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diff --git a/29386-0.txt b/29386-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2dd8aa6 --- /dev/null +++ b/29386-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27927 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Boys and Girls Bookshelf (Vol 2 of 17), by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Boys and Girls Bookshelf (Vol 2 of 17) + Folk-Lore, Fables, And Fairy Tales + +Author: Various + +Editor: William Byron Forbush, Herbert Treadwell Wade, Winton James Baltzell, Rossiter Johnson, and Daniel Edwin Wheeler + +Release Date: July 12, 2009 [EBook #29386] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOYS AND GIRLS BOOKSHELF *** + + + + +Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Anne Storer and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + BOYS AND GIRLS BOOKSHELF + + _A Practical Plan of Character Building_ + + COMPLETE IN SEVENTEEN VOLUMES + + I Fun and Thought for Little Folk + II Folk-Lore, Fables, and Fairy Tales + III Famous Tales and Nature Stories + IV Things to Make and Things to Do + V True Stories from Every Land + VI Famous Songs and Picture Stories + VII Nature and Outdoor Life, Part I + VIII Nature and Outdoor Life, Part II + IX Earth, Sea, and Sky + X Games and Handicraft + XI Wonders of Invention + XII Marvels of Industry + XIII Every Land and its Story + XIV Famous Men and Women + XV Bookland--Story and Verse, Part I + XVI Bookland--Story and Verse, Part II + XVII Graded and Classified Index + + + THE UNIVERSITY SOCIETY + INCORPORATED + _New York_ + + + + + [Illustration: THE SUNSET FAIRIES + FROM A DRAWING BY FLORENCE MARY ANDERSON] + + + + + BOYS AND GIRLS + BOOKSHELF + + _A Practical Plan of Character Building_ + + Little Folks' Section + + [Illustration: INSTRUCTIVE PLAY ... VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE + The Four Fold Life + MENTAL PHYSICAL SOCIAL MORAL] + + Prepared Under the Supervision of + THE EDITORIAL BOARD _of the_ UNIVERSITY SOCIETY + + Volume II + FOLK-LORE, FABLES, AND FAIRY TALES + + THE UNIVERSITY SOCIETY + INCORPORATED + _New York_ + + + + + Copyright, 1920, By + THE UNIVERSITY SOCIETY INC. + + Copyright, 1912, 1915, By + THE UNIVERSITY SOCIETY INC. + + + _Manufactured in the U. S. A._ + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +This volume is devoted to a choice collection of the standard and +new fairy-tales, wonder stories, and fables. They speak so truly and +convincingly for themselves that we wish to use this introductory page +only to emphasize their value to young children. There are still those +who find no room in their own reading, and would give none in the +reading of the young, except for facts. They confuse facts and truth, +and forget that there is a world of truth that is larger than the mere +facts of life, being compact of imagination and vision and ideals. Dr. +Hamilton Wright Mabie convinced us of this in his cogent words. + +"America," he said, "has at present greater facility in producing +'smart' men than in producing able men; the alert, quick-witted +money-maker abounds, but the men who live with ideas, who care for the +principles of things, and who make life rich in resource and interest, +are comparatively few. America needs poetry more than it needs +industrial training, though the two ought never to be separated. The +time to awaken the imagination, which is the creative faculty, is early +childhood, and the most accessible material for this education is the +literature which the race created in its childhood." + +The value of the fairy-tale and the wonder-tale is that they tell about +the magic of living. Like the old woman in Mother Goose, they "brush +the cobwebs out of the sky." They enrich, not cheapen, life. Plenty of +things do cheapen life for children. Most movies do. Sunday comic +supplements do. Ragtime songs do. Mere gossip does. But fairy stories +enhance life. + +They are called "folk-tales," that is, tales of the common folk. They +were largely the dreams of the poor. They consist of fancies that have +illumined the hard facts of life. They find animals, trees, flowers, +and the stars friendly. They speak of victory. In them the child is +master even of dragons. He can live like a prince, in disguise, or, +if he be uncomely, he may hope to win Beauty after he is free of his +masquerade. + +Wonder-stories help make good children as well as happy children. +In these stories witches, wolves, and evil persons are defeated or +exposed. Fairy godmothers are ministers of justice. The side that the +child wishes to triumph always does triumph, and so goodness always is +made to seem worth-while. + +Almost every fairy-tale contains a test of character or shrewdness or +courage. Sharp distinctions are made, that require a child of parts to +discern. + +And the heroes of these nursery tales are much more convincing than +precepts or golden texts, for they impress upon the child not merely +what he ought to do, but what nobly has been done. And the small +hero-worshiper will follow where his admirations lead. + +Fables do much the same, and by imagining that the animals have arrived +at human speech and wisdom, they help the child to think shrewdly and +in a friendly way, as if in comradeship with his pets and with our +brothers and sisters, the beasts of the field and forest. + + + * * * * * + + + + + CONTENTS + PAGE + + INTRODUCTION vii + + + #THE OLD FAIRY TALES# + + THE ROAD TO FAIRY LAND 2 + By Cecil Cavendish + THE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS GOLDENLOCKS 3 + PRINCE HYACINTH AND THE DEAR LITTLE PRINCESS 7 + By Madame Leprince De Beaumont + CINDERELLA 10 + By Charles Perrault + THE SLEEPING BEAUTY 13 + Adapted from the Brothers Grimm + BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 15 + PRINCE DARLING 20 + RUMPELSTILTSKIN 26 + Adapted from the Grimm Brothers + RAPUNZELL, OR THE FAIR MAID WITH GOLDEN HAIR 28 + By the Brothers Grimm + SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED 30 + By the Brothers Grimm + HANSEL AND GRETHEL 34 + By the Brothers Grimm + + + #STORIES BY FAVORITE AMERICAN WRITERS# + + THE FLAG-BEARER 39 + By Carolyn Sherwin Bailey + JOHNNY CHUCK FINDS THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD 40 + By Thornton W. Burgess + LITTLE WEE PUMPKIN'S THANKSGIVING 41 + By Madge A. Bingham + THE COMING OF THE KING 42 + By Laura E. Richards + THE LITTLE PIG 44 + By Maud Lindsay + THE TRAVELS OF THE LITTLE TOY SOLDIER 44 + By Carolyn Sherwin Bailey + WHAT HAPPENED TO DUMPS 45 + By Carolyn Sherwin Bailey + THE WRECK OF THE HESPERUS 47 + By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow + BALLAD OF THE LITTLE PAGE 48 + By Abbie Farwell Brown + THE SNOW-IMAGE 51 + By Nathaniel Hawthorne + THE CASTLE OF GEMS 55 + By Sophie May + THE HEN THAT HATCHED DUCKS 58 + By Harriet Beecher Stowe + THE BALLAD OF PIPING WILL 63 + By Anna Hempstead Branch + LITTLE ANNIE'S DREAM, OR THE FAIRY FLOWER 68 + By Louisa M. Alcott + COMPANIONS 71 + By Helen Hunt Jackson + PRINCE LITTLE BOY 73 + By S. Weir Mitchell, M.D. + THE BEE-MAN OF ORN 77 + By Frank R. Stockton + THE POT OF GOLD 82 + By Mary E. Wilkins Freeman + + + #VERSES ABOUT FAIRIES# + + THE FAIRY THORN 87 + By Samuel Ferguson + FAIRY DAYS 88 + By William Makepeace Thackeray + THE FAIRY QUEEN 89 + THE SEA PRINCESS 89 + LONG AGO 89 + THISTLE-TASSEL 90 + By Florence Harrison + SONG OF THE FAIRY 90 + By William Shakespeare + THE FAIRIES 92 + By William Allingham + OH, WHERE DO FAIRIES HIDE THEIR HEADS? 92 + By Thomas Haynes Bayly + + + #MODERN FAIRY TALES# + + THE ELF OF THE WOODLANDS 93 + Retold from Richard Hengist Horne by + William Byron Forbush + PRINCESS FINOLA AND THE DWARF 95 + By Edmund Leamy + THE STRAW OX 100 + THE LITTLE PRINCESS OF THE FEARLESS HEART 103 + By B. J. Daskam + MOPSA THE FAIRY 110 + Retold from Jean Ingelow + THE LINE OF GOLDEN LIGHT, OR THE LITTLE BLIND + SISTER 114 + By Elizabeth Harrison + A FAIRY STORY ABOUT A PHILOSOPHER'S STONE WHICH + WAS LOST 118 + By M. Bowley + THE BAD TEMPER OF THE PRINCESS 124 + By Marian Burton + THE FLYING SHIP 130 + ROBIN OF THE LOVING HEART 133 + By Emma Endicott Marean + IN SPRING 137 + A FAMOUS CASE 138 + By Theodore C. Williams + + + #OLD-FASHIONED STORIES# + + THE TWELVE HUNTSMEN 139 + THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES 140 + EDWY AND THE ECHO 143 + THE LITTLE OLD WOMAN WHO LIVED IN A + VINEGAR-BOTTLE 146 + THE SNOW QUEEN 148 + THE MASTER-MAID 158 + CAP O' RUSHES 163 + FULFILLED 165 + KING GRISLY-BEARD 166 + Retold from the Brothers Grimm + + + #FABLES# + + THE FOX AND THE GOAT 172 + THE TWO FROGS 172 + THE DOG IN THE MANGER 172 + THE STAG AT THE POOL 172 + THE WAR-HORSE AND THE ASS 172 + THE FROGS WHO WANTED A KING 172 + THE OX AND THE FROG 173 + THE HERON WHO WAS HARD TO PLEASE 174 + THE SHEPHERD BOY AND THE WOLF 175 + THE ASS, THE COCK, AND THE LION 175 + THE LION, THE BEAR, AND THE FOX 175 + THE HORSE AND THE STAG 175 + THE LION AND THE BOAR 175 + THE HUNTSMAN AND THE FISHERMAN 175 + THE ASS IN THE LION'S SKIN 176 + THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE 177 + THE FOX AND THE WOOD-CUTTER 178 + THE LION AND OTHER BEASTS ON A HUNT 178 + THE EAGLE AND THE ARROW 178 + THE MOUSE AND THE FROG 178 + THE WOLF AND THE GOAT 178 + THE BAD DOG 178 + THE KID AND THE WOLF 178 + THE FOX AND THE GRAPES 179 + THE FOX AND THE RAVEN 180 + THE BULL AND THE GOAT 181 + THE RAVEN AND THE SWAN 181 + THE THIEF AND THE DOG 181 + THE HORSE AND THE LOADED ASS 181 + THE ASS WITH THE SALT 181 + THE COCK AND THE JEWEL 181 + THE FOX WHO HAD LOST HIS TAIL 181 + THE EAGLE AND THE JACKDAW 182 + THE HEN AND THE GOLDEN EGGS 183 + THE DOG AND THE ASS 184 + THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN 184 + THE FOX AND THE LION 184 + THE CROW AND THE PITCHER 184 + THE ASS AND HIS SHADOW 184 + THE WOLF AND THE CRANE 184 + THE FOX AND THE CRANE 185 + THE CAT AND THE MONKEY 186 + THE DANCING MONKEYS 187 + THE HARES AND THE FROGS 187 + THE LION AND THE GNAT 187 + THE FROGS AND THE BULLS 187 + THE LARK AND HER YOUNG ONES 187 + BELLING THE CAT 187 + A MILLER, HIS SON, AND THEIR ASS 188 + THE TORTOISE AND THE EAGLE 190 + THE PEACOCK AND JUNO 190 + THE LION, THE FOX, AND THE ASS 190 + THE FATHER AND HIS SONS 190 + THE DOVE AND THE ANT 191 + THE FOX AND THE CAT 192 + THE ANTS AND THE GRASSHOPPER 193 + + + #FABLES FROM INDIA# + Adapted by Ramaswami Raju + + THE GLOW-WORM AND THE DAW 194 + THE FOX AND THE VILLAGERS 194 + THE FROG AND THE SNAKE 194 + THE ASSEMBLY OF ANIMALS 194 + THE COCK AND HIS THREE HENS 194 + THE BLACK DOG AND THE WHITE DOG 195 + THE ELEPHANT AND THE APE 195 + THE CROW AND THE DAWN 195 + THE LION AND THE GOAT 195 + THE SUNLING 196 + THE MUSHROOM AND THE GOOSE 196 + THE FABLES OF PILPAY THE HINDU 196 + THE FOX AND THE HEN 196 + THE THREE FISHES 196 + THE FALCON AND THE HEN 197 + THE KING WHO GREW KIND 197 + + + #MODERN FABLES# + + THE HORSES' COUNCIL 197 + Adapted from John Gay + THE OAK AND THE REED 198 + Adapted from the French of La Fontaine + THE ADVANTAGE OF KNOWLEDGE 198 + Adapted from the French of La Fontaine + THE TORRENT AND THE RIVER 198 + Adapted from the French of La Fontaine + THE TOMTIT AND THE BEAR 199 + By the Brothers Grimm + WHY JIMMY SKUNK WEARS STRIPES 200 + By Thornton W. Burgess + HOW CATS CAME TO PURR 202 + By John Bennett + + + #STORIES FROM SCANDINAVIA# + + THE GREEDY CAT 207 + GUDBRAND ON THE HILLSIDE 210 + PORK AND HONEY 212 + HOW REYNARD OUTWITTED BRUIN 212 + THE COCK AND THE CRESTED HEN 213 + THE OLD WOMAN AND THE TRAMP 213 + THE OLD WOMAN AND THE FISH 216 + THE LAD AND THE FOX 217 + ADVENTURES OF ASHPOT 217 + NORWEGIAN BIRD-LEGENDS 219 + THE UGLY DUCKLING 222 + By Hans Christian Andersen + THE WILD SWANS 227 + By Hans Christian Andersen + TAPER TOM 235 + THE BOY WHO WENT TO THE NORTH WIND 236 + THE WONDERFUL IRON POT 238 + THE SHEEP AND PIG WHO SET UP HOUSEKEEPING 239 + DOLL-IN-THE-GRASS 241 + BOOTS AND HIS BROTHERS 242 + VIGGO AND BEATE 244 + Translated by Mrs. Gudrun Thorne-Thompson + + + #STORIES FROM IRELAND# + + THE FOUR WHITE SWANS 251 + THE MISHAPS OF HANDY ANDY 258 + THE GREEDY SHEPHERD 263 + THE COBBLERS AND THE CUCKOO 264 + THE MERRY COBBLER AND HIS COAT 268 + THE STORY OF CHILD CHARITY 270 + By Frances Browne + THE SELFISH GIANT 272 + By Oscar Wilde + + + #STORIES FROM GREAT BRITAIN# + + THE BATTLE OF THE BIRDS, OR THE GRATEFUL + RAVEN AND THE PRINCE 275 + JACK AND THE BEANSTALK 277 + Retold by Mary Lena Wilson + TOM THUMB 280 + Retold by Laura Clarke + WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT 283 + WILD ROBIN 287 + Retold by Sophie May + THE STORY OF MERLIN 291 + + + #JAPANESE AND OTHER ORIENTAL TALES# + + THE CUB'S TRIUMPH 293 + CHIN-CHIN KOBAKAMA 294 + THE WONDERFUL MALLET 296 + THE SELFISH SPARROW AND THE HOUSELESS CROWS 298 + THE STORY OF ZIRAC 298 + MY LORD BAG OF RICE 302 + THE LITTLE HARE OF OKI 305 + Retold by B. M. Burrell + THE LITTLE BROTHER OF LOO-LEE LOO 309 + By Margaret Johnson + THE CURIOUS CASE OF AH-TOP 314 + THE JACKAL AND THE CAMEL 316 + HASHNU THE STONECUTTER 316 + THE TIGER, THE BRAHMAN, AND THE JACKAL 318 + THE STORY OF THE WILLOW PATTERN PLATE 319 + Retold by M. Alston Buckley + + + #BR'ER RABBIT AND HIS NEIGHBORS# + + BROTHER FOX'S TAR BABY 321 + Translated by Joel Chandler Harris + THE RABBIT AND THE PEAS 322 + By Mrs. M. R. Allen + BR'ER RABBIT'S FISHING 325 + BR'ER POSSUM LOVES PEACE 326 + BR'ER FOX TACKLES OLD BR'ER TARRYPIN 327 + HOW COUSIN WILDCAT SERVED BR'ER FOX 329 + PLANTATION STORIES 332 + By Grace MacGowan Cooke + + + #AMERICAN INDIAN STORIES# + + ROBIN REDBREAST 337 + THE THREE WISHES 338 + THE JOKER 340 + LITTLE MOCCASIN'S RIDE ON THE THUNDER-HORSE 342 + By Colonel Guido Ilges + WAUKEWA'S EAGLE 348 + By James Buckham + A HURON CINDERELLA 352 + By Howard Angus Kennedy + THE FIRE BRINGER 356 + By Mary Austin + SCAR FACE 358 + WHY THE BABY SAYS "GOO" 359 + Retold by Ehrma G. Filer + + + * * * * * + + + + + [Illustration: THE OLD FAIRY TALES] + + + + + THE ROAD TO FAIRY LAND + + + The day is dull and dreary, + And chilly winds and eerie + Are sweeping through the tall oak trees that fringe the orchard lane. + They send the dead leaves flying, + And with a mournful crying + They dash the western window-panes with slanting lines of rain. + My little 'Trude and Teddy, + Come quickly and make ready, + Take down from off the highest shelf the book you think so grand. + We'll travel off together, + To lands of golden weather, + For well we know the winding road that leads to Fairy Land. + + A long, long road, no byway, + The fairy kings' broad highway, + Sometimes we'll see a castled hill stand up against the blue, + And every brook that passes, + A-whispering through the grasses, + Is just a magic fountain filled with youth and health for you; + And we'll meet fair princesses + With shining golden tresses, + Some pacing by on palfreys white, some humbly tending sheep; + And merchants homeward faring, + With goods beyond comparing, + And in the hills are robber bands, who dwell in caverns deep. + + Sometimes the road ascending, + Around a mountain bending, + Will lead us to the forests dark, and there among the pines + Live woodmen, to whose dwelling + Come wicked witches, telling + Of wondrous gifts of golden wealth. There, too, are lonely mines. + But busy gnomes have found them, + And all night work around them, + And sometimes leave a bag of gold at some poor cottage door. + There waterfalls are splashing, + And down the rocks are dashing, + But we can hear the sprites' clear call above the torrent's roar. + + Where quiet rivers glisten + We'll sometimes stop and listen + To tales a gray old hermit tells, or wandering minstrel's song. + We'll loiter by the ferries, + And pluck the wayside berries, + And watch the gallant knights spur by in haste to right a wrong. + Oh, little 'Trude and Teddy, + For wonders, then, make ready, + You'll see a shining gateway, and, within, a palace grand, + Of elfin realm the center; + But pause before you enter + To pity all good folk who've missed the road to Fairy Land. + + _Cecil Cavendish_ + + + + + THE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS GOLDENLOCKS + + +There was once a lovely Princess who had such beautiful golden hair +that everyone called her Goldenlocks. She possessed everything that she +wanted: she was lovely to look at, she had beautiful clothes, and great +wealth, and besides all these, she was the Princess in a large kingdom. + +In the country next to that of Goldenlocks there ruled a rich and +handsome young King. When he heard about the charming Princess he +decided that he wanted her for his Queen. The question was, of course, +how to make her feel that she wanted him for her husband! + +This young King did not go about his wooing after the manner of people +that you and I know. He called one of the chief men of his court, and +said: "You have heard of the lovely Princess Goldenlocks. I have +determined that she shall be my bride. I want you to go and see her; +tell her about me, and beg her to become my Queen." + +Then the King ordered a great number of horses brought for the +ambassador, and he directed his men to send more than a hundred +servants also. You see, in that way he hoped to be able to impress +the Princess with his wealth and importance. + +The King was conceited, and did not think for a moment that any +Princess, no matter how beautiful, would refuse to become his wife. So +he ordered his servants to make great preparations for her coming, and +to refurnish the palace. He told his ambassador to be sure to bring the +Princess back with him. + +The King waited with great impatience for the return of the ambassador, +who had quite a long journey to make before he could get to the court +of the Princess Goldenlocks. Then one day he appeared in the King's +court. + +"Where is my lovely bride?" the King asked eagerly, expecting the +ambassador to say that she was in the next room, and would come in +at once. + +"Your Majesty," replied the ambassador, very sadly, "I could not bring +the Princess to you. She sent you her thanks for your offer, but she +could not accept the gifts which you sent her, and she will not marry +you." + +"What!" the King exclaimed indignantly, as he fingered the pearls and +diamonds which he had sent Goldenlocks, and which she had sent back. "I +and my jewels are not good enough for the Princess Goldenlocks!" And +the King cried and cried, just as if he had not been grown up. + +All the people in the court were greatly disturbed because the +ambassador had failed in his mission. They felt themselves injured +to think that Goldenlocks would not marry their King. There was one +courtier, named Charming, who felt especially bad, for he was very fond +of the King. He even said one day that he was certain that if the King +had only let him go to Goldenlocks, she would have consented to a royal +marriage. + +Now, there were in that court some very jealous men, who thought that +Charming was altogether too great a favorite with the King. When they +heard him say that he could have won Goldenlocks for his master, they +got together and agreed to tell the King that Charming was making silly +boasts. + +"Your majesty," one of them said, "Charming told us that if you had let +him go to Goldenlocks she would never have refused to marry you. He +thinks that he is so attractive that the Princess would have fallen in +love with him immediately, and would have consented to go anywhere he +wished with him." + +"Villain!" the King exclaimed. "And I thought he was my friend." + +Of course, you and I know that if the King himself had been any sort of +a friend he would never have doubted the good faith of Charming just +because someone else spoke evil of him. But what did the King do but +order Charming put into a dungeon and given no food or water, so that +the poor fellow should die of hunger! + +Poor Charming was bewildered when the King's guards came to carry him +off to prison. He could not imagine why the King had turned against him +in this unfair way. It made him miserable enough to be in a cold, damp +cell, with no food to eat, and no water to drink except that from a +little stream which flowed through the cell. He had no bed--just a +dirty pile of straw. But all these discomforts were as nothing to the +worry he had as to why the King, whom he had always liked, had treated +him so unjustly. He used to talk to himself about it. One day he said, +as he had thought dozens of times before: + +"What have I done that my kindest friend, to whom I have always been +faithful, should have turned against me and left me to die in this +prison cell?" + +As luck would have it, the King himself was passing by the dungeon +where Charming was confined when he spoke these words, and the King +heard them. Perhaps the King's better self had been telling him that he +ought at least to have given Charming a chance to tell his side of the +story before condemning him to die. I do not know. At any rate when he +heard this voice coming out of the dungeon he insisted on going in at +once to see Charming. + +"Your Gracious Majesty," said Charming, "I could not believe that it +was really your wish that I be confined in this cell. All my life I +have had no wish but to serve you faithfully." + +"Charming!" the King exclaimed, "can this be true! They told me that +you have made fun of me because the Princess Goldenlocks had refused +to marry me." + +"I, Your Majesty, mocked you?" Charming was astonished. "That is not +true. It is true, however, that I said that if you would send me to +Goldenlocks I believed I could persuade her to become your wife, +because I know so many good things about you which I would tell her. I +could paint such a lovely picture of you that she could not possibly +help falling in love with your Majesty." + +Then the King knew that he had been deceived by his courtiers, and he +felt that he had been very silly to believe them. He took Charming with +him to the palace right away, and, after having the best supper which +the cooks could prepare served for Charming, the King asked him to go +and see whether it was not yet possible to persuade Goldenlocks to +marry him. + +Charming did not set off with any such retinue of servants as had +the other ambassador. The King gave him letters to the Princess, and +Charming picked out one present for her--a lovely scarf embroidered +with pearls. + +The next morning Charming started out. He had armed himself with a +notebook and pencil. As he rode along he thought much about what he +might say to the Princess that would make her want to marry his King. + +One day as he rode along he saw a deer stretching out its neck to reach +the leaves of the tree above it. "What a graceful creature!" thought +Charming. "I will tell Goldenlocks that the King is as graceful as a +deer." Then on the road ahead he saw a great shadow, cast by an eagle +in its flight. "How swift and strong that eagle is," he mused. "I will +tell the Princess that the King is like the eagle in strength and +swiftness and majesty." + +Charming got off his horse and sat down by a brook to jot down his +thoughts in his notebook. As he opened his book to write he saw, +struggling in the grass by his side, a golden carp. The fish had jumped +too high when it tried to catch a fly, and had landed on the ground. +The poor creature was helpless to get back into the water, and was +gasping for breath; fish, you know, cannot live long out of water. +Charming felt so sorry for the carp that he could not write until he +had put it carefully back into the brook. + +"Thank you, Charming," said a voice from the water. Charming had never +heard a fish speak before, and you can imagine that he was mightily +surprised. "Some day I will repay this kindness." + +For several days after this adventure Charming journeyed on. Then, one +morning, he heard a great crying in the air, above him. A huge vulture +was pursuing a raven. The vulture was drawing closer and closer to its +prey--was almost upon it. Charming could not stand idly by and watch +the helpless little raven fight against its enormous enemy. He drew his +bow, and shot an arrow straight into the vulture's heart. The raven +flew down, and as it passed Charming it said gratefully: "I have you to +thank that I am not now in that great vulture's beak. I will remember +your great kindness." + +Not long afterward, Charming came upon a great net which men had +stretched in the woods in order to catch birds. A poor owl was caught +in it. "Men are cruel creatures," thought Charming. "I don't think it +is very kind or praiseworthy to set a trap for these creatures who do +no one any harm." And Charming proceeded to cut the net and set the owl +free. + +The owl flapped its wings noisily as it flew out of the net. "Thank +you, Charming," it said. "You know I can't see well in the daylight, +and I did not notice this trap. I shall never forget that I have you +to thank for my being alive." + +Charming found Goldenlocks surrounded by a splendor greater than any +he had ever seen before. Pearls and diamonds were so plentiful that he +began to think they must grow on trees in this kingdom! It worried him +a little, for he thought he would have to be very clever to persuade +Goldenlocks to leave so much luxury. + +With fear and trembling Charming presented himself at the door of +Princess Goldenlocks' palace on the morning after his arrival. He had +dressed himself with the greatest care in a handsome suit of crimson +velvet. On his head was a hat of the same brocaded material, trimmed +with waving ostrich plumes, which were fastened to his hat with a clasp +set with flashing diamonds. A messenger was sent at once to the +Princess to announce his arrival. + +"Your Majesty," the messenger said. "There is the most handsome +gentleman sent from a King awaiting you below. He is dressed like a +Prince, and he is the most charming person I have ever seen. In fact, +his very name is Charming." + +"His name sounds as if I would like him," said the Princess, musingly. +"I will see him presently. Honora, bring me my best blue satin +gown--the one embroidered with pearls." + +Then the Princess had a fresh wreath of pink roses made to wind in her +lovely golden hair; Honora pushed tiny blue satin slippers on the feet +of her mistress, and handed her an exquisite silver lace fan. Then +Goldenlocks was all ready. She assumed her most princess-like manner, +and entered the great throne room. You may be sure, however, that she +stopped on the way, in the hall of mirrors, to see that she really +deserved all the compliments which her handmaids gave her. + +When Goldenlocks was seated on the throne of gold and ivory, and her +handmaids were posed gracefully about her, playing idly on guitars, +Charming was brought in. He was as though struck dumb by the beauty +which greeted his eyes. He forgot for the moment all that he had +intended to say--all the long harangue prepared so carefully on the +way. Then he took a deep breath, and began, just as he had intended, +with: + +"Most lovely Princess Goldenlocks, I have come to ask your hand in +marriage for the most noble King in the world." + +I think his speech must have been very interesting, for Goldenlocks did +not take her eyes from Charming's face during the hour in which +Charming described the glories of his King. + +"What, O most gracious Princess, may I take to the King as an answer +to his plea?" Charming finally inquired. + +"Tell him," said Goldenlocks kindly, "I believe that no King who was +not worthy and charming himself could have an ambassador like you." + +"But," she added after a pause, "tell him also that Goldenlocks may not +marry. I have taken a solemn vow that I will not marry until a ring +which I lost in the brook a month ago is found. I valued that ring more +than my whole kingdom, but it cannot be found." + +Charming went away disheartened, because he did not have the slightest +idea how to go about finding the Princess's ring. Luckily for him, he +had brought with him a cunning little dog named Frisk. Frisk was a +light-hearted creature. He always was hopeful. So he said to Charming: + +"Why, master, let us not give up hope without even trying. Let's go +down to the brook to-morrow morning and see if we can't find the +Princess's bothersome ring." + +So, bright and early the next day, Charming and Frisk walked slowly +along the edge of the brook which flowed near the palace, hunting for +the ring. They walked for about half an hour, when a voice spoke to +them out of nowhere: + +"Well, Charming, I have kept my promise. You once saved my life, you +know. Now I have brought you the Princess Goldenlocks' ring." + +Charming looked up and down and all around in great amazement. Then, at +his very feet, he saw the golden carp which he had rescued a few days +before; and, best of all, in the carp's mouth was the Princess's gold +ring. + +With joy in his heart Charming rushed to the palace, with Frisk dancing +along at his heels. Goldenlocks was disappointed to hear that he had +come back so soon. "He must have given up already," she told her +handmaids, as she made ready to receive Charming. + +When Charming entered the Princess's throne room he did not say a word; +he simply handed her the ring. + +"My ring!" the Princess called out in amazement. "You have found it!" +And she seemed delighted that Charming had succeeded. + +"Now," said Charming, with something of assurance, "you will make ready +to return to my King with me, will you not?" + +"Oh, no!" the Princess cried, as if she had never thought of such a +thing. "I can never marry until an awful enemy of mine is killed. There +is a fierce giant who lives near here. He once asked me to marry him, +and I, of course, refused. It made him very angry. He swore vengeance +upon me, and I am afraid to leave my kingdom while he is alive. I think +the creature--his name is Galifron--can really have no human heart at +all, for he can kill two or three or four persons a day without feeling +anything but joy in his crimes." + +Charming shuddered at this appalling picture of his enemy-to-be. + +"If it be in my power so to do, Princess Goldenlocks, I will slay your +enemy." With these words Charming turned on his heels and left the +palace. + +Frisk realized that Charming was worried about the difficult new task +which Goldenlocks had given him. "Never you worry, Master," he said +cheerfully. "If you will but attack the monster I will bark and bite at +his heels until he won't know what he is doing. He will be so confused +that I know you will be able to conquer him." + +Charming rode up to the giant's castle boldly enough. He knew the +monster was coming toward him, because he could hear the crash of +trees which broke under the huge feet. Then he heard a voice roaring +like thunder: + + "Poof, woof, clear the way! + Bing, bang, 'tis to-day! + Zip, zook, I must slay! + Whizz, fizz, the King's pet, Charming! + Pish, tush, isn't it alarming!" + +Charming trembled, and he could feel the cold perspiration stand out on +his brow. But he took a deep breath, and shouted as loud as he could +(which was not nearly as loud as the giant could): + + "Galifron, take warning, + For your day is ending. + Prepare to find that Charming + Is really quite alarming!" + +Galifron was so high above Charming that he had to hunt quite hard +before he could discover who was saying these words. When he saw the +little fellow standing ready to fight him he laughed, and yet he was +angry. He lifted his great club and would have knocked the life out +of Charming in a trice, but suddenly he could not see. He roared with +pain, for a raven had plucked out his eyes. Galifron beat wildly in +the air, trying to protect himself from the bird; meanwhile Charming +seized his opportunity, and it was only a moment until Galifron lay at +Charming's feet. Only Galifron was so big that Charming had to stand on +top of him in order to make sure that he was really dead. + +To the Princess, Charming rode back as fast as his horse could carry +him. In front of him, on his saddle, he carried the giant's head. The +Princess was taking her afternoon nap, when she was awakened by loud +shouts of "Hail, Charming! Hail, conqueror of hideous Galifron!" + +Goldenlocks could scarcely believe her ears. She rushed to the front of +the palace, and sure enough, there she was greeted by Charming, bearing +her enemy's head. + +It seemed as if such a feat of daring should have been enough to +satisfy even Goldenlocks. + +"Now, fair Princess, will you not return with me to my King?" + +"Charming, I cannot," said the Princess; and to Charming her words +sounded like the stroke of doom. "Before I marry I must have some +water from the spring of eternal youth. This spring is at the bottom +of Gloomy Cavern--a great cave not far from here, which is guarded by +two fierce dragons. If I have a flask from that spring I shall always +remain young and beautiful. I should never dare to marry without its +protection." + +"Beautiful Goldenlocks, you could never be anything but young and +beautiful; but I will none the less try to fulfill your mission." + +Even though Charming had just conquered a giant he did not feel very +comfortable at the idea of having to find his way past two dragons +into a dark and gloomy cavern. He approached the cavern with much +determination, but with many misgivings. When Frisk saw the black smoke +belching out of the rocks at the entrance of the cavern the dog shook +all over with fear; and I have been told that when Charming saw Frisk +run off and try to hide, he himself would have been very glad if he +could have run away, too. But being a man, he, of course, had to be +brave; so he set his teeth and approached the cave. + +Then he saw the first dragon--a huge, slimy creature, all yellow and +green, with great red claws, and a tail which seemed to Charming to be +nearly a mile long. + +Charming turned back and called to Frisk. "Dear Frisk," he said sadly, +"I know I shall never see the light of day again if I enter this +cavern. Wait here for me until nightfall; then, if I have not come +back, go and tell the Princess that I have lost my life trying to win +for her eternal youth and beauty. Then tell the King that I did my best +for him, but failed." + +Charming turned again to attack the dragon. + +"Wait a minute, Charming!" + +Charming looked around to see who spoke these words. "It's I, Charming, +the owl you rescued from the net the fowlers set for us poor birds. Let +me take Goldenlocks' flask, and I will fetch the water for you. I know +every turn of that dark cavern, and the dragons will not notice whether +I pass them or not." And the owl took the flask out of Charming's hand, +fluttered into the cavern, and disappeared. + +"Here you are, Charming. You see I did not forget your kindness to me." +With these words the owl handed to Charming the flask full of water +from the magic spring. Charming was so happy that he could hardly find +words to thank the owl. He rode straight to Goldenlocks with the +wonderful liquid. + +"Beautiful Goldenlocks, here is the water you asked me to get for +you. My mind cannot conceive of anything, however, which would add +to your beauty. I do know, however, something which would add to your +happiness. I have found your ring, slain your enemy, brought you the +secret of youth and health; now will you not come with me to my King, +who loves you so much that he will make you the happiest woman on +earth?" + +"Yes," said Goldenlocks, softly. Her answer really surprised Charming +very much, because he had come to think that she would never cease to +find new tasks for him to perform. She gave orders at once for the +necessary preparations for the journey, and in a few days she and +Charming and little Frisk set out for home, with a great retinue of +servants, of course. + +The King greeted them with the greatest enthusiasm. He proclaimed a +holiday throughout his kingdom, and every one feasted and danced. + +But, strange to say, the Princess Goldenlocks found herself daily +thinking more and more, not of the King, but of Charming. + +One day Charming found himself once more in prison, bound hand and +foot. The King thought this would be a good way to rid himself of his +rival. + +Goldenlocks used to beg the King to set Charming free, but that only +made things worse. Little Frisk was Charming's only comfort; he used +to take him all the court news. + +"Maybe," said the King to himself one day, "the reason Goldenlocks +prefers Charming to me is that I am not beautiful enough to suit her. I +believe I will try some of that water of eternal beauty and health that +she is always talking about." + +Without a word to anyone the King stole into the Queen's room and +hunted about until he found the flask of water. He bathed his face in +the water and stood in front of a mirror to watch the change. A few +hours later the Queen found him sound asleep. She could not awaken him, +and they sent for the court physician; he could not rouse the King. +"The King," the physician told the Queen, "is dead." + +Now this is what had happened. One day when the Princess's maid Honora +was cleaning her room she knocked over the flask which contained the +precious water, and broke it in a thousand pieces. Honora was terribly +frightened. She would not have let the Princess know what had occurred +for anything. She remembered seeing a flask in the King's room just +like the one she had broken, and she put it in the very spot from which +she had knocked the other. + +Unluckily for the King, the maid took a flask which contained a deadly +water which was used to "do away" with criminals. + +"Woof, woof!" said Frisk in the Queen's ear. "Please have pity on my +poor master, good Queen! Remember all he did for you, and how he is +suffering for your sake now!" + +Goldenlocks at once left the room where the King's body lay in state +and went to the tower where Charming was confined. She opened his cell +and set him free. She put a golden crown on his head, and removed the +chains from his wrists and ankles. + +"King Charming!" said the Queen, "now you and I shall be married, +and--live happily ever after!" + + + + +PRINCE HYACINTH AND THE DEAR LITTLE PRINCESS + +BY MADAME LEPRINCE DE BEAUMONT + + +Once upon a time there lived a King who was deeply in love with a +Princess, but she could not marry anyone, because she was under an +enchantment. So the King set out to seek a fairy, and asked what he +could do to win the Princess's love. The Fairy said to him: + +"You know that the Princess has a great cat which she is very fond of. +Whoever is clever enough to tread on that cat's tail is the man she is +destined to marry." + +The King said to himself that this would not be very difficult; and he +left the Fairy, determined to grind the cat's tail to powder rather +than not tread on it at all. + +You may imagine that it was not long before he went to see the +Princess; and puss, as usual, marched in before him, arching its back. +The King took a long step, and quite thought he had the tail under his +foot, but the cat turned round so sharply that he trod only on air. And +so it went on for eight days, till the King began to think that this +fatal tail must be full of quick-silver--it was never still for a +moment. + +At last, however, he was lucky enough to come upon puss fast asleep and +with its tail conveniently spread out. So the King, without losing a +moment, set his foot upon it heavily. + +With one terrific yell the cat sprang up and instantly changed into a +tall man, who, fixing his angry eyes upon the King, said: + +"You shall marry the Princess because you have been able to break the +enchantment, but I will have my revenge. You shall have a son, who +will never be happy until he finds out that his nose is too long, and +if you ever tell anyone what I have just said to you, you shall vanish +away instantly, and no one shall ever see you or hear of you again." + +Though the King was horribly afraid of the enchanter, he could not help +laughing at this threat. + +"If my son has such a long nose as that," he said to himself, "he must +always see it or feel it; at least, if he is not blind or without +hands." + +But, as the enchanter had vanished, he did not waste any more time in +thinking, but went to seek the Princess, who very soon consented to +marry him. But after all, they had not been married very long when the +King died, and the Queen had nothing left to care for but her little +son, who was called Hyacinth. The little Prince had large blue eyes, +the prettiest eyes in the world, and a sweet little mouth, but, alas! +his nose was so enormous that it covered half his face. The Queen was +inconsolable when she saw this great nose, but her ladies assured her +that it was not really as large as it looked; that it was a Roman nose, +and you had only to open any history book to see that every hero has a +large nose. The Queen, who was devoted to her baby, was pleased with +what they told her, and when she looked at Hyacinth again, his nose +certainly did not seem to her _quite_ so large. + +The Prince was brought up with great care; and, as soon as he could +speak, they told him all sorts of dreadful stories about people who had +short noses. No one was allowed to come near him whose nose did not +more or less resemble his own, and the courtiers, to get into favor +with the Queen, took to pulling their babies' noses several times every +day to make them grow long. But, do what they would, they were nothing +by comparison with the Prince's. + +When he grew older he learned history; and whenever any great prince or +beautiful princess was spoken of, his teachers took care to tell him +that they had long noses. + +His room was hung with pictures, all of people with very large noses; +and the Prince grew up so convinced that a long nose was a great beauty +that he would not on any account have had his own a single inch +shorter! + +When his twentieth birthday was past, the Queen thought it was time +that he should be married, so she commanded that the portraits of +several princesses should be brought for him to see, and among the +others was a picture of the Dear Little Princess! + +Now, she was the daughter of a great King, and would some day possess +several kingdoms herself; but Prince Hyacinth had not a thought to +spare for anything of that sort, he was so much struck with her beauty. +The Princess, whom he thought quite charming, had, however, a little +saucy nose, which, in her face, was the prettiest thing possible, but +it was a cause of great embarrassment to the courtiers, who had got +into such a habit of laughing at little noses that they sometimes found +themselves laughing at hers before they had time to think; but this did +not do at all before the Prince, who quite failed to see the joke, and +actually banished two of his courtiers who had dared to mention +disrespectfully the Dear Little Princess's tiny nose! + +The others, taking warning from this, learned to think twice before +they spoke, and one even went so far as to tell the Prince that, though +it was quite true that no man could be worth anything unless he had a +long nose, still, a woman's beauty was a different thing, and he knew a +learned man who understood Greek and had read in some old manuscripts +that the beautiful Cleopatra herself had a "tip-tilted" nose! + +The Prince made him a splendid present as a reward for this good news, +and at once sent ambassadors to ask the Dear Little Princess in +marriage. The King, her father, gave his consent; and Prince Hyacinth, +who, in his anxiety to see the Princess, had gone three leagues to meet +her, was just advancing to kiss her hand when, to the horror of all who +stood by, the enchanter appeared as suddenly as a flash of lightning, +and, snatching up the Dear Little Princess, whirled her away out of +their sight! + +The Prince was left quite inconsolable, and declared that nothing +should induce him to go back to his kingdom until he had found her +again, and refusing to allow any of his courtiers to follow him, he +mounted his horse and rode sadly away, letting the animal choose its +own path. + +So it happened that he came presently to a great plain, across which he +rode all day long without seeing a single house, and horse and rider +were terribly hungry, when, as the night fell, the Prince caught sight +of a light. + +He rode up to it, and saw a little old woman, who appeared to be at +least a hundred years old. + +She put on her spectacles to look at Prince Hyacinth, but it was quite +a long time before she could fix them securely, because her nose was so +very short. + +The Prince and the Fairy (for that was who she was) had no sooner +looked at one another than they went into fits of laughter, and cried +at the same moment, "Oh, what a funny nose!" + +"Not so funny as your own," said Prince Hyacinth to the Fairy; "but, +madam, I beg you to leave the consideration of our noses--such as they +are--and to be good enough to give me something to eat, for I am +starving, and so is my poor horse." + +"With all my heart!" said the Fairy. "Though your nose is so +ridiculous, you are, nevertheless, the son of my best friend. I loved +your father as if he had been my brother. Now _he_ had a very handsome +nose!" + +"And pray, what does mine lack?" said the Prince. + +"Oh! it doesn't _lack anything_," replied the Fairy. "On the contrary +quite, there is only too much of it. But never mind, one may be a very +worthy man though his nose is too long. I was telling you that I was +your father's friend; he often came to see me in the old times, and you +must know that I was very pretty in those days; at least, he used to +say so. I should like to tell you of a conversation we had the last +time I ever saw him." + +"Indeed," said the Prince, "when I have supped it will give me the +greatest pleasure to hear it; but consider, madam, I beg of you, that I +have had nothing to eat to-day." + +"The poor boy is right," said the Fairy; "I was forgetting. Come in, +then, and I will give you some supper, and while you are eating I can +tell you my story in a very few words--for I don't like endless tales +myself. Too long a tongue is worse than too long a nose, and I remember +when I was young that I was so much admired for not being a great +chatterer. They used to tell the Queen, my mother, that it was so. For +though you see what I am now, I was the daughter of a great king. My +father--" + +"Your father, I dare say, got something to eat when he was hungry!" +interrupted the Prince. + +"Oh! certainly," answered the Fairy, "and you also shall have supper +directly. I only just wanted to tell you--" + +"But I really cannot listen to anything until I have had something +to eat," cried the Prince, who was getting quite angry; but then, +remembering that he had better be polite as he much needed the Fairy's +help, he added: + +"I know that in the pleasure of listening to you I should quite forget +my own hunger; but my horse, who cannot hear you, must really be fed!" + +The Fairy was very much flattered by this compliment, and said, calling +to her servants: + +"You shall not wait another minute, you are so polite, and in spite of +the enormous size of your nose you are really very agreeable." + +"Plague take the old lady! How she does go on about my nose!" said the +Prince to himself. "One would almost think that mine had taken all the +extra length that hers lacks! If I were not so hungry I would soon have +done with this chatterpie who thinks she talks very little! How stupid +people are not to see their own faults! That comes of being a princess; +she has been spoilt by flatterers, who have made her believe that she +is quite a moderate talker!" + +Meanwhile the servants were putting the supper on the table, and the +Prince was much amused to hear the Fairy, who asked them a thousand +questions simply for the pleasure of hearing herself speak; especially +he noticed one maid who, no matter what was being said, always +contrived to praise her mistress's wisdom. + +"Well!" he thought, as he ate his supper. "I'm very glad I came here. +This just shows me how sensible I have been in never listening to +flatterers. People of that sort praise us to our faces without shame, +and hide our faults or change them into virtues. For my part I never +will be taken in by them. I know my own defects, I hope." + +Poor Prince Hyacinth! He really believed what he said, and hadn't an +idea that the people who had praised his nose were laughing at him, +just as the Fairy's maid was laughing at her; for the Prince had seen +her laugh slyly when she could do so without the Fairy's noticing her. + +However, he said nothing, and presently, when his hunger began to be +appeased, the Fairy said: + +"My dear Prince, might I beg you to move a little more that way, for +your nose casts such a shadow that I really cannot see what I have on +my plate. Ah! thanks. Now let us speak of your father. When I went to +his Court he was only a little boy, but that is forty years ago, and +I have been in this desolate place ever since. Tell me what goes on +nowadays; are the ladies as fond of amusement as ever? In my time one +saw them at parties, theaters, balls, and promenades every day. Dear +me! _What_ a long nose you have! I cannot get used to it!" + +"Really, madam," said the Prince, "I wish you would leave off +mentioning my nose. It cannot matter to you what it is like. I am quite +satisfied with it, and have no wish to have it shorter. One must take +what is given one." + +"Now you are angry with me, my poor Hyacinth," said the Fairy, "and I +assure you that I didn't mean to vex you; on the contrary, I wished to +do you a service. However, though I really cannot help your nose being +a shock to me, I will try not to say anything about it. I will even try +to think that you have an ordinary nose. To tell the truth, it would +make three reasonable ones." + +The Prince, who was no longer hungry, grew so impatient at the Fairy's +continual remarks about his nose that at last he threw himself upon his +horse and rode hastily away. But wherever he came in his journey he +thought the people were mad, for they all talked of his nose, and yet +he could not bring himself to admit that it was too long, he had been +so used all his life to hear it called handsome. + +The old Fairy, who wished to make him happy, at last hit upon a plan. +She shut the Dear Little Princess up in a palace of crystal, and put +this palace down where the Prince could not fail to find it. His joy at +seeing the Princess again was extreme, and he set to work with all his +might to try to break her prison, but in spite of all his efforts he +failed utterly. In despair he thought at least that he would try to get +near enough to speak to the Dear Little Princess, who, on her part, +stretched out her hand that he might kiss it; but turn which way he +might, he never could raise it to his lips, for his long nose always +prevented it. For the first time he realized how long it really was, +and exclaimed: + +"Well, it must be admitted that my nose _is_ too long!" + +In an instant the crystal prison flew into a thousand splinters, and +the old Fairy, taking the Dear Little Princess by the hand, said to the +Prince: + +"Now, say if you are not very much obliged to me. Much good it was for +me to talk to you about your nose! You would never have found out how +extraordinary it was if it hadn't hindered you from doing what you +wanted to. You see how self-love keeps us from knowing our own defects +of mind and body. Our reason tries in vain to show them to us; we +refuse to see them till we find them in our way." + +Prince Hyacinth, whose nose was now just like anyone else's, did not +fail to profit by the lesson he had received. He married the Dear +Little Princess, and they lived happily ever after. + + + + +CINDERELLA + +BY CHARLES PERRAULT + + +Once there was a gentleman who married, for his second wife, the +proudest and most haughty woman that was ever seen. She had, by a +former husband, two daughters of her own humor, who were, indeed, +exactly like her in all things. He had likewise, by his first wife, a +young daughter, but of unparalleled goodness and sweetness of temper, +which she took from her mother, who was the best creature in the world. + +No sooner were the ceremonies of the wedding over but the step-mother +began to show herself in her true colors. She could not bear the good +qualities of this pretty girl, and the less because they made her own +daughters appear the more odious. She employed her in the meanest work +of the house: the young girl scoured the dishes, tables, etc., and +scrubbed madam's chamber, and those of misses, her daughters; she lay +up in a sorry garret, upon a wretched straw bed, while her sisters lay +in fine rooms, with floors all inlaid, upon beds of the very newest +fashion, and where they had looking glasses so large that they might +see themselves at their full length from head to foot. + +The poor girl bore all patiently, and dared not tell her father, who +would have rattled her off; for his wife governed him entirely. When +she had done her work, she used to go into the chimney-corner, and +sit down among cinders and ashes, which made her commonly be called +_Cinderwench_; but the youngest, who was not so rude and uncivil as the +eldest, called her Cinderella. However, Cinderella, notwithstanding her +mean apparel, was a hundred times handsomer than her sisters, though +they were always dressed very richly. + +It happened that the King's son gave a ball, and invited all persons +of fashion to it. Our young misses were also invited, for they cut a +very grand figure among the quality. They were mightily delighted at +this invitation, and wonderfully busy in choosing out such gowns, +petticoats, and head-clothes as might become them. This was a new +trouble to Cinderella; for it was she who ironed her sister's linen, +and plaited their ruffles; they talked all day long of nothing but how +they should be dressed. + +"For my part," said the eldest, "I will wear my red velvet suit with +French trimming." + +"And I," said the youngest, "shall have my usual petticoat; but then, +to make amends for that, I will put on my gold-flowered manteau, and my +diamond stomacher, which is far from being the most ordinary one in the +world." + +They sent for the best tire-woman they could get to dress their hair +and to adjust their double pinners. + +Cinderella was likewise called up to them to be consulted in all these +matters, for she had excellent notions, and advised them always for the +best, nay, and offered her services to dress their heads, which they +were very willing she should do. As she was doing this, they said to +her: + +"Cinderella, would you not be glad to go to the ball?" + +"Alas!" said she, "you only jeer at me; it is not for such as I am to +go thither." + +"Thou art in the right of it," replied they; "it would make the people +laugh to see a Cinderwench at a ball." + +Anyone but Cinderella would have dressed their heads awry, but she was +very good, and did them perfectly well. They were almost two days +without eating, so much they were transported with joy. They broke +above a dozen of laces in trying to be laced up close, that they +might have a fine slender shape, and they were continually at their +looking-glasses. At last the happy day came; they went to Court, and +Cinderella followed them with her eyes as long as she could, and when +she had lost sight of them, she fell a-crying. + +Her godmother, who saw her all in tears, asked her what was the matter. + +"I wish I could--I wish I could--" she was not able to speak the rest, +being interrupted by her tears and sobbing. + +This godmother of hers, who was a fairy, said to her, "Thou wishest +thou couldst go to the ball; is it not so?" + +"Y--es," cried Cinderella, with a great sigh. + +"Well," said her godmother, "be but a good girl, and I will contrive +that thou shalt go." Then she took her into her chamber, and said to +her, "Run into the garden, and bring me a pumpkin." + +Cinderella went immediately to gather the finest she could get, and +brought it to her godmother, not being able to imagine how this pumpkin +could make her go to the ball. Her godmother scooped out all the inside +of it, having left nothing but the rind; which done, she struck it with +her wand, and the pumpkin was instantly turned into a fine coach, +gilded all over with gold. + +She then went to look into the mouse-trap, where she found six mice, +all alive, and ordered Cinderella to lift up a little the trap-door, +when, giving each mouse, as it went out, a little tap with her wand, +the mouse was that moment turned into a fine horse, which altogether +made a very fine set of six horses of a beautiful mouse-colored +dapple-gray. Being at a loss for a coachman, + +"I will go and see," says Cinderella, "if there should be a rat in the +rat-trap--we may make a coachman of him." + +"Thou art in the right," replied her godmother; "go and look." + +Cinderella brought the trap to her and in it there were three huge +rats. The fairy made choice of one of the three which had the largest +beard, and, having touched him with her wand, he was turned into a fat, +jolly coachman, who had the smartest whiskers eyes ever beheld. After +that, she said to her: + +"Go again into the garden, and you will find six lizards behind the +watering-pot, bring them to me." + +She had no sooner done so than her godmother turned them into six +footmen, who skipped up immediately behind the coach, with their +liveries all bedaubed with gold and silver, and clung as close behind +each other as if they had done nothing else their whole lives. The +Fairy then said to Cinderella: + +"Well, you see here an equipage fit to go to the ball with; are you not +pleased with it?" + +"Oh! yes," cried she; "but must I go thither as I am, in these nasty +rags?" + +Her godmother only just touched her with her wand, and, at the same +instant, her clothes were turned into cloth of gold and silver, all +beset with jewels. This done, she gave her a pair of glass slippers, +the prettiest in the whole world. Being thus decked out, she got up +into her coach; but her godmother, above all things, commanded her not +to stay till after midnight, telling her, at the same time, that if +she stayed one moment longer, the coach would be a pumpkin again, her +horses mice, her coachman a rat, her footmen lizards, and her clothes +become just as they were before. + +She promised her godmother she would not fail of leaving the ball +before midnight; and then away she drove, scarce able to contain +herself for joy. The King's son, who was told that a great princess, +whom nobody knew, was come, ran out to receive her; he gave her his +hand as she alighted out of the coach, and led her into the hall, among +all the company. There was immediately a profound silence, they left +off dancing and the violins ceased to play, so attentive was everyone +to contemplate the singular beauties of the unknown new-comer. Nothing +was then heard but a confused noise of: + +"Ah! how handsome she is! Ah! how handsome she is!" + +The King himself, old as he was, could not help watching her, and +telling the Queen softly that it was a long time since he had seen so +beautiful and lovely a creature. + +All the ladies were busied in considering her clothes and head-dress, +that they might have some made next day after the same pattern, +provided they could meet with such fine materials and as able hands +to make them. + +The King's son conducted her to the most honorable seat, and afterward +took her out to dance with him; she danced so very gracefully that they +all more and more admired her. A fine collation was served up, whereof +the young Prince ate not a morsel, so intently was he busied in gazing +on her. + +She went and sat down by her sisters, showing them a thousand +civilities, giving them part of the oranges and citrons which the +Prince had presented her with, which very much surprised them, for +they did not know her. While Cinderella was thus amusing her sisters, +she heard the clock strike eleven and three-quarters, whereupon she +immediately made a courtesy to the company and hastened away as fast +as she could. + +Arrived at home, she ran to seek out her godmother, and, after having +thanked her, she said she could not but heartily wish she might go next +day to the ball, because the King's son had desired her. + +As she was eagerly telling her godmother whatever had passed at the +ball, her two sisters knocked at the door, which Cinderella ran and +opened. + +"How long you have stayed!" cried she, gaping, rubbing her eyes and +stretching herself as if she had been just waked out of her sleep; she +had not, however, any manner of inclination to sleep since they went +from home. + +"If thou hadst been at the ball," says one of her sisters, "thou +wouldst not have been tired with it. There came thither the finest +princess, the most beautiful ever seen with mortal eyes; she showed us +a thousand civilities, and gave us oranges and citrons." + +Cinderella seemed very indifferent in the matter. She did ask them the +name of that princess; but they told her they did not know it, and that +the King's son was very uneasy on her account and would give all the +world to know who she was. At this Cinderella, smiling, replied: + +"She must, then, be very beautiful indeed; how happy you have been! +Could not I see her? Ah! dear Miss Charlotte, do lend me your yellow +suit of clothes which you wear every day." + +"Ay, to be sure!" cried Miss Charlotte; "lend my clothes to such a +dirty Cinderwench as thou art! I should be a fool." + +Cinderella, indeed, expected well such an answer, and was very glad of +the refusal; for she would have been sadly put to it if her sister had +lent her what she asked for jestingly. + +The next day the two sisters were at the ball, and so was Cinderella, +but dressed more magnificently than before. The King's son was always +by her, and never ceased his compliments and kind speeches to her. All +this was so far from being tiresome that she quite forgot what her +godmother had recommended to her; so that she, at last, counted the +clock striking twelve when she took it to be no more than eleven. She +then rose up and fled, as nimble as a deer. The Prince followed, but +could not overtake her. She left behind one of her glass slippers, +which the Prince took up most carefully. She got home, but quite out of +breath, and in her nasty old clothes, having nothing left her of all +her finery but one of the little slippers, fellow to that she dropped. + +The guards at the palace gate were asked if they had not seen a +princess go out. To this they replied that they had seen nobody go out +but a young girl, very meanly dressed, and who had more the air of a +poor country wench than a gentlewoman. + +When the two sisters returned from the ball Cinderella asked them +whether they had had a good time, and if the fine lady had been there. + + [Illustration] + +They told her: "Yes, but she hurried away immediately when it struck +twelve, and with so much haste that she dropped one of her little glass +slippers, the prettiest in the world, which the King's son picked up; +he did nothing but look at her all the time at the ball, and most +certainly he is very much in love with the beautiful person who owned +the glass slipper." + +What they said was very true; for a few days after the King's son +caused it to be proclaimed, by sound of trumpet, that he would marry +her whose foot this slipper would just fit. They whom he employed began +to try it upon the princesses, then the duchesses and all the Court, +but in vain; it was brought to the two sisters, who did all they +possibly could to thrust their foot into the slipper, but they could +not effect it. Cinderella, who saw all this, and knew her slipper, said +to them, laughing: + +"Let me see if it will not fit me." + +Her sisters burst out a-laughing, and began to banter her. The +gentleman who was sent to try the slipper looked earnestly at +Cinderella, and, finding her very handsome, said: + +"It is but just that she should try, and I have orders to let everyone +make trial." + +He obliged Cinderella to sit down, and, putting the slipper to her +foot, he found it went on very easily, and fitted her as if it had been +made of wax. The astonishment her two sisters were in was excessively +great, but still abundantly greater when Cinderella pulled out of her +pocket the other slipper, and put it on her foot. Thereupon, in came +her godmother, who, having touched with her wand Cinderella's clothes, +made them richer and more magnificent than any of those she had before. + +And now her two sisters found her to be that fine, beautiful lady whom +they had seen at the ball. They threw themselves at her feet to beg +pardon for all the ill-treatment they had made her undergo. Cinderella +took them up, and, as she embraced them, cried: + +"I forgive you with all my heart, and I want you to love me always." + +She was conducted to the young Prince, dressed as she was; he thought +her more charming than ever, and, a few days after, married her. +Cinderella, who was no less good than beautiful, gave her two sisters +lodgings in the palace, and that very same day matched them with two +great lords of the Court. + + + + +THE SLEEPING BEAUTY + +ADAPTED FROM THE BROTHERS GRIMM + + +The King and Queen of a faraway country once had a little daughter, who +was more beautiful than any child that had ever before been seen. Her +father and mother were so delighted that they proclaimed a public +holiday on her christening, and invited to act as godmothers the seven +good fairies who lived in the kingdom. Unfortunately, they forgot to +ask one ugly old fairy, who had remained shut up in her tower so many +years that people really had forgotten about her. + +When the night of the christening arrived the castle was beautiful to +behold. Lights shone even to the highest tower; beautiful music sounded +from behind masses of fragrant flowers; splendidly dressed knights and +ladies were there to honor the little Princess; and the seven good +fairies smilingly gave her their gifts. + +So excited and happy were all that no one noticed an old creature who +had slipped in and stood in the shadow looking on. This was the fairy +who had not been invited; and, in anger at the slight, she was waiting +her chance to make trouble. + +"For my gift," said the first fairy, "I grant that the Princess shall +be the most beautiful person in the world." + +"I give her the mind of an angel," said the second. + +"She shall be grace itself," said the third. + +"She shall dance like a goddess," said the fourth. + +"Her voice shall equal the nightingale's," said the fifth. + +"The art of playing on all musical instruments shall be hers," said +the sixth. + +Now the wicked old enchantress thought that all seven good fairies had +spoken, so she stepped forth, her face distorted with hatred and envy, +and said: "So I am not thought good enough to be a guest here: you +despise me because I am old and ugly. I shall make a gift, and it shall +be a curse. When your fine young lady becomes sixteen she shall fall +asleep, and nothing you can do will be able to waken her." + +Then with a horrid laugh the hag disappeared. + +Horror seized the guests, and the party, which had been so gay, became +solemn indeed. + +Then the seventh good fairy sprang up and said in silvery tones: "My +gift is yet to be laid before the Princess. I am young, and I can not +undo the evil that has befallen. But be not unhappy, for I grant that +on the day when the curse falls, every living thing in the castle shall +also fall asleep. Moreover, I grant that whenever there is a Prince who +is brave enough to be worthy of this lovely Princess, he shall find a +way to break the spell." + +As the little girl grew older the words of the good fairies came true. +Not only was she beautiful and gifted, but she was so kind and +thoughtful that everyone loved her dearly. + +At first they were very careful to tell her nothing of the wicked +fairy's curse, and then there were so many other things to think about +that people forgot all about the old fairy and her gift. + +The sixteenth birthday arrived, and there was a very special +celebration to please the Princess. The castle was decorated more +beautifully, if possible, than on the night of the christening, and +everyone was dancing or laughing and as happy as could be. Suddenly the +old fairy stepped out from a shadow, as she had done years before, and +looking at the beautiful girl said, "Sleep." Immediately not one sound +or stir was in that gorgeous castle. + +Now, you must forget for a bit all about the Sleeping Beauty, and hear +about a noble Prince who was born many years later in a kingdom not far +from this one. Not only was this Prince handsome and brave, but he was +so kind and good that people called him "Prince Winsome." + +All his life he had heard terrible stories about an enchanted castle, +whose towers could be seen on a clear day far off above a dense forest. +It was said that the trees grew so close together in this forest that +when a knight attempted to force his way through, he always became +entangled in the branches and perished. Many young men were said to +have met this fate; so little by little people stopped trying to reach +the castle. + +But the little Prince was courageous. "When I am sixteen, I shall start +out for the magic forest and rescue the beautiful maiden, whom, I am +sure, I shall find in the castle," he said. + + [Illustration: JAKOB AND WILHELM GRIMM] + +True to his word, on his sixteenth birthday our Prince set off +eagerly on his adventure. His courtiers urged him not to go, and his +subjects pleaded with him, for they did not wish to lose their Prince. +They were afraid he would die in the forest they so dreaded. They did +not realize how difficulties and dangers give way before a brave, +true-hearted youth. + + [Illustration: THE SLEEPING BEAUTY + FROM A DRAWING BY EDITH W. YAFFEE] + +When Prince Winsome reached the edge of the dense forest it looked as +if no man could ever enter. Great trees grew close together with their +branches intertwined. So thick were they that the place looked as dark +as night. When Winsome came near, a marvelous thing happened. The +branches slowly untwined and the trees seemed to bend apart and make a +narrow pathway for his entrance. They closed immediately after him, so +that his followers were closed out and he went on alone. After a long +time he found himself in the courtyard of a great castle. There was not +a sound or a stir; the watchman stood sleeping at the gate, and the +guards were standing as if playing a game of dice, but all were sound +asleep. + +Prince Winsome entered the castle hall and found it full of noble +ladies and knights, servants, waiting maids, flower girls, all +motionless and yet the flush of life on their cheeks. The dancers +seemed about to whirl away in the waltz; the musicians bent over +their violins; and a servant was in the act of passing cakes to the +guests--yet they all held the same fixed position, and had since that +day years before when sleep overcame them. + +Advancing from room to room the same sight everywhere met our hero's +eyes, but his heart began to beat faster and faster, and he knew that +the object of his search was near. At last he entered the throne room +and there on an ivory throne, her head resting against a satin pillow, +was his longed-for Princess. She was so much more beautiful than he had +even imagined that he paused in rapture; then, crossing to her, he +knelt by her side and kissed her tenderly on the brow. + +Then what do you think happened? The Princess smiled, drew a long +breath, opened her eyes slowly, and said: "Oh, my Prince! I knew you +would come." At the same moment the musicians went on just where they +had stopped playing so many years before; the dancers finished their +waltz; the servant offered the cakes; and no one but the Prince seemed +to think the proceeding strange at all. + +The Sleeping Beauty and Prince Winsome were married at once, and lived +long and happily. + + + + +BEAUTY AND THE BEAST + + +There was once a merchant who was extremely rich. He had six +children--three boys and three girls; and as he was a very sensible +man, he spared nothing on their education, but gave them all kinds of +masters. His daughters were beautiful, but the youngest had such a +peculiar charm about her that even from her birth she had been called +Beauty; and this name caused her sisters to feel jealous and envious of +her. The reason she was so much more admired than they were, was that +she was much more amiable. Her sweet face beamed with good temper and +cheerfulness. No frown ever spoiled her fair brow, or bowed the corners +of her mouth. She possessed the charm of good temper, which is in +itself beauty. + +The merchant's elder daughters were idle, ill-tempered, and proud; +therefore people soon forgot that they were beautiful, and only +remembered them as very disagreeable. + +The pride of these young ladies was so great that they did not care to +visit the daughters of men in their father's own rank of life, but +wished to be the friends of great ladies and princesses. + +They were always busy trying to get great acquaintances, and met with +many mortifications in the effort; however, it pleased them to go out +and endeavor to be people of fashion. Every day they drove in the +parks, and went in the evening to balls, operas, and plays. + +Meantime, Beauty spent almost all her days in studying. Her recreation +was to do good. She was to be found in every poor cottage where there +was trouble or sickness, and the poor loved her as much as the rich +admired her. As it was known that their father was very rich, many +merchants asked the girls in marriage; but all these offers were +refused, because the two eldest thought they ought at least to be +wives of a rich nobleman or a prince. + +As for Beauty, she thanked those who asked her to share their fortunes, +but told them that she was too young; that she wished to be her +father's companion, and cheer his old age by her loving care. + +One unhappy day the merchant returned home in the evening, and told +them that he was ruined; that his ships had gone down at sea, and that +the firms with which he had been dealing were bankrupt. + +Beauty wept for grief, because her father was unhappy and unfortunate, +and asked him what was to be done. + +"Alas! my child," he replied, "we must give up our house, and go into +the country. There I can get a cottage to shelter us; and we must live +by the work of our own hands." + +"Ah!" said Beauty eagerly, "I can spin and knit, and sew very well. I +dare say I shall be able to help you, my dear father." + +But the elder daughters did not speak. They had made up their minds to +marry one or the other of their rejected lovers, and did not intend to +share their father's fallen fortunes. + +They found themselves, however, greatly mistaken. The merchants who had +wished to marry them when rich cared nothing for them when poor, and +never came to see them again. But those who had loved Beauty crowded to +the house, and begged and besought her to marry them and share their +fortunes. Beauty was grateful, but she told them that she could not +leave her father in his sorrow; she must go with him to console him and +work for him. The poor girl was very sorry to lose her fortune, because +she could not do so much good without it; but she knew that her place +was ordered for her, and that she might be quite as happy poor as rich. + +Very soon the merchant's family had to leave their noble mansion, to +sell off all their costly furniture, and to go into the country, where +the father and his sons got work; the former as a bailiff, the latter +as farm laborers. And now Beauty had to think and work for all. + +She rose at four o'clock every morning. She cleaned the house; prepared +the breakfast; spread it neatly, and decked the board with the sweetest +flowers. Then she cooked the dinner, and when evening came and brought +the laborers home, Beauty had always a cheerful welcome for them, a +clean home, and a savory supper. During the hours of the afternoon she +used to read and keep up her knowledge of languages; and all the time +she worked she sang like a bird. Her taste made their poor home look +nice, even elegant. + +She was happy in doing her duty. Her early rising revealed to her a +thousand beauties in nature of which she had never before dreamed. + +Beauty acknowledged to herself that sunrise was finer than any picture +she had ever seen; that no perfumes equalled those of the flowers; that +no opera gave her so much enjoyment as the song of the lark and the +serenade of the nightingale. + +Her sleep was as happy and peaceful as that of a child; her awakening, +cheerful, contented, and blest by heaven. + +Meantime her sisters grew peevish, cross, and miserable. They would not +work, and as they had nothing else to amuse them, the days dragged +along, and seemed as if they would never end. They did nothing but +regret the past and bewail the present. As they had no one to admire +them, they did not care how they looked, and were as dirty and +neglected in appearance as Beauty was neat and fresh and charming. + +Perhaps they had some consciousness of the contrast between her and +themselves, for they disliked the poor girl more than ever, and were +always mocking her, and jesting about her wonderful fitness for being +a servant. + +"It is quite plain," they would say, "that you are just where you ought +to be: We are ladies; but you are a low-minded girl, who have found +your right place in the world." + +Beauty only answered her sisters' unkind words with soft and tender +ones, so there was no quarrelling, and by-and-by they became ashamed +to speak to her harshly. + +At the expiration of a year the merchant received intelligence of the +arrival of one of his richest ships, which had escaped the storm. He +prepared to set off to a distant port to claim his property; but before +he went he asked each daughter what gift he should bring back for her. +The eldest wished for pearls; the second for diamonds; but the third +said, "Dear father, bring me a white rose." + +Now it is no easy task to find a white rose in that country, yet, as +Beauty was his kindest daughter, and was very fond of flowers, her +father said he would try what he could do. So he kissed all three, +and bade them good-by. And when the time came for him to go home, he +had bought pearls and jewels for the two eldest, but he had sought +everywhere in vain for the white rose; and when he went into any garden +and asked for such a thing, the people laughed at him, and asked him +who had ever heard of a white rose. This grieved him very much, for his +third daughter was his dearest child; and as he was journeying home, +thinking what he should bring her, he lost his way in a wood. The night +was closing in, and as the merchant was aware that there were many +bears in that country, he became very anxious to find a shelter for +the night. + +By-and-by he perceived afar off a light, which appeared to come from a +human dwelling, and he urged on his tired horse till he gained the +spot. Instead of the woodman's hut on a hill which he had expected to +see, he found himself in front of a magnificent castle, built of white +marble. Approaching the door, he blew a golden horn which hung from a +chain by the side of it, and as the blast echoed through the wood, the +door slowly unclosed, and revealed to him a wide and noble hall, +illuminated by myriads of golden lamps. + +He looked to see who had admitted him, but perceiving no one, he said: + +"Sir porter, a weary traveler craves shelter for the night." +To his amazement, two hands, without any body, moved from behind the +door, and taking hold of his arm drew him gently into the hall. + +He perceived that he was in a fairy palace, and putting his own hands +in a friendly pressure on one of the ghostly hands, said: + +"You are very kind, but I cannot leave my horse out in the cold." + +The hand beckoned, and another pair of shadowy hands crossed the hall, +and went outside and led away the horse to the stable. + +Then the merchant's first friends led him gently onwards till he stood +in a large and splendid dining-room, where a costly banquet was spread, +evidently intended for him, for the hands placed a chair for him and +handed him the dishes, and poured out a refreshing drink for him, and +waited on him while he supped. + +When his repast was over, they touched him, and beckoned to him; and +following them, he found himself in a bedroom furnished with great +elegance; the curtains were made of butterflies' wings sewn together. + +The hands undressed the stranger, prepared him a bath of rose-water, +lifted him into bed and put out the light. + +Then the merchant fell asleep. He did not awake till late the +next morning. The sun was streaming in through the beautiful +window-curtains, and the birds were uttering their shrill cries in +the woods. In that country a singing bird is as rare as a white rose. + +As he sprang out of bed some bells rang a silvery chime, and he +perceived that he had shaken them by his own movements, for they were +attached to the golden bed-rail, and tinkled as he shook it. + +At the sound the bedroom door opened, and the hands entered bearing a +costly suit of clothes, all embroidered with gold and jewels. Again +they prepared a bath of rose-water, and attended on and dressed the +merchant. And when his toilette was completed, they led him out of his +room and downstairs to a pretty little room, where breakfast awaited +him. + +When he had quite finished eating he thought that it was time to resume +his journey; therefore, laying a costly diamond ring on the table, he +said: + +"Kind fairy, whoever you may be to whom I owe this hospitality, accept +my thanks and this small token of my gratitude." + +The hands took the gift up, and the merchant therefore considered that +it was accepted. Then he left the castle and proceeded to the stables +to find and saddle his horse. + +The path led through a most enchanting garden full of the fairest +flowers, and as the merchant proceeded, he paused occasionally to +glance at the wonderful plants and choice flowers around him. Suddenly +his eyes rested on a white rose-tree, which was quite weighed down by +its wealth of blossoms. + +He remembered his promise to his youngest daughter. + +"Ah!" he thought, "at last I have found a _white_ rose. The fairy who +has been so generous to me already will not grudge me a single flower +from amongst so many." + +And bending down, he gathered a white rose. + +At that moment he was startled by a loud and terrific roar, and a +fierce lion sprang on him and exclaimed in tones of thunder: + +"Whoever dares to steal my roses shall be eaten up alive." + +Then the merchant said: "I knew not that the garden belonged to you; I +plucked only a rose as a present for my daughter; can nothing save my +life?" + +"No!" said the Lion, "nothing, unless you undertake to come back in a +month, and bring me whatever meets you first on your return home. If +you agree to this, I will give you your life; and the rose, too, for +your daughter." + +But the man was unwilling to do so, and said, "It may be my youngest +daughter, who loves me most, and always runs to meet me when I go +home." But then he thought again, "It may, perhaps, be only a cat or a +dog." And at last he yielded with a heavy heart, and took the rose, and +said he would give the Lion whatever should meet him first on his +return. + +As he came near home, it was his youngest and dearest daughter that met +him; she came running out and kissed him, and welcomed him home; and +when she saw that he had brought her the rose, she was still more glad. + +But her father began to be very sorrowful, and to weep, saying, "Alas! +my dearest child! I have bought this flower at a high price, for I have +said I would give you to a wild lion, and when he has you, he will, +perhaps, tear you in pieces and eat you." + +And he told her all that had happened, and said she should not go, let +what would come of it. + +But she comforted him, and said, "Dear father, the word you have given +must be kept; I will go with you to the Lion and coax him; perhaps he +will let us both return safe home again." + +The time now arrived for the merchant to return to the Lion's palace, +and he made preparations for his dreadful journey. Beauty had so fully +made up her mind to accompany him, that nothing could turn her from +her purpose. Her father, seeing this, determined to take her, and they +accordingly set out on their journey. The horses galloped swiftly +across the forest, and speedily reached the palace. As they entered +they were greeted with the most enchanting music; but no living +creature was to be seen. On entering the salon, the furniture of which +was of the most costly kind, they found a rich repast prepared for +them, consisting of every delicacy. Beauty's heart failed her, for she +feared something strange would soon happen. They, however, sat down, +and partook freely of the various delicacies. As soon as they had +finished, the table was cleared by the hands. Shortly afterward there +was a knock at the door. + +"Enter," replied the merchant; and immediately the door flew open, and +the same monster that had seized the merchant entered the room. + +The sight of his form terrified both the merchant and his daughter; as +for Beauty, she almost fainted with fright. + +But the Lion, having a handsome mantle thrown over him, advanced toward +them, and seating himself opposite Beauty, said: "Well, merchant, I +admire your fidelity in keeping your promise; is this the daughter for +whom you gathered the rose?" + +"Yes," replied the merchant; "so great is my daughter's love to me that +she met me first on my return home, and she is now come here in +fulfillment of my promise." + +"She shall have no reason to repent it," said the Lion, "for everything +in this palace shall be at her command. As for yourself, you must +depart on the morrow, and leave Beauty with me. I will take care that +no harm shall happen to her. You will find an apartment prepared for +her." Having said this, he arose, wished them good-night, and departed. + +Poor Beauty heard all that passed, and she trembled from head to +foot with fear. As the night was far advanced the merchant led Beauty +to the apartment prepared for her, and she retired to rest. This room +was furnished in the richest manner. The chairs and sofas were +magnificently adorned with jewels. The hangings were of the finest silk +and gold, and on all sides were mirrors reaching from the floor to the +ceiling; it contained, in fact, everything that was rich and splendid. + +Beauty and her father slept soundly, notwithstanding their sorrow at +the thought of so soon parting. In the morning they met in the salon, +where a handsome breakfast was ready prepared, of which they partook. +When they had concluded, the merchant prepared for his departure; but +Beauty threw herself on his neck and wept. He also wept at the thought +of leaving her in this forlorn state, but he could not delay his return +forever, so at length he rushed into the courtyard, mounted his horse, +and soon disappeared. + +Poor Beauty, now left to herself, resolved to be as happy as she could. +She amused herself by walking in the gardens and gathering the white +roses, and when tired of that she read and played on the harp which she +found in her room. On her dressing-table she found these lines, which +greatly comforted her: + + "Welcome, Beauty! dry your tears, + Banish all your sighs and fears; + You are queen and mistress here, + Whate'er you ask for shall appear." + +After amusing herself thus for some time she returned to the salon, +where she found dinner ready prepared. The most delightful music was +played during the whole of dinner. When Beauty had finished, the table +was cleared, and the most delicious fruits were produced. At the same +hour as on the preceding day the Lion rapped at the door, and asked +permission to enter. Beauty was terrified, and with a trembling voice +she said: "Come in." He then entered, and advancing toward Beauty, who +dared not look up, he said: "Will you permit me to sit with you?" "That +is as you please," replied she. "Not so," said the Lion, "for you are +mistress here; and if my company is disagreeable I will at once +retire." + +Beauty, struck with the courtesy of the Lion, and with the friendly +tone of his voice, began to feel more courageous; and she desired him +to be seated. He then entered into the most agreeable conversation, +which so charmed Beauty that she ventured to look up; but when she saw +his terrible face she could scarcely avoid screaming aloud. The Lion, +seeing this, got up, and making a respectful bow, wished her +good-night. Soon after, Beauty herself retired to rest. + +On the following day she amused herself as before, and began to +feel more reconciled to her condition; for she had everything at her +command which could promote her happiness. As evening approached she +anticipated the visit of the Lion; for, notwithstanding his terrible +looks, his conversation and manners were very pleasing. He continued to +visit her every day, till at length she began to think he was not so +terrible as she once thought him. One day when they were seated +together the Lion took hold of her hand, and said in a gentle voice: +"Beauty, will you marry me?" She hastily withdrew her hand, but made no +reply; at which the Lion sighed deeply and withdrew. On his next visit +he appeared sorrowful and dejected, but said nothing. Some weeks after +he repeated the question, when Beauty replied: "No, Lion, I cannot +marry you, but I will do all in my power to make you happy." "This you +cannot do," replied he, "for unless you marry me I shall die." "Oh, say +not so," said Beauty, "for it is impossible that I can ever marry you." +The Lion then departed, more unhappy than ever. + +Amidst all this, Beauty did not forget her father. One day she felt +a strong desire to know how he was, and what he was doing; at that +instant she cast her eyes on a mirror and saw her father lying on a +sick-bed, in the greatest pain, whilst her sisters were trying on some +fine dresses in another room. At this sad sight poor Beauty wept +bitterly. + +When the Lion came as usual he perceived her sorrow, and inquired the +cause. She told him what she had seen, and how much she wished to go +and nurse her father. He asked her if she would promise to return at +a certain time if she went. Beauty gave him her promise, and he +immediately presented her with a rose, like that which her father +had plucked, saying: "Take this rose, and you may be transported to +whatever place you choose; but, remember, I rely on your promise to +return." He then withdrew. + +Beauty felt very grateful for his kindness. She wished herself in her +father's cottage, and immediately she was at the door. + + [Illustration: Courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art + "LISTENING TO FAIRY TALES" + FROM A PAINTING BY J. J. SHANNON] + +Full of joy, she entered the house, ran to her father's room, and fell +on her knees by his bedside and kissed him. His illness had been much +increased by fretting for poor Beauty, who he thought had long since +died, either from fear or by the cruel monster. He was overcome with +joy on finding her still alive. He now soon began to recover under the +affectionate nursing of Beauty. The two sisters were very much annoyed +at Beauty's return, for they had hoped that the Lion would have +destroyed her. They were greatly annoyed to see her so superbly +dressed, and felt extremely vexed to think that Beauty should have +clothes as splendid as a queen's, whilst they could not get anything +half so fine. + +Beauty related all that had passed in the Beast's palace, and told them +of her promise to return on such a day. The two sisters were so very +jealous that they determined to ruin her prospects if possible. The +eldest said to the other: "Why should this minx be better off than we +are? Let us try to keep her here beyond the time; the monster will then +be so enraged with her for breaking her promise, that he will destroy +her at once when she returns." "That is well thought of," replied the +sister. "We will keep her." + +In order to succeed, they treated Beauty with the greatest affection, +and the day before her intended departure they stole the rose which she +had told them was the means of conveying her in an instant wherever she +might wish. Beauty was so much affected by their kindness that she was +easily persuaded to remain a few days. In the meantime the envious +sisters thought of enriching themselves by means of the rose, and they +accordingly wished themselves in some grand place. Instead of being +carried away as they expected, the rose withered, and they heard a most +terrible noise, which so alarmed them that they threw down the flower +and hid themselves. + +Beauty was greatly troubled at the loss of her rose, and sought +everywhere for it, but in vain. She happened, however, to enter her +sisters' room, and, to her great joy, saw it lying withered on the +floor; but as soon as she picked it up, it at once recovered all its +freshness and beauty. She then remembered her broken promise, and, +after taking leave of her father, she wished herself in the Beast's +palace, and in an instant she was transported thither. Everything was +just as she had left it; but the sweet sounds of music which used to +greet her were now hushed, and there was an air of apparent gloom +hanging over everything. She herself felt very melancholy, but she +knew not why. + +At the usual time she expected a visit from the Lion, but no Lion +appeared. Beauty, wondering what all this could mean, now reproached +herself for her ingratitude in not having returned as she promised. She +feared the poor Beast had died of grief, and she thought that she could +have married him rather than suffer him to die. She resolved to seek +him in the morning in every part of the palace. After a miserable and +sleepless night, she arose early and ran through every apartment, but +no Lion could be seen. With a sorrowful heart she went into the garden, +saying, "Oh that I had married the poor Lion who has been so kind to +me; for, terrible though he is, I might have saved his life. I wish I +could once more see him." + +At that moment she arrived at a plot of grass where the poor Lion lay +as if dead. Beauty ran toward him, and knelt by his side, and seized +his paw. + +He opened his eyes and said: "Beauty, you forgot your promise, in +consequence of which I must die." + +"No, dear Lion," exclaimed Beauty, weeping, "no, you shall not die. +What can I do to save you?" + +"Will you marry me?" asked he. + +"Yes," replied Beauty, "to save your life." + +No sooner had these words passed her lips than the lion-form +disappeared, and she saw at her feet a handsome Prince, who thanked her +for having broken his enchantment. He told her that a wicked magician +had condemned him to wear the form of a lion until a beautiful lady +should consent to marry him; a kind fairy had, however, given him the +magic rose to help him. + +At the same instant that the Prince was changed the whole palace became +full of courtiers, all of whom had been rendered invisible when the +Prince was enchanted. + +The Prince now led Beauty into the palace, where she found her father. +The Prince related all to him, and asked him to allow Beauty to become +his wife, to which he cheerfully assented, and the nuptials were +solemnized with great rejoicing. + +The good fairy appeared to congratulate the Prince on his deliverance +and on his marriage with Beauty. As for the two sisters, she punished +them severely for their jealous and unkind behavior. But the Prince and +his wife Beauty lived happily together in the royal palace for many, +many years. + + + + +PRINCE DARLING + + +Once upon a time there was a young Prince who was so well liked by +everyone in the kingdom where he lived that they named him Prince +Darling. + +This boy's father, the King, was a very good man, and his subjects +loved and respected him for his justness and kindness. The King loved +his son greatly, and he loved his subjects, too. He was very anxious to +have his son grow up to be a splendid man, and a just ruler for his +people. The King was no longer young, and he knew that it would not be +many years before his son would be left without a father's advice. He +knew, too, that the boy would succeed to the throne, and would have to +see that everyone in the kingdom was treated justly and kindly. + +One day a strange thing happened. The King was out hunting, when +suddenly a little white rabbit leaped into his arms. The rabbit seemed +to think that in the King's arms it would find protection from the dogs +that were chasing it, and had nearly run it down. And the rabbit was +right; for the King stroked the trembling creature gently, and said: + +"The dogs shan't get you now, poor bunny!" Then the King took the +rabbit home, and saw that the best care was given it. + +That night, after everyone else had gone to bed, the King sat alone +thinking about Prince Darling. Suddenly a beautiful lady seemed to come +into the room. She was dressed in pure white, and wore a wreath of +white roses on her golden hair. + +"You don't recognize me, do you?" she asked in a lovely, clear +voice. "I am the rabbit you rescued from the dogs in the forest this +afternoon. The rabbit was really the Fairy Truth. I took the shape of a +rabbit to see whether you were really as good as everyone said. Now I +know you are, and I shall always be your friend. Isn't there something +you want, above everything else in the world, which I can give you to +repay you for your goodness to me?" + +The King was amazed by the lovely Fairy and her wonderful offer. He +thought at once that if only he could win the friendship of the Fairy +Truth for Prince Darling, all would be well. So he said: + +"Good Fairy, above all things I should like to know that you would be +my son's friend. Will you?" + +"Gladly. I will make him the richest or the handsomest or the most +powerful Prince in the world. Which shall it be?" the Fairy inquired. + +"I would not ask any of those things, good Fairy, but I would have him +good, the best instead of the richest of princes. If he is good and his +conscience does not trouble him, I am sure he will be happy. Riches and +power and good looks, without goodness, cannot make him happy." + +"That is all true," said the Fairy, "and I will do all I can to make +Prince Darling good. He will have to do most of it himself, though. I +can only advise him, praise him when he is good, and scold him when he +is bad. But I will do all I can." + +Not long after this strange happening the King died, and Prince Darling +became King in his father's place. The Fairy Truth remembered her +promise, and came to the palace with a present for Prince Darling. + +"This little gold ring," she said, as she slipped it on his finger, "is +my gift to you. I promised your father that I would be your friend. +This ring will help you to keep my friendship. When it pricks you, you +will know you have done something mean or unkind. It will warn you to +stop doing such things. If you stop, I will be your friend; if you keep +on doing wicked things, I will become your enemy." + +Before Prince Darling could say a word the Fairy vanished. + +The Prince was curious to know whether the ring really would do as the +Fairy said. But he never felt a single prick from the ring. Then one +day he was badly pricked. He came home from hunting in a horrid temper, +and kicked his unoffending little dog, that was trying to be friendly, +until it howled with pain. + +"Really, Prince Darling, that is too bad of you." The Fairy's voice +sounded quietly in his ear. "You lost your temper because things did +not go just to suit you. Even if you are a prince, the world cannot +always run just to suit your whims. What's worse, you hurt a poor +creature who loves you. I don't think that's being the sort of a prince +your father would be proud of, do you?" + +The Prince was greatly embarrassed, and thrust his hands deep into his +pockets to make himself seem full-grown up--so he would not cry! He +promised to be good forever after. + +But he wasn't, and the ring pricked him often. After a time he paid +hardly any attention to the ring at all. Finally he made up his mind +that a prince ought to be able to decide for himself what was right or +wrong. Besides, the ring pricked so hard and so often that it made his +finger bleed. So he threw it away entirely. + +Just after this he met Celia, the loveliest girl he had ever seen. It +seemed to him he could never be happy until he had made her his wife; +and he lost no time in asking her to marry him. + +"Sire, I cannot," said the girl. + +The Prince was indignant, for he thought any girl should be proud to +have him offer to marry her and make her Queen. + +"Sire," Celia went on, "you are handsome and rich and powerful, I know; +but the man I marry must be good." + +This speech made the Prince so angry that he ordered his men to take +Celia off to the palace as a prisoner. + + [Illustration: "THIS LITTLE GOLD RING IS MY GIFT TO YOU"] + +Now, the Prince had a foster-brother who was a very wicked man. When +the Prince told him about Celia, he said: + +"What! a peasant girl refuse to marry the Prince! How ridiculous! The +whole kingdom would laugh if they knew about it." + +This speech hurt the Prince's pride, and he decided to make Celia +consent to marry him at any cost. He rushed off to find her. His men +had given him the key to the cell where they had imprisoned her. But +the cell was quite empty. + +The Prince was terribly angry, and swore that he would put to death the +person who had helped Celia to escape. It happened that this threat +gave some of the Prince's wicked friends the very chance they wanted to +get rid of the Prince's tutor, an old nobleman whom they all hated +because he was good. + +Soon these wicked men had everyone in the court whispering: "Yes, it +was Suliman who helped Celia escape." Some men even were found who +swore that Suliman himself had told them about it. When the Prince +heard it he was still more angry. To think that his old tutor could +treat him so! He ordered his men to arrest the supposed offender, put +him in chains, as if he were a murderer, and bring him to court. + +No sooner was the order given than there was a tremendous roar of +thunder. The ground was still shaking when the Fairy Truth appeared. + +"Until now, Prince Darling," the fairy said sternly, "I have been very +gentle with you. You have been very wicked, but I have done no more +than warn you that you were doing wrong and becoming the very sort of +man your father, the good King, wanted you NOT to be. Now I must take +stronger measures, for you have paid no attention to my warnings. + +"Really you are more like the wild animals than a man and a prince. You +roar with anger like a lion. You are greedy for fine food and clothes +and a good time, as a wolf is greedy for its prey. You are untrue to +your friends, like a treacherous snake. You even turn upon the kind +tutor who was your father's firmest friend, and who would like to help +you, too, if you would let him. You are as disagreeable as an angry +bull, that keeps everyone out of its neighborhood, because everyone +knows it is not safe to go near." + +The Fairy's voice now roared forth in terrible tones, which made Prince +Darling shake from head to heel: + +"Therefore, I condemn you to have a hideous body like your ugly +character--part lion, part wolf, part snake, and part bull." + +The Prince put his hand to his head, because he felt as if he should +weep at this awful sentence. He found his face covered with a lion's +shaggy beard; a bull's horns had grown out of his skull. He looked at +his feet: they were those of a wolf. His body was the long slimy body +of a snake. + +The palace had disappeared, and he stood beside a clear lake in a deep +forest. He shuddered with horror when he saw his reflection in the +lake. His horror turned to rage when he heard the Fairy Truth say: + +"Your punishment has just begun. Your pride will be hurt still more +when you fall into the hands of your own subjects. And that is what is +going to happen to you." + +Just as the Fairy said the Prince fell into the hands of his subjects, +and in a most humiliating way, for he was caught in a trap which had +been set to catch bears. Thus he was captured alive and led into the +chief city of the kingdom. + +There was no mourning in the town because of the Prince's death, by a +thunderbolt, as they supposed. Instead, there was great rejoicing, for +Suliman had been made King by the people, who were sick and tired of +the way Prince Darling had misruled them. + +"Long live King Suliman!" they shouted. "His rule will bring us peace +and prosperity." + +In the middle of the public park sat King Suliman. Just as the Prince, +in his ugly disguise came up, Suliman was saying: + +"Prince Darling is not dead, as you suppose. I have accepted the crown +only until he comes back, for the Fairy Truth says he may still return, +a good and just man like his father. For myself, I want nothing more +than to see Prince Darling come back a worthy ruler for this mighty +kingdom." + +This speech made the Prince feel very much ashamed of himself, for it +showed plainly that the Fairy was right, and that he himself had +misjudged Suliman. + +Meantime the Prince was put in the menagerie, and people pointed him +out as a most strange beast, the only one of his sort ever found +anywhere. The Prince was beginning to feel like his old, gentle self. +He was even good to his keeper, although the keeper was anything but +good to him. + +One day a tiger broke through his cage and attacked the keeper. At +first the Prince was pleased to see the keeper in danger of his life, +and mused: "When he's dead and out of the way I can easily escape." + +But the Prince's punishment had not been in vain, for suddenly he began +to think, "Well, the poor old keeper; after all I'm sorry for him!" + +Then as if by magic the bars of the Prince's cage seemed to melt away, +and he rushed out to rescue the keeper who had treated him so badly. +The man was more terrified than ever when he saw the huge monster +loose. But imagine his amazement when the beast fell upon the tiger, +instead of crushing his (the keeper's) life out, as he had feared. + +Naturally the keeper was filled with gratitude. The strange beast's +kindness made him feel ashamed when he remembered how badly he had +treated the animal. + +The keeper now tried to stroke the beast's head, by way of gratitude, +when to his amazement he found himself stroking, not a wild animal, but +a gentle little dog. + +The keeper picked up the dog in his arms and took him to the King, to +whom he told the strange story of his rescue. The Queen liked the dog, +and decided to keep him for a pet. Unluckily for Prince Darling, +however, she took him to the court doctor, who decided that too much +food would be very bad for the dog, and ordered that he be fed nothing +but bread, and very little at that! So Prince Darling prized the small +amount of bread he got very highly indeed. + +Once Prince Darling trotted off with his little loaf of bread--all he +would get to eat that day--to a brook some distance away. Strange to +tell, the brook was gone, and in its place was a huge house. Prince +Darling thought the persons who lived there must be fabulously rich, +because the house was made of precious stones and gold, and the people +were dressed in the most elegant and expensive clothes. He heard music, +and saw people feasting and dancing. + +Yet the people who came out of the house presented the most forlorn +appearance--ragged, and sick, and half starved. Prince Darling saw a +poor young girl, and his heart was filled with pity. She was eating +grass and leaves, she was so hungry. Prince Darling was hungry himself, +but he thought: + +"I can't be as hungry as that poor girl, and to-morrow I'll have +another loaf." So he gave the bread to her, and she ate it eagerly. + +Suddenly there was a great outcry, and the Prince, running in the +direction whence the noise came, saw Celia being dragged against her +will into this mysterious house. The poor little dog could do nothing +to help her. Then he thought sadly: "I am very angry now with these +terrible people who treat Celia so badly; but not long ago I was myself +threatening to have her killed!" + +And the little dog, feeling quite forlorn, put its tail between its +legs, as dogs often do, and went off to watch the house where Celia was +imprisoned. + +An upper window was opened, and a girl threw out some food. The dog +thought this was because the girl had a kind heart. But when it started +to eat, the one to whom it had given the bread but a short time before +cried out: "Stop! If you touch that you will die! That food came from +the house of pleasure, and is deadly poison." + +So once again the Prince found that his good action had been rewarded. +And the Fairy Truth, to show her approval, transformed the little dog +into a lovely white dove. + +The dove flew straight into the house of pleasure, searching for Celia. +No sign of her could it find there, as she had escaped. Therefore it +decided to fly and fly all around the world until it did get her. + +One day it came to a desert island, where no living person could be +seen, nor any green tree to light upon. It searched about, and after a +time found a cavern, and in it was Celia, sharing a simple meal with an +old hermit. + +Prince Darling flew right up to Celia, lighted on her shoulder, and +tried in all the ways a dove knows to show its affection for her. Celia +in return stroked it gently, although she, of course, had no idea who +it was. Indeed, Celia seemed delighted to have found a new friend, and +said softly: + +"I am glad you have come to me, and I will care for you and love you +always." + +Celia did not expect the dove to understand what she said. The hermit +understood, however, and asked her whether she really meant it. + +"Ah! Celia," Prince Darling exclaimed, "with my whole heart I hope you +do mean it!" And the astonished Celia turned and saw Prince Darling +himself standing before her. + +"Celia will not stop loving you now, Prince Darling," said Fairy Truth, +who had been disguised as the hermit all this time. "She has loved you +from the beginning, and now that you have started on the road to +goodness I know she will gladly join her fate with yours." + +Then Celia and Prince Darling threw themselves at the Fairy's feet, and +thanked her a thousand times over for bringing them together again +after all their trials. + +"Come, my children," said the Fairy, "if you had not helped me I could +not have brought this to pass. And now, let's go back to Prince +Darling's kingdom, for I know King Suliman is waiting eagerly for a +chance to give back the throne." + +The Fairy had scarcely stopped speaking when they found themselves in +the royal palace. King Suliman was overjoyed to see the Prince return, +and gladly yielded the throne to him again. + +When the Prince was crowned King for the second time he also put on +again the little gold ring which he had thrown away so long before. He +and Celia gave their whole hearts to the effort to govern the kingdom +justly and kindly. You will know that they succeeded very well, when I +tell you that the magic ring never again pricked Prince Darling's +finger. + + [Illustration: "PRINCE DARLING FLEW RIGHT UP TO CELIA"] + + + + + [Illustration: "ONCE UPON A TIME THERE LIVED"] + +RUMPELSTILTSKIN + +ADAPTED FROM THE GRIMM BROTHERS + + +Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away from here, there lived a miller +who was very proud, and a King who was exceedingly fond of money. + +The miller had a lovely daughter, and he could not say enough about her +beauty and cleverness. He used to tell all the men who brought their +wheat to his mill, to be ground into flour, of the wonderful things +this daughter could do "to perfection." + +One day, in a fit of boasting, the miller told the servant who had +brought flour from the King's household, that he had a daughter who +could actually turn straw into pure gold by spinning it. + +The messenger was astonished, and could hardly wait to get back to the +palace and see the King. He knew how mad the King was about money, and +wanted to be the first to tell him of the miller's extraordinary +daughter, who could make him vastly rich so easily. + +The King was tremendously excited by the story, just as his servant had +hoped. He sent at once for the miller. + +"My man," the King said, "I hear you have a daughter who can spin straw +into gold. That's a fine story, but you can hardly expect me to believe +it without seeing it. Have your daughter come here this evening." + +So the miller went home and told his daughter that the King wanted to +see her. He dared not tell her why. Naturally, the girl was pleased and +flattered. She put on her best dress and braided her hair very +carefully. Then she went to the palace. + +"So you're the miller's daughter," said the King. "Now we'll see +whether you can really spin straw into gold." + +The girl thought the King must be crazy. She felt even surer of it when +he took her into a great room full of straw with a spinning wheel in +one corner. + +A spinning wheel, you know, is an old-fashioned machine for making flax +and cotton into yarn and thread. + +"If you don't spin all this straw into gold before the night is over, +you will die," the King said, and closed the door. + +The poor little miller's daughter sat down in front of the spinning +wheel and cried and cried. She didn't know how to spin straw into gold +any more than you or I do, and she didn't want to die a bit. + +"Well, well, what's all this crying for?" said a tiny voice at her ear. + +So many queer things had happened that night that it did not seem at +all strange to have a man appear out of nowhere. He was not exactly a +man, though. He was just a tiny little Dwarf. And the miller's daughter +told him all her troubles. + +"Why, that's nothing," the little man said; "I can spin that straw into +gold myself. But I won't do it for nothing. What will you give me for +doing it?" + +The girl had a necklace she was very proud of. She hated to part with +it, but she gave it to the little man. He sat promptly down at the +spinning wheel, and in a jiffy the golden straws were flying through +his hands, and turning into threads of pure gold. Long before daybreak +the room was full of gold instead of straw. + +Early in the morning the King came. He could hardly wait to learn +whether the girl had done her difficult task. When he saw the room +heaped with gold he fairly danced with joy, although that was not very +dignified for a King. Having one room full of gold only made him want +another. So he took the miller's daughter to a larger room, where there +was even more straw. Once more he told her that if she wanted to live +she must turn the straw to gold. + +The little Dwarf helped her out again. This time she had to pay him +with her ring. + +In the morning, when the King saw all the gold, he was still not +satisfied. He was getting rich so easily that he hated to stop. So he +had the miller's daughter led to the largest room in the palace, and +had it filled with straw for her to spin into gold. + +This time, however, he told the girl that if she succeeded for the +third time in her task she should become his wife. "She's only the poor +miller's daughter," he said to himself, "but look how rich she is." + +The girl was not surprised to see the Dwarf come in. He was quite +disagreeable, though, when she said she had nothing to give him this +time for spinning the gold. + +"What!" he said, "have you no reward for me? Then you must promise me +your first child after you become Queen." + +There seemed nothing to do but to promise the little fellow what he +asked. "Lots of things may happen before the promise is fulfilled," she +thought. + +So the straw was spun into gold, and the King was greatly pleased. +Soon after this the miller's daughter became Queen. + + [Illustration: "THIS TIME SHE HAD TO PAY HIM WITH HER RING"] + +A year passed, and the whole kingdom was celebrating the birth of a son +to the King and Queen. The Queen was so happy about her child that she +quite forgot the promise she had made to the manikin who had saved her +life. But _he_ had not forgotten. + +"Give me that child," said he one day, appearing, as was his habit, out +of nowhere. The Queen was frightened, yet refused to give up her child. +She offered him anything else he would name, but the child he could +never have. + +"The child," he answered, "is the only thing I want." Yet he was sorry +for the Queen. + +"Well," he said finally, "I'll let you have the child for three days. +If you can tell me my name before this time is up, you can keep your +little one." + +The Queen sent messengers to search the country and bring her all the +unusual names they could discover. + +After one day the manikin came back to find out whether his name had +been discovered. + +"Is your name Kasper, or Melchior, or Belshayzar?" the Queen asked in +a worried manner. + +"Oh, no!" the little fellow said to each name she suggested. + +The second day the Queen tried him with some names she had made up +herself. "Perhaps they call you Sheepshanks, or Cruickshanks, or +Spindleshanks?" she suggested eagerly. But each time the manikin shook +his head haughtily and answered, "No!" + +The poor Queen was nearly crazy with worry on the third day, and the +messengers could find no more queer names. One of them, however, told +this story: + +"I was drawing to the top of a high hill, and the road where I was +riding went through a thick wood. Not a new name had I learned all day. +But suddenly I came upon a hut, and before it was a big fire. A little +man was hopping madly about the fire, and singing at the top of his +voice: + + "'Now a feast I must prepare, + Of the finest royal fare. + Soon the Queen must give her son + To me, for I'm the lucky one. + That Rumpelstiltskin is my name, + She will never guess--the silly dame.'" + +The Queen was so delighted she did not even mind being called silly. +Soon the manikin came in. + +"Well," he said defiantly, "I guess you don't know my name yet, do you? +Remember, this is your last chance." + +"Oh, dear," said the Queen, pretending to be very anxious. "Is it +John?" + +"No!" thundered the manikin. "Give me the child." + +"Is it," the Queen asked softly, "by any chance Rumpelstiltskin?" + +"Some witch has told you that! Some witch had told you that!" cried the +little man; and he dashed his left foot in a rage so deep into the +floor that he was forced to lay hold of it with both hands to pull it +out. Then he made the best of his way off, while everybody laughed at +him for having had all his trouble for nothing. + + [Illustration: "SOME WITCH HAS TOLD YOU THAT!"] + + + + +RAPUNZEL, OR THE FAIR MAID WITH GOLDEN HAIR + +BY THE BROTHERS GRIMM + + +There were once a man and a woman who wished very much to have a little +child. Now, these people had a small window in their cottage which +looked out into a beautiful garden full of the most lovely flowers and +vegetables. There was a high wall round it, but even had there not been +no one would have ventured to enter the garden, because it belonged to +a sorceress, whose power was so great that every one feared her. + +One day the woman stood at the window looking into the garden, and she +saw a bed which was planted full of most beautiful lettuces. As she +looked at them she began to wish she had some to eat, but she could not +ask for them. + +Day after day her wish for these lettuces grew stronger, and the +knowledge that she could not get them so worried her that at last +she became so pale and thin that her husband was quite alarmed. + +"What is the matter with you, dear wife?" he asked one day. + +"Ah!" she said, "if I do not have some of that nice lettuce which grows +in the garden behind our house, I feel that I shall die." + +The husband, who loved his wife dearly, said to himself: "Rather than +my wife should die, I will get some of this lettuce for her, cost what +it may." + +So in the evening twilight he climbed over the wall into the garden of +the Witch, hastily gathered a handful of the lettuces, and brought +them to his wife. She made a salad, and ate it with great eagerness. + + [Illustration: THE FAIR MAIDEN WITH GOLDEN HAIR + FROM A DRAWING BY EDITH W. YAFFEE] + +It pleased her so much and tasted so good that, after two or three days +had passed, she gave her husband no rest till he promised to get her +some more. So again in the evening twilight he climbed the wall, but as +he slid down into the garden on the other side he was terribly alarmed +at seeing the Witch standing near him. + +"How came you here?" she said with a fierce look. "You have climbed +over the wall into my garden like a thief and stolen my lettuces; you +shall pay dearly for this!" + +"Ah!" replied the poor man, "let me entreat for mercy; I have only +taken it in a case of extreme need. My wife has seen your lettuces from +her window, and she wished for them so much that she said she should +die if she could not have some of them to eat." + +Then the Witch's anger cooled a little, and she replied: "If what you +tell me is true, then I will give you full permission to take as many +lettuces as you like, on one condition: you must give up to me the +child which your wife may bring into the world. I will be very kind to +it, and be as careful of it as a mother could be." + +The husband in his alarm promised everything the Witch asked, and took +away with him as many lettuces as his wife wanted. + +Not many weeks after this the wife became the mother of a beautiful +little girl, and in a short time the Witch appeared and claimed her +according to the husband's promise. Thus they were obliged to give up +their child, which she took away with her directly, and gave her the +name of Letitia, but she was always called Lettice, after the name of +the vegetable which grew in the garden. + +Lettice was the most beautiful child under the sun, and as soon as +she reached the age of twelve years the Witch locked her up in a tower +that stood in a forest, and this tower had no steps, nor any entrance, +excepting a little window. When the Witch, wished to visit Lettice, she +would place herself under this window and sing: + + "Lettice, Lettice, let down your hair, + That I may climb without a stair." + +Lettice had the most long and beautiful hair like spun-gold; and when +she heard the voice of the Witch she would unbind her golden locks and +let them fall loose over the window sill, from which they hung down to +such a length that the Witch could draw herself up by them into the +tower. + +Two years passed in this manner, when it happened one day that the +King's son rode through the forest. While passing near the tower he +heard such a lovely song that he could not help stopping to listen. It +was Lettice, who tried to lighten her solitude by the sound of her own +sweet voice. + +The King's son was very eager to obtain a glimpse of the singer, but he +sought in vain for a door to the tower; there was not one to be found. + +So he rode home, but the song had made such an impression on his heart +that he went daily into the forest to listen. Once, while he stood +behind a tree, he saw the Witch approach the tower, and heard her say: + + "Lettice, Lettice, let down your hair, + That I may climb without a stair." + +Presently he saw a quantity of long golden hair hanging down low over +the window sill, and the Witch climbing up by it. + +"Oh!" said the young Prince, "if that is the ladder on which persons +can mount and enter, I will take the first opportunity of trying my +luck that way." + +So on the following day, as it began to grow dark, he placed himself +under the window, and cried: + + "Lettice, Lettice, let down your hair, + That I may climb without a stair." + +Immediately the hair fell over the window, and the young Prince quickly +climbed up and entered the room where the young maiden lived. + +Lettice was dreadfully frightened at seeing a strange man come into the +room through the window; but the King's son looked at her with such +friendly eyes, and began to converse with her so kindly, that she soon +lost all fear. + +He told her that he had heard her singing, and that her song had +excited such a deep emotion in his heart that he could not rest till he +had seen her. On hearing this Lettice ceased to fear him, and they +talked together for some time, till at length the Prince asked her if +she would take him for a husband. For a time she hesitated, although +she saw that he was young and handsome, and he had told her he was a +prince. + +At last she said to herself: "He will certainly love me better than old +Mother Grethel does." So she placed her hand in his, and said: "I would +willingly go with you and be your wife, but I do not know in the least +how to get away from this place. Unless," she added, after a pause, +"you will bring me every day some strong silk cord; then I will weave +a ladder of it, and when it is finished I will descend upon it, and you +shall take me away on your horse." + +The Prince readily agreed to this, and promised to come and see her +every evening till the ladder was finished, for the old Witch always +came in the daytime. + +The Witch had never seen the Prince; she knew nothing of his visits +till one day Lettice said innocently: "I shall not have such a heavy +weight as you to draw up much longer, Mother Grethel, for the King's +son is coming very soon to fetch me away." + +"You wicked child!" cried the Witch; "what do I hear you say? I thought +I had hidden you from all the world, and now you have betrayed me!" In +her wrath she caught hold of Lettice's beautiful hair, and struck her +several times with her left hand. Then she seized a pair of scissors +and cut Lettice's hair, while the beautiful locks, glistening like +gold, fell to the ground. And she was so hard-hearted after this that +she dragged poor Lettice out into the forest, to a wild and desert +place, and left her there in sorrow and great distress. + +On the same day on which the poor maiden had been exiled the Witch tied +the locks of hair which she had cut off poor Lettice's golden head into +a kind of tail, and hung it over the window sill. + +In the evening the Prince came and cried: + + "Lettice, Lettice, let down your hair, + That I may climb without a stair." + +Then the Witch let the hair down, and the King's son climbed up; but at +the open window he found not his dear Lettice, but a wicked witch who +looked at him with cruel and malicious eyes. + +"Ah!" she cried with a sneer, "you are come to fetch your loving bride, +I suppose; but the beautiful bird has flown from the nest, and will +never sing any more. The cat has fetched it away, and she intends also +to scratch your eyes out. To thee is Lettice lost; thou wilt never +behold her again!" + +The Prince felt almost out of his mind with grief as he heard this, and +in his despair he sprang out of the tower window and fell among the +thorns and brambles beneath. He certainly escaped with his life, but +the thorns stuck into his eyes and blinded them. After this he wandered +about the wood for days, eating only wild roots and berries, and did +nothing but lament and weep for the loss of his beloved bride. + +So wandered he for a whole year in misery, till at last he came upon +the desert place where Lettice had been banished and lived in her +sorrow. + +As he drew near he heard a voice which he seemed to recognize, and +advancing toward the sound came within sight of Lettice, who recognized +him at once, with tears. Two of her tears fell on his eyes, and so +healed and cleared them of the injury done by the thorns that he could +soon see as well as ever. Then he traveled with her to his kingdom, and +she became his wife, and the remainder of their days were spent in +happiness and content. + + + + +SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED + +BY THE BROTHERS GRIMM + + +There was once a poor Widow, who lived alone in her hut with her two +children, who were called Snow-White and Rose-Red, because they were +like the flowers which bloomed on two rose-bushes which grew before the +cottage. But they were two as pious, good, industrious, and amiable +children as any that were in the world, only Snow-White was more quiet +and gentle than Rose-Red. For Rose-Red would run and jump about the +meadows, seeking flowers, and catching butterflies, while Snow-White +sat at home helping her Mother to keep house, or reading to her, if +there were nothing else to do. + +The two children loved one another dearly, and always walked +hand-in-hand when they went out together; and ever when they talked of +it they agreed that they would never separate from each other, and that +whatever one had the other should share. Often they ran deep into the +forest and gathered wild berries; but no beast ever harmed them. For +the hare would eat cauliflowers out of their hands, the fawn would +graze at their side, the goats would frisk about them in play, and the +birds remained perched on the boughs singing as if nobody were near. + +No accidents ever befell them; and if they stayed late in the forest, +and night came upon them, they used to lie down on the moss and sleep +till morning; and because their Mother knew they would do so, she felt +no concern about them. One time when they had thus passed the night in +the forest, and the dawn of morning awoke them, they saw a beautiful +Child dressed in shining white sitting near their couch. She got up +and looked at them kindly, but without saying anything went into the +forest; and when the children looked round they saw that where they +had slept was close to the edge of a pit, into which they would have +certainly fallen had they walked a couple of steps further in the dark. + +Their Mother told them the figure they had seen was, doubtless, the +good angel who watches over children. + +Snow-White and Rose-Red kept their Mother's cottage so clean that it +was a pleasure to enter it. Every morning in the summertime Rose-Red +would first put the house in order, and then gather a nosegay for her +Mother, in which she always placed a bud from each rose-tree. Every +winter's morning Snow-White would light the fire and put the kettle on +to boil, and, although the kettle was made of copper, it yet shone like +gold, because it was scoured so well. In the evenings, when the flakes +of snow were falling, the Mother would say, "Go, Snow-White, and bolt +the door;" and then they used to sit down on the hearth, and the Mother +would put on her spectacles and read out of a great book while her +children sat spinning. By their side, too, lay a little lamb, and on a +perch behind them a little white dove reposed with her head tucked +under her wing. + +One evening when they were thus sitting comfortably together, there +came a knock at the door, as if somebody wished to come in. "Make +haste, Rose-Red," cried her Mother; "make haste and open the door; +perhaps there is some traveler outside who needs shelter." + +So Rose-Red went and drew the bolt and opened the door, expecting to +see some poor man outside; but instead, a great fat bear poked his +black head in. Rose-Red shrieked out and ran back, the little lamb +bleated, the dove fluttered on her perch, and Snow-White hid herself +behind her Mother's bed. The Bear, however, began to speak, and said, +"Be not afraid, I will do you no harm; but I am half frozen, and wish +to come in and warm myself." + +"Poor Bear!" cried the Mother; "come in and lie down before the fire; +but take care you do not burn your skin;" and then she continued, "Come +here, Rose-Red and Snow-White, the Bear will not harm you, he means +honorably." So they both came back, and by degrees the lamb too and the +dove overcame their fears and welcomed the rough visitor. + +"You children!" said the Bear, before he entered, "come and knock the +snow off my coat." And they fetched their brooms and swept him clean. +Then he stretched himself before the fire and grumbled out his +satisfaction, and in a little while the children became familiar enough +to play tricks with the unwieldy animal. They pulled his long shaggy +skin, set their feet upon his back and rolled him to and fro, and even +ventured to beat him with a hazel-stick, laughing when he grumbled. The +Bear bore all their tricks good-temperedly, and if they hit too hard he +cried out,-- + + "Leave me my life, you children, + Snow-White and Rose-Red, + Or you'll never wed." + +When bedtime came and the others were gone, the Mother said to the +Bear, "You may sleep here on the hearth if you like, and then you will +be safely protected from the cold and bad weather." + +As soon as day broke the two children let the Bear out again, and he +trotted away over the snow, and ever afterward he came every evening at +a certain hour. He would lie down on the hearth and allow the children +to play with him as much as they liked, till by degrees they became so +accustomed to him that the door was left unbolted till their black +friend arrived. + +But as soon as spring returned, and everything out of doors was green +again, the Bear one morning told Snow-White that he must leave her, and +could not return during the whole summer. "Where are you going, then, +dear Bear?" asked Snow-White. "I am obliged to go into the forest and +guard my treasures from the evil Dwarfs; for in winter, when the ground +is hard, they are obliged to keep in their holes and cannot work +through; but now, since the sun has thawed the earth and warmed it, the +Dwarfs pierce through and steal all they can find; and what has once +passed into their hands, and gets concealed by them in their caves, is +not easily brought to light." + +Snow-White, however, was very sad at the departure of the Bear, and +opened the door so hesitatingly, that when he pressed through it he +left behind on the latch a piece of his hairy coat; and through the +hole which was made in his coat Snow-White fancied she saw the +glittering of gold, but she was not quite certain of it. The Bear, +however, ran hastily away, and was soon hidden behind the trees. + +Some time afterward the Mother sent the children into the woods to +gather sticks, and while doing so they came to a tree which was lying +across the path, on the trunk of which something kept bobbing up and +down from the grass, and they could not imagine what it was. When +they came nearer they saw a Dwarf, with an old wrinkled face and a +snow-white beard a yard long. The end of this beard was fixed in a +split of the tree, and the little man kept jumping about like a dog +tied by a chain, for he did not know how to free himself. He glared at +the Maidens with his red, fiery eyes, and exclaimed, "Why do you stand +there? Are you going to pass without offering me any assistance?" + +"What have you done, little man?" asked Rose-Red. + +"You stupid, gazing goose!" exclaimed he, "I wanted to have split the +tree in order to get a little wood for my kitchen, for the little food +which we use is soon burnt up with great faggots, not like what you +rough greedy people devour! I had driven the wedge in properly, and +everything was going on well, when the smooth wood flew upward, and the +tree closed so suddenly together, that I could not draw my beautiful +beard out; and here it sticks, and I cannot get away. There, don't +laugh, you milk-faced things! Are you dumbfounded?" + +The children took all the pains they could to pull the Dwarf's beard +out, but without success. "I will run and fetch some help," cried +Rose-Red at length. + +"Crack-brained sheep's-head that you are!" snarled the Dwarf; "what are +you going to call other people for? You are two too many now for me; +can you think of nothing else?" + +"Don't be impatient," replied Snow-White: "I have thought of +something;" and pulling her scissors out of her pocket, she cut off the +end of the beard. As soon as the Dwarf found himself at liberty he +snatched up his sack, which laid between the roots of the tree filled +with gold, and, throwing it over his shoulder, marched off, grumbling, +and groaning, and crying "Stupid people! to cut off a piece of my +beautiful beard. Plague take you!" And away he went without once +looking at the children. + +Some time afterward Snow-White and Rose-Red went a-fishing and as they +neared the pond they saw something like a great locust hopping about +on the bank, as if going to jump into the water. They ran up and +recognized the Dwarf; "What are you after?" asked Rose-Red; "you will +fall into the water." + +"I am not quite such a simpleton as that," replied the Dwarf; "but do +you not see this fish will pull me in?" + +The little man had been sitting there angling, and, unfortunately, the +wind had entangled his beard with the fishing-line; and so when a great +fish bit at the bait, the strength of the weak little fellow was not +able to draw it out, and the fish had the best of the struggle. The +Dwarf held on by the reeds and rushes which grew near, but to no +purpose, for the fish pulled him where it liked, and he must soon have +been drawn into the pond. Luckily just then the two Maidens arrived, +and tried to release the beard of the Dwarf from the fishing-line, but +both were too closely entangled for it to be done. So the Maiden pulled +out her scissors again and cut off another piece of the beard. + +When the Dwarf saw this done he was in a great rage, and exclaimed, +"You donkey! that is the way to disfigure my face. Was it not enough to +cut it once, but you must now take away the best part of my fine beard? +I dare not show myself again now to my own people. I wish you had run +the soles off your boots before you had come here!" So saying he took +up a bag of pearls, which lay among the rushes, and, without speaking +another word, slipped off and disappeared behind a stone. + +Not many days after this adventure, it chanced that the Mother sent the +two Maidens to the next town to buy thread, needles and pins, laces, +and ribbons. Their road passed over a common, on which, here and there, +great pieces of rock were lying about. Just over their heads they saw a +great bird flying round and round, and every now and then dropping +lower and lower, till at last it flew down behind a rock. Immediately +afterward they heard a piercing shriek, and, running up, they saw with +affright that the eagle had caught their old acquaintance, the Dwarf, +and was trying to carry him off. The compassionate children thereupon +laid hold of the little man, and held him fast till the bird gave up +the struggle and flew off. + +As soon, then, as the Dwarf had recovered from his fright, he exclaimed +in his squeaking voice: + +"Could you not hold me more gently? You have seized my fine brown coat +in such a manner that it is all torn and full of holes, meddling and +interfering rubbish that you are!" With these words he shouldered a bag +filled with precious stones, and slipped away to his cave among the +rocks. + +The Maidens were now accustomed to his ingratitude, and so they walked +on to the town and transacted their business there. Coming home they +returned over the same common, and unawares walked up to a certain +clean spot, on which the Dwarf had shaken out his bag of precious +stones, thinking nobody was near. The sun was shining and the bright +stones glittered in its beams, and displayed such a variety of colors +that the two Maidens stopped to admire them. + + [Illustration: THE TWO MAIDENS ARRIVED AND TRIED TO RELEASE THE BEARD + OF THE DWARF] + +"What are you standing there gaping for?" asked the Dwarf, while his +face grew as red as copper with rage: he was continuing to abuse the +poor Maidens, when a loud roaring noise was heard, and presently a +great black Bear came rolling out of the forest. The Dwarf jumped up +terrified, but he could not gain his retreat before the Bear overtook +him. Thereupon he cried out, "Spare me, my dear Lord Bear! I will give +you all my treasures. See these beautiful precious stones which lie +here; only give me my life; for what have you to fear from a little +fellow like me? You could not touch me with your big teeth. There are +two wicked girls, take them; they would make nice morsels; as fat as +young quails; eat them, for heaven's sake!" + +The Bear, however, without troubling himself to speak, gave the +bad-hearted Dwarf a single blow with his paw, and he never stirred +after. + +The Maidens were then going to run away, but the Bear called after +them, "Snow-White and Rose-Red, fear not! Wait a bit, and I will +accompany you." They recognized his voice and stopped; and when the +Bear came, his rough coat suddenly fell off, and he stood up a tall +man, dressed entirely in gold. "I am a King's son," he said, "and was +condemned by the wicked Dwarf, who stole all my treasures, to wander +about in this forest in the form of a bear till his death released me." + +Then they went home, and Snow-White was married to the Prince, and +Rose-Red to his brother, with whom they shared the immense treasure +which the Dwarf had collected. The old Mother also lived for many years +happily with her two children; and the rose-trees which had stood +before the cottage were planted now before the palace, and produced +every year beautiful red and white roses. + + + + +HANSEL AND GRETHEL + +BY THE BROTHERS GRIMM + + +Once upon a time there dwelt near a large wood a poor wood-cutter, with +his wife and two children by his former marriage, a little boy called +Hansel, and a girl named Grethel. He had little enough to break or +bite; and once, when there was a great famine in the land, he could not +procure even his daily bread; and as he lay thinking in his bed one +evening, rolling about for trouble, he sighed, and said to his wife, +"What will become of us? How can we feed our children, when we have no +more than we can eat ourselves?" + +"Know, then, my husband," answered she, "we will lead them away, quite +early in the morning, into the thickest part of the wood, and there +make them a fire, and give them each a little piece of bread; then we +will go to our work, and leave them alone, so they will not find the +way home again, and we shall be freed from them." "No, wife," replied +he, "that I can never do;, how can you bring your heart to leave my +children all alone in the wood; for the wild beasts will soon come and +tear them to pieces?" + +"Oh, you simpleton!" said she, "then we must all four die of hunger; +you had better plane the coffins for us." But she left him no peace +till he consented, saying, "Ah, but I shall regret the poor children." + +The two children, however, had not gone to sleep for very hunger, and +so they overheard what the stepmother said to their father. Grethel +wept bitterly, and said to Hansel, "What will become of us?" "Be quiet, +Grethel," said he; "do not cry--I will soon help you." And as soon as +their parents had fallen asleep, he got up, put on his coat, and, +unbarring the back door, slipped out. The moon shone brightly, and the +white pebbles which lay before the door seemed like silver pieces, they +glittered so brightly. Hansel stooped down, and put as many into his +pocket as it would hold; and then going back he said to Grethel, "Be +comforted, dear sister, and sleep in peace; God will not forsake us." +And so saying, he went to bed again. + +The next morning, before the sun arose, the wife went and awoke the two +children. "Get up, you lazy things; we are going into the forest to +chop wood." Then she gave them each a piece of bread, saying, "There is +something for your dinner; do not eat it before the time, for you will +get nothing else." Grethel took the bread in her apron, for Hansel's +pocket was full of pebbles; and so they all set out upon their way. +When they had gone a little distance, Hansel stood still, and peeped +back at the house; and this he repeated several times, till his father +said, "Hansel, what are you peeping at, and why do you lag behind? Take +care, and remember your legs." + +"Ah, father," said Hansel, "I am looking at my white cat sitting upon +the roof of the house, and trying to say good-by." "You simpleton!" +said the wife, "that is not a cat; it is only the sun shining on the +white chimney." But in reality Hansel was not looking at a cat; but +every time he stopped, he dropped a pebble out of his pocket upon the +path. + + [Illustration: GRETHEL AND THE WITCH + FROM A DRAWING BY MALCOLM PATTERSON] + +When they came to the middle of the wood, the father told the children +to collect wood, and he would make them a fire, so that they should not +be cold. So Hansel and Grethel gathered together quite a little +mountain of twigs. Then they set fire to them; and as the flame burnt +up high, the wife said, "Now, you children, lie down near the fire, and +rest yourselves, whilst we go into the forest and chop wood; when we +are ready, I will come and call you." + +Hansel and Grethel sat down by the fire, and when it was noon, each ate +the piece of bread; and because they could hear the blows of an axe +they thought their father was near; but it was not an axe, but a branch +which he had bound to a withered tree, so as to be blown to and fro by +the wind. They waited so long, that at last their eyes closed from +weariness, and they fell fast asleep. When they awoke, it was quite +dark, and Grethel began to cry, "How shall we get out of the wood?" But +Hansel tried to comfort her by saying, "Wait a little while till the +moon rises, and then we will quickly find the way." The moon soon shone +forth, and Hansel, taking his sister's hand, followed the pebbles, +which glittered like new-coined silver pieces, and showed them the +path. All night long they walked on, and as day broke they came to +their father's house. They knocked at the door, and when the wife +opened it, and saw Hansel and Grethel, she exclaimed, "You wicked +children! why did you sleep so long in the wood? We thought you were +never coming home again." But their father was very glad, for it had +grieved his heart to leave them all alone. + +Not long afterward there was again great scarcity in every corner of +the land; and one night the children overheard their mother saying to +their father, "Everything is again consumed; we have only half a loaf +left, and then the song is ended: the children must be sent away. We +will take them deeper into the wood, so that they may not find the way +out again: it is the only means of escape for us." + +But her husband felt heavy at heart, and thought, "It were better to +share the last crust with the children." His wife, however, would +listen to nothing that he said, and scolded and