressed the people, and said: \u201cWe must avoid this\nbutton tax at all hazards. Let us devise some way to solve for all time\nthe terrible riddle which gives us so much concern. I propose that we\ncall in from the street Peter the watchman, for he is up and about at\nall hours, late and early, and would know more than most about the sun\u2019s\nmovements. Yet, if we ask him, we must also ask Peter\u2019s sister Jessica.\nShe does the mayor\u2019s washing and is a person of importance in the town.\nPeter would certainly decline to come into the hall unless she came with\nhim.\u201d\n\nThis was, indeed, most provoking for me, because there was no room left\nin the town hall for another person, and two would have to go out, in\norder to admit Peter the watchman and his sister Jessica. I was the\nfirst to be put out, for I was a stranger and only present in the hall\nout of courtesy. Next they turned out Alexander Jones, because he was so\nstupid and said nothing. Thus it happened that I never knew what was the\ndecision of the meeting. But perhaps you wonder why Alexander Jones was\nso dull as to sit still in a corner and say nothing. Yet how on earth\ncould he do anything else? Alexander Jones was the town clerk\u2019s\n\n TOM-CAT.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE SLEEPING BEAUTY\n\n\nONCE upon a time, long ago\u2014so long, indeed, that even the very oldest\npeople now alive cannot remember it\u2014there dwelt a king and queen in a\ngreat, white, marble palace with splendid halls and high towers and a\ngolden roof that flashed in the sunlight. All round the palace for miles\nand miles there were gardens and pleasure-grounds with terraces and\ngreen lawns and flowers and ancient trees. Peacocks walked about on the\nlawns, and deer loitered in the shady glades, and gold and silver fish\nswam in the ponds and fountains.\n\nBut in spite of all this beauty the king and queen were not happy,\nbecause they had no child. So when at last a little daughter was born to\nthem they were very glad and there were great rejoicings all over the\nkingdom. Bonfires as big as hay stacks were kept burning all night, fat\noxen were roasted whole in the market-place of every town, and the\nchurch bells were rung until the ringers were out of breath.\n\nA few weeks later all was bustle and hurry in the palace to make ready\nfor the christening feast, and the maids trimmed the halls and chambers\nwith flowers, and sprinkled the floors with sweet-scented leaves and\npetals. Among the guests invited to the christening were seven powerful\nfairies, and the choicest foods were provided for them, and golden\ndishes from which to eat.\n\nThe feast was just going to begin when suddenly there was a clashing of\nbrazen claws and a rushing of wings, and something like a black cloud\nseemed to pass before the tall windows and darken the room. Then the\ngreat doors burst open with a terrible bang, and an old fairy with her\nface almost hidden in a black hood jumped out of a chariot drawn by\nfierce griffins, and came into the hall. The king turned pale, and the\nqueen nearly fainted, for this was the spiteful fairy Tormentilla, who\nlived alone an immense distance away from everywhere in a dismal black\ncastle in the middle of a desert. The queen in her happiness had\nforgotten all about her, and so neglected to send her an invitation.\n\nHowever, another chair was brought for Tormentilla, and she was given a\nplace of honor at the table, and everyone tried to make up for the\noversight\u2014but all in vain. Nothing pleased her. She would neither eat\nnor drink, and sat scowling angrily about her until the feast was over.\n\nThen she and the seven other fairies went to the chamber where the tiny\nprincess lay sleeping in her cradle, and each stepped forward in turn to\nbestow a magic gift.\n\nThe first said, \u201cShe shall be as good as gold.\u201d\n\nThe second said, \u201cShe shall be the cleverest princess in the world.\u201d\n\nThe third said, \u201cShe shall be the most beautiful princess in the world.\u201d\n\nThe fourth said, \u201cShe shall be the happiest princess in the world.\u201d\n\nThe fifth said, \u201cShe shall have the sweetest voice that ever was heard.\u201d\n\nThe sixth said, \u201cShe shall be loved by all who know her.\u201d\n\nNext the old cross fairy took her place beside the cradle, and shaking\nher cane at the king and queen, shouted, \u201cAnd I say that before she\nreaches the age of twenty she shall prick her hand with a spindle and\ndie of the wound.\u201d\n\nAt this the queen fell on her knees and begged Tormentilla to recall her\ncruel words. But the wicked fairy, without replying, turned and left the\nhall. Then the eighth fairy went to the queen and said: \u201cDo not cry, my\ndear lady; for though I cannot relieve the princess of this enchantment\nI can make it less severe. She shall not die, but instead shall fall\nasleep for a hundred years. When those are past, a prince shall come and\nawaken her with a kiss.\u201d\n\nSo the king and queen were somewhat comforted, and the fairies returned\nto their homes. The greatest care was taken of the little princess, and\nin order to save her from her fate a law was made that every spindle in\nthe kingdom should be burned, and no more made. Life moved along happily\nfor the princess until she was eighteen years old. All that the first\nsix fairies promised had come true, and she was the best and cleverest,\nthe most beautiful and the happiest and the sweetest-voiced princess in\nall the world, and everybody loved her. Indeed, by this time\nTormentilla\u2019s spiteful words were nearly forgotten.\n\nBut one morning the king and queen went away to be gone till late in the\nafternoon, and the princess amused herself by wandering about into the\nout-of-the-way nooks and corners and attics of the great building. She\nfound dusty furniture that was often so quaint it made her laugh, and\nthere were many other curiosities. At last she climbed a narrow winding\nstair in an old tower. It led to a little door with a rusty key sticking\nout of the lock. She turned the key, opened the door, and there, in a\nlow chamber, sat a white-capped old woman with a spinning-wheel before\nher on which she was spinning flax. This poor old woman had been allowed\nmany years previous to make her home in the tower, and it happened that\nshe had never heard the king\u2019s command to destroy the spindles; for she\nwas so deaf that if you shouted till you were hoarse she never would\nhave been able to understand you.\n\nThe princess stood on the threshold watching the old woman curiously.\nThis was the first time she had ever seen a spinning-wheel. \u201cWhat pretty\nwork you are doing,\u201d she said presently; \u201cand why does that wheel go\nwhirr, whirr, whirr?\u201d\n\nBut of course the old woman did not hear, and she neither answered nor\nlifted her eyes from her work. So the princess stepped into the room and\nlaid her hand on the old woman\u2019s shoulder. The spinner looked up and\nrubbed her eyes. \u201cDeary, deary me!\u201d cried she in a high, cracked voice,\n\u201cand who may you be, my pretty darling?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m the princess,\u201d screamed the maiden in her ear, but the spinner only\nshook her head\u2014she could hear nothing.\n\nThen the princess pointed to the spindle on which the flax was twirling\ninto thread, and made the old woman understand that she wanted to try if\nshe could work it. The spinner nodded and laughed and got up from her\nseat, and the princess sat down at the wheel, but she had hardly begun\nto spin when she pricked her finger with the spindle. Immediately a\nfaintness seized her. She staggered to a bed close by, and as soon as\nher head touched the pillow she became unconscious.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n THE SLEEPING BEAUTY\n]\n\nAt the same moment there was a deep silence everywhere in the castle.\nThe little bird that just before had been singing so sweetly on the\nwindowsill hushed its song. The distant hum of voices from the courtyard\nbeneath was stilled. Even the old woman, who had been standing beside\nher wheel telling the princess how to spin, stopped short and fell\nasleep. In the great hall, the king and queen, who had just returned,\nand were inquiring for their daughter, fell asleep before the\nlady-in-waiting could answer them, and the lady herself began to snore.\nThe guards slumbered at their posts. The horses in their stalls became\nmotionless, and so did the dogs in the yard, the pigeons on the roof,\nand the flies on the wall. The fire on the hearth stopped burning, and\nthe meat on the spit ceased roasting. In short, sleep fell on the whole\ncastle, and round about it there sprung up a thick and thorny magic wood\nwhich it seemed impossible for anyone to penetrate, and which hid the\nentire castle from view except a weather-vane on the roof.\n\nTime went on until a hundred years had passed, and then one day a king\u2019s\nson happened to be hunting in the region. He became separated from his\nattendants in the excitement of the chase, and at length he came to a\nwoodcutter\u2019s cottage and dismounted to ask the way. The old man who\nlived in the hut gave him the required directions, and then told the\nprince about a thick wood a little farther on in the direction he had\nbeen riding. \u201cNo one has ever been able to get through that wood,\u201d said\nthe old man, \u201cand my grandfather used to say it surrounded a castle in\nwhich was a beautiful princess condemned to sleep for a hundred years.\nHe said some prince would come and awaken her with a kiss.\u201d\n\nOn hearing this, nothing would do but the prince must go and have a look\nat the wood. He found it, and dismounted and prepared to push his way\nthrough the thorny thicket. But no sooner did he start to penetrate the\nwood than the tangled briars of the undergrowth were changed into\nbeautiful flowers which parted and bent aside to let him pass. When he\nreached the courtyard he saw the dogs lying asleep, and on the roof the\npigeons were sitting with their heads under their wings. He went\nindoors, and there were the flies asleep on the wall, and there was the\ncook with his hand uplifted to strike the kitchen boy, and a maid\nsitting near by had a fowl on her lap ready to pluck. When the prince\nentered the great hall he found the whole court asleep, and the king and\nqueen slumbering on their thrones. Everything was so still he could hear\nhis own breathing.\n\nAs yet he saw no princess, and he continued looking about till he came\nto the old tower and ascended the narrow, winding stair. He went into\nthe little room where the princess lay, and she looked so lovely in her\nsleep that he could not turn away his eyes, and presently he stooped and\nkissed her. At once she awoke and said: \u201cO prince, are you here at last?\nI have had such pleasant dreams!\u201d\n\nShe sat up laughing and rubbing her eyes, and after a few moments stood\non her feet, and they went hand in hand out of the room. The old woman\nstared at them in amazement, and then, mumbling to herself, resumed her\nspinning. They descended the stairs and passed along the corridors until\nthey came to the throne room. The king and queen and whole court had\njust waked up and were gazing at each other with wonderment. The long\nsleep was ended for the rest of the palace also. Roosters crowed, dogs\nbarked, the cats began to mew, the clocks struck the hours, the heralds\nblew their trumpets, the pigeons flew away from the roof to the fields,\nthe kitchen fire blazed up, and the meat was again roasting, the cook\ngave the kitchen boy such a box on the ear that he roared lustily, and\nthe maid began to pluck the fowl.\n\nIn short, everything went on as if there had been no enchantment at all.\nTo be sure, the dress the princess was wearing was such as the prince\u2019s\ngreat-grandmother might have worn, but that gave them something to laugh\nat.\n\nAs soon as preparations could be made, the wedding of the prince and\nprincess was celebrated with great splendor, and they lived happily ever\nafter.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE LOVE OF THE SNOW-WHITE FOX\n\n\nONCE upon a time there lived a young fox that was snow-white, and it was\nso gentle and intelligent that it was beloved by all the good people for\nmiles around. If, in the evening, it knocked softly at their doors with\nits tail they were glad, and were quick to let it in. When it entered it\nwould play with the children, eat of their humble fare, and then trot\naway. But there were hunters in the country who wanted to kill the\nbeautiful white fox. Once or twice it nearly lost its life at the hands\nof these cruel men.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nOne summer afternoon, as it was frisking about in the woods with some\nyoung fox friends, two men caught sight of it. They were fleet of foot\nand had dogs with them. Away ran the white fox, and the men uttered an\nexcited cry and gave chase. Instead of going deeper into the forest the\nfox ran across the open farm lands until it came to a holy temple.\n\u201cThere, surely, I will find a safe refuge from my pursuers,\u201d it thought.\n\nIn the temple there happened to be a young prince of noble family named\nYashi, deep in meditation. The white fox, whose strength was nearly\nspent, came running in at the door and went directly to the prince and\ntook refuge behind him. The poor creature trembled with fright, and\nYashi took pity on it and did all he could to calm its fears. \u201cI will\nprotect you, little one,\u201d said he. \u201cNo one shall harm you.\u201d\n\nThe fox looked up at him and seemed to understand his words. It ceased\nto tremble. The prince went to the door of the great temple. Two men\nhastened up to him and asked if he had seen a snow-white fox. \u201cIt must\nhave run into the temple,\u201d they declared.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nBut Yashi, faithful to his promise, answered, \u201cI have been in the temple\npraying, but I can tell you nothing of the fox.\u201d\n\nThe men were about to go on when they caught a glimpse of the fox behind\nhim. Fiercely they demanded that he should stand aside. The prince\nfirmly refused. Then the men, intent on having their prey, attacked him,\nand he was obliged to draw his sword in self-defense. At this moment\nYashi\u2019s father, a brave old man, came up. He rushed on the assailants of\nhis son, but a deadly blow, which Yashi could not avert, struck the old\nman down. This made Yashi very wroth, and with two mighty strokes he\nfelled his adversaries to the ground.\n\nThe loss of his father filled Yashi with grief, and as he stood looking\ndown on the body his heart was very heavy. Just then a sweet song from\nwithin the sacred building greeted his ears. Who could the singer be?\nfor there was no one inside when he came out. He re\u00ebntered the temple,\nand a beautiful maiden appeared before him. He saw from her look and\nmanner that she knew he was in deep trouble, and he told her of the\nsnow-white fox and the cruel hunters, and of the death of his father.\nThen the maiden spoke to Yashi tender words of sympathy, and her voice\nwas so kindly and gentle that even the sound of it brought comfort to\nhim.\n\nPresently he asked her who she was, and she replied that she was a\nhomeless stranger. So he insisted that she should dwell with him. As the\ndays passed she constantly became more attractive to him, until he loved\nher more than anyone else in the world and asked her to be his bride.\n\n\u201cI already love you,\u201d she replied. \u201cI know that you are good and brave,\nand I would solace you for the loss of your father.\u201d\n\nSo they were married and lived happily together. Time passed swiftly,\nand Yashi ruled his people wisely. At length a son was born to the\nprince and princess, and they were more happy than ever. But one day\nYashi noticed that the princess was sorely troubled. For hours she sat\nalone, and tears sprang to her eyes when Yashi asked her the cause of\nher sorrow.\n\nShe took his hand and said: \u201cMy life with you has been very delightful.\nBut now that I have given you a son to be with you always, I must leave\nyou. I am the snow-white fox whose life you saved.\u201d\n\nOnce again she looked into his eyes, and then without another word was\ngone. Yashi and his son lived long and were greatly beloved, but the\nsnow-white fox was seen no more.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE GRAZIER\u2019S WIFE\n\n\nIN a certain valley, long ago, there dwelt a grazier who had a wife\nnamed Barbara. The grazier was famous for his valor in encountering\nwolves, and there was not in all the valley a man who was his match in\nhandling the quarter-staff. Moreover, so expert was he with a sling that\nhe could hurl a stone a distance of a hundred yards and hit a deer\nbetween the eyes, and so kill it. With his knife he was equally skilful,\nand he was greatly feared in a quarrel. Yet in spite of all his prowess\nand courage he quailed before his wife Barbara.\n\nShe was no longer young, and her beauty was a thing of the past, but she\nwas a woman who made herself respected. She never failed to produce a\nstartling effect on her husband when she visited him as he was tending\nhis herds on the mountain-sides, for no other woman ever had such a\ntongue. He often prayed to the saints for relief, but she continued to\nboth plague him with her tongue and mark him with her nails.\n\nAt last he applied for advice to an old wizard who lived in a\nneighboring valley. He had begun telling of his troubles when the wizard\ninterrupted him and said: \u201cI see plainly that you are complaining\nbitterly, but I would have you know that I am deaf, and no matter how\nviolently you shout and jump and gesture, what you say or do will have\nno effect on me. Nevertheless, let me tell you, that if you have some\nbright yellow gold to bestow on me, you will be heard and understood.\nYes, I would hear and comprehend, even if you were dumb and had no voice\nwhatever.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will hasten to the market,\u201d said the grazier, \u201cand sell some of my\nfinest beasts, and the money that I receive for them I will gladly give\nto you.\u201d\n\nSo away he went and sold some of his beasts and returned to the wizard\nand counted out the gold-pieces one by one. Then the wizard listened\npatiently to his story and sent him home with a promise of speedy\nrelief.\n\nThat very night, after the grazier and his wife were in bed, and the\nlatter was delivering a lengthy lecture on his lack of breeding in\nsnoring when a lady was speaking, a white figure appeared at the bedside\nwith a mirror in its hand.\n\n\u201cBarbara,\u201d said the specter, \u201cyour virtues are known to me, and as a\nreward you shall be restored to youth and beauty, which you shall\nyourself behold when you look into this mirror. But beware lest angry or\nvain words pass your lips, for such a lapse will be punished by hideous\nold age and infirmity.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\nSo saying, the apparition vanished. Barbara lit a lamp and occupied\nherself in admiring her reflection in the magic mirror. Thus the grazier\nwas enabled to enjoy an unbroken sleep till morning, a thing he had not\ndone for years. He had peace also on the morrow and ever after, for\nBarbara never allowed the mirror to pass out of her possession, and it\nwas a constant solace to her even to the day of her death.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE MAGIC HORN\n\n\nONCE upon a time there was a poor farmer who had three sons, and the\nsons\u2019 names were Peter, Paul, and Philip. None of the three liked work\nvery well, and instead of helping their father they spent most of their\ntime sauntering about. At last Peter heard that the king wanted a keeper\nto watch his rabbits. So the youth told his father that he would go to\nthe king\u2019s palace and apply for the position.\n\n\u201cI doubt if you are fitted for just that sort of work,\u201d said his father.\n\u201cHe who keeps the king\u2019s rabbits needs to be light and quick, and no\nlazy-bones. You could not loiter when the rabbits began to skip and\nfrisk, for if you dawdled as you do at home you would be discharged.\u201d\n\nBut the father\u2019s advice had no effect. Peter was determined to go, and\nafter filling a bag with something to eat and drink and a few other\nnecessaries, he took the bag on his back and started. He had not\ntraveled many miles when he heard a voice calling for help. On going in\nthe direction of the sound he found an old woman in a pit from which she\nwas unable to climb out. \u201cDon\u2019t stand there staring,\u201d said she sharply.\n\u201cReach me your hand and pull me up. I have been in this pit a whole\nyear, and in all that time I have not had a morsel of food.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d exclaimed Peter, \u201ca whole year, do you say? Then you must be a\nwitch, or you could not fast so long, and I will have nothing to do with\nyou.\u201d\n\nSo off he marched. At length he arrived at the king\u2019s palace and was\nengaged as the keeper of the rabbits. He was promised plenty of food and\ngood pay and maybe the princess into the bargain, for the king had\ndecreed that any keeper who took such good care of the rabbits that not\none of them escaped should have the princess for his wife.\n\nThe next day Peter let the rabbits out to browse. As long as they were\nnear the stables and in the adjacent open fields he kept them in one\nflock, but toward evening they got into a wood and began to scuttle\nabout among the trees. Peter ran after them this way and that until he\nhad no breath left for any more running. He could not get the rabbits\ntogether. They all disappeared, and he saw nothing more of them.\n\nAfter resting a while he started to go back to the palace. As he went\nalong he kept a sharp look-out, and he stopped to call his fugitive\ncharges at every fence. But no rabbits came, and when he reached the\npalace there stood the king waiting for him. It was plain that Peter had\nfailed, and for a punishment he was banished from the country.\n\nThe king presently got a new lot of rabbits, and then he let it be known\nthat he wanted a keeper. Peter\u2019s brother Paul heard of this, and nothing\nwould do but he must try for the place. Away he went, and by and by he\nfound the old woman in the pit just as Peter had, and he would not help\nher out. When he got to the palace he was promptly engaged as keeper of\nthe rabbits, and the next day he let them out to feed. All went well\nuntil in the late afternoon they went from the fields into the woods.\nThen they skipped and hopped away, and though he rushed about and raced\nafter them till he was ready to drop, they all escaped. So he returned\nto the palace without a rabbit, and the king ordered that he should\nleave the country.\n\nMore rabbits were obtained to replace those lost, and again word went\nforth that his Majesty wanted a keeper for them. Philip, the youngest of\nthe three brothers, heard of this and concluded to apply for the job.\n\u201cIt will be just the right work for me,\u201d he said to his father. \u201cI would\nlike nothing better than to spend my days in the fields and woodlands\nwatching the rabbit flock, and I would be sure to have plenty of time to\nnap on the sunny hillsides.\u201d\n\n\u201cI fear,\u201d said the old farmer, \u201cthat you will fare no better than your\ntwo brothers. The person who keeps the king\u2019s rabbits must not be like a\nfellow with leaden soles to his shoes, or like a fly in a tar-pot.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d responded Philip, \u201chowever things may turn out, I shall get the\njob if I can. Surely it will be no harder than to take care of the calf\nand goat here at home.\u201d\n\nSo he packed his bag, lifted it to his shoulder, and started for the\npalace of the king. He trudged along until he heard a voice calling, and\nwhen he looked about he saw the old woman in the pit. \u201cGood day,\ngrandmother,\u201d said he, \u201cwhat can I do for you?\u201d\n\n\u201cHelp me out of this hole,\u201d she said, \u201cand give me something to eat. I\nwill do you a good turn afterward, you may depend on it.\u201d\n\nHe was willing enough, and he pulled her out of the pit. Then he opened\nhis bag and sat down to eat and drink with her. She had a keen appetite\nafter her long fast, and naturally got the lion\u2019s share, but that did\nnot trouble Philip any. As soon as they finished, she gave him a magic\nhorn, and said: \u201cIf you blow into the small end of it, whatever you wish\naway will be scattered to the four winds; and if you blow into the large\nend the things you wish near will at once come about you. Should the\nhorn ever be lost or taken from you, all you have to do is to wish for\nit, and it will return to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery good,\u201d responded Philip. \u201cSuch a horn is worth having.\u201d\n\nSo saying, he resumed his walk, and at length he came to the king\u2019s\npalace. He was hired to keep the rabbits, and he was much pleased, for\nhe was certain of good food and generous wages, and if he were clever\nenough not to lose any of the rabbits he might win the princess, too.\nThe next morning he began work, and at first he found the task an easy\none. As long as the rabbits were in the lanes and fields they behaved\nvery well, but while he was eating his noon lunch they wandered to the\nwoodland, where they frisked about and scampered away into the\nunderbrush.\n\n\u201cHo, ho!\u201d cried Philip, \u201cyou want to leave me, do you? Well, off with\nyou then,\u201d and he blew into the small end of the magic horn.\n\nImmediately they were all gone from view, and Philip found a mossy spot\nto his liking and lay down to sleep till eventide. The sun was low in\nthe west when he awoke, and he took up his horn and blew into the large\nend of it. At once the rabbits came frolicking about him, and he led\nthem like a flock of sheep to the king\u2019s palace. The king, the queen,\nand the princess, too, all came out on the porch and wondered how he\ncontrived to manage the rabbits so well. Several times the king counted\nthem to make sure they were all there and he had to acknowledge that not\none was missing.\n\n\u201cThat rabbit-keeper would be a fine lad,\u201d said the princess, \u201cif only he\nwas of noble birth.\u201d\n\nThe next day he took the rabbits out again, and when they roamed to the\nwoodland he lay down in the shade at the edge of the wood close to the\nsunny slope where the wild strawberries grew and scented the air with\ntheir sweet odor.\n\nThe king was curious to learn how the youth contrived to control the\nrabbits so admirably, and he sent a servant to watch him. By and by the\nservant came peeping about among the trees and spied Philip asleep in\nthe pleasant shade of the woodland. He hid in a thicket and waited.\nToward evening he saw Philip rise to his feet and blow his horn, and\nimmediately all the rabbits came scampering about him. The servant\nhastened home and told the king what he had observed, and the king told\nhis wife and daughter.\n\n\u201cUnless we put a stop to his using that horn,\u201d said the princess, \u201cI\nshall have to marry him, and he is only a common farmer\u2019s son. Tomorrow\nI shall go to the wood, and while he is asleep I will take his horn and\nbring it home to the palace.\u201d\n\nShe went to the wood just as she had planned, and she had little trouble\nin getting possession of the horn. When Philip awoke it was gone\u2014and how\nwas he to bring the rabbits together? But he remembered that the old\nwoman had said he could get it back by wishing. So he wished for it; and\nthe princess, who had nearly reached the palace, felt it suddenly slip\nthrough her fingers, and though she searched all about she could not\nfind it. The horn had returned to the hands of Philip in the woodland,\nand he immediately blew it to fetch the rabbits together, and then he\nwent with them to the palace.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Philip blows into the large end of his horn\n]\n\nThe royal family saw that Philip had the horn, and the queen said she\nwould go the next day and take it, and they might be sure _she_ would\nbring it home. The morrow came, and in the early afternoon off she\ntramped to the wood. She secured the horn and hurried away with it,\nholding it very tight, but as she approached the palace it slipped from\nher grasp, and by and by the rabbit-keeper returned with his horn and\nflock as usual.\n\n\u201cI shall have to look into this matter myself,\u201d grumbled the king, \u201cif\nwe are going to get that wretched horn into our possession. You women\nplan all right, but it usually takes a man to carry a plan to a\nsuccessful conclusion.\u201d\n\nThe following day, while Philip was having his nap in the wood, the king\ncame to the spot where the youth lay and took the horn. To make doubly\nsure of it, the king put the horn in a bag he had brought along for the\npurpose. Back he went to the palace. His wife and daughter met him at\nthe door, and he triumphantly opened the bag to show them the horn; but\nit was not there. He had not succeeded any better than the women folk.\n\u201cPlague take the fellow!\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cThere is some magic about the\nway that horn disappears. The lad gets the best of us every time, and I\nsuppose he might as well marry into the family first as last.\u201d\n\nPretty soon Philip arrived with his flock of rabbits and put them in\ntheir night quarters. Then he heard the king calling to him, and went to\nthe palace porch, where he found all the royal family waiting for him.\n\u201cWhat sort of a horn is that of yours?\u201d asked the king. \u201cIt looks\nordinary enough, but I am sure it has some strange power or you would\nnot be able to take such excellent care of the rabbits and never lose a\nsingle one of them.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was given to me by an old woman,\u201d said Philip, \u201cand if I blow in one\nend it does one thing, and if I blow in the other it does the opposite.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, bother your explanations!\u201d cried the king. \u201cShow us its power, and\nthen we shall understand.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut perhaps the showing would not please your Majesty,\u201d said Philip.\n\n\u201cStuff and nonsense!\u201d the king exclaimed. \u201cI said, \u2018Show us.\u2019 Who is\nking here\u2014you or me? It is my business to command, and it is yours to\nobey.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d responded Philip, \u201cthen I wish you to scatter;\u201d and he blew\na good strong blast into the little end of his horn.\n\nAt once the king, very much against his will, and kicking savagely, was\nhurried off north, the queen flew east, and the princess west, and a\nlittle kitchen-maid, who had come up behind Philip and was looking on,\nwas hustled off south in such sudden haste it seemed to her she would be\nscared out of a year\u2019s growth.\n\n\u201cStop me, you rascal! Bring me back!\u201d yelled the king as he vanished in\nthe distance.\n\nPhilip turned the horn about and blew into the big end. In a few moments\nthe king and the others were back on the porch; and the little maid,\nvastly astonished by her experiences, lost no time in escaping to the\nkitchen. \u201cWhat do you mean by treating me in that fashion?\u201d the king\ndemanded. \u201cYou shall hang for it.\u201d\n\nPhilip raised the little end of the horn to his lips, and the king,\nfearful that he would have to repeat his wild race, called out: \u201cEnough!\nenough! The fault was mine. You shall have my daughter and half the\nkingdom if only you won\u2019t blow that horrible horn in my presence. I\u2019m\ntoo old and stiff to be dashing about over the country as I did just\nnow.\u201d\n\nSo as soon as things could be made ready for a grand wedding, Philip\nmarried the princess, and they lived happily the rest of their days.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE ENVIOUS NEIGHBOR\n\n\nTHERE was a poor man in a tropical country who for many long years dwelt\nin a city where he suffered great privations and often went hungry. At\nlast he left the city and built a hut far out in the country on the edge\nof the wilderness and dug up a piece of ground for a garden. He depended\non this garden to furnish him a living, and he planted some corn and\nmelon seeds, which soon sent green sprouts up to the light. He took the\nbest of care of the growing melons and corn, and they throve\nluxuriantly.\n\nWhen the crops began to mature, the monkeys from the neighboring\nwilderness observed the good things that were ripening in the garden,\nand they came daily to eat of them. The man, thinking of his own past\nprivations and sufferings, willingly shared the product of his labor\nwith them; and they wondered greatly what manner of person he was that\npermitted them to eat unmolested of his corn and melons.\n\nOne day the man lay down in the garden and fell asleep. By and by he\nbecame aware of the arrival of a troop of monkeys, but he continued to\nlie there as if still sound asleep. They saw him and drew near and cried\nout with one accord: \u201cHe is dead! Our good friend is dead! Lo, these\nmany days we have eaten of the things growing in his garden. Therefore\nit is only just that we should bury him in as choice a place as we can\nfind.\u201d\n\nThe man heard what they said, but he did not open his eyes or stir, for\nhe was curious to find out what they would do. They lifted him and\ncarried him till they came to a place where two ways met. Then one of\nthe monkeys said, \u201cLet us take him to the cave of silver.\u201d\n\nAnother said, \u201cNo, the cave of gold would be better.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo to the cave of gold,\u201d commanded the head monkey.\n\nThere they carried him and left him. When he found himself alone, he\narose, gathered all the gold he could carry, and returned to his home.\nThis gold, thus easily gained, enabled him to build a beautiful house,\nand to live in great comfort.\n\n\u201cHow did you, who came here so poor, gain all this wealth?\u201d asked a\nneighbor; and the man freely told all that had befallen him.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cWhat you have done I can do, too,\u201d said the neighbor, and he hastened\nhome, planted a piece of ground with corn and melons, and waited for the\nmonkeys to feast there.\n\nEverything came to pass as he had hoped. When the corn and melons\nripened, great numbers of monkeys visited the garden and feasted. One\nday they found the owner lying in the garden apparently dead. Their\ngratitude prompted them to give him a worthy burial, and they carried\nhim to the place where the two roads met. Here they disputed as to\nwhether they should place the man in the cave of silver or the cave of\ngold.\n\nMeanwhile the man was thinking: \u201cAs soon as I am alone in the cave I\nwill begin gathering up the gold, and I will make a basket of bamboo so\nI can carry home a much larger amount than my neighbor brought away.\u201d\n\nPresently the head monkey said, \u201cPut him in the cave of silver.\u201d\n\nThat was such a disappointment to the man that he forgot he was supposed\nto be dead, and he exclaimed, \u201cNo, put me in the cave of gold!\u201d\n\nAt once the monkeys dropped him and fled in great fright, and the man,\nbruised and disappointed, crept sorrowfully home.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n BLUEBEARD\n\n\nONCE upon a time there was a man who lived in a splendid house, and had\ndishes of gold and silver, chairs and sofas covered with flowered satin,\nand curtains of the richest silk. But alas! this man was so unlucky as\nto have a blue beard, which made him look so frightfully ugly that all\nthe women and girls ran away from him.\n\nHis nearest neighbor was a lady of quality who had two beautiful\ndaughters, and he wished to marry one of them. He was even willing to\nlet the lady decide which of the two it should be. Neither of the\ndaughters, however, would have him, and the lady sighed to think of her\nchildren\u2019s obstinacy in refusing to become the mistress of such a\nmagnificent mansion. But they were not able to make up their minds to\nmarry a man with a blue beard. Their aversion was increased by the fact\nthat he had already had several wives, and no one knew surely what had\nbecome of them, though he made all sorts of excuses to account for their\ndisappearance.\n\nAt length Bluebeard, in order to cure the dislike of the lady\u2019s\ndaughters, invited them and their mother and some young friends to spend\na whole week at his house. They came, and nothing was thought of but\nparties for hunting and fishing, feasting, dancing, and music. The\nguests were loaded with gifts of the most costly description and were so\ndelightfully entertained that before many days had passed, Fatima, the\nyoungest sister, began to imagine that the beard she had thought to be\nso ugly was not so _very_ blue after all. By the end of the week the\nkindness and politeness of her host had made such an impression that she\nconcluded it would be a pity to refuse to become his wife on account of\nthe trifling circumstance of his having a blue beard.\n\nSo they were married shortly afterward, and at first everything went\nwell. A month passed away, and one morning Bluebeard told Fatima that he\nmust go on a journey which would take him six weeks at least. He kissed\nher affectionately, gave her the keys of the whole mansion, and bade her\namuse herself in any way she pleased while he was gone.\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d said he, \u201cI would have you notice among the keys the small one of\npolished steel. It unlocks the little room at the end of the long\ncorridor. Go where you will, and do what you choose, but remember I have\nforbidden you to enter that one room.\u201d\n\nFatima promised faithfully to obey his orders, and she watched him get\ninto his carriage, and stood at the door of the mansion waving her hand\nto him as he drove away. Lest she should be lonesome during her\nhusband\u2019s absence, she invited numerous guests to keep her company. Most\nof them had not dared to venture into the house while Bluebeard was\nthere, and they came without any urging or delay, eager to see its\nsplendors. They ran about upstairs and downstairs, peeping into the\nclosets and wardrobes, admiring the rooms, and exclaiming over the\nbeauties of the tapestries, sofas, cabinets, and tables, and of the\nmirrors in which they could see themselves from head to foot. With one\nconsent they praised what they saw, and envied the fortune of their\nfriend, the mistress of all this magnificence. She went about unlocking\nthe doors for their convenience until the only door that remained\nuntouched was that of the obscure room at the end of the long corridor.\nShe wondered why she had been forbidden to enter that room. What was\nthere in it? Even if she did go in, her husband need never know she had\ndone so. The more she thought about it the more curious she became. At\nlast she left her guests and hurried along the dark, narrow corridor\nthat led to the forbidden room. At the door she hesitated, recalling her\nhusband\u2019s command, and fearful of his anger; but the temptation was too\nstrong, and she tremblingly opened the door.\n\nAt first she could see nothing because the window-shutters were closed;\nbut after a few moments she began to discern that on the floor lay the\nbodies of all the wives Bluebeard had married. She uttered a cry of\nhorror, her strength left her, and she thought she would die from fear.\nThe key of the room fell from her hand, but she picked it up, hastily\nretreated to the corridor, and locked the door. However, she could not\nforget what she had seen, and when she returned to her guests her mind\nwas too disturbed for her to attend to their comfort or to attempt to\nentertain them. One by one they bade their hostess good-by and went\nhome, until no one was left with her except her sister Anne.\n\nThen Fatima noticed a spot of blood on the key of the fatal room. She\ntried to wipe it off, but the spot remained. Then she washed the key\nwith soap and scoured it with sand, but her efforts were in vain, for it\nwas a magic key, and only Bluebeard himself had the power to remove the\nstain. She decided not to put it with the other keys, but to hide it,\nhoping her husband would not miss it.\n\nBluebeard returned unexpectedly that very evening. He said a horseman\nhad met him on the road and told him that the business which had taken\nhim from home had been satisfactorily settled, so there was no need of\nhis making the long journey.\n\nFatima tried to welcome her husband with every appearance of pleasure,\nbut all the time she was dreading the moment when he should ask for the\nkeys. This he did not do until the following morning, and then she gave\nthem to him with such a blanched face and shaking hand that he easily\nguessed what had happened. \u201cHow is it that you have not brought me the\nkey of the little room?\u201d he asked sternly.\n\n\u201cI must have left it on my table upstairs,\u201d she faltered.\n\n\u201cBring it to me at once,\u201d said Bluebeard, and she was forced to go and\nmake a pretense of searching for it.\n\nWhen she dared delay no longer she went to her husband and surrendered\nthe key, and he immediately demanded the cause of the stain on it. She\nhesitated, at a loss what reply to make, and he shouted: \u201cBut why need I\nask? I know the meaning of it right well. You have disobeyed my commands\nand have been into the room I ordered you not to enter. So you shall go\nin again, madam, but you will never return. You shall take your place\namong the ladies you saw there.\u201d\n\nFatima fell on her knees at his feet weeping and begging for mercy, but\nthe cruel man had a heart like a stone, and he bade her prepare for\ndeath. \u201cSince I must die,\u201d said she, \u201cat least grant me a little time to\nsay my prayers.\u201d\n\n\u201cI give you ten minutes,\u201d said Bluebeard, \u201cand not one moment more.\u201d\n\nPoor Fatima hastened to a little turret chamber whither her sister had\nfled in terror and grief. \u201cSister Anne,\u201d she said, \u201cgo up to the top of\nthe tower and see if our brothers are coming. They promised to visit me\ntoday; and if they should be in sight beckon them to come quickly.\u201d\n\nSo the sister climbed the narrow staircase that led to the top of the\ntower, and no sooner was she there than Fatima called from below, \u201cAnne,\nsister Anne, do you see anyone coming?\u201d\n\nAnne replied sadly, \u201cI see nothing but the sun shining and the grass\ngrowing tall and green.\u201d\n\nSeveral times Fatima asked the same question and received the same\nanswer.\n\nMeanwhile Bluebeard was waiting with a mighty cimeter in one hand and\nhis watch in the other. At length he shouted in a great voice, \u201cCome\ndown, or I shall go up and fetch you.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnne, sister Anne,\u201d Fatima called softly, \u201clook again. Is there no one\non the road?\u201d\n\n\u201cI see a cloud of dust rising in the distance,\u201d Anne answered.\n\n\u201cPerchance it is our brothers,\u201d said Fatima.\n\n\u201cAlas! no, my dear sister,\u201d responded Anne, \u201cit is only a flock of\nsheep.\u201d\n\n\u201cFatima!\u201d roared Bluebeard, \u201cI command you to come down.\u201d\n\n\u201cOne moment\u2014just one moment more,\u201d sobbed the wretched wife.\n\nThen she called, \u201cAnne, sister Anne, do you see anyone coming?\u201d\n\n\u201cI see two horsemen riding in this direction,\u201d said Anne, \u201cbut they are\na great way off.\u201d\n\n\u201cHeaven be praised!\u201d exclaimed Fatima. \u201cThey must be our brothers. Oh!\nsign to them to hasten.\u201d\n\nBy this time the enraged Bluebeard was howling so loud for his wife to\ncome down that his voice shook the whole castle. Fatima dared delay no\nlonger, and she descended to the great hall, threw herself at her wicked\nhusband\u2019s feet, and once more begged him to spare her life.\n\n\u201cSilence!\u201d cried Bluebeard. \u201cYour entreaties are wasted. You shall die!\u201d\n\nHe seized her hair and raised his cimeter to strike. At that moment a\nloud knocking was heard at the gates. Bluebeard paused with a look of\nalarm, and then the door of the hall was flung open and Fatima\u2019s two\nbrothers appeared with swords ready drawn in their hands. They rushed at\nBluebeard, and one rescued his sister from her husband\u2019s grasp, and the\nother gave the wretch a sword-thrust that put an end to his life.\n\nSo the wicked Bluebeard perished miserably, and Fatima became mistress\nof all his riches. Part of her wealth she bestowed on her sister Anne,\nand part on her two brothers. The rest she retained herself, and\npresently she married a man whose kind treatment helped her to forget\nher unfortunate experience with Bluebeard.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE SPENDTHRIFT MERCHANT\u2019S SON\n\n\nTHERE was once a merchant\u2019s son, who, when his father died, squandered\nall his inheritance. At last he had nothing to eat. So he took a spade,\nwent to the market-place, and stood waiting to see if anyone would hire\nhim for a laborer. By and by a rich noble drove into the market-place in\nhis golden coach. As soon as the men who were waiting there for work saw\nhim, all except the merchant\u2019s son scattered in every direction and hid.\nThe gilded coach came to a stop before him, and the noble said, \u201cDo you\nwant work, young man?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is for no other purpose than to get work that I stand here,\u201d replied\nthe merchant\u2019s son.\n\n\u201cThen I will hire you,\u201d said the noble. \u201cWhat wages do you require?\u201d\n\n\u201cOne hundred silver pieces a day,\u201d was the answer.\n\n\u201cThat is a high price,\u201d said the noble.\n\n\u201cIf you think it too much,\u201d said the merchant\u2019s son, \u201cgo and find a\ncheaper article. But I observe that you are not very popular as an\nemployer. Crowds of laborers seeking work were here a few minutes ago,\nbut you came, and away they all bolted.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the noble, \u201cI agree to pay your price. Meet me at the\nharbor tomorrow.\u201d\n\nEarly the next day the youth resorted to the harbor, where he found the\nnoble awaiting him. They went on board a ship, which soon put out to\nsea, and sailed and sailed until it approached an island. On this island\nwere high mountains, and by the shore was a splendid castle. The ship\ncast anchor, and the noble and the merchant\u2019s son were rowed to the\ncastle, where they were met by the noble\u2019s wife and daughter. After the\ngreetings were over they sat down at table and began to eat, drink, and\nbe merry. \u201cToday we\u2019ll feast,\u201d said the noble, \u201cand tomorrow we\u2019ll\nwork.\u201d\n\nThe noble\u2019s daughter was beautiful beyond anything that pen can tell,\nand the merchant\u2019s son fell in love with her. Nor could she help liking\nhim, for he was lively, sturdy, and handsome. At length she found an\nopportunity to call him secretly into an adjacent room, and gave him a\nflint and steel. \u201cUse these, if you should be in great danger,\u201d said\nshe, \u201cand they will bring you help.\u201d\n\nNext day the noble mounted a handsome steed and had his laborer mount an\nold rackabones, and they set off for the mountains. They went up and up\ntill there rose before them a smooth wall of rock near the summit of the\nloftiest peak, and they could go no farther. \u201cI am thirsty after all\nthis climbing,\u201d said the noble. \u201cWe will dismount and have something to\ndrink.\u201d\n\nHe handed the merchant\u2019s son a flask that contained a sleeping potion,\nand the youth drank without any suspicion that he was being drugged. It\nmade him very drowsy, and he sat down by a tree and was soon fast\nasleep. Then the noble killed the wretched nag on which the youth had\nridden, removed its entrails, put the young man and his spade inside of\nthe body, and sewed it up. That done, he went and hid in the bushes. In\na little while there flew down a host of black, iron-beaked crows. They\ntook up the carcass and carried it to the mountain-top, where they began\nto peck and eat it. Presently they had eaten their way in to where lay\nthe merchant\u2019s son. Then he awoke, beat off the crows, looked hither and\nthither, and said, \u201cWhere am I?\u201d\n\nThe noble at the foot of the precipice heard him and shouted: \u201cYou are\non the golden mountain. Take your spade and dig gold and throw it down\nto me.\u201d\n\nThen the youth saw that the whole mountain-top was composed of gold, and\nhe dug and dug, and threw the gold down to the noble, who loaded it on\nto his horse. When the noble had all the horse could carry, he bawled\nout: \u201cThat\u2019ll do. Thanks for your labor. Good-by!\u201d\n\n\u201cBut what is to become of me?\u201d the merchant\u2019s son shouted back.\n\n\u201cYou will have to get along as best you can,\u201d replied the noble.\n\u201cNinety-nine of your sort have already perished on this mountain-top.\nYou will just make up a hundred.\u201d\n\nThus spoke the noble and departed.\n\n\u201cWhat is to be done now?\u201d thought the merchant\u2019s son. \u201cTo get down the\nsteep, slippery sides of this mountain summit is impossible. I shall\nstarve to death.\u201d\n\nThere he stood on the bleak height, and above him circled the\niron-beaked crows, which evidently regarded him as their prey. He\nrecalled the events that led to his being in his present plight, and it\noccurred to him how the lovely damsel had given him the flint and steel\nhe had in his pocket. \u201cShe told me to use them if ever I was in great\ndanger,\u201d said he. \u201cI will try them now.\u201d\n\nHe took them out and struck a spark from the flint with the steel.\nImmediately there appeared before him two stout young men. \u201cWhat do you\nwant?\u201d they asked.\n\n\u201cI will first fill my pockets with gold,\u201d said he, \u201cand then I would\nlike to go from this mountain to the seashore.\u201d\n\nAs soon as he was ready they lifted him and carried him away through the\nair to the seashore. Then they vanished. While he was walking about\nthere he saw a ship not far distant sailing by the island. \u201cHo! good\nship-folk!\u201d he shouted, \u201ctake me with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, brother,\u201d they responded, \u201cto stop would cause us to lose too much\ntime.\u201d\n\nThe mariners went on, but soon contrary winds began to blow, and they\nwere presently beset by a hurricane. \u201cAlas!\u201d said they, \u201cthe person who\nhailed us from that island was no ordinary man. He has brought this\nstorm on us for a punishment, and we shall perish unless we return and\ntake him on the ship.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\nSo they went back and got him and conveyed him to his native town. The\ngold he had brought from the mountain supported him for a time, but when\nit was gone he again took a spade and went to the market-place to wait\nfor some one to hire him. By and by the same noble who had hired him\nbefore came to the market-place in his gilded coach. The men waiting for\nemployment all scattered in every direction and hid, except the\nmerchant\u2019s son. The noble spoke to him and said, \u201cWill you come and work\nfor me?\u201d\n\n\u201cWillingly,\u201d replied the youth, \u201cif you will pay me two hundred pieces\nof silver a day.\u201d\n\n\u201cIsn\u2019t that rather dear, eh?\u201d said the noble.\n\n\u201cIf you find it dear,\u201d said the merchant\u2019s son, \u201cgo and hire some other\nman. But you saw how many people were waiting here for work when you\ncame, and in what haste they all got out of the way.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the noble, \u201cmeet me tomorrow morning at the harbor.\u201d\n\nEarly next day they met at the harbor, went on board a ship, and sailed\nto the island. There they ate and drank and took their ease for one day,\nand on the following morning mounted horses and rode up into the\nmountains. They arrived at the steep wall of rock near the summit of the\nhighest peak, and the noble said, \u201cNow let us have a drink.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut first,\u201d said the youth, \u201cyou who are chief must drink. Let me treat\nyou with what I have brought in my own flask.\u201d\n\nSo the noble drank, but the merchant\u2019s son had betimes filled his flask\nwith a sleeping potion that put his master into a sound sleep. Then he\nkilled the lame old horse he rode, removed the entrails, thrust the\nnoble and the spade into the body and sewed him up in there. Afterward\nhe hid in the bushes. Soon the black, iron-beaked crows flew down, took\nup the carcass of the horse, carried it to the top of the cliff, and\nbegan pecking at it. When they had made an opening to where the noble\nlay, he awoke, crawled out, and looked around. \u201cWhere am I?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cYou are on the golden mountain,\u201d bawled the merchant\u2019s son. \u201cTake your\nspade and dig gold and throw it down to me.\u201d\n\nThe noble dug and dug, and threw down the gold, and the youth packed it\non to the noble\u2019s horse until he had all the creature could carry.\n\u201cThat\u2019s enough,\u201d he called. \u201cThanks for your labor. Adieu!\u201d\n\n\u201cBut how am I to get off this mountain?\u201d cried the noble.\n\n\u201cWhy, get off as best you can,\u201d answered the youth. \u201cNinety-nine of your\nsort have perished on that golden summit. You can be the hundredth.\u201d\n\nThe merchant\u2019s son returned to the splendid castle beside the sea,\nmarried the lovely damsel, took possession of the noble\u2019s riches, and\nthen went in a ship to his native city. There he dwelt in peace and\nplenty the rest of his life.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE AMBITIOUS THRUSH\n\n\nONCE there was a thrush who lived in a tree on the borders of a field\nthat a man sowed to cotton seed. The seed sprouted up through the ground\nand grew into bushes, and after a time the bushes had big, brown pods on\nthem. Presently the pods burst open and the fluffy white cotton bulged\nout of them. \u201cHow nice and soft that cotton looks!\u201d said the thrush.\n\nShe picked some of it and used it to line her nest. Never before had she\nslept with such ease as she did on that bed of cotton.\n\nIn her flights about the region she often passed the door of a man who\nmade a business of carding cotton so it could be spun into thread. By\ncarding it he disentangled the fibers, and then he formed it into small\nrolls and sold it to the spinners. The thrush often observed him at his\nwork, and at length she concluded that she, also, would make some use of\nthe cotton besides simply lining her nest with it. So again and again,\nevery day, she would fly down among the cotton bushes, pluck out a fluff\nof cotton in her beak and fly away and hide it. She kept on doing this\ntill she had quite a large heap. Then she flew to the house of the\ncotton-carder, and alighted in front of him. \u201cGood day, man,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cGood day, little bird,\u201d said the cotton-carder.\n\n\u201cMan,\u201d said the thrush, \u201cI have a heap of beautiful cotton; and you\nshall have half of it if you will card the rest and make it into rolls\nfor me.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the man, \u201cI will do as you desire. Where is your\ncotton?\u201d\n\n\u201cCome with me, and I will show you,\u201d said the thrush.\n\nSo she flew along ahead of the man and guided him to the place where she\nhad hidden her hoard of cotton. The man took the cotton home and carded\nit and made it into rolls. Half of it he took for doing the work, and\nthe rest he gave back to the thrush.\n\nNot far from the carder lived a spinner, and the thrush went to him and\nsaid: \u201cMr. Spinner, I have some rolls of cotton all ready to spin into\nthread. If I give you half of them, will you spin the other half into\nthread for me?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I will,\u201d said the spinner, and the thrush showed him the way to\nwhere she had put the rolls.\n\nIn a few days the spinner had spun all the rolls into the finest thread.\nThen he took a pair of scales and weighed the thread to make two equal\nparts. Half he kept for himself, and the other half he gave to the\nthrush.\n\nThe next thing the thrush did was to fly to the house of a weaver, to\nwhom she said: \u201cSir, I have some cotton thread all ready to weave into\ncloth. If I give you half of the thread, will you weave the other half\ninto cloth for me?\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly,\u201d said the weaver, and the thrush guided him to where she had\nsecreted the thread.\n\nHe carried it home and spun it into cloth, and half the cloth he kept,\nand half he gave to the thrush. She was an ambitious bird, eager to\nconvey an impression of distinction, and she decided to have some\ngarments made for herself out of the cloth. So she went to a tailor, and\nsaid, \u201cI have a nice piece of cotton cloth, and I will give you half of\nit if you will make the rest into clothes for me.\u201d\n\nThe tailor was glad to do this, and the bird guided him to where she had\nhidden the cloth. He took it home, and at once set to work. Half of it\nsufficed to make a beautiful dress for the thrush. There was a skirt,\nand there was a jacket with sleeves in the latest pattern. A little of\nthe cloth was left over, and the tailor used it to make a pretty hat for\nthe thrush to put on her head.\n\nThen she was indeed delighted, and felt there was little more to desire\nin the world. She put on her skirt, and her jacket with fashionable\nsleeves, and the little hat, and looked at her image in a woodland pool.\nWhat she saw pleased her greatly. In fact, she became so vain that\nnothing would do but she must show herself to the king.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nSo she flew and flew and flew until she came to the king\u2019s palace. Right\ninto the great hall she winged her way and perched on a peg that was\nhigh on the wall and began to sing. The king and the queen and all the\ncourtiers were sitting down below. \u201cOh, look!\u201d exclaimed the queen.\n\u201cThere is a thrush in a jacket and skirt and a pretty hat!\u201d\n\nEverybody looked at the thrush singing on her peg, and clapped their\nhands.\n\n\u201cCome here, little bird,\u201d said the king, \u201cand show the queen your pretty\nclothes.\u201d\n\nThe thrush felt highly flattered, and flew down on the table, and took\noff her jacket to show the queen. After the queen had looked at it she\nfolded it up and put it in her pocket.\n\n\u201cGive me my jacket,\u201d twittered the thrush. \u201cI shall catch cold, and\nbesides, it is not proper for a lady to go about without a jacket.\u201d\n\nAll the company laughed, and the king said, \u201cYou shall have your jacket,\nMistress Thrush, if you will come nearer.\u201d\n\nShe approached the king close enough so he was able to make a sudden\ngrab and catch her.\n\n\u201cLet me go,\u201d squeaked the thrush, struggling to get free. But the king\nwould not release her.\n\n\u201cGreedy king!\u201d cried the thrush, \u201cyou ought to be ashamed to covet my\nlittle jacket!\u201d\n\nThat made the king angry, and he took a carving knife and chopped her to\nlittle bits. While he was doing so the thrush kept exclaiming, \u201cThe king\nsnips and cuts like a tailor, but he is not so honest!\u201d\n\nWhen the king had finished chopping her up, he began to wash the pieces,\nand each piece as he washed it called out, \u201cThe king scours and scrubs\nlike a washerwoman, but he is not so honest!\u201d\n\nAs soon as the washing was done he put the pieces into a frying-pan and\nbegan to fry them, and all the time they cried out, \u201cThe king is doing\nthe work of a cook, but he is not so honest!\u201d\n\nAfter the pieces were fried, the king ate them, but even that did not\nsilence the wronged thrush. She continually shouted: \u201cI am inside of the\nking. It is just like the inside of any other man, only not so honest!\u201d\n\nThe king was like a walking musical box, and he did not like it, but it\nwas his own fault. No matter where he went, everyone heard the cries of\nthe thrush proclaiming that she was inside of the king, and that his\ninside was just like that of other men, only not so honest. This caused\na good deal of gossip among the king\u2019s subjects and resulted in his\nbeing universally despised. At last he could stand it no longer. He sent\nfor his doctor and said the talking bird must be removed.\n\n\u201cThat cannot be done without causing your death,\u201d said the doctor.\n\n\u201cIt will cause my death if it is not done,\u201d declared the king, \u201cfor I\ncannot endure being made a fool of.\u201d\n\nSo the doctor had to remove the thrush, and, strange to say, the pieces\nhad united, and as soon as the bird was released she flew away. Her\nbeautiful clothes were all gone, but she did not regret that. She was\nquite content in future to use cotton only to make a soft lining for her\nnest, and never again had a desire to ape the ways of mankind.\n\nAs for the king, he died; and it was a good riddance. His son reigned in\nhis stead, and he remembered his father\u2019s miserable death and kept all\nhis promises to men and beasts and birds.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE BEWITCHED BOTTLES\n\n\nIN the good old days, when the fairies were more frequently seen than in\nthese unbelieving times, a farmer named Mick Purcell rented a few acres\nof barren ground in southern Ireland, about three miles from Mallow, and\ntwelve from the city of Cork. Mick had a wife and children, and they\nhelped him all they could. That, however, was very little; for none of\nthe children were big enough to do much work, and his wife was kept busy\ntaking care of them, and milking the cow, boiling the potatoes, and\ncarrying the eggs to market. So, though Mick was never idle from morn\ntill night, it was by no means easy for them to make a living. Yet by\nhook or by crook they contrived to get along until there came a bad\nyear. The oats were all spoiled that season, the chickens died of the\npip, and the pig got the measles so that when it was sold it brought\nalmost nothing.\n\nMick was in despair. The rent had long been due, and he addressed his\nwife, saying, \u201cMolly, what shall we do?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy dear,\u201d said she, \u201cwhat can you do but take the cow to the fair at\nCork and sell her? Saturday is fair day, and this is Thursday. You must\nstart tomorrow, that the poor beast may have a night\u2019s rest there and be\nat her best when you show her at the fair.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what will we do when she\u2019s gone?\u201d asked Mick sorrowfully.\n\n\u201cNever a know I know, Mick,\u201d she replied; \u201cbut sure I am that we will be\ntaken care of. You remember how it was when little Billy was sick, and\nwe had no medicine for him to take\u2014that good doctor gentleman at\nBallyshin came riding and asking for a drink of milk; and he gave us two\nshillings and sent things for Billy, and he gave me my breakfast when I\nwent to his house to ask a question\u2014so he did. He came to see Billy\nagain and again, and never left off his goodness till the boy was quite\nwell.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! you are always that way, Molly,\u201d said Mick; \u201cand I believe you are\nright, after all. So I won\u2019t be sorry for selling the cow, and I\u2019ll take\nher to Cork tomorrow. But before I go you must put a needle and thread\nthrough my coat, for you know \u2019tis ripped under the arm.\u201d\n\nMolly told him he should have everything right; and about twelve o\u2019clock\nnext day he started, while Molly stood in the doorway of their cabin and\ncalled after him not to sell the cow except at the highest price. Mick\npromised to do as she bid, and went his way along the road. As he drove\nhis cow through the little stream that crosses the highway and runs on\nbeside the old walls of Mourne Abbey he glanced toward the ruinous\ntowers.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve often heard there is great treasure buried under you,\u201d said he.\n\u201cOh! if I only had that money, it isn\u2019t driving this cow I\u2019d be now.\nWhat a pity such a treasure should be there covered over with earth, and\nmany a one wanting it besides me! Well, if it be God\u2019s will I\u2019ll have\nsome money myself when I am coming back.\u201d\n\nSo saying, he moved on after his beast. It was a fine day, and the sun\nshone brightly on the walls of the old abbey, and all the country around\nlooked green and pleasant. Six miles farther on he came to the top of a\nhigh hill, and just there a man overtook him and greeted him with a\n\u201cGood morrow.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood morrow kindly,\u201d said Mick, looking at the stranger, who was such a\nlittle man that he might almost be called a dwarf. He had a wrinkled,\nyellow face, and a sharp nose, red eyes, and white hair; and he was\nmuffled up in a big overcoat that came down to his heels. His eyes were\nnever quiet, but looked at everything, and they made Mick feel quite\ncold when he met their glance. In truth, he did not much like the little\nman\u2019s company, and he drove his cow on faster, but the stranger kept up\nwith him. It seemed to Mick that his fellow-traveler did not walk like\nother men, and that instead of putting one foot before the other he\nglided over the rough road like a shadow, without noise and without\neffort. Mick\u2019s heart trembled within him, and he said a prayer to\nhimself, wishing he had not come that day, or that he did not have the\ncow to take care of, so he might run away from the mysterious stranger.\nIn the midst of his fears he was again addressed by his companion, who\nasked him where he was going with his cow.\n\n\u201cTo the fair at Cork,\u201d replied Mick, trembling at the shrill and\npiercing tones of the stranger\u2019s voice.\n\n\u201cAre you going to sell her?\u201d inquired the little man.\n\n\u201cWhy, for what else could I be taking her to the fair?\u201d was Mick\u2019s\nresponse.\n\n\u201cWill you sell her to me?\u201d said the stranger.\n\nMick started\u2014he was afraid to have anything to do with the little man;\nand yet he was more afraid to say, \u201cNo.\u201d He hesitated, and then asked,\n\u201cWhat will you give for her?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll give you this bottle,\u201d answered the little man, pulling a bottle\nfrom under his coat.\n\nMick looked at him and the bottle, and, in spite of his terror, could\nnot help laughing.\n\n\u201cLaugh if you will,\u201d said the little man, \u201cbut I tell you this bottle is\nworth more to you than all the money you can get for your cow in\nCork\u2014aye, a thousand times over.\u201d\n\nMick laughed again. \u201cWhy,\u201d said he, \u201cdo you think I am such a fool as to\ngive my good cow for a bottle\u2014and an empty one, too? Indeed, I won\u2019t.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou had better give me the cow and take the bottle,\u201d said the little\nman. \u201cYou\u2019ll be sorry if you don\u2019t.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut what would Molly say?\u201d muttered Mick. \u201cI\u2019d never hear the end of\nit; and how would I pay the rent, and what would we all do without a\npenny of money?\u201d\n\n\u201cThis bottle of mine is better to you than money,\u201d the little man\naffirmed. \u201cTake it, and give me the cow. I ask you for the last time,\nMick Purcell.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow does he know my name?\u201d thought Mick, with increased alarm.\n\n\u201cI have a regard for you, Mick Purcell,\u201d the stranger continued.\n\u201cTherefore do I warn you that unless you make the exchange I have\nproposed you will be sorry for it. How do you know but your cow may die\nbefore you get to Cork?\u201d\n\n\u201cGod forbid!\u201d exclaimed Mick.\n\n\u201cAnd how do you know,\u201d the little man went on, \u201cbut there will be so\nmany cattle at the fair you will get a poor price? Or you might be\nrobbed when you are coming home. But why need I talk more to you when\nyou are determined to throw away your luck?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, no! I would not throw away my luck, sir,\u201d Mick affirmed hastily;\n\u201cand if I was sure the bottle was as good as you say, though I never\nliked an empty bottle, I\u2019d give you the cow for it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI would not tell you a lie,\u201d declared the stranger. \u201cHere, take the\nbottle, and when you get home do what I direct, exactly.\u201d\n\nMick hesitated.\n\n\u201cWell, then,\u201d said the little man sharply, \u201cgood-by, I can stay no\nlonger. Take the bottle and be rich; or refuse it, and beg for your\nliving, and see your children in poverty and your wife dying of want.\nThat is what will happen to you, Mick Purcell!\u201d and the little man\ngrinned maliciously.\n\n\u201cMaybe \u2019tis true,\u201d said Mick, still hesitating. He did not know what to\ndo; and yet he could hardly help believing the old man. The latter was\nturning to go when Mick in a fit of desperation seized the bottle. \u201cTake\nthe cow,\u201d said he, \u201cand if you are telling a lie, the curse of the poor\nwill be on you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI care neither for your curses, nor for your blessings,\u201d retorted the\nlittle man. \u201cI have spoken the truth, Mick Purcell, as you will surely\nknow tonight after you reach home, if you do what I tell you.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what\u2019s that?\u201d inquired Mick.\n\n\u201cWhen you go into the house,\u201d said the little man, \u201cnever mind if your\nwife is angry over the bargain you have made. Be quiet yourself, and get\nher to sweep the room, and to clear off the table and spread a clean\ncloth over it. Then put the bottle on the floor, saying these words,\n\u2018Bottle, do your duty,\u2019 and you will see what will happen.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs that all?\u201d asked Mick.\n\n\u201cNo more,\u201d was the stranger\u2019s answer. \u201cFarewell, Mick Purcell. You are a\nrich man.\u201d\n\n\u201cGod grant it!\u201d said Mick, as the stranger went off driving the cow.\n\nMick now started toward home, but he had gone only a few paces when he\nturned to have one more look at the purchaser of his cow. To his\nsurprise neither the little man nor the cow were to be seen. \u201cThe Lord\nbe between us and him!\u201d exclaimed Mick. \u201cThat little man can\u2019t belong to\nthis earth;\u201d and Mick continued on his way muttering prayers and holding\nfast the bottle.\n\n\u201cWhat would I do if it broke?\u201d thought he; \u201cbut I\u2019ll look out for that.\u201d\n\nSo he put the bottle into his bosom and hurried on, anxious to prove the\nvirtues of his treasure, and at the same time a good deal troubled over\nthe reception he was likely to meet from his wife. He reached home in\nthe evening, still much perturbed between his doubts and hopes, and\nsurprised his wife sitting beside a turf fire burning in the big\nfireplace.\n\n\u201cOh, Mick! are you come back?\u201d she cried. \u201cSure, you haven\u2019t been all\nthe way to Cork! What has happened to you? Where is the cow? Did you\nsell her? How much money did you get for her? What is the news?\u201d\n\n\u201cMolly,\u201d said he, \u201cif you\u2019ll give me time, I\u2019ll tell you all that\u2019s\nhappened. But I can\u2019t tell you where the cow is.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou sold her on the way, did you?\u201d said Molly; \u201cand where\u2019s the money?\nHow is\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cArrah! stop a while, Molly,\u201d he interrupted, \u201cand I\u2019ll tell you all\nabout it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat bottle is that under your waistcoat?\u201d she asked, spying the neck\nof it sticking out.\n\n\u201cBe easy, can\u2019t you!\u201d begged Mick, and he put the bottle on the table\nand said, \u201cThat\u2019s what I got for the cow.\u201d\n\nHis wife was thunderstruck. \u201cA bottle!\u201d she ejaculated, \u201can empty\nbottle, and nothing more?\u201d\n\n\u201cJust an empty bottle,\u201d Mick replied. \u201cBut\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what good is it?\u201d said Molly. \u201cOh, Mick! I never thought you were\nsuch a fool; and how will we pay the rent? and how\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, Molly,\u201d said Mick, \u201ccan\u2019t you stop a bit and hearken to reason? An\nold man overtook me on the big hill, half-way to Cork, and he made me\nsell him the cow, and said this bottle which he gave me in exchange\nwould make me rich.\u201d\n\n\u201cMake you rich!\u201d cried Molly. \u201cWe\u2019ll see what it will do for you,\u201d and\nshe snatched it up from the table, intending to break it over his head.\n\nBut Mick caught it before it had time to descend, and, recalling the old\nman\u2019s advice to keep peaceable, he gently loosened his wife\u2019s grasp, and\nplaced the bottle again in his bosom. Molly sat down and wept while Mick\ntold her his story with many a crossing and blessing between him and\nharm. The marvel of it caused his wife\u2019s doubts to vanish, for she had\nas much faith in fairies as she had in the priest, who indeed never\ndiscouraged her belief in them\u2014maybe he believed in them himself. She\ngot up and began to sweep the earthen floor with a bunch of heath. That\ndone, she tidied up everything, set out the long table, and spread a\nclean cloth on it. Mick then placed the bottle on the floor and said,\n\u201cBottle, do your duty.\u201d\n\n\u201cLook there! look there, mammy!\u201d exclaimed the chubby eldest son, a boy\nabout six years old; and he sprang to his mother\u2019s side and clung to her\nskirts in terror with his eyes on the bottle.\n\nTwo tiny men were climbing out of it, and in a few moments they had\nbrought plates and other dishes, all of solid gold or silver, and put\nthem on the table, and the dishes contained a bountiful feast of the\nchoicest food that ever was seen. As soon as this task was finished, the\ntiny men went into the bottle, which Mick then picked up and carefully\nset on the mantel. Where the little men had gone he could not tell, for\nthe bottle seemed to be as empty as when he first received it.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Two tiny men climbed out of the bottle\n]\n\nFor some time Mick and his wife stood and gazed at the table in silent\nbewilderment. They had never seen such dishes before and did not think\nthey could ever admire them enough. In fact, the sight of all this\nsplendor almost took away their appetites. But at length Molly said:\n\u201cCome and sit down, Mick, and try to eat a bit. Sure, you ought to be\nhungry after such a good day\u2019s work.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s plain the little old man told no lie about the bottle,\u201d said Mick;\nand he helped the children into seats around the table. They all made a\nhearty meal, though they could not eat half the food that was before\nthem.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said Molly, \u201cI wonder if these fine things are ours to do as we\nplease with them, or if those two good little gentlemen in the bottle\nwill carry them away.\u201d\n\nThey waited to see what would happen, but the little men remained in the\nbottle, and at length Molly cleared the table and put away the dishes.\n\u201cAh, Mick,\u201d said she, \u201cyou\u2019ll be a rich man yet, as the stranger who\ntook your cow foretold.\u201d\n\nBefore they went to sleep that night they decided that they would sell\nsome of their fine tableware, and with the money it brought pay what\nthey owed, and rent more land. So the next day Mick went to Cork laden\nwith a number of the gold and silver dishes, which he sold for more\nmoney than he had ever had in his hands before. He did not return on\nfoot, for he bought a horse and cart so that he was able to ride. In the\nweeks that followed he increased his wealth from time to time by calling\nforth the imps out of the bottle, and it was soon plain to everyone that\nMick was prospering. He and his wife did all they could to keep the\nsource of their good fortune a secret, but their landlord presently came\nto Mick and asked him where he got all his money, for he knew very well\nit was not from the farm.\n\nMick tried to put him off with excuses. This, however, would not do, and\nthe landlord was so persistent that finally Mick told him about the\nbottle. The landlord offered Mick a great deal of money for it, but Mick\ncontinued to refuse until the landlord said that in addition to the\nmoney he would give him the farm he rented. Mick surrendered the bottle,\nfeeling that he was now so rich he never would be in want again. But he\nwas mistaken, for he and his family lived as if there was no end to\ntheir fortune. They earned little and spent much. Their wealth melted\naway, and at length they became so poor they had nothing left which they\ncould sell but one cow.\n\nSo Mick prepared to drive the cow to Cork fair and dispose of her. It\nwas hardly daybreak when he left home, and he walked on at a good pace\ntill he reached the big hill midway in his journey. The mists were\nsleeping in the valleys and curling like smoke-wreaths on the brown\nheath around him. Just beside the road, as he was going along, a lark\nsprang from its grassy couch and ascended into the clear blue sky\npouring forth its joyous matin-song. While Mick was watching it he was\nstartled and rejoiced to hear the well-remembered voice of that same old\nman who had accosted him here once before. \u201cWell, Mick Purcell,\u201d said\nthe stranger, \u201cI told you that you would be a rich man; and you found\nthat I was right, did you not?\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed, sir, it was the truth you spoke, and no mistake,\u201d replied Mick.\n\u201cBut it\u2019s not rich I am now. Have you another bottle? I need it as much\nat present as when I first saw you. So, if you have one, sir, here is my\ncow for it.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd here is a bottle,\u201d responded the little man, taking it from an\ninside pocket of his coat. \u201cYou know what to do with it.\u201d\n\n\u201cSure I do,\u201d said Mick.\n\n\u201cFarewell,\u201d said the strange old man as he turned to go.\n\n\u201cAnd good-by to you, sir,\u201d said Mick. \u201cMay your shadow never grow less.\nGood-by, sir, good-by.\u201d\n\nMick wasted no time looking back to see what became of the little man\nand the cow, but hastened homeward. As soon as he arrived he called out,\n\u201cMolly, Molly! I have another bottle!\u201d\n\n\u201cHave you?\u201d said she, laughing joyfully. \u201cWhy, then, you\u2019re a lucky man,\nMick Purcell, that\u2019s what you are.\u201d\n\nShe quickly put everything in order and set forth the table with a clean\nspread on it. Then Mick placed the bottle on the floor, and said, with a\ntone of exultation in his voice, \u201cBottle, do your duty.