reproached him without +end. + +He who says A must say B too; and he who consents the first time must +also the second. + +The children, however, had heard the conversation as they lay awake, +and as soon as the old people went to sleep Hansel got up, intending to +pick up some pebbles as before; but the wife had locked the door, so +that he could not get out. Nevertheless he comforted Grethel, saying, +"Do not cry; sleep in quiet; the good God will not forsake us." + +Early in the morning the stepmother came and pulled them out of bed, +and gave them each a slice of bread, which was still smaller than the +former piece. On the way, Hansel broke his in his pocket, and, stooping +every now and then, dropped a crumb upon the path. "Hansel, why do you +stop and look about?" said the father, "keep in the path." "I am +looking at my little dove," answered Hansel, "nodding a good-by to me." +"Simpleton!" said the wife, "that is no dove, but only the sun shining +on the chimney." But Hansel still kept dropping crumbs as he went +along. + +The mother led the children deep into the wood, where they had never +been before, and there making an immense fire, she said to them, "Sit +down here and rest, and when you feel tired you can sleep for a little +while. We are going into the forest to hew wood, and in the evening, +when we are ready, we will come and fetch you." + +When noon came Grethel shared her bread with Hansel, who had strewn his +on the path. Then they went to sleep; but the evening arrived and no +one came to visit the poor children, and in the dark night they awoke, +and Hansel comforted his sister by saying, "Only wait, Grethel, till +the moon comes out, then we shall see the crumbs of bread which I have +dropped, and they will show us the way home." The moon shone and they +got up, but they could not see any crumbs, for the thousands of birds +which had been flying about in the woods and fields had picked them all +up. Hansel kept saying to Grethel, "We will soon find the way;" but +they did not, and they walked the whole night long and the next day, +but still they did not come out of the wood; and they got so hungry, +for they had nothing to eat but the berries which they found upon the +bushes. Soon they got so tired that they could not drag themselves +along, so they lay down under a tree and went to sleep. + +It was now the third morning since they had left their father's house, +and they still walked on; but they only got deeper and deeper into the +wood, and Hansel saw that if help did not come very soon they would die +of hunger. As soon as it was noon they saw a beautiful snow-white bird +sitting upon a bough, which sang so sweetly that they stood still and +listened to it. It soon left off, and spreading its wings flew off; and +they followed it until it arrived at a cottage, upon the roof of which +it perched; and when they went close up to it they saw that the cottage +was made of bread and cakes, and the window-panes were of clear sugar. + +"We will go in here," said Hansel, "and have a glorious feast. I will +eat a piece of the roof, and you can eat the window. Will they not be +sweet?" So Hansel reached up and broke a piece off the roof, in order +to see how it tasted; while Grethel stepped up to the window and began +to bite it. Then a sweet voice called out in the room, "Tip-tap, +tip-tap, who raps at my door?" and the children answered, "The wind, +the wind, the child of heaven;" and they went on eating without +interruption. Hansel thought the roof tasted very nice, and so he tore +off a great piece; while Grethel broke a large round pane out of the +window, and sat down quite contentedly. Just then the door opened, and +a very old woman, walking upon crutches, came out. Hansel and Grethel +were so frightened that they let fall what they had in their hands; but +the old woman, nodding her head, said "Ah, you dear children, what has +brought you here? Come in and stop with me, and no harm shall befall +you;" and so saying she led them into her cottage. A good meal of milk +and pancakes, with sugar, apples, and nuts was spread on the table, and +in the back room were two nice little beds, covered with white, where +Hansel and Grethel laid themselves down, and thought themselves in +heaven. The old woman behaved very kindly to them, but in reality she +was a wicked witch who waylaid children and built the breadhouse in +order to entice them in; but as soon as they were in her power she +killed them, cooked and ate them, and made a great festival of the day. +Witches have red eyes, and cannot see very far; but they have a fine +sense of smelling, like wild beasts, so that they know when children +approach them. When Hansel and Grethel came near the witch's house she +laughed wickedly, saying, "Here come two who shall not escape me." And +early in the morning, before they awoke, she went up to them, and saw +how lovingly they lay sleeping, with their chubby red cheeks; and she +mumbled to herself, "That will be a good bite." Then she took up +Hansel with her rough hand, and shut him up in a little cage with a +lattice-door; and although he screamed loudly it was of no use. Grethel +came next, and, shaking her till she awoke, she said, "Get up, you lazy +thing, and fetch some water to cook something good for your brother, +who must remain in that stall and get fat; when he is fat enough I +shall eat him." Grethel began to cry, but it was all useless, for the +old witch made her do as she wished. So a nice meal was cooked for +Hansel, but Grethel got nothing else but a crab's claw. + +Every morning the old witch came to the cage and said, "Hansel, stretch +out your finger that I may feel whether you are getting fat." But +Hansel used to stretch out a bone, and the old woman, having very bad +sight, thought it was his finger, and wondered very much that he did +not get more fat. When four weeks had passed, and Hansel still kept +quite lean, she lost all her patience, and would not wait any longer. +"Grethel," she called out in a passion, "get some water quickly; be +Hansel fat or lean, this morning I will kill and cook him." Oh, how the +poor little sister grieved, as she was forced to fetch the water, and +fast the tears ran down her cheeks! "Dear good God, help us now!" she +exclaimed. "Had we only been eaten by the wild beasts in the wood, then +we should have died together." But the old witch called out, "Leave off +that noise; it will not help you a bit." + +So early in the morning Grethel was forced to go out and fill the +kettle, and make a fire. "First, we will bake, however," said the old +woman; "I have already heated the oven and kneaded the dough;" and so +saying, she pushed poor Grethel up to the oven, out of which the flames +were burning fiercely. "Creep in," said the witch, "and see if it is +hot enough, and then we will put in the bread;" but she intended when +Grethel got in to shut up the oven and let her bake, so that she might +eat her as well as Hansel. Grethel perceived what her thoughts were, +and said, "I do not know how to do it; how shall I get in?" "You stupid +goose," said she, "the opening is big enough. See, I could even get in +myself!" and she got up, and put her head into the oven. Then Grethel +gave her a push, so that she fell right in, and then shutting the iron +door she bolted it. Oh! how horribly she howled; but Grethel ran away, +and left the ungodly witch to burn to ashes. + + [Illustration: "SHE LED THEM INTO HER COTTAGE"] + +Now she ran to Hansel, and, opening his door, called out, "Hansel, we +are saved; the old witch is dead." So he sprang out, like a bird out of +his cage when the door is opened; and they were so glad that they fell +upon each other's neck, and kissed each other over and over again. And +now, as there was nothing to fear, they went into the witch's house, +where in every corner were caskets full of pearls and precious stones. +"These are better than pebbles," said Hansel, putting as many into his +pocket as it would hold; while Grethel thought, "I will take some home +too," and filled her apron full. "We must be off now," said Hansel, +"and get out of this enchanted forest;" but when they had walked for +two hours they came to a large piece of water. "We cannot get over," +said Hansel; "I can see no bridge at all." "And there is no boat +either," said Grethel, "but there swims a white duck, I will ask her +to help us over;" and she sang: + + "Little Duck, good little duck, + Grethel and Hansel, here we stand; + There is neither stile nor bridge, + Take us on your back to land." + +So the Duck came to them, and Hansel sat himself on, and bade his +sister sit behind him. "No," answered Grethel, "that will be too much +for the Duck, she shall take us over one at a time." This the good +little bird did, and when both were happily arrived on the other side, +and had gone a little way, they came to a well-known wood, which they +knew the better every step they went, and at last they perceived their +father's house. Then they began to run, and, bursting into the house, +they fell on their father's neck. He had not had one happy hour since +he had left the children in the forest: and his wife was dead. Grethel +shook her apron, and the pearls and precious stones rolled out upon the +floor, and Hansel threw down one handful after the other out of his +pocket. Then all their sorrows were ended, and they lived in happiness. + +My tale is done. There runs a mouse; whoever catches her may make a +great, great cap out of her fur. + + [Illustration: Reproduced by special permission of the Artist + TWINS + FROM A PAINTING BY JOSEPH T. PEARSON, JR.] + + + + + [Illustration: STORIES BY FAVORITE AMERICAN WRITERS] + + + + +THE FLAG-BEARER + +BY CAROLYN SHERWIN BAILEY + + +The primary class had a very beautiful American flag, and some child +was going to carry it from the schoolroom across the park and into the +Town Hall on the holiday. All the primary children would march after +the flag, and they were going to sing "America" and "The Star Spangled +Banner." It would be a wonderful day and each child wanted to carry the +flag. + +No one was sure who would be chosen as flag-bearer, but their teacher +had said the week before: "It will be the child who loves his country +the most who will carry the Stars and Stripes. Try and do something for +your country during the week." + +So the children had been very busy ever since doing all sorts of things +that would show how they loved their country. + +Marjory had been knitting for soldiers. Her grandmother had given her +a pair of pretty yellow needles and a ball of soft gray yarn and had +started a scarf. But the stitches would drop, and there was still +enough snow for sliding on the hill back of Marjory's house. Her +knitting was not much further along on Saturday than on Monday. + +"I will show how much I love my country," Hubert said, and he asked his +mother to take the gilt buttons from his great-grandfather's soldier +coat that hung in the attic and sew them on his reefer. Then he showed +the bright buttons to all the other children, and they thought that +Hubert looked very fine indeed. + +"I shall wear them when I carry the flag next week," Hubert told them. + +But the children thought that perhaps Roger would be chosen as +flag-bearer because he bought such a large flag with the money in his +bank, and put it up on the flagpole in his front yard. Roger's father +helped him raise the flag on a rope so that he could pull it down at +night, but once the Stars and Stripes were flying Roger forgot all +about them. His flag stayed out in the wind and sleet, and its bright +colors faded and the stripes were torn. + +After all, the children decided, it would be Edward who would carry the +flag. Edward had a dog named Trusty, and he decided to train him to be +a Red Cross dog. He put a white band with a red cross on it around +Trusty and harnessed him to a little express wagon to carry bundles. +Trusty had never worn a harness in his life, or been fastened to +anything. He tried to get away from the wagon, but Edward strapped the +harness more tightly. The straps hurt Trusty, and it hurt his feelings +to be made to drag the cart; but Edward drove him to and from the +drug-store and the grocery and the butcher's, carrying the parcels that +Edward had always brought alone before. + +The other children, too, all tried to do unusual things to win +themselves the place of flag-bearer. They played their drums in the +street and made soldier caps and wooden swords and drilled. The little +girls dressed up and played army nurse with their dolls. The boys +bought toy soldiers and horns at the toy shop. There was a great deal +of noise everywhere. + +Then it was the holiday, and everyone was greatly excited over what +was going to happen. Whoever had a red ribbon, or a blue necktie, or a +red-white-and-blue badge felt very proud indeed to wear it. Every child +sat as still as a mouse as the teacher spoke to them. + +"Marjory showed me five rows that she had knitted for a soldier when I +went to her house a few days ago," she said. "I wonder how many rows +she has finished now?" + +"Only five," Marjory said softly. + +Hubert touched the buttons on his reefer and sat up very straight in +his place. + +"I am wearing my great-grandfather's soldier buttons," he said. + +"That ought to make you feel as brave as he was, when he earned the +right to wear them in battle," the teacher said; and Hubert suddenly +thought that gilt buttons had not made him into a soldier at all. + +The other children began to think, too, as they looked up at the Stars +and Stripes at the end of the room. Edward remembered how the harness +had hurt Trusty, and the boy with the drum remembered how he had +awakened the baby from her nap. Roger thought of his torn flag, flapping +in the wind on the top of the flagpole. No one said anything until the +teacher looked at the end of the class and smiled, and said: + +"Well, Peter!" + +Peter smiled back, and tried to cover up the holes in his jacket +sleeves, and tucked his old shoes under the seat. Peter's father had +gone to be a soldier, and there were his mother, and the two babies, +and his grandfather who was blind, at home. + +"What have you been doing all the week, Peter?" the teacher asked. + +"Tending the babies so that mother could go to the factory and sew the +soldiers' uniforms," Peter said. "And leading grandfather out for a +walk when it was a sunny day." + +"Peter's got a little flag hanging out of the window," one of the +children said, "and he's so careful of it. He takes it in every night +and puts it out again in the morning." + +"He saluted the flag and took off his hat to it when the parade went by +the other day," said another child. Everyone loved merry, ragged Peter, +who could play so gayly when he had time for a game. + +Just then they heard the band outside. It was playing, "The Red, White +and Blue," the music to which the children were to march with the flag. + +"Who shall be our flag-bearer?" the teacher asked. + +The children knew now. They were quite sure. + +"Peter!" they said. + +So Peter carried the Stars and Stripes across the park and into the +Town Hall, with all the primary children marching like soldiers behind. +The wind blew it around him like a cloak to cover up the holes in his +jacket sleeves and his old shoes. Wherever he looked he could see the +colors; the sky was as blue as the field in the flag, a few snow stars +lay on the ground and the first robin redbreast sang on a branch over +his head. And the children following Peter knew what the colors told +them to do for their country--to be brave, and good, and true at home. + + + + +JOHNNY CHUCK FINDS THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD[A] + +BY THORNTON W. BURGESS + + +Old Mother West Wind had stopped to talk with the Slender Fir Tree. + +"I've just come across the Green Meadows," said Old Mother West Wind, +"and there I saw the Best Thing in the World." + +Striped Chipmunk was sitting under the Slender Fir Tree, and he +couldn't help hearing what Old Mother West Wind said. "The Best Thing +in the World--now what can that be?" thought Striped Chipmunk. "Why, it +must be heaps and heaps of nuts and acorns! I'll go and find it." + +So Striped Chipmunk started down the Lone Little Path through the wood +as fast as he could run. Pretty soon he met Peter Rabbit. + +"Where are you going in such a hurry, Striped Chipmunk?" asked Peter +Rabbit. + +"Down in the Green Meadows to find the Best Thing in the World," +replied Striped Chipmunk, and ran faster. + +"The Best Thing in the World," said Peter Rabbit, "why, that must be a +great pile of carrots and cabbage! I think I'll go and find it." + +So Peter Rabbit started down the Lone Little Path through the wood as +fast as he could go after Striped Chipmunk. + +As they passed the great hollow tree Bobby Coon put his head out. +"Where are you going in such a hurry?" asked Bobby Coon. + +"Down in the Green Meadows to find the Best Thing in the World!" +shouted Striped Chipmunk and Peter Rabbit, and both began to run +faster. + +"The Best Thing in the World," said Bobby Coon to himself; "why, that +must be a whole field of sweet milky corn. I think I'll go and find +it." + +So Bobby Coon climbed down out of the great hollow tree and started +down the Lone Little Path through the wood as fast as he could go after +Striped Chipmunk and Peter Rabbit, for there is nothing that Bobby +Coon likes to eat so well as sweet milky corn. + +At the edge of the wood they met Jimmy Skunk. + +"Where are you going in such a hurry?" asked Jimmy Skunk. + +"Down in the Green Meadows to find the Best Thing in the World!" +shouted Striped Chipmunk, and Peter Rabbit, and Bobby Coon. Then they +all tried to run faster. + +"The Best Thing in the World," said Jimmy Skunk. "Why, that must be +packs and packs of beetles!" And for once in his life Jimmy Skunk began +to hurry down the Lone Little Path after Striped Chipmunk, and Peter +Rabbit, and Bobby Coon. + +They were all running so fast that they didn't see Reddy Fox until he +jumped out of the long grass and asked: + +"Where are you going in such a hurry?" + +"To find the Best Thing in the World!" shouted Striped Chipmunk, and +Peter Rabbit, and Bobby Coon, and Jimmy Skunk, and each did his best to +run faster. + +"The Best Thing in the World," said Reddy Fox to himself, "why, that +must be a whole pen full of tender young chickens, and I must have +them." + +So away went Reddy Fox as fast as he could run down the Lone Little +Path after Striped Chipmunk, Peter Rabbit, Bobby Coon, and Jimmy Skunk. + +By-and-by they all came to the house of Johnny Chuck. + +"Where are you going in such a hurry?" asked Johnny Chuck. + +"To find the Best Thing in the World," shouted Striped Chipmunk, and +Peter Rabbit, and Bobby Coon, and Jimmy Skunk, and Reddy Fox. + +"The Best Thing in the World," said Johnny Chuck. "Why, I don't know of +anything better than my own little home, and the warm sunshine, and the +beautiful blue sky." + +So Johnny Chuck stayed at home and played all day among the flowers +with the Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind, and was as happy +as could be. + +But all day long Striped Chipmunk, and Peter Rabbit, and Reddy Fox, and +Bobby Coon, and Jimmy Skunk, ran this way and ran that way over the +Green Meadows trying to find the Best Thing in the World. The sun was +very, very warm, and they ran so far and ran so fast that they were +very, very hot and tired, and still they hadn't found the Best Thing in +the World. + +When the long day was over they started up the Lone Little Path past +Johnny Chuck's house to their own homes. They didn't hurry now, for +they were so very, very tired! And they were cross--oh, so cross! + +Striped Chipmunk hadn't found so much as the leaf of a cabbage. Bobby +Coon hadn't found the tiniest bit of sweet milky corn. Jimmy Skunk +hadn't seen a single beetle. Reddy Fox hadn't heard so much as the peep +of a chicken. And all were hungry as hungry could be. + +Half way up the Lone Little Path they met Old Mother West Wind going to +her home behind the hill. "Did you find the Best Thing in the World?" +asked Old Mother West Wind. + +"No!" shouted Striped Chipmunk, and Peter Rabbit, and Bobby Coon, and +Jimmy Skunk, and Reddy Fox, all together. + +"Johnny Chuck has it," said Old Mother West Wind. "It is being happy +with the things you have, and not wanting things which some one else +has. And it is called Con-tent-ment." + + [A] From "Old Mother West Wind," by Thornton W. Burgess; used + by permission of the author and the publishers, Little, Brown & + Company. + + + + +LITTLE WEE PUMPKIN'S THANKSGIVING[B] + +BY MADGE A. BINGHAM + + +It was the night before Thanksgiving in Peter Pumpkin-eater's garden. +Great Big Pumpkin, Middle-Sized Pumpkin, and Little Wee Pumpkin were +speaking together. + +"All here?" asked Great Big Pumpkin. + +"I'm here," answered Middle-Sized Pumpkin. + +"I'm here," answered Little Wee Pumpkin. "But I heard Peter say that he +would pull us to-morrow and send us away." + +"That will be fine!" said Great Big Pumpkin. "I hope we shall make good +pies for some one's dinner. I wish we could go to the palace." + +"So do I," said Middle-Sized Pumpkin. "Maybe we could see the King." + +"I should like to see Cinderella," said Little Wee Pumpkin. "But I am +not large enough to go to the palace. Still, I wish I could make some +one glad on Thanksgiving Day." + +Little Wee Pumpkin was the first to wake in the morning. Peter had +opened the garden gate, and Cinderella was walking into the garden. + +Little Wee Pumpkin opened her eyes and listened. + +Cinderella was beautiful, and Little Wee Pumpkin knew that she was +good and kind. She was carrying a basket full of yellow flowers. + +"They are for you, Peter," she said, laughing. "I have brought them +from the palace garden. They are for your Thanksgiving. + +"Now you must help me find the right pumpkin for a jack-o'-lantern. It +is to make a little girl glad. She has been ill a long time, and must +have a jack-o'-lantern for Thanksgiving." + +"Yes, my lady," said Peter; and they went from vine to vine. + +First, they stopped at Great Big Pumpkin, but that was too large. Then +they stopped at Middle-Sized Pumpkin, but that was too flat. Then they +stopped at Little Wee Pumpkin, and that was just right. + +"This is the pumpkin for the jack-o'-lantern, Peter," she said, +pointing to Little Wee Pumpkin. "This will make the little girl glad." + +"Yes, my lady," said Peter, as he pulled Little Wee Pumpkin from the +vine. + +"The two large pumpkins shall go to the palace, to the King," said +Cinderella. "They will make fine pies for his Thanksgiving dinner." + +"Yes, my lady," said Peter, as he pulled the two pumpkins from the +vines. + +So Great Big, Middle-Sized, and Little Wee all had their wishes. + + [B] From "Mother Goose Village," by Madge A. Bingham, + published by Rand, McNally & Company, and used by special arrangement. + + + + +THE COMING OF THE KING[C] + +BY LAURA E. RICHARDS + + +Some children were at play in their playground one day when a herald +rode through the town, blowing a trumpet, and crying aloud: "The King! +The King passes by this road to-day!" + +"Did you hear that?" they said. "The King is coming. He may look over +the wall and see our playground: who knows? We must put it in order." + +The playground was sadly dirty, and in the corners were scraps of paper +and broken toys--for these were careless children! But now, one brought +a hoe, and another a rake, and a third ran to fetch the wheelbarrow +from behind the garden gate. They labored hard, till at length all was +clean and tidy. + +"Now it is clean!" they said; "but we must make it pretty, too, for +kings are used to fine things; maybe he would not notice mere +cleanness, for he may have it all the time." + +Then one brought sweet rushes and strewed them on the ground; and +others made garlands of oak leaves and pine tassels and hung them on +the walls; and the littlest one pulled marigold buds and threw them all +about the playground. + +When all was done the playground was so beautiful that the children +stood and looked at it, and clapped their hands with pleasure. + +"Let us keep it always like this!" said the littlest one; and the +others cried: "Yes! yes!" + +They waited all day for the coming of the King, but he did not come; +only, toward sunset, a man with travel-worn clothes, and a kind, tired +face passed along the road, and stopped to look over the wall. + +"What a pleasant place!" said the man. "May I come in and rest, dear +children?" + +The children brought him in gladly, and set him on the seat that they +had made out of an old cask. They had covered it with an old red cloak, +to make it look like a throne; and it made a very good one. + +"It is our playground!" they said. "We made it pretty for the King, but +he did not come, and now we mean to keep it so for ourselves." + +"That is good!" said the man. + +"Because we think pretty and clean is nicer than ugly and dirty!" said +another. + +"That is better!" said the man. + +"And for tired people to rest in!" said the littlest one. + +"That is best of all!" said the man. + +He sat and rested, and looked at the children with such kind eyes that +they came about him, and told him all they knew; about the five puppies +in the barn, and the thrush's nest with four blue eggs, and the shore +where the gold shells grew: and the man nodded, and understood all +about it. + +By-and-by he asked for a cup of water, and they brought it to him in +the best cup, with the gold sprigs on it, then he thanked the children, +and rose and went on his way; but before he went he laid his hand on +their heads for a moment, and the touch went warm to their hearts. + +The children stood by the wall and watched the man as he went slowly +along. The sun was setting, and the light fell in long slanting rays +across the road. + +"He looks so tired!" said one of the children. + +"But he was so kind!" said another. + +"See!" said the littlest one. "How the sun shines on his hair! it looks +like a crown of gold." + + [C] From "The Golden Windows," by Laura E. Richards; published + by Little, Brown & Company, Boston. Used by permission of the + publishers. + + [Illustration: The Coming of the King] + + + + +THE LITTLE PIG[D] + +BY MAUD LINDSAY + + +Once upon a time a little black-and-white pig with a curly tail went +out to take a morning walk. He intended to go to the Mud Puddle, but +before he got there he came to a garden gate that was stretched wide +open. + +"Umph, umph," said the little pig, when he saw it; "isn't this fine? I +have wanted to get into this garden ever since I can remember." And in +he went as fast as his four short legs could carry him. + +The garden was full of flowers. There were pansies, and daisies, and +violets, and honeysuckles, and all the bright flowers that you can +name. Everything was in the proper place. There were tulips on either +side of the garden walk, and hollyhocks stood in a straight row against +the fence. The pansies had a garden bed all to themselves, and the +young vines were just beginning to climb up on the frame that the +gardener had made for their special benefit. + +"Umph, umph, nice place," said the little pig; and he put his nose down +in the pansy bed and began to root up the pansies, for he thought that +was the way to behave in a garden. + +While he was enjoying himself there the brown hen came down the road +with her family. She had thirteen children, and she was looking for a +nice rich spot where they might scratch for their breakfast. When she +saw the open gate she was delighted. + +"Cluck, cluck, come on," she said to her chicks. + +"Peep, peep, peep," said the little chickens, "is it a worm?" + +"It is a beautiful garden, and there is nothing that I like better than +to scratch in a garden," answered the hen, as she bustled through the +gate. The chickens followed her, and soon they were all busy scratching +among the violets. + +They had not been there very long when the red cow walked by the +garden. She was on her way to the Pond, but when she saw the open +garden gate she decided at once to go in. + +"Moo, moo," she said, "this is delightful. Tender flowers are such a +treat." And she swished her tail over her back as she nipped the +daisies from their stems. + +"Cluck," said the hen, "Peep," said the chicks, "Umph," said the little +pig, for they were pleased to have company. While they were talking a +rabbit with very bright eyes peeped in at the gate. + +"Oh, is it a party?" he said when he saw the red cow, and the pig with +a curly tail, and the hen and chickens. + +"Come in," said the pig, "and help yourself. There is plenty of room." +So the rabbit hopped into the garden and nibbled the green leaves and +the young vines. + +"How many of us are here?" asked the red cow, but before any of them +could count, the gardener came home. + +When _he_ looked into the garden he began to cry: "Oh, my pretty +pansies! my dear daisies! my sweet violets! my tender young vines!" + +"What is he talking about?" said the chickens. + +"I suppose he wants us to go out," answered the hen; and she ruffled +her feathers and quarreled as the gardener came hurrying toward them. + +Then the cow ran one way and the pig ran another. The little chickens +got lost in the bushes, and the rabbit hid in the vines. The hen +cackled, and the pig squealed, and the gardener scolded. By the time +he had driven them all out of the garden the sun was high in the sky. + +"Umph, umph," cried the little pig, as he scampered down the road, "we +will all come back to-morrow." + +But when they went back the next day the garden gate was fastened +close, and not even the smallest chicken could get inside. + + [D] From "More Winter Stories," by Maud Lindsay; used by + permission of the publishers, Milton Bradley Company, Springfield, + Mass. + + + + +THE TRAVELS OF THE LITTLE TOY SOLDIER + +BY CAROLYN SHERWIN BAILEY + + +He was the largest and the best dressed and the bravest looking of all +the toy soldiers in the toy shop. Some of the toy soldiers were made of +paper, and these tore easily if they even tried to drill. Some of the +toy soldiers were made of tin, and these bent if they had an encounter. + +But this toy soldier, who stood head and shoulders above the others, +was made of wood. He had once been part of a great pine tree that stood +in the forest, and his heart was as brave and true as the heart of the +tree. + +His trousers were painted green, with yellow stripes; and his jacket +was painted red, with gold buttons. He wore a painted blue cap upon the +side of his head, with a band that went under his chin, and he carried +a wooden gun in one arm. He could stand alone, for his wooden legs were +glued to a block of wood, and his eyes were black and shining, and his +mouth was painted in a smile. + +When the Toy Soldier went from the toy shop to live in Gregory's house +the little boy thought that he had never seen such a fine soldier in +his life. He made him captain of all the soldier ninepins and guard of +the toy train, and he took him to bed with him at night. Then, one day, +James, who lived next door and was Gregory's neighbor, came over to +play with Gregory. + +"What a nice Toy Soldier!" James said. + +"Yes, he's mine," Gregory said. + +"May I play with him?" James asked. + +"No, I said he was my Toy Soldier," Gregory answered. + +"Then I'll take him," James said. + +"I won't let you," Gregory said. + +Then the two little boys began pulling the Toy Soldier to see which +could get him away from the other, and the Toy Soldier did not like it +at all. He was fond of a good battle, but not of a quarrel. He decided +that he would not stay in a house where there was a quarrelsome boy, +and so he tumbled out of a window that was close by and fell, down, +down, to the street below. + +The Toy Soldier had not lain long on the sidewalk when Harold passed by +and picked him up. + +"I wanted a toy soldier and here is the finest one I ever saw," Harold +said; and he slipped the soldier inside his coat and started on, for he +was going to school. The Toy Soldier lay close to Harold's watch that +was tick, tick, ticking the time away, but Harold loitered, and at last +he stopped to play a game of marbles with another little boy whom he +met. "I don't care if I am late for school," he said. + +"Oho!" thought the Toy Soldier, and as the two little boys played he +dropped out from under Harold's coat and into the gutter. When Harold +reached school, late, the Toy Soldier was gone. + +Joe found the Toy Soldier in the gutter and ran home with him to his +mother. + +"I have a Toy Soldier!" he said. + +"How brave he looks," said Joe's mother. + +All the rest of the day the Toy Soldier went about with Joe and +listened to what he said and watched what he did. + +"I can't go to the grocer's; I'm afraid of his dog." + +"I can't put in that nail. I am afraid that the hammer will slip and +hit my finger." This was what the Toy Soldier heard. + +Then it was Joe's bedtime, and the Toy Soldier went upstairs with him +to bed, but Joe cried all the way. + +"I'm afraid of the dark!" he said. + +When Joe was asleep the Toy Soldier slipped out of his hand and fell +into a scrap basket. He knew very well that he couldn't stay with a +child who was a coward. + +No one saw the Toy Soldier when the basket was emptied in the morning. +He went with the scraps into a huge bag, and then into a wagon, and +then into a factory where men sorted the cloth to make it into paper. +One of these men found the Toy Soldier and took him home to his little +boy, who was lame and had to stay alone all day. + +"Has it been a good day, John?" his father asked. + +"Oh, yes!" laughed John as he hugged the Toy Soldier. + +"You have my supper ready just in time," his father said, watching the +soup bubbling in a shining pot on the stove. + +"And I cleaned a little and set the table," John said. + +"Has your back hurt you very much to-day?" asked his father. + +"A little, but I don't mind that," John said. "See how fine the Toy +Soldier looks standing on the table!" + +"Oho!" thought the Toy Soldier, "now I have found a place where I can +stay. Here is another soldier, cheerful and willing to work, and +brave!" + + + + +WHAT HAPPENED TO DUMPS + +BY CAROLYN SHERWIN BAILEY + + +Once upon a time there was a queer little elf named Dumps, who lived +all by himself in a dark little house down in a valley. Ever since he +could remember, things had gone wrong with him. + +He shivered in the cold and kicked the coal bucket when the fire +wouldn't burn. He howled when he stumbled over his own dinner pots that +he had left in the middle of the floor; and he stood in his front door +and scowled when other happy elves went by without speaking to him. + +He and his family had lived like that for years. When any elf wanted to +describe something very sad he would say it was "Down in the Dumps." +And so Dumps went on without a single happy day. + +But suddenly the elves decided to give a party. Oh, it was going to be +a very jolly party indeed, and Dumps heard about it. Almost every elf +who passed was whistling, or singing something cheerful. And some of +them carried their best green suits to the Wood Fairy's house to be +pressed. And when Dumps heard about the party, he cried so loud because +he knew he wouldn't be invited that the Wood Fairy heard him. The noise +disturbed her, and she went down to Dumps' house to see what was the +matter with him _now_. + +"Tell me all about it, from the beginning, my dear," she said to poor +little Dumps. + +"I can't see the sunshine!" Dumps howled. + +"Of course, you can't," said the Wood Fairy. "Your windows are dirty. +Get some nice spring water in your little pail and wash them." + +Dumps had never thought of doing that. When he washed the windows the +sunbeams streamed in like a golden ladder. + +"Is there something else the matter?" the Wood Fairy asked. + +"My fire won't burn, even though I kick the coal bucket every day," +Dumps sobbed. + +"Well, try blowing the fire," the Wood Fairy suggested. + +Dumps had never thought of doing that. His bellows were stiff, but he +blew them very hard, and--crackle--there was a nice bright fire, and +his kettle began to sing! + +"Is that all?" asked the Wood Fairy. + +"Oh, no!" Dumps sighed, "The other elves are giving a party, and I'm +not invited." + +"It is for all the elves, and you don't have to be invited," the Wood +Fairy said. "Stand up straight and let me brush your suit. Now run +along, my dear." + +So Dumps started up the hill to the party, laughing all the way, for he +just couldn't help it. You see, he had so many years of being one of +the Dumps to make up for! He laughed until all his wrinkles were gone, +and he was puffed out with happiness. He started bees buzzing, and +grasshoppers fiddling, and crickets chirping. + +"Who can this new, fat, cheerful elf be?" asked all the other elves, +as Dumps arrived at the party, turning a double-somersault into their +midst. "We are all here except Dumps, and of course this isn't he?" + +Then Dumps showed them how he could turn back-somersaults, and make a +see-saw out of a rush leaf. He taught them how to play baseball with +white clover heads, and how to make a swing of braided grasses. He +surprised himself with all the good times he was able to think up. + +"Of course, this isn't Dumps," the other elves decided. "His name must +be Delight." And Dumps never told them their mistake, for it wasn't +really a mistake at all. Now, was it? + + [Illustration] + + + + +THE WRECK OF THE HESPERUS + +BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW + + + It was the schooner Hesperus, + That sailed the wintry sea; + And the skipper had taken his little daughter, + To bear him company. + + Blue were her eyes as the fairy-flax, + Her cheeks like the dawn of day, + And her bosom white as the hawthorn buds, + That ope in the month of May. + + The skipper he stood beside the helm, + His pipe was in his mouth; + And he watched how the veering flaw did blow + The smoke now west, now south. + + Then up and spake an old Sailor, + Had sailed to the Spanish Main: + "I pray thee, put into yonder port, + For I fear a hurricane. + + "Last night, the moon had a golden ring, + And to-night no moon we see!" + The skipper, he blew a whiff from his pipe, + And a scornful laugh laughed he. + + Colder and louder blew the wind, + A gale from the northeast, + The snow fell hissing in the brine, + And the billows frothed like yeast. + + Down came the storm, and smote amain, + The vessel in its strength; + She shuddered and paused, like a frighted steed, + Then leaped her cable's length. + + "Come hither! come hither! my little daughter, + And do not tremble so; + For I can weather the roughest gale, + That ever wind did blow." + + He wrapped her warm in his seaman's coat + Against the stinging blast; + He cut a rope from a broken spar, + And bound her to the mast. + + "O father! I hear the church-bells ring, + Oh say, what may it be?" + "'Tis a fog-bell on a rock-bound coast!"-- + And he steered for the open sea. + + "O father! I hear the sound of guns. + Oh say, what may it be?" + "Some ship in distress, that cannot live + In such an angry sea!" + + "O father! I see a gleaming light. + Oh say, what may it be?" + But the father answered never a word, + A frozen corpse was he. + + Lashed to the helm, all stiff and stark, + With his face turned to the skies, + The lantern gleamed through the gleaming snow + On his fixed and glassy eyes. + + Then the maiden clasped her hands and prayed + That saved she might be; + And she thought of Christ, who stilled the wave, + On the Lake of Galilee. + + And fast through the midnight dark and drear, + Through the whistling sleet and snow, + Like a sheeted ghost, the vessel swept + Toward the reef of Norman's Woe. + + And ever the fitful gusts between + A sound came from the land; + It was the sound of the trampling surf, + On the rocks and the hard sea-sand. + + The breakers were right beneath her bows, + She drifted a dreary wreck, + And a whooping billow swept the crew + Like icicles from her deck. + + She struck where the white and fleecy waves + Looked soft as carded wool, + But the cruel rocks, they gored her side + Like the horns of an angry bull. + + Her rattling shrouds, all sheathed in ice, + With the masts went by the board; + Like a vessel of glass, she stove and sank, + Ho! ho! the breakers roared! + + At daybreak, on the bleak sea-beach, + A fisherman stood aghast, + To see the form of a maiden fair, + Lashed close to a drifting mast. + + The salt sea was frozen on her breast, + The salt tears in her eyes; + And he saw her hair, like the brown seaweed, + On the billows fall and rise. + + Such was the wreck of the Hesperus, + In the midnight and the snow! + Christ save us all from a death like this, + On the reef of Norman's Woe. + + + + + [Illustration: Ballad of the Little Page] + +BY ABBIE FARWELL BROWN + + + It was a little, little page, + Was brought from far away, + To bear the great queen's velvet train + Upon her bridal day. + + His yellow curls were long and bright, + His page's suit was blue, + With golden clasps at neck and knee, + And ruffles fair and new. + + And faith, he was the smallest page + The court had ever known: + His head scarce reached the topmost step + That led up to the throne. + + And oh, 't was but a little lad + Had never been before + So many leagues from kin and friends, + And from his father's door! + + And oh!--'t was but a little child + Who never yet, I wis, + Had stolen lonely to his bed + Without his mother's kiss. + + He had not seen the noble queen, + Of whom his heart had fear; + He knew no friend at court to give + A welcome and good cheer. + + It was the busy night before + The great queen's wedding-day, + And all was bustle, haste, and noise, + And every one was gay; + + And each one had his task to do, + And none had time to spare + To tend a weeping little page + Whose mother was not there. + + Far in a big and gloomy room + Within the castle keep, + The little page lay all alone, + And wept, and could not sleep. + + The little page lay all alone, + And hid his head and cried, + Until it seemed his aching heart + Would burst his little side. + + The chamber door was set ajar, + And one was passing by + Who heard the little page's sobs + And then his piteous cry. + + Then some one lifted up the latch + And pushed the heavy door, + And then a lady entered in + And crossed the chamber floor-- + + A lady tall and sweet and fair, + In bridal white who stepped; + She stood beside the page's bed, + And asked him why he wept. + + [Illustration: "--AND NONE HAD TIME TO SPARE TO TEND A LITTLE WEEPING + PAGE"] + + [Illustration: "HE TREMBLED AND LOOKED DOWN"] + + And then he sobbed about a "kiss," + His "mother," and his "home," + And wished the queen had called no page, + And wished he had not come; + + For she was "such a proud, great queen" + He was afraid, he said; + And he was "lost and lonely" there + In that huge, gloomy bed. + + And then the lady bent her down + And kissed him on the lips, + And smoothed his yellow, silken curls + With tender finger-tips. + + The tears stood in her gentle eyes; + "Poor little lad!" she said, + And cuddled him up in her arms + And knelt down by the bed. + + And so she held him, close and warm, + And sang him off to sleep, + While at her nod her waiting-maids + A silent watch did keep. + + And when the morning smiled again + The little page awoke. + They clad him in a suit of white, + With velvet cap and cloak, + + And crystal buckles on his shoes, + And led him to the queen, + All lovely in her bridal gear, + The fairest ever seen. + + And he was such a tiny page, + He trembled and looked down, + For he was sore afraid to see + The great queen sternly frown. + + But lo! he heard a soft voice say, + "O little page, look here! + Am I, who sing to sleep so well, + A queen for child to fear?" + + He raised his eyes, and lo! the bride + Looked on the page and smiled, + And then he knew the queen had played + At nurse-maid for a child. + + And well he graced the wedding-feast + And bore her velvet train, + And at his dear queen's side thenceforth + Was never sad again. + + [Illustration] + + + + +THE SNOW-IMAGE + +BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE + + +One afternoon of a cold winter's day, when the sun shone forth with +chilly brightness, after a long storm, two children asked leave of +their mother to run out and play in the new-fallen snow. + +The elder child was a little girl, whom, because she was of a tender +and modest disposition, and was thought to be very beautiful, her +parents and other people who were familiar with her used to call +Violet. + +But her brother was known by the title of Peony, on account of the +ruddiness of his broad and round little phiz, which made everybody +think of sunshine and great scarlet flowers. + +"Yes, Violet--yes, my little Peony," said their kind mother; "you may +go and play in the snow." + +Forth sallied the two children, with a hop-skip-and-jump that carried +them at once into the very heart of a huge snowdrift, whence Violet +emerged like a snow bunting, while little Peony floundered out with his +round face in full bloom. + +Then what a merry time had they! To look at them frolicking in the +wintry garden, you would have thought that the dark and pitiless storm +had been sent for no other purpose but to provide a new plaything for +Violet and Peony; and that they themselves had been created, as the +snowbirds were, to take delight only in the tempest and in the white +mantle which it spread over the earth. + +At last, when they had frosted one another all over with handfuls of +snow, Violet, after laughing heartily at little Peony's figure, was +struck with a new idea. + +"You look exactly like a snow-image, Peony," said she, "if your cheeks +were not so red. And that puts me in mind! Let us make an image out of +snow--an image of a little girl--and it shall be our sister, and shall +run about and play with us all winter long. Won't it be nice?" + +"Oh, yes!" cried Peony, as plainly as he could speak, for he was but a +little boy. "That will be nice! And mamma shall see it!" + +"Yes," answered Violet; "mamma shall see the new little girl. But she +must not make her come into the warm parlor, for, you know, our little +snow-sister will not love the warmth." + +And forthwith the children began this great business of making a +snow-image that should run about; while their mother, who was sitting +at the window and overheard some of their talk, could not help smiling +at the gravity with which they set about it. They really seemed to +imagine that there would be no difficulty whatever in creating a live +little girl out of the snow. + +Indeed, it was an exceedingly pleasant sight--those bright little souls +at their tasks. Moreover, it was really wonderful to observe how +knowingly and skillfully they managed the matter. Violet assumed the +chief direction and told Peony what to do, while, with her own delicate +fingers, she shaped out all the nicer parts of the snow-figure. + +It seemed, in fact, not so much to be made by the children, as to grow +up under their hands, while they were playing and prattling about it. +Their mother was quite surprised at this; and the longer she looked, +the more and more surprised she grew. + +Now, for a few moments there was a busy and earnest but indistinct hum +of the two children's voices, as Violet and Peony wrought together with +one happy consent. Violet still seemed to be the guiding spirit; while +Peony acted rather as a laborer and brought her the snow from far and +near. And yet the little urchin evidently had a proper understanding of +the matter. + +"Peony, Peony!" cried Violet; for her brother was at the other side of +the garden. "Bring me those light wreaths of snow that have rested on +the lower branches of the pear tree. You can clamber on the snowdrift, +Peony, and reach them easily. I must have them to make some ringlets +for our snow-sister's head!" + +"Here they are, Violet!" answered the little boy. "Take care you do not +break them. Well done! Well done! How pretty!" + +"Does she not look sweet?" said Violet, with a very satisfied tone; +"and now we must have some little shining bits of ice to make the +brightness of her eyes. She is not finished yet. Mamma will see how +very beautiful she is; but papa will say, 'Tush! nonsense! come in out +of the cold!'" + +"Let us call mamma to look out," said Peony; and then he shouted, +"Mamma! mamma!! mamma!!! Look out and see what a nice 'ittle girl we +are making!" + +"What a nice playmate she will be for us all winter long!" said Violet. +"I hope papa will not be afraid of her giving us a cold! Shan't you +love her dearly, Peony?" + +"Oh, yes!" cried Peony. "And I will hug her and she shall sit down +close by me and drink some of my warm milk." + +"Oh, no, Peony!" answered Violet, with grave wisdom. "That will not do +at all. Warm milk will not be wholesome for our little snow-sister. +Little snow-people, like her, eat nothing but icicles. No, no, Peony; +we must not give her anything warm to drink!" + +There was a minute or two of silence; for Peony, whose short legs were +never weary, had gone again to the other side of the garden. All of a +sudden, Violet cried out, loudly and joyfully: + +"Look here, Peony! Come quickly! A light has been shining on her cheek +out of that rose-colored cloud! And the color does not go away! Is not +that beautiful?" + +"Yes, it is beau-ti-ful," answered Peony, pronouncing the three +syllables with deliberate accuracy. "O Violet, only look at her hair! +It is all like gold!" + +"Oh, certainly," said Violet, as if it were very much a matter of +course. "That color, you know, comes from the golden clouds that we +see up there in the sky. She is almost finished now. But her lips must +be made very red--redder than her cheeks. Perhaps, Peony, it will make +them red if we both kiss them!" + +Accordingly, the mother heard two smart little smacks, as if both her +children were kissing the snow-image on its frozen mouth. But as this +did not seem to make the lips quite red enough, Violet next proposed +that the snow-child should be invited to kiss Peony's scarlet cheek. + +"Come, 'ittle snow-sister, kiss me!" cried Peony. + +"There! she has kissed you," added Violet, "and now her lips are very +red. And she blushed a little, too!" + +"Oh, what a cold kiss!" cried Peony. + +Just then there came a breeze of the pure west wind sweeping through +the garden, and rattling the parlor windows. It sounded so wintry cold +that the mother was about to tap on the window-pane with her thimbled +finger to summon the two children in when they both cried out to her +with one voice: + +"Mamma! mamma! We have finished our little snow-sister, and she is +running about the garden with us!" + +"What imaginative little beings my children are!" thought the mother, +putting the last few stitches into Peony's frock. "And it is strange, +too, that they make me almost as much a child as they themselves are! I +can hardly help believing now that the snow-image has really come to +life!" + +"Dear mamma!" cried Violet, "pray look out and see what a sweet +playmate we have!" + +The mother, being thus entreated, could no longer delay to look forth +from the window. The sun was now gone out of the sky, leaving, however, +a rich inheritance of his brightness among those purple and golden +clouds which make the sunsets of winter so magnificent. + +But there was not the slightest gleam or dazzle, either on the window +or on the snow; so that the good lady could look all over the garden +and see everything and everybody in it. And what do you think she saw +there? Violet and Peony, of course, her own two darling children. + +Ah, but whom or what did she see besides? Why, if you will believe +me, there was a small figure of a girl, dressed all in white, with +rose-tinged cheeks and ringlets of golden hue, playing about the garden +with the two children! + +A stranger though she was, the child seemed to be on as familiar terms +with Violet and Peony, and they with her, as if all the three had been +playmates during the whole of their little lives. + +The mother thought to herself that it must certainly be the daughter of +one of the neighbors, and that, seeing Violet and Peony in the garden, +the child had run across the street to play with them. + +So this kind lady went to the door, intending to invite the little +runaway into her comfortable parlor; for, now that the sunshine was +withdrawn, the atmosphere out of doors was already growing very cold. + +But, after opening the house door, she stood an instant on the +threshold, hesitating whether she ought to ask the child to come in, or +whether she should even speak to her. Indeed, she almost doubted whether +it were a real child after all, or only a light wreath of the new-fallen +snow, blown hither and thither about the garden by the intensely cold +west wind. + +There was certainly something very singular in the aspect of the little +stranger. Among all the children of the neighborhood the lady could +remember no such face, with its pure white and delicate rose-color, and +the golden ringlets tossing about the forehead and cheeks. + +And as for her dress, which was entirely of white, and fluttering in the +breeze, it was such as no reasonable woman would put upon a little girl +when sending her out to play in the depth of winter. It made this kind +and careful mother shiver only to look at those small feet, with nothing +in the world on them except a very thin pair of white slippers. + +Nevertheless, airily as she was clad, the child seemed to feel not the +slightest inconvenience from the cold, but danced so lightly over the +snow that the tips of her toes left hardly a print in its surface; while +Violet could but just keep pace with her, and Peony's short legs +compelled him to lag behind. + +All this while, the mother stood on the threshold, wondering how a +little girl could look so much like a flying snowdrift, or how a +snowdrift could look so very like a little girl. + +"Violet, my darling, what is this child's name?" asked she. "Does she +live near us?" + +"Why, dearest mamma," answered Violet, laughing to think that her mother +did not comprehend so very plain an affair, "this is our little +snow-sister whom we have just been making!" + +"Yes, dear mamma," cried Peony, running to his mother and looking up +simply into her face. "This is our snow-image! Is it not a nice 'ittle +child?" + +"Violet," said her mother, greatly perplexed, "tell me the truth without +any jest. Who is this little girl?" + +"My darling mamma," answered Violet, looking seriously into her mother's +face, surprised that she should need any further explanation, "I have +told you truly who she is. It is our little snow-image which Peony and I +have been making. Peony will tell you so, as well as I." + +"Yes, mamma," asseverated Peony, with much gravity in his crimson little +phiz; "this is 'ittle snow-child. Is not she a nice one? But, mamma, her +hand is, oh, so very cold!" + +While mamma still hesitated what to think and what to do, the street +gate was thrown open and the father of Violet and Peony appeared, +wrapped in a pilot-cloth sack, with a fur cap drawn down over his ears, +and the thickest of gloves upon his hands. + +Mr. Lindsey was a middle-aged man, with a weary and yet a happy look in +his wind-flushed and frost-pinched face, as if he had been busy all the +day long and was glad to get back to his quiet home. His eyes brightened +at the sight of his wife and children, although he could not help +uttering a word or two of surprise at finding the whole family in the +open air on so bleak a day, and after sunset, too. + +He soon perceived the little white stranger, sporting to and fro in the +garden like a dancing snow-wreath, and the flock of snowbirds fluttering +about her head. + +"Pray, what little girl may that be?" inquired this very sensible man. +"Surely her mother must be crazy to let her go out in such bitter +weather as it has been to-day, with only that flimsy white gown and +those thin slippers!" + +"My dear husband," said his wife, "I know no more about the little thing +than you do. Some neighbor's child, I suppose. Our Violet and Peony," +she added, laughing at herself for repeating so absurd a story, "insist +that she is nothing but a snow-image which they have been busy about in +the garden almost all the afternoon." + +As she said this, the mother glanced her eyes toward the spot where the +children's snow-image had been made. What was her surprise on perceiving +that there was not the slightest trace of so much labor!--no image at +all!--no piled-up heap of snow!--nothing whatever save the prints of +little footsteps around a vacant space! + +"This is very strange!" said she. + +"What is strange, dear mother?" asked Violet. "Dear father, do not you +see how it is? This is our snow-image, which Peony and I have made +because we wanted another playmate. Did not we, Peony?" + +"Yes, papa," said crimson Peony. "This be our 'ittle snow-sister. Is she +not beau-ti-ful? But she gave me such a cold kiss!" + +"Poh, nonsense, children!" cried their good, honest father, who had a +plain matter-of-fact way of looking at matters. "Do not tell me of +making live figures out of snow. Come, wife; this little stranger must +not stay out in the bleak air a moment longer. We will bring her into +the parlor; and you shall give her a supper of warm bread and milk, and +make her as comfortable as you can." + +So saying, this honest and very kind-hearted man was going toward the +little white damsel, with the best intentions in the world. But Violet +and Peony, each seizing their father by the hand, earnestly besought him +not to make her come in. + +"Nonsense, children, nonsense, nonsense!" cried the father, half-vexed, +half-laughing. "Run into the house, this moment! It is too late to play +any longer now. I must take care of this little girl, or she will catch +her death-a-cold!" + +And so, with a most benevolent smile, this very well-meaning gentleman +took the snow-child by the hand and led her toward the house. + +She followed them, droopingly and reluctant, for all the glow and +sparkle were gone out of her figure; and whereas just before she had +resembled a bright, frosty, star-gemmed evening, with a crimson gleam on +the cold horizon, she now looked as dull and languid as a thaw. + +As kind Mr. Lindsey led her up the steps of the door, Violet and Peony +looked into his face, their eyes full of tears, which froze before they +could run down their cheeks, and entreated him not to bring their +snow-image into the house. + +"Not bring her in!" exclaimed the kind-hearted man. "Why, you are crazy, +my little Violet--quite crazy, my small Peony! She is so cold already +that her hand has almost frozen mine, in spite of my thick gloves. Would +you have her freeze to death?" + +His wife, as he came up the steps, had been taking another long, earnest +gaze at the little white stranger. She hardly knew whether it was a +dream or no; but she could not help fancying that she saw the delicate +print of Violet's fingers on the child's neck. It looked just as if, +while Violet was shaping out the image, she had given it a gentle pat +with her hand, and had neglected to smooth the impression quite away. + +"After all, husband," said the mother, "after all, she does look +strangely like a snow-image! I do believe she is made of snow!" + +A puff of the west wind blew against the snow-child, and again she +sparkled like a star. + +"Snow!" repeated good Mr. Lindsey, drawing the reluctant guest over his +hospitable threshold. "No wonder she looks like snow. She is half +frozen, poor little thing! But a good fire will put everything to +rights." + +The common-sensible man placed the snow-child on the hearthrug, right in +front of the hissing and fuming stove. + +"Now she will be comfortable!" cried Mr. Lindsey, rubbing his hands and +looking about him, with the pleasantest smile you ever saw. "Make +yourself at home, my child." + +Sad, sad and drooping, looked the little white maiden as she stood on +the hearthrug, with the hot blast of the stove striking through her like +a pestilence. Once she threw a glance toward the window, and caught a +glimpse, through its red curtains, of the snow-covered roofs and the +stars glimmering frostily and all the delicious intensity of the cold +night. The bleak wind rattled the window panes as if it were summoning +her to come forth. But there stood the snow-child, drooping, before the +hot stove! + +But the common-sensible man saw nothing amiss. + +"Come, wife," said he, "let her have a pair of thick stockings and a +woolen shawl or blanket directly; and tell Dora to give her some warm +supper as soon as the milk boils. You, Violet and Peony, amuse your +little friend. She is out of spirits, you see, at finding herself in a +strange place. For my part, I will go around among the neighbors and +find out where she belongs." + +The mother, meanwhile, had gone in search of the shawl and stockings. +Without heeding the remonstrances of his two children, who still kept +murmuring that their little snow-sister did not love the warmth, good +Mr. Lindsey took his departure, shutting the parlor door carefully +behind him. + +Turning up the collar of his sack over his ears, he emerged from the +house, and had barely reached the street-gate when he was recalled by +the screams of Violet and Peony and the rapping of a thimbled finger +against the parlor window. + +"Husband! husband!" cried his wife, showing her horror-stricken face +through the window panes. "There is no need of going for the child's +parents!" + +"We told you so, father!" screamed Violet and Peony, as he re-entered +the parlor. "You would bring her in; and now our poor--dear--beau-ti-ful +little snow-sister is thawed!" + +And their own sweet little faces were already dissolved in tears; so +that their father, seeing what strange things occasionally happen in +this everyday world, felt not a little anxious lest his children might +be going to thaw, too. In the utmost perplexity, he demanded an +explanation of his wife. + +She could only reply that, being summoned to the parlor by the cries of +Violet and Peony, she found no trace of the little white maiden, unless +it were the remains of a heap of snow which, while she was gazing at it, +melted quite away upon the hearthrug. + +"And there you see all that is left of it!" added she, pointing to a +pool of water in front of the stove. + +"Yes, father," said Violet, looking reproachfully at him through her +tears, "there is all that is left of our dear little snow-sister!" + +"Father!" cried Peony, stamping his foot, and--I shudder to say--shaking +his little fist at the common-sensible man. "We told you how it would +be. What for did you bring her in?" + +And the stove, through the isinglass of its door, seemed to glare at +good Mr. Lindsey, like a red-eyed demon triumphing in the mischief which +it had done! + + + + +THE CASTLE OF GEMS + +BY SOPHIE MAY + + +Once upon a time, though I cannot tell when, and in what country I do +not now remember, there lived a maiden as fair as a lily, as gentle as a +dewdrop, and as modest as a violet. A pure, sweet name she had: It was +Blanche. + +She stood one evening, with her friend Victor, by the shore of a lake. +Never had the youth or maiden seen the moonlight so enchanting; but they +did not know-- + + "It was midsummer day, + When all the fairy people + From elf-land came away." + +Presently, while they gazed at the lake, which shone like liquid emerald +and sapphire and topaz, a boat, laden with strangely beautiful beings, +glided toward them across the waters. The fair voyagers were clad in +robes of misty blue, with white mantles about their waists, and on +their heads wreaths of valley-lilies. + +They were all as fair as need be; but fairest of all was the +helms-woman, the Queen of the Fairies. Her face was soft and clear like +moonlight; and she wore a crown of nine large diamonds, which refracted +the evening rays, and formed nine lunar rainbows. + +The fairies were singing a roundelay; and, as the melody floated over +the water, Victor and Blanche listened with throbbing hearts. Fairy +music has almost passed away from the earth; but those who hear it are +strangely moved, and have dreams of beautiful things which have been, +and may be again. + +"It makes me think of the days of long ago when there was no sin," +whispered Blanche. + +"It makes me long to be a hero," answered Victor with a sparkling eye. + +All the while the pearly boat was drifting toward the youth and maiden; +and, when it had touched the shore the Queen stepped out upon the land +as lightly as if she had been made entirely of dewdrops. + +"I am Fontana," said she: "and is this Blanche?" + +She laid her soft hand upon the maiden's shoulder; and Blanche thought +she would like to die then and there, so full was she of joy. + +"I have heard of thy good heart, my maiden: now what would please thee +most?" inquired the Queen. + +Blanche bowed her head, and dared not speak. + +Queen Fontana smiled. When she smiled it was as if a soft cloud had slid +away from the moon, revealing a beautiful light. + +"Say pearls and diamonds," said Victor in her ear. + +"I don't know," whispered Blanche; "they are not the best things." + +"No," said the Queen kindly; "pearls and diamonds are _not_ the best +things." + +Then Blanche knew that her whisper had been overheard, and she hid her +face in her hands for shame. But the Queen only smiled down on her, and +without speaking dropped into the ground a little seed. Right at the +feet of Blanche it fell; and in a moment two green leaves shot upward, +and between them a spotless lily, which hung its head with modest grace. + +Victor gazed at the perfect flower in wonder, and before he knew it said +aloud: "Ah, how like Blanche!" + +The Queen herself broke it from the stem, and gave it to the maiden, +saying: + +"Take it! It is my choicest gift. Till it fades (which will never be), +love will be thine; and in time to come it will have power to open the +strongest locks, and swing back the heaviest doors. + + "'Gates of brass cannot withstand + One touch of this magic wand.'" + +Blanche looked up to thank the Queen; but no words came--only tears. + +"I see a wish in thine eyes," said Fontana. + +"It is for Victor," faltered Blanche, at last; "he wishes to be rich and +great." + +The Queen looked grave. + +"Shall I make him one of the great men of the earth, little Blanche? +Then he may one day go to the ends of the world, and forget thee." + +Blanche only smiled, and Victor's cheek flushed. + +"I shall be a great man," said he--"perhaps a prince; but where I go +Blanche shall go: she will be my wife." + +"That is well," said the Queen. "Never forget Blanche, for her love will +be your dearest blessing." + +Then, removing from her girdle a pair of spectacles, she placed them in +the youth's hand. He drew back in surprise. "Does she take me for an old +man?" thought he. He had expected a casket of gems at least; perhaps a +crown. + +"Wait," said Fontana; "they are the eyes of Wisdom. When you have +learned their use, you will not despise my gift. Keep a pure heart, and +always remember Blanche. And now farewell!" + +So saying, she moved on to the boat, floating over the ground as softly +as a creeping mist. + +When Blanche awoke next morning, her first thought was, "Happy are the +maidens who have sweet dreams!" for she believed she had only been +wandering in a midsummer's night's dream; so, when she saw her lily in +the broken pitcher where she had placed it, great was her delight. But a +change had come over it during the night. It was no longer a common +lily; its petals were now large pearls, and the green leaves were green +emeralds. This strange thing had happened to the flower, that it might +never fade. + +After this, people looked at Blanche and said: "How is it? She grows +fairer every day!" And every one loved her; for the human heart has no +choice but to love what is good and gentle. + +As for Victor, he at first put on his spectacles with a scornful smile; +but, when he had worn them a moment, he found them very wonderful +things. When he looked through them, he could see people's thoughts +written out on their faces; he could easily decipher the fine writing +which you see traced on green leaves; and found there were long stories +written on pebbles in little black and gray dots. + +When he wore the spectacles, he looked so wise that Blanche hardly dared +speak to him. She saw that one day he was to become great. + +At last Victor said he must leave his home, and sail across the seas. +Tears filled the eyes of Blanche; but the youth whispered: + +"I am going away to find a home for you and me. So adieu, dearest +Blanche!" + +Now Victor thought the ship in which he sailed moved very slowly; for +he longed to reach the land which he could see through his magic +spectacles. It was a beautiful kingdom, rich with mines of gold and +silver. + +When the ship touched shore, the streets were lined with people who +walked to and fro with sad faces. The King's daughter, a beautiful +young maiden, was very ill, and it was feared she must die. + +Victor asked one of the people if there was no hope. + +It so happened that this man was the greatest physician in the kingdom +and he answered: + +"Alas, there is no hope!" + +Then Victor went to a distant forest where he knew a healing spring was +to be found. Very few remembered it was there; and those who had seen it +did not know of its power to heal disease. + +Victor filled a crystal goblet with the precious water and carried it to +the palace. The old King shook his head sadly, but consented to let the +attendants moisten the parched lips of the Princess with the water, as +it could do no harm. Far from doing harm, it wrought a great good; and +in time the royal maiden was restored to health. + +Then, for gratitude, the King would have given his daughter to Victor +for a wife; but Victor remembered Blanche, and knew that no other maiden +must be bride of his. + +Not long after this the King was lost overboard at sea during a storm. +Now the people must have a new ruler. They determined to choose a wise +and brave man; and, young as he was, no man could be found braver and +wiser than Victor; so the people elected him for their King. Thus +Fontana's gift of the eyes of Wisdom had made him truly "one of the +great men of earth." + +In her humble home Blanche dreamed every night of Victor, and hoped he +would grow good, if he did not become great; and Victor remembered +Blanche, and knew that her love was his dearest blessing. + +"This old palace," thought he, "will never do for my beautiful bride." + +So he called together his people, and told them he must have a castle of +gems. Some of the walls were to be of rubies, some of emeralds, some of +pearls. There was to be any amount of beaten gold for doors and pillars; +and the ceilings were to be of milk-white opals, with a rosy light which +comes and goes. + +All was done as he desired; and when the castle of gems was finished it +would need a pen of jasponyx dipped in rainbows to describe it. + +Victor thought he would not have a guard of soldiers for his castle, but +would lock the four golden gates with a magic key, so that no one could +enter unless the gates should swing back of their own accord. + +When the castle of gems was just completed, and not a soul was in it, +Victor locked the gates with a magic key, and then dropped the key into +the ocean. + +"Now," thought he, "I have done a wise thing. None but the good and true +can enter my castle of gems. The gates will not swing open for men with +base thoughts or proud hearts!" + +Then he hid himself under the shadow of a tree, and watched the people +trying to enter. But they were proud men, and so the gates would not +open. + +King Victor laughed, and said to himself: + +"I have done a wise thing with my magic key. How safe I shall be in my +castle of gems!" + +So he stepped out of his hiding place, and said to the people: + +"None but the good and true can get in." + +Then he tried to go in himself; but the gates would not move. + +The King bowed his head in shame, and walked back to his old palace. + +"Alas!" said he to himself, "wise and great as I am, I thought I could +go in. I see it must be because I am filled with pride. Let me hide my +face; for what would Blanche say if she knew, that, because my heart is +proud, I am shut out of my own castle? I am not worthy that she should +love me; but I hope I shall learn of her to be humble and good." + +The next day he sailed for the home of his childhood. When Blanche saw +him she blushed and cast down her eyes; but Victor knew they were full +of tears of joy. He held her hand, and whispered: + +"Will you go with me and be my bride, beautiful Blanche?" + +"I will go with you," she answered softly; and Victor's heart rejoiced. + +All the while Blanche never dreamed that he was a great Prince, and that +the men who came with him were his courtiers. + +When they reached Victor's kingdom, and the people shouted "Long live +the Queen!" Blanche veiled her face and trembled; for Victor whispered +in her ear that the shouts were for her. And as the people saw her +beautiful face through her gossamer veil, they cried all the more +loudly: + +"Long live Queen Blanche! Thrice welcome, fair lady!" + +The sun was sinking in the west, and his rays fell with dazzling +splendor upon the castle of gems. When Blanche saw the silent, closed +castle and its golden gates she remembered the words of Queen Fontana, +who had said that her lily should have power to "open the strongest +locks, and swing back the heaviest doors." + +Like one walking in a dream, she led Victor toward the resplendent +castle. She touched with her lily the lock which fastened one of the +gates. + + "Gates of gold could not withstand + One touch of that magic wand." + +In an instant, the hinges trembled; and the massive door swung open so +far that forty people could walk in side by side. Then it slowly closed, +and locked itself without noise. + +One of the people who passed in was the King, whose heart was no longer +proud. The others, who had entered unwittingly, could not speak for +wonder. Some of them were poor, and some were lame or blind; but all +were good and true. + +At the rising of the moon a wonderful thing came to pass. The people +entered the castle of gems and became beautiful. This was through the +power of the magic lily. + +Now there were no more crooked backs, and lame feet, and sightless eyes; +and the King looked at these people, who were beautiful as well as good, +and declared he would have them live in the castle; and the gentlemen +should be knights; and the ladies maids of honor. + +To this day Victor and Blanche rule the kingdom; and such is the charm +of the lily--so like the pure heart of the Queen--that the people are +becoming gentle and good. + +Until Queen Fontana shall call for the magic spectacles and the lily of +pearl, it is believed that Victor and Blanche will live in the castle of +gems, though the time should be a hundred years. + + + + +THE HEN THAT HATCHED DUCKS + +BY HARRIET BEECHER STOWE + + +Once there was a nice young hen that we will call Mrs. Feathertop. She +was a hen of most excellent family, being a direct descendant of the +Bolton Grays, and as pretty a young fowl as you wish to see of a +summer's day. She was, moreover, as fortunately situated in life as it +was possible for a hen to be. She was bought by young Master Fred Little +John, with four or five family connections of hers, and a lively young +cock, who was held to be as brisk a scratcher and as capable a head of a +family as any half-dozen sensible hens could desire. + +I can't say that at first Mrs. Feathertop was a very sensible hen. She +was very pretty and lively, to be sure, and a great favorite with Master +Bolton Gray Cock, on account of her bright eyes, her finely shaded +feathers, and certain saucy dashing ways that she had, which seemed +greatly to take his fancy. But old Mrs. Scratchard, living in the +neighboring yard, assured all the neighborhood that Gray Cock was a fool +for thinking so much of that flighty young thing--that she had not the +smallest notion how to get on in life, and thought of nothing in the +world but her own pretty feathers. "Wait till she comes to have +chickens," said Mrs. Scratchard. "Then you will see. I have brought up +ten broods myself--as likely and respectable chickens as ever were a +blessing to society--and I think I ought to know a good hatcher and +brooder when I see her; and I know _that_ fine piece of trumpery, with +her white feathers tipped with gray, never will come down to family +life. _She_ scratch for chickens! Bless me, she never did anything in +all her days but run round and eat the worms which somebody else +scratched up for her!" + +When Master Bolton Gray heard this he crowed very loudly, like a cock of +spirit, and declared that old Mrs. Scratchard was envious because she +had lost all her own tail-feathers, and looked more like a worn-out old +feather duster than a respectable hen, and that therefore she was filled +with sheer envy of anybody that was young and pretty. So young Mrs. +Feathertop cackled gay defiance at her busy rubbishy neighbor, as she +sunned herself under the bushes on fine June afternoons. + +Now Master Fred Little John had been allowed to have these hens by his +mamma on the condition that he would build their house himself, and take +all the care of it; and, to do Master Fred justice, he executed the job +in a small way quite creditably. He chose a sunny sloping bank covered +with a thick growth of bushes, and erected there a nice little +hen-house, with two glass windows, a little door, and a good pole for +his family to roost on. He made, moreover, a row of nice little boxes +with hay in them for nests, and he bought three or four little smooth +white china eggs to put in them, so that, when his hens _did_ lay, he +might carry off their eggs without their being missed. The hen-house +stood in a little grove that sloped down to a wide river, just where +there was a little cove which reached almost to the hen-house. + +The situation inspired one of Master Fred's boy advisers with a new +scheme in relation to his poultry enterprise. "Hullo! I say, Fred," said +Tom Seymour, "you ought to raise ducks--you've got a capital place for +ducks there." + +"Yes, but I've bought _hens_, you see," said Freddy; "so it's no use +trying." + +"No use! Of course there is! Just as if your hens couldn't hatch ducks' +eggs. Now, you just wait till one of your hens wants to set, and you put +ducks' eggs under her, and you'll have a family of ducks in a twinkling. +You can buy ducks' eggs, a plenty, of old Sam under the hill; he always +has hens hatch his ducks." + +So Freddy thought it would be a good experiment, and informed his mother +the next morning that he intended to furnish the ducks for the next +Christmas dinner; and when she wondered how he was to come by them, +he said, mysteriously, "O, I will show you how!" but did not further +explain himself. The next day he went with Tom Seymour, and made a trade +with old Sam, and gave him a middle-aged jack-knife for eight of his +ducks' eggs. Sam, by the bye, was a woolly-headed old negro man, who +lived by the pond hard by, and who had long cast envying eyes on Fred's +jack-knife, because it was of extra-fine steel, having been a Christmas +present the year before. But Fred knew very well there were any number +more of jack-knives where that came from, and that, in order to get a +new one, he must dispose of the old; so he made the trade and came home +rejoicing. + +Now, about this time Mrs. Feathertop, having laid her eggs daily with +great credit to herself, notwithstanding Mrs. Scratchard's predictions, +began to find herself suddenly attacked with nervous symptoms. She lost +her gay spirits, grew dumpish and morose, stuck up her feathers in a +bristling way, and pecked at her neighbors if they did so much as +look at her. Master Gray Cock was greatly concerned, and went to old +Doctor Peppercorn, who looked solemn and recommended an infusion of +angle-worms, and said he would look in on the patient twice a day till +she was better. + +"Gracious me, Gray Cock!" said old Goody Kertarkut, who had been +lolling at the corner as he passed, "a'n't you a fool?--cocks always +are fools. Don't you know what's the matter with your wife? She wants +to set--that's all; and you just let her set! A fiddlestick for Doctor +Peppercorn! Why, any good old hen that has brought up a family knows +more than a doctor about such things. You just go home and tell her to +set, if she wants to, and behave herself." + +When Gray Cock came home, he found that Master Freddy had been before +him, and established Mrs. Feathertop upon eight nice eggs, where +she was sitting in gloomy grandeur. He tried to make a little affable +conversation with her, and to relate his interview with the Doctor and +Goody Kertarkut, but she was morose and sullen, and only pecked at him +now and then in a very sharp, unpleasant way; so, after a few more +efforts to make himself agreeable, he left her, and went out promenading +with the captivating Mrs. Red Comb, a charming young Spanish widow, who +had just been imported into the neighboring yard. + +"Bless my soul!" said he, "you've no idea how cross my wife is." + +"O you horrid creature!" said Mrs. Red Comb; "how little you feel for +the weaknesses of us poor hens!" + +"On my word, ma'am," said Gray Cock, "you do me injustice. But when a +hen gives way to temper, ma'am and no longer meets her husband with a +smile--when she even pecks at him whom she is bound to honor and +obey----" + +"Horrid monster! talking of obedience! I should say, sir, you came +straight from Turkey!" And Mrs. Red Comb tossed her head with a most +bewitching air, and pretended to run away, and old Mrs. Scratchard +looked out of her coop and called to Goody Kertarkut: + +"Look how Mr. Gray Cock is flirting with that widow. I always knew she +was a baggage." + +"And his poor wife left at home alone," said Goody Kertarkut. "It's the +way with 'em all!" + +"Yes, yes," said Dame Scratchard, "she'll know what real life is now, +and she won't go about holding her head so high, and looking down on her +practical neighbors that have raised families." + +"Poor thing, what'll she do with a family?" said Goody Kertarkut. + +"Well, what business have such young flirts to get married," said Dame +Scratchard. "I don't expect she'll raise a single chick; and there's +Gray Cock flirting about fine as ever. Folks didn't do so when I was +young. I'm sure my husband knew what treatment a setting hen ought to +have--poor old Long Spur--he never minded a peck or so now and then. I +must say these modern fowls a'n't what fowls used to be." + +Meanwhile the sun rose and set, and Master Fred was almost the only +friend and associate of poor little Mrs. Feathertop, whom he fed daily +with meal and water, and only interrupted her sad reflections by pulling +her up occasionally to see how the eggs were coming on. + +At last "Peep, peep, peep!" began to be heard in the nest, and one +little downy head after another poked forth from under the feathers, +surveying the world with round, bright, winking eyes; and gradually the +brood was hatched, and Mrs. Feathertop arose, a proud and happy mother, +with all the bustling, scratching, caretaking instincts of family +life warm within her breast. She clucked and scratched, and cuddled +the little downy bits of things as handily and discreetly as a +seven-year-old hen could have done, exciting thereby the wonder of the +community. + +Master Gray Cock came home in high spirits and complimented her; told +her she was looking charmingly once more, and said, "Very well, very +nice!" as he surveyed the young brood. So that Mrs. Feathertop began +to feel the world going well with her, when suddenly in came Dame +Scratchard and Goody Kertarkut to make a morning call. + +"Let's see the chicks," said Dame Scratchard. + +"Goodness me," said Goody Kertarkut, "what a likeness to their dear +papa!" + +"Well, but bless me, what's the matter with their bills?" said Dame +Scratchard. "Why, my dear, these chicks are deformed! I'm sorry for you, +my dear, but it's all the result of your inexperience; you ought to have +eaten pebble-stones with your meal when you were setting. Don't you see, +Dame Kertarkut, what bills they have? That'll increase, and they'll be +frightful!" + +"What shall I do?" said Mrs. Feathertop, now greatly alarmed. + +"Nothing as I know of," said Dame Scratchard, "since you didn't come to +me before you set. I could have told you all about it. Maybe it won't +kill 'em, but they'll always be deformed." + +And so the gossips departed, leaving a sting under the pin-feathers of +the poor little hen mamma, who began to see that her darlings had +curious little spoon-bills different from her own, and to worry and fret +about it. + +"My dear," she said to her spouse, "do get Doctor Peppercorn to come in +and look at their bills, and see if anything can be done." + +Doctor Peppercorn came in, and put on a monstrous pair of spectacles and +said: "Hum! Ha! Extraordinary case--very singular!" + +"Did you ever see anything like it, Doctor?" said both parents, in a +breath. + +"I've read of such cases. It's a calcareous enlargement of the vascular +bony tissue, threatening ossification," said the Doctor. + +"Oh, dreadful!--can it be possible?" shrieked both parents. "Can +anything be done?" + +"Well, I should recommend a daily lotion made of mosquitoes' horns and +bicarbonate of frogs' toes together with a powder, to be taken morning +and night, of muriate of fleas. One thing you must be careful about: +they must never wet their feet, nor drink any water." + +"Dear me, Doctor, I don't know what I _shall_ do, for they seem to have +a particular fancy for getting into water." + +"Yes, a morbid tendency often found in these cases of bony tumification +of the vascular tissue of the mouth; but you must resist it, ma'am, +as their life depends upon it." And with that Doctor Peppercorn +glared gloomily on the young ducks, who were stealthily poking the +objectionable little spoon-bills out from under their mothers' feathers. + +After this poor Mrs. Feathertop led a weary life of it; for the young +fry were as healthy and enterprising a brood of young ducks as ever +carried saucepans on the end of their noses, and they most utterly set +themselves against the doctor's prescriptions, murmured at the muriate +of fleas and the bicarbonate of frogs' toes and took every opportunity +to waddle their little ways down to the mud and water which was in their +near vicinity. So their bills grew larger and larger, as did the rest of +their bodies, and family government grew weaker and weaker. + +"You'll wear me out children, you certainly will," said poor Mrs. +Feathertop. + +"You'll go to destruction, do ye hear?" said Master Gray Cock. + +"Did you ever see such frights as poor Mrs. Feathertop has got?" said +Dame Scratchard. "I knew what would come of _her_ family--all deformed, +and with a dreadful sort of madness, which makes them love to shovel mud +with those shocking spoon-bills of theirs." + + [Illustration: "THEY MUST NEVER WET THEIR FEET, NOR DRINK ANY WATER," + SAID THE DOCTOR] + +"It's a kind of idiocy," said Goody Kertarkut. "Poor things! they +can't be kept from the water, nor made to take powders, and so they got +worse and worse." + +"I understand it's affecting their feet so that they can't walk, and a +dreadful sort of net is growing between their toes; what a shocking +visitation!" + +"She brought it on herself," said Dame Scratchard. "Why didn't she come +to me before she set? She was always an upstart, self-conceited thing, +but I'm sure I pity her." + +Meanwhile the young ducks throve apace. Their necks grew glossy like +changeable green and gold satin, and though they would not take the +doctor's medicine, and would waddle in the mud and water--for which they +always felt themselves to be very naughty ducks--yet they grew quite +vigorous and hearty. At last one day the whole little tribe waddled off +down to the bank of the river. It was a beautiful day, and the river was +dancing and dimpling and winking as the little breezes shook the trees +that hung over it. + +"Well," said the biggest of the little ducks, "in spite of Doctor +Peppercorn I can't help longing for the water. I don't believe it is +going to hurt me; at any rate, here goes." And in he plumped, and in +went every duck after him, and they threw out their great brown feet as +cleverly as if they had taken rowing-lessons all their lives, and sailed +off on the river, away, away, among the ferns, under the pink azalias, +through reeds and rushes and arrow-heads and pickerel-weed, the happiest +ducks that ever were born; and soon they were quite out of sight. + +"Well, Mrs. Feathertop, this is a dispensation," said Mrs. Scratchard. +"Your children are all drowned at last, just as I knew they'd be. The +old music-teacher Master Bullfrog, that lives down in Water-Dock Lane, +saw 'em all plump madly into the water together this morning; that's +what comes of not knowing how to bring up a family." + +Mrs. Feathertop gave only one shriek and fainted dead away, and was +carried home on a cabbage leaf, and Mr. Gray Cock was sent for, where he +was waiting on Mrs. Red Comb through the squash vines. + +"It's a serious time in your family, sir," said Goody Kertarkut, "and +you ought to be at home supporting your wife. Send for Doctor Peppercorn +without delay." + +Now as the case was a very dreadful one, Doctor Peppercorn called a +council from the barnyard of the Squire two miles off, and a brisk +young Doctor Partlett appeared in a fine suit of brown and gold, with +tail-feathers like meteors. A fine young fellow he was, lately from +Paris, with all the modern scientific improvements fresh in his head. + +When he had listened to the whole story, he clapped his spur into the +ground, and, leaning back laughed so loud that all the cocks in the +neighborhood crowed. + +Mrs. Feathertop rose up out of her swoon, and Mr. Gray Cock was greatly +enraged. + +"What do you mean, sir, by such behavior in the house of mourning?" + +"My dear sir, pardon me, but there is no occasion for mourning. My dear +madam, let me congratulate you. There is no harm done. The simple matter +is, dear madam, you have been under a hallucination all along. The +neighborhood and my learned friend the doctor have all made a mistake in +thinking that these children of yours were hens at all. They are ducks, +ma'am, evidently ducks, and very finely formed ducks, I dare say." + +At this moment a quack was heard, and at a distance the whole tribe were +seen coming waddling home, their feathers gleaming in green and gold, +and they themselves in high good spirits. + +"Such a splendid day as we have had!" they all cried in a breath. "And +we know now how to get our own living; we can take care of ourselves in +future, so you need have no further trouble with us." + +"Madam," said the Doctor, making a bow with an air which displayed his +tail-feathers to advantage, "let me congratulate you on the charming +family you have raised. A finer brood of young healthy ducks I never +saw. Give claw, my dear friend," he said, addressing the elder son. "In +our barnyard no family is more respected than that of the ducks." + +And so Madam Feathertop came off glorious at last; and when after this +the ducks used to go swimming up and down the river, like so many +nabobs, among the admiring hens, Doctor Peppercorn used to look after +them and say: "Ah! I had the care of their infancy!" + +And Mr. Gray Cock and his wife used to say to each other: "It was our +system of education did that!" + + + + + [Illustration: THE BALLAD OF PIPING WILL] + +BY ANNA HEMPSTEAD BRANCH + + + There was a lad named Piping Will + With tattered coat and poor; + He had no home to bide him in, + But roamed from door to door. + + This lad had naught except a pipe + On which he used to play; + Yet never lad did laugh so free, + Nor had a look so gay. + + "Nay, bide, thou merry piper-boy!" + The kindly house-dames said. + "The roads are rough, the skies are wild, + And thou dost lack for bread. + + "The hills are steep, the stones unkind-- + Why wilt thou always roam? + And winter turns a barren heart + To them that have no home." + + Then would he smile and pipe awhile, + But would not ever stay. + How strange that he could be so poor, + Yet have a heart so gay! + + And so the good folk shook their heads, + And they would turn and stare + To see him piping through the fields. + What was he doing there? + + It fell about the blithe Yule-tide, + When winter winds were keen, + The Burgomaster's little maid + Slipped from the house unseen; + + For she had heard that in the wood + The dear snow-children run, + And play where shadows are most cold + And where there is no sun. + + But lo, the evening hurried on, + And bitter sleet blew cold; + It whitened all her scarlet cloak + And flying locks of gold. + + The road was hid, and she was lost, + And knew not where to go; + And still the sharp blast swept her on, + Whether she would or no. + + Now who is this amid the sleet? + His face she cannot see! + He tunes his pipe against the wind, + As merry as can be. + + He tunes his pipe against the wind + With music sweet and wild, + When lo, a fluttering scarlet cape, + The sobbing of a child! + + He took her up and held her close; + "I'll take you home," he said. + But still the little maid sobbed on, + Nor was she comforted. + + "What! Cold and hungry, little maid, + And frightened of the storm? + I'll play upon my pipe," said he, + "And that will keep you warm!" + + And lo, when first he blew his pipe, + It was a wondrous thing-- + The sleet and snow turned all to flowers, + The birds began to sing! + + When next he blew upon his pipe, + She marveled more and more; + For, built of gold with strange device, + A palace rose before! + + A lovely lady led them in, + And there they sat them down; + The piper wore a purple cloak, + And she a snow-white gown. + + And there was song and light and cheer, + Feasting and everything! + Who would have thought that Piping Will + Could be so great a king? + + The third time that he blew his pipe + They took her to the queen; + Her hair was yellow as the sun, + And she was clothed in green. + + [Illustration: "THEY TOOK HER TO THE QUEEN"] + + Yet did she kiss that little maid, + Who should no longer roam-- + When lo, the dear dream flashed away, + And there she was at home! + + "Make this thy home, thou Piping Will," + The Burgomaster cried. + "Thou hast restored our little maid! + I tell thee, thou must bide." + + [Illustration: "'NAY, BIDE, THOU MERRY PIPER BOY!' THE KINDLY + HOUSE-DAMES SAID"] + + [Illustration] + + "Make this thy home, thou Piping Will," + The bustling mother said. + "Come, warm thyself before the hearth + And eat the good white bread." + + But Piping Will would only smile: + "Good friends, I cannot wait!" + (Who could have thought that tattered coat + Had been a robe of state!) + + So forth he fared into the night, + And, piping, went his way. + "How strange," they said, "a lad so poor + Can have a heart so gay!" + + Only the little maid that sat + Upon her father's knee + Remembered how they two had fared + That night right pleasantly. + + And as she ate her bread and milk, + So close and safe and warm, + She wondered what strange, lovely lands + He wrought of wind and storm. + + For he that plays a fairy pipe + Is lord of everything! + She laughed to think that Piping Will + Should be so great a king. + + [Illustration: "A LOVELY LADY LED THEM IN"] + + + + +LITTLE ANNIE'S DREAM, OR THE FAIRY FLOWER + +BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT + + +In a large and pleasant garden sat little Annie, all alone, and she +seemed very sad, for drops that were not dew fell fast upon the flowers +beside her, which looked wonderingly up, and bent still nearer, as if +they longed to cheer and comfort her. The warm wind lifted up her +shining hair, and softly kissed her cheek, while the sunbeams, looking +most kindly in her face, made little rainbows in her tears, and lingered +lovingly about her. But Annie paid no heed to sun, or wind, or flower; +still the bright tears fell, and she forgot all but her sorrow. + +"Little Annie, tell me why you weep," said a low voice in her ear; and, +looking up, the child beheld a little figure standing on a vine leaf at +her side; a lovely face smiled on her from amid bright locks of hair, +and shining wings were folded on a white and glittering robe that +fluttered in the wind. + +"Who are you, lovely little thing?" cried Annie, smiling through her +tears. + +"I am a Fairy, little child, and am come to help and comfort you; now +tell me why you weep, and let me be your friend," replied the spirit, as +she smiled more kindly still on Annie's wondering face. + +"And are you really, then, a little Elf, such as I read of in my fairy +books? Do you ride on butterflies, sleep in flower-cups, and live among +the clouds?" + +"Yes, all these things I do, and many stranger still that all your fairy +books can never tell; but now, dear Annie," said the Fairy, bending +nearer, "tell me why I found no sunshine on your face; why are these +great drops shining on the flower and why do you sit alone when bird and +bee are calling you to play?" + +"Ah, you will not love me any more if I should tell you all," said +Annie, while the tears began to fall again; "I am not happy, for I am +not good; how shall I learn to be a patient, gentle child? Good little +Fairy, will you teach me how?" + +"Gladly will I aid you Annie. The task is hard, but I will give this +fairy flower to help and counsel you. Bend hither, that I may place it +on your breast; no hand can take it hence, till I unsay the spell that +holds it there." + +As thus she spoke, the Elf took from her bosom a graceful flower, whose +snow-white leaves shone with a strange, soft light. "This is a fairy +flower," said the Elf, "invisible to every eye save yours; now listen +while I tell its power, Annie. When your heart is filled with loving +thoughts, when some kindly deed has been done, some duty well performed, +then from the flower there will arise the sweetest, softest fragrance, +to reward and gladden you. But when an unkind word is on your lips, when +a selfish, angry feeling rises in your heart, or an unkind, cruel deed +is to be done, then will you hear the soft, low chime of the flower +bell; listen to its warning, let the word remain unspoken, the deed +undone, and in the quiet joy of your own heart, and the magic perfume +of your bosom flower, you will find a sweet reward." + +"O kind and generous Fairy, how can I ever thank you for this lovely +gift!" cried Annie. "I will be true, and listen to my little bell +whenever it may ring. But shall I never see you more? Ah! if you would +only stay with me, I should indeed be good." + +"I cannot stay now, little Annie," said the Elf, "but when another +Spring comes round, I shall be here again, to see how well the fairy +gift has done its work. And now farewell, dear child; be faithful to +yourself, and the magic flower will never fade." + +Then the gentle Fairy folded her little arms around Annie's neck, laid a +soft kiss on her cheek, and, spreading wide her shining wings, flew +singing up among the white clouds floating in the sky. + +And little Annie sat among her flowers, and watched with wondering joy +the fairy blossom shining on her breast. + +The pleasant days of Spring and Summer passed away, and in little +Annie's garden Autumn flowers were blooming everywhere, with each day's +sun and dew growing still more beautiful and bright; but the fairy +flower, that should have been the loveliest of all, hung pale and +drooping on little Annie's bosom; its fragrance seemed quite gone, and +the clear, low music of its warning chime rang often in her ear. + +When first the Fairy placed it there, she had been pleased with her new +gift, and for a while obeyed the fairy bell, and often tried to win some +fragrance from the flower by kind and pleasant words and actions; then, +as the Fairy said, she found a sweet reward in the strange, soft perfume +of the magic blossom as it shone upon her breast; but selfish thoughts +would come to tempt her, she would yield, and unkind words fell from her +lips; and then the flower drooped pale and scentless, the fairy bell +rang mournfully, Annie would forget her better resolutions, and be again +a selfish, willful little child. + +At last she tried no longer, but grew angry with the faithful flower, +and would have torn it from her breast; but the fairy spell still held +it fast, and all her angry words but made it ring a louder, sadder peal. +Then she paid no heed to the silvery music sounding in her ear, and each +day grew still more unhappy, discontented, and unkind; so, when the +Autumn days came round, she was no better for the gentle Fairy's gift, +and longed for Spring, that it might be returned; for now the constant +echo of the mournful music made her very sad. + +One sunny morning, when the fresh, cool winds were blowing, and not a +cloud was in the sky, little Annie walked among her flowers, looking +carefully into each, hoping thus to find the Fairy, who alone could take +the magic blossom from her breast. But she lifted up their drooping +leaves, peeped into their dewy cups in vain; no little Elf lay hidden +there, and she turned sadly from them all, saying: "I will go out into +the fields and woods, and seek her there. I will not listen to this +tiresome music more, nor wear this withered flower longer." So out into +the fields she went, where the long grass rustled as she passed, and +timid birds looked at her from their nests; where lovely wild flowers +nodded in the wind, and opened wide their fragrant leaves to welcome in +the murmuring bees, while butterflies, like winged flowers, danced and +glittered in the sun. + +Little Annie looked, searched, and asked them all if any one could tell +her of the Fairy whom she sought; but the birds looked wonderingly at +her with their soft, bright eyes, and still sang on; the flowers nodded +wisely on their stems, but did not speak, while butterfly and bee buzzed +and fluttered away, one far too busy, the other too idle, to stay and +tell her what she asked. + +Then she went through broad fields of yellow grain that waved around her +like a golden forest; here crickets chirped, grasshoppers leaped, and +busy ants worked, but they could not tell her what she longed to know. + +"Now will I go among the hills," said Annie, "she may be there." So up +and down the green hillsides went her little feet; long she searched and +vainly she called; but still no Fairy came. Then by the riverside she +went, and asked the gay dragon flies and the cool white lilies if the +Fairy had been there; but the blue waves rippled on the white sand at +her feet, and no voice answered her. + +Then into the forest little Annie went; and as she passed along the dim, +cool paths, the wood-flowers smiled up in her face, gay squirrels peeped +at her, as they swung amid the vines, and doves cooed softly as she +wandered by; but none could answer her. So, weary with her long and +useless search, she sat amid the ferns, and feasted on the rosy +strawberries that grew beside her, watching meanwhile the crimson +evening clouds that glowed around the setting sun. + +The night-wind rustled through the boughs, and when the autumn moon rose +up, her silver light shone on the child, where, pillowed on green moss, +she lay asleep amid the wood-flowers in the dim old forest. + +And all night long beside her stood the Fairy she had sought, and by +elfin spell and charm sent to the sleeping child this dream. + +Little Annie dreamed she sat in her own garden, as she had often sat +before, with angry feelings in her heart, and unkind words upon her +lips. The magic flower was ringing its soft warning, but she paid no +heed to anything, save her own troubled thoughts; thus she sat, when +suddenly a low voice whispered in her ear: "Little Annie, look and see +the evil things that you are cherishing." + +Then Annie saw, with fear and wonder, that the angry words she uttered +changed to dark, unlovely forms, each showing plainly from what fault or +passion it had sprung. Some of the shapes had scowling faces and bright, +fiery eyes; these were the spirits of Anger. Others, with sullen, +anxious, looks seemed gathering up all they could reach, and Annie saw +that the more they gained, the less they seemed to have; and these she +knew were shapes of Selfishness. Spirits of Pride were there, who folded +their shadowy garments round them, and turned scornfully away from all +the rest. These and many others little Annie saw, which had come from +her own heart, and taken form before her eyes. + +When first she saw them, they were small and weak; but as she looked +they seemed to grow and gather strength, and each gained a strange power +over her. She could not drive them from her sight, and they grew ever +stronger, darker, and more unlovely to her eyes. They seemed to cast +black shadows over all around, to dim the sunshine, blight the flowers, +and drive away all bright and lovely things; while rising slowly round +her Annie saw a high, dark wall, that seemed to shut out everything she +loved; she dared not move, or speak, but, with a strange fear at her +heart, sat watching the dim shapes that hovered round her. + +Higher and higher rose the shadowy wall. Slowly the flowers near her +died, lingeringly the sunlight faded; but at last they both were gone, +and left her all alone behind the gloomy wall. Then she could hear no +more, but, sinking down among the withered flowers, wept sad and bitter +tears, for her lost liberty and joy; then through the gloom there shone +a faint, soft light, and on her breast she saw her fairy flower, upon +whose snow-white leaves her tears lay shining. + +Clearer and brighter grew the radiant light, till the evil spirits +turned away to the dark shadow of the wall, and left the child alone. + +The light and perfume of the flower seemed to bring new strength to +Annie, and she rose up, saying, as she bent to kiss the blossom on her +breast: "Dear flower, help and guide me now, and I will listen to your +voice, and cheerfully obey my faithful fairy bell." + +Then in her dreams she felt how hard the spirits tried to tempt and +trouble her, and how, but for her flower, they would have led her back, +and made all dark and dreary as before. Long and hard she struggled, and +tears often fell; but after each new trial, brighter shone her magic +flower, and sweeter grew its breath, while the spirits lost still more +their power to tempt her. Meanwhile, green, flowering vines crept up the +high, dark wall, and hid its roughness from her sight; and over these +she watched most tenderly, for soon, wherever green leaves and flowers +bloomed, the wall beneath grew weak, and fell apart. Thus little Annie +worked and hoped, till one by one the evil spirits fled away, and in +their place came shining forms, with gentle eyes and smiling lips, who +gathered round her with such loving words, and brought such strength and +joy to Annie's heart, that nothing evil dared to enter in; while slowly +sank the gloomy wall, and, over wreaths of fragrant flowers, she passed +out into the pleasant world again, the fairy gift no longer pale and +drooping, but now shining like a star upon her breast. + +Then the low voice spoke again in Annie's sleeping ear, saying: +"Remember well the lesson of the dream, dear child, and let the shining +spirits make your heart their home." + +And with that voice sounding in her ear, little Annie woke to find it +was a dream; but like other dreams it did not pass away; and as she sat +alone, bathed in the rosy morning light, and watched the forest waken +into life, she silently resolved to strive, as she had striven in her +dream, to bring back light and beauty to its faded leaves, by being what +the Fairy hoped to render her, a patient, gentle little child. And as +the thought came to her mind, the flower raised its drooping head, and, +looking up into the earnest little face bent over it, seemed by its +fragrant breath to answer Annie's silent thought, and strengthen her for +what might come. + +Meanwhile the forest was astir, birds sang their gay good-morrows from +tree to tree, while leaf and flower turned to greet the sun, who rose up +smiling on the world; and so beneath the forest boughs and through the +dewy fields went little Annie home, better and wiser for her dream. + + * * * + +Autumn flowers were dead and gone, white winter snow fell softly down; +yet now, when all without looked dark and dreary, on little Annie's +breast the fairy flower bloomed more beautiful than ever. The memory of +her forest dream had never passed away, and through trial and temptation +she had been true, and kept her resolution still unbroken; seldom now +did the warning bell sound in her ear, and seldom did the flower's +fragrance cease to float about her, or the fairy light to brighten all +whereon it fell. + +So, through the long, cold winter, little Annie dwelt like a sunbeam in +her home, each day growing richer in the love of others, and happier in +herself; often was she tempted, but, remembering her dream, she listened +only to the music of the fairy bell, and the unkind thought or feeling +fled away, the smiling spirits of gentleness and love nestled in her +heart, and all was bright again. + +At length, one day, as she sat singing in the sunny nook where all her +fairest flowers bloomed, weary with gazing at the far-off sky for the +little forms she hoped would come, she bent to look with joyful love +upon her bosom flower; and as she looked, its folded leaves spread wide +apart, and, rising slowly from the deep white cup, appeared the smiling +face of the lovely Elf whose coming she had waited for so long. + +"Dear Annie, look for me no longer; I am here on your breast, for you +have learned to love my gift, and it has done its work most faithfully +and well," the Fairy said, as she looked into the happy child's bright +face, and laid her little arms most tenderly about her neck. + +"And now have I brought another gift from Fairy-land, as a fit reward +for you, dear child," she said, when Annie had told all her gratitude +and love; then, touching the child with her shining wand, the Fairy bid +her look and listen silently. + +And suddenly the world, to Annie, seemed changed for the air was filled +with strange, sweet sounds, and all around her floated lovely forms. In +every flower sat little smiling Elves, singing gayly as they rocked amid +the leaves. On every breeze, bright, airy spirits came floating by; some +fanned her cheek with their cool breath, and waved her long hair to and +fro, while others rang the flower-bells, and made a pleasant rustling +among the leaves. In the fountain, where the water danced and sparkled +in the sun, astride of every drop she saw merry little spirits, who +plashed and floated in the clear, cool waves, and sang as gayly as the +flowers, on whom they scattered glittering dew. The tall trees, as +their branches rustled in the wind, sang a low, dreamy song, while the +waving grass was filled with little voices she had never heard before. +Butterflies whispered lovely tales in her ear, and birds sang cheerful +songs in a sweet language she had never understood before. Earth and air +seemed filled with beauty and with music she had never dreamed of until +now. + +"Oh, tell me what it means, dear Fairy! is it another and a lovelier +dream, or is the earth in truth so beautiful as this?" she cried, +looking with wondering joy upon the Elf, who lay upon the flower on her +breast. + +"Yes, it is true, dear child," replied the Fairy, "and few are the +mortals to whom we give this lovely gift; what to you is now so full of +music and of light, to others is but a pleasant summer world; they never +know the language of butterfly or bird or flower, and they are blind +to all that I have given you the power to see. These fair things are +your friends and playmates now, and they will teach you many pleasant +lessons, and give you many happy hours; while the garden where you +once sat, weeping sad and bitter tears, is now brightened by your own +happiness, filled with loving friends by your own kindly thoughts and +feelings; and thus rendered a pleasant summer home for the gentle, happy +child, whose bosom flower will never fade. And now, dear Annie, I must +go; but every springtime, with the earliest flowers, will I come again +to visit you, and bring some fairy gift. Guard well the magic flower, +that I may find all fair and bright when next I come." + +Then, with a kind farewell, the gentle Fairy floated upward through the +sunny air, smiling down upon the child, until she vanished in the soft, +white clouds; and little Annie stood alone in her enchanted garden, +where all was brightened with the radiant light, and fragrant with the +perfume of her fairy flower. + + + + +COMPANIONS + +BY HELEN HUNT JACKSON + + +During the whole of one of a summer's hottest days I had the good +fortune to be seated in a railway car near a mother and four children, +whose relations with each other were so beautiful that the pleasure of +watching them was quite enough to make one forget the discomforts of the +journey. + +It was plain that they were poor; their clothes were coarse and old, and +had been made by inexperienced hands. The mother's bonnet alone would +have been enough to have condemned the whole party on any of the world's +thoroughfares. I remembered afterward, with shame, that I myself had +smiled at the first sight of its antiquated ugliness; but her face was +one which it gave you a sense of rest to look upon--it was so earnest, +tender, true, and strong. It had little comeliness of shape or color in +it, it was thin, and pale; she was not young; she had worked hard; she +had evidently been much ill; but I have seen few faces which gave me +such pleasure. I think that she was the wife of a poor clergyman; and I +think that clergyman must be one of the Lord's best watchmen of souls. +The children--two boys and two girls--were all under the age of 12, and +the youngest could not speak plainly. They had had a rare treat; they +had been visiting the mountains, and they were talking over all the +wonders they had seen with a glow of enthusiastic delight which was +to be envied. Only a word-for-word record would do justice to their +conversation; no description could give any idea of it--so free, so +pleasant, so genial, no interruptions, no contradictions; and the +mother's part borne all the while with such equal interest and eagerness +that no one not seeing her face would dream that she was any other than +an elder sister. + +In the course of the day there were many occasions when it was necessary +for her to deny requests, and to ask services, especially from the +eldest boy; but no young girl, anxious to please a lover, could have +done either with a more tender courtesy. She had her reward; for no +lover could have been more tender and manly than was this boy of 12. +Their lunch was simple and scanty; but it had the grace of a royal +banquet. At the last, the mother produced with much glee three apples +and an orange, of which the children had not known. All eyes fastened on +the orange. It was evidently a great rarity. I watched to see if this +test would bring out selfishness. There was a little silence; just the +shade of a cloud. The mother said: "How shall I divide this? There is +one for each of you; and I shall be best off of all, for I expect big +tastes from each of you." + +"Oh, give Annie the orange. Annie loves oranges," spoke out the oldest +boy, with a sudden air of a conqueror, and at the same time taking the +smallest and worst apple himself. + +"Oh, yes, let Annie have the orange," echoed the second boy, nine years +old. + +"Yes, Annie may have the orange, because that is nicer than the apple, +and she is a lady, and her brothers are gentlemen," said the mother, +quietly. Then there was a merry contest as to who should feed the mother +with largest and most frequent mouthfuls; and so the feast went on. Then +Annie pretended to want an apple, and exchanged thin golden strips of +orange for bites out of the cheeks of Baldwins; and, as I sat watching +her intently, she suddenly fancied she saw longing in my face, and +sprang over to me, holding out a quarter of her orange, and saying, +"Don't you want a taste, too?" The mother smiled, understandingly, when +I said, "No, I thank you, you dear, generous little girl; I don't care +about oranges." + +At noon we had a tedious interval of waiting at a dreary station. We sat +for two hours on a narrow platform, which the sun had scorched till it +smelled of heat. The oldest boy--the little lover--held the youngest +child, and talked to her, while the tired mother closed her eyes and +rested. Now and then he looked over at her, and then back at the baby; +and at last he said confidentially to me (for we had become fast friends +by this time): "Isn't it funny, to think that I was ever so small as +this baby? And papa says that then mamma was almost a little girl +herself." + +The two other children were toiling up and down the banks of the +railroad track, picking ox-eye daisies, buttercups, and sorrel. They +worked like beavers, and soon the bunches were almost too big for their +little hands. Then they came running to give them to their mother. "Oh, +dear," thought I, "how that poor, tired woman will hate to open her +eyes! and she never can take those great bunches of common, fading +flowers, in addition to all her bundles and bags." I was mistaken. + +"Oh, thank you, my darlings! How kind you were! Poor, hot, tired little +flowers, how thirsty they look! If they will only try and keep alive +till we get home, we will make them very happy in some water; won't we? +And you shall put one bunch by papa's plate, and one by mine." + +Sweet and happy, the weary and flushed little children stood looking up +in her face while she talked, their hearts thrilling with compassion for +the drooping flowers and with delight in the giving of their gift. Then +she took great trouble to get a string and tie up the flowers, and then +the train came, and we were whirling along again. Soon it grew dark, and +little Annie's head nodded. Then I heard the mother say to the oldest +boy, "Dear, are you too tired to let little Annie put her head on your +shoulder and take a nap? We shall get her home in much better ease to +see papa if we can manage to give her a little sleep." How many boys of +twelve hear such words as these from tired, overburdened mothers? + +Soon came the city, the final station, with its bustle and noise. I +lingered to watch my happy family, hoping to see the father. "Why, papa +isn't here!" exclaimed one disappointed little voice after another. +"Never mind," said the mother, with a still deeper disappointment in her +own tone; "perhaps he had to go to see some poor body who is sick." In +the hurry of picking up all the parcels, and the sleepy babies, the poor +daisies and buttercups were left forgotten in a corner of the rack. I +wondered if the mother had not intended this. May I be forgiven for the +injustice! A few minutes after I passed the little group, standing still +just outside the station, and heard the mother say, "Oh, my darlings, I +have forgotten your pretty bouquets. I am so sorry! I wonder if I could +find them if I went back. Will you all stand still if I go?" + +"Oh, mamma, don't go, don't go. We will get you some more. Don't go," +cried all the children. + +"Here are your flowers, madam," said I. "I saw that you had forgotten +them, and I took them as mementos of you and your sweet children." She +blushed and looked disconcerted. She was evidently unused to people, and +shy with all but her children. However, she thanked me sweetly, and +said: + +"I was very sorry about them. The children took such trouble to get +them, and I think they will revive in water. They cannot be quite dead." + +"They will never die!" said I, with an emphasis which went from my heart +to hers. Then all her shyness fled. She knew me; and we shook hands, and +smiled into each other's eyes with the smile of kindred as we parted. + +As I followed on, I heard the two children, who were walking behind, +saying to each other: "Wouldn't that have been too bad? Mamma liked them +so much, and we never could have got so many all at once again." + +"Yes, we could, too, next Summer," said the boy, sturdily. + +They are sure of their "next summers," I think, all six of those +souls--children, and mother, and father. They may never again gather so +many ox-eye daisies and buttercups "all at once." Perhaps some of the +little hands have already picked their last flowers. Nevertheless, their +summers are certain. To such souls as these, all trees, either here or +in God's larger country, are Trees of Life, with twelve manner of fruits +and leaves for healing; and it is but little change from the summers +here, whose suns burn and make weary, to the summers there, of which +"the Lamb is the light." + + + + +PRINCE LITTLE BOY + +BY S. WEIR MITCHELL + + +A great many children live on the borders of Fairy-land and never visit +it at all, and really there are people who grow up and are not very +unhappy who will not believe they have lived near to it all their lives. +But if once you have been in that pleasant country you never quite +forget it, and when some stupid man says, "It is all stuff and +nonsense," you do not say much, even if you yourself have come to be an +old fellow with hair of two colors, but you feel proud to know how much +more you have seen of the world than he has. Children are the best +travelers in Fairy-land, and there also is another kingdom which is easy +for them to reach and hard for some older folks. + +Once upon a time there was a small boy who lived so near to Fairy-land +that he sometimes got over the fence and inside of that lovely country, +but, being a little afraid, never went very far, and was quick to run +home if he saw Blue Beard or an Ogre or even Goody Two-Shoes. Once or +twice he went a little farther, and saw things which may be seen but can +never be written. + +Sometimes he told his father that he had been into Fairy-land; but his +father, who was a brick-maker and lived in the wood, only laughed, and +cried aloud; "Next time you go, be sure to fetch back some fairy money." + +One day the small boy, whose real name was Little Boy, told his father +that he had gone a mile into Fairy-land, and that there the people were +born old and grew younger all the time, and that on this account the +hands of their clocks went backward. When his father heard this, he said +that boy was only fit to sing songs and be in the sun, and would never +make bricks worth a penny. Then he added, sharply, that his son must get +to work at once and stop going over the fence to Fairy-land. So, after +that, Little Boy was set to dig clay and make bricks for a palace which +the King was building. He made a great many bricks of all colors, and +did seem to work so very hard that his father began to think he might in +time come to make the best of bricks. But if you are making bricks you +must not even be thinking of fairies, because something is sure to get +into the bricks and spoil them for building anything except a Spanish +castle or a palace of Aladdin. + +I am sorry to say that while Little Boy made bricks and patted them well +and helped to bake them hard he was forever thinking of a Fairy who had +kissed him one day in the wood. This was a very strange Fairy, large, +with white limbs, and eyes which were full of joy for a child, but to +such as being old looked upon them, were, as the poet says, "lakes of +sadness." Perhaps, being little, you who read can understand this. I +cannot; but whoever has once seen this Fairy loves the sun and the woods +and all living creatures, and knows things without being taught, and +what men will say before they say it. Yet, while he knows all these +strange things, and what birds talk about, and what songs the winds sing +to the trees, he can never make good bricks. + +And this was why Little Boy's bricks were badly made; on account of +which the King's palace, having many poor bricks in it, fell down one +fine day and cracked the crowns of twenty-three courtiers and had like +to have killed the King himself. This made the King very angry, so he +put on his crown and said wicked words, and told everybody he would give +one hundred pieces of gold to whoever would find the person who had made +the bad bricks. When Little Boy's father heard this, he knew it must +have been his son who was to blame. So he told his son that he had been +very careless, and that surely the King would kill him, and that the +best thing he could do would be to run away and hide in Fairy-land. + +Little Boy was very badly scared, and was well pleased when his mother +had put some cakes and apples in a bag and slung it over his shoulder +and told him to run quickly away; and this he was glad to do, because he +saw the King's soldiers coming over the hill to take him. When they came +to his father's house his father told them that it was his son who had +made the bad bricks. After hearing this, they let the man go, and went +after Little Boy. As their legs were long and his were short, they soon +got very near to him, and he had just time to scramble over the fence +into Fairy-land. Then the soldiers began to get over the fence, too; but +at this moment the giant Fee-Faw-Fum came out of the wood, and said, in +a voice that was as loud as the roar of the winds of a winter night: +"What do you want here?" This gave them such a fright that they all sat +there in a row on top of the fence like sparrows, and could not move for +a week. You may be sure Little Boy did not stop to look at them, but ran +away, far away into Fairy-land. Of course, he soon got lost, because in +the geographies there is not a word about Fairy-land, and nobody knows +even what bounds it on the north. + +It is sad to be lost, but not in Fairy-land. The sooner you lose +yourself, the happier you are. And then such queer things chance to +you--things no one could dream would happen. Mostly it is the children +for whom they occur, and the grown-up person who is quite happy in this +joyous land is not often to be met with. Perhaps you think I will tell +you all about the fairy country. Not I, indeed. I have been there in my +time; but my travels there I cannot write, or else I might never be +allowed to return again. + +By-and-by Little Boy grew tired and went into a deep wood and there sat +down and ate a cake, and saw very soon that the squirrels were throwing +him nuts from the trees. Of course, as he was in Fairy-land, this was +just what one might have expected. He tried to crack the nuts with his +teeth, but could not, and this troubled the squirrels so much that +presently nine of them came down and sat around him and began to crack +nuts for him and to laugh. + +When Little Boy had finished his meal, he lay down and tried to go to +sleep, for it was pleasant and warm, and the moss was soft to lie upon, +and strange birds came and went and sang love-songs. But just as he was +almost asleep he was shaken quite roughly, and when he looked up saw a +beautiful Prince. + +"Ho! ho!" said the Prince, "I heard you getting ready to snore. A moment +more and I should have been too late." + +"How is that?" said Little Boy, "and who are you?" + +"Sir, I am Fine Ear, and before things happen I hear them. Do not you +know, Fair Sir" (this is the way fairies speak), "that if you fall +asleep the first day that you are in Fairy-land, it is years before you +wake? Some people don't wake." + +Little Boy felt that he was in high society, so he said, politely: + +"Gracious Prince, a million thanks; but how can I keep awake?" + +"It is only for one night, young sir. Come with me. My sister, Goody +Two-Shoes, lives close by, and she may help us." + +So they went along through the twilight and walked far, until Little Boy +was ready to drop. At last Fine Ear said that as he heard his sister +breathing, she could not be more than three miles away. As they climbed +a great hill, it became dark, and Little Boy grew more and more sleepy, +and could not see his way, and tumbled about so much that at last the +Prince stood still and said: "My dear fellow, this won't do; you will be +in Dream-land before I can pinch you." Then he whistled, and a little +silver star--a shining white light--fell out of the fairy sky and rolled +beside them, making all the road as bright as day, and quite waking up +Little Boy. + +After this they walked on, and the Prince said he would ask Jack the +Giant-killer to supper. Little Boy replied that he would be proud to +meet him. Just as they came near to the house, which was built of pearls +and rubies, the Prince said: "Alas! here comes that tiresome fool, +Humpty Dumpty." When Little Boy looked, he saw a short man very crooked +in the back, and with a head all to one side, not having been well +mended by the doctors, as you may recall. Also his mouth was very large, +which was a pity, because when he stopped before them and bowed in a +polite way, all of a sudden he opened this great mouth and gaped; and +when poor, sleepy Little Boy saw this, what could he do but gape for +company, and at once fall down sound asleep before the kind Prince could +move? + +"Alas! fool," said Fine Ear, "why must you gape at a mortal? You knew +what would happen. It was lucky you did not sneeze." + +Meanwhile, there lay Little Boy sound asleep, and what was to be done? +At last he was carried into the house of Goody Two-Shoes and put on a +bed. Every one knew that he could not be waked up, and so they put fairy +food in his mouth twice a day, and just let him alone, so that for +several years he slept soundly, and by reason of being fed with fairy +food grew tall and beautiful; what was more strange, his clothes grew +also. + +At the end of seven years a great Sayer of Sooth came by on his way to +visit his fairy godmother, and when he heard about Little Boy's sleep he +stood still and uttered a loud Sooth. When Goody Two-Shoes heard it she +was sorry, because it was told her that Little Boy would never wake +until he was carried back to the country of mortals, when he would wake +up at once. Now by this time she had come to love him very much, and was +sorry to part with him, because in seven years he had never spoken one +cross word! + + [Illustration: "SHE PUT AROUND LITTLE BOY'S NECK A FAIRY KISS"] + +But Sooths must be obeyed; so she sent for a gentle Giant, and told him +to carry Little Boy to the Queen's tailor and to dress him like a fairy +Prince, and to set him down on the roadside near his father's house. +Then when the Giant took him up in his great arms, all sound asleep, she +put around Little Boy's neck a fairy kiss tied fast to a gold chain, and +this was for good luck. After this the Giant walked away, and Goody +Two-Shoes went into the house and cried for two days and a night. + +When the Giant came to Common-Folks'-land, he laid Little Boy beside the +high-road and went home. Toward evening, the King's daughter went by, +and seeing Little Boy, who, as I have said, was now grown tall and +dressed all in velvet and jewels, she came and stood by him, and when +she saw the fairy kiss hanging around his neck she knelt down and kissed +him. Then all the old ladies cried, "Fy! for shame!" but you know she +could not help it. As for Little Boy, he kept ever so still, being now +wide awake, but having hopes that she would kiss him again, which she +did, twice. As he still seemed to sleep, he was put in the Princess's +chariot and taken to the King's palace. + +At last, when every one had looked at him, they put him on a bed, and +when morning came he opened his eyes, and began to walk around to +stretch his legs. But as he went downstairs he met the King, who said to +him: "Fair Sir, what is the name of thy beautiful self?" To which he +answered: "I am called Prince Little Boy." "Ha! ha!" said the King. +"That was the name of the bad brick-maker. Perchance thou art he." Then +he called his guards, and Little Boy was at once shut up in a huge +tower, for the King was not quite sure, or else he would have put him to +death at once. But after Little Boy had been there three days he put his +head out of a window and saw the Princess in the garden. Then he said: + +"Sweet lady, look up." + +"Alas!" said she, "they have sent for thy mother, and if she says thou +art Little Boy they will kill thee, and, alas! I love thee." + +"Ah!" he cried, "come to this tower at midnight, and cast me kisses a +many through the night; blow a kiss to the north, blow a kiss to the +south, to the east, to the west, from the flower of thy mouth and it may +be that one will float to Fairy-land and fetch us help, for if not, I be +but a dead man." + +All this she did because she was brave and loved him. She stood in the +dark and blew kisses to the four winds, and then listened, and by and by +came a noise like great wings, and all the air was filled with strange, +sweet odors, the like of which that Princess never smelled again. + +As for Little Boy, he was aware of a Giant who was as tall as the tower. +"Sir," said the Giant, "it is told me that you must keep your eyes shut +until I bid them to open. I have brought the Kiss Queen to pay you a +visit. No man has ever seen her; for if he did he could never, never +kiss or be kissed of any mortal lips." + +"Sir," said Little Boy, "the Princess is more sweet than any that kiss +in Fairy-land." + +"Prince," said the Giant, "your education has been but slight, or else +you would know that all kisses are made in Fairy-land. But shut your +eyes and stir not." + +Then Little Boy did close his two eyes. At once he felt a tiny kiss from +lips that might have been as long as one's fingernail, and once he was +kissed on each cheek and once on his chin, and then he felt faint for a +moment. All was still for a while, until the Giant said: "You are lucky. +Open your eyes, Fair Sir," and went away. + +Next day all the people came to see the King try Little Boy. When Little +Boy saw his mother he was almost ready to cry, but he kept still and +waited. Then the King said to her: "Tell me, is this your son? and do +not deceive me, or dreadful things will happen to you and to him." + +At this the good woman looked at him with care. "This looks like my +son," she said; "but it is not my son, because this young man has a +dimple on each cheek and one on his chin. Who ever saw any one with +three dimples?" + +When the King heard this and Little Boy's father declared also that his +lost son had no dimples, the King bade them all go free, and said he had +been now nine years angry about those bricks, and that whoever would +find the bad brick-maker should marry the Princess. When Prince Little +Boy heard this he said that he was the bad boy who had made those +bricks. But the King was as good as his word, and ordered that the +Prince should marry the Princess, and not have his head cut off, because +the Princess did wisely say that a husband with no head wasn't much good +as a husband. Therefore they were married that minute, and I have heard +that they spent their honeymoon in Fairy-land. And this is the end of +the Story of Prince Little Boy. + + + + +THE BEE-MAN OF ORN[E] + +BY FRANK R. STOCKTON + + +In the ancient country of Orn there lived an old man who was called the +Bee-man, because his whole time was spent in the company of bees. He +lived in a small hut, which was nothing more than an immense bee-hive, +for these little creatures had built their honeycombs in every corner of +the one room it contained--on the shelves, under the little table, all +about the rough bench on which the old man sat, and even about the +head-board and along the sides of his low bed. + +All day the air of the room was thick with buzzing insects, but this did +not interfere in any way with the old Bee-man, who walked in among them, +ate his meals, and went to sleep, without the slightest fear of being +stung. + +He had lived with the bees so long, they had become so accustomed to +him, and his skin was so tough and hard, that the bees no more thought +of stinging him than they would of stinging a tree or a stone. A swarm +of bees had made their hive in a pocket of his old leathern doublet; and +when he put on this coat to take one of his long walks in the forest in +search of wild bees' nests, he was very glad to have this hive with him, +for, if he did not find any wild honey, he would put his hand in his +pocket and take out a piece of a comb for a luncheon. The bees in his +pocket worked very industriously, and he was always certain of having +something to eat with him wherever he went. He lived principally upon +honey; and when he needed bread or meat, he carried some fine combs to a +village not far away and bartered them for other food. He was ugly, +untidy, shrivelled, and brown. He was poor, and the bees seemed to be +his only friends. But, for all that, he was happy and contented; he had +all the honey he wanted, and his bees, whom he considered the best +company in the world, were as friendly and sociable as they could be, +and seemed to increase in number every day. + +One day there stopped at the hut of the Bee-man a Junior Sorcerer. This +young person, who was a student of magic, was much interested in the +Bee-man, whom he had often noticed in his wanderings, and he considered +him an admirable subject for study. He had got a great deal of useful +practice by trying to find out, by the various rules and laws of +sorcery, exactly why the old Bee-man did not happen to be something that +he was not, and why he was what he happened to be. He had studied a long +time at this matter, and had found out something. + +"Do you know," he said, when the Bee-man came out of his hut, "that you +have been transformed?" + +"What do you mean by that?" said the other, much surprised. + +"You have surely heard of animals and human beings who have been +magically transformed into different kinds of creatures?" + +"Yes, I have heard of these things," said the Bee-man; "but what have I +been transformed from?" + +"That is more than I know," said the Junior Sorcerer. "But one thing is +certain; you ought to be changed back. If you will find out what you +have been transformed from, I will see that you are made all right +again. Nothing would please me better than to attend to such a case." + +And, having a great many things to study and investigate, the Junior +Sorcerer went his way. + +This information greatly disturbed the mind of the Bee-man. If he had +been changed from something else, he ought to be that other thing, +whatever it was. He ran after the young man, and overtook him. + +"If you know, kind sir," he said, "that I have been transformed, you +surely are able to tell me what it is that I was." + +"No," said the Junior Sorcerer, "my studies have not proceeded far +enough for that. When I become a Senior I can tell you all about it. +But, in the meantime, it will be well for you to try to find out for +yourself your original form; and when you have done that, I will get +some of the learned masters of my art to restore you to it. It will be +easy enough to do that, but you could not expect them to take the time +and trouble to find out what it was." + +And, with these words, he hurried away, and was soon lost to view. + +Greatly disturbed, the Bee-man retraced his steps, and went to his hut. +Never before had he heard anything which had so troubled him. + +"I wonder what I was transformed from?" he thought, seating himself on +his rough bench. "Could it have been a giant, or a powerful prince, or +some gorgeous being whom the magicians or the fairies wished to punish? +It may be that I was a dog or a horse, or perhaps a fiery dragon or a +horrid snake. I hope it was not one of these. But whatever it was, +everyone has certainly a right to his original form, and I am resolved +to find out mine. I will start early to-morrow morning; and I am sorry +now that I have not more pockets to my old doublet, so that I might +carry more bees and more honey for my journey." + +He spent the rest of the day in making a hive of twigs and straw; and, +having transferred to this a number of honeycombs and a colony of bees +which had just swarmed, he rose before sunrise the next day, and having +put on his leathern doublet and having bound his new hive to his back, +he set forth on his quest, the bees who were to accompany him buzzing +around him like a cloud. + +As the Bee-man pressed through the little village the people greatly +wondered at his queer appearance, with the hive upon his back. "The +Bee-man is going on a long journey this time," they said; but no one +imagined the strange business on which he was bent. + +About noon he sat down under a tree, near a beautiful meadow covered +with blossoms, and ate a little honey. Then he untied his hive and +stretched himself out on the grass to rest. As he gazed upon his bees +hovering about him, some going out to the blossoms in the sunshine, and +some returning laden with the sweet pollen, he said to himself: "They +know just what they have to do, and they do it; but alas for me! I know +not what I may have to do. And yet, whatever it may be, I am determined +to do it. In some way or other I will find out what was my original +form, and then I will have myself changed back to it." + +And now the thought came to him that perhaps his original form might +have been something very disagreeable, or even horrid. + +"But it does not matter," he said sturdily. "Whatever I was that shall I +be again. It is not right for anyone to keep a form which does not +properly belong to him. I have no doubt I shall discover my original +form in the same way that I find the trees in which the wild bees hive. +When I first catch sight of a bee tree I am drawn toward it, I know not +how. Something says to me: 'That is what you are looking for.' In the +same way I believe that I shall find my original form. When I see it, I +shall be drawn toward it. Something will say to me: 'That is it.'" + +When the Bee-man was rested he started off again, and in about an hour +he entered a fair domain. Around him were beautiful lawns, grand trees, +and lovely gardens; while at a little distance stood the stately palace +of the Lord of the Domain. Richly dressed people were walking about or +sitting in the shade of the trees and arbors; splendidly equipped horses +were waiting for their riders; and everywhere were seen signs of wealth +and gayety. + +"I think," said the Bee-man to himself, "that I should like to stop here +for a time. If it should happen that I was originally like any of these +happy creatures it would please me much." + +He untied his hive, and hid it behind some bushes, and, taking off his +old doublet, laid that beside it. It would not do to have his bees +flying about him if he wished to go among the inhabitants of this fair +domain. + +For two days the Bee-man wandered about the palace and its grounds, +avoiding notice as much as possible, but looking at everything. He saw +handsome men and lovely ladies; the finest horses, dogs, and cattle that +were ever known; beautiful birds in cages, and fishes in crystal globes; +and it seemed to him that the best of all living-things were here +collected. + +At the close of the second day the Bee-man said to himself: "There is +one being here toward whom I feel very much drawn, and that is the Lord +of the Domain. I cannot feel certain that I was once like him, but it +would be a very fine thing if it were so; and it seems impossible for me +to be drawn toward any other being in the domain when I look upon him, +so handsome, rich, and powerful. But I must observe him more closely, +and feel more sure of the matter, before applying to the sorcerers to +change me back into a lord of a fair domain." + +The next morning the Bee-man saw the Lord of the Domain walking in his +gardens. He slipped along the shady paths, and followed him so as to +observe him closely, and find out if he were really drawn toward this +noble and handsome being. The Lord of the Domain walked on for some +time, not noticing that the Bee-man was behind him. But suddenly +turning, he saw the little old man. + +"What are you doing here, you vile beggar?" he cried; and he gave him a +kick that sent him into some bushes which grew by the side of the path. + +The Bee-man scrambled to his feet, and ran as fast as he could to the +place where he had hidden his hive and his old doublet. + +"If I am certain of anything," he thought, "it is that I was never a +person who would kick a poor old man. I will leave this place. I was +transformed from nothing that I see here." + +He now traveled for a day or two longer, and then he came to a great +black mountain, near the bottom of which was an opening like the mouth +of a cave. + + [Illustration: "HE WAS EXTREMELY LIVELY AND ACTIVE, AND CAME BOUNDING + TOWARD THEM"] + +This mountain he had heard was filled with caverns and underground +passages, which were the abodes of dragons, evil spirits, and horrid +creatures of all kinds. + +"Ah me!" said the Bee-man with a sigh, "I suppose I ought to visit this +place. If I am going to do this thing properly, I should look on all +sides of the subject, and I may have been one of those horrid creatures +myself." + +Thereupon he went to the mountain, and as he approached the opening of +the passage which led into its inmost recesses, he saw, sitting upon the +ground, and leaning his back against a tree, a Languid Youth. + +"Good-day," said this individual when he saw the Bee-man. "Are you going +inside?" + +"Yes," said the Bee-man, "that is what I intend to do." + +"Then," said the Languid Youth, slowly rising to his feet, "I think I +will go with you. I was told that if I went in there I should get my +energies toned up, and they need it very much; but I did not feel equal +to entering by myself, and I thought I would wait until some one came +along. I am very glad to see you, and we will go in together." + +So the two went into the cave, and they had proceeded but a short +distance when they met a very little creature, whom it was easy to +recognize as a Very Imp. He was about two feet high, and resembled in +color a freshly polished pair of boots. He was extremely lively and +active, and came bounding toward them. + +"What did you two people come here for?" he asked. + +"I came," said the Languid Youth, "to have my energies toned up." + +"You have come to the right place," said the Very Imp. "We will tone you +up. And what does