\u201d\n\nIn a twinkling, two big, stout men with heavy cudgels issued from the\nbottle (I do not know how there was room for them in it) and belabored\nMick and Molly and the rest of the family, including the dog and the\ncat, till they sank bruised and faint to the floor. This result seemed\nto satisfy the two men, and they returned to the bottle. When Mick\nrecovered sufficiently to get on his feet he stood and thought and\nthought. At length he helped up his wife and children. But he left them\nto get over their fright as best they could while he took the bottle\nunder his coat and went off to call on his landlord.\n\nThe landlord\u2019s mansion was full of company when he got there, and they\nwere just sitting down to a magnificent feast provided by the imps of\nthe bottle which Mick formerly owned. He sent in word by a servant that\nhe wanted to speak with the master of the house on urgent business.\n\nPretty soon the landlord came out. \u201cWell, what do you want now?\u201d he\nasked roughly.\n\n\u201cNothing, sir, only to tell you that I have another bottle,\u201d Mick\nanswered.\n\n\u201cOho!\u201d said the landlord, softening his manner and rubbing his hands\ntogether gleefully, \u201cand is it as good as the first?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, sir, and better,\u201d declared Mick. \u201cIf you like, I will show it to\nyou before all the ladies and gentlemen in your dining-hall.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome along then,\u201d was the landlord\u2019s response, \u201cand if I\u2019m satisfied\nwith what you show, I will pay a good round price for the bottle.\u201d\n\nHe conducted his former tenant into the great hall, where Mick was\ninterested to behold the other bottle standing high up on a shelf.\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the landlord, \u201clet us see what your bottle can do.\u201d\n\nMick set it on the floor and said, \u201cBottle, do your duty.\u201d\n\nImmediately out came the two stout men with their big clubs, and knocked\nthe landlord off his feet. Then they assailed the ladies and gentlemen,\nhis guests, and the servants, also, and there was running and sprawling\nand kicking and shrieking. Cups and plates and salvers were scattered\nabout in all directions, and the landlord began to call out, \u201cMick\nPurcell, stop those two demons, or I\u2019ll have you hanged!\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no!\u201d said Mick, \u201cthey never will be stopped by me till I get that\nbottle I used to own, which I see high up on the shelf there.\u201d\n\n\u201cGive it to him, give it to him before we are all killed!\u201d beseeched the\nbattered ladies and gentlemen.\n\n\u201cTake it, and make haste,\u201d cried the landlord.\n\nSo Mick climbed up and got the bottle that had been the source of his\nformer good fortune. By this time the men with the cudgels had pounded\nthe company to their satisfaction. They retired to their bottle, and off\nwent Mick with both bottles in his bosom.\n\nAs the years passed he became richer and richer, and when, in his old\nage, his servants broke the bottles while fighting at a wake he was\ncareful not to squander his riches as he had previously. So he and his\nwife lived happily to the end of their days.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n A PEACE MEETING\n\n\nONCE upon a time there was a big pasture in which were kept many horses\nand cattle and pigs. The pigs were very greedy, and the horses and\ncattle were not on good terms with them. At last one of the horses said:\n\u201cLet us have a peace meeting and invite to it all the animals that feed\nin this pasture. Perhaps it will enable us to settle our quarrels with\nthe pigs, and establish more friendly relations with them.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said a cow, \u201cI wish we might have peace with those pigs. They are\nalways taking our food, drinking our water, and rooting up our nice,\ngreen grass. But it is also true that our own calves and colts have hurt\nmany of the young pigs. This trouble and fighting are not right, and we\nknow that our master wishes us to dwell peaceably together.\u201d\n\nSo it was agreed that there should be a peace meeting, and a small and\ngentle cow was sent to invite the pigs to attend. As she approached the\npigs\u2019 yard, the young pigs jumped up and grunted: \u201cWhat are you coming\nhere for? Do you want to fight?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I don\u2019t want to fight,\u201d responded the cow. \u201cI was sent here to\ninvite you to a peace meeting. Will you come?\u201d\n\nThe pigs talked the matter over, and one of the old pigs said: \u201cMaybe\nthey will have some good things for us to eat at this meeting. I think\nwe should go.\u201d\n\nThat decided them, and they told the cow they would be present at the\nmeeting.\n\nThe day for the gathering came, and the pigs were among the first at the\nappointed place. Presently, when all was ready, the leader of the cows\naddressed the pigs, saying: \u201cWe think there should be no more quarrels\nin this pasture. Will you agree not to spoil our grass or eat our food?\nIf so, we will promise that none of the horses and cows, old or young,\nshall hurt your children, and all the former enmity shall henceforth be\nforgotten.\u201d\n\nThen a young pig stood up to reply. \u201cThis big pasture,\u201d said he,\n\u201cbelongs to our master, and not to you. We pigs cannot go outside of the\nfence to other places for food. Every day our master sends servants to\nfeed us and to clean our pen. In the summer they fill a pond with fresh\nwater for us to bathe in. We take your food only after you have\nfinished. It would spoil on the ground if we did not. Do our people ever\nhurt your people? No, and yet each year some of our children are killed\nby bad horses and cows.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cIs it your belief that our master regards you more highly than us?\nConsider a moment how he treats our people, and how he treats you. He\nnever makes us work as he does the horses and oxen. No, he gives us\nplenty of food and lets us play and take our ease day in and day out the\nwhole year through. Surely that is because he likes us best. The horses\nand oxen are at work constantly. Some pull wagons, others plough the\nland, and they rarely are given any time to rest except at night.\n\n\u201cBut our life is one of comfort and leisure. Observe how fat we are. You\nnever see our bones. Look at the old horses and the old oxen, and notice\nhow lean they are, and how their ribs show! And is it any wonder after\ntwenty years of work and no rest? I tell you our master does not honor\nthe horses and oxen as he does the pigs. That is all I have to say. Have\nI not spoken the truth?\u201d\n\nThe leader of the cows shook her head sadly, and said, \u201cMoo, moo!\u201d\n\nThe tired old horses groaned, \u201cHuh, huh!\u201d but could think of no reply to\nthe pig\u2019s argument.\n\nThen the cow leader said: \u201cWhy should we discuss things about which we\nknow nothing? We do not seem to understand our master. The meeting is\nended.\u201d\n\nOn their way home the little pigs made a big noise, and each said\ngleefully, \u201cWee, wee! We won, we won!\u201d\n\nThe old horses and oxen discussed the subject among themselves, but they\narrived at no conclusion. \u201cCertainly we are stronger, wiser, and more\nuseful than the pigs,\u201d they said. \u201cWhy does our master treat us so?\u201d\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE SOLDIER AND THE DRAGON\n\n\nTHERE was once a young soldier who went far away from his home to fight\nin a war. When the war was over and he returned, his father and mother\nhad died, and no one was left in the family but himself. His entire\ninheritance was a cow and two sheep, and these he decided to sell.\n\u201cThen,\u201d said he, \u201cI will seek my fortune somewhere else, instead of\nremaining here in poverty.\u201d\n\nThe cow and the sheep were sold, and the soldier set out on his travels.\nAfter walking for about a week, he one day found himself in a great\nforest, and toward night he came to an old castle with the woods all\naround it. The castle door was open, and he entered. Not a person was to\nbe seen, but on a long table was food enough ready for eating to serve a\nscore. The soldier stood a long time silently waiting in the hope that\nthe dwellers in the castle would appear and invite him to eat with them.\nBut he waited in vain. The castle seemed to be abandoned, and at last\nthe soldier said: \u201cUpon my word, it is a shame to neglect this food any\nlonger. I may as well eat. Surely no one will greatly blame me for doing\nso.\u201d\n\nHe seated himself at the table, and though at first somewhat anxious,\nate and drank with a good appetite. By the time he finished, his\nconfidence was fully restored, and he went to look through the adjoining\nrooms. In one he found heaps of rich merchandise, in another were many\nbags and boxes of gold, silver, and jewels, while in a third the walls\nwere half hidden by a great array of guns.\n\n\u201cThis castle is a robbers\u2019 den,\u201d said the soldier when he saw all this,\n\u201cand the robbers have gone off on some expedition. They will doubtless\nsoon return; but since I am here I will take possession of this treasure\nand these guns, and drive the robbers away.\u201d\n\nHe began to prepare the castle as well as he could to stand a siege.\nAfter barricading the doors and windows, he loaded all the guns and sat\ndown to wait. Presently he heard the robbers coming, and he took his\nplace at a window that commanded the approach to the castle. Close at\nhand he had set a large number of guns ready loaded, and he immediately\nbegan to fire. The robbers were vastly astonished, and, though there\nwere fully twenty of them, they dropped the booty with which they were\nladen and retired to shelter. But they reappeared shortly, and threw\nthemselves against the heavy door, raging and swearing. The door,\nhowever, withstood their battering, and as the soldier killed or wounded\none of them at every shot, they in a short time ran off, carrying the\nwounded with them, and were lost to sight in the forest.\n\n\u201cThey will be back tomorrow, most likely, with reinforcements,\u201d said the\nsoldier, and he strengthened his barricades and reloaded the guns he had\ndischarged.\n\nIt happened as he expected. At dawn the next day the robbers again\nreturned with a dozen others whom they had summoned to their aid. They\nyelled, and fired their guns, and threw stones, and pounded the door\nwith heavy clubs. All the time the soldier was shooting from his window,\nand in the end every robber was killed. The soldier was now in complete\npossession of the castle and all the treasures it contained. He explored\nit from top to bottom, and concluded to make it his home. In the days\nthat followed he often went forth into the forest to hunt, and the\ncastle and the life he led suited him very well. Thus things went on\nuntil one day, when he was out with his gun, he took aim to shoot a fine\nrabbit. Greatly to his surprise the rabbit spoke, saying: \u201cDo not kill\nme. I may perhaps be useful to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the soldier, \u201cI will not harm you, and you can come\nwith me and be my servant.\u201d\n\nHe went on followed by the rabbit, and in a little while he saw a bear.\nHe took careful aim and was about to shoot, when the bear said, \u201cDo not\nkill me, and I will make myself useful to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right,\u201d was the soldier\u2019s response. \u201cFollow me, and we will see in\nwhat way you can serve me.\u201d\n\nThe soldier at length returned to the castle, and the rabbit and bear\nwent with him. That evening, as they were in the great hall enjoying the\nheat of the fire in the fireplace, the bear said: \u201cI heard this morning\nthat the daughter of the king is about to be taken to a dragon which\nwill devour her. Would it not be well for us to go and deliver her?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat would be a very perilous undertaking,\u201d said the soldier.\n\n\u201cPshaw!\u201d exclaimed the bear, \u201cit is not as dangerous as you think. I am\nready to do my part.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the rabbit, \u201cand I will do my part. All three of us ought to\nbe more than a match for one dragon.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet us go then,\u201d said the soldier.\n\nThe next morning he armed himself with a stout sword, and they started.\nIt was a long distance, and when the soldier tired of walking the bear\ncarried him on its back. At last they met a procession carrying the\nprincess to the dragon. Thousands of people were in the procession, and\nthey were all weeping. The soldier and his comrades went along with the\nrest to the edge of a big, desolate plain. Then the people turned back\nand left the princess to go on alone. The cavern of the dragon was in\nthe midst of the plain, and every month a maiden had to come to him to\nbe devoured. Otherwise, he would have devastated the whole kingdom. The\nmaidens were chosen by lot, and this time the lot had fallen on the\ndaughter of the king. Abandoned by all the world, she went slowly on,\nwailing and shedding great tears.\n\nMeanwhile the soldier was engaged in buying a handsome horse from one of\nthe returning citizens. As soon as he had secured it, he galloped after\nthe princess with the bear and the rabbit following him. When he\novertook her he said, \u201cI pray you, dear lady, to mount behind me, and I\nwill carry you whither you are going.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d she responded, \u201cI shall get there only too soon. I do not wish\nto hasten to my death.\u201d\n\n\u201cConfide in me,\u201d said the soldier. \u201cWith the aid of my two companions,\nwhom you see here, I will save you from the monster.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will do whatever you say,\u201d the princess agreed, \u201cthough I have little\nhope that you can save me.\u201d\n\nThen the soldier leaped to the ground, helped the princess on to the\nhorse\u2019s back, remounted himself, and rode on toward the abode of the\ndragon. The dragon heard them coming, and crawled out of its cave. \u201cSo\nyou are here at last, princess!\u201d it snorted. \u201cBut I see you have\ncompanions with you. The more the better, for I shall eat you and them,\ntoo.\u201d\n\nNext the dragon addressed the soldier, and said: \u201cYoung man, I am all\nready. Throw me the princess.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you want her, come and take her,\u201d the soldier responded.\n\n\u201cThrow her to me,\u201d ordered the dragon savagely, \u201cor with my sharp teeth\nI will make sausage meat of you in no time.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m not afraid of you,\u201d retorted the soldier.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n THE BEAR AND RABBIT BEGIN THE ATTACK ON THE DRAGON\n]\n\n\u201cNow we must all do our duty,\u201d said the bear, in a low voice. \u201cFirst,\nlet the lady slip off the horse and stand out of harm\u2019s way. Then I will\nclinch the monster from the front, and the rabbit shall run and nip its\ntail, and while we are thus taking its attention, our master must gallop\nforward and slash off its head.\u201d\n\nThe princess alighted from the horse, and the bear dashed at the\ndreadful creature and grappled with it. At the same time the rabbit ran\nand worried it in the rear. Lastly, the soldier put spurs to his steed,\nand joined in the attack. The dragon was too much engaged with the bear\nand rabbit to defend itself from him, and with a tremendous blow of his\nsword he cut off the beast\u2019s head.\n\n\u201cVictory, victory!\u201d cried the soldier and the princess.\n\nBut the assailants did not escape without injuries. The bear and rabbit\nhad their skins torn, and were much fatigued, and the soldier and the\nprincess were nearly overcome with the dragon\u2019s sulphurous breath. In\norder to have something to show to the king as a proof that the beast\nhad been vanquished, the soldier cut out the dragon\u2019s tongue and put it\nin a bag to carry along.\n\nEvening was near, and they could journey no farther that day. Therefore,\nthey looked around, seeking some place that would afford shelter for the\nnight. The dragon\u2019s cave was too foul, and it seemed necessary they\nshould sleep on the open plain. But the bear rolled together several\nboulders in a half circle to keep off the wind, and in the protection of\nthese they all gathered to await the morning, except the horse, which\nwas tethered at a little remove. The rabbit served as a pillow for the\nprincess, and the bear curled down at her feet to keep her warm. Before\ngoing to sleep they talked about the events of the day and their plans\nfor the future. One thing they settled then and there to the\nsatisfaction of all concerned, and this was that the soldier should\nmarry the princess.\n\nIt happened that a charcoal-burner, whose curiosity was keener than his\nfear, ventured on to the plain in the late evening, hoping to learn the\nfate of the princess. As he was prowling about he discovered the dragon\nwith its severed head, and presently he heard a sound of voices and\napproached the group where the soldier and his friends had established\nthemselves. He hid behind a boulder and listened to the conversation and\ndetermined to profit by it. When they were all fast asleep he stole\nsoftly into the midst of the group, and cut off the soldier\u2019s head. Then\nhe carried away the princess to his hut on the borders of the plain.\nAfterward he returned and secured the head of the dragon.\n\nIn the morning he washed his hands and face, brushed his hair, put on\nhis best clothes, and took the princess to her father the king and said\nhe was the conqueror of the dragon. The king had promised his daughter\nshould marry the man, whoever he might be, that should deliver her from\nthe dreadful beast. So, after some consultation, the day following was\nappointed for the wedding. But the princess protested that the\ncharcoal-burner was not her deliverer. However, as he had the head of\nthe dragon to show, no one paid much attention to what she said.\n\nWhen the bear and the rabbit awoke after a long night\u2019s sleep they were\nmuch astonished to see that the princess was gone, and that their\nmaster\u2019s head was cut off. \u201cHow is it, bear,\u201d said the rabbit, \u201cthat\nwith such things happening you did not awake?\u201d\n\n\u201cI was very weary,\u201d replied the bear, \u201cand it seems you slept just as\nsoundly.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe first thing to be done,\u201d said the rabbit, \u201cis to put our master\u2019s\nhead on his shoulders and bring him to life. Then we will search for the\nprincess. Luckily I know where to get some magic earth that will restore\nour master, and I will go after it at once.\u201d\n\nThe rabbit scurried off while the bear stood on guard. In time, the\nrabbit returned with the magic earth. The bear fitted the soldier\u2019s head\nto his body, and the rabbit rubbed the magic earth on the wound.\nImmediately the soldier was made whole, and he opened his eyes and sat\nup. \u201cAh,\u201d said he, \u201cHow well I have slept! I think from the look of the\nsun it must now be afternoon. But where is the princess?\u201d\n\nThey told him all that had occurred, and he was very much troubled. \u201cYou\nneed not worry,\u201d said the rabbit; \u201cwe will find the princess soon, I\npromise you.\u201d\n\nWithout delay they set off to go to the royal city, and by night they\ndrew near the king\u2019s palace and stopped in a small wood. \u201cYou two remain\nhere,\u201d said the rabbit, \u201cand I will find out what is happening in the\npalace.\u201d\n\nThe rabbit went on and crept into the palace, where he discovered that a\ngreat feast was in progress celebrating the return of the princess. One\nthing only marred the pleasure of those who participated, and that was\nher persistence in saying that she did not want the charcoal-burner for\na husband, and that he was not her deliverer. The rabbit entered the\ndining-hall. \u201cLook, look! a rabbit!\u201d cried the guests.\n\nThe servants hastened to pursue it, but it ran and dodged until it came\nnear where the princess sat. Then it suddenly sprang into her lap and\nsaid in a low voice: \u201cMy master, who rescued you from the dragon, is not\nfar away. He loves you always.\u201d\n\nThe princess was overjoyed. She caressed the rabbit, and was giving it\nsweetmeats when the charcoal-burner began to shout, \u201cDrive away the ugly\nbeast!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat harm has it done?\u201d said the princess, protecting it with her arms.\n\n\u201cDrive it away quickly, I tell you,\u201d the charcoal-burner continued. \u201cIt\nis a sorcerer. Kill it!\u201d\n\nThe servants approached armed with brooms and sticks, and the rabbit\ntook to flight and leaped lightly through the window.\n\nNext day the wedding guests assembled, but just when everything was\nready for the ceremony the soldier, followed by the bear and the rabbit,\nentered the palace. The guests at this sight were about to stampede to\nsafety, but the soldier raised his hand, and said, \u201cLet no one attempt\nto leave the hall, or he will have to deal with my friend here.\u201d\n\nSo saying, he pulled the bear\u2019s ear, and the bear growled threateningly.\nThen the soldier turned to the king and asked: \u201cDo you believe that it\nwas this ugly charcoal-burner who rescued your daughter from the dragon?\nAnd are you willing to give him your daughter to be his wife?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am a man of my word,\u201d responded the king.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the soldier, \u201cbut the charcoal-burner did not deliver\nthe princess from the monster. It was I, though I must add that I had\nthe help of these two friends, the bear and the rabbit.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut the charcoal-burner has given us proof we cannot doubt,\u201d said the\nking. \u201cHe brought with him the dragon\u2019s head.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet the head be produced, and I will prove to you that he is a fraud,\u201d\nsaid the soldier.\n\nThe king dispatched a servant to fetch the head, and when it had been\nbrought the soldier said: \u201cNow open the dragon\u2019s mouth. See if it has a\ntongue.\u201d\n\nThe servant opened the monster\u2019s mouth. Sure enough, there was no\ntongue.\n\n\u201cWhy, how does that happen?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cI cut out the tongue immediately after I killed the beast,\u201d explained\nthe soldier, \u201cand here it is.\u201d\n\nFrom a bag he carried he shook the tongue out on a table.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d cried the princess, \u201cit is he who was my deliverer, and it is he\nwho shall be my husband.\u201d\n\nThe charcoal-burner saw that everything was going against him, and he\nslipped out of sight in the crowd and got away unobserved out of the\npalace. When search was made for him he was not to be found. \u201cWell,\u201d\nsaid the king, \u201cI\u2019m glad he is gone. It is a good riddance, and now let\nus have the wedding.\u201d\n\nSo the soldier married the princess, and the event was celebrated with\nholidays and banquets throughout the kingdom.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE FAIRIES OF MERLIN\u2019S CRAG\n\n\nIN Scotland, long, long ago, there were two brothers named Donald and\nJohn Gilray. They lived together in a little cottage and worked for a\nfarmer whose house was about a mile distant. One day the farmer sent\nthem to dig peat turf in a pasture near a wild, rocky bluff known as\nMerlin\u2019s Crag. After working for a considerable time, they saw coming\ntoward them from the crag a little woman about eighteen inches in\nheight, clad in a green gown, and wearing on her feet a pair of red\nshoes.\n\nShe waved a cane she carried at the astonished laborers, and said: \u201cHow\nwould you like it if my husband was to come and take the roof off from\nyour house as you are taking it off from ours? I command you to put back\nevery turf exactly where you found it.\u201d\n\nThen she left them, and the two men, with fear and trembling, replaced\nthe turfs. That done, they went to their master, and told him what had\nhappened. The farmer only laughed at them. \u201cYou must have fallen asleep\nup there on the moor when you ought to have been working,\u201d said he; \u201cand\nyou have had a bad dream to pay you for your neglect. Take a cart and\nfetch home the turfs you have dug immediately.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe men went back with much reluctance; but nothing unusual happened\nwhile they were in the pasture, and they loaded a cart and drove with it\nto the farm. After they finished their day\u2019s work and were passing\nMerlin\u2019s Crag on their way home in the dusk of evening, they saw streams\nof brilliant light shining forth from innumerable crevices in the black\nrocks. They stopped and gazed. \u201cCome,\u201d said John, \u201clet\u2019s go and find out\nwhat this is all about. Many\u2019s the time we\u2019ve passed here, and we\u2019ve\nnever seen anything like that before.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Donald, \u201cwe\u2019re safer to keep to the highway.\u201d\n\nBut John would not be satisfied with that, and he moved toward the\nlighted crag, and Donald followed. As they drew near they were charmed\nby the most exquisite fiddling they had ever heard. By searching they\nfound an opening in the rocks something like a rude window, and they\nlooked in and saw a company of fairies engaged in a merry dance. Among\nthe rest was the little old woman who had spoken to them on the peat\nbog. John was so overpowered by the enchanting jigs the fiddler was\nplaying that he proposed they should go inside the crag and join in the\nfun.\n\n\u201cWe should never be able to get away,\u201d declared Donald. \u201cI am as fond of\ndancing as anyone, but nothing would tempt me to dance in that company.\u201d\n\nHowever, John was more adventurous than his brother, and every new jig\nthat was played, and every new reel that was danced inspired him with\nadditional ardor. At last he could restrain himself no longer, and he\nleaped through the window into the midst of the dancers.\n\n\u201cWelcome!\u201d cried the old fairy woman, and she held out her hands to him,\nand off they went in a mad whirl.\n\n\u201cHe is there for no good,\u201d said Donald, who still stood at the window.\n\u201cWhat can I do?\u201d\n\nAfter thinking the situation over he began to shout remonstrances to his\nbrother and to beg him to come out. But neither the fairies nor John\nwould pause in their reel, and they only waved their hands, beckoning\nhim to join them. There Donald stayed shouting to his brother until he\nheard a cock crow at his master\u2019s farm. Immediately the lights flashed\nout, the music ceased and he was alone on the side of the wild crag.\n\nHe went back to the farm and told the melancholy tale of poor John\u2019s\nfate. This was soon the talk of all the countryside, and it was\ngenerally agreed that John was lost forever. But one old man who was\nvery wise in fairy lore came to Donald and unfolded a plan for\naccomplishing his brother\u2019s rescue. \u201cMake a little cross out of the wood\nof the rowan tree,\u201d said he, \u201cand carry it in your pocket, and the\nfairies will have no power over you. Then be sure to pass Merlin\u2019s Crag\nevery evening, and when you see it lighted, enter it boldly and claim\nyour brother. If he refuses to go with you, seize him and carry him off\nby force. You need not be afraid, for as long as you have the rowan\ncross in your pocket the fairies will not dare to interfere with you.\u201d\n\nDonald was not so sure about his safety as the old man was, but he was\nwilling to risk much to effect his brother\u2019s rescue. So he agreed to try\nthe experiment, whatever the result might be. He made the rowan cross\nand carried it in his pocket, and every evening he passed Merlin\u2019s Crag\nwatching for the lights. But the crag was perfectly dark until just a\nyear after the day when the brothers first saw the fairies. That evening\nDonald saw the lights glimmering from the crevices of the rocks, and he\nat once left the road and climbed up till he found the very window that\nhe had looked through a twelve-month previous.\n\nThere was the same scene within of merry dancers, and the music was just\nas stirring and delightful. In the midst of the dancers was John Gilray\nwhirling about with the little old fairy, exactly as his brother had\nlast seen him. Donald crept through the window and advanced with\ntrembling footsteps. His courage returned as he went on, and presently\nhe made a sudden dash in among the dancers and seized his brother by the\ncollar.\n\n\u201cYou must come with me,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cYes, yes,\u201d said John, \u201cI\u2019ll come, and you need not handle me so\nroughly. But first let me finish this dance. What is your hurry anyhow?\nI haven\u2019t been here a half hour yet!\u201d\n\n\u201cA half hour!\u201d exclaimed Donald. \u201cYou have been here a whole year.\u201d\n\nJohn refused to believe this, but Donald dragged him away and got him\noutside. The little old fairy woman looked forth at them through the\nwindow. \u201cGood-by,\u201d she said, waving her hand to John. \u201cWe have had you\nhere a whole year, a prisoner in our dance. That is your punishment for\ntaking the roof off our house. But the grass has again grown green on\nthe spot where you removed the turf, and the roof is nearly as good as\never. So you can go if you choose, but I warn you not to be digging your\nturf there again.\u201d\n\nShe waved her hand once more, and suddenly the lights were gone, and the\nrocks of Merlin\u2019s Crag were as black and solid as ever. It was now\nmidnight, and the two brothers went home rejoicing.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE LITTLE BOY AND THE BIG COW\n\n\nONCE upon a time there was a little boy who had a big cow, and he fed\nher and took good care of her and milked her twice a day. Everything\nwent on very well until one morning he went out to milk her, and said:\n\n \u201cHold still, my cow, my dearie,\n And fill my bucket with milk,\n And if you\u2019ll not be contrary\n I\u2019ll give you a gown of silk.\u201d\n\nBut the cow wouldn\u2019t stand still. \u201cLook at that, now!\u201d said the little\nboy. \u201cWhat am I to do with such a contrary cow?\u201d\n\nSo off he went to his mother at the house. \u201cMother,\u201d said he, \u201cthe cow\nwon\u2019t stand still, and I can\u2019t milk her.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said his mother, \u201cgo to the cow, and tell her there\u2019s a weary,\nweary lady with long yellow hair sits weeping for a sup of milk.\u201d\n\nBack he ran to the cow and repeated to her his mother\u2019s words, but the\ncow wouldn\u2019t stand still. Then he went to the house again and told his\nmother.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said his mother, \u201ctell the cow there\u2019s a fine, fine laddie from\nthe wars beside the weary, weary lady with golden hair, who is weeping\nfor a sup of milk.\u201d\n\nOff he went and repeated to the cow his mother\u2019s words, but she wouldn\u2019t\nstand still, and he hurried to the house and told his mother.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said his mother, \u201ctell the cow there\u2019s a sharp, sharp sword at\nthe belt of the fine, fine laddie from the wars, who is beside the\nweary, weary lady with golden hair, who sits weeping for a sup of milk.\u201d\n\nHe told the cow, but she wouldn\u2019t stand still, and once more he came to\nthe house to advise with his mother.\n\n\u201cRun quick,\u201d said she, \u201cand tell the cow that her head is going to be\ncut off by the sharp, sharp sword in the hands of the fine, fine laddie\nfrom the wars, if she doesn\u2019t give the sup of milk for which the weary,\nweary lady weeps.\u201d\n\nThe little boy went and told the cow, and she concluded she had better\nstand still. So the little boy milked the big cow, and the weary, weary\nlady with the golden hair stopped her weeping and got her sup of milk,\nand the fine, fine laddie from the wars did not have to cut off the\ncow\u2019s head with his sharp, sharp sword. After that everything went well\nthat didn\u2019t go ill.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n A BOTTLE OF BRAINS\n\n\nONCE there was a simple-minded fellow who wanted to buy a bottle of\nbrains, for he was always getting into scrapes through his foolishness,\nand being laughed at by every one. Folk told him he could get whatever\nhe wanted from the wise woman, who lived at the top of the hill, and\ndealt in potions and herbs and magic spells, and could tell a person all\nthat was going to happen to him. So the simple lad asked his mother if\nhe could seek the wise woman and buy a bottle of brains.\n\n\u201cTo be sure,\u201d said she, \u201cfor you are in sore need of them, my son; and\nif I should die, who would take care of a poor, simple fellow such as\nyou are. But mind your manners, and speak fair to her, my lad. These\nwise folk are easily mispleased.\u201d\n\nAfter he had eaten supper, off he went to the wise woman on the hill,\nand there he found her sitting in her kitchen by the fire stirring a big\npot.\n\n\u201cGood evening, missis,\u201d said he, as he entered the door; \u201cit\u2019s a fine\nnight.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said she, and went on stirring.\n\n\u201cBut it will maybe rain,\u201d said he, fidgeting from one foot to the other.\n\n\u201cMaybe,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cAnd perhaps it won\u2019t,\u201d said he, and looked out of the window.\n\n\u201cPerhaps not,\u201d said she.\n\nHe scratched his head and twisted his hat.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said he, \u201cI can\u2019t think of anything else about the weather, but\nlet me see\u2014the crops are getting on fine.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cAnd\u2014and\u2014the beasts are fattening,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cThey are,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cAnd\u2014and\u2014\u201d said he, and came to a stop. But after a few moments he\nremarked: \u201cI reckon I\u2019ve talked enough for politeness, and now we\u2019ll\ntackle business. Have you any brains to sell?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat depends on what you want,\u201d said she. \u201cIf you are after king\u2019s\nbrains, or soldier\u2019s brains, or schoolmaster\u2019s brains, I do not keep\nthem.\u201d\n\n\u201cMercy, no!\u201d he exclaimed, \u201cI\u2019m not after such as that, but just\nordinary brains\u2014fit for any simple fellow\u2014the same as every one has\nabout here\u2014something plain and common-like, and only a bottle full.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the wise woman, \u201cI might manage it if so be you\u2019ll\nhelp yourself.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat would you have me do?\u201d he asked.\n\nShe looked into the pot before replying, and then said, \u201cBring me the\nheart of the thing you like best, and I\u2019ll tell you where to get your\nbottle of brains.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut how can I do that?\u201d he questioned anxiously.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s not for me to say,\u201d she answered. \u201cFind out for yourself, my\nlad, if you do not want to live to be a simpleton all your days. Now I\nmust attend to other matters; so good evening to you,\u201d and she bowed him\nout and shut the door.\n\nOff went the lad to his mother and told her what the wise woman had\nsaid; \u201cand I reckon I\u2019ll have to kill our pig,\u201d he added, \u201cfor I like\nfat pork better than anything else.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen kill the pig,\u201d advised his mother, \u201cfor certainly it will be a\nstrange and good thing for you if you can buy a bottle of brains and be\nable to take care of yourself.\u201d\n\nSo he killed the pig, and the next day he again visited the wise woman\nat her cottage on the hill. There she sat by the hearth, reading in a\ngreat book.\n\n\u201cGood evening, missis,\u201d said he, \u201cI\u2019ve brought you the heart of the\nthing I like best of all. It is the heart of our pig.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs that so?\u201d said she, and looked at him through her spectacles. \u201cThen\ntell me this\u2014what runs without feet?\u201d\n\nHe thought and thought and thought, but he could not tell.\n\n\u201cGo your way,\u201d said she. \u201cYou have not fetched me the right thing yet,\nand I have no brains for you today.\u201d\n\nSo saying, she clapped her book together, and turned her back, and the\nlad went to tell his mother.\n\nAs he drew near to the house, out ran some of the neighbors to inform\nhim that his mother was dying. When he went in, she smiled at him\nfeebly, and soon, without speaking a word, breathed her last. He left\nthe room and sat down on a bench just outside of the house door, and the\nmore he thought about his mother\u2019s death, the worse he felt. He\nremembered how she had taken care of him ever since he was a tiny child,\nhelping him with his lessons, cooking his food, mending his clothes, and\nbearing with his foolishness.\n\n\u201cOh, mother, mother!\u201d he sighed, \u201cwho will take care of me? You have\nleft me all alone, and what shall I do now to get that bottle of\nbrains?\u201d\n\nAfter the funeral was over he went once more to consult the wise woman,\nand he told her of his mother\u2019s sudden death, and how he had now more\nneed than ever of the bottle of brains.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said she, \u201cI can do nothing for you yet, unless you can answer\nme one more riddle that I have to ask. What is it that is yellow and\nshining, but is not gold?\u201d\n\nHe pondered on her question for a long time without being able to give\nany answer, and at last she shut the door in his face, and he walked\nsadly away. Pretty soon he sat down by the roadside and began to cry,\nand he fairly howled till the tears ran down into his mouth. While he\nwas in the midst of his grief along came a lass who lived near by, and\nshe stopped and looked at him. \u201cWhat\u2019s troubling you?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cOh dear!\u201d said he, \u201cI\u2019ve killed my pig and lost my mother, and I\u2019m\nnothing but a simpleton.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s bad,\u201d said she; \u201cand haven\u2019t you anybody to look after you?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said he, \u201cand what is worst of all I don\u2019t know how to buy a\nbottle of brains.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d said she; and down she sat by him, and he\ntold her all about the wise woman, and the pig, and his mother, and the\nriddles, and that he was alone in the world.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n The lass stopped and looked at him\n]\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said she, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t mind looking after you myself.\u201d\n\n\u201cCould you do it?\u201d said he, wiping away his tears and gazing at her\nhopefully.\n\n\u201cOh, yes,\u201d said she, \u201cfolk say that simpletons make good husbands, and I\nbelieve I\u2019ll have you, if you are willing.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan you cook?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cAnd scrub?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cSurely,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cAnd mend my clothes?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cI can,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cI reckon you\u2019ll suit me as well as anybody,\u201d said he, \u201cbut what shall I\ndo about getting a bottle of brains from the wise woman?\u201d\n\n\u201cWait a bit,\u201d said she, \u201cand perhaps we can show her that it will not\nmatter if you are a simpleton so long as you have me to look after you.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right,\u201d said he.\n\nThen off they trudged and got married. Afterward they went to the house\nwhere the youth\u2019s mother had lived, and his wife kept it so clean and\nneat, and cooked his food so nice that one evening he said to her,\n\u201cLass, I\u2019m thinking I like you best of anything.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m glad to hear it,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d said he, \u201chave I got to kill you, do you think, and take your\nheart to the wise woman for that bottle of brains?\u201d\n\n\u201cLaw, no!\u201d she exclaimed, looking scared, \u201cI will not have that, but you\nmight take me as I am, heart and all, and I\u2019ll wager I can help you read\nher riddles.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you think so?\u201d said he. \u201cI\u2019m afraid they are too hard for women\nfolk.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet us see,\u201d said she. \u201cWhat was the first?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat runs without feet?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cWhy, water,\u201d she said.\n\n\u201cSo it does,\u201d said he, and clapped his hands gleefully; \u201cand what is\nyellow and shining but is not gold?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, the sun,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cFaith, it is!\u201d said he. \u201cCome, we\u2019ll go to the wise woman at once,\u201d and\noff they went.\n\nWhen they climbed the hill they found the wise woman sitting in her\ncottage doorway. \u201cGood evening, missis,\u201d said the lad, \u201cI reckon I\u2019ve\nfetched you the right thing this time.\u201d\n\nThe wise woman looked at them both and wiped her spectacles. Then she\nsaid, \u201cCan you tell me what it is that has first no legs, and afterward\ntwo legs, and ends with four legs?\u201d\n\nThe lad scratched his head, and thought and thought and thought, but he\ncouldn\u2019t tell.\n\nAt last the lass whispered in his ear, \u201cIt\u2019s a tadpole.\u201d\n\nThen he turned to the wise woman and said, \u201cPerhaps it might be a\ntadpole.\u201d\n\nThe wise woman nodded her head. \u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d said she, \u201cand you\u2019ve\ngot your bottle of brains already.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere?\u201d asked he, looking about and feeling in his pockets.\n\n\u201cIn your wife\u2019s head,\u201d she answered. \u201cThe only cure for a simpleton is a\ngood wife to look after him, and that you\u2019ve got. So good evening to\nyou.\u201d\n\nShe nodded to them, and got up and went into the house. Then they walked\nhome together, and he never wanted to buy a bottle of brains again, for\nhis wife had enough for both of them.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE PEDDLER OF SWAFFHAM\n\n\nIN the old days, when London Bridge was lined with shops from one end to\nthe other, and salmon swam under the arches, there lived in the town of\nSwaffham, about a hundred miles northward from London, a poor peddler.\nHe had much ado to make a living, trudging about with his pack on his\nback and his dog at his heels, and at the close of each day\u2019s labor he\nwas only too glad to lie down and sleep.\n\nIt so happened one night that he dreamed a dream; and in the dream he\nsaw the great bridge of London Town, and a voice seemed to tell him that\nif he went thither he would have joyful news. He made little account of\nthe dream, but on the following night it came back to him, and likewise\non the third night. Then he said within himself, \u201cI must needs find out\nwhat truth there is in this matter.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\nSo off he trudged to London Town. Long was the way, and right glad was\nhe when he stood on the great bridge and saw the tall houses to the\nright and left of the roadway where the teams and the people went and\ncame, and had glimpses of the river and of the boats and ships moving\nabout on it. All day long he paced to and fro, but he heard nothing to\nyield him comfort. Again, on the morrow, he stood and he gazed, and he\npaced afresh the length of London Bridge, but naught did he hear in the\nway of glad news.\n\nThe third day came, and there he was again on the bridge. He was looking\nabout when a shopkeeper, standing at the door of his shop close by,\nspoke to him, saying: \u201cFriend, this is the third day I have seen you\nloitering about here. I wonder much what object you have in so doing.\nHave you wares to sell?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d quoth the peddler.\n\n\u201cI have not observed you beg for alms,\u201d said the shopkeeper.\n\n\u201cI am not so poor that I would need to do that,\u201d responded the peddler,\n\u201cand I shall never beg so long as I can provide for myself.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen what, I pray you, do you want here?\u201d inquired the shopkeeper, \u201cand\nwhat is your business?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, kind sir,\u201d responded the peddler, \u201cto tell the truth, I dreamed\nthat if I came thither I would have good news.\u201d\n\nRight heartily did the shopkeeper laugh. \u201cAh!\u201d said he, \u201cyou must be a\nfool to go on a journey with no better excuse than that. I must tell\nyou, my poor, silly country fellow, that I also dream at night, and\nthrice recently have I dreamed that I was in Swaffham, a place I never\nhave even been near in my life, and I thought I was in a field behind a\npeddler\u2019s house, and in the field was a great oak tree, and a voice\nseemed to tell me that if I dug beneath that tree I would find a rich\ntreasure. But do you fancy I am so lacking in sense as to undertake a\nlong and wearisome journey because of a foolish dream? No, my good\nfellow; and now I would have you take advice from a wiser man than\nyourself. Get you home and mind your business.\u201d\n\nThe peddler answered never a word, but was exceedingly glad in himself\nand returned home speedily. As soon as possible he dug under the great\noak, and there he found a prodigious treasure. It made him very rich,\nbut he did not forget his duty in the pride of his wealth; for he\nrebuilt the Swaffham church. When he died a statue of him was put in the\nchurch, all in stone, with his pack on his back, and his dog at his\nheels. There it stands to this day a witness to the truth of this story.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE ORANGE FAIRY\n\n\nIN the olden time there was once a sultan whose days were joyless\nbecause he had no son. Once he was out walking with his vizier, and they\npassed out of the city and went on and on until they came to a wild,\ncraggy valley. In this valley they sat down to rest. Suddenly the ground\nwas shaken as if by an earthquake, there was a clap of thunder, and a\nyellow-robed, yellow-slippered, white-bearded dervish stood before them.\nThe emperor and the vizier were so frightened they could not stir, but\nwhen the dervish addressed them with the words, \u201cPeace be unto you,\u201d\nthey took heart and responded courteously, \u201cUnto you be peace.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is your errand here, my lord sultan?\u201d asked the dervish.\n\n\u201cIf you know that I am a sultan, you must also know my errand,\u201d the\nemperor replied.\n\nThen the dervish took from his bosom an apple, presented it to the\nsultan, and said, \u201cLet the sultana eat half of this, and eat the other\nhalf yourself.\u201d So saying, he disappeared.\n\nThe sultan went home, and he and the sultana each ate half the apple,\nand within a year a little prince was born to them. So joyful was the\nsultan over this event, that he scattered gold coins among the poor,\nrestored to freedom his slaves, and gave a magnificent banquet to his\ncourtiers.\n\nThe years passed until the prince had reached the age of fourteen, and\nstill his parents fondled him and treated him like a child. One day he\nsaid to his father, \u201cI want you to make me a little marble palace, and\nlet there be two fountains in it, one of which shall run with honey, and\nthe other with butter.\u201d\n\nSo dearly did the sultan love his son, that he had the little marble\npalace made with the two fountains in it just as the lad had desired.\nWhen the sultan\u2019s son went into his completed palace and sat looking at\nthe bubbling fountains of butter and honey, an old woman came with a\npitcher in her hand and would have filled it at one of the fountains.\nBut the sultan\u2019s son threw a stone at the old woman\u2019s pitcher and broke\nit in pieces. Then the old woman went away without saying a word.\n\nNext day she was there again with a pitcher, which she was about to fill\nwhen the prince threw a stone and shattered it. Then the old woman\nsilently departed. On the third day also she came to fill a pitcher, and\nthe prince threw a stone that broke the pitcher to fragments. \u201cO youth!\u201d\nsaid she, \u201c\u2019tis the will of God that you shall fall in love with an\norange fairy.\u201d With these words she quitted him.\n\nFrom that time on the prince gradually became pale and thin. The sultan\nobserved this and sent for the wise men and the doctors, but they could\nnot cure the prince of his illness. At last the youth said to his\nfather: \u201cMy dear daddy, these wise men of yours labor in vain to help\nme. I am in love with an orange fairy, and I shall never be better till\nI find her.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are the only child I have in the wide world,\u201d groaned the sultan.\n\u201cIf you leave me to search for this fairy, perchance you would never\nreturn, and my happiness would be destroyed.\u201d\n\nTime went on and the prince continued to slowly wither away, and he\nbecame so listless that most of the time he lay with closed eyes as if\nin a heavy sleep. So his father saw it would be best for the youth to go\nand, if possible, find the orange fairy. As soon as he had the sultan\u2019s\npermission, the prince went away over the mountains and through the\nvalleys. After traveling for many days he came to a vast plain, and in\nthe midst of it met a giantess as tall as a church spire. She was\nchewing gum, and the sound of her chewing could be heard a half-hour\u2019s\njourney off.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cGood day, madam,\u201d said the youth.\n\n\u201cGood day, little sonny,\u201d she responded. \u201cIf you had not spoken so\npolitely, I would have gobbled you up. Whither are you going?\u201d\n\nThe youth heaved a sigh, and said, \u201cI have fallen violently in love with\nan orange fairy, but I don\u2019t know where to find her.\u201d\n\n\u201cNeither do I know,\u201d said the giantess. \u201cBut I have forty sons, and they\ngo up and down the earth more than I do. Perhaps they can tell you\nsomething of the matter.\u201d\n\nSo the giantess took the prince to her home, and toward evening, when it\nbegan to grow dusk, she gave him a tap on the head and turned him into a\nbroom and placed him beside the door. Immediately afterward the forty\nsons arrived, and as they came in they said, \u201cMother, we smell man\u2019s\nflesh.\u201d\n\n\u201cNonsense!\u201d said the mother. \u201cSit down to supper.\u201d\n\nThey were busy eating and drinking when she said to them, \u201cIf a man\nshould come to our dwelling as my guest, how would you treat him?\u201d\n\n\u201cLike a brother, of course,\u201d they replied.\n\nThen their mother tapped the broom, and there stood the sultan\u2019s son.\n\u201cThis is my guest,\u201d said she.\n\nThey greeted him cordially, inquired after his health, and asked him to\nsit down and eat with them. \u201cBut he does not care for your sort of\nfood,\u201d said the giantess. \u201cHe eats fowls, beef, mutton, and such\nthings.\u201d\n\nSo one of the sons jumped up and went out and slew a sheep, and brought\nit in and laid it before the prince. \u201cThat won\u2019t do,\u201d said the giantess.\n\u201cMen do not eat mutton until it is cooked.\u201d\n\nThey therefore skinned the sheep, roasted it, and again placed it before\nhim. He ate enough to satisfy his hunger, and stopped, but the sons\nexclaimed, \u201cWhy, that\u2019s nothing!\u201d and urged him to eat more.\n\n\u201cNo, my sons,\u201d said their mother, \u201che has eaten all he needs.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet me see what this roasted sheep-meat is like,\u201d said one of the sons.\nSo he took it up and devoured the whole of it in a couple of mouthfuls.\n\nThe prince stayed with the giants over night, and in the morning the\ngiantess said to her sons: \u201cOur guest is greatly troubled because he has\nfallen in love with an orange fairy and knows not where to find her. Can\nyou show him the way?\u201d\n\nThen the youngest of the forty sons leaped up with a shout of joy and\nsaid, \u201cI know where she is!\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said his mother, \u201ctake this youth to his fairy that his\nheart may be at rest.\u201d\n\nSo the youngest of the giant brothers took charge of the prince, and\nthey went merrily away together and traveled until at last the giant\nsaid: \u201cWe shall come presently to a large garden in which there is a\nspring. Stand beside the spring and do as I tell you, and then lay hold\nof what you see in the water.\u201d\n\nSoon they came to the garden, and the prince went and stood at the\nmargin of the spring. \u201cShut your eyes and open your eyes,\u201d said the\ngiant.\n\nThe prince obeyed, and then he saw an orange bobbing up and down on the\nsurface of the water. He at once reached down and grasped it. \u201cNow,\u201d\nsaid the giant, \u201ctake care not to cut open the orange in any place where\nthere is no water, or things will go badly with you. That orange\ncontains your fairy.\u201d\n\nThen they parted, one to go to the right and the other to the left. The\nsultan\u2019s son went on and on and on, and in the course of time came to a\nclear spring beneath the wide-spreading branches of a big tree. He drank\nof the water and said to himself, \u201cHere is a good place to cut open my\norange.\u201d\n\nScarcely had he cut through the peel when out popped a lovely damsel.\nNot even the full moon could be more beautiful. She immediately called\nfor water, and he gave her some from the spring. After talking together\nfor a time he told her he would go to a town that was near and hire a\ncarriage to take them to his father\u2019s palace.\n\nHe had not been gone long when she observed some one coming, and she\nclimbed into the tree and concealed herself in the leafage on a branch\ndirectly over the spring. The person she saw approaching was a negro\nmaidservant, who came to fill a jar with water. As this servant looked\ninto the spring she saw the reflection of the damsel in the watery\nmirror. \u201cWhy!\u201d said she in surprise, \u201cI did not know I looked like that.\nI am much more beautiful than my mistress. She ought to fetch water for\nme, and not I for her.\u201d\n\nSo saying, she gave the jar a bang that broke it to bits, and then she\nwent home. Her mistress asked where the jar of water was, and the\nservant replied, \u201cI am much more beautiful than you, and you must do the\nwater-fetching in future.\u201d\n\nHer mistress picked up a mirror and held it before the maid. \u201cLook in\nthis,\u201d she said. \u201cI think you must have taken leave of your senses.\u201d\n\nThe negress looked into the mirror and saw that she was as black as\never. Without another word she got a jar and went again to the spring.\nBut there she saw the reflection of the face of the damsel who was in\nthe tree, and again she fancied it was her own. \u201cI was right after all,\u201d\nsaid she. \u201cI am ever so much more beautiful than my mistress.\u201d\n\nSo she smashed the jar and went home. Her mistress asked her why she had\nnot brought the water. \u201cBecause I am ever so much more beautiful than\nyou,\u201d said the maid. \u201cTherefore you must fetch the water for me.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are downright crazy,\u201d declared her mistress, and once more produced\nthe mirror.\n\nWhen the negress saw her face in it she took another jar and for the\nthird time went to the spring. But there the damsel\u2019s face appeared, and\nthe negress was about to break the jar when the fairy addressed her from\nthe tree, saying: \u201cIt is my face you see in the water.\u201d\n\nThe negress looked up and saw the wondrously beautiful damsel. \u201cWho are\nyou and why are you there?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cI am a fairy,\u201d replied the damsel, \u201cand I am waiting for a prince who\nhas gone to the town near by after a carriage. When he returns we shall\nride away to his father\u2019s palace.\u201d\n\nThe negress climbed up beside the maiden, and said: \u201cDear lady, you will\nget a cramp from crouching here. Rest your head against me.\u201d\n\nSo the damsel rested her head on the shoulder of the negress, who took a\nneedle from her dress and slyly pricked the damsel\u2019s neck. Instantly the\norange fairy became a bird, and pr-r-r! she was gone, leaving the\nnegress alone in the tree.\n\nBy and by the prince came back with a fine coach. He looked up into the\ntree and saw the black face. \u201cWhat has happened to you?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cThat is a nice question,\u201d she retorted. \u201cWhy did you leave me here all\nday till the hot sun turned me black?\u201d\n\nThe changed aspect of his fairy was very disconcerting to the prince,\nbut he helped the black damsel descend from the tree and took her in the\ncoach straight to his father\u2019s palace. Every one was eager to see the\nfairy he had brought home, and when they saw the negress they were\namazed that he could have lost his heart to what was apparently an\nordinary black servant maid.\n\n\u201cBut she is not what she seems,\u201d declared the prince. \u201cI had to leave\nher in a tree while I went to get a coach, and she was blackened there\nby the rays of the sun. She will soon grow white again, and then I will\nmarry her.\u201d\n\nA fine garden adjoined the palace, and one day the orange-bird came to\nit, lit on a tree, and called down to the gardener.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want with me?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cI wish you would tell me what the sultan\u2019s son is doing,\u201d said the\nbird.\n\n\u201cHe is doing no harm that I know of,\u201d replied the gardener.\n\n\u201cAnd what is the black damsel doing?\u201d the bird asked.\n\n\u201cOh, I suppose she is sitting with him as usual,\u201d the gardener answered.\n\nThen the bird sang these words:\n\n \u201cThough she sits by his side,\n She\u2019ll not long there abide.\n She makes a false showing\n And trouble is growing.\n When I light on a tree\n The tree dies, as you\u2019ll see.\u201d\n\nThe bird flew away, but the next day it came again and asked about the\nsultan\u2019s son and the black damsel, and repeated the song it sang before.\nIn like manner it came the third day, and each time the tree it rested\non withered and died. The afternoon of the third day the prince walked\nin the garden, and he observed the withered trees. \u201cYou ought to take\nbetter care of the trees,\u201d said he to the gardener. \u201cDo you not see that\nthey are withering away?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey were all right,\u201d said the gardener, \u201cuntil a few days ago a little\nbird began coming here and asking about you and the damsel you brought\nhome in the coach. It said that every tree it lit on should wither.\u201d\n\n\u201cSmear the trees with bird-lime,\u201d ordered the prince, \u201cand if you catch\nthe bird, bring it to me.\u201d\n\nThe gardener used the bird-lime, and the next day caught the bird. Then\nhe put it in a cage, and carried it to the prince. The black damsel was\nwith the prince, and as soon as she saw the bird she knew it was the\norange fairy. Later in the day she pretended to be very ill, and she\ndeclared that she would never get well unless she could have such a bird\nas was in the gardener\u2019s cage to eat. The prince said she might do as\nshe pleased with the caged bird. So she directed that it should be\nkilled and cooked and brought to her, and that the feathers and whatever\nshe did not eat should be burned.\n\nAll was done as she wished, except that one feather slipped unnoticed\ninto a crack in the kitchen hearth. After the black damsel had eaten the\nflesh of the bird, she arose from her bed completely recovered from her\nillness.\n\nA certain old woman who had a cottage in the vicinity sometimes came to\nthe palace kitchen to see a daughter who worked there. One day she\nnoticed a bright feather in a crack of the hearth. She poked it out with\nher knitting-needle, and carried it home and put it on a rafter. The\nnext time she went to the palace, the bird\u2019s feather leaped down from\nthe rafter, shivered a little, and then turned into a lovely damsel.\nThis damsel tidied the room, cooked dinner and set it on the table, and\nafterward became a feather and leaped back to the rafter. When the old\nwoman came home she was greatly astonished at what she saw, and she\nsearched the house backward and forward to see if she could discover the\nperson who had been helping her, but no one could she find.\n\nIt was the same the next time she went to the palace\u2014the feather became\na damsel and did all the household work. \u201cI really must find out the\nsecret of this,\u201d thought the old woman when she returned.\n\nSo the following morning she went out as if she were going away, but\nleft the door ajar and hid where she could peep through a crack. Soon\nshe perceived there was a damsel in the room putting things in order and\ncooking the dinner. Then in she dashed and seized hold of her. \u201cWho are\nyou?\u201d she demanded, \u201cand whence do you come?\u201d\n\nThe damsel told her sad story, and the old woman said: \u201cDistress\nyourself no more, my lass. I\u2019ll put your affairs to rights this very\nday.\u201d\n\nThen off she went to the palace and invited the prince to call on her\nthat evening. He was now so tired of the black damsel that he was glad\nof any excuse to get away from her, and the evening found him punctually\nat the old woman\u2019s. They sat down to supper, and presently the damsel\nbrought in the coffee. When the sultan\u2019s son saw her he nearly fainted.\nAs soon as he recovered himself a little, and the maiden had left the\nroom, he turned to the old woman and asked, \u201cWho is that damsel?\u201d\n\n\u201cShe is the orange fairy,\u201d replied the old woman.\n\n\u201cI thought she could be no other!\u201d he exclaimed, and he rose from the\ntable and ran to where the damsel was and took her in his arms.\n\nPresently they went to the palace together, and the instant the black\nslave girl caught sight of them she knew her perfidy had been\ndiscovered, and she fled from the palace, never to return. Not long\nafterward the prince married his beloved, and there was rejoicing\nthroughout the realm. So they at last had the desire of their hearts,\nand may you have your desire also.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE MYSTERIOUS VOICE\n\n\nONCE upon a time there was a man who above all other things desired to\naccumulate wealth. Day and night he thought of nothing else. Fortune\nfavored him, and as time went on he acquired more and more property\nuntil he became very rich. Now that he had so much to lose he thought it\nwould be a terrible thing to die and leave all his possessions behind.\nSo he made up his mind to seek a land where there was no death.\n\nHe got ready for the journey, took leave of his wife, and started.\nWhenever he came to a new country the first question he asked was\nwhether people died in that land. If he was told that they did, he\ncontinued on his quest. However, he at last reached a country where they\nsaid the people did not even know the meaning of the word death. The\ntraveler was delighted to hear this. \u201cBut surely,\u201d said he, \u201cthere must\nbe great numbers of inhabitants in your land if no one ever dies.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo more than in most lands,\u201d they responded; \u201cfor we would have you\nknow that from time to time a voice is heard calling to this one or\nthat, and whoever is called always goes away and never comes back.\u201d\n\nThe man was amazed that the people should be so stupid as to follow the\nvoice when they knew that if they obeyed its summons they would never\nreturn. He journeyed back to his home, got all his possessions together,\nand went with his wealth and his wife and children to dwell in the\ncountry where the people did not die. To be sure they disappeared one\nafter the other in response to the call of that mysterious voice; but he\nmade up his mind that when he or any of his family heard the voice they\nwould pay no heed to it, however loud its appeal.\n\nAfter they were settled in their new home and had put everything in\norder, he warned his wife and children that they must on no account\nlisten to or obey a strange voice they might some day hear calling them.\n\nFor several years everything went well with them and they lived happily\nin their new home. But one day when they were all sitting together\naround the dining-table the man\u2019s wife suddenly started up, exclaiming:\n\u201cI am coming! I am coming!\u201d\n\nShe looked around the room for her fur coat, and she had picked it up\nand was putting it on, when her husband took firm hold of her hand and\nrestrained her, saying: \u201cDon\u2019t you remember what I told you? If you have\nheard a voice calling to you, stay where you are unless you wish never\nto return.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I am merely going to see why I am wanted,\u201d she said. \u201cI shall soon\ncome back.\u201d\n\nShe struggled to get away and to go where the voice summoned, but he\nwould not release her, and he ordered the servants to shut and bolt all\nthe doors. Then she sank into a chair and said: \u201cI see you will not let\nme go.\u201d\n\nSo her husband thought she was resigned to staying, and that she had\ngotten over her mad impulse to obey the voice. But no sooner did he\nloose his hold on her hand and turn away than she sprang to her feet,\nmade a sudden dash to a door, unbolted and opened it, and darted out. He\nfollowed her and contrived to grasp her fur coat. Thus he was able to\nrestrain her while he implored her not to go, and told her she certainly\nwould never return. She made no reply, but let her arms fall backward,\nand suddenly slipped out of the coat and left it in her husband\u2019s hands.\nThe poor man seemed turned to stone, without power to move, as he gazed\nafter her hurrying away from him, and listened to her calling as she\nran: \u201cI am coming! I am coming!\u201d\n\nWhen she was quite out of sight he went into the house, saying: \u201cIf she\nis so foolish as to wish to leave us forever, I cannot help it. I warned\nand implored her to pay no heed to that voice, however loudly it might\ncall.\u201d\n\nThe rest of the family lived peacefully after this for a number of\nyears. But at last the man was one day at the barber\u2019s being shaved. The\nshop was full of people, and his chin had been covered with lather.\nSuddenly he started up from his chair and called out in a loud voice: \u201cI\nwon\u2019t come! Do you hear? I won\u2019t come!\u201d\n\nThe barber and the other people in the shop listened to him with\nastonishment. Again he looked toward the door, and exclaimed, \u201cI tell\nyou once for all that I do not mean to come; so go away!\u201d\n\nA few minutes later he shouted: \u201cGo away or it will be the worse for\nyou. You may call as much as you like, but you will not get me to come.\u201d\n\nHe grew as angry as if some one was actually standing at the door\ntormenting him. Finally he got up and said to the barber: \u201cGive me the\nrazor you are using. I\u2019ll teach that fellow to leave people alone for\nthe future.\u201d\n\nHe snatched the razor out of the barber\u2019s hand and rushed forth from the\nshop as if he were running after some one. The barber did not wish to\nlose his razor, and he pursued the man to rescue it. They both continued\nat full speed out of the town until they came to the edge of a\nprecipice. Down this the man plunged head foremost, and he never was\nseen again. So he, too, like the others, had been forced, against his\nwill, to follow the voice that called him.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe barber went home congratulating himself that he had escaped the fate\nof the man he had pursued. He told what had happened, and it was noised\nabroad that the people who had gone away and never returned had all\nfallen down that precipice. Hitherto it had not been known where they\nwent, when they heard the voice and obeyed its call. Crowds of people\ncame to examine the fateful precipice where such numbers had\ndisappeared. Yet they could discover no clue as to what had finally\nbecome of the missing ones, for they could see nothing beyond the\ndeclivity but a vast plain that looked as if it had been there from the\nbeginning of the world.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n JOHNNY GLOKE\n\n\nJOHNNY GLOKE was a tailor by trade; but he was a man of too much spirit\nto continue to be a tailor all his days. In fact, he was fonder of\nbasking idly in the sun than of plying the needle and scissors. As time\nwent on he grew more and more discontented, and the desire to follow\nsome other path that would lead to honor and fame finally induced him to\nswear that he would do tailoring no longer. From its resting-place on\nthe wall of his workroom he took down a rusty old sword that had\nbelonged to some of his ancestors, and set out in search of adventures.\n\nAfter traveling a long way, he came to a country that was much troubled\nby two giants, whom no one was bold enough to encounter, or strong\nenough to overcome. He soon learned that the king had offered a great\nreward and the hand of his daughter in marriage to the man who should\nrid his kingdom of this scourge. Johnny\u2019s ardor was roused to attempt\nthe deed, and he offered himself for the service.\n\nThe common haunt of the giants was a certain wood, and Johnny set out\nwith his old sword to perform the task of vanquishing them. When he\nreached the wood, he lay down to think and contrive some plan of action\nby which he could gain an advantage over the giants, for he knew he was\nfar too weak to combat them unless circumstances favored him. While he\nwas still thinking, he saw them coming with a wagon to get wood for\nfuel, and the sight of them sent the cold shivers down his spine, they\nwere so big and had such huge, shaggy heads and tusk-like teeth.\n\nJohnny sought safety by hiding in a hollow tree. Presently he recovered\nsufficiently from his alarm to peep out and watch the two at work; and\nas he watched them a method of getting the better of them occurred to\nhim. He picked up a pebble and threw it so it struck one of the giants a\nsharp blow on the forehead. The giant, smarting with the pain, turned on\nhis companion, and in strong words blamed him for the blow. The other\nangrily denied that he had thrown the pebble.\n\nJohnny kept quiet, but as soon as the giants, still grumbling at each\nother, resumed work, he let fly another pebble. It hit the same giant\nwho had been hit before, and the fellow assailed his companion in fury,\nand they belabored each other till they were utterly tired out. Then\nthey sat down on a log to breathe and rest themselves.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said one of them, \u201call the king\u2019s army has not been able to get\nthe better of us hitherto, but I fancy that an old woman with a broom\nwould be too much for us now.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf that is so,\u201d shouted the former tailor, springing bold as a lion\nfrom his hiding-place, \u201cwhat do you say to being attacked by Johnny\nGloke with his old rusty sword?\u201d\n\nBefore they could recover from the astonishment occasioned by his words\nand sudden appearance he had run to where they were, and in a twinkling\nhe cut off their heads. That done, he went out of the wood and sought\nthe king, who, as soon as he was satisfied that Johnny had killed the\ngiants, gave him the princess in marriage.\n\nFor a time he lived in peace and happiness, and as he did not tell by\nwhat method he had overcome the giants, he was considered a man of great\nprowess and valor. At length a rebellion broke out among the subjects of\nhis father-in-law, and such was Johnny\u2019s reputation that he was promptly\nchosen as the proper person to quell the uprising. His heart sank within\nhim, but he could not refuse and so lose his great name. So he told the\nservants to fetch a horse for him to mount, and they brought the\nfiercest steed that ever saw the sun, and he set forth on his desperate\ntask. He was not accustomed to ride on horseback, and he soon lost all\ncontrol of the fiery creature he bestrode. Away it galloped at full\nspeed in the direction of the rebel army.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nIn its wild career it passed under a gallows that stood by the wayside.\nThe gallows was old and frail, and it had so rotted away at the base\nthat it leaned over the road almost ready to fall. Johnny came into\ncollision with it, and it broke off and lodged squarely on the horse\u2019s\nneck. On rushed the horse at furious speed, carrying both Johnny and the\ngallows toward the king\u2019s enemies. When the rebels saw the horse with\nits strange burden dashing toward them they were seized with terror, and\ncried one to another: \u201cThere comes Johnny Gloke, who unaided killed two\ngiants at the same time. Now he is going to assail us, and is bringing a\ngallows on his horse\u2019s neck to hang us all.\u201d\n\nThen they scattered and fled in dismay, and never stopped till they\nreached their homes. Thus was Johnny Gloke a second time victorious. So\nwhen the old king died every one rejoiced to have Johnny become the\nruler of the kingdom, and he reigned long and well.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n HANS THE HEDGEHOG\n\n\nONCE there was a rich farmer who had an only son named Hans, and from\nhis waist upward the boy was like a hedgehog. He was intelligent, and\ncould talk like any other boy, but of course he could not be treated as\nif he was entirely human. For one thing, he was not allowed to sleep in\na bed on account of his prickles. Instead, they shook down some straw\nfor him behind the stove, and there he spent most of his time until he\nwas eight years old. Then the farmer was one day going to a fair that\nwas to be held in a neighboring town. He asked his wife what he should\nbuy for her, and she said, \u201cSome meat, and a couple of loaves of bread\nfor the house.\u201d\n\nThen he asked the servant maid what she wanted, and she replied, \u201cA pair\nof slippers and some stockings.\u201d\n\nLastly he said, \u201cWell, Hans my Hedgehog, and what shall I bring you?\u201d\n\n\u201cDaddy,\u201d said Hans, \u201cplease bring me some bagpipes.\u201d\n\nWhen the farmer returned home he gave his wife and the maid the things\nthey had asked for, and then he went behind the stove and gave Hans the\nHedgehog the bagpipes.\n\nAs soon as Hans received this gift he said: \u201cDaddy, tomorrow morning I\nwish you would take our largest rooster to the harness-maker and have\nhim fitted with a bridle. I want to use him for my horse.\u201d\n\nSo the next day the farmer had a harness made for the biggest rooster on\nthe farm. Then Hans the Hedgehog mounted on the rooster\u2019s back and rode\naway to the forest. There he made the rooster fly up to the top of a\nlofty tree with him.\n\nFor several years he dwelt, there in the greenwood, and most of the time\nhe stayed high among the branches of that tall tree. Meanwhile his\nfather knew nothing of what had become of him.\n\nAs he sat on the rooster\u2019s back in the tree-top he played on his\nbagpipes and made beautiful music. Once a king who had lost his way in\nthe forest came riding near enough to hear him. He was much surprised,\nand sent a servant to find out whence the music came. The man peered\nabout, but saw only what seemed to be a rooster perched high in a tree\nwith a hedgehog on his back, and this hedgehog was apparently playing\nsome bagpipes.\n\nThe king told the servant to ask the strange creature why he sat there,\nand also to ask if he could direct him how to find the way back to his\nkingdom.\n\nWhen the servant put these questions, Hans the Hedgehog came down from\nthe tree and said he would show the way if the king would give him his\nwritten promise to let him have whatever his Royal Highness first met as\nhe approached his castle on his return.\n\nThe king thought: \u201cThis hedgehog probably does not know one word from\nanother. I can write what I please.\u201d\n\nSo he took pen and ink, wrote something, and then Hans the Hedgehog\nshowed him the road, and he got safely home. His daughter saw him coming\nwhile he was still at a distance, and she ran to meet him and threw her\narms about him. Then he remembered Hans the Hedgehog, and told her what\nhad happened in the forest, and how he had been required to give a\nwritten promise to bestow whatever he first met as he approached his\npalace to an extraordinary creature which had shown him the way. \u201cThe\nupper half of the creature was like a hedgehog,\u201d said the king, \u201cand he\nrode on a rooster just as if the rooster had been a horse, and he had\nbagpipes and made lovely music. But he certainly could not read, and I\nwrote that I would not give him anything at all.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Hans rode away to the forest\n]\n\nThereupon the princess was quite pleased. \u201cYou managed very cleverly,\u201d\nsaid she, \u201cfor of course you could not have allowed me to be carried off\nby such a hobgoblin.\u201d\n\nHans continued to dwell in the forest, and he was very merry sitting in\nhis tree and blowing his bagpipes. Presently it happened that another\nking who was traveling through the forest with his servants and\ncourtiers lost his way, for the forest was very large. He came near\nenough to the resort of Hans the Hedgehog to hear the music, and he said\nto one of his men, \u201cGo at once and find out what that is.\u201d\n\nSo the servant went under the tall tree, and he looked up and saw Hans\nthe Hedgehog perched on the rooster, and asked what he was doing up\nthere.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m playing my bagpipes,\u201d was the reply.\n\nThen the servant told him that the king, his master, was not able to\nfind the way out of the forest back to his kingdom. So Hans the Hedgehog\ndescended from the tree with his rooster and went to the king and\noffered to show him the right way if he would solemnly promise to give\nhim whatever he should meet first in front of his palace.