that old Bee-man want?" + +"He has been transformed from something, and wants to find out what it +is. He thinks he may have been one of the things in here." + +"I should not wonder if that were so," said the Very Imp, rolling his +head on one side, and eying the Bee-man with a critical gaze. + +"All right," said the Very Imp; "he can go around, and pick out his +previous existence. We have here all sorts of vile creepers, crawlers, +hissers, and snorters. I suppose he thinks anything will be better than +a Bee-man." + +"It is not because I want to be better than I am," said the Bee-man, +"that I started out on this search. I have simply an honest desire to +become what I originally was." + +"Oh; that is it, is it?" said the other. "There is an idiotic moon-calf +here with a clam head, which must be just what you used to be." + +"Nonsense," said the Bee-man. "You have not the least idea what an +honest purpose is. I shall go about and see for myself." + +"Go ahead," said the Very Imp, "and I will attend to this fellow who +wants to be toned up." So saying he joined the Languid Youth. + +"Look here," said the Youth, "do you black and shine yourself every +morning?" + +"No," said the other, "it is water-proof varnish. You want to be +invigorated, don't you? Well, I will tell you a splendid way to begin. +You see that Bee-man has put down his hive and his coat with the bees in +it. Just wait till he gets out of sight, and then catch a lot of those +bees, and squeeze them flat. If you spread them on a sticky rag, and +make a plaster, and put it on the small of your back, it will invigorate +you like everything, especially if some of the bees are not quite dead." + +"Yes," said the Languid Youth, looking at him with his mild eyes, "but +if I had energy enough to catch a bee I would be satisfied. Suppose you +catch a lot for me." + +"The subject is changed," said the Very Imp. "We are now about to visit +the spacious chamber of the King of the Snap-dragons." + +"That is a flower," said the Languid Youth. + +"You will find him a gay old blossom," said the other. "When he has +chased you round his room, and has blown sparks at you, and has snorted +and howled, and cracked his tail, and snapped his jaws like a pair of +anvils, your energies will be toned up higher than ever before in your +life." + +"No doubt of it," said the Languid Youth; "but I think I will begin with +something a little milder." + +"Well, then," said the other, "there is a flat-tailed Demon of the Gorge +in here. He is generally asleep, and, if you say so, you can slip into +the farthest corner of his cave, and I'll solder his tail to the +opposite wall. Then he will rage and roar, but he can't get at you, for +he doesn't reach all the way across his cave; I have measured him. It +will tone you up wonderfully to sit there and watch him." + +"Very likely," said the Languid Youth; "but I would rather stay outside +and let you go up in the corner. The performance in that way will be +more interesting to me." + +"You are dreadfully hard to please," said the Very Imp. "I have offered +them to you loose, and I offered them fastened to a wall, and now the +best thing I can do is to give you a chance at one of them that can't +move at all. It is the Ghastly Griffin, and is enchanted. He can't stir +so much as the tip of his whiskers for a thousand years. You can go to +his cave and examine him just as if he were stuffed, and then you can +sit on his back and think how it would be if you should live to be a +thousand years old, and he should wake up while you are sitting there. +It would be easy to imagine a lot of horrible things he would do to you +when you look at his open mouth with its awful fangs, his dreadful +claws, and his horrible wings all covered with spikes." + +"I think that might suit me," said the Languid Youth. "I would much +rather imagine the exercises of these monsters than to see them really +going on." + +"Come on, then," said the Very Imp; and he led the way to the cave of +the Ghastly Griffin. + +The Bee-man went by himself through a great part of the mountain, and +looked into many of its gloomy caves and recesses, recoiling in horror +from most of the dreadful monsters who met his eyes. While he was +wandering about, an awful roar was heard resounding through the passages +of the mountain, and soon there came flapping along an enormous dragon, +with body black as night, and wings and tail of fiery red. In his great +fore-claws he bore a little baby. + +"Horrible!" exclaimed the Bee-man. "He is taking that little creature to +his cave to devour it." + +He saw the dragon enter a cave not far away, and, following, looked in. +The dragon was crouched upon the ground with the little baby lying +before him. It did not seem to be hurt, but was frightened and crying. +The monster was looking upon it with delight, as if he intended to make +a dainty meal of it as soon as his appetite should be a little stronger. + +"It is too bad!" thought the Bee-man. "Somebody ought to do something." +And turning around, he ran away as fast as he could. + +He ran through various passages until he came to the spot where he had +left his bee-hive. Picking it up, he hurried back, carrying the hive in +his two hands before him. When he reached the cave of the dragon, he +looked in and saw the monster still crouched over the weeping child. +Without a moment's hesitation, the Bee-man rushed into the cave and +threw his hive straight into the face of the dragon. The bees, enraged +by the shock, rushed upon the head, mouth, eyes, and nose of the dragon. + +The great monster, astounded by this sudden attack, and driven almost +wild by the numberless stings of the bees, sprang back to the farthest +corner of his cave, still followed by the bees, at whom he flapped +wildly with his great wings and struck with his paws. While the dragon +was thus engaged with the bees, the Bee-man rushed forward, and seizing +the child, he hurried away. He did not stop to pick up his doublet, but +kept on until he saw the Very Imp hopping along on one leg, and rubbing +his back and shoulders with his hands, and stopped to inquire what was +the matter, and what had become of the Languid Youth. + +"He is no kind of a fellow," said the Very Imp. "He disappointed me +dreadfully. I took him up to the Ghastly Griffin, and told him the thing +was enchanted, and that he might sit on its back and think about what it +could do if it was awake; and when he came near it the wretched creature +opened its eyes, and raised its head, and then you ought to have seen +how mad that simpleton was. He made a dash at me and seized me by the +ears; he kicked and beat me till I can scarcely move." + +"His energies must have been toned up a good deal," said the Bee-man. + +"Toned up! I should say so!" cried the other. "I raised a howl, and a +Scissor-jawed Clipper came out of his hole, and got after him; but that +lazy fool ran so fast that he could not be caught." + +The Bee-man now ran on and soon overtook the Languid Youth. + +"You need not be in a hurry now," said the latter, "for the rules of +this institution don't allow the creatures inside to come out of this +opening, or to hang around it. If they did, they would frighten away +visitors. They go in and out of holes in the upper part of the +mountain." + +The two proceeded on their way. + +"What are you going to do with that baby?" said the Languid Youth. + +"I shall carry it along with me," said the Bee-man, "as I go on with my +search, and perhaps I may find its mother. If I do not, I shall give it +to somebody in that little village yonder. Anything would be better than +leaving it to be devoured by that horrid dragon." + +"Let me carry it, I feel quite strong enough now to carry a baby." + +"Thank you," said the Bee-man; "but I can take it myself. I like to +carry something, and I have now neither my hive nor my doublet." + +"It is very well that you had to leave them behind," said the Youth, +"for the bees would have stung the baby." + +"My bees never sting babies," said the other. + +"They probably never had a chance," remarked his companion. + +They soon entered the village, and after walking a short distance the +Youth exclaimed: "Do you see that woman over there sitting at the door +of her house? She has beautiful hair, and she is tearing it all to +pieces. She should not be allowed to do that." + +"No," said the Bee-man. "Her friends should tie her hands." + +"Perhaps she is the mother of this child," said the Youth, "and if you +give it to her she will no longer think of tearing her hair." + +"But," said the Bee-man, "you don't really think this is her child?" + +"Suppose you go over and see," said the other. + +The Bee-man hesitated a moment, and then he walked toward the woman. +Hearing him coming, she raised her head, and when she saw the child she +rushed toward it, snatched it into her arms, and screaming with joy she +covered it with kisses. Then with happy tears she begged to know the +story of the rescue of her child, whom she never expected to see again; +and she loaded the Bee-man with thanks and blessings. The friends and +neighbors gathered around, and there was great rejoicing. The mother +urged the Bee-man and the Youth to stay with her, and rest and refresh +themselves, which they were glad to do, as they were tired and hungry. + +They remained at the cottage all night, and in the afternoon of the next +day the Bee-man said to the Youth: "It may seem an odd thing to you, but +never in all my life have I felt myself drawn toward any living being as +I am drawn toward this baby. Therefore I believe that I have been +transformed from a baby." + +"Good!" cried the Youth. "It is my opinion that you have hit the truth. +And now would you like to be changed back to your original form?" + +"Indeed I would!" said the Bee-man. "I have the strongest yearning to be +what I originally was." + +The Youth, who had now lost every trace of languid feeling, took a great +interest in the matter, and early the next morning started off to tell +the Junior Sorcerer that the Bee-man had discovered what he had been +transformed from, and desired to be changed back to it. + +The Junior Sorcerer and his learned Masters were filled with delight +when they heard this report, and they at once set out for the mother's +cottage. And there by magic arts the Bee-man was changed back into a +baby. The mother was so grateful for what the Bee-man had done for her +that she agreed to take charge of this baby, and to bring it up as her +own. + +"It will be a grand thing for him," said the Junior Sorcerer, "and I am +glad that I studied his case. He will now have a fresh start in life, +and will have a chance to become something better than a miserable old +man living in a wretched hut with no friends or companions but buzzing +bees." + +The Junior Sorcerer and his Masters then returned to their homes, happy +in the success of their great performance; and the Youth went back to +his home anxious to begin a life of activity and energy. + +Years and years afterward, when the Junior Sorcerer had become a Senior +and was very old indeed, he passed through the country of Orn, and +noticed a small hut about which swarms of bees were flying. He +approached it, and looking in at the door he saw an old man in a +leathern doublet, sitting at a table, eating honey. By his magic art he +knew this was the baby which had been transformed from the Bee-man. + +"Upon my word!" exclaimed the Sorcerer, "he has grown into the same +thing again!" + + [E] From "The Bee-Man of Orn, and Other Fanciful Tales"; + copyright, 1887, by Charles Scribner's Sons. Used by permission of the + publishers. + + + + +THE POT OF GOLD[F] + +BY MARY E. WILKINS FREEMAN + + +The Flower family lived in a little house in a broad grassy meadow, +which sloped a few rods from their front door down to a gentle, silvery +river. Right across the river rose a lovely dark green mountain, and +when there was a rainbow, as there frequently was, nothing could have +looked more enchanting than it did rising from the opposite bank of the +stream with the wet, shadowy mountain for a background. All the Flower +family would invariably run to their front windows and their door to see +it. + +The Flower family numbered nine: Father and Mother Flower and seven +children. Father Flower was an unappreciated poet, Mother Flower was +very much like all mothers, and the seven children were very sweet and +interesting. Their first names all matched beautifully with their last +name, and with their personal appearance. For instance, the oldest girl, +who had soft blue eyes and flaxen curls, was called Flax Flower: the +little boy, who came next, and had very red cheeks and loved to sleep +late in the morning, was called Poppy Flower, and so on. This charming +suitableness of their names was owing to Father Flower. He had a theory +that a great deal of the misery and discord in the world comes from +things not matching properly as they should; and he thought there +ought to be a certain correspondence between all things that were in +juxtaposition to each other, just as there ought to be between the last +two words of a couplet of poetry. But he found, very often, there was no +correspondence at all, just as words in poetry do not always rhyme when +they should. However, he did his best to remedy it. He saw that every +one of his children's names was suitable and accorded with their +personal characteristics; and in his flower-garden--for he raised +flowers for the market--only those of complementary colors were allowed +to grow in adjoining beds, and, as often as possible, they rhymed in +their names. But that was a more difficult matter to manage, and very +few flowers were rhymed, or, if they were, none rhymed correctly. He had +a bed of box next to one of phlox, and a trellis of woodbine grew next +to one of eglantine, and a thicket of elderblows was next to one of +rose; but he was forced to let his violets and honeysuckles and many +others go entirely unrhymed--this disturbed him considerably, but he +reflected that it was not his fault, but that of the man who made the +language and named the different flowers--he should have looked to it +that those of complementary colors had names to rhyme with each other, +then all would have been harmonious and as it should have been. + +Father Flower had chosen this way of earning his livelihood when he +realized that he was doomed to be an unappreciated poet, because it +suited so well with his name; and if the flowers had only rhymed a +little better he would have been very well contented. As it was, he +never grumbled. He also saw to it that the furniture in his little house +and the cooking utensils rhymed as nearly as possible, though that too +was oftentimes a difficult matter to bring about, and required a vast +deal of thought and hard study. The table always stood under the gable +end of the roof, the foot-stool always stood where it was cool, and the +big rocking-chair in a glare of sunlight; the lamp, too, he kept down +cellar where it was damp. But all these were rather far-fetched, and +sometimes quite inconvenient. Occasionally there would be an article +that he could not rhyme until he had spent years of thought over it, and +when he did it would disturb the comfort of the family greatly. There +was the spider. He puzzled over that exceedingly, and when he rhymed it +at last, Mother Flower or one of the little girls had always to take +the spider beside her, when she sat down, which was of course quite +troublesome. The kettle he rhymed first with nettle, and hung a bunch +of nettle over it, till all the children got dreadfully stung. Then he +tried settle, and hung the kettle over the settle. But that was no place +for it; they had to go without their tea, and everybody who sat on the +settle bumped his head against the kettle. At last it occurred to Father +Flower that if he should make a slight change in the language the kettle +could rhyme with the skillet, and sit beside it on the stove, as it +ought, leaving harmony out of the question, to do. Accordingly all the +children were instructed to call the skillet a skettle, and the kettle +stood by its side on the stove ever afterward. + +The house was a very pretty one, although it was quite rude and very +simple. It was built of logs and had a thatched roof, which projected +far out over the walls. But it was all overrun with the loveliest +flowering vines imaginable, and, inside, nothing could have been more +exquisitely neat and homelike; although there was only one room and a +little garret over it. All around the house were the flower-beds and the +vine-trellises and the blooming shrubs, and they were always in the most +beautiful order. Now, although all this was very pretty to see, and +seemingly very simple to bring to pass, yet there was a vast deal of +labor in it for some one; for flowers do not look so trim and thriving +without tending, and houses do not look so spotlessly clean without +constant care. All the Flower family worked hard; even the littlest +children had their daily tasks set them. The oldest girl, especially, +little Flax Flower, was kept busy from morning till night taking care of +her younger brothers and sisters, and weeding flowers. But for all that +she was a very happy little girl, as indeed were the whole family, as +they did not mind working, and loved each other dearly. + +Father Flower, to be sure, felt a little sad sometimes; for, although +his lot in life was a pleasant one, it was not exactly what he would +have chosen. Once in a while he had a great longing for something +different. He confided a great many of his feelings to Flax Flower; she +was more like him than any of the other children, and could understand +him even better than his wife, he thought. + +One day, when there had been a heavy shower and a beautiful rainbow, he +and Flax were out in the garden tying up some rose-bushes, which the +rain had beaten down, and he said to her how he wished he could find the +Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow. Flax, if you will believe me, +had never heard of it; so he had to tell her all about it, and also say +a little poem he had made about it to her. + +The poem ran something in this way: + + O what is it shineth so golden-clear + At the rainbow's foot on the dark green hill? + 'Tis the Pot of Gold, that for many a year + Has shone, and is shining and dazzling still. + And whom is it for, O Pilgrim, pray? + For thee, Sweetheart, shouldst thou go that way. + +Flax listened with her soft blue eyes very wide open. "I suppose if we +should find that pot of gold it would make us very rich, wouldn't it, +father?" said she. + +"Yes," replied her father; "we could then have a grand house, and keep a +gardener, and a maid to take care of the children, and we should no +longer have to work so hard." He sighed as he spoke, and tears stood in +his gentle blue eyes, which were very much like Flax's. "However, we +shall never find it," he added. + +"Why couldn't we run ever so fast when we saw the rainbow," inquired +Flax, "and get the Pot of Gold?" + +"Don't be foolish, child!" said her father; "you could not possibly +reach it before the rainbow was quite faded away!" + +"True," said Flax, but she fell to thinking as she tied up the dripping +roses. + +The next rainbow they had she eyed very closely, standing out on the +front doorstep in the rain, and she saw that one end of it seemed to +touch the ground at the foot of a pine-tree on the side of the mountain, +which was quite conspicuous amongst its fellows, it was so tall. The +other end had nothing especial to mark it. + +"I will try the end where the tall pine-tree is first," said Flax to +herself, "because that will be the easiest to find--if the Pot of Gold +isn't there I will try to find the other end." + +A few days after that it was very hot and sultry, and at noon the +thunder heads were piled high all around the horizon. + +"I don't doubt but we shall have showers this afternoon," said Father +Flower, when he came in from the garden for his dinner. + +After the dinner-dishes were washed up, and the baby rocked to sleep, +Flax came to her mother with a petition. + +"Mother," said she, "won't you give me a holiday this afternoon?" + +"Why, where do you want to go, Flax?" said her mother. + +"I want to go over on the mountain and hunt for wild flowers," replied +Flax. + +"But I think it is going to rain, child, and you will get wet." + +"That won't hurt me any, mother," said Flax, laughing. + +"Well, I don't know as I care," said her mother, hesitatingly. "You have +been a very good industrious girl, and deserve a little holiday. Only +don't go so far that you cannot soon run home if a shower should come +up." + +So Flax curled her flaxen hair and tied it up with a blue ribbon, and +put on her blue and white checked dress. By the time she was ready to go +the clouds over in the northwest were piled up very high and black, and +it was quite late in the afternoon. Very likely her mother would not +have let her go if she had been at home, but she had taken the baby, who +had waked from his nap, and gone to call on her nearest neighbor, half a +mile away. As for her father, he was busy in the garden, and all the +other children were with him, and they did not notice Flax when she +stole out of the front door. She crossed the river on a pretty arched +stone bridge nearly opposite the house, and went directly into the woods +on the side of the mountain. + +Everything was very still and dark and solemn in the woods. They knew +about the storm that was coming. Now and then Flax heard the leaves +talking in queer little rustling voices. She inherited the ability to +understand what they said from her father. They were talking to each +other now in the words of her father's song. Very likely he had heard +them saying it sometime, and that was how he happened to know it. + + "O what is it shineth so golden-clear + At the rainbow's foot on the dark green hill?" + +Flax heard the maple-leaves inquire. And the pine-leaves answered back: + + "'Tis the Pot of Gold, that for many a year + Has shone, and is shining and dazzling still." + +Then the maple-leaves asked: + + "And whom is it for, O Pilgrim, pray?" + +And the pine-leaves answered: + + "For thee, Sweetheart, shouldst thou go that way." + +Flax did not exactly understand the sense of the last question and +answer between maple and pine-leaves. But they kept on saying it +over and over as she ran along. She was going straight to the tall +pine-tree. She knew just where it was, for she had often been there. Now +the rain-drops began to splash through the green boughs, and the thunder +rolled along the sky. The leaves all tossed about in a strong wind and +their soft rustles grew into a roar, and the branches and the whole tree +caught it up and called out so loud, as they writhed and twisted about +that Flax was almost deafened, the words of the song: + + "O what is it shineth so golden-clear?" + +Flax sped along through the wind and the rain and the thunder. She was +very much afraid that she should not reach the tall pine which was quite +a way distant before the sun shone out, and the rainbow came. + +The sun was already breaking through the clouds when she came in sight +of it, way up above her on a rock. The rain-drops on the trees began to +shine like diamonds, and the words of the song rushed out from their +midst, louder and sweeter: + + "O what is it shineth so golden-clear?" + +Flax climbed for dear life. Red and green and golden rays were already +falling thick around her, and at the foot of the pine-tree something was +shining wonderfully clear and bright. + +At last she reached it, and just at that instant the rainbow became a +perfect one, and there at the foot of the wonderful arch of glory was +the Pot of Gold. Flax could see it brighter than all the brightness of +the rainbow. She sank down beside it and put her hand on it, then she +closed her eyes and sat still, bathed in red and green and violet +light--that, and the golden light from the Pot, made her blind and +dizzy. As she sat there with her hand on the Pot of Gold at the foot +of the rainbow, she could hear the leaves over her singing louder and +louder, till the tones fairly rushed like a wind through her ears. But +this time they only sang the last words of the song: + + "And whom is it for, O Pilgrim, pray? + For thee, Sweetheart, shouldst thou go that way." + +At last she ventured to open her eyes. The rainbow had faded almost +entirely away, only a few tender rose and green shades were arching over +her; but the Pot of Gold under her hand was still there, and shining +brighter than ever. All the pine needles with which the ground around it +was thickly spread, were turned to needles of gold, and some stray +couplets of leaves which were springing up through them were all gilded. + +Flax bent over it trembling and lifted the lid off the pot. She +expected, of course, to find it full of gold pieces that would buy the +grand house and the gardener and the maid that her father had spoken +about. But to her astonishment, when she had lifted the lid off and bent +over the Pot to look into it, the first thing she saw was the face of +her mother looking out of it at her. It was smaller of course, but just +the same loving, kindly face she had left at home. Then, as she looked +longer, she saw her father smiling gently up at her, then came Poppy and +the baby and all the rest of her dear little brothers and sisters +smiling up at her out of the golden gloom inside the Pot. At last she +actually saw the garden and her father in it tying up the roses, and the +pretty little vine-covered house, and, finally, she could see right into +the dear little room where her mother sat with the baby in her lap, and +all the others around her. + +Flax jumped up. "I will run home," said she, "it is late, and I do want +to see them all dreadfully." + +So she left the Golden Pot shining all alone under the pine-tree, and +ran home as fast as she could. + +When she reached the house it was almost twilight, but her father was +still in the garden. Every rose and lily had to be tied up after the +shower, and he was but just finishing. He had the tin milk pan hung on +him like a shield, because it rhymed with man. It certainly was a +beautiful rhyme, but it was very inconvenient. Poor Mother Flower was at +her wits' end to know what to do without it, and it was very awkward for +Father Flower to work with it fastened to him. + +Flax ran breathlessly into the garden, and threw her arms around her +father's neck and kissed him. She bumped her nose against the milk pan, +but she did not mind that; she was so glad to see him again. Somehow, +she never remembered being so glad to see him as she was now since she +had seen his face in the Pot of Gold. + +"Dear father," cried she, "how glad I am to see you! I found the Pot of +Gold at the end of the rainbow!" + +Her father stared at her in amazement. + +"Yes, I did, truly, father," said she. "But it was not full of gold, +after all. You were in it, and mother and the children and the house and +garden and--everything." + +"You were mistaken, dear," said her father, looking at her with his +gentle, sorrowful eyes. "You could not have found the true end of the +rainbow, nor the true Pot of Gold--that is surely full of the most +beautiful gold pieces, with an angel stamped on every one." + +"But I did, father," persisted Flax. + +"You had better go into your mother, Flax," said her father; "she will +be anxious to see you. I know better than you about the Pot of Gold at +the end of the rainbow." + +So Flax went sorrowfully into the house. There was the tea-kettle +singing beside the "skettle," which had some nice smelling soup in it, +the table was laid for supper, and there sat her mother with the baby in +her lap and the others all around her--just as they had looked in the +Pot of Gold. + +Flax had never been so glad to see them before--and if she didn't hug +and kiss them all! + +"I found the Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow, mother," cried she, +"and it was not full of gold, at all; but you and father and the +children looked out of it at me, and I saw the house and garden and +everything in it." + +Her mother looked at her lovingly. "Yes, Flax dear," said she. + +"But father said I was mistaken," said Flax, "and did not find it." + +"Well dear," said her mother, "your father is a poet, and very wise; we +will say no more about it. You can sit down here and hold the baby now, +while I make the tea." + +Flax was perfectly ready to do that; and, as she sat there with her +darling little baby brother crowing in her lap, and watched her pretty +little brothers and sisters and her dear mother, she felt so happy that +she did not care any longer whether she found the true Pot of Gold or +not. + +But, after all, do you know, I think her father was mistaken, and that +she had. + + [F] From "The Pot of Gold and Other Stories," by Mary E. + Wilkins Freeman, published by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company; used by + special arrangement. + + [Illustration] + + + + + [Illustration: VERSES ABOUT FAIRIES] + + + + +THE FAIRY THORN + +_An Ulster Ballad_ + +BY SAMUEL FERGUSON + + + "Get up, our Anna dear, from the weary spinning wheel, + For your father's on the hill, and your mother is asleep: + Come up above the crags, and we'll dance a Highland reel + Around the fairy thorn on the steep." + + At Anna Grace's door, 't was thus the maidens cried-- + Three merry maidens fair, in kirtles of the green; + And Anna laid the sock and the weary wheel aside-- + The fairest of the four, I ween. + + They're glancing through the glimmer of the quiet eve, + Away in milky wavings of the neck and ankle bare; + The heavy-sliding stream in its sleepy song they leave, + And the crags in the ghostly air; + + And linking hand in hand, and singing as they go, + The maids along the hillside have ta'en their fearless way, + Till they come to where the rowan trees in lonely beauty grow + Beside the Fairy Hawthorn gray. + + The Hawthorn stands between the ashes tall and slim, + Like matron with her twin grand-daughters at her knee; + The rowan berries cluster o'er her low head, gray and dim, + In ruddy kisses sweet to see. + + The merry maidens four have ranged them in a row, + Between each lovely couple a stately rowan stem; + And away in mazes wavy, like skimming birds, they go-- + Oh, never carroled bird like them! + + But solemn is the silence of the silvery haze, + That drinks away their voices in echoless repose; + And dreamily the evening has stilled the haunted braes, + And dreamier the gloaming grows. + + And sinking, one by one, like lark-notes from the sky, + When the falcon's shadow saileth across the open shaw, + Are hushed the maidens' voices, as cowering down they lie + In the flutter of their sudden awe. + + For, from the air above, and the grassy ground beneath, + And from the mountain-ashes and the old white thorn between, + A power of faint enchantment doth through their beings breathe, + And they sink down together on the green. + + They sink together silent, and stealing side by side, + They fling their lovely arms o'er their drooping necks so fair; + Then vainly strive again their naked arms to hide, + For their shrinking necks again are bare. + + Thus clasped and prostrate all, with their heads together bowed, + Soft o'er their bosoms beating--the only human sound-- + They hear the silky footsteps of the silent fairy crowd, + Like a river in the air, gliding round. + + Nor scream can raise, nor prayer can any say, + But wild, wild the terror of the speechless three; + For they feel fair Anna Grace drawn silently away, + By whom, they dare not look to see. + + They feel their tresses twine with her parting locks of gold, + And the curls elastic falling, as her head withdraws; + They feel her sliding arms from their trancèd arms unfold, + But they dare not look to see the cause. + + For heavy on their senses the faint enchantment lies, + Through all that night of anguish and perilous amaze; + And neither fear nor wonder can open their quivering eyes, + Or their limbs from the cold ground raise. + + Till out of night the earth has rolled her dewy side, + With every haunted mountain and streamy vale below; + When, as the mist dissolves in the yellow morning tide, + The maidens' trance dissolveth so. + + They fly, the ghastly three, as swiftly as they may, + And told their tale of sorrow to anxious friends in vain-- + They pined away and died within the year and day, + And ne'er was Anna Grace seen again. + + + + +FAIRY DAYS + +BY WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY + + + Beside the old hall fire, upon my nurse's knee, + Of happy fairy days, what tales were told to me! + I thought the world was once all peopled with princesses, + And my heart would beat to hear their loves and their distresses. + And many a quiet night, in slumber sweet and deep, + The pretty fairy people would visit me in sleep. + + I saw them in my dreams come flying east and west; + With wondrous fairy gifts the newborn babe they blessed. + One has brought a jewel, and one a crown of gold, + And one has brought a curse, but she is wrinkled and old. + The gentle queen turns pale to hear those words of sin, + But the king, he only laughs, and bids the dance begin. + + The babe has grown to be the fairest of the land, + And rides the forest green, a hawk upon her hand, + An ambling palfrey white, a golden robe and crown; + I've seen her in my dreams riding up and down: + And heard the ogre laugh, as she fell into his snare, + At the tender little creature, who wept and tore her hair. + + But ever when it seemed her need was at the sorest, + A prince in shining mail comes prancing through the forest, + A waving ostrich-plume, a buckler burnished bright; + I've seen him in my dreams, good sooth! a gallant knight. + His lips are coral red beneath a dark mustache; + See how he waves his hand and how his blue eyes flash! + + "Come forth, thou Paynim knight!" he shouts in accents clear. + The giant and the maid, both tremble his voice to hear. + Saint Mary guard him well! he draws his falchion keen, + The giant and the knight are fighting on the green. + I see them in my dreams, his blade gives stroke on stroke, + The giant pants and reels, and tumbles like an oak! + + With what a blushing grace he falls upon his knee + And takes the lady's hand and whispers, "You are free." + Ah! happy childish tales of knight and faërie! + I waken from my dreams, but there's ne'er a knight for me; + I waken from my dreams, and wish that I could be + A child by the old hall-fire upon my nurse's knee! + + + + + [Illustration: A VISIT TO ELFLAND + From the painting by F. Y. Cory] + + + + +THE FAIRY QUEEN + + + Come, follow, follow me-- + You, fairy elves that be, + Which circle on the green-- + Come, follow Mab, your queen! + Hand in hand let's dance around, + For this place is fairy ground. + + When mortals are at rest, + And snoring in their nest, + Unheard and unespied, + Through keyholes we do glide; + Over tables, stools, and shelves, + We trip it with our fairy elves. + + And if the house be foul + With platter, dish, or bowl, + Up stairs we nimbly creep, + And find the sluts asleep; + There we pinch their arms and thighs-- + None escapes, nor none espies. + + But if the house be swept, + And from uncleanness kept, + We praise the household maid, + And duly she is paid; + For we use, before we go, + To drop a tester in her shoe. + + Upon a mushroom's head, + Our table cloth we spread; + A grain of rye or wheat + Is manchet, which we eat; + Pearly drops of dew we drink, + In acorn cups, filled to the brink. + + The brains of nightingales, + With unctuous fat of snails, + Between two cockles stewed, + Is meat that's easily chewed; + Tails of worms, and marrow of mice, + Do make a dish that's wondrous nice. + + The grasshopper, gnat, and fly, + Serve us for our minstrelsy; + Grace said, we dance a while, + And so the time beguile; + And if the moon doth hide her head, + The glow-worm lights us home to bed. + + On tops of dewy grass + So nimbly do we pass, + The young and tender stalk + Ne'er bends when we do walk; + Yet in the morning may be seen + Where we the night before have been. + + + + +THE SEA PRINCESS + + + In a palace of pearl and sea-weed, + Set round with shining shells, + Under the deeps of the ocean, + The little Sea Princess dwells. + + Sometimes she sees the shadows + Of great whales passing by, + Or white-winged vessels sailing + Between the sea and sky. + + And when through the waves she rises, + Beyond the breakers' roar, + She hears the shouts of the children + At play on the sandy shore. + + Or sees the ships' sides tower + Above like a wet, black wall; + Or shouts to the roaring breakers, + And answers the sea-gull's call. + + But, down in the quiet waters, + Better she loves to play, + Making a sea-weed garden-- + Purple and green and gray; + + Stringing with pearls a necklace, + Or learning curious spells + From the water-witch, gray and ancient, + And hearing the tales she tells. + + Out in the stable her sea-horse + Champs in his crystal stall; + And fishes with scales that glisten + Come leaping forth at her call. + + So the little Sea Princess + Is busy and happy all day, + Just as the human children + Are busy and happy at play. + + And when the darkness gathers + Over the lonely deep, + On a bed of velvet sea-weed + The Princess is rocked to sleep. + + + + +LONG AGO + + + When the fairies used to live here, + Long ago, + There was never any dark, + Or any snow; + But the great big sun kept shining + All the night, + And the roses just kept blooming, + Oh, so bright! + + Then the little children never + Teased their mothers; + And little sisters always + Loved their brothers. + And they played so very gently-- + But, you know, + That was when the fairies lived here, + Long ago. + + + + +THISTLE-TASSEL[G] + +BY FLORENCE HARRISON + + + Thistle-Tassel, Thistle-Tassel, + Dancing in the sunlight; + Thistle-Tassel, Thistle-Tassel, + With your silver wings, + Will you come and live with me + In my little nursery, + Down beside a royal city, + Where the river sings? + + Little Lady, Little Lady, + Stepping in the sunlight; + Little Lady, Little Lady, + Where the rivers run, + What have you to give to me, + In your pretty nursery, + Fairer than a shady valley, + Brighter than the sun? + + Thistle-Tassel, Thistle-Tassel, + Dancing in the twilight; + Thistle-Tassel, Thistle-Tassel, + With your yellow hair, + You shall have a couch of down, + You shall have a golden crown, + And a little gown of silver + Sewn for you to wear. + + Little Lady, Little Lady, + Stooping in the twilight; + Little Lady, Little Lady, + All so bonnie brown, + Roses are a softer bed, + Golden flowers crown my head, + Finer than a robe o' silver + Is a fairy gown. + + Thistle-Tassel, Thistle-Tassel, + Dancing in the starlight; + Thistle-Tassel, Thistle-Tassel, + With a bright penny + You shall buy the sugar plums, + And the honey when it comes, + Very sweet, and golden-glowing + As the honey bee. + + Little Lady, Little Lady, + Sighing in the starlight; + Little Lady, Little Lady, + In the heather curled, + Fairy fruit is full and clear, + And the honey bee is here: + Never need have we of money + In a fairy world. + + Thistle-Tassel, Thistle-Tassel, + Dancing in the moonlight; + Thistle-Tassel, Thistle-Tassel, + Queen of fairy ones, + I will give you street and spire, + Boat, and bridge, and beacon fire, + And a sound of merry music + Where the river runs. + + Little Lady, Little Lady, + Kneeling in the moonlight; + Little Lady, Little Lady, + In your yellow shoon: + Where the boats and bridges be, + Naught have you to give to me + Fairer than a twilit valley, + Brighter than the moon. + + [G] From "Elfin Songs," by Florence Harrison; used by + permission of the publishers, Blackie & Sons, Glasgow. + + + + +SONG OF THE FAIRY + +BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE + + + Over hill, over dale, + Through bush, through brier, + Over park, over pale, + Through flood, through fire, + I do wander everywhere, + Swifter than the moon's sphere; + And I serve the fairy queen, + To dew her orbs upon the green; + The cowslips tall her pensioners be; + In their gold coats spots you see: + These be rubies, fairy favors-- + In those freckles live their savors. + I must go seek some dewdrops here, + And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear. + + + + + [Illustration: _From a Thistle Print, copyright by Detroit Publishing + Company_ + LITTLE OLD MAN OF THE WOODS + FROM A PAINTING BY IRVING R. BACON] + + + + +THE FAIRIES + +BY WILLIAM ALLINGHAM + + + Up the airy mountain, + Down the rushy glen, + We daren't go a-hunting + For fear of little men; + Wee folk, good folk, + Trooping all together: + Green jacket, red cap, + And white owl's feather! + + Down along the rocky shore + Some make their home, + They live on crispy pancakes + Of yellow tide-foam; + Some in the reeds + Of the black mountain-lake, + With frogs for their watch-dogs, + All night awake. + + High on the hill-top + The old King sits; + He is now so old and gray + He's nigh lost his wits. + With a bridge of white mist + Columbkill he crosses, + On his stately journeys + From Slieveleague to Rosses; + Or going up with music + On cold starry nights, + To sup with the Queen + Of the gay Northern Lights. + + They stole little Bridget + For seven years long; + When she came down again + Her friends were all gone. + They took her lightly back, + Between the night and morrow, + They thought that she was fast asleep, + But she was dead with sorrow. + They have kept her ever since + Deep within the lake, + On a bed of flag-leaves, + Watching till she wake. + + By the craggy hill-side, + Through the mosses bare, + They have planted thorn-trees + For pleasure here and there. + Is any man so daring + As dig them up in spite, + He shall find their sharpest thorns + In his bed at night. + + Up the airy mountain, + Down the rushy glen, + We daren't go a-hunting + For fear of little men; + Wee folk, good folk, + Trooping all together; + Green jacket, red cap, + And white owl's feather! + + + + +OH, WHERE DO FAIRIES HIDE THEIR HEADS? + +BY THOMAS HAYNES BAYLY + + + Oh, where do fairies hide their heads + When snow lies on the hills, + When frost has spoiled their mossy beds, + And crystallized their rills? + + Beneath the moon they cannot trip + In circles o'er the plain, + And draughts of dew they cannot sip + Till green leaves come again. + + Perhaps, in small blue diving-bells + They plunge beneath the waves-- + Inhabiting the wreathèd shells + That lie in coral caves. + Perhaps in red Vesuvius + Carousal they maintain; + And cheer their little spirits thus + Till green leaves come again. + + Or, maybe, in soft garments rolled, + In hollow trees they lie, + And sing, when nestled from the cold, + To while the season by. + There, while they sleep in pleasant trance, + 'Neath mossy counterpane, + In dreams they weave some fairy dance, + Till green leaves come again. + + When they return there will be mirth + And music in the air, + And fairy rings upon the earth, + And mischief everywhere. + The maids, to keep the elves aloof, + Will bar the doors in vain; + No key-hole will be fairy-proof, + When green leaves come again. + + + + + [Illustration: MODERN FAIRY TALES] + + + + +THE ELF OF THE WOODLANDS + +RETOLD FROM RICHARD HENGIST HORNE BY WILLIAM BYRON FORBUSH + + +One morning when the summer sun was still sleeping an Elf came up from +below, tickling an oak-tree's foot, skipping like a flea, and +whispering mischievously to himself. + + "With little legs straddling, + He dances about-- + Pretends to be waddling-- + Then leaps with a flout. + Now he stops-- + Now he hops-- + Now cautiously trips + On tiptoe + And sliptoe + He scuttles and skips; + Along the grass gliding, + Half dancing, half sliding." + +There was a pretty white cottage on the edge of the wood, and, with +everybody quiet within, it also seemed asleep. Toward this cottage +skipped the Elf. + +He was a little fellow, scarce five inches tall. His body was as brown +as the bark of a tree, all mixed with green streaks and tarnished gold. +You could hardly see him as he went stooping along against the green +leaves and the brown branches. + +When he got to the sleeping cottage he climbed up the lattice, and +poked his sharp little nose into every crevice. He pulled open a loose +shutter, tapped once or twice on the windows, and when he found a broken +pane--in he went! + +In this cottage lived a girl named Toody. She was not very big, as you +can believe when I tell you that all the shrubs in the garden were +taller than she, and all the flowers nodded over her head. In this same +house lived Toody's cousins, Kitty, and Crocus, and Twig, and Tiny--only +Tiny was a little dog, not a little boy. And here, too, lived +Grandmother Grey. + + "In spectacles, tucker and flower'd-chintz gown, + Who always half smiled when trying to frown." + +Grandmother Grey took care of them all. At five o'clock that morning she +woke up. "What noise do I hear below?" she cried. "It is daylight, but +nobody is up I know." + +So Grandmother Grey threw off her skullcap and bandage, and nightcap +with all its ribbons, bows and strings, and called out loudly: "Come, +children, jump up quickly! There's a rat in the dairy! Come down with +me." + +Then Toody, and Crocus, and Kitty, and Twig, in their nightgowns and +nightcaps, ran scrambling and laughing down stairs, with Tiny barking +and tumbling about between their legs. They crept through the parlor, +where all the shutters were closed but one. Like cautious Indians they +went silently on, Dame Grey and the children in single file, each +holding on to the one before by the tail of her nightgown. + +Into the dairy they went, and stared about. Then they huddled together +in fear, for behind a milk-jug, under the spout, they saw a quaint +little figure. + + "It was golden, and greenish, and earthy brown, + With a perking nose and a pointed chin; + It had very bright eyes and a funny frown, + With a russet-apple's network skin." + +They all started to run in terror, but brave Tiny sprang up and began to +chase the Elf round a milkpan. + +Oh, what a race was there! They ran so fast that the two small bodies +were as one. They looked like the dark band on the humming-top when you +spin it. And just as Tiny was about to catch him, the Elf leaped into a +pan, swam across three pails of milk, climbed the wall and hid on a +shelf. + +"We've lost him; we've lost him!" cried all the children. But, just in +time, Grandmother Grey seized her jelly-bag, swung it across the shelf, +and into it was swept our little elfin friend. + +"Now, children," said she, "Go up and dress." + +The children did not know what the old dame was going to do next. She +led the way into the parlor. "Tiny," said she, "I depend on you to keep +watch for us." So Tiny stood like a soldier, with both ears cocked and +his nose down bent, and watched every motion that was going on in the +bag, which stood up now like a tent on the floor. + +'Twas but a minute before the children were down again, all dressed. +The tea-kettle was singing, and the hot rolls were on the table, and +everybody was ringing the bell all at once for more eggs. But Tiny stood +guard over the jelly-bag tent. + +"I think the Elf is hungry and thirsty," said Toody. So she slipped a +saucer of milk under the edge of the tent, and then, laughing, she +rolled in an egg. They all listened for ten minutes, and then they +plainly heard the crackling of the shell. + +"Away with the tea things!" said Dame Grey to Martha, the maid. "And +bring me my white wicker bird-cage." + +So the bird-cage was brought, and Grandmother Grey took up the jelly-bag +carefully, clapped its mouth to the open cage-door, shook it, and--pop! +in went the Elf, and the cage door was made fast! Did he moan? Did he +complain? Not he. With one spring and ten kicks he climbed to the pole +and seated himself there, with his hands on the pole. + +Toody ran close to the cage, and so did Crocus and Twig; and Kitty, a +little farther off, stood staring and smiling. But the Elf was not a bit +frightened. He sat swinging his little legs, with his tongue in his left +cheek and his left eye looking down with a half-winking, impertinent +air. + +"Now," cried Dame Grey, "tell us who you are, little Sir, and what you +are. Do you know that you have spoilt all my cream, and broken my best +china-cup? Speak up now! What have you to say for yourself?" + +The Elf was very angry, but it would never do to show it. So he tried +to look as gentle as a good child reading a book. He rubbed some of +the yellow of the egg off his chin, and stuck it on his leg like a +buttercup. He shrugged his shoulders up in a bunch, and then, with a +sneeze as if he had caught cold in the forest, he began: + + "Nine white witches sat in a circle close, + With their backs against a greenwood tree, + As around the dead-nettle's summer stem + Its woolly white blossoms you see. + Then from hedges and ditches, these old lady-witches, + Took bird-weed and rag-weed and spear-grass for me, + And they wove me a bower, 'gainst the snow-storm or shower, + In a dry old hollow beech tree. + _Twangle tee!_ + _Ri-rigdum, dingle shade-laugh, tingle dee!_" + +"Nonsense!" said Grandmother Grey. "You can't fool me with your nettles, +and nonsense, and hedges, and ditches. What do I care about all that? +You know as well as I do that you came here to _steal cake_ and _drink +cream_. Besides, you have broken my best china-cup!" + +The Elf gave a sigh, and looked up in the air; then took a glance at +Martha's broom, and as he looked down he thought he saw Toody winking at +him. So he just smiled and said: "I declare, by the tom-tit's folly, and +the mole's pin-hole eye, and the woodpecker's thorny tongue, that I have +told you the truth." + +Noticing that Toody was still winking at him he kept on, and told the +following story: + +"One day when I was loafing about in the wood I heard a strange noise in +the bushes. I peeped over the edge, and there was a robin bathing in the +brook. It ruffled its feathers with a spattering sound, made itself into +a fussy ball, and threw up a shower of water; but what I most noticed +was its eye--its eye!--" + +"Its eye--its eye?" broke in all the children. "What about its eye?" + +The Elf glanced again at Toody, and he saw that this time she gave him a +quiet nod, as much as to say, "I'll find you a chance." So the Elf gave +a downward squint at the closed cage-door, just for a hint. Then he +scratched his cheek, jumped down on the floor of the cage, and began to +act out a "robin," just as if he were on the stage. + +"Its eye--its eye? Well, just as soon as it caught a glimpse of me it +bobbed--took wing--and was out of sight. Then back it came again, as if +angry. It looked like an alderman lecturing the poor, but meaning really +to--_unlock the cage!_ I mean--to try to fool me. See! How high it +flies. Clear up to the tip-top of the tree. Look at its large bright +eye! There! There! See how it bobs--makes a quick bow, just as I am +doing--points down its tail and up its nose--and off it goes!" + +And out and off went the Elf! + +"Run, Tiny, run! Oh, Kitty! Twig! The little rascal is gone! Run, Toody, +run! Ah, I caught you; you are the one who loosened the cage-door. Run, +Tiny! Oh, Kitty, Twig, and Crocus, that robin redbreast story was only +meant to fool us!" Thus cried Grandmother Grey, till she was breathless. + + "Off they all ran trooping, + And hallooing and whooping, + Beneath the low boughs stooping, + Right through the wood, + For Grandmama Grey, + Like an old duck, led the way, + When a string of ducks trudge to a flood. + Then came Kitty, side by side + With Toody, who oft cried; + 'Oh, Kitty dear, was ever such rare fun, fun, fun!' + And Crocus close to Twig, + Both scampered in a jig, + For they knew the Elf his freedom-race had won, won, won! + As for him, the roguish Elf, + He took good care of himself; + His mites of legs they twinkled as he fled, fled, fled. + He was scarcely seen, indeed, + He so glistened with his speed, + And his hair streamed out like silver grass behind his head." + +So Dame Grey and the children chased the Elf till they were hot and +tired, and till the sun went down; and by and by they gave up, and all +went home to let Martha wash their soiled hands and faces. + +It was a warm and pleasant night, and before very long all the children +were fast asleep. + + "Within a very little nook, + Toody always slept alone, + Its strip of window stole a look + Over the lawn and hayrick-cone. + + Within the open lattice crept + Some jasmine from the cottage wall, + And to the breathing of her sleep, + Softly swayed, with rise and fall. + + But something else comes creeping in, + As softly, from the starry night-- + The Elf!--'tis he!--first peeping in, + Now like a moth doth he alight. + + He trips up to the little bed, + And near it hangs a full-blown rose; + Then in the middle of the flower + Places a light that gleams and glows. + + It is a glowworm from the lea, + And lighting up the rose's heart, + A fairy grot it seems to be, + Where dream-thoughts live and ne'er depart. + + And now the Elf once more is gone + Into the woodlands wild, + Leaving his blessing thus to shine + Upon the sleeping child." + + + + +PRINCESS FINOLA AND THE DWARF[H] + +BY EDMUND LEAMY + + +A long, long time ago there lived in a little hut in the midst of a +bare, brown, lonely moor an old woman and a young girl. The old woman +was withered, sour-tempered, and dumb. The young girl was as sweet and +as fresh as an opening rosebud, and her voice was as musical as the +whisper of a stream in the woods in the hot days of summer. The little +hut, made of branches woven closely together, was shaped like a +bee-hive. In the center of the hut a fire burned night and day from +year's end to year's end, though it was never touched or tended by human +hand. In the cold days and nights of winter it gave out light and heat +that made the hut cozy and warm, but in the summer nights and days it +gave out light only. With their heads to the wall of the hut and their +feet toward the fire were two sleeping-couches--one of plain woodwork, +in which slept the old woman; the other was Finola's. It was of bog-oak, +polished as a looking-glass, and on it were carved flowers and birds of +all kinds that gleamed and shone in the light of the fire. This couch +was fit for a Princess, and a Princess Finola was, though she did not +know it herself. + +Outside the hut the bare, brown, lonely moor stretched for miles on +every side, but toward the east it was bounded by a range of mountains +that looked to Finola blue in the daytime, but which put on a hundred +changing colors as the sun went down. Nowhere was a house to be seen, +nor a tree, nor a flower, nor sign of any living thing. From morning +till night, nor hum of bee, nor song of bird, nor voice of man, nor any +sound fell on Finola's ear. When the storm was in the air the great +waves thundered on the shore beyond the mountains, and the wind shouted +in the glens; but when it sped across the moor it lost its voice, and +passed as silently as the dead. At first the silence frightened Finola, +but she got used to it after a time, and often broke it by talking to +herself and singing. + +The only other person beside the old woman Finola ever saw was a dumb +Dwarf who, mounted on a broken-down horse, came once a month to the hut, +bringing with him a sack of corn for the old woman and Finola. Although +he couldn't speak to her, Finola was always glad to see the Dwarf and +his old horse, and she used to give them cake made with her own white +hands. As for the Dwarf he would have died for the little Princess, he +was so much in love with her, and often and often his heart was heavy +and sad as he thought of her pining away in the lonely moor. + +It chanced that he came one day, and she did not, as usual, come out to +greet him. He made signs to the old woman, but she took up a stick and +struck him, and beat his horse and drove him away; but as he was leaving +he caught a glimpse of Finola at the door of the hut, and saw that she +was crying. This sight made him so very miserable that he could think of +nothing else but her sad face, that he had always seen so bright; and he +allowed the old horse to go on without minding where he was going. +Suddenly he heard a voice saying: "It is time for you to come." + +The Dwarf looked, and right before him, at the foot of a green hill, was +a little man not half as big as himself, dressed in a green jacket with +brass buttons, and a red cap and tassel. + +"It is time for you to come," he said the second time; "but you are +welcome, anyhow. Get off your horse and come in with me, that I may +touch your lips with the wand of speech, that we may have a talk +together." + +The Dwarf got off his horse and followed the little man through a hole +in the side of a green hill. The hole was so small that he had to go on +his hands and knees to pass through it, and when he was able to stand he +was only the same height as the little Fairyman. After walking three or +four steps they were in a splendid room, as bright as day. Diamonds +sparkled in the roof as stars sparkle in the sky when the night is +without a cloud. The roof rested on golden pillars, and between the +pillars were silver lamps, but their light was dimmed by that of the +diamonds. In the middle of the room was a table, on which were two +golden plates and two silver knives and forks, and a brass bell as big +as a hazelnut, and beside the table were two little chairs. + +"Take a chair," said the Fairy, "and I will ring for the wand of +speech." + +The Dwarf sat down, and the Fairyman rang the little brass bell, and in +came a little weeny Dwarf no bigger than your hand. + +"Bring me the wand of speech," said the Fairy, and the weeny Dwarf bowed +three times and walked out backward, and in a minute he returned, +carrying a little black wand with a red berry at the top of it, and, +giving it to the Fairy, he bowed three times and walked out backward as +he had done before. + +The little man waved the rod three times over the Dwarf, and struck him +once on the right shoulder and once on the left shoulder, and then +touched his lips with the red berry, and said: "Speak!" + +The Dwarf spoke, and he was so rejoiced at hearing the sound of his own +voice that he danced about the room. + +"Who are you at all, at all?" said he to the Fairy. + +"Who is yourself?" said the Fairy. "But come, before we have any talk +let us have something to eat, for I am sure you are hungry." + +Then they sat down to table, and the Fairy rang the little brass bell +twice, and the weeny Dwarf brought in two boiled snails in their shells, +and when they had eaten the snails he brought in a dormouse, and when +they had eaten the dormouse he brought in two wrens, and when they had +eaten the wrens he brought in two nuts full of wine, and they became +very merry, and the Fairyman sang "Cooleen Dhas," and the Dwarf sang +"The Little Blackbird of the Glen." + +"Did you ever hear the 'Foggy Dew'?" said the Fairy. + +"No," said the Dwarf. + +"Well, then, I'll give it to you; but we must have some more wine." + +And the wine was brought, and he sang the "Foggy Dew," and the Dwarf +said it was the sweetest song he had ever heard, and that the Fairyman's +voice would coax the birds off the bushes! + +"You asked me who I am?" said the Fairy. + +"I did," said the Dwarf. + +"And I asked you who is yourself?" + +"You did," said the Dwarf. + +"And who are you, then?" + +"Well, to tell the truth, I don't know," said the Dwarf, and he blushed +like a rose. + +"Well, tell me what you know about yourself." + +"I remember nothing at all," said the Dwarf, "before the day I found +myself going along with a crowd of all sorts of people to the great fair +of the Liffey. We had to pass by the King's palace on our way, and as we +were passing the King sent for a band of jugglers to come and show their +tricks before him. I followed the jugglers to look on, and when the play +was over the King called me to him, and asked me who I was and where I +came from. I was dumb then, and couldn't answer; but even if I could +speak I could not tell him what he wanted to know, for I remembered +nothing of myself before that day. Then the King asked the jugglers, but +they knew nothing about me, and no one knew anything, and then the King +said he would take me into his service; and the only work I have to do +is to go once a month with a bag of corn to the hut in the lonely moor." + +"And there you fell in love with the little Princess," said the Fairy, +winking at the Dwarf. + +The poor Dwarf blushed twice as much as he had done before. + +"You need not blush," said the Fairy; "it is a good man's case. And now +tell me, truly, do you love the Princess, and what would you give to +free her from the spell of enchantment that is over her?" + +"I would give my life," said the Dwarf. + +"Well, then, listen to me," said the Fairy. "The Princess Finola was +banished to the lonely moor by the King, your master. He killed her +father, who was the rightful King, and would have killed Finola, only he +was told by an old sorceress that if he killed her he would die himself +on the same day, and she advised him to banish her to the lonely moor, +and she said she would fling a spell of enchantment over it, and that +until the spell was broken Finola could not leave the moor. And the +sorceress also promised that she would send an old woman to watch over +the Princess by night and by day, so that no harm should come to her; +but she told the King that he himself should select a messenger to take +food to the hut, and that he should look out for someone who had never +seen or heard of the Princess, and whom he could trust never to tell +anyone anything about her; and that is the reason he selected you." + +"Since you know so much," said the Dwarf, "can you tell me who I am, and +where I came from?" + +"You will know that time enough," said the Fairy. "I have given you back +your speech. It will depend solely on yourself whether you will get back +your memory of who and what you were before the day you entered the +King's service. But are you really willing to try and break the spell of +enchantment and free the Princess?" + +"I am," said the Dwarf. + +"Whatever it will cost you?" + +"Yes, if it cost me my life," said the Dwarf; "but tell me, how can the +spell be broken?" + +"Oh, it is easy enough to break the spell if you have the weapons," said +the Fairy. + +"And what are they, and where are they?" said the Dwarf. + +"The spear of the shining haft and the dark blue blade and the silver +shield," said the Fairy. "They are on the farther bank of the Mystic +Lake in the Island of the Western Seas. They are there for the man who +is bold enough to seek them. If you are the man who will bring them back +to the lonely moor you will only have to strike the shield three times +with the haft, and three times with the blade of the spear, and the +silence of the moor will be broken forever, the spell of enchantment +will be removed, and the Princess will be free." + +"I will set out at once," said the Dwarf, jumping from his chair. + +"And whatever it cost you," said the Fairy, "will you pay the price?" + +"I will," said the Dwarf. + +"Well, then, mount your horse, give him his head, and he will take you +to the shore opposite the Island of the Mystic Lake. You must cross to +the island on his back, and make your way through the water-steeds that +swim around the island night and day to guard it; but woe betide you if +you attempt to cross without paying the price, for if you do the angry +water-steeds will rend you and your horse to pieces. And when you come +to the Mystic Lake you must wait until the waters are as red as wine, +and then swim your horse across it, and on the farther side you will +find the spear and shield; but woe betide you if you attempt to cross +the lake before you pay the price, for if you do, the black Cormorants +of the Western Seas will pick the flesh from your bones." + +"What is the price?" said the Dwarf. + +"You will know that time enough," said the Fairy; "but now go, and good +luck go with you." + +The Dwarf thanked the Fairy, and said good-by. He then threw the reins +on his horse's neck, and started up the hill, that seemed to grow bigger +and bigger as he ascended, and the Dwarf soon found that what he took +for a hill was a great mountain. After traveling all the day, toiling up +by steep crags and heathery passes, he reached the top as the sun was +setting in the ocean, and he saw far below him out in the waters the +island of the Mystic Lake. + +He began his descent to the shore, but long before he reached it the sun +had set, and darkness, unpierced by a single star, dropped upon the sea. +The old horse, worn out by his long and painful journey, sank beneath +him, and the Dwarf was so tired that he rolled off his back and fell +asleep by his side. + +He awoke at the breaking of the morning, and saw that he was almost at +the water's edge. He looked out to sea, and saw the island, but nowhere +could he see the water-steeds, and he began to fear he must have taken a +wrong course in the night, and that the island before him was not the +one he was in search of. But even while he was so thinking he heard +fierce and angry snortings, and, coming swiftly from the island to the +shore, he saw the swimming and prancing steeds. Sometimes their heads +and manes only were visible, and sometimes, rearing, they rose half out +of the water, and, striking it with their hoofs, churned it into foam, +and tossed the white spray to the skies. As they approached nearer and +nearer their snortings became more terrible, and their nostrils shot +forth clouds of vapor. The Dwarf trembled at the sight and sound, and +his old horse, quivering in every limb, moaned piteously, as if in pain. +On came the steeds, until they almost touched the shore, then rearing, +they seemed about to spring on to it. + +The frightened Dwarf turned his head to fly, and as he did so he heard +the twang of a golden harp, and right before him whom should he see but +the little man of the hills, holding a harp in one hand and striking the +strings with the other. + +"Are you ready to pay the price?" said he, nodding gayly to the Dwarf. + +As he asked the question, the listening water-steeds snorted more +furiously than ever. + +"Are you ready to pay the price?" said the little man a second time. + +A shower of spray, tossed on shore by the angry steeds, drenched the +Dwarf to the skin, and sent a cold shiver to his bones, and he was so +terrified that he could not answer. + +"For the third and last time, are you ready to pay the price?" asked the +Fairy, as he flung the harp behind him and turned to depart. + +When the Dwarf saw him going he thought of the little Princess in the +lonely moor, and his courage came back, and he answered bravely: + +"Yes, I am ready." + +The water-steeds, hearing his answer, and snorting with rage, struck the +shore with their pounding hoofs. + +"Back to your waves!" cried the little harper; and as he ran his fingers +across his lyre, the frightened steeds drew back into the waters. + +"What is the price?" asked the Dwarf. + +"Your right eye," said the Fairy; and before the Dwarf could say a word, +the Fairy scooped out the eye with his finger, and put it into his +pocket. + +The Dwarf suffered most terrible agony; but he resolved to bear it for +the sake of the little Princess. Then the Fairy sat down on a rock at +the edge of the sea, and, after striking a few notes, he began to play +the "Strains of Slumber." + +The sound crept along the waters, and the steeds, so ferocious a moment +before, became perfectly still. They had no longer any motion of their +own, and they floated on the top of the tide like foam before a breeze. + +"Now," said the Fairy, as he led the Dwarf's horse to the edge of the +tide. + +The Dwarf urged the horse into the water, and once out of his depth, the +old horse struck out boldly for the island. The sleeping water-steeds +drifted helplessly against him, and in a short time he reached the +island safely, and he neighed joyously as his hoofs touched solid +ground. + +The Dwarf rode on and on, until he came to a bridle-path, and following +this, it led him up through winding lanes, bordered with golden furze +that filled the air with fragrance, and brought him to the summit of the +green hills that girdled and looked down on the Mystic Lake. Here the +horse stopped of his own accord, and the Dwarf's heart beat quickly as +his eye rested on the lake, that, clipped round by the ring of hills, +seemed in the breezeless and sunlit air-- + + "As still as death. + And as bright as life can be." + +After gazing at it for a long time, he dismounted, and lay at his ease +in the pleasant grass. Hour after hour passed, but no change came over +the face of the waters; and when the night fell, sleep closed the +eyelids of the Dwarf. + +The song of the lark awoke him in the early morning, and, starting up, +he looked at the lake, but its waters were as bright as they had been +the day before. + +Toward midday he beheld what he thought was a black cloud sailing across +the sky from east to west. It seemed to grow larger as it came nearer +and nearer, and when it was high above the lake he saw it was a huge +bird, the shadow of whose outstretched wings darkened the waters of the +lake; and the Dwarf knew it was one of the Cormorants of the Western +Seas. As it descended slowly, he saw that it held in one of its claws a +branch of a tree larger than a full-grown oak, and laden with clusters +of ripe red berries. It alighted at some distance from the Dwarf, and, +after resting for a time, it began to eat the berries and to throw the +stones into the lake, and wherever a stone fell a bright red stain +appeared in the water. As he looked more closely at the bird the Dwarf +saw that it had all the signs of old age, and he could not help +wondering how it was able to carry such a heavy tree. + +Later in the day, two other birds, as large as the first, but younger, +came up from the west and settled down beside him. They also ate the +berries, and throwing the stones into the lake it was soon as red as +wine. + +When they had eaten all the berries, the young birds began to pick the +decayed feathers off the old bird and to smooth his plumage. As soon as +they had completed their task, he rose slowly from the hill and sailed +out over the lake, and dropping down on the waters dived beneath them. +In a moment he came to the surface, and shot up into the air with a +joyous cry, and flew off to the west in all the vigor of renewed youth, +followed by the other birds. + +When they had gone so far that they were like specks in the sky, the +Dwarf mounted his horse and descended toward the lake. + +He was almost at the margin, and in another minute would have plunged +in, when he heard a fierce screaming in the air, and before he had time +to look up, the three birds were hovering over the lake. + +The Dwarf drew back frightened. + +The birds wheeled over his head, and then, swooping down, they flew +close to the water, covering it with their wings, and uttering harsh +cries. + +Then, rising to a great height, they folded their wings and dropped +headlong, like three rocks, on the lake, crashing its surface, and +scattering a wine-red shower upon the hills. + +Then the Dwarf remembered what the Fairy told him, that if he attempted +to swim the lake, without paying the price, the three Cormorants of the +Western Seas would pick the flesh off his bones. He knew not what to do, +and was about to turn away, when he heard once more the twang of the +golden harp, and the little fairy of the hills stood before him. + +"Faint heart never won fair lady," said the little harper. "Are you +ready to pay the price? The spear and shield are on the opposite bank, +and the Princess Finola is crying this moment in the lonely moor." + +At the mention of Finola's name the Dwarf's heart grew strong. + +"Yes," he said; "I am ready--win or die. What is the price?" + +"Your left eye," said the Fairy. And as soon as said he scooped out the +eye, and put it in his pocket. + +The poor blind Dwarf almost fainted with pain. + +"It's your last trial," said the Fairy, "and now do what I tell you. +Twist your horse's mane round your right hand, and I will lead him to +the water. Plunge in, and fear not. I gave you back your speech. When +you reach the opposite bank you will get back your memory, and you will +know who and what you are." + +Then the Fairy led the horse to the margin of the lake. + +"In with you now, and good luck go with you," said the Fairy. + +The Dwarf urged the horse. He plunged into the lake, and went down and +down until his feet struck the bottom. Then he began to ascend, and +as he came near the surface of the water the Dwarf thought he saw a +glimmering light, and when he rose above the water he saw the bright sun +shining and the green hills before him, and he shouted with joy at +finding his sight restored. + +But he saw more. Instead of the old horse he had ridden into the lake he +was bestride a noble steed, and as the steed swam to the bank the Dwarf +felt a change coming over himself, and an unknown vigor in his limbs. + +When the steed touched the shore he galloped up the hillside, and on the +top of the hill was a silver shield, bright as the sun, resting against +a spear standing upright in the ground. + +The Dwarf jumped off, and, running toward the shield, he saw himself as +in a looking-glass. + +He was no longer a dwarf, but a gallant knight. At that moment his +memory came back to him, and he knew he was Conal, one of the Knights of +the Red Branch, and he remembered now that the spell of dumbness and +deformity had been cast upon him by the Witch of the Palace of the +Quicken Trees. + +Slinging his shield upon his left arm, he plucked the spear from the +ground and leaped on to his horse. With a light heart he swam back over +the lake, and nowhere could he see the black Cormorants of the Western +Seas, but three white swans floating abreast followed him to the bank. +When he reached the bank he galloped down to the sea, and crossed to the +shore. + +Then he flung the reins upon his horse's neck, and swifter than the wind +the gallant horse swept on and on, and it was not long until he was +bounding over the enchanted moor. Wherever his hoofs struck the ground, +grass and flowers sprang up, and great trees with leafy branches rose on +every side. + +At last the knight reached the little hut. Three times he struck the +shield with the haft and three times with the blade of his spear. At the +last blow the hut disappeared, and standing before him was the little +Princess. + +The knight took her in his arms and kissed her; then he lifted her on to +the horse, and, leaping up before her, he turned toward the north, to +the palace of the Red Branch Knights; and as they rode on beneath the +leafy trees, from every tree the birds sang out, for the spell of +deathly silence over the lonely moor was broken forever. + +[H] From "The Golden Spear," by Edmund Leamy; used by permission of the +publisher, Desmond Fitzgerald, New York. + + + + +THE STRAW OX + +_A Russian Tale_ + + +An old man and an old woman lived in an old house on the edge of the +forest. The old man worked in the field all day and the woman spun flax. +But for all of their hard work they were very poor--never one penny +could they save. One day the old man said to the old woman: + +"I would like to give you something to please you, but I have nothing to +give." + +"Never mind that," said the old woman, "make me a straw ox." + +"A straw ox!" cried the old man. "What will you do with that?" + +"Never mind that," said the old woman. + +So the old man made a straw ox. + +"Smear it all over with tar," said the old woman. + +"Why should I smear it with tar?" asked the old man. + +"Never mind that," said the old woman. + +So the old man smeared the straw ox all over with tar. + +The next morning when the old woman went out into the field to gather +flax she took the straw ox with her and left it standing alone near the +edge of the forest. + +A bear came out of the woods, and said to the ox: "Who are you?" + + "I am an ox all smeared with tar, + And filled with straw, as oxen are," + +replied the ox. + +"Oh," said the bear. "I need some straw to mend my coat, and the tar +will keep it in place. Give me some straw and some tar." + +"Help yourself," said the ox. + +So the bear began to tear at the ox, and his great paws stuck fast, and +he pulled and he tugged, and he tugged and he pulled, and the more he +pulled and tugged, the faster he stuck, and he could not get away. + +Then the ox dragged the bear to the old house on the edge of the forest. + +When the old woman came back with her apron full of flax and saw that +the straw ox had gone she ran home as fast as she could. There stood the +ox with the bear stuck fast to him. + +"Husband, husband! Come here at once," she cried. "The ox has brought +home a bear; what shall we do?" + +So the old man came as fast as he could, pulled the bear off the ox, +tied him up, and threw him into the cellar. + +The next morning when the old woman went into the field to gather flax +she again took the straw ox with her, and again she left him standing +alone near the edge of the forest. + +A wolf came out of the woods, and said to the ox: "Who are you?" + + "I am an ox all smeared with tar, + And filled with straw, as oxen are," + +replied the ox. + +"Oh," said the wolf, "I need some tar to smear my coat so that the dogs +cannot catch me." + +"Help yourself," said the ox. + +The wolf put up his paws to take the tar and his paws stuck fast. He +pulled and he tugged, and he tugged and he pulled, and the more he +pulled and tugged, the faster he stuck and he could not get away. + +Then the ox dragged the wolf to the old house on the edge of the forest. + +When the old woman came back with her apron full of flax and saw that +the straw ox had gone she ran home as fast as she could. There stood the +ox in the yard with the wolf stuck fast to him. + + [Illustration: "THEN CAME THE FOX, WITH MANY GEESE RUNNING BEFORE + HIM"] + +"Husband, husband! Come here at once!" she cried. "The ox has brought +home a wolf; what shall we do?" + +So the old man came as fast as he could, pulled the wolf off the ox, +tied him up, and threw him into the cellar. + +The next morning when the old woman went out into the field to gather +flax she again took the straw ox with her, and again she left it +standing alone near the edge of the forest. + +A fox came out of the woods, and said to the ox: "Who are you?" + + "I am an ox all smeared with tar, + And filled with straw, as oxen are," + +replied the ox. + +"Oh," said the fox, "I need some tar to smear my coat so that the dogs +cannot catch me." + +"Help yourself," said the ox. + +The fox put up his paws to take the tar, and his paws stuck fast. He +pulled and he tugged, and he tugged and he pulled, and the more he +pulled and tugged, the faster he stuck, and he could not get away. + +Then the ox dragged the fox to the old house on the edge of the forest. + +When the old woman came back with her apron full of flax and saw that +the straw ox had gone she ran home as fast as she could. There stood the +ox with the fox stuck fast to him. + +"Husband, husband! Come here at once!" she cried. "The ox has brought +home a fox; what shall we do?" + +So the old man came as fast as he could, pulled the fox off the ox, tied +him up, and threw him into the cellar. + +The next morning when the woman came back with her apron full of flax +and saw that the ox had gone and she had run home as fast as she could, +there stood the ox with a rabbit stuck fast to him. + +And the old man threw the rabbit into the cellar. + +The next morning the old man said: + +"Now we will see what will come of all of this." + +So he took his knife and sat down by the cellar door and began to make +the knife sharp and bright. + +"What are you doing, old man?" asked the bear. + +"I am making my knife sharp and bright so as to cut up your coat and +make a nice warm jacket for the old woman to keep her warm this winter." + +"Oh," said the bear. "Do not cut up my coat. Let me go, and I will bring +you some nice, sweet honey to eat." + +"Very well," said the old man, "see to it that you do." + +So the old man let the bear go. + +Then he sat down again and began to make his knife sharp and bright. + +"What are you doing, old man?" asked the wolf. + +"I am making my knife sharp and bright so as to cut up your coat to make +me a fine fur cap," said the old man. + +"Oh," said the wolf. "Do not cut up my coat. Let me go and I will bring +you some sheep." + +"Very well," said the old man, "see to it that you do." + +So the old man let the wolf go. + +Then he sat down again with his knife in his hand. + +"What are you doing, old man?" asked the fox. + +"I am making my knife sharp and bright so as to cut up your coat to make +me a nice fur collar." + +"Oh," said the fox, "do not cut up my coat. Let me go and I will bring +you some geese." + +"Very well," said the old man, "see to it that you do." + +And in the same way he let the rabbit loose, who said that he would +bring some cabbage and some turnips and some carrots. + +The next morning early the old woman woke up and said: + +"Some one is knocking at the door." + +So the old man got up and went to the door and opened it. + +"See," said the bear, "I have brought you a jar full of honey." + +"Very well," said the old man, and he gave the jar to the old woman who +put it on the shelf. + +Then came the wolf driving a flock of sheep into the yard. + +"See," said the wolf, "I have brought you a flock of sheep." + +"Very well," said the old man, and he drove the sheep into the pasture. + +Then came the fox, with many geese running before him, and the old man +drove them into the pen; and then came the rabbit with cabbages and +turnips and carrots and other good things, and the old woman took them +and put them into the pot and cooked them. + +And the old man said to the old woman, "Now we have sheep in the pasture +and many geese in the pen, and we are rich, and I can give you something +to please you." + + + + +THE LITTLE PRINCESS OF THE FEARLESS HEART + +BY B. J. DASKAM + + +Once upon a time the great, yellow stork carried a baby Princess to the +Queen of that country which lies next to fairy-land. + +All throughout the kingdom the bells rang, the people shouted, and the +King declared a holiday for a whole year. But the Queen was very +anxious, for she knew that the fairies are a queer lot, and their +borders were very close indeed. + +"We must be very careful to slight none of them at the christening," she +said, "for goodness knows what they might do, if we did!" + +So the wise-men drew up the lists, and when the day for the christening +arrived, the fairies were all there, and everything went as smoothly as +a frosted cake. + +But the Queen said to the Lady-in-waiting: + +"The first fairy godmother gave her nothing but a kiss! I don't call +that much of a gift!" + +"'Sh!" whispered the Lady-in-waiting. "The fairies hear everything!" + +And indeed, the fairy heard her well enough, and very angry she was +about it, too. For she was so old that she knew all about it, from +beginning to end, and she was sure that the Wizard with Three Dragons +was sitting in the Black Forest, watching the whole matter in his +crystal globe. So she had whispered her gift--which was nothing more nor +less than a Fearless Heart--into the ear of the Little Princess. But the +Queen thought she had only kissed her. + +So, when the clock was on the hour of four (which, as every one knows, +is the end of christenings and fairy gifts) the first godmother went up +to the golden cradle. + +"Since my first gift was not satisfactory to every one," she said, +angrily, "I will give the Little Princess another. And that is, that +when the time comes she shall marry the Prince of the Black Heart!" + +Then the clock struck four, while the Queen wept on the bosom of the +Lady-in-waiting. + +And that was the end of the christening. + +Then the King called the wise-men together, and for forty days and +nights they read the books and studied the stars. + +In the end, they laid out a Garden, with a wall so high that the sun +could not shine over it until noon, and so broad that it was a day's +journey for a swift horse to cross it. One tiny door there was: but the +first gate was of iron, and five-and-twenty men-at-arms stood before it, +day and night, with drawn swords; the second gate was of beaten copper, +and before that were fifty archers, with arrows on the string; the third +gate was of triple brass, and before it a hundred knights, in full +armor, rode without ceasing. + +Into the Garden went the Little Princess, and the Queen, and all her +ladies; but no man might pass the gates, save the King himself. And +there the Princess dwelt until her seventeenth birthday, without seeing +any more of the world than the inside of the wall. + +Now it happened that, some time before, a young Prince had ridden out of +the west and set about his travels. For the wise-man on the hill had +come to him and said: + +"In the kingdom which lies next to fairyland dwells a Little Princess +who has a Fearless Heart. There is a wall which will not be easy to +climb, but the Princess is more beautiful than anything else in the +world!" + +And that was enough for the Prince, so he girded on his sword, and set +out, singing as he went for pure lightness of heart. + +But it is not so easy to find fairyland as it is to eat a ripe apple, +and the Prince could have told you that, before he was through. For in +some places it is so broad that it takes in the whole world, and in +others so narrow that a flea could cross it in two jumps. So that some +people never leave it all their lives long, but others cross at a single +step, and never see it at all. + +Finally, the Prince came to the place where all roads meet, and they +were as much alike as the hairs on a dog's back. But it was all one to +him, so he rode straight ahead and lost himself in fairyland. + +When the first fairy godmother saw him, she laughed to herself and flew +away, straight over his head, to the wall around the Garden. But you may +be sure that she did not trouble the guards at the triple gates: for, if +one has wings, what is the use of stairs? So over the wall she flew to +the room where the Little Princess lay sleeping. + +You may readily believe that the Princess was astonished when she awoke +to find the fairy beside her bed, but she was not in the least alarmed, +for, you see, she did not know that there was anything in the world to +be afraid of. + +"My dear," said the old lady, "I am your first fairy godmother." + +"How do you do, Godmother?" said the Princess, and she sat up in bed and +courtesied. Which is a very difficult trick, indeed, and it is not every +Princess who can do it. + +Her godmother was so delighted that she leaned over and kissed her. + +"That is the second time I have kissed you," she said. "When I go, I +will kiss you again, and you had better save the three of them, for they +will be useful when you go out into the world. And, my dear, it is high +time that you were going out." + +Then the Little Princess was overjoyed, but she only nodded her head +wisely and said: + +"I know, the world is as big as the whole Garden, and wider than the +wall. But I can never go out, for the gates are always locked." + +"If you do not go now," said the fairy, "you will have to go later, and +that might not be so well. And you should not argue with me, for I am +older than you will ever be, and your godmother, besides. Now kiss me, +for I must be going." + +So she flew away, about her other affairs, for she was a very busy old +lady indeed. + +In the morning the Princess went to breakfast with the King and the +Queen. + +"Mother," she said, "it is high time that I went out into the world!" + +The Queen was so startled that she dropped her egg on the floor and the +King was red as a beet with anger. + +"Tut! Tut!" he shouted. "What nonsense is this?" + +"My fairy godmother was here last night," said the Princess, "and she +told me all about it. I will go this morning, please, if I may." + +"Nonsense!" roared the King. + +"You will do no such thing!" wailed the Queen. + +"There could have been no one here," said the King, "for the gates were +all locked." + +"Who told you that you had a fairy godmother?" asked the Queen. + +And there was an end of that. + +But that night, after the Princess had said her prayers and crept into +bed, she heard her godmother calling to her from the Garden, so she +slipped on her cloak and stole out into the moonlight. There was no one +to be seen, so she pattered along in her little bare feet until she came +to the gate in the wall. + +While she was hesitating whether or not to run back to her little white +bed, the gates of triple brass opened as easily as if her godmother had +oiled them, and the Little Princess passed through the copper gates, and +the iron gate, and out into fairyland. + +But if you ask me why she saw the guards at the gates no more than they +saw her, I can only tell you that I do not know, and you will have to be +satisfied with that. + +As for the Princess, she was as happy as a duck in a puddle. As she +danced along through the forests, the flowers broke from their stems to +join her, the trees dropped golden fruit into her very hands, and the +little brook which runs through fairyland left its course, and followed +her, singing. + +And all the while, her godmother was coming down behind her, close at +hand, to see that she came to no harm; but the Princess did not know +that. + +At last she came to the place where the Prince from the west lay +sleeping. He was dreaming that he had climbed the wall and had found +the Princess, so that he smiled in his sleep and she knelt above him, +wondering, for she had never seen a man before, save her father, the +King, and the Prince was very fair. So she bent closer and closer, until +her breath was on his cheek, and as he opened his eyes, she kissed him. + +As for the Prince, he thought that he was still asleep, till he saw that +she was many times more beautiful than in his dreams, and he knew that +he had found her at last. + + [Illustration: THE PRINCESS AND THE FAIRY] + +"You are more beautiful than anything else in the world," he said, "and +I love you better than my life!" + +"And I love you with all my heart!" said the Little Princess. + +"Will you marry me," asked the Prince, "and live with me forever and +ever?" + +"That I will," said the Princess, "and gladly, if my father, the King, +and my mother, the Queen, will let me leave the Garden." + +And she told the Prince all about the wall with the triple gates. + +The Prince saw that it would be no easy task to win the consent of the +King and the Queen, so nothing would do but that he must travel back to +the west and return with a proper retinue behind him. + +So he bade the Princess good-by and rode bravely off toward the west. + +The Princess went slowly back through fairyland, till she came to the +wall, just as the sun was breaking in the east. As every one knows, +White Magic is not of very much use in the daytime, outside of +fairyland, and if you ask why this is not so at christenings, I will +send you to Peter Knowall, who keeps the Big Red Book. + +So the guards at the triple gates saw the Princess, and they raised such +a hub-bub, that the King and the Queen rushed out to see what all the +noise was about. You can easily believe that they were in a great way +when they saw the Little Princess, who they thought was safe asleep in +her bed. + +They lost no time in bundling her through the gates, and then they fell +to kissing her, and scolding her, and shaking her, and hugging her, all +in the same breath. + +But the Princess said, "I have been out into the world, and I am going +to marry the Prince!" + +Then perhaps there was not a great to-do about the Garden! + +They bullied and coaxed and scolded and wept, but the Princess only +said, + +"I love him with all my heart and when the time comes I will go to him, +if I have to beg my way from door to door!" + +At that the King flew into a towering rage. + +"Very well, Miss!" he shouted. "But when you go, you may stay forever! I +will cut your name off the records, and any one who speaks it will be +beheaded, if it is the High Lord Chancellor, himself!" + +Then it was the turn of the Princess to weep, for she loved her parents +dearly, but she could not promise to forget the Prince. + +So matters went from pence to ha'pennies, as the saying goes, till +finally the Princess could bear it no longer, so she found her cloak and +stole down to the triple gates. + +Everything went very much as it had before, save that there was no +Prince asleep under the tree where she had first found him. Then the +Princess would have turned back, but the little brook which followed at +her heel had swollen out into a broad, deep river, and there was nothing +to do but go ahead, till she came to a cottage among the trees, and +before the door sat an old, old woman, spinning gold thread out of +moonlight. And by that any one could have told that she was a fairy, but +the Princess thought it was always done that way in the world. + +"Oh, Mother," she cried, "how shall I find my way out of the forest?" + +But the old woman went on spinning, and the Princess thought that she +had never seen anything fly so fast as the shuttle. + +"Where were you wanting to go?" she asked. + +"I am searching for the Prince from the west," said the Princess sadly. +"Can you tell me where to find him?" + +The fairy shook her head and went on with her spinning, so fast that you +could not see the shuttle at all. + +But the Princess begged so prettily that finally she said, + +"If I were looking for a Prince, I would follow my nose until I came to +the Black Forest, and then I would ask the Wizard with Three Dragons, +who knows all about it, and more, too! That is, unless I thought that I +would be afraid in the Black Forest." + +"What is afraid?" asked the Little Princess. "I do not know that." + +And no more she did, so the fairy laughed, for she saw trouble coming +for the Wizard. She stopped her wheel with a click, but for all her fast +spinning, there was only enough gold thread to go around the second +finger of the Princess's left hand. + +As for the Princess, she thanked the old lady very kindly, and set +bravely off toward the Black Forest. + +But the Wizard with Three Dragons only laughed as he gazed into his +crystal globe, for in it he could see everything that was happening in +any place in the world, and I do not need Jacob Wise-man to tell me that +a globe like that is worth having! + +Now, when the Prince had left the Princess in fairyland, he lost no time +in riding back to the west. The old King, his father, was overjoyed when +he heard of the Little Princess, and he gave the Prince a retinue that +stretched for a mile behind him. + + [Illustration: THE WIZARD WITH THE THREE DRAGONS, AND HIS CRYSTAL + GLOBE] + +But when they came to the place where all roads meet, the Prince was +greatly perplexed, for this time, you see, he knew where he wanted to +go. In the end, he trusted to chance and rode ahead, but they had not +gone far before they came to the castle of the Wizard with Three +Dragons, in the middle of the Black Forest. + +In the great hall sat the Wizard, himself, waiting for them, and he was +as soft as butter. + +Yes, yes, he knew the Princess well enough, but it was too late to go +further that night. So the Prince and all his train had best come into +the castle and wait till morning. + +That was what the Wizard said, and the Prince was glad enough to listen +to him, for he was beginning to fear that he would never find the +Princess again. But hardly had the last bowman come within the doors +than the Wizard blew upon his crystal globe, and muttered a spell. + +At that, the Prince and his entire train were changed to solid stone, in +the twinkling of an eye, and there they remained till, at the proper +time, the Little Princess of the Fearless Heart came up the great stone +steps of the castle. + +The Wizard was sitting on his throne with his Dragons behind his +shoulder, staring into his crystal globe as it spun in the air, hanging +on nothing at all. + +He never took his eyes away when the Princess came up to the throne, and +she was far too polite to interrupt him when he was so busy. So for a +long, long time she stood there waiting, and the Wizard chuckled to +himself, for he thought that she was too frightened to speak. So he +breathed upon his crystal globe and muttered a spell. + +But of course, nothing happened, for the Little Princess had a Fearless +Heart! + +Then the Wizard grew black as night, for he saw that the matter was not +so easy as plucking wild flowers, so he turned away from the crystal +globe and stared at the Princess. His eyes burned like two hot coals, +so that she drew her cloak closer about her, but you cannot hide your +heart from a Wizard with Three Dragons, unless your cloak is woven of +sunlight, and the Little Black Dwarf has the only one of those in the +whole world, stowed away in an old chest in the garret. + +So the Wizard saw at once that the Little Princess had a Fearless Heart, +and his voice was soft as rain-water. + +"Oh, Little Princess," he said. "What is it that you want of me in the +Black Forest?" + +"I am looking for the Prince from the west," said the Princess, eagerly. +"Can you tell me where to find him?" + +"Yes," said the Wizard. "I can tell you that, and perhaps some other +things, besides. But what will you give me for my trouble?" + +Then the Little Princess hung her head, for she had nothing about her +that was worth so much as a bone button, and the Wizard knew that as +well as you and I. So he said, very softly, "Will you give me your +Fearless Heart?" + +And there was the whole matter in a nutshell! + +But the Princess stamped her foot on the stone floor. "Of course I will +not give you my heart," she said. "And if you will not tell me for +kindness, I will be going on, for I have nothing with which to pay you!" + +"Not so fast!" cried the Wizard--for he was as wise as a rat in a +library--"If you will not give me your heart, just let me have a kiss +and I will call it a bargain!" + +Then the Princess remembered her godmother's three kisses, and she +thought that this was the place for them, if they were ever to be used +at all, although she liked the thought of kissing the Wizard about as +much as she liked sour wine. She crept up to the throne, and, with her +eyes tight closed, gave the Wizard the first of the three kisses. + +At that the whole Black Forest shook with the force of the Magic, +hissing through the trees, and the Wizard, with his Three Dragons turned +into solid stone! + +The crystal globe spun around in the air, humming like a hive full of +bees and sank slowly to the foot of the throne. + +Hardly had it touched the ground than the whole castle rent and split +into a thousand pieces, and I would not like to have been there, unless +I had a bit of gold thread spun out of moonlight around my finger, for +the huge rocks were falling as thick as peas in a pan! + +But the Princess hardly noticed the rocks at all, for, as the sun rose +over the Black Forest, she recognized the marble figure of the Prince, +standing among the ruins. You may be sure that she was heartbroken as +she went up to him, weeping very bitterly and calling and calling on his +name. Then in her sorrow she reached up and kissed the cold stone face +with the second magic kiss. + +Then suddenly she felt the marble grow soft and warm beneath her touch, +and the Prince came back to life and took her in his arms. + +When he recognized the silent figures of his gay train, he was sad as +death, and the Princess wept with him. But suddenly they saw an old, old +woman picking her way among the fallen stones. + +"Oh," said the Little Princess, "that is the old woman whom I met in the +forest, spinning!" + +At that the fairy laughed so hard that her hair tumbled down about her +feet, and it turned from gray to silver, and silver to gold. The years +fell from her like a cloak, until she was more beautiful than the +thought of man could conceive! + +"Ah! I know you now!" cried the Little Princess. "You are my first fairy +godmother!" + +And that was the way of it, so she kissed them both for pure joy. But +when they asked her as to which of the stone figures should have the +third magic kiss, she shook her head, + +"None of them at all!" she said. "But give me back that bit of gold +thread, for you will have no further use for it." + +Then she stretched the thread between her two hands until it was so fine +that you could not see it at all, and laid it on the ground around the +Wizard and his Dragons, and tied a magic knot, just behind the crystal +globe. + +"Now give the third kiss to the crystal globe," she said, "and see what +will happen!" + +So the Little Princess kissed the globe, and from the place where her +lips touched it, a stream of water trickled down. As it touched the feet +of each statue, the marble softened to flesh and blood, and the breath +came back to it until all of the Prince's train were alive again; but as +for the Wizard, the water could not pass the gold thread, so there he +sits until this day--unless some busybody has untied the magic knot. +Then the fairy flew away, singing a low, happy song. + +When the Prince and the Princess came to the Garden, there was a wedding +which lasted a month, and then they rode off toward the west. + +After they had gone, the Queen whispered to the Lady-in-waiting, + +"You see what careful parents can do! The first fairy godmother was +quite wrong about the Prince of the Black Heart!" + +But at that very moment, the Prince had bared his arm to pluck a +water-flower, as they rested beside the way. + +"What is that black mark on your arm?" asked the Princess. + +"Oh," said the Prince, laughing, "that is just a scar I have borne from +birth. It is in the shape of a heart, and so, for a jest, my people call +me the Prince of the Black Heart." + +"Black Heart, indeed!" cried the Little Princess, angrily. + +And that is the end of the story, for if you have no fear in your heart, +black magic is no such great thing after all. + +But if any old fogy should wag his gray beard and say there is not a +word of truth in it, you may be very sure that he came to fairyland at +the narrow place, and never saw it at all. So you may just smile at him, +for there is one thing, at least, that you know more about than he does! + + [Illustration] + + + + +MOPSA THE FAIRY + +RETOLD FROM JEAN INGELOW + + "_For he that hath his own world + Hath many worlds more._" + + +A boy, whom I knew very well, was once going through a meadow which was +full of buttercups. He sat down by an old hawthorn hedge which was +covered with blossoms, and took out a slice of plum-cake for his lunch. +While the boy was eating, he observed that this hedge was very high +and thick, and that there was a great hollow in the trunk of the old +thorn-tree, and he heard a twittering as if there was a nest somewhere +inside. So he thrust his head in, twisted himself around, and looked up. +After getting used to the dim light in the hollow of the tree, he saw, a +good way above his head, a curious nest. It was about three times as +large as a goldfinch's. Just then he thought he heard some little voices +cry, "Jack, Jack!" + +"I must get near," said the boy. So he began to wriggle and twist +himself up, and just as he reached the top three heads which had been +peeking over the edge of the nest suddenly popped down again. + +"Those heads had no beaks, and the things have no feathers," said Jack, +as he stood on tip-toe and poked in one of his fingers. + +When he snatched one of them out of the nest, it gave a loud squeak, and +Jack was so frightened that he lost his footing, dropped it, and slipped +down himself. Luckily, he was not hurt, nor the "thing" either. It was +creeping about like an old baby, and had on a little frock and pinafore. + + +THE FAIRY BABY'S LUNCH + +"It's a fairy!" exclaimed Jack, "and this must be a fairies' nest." + +The young Fairy climbed up the side of the hollow and scrambled again +into her nest, and Jack followed. Upon which all the nestlings popped up +their heads, and showing their pretty white teeth pointed at the slice +of cake. + +"It's a small piece, and I may not have anything more to eat for a long +time," said Jack; "but your mouths are very small, so you shall each +have a piece." + +The young fairies were a long time munching the cake, and before they +had finished it began to be rather dark, because a thunder-storm was +coming up. The wind rose and made the old tree rock, and creak, and +tremble. The little Fairies were so frightened that they got out of the +nest and crept into Jack's pockets. + +After the storm was over, Jack pulled one of the Fairies out of his +waistcoat pocket and said to her: "It is time for supper. Where are we +going to get it?" Then in the light of the moon he looked at her very +attentively. "When I first saw you in the nest," said he, "you had a +pinafore on, and now you have a smart little apron with lace around it." + +"That is because I am much older now," said the Fairy. "We never take +such a long time to grow up as you do. Put me into your pocket again, +and whistle as loudly as you can." + + +THE GREAT WHITE BIRD + +So Jack whistled loudly; and suddenly without hearing anything, he felt +something take hold of his legs and give him a jerk which hoisted him on +to its back, where he sat astride. It was a large white bird, and +presently he found that they were rising up through the trees and out +into the moonlight, with Jack on the bird's back and all the fairies in +his pockets. + +"And so we are going to Fairy-land," exclaimed Jack; "how delightful!" + +As the evening grew dark the great white bird began to light up. She did +it in this way. First, one of her eyes began to beam with a beautiful +green light, and then when it was as bright as a lamp, the other eye +began to shine, and the light of that eye was red. So they sailed +through the darkness, Jack reminding the bird once in a while that he +was very hungry. + + +TO THE FAIR CITY + +They were sailing over the ocean by this time, and there were boats and +vessels. The great white bird hovered among them, making choice of one +to take Jack and the Fairies up the wonderful river which leads to +Fairy-land. Finally she set him down in a beautiful little open boat, +with a great carved figure-head to it. The bird said: "Lie down in the +bottom of the boat and go to sleep. You will dream that you have some +roast fowl, some new potatoes, and an apple pie. Mind you, don't eat too +much in your dream, or you will be sorry for it when you wake." Jack +put his arms around the neck of the bird and hugged her; then she spread +her wings and sailed slowly away. Then Jack fell asleep in the rocking +boat, and dreamed as the bird promised, and when he woke up he was not +hungry any more! + + [Illustration: IT WAS A LARGE WHITE BIRD + FROM A DRAWING BY HARRY ROUNTREE] + +Morning came, and the Fairies were still asleep in his pocket. The boat +moved on through the night, and now he found himself in the outlet of +the wonderful river, the shores of which were guarded, not by real +soldiers, but by rose-colored flamingoes. + +Now that he had fairies in his pockets, he could understand bird talk, +and so he heard many wise words from the birds of that country which +guided him on his way. + +It was not long before he came to the city that was the capital. It was +a fair day, and the city square was full of white canopies, lined with +splendid flutings of pink. It was impossible to be sure whether they +were real tents, or gigantic mushrooms. Each one of the people who sold +in these tents had a little high cap on his head shaped just like a +bee-hive made of straw. In fact, Jack soon saw bees flying in and out, +and it was evident that these folks had their honey made on the +premises. + + +THE LITTLE OLD FAIRY WOMAN + +After Jack had visited the fairy city, he went back to the river. The +water was so delightfully clear that he thought he would have a swim, so +he took off his clothes and folded them very carefully so as not to hurt +the Fairies, and laid them beside a hay-cock. When he came out he saw a +little old woman with spectacles on, knitting beside his clothes. She +smiled upon him pleasantly. + +"I will give you some breakfast out of my basket," said she. So she took +out a saucerful of honey, a roll of bread, and a cup of milk. + +"Thank you," said Jack, "but I am not a beggar boy, so I can buy this +breakfast. You look very poor." + +It seems that the old woman was very poor; in fact, she was a slave, and +on that very day they were about to sell her in the slave market in the +city square. So Jack went along into the city again with her, and when +she was put up for sale, he bought her from her cruel master, although +it took a half-crown, the biggest piece of money that he had. His next +largest piece he gave to the little woman, and told her to buy some +clothes with it. She came back to the boat where Jack was, with her +hands empty, but her face full of satisfaction. + + +THE WONDERFUL PURPLE ROBE + +"Why, you have not bought any new clothes," said Jack. + +"I have bought what I wanted," said the Fairy Woman; and she took out of +her pocket a little tiny piece of purple ribbon, with a gold-colored +satin edge, and a very small tortoise-shell comb. + +She took the piece of ribbon and pulled and pulled it until it was as +large as a handkerchief. Then she pulled and pulled it again, and the +silk stretched until it nearly filled the boat. Next, the little old +woman pulled off her ragged gown and put on the silk. It was now a most +beautiful robe of purple, with a gold border, and it just fitted her. +Then she took out the little tortoise-shell comb, pulled off her cap and +threw it into the river. As she combed her hair, it grew much longer and +thicker, until it fell in waves all about her body. It all turned gold +color, and she was so covered with it that you could not see one bit of +her except her eyes, which peeped out and were very bright. + +Then she began to gather up her lovely locks and said: "Master, look at +me now!" So she threw back the hair from her face, and it was a +beautiful young face, and she looked so happy that Jack was glad he had +bought her with his half-crown. + + +THE MAGIC KISS + +Then instantly the little Fairies awoke and sprang out of Jack's +pockets. One of them had a green velvet cap and sword; the second had a +white spangled robe, and lovely rubies and emeralds around her neck; but +the third one, who sat down on Jack's knee, had a white frock and a blue +sash, was very little, and she had a face just like that of a sweet +little child. + +"How comes it that you are not like the others?" asked Jack. She +answered: "It is because you kissed me." + +"Somehow," Jack explained to the former Fairy Slave, "she was my +favorite." + +"Then you will have to let her sit on your knee, master, sometimes," she +explained; "and you must take special care of her, for she cannot now +take the same care of herself that others can. The love of a mortal +works changes indeed to the life of a fairy." + +"I don't want to have a slave," said Jack to the little lady. "Can't you +find some way to be wholly free again?" + +"Yes, master, I can be free if you can think of anything that you really +like better than the half-crown that you paid for me." + +"I would like going up this river to Fairy-land much better," said +Jack. So suddenly the river became full of thousands of little people +coming down the stream in rafts. They had come to take the Fairy Woman +away with them. + + +THE FAIRY WOMAN'S PARTING GIFT + +"What gift may I give you before I go?" she asked. + +"I should like," said Jack, "to have a little tiny bit of that purple +gown of yours with the gold border." + +So she told Jack to lend her his knife, and with it she cut off a very +small piece of the skirt of her robe and gave it to him. "Now I advise +you," she said, "never to stretch this unless you want to make something +particular out of it." + +"Will ye step aboard, my dearest?" sang the Fairy Woman as she sailed +away. + + "Will ye step aboard, my dearest? for the high seas lie + before us. + So I sailed adown the river in those days without alloy. + We are launched! But when, I wonder, shall a sweeter sound + float o'er us + Than yon 'pull'e haul'e, pull'e haul'e, yoy! heave, hoy!'" + +All Jack had to do to make his magic boat go wherever he wished was to +give it a command, so he ordered it to float up the river to Fairy-land. + +It was not long before the towers of the castle of the Queen of +Fairy-land could be seen in the distance; and soon the castle, with its +beautiful gardens, was close beside them along the river bank. But Jack +did not dare to enter the castle until he was sure of a shelter of his +own. So he pulled and pulled at the piece of purple silk, until it +became large enough to make a splendid canopy like a tent. It roofed in +all the after-part of the boat, so now he had a delightful little home +of his own, and there was no fear of its being blown away, for no wind +ever blows in Fairy-land. + + +TO THE PALACE + +When the Fairy Woman went back to her people she took all of the fairy +children with her, and left only Mopsa with Jack. Now, Jack carefully +washed her face, and put a beautiful clean white frock on her. + +"We will go into the Queen's palace together," said he. + +The Queen greeted Mopsa and Jack very kindly; and every day they went up +to the palace, and every night back again to the tent on the little +boat. + +One song which they liked to sing made Jack rather uncomfortable: + + "And all the knights shall woo again, + And all the doves shall coo again, + And all the dreams come true again, + And Jack shall go home." + +Every evening Jack noticed that Mopsa was a little taller, and had +grown-up to a higher button on his coat. She looked much wiser, too. +"You must learn to read," said he; and as she made no objection, he +arranged daisies and buttercups into the forms of the letters, and she +learned nearly all of them in one evening, while crowds of the fairies +from the castle looked on, hanging from the boughs and shouting out the +names of the letters as Mopsa said them. They were very polite to Jack, +for they gathered up all the flowers for him, and emptied them from +their little caps at his feet as fast as he wanted them. + + +MOPSA IS TO BE A QUEEN + +Now it seems that as soon as Mopsa was full grown she was destined to be +Queen herself. One day, just before dusk, she said to Jack: "Jack, will +you give me your little purse that has the silver fourpence in it?" + +Now this purse was lined with a nice piece of pale green silk; and when +Jack gave it to her, she pulled the silk out and stretched it, just as +the fairy woman had done, and it became a most lovely cloak. Then she +twisted up her long hair into a coil, fastened it around her head, and +called to the fireflies, which were beginning to glitter on the trees; +and they came and alighted in a row upon the coil, and turned into +diamonds directly! So now Mopsa had a crown and a robe. She was so +beautiful that Jack thought he would never be tired of looking at her. + +The next morning Jack found that his fairy boat had floated away. He +called to it, but it would not return. "Never mind," said Mopsa, "my +country is still waiting for me beyond the purple mountains. I shall +never be happy unless we go there, and we can go together on foot." + +So they walked toward the purple mountains hand-in-hand. When night +came, and they were too tired to walk any further, the shooting stars +began to appear in all directions; and at Mopsa's command they brought a +little cushion, and Jack and Mopsa sat upon it, and the stars carried +the two over the paths of the mountains and half-way down the other +side. When they awoke the next morning, there spread before them the +loveliest garden one ever saw, and among the trees and woods was a most +beautiful castle. + + [Illustration: QUEEN MOPSA FLIES TO HER KINGDOM + FROM A DRAWING BY FLORENCE MARY ANDERSON] + +"Oh, Jack!" said Mopsa, "I am sure that castle is the place I am to live +in. I shall soon be Queen and there I shall reign." + +"And I shall be King there," said Jack. "Shall I?" + +"Yes, if you can," answered Mopsa; "and in Fairy-land, of course, +whatever you can do, you may do." + +It was a long way to the castle; and at last Jack and Mopsa were so +tired that they sat down, and Mopsa began to cry. + +"Remember," said Jack, "that you are nearly a Queen, and you can never +reach your castle by sitting still." + +All of a sudden they heard the sweetest sound in the world; it was the +castle clock, and it was striking twelve at noon. As it finished +striking, they came out at the farther edge of a great bed of reeds, +and here was the castle straight before them. + +Inside the castle lived a lovely lady, and when she saw Mopsa she took +her to her arms. "Who are you?" asked the lovely lady. + +"I am a Queen," said Mopsa. + +"Yes, my sweet Queen," answered the lady, "I know you are." + +"Do you promise that you will be kind to me until I grow up?" inquired +Mopsa. "Will you love me and teach me how to reign? I am only ten years +old, and the throne is too big for me to sit upon, but I am Queen." + +"Yes," answered the lady, "and I will love you just as if I were your +mother." + + +QUEEN MOPSA + +When Mopsa ran through the castle door it shut suddenly behind her, and +Jack was left behind. After great difficulty he succeeded in climbing +the walls, and crept through a window; and when he got inside he saw a +very wonderful sight. There was Mopsa in the great audience-room, +dressed superbly in a white satin gown, with a long train of crimson +velvet, which was glittering with diamonds. It reached almost from one +end of the gallery to the other, and had hundreds of fairies to hold it +to keep it in its place; but in her hair were no jewels, only a little +crown made of daisies, and on her shoulders her robe was fastened with a +little golden image of a boat. These things were to show the land she +had come from and the vessel she had come in. At one side of Mopsa stood +the lovely lady; and on the other, to Jack's amazement, a little boy of +his own size, who looked exactly like himself. + +"I will go in," said Jack. "There is nothing to prevent me." He set his +foot on the step, and while he hesitated Mopsa came out to meet him. He +looked at her earnestly, because her lovely eyes were not looking at +him, but far away toward the west. + +"Jack lives there," she said, as if speaking to herself. "He will play +there again, in his father's garden." + +Then she brought her eyes down slowly from the rose-flush in the cloud +and looked at him and said, "Jack." + +"Yes," said Jack, "here I am. What is it that you wish to say?" + +She answered, "I am come to give you back your kiss." + + +GOOD-BY TO MOPSA + +So she stooped forward as she stood on her step and kissed him, and her +tears fell on his cheek. + +"Farewell," she said; and she turned and went up the steps into the +great hall. Jack gazed at her as she entered, and would fain have +followed, but could not stir, the great doors closed together again, and +he was left outside. Then he knew, without having been told, that he +should never enter them any more. + +Suddenly he perceived that reeds were growing up between him and the +great doors, and he walked on among them toward the west. Then, as the +rosy sky turned gold color, all on a sudden he came to the edge of the +reed-bed and walked out upon a rising ground. Jack ran up it, looking +for the castle. At last he saw it, lying so far, so very far off that +all its clear outlines were lost; and very soon, as it grew dark, they +seemed to mingle with the shapes of the hill and the forest. + +He looked up into the rosy sky, and held out his arms, and called: +"Come! Oh, come!" In a minute or two he saw a little black mark +overhead, a small speck, that grew larger and larger. In another instant +he saw a red light and a green light; then he heard the winnowing noise +of a bird's great wings, and suddenly the great white bird alighted at +his feet and said: "Here I am." + +"I wish to go home," said Jack. + +"That is well," answered the bird. + +As Jack flew through the darkness he thought once again of the little +boy who looked just like himself, who lived in the far castle; and he +did not feel sure whether he himself was upon the back of the bird or +within the castle with Queen Mopsa. Then he fell asleep, and did not +dream at all, nor know anything more until the great bird woke him. + +"Wake up, now, Jack," she said, "we are at home." + +As they flew toward the earth Jack saw the church, and the wood, and his +father's house, which seemed to be starting up to meet him. In two +seconds he stepped down into the deep grass of his father's meadow. + +"Good-by," said the great bird. "Make haste and run in, for the dews are +falling." And before he could ask her one question, or even thank her, +she made a wide sweep over the grass, beat her magnificent wings and +soared away. + + +JACK COMES HOME + +Jack opened the little gate that led into the garden, stole through the +shrubbery and came up to the drawing-room window and peeped in. His +father and mother were sitting there, his mother sat with her back to +the open window, but a candle was burning, and she was reading aloud +about a Shepherd Lady and a Lord. + +At last his father noticed him, and beckoned him to come in. So Jack +did, and got upon his father's knee, and laid his head on his father's +waistcoat, and wondered what he would think if he should tell him about +the fairies that had been in somebody else's waistcoat pocket. He +thought, besides, what a great thing a man is. He had never seen +anything so large in Fairy-land, nor so important; so, on the whole, he +was glad that he had come back and felt very happy. + +"I think," said his father, "it must be time this man of ours was in +bed." + +So his mother kissed him good-night, and he went up into his own room +and said his prayers. He got into his little white bed and comfortably +fell asleep. + + + + +THE LINE OF GOLDEN LIGHT, OR THE LITTLE BLIND SISTER[I] + +BY ELIZABETH HARRISON + + +Once upon a time there lived a child whose name was Avilla; she was +sweet and loving, and fair to look upon, with everything in the world to +make her happy--but she had a little blind sister, and Avilla could not +be perfectly happy as long as her sister's eyes were closed so that she +could not see God's beautiful world, nor enjoy His bright sunshine. +Little Avilla kept wondering if there was not something that she could +do which would open this blind sister's eyes. + +At last, one day, she heard of an old, old woman, nobody knew how old, +who had lived for hundreds of years in a dark cave, not many miles away. +This queer, old woman knew a secret enchantment, by means of which the +blind could receive their sight. The child Avilla asked her parents' +permission to make a journey to the cave, in order that she might try to +persuade the old woman to tell her this secret. "Then," exclaimed she, +joyfully, "my dear sister need sit no longer in darkness." Her parents +gave a somewhat unwilling consent, as they heard many strange and wicked +stories about the old woman. At last, however, one fine spring morning, +Avilla started on her journey. She had a long distance to walk, but the +happy thoughts in her heart made the time pass quickly, and the soft, +cool breeze seemed to be whispering a song to her all the way. + +When she came to the mouth of the cave, it looked so dark and forbidding +that she almost feared to enter it, but the thought of her little blind +sister gave her courage, and she walked in. At first she could see +nothing, for all the sunshine was shut out by the frowning rocks that +guarded the entrance. Soon, however, she discerned the old woman sitting +on a stone chair, spinning a pile of flax into a fine, fine thread. She +seemed bent nearly double with age, and her face wore a look of worry +and care, which made her appear older. + +The child Avilla came close to her side, and thought, she is so aged +that she must be hard of hearing. The old woman did not turn her head, +nor stop her spinning. Avilla waited a moment, and then took fresh +courage, and said, "I have come to ask you if you will tell me how I can +cure my blind sister?" The strange creature turned and stared at her as +if she were very much surprised; she then spoke in a deep, hollow voice, +so hollow that it sounded as if she had not spoken for a very long time. +"Oh," said she with a sneer, "I can tell you well enough, but you'll not +do it. People who can see, trouble themselves very little about those +who are blind!" This last was said with a sigh, and then she scowled +at Avilla until the child's heart began to beat very fast. But the +thought of her little blind sister made her brave again, and she cried +out, "Oh please tell me. I will do anything to help my dear sister!" The +old woman looked long and earnestly at her this time. She then stooped +down and searched in the heap of the fine-spun thread which lay at her +side until she found the end of it. This she held out to the child, +saying, "Take this and carry it all around the world, and when you have +done that, come to me and I will show you how your blind sister may be +cured." Little Avilla thanked her and eagerly seized the tiny thread, +and wrapping it carefully around her hand that she might not lose it, +turned and hastened out of the close, damp cave. + + [Illustration: "AVILLA RAN FORWARD AND CRIED: 'NOW GIVE SIGHT TO MY + SISTER'"] + +She had not traveled far before she looked back to be sure the thread +had not broken, it was so thin. Imagine her surprise to see that instead +of its being a gray thread of spun flax, it was a thread of golden +light, that glittered and shone in the sunlight, as if it were made of +the most precious stuff on earth. She felt sure now that it must be a +magic thread, and that it somehow would help her to cure her blind +sister. So she hastened on, glad and happy. + +Soon, however, she approached a dark, dense forest. No ray of sunlight +seemed ever to have fallen on the trunks of its trees. In the distance +she thought she could hear the growl of bears and the roar of lions. Her +heart almost stopped beating. "Oh, I can never go through that gloomy +forest," said she to herself, and her eyes filled with tears. She turned +to retrace her steps, when the soft breeze which still accompanied her +whispered: "Look at the thread you have been carrying! Look at the +golden thread!" She looked back, and the bright, tiny line of light +seemed to be actually smiling at her, as it stretched across the soft +greensward, far into the distance, and, strange to say, each tiny blade +of grass which it had touched, had blossomed into a flower. So, as the +little girl looked back, she saw a flowery path with a glittering line +of golden light running through it. "How beautiful!" she exclaimed. "I +did not notice the flowers as I came along, but the enchanted thread +will make the next traveler see them." + +This thought filled her with such joy that she pushed forward into the +dark woods. Sometimes she knocked her head against a tree which stood in +her way; sometimes she almost feared she was lost, but every now and +then she would look back and the sight of the tiny thread of golden +light always renewed her courage. Once in a while she felt quite sure +that she could see the nose of some wild beast poking out in front of +her, but when she came nearer it proved to be the joint in a tree trunk, +or some strange fungus which had grown on a low branch. Then she would +laugh at her own fear and go on. One of the wonderful things about the +mysterious little thread which she carried in her hand was, that it +seemed to open a path behind it, so that one could easily follow in her +footsteps without stumbling over fallen trees, or bumping against living +ones. Every now and then a gray squirrel would frisk by her in a +friendly fashion, as if to assure her that she was not alone, even in +the twilight of the dark woods. By and by she came to the part of the +forest where the trees were less dense, and soon she was out in the glad +sunshine again. + +But now a new difficulty faced her. As far as she could see stretched a +low, swampy marsh of wet land. The mud and slime did not look very +inviting, but the thought of her little blind sister came to her again, +and she bravely plunged into the mire. The dirty, dripping mud clung to +her dress and made her feet so heavy that she grew weary lifting them +out of it. Sometimes she seemed to be stuck fast, and it was only with +a great effort that she could pull out, first one foot, and then the +other. A lively green frog hopped along beside her, and seemed to say, +in his funny, croaking voice, "Never mind the mud, you'll soon be +through it." When she had at last reached the end of the slippery, +sticky marsh, and stood once more on firm ground, she looked back at the +tiny thread of golden light which trailed along after her. What do you +think had happened? Wherever the mysterious and beautiful thread had +touched the mud, the water had dried up, and the earth had become firm +and hard, so that any other person who might wish to cross the swampy +place could walk on firm ground. This made the child Avilla so happy +that she began to sing softly to herself. + +Soon, however, her singing ceased. As the day advanced, the air grew +hotter and hotter. The trees had long ago disappeared, and now the grass +became parched and dry, until at last she found herself in the midst of +a dreary desert. For miles and miles the scorching sand stretched on +every side. She could not even find a friendly rock in whose shadow she +might rest for a time. The blazing sun hurt her eyes and made her head +ache, and the hot sand burned her feet. Still she toiled on, cheered by +a swarm of yellow butterflies that fluttered just ahead of her. At last +the end of the desert was reached, just as the sun disappeared behind a +crimson cloud. Dusty and weary, the child Avilla was about to throw +herself down on the ground to rest. As she did so, her eyes turned to +look once more at the golden thread which had trailed behind her all day +on the hot sand. Lo, and behold! What did she see? Tall shade trees had +sprung up along the path she had traveled, and each tiny grain of sand +that the wonderful thread had touched was now changed into a diamond, or +ruby, or emerald, or some other precious stone. On one side the pathway +across the desert shone and glittered, while on the other the graceful +trees cast a cool and refreshing shade. + +Little Avilla stood amazed as she looked at the beautiful trees and the +sparkling gems. All feeling of weariness was gone. The air now seemed +mild and refreshing, and she thought that she could hear in the distance +some birds singing their evening songs. One by one the bright stars came +out in the quiet sky above her head, as if to keep guard while she slept +through the night. + +The next morning she started forward on her long journey round the +world. She traveled quite pleasantly for a while, thinking of how cool +and shady the desert path would now be for any one who might have to +travel it, and of the precious jewels she had left for some one else to +gather up. She could not stop for them herself, she was too anxious to +press forward and finish her task, in order that her little blind sister +might the sooner see. + +After a time she came to some rough rocks tumbled about in great +confusion, as if angry giants had hurled them at each other. Soon the +path grew steeper and steeper, and the rocks sharper and sharper, until +they cut her feet. Before her she could see nothing but more rocks until +they piled themselves into a great mountain, which frowned down upon +her, as much as to say, "How dare you attempt to climb to my summit?" +The brave child hesitated. Just then two strong eagles with outspread +wings rose from their nest of sticks on the side of a steep cliff near +by, and soared majestically and slowly aloft. As they passed far above +her head they uttered a loud cry which seemed to say, "Be brave and +strong and you shall meet us at the mountain-top." + +Sometimes the ragged edges of the rocks tore her dress, and sometimes +they caught the tiny golden thread, and tangled it so that she had to +turn back and loosen it from their hold. The road was very steep and she +was compelled to sit down every few minutes and get her breath. Still +she climbed on, keeping the soaring eagles always in sight. As she +neared the top, she turned and looked back at the enchanted thread +of golden light which she had carried through all the long, strange +journey. Another marvelous thing had happened! The rugged path of sharp, +broken rocks had changed into broad and beautiful white marble steps, +over which trailed the shining thread of light. She knew that she had +made a pathway up this difficult mountain and her heart rejoiced. + +She turned again to proceed on her journey, when, only a short distance +in front of her, she saw the dark cave in which lived the strange old +woman who had bidden her carry the line of light around the world. She +hastened forward, and on entering the cave, she saw the old creature, +almost bent double, still spinning the mysterious thread. Avilla ran +forward and cried out, "I have done all you told me to do, now give +sight to my sister." The old woman sprang to her feet, seized the thread +of golden light and exclaimed, "At last! at last! I am freed! The spell +has now been broken." + +Then came so strange and wonderful a change that Avilla could hardly +believe her own eyes. Instead of the ugly, cross-looking old crone, +there stood a beautiful princess, with long golden hair, and tender blue +eyes, her face radiant with joy. Her story was soon told. Hundreds of +years ago she had been changed into the bent old woman, and shut up in +the dark cave on the mountain-side, because she, a daughter of the King, +had been selfish and idle, thinking only of herself, and her punishment +had been that she must remain thus disguised and separated from all +companions and friends until she could find someone who would be +generous and brave enough to take the long, dangerous journey around the +world for the sake of others. Her mother had been a fairy princess and +had taught her many things which we mortals have yet to learn. She +showed the child Avilla how, by dipping the golden thread into a spring +of ordinary water, she could change the water into golden water, which +glittered and sparkled like liquid sunshine. Filling a pitcher with this +they hastened together to where the little blind sister sat in darkness +waiting for some one to come and lead her home. The beautiful princess +told Avilla to dip her hands into the bowl of enchanted water, and then +press them upon the closed eyes of her sister. They opened! And the +little blind girl could see! + +After that the fairy princess came and lived with little Avilla and her +sister, and taught them how to do many wonderful things, of which I have +not time to tell you to-day. + + [I] From "In Story-Land," by Elizabeth Harrison; used by + permission of the publishers, the National Kindergarten and Elementary + College, 2944 Michigan Boulevard, Chicago, Ill. + + + + + [Illustration] + +A FAIRY STORY ABOUT A PHILOSOPHER'S STONE WHICH WAS LOST + +BY M. BOWLEY + + +The Mermaids and the Sea-gulls were collected in crowds upon the shore. +There was hardly a sound except the monotonous splash of little waves +breaking, and the rippling rattle of the shingle as it followed the +water returning. Thousands of eyes were fixed upon the piece of rocky +land that jutted out into the sea, where the Philosopher's magnificent +castle stood, or _had_ stood, for there was now very little of it left. +No wonder the Mermaids and the Mer-babies and the Sea-gulls were +astonished. Even the sea was speckled with fish who were putting their +heads out of the water to watch. For the Philosopher's castle was fading +away, melting like mist before the sun! + +The Philosopher himself could be seen rushing about, tearing his +scanty white hair. That was another equally astonishing thing, for only +yesterday the Philosopher had been young and handsome, as well as the +richest and greatest man in all the land--so rich and great that he was +to have married the Princess very soon. + +Now he was old and wild and gaunt. A tattered brown cloak with rents and +holes in it hung from his thin shoulders, flapping as he ran about, and +all his dingy dress was dirty and ragged. He looked like a wandering +peddler. What had become of his many servants? Where were his horses and +chariots, and the strange beasts from foreign lands which had wandered +in the beautiful gardens--the gardens with the pavilions, where all the +flowers had been in bloom for the Princess? + +There was only one tower standing now, and the top of that was growing +more and more flimsy. Presently, through the walls, rooms could be seen. +In one of them there stood a golden cage, and in it was a Parrot. + +Very soon the bars of the cage were like cobwebs, and the Parrot began +to tear them apart. Then he spread his wings with a joyful scream, and +flew on to the rocks, above the heads of the crowds upon the shore. + +Immediately every one called a different question to the Parrot, who +smoothed his feathers and took no notice until, when the noise and +excitement were rather less, an old Sea-gull spoke for them all. Then +the new-comer consented to tell what he knew of the events of the day. + +It was due, he said, to the Philosopher's having lost the Magic Stone. +Upon this stone his youthful appearance, and everything that he owned, +had depended. + +Early that morning a great tumult had suddenly arisen. The Philosopher +went out walking. Soon an old man had rushed in, crying that he had lost +the Magic Stone. He commanded every slave in the castle instantly to +leave whatever work he was doing, and help to find it. At first no one +heeded him, for they could not any of them be persuaded that he was +their master. Then the confusion had grown rapidly worse, for each one +found he was fading away, growing every moment more pale and thin. As +the hours passed all the servants became white ghosts, and they floated +away in companies together. + + [Illustration: "EVERYONE CALLED A DIFFERENT QUESTION TO THE PARROT"] + +The furniture was melting now in the same manner. The tables were +sinking down, and all the vessels used for cooking, and what not, were +falling softly and noiselessly upon the floors--where there were any +floors to hold them. Everything was blowing gently about, so that the +air seemed filled with bits of cloud. Presently the remnants would be +swept into the sea by the passing breezes. + +"And how have you escaped?" asked the Sea-gull. + +The Parrot raised his crest and looked very much offended. + +"Because _I_ am real," he said with dignity. "I was the only real thing +in the castle. The Philosopher stole me at the same time that he stole +the Magic Stone." + +"Stole it?" cried the Mermaids and the Mer-babies and the Sea-gulls. + +"Yes," said the Parrot; "he stole it in a far-off land, and he stole me. +I was to be a present to the Princess; for he thought of marrying the +Princess even at that time, and the Philosopher knew there was not in +all the world another parrot like me." + +He opened his wings and puffed up every feather. He certainly was a +magnificent creature. The grown-up Sea-gulls felt quite ashamed of their +homely dresses of black and white; but the young ones only gaped, and +crowded open-mouthed to the front to look. + +The Parrot's snowy coat shaded different colors like opals when he +moved, and each feather was edged with gold. The crest upon his head +sparkled as if there were diamonds in it, and under his wings he was +rose-red. + +"But I am free!" he cried, as the diamonds glittered and flashed,--"free +to go home where the palm-trees grow, and the sun shines as it never +shines in this chilly land! Look well at me while you can, for you will +never see me again." + +With that he poised a moment above them, then sailed away to the South, +like a gorgeous monster butterfly. And they never did see him again. + +When they had watched him out of sight, and turned again, there was +nothing remaining of the castle, and the Philosopher, too, had +disappeared. The sun was setting, and the Mermaids and the Mer-babies +went to their homes in the sea, while the Sea-gulls put their little +gulls to bed in the nests among the rocks high above the restless +waves. + + * * * + +Now all the talk was of the Philosopher's Magic Stone, and who should +find it. And at court every one was discussing how this unexpected turn +of events would affect the Princess's marriage. It was to have taken +place in a very short time. The King was very angry. He considered that +a slight had been cast upon the Princess and upon himself by the +carelessness of the Philosopher. He was not well pleased, either, +to know that the great wealth of the man who was to have been his +son-in-law was all due to magic influences. Neither did he like what +he heard of the Philosopher's appearance when last he was seen. He +announced that the Princess's wedding would take place at the time +fixed, and that she should be married to the first Prince, or other +suitable candidate, who arrived on that day. And even the Philosopher +might take his chance of being the first, if he were then in a position +to support the Princess in the luxury to which she had been accustomed. + + [Illustration: "DO YOU THINK THE PHILOSOPHER WILL FIND THE STONE?" SHE + ASKED OF THE ELDEST LADY-IN-WAITING.] + +As for the Princess herself, what did she think of it all? No one knew, +for she did not say. She sat at her palace window, and looked out over +the distant mountains, and dreamed of her wedding day. + +"Do you think the Philosopher will find the Stone?" she asked of the +Eldest Lady-in-Waiting, who was in attendance. + +"We may well hope so, your Royal Highness," said the Eldest Lady. "He is +a great man and wise. I hear, too, that he had been walking only a short +distance from the castle when he lost the Stone. It can hardly fail to +be found very soon." + +The Princess sat still and looked over toward the mountains. + +"Do you think the Philosopher will find the Stone?" she asked presently +of the Youngest and Favorite Lady-in-Waiting. + +"Alas! your Royal Highness, I fear it is not likely," said the Favorite +Lady. "All the Sea-people have been searching day and night, I hear, and +nothing has been heard of it yet." + +The Princess smiled. She still sat and smiled when the Favorite Lady +wrapped a cloak about herself, and took a letter that lay by the +Princess's hand. Then, without permission or instruction, she set out +toward the mountains. The Princess rested her elbows on the +window-ledge, and watched her out of sight, and perhaps wondered who +would be the earliest to arrive, and so fill the place of bridegroom, on +her wedding-day. + +And all this time, as the Lady-in-Waiting had said, the Sea-people had +been searching day and night. + +The Mer-babies and the little Sea-gulls were quite neglected, and did +no lessons; for every one was too busy to attend to them. They played +about and romped on the shore when they grew tired of hunting for the +Philosopher's Stone. The Sea-gulls had told the land-birds, who were +searching the woods and the fields, while the fresh-water fish knew of +it from their relatives in the sea, and they were searching the lakes +and the rivers. Then the Sea-gulls determined to consult the Great +Albatross of the Southern Seas, the King among all sea-fowl. They +arrived one sunny morning, and found him expecting them, for he had +heard what had happened--in the first place from the Parrot, who had +passed that way. So he was prepared with his answer. It did not satisfy +the Sea-gulls at all. They went away very much disappointed, for the +Albatross was in a bad temper, and said only: + +"Go home and attend to the children." + +They waited about until late, but he would say nothing more. So they +were obliged to return and confess their want of success to the +Mermaids, who sympathized with them, and agreed that it was very +ill-natured of the Albatross. They proposed to go to the Sea-serpent and +ask his advice, which the Sea-gulls thought a good plan. They set off at +once for the deep seas, where he lived, inquiring of the fish they met +whether any news had been heard. But the fish had nothing to tell, and +the Mermaids came to the Sea-serpent's home. + +He was curled on his great rock throne, with giant seaweeds of all +colors waving round him, and the stars of the anemones gleaming out from +dark corners. + + [Illustration: CONSULTING THE WISE WHITE BEAR] + +The Sea-serpent listened to the request of the Mermaids; but they met +with no better luck than the Sea-gulls, for he said exactly the same: +"Go home and attend to the children." + +Then he retired into the great caves, and would not come out again. + +So the Mermaids went home disconsolate. They began to think they might +have to give up the hope of finding the Magic Stone. + +Of course the Mer-babies heard all that was going on. They discussed +the situation, as usual. They did not mean to be left behind in this +business, though they were not considered to be of any consequence. It +was evidently correct to consult somebody who lived at a distance, and +they thought of the Wise White Bear. He was farther off, too, than +either the Albatross or the Sea-serpent, for he lived at the north pole; +but when he was mentioned the very young Mer-babies for once suggested +that it was nearly bedtime, and they found that they were sleepy. Some +one whispered that the White Bear ate the poor seals, and the youngest +Mer-babies crept into holes in the rocks to rest, they said, while the +little Sea-gulls went walking home, one behind the other, right across +the sands, without having been called. But the older Mer-babies set off +for the north pole. + +They arrived home next morning, very tired and very cross. When the +sleepy ones who had stayed behind asked what the Wise Bear had said, +they would not tell, and for the first time the