\n\nTo this the king agreed, and he gave Hans a written promise to that\neffect. Then Hans rode on in front and showed him the way, and the king\nspeedily arrived safely in his own kingdom. There was great rejoicing in\nthe palace when he was seen returning, and his only daughter, who was\nvery beautiful, ran to meet him, and she embraced and kissed him, full\nof delight that her father had come home. She inquired where he had been\nso long, and he told her how he had lost his way in the forest and might\nnever have gotten back if he had not been helped by a strange creature,\nhalf man and half hedgehog, which rode on a rooster and when discovered\nwas in a tree-top seated on the rooster\u2019s back making music with some\nbagpipes. \u201cMy only trouble now,\u201d said the king, \u201cis that I had to\npromise to give the creature the first thing which met me in front of my\npalace. I feel very sad, because it is you who first met me.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind,\u201d said the princess. \u201cPerhaps he will never come for me; but\nif he does, for your sake, I will go with him.\u201d\n\nAfter a time Hans decided to leave the forest and visit the two kings\nwhom he helped to find their way back to their kingdoms. But the first\nking had given strict orders that if any one came into his domains\nriding on a rooster and carrying some bagpipes he should be chased away,\nand, if need be, shot, or hacked to pieces with swords. On no account\nwas he to be allowed to enter the palace. When, therefore, Hans the\nHedgehog drew near to the palace, the guards charged on him with their\nbayonets, but he put spurs to his rooster and flew up over the gate\nright to one of the king\u2019s windows. He alighted on a balcony and called\nout that if he was not given what he had been promised, the king and his\ndaughter should be punished for their treachery.\n\nSo the frightened king said everything should be done as Hans the\nHedgehog wished. He ordered a carriage to be made ready drawn by six\nwhite horses, and attended by servants in gorgeous liveries. The\nprincess stepped into it, and Hans the Hedgehog with his rooster and\nbagpipes took his place beside her. Then they drove away, but they had\nnot gone far out of the city when Hans pulled the princess\u2019s shawl off\nand pricked her with his quills, saying: \u201cThat is your reward for\nfalsehood. Go back home. I will have nothing more to do with you.\u201d\n\nThen the coach returned with her, and Hans the Hedgehog rode away on his\nrooster to the other kingdom. When he entered the royal city, the\nguards, in accord with the king\u2019s orders, presented arms, the people\ncheered, and he was conducted in triumph to the palace. At sight of\nHans, the princess was a good deal startled, for he certainly was very\npeculiar looking, but he told her no harm would befall her and she need\nnot be alarmed. So she made him welcome, and he sat next to her at the\nroyal table, and they ate and drank together.\n\nLate in the evening Hans had a big fire made in his chamber, and at his\nrequest four trusty men were ordered to stand on guard at his door.\nAbout eleven o\u2019clock, when he went to his room, he said to the guards,\n\u201cNever in my life have I slept in a bed, and before I get into the one\nprepared for me here I shall creep out of my hedgehog skin and leave it\nlying on the floor. Ten minutes from now you four men must come in and\nthrow the skin into the fire, and stand by till it is entirely\nconsumed.\u201d\n\nHans entered the room, took off his hedgehog skin, and got into bed.\nSoon afterward the four men came in, threw the skin into the fire, and\nwatched it burn till there was nothing left of it. Hans was now wholly\nhuman in his form, but the guards, when they looked at him, were\ndismayed to find that he was quite black, as though he had been severely\nscorched. They informed the king, and he at once summoned a physician.\nThe latter, by the use of various salves and ointments, made Hans\u2019 skin\nwhite, and the youth became as handsome as he was clever. When the cure\nwas complete the king\u2019s daughter was greatly pleased, and not long\nafterward they were married, and when the old king died Hans ruled the\nkingdom in his stead.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE MAGPIE\u2019S NEST\n\n\n ONCE upon a time\n When pigs spoke rhyme,\n\nall the birds of the air came to the magpie and asked her to teach them\nhow to build nests; for the magpie was very clever. So she had them\ngather around her and began to show them how to do it. First of all she\ntook some mud and made a sort of a round cake with it.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cOh, that\u2019s how it\u2019s done!\u201d said the thrush, and away she flew, and the\nthrush has built her nests out of mud ever since.\n\nThen the magpie took some twigs and arranged them around in the mud.\n\n\u201cNow I know all about it,\u201d said the blackbird. So off she flew, and the\nblackbirds make their nests of mud and sticks to this very day.\n\nThen the magpie put another layer of mud over the twigs.\n\n\u201cOh, that\u2019s quite plain!\u201d said the owl, and away she flew, and owls have\nmade their nests after that manner ever since.\n\nNext the magpie took some twigs and twined them around the outside.\n\n\u201cThe very thing!\u201d exclaimed the sparrow, and off she went, and the\nsparrows to this day make rather slovenly nests.\n\nThen Madge Magpie took some feathers and other bits of soft material and\nlined the nest very nicely with it.\n\n\u201cThat suits me!\u201d cried the starling, and away she flew, and ever since\nthen the starlings have built very comfortable nests.\n\nThe magpie kept on with her work, but the birds were constantly leaving\nbefore she had finished, each thinking she knew all there was to know\nabout nest-building. At last the only bird that remained was the\nturtle-dove. She now began to repeat her silly cry, \u201cTake two, Taffy,\ntake two-o-o!\u201d\n\nThe magpie was just putting a twig across, and she said, \u201cNo, one is\nenough.\u201d\n\nBut the turtle-dove kept on saying, \u201cTake two, Taffy, take two-o-o!\u201d\n\nThat made the magpie angry, and she exclaimed, \u201cOne\u2019s enough, I tell\nyou!\u201d\n\nStill the turtle-dove cried, \u201cTake two, Taffy, take two-o-o!\u201d\n\nAt this the magpie became so disturbed that she flew away, and always\nafterward, when the birds asked her how to build their nests, she\nrefused to tell them. That is why different birds build their nests\ndifferently.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n PUSS IN BOOTS\n\n\nONCE upon a time there was a poor miller who had three sons, and when he\ndied he had nothing to leave them except his mill, a donkey, and a cat.\nThe division was quickly made without the help of either lawyer or\njudge. The eldest son took the mill, and the second took the donkey. So\nthere was nothing left for the youngest but the cat, and the poor fellow\ncould not help feeling that he had been treated shabbily. \u201cMy brothers\nwill be able to earn a comfortable livelihood,\u201d he sighed, \u201cbut as for\nme, though Puss may feed himself by catching mice, he can\u2019t feed me, and\nI shall certainly die of hunger.\u201d\n\nWhile he spoke, the cat was sitting near by and heard all he said.\nImmediately the creature jumped on his shoulder, rubbed gently against\nhis cheek, and began to speak. \u201cDear master,\u201d said he, \u201cdo not grieve. I\nam not as useless as you think. Give me a bag, and buy me a pair of\nboots so I can scamper through the brush and brambles, and I will make\nyour fortune for you.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n PUSS IN BOOTS GREETS THE KING\n]\n\nThe lad had very little money to spare, but he knew Puss was a faithful\ncreature, and he had seen him play many cunning tricks to catch rats and\nmice, so that he did not altogether despair of his affording him some\nhelp. Therefore he bought him a smart pair of boots made of buff-colored\nleather, and gave him the bag for which he had asked.\n\nPuss drew on the boots, and then he fitted slip-strings around the mouth\nof the bag, put some bran and parsley inside, and trotted off with it to\na neighboring hillside where there was an abundance of rabbits. He laid\nthe bag on the ground with the mouth of it propped open, and hid himself\nin the ferns and bushes and waited. Presently two foolish young rabbits\ncame sniffing about and crept into the bag to get some of the bran and\nparsley. The clever cat at once drew the slip-strings close, and the\nrabbits were caught. He slung the bag over his shoulder, and away he\nwent to the royal palace, where he asked to speak with the king. The\nguards ushered him into the king\u2019s presence, and Puss made a low bow,\nlifted the rabbits out of his bag, and said, \u201cSir, my noble lord, the\nMarquis of Carabas\u201d (this was the title he chose to confer on his\nmaster) \u201chas commanded me to present these rabbits to your Majesty, with\nhis respects.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell your master that I thank him,\u201d said the king, \u201cand that he has\ngiven me great pleasure.\u201d\n\nThen he dismissed Puss with many compliments and a purse of gold, and\nordered his head cook to serve the rabbits for dinner so he and his\ndaughter might enjoy them.\n\nThe next day Puss went and hid in a grain field with the bag baited and\nopen near his hiding-place. A brace of partridges ran into it, and he\ndrew the strings and caught them. These he took home to his master, and\nhe went hunting every pleasant day. He kept his master so well supplied\nwith game that they lived in plenty, and often he carried some game to\nthe king. Whatever it was that he presented at the palace, it was always\nwith the message, \u201cFrom my lord, the Marquis of Carabas.\u201d So every one\nat court was talking of this strange nobleman, whom no one had ever\nseen, but who sent such generous gifts to his Majesty.\n\nBy and by Puss decided that it was time for his master to be introduced\nat court. He learned that on a certain day the king and his daughter,\nwho was the most beautiful princess in the world, were to go out in\ntheir coach to drive along the riverside, and he said to his master: \u201cIf\nyou will follow my advice your fortune is made. Go and wash yourself in\nthe river at a spot which I will show you, and leave the rest to me.\u201d\n\nThe young man knew nothing of the why or wherefore of the cat\u2019s advice,\nbut he went to the river, and the cat took charge of his clothes while\nhe plunged into the water. He did not enjoy the experience, for the\nwater was cold, and he soon stopped splashing around and stood shivering\nwith the water up to his neck, wondering what was to happen next. Just\nthen the king\u2019s carriage appeared in sight, and Puss at once began to\nshout: \u201cHelp! help! My lord, the Marquis of Carabas is drowning!\u201d\n\nThe king put his head out of the coach window, and he recognized Puss as\nthe cat who had so often brought him presents of game. Immediately he\nordered his attendants to go to the assistance of the marquis. While\nthey were pulling the youth out of the river the cat came up to the\ncoach and told the king that some rogues had gone off with his master\u2019s\nclothes, though in fact the cunning cat had hidden them under a big\nstone.\n\nOn hearing this story the king dispatched one of his grooms to fetch a\nhandsome suit of purple and gold from the royal wardrobe. When the young\nman had been arrayed in this he looked so well that no one for a moment\nsupposed but that he was some noble foreign lord. The king and his\ndaughter were so pleased with his appearance that they invited him into\ntheir carriage. At first he felt a little shy about sitting next to a\nprincess, but she smiled at him so sweetly, and was so kind and gentle\nthat he soon forgot his fears. As for her, after he had cast two or\nthree respectful and somewhat tender glances in her direction, she fell\nin love with him to distraction.\n\nWhen the cat had seen his master seated in the royal carriage, he was\noverjoyed to think how well his project was succeeding. He ran on ahead\nas fast as he could trot until he came to a field of grain where the\nlaborers were busy reaping. \u201cReapers,\u201d said he fiercely, \u201cthe king will\nsoon pass this way. If he should ask you to whom this field belongs,\nremember that you are to say, \u2018To the Marquis of Carabas.\u2019 Don\u2019t dare to\ndisobey me, or I will have you all chopped up as fine as mincemeat.\u201d\n\nThe reapers were so afraid the cat would do as he threatened that they\npromised to obey. Puss then ran on and told all the other laborers whom\nhe met to give the same answer, and declared they would be terribly\npunished if they did not.\n\nThe king was in a very good humor, for the day was fine, and he found\nthe marquis a very pleasant companion. So he told the coachman to drive\nslowly, that he might admire the beautiful country. \u201cWhat a fine field\nof wheat!\u201d he said presently, and he had the coach stop while he asked\nthe laborers to whom it belonged.\n\nThen the men answered in accord with the cat\u2019s orders, \u201cTo our lord, the\nMarquis of Carabas.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said the marquis, \u201cthis is a field that never fails to yield\nplentifully every year.\u201d\n\nThe coach went on until it encountered a herd of cattle. \u201cTo whom do\nthese cattle belong?\u201d the king asked the drovers.\n\n\u201cTo the Marquis of Carabas,\u201d they replied.\n\nIt was the same all along the way. The king\u2019s inquiries as to the\nownership of property received this uniform reply. The marquis listened\nwith the greatest astonishment, and thought what a wonderful cat Puss\nwas; and the king was delighted to find that his new friend was as\nwealthy as he was charming.\n\nMeanwhile Puss, who was well in advance of the royal party, had arrived\nat a stately castle which belonged to a cruel ogre, the richest ever\nknown. Indeed, he was the owner of all the land and crops and cattle the\nking had admired so much. The cat knocked at the door, and asked to see\nthe ogre, who received him quite civilly. He had never before seen a cat\nin boots, and the sight amused him. So he and Puss were soon chatting\ntogether.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cI have been assured,\u201d said the cat, \u201cthat you possess the power to\nchange yourself into any kind of animal you choose\u2014a lion or an\nelephant, for instance.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, so I can,\u201d responded the ogre briskly.\n\n\u201cDear me!\u201d said Puss, \u201chow much I should like to see you do it now.\u201d\n\nThe ogre was only too glad to have a chance to show how clever he was,\nso he agreed to transform himself into any animal Puss might mention.\n\n\u201cOh! I will leave the choice to you,\u201d said the cat politely.\n\nImmediately there appeared, where the ogre had been seated, an enormous\nlion, roaring, and lashing with his tail, and looking as though he meant\nto gobble up the cat in a trice. Puss was really very much frightened,\nand he jumped out of the window and managed to scramble up on the roof,\nthough not without abundance of trouble and danger because of his boots.\nThere he clung, refusing to come down until the ogre resumed his natural\nform and laughingly called to him that he would do him no harm.\n\nThen Puss ventured back into the room and began to compliment the ogre\non his cleverness. \u201cOf course,\u201d said he in conclusion, \u201cwhat you did was\nvery marvellous, but it would be more surprising still if you who are so\nbig and fierce could transform yourself into some timid little creature\nsuch as a mouse. That, I suppose, would be impossible.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot at all,\u201d said the ogre. \u201cOne is quite as easy to me as the other,\nas I will show you.\u201d\n\nA moment later the ogre had vanished, and a little brown mouse was\nfrisking about the floor. \u201cNow or never,\u201d said Puss, and with a sudden\nleap he seized the mouse and gobbled it up as fast as he could.\nInstantly all the gentlemen and ladies whom the wicked ogre had held in\nhis castle under a spell were disenchanted, and they came to express\ntheir gratitude to their deliverer. They were ready to do anything to\nplease him, and at his request they agreed to enter into the service of\nthe Marquis of Carabas.\n\nNow the cat had a splendid castle with much treasure stored in its\nvaults, and he ordered a magnificent feast to be prepared. Then he\nhurried forth to the highway and met the king\u2019s coach. His Majesty was\nlooking toward the ogre\u2019s castle. \u201cWhose is it?\u201d he asked. \u201cI have never\nseen a finer.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt belongs to the noble Marquis of Carabas,\u201d said Puss, \u201cand I beg you\nto honor my master by being his guest.\u201d\n\nThe king ordered the coachman to drive to the castle, and Puss went on\nahead and threw open the gates. As the carriage was crossing the\ndrawbridge he cried out, \u201cWelcome to the castle of my lord, the Marquis\nof Carabas!\u201d\n\nFull of surprise, the king turned to the marquis and said, \u201cNot even my\nown palace can surpass the beauty of your castle.\u201d\n\nPuss helped his Majesty to alight and conducted him into a spacious\nhall, where a group of gentlemen and ladies were waiting to receive\nthem. The marquis came into the hall with the princess, and they all sat\ndown to a splendid banquet. Long and merrily they feasted, and when at\nlength the guests rose to depart, the king embraced the marquis and\nsaid: \u201cI am charmed with your many excellent qualities, and am greatly\nimpressed with the castle which is your home, and with the magnificence\nof your hospitality. It will be your own fault, my Lord Marquis, if you\nare not my son-in-law.\u201d\n\nThe marquis made several low bows, and thanked his Majesty for the honor\nhe conferred on him. Not long afterward the miller\u2019s son married the\nprincess, and there were rejoicings throughout the land. On the evening\nof the wedding day a great ball was given, to which princes and noblemen\nfrom near and far were invited. Puss opened the ball, wearing for the\noccasion a pair of boots made of the finest leather with gold tassels\nand scarlet heels. I wish you could have seen him.\n\nWhen the old king died, the princess and her husband reigned in his\nstead. Their most honored and faithful friend at court was Puss in\nBoots, for his master never forgot to whom he owed all his good fortune.\nPuss lived on the daintiest meat and the most delicious cream, and was\npetted and made much of all the days of his life; and he never ran after\nrats and mice except for exercise and amusement.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE MASTER AND HIS PUPIL\n\n\nTHERE was once a very learned man who knew all the languages under the\nsun, and who was acquainted with all the mysteries of creation. He had\nin his private room a big book bound in black leather and fitted with\niron clasps, and it was chained to a table which was screwed fast to the\nfloor. When he wanted to read in the book he unlocked the clasps with a\nbrass key, and he never allowed any one else to read in it, for it\ncontained many magician\u2019s secrets. Among other things it told the names\nof the demons, and what they did, and how they could be summoned and\nmade to work for man.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nA young lad lived with the magician and served him, but though he worked\nfor the great master he was an ignorant youth who was scarcely allowed\nso much as to enter the learned man\u2019s private room. But one day, when\nhis master was absent, he went in there, and satisfied his curiosity by\nlooking around to his heart\u2019s content. Here was the wondrous apparatus\nfor changing copper into gold, and lead into silver; and the mirror in\nwhich could be seen all that was passing in the world; and the shell\nwhich, when held to the ear, enabled one to hear any words being spoken\nby whatever person one desired to know about.\n\nThe lad tried in vain with the crucibles to turn copper into gold and\nlead into silver. Next he gazed long and vainly into the mirror, but\nclouds and smoke passed over the scenes within, and he could discern\nnothing clearly. Then he put the shell to his ear. That too disappointed\nhim, for he could hear only indistinct murmurings like the breaking of\nwaves on a distant shore.\n\n\u201cI can do nothing,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause I do not know the right words to\nutter and make things go right. The words I need are locked from sight\nin yonder book.\u201d\n\nJust then he noticed with surprise that the book lay open. The master\nhad forgotten to lock it, and the lad ran eagerly to look at its\nsecret-revealing pages. Some of the words were in black ink and some in\nred, and they seemed to be in a strange language. He could not see a\nsingle one that appeared familiar, and he sat down and put his finger on\na line and spelled it through.\n\nAt once the room was darkened, and the house trembled, and there was a\nstartling clap of thunder. Then the lad saw standing before him a\nhorrible winged creature, breathing fire, and with eyes like burning\nlamps. It was the demon Beelzebub whom he had called up to serve him.\n\n\u201cSet me a task!\u201d cried the demon with a voice like the roaring of an\niron furnace.\n\nThe boy shivered with fright, and his hair stood on end. He knew not\nwhat to do or say.\n\n\u201cSet me a task or I shall strangle you,\u201d said the demon.\n\nBut the lad could not find voice to speak. The evil spirit stepped\ntoward him and reached out his hands toward the boy\u2019s throat. The youth\nshrank from the demon\u2019s burning touch, while again the command was\ndinned in his ears. \u201cSet me a task!\u201d\n\n\u201cWater yon flower,\u201d said the boy in despair, pointing to a geranium\nwhich stood in a pot on the floor.\n\nInstantly the demon left the room, but a moment later he returned with a\nbarrel on his back and poured its contents over the flower. Again and\nagain he went and came, and poured more and more water until the floor\nof the room was ankle-deep.\n\n\u201cEnough, enough!\u201d gasped the lad.\n\nBut the demon heeded him not. The boy did not know the words that must\nbe spoken in order to send the demon away, and the evil spirit continued\nto fetch water. It rose to the boy\u2019s knees, and yet more water was\npoured. It mounted to his waist, and still Beelzebub brought barrel\nafter barrel full. It rose to the lad\u2019s armpits, and he scrambled to the\ntable-top. Presently the water was half way up the window and washing\nagainst the glass, and it swirled around the lad\u2019s legs where he stood\non the table. It kept on rising and reached his breast.\n\nIn vain he ordered and begged the demon to desist. The evil spirit\nrefused to obey, and he would have been pouring water even to this day\nhad not the master returned. He came in haste, for he had recollected\nthat he had left his book unlocked, and he arrived just as the water had\nreached his pupil\u2019s chin. Without a moment\u2019s delay he shouted the proper\nwords to make Beelzebub return to his fiery home, and the lad was saved.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE WHITE TROUT\n\n\nTHERE was once a beautiful lady who lived beside a lake in the western\npart of Ireland, and she was to be the bride of a king\u2019s son. But just\nbefore the time set for the wedding he was murdered and thrown into the\nlake. So of course he couldn\u2019t keep his promise to the fair lady\u2014more\u2019s\nthe pity.\n\nThe lady was that tender-hearted she went out of her mind because of\nlosing the king\u2019s son. She pined away, and one day disappeared, and it\nwas thought that the fairies had taken her.\n\nAfter a time a white trout was seen in a stream that flowed into the\nlake, and the people didn\u2019t know what to make of the creature, for such\na thing as a white trout had never been known before. Years and years\nthe trout was there, and no harm was ever done to it until some wicked\nsinners of soldiers came to those parts. They laughed at the people and\ngibed and jeered at them for never trying to catch the white trout. One\nof them, in particular, swore he would have the white trout for his\ndinner some fine day.\n\nSure enough, the blackguard caught the trout, and away he went home with\nit, pitched the pretty little thing into the frying-pan, and put the\nfrying-pan over the fire. The trout squealed just like a Christian when\nit found itself thus cruelly treated, and the soldier laughed till he\nwas like to split; for he was a hardened villain. When he thought one\nside was done, he turned the trout over to fry the other, but to his\nsurprise saw not a sign of a burn on it anywhere. \u201cThis is a queer trout\nthat can\u2019t be fried,\u201d said he. \u201cBut I\u2019ll give it another turn by and\nby.\u201d\n\nAs soon as the heathen thought that side was done he turned the trout\nagain, and behold not a bit more broiled was it than when he began. \u201cBad\nluck to me,\u201d said the soldier, \u201cbut this beats the world. However,\ncunning as you think yourself, I\u2019ll try you again, my darling.\u201d\n\nSo saying, he turned the trout over and over, and he kept the fire\nblazing hot, but not a sign of a burn would show on the pretty creature.\nHe might have known he was doing a wrong thing, seeing that his\nendeavors accomplished nothing, and yet he kept on as he had begun.\n\n\u201cWell, my jolly little trout,\u201d said he at last, \u201cmaybe you\u2019re fried\nenough, though you don\u2019t seem to be any more so than you were when I\npulled you out of the stream. But perhaps you are better than you look,\nand a tit-bit after all.\u201d\n\nThen he picked up his knife and fork to have a taste of the trout, but\nthe moment he put his knife into the fish there was a piercing screech,\nand the trout flopped out of the frying-pan into the middle of the\nfloor. Immediately, on the spot where it fell, stood a beautiful\nlady\u2014the loveliest creature that eyes had ever seen, dressed in white,\nand a band of gold in her hair, and her arm stained with blood.\n\n\u201cLook where you cut me, you villain,\u201d said she, and she held her arm out\ntoward him. \u201cWhy couldn\u2019t you leave me cool and comfortable in the\nriver, and not disturb me in my duty?\u201d\n\nThe soldier, trembling with terror, stammered out some lame excuse, and\nbegged for his life, asked her ladyship\u2019s pardon, and declared that he\ndid not know she was on duty. \u201cIf I had known it,\u201d said he, \u201cI am too\ngood a soldier to have meddled with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI _was_ on duty,\u201d the lady affirmed. \u201cI was watching for my true love,\nwho is coming to me; and if he comes while I am away, so that I miss\nhim, I\u2019ll turn you into the little fish that is called a pinkeen, and\nI\u2019ll hunt you up and down for evermore, while grass grows or water\nruns.\u201d\n\nThe soldier nearly fainted away at the thought of being turned into a\npinkeen. He begged for mercy harder than ever, and the lady said:\n\u201cRenounce your evil ways, or you\u2019ll repent too late. Be a good man for\nthe future and go regularly to church; and now take me and put me back\nin the river where you found me.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my lady!\u201d exclaimed the soldier, \u201chow could I have the heart to\ndrown a beautiful lady like you?\u201d\n\nBefore he could say another word the lady had vanished, and he saw the\nlittle trout on the floor. So he put it on a clean plate, and away he\nran to the river as fast as he could go, fearful that her lover would\ncome while she was away. He ran and he ran until he came to the edge of\nthe stream and then he threw the trout into the water.\n\nFrom that day the soldier was an altered man. He reformed his ways, went\nto church regularly, and fasted three times a week, though he would not\neat fish even on fasting days, for after the fright he got, fish would\nnever rest on his stomach. At length he left the army and turned hermit,\nand every day he prayed for the soul of the white trout.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE FORTY-NINE DRAGONS\n\n\nONCE upon a time there were two brothers, the older of whom was rich and\nhad four children, while the younger was poor and had seven children. At\nlast the family of the poor brother was in such want that the mother\nwent to the rich man and said: \u201cI am very wretched, for I am unable to\nprovide my children with enough to eat. I take a little meal and mix it\nwith a great deal of bran, and so manage to make bread. It is well nigh\na year since my children have had any meat. They get nothing but the\nmeal and bran bread.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd yet,\u201d said he, \u201cyour children are strong, while mine, in spite of\nplentiful and rich food, and other comforts, are always ailing.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the woman, \u201cthough our lot is one of poverty and hunger,\nyet, thanks be to Heaven, our children are hale and hearty. But I fear\nfor the future, and I have come to implore you, if you need to hire any\nwork done, that you do not send for any one but me; and may God bless\nyou and give health to your children.\u201d\n\nAs she spoke these words the tears ran from her eyes, and the man called\nhis wife and said to her: \u201cHere is our sister-in-law wanting work. Have\nwe something for her to do so she may not sit idle?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered his wife, \u201clet her come twice a week and knead bread for\nus.\u201d\n\nWhen the poor woman heard these words she was glad, for she thought that\nwhen she kneaded the fine white bread they would give her some of it,\nand her children would eat and rejoice. She rose to go away, and they\nsaid to her, \u201cGood-by, and remember to come tomorrow morning.\u201d\n\nThey let her depart without relieving her want by giving her a scrap of\nanything. As she set off toward home she said to herself: \u201cWould that I\nwere rich and could go to my cupboard and bring out a bit of cheese, or\na piece of bread, or a little rice, or other household store to gladden\nthe hearts of the poor!\u201d\n\nHer children were eagerly awaiting her at home, but alas! she came with\nempty hands.\n\nThe next day she went early to the rich man\u2019s house to knead bread, and\nwhen she finished her task they bade her farewell and told her to be\nsure to come next time, but they gave her nothing whatever.\n\nAs soon as she returned home the children said, \u201cHave you brought us\nsome food, mother?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d she replied, \u201cbut maybe they will send us a bit of bread when the\nbaking is done.\u201d\n\nHowever, she waited in vain. Two or three days later she got word that\nthey wanted her to come and knead again. So she went to the rich man\u2019s\nhouse and began her work. As she was kneading, the thought came into her\nhead not to wash her hands until she reached home. Then she could give\nto the children the water in which she washed off the dough and flour.\nShe hurried home as soon as she had done kneading, and said to her\nchildren, \u201cI am going to give you a little milk soup.\u201d\n\nThen she washed her hands thoroughly, and divided the water among them,\nand they liked it so much they said, \u201cMother, whenever you go to knead,\nbe sure to bring us some of that broth to drink.\u201d\n\nTwice a week she went to the rich man\u2019s house to knead bread, and her\nchildren had never been more hearty and vigorous. One day the rich man\nwas passing by his younger brother\u2019s house, and he put his head in at\nthe door and said, \u201cHow do you do here?\u201d\n\nHe looked at the children and was amazed to see how fat they were. That\nput him in a great rage, and he went home and called to his wife: \u201cCome\nat once, and tell me what you give to my sister-in-law, who does the\nkneading for us.\u201d\n\nShe was frightened by the way he shouted at her. \u201cI never give her\nanything,\u201d she declared, \u201cbecause I am so afraid of giving her too much\nand then getting a scolding from you.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou must have given her something,\u201d he persisted, \u201cfor her children are\nso fat they look as if they would burst.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said his wife, \u201cshe takes nothing away with her but her unwashed\nhands, and after she gets home she gives the water in which she washes\nher hands to the children to drink.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you must put a stop to that,\u201d he ordered.\n\nSo the next time, when the woman had finished kneading, the rich man\u2019s\nwife said to her, \u201cWash your hands and then go.\u201d\n\nThe poor woman obeyed with a sad heart, and quailed to think of\nreturning home without being able to give her children even the milk\nsoup wash to which they had become accustomed. As soon as she reached\nher house the children gathered about her, clamoring that she should\nmake haste and give them their usual treat; but she said, \u201cI washed my\nhands before I came away this time.\u201d\n\nAll the children began to weep and to say, \u201cHow could you so forget us\nas not to bring us that beautiful broth?\u201d\n\nIn the midst of the lamentations the father entered the house, and\nasked, \u201cWhat ails the children that they cry so noisily?\u201d\n\nShe told him all that had happened, and he was much grieved. \u201cPerhaps I\ncan find a little food on the mountain-side,\u201d said he. \u201cI will take a\nbag and try to get some herbs and edible roots.\u201d\n\nSo away he went, and he wandered a long distance. At last he found\nhimself on the top of a high crag and saw, not far away, a great castle.\n\u201cI wonder to whom that castle belongs,\u201d said he.\n\nHe went nearer and climbed into a tree to get a better view of it. While\nhe was looking, behold, a number of dragons came out. He counted them,\nand there were forty-nine. They left the door open and went away out of\nsight. So he climbed down from the tree and went to the castle, where he\nwalked about from room to room and saw that it contained a vast amount\nof treasure. Into his bag he put as much gold as he could carry and\nhurried away with it, fearful that the dragons would catch him.\n\nWhen they came back they perceived that some of their money was gone,\nand henceforth they determined that one of them should stay behind in\nthe castle when the others went out.\n\nThe man returned home and said to his wife: \u201cGod has taken pity on us.\nSee, here we have enough gold to make us rich,\u201d and he opened his bag\nand showed her the golden money he had brought.\n\nOn the following day he purchased a house and moved his family into it.\n\u201cBut let us continue to live simply,\u201d said he to his wife. \u201cWe will buy\nwhat we need and avoid extravagance.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said she, \u201cthat is best. I do not forget how recently I have been\nglad to give the children milk soup to drink to save them from\nstarving.\u201d\n\nFor two months they lived happily, and had plenty to eat, and gave\ngenerously to the poor. Then the wife of the older brother came to visit\nthem, for she had heard that they were well off now. Her own family, on\nthe contrary, had begun to suffer misfortune. Their sheep had died,\ntheir crops had failed, and unseasonable frosts had ruined their fruit\ntrees.\n\nThe wife of the younger brother did not feel any ill will toward her\nvisitor because of the way she had been treated in the days of her\nmisery, and she welcomed her heartily, and gave her the best seat, and\nset before her the choicest food in the house. This was very different\nfrom the treatment that had been accorded her, for the older brother\u2019s\nwife used to receive her in the kitchen and never asked her to sit down.\n\nAfter some time the visitor said: \u201cSister, pray tell me where your\nhusband has found work, that my husband may if possible get work there\nalso. We have been unfortunate of late and are in great want.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy husband has not got any employment,\u201d responded the other. \u201cYou\nremember when I was last at your house and you made me wash my hands.\nThat day he went to the mountains and found a castle where he got a lot\nof gold.\u201d\n\n\u201cWould he take my husband to that castle?\u201d asked the former rich woman.\n\u201cPerhaps we too may thus gain relief.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe will do what he can for you, I am sure,\u201d said the other. \u201cIf your\nhusband will bring a bag tomorrow he will show him the way. He does not\nwish to get any more treasure for himself because he thinks we already\nhave enough.\u201d\n\nThe next morning the older brother came with a bag under his arm and\nsaid: \u201cGood morrow, brother, how do you do? I hope you are well.\u201d\n\nHitherto, if he saw his brother, he looked the other way, or turned\naside, lest he should be asked for help. But the former poor man\nwelcomed him and said: \u201cIt gives me joy to have you enter my house, for\nI have very seldom had the pleasure of seeing you.\u201d\n\n\u201cThings have gone badly with me,\u201d said the older brother, \u201cand now I\nknow not what to do.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the other, \u201cwe will go to the mountains, and very likely\nyou will have the luck to get as rich as ever.\u201d\n\nSo they started off together, and when they came to where they could see\nthe castle the younger brother showed his companion the tree from which\nhe had watched the castle. \u201cClimb up among the branches,\u201d said he, \u201cand\nwait till the dragons that dwell in the castle come out. Count them. If\nforty-nine come forth you can descend and enter the castle free from\nfear. But unless the entire forty-nine leave, do not go in.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n While he was looking a number of dragons came out\n]\n\nWith these words he turned his steps toward home. His brother watched\neagerly from the tree, and by and by he saw the dragons coming forth,\nand he counted them. But he counted wrong, and instead of saying\nforty-eight he said forty-nine. Then he scrambled down from the tree,\nhurried to the castle, and looked about, seeking the treasure, that he\nmight fill his bag. Suddenly he heard a voice say, \u201cSo you are the thief\nand have come back to steal more of our gold!\u201d\n\nHe found himself confronted by a dragon that had come out of a near-by\nroom where it had been staying on guard. Immediately it bit off his\nhead, and took both the body and the head and hung them at the entrance\nto the castle. When the other dragons came home he said to them: \u201cThere\nis no need to keep watch any longer. I have killed the thief and hung\nhim up where he will serve as a warning to all other thieves that may\napproach our castle.\u201d\n\nAfter that none of the dragons stayed at home, but each day they went\nout together.\n\nTwo days passed, and the wife of the former rich man got uneasy because\nher husband did not return. She went to the house of her brother-in-law,\nand when she told him that her husband had not come back he said he\nwould go and seek him. Off he went, and as soon as he drew near to the\ncastle he climbed the tree and looked and saw his brother\u2019s body hanging\nat the entrance. Then he waited till the dragons came out. He counted\nthem with great care, and there were forty-nine. After they had gone\nfrom sight he went and got his brother\u2019s body and put it in a bag that\nlay near the entrance. It was the very bag his brother had brought to\ncontain the gold he hoped to get.\n\nThe younger brother carried his burden home and sent for his\nsister-in-law. When she came and saw her dead husband she wept and would\nnot be comforted. At last she said: \u201cWe must get a tailor to sew him\ntogether. I cannot bury him like that, in two pieces.\u201d\n\nSo the man went out and got a tailor, who sewed the head on to the body,\nand afterward the burial took place. Then the younger brother gave his\nsister-in-law some money, and said, \u201cGo and provide for yourself and\nyour children, and if you are in want again, do not hesitate to come and\nask me for what you need.\u201d\n\nMeanwhile the dragons had returned to their castle and found the dead\nman gone. \u201cSo the thief had an accomplice!\u201d they exclaimed. \u201cWe must\ndestroy him also.\u201d\n\nThe chief dragon was a powerful magician, and the next day he assumed\nthe form of a man, and went to the town to try to discover who had come\nto their castle and removed the body with its severed head. While he was\nloitering about, uncertain how to get the desired information, he\nconcluded he would go to a tailor and have a suit of clothes made. The\ntailor took his measure, and the dragon said: \u201cNow mind you sew the\nseams well so the stitches won\u2019t come out. You must do a careful job, or\nI will not pay you. It\u2019s not often I have a nice suit made, and I am\nparticular. Use good strong thread and\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cStop!\u201d cried the tailor with rising anger. \u201cThere is no need for you to\nmake such a fuss. Why, yesterday I had to sew together a dead man whose\nhead had been separated from his body. His relations were entirely\nsatisfied with the way I did the difficult task. If I can do a job like\nthat so well, in spite of the fact that it was out of my line, you can\nbe assured I have the skill to make you a satisfactory suit. So have\ndone with your advising, or you will drive me crazy.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you know the person who hired you to sew the dead man?\u201d asked the\ndragon.\n\n\u201cOf course I do,\u201d answered the tailor. \u201cHe lives near by. If you like, I\nwill point out his house, and you can go in and ask him whether the body\nwas well sewed or not.\u201d\n\nSo he took the dragon a little way along the street and showed him where\nthe brother of the dead man dwelt. But instead of going into the house,\nthe dragon went to a carpenter\u2019s shop and ordered forty-eight chests,\neach just big enough to contain one of the dragons. When the chests were\nfinished he had them sent to a lonely spot outside of the town, and\nthither he summoned his dragons. They got into the chests, and he hired\nwagons to bring the chests to the house of the dead man\u2019s brother. He\nhimself went on ahead, and toward evening he found the former poor man\nseated in his doorway. \u201cSir,\u201d said he, \u201cI have had forty-eight chests\nsent to me. You can see them coming down the street on those wagons.\nWould you be so kind as to let me leave them in your yard for the\nnight?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are welcome to leave them there for the night,\u201d said the man, \u201cand\nas much longer as suits your convenience.\u201d\n\nAfter the wagons had been unloaded and the dragon chief had gone, the\nman\u2019s children began climbing about and jumping on the chests. The\ndragons who were inside groaned from time to time, and said, \u201cAh, would\nit were dark that we might eat them all.\u201d\n\nPresently the children took notice of the groanings and the words, and\nthey ran to their father and said: \u201cThose chests are bewitched. They are\ntalking.\u201d\n\nThe man thought a moment and said, \u201cForty-eight, and the one that\nbrought them makes forty-nine!\u201d\n\nThen he went to the chests and put his ear to one of the keyholes. He\nheard the direful words and the groaning, and he said to himself, \u201cNow\nthat I have you monsters in my power I\u2019ll make sure of you.\u201d\n\nSo off he went and bought some iron rods, heated them red hot in his\nkitchen fire, and one by one thrust them into the chests until he had\nkilled all the forty-eight dragons. That done, he called his servant,\nopened one of the chests, and said: \u201cMy man, look here. Some one has\nplayed us a trick and put a dragon in this chest. If I had not killed\nthe creature it would have devoured us all. Take it and throw it into\nthe sea.\u201d\n\nThe servant lifted it on his back, went to the seashore, which was not\nfar away, and threw the creature down where the rising tide would soon\ncarry it away. Then he went home, but while he was gone his master had\nopened another chest. The man had his servant look in, and said: \u201cHere\nis the dragon. Surely you did not throw it far enough out into the sea,\nelse how would it have returned?\u201d\n\nAgain the servant carried a dragon to the shore, and once more returned\nto find what was apparently the same dead dragon. His master kept him\ngoing nearly all night, and when he made the trip with the forty-eighth\ndragon he was so exasperated that he waded right into the sea and cast\nit out as far as he could. When he returned home, he said, \u201cMaster, is\nit back?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d the man answered, \u201cit has not come back. You must have thrown it\nin very deep.\u201d\n\nNext morning the chief dragon came, and he was a good deal perturbed,\nbecause he had expected his dragons would destroy the family of the\nformer poor man, and then join their chief before daylight at an\nappointed spot outside of the town. \u201cI find that one of your chests is\nopen and empty,\u201d the man informed the dragon.\n\nHe led the way to the yard, and when the dragon bent over to look into\nthe chest the man seized him and pushed him inside, slammed down the\ncover, and locked it. Then he ran for a red-hot iron, and soon the last\nof the dragons had perished.\n\nThe castle among the mountains was now without an owner, and the man\ntook possession of it and lived there as happy as a prince\u2014and may\nwhoever reads this story, or hears it read, live happier still.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE FOUR CLEVER BROTHERS\n\n\nTHERE was once a poor man who had four sons, and when they were grown\nup, he said to them: \u201cDear children, you must go out into the world now,\nfor I have nothing to give you. It is my wish that you should each learn\na trade by which you can gain a comfortable livelihood, if not wealth.\u201d\n\nSo the four brothers took their walking-staffs in their hands, bid their\nfather good-by, and tramped away down the street and passed out of the\ntown gate. After they had traveled some distance, they came to where\nfour roads branched away from the one they were tramping. \u201cHere we must\npart,\u201d said the eldest brother, \u201cbut four years from this day we will\nmeet here again, and tell each other what we have accomplished.\u201d\n\nThen each went his own way, and the eldest presently met a man, who\nasked him where he was going and what he intended to do.\n\n\u201cI want to learn a trade,\u201d the youth answered.\n\n\u201cThen come with me and learn to be a thief,\u201d said the man.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d responded the youth, \u201cthat is no longer considered an honorable\nemployment; and in the end I should swing as the clapper in the field\nbell.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you need not fear the gallows!\u201d said the man. \u201cI will only teach\nyou how to take things that no one else wants or knows how to get hold\nof, and I will make you so expert that nobody can find you out.\u201d\n\nSo the youth allowed himself to be persuaded, and he became, under the\nman\u2019s instruction, such a clever thief that nothing was safe from him\nwhich he had once made up his mind to have.\n\nMeanwhile the second brother had met a man who put the same question to\nhim as to whither he was going and what he intended to do.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know yet,\u201d answered the youth.\n\n\u201cThen come with me and be a star-gazer,\u201d the man advised. \u201cIt is the\ngrandest trade in the world, for you gain the power to see everything.\u201d\n\nThe youth was pleased with the idea, and he became such an expert\nstar-gazer that, when he finished his apprenticeship, his master gave\nhim a telescope, and said, \u201cWith this you can see all that happens in\nthe sky and on the earth, and nothing can remain hidden from you.\u201d\n\nThe third brother was taken in hand by a huntsman, and received such\ninstruction in the art of shooting that he became a first-rate marksman.\nWhen he had learned all there was to learn and was ready to depart, his\nmaster presented him with a gun, and said, \u201cWhatever you aim at with\nthis gun you will hit without fail.\u201d\n\nThe youngest brother met a man who asked him if he would like to be a\ntailor.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know about that,\u201d said the youth. \u201cI haven\u2019t much fancy for\nsitting cross-legged from morning till night, and everlastingly pulling\na needle in and out.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere, there!\u201d said the man, \u201cyou don\u2019t know what you are talking\nabout. You will find that tailoring as I teach it is easy. It will be\npleasant to you and win you honor.\u201d\n\nThe youth allowed himself to be persuaded, and went with the man, who\ntaught him tailoring very thoroughly. At length the time came for him to\ndepart, and his master gave him a needle and said, \u201cWith that you will\nbe able to stitch anything, even a thing as tender as an egg-shell, or\none as hard as steel, and no seam will be visible after you are\nthrough.\u201d\n\nOn the very day that the four years agreed on came to an end the four\nbrothers met at the place where they had parted, and after embracing\neach other they hurried home to their father.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said he, quite pleased to see them, \u201cso the wind has blown you\nback to me.\u201d\n\nThey sat under a big tree in the yard and told him all that had happened\nto them. When they finished, their father said, \u201cNow I will put your\naccomplishments to the test, and see what you can do.\u201d\n\nHe looked up into the tree and said to his second son: \u201cThere is a\nchaffinch\u2019s nest up there on the topmost branch. Tell me how many eggs\nthere are in it.\u201d\n\nThe star-gazer took his telescope, looked through it, and said, \u201cThere\nare five.\u201d\n\n\u201cFetch the eggs down,\u201d said the father to his eldest son, \u201cand be\ncareful not to disturb the mother bird, who is sitting on them.\u201d\n\nThe cunning thief climbed the tree, and removed the five eggs from\nunderneath the bird so deftly that she never noticed what he had done,\nand he brought them down to his father. The father took them and put one\non each corner of a table, and the fifth in the middle, and said to the\nhuntsman, \u201cYou must cut all those eggs in half at one shot.\u201d\n\nThe huntsman aimed and divided each egg in half at one shot, as his\nfather desired. He certainly must have had some of the powder that\nshoots round a corner. The eggs had little birds in them, and the neck\nof each had been severed by the bullet.\n\n\u201cNow it is your turn,\u201d said the father to the fourth son. \u201cI expect you\nto sew the birds and the shells together so they will be none the worse\nfor that shot.\u201d\n\nThe tailor produced his needle, and stitched away as his father had\ndesired. When he finished the task, the thief climbed the tree with the\neggs, and put them back under the bird without her perceiving him. The\nbird continued to sit on the eggs, and a few days later the fledgelings\ncrept out of the shells. Each had a red streak round its neck where the\ntailor had sewn them together, but were none the worse otherwise.\n\n\u201cI can certainly praise your skill,\u201d said the father to his sons. \u201cYou\nhave used your time well while you have been away, and you have all\nacquired very useful knowledge.\u201d\n\nNot long after this a great lamentation was made in the country because\nthe king\u2019s daughter had been carried away by a dragon. The king was\novercome by grief and sorrowed for her day and night, and he had it\nproclaimed that whoever rescued the princess should have her for his\nwife.\n\nThe four brothers said to one another, \u201cThis will be an opportunity for\nus to show what we can do;\u201d and they agreed to sally forth together to\ndeliver the princess.\n\n\u201cI will soon discover where she is,\u201d said the star-gazer.\n\nHe looked through his telescope, and said: \u201cI see her already. She is a\nlong way from here, sitting on a rock in the middle of the sea, and the\ndragon is there watching her.\u201d\n\nThen they went to the king, who, at their request, furnished them with a\nship, in which they sailed away over the sea till they approached the\nrock. The princess was sitting there, and the dragon was asleep with his\nhead on her lap.\n\n\u201cI dare not shoot,\u201d said the hunter, \u201cfor fear I should kill the\nprincess as well as the dragon.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I will try my luck,\u201d said the thief, and he rowed a boat to the\nrock and took the princess away so lightly and stealthily that the\nmonster continued to sleep and snore.\n\nThe thief got the princess safely on board the ship, and, full of joy,\nthe brothers spread the sails to the wind, and steered for the open sea.\nBut the dragon soon awoke, and when he realized that the princess was\ngone, he started in pursuit of the ship, flapping through the air at his\nbest speed, snapping his tail savagely, and foaming at the mouth with\nrage. Just as he was hovering over the ship about to plunge down on it,\nthe huntsman took aim with his unerring gun and shot the dragon through\nthe heart. The monster was killed instantly, but his huge body fell on\nthe ship and smashed it to pieces.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe brothers and the princess managed each to grasp a plank and thus\nkept themselves afloat. They were in great straits, but the tailor was\nequal to the emergency. With his wonderful needle he sewed together the\nplanks on which he and his companions were sustaining themselves, and\nthen they paddled about and collected all the other floating fragments\nof the ship. The tailor stitched them together so cleverly that in a\nshort time the ship was seaworthy once more, and they sailed happily\nhome.\n\nWhen the king saw his dear daughter again, he was very glad, and said to\nthe four brothers, \u201cOne of you shall marry her, but you must settle\namong yourselves which one that shall be.\u201d\n\nThey discussed the matter with a good deal of warmth, for each pressed\nhis own claims. The star-gazer said: \u201cHad I not discovered the princess\nall your doings would have been in vain. Therefore, she is mine.\u201d\n\nThe thief said: \u201cWhat would have been the good of discovering her if I\nhad not stolen her away from the dragon? So she is mine.\u201d\n\nThe huntsman said: \u201cBut you all would have been destroyed by the monster\nhad not my ball reached his heart. So she must be mine.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is all very fine,\u201d said the tailor, \u201cbut if it had not been for my\nsewing the wreck together, you would all have been miserably drowned.\nTherefore the princess is mine.\u201d\n\nWhen they had all voiced their claims to the princess, the king said:\n\u201cEach of you is equally entitled to her, but since you cannot all have\nher, none of you shall have her. Instead, I will reward you each with\nhalf a province.\u201d\n\nThe brothers were quite satisfied with this decision, and said, \u201cIt is\nbetter so than that we should quarrel.\u201d\n\nSo each of them received half a province, and they lived happily in the\nhome of their father the rest of their days.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE YOUTH WITHOUT FEAR\n\n\nTHERE was once a father who had two sons. One was ambitious, and\nsensible, and clever enough to do almost anything. But the younger one\nwas so stupid he made no progress at all. When people saw how useless he\nwas, they said, \u201cHis father will have plenty of trouble with him.\u201d\n\nIf there was any task that needed doing, it fell to the lot of the elder\nson, who never failed to do his work faithfully and well, unless his\nfather asked him to fetch something in the evening after dark. Then, if\nthe errand would compel him to pass through the churchyard or along a\ndismal stretch of roadway, he would say: \u201cOh no, father, I cannot go! I\nam afraid. It would make me shiver and shake.\u201d\n\nOccasionally when the household gathered around the fire after supper,\nwith very likely the company of a neighbor or two, some one would tell a\nghost story which would cause the listeners\u2019 flesh to creep, and they\nwould exclaim, \u201cHow you make me shiver!\u201d\n\nThe youngest son, however, as he sat in the corner and heard these\nexclamations, could not imagine what was meant. \u201cThere\u2019s something queer\nabout it,\u201d said he. \u201cThey say: \u2018It makes me shiver! It makes me shiver!\u2019\nBut it doesn\u2019t make me shiver a bit. Shivering is an accomplishment I\ndon\u2019t understand.\u201d\n\nOne day his father said to him, \u201cListen, you lad in the corner there,\nyou are growing big and strong. You must learn some trade by which to\nget a living. See how your brother works, but you are not worth your\nsalt.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, father,\u201d he responded, \u201cI am quite ready to learn something. With\nwhat shall I begin? I would very much like to learn how to shiver and\nshake, for about that I know nothing.\u201d\n\nThe elder son laughed when he heard him speak thus. \u201cGood heavens!\u201d he\nthought, \u201cwhat a simpleton my brother is! He will never be good for\nanything as long as he lives.\u201d\n\nHis father sighed and said, \u201cWhat shivering means you may learn easily\nenough, but such knowledge will not help you any in getting your bread.\u201d\n\nSoon afterward the sexton called at the house, and the father confided\nto him his anxiety about his younger son. \u201cIt is quite evident,\u201d said\nhe, \u201cthat the lad will never be any credit to us. Would you believe that\nwhen I asked him how he was going to earn his living, he said he would\nlike to learn to shiver and shake?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf that\u2019s what he wants to learn,\u201d said the sexton, \u201cwe can easily\ngratify him. I can teach him that myself. Just let him serve me for a\nwhile and I\u2019ll put the polish on him.\u201d\n\nThe father was pleased, for he thought, \u201cAnyhow the lad will gain\nsomething by the experience.\u201d\n\nSo the sexton took the youth home with him, and he had to ring the\nchurch bells. A few days passed, and the sexton woke him at midnight and\ntold him to get up and go to the church tower to ring the bells. \u201cYou\nshall soon be taught how to shiver and shake,\u201d thought the sexton as he\nhastened to the belfry ahead of the lad, and crept stealthily up the\nstairs.\n\nThe youth arrived a few minutes later and stumbled along up the stairway\nin the darkness. He was about to grasp the bell rope when he observed a\nwhite figure standing at the head of the stairs. \u201cWho is there?\u201d he\ncalled out, but the figure neither stirred nor spoke.\n\n\u201cAnswer!\u201d cried the lad, \u201cor get out of the way. You have no business\nhere in the night.\u201d\n\nBut the sexton wanted the boy to think he was a ghost, and he did not\nstir.\n\nThe lad called out a second time: \u201cWhat do you want here? Speak, if you\nare an honest fellow, or I\u2019ll throw you down the stairs.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe never would dare undertake such a thing,\u201d thought the sexton. So he\nmade no sound and stood as still as if he were made of stone.\n\nOnce more the lad threatened the shrouded figure, and as he got no\nanswer he sprang forward and threw the ghost down the stairs. The\napparition bumped along down the steps and lay motionless in a corner.\nThen the lad rang the bells, walked home, and without saying a word to\nanybody went to bed. Soon he was fast asleep.\n\nThe sexton\u2019s wife waited a long time for her husband, but he did not\ncome, and at last she became anxious and woke up the lad. \u201cDo you know\nwhat has become of my husband?\u201d she asked. \u201cHe went up into the church\ntower in front of you.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d answered the lad; \u201cbut there was somebody standing at the head of\nthe stairs in the belfry, and as he would neither reply nor go away, I\nthought he was a rogue and I threw him downstairs. Go and see if he was\nyour husband. I should be sorry if he was.\u201d\n\nThe woman hurried away and found the sexton moaning with a broken leg.\nShe carried him home, and the first thing in the morning hastened with\nloud cries to the lad\u2019s father. \u201cYour son has brought a great misfortune\non us,\u201d she said. \u201cHe has thrown my husband downstairs and broken his\nleg. Take the good-for-nothing wretch away out of our house.\u201d\n\nThe father was horrified. He went back with her and gave the lad a good\nscolding. \u201cWhat is the meaning of this inhuman prank?\u201d he said. \u201cThe\nevil one must have put it into your head.\u201d\n\n\u201cFather,\u201d responded the lad, \u201cI am quite innocent. He stood there in the\ndark like a man with some wicked purpose. I did not know who he was, and\nI warned him three times to speak or to go away.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d said his father, \u201cyou bring me nothing but disaster. Get out of\nmy sight. I will have nothing more to do with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo travel elsewhere is just what I wish,\u201d said the lad, \u201cfor I hope\nthat will lead to my learning how to shiver and shake. I want at least\nto have that accomplishment to my credit.\u201d\n\n\u201cLearn what you like,\u201d said his father. \u201cIt\u2019s all the same to me. Here\nare fifty silver pieces for you. Go out into the world, but tell no one\nwhence you come, or who your father is, for you would only bring me to\nshame.\u201d\n\n\u201cJust as you please, father,\u201d said the lad. \u201cIf that is all you want I\ncan easily fulfil your desire.\u201d\n\nSo the lad put his fifty silver pieces into his pocket and betook\nhimself to the highroad. As he tramped along he said over and over, \u201cOh\nthat I could learn to shiver! Oh that I could learn to shake!\u201d\n\nA man overtook him and heard the words he was saying. They went on\ntogether till they came to a gallows whereon seven men were hanging.\n\u201cSit down here,\u201d said the man, \u201cand when night comes you will learn to\nshiver and shake.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf nothing more than that is needed,\u201d said the lad, \u201cI shall be well\npleased; and I promise you, in case I learn to shiver so speedily, that\nyou shall have the fifty silver pieces now in my pocket. Come back to me\nearly tomorrow morning.\u201d\n\nThen the lad sat down beside the gallows. It grew cold after sundown,\nand a sharp wind blew and made the bodies on the gallows swing back and\nforth with a dismal creaking of the ropes by which they were suspended.\n\u201cPoor fellows!\u201d said the lad, \u201cI am none too warm down here in a\nsheltered nook on the ground, and you must have a chilly time of it up\naloft there.\u201d\n\nThen he curled up and went to sleep. Next morning the man who had been\nhis companion on the day before came and said, \u201cWell, I suppose you know\nnow what shivering means.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the lad, \u201chow could I learn it? Those fellows on the gallows\nnever opened their mouths.\u201d\n\nThe man saw that he would get no silver pieces, and he went away,\nsaying, \u201cNever before in my life did I meet such a person as that.\u201d\n\nSoon afterward the lad resumed his travels, and again began saying to\nhimself: \u201cOh that I could learn to shiver! Oh that I could learn to\nshake!\u201d\n\nA carter, who chanced to be on the road, heard his plaint, and asked,\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d said the youth.\n\n\u201cWho is your father?\u201d the carter questioned.\n\n\u201cThat I must not say,\u201d was the lad\u2019s response.\n\n\u201cWhat is it you are grumbling about to yourself as you walk along?\u201d the\ncarter inquired.\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d said the youth, \u201cI wish to learn what shivering is, but no one can\nteach me.\u201d\n\n\u201cNonsense!\u201d said the carter. \u201cJust you come with me and I\u2019ll see that\nyour desire is gratified.\u201d\n\nSo the youth went with the carter, and in the evening they reached an\ninn and arranged to stay there for the night. \u201cOh that I could learn to\nshiver! Oh that I could learn to shake!\u201d sighed the youth as he sat down\nto wait for supper.\n\nThe landlord laughed, and said, \u201cIf that\u2019s what you want, you can have\nplenty of opportunity for learning here.\u201d\n\n\u201cHold your tongue,\u201d said the landlady. \u201cMany an imprudent fellow has\npaid the penalty for his curiosity with his life already. It would be a\nsin and a shame not to have this stranger\u2019s bright eyes see the light of\nday again.\u201d\n\nBut the youth said: \u201cHowever difficult it may be to learn what shivering\nis, the lesson is one I am eager to learn. I left my home to seek such\nknowledge.\u201d\n\nHe would not be put off with evasions, and at last the landlord told him\nthat not far distant stood an enchanted castle, and that any one who\nstayed there over night would surely learn to shiver. Moreover, the king\nhad promised his daughter in marriage to the man who would spend three\nnights in the castle, and every one said she was the most beautiful\nyoung lady the sun ever shone on. Such a vigil would break the spell\nthat was on the castle, and he who accomplished this would become master\nof a great treasure hidden there and guarded by evil spirits. But many,\naspiring to win the princess and the treasure and the renown, had gone\ninto the castle, and not one had ever come out.\n\nThe next morning the youth went to the king, and said, \u201cBy your leave, I\nwould like to pass three nights in the enchanted castle.\u201d\n\nHis request was granted, though with some reluctance, for the king took\na fancy to the lad, and was sorry to think of his probable fate.\n\nWhen night came, the youth went to the castle, made a bright fire in one\nof the rooms, and sat down beside it. \u201cOh, if I could only shiver!\u201d said\nhe, \u201cbut I doubt if I can learn how even here.\u201d\n\nAt midnight he got up from where he was sitting and freshened the fire.\nSuddenly some creatures in a corner of the room began to shriek, \u201cMew,\nmew! how cold we are!\u201d\n\n\u201cSimpletons!\u201d he exclaimed, \u201cwhat are you screeching for? If you are\ncold, come and warm yourselves by the fire.\u201d\n\nImmediately two big black cats sprang forth from the gloomy corner and\nsat down one on each side of him. They stared at him with wild, fiery\neyes until they had warmed themselves, and then said, \u201cComrade, shall we\nhave a game of cards?\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly,\u201d he replied, \u201cbut show me your paws first.\u201d\n\nThey each lifted a front foot and stretched out their claws.\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d said he, \u201cwhat long nails you\u2019ve got! Wait a bit. I must cut them\nfor you.\u201d\n\nHe picked up a sword he had brought with him, but instead of cutting\ntheir nails he seized each cat in turn by the scruff of the neck and\nkilled it by thrusting his sword through its body. That done, he dragged\nthem to a window and heaved them out. But no sooner had he got rid of\nthese cats and was about to sit down by his fire again than crowds of\ndogs, all jet black, swarmed out of every nook and corner of the room.\nThey howled horribly and trampled on his fire, and tried to put it out.\n\nFor a time he looked quietly on, but at last he got angry, took up his\nsword, and cried, \u201cYou rascally pack, away with you!\u201d and he let fly\namong them right and left. Some of them escaped, and the rest he struck\ndead and threw out of the window.\n\nWhen he finished, he returned to the fire, scraped the embers together,\nand set it to blazing. At the far side of the room was a big bed, and he\nwent and lay down on it, intending to sleep the remainder of the night.\nBut just as he was closing his eyes the bed began to move. It crossed\nthe room, went out at a door, and soon was tearing round and round the\ncastle. \u201cVery good,\u201d he said, \u201cthe faster the better!\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe bed careered along as if it were drawn by six horses. Sometimes it\nwas in the castle, sometimes outside, and the way it jolted over the\nthresholds and jigged up and down the stairs was very surprising, to say\nthe least. Suddenly it went hop, hop, hop, with more violence than ever,\nand turned topsy-turvy so that it lay on the lad like a mountain. But he\npitched the pillows and blankets into the air, and soon he had\ndisencumbered himself and got on his feet. \u201cNow some one else may ride,\u201d\nsaid he, and he made his way back to his fire and lay down on the hearth\nand went to sleep.\n\nIn the morning the king came to the castle and found the youth stretched\nout on the floor. He thought the ghosts had killed him, and he said, \u201cIt\nis a pity that such a vigorous, handsome fellow should thus perish.\u201d\n\nBut the youth heard him and sat up, saying, \u201cIt has not come to that\nyet.\u201d\n\nThe king was much surprised, and asked him how he had fared.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d he answered. \u201cOne night is gone, and I expect to get safely\nthrough the others.\u201d\n\nPresently he returned to the inn. The landlord opened his eyes when he\nsaw him, and said: \u201cI never thought to behold you alive again. Have you\nlearned how to shiver yet?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d replied the lad, \u201cit\u2019s all in vain.\u201d\n\nThe second night he went again to the castle, started a fire, and sat\ndown by it and began his old song, \u201cOh if I could only learn to shiver!\u201d\n\nAt midnight he commenced to hear a ringing, rattling noise, first soft,\nbut increasing till there was a great uproar. Then there was a sudden\nsilence. At last, with a loud scream, half a man\u2019s body came tumbling\ndown the chimney and rolled out on the floor in front of the lad.\n\u201cHello!\u201d he said, \u201chere is only half a man. This is not enough.\u201d\n\nThe rattling and ringing were renewed, and soon, amidst shrieks and\nhowls, the other half fell down.\n\n\u201cWait a moment,\u201d said the youth, \u201cand I\u2019ll poke up the fire.\u201d\n\nWhen this was done, and he looked around, the two halves had joined\nthemselves together, and a hideous man sat on the bench. \u201cWe didn\u2019t\nbargain for that,\u201d said the lad. \u201cThe bench is mine.\u201d\n\nHe went to sit down, and the man tried to push him out of the way. Then\nthe youth became angry and flung the man aside and sat down in his usual\nseat. Presently more men fell down the chimney, one after the other, and\nthey fetched with them nine thigh bones and two skulls, and began to\nplay skittles. The youth felt inclined to join in the sport, and he\ncalled out, \u201cI say, can I play too?\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly,\u201d said they.\n\n\u201cThen here goes!\u201d he cried. \u201cThe more, the merrier!\u201d\n\nHe played with them till ten o\u2019clock, when they disappeared. So he lay\ndown, and soon was fast asleep.\n\nNext morning the king again came to see him, and said, \u201cWell, how did\nyou get on this time?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have been playing skittles,\u201d he answered.\n\n\u201cDidn\u2019t you learn to shiver?\u201d the king asked.\n\n\u201cNot I,\u201d he responded. \u201cI only made merry.\u201d\n\nOn the third night he once more was in the enchanted castle sitting on\nhis bench by the fire. \u201cOh, if I could only learn to shiver!\u201d he said,\nin great vexation.\n\nWhen it grew late, six tall men came in carrying a coffin. \u201cHello\nthere!\u201d said he, \u201cset down your burden and make yourselves comfortable.\u201d\n\nThey put the coffin on the floor and he went to it and removed the lid.\nInside lay a man. He felt of the man\u2019s hands and face. They were as cold\nas ice. \u201cI will soon see whether there is any life left in you,\u201d said\nhe, and he picked up the man and sat down with him close by the fire and\nrubbed his arms to make the blood circulate.\n\nAfter a time the man grew warm and began to move. \u201cThere,\u201d said the\nyouth, \u201cyou see I have got you warmed at last.\u201d\n\nBut the man rose up and cried, \u201cNow I will strangle you!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d exclaimed the youth, \u201cis that all the thanks I get? Back you go\ninto your coffin then.\u201d\n\nSo saying, he grasped him, threw him in, and fastened down the lid. Then\nthe six men carried the coffin away. \u201cOh, deary me!\u201d sighed the youth,\n\u201cI shall never learn to shiver if I stop here all my life.\u201d\n\nJust then a huge man entered the room. He was frightful to look at, very\nold, with a long white beard. \u201cYou miserable wretch!\u201d he cried, \u201cnow you\nshall learn what shivering is, for you shall die.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot so fast,\u201d said the youth. \u201cIf I am to die, some one must kill me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will make short work of you,\u201d declared the old monster.\n\n\u201cSoftly, softly!\u201d said the lad. \u201cDon\u2019t boast. Very likely I am stronger\nthan you are.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe shall see about that,\u201d said the old man. \u201cCome with me.\u201d\n\nThen he led the way through numberless dark passages to a smithy, took a\nsledge hammer, and with one blow struck an anvil down into the earth so\nit was nearly buried out of sight.\n\n\u201cI can better that,\u201d affirmed the youth, and he went to another anvil,\ntook an ax, and with one blow split the anvil half in two.\n\nThe old man had come so near to watch that his beard had dropped down on\nthe anvil, and it was wedged into the crevice by the blow of the ax.\n\u201cNow I have you,\u201d said the youth, \u201cand you will be the one to die.\u201d\n\nThen he seized an iron rod and belabored the old man till the sufferer\nshrieked for mercy and promised him great riches if he would stop. So\nthe lad pulled out the ax, and the released captive led the way back\ninto the castle and showed the youth three chests of gold in the cellar.\n\u201cOne is for the poor,\u201d he said, \u201cone is for the king, and one is for\nyou.\u201d\n\nThe clock struck twelve just as the old man finished speaking, and he\ndisappeared and left the youth alone in the dense darkness of the\ncellar. \u201cI must manage to get out somehow,\u201d said the lad, and he groped\nabout till he found his way back to the room where he had his fire.\nThere he lay down and went to sleep.\n\nNext morning the king came and said, \u201cSurely you have now learned to\nshiver.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the youth, \u201ca coffin was brought to me containing a man who\nwas nearly frozen, and when I revived him he wanted to strangle me.\nAfterward, an old man came who wanted to kill me, but I got the better\nof him, and he showed me a lot of gold. However, no one can show me what\nshivering means.\u201d\n\nThen the king said, \u201cYou have broken the spell on the castle, and you\nshall be made a prince and marry my daughter.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is all very fine,\u201d said the youth, \u201cbut still I don\u2019t know what\nshivering is.\u201d\n\nThe gold was brought out from the castle cellar, and the marriage was\ncelebrated; but happy as the youth now was, and much as he loved his\nbride, there yet remained one cause for discontent, and he was always\nsaying: \u201cOh that I could learn to shiver! Oh that I could learn to\nshake!\u201d\n\nThis became quite a source of vexation to his wife as time went on, and\nat last her waiting-woman said, \u201cI will help you to teach him the\nmeaning of shivering.\u201d\n\nShe went out to a brook that ran through the garden, and got a pail of\ncold water full of little fishes. At night, when the prince was asleep,\nhis wife took off the coverings and poured the cold water over him. The\nlittle fishes flopped all about him. Then he woke up and cried, \u201cOh, how\nI am shivering, dear wife, how I am shivering! Now I know what shivering\nis!\u201d\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE WONDERFUL TURNIP\n\n\nTHERE were once two brothers who were soldiers, and one had become an\nofficer and grown rich. The other remained a common soldier and was\npoor. At last the poor one, with the hope to improve his fortune, took\noff his soldiering coat and became a farmer. He ploughed a small field\nand sowed turnip seed. The seed came up, and the farmer soon observed\nthat one turnip was growing much faster than any of the others. It grew\ntill he thought it would never get done growing, and at the end of the\nseason, when he uprooted it, that one turnip filled a cart and required\ntwo oxen to draw it. Truly it was the queen of turnips, and its like had\nnever been seen before, nor ever will be again. The farmer knew not what\nto do with it, and was uncertain whether it would bring good fortune or\nbad.\n\n\u201cIf I sold it I should not get much money for it,\u201d said he. \u201cAs for\neating it, the ordinary turnips would do as well for that. I think I\nwill take it to the king.\u201d\n\nSo away he went, with oxen dragging the cart that contained the turnip,\nand in due time he arrived at court and presented the turnip to the\nking.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cWhat an extraordinary object!\u201d the king exclaimed. \u201cI have seen many\nmarvels, but never anything so remarkable as this. You must be a child\nof good luck, whether you raised this turnip from seed or found it full\ngrown.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh no!\u201d said the farmer, \u201clucky I certainly am not. For many years I\nwas a poor soldier, but recently I hung my uniform on a nail, and now I\ntill the earth. I have a brother who is rich and well known to you, my\nlord king; but I, because I have nothing, am forgotten by all the\nworld.\u201d\n\nThereupon the king pitied him and said, \u201cYou shall be poor no longer;\u201d\nand he presented him with gold, land, flocks, and herds that made him\nricher than his brother.\n\nWhen the brother heard what had happened he was envious and pondered how\nhe might gain a like treasure for himself. Presently he took jewels and\nswift horses and gave them to the king. \u201cIf my brother got so much for a\nsingle turnip,\u201d thought he, \u201cwhat will I not get for these beautiful\nthings?\u201d\n\nThe king received the present very graciously and told the soldier he\ncould give him in return nothing rarer or better than the magnificent\nturnip.\n\nSo the wealthy soldier was obliged to hire a cart, and have the turnip\ntaken to his home. He arrived there full of wrath and bitterness. The\nmore he thought on the matter the worse he felt, and at length he formed\nthe evil design of having his brother killed. He hired two ruffians, who\nwaylaid the former poor soldier as he was passing through a wood. They\nseized and bound him and prepared to hang him on a tree. But before they\nhad accomplished their purpose they heard an approaching clatter of\nhoofs and the sound of singing. That frightened them so much that they\nthrust their prisoner head first into a sack, attached a rope to it,\nthrew the end of the rope over a branch of an oak and hauled him well up\ninto the tree. Then they took to flight.\n\nThe prisoner soon contrived to work a hole in the sack, and stuck his\nhead out. Then he perceived that the noise which had saved him was made\nby a student, a young fellow who was riding through the wood singing\nsnatches of song as he went along. Just as the student was passing the\ntree, the man called out: \u201cGood day. You come in the nick of time.\u201d\n\nThe youth stopped his horse and looked all round, but could not make out\nwhere the voice came from. At last he said, \u201cWho calls?\u201d\n\n\u201cRaise your eyes,\u201d said the man. \u201cI am sitting up here in the Sack of\nKnowledge, and in a short time I have learned so much that the wisdom of\nthe schools is as air compared to mine. Soon I shall have learned\neverything, and I shall come down and be the wisest of mankind. I\nunderstand astronomy and the blowing of the winds and the art of healing\nthe sick, and I know every herb and all the birds and stones. If you\nwere here in my place you would feel what splendor flows from the Sack\nof Knowledge.\u201d\n\nAll this greatly astonished and impressed the student, in which he said:\n\u201cBlessed be the hour in which I met you! Let me get into the sack for a\nlittle while.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the other with apparent reluctance, \u201cthat you may do if you\nwill wait for a short time till I am ready. There is one piece of\nlearning which I have not yet fully mastered.\u201d\n\nSo the student waited, but he soon became impatient and entreated to be\nallowed to get into the sack at once and satisfy his great thirst for\nknowledge. Then the man pretended to take pity on him and told him to\nlower the sack to the ground and open the mouth of it. That done, the\nfarmer got out, and the student started to get in, feet first, saying,\n\u201cI want you to make haste and pull me up as fast as possible.\u201d\n\n\u201cStop, stop!\u201d cried the man. \u201cThat won\u2019t do.\u201d\n\nThen he laid hold of the student by the shoulders and thrust him into\nthe sack head downward, tied it up, and swung the disciple of wisdom up\non the bough of the tree. When the student was dangling up aloft in the\nair, the man said: \u201cHow do you feel now, my dear fellow? Do you find\nthat wisdom comes with experience? Stay there quietly till you become\nwiser.\u201d\n\nThereupon he mounted the student\u2019s horse and rode off; but an hour later\nhe sent some one to release the prisoner in the sack.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE ENCHANTED DOVE\n\n\nA POOR maidservant was once traveling with her master\u2019s family in a\ncoach through a great wood. When they were in the very middle of the\nwood, a band of robbers sprang out of a thicket and killed every one of\nthe travelers that they could lay their hands on. Only the maidservant\nescaped. She, in her fright, jumped out of the coach and hid behind a\ntree.\n\nWhen the robbers had made off with their booty she came from her place\nof concealment and wept as she saw what had happened. \u201cAlas!\u201d she cried,\n\u201chere I am left alone in this wild forest. I can never find my way out,\nand not a human creature lives in it, so that I shall certainly die of\nhunger.\u201d\n\nShe wandered about for some time looking for a pathway, but could not\nfind one. Evening came, and she sat down under a tree and made up her\nmind to spend the night there, no matter what might happen. But soon a\nlittle white dove came flying to her with a small golden key in its\nbeak. It put the key in the girl\u2019s hand, and said: \u201cExamine closely the\nbark of the tree-trunk you are leaning against, and you will find a lock\nwhich this key will fit. Turn the key in that lock, and a door will open\nand reveal a cupboard in which is food and drink. Take all you need.\u201d\n\nThe girl examined the tree, found the lock, and opened the door, and\ninside was a basin of milk, and some white bread to eat with it. So she\nmade a good meal. When she finished, she said to herself: \u201cAt home the\nhens are going to roost now. Oh, that I had some shelter for the night!\u201d\n\nThen the little dove again came flying to her with another golden key in\nits beak, and it said, \u201cThis will open a door in yonder tree, within\nwhich you will find a nice bed.\u201d\n\nShe opened the door and found a soft, clean bed inside, and she lay down\nin it and went to sleep. Next morning the dove came a third time and\nbrought her a key. This opened a door in another large tree near by, and\nthere she found many beautiful garments embroidered with gold and\nsilver, and ornamented with precious stones. No princess could have\ndesired anything finer.\n\nFor a long time the maid dwelt there in the forest, and the dove visited\nher every day and supplied all her wants. Her life was peaceful and\nhappy. One day the dove came to her and said, \u201cWill you do something for\nmy sake?\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cWith all my heart,\u201d replied the maiden.\n\nThen the dove said: \u201cI will take you to a little house, which you must\nenter. By the hearth you will see an old woman sitting. She will bid you\ngood day, but on no account speak a word to her, whatever she may say or\ndo. Walk right past her, and at the far side of the fireplace you will\nsee a door. Open it and go into the room beyond. There, on a table, you\nwill find a heap of rings of every description. Many of them are very\nbeautiful and glitter with precious stones, but take none of those.\nInstead, search for a small plain one, which is somewhere in the room.\nAfter you secure it, bring it to me as quickly as you can.\u201d\n\nSo the dove guided the maiden to the little house, and she opened the\ndoor and saw the old woman, who stared and said, \u201cGood day, my child.\u201d\n\nThe maiden did not answer, but went on toward the inner door. \u201cWhither\nare you going?\u201d cried the old woman, seizing her by the skirt. \u201cThis is\nmy house, and no one shall pass through that door without my\npermission.\u201d\n\nBut the girl said never a word. She loosened her skirt from the woman\u2019s\ngrasp and went into the room beyond the fireplace. On a table lay a\nglittering heap of jeweled rings. She searched among them for the plain\none, but could not find it. While she continued her search, the old\nwoman slipped into the room and took up a bird cage, with which she\nstarted to slyly creep away. Her actions aroused the suspicions of the\nmaiden, who ran after her and wrenched the cage out of her hands.\n\nThen the girl saw that the bird inside held the plain ring in its beak.\nShe took the ring and ran joyfully out of the house, thinking she would\nfind the dove close at hand waiting for her, but no dove appeared.\nAnxious and fearful, she leaned against a tree, watching for the coming\nof the bird. As she stood there it seemed to her that the tree became\nsoft and supple and bent its branches downward. Then two of the branches\ntwined themselves around her, and behold, when she tried to free\nherself, they were not branches at all, but two strong arms. She looked\nup, and the tree was gone, and in its stead was a fine handsome man with\nhis arms clasped about her.\n\n\u201cYou have released me from the power of the old woman, who is an evil\nwitch,\u201d said he. \u201cShe changed me into a tree a long time ago, but every\nday I became a white dove for a couple of hours. So long as she\npossessed the ring I could not regain my human form. I am a king\u2019s son,\nand I came hither accompanied by servants and horses, who were likewise\nchanged into trees. But now you see them around me in their natural\nforms, and you must come with us to my father\u2019s kingdom.\u201d\n\nWhen they reached their journey\u2019s end the prince and the maiden married,\nand they lived happily ever after.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE THREE WISHES\n\n\nONCE upon a time there lived a poor woodman in a great forest, and every\nmorning his wife filled a basket with food and a bottle with drink for\nhis lunch, and, laden with this lunch and his ax, he went off to be gone\ntill evening cutting timber. One day he was about to fell a huge oak\nwhich he thought would furnish many a good plank. He had his ax raised\nfor the first blow when he heard a pitiful entreating, and there stood\nbefore him a little fairy, who beseeched him to spare the tree.\n\nSo dazed was he with wonder that for a while he could not open his mouth\nto speak a word, but at last he said, \u201cWell, I\u2019ll do as you ask.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat tree is my home,\u201d explained the fairy, \u201cand you will not lose as\nmuch as you think by letting it stand, for it is hollow at the heart.\nBesides, to show you that I am not ungrateful, I will grant you and your\nwife the first three wishes you and she wish after you get home, let\nthem be what they may.\u201d\n\nThen the fairy opened a little door at the base of the tree, which he\nhad not seen before, and disappeared.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the woodman, \u201cif my wife and I can have three wishes, our\nfortune is as good as made. It is nearly evening, and I may as well go\nhome at once. I shall never need to cut any more trees.\u201d\n\nHe put his ax over his shoulder, picked up his basket and bottle, and\noff he went. When he arrived at his cottage he sat down by the fireside\nto rest and told his wife about the fairy.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said she, when she had heard him through, \u201cIf it is left to my\nchoice, I know very well what I would wish for. I think nothing is so\ngood as to be handsome, and rich, and aristocratic.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd yet,\u201d said the husband, \u201ceven with such wishes realized, one might\nbe sick and fretful and die young. It would be much wiser to wish for\nhealth, cheerfulness, and a long life.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe fairy should have promised a dozen wishes,\u201d said the wife, \u201cfor\nthere are at least that many things I want very much.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d agreed the man, \u201ca dozen wishes would have been better, but as we\nhave only three we must make those three do all that is possible. Let us\nconsider the matter carefully until tomorrow before wishing, that we may\ndecide wisely what three things are most necessary for us.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll think the whole night through,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cAfter all,\u201d remarked the man, \u201cit may be the fairy\u2019s promise was only a\ntrick. Who can tell?\u201d\n\nThe evening was chilly, and the wife took the tongs and poked the fire\ninto brighter blazing. For a time the man sat in silence, and then he\nhappened to think that he was hungry. \u201cWhy isn\u2019t the supper ready?\u201d he\nasked.\n\n\u201cYou forget that you are home early,\u201d she replied. \u201cIt won\u2019t be supper\ntime for two hours.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh!\u201d sighed he, \u201ctwo hours is a long wait after working in the woods\nall day. I wish I had some nice sausages this minute.\u201d\n\nNo sooner had he said this than\u2014rustle, rustle\u2014what should come down the\nchimney but a dish containing a string of as fine sausages as ever were\nseen. The dish came down on the hearth with a slight clatter, and the\nwoodman and his wife stared in astonishment. \u201cWhat\u2019s all this?\u201d said\nshe.\n\nHe answered not a word, and she glowered and glowered. \u201cOh, you silly\nman!\u201d she cried, \u201cthere\u2019s one wish gone already, and only two are left.\nWhat a fool you have been! I wish the sausages were fast to the tip of\nyour nose.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n A noble string of sausages hung from his nose\n]\n\nBefore you could wink, there the goodman sat with his nose the longer\nfor a noble string of sausages. He tried to pull them off, but they\nstuck. Then his wife gave them a pull, but still they stuck. They\nrefused to come off even when the two pulled together.\n\n\u201cOuch, ouch!\u201d exclaimed the man, \u201cwe must stop this pulling, or we shall\npull my nose off. But I can\u2019t have these things staying on my nose. What\nshall we do?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey are not so very unsightly,\u201d said she, \u201cand we had better wish for\nvast riches. Then we shall be able to live in comfort the rest of our\nlives, and if you object to the looks of the sausages we can have a\ngolden case made to hide them.\u201d\n\n\u201cI couldn\u2019t endure them, case or no case,\u201d declared the man. Then, lest\nthe goodwife should wish for riches in spite of his protest, he hastily\nwished that the sausages might come off.\n\nThere they lay in the dish as before, and if the husband and wife did\nnot ride in a golden coach and dress in silk and satin, why they at\nleast had as fine a mess of sausages for their supper as the heart of\nman could desire.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE OLD HORSE\n\n\nTHERE was once a farmer who had a horse which served him faithfully till\nit had grown old and could do its work no longer. So its master grudged\nit food, and said: \u201cI have no further use for you, and yet I still feel\nkindly toward you. Therefore, if you will show yourself strong enough to\nbring home a lion, I will take care of you to the end of your days. But\naway with you now and out of my stable.\u201d\n\nThen the farmer drove the poor horse out, and it went sadly away with\ndrooping head to the forest to get a little shelter from the wind and\nweather. There it met a fox, who said, \u201cWhy do you hang your head and\nlook so downcast, and wander about in this solitary fashion?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d said the horse, \u201cavarice and fidelity cannot dwell together. My\nmaster has forgotten all the service I have rendered him these many\nyears, and because I can no longer plough he will not give me any\nfodder, and he has driven me out of my stable.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid he give you no hope that you might return?\u201d asked the fox.\n\n\u201cVery little,\u201d replied the horse. \u201cHe told me that if I could manage to\nbring home a lion he would take care of me, but he knows well enough\nthat such a thing is impossible.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps not,\u201d said the fox. \u201cI will help you. Just you lie down here\nand stretch out your legs as if you were dead.\u201d\n\nThe horse did as he was bid, and the fox went to a lion whose den was\nnot far off, and said: \u201cNear by lies a dead horse. Come along with me,\nand you can have a capital meal.\u201d\n\nThe lion went with the fox, and when they got to the horse, the fox\nsaid: \u201cHist! hearken to my advice. You can\u2019t eat the creature in comfort\nhere. I will tie it to you, and you can drag it away to your den, and\nenjoy it at your leisure.\u201d\n\nThe plan pleased the lion, and he stood quite still, close to the horse,\nwhile the fox knotted the horse\u2019s tail fast to him. He did not realize\nthat the fox was cunningly tying his legs together and twisting and\nknotting the hairs of the tail till it was impossible for him to get\nfree with all his strength. As soon as the work was done, the fox patted\nthe horse on the shoulder, and said: \u201cPull, old Gray! Pull!\u201d\n\nAt once the horse jumped up and started for home, dragging the lion\nbehind it. In his rage the lion roared so that all the birds in the\nforest flew away in terror. But the horse let him roar, and never\nstopped until it reached its master\u2019s door.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nWhen the farmer saw what the horse had done he was delighted, and he\nrepented of his former resolution to let the creature shift for itself.\n\u201cYou shall remain with me in future and live at your ease,\u201d said he.\n\nSo the faithful horse had plenty to eat and comfortable shelter till it\ndied.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE DONKEY CABBAGES\n\n\nTHERE was once a young huntsman who went to the forest in search of\ngame. He was light-hearted and merry, and he whistled a gay tune as he\nwent along. By and by he met an ugly old woman, who said: \u201cGood morning,\nhuntsman. You are well fed and happy, while I am hungry and sad. Give me\nan alms, I pray you.\u201d\n\nThe huntsman pitied the poor old woman, and he put his hand in his\npocket and gave her what he could afford. Then he started to go on, but\nthe old woman stopped him, and said: \u201cHark you, dear huntsman, I will\nmake you a present because of your good heart. Go on your way, and you\nwill soon come to a tree on which sit nine birds quarreling over a\ncloak. Take aim with your gun, and shoot into the midst of them. They\nwill drop the cloak, and one of the birds will fall down dead. Take the\ncloak with you. It is a wishing-cloak. When you throw it round your\nshoulders, you have only to wish yourself at a place to be there at\nonce. Cut open the dead bird, and you will find a ring inside. Wear it\non your finger, and each morning there will be a gold piece under your\npillow.\u201d\n\nThe huntsman thanked the old woman, and thought, \u201cShe promises fine\nthings, and I hope it will all turn out as she says.\u201d\n\nWhen he had gone about a hundred paces, he heard above him, in the\nbranches of a tree, a great chattering and screaming. He looked up and\nsaw a group of birds pulling at a cloak with their beaks and claws. It\nwas evident from the snatching and tugging that each bird wanted the\ngarment for itself.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the huntsman, \u201cthis is extraordinary, and it is just what\nthe old woman said I would see.\u201d\n\nHe put his gun to his shoulder, took aim, and fired. Away went the birds\nwith a great noise and scattering of feathers\u2014all except one, which fell\ndown dead, and at the same time the cloak dropped at the huntsman\u2019s\nfeet. He cut open the bird and found a ring inside and put it on his\nfinger. Then he took the cloak and went home.\n\nWhen he awoke the next morning he remembered the old woman\u2019s promise and\nlooked under his pillow. Sure enough, there lay a shining gold coin, and\non the morning following he found another, and thus it was every\nmorning. Gradually, he collected quite a heap of gold, and at last he\nsaid to himself: \u201cWhat is the good of all this gold to me if I stay at\nhome? I will go and look about in the world.\u201d\n\nSo he took leave of his parents, shouldered his gun, and set out on his\ntravels. One day a turn in the road brought into view a magnificent\ncastle. An old woman and a beautiful girl were looking out from an upper\nwindow. The old woman was a witch, and the maiden was her daughter.\n\u201cHere comes some one,\u201d said she, \u201cwho has a magic ring on his finger. We\nmust try to get it, my darling. It is better suited to us than to him.\nWhoever wears that ring finds a gold coin every morning under the\npillow. You must get it from him or it will be the worse for you.\u201d\n\nShe then withdrew, but the maiden remained looking out of the window.\nWhen the huntsman got nearer he saw her, and said to himself: \u201cI am\nweary with traveling. I will stop at this fine castle and rest.\u201d But he\nwould not have felt such an urgent need of stopping if he had not seen\nthe maiden.\n\nHe was kindly received and hospitably entertained, and he was soon so in\nlove with the daughter of the witch that she was constantly in his\nthoughts, and he cared for nothing but pleasing her.\n\nAt length the witch decided on a plan for getting the ring. She\nconcocted a drink that would make the huntsman insensible, put it in a\ngoblet, and said to her daughter: \u201cCarry this to the youth, and get his\nring. He will not miss it.\u201d\n\nThe maiden went to the huntsman, and said, \u201cMy dearest, here is a\npleasant drink we have prepared for you.\u201d\n\nHe took the goblet and drank what was in it, and soon it overpowered him\nand she secured the magic ring. After that the huntsman found no more\ngold under his pillow; but the maiden wore the ring every night, and the\ncoin was under her pillow instead, and each morning the old woman used\nto come and get it. However, he did not trouble himself about the\nmatter, and was content to enjoy the maiden\u2019s company.\n\nOne day the old woman said to her daughter: \u201cWe have got the ring, but\nwe must have his wishing-cloak, too.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet us leave him that,\u201d said the maiden. \u201cHave we not done enough in\ntaking away his means of getting riches?\u201d\n\nThat made the old woman very angry, and she said, \u201cThe cloak is so rare\nand wonderful a thing that I am determined to have it, and I shall\npunish you unless you get it for me.\u201d\n\nThe maiden seated herself at a window and looked sadly out at a distant\nblue mountain. Soon the huntsman joined her and asked, \u201cWhy are you so\nsad?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas! my sweetheart,\u201d said she, \u201cover there is the granite mountain, on\nwhich are great quantities of precious stones. I long for those precious\nstones so much that I grow melancholy whenever I think of them. But who\ncan ever get them, except perhaps the birds, for the mountain-sides are\ntoo steep to climb.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf that is all your trouble,\u201d said the huntsman, \u201cI have a remedy for\nit.\u201d\n\nThen he drew her under his cloak and wished to be on the granite\nmountain, and they were there almost instantly. Precious stones\nglittered all around them and rejoiced their sight, and they eagerly\ngathered some of the largest and finest. But the witch had cast a spell\non the huntsman, and a great drowsiness began to come over him. He said\nto the maiden, \u201cWe will sit down and rest a while, for I am so tired I\ncan hardly stand.\u201d\n\nThey sat down, and he laid his head on her lap, and went to sleep. Then\nthe maiden slipped the cloak off his shoulders and put it on her own,\nloaded herself with the precious stones, and wished herself at home.\n\nBy and by the huntsman awoke and realized that his beloved had betrayed\nhim and left him alone on the wild mountain. \u201cOh, what treachery there\nis in the world!\u201d he exclaimed, and he sat there overwhelmed with grief\nand knew not what to do.\n\nThe mountain belonged to some savage and mighty giants, and before long\nhe saw three of them striding toward him. He hastily lay down and\npretended to be fast asleep. The first one, when he came to where the\nhuntsman was, kicked him, and said, \u201cWhat kind of an earthworm is this?\u201d\n\n\u201cTread on him and kill him,\u201d said the second.\n\nBut the third said contemptuously: \u201cThat is not worth while. Let him\nalone. He will soon die here, or if he climbs higher up the mountain the\nclouds will carry him away.\u201d\n\nThen they went off, and the huntsman got up and climbed to the top of\nthe mountain. After he had sat there for a time, a cloud came sweeping\nby, and it caught him up and floated away through the air with him. At\nlast, in the dusk of evening, it made a gentle descent and deposited him\nin a large walled garden. He looked around and said: \u201cI wish I had\nsomething to eat. After traveling so far I am very hungry. But here I\nsee not a single apple or berry, or any other fruit\u2014nothing, only\ncabbages, some of them green and some pink. As there is no other food to\nbe had I will try one of the cabbages, and I think it may refresh me,\neven if I don\u2019t like the taste of it.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n TO HIS HORROR HE PERCEIVED THAT HE HAD BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO A DONKEY\n]\n\nSo he selected a tender head of green cabbage and started to eat. But he\nhad scarcely taken a couple of bites when he felt a wondrous change come\nover him. His head grew big and shaggy, and his ears long and hairy, and\nhis arms became legs, and he had hoofs instead of hands and feet. To his\nhorror he perceived that he had been transformed into a donkey. Soon he\nresumed eating, for his appetite had not been appeased, and the juicy\ncabbages were now much to his liking. Presently he tried one of the pink\ncabbages. Immediately he felt a new change taking place, and soon found\nhe had resumed his human form.\n\nNow he lay down and slept off his fatigue. When he awoke it was morning,\nand he broke off a head of the green cabbage and a head of the pink\ncabbage, and thought: \u201cI will take these along. They may be of use to\nme.\u201d\n\nThen he clambered over the wall and went off in search of the witch\u2019s\ncastle. After wandering about for a few days he was fortunate enough to\nfind it. But before he showed himself he stained his face and disguised\nhimself as a countryman. Even his own mother would not have known him.\nThat done, he went to the castle and begged for a night\u2019s lodging.\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d asked the witch, \u201cand what is your business?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am a messenger from the king,\u201d he replied. \u201cHis Majesty sent me to\nseek the most delicate cabbages that grow on earth. I have been\nsuccessful in securing two heads, but the sun shines so warm I am afraid\nthe tender leaves will wither and that I would waste my efforts to go\nany farther with them.\u201d\n\nWhen the old witch heard about these precious cabbages she was anxious\nto eat of them herself, and she became very agreeable in her manner\ntoward the wanderer, and said, \u201cGood countryman, let me taste the\nwonderful cabbages.\u201d\n\n\u201cBy all means,\u201d said he. \u201cYou shall have one of them,\u201d and he handed her\nthe green cabbage.\n\nShe took it to the kitchen, and with her own hands prepared a salad for\nher household. But when it was ready for the table she could wait no\nlonger, and put some of it in her mouth and began eating. Immediately\nthe charm worked, and she became an old, gray donkey and ran out into\nthe courtyard.\n\nPresently the servant maid entered the kitchen. She saw the cabbage\nsalad on the table and took it up to carry it to the dining-hall. But on\nthe way, in accord with her usual habit, she tasted of it. At once she\nturned into a donkey, dropped the dish, and ran out to join the other\ndonkey.\n\nIn the meantime, the disguised huntsman sat with the beautiful maiden.\nShe asked him about the wonderful cabbage, and expressed an eager desire\nto eat some of it.\n\n\u201cI will go to the kitchen and see if it is ready,\u201d said he.\n\nBut on the way thither he found the salad on the floor with scattered\nfragments of the dish that had contained it. Then he looked out of a\nwindow and saw the two donkeys running about in the courtyard. \u201cVery\ngood,\u201d said he, and he put the salad in a fresh dish and carried it to\nthe maiden.\n\n\u201cI have brought you this precious salad myself,\u201d said he, \u201cso that you\nwill not have to wait any longer.\u201d\n\nThereupon she ate some, and lost her human form, and ran out to the\ncourtyard. The huntsman washed the stain from his face, and went out and\naddressed the donkeys. \u201cNow,\u201d said he, \u201cyou see plainly who I am, and I\nwould have you know that I am going to punish you for your treachery.\u201d\n\nHe tied them together with a rope, and drove them along the highway\nuntil he came to a mill. There he stopped and tapped on a window. The\nmiller put his head out and asked what he wanted.\n\n\u201cI have three bad animals here,\u201d said he, \u201cand I want to get rid of\nthem. If you will take them and feed and treat them as I wish, I will\npay you whatever you say is fair for your trouble.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right,\u201d said the miller. \u201cHow shall I treat them?\u201d\n\nThe huntsman said he would have the old donkey, which was the witch,\nwell beaten three times a day and fed once. Then he pointed out the one\nwhich was the servant lass, and said, \u201cBeat that one once and feed it\nthree times; and this other you are not to beat at all. It is to receive\ngood care and plenty to eat;\u201d for he could not make up his mind to cause\nthe fair maiden pain.\n\nHe returned to the castle and made himself very comfortable there. A few\ndays later the miller came and told him the old gray donkey was dead. On\nlearning this the huntsman took pity on the two other beasts, and had\nthe miller bring them back to him. As soon as they came he gave them\nsome of the pink cabbage to eat, and one promptly became the servant\nmaid, and the other the beautiful daughter of the witch, just as they\nwere before they ate of the green cabbage.\n\nThe beautiful maiden fell on her knees at the feet of the huntsman, and\nsaid: \u201cOh, my beloved, forgive all the wrong I have done you. My mother\ncompelled me to do it against my will, for I love you with my whole\nheart. Your wishing-cloak hangs in one of the closets, and I will get\nyour ring for you, too.\u201d\n\n\u201cKeep the ring,\u201d said he. \u201cI intend to make you my bride, and we will\nenjoy our riches together.\u201d\n\nSoon afterward they were married, and they lived happily to the end of\ntheir lives.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n SWEET PORRIDGE\n\n\nYEARS ago there was a little girl who lived with her mother in a small\nhouse on the edge of a forest. They were very poor, and at length there\ncame a time when they had nothing left to eat. One day the little girl\nwent into the forest to get a few sticks with which to make a fire, and\nthere she met an old woman who gave her a small pot, and said: \u201cThis pot\nwill supply you with food, and you need never be hungry again. You have\nonly to say, \u2018Boil, little pot, boil!\u2019 and it will cook you as much\nnice, sweet porridge as you can wish for. Just watch it, and when the\nporridge inside has increased to the amount you want, say, \u2018Stop, little\npot,\u2019 and the boiling will immediately cease.\u201d\n\nThe little girl thanked the old woman, and carried the pot home to her\nmother. After that they had plenty to eat, for the pot supplied them\nwith sweet porridge as often as they pleased.\n\nEverything prospered with them until one afternoon the little girl went\nfor a walk in the fields outside of the village. She was gone so long\nthat her mother became hungry, and said to the pot, \u201cBoil, little pot,\nboil.\u201d\n\nAt once the cooking began, but when the porridge in the pot had\nincreased to enough for a meal, she could not think of the magic words\nto stop the boiling process. So the pot soon began to overflow, and it\ncontinued to boil and boil till the porridge filled the kitchen. In a\nlittle while the entire house was filled, and still the pot boiled. The\nporridge now commenced to stream out at the doors and windows and\nchimney. It filled the yard and the garden, it engulfed the next house,\nand the next, and soon the street was filled. The people fled before it,\nand it covered the whole village out of sight. It seemed likely to\nfurnish food for all the world, and there is no knowing what might have\nhappened if the little girl had not returned and called to the pot to\nstop.\n\nThen it left off cooking; but for many a long day the people who wished\nto get into the village had to eat their way through a great mass of\nsweet porridge.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE PRAYING GEESE\n\n\nA FOX once came to a meadow where a flock of fine fat geese were\nfeeding. \u201cMy dears,\u201d said he, \u201cI have come without ceremony, just as if\nI had been invited. You are very charming, and I desire nothing better\nthan to keep you company and eat you one after another at my leisure.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe geese cackled for terror and began to beg pitifully for their lives.\nBut their appeals had no effect on the fox. His only response was: \u201cI\nshall show you no mercy. You must die.\u201d\n\nThen one of them said: \u201cIf we poor geese must lose our lives, at least\ngrant us one single grace. Permit us to say our prayers, that we may not\ndie in our sins. After we finish praying we will all stand in a row, and\nyou can pick out the fattest one to begin on, and feast as you please.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the fox, \u201cthat is a just and pious request. Pray away, and\nI will wait for you.\u201d\n\nSo they all commenced praying: \u201cHonk, honk, honk! Honk, honk, honk!\u201d\n\nWhen they have finished praying, this tale shall be continued; but\nmeanwhile you can be very sure that they are praying still.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE DARNING NEEDLE\n\n\nTHERE was once a darning needle which thought itself so fine that it\nimagined it was a sewing needle. \u201cBe careful to hold me tightly,\u201d it\nsaid to the fingers as they took it up. \u201cDo not drop me, for if I fall I\ndoubt if I should be found again, I am so fine.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s what you say,\u201d remarked the fingers and began sewing.\n\n\u201cLook, I have a train,\u201d the darning needle said, and dragged a long\nthread after it.\n\nThe fingers belonged to a cook, and they applied the needle to a\nslipper, the upper leather of which had torn and needed mending. \u201cThis\nis degrading work,\u201d said the darning needle. \u201cI shall never get through\nsuch coarse leather. I shall break, I shall break!\u201d\n\nAnd really it did break. \u201cDid I not tell you so?\u201d the needle sighed. \u201cI\nam too fine.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow it is good for nothing,\u201d said the fingers; but still they held it\nwhile the cook with the fingers of her other hand dropped some melted\nsealing-wax on the broken end. When the wax cooled, she fastened her\nneckerchief with the needle.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cI have become a scarf-pin,\u201d said the needle. \u201cI knew very well that I\nshould come to honor. When one is worthy one is sure to get on in the\nworld.\u201d\n\nThen it laughed to itself and sat there as proudly as if it was in its\nown carriage, and it looked about in all directions. \u201cMay I take the\nliberty to ask if you are of gold?\u201d it inquired of a pin that was its\nneighbor. \u201cYour outward appearance is splendid, and I see you have a\nhead, too, although it is very small. You must endeavor to have it grow,\nfor it is not every one who can receive a sealing-wax head of just the\nproper size.\u201d\n\nSo saying, the darning needle raised itself so proudly that it fell out\nof the neckerchief into the sink which the cook was rinsing. \u201cNow I am\ngoing to travel,\u201d the needle said. \u201cI hope I shall not be lost.\u201d\n\nThe cook did not observe it, and down it went through the drain and out\ninto a street gutter. \u201cI am too fine for this world,\u201d it said as it lay\nthere in the mud beneath a shallow flow of water. \u201cHowever, I know my\nown worth, and there is always a satisfaction in that.\u201d\n\nSo the darning needle kept its proud bearing and retained its cheerful\ntemper. All sorts of things floated past over it\u2014chips, straws, and bits\nof newspaper. \u201cHow they sail along!\u201d the needle said, \u201cand they little\nknow what is lying here under them. There goes a chip, thinking of\nnothing in the world but itself\u2014a chip! Now a piece of straw floats\npast. How it twists and twirls about! It ought not to think only of\nitself, for unless it is careful it will most likely run against a\nstone. There swims a piece of old newspaper. What is printed on it has\nlong been forgotten, and yet see what airs it gives itself. As for me,\nhere I sit patiently and quietly. I know what I am, and that I shall\nremain.\u201d\n\nOne day something glittering lay close by its side, and the darning\nneedle thought this glittering object was a diamond. Really it was only\na piece of a broken bottle. But because it was so bright, the darning\nneedle spoke to it and introduced itself as a scarf-pin. \u201cYou are a\ndiamond, I suppose,\u201d said the needle.\n\n\u201cYes, I am something of that sort,\u201d responded the piece of glass.\n\nSo each thought the other something very choice, and they gossiped\ntogether about the arrogance and pride of the world.\n\n\u201cI have lived in a box that belonged to a young lady,\u201d explained the\ndarning needle. \u201cThe young lady was a cook, she had five fingers on each\nhand. I was only intimate with those on her right hand, and never have I\nseen anything else so conceited as were those five fingers. Yet they\nwere made simply to take me out of the box and put me back again.\u201d\n\n\u201cWere they very distinguished?\u201d asked the piece of glass.\n\n\u201cDistinguished!\u201d said the darning needle. \u201cNo, but they were conceited\nand haughty. They were five brothers and were always together one by the\nside of the other, though they were of different lengths. The first was\nMr. Thumb. He was short and thick, and had only one joint in his back,\nso he could only make one bend when he bowed. Foreman, the second, dived\ninto all the foods, both sweet and sour, to test them, pointed to the\nsun and moon, and pressed on the pen in writing. Middleman, the third,\nlooked right over the heads of all the others. Ringman, the fourth, wore\na golden girdle round his waist. Littleman, the fifth, did nothing at\nall and was proud of it. The whole five were constantly bragging and\nboasting, and therefore I left them.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd now we lie here and shine,\u201d said the piece of glass.\n\nJust then there was a rush of water in the gutter that carried the piece\nof glass away. \u201cShe has risen in the world,\u201d said the darning needle,\n\u201cbut I remain here. I am too fine. However, that is my pride, and I have\ngood reason for it.\u201d\n\nSo there it proudly lay and had many great thoughts. \u201cI am almost\ninclined to believe I am the child of a sunbeam, I am so fine,\u201d it said.\n\u201cIndeed, it seems to me as if the sun was always looking for me here\nunder the water. But I am so fine that my own mother cannot find me. If\nI only had my eye, which broke off, I think I should cry; but that I\nshall not do\u2014it is not considered well-bred to cry.\u201d\n\nOne day some boys were rummaging around in the gutter hunting for\nhalf-pence, old nails, and such-like treasures. It was dirty work, but\nit gave them great pleasure. One of them pricked himself with the\ndarning needle. \u201cOh!\u201d he cried, and took up the needle and showed it to\nhis comrades, saying, \u201cLook at this fellow.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am no fellow at all, but a young lady,\u201d the needle said; but no one\nheard it.\n\nThe sealing-wax had come off, and the needle had turned black, but that\nmade it look thinner, and therefore it thought itself finer than ever.