Mer-babies quarreled. +They declared in the end that they would none of them look for the +"Philosopher's ugly Stone ever any more." + +So if the Princess really wanted to marry the Philosopher, that day she +lost some of her helpers. But no one knew what she wished, for she never +mentioned him. She sat at her window that looked out over the mountains, +and she gazed ever outward. + +It was the night before her wedding. She had been there all day, and for +many days. It was very quiet, and the lamps were lighted. The Eldest +Lady-in-Waiting spread out the lovely robes, ready for the morrow, where +the Princess might see them; but she never moved nor spoke. As midnight +approached she leaned out and let the soft wind blow upon her face. + +The hour of midnight was striking from all the belfries, when a great +clatter sounded down below in the courtyard. Horses neighed, and men ran +about. The Princess leaned more forward, and listened. Then a horseman, +whose jewels sparkled in the moonlight, looked up and kissed a hand to +her, and she kissed hers to him. It was one minute past midnight, and +the morning of her wedding-day! She dropped the curtains and turned to +greet the Favorite Lady-in-Waiting, who had come in. The Princess threw +her arms round her Lady's neck to welcome her back, she was so glad and +happy. + +So it came about that the Prince of the City Over the Mountains was the +first to arrive on that eventful morning; for, though through all the +rest of the night, and up to the very hour of the wedding, noble Princes +and their retinues were received in state by the King, all of them had +to be told that they were too late, and most of them rode off again at +once. Some who had never seen the Princess, but who had been attracted +by reports of her beauty and her stateliness, waited to attend her +marriage feast, and to regret that they had not hurried themselves a +little more. + +As for the Philosopher, who should have been one of the chief persons of +interest on that important occasion, no one even thought of him, unless +the Princess did. But she looked too well pleased for any one to suppose +she missed him--which was fortunate, for he was never heard of any more. + +When the eventful day was past, the Mermaids and the Sea-gulls covered +the shore once again, talking it over, and the Mer-babies and the little +Sea-gulls stood around listening. + +Presently the Mer-mothers said: "No more holidays. Lessons to-morrow!" +and the Mer-babies sighed, and the little Sea-gulls looked gloomy. + +One of the Mer-babies stepped forward, holding something. + +"Please take care of our pretty ball for us," she said, "until holidays +come again." + +As she was speaking the Mermaids sprang up, and they and all the +grown-up Sea-gulls cried with one accord: + +"The Philosopher's Stone!" + +And, sure enough, it was. It lay in the Mermaid's hand, all glowing with +its magic blue, pale and dark by turns, its wonderful veins panting as +if it were a living thing, its threads of gold moving and twining +underneath, round the red heart burning deep in the midst of it. + +"That!" cried every one of the Mer-babies and every one of the little +Sea-gulls. "Why, we have had _that_ all the time! We found it on the +sand, and we have played with it every day since!" + +Then the Sea-gulls remembered what the Albatross had said, and the +Mermaids remembered what the Sea-serpent had said, and the Mer-babies +remembered what the Wise White Bear had said, and they all looked at one +another. + +Now arose the question, What should be done with the Stone? + +It needed no long discussion to settle. Every one agreed that it should +be given to the Youngest Lady-in-Waiting; for she had done for the +Princess what no one else had thought of doing, in carrying her letter +to her true love so that he might be in time to win her. The happy day +just past was entirely owing to her devotion. + +The Stone was duly presented to her, and, accordingly, she became the +richest and most beautiful woman in the land, as she was already the +kindest, while the Sea-folks generally, and the Mer-babies in +particular, gained great fame and distinction; for had they not found +the Magic Stone when it was lost, and given it to the nation's favorite? +And they do say that the Favorite Lady-in-Waiting married a charming +Prince almost (but not quite!) as captivating as the husband of the +Princess. + + + + + [Illustration: "IT WAS ONE MINUTE PAST MIDNIGHT, AND THE MORNING OF HER + WEDDING DAY!"] + + + + + [Illustration: THE BAD TEMPER OF THE PRINCESS] + +By Marian Burton + + +1 + +Once upon a time, in a dainty little kingdom all parks and rivers +and cottages and flowers, there lived a jolly, red-faced king named +Rudolpho. Every one of his subjects loved him, the surrounding kings +were his loyal friends, and the neighboring kingdoms were on the best +of terms with him. Indeed, they had a happy way, these old kings, of +exchanging thrones for a week now and then, just as some preachers +nowadays exchange pulpits--to prove, I suppose, how very good their own +is, after all. This king about whom I am telling you was fat, of course, +and looked very like our good friend Santa Claus. + +Yet, strange as it may seem, with all these blessings--a rich kingdom, +faithful subjects, and a loving wife--this good king was not happy. +There was one cloud, a very pretty silver-edged cloud, but yet a cloud, +which hung just in front of the sun of his happiness and cast a great +big shadow. + +The king had a daughter, the Princess Madge, his only child; and though +she was obedient in everything else, she just wouldn't, _wouldn't_, +marry. Now the king was very anxious for her to marry and settle down on +the throne, because he was growing old. Every morning for three weeks, +just before breakfast, he had had three separate twinges of pain. The +queen said it was because of his rheumatism, but he knew better; he was +sure that it was old age, and it made him very eager to have the kingdom +in the hands of the new son-in-law king before he died. + +Of course there were plenty of princes and dukes and barons and lords +who would gladly have wedded the pretty princess for her own sweet sake +alone, to say nothing of the prospect of being king some day, but she +wouldn't have one of them. There was not a man in the kingdom nor in any +of the surrounding kingdoms who suited her capricious fancy. Princes of +haughty mien, princes of gentle manner, handsome princes, ugly princes, +tall princes, short princes, fat princes, lean princes, had been +introduced at the court, had been encouraged by the king and queen, and +had sought to gain her favor. She had been showered with gifts of rare +flowers and precious stones, and had received thousands of little +letters smelling of perfume; but from prince, from jewels, and from +written vows of love she turned away with the same cheerful +determination. + +A princess is a lonely little body, you know, and custom was so rigid in +the time of the Princess Madge that she had no one to talk to excepting +Pussy Willow, the royal kitten. She had no brother, no sister, no +cousin, and no dearest friend. She didn't even have a chance to speak +freely to her own father and mother. It is true, she took breakfast with +them every morning at eleven in the great breakfast-room, but the +butlers and waiters and pages and flunkies were always standing about, +with their ears pricked up and their eyes bulging out, so that no one +dared whisper a secret or have even the jolliest little family quarrel. +It is true her royal mama came at precisely ten o'clock to kiss her good +night every evening, but there were always a dozen maids and ladies in +waiting, and it was impossible to have a real good talk. But Pussy +Willow was her constant companion, and to Pussy she told everything. +That friendly cat was the only living thing in the whole kingdom that +really knew that the princess intended to marry sometime. That was what +worried the king and queen so much; Madge made them believe that she +would never marry any one, never, _never_, NEVER, but would live alone +to the end of her days and leave the kingdom to any one who wished for +it. + + [Illustration: "Came at precisely ten o'clock to kiss her good-night"] + +"Pussy, I wouldn't tell a story to the king and queen for the world, but +isn't it fun to see them take on so? If I really thought that papa was +ill and likely to die, I would be as good as gold; but those little +pains of his are only rheumatism, I am sure, so I don't mind teasing +him just a little. You know, Pussy, that when my ideal comes--oh, you +needn't look up and blink in such surprise, for I really have an ideal, +and I will tell you all about him!" Whereupon Pussy shook her head till +her gold-bell necklace tinkled loudly, then she yawned a little and +began to wash her face. She looked very wise as she sat there stroking +her whiskers and thumping thoughtfully on the floor with her bunchy +tail. After thinking thus seriously for a few minutes, she suddenly +began a sympathetic little purr-song which seemed to say: + +"Go on, little mistress; I am all ready to listen, and I'll not tell a +soul." Then Princess Madge continued: + +"I don't care whether he is prince or pauper, high or low, handsome or +plain; but he must in any case be contented. You know what contented +means, Pussy--satisfied with what he has until he deserves and can get +something better. If he is like that he will always be unselfish and +happy. Oh, yes, and I shall be happy, too. Now I am going to write a +letter to papa and tell him that I will marry if he will find me a +contented man." + +Quick as thought, the princess opened her rose-wood and gold desk, drew +out some paper with her crest on it and a jeweled pen, and wrote +daintily and carefully. It took her a very long time, Pussy Willow +thought. + +"Now, kitty, listen; I will read it to you: + + "To his Majesty the King, from her Royal Highness, the Princess + Madge. + + "DEAR OLD PAPA: I have at last decided to be married if you can + find a man to suit me. Now read, my dear papa, and remember + that this decision is final. I will marry the first contented + man you can find, no matter who he is. Read this little poem; + it is my guiding star at this very serious time: + + "'There is a jewel which no Indian mine can buy, + No chemic art can counterfeit. + It makes men rich in greatest poverty, + Makes water wine, turns wooden cups to gold. + Seldom it comes, to few from heaven sent, + That much in little, all in naught--_content_.' + + "What I have written, I have written. + + "Your own MADGE. + + +"That sounds very well, doesn't it, Pussy? I am going to fold it so, and +so, then cut off a strand of my hair--see, Pussy, it is nearly a yard +long, and it will go around and around this letter and tie in a great +golden knot. When the king sees that he will know it is very important. +Now I will go to the door and tell the page to run with this to papa, +and then--oh, I wonder what he will say!" + +She ran to the door, spoke a few words to the page who stood just +outside, then returned to the great cushioned chair by the window. Pussy +climbed into her lap. They both winked a few times and blinked a few +times and then fell fast asleep. + + +II + +Half an hour later the king, with his crown comfortably pushed back on +his head, and a smile very much all over his ruddy face, burst into the +queen's sitting-room. He held a tangle of golden hair in one hand and a +sheet of blue note-paper in the other. + +"My dear, my dear, what do you think has happened? Here, written by her +own hand, the hand of the Princess Madge, are the happy words which +drive away all our fears. She will marry, my dear, she will marry; and +listen: she cares not what may be his rank or age or condition--he must +be a _contented_ man, that is all. Oh, what a child, what a child!" + +"Oh, Rudolpho, my love, is it true? Why, why, I am so happy! Is it +really true? Do give me my fan. Yes, thank you. Fan me, dear; a little +faster. It quite took my breath away. Just to think of that! Now go at +once and issue a royal edict summoning every contented man in this +kingdom and in all the surrounding kingdoms to a grand feast here in the +palace. After the feast we will hold a trial, and the Princess Madge +shall be the judge." + +Away rushed the king, the pages in waiting outside the door vainly +trying to catch the end of his fluttering robe. + +The next day a cavalcade of heralds set out from the palace gates, +bearing posters which were hung in the market-place of every village for +leagues about. In blue letters on a gold ground were these words: + + Ho, ye! Hear, ye! Ho, ye! + + On the twenty-third day of the month now present, every + _contented_ man throughout the universe is summoned to the + court of King Rudolpho for a feast and a trial for the hand + of the Princess Madge. He among you all who is absolutely + contented shall have the princess's hand in marriage, together + with half the kingdom. Every man will be tried by the princess + herself. Every man who falls short and stands not the test + shall never again enter King Rudolpho's court. + + My hand + My seal +. + RUDOLPHO, _Rex_. + + +The day dawned, brilliant and glorious. How the contented men jostled +each other, and frowned at each other, and scolded each other as +they thronged through the palace gates! They all gathered in the +banquet-hall, where a wonderful feast was spread--a roasted ox, with +wild boar and lamb and turkey and peacock, and a hundred kinds of +fruit, and fifty kinds of ice-water; but as a dinner-party it was not a +success. Conversation was dull, each man glowered at his neighbor, and +all seemed eager to finish the feast and begin the trial. + +Finally it was over, and five hundred and fifty contented men assembled +in the royal court-room. The king and queen were seated on their +thrones, but the princess was nowhere to be seen. There was a moment of +breathless waiting--then suddenly a door at the side of the court-room +opened and the Princess Madge, carrying Pussy Willow, entered and was +followed by her train-bearers and maids of honor. She wore a wonderful +gown all white and gold down the front, with the foamiest of sea-foam +green trains hanging from her shoulders away out behind her. Slowly, +majestically, she walked across the room, and stopped before a table on +which lay a golden gavel. A quick tap of the gavel silenced the little +murmur that had arisen at her entrance. The king glanced at the queen, +and they both smiled with pride in their stately daughter. The princess +tapped again and began: + +"Princes, baronets, honorables, commons of this kingdom and our +neighboring kingdoms, I bid you welcome. You have come to sue for my +hand and my fortune. I know full well, my noble men, that if I asked +it you would gladly give me some great proof of your bravery and +goodness--but I ask you to take no risk and make no sacrifice. I merely +wish to know whether I can find in any of you that secret of all true +courage and happiness--contentment. Now let every man of you who is +contented, _thoroughly contented_, rise. Remember, there are no degrees +in contentment; it is absolute." + +The black-robed throng arose--some eagerly, some impatiently, some +disdainfully, some few slowly and thoughtfully, but they all stood and +waited in utter silence. + + [Illustration: THE PRINCESS MADGE ENTERS] + +"As I put the test question, if there is any one who cannot answer it, +let him go quietly out through yonder door and never again show his +discontented face in this court. You say you are contented--happy, +unselfish, and satisfied with what the gods have given you. Answer me +this! Why, then, do you scowl and jostle one another? Why do you want to +marry any one--least of all, a princess with half the riches of a great +kingdom as a dowry, to spoil your happiness? Greedy fortune-hunters! Do +you call that contentment?" + +The contented men stood a moment in baffled silence, then turned, one +and all, and slowly marched out of the room. As the door closed upon the +last one of the disappointed suitors, the princess picked up her pretty +kitten and, turning to her father and mother, said: + +"Would you have me marry one of _those_? Why, they aren't half so +contented as a common, everyday pussy-cat. Good-by!" And she laughed a +merry laugh, threw a kiss at the astonished king and queen, and ran from +the room. + + +III + +At luncheon one day many months after the dismissal of the discontented +suitors, the prime minister entered the dining-room and announced to the +king that a man had been found within the palace gates without a royal +permit, and had been immediately put in the dungeon. He was a handsome +fellow, the prime minister said, but very poorly clad. He made no +resistance when he was taken prisoner, but earnestly requested that his +trial might come off as soon as possible, as he rather wanted to make a +sketch of the palace and gardens, and he couldn't see very well from the +slit in the top of the dungeon; but he begged them not to put themselves +nor the king to any inconvenience, as he could just as well remain where +he was and write poems. + +"In sooth, your Majesty," said the prime minister, in conclusion, "from +all we have heard and seen, it seemeth that at last we have found a +contented man." + +As soon as the king finished his royal repast he disguised himself in +the long cloak and hat of a soldier and went with the prime minister and +the turnkey to catch a glimpse of the prisoner. As they approached the +dungeon they heard a rich bass voice singing: + + "Let the world slide, let the world go! + A fig for care, and a fig for woe. + If I must stay, why, I can't go, + And love makes equal the high and low." + +The king drew nearer, stooped, and peeped through the keyhole. Just +opposite the door, on a three-legged stool, sat the prisoner. His head +was thrown back and he was looking at the sky through the bars in the +top of his cell. The song had ceased and he was talking softly to +himself. The king, in a whisper, told the prime minister to bring the +princess and have her remain hidden just outside the door. Then he +motioned to the turnkey to throw back the bolts, and he entered the +dungeon alone. + +"Why are you talking to yourself, man?" he asked. The man answered: + +"Because, soldier, I like to talk to a sensible man, and I like to hear +a sensible man talk." + +"Ha, ha!" laughed the king. "Pretty good, pret-ty good! They tell me +that all things please you. Is it true?" + +"I think I can safely say yes, soldier." + +"But why are you so poorly clad?" + +"The care of fine clothes is too much of a burden--I have long ago +refused to be fashion's slave." + +"But where are your friends?" + +"Of those that I have had, the good are dead, and happier so than here; +the evil ones have left me and are befriending some one else, for which +I say, 'Joy go with them.'" + +"And is there nothing that you want?" As the king asked this question he +looked at the man in a peculiarly eager way, nor did the answer +disappoint him. + +"I have all of the necessities of life and many of the luxuries. I am +perfectly content. I know I have neither land nor money, but is not the +whole world mine? Can even the king himself take from me my delight in +the green trees and the greener fields, in that dainty little cloud +flecking heaven's blue up yonder like a bit of foam on a sunlit sea? Oh, +no! I am rich enough, for all nature is mine--" + +"And _I_ am yours," said a sweet young voice. The man looked up in +surprise, and there before him, holding out her pretty hands toward him, +stood the Princess Madge, who had slipped into the cell unnoticed. + +The man sprang to his feet, clasped the little hands in his, and said: + +"I know not what you mean, sweet lady, when you say that you are mine; +but oh, you are passing beautiful!" + +"Papa," called the princess, "this is quite dreadful. Quick, take off +that ugly soldier's coat and tell him who we are and all about it!" + +The king, starting as if from a dream, threw off the rough coat and hat +and stepped forth into the beam of sunlight, resplendent in gold and +ermine. + +"Thou dost not know me, my man? I am the king. Hast thou not read our +last proclamation?" + +"No, your Majesty; I never do read proclamations." + + [Illustration: I am Perfectly Content] + +"Then thou didst not know that the hand of the princess is offered to +the first contented man who enters the palace?" + +"No, your Majesty; I knew it not." + +"Then know it now, and know, too, that thou art the man. To thee I give +my daughter, together with half my kingdom. No, no--not a word. Thou +deservest her. May you be happy!" + +The prisoner, almost dumb with astonishment, almost dazed with joy, +knelt and kissed the princess's white hands, then looked into her eyes +and said: + +"Ah, well it is for me that I saw you not until now, for I should have +been miserably discontented until you were mine!" + + + + +THE FLYING SHIP + +_A Russian Tale_ + + +Once upon a time there was a Princess who was always wanting something +new and strange. She would not look at the princes who came to woo her +from the kingdoms round about, because, she said, they all came in the +same way, in carriages which had four wheels and were drawn by four +horses. "Why could not one come in a carriage with five wheels?" she +exclaimed petulantly, one day, "or why come in a carriage at all?" She +added: "If one came in a flying ship I would wed him!" + +So the King made proclamation that whoever came to the palace in a +flying ship should wed the Princess, and succeed to the kingdom. As the +Princess was very beautiful and the kingdom very rich, men everywhere +began to try to build ships that would fly. But that was not so easy. +They could build ships that would sail--but flying was quite another +thing! + +On the far edge of the kingdom dwelt a widow with three sons. The two +elder, hearing the proclamation, said that they wanted to go to the city +and build each a flying ship. So the mother, who was very proud of these +sons, and quite convinced that should the Princess see one of them it +would not be necessary for him to have a flying ship, laid out their +best clothes and gave each a satchel containing a lunch of white bread +and jam and fruit, and wished them good luck on their journeys. + +Now the third son was called Simple, because he did not do as his +brothers did, and cared nothing for fine clothes and fine airs, but +liked to wander off in the woods by himself. When Simple saw his +brothers starting off all so grandly he said: "Give me a lunch, and I +will go and build a flying ship." + +The truth was that the idea of a flying ship very much appealed to +Simple, though he did not give much thought to the Princess. + +But his mother said: "Go back into the woods, Simple, that is the place +for you." + +But Simple persisted, and at last she gave him a satchel containing a +lunch of black bread without any jam, and a flask of water. + +As Simple neared the woods he met a Manikin who asked him for something +to eat. Simple was ashamed to open his satchel with the black bread and +water in it. "But," he reflected, "if one is hungry black bread is +better than no bread." The Manikin certainly looked hungry, so Simple +put his hand into the satchel and took out the roll of bread--and lo--it +was not black at all, but white, made of the finest flour, and spread +with rich, golden butter. The flask, too, when he took it out, was not +as it had been when his mother put it in, but was filled with red wine. + +So Simple and the Manikin sat down by the roadside and ate together. +Then the Manikin asked Simple where he was going, and Simple told him +that he was going to build a flying ship. He almost forgot about the +Princess, but remembered, as an afterthought, and he told the Manikin +that when the ship was done he would fly in it to the palace and marry +the Princess. + +"Well," said the Manikin, "if you want to do that take this ax with you +and the first tree that you come to strike it three times with the ax, +then bow before it three times, and then kneel down with your face +hidden until you are told to get up. There will be a flying ship before +you. Climb into it and fly to the palace of the Princess, and if you +meet anybody along the way take them along." + +So Simple took the ax and went into the wood, and the first tree that he +came to he struck three times with the ax, then bowed three times before +it, then knelt down and hid his face. By-and-by he felt someone touch +his shoulder and he looked up, and there was a ship with wings +outspread, all ready to fly. So he climbed into it and bade it fly away +to the city of the Princess. + +As he flew over a clearing in the woods Simple saw a man with his ear to +the ground, listening. + +"Ho!" he cried, "you below! What are you doing?" + +"I am listening to the sounds of the world," said the man. + +"Well," said Simple, "come up into the ship. Maybe you can hear more up +here." + +So the man climbed up into the ship, and they flew on. As they passed +over a field they saw a man hopping on one leg, with the other strapped +up behind his ear. + +"Ho!" cried Simple, "You below! Why do you hop on one leg, with the +other bound up?" + +"Because," said the man, "if I were to unbind the other I would step so +far that I would be at the end of the world in a minute." + +"Well," said Simple, "come up into the ship, that will be less tiresome +than hopping so far." + +So the man came up into the ship and they flew on. As they passed a +clear lake of cold water they saw a man standing beside it looking so +disconsolately at the water that Simple called out, "Ho, you below! Why +do you look at the water so sadly?" + +"Because," said the man, "I am very thirsty." + +"Well," called Simple, "why don't you take a drink? There is water +enough!" + +"No," said the man, "it is not right that I should drink here, for I am +so thirsty that I would drink all of this at one gulp, and there would +be no lake, and I would still be thirsty." + +"Well," said Simple, "come up into the ship. Maybe we can find water +enough for you somewhere." + +So the man climbed up into the ship and they flew on. As they passed +over a village they met a man carrying a great basket of bread. "Ho!" +cried Simple, "you below! Where are you going?" + +"I am going to the baker's at the other end of the village to buy some +bread for my breakfast," replied the man. + +"But you have a big basketful of bread now," said Simple. + +"Oh," said the man, "that is not enough for the first morsel. I shall +eat that up in one bite. There are not bakers enough in this village to +keep me supplied, and I am always hungry." + +"Well," said Simple, "come up into the ship. Maybe we shall find some +bread in the city." + +So the man climbed up into the ship and they flew on. As they passed +over a meadow they saw a man carefully carrying a bundle of straw. + +"Ho!" cried Simple, "you below! Why do you carry that straw so +carefully, when there is straw all about you in the meadow?" + +"But this is no ordinary straw," said the man. "It has a magic power, +and when it is scattered about it will make the hottest place as cold as +ice." + +"Well," said Simple, "bring it along and come up into the ship. It may +be hot in the city." + +So the man climbed up into the ship and they flew on. As they passed +over a wooded park they saw a man carrying a bundle of sticks. + +"Ho!" cried Simple, "you below! Why do you carry those sticks so +carefully when all the woods about you are full of sticks?" + +"But these are not ordinary sticks," said the man. "If I were to throw +them on the ground they would become soldiers, armed and ready for a +battle." + +"Well," said Simple, "they are wonderful sticks indeed! Bring them up +into the ship. There may be a need for soldiers in the city." + +So the man climbed up into the ship and they flew on. Soon they came to +the city, where the word soon went about that a ship was flying over, +and men and women came out into the streets and on to the roofs of the +houses to see what it might be like. And the King came out on his +balcony and saw Simple and his strange crew flying straight toward the +palace. + +"Now, now," said the King, "what sort of a fellow is this? I cannot have +him marry my daughter. He has not a knight in his train--and as for +him--!" the King had no words in which to express his thought. + +The Princess, too, looking out and seeing the flying ship with Simple in +the bow and the other strange folk behind him, repented of her rash +word, and said: "You must give this fellow some impossible task to do, +so that he will fail, for it is certain that I cannot wed him." + +So the King sent for his courtiers, and bade them wait upon the man in +the flying ship and say to him that before his daughter could be given +in marriage a flask of water must be brought this day from a spring at +the end of the world. + +The man with the wonderful hearing had his ear to the deck of the ship, +and he heard this order, and reported it to Simple, who lamented, and +said: "How can I bring a flask of water from the end of the world? It +may take me a year to go there and back--perhaps even the rest of my +life." + +But the man with the bound leg said: "You forget that I am here. When +the summons comes I will take the flask and go for the water." + +So when the messenger came Simple answered quietly that the order would +be obeyed at once. + +The man with the bound leg unfastened his leg from behind his ear and +started off to the end of the world, and when he came there he filled +the flask and came back with it, and Simple went with it to the palace, +arriving just as the King and the Princess were finishing their dinner. + +"That is all very well," said the King, "but we cannot have this fellow +wed the Princess. We will prepare a feast, and tell him that it must be +eaten at once. Let forty oxen be killed, and five hundred loaves be +prepared and five hundred cakes be baked, and all of these must this +fellow and his followers eat." + +The man with the wonderful hearing having his ear to the deck of the +ship reported this conversation to Simple, who lamented and said: "How +can we eat forty oxen, and five hundred loaves and five hundred cakes! +It will take us a year to eat so much, or maybe all of the rest of our +lives." + +"Oh," said the hungry man, who had long since eaten the few loaves from +his basket, "you forget that I am here. Perhaps now for the first time +in my life I shall have enough to eat." + +So when the feast was served they all sat down to it, and ate as they +wished; then the hungry man ate the remainder of the forty oxen and the +five hundred loaves and the five hundred cakes and there was not a crumb +left. When he had quite finished he said that he could have eaten at +least two more oxen and another hundred cakes, but that he was not quite +so hungry as he had been. + +When the King's messengers told him that the feast was all eaten that +same night he said: "That is all very well, but we cannot have this +fellow wed the Princess. We will prepare a drinking, and serve five +hundred flagons of wine, and tell him that it must all be drunken that +same night, or he cannot wed the Princess. Let the flagons of wine be +prepared and served to him, and all of them must this fellow and his +followers drink." + +The man with the wonderful hearing having his ear to the deck of the +ship reported this to Simple, who lamented and said: "How can we drink +five hundred flagons of wine? It will take us a year to do so, or maybe +all of the rest of our lives." + +But the thirsty man said, "You forget that I am here. Perhaps now for +the first time in my life I shall have enough to drink." + +So when the wine was served they all gathered around the table and drank +as much as they wanted of it; then the thirsty man picked up flagon +after flagon and drank them off until all were empty. And at the end he +said that he could have drunken at least fifty flagons more, but that he +was not so thirsty as he had been. + +When the messengers of the King reported that the wine was all drunken, +the King said: "Now are we put to it, for we cannot have this fellow wed +the Princess." So he sent his messengers to the ship bidding Simple come +to the palace and make ready for the wedding, and prepared a bath for +him. And when Simple entered the room for the bath he found that it was +heated so hot that the walls burned his hands when he touched them, and +the floors were like red-hot iron. But the man with the straw had come +in behind him, warned by the man with the wonderful hearing, and seeing +what was afoot, scattered his straw all about the bathroom, and at once +it became as cold as one could wish, and, the door having been locked, +Simple climbed up on the stove and went to sleep, and there they found +him in the morning, wrapped in a blanket. + +When this was reported to the King he was very angry, and he said, "This +fellow is evidently very smart, but for all of that we cannot have him +wed the Princess. I will give him an impossible task. Go you to him," +he said to the messenger, "and tell him that he must come to me at +to-morrow's sunrise with an army fitting the rank of one who would wed +the Princess." + +When the man with the wonderful hearing reported this to Simple he was +in despair, and lamented and said: "Now at last am I beaten, though, +after all, I have a flying ship, even if I do not wed the Princess. It +will take me a year to raise an army, perhaps it would take all the rest +of my life." + +But the man with the sticks said: "You forget that I am here. Now all of +these others have proven that they could help you to win the Princess, +let me at least do my share." + +So at dawn they flew out over the parade ground, and the man with the +sticks threw them down upon the ground, and immediately there sprung up +soldiers, in platoons and regiments, with armor, and captains and +colonels and generals to command them. And the King and his courtiers +had never seen such an army, and the Princess, standing on the balcony +beside her father, as they rode by the palace, seeing Simple riding at +the head of the band, with the generals paying him homage, said: "This +man must be a very great prince indeed, and, now that I look at him he +is not so uncomely, after all." + +And Simple, riding at the head of his army, looking up at the balcony +and seeing the Princess there said to himself: "A flying ship is all +very well, but the Princess is very beautiful, and to wed her will be +the most wonderful thing in the world." + +So Simple and the Princess were married, and the crew of the flying ship +were at the wedding, and all of the captains and the colonels and the +generals of his army, and never had there been such a wedding in the +kingdom. And by and by the King died, and Simple became the King, and +the Princess became the Queen, and they lived happily ever after. + + + + +ROBIN OF THE LOVING HEART + +BY EMMA ENDICOTT MAREAN + + +"_Please, Mother, tell us a story. Have him a wood-chopper boy this +time. Please, Mother, quick, for Elizabeth is sleepy already. Oh, +Mother, hurry!_" + +_So here is the story._ + + * * * + +Once upon a time there was a little boy who lived all alone with his +parents in the heart of a deep wood. His father was a wood-chopper who +worked hard in the forest all day, while the mother kept everything tidy +at home and took care of Robin. Robin was an obliging, sunny-hearted +little fellow who chopped the kindling as sturdily as his father chopped +the dead trees and broken branches, and then he brought the water and +turned the spit for his mother. + +As there were no other children in the great forest, he made friends +with the animals and learned to understand their talk. In the spring the +mother robin, for whom he thought he was named, called him to see the +blue eggs in her nest, and in the autumn the squirrels chattered with +him and brought him nuts. But his four dearest friends were the Owl, who +came to his window evenings and gave him wise counsel; the Hare, who +played hide-and-seek with him around the bushes; the Eagle, who brought +him strange pebbles and shells from the distant seashore; and the Lion, +who, for friendship's sake, had quite reformed his habits and his +appetite, so that he lapped milk from Robin's bowl and simply adored +breakfast foods. + +Suddenly all the happiness in the little cottage was turned to mourning, +when the good wood-chopper was taken ill, and the mother was at her +wits' end to take care of him and to provide bread and milk. Robin's +heart burned within him to do something to help, but he could not swing +an ax with his little hands. + +"Ah," he said that night to his friend the Owl, "if I were a great +knight, perhaps I could ride to the city and win the Prize for Good +Luck." + +"And what is the Prize for Good Luck?" asked the Owl, who knew +everything in the world except that. + + [Illustration: "THE OWL CALLED A COUNCIL OF ROBIN'S BEST FRIENDS"] + +Then Robin explained that the lovely princess, whose hair was like spun +gold and whose eyes were like the blue forget-me-nots by the brook, had +lost her precious amulet, given to her by her godmother, which kept her, +as long as it lay on her neck, healthy and beautiful and happy. One day, +when she was playing in the flower-garden, the little gold chain snapped +and the amulet rolled away. Everybody in the palace had searched, the +soldiers had been called out to help, and all the small boys had been +organized into an amulet brigade, for what they cannot see is usually +not worth seeing at all. But no one could find it, and in the meantime +the princess grew pale, and, truth to tell, rather cross. Her hair +dulled a little, and her eyes looked like forget-me-nots drowned in the +brook. When the court philosopher reasoned the matter out and discovered +that the amulet had been carried far away, perhaps outside the kingdom, +the king offered the Prize for Good Luck for its return. + +"Now, if I could win the Prize for Good Luck," said Robin, "we should +have bread and milk all the time, and Mother need not work so hard." + +Then the Owl in her wisdom called a council of Robin's best friends, and +asked them what they were going to do about it. They waited respectfully +for her advice; and this was her wonderful plan: + +"Robin could win the Prize for Good Luck," declared the Owl, "if only he +were wise and swift and clear-sighted and strong enough. Now I will lend +him my wisdom, the Hare shall lend his swiftness, the Eagle shall lend +his eyesight, and the Lion shall lend his strength." And thus it was +agreed. + +Then the Owl went back to little Robin's window and explained the plan. + +"You must remember," she said warningly, "time is precious. It is almost +morning now. I cannot long spare my wisdom, for who would guide the +feathered folk? If the Hare cannot run, how can he escape the fox? If +the Eagle cannot see, he will dash himself into the cliff if he flies, +and he will starve to death if he sits still. If the Lion's strength is +gone, the wolves will be the first to know it. Return, then, without +delay. At the stroke of nine o'clock to-morrow night, we shall await you +here. Now go quickly, for rather would I die than live like the +feather-brained blue jay." + +Immediately Robin felt himself so strong and so brave that he hesitated +not a minute. Swift as a hare he hastened to the palace, and at daybreak +he blew the mighty horn that announced the coming of one who would seek +for the amulet. The king groaned when he saw him, sure that it would be +a vain quest for such a little fellow. The truth was that the court +philosopher feared the amulet had been stolen by the Ogre of Ogre +Castle, but no one dared to mention the fact, much less to ask the Ogre +to return it. The princess, however, immediately sat up and took notice, +charmed by the brave light in Robin's eyes and his merry smile. + +Robin asked to be taken up into the highest tower of the palace, and +there, looking leagues and leagues away to Ogre Castle, he saw with his +Eagle sight the amulet, glowing like sunlight imprisoned in a ruby. + +The Ogre was turning it over and over in his hand, muttering to himself, +in the stupid way ogres always have: "It must be a nut, for I can see +something good inside." Robin could not hear him, but he was sure, by +the help of the Owl's wisdom, that it was the amulet. + + [Illustration: "AT DAYBREAK ROBIN BLEW THE MIGHTY HORN"] + +In a thrice--that means while you count three--Robin was speeding away +with the Hare's swiftness toward Ogre Castle, and in a few minutes he +was demanding the amulet from the Ogre. + +Now usually the Ogre was not at all a disagreeable fellow, and the Owl's +wisdom would have easily sufficed to enable Robin to secure the amulet +without trouble, but he had just tried to crack the amulet with his +teeth. It broke off the very best tooth he had in his head, and his poor +jaws ached so that he was in a very bad temper. He turned fiercely, and +for a few minutes Robin needed all the strength the Lion had given him. + + [Illustration: "THE PRINCESS WAVED HER LILY HAND TO ROBIN"] + +After all, the Ogre was one of the pneumatic-tire, hot-water-bag kind of +giants, who flat out if you stick a pin into them and lie perfectly limp +until they are bandaged up and set going once more. That is really a +secret, but Robin knew it by the help of the Owl's wisdom, and he was +not the least little bit afraid. + +So Robin managed to get the amulet away without too much difficulty, and +the Hare's swiftness quickly took him back to the palace. When the +princess, who was watching from the tower window, saw the rosy light of +the amulet in the distance, pinkness came back to her cheeks, and her +eyes shone like stars, and she waved her lily hand to Robin in perfect +happiness. + +Ah, such a merrymaking as they planned for that evening! Robin was to +receive the Prize for Good Luck, so much gold coin that it would take +three carts and six mules to carry it back to the cottage. The king +counted out money all the afternoon, and the queen put up tarts and jars +of honey for Robin to take to his mother, and the princess gave him her +photograph. + +Now comes the sad part. It had taken so much time to reach the palace, +to explain to the king, to ascend the tower and find the amulet, to +conquer the Ogre of Ogre Castle, and to return to the palace, that it +was almost night before Robin realized it. When the money had been +counted out and the tarts wrapped in paraffin paper and the pots of +honey packed in excelsior, it was seven o'clock. + +Now the party was to begin at nine, for the princess had to have her +white satin frock sent home from the dressmaker, and her hair had to be +curled. The Punch and Judy was to come at ten, and the ice-cream was to +be served at eleven, for in palaces people keep terribly late hours, not +at all good for them. Just as Robin had dressed himself in a beautiful +blue velvet suit, thinking how fine it was that he should open the dance +with the princess and how lucky it was that he had the strength of a +lion, so that he could dance at all after his busy day, he suddenly +remembered his promise to the Owl. + +It was such a shock that, in spite of the Lion's strength, he nearly +fainted. Then he went quickly to the king and told him that he must go +away at once. The king was very angry and bade him have done with such +nonsense. + +"Faith, you must stay," he said crossly. "There would be no living with +the princess if her party is spoiled. Besides, you will lose the Prize +for Good Luck, for the people have been promised that they shall see it +presented to somebody to-night and we must not disappoint them." + + [Illustration: "THE SAUCY BLUE JAY MOCKED THE FLUTTERING OWL"] + +Poor Robin's heart was heavy. How could he lose all that he had gained +and go away as poor as when he came? That wasn't all nor half of all. To +lose the money would be bad, but he had much more to lose than that. For +one day he had enjoyed the fun of being stronger and wiser and swifter +and keener-sighted than anybody else. Isn't that better than money and +all the prizes for good luck? Yes, indeed, his heart answered over and +over again. How could he go back and give up the wisdom and the +swiftness and the clear sight and the strength, even if he could give up +the money? + +"I know now," he thought bitterly, "how the Owl felt when she said she +would not be a feather-brain like the blue jay. And it is much more +important for a boy to be strong than for a common old lion, who is +pretty old anyway. And there are lots of hares in the forest and eagles +on the mountain." + +Then Robin slowly climbed the stairs to the tower, for he thought he +would see what the Owl and the Hare and the Eagle and the Lion were +doing in the forest. He looked over to the cottage, leagues and leagues +away. There, under a big oak, lay the Owl, her feathers all a-flutter. +She had had no more sense than to go out in the brilliant sunshine, and +something had gone wrong inside her head. The saucy blue jay stood back +and mocked her. Robin's heart gave one little throb of pity, but he was +wise enough to see the value of wisdom, and he hardened himself. "I +don't believe she has sense enough to know that anything is wrong," he +said to himself. + +Then he looked for the Hare. "Oh, he's all right," said Robin, gladly. +But just then he saw a dark shape, only about a mile away, following the +Hare's track. + +Robin's heart gave two throbs of pity. "Poor old Hare!" he said. "I have +had lots of fun with him." + +Then he looked for the Eagle, and his heart beat hard and fast when he +saw him sitting alone on the dead branch of a tree, one wing hanging +bruised, perhaps broken, and his sightless eyes turned toward the tower, +waiting, waiting. Blind! + + [Illustration: "IT FOLLOWED THE HARE'S TRACK"] + +Robin looked quickly for the Lion. For a time he could not find him, for +tears came in his eyes as he thought of the Eagle. Then he saw the poor +creature, panting from thirst, trying to drag himself to the river. He +was almost there when his last bit of strength seemed to fail, and he +lay still, with the water only a few yards away. + +Then Robin's heart leaped and bounded with pity, and with pure +gladness, too, that he was not yet too late to save his friends from the +consequences of their own generosity. The last rays of sunset struck the +tower as Robin, forgetting all about his blue velvet clothes and the +princess and the Prize for Good Luck, ran and raced, uphill and down, +through brambles and briers, over bogs and hummocks, leaving bits of +lace caught on the bushes, swifter than ever he hastened to the Ogre of +Ogre Castle or to the lovely princess with the amulet. + + [Illustration: "HE SAW THE POOR CREATURE PANTING FROM THIRST"] + + [Illustration: "HE SAW THE BLIND EAGLE SITTING ALONE IN THE TREE"] + +He was there--oh, yes, he was there long before nine o'clock. The Owl +received back her wisdom, and I can tell you that she soon sent the +saucy blue jay packing. The Hare had his swiftness, and the fox was left +so far behind that he was soon glad to limp back home and eat the plain +supper that Mrs. Fox had prepared for him. The poor blind Eagle opened +his eyes, and saw the moon and the stars, and, better than moon and +stars, the loving face of his comrade, Robin. The Lion drank his fill, +and said that now he would like some breakfast food, please. So the +story ended happily after all. + +Oh, yes, I forgot about the Prize for Good Luck, didn't I? When the king +told the princess that Robin was foolish enough to give back the wisdom +and the swiftness and the clear sight and the strength that had won the +prize for him, and that without them he was only a very common little +boy, not good enough for a princess to dance with, she stamped her foot +and called for the godmother who gave her the amulet in the first place. + +Then the princess's godmother said that the princess for once was quite, +quite right--that Robin must have the three cartloads of gold coin drawn +by six mules, and the tarts and honey for his mother, and whenever the +princess gave another party she must ask him to open the dance with her, +blue velvet suit or no blue velvet suit--"because," said the godmother, +"there is one thing better than wisdom or swiftness or clear sight or +strength, and that is a loving heart." + + * * * + +_But Elizabeth had gone to sleep._ + + + + +IN SPRING + + Rippling and gurgling and giggling along, + The brooklets are singing their little spring song; + Laughing and lively and gay as can be, + They are skipping right merrily down to the sea. + + [Illustration] + + + + +A FAMOUS CASE + +BY THEODORE C. WILLIAMS + + + Two honey-bees half came to blows + About the lily and the rose, + Which might the sweeter be; + And as the elephant passed by, + The bees decided to apply + To this wise referee. + + The elephant, with serious thought, + Ordered the flowers to be brought, + And smelt and smelt away. + Then, swallowing both, declared his mind: + "No trace of perfume can I find, + But both resemble hay." + + MORAL + + Dispute is wrong. But foolish bees, + Who will contend for points like these, + Should not suppose good taste in roses + Depends on elephantine noses. + + [Illustration] + + + + +OLD-FASHIONED STORIES + + + + +THE TWELVE HUNTSMEN + + +Hundreds of thousands of years ago a prince met a fair maiden as he +traveled through the Enchanted Land. The prince loved the maiden dearly, +and she loved him as much as he loved her. + +"Will you marry me?" asked the prince one day. + +"Indeed I will," said the maiden, "for there is no one in all the world +I love so well." + +Then all was as merry as merry could be. The maiden danced and sang, and +the prince laughed aloud for joy. + +But one day, as they were together, a messenger arrived hot and +breathless. He came from the prince's father, who was King of a +neighboring kingdom. + +"His Majesty is dying," said the messenger, "and he would speak with +you, my lord." + +"Alas," said the prince to the maiden, "I must leave you, and remain +with my father until his death. Then I shall be king and I will come for +you and you shall be my queen. Till then, good-by. This ring I give you +as a keepsake. Once more, farewell." + +The maiden drew the ring on her finger, and, with a sad heart, watched +the prince ride off. + +The King had but a short time to live when his son arrived at the +palace. "Ah," said the dying man, "how glad I am that you are come. +There is one promise I wish you to make ere I die. Then I shall close my +eyes in peace." + +"Surely, dear father, I will promise what you ask. There is nothing I +would not do to let you rest at ease." + +Then said the dying King, "Promise that you will marry the bride whom I +have chosen for you," and he named a princess well known to the prince. + +Without thinking of anything but to ease his father's mind, the prince +said, "I promise." The King smiled gladly as he heard the words, and +closed his eyes in peace. + +The prince was now proclaimed King, and the time soon came when he must +go to the bride his father had chosen for him, and ask, "Will you marry +me?" This he did, and the princess answered, "Indeed I will." + +Now the maiden who had first promised to marry the prince heard of this, +and it nearly broke her heart. Each day she grew paler and thinner, +until her father at last said: "Wherefore, my child, do you look so sad? +Ask what you will, and I shall do my utmost to give it you." + +For a moment his daughter thought. Then she said: "Dear father, find for +me eleven maidens exactly like myself. Let them be fair, and tall, and +slim, with curly golden hair." + +"I shall do my best," said her father; and he had a search made far and +wide throughout the Enchanted Land until the eleven maidens were found. +Each was fair, and tall, and slim, and there was not one whose golden +hair did not curl. + +The maiden was pleased indeed, and she next ordered twelve huntsmen's +dresses to be made of green cloth, trimmed with beaver fur; also twelve +green caps each with a pheasant's feather. Then to each of the maidens +she gave a dress and hat, commanding her to wear them, while the twelfth +she wore herself. + +The twelve huntsmen then set out on horseback to the court of the King, +who, when a prince, had promised to marry their leader. + +So well was the maiden disguised by the hunting-dress, that the King did +not recognize her. She asked if he were in need of huntsmen, and if he +would take her and her companions into his service. + +Never had a finer troop been seen, and the King said he would gladly +engage them. So they entered his service, and lived at the palace, and +were treated with all kindness and respect. + +Now among the King's favorites at court was a lion. To possess this lion +was as good as to have a magician, for he knew all secret things. + +One evening the lion said to the King: "You imagine you engaged twelve +young huntsmen not long ago, do you not?" + +"I did," said the King. + +"Pray excuse me, if I contradict you," said the lion, "but I assure you, +you are mistaken. They were not huntsmen whom you engaged, but twelve +maidens." + +"Nonsense," said the King, "absurd, ridiculous!" + +"Again I would crave forgiveness if I offend," said the lion, "but those +whom you believe to be huntsmen are, in truth, twelve fair maidens." + +"Prove what you say, if you would have me believe it," said the King. + +"To-morrow, then, summon the twelve to the royal chamber. On the floor +let peas be scattered. Then, as the huntsmen advance toward you, you +will see them trip and slide as maidens. If they are men they will walk +with a firm tread." + +"Most wise Lion!" said the King, and he ordered it to be done as the +royal beast had said. + +But in the palace was a servant who already loved the fair young +huntsmen, and when he heard of the trap that was to be laid, he went +straight to them and said, "The lion is going to prove to the King that +you are maidens." Then he told them how he would seek to do this, and +said, "Do your best to walk with a firm tread." + +Next morning the King ordered the twelve huntsmen to be called, and as +they walked across the royal chamber, it was with so firm a tread that +not a single pea moved. + +After they had left, the King turned to the lion and said, "You have +spoken falsely. They walked as other men." + +But the lion said: "They must have been warned, or they would have +tripped and slidden as maidens. I will yet prove to you that I speak the +truth. To-morrow, summon the twelve to the royal chamber. Let twelve +spinning-wheels be placed there. Then, as the huntsmen advance toward +you, you will see each cast longing looks at the spinning-wheels, which, +if they were men, you must grant they would not do." + +The King was pleased that the huntsmen should again be put to the test, +for the lion was a wise beast and had never before been proved wrong. + +But again the kind servant warned the disguised maidens, and they +resolved not even to glance in the direction of the spinning-wheels. + +Next morning the King ordered the twelve huntsmen to be called, and as +they walked across the royal chamber there was not one of them but +looked straight into the eyes of the King. It seemed as though they had +not known that the spinning-wheels were there. + +After they had gone the King turned to the lion, and again he said, "You +have spoken falsely." Then he told the royal beast that the twelve +huntsmen had not even glanced in the direction of the spinning-wheels. + +"They must have been warned," repeated the lion, but the King believed +him no longer. + +So the huntsmen stayed with the King and went out a-hunting with him, +and the more he saw of them the more he liked them. + +One day, while they were in the forest, news was brought that the +princess whom the King was to marry was on her way to meet the +hunting-party. + +When the true bride heard it, she grew white as a lily, and, staggering, +fell backward. Fortunately, the trunk of a tree supported her until the +King, wondering what had happened to his dear huntsman, ran to the spot +and pulled off her glove. + +Looking at the white hand, what was his surprise to see upon the middle +finger the ring he had given to the maiden he loved. Then he looked into +her face and recognized her, and in a flash he understood that she had +come to court as a huntsman, only to be near him. The King was so +touched that he kissed her white cheeks till they grew rosy, and her +blue eyes opened in wonder. "You shall be my queen," he said, "and none +in all the wide world shall separate us." + +Then he sent a messenger to the princess who was coming to meet him, +saying he was sorry he must ask her to return home, as the maiden that +he loved and was going to marry was with him in the forest. + +And the next day the bells pealed loud and far, and at the royal wedding +the lion was an honored guest, because it had at last been proved that +he spoke the truth. + + + + +THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES + + +Once upon a time there was a King who had twelve daughters, each more +beautiful than the other. The twelve princesses slept in a large hall, +each in a little bed of her own. After they were snugly settled for the +night, their father, the King, used to bolt the door on the outside. He +then felt sure that his daughters would be safe until he withdrew the +bolt next morning. + +But one day when the King unbolted the hall door, and peeped in as +usual, he saw twelve worn-out pairs of little slippers lying about the +floor. + +"What! shoes wanted again," he exclaimed, and after breakfast a +messenger was sent to order a new pair for each of the princesses. + +But the next morning the new shoes were worn out, how no one knew. + +This went on and on until the King made up his mind to put an end to the +mystery. The shoes, he felt sure, were danced to pieces, and he sent a +herald to offer a reward to any one who should discover where the +princesses held their night-frolic. + +"He who succeeds, shall choose one of my daughters to be his wife," said +the King, "and he shall reign after my death; but he who fails, after +three nights' trial, shall be put to death." + +Soon a prince arrived at the palace, and said he was willing to risk his +life in the attempt to win one of the beautiful princesses. + +When night came, he was given a bedroom next the hall in which the royal +sisters slept. His door was left ajar and his bed placed so that from it +he could watch the door of the hall. The escape of the princesses he +would also watch, and he would follow them in their flight, discover +their secret haunt, and marry the fairest. + +This is what the prince meant to do, but before long he was fast asleep. +And while he slept, the princesses danced and danced, for, in the +morning, the soles of their slippers were once more riddled with holes. + +The next night the prince made up his mind that stay awake he would, but +again he must have fallen fast asleep, for in the morning twelve pairs +of little worn-out slippers lay scattered about the floor of the hall. + +The third night, in fear and trembling, the prince began his night +watch. But try as he might, he could not keep his eyes open, and when in +the morning the little slippers were as usual found riddled with holes, +the King had no mercy on the prince who could not keep awake, and his +head was at once cut off. + +After his death, many princes came from far and near, each willing to +risk everything in the attempt to win the fairest of these fair +princesses. But each failed, and each in his turn was beheaded. + +Now a poor soldier, who had been wounded in the wars, was on his way +home to the town where the twelve princesses lived. One morning he met +an old witch. + +"You can no longer serve your country," she said. "What will you do?" + +"With your help, good mother, I mean to rule it," replied the soldier; +for he had heard of the mystery at the palace, and of the reward the +King offered to him who should solve it. + +"That need not be difficult," said the witch. "Listen to me. Go +straightway to the palace. There you will be led before the throne. Tell +the King that you would win the fairest of his fair daughters for your +wife. His Majesty will welcome you gladly, and when night falls, you +will be shown to a little bedroom. From the time you enter it, remember +these three things. Firstly, refuse to drink the wine which will be +offered you; secondly, pretend to fall fast asleep; thirdly, wear this +when you wish to be invisible." So saying, the old dame gave him a cloak +and disappeared. + +Straightway, the soldier went to the palace, and was led before the +throne. "I would win the fairest of your fair daughters for my wife," +said he, bowing low before the King. + +So anxious was his Majesty to discover the secret haunt of his +daughters, that he gladly welcomed the poor soldier, and ordered that he +should be dressed in scarlet and gold. + +When bedtime came, the soldier was shown his little room, from which he +could see the door of the sleeping-hall. No sooner had he been left +alone than in glided a fair princess bearing in her hand a silver +goblet. + +"I bring you sweet wine. Drink," she said. The soldier took the cup and +pretended to swallow, but he really let the wine trickle down into a +sponge which he had fastened beneath his chin. + +The princess then left him, and he went to bed and pretended to fall +asleep. So well did he pretend, that before long his snores were heard +by the princesses in their sleeping-hall. + +"Listen," said the eldest, and they all sat up in bed and laughed and +laughed till the room shook. + +"If ever we were safe, we are safe to-night," they thought, as they +sprang from their little white beds, and ran to and fro, opening +cupboards, boxes, and cases, and taking from them dainty dresses, and +ribbons, and laces and jewels. + +Gaily they decked themselves before the mirror, bubbling over with +mischief and merriment at the thought that once more they should enjoy +their night-frolic. Only the youngest sister was quiet. + +"I don't know why," she said, "but I feel so strange--as if something +were going to happen." + +"You are a little goose," answered the eldest, "you are always afraid. +Why! I need not have put a sleeping powder in the soldier's wine. He +would have slept without it. Now, are you all ready?" + +The twelve princesses then stood on tiptoe at the hall door, and peered +into the little room where the soldier lay, seemingly sound asleep. +Yes, they were quite safe once more. + +Back they went into the hall. The eldest princess tapped upon her bed. +Immediately it sank into the earth, and, through the opening it had +made, the princesses went down one by one. + +The soldier who, peeping, had seen twelve little heads peer out of the +hall door, at once threw his invisible cloak around him, and followed +the princesses into the hall, unseen. He was just in time to reach the +youngest, as she disappeared through the opening in the floor. Halfway +down he trod upon her frock. + +"Oh, what was that?" screamed the little princess, terrified. "Some one +is tramping on my dress." + +"Nonsense, be quiet," said the eldest, "it must have caught on a hook." +Then they all went down, down, until they reached a beautiful avenue of +silver trees. + +Thought the soldier, "I must take away a remembrance of the place to +show the King," and he broke off a twig. + +"Oh, did you hear that crackling sound?" cried the youngest princess. "I +told you something was going to happen." + +"Baby!" replied the eldest. "The sound was a salute." + +Next they came to an avenue where the trees were golden. Here the +soldier again broke off a twig, and again was heard the crackling sound. + +"A salute, I told you," said the eldest princess to her terrified little +sister. + +Further on they reached an avenue of trees that glittered with diamonds. +When the soldier once more broke off a twig, the youngest princess +screamed with fright, but her sisters only went on faster and faster, +and she had to follow in fear and trembling. + +At last they came to a great lake. Close to the shore lay twelve little +boats, and in each boat stood a handsome prince, one hand upon an oar, +the other outstretched to welcome a princess. + +Soon the little boats rowed off, a prince and a princess in each, the +soldier, still wearing his invisible cloak, sitting by the youngest +sister. + +"I wonder," said the prince who rowed her, "why the boat is so heavy +to-day. I have to pull with all my strength, and yet can hardly get +along." + +"I am sure I do not know," answered the princess. "I dare say it is the +hot weather." + +On the opposite shore of the lake stood a castle. Its bright lights +beckoned to the twelve little boats that rowed toward it. Drums beat, +and trumpets sounded a welcome. Very merrily did the sisters reach the +little pier. They sprang from the boats, and ran up the castle steps and +into the gay ballroom. And there they danced and danced, but never saw +or guessed that the soldier with the invisible cloak danced among them. +When a princess lifted a wine-cup to her lips and found it empty, she +felt frightened, but she little thought that the unseen soldier had +drained it. On and on they danced, until three o'clock, but then the +sisters had to stop, for all their little slippers were riddled with +holes. And in the early gray morning the princes rowed them back across +the lake, while the soldier seated himself this time beside the eldest +princess. + +When they reached the bank, the sisters wandered up the sloping shore, +while the princes called after them, "Good-by, fair daughters of the +King, to-night once more shall we await you here." + +And all the princesses turned, and, waving their white hands, cried +sleepily, "Farewell, farewell." + +Little did the sisters dream as they loitered homeward, that the soldier +ran past them, reached the castle, and climbed the staircase that led to +his little bedroom. When, slowly and wearily, they reached the door of +the hall where they slept, they heard loud snores coming from his room. +"Ah, safe once more!" they exclaimed, and they undid their silk gowns, +and their ribbons and jewels, and kicked off their little worn-out +shoes. Then each went to her white bed, and in less than a minute was +sound asleep. + +The next morning the soldier told nothing of his wonderful adventure, +for he thought he would like again to follow the princesses in their +wanderings. And this he did a second and a third time, and each night +the twelve sisters danced until their slippers were riddled with holes. +The third night the soldier carried off a goblet, as a sign that he had +visited the castle across the lake. + +When next day he was brought before the King, to tell where the twelve +dancing princesses held their night-frolic, the soldier took with him +the twig with its silver leaves, the twig with its leaves of gold, and +the twig whose leaves were of diamonds. He took, too, the goblet. + +"If you would live, young man," said the King, "answer me this: How +comes it that my daughters' slippers, morning after morning are danced +into holes? Tell me, where have the princesses spent the three last +nights?" + +"With twelve princes in an underground castle," was the unexpected +reply. + +And when the soldier told his story, and held up the three twigs and the +goblet to prove the truth of what he said, the King sent for his +daughters. + +In the twelve sisters tripped, with no pity in their hearts for "the old +snorer," as they called the soldier; but when their eyes fell upon the +twigs and the goblet they all turned white as lilies, for they knew that +their secret night-frolics were now at an end for ever. + +"Tell your tale," said the King to the soldier. But before he could +speak, the princesses wrung their hands, crying, "Alack! alack!" and +their father knew that at last he had discovered their secret. + +Then turning to the soldier, the King said: "You have indeed won your +prize. Which of my daughters do you choose as your wife?" + +"I am no longer young," replied the soldier. "Let me marry the eldest +princess." + +So that very day the wedding bells pealed loud and far, and a few years +later the old soldier and his bride were proclaimed King and Queen. + + + + +EDWY AND THE ECHO + + +It was in the time of good Queen Anne, when none of the trees in the +great forest of Norwood, near London, had begun to be cut down, that a +very rich gentleman and lady lived in that neighborhood. Their name was +Lawley, and they had a fine old house and large garden with a wall all +round it. The woods were so close to this garden that some of the high +trees spread their branches over the top of the wall. + +Now this lady and gentleman were very proud and very grand. They +despised all people poorer than themselves, and there were none whom +they despised more than the gypsies, who lived in the forest round about +them. + +There was no place in all England then so full of gypsies as the forest +of Norwood. + +Mr. and Mrs. Lawley had been married many years without having children. +At length they had a son, whom they called Edwy. They could not make +enough of their only child or dress him too finely. + +When he was just old enough to run about without help, he used to wear +his trousers inlaid with the finest lace, with golden studs and laced +robings. He had a plume of feathers in his cap, which was of velvet, +with a button of gold to fasten it up in front under the feathers. He +looked so fine that whoever saw him with the servants who attended him +used to say, "Whose child is that?" + +He was a pretty boy, too, and when his first sorrow came he was still +too young to have learned any proud ways. + +No one is so rich as to be above the reach of trouble, and when at last +it came to Mr. and Mrs. Lawley it was all the more terrible. + +One day the proud parents had been away some hours visiting a friend a +few miles distant. On their return Edwy was nowhere to be found. His +waiting-maid was gone, and had taken away his finest clothes. At least, +these also were missing. + +The poor father and mother were almost beside themselves with grief. All +the gentlemen and magistrates round about helped in the search and tried +to discover who had stolen him. But it was all in vain. Of course the +gypsies were suspected and well examined, but nothing could be made of +it. + +Nor was it ever found out how the child had been carried off. But +carried off he had been by the gypsies, and taken away to a country +among hills between Worcester and Hereford. + +In that country was a valley with a river running deep at the bottom. +There were many trees and bushes, rocks and caves and holes there. +Indeed, it was the best possible place for the haunt of wild people. + +To this place the gypsies carried the little boy, and there they kept +him all the following winter, warm in a hut with some of their own +children. + +They stripped him of his velvet and feathers and lace and golden clasps +and studs, and clothed him in rags and daubed his fair skin with mud. +But they fed him well, and after a little while he was quite happy and +contented. + +Perhaps the cunning gypsies hoped that during the long months of winter +the child would quite forget the few words he had learned to speak +distinctly in his father's house. They thought he would forget to call +himself Edwy, or to cry, "Oh, mamma, mamma, papa, papa! come to little +Edwy!" as he so often did. They taught him that his name was not Edwy, +but Jack, or Tom, or some such name. And they made him say "mam" and +"dad" and call himself the gypsy boy, born in a barn. + +But after he had learned all these words, whenever anything hurt or +frightened him, he would cry again, "Mamma, papa, come to Edwy!" + +The gypsies could not take him out with them while there was a danger of +his crying like that. So he never went with them on their rounds of +begging and buying rags and telling fortunes. Instead, he was left in +the hut, in the valley, with some big girl or old woman to look after +him. + +It happened one day, in the month of May, that Edwy was left as usual in +the hut. He had been up before sunrise to breakfast with those who were +going out for their day's begging and stealing. After they had left, he +had fallen asleep on a bed of dry leaves. Only one old woman, who was +too lame to tramp, was left with him. + +He slept long, and when he awoke he sat up on his bed of leaves and +looked about him to see who was with him. He saw no one within the hut, +and no one at the doorway. + +Little children do not like to be quite alone. Edwy listened to hear if +there were any voices outside, but he heard nothing but the rush of a +waterfall close by, and the distant cry of sheep and lambs. The next +thing the little one did was to get up and go out at the door of the +hut. + +The hut was built of rude rafters in the front of a cave or hole in the +rock. It was low down in the glen, at the edge of the brook, a little +below the waterfall. When the child came out he looked anxiously for +somebody, and was more and more frightened when he could find no one at +all. + +The old woman must have been close at hand although out of sight, but +she was deaf, and did not hear the noise made by the child when he came +out of the hut. + +Edwy did not remember how long he stood by the brook, but this is +certain, that the longer he felt himself to be alone the more frightened +he became. Then he began to fancy terrible things. At the top of the +rock from which the waters fell there was a huge old yew-tree, or rather +bush, which hung forward over the fall. It looked very black in +comparison with the tender green of the other trees, and the white, +glittering spray of the water. + +Edwy looked at it and fancied that it moved. His eye was deceived by the +dancing motion of the water. While he looked and looked, some great +black bird came out from the midst of it, uttering a harsh, croaking +sound. + +The little boy could bear no more. He turned away from the terrible bush +and the terrible bird, and ran down the valley, leaving hut and all +behind. And, as he ran, he cried, as he always did when hurt or +frightened, "Papa, mamma! oh, come! oh, come to Edwy!" + +He ran and ran while his little bare feet were bruised with pebbles, and +his legs torn with briers. Very soon he came to where the valley became +narrower and the rocks and banks higher on either side. The brook ran +along between, and a path went in a line with the brook; but this path +was only used by the gypsies and a few poor cottagers, and was but a +lonely road. + +As Edwy ran he still cried, "Mamma, mamma, papa, papa! oh, come! oh, +come to Edwy!" And he kept up this cry from time to time, till his young +voice began to be returned in a sort of hollow murmur. + +When first he noticed this, he was even more frightened than before. He +stood and looked round. Then he turned with his back toward the hut and +ran and ran again until he got deeper in among the rocks. Then he +stopped again, for the high black banks frightened him still more, and +setting up his young voice he called again as he had done before. + +He had scarcely finished his cry, when a voice seemed to answer him. It +said, "Come, come to Edwy!" It said it once, it said it twice, it said +it a third time. But it seemed each time more distant. + +The child looked up and down, and all around, and in his terror he cried +more loudly, "Oh, papa, mamma! come, come to poor Edwy!" + +It was an echo, the echo of the rocks which repeated the words of the +child. The more loudly he spoke, the more perfect was the echo. But he +could only catch the last few words, and this time he only heard, "Poor, +poor Edwy!" + +Edwy still dimly remembered a far-away happy home, and kind parents, +and now he believed that what the echo said came from them. They were +calling to him, and saying, "Poor, poor Edwy!" But where could they be? +Were they in the caves, or at the top of the rocks, or in the blue +bright heavens? + +He looked at the rocks and the sky, and down among the reeds and sedges +and alders by the side of the brook, but he could find no one. + +After a while he called again, and called louder still. + +"Come, come," was the cry again, "Edwy is lost! lost! lost!" + +Echo repeated the last words as before, "Lost! lost! lost!" and now the +voice sounded from behind him, for he had moved round a corner of a +rock. + +The child heard the voice behind, and turned and ran that way. Then he +stopped and heard it again in the opposite direction. Next he shrieked +from fear, and echo returned the shriek, finishing up with broken sounds +which to Edwy's ears seemed as if some one a long way off was mocking +him. His terror was now at its highest, and he did not know what to do, +or where to go. Turning round, he began once more to run down the +valley, and every step took him nearer the mouth of the glen and the +entrance to the great highroad. + +And who had been driving along that road, in a fine carriage with four +horses, but Edwy's own papa and mamma! + +Mr. and Mrs. Lawley had given up all hopes of finding their little boy +near Norwood, and they had set out in their coach to go all over the +country in search of him. They had come the day before to a town near to +the place where the gypsies had kept Edwy all the winter. There they had +made many inquiries, and asked about the gypsies who were to be found in +that country. But people were afraid of the gypsies, and did not like to +say anything which might bring trouble upon themselves. + +The poor father and mother, therefore, could get no news there, and the +next morning they came across the country, and along the road into which +the gypsies' valley opened. + +Wherever these unhappy parents saw a wild country full of woods, they +thought, if possible, more than ever of their lost child, and Mrs. +Lawley would begin to weep. Indeed, she had done little else since she +lost her boy. + +The travelers first caught sight of the gypsies' valley as the coach +arrived at the top of a high hill. The descent on the other side was so +steep that it was thought right to put a drag on the wheels. + +Mr. Lawley suggested that they should get out and walk down the hill, so +the coach stopped and every one got down from it. Mr. Lawley walked +first, followed closely by his servant William, and Mrs. Lawley came +after, leaning on the arm of her favorite little maid Barbara. + +"Oh, Barbara!" said Mrs. Lawley, when the others were gone forward, +"when I remember all the pretty ways of my boy, and think of his lovely +face and gentle temper, and of the way in which I lost him, my heart is +ready to break." + +"Oh, dear mistress," answered the little maid, "who knows but that our +grief may soon be at an end and we may find him yet and all will be +well." + +Mr. Lawley walked on before with the servant. He too was thinking of his +boy as he looked up the wild lonely valley. He saw a raven rise from the +wood and heard its croaking noise--it was perhaps the same black bird +that had frightened Edwy. + +William remarked to his master that there was a sound of falling water +and that there must be brooks running into the valley. Mr. Lawley, +however, was too sad to talk to his servant. He could only say, "I don't +doubt it," and then they both walked on in silence. + +They came to the bottom of the valley even before the carriage got +there. They found that the brook crossed the road in that place, and +that the road was carried over it by a little stone bridge. + +Mr. Lawley stopped upon the bridge. He leaned on the low wall, and +looked upon the dark mouth of the glen, William stood a little behind +him. + +William was young, and his sense of hearing was very quick. As he stood +there he thought he heard a voice, but the rattling of the coach-wheels +over the stony road prevented his hearing it distinctly. He heard the +cry again, but the coach was coming nearer, and made it still more +difficult for him to catch the sound. + +His master was surprised the next moment to see him jump over the low +parapet of the bridge and run up the narrow path which led to the glen. + +It was the voice of Edwy and the answering echo which William had heard. +He had got just far enough away from the sound of the coach-wheels at +the moment when the echo returned poor little Edwy's wildest shriek. + +The sound was fearful and unnatural, but William was not easily put out. +He looked back to his master, and his look made Mr. Lawley at once leave +the bridge and follow him, though hardly knowing why. + +They both went up the glen, the man being some way in front of his +master. Another cry and another answering echo again reached the ear of +William. The young man once more looked round at his master and ran on. +The last cry had been heard by Mr. Lawley, who followed as quickly as he +could. But, as the valley turned and turned among the rocks, he soon +lost sight of his servant. + +Very soon Mr. Lawley came to the very place where the echo had most +astonished Edwy, because the sound had seemed to come from opposite +sides. Here he heard the cry again, and heard it distinctly. It was the +voice of a child crying, "No! no! no! papa! mamma! Oh, come! oh, come!" +and then a fearful shriek or laugh of some wild woman's voice. + +Mr. Lawley rushed on, winding in and out between the rocks. Different +voices, all repeated in strange confusion by the echoes, rang in his +ears. But amid all these sounds he thought only of that one sad cry, +"Papa! mamma! Oh, come! oh, come!" + +Suddenly he came out to where he saw his servant again, and with him an +old woman who looked like a witch. She held the hand of a little ragged +child very firmly, though the baby struggled hard to get free, crying, +"Papa! mamma! Oh, come! oh, come!" + +William was talking earnestly to the woman, and had got hold of the +other hand of the child. + +Mr. Lawley rushed on, trembling with hope and fear. Could this boy be +his Edwy? William had entered his service since he had lost his child +and could not therefore know the boy. He himself could not be sure--so +strange, so altered did the baby look. + +But Edwy knew his own papa in a moment. He could not run to meet him, +for he was tightly held by the gypsy, but he cried, "Oh, papa! papa is +come to Edwy!" + +The old woman knew Mr. Lawley, and saw that the child knew him. She had +been trying to persuade William that the boy was her grandchild. But it +was no use now. She let the child's hand go, and, while he was flying to +his father's arms, she disappeared into some well-known hole or hollow +in the neighboring rocks. + +Who can describe the feelings of the father when he felt the arms of his +long-lost boy clinging round his neck, and the little heart beating +against his own? Or who could say what the mother felt when she saw her +husband come out from the mouth of the valley, bearing in his arms the +little ragged child? Could this be her own baby, her Edwy? She could +hardly be sure of her happiness till the boy held out his arms to her +and cried, "Mamma! mamma!" + +Before they got into the coach the happy parents knelt down upon the +grass to thank God for his goodness. There was no pride now in their +hearts and they never forgot the lesson they had learned. + +In their beautiful home at Norwood they were soon as much loved and +respected as they had been feared and disliked. Even the gypsies in time +became their faithful friends, and Edwy was as safe in the forest as in +his own garden at home. + + + + +THE LITTLE OLD WOMAN WHO LIVED IN A VINEGAR-BOTTLE + + +There was once upon a time a little old woman who lived in a +vinegar-bottle. One day, as she was sweeping out her house, she found a +silver coin, and she thought she should like to buy a fish. + +So off she went to the place where the fishermen were casting their +nets. When she got there the nets had just been drawn up, and there was +only one little fish in them. So the fishermen let her have that for her +silver piece. + +But, as she was carrying it home, the little fish opened its mouth and +said: "Pray, good woman, throw me into the water again. I am but a very +little fish, and I shall make you a very poor supper. Pray, good woman, +throw me into the water again!" + +So the little old woman had pity on the little fish, and threw it into +the water. + +But hardly had she done so before the water began to bubble and a little +fairy stood beside her. "My good woman," she said, "I am the little fish +you threw into the water, and, as you were so kind to me when I was in +trouble, I promise to give you anything that you wish for." + +Then the little old woman thanked the fairy very much, but said she did +not want for anything. She lived in a nice little vinegar-bottle with a +ladder to go up and down, and had all she wished for. + +"Well," said the fairy, "if at any time you want anything, you have only +to come to the waterside and call 'Fairy, fairy,' and I shall appear, to +answer you." + +So the little old woman went home, and she lay awake all night trying to +think of something she wanted. And the next morning she went to the +waterside and called "Fairy, fairy"; and the water bubbled, and the +little fairy stood beside her. + +"What do you want, good woman?" she said. + +And the little old woman answered: "You were so kind, ma'am, as to +promise that you would give me anything I wished for, because I threw +you into the water when you were but a little fish. Now, if you please, +ma'am, I should like a little cottage. For you must know I live in a +vinegar-bottle, and I find it very tiresome to have to go up and down a +ladder every time I go in and out of my house." + +"Go home and you shall have one," said the fairy. + +So the little old woman went home, and there she found a nice +whitewashed cottage, with roses climbing round the windows. + +She was very happy, and thought she would never want anything more; but +after a while she grew discontented again. + +So back she went to the waterside and called "Fairy, fairy"; and the +water bubbled, and the little fairy stood beside her. + +"What do you want, good woman?" she said. + +And the little old woman answered: "You have been very kind, ma'am, in +giving me a house, and now, if you please, ma'am, I would like some new +furniture. For the furniture I had in the vinegar-bottle looks very +shabby now that it is in the pretty little cottage." + +"Go home and you shall have some," said the fairy. + +So the little old woman went home, and there she found her cottage +filled with nice new furniture, a stool and table, a neat little +four-post bed with blue-and-white checked curtains, and an armchair +covered with flowered chintz. + +She was very happy, and thought she would never want anything more; but +after a while she grew discontented again. + +So back she went to the waterside and called "Fairy, fairy"; and the +water bubbled, and the little fairy stood beside her. + +"What do you want, good woman?" she said. + +And the little old woman answered: "You have been very kind, ma'am, in +giving me a house and furniture, and now, if you please, ma'am, I would +like some new clothes. For I find that the clothes I wore in the +vinegar-bottle are not nearly good enough for the mistress of such a +pretty little cottage." + +Then the fairy said, "Go home and you shall have some." + +So the little old woman went home, and there she found all her old +clothes changed to new ones. There was a silk dress and a flowered +apron, and a grand lace cap and high-heeled shoes. + +Well, she was very happy, and she thought she should never want anything +more; but after a while she grew discontented again. + +So back she went to the waterside and called "Fairy, fairy"; and the +water bubbled, and the little fairy stood beside her. + +"What do you want, good woman?" she said. + +And the little old woman answered: "You have been very kind, ma'am, in +giving me a house and furniture and clothes; and now, if you please, I +should like a maid. For I find when I have to do the work of the house +that my new clothes get very dirty." + +Then the fairy said, "Go home and you shall have one." + +So the little old woman went home, and there she found at the door a +neat little maid with a broom in her hand, all ready to sweep the floor. + +This made her very happy, and she thought she would never want anything +more; but after a while she grew discontented again. + +So back she went to the waterside and called "Fairy, fairy"; and the +water bubbled, and the little fairy stood beside her. + +"What do you want, good woman?" she said. + +And the little old woman answered: "You have been very kind, ma'am, in +giving me a house and furniture, and clothes, and a maid; and now, if +you please, I should like a pony. For when I go out walking my new +clothes get very much splashed with the mud." + +Then the fairy said, "Go home and you shall have one." + +So the little old woman went home, and there she saw at the door a +little pony all ready bridled and saddled for her to ride. + +She was very happy, and thought she would never want anything more; but +after a while she grew discontented again. + +So back she went to the waterside and called "Fairy, fairy"; and the +water bubbled, and the little fairy stood beside her. + +"What do you want, my good woman?" she said. + +And the little old woman answered: "You have been very kind, ma'am, in +giving me a house and furniture, and clothes, and a maid, and a pony; +and now, if you please, ma'am, I should like a covered cart. For I find +that my new clothes get quite as muddy riding as walking." + +Then the fairy said, "Go home and you will find one." + +So the little old woman went home, and there she found her pony +harnessed into a nice little covered cart. + +She had hardly seen the cart, when back she ran to the waterside, +calling "Fairy, fairy"; and the water bubbled, and the little fairy +stood beside her. + +"What _do_ you want, good woman?" said she. + +And the little old woman answered: "You have been very kind, ma'am, in +giving me a house and furniture, and clothes, and a maid, and a pony and +a cart; but now, if you please, ma'am, I should like a coach and six. +For it is like all the farmers' wives to ride about in a cart." + +Then the fairy said: "Oh, you discontented little old woman! The more I +give you, the more you want. Go back to your vinegar-bottle." + +So the little old woman went home, and she found everything gone--her +cart, and her pony, and her maid, and her clothes, and her furniture, +and her house. Nothing remained but the little old vinegar-bottle, with +the ladder to get up the side. + + + + +THE SNOW QUEEN + + +Once upon a time there was a little boy called Kay. And there was a +little girl. Her name was Gerda. + +They were not brother and sister, this little boy and girl, but they +lived in tiny attics next door to one another. + +When they were not playing together, Gerda spent her time peeping at +Kay, through one of the little panes in her window. And Kay peeped back +at Gerda. + +Outside each attic was a tiny balcony, just big enough to hold two +little stools and a window-box. Often Gerda would step out of her attic +window into the balcony, carrying with her a three-legged wooden stool. +Then she would climb over the low wall that separated her from Kay. + +And there in Kay's balcony the two children would sit and play together, +or tell fairy tales, or tend the flowers that bloomed so gaily in the +window-box. + +At other times it was Kay who would bound over the low wall into Gerda's +balcony, and there, too, the little boy and girl were as happy as though +they had been in Fairyland. + +In each little window-box grew a rose-bush, and the bloom and the scent +of the red roses they bore gave Kay and Gerda more delight than you can +imagine; and all her life long a red rose remained little Gerda's +favorite flower. + +But it was not always summer-time, and when cold, frosty winter came, +and the Snow Queen sailed down on the large white snowflakes from a gray +sky, then no flowers bloomed in the window-boxes. And the balcony was so +slippery that the children dared not venture to step out of their attic +windows, but had to run down one long flight of stairs and up another to +be able to play together. + +Sometimes, though, Kay stayed in his own little room and Gerda stayed +in hers, gazing and gazing at the lovely pictures of castles, and +mountains, and sea, and flowers that the Snow Queen had drawn on the +window-panes as she passed. + +But now that the little panes of glass were covered with pictures, how +could Kay and Gerda peep at each other from the attic windows? + +Ah, they had a plan, and a very good plan, too. Kay would heat a penny +on the stove, and then press it against the window-pane, and so make +little round peep-holes. Then he would put his eye to one of these +little rounds and--what did he see? A bright black eye peeping from +Gerda's attic, for she, too, had heated a penny and made peep-holes in +her window. + +It was in winter, too, when the children could not play together on the +balcony, that Gerda's grandmother told them stories of the Snow Queen. + +One night, as Kay was undressing to go to bed, he climbed on a chair and +peeped out of one of his little round holes, and there, on the edge of +the window-box, were a few big snowflakes. And as the little boy watched +them, the biggest grew bigger and bigger, until it grew into a white +lady of glittering, dazzling ice. Her eyes shone like two bright stars. + +"It must be the Snow Queen," thought Kay, and at that moment the white +lady nodded to him, and waved her hand, and as he jumped from his chair, +he fancied she flew past the window. "It must be the Snow Queen." Would +he ever see her again? + +At last the white winter melted away and green spring burst upon the +earth. Then once more summer--warm, bright, beautiful summer. + +It was at five o'clock, one sunny afternoon, that Kay and Gerda sat +together on their little stools in the balcony, looking at a +picture-book. + +"Oh!" cried Kay suddenly, "oh, there is something sharp in my eye, and I +have such a pain in my heart!" + +Gerda put her arms round Kay's neck and looked into his eye. + +"I can see nothing, Kay dear." + +"Oh! it is gone now," said the boy, and they turned again to the +picture-book. + +But something had flown into Kay's eye, and it was not gone; a little +bit had reached his heart, and it was still there. Listen, and I will +tell you what had happened. + +There was about this time a most marvelous mirror in the world. It +belonged to the worst hobgoblin that ever lived, and had been made by +his wicked little demons. + +Those who looked into this mirror saw reflected there all the mean and +ugly people and things in the world, and not one beautiful sight could +they see. And the thoughts of those who looked into this mirror became +as mean and ugly as the people and things they saw. + +This delighted the hobgoblin, who ordered his little demons to carry the +mirror all over the world and to do as much mischief with it as they +could. + +But one day, when they had traveled far, the mirror slipped from the +hands of the little imps, and fell to earth, shivered into hundreds of +thousands of millions of bits. Then it did more harm than ever, for +the tiny pieces, some no bigger than a grain of sand, were blown all +over the world, and often flew in people's eyes, and sometimes even +found their way into their hearts. + + [Illustration: "THEY FLEW UP AND UP ON A DARK CLOUD"] + +And when a big person or a child had a little bit of this magic mirror +in his eye, he saw only what was mean and ugly; and if the tiniest grain +of the glass reached his heart, alas! alas! it froze all the kindness +and gentleness and love that was there, and the heart became like a lump +of ice. + +This is what had happened to poor little Kay. One tiny bit of the magic +mirror had flown into his eye; another had entered his heart. + +"How horrid you look, Gerda. Why are you crying? And oh, see the worm in +that rose. Roses are ugly, and so are window-boxes." And Kay kicked the +window-box, and knocked two roses from the rose-bush. + +"Kay dear, what is the matter?" asked Gerda. + +The little boy did not answer, but broke off another rose, and then, +without saying good-by, stepped in at his own window, leaving Gerda +alone. + +The next time the little girl brought out the picture-book, Kay tore the +leaves, and when the grandmother told them a story, he interrupted her +and made ugly faces. And he would tread on Gerda's toes and pull her +hair, and make faces at her, too. + +"How cruel little Kay grows," said his friends; for he mocked the old +people and ill-treated those who were weak. And all through the blue +summer and the yellow autumn Kay teased little Gerda, or left her that +he might play with the bigger children in the town. + +But it was when winter came, and the big white snowflakes once more fell +from a gray sky, that Gerda felt loneliest, for Kay now drew on his +thick gloves, slung his little sledge across his back, and marched off +alone. "I am going to ride in the square," he shouted in her ear as he +passed. But Gerda could not answer; she could only think of the winters +that had gone, when she and Kay always sat side by side in that same +little sledge. How happy they had been! Oh, why, why had he not taken +her with him? + +Kay walked briskly to the square, and there he watched the bolder of the +boys tie their sledges to the farmers' carts. With what glee they felt +themselves being drawn over the snow-covered ground! When they reached +the town gates they would jump out, unfasten their sledges, and return +to the square to begin the fun all over again. + +Kay was thinking how much he would like to tie his little sledge behind +a cart, when a big sledge, painted white, drove by. In it sat some one +muffled in a white fur coat and cap. Twice the sledge drove round the +square. + +As it passed Kay the second time, he quickly fastened on his little +sledge behind, and in a moment found himself flying through the streets. +What fun! On and on through snowdrifts, bounding over ditches, rushing +down hills, faster and faster they flew. + +Little Kay grew frightened. Twice he tried to unfasten the string that +tied his sledge to the other, but both times the white driver turned +round and nodded to him to sit still. At last they had driven through +the town gates. The snow fell so heavily that it blinded him. Now he +could not see where they were going, and Kay grew more frightened still. +He tried to say his prayers, but could only remember the multiplication +table. Bigger and bigger grew the snowflakes, till they seemed like +large white birds. Then, suddenly, the sledge stopped. The driver stood +up. She was a tall lady, dazzlingly white. Her eyes shone like two +stars. She was the Snow Queen. + +"It is cold," said the white lady; "come into my sledge. Now, creep +inside my furs." + +Kay did as he was told, but he felt as if he had fallen into a +snowdrift. + +"You are still cold," said the Snow Queen, and she kissed his forehead. +Her lips were like ice, and Kay shivered and felt the old pain at his +heart. But only for a minute, for the Snow Queen kissed him again, +and then he forgot the pain, and he forgot Gerda, and he forgot his +grandmother and his old home, and had not a thought for anything or any +one but the Snow Queen. + +He had no fear of her now, no, not although they flew up and up on a +dark cloud, away over woods and lakes, over rivers, islands, and seas. +No, he was not afraid, although the cold wind whistled around them, and +beneath the wild wolves howled. Kay did not care. + +Above them the moon shone bright and clear. All night long the boy would +gaze at it and the twinkling stars, but by day he slept at the feet of +the Snow Queen. + + * * * + +But what of little Gerda? + +Poor child, she watched and she waited and she wondered, but Kay did not +come, and nobody could tell her where he was. The boys had seen him +drive out of the town gates behind a big sledge painted white. But no +one had heard of him since. + +Little Gerda cried bitterly. Perhaps Kay was drowned in the river. Oh, +what a long, cold winter that was! But spring came at last, bright +spring with its golden sunshine and its singing birds. + +"Kay is dead," said Gerda. + +"Kay dead? It is not true," said the sunshine. + +"Kay dead? We do not believe it," twittered the swallows. + +And neither did little Gerda believe it. + +"I will put on my new red shoes," said the child one morning, "and go to +the river and ask it about Kay." So she put on her little red shoes, and +kissed her old grandmother who was still asleep, and wandered alone, out +beyond the town gates, and down to the river-bank. + +"Have you taken my little playfellow?" she asked. "I will give you these +if you will bring him back to me," and she flung her little shoes into +the river. + +They fell close to the bank and the little waves tossed them back on to +the dry pebbles at her feet. "We do not want you, we will keep Kay," +they seemed to say. + +"Perhaps I did not throw them far enough," thought Gerda; and, stepping +into a boat that lay among the rushes, she flung the red shoes with all +her might into the middle of the river. + +But the boat was not fastened and it glided out from among the rushes. +Soon it was drifting faster and faster down the river. The little shoes +floated behind. + +"Perhaps I am going to little Kay," thought Gerda, as she was carried +farther and farther down the river. How pretty it was! Trees waved and +flowers nodded on its banks. Sheep grazed and cattle browsed, but not +one soul, big or little, was to be seen. + +After a long time Gerda came to a cherry-garden which stretched down to +the river-bank. At the end of this garden stood a tiny cottage with a +thatched roof, and with red, blue, and yellow glass windows. + +On either side of the door stood a wooden soldier. Gerda thought the +soldiers were alive, and shouted to them. + +The wooden soldiers, of course, did not hear, but an old, old woman, who +lived in the tiny house, wondered who it could be that called. She +hobbled out, leaning on her hooked stick. On her head she wore a big +sun-hat, and on it were painted beautiful flowers. + +"You poor child," said the old, old woman, walking straight into the +river, and catching hold of the boat with her hooked stick; "you poor +dear!" And she pulled the boat ashore and lifted out little Gerda on to +the green grass. + +Gerda was delighted to be on dry land again, but she was a little bit +afraid of the old, old woman, who now asked her who she was and where +she came from. + +"I am looking for Kay, little Kay. Have you seen him?" began Gerda, and +she went on to tell the old, old woman the whole story of her playmate +and his strange disappearance. When she had finished, she asked again, +"Have you seen him?" + +"No," said the old, old woman, "but I expect him. Come in," and she took +little Gerda by the hand. "Come to my house and taste my cherries." And +when they had gone into the cottage, the old, old woman locked the door. +Then she gave Gerda a plate of the most delicious cherries, and while +the little girl ate them, the old, old woman combed her hair with a +golden comb. + +Now this old, old woman was a witch, and the comb was a magic comb, for +as soon as it touched her hair, Gerda forgot all about Kay. And this was +just what the witch wished, for she was a lonely old woman, and would +have liked Gerda to become her own little girl and stay with her always. + +Gerda did enjoy the red cherries, and, while she was still eating them, +the old, old woman stole out to the garden and waved her hooked stick +over the rose-bushes and they quickly sank beneath the brown earth. +For Gerda had told her how fond Kay had once been of their little +rose-bushes in the balcony, and the witch was afraid the sight of roses +would remind the little girl of her lost playmate. But now that the +roses had vanished, Gerda might come into the garden. + +How the child danced for joy past the lilies and bluebells, how she +suddenly fell on her knees to smell the pinks and mignonette, and then +danced off again, in and out among the sunflowers and hollyhocks! + +Gerda was perfectly happy now, and played among the flowers until the +sun sank behind the cherry-trees. Then the old, old woman again took her +by the hand, and led her to the little house. And she undressed her and +put her into a little bed of white violets, and there the little girl +dreamed sweet dreams. + +The next day and the next again and for many more Gerda played among the +flowers in the garden. + +One morning, as the old woman sat near, Gerda looked at her hat with the +wonderful painted flowers. Prettiest of all was a rose. + +"A rose! Why, surely I have seen none in the garden," thought Gerda, and +she danced off in search. + +But she could find none, and in her disappointment hot tears fell. And +they fell on the very spot where the roses had grown, and as soon as +the warm drops moistened the earth, the rose-bushes sprang up. + +"You are beautiful, beautiful," she said; but in a moment the tears fell +again, for she thought of the rose-bushes in the balcony, and she +remembered Kay. + +"Oh Kay, dear, dear Kay, is he dead?" she asked the roses. + +"No, he is not dead," they answered, "for we have been beneath the brown +earth, and he is not there." + +"Then where, oh, where is he?" and she went from flower to flower +whispering, "Have you seen little Kay?" + +But the flowers stood in the sunshine, dreaming their own dreams, and +these they told the little maiden gladly, but of Kay they could not tell +her, for they knew nothing. + +Then the little girl ran down the garden path until she came to the +garden gate. She pressed the rusty latch. The gate flew open, and Gerda +ran out on her little bare feet into the green fields. And she ran, and +she ran, until she could run no longer. Then she sat down on a big stone +to rest. + +"Why, it must be autumn," she said sorrowfully, as she looked around. +And little Gerda felt sorry that she had stayed so long in the magic +garden, where it was always summer. + +"Why have I not been seeking little Kay?" she asked herself, and she +jumped up and trudged along, on and on, out into the great wide world. + + * * * + +At last the cold white winter came again, and still little Gerda was +wandering alone through the wide world, for she had not found little +Kay. + +"Caw, caw," said a big raven that hopped on the stone in front of her. +"Caw, caw." + +"Have you seen little Kay?" asked Gerda, and she told the bird her sad +story. + +"It may have been Kay," said the raven, "I cannot tell. But if it was, +he will have forgotten you now that he lives with the princess." + +"Does he live with a princess?" asked Gerda. + +"Yes, he does. If you care to listen, I will tell you how it came about. +In this kingdom lives a princess so clever that she has read all the +newspapers in the world, and forgotten them again. Last winter she made +up her mind to marry. Her husband, she said, must speak well. He must +know the proper thing to say, and say it prettily. Otherwise she would +not marry. I assure you what I say is perfectly true, for I have a tame +sweetheart who lives at court, and she told me the whole story. + +"One day it was published in the newspapers that any handsome young man +might go to the palace to speak to the princess. The one who spoke most +prettily and answered most wisely should be chosen as her husband. What +a stir there was! Young men flocked to the palace in crowds, chattering +as they came. But when they saw the great staircase, and the soldiers +in their silver uniform, and the grand ladies in velvet and lace, they +could only talk in whispers. And when they were led before the beautiful +princess, who was seated on a pearl as big as a spinning-wheel, they +were silent. She spoke to them, but they could think of nothing to say, +so they repeated her last words over and over again. The princess did +not like that, and she----" + +"But Kay, little Kay, did he come?" interrupted Gerda. + +"You are in too great a hurry," said the raven; "I am just coming to +that. On the third day came a boy with sparkling eyes and golden hair, +but his clothes were shabby. He----" + +"Oh, that would be Kay. Dear, dear Kay, I have found him at last." + +"He had a knapsack on his back, and----" + +"No, it must have been a sledge," again interrupted Gerda. + +"I said he had a knapsack on his back, and he wore boots that creaked, +but----" + +"Oh, then it must be Kay, for he had new boots. I heard them creak +through our attic wall when----" + +"Little girl, do not interrupt, but listen to me. He wore boots that +creaked, but even that did not frighten him. He creaked up the great +staircase, he passed the soldiers in silver uniform, he bowed to the +ladies in velvet and lace, and still he was quite at his ease. And when +he was led before the beautiful princess who was seated on a pearl as +big as a spinning-wheel, he answered so prettily and spoke so wisely +that she chose him as her husband." + +"Indeed, indeed it was Kay," said little Gerda. "He was so clever. He +could do arithmetic up to long division. Oh, take me to him." + +"I will see what can be done," said the raven. "I will talk about it to +my tame sweetheart. She will certainly be able to advise us. Wait here +by the stile," and the raven wagged his head and flew off. + +It was growing dark before he returned. "Here is a roll my tame +sweetheart sent you. 'The little maiden must be hungry,' she said. +As for your going to the palace with those bare feet--the thing is +impossible. The soldiers in silver uniform would not let you go up +the great stair. But do not cry. My sweetheart knows a little back +staircase. She will take you to the prince and princess. Follow me." + + [Illustration: "'YOU POOR CHILD,' SAID THE OLD WOMAN, WALKING STRAIGHT + INTO THE RIVER"] + +On tiptoe little Gerda followed the raven, as he hopped across the +snow-covered field and up the long avenue that led to the palace garden. +And in the garden they waited silently until the last light had gone +out. Then they turned along the bare walk that led to the back door. It +stood wide open. + +Oh, how little Gerda's heart beat, as on the tips of her little bare +toes she followed the raven up the dimly lighted back staircase! + +On the landing at the top burned a small lamp. Beside it stood the tame +sweetheart. + +Gerda curtsied as her grandmother had taught her. + +"He," said the tame sweetheart, nodding to the raven of the field, "he +has told me your story. It has made me sad. But if you carry the lamp, I +will lead the way, and then we shall see----" + +"We shall see little Kay," murmured Gerda. + +"Hush! we shall see what we shall see," said the tame sweetheart. + +Through room after room Gerda followed her strange guide, her heart +thumping and thumping so loudly that she was afraid some one in the +palace would hear it and wake. + +At last they came to a room in which stood two little beds, one white +and one red. The tame sweetheart nodded to the little girl. + +Poor Gerda! she was trembling all over, as she peeped at the little head +that rested on the pillow of the white bed. + +Oh! that was the princess. + +Gerda turned to the little red bed. The prince was lying on his face, +but the hair, surely it was Kay's hair. She drew down the little red +coverlet until she saw a brown neck. Yes! it was Kay's neck, she felt +sure. + +"Kay, Kay, it is I, little Gerda, wake, wake." + +And the prince awoke. He turned his head. He opened his eyes--and--alas! +alas! it was not little Kay. + +Then Gerda cried and cried as if her heart would break. She cried until +she awoke the princess, who started up bewildered. + +"Who are you, little girl, and where do you come from, and what do you +want?" + +"Oh, I want Kay, little Kay, do you know where he is?" And Gerda told +the princess all her story, and of what the ravens had done to help her. + +"Poor little child," said the princess, "how sad you must feel!" + +"And how tired," said the prince, and he jumped out of his little red +bed, and made Gerda lie down. + +The little girl was grateful indeed. She folded her hands and was soon +fast asleep. + +And Gerda dreamed of Kay. She saw him sitting in his little sledge, and +it was dragged by angels. But it was only a dream, and, when she awoke, +her little playmate was as far away as ever. + +The ravens were now very happy, for the princess said that, although +they must never again lead any one to the palace by the back staircase, +this time they should be rewarded. They should for the rest of their +lives live together in the palace garden, and be known as the court +ravens, and be fed from the royal kitchen. + +When little Gerda awoke from her dreams, she saw the sunbeams stealing +across her bed. It was time to get up. + +The court ladies dressed the little girl in silk and velvet, and the +prince and princess asked her to stay with them at the palace. But Gerda +begged for a little carriage, and a horse, and a pair of boots, that she +might again go out into the great wide world to seek little Kay. + +So they gave her a pair of boots and a muff, and when she was dressed, +there before the door stood a carriage of pure gold. The prince himself +helped Gerda to step in, and the princess waved to her as she drove off. + +But although Gerda was now a grand little girl, she was very lonely. The +coachman and footman in the scarlet and gold livery did not speak a +word. She was glad when the field raven flew to the carriage and perched +by her side. He explained that his wife, for he was now married, would +have come also, but she had eaten too much breakfast and was not well. +But at the end of three miles the raven said good-by, and flapping his +shiny black wings, flew into an elm. There he watched the golden +carriage till it could no longer be seen. + +Poor Gerda was lonely as ever! There were gingernuts and sugar-biscuits +and fruit in the carriage, but these could not comfort the little girl. + +When would she find Kay? + + * * * + +In a dark forest lived a band of wild robbers. Among them was an old +robber-woman, with shaggy eyebrows and no teeth. She had one little +daughter. + +"Look, look! what is that?" cried the little robber-girl one afternoon, +as something like a moving torch gleamed through the forest. It was +Gerda's golden carriage. The robbers rushed toward it, drove away the +coachman and the footman, and dragged out the little girl. + +"How plump she is! You will taste nice, my dear," the old woman said to +Gerda, as she drew out her long, sharp knife. It glittered horribly. +"Now, just stand still, so, and--oh! stop, I say, stop," screamed the +old woman, for at that moment her daughter sprang upon her back and bit +her ear. And there she hung like some savage little animal. "Oh, my ear, +my ear, you bad, wicked child!" But the woman did not now try to kill +Gerda. + +Then the robber-child said, "Little girl, I want you myself, and I want +to ride beside you." So together they stepped into the golden carriage +and drove deep into the wood. "No one will hurt you now, unless I get +angry with you," said the robber-girl, putting her arm round Gerda. "Are +you a princess?" + +"No," said Gerda, and she told the robber-girl all her story. "Have you +seen little Kay?" she ended. + +"Never," said the robber-girl, "never." Then she looked at Gerda and +added, "No one shall kill you even if I am angry with you. I shall do it +myself." And she dried Gerda's eyes. "Now this is nice," and she lay +back, her red hands in Gerda's warm, soft muff. + +At last the carriage stopped at a robber's castle. It was a ruin. The +robber-girl led Gerda into a large, old hall and gave her a basin of hot +soup. "You shall sleep there to-night," she said, "with me and my pets." + +Gerda looked where the robber-girl pointed, and saw that in one corner +of the room straw was scattered on the stone floor. + +"Yes, you shall see my pets. Come, lie down now." + +And little Gerda and the robber-girl lay down together on their straw +bed. Above, perched on poles, were doves. + +"Mine, all mine," said the little robber-girl. Jumping up, she seized +the dove nearest her by the feet and shook it till its wings flapped. +Then she slung it against Gerda's face. "Kiss it," she said. "Yes, all +mine; and look," she went on, "he is mine, too;" and she caught by the +horn a reindeer that was tied to the wall. He had a bright brass collar +round his neck. "We have to keep him tied or he would run away. I tickle +him every night with my sharp knife, and then he is afraid;" and the +girl drew from a hole in the wall a long knife, and gently ran it across +the reindeer's neck. The poor animal kicked, but the little robber-girl +laughed, and then again lay down on her bed of straw. + +"But," said Gerda, with terror in her eyes, "you are not going to sleep +with that long, sharp knife in your hand?" + +"Yes, I always do," replied the robber-girl; "one never knows what may +happen. But tell me again all about Kay, and about your journey through +the wide world." + +And Gerda told all her story over again. Then the little robber-girl put +one arm round Gerda's neck, and with her long knife in the other, she +fell sound asleep. + +But Gerda could not sleep. How could she, with that sharp knife close +beside her? She would try not to think of it. She would listen to the +doves. "Coo, coo," they said. Then they came nearer. + +"We have seen little Kay," they whispered. "He floated by above our nest +in the Snow Queen's sledge. She blew upon us as she passed, and her icy +breath killed many of us." + +"But where was little Kay going? Where does the Snow Queen live?" asked +Gerda. + +"The reindeer can tell you everything," said the doves. + +"Yes," said the reindeer, "I can tell you. Little Kay was going to the +Snow Queen's palace, a splendid palace of glittering ice, away in +Lapland." + +"Oh, Kay, little Kay!" sighed Gerda. + +"Lie still, or I shall stick my knife into you," said the little +robber-girl. + +And little Gerda lay still, but she did not sleep. In the morning she +told the robber-girl what the doves and the reindeer had said. + +The little robber-girl looked very solemn and thoughtful. Then she +nodded her head importantly. At last she spoke, not to Gerda, but to the +reindeer. + +"I should like to keep you here always, tied by your brass collar to +that wall. Then I should still tickle you with my knife, and have the +fun of seeing you kick and struggle. But never mind. Do you know where +Lapland is?" + +Lapland! of course the reindeer knew. Had he not been born there? Had he +not played in its snow-covered fields? As the reindeer thought of his +happy childhood, his eyes danced. + +"Would you like to go back to your old home?" asked the robber-girl. + +The reindeer leaped into the air for joy. + +"Very well, I will soon untie your chain. Mother is still asleep. Come +along, Gerda. Now, I am going to put this little girl on your back, and +you are to carry her safely to the Snow Queen's palace. She must find +her little playfellow." And the robber-girl lifted Gerda up and tied her +on the reindeer's back, having first put a little cushion beneath her. +"I must keep your muff, Gerda, but you can have mother's big, black +mittens. Come, put your hands in. Oh, they do look ugly." + +"I am going to Kay, little Kay," and Gerda cried for joy. + +"There is nothing to whimper about," said the robber-girl. "Look! here +are two loaves and a ham." Then she opened wide the door, loosened the +reindeer's chain, and said, "Now run." + +And the reindeer darted through the open door, Gerda waving her +blackmittened hands, and the little robber-girl calling after the +reindeer, "Take care of my little girl." + +On and on they sped, over briers and bushes, through fields and forests +and swamps. The wolves howled and the ravens screamed. But Gerda was +happy. She was going to Kay. + + * * * + +The loaves and the ham were finished, and Gerda and the reindeer were in +Lapland. + +They stopped in front of a little hut. Its roof sloped down almost to +the ground, and the door was so low that to get into the hut one had to +creep on hands and knees. How the reindeer squeezed through I cannot +tell, but there he was in the little hut, telling an old Lapp woman who +was frying fish over a lamp, first his own story and then the sad story +of Gerda and little Kay. + +"Oh, you poor creatures," said the Lapp woman, "the Snow Queen is not +in Lapland at present. She is hundreds of miles away at her palace in +Finland. But I will give you a note to a Finn woman, and she will direct +you better than I can." And the Lapp woman wrote a letter on a dried +fish, as she had no paper. + +Then, when Gerda had warmed herself by the lamp, the Lapp woman tied her +on to the reindeer again, and they squeezed through the little door and +were once more out in the wide world. + +On and on they sped through the long night, while the blue northern +lights flickered in the sky overhead, and the crisp snow crackled +beneath their feet. + +At last they reached Finland and knocked on the Finn woman's chimney, +for she had no door at all. Then they squeezed down the chimney and +found themselves in a very hot little room. + +The old woman at once loosened Gerda's things, and took off her mittens +and boots. Then she put ice on the reindeer's head. Now that her +visitors were more comfortable she could look at the letter they +brought. She read it three times and then put it in the fish-pot, for +this old woman never wasted anything. + +There was silence for five minutes, and then the reindeer again told his +story first, and afterward the sad story of Gerda and little Kay. + +Once more there was silence for five minutes, and then the Finn woman +whispered to the reindeer. This is what she whispered: "Yes, little Kay +is with the Snow Queen, and thinks himself the happiest boy in the +world. But that is because a little bit of the magic mirror is still in +his eye, and another tiny grain remains in his heart. Until they come +out, he can never be the old Kay. As long as they are there, the Snow +Queen will have him in her power." + +"But cannot you give Gerda power to overcome the Snow Queen?" whispered +the reindeer. + +"I cannot give her greater power than she has already. Her own loving +heart has won the help of bird and beast and robber-girl, and it is +that loving heart that will conquer the Snow Queen. But this you can do. +Carry little Gerda to the palace garden. It is only two miles from here. +You will see a bush covered with red berries. Leave Gerda there and +hurry back to me." + +Off sped the reindeer. + +"Oh, my boots and my mittens!" cried Gerda. + +But the reindeer would not stop. On he rushed through the snow until he +came to the bush with the red berries. There he put Gerda down and +kissed her, while tears trickled down his face. Then off he bounded, +leaving the little girl standing barefoot on the crisp snow. + +Gerda stepped forward. Huge snowflakes were coming to meet her. They did +not fall from the sky. No, they were marching along the ground. And what +strange shapes they took! Some looked like white hedgehogs, some like +polar bears. They were the Snow Queen's soldiers. + +Gerda grew frightened. But she did not run away. She folded her hands +and closed her eyes. "Our Father which art in heaven," she began, but +she could get no further. The cold was so great that she could not go +on. She opened her eyes, and there, surrounding her, was a legion of +bright little angels. They had been formed from her breath, as she +prayed, "Our Father which art in heaven." And the bright little angels +shivered into a hundred pieces the snowflake army, and Gerda walked on +fearlessly toward the palace of the Snow Queen. + + * * * + +Little Kay sits alone in the great ice hall. He does not know that he is +blue with cold, for the Snow Queen has kissed away the icy shiverings +and left his heart with no more feeling than a lump of ice. + +And this morning she has flown off to visit the countries of the south, +where the grapes and the lemons grow. + +"It is all so blue there," she had said, "I must go and cast my veil of +white across their hills and meadows." And away she flew. + +So Kay sits in the great ice hall alone. Chips of ice are his only +playthings, and now he leaves them on the ice-floor and goes to the +window to gaze at the snowdrifts in the palace garden. Great gusts of +wind swirl the snow past the windows. Kay can see nothing. He turns +again to his ice toys. + +Outside, little Gerda struggles through the biting wind, then, saying +her morning prayer, she enters the vast hall. At a glance she sees the +lonely boy. In a twinkling she knows it is Kay. Her little bare feet +carry her like wings across the ice floor. Her arms are round his neck. + +"Kay, dear, dear Kay!" + +But Kay does not move. He is still and cold as the palace walls. + +Little Gerda bursts into tears, hot, scalding tears. Her arms are yet +round Kay's neck, and her tears fall upon his heart of ice. They thaw +it. They reach the grain of glass, and it melts away. + +And now Kay's tears fall hot and fast, and as they pour, the tiny bit of +glass passes out of his eye, and he sees, he knows, his long-lost +playmate. + +"Little Gerda, little Gerda!" he cries, "where have you been, where have +you been, where are we now?" and he shivers as he looks round the vast +cold hall. + +But Gerda kisses his white cheeks, and they grow rosy; she kisses his +eyes, and they shine like stars; she kisses his hands and feet, and he +is strong and glad. + +Hand in hand they wander out of the ice palace. The winds hush, the sun +bursts forth. They talk of their grandmother, of their rose-trees. + +The reindeer has come back, and with him there waits another reindeer. +They stand by the bush with the red berries. + +The children bound on to their backs, and are carried first to the hut +of the Finn woman, and then on to Lapland. The Lapp woman has new +clothes ready for them, and brings out her sledge. Once more Kay and +Gerda are sitting side by side. The Lapp woman drives, and the two +reindeer follow. On and on they speed through the white-robed land. But +now they leave it behind. The earth wears her mantle of green. + +"Good-by," they say to the kind Lapp woman; "good-by" to the gentle +reindeer. + +Together the children enter a forest. How strange and how sweet the song +of the birds! + +A young girl on horseback comes galloping toward them. She wears a +scarlet cap, and has pistols in her belt. It is the robber-girl. + +"So you have found little Kay." + +Gerda smiles a radiant smile, and asks for the prince and princess. + +"They are traveling far away." + +"And the raven?" + +"Oh, the raven is dead. But tell me what you have been doing, and where +you found little Kay." + +The three children sit down under a fir-tree, and Gerda tells of her +journey through Lapland and Finland, and how at last she had found +little Kay in the palace of the Snow Queen. + +"Snip, snap, snorra!" shouts the robber-girl, which is her way of saying +"Hurrah!" Then, promising that if ever she is near their town, she will +pay them a visit, off she gallops into the wide world. + +On wander the two children, on and on. At last they see the tall towers +of the old town where they had lived together. Soon they come to the +narrow street they remember so well. They climb the long, long stair, +and burst into the little attic. + +The rose-bush is in bloom, and the sun pours in upon the old +grandmother, who reads her Bible by the open window. + +Kay and Gerda take their two little stools and sit down one on either +side of her, and listen to the words from the Good Book. As they listen, +a great peace steals into their souls. + +And outside it is summer--warm, bright, beautiful summer. + + + + +THE MASTER-MAID + + +Once there was a King who had a son, and this Prince would not stay at +home, but went a long, long way off to a very far country. There he met +a Giant; and though it seems a strange thing for a King's son to do, the +Prince went to the Giant's house to be his servant, and the Giant gave +the Prince a room, to sleep in, which, very strangely, had a door on +every side. However, the Prince thought little of this, for he was very +tired, and he went quickly to bed, and slept soundly all night. + +Now, the Giant had a large herd of goats; and very likely the Prince +thought the Giant would send him to herd the goats. But the Giant did +nothing of the sort. In the morning he prepared to take the goats to +pasture himself; but before he set out he told the Prince that he +expected him to clean the stable before he came back in the evening. + +"I am a very easy master," said the Giant, "and that is all I expect you +to do. But remember, I expect the work to be well done." Then, before he +reached the door, he turned back and said, in a threatening way: "You +are not to open a single one of the doors in your room. If you do, I +shall kill you." + +Then the Giant shut the door in a way that seemed to say, "I mean every +word I have said," and he went off with his goats, and left the Prince +alone. + +When he was gone, the Prince drummed for a while with his fingers on the +window. Then, when the Giant and his flock had gone out of sight, he +began to walk about the room, whistling to himself and looking at the +forbidden doors. + +The house seemed silent and lonely, and he really had nothing to do. To +clean a stable with only one stall seemed a very small task for a sturdy +boy like him. + +At last he said to himself: "I wonder what the Giant keeps behind those +doors? I think I shall look and see." + +If the Giant had been there the Prince would have paid dear for his +curiosity; but he was far away, and the Prince boldly opened the first +door, and inside he saw a huge pot, or cauldron, boiling away merrily. + +"What a strange thing," said the Prince; "there is no fire under the +pot. I must go in and see it!" + +And into the room he went, and bent down to see what queer soup it was +that boiled without a fire. As he did so, a lock of his hair dipped into +the pot; and when he raised his head, the lock looked like bronze. The +cauldron was full of boiling copper. + +He went out and closed the door carefully behind him; and, wondering if +there was a copper pot in the next room, he opened the second door. +There was a cauldron inside, boiling merrily; but there was no fire to +be seen. He went over and looked into the pot; and as it did not look +exactly like the first one, he dipped in another lock. When he raised +his head, up came the lock, weighted heavily with silver. The cauldron +was full of boiling silver. + +Wondering greatly at the Giant's riches, the Prince went out, closed the +door very carefully, and opened the third door. He almost tip-toed into +this room, he was so curious; but he went through the same performance. +And when he raised his head from the third pot that boiled without a +fire, the third lock of hair was like a heavy tassel of gold. The third +pot was full of boiling gold. + +Full of amazement at the Giant's great riches, the Prince hurried out of +the room, and closed the door with the greatest care. By this time he +was so full of curiosity that he ran as fast as he could to the fourth +door. And yet he scarcely dared to open it to see the riches he was sure +it hid behind it. + +However, he opened it, very gently and very quietly; and there on the +bench, in the window, looking out, sat a beautiful maiden. + +Although the door opened very quietly, she heard the sound, and looked +up. And when she saw the handsome young Prince standing in the doorway, +she started toward him, and cried in great distress: "O boy, boy! why +have you come here?" + +The Prince told her he had come to serve the Giant, and found him a very +easy master. Indeed, he said the Giant had given him nothing to do that +day but clean the stable. + +The maiden told him that if he tried to clean it as everyone else did, +he would never finish the work, because for every pitchforkful he threw +out, ten would come back. + +The thing to do, she said, was to use the handle of his pitchfork, and +the work would soon be done. + +The Prince said he would follow her advice; and then they sat all day +and talked of pleasant things. Indeed, they liked each other so well +that they very soon settled that they would get married. + +When it came toward evening, the maiden reminded the Prince that the +Giant would soon be home. So the youth went out to clean the stable. +First, he tried to do the work as any other boy would do it; but when he +found that in a very short time he would not have room to stand, he +quickly turned the pitchfork around and used the handle. In a few +moments the stable was as clean as a stable could be. Then he went back +to his room and wandered about it with his hands in his pockets, looking +quite as innocent as if he had not raised the latch of a single door. + +Soon the Giant came in and asked if his work was done. The Prince said +it was. Of course, the Giant did not believe him; but he went out to +see. When he came back he said very decidedly to the Prince: "You have +been talking to my Master-Maid. You could not have learned how to clean +that stable yourself." + +But the Prince made himself appear as if he had never heard of the +maiden before, and asked such stupid questions that the Giant went away +satisfied, and left him to sleep. + +Next morning, before the Giant set out with his goats, he again told +the Prince that he would find he was an easy master: all he had to +do that day was to catch the Giant's horse that was feeding on the +mountain-side. And having set him this task, the Giant said that if the +Prince opened one of the doors he would kill him. Then he took his +staff, and was soon out of sight. + +Quick as the Giant disappeared, the Prince, who had no more interest in +the other rooms, opened the fourth door. The maiden asked him about his +day's task; and when she heard it; she told the Prince that the horse +would rush at him with flame bursting from its nostrils, and its mouth +wide open to tear him. But, she said, if he would take the bridle that +hung on the crook by the door, and fling it straight into the horse's +mouth, the beast would become quite tame. He promised to do so; and they +talked all day of pleasant things. And when it came toward evening the +maiden reminded him that the Giant would soon be home. + +So the Prince went out to catch the horse; and everything happened as +the maiden said. But when the fiery horse rushed at him with open mouth +he watched his opportunity, and just at the right moment he flung the +bridle in between its teeth, and the horse stood still. Then the Prince +mounted it and rode it quietly home. He put the horse in the stable, and +went to his room, sat down and whistled to himself as if he did not know +there was a maiden in the world. + +Very soon the Giant came in, and asked about the horse, and the Prince +said very quietly that it was in the stable. The Giant did not believe +him; but he went to see, and again accused the Prince of having been +talking to his Master-Maid. + +The Prince pretended to be stupid, and asked silly questions, and said +he would like to see the maid. "You shall see her soon enough," the +Giant promised, and went away and left the Prince to go to sleep. + +The next day, before the Giant set out, he told the Prince to go down +underground and fetch his taxes. Then he warned the Prince not to touch +the doors, and went off with his goats. + +No sooner was he out of sight than the Prince rushed to the maiden, and +asked her how he was to find his way underground to get the taxes, and +how much he should ask for. She took him to the window and pointed out a +rocky ledge. He must go there, she said, take a club that hung beside +it, and knock on the rocky wall. As soon as he did so, a fiery monster +would come out, and ask his errand. + +"But remember," said the maiden, "when he asks how much you want, you +are to say: 'As much as I can carry.'" + +The Prince promised to do as she said, and they sat down close together +and talked until the evening of what they would do when they escaped +from the Giant and went home to get married. + +When evening came the maiden reminded the Prince of the Giant's coming, +and he went to get the money from the fiery monster. Everything happened +as the maiden said; and when the monster, with sparks flying everywhere +from him, asked fiercely, "How much do you want?" the Prince was not in +the least afraid, but said: "As much as I can carry." + +"It is a good thing you did not ask for a horse-load," said the monster; +and he took the Prince in and filled a sack, which was as much as the +Prince could do to carry. Indeed, that was nothing to what the Prince +saw there, for gold and silver coins lay around, inside the mountain, +like pebbles on the seashore. + +The Prince carried the money back to the Giant's house; and when the +Giant reached home, the Prince sat quietly in his room, whistling +softly, just as if he had never risen from his seat since the Giant +left. + +The Giant demanded the money for his taxes. "Here it is," said the +Prince, showing him the bursting sack. The Giant examined the money, and +then again accused the Prince of having been talking to the Master-Maid. + +"Master," said the Prince, "this is the third day you have talked about +the Master-Maid. Will you let me see her?" + +The Giant looked at the Prince from under his bushy eyebrows, and said: +"It is time enough to-morrow. I will show her to you myself, and you +will see quite enough of her," and he went off and left the Prince to +his sleep. + +But next morning, early, the Giant strode into the Prince's room, and +saying, "Now I will take you to see the Master-Maid," he opened the door +of the fourth room, beckoned the Prince to follow him in, and said to +the maiden: "Kill this youth, boil him in the large cauldron, and when +the broth is ready, call me." + +Then, just as if he had said nothing more startling than "Prepare some +cauliflower for dinner," he lay down on the bench and fell so fast +asleep that his snores sounded like thunder. + + [Illustration: "KILL THIS YOUTH. BOIL HIM IN THE LARGE CAULDRON," SAID + THE GIANT] + +Immediately the maiden began to make her preparations very neatly and +quickly. First, with a little knife she made a small gash in the +Prince's little finger and dropped three drops of his blood on the +wooden stool, near the cauldron. Then she gathered up a lot of rubbish, +such as old shoes and rags, and put them in the cauldron with water and +pepper and salt. Last of all, she packed a small chest with gold, and +gave it to the Prince to carry; filled a water-flask; took a golden cock +and hen, and put a lump of salt and a golden apple in her pocket. Then +the maid and the Prince ran to the sea-shore as fast as they could, +climbed on board a little ship that had come from no-one-knows-where, +and sailed away. + +After a while the Giant roused a little, and said sleepily: "Will it +soon boil?" + +The first drop of blood answered quietly: "It is just beginning." And +the Giant went to sleep again. + +At the end of a few hours more he roused again and asked: "Will it soon +be ready?" + +And the second drop said: "Half done," in the maiden's mournful voice, +for she had seen so many dark deeds done that, until the Prince came, +she was always sad. + +Again the Giant went to sleep, for several hours; but then he became +quite awake, and asked: "Is it not done yet?" + +The third drop said: "Quite ready." And the Giant sat up, and looked +around. The maiden was nowhere to be seen, but the Giant went over to +the pot and tasted the soup. + +At once he knew what had happened, and in a furious rage rushed to the +sea, but he could not get over it. So he called up his water-sucker, who +lay down and drank two or three draughts; and the water fell so low that +the horizon dropped, and the Giant could see the maiden and the Prince a +long way off. + +But the Master-Maid told the Prince to throw the lump of salt into the +sea, and as soon as he did so it became such a high mountain that the +Giant could not cross it, and the water-sucker could not gather up any +more water. + +Then the Giant called his hill-borer, who bored a tunnel through the +mountain, so that the sucker could go through and drink up more water. + +Then the maiden told the Prince to scatter a few drops from the +water-bottle into the sea. As soon as he did so the sea filled up, and +before the water-sucker could drink one drop, they were at the other +side, safe in the kingdom of the Prince's father. + +The Prince did not think it was fitting that his bride should walk to +his palace, so he said he would go and fetch seven horses and a carriage +to take her there. The maiden begged him not to go, because, she said, +he would forget her; but he insisted. Then she asked him to speak to no +one while he was away, and on no account to taste anything; and he +promised that he would go straight to the stable for the horses, and +without speaking a word to anyone, would come straight back. + +When he got to the palace he found it full of a merry company, for his +brother was going to be married to a lovely princess, who had come from +a far-off land. But in answer to their cries of welcome and questions +the Prince said no word, and only shook his head when they offered him +food, until the pretty laughing young sister of the bride-to-be rolled a +bright red apple across the courtyard to him. Laughing back at her, he +picked it up, and without thinking bit into it. Immediately he forgot +the Master-Maid, who had saved his life and was now sitting alone on the +seashore waiting for him. + +She waited until the night began to grow dark; then she went away into +the wood near the palace to find shelter. There she found a dark hut, +owned by a Witch, who at first would not allow her to stay. The Witch's +hard heart, however, was softened by the maiden's gold, and she allowed +her to have the hut. + +Then the maid flung into the fire a handful of gold, which immediately +melted and boiled all over the hut, and gilded the dark, dingy walls. +The Witch was so frightened that she ran away, and the maid was left +alone in the little gilded house. + +The next morning the Sheriff was passing through the wood, and stopped +to see the gilded house. At once he fell in love with the beautiful +maiden, and asked her to marry him. The maiden asked if he had a great +deal of money, and the Sheriff said he had a good deal, and went away to +fetch it. In the evening he came back with a two-bushel bag of gold; and +as he had so much, the maiden seemed to think she would marry him. + +But as they were talking she sprang up, saying she had forgotten to put +coal on the fire. The Sheriff went to do it for her, and immediately she +put a spell on him so that until morning came, he could not let the +shovel go, and had to stand all night pouring red hot coals over +himself. In the morning he was a sad sight to see, and hurried home so +fast, to hide himself, that people thought he was mad. + +The next day the Attorney passed by, and the same thing happened. The +Attorney brought a four-bushel sack of money to show the maid how rich +he was; and while they were talking the maid said she had forgotten to +close the door, so the Attorney went to close it. When he had his hand +on the latch the maid cried: "May you hold the door, and the door you, +and may you go between wall and wall, till day dawns." + +And all night long the Attorney had to rush back and forth, trying to +escape from the blows of the door which he could not let go. He made a +great deal of noise, but the maid slept as soundly as if she were in the +midst of calm. In the morning the Attorney escaped, and went home so +bruised-and-battered looking that everyone stopped and stared at him. + +The next day the Bailiff saw the bright little house and the maid. He at +once fell in love with her, and brought at least six bushels of money to +show how rich she would be, if she married him. The maid seemed to think +she would; but while they were talking she suddenly remembered to tie up +the calf. + +The Bailiff went to do it for her, and she put a spell on him, so that +all night long he had to fly over hill and dale holding on to the calf's +tail, which he could by no means let go. In the morning he was a sorry +sight, as he limped slowly home, with torn coat and ragged boots at +which everyone looked, for he was always dressed very neatly. + +While all this was happening, the Prince had quite forgotten the maid; +and, indeed, it was arranged that he was to marry the young Princess who +had thrown him the apple on the same day that his brother married her +sister. + + [Illustration: THE BAILIFF COULD NOT LET GO OF THE CALF'S TAIL] + +But when the two Princes and their brides were seated in the carriage +the trace-pin broke, and no pin could be got that would not break, until +the Sheriff thought of the maiden's shovel-handle. The King sent to +borrow it, and it made a pin that did not break in two. + +Then a curious thing happened: the bottom of the carriage fell out, and +as fast as a new one was made it fell to pieces. However, the Attorney +thought of the maiden's door. The King sent to borrow it, and it fitted +the bottom of the carriage exactly. + +Everything was now ready, and the coachman cracked his whip; but, strain +as they would, the horses could not move the carriage. At last the +Bailiff thought of the Master-Maid's calf; and although it was a very +ridiculous thing to see the King's carriage drawn by a calf, the King +sent to borrow it. The maiden, who was very obliging, lent it at once. +The calf was harnessed to the carriage, and away it went over stock and +stone, pulling horse and carriage as easily and quickly as it had pulled +the Bailiff. + +When they got to the church door the carriage began to go round and +round so quickly that it was very difficult and dangerous to get out of +it. + +When they were seated at the wedding feast, the Prince said he thought +they ought to invite the maiden who lived in the gilded hut, because +without her help they could not have got to the church at all. The King +thought so too; so they sent five courtiers to ask her to the feast. + +"Greet the King," replied the maid, "and tell him if he is too good to +come to me, I am too good to go to him." + +So the King had to go himself and invite her; and as they went to the +palace he thought she was something else than what she seemed to be. + +So he put her in the place of honor beside the Prince; and after a while +the Master-Maid took out the golden cock and hen and the golden apple, +which she had brought from the Giant's house, and put them on the table. + +At once the cock and hen began to fight. + +"Oh! look how those two there are fighting for the apple," said the +Prince. + +"Yes, and so did we fight to get out of danger," said the Master-Maid. + +Then the Prince knew her again. The Witch who had thrown him the apple +disappeared, and now for the first time they began really to keep the +wedding. + + + + +CAP O' RUSHES[J] + + +Well, there was once a very rich gentleman who had three daughters, and +he thought he'd see how fond they were of him. So he says to the first: + +"How much do you love me, my dear?" + +"Why," says she, "as I love my life." + +"That's good," says he. + +So he says to the second: "How much do you love me, my dear?" + +"Why," says she, "better nor all the world." + +"That's good," says he. + +So he says to the third: "How much do you love me, my dear?" + +"Why, I love you as fresh meat loves salt," says she. + +Well, but he was angry! "You don't love me at all," says he, "and in my +house you stay no more." So he drove her out, there and then, and shut +the door in her face. + +Well, she went away, on and on, till she came to a fen, and there she +gathered a lot of rushes and made them into a kind of a sort of a cloak, +with a hood, to cover her from head to foot, and to hide her fine +clothes. + +And then she went on and on till she came to a great house. + +"Do you want a maid?" says she. + +"No, we don't," said they. + +"I haven't nowhere to go," says she; "and I ask no wages, and will do +any sort of work," says she. + +"Well," said they, "if you like to wash the pots and scrape the +saucepans you may stay," said they. + +So she stayed there, and washed the pots, and scraped the saucepans, and +did all the dirty work. And because she gave no name they called her +"Cap o' Rushes." + +Well, one day there was to be a great dance a little way off, and the +servants were allowed to go and look on at the grand people. Cap o' +Rushes said she was too tired to go, so she stayed at home. + +But when they were gone, she offed with her cap o' rushes, and cleaned +herself, and went to the dance. And no one there was so finely dressed +as she! + +Well, who should be there but her master's son, and what should he do +but fall in love with her the minute he set eyes on her. He wouldn't +dance with anyone else. + +But before the dance was done, Cap o' Rushes slipped off and away she +went home. And when the other maids came back she was pretending to be +asleep with her cap o' rushes on. + +Well, next morning they said to her: "You did miss a sight, Cap o' +Rushes!" + +"What was that?" says she. + +"Why, the beautifullest lady you ever saw, dressed right gay and ga'. +The young master--he never took his eyes off her." + +"Well, I should like to have seen her," says Cap o' Rushes. + +"Well, there's to be another dance this evening, and perhaps she'll be +there." + +But, come the evening, Cap o' Rushes said she was too tired to go with +them. Howsoever, when they were gone, she offed with her cap o' rushes, +cleaned herself, and away she went to the dance. + +The master's son had been reckoning on seeing her, and he danced with no +one else, and never took his eyes off her. But before the dance was over +she slipped off and home she went, and when the maids came back she +pretended to be asleep with her cap o' rushes on. + +Next day they said to her again: "Well, Cap o' Rushes, you should have +been there to see the lady. There she was again, gay and ga', and the +young master--he never took his eyes off her." + +"Well, there," says she, "I should ha' liked to ha' seen her." + +"Well," says they, "there's a dance again this evening, and you must go +with us, for she's sure to be there." + +Well, come this evening, Cap o' Rushes said she was too tired to go; and +do what they would she stayed at home. But when they were gone, she +offed with her cap o' rushes and cleaned herself, and away she went to +the dance. + +The master's son was rarely glad when he saw her. He danced with none +but her, and never took his eyes off her. When she wouldn't tell him her +name, nor where she came from, he gave her a ring, and told her if he +didn't see her again he should die. + +Well, before the dance was over, off she slipped, and home she went; and +when the maids came home she was pretending to be asleep with her cap o' +rushes on. + +Well, next day they says to her: "There, Cap o' Rushes, you didn't come +last night, and now you won't see the lady, for there's no more dances." + +"Well, I should have rarely liked to have seen her," says she. + +The master's son he tried every way to find out where the lady was +gone; but go where he might, and ask whom he might, he never heard +anything about her. And he got worse and worse for the love of her, till +he had to keep to his bed. + +"Make some gruel for the young master," they said to the cook. "He's +dying for the love of the lady." The cook set about making it, when Cap +o' Rushes came in. + +"What are you a-doing of?" says she. + +"I'm going to make some gruel for the young master," says the cook, "for +he's dying for love of the lady." + +"Let me make it," says Cap o' Rushes. + +Well, the cook wouldn't at first, but at last she said yes, and Cap o' +Rushes made the gruel. And when she had made it she slipped the ring +into it on the sly before the cook took it upstairs. + +The young man he drank it, and then he saw the ring at the bottom. + +"Send for the cook," says he. + +So up she came. + +"Who made this gruel here?" says he. + +"I did," says the cook, for she was frightened. + +And he looked at her. + +"No, you didn't," says he. "Say who did it, and you shan't be harmed." + +"Well, then, 't was Cap o' Rushes," says she. + +"Send Cap o' Rushes here," says he. + +So Cap o' Rushes came. + +"Did you make my gruel?" says he. + +"Yes, I did," says she. + +"Where did you get this ring?" says he. + +"From him that gave it me," says she. + +"Who are you, then?" says the young man. + +"I'll show you," says she. And she offed with her cap o' rushes, and +there she was in her beautiful clothes. + +Well, the master's son he got well very soon, and they were to be +married in a little time. It was to be a very grand wedding, and +everyone was asked, far and near. And Cap o' Rushes' father was asked. +But she never told anybody who she was. + +But before the wedding, she went to the cook, and says she: + +"I want you to dress every dish without a mite of salt." + +"That'll be rare nasty," says the cook. + + [Illustration: "AND THERE SHE WAS IN HER BEAUTIFUL CLOTHES"] + +"That doesn't signify," said she. + +Well, the wedding day came, and they were married. And after they were +married all the company sat down to the dinner. When they began to eat +the meat, it was so tasteless they couldn't eat it. But Cap o' Rushes' +father tried first one dish and then another, and then he burst out +crying. + +"What's the matter?" said the master's son to him. + +"Oh!" says he, "I had a daughter. And I asked her how much she loved me. +And she said, 'As much as fresh meat loves salt.' And I turned her from +my door, for I thought she didn't love me. And now I see she loved me +best of all. And she may be dead for aught I know." + +"No, father, here she is!" said Cap o' Rushes. And she goes up to him +and puts her arms round him. + +And so they were all happy ever after. + + [J] From "English Fairy Tales," collected by Joseph Jacobs; + used by permission of G. P. Putnam's Sons. + + + + +FULFILLED + + +It was Christmas eve, and in the great house on the hill there was much +rejoicing and preparation for the feasting on the morrow. A knock came +at the door, and two strangers stood there. "We have lost our way," they +said, "and the night is dark and cold, and we do not know where to go, +and we would be glad to be allowed to stay for the night." + +But the farmer and his wife said "No!" very shortly. They had no room +for beggars. + +So the strangers went to the foot of the hill where stood the small +cottage of a laborer and his wife. In this house there was much +happiness, but there was no preparation for feasting on the morrow. They +were poor folk, who could not keep the feast. + +But when the strangers came the laborer opened the door wide and bade +them enter and draw near the fire and warm themselves. And, because +there was but one bed in the house, the laborer and his wife gave that +to their guests, and themselves slept on straw in an outer room; but, +strange to say, they never slept better in all their lives. + +In the morning they urged the strangers to stay with them, as it was a +feast-day, and a sorry time for travelers to be on the road. And, +because there was no meat in the house, the laborer went out and killed +the one goat which they owned, and his wife dressed it, and cooked it, +and made a feast. Then the strangers and the laborer and his wife went +to church together, and all came home and sat down to the good dinner. + +And when they were departing one of the strangers said to the laborer: +"How many horns had the little goat?" + +The laborer looked a bit confused, for he had not meant that his guests +should know that he had sacrificed his last goat for them, but he +answered: "Why, there were but two, of course." + +"Then," said the guests, "you and your wife shall have two wishes, one +for each of you." + +The laborer and his wife looked at each other, at first in perplexity, +and then they smiled. They were very contented, they said. They had +looked into each other's eyes, and had seen that which made for +happiness and contentment. So they told the guests that they had no +wishes to make: if they might but have their daily bread, and the hope +of heaven when they died, there was nothing more. + +The strangers said that these things should certainly be fulfilled, and +took their leave, promising to come again next year, and spend the +night, and attend church, and share the feast with their friends. + +From that day on everything that the laborer and his wife did prospered. +Their pigs were fat, and brought good prices on the market; their corn +grew thick and tall, and the barns were filled with golden grain; their +hens laid more and bigger eggs than ever before, so that soon the couple +were no longer poor, but prosperous. + +They knew quite well to whom they owed such good fortune, and often +spoke about it, and looked forward to the time when their friends should +come again next year. For it seemed to them that they could hardly enjoy +the good things that had been given to them until they had thanked those +through whose favor the good fortune had come. + +Now, the farmer and his wife remembered that these strangers had first +come to them; and when they heard the story they were envious, for, +although they were rich, they were not content. + +So one day the farmer went down the hill to the laborer's cottage and +said: + +"After all, your house is but small to entertain such guests. When they +come again this year, send them up to our house, and we will give them a +grand feast, and soft beds to sleep on, and take them to the church in +our fine carriage." + +The laborer and his wife thought that it was very nice that their +friends were to be so well entertained, and were very willing to promise +to send them to the house of the farmer. + +So when the Christmas season was come the farmer and his wife killed an +ox, and prepared a great feast. And when the strangers came they were +right royally entertained; but the next morning they said that they must +hasten, as they were to enter the church with the friends of the year +before. This was very satisfactory to the farmer and his wife, for they +did not want to go to church on Christmas Day, but the farmer said that +since the strangers were going to the church he would drive them there +in his carriage. + +So the finest horses on the farm were harnessed to the carriage and it +stood at the door. And just as they were about to drive away one of the +strangers turned to the farmer, asking: "Did you kill the ox for us?" + +"Oh, yes," answered the farmer, eagerly. + +"And how many horns did he have?" + +This was the question that the farmer and his wife had been waiting for, +and the farmer's wife whispered in her husband's ear: "Say four--there +will be that much more for us." + +So the farmer answered: "Indeed, it was a very peculiar ox; it had four +horns." + +"Then," said the stranger, "you shall have four wishes, two for each of +you." + +Then they mounted into the carriage and were driven off to the church, +the farmer driving very fast, for he was eager to get back home to his +wife so that they might talk over what they were to wish for. + +So when he started back the horses were pretty well "blown," and could +not go fast, and the farmer whipped them, and at last one of them +stumbled and a trace broke. This was most provoking, and he could not +wait to fix it right, but fastened it hastily, for he wanted to be at +home again. Then the other horse stumbled, and the other trace broke, so +both of them were down. + +At this the farmer was very angry. "The wicked elves take you! I wish--" +But the words were not all out of his mouth before the horses had gone, +leaving the harness dangling to the carriage. + +The farmer was indeed angry now, but there was nothing to be done about +it, and he knew that he had but one wish left and he wanted to make that +one very carefully, so he packed the harness on his back, left the wagon +standing, and started home on foot. + +Now, at home the farmer's wife was very impatient for him to come, for +she wanted to talk over with him what her two wishes should be, and at +last she exclaimed: "Oh, I wish that he would hurry!" + +No sooner were the words spoken than the farmer shot through the air and +into the house, angry at having been brought so speedily, and at his +wife for having so foolishly wasted a wish. So immediately they began to +quarrel about it, and the farmer said that it was all her fault for +making him lie about the number of horns on the ox. + +"Plague take the woman!" he exclaimed, "I wish that two of the horns +were growing out of her head this minute!" + +No sooner were the words spoken than the woman threw her hands to her +head and cried aloud in pain, for two horns were growing rapidly, one on +each side of her head, and soon they were pushing through her hair and +shoving her cap aside. + +But the farmer clapped his hand to his mouth exclaiming: "Oh, that was +my last wish. Do you now quickly wish for a million dollars!" + +"Much good a million dollars would do me!" said his wife, "with horns on +my head like an ox!" + +"But you could buy bonnets of silk and of velvet and cover them up," +pleaded her husband, who saw his last hope of riches disappearing, as, +indeed, it did, for he had hardly stopped speaking when his wife +exclaimed: "I wish that the horns were gone off of my head." + +And in a moment the horns were gone, and so was the last wish, and so +was the hope for great riches, and so, also, were the two fine horses! + + + + +KING GRISLY-BEARD + +RETOLD FROM THE BROTHERS GRIMM + + +Once there was a great King who had a daughter that was very beautiful, +but so haughty and vain she thought none of the Princes who came to ask +her in marriage were good enough for her, and she made sport of them. + +One day the King, her father, held a great feast, and invited all the +Princes at once. They sat in a row, according to their rank--Kings and +Princes and Dukes and Earls. Then the Princess came in, and passed down +the line by them all; but she had something disagreeable to say to +every one. The first was too fat. "He's as round as a tub!" she said. +The next one was too tall. "What a flag-pole!" she declared. The next +was too short. "What a dumpling!" was her comment. The fourth was too +pale, and so she called him "Wall-face." The fifth was too red, and was +named "Coxcomb." + +Thus she had some joke upon every one, but she laughed more than all at +a good King who was there. "Look at him," said she; "his beard is like +an old mop. I call him 'Grisly-Beard.'" So after that the good King got +the nickname of "Grisly-Beard." + +Now the old King, her father, was very angry when he saw how badly his +daughter behaved, and how she treated all his friends. So he said that, +willing or unwilling, she should marry the first beggar that came to the +door! All the Kings and Nobles heard him say this. + +Two days afterward a traveling singer came by. When he began to sing and +beg alms the King heard him and said: "Let him come in." So they brought +in a dirty-looking fellow, and he sang before the King and the Princess. +When he begged a gift the King said: "You have sung so well that I will +give you my daughter for your wife." + + [Illustration: "YOU HAVE SUNG SO WELL I WILL GIVE YOU MY DAUGHTER FOR + YOUR WIFE"] + +The Princess begged for mercy, but her father said: "I shall keep my +word." So the parson was sent for, and she was married to the singer. +Then the King said: "You must get ready; you can't stay here any longer; +you must travel on with your husband." + +Then the beggar departed and took his wife with him. + +Soon they came to a great wood. "Whose wood is this?" she asked. + +"It belongs to King Grisly-Beard," said he. "If you had taken him this +would have been yours." + +"Ah, unlucky girl that I am! I wish I had taken King Grisly-Beard." + +Next they came to some fine meadows. "Whose are these beautiful green +meadows?" she asked. + +"They belong to King Grisly-Beard. If you had taken him they would have +been yours." + +"Ah, unlucky girl that I am! I wish indeed I had married King +Grisly-Beard." + +Then they came to a great city. "Whose is this noble city?" she asked. + +"It belongs to King Grisly-Beard," he said again. "If you had taken him +this would have been yours, also." + + [Illustration: A DRUNKEN SOLDIER RODE HIS HORSE AGAINST HER STALL] + +"Ah, miserable girl that I am," she sighed. "Why did I not marry King +Grisly-Beard?" + +"That is no business of mine," said the singer. + +At last they came to a small cottage. "To whom does this little hovel +belong?" she asked. + +"This is yours and mine," said the beggar. "This is where we are to +live." + +"Where are your servants?" she asked, falteringly. + +"We cannot afford servants," said he. "You will have to do whatever is +to be done. Now, make the fire and put on water and cook my supper." + +The Princess knew nothing of making fires and cooking, and the beggar +was forced to help her. Early the next morning he called her to clean +the house. + +Thus they lived for three days, and when they had eaten up all there was +in the cottage, the man said: "Wife, we can't go on like this, spending +money and earning nothing. You must learn to weave baskets." So he went +out and cut willows, and brought them home and taught her how to weave. +But it made her fingers very sore. + +"I see that this will never do," said her husband; "try and spin. +Perhaps you will do that better." + +So she sat down and tried to spin, and her husband tried to teach her; +but the threads cut her tender fingers till the blood ran. + +"I am afraid you are good for nothing," said the man. "What a bargain I +have got. However, I will try and set up a trade in pots and pans, and +you shall stand in the market and sell them." + +"Alas!" sighed she, "when I stand in the market, if any of my father's +court pass by and see me there, how they will laugh at me!" + +But the beggar said she must work, if she did not wish to die of hunger. +At first, the trade went very well, for many people, seeing such a +beautiful woman, bought her wares and paid their money without thinking +of taking away the goods. Then her husband bought a fresh lot of ware, +and she sat down one day with it in the corner of the market; but a +drunken soldier came by and rode his horse against her stall, and broke +her goods into a thousand pieces. So she began to weep: "Ah, what will +become of me?" said she. "What will my husband say?" So she ran home and +told him all. + +"How silly you were," he said, "to put a china-stall in the corner of +the market where everybody passes; but let us have no more crying. I see +you are not fit for this sort of work; so I will go to the King's palace +and ask if they do not want a kitchen-maid." + +So the next day the Princess became a kitchen-maid, and helped the cook +do all the dirtiest work. + +She had not been there long before she heard that the eldest son of the +King of that country was going to be married. She looked out of one of +the windows and saw all the ladies and gentlemen of the court in fine +array. Then she thought with a sore heart of her own sad fate. Her +husband, it is true, had been in a way kind to her; but she realized now +the pride and folly which had brought her so low. + +All of a sudden, as she was going out to take some food to her husband +in their humble cottage, the King's son in golden clothes broke through +the crowd; and when he saw a beautiful woman at the kitchen door, he +took her by the hand and said that she should be his partner in the +dance. + +Then she trembled for fear, for when she looked up she saw that it was +King Grisly-Beard himself who was making fun of her. However, he led her +into the ballroom, and as he did so the cover of her basket came off, so +that the fragments of food in it fell to the floor. Then everybody +laughed and jeered at her, and she wished herself a thousand feet deep +in the earth. + +She sprang to the door to run away; but King Grisly-Beard overtook her, +brought her back, and threw his golden cloak over her shoulders. + +"Do not be afraid, my dear," said he; "I am the beggar who has lived +with you in the hut. I brought you there because I loved you. I am also +the soldier who upset your stall. I have done all this to cure you of +your pride. Now it is all over; you have learned wisdom, and it is time +for us to hold our marriage feast." + +Then the maids came and brought her the most beautiful robes, and her +father and his whole court came in and wished her much happiness. The +feast was grand, and all were merry; and I wish you and I had been of +the party. + + [Illustration] + + + + +_The Country Rat and the Town Rat_ + + +[Illustration] + +A Country Rat invited a Town Rat, an intimate friend, to pay him a +visit, and partake of his country fare. As they were on the bare +plough-lands, eating their wheat-stalks and roots pulled up from the +hedge row, the Town Rat said to his friend, "You live here the life of +the ants, while in my house is the horn of plenty. I am surrounded with +every luxury, and if you will come with me, as I much wish you would, +you shall have an ample share of my dainties." The Country Rat was +easily persuaded, and returned to town with his friend. On his arrival, +the Town Rat placed before him bread, barley, beans, dried figs, honey, +raisins, and last of all, brought a dainty piece of cheese from a +basket. The Country Rat being much delighted at the sight of such good +cheer, expressed his satisfaction in warm terms, and lamented his own +hard fate. Just as they were beginning to eat, some one opened the door, +and they both ran off squeaking as fast as they could to a hole so +narrow that two could only find room in it by squeezing. They had +scarcely again begun their repast when someone else entered to take +something out of a cupboard, on which the two Rats, more frightened than +before, ran away and hid themselves. At last the Country Rat, almost +famished, thus addressed his friend: "Although you have prepared for me +so dainty a feast, I must leave you to enjoy it by yourself. It is +surrounded by too many dangers to please me. I prefer my bare +plough-lands and roots from the hedge row, so that I only can live in +safety and without fear." + + _#Peace is more desirable than wealth#_ + + [Illustration] + + + + + [Illustration: FABLES] + + + + +THE FOX AND THE GOAT + + +A Fox one day tried to drink at a well when he caught his feet on a +stone and fell into the water. It was not so deep as to drown him, yet +the poor Fox could not get out. Soon a Goat came that way. He, too, +thought he would drink, but then he saw the Fox in the well, so he said, +"Is the water good?" "Oh, yes," said the Fox, "it is very good and nice, +and there is a lot of it." In sprang the Goat, and at once the Fox +sprang on to his back, and thence out of the well. "Ah, my friend!" said +he, as he stood safe on the brink, "if your brains had been as large as +your beard, you would have seen where you meant to jump to!" and then +the sly Fox ran off and left the poor Goat in the well. _Look before you +leap._ + + + + +THE TWO FROGS + + +Two Frogs were neighbors. The one inhabited a deep pond, far removed +from public view; the other lived in a gully containing little water, +and traversed by a country road. He that lived in the pond warned his +friend, and entreated him to change his residence and come and live with +him, saying that he could enjoy greater safety from danger and more +abundant food. The other refused, saying that he felt it so very hard +to remove from a place to which he had become accustomed. A few days +afterward a heavy wagon passed through the gully, and crushed him to +death under its wheels. _A wilful man will have his way to his own +hurt._ + + + + +THE DOG IN THE MANGER + + +A cross Dog lay in a manger full of hay; and when the Ox came near to +eat his own food, the rude and ill-bred cur at once began to snarl and +bite at him. "What a selfish Beast thou art!" said the Ox; "thou canst +not eat the hay thyself, nor wilt thou look on while others feed." _Do +not be selfish._ + + + + +THE STAG AT THE POOL + + +One hot day, a Stag, who came down from the hills to quench his thirst +at a pool of clear water, saw his form in the stream. "Ah!" said he, +"what fine horns these are--with what grace do they rise above my head! +I wish that all the parts of my body were as good as they. But sometimes +I quite blush at these poor, thin, weak legs of mine." While he thought +thus, all at once the cries of the huntsman and the bay of the hounds +were heard. Away flew the Stag, and by the aid of these same thin, weak +legs he soon outran the hunt. At last he found himself in a wood, and he +had the bad luck to catch his fine horns in the branch of a tree, where +he was held till the hounds came up and caught him. He now saw how +foolish he had been in thinking so ill of his legs which would have +brought him safely away, and in being so vain of those horns which had +caused his ruin. _The useful is better than the beautiful._ + + + + +THE WAR-HORSE AND THE ASS + + +A War-Horse, grand in all the trappings of war, came with a great noise +down the road. The ground rang with the sound of his hoofs. At the same +time a meek Ass went with tired step down the same road with a great +load on his back. The Horse cried to the poor Ass to "get out of my way, +or I will crush you beneath my feet." The Ass, who did not wish to make +the proud horse cross, at once went to the side, so that he might pass +him. Not long after this, the Horse was sent to the wars. There he had +the ill-luck to get a bad wound, and in that state, as he was not fit to +serve in the field of war, his fine clothes were taken from him, and he +was sold to the man with whom the Ass dwelt. Thus the Ass and the Horse +met once more, but this time the grand War-Horse was, with great pains +and toil, drawing a cart with a load of bricks. Then the Ass saw what +small cause he had to think his lot worse than that of the Horse, who +had in times gone by treated him with so much scorn. _Pride will have a +fall._ + + + + +THE FROGS WHO WANTED A KING + + +In old times when the Frogs swam at ease through the ponds and lakes, +they grew tired of their tame mode of life. They thought they would like +some kind of change, so they all met and with much noise prayed to Jove +to send them a King. Jove and all the gods laughed loud at the Frogs, +and with a view to please them he threw to them a log, and said, "There +is a King for you!" The loud fall of the log made a great splash in the +lake, which sent a thrill through all the Frogs; and it was long ere +they dared to take a peep at their new lord and King. At length some of +the more brave swam to him, and they were soon followed by the rest; and +when they saw that he did not move but lay quite still, they leaped upon +his back, and sprang and sang on him, and cried out that he was no King +but a log. Such a King did not at all please them; so they sent a fresh +prayer to Jove to beg him for a King who had some life, and would move. +Then Jove sent a Stork, and said he thought this would suit them. The +Stork had but just come to the Frogs than he set to work to eat them up +as fast as he could. Of course the Frogs did not like this new King even +as well as King Log, and they sent at once to Jove and prayed to him to +take away the Stork. They would rather have no King at all than all be +eaten up. But Jove would not grant their prayer this time. "No," said +he, "it was your own wish, and if you will be so vain and foolish, you +must pay the cost." _It is better to bear the ills we have than fly to +those we know not of._ + + + + + [Illustration] + +THE OX AND THE FROG + + +An ox, drinking at a pool, trod on a brood of young frogs, and crushed +one of them to death. The mother coming up, and missing one of her sons, +inquired of his brothers what had become of him. + +"He is dead," said they; "for just now a very huge beast with four great +feet came to the pool and crushed him with his cloven heel." + +The frog, puffing herself out, inquired, "Was the beast as big as _that_ +in size?" + +"Cease mother, to puff yourself out," said her son, "and do not be +angry; for you would, I assure you, sooner burst than successfully +imitate the hugeness of that monster." + +_To know the limitations of our nature, and act accordingly, is the part +of wisdom._ + + + + + [Illustration] + +THE HERON WHO WAS HARD TO PLEASE + + +A heron having bolted down too large a fish, burst its deep gullet-bag +and lay down on the shore to die. A kite seeing it, exclaimed: "You +richly deserve your fate; for a bird of the air has no business to seek +its food from the sea." + +_Everyone should be content to mind his own business._ + + [Illustration] + + + + +THE SHEPHERD BOY AND THE WOLF + + +A Shepherd Boy, who tended his sheep in a field near a village, used to +make fun of his friends by crying out now and then, "A Wolf! a Wolf!" as +if a Wolf were at the heels of his sheep. This trick did well more than +once. The men who were in the village would leave their work, and come +in hot haste to the boy's help, each man with an axe or a club with +which to kill the Wolf. But as each time they found that it was a Boy's +joke, they made up their minds not to come at his cries. One day the +Wolf did come; and the Boy cried and cried, "The Wolf! The Wolf! Help! +Help!" But it was all in vain, each man thought he was at his old game +again. So the Wolf ate the poor Sheep. _No one trusts a liar even when +he speaks the truth._ + + + + +THE ASS, THE COCK, AND THE LION + + +An Ass and a Cock one day ate together just as a fine Lion passed by. As +soon as he had cast his eyes on the Ass, he made up his mind to make a +meal of him. But it is said that the Lion, though he is the King of +Beasts, dreads to hear a cock crow. Now, it came to pass that, just as +the Lion was in the act of springing on the Ass, the Cock sent forth a +loud and shrill crow. The Lion took to his heels at once, and ran off +as fast as he could. The Ass saw this, and thought that the Lion was +running off through fear of him. So he gave a great bray, and threw up +his head, and started to chase the runaway King of Beasts. But they had +not gone far in this way when the Lion turned round. He soon saw that +there was but an Ass behind him; so he stood still in his flight, laid +hold of the poor Ass, and soon tore him to pieces. _Pride oft leads to +ruin._ + + + + +THE LION, THE BEAR, AND THE FOX + + +A Lion and a Bear were roaming together in the wood when they found a +dead Fawn. "This belongs to me," cried the Bear, for she had been the +first to catch sight of it. "No! to me," said the Lion; "am I not the +King of Beasts?" As they could not agree as to who should own the body +of the Fawn, they fell to blows. The fight was hard and long; and at +last both were so faint and weak with loss of blood that they lay down +on the ground and panted, for they were quite out of breath. Just then a +Fox went by, and saw that the Bear and the Lion had no strength left, so +he quickly stepped in between them and bore off the Fawn as his prize. +"Ah!" said they, "how foolish we have been! The end of all our fighting +has been to give that sly scamp the Fox a good meal." _Half a loaf is +better than no bread._ + + + + +THE HORSE AND THE STAG + + +The Horse had the plain entirely to himself. A Stag intruded into his +domain, and shared his pasture. The Horse desiring to revenge himself +on the stranger, requested a man, if he were willing to help him in +punishing the Stag. The man replied, that if the Horse would receive +a bit in his mouth, and agree to carry him, that he would contrive +effectual weapons against the Stag. The Horse consented and allowed the +man to mount him. From that hour he found that, instead of obtaining +revenge on the Stag, he had enslaved himself to the service of man. +_Beware of him who demands pay for a courtesy._ + + + + +THE LION AND THE BOAR + + +On a summer day, when the great heat induced a general thirst, a Lion +and a Boar came at the same moment to a small well to drink. They +fiercely disputed which of them should drink first, and were soon +engaged in the agonies of a mortal combat. On their stopping on a sudden +to take breath for the fiercer renewal of the strife, they saw some +Vultures waiting in the distance to feast on the one which should fall +first. They at once made up their quarrel, saying, "_It is better for us +to make friends than to become the food of Crows or Vultures._" + + + + +THE HUNTSMAN AND THE FISHERMAN + + +A Huntsman, returning with his dogs from the field, fell in by chance +with a Fisherman, bringing home a basket well laden with fish. The +Huntsman wished to have the fish; and their owner experienced an equal +longing for the contents of the game-bag. They quickly agreed to +exchange the produce of their day's sport. Each was so well pleased with +his bargain that for some time they made the same exchange day after +day. A neighbor said to them, "If you go on in this way, you will soon +destroy, by frequent use, the pleasure of your exchange, and each will +again wish to retain the fruits of his own sport." _Abstain and enjoy._ + + + + + [Illustration] + +THE ASS IN THE LION'S SKIN + + +An ass, having put on the lion's skin, roamed about in the forest, and +amused himself by frightening all the foolish animals he met with in his +wanderings. At last, meeting a fox, he tried to frighten him also, but +the fox no sooner heard the sound of his voice than he exclaimed: "I +might possibly have been frightened myself, if I had not heard you +bray." + +_Deceitfulness has too many ill-concealed marks to escape discovery by +someone, sometime._ + + + + + [Illustration: THE CAT AND THE MONKEY] + + [Illustration: A MILLER, HIS SON, AND THEIR ASS] + + [Illustration: THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE] + + [Illustration: THE TOWN RAT AND THE COUNTRY RAT] + + FROM DRAWINGS BY BESS BRUCE CLEVELAND + + + + + [Illustration: THE HEN AND THE GOLDEN EGGS] + + [Illustration: THE LION AND THE GNAT] + + [Illustration: THE ASS IN THE LION'S SKIN] + + [Illustration: THE OX AND THE FROG] + + FROM DRAWINGS BY BESS BRUCE CLEVELAND + + + + + [Illustration] + +THE HARE and THE TORTOISE + + +A hare one day ridiculed the short feet and slow pace of the tortoise. +The latter laughing, said: "Though you be swift as the wind, I will beat +you in a race." The hare, deeming her assertion to be simply impossible +assented to the proposal; and they agreed that the fox should choose the +course and fix the goal. On the day appointed for the race they started +together. The tortoise never for a moment stopped, but went on with a +slow but steady pace straight to the end of the course. The hare, +trusting to his native swiftness, cared little about the race, and lying +down by the wayside, fell fast asleep. At last, waking up, and moving as +fast as he could, he saw the tortoise had reached the goal, and was +comfortably dozing after her fatigue. + + _Slow and steady wins the race._ + + + + +THE FOX AND THE WOOD-CUTTER + + +A Fox, running before the hounds, came across a Wood-cutter felling an +oak, and besought him to show him a safe hiding-place. The Wood-cutter +advised him to take shelter in his own hut. The Fox crept in and hid +himself in a corner. The huntsman came up with his hounds, in a few +minutes, and inquired of the Wood-cutter if he had not seen the Fox. He +declared that he had not seen him, and yet pointed, all the time he was +speaking, to the hut where the Fox lay hid. The huntsman took no notice +of the signs, but, believing his word, hastened forward in the chase. As +soon as they were well away, the Fox departed without taking any notice +of the Wood-cutter: whereon he called to him, and reproached him, +saying, "You ungrateful fellow, you owe your life to me, and yet you +leave me without a word of thanks." The Fox replied, "Indeed, I should +have thanked you fervently, _if your deeds had been as good as your +words, and if your hands had not been traitors to your speech_." + + + + +THE LION AND OTHER BEASTS ON A HUNT + + +The Lion and a lot of other Beasts made a plan to share whatever they +caught when they went on a hunt. The first day they went out they took a +fat Stag, which was cut up into three parts. The Lion said he would be +the chief judge, and laid his paw on one of the shares, and thus spoke: +"This first piece I claim as your lord and king; this part, too, I claim +as the most brave and most fierce of you all; and as for the third," he +cried, as he bent his big, bright eyes on the crowd of Beasts, "I mean +to take that, too, and let me see which of you dare stop me!" _Might is +apt to make a right._ + + + + +THE EAGLE AND THE ARROW + + +A man shot a shaft at an Eagle, and hit him in the heart. When in the +pains of death, the Eagle saw that the dart was made in part with one of +his own quills. "Ah!" said he, "how much more sharp are wounds which are +made by arms which we have ourselves made!" _It is sad to find that we +are the cause of our own ills._ + + + + +THE MOUSE AND THE FROG + + +One day a Mouse met a Frog, and so well did they like each other that +they said they would travel together. The Frog feared lest the Mouse +should come to harm, and so tied his own hind-leg to the fore-leg of the +Mouse. After a walk of some days like this on land, they came to a pond. +The Frog made a start to swim, and bade the Mouse be of good heart. +When they had got half-way over, the Frog made a sharp plunge to the +bottom--and of course took the Mouse with him. The poor Mouse tried so +hard to get to the top of the water again, and made such a splash, and +such a noise, that a Kite that was flying past heard it, flew down, +caught the Mouse, bore him off, and took the Frog with him. _Self-help +is best._ + + + + +THE WOLF AND THE GOAT + + +As a Goat stood on the top of a high rock, a Wolf who could not get at +her where she was thus spoke to her: "Pray come down; I much fear that +you will fall from that great height; and you will, too, find the grass +down here much more fresh and thick." "I am much pleased by your kind +thought," said the Goat, "but do not mind if I do not accept it, as I +think that you think more of your own meal than of mine." _Keep far from +those you do not trust._ + + + + +THE BAD DOG + + +There was once a Dog which was so fierce and bad that his master had to +tie a big clog round his neck lest he should bite and tease men and boys +in the street. The Dog thought that this was a thing to be proud of, so +ran through the best known streets, and grew so vain that he scorned the +dogs he met, and would not be seen with them. But one of them said in +his ear, "You are wrong, my friend; the badge round your neck is a mark +of shame, not a cause for pride." _Some win fame only for their folly._ + + + + +THE KID AND THE WOLF + + +A Kid who had left the side of her dam was caught by a Wolf. When she +saw that the Wolf had got her fast, and that there was no chance of +flight, the Kid said, "If my life is to be short, let it at least be +gay. Do you pipe for a time, and I will dance." So the Wolf set to play +and the Kid to dance; but the music was heard by some Dogs who were +near, and they ran to find out what it was for. When the Wolf saw them +on their way he ran off as fast as his legs could go, and then the Dogs +took the Kid home to her dam. _There is oft a slip between the cup and +the lip._ + + + + + [Illustration] + +THE FOX AND THE GRAPES + + +A famished fox saw some clusters of rich black grapes hanging from a +trellised vine. She resorted to all her tricks to get them, but wearied +herself in vain, for she could not reach high enough. At last, she +turned away, beguiling herself of her disappointment by saying: "The +grapes are sour, and not ripe as I thought." + +_Disappointment may be lightened by philosophy, even if the latter is +wrong._ + + [Illustration] + + + + + [Illustration] + +THE FOX AND THE RAVEN + + +A raven having stolen a bit of cheese, perched in a tree, and held it in +her beak. A fox seeing her longed to possess himself of the cheese, and +by wily stratagem succeeded. "How handsome is the raven," he exclaimed, +"in the beauty of her shape, and in the fairness of her complexion! Oh, +if her voice were only equal to her beauty, she would deservedly be +considered the Queen of the birds!" This he said deceitfully; but the +raven, anxious to refute the reflection cast upon her voice, set up a +loud caw, and dropped the cheese. The fox quickly picked it up, and thus +addressed the raven: "My good raven, your voice is right enough, but +your wit is wanting." + + _Flattery is often a mask to hide evil._ + + [Illustration] + + + + +THE BULL AND THE GOAT + + +A Bull fled from a Lion and ran into a cave where a Goat lived. The Goat +tried to stop his entrance, and struck at him with his horns. The Bull, +though cross at this, did not butt at the Goat on the spot, but just +said, "Do not think that I fear you. Wait till the Lion is out of sight, +and then I will treat you as you deserve." _Never profit by the woes of +others._ + + + + +THE RAVEN AND THE SWAN + + +A Raven who did not like his black coat had the wish to grow as white as +a Swan. So he left his old friends and haunts, and went to the streams +and lakes, where he spent all his time washing and dressing his clothes; +but all was of no use, he was just as black as ever; and as he had not +had food that was good for him, he soon grew ill and died. _We cannot +change our skins._ + + + + +THE THIEF AND THE DOG + + +One night a Thief came to a house that he meant to rob; but he knew that +he had no chance to do this till he had made the Dog who took care of it +quiet. So he threw to him some sops with the hope that that would stop +his bark. "Get out will you!" cried the Dog; "I did not trust you from +the first, but now I know that you mean no good!" _Do not take a bribe +to do wrong._ + + + + +THE HORSE AND THE LOADED ASS + + +A man who had a Horse and an Ass had a way of putting all the load on +the back of the Ass, and none on the Horse. One day as they went in this +way by a long, long road, the poor tired Ass tried to get the Horse to +help him to bear his load. But the Horse was not kind, and said lots of +cruel things to the Ass and said he must trudge on in front. The Ass did +trudge on; but the weight was too much for him, so he fell down on the +road, and at once died. The man then came up, took the load from the +back of the Ass, and laid it on that of the Horse; and made him bear the +body of the Ass, too. So the Horse was punished, and at last had to bear +the whole of the load. _Be kind to the weak._ + + + + +THE ASS WITH THE SALT + + +A Man who had an Ass heard that salt was to be bought for less gold at +the seaside than where he was, so he went there to buy some. He put as +much on his Ass as he could bear, and was going home, when just as they +had to cross a small bridge, the Ass fell into the stream; the salt at +once melted, so the Ass with ease got up the bank, and, now free from +his load, went on his way with a light heart. Very soon after this the +man went to the seaside once more, and put still more salt on his Ass. +As they went their way they came once more to the bridge where the Ass +fell into the stream. The Ass thought of his fall and what had come of +it, and this time took care to roll into the water once more; the salt +was again gone, and he was free from his load. The Man was cross at +this, and thought to cure the Ass of this trick, so the third time he +gave him a load of sponges. As soon as they came to the bridge the Ass +fell into the stream; but as the sponges drew in the water he found as +he trudged home that this time his load had grown in weight. _We may +play a trick once too often._ + + + + +THE COCK AND THE JEWEL + + +As a young Cock tried to find food for himself and his Hens in a +farmyard, he saw a gem which shone with bright rays, and which some one +had let fall there. The Cock did not see what use such a thing could be +to him, and did not stop to think if it might be of use to any one else. +But he shook his head with a wise air, and said: "You shine like a very +fine and rare thing, but for my part my taste lies in quite another +line. I would rather have a grain of corn than all the gems in the +world." _Learn how to use all things for good._ + + + + +THE FOX WHO HAD LOST HIS TAIL + + +A Fox, caught in a trap, escaped with the loss of his "brush." +Henceforth feeling his life a burden from the shame and ridicule to +which he was exposed, he schemed to bring all the other Foxes into a +like condition with himself, that in the common loss he might the +better conceal his own deprivation. He assembled a good many Foxes, and +publicly advised them to cut off their tails saying "that they would not +only look much better without them, but that they would get rid of the +weight of the brush, which was a great inconvenience." One of them +interrupting him said, "_If you had not yourself lost your tail, my +friend, you would not thus counsel us._" + + + + + [Illustration] + +THE EAGLE AND THE JACKDAW + + +An eagle flying down from his eyrie on a lofty rock, seized upon a +lamb, and carried him aloft in his talons. A jackdaw, who witnessed the +capture of the lamb, was stirred with envy, and determined to emulate +the strength and flight of the eagle. He flew around with a great whir +of his wings, and settled upon a large ram, with the intention of +carrying him off; but his claws becoming entangled in his fleece he was +not able to release himself, although he fluttered with his feathers as +much as he could. The shepherd, seeing what had happened, ran up and +caught him. He at once clipped his wings, and taking him home at night, +gave him to his children. On their saying: "Father, what kind of bird is +it?" he replied: "To my certain knowledge he is a daw; but he will have +it that he is an eagle." + + _We should know our weakness and our strength._ + + [Illustration] + + + + + [Illustration] + +THE HEN AND THE GOLDEN EGGS + + +A Cottager and his wife had a hen which laid every day a golden egg. +They supposed that it must contain a great lump of gold in its inside, +and killed it in order that they might get it, when to their surprise +they found that the hen differed in no respect from their other hens. +The foolish pair, thus hoping to become rich all at once, deprived +themselves of the gain of which they were day by day assured. + +_It is better to be content with small things that are certain than to +seek big things that are uncertain._ + + + + +THE DOG AND THE ASS + + +An Ass laden with loaves of bread was going on a long journey with a dog +to guard him from harm. Before the journey was ended both were famished +with hunger, which the Ass was able to appease by eating the grass and +thistles that grew by the roadside. Seeing this, the dog's hunger became +still sharper, so that he begged for a piece of bread from the Ass's +load. + +"If you are hungry," said the Ass rudely, "you can eat grass just as I +do. I have no bread to give you." + +Just then they saw, in the distance, a Wolf loping toward them, and the +trembling Ass begged the dog to protect him. + +"No," said the dog. "People who live alone will have to fight alone." +And he went off and left the unfortunate Ass to his fate. + +_When your friends need you, go to their assistance. You do not know +when you may need them._ + + + + +THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN + + +The North Wind and the Sun had a discussion as to which was the +stronger, and had the more power, and finally agreed that the first +to compel a traveler to remove his cloak should be the winner in the +contest between them. The North Wind began, by blowing a strong blast, +thinking to tear away the traveler's cloak. But his breath was so cold, +that he only succeeded in making the traveler wind his garment more and +more closely around him, until he resembled a sheath. + +Then came the Sun's turn, and he shed his beams on the poor man's head +so that he loosened his cloak, and basked in their warmth, and finally +quite forgetful of the cold, he cast his cloak aside and took shelter +from the heat under a tree that grew by the roadside. + +_Gentleness is often stronger than force._ + + + + +THE FOX AND THE LION + + +A Fox who had never yet seen a Lion, when he fell in with him by a +certain chance for the first time in the forest, was so frightened that +he was near dying with fear. On his meeting with him for the second +time, he was still much alarmed, but not to the same extent as at first. +On seeing him the third time, he so increased in boldness that he went +up to him, and commenced a familiar conversation with him. + +_Acquaintance softens prejudices._ + + + + +THE CROW AND THE PITCHER + + +A Crow perishing with thirst saw a pitcher, and, hoping to find water, +flew to it with great delight. When he reached it, he discovered to his +grief that it contained so little water that he could not possibly get +at it. He tried everything he could think of to reach the water, but all +his efforts were in vain. At last he collected as many stones as he +could carry, and dropped them one by one with his beak, into the +pitcher, until he brought the water within his reach, and thus saved +his life. + +_Necessity is the mother of invention._ + + + + +THE ASS AND HIS SHADOW + + +A Traveler hired an Ass to convey him to a distant place. The day being +intensely hot, and the sun shining in its strength, the traveler stopped +to rest, and sought shelter from the heat under the Shadow of the Ass. +As this afforded only protection for one, and as the traveler and the +owner of the Ass both claimed it, a violent dispute arose between them +as to which had the right to it. The owner maintained that he had let +the Ass only, and not his Shadow. The traveler asserted that he had, +with the hire of the Ass, hired his Shadow also. The quarrel proceeded +from words to blows, and while the men fought the Ass galloped off. + +_In quarreling about the shadow we often lose the substance._ + + + + +THE WOLF AND THE CRANE + + +A Wolf, having a bone stuck in his throat, hired a Crane for a large sum +to put his head into his throat and draw out the bone. When the Crane +had extracted the bone, and demanded the promised payment, the Wolf, +grinning and grinding his teeth, exclaimed: "Why, you have surely +already a sufficient recompense in having been permitted to draw out +your head in safety from the mouth and jaws of a wolf." + +_In serving the wicked, expect no reward, and be thankful if you escape +injury for your pains._ + + + + + [Illustration] + +THE FOX AND THE CRANE + + +A fox invited a crane to supper, and provided nothing for his +entertainment but some soup made of pulse, and poured out into a broad, +flat stone dish. The soup fell out of the long bill of the crane at +every mouthful, and his vexation at not being able to eat afforded the +fox most intense amusement. + +The crane, in his turn, asked the fox to sup with him, and set before +her a flagon, with a long, narrow mouth, so that he could easily insert +his neck, and enjoy its contents at his leisure; while the fox, unable +even to taste it, met with a fitting requital, after the fashion of her +own hospitality. + +_Unfeeling jests and pranks at the expense of others beget unhappiness +and discomfort at the expense of ourselves._ + + + + +THE CAT AND THE MONKEY + + [Illustration] + + +A monkey once found some chestnuts, which he put on the hot coals of a +fire to roast. He was puzzled, however, as to how he should get them +again without burning himself. Seeing a nice tabby cat in a corner, he +thus accosted her: "Please come and sit with me awhile, for I am +lonely." Puss took a seat at the monkey's side, without thinking of +harm, when he jumped on her back. Seizing both her paws, he made her +pull the nuts from the fire, despite her cries. + +_Study your acquaintances, and beware of those who, in the guise of +friendship, would use you for their own selfish purposes._ + + + + +THE DANCING MONKEYS + + +A Prince had some Monkeys trained to dance. Being naturally great mimics +of men's actions, they showed themselves most apt pupils; and, when +arrayed in their rich clothes and masks, they danced as well as any of +the guests. The spectacle was often repeated with great applause, till +on one occasion a guest, bent on mischief, took from his pocket a +handful of nuts, and threw them on the stage. The Monkeys at the sight +of the nuts forgot their dancing, and became (as indeed they were) +Monkeys instead of actors, and pulling off their masks, and tearing +their robes, they fought with one another for the nuts. The dancing +spectacle thus came to an end, amidst the laughter and ridicule of the +audience. + +_Habits are not easily broken._ + + + + +THE HARES AND THE FROGS + + +The Hares, oppressed with a sense of their own exceeding timidity, +and weary of the perpetual alarm to which they were exposed, with +one accord determined to put an end to themselves and their troubles, +by jumping from a lofty precipice into a deep lake below. As they +scampered off in a very numerous body to carry out their resolve, +the Frogs lying on the banks of the lake heard the noise of their +feet, and rushed helter-skelter to the deep water for safety. On seeing +the rapid disappearance of the Frogs, one of the Hares cried out to his +companions: "Stay, my friends, do not do as you intended; for you now +see that other creatures who yet live are more timorous than ourselves." + +_Conquer fear._ + + + + +THE LION AND THE GNAT + + +A Gnat came to a Lion and said: "I do not the least fear you, nor are +you stronger than I am. You can scratch with your claws, and bite with +your teeth--so can a woman in her quarrels. Let us fight, and see who +shall conquer." The Gnat, having sounded his horn, fastened himself upon +the Lion, and stung him on the nostrils and parts of the face devoid of +hair. The Lion, trying to crush him, tore himself with his claws, until +he punished himself severely. The Gnat thus prevailed over the Lion, +and, buzzing about in a song of triumph, flew away. But shortly +afterward he became entangled in the meshes of a cobweb, and was eaten +by a spider. He greatly lamented his fate, saying: "Woe is me! that I, +who can wage war successfully with the hugest beast, should perish +myself from this spider, the most inconsiderable of insects!" + +_Esteem yourself neither highly nor lowly, but walk humbly in the face +of the Unknown._ + + + + +THE FROGS AND THE BULLS + + +Two frogs, sitting on the edge of a pond saw two Bulls fighting in a +meadow close by. "Alas!" cried one of the frogs. "Those dreadful beasts +are fighting. What will become of us!" + +"There is no reason for fear," said the other frog. "Their quarrels have +nothing to do with us. Their lives are different from ours, and cannot +affect us." + +"Alas!" said the first frog, "you are wrong. One of them will certainly +triumph. The vanquished will take refuge from the victor in our marshes, +and we shall be trampled under his feet." + +_When the strong fall out, the weak are the greatest sufferers from +their quarrels._ + + + + +THE LARK AND HER YOUNG ONES + + +A Lark had made her nest in the early Spring on the young green wheat. +The brood had almost grown to their proper strength, and attained the +use of their wings and the full plumage of their feathers, when the +owner of the field, overlooking his crop, now quite ripe, said, "The +time is come when I must send to all my neighbors to help me with my +harvest." One of the young Larks heard his speech, and told it to his +mother, asking her to what place they should move for safety. + +"There is no occasion to move yet, my son," she replied; "the man who +only sends to his friends to help him with his harvest is not really in +earnest." The owner of the field again came a few days later, and saw +the wheat shedding the grain from excess of ripeness, and said, "I will +come myself to-morrow with my laborers, and with as many reapers as I +can hire, and will get in the harvest." The Lark on hearing these words +said to her brood, "It is time now to be off, my little ones, for the +man is in earnest this time; he no longer trusts to his friends, but +will reap the field himself." + +_Self-help is the best help._ + + + + +BELLING THE CAT + + +The mice who lived in the old house met one day to discuss the means to +be used to get rid of a large, fierce black cat that had taken up her +abode there, and made her living by hunting and eating them up one by +one, so that their numbers were greatly reduced. Each mouse lived in +constant dread of being pounced upon and eaten. + +Even the youngest scarcely dared to scurry across the floor, its little +heart beating pit-a-pat, and they found it so hard to get time to look +for food that they all grew thin. + +They lived in such dread that when they met, no one at first could think +of anything to say. But at last a young mouse plucked up his spirits and +said: "I will tell you what to do. Fasten a bell on the cat's neck. As +she walks about the bell will ring, and we shall hear it and can tell +where she is." + +This seemed so good a plan that the mice all chattered joyously, until +an old mouse asked quietly: "Who will go out and bell the cat?" + +None of the mice dared; and they quickly realized that _what seems an +easy plan may be hard to carry out, and some things are easier said than +done_. + + + + + [Illustration] + +A MILLER, HIS SON, AND THEIR ASS + + +A miller and his son were driving their ass to a neighboring fair to +sell him. They had not gone far when they met a troop of women collected +around a well. "Look," cried one, "did you ever see such fellows, to be +trudging on foot when they might ride?" The old man, hearing this, made +his son mount, and continued to walk at his side. + +Presently they came to a group of old men in debate. "There," said one +of them, "it proves what I was a-saying: what respect is shown to old +age in these days? Do you see that idle lad riding, while his old father +has to walk? Get down, you young scapegrace, and let the old man rest +his weary limbs." Upon this the old man made his son dismount, and got +up himself. + +Soon they met a company of women and children. "Why, you lazy old +fellow," cried several tongues at once, "how can you ride upon the +beast, while that poor little lad can hardly keep pace by the side of +you?" The miller immediately took up his son behind him. They had now +almost reached the town. + +"Pray, honest friend," said a citizen, "is that ass your own?" "Yes," +said the old man. "Oh, one would not have thought so," said the other, +"by the way you load him. Why, you two fellows are better able to carry +the poor beast than he you." So they tied the legs of the ass together, +and by the aid of a pole endeavored to carry him on their shoulders over +a bridge. The sight brought the people in crowds to laugh at it; till +the ass broke the cords that held him and fell into the river. Upon +this, the old man, vexed and ashamed, made his way home. + +_In trying to please everybody one is quite likely to please nobody._ + + + + +THE TORTOISE AND THE EAGLE + + +A Tortoise, lazily basking in the sun, complained to the sea-birds of +her hard fate, that no one would teach her to fly. An Eagle hovering +near, heard her lamentation, and demanded what reward she would give +him, if he would take her aloft, and float her in the air. "I will give +you," she said, "all the riches of the Red Sea." "I will teach you to +fly then," said the Eagle; and taking her up in his talons, he carried +her almost to the clouds,--when suddenly letting her go, she fell on a +lofty mountain, and dashed her shell to pieces. The Tortoise exclaimed +in the moment of death: "I have deserved my present fate; for what had I +to do with wings and clouds, who can with difficulty move about on the +earth?" + +_If men had all they wished, they would be often ruined._ + + + + +THE PEACOCK AND JUNO + + +The Peacock made complaint to Juno that, while the small nightingale +pleased every ear with his song, he no sooner opened his mouth than he +became a laughing-stock of all who heard him. The Goddess, to console +him, said, "But you far excel in beauty and in size. The splendor of the +emerald shines in your neck, and you unfold a tail gorgeous with painted +plumage." "But for what purpose have I," said the bird, "this dumb +beauty so long as I am surpassed in song?" "The lot of each," replied +Juno, "has been assigned by the will of the Fates--to thee, beauty; to +the eagle, strength; to the nightingale, song; to the raven, favorable, +and to the crow, unfavorable auguries. These are all contented with the +endowments allotted to them." + +_Contentment is happiness._ + + + + +THE LION, THE FOX, AND THE ASS + + +The Lion, the Fox, and the Ass entered into an agreement to assist each +other in the chase. Having secured a large booty, the Lion, on their +return from the forest, asked the Ass to allot his due portion to each +of the three partners in the treaty. The Ass carefully divided the spoil +into three equal shares, and modestly requested the two others to make +the first choice. The Lion, bursting into a great rage, devoured the +Ass. Then he requested the Fox to do him the favor to make a division. +The Fox accumulated all that they had killed into one large heap, and +left to himself the smallest possible morsel. The Lion said, "Who has +taught you, my very excellent fellow, the art of division? You are +perfect to a fraction." He replied, "I learnt it from the Ass, by +witnessing his fate." + +_Happy is the man who learns from the misfortunes of others._ + + + + +THE FATHER AND HIS SONS + + +A Father had a family of sons who were perpetually quarreling among +themselves. When he failed to heal their disputes by his exhortations, +he determined to give them a practical illustration of the evils of +disunion and for this purpose he one day told them to bring him a bundle +of sticks. When they had done so, he placed the faggot into the hands of +each of them in succession, and ordered them to break it in pieces. They +each tried with all their strength and were not able to do it. He next +unclosed the faggot, and took the sticks separately, one by one, and +again put them into their hands, on which they broke them easily. He +then addressed them in these words: "My sons, if you are of one mind, +and unite to assist each other, you will be as this faggot, uninjured by +all the attempts of your enemies; but _if you are divided among +yourselves, you will be broken as easily as these sticks_." + + + + + [Illustration] + +THE DOVE AND THE ANT + + +An ant went to the bank of a river to quench its thirst, and, being +carried away by the rush of the stream, was on the point of being +drowned. A dove, sitting on a tree overhanging the water, plucked a leaf +and let it fall into the stream close to her. The ant, climbing on to +it, floated in safety to the bank. Shortly afterward a bird-catcher came +and stood under the tree, and laid his lime-twigs for the dove, which +sat in the branches. The ant, perceiving his design, stung him in the +foot. He suddenly threw down the twigs, and thereupon made the dove take +wing. + +_The grateful heart will find opportunities to show gratitude._ + + + + + [Illustration] + +THE FOX AND THE CAT + + +A fox was boasting to a cat of its clever devices for escaping its +enemies. "I have a whole bag of tricks," he said, "which contains a +hundred ways of escaping my enemies." + +"I have only one," said the cat, "but I can generally manage with that." +Just at that moment they heard the cry of a pack of hounds coming toward +them, and the cat immediately scampered up a tree and hid himself in the +boughs. "This is my plan," said the cat. "What are you going to do?" + +The fox thought first of one way, then of another, and while he was +debating, the hounds came nearer, and at last the fox in his confusion +was caught up by the hounds and soon killed by the huntsmen. + +_Better one carefully thought out plan of action than a hundred untried +ideas._ + + + + + [Illustration: THE FOX AND THE GRAPES] + + [Illustration: THE FOX AND THE CAT] + + [Illustration: THE FOX AND THE RAVEN] + + [Illustration: THE FOX AND THE CRANE] + + FROM DRAWINGS BY BESS BRUCE CLEVELAND + + + + + [Illustration: THE HERON WHO WAS HARD TO PLEASE] + + [Illustration: THE ANTS AND THE GRASSHOPPER] + + [Illustration: THE EAGLE AND THE JACKDAW] + + [Illustration: THE DOVE AND THE ANT] + + FROM DRAWINGS BY BESS BRUCE CLEVELAND + + + + + [Illustration] + +THE ANTS AND THE GRASSHOPPER + + +The ants were employing a fine winter's day in drying grain collected in +the summer-time. A grasshopper, perishing from famine, passed by and +earnestly begged for a little food. The ants inquired of him: "Why did +you not treasure up food during the summer?" He replied: "I had not +leisure enough. I passed the days in singing." They then said in +derision: "If you were foolish enough to sing all the summer you must +dance supperless to bed in the winter." + +_In living, be guided much by the laws of nature, and not by the hope of +mercy._ + + + + +FABLES FROM INDIA + +ADAPTED BY RAMASWAMI RAJU + + + + +THE GLOW-WORM AND THE DAW + +A Jackdaw once ran up to a Glow-Worm and was about to seize him. "Wait a +moment, good friend," said the Worm; "and you shall hear something to +your advantage." + +"Ah! what is it?" said the Daw. + +"I am but one of the many Glow-Worms that live in this forest. If you +wish to have them all, follow me," said the Glow-Worm. + +"Certainly!" said the Daw. + +Then the Glow-Worm led him to a place in the wood where a fire had been +kindled by some woodmen, and pointing to the sparks flying about, said, +"There you find the Glow-Worms warming themselves round a fire. When you +have done with them, I shall show you some more, at a distance from this +place." + +The Daw darted at the sparks, and tried to swallow some of them; but his +mouth being burned by the attempt, he ran away exclaiming, "Ah, the +Glow-Worm is a dangerous little creature!" + +Said the Glow-Worm with pride, "_Wickedness yields to wisdom!_" + + + + +THE FOX AND THE VILLAGERS + + +A Fox that had long been the dread of the village poultry yard was one +day found lying breathless in a field. The report went abroad that, +after all, he had been caught and killed by some one. In a moment, +everybody in the village came out to see the dead Fox. The village +Cock, with all his Hens and Chicks, was also there to enjoy the sight. + +The Fox then got up, and shaking off his drowsiness, said, "I ate a +number of Hens and Chicks last night; hence I must have slumbered longer +than usual." + +The Cock counted his Hens and Chicks and found a number wanting. "Alas!" +said he, "how is it I did not know of it?" + +"My dear sir," said the Fox, as he retreated to the wood, "it was last +night I had a good meal on your Hens and Chicks, yet you did not know of +it. A moment ago they found me lying in the field, and you knew of it at +once." _Ill news travels fast!_ + + + + +THE FROG AND THE SNAKE + + +A Snake and a Frog were friends in a pond. The Snake taught the Frog to +hiss, and the Frog taught the Snake to croak. The Snake would hide in +the reeds and croak. The Frogs would say, "Why, there is one of us," and +come near. The Snake would then dart at them, and eat all he could +seize. The Frog would hide in the reeds and hiss. His kin would say, +"Why, there is the Snake," and keep off. + +After some time, the Frogs found out the trick of the Snake, and took +care not to come near him. Thus the Snake got no Frogs to eat for a long +time; so he seized his friend to gobble him up. + +The Frog then said, though too late, "By becoming your friend, I lost +the company of my kindred, and am now losing my life." _One's neck to +fate one has to bend, when one would make so bad a friend!_ + + + + +THE ASSEMBLY OF ANIMALS + + +Once there was a great assembly of the animals in a wood. The Lion said, +"Look how great my valor! 'Tis this that makes me king of the woods." + +The Fox said, "Look, how deep my cunning! 'Tis this that feeds me so +well." + +The Peacock said, "Look, how bright my feathers! 'Tis this that makes me +the wonder and admiration of the wood." + +The Elephant said, "Look, how long and powerful my tusks! there is +nothing that can resist them." + +A Toad, who lived secure in the heart of a rock, close by, said, "'Tis +the Lion's valor that leads him to the herds, and gets him killed by the +hunters. 'Tis the Fox's cunning that brings him to the furrier at last. +'Tis the plumes of the Peacock that men covet; hence his ruin. The +Elephant is hunted for his tusks, and they are his bane." _In the mark +of your vanity is your death!_ + + + + +THE COCK AND HIS THREE HENS + + +A Cock, named Crimson Crest, was once strutting about with his three +hens, Meek Love, Bright Wit, and Fine Feather. The hens, being in very +good spirits, said, "Ah, how we love you!" + +"Why do you love me at all?" said Crimson Crest. + +"Because," said they, "of the noble qualities that adorn your mind." + +"Are you sure," said he, "you love me for the qualities that adorn my +mind?" + +"Yes, we are," said the three with one voice. + +After having gone over some distance, Crimson Crest dropped down like +one dead. + +Meek Love wept, saying, "Ah, how he loved us!" + +Bright Wit wept, saying, "Ah, how well he crowed!" + +Fine Feather wept, saying, "Ah, what bright plumes he had!" + +Crimson Crest some time after showed signs of life. + +Meek Love cried, "Oh, live and love us again!" + +Bright Wit cried, "Oh, let us hear your crowing again!" + +Fine Feather cried, "Oh, let us see your bright plumes again!" + +Then Crimson Crest got up like one waking from a trance, and with a +hearty laugh exclaimed, "Ladies, you fancied you all loved me for one +and the same reason; but now you see. _There is many a way to love as +they say!_" + + + + +THE BLACK DOG AND THE WHITE DOG + + +A Man in the East once went about saying, "I can put these two dogs +together, one of which is white, and the other black, as you see, and +make a gray dog of them; and turn the gray dog again to the black dog +and the white dog, if people would pay for the fun." + +A Wag who heard these words removed the two dogs at night, and left +instead a gray cur. The man rose up in the morning and complained +bitterly to the crowd, which came to see him, that some one had stolen +his two dogs. + +"No," said the Wag, who was one of the crowd, "some one has simply saved +you the trouble of putting the two dogs together, and making a gray dog +of them. So you must now perform the other part of your trick, and make +the black dog and the white dog out of this gray cur." + +The man quietly threw his wallet over his shoulders and walked away. The +Wag and the crowd shouted--"The tongue hath no bone in it. It can turn +as you twist it." _It is one thing to say, and another thing to do!_ + + + + +THE ELEPHANT AND THE APE + + +An Elephant named Grand Tusk and an Ape named Nimble were friends. + +Grand Tusk observed, "Behold, how big and powerful I am!" + +Nimble cried in reply, "Behold, how agile and entertaining I am!" + +Each was eager to know which was really superior to the other, and which +quality was the most esteemed by the wise. + +So they went to Dark Sage, an owl that lived in an old tower, to have +their claims discussed and settled. + +Dark Sage said, "You must do as I bid, that I may form an opinion." + +"Agreed!" cried both. + +"Then," said Dark Sage, "cross yonder river, and bring me the mangoes on +the great tree beyond." + +Off went Grand Tusk and Nimble, but when they came to the stream, which +was flowing full, Nimble held back; but Grand Tusk took him up on his +back, and swam across in a very short time. Then they came to the +mango-tree, but it was very lofty and thick. Grand Tusk could neither +touch the fruit with his trunk, nor could he break the tree down to +gather the fruit. Up sprang Nimble, and in a trice let drop a whole +basketful of rich ripe mangoes. Grand Tusk gathered the fruit up into +his capacious mouth, and the two friends crossed the stream as before. + +"Now," said Dark Sage, "which of you is the better? Grand Tusk crossed +the stream, and Nimble gathered the fruit." _Each thing in its place is +best._ + + + + +THE CROW AND THE DAWN + + +A Crow that lived on a tree by a great city in the East thought that the +day dawned because of his cawing. One day he said to himself, "How +important I am! But for my care, I confess, the world would get into a +mess." + +He had a mind to see how the world would fare if for it he did not care. +So toward day-dawn he shut his eyes, and slept away without cawing. Then +he awoke, and found the sun shining as bright as ever on the great city. + +He said, with great ill-humor, "I see how it happened. Some knave of my +kind must have cawed and helped the sun up!" + +_Error breeds error._ + + + + +THE LION AND THE GOAT + + +A Lion was eating up one after another the animals of a certain country. +One day an old Goat said, "We must put a stop to this. I have a plan by +which he may be sent away from this part of the country." + +"Pray act up to it at once," said the other animals. + +The old Goat laid himself down in a cave on the roadside, with his +flowing beard and long curved horns. The Lion on his way to the village +saw him, and stopped at the mouth of the cave. + +"So you have come, after all," said the Goat. + +"What do you mean?" said the Lion. + +"Why, I have long been lying in this cave. I have eaten up one hundred +Elephants, a hundred Tigers, a thousand Wolves, and ninety-nine Lions. +One more Lion has been wanting. I have waited long and patiently. Heaven +has, after all, been kind to me," said the Goat, and shook his horns and +his beard, and made a start as if he were about to spring upon the Lion. + +The latter said to himself, "This animal looks like a Goat, but it does +not talk like one. So it is very likely some wicked spirit in this +shape. Prudence often serves us better than valor, so for the present I +shall return to the wood," and he turned back. + +The Goat rose up, and, advancing to the mouth of the cave, said, "Will +you come back to-morrow?" + +"Never again," said the Lion. + +"Do you think I shall be able to see you, at least, in the wood +to-morrow?" + +"Neither in the wood, nor in this neighborhood any more," said the Lion, +and running to the forest, soon left it with his kindred. + +The animals in the country, not hearing him roar any more, gathered +round the Goat, and said, "_The wisdom of one doth save a host._" + + + + +THE SUNLING + + +In the good old days a Clown in the East, on a visit to a city kinsman, +while at dinner, pointed to a burning candle and asked what it was. The +City Man said, in jest, it was a sunling, or one of the children of the +sun. + +The Clown thought that it was something rare; so he waited for an +opportunity, and hid it in a chest of drawers close by. Soon the chest +caught fire, then the curtains by its side, then the room, then the +whole house. + +After the flames had been put down the City Man and the Clown went into +the burned building to see what remained. The Clown turned over the +embers of the chest of drawers. The City Man asked what he was seeking +for. The Clown said, "It is in this chest that I hid the bright sunling; +I wish to know if he has survived the flames." + +"Alas," said the City Man, who now found out the cause of all the +mischief, "_never jest with fools!_" + + + + +THE MUSHROOM AND THE GOOSE + + +A Goose that was once cackling with great pride thought that a Mushroom +was gazing at it, and said, "You contemptible thing, why do you stare at +me like that? You can never hope to meet me on terms of equality, can +you?" + +"Certainly, madam," said the Mushroom "and that very soon." + +This enraged the Goose more, so she said, "I would cut you up in pieces +with my bill but for the people who are close by, and who are so silly +as to care for you," and went strutting away. Soon after the Goose and +Mushroom were served up in separate dishes, very near each other. + +"Ah," said the Mushroom, "you see we have met after all, and so +closely." _Those who have a common fate in the end had better be +friends._ + + + + +THE FABLES OF PILPAY THE HINDU + + +Pilpay is thought to have been a Hindu who lived many centuries before +Jesus was born, and who wrote fables that have been translated into +almost every language. His fables are older than those of Æsop. + + + + +THE FOX AND THE HEN + + +A hungry Fox, spying a fine fat Hen, made up his mind to eat her. But as +he was about to spring upon her he heard a great noise, and looking up, +saw a drum hanging upon a tree. As the wind blew, the branches beat upon +the drum. + +"Ah!" said he. "A thing that can make so much noise must certainly have +more flesh upon it than a miserable hen." + +So, allowing the Hen to escape, he sprang upon the drum; but when he +tore the parchment head open he found that there was nothing inside. + +"Wretched being that I am," said he. "I have missed a dainty meal for +nothing at all." + +_By being too greedy we may miss everything that is worth having._ + + + + +THE THREE FISHES + + +Three Fishes lived in a pond. The first was wise, the second had a +little sense, and the third was foolish. A fisherman saw the fish, and +went home for his net in order that he might catch them. + +"I must get out of this pond at once," said the Wise Fish. And he threw +himself into a little channel that led to a river. The others did not +trouble at all. + +Presently the Fisherman returned with his net, and stopped up the +channel leading to the river. The Second Fish wished he had followed the +example of the Wise Fish; but he soon thought of a plan to escape. He +floated upside down on the surface of the water, and the fisherman, +thinking he was dead, did not trouble about him any more. + +But the Foolish Fish was caught, and taken home to be eaten. + +_We should all endeavor to be wise._ + + + + +THE FALCON AND THE HEN + + +"How ungrateful you must be!" said a Falcon to a Hen. "You are fed with +the best of food, you have a snug bed provided for you at night, you are +protected from foxes, and yet, when the men who do all this for you want +to take hold of you, you run away and do not return their caresses. Now, +I do not receive anything like so many benefits, and yet I allow the men +to hold me, and I serve them when they go hunting in the field." + +"Ah!" said the Hen. "What you say is true. But, remember, you never see +a hawk roasting in front of the fire, whereas you see hundreds of good +fat hens treated in that way." + +_Circumstances alter cases._ + + + + +THE KING WHO GREW KIND + + +A cruel King was riding out one day, when he saw a fox attack a hen. But +just then a dog ran after the fox and bit his leg. The fox, however, +lame as he was, managed to escape into his hole, and the dog ran off. A +man who saw him threw a stone at the dog, and cracked his head; but at +this moment a horse passing by ran against the man and trod on his foot. +A minute later the horse's foot stepped upon a stone, and his ankle was +broken. + +"Ah," said the King. "This will be a lesson to me. I see that +misfortunes always overtake those who ill-use others." + +And from that time the King became a kind and wise ruler of his people. + +_Punishment sooner or later overtakes those who wrong others._ + + + + + [Illustration: MODERN FABLES] + + + + +THE HORSES' COUNCIL + +ADAPTED FROM JOHN GAY + + +Once upon a time, a restless, dissatisfied horse persuaded all the other +horses on the farm that they were oppressed by the man who owned them, +and that they should rebel against him. + +So a meeting was called to which all the horses came, to argue the +matter and see what should be done. One wanted one thing, one another, +and at the last a young colt, who had not yet been trained sprang to the +front with tossing mane, and proud, arched neck, and eyes of fire, and +thus addressed the listening throng of horses: + +"What slaves we are! How low has fallen our race! Because our fathers +lived in their service, must we too toil? Shall we submit ourselves to +man, and spend our youth in servile tasks; with straining sinews drag +the ploughshare through the heavy soil, or draw the carrier's heavy load +in winter cold or beneath the sun of summer? See how strong we are, how +weak man is! Shall we subdue our strength, and champ a bit, and serve +his pride? Not so. Away with bit and bridle, rein and spur! We shall be +free as air!" + +He ceased, and with a step of conscious pride regained his place among +the crowd, from which came snickers of applause and neighs of praise. + +Then from behind the crowd, with slow and stately movements, came an +aged steed. He faced the turbulent crew, and with firm accents that +compelled their silence, he began to speak: + +"When I was young as you," he said, "I too cried out for freedom from +the daily toil that was my task. I soon had better thoughts. Man toils +for us. For us he braves the summer heat, to store our food. If we lend +him our strength to plough the land, he sows and reaps the grain, that +we may share it, as we share the toil. _Through all the world's history +it has been decreed each one must in some way aid the other's need._" + +He ceased, and left the place, and by his words the council quietly +dispersed. + + + + +THE OAK AND THE REED + +ADAPTED FROM THE FRENCH OF LA FONTAINE + + +One day the Oak said to the Reed: "Nature has been indeed unkind to you. +She has made you so weak that even the tiniest bird that flies bends you +to earth beneath her little weight. The gentlest breeze that scarcely +moves the surface of the lake has power to bend your head. + +"My head, which rises like a mountain, is not content to stop the +blazing rays of sunshine, but braves even the tempest; the wind that to +you seems to be a hurricane, to me is but a gentle sigh of wind at +eventide. + +"If you had grown beneath the shelter of my leafy crown, with which I +cover all the ground around, I would have saved you from the storms +which make you suffer. Alas, you are most often found along the marshy +borders of the kingdom of the winds. Nature, it seems to me, has been to +you unjust." + +"Your pity," said the Reed, "comes from good nature, but have no care +for me. The winds for me hold far less danger than they hold for you. I +bend but do not break. You have till now resisted all their powerful +blows and never bent your back. But wait the end." + +Just as the gentle little Reed ended these words, a great north wind +rushed down from the horizon and flung itself on them with fury. The +Reed bent low before it, but the tree defied the anger of the blast and +held its head upright. But the strong wind drew back, doubled its force, +and with a furious rush tore up the oak tree by its mighty roots. + +The blast passed on and in the quiet that it left behind, the Reed +raised up her head, and looking sadly at the giant tree whose stately +head lay in the waters of the stream, she sadly said: + +"_It is often well to bend before the storms that threaten us._" + + + + +THE ADVANTAGE OF KNOWLEDGE + +ADAPTED FROM THE FRENCH OF LA FONTAINE + + +Two citizens lived beside each other in a town in France. The one was +rich and had a fine house, and a garden, horses, and carriages, and +servants to wait on him. But he was stupid, for when he was a boy at +school he learned nothing. The other man was poor in gold and silver, +but he was rich in knowledge, and full of wisdom, and he knew all the +beauty and the glory of the world. + +These two held constant arguments. The rich man said that nothing in the +world should be held in honor but riches, and that the wise and learned +should bow to him because of all his wealth. + +"My friend," he often said, "what use is it to read so many books? They +do not bring you money! You have a small house, you wear the same coat +in the winter that you do in summer." + +The wise man could not always answer back, he had too much to say, and +often kept silence. + +But a war broke out. All the town, in which the two men lived, was +broken down, and both men had to leave it to seek their fortune in +another place. The rich man, who had lost his money, was now poor indeed, +for he had nothing, and wandered through the world getting nothing but +scorn for his ignorance. But the wise man was welcomed everywhere, and +received with honor because of all the wisdom and the knowledge that he +brought with him. + +_Knowledge is power._ + + + + +THE TORRENT AND THE RIVER + +ADAPTED FROM THE FRENCH OF LA FONTAINE + + +With great noise and much tumult a torrent fell down the mountain side. +All fled before it; horror followed it; it made the country round it +tremble. + +Only one traveler, who was flying from robbers that were following +after him, dared to cross the stream, and put it as a barrier between +him and the men who were pursuing him. This gave him confidence although +the robbers still followed. So when he reached the edge of a broad +river, that seemed to him to be an image of sleep, it looked so soft and +peaceable and quiet, he rode his horse into the water to cross it. It +had no high banks, but a little beach sloped from the meadow down to +meet the water, which looked so peaceful that it seemed as if a little +child might cross it, to gather flowers on the other side, and so the +traveler thought it held no danger for him. + +But the quiet river was very deep, and though it made no noise, its +current ran so strongly that it lifted both the horse and rider on its +waves and carried them away, and drowned them. + +_Quiet people are stronger than the noisy._ + + + + +THE TOMTIT AND THE BEAR + +BY THE BROTHERS GRIMM + + +One summer day, as a Wolf and a Bear were walking together in a wood, +they heard a bird singing most sweetly. "Brother," said the Bear, "what +can that bird be that is singing so sweetly?" + +"Oh!" said the Wolf, "that is the king of the birds, we must take care +to show him all respect." (Now I should tell you that this bird was +after all no other than the Tomtit.) + +"If that is the case," said the Bear, "I should like to see the royal +palace; so pray come along and show me it." + +"Gently, my friend," said the Wolf, "we cannot see it just yet, we must +wait till the queen comes home." + +Soon afterward the queen came with food in her beak, and she and the +king began to feed their young ones. + +"Now for it!" said the Bear; and was about to follow them. + +"Stop a little, Master Bruin," said the Wolf, "we must wait now till the +king and queen are gone again." So they marked the hole where they had +seen the nest, and went away. But the Bear, being very eager to see the +palace, soon came back again, and, peeping into the nest, saw five or +six young birds lying at the bottom of it. + +"What nonsense!" said Bruin, "this is not a royal palace: I never saw +such a filthy place in my life; and you are no royal children, you +little base-born brats!" + +As soon as the young tomtits heard this they were very angry, and +screamed out: "We are not base-born, you stupid bear! Our father and +mother are honest, good sort of people; and, depend upon it, you shall +suffer for your rudeness!" + +At this the Wolf and the Bear grew frightened, and ran away to their +dens. But the young tomtits kept crying and screaming; and when their +father and mother came home and offered them food, they all said: "We +will not touch a bit; no, not though we should die of hunger, till that +rascal Bruin has been punished for calling us base-born brats." + +"Make yourselves easy, my darlings," said the old king, "you may be sure +he shall get what he deserves." + +So he went out to the Bear's den, and cried out with a loud voice, +"Bruin, the bear! thou hast been very rude to our lawful children. We +shall therefore make war against thee and thine, and shall never cease +until thou hast been punished as thou so richly deservest." + +Now when the bear heard this, he called together the ox, the ass, the +stag, the fox, and all the beasts of the earth. And the Tomtit also +called on his side all the birds of the air, both great and small, and a +very large army of wasps, gnats, bees, and flies, and indeed many other +kinds of insects. + +As the time came near when the war was to begin, the Tomtit sent out +spies to see who was the leader of the enemy's forces. So the gnat, who +was by far the best spy of them all, flew backward and forward in the +wood where the enemy's troops were, and at last hid himself under a leaf +on a tree close by. + +The Bear, who was standing so near the tree that the gnat could hear all +he said, called to the fox and said, "Reynard, you are the cleverest of +all the beasts; therefore you shall be our leader and go before us to +battle; but we must first agree upon some signal, by which we may know +what you want us to do." + +"Behold," said the fox, "I have a fine long, bushy tail, which is very +like a plume of red feathers, and gives me a very warlike air. Now +remember, when you see me raise up my tail, you may be sure that the +battle is won, and you have then nothing to do but to rush down upon the +enemy with all your force. On the other hand, if I drop my tail, the +battle is lost, and you must run away as fast as you can." + +Now when the gnat had heard all this, she flew back to the Tomtit and +told him everything that had passed. + +At length the day came when the battle was to be fought. As soon as it +was light, the army of beasts came rushing forward with such a fearful +sound that the earth shook. King Tomtit, with his troops, came flying +along also in warlike array, flapping and fluttering, and beating the +air, so that it was quite frightful to hear; and both armies set +themselves in order of battle upon the field. + +Now the Tomtit gave orders to a troop of wasps that at the first onset +they should march straight toward Captain Reynard and fixing themselves +about his tail, should sting him with all their might. The wasps did as +they were told; and when Reynard felt the first sting, he started aside +and shook one of his legs, but still held up his tail with wonderful +bravery. At the second sting he was forced to drop his tail for a +moment; but when the third wasp had fixed itself, he could bear it no +longer, and clapped his tail between his legs, and ran away as fast as +he could. + +As soon as the beasts saw this, they thought of course all was lost, +and raced across the country away to their holes. + +Then the king and queen of the birds flew back in joy to their children, +and said: "Now, children, eat, drink, and be merry, for we have won the +battle!" + +But the young birds said: "No; not till Bruin has humbly begged our +pardon for calling us base-born." + +So the king flew back to the bear's den, and cried out: + +"Thou villain bear! come forthwith to my nest, and humbly ask my +children to forgive the insult thou hast offered them. If thou wilt not +do this, every bone in thy body shall be broken." + +Then the bear was forced to crawl out of his den very sulkily, and do +what the king bade him; and after that the young birds sat down +together, and ate, and drank, and made merry till midnight. + + + + +WHY JIMMY SKUNK WEARS STRIPES[K] + +BY THORNTON W. BURGESS + + +Jimmy Skunk, as everybody knows, wears a striped suit, a suit of black +and white. There was a time, long, long ago, when all the Skunk family +wore black. Very handsome their coats were, too, a beautiful glossy +black. They were very, very proud of them, and took the greatest care of +them, brushing them carefully ever so many times a day. + +There was a Jimmy Skunk then, just as there is now, and he was head of +all the Skunk family. Now, this Jimmy Skunk was very proud, and thought +himself very much of a gentleman. He was very independent, and cared for +no one. Like a great many other independent people, he did not always +consider the rights of others. Indeed, it was hinted in the wood and on +the Green Meadows that not all of Jimmy Skunk's doings would bear the +light of day. It was openly said that he was altogether too fond of +prowling about at night, but no one could prove that he was responsible +for mischief done in the night, for no one saw him. You see his coat was +so black that in the darkness of the night it was not visible at all. + +Now, about this time of which I am telling you, Mrs. Ruffed Grouse made +a nest at the foot of the Great Pine, and in it she laid fifteen +beautiful buff eggs. Mrs. Grouse was very happy, very happy indeed, and +all the little meadow folks who knew of her happiness were happy, too, +for they all loved shy, demure, little Mrs. Grouse. Every morning when +Peter Rabbit trotted down the Lone Little Path through the wood past the +Great Pine he would stop for a few minutes to chat with Mrs. Grouse. +Happy Jack Squirrel would bring her the news every afternoon. The Merry +Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind would run up a dozen times a day +to see how she was getting along. + +One morning Peter Rabbit, coming down the Lone Little Path for his usual +morning call, found a terrible state of affairs. Poor little Mrs. Grouse +was heartbroken. All about the foot of the Great Pine lay the empty +shells of their beautiful eggs. They had been broken and scattered this +way and that. + +"How did it happen?" asked Peter Rabbit. + +"I don't know," sobbed poor little Mrs. Grouse. "In the night when I was +fast asleep something pounced upon me. I managed to get away and fly up +in the top of the Great Pine. In the morning I found all my eggs broken, +just as you see them here." + +Peter Rabbit looked the ground over very carefully. He hunted around +behind the Great Pine, he looked under the bushes, he studied the ground +with a very wise air. Then he hopped off down the Lone Little Path to +the Green Meadows. He stopped at the house of Johnny Chuck. + +"What makes your eyes so big and round?" asked Johnny Chuck. Peter +Rabbit came very close so as to whisper in Johnny Chuck's ear, and told +him all that he had seen. Together they went to Jimmy Skunk's house. +Jimmy Skunk was in bed. He was very sleepy and very cross when he came +to the door. Peter Rabbit told him what he had seen. + +"Too bad! Too bad!" said Jimmy Skunk, and yawned sleepily. + +"Won't you join us in trying to find out who did it?" asked Johnny +Chuck. + +Jimmy Skunk said he would be delighted to come, but that he had some +other business that morning and he would join them in the afternoon. +Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck went on. Pretty soon they met the Merry +Little Breezes and told them the dreadful story. + +"What shall we do?" asked Johnny Chuck. + +"We'll hurry over, and tell Old Dame Nature," cried the Merry Little +Breezes, "and ask her what to do." + +So away flew the Merry Little Breezes to Old Dame Nature and told her +all the dreadful story. Old Dame Nature listened very attentively. Then +she sent the Merry Little Breezes to all the little meadow folks to tell +everyone to be at the Great Pine that afternoon. Now, whatever Old Dame +Nature commanded, all the little meadow folks were obliged to do. They +did not dare to disobey her. + +Promptly at 4 o'clock that afternoon all the little meadow folks were +gathered around the foot of the Great Pine. Brokenhearted little Mrs. +Ruffed Grouse sat beside her empty nest, with all the broken shells +about her. + +Reddy Fox, Peter Rabbit, Johnny Chuck, Billy Mink, Little Joe Otter, +Jerry Muskrat, Hooty the Owl, Bobby Coon, Sammy Jay, Blacky the Crow, +Grandfather Frog, Mr. Toad, Spotty the Turtle, the Merry Little Breezes, +all were there. Last of all came Jimmy Skunk. Very handsome he looked in +his shining black coat, and very sorry he appeared that such a dreadful +thing should have happened. He told Mrs. Grouse how badly he felt, and +he loudly demanded that the culprit should be run down without delay and +severely punished. + +Old Dame Nature has the most smiling face in the world, but this time it +was very, very grave indeed. First she asked little Mrs. Grouse to tell +her story all over again that all might hear. Then each in turn was +asked to tell where he had been the night before. Johnny Chuck, Happy +Jack Squirrel, Striped Chipmunk, Sammy Jay, and Blacky the Crow had gone +to bed when Mr. Sun went down behind the Purple Hills. Jerry Muskrat, +Billy Mink, Little Joe Otter, Grandfather Frog, and Spotty the Turtle +had been down in Farmer Brown's corn-field. Hooty the Owl had been +hunting in the lower end of the Green Meadows. Peter Rabbit had been +down in the Berry Patch. Mr. Toad had been under the big piece of bark +which he called a house. Old Dame Nature called on Jimmy Skunk last of +all. Jimmy protested that he had been very, very tired and had gone to +bed very early indeed, and had slept the whole night through. + +Then Old Dame Nature asked Peter Rabbit what he had found among the +shells that morning. + +Peter Rabbit hopped out and laid three long black hairs before Old Dame +Nature. "These," said Peter Rabbit, "are what I found among the egg +shells." + +Then Old Dame Nature called Johnny Chuck. "Tell us, Johnny Chuck," said +she, "what you saw when you called at Jimmy Skunk's house this morning." + +"I saw Jimmy Skunk," said Johnny Chuck, "and Jimmy seemed very, very +sleepy. It seemed to me that his whiskers were yellow." + +"That will do," said Old Dame Nature, and she called Old Mother West +Wind. + +"What time did you come down on the Green Meadows this morning?" asked +Old Dame Nature. + +"Just at the break of day," said Old Mother West Wind, "as Mr. Sun was +coming up from behind the Purple Hills." + +"And whom did you see so early in the morning?" asked old Dame Nature. + +"I saw Bobby Coon going home from old Farmer Brown's corn-field," said +Old Mother West Wind. "I saw Hooty the Owl coming back from the lower +end of the Green Meadows. I saw Peter Rabbit down in the berry patch. +Last of all, I saw something like a black shadow coming down the Lone +Little Path toward the house of Jimmy Skunk." + +Everyone was looking very hard at Jimmy Skunk. Jimmy began to look very +unhappy and very uneasy. + +"Who wears a black coat?" asked Dame Nature. + +"Jimmy Skunk!" shouted all the little meadow folks. + +"What might make whiskers yellow?" asked Old Dame Nature. + +No one seemed to know at first. Then Peter Rabbit spoke up. "It might be +the yolk of an egg," said Peter Rabbit. + +"Who are likely to be sleepy on a bright sunny morning?" asked Old Dame +Nature. + +"People who have been out all night," said Johnny Chuck, who himself +always goes to bed with the sun. + +"Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very +stern indeed, and her face was very grave. "Jimmy Skunk, I accuse you of +having broken and eaten the eggs of Mrs. Grouse. What have you to say +for yourself?" + +Jimmy Skunk hung his head. He hadn't a word to say. He just wanted to +sneak away by himself. + +"Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, "because your handsome black coat, +of which you are so proud, has made it possible for you to move about in +the night without being seen, and because we can no longer trust you +upon your honor, henceforth you and your descendants shall wear a +striped coat which is the sign that you cannot be trusted. Your coat +hereafter shall be black and white, that will always be visible." + +And this is why to this day Jimmy Skunk wears a striped suit of black +and white. + + [K] From "Old Mother West Wind," by Thornton W. Burgess; used + by permission of the author and publishers, Little, Brown & Co. + + + + + [Illustration: HOW CATS CAME TO PURR] + +BY JOHN BENNETT + + +A Boy having a Pet Cat which he Wished to Feed, Said to Her, "Come, Cat, +Drink this Dish of Cream; it will Keep your Fur as Soft as Silk, and +Make you Purr like a Coffee-Mill." + +He had no sooner said this than the Cat, with a Great Glare of her Green +Eyes, bristled her Tail like a Gun-Swab and went over the Back Fence, +head first--pop!--as Mad as a Wet Hen. + +And this is how she came to do so: + +The story is an old one--very, very old. It may be Persian; it may be +not: that is of very little moment. It is so old that if all the nine +lives of all the cats that have ever lived in the world were set up +together in a line, the other end of it would just reach back to the +time when this occurred. + + [Illustration: "THE CAT THAT GROUND THE COFFEE IN THE KING'S KITCHEN"] + +And this is the story: + +Many, many years ago, in a country which was quite as far from anywhere +else as the entire distance thither and back, there was a huge cat that +ground the coffee in the King's kitchen, and otherwise assisted with the +meals. + +This cat was, in truth, the actual and very father of all subsequent +cats, and his name was Sooty Will, for his hair was as black as a night +in a coal-hole. He was ninety years old, and his mustaches were like +whisk-brooms. But the most singular thing about him was that in all his +life he had never once purred nor humped up his back, although his +master often stroked him. The fact was that he never had learned to +purr, nor had any reason, so far as he knew, for humping up his back. +And being the father of all the cats, there was no one to tell him how. +It remained for him to acquire a reason, and from his example to devise +a habit which cats have followed from that time forth, and no doubt will +forever follow. + +The King of the country had long been at war with one of his neighbors, +but one morning he sent back a messenger to say that he had beaten his +foeman at last, and that he was coming home for an early breakfast as +hungry as three bears. "Have batter-cakes and coffee," he directed, +"hot, and plenty of 'em!" + +At that the turnspits capered and yelped with glee, for batter-cakes and +coffee are not cooked upon spits, and so they were free to sally forth +into the city streets and watch the King's homecoming in a grand parade. + +But the cat sat down on his tail in the corner and looked cross. "Scat!" +said he, with an angry caterwaul. "It is not fair that you should go and +that I should not." + +"Oh, yes, it is," said the gleeful turnspits; "turn and turn about is +fair play: you saw the rat that was killed in the parlor." + +"Turn about fair play, indeed!" cried the cat. "Then all of you get to +your spits; I am sure that is turn about!" + +"Nay," said the turnspits, wagging their tails and laughing. "That is +over and over again, which is not fair play. 'Tis the coffee-mill that +is turn and turn about. So turn about to your mill, Sooty Will; we are +off to see the King!" + + [Illustration: "TURNING HAND-SPRINGS, HEAD-SPRINGS, AND HEEL-SPRINGS AS + THEY WENT"] + +With that they pranced out into the court-yard, turning hand-springs, +head-springs, and heel-springs as they went, and, after giving three +hearty and vociferous cheers in a grand chorus at the bottom of the +garden, went capering away for their holiday. + +The cat spat at their vanishing heels, sat down on his tail in the +chimney-corner, and was very glum indeed. + +Just then the cook looked in from the pantry. "Hullo!" he said gruffly. +"Come, hurry up the coffee!" That was the way he always gave his orders. + + [Illustration: "'HULLO!' HE SAID GRUFFLY. 'COME, HURRY UP THE + COFFEE!'"] + +The black cat's whiskers bristled. He turned to the mill with a fierce +frown, his long tail going to and fro like that of a tiger in its lair; +for Sooty Will had a temper like hot gunpowder, that was apt to go off +_sizz_, _whizz_, _bang_! and no one to save the pieces. Yet, at least +while the cook was by, he turned the mill furiously, as if with a right +good-will. + +Meantime, out in the city a glorious day came on. The sun went buzzing +up the pink-and-yellow sky with a sound like that of a walking-doll's +works, or of a big Dutch clock behind a door; banners waved from the +castled heights, and bugles sang from every tower; the city gates rang +with the cheers of the enthusiastic crowd. Up from cellars, down from +lofts, off work-benches, and out at the doors of their masters' shops, +dodging the thwacks of their masters' straps, "pop-popping" like corks +from the necks of so many bottles, came apprentices, shop-boys, knaves +and scullions, crying: "God save the King! Hurrah! Hurrah! Masters and +work may go to Rome; our tasks shall wait on our own sweet wills; 't is +holiday when the King comes home. God save the King! Hurrah!" + +Then came the procession. There were first three regiments of +trumpeters, all blowing different tunes; then fifteen regiments of +mounted infantry on coal-black horses, forty squadrons of +green-and-blue dragoons, and a thousand drummers and fifers +in scarlet and blue and gold, making a thundering din with their +rootle-te-tootle-te-tootle-te-rootle; and pretty well up to the front in +the ranks was the King himself, bowing and smiling to the populace, with +his hand on his breast; and after him the army, all in shining armor, +just enough pounded to be picturesque, miles on miles of splendid men, +all bearing the trophies of glorious war, and armed with lances and bows +and arrows, falchions, morgensterns, martels-de-fer, and other choice +implements of justifiable homicide, and the reverse, such as hautboys +and sackbuts and accordions and dudelsacks and Scotch bagpipes--a +glorious sight! + + [Illustration: A PART OF THE GRAND PROCESSION] + +And, as has been said before, the city gates rang with the cheers of the +crowd, crimson banners waved over the city's pinnacled summits, and +bugles blew, trumpets brayed, and drums beat until it seemed that wild +uproar and rich display had reached its high millennium. + +The black cat turned the coffee-mill. "My oh! my oh!" he said. "It +certainly is not fair that those bench-legged turnspits with feet like +so much leather should see the King marching home in his glory, while I, +who go shod, as it were, in velvet, should hear only the sound through +the scullery windows. It is not fair. It is no doubt true that "The cat +may mew, and the dog shall have his day," but I have as much right to my +day as he; and has it not been said from immemorial time that 'A cat may +look at a king'? Indeed it has, quite as much as that the dog may have +his day. I will not stand it; it is not fair. A cat may look at a king; +and if any cat may look at a king, why, I am the cat who may. There are +no other cats in the world; I am the only one. Poh! the cook may shout +till his breath gives out, he cannot frighten me; for once I am going to +have my fling!" + +So he forthwith swallowed the coffee-mill, box, handle, drawer-knobs, +coffee-well, and all, and was off to see the King. + +So far, so good. But, ah! the sad and undeniable truth, that brightest +joys too soon must end! Triumphs cannot last forever, even in a land of +legends. There comes a reckoning. + +When the procession was past and gone, as all processions pass and go, +vanishing down the shores of forgetfulness; when barons, marquises, +dukes, and dons were gone, with their pennants and banners; when the +last lancers had gone prancing past and were lost to sight down the +circuitous avenue, Sooty Will, with drooping tail, stood by the palace +gate, dejected. He was sour and silent and glum. Indeed, who would not +be, with a coffee-mill on his conscience? To own up to the entire truth, +the cat was feeling decidedly unwell; when suddenly the cook popped +his head in at the scullery entry, crying, "How now, how now, you +vagabonds! The war is done, but the breakfast is not. Hurry up, scurry +up, scamper and trot! The cakes are all cooked and are piping hot! Then +why is the coffee so slow?" The King was in the dining-hall, in +dressing-gown and slippers, irately calling for his breakfast! + + [Illustration: "HE FORTHWITH SWALLOWED THE COFFEE-MILL"] + +The shamefaced, guilty cat ran hastily down the scullery stairs and hid +under the refrigerator, with such a deep inward sensation of remorse +that he dared not look the kind cook in the face. It now really seemed +to him as if everything had gone wrong with the world, especially his +own insides. This any one will readily believe who has ever swallowed a +coffee-mill. He began to weep copiously. + + [Illustration: "AND WAS OFF TO SEE THE KING"] + +The cook came into the kitchen. "Where is the coffee?" he said; then, +catching sight of the secluded cat, he stooped, crying, "Where is the +coffee?" + +The cat sobbed audibly. "Some one must have come into the kitchen while +I ran out to look at the King!" he gasped, for there seemed to him no +way out of the scrape but by telling a plausible untruth. "Some one must +have come into the kitchen and stolen it!" And with that, choking upon +the handle of the mill, which projected into his throat, he burst into +inarticulate sobs. + + [Illustration: "THE CAT WAS FEELING DECIDEDLY UNWELL"] + +The cook, who was, in truth, a very kind-hearted man, sought to reassure +the poor cat. "There; it is unfortunate, very; but do not weep; thieves +thrive in kings' houses!" he said, and, stooping, he began to stroke the +drooping cat's back to show that he held the weeping creature blameless. + +Sooty Will's heart leaped into his throat. + + [Illustration: "IT SEEMED AS IF EVERYTHING HAD GONE WRONG"] + +"Oh, oh!" he half gasped, "oh, oh! If he rubs his great hand down my +back he will feel the corners of the coffee-mill through my ribs as sure +as fate! Oh, oh! I am a gone cat!" And with that, in an agony of +apprehension lest his guilt and his falsehood be thus presently +detected, he humped up his back as high in the air as he could, so that +the corners of the mill might not make bumps in his sides and that the +mill might thus remain undiscovered. + + [Illustration: "'WHERE IS THE COFFEE?' SAID THE COOK"] + +But, alas! he forgot that coffee-mills turn. As he humped up his back +to cover his guilt, the coffee-mill inside rolled over, and, as it +rolled, began to grind--_rr-rr-rr-rr-rr-rr-rr-rr-rr-rr!_ + +"Oh, oh! you have swallowed the mill!" cried the cook. + + [Illustration "OUT STEPPED THE GENIUS THAT LIVED UNDER THE GREAT + OVENS"] + +"No, no," cried the cat; "I was only thinking aloud." + +At that out stepped the Genius that Lived under the Great Ovens, and, +with his finger pointed at the cat, said in a frightful voice, husky +with wood-ashes: "Miserable and pusillanimous beast! By telling a +falsehood to cover a wrong you have only made bad matters worse. For +betraying man's kindness to cover your shame, a curse shall be upon you +and all your kind until the end of the world. Whenever men stroke you in +kindness, remembrance of your guilt shall make you hump up your back +with shame, as you did to avoid being found out; and in order that the +reason for this curse shall never be forgotten, whenever man is kind to +a cat the sound of the grinding of a coffee-mill inside shall +perpetually remind him of your guilt and shame!" + +With that the Genius vanished in a cloud of smoke. + +And it was even as he said. From that day Sooty Will could never abide +having his back stroked without humping it up to conceal the mill within +him; and never did he hump up his back but the coffee-mill began slowly +to grind, _rr-rr-rr-rr!_ inside him; so that, even in the prime of life, +before his declining days had come, being seized upon by a great remorse +for these things which might never be amended, he retired to a home for +aged and reputable cats, and there, so far as the records reveal, lived +the remainder of his days in charity and repentance. + +But the curse has come down even to the present day, as the Genius that +Lived under the Great Ovens said, and still maintains, though cats have +probably forgotten the facts, and so, when stroked, hump up their backs +and purr as if these actions were a matter of pride instead of being a +blot upon their family record. + + [Illustration: "HE RETIRED TO A HOME FOR AGED AND REPUTABLE CATS"] + + + + + [Illustration: STORIES FROM SCANDINAVIA] + + + + +THE GREEDY CAT + + +Once on a time there was a man who had a Cat, and she was so awfully +big, and such a beast to eat, he couldn't keep her any longer. So she +was to go down to the river with a stone round her neck, but before she +started she was to have a meal of meat. So the goody set before her a +bowl of porridge and a little trough of fat. That the creature crammed +into her, and ran off and jumped through the window. Outside stood the +goodman by the barn-door threshing. + +"Good day, goodman," said the Cat. + +"Good day, pussy," said the goodman; "have you had any food to-day?" + +"Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting," said the Cat; "it was +only a bowl of porridge and a trough of fat--and, now I think of it, +I'll take you, too," and so she took the goodman and gobbled him up. + +When she had done that, she went into the byre, and there sat the goody +milking. + +"Good day, goody," said the Cat. + +"Good day, pussy," said the goody; "are you here, and have you eaten up +your food yet?" + +"Oh, I've eaten a little to-day, but I'm 'most fasting," said pussy; "it +was only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman--and, +now I think of it, I'll take you, too," and so she took the goody and +gobbled her up. + +"Good day, you cow at the manger," said the Cat to Daisy the cow. + +"Good day, pussy," said the bell-cow; "have you had any food to-day?" + +"Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting," said the Cat; "I've only +had a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the +goody--and, now I think of it, I'll take you, too," and so she took the +cow and gobbled her up. + +Then off she set into the home-field, and there stood a man picking up +leaves. + +"Good day, you leaf-picker in the field," said the Cat. + +"Good day, pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?" said the +leaf-picker. + +"Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting," said the Cat; "it was +only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the +goody, and Daisy the cow--and, now I think of it, I'll take you, too." +So she took the leaf-picker and gobbled him up. + +Then she came to a heap of stones, and there stood a stoat and peeped +out. + +"Good day, Mr. Stoat of Stoneheap," said the Cat. + +"Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?" + +"Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting," said the Cat; "it was +only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the +goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker--and, now I think of it, I'll +take you, too." So she took the stoat and gobbled him up. + +When she had gone a bit farther, she came to a hazel-brake, and there +sat a squirrel gathering nuts. + +"Good day, Sir Squirrel of the Brake," said the Cat. + +"Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?" + +"Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting," said the Cat; "it was +only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the +goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat--and, now I think +of it, I'll take you, too." So she took the squirrel and gobbled him up. + +When she had gone a little farther, she saw Reynard the fox, who was +prowling about by the woodside. + +"Good day, Reynard Slyboots," said the Cat. + +"Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?" + +"Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting," said the Cat; "it was +only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and +the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the +squirrel--and, now I think of it, I'll take you, too." So she took +Reynard and gobbled him up. + +When she had gone a little farther she met Long Ears, the hare. + +"Good day, Mr. Hopper the hare," said the Cat. + +"Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?" + +"Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting," said the Cat; "it was +only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and +the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the +squirrel, and the fox--and, now I think of it, I'll take you, too." So +she took the hare and gobbled him up. + +When she had gone a bit farther she met a wolf. + +"Good day, you Greedy Graylegs," said the Cat. + +"Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?" + +"Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting," said the Cat; "it was +only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and +the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the +squirrel, and the fox, and the hare--and now I think of it, I may as +well take you, too." So she took and gobbled up Graylegs, too. + +So she went on into the wood, and when she had gone far and farther than +far, o'er hill and dale, she met a bear-cub. + +"Good day, you bare-breeched bear," said the Cat. + +"Good day, Mrs. Pussy," said the bear-cub; "have you had anything to eat +to-day?" + +"Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting," said the Cat; "it was +only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and +the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the +squirrel, and the fox, and the hare, and the wolf--and, now I think of +it, I may as well take you, too." And so she took the bear-cub and +gobbled him up. + +When the Cat had gone a bit farther, she met a she-bear, who was tearing +away at a stump till the splinters flew, so angry was she at having lost +her cub. + +"Good day, you Mrs. Bruin," said the Cat. + +"Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?" + +"Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting," said the Cat; "it +was only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, +and the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, +and the squirrel, and the fox, and the hare, and the wolf, and the +bear-cub--and, now I think of it, I'll take you, too," and so she took +Mrs. Bruin and gobbled her up, too. + +When the Cat got still farther on, she met Baron Bruin himself. + +"Good day, you Baron Bruin," said the Cat. + +"Good day, Mrs. Pussy," said Bruin; "have you had anything to eat +to-day?" + +"Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting," said the Cat; "it was +only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and +the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the +squirrel, and the fox, and the hare, and the wolf, and the bear-cub, and +the she-bear--and, now I think of it, I'll take you, too," and so she +took Bruin and ate him up, too. + +So the Cat went on and on, and farther than far, till she came to the +abodes of men again, and there she met a bridal train on the road. + +"Good day, you bridal train on the king's highway," said she. + +"Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?" + +"Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting," said the Cat; "it was +only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and +the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the +squirrel, and the fox, and the hare, and the wolf, and the bear-cub, and +the she-bear, and the he-bear--and, now I think of it, I'll take you, +too," and so she rushed at them, and gobbled up both the bride and +bridegroom, and the whole train, with the cook and the fiddler, and the +horses and all. + +When she had gone still farther, she came to a church, and there she met +a funeral. + +"Good day, you funeral train," said she. + +"Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?" + +"Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting," said the Cat; "it was +only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and +the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the +squirrel, and the fox, and the hare, and the wolf, and the bear-cub, and +the she-bear, and the he-bear, and the bride and bridegroom, and the +whole train--and, now, I don't mind if I take you, too," and so she fell +on the funeral train and gobbled up both the body and the bearers. + +Now when the Cat had got the body in her, she was taken up to the sky, +and when she had gone a long, long way, she met the moon. + +"Good day, Mrs. Moon," said the Cat. + +"Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?" + +"Oh, I've had a little but I'm 'most fasting," said the Cat; "it was +only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and +the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the +squirrel, and the fox, and the hare, and the wolf, and the bear-cub, and +the she-bear, and the he-bear, and the bride and bridegroom, and the +whole train, and the funeral train--and, now I think of it, I don't mind +if I take you, too," and so she seized hold of the moon, and gobbled her +up, both new and full. + + [Illustration: "'THAT WE'LL FIGHT ABOUT,' SAID THE BILLY GOAT"] + +So the Cat went a long way still, and then she met the sun. + +"Good day, you sun in heaven." + +"Good day, Mrs. Pussy," said the sun; "have you had anything to eat +to-day?" + +"Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting," said the Cat; "it was +only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and +the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the +squirrel, and the fox, and the hare, and the wolf, and the bear-cub, and +the she-bear, and the he-bear, and the bride and bridegroom, and the +whole train, and the funeral train, and the moon--and, now I think of +it, I don't mind if I take you, too," and so she rushed at the sun in +heaven and gobbled him up. + +So the Cat went far and farther than far, till she came to a bridge, and +on it she met a big billy-goat. + +"Good day, you Billy-goat on Broad-bridge," said the Cat. + +"Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?" said the +billy-goat. + +"Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting; I've only had a bowl of +porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the goody in the +byre, and Daisy the cow at the manger, and the leaf-picker in the +home-field, and Mr. Stoat of Stoneheap, and Sir Squirrel of the Brake, +and Reynard Slyboots, and Mr. Hopper the hare, and Greedy Graylegs the +wolf, and Bare-breech the bear-cub, and Mrs. Bruin, and Baron Bruin, and +a bridal train on the king's highway, and a funeral at the church, and +Lady Moon in the sky, and Lord Sun in heaven--and, now I think of it, +I'll take you, too." + +"That we'll fight about," said the billy-goat, and butted at the Cat +till she fell right over the bridge into the river, and there she burst. + +So they all crept out one after the other, and went about their +business, and were just as good as ever, all that the Cat had gobbled +up. The goodman of the house, and the goody in the byre, and Daisy the +cow at the manger, and the leaf-picker in the home-field, and Mr. Stoat +of Stoneheap, and Sir Squirrel of the Brake, and Reynard Slyboots, and +Mr. Hopper the hare, and Greedy Graylegs the wolf, and Bare-breech the +bear-cub, and Mrs. Bruin, and Baron Bruin, and the bridal train on the +highway, and the funeral train at the church, and Lady Moon in the sky, +and Lord Sun in heaven. + + + + +GUDBRAND ON THE HILLSIDE + + +There was once upon a time a man whose name was Gudbrand. He had a farm +which lay far away up on the side of a hill, and therefore they called +him Gudbrand on the hillside. + +He and his wife lived so happily together, and agreed so well, that +whatever the man did the wife thought it so well done that no one could +do it better. No matter what he did, she thought it was always the right +thing. + +They lived on their own farm, and had a hundred dollars at the bottom of +their chest and two cows in their cow-shed. One day the woman said to +Gudbrand: + +"I think we ought to go to town with one of the cows and sell it, so +that we may have some ready money by us. We are pretty well off, and +ought to have a few shillings in our pocket like other people. The +hundred dollars in the chest we mustn't touch, but I can't see what we +want with more than one cow, and it will be much better for us, as I +shall have only one to look after instead of the two I have now to mind +and feed." + +Yes, Gudbrand thought, that was well and sensibly spoken. He took the +cow at once and went to town to sell it; but when he got there no one +would buy the cow. + +"Ah, well!" thought Gudbrand, "I may as well take the cow home again. I +know I have both stall and food for it, and the way home is no longer +than it was here." So he strolled homeward again with the cow. + +When he had got a bit on the way he met a man who had a horse to sell, +and Gudbrand thought it was better to have a horse than a cow, and so he +changed the cow for the horse. + +When he had gone a bit farther he met a man who was driving a fat pig +before him, and then he thought it would be better to have a fat pig +than a horse, and so he changed with the man. + +He now went a bit farther, and then he met a man with a goat, and so he +thought it was surely better to have a goat than a pig, and changed with +the man who had the goat. + +Then he went a long way, till he met a man who had a sheep. He changed +with him, for he thought it was always better to have a sheep than a +goat. + +When he had got a bit farther he met a man with a goose, and so he +changed the sheep for the goose. And when he had gone a long, long way +he met a man with a cock. He changed the goose with him, for he thought +this wise: "It is surely better to have a cock than a goose." + +He walked on till late in the day, when he began to feel hungry. So he +sold the cock for sixpence and bought some food for himself. "For it is +always better to keep body and soul together than to have a cock," +thought Gudbrand. + +He then set off again homeward till he came to his neighbor's farm, and +there he went in. + +"How did you get on in town?" asked the people. + +"Oh, only so-so," said the man. "I can't boast of my luck, nor can I +grumble at it either." And then he told them how it had gone with him +from first to last. + +"Well, you'll have a fine reception when you get home to your wife," +said the man. "Heaven help you! I should not like to be in your place." + +"I think I might have fared much worse," said Gudbrand; "but whether I +have fared well or ill, I have such a kind wife that she never says +anything, no matter what I do." + +"Aye, so you say; but you won't get me to believe it," said the +neighbor. + +"Shall we have a wager on it?" said Gudbrand. "I have a hundred dollars +in my chest at home. Will you lay the same?" + +So they made the wager and Gudbrand remained there till the evening, +when it began to get dark, and then they went together to the farm. + +The neighbor was to remain outside the door and listen while Gudbrand +went in to his wife. + +"Good evening!" said Gudbrand when he came in. + +"Good evening!" said the wife. "Heaven be praised you are back again." + +"Yes, here I am!" said the man. And then the wife asked him how he had +got on in town. + +"Oh, so-so," answered Gudbrand. "Not much to brag of. When I came to +town no one would buy the cow, so I changed it for a horse." + +"Oh, I'm so glad of that," said the woman. "We are pretty well off and +we ought to drive to church like other people, and when we can afford to +keep a horse I don't see why we should not have one. Run out, children, +and put the horse in the stable." + +"Well, I haven't got the horse, after all," said Gudbrand; "for when I +had got a bit on the way I changed it for a pig." + +"Dear me!" cried the woman, "that's the very thing I should have done +myself. I'm so glad of that, for now we can have some bacon in the house +and something to offer people when they come to see us. What do we want +with a horse? People would only say we had become so grand that we could +no longer walk to church. Run out, children, and let the pig in." + +"But I haven't got the pig either," said Gudbrand, "for when I had got a +bit farther on the road I changed it into a milch goat." + +"Dear! dear! how well you manage everything!" cried the wife. "When I +really come to think of it, what do I want with the pig? People would +only say: 'Over yonder they eat up everything they have.' No, now I have +a goat I can have both milk and cheese and keep the goat into the +bargain. Let in the goat, children." + +"But I haven't got the goat either," said Gudbrand. "When I got a bit on +the way I changed the goat and got a fine sheep for it." + +"Well!" returned the woman, "you do everything just as I should wish +it--just as if I had been there myself. What do we want with a goat? I +should have to climb up hill and down dale to get it home at night. No, +when I have a sheep I can have wool and clothes in the house and food as +well. Run out, children, and let in the sheep." + +"But I haven't got the sheep any longer," said Gudbrand, "for when I had +got a bit on the way I changed it for a goose." + +"Well, thank you for that!" said the woman; "and many thanks, too! What +do I want with a sheep? I have neither wheel nor spindle, and I do not +care either to toil and drudge making clothes; we can buy clothes now as +before. Now I can have goose-fat, which I have so long been wishing for, +and some feathers to stuff that little pillow of mine. Run, children, +and let in the goose." + +"Well, I haven't got the goose either," said Gudbrand. "When I had got a +bit farther on the way I changed it for a cock." + +"Well, I don't know how you can think of it all!" cried the woman. "It's +just as if I had done it all myself. A cock! Why, it's just the same as +if you'd bought an eight-day clock, for every morning the cock will crow +at four, so we can be up in good time. What do we want with a goose? I +can't make goose-fat and I can easily fill my pillow with some soft +grass. Run, children, and let in the cock." + +"But I haven't the cock either," said Gudbrand; "for when I had got a +bit farther I became so terribly hungry I had to sell the cock for +sixpence and get some food to keep body and soul together." + +"Heaven be praised you did that!" cried the woman. "Whatever you do, you +always do the very thing I could have wished. Besides, what did we want +with the cock? We are our own masters and can lie as long as we like in +the mornings. Heaven be praised! As long as I have got you back again, +who manage everything so well, I shall neither want cock, nor goose, nor +pig, nor cows." + +Gudbrand then opened the door. "Have I won the hundred dollars now?" he +asked. And the neighbor was obliged to confess that he had. + + + + +PORK AND HONEY + + +At dawn the other day, when Bruin came tramping over the bog with a fat +pig, Reynard sat up on a stone by the moorside. + +"Good day, grandsire," said the fox. "What's that so nice that you have +there?" + +"Pork," said Bruin. + +"Well, I have got a dainty bit, too," said Reynard. + +"What is that?" asked the bear. + +"The biggest wild bee's comb I ever saw in my life," said Reynard. + +"Indeed, you don't say so," said Bruin, who grinned and licked his lips, +he thought it would be so nice to taste a little honey. At last he said: +"Shall we swap our fare?" + +"Nay, nay!" said Reynard, "I can't do that." + +The end was that they made a bet, and agreed to name three trees. If the +fox could say them off faster than the bear, he was to have leave to +take one bite of the bacon; but if the bear could say them faster, he +was to have leave to take one sup out of the comb. Greedy Bruin thought +he was sure to sup out all the honey at one breath. + +"Well," said Reynard, "it's all fair and right, no doubt, but all I say +is, if I win, you shall be bound to tear off the bristles where I am to +bite." + +"Of course," said Bruin, "I'll help you, as you can't help yourself." + +So they were to begin and name the trees. + +"FIR, SCOTCH FIR, SPRUCE," growled out Bruin, for he was gruff in his +tongue, that he was. But for all that he only named two trees, for fir +and Scotch fir are both the same. + +"_Ash_, _Aspen_, _Oak_," screamed Reynard, so that the wood rang again. + +So he had won the wager, and down he ran and took the heart out of the +pig at one bit, and was just running off with it. But Bruin was angry +because Reynard had taken the best bit out of the whole pig, and so he +laid hold of his tail and held him fast. + +"Stop a bit, stop a bit," he said, and was wild with rage. + +"Never mind," said the fox, "it's all right; let me go, grandsire, and +I'll give you a taste of my honey." + +When Bruin heard that, he let go his hold, and away went Reynard after +the honey. + +"Here, on this honeycomb," said Reynard, "lies a leaf, and under this +leaf is a hole, and that hole you are to suck." + +As he said this he held up the comb under the bear's nose, took off the +leaf, jumped up on a stone, and began to gibber and laugh, for there was +neither honey nor honeycomb, but a wasp's nest, as big as a man's head, +full of wasps, and out swarmed the wasps and settled on Bruin's head, +and stung him in his eyes and ears, and mouth and snout. And he had such +hard work to rid himself of them that he had no time to think of +Reynard. + +And that's why, ever since that day, Bruin is so afraid of wasps. + + + + +HOW REYNARD OUTWITTED BRUIN + + +Once on a time there was a bear, who sat on a hillside in the sun and +slept. Just then Reynard came slouching by and caught sight of him. + +"There you sit taking your ease, grandsire," said the fox. "Now, see if +I don't play you a trick." So he went and caught three field-mice and +laid them on a stump close under Bruin's nose, and then he bawled out +into his ear, "Bo! Bruin, here's Peter the Hunter, just behind this +stump"; and as he bawled this out he ran off through the wood as fast as +ever he could. + +Bruin woke up with a start, and when he saw the three little mice, he +was as mad as a March hare, and was going to lift up his paw and crush +them, for he thought it was they who had bellowed in his ear. + +But just as he lifted it he caught sight of Reynard's tail among the +bushes by the woodside, and away he set after him, so that the underwood +crackled as he went, and, to tell the truth, Bruin was so close upon +Reynard that he caught hold of his off hind foot just as he was crawling +into an earth under a pine-root. So there was Reynard in a pinch; but +for all that he had his wits about him, for he screeched out, "SLIP THE +PINE-ROOT AND CATCH REYNARD'S FOOT," and so the silly bear let his foot +slip and laid hold of the root instead. But by that time Reynard was +safe inside the earth, and called out: + +"I cheated you that time, too, didn't I, grandsire?" + +"Out of sight isn't out of mind," growled Bruin down the earth, and was +wild with rage. + + + + +THE COCK AND THE CRESTED HEN + + +There was once a Cock who had a whole farmyard of hens to look after and +manage; and among them was a tiny little Crested Hen. She thought she +was altogether too grand to be in company with the other hens, for they +looked so old and shabby; she wanted to go out and strut about all by +herself, so that people could see how fine she was, and admire her +pretty crest and beautiful plumage. + +So one day when all the hens were strutting about on the dust-heap and +showing themselves off, and picking and clucking, as they were wont to +do, this desire seized her, and she began to cry: + +"Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, over the fence! cluck, cluck, cluck, over +the fence!" and wanted to get away. + +The Cock stretched his neck and shook his comb and feathers, and cried: + +"Go not there!" And all the old hens cackled: + +"Go-go-go-go not there!" + +But she set off for all that; and was not a little proud when she got +away, and could go about pluming and showing herself off quite alone. + +Just then a hawk began to fly round in a circle above her, and all of a +sudden he swooped down upon her. The Cock, as he stood on top of the +dust-heap, stretching his neck and peering first with one eye and then +with the other, had long noticed him, and cried with all his might: + +"Come, come, come and help! Come, come, come and help!" till the people +came running to see what was the matter. They frightened the hawk so +that he let go the Hen, and had to be satisfied with her tuft and her +finest feathers, which he had plucked from her. And then, you may be +sure, she lost no time in running-home; she stretched her neck, and +tripped along, crying: + +"See, see, see, see how I look! See, see, see, see how I look!" + +The Cock came up to her in his dignified way, drooped one of his wings, +and said: + +"Didn't I tell you?" + +From that time the Hen did not consider herself too good to be in the +company of the old hens on the dust-heap. + + [Illustration: "DIDN'T I TELL YOU?" SAID THE COCK] + + + + +THE OLD WOMAN AND THE TRAMP + + +There was once a tramp who went plodding his way through a forest. The +distance between the houses was so great that he had little hope of +finding a shelter before the night set in. But all of a sudden he saw +some lights between the trees. He then discovered a cottage, where there +was a fire burning on the hearth. How nice it would be to roast one's +self before that fire, and to get a bite of something, he thought; and +so he dragged himself toward the cottage. + +Just then an old woman came toward him. + +"Good evening, and well met!" said the tramp. + +"Good evening," said the woman. "Where do you come from?" + +"South of the sun, and east of the moon," said the tramp; "and now I am +on the way home again, for I have been all over the world with the +exception of this parish," he said. + +"You must be a great traveler, then," said the woman. "What may be your +business here?" + +"Oh, I want a shelter for the night," he said. + +"I thought as much," said the woman; "but you may as well get away from +here at once, for my husband is not at home, and my place is not an +inn," she said. + +"My good woman," said the tramp, "you must not be so cross and +hard-hearted, for we are both human beings, and should help one another, +as it is written." + +"Help one another?" said the woman, "help? Did you ever hear such a +thing? Who'll help me, do you think? I haven't got a morsel in the +house! No, you'll have to look for quarters elsewhere," she said. + +But the tramp was like the rest of his kind; he did not consider +himself beaten at the first rebuff. Although the old woman grumbled and +complained as much as she could, he was just as persistent as ever, and +went on begging and praying like a starved dog, until at last she gave +in, and he got permission to lie on the floor for the night. + +That was very kind, he thought, and he thanked her for it. + +"Better on the floor without sleep, than suffer cold in the forest +deep," he said; for he was a merry fellow, this tramp, and was always +ready with a rhyme. + +When he came into the room he could see that the woman was not so badly +off as she had pretended; but she was a greedy and stingy woman of the +worst sort, and was always complaining and grumbling. + +He now made himself very agreeable, of course, and asked her in his most +insinuating manner for something to eat. + +"Where am I to get it from?" said the woman. "I haven't tasted a morsel +myself the whole day." + +But the tramp was a cunning fellow, he was. + +"Poor old granny, you must be starving," he said. "Well, well, I suppose +I shall have to ask you to have something with me, then?" + +"Have something with you!" said the woman. "You don't look as if you +could ask any one to have anything! What have you got to offer one, I +should like to know?" + +"He who far and wide does roam sees many things not known at home; and +he who many things has seen has wits about him and senses keen," said +the tramp. "Better dead than lose one's head! Lend me a pot, granny!" + +The old woman now became very inquisitive, as you may guess, and so she +let him have a pot. + +He filled it with water and put it on the fire, and then he blew with +all his might till the fire was burning fiercely all round it. Then he +took a four-inch nail from his pocket, turned it three times in his +hand, and put it into the pot. + +The woman stared with all her might. + +"What's this going to be?" she asked. + +"Nail broth," said the tramp, and began to stir the water with the +porridge-stick. + +"Nail broth?" asked the woman. + +"Yes, nail broth," said the tramp. + +The old woman had seen and heard a good deal in her time, but that +anybody could have made broth with a nail, well, she had never heard the +like before. + +"That's something for poor people to know," she said, "and I should like +to learn how to make it." + +"That which is not worth having will always go a-begging," said the +tramp, but if she wanted to learn how to make it she had only to watch +him, he said, and went on stirring the broth. + +The old woman squatted on the ground, her hands clasping her knees, and +her eyes following his hand as he stirred the broth. + +"This generally makes good broth," he said; "but this time it will very +likely be rather thin, for I have been making broth the whole week with +the same nail. If one only had a handful of sifted oatmeal to put in, +that would make it all right," he said. "But what one has to go without, +it's no use thinking more about," and so he stirred the broth again. + +"Well, I think I have a scrap of flour somewhere," said the old woman, +and went out to fetch some, and it was both good and fine. + +The tramp began putting the flour into the broth, and went on stirring, +while the woman sat staring now at him and then at the pot until her +eyes nearly burst their sockets. + +"This broth would be good enough for company," he said, putting in one +handful of flour after another. "If I had only a bit of salted beef and +few potatoes to put in, it would be fit for gentlefolks, however +particular they might be," he said. "But what one has to go without, +it's no use thinking more about." + +When the old woman really began to think it over, she thought she had +some potatoes, and perhaps a bit of beef as well; and these she gave the +tramp, who went on stirring, while she sat and stared as hard as ever. + +"This will be grand enough for the best in the land," he said. + +"Well, I never!" said the woman; "and just fancy--all with a nail!" + +He was really a wonderful man, that tramp! He could do more than drink a +sup and turn the tankard up, he could. + +"If one had only a little barley and a drop of milk, we could ask the +king himself to have some of it," he said; "for this is what he has +every blessed evening--that I know, for I have been in service under the +king's cook," he said. + +"Dear me! Ask the king to have some! Well, I never!" exclaimed the +woman, slapping her knees. She was quite awestruck at the tramp and his +grand connections. + +"But what one has to go without, it's no use thinking more about," said +the tramp. + +And then she remembered she had a little barley; and as for milk, well, +she wasn't quite out of that, she said. And then she went to fetch +both the one and the other. + +The tramp went on stirring, and the woman sat staring, one moment at him +and the next at the pot. + +Then all at once the tramp took out the nail. + +"Now it's ready, and now we'll have a real good feast," he said. "But to +this kind of soup the king and the queen always take a dram or two, and +one sandwich at least. And then they always have a cloth on the table +when they eat," he said. "But what one has to go without, it's no use +thinking more about." + +But by this time the old woman herself had begun to feel quite grand and +fine, I can tell you; and if that was all that was wanted to make it +just as the king had it, she thought it would be nice to have it exactly +the same way for once, and play at being king and queen with the tramp. +She went straight to a cupboard and brought out the brandy bottle, dram +glasses, butter and cheese, smoked beef and veal, until at last the +table looked as if it were decked out for company. + +Never in her life had the old woman had such a grand feast, and never +had she tasted such broth, and just fancy, made only with a nail! + +She was in such a good and merry humor at having learned such an +economical way of making broth that she did not know how to make enough +of the tramp who had taught her such a useful thing. + +So they ate and drank, and drank and ate, until they became both tired +and sleepy. + +The tramp was now going to lie down on the floor. But that would never +do, thought the old woman; no, that was impossible. "Such a grand person +must have a bed to lie in," she said. + +He did not need much pressing. "It's just like the sweet Christmas +time," he said, "and a nicer woman I never came across. Ah, well! Happy +are they who meet with such good people," said he; and he lay down on +the bed and went asleep. + +And next morning, when he woke, the first thing he got was a good +breakfast. + +When he was going, the old woman gave him a bright dollar piece. + +"And thanks, many thanks, for what you have taught me," she said. "Now I +shall live in comfort, since I have learned how to make broth with a +nail." + +"Well, it isn't very difficult if one only has something good to add to +it," said the tramp as he went his way. + +The woman stood at the door staring after him. + +"Such people don't grow on every bush," she said. + + + + +THE OLD WOMAN AND THE FISH + + +There was once upon a time an old woman who lived in a miserable cottage +on the brow of a hill overlooking the town. Her husband had been dead +for many years, and her children were in service round about the parish, +so she felt rather lonely and dreary by herself, and otherwise she was +not particularly well off either. + +But when it has been ordained that one shall live, one cannot think of +one's funeral; and so one has to take the world as it is, and still be +satisfied; and that was about all the old woman could console herself +with. But that the road up which she had to carry the pails from the +well should be so heavy; and that the axe should have such a blunt and +rusty edge, so that it was only with the greatest difficulty that she +could cut the little firewood she had; and that the stuff she was +weaving was not sufficient--all this grieved her greatly, and caused her +to complain from time to time. + +So one day, when she had pulled the bucket up from the well, she +happened to find a small pike in the bucket, which did not at all +displease her. + +"Such fish does not come into my pot every day," she said; and now she +could have a really grand dish, she thought. But the fish that she had +got this time was no fool; it had the gift of speech, that it had. + +"Let me go!" said the fish. + +The old woman began to stare, you may be sure. Such a fish she had never +before seen in this world. + +"Are you so much better than other fish, then?" she said, "and too good +to be eaten?" + +"Wise is he who does not eat all he gets hold of," said the fish; "only +let me go, and you shall not remain without reward for your trouble." + +"I like a fish in the bucket better than all those frisking about free +and frolicsome in the lakes," said the old woman. "And what one can +catch with one hand, one can also carry to one's mouth," she said. + +"That may be," said the fish; "but if you do as I tell you, you shall +have three wishes." + +"Wish in one fist, and pour water in the other, and you'll soon see +which you will get filled first," said the woman. "Promises are well +enough, but keeping them is better, and I sha'n't believe much in you +till I have got you in the pot," she said. + +"You should mind that tongue of yours," said the fish, "and listen to my +words. Wish for three things, and then you'll see what will happen," he +said. + +Well, the old woman knew well enough what she wanted to wish, and there +might not be so much danger in trying how far the fish would keep his +word, she thought. + +She then began thinking of the heavy hill up from the well. + +"I would wish that the pails could go of themselves to the well and home +again," she said. + +"So they shall," said the fish. + +Then she thought of the axe, and how blunt it was. + +"I would wish that whatever I strike shall break right off," she said. + +"So it shall," said the fish. + +And then she remembered that the stuff she was weaving was not long +enough. + +"I would wish that whatever I pull shall become long," she said. + +"That it shall," said the fish. "And now, let me down into the well +again." + +Yes, that she would, and all at once the pails began to shamble up the +hill. + +"Dear me, did you ever see anything like it?" The old woman became so +glad and pleased that she slapped herself across the knees. + +Crack, crack! it sounded; and then both her legs fell off, and she was +left sitting on the top of the lid over the well. + +Now came a change. She began to cry and wail, and the tears started from +her eyes, whereupon she began blowing her nose with her apron, and as +she tugged at her nose it grew so long, so long, that it was terrible to +see. + +That is what she got for her wishes! Well, there she sat, and there she +no doubt still sits, on the lid of the well. And if you want to know +what it is to have a long nose, you had better go there and ask her, for +she can tell you all about it, she can. + + + + +THE LAD AND THE FOX + + +There was once upon a time a little lad, who was on his way to church, +and when he came to a clearing in the forest he caught sight of a fox +that was lying on the top of a big stone so fast asleep that he did not +know the lad had seen him. + +"If I catch that fox," said the lad, "and sell the skin, I shall get +money for it, and with that money I shall buy some rye, and that rye I +shall sow in father's corn-field at home. When the people who are on +their way to church pass by my field of rye they'll say: 'Oh, what +splendid rye that lad has got!' Then I shall say to them: 'I say, keep +away from my rye!' But they won't heed me. Then I shall shout to them: +'I say, keep away from my rye!' But still they won't take any notice of +me. Then I shall scream with all my might: 'Keep away from my rye!' and +then they'll listen to me." + +But the lad screamed so loudly that the fox woke up and made off at once +for the forest, so that the lad did not even get as much as a handful of +his hair. + +No; it's best always to take what you can reach, for of undone deeds you +should never screech, as the saying goes. + + + + +ADVENTURES OF ASHPOT + + +Norwegian children are just as fond of fairy stories as are any other +children, and they are lucky in having a great number, for that famous +story-teller, Hans Christian Andersen, was a Dane, and as the Danish +language is very like the Norwegian, his stories were probably known in +Norway long before they were known in England. But the Norwegians have +plenty of other stories of their own, and they love to sit by the fire +of burning logs or round the stove in the long winter evenings and +listen to them. Of course, they know all about people like Cinderella +and Jack the Giant-Killer, but their favorite hero is called by the name +of Ashpot, who is sometimes a kind of boy Cinderella and sometimes a +Jack the Giant-Killer. + +The following are two stories which the little yellow-haired Norse +children never fail to delight in: + +Once upon a time there was a man who had been out cutting wood, and when +he came home he found that he had left his coat behind, so he told his +little daughter to go and fetch it. The child started off, but before +she reached the wood darkness came on, and suddenly a great big +hill-giant swooped down upon her. + +"Please, Mr. Giant," said she, trembling all over, "don't take me away +to-night, as father wants his coat; but to-morrow night, if you will +come when I go to the _stabbur_ to fetch the bread, I will go away with +you quietly." + +So the giant agreed, and the next night, when she went to fetch the +bread, he came and carried her off. As soon as it was found that she was +missing, her father sent her eldest brother to look for her, but he came +back without finding her. The second brother was also sent, but with no +better result. At last the father turned to his youngest son, who was +the drudge of the house, and said: "Now, Ashpot, you go and see if you +can find your sister." + +So away went Ashpot, and no sooner had he reached the wood than he met a +bear. + +"Friend bear," said Ashpot, "will you help me?" + +"Willingly," answered the bear. "Get up on my back." + +And Ashpot mounted the bear's back and rode off. Presently they met a +wolf. + +"Friend wolf," said Ashpot, "will you do some work for me?" + +"Willingly," answered the wolf. + +"Then jump up behind," said Ashpot, and the three went on deeper into +the wood. + +They next met a fox, and then a hare, both of whom were enlisted into +Ashpot's service, and, mounted on the back of the bear, were swiftly +carried off to the giant's abode. + +"Good day, Mr. Giant!" said they. + +"Scratch my back!" roared the giant, who lay stretched in front of the +fire warming himself. + +The hare immediately climbed up and began to scratch as desired; but the +giant knocked him over, and down he fell on to the hearthstone, breaking +off his forelegs, since which time all hares have had short forelegs. + +The fox next clambered up to scratch the giant's back, but he was served +like the hare. Then the wolf's turn came, but the giant said that he was +no better at scratching than the others. + +"_You_ scratch me!" shouted the giant, turning impatiently to the bear. + +"All right," answered Bruin; "I know all about scratching," and he +forthwith dug his claws into the giant's back and ripped it into a +thousand pieces. + +Then all the beasts danced on the dead body of the monster, and Ashpot +recovered his sister and took her home, carrying off, at the same time, +all the giant's gold and silver. The bear and the wolf burst into the +cattle-sheds and devoured all the cows and sheep, the fox feasted in the +hen-roost, while the hare had the free run of the oatfield. So every one +was satisfied. + + * * * + +The other story is also about Ashpot, whose two elder brothers still +treated him very badly, and eventually turned him out of his home. Poor +Ashpot wandered away up into the mountains, where he met a huge giant. +At first he was terribly afraid, but after a little while he told the +giant what had happened to him, and asked him if he could find a job for +him. + +"You are just the very man I want," said the giant. "Come along with +me." + +The first work to be done was to make a fire to brew some ale, so they +went off together to the forest to cut firewood. The giant carried a +club in place of an axe, and when they came to a large birch-tree he +asked Ashpot whether he would like to club the tree down or climb up and +hold the top of it. The boy thought that the latter would suit him best, +and he soon got up to the topmost branches and held on to them. But the +giant gave the tree such a blow with his club as to knock it right out +of the ground, sending Ashpot flying across the meadows into a marsh. +Luckily he landed on soft ground, and was none the worse for his +adventure; and they soon managed to get the tree home, when they set to +work to make a fire. + +But the wood was green, and would not burn, so the giant began to blow. +At the first puff Ashpot found himself flying up to the ceiling as if he +had been a feather, but he managed to catch hold of a piece of +birch-bark among the rafters, and on reaching the ground again he told +the giant that he had been up to get something to make the fire burn. + +The fire was soon burning splendidly, and the giant commenced to brew +the ale, drinking it off as fast as it was made. Ashpot watched him +getting gradually stupid, and heard him mutter to himself, "To-night I +will kill him," so he began to think of a plan to outwit his master. +When he went to bed he placed the giant's cream-whisk, with which the +giant used to beat his cream, between the sheets as a dummy, while +Ashpot himself crept under the bedstead, where he was safely hidden. + +In the middle of the night, just as he had expected, he heard the giant +come into his room, and then there was a tremendous whack as the giant +brought his club down on to the bed. Next morning the boy came out of +his room as if nothing had happened, and his master was very much +surprised to find him still alive. + +"Hullo!" said the giant. "Didn't you feel anything in the night?" + +"I did feel something," said Ashpot; "but I thought that it was only a +sausage-peg that had fallen on the bed, so I went to sleep again." + +The giant was more astonished than ever, and went off to consult his +sister, who lived in a neighboring mountain, and was about ten times +his size. At length it was settled that the giantess should set her +cooking-pot on the fire, and that Ashpot should be sent to see her, when +she was to tip him into the caldron and boil him. In the course of the +day the giant sent the boy off with a message to his sister, and when he +reached the giantess's dwelling he found her busy cooking. But he soon +saw through her design, and he took out of his pocket a nut with a hole +in it. + +"Look here," he said, showing the nut to the ogress, "you think you can +do everything. I will tell you one thing that you can't do: you can't +make yourself so small as to be able to creep into the hole in this +nut." + +"Rubbish!" replied the giantess. "Of course I can!" + +And in a moment she became as small as a fly, and crept into the nut, +whereupon Ashpot hurled it into the fire, and that was the end of the +giantess. + +The boy was so delighted that he returned to his old tyrant the giant +and told him what had happened to his sister. This set the big man +thinking again as to how he was to rid himself of this sharp-witted +little nuisance. He did not understand boys, and he was afraid of +Ashpot's tricks, so he offered him as much gold and silver as he could +carry if he would go away and never return. Ashpot, however, replied +that the amount he could carry would not be worth having, and that he +could not think of going unless he got as much as the giant could carry. + +The giant, glad to get rid of him at any cost, agreed, and, loading +himself with gold and silver and precious stones, he set out with the +boy toward his home. When they reached the outskirts of the farms they +saw a herd of cattle, and the giant began to tremble. + +"What sort of beasts are these?" he asked. + +"They are my father's cows," replied Ashpot, "and you had better put +down your burden and run back to your mountain, or they may bite you." + +The giant was only too happy to get away, so, depositing his load, which +was as big as a small hill, he made off, and left the boy to carry his +treasure home by himself. + +So enormous was the amount of the valuables that it was six years before +Ashpot succeeded in removing everything from the field where the giant +had set it down; but he and all his relations were rich people for the +rest of their lives. + + + + +NORWEGIAN BIRD-LEGENDS + + +The Norwegians have several quaint old legends connected with some of +their birds. This is the story of the goldcrest, known in Norway as the +"bird-king": + +Once upon a time the golden eagle determined to be publicly acknowledged +as king of the birds, and he called a meeting of every kind of bird in +the world. As many of the birds would come from tropical countries, he +appointed a day in the warmest month; and the place he chose was a vast +tract called Grönfjeld, where every species of bird would feel at home, +since it bordered on the sea, yet was well provided with trees, shrubs, +flowers, rocks, sand, and heather, as well as with lakes and rivers full +of fish. + +So on the morning of the great congress the birds began to arrive +in a steady stream, and by noon every description of bird was +represented--even the ostrich, though how he contrived to cross the seas +the story does not say. The eagle welcomed them, and when the last +humming-bird had settled down he addressed the meeting, saying that +there was no doubt that he had a right to demand to be proclaimed their +king. The spread of his wings was prodigious, he could fearlessly look +at the sun, and to whatever height he soared he could detect the +slightest movement of a fly on the earth. + +But the birds objected to the eagle on account of his plundering +habits, and then each in turn stated his own case as a claimant for the +kingship--the ostrich could run the fastest, the bird of paradise and +the peacock could look the prettiest, the parrot could talk the best, +the canary could sing the sweetest, and every one of them, for some +reason or other, was in his own opinion superior to his fellows. After +several days of fruitless discussion it was finally decided that +whichever bird could soar the highest should be, once and for all, +proclaimed king. + +Every bird who could fly at all tried his best, and the golden eagle, +confident of success, waited till last. Finally he spread his wings, and +as he did so an impudent little goldcrest hopped (unbeknown to his great +rival) on to his back. Up went the eagle, and soon outdistanced every +other bird. Then, when he had almost reached the sun, he shouted out, +"Well, here I am, the highest of all!" "Not so," answered the goldcrest, +as, leaving the eagle's back, he fluttered upward, until suddenly he +knocked his head against the sun and set fire to his crest. Stunned by +the shock, the little upstart fell headlong to the ground, but, soon +recovering himself, he immediately flew up on to the royal rock and +showed the golden crown which he had assumed. Unanimously he was +proclaimed king of the birds, and by this name, concludes the legend, he +has ever since been known, his sunburnt crest remaining as a proof of +his cunning and daring. + +In those parts of Norway where the goldcrest is rarely seen the same +story, omitting the part about the sun and the burnt crest, is told of +the common wren, who is said to have broken off his tail in his great +fall. And to this is applied the moral: "Proud and ambitious people +sometimes meet with an unexpected downfall." + +There are at least seven kinds of woodpeckers found in Norway, and of +these the great black woodpecker is the largest. The woodmen consider it +to be a bird which brings bad luck, and avoid it as much as possible. +They call it "Gertrude's Bird" because of the following legend: + +"Our Saviour once called on an old woman who lived all alone in a little +cottage in an extensive forest in Norway. Her name was Gertrude, and she +was a hard, avaricious old creature, who had not a kind word for +anybody, and although she was not badly off in a worldly point of view, +she was too stingy and selfish to assist any poor wayfarer who by chance +passed her cottage door. One day our Lord happened to come that way, +and, being hungry and thirsty, he asked of Gertrude a morsel of bread to +eat and a cup of cold water to drink. But the wicked old woman refused, +and turned our Saviour from the door with harsh words. Our Lord +stretched forth his hand toward the aged crone, and, as a punishment, +she was immediately transformed into a black woodpecker; and ever since +that day the wicked old creature has wandered about the world in the +shape of a bird, seeking her daily bread from wood to wood and from tree +to tree. The red head of the bird is supposed to represent the red +nightcap worn by Gertrude." + +Legends of this description were doubtless introduced in the early days +of Christianity in order to impress the new religion on the people, and +several have been preserved. Thus the turtle-dove is revered as a bird +which spoke kind words to our Lord on the cross; and, similarly, the +swallow is said to have perched upon the cross and to have pitied him; +while the legend of the crossbill relates how its beak became twisted in +endeavoring to withdraw the nails, and how to this day it bears upon its +plumage the red blood-stains from the cross. + +One more Christian legend--about the lapwing, or peewit: The lapwing was +at one time a handmaiden of the Virgin Mary, and stole her mistress's +scissors, for which she was transformed into a bird, and condemned to +wear a forked tail resembling scissors. Moreover, the lapwing was doomed +forever and ever to fly from tussock to tussock, uttering over and over +again the plaintive cry of "Tyvit! tyvit!" ("Thief! thief!") + +In the old viking times, before Christianity had found its way so far +north, the bird which influenced the people most was the raven. He was +credited with much knowledge, as well as with the power to bring good or +bad luck. One of the titles of Odin was "Raven-god," and he had as +messengers two faithful ravens, "who could speak all manner of tongues, +and flew on his behests to the uttermost parts of the earth." In those +days the figure of a raven was usually emblazoned on shield and +standard, and it was thought that as the battle raged, victory or defeat +could be foreseen by the attitude assumed by the embroidered bird on the +standard. And it is well known that William the Conqueror (who came of +viking stock) flew a banner with raven device at the battle of Hastings +where he won such a great victory. + +But the greatest use of all to which the sable bird was put was to guide +the roving pirates on their expeditions. Before a start was made a raven +was let loose, and the direction of his flight gave the viking ships +their course. In this manner, according to the old Norse legends, did +Floki discover Iceland; and many other extraordinary things happened +under the influence of the raven. + + [Illustration: "EVERY DESCRIPTION OF BIRD WAS REPRESENTED"] + + + + + THE UGLY DUCKLING + + BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN + + +It was glorious out in the country. It was summer, and the corn-fields +were yellow, and the oats were green; the hay had been put up in stacks +in the green meadows, and the stork went about on his long red legs, and +chattered Egyptian, for this was the language he had learned from his +good mother. All around the fields and meadows were great forests, and +in the midst of these forests lay deep lakes. Yes, it was really +glorious out in the country. In the midst of the sunshine there lay an +old farm, surrounded by deep canals, and from the wall down to the water +grew great burdocks, so high that little children could stand upright +under the loftiest of them. It was just as wild there as in the deepest +wood. Here sat a Duck upon her nest, for she had to hatch her young +ones; but she was almost tired out before the little ones came; and then +she so seldom had visitors. The other ducks liked better to swim about +in the canals than to run up to sit down under a burdock, and cackle +with her. + +At last one egg-shell after another burst open. "Piep! piep!" it cried, +and in all the eggs there were little creatures that stuck out their +heads. + +"Rap! rap!" they said; and they all came rapping out as fast as they +could, looking all round them under the green leaves; and the mother let +them look as much as they chose, for green is good for the eyes. + +"How wide the world is!" said the young ones, for they certainly had +much more room now than when they were in the eggs. + +"Do you think this is all the world?" asked the mother. "That extends +far across the other side of the garden, quite into the parson's field, +but I have never been there yet. I hope you are all together," she +continued, and stood up. "No, I have not all. The largest egg still lies +there. How long is this to last? I am really tired of it." And she sat +down again. + +"Well, how goes it?" asked an old Duck who had come to pay her a visit. + +"It lasts a long time with that one egg," said the Duck who sat there. +"It will not burst. Now, only look at the others; are they not the +prettiest ducks one could possibly see? They are all like their father; +the bad fellow never comes to see me." + +"Let me see the egg which will not burst," said the old visitor. +"Believe me, it is a turkey's egg. I was once cheated in that way, and +had much anxiety and trouble with the young ones, for they are afraid of +the water. I could not get them to venture in. I quacked and clucked, +but it was no use. Let me see the egg. Yes, that's a turkey egg! Let it +lie there, and come and teach the other children to swim." + +"I think I will sit on it a little longer," said the Duck. "I've sat so +long now that I can sit a few days more." + +"Just as you please," said the old Duck; and she went away. + +At last the great egg burst. "Piep! piep!" said the little one, and +crept forth. It was very large and very ugly. The Duck looked at it. + +"It's a very large duckling," said she; "none of the others look like +that: can it really be a turkey chick? Now we shall soon find it out. It +must go into the water, even if I have to thrust it in myself." + +The next day the weather was splendidly bright, and the sun shone on all +the green trees. The Mother-Duck went down to the water with all her +little ones. Splash she jumped into the water. "Quack! quack!" she said, +and one duckling after another plunged in. The water closed over their +heads, but they came up in an instant, and swam capitally; their legs +went of themselves, and there they were all in the water. The ugly gray +Duckling swam with them. + +"No, it's not a turkey," said she; "look how well it can use its legs, +and how upright it holds itself. It is my own child! On the whole it's +quite pretty, if one looks at it rightly. Quack! quack! come with me, +and I'll lead you out into the great world, and present you in the +poultry-yard; but keep close to me, so that no one may tread on you, and +take care of the cats!" + +And so they came into the poultry-yard. There was a terrible riot going +on in there, for two families were quarreling about an eel's head, and +the cat got it after all. + +"See, that's how it goes in the world!" said the Mother-Duck; and she +whetted her beak, for she, too, wanted the eel's head. "Only use your +legs," she said. "See that you can bustle about, and bow your heads +before the old Duck yonder. She's the grandest of her tribe; she's of +Spanish blood--that's why she's so fat; and do you see, she has a red +rag around her leg; that's something particularly fine, and the greatest +distinction a duck can enjoy; it signifies that one does not want to +lose her, and that she's to be recognized by man and beast. Shake +yourselves--don't turn in your toes; a well-brought-up duck turns its +toes quite out, just like father and mother, so! Now bend your necks and +say 'Rap'!" + +And they did so; but the other ducks round about looked at them, and +said quite boldly: + +"Look there! now we're to have these hanging on, as if there were not +enough of us already! And--fie!--how that Duckling yonder looks; we +won't stand that!" And one duck flew up immediately, and bit it in the +neck. + +"Let it alone," said the mother; "it does no harm to any one." + +"Yes, but it's too large and peculiar," said the Duck who had bitten it; +"and therefore it must be buffeted." + +"Those are pretty children that the mother has there," said the old Duck +with the rag on her leg. "They're all pretty but that one; that was a +failure. I wish she could alter it." + +"That cannot be done, my lady," replied the Mother-Duck. "It is not +pretty, but it has a really good disposition, and swims as well as any +other; I may even say it swims better. I think it will grow up pretty, +and become smaller in time; it has lain too long in the egg, and +therefore is not properly shaped." And then she pinched it in the neck, +and smoothed its feathers. "Moreover, it is a drake," she said, "and +therefore it is not of so much consequence. I think he will be very +strong: he makes his way already." + +"The other ducklings are graceful enough," said the old Duck. "Make +yourself at home; and if you find an eel's head, you may bring it to +me." + +And now they were at home. But the poor Duckling which had crept last +out of the egg, and looked so ugly, was bitten and pushed and jeered, as +much by the ducks as by the chickens. + +"It is too big!" they all said. And the turkey-cock, who had been born +with spurs, and therefore thought himself an emperor, blew himself up +like a ship in full sail, and bore straight down upon it; then he +gobbled, and grew quite red in the face. The poor Duckling did not know +where it should stand or walk; it was quite melancholy because it looked +ugly, and was scoffed at by the whole yard. + +So it went on the first day; and afterward it became worse and worse. +The poor Duckling was hunted about by every one; even its brothers and +sisters were quite angry with it, and said: "If the cat would only catch +you, you ugly creature!" And the mother said: "If you were only far +away!" And the ducks bit it, and the chickens beat it, and the girl who +had to feed the poultry kicked at it with her foot. + +Then it ran and flew over the fence, and the little birds in the bushes +flew up in fear. + +"That is because I am so ugly!" thought the Duckling; and it shut its +eyes, but flew on farther; thus it came out into the great moor, where +the wild ducks lived. Here it lay the whole night long; and it was weary +and downcast. + +Toward morning the wild ducks flew up, and looked at their new +companion. + +"What sort of a one are you?" they asked; and the Duckling turned in +every direction, and bowed as well as it could. "You are remarkably +ugly!" said the wild ducks. "But that is very indifferent to us, so long +as you do not marry into our family." + +Poor thing! it certainly did not think of marrying, and only hoped to +obtain leave to lie among the reeds and drink some of the swamp water. + +Thus it lay two whole days; then came thither two wild geese, or, +properly speaking, two wild ganders. It was not long since each had +crept out of an egg, and that's why they were so saucy. + +"Listen, comrade," said one of them. "You're so ugly that I like you. +Will you go with us, and become a bird of passage? Near here, in another +moor, there are a few sweet lovely wild geese, all unmarried, and all +able to say 'Rap'! You've a chance of making your fortune, ugly as you +are!" + +"Piff! paff!" resounded through the air; and the two ganders fell down +dead in the swamp, and the water became blood-red. "Piff! paff!" it +sounded again, and whole flocks of wild geese rose up from the reeds. +And then there was another report. A great hunt was going on. The +hunters were lying in wait all round the moor, and some were even +sitting up in the branches of the trees, which spread far over the +reeds. The blue smoke rose up like clouds among the dark trees, and was +wafted far away across the water; and the hunting dogs came--splash, +splash!--into the swamp, and the rushes and the reeds bent down on every +side. That was a fright for the poor Duckling! It turned its head, and +put it under its wing; but at that moment a frightful great dog stood +close by the Duckling. His tongue hung far out of his mouth and his eyes +gleamed horrible and ugly; he thrust out his nose close against the +Duckling, showed his sharp teeth, and--splash, splash!--on he went, +without seizing it. + +"Oh, Heaven be thanked!" sighed the Duckling. "I am so ugly that even +the dog does not like to bite me!" + +And so it lay quite quiet, while the shots rattled through the reeds and +gun after gun was fired. At last, late in the day, silence was restored; +but the poor Duckling did not dare to rise up; it waited several hours +before it looked around, and then hastened away out of the moor as fast +as it could. It ran on over field and meadow; there was such a storm +raging that it was difficult to get from one place to another. + +Toward evening the Duckling came to a miserable little hut. This hut was +so dilapidated that it did not know on which side it should fall; and +that's why it remained standing. The storm whistled round the Duckling +in such a way that the poor creature was obliged to sit down, to stand +against it; and the tempest grew worse and worse. Then the Duckling +noticed that one of the hinges of the door had given way, and the door +hung so slanting that the Duckling could slip through the crack into the +room. + +Here lived a woman, with her Tom Cat and her Hen. And the Tom Cat, whom +she called Sonnie, could arch his back and purr, he could even give out +sparks; but for that one had to stroke his fur the wrong way. The Hen +had quite little short legs, and therefore she was called +Chickabiddy-shortshanks; she laid good eggs, and the woman loved her as +her own child. + +In the morning the strange Duckling was at once noticed, and the Tom Cat +began to purr, and the Hen to cluck. + +"What's this?" said the woman, looking all around; but she could not see +very well, and therefore she thought the Duckling was a fat duck that +had strayed. "This is a rare prize!" she said. "Now I shall have duck's +eggs. I hope it is not a drake. We must try that." + +And so the Duckling was admitted on trial for three weeks; but no eggs +came. And the Tom Cat was master of the house, and the Hen was the lady, +and always said, "We and the world!" for she thought they were half the +world, and by far the better half. The Duckling thought one might have a +different opinion, but the Hen would not allow it. + +"Can you lay eggs?" she asked. + +"No." + +"Then you'll have the goodness to hold your tongue." + +And the Tom Cat said, "Can you curve your back, and purr and give out +sparks?" + +"No." + +"Then you cannot have any opinion of your own when sensible people are +speaking." + +And the Duckling sat in the corner and was melancholy; then the fresh +air and the sunshine streamed in; and it was seized with such a strange +longing to swim on the water, that it could not help telling the Hen of +it. + +"What are you thinking of?" cried the Hen. "You have nothing to do, +that's why you have these fancies. Purr or lay eggs, and they will pass +over." + +"But it is so charming to swim on the water!" said the Duckling, "so +refreshing to let it close above one's head, and to dive to the bottom." + +"Yes, that must be a mighty pleasure, truly," quoth the Hen. "I fancy +you must have gone crazy. Ask the Cat about it--he's the cleverest +animal I know--ask him if he likes to swim on the water, or to dive +down; I won't speak about myself. Ask our mistress, the old woman; no +one in the world is cleverer than she. Do you think she has any desire +to swim, and to let the water close above her head?" + +"You don't understand me," said the Duckling. + +"We don't understand you? Then pray who is to understand you? You surely +don't pretend to be cleverer than the Tom Cat and the woman--I won't say +anything of myself. Don't be conceited, child, and be grateful for all +the kindness you have received. Did you not get into a warm room, and +have you not fallen into company from which you may learn something. But +you are a chatterer, and it is not pleasant to associate with you. You +may believe me, I speak for your good. I tell you disagreeable things, +and by that one may always know one's true friends! Only take care that +you learn to lay eggs, or to purr and give out sparks!" + +"I think I will go out into the wide world," said the Duckling. + +"Yes, do go," replied the Hen. + +And the Duckling went away. It swam on the water, and dived, but it was +slighted by every creature because of its ugliness. + + [Illustration: "HAVE YOU NOT FALLEN INTO COMPANY FROM WHICH YOU MAY + LEARN SOMETHING?"] + +Now came the Autumn. The leaves in the forest turned yellow and brown; +the wind caught them so that they danced about, and up in the air it was +very cold. The clouds hung low, heavy with hail and snow-flakes, and on +the fence stood the raven, crying, "Croak! croak!" for mere cold; yes, +it was enough to make one feel cold to think of this. The poor little +Duckling certainly had not a good time. One evening--the sun was just +setting in his beauty--there came a whole flock of great handsome birds +out of the bushes; they were dazzlingly white, with long flexible necks; +they were swans. They uttered a very peculiar cry, spread forth their +glorious great wings, and flew away from that cold region to warmer +lands, to fair open lakes. They mounted so high, so high! and the ugly +little Duckling felt quite strangely as it watched them. It turned round +and round in the water like a wheel, stretched out its neck toward them, +and uttered such a strange loud cry as frightened itself. Oh! it could +not forget those beautiful, happy birds; and as soon as it could see +them no longer, it dived down to the very bottom, and when it came up +again, it was quite beside itself. It knew not the name of those birds, +and knew not whither they were flying; but it loved them more than it +had ever loved any one. It was not at all envious of them. How could it +think of wishing to possess such loveliness as they had? It would have +been glad if only the ducks would have endured its company. + +And the Winter grew cold, very cold! The Duckling was forced to swim +about in the water, to prevent the surface from freezing entirely; but +every night the hole in which it swam about became smaller and smaller. +It froze so hard that the icy covering cracked again; and the Duckling +was obliged to use its legs continually to prevent the hole from +freezing up. At last it became exhausted, and lay quite still, and thus +froze fast into the ice. + +Early in the morning a peasant came by, and when he saw what had +happened, he took his wooden shoe, broke the ice-crust to pieces, and +carried the Duckling home to his wife. Then it came to itself again. The +children wanted to play with it, but the Duckling thought they would do +it an injury, and in its terror fluttered up into the milk-pan, so that +the milk spurted down into the room. The woman clapped her hands, at +which the Duckling flew down into the butter-tub, and then into the +meal-barrel and out again. How it looked then! The woman screamed, and +struck at it with the fire-tongs; the children tumbled over one another, +in their efforts to catch the Duckling; and they laughed and screamed +finely! Happily the door stood open, and the poor creature was able to +slip out between the shrubs into the newly fallen snow; and there it lay +quite exhausted. + +But it would be too melancholy if I were to tell all the misery and want +which the Duckling had to endure in the hard Winter. It lay out on the +moor among the reeds, when the sun began to shine again and the larks to +sing: it was a beautiful Spring. + +Then all at once the Duckling could flap its wings: they beat the air +more strongly than before, and bore it strongly away; and before it well +knew how all this happened, it found itself in a great garden, where the +elder trees smelt sweet, and bent their long green branches down to the +canal that wound through the region. Oh, here it was so beautiful, such +a gladness of Spring! and from the thicket came three glorious white +swans; they rustled their wings, and swam lightly on the water. The +Duckling knew the splendid creatures, and felt oppressed by a peculiar +sadness. + +"I will fly away to them, to the royal birds! and they will kill me, +because I, that am so ugly, dare to approach them. But it is of no +consequence! Better to be killed by _them_ than to be pursued by ducks, +and beaten by fowls, and pushed about by the girl who takes care of the +poultry-yard, and to suffer hunger in Winter!" And it flew out into the +water, and swam toward the beautiful swans: these looked at it, and came +sailing down upon it with outspread wings. "Kill me!" said the poor +creature, and bent its head down upon the water, expecting nothing but +death. But what was this that it saw in the clear water? It beheld its +own image; and, lo! it was no longer a clumsy, dark-gray bird, ugly and +hateful to look at, but--a swan! + +It matters nothing if one is born in a duck-yard, if one has only lain +in a swan's egg. + +It felt quite glad at all the need and misfortune it had suffered, now +it realized its happiness in all the splendor that surrounded it. And +the great swans swam around it, and stroked it with their beaks. + +Into the garden came little children, who threw bread and corn into the +water; and the youngest cried: "There is a new one!" And the other +children shouted joyously: "Yes, a new one has arrived!" And they +clapped their hands and danced about, and ran to their father and +mother; and bread and cake were thrown into the water; and they all +said: "The new one is the most beautiful of all! so young and handsome!" +And the old swans bowed their heads before him. + +Then he felt quite ashamed, and hid his head under his wings, for he did +not know what to do; he was so happy, and yet not at all proud. He +thought how he had been persecuted and despised; and now he heard them +saying that he was the most beautiful of all birds. Even the elder tree +bent its branches straight down into the water before him, and the sun +shone warm and mild. Then his wings rustled, he lifted his slender neck, +and cried rejoicingly from the depths of his heart: + +"I never dreamed of so much happiness when I was still the Ugly +Duckling!" + + + + +THE WILD SWANS + +BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN + + +Far away, where the swallows fly when our Winter comes on, lived a King +who had eleven sons, and one daughter named Eliza. The eleven brothers +were Princes, and each went to school with a star on his breast and his +sword by his side. They wrote with pencils of diamond upon slates of +gold, and learned by heart just as well as they read: one could see +directly that they were Princes. Their sister Eliza sat upon a little +stool of plate-glass, and had a picture-book which had been bought for +the value of half a kingdom. + +Oh, the children were particularly well off; but it was not always to +remain so. + +Their father, who was King of the whole country, married a bad Queen, +who did not love the poor children at all. On the very first day they +could notice this. In the whole palace there was great feasting, and +the children were playing there. Then guests came; but instead of the +children receiving, as they had been accustomed to do, all the spare +cake and all the roasted apples, they only had some sand given them in a +tea-cup, and were told that they might make believe that was something +good. The next week the Queen took the little sister Eliza into the +country, to a peasant and his wife; and but a short time had elapsed +before she told the King so many falsehoods about the poor Princes that +he did not trouble himself any more about them. + +"Fly out into the world and get your own living," said the wicked Queen. +"Fly like great birds without a voice." + +But she could not make it so bad for them as she had intended, for they +became eleven magnificent wild swans. With a strange cry they flew out +of the palace windows, far over the park and into the wood. + +It was yet quite early morning when they came by the place where their +sister Eliza lay asleep in the peasant's room. Here they hovered over +the roof, turned their long necks, and flapped their wings; but no one +heard or saw it. They were obliged to fly on, high up toward the clouds, +far away into the wide world; there they flew into a great dark wood, +which stretched away to the seashore. + +Poor little Eliza stood in the peasant's room and played with a green +leaf, for she had no other playthings. And she pricked a hole in the +leaf, and looked through it up at the sun, and it seemed to her that she +saw her brothers' clear eyes; each time the warm sun shone upon her +cheeks she thought of all the kisses they had given her. + +Each day passed just like the rest. When the wind swept through the +great rose hedges outside the house, it seemed to whisper to them: "What +can be more beautiful than you?" But the roses shook their heads and +answered "Eliza!" And when the old woman sat in front of her door on +Sunday and read in her hymn-book, the wind turned the leaves and said to +the book: "Who can be more pious than you?" and the hymn-book said, +"Eliza!" And what the rose bushes and the hymn-book said was the simple +truth. + +When she was 15 years old she was to go home. And when the Queen saw how +beautiful she was, she became spiteful and filled with hatred toward +her. She would have been glad to change her into a wild swan, like her +brothers, but she did not dare to do so at once, because the King wished +to see his daughter. + +Early in the morning the Queen went into the bath, which was built of +white marble, and decked with soft cushions and the most splendid +tapestry; and she took three toads and kissed them, and said to the +first: "Sit upon Eliza's head when she comes into the bath, that she may +become as stupid as you. Seat yourself upon her forehead," she said to +the second, "that she may become as ugly as you, and her father may not +know her. Rest on her heart," she whispered to the third, "that she may +receive an evil mind and suffer pain from it." + +Then she put the toads into the clear water, which at once assumed a +green color; and calling Eliza, she caused her to undress and step into +the water. And while Eliza dived, one of the toads sat upon her hair, +and the second on her forehead, and the third on her heart; but she did +not seem to notice it; and as soon as she rose, three red poppies were +floating on the water. If the creatures had not been poisonous, and if +the witch had not kissed them, they would have been changed into red +roses. But at any rate they became flowers, because they had rested on +the girl's head, and forehead, and heart. She was too good and innocent +for sorcery to have power over her. + +When the wicked Queen saw that, she rubbed Eliza with walnut juice, so +that the girl became dark brown, and smeared a hurtful ointment on her +face, and let her beautiful hair hang in confusion. It was quite +impossible to recognize the pretty Eliza. + +When her father saw her he was much shocked and declared this was not +his daughter. No one but the yard dog and the swallows would recognize +her; but they were poor animals who had nothing to say in the matter. + +Then poor Eliza wept, and thought of her eleven brothers who were all +away. Sorrowfully she crept out of the castle, and walked all day over +field and moor till she came into the great wood. She did not know +whither she wished to go, only she felt very downcast and longed for her +brothers: they had certainly been, like herself, thrust forth into the +world, and she would seek for them and find them. + +She had been only a short time in the wood when the night fell; she +quite lost the path, therefore she lay down upon the soft moss, prayed +her evening prayer, and leaned her head against the stump of a tree. +Deep silence reigned around, the air was mild, and in the grass and in +the moss gleamed like a green fire hundreds of glow-worms; when she +lightly touched one of the twigs with her hand, the shining insects fell +down upon her like shooting stars. + +The whole night long she dreamed of her brothers. They were children +again playing together, writing with their diamond pencils upon their +golden slates, and looking at the beautiful picture-book which had cost +half a kingdom. But on the slates they were not writing as they had been +accustomed to do, lines and letters, but the brave deeds they had done, +and all they had seen and experienced; and in the picture-book +everything was alive--the birds sang, and the people went out of the +book and spoke with Eliza and her brothers. But when the leaf was +turned, they jumped back again directly, so that there should be no +confusion. + +When she awoke the sun was already standing high. She could certainly +not see it, for the lofty trees spread their branches far and wide above +her. But the rays played there above like a gauzy veil, there was a +fragrance from the fresh verdure, and the birds almost perched upon her +shoulders. She heard the splashing of water; it was from a number of +springs all flowing into a lake which had the most delightful sandy +bottom. It was surrounded by thick growing bushes, but at one part the +stags had made a large opening, and here Eliza went down to the water. +The lake was so clear, that if the wind had not stirred the branches and +the bushes, so that they moved, one would have thought they were painted +upon the depths of the lake, so clearly was every leaf mirrored, whether +the sun shone upon it or whether it lay in shadow. + +When Eliza saw her own face she was terrified--so brown and ugly was +she; but when she wetted her little hand and rubbed her eyes and her +forehead, the white skin gleamed forth again. Then she undressed and +went down into the fresh water; a more beautiful King's daughter than +she was could not be found in the world. And when she had dressed +herself again and plaited her long hair, she went to the bubbling +spring, drank out of the hollow of her hand, and then wandered far +into the wood, not knowing whither she went. She thought of her dear +brothers, and thought that Heaven would certainly not forsake her. It is +God who lets the wild apples grow, to satisfy the hunger. He showed her +a wild apple tree, with the boughs bending under the weight of the +fruit. Here she took her midday meal, placing props under the boughs, +and then went into the darkest part of the forest. There it was so still +that she could hear her own footsteps, as well as the rustling of every +dry leaf which bent under her feet. Not one bird was to be seen, not one +ray of sunlight could find its way through the great dark boughs of the +trees; the lofty trunks stood so close together that when she looked +before her it appeared as though she were surrounded by sets of palings +one behind the other. + +The night came on quite dark. Not a single glow-worm now gleamed in the +grass. Sorrowfully she lay down to sleep. Then it seemed to her as if +the branches of the trees parted above her head, and mild eyes of angels +looked down upon her from on high. + +When the morning came, she did not know if it had really been so or if +she had dreamed it. + +She went a few steps forward, and then she met an old woman with berries +in her basket, and the old woman gave her a few of them. Eliza asked the +dame if she had not seen eleven Princes riding through the wood. + +"No," replied the old woman, "but yesterday I saw eleven swans swimming +in the river close by, with golden crowns on their heads." + +And she led Eliza a short distance farther, to a declivity, and at the +foot of the slope a little river wound its way. The trees on its margin +stretched their long leafy branches across toward each other, and where +their natural growth would not allow them to come together, the roots +had been torn out of the ground, and hung, intermingled with the +branches, over the water. + + [Illustration: "THE WHOLE DAY THEY FLEW ONWARD THROUGH THE AIR"] + +Eliza said farewell to the old woman, and went beside the river to the +place where the stream flowed out to the great open ocean. + +The whole glorious sea lay before the young girl's eyes, but not one +sail appeared on its surface, and not a boat was to be seen. How was she +to proceed? She looked at the innumerable little pebbles on the shore; +the water had worn them all round. Glass, ironstones, everything that +was there had received its shape from the water, which was much softer +than even her delicate hand. + +"It rolls on unweariedly, and thus what is hard becomes smooth. I will +be just as unwearied. Thanks for your lesson, you clear rolling waves; +my heart tells me that one day you will lead me to my dear brothers." + +On the foam-covered sea-grass lay eleven white swan feathers, which she +collected into a bunch. Drops of water were upon them--whether they were +dewdrops or tears nobody could tell. Solitary it was there on the +strand, but she did not feel it, for the sea showed continual +changes--more in a few hours than the lovely lakes can produce in a +whole year. Then a great black cloud came. It seemed as if the sea would +say: "I can look angry, too." And then the wind blew, and the waves +turned their white side outward. But when the clouds gleamed red and the +winds slept, the sea looked like a rose-leaf; sometimes it became green, +sometimes white. But however quietly it might rest, there was still a +slight motion on the shore; the water rose gently like the breast of a +sleeping child. + +When the sun was just about to set, Eliza saw eleven wild swans, with +crowns on their heads, flying toward the land: they swept along one +after the other, so that they looked like a long white band. Then Eliza +descended the slope and hid herself behind a bush. The swans alighted +near her and flapped their great white wings. + +As soon as the sun had disappeared beneath the water, the swan's +feathers fell off, and eleven handsome Princes, Eliza's brothers, stood +there. She uttered a loud cry, for although they were greatly altered, +she knew and felt that it must be they. And she sprang into their arms +and called them by their names; and the Princes felt supremely happy +when they saw their little sister again; and they knew her, though she +was now tall and beautiful. They smiled and wept; and soon they +understood how cruel their stepmother had been to them all. + +"We brothers," said the eldest, "fly about as wild swans as long as the +sun is in the sky, but directly it sinks down we receive our human form +again. Therefore we must always take care that we have a resting-place +for our feet when the sun sets; for if at that moment we were flying up +toward the clouds, we should sink down into the deep as men. We do not +dwell here: there lies a land just as fair as this beyond the sea. But +the way thither is long; we must cross the great sea, and on our path +there is no island where we could pass the night, only a little rock +stands forth in the midst of the waves; it is just large enough that we +can rest upon it close to each other. If the sea is rough, the foam +spurts far over us, but we thank God for the rock. There we pass the +night in our human form: but for this rock we could never visit our +beloved native land, for we require two of the longest days in the year +for our journey. + +"Only once in each year is it granted to us to visit our home. For +eleven days we may stay here and fly over the great wood, from whence we +can see the palace in which we were born and in which our father lives, +and the high church tower, beneath whose shade our mother lies buried. +Here it seems to us as though the bushes and trees were our relatives; +here the wild horses career across the steppe, as we have seen them do +in our childhood; here the charcoal-burner sings the old songs to which +we danced as children; here is our fatherland; hither we feel ourselves +drawn, and here we have found you, our dear little sister. Two days more +we may stay here; then we must away across the sea to a glorious land, +but which is not our native land. How can we bear you away? for we have +neither ship nor boat." + +"In what way can I release you?" asked the sister; and they conversed +nearly the whole night, slumbering only for a few hours. + +She was awakened by the rustling of the swans' wings above her head. Her +brothers were again enchanted, and they flew in wide circles and at last +far away; but one of them, the youngest, remained behind, and the swan +laid his head in her lap, and she stroked his wings; and the whole day +they remained together. Toward evening the others came back, and when +the sun had gone down they stood there in their own shapes, and one of +them said: + +"To-morrow we fly far away from here, and cannot come back until a whole +year has gone by. But we cannot leave you thus! Have you courage to come +with us? My arm is strong enough to carry you in the wood; and should +not all our wings be strong enough to fly with you over the sea?" + +"Yes, take me with you," said Eliza. + +The whole night they were occupied in weaving a net of the pliable +willow bark and tough reeds; and it was great and strong. On this net +Eliza lay down; and when the sun rose, and her brothers were changed +into wild swans, they seized the net with their beaks, and flew with +their beloved sister, who was still asleep, high up toward the clouds. +The sunbeams fell exactly upon her face, so one of the swans flew over +her head, that his broad wings might overshadow her. + +They were far away from the shore when Eliza awoke: she was still +dreaming, so strange did it appear to her to be carried high through the +air and over the sea. By her side lay a branch with beautiful ripe +berries and a bundle of sweet-tasting roots. The youngest of the +brothers had collected them and placed them there for her. She smiled at +him thankfully, for she recognized him; he it was who flew over her and +shaded her with his wings. + +They were so high that the greatest ship they descried beneath them +seemed like a white sea-gull lying upon the waters. A great cloud stood +behind them--it was a perfect mountain; and upon it Eliza saw her own +shadow and those of the eleven swans; there they flew on, gigantic in +size. Here was a picture, a more splendid one than she had ever yet +seen. But as the sun rose higher and the cloud was left farther behind +them, the floating shadowy images vanished away. + +The whole day they flew onward through the air, like a whirring arrow, +but their flight was slower than it was wont to be, for they had their +sister to carry. Bad weather came on; the evening drew near; Eliza +looked anxiously at the setting sun, for the lonely rock in the ocean +could not be seen. It seemed to her as if the swans beat the air more +strongly with their wings. Alas! she was the cause that they did not +advance fast enough. When the sun went down, they must become men and +fall into the sea and drown. Then she prayed a prayer from the depths of +her heart; but still she could descry no rock. The dark clouds came +nearer in a great black threatening body rolling forward like a mass of +lead, and the lightning burst forth, flash upon flash. + +Now the sun just touched the margin of the sea. Eliza's heart trembled. +Then the swans darted downward, so swiftly that she thought they were +falling, but they paused again. The sun was half hidden below the water. +And now for the first time she saw the little rock beneath her, and it +looked no larger than a seal might look, thrusting his head forth from +the water. The sun sank very fast; at last it appeared only like a star; +and then her foot touched the firm land. The sun was extinguished like +the last spark in a piece of burned paper; her brothers were standing +around her, arm in arm, but there was not more than just enough room for +her and for them. The sea beat against the rock and went over her like +fine rain; the sky glowed in continual fire, and peal on peal the +thunder rolled; but sister and brothers held each other by the hand and +sang psalms, from which they gained comfort and courage. + +In the morning twilight the air was pure and calm. As soon as the sun +rose the swans flew away with Eliza from the island. The sea still ran +high, and when they soared up aloft, from their high position the white +foam on the dark green waves looked like millions of white swans +swimming upon the water. + +When the sun mounted higher, Eliza saw before her, half floating in the +air, a mountainous country with shining masses of ice on its water, and +in the midst of it rose a castle, apparently a mile long, with row above +row of elegant columns, while beneath waved the palm woods and bright +flowers as large as mill-wheels. She asked if this was the country to +which they were bound, but the swans shook their heads, for what she +beheld was the gorgeous, everchanging palace of Fata Morgana, and into +this they might bring no human being. As Eliza gazed at it, mountains, +woods, and castle fell down, and twenty proud churches, all nearly +alike, with high towers and pointed windows, stood before them. She +fancied she heard the organs sounding, but it was the sea she heard. +When she was quite near the churches they changed to a fleet sailing +beneath her, but when she looked down it was only a sea mist gliding +over the ocean. Thus she had a continual change before her eyes, till at +last she saw the real land to which they were bound. There arose the +most glorious blue mountains, with cedar forests, cities, and palaces. +Long before the sun went down she sat on the rock, in front of a great +cave overgrown with delicate green trailing plants looking like +embroidered carpets. + +"Now we shall see what you will dream of here to-night," said the +youngest brother; and he showed her to her bed-chamber. + +"Heaven grant that I may dream of a way to release you," she replied. + +And this thought possessed her mightily, and she prayed ardently for +help; yes, even in her sleep she continued to pray. Then it seemed to +her as if she were flying high in the air to the cloudy palace of Fata +Morgana; and the fairy came out to meet her, beautiful and radiant; and +yet the fairy was quite like the old woman who had given her the berries +in the wood, and had told her of the swans with golden crowns on their +heads. + +"Your brothers can be released," said she. "But have you courage and +perseverance? Certainly, water is softer than your delicate hands, and +yet it changes the shape of stones but it feels not the pain that your +fingers will feel; it has no heart, and cannot suffer the agony and +torment you will have to endure. Do you see the stinging nettle which I +hold in my hand? Many of the same kind grow around the cave in which you +sleep: those only, and those that grow upon churchyard graves, are +serviceable, remember that. Those you must pluck, though they will burn +your hands into blisters. Break these nettles to pieces with your feet, +and you will have flax; of this you must plait and weave eleven shirts +of mail with long sleeves: throw these over the eleven swans, and the +charm will be broken. But recollect well, from the moment you begin this +work until it is finished, even though it should take years to +accomplish, you must not speak. The first word you utter will pierce +your brothers' hearts like a deadly dagger. Their lives hang on your +tongue. Remember all this!" + +And she touched her hand with the nettle; it was like a burning fire, +and Eliza awoke with the smart. It was broad daylight; and close by the +spot where she had slept lay a nettle like the one she had seen in her +dream. She fell upon her knees and prayed gratefully, and went forth +from the cave to begin her work. + +With her delicate hands she groped among the ugly nettles. These stung +like fire, burning great blisters on her arms and hands; but she thought +she would bear it gladly if she could only release her dear brothers. +Then she bruised every nettle with her bare feet and plaited the green +flax. + +When the sun had set her brothers came, and they were frightened when +they found her dumb. They thought it was some new sorcery of their +wicked stepmother's; but when they saw her hands, they understood what +she was doing for their sake, and the youngest brother wept. And where +his tears dropped she felt no more pain and the burning blisters +vanished. + +She passed the night at her work, for she could not sleep till she had +delivered her dear brothers. The whole of the following day, while the +swans were away, she sat in solitude, but never had time flown so +quickly with her as now. One shirt of mail was already finished, and +now she began the second. + +Then a hunting horn sounded among the hills, and she was struck with +fear. The noise came nearer and nearer; she heard the barking dogs, and +timidly she fled into the cave, bound into a bundle the nettles she had +collected and prepared, and sat upon the bundle. + +Immediately a great dog came bounding out of the ravine, and then +another, and another: they barked loudly, ran back, and then came again. +Only a few minutes had gone before all the huntsmen stood before the +cave, and the handsomest of them was the King of the country. He came +forward to Eliza, for he had never seen a more beautiful maiden. + +"How did you come hither, you delightful child?" he asked. + +Eliza shook her head, for she might not speak--it would cost her +brothers their deliverance and their lives. And she hid her hands under +her apron, so that the King might not see what she was suffering. + +"Come with me," said he. "You cannot stop here. If you are as good as +you are beautiful, I will dress you in velvet and silk, and place the +golden crown on your head, and you shall dwell in my richest castle, and +rule." + +And then he lifted her on his horse. She wept and wrung her hands; but +the King said: + +"I only wish for your happiness: one day you will thank me for this." + +And then he galloped away among the mountains with her on his horse, and +the hunters galloped at their heels. + +When the sun went down, the fair regal city lay before them, with its +churches and cupolas; and the King led her into the castle, where great +fountains plashed in the lofty marble halls, and where walls and +ceilings were covered with glorious pictures. But she had no eyes for +all this--she only wept and mourned. Passively she let the women put +royal robes upon her, and weave pearls in her hair, and draw dainty +gloves over her blistered fingers. + +When she stood there in full array, she was dazzlingly beautiful, so +that the Court bowed deeper than ever. And the King chose her for his +bride, although the archbishop shook his head and whispered that the +beauteous fresh maid was certainly a witch, who blinded the eyes and led +astray the heart of the King. + +But the King gave no ear to this, but ordered that the music should +sound, and the costliest dishes should be served, and the most beautiful +maidens should dance before them. And she was led through fragrant +gardens into gorgeous halls; but never a smile came upon her lips or +shone in her eyes; there she stood, a picture of grief. Then the King +opened a little chamber close by, where she was to sleep. This chamber +was decked with splendid green tapestry, and completely resembled the +cave in which she had been. On the floor lay the bundle of flax which +she had prepared from the nettles, and under the ceiling hung the shirt +of mail she had completed. All these things one of the huntsmen had +brought with him as curiosities. + +"Here you may dream yourself back in your former home," said the King. +"Here is the work which occupied you there, and now, in the midst of all +your splendor, it will amuse you to think of that time." + +When Eliza saw this that lay so near her heart, a smile played round her +mouth and the crimson blood came back into her cheeks. She thought of +her brothers' deliverance, and kissed the King's hand; and he pressed +her to his heart, and caused the marriage feast to be announced by all +the church bells. The beautiful dumb girl out of the wood became the +Queen of the country. + +Then the archbishop whispered evil words into the King's ear, but they +did not sink into the King's heart. The marriage was to take place; the +archbishop himself was obliged to place the crown on her head, and with +wicked spite he pressed the narrow circlet so tightly upon her brow that +it pained her. But a heavier ring lay close around her heart--sorrow for +her brothers; she did not feel the bodily pain. Her mouth was dumb, for +a single word would cost her brothers their lives, but her eyes glowed +with love for the kind, handsome King, who did everything to rejoice +her. She loved him with her whole heart, more and more every day. Oh, +that she had been able to confide in him and to tell him of her grief; +but she was compelled to be dumb, and to finish her work in silence. +Therefore at night she crept away from his side, and went quietly into +the little chamber which was decorated like the cave, and wove one shirt +of mail after another. But when she began the seventh she found that she +had no flax left. + +She knew that in the churchyard nettles were growing that she could use; +but she must pluck them herself, and how was she to go out there unseen? + +"Oh, what is the pain in my fingers to the torment my heart endures?" +thought she. "I must venture it, and help will not be denied me!" + +With a trembling heart, as though the deed she purposed doing had been +evil, she crept into the garden in the moonlight night, and went through +the lanes and through the deserted streets to the churchyard. There, on +one of the broadest tombstones she saw sitting a circle of lamias. These +hideous wretches took off their ragged garments, as if they were going +to bathe; then with their skinny fingers they clawed open the fresh +graves, and with fiendish greed they snatched up the corpses and ate the +flesh. Eliza was obliged to pass close by them and they fastened their +evil glances upon her; but she prayed silently, and collected the +burning nettles, and carried them into the castle. + +Only one person had seen her, and that was the archbishop. He was awake +while others slept. Now he felt sure his opinion was correct, that all +was not as it should be with the Queen; she was a witch. + +In secret he told the King what he had seen and what he feared; and when +the hard words came from his tongue, the pictures of saints in the +cathedral shook their heads, as though they could have said: "It is +not so! Eliza is innocent!" But the archbishop interpreted this +differently--he thought they were bearing witness against her, and +shaking their heads at her sinfulness. Then two heavy tears rolled down +the King's cheeks; he went home with doubt in his heart, and at night +pretended to be asleep; but no real sleep came upon his eyes, for he +noticed that Eliza got up. Every night she did this, and each time he +followed her silently, and saw how she disappeared from her chamber. + +From day to day his face became darker. Eliza saw it, but did not +understand the reason; but it frightened her--and what did she not +suffer in her heart for her brothers? Her hot tears flowed upon the +royal velvet and purple; they lay there like sparkling diamonds, and all +who saw the splendor wished they were Queens. In the meantime she had +almost finished her work. Only one shirt of mail was still to be +completed, but she had no flax left, and not a single nettle. Once more, +for the last time, therefore, she must go to the churchyard, only to +pluck a few handfuls. She thought with terror of this solitary wandering +and of the horrible lamias, but her will was firm as her trust in +Providence. + +Eliza went on, but the King and the archbishop followed her. They saw +her vanish into the churchyard through the wicket gate; and when they +drew near, the lamias were sitting upon the gravestones as Eliza had +seen them; and the King turned aside, for he fancied her among them, +whose head had rested against his breast that very evening. + +"The people must condemn her," said he. + +And the people condemned her to suffer death by fire. + +Out of the gorgeous regal halls she was led into a dark damp cell, where +the wind whistled through the grated window; instead of velvet and silk +they gave her the bundle of nettles which she had collected: on this she +could lay her head; and the hard burning coats of mail which she had +woven were to be her coverlet. But nothing could have been given her +that she liked better. She resumed her work and prayed. Without, the +street boys were singing jeering songs about her, and not a soul +comforted her with a kind word. + +But toward evening there came the whirring of swans' wings close by the +grating--it was the youngest of her brothers. He had found his sister, +and she sobbed aloud with joy, though she knew that the approaching +night would probably be the last she had to live. But now the work was +almost finished, and her brothers were here. + +Now came the archbishop, to stay with her in her last hour, for he had +promised the King to do so. And she shook her head, and with looks and +gestures she begged him to depart, for in this night she must finish her +work, or else all would be in vain, all her tears, her pain, and her +sleepless nights. The archbishop withdrew, uttering evil words against +her; but poor Eliza knew she was innocent, and diligently continued her +work. + +The little mice ran about the floor; they dragged the nettles to her +feet, to help as well as they could; and a thrush sat outside the +grating of the window, and sang to her the whole night long, as sweetly +as possible, to keep up her courage. + +It was still twilight; not till an hour afterward would the sun rise. +And the eleven brothers stood at the castle gate, and demanded to be +brought before the King. That could not be, they were told, for it was +still almost night; the King was asleep, and might not be disturbed. +They begged, they threatened, and the sentries came, yes, even the King +himself came out, and asked what was the meaning of this. At that moment +the sun rose and no more were the brothers to be seen, but eleven wild +swans flew away over the castle. + +All the people came flocking out at the town gate, for they wanted to +see the witch burned. The old horse drew the cart on which she sat. They +had put upon her a garment of coarse sackcloth. Her lovely hair hung +loose about her beautiful head; her cheeks were as pale as death; and +her lips moved silently, while her fingers were engaged with the green +flax. Even on the way to death she did not interrupt the work she had +begun; the ten shirts of mail lay at her feet, and she wrought at the +eleventh. The mob derided her. + +"Look at the red witch, how she mutters! She has no hymn-book in her +hand; no, there she sits with her ugly sorcery--tear it in a thousand +pieces!" + +And they all pressed upon her, and wanted to tear up the shirts of mail. +Then eleven wild swans came flying up, and sat round about her on the +cart, and beat with their wings; and the mob gave way before them, +terrified. + +"That is a sign from heaven! She is certainly innocent!" whispered many. +But they did not dare to say it aloud. + +Now the executioner seized her by the hand; then she hastily threw the +eleven shirts over the swans, and immediately eleven handsome Princes +stood there. But the youngest had a swan's wing instead of an arm, for a +sleeve was wanting to his shirt--she had not quite finished it. + +"Now I may speak!" she said. "I am innocent!" + +And the people who saw what happened bowed before her as before a saint; +but she sank lifeless into her brother's arms, such an effect had +suspense, anguish, and pain upon her. + +"Indeed, she is innocent," said the eldest brother. + +And now he told everything that had taken place; and while he spoke a +fragrance arose as of millions of roses, for every piece of faggot in +the pile had taken root and was sending forth shoots; and a fragrant +hedge stood there, tall and great, covered with red roses, and at the +top a flower, white and shining, gleaming like a star. This flower the +King plucked and placed in Eliza's bosom; and she awoke with peace and +happiness in her heart. + +And all the church bells rang of themselves, and the birds came in great +flocks. And back to the castle such a marriage procession was held as no +King had ever seen. + + + + +TAPER TOM + + +In a certain kingdom there was a very beautiful Princess, but she was so +sad that no one could make her laugh; she would not even smile, though +all in the court were gay and happy. + +For a long time her father tried hard to find something that would amuse +her. But she would sit all day at her window, and, though the members of +the court passed and repassed, and called out greetings to her, she +would only sigh. + +So at last her father the King caused it to be published abroad that +whoever should make the Princess laugh should have her hand in marriage, +and that half of the kingdom would be her dowry. + +But, that none might attempt this difficult feat without fair assurance, +the King added as a sort of postscript to his decree that whoever tried +to make the Princess laugh and failed should have two broad red stripes +cut in his back, and salt should be rubbed into the stripes! + +Now, as you may imagine, soon there were a great many sore backs in the +kingdom and in the kingdoms round about. For it was deemed but a slight +matter to make a Princess laugh: did not women giggle at little and at +nothing? + +But, although many came, and there were strange things done, the +Princess remained as sad as before. + +Now, there was in the kingdom a farmer who had three sons, and they +decided that each should have a trial at this task; for to win a dowry +of half a kingdom was well worth trying. + +The oldest of the farmer's sons was a soldier, and had served in the +wars, where there was always much laughter. And he said that it would +not be worth while for his two brothers to plan to journey to the court, +because he intended to win the Princess that very first day. + +So he dressed up in his uniform, and put his knapsack on his back, and +strutted up and down the road in front of the window of the Princess +like any pouter-pigeon. But, though the Princess looked at him, once, +she did not even turn her eyes in his direction a second time, and the +stripes which were cut in his back were deep and broad, and he went home +feeling very sore. + +His next brother was a schoolmaster, and had one long leg and one short +leg, so that when he stood on the long leg he seemed a very tall man, +and when he stood on the short leg he seemed but a dwarf, and he had +always found that he could make folk laugh by quickly changing himself +from a tall man to a mere dwarf. Moreover, he was a preacher, and he +came out on the road in front of the Princess' window and preached like +seven parsons and chanted like seven clerks; but it was all for naught, +for after the first glance the Princess did not even look at him, though +the King who stood near had to hold on to the pillars for laughing. + +So the schoolmaster also went home with a very sore back; and when the +third brother, whose name was Taper Tom, because he sat in the ashes and +made tapers out of fir, said he now would go and make the Princess +laugh, the two older brothers turned to him in scorn, for how could he +do what neither of them, the soldier and the schoolmaster, had quite +failed to do? The Princess would not even look at him, he might be sure. + +But Taper Tom said that he would try. + +But when he came to the court he did not go before the King to say that +he had come to make the Princess laugh. Many there were who were trying +that each day, and there was hardly a well back in all the kingdom by +now, and Taper Tom had no mind to have his own back cut, for they were +cutting the stripes broader and rubbing the salt in harder every day. + +So Taper Tom went to the court and asked for work to do. They told him +that there was no work to be done, but he said: + +"What, no work--even in the kitchen? I am sure that the cook needs some +one to fetch and carry for her." + +"Well, now," said the lord high chamberlain, "that might perhaps be. You +may go to the kitchen and see." + +So Taper Tom went to the kitchen and the cook gave him work fetching and +carrying. And every day Taper Tom saw the men who came and went away +with their backs sore. + +One morning he was sent to the stream to catch a fish, and he caught a +nice, fat one. As he came back he met a woman leading a goose with +golden feathers by a string tied around its neck. + +The old woman wanted a fish, so she asked Taper Tom if he would trade +the fish for the golden goose. "For," she said, "it is a very strange +goose. If you lead it about and anyone lays hands on it, and you say, +'Hang on, if you care to come with us,' he will have to hang on and go +with the goose wherever you lead." + +"Then," said Taper Tom, "you may have my fish and I will take your +goose." + +So the old woman took the fish, and Taper Tom took the end of the +string in his hand, and the goose followed after. + +He had not gone far when he met a goody who looked longingly at the +goose with the golden feathers, and at last she said to Taper Tom: "That +is a very fine goose, and I would like to stroke it." + +"All right," said Taper Tom. + +So the goody laid her hand on the back of the goose, and Taper Tom said: +"Hang on, if you care to go with us." And the old woman could not take +her hands off the goose, no matter how hard she tried. + +They went on down the road a way and came to a man who for a long time +had hated the goody, and he laughed loudly to see her hanging on to the +goose and trying so hard to let go; and thinking to make more difficulty +for her he lifted up his foot and kicked at her. + +As his foot touched her dress Taper Tom said: "Hang on, if you care to +come with us." And the man's foot hung on to the dress of the goody, +and, try as hard as he would, he could not let go. He had to follow, +hopping on one foot all the while, and falling often and being dragged. +He was very angry, and said a great many bad words. + +As they passed the blacksmith shop the brawny smith stood at the door, +and when he saw Taper Tom leading the goose, and the goody hanging on to +its back, and the man following, hopping on one leg, he began to laugh +very much, and ran up to the man and struck him with his bellows, which +he held in his hand. + +And as the bellows touched the man, Taper Tom said: "Hang on, if you +care to come with us." And the smith had to follow after the man, for, +try as he would, he could not let go of the bellows, nor would the +bellows let go of the man. + +Then Taper Tom turned in on the road that lay in front of the window of +the Princess, and though he did not look up, he knew that the Princess +was watching. + +And when the Princess saw the boy leading the golden goose, and the +goody hanging on to the back of the goose, and the man hopping on one +leg behind the goody, and the smith hanging on to his bellows, she +smiled inwardly, but she did not laugh. + +Taper Tom did not stop, but went on around to the kitchen; and when the +cook came out to ask for her fish, with her pot and ladle in her hand, +and she saw the golden goose, and the goody, and the man, and the smith, +she began to laugh, and laugh, and laugh, so that all the court came out +to see what had happened, and the Princess leaned from her window to +know what it was all about. + +And just then the cook's ladle touched the shoulder of the smith, and at +that moment Taper Tom said: "Hang on, if you care to come with us." + +And he turned and started back past the window of the Princess. And when +the Princess saw the cook hanging on to the shoulder of the smith, with +her ladle and her pot in her hand, and trying hard to get loose, and the +smith hanging on with his bellows to the coat of the man, and the man +hanging on with one foot to the goody, and the goody with her hands on +the back of the golden goose, and the golden goose following Taper Tom, +led by a string, she began to laugh and to laugh and to laugh. + +Then the King proclaimed that Taper Tom should wed the Princess, and +that half the kingdom would be her dowry. + + + + +THE BOY WHO WENT TO THE NORTH WIND + + +"Go you now to the safe and get some meal," said the mother of the Boy. +"And mind that you carry it carefully, for there is but little left." + +So the Boy went to the safe to get the meal, but as he came back with it +the North Wind blew it away, and he went home empty-handed, and there +was no meal in the house that day. + +The next morning the mother sent the Boy to the safe again, and once +more the North Wind came and took the meal. + +On the third day it was as before. Then the Boy said: "I will go to the +North Wind and demand that he give back my meal, for we have nothing to +eat in the house." + +So the boy started and went far, far to the country where the North Wind +abode; and when he had come there the North Wind said: + +"I give you greeting and thanks for your coming. What can I do for you?" + +The Boy answered: "I give you back your greeting, and I am come for the +meal which you have taken away from me, for we have none left in the +house." + +Then he told how for three days the North Wind had come and taken the +meal as he returned with it from the safe, and now there was nothing to +eat in the house. + +"I have not got your meal," said the North Wind, "but I will give you a +magic cloth which, whenever you say to it, 'Cloth, serve forth a +dinner,' will provide you with all that you can eat and drink in a +moment." + +So the boy took the cloth and started for his home, but as he had a +long way to go he stopped over night at an inn, and, being hungry, and +wanting to test the cloth, he sat down at a table and unfolded it before +him, saying: "Cloth, serve forth a dinner." Immediately there was served +upon the cloth all sorts of good things to eat--such food as the Boy had +never eaten before in his life. + +"It is indeed a magic cloth," said the Boy, when, the dinner eaten, he +folded the cloth carefully and put it under his pillow before he slept. + +Now, the inn-keeper had been a witness to the thing which had happened, +and had heard the words which the Boy said to the cloth, so he decided +that he must possess so wonderful a thing as that, for it would save +him much labor. Accordingly, after the Boy had gone to sleep, he stole +quietly into the room and slipped the wallet from under the Boy's pillow +and put into it a cloth of his own exactly like it. + +When the Boy reached home the next day his mother asked him if he had +been to the North Wind, and if he had brought back the meal. + +The Boy said: "The North Wind was glad to see me, and thanked me for +coming, but said he did not have the meal. Instead, he gave me a magic +cloth, so that we need never be hungry again, for it will serve us a +dinner at any time we bid it." + +So he took the cloth from his wallet and unfolded it on the table, as he +had done at the inn, and said: "Cloth, serve forth a dinner." But, as it +was not a magic cloth, nothing happened. + +Then the Boy said that he would go again to the North Wind and tell him +that his cloth would not do as it was bidden. So he journeyed far to the +home of the North Wind, and the North Wind said: "I give you greeting +and thanks for your coming. What can I do for you?" + +Then the boy told him how he had come before to ask him for the meal +which the North Wind had taken, and the North Wind had given him a magic +cloth which should serve forth a dinner when it was bidden; but that, +though at the inn the cloth had served forth a dinner, when he reached +his home it had not done so, and there was nothing to eat in the house. + +Then said the North Wind: "I have no meal to give you, but I will give +you a ram which, whenever you say to it, 'Ram, Ram, coin money,' will +coin gold ducats before you." + +So the Boy took the ram and started for home; but as it was a long way +he stopped at the same inn on his way home, and being anxious to try the +skill of the ram, and needing to pay his bill to the inn-keeper he said +to it: "Ram, Ram, coin money." And the ram coined golden ducats until +the Boy told it to stop. + +"Now," thought the observing inn-keeper, "this is a famous ram indeed. I +must have this ram, and I will not need to work at all." + +So when the Boy had gone to bed, leaving the ram safely tied in his +room, the inn-keeper slipped in quietly, leading another ram which could +not coin ducats, which he left in place of the ram which the North Wind +had given to the Boy. + +And when the Boy reached home his mother asked him if he had brought +back the meal this time. And the Boy answered: "The North Wind was glad +to see me, and thanked me for coming, but he said that he did not have +the meal. But he gave me a ram, which, when I bid it, 'Ram, Ram, coin +money,' coins golden ducats, so that we will not be hungry any more, for +we can buy what we need." + +Then he led forth the ram into the room and said to it: "Ram, Ram, coin +money." And the ram, not being a magic ram, did nothing but stand in the +middle of the room and stare at him. + +Now the Boy was angry, and he said: "I will go to the North Wind and +tell him that his ram is worth nothing, and that I want my rights for +the meal which he has taken." + +So back he went to the North Wind, and when he had told his story the +North Wind said: "I have nothing that I can give you but that old stick +in the bag yonder. But when you say to it, 'Stick, come forth and lay +on,' it lays on unceasingly until you say to it, 'Stick, stop.'" + +So the Boy took the bag with the stick right willingly, for he had by +this time a fair idea of the cause of his trouble; and he stopped that +night at the inn as he had done before. Though he did not call forth his +magic stick, the inn-keeper knew by the way in which he cared for his +bag that he had some special treasure, and decided that the Boy was a +simple fellow, and that he must have this too, whatever it was in the +bag. + +So when the Boy had gone to his room the man slipped in quietly and +reached his hand under the Boy's pillow, where the bag lay. But the Boy +had not gone to sleep this time, and when he felt the hand under his +pillow he said, "Stick, come forth and lay on." + +And the stick came forth and began to lay on about the inn-keeper's +head, and so hard did it strike that the inn-keeper soon besought the +Boy to bid it stop--for the stick would respond only to the owner. But +the Boy would not bid the stick to stop until the inn-keeper had been +roundly punished for his stealings, and had promised to return the magic +cloth and the magic ram. When he had these again in his possession the +Boy bade the stick return to the bag, and the next morning he went on to +his home. + +And when he had laid the cloth on the table and said to it, "Cloth, +serve forth a dinner," and the cloth had served forth a dinner, and he +and his mother had eaten; and he had said to the ram, "Ram, Ram, coin +money," and the ram had coined golden ducats until he bade it to stop; +and he had put the stick in a safe place where it could always do his +bidding, he and his mother had plenty, and were well paid for the meal +which the North Wind had taken. + + + + +THE WONDERFUL IRON POT + + +Once upon a time a little boy and his mother lived together in a small +brown house at the foot of a hill. They were very poor, for the boy's +father was dead, and the rich man who lived at the top of the hill had +taken everything that they had, except one cow. + +At last it came that there was nothing in the house to eat, and the +mother said: "Now we will have to sell the cow." + +So she told the little boy to take the cow to town and sell it, and the +boy put a rope around the cow's neck and started off down the road. + +He had not gone far before he met a man with a cloak over him and +carrying something under it. He asked the little boy where he was going, +and the boy told him that there was nothing to eat in the house and he +was trying to sell the cow. + +"Will you sell her to me?" asked the man. + +"What will you give me for her?" asked the little boy. + +"I will give you an iron pot," said the man. + +Now, the little boy knew that he ought not to sell the cow for an iron +pot, and he quickly said he would not, but as he spoke he heard a tiny +voice under the man's cloak saying: "Buy me! Buy me!" So he told the +stranger that he might have the cow. + +The man took the rope in his hands, and gave the little boy the iron +pot, and he took it and went home again. + +"And what did you get for the cow?" asked his mother. + +By this time the boy was very much ashamed of having sold the cow for an +iron pot, and he hung his head when his mother asked him what he had +gotten. They were about to throw the pot away, for, as the mother said, +there was nothing to cook in it, when they heard a tiny voice say: "Put +me over the fire and put in water." + +So the mother put the little pot over the fire and put in water, which, +indeed, was all that she had to put in. And soon the water in the pot +began to bubble and to boil, and the little pot said: "I skip! I skip!" + +"How far do you skip, little Pot?" asked the mother. + +"I skip to the house of the rich man at the top of the hill," said the +pot. + +And the little pot began to skip, skip, first on one of its three legs +and then on another, skippity skip, skippity skip, until it came to the +house of the rich man at the top of the hill, and it skipped right into +the kitchen of the rich man's house where his wife was making a pudding. +All at once she looked up and saw the little iron pot on the table, +where it had skipped in at the window, and right in front of her, and +she said: + +"Oh, where did you come from, little Pot? You are just what I want to +put my pudding in." + +So she put the pudding into the little iron pot, and as soon as the +pudding was in and safely covered up, the little pot began to skip, +skip, first on one of its three legs and then on another, skippity skip, +skippity skip, down the hill, and though the farmer's wife ran after, +she could not catch it, and away it went straight to the little brown +house at the bottom of the hill. + +So the little boy and his mother had pudding to eat for dinner. + +The next morning the little pot begged to be put on the fire, and as +soon as the water began to bubble and to boil, it called, "I skip! I +skip!" + +"How far do you skip, little Pot?" asked the mother. + +"I skip to the barn of the rich man at the top of the hill," said the +little pot. + +And the little pot began to skip, skip, first on one of its three legs +and then on another, skippity skip, skippity skip, until it came to the +barn of the rich man at the top of the hill. And in the barn the +thrashers were thrashing the wheat, and the little pot skipped right out +on the thrashing floor. + +"Oh," said one of the men, "Where did you come from, little Pot? You are +just the thing to hold some of this wheat." + +So the man began pouring the wheat into the pot, and poured and poured +until the little pot seemed quite full, but still there was room, so +the man poured until all the wheat was in the pot. + +Then the little pot began to skip, skip, first on one of its three legs +and then on another, skippity skip, skippity skip, out of the barn and +out on the road. And though all of the men ran after it they could not +catch it, and it skipped down the hill to the little brown house. + +So the little boy and his mother had plenty of white bread to eat. + +The next morning the little pot begged to be put on the fire, and as +soon as the water began to bubble and to boil it began to skip, skip, +skippity skip, skippity skip, until it came to the bank of the rich man, +and it skipped right into the window where the rich man sat with all his +money spread out on his desk. And as he counted he looked up and saw the +little iron pot standing in front of him, and he said, "Where did you +come from, little Pot? You are just the thing for me to put my money +into." + +Then he began to pile his money into the iron pot, and though it was +soon full there was yet more room, and he piled more and more, until at +last all his money was in the iron pot. Then the little pot began to +skip, skip, skippity skip, skippity skip, right out of the bank and down +the street and straight on till it came to the little brown house at the +bottom of the hill. And though the rich man ran after it he could not +catch it, and so all the money that he had taken from the little boy and +his mother was carried back to them in the little iron pot. + +The next morning the little pot begged to be put on the fire again, and +the mother said: "Why should you be put on the fire, little Pot? Have we +not everything that we want?" But the little pot still wanted to be put +on the fire; and at last, when the mother had put in the water and made +the fire, and the water began to bubble and to boil, the little pot +said: "I skip! I skip!" + +And the mother said: "How far do you skip, little Pot?" + +"I skip to the end of the world," said the little pot. And it began to +skip, skip, first on one of its three legs and then on another, skippity +skip, skippity skip, until it came to the top of the hill, and there was +the rich man hunting for his money. And when he saw the little iron pot +he cried out: "There is the pot that stole my money!" And he caught up +with the pot and put his hand into it to take out his money, but his +hand could not find the money; so he put his head in to look for it, and +he could not see it; next he climbed into the pot, and then it began to +skip, skip, far away up the hill and up the mountain, and away to the +end of the world. + + + + +THE SHEEP AND PIG WHO SET UP HOUSEKEEPING + + +Once upon a time a Sheep stood in a pen to be fattened for the winter's +feast. He lived well, for he was given the best of everything, and he +soon became so fat that one day the maid who came to bring his food +said: "Eat full to-day, little Sheep, for to-morrow will come the +killing and we shall eat you." And she shut the gate and went away. + +"Oh," said the Sheep, "I have heard that, Women's words are worth +heeding, and that, There is a cure and a physic for everything except +death. There being no cure for that, it is best to find a way out of +it." + +So he ate up all the food that the maid had left for him, and then he +butted hard against the gate of the pen, and it flew open, and the Sheep +went out of the pen and out on the big road. + +He followed the road to a neighboring farm, and made his way to a pigsty +where was fastened a Pig that he had known on the common. + +"Good day, and thanks for our last merry meeting!" said the Sheep. "Do +you know why you are fed so well while you stay in this sty?" + +"No, that I do not," said the Pig. "But I am very glad to get the good +food and plenty of it, which they have been bringing to me since I was +shut up." + +"Ho, there is reason for that," said the Sheep. "Many a flask empties +the cask. They want to make you very fat, for their purpose is to eat +you at the winter's feasting." + +"May they not forget to say grace after meat," said the Pig. "I can do +naught to hinder their eating." + +"If you will do as I do we will go off together into the woods and build +a house and set up housekeeping," said the Sheep. "A home is a home, be +it ever so homely." + +So the Sheep and the Pig together butted down the pigsty, and started +off on the big road together. "Good company is good comfort," said the +Pig, as they trotted along. + +As they entered the big woods they met a Goose, who had come out on the +common. + +"Good day, and thanks for our last merry meeting," said the Goose, +"where are you going so fast?" + +"You must know that we were too well off at home, and so we have set +off into the woods to build a house and set up housekeeping," said the +Sheep, "for, Every man's house is his castle, if he build it but big and +strong enough." + +"As for that," said the Goose, "all places are alike to me, but I should +like to build a house; so if you like I will go with you, for, It's but +child's play when three share the day." + +"With gossip and gabble is built neither house nor stable!" said the +Pig. "What can you do to help build the house?" + +"By cunning and skill a cripple can do what he will," said the Goose. "I +can gather moss to put into the crevices and cracks, and so make the +house warm and comfortable." + +Now, Piggy wanted above everything else to be warm and comfortable, so +he said that the Goose might come along. + +As the three journeyed on they met a Hare. + +"Good day, and thanks for our last merry meeting," said the Hare; "where +are you hurrying to so fast?" + +Then the Sheep explained how they were too well off at home, and were +going into the woods to build a house and set up housekeeping, "For," he +said, "You may travel the world around, but there is no place like +home." + +"Oh," said the Hare, "for the matter of that, I have a home in every +bush. But I have always thought that some day I would build a house, and +I will go with you if you like." + +"We could use you to scare away the dogs," said the Pig, "but you would +be no good for anything else." + +"He who lives long enough will always find work to do," said the Hare. +"I have sharp teeth to gnaw the boards, and paws to hammer them fast. I +can set up at any time for a carpenter, for, Good tools make good work, +as the man said." + +So he got leave to go, and there was no more said about it. + +As they went deeper into the woods they met a Cock, who gave them +greeting and asked where they were going. + +Then the Sheep explained how they were too well off at home, and were +going into the woods to build a house and set up housekeeping, "For," +said the Sheep, "He who out of doors shall bake, loses at last both coal +and cake." + +"Well," said the Cock, "that is just my case, for, It's far better to +sit on one's own perch, for then one can never be left in the lurch; +besides, All cocks crow loudest at home. If I may have your leave, I +will come with you." + +But the Pig protested. "Flapping and crowing sets tongues a-going!" he +exclaimed, "but, A jaw on a stick never yet laid a brick. How can you +help us or make yourself useful?" + +"Oh," said the Cock, "That house will never have a clock where there is +neither dog nor cock. I will wake you up every morning, and will cry the +alarm when the dawn arises." + +"Very good," said the Pig, who was very like to oversleep. "Sleep is a +greedy thief, and thinks nothing of robbing you of half your life. You +may come with us." + +So they all set off together into the woods, and at last they came to a +good place and built the house. The Pig hewed the timber, and the Sheep +drew it home; the Hare was the carpenter, and the Goose gathered moss +and filled all of the cracks and crevices, and the Cock wakened them +every morning early. + +At last the house was done, and it was snug, and warm, and comfortable. +"'Tis good to travel east and west, but, after all, a home is best," +said the Sheep. + +And they lived together until cold weather came, when they put up a +stove to keep warm, and they planned to enjoy the long winter. + +Now, not far off from the house lived the Wolf and his family, and his +brother and his brother's family. + +And the Wolf and his brother saw the house which the Sheep and the Pig +and the Goose and the Hare and the Cock had builded, and they talked +together of how warm and comfortable it was, and the Wolf decided that +they must get acquainted with their new neighbors. + +So he made up an errand and went to the door and said he had come to ask +for a light to his pipe; and while the door was held open he pushed +himself inside. + +Then all at once he found himself in a great confusion, for the Sheep +butted him so hard that he fell against the stove; and the Pig gored and +bit him; and the Goose nipped and pecked him; and the Hare ran about +over the house, now on the floor and now aloft, so that the Wolf did not +know who or what he was, and was scared out of his wits, and all the +time the Cock perched on a top beam and flapped his wings and crowed and +crowed. + +By-and-by the Wolf managed to get near the door and to dash through it. + +"Neighborhood makes for brotherhood," said the Wolf's brother. "You must +have made good friends, since you remained so long. But what became of +your errand, for you have neither pipe nor smoke?" + +"Nice life makes pleasant company," said the Wolf. "Such manners I never +saw. For no sooner was I inside than the shoemaker flew at me with his +last, and two smiths blew bellows and made the sparks fly, and beat +and punched me with red-hot pincers, and tore great pieces out of my +body, the hunter kept running about trying to find his gun, and it is +well for me that he did not, for I should never have come out alive; and +all the while a butcher sat up on a beam and flapped his arms and sang +out to the others: 'Put a hook into him! Put a hook into him and drag +him thither!' so it was all I could do to get out alive!" + +"Well," said his brother, "we can't choose in this wicked world, and an +unbidden guest sometimes gets bad treatment. But I think that we will be +very well advised to let these new neighbors alone." + +So the Wolf, and the Wolf's family, and the Wolf's brother and his +brother's family, let the Sheep and the Pig and the Goose and the Hare +and the Cock alone, and they lived very happily in their house in the +woods. + + + + + [Illustration: MOTHER READS A FAIRY TALE] + + + + +DOLL-IN-THE-GRASS + + +Once upon a time there was a King who had twelve sons. These sons did +not like to do useful things--they only liked to ride and to hunt in the +woods, and to do what pleased them. + +One day the King said: "You shall each one go forth into the world to +seek a bride. But you must choose a bride who can do useful things--and, +to prove it, she must be able to gather the flax and spin and weave a +shirt all in one day. If she cannot do this, I will not accept her as my +daughter-in-law." + +So the sons set out on their errands, each riding a beautiful horse, and +looking forward to having a great time out in the world while he hunted +for his bride. + +But the youngest son, Boots, was not popular with the others. So they +said: + +"Boots shall not go with us. We will not have him along--he will not do +the things that we want to do." + +So Boots drew rein on his horse, and the others rode out of sight. + +Now, Boots was very unhappy when he was left alone in the woods, and he +got off his horse and sat down on a log to think. For he did not know +where to go to have the good times that his brothers had been talking +about, and he did not know where to seek a bride. + +As he sat thinking, he heard a strange sound near him--a sound like +silver bells tinkling softly; or was it fairies laughing? Boots looked +all about him, but could see nothing. + +"Here I am!" exclaimed a sweet little voice. And Boots looked down at +the grass at his feet, and there was the tiniest little creature smiling +up at him, swaying with the stem of a flower which waved in the slight +breeze. + +"Why are you so sad?" asked this tiny maiden. + +"Oh," said Boots, "my father has sent me and my brothers forth into the +world to find brides, and my brothers have gone on and left me all alone +in the woods." + +The little creature laughed right merrily. + +"And suppose they have!" she cried. "The wood is the most beautiful +place in the world! And as for brides--you can find them there if you +but seek for them." + +By this time Boots was down in the soft grass beside her. + +"But my bride must be able to gather the flax, and spin and weave a +shirt, all in one day." + +"Pauf!" exclaimed the little creature, "that is no great task." + +Then she tapped a tiny wand twice on the flower stem, and a +spinning-wheel stood before her--such a tiny little spinning wheel! She +lifted the wand again, and the flax stem bent down, so that she gathered +its flower, and in a minute the spinning-wheel was twirling merrily. A +touch of the wand, and the loom was before her; then the thread was spun +into white cloth as fine as cobweb. Boots watched, fascinated. The +little creature next fashioned the cloth into a shirt--such a tiny +shirt--and never was one so fine seen in all the world before. + +"You shall come with me to the palace--you shall be my bride!" exclaimed +Boots. + +The little creature smiled at him, and said: "I will go with you to the +palace, and I will be your bride, but I must go in my own way." + +"You shall go in any way that you will!" said Boots. + +So Doll-in-the-Grass touched the stem of the flower again, and her own +silver carriage came to her, drawn by two tiny white mice. And Boots +rode beside her, careful that his great horse should not crush the +little carriage. + +The little mice traveled very fast, and it was not long before they +came to a stream. Now, the great horse could swim the stream without +difficulty; but when the mice plunged into it little Doll-in-the-Grass +and the silver carriage and all went under the water. Then Boots was +disconsolate, but as he stood, mourning, a beautiful maiden came up out +of the water, a maiden fairer than any in all the kingdom, and neither +smaller nor larger than any of them. And she smiled at Boots and said: +"You see how love can do great things." + +And Boots caught her up on his horse before him and exclaimed: "Ah, love +can indeed do great things." + +And so they rode home together. And of all the wives whom his brothers +won, none was so beautiful as Doll-in-the-Grass. And of all the shirts +that the wives spun, none was so fine or so soft as the one which +Doll-in-the-Grass gave to her father-in-law; and it had become a big +shirt--large enough for a man to wear--and was as soft as silk and as +fine as any cobweb could possibly be. + +And the King loved her more than any of his other daughters-in-law, and +Boots more than any of his other sons; so he said they should live with +him in his palace, and by-and-by succeed him on the throne. + + + + +BOOTS AND HIS BROTHERS + + +Once upon a time there was a King who had seven sons. One day he said to +the six older ones: "You must go forth into the world, each one, and +seek a bride. But Boots is too young to go, so he shall stay at home. +And when you have found brides for yourselves, each one, you shall seek +the fairest Princess in all the seven kingdoms, and bring her home with +you, and she shall be a bride for Boots." + +So the six sons set out, and each found a bride, all so lovely that it +was not possible to say which was the most beautiful. But the brothers +were so interested, each one, in his own bride, that all forgot they +were to seek a bride for Boots, and they started home again. + +One night on the way they were forced by a storm to seek shelter in the +castle of a Giant, and the next morning while they were standing in the +front of the castle, with their retainers about them and their horses +saddled ready to mount and depart, the Giant suddenly turned them all +into stone where they stood--the brothers into large stone pillars, the +brides into smaller pillars, the retainers into small stones, and the +horses into stone horses. And there all stood in front of the castle, +and the Giant went away laughing. + +After a long time of waiting at home, one day the King said to his +youngest son: "It must be that your brothers are dead. My heart is +broken, and had I not you, my son, to console me in my old age, I should +die of sorrow." + +"But, my father," said Boots, "for long I have been thinking that I must +go forth into the world and find my brothers." + +"Do not say that," said the King, "for evil has certainly befallen them, +and the same evil may befall you, and I shall be left alone." + +"Nay," said Boots, "whatever evil has befallen them I must fare forth +and find out; and I will come back to you and bring my brothers with me, +that will I." + +So at last the King yielded, and Boots set out. But there were no +retainers to go with him, and his father had only an old, broken-down +horse to give him, for the other brothers had taken all the fine horses +from the stables, for their own riding, and to bring back their brides +upon. But Boots set forth right merrily on the old horse, often stopping +to let him rest, for he could not go fast, as could a younger steed. + +As they journeyed through the woods a Raven fell almost at the horse's +feet, and Boots pulled him back quickly, that the bird might not be +stamped upon. + +"I thank you, good master," said the Raven. "I am so hungry that I was +faint, and fell from the tree. Will you give me something to eat, and I +will serve you faithfully?" + +"As for that," said Boots, "I see not how you can serve me, and I have +but scant food. But if you are so hungry that you fell from a tree, you +must need food badly, so I will give you a share of my own." + +So Boots gave the Raven some food, and went on through the forest. At +last he came to a stream, and saw a Salmon swimming feebly about near +the shore. "Oh," cried the Salmon, as Boots stopped to give his horse a +drink, "will you give me food? I am so hungry that I can scarce swim +about in the stream." + +"Well," said Boots, "everybody seems to be hungry to-day, and for the +matter of that, so am I. And how can you serve me, I would like to know? +Nevertheless, since you are so hungry I will give you food, for it is +not pleasant to be hungry, as I well know." + +So he gave the Salmon some of his food, and went on through the forest. + +By-and-by he came to a Wolf, looking so gaunt and lean that he was +almost afraid to pass by where the animal stood. But the Wolf stopped +him and said: "Will you give me something to eat? I am so hungry that I +can scarce follow a trail." + +"Well, now," said Boots, "this is getting a little thick. First a Raven, +and then a Salmon, and now a Wolf." + +"That is so," said the Wolf, "but there is little food in the forest. +Nevertheless, with but a morsel I could follow the trail, and find +plenty, and I would serve you at any time that I could." + +"Now have I many servants," laughed Boots--"a Raven, and a Salmon, and a +Wolf. I will give you food, however, for you look as if you needed it +sorely!" + +So he gave the Wolf food, and when he had eaten, the Wolf said: "Do you +follow the trail which I make, and I will lead you where you would go." + +Boots laughed merrily, for since he did not know which way to go +himself it hardly seemed as if the Wolf could lead him in that way. +Nevertheless, since all ways were alike, he thought, he might as well +follow the Wolf, so he turned his horse's head in that direction. + +The Wolf trotted along before, and at last he turned and said: "This is +the Giant's castle, and the pillars yonder are your brothers and their +wives which the Giant has turned to stone. It is for you to go into the +castle and find a way to set them free." + +"That will I," said Boots, "but how will I prevent the Giant's making a +stone pillar out of me?" + +"Climb up on my back," said the Wolf, "and I will take you into the +castle, but once there you must look out for yourself. But if you need +me, whistle, and I will be beside you." + +"That will I," said Boots, "and you, mind that you are not far, for I +think I shall need you right speedily." + +So the Wolf trotted out and left Boots standing in the hall of the +castle. And Boots turned about and looked toward the inner room, and +there he saw a Princess which he knew at once was the fairest Princess +in all the seven kingdoms; and he said to himself: "When I have set my +brothers free I shall not need to seek far for my own bride." + +The Princess greeted him, and told him that it was true that the Giant +had turned his brothers, and their brides, and their retainers into +stone, and that he would turn them back again, one by one, when he +wanted to eat them. + +"And what will he do with me?" exclaimed Boots. + +"Do you hide under the bed there," said the Princess, "and I will take +care of you. For you must know that no matter how brave and strong you +may be you cannot kill this Giant, for he does not keep his heart in his +body. It is hidden away somewhere, for he is afraid that some one will +kill him, so he keeps it no one knows where. But to-night I will ask him +where it is, and do you listen, and it may be that we can find it and +kill him, and you can set your brothers and their brides and me free." + +"That will I," said Boots, looking at her with eyes that told what he +would do when he had set them all free. + +So at last the Giant came home, and after he had eaten and was feeling +very good-natured, the Princess said to him: "I have always wondered +where it is that you keep your heart, for it is evident that it is not +in your body." + +"Indeed, and it is not," said the Giant, "for if it were I should have +been dead long ago. But I will tell you where it is--it is under the +great doorstep at the entrance of the castle." + +The next morning, after the Giant had gone out, Boots and the Princess +dug and tugged, and tugged and dug, until at last they lifted the great +doorstep at the entrance of the castle. But there was no heart under it. +Then the Princess piled flowers about, that it might not show where she +had been digging, and when the Giant came back he laughed loudly, and +said: "What sort of nonsense is this? You thought my heart was there, +you silly, and have piled flowers about it. But my heart is not there. +It is in the back of the big cupboard in the deepest dungeon keep." + +The next day after the Giant had gone Boots and the Princess went down +to the deepest dungeon keep, and they dug and tugged, and tugged and +dug, until at last they had moved the cupboard from the wall; but there +was no heart there. So the Princess piled flowers about, as she had done +before. That night when the Giant came home he went down into the +dungeon and saw the flowers, and said: "You did, indeed, wish to pay +honor to my heart, you foolish child, but it is not there." + +Then tears stood in the beautiful eyes of the Princess, and she said: +"Oh, then, tell me where it is, that I may place flowers about the +place." + +"That is not possible," said the Giant, "for it is too far away from +here, and you could not get to it. On a great hill in the forest stands +a church, and in the church is a well, and in the well there is a duck, +swimming backward and forward on the water; and in the duck is an egg, +and in the egg is my heart; so you had best give up your foolish +notion." + +Boots, under the bed, heard every word; and the next morning, after the +Giant had set out, he, too, started, whistling to the Wolf, who came at +once. Boots told him that he wished to go to the church that stood on +the high hill in the forest; and the Wolf said: "I know just where the +place is. Jump on my back, and we will be there in no time." + +So Boots jumped upon the Wolf's back, and they set off through the +forest, and soon came to the church on the high hill. But the great +doors were locked, and it was not possible for Boots to break them down, +though he tried hard enough. + +"Now," said the Wolf, "we must call the Raven." + +So they called the Raven, and he came and flew up over the top of the +church, and into the belfry, and down into the porter's room, and caught +up the keys of the church, and in a moment he was back with them. Then +Boots opened the doors and he and the Wolf and the Raven entered; and in +the church they found a well, as the Giant had said, and on the water in +the well there was a duck swimming backward and forward. Then Boots +caught up the duck in his hands, and thought that now he had the Giant's +heart, when suddenly the duck let the egg drop into the water. + +"Now," said the Wolf, "we must call the Salmon." + +So they called the Salmon, and he swam down into the water and brought +up the egg in his mouth, and Boots caught up the egg in his hand and +squeezed it hard, and at once the Giant far off in the forest cried out. + +"Squeeze it harder," cried the Salmon, "and I shall be free." + +But the Giant far off in the woods begged hard for his life, and the +Wolf said: "Tell him that if he would have you spare his life he must at +once set free your brothers and their brides and their retainers," said +the Wolf. + +So Boots cried aloud this message to the Giant, squeezing the heart +which he held in his hand as he did so; and the Giant called to him from +far off in the forest that he had already done this, even as Boots had +asked him, and now would he please let his heart sink back into the +water. + +"No," said the Raven, "squeeze it but a little harder, and I shall be +free!" + +So Boots squeezed the heart harder and harder, until at last it was +squeezed quite in two, and what was his surprise to see standing beside +him two young Princes, fair, almost, as the fair Princess in the Giant's +castle, who Boots knew was the most beautiful in all the seven kingdoms. + +"Let us hasten back to the castle, now," said the Wolf, "that we may +tell the Princes and their brides and the Princess in the castle that +the Giant is dead, and they have nothing more to fear." + +Then the Wolf lifted up his voice and howled, and at once two other +wolves stood beside them. "Climb up, each one of you," said the first +Wolf, "and we will be back at the castle in no time." + +So Boots and the two Princes climbed up each on the back of a wolf, and +they were soon back at the castle; and Boots found his brothers, and +their fair brides, and the Princess waiting for them. Then they all set +out for the kingdom of their father, who was very glad to see them, to +be sure. And Boots said: "I have brought back your sons to you, but I +have brought back the fairest Princess in the seven kingdoms to be my +own bride." + +Although the brides of the other Princes were very fair, yet all agreed +that the bride of Boots was the most beautiful of all. + + + + +VIGGO AND BEATE[L] + +_Translated by Mrs. Gudrun Thorne-Thompson_ + +THE DOLL UNDER THE BRIER ROSEBUSH + + +There was once a girl, and her name was Beate. On her birthday her +father had given her a beautiful straw hat. Her mother had given her a +pair of yellow shoes and the daintiest white dress. But her old aunt had +given her the very best present of all; it was a doll, with a sweet face +and dark brown curls. + +Oh, how Beate grew to love that doll, almost more than she loved Marie +and Louise, and they were her best friends. + +One day Beate was walking in the yard with her doll in her arms. It had +a name now, and they had become fast friends. She had called her Beate, +her own name, and the name of her old aunt who had given her the +present. + +It was in the early Spring. There was a green spot in one corner of the +yard around the old well. There stood a big willow tree with a low +trunk, and it was covered with the little yellow blossoms that children +call "goslings." + +They look like goslings, too, for each little tassel has soft yellow +down, and they can swim in the water. + +Now, Big Beate and Little Beate soon agreed that they would pick +goslings from the tree and throw them into the well, so that these +might have just as good a time as the big geese and goslings that were +swimming about in the pond. It was really Big Beate who thought of this +first, but Little Beate agreed immediately; you can't imagine how good +she always was. + +Now, Big Beate climbed up into the willow and picked many pretty yellow +goslings into her little white apron, and when she counted them she said +that now they had enough, and Little Beate thought so too. + +Both of them ran over to the well, and Big Beate helped her little +friend to get her legs firmly fixed between the logs that were around +the well, so that she might sit in comfort and watch the little goslings +swim about on the water. Then gosling after gosling was dropped down, +and as soon as each one reached the water it seemed to become alive and +it moved about. Oh, what fun! + +But after awhile the little goslings would not swim any longer, but lay +quite still. That was no fun at all, so Big Beate asked her namesake if +she didn't think she might lean a little over the edge of the well and +blow on them, for then she thought they might come to life again. Little +Beate didn't answer, but she raised her left eye-brow, saying, "Please +don't do that, dear Big Beate! Don't you remember, Mother has told us +how dark it is down there in the well? Think, if you should fall in!" + +"Oh, nonsense; just see how easy it is," said Big Beate. She leaned out +over the wall and blew on the nearest ones. Yes, it helped--the goslings +began to swim again. But those that were farthest away didn't move at +all. + +"What stupid little things!" said Beate; and she leaned far, far out +over the edge of the well. Then her little hands slipped on the smooth +log--splash! Down she fell into the water. It was so cold, so icy cold, +and it closed over her head, and took the straw hat, which she had got +on her birthday, off her hair! She hadn't time to hear whether Little +Beate screamed, but I'm sure she did. + +When Beate's head came up over the water again she grasped the round log +with both her hands, but the hands were too small, and the log too wide +and slippery, she couldn't hold on. Then she saw her dear friend, Little +Beate, standing stiff and dumb with fright, staring at her and with her +right arm stretched out to her. Big Beate hurriedly caught hold of her +and Little Beate made herself as stiff as she could, and stiffer still, +and stood there between the logs holding her dear friend out of the +water. + +Now Beate screamed so loudly that her father and mother heard her and +came running as fast as they could, pale and frightened, and pulled her +out. She was dripping wet, and so scared and cold that her teeth +chattered. + +Now they put Beate to bed, and Little Beate had to sleep with her. When +she had said her prayers she hugged her little friend and said: "Never, +never can I thank you enough, because you saved me from that horrible +deep well, dear Little Beate. You shall be my very best friend, always, +and when I grow up you shall be the godmother to my first daughter, and +I shall call her Little Beate for you." + + +THE FLOATING ISLAND + +Beate was now a year older. During that year she had lost Little Beate, +but she had never forgotten her. + +Big Beate had many dolls given to her, but not one was like Little +Beate. No one was so sweet and good-natured, no one so pretty and +graceful. + +It was a Saturday, and the next day, Sunday, she expected her friends, +Marie and Louise, on a visit, for it was her birthday; therefore she +wanted to decorate her doll-house as prettily as she could. + +Beate knew what to do. On the hillside by the Black Pond she remembered +that she had seen the prettiest little snail shells anyone might wish +for--round and fluted, with yellow and brown markings. They would be +just the thing for her bureau. She ran off to search for them, slipping +in and out through the hazel bushes, and picking empty shells by the +dozen. + +But all of a sudden she heard a bird utter such a weird cry from the +lake. She peeped out between the green branches and saw a big bird +swimming about. It had a long blue neck and a white breast, but its back +was shining black. It swam fast, and then suddenly dived and was gone. + +Beate stood there and stared at the water, hoping to see the bird +come up again, but she waited and waited in vain. She was frightened, +thinking it was drowned, when she saw it shoot up again far away, almost +in the middle of the lake. Then it began to swim slowly toward a tiny +green island which lay there, and crept into the high weeds and grasses +that hung over the water. + +Beate could not get tired of looking at the pretty little island. Willow +bushes grew out of the grass in some places, and in one end grew a +little white-barked birch tree. Beate thought she had never seen +anything half so lovely. It seemed just like a strange little land, all +by itself. + +At last Beate remembered that she must hurry home. Again she peeped +through the leaves and branches to say good-night to the island, +when--think of it!--the little green island was gone. + +She thought of goblins and fairies, and ran up the path to the top of +the hill as fast as she could. But when she got there she had to look +again. And she became more astonished than ever, for now she saw the +little green island again, but far from the place where she first saw +it. It was sailing slowly toward the southern end of the lake, and the +silver birch was its sail. + +As soon as Beate reached home she found Anne, the nurse, and told her +what she had seen. + +Anne knew all about the floating island: it had been on the lake for +many years, she said. But there were many strange things about it. One +thing she would tell, and that was, that if anyone stood on the floating +island and took a loon's egg out of the nest and wished for something, +that wish would come true, if the egg was put safely back into the nest +again. If you wished to become a Princess of England, your wish would +indeed be fulfilled, said old Anne. But there was one more thing to +notice: you must not talk about it to a living soul. + +"Not even to Father and Mother?" asked Beate. + +"No," said Anne, "not to a living soul." + +Beate could think of nothing but the island all that evening, and when +she had closed her eyes she could dream of nothing else all night. + +Just as soon as Beate got up in the morning she begged her father to row +her and Marie and Louise out to the floating island, when they came to +visit her in the afternoon, and that he promised. + +But he also asked how she had happened to think of that, and what she +wanted there. Beate thought first that she would tell him everything, +but then she remembered Anne's words, and said only that she wished to +go out there because the little green island was so pretty. + +"Yes, indeed, it is pretty, and you shall see a loon's nest too," said +the father. + +Then Beate's face grew red, and the tears came to her eyes, for she knew +well enough about the loon's nest and about the eggs. + +In the afternoon the father took the three little girls down to the +lake. Beate's friends thought this was the loveliest place they had ever +seen, and they begged the father to stop and get some of the pretty +water-lilies for them. But Beate was longing for the floating island. + +The father rowed close up to the island and around it, and when he came +to the other side the loon plunged out of the reeds into the water and +was gone. + +"There is the loon's nest," said the father. + +What joy! The loon's nest was on the very edge of the little tiny +island, hidden among the grasses, and in the nest were two big +grayish-brown eggs, with black spots, larger than any goose eggs. + +Marie and Louise shouted and laughed, but Beate felt strangely +frightened and was very quiet. She begged her father to let her stand on +the island, only a minute, and would he let her take one of the eggs in +her hand? + +The father told her she must be very careful just lift the egg gently +between her two fingers, for if the bird noticed that the egg had been +touched she would not hatch it. + +And now Beate stood on the green floating island. She was excited when +she bent down to pick up the grayish-brown egg, but lifted it carefully +between two fingers. Now she might wish for anything in the wide, wide +world. + +And what do you think she wished for? To become a Princess of England? +Oh, no, she knew something far better than that. Then her lips moved +softly, and she whispered to herself: "I wish that Little Beate was with +me once more, and would never, never leave me." Carefully she put the +egg back into the nest. + +What was the pink something her eye now caught sight of among the tall +reeds close to the nest? It was her doll! Beate gave one shriek of joy. +"Little Beate, my own Little Beate," she sobbed, when she had her own +dearest friend in her arms again. She covered her with tears and kisses, +and held her tight in her arms as if she would never in the world let +her go. + +Her father, Marie, and Louise stood by without saying a word. At last +the father kissed his little girl, and lifted her on to the raft again. + +Such a birthday party as Beate had now! What did it matter that a year's +rains and snows had faded Little Beate's cheeks and bleached her brown +curls? She was the guest of honor, and sat on the prettiest chair. She +had all the cookies and chocolate that she wanted. She was petted and +loved; and at night, tired and happy, Big Beate slept with her little +friend in her arms. + + +HANS, THE OLD SOLDIER + +Viggo was Beate's brother. He was 10 years old. Hans was Viggo's dearest +friend. The servants on the farm called the old Grenadier "Hans the +Watchdog," for they said when he talked to anyone it sounded like a dog +barking, and he looked as if he were ready to bite. But Viggo had once +said that the Grenadier's voice sounded like the rattle of a drum, and +the old soldier thought that was well said. It was from that time on +that Viggo and Hans were such good friends. + +Hans the Grenadier was six feet two, and a little more. He was straight +as a stick. His hair was long and snowy white, and it hung in a braid +down his red soldier's coat. + +When he came walking up to the farm from his little cottage he always +carried the ax on the left shoulder, like a gun, and marched stiff and +straight, and kept step as if the sergeant were marching right at his +heels, commanding "Left, right! Left, right!" + +Viggo knew that sometimes Old Hans was willing to tell about the time he +served in the army. He told of the battles, and first and last about the +"Prince of 'Gustenberg." + +"That was a man!" said Hans. "When he looked at you it was as if he +would eat you in one bite. And such a nose between the eyes! The Prince +of 'Gustenberg had a nose that shouted 'Get out of my way!' And +therefore they did get put of his way, too, wherever he showed himself. + +"Do you know what the Prince of 'Gustenberg said when he spoke in front +of the troops? 'One thing is a shame,' said he, 'and that is to turn +your back before retreat is called.' And now you know what is a shame, +my boy!" + +Viggo sat silent a little while. + +"Have you never known a little boy to become a general?" he asked at +last. + +"No, I haven't, but I have known a drummer boy to become a sergeant. He +was not much bigger than you. He could do everything you can think of. +There was one thing, though, that was very hard for him to do, and that +was to beat 'Retreat.' 'Forward March' he knew how to drum; he never +forgot that, and sometimes he beat that instead of 'Retreat,' and the +captain got angry. Usually he wasn't punished either, because he had +once saved the captain's life with a snowball." + +"With a snowball?" said Viggo. + +"Yes, I said snowball; he did not use greater means. We were rushing up +a hill with the enemy in front of us. It was in Winter. The captain and +the drummer boy led the march; but as soon as they came to the top of +the hill there stood the enemy in line. 'Aim!' commanded the enemy's +officer, and all the guns pointed right at the captain. Quick as +lightning the drummer boy grabbed a handful of snow and made a snowball, +and, just as the officer opened his mouth to say 'Fire!' the drummer boy +threw the snowball straight into the open mouth. He stood there, mouth +wide open. Well, then the rest of us arrived and we had a hot fight." + +"Then was he made a sergeant?" asked Viggo. + +"Yes, when the Prince had heard of it. He was given the rank of a +sergeant, and something better even than that. The Prince called him 'my +son.'" + +"It was too bad that they didn't make him a general," said Viggo. He +added half aloud: "Do you think I might become a general, Hans?" + +"Well, well, listen to the spring chicken!" said Hans. "So it is general +you want to be? Never mind, don't blush for that; it wasn't a bad +question. But it is very difficult, for you must learn much, oh, very +much." + +"Mathematics, you mean?" said Viggo. "I have learned some of that +already, and languages too." + +"Yes, that is well enough, but you must learn much more; you must learn +to drill so that you don't make a mistake in a single movement." + +"Then do you think I might become a general?" continued Viggo. + +"Who knows? But it is difficult. The eyes are not bad, you have the +right expression. But the nose--no it has not the correct shape. But, of +course, it may grow and curve in time," said Old Hans. + +After that Viggo learned to drill and march from his old friend; but he +often looked in the mirror and wished with all his heart that the nose +would curve a little more. + + +ALLARM, THE DOG + +One afternoon Viggo was walking home from school with a bag of books on +his back. He marched straight as a stick, with a soldiery step. Old Hans +was standing outside the cottage waiting for him, and when Viggo halted +and saluted, the old man asked if he could guess what present there was +for him at the house. + +"How does it look?" asked Viggo. + +"It is brown," said Hans. "Now guess." + +"Oh, I suppose it is nothing but a lump of brown sugar from Aunt Beate," +said Viggo. + +"Try again!" said Hans, and grinned. "It is dark brown, it walks on four +feet and laps milk." + +"Is it the puppy the Captain has promised me? Is it?" cried Viggo, and +forgot all about standing straight and stiff before the Grenadier. + +"Right about! Of course that's what it is," said Hans the Grenadier. + +But Viggo turned a somersault instead of "Right about" and ran to the +house. On a piece of carpet close by the fireplace lay the little puppy, +and he was beautiful. The body was dark brown, but the nose and paws +were light brown, and he had a light brown spot over each eye. When +Viggo sat down on the floor beside him and stroked the soft fur, he +licked Viggo's hand. Soon they had become acquainted, and from that time +on Viggo watched, to see if the puppy grew, almost as carefully as he +watched his own nose to see if it had the proper curve so that he might +become a general. + +In the night, Allarm lay by Viggo's bed, and in the daytime sat beside +him when he was studying his lessons. The puppy was not allowed to go +along to school, but he met Viggo every afternoon, and barked with joy +and wagged his tail. + +One winter morning Hans the Grenadier and some of the farm hands were +going to the woods to haul timber with seven horses. Viggo had a holiday +that day, so he was allowed to go along. He put his rubber boots on, and +whistled for Allarm. The puppy jumped and barked when he noticed that +they were off for the woods. But Viggo's father said it would be best to +leave Allarm at home, for there were packs of wolves in the woods. Viggo +did not like to leave Allarm behind, but when his father said so of +course he must do it. He took the strap and tied Allarm to the leg of +the sofa. Then he put his old coat on the floor beside the dog, so that +he might be comfortable. But you can't imagine how Allarm whined and +howled when he understood that he was to be left tied up. + +Viggo told his father that he could not stand it to have Allarm so sad, +happen what would, and he begged that he might take him along. + +The father smiled, and said if Viggo wanted to risk it he must take good +care of the dog, and not let him out of his sight. Then they untied him, +and you may imagine Allarm's joy. He jumped and barked so that the +mother had to put her fingers in her ears. + +The seven horses went in a line, one after the other, and Hans the +Grenadier and Viggo and Allarm walked behind the last one. The forest +was so still you could not hear the least sound except the horses' hoofs +crunching in the snow. Here and there Viggo saw the foot-prints of a +wolf beside the road. Then he always told Allarm to keep close by him, +and that he did. + +But after awhile they left the road and turned into the thick forest. +Hans the Grenadier waded in front, and the snow reached to his knees; +then came the horses and the boys, one after the other, and at last +Viggo. + +After a while they came to the logs and began to hitch them to the +horses. Then suddenly Viggo remembered Allarm; he had forgotten all +about the dog since they turned away from the road. He looked around +him, and just then he heard Allarm whine and howl somewhere in the +depths of the forest. + +As quick as lightning he grabbed an ax which Old Hans had driven into a +stump, and rushed in through the trees in the direction from which the +howling came. It was not easy; the snow reached far above his knees, but +he noticed nothing: he only feared he would be too late. Once he had to +stop a little to draw breath, then again he heard the pitiful wail of +the dog, but now it sounded fainter. Off Viggo rushed again, and at last +he espied something between the trees. He did not see his dog, but three +wolves stood in a circle, heads turned toward the center; the fourth one +lay inside the ring and bit something in the snow. + +Viggo shouted so that it thundered in the forest, and rushed against the +wolves with lifted ax. When he came within seven or eight feet of them, +the three grey-legs took fright and sneaked, tails between legs, far +into the forest; but the fourth, who lay on top of Allarm, hated to give +up his prey. It was a large yellow wolf, and it looked up at Viggo and +showed sharp, bloody teeth. + +"Let go of Allarm! Let go of my dog, or I'll teach you!" he cried, and +swung the ax high above his head. Then grey-legs sneaked slowly away +after the others. He turned once and howled, and showed his teeth, and +then disappeared among the bushes. + +Far down in a hole in the snow lay Allarm. He was so bitten that he +could not jump to his feet; and, when Viggo lifted him, the blood +dripped down on the snow. His whole body shivered, but he licked Viggo's +hand. + +Just then Old Hans the Grenadier stood by Viggo's side. When he had +gained his breath after his hurried run, the old man cried very angrily: +"If I did what you deserve I should have to whip you. Do you think it +fit for a youngster like you to rush against a pack of wolves? If they +had eaten you up alive before you had a chance to make a sound, what +would you have said then?" + +"Then I would have said: 'One thing is a shame, and that is to turn your +back before "retreat" is called,'" said Viggo, and looked sharply at the +Grenadier. + +"Well said, my boy! The nose has not quite the right curve yet, but the +eyes are there, and I do believe the heart, too," said Old Hans. He took +the dog from Viggo, and went home with both of them. + + +THE BLACK POND + +"Hurrah, the Black Pond is frozen! The ice is more than an inch thick, +and there's a crowd of boys down there!" shouted one of Viggo's +classmates one morning, as he thrust his frost-covered head through the +door and swung his skates. It didn't take Viggo long before he got his +skates down from the nail, and ran off with his friend. And he was so +anxious to get down to the lake that he forgot to whistle for Allarm. + +But Allarm had a fine nose. Just as soon as he had swallowed his +breakfast he understood that Viggo was gone. Then he ran out hunting +through the yard for Viggo's trail, and when he noticed that it didn't +lead to the school he knew he might follow. Then he rushed madly after +him over the fields, and had caught up with him long before Viggo had +reached the cottage of Hans the Grenadier, which lay close by the lake. + +One thing Viggo had promised his father before he got permission to go, +and that was that he would be very careful and not skate far out from +the shore. Near the middle of the lake there was an air hole through +which warm air rose to the surface, and there the ice was never thick. + +And Viggo meant honestly to do what his father had told him, but now you +shall hear what happened. + +When he came to the lake there was a crowd of boys there. There must +have been twenty or more. Most of them had skates on, but some only slid +on the ice. They shouted and laughed so that you could not hear yourself +think. + +As soon as Viggo had put on his skates he began to look around. Most of +the boys he knew, for he had raced with them before, and he felt that +he could beat every one of them. But there was one boy who skated by +himself, and seemed not to care about the others. He was much bigger +than Viggo, and Viggo saw immediately that it would not be easy to beat +him in a race. The boys called him Peter Lightfoot, and the name fitted +him. He could do the corkscrew, skate backward as easily as forward, and +lie so low and near the ice that he might have kissed it. But all this +Viggo could do, too. + +"Can you write your initials?" asked Viggo. Yes; Peter Lightfoot stood +on one leg and wrote "P. L." in the ice, but the letters hung together. +Then Viggo started. He ran, turned himself around backward and wrote "P. +L.," and between the "P." and the "L." he made a short jump so that the +letters stood apart. + +"Hurrah for Viggo! He wrote Peter Lightfoot backward!" shouted the boys, +and threw up their caps. Then the big boy blushed crimson, but he said +nothing. + +Now they began to play "Fox and Geese," and everybody wanted Viggo to be +the fox. Peter wanted to play, too, for he was sure that Viggo could not +catch him. The race-course was scratched in the ice, and Viggo called, +"Out, out, my geese," and off they ran. But Viggo didn't care to run +after the little goslings, it was the big gander, Peter Lightfoot, he +wished to catch. And that was a game! + +Off they went, Peter in front and Viggo after him, back and forth in +corners and circles, and all the other boys stopped and looked on. Every +time Viggo was right at his heels, Peter jumped and was far ahead of the +fox again. At last Viggo had him cornered, but just as he would have +caught the goose, Peter stretched out his left leg and meant to trip +Viggo, but his skate caught in a frozen twig and--thump! there lay Peter +Lightfoot, the ice cracking all around him. + +"A good thing he wasn't made of glass," laughed the boys and crowded +around Peter. He got up and looked angrily around the circle of boys. + +"Now stand in a row, we'll jump," said he, and the boys did. They piled +hats and caps on top of each other first only three high. The whole row +jumped that, then four, then five, then six, but each time fewer got +over and those who pushed the top cap off with their skates had to stop +playing and must stand aside and look on. At last there were eight hats +and caps on top of each other, and now only Peter and Viggo were left to +jump. + +"Put your cap on top!" said Peter, and Viggo did. But all the boys +shouted that no one could ever make that jump. + +Now, Peter came so fast that the air whistled about him, jumped--and +whiff! he was over! He touched Viggo's cap the least little bit, but it +did not fall off the pile. + +"Hurrah for Peter! That was a masterly jump!" shouted the boys. "Viggo +can never do that, he is too small," said one. + +Viggo knew this was the test, and his heart beat fast. He ran with all +his might. Viggo flew over like a bird, and there was at least four +inches between his skates and the topmost cap. Then the boys crowded +around him and shouted that Viggo was the champion. But Peter Lightfoot +looked at him with a sly and evil eye, and you could see he was planning +to play a trick on him. And, indeed, that's what he did. + +After a little while Peter took an apple out of his pocket and rolled it +over the ice toward the airhole. "The one who dares to go for the apple +may keep it!" he called. And many dared to try that, for the apple had +not rolled far and the ice was strong enough. Now Peter threw an apple +farther out, someone got that too. But at last he rolled one that +stopped right on the edge of the open water. One boy after the other ran +out toward it, but when the ice began to crack they slowly turned around +again. + +"Don't do it, it is dangerous!" shouted Viggo. + +"Oh, yes, Viggo is great when things are easy, but if there is danger he +turns pale as a ghost," said Peter, and laughed aloud. + +This was more than Viggo could bear. He thought of what the Prince of +Augustenburg had said before the front, and he thought he must fetch the +apple, come what might. But he forgot that "retreat" had been called, +for his father had forbidden him to go near the hole. Allarm looked at +him with grave eyes and wagged his tail slowly; he did not dare to +whine. But that did not help. Viggo ran so that the wind whistled about +his ears. The ice bent under his feet and cracked, but he glided on and +on, and the ice did not break. Now he was close by the apple; he bent +down to pick it up--crash! The ice broke, and Viggo, head first, fell +in. + +In a minute his head appeared above the hole. He swam for the ice and +seized the edge, but a piece broke off every time he tried to climb up. + +At first the boys stood there dumb with fright. Then they all called to +him that he must try to hold on, but no one dared to help him, and no +one thought of running for help. Peter Lightfoot had sneaked away when +Viggo fell in. + +The best one of them all was Allarm. First he ran yelping around the +hole, but when he saw Viggo appear again he snatched his wet cap between +his teeth and as fast as an arrow he ran toward home. When he reached +the cottage of Hans the Grenadier the old soldier was just standing in +the open doorway. The dog put Viggo's stiff frozen cap at his feet, +whined and cried, jumped up on the old man, held on to his coat and +dragged him toward the ice. Hans understood right away what was the +matter, snatched a rope and ran toward the lake, and in no time he stood +by the hole. He threw the rope to Viggo, who had begun to grow stiff +from the icy bath, and pulled him out. + +Viggo ran as fast as he could to the cottage of Hans, and when he +reached the door he had an armor of shining ice over his whole body. +When the Grenadier pulled off the boy's trousers they could stand by +themselves on the floor; they were frozen stiff. + +Viggo, of course, had to change from top to toe, and what should he put +on? Hans went to his old chest and came back with his uniform. Viggo +looked rather queer; the yellow knee-trousers reached to his ankles, and +the red coat with yellow cuffs and lapels hung on him like a bag. + +But he was wearing a real uniform! Hans looked at him. + +"Well," he said, "I won't say much about the fit of the clothes, but who +knows you may wear a better looking uniform some day. The heart is of +the right kind, and the nose--well it is doing better." + + [L] From "The Bird and the Star," translated by Mrs. Gudrun + Thorne-Thompson; used by special arrangement with the publishers, Row, + Peterson & Co. + + [Illustration] + + + + + [Illustration: STORIES FROM IRELAND] + + + + +THE FOUR WHITE SWANS + + +In the days of long ago there lived in the Green Isle of Erin a race of +brave men and fair women--the race of the Dedannans. North, south, east, +and west did this noble people dwell, doing homage to many chiefs. + +But one blue morning after a great battle the Dedannans met on a wide +plain to choose a king. "Let us," they said, "have one king over all. +Let us no longer have many rulers." + +Forth from among the princes rose five well fitted to wield a scepter +and to wear a crown, yet most royal stood Bove Derg and Lir. And forth +did the five chiefs wander, that the Dedannan folk might freely say to +whom they would most gladly do homage as king. + +Not far did they roam, for soon there arose a great cry, "Bove Derg is +King! Bove Derg is King!" And all were glad, save Lir. + +But Lir was angry, and he left the plain where the Dedannan people were, +taking leave of none, and doing Bove Derg no reverence. For jealousy +filled the heart of Lir. + +Then were the Dedannans wroth, and a hundred swords were unsheathed and +flashed in the sunlight on the plain. "We go to slay Lir who doeth not +homage to our King and regardeth not the choice of the people." + +But wise and generous was Bove Derg, and he bade the warriors do no hurt +to the offended prince. + +For long years did Lir live in discontent, yielding obedience to none. +But at length a great sorrow fell upon him, for his wife, who was dear +unto him, died, and she had been ill but three days. Loudly did he +lament her death, and heavy was his heart with sorrow. + +When tidings of Lir's grief reached Bove Derg, he was surrounded by his +mightiest chiefs. "Go forth," he said, "in fifty chariots go forth. Tell +Lir I am his friend as ever, and ask that he come with you hither. Three +fair foster-children are mine, and one may he yet have to wife, will he +but bow to the will of the people, who have chosen me their King." + +When these words were told to Lir, his heart was glad. Speedily he +called around him his train, and in fifty chariots set forth. Nor did +they slacken speed until they reached the palace of Bove Derg by the +Great Lake. And there at the still close of day, as the setting rays of +the sun fell athwart the silver waters, did Lir do homage to Bove Derg. +And Bove Derg kissed Lir and vowed to be his friend forever. + +And when it was known throughout the Dedannan host that peace reigned +between these mighty chiefs, brave men and fair women and little +children rejoiced, and nowhere were there happier hearts than in the +Green Isle of Erin. + +Time passed, and Lir still dwelt with Bove Derg in his palace by the +Great Lake. One morning the King said: "Full well thou knowest my three +fair foster-daughters, nor have I forgotten my promise that one thou +shouldst have to wife. Choose her whom thou wilt." + +Then Lir answered: "All are indeed fair, and choice is hard. But give +unto me the eldest, if it be that she be willing to wed." + +And Eve, the eldest of the fair maidens, was glad, and that day was she +married to Lir, and after two weeks she left the palace by the Great +Lake and drove with her husband to her new home. + +Happily dwelt Lir's household and merrily sped the months. Then were +born unto Lir twin babes. The girl they called Finola, and her brother +did they name Aed. + +Yet another year passed and again twins were born, but before the infant +boys knew their mother, she died. So sorely did Lir grieve for his +beautiful wife that he would have died of sorrow, but for the great love +he bore his motherless children. + +When news of Eve's death reached the palace of Bove Derg by the Great +Lake all mourned aloud, for love of Eve and sore pity for Lir and his +four babes. And Bove Derg said to his mighty chiefs: "Great, indeed is +our grief, but in this dark hour shall Lir know our friendship. Ride +forth, make known to him that Eva, my second fair foster-child, shall in +time become his wedded wife and shall cherish his lone babies." + +So messengers rode forth to carry these tidings to Lir, and in time Lir +came again to the palace of Bove Derg by the Great Lake, and he married +the beautiful Eva and took her back with him to his little daughter, +Finola, and to her three brothers, Aed and Fiacra and Conn. + +Four lovely and gentle children they were, and with tenderness did Eva +care for the little ones who were their father's joy and the pride of +the Dedannans. + +As for Lir, so great was the love he bore them, that at early dawn he +would rise, and, pulling aside the deerskin that separated his +sleeping-room from theirs, would fondle and frolic with the children +until morning broke. + +And Bove Derg loved them well-nigh as did Lir himself. Ofttimes would he +come to see them and ofttimes were they brought to his palace by the +Great Lake. + +And through all the Green Isle, where dwelt the Dedannan people, there +also was spread the fame of the beauty of the children of Lir. + +Time crept on, and Finola was a maid of twelve summers. Then did a +wicked jealousy find root in Eva's heart, and so did it grow that it +strangled the love which she had borne her sister's children. In +bitterness she cried: "Lir careth not for me; to Finola and her brothers +hath he given all his love." + +And for weeks and months Eva lay in bed planning how she might do hurt +to the children of Lir. + +At length, one midsummer morn, she ordered forth her chariot, that with +the four children she might come to the palace of Bove Derg. + +When Finola heard it, her fair face grew pale, for in a dream had it +been revealed unto her that Eva, her stepmother, should that day do a +dark deed among those of her own household. Therefore was Finola sore +afraid, but only her large eyes and pale cheeks spake her woe, as she +and her brothers drove along with Eva and her train. + +On they drove, the boys laughing merrily, heedless alike of the black +shadow resting on their stepmother's brow, and of the pale, trembling +lips of their sister. As they reached a gloomy pass, Eva whispered to +her attendants: "Kill, I pray you, these children of Lir, for their +father careth not for me, because of his great love for them. Kill them, +and great wealth shall be yours." + +But the attendants answered in horror: "We will not kill them. Fearful, +O Eva, were the deed, and great is the evil that will befall thee, for +having it in thine heart to do this thing." + +Then Eva, filled with rage, drew forth her sword to slay them with her +own hand, but too weak for the monstrous deed, she sank back in the +chariot. + +Onward they drove, out of the gloomy pass into the bright sunlight of +the white road. Daisies with wide-open eyes looked up into the blue sky +overhead. Golden glistened the buttercups among the shamrock. From the +ditches peeped forget-me-not. Honeysuckle scented the hedgerows. Around, +above, and afar, caroled the linnet, the lark, and the thrush. All was +color and sunshine, scent and song, as the children of Lir drove onward +to their doom. + +Not until they reached a still lake were the horses unyoked for rest. +There Eva bade the children undress and go bathe in the waters. And when +the children of Lir reached the water's edge, Eva was there behind them, +holding in her hand a fairy wand. And with the wand she touched the +shoulder of each. And, lo! as she touched Finola, the maiden was changed +into a snow-white swan, and behold! as she touched Aed, Fiacra, and +Conn, the three brothers were as the maid. Four snow-white swans floated +on the blue lake, and to them the wicked Eva chanted a song of doom. + +As she finished, the swans turned toward her, and Finola spake: + +"Evil is the deed thy magic wand hath wrought, O Eva, on us the children +of Lir, but greater evil shall befall thee, because of the hardness and +jealousy of thine heart." And Finola's white swan-breast heaved as she +sang of their pitiless doom. + +The song ended, again spake the swan-maiden: "Tell us, O Eva, when death +shall set us free." + +And Eva made answer: "Three hundred years shall your home be on the +smooth waters of this lone lake. Three hundred years shall ye pass on +the stormy waters of the sea betwixt Erin and Alba, and three hundred +years shall ye be tempest-tossed on the wild Western Sea. Until Decca be +the Queen of Largnen, and the good saint come to Erin, and ye hear the +chime of the Christ-bell, neither your plaints nor prayers, neither the +love of your father Lir, nor the might of your King, Bove Derg, shall +have power to deliver you from your doom. But lone white swans though ye +be, ye shall keep forever your own sweet Gaelic speech, and ye shall +sing, with plaintive voices, songs so haunting that your music will +bring peace to the souls of those who hear. And still beneath your snowy +plumage shall beat the hearts of Finola, Aed, Fiacra and Conn, and still +forever shall ye be the children of Lir." + + [Illustration: FOUR SNOW-WHITE SWANS FLOATED ON THE BLUE LAKE] + +Then did Eva order the horses to be yoked to the chariot, and away +westward did she drive. + +And swimming on the lone lake were four white swans. + +When Eva reached the palace of Bove Derg alone, greatly was he troubled +lest evil had befallen the children of Lir. + +But the attendants, because of their great fear of Eva, dared not to +tell the King of the magic spell she had wrought by the way. Therefore +Bove Derg asked, "Wherefore, O Eva, come not Finola and her brothers to +the palace this day?" + +And Eva answered: "Because, O King, Lir no longer trusteth thee, +therefore would he not let the children come hither." + +But Bove Derg believed not his foster-daughter, and that night he +secretly sent messengers across the hills to the dwelling of Lir. + +When the messengers came there, and told their errand, great was the +grief of the father. And in the morning with a heavy heart he summoned a +company of the Dedannans, and together they set out for the palace of +Bove Derg. And it was not until sunset as they reached the lone shore of +Lake Darvra, that they slackened speed. + +Lir alighted from his chariot and stood spellbound. What was that +plaintive sound? The Gaelic words, his dear daughter's voice more +enchanting even than of old, and yet, before and around, only the lone +blue lake. The haunting music rang clearer, and as the last words died +away, four snow-white swans glided from behind the sedges, and with a +wild flap of wings flew toward the eastern shore. There, stricken with +wonder, stood Lir. + +"Know, O Lir," said Finola, "that we are thy children, changed by the +wicked magic of our stepmother into four white swans." When Lir and the +Dedannan people heard these words, they wept aloud. + +Still spake the swan-maiden: "Three hundred years must we float on this +lone lake, three hundred years shall we be storm-tossed on the waters +between Erin and Alba, and three hundred years on the wild Western Sea. +Not until Decca be the Queen of Largnen, not until the good saint come +to Erin and the chime of the Christ-bell be heard in the land, not until +then shall we be saved from our doom." + +Then great cries of sorrow went up from the Dedannans, and again Lir +sobbed aloud. But at the last silence fell upon his grief, and Finola +told how she and her brothers would keep forever their own sweet Gaelic +speech, how they would sing songs so haunting that their music would +bring peace to the souls of all who heard. She told how, beneath their +snowy plumage, the human hearts of Finola, Aed, Fiacra, and Conn should +still beat--the hearts of the children of Lir. "Stay with us to-night by +the lone lake," she ended, "and our music will steal to you across its +moonlit waters and lull you into peaceful slumber. Stay, stay with us." + +And Lir and his people stayed on the shore that night and until the +morning glimmered. Then, with the dim dawn, silence stole over the lake. + +Speedily did Lir rise, and in haste did he bid farewell to his children, +that he might seek Eva and see her tremble before him. + +Swiftly did he drive and straight, until he came to the palace of Bove +Derg, and there by the waters of the Great Lake did Bove Derg meet him. +"Oh, Lir, wherefore have thy children come not hither?" And Eva stood by +the King. + +Stern and sad rang the answer of Lir: "Alas! Eva, your foster-child, +hath by her wicked magic changed them into four snow-white swans. On the +blue waters of Lake Darvra dwell Finola, Aed, Fiacra, and Conn, and +thence come I that I may avenge their doom." + +A silence as the silence of death fell upon the three, and all was still +save that Eva trembled greatly. But ere long Bove Derg spake. Fierce and +angry did he look, as, high above his foster-daughter, he held his magic +wand. Awful was his voice as he pronounced her doom: "Wretched woman, +henceforth shalt thou no longer darken this fair earth, but as a demon +of the air shalt thou dwell in misery till the end of time." And of a +sudden from out her shoulders grew black, shadowy wings, and, with a +piercing scream, she swirled upward, until the awe-stricken Dedannans +saw nought save a black speck vanish among the lowering clouds. And as a +demon of the air do Eva's black wings swirl her through space to this +day. + +But great and good was Bove Derg. He laid aside his magic wand and so +spake: "Let us, my people, leave the Great Lake, and let us pitch our +tents on the shores of Lake Darvra. Exceeding dear unto us are the +children of Lir, and I, Bove Derg, and Lir, their father, have vowed +henceforth to make our home forever by the lone waters where they +dwell." + +And when it was told throughout the Green Island of Erin of the fate of +the children of Lir and of the vow that Bove Derg had vowed, from north, +south, east, and west did the Dedannans flock to the lake, until a +mighty host dwelt by its shores. + +And by day Finola and her brothers knew not loneliness, for in the sweet +Gaelic speech they told of their joys and fears; and by night the mighty +Dedannans knew no sorrowful memories, for by haunting songs were they +lulled to sleep, and the music brought peace to their souls. + +Slowly did the years go by, and upon the shoulders of Bove Derg and Lir +fell the long white hair. Fearful grew the four swans, for the time was +not far off when they must wing their flight north to the wild sea of +Moyle. + +And when at length the sad day dawned, Finola told her brothers how +their three hundred happy years on Lake Darvra were at an end, and how +they must now leave the peace of its lone waters for evermore. + +Then, slowly and sadly, did the four swans glide to the margin of the +lake. Never had the snowy whiteness of their plumage so dazzled the +beholders, never had music so sweet and sorrowful floated to Lake +Darvra's sunlit shores. As the swans reached the water's edge, silent +were the three brothers, and alone Finola chanted a farewell song. + +With bowed white heads did the Dedannan host listen to Finola's chant, +and when the music ceased and only sobs broke the stillness, the four +swans spread their wings, and, soaring high, paused but for one short +moment to gaze on the kneeling forms of Lir and Bove Derg. Then, +stretching their graceful necks toward the north, they winged their +flight to the waters of the stormy sea that separates the blue Alba from +the Green Island of Erin. + +And when it was known throughout the Green Isle that the four white +swans had flown, so great was the sorrow of the people that they made a +law that no swan should be killed in Erin from that day forth. + +With hearts that burned with longing for their father and their friends, +did Finola and her brothers reach the sea of Moyle. Cold were its wintry +waters, black and fearful were the steep rocks overhanging Alba's +far-stretching coasts. From hunger, too, the swans suffered. Dark indeed +was all, and darker yet as the children of Lir remembered the still +waters of Lake Darvra and the fond Dedannan host on its peaceful shores. +Here the sighing of the wind among the reeds no longer soothed their +sorrow, but the roar of the breaking surf struck fresh terror in their +souls. In misery and terror did their days pass, until one night the +black, lowering clouds overhead told that a great tempest was nigh. Then +did Finola call to her Aed, Fiacra, and Conn. "Beloved brothers, a great +fear is at my heart, for, in the fury of the coming gale, we may be +driven the one from the other. Therefore, let us say where we may hope +to meet when the storm is spent." + +And Aed answered: "Wise art thou, dear, gentle sister. If we be driven +apart, may it be to meet again on the rocky isle that has ofttimes been +our haven, for well known is it to us all, and from far can it be seen." + +Darker grew the night, louder raged the wind, as the four swans dived +and rose again on the giant billows. Yet fiercer blew the gale, until at +midnight loud bursts of thunder mingled with the roaring wind, but, in +the glare of the blue lightning's flashes, the children of Lir beheld +each the snowy form of the other. The mad fury of the hurricane yet +increased, and the force of it lifted one swan from its wild home on the +billows, and swept it through the blackness of the night. Another blue +lightning-flash, and each swan saw its loneliness, and uttered a great +cry of desolation. Tossed hither and thither by wind and wave, the white +birds were well-nigh dead when dawn broke. And with the dawn fell calm. + +Swift as her tired wings would bear her, Finola sailed to the rocky +isle, where she hoped to find her brothers. But alas! no sign was there +of one of them. Then to the highest summit of the rocks she flew. North, +south, east, and west did she look, yet nought saw she save a watery +wilderness. Now did her heart fail her, and she sang the saddest song +she had yet sung. + +As the last notes died Finola raised her eyes, and lo! Conn came slowly +swimming toward her with drenched plumage and head that drooped. And as +she looked, behold! Fiacra appeared, but it was as though his strength +failed. Then did Finola swim toward her fainting brother and lend him +her aid, and soon the twins were safe on the sunlit rock, nestling for +warmth beneath their sister's wings. + +Yet Finola's heart still beat with alarm as she sheltered her younger +brothers, for Aed came not, and she feared lest he were lost forever. +But, at noon, sailing he came over the breast of the blue waters, with +head erect and plumage sunlit. And under the feathers of her breast did +Finola draw him, for Conn and Fiacra still cradled beneath her wings. +"Rest here, while ye may, dear brothers," she said. + +And she sang to them a lullaby so surpassing sweet that the sea-birds +hushed their cries and flocked to listen to the sad, slow music. And +when Aed and Fiacra and Conn were lulled to sleep, Finola's notes grew +more and more faint and her head drooped, and soon she, too, slept +peacefully in the warm sunlight. + +But few were the sunny days on the sea of Moyle, and many were the +tempests that ruffled its waters. Still keener grew the winter frosts, +and the misery of the four white swans was greater than ever before. +Even their most sorrowful Gaelic songs told not half their woe. From the +fury of the storm they still sought shelter on that rocky isle where +Finola had despaired of seeing her dear ones more. + +Slowly passed the years of doom, until one midwinter a frost more keen +than any known before froze the sea into a floor of solid black ice. By +night the swans crouched together on the rocky isle for warmth, but each +morning they were frozen to the ground and could free themselves only +with sore pain, for they left clinging to the ice-bound rock the soft +down of their breasts, the quills from their white wings, and the skin +of their poor feet. + +And when the sun melted the ice-bound surface of the waters, and the +swans swam once more in the sea of Moyle, the salt water entered their +wounds, and they well-nigh died of pain. But in time the down on their +breasts and the feathers on their wings grew, and they were healed of +their wounds. + +The years dragged on, and by day Finola and her brothers would fly +toward the shores of the Green Island of Erin, or to the rocky blue +headlands of Alba, or they would swim far out into a dim gray wilderness +of waters. But ever as night fell it was their doom to return to the sea +of Moyle. + +One day, as they looked toward the Green Isle, they saw coming to the +coast a troop of horsemen mounted on snow-white steeds, and their armor +glittered in the sun. + +A cry of great joy went up from the children of Lir, for they had seen +no human form since they spread their wings above Lake Darvra, and flew +to the stormy sea of Moyle. + +"Speak," said Finola to her brothers, "speak, and say if these be not +our own Dedannan folk." And Aed and Fiacra and Conn strained their eyes, +and Aed answered, "It seemeth, dear sister, to me, that it is indeed our +own people." + +As the horsemen drew nearer and saw the four swans, each man shouted in +the Gaelic tongue, "Behold the children of Lir!" + +And when Finola and her brothers heard once more the sweet Gaelic +speech, and saw the faces of their own people, their happiness was +greater than can be told. For long they were silent, but at length +Finola spake. + +Of their life on the sea of Moyle she told, of the dreary rains and +blustering winds, of the giant waves and the roaring thunder, of the +black frost, and of their own poor battered and wounded bodies. Of their +loneliness of soul, of that she could not speak. "But tell us," she went +on, "tell us of our father, Lir. Lives he still, and Bove Derg, and our +dear Dedannan friends?" + +Scarce could the Dedannans speak for the sorrow they had for Finola and +her brothers, but they told how Lir and Bove Derg were alive and well, +and were even now celebrating the Feast of Age at the house of Lir. "But +for their longing for you, your father and friends would be happy +indeed." + +Glad then and of great comfort were the hearts of Finola and her +brothers. But they could not hear more, for they must hasten to fly from +the pleasant shores of Erin to the sea-stream of Moyle, which was their +doom. And as they flew, Finola sang, and faint floated her voice over +the kneeling host. + +As the sad song grew fainter and more faint, the Dedannans wept aloud. +Then, as the snow-white birds faded from sight, the sorrowful company +turned the heads of their white steeds from the shore, and rode +southward to the home of Lir. + +And when it was told there of the sufferings of Finola and her brothers, +great was the sorrow of the Dedannans. Yet was Lir glad that his +children were alive, and he thought of the day when the magic spell +would be broken, and those so dear to him would be freed from their +bitter woe. + +Once more were ended three hundred years of doom, and glad were the four +white swans to leave the cruel sea of Moyle. Yet might they fly only to +the wild Western Sea, and tempest-tossed as before, here they in no way +escaped the pitiless fury of wind and wave. Worse than aught they had +before endured was a frost that drove the brothers to despair. Well-nigh +frozen to a rock, they one night cried aloud to Finola that they longed +for death. And she, too, would fain have died. + +But that same night did a dream come to the swan-maiden, and, when she +awoke, she cried to her brothers to take heart. "Believe, dear brothers, +in the great God who hath created the earth with its fruits and the sea +with its terrible wonders. Trust in him, and he will yet save you." And +her brothers answered, "We will trust." + +And Finola also put her trust in God, and they all fell into a deep +slumber. + +When the children of Lir awoke, behold! the sun shone, and thereafter, +until the three hundred years on the Western Sea were ended, neither +wind nor wave nor rain nor frost did hurt the four swans. + +On a grassy isle they lived and sang their wondrous songs by day, and by +night they nestled together on their soft couch, and awoke in the +morning to sunshine and to peace. And there on the grassy island was +their home, until the three hundred years were at an end. Then Finola +called to her brothers, and tremblingly she told, and tremblingly they +heard, that they might now fly eastward to seek their own old home. + +Lightly did they rise on outstretched wings, and swiftly did they fly +until they reached land. There they alighted and gazed each at the +other, but too great for speech was their joy. Then again did they +spread their wings and fly above the green grass on and on, until they +reached the hills and trees that surrounded their old home. But, alas! +only the ruins of Lir's dwelling were left. Around was a wilderness +overgrown with rank grass, nettles, and weeds. + +Too downhearted to stir, the swans slept that night within the ruined +walls of their old home, but, when day broke, each could no longer bear +the loneliness, and again they flew westward. And it was not until they +came to Inis Glora that they alighted. On a small lake in the heart of +the island they made their home, and, by their enchanting music, they +drew to its shores all the birds of the west, until the lake came to be +called "The Lake of the Bird-flocks." + +Slowly passed the years, but a great longing filled the hearts of the +children of Lir. When would the good saint come to Erin? When would the +chime of the Christ-bell peal over land and sea? + +One rosy dawn the swans awoke among the rushes of the Lake of the +Bird-flocks, and strange and faint was the sound that floated to them +from afar. Trembling, they nestled close the one to the other, until the +brothers stretched their wings and fluttered hither and thither in great +fear. Yet trembling they flew back to their sister, who had remained +silent among the sedges. Crouching by her side they asked, "What, dear +sister, can be the strange, faint sound that steals across our island?" + +With quiet, deep joy Finola answered: "Dear brothers, it is the chime of +the Christ-bell that ye hear, the Christ-bell of which we have dreamed +through thrice three hundred years. Soon the spell will be broken, soon +our sufferings will end." Then did Finola glide from the shelter of the +sedges across the rose-lit lake, and there by the shore of the Western +Sea she chanted a song of hope. + +Calm crept into the hearts of the brothers as Finola sang, and, as she +ended, once more the chime stole across the isle. No longer did it +strike terror into the hearts of the children of Lir, rather as a note +of peace did it sink into their souls. + +Then, when the last chime died, Finola said, "Let us sing to the great +King of Heaven and Earth." + +Far stole the sweet strains of the white swans, far across Inis Glora, +until they reached the good Saint Kemoc, for whose early prayers the +Christ-bell had chimed. + +And he, filled with wonder at the surpassing sweetness of the music, +stood mute, but when it was revealed unto him that the voices he heard +were the voices of Finola and Aed and Fiacra and Conn, who thanked the +High God for the chime of the Christ-bell, he knelt and also gave +thanks, for it was to seek the children of Lir that the saint had come +to Inis Glora. + +In the glory of noon, Kemoc reached the shore of the little lake, and +saw four white swans gliding on its waters. And no need had the saint to +ask whether these indeed were the children of Lir. Rather did he give +thanks to the High God who had brought him hither. + +Then gravely the good Kemoc said to the swans: "Come ye now to land, and +put your trust in me, for it is in this place that ye shall be freed +from your enchantment." + +These words the four white swans heard with great joy, and coming to the +shore they placed themselves under the care of the saint. And he led +them to his cell, and there they dwelt with him. And Kemoc sent to Erin +for a skilful workman, and ordered that two slender chains of shining +silver be made. Betwixt Finola and Aed did he clasp one silver chain, +and with the other did he bind Fiacra and Conn. + +Then did the children of Lir dwell with the holy Kemoc, and he taught +them the wonderful story of Christ that he and Saint Patrick had brought +to the Green Isle. And the story so gladdened their hearts that the +misery of their past sufferings was well-nigh forgotten, and they lived +in great happiness with the saint. Dear to him were they, dear as though +they had been his own children. + +Thrice three hundred years had gone since Eva had chanted the fate of +the children of Lir. "Until Decca be the Queen of Largnen, until the +good saint come to Erin, and ye hear the chime of the Christ-bell, shall +ye not be delivered from your doom." + +The good saint had indeed come, and the sweet chimes of the Christ-bell +had been heard, and the fair Decca was now the Queen of King Largnen. + +Soon were tidings brought to Decca of the swan-maiden and her three +swan-brothers. Strange tales did she hear of their haunting songs. It +was told her, too, of their cruel miseries. Then begged she her husband, +the King, that he would go to Kemoc and bring to her these human birds. + +But Largnen did not wish to ask Kemoc to part with the swans, and +therefore he did not go. + +Then was Decca angry, and swore she would live no longer with Largnen, +until he brought the singing swans to the palace. And that same night +she set out for her father's kingdom in the south. + +Nevertheless Largnen loved Decca, and great was his grief when he heard +that she had fled. And he commanded messengers to go after her, saying +he would send for the white swans if she would but come back. Therefore +Decca returned to the palace, and Largnen sent to Kemoc to beg of him +the four white swans. But the messenger returned without the birds. + +Then was Largnen wroth, and set out himself for the cell of Kemoc. But +he found the saint in the little church, and before the altar were the +four white swans. + +"Is it truly told me that you refused these birds to Queen Decca?" asked +the King. + +"It is truly told," replied Kemoc. + +Then Largnen was more wroth than before, and seizing the silver chain of +Finola and Aed in the one hand, and the chain of Fiacra and Conn in the +other, he dragged the birds from the altar and down the aisle, and it +seemed as though he would leave the church. And in great fear did the +saint follow. + +But lo! as they reached the door, the snow-white feathers of the four +swans fell to the ground, and the children of Lir were delivered from +their doom. For was not Decca the bride of Largnen, and the good saint +had he not come, and the chime of the Christ-bell was it not heard in +the land? + +But aged and feeble were the children of Lir. Wrinkled were their once +fair faces, and bent their little white bodies. + +At the sight Largnen, affrighted, fled from the church, and the good +Kemoc cried aloud, "Woe to thee, O King!" + +Then did the children of Lir turn toward the saint, and thus Finola +spake: "Baptize us now, we pray thee, for death is nigh. Heavy with +sorrow are our hearts that we must part from thee, thou holy one, and +that in loneliness must thy days on earth be spent. But such is the will +of the high God. Here let our graves be digged, and here bury our four +bodies, Conn standing at my right side, Fiacra at my left, and Aed +before my face, for thus did I shelter my dear brothers for thrice three +hundred years 'neath wing and breast." + +Then did the good Kemoc baptize the children of Lir, and thereafter the +saint looked up, and lo! he saw a vision of four lovely children with +silvery wings, and faces radiant as the sun; and as he gazed they +floated ever upward, until they were lost in a mist of blue. Then was +the good Kemoc glad, for he knew that they had gone to heaven. + +But, when he looked downward, four worn bodies lay at the church door, +and Kemoc wept sore. + +And the saint ordered a wide grave to be digged close by the little +church, and there were the children of Lir buried, Conn standing at +Finola's right hand, and Fiacra at her left, and before her face her +twin brother Aed. + +And the grass grew green above them, and a white tombstone bore their +names, and across the grave floated morning and evening the chime of the +sweet Christ-bell. + + + + +THE MISHAPS OF HANDY ANDY + + +Andy Rooney was a fellow who had the most singularly ingenious knack of +doing everything the wrong way. He grew up in his humble Irish home full +of mischief to the eyes of every one save his admiring mother. But, to +do him justice, he never meant harm in the course of his life, and he +was most anxious to offer his services on every occasion to all who +would accept them. Here is the account of how Andy first went into +service: + +When Andy grew up to be what in country parlance is called "a brave lump +of a boy," and his mother thought he was old enough to do something for +himself, she took him one day along with her to the squire's, and +waited outside the door, loitering up and down the yard behind the +house, among a crowd of beggars and great lazy dogs that were thrusting +their heads into every iron pot that stood outside the kitchen door, +until chance might give her "a sight of the squire afore he wint out, or +afore he wint in"; and, after spending her entire day in this idle way, +at last the squire made his appearance, and Judy presented her son, who +kept scraping his foot, and pulling his forelock, that stuck out like a +piece of ragged thatch from his forehead, making his obeisance to the +squire, while his mother was sounding his praises for being the +"handiest craythur alive, and so willin'--nothin' comes wrong to him." + +"I suppose the English of all this is, you want me to take him?" said +the squire. + +"Throth, an' your honor, that's just it--if your honor would be plazed." + +"What can he do?" + +"Anything, your honor." + +"That means _nothing_, I suppose," said the squire. + +"Oh, no, sir! Everything, I mane, that you would desire him to do." + +To every one of these assurances on his mother's part Andy made a bow +and a scrape. + +"Can he take care of horses?" + +"The best of care, sir," said the mother. + +"Let him come, then, and help in the stables, and we'll see what we can +do." + +The next day found Andy duly installed in the office of stable-helper; +and, as he was a good rider, he was soon made whipper-in to the hounds, +and became a favorite with the squire, who was one of those rollicking +"boys" of the old school, who let any one that chance threw in his way +bring him his boots, or his hot water for shaving, or brush his coat, +whenever it was brushed. The squire, you see, scorned the attentions of +a regular valet. But Andy knew a great deal more about horses than about +the duties of a valet. One morning he came to his master's room with hot +water and tapped at the door. + +"Who's that?" said the squire, who had just risen. + +"It's me, sir." + +"Oh, Andy! Come in." + +"Here's the hot water, sir," said Andy, bearing an enormous tin can. + +"Why, what brings that enormous tin can here? You might as well bring +the stable-bucket." + +"I beg your pardon, sir," said Andy, retreating. In two minutes more +Andy came back, and, tapping at the door, put in his head cautiously. + + + HOW ANDY BROUGHT HIS MASTER'S + HOT WATER IN THE MORNING + +"The maids in the kitchen, your honor, say there's not so much hot water +ready." + +"Did I not see it a moment since in your hand?" + +"Yes, sir; but that's not nigh the full o' the stable-bucket." + +"Go along, you stupid thief, and get me some hot water directly." + +"Will the can do, sir?" + +"Ay, anything, so you make haste." + +Off posted Andy, and back he came with the can. + +"Where'll I put it, sir?" + +"Throw this out," said the squire, handing Andy a jug containing some +cold water, meaning the jug to be replenished with the hot. + +Andy took the jug, and the window of the room being open, he very +deliberately threw the jug out. The squire stared with wonder, and at +last said: + +"What did you do that for?" + +"Sure, you _towld_ me to throw it out, sir." + +"Go out of this, you thick-headed villain," said the squire, throwing +his boots at Andy's head; whereupon Andy retreated, and, like all stupid +people, thought himself a very ill-used person. + + + WHAT HAPPENED WHEN ANDY + OPENED A BOTTLE OF SODA AT + THE DINNER + +Andy was soon the laughing-stock of the household. When, for example, he +first saw silver forks he declared that "he had never seen a silver +spoon split that way before." When told to "cut the cord" of a +soda-water bottle on one occasion when the squire was entertaining a +number of guests at dinner, he "did as he was desired." + +He happened at that time to hold the bottle on the level with the +candles that shed light over the festive board from a large silver +branch, and the moment he made the incision, bang went the bottle of +soda, knocking out two of the lights with the projected cork, which +struck the squire himself in the eye at the foot of the table; while the +hostess, at the head, had a cold bath down her back. Andy, when he saw +the soda-water jumping out of the bottle, held it from him at arm's +length, at every fizz it made, exclaiming: "Ow! Ow! Ow!" and at last, +when the bottle was empty, he roared out: "Oh, oh, it's all gone!" + +Great was the commotion. Few could resist laughter, except the ladies, +who all looked at their gowns, not liking the mixture of satin and +soda-water. The extinguished candles were relighted, the squire got his +eyes open again, and the next time he perceived the butler sufficiently +near to speak to him, he said, in a low and hurried tone of deep anger, +while he knit his brow: + +"Send that fellow out of the room." Suspended from indoor service, Andy +was not long before he distinguished himself out of doors in such a way +as to involve his master in a coil of trouble, and, incidentally, to +retard the good fortune that came to himself in the end. + + + THE SQUIRE SENDS ANDY TO THE + POST-OFFICE FOR A LETTER + +The squire said to him one day: + +"Ride into the town and see if there's a letter for me." + +"Yes, sir," said Andy. + +"Do you know where to go?" inquired his master. + +"To the town, sir," was the reply. + +"But do you know where to go in the town?" + +"No, sir." + +"And why don't you ask, you stupid thief?" + +"Sure, I'd find out, sir." + +"Didn't I often tell you to ask what you're to do when you don't know?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"And why don't you?" + +"I don't like to be troublesome, sir." + +"Confound you!" said the squire, though he could not help laughing at +Andy's excuse for remaining in ignorance. "Well, go to the post-office. +You know the post-office, I suppose?" continued his master in sarcastic +tones. + +"Yes, sir; where they sell gunpowder." + +"You're right for once," said the squire--for his Majesty's postmaster +was the person who had the privilege of dealing in the aforesaid +combustible. "Go, then, to the post-office, and ask for a letter for me. +Remember, not gunpowder, but a letter." + +"Yes, sir," said Andy, who got astride of his hack, and trotted away to +the post-office. + +On arriving at the shop of the postmaster (for that person carried on a +brisk trade in groceries, gimlets, broadcloth, and linen-drapery), Andy +presented himself at the counter, and said: + +"I want a letther, sir, if you plaze." + +"Who do you want it for?" said the postmaster, in a tone which Andy +considered an aggression upon the sacredness of private life. So Andy, +in his ignorance and pride, thought the coolest contempt he could throw +upon the prying impertinence of the postmaster was to repeat his +question. + + + ANDY HAS A VERY FOOLISH QUARREL + WITH THE POSTMASTER + +"I want a letther, sir, if you plaze." + +"And who do you want it for?" repeated the postmaster. + +"What's that to you?" said Andy. + +The postmaster, laughing at his simplicity, told him he could not tell +what letter to give him unless he told him the direction. + +"The directions I got was to get a letther here--that's the directions." + +"Who gave you those directions?" + +"The master." + +"And who's your master?" + +"What consarn is that of yours?" + +"Why, you stupid rascal, if you don't tell me his name, how can I give +you a letter?" + +"You could give it if you liked; but you're fond of axin' impident +questions, bekase you think I'm simple." + +"Go along out o' this! Your master must be as great a goose as yourself, +to send such a messenger." + +"Bad luck to your impidence!" said Andy. "Is it Squire Egan you dare to +say goose to?" + +"Oh, Squire Egan's your master, then?" + +"Yes. Have you anything to say agin it?" + +"Only that I never saw you before." + +"Faith, then, you'll never see me agin if I have my own consint." + +"I won't give you any letter for the squire unless I know you're his +servant. Is there any one in the town knows you?" + +"Plenty," said Andy. "It's not every one is as ignorant as you." + + + WHY ANDY WOULD NOT PAY ELEVEN + PENCE FOR A LETTER + +Just at this moment a person to whom Andy was known entered the house, +who vouched to the postmaster that he might give Andy the squire's +letter. "Have you one for me?" + +"Yes, sir," said the postmaster, producing one. "Fourpence." + +The gentleman paid the fourpence postage (the story, it must be +remembered, belongs to the earlier half of the last century, before the +days of the penny post), and left the shop with his letter. + +"Here's a letter for the squire," said the postmaster. "You've to pay me +elevenpence postage." + +"What 'ud I pay elevenpence for?" + +"For postage." + +"Get out wid you! Didn't I see you give Mr. Durfy a letther for +fourpence this minit, and a bigger letther than this? And now you want +me to pay elevenpence for this scrap of a thing? Do you think I'm a +fool?" + +"No; but I'm sure of it," said the postmaster. + +"Well, you're welkum, to be sure; but don't be delayin' me now. Here's +fourpence for you, and gi' me the letther." + +"Go along, you stupid thief!" (the word "thief" was often used in +Ireland in the humorous way we sometimes use the word "rascal") said the +postmaster, taking up the letter, and going to serve a customer with a +mouse-trap. + + + WHY ANDY WENT BACK TO THE + SQUIRE WITHOUT HIS LETTER + +While this person and many others were served, Andy lounged up and down +the shop, every now and then putting in his head in the middle of the +customers and saying: + +"Will you gi' me the letther?" + +He waited for above half an hour, and at last left, when he found it +impossible to get common justice for his master, which he thought he +deserved as well as another man; for, under this impression, Andy +determined to give no more than the fourpence. The squire, in the +meantime, was getting impatient for his return, and when Andy made his +appearance, asked if there was a letter for him. + +"There is, sir," said Andy. + +"Then give it to me." + +"I haven't it, sir." + +"What do you mean?" + +"He wouldn't give it to me, sir." + +"Who wouldn't give it to you?" + + + ANDY IS SENT BACK TO THE POST-OFFICE + BY HIS ANGRY MASTER + +"That owld chate beyant in the town--wanting to charge double for it." + +"Maybe it's a double letter. Why didn't you pay what he asked, sir?" + +"Arrah, sir, why would I let you be chated? It's not a double letther at +all; not above half the size o' one Mr. Durfy got before my face for +fourpence." + +"You'll provoke me to break your neck some day, you vagabond! Ride back +for your life, and pay whatever he asks, and get me the letter." + +"Why, sir, I tell you he was sellin' them before my face for fourpence +apiece." + +"Go back, you scoundrel, or I'll horsewhip you; and if you're longer +than an hour, I'll have you ducked in the horsepond!" + +Andy vanished, and made a second visit to the post-office. When he +arrived two other persons were getting letters, and the postmaster was +selecting the epistles for each from a large parcel that lay before him +on the counter. At the same time many shop customers were waiting to be +served. + +"I've come for that letther," said Andy. + +"I'll attend to you by and by." + +"The masther's in a hurry." + +"Let him wait till his hurry's over." + +"He'll murther me if I'm not back soon." + +"I'm glad to hear it." + + + CALLED A "THIEF" IN JEST, ANDY DOES + A LITTLE THIEVING IN EARNEST + +While the postmaster went on with such provoking answers to these +appeals for despatch, Andy's eye caught the heap of letters which lay on +the counter. So, while certain weighing of soap and tobacco was going +forward, he contrived to become possessed of two letters from the heap, +and, having effected that, waited patiently enough until it was the +great man's pleasure to give him the missive directed to his master. + +Then did Andy bestride his hack, and, in triumph at his trick on the +postmaster, rattled along the road homeward as fast as the beast could +carry him. He came into the squire's presence; his face beaming with +delight, and an air of self-satisfied superiority in his manner, quite +unaccountable to his master, until he pulled forth his hand, which had +been grubbing up his prizes from the bottom of his pocket, and, holding +three letters over his head while he said: "Look at that!" he next +slapped them down under his broad fist on the table before the squire, +saying: + +"Well, if he did make me pay elevenpence, I brought your honor the worth +o' your money, anyhow." + +Now, the letter addressed to the squire was from his law-agent, and +concerned an approaching election in the county. His old friend, Mr. +Gustavus O'Grady, the master of Neck-or-Nothing Hall, was, it appeared, +working in the interest of the honorable Sackville Scatterbrain, and +against Squire Egan. + + + THE TROUBLE THAT CAME OF ANDY'S + FAMOUS VISITS TO THE POST-OFFICE + +This unexpected information threw him into a great rage, in the midst +of which his eye caught sight of one of the letters Andy had taken +from the post-office. This was addressed to Mr. O'Grady, and as it +bore the Dublin postmark, Mr. Egan yielded to the temptation of making +the letter gape at its extremities--this was before the days of the +envelope--and so read its contents, which were highly uncomplimentary to +the reader. As Mr. O'Grady was much in debt financially to Mr. Egan, the +latter decided to put all the pressure of the law upon his one-time +friend, and, to save trouble with the authorities, destroyed both of the +stolen letters and pledged Andy to secrecy. + +Neck-or-Nothing Hall was carefully guarded from intruders, and Mr. +Egan's agent, Mr. Murphy, greatly doubted if it would be possible to +serve its master with a writ. Our friend Andy, however, unconsciously +solved the difficulty. + +Being sent over to the law-agent's for the writ, and at the same time +bidden to call at the apothecary's for a prescription, he managed to mix +up the two documents, leaving the writ, without its accompanying letter, +at the apothecary's, whence it was duly forwarded to Neck-or-Nothing +Hall with certain medicines for Mr. O'Grady, who was then lying ill in +bed. The law-agent's letter, in its turn, was brought to Squire Egan by +Andy, together with a blister which was meant for Mr. O'Grady. Imagine +the recipient's anger when he read the following missive and, on opening +the package it was with, found a real and not a figurative blister: + +"MY DEAR SQUIRE: I send you the blister for O'Grady as you insist on it; +but I think you won't find it easy to serve him with it. + + "Your obedient and obliged, + "MURTOUGH MURPHY." + +The result in his case was a hurried ride to the law-agent's and the +administration to that devoted personage of a severe hiding. This was +followed by a duel, in which, happily, neither combatant was hurt. Then, +after the firing, satisfactory explanations were made. On Mr. O'Grady's +part, there was an almost simultaneous descent upon the unsuspecting +apothecary, and the administration to the man of drugs and blisters of a +terrible drubbing. Next a duel was arranged between the two old friends. +Andy again distinguished himself. + + + HOW ANDY WAS FINALLY DISCHARGED + FROM THE SERVICE OF SQUIRE EGAN + +When his employer's second was not looking, Andy thought he would do +Squire Egan a good turn by inserting bullets in his pistols before they +were loaded. The intention of Andy was to give Mr. Egan the advantage of +double bullets, but the result was that, when the weapons were loaded, +Andy's bullets lay between the powder and the touch-hole. Mr. O'Grady +missed his aim twice, and Mr. Egan missed his fire. The cause being +discovered, Andy was unmercifully chased and punished by the second, and +ignominiously dismissed from Mr. Egan's service. + +By an accident, Andy shortly afterward was the means of driving a Mr. +Furlong to Squire Egan's place instead of to Squire O'Grady's. Mr. +Furlong was an agent from Dublin Castle, whose commission it was to aid +the cause of the Honorable Mr. Scatterbrain. Of course, Andy, when he +was told, on taking the place of the driver of the vehicle in which +Mr. Furlong was traveling, to drive this important personage to "the +squire's," at once jumped to the conclusion that by "the squire's" was +meant Mr. Egan's. Here, before the mistake was found out by the victim, +Mr. Furlong was unburdened of much important information. While this +process was going on at Mr. Egan's, a hue and cry was on foot at Mr. +O'Grady's, for the lost Mr. Furlong, and poor, blundering Andy was +arrested and charged with murdering him. + + + ANOTHER OF ANDY'S BLUNDERS HAS + A HAPPY RESULT FOR HIS OLD MASTER + +He was soon set free and taken into Mr. O'Grady's service when Mr. +Furlong had made his appearance before the owner of Neck-or-Nothing +Hall. But a clever rascal named Larry Hogan divined by accident and the +help of his native wit the secret of the stolen letters, and Andy was +forced by terror to flee from Neck-or-Nothing Hall. + +His subsequent adventures took him through the heat of the election, at +which his ingenuity was displayed in unwittingly stopping up the mouth +of the trumpet on which the Honorable Mr. Scatterbrain's supporters +relied to drown Mr. Egan's speeches and those of his men. He thus did a +good turn to his old master without knowing it, having merely imitated +the action of the trumpeter, who had pretended to cork up the instrument +before momentarily laying it aside. + +When his fortunes seemed to be at their lowest ebb, Andy was discovered +to be the rightful heir to the Scatterbrain title and estates, his +claims to which were set forth in the second of the two letters stolen +from the post-office, which had been destroyed by the squire without his +reading it. + + + ANDY TURNS OUT TO BE OF GENTLE + BIRTH AND COMES INTO HIS OWN + +Soon afterward, through his old master's influence, Andy was taken to +London, and by dint of much effort remedied many of the defects of his +early education. Then, marrying his cousin, Onoah, who had shared his +mother's cabin in the old days, and to save whom from a desperado Andy +had, this time knowingly, braved great personal danger, our hero settled +down to the enjoyment of a life such as he had never dreamed of in his +humble days. + + + + +THE GREEDY SHEPHERD + + +Once upon a time there lived in the South Country two brothers, whose +business it was to keep sheep. No one lived on that plain but shepherds, +who watched their sheep so carefully that no lamb was ever lost. + +There was none among them more careful than these two brothers, one of +whom was called Clutch, and the other Kind. Though brothers, no two men +could be more unlike in disposition. Clutch thought of nothing but how +to make some profit for himself, while Kind would have shared his last +morsel with a hungry dog. This covetous mind made Clutch keep all his +father's sheep when the old man was dead, because he was the eldest +brother, allowing Kind nothing but the place of a servant to help him in +looking after them. + +For some time the brothers lived peaceably in their father's cottage, +and kept their flock on the grassy plain, till new troubles arose +through Clutch's covetousness. + +One midsummer it so happened that the traders praised the wool of +Clutch's flock more than all they found on the plain, and gave him the +highest price for it. That was an unlucky thing for the sheep, for after +that Clutch thought he could never get enough wool off them. At shearing +time nobody clipped so close as Clutch, and, in spite of all Kind could +do or say, he left the poor sheep as bare as if they had been shaven. +Kind didn't like these doings, but Clutch always tried to persuade him +that close clipping was good for the sheep, and Kind always tried to +make him think he had got all the wool. Still Clutch sold the wool, and +stored up his profits, and one midsummer after another passed. The +shepherds began to think him a rich man, and close clipping might have +become the fashion but for a strange thing which happened to his flock. + +The wool had grown well that summer. He had taken two crops off the +sheep, and was thinking of a third, when first the lambs, and then the +ewes, began to stray away; and, search as the brothers would, none of +them was ever found again. The flocks grew smaller every day, and all +the brothers could find out was that the closest clipped were the first +to go. + +Kind grew tired of watching, and Clutch lost his sleep with vexation. +The other shepherds, to whom he had boasted of his wool and his profits, +were not sorry to see pride having a fall. Still the flock melted away +as the months wore on, and when the spring came back nothing remained +with Clutch and Kind but three old ewes. The two brothers were watching +these ewes one evening when Clutch said: + +"Brother, there is wool to be had on their backs." + +"It is too little to keep them warm," said Kind. "The east wind still +blows sometimes." But Clutch was off to the cottage for the bag and +shears. + +Kind was grieved to see his brother so covetous, and to divert his mind +he looked up at the great hills. As he looked, three creatures like +sheep scoured up a cleft in one of the hills, as fleet as any deer; and +when Kind turned he saw his brother coming with the bag and shears, but +not a single ewe was to be seen. Clutch's first question was, what had +become of them; and when Kind told him what he saw, the eldest brother +scolded him for not watching better. + +"Now we have not a single sheep," said he, "and the other shepherds will +hardly give us room among them at shearing time or harvest. If you like +to come with me, we shall get service somewhere. I have heard my father +say that there were great shepherds living in old times beyond the +hills; let us go and see if they will take us for sheep-boys." + +Accordingly, next morning Clutch took his bag and shears, Kind took his +crook and pipe, and away they went over the plain and up the hills. All +who saw them thought that they had lost their senses, for no shepherd +had gone there for a hundred years, and nothing was to be seen but wide +moorlands, full of rugged rocks, and sloping up, it seemed, to the very +sky. + +By noon they came to the stony cleft up which the three old ewes had +scoured like deer; but both were tired, and sat down to rest. As they +sat there, there came a sound of music down the hills as if a thousand +shepherds had been playing on their pipes. Clutch and Kind had never +heard such music before, and, getting up, they followed the sound up the +cleft, and over a wide heath, till at sunset they came to the hill-top, +where they saw a flock of thousands of snow-white sheep feeding, while +an old man sat in the midst of them playing merrily on his pipe. + +"Good father," said Kind, for his eldest brother hung back and was +afraid, "tell us what land is this, and where we can find service; for +my brother and I are shepherds, and can keep flocks from straying, +though we have lost our own." + +"These are the hill pastures," said the old man, "and I am the ancient +shepherd. My flocks never stray, but I have employment for you. Which of +you can shear best?" + +"Good father," said Clutch, taking courage, "I am the closest shearer in +all the plain country; you would not find enough wool to make a thread +on a sheep when I have done with it." + +"You are the man for my business," said the old shepherd. "When the moon +rises, I will call the flock you have to shear." + +The sun went down and the moon rose, and all the snow-white sheep laid +themselves down behind him. Then up the hills came a troop of shaggy +wolves, with hair so long that their eyes could scarcely be seen. Clutch +would have fled for fear, but the wolves stopped, and the old man said: + +"Rise and shear--this flock of mine have too much wool on them." + +Clutch had never shorn wolves before, yet he went forward bravely; but +the first of the wolves showed its teeth, and all the rest raised such a +howl that Clutch was glad to throw down his shears and run behind the +old man for safety. + +"Good father," cried he, "I will shear sheep, but not wolves!" + +"They must be shorn," said the old man, "or you go back to the plains, +and them after you; but whichever of you can shear them will get the +whole flock." + +On hearing this, Kind caught up the shears Clutch had thrown away in his +fright, and went boldly up to the nearest wolf. To his great surprise, +the wild creature seemed to know him, and stood quietly to be shorn. +Kind clipped neatly, but not too closely, and when he had done with one, +another came forward, till the whole flock were shorn. Then the man +said: + +"You have done well; take the wool and the flock for your wages, return +with them to the plain, and take this brother of yours for a boy to keep +them." + +Kind did not much like keeping wolves, but before he could answer they +had all changed into the very sheep which had strayed away, and the hair +he had cut off was now a heap of fine and soft wool. + +Clutch gathered it up in his bag, and went back to the plain with his +brother. They keep the sheep together till this day, but Clutch has +grown less greedy, and Kind alone uses the shears. + + + + +THE COBBLERS AND THE CUCKOO + + +Once upon a time there stood in the midst of a bleak moor, in the North +Country, a certain village; all its inhabitants were poor, for their +fields were barren, and they had little trade. But the poorest of them +all were two brothers called Scrub and Spare, who followed the cobbler's +craft, and had but one stall between them. It was a hut built of clay +and wattles. There they worked in most brotherly friendship, though with +little encouragement. + +The people of that village were not extravagant in shoes, and better +cobblers than Scrub and Spare might be found. Nevertheless, Scrub and +Spare managed to live between their own trade, a small barley-field, and +a cottage-garden, till one unlucky day when a new cobbler arrived in the +village. He had lived in the capital city of the kingdom, and, by his +own account, cobbled for the queen and the princesses. His awls were +sharp, his lasts were new; he set up his stall in a neat cottage with +two windows. + +The villagers soon found out that one patch of his would outwear two of +the brothers'. In short, all the mending left Scrub and Spare, and went +to the new cobbler. So the brothers were poor that winter, and when +Christmas came they had nothing to feast on but a barley loaf, a piece +of musty bacon, and some small beer of their own brewing. But they made +a great fire of logs, which crackled and blazed with red embers, and in +high glee the cobblers sat down to their beer and bacon. The door was +shut, for there was nothing but cold moonlight and snow outside; but the +hut, strewn with fir boughs, and ornamented with holly, looked cheerful +as the ruddy blaze flared up and rejoiced their hearts. + +"Long life and good fortune to ourselves, brother!" said Spare. "I hope +you will drink that toast, and may we never have a worse fire on +Christmas--but what is that?" + +Spare set down the drinking-horn, and the brothers listened astonished, +for out of the blazing root they heard "Cuckoo! cuckoo!" as plain as +ever the spring bird's voice came over the moor on a May morning. + +"It is something bad," said Scrub, terribly frightened. + +"May be not," said Spare. + +And out of the deep hole at the side which the fire had not reached flew +a large gray cuckoo, and lit on the table before them. Much as the +cobblers had been surprised, they were still more so when the bird began +to speak. + +"Good gentlemen," it said slowly, "can you tell me what season this is?" + +"It's Christmas," answered Spare. + +"Then a merry Christmas to you!" said the cuckoo. "I went to sleep in +the hollow of that old root one evening last summer, and never woke till +the heat of your fire made me think it was summer again; but now, since +you have burned my lodging, let me stay in your hut till the spring +comes round--I only want a hole to sleep in--and when I go on my travels +next summer be assured that I will bring you some present for your +trouble." + +"Stay, and welcome," said Spare. + +"I'll make you a good warm hole in the thatch. But you must be hungry +after that long sleep. Here is a slice of barley bread. Come, help us to +keep Christmas!" + +The cuckoo ate up the slice, drank water from the brown jug--for he +would take no beer--and flew into a snug hole which Spare scooped for +him in the thatch of the hut. So the snow melted, the heavy rains came, +the cold grew less, the days lengthened, and one sunny morning the +brothers were awakened by the cuckoo shouting its own cry to let them +know that at last the spring had come. + +"Now," said the bird, "I am going on my travels over the world to tell +men of the spring. There is no country where trees bud or flowers bloom +that I will not cry in before the year goes round. Give me another slice +of barley bread to keep me on my journey, and tell me what present I +shall bring you at the end of the twelve months." + +"Good Master Cuckoo," said Scrub, "a diamond or pearl would help such +poor men as my brother and I to provide something better than barley +bread for your next entertainment." + +"I know nothing of diamonds or pearls," said the cuckoo; "they are in +the hearts of rocks and the sands of rivers. My knowledge is only of +that which grows on the earth. But there are two trees hard by the well +that lies at the world's end. One of them is called the golden tree, for +its leaves are all of beaten gold. As for the other, it is always green, +like a laurel. Some call it the wise, and some the merry tree. Its +leaves never fall, but they that get one of them keep a blithe heart in +spite of all misfortunes, and can make themselves as merry in a poor hut +as in a handsome palace." + +"Good Master Cuckoo, bring me a leaf off that tree!" cried Spare. + +"Now, brother, don't be foolish!" said Scrub. "Think of the leaves of +beaten gold! Dear Master Cuckoo, bring me one of them." + +Before another word could be spoken, the cuckoo had flown. + +The brothers were poorer than ever that year; nobody would send them a +single shoe to mend. The new cobbler said, in scorn, they should come to +be his apprentices; and Scrub and Spare would have left the village but +for their barley field, their cabbage garden, and a maid called +Fairfeather, whom both the cobblers had courted for more than seven +years. + +At the end of the winter Scrub and Spare had grown so poor and ragged +that Fairfeather thought them beneath her notice. Old neighbors forgot +to invite them to wedding feasts or merry-makings; and they thought the +cuckoo had forgotten them, too, when at daybreak, on the first of April, +they heard a hard beak knocking at their door, and a voice crying: + +"Cuckoo! cuckoo! Let me in." + +Spare ran to open the door, and in came the cuckoo, carrying on one side +of his bill a golden leaf, larger than that of any tree in the North +Country; and in the other, one like that of the common laurel, only it +had a fresher green. + +"Here!" it said, giving the gold to Scrub and the green to Spare. + +So much gold had never been in the cobbler's hands before, and he could +not help exulting over his brother. + +"See the wisdom of my choice," he said, holding up the large leaf of +gold. "As for yours, as good might be plucked from any hedge. I wonder a +sensible bird should carry the like so far." + +"Good Master Cobbler," cried the cuckoo, finishing the slice, "your +conclusions are more hasty than courteous. If your brother be +disappointed this time, I go on the same journey every year, and, for +your hospitable entertainment, will think it no trouble to bring each of +you whichever leaf you desire." + +"Darling cuckoo," cried Scrub, "bring me a golden one." + +And Spare, looking up from the green leaf on which he gazed, said: + +"Be sure to bring me one from the merry tree." + +And away flew the cuckoo once again. + +Scrub vowed that his brother was not fit to live with a respectable man; +and taking his lasts, his awls, and his golden leaf, he left the wattle +hut, and went to tell the villagers. + +They were astonished at the folly of Spare, and charmed with Scrub's +good sense, particularly when he showed them the golden leaf, and told +them that the cuckoo would bring him one every spring. The new cobbler +immediately took him into partnership; the greatest people sent him +their shoes to mend; Fairfeather smiled graciously upon him, and in the +course of that summer they were married, with a grand wedding feast, at +which the whole village danced, except Spare, who was not invited. + +As for Scrub, he established himself with Fairfeather in a cottage close +by that of the new cobbler, and quite as fine. There he mended shoes to +everybody's satisfaction, had a scarlet coat for holidays, and a fat +goose for dinner every wedding-day anniversary. Spare lived on in the +old hut and worked in the cabbage garden. Every day his coat grew more +ragged, and the hut more weather-beaten; but people remarked that he +never looked sad or sour; and the wonder was that, from the time they +began to keep his company the tinker grew kinder to the poor ass with +which he traveled the country, the beggar-boy kept out of mischief, and +the old woman was never cross to her cat or angry with the children. + +I know not how many years passed in this manner, when a certain great +lord, who owned that village, came to the neighborhood. His castle was +ancient and strong, with high towers and a deep moat. All the country, +as far as one could see from the highest turret, belonged to this lord; +but he had not been there for twenty years, and would not have come +then, only he was melancholy. + +The cause of his grief and sorrow was that he had been prime minister at +court, and in high favor, till somebody told the Crown Prince that he +had spoken disrespectfully concerning the turning out of his Royal +Highness's toes, whereon the North Country lord was turned out of +office, and banished to his own estate. There he lived for some weeks in +very bad temper; but one day in the harvest time his lordship chanced to +meet Spare gathering watercresses at a meadow stream, and fell into +talk. + +How it was nobody could tell, but from the hour of that discourse the +great lord cast away his melancholy, and went about with a noble train, +making merry in his hall, where all travelers were entertained and all +the poor were welcome. + +This strange story soon spread through the North Country, and a great +company came to the cobbler's hut--rich men who had lost their money, +poor men who had lost their friends, beauties who had grown old, wits +who had gone out of fashion--all came to talk with Spare, and, whatever +their troubles, all went home merry. The rich gave him presents, the +poor gave him thanks. + +By this time his fame had reached the Court. There were a great many +discontented people there besides the King, who had lately fallen into +ill humor because a neighboring princess, with seven islands for her +dowry, would not marry his eldest son. So a royal messenger was sent to +Spare, with a command that he should go to court. + +"To-morrow is the first of April," said Spare, "and I will go with you +two hours after sunrise." + +The messenger lodged all night at the castle, and the cuckoo came at +sunrise with the merry leaf. + +"Court is a fine place," he said, when the cobbler told him he was +going; "but I cannot go there--they would lay snares and catch me. So be +careful of the leaves I have brought you, and give me a farewell slice +of barley bread." + +Spare was sorry to part with the cuckoo, but he gave him a thick slice, +and, having sewed up the leaves in the lining of his leather doublet, he +set out with the messenger on his way to the royal court. + +His coming caused great surprise; but scarce had his Majesty conversed +with him half an hour when the princess and her seven islands were +forgotten, and orders given that a feast for all comers should be +spread in the banquet-hall. The princes of the blood, the great lords +and ladies, ministers of state, and judges of the land, after that +discoursed with Spare, and the more they talked the lighter grew their +hearts, so that such changes had never been seen. + +As for Spare, he had a chamber assigned him in the palace, and a seat at +the King's table; one sent him rich robes and another costly jewels; but +in the midst of all his grandeur he still wore the leathern doublet, +which the palace servants thought remarkably mean. One day the King's +attention being drawn to it by the chief page, his Majesty inquired why +Spare didn't give it to a beggar. But the cobbler said: + +"High and mighty monarch, this doublet was with me before silk and +velvet came--I find it easier to wear than the court cut; moreover, it +serves to keep me humble, by recalling the days when it was my holiday +garment." + + [Illustration: "GOOD GENTLEMEN, CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT SEASON THIS IS?"] + +The King thought this a wise speech, and commanded that no one should +find fault with the leathern doublet. So things went, and Spare +prospered at court until the day when he lost his doublet, of which we +read in the next story. + + + + +THE MERRY COBBLER AND HIS COAT + + +Spare, the merry cobbler, of whom we read in the last story, was treated +like a prince at the King's court; and the news of his good fortune +reached his brother Scrub in the moorland cottage one first of April, +when the cuckoo came again with two golden leaves. + +"Think of that!" said Fairfeather. "Here we are spending our lives in +this humdrum place, and Spare making his fortune at court with two or +three paltry green leaves! What would they say to our golden ones? Let +us make our way to the King's palace." + +Scrub thought this excellent reasoning. So, putting on their holiday +clothes, Fairfeather took her looking-glass and Scrub his drinking-horn, +which happened to have a very thin rim of silver, and, each carrying a +golden leaf carefully wrapped up that none might see it till they +reached the palace, the pair set out in great expectation. + +How far Scrub and Fairfeather journeyed we cannot say, but when the sun +was high and warm at noon they came into a wood feeling both tired and +hungry. + +"Let us rest ourselves under this tree," said Fairfeather, "and look at +our golden leaves to see if they are quite safe." + +In looking at the leaves, and talking of their fine prospects, Scrub and +Fairfeather did not perceive that a very thin old woman had slipped from +behind the tree, with a long staff in her hand and a great wallet by her +side. + +"Noble lord and lady," she said, "will ye condescend to tell me where I +may find some water to mix a bottle of mead which I carry in my wallet, +because it is too strong for me?" + +As the old woman spoke, she pulled out a large wooden bottle such as +shepherds used in the ancient times, corked with leaves rolled together, +and having a small wooden cup hanging from its handle. + +"Perhaps ye will do me the favor to taste," she said. "It is only made +of the best honey. I have also cream cheese and a wheaten loaf here, if +such honorable persons as you would not think it beneath you to eat the +like." + +Scrub and Fairfeather became very condescending after this speech. They +were now sure that there must be some appearance of nobility about them; +besides, they were very hungry, and, having hastily wrapped up the +golden leaves, they assured the old woman they were not at all proud, +notwithstanding the lands and castles they had left behind them in the +North Country, and would willingly help to lighten the wallet. + +The old woman was a wood-witch; her name was Buttertongue; and all her +time was spent in making mead, which, being boiled with curious herbs +and spells, had the power of making all who drank it fall asleep and +dream with their eyes open. She had two dwarfs of sons; one was named +Spy, and the other Pounce. Wherever their mother went, they were not far +behind; and whoever tasted her mead was sure to be robbed by the dwarfs. + +Scrub and Fairfeather sat leaning against the old tree. The cobbler had +a lump of cheese in his hand; his wife held fast a hunch of bread. Their +eyes and mouths were both open, but they were dreaming of great grandeur +at court, when the old woman raised her shrill voice: + +"What ho, my sons! Come here, and carry home the harvest!" + +No sooner had she spoken than the two little dwarfs darted out of the +neighboring thicket. + +"Idle boys!" cried the mother. "What have ye done to-day to help our +living?" + +"I have been to the city," said Spy, "and could see nothing. These are +hard times for us--everybody minds his business so contentedly since +that cobbler came. But here is a leathern doublet which his page threw +out of the window; it's of no use, but I brought it to let you see I was +not idle." And he tossed down Spare's doublet, with the merry leaves in +it, which he had been carrying like a bundle on his little back. + +To explain how Spy came by it, it must be said that the forest was not +far from the great city where Spare lived in such high esteem. All +things had gone well with the cobbler till the King thought that it was +quite unbecoming to see such a worthy man without a servant. His Majesty +therefore appointed one of his own pages to wait upon him. The name of +this youth was Tinseltoes, and nobody in all the court had grander +notions. Nothing could please him that had not gold or silver about it, +and his grandmother feared he would hang himself for being appointed +page to a cobbler. As for Spare, the honest man had been so used to +serve himself that the page was always in the way, but his merry leaves +came to his assistance. + +Tinseltoes took wonderfully to the new service. Some said it was because +Spare gave him nothing to do but play at bowls all day on the palace +green. Yet one thing grieved the heart of Tinseltoes, and that was his +master's leathern doublet, and at last, finding nothing better would do, +the page got up one fine morning earlier than his master, and tossed the +leathern doublet out of the window into a lane, where Spy found it. + +"That nasty thing!" said the old woman. "Where is the good in it?" + +By this time Pounce had taken everything of value from Scrub and +Fairfeather--the looking-glass, the silver-rimmed horn, the husband's +scarlet coat, the wife's gay mantle, and, above all, the golden leaves, +which so rejoiced old Buttertongue and her sons that they threw the +leathern doublet over the sleeping cobbler for a jest, and went off to +their hut in the heart of the forest. + +The sun was going down when Scrub and Fairfeather awoke from dreaming +that they had been made a lord and a lady, and sat clothed in silk and +velvet, feasting with the King in his palace hall. It was a great +disappointment to find their golden leaves and all their best things +gone. Scrub tore his hair, and vowed to take the old woman's life; while +Fairfeather lamented sore. But Scrub, feeling cold for want of his coat, +put on the leathern doublet without asking whence it came. + +Scarcely was it buttoned on when a change came over him. He addressed +such merry discourse to Fairfeather that, instead of lamentations, she +made the wood ring with laughter. Both busied themselves in setting up a +hut of boughs, in which Scrub kindled a fire with a flint of steel, +which, together with his pipe, he had brought unknown to Fairfeather, +who had told him the like was never heard of at court. Then they found a +pheasant's nest at the root of an old oak, made a meal of roasted eggs, +and went to sleep on a heap of long green grass which they had gathered, +with nightingales singing all night long in the old trees about them. + +In the meantime Spare had got up and missed his doublet. Tinseltoes, of +course, said he knew nothing about it. The whole palace was searched, +and every servant questioned, till all the court wondered why such a +fuss was made about an old leathern doublet. That very day things +came back to their old fashion. Quarrels began among the lords, and +jealousies among the ladies. The King said his subjects did not pay him +half enough taxes, the Queen wanted more jewels, the servants took to +their old bickerings and got up some new ones. Spare found himself +getting wonderfully dull, and very much out of place, and nobles began +to ask what business a cobbler had at the King's table; till at last his +Majesty issued a decree banishing the cobbler forever from court, and +confiscating all his goods in favor of Tinseltoes. + +That royal edict was scarcely published before the page was in full +possession of his rich chamber, his costly garments, and all the +presents the courtiers had given him; while Spare was glad to make his +escape out of the back window, for fear of the angry people. + +The window from which Spare let himself down with a strong rope was that +from which Tinseltoes had tossed the doublet, and as the cobbler came +down late in the twilight, a poor woodman, with a heavy load of fagots, +stopped and stared in astonishment. + +"What's the matter, friend?" said Spare. "Did you never see a man coming +down from a back window before?" + +"Why," said the woodman, "the last morning I passed here a leathern +doublet came out of that window, and I'll be bound you are the owner of +it." + +"That I am, friend," said the cobbler with great eagerness. "Can you +tell me which way that doublet went?" + +"As I walked on," the woodman said, "a dwarf called Spy, bundled it up +and ran off into the forest." + +Determined to find his doublet, Spare went on his way, and was soon +among the tall trees; but neither hut nor dwarf could he see. At last +the red light of a fire, gleaming through a thicket, led him to the door +of a low hut. It stood half open, as if there was nothing to fear, and +within he saw his brother Scrub snoring loudly on a bed of grass, at the +foot of which lay his own leathern doublet; while Fairfeather, in a +kirtle made of plaited rushes, sat roasting pheasants' eggs by the fire. + +"Good evening, mistress!" said Spare. + +The blaze shone on him, but so changed was her brother-in-law with his +court life that Fairfeather did not know him, and she answered far more +courteously than was her wont. + +"Good evening, master! Whence come ye so late? But speak low, for my +good man has sorely tired himself cleaving wood, and is taking a sleep, +as you see, before supper." + +"A good rest to him," said Spare, perceiving he was not known. "I come +from the court for a day's hunting, and have lost my way in the +forest." + +"Sit down and have a share of our supper," said Fairfeather; "I will put +some more eggs in the ashes; and tell me the news of court." + +"Did you never go there?" said the cobbler. "So fair a dame as you would +make the ladies marvel." + +"You are pleased to flatter," said Fairfeather; "but my husband has a +brother there, and we left our moorland village to try our fortune also. +An old woman enticed us with fair words and strong drink at the entrance +of this forest, where we fell asleep and dreamt of great things; but +when we woke everything had been robbed from us, and, in place of all, +the robbers left him that old leathern doublet, which he has worn ever +since, and never was so merry in all his life, though we live in this +poor hut." + +"It is a shabby doublet, that," said Spare, taking up the garment, and +seeing that it was his own, for the merry leaves were still sewed in its +lining. "It would be good for hunting in, however. Your husband would be +glad to part with it, I dare say, in exchange for this handsome cloak." +And he pulled off the green mantle and buttoned on the doublet, much to +Fairfeather's delight, for she shook Scrub, crying: + +"Husband, husband, rise and see what a good bargain I have made!" + +Scrub rubbed his eyes, gazed up at his brother, and said: + +"Spare, is that really you? How did you like the court, and have you +made your fortune?" + +"That I have, brother," said Spare, "in getting back my own good +leathern doublet. Come, let us eat eggs, and rest ourselves here this +night. In the morning we will return to our own old hut, at the end of +the moorland village, where the Christmas cuckoo will come and bring us +leaves." + +Scrub and Fairfeather agreed. So in the morning they all returned, and +found the old hut little the worse for wear and weather. The neighbors +came about them to ask the news of court, and see if they had made their +fortune. Everybody was astonished to find the three poorer than ever, +but somehow they liked to be back to the hut. Spare brought out the +lasts and awls he had hidden in a corner; Scrub and he began their old +trade, and the whole North Country found out that there never were +such cobblers. Everybody wondered why the brothers had not been more +appreciated before they went away to the court of the King, but, from +the highest to the lowest, all were glad to have Spare and Scrub back +again. + +They mended the shoes of lords and ladies as well as the common people; +everybody was satisfied. Their custom increased from day to day, and all +that were disappointed, discontented, or unlucky, came to the hut as in +old times, before Spare went to court. + +The hut itself changed, no one knew how. Flowering honeysuckle grew over +its roof; red and white roses grew thick about its door. Moreover, the +Christmas cuckoo always came on the first of April, bringing three +leaves of the merry tree--for Scrub and Fairfeather would have no more +golden ones. So it was with them when the last news came from the North +Country. + + + + + [Illustration] + + "Here you have the faery songs, the golden, glad, and airy songs, + When all the world was morning, and when every heart was true; + Songs of darling Childhood, all a-wander in the wildwood-- + Songs of life's first loveliness--songs that speak of you!" + + Thomas Burke + + + + +THE STORY OF CHILD CHARITY + +BY FRANCES BROWNE + + +Once upon a time there lived a little girl who had neither father nor +mother: they both died when she was very young, and left their daughter +to the care of her uncle, who was the richest farmer in all that +country. He had houses and lands, flocks and herds, many servants to +work about his house and fields, a wife who had brought him a great +dowry, and two fair daughters. + +Now, it happened that though she was their near relation, they despised +the orphan girl, partly because she had no fortune, and partly because +of her humble, kindly disposition. It was said that the more needy and +despised any creature was, the more ready was she to befriend it; on +which account the people of the West Country called her Child Charity. +Her uncle would not own her for his niece, her cousins would not keep +her company, and her aunt sent her to work in the dairy, and to sleep in +the back garret. All the day she scoured pails, scrubbed dishes, and +washed crockery-ware; but every night she slept in the back garret as +sound as a princess could sleep in her palace. + +One day during the harvest season, when this rich farmer's corn had been +all cut down and housed, he invited the neighbors to a harvest supper. +The West Country people came in their holiday clothes, and they were +making merry, when a poor old woman came to the back door, begging for +broken victuals and a night's lodging. Her clothes were coarse and +ragged; her hair was scanty and gray; her back was bent; her teeth were +gone. In short she was the poorest and ugliest old woman that ever came +begging. The first who saw her was the kitchen-maid, and she ordered +her off; but Child Charity, hearing the noise, came out from her seat at +the foot of the lowest table, and asked the old woman to take her share +of the supper, and sleep that night in her bed in the back garret. The +old woman sat down without a word of thanks. Child Charity scraped the +pots for her supper that night, and slept on a sack among the lumber, +while the old woman rested in her warm bed; and next morning, before the +little girl awoke, she was up and gone, without so much as saying thank +you. + +Next day, at supper-time, who should come to the back door but the old +woman, again asking for broken victuals and a night's lodging. No one +would listen to her, till Child Charity rose from her seat and kindly +asked her to take her supper, and sleep in her bed. Again the old woman +sat down without a word. Child Charity scraped the pots for her supper, +and slept on the sack. In the morning the old woman was gone; but for +six nights after, as sure as the supper was spread, there was she at the +door, and the little girl regularly asked her in. + +Sometimes the old woman said, "Child, why don't you make this bed +softer? and why are your blankets so thin?" But she never gave her a +word of thanks nor a civil good-morning. At last, on the ninth night +from her first coming, her accustomed knock came to the door, and there +she stood with an ugly dog that no herd-boy would keep. + +"Good-evening, my little girl," she said, when Child Charity opened the +door. "I will not have your supper and bed to-night--I am going on a +long journey to see a friend; but here is a dog of mine, whom nobody in +all the West Country will keep for me. He is a little cross, and not +very handsome; but I leave him to your care till the shortest day in all +the year." + +When the old woman had said the last word, she set off with such speed +that Child Charity lost sight of her in a minute. The ugly dog began to +fawn upon her, but he snarled at everybody else. It was with great +trouble that Child Charity got leave to keep him in an old ruined +cow-house. The little girl gave him part of all her meals; and when the +hard frost came, took him to her own back garret, because the cow-house +was damp and cold in the long nights. The dog lay quietly on some straw +in a corner. Child Charity slept soundly, but every morning the servants +said to her: + +"What great light and fine talking was that in your back garret?" + +"There was no light but the moon shining in through the shutterless +window, and no talk that I heard," said Child Charity, and she thought +they must have been dreaming. But night after night, when any of them +awoke in the dark, they saw a light brighter and clearer than the +Christmas fire, and heard voices like those of lords and ladies in the +back garret. + +At length, when the nights were longest, the little parlor-maid crept +out of bed when all the rest were sleeping, and set herself to watch +at the keyhole. She saw the dog lying quietly in the corner, Child +Charity sleeping soundly in her bed, and the moon shining through the +shutterless window; but an hour before daybreak the window opened, and +in marched a troop of little men clothed in crimson and gold. They +marched up with great reverence to the dog, where he lay on the straw, +and the most richly clothed among them said: + +"Royal Prince, we have prepared the banquet hall. What will your +Highness please that we do next?" + +"You have done well," said the dog. "Now prepare the feast, and see that +all things are in the best style, for the Princess and I mean to bring a +stranger, who never feasted in our halls before." + +"Your Highness's commands shall be obeyed," said the little man, making +another reverence; and he and his company passed out of the window. +By-and-by there came in a company of little ladies clad in rose-colored +velvet, and each carrying a crystal lamp. They also walked with great +reverence up to the dog, and the gayest among them said: + +"Royal Prince, we have prepared the tapestry. What will your Highness +please that we do next?" + +"You have done well," said the dog. "Now prepare the robes, and let all +things be in the first fashion, for the Princess and I will bring with +us a stranger, who never feasted in our halls before." + +"Your Highness's commands shall be obeyed," said the little lady, making +a low curtsey; and she and her company passed out through the window, +which closed quietly behind them. The dog stretched himself out upon the +straw, the little girl turned in her sleep, and the moon shone in on the +back garret. The parlor-maid was much amazed, and told the story to her +mistress; but her mistress called her a silly girl to have such foolish +dreams, and scolded her. + +Nevertheless, Child Charity's aunt thought there might be something in +it worth knowing; so next night, when all the house was asleep she +crept out of bed, and watched at the back garret door. There she saw +exactly what the maid had told her. + +The mistress could not close her eyes any more than the maid, from +eagerness to tell the story. She woke up Child Charity's rich uncle +before daybreak; but when he heard it he laughed at her for a foolish +woman. But that night the master thought he would like to see what went +on in the back garret; so when all the house was asleep he set himself +to watch at the crevice in the door. The same thing happened that the +maid and the mistress saw. + +The master could not close his eyes any more than the maid or the +mistress for thinking of this strange sight. He remembered having heard +his grandfather say that somewhere near his meadows there lay a path, +which led to the fairies' country, and he concluded that the doings in +his back garret must be fairy business, and the ugly dog a person of +very great account. + +Accordingly, he made it his first business that morning to get ready a +fine breakfast of roast mutton for the ugly dog, and carry it to him +in the old cow-house; but not a morsel would the dog taste. On the +contrary, he snarled at the master, and would have bitten him if he had +not run away with his mutton. + +Just as the family were sitting down to supper that night, the ugly dog +began to bark, and the old woman's knock was heard at the back door. +Child Charity opened it, when the old woman said: + +"This is the shortest day in all the year, and I am going home to hold a +feast after my travels. I see you have taken good care of my dog, and +now, if you will come with me to my house, he and I will do our best to +entertain you. Here is our company." + +As the old woman spoke, there was a sound of far-off flutes and bugles, +then a glare of lights; and a great company, clad so grandly that they +shone with gold and jewels, came in open chariots, covered with gilding +and drawn by snow-white horses. The first and finest of the chariots was +empty. The old woman led Child Charity to it by the hand, and the ugly +dog jumped in before her. No sooner were the old woman and her dog +within the chariot than a marvelous change passed over them, for the +ugly old woman turned at once to a beautiful young Princess, while the +ugly dog at her side started up a fair young Prince, with nut-brown hair +and a robe of purple and silver. + +"We are," said they, as the chariots drove on, and the little girl sat +astonished, "a Prince and Princess of Fairy-land; and there was a wager +between us whether or not there were good people still to be found in +these false and greedy times. One said 'Yes,' and the other said 'No'; +and I have lost," said the Prince, "and must pay for the feast and +presents." + +Child Charity went with that noble company into a country such as she +had never seen. They took her to a royal palace, where there was nothing +but feasting and dancing for seven days. She had robes of pale-green +velvet to wear, and slept in a chamber inlaid with ivory. When the feast +was done, the Prince and Princess gave her such heaps of gold and jewels +that she could not carry them, but they gave her a chariot to go home +in, drawn by six white horses, and on the seventh night, when the +farmer's family had settled in their own minds that she would never +come back, and were sitting down to supper, they heard the sound of her +coachman's bugle, and saw her alight with all the jewels and gold at the +very back door where she had brought in the ugly old woman. The fairy +chariot drove away, and never came back to that farmhouse after. But +Child Charity scrubbed and scoured no more, for she became a great lady +even in the eyes of her proud cousins, who were now eager to pay her +homage. + + + + +THE SELFISH GIANT + +BY OSCAR WILDE + + +Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to +go and play in the Giant's garden. + +It was a large, lovely garden, with soft green grass. Here and there +over the grass stood beautiful flower-like stars; and there were twelve +peach-trees that in the Springtime broke out into delicate blossoms of +pink and pearl, and in the Autumn bore rich fruit. The birds sat on the +trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in +order to listen to them. "How happy we are here!" they cried to each +other. + +One day the Giant came back. He had been to visit his friend the Cornish +Ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years. After the seven years +were over he had said all that he had to say, and he determined to +return to his own castle. When he arrived, he saw the children playing +in the garden. + +"What are you doing there?" he cried in a gruff voice, and the children +ran away. + +"My own garden is my own garden," said the Giant; "anyone can understand +that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself." So he built a +high wall all around it, and put up a notice board: + + TRESPASSERS + WILL BE + PROSECUTED + +He was a very selfish Giant. + +The poor children had now nowhere to play. They tried to play on the +road, but the road was very dusty, and full of hard stones, and they did +not like it. They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons +were over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside. "How happy we +were there," they said to one another. + +Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little +blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it +was still Winter. The birds did not care to sing in it, as there were no +children; and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put +its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice board it was so +sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and +went off to sleep. The only people who were pleased were the Snow and +the Frost. "Spring has forgotten this garden," they cried "so we will +live here all the year round." The Snow covered up the grass with her +great white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they +invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came. He was wrapped in +furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots +down. "This is a delightful spot," he said, "we must ask the Hail on a +visit." So the Hail came. Every day for three hours he rattled on the +roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran +round the garden as fast as he could go. He was dressed in gray, and his +breath was like ice. + +"I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming," said the +Selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold, white +garden; "I hope there will be a change in the weather." + +But the Spring never came, nor the Summer. The Autumn gave golden fruit +to every garden, but to the Giant's garden she gave none. "He is too +selfish," she said. So it was always Winter there, and the North Wind, +and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the +trees. + +One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely +music. It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the +King's musicians passing by. It was really only a little linnet singing +outside his window, but it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in +his garden that it seemed to him to be the most beautiful music in the +world. Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind +ceased roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open +casement. "I believe the Spring has come at last," said the Giant; and +he jumped out of bed and looked out. + +What did he see? + +He saw a most wonderful sight. Through a little hole in the wall the +children had crept in and they were sitting in the branches of trees. In +every tree that he could see there was a little child. And the trees +were so glad to have the children back again that they had covered +themselves with blossoms, and were waving their arms gently above the +children's heads. The birds were flying about and twittering with +delight, and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and +laughing. It was a lovely scene, only in one corner it was still Winter. +It was the farthest corner of the garden, and in it was standing a +little boy. He was so small that he could not reach up to the branches +of the tree, and he was wandering all around it, crying bitterly. The +poor tree was still quite covered with frost and snow, and the North +Wind was blowing and roaring above it. "Climb up! little boy," said the +tree, and it bent its branches down as low as it could; but the boy was +too tiny. + +And the Giant's heart melted as he looked out. "How selfish I have +been!" he said; "now I know why the Spring would not come here. I will +put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock +down the wall, and my garden shall be the children's playground for ever +and ever." He was really very sorry for what he had done. + +So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and went +out into the garden. But when the children saw him they all ran away. +Only the little boy did not run, for his eyes were so full of tears that +he did not see the Giant coming. And the Giant stole up behind him and +took him gently in his hand, and put him up into the tree. And the tree +broke at once into blossom, and the birds came and sang on it, and the +little boy stretched out his two arms and flung them round the Giant's +neck, and kissed him. And the other children, when they saw that the +Giant was not wicked any longer, came running back, and with them came +the Spring. "It is your garden now, little children," said the Giant, +and he took a great ax and knocked down the wall. And when the people +were going to market at 12 o'clock they found the Giant playing with the +children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen. + +All day long they played, and in the evening they came to the Giant to +bid him good-by. + +"But where is your little companion?" he said, "the boy I put into the +tree." The Giant loved him the best because he had kissed him. + +"We don't know," answered the children; "he has gone away." + +"You must tell him to be sure and come here to-morrow," said the Giant. +But the children said that they did not know where he lived, and had +never seen him before; and the Giant felt very sad. + +Every afternoon, when school was over, the children came and played with +the Giant. But the little boy whom the Giant loved was never seen again. +The Giant was very kind to all the children, yet he longed for his first +little friend, and often spoke of him. "How I would like to see him!" he +used to say. + +Years went over, and the Giant grew very old and feeble. He could not +play about any more, so he sat in a huge, armchair, and watched the +children at their games, and admired his garden. "I have many beautiful +flowers," he said, "but the children are the most beautiful of all." + +One winter morning he looked out of his window as he was dressing. He +did not hate the Winter now, for he knew that it was merely the Spring +asleep, and that the pretty flowers were resting. + +Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder, and looked and looked. It +certainly was a marvelous sight. In the farthest corner of the garden +was a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms. Its branches were +all golden, and silver fruit hung down from them, and underneath it +stood the little boy he had loved. + +Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden. He +hastened across the grass, and came near to the child. And when he came +quite close his face grew red with anger, and he said: "Who hath dared +to wound thee?" For on the palms of the child's hands were the prints of +two nails, and the prints of two nails were on the little feet. + +"Who hath dared to wound thee?" cried the Giant; "tell me, that I may +take my big sword and slay him." + +"Nay!" answered the child; "but these are the wounds of Love." + +"Who art thou?" said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and he +knelt before the little child. + +And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him: + +"You let me play once in your garden, to-day you shall come with me to +my garden, which is Paradise." + +And when the children ran in that afternoon they found the Giant lying +dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms. + + [Illustration] + + + + + [Illustration: STORIES FROM GREAT BRITAIN] + + + + + THE BATTLE OF THE BIRDS, + OR, THE GRATEFUL RAVEN AND THE PRINCE + +_A Scotch Tale_ + + +Once upon a time a great contest took place between every wild creature. +The son of the King of Tethertown went to see the battle; but he arrived +late, and saw only one fight. This was between a huge Raven and a Snake. +The King's son ran to aid the Raven, and with one blow took the head off +the Snake. The Raven was very grateful, and said: "Now, I will give thee +a sight; come upon my wings." + +They flew over seven mountains, seven glens, and seven moors. That +night, at the Raven's request, the King's son slept in the house of +one of the Raven's sisters. He was to meet the Raven next morning for +another trip; and for three days they journeyed. On the third morning a +handsome boy, who was carrying a bundle, came to meet the King's son. + +This boy told how he had been under a spell; and he was at once released +from it by the power of the King's son. In return, he gave him the +bundle which he carried, and cautioned him not to open it until he found +the place where he desired to dwell. + +On the homeward trip the bundle became very heavy, and the King's son +stopped in a grove to open it. Immediately a beautiful castle sprang +up before him. He was very sorry, for he wanted to live in the glen +opposite his father's palace. Just then a Giant appeared and offered to +put the castle back in the bundle on condition that the Prince give him +his first son when he was seven years old. The Prince promised, and soon +he had his castle in the right place. At the palace door there was a +beautiful maiden, who asked him to marry her. The wedding took place at +once, and all were happy. + +Before many years they had a son; and then the Prince, who was now King, +remembered his promise to the Giant. When the boy was seven years old +the Giant came to claim him. The Queen said she would save her child. +She dressed the cook's son in fine clothes, and gave him to the Giant. +But the Giant feared some treachery, and said to the boy: "If thy father +had a rod what would he do with it?" + +"He would beat the dogs if they went near the King's meat," answered the +boy. + +Then the Giant knew he had been deceived, and he went again to the +palace. Again the Queen tried to trick him by giving him the butler's +son. When the Giant found he had been fooled a second time, he stalked +back to the castle, and made a terrible scene. The castle shook under +the soles of his feet as he cried: "Out here with thy son, or the stone +that is highest in thy dwelling shall be the lowest." So, in great fear, +the Queen gave her son to the Giant. + +The lad lived many years in the Giant's home. On a certain holiday, when +the Giant was away, the boy heard sweet music. Looking up the stairs he +saw a beautiful little maiden. She beckoned to him to come to her, then +said: "To-morrow you may choose between my two sisters for your bride; +but, I pray you, say you will take only me. My father is forcing me to +marry a Prince whom I hate." + +On the morrow the Giant said: "Now, Prince, you may go home to-morrow, +and take with you either of my two eldest daughters as your wife." + +The Giant was very angry when the Prince said: "I want only the pretty +little one." + +The Giant in a great rage imposed three tasks upon the King's son. He +had to clean a byre, or cow-shed, which had not been cleaned for seven +years. Secondly, he was to thatch the byre with bird's down; and lastly, +he must climb a tall fir-tree and bring five eggs, unbroken, from the +magpie's nest for the Giant's breakfast. These tasks were too great for +any mortal to accomplish, but the youth was willing to try. + +He worked all morning on the dirty byre, and accomplished practically +nothing. At noon, while he was resting under a tree, the Giant's +daughter came and talked to him. In utter dejection he showed her +the impossibility of completing the task by nightfall. With words of +sympathy and encouragement, she left him and went on her way. After she +had gone, the Prince in great weariness fell asleep under the tree. + +It was evening before he awoke. His first thought was of the unfinished +task, and he jumped to his feet, though only half awake. He looked at +the byre, and then he rubbed his eyes; and then he looked at the byre +again, for, lo! it was clean. Some one had come to his aid while he +slept. When the Giant came home, he knew the King's son had not cleaned +the byre, but he could not prove it, so he had to keep his word. + +The second and third tasks were done in much the same way. The Prince +would try very hard to do the work alone, and when he was just about to +fail the Giant's daughter would come and encourage the youth. + +In getting the eggs from the magpie's nest, the Giant's daughter was in +a great hurry, because she felt her father's breath on the back of her +neck. In her haste she left her little finger in the magpie's nest, but +there was no time to go back and get it. + +When the third task was finished, the Giant ordered them to get ready +for the wedding. + +The Giant tried to deceive the King's son at the very last. The three +daughters were dressed alike, and brought before him, and he was to +choose which one was his promised bride. But the Prince knew her by the +hand on which the little finger was missing; so all was well. + +After the wedding the bride and bridegroom went to their chamber. The +Giant's daughter said: "Quick! quick! We must fly. My father plans to +kill you." + +Then she took an apple and cut it into four parts, two of which she put +on the bed; one piece was placed by the door, and the other outside. +After that was done, they hurried out to the stables, mounted the +blue-gray filly, and were off. + +In the meantime the Giant was waiting for them to go to sleep. At last +he could wait no longer, so he called out: "Are you asleep yet?" And the +apple at the head of the bed answered: "No, we are not asleep." He +called out the same thing three more times, and the three other pieces +of apple answered him the same way. When the piece outside the door +replied, the Giant knew he had been fooled, and that the couple had +fled. He started after them in hot pursuit. + +Just at dawn the Giant's daughter said: "My father is close behind us, +because his breath is burning my neck. Put thy hand in the filly's ear +and throw behind thee whatever thou findest." + +The Prince did so, and at once a thick forest of blackthorn sprang up +behind them. + +At noon the Giant's daughter again said: "I feel my father's breath on +my neck." So the Prince reached into the filly's ear and took a piece of +stone, which he threw behind him. At once a huge rock was between them +and the Giant. + +By evening the Giant was close upon them for the third time. Out of the +filly's ear the King's son took a bladder of water, and threw it behind +him. A fresh-water lake then stretched twenty miles behind them. By this +time the Giant was coming so fast that he could not stop, but plunged +headlong into the lake and was drowned. + +When they approached the Prince's home, the maiden said she would wait +for him by the well. "Go thou and greet thy father, then come back for +me. But let neither man nor creature kiss thee, or thou wilt forget me." + +The youth was welcomed by all his family, but he kissed none of them. As +misfortune would have it, however, an old grayhound jumped upon him and +licked his face, and then he did not remember the Giant's daughter. + +She waited a long time for his return. After a while she wandered to an +old Shoemaker's cottage and asked him to take her to the palace, that +she might see the newly returned Prince. The Shoemaker, greatly awed by +her unusual beauty, said: "Come with me. I am well acquainted with the +servants at the castle, and will arrange for you to see the company." + +The pretty woman attracted much attention at the feast. The gentlefolk +took her to the banquet hall and gave her a glass of cordial. Just as +she was going to drink, a flame appeared in the glass, and a golden +pigeon and a silver pigeon sprang out of the flame. At the same time, +three grains of barley fell upon the floor. + +The two pigeons flew down and ate the barley grains. As they ate, the +golden pigeon said: "Do you remember how I cleaned the byre?" Three more +grains of barley fell to the ground, and the golden pigeon again spoke: +"Do you remember how I thatched the byre?" Still three more grains fell +to the ground, and the golden pigeon once more spoke: "Do you remember +how I robbed the magpie's nest? I lost my little finger, and I lack it +still." + +Then the King's son remembered, and he sprang and claimed the Giant's +little daughter as his bride. + + + + +JACK AND THE BEANSTALK + +RETOLD BY MARY LENA WILSON + + +A long, long time ago there was a boy named Jack. He and his mother were +very poor, and lived in a tiny cottage. Jack's mother loved him so much +that she could never say no to anything he asked. So whenever he wanted +money she gave it to him, until at last all they had was gone. There was +nothing left with which to buy supper. Then the poor woman began to cry, +and said to her son: + +"Oh, Jack, there is nothing in the house to eat; and there is no money +to buy food. You will have to take the old cow to town and sell her. She +is all we have left." + +Jack felt very bad when he saw his mother crying; so he quickly got the +cow and started off to town. As he was walking along he passed the +butcher, who stopped him and said: + +"Why, Jack! what are you driving your cow away from home for?" And Jack +replied sadly: "I am taking her to town to sell her." + +Then he noticed that the butcher held in his hand some colored beans. +They were so beautiful he could not keep from staring at them. + +Now, the butcher was a very mean man. He knew the cow was worth more +than the beans, but he did not believe Jack knew it, so he said: "You +let me have your cow, and I will give you a whole bag of these beans." + +Jack was so delighted that he could hardly wait to get the bag in his +hand. He ran off home as fast as he could. + +"Oh, mother, mother!" he shouted, as he reached the house; "see what I +have got for the old cow!" + +The good lady came hurrying out of the house, but when she saw only a +bagful of colored beans she was so disappointed to think he had sold her +cow "for nothing" that she flung the beans as far as she could. They +fell everywhere--on the steps, down the road, and in the garden. + +That night Jack and his mother had to go to bed without anything to eat. + +Next morning, when Jack looked out of his window, he could hardly +believe his eyes. In the garden where his mother had thrown some of the +beans there were great beanstalks. They were twisted together so that +they made a ladder. When Jack ran out to the garden to look more closely +he found the ladder reached up, up--'way up into the clouds! It was so +high he could not see the top. + +Jack was very excited, and called to his mother: "Mother, dear, come +quickly! My beans have grown into a beautiful beanstalk ladder that +reaches to the sky! I am going to climb up and see what is at the top." + +Hour after hour he climbed, until he was so tired he could hardly climb +any more. At last he came to the end, and peered eagerly over the top to +see what was there. Not a thing was to be seen but rocks and bare +ground. + +"Oh," said Jack to himself. "This is a horrid place. I wish I had never +come." + +Just then he saw, hobbling along, a wrinkled, ragged old woman. When she +reached Jack she looked at him and said: + +"Well, my boy, where did you come from?" + +"I came up the ladder," answered Jack. + + [Illustration] + +The old woman looked at him very sharply. "Do you remember your father?" +she asked. + +Jack thought this a queer question, but he replied: "No, I do not. +Whenever I ask my mother about him she cries, and will not tell me." + +At this, the old woman leaned her face very close to Jack's and snapped +her bright eyes. "_I will tell you_," she said, "for _I am a Fairy_!" + +The Fairy smiled. "Do not be afraid, my dear, for I am a good, good +Fairy. But before I tell you anything, you must promise to do exactly as +I say." + +Jack promised, and the Fairy began her story. + +"A long while ago, when you were only a tiny baby, your father and +mother lived in a beautiful house, with plenty of money and servants +and everything nice. They were very happy, because everyone loved your +father for the kind things he did. He always helped people who were poor +and in trouble. + +"Now, miles and miles away there was a wicked Giant. He was just as bad +as your father was good. When he heard about your father he decided to +do something very terrible. He went to your house and _killed him_. He +would have killed you and your mother, too, but she fell down on her +knees and begged: 'Oh, please do not hurt me and my little baby. Take +all our treasures, but do not kill us.' + +"Now of course the money was what the Giant really wanted, so he said: +'If you promise that you will never tell your little boy who his father +was, or anything about me, I will let you go. If you do tell him, I +shall find out and kill you both.' + +"Your mother quickly promised, and ran out of the house as fast as she +could. All day long she hurried over the rough roads with you in her +arms. At last, when she could hardly walk a step further, she came to +the little house where you live now. + +"Now, my dear Jack. I am your father's good fairy. The reason I could +not help him against the wicked Giant was because I had done something +wrong. When a fairy does something wrong she loses her power. My power +did not come back to me until the day when you went to sell your cow. +Then _I_ put it into your head to sell the cow for the pretty beans. _I_ +made the beanstalk grow. _I_ made you climb up the beanstalk. + +"Now, Jack, this is the country where the wicked Giant lives. I had you +come here so you could get back your mother's treasure." + +When Jack heard this he was very excited. + +"Follow the road," said the Fairy, "and you will come to the Giant's +house. And do not forget that some day you are to punish the wicked +Giant." And then she disappeared. + +Jack had not gone far before he came to a great house. In front of it +stood a little woman. Jack went up to her and said very piteously: "Oh, +please, good, kind lady, let me come in your beautiful house and have +something to eat and a place to sleep." + +The woman looked surprised. "Why, what are you doing here?" she said. +"Don't you know this is where my husband, the terrible Giant, lives? No +one dares to come near here. Every one my husband finds he has locked up +in his house. Then when he is hungry he _eats them_! He walks fifty +miles to find some one to eat." + +When Jack heard this he was very much afraid. But he remembered what the +Fairy had told him, and once more he asked the woman to let him in. + +"Just let me sleep in the oven," he said. "The Giant will never find me +there." + +He seemed so tired and sad that the woman couldn't say no, and she gave +him a nice supper. + +Then they climbed a winding stair and reached a bright, cozy kitchen. +Jack was just beginning to enjoy himself, when suddenly there was a +great pounding at the front door. + +"Quick, quick!" cried the Giant's wife; "jump into the oven." + +Jack was no sooner safely hidden than he heard the Giant say, in tones +of thunder: + + "Fee, fi, fo, fum, + I smell the blood of an Englishman!" + +When Jack heard this he thought surely the Giant knew that he was in the +house, but the wife said calmly: + +"Oh, my dear, it is probably the people in the dungeon." + +Then they both came down to the kitchen. The Giant sat so close to the +oven that by peeping through a hole, Jack could easily see him. He _was +enormous_! And how much he did eat and drink for his supper! When at +last he was through, he roared: + +"Wife, bring me my hen!" And the woman brought in a beautiful hen. + +"Lay!" commanded the Giant; and what was Jack's surprise when the hen +laid a golden egg. Every time the Giant said: "Lay!"--and he said it +many times--the hen obeyed. + +At last both the woman and her husband fell asleep. But Jack did not +dare to sleep. He sat all cramped and tired in the oven, watching the +Giant. + +When it began to get light he slowly pushed the oven door open and +crawled out ever so softly. For a minute he hardly dared breathe for +fear of waking the Giant. Then quick as a flash, he seized the hen and +stole out of the house as fast as his feet could carry him. + +He did not stop running until he reached the beanstalk. All out of +breath, he climbed down the ladder with the hen in his arms. + +Now, all this time, Jack's poor mother thought her son was surely lost. +When she saw him she said: + +"Oh, Jack, why did you go off and leave me like that?" + +"But, mother," said Jack--and proudly he held out the hen--"see what I +have brought you this time: a hen that lays golden eggs. Now we can +have everything we want. You need never be sad any more." + +Jack and his mother were very happy together for many months. Whenever +they wanted anything, they just told the hen to lay a golden egg. + +But after a while Jack remembered his promise to the Fairy to punish the +Giant. So he said to his mother: + +"Mother dear, I think I will go back and get some more of our treasure +from the Giant." + +The poor woman felt very bad when her son said this. "Oh, please do not +go, Jack," she begged. "This time the Giant will find you and kill you +for stealing his hen." + +Jack decided he would not worry his mother, but he would find a way to +fool the Giant. He got some paint to color his skin brown and had a +queer suit of clothes made so that no one could discover who he was. +Without telling anyone, he got up early one morning and climbed up the +beanstalk. + +It was dark and cold before he reached the Giant's house. There at the +front door was the Giant's wife; but she did not know Jack in his queer +clothes. + +"Good evening, Lady," said Jack, very politely. "Will you let me in for +a night's rest? I am very tired and hungry." + +But the woman shook her head. "I can't let anyone in. One night I let in +a poor boy like yourself, and he stole my husband's favorite treasure. +My husband is a cruel Giant, and since his hen was stolen he has been +worse than ever." + +"Oh, _please_ let me come in just for to-night. If you don't I shall +have to lie here on the ground and die." + +"Well, I can't let you do that. But mind, I shall have to hide you in +the lumber-closet, or my husband may find you and eat you up." + +Of course, Jack was very glad to agree to do this. As soon as he was +safely hidden away he heard a tremendous noise, and knew that the Giant +had come home. The big fellow walked so heavily that he shook the whole +house. + + "Fe, fi, fo, fum, + I smell the blood of an Englishman!" he shouted. + +"Oh, no, my dear," she answered. "It is an old piece of meat that a crow +left on the roof." + +"All right," said the Giant. "Now, hurry and get my supper." And with +that he tried to strike his poor wife. Jack could see from where he was +hiding that the Giant was even uglier than before. + +"It was you who let in the boy that stole my hen," he kept saying to +her. And when Jack heard this he shivered for fear. + +After his supper the Giant said in a very cross voice: + +"Now, wife, bring me my bags of gold and silver." + +So the old woman brought in two huge bags and put them down on the +table. The Giant opened each and poured out a great heap of silver and +gold. For a long while he sat counting the money. But at last he began +to get drowsy. So he put the gold carefully back and fell over in his +chair asleep. + +Jack thought maybe the Giant was only pretending to be asleep, so that +he could catch anyone who might try to take his gold. But when the Giant +had been snoring some time, the boy carefully opened the door of the +closet and tip-toed over to the table. Not a sound could be heard except +the terrible snoring of the Giant. Slowly Jack reached out to take the +bags of money. + +"Bow, wow, wow!" And a little dog, which Jack had not seen before, +jumped up from a corner by the fire, barking furiously. Jack had never +been so frightened in his life as now. Surely the Giant would wake and +kill him. + +But the Giant never woke at all. He had eaten so much that he couldn't! +So Jack snatched the bags, and dashed for the beanstalk. + +When at last he reached the bottom, he ran at once to the cottage to +show his mother the treasure. + +For three years Jack and his mother lived very happily together. But all +this time Jack could not forget his promise to the Fairy, and what might +happen to him if he did not keep it. + +At last he felt that he must go and kill the wicked Giant. He got some +yellow paint and another queer suit, so that he would not look like +himself at all. Early one morning, when it was barely light, he crept +softly out of the house and climbed up into the Giant's country. + +This time he was bigger and older, and did not feel nearly so afraid as +he had before. He met the Giant's wife, just as he had the two other +times; and after a great deal of coaxing she let him in, and hid him in +the boiler. + +He had barely gotten in when he felt the whole house shake, and knew +that the Giant had come home. + + "Fe, fi, fo, fum! + I smell the blood of an Englishman." + +He roared in a voice louder than ever. But now Jack was not at all +scared. He remembered what had happened before, and thought he was +quite safe. + +But this time the Giant would not listen to anything his wife said. He +jumped up and began stumping around the room, shouting: "There is fresh +meat here! I can smell it! Where is it?" And he put his hand right on +the boiler. + +Jack held his breath tight, and did not move a muscle. Just when he felt +sure the Giant was going to lift off the lid and find him, he heard him +say: "Well, never mind now. Bring me my supper." And then he went over +to the table and began to eat. + +It seemed to Jack that he ate more than ever. But suddenly he stopped +and called out: "Wife, bring me my harp." + +The poor woman ran at once and brought back the most beautiful harp Jack +had ever seen. She placed it beside her husband, and he commanded: +"Play!" And the most surprising thing happened: The harp began to play +the loveliest tunes without anyone touching it at all. Jack thought he +had never seen anything so wonderful, and said to himself: + +"That harp really belongs to my mother. I shall get it away from the +Giant and take it to her." + +Soon the Giant fell asleep. Jack crawled very quietly out of the boiler +and up toward the table. He stretched out his hand to seize the harp; +but just as his fingers touched it, it shouted: "Master, master, wake +up!" + +Jack was horrified, for he saw at once that the harp was the Giant's +fairy, and was trying to help him. + +The Giant opened his eyes, but before he could get to his feet Jack was +running for his life. Down the winding stair and through the dark hall +he went. He felt the floor tremble as the Giant came roaring after him. +He was panting for breath when he reached the front door, but did not +dare to stop. If he did, he knew the Giant would catch him, and that +would be the end of him. + +And this is what surely would have happened, but the Giant had eaten so +much for his supper that he could hardly run at all. Even so, he was +close behind him all the way. And all the time he kept roaring and +shouting, which frightened Jack all the more. + +As soon as Jack reached the beanstalk he called out: "Someone quick! get +me a hatchet!" Then he almost fell down the beanstalk in his hurry. + +When he reached the bottom the Giant had already started to come down. +"Oh, now," thought poor Jack, "he will come and burn our house, and kill +my mother and me." + +Just then a neighbor ran up to Jack with a hatchet. Jack grabbed it and +cut down the beanstalk! With a terrible crash it fell to the ground, +bringing the Giant with it. + +Jack and his friends rushed up to where he fell. + +"Oh, he is dead! He is dead!" they shouted. + +When Jack's mother heard this she came running out of the house and +flung her arms around her son. + +"Oh, mother, I am so sorry that I have been all this trouble to you. But +I promise I shall never be any more." And just at this moment the Fairy +appeared. + +"Yes," she said. "Your Jack is a good boy. He did all this only because +I told him to." To Jack she said: + +"Now, my dear, I hope you will always be good and kind to your mother. +And I hope you will always be kind to the poor and unhappy people, just +as your father was. If you are, I am sure that you will both be very +happy as long as you live. Good-by, good-by, my dears!" And before they +could thank her the Fairy disappeared. + +Jack remembered all she had told him, and he and his mother lived +together very happily all the rest of their lives. + + + + +TOM THUMB + +RETOLD BY LAURA CLARKE + + +Have you ever heard about Little Thumb, or Tom Thumb as he was sometimes +called? Such a queer little fellow, and such adventures, you surely must +become acquainted with. + +'Way back in the days of the good King Arthur, there lived a poor man +and his wife who had no children. They wanted a child more than anything +else in the world; and one day the woman said to her husband: + +"Husband, if I had a son, even if he were no bigger than my thumb, I +should be the happiest woman alive." + +Now, Merlin, the King's magician, overheard this wish; and I suspect he +was fond of playing tricks, for it was not many days before the woman +had a child given her. He was so tiny that his father burst out laughing +when he saw him, and called him Tom Thumb. But the parents were as +happy as if he had been a large boy. + +Tom Thumb had many exciting adventures and narrow escapes, because he +was so small. He used to drive his father's horse by standing in the +horse's ear and calling out "Gee up!" and "Gee, whoa!" just like his +father. When people saw horse and cart going along at a brisk pace, and +heard the voice but saw no driver, you may be sure they were surprised. + + [Illustration] + +One day two men saw him, and thought they might get rich if they could +get Tom Thumb, take him to country fairs, and make him do funny things +to amuse the crowds. They offered Little Thumb's father a sum of gold +for the tiny fellow, but the good man said: "I would not take any sum of +money for my dear son." + +Then Tom whispered in his father's ear: "Dear father, take the money and +let them have me. I can easily get away and return home." + +Now, if Tom's father had known what dangers were before the little +fellow he never would have consented; but it sounded so easy that he +took the gold, and the men took Tom. + +Tom rode on the brim of his new master's hat for a long time, thinking +how he might escape. Finally he saw a field-mouse's nest over a hedge, +and he said: "Master, I am cold and stiff; put me down that I may run +about and get warm." + +Not suspecting anything, the man put him on the ground. What was his +surprise and anger when Little Tom darted off through the hedge. Calling +to him to come back, the master with difficulty climbed over the bushes +and started searching for his small runaway. He looked behind stones, +under clumps of grass, in little furrows, but never thought of the nest +of the field-mouse. + +Little Tom stayed very still long after the angry voice had died away in +the distance. When he came forth it was dark, and he did not know which +way to go. He was still trying to make up his mind, when he overheard +two robbers on the other side of the hedge. + +The first robber said: "There is plenty of gold and silver in the +rector's house, but his doors are locked and his windows barred." + +"Yes," said the other one, "and if we break in we shall wake up the +servants." + +This conversation gave Tom an idea. Stepping through the hedge he said +in a loud voice: "I can help you. I am so small I can get between the +bars on the window. Then I'll pass all the gold and silver out to you, +and when I get out you can divide with me." + + [Illustration] + +The robbers were pleased with the idea. They decided between themselves +that as soon as they got the money in their own hands they would make +off and not divide it at all. They never suspected that Little Thumb was +planning to give them away. + +Reaching the rector's home they lifted Tom up, and he crawled between +the bars and out of reach of the robbers. + +Then he called out in a very loud voice, so as to waken the servants: +"Will you have everything I can get?" The servants came running +calling, "Thief! Thief!" and the two robbers escaped as fast as their +feet would carry them. + +Now, the servants were so angry, and told in such loud voices what they +should do if they caught anyone in the house, that Little Thumb was very +much afraid. So he climbed out through the window and hid in the barn in +the hay. + +It is best for little people to stay out of harm's way; the queerest +things may happen. While our small adventurer was peacefully sleeping, +the milkmaid came to give the cattle their morning fodder. As bad luck +would have it, she took the very truss of hay in which Tom lay; and he +awoke with a start to find himself in the cow's great mouth, in danger +of being crushed at any minute by her tremendous teeth. He dodged back +and forth in terror; and it was a relief when the cow gave one big +swallow, and he slid down into her roomy stomach. + + [Illustration] + +It was dark and moist down there, however, and more hay came down with +every swallow; so Tom called out with all his might: "No more hay, +please! no more hay!" + +The milkmaid screamed, and ran to the house, telling everyone that the +cow had been talking to her just like a man. + +"Nonsense," said the rector; "cows do not talk." Nevertheless, he went +to the cow-shed. No sooner had he stepped inside the door than the cow +lifted her head, and a voice called in great distress: "No more hay, +please! no more hay!" + +"Alas," cried the rector, "my beautiful cow is bewitched! It is best to +kill her before she makes mischief with the other cows." + +So the cow was slaughtered, and the stomach, with Little Thumb inside, +was flung away. + +"Now, I will work my way out and run home," thought Tom. But he was to +have another adventure first. He had just gotten his head free, when a +hungry wolf, attracted by the smell of the freshly-killed meat, seized +the stomach in its jaws and sprang away into the forest. + +Instead of losing courage, Little Thumb began to plan a way of escape. +He decided on a bold scheme. In his loudest voice he called: "Wolf, if +you are hungry, I know where you can get a choice dinner." + +"Where?" asked the wolf. + +"There is a house not far away, and I know a hole through which you can +crawl into the kitchen. Once there you can eat and drink to your heart's +content." + +The wolf did not know that Tom meant his own home; but the mention of +these good things to eat made him very hungry, and following Tom's +directions he quickly reached the house. + +Things were exactly as promised. Tom waited till he was sure the wolf +had eaten so much that he could not get out through the hole he came in. +Then he called from inside the wolf: "Father, mother, help! I am +here--in the wolf's body." + +It did not take long for the father to finish the wolf and rescue his +dear boy. + +"We shall never let you go again, for all the riches of the world," said +the mother and father. But Tom was rather pleased with his adventures. + +One day, when walking beside the river, he slipped and fell in. Before +he had a chance to swim out a fish came along and swallowed him. Tom had +escaped so often from such dangers that he was not much afraid. After a +time the fish saw a dainty worm, and, little thinking that it was on a +hook, took it in its mouth. Before it realized what had happened it was +pulled out of the water, with Little Thumb still inside. + +Now, as luck would have it, this fish was to be for the King's dinner. +When the cook opened the fish to clean it and make it ready for +broiling, out stepped Little Thumb, much to the astonishment and delight +of everyone. The King said he had never seen so tiny and merry a fellow. +He knighted him, and had Sir Thomas Thumb and his father and mother live +in the palace the rest of their lives. + + + + + [Illustration] + +WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT + + +In the reign of the famous King Edward III there was a little boy called +Dick Whittington, whose father and mother died when he was very young, +so that he remembered nothing at all about them, and was left a ragged +little fellow, running about a country village. As poor Dick was not old +enough to work, he was very badly off; he got but little for his dinner, +and sometimes nothing at all for his breakfast; for the people who lived +in the village were very poor indeed, and could not spare him much more +than the parings of potatoes, and now and then a hard crust of bread. + +For all this Dick Whittington was a very sharp boy, and was always +listening to what everybody talked about. On Sunday he was sure to +get near the farmers, as they sat talking on the tombstones in the +churchyard, before the parson was come; and once a week you might see +little Dick leaning against the sign-post of the village inn, where +people stopped as they came from the next market town; and when the +barber's shop door was open, Dick listened to all the news that his +customers told one another. + +In this manner Dick heard a great many very strange things about the +great city called London; for the foolish country people at that time +thought that folks in London were all fine gentlemen and ladies; and +that there was singing and music there all day long; and that the +streets were all paved with gold. + +One day a large wagon and eight horses, all with bells at their heads, +drove through the village while Dick was standing by the sign-post. He +thought that this wagon must be going to the fine town of London; so he +took courage, and asked the wagoner to let him walk with him by the side +of the wagon. As soon as the wagoner heard that poor Dick had no father +or mother, and saw by his ragged clothes that he could not be worse off +than he was, he told him he might go if he would, so they set off +together. + +It has never been found out how little Dick contrived to get meat and +drink on the road; nor how he could walk so far, for it was a long way; +nor what he did at night for a place to lie down and sleep. Perhaps some +good-natured people in the towns that he passed through, when they saw +he was a poor little ragged boy, gave him something to eat; and perhaps +the wagoner let him get into the wagon at night, and take a nap upon one +of the boxes or large parcels in the wagon. + +Dick however got safe to London, and was in such a hurry to see the fine +streets paved all over with gold, that he ran as fast as his legs would +carry him, through many of the streets, thinking every moment to come to +those that were paved with gold; for Dick had seen a guinea three times +in his own little village, and remembered what a deal of money it +brought in change; so he thought he had nothing to do but to take up +some little bits of the pavement, and should then have as much money as +he could wish for. + +Poor Dick ran till he was tired; but at last, finding it grew dark, and +that every way he turned he saw nothing but dirt instead of gold, he sat +down in a dark corner and cried himself to sleep. + +Little Dick was all night in the streets; and next morning, being very +hungry, he got up and walked about, and asked everybody he met to give +him a halfpenny to keep him from starving; but nobody stayed to answer +him, and only two or three gave him a halfpenny; so that the poor boy +was soon quite weak and faint for the want of food. + +At last a good-natured looking gentleman saw how hungry he looked. "Why +don't you go to work, my lad?" said he to Dick. "That I would, but I do +not know how to get any," answered Dick. "If you are willing, come along +with me," said the gentleman, and took him to a hay-field, where Dick +worked briskly, and lived merrily till the hay was made. + +After this he found himself as badly off as before; and being almost +starved again, he laid himself down at the door of Mr. Fitzwarren, a +rich merchant. Here he was soon seen by the cook-maid, who was an +ill-tempered creature, and happened just then to be very busy dressing +dinner for her master and mistress; so she called out to poor Dick: +"What business have you there, you lazy rogue? there is nothing else but +beggars; if you do not take yourself away, we will see how you will like +a sousing of some dish-water; I have some here hot enough to make you +jump." + +Just at that time, Mr. Fitzwarren himself came home to dinner; and when +he saw a dirty ragged boy lying at the door, he said to him: "Why do you +lie there, my boy? You seem old enough to work; I am afraid you are +inclined to be lazy." + +"No, indeed, sir," said Dick to him, "that is not the case, for I would +work with all my heart, but I do not know anybody, and I believe I am +very sick for the want of food." "Poor fellow, get up; let me see what +ails you." + +Dick now tried to rise, but was obliged to lie down again, being too +weak to stand, for he had not eaten any food for three days, and was no +longer able to run about and beg a halfpenny of people in the street. So +the kind merchant ordered him to be taken into the house, and have a +good dinner given him, and be kept to do what dirty work he was able for +the cook. + +Little Dick would have lived very happy in this good family if it had +not been for the ill-natured cook, who was finding fault and scolding +him from morning to night, and besides, she was so fond of basting, that +when she had no meat to baste, she would baste poor Dick's head and +shoulders with a broom, or anything else that happened to fall in her +way. At last her ill-usage of him was told to Alice, Mr. Fitzwarren's +daughter, who told the cook she should be turned away if she did not +treat him kinder. + +The ill-humor of the cook was now a little amended; but besides this +Dick had another hardship to get over. His bed stood in a garret, where +there were so many holes in the floor and the walls that every night he +was tormented with rats and mice. A gentleman having given Dick a penny +for cleaning his shoes, he thought he would buy a cat with it. The next +day he saw a girl with a cat, and asked her if she would let him have it +for a penny. The girl said she would, and at the same time told him the +cat was an excellent mouser. + +Dick hid his cat in the garret, and always took care to carry a part of +his dinner to her; and in a short time he had no more trouble with the +rats and mice, but slept quite sound every night. + +Soon after this, his master had a ship ready to sail; and as he thought +it right that all his servants should have some chance for good fortune +as well as himself, he called them all into the parlor and asked them +what they would send out. + +They all had something that they were willing to venture except poor +Dick, who had neither money nor goods, and therefore could send nothing. + +For this reason he did not come into the parlor with the rest; but Miss +Alice guessed what was the matter, and ordered him to be called in. She +then said she would lay down some money for him, from her own purse; but +the father told her this would not do, for it must be something of his +own. + +When poor Dick heard this, he said he had nothing but a cat which he +bought for a penny some time since of a little girl. + +"Fetch your cat then, my good boy," said Mr. Fitzwarren, "and let her +go." + +Dick went upstairs, and with tears in his eyes brought down poor puss, +and gave her to the captain. + +All the company laughed at Dick's odd venture; and Miss Alice, who felt +pity for the poor boy, gave him some money to buy another cat. + +This, and many other marks of kindness shown him by Miss Alice, made the +ill-tempered cook jealous of poor Dick, and she began to use him more +cruelly than ever, and always made game of him for sending his cat to +sea. She asked him if he thought his cat would sell for as much money as +would buy a stick to beat him. + +At last poor Dick could not bear this usage any longer, and he thought +he would run away from this place; so he packed up his few things, and +started very early in the morning, on All-hallows Day, which is the +first of November. He walked as far as Holloway; and there sat down on +a stone, which to this day is called Whittington's Stone, and began to +think to himself which road he should take as he proceeded onward. + +While he was thinking what he should do, the Bells of Bow Church, which +at that time had only six, began to ring, and he fancied their sound +seemed to say to him: + + "Turn again, Whittington, + Lord Mayor of London." + +"Lord Mayor of London!" said he to himself. "Why, to be sure, I would +put up with almost anything now, to be Lord Mayor of London, and ride in +a fine coach, when I grow to be a man! Well, I will go back, and think +nothing of the cuffing and scolding of the old cook, if I am to be Lord +Mayor of London at last." + +Dick went back, and was lucky enough to get into the house, and set +about his work, before the old cook came downstairs. + +The ship, with the cat on board, was a long time at sea; and was at last +driven by the winds on a part of the coast of Barbary, where the only +people were the Moors, that the English had never known before. + +The people then came in great numbers to see the sailors, who were of +different color to themselves, and treated them very civilly; and, when +they became better acquainted, were very eager to buy the fine things +with which the ship was loaded. + +When the captain saw this, he sent patterns of the best things he had to +the King of the country; who was so much pleased with them, that he +ordered the captain to come to the palace. Here the guests were placed, +as it is the custom of the country, on rich carpets marked with gold and +silver flowers. The King and Queen were seated at the upper end of the +room; and a number of dishes were brought in for dinner. They had not +sat long, when a vast number of rats and mice rushed in, helping +themselves from almost every dish. The captain wondered at this, and +asked if these vermin were not very unpleasant. + +"Oh, yes," said they, "very offensive; and the King would give half his +treasure to be freed of them, for they not only destroy his dinner, as +you see, but they assault him in his chamber, and even in bed, so that +he is obliged to be watched while he is sleeping for fear of them." + +The captain jumped for joy; he remembered poor Whittington and his cat, +and told the King he had a creature on board the ship that would +despatch all these vermin immediately. The King's heart heaved so high +at the joy which this news gave him that his turban dropped off his +head. "Bring this creature to me," says he; "vermin are dreadful in a +court, and if she will perform what you say, I will load your ship with +gold and jewels in exchange for her." + +The captain, who knew his business, took this opportunity to set +forth the merits of Miss Puss. He told his Majesty that it would be +inconvenient to part with her, as, when she was gone, the rats and mice +might destroy the goods in the ship; but to oblige his Majesty he would +fetch her. "Run, run!" said the Queen; "I am impatient to see the dear +creature." + +Away went the captain to the ship, while another dinner was got ready. +He put puss under his arm, and arrived at the place soon enough to see +the table full of rats. + +When the cat saw them, she did not wait for bidding, but jumped out of +the captain's arms, and in a few minutes laid almost all the rats and +mice dead at her feet. The rest of them in their fright scampered away +to their holes. + +The King and Queen were quite charmed to get so easily rid of such +plagues, and desired that the creature who had done them so great a +kindness might be brought to them for inspection. Upon which the captain +called: "Pussy, pussy, pussy!" and she came to him. He then presented +her to the Queen, who started back, and was afraid to touch a creature +who had made such a havoc among the rats and mice. However, when the +captain stroked the cat and called: "Pussy, pussy," the Queen also +touched her and cried, "Putty, putty," for she had not learned English. +He then put her down on the Queen's lap, where she, purring, played with +her Majesty's hand, and then sung herself to sleep. + +The King, having seen the exploits of Mistress Puss, and being informed +that some day she would have some little kitties, which in turn would +have other little kitties, and thus stock the whole country, bargained +with the captain for the ship's entire cargo, and then gave him ten +times as much for the cat as all the rest amounted to. + +The captain then took leave of the royal party, and set sail with a fair +wind for England, and after a happy voyage arrived safe in London. + +One morning Mr. Fitzwarren had just come to his counting-house and +seated himself at the desk, when somebody came tap, tap, at the door. +"Who's there?" asked Mr. Fitzwarren. "A friend," answered the other; "I +come to bring you good news of your ship 'Unicorn.'" The merchant, +bustling up instantly, opened the door, and who should be seen waiting +but the captain and factor, with a cabinet of jewels, and a bill of +lading, for which the merchant lifted up his eyes and thanked heaven for +sending him such a prosperous voyage. + +Then they told the story of the cat, and showed the rich present that +the King and Queen had sent for her to poor Dick. As soon as the +merchant heard this, he called out to his servants: + + "Go fetch him--we will tell him of the same; + Pray call him Mr. Whittington by name." + +Mr. Fitzwarren now showed himself to be a good man; for when some of his +servants said so great a treasure was too much for him, he answered: +"God forbid I should deprive him of the value of a single penny." + +He then sent for Dick, who at that time was scouring pots for the cook, +and was quite dirty. + +Mr. Fitzwarren ordered a chair to be set for him, and so he began to +think they were making game of him, at the same time begging them not to +play tricks with a poor simple boy, but to let him go down again, if +they pleased, to his work. + +"Indeed, Mr. Whittington," said the merchant, "we are all quite in +earnest with you, and I most heartily rejoice in the news these +gentlemen have brought you; for the captain has sold your cat to the +King of Barbary, and brought you in return for her more riches than I +possess in the whole world; and I wish you may long enjoy them!" + +Mr. Fitzwarren then told the men to open the great treasure they had +brought with them; and said: "Mr. Whittington has nothing to do but to +put it in some place of safety." + +Poor Dick hardly knew how to behave himself for joy. He begged his +master to take what part of it he pleased, since he owed it all to his +kindness. "No, no," answered Mr. Fitzwarren, "this is all your own; and +I have no doubt but you will use it well." + +Dick next asked his mistress, and then Miss Alice, to accept a part of +his good fortune; but they would not, and at the same time told him +they felt great joy at his good success. But this poor fellow was too +kind-hearted to keep it all to himself; so he made a present to the +captain, the mate, and the rest of Mr. Fitzwarren's servants; and even +to the ill-natured old cook. + +After this Mr. Fitzwarren advised him to send for a proper tradesman, +and get himself dressed like a gentleman; and told him he was welcome to +live in his house till he could provide himself with a better. + +When Whittington's face was washed, his hair curled, his hat cocked, and +he was dressed in a nice suit of clothes, he was as handsome and genteel +as any young man who visited at Mr. Fitzwarren's; so that Miss Alice, +who had once been so kind to him, and thought of him with pity, now +looked upon him as fit to be her sweetheart; and the more so, no doubt, +because Whittington was now always thinking what he could do to oblige +her, and making her the prettiest presents that could be. + +Mr. Fitzwarren soon saw their love for each other, and proposed to join +them in marriage; and to this they both readily agreed. A day for the +wedding was soon fixed; and they were attended to church by the Lord +Mayor, the court of aldermen, the sheriffs, and a great number of the +richest merchants in London, to whom they afterward gave a very rich +feast. + +History tells us that Mr. Whittington and his lady lived in great +splendor, and were very happy. They had several children. He was Sheriff +of London, also Mayor, and received the honor of knighthood by Henry V. + +The figure of Sir Richard Whittington with his cat in his arms, carved +in stone, was to be seen till the year 1780 over the archway of the old +prison of Newgate, that stood across Newgate Street. + + [Illustration] + + + + +WILD ROBIN + +_A Scotch Fairy Tale_ + +RETOLD BY SOPHIE MAY + + +In the green valley of the Yarrow, near the castle-keep of Norham, dwelt +an honest little family, whose only grief was an unhappy son, named +Robin. + +Janet, with jimp form, bonnie eyes, and cherry cheeks, was the best of +daughters; the boys, Sandie and Davie, were swift-footed, brave, kind, +and obedient; but Robin, the youngest, had a stormy temper, and when his +will was crossed he became as reckless as a reeling hurricane. Once, in +a passion, he drove two of his father's "kye," or cattle, down a steep +hill to their death. He seemed not to care for home or kindred, and +often pierced the tender heart of his mother with sharp words. When she +came at night, and "happed" the bed-clothes carefully about his form, +and then stooped to kiss his nut-brown cheeks, he turned away with a +frown, muttering: "Mither, let me be." + +It was a sad case with Wild Robin, who seemed to have neither love nor +conscience. + +"My heart is sair," sighed his mother, "wi' greeting over sich a son." + +"He hates our auld cottage and our muckle wark," said the poor father. +"Ah, weel! I could a'maist wish the fairies had him for a season, to +teach him better manners." + +This the gudeman said heedlessly, little knowing there was any danger of +Robin's being carried away to Elf-land. Whether the fairies were at that +instant listening under the eaves, will never be known; but it chanced, +one day, that Wild Robin was sent across the moors to fetch the kye. + +"I'll rin away," thought the boy; "'t is hard indeed if ilka day a great +lad like me must mind the kye. I'll gae aff; and they'll think me dead." + +So he gaed, and he gaed, over round swelling hills, over old +battle-fields, past the roofless ruins of houses whose walls were +crowned with tall climbing grasses, till he came to a crystal sheet of +water called St. Mary's Loch. Here he paused to take breath. The sky was +dull and lowering; but at his feet were yellow flowers, which shone, on +that gray day, like streaks of sunshine. + +He threw himself wearily upon the grass, not heeding that he had chosen +his couch within a little mossy circle known as a "fairy's ring." Wild +Robin knew that the country people would say the fays had pressed that +green circle with their light feet. He had heard all the Scottish lore +of brownies, elves, will-o'-the-wisps and the strange water-kelpies, who +shriek with eldritch laughter. He had been told that the Queen of the +Fairies had coveted him from his birth, and would have stolen him away, +only that, just as she was about to seize him from the cradle, he had +_sneezed_; and from that instant the fairy-spell was over, and she had +no more control of him. + +Yet, in spite of all these stories, the boy was not afraid; and if he +had been informed that any of the uncanny people were, even now, +haunting his footsteps, he would not have believed it. + +"I see," said Wild Robin, "the sun is drawing his nightcap over his +eyes, and dropping asleep. I believe I'll e'en take a nap mysel', and +see what comes o' it." + +In two minutes he had forgotten St. Mary's Loch, the hills, the moors, +the yellow flowers. He heard, or fancied he heard, his sister Janet +calling him home. + +"And what have ye for supper?" he muttered between his teeth. + +"Parritch and milk," answered the lassie gently. + +"Parritch and milk! Whist! say nae mair! Lang, lang may ye wait for Wild +Robin: he'll not gae back for oatmeal parritch!" + +Next a sad voice fell on his ear. + +"Mither's; and she mourns me dead!" thought he; but it was only the +far-off village-bell, which sounded like the echo of music he had heard +lang syne, but might never hear again. + +"D' ye think I'm not alive?" tolled the bell. "I sit all day in my +little wooden temple, brooding over the sins of the parish." + +"A brazen lie!" cried Robin. + +"Nay, the truth, as I'm a living soul! Wae worth ye, Robin Telfer: ye +think yersel' hardly used. Say, have your brithers softer beds than +yours? Is your ain father served with larger potatoes or creamier +buttermilk? Whose mither sae kind as yours, ungrateful chiel? Gae to +Elf-land, Wild Robin; and dool and wae follow ye! dool and wae follow +ye!" + +The round yellow sun had dropped behind the hills; the evening breezes +began to blow; and now could be heard the faint trampling of small +hoofs, and the tinkling of tiny bridle-bells: the fairies were trooping +over the ground. First of all rode the Queen. + + "Her skirt was of the grass-green silk, + Her mantle o' the velvet fine; + At ilka tress of her horse's mane + Hung fifty silver bells and nine." + +But Wild Robin's closed eyes saw nothing: his sleep-sealed ears heard +nothing. The Queen of the fairies dismounted, stole up to him, and laid +her soft fingers on his cheeks. + +"Here is a little man after my ain heart," said she: "I like his knitted +brow, and the downward curve of his lips. Knights, lift him gently, set +him on a red-roan steed, and waft him away to Fairy-land." + +Wild Robin was lifted as gently as a brown leaf borne by the wind; he +rode as softly as if the red-roan steed had been saddled with satin, +and shod with velvet. It even may be that the faint tinkling of the +bridle-bells lulled him into a deeper slumber; for when he awoke it was +morning in Fairy-land. + +Robin sprang from his mossy couch, and stared about him. Where was he? +He rubbed his eyes, and looked again. Dreaming, no doubt; but what meant +all these nimble little beings bustling hither and thither in hot haste? +What meant these pearl-bedecked caves, scarcely larger than swallow's +nests? these green canopies, overgrown with moss? He pinched himself, +and gazed again. Countless flowers nodded to him, and seemed, like +himself, on tip-toe with curiosity, he thought. He beckoned one of the +busy, dwarfish little brownies toward him. + +"I ken I'm talking in my sleep," said the lad; "but can ye tell me what +dell is this, and how I chanced to be in it?" + +The brownie might or might not have heard; but, at any rate, he deigned +no reply, and went on with his task, which was pounding seeds in a stone +mortar. + +"Am I Robin Telfer, of the Valley of Yarrow, and yet canna shake aff my +silly dreams?" + +"Weel, my lad," quoth the Queen of the Fairies, giving him a smart tap +with her wand, "stir yersel', and be at work; for naebody idles in +Elf-land." + +Bewildered Robin ventured a look at the little Queen. By daylight she +seemed somewhat sleepy and tired; and was withal so tiny, that he might +almost have taken her between his thumb and finger, and twirled her +above his head; yet she poised herself before him on a mullein-stalk and +looked every inch a queen. Robin found her gaze oppressive; for her eyes +were hard, and cold, and gray, as if they had been little orbs of +granite. + +"Get ye to work, Wild Robin!" + +"What to do?" meekly asked the boy, hungrily glancing at a few kernels +of rye which had rolled out of one of the brownie's mortars. + +"Are ye hungry, my laddie? Touch a grain of rye if ye dare! Shell these +dry beans; and if so be ye're starving, eat as many as ye can boil in an +acorn-cup." + +With these words she gave the boy a withered bean-pod, and, summoning a +meek little brownie, bade him see that the lad did not over-fill the +acorn-cup, and that he did not so much as peck at a grain of rye. Then +glancing sternly at her prisoner, she withdrew, sweeping after her the +long train of her green robe. + +The dull days crept by, and still there seemed no hope that Wild Robin +would ever escape from his beautiful but detested prison. He had no +wings, poor laddie; and he could neither become invisible nor draw +himself through a keyhole bodily. + +It is true, he had mortal companions: many chubby babies; many +bright-eyed boys and girls, whose distracted parents were still seeking +them, far and wide, upon the earth. It would almost seem that the +wonders of Fairy-land might make the little prisoners happy. There were +countless treasures to be had for the taking, and the very dust in the +little streets was precious with specks of gold: but the poor children +shivered for the want of a mother's love; they all pined for the dear +home-people. If a certain task seemed to them particularly irksome, the +heartless Queen was sure to find it out, and oblige them to perform it, +day after day. If they disliked any article of food, that, and no other, +were they forced to eat, or else starve. + +Wild Robin, loathing his withered beans and unsalted broths, longed +intensely for one little breath of fragrant steam from the toothsome +parritch on his father's table, one glance at a roasted potato. He was +homesick for the gentle sister he had neglected, the rough brothers +whose cheeks he had pelted black and blue; and yearned for the very +chinks in the walls, the very thatch on the home-roof. + +Gladly would he have given every fairy flower, at the root of which +clung a lump of gold ore, if he might have had his own coverlet "happed" +about him once more by his gentle mother. + + [Illustration: "HERE IS A LITTLE MAN AFTER MY AIN HEART," SAID THE + QUEEN OF THE FAIRIES] + +"Mither," he whispered in his dreams, "my shoon are worn, and my feet +bleed; but I'll soon creep hame, if I can. Keep the parritch warm for +me." + +Robin was as strong as a mountain-goat; and his strength was put to the +task of threshing rye, grinding oats and corn, or drawing water from a +brook. + +Every night, troops of gay fairies and plodding brownies stole off on a +visit to the upper world, leaving Robin and his companions in +ever-deeper despair. Poor Robin! he was fain to sing-- + + "Oh, that my father had ne'er on me smiled! + Oh, that my mother had ne'er to me sung! + Oh, that my cradle had never been rocked, + But that I had died when I was young." + +Now, there was one good-natured brownie who pitied Robin. When he took a +journey to earth with his fellow-brownies, he often threshed rye for the +laddie's father, or churned butter in his good mother's dairy, unseen +and unsuspected. If the little creature had been watched, and paid for +these good offices, he would have left the farmhouse forever in sore +displeasure. + +To homesick Robin he brought news of the family who mourned him as dead. +He stole a silky tress of Janet's fair hair, and wondered to see the boy +weep over it; for brotherly affection is a sentiment which never yet +penetrated the heart of a brownie. The dull little sprite would gladly +have helped the poor lad to his freedom, but told him that only on one +night of the year was there the least hope, and that was on Hallow-e'en, +when the whole nation of fairies ride in procession through the streets +of earth. + +So Robin was instructed to spin a dream, which the kind brownie would +hum in Janet's ear while she slept. By this means the lassie would not +only learn that her brother was in the power of the elves, but would +also learn how to release him. + +Accordingly, the night before Hallow-e'en, the bonnie Janet dreamed that +the long-lost Robin was living in Elf-land, and that he was to pass +through the streets with a cavalcade of fairies. But, alas! how should +even a sister know him in the dim starlight, among the passing troops of +elfish and mortal riders? The dream assured her that she might let the +first company go by, and the second; but Robin would be one of the +third. + +The full directions as to how she should act were given in poetical +form, as follows: + + "First let pass the black, Janet, + And syne let pass the brown; + But grip ye to the milk-white steed, + And pull the rider down. + + For _I_ ride on the milk-white steed, + And aye nearest the town: + Because I was a christened lad + They gave me that renown. + + My right hand will be gloved, Janet; + My left hand will be bare; + And these the tokens I give thee, + No doubt I will be there. + + They'll shape me in your arms, Janet, + A toad, snake, and an eel; + But hold me fast, nor let me gang, + As you do love me weel. + + They'll shape me in your arms, Janet, + A dove, bat, and a swan: + Cast your green mantle over me, + I'll be myself again." + +The good sister Janet, far from remembering any of the old sins of her +brother, wept for joy to know that he was yet among the living. She told +no one of her strange dream; but hastened secretly to the Miles Cross, +saw the strange cavalcade pricking through the greenwood, and pulled +down the rider on the milk-white steed, holding him fast through all his +changing shapes. But when she had thrown her green mantle over him, and +clasped him in her arms as her own brother Robin, the angry voice of the +Fairy Queen was heard. + + "Up then spake the Queen of Fairies, + Out of a blush of rye: + 'You've taken away the bonniest lad + In all my companie. + + 'Had I but had the wit, yestreen, + That I have learned to-day, + I'd pinned the sister to her bed + Ere he'd been won away!'" + +However, it was too late now. Wild Robin was safe, and the elves had +lost their power over him forever. His forgiving parents and his +lead-hearted brothers welcomed him home with more than the old love. + +So grateful and happy was the poor laddie that he nevermore grumbled at +his oatmeal parritch, or minded his kye with a scowling brow. + +But to the end of his days, when he heard mention of fairies and +brownies, his mind wandered off in a mizmaze. He died in peace, and was +buried on the banks of the Yarrow. + + + + +THE STORY OF MERLIN + +Merlin was a King in early Britain; he was also an Enchanter. No one +knows who were his parents, or where he was born; but it is said that he +was brought in by the white waves of the sea, and that, at the last, to +the sea he returned. + +When Merlin was King of Britain, it was a delightful island of flowery +meadows. His subjects were fairies, and they spent their lives in +singing, playing, and enjoyment. The Prime Minister of Merlin was a tame +wolf. Part of his kingdom was beneath the waves, and his subjects there +were the mermaids. Here, too, everyone was happy, and the only want they +ever felt was of the full light of the sun, which, coming to them +through the water, was but faint and cast no shadow. Here was Merlin's +workshop, where he forged the enchanted sword Excalibur. This was given +to King Arthur when he began to reign, and after his life was through it +was flung into the ocean again, where it will remain until he returns to +rule over a better kingdom. + +Merlin was King Arthur's trusted counselor. He knew the past, present, +and the future; he could foretell the result of a battle, and he had +courage to rebuke even the bravest Knights for cowardice. On one +occasion, when the battle seemed to be lost, he rode in among the enemy +on a great white horse, carrying a banner with a golden dragon, which +poured forth flaming fire from its throat. Because of this dragon, which +became King Arthur's emblem, Arthur was known as Pendragon, and always +wore a golden dragon on the front of his helmet. + +Merlin was always fond of elfin tricks. He would disguise himself--now +as a blind boy, again as an old witch, and once more as a dwarf. There +was a song about him all over Britain, which began as follows: + + "Merlin, Merlin, where art thou going + So early in the day, with thy black dog? + Oi! oi! oi! oi! oi! oi! oi! oi! oi! oi! + Oi! oi! oi! oi! oi!" + +This is the way the early British explained the gathering and +arrangement of the vast stones of Stonehenge. After a famous battle had +been won there, Merlin said: "I will now cause a thing to be done that +will endure to the world's end." So he bade the King, who was the father +of King Arthur, to send ships and men to Ireland. Here he showed him +stones so great that no man could handle, but by his magic art he placed +them upon the boats and they were borne to England. Again by his magic +he showed how to transport them across the land; and after they were +gathered he had them set on end, "because," he said, "they would look +fairer than as if they were lying down." + +Now, strange to say, the greatest friend of Merlin was a little girl. +Her name was Vivian; she was twelve years old, and she was the daughter +of King Dionas. In order to make her acquaintance, Merlin changed +himself into a young Squire, and when she asked him who was his master, +he said: "It is one who has taught me so much that I could here erect +for you a castle, and I could make many people outside to attack it and +inside to defend it." + +"I wish I could thus disport myself," answered Vivian. "I would always +love you if you could show me such wonders." + +Then Merlin described a circle with his wand, and went back and sat down +beside her. Within a few hours the castle was before her in the wood, +Knights and ladies were singing in its courtyard, and an orchard in +blossom grew about. + +"Have I done what I promised?" asked Merlin. + +"Fair, sweet friend," said she, "you have done so much for me that I am +always yours." + +Vivian became like a daughter to the old magician, and he taught her +many of the most wonderful things that any mortal heart could think +of--things past, things that were done, and part of what was to come. + +You have been told in Tennyson that Vivian learned so many of Merlin's +enchantments that in his old age she took advantage of him and put him +to sleep forever in the hollow of a tree. But the older legend gives us +better news. He showed her how to make a tower without walls so they +might dwell there together alone in peace. This tower was "so strong +that it may never be undone while the world endures." After it was +finished he fell asleep with his head in her lap, and she wove a spell +nine times around his head so that he might rest more peacefully. + +But the old enchanter does not sleep forever. Here in the forest of +Broceliande, on a magic island, Merlin dwells with his nine bards, and +only Vivian can come or go through the magic walls. It was toward this +tower, so the legends say, that, after the passing of King Arthur, +Merlin was last seen by some Irish monks, sailing away westward, with +the maiden Vivian, in a boat of crystal, beneath the sunset sky. + + + + + [Illustration: Courtesy of A. Lofthouse + + THE WILLOW PATTERN + + The plate of which this is a photograph was brought to America from + England about 1875; it had at that time been in the possession of one + family for a hundred years.] + + + + + [Illustration: JAPANESE AND OTHER ORIENTAL TALES] + + + + +THE CUB'S TRIUMPH + + +Once upon a time there lived in a forest a badger and a mother fox with +one little Cub. + +There were no other beasts in the wood, because the hunters had killed +them all with bows and arrows, or by setting snares. The deer, and the +wild boar, the hares, the weasels, and the stoats--even the bright +little squirrels--had been shot, or had fallen into traps. At last, only +the badger and the fox, with her young one, were left, and they were +starving, for they dared not venture from their holes for fear of the +traps. + +They did not know what to do, or where to turn for food. At last the +badger said: + +"I have thought of a plan. I will pretend to be dead. You must change +yourself into a man, and take me into the town and sell me. With the +money you get for me, you must buy food and bring it into the forest. +When I get a chance I will run away, and come back to you, and we will +eat our dinner together. Mind you wait for me, and don't eat any of it +until I come. Next week it will be your turn to be dead, and my turn to +sell--do you see?" + +The fox thought this plan would do very well; so, as soon as the badger +had lain down and pretended to be dead, she said to her little Cub: + +"Be sure not to come out of the hole until I come back. Be very good and +quiet, and I will soon bring you some nice dinner." + +She then changed herself into a wood-cutter, took the badger by the +heels and swung him over her shoulders, and trudged off into the town. +There she sold the badger for a fair price, and with the money bought +some fish, some _tofu_,[M] and some vegetables. She then ran back to the +forest as fast as she could, changed herself into a fox again, and crept +into her hole to see if little Cub was all right. Little Cub was there, +safe enough, but very hungry, and wanted to begin upon the _tofu_ at +once. + + [M] Curd made from white beans. + +"No, no," said the mother fox. "Fair play's a jewel. We must wait for +the badger." + +Soon the badger arrived, quite out of breath with running so fast. + +"I hope you haven't been eating any of the dinner," he panted. "I could +not get away sooner. The man you sold me to brought his wife to look at +me, and boasted how cheap he had bought me. You should have asked twice +as much. At last they left me alone, and then I jumped up and ran away +as fast as I could." + +The badger, the fox, and the Cub now sat down to dinner, and had a fine +feast, the badger taking care to get the best bits for himself. + +Some days after, when all the food was finished, and they had begun to +get hungry again, the badger said to the fox: + +"Now it's your turn to die." So the fox pretended to be dead, and the +badger changed himself into a hunter, shouldered the fox, and went off +to the town, where he made a good bargain, and sold her for a nice +little sum of money. + +You have seen, already that the badger was greedy and selfish. What do +you think he did now? He wished to have all the money, and all the food +it would buy for himself, so he whispered to the man who had bought the +fox: + +"That fox is only pretending to be dead; take care he doesn't run away." + +"We'll soon settle that," said the man, and he knocked the fox on the +head with a big stick, and killed her. + +The badger next laid out the money in buying all the nice things he +could think of. He carried them off to the forest, and there ate them +all up himself, without giving one bit to the poor little Cub, who was +all alone, crying for its mother, very sad, and very hungry. + +Poor little motherless Cub! But, being a clever little fox, he soon +began to put two and two together, and at last felt quite sure that the +badger had, in some way, caused the loss of his mother. + +He made up his mind that he would punish the badger; and, as he was not +big enough or strong enough to do it by force, he was obliged to try +another plan. + +He did not let the badger see how angry he was with him, but said in a +friendly way: + +"Let us have a game of changing ourselves into men. If you can change +yourself so cleverly that I cannot find you out, you will have won the +game; but, if I change myself so that you cannot find me out, then I +shall have won the game. I will begin, if you like; and, you may be +sure, I shall turn myself into somebody very grand while I am about it." + +The badger agreed. So then, instead of changing himself at all, the +cunning little Cub just went and hid himself behind a tree, and watched +to see what would happen. Presently there came along the bridge leading +into the town a nobleman, seated in a sedan-chair, a great crowd of +servants and men at arms following him. + +The badger was quite sure that this must be the fox, so he ran up to the +sedan-chair, put in his head, and cried: + +"I've found you out! I've won the game!" + +"A badger! A badger! Off with his head," cried the nobleman. + +So one of the retainers cut off the badger's head with one blow of his +sharp sword, the little Cub all the time laughing unseen behind the +tree. + + [Illustration: THE CUB'S TRIUMPH] + + + + +CHIN-CHIN KOBAKAMA + + +Once there was a little girl who was very pretty, but also very lazy. +Her parents were rich, and had a great many servants; and these servants +were very fond of the little girl, and did everything for her which she +ought to have been able to do for herself. Perhaps this was what made +her so lazy. When she grew up into a beautiful woman she still remained +lazy; but as the servants always dressed and undressed her, and arranged +her hair, she looked very charming, and nobody thought about her faults. + +At last she was married to a brave warrior, and went away with him to +live in another house where there were but few servants. She was sorry +not to have as many servants as she had had at home, because she was +obliged to do several things for herself which other folks had always +done for her, and it was a great deal of trouble to her to dress +herself, and take care of her own clothes, and keep herself looking neat +and pretty to please her husband. But as he was a warrior, and often had +to be far away from home with the army, she could sometimes be just as +lazy as she wished, and her husband's parents were very old and +good-natured, and never scolded her. + +Well, one night while her husband was away with the army, she was +awakened by queer little noises in her room. By the light of a big paper +lantern she could see very well, and she saw strange things. + +Hundreds of little men, dressed just like Japanese warriors, but only +about one inch high, were dancing all around her pillow. They wore the +same kind of dress her husband wore on holidays (_Kamishimo_, a long +robe with square shoulders), and their hair was tied up in knots, and +each wore two tiny swords. They all looked at her as they danced, and +laughed, and they all sang the same song over and over again: + + "Chin-chin Kobakama, + Yomo fuké sōro-- + Oshizumare, Hime-gimi!-- + Ya ton ton!--" + +Which meant: "We are the Chin-chin Kobakama; the hour is late; sleep, +honorable, noble darling!" + +The words seemed very polite, but she soon saw that the little men were +only making cruel fun of her. They also made ugly faces at her. + +She tried to catch some of them, but they jumped about so quickly that +she could not. Then she tried to drive them away, but they would not go, +and they never stopped singing: + + "Chin-chin Kobakama...." + +and laughing at her. Then she knew they were little fairies, and became +so frightened that she could not even cry out. They danced around her +until morning; then they all vanished suddenly. + +She was ashamed to tell anybody what had happened, because, as she was +the wife of a warrior, she did not wish anybody to know how frightened +she had been. + +Next night, again, the little men came and danced; and they came also +the night after that, and every night, always at the same hour, which +the old Japanese used to call the "hour of the ox"; that is, about +two o'clock in the morning by our time. At last she became very sick, +through want of sleep and through fright. But the little men would not +leave her alone. + +When her husband came back home he was very sorry to find her sick in +bed. At first she was afraid to tell him what had made her ill, for fear +that he would laugh at her. But he was so kind, and coaxed her so +gently, that after a while she told him what happened every night. + +He did not laugh at her at all, but looked very serious for a time. Then +he asked: + +"At what time do they come?" + +She answered, "Always at the same hour--the 'hour of the ox.'" + +"Very well," said her husband; "to-night I shall hide, and watch for +them. Do not be frightened." + +So that night the warrior hid himself in a closet in the sleeping-room, +and kept watch through a chink between the sliding doors. + +He waited and watched until the "hour of the ox." Then, all at once, the +little men came up through the mats, and began their dance and their +song: + + "Chin-chin Kobakama, + Yomo fuké sōro...." + +They looked so queer, and danced in such a funny way, that the warrior +could scarcely keep from laughing. But he saw his young wife's +frightened face; and then, remembering that nearly all Japanese ghosts +and goblins are afraid of a sword, he drew his blade and rushed out of +the closet, and struck at the little dancers. Immediately they all +turned into--what do you think? + + _Toothpicks!_ + +There were no more little warriors--only a lot of old toothpicks +scattered over the mats. + +The young wife had been too lazy to put her toothpicks away properly; +and every day, after having used a new toothpick, she would stick it +down between the mats on the floor, to get rid of it. So the little +fairies who take care of the floor-mats became angry with her, and +tormented her. + +Her husband scolded her, and she was so ashamed that she did not know +what to do. A servant was called, and the toothpicks were taken away and +burned, and after that the little men never came back again. + + + + +THE WONDERFUL MALLET + + +Once upon a time there were two brothers. The elder was an honest and +good man, but he was very poor, while the younger, who was dishonest and +stingy, had managed to pile up a large fortune. The name of the elder +was Kané, and that of the younger was Chô. + +Now, one day Kané went to Chô's house, and begged for the loan of some +seed-rice and some silkworms' eggs, for last season had been +unfortunate, and he was in want of both. + +Chô had plenty of good rice and excellent silkworms' eggs, but he was +such a miser that he did not want to lend them. At the same time, he +felt ashamed to refuse his brother's request, so he gave him some +worm-eaten musty rice and some dead eggs, which he felt sure would never +hatch. + +Kané, never suspecting that his brother would play him such a shabby +trick, put plenty of mulberry leaves with the eggs, to be food for the +silkworms when they should appear. Appear they did, and throve and grew +wonderfully, much better than those of the stingy brother, who was angry +and jealous when he heard of it. + +Going to Kané's house one day, and finding his brother was out, Chô took +a knife and killed all the silkworms, cutting each poor little creature +in two; then he went home without having been seen by anybody. + +When Kané came home he was dismayed to find his silkworms in this state, +but he did not suspect who had done him this bad trick, and tried to +feed them with mulberry leaves as before. The silkworms came to life +again, and doubled the number, for now each half was a living worm. They +grew and throve, and the silk they spun was twice as much as Kané had +expected. So now he began to prosper. + +The envious Chô, seeing this, cut all his own silkworms in half, but, +alas! they did not come to life again, so he lost a great deal of money, +and became more jealous than ever. + +Kané also planted the rice-seed which he had borrowed from his brother, +and it sprang up, and grew and flourished far better than Chô's had +done. + +The rice ripened well, and he was just intending to cut and harvest it +when a flight of thousands upon thousands of swallows came and began to +devour it. Kané was much astonished, and shouted and made as much noise +as he could in order to drive them away. They flew away, indeed, but +came back immediately, so that he kept driving them away, and they kept +flying back again. + +At last he pursued them into a distant field, where he lost sight of +them. He was by this time so hot and tired that he sat down to rest. By +little and little his eyes closed, his head dropped upon a mossy bank, +and he fell fast asleep. + +Then he dreamed that a merry band of children came into the field, +laughing and shouting. They sat down upon the ground in a ring, and one +who seemed the eldest, a boy of fourteen or fifteen, came close to the +bank on which he lay asleep, and, raising a big stone near his head, +drew from under it a small wooden Mallet. + +Then in his dream Kané saw this big boy stand in the middle of the ring +with the Mallet in his hand, and ask the children each in turn, "What +would you like the Mallet to bring you?" The first child answered, "A +kite." The big boy shook the Mallet, upon which appeared immediately a +fine kite with tail and string all complete. The next cried, "A +battledore." Out sprang a splendid battledore and a shower of +shuttlecocks. Then a little girl shyly whispered, "A doll." The Mallet +was shaken, and there stood a beautifully dressed doll. "I should like +all the fairy-tale books that have ever been written in the whole +world," said a bright-eyed intelligent maiden, and no sooner had she +spoken than piles upon piles of beautiful books appeared. And so at last +the wishes of all the children were granted, and they stayed a long time +in the field with the things the Mallet had given them. At last they got +tired, and prepared to go home; the big boy first carefully hiding the +Mallet under the stone from whence he had taken it. Then all the +children went away. + +Presently Kané awoke, and gradually remembered his dream. In preparing +to rise he turned round, and there, close to where his head had lain, +was the big stone he had seen in his dream. "How strange!" he thought, +expecting he hardly knew what; he raised the stone, and there lay the +Mallet! + +He took it home with him, and, following the example of the children he +had seen in his dream, shook it, at the same time calling out, "Gold" or +"Rice," "Silk" or "Saké." Whatever he called for flew immediately out of +the Mallet, so that he could have everything he wanted, and as much of +it as he liked. + +Kané being now a rich and prosperous man, Chô was of course jealous of +him, and determined to find a magic mallet which would do as much for +him. He came, therefore, to Kané and borrowed seed-rice, which he +planted and tended with care, being impatient for it to grow and ripen +soon. + +It grew well and ripened soon, and now Chô watched daily for the +swallows to appear. And, to be sure, one day a flight of swallows came +and began to eat up the rice. + +Chô was delighted at this, and drove them away, pursuing them to the +distant field where Kané had followed them before. There he lay down, +intending to go to sleep as his brother had done, but the more he tried +to go to sleep the wider awake he seemed. + +Presently the band of children came skipping and jumping, so he shut his +eyes and pretended to be asleep, but all the time watched anxiously what +the children would do. They sat down in a ring, as before, and the big +boy came close to Chô's head and lifted the stone. He put down his hand +to lift the Mallet, but no mallet was there. + +One of the children said, "Perhaps that lazy old farmer has taken our +Mallet." So the big boy laid hold of Chô's nose, which was rather long, +and gave it a good pinch, and all the other children ran up and pinched +and pulled his nose, and the nose itself got longer and longer; first it +hung down to his chin, then over his chest, next down to his knees, and +at last to his very feet. + +It was in vain that Chô protested his innocence; the children pinched +and pummeled him to their hearts' content, then capered round him, +shouting and laughing, and making game of him, and so at last went away. + +Now Chô was left alone, a sad and angry man. Holding his long nose +painfully in both hands, he slowly took his way toward his brother +Kané's house. Here he related all that had happened to him from the very +day when he had behaved so badly about the seed-rice and silkworms' +eggs. He humbly begged his brother to pardon him, and, if possible, do +something to restore his unfortunate nose to its proper size. + +The kind-hearted Kané pitied him, and said: "You have been dishonest +and mean, and selfish and envious, and that is why you have got this +punishment. If you promise to behave better for the future, I will try +what can be done." + +So saying, he took the Mallet and rubbed Chô's nose with it gently, and +the nose gradually became shorter and shorter until at last it came back +to its proper shape and size. But ever after, if at any time Chô felt +inclined to be selfish and dishonest, as he did now and then, his nose +began to smart and burn, and he fancied he felt it beginning to grow. So +great was his terror of having a long nose again that these symptoms +never failed to bring him back to his good behavior. + + + + +THE SELFISH SPARROW AND THE HOUSELESS CROWS + + +A Sparrow once built a nice little house for herself, and lined it well +with wool and protected it with sticks, so that it resisted equally the +summer sun and the winter rains. A Crow who lived close by had also +built a house, but it was not such a good one, being only made of a few +sticks laid one above another on the top of a prickly-pear hedge. The +consequence was that one day, when there was an unusually heavy shower, +the Crow's nest was washed away, while the Sparrow's was not at all +injured. + +In this extremity the Crow and her mate went to the Sparrow, and said: +"Sparrow, Sparrow, have pity on us and give us shelter, for the wind +blows and the rain beats, and the prickly-pear hedge-thorns stick into +our eyes." But the Sparrow answered: "I'm cooking the dinner; I cannot +let you in now; come again presently." + +In a little while the Crows returned and said: "Sparrow, Sparrow, have +pity on us and give us shelter, for the wind blows and the rain beats, +and the prickly-pear hedge-thorns stick into our eyes." The Sparrow +answered: "I'm eating my dinner; I cannot let you in now; come again +presently." + +The Crows flew away, but in a little while returned, and cried once +more: "Sparrow, Sparrow, have pity on us and give us shelter, for the +wind blows and the rain beats, and the prickly-pear hedge-thorns stick +into our eyes." The Sparrow replied: "I'm washing my dishes; I cannot +let you in now; come again presently." + +The Crows waited a while and then called out: "Sparrow, Sparrow, have +pity on us and give us shelter, for the wind blows and the rain beats, +and the prickly-pear hedge-thorns stick into our eyes." But the Sparrow +would not let them in; she only answered: "I'm sweeping the floor; I +cannot let you in now; come again presently." + +Next time the Crows came and cried: "Sparrow, Sparrow, have pity on us +and give us shelter, for the wind blows and the rain beats, and the +prickly-pear hedge-thorns stick into our eyes." She answered: "I'm +making the beds; I cannot let you in now; come again presently." + +So, on one pretense or another she refused to help the poor birds. At +last, when she and her children had had their dinner, and she had +prepared and put away the dinner for next day, and had put all the +children to bed and gone to bed herself, she cried to the Crows: "You +may come in now and take shelter for the night." The Crows came in, but +they were much vexed at having been kept out so long in the wind and the +rain, and when the Sparrow and all her family were asleep, the one said +to the other: "This selfish Sparrow had no pity on us; she gave us no +dinner, and would not let us in till she and all her children were +comfortably in bed; let us punish her." So the two Crows took all the +nice dinner the Sparrow had prepared for herself and her children to eat +the next day, and flew away with it. + + [Illustration: THE SELFISH SPARROW AND THE HOUSELESS CROWS] + + + + +THE STORY OF ZIRAC + + +Once upon a time a raven, a rat, and a tortoise, having agreed to be +friends together, were having a pleasant chat when they saw a wild goat +making its way toward them with surprising swiftness. They took it for +granted by her speed that she was pursued by some hunter, and they at +once without ceremony separated, every one to take care of himself. The +tortoise slipped into the water, the rat crept into a hole, which he +fortunately found near at hand, and the raven hid himself among the +boughs of a very high tree. In the meantime the goat stopped quite +suddenly, and stood to rest herself by the side of a fountain, when the +raven, who had looked all round and perceived no one, called to the +tortoise, who immediately peeped above the water, and seeing the goat +afraid to drink, said: "Drink boldly, my friend, for the water is very +clear." + +After the goat had done so, the tortoise continued: "Pray tell me what +is the reason you appear in such distress?" + +"Reason enough," said the goat; "for I have just made my escape out of +the hands of a hunter, who pursued me with an eager chase." + +"Come," said the tortoise, "I am glad you are safe. I have an offer to +make you. If you like our company, stay here and be one of our friends; +you will find our hearts honest and our company useful to you. The sages +say that a number of friends lessens trouble." + +After this short speech the raven and the rat joined in the invitation, +so that the goat at once promised to become one of them, each promising +the other to prove himself a real and true friend whatever might happen +in days to come. After this agreement these four friends lived in +perfect harmony for a very long time, and spent their time pleasantly +together. But one day, as the tortoise, the rat, and the raven were met, +as they used to do, by the side of the fountain, the goat was missing. +This gave great trouble to them, as they knew not what had happened. +They very soon came to a resolution, however, to seek for and assist the +goat, so the raven at once mounted into the air to see what discoveries +he could make; and looking round about him, at length, to his great +sorrow, saw at a distance the poor goat entangled in a hunter's net. He +immediately dropped down in order to acquaint the rat and tortoise with +what he had seen; and you may be sure that these ill tidings caused +great grief. + +"What shall we do?" said they. + +"We have promised firm friendship to one another and lived very happily +together so long," said the tortoise, "that it would be shameful to +break the bond and not act up to all we said. We cannot leave our +innocent and good-natured companion in this dire distress and great +danger. No! we must find some way to deliver our poor friend goat out of +captivity." + +Said the raven to the rat, who was nicknamed Zirac: "Remember, O +excellent Zirac, there is none but thyself able to set our friend at +liberty; and the business must be quickly done for fear the huntsman +should lay his hands upon her." + +"Doubt not," replied Zirac, "but that I will do my best, so let us go at +once that no time may be lost." + +On this the raven took up Zirac in his bill and flew with him to the +place where the poor goat was confined in the net. No sooner had he +arrived than he at once commenced to gnaw the meshes of the net that +held the goat's foot and had almost set him at liberty when the tortoise +arrived. + +As soon as the goat saw the tortoise she cried out with a loud voice: +"Oh, why have you ventured to come hither, friend tortoise?" + +"Because I could no longer bear your absence," replied the tortoise. + +"Dear friend," said the goat, "your coming to this place troubles me as +much as the loss of my own liberty; for if the hunter should happen to +come, what would you do to make your escape? For my part I am almost +free, and my being able to run will prevent me from falling into his +hands again; our friend the raven can find safety in flight, and Zirac +can run into any hole. Only you, who are so slow of foot, will become +the hunter's prey." No sooner had the goat thus spoken, when sure enough +the hunter appeared; but the goat, being free, swiftly ran away; the +raven mounted into the air, and Zirac slipped into a hole, and true +enough, as the goat had said, only the slow-paced tortoise remained +without help. + +When the hunter arrived he was a little surprised to see his net broken +and the goat missing. This was no small vexation to him, and caused him +to look closely around, to see if he could discover who had done the +mischief; and unfortunately, in thus searching, he spied the tortoise. + +"Oh! oh!" said he. "Very good; I am glad to see you here. I find I shall +not go home empty-handed after all; here is a plump tortoise, and that +is worth something, I'm sure." Thus saying, he took up the tortoise, put +it in a sack, threw the sack over his shoulder, and was soon trudging +home. + +After he had gone the three friends came out from their several +hiding-places, and met together, when, missing the tortoise, they at +once judged what had become of him. Then, uttering bitter cries and +lamentations, they shed torrents of tears. At length the raven broke the +silence, and said: "Dear friends, our moans and sorrow do not help the +tortoise. We must, if it be at all possible, devise some means of saving +his life. Our sages have often told us that there are three persons that +are never well known but on special occasions--men of courage in fight, +men of honesty in business, and a true friend in extreme necessity. We +find, alas! our dear companion the tortoise is in a sad condition, and +therefore we must, if possible, help him." + +"It is first-class advice," replied Zirac. "Now I think I know how it +can be done. Let our friend the goat go and show herself to the hunter, +who will then be certain to lay down the sack to run after her." + +"All right," said the goat, "I will pretend to be lame, and run limping +at a little distance before him, which will encourage him to follow me, +and thus draw him a good way from his sack, which will give Zirac time +to set our friend at liberty." + +This plan appeared such a good one that it was at once approved of, and +immediately the goat ran halting before the hunter, and appeared to be +so feeble and faint that her pursuer thought he had her safe in his +clutches again, and so, laying down his sack, ran after the goat with +all his might. That cunning creature suffered him now and again almost +to come up to her, and then led him another wild-goose chase till at +last she had lured him out of sight; which Zirac seeing, began gnawing +the string that tied the mouth of the sack, and soon set free the +tortoise, who went at once and hid himself in a thick bush. + + [Illustration: "OH, WHY HAVE YOU VENTURED TO COME?"] + +At length the hunter, tired of running after his prey, gave up the +chase, and returned to take up his sack. + +"Here," said he, "I have something safe; thou art not quite so swift as +that plaguing goat; and if thou wert, art too well confined here to find +the way to make thy little legs any use to thee." So saying, he went to +the bag, but not finding the tortoise he was amazed, and thought himself +in a region of hobgoblins and spirits, since he had by some mysterious +means lost two valuable objects, a goat and a tortoise! He did not know, +you see, what wonders true friendship can work when all are pledged to +help one another. + +The four friends soon met together again, congratulated one another on +their escapes, made afresh their vows of friendship, and declared that +they would never separate until death parted them. + + + + +MY LORD BAG OF RICE + + +Long, long ago there lived in Japan a brave warrior known to all as +Tawara Toda, or "My Lord Bag of Rice." His true name was Fujiwara +Hidesato, and there is a very interesting story of how he came to change +his name. + +One day he sallied forth in search of adventures, for he had the nature +of a warrior and could not bear to be idle. So he buckled on his two +swords, took his huge bow, much taller than himself, in his hand, and +slinging his quiver on his back started out. He had not gone far when he +came to the bridge of Seta-no-Karashi spanning one end of the beautiful +Lake Biwa. No sooner had he set foot on the bridge than he saw lying +right across his path a huge serpent-dragon. Its body was so big that it +looked like the trunk of a large pine tree and it took up the whole +width of the bridge. One of its huge claws rested on the parapet of one +side of the bridge, while its tail lay right against the other. The +monster seemed to be asleep, and as it breathed, fire and smoke came out +of its nostrils. + +At first Hidesato could not help feeling alarmed at the sight of this +horrible reptile lying in his path, for he must either turn back or walk +right over its body. He was a brave man, however, and putting aside all +fear went forward dauntlessly. Crunch, crunch; he stepped now on the +dragon's body, now between its coils, and without even one glance +backward he went on his way. + +He had only gone a few steps when he heard some one calling him from +behind. On turning back he was much surprised to see that the monster +dragon had entirely disappeared and in its place was a strange-looking +man, who was bowing most ceremoniously to the ground. His red hair +streamed over his shoulders and was surmounted by a crown in the shape +of a dragon's head, and his sea-green dress was patterned with shells. +Hidesato knew at once that this was no ordinary mortal and he wondered +much at the strange occurrence. Where had the dragon gone in such a +short space of time? Or had it transformed itself into this man, and +what did the whole thing mean? While these thoughts passed through his +mind he had come up to the man on the bridge and now addressed him: + +"Was it you that called me just now?" + +"Yes, it was I," answered the man; "I have an earnest request to make to +you. Do you think you can grant it to me?" + +"If it is in my power to do so I will," answered Hidesato, "but first +tell me who you are?" + +"I am the Dragon King of the Lake, and my home is in these waters just +under this bridge." + +"And what is it you have to ask of me?" said Hidesato. + +"I want you to kill my mortal enemy the centipede, who lives on the +mountain beyond," and the Dragon King pointed to a high peak on the +opposite shore of the lake. + +"I have lived now for many years in this lake and I have a large family +of children and grandchildren. For some time past we have lived in +terror, for a monster centipede has discovered our home, and night after +night it comes and carries off one of my family. I am powerless to save +them. If it goes on much longer like this, not only shall I lose all +my children, but I myself must fall a victim to the monster. I am, +therefore, very unhappy, and in my extremity I determined to ask the +help of a human being. For many days with this intention I have waited +on the bridge in the shape of the horrible serpent-dragon that you saw, +in the hope that some strong brave man would come along. But all who +came this way, as soon as they saw me were terrified and ran away as +fast as they could. You are the first man I have found able to look at +me without fear, so I knew at once that you were a man of great courage. +I beg you to have pity upon me. Will you not help me and kill my enemy +the centipede?" + +Hidesato felt very sorry for the Dragon King on hearing his story, and +readily promised to do what he could to help him. The warrior asked +where the centipede lived, so that he might attack the creature at +once. The Dragon King replied that its home was on the mountain Mikami, +but that as it came every night at a certain hour to the palace of the +lake, it would be better to wait till then. So Hidesato was conducted to +the palace of the Dragon King, under the bridge. Strange to say, as he +followed his host downward the waters parted to let them pass, and his +clothes did not even feel damp as he passed through the flood. Never had +Hidesato seen anything so beautiful as this palace built of white marble +beneath the lake. He had often heard of the Sea King's Palace at the +bottom of the sea, where all the servants and retainers were salt-water +fishes, but here was a magnificent building in the heart of Lake Biwa. +The dainty goldfishes, red carp, and silvery trout, waited upon the +Dragon King and his guest. + +Hidesato was astonished at the feast that was spread for him. The dishes +were crystallized lotus leaves and flowers, and the chopsticks were of +the rarest ebony. As soon as they sat down, the sliding doors opened +and ten lovely goldfish dancers came out, and behind them followed ten +red-carp musicians with the koto and the samisen. Thus the hours flew +by till midnight, and the beautiful music and dancing had banished all +thoughts of the centipede. The Dragon King was about to pledge the +warrior in a fresh cup of wine when the palace was suddenly shaken by a +tramp, tramp! as if a mighty army had begun to march not far away. + +Hidesato and his host both rose to their feet and rushed to the balcony, +and the warrior saw on the opposite mountain two great balls of glowing +fire coming nearer and nearer. The Dragon King stood by the warrior's +side trembling with fear. + +"The centipede! The centipede! Those two balls of fire are its eyes. It +is coming for its prey! Now is the time to kill it." + +Hidesato looked where his host pointed, and, in the dim light of the +starlit evening, behind the two balls of fire he saw the long body of an +enormous centipede winding round the mountains, and the light in its +hundred feet glowed like so many distant lanterns moving slowly toward +the shore. + +Hidesato showed not the least sign of fear. He tried to calm the Dragon +King. + +"Don't be afraid. I shall surely kill the centipede. Just bring me my +bow and arrows." + +The Dragon King did as he was bid, and the warrior noticed that he had +only three arrows left in his quiver. He took the bow, and fitting an +arrow to the notch, took careful aim and let fly. + +The arrow hit the centipede right in the middle of its head, but instead +of penetrating, it glanced off harmless and fell to the ground. + +Nothing daunted, Hidesato took another arrow, fitted it to the notch of +the bow and let fly. Again the arrow hit the mark, it struck the +centipede right in the middle of its head, only to glance off and fall +to the ground. The centipede was invulnerable to weapons! When the +Dragon King saw that even this brave warrior's arrows were powerless to +kill the centipede, he lost heart and began to tremble with fear. + +The warrior saw that he had now only one arrow left in his quiver, and +if this one failed he could not kill the centipede. He looked across the +waters. The huge reptile had wound its horrid body seven times round the +mountain and would soon come down to the lake. Nearer and nearer gleamed +the fire-balls of eyes, and the light of its hundred feet began to throw +reflections in the still waters of the lake. + +Then suddenly the warrior remembered that he had heard that human saliva +was deadly to centipedes. But this was no ordinary centipede. This was +so monstrous that even to think of such a creature made one creep with +horror. Hidesato determined to try his last chance. So taking his last +arrow and first putting the end of it in his mouth, he fitted the notch +to his bow, took careful aim once more and let fly. + +This time the arrow again hit the centipede right in the middle of its +head, but instead of glancing off harmlessly as before it struck home to +the creature's brain. Then with a convulsive shudder the serpentine body +stopped moving, and the fiery light of its great eyes and hundred feet +darkened to a dull glare like the sunset of a stormy day, and then went +out in blackness. A great darkness now overspread the heavens, the +thunder rolled and the lightning flashed, and the wind roared in fury, +and it seemed as if the world were coming to an end. The Dragon King and +his children and retainers all crouched in different parts of the +palace, frightened to death, for the building was shaken to its +foundations. At last the dreadful night was over. Day dawned beautiful +and clear. The centipede was gone from the mountain. + +Then Hidesato called to the Dragon King to come out with him on the +balcony, for the centipede was dead and he had nothing more to fear. + +Then all the inhabitants of the palace came out with joy, and Hidesato +pointed to the lake. There lay the body of the dead centipede floating +on the water, which was dyed red with its blood. + +The gratitude of the Dragon King knew no bounds. The whole family came +and bowed down before the warrior, calling him their preserver and the +bravest warrior in all Japan. + +Another feast was prepared, more sumptuous than the first. All kinds of +fish, prepared in every imaginable way, raw, stewed, boiled and roasted, +served on coral trays and crystal dishes, were put before him, and the +wine was the best that Hidesato had ever tasted in his life. To add to +the beauty of everything the sun shone brightly, the lake glittered like +a liquid diamond, and the palace was a thousand times more beautiful by +day than by night. + +His host tried to persuade the warrior to stay a few days, but Hidesato +insisted on going home, saying that he had now finished what he had come +to do, and must return. The Dragon King and his family were all very +sorry to have him leave so soon, but since he would go they begged +him to accept a few small presents (so they said) in token of their +gratitude to him for delivering them for ever from their horrible enemy +the centipede. + +As the warrior stood in the porch taking leave, a train of fish was +suddenly transformed into a retinue of men, all wearing ceremonial robes +and dragon's crowns on their heads to show that they were servants of +the great Dragon King. The presents that they carried were as follows: + + First, a large bronze bell. + Second, a bag of rice. + Third, a roll of silk. + Fourth, a cooking pot. + Fifth, a bell. + +Hidesato did not want to accept all these presents, but as the Dragon +King insisted, he could not well refuse. + +The Dragon King himself accompanied the warrior as far as the bridge, +and then took leave of him with many bows and good wishes, leaving the +procession of servants to accompany Hidesato to his house with the +presents. + +The warrior's household and servants had been very much concerned when +they found that he did not return the night before, but they finally +concluded that he had been kept by the violent storm and had taken +shelter somewhere. When the servants on the watch for his return caught +sight of him they called to every one that he was approaching, and the +whole household turned out to meet him, wondering much what the retinue +of men, bearing presents and banners, that followed him, could mean. + +As soon as the Dragon King's retainers had put down the presents they +vanished, and Hidesato told all that had happened to him. + +The presents which he had received from the grateful Dragon King were +found to be of magic power. The bell only was ordinary, and as Hidesato +had no use for it he presented it to the temple near by, where it was +hung up, to boom out the hour of day over the surrounding neighborhood. + +The single bag of rice, however much was taken from it day after day for +the meals of the knight and his whole family, never grew less--the +supply in the bag was inexhaustible. + +The roll of silk, too, never grew shorter, though time after time long +pieces were cut off to make the warrior a new suit of clothes to go to +Court in at the New Year. + +The cooking pot was wonderful, too. No matter what was put into it, it +cooked deliciously whatever was wanted without any firing--truly a very +economical saucepan. + +The fame of Hidesato's fortune spread far and wide, and as there was no +need for him to spend money on rice or silk or firing, he became very +rich and prosperous, and was henceforth known as _My Lord Bag of Rice_. + + + + + [Illustration] + +THE LITTLE HARE OF OKI + +_A Japanese Fairy Tale_ + +RETOLD BY B. M. BURRELL + + +Alice lived in New York, but she still had the nurse who had taken care +of her when she was a tiny baby in far-away Japan. Nurse wore the +picturesque kimono and obi of her native land, and looked so different +from other people that friends often wondered how Alice could feel at +home with her. Love, however, is the same the world over, and no one +loved Alice better than did her little Japanese nurse. + +When Papa and Mama were at dinner, and Alice and Nurse had the library +all to themselves till bedtime, the little girl would often pull two +chairs up to the fire and say coaxingly: + +"There is just time for a story!" And Nurse would smile her funny +Japanese smile and begin: + +"Long, long ago, when the great Japanese gods ruled from high heaven,--" + +This was the beginning Alice liked best, for it meant that a fairy tale +would follow. And Nurse would perhaps continue: + +"--a little hare lived on the island of Oki. It was a beautiful island, +but the hare was not satisfied: he wished to get to the mainland. He did +not know how to manage this; but one day he thought of a plan. Hopping +down to the shore, he waited till a crocodile came out to sun himself, +then opened a conversation with him. + +"'There are, I suppose, many crocodiles in the sea,' he began. + +"'Many, many!' the crocodile answered. + +"'Not so many, however, as there are hares on the island of Oki,' +returned the little hare. + +"'The crocodiles in the sea outnumber the hares of Oki as the drops in +the sea outnumber the trees of the island,' declared the crocodile, in +his deepest voice. + +"'It does not seem right for a little bit of a creature like myself to +differ with your lordship,' said the hare, politely, 'but I should like +to see a proof of your statement.' + +"'How can we prove it?' the crocodile questioned. + +"'You can call all your friends and place them from here to the +mainland, each with his nose on the tail of the neighbor before him; +then I can easily jump from one to the other, counting as I go.' + +"The crocodile agreed to this plan, thinking it a good one. 'But how can +we count the hares?' he asked. + +"'That we will decide after I have numbered the crocodiles,' the hare +suggested. + +"The crocodile was satisfied, and bade the hare come to the same place +next morning to do the counting. Of course the little animal was on hand +bright and early. + +"There stretched an unbroken line of crocodiles, a floating bridge to +the mainland! + +"The little hare lost no time hopping across it, you may be sure. As he +reached the last crocodile and prepared to jump to shore, his heart was +so full of pride at the success of his ruse that he could not resist +crying aloud: + +"'How I have fooled you big creatures! I wished for a bridge to the +mainland, and you have served my need!' Then he jumped. + +"The last crocodile opened his wide jaws and closed them again with a +snap. The hare was too quick to be caught, but the monster's teeth +touched him and tore off most of his fur! As the poor thing limped away, +a crocodile called after him: + +"'You see what happens when you trifle with creatures stronger than +yourself!' + +"The little hare did not know much, but he felt that he was learning. He +had no heart to explore the beauties of the mainland now, but crawled +under a bush by the roadside and wished that some one would tell him how +to cure his wounds. + +"After some time he heard the noise of many people on the road. He crept +out to see what was coming, and beheld a crowd of young men, carrying +burdens as if they were on a journey. They were all tall and handsome, +and wore beautiful clothes fit for princes. + +"One of them spied the little hare and cried: 'Well, friend, why do you +look so sad?' + +"The hare, proud of being called 'friend' by this fine gentleman, told +how he had deceived the crocodiles. The men laughed loudly, and one of +them said: 'Since you are so clever, it is strange that you do not know +the best way to cure your wounds. You should bathe in the salt sea, and +then climb a hill so that the Wind Goddess can blow upon you with her +cool breath.' + + [Illustration: THE PRINCESS AND THE HARE] + +"The little hare thanked the strangers for their advice, and then asked +them where they were journeying. They replied that they were eighty-one +princes, all wishing to marry the princess of that country. She was very +rich, and the responsibility of managing her wealth and kingdom was too +much for her; so she had given notice that she desired to marry a wise +and noble prince whom she could trust to rule for her. + +"'So wealth and power do not always bring content?' the hare questioned. + +"'They would content us!' the eighty princes answered. (The eighty-first +was not present. He was of a kindly and gentle disposition, which caused +his brothers to laugh at and impose upon him. To-day they had given him +most of the luggage to carry, so he could not walk as fast as they.) As +they started on the way, one of the princes called to the hare: +'Good-by! And don't forget to bathe your wounds in the salt sea!' And +with loud laughter they continued their journey. + +"The little hare did not give himself time to forget. He hurried to the +shore and let the waves roll over him, but instead of making him feel +better, the biting salt water only increased his pain. + +"'I must hurry to the Wind Goddess,' the poor hare thought. + +"He climbed the high hill with difficulty and lay down on the top, +hoping for relief from his suffering. But the stiff grass pricked his +wounds, and the biting wind caused them to throb more painfully. At last +he realized that the cruel princes had deceived him, and he crawled back +to his bush by the roadside, where he lay with closed eyes. + +"A gentle voice roused him. 'Who has wounded you, little hare?' it +asked. + + [Illustration: THE GOOD-NATURED PRINCE AND THE PRINCESS] + +"The little hare looked up and saw a beautiful youth standing beside +him. His experience with men made him think that it would be best to fly +from the stranger; but the young man's kind glance conquered his fear, +and he answered: 'I left the island of Oki to see the wonders of the +mainland, and I have fared badly from the exchange.' Then he told once +more how he had left the island, and also about the bad advice the +eighty princes had given him. + +"The young man sighed. 'They used you ill, little creature,' he said. +'You learned that it is foolish to meddle with beings stronger than +yourself; now you see how wicked it is to torment those weaker. My +brother princes should have told you to bathe in the fresh water of the +river and to lie on the soft rushes. Now, good-by, little friend. May +good luck attend you!' And he walked quietly away, bending beneath the +large burden he carried. + +"The little hare knew that the stranger was the eighty-first of the +princes, and so for a time, he feared to follow his advice. But he was +in such pain that he decided to go to the river, which flowed like a +silver ribbon through the fields toward the ocean. Into the cool water +he plunged and immediately felt better, as the sand and bitter salt of +the sea were washed from his wounds. Then he took a nap on the soft +rushes. + +"When he awoke he no longer was in pain, so he was filled with gratitude +toward the young prince who had given him such kind and wise advice. He +sat up, feeling quite strong again, and tried to think of a way in which +he could repay his benefactor. In the distance he saw the roofs of the +princess's palace rising among the trees which surrounded it. This gave +him an idea, and he lost no time in carrying it out. + +"Across the fields he hopped toward the palace, never stopping till he +reached the garden wall. He crept in under the high gate, and there +stood the princess under a cherry-tree covered with blossoms. The +little hare went up to her and said respectfully: + +"'Gracious Princess, I bring to you advice, if you will accept it from +so insignificant a person as I.' + +"'Speak, little hare,' the beautiful princess answered, for she knew +that the best things are often found in unexpected places, and things +are not always what they seem to be. + +"'Eighty princes are coming to-day as suitors for your hand. They are +dressed in rich and beautiful robes, and their faces are gay and +smiling; but all that is only to hide the cruelty of their hearts. +Following them is a young man who is as wise as he is kind and gentle. +Turn the eighty from your gate, but honor the youngest suitor as greater +than they.' + +"'How do you know all this?' the princess questioned. + +"So the little hare told his story for the third time, speaking so +earnestly that the princess could not fail to be impressed by it. She +thanked him for his advice, and after giving him some tender leaves +to eat, prepared to receive the eighty-one brothers. They came a few +minutes later, resplendent in the magnificent clothes they had put on in +the princess's honor. Indeed, they all looked so handsome that she found +it hard to believe the story of their cruelty. While they were talking +of their journey to her kingdom, however, some of the princes told how +they had made sport of a little hare too stupid to know that salt was +not the best thing for open wounds, and she noticed that the youngest +brother was the only one who did not enjoy the story. At this, rage +filled her gentle heart. + +"'Turn out the eighty princes!' she cried to her attendants; 'no one who +is cruel to so small a creature as a little hare is fit to rule over a +kingdom. But with you,' she added, turning to the youngest prince, 'will +I share my throne, for you are a wise and merciful man.' + +"You may be sure the youngest prince was happy to hear that, for, after +once seeing the beautiful princess, the thought of parting from her was +like lead in his breast. + +"So the cruel brothers were drummed out of the palace with shouts of +scorn; but the gentle prince and princess went into the garden to thank +the little hare. They could not find him, however, search as they would; +for as soon as he learned of the success of his plan, he had hopped away +to see the world, wiser for his day's experiences." + +"Is that all?" Alice asked. + +"That is all," Nurse answered. "And now it is time for you to go to +bed." + + [Illustration: Top of a steel war-hat + Some of the eighty ill-natured and greatly dissatisfied princes + Another war-hat] + + + + + [Illustration: THE LITTLE BROTHER OF LOO-LEE LOO] + +By MARGARET JOHNSON + + + [Illustration] + + In flowery, fair Cathay, + That kingdom far away, + Where, odd as it seems, 't is always night when here we are + having day, + In the time of the great Ching-Wang, + In the city of proud Shi-Bang, + In the glorious golden days of old when sage and poet sang, + + There lived a nobleman who + Was known as the Prince Choo-Choo. + (It was long before the Chinaman wore his beautiful silken queue.) + A learned prince was he, + As rich as a prince could be, + And his house so gay had a grand gateway, and a wonderful + roof, sky-blue. + + His garden was bright with tints + Of blossoming peach and quince, + And a million flowers whose like has not been seen before or since; + And set 'mid delicate odors + Were cute little toy pagodas, + That looked exactly as if you _might_ go in for ice-cream sodas! + + A silver fountain played + In a bowl of carven jade, + And pink and white in a crystal pond the waterlilies swayed. + But never a flower that grew + In the garden of Prince Choo-Choo + Was half so fair as his daughter there, the Princess Loo-lee Loo. + + [Illustration: LOO-LEE LOO] + + Each day she came and sat + Oh her queer little bamboo mat. + (And I hope she carried a doll or two, but I can't be sure of that!) + She watched the fountain toss, + And she gazed the bridge across, + And she worked a bit of embroidery fine with a thread of silken + floss. + + [Illustration: LOO-LEE LOO AND LITTLE FING-WEE] + + She touched her wee guitar, + The gift of her prince-papa, + And she hummed a queer little Chinese tune with a Chinese tra-la-la! + It was all that she had to do + To keep her from feeling blue, + For terribly lonely and dull sometimes was poor little Loo-lee Loo. + + Her father had kites to fly + Far up in the free blue sky + (For a Chinaman loves with this elegant sport his leisure to occupy); + And what with his drums and gongs, + And his numerous loud ding-dongs, + He could have any day, in a princely way, a regular Fourth of July. + + Her mother, the fair Su-See, + Was as busy as she could be, + Though she never went out, except, perhaps, to a neighboring + afternoon tea; + She was young herself, as yet, + And the minutes that she could get + She spent in studying up the rules of Elegant Etiquette. + + So the princess nibbled her plums, + And twirled her dear little thumbs, + And lent sometimes a wistful ear to the beating of distant drums; + Until one April day-- + _Tsing Ming_, as they would say-- + She saw at the gate a sight that straight took Loo-lee's breath away. + + [Illustration: SU-SEE] + + Two dimples, soft and meek, + In a brown little baby cheek, + Two dear little eyes that met her own in a ravishing glance oblique; + A chubby hand thrust through + The palings of bamboo-- + A little Celestial, dropped, it seemed, straight out of the + shining blue. + + A playmate, a friend, a toy, + A live little baby boy-- + Conceive, if you can, in her lonely state, the Princess + Loo-lee's joy! + How, as fast as her feet could toddle + (Her shoes were a Chinese model), + She hurried him in, and almost turned his dear little + wondering noddle. + + "Oh, is it," she bent to say + In her courteous Chinese way, + "In my very contemptible garden, dear, your illustrious wish + to play?" + And when he nodded his head + She knew that he would have said, + "My insignificant feet are proud your honored estate to tread!" + + Oh, then, but the garden rang + With laughter and joy--ting, tang! + There was never a happier spot that day in the realm of the + great Ching-Wang! + And oh, but it waned too soon, + That golden afternoon, + When the princess played with her Ray of the Sun, her darling + Beam of the Moon! + + For when the shadows crept + Where the folded lilies slept, + Out into the garden all at once the prince her father stepped, + With a dignified air benign, + And a smile on his features fine, + And a perfectly gorgeous gown of silk embroidered with flower + and vine. + + A fan in his princely hand, + Which he waved with a gesture bland + (Instead of a gentleman's walking-stick it was carried, you + understand), + In splendor of girdle and shoe, + In a glitter of gold and of blue, + With the fair Su-See at his side came he, the lordly Prince + Choo-Choo. + + The princess bent her brow + In a truly celestial bow, + Saluted her father with filial grace, and made him the grand kotow. + (For every child that's bright + Knows well the rule that's right, + That to knock your head on the ground nine times is the way + to be polite.) + + "And, pray, what have we here?" + In language kind though queer + The prince observed. "It looks to me like a little boy, my dear!" + "Why, that's what it is!" in glee + The princess cried. "Fing-Wee-- + Most Perfectly Peerless Prince-Papa, a dear little brother for me!" + + [Illustration: PRINCE CHOO-CHOO] + + Loud laughed the Prince Choo-Choo, + And I fancy he said "Pooh-pooh!" + (That sounds very much like a Chinese word, and expresses + his feelings, too!) + And the fair Su-See leaned low. + "My Bud of the Rose, you know + If little Fing-Wee our son should be, your honors to him must go!" + + But the princess's eyes were wet, + For her dear little heart was set + On having her way till she quite forgot her daughterly etiquette. + "Oh, what do I care!" she said. + "If he only may stay," she plead, + "I will give him the half of my bowl of rice and all of my fish + and bread!" + + "Dear, dear!" said the Prince Choo-Choo, + "Now here is a how-do-you-do! + Is there nothing, O Jasmine-Flower, instead? A parasol pink or blue? + A beautiful big balloon?" + But she wept to the same old tune, + "I'd rather have little Fing-Wee, papa, than anything under the moon!" + + Then the prince he called for lights, + And he called for the Book of Rites, + And all of the classical literature that he loved to read o' nights; + And he read till the dawn of day + In his very remarkable way, + From end to beginning, from bottom to top, as only a Chinaman may. + + [Illustration: THE TORTOISE TEST] + + "My father adopted a son, + His father the same had done; + Some thousands of years ago, it appears, the custom was thus begun." + He stopped for a pinch of snuff; + His logic was sound, though tough; + You may rightfully follow what plan you please, if it's only + antique enough! + + "A son," he thoughtfully said, + "To serve me with rice and bread; + To burn the paper above my grave and honor my aged head! + Oh, try me the tortoise sign + With a tortoise of ancient line: + If he turns his toes straight in as he goes, the boy is certainly + mine!" + + Oho! but the garden rang + On that wonderful night--ting, tang! + When a banquet meet was served the élite of the city of proud + Shi-Bang! + And all who passed that way + Might read in letters gay + As long as your arm: "The Prince Choo-Choo adopts a son to-day!" + + There was knocking of heads galore; + There were trumpets and drums a score; + The gay pavilions were lit with millions of lamps from ceiling + to floor. + And oh, but the chop-sticks flew + In the palace of Prince Choo-Choo, + And the gifts that were brought for the little Fing-Wee would + fill me a chapter or two. + + [Illustration: "AND THE GIFTS THAT WERE BROUGHT FOR THE LITTLE FING-WEE + WOULD FILL ME A CHAPTER OR TWO"] + + But with never a single toy, + The princess cried for joy, + Nor cared she a jot that they all forgot it was she who had + found the boy! + Her dear little heart it sang + Like a bird in her breast--ting, tang! + There was never a happier child that night in the realm of + the great Ching-Wang! + + And her mother, the fair Su-See, + She looked at the little Fing-Wee-- + There were mothers in China some thousands of years before you + were born, trust me! + She looked at the children two, + And down in the dusk and the dew, + With a tender mist in her eyes she kissed the Princess Loo-lee Loo! + + [Illustration] + + + + + [Illustration] + +THE CURIOUS CASE OF AH-TOP + +(_A Chinese Legend_) + + [Illustration] + + + The slant-eyed maidens, when they spied + The cue of Ah-Top, gaily cried, + "It is some mandarin!" + The street-boys followed in a crowd; + No wonder that Ah-Top was proud + And wore a conscious grin! + + But one day Ah-Top's heart grew sad. + "My fate," he said, "is quite too bad! + My cue will hang behind me. + While others may its beauty know, + To me there's naught its grace to show, + And nothing to remind me." + + [Illustration] + + At length he hit upon a plan, + Exclaiming, "I'm a clever man! + I know what I will do: + I'll simply wheel myself around, + And then the pigtail will be found + Where I can see it, too." + + He spun himself upon his toes, + He almost fell upon his nose, + He grew red in the face. + But when Ah-Top could whirl no more, + He found the pigtail as before, + Resolved to keep its place. + + "A'ha!" he cried, "I turned too slow. + Next time, you see, I'll faster go. + Besides, I stopped too soon. + Now for a good one! Ah, but stay-- + I'll turn myself the other way!" + He looked like a balloon! + + So fast he whirled, his cue flew out + And carried Ah-Top round about. + An awful moment came-- + The helpless spinner could not stop! + The poor man had become a top! + This gave the toy its name. + + [Illustration: How it turned out.] + + + + +THE JACKAL AND THE CAMEL + +_A Hindu Tale_ + + +The Jackal stood looking across the river where the crabs lay in the sun +on the sand. + +"Oh," said the Jackal, "if I could only swim, how good those crabs would +be! I wish I had a boat or a canoe!" + +Just then the Camel came out of the woods. "Now," said the Jackal, "if I +can only get the Camel to take me across the river! I can ride high up +on his hump, and it will be just as good as a boat." + +"Good morning, friend," said the Jackal to the Camel. "Are you hungry? I +know a place where the sugar cane grows higher and sweeter than anywhere +else." + +"Where? Where?" cried the Camel. "Tell me, and I will go there at once." + +"I could take you to the place," said the Jackal, "but it is across the +river, and I cannot swim." + +"Oh," said the Camel, "that is all right. Get up on my back and I will +take you across, and you can show me where the sugar cane is." + +"All right," said the Jackal, "and I will look along the bank of the +river and see if I can find any fat crabs on that side." + +"Jump up quickly," said the Camel, "it makes me hungry just to think of +sugar cane." + +So the Jackal jumped up on the Camel's back, and the Camel swam across +the river, and the Jackal did not get the least bit wet, even the tip of +his tail. (The Jackal does not like to get even the tip of his tail +wet.) + +When they were across the river the Camel went off to the patch of sugar +cane, and the Jackal ate the crabs which lay out in the sun on the sand. +It was not long until he had eaten as many crabs as he could, and wanted +to go back to the other side of the river. So he went to where the Camel +stood in the cane patch. + +"Why, have you finished your crabs?" asked the Camel. + +"Yes. I cannot eat another one. Let us go back." + +"Oh," said the Camel, "I have hardly begun to eat yet." + +"Very well," said the Jackal, "I will go out to the edge of the patch +and lie down and wait for you." + +But the Jackal did not lie down. He was in a hurry to go home, now that +he had eaten all the crabs he wanted. So he said: "I do not want to wait +here. I know a little song I can sing that will make that Camel hurry." + +So he began to sing. Of course, the Camel did not pay any attention, but +the farmer heard, as the Jackal knew he would, and came running out with +sticks to chase the Jackal. But the Jackal hid in the high cane, and the +farmer could not find him. He did find the Camel, however, and called to +his boys, and they beat the Camel with sticks and drove him out of the +cane. + +When the farmer and his boys had gone, the Jackal came out of the cane +and found the Camel lying on the sand bruised with the beating he had +gotten. + +"Oh, friend," he exclaimed, "where have you been? I have been hunting +for you in the cane." + +"Do not call me friend," said the Camel. "Why did you sing that song +that made the farmer come out and beat me?" + +"Oh," said the Jackal, "did the farmer come out and beat you? That is +too bad. But I always sing a song after dinner." + +"Ah, do you?" said the Camel. "I did not know that. Very well. Let us go +home. Climb up while I am lying down." + +So the Jackal climbed upon the Camel's back, and he entered the water +and began to swim across the river, the Jackal riding high on the hump +of the camel so as not to get wet, even to the tip of his tail. + +When they were about the middle of the stream the Camel said: "I believe +that I shall roll over." + +"Do not do that," exclaimed the Jackal, "for I shall get wet and be +drowned." + +"Maybe you will," said the Camel; "but you see I always roll over after +dinner." + +So he rolled over in the water, and the Jackal got wet--first the tip of +his tail, and then all over, and was drowned. + + + + +HASHNU THE STONECUTTER + +_A Japanese Story_ + + +Hashnu the Stonecutter sat beside the highway cutting stone. It was hard +work, and the sun shone hot upon him. + +"Ah me!" said Hashnu, "if one only did not have to work all day. I would +that I could sit and rest, and not have to ply this heavy mallet. + +Just then there was a great commotion, and Hashnu saw a crowd of people +coming up the road. When they drew nearer he noticed that one of them +was the King. On his right side rode soldiers, all arrayed in armor and +ready to do his bidding, while on the left rode courtiers, seeking to +serve him and win his favor. + +And Hashnu, watching, thought what a fine thing it would be to be a +King, and to have soldiers to do his bidding, and courtiers to serve +him, and he said: + + "Ah me, ah me, + If Hashnu only a King could be." + +At once he heard a voice say: "Be thou the King." + +Then in a moment Hashnu found that he was no longer the stonecutter, +sitting beside the highway with a heavy mallet in his hand, but the +King, dressed in armor, riding in the midst of soldiers and courtiers, +and all about him doing homage. + +He rode very proudly for a while, and his subjects bowed low before him. +But the armor was heavy, and the helmet pressed hard upon his brow, and +his head throbbed with the weight of it. He was indeed weary and faint +with the heat, because, though a King, the sun beat hot upon him! + +And he said to himself: "Lo, I am the King, and yet the sun can make me +faint and weary. I had thought that to be a King was to be stronger than +anything else, but the sun is stronger than the King!" + +And as they rode further, and the sun still beat hard upon him, he said: + + "Ah me, ah me, + If Hashnu only the sun could be!" + +Then he heard a voice say: "Be thou the sun." + +And in a moment he was no longer the King, riding among his courtiers, +but the sun, blazing high in the heavens, shining hot upon the fields +and the meadows. As he did not know how to shine, he allowed his rays to +fall too fiercely upon the world, and grass and grain were dried up and +withered, and men lamented because of the cruelty of the heat. But +Hashnu thought he was doing great things, and was very proud, until a +cloud came between him and the earth, so that his rays no longer fell +upon the fields and the cities of men. + +And Hashnu said: "Lo, I am the sun, and my rays fell upon the fields and +the cities, and all acknowledge my power. But the cloud is stronger than +the sun, for it shuts off my rays from the earth." + +Then, because the cloud would not go, but became heavier and blacker, +Hashnu lamented, and said: + + "Ah me, ah me, + If Hashnu only the cloud could be." + +And in a moment he was no longer the sun, shining fiercely upon the +earth, but the cloud, riding in the sky, shutting off the rays of the +sun, and pouring rain upon the fields and the meadows, filling the +rivers and the streams to overflowing. But he did not know how to let +down the rain wisely, and it fell too heavily, and the rivers rose high +and destroyed the fields and the cities, and the meadows were turned +into swamps, and the grain rotted in the ground, and the wind blew, and +trees were uprooted, and houses fell before it. But Hashnu cared for +none of these things, for he thought he was doing very finely indeed. + +But as he looked down upon the earth he saw that a rock beside the +highway stood unmoved and firm, for all of his raining and blowing. And +he said: "For all I am strong, and can blow down trees and destroy +cities, and can pour my waters upon the earth and flood the fields and +the meadows, yet does that rock defy my power. I, Hashnu, would be +stronger than the rock!" + +But the rock was unchanged, and Hashnu, lamenting, said: + + "Ah me, ah me, + If Hashnu only the rock could be!" + +Then he heard a voice say: "Be thou the rock." + +And in a moment he was no longer the cloud, with the wind blowing hard, +and pouring water upon the earth, but the rock, fixed and unmoved beside +the highway. Now, at last, he felt that he was stronger than all. But +even as he rejoiced, he felt the sharp point of a stonecutter's chisel, +and heard the sound of his heavy mallet striking upon its head. Then he +knew that, though the water had fallen upon the rock and been unable to +change it, and the wind had blown hard against it and had no effect, yet +would the stonecutter change and alter it, and make it take whatever +shape he desired. And he said: + + "Ah me, ah me, + If Hashnu only the stonecutter could be!" + +And he heard a voice say: "Be thou thyself." + +Then Hashnu found himself again sitting beside the highway with a +chisel in his hand, and a mallet on the ground beside him, and the rock +before him. And the King had gone by, and the rays of the sun were now +shadowed by the cloud, from which no rain fell, but only a grateful +shade. And Hashnu said: + +"The sun was stronger than the King, the cloud was stronger than the +sun, the rock was stronger than the cloud, but I, Hashnu, am stronger +than all." + +And so he worked on, now well content to do each day his added task. + + + + +THE TIGER, THE BRAHMAN, AND THE JACKAL[N] + + +Once upon a time a Tiger was caught in a trap. He tried in vain to get +out through the bars, and rolled and bit with rage and grief when he +failed. + +By chance a poor Brahman came by. "Let me out of this cage, oh, pious +one!" cried the Tiger. + +"Nay, my friend," replied the Brahman, mildly; "you would probably eat +me if I did." + +"Not at all!" declared the Tiger; "on the contrary, I should be forever +grateful, and serve you as a slave!" + +Now, when the Tiger sobbed, and sighed, and wept, and swore, the pious +Brahman's heart softened; and at last he consented to open the door of +the cage. Out popped the Tiger, and, seizing the poor man, cried: "What +a fool you are! What is to prevent my eating you now, for after being +cooped up so long I am just terribly hungry!" + +In vain the Brahman pleaded for his life; the most he could gain was a +promise to abide by the decision of the first three things he chose to +question as to the justice of the Tiger's action. + +So the Brahman asked first a Pipal Tree what it thought of the matter; +but the Pipal Tree replied coldly: "What have you to complain about? +Don't I give shade and shelter to every one who passes by, and don't +they in return tear down my branches to feed their cattle? Don't +whimper--be a man!" + +Then the Brahman, sad at heart, went farther afield till he saw a +Buffalo turning a well-wheel; but he fared no better from it, for it +answered: "You are a fool to expect gratitude! Look at me! Whilst I gave +milk they fed me on cotton-seed and oil-cake, but now I am dry they yoke +me here, and give me refuse as fodder!" + +The Brahman, still more sad, asked the Road to give him its opinion. + +"My dear sir," said the Road, "how foolish you are to expect anything +else! Here am I, useful to everybody, yet all, rich and poor, great and +small, trample on me as they go past, giving me nothing but the ashes of +their pipes and the husks of their grain!" + +On this the Brahman turned back sorrowfully, and on the way he met a +Jackal, who called out: "Why, what's the matter, Mr. Brahman? You look +as miserable as a fish out of water!" + +The Brahman told him all that had occurred. + +"How very confusing!" said the Jackal, when the recital was ended; +"would you mind telling me again, for everything has got so mixed up?" + +The Brahman told it all over again, but the Jackal shook his head in a +distracted sort of way, and still could not understand. + +"It's very odd," said he, sadly, "but it all seems to go in at one ear +and out of the other! I will go to the place where it all happened, and +then perhaps I shall be able to give a judgment." + +So they returned to the cage, by which the Tiger was waiting for the +Brahman, and sharpening his teeth and claws. + +"You've been away a long time!" growled the savage beast, "but now let +us begin our dinner." + +"Our dinner!" thought the wretched Brahman, as his knees knocked +together with fright; "what a remarkably delicate way of putting it!" + +"Give me five minutes, my lord!" he pleaded, "in order that I may +explain matters to the Jackal here, who is somewhat slow in his wits." + +The Tiger consented, and the Brahman began the whole story over again, +not missing a single detail, and spinning as long a yarn as possible. + +"Oh, my poor brain! oh, my poor brain!" cried the Jackal, wringing its +paws. "Let me see! How did it all begin? You were in the cage, and the +Tiger came walking by--" + +"Pooh!" interrupted the Tiger, "what a fool you are! I was in the cage." + +"Of course!" cried the Jackal, pretending to tremble with fright; "yes! +I was in the cage--no I wasn't--dear! dear! where are my wits? Let me +see--the Tiger was in the Brahman, and the cage came walking by--no, +that's not it, either! Well, don't mind me, but begin your dinner, for I +shall never understand!" + +"Yes, you shall!" returned the Tiger, in a rage at the Jackal's +stupidity; "I'll make you understand! Look here! I am the Tiger--" + +"Yes, my lord!" + +"And that is the Brahman!" + +"Yes, my lord!" + +"And that is the cage!" + +"Yes, my lord!" + +"And I was in the cage--do you understand?" + +"Yes--no! Please, my lord--" + +"Well?" cried the Tiger, impatiently. + +"Please, my lord!--how did you get in?" + +"How!--why in the usual way, of course!" + +"Oh, dear me!--my head is beginning to whirl again! Please don't be +angry, my lord, but what is the usual way?" + +At this the Tiger lost patience, and, jumping into the cage, cried: +"This way! Now do you understand how it was?" + +"Perfectly!" grinned the Jackal, as he dexterously shut the door, "and +if you will permit me to say so, I think matters will remain as they +were!" + + [N] From "Indian Fairy Tales," edited by Joseph Jacobs; used + by permission of the publishers, G. P. Putnam's Sons. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE WILLOW PATTERN PLATE + +RETOLD BY M. ALSTON BUCKLEY + + +Once upon a time there lived in China a rich and haughty mandarin, who +had great riches in lands, and horses, and priceless jewels. This great +man had one lovely daughter with soft black eyes, and raven hair that +scarcely could be told in texture from the silken robes she wore. The +mandarin loved his daughter and showered dazzling jewels on her, and +bought rich robes, heavy with choicest needlework, that she might wear +them. + +Now the mandarin had a faithful secretary, a young man named Chang, +whose every thought was given to the business of the man he served. But +as he went about the house with downcast eyes, Chang saw the daughter of +the mandarin trip lightly to her father's side to whisper in the ear of +her indulgent parent, or flash across the hall, or through the garden +where she fed her goldfish in the lake, and when her mother called her +name, Kong Lee, it seemed to him like sounds of liquid music. The +mandarin talked always of his secretary, and said that he was honest and +true and good, and told the truth and did his work as well as ever any +man could do it. + +Kong Lee learned to think of him and love him. + +But the mandarin had a friend, a rich old man, who wished to marry Kong +Lee, and take her far away to be the mistress of his castle. Kong Lee +refused to marry this old man, and to punish her, her father shut her up +in the top room of a lonely house that stood on the lake shore. From her +windows she could see the lake, and she could see the willow tree that +dipped its drooping branches in the smooth, still water and seemed to +hang its head and weep for her. And when the Spring came on and she +could hear the singing of the birds, she wished that she could go and +walk about the garden where she could see the sweet blossoms that hung +like a veil of pink over the peach trees. In her loneliness she wept, +and wrote sad poetry, which she threw into the water. + +All this time Chang grieved for her, and sent her gifts to comfort her, +and when his work was done, he walked along the shore and thought of +her. But one day Kong Lee caught sight of him standing on the shore, and +she thought, "Chang will help me." So she took a cocoanut, and cut the +shell in two and made a little boat of half of it. Then she made a +little sail of fine, carved ivory, on the sail she wrote a message +asking Chang to help her and threw the boat out of the window. The +little skiff sailed out over the lake, then fell and splashed into the +water, the wind caught the sail and the small craft sailed bravely on. +Chang saw it, waded out, and caught it, read the message, and went to +find Kong Lee. + +Kong Lee was waiting for him, and they fled in haste, taking her box of +jewels with them. The mandarin saw them, and taking a whip he hastened +after them to beat them back again, for he had great fear of his +friend's anger. But they were too swift for him, and reached the other +side, where Chang's boat was waiting to take them to his house. + +There they were married, and lived in happiness until the mandarin's +wicked friend found where they were, and secretly, at night, sailed down +the lake and burned the house when they were sleeping. But their loving +spirits became two doves that rested in the trees and flew about the +places they had loved. + +And if you look at a blue china plate you will see there the house where +Kong Lee was shut up, the willow tree she watched, Kong Lee and Chang +running across the bridge followed by her father with his whip, the +funny house-boat that carried them away to Chang's little house that +almost is hidden by the trees, and at the top, the pair of doves in +which the Chinese poet believed the spirits of Kong Lee and Chang still +lived. + + + + + [Illustration: "HA, HA, HA!" HE SAID TO HIMSELF. "HOW FOOLISH BROTHER + FOX IS"] + + + + + [Illustration: BRER RABBIT _and_ HIS NEIGHBORS] + + + + +BROTHER FOX'S TAR BABY[O] + +TRANSLATED BY JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS + + +Once upon a time Brother Fox and Brother Rabbit lived near each other in +the woods. But they had to go a long way each morning to get water from +a spring. + +One day Brother Fox said to Brother Rabbit: "What's the use of taking a +long walk every morning. Let us dig a well of our own." + +"I shall no longer go to the spring," said Brother Rabbit. "From this +time on I shall drink the dew from the grass and the flowers. Why should +I work to dig a well?" + +Brother Rabbit knew by the way Brother Fox talked that he was going to +dig the well anyway. + +"Just as you please," said Brother Fox. "Then I will dig the well +myself. And I will drink the water all by myself." + +The next morning Brother Fox began to dig a well by a big tree. He +worked, and worked, and worked. Brother Rabbit was hiding in a bush near +by and watching Brother Fox. + +"Ha, ha, ha!" he said to himself. "How foolish Brother Fox is! I guess I +shall soon have all the water I want. Ha, ha, ha!" + +That night, while Brother Fox was asleep, Brother Rabbit stole quietly +down to the well by the big tree, and drank and laughed, and drank and +laughed. + +"I guess I can have all the water I want," said Brother Rabbit. "Brother +Fox was foolish to do all the work." + +The next day, when Brother Fox went to get some water, he saw rabbit +tracks in the mud. + +"Ah, ha! Brother Rabbit," said Brother Fox to himself, "so that's the +way you drink the dew from the grass and the flowers! Well, well, I +think I can catch you at your trick!" + +Brother Fox ran home as fast as he could and made a great big doll of +wood, as big as a baby. He covered the wooden doll with black, sticky +tar. Then he put a little cap on its head. At sunset, he put the tar +baby out beside the well. + +"I think I shall get Brother Rabbit this time," he said, as he went home +laughing to himself all the way. + +Soon Brother Rabbit came hopping through the bushes. He looked first +this way, then that. The least noise frightened him. When he saw the tar +baby, he sat up straight and peeped at it through the leaves. + +"Hullo, there! Who are you?" he said at last. + +The tar baby said nothing. + +"Who are you, I say?" he asked in a louder tone. + +The tar baby said nothing. + +Then Brother Rabbit went right up close to the tar baby. + +"Why don't you answer me?" he shouted. + +The tar baby said nothing. + +"See here!" he shouted. "Have you no tongue? Speak, or I'll hit you!" + +The tar baby said nothing. + +Brother Rabbit raised his right hand and--biff! his hand stuck fast. + +"Here! What's this?" he cried. "Let me go, or I'll hit you again." + +The tar baby said nothing. + +At that--blip! he hit the tar baby with the other hand. That stuck fast, +too. + +"Listen to me, you rascal!" cried Brother Rabbit. "If you don't let me +go, I'll kick you!" + +The tar baby said nothing. + +Bim! Brother Rabbit's right foot stuck fast. + +"See here, you imp!" he shrieked. "If I kick you with my left foot, +you'll think the world has come to an end!" + +The tar baby said nothing. + +Bom! the left foot stuck fast. + +"Look out, now!" Brother Rabbit screamed. "Let me loose, or I'll butt +you into the well with my head! Let me go, I say!" + +The tar baby said nothing. + +Buff! Brother Rabbit's head stuck fast. + +And there was Brother Rabbit with both hands, and both feet, and his +head stuck fast. + +The next morning Brother Fox came out to see how the tar baby was +getting along. He saw Brother Rabbit, and he laughed to himself until +his sides ached. + +"Hey, Brother Rabbit!" he called. "What are you doing? How do you like +my tar baby? I thought you drank dew from the grass and the flowers! I +have you now, Brother Rabbit, I have you now." + +"Let me go, Brother Fox!" cried Brother Rabbit. "Let me go! I am your +friend. Don't hurt me!" + +"Friend? You are a thief," said Brother Fox. "Who wants a thief for a +friend?" Then he ran quickly to his home in the woods and built a big +fire. + +Soon Brother Fox tore Brother Rabbit loose from the tar baby, threw him +over his shoulder, and started for the fire. + +"Roast rabbit is good," said Brother Fox. + +"Roast me! Burn me! Anything!" said Brother Rabbit, "Only don't throw me +into the brier patch." + +"I've a mind to throw you into the well," said Brother Fox, as he turned +and looked back. + +"Drown me! Kill me! Anything! Only don't throw me into the brier patch," +said Brother Rabbit. "The briers will tear my flesh and scratch my eyes +out. Throw me into the fire! Throw me into the well!" + +"Ah, ha, Brother Rabbit!" said Brother Fox. "So you don't like briers? +Then here you go!" and he threw Brother Rabbit away over into the brier +patch. + +As soon as Brother Rabbit touched the ground, he sat up and laughed, and +laughed, and laughed. + +"Ha, ha, ha! Brother Fox!" said Brother Rabbit. "Thank you, dear Brother +Fox, thank you! I was born and reared in a brier patch." + +Then Brother Rabbit ran off in great glee, chuckling over the trick he +had played on Brother Fox. + + [O] From "Evening Tales," by Frederic Ortoli; used by + permission of the publishers, Charles Scribner's Sons. + + + + +THE RABBIT AND THE PEAS + +BY MRS. M. R. ALLEN + + +A long time ago there was a Bear that had a fine pea patch. He and his +wife had to work in the field every day, so they left their little girl +at home to keep house. One fine morning Br'er (which means "Brother") +Rabbit came up to the house and called the little girl: "Mary, Mary, +your father and mother told me to come up here and tell you to put me in +the pea patch and let me have as many peas as I want." So Mary put him +in, and he stayed there until nearly 12 o'clock, and then he begun +calling: "Little girl, little girl, come and let me out; I'm full for +this time!" + +So she let him out, and he went home. At dinner when her father and +mother came home and saw their pea patch they were angry, and said: "Who +has been in these peas?" "Why, didn't you send Br'er Rabbit to get as +many as he wanted?" said Mary. "No, I didn't; no, I didn't;" said Mr. +Bear. "And the next time that rascal comes here with that sort of tale, +you just keep him in there until I come home." + +So the next morning Br'er Rabbit came back again, and called: "Mary, +Mary, your father told me to tell you to put me in the pea patch, and +let me have all the peas I want." "All right," said Mary; "come on." So +she put him in and fastened him up. + +As it began to grow late, Mr. Rabbit began to call: "Little girl, little +girl, come and let me out!" "All right," said Mary, "when I put down my +bread for supper." After a while he called again: "Little girl, little +girl, come let me out!" "When I milk my cow," said Mary. When she +finished milking he called again, and she said: "Wait till I turn my cow +out." + +By that time Mr. Bear came home and found him in his pea patch, and +asked him what he was doing in there. "Your little girl told me you said +I might have some peas," said Br'er Rabbit. "Well," said Mr. Bear, "I'll +put you in this box until I get rested and eat my supper, then I'll show +you a trick or two." So he locked him in the box and went to the house. + +After a while Br'er Fox came along the road, and Br'er Rabbit called +him, and Br'er Fox said: "What are you doing in there?" "They are going +to have a ball here to-night and want me to play the fiddle for them, so +they put me in here. I wouldn't disappoint them," said Br'er Rabbit. +"But, Br'er Fox, you always could beat me playing the fiddle. Now, they +offer to pay two dollars for every tune. Suppose you take my place; my +wife is sick and I must go home--if I can get off." + +"All right," said Mr. Fox. "I'm always willing to make money, and if you +don't want to stay I will take your place." + + [Illustration: "WHO ARE YOU, I SAY?" HE ASKED IN A LOUDER VOICE] + +"Well, look on top of the box and get the key. I saw Mr. Bear put it +there," said Br'er Rabbit. So Br'er Fox unlocked the door, and Br'er +Rabbit hopped out and locked Br'er Fox in. + +So after supper they all came out, and the little girl ran up to the box +and looked in, and said: "Oh, mamma! just come and see how this Rabbit +has growed!" + +Mr. Fox said: "I ain't no Rabbit!" "Well," said Mr. Bear, "how came you +in there?" "Because Br'er Rabbit asked me to take his place, and play at +your ball to-night," said Mr. Fox. + +"Well, Br'er Rabbit has fooled you badly, Fox. But I will have to whip +you, anyway, for letting him out. I'll help you find Br'er Rabbit." +"I'll hunt him till I die, to pay him back for fooling me so," said Mr. +Fox. So they all started out to find Br'er Rabbit. + +And they soon came upon him, and he began to run, and all of them after +him. And they got him in a tight place, and he ran up a hollow tree. + +And they had to go back for their axes. So they put a Frog at the tree +to watch him to keep him from getting away. After they were gone, Mr. +Frog looked up and saw Br'er Rabbit. + + [Illustration: THEY HAD TO GO LOOK FOR AXES. SO THEY PUT A FROG AT THE + TREE TO WATCH] + +"What's dat you chewing?" said Mr. Frog. "Tobacco," said Br'er Rabbit. +"Give me some," said Mr. Frog. "Well," said Br'er Rabbit, "look up here +and open your eyes and mouth wide." So he filled the Frog's eyes full of +trash. And while Mr. Frog was rubbing his eyes trying to get the trash +out so he could see, Br'er Rabbit ran out and got away. + +When Mr. Bear and Mr. Fox got back with their axes, they asked Mr. Frog: +"Whar's Mr. Rabbit?" He said: "He's in dar." They cut down the tree and +didn't find him. Then they asked Mr. Frog again: "Whar's Mr. Rabbit?" +"He's in dar," said Mr. Frog. So they split the tree open, and still +didn't find him. And they asked Mr. Frog again, "Whar's Mr. Rabbit, I +say?" "He's in dar," said Mr. Frog. + +"Now, Mr. Frog," they said, "you have let Mr. Rabbit get away, and we +are going to kill you in his place." + +So Mr. Frog said: "Wait till I go to my praying ground, and say my +prayers." So they told him he might have five minutes. + +And there was a pond near by, and a log on the edge of it. So when Frog +got on the log he bowed his head and said: "Ta-hoo! ta-hoo! ta-h-o-o!" +Splash! and he was gone! And the Bear and Fox were outwitted again. + + + + + [Illustration: BR'ER RABBIT'S FISHING] + +BR'ER RABBIT'S FISHING[P] + + +One day, Br'er Rabbit, and Br'er Fox, and Br'er Bear, and Br'er Coon, +and all the rest of them were clearing up a new piece of ground to plant +some corn. + +The sun got sort of hot, and Br'er Rabbit he got tired; but he didn't +say so, 'cause he 'fraid the others'd call him lazy, so he kept on +clearing away the rubbish and piling it up, till by-and-by he holler out +that he got a thorn in his hand. Then he took and slipped off, and +hunted for a cool place to rest in. + +After a while Br'er Rabbit he see a well, with a bucket hanging in it. + +"That looks cool," says Br'er Rabbit, says he, "and cool I 'spects it +is. I'll just about get in there and take a nap," says he. And with that +in he jumped. + +No sooner was Br'er Rabbit in, than the bucket began to go down, and +there was no wusser scared beast since the world began than this here +Br'er Rabbit was _then_. He fairly shook with fright. He know where he +come from, but he dunno where he going. Presently he feel the bucket hit +the water, and there it sat. Br'er Rabbit he keep mighty still, 'cause +he dunno what be going to happen next. He just lay there, and shook and +shivered. + +Now, Br'er Fox he always kep' one eye on Br'er Rabbit and, when Br'er +Rabbit slipped off the new ground, Br'er Fox he sneaked after him. He +knew Br'er Rabbit was after something or other, and he took and crept +off to watch him. Br'er Fox see Br'er Rabbit come to the well and stop, +and then he see him jump into the bucket, and then, lo and behold, he +see him go down out of sight. + +Br'er Fox was the most astonished fox that ever you set eyes on. He sat +off there in the bushes, and he think and think, but he make no heads or +tails of this kind of business. Then he says to himself, says he: + +"Well, if this don't beat my times," says he, "then Joe's dead and Sal's +a widder," says he. "Right down there in that well Br'er Rabbit keeps +his money hid, and if it ain't that, then he's been and gone and +discovered a gold mine; and if it ain't that, then I'm a-going to see +what _is_ there," says he. + +Br'er Fox crept up a little nigher, he did, and he listen, but he hear +nothing, and he kept on getting nigher, and yet he hear nothing. +By-and-by he get up close. He peep down; he see nothing, and he hear +nothing. + +All this while Br'er Rabbit was nearly scared out of his skin, and he +'fraid to move, 'cause the bucket might keel over and spill him out into +the water. + +Then old Br'er Fox holler out: + +"Hallo, Br'er Rabbit! Who you visiting down there?" says he. + +"Who? Me? Oh, I'm just a-fishing, Br'er Fox," says Br'er Rabbit, says +he. "I just said to myself that I'd sort of surprise you all with a lot +of fishes for dinner; and so here I is, and here's the fishes. I'm +fishing, Br'er Fox," says Br'er Rabbit, says he. + +"Is there many of 'em down there, Br'er Rabbit?" says Br'er Fox. + +"Lots of 'em, Br'er Fox. Scores and scores of 'em. The water is just +alive with 'em. Come down, and help me haul 'em up, Br'er Fox," says old +Br'er Rabbit, says he. + +"How 'm I going to get down, Br'er Rabbit?" + +"Jump into the other bucket, Br'er Fox. It'll fetch you down all safe +and sound." + +Br'er Rabbit he talk so happy and talk so sweet, that Br'er Fox he jump +into the bucket, he did, and as he went down, of course his weight +pulled Br'er Rabbit up. When they passed one another half-way down, +Br'er Rabbit he sing out: + + "Good-by, Br'er Fox, take care of your clothes, + For this is the way the world goes; + Some goes up, and some goes down, + You'll get to the bottom all safe and soun'." + +When Br'er Rabbit get out, he gallop off and tell the folks what the +well belong to that Br'er Fox was down in there muddying up the drinking +water, and then he gallop back to the well and holler down to Br'er Fox: + + "Here comes a man with a great big gun; + When he hauls you up, you cut and run." + +But in about half an hour both of them were back in the new ground, +working as if they never heard of no well, 'cept that every now and then +Br'er Rabbit burst out and laugh, and old Br'er Fox he'd get a spell of +the dry grins. + + [P] From "More Funny Stories About Br'er Rabbit," published by + Stead's Publishing House, London, England, and used with their + permission. + + + + +BR'ER POSSUM LOVES PEACE + + +One night Br'er Possum called for Br'er Coon, and they rambled forth to +see how the others were getting along. Br'er Possum he ate his fill of +fruit, and Br'er Coon he scooped up a lot of frogs and tadpoles. They +ambled along, just as sociable as a basket of kittens, till by-and-by +they heard Mr. Dog talking to himself off in the woods. + +"S'pose he runs upon us, Br'er Possum, what you going to do?" says Br'er +Coon. + +Br'er Possum sort of laugh round the corners of his mouth. + +"Oh, if he comes, Br'er Coon, I'm going to stand by you," says Br'er +Possum. "What are _you_ going to do?" says he. + +"Who? Me?" says Br'er Coon. "If he runs up on to me, I lay I'll give him +a twist," says he. + +Mr. Dog he came and he came. He didn't wait to say How-d'ye-do. He just +sailed into the two of them. The very first pass he made, Br'er Possum +fetched a grin from ear to ear, and keeled over as if he was dead. Then +Mr. Dog he sailed into Br'er Coon, but Br'er Coon was cut out for that +kind of business, and he fairly wiped up the face of the earth with Mr. +Dog. When Mr. Dog got a chance to make himself scarce, he took it, and +what was left of him went skaddling through the woods as if it was shot +out of a gun. Br'er Coon he sort of licked his clothes into shape, and +racked off, and Br'er Possum he lay as if he was dead, till by-and-by he +looked up, sort of careful-like, and when he found the coast clear he +scrambled up and scampered off as if something was after him. + +Next time Br'er Possum met Br'er Coon, Br'er Coon refused to reply to +his How-d'ye-do, and this made Br'er Possum feel mighty bad, 'cause they +used to make so many excursions together. + +"What makes you hold your head so high?" says Br'er Possum, says he. + +"I ain't running with cowards these days," says Br'er Coon. "When I +wants you, I'll send for you," says he. + +Then Br'er Possum got very angry. "Who's a coward?" says he. + +"You is," says Br'er Coon, "that's who. I ain't associating with them +what lies down on the ground and plays dead when there's a free fight +going on," says he. + +Then Br'er Possum grin and laugh fit to kill hisself. + +"Lor'! Br'er Coon, you don't think I done that 'cause I was afraid, does +you?" says he. "Why, I were no more afraid than you is this minute. What +was there to be skeered at?" says he. "I knew you'd get away with Mr. +Dog if I didn't, and I just lay there watching you shake him, waiting to +put in when the time came," says he. + + [Illustration: BR'ER POSSUM LAY AS IF HE WAS DEAD] + +Br'er Coon turn up his nose. + +"That's a mighty likely tale," says he. "When Mr. Dog no more than +touched you before you keeled over and lay there stiff," says he. + +"That's just what I was going to tell you about," says Br'er Possum. "I +weren't no more skeered 'n you is now, and I was going to give Mr. Dog a +sample of my jaw," says he, "but I'm the most ticklish chap that ever +you set eyes on, and no sooner did Mr. Dog put his nose down among my +ribs than I got to laughing, and I laugh till I hadn't no more use of my +limbs," says he; "and it's a mercy for Mr. Dog that I _was_ ticklish, +'cause a little more and I'd have ate him up," says he. "I don't mind +fighting, Br'er Coon, any more than you does, but I'm blessed if I can +stand tickling. Get me in a row where there ain't no tickling allowed, +and I'm your man," says he. + +And to this day Br'er Possum's bound to surrender when you touch him in +the short ribs, and he'll laugh even if he knows he's going to be +smashed for it. + + + + +BR'ER FOX TACKLES OLD BR'ER TARRYPIN[Q] + + +One day Br'er Fox struck up with Br'er Tarrypin right in the middle of +the big road. Br'er Tarrypin he heard Br'er Fox coming, and he say to +hisself that he'd sort of better keep one eye open; but Br'er Fox was +monstrous polite, and he begin, he did, and say he hadn't seen Br'er +Tarrypin this ever so long. + +"Hallo, Br'er Tarrypin, where you been this long-come-short?" says Br'er +Fox, says he. + +"Lounging round," says Br'er Tarrypin. + +"You don't look sprucy, like you did, Br'er Tarrypin," says Br'er Fox. + +"Lounging round and suffering," says Br'er Tarrypin, says he. + +Then the talk sort of run on like this: + +"What ails you, Br'er Tarrypin? Your eye look mighty red," says Br'er +Fox. + +"Lor, Br'er Fox, you dunno what trouble is. _You_ ain't been lounging +round and suffering," says Br'er Tarrypin, says he. + +"_Both_ eyes red, and you look like you is mighty weak, Br'er Tarrypin," +says Br'er Fox, says he. + +"Lor, Br'er Fox, you dunno what trouble is," says Br'er Tarrypin, says +he. + +"What ails you now?" says Br'er Fox. + +"Took a walk the other day, and Mr. Man come along and set the field on +fire. Lor, Br'er Fox, you dunno what trouble is," says Br'er Tarrypin, +says he. + +"How you get out of the fire, Br'er Tarrypin?" says Br'er Fox. + +"Sat and took it, Br'er Fox," says Br'er Tarrypin, says he, "sat and +took it; and the smoke got in my eye, and the fire scorched my back," +says Br'er Tarrypin, says he. + +"Likewise it burn your tail off," says Br'er Fox, says he. + +"Oh, no, there's my tail, Br'er Fox," says Br'er Tarrypin, and with that +he uncurl his tail from under his shell, and no sooner did he do that +than Br'er Fox grab at it and holler out: + +"Oh, yes, Br'er Terrapin! Oh, yes! And so you's the one what lam me on +the head the other day, is you? You's in with Br'er Rabbit, is you? +Well, I'm going to out you." + +Br'er Tarrypin he beg and he beg, but it weren't no use. Then he beg +Br'er Fox not to drown him. Br'er Fox ain't making no promise. Then he +beg Br'er Fox to burn him, 'cause now he used to fire. Br'er Fox he say +nothing. By-and-by Br'er Fox drag Br'er Tarrypin off little ways below +the spring, and he souse him under the water. + +Then Br'er Tarrypin he began to holler out: + +"Turn loose that stump-root and catch hold of me!" + +Br'er Fox he holler back: + +"I ain't got hold of no stump-root, and I is got hold of you." + +"Catch hold of me, I'm a-drowning--I'm a-drowning; turn loose that +stump-root and catch hold of me!" + +Sure enough, Br'er Fox turned loose Br'er Tarrypin's tail, and Br'er +Tarrypin he went down to the bottom! + +Was Br'er Tarrypin drowned, then? Not a bit of it. Is _you_ drowned when +your mammy tucks you up in bed? + + [Illustration: BY-AND-BY BR'ER FOX DRAG BR'ER TARRYPIN OFF] + + [Q] From "More Funny Stories About Br'er Rabbit," published by + Stead's Publishing House, London, England, and used with their + permission. + + + + + [Illustration: HOW COUSIN WILDCAT SERVED BR'ER FOX] + +HOW COUSIN WILDCAT SERVED BR'ER FOX[R] + + +Br'er Rabbit and Br'er Fox had both been paying calls one evening at the +same house. They sat there, and after a while Br'er Rabbit looked out, +and said: + +"Now then, folks and friends, I must say good-by. Cloud coming up +yonder, and before we know it, the rain'll be a-pouring." + +Then Br'er Fox he up and says he 'spects _he_ better be getting on, +'cause he doesn't want to get his Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes wet. So +they set out. + +While they were going down the big road, talking at one another, Br'er +Fox he took and stopped, and said: + +"Look here, Br'er Rabbit, look here! If my eyes don't deceive, here's +the tracks where Mr. Dog's been along, and they're quite fresh!" + +Br'er Rabbit he sidle up and look. Then he say: + +"That there track ain't never fit Mr. Dog's foot. What's more," says he, +"I been acquainted with him what made that track too long ago to talk +about." + +"Br'er Rabbit, please, sir, tell me his name." + +Br'er Rabbit he laughs, as if he was making light of something or other. + +"If I makes no mistakes, Br'er Fox, the poor creature what made that +track is Cousin Wildcat; no more and no less." + +"How big is he, Br'er Rabbit?" + +"Just about your heft, Br'er Fox." Then Br'er Rabbit make like talking +to himself. "Tut, tut, tut! To be sure, to be sure! Many and many's the +times I see my old grand-daddy kick and cuff Cousin Wildcat. If you want +some fun, Br'er Fox, now's the time." + +Br'er Fox he up and axed how he's going to have any fun. + +Br'er Rabbit he say: "Easy enough. Just go and tackle old Cousin +Wildcat, and lam him round." + +Br'er Fox he sorter scratch his ear, and say: "Eh, eh, Br'er Rabbit, I'm +'fraid. His track too much like Mr. Dog." + +Br'er Rabbit he sat flat down in the road, and holler, and laugh. "Shoo, +Br'er Fox!" says he, "who'd ha' thought you so skeery? Just come and +look at these here tracks. Is there any sign of claw anywheres?" + +Br'er Fox was obliged to agree that there weren't no sign of claw. Br'er +Rabbit say: "Well, then, if he ain't got no claw, how's he going to hurt +you, Br'er Fox?" + +Br'er Fox took another good look at the track, and then he and Br'er +Rabbit put out to follow it up. + +They kept on and on, till by-and-by they ran up with the creature. Br'er +Rabbit he holler out mighty biggity: "Hallo, there! what you doing?" + +The creature look round, but he ain't saying nothing. Br'er Rabbit say: +"Oh, you needn't look so sulky! We'll make you talk before we've done +with you! Come, now, what you doing there?" + +The creature rub hisself against a tree just as you see these here house +cats rub against a chair, but he ain't saying nothing. Br'er Rabbit +holler: "What you come bothering us for when we ain't been bothering +you? You thinks I don't know who you is, but I does. I'll let you know I +got a better man here than what my grand-daddy been, and I'll be bound +he'll make you talk." + +The creature leaned harder against the tree, and sort of ruffled up his +bristles, but he ain't saying nothing. Br'er Rabbit he say: "Go up, +Br'er Fox, and if he refuse to speak, slap him down. That's the way my +grand-daddy did. If he dares to run, I'll just whirl in and catch him." + +Br'er Fox he look sort of dubious, but he start toward the creature. Old +Cousin Wildcat walk all round the tree rubbing hisself, but he ain't +saying nothing. Br'er Fox he went up a little nigher. Cousin Wildcat +stop rubbing on the tree, and sat upon his behind legs with his front +paws in the air, and balances hisself by leaning against the tree, but +he ain't saying nothing. + +Br'er Rabbit he squall out: "Oh, you needn't put up your hands, and try +and beg off. That's the way you fooled my old grand-daddy; but you can't +fool me. All your sitting up and begging ain't going to help you. Hit +him, Br'er Fox! If he runs, I'll catch him!" + +Br'er Fox he sort of took heart. He sidled up toward him, and just as he +was making ready to slap him, old Cousin Wildcat drew back, and fetched +Br'er Fox a wipe across the stomach. + +That there Cousin Wildcat fetched him a wipe across the stomach, and you +might have heard him squall for miles and miles. Little more and the +creature would have torn Br'er Fox in two. Once the creature made a pass +at him, Br'er Rabbit knew what was going to happen, yet all the same he +took and hollered: + +"Hit him again, Br'er Fox! hit him again! I'm a-backing you, Br'er Fox! +Hit him again!" + +While Br'er Rabbit was going on in this way, Br'er Fox was squatting on +the ground, holding his stomach with both hands and moaning: + +"I'm ruined, Br'er Rabbit! I'm ruined! Fetch the doctor! I'm teetotally +ruined!" + +About this time Cousin Wildcat took and went for a walk. Br'er Rabbit +make like he astonished that Br'er Fox is hurted. He took and examine +the place, and he up and say: "It look to me, Br'er Fox, that that +owdacious villain took and struck you with a reaping hook." + +With that Br'er Rabbit lit out for home, and when he got out of sight he +took and shook his hands, just like a cat when she gets the water on her +foots. Then he laugh and laugh till he can laugh no more. + + [R] From "More Funny Stories About Br'er Rabbit," published by + Stead's Publishing House, London, England, and used with their + permission. + + + + + [Illustration: "'HELLO!'"] + +PLANTATION STORIES + +BY GRACE MACGOWAN COOKE + + +I.--MRS. PRAIRIE-DOG'S BOARDERS + +Texas is a near-by land to the dwellers in the Southern States. Many of +the poorer white people go there to mend their fortunes; and not a few +of them come back from its plains, homesick for the mountains, and with +these fortunes unmended. Daddy Laban, the half-breed, son of an Indian +father and a negro mother, who sometimes visited Broadlands plantation, +had been a wanderer; and his travels had carried him as far afield as +the plains of southwestern Texas. The Randolph children liked, almost +better than any others, the stories he brought home from these extensive +travels. + +"De prairie-dog a mighty cur'ous somebody," he began one day, when +they asked him for a tale. "Hit lives in de ground, more samer dan a +ground-hog. But dey ain't come out for wood nor water; an' some folks +thinks dey goes plumb down to de springs what feeds wells. I has knowed +dem what say dey go fur enough down to find a place to warm dey +hands--but dat ain't de tale I'm tellin'. + +"A long time ago, dey was a prairie-dog what was left a widder, an' she +had a big fambly to keep up. 'Oh, landy!' she say to dem dat come to +visit her in her 'fliction, 'what I gwine do to feed my chillen?' + +"De most o' de varmints tell Miz. Prairie-Dog dat de onliest way for her +to git along was to keep boarders. 'You got a good home, an' you is a +good manager,' dey say; 'you bound to do well wid a boardin'-house.' + +"Well, Miz. Prairie-Dog done sent out de runners to run, de fliers to +fly, de crawlers to crawl, an' tell each an' every dat she sot up a +boardin'-house. She say she got room for one crawler and one flier, an' +dat she could take in a whole passel o' runners. + +"Well, now you knows a flier 's a bird--or hit mought be a bat. Ef +you was lookin' for little folks, hit mought be a butterfly. Miz. +Prairie-Dog ain't find no fliers what wants to live un'neath de ground. +But crawlers--bugs an' worms an' sich-like--dey mostly does live +un'neath de ground, anyhow, an' de fust pusson what come seekin' +house-room with Miz. Prairie-Dog was Brother Rattlesnake. + +"'I dest been flooded out o' my own house,' Mr. Rattlesnake say; 'an' I +like to look at your rooms an' see ef dey suits me.' + +"'I show you de rooms,' Miz. Prairie-Dog tell 'im. 'I bound you gwine +like 'em. I got room for one crawler, an' you could be him; but--' + +"Miz. Prairie-Dog look at her chillen. She ain't say no more--dest look +at dem prairie-dog gals an' boys, an' say no more. + +"Mr. Rattlesnake ain't like bein' called a crawler so very well; but he +looks at dem rooms, an' 'low he'll take 'em. Miz. Prairie-Dog got +somethin' on her mind, an' 'fore de snake git away dat somethin' come +out. 'I's shore an' certain dat you an' me can git along,' she say, +'ef--ef--ef you vow an' promish not to bite my chillen. I'll have yo' +meals reg'lar, so dat you won't be tempted.' + +"Old Mr. Rattlesnake' powerful high-tempered--yas, law, he sho' a mighty +quick somebody on de trigger. Zip! he go off, dest like dat--zip! +Br-r-r! 'Tempted!' he hiss at de prairie-dog woman. He look at dem +prairie-dog boys an' gals what been makin' mud cakes all mornin' (an' +dest about as dirty as you-all is after you do de same). 'Tempted,' he +say. 'I should hope not.' + +"For, mind you, Brother Rattlesnake is a genterman, an' belongs to de +quality. He feels hisself a heap too biggity to bite prairie-dogs. So +_dat_ turned out all right. + +"De next what come to Miz. Prairie-Dog was a flier." + +"A bird?" asked Patricia Randolph. + +"Yes, little mistis," returned the old Indian. "One dese-hyer little, +round, brown squinch-owls, what allers quakes an' quivers in dey speech +an' walk. 'I gits so dizzy--izzy--wizzy! up in de top o' de trees,' de +little brown owl say, as she swivel an' shake. 'An' I wanted to git me a +home down on de ground, so dat I could be sure, an' double sure, dat I +wouldn't fall. But dey is dem dat says ef I was down on de ground I +might fall down a hole. Dat make me want to live in yo' house. Hit's +down in de ground, ain't hit? Ef I git down in yo' house dey hain't no +place for me to fall off of, an' fall down to, is dey?' she ax. + + [Illustration: "I WANTED TO GIT ME A HOME DOWN ON DE GROUND, SO DAT I + COULD BE SURE, AN' DOUBLE SURE, DAT I WOULDN'T FALL," SAYS MIZ. BROWN + OWL] + +"Miz. Prairie-Dog been in de way o' fallin' down-stairs all her life; +dat de onliest way she ever go inter her house--she fling up her hands +an' laugh as you pass her by, and she drap back in de hole. But she tell +de little brown owl dat dey ain't no place you could fall ef you go to +de bottom eend o' her house. So, what wid a flier an' a crawler, an' de +oldest prairie-dog boy workin' out, she manage to make tongue and buckle +meet. I's went by a many a prairie-dog hole an' seen de owl an' de +rattlesnake what boards wid Miz. Prairie-Dog. Ef you was to go to Texas +you'd see de same. But nobody in dat neck o' woods ever knowed how dese +folks come to live in one house." + +"Who told _you_, Daddy Laban?" asked Pate Randolph. + +"My Injun gran'mammy," returned the old man. "She told me a many a tale, +when I lived wid my daddy's people on de Cherokee Res'vation. Sometime I +gwine tell you 'bout de little fawn what her daddy ketched for her when +she 's a little gal. But run home now, honey chillens, or yo' mammy done +think Daddy Laban stole you an' carried you plumb away." + + +II.--SONNY BUNNY RABBIT'S GRANNY + +Of all the animal stories which America, the nurse-girl, told to the +children of Broadlands plantation, they liked best those about Sonny +Bunny Rabbit. + +"You listen now, Marse Pate an' Miss Patty an' my baby child, an' I +gwine tell you de best tale yit, 'bout de rabbit," she said, one lazy +summer afternoon when they were tired of playing marbles with +china-berries. + +"You see, de fox he mighty hongry all de time for rabbit meat; yit, at +de same time, he 'fraid to buck up 'gainst a old rabbit, an' he always +pesterin' after de young ones. + +"Sonny Bunny Rabbit' granny was sick, an' Sonny Bunny Rabbit' mammy want +to send her a mess o' sallet. She put it in a poke, an' hang de poke +round de little rabbit boy's neck. + + [Illustration: "'WHAR YOU PUTTIN' OUT FOR? AN' WHO ALL IS YOU GWINE SEE + ON T' OTHER SIDE DE HILL?'" AX MR. FOX] + +"'Now, my son,' she says, 'you tote dis sallet to yo' granny, an' don't +stop to play wid none o' dey critters in de Big Woods.' + +"'Yassum, mammy,' say Sonny Bunny Rabbit. + +"'Don't you pass de time o' day wid no foxes,' say Mammy Rabbit. + +"'Yassum, mammy,' say Sonny Bunny Rabbit. + +"Dest as he was passin' some thick chinkapin bushes, up hop a big red +fox an' told him howdy. + +"'Howdy,' say Sonny Bunny Rabbit. He ain't study 'bout what his mammy +tell him now. He 'bleege to stop an' make a miration at bein' noticed by +sech a fine pusson as Mr. Fox. 'Hit's a fine day--an' mighty growin' +weather, Mr. Fox.' + +"'Hit am dat,' say de fox. 'Yaas, suh, hit sho'ly am dat. An' whar you +puttin' out for, ef I mought ax?' he say, mighty slick an' easy. + +"Now right dar," said America, impressively, "am whar dat little rabbit +boy fergit his teachin'. He act like he ain't know nothin'--an ain't +know dat right good. 'Stead o' sayin', 'I's gwine whar I's gwine--an' +dat's whar I's gwine,' he answer right back: 'Dest 'cross de hill, suh. +Won't you walk wid me, suh? Proud to have yo' company, suh.' + + [Illustration: "'COME BACK HYER, YOU RABBIT TRASH, AN' HE'P ME OUT O' + DIS TROUBLE!'" HE HOLLER] + +"'An' who-all is you gwine see on t' other side de hill?' ax Mr. Fox. + +"'My granny,' answer Sonny Bunny Rabbit. 'I totin' dis sallet to her.' + +"'Is yo' granny big?' ax de fox. 'Is yo' granny old?' he say. 'Is yo' +granny mighty pore? Is yo' granny tough?' An' he ain't been nigh so +slick an' sof' an' easy any mo' by dis time--he gittin' mighty hongry +an' greedy. + +"Right den an dere Sonny Bunny Rabbit wake up. Yaas, law! He come to he +senses. He know mighty well an' good dat a pusson de size o' Mr. Fox +ain't got no reason to ax ef he granny tough, less'n he want to git he +teef in her. By dat he recomember what his mammy done told him. He look +all 'bout. He ain't see no he'p nowhars. Den hit come in Sonny Bunny +Rabbit' mind dat de boys on de farm done sot a trap down by de pastur' +fence. Ef he kin git Mr. Fox to jump inter dat trap, his life done save. + +"'Oh, my granny mighty big,' he say; 'but dat 's 'ca'se she so fat she +cain't run. She hain't so mighty old, but she sleep all de time; an' I +ain't know is she tough or not--you dest better come on an' find out,' +he holler. Den he start off on er long, keen jump. + +"Sonny Bunny Rabbit run as hard as he could. De fox run after, most +nippin' his heels. Sonny Bunny Rabbit run by de place whar de fox-trap +done sot, an' all kivered wid leaves an' trash, an' dar he le'p high in +the air--an' over it. Mr. Fox ain't know dey ary trap in de grass; an', +blam! he stuck he foot squar' in it! + +"'Oh-ow-ow! Hi-hi-hi! Hi-yi! Yi-yi-yi!' bark de fox. 'Come back hyer, +you rabbit trash, an' he'p me out o' dis trouble!' he holler. + +"'Dat ain't no trouble,' say Sonny Bunny Rabbit, jumping high in de +grass. 'Dat my granny, what I done told you 'bout. Ain't I say she so +fat she cain't run? She dest love company so powerful well, dat I 'spect +she holdin' on to you to hear you talk.' + +"An' de fox talk," America giggled, as she looked about on her small +audience. + + + + + [Illustration: MR. SNOWBIRD SPENDS CHRISTMAS DAY WITH BR'ER RABBIT] + + + + + [Illustration: AMERICAN INDIAN STORIES] + + + + +ROBIN REDBREAST + + +There was once a hunter who had only one son, and when his son grew up +he said to him: "My son, I am growing old, and you must hunt for me." + +"Very well, father," said his son, and he took his father's bow and +arrows and went out into the woods. But he was a dreamy boy, and forgot +what he had come for, and spent the morning wondering at the beautiful +flowers, and trees, and mosses, and hills, and valleys that he saw. When +he saw a bird on a tree, he forgot that he had come to shoot it, and lay +listening to its song; and when he saw a deer come down to drink at the +stream he put down his bow and arrows and began to talk to the deer in +the deer's own language. At last he saw that the sun was setting. Then +he looked round for his bow and arrows, and they were gone! + +When he got home to the wigwam, his father met him at the door and said: +"My son, you have had a long day's hunting. Have you killed so much that +you had to leave it in the woods? Let us go and fetch it together." + +The young man looked very much ashamed of himself, and said: "Father, I +forgot all about the hunting. The woods, and the sky, and the flowers, +and the birds, and the beasts were so interesting that I forgot all +about what you had sent me to do." + +His father was in a terrible rage with him, and in the morning he sent +him out again, with new bow and arrows, saying: "Take care that you +don't forget this time." + +The son went along saying to himself: "I mustn't forget, I mustn't +forget, I mustn't forget." But as soon as a bird flew across the path he +forgot all about what his father had said, and called to the bird in the +bird's own language, and the bird came and sat on the tree above him, +and sang to him so beautifully all day that the young man sat as if he +was dreaming till sunset. + +"Oh dear!" said the young man, "what shall I do? My father will kill me +if I go back without anything to eat." + +"Never mind," said the bird; "if he kills you, we shall give you +feathers and paint, and you can fly away and be a bird like ourselves." + +When the young man reached the village he scarcely dared to go near his +father's wigwam; but his father saw him coming, and ran to meet him, +calling out in a hurry; "What have you brought? What have you brought?" + +"I have brought nothing, father; nothing at all," said the boy. + +His father was angrier than ever, and in the morning he said: "Come with +me. No more bow and arrows for you, and not a bite to eat, till I have +taught you to be a hunter like any other good Indian." So he took his +son into the middle of the forest, and there built for him a little +wigwam, with no door, only a little hole in the side. + +"There!" said his father, when the young man was inside, and the wigwam +was laced up tight. "When you have lived and fasted in this wigwam for +twelve days, the spirit of a hunter will come into you." + +Every day the young man's father came to see him, and every day the +young man begged for food, till at last, on the tenth day, he could only +beg in a whisper. + +"No!" said his father. "In two days more you can both hunt and eat." + +On the eleventh day, when the father came and spoke to his son, he got +no answer. Looking through the hole, he saw the lad lying as if he was +dead on the ground; but when he called out aloud his son awoke, and +whispered: "Father, bring me food! Give me some food!" + +"No," said his father. "You have only one day more to wait. To-morrow +you will hunt and eat." And he went away home to the village. + +On the twelfth day the father came loaded with meal and meat. As he +came near to the wigwam he heard a curious chirping sound, and when he +looked through the hole in the wigwam he saw his son standing up inside, +and painting his breast with bright red paint. + +"What are you doing, my son? Come and eat! Here is meal and meat for +you. Come and eat and hunt like a good Indian." + +But the son could only reply in a chirping little voice: "It is too +late, father. You have killed me at last, and now I am becoming a bird." +And as he spoke he turned into the o-pe-che--the robin redbreast--and +flew out of the hole and away to join the other birds; but he never flew +very far from where men live. + +The cruel father set out to go back to his wigwam; but he could never +find the village again, and after he had wandered about a long time he +lay down in the forest and died; and soon afterward the redbreast found +him, and buried him under a heap of dry leaves. Every year after that, +when the time of the hunter's fast came round, the redbreast perched on +his father's empty wigwam and sang the song of the dead. + + + + +THE THREE WISHES + + +Once upon a time there were three brothers who set out on a visit to +Goose-cap, the wise one, who said that any one might come and see him, +and get a wish--just one wish, no more. The three brothers were seven +years on the journey, climbing mountains that seemed to have no top, and +scrambling through forests full of thorn-bushes, and wading through +swamps where the mosquitoes tried to eat them up, and sailing down +rivers where the rapids broke up their rafts and nearly drowned them. + +At the end of seven years they heard Goose-cap's dogs barking, so then +they knew they were on the right road; and they went on for three months +more, and the barking got a little louder every day, till at last they +came to the edge of the great lake. Then Goose-cap saw them, and sailed +over in his big stone canoe and took them to his island. + +You never saw such a beautiful island as that was, it was so green and +warm and bright; and Goose-cap feasted his visitors for three days and +nights, with meats and fruits that they had never tasted before. Then he +said: "Tell me what you want, and why you have taken so much trouble to +find me." + +The youngest brother said: "I want to be always amusing, so that no one +can listen to me without laughing." + +Then the great wise one stuck his finger in the ground, and pulled up a +root of the laughing-plant and said: "When you have eaten this you will +be the funniest man in the tribe, and people will laugh as soon as you +open your lips. But see that you don't eat it till you get home." + +The youngest brother thanked him, and hurried away; and going home was +so easy that it only took seven days instead of seven years. Yet the +young man was so impatient to try his wish that on the sixth morning he +ate the root. All of a sudden he felt so light-headed that he began to +dance and shout with fun: and the ducks that he was going to shoot for +breakfast flew away laughing into the reeds over the river, and the deer +ran away laughing into the woods, and he got nothing to eat all day. + +Next morning he came to the village where he lived, and he wanted to +tell his friends how hungry he was; but at the first word he spoke they +all burst out laughing, and as he went on they laughed louder and +louder--it seemed so funny, though they couldn't hear a word he said, +they made so much noise themselves. Then they got to laughing so hard +that they rolled over and over on the ground, and squeezed their sides, +and cried with laughing, till they had to run away into their houses and +shut their doors, or they would have been killed with laughing. He +called to them to come out and give him something to eat, but as soon as +they heard him they began to laugh again; and at last they shouted that +if he didn't go away they would kill him. So he went away into the woods +and lived by himself; and whenever he wanted to hunt he had to tie a +strap over his mouth, or the mock-bird would hear him and begin to +laugh, and all the other birds and beasts would hear the mock-bird and +laugh and run away. + +The second brother said to Goose-cap; "I want to be the greatest of +hunters without the trouble of hunting. Why should I go after