\n\n\u201cHere comes an egg-shell sailing along,\u201d said the boys, and they put the\nneedle into it.\n\n\u201cWhite walls, and I myself black,\u201d said the darning needle. \u201cThat is\nvery becoming, and people cannot help seeing me now. I hope I shall not\nbe seasick.\u201d\n\nOn it drifted in the egg-shell boat, and the voyage proved very\nenjoyable. \u201cThere is no protection against seasickness like having a\nsteel stomach, and the constant thought of one\u2019s worthiness,\u201d it said.\n\u201cThe finer one is the more one can bear.\u201d\n\nCrash! went the egg-shell as a wagon passed over it. \u201cGood heavens!\u201d\nexclaimed the darning needle, \u201chow that wheel presses on me! I shall be\nseasick after all. I am breaking!\u201d\n\nBut it did not break, although the heavy wagon wheel passed over it.\nThere it lay full length, and there it may stay.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE RABBIT AND THE GREEDY MONKEY\n\n\nONCE upon a time there lived in the mountains a rabbit and a monkey who\nwere great friends. As they sat by the road side one day hobnobbing\ntogether, they saw a man approaching with a bamboo pole over his\nshoulder, and at each end of the pole was a bundle hung by a string.\nThere were bananas in one bundle and sugar in the other.\n\n\u201cFriend of my heart,\u201d said the monkey to the rabbit, \u201cdo as I tell you.\nGo and sit in the road in front of that man, and as soon as he sees you,\nrun. He will be sure to drop his load and follow. Then I will pick up\nhis bundles and hide them, and when you come back we will share the\ncontents between us.\u201d\n\nSo the rabbit went and sat in the road, and when the man saw him, away\nthe rabbit ran, and the man dropped his burden and gave chase. The\nmonkey, who had been concealed in the tall wayside grass, pounced on the\nman\u2019s bundles, climbed a tall tree with them, and began to gobble up the\nbananas and sugar they contained.\n\nBy and by the man came back, hot and empty-handed. When he saw that his\ngoods, as well as the rabbit, were gone, he cursed loudly and went home\nto be scolded by his wife.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe rabbit returned soon after the man left, and hunted about for his\nfriend the monkey. He searched the vicinity thoroughly, but not a trace\nof his friend could he find, till he happened to look up aloft, and\nbehold, there was Mr. Monkey in a tree munching away with every sign of\nenjoyment.\n\n\u201cHello, comrade!\u201d said the rabbit, \u201ccome down out of that.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m very comfortable here, thank you,\u201d said the monkey.\n\n\u201cBut where is my share of our plunder?\u201d the rabbit asked indignantly.\n\n\u201cAll gone, all gone,\u201d mumbled the monkey, and pelted the rabbit with\nbanana peels and wads of paper made out of the wrappings of the sugar.\n\u201cWhere have you been all this time? I got hungry and couldn\u2019t wait any\nlonger.\u201d\n\nThe rabbit would not believe that the things in the bundles were all\ngone. He thought his friend was joking. But the truth of the matter was\nthat the greedy creature had not left a scrap of either sugar or\nbananas.\n\n\u201cDo you really mean it?\u201d said the poor rabbit at last.\n\n\u201cIf you don\u2019t believe me, come and see,\u201d said the monkey, and he\ndescended the tree-trunk nearly to the ground, seized the rabbit by his\nlong ears, and hauled him up into the tree. After mocking him and making\ngreat sport he left him there and went away.\n\nThe rabbit was afraid to jump down from such a height. So he remained up\nin the tree for a long time. Many animals passed under the tree, but not\none took pity on the rabbit until an old and foolish rhinoceros came\nalong and stopped to rub his wrinkled hide against the tree-trunk.\n\n\u201cKind rhinoceros,\u201d said the rabbit, \u201clet me jump down on your back.\u201d\n\nThe rhinoceros agreed, and down came the rabbit with such a thump that\nthe creature\u2019s back was broken, and he died. But the rabbit was not\nhurt, and he ran and he ran until he came to the king\u2019s palace. There he\nhid under the king\u2019s golden throne. By and by in came the king with his\ncourtiers. All the grandees were standing around the throne in their\ngorgeous robes glittering with rubies and diamonds when they were\nstartled by a sudden sneeze.\n\n\u201cGod bless you!\u201d exclaimed the courtiers.\n\n\u201cWho has the bad manners to sneeze in my royal presence?\u201d cried the\nking.\n\nEach man looked at his neighbor and wondered who did it. \u201cOff with his\nhead!\u201d shouted the king.\n\nAnother sneeze came. This time every one was alert and on the watch, and\nthey noticed that the sound came from beneath the king\u2019s golden throne.\nSo they reached under and dragged out the rabbit, who was so scared he\nlooked more dead than alive.\n\n\u201cAll right,\u201d said the king, \u201coff with his head!\u201d\n\nThe executioner ran to get his sword. But the rabbit, in spite of his\nfright, had his wits about him, and he sat up on his hind legs, put his\ntwo forepaws together, and said respectfully: \u201cO great king, first hear\nwhat I have to say. If you will spare my life I will give you a dead\nrhinoceros. Let twenty men go with me to bring the body to your palace.\u201d\n\nThe king and his courtiers laughed loud and long. However, just to see\nwhat would come of it, the king ordered twenty men to go with the\nrabbit. They were guided by the rabbit to the spot where the rhinoceros\nlay dead, and with great exertion they dragged the body to the palace.\nEvery one was very glad, because the horn of a rhinoceros is good for\ncuring many diseases. The court physician ground the horn into powder,\nand made out of it a most wonderful medicine, and the king was so\npleased that he gave the rabbit a horse to ride on and a handsome new\ncoat.\n\nThe rabbit put on his new coat, mounted the horse, and rode off.\nPresently, who should he meet but his friend, the monkey. \u201cHello!\u201d said\nthe monkey, \u201cwhere did you get all that finery?\u201d\n\n\u201cThis horse and this coat were given to me by the king,\u201d replied the\nrabbit.\n\n\u201cAnd why should the king make such a present to a simpleton like you?\u201d\nthe monkey asked.\n\n\u201cI, whom you call a simpleton,\u201d said the rabbit, \u201cgot this horse and\nthis elegant coat by sneezing under the king\u2019s golden throne.\u201d Then he\nrode away.\n\nThe monkey fell a-thinking how nice it would be if he could get a fine\ncoat and a horse. \u201cI can sneeze,\u201d said he. \u201cWhy shouldn\u2019t I try my\nluck?\u201d\n\nOff he scampered to the king\u2019s palace, and hid beneath the king\u2019s golden\nthrone. Soon the king and his courtiers came in, all richly arrayed, and\nthe monkey sneezed in the most auspicious manner he could contrive.\n\n\u201cWho is that?\u201d thundered the king, glaring about him. \u201cWho has the bad\nmanners to sneeze in the king\u2019s presence?\u201d\n\nThey searched till they found the monkey hidden under the throne, and\nhauled him out.\n\n\u201cWily tree-climber,\u201d said the king, \u201chave you any gift for me that might\ncause me not to bid the executioner to cut off your head?\u201d\n\nThe monkey pondered a few moments in fear and trembling, and then\nstammered, \u201cO king, I have some banana peels and pellets of paper.\u201d\n\nThis reply only increased the king\u2019s wrath, and the unfortunate monkey\nwas led away to be executed.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE NIGHTINGALE\n\n\nIN China, you know, the emperor is a Chinaman, and all the people around\nhim are Chinamen, too. The emperor\u2019s palace, at the time of this story,\nwas more magnificent than any other in the world, for it was made\nentirely of the finest porcelain. In the garden bloomed the rarest\nflowers, and to the most beautiful ones were tied little silver bells\nwhich tinkled perpetually, so that no one could pass the flowers without\nlooking at and admiring them. Every feature of the garden had been\ncarefully planned, and it was so large that the gardener himself did not\nknow where it ended. If, however, one walked straight on, one came at\nlast to a forest of lofty trees, and beyond the forest was the sea, deep\nand blue. Close to the shore, amid the foliage of the trees, lived a\nnightingale, and it sang so sweetly that even the poor fishermen would\nstop and listen, when they were out at night drawing in their nets.\n\u201cHeavens! how beautiful that is!\u201d they would say.\n\nBut they could not listen long, for they had to attend to their work;\nyet if they came that way the next night they would again exclaim, \u201cHow\nbeautifully that bird sings!\u201d\n\nTravelers came from all the countries in the world to the city of the\nemperor; and they admired everything very much, especially the palace\nand the garden. But when they heard the nightingale they would say,\n\u201cThat is best of all!\u201d\n\nAfter they got home they told of their experiences, and the learned ones\nwrote books about the things they had seen and heard in the domains of\nthe Chinese emperor, and they never failed to praise the nightingale.\nThose who were poets wrote very beautiful verses about the nightingale\nin the wood by the deep, blue sea.\n\nAt length some of the books came into the hands of the emperor. He sat\nin his golden chair and read them, and he nodded his head, well pleased\nby the appreciative descriptions of his city and palace and garden. Then\nhe came to the words, \u201cBut the nightingale is best of all.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is this?\u201d said he. \u201cThe nightingale\u2014why, I know nothing about it.\nCan there be such a bird in my realm, yes, and in my own garden, which I\nhave never seen or heard? Fancy my having to discover this from a book!\u201d\n\nHe called his chamberlain, who was so grand that when any one of lower\nrank dared to speak to him or ask him a question, he would only answer,\n\u201cPooh!\u201d which means nothing at all.\n\n\u201cChamberlain,\u201d said the emperor, \u201cthese books tell of a very wonderful\nbird called a nightingale in the palace garden. They declare it is the\nfinest thing in my great empire. Why have I never been informed about\nit?\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is the first time I have heard it mentioned,\u201d said the\nchamberlain. \u201cIt has never been presented at court.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy orders are that it shall appear in the palace this evening to sing\nto me,\u201d said the emperor. \u201cThe whole world knows what I possess, while I\nmyself do not.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have never heard it mentioned before,\u201d said the chamberlain; \u201cbut I\nwill seek it, and I will find it.\u201d\n\nYet where was it to be found? The chamberlain ran upstairs and\ndownstairs, and in and out of all the rooms and corridors, but not one\nperson among those he met had heard of the nightingale. So he ran back\nto the emperor and said the bird must be a myth invented by the people\nwho wrote the books. \u201cYour Imperial Majesty ought not to believe\neverything that books contain,\u201d said he. \u201cThey are often mere fiction,\nand what we call the black art.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut the books in which I have been reading about the nightingale,\u201d said\nthe monarch, \u201cwere sent to me by the high and mighty Emperor of Japan;\nso there cannot be anything untrue in them. I will hear the nightingale,\nand I insist that it must sing to me tonight. It shall have my gracious\nprotection, and if you fail to have it here the whole court shall be\ntrampled on after supper.\u201d\n\n\u201cTsing-pe!\u201d said the chamberlain, and away he ran again up and down the\nstairs and in and out of all the rooms and corridors. Half the court ran\nwith him, for they none of them wished to be trampled on, and there was\na great inquiry after the wonderful nightingale which was known to all\nthe outside world, but to no one at court.\n\nAt last they found a poor little maid in the kitchen, who said: \u201cDear\nme, I know the nightingale very well, and it certainly can sing! Every\nevening I have permission to take home to my sick mother some of the\nscraps from the table. She lives by the seashore, and on my way back,\nwhen I am tired, I sit down to rest a while in the wood, and then I hear\nthe nightingale. Its song makes the tears come into my eyes, and I feel\nas if my mother were kissing me!\u201d\n\n\u201cLittle maid,\u201d said the chamberlain, \u201cI will procure you a permanent\nposition in the kitchen, and permission to see the emperor dining, if\nyou will take us to the nightingale, for it must appear at the court\nthis evening.\u201d\n\nThen they all went out into the wood where the nightingale sang. As they\nwere going along at their best pace a cow began to bellow. \u201cOh,\u201d said\nthe courtiers, \u201cthat is it! What a wonderful power there is in the song\nfor such a small creature! And we certainly have heard it before.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is a cow bellowing,\u201d said the little maid. \u201cWe are a long way yet\nfrom the place where the nightingale sings.\u201d\n\nPresently some frogs began to croak in a marsh. \u201cBeautiful!\u201d said the\nChinese court chamberlain. \u201cNow I hear it. The sound is just like the\ntinkling of tiny church bells.\u201d\n\n\u201cThose are frogs,\u201d said the little maid. \u201cBut I think we shall soon hear\nthe nightingale now.\u201d\n\nThen the nightingale began to sing. \u201cThat\u2019s it,\u201d said the little maid.\n\u201cListen, listen; and look\u2014there it sits!\u201d She pointed to a little gray\nbird up among the branches.\n\n\u201cIs it possible?\u201d said the chamberlain. \u201cI should never have thought the\nnightingale was like that. How common it looks! I suppose it has lost\nits color through a faintness caused by the unexpected sight of so many\ngrand people.\u201d\n\n\u201cLittle nightingale,\u201d said the kitchen-maid, \u201cour gracious emperor\nwishes you to sing to him.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will do so with the greatest pleasure,\u201d said the nightingale, and it\nwarbled a song in the most delightful fashion.\n\n\u201cIts singing sounds just like crystal bells,\u201d said the chamberlain. \u201cSee\nhow it works its little throat. I wonder that we have never heard it\nbefore. It will be a great success at court.\u201d\n\n\u201cShall I sing again to the emperor?\u201d asked the nightingale, who thought\nthe monarch was present.\n\n\u201cMy excellent little nightingale,\u201d said the chamberlain, \u201cI have the\nhonor to invite your attendance at a court festival tonight, when you\nwill charm his Imperial Majesty with your fascinating singing.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy singing sounds best among the trees,\u201d said the nightingale, but it\nwent with them willingly when it understood that the emperor wanted it\nto come.\n\nThe palace had been splendidly decorated for the occasion. The porcelain\nwalls and floors reflected the light of many thousands of golden lamps;\nthe most beautiful flowers, all of the tinkling kind, were arranged in\nthe corridors; and there was such a running to and fro as kept the bells\nin constant motion and filled one\u2019s ears full of the tinkling.\n\nIn the center of the great hall, where the emperor sat, a golden perch\nhad been fixed for the nightingale. The whole court was present, and the\nlittle kitchen-maid was permitted to stand behind the door, for she had\nbeen promoted to be a real palace cook. All were dressed in their very\nbest, and all had their eyes on the little gray bird, to whom the\nemperor nodded.\n\nThe nightingale sang so beautifully that tears came into the emperor\u2019s\neyes and ran down his cheeks. Indeed, the song touched the heart of\nevery one who heard it. The emperor was so charmed that he said the\nnightingale should have his golden garter to wear around its neck. But\nthe nightingale declined with thanks, saying that it had already\nreceived sufficient reward; \u201cfor I have seen tears in the emperor\u2019s\neyes,\u201d it added, \u201cand I could ask for nothing more.\u201d\n\nThen again it sang its heavenly song. \u201cThat is the sweetest possible\nsort of coquetry,\u201d said the ladies; and they took some water into their\nmouths to try to make the same gurgling when any one spoke to them.\n\nEverybody expressed satisfaction\u2014even the footmen and chamber-maids, and\nthat is saying a great deal, for they are always the most difficult\npeople to please. In short, the nightingale was a great success.\n\nIt was now to remain at court and live in a cage. Twice a day and once\nat night it had liberty to go out, but whenever it left its cage it was\naccompanied by twelve servants, each holding a silken string attached to\nits leg. There was not much pleasure in an outing of that sort.\n\nThe whole city talked about the wonderful bird, and if two acquaintances\nmet, one would say, by way of greeting, \u201cNightin,\u201d and the other would\nsay, \u201cgale;\u201d and then they sighed, and perfectly understood each other.\nEleven tradesmen\u2019s children were named after the bird, though not one of\nthem grew up with the least ability to sing.\n\nOne day the emperor received a large parcel on which was written, \u201cThe\nNightingale.\u201d\n\n\u201cHere we have a new book about our celebrated bird,\u201d said he.\n\nIt was no book, however, but a box that contained an artificial\nnightingale made much like the living one in size and shape, but covered\nall over with diamonds, rubies, and sapphires. When the imitation bird\nwas wound up, it could sing one of the songs the real bird sang, and\nthen it wagged its tail all glittering with silver and gold. Round its\nneck was tied a ribbon, on which was written, \u201cThe Emperor of Japan\u2019s\nnightingale is poor compared with that of the Emperor of China.\u201d\n\nEverybody said, \u201cOh, how beautiful!\u201d and he who had brought the\nartificial bird immediately received the title of Imperial\nNightingale-Carrier-in-Chief.\n\n\u201cNow the two birds must sing together,\u201d said the courtiers. \u201cWhat a\nlovely duet that will be!\u201d\n\nSo they had to sing together, but they did not get on very well, for the\nreal bird sang its own way, and did not keep time with the mechanical\nbird.\n\n\u201cThe discords are not the new one\u2019s fault,\u201d said the music-master, \u201cfor\nit sings in perfect time and in every way is entirely correct.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n The nightingale at court\n]\n\nAfterward the imitation bird was made to sing alone. Singing thus, it\nwas just as great a success as the real bird; and of course it was much\nprettier to look at, for it glittered like bracelets and breastpins.\nThirty-three times it sang the same tune over, and still it was not\ntired. The courtiers would willingly have heard it from the beginning\nagain, but the emperor said that the live nightingale must have a turn\nnow. Where was it? No one had noticed that it had flown out of the open\nwindow back to its own green woods.\n\n\u201cWhat is the meaning of this?\u201d said the emperor.\n\nThe courtiers all blamed the nightingale, and thought it a most\nungrateful creature. \u201cAnyway, we have the best bird,\u201d they said.\n\nThen the imitation bird had to sing again, which made the thirty-fourth\ntime they had heard the same tune. But they did not know the tune\nthoroughly, even then, it was so difficult. The music-master praised the\nbird exceedingly, and insisted that it was much better than a live\nnightingale, not only as regarded its outside with all the diamonds, but\nthe inside, too. \u201cBecause,\u201d said he, \u201cwe never know what song is coming\nnext from the real nightingale, but with the artificial one everything\nis decided beforehand. So it is, and so it must remain; it can\u2019t be\notherwise. You can open the bird, you can explain it, and show the\ningenuity of it, how the wheels go, and how one note follows another.\u201d\n\n\u201cThose are exactly my opinions,\u201d they all said; and the music-master\nreceived permission to show the bird to the people on the following\nSunday.\n\nSo the people saw the imitation nightingale and heard it sing, and they\nwere all very enthusiastic over it, and they all said, \u201cOh!\u201d and stuck\ntheir forefingers up into the air and nodded their heads.\n\nBut the poor fishermen who had heard the real bird said: \u201cThe song of\nthis bird is very nice, and it is much like that of the live bird, but\nthere is something wanting\u2014we don\u2019t know what.\u201d\n\nThe real nightingale was banished from the empire, while the artificial\nbird was given a place on a silk cushion close to the emperor\u2019s bed. All\nthe presents which it had received lay around it, and the title of Chief\nImperial Singer of the Bedchamber on the Left Side was conferred on it.\nThe emperor considered the left side, where the heart is, the more\nimportant, for even an emperor has his heart on the left side just like\nother people.\n\nA treatise in twenty-five volumes was written by the music-master about\nthe artificial bird, and this treatise was so learned and long, and so\nfull of the most difficult Chinese words, that all the people said they\nhad read and understood it, for otherwise they would have been thought\nstupid.\n\nA year passed, and the emperor and his court and all the other Chinamen\nknew every little gurgle in the song of the artificial bird. That was\nwhy it pleased them. They could sing with it, and often did so. Even the\nstreet boys sang: \u201cTsee, tsee, tsee! Cluck, cluck, cluck!\u201d and the\nemperor did just the same. It really was most enjoyable.\n\nBut one evening, when the bird was singing its best, and the emperor was\nlying in bed listening to it, something inside of the bird gave way with\na sudden snap. Then whir-r-r went all the wheels, and the music stopped.\n\nThe emperor jumped out of bed and sent for his private physicians, but\nwhat good could they do? They had a watchmaker come, and after a good\ndeal of talking and examining and tinkering he got the works to go again\nsomehow. But he said the bird must be used sparingly, for the works were\nmuch worn, and he could not renew them so as to be sure that the music\nwould go right. This caused great sorrow. The imitation bird could only\nbe allowed to sing once a year. Each time the music-master made a little\nspeech full of difficult words, and affirmed that the singing was just\nas good as ever. After being thus reassured the court listened to the\nbird with all their former pleasure.\n\nAt the end of five years a great grief came on the nation. The Chinese\nwere all very fond of their emperor, and now he was ill, and it was\nreported that he had not long to live. A new emperor had been selected,\nand would be proclaimed ruler of the empire as soon as the old emperor\nwas dead. Cloth had been laid down in all the rooms and corridors to\ndeaden the sound of footsteps, and the palace was very, very quiet.\nOutside, about the entrance, many people had gathered, and they asked\nthe chamberlain how their emperor was getting on.\n\n\u201cPooh!\u201d he said, and shook his head.\n\nPale and motionless lay the emperor in his great splendid bed, and\npresently the courtiers thought he was dead. So they all went away to\npay their respects to the new emperor. The pages ran out to gossip about\nit, and the chambermaids had a grand teaparty.\n\nBut the emperor was not dead yet. There he lay on the gorgeous bed with\nits velvet hangings and heavy gold tassels. A window stood open, and the\nmoon shone in on him and the artificial bird. He could hardly breathe,\nand he felt burdened by a weight on his chest. He opened his eyes and\nsaw that Death was sitting on his chest and wore the emperor\u2019s golden\ncrown on his head. In one hand he held the emperor\u2019s golden sword, and\nin the other the emperor\u2019s imperial banner. Round about, from among the\nfolds of the velvet hangings peered many strange faces, some hideous,\nand others gentle and pleasant. These were all the emperor\u2019s bad and\ngood deeds staring at him now that Death was sitting on his heart.\n\n\u201cDo you remember this?\u201d they whispered one after the other. \u201cDo you\nrecollect this?\u201d And they told him so many things that the perspiration\nran down from his brow.\n\n\u201cSay no more,\u201d begged the emperor, and then shouted: \u201cMusic, music!\nSound the great drum so that I may not hear what these faces are\nsaying.\u201d\n\nBut they went on questioning him, and Death sat nodding his approval to\nall that they said.\n\n\u201cMusic, music!\u201d shrieked the emperor. \u201cYou precious little golden bird,\nsing, sing! I have given you costly jewels, and I have hung my golden\ngarter round your neck. Sing, I tell you, sing!\u201d\n\nBut the bird was silent. It could not sing without being wound up, and\nthere was no one at hand to do that. Death continued to gaze at the\nemperor with the great empty sockets of his eyes, and all was\nstill\u2014terribly still.\n\nSuddenly, through the open window, there came the sound of sweetest\nsinging. The living nightingale was perched on a bough outside. It had\nheard of the emperor\u2019s illness, and had come to bring comfort and hope\nto him by its singing. As it sang, the ghostly faces around became\nfainter and fainter, and the blood coursed with fresh vigor through the\nemperor\u2019s veins, and strengthened his feeble limbs. Even Death listened\nand said, \u201cGo on, little nightingale, go on!\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the nightingale, \u201cI will go on if you will give me the\nemperor\u2019s beautiful golden sword and imperial banner and jeweled crown.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will relinquish each of the three treasures in exchange for a song,\u201d\nsaid Death.\n\nSo the nightingale sang three songs, and the last was about the quiet\nchurchyard where the roses bloom, and the flowers of the elder scent the\nair, and where the grass is ever moistened by the tears of the mourners.\nThis song made Death desire to be in his own garden, and like a cold\ngray mist he floated out through the window.\n\n\u201cThanks, thanks!\u201d said the emperor. \u201cYou heavenly little bird, I know\nyou well. I banished you from my empire, and yet you have charmed the\nevil visions away from my bed by your song, and removed Death from my\nheart. How can I reward you?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have rewarded me,\u201d said the nightingale, \u201cby the tears I brought to\nyour eyes the very first time I sang to you. Those are the jewels which\ngladden the heart of a singer, and I shall never forget them. But sleep\nnow, that you may get well and strong.\u201d\n\nAgain the nightingale sang, and the emperor fell into a refreshing\nslumber. When he awoke, the sun was shining in on him through the\nwindow, and he found himself vigorous and well. None of his attendants\nhad yet come back to him, for they thought he was dead, but the\nnightingale still sat singing.\n\n\u201cYou must always stay with me,\u201d said the emperor, \u201cand I will smash the\nimitation bird into a thousand pieces.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t do that,\u201d said the nightingale. \u201cIt did the best it could. Keep\nit as before. As for me, I cannot build my nest and live in the palace.\nLet me come when I like, and I will sit on this bough in the evening and\nsing to you. I will sing to cheer you and to make you think. I will sing\nof those who are happy and of those who suffer. I will sing of what is\ngood and what is evil around you. The little singing bird flies far and\nwide\u2014to the poor fishermen, to the peasants in their humble cottages,\nand to many others who are distant from you and your court. I love your\nheart more than your crown, and I will come and sing to you, but you\nmust grant me one request.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I will do, whatever it may be,\u201d said the emperor, who had now\nrisen from his bed and put on his imperial robes.\n\n\u201cI only ask,\u201d said the nightingale, \u201cthat you let no one know that you\nhave a little bird which tells you everything. It will be better so.\u201d\n\nThen the nightingale flew away. Immediately afterward the attendants\ncame in to look after their dead emperor. They stood aghast at sight of\nhim, and the emperor said, \u201cGood morning!\u201d\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE PRINCESS AND THE GIANT\n\n\nTHERE once lived a king and queen who ought to have been as happy as the\nday is long, for they had a large and prosperous kingdom in which the\npeople were contented and industrious, and they had a splendid palace\nand plenty of horses and carriages; and their treasure-room was filled\nwith gold, silver, and precious stones. Yet notwithstanding all this\nthey were sad and sorrowful, because they had no children to inherit the\ngood things they possessed.\n\nOne bright winter morning the queen went out into the palace garden. The\nsnow covered the ground and clung to the trees and bushes, and it\nsparkled in the sunshine just as if all the jewels in the king\u2019s\ntreasury had been scattered about on it. The queen seated herself on a\nstone bench beneath a huge oaktree. She had not been there long when an\nold man came down a garden path and stood before her. He was a wicked\nmagician named Surtur, who lived in a cave not far away.\n\n\u201cO queen!\u201d he said, \u201cyou have long wished for a child. Your wish shall\nbe granted, and a daughter will be born to you; but I warn you that she\nwill cause you great unhappiness. She is destined to marry a terrible\ngiant, and she will burn your palace; and the king, her father, will\nperish in the flames.\u201d\n\nSo saying, he laughed spitefully and went away. The queen was greatly\ntroubled, for she knew that Surtur was her enemy and that he was\npowerful; but as time went on she got over her anxiety and seldom\nthought of the old magician\u2019s threat. At length the little daughter was\nborn, and all the court agreed that she was the most beautiful child\never seen. More important still, she grew up as good as she was\nbeautiful.\n\nThings went as well with her as could be desired year after year until\nthere came a time when the queen told her daughter about the prophecy of\nthe magician. From that day a change came over the princess. She no\nlonger laughed and danced, but walked about the rooms alone, often\nweeping. Finally, at her request, the king built her a house in which\nshe lived with her own attendants, and there she stayed continually,\nfearful that if she went to the palace she would bring disaster on her\nfather, and that if she walked around outdoors the giant might kidnap\nher.\n\nOnce, when she was sitting in her room, with her work that used to give\nher such pleasure lying idly on her lap, she heard some one knocking at\nthe door. She opened it, and there stood a funny little old woman with a\nhigh, peaked hat on her head. The little old woman asked if she might\ncome in and rest.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d replied the princess listlessly.\n\nSo the little old woman came in, and they sat down, and the visitor\nbegan telling some wonderful stories. At last the princess got so\ninterested that she looked quite bright and happy, like her old self.\n\nPresently the old woman said: \u201cNow I want you to come into the woods\nwith me. It is a lovely day, and you will enjoy walking there in the\nshade of the trees.\u201d\n\nAt first the princess declared she did not care to go, but after a while\nshe allowed herself to be persuaded, and they went forth to wander on\nthe mossy paths among the tall, straight-stemmed firs and graceful\nbeeches and feathery birches. The princess forgot her sorrow, and she\nlaughed and ran about in great enjoyment. When they were tired they sat\ndown on a green bank, and the old woman said, \u201cTell me, my dear\nprincess, why of late you have been so sad.\u201d\n\nHer companion looked so kind and gentle that the princess could not\nrefuse to answer, and she told of the prophecy that she would marry a\nterrible giant, and cause her father\u2019s death by burning his palace. \u201cAnd\noh,\u201d she cried, \u201cI love my father dearly! He has always been very good\nto me. Now I must hasten back to my house. I ought not to have left it,\nand I never will again. If I stay in it all the time I cannot possibly\nharm my father or marry that horrible giant.\u201d\n\n\u201cWait a bit,\u201d said the little old woman. \u201cI am your godmother, and I\nthink we can find some way to avert the evils you fear. You are\npersecuted by the wicked magician, Surtur. He wanted to marry your\nmother, and when she would not have him, and married your father, he\nvowed he would never rest till the king was dead and she was punished.\nBut his power has its limits. The king\u2019s palace I cannot save, but\nneither your father nor mother shall be hurt. Nor need you fear the\ngiant, if you will do exactly as I bid you. We will act at once. First\nsee your father and persuade him to go out riding in the forest with all\nhis attendants.\u201d\n\nGreatly relieved by her godmother\u2019s cheery words, the princess hastened\nto do as she had been bidden. \u201cDear father,\u201d said she, as she came into\nhis presence, \u201cthe day is so fine, will you not go for a ride in the\nwoods and take the courtiers with you?\u201d\n\nThe king, pleased to see her so bright and interested, at once said he\nwould go; and with all his courtiers in attendance started off for a\ngreat excursion in the forest.\n\nAs soon as they were well out of sight, the little old woman joined the\nprincess and had her send the servants away on various errands, and the\nqueen was induced to go and stay for a time in the house built for the\nprincess. When every one was gone, the little old dame helped the\nprincess carry out and secrete all the treasure and other valuables, and\nafterward she told the princess to take down a can of oil from the\nkitchen mantel-shelf. In doing this the girl\u2019s foot slipped, and the oil\nspilled on the hearth and into the fire, and at once flashed into\nflames. The princess and her godmother had to run for their lives, and\nthe fire spread rapidly through the palace.\n\nThey paused at a safe distance and looked back, and the old woman said:\n\u201cThus one part of the magician\u2019s prophecy has been fulfilled without\nharm to any one. I could not prevent what has happened, but it might\nhave been worse. Surtur has other evil designs. We will see what we can\ndo to thwart them. Here is a little silver ball. Throw it on the ground\nand follow it as it rolls along. It will guide you to a hut in the\nforest, the owner of which will be away. Go in and await his return, and\nwhatever you do, remember that you must see him before he sees you.\nRemain at the hut till I summon you. When you hear me calling you, do\nnot lose an instant, but hasten to where your father\u2019s palace stood.\nYour mother will need you.\u201d\n\nThe princess took the ball, threw it down, and followed it as it rolled\nalong into the forest. At last it stopped before what seemed to be a\nwoodman\u2019s hut, and she picked up the ball and put it in her pocket. Then\nshe went into the hut and hid behind the half-closed door. She peeped\nout through a crack and presently saw a huge giant coming carrying on\nhis shoulders a bear he had killed in his hunting. He pushed open the\ndoor, and as he threw down the burden he beheld the princess.\n\nThe giant looked very fierce, but his voice was soft and kind, and he\ntold her he wanted her to live in the hut with him and cook the food and\nsweep the floor and make the beds. All this the princess promised to do.\nHe then showed her a little inner chamber, and said, \u201cHere you can\nsleep, and no matter what noises you hear in my part of the hut during\nthe night, don\u2019t come out of your room.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThree days passed. Early each morning the giant went forth from the hut\nand did not return until sunset. The princess cooked the food, made the\nbeds, and kept the hut tidy and clean. At night she heard frightful\nnoises in the outer room, the walls of the hut shook, and the earth\ntrembled, and she lay in her bed hardly daring to stir, with the clothes\npulled over her ears to deaden the terrible sounds. Whenever she fell\nasleep she dreamed that a handsome young prince, instead of the giant,\nwas her fellow-dweller in the hut.\n\nOn the third evening she retired early, and was scarcely in bed when she\nheard, faint and far away, the voice of the little old woman calling\nher. Then she knew her mother needed her, and immediately she jumped out\nof bed, dressed, and cautiously opened her door. No one was in the next\nroom, and she ran as quickly as she could to where her father\u2019s palace\nhad stood. There, before the ruins, she saw her mother tied to a wooden\nstake that had been driven into the ground, and the servants were piling\nup fagots of wood around her. She had been condemned to death for having\nset the palace on fire during the king\u2019s absence, and for stealing his\ntreasure. In vain she had pleaded her innocence.\n\nThe princess pushed her way through the crowd and threw herself on her\nknees before her father. \u201cOh, stop, stop!\u201d she cried eagerly. \u201cDear\nfather, my mother is not to blame. It was I who burned your palace. I\nwas forced to do so in order to save your life, which was threatened by\nthe wicked magician, Surtur. Neither did my mother steal your treasure.\nThat and much else was taken out of the palace to a place of safety.\u201d\n\nOn hearing this, the king ordered the queen to be released, and she\nembraced her daughter with many words of affection.\n\nAs soon as possible the princess hurried back to the hut of the giant in\nthe forest. When she approached it she heard the sounds of a terrific\ncombat. She looked in and saw the giant engaged in a struggle for\nmastery with the magician. From her pocket she hastily took the silver\nball the little old woman had given to her and hurled it at the wicked\nSurtur. Her aim was true, and the moment the ball hit him he changed to\na hawk, and with a rapid flutter of wings darted out of the door and\ndisappeared.\n\nThe giant picked up the ball, and to the surprise of the princess he was\ntransformed into the handsome young prince she had seen in her dreams.\nThey went back together to the king and queen, and before long there was\na great marriage-feast, and the princess became the wife of the prince\nshe had delivered from his enchantment. After the death of the king the\nprince became the ruler of the kingdom, and he and his queen lived\nhappily all the days of their life.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n The End\n]\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n \u25cf Transcriber\u2019s Notes:\n \u25cb This illustration is missing.\n \u25cb Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.\n \u25cb Typographical errors were silently corrected.\n \u25cb Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only\n when a predominant form was found in this book.\n \u25cb Text that:\n was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_);\n was in bold by is enclosed by \u201cequal\u201d signs (=bold=);\n had extra character spacing by \u201cplus\u201d signs (+stretched+).","title":"The Fir-Tree Fairy Book: Favorite Fairy Tales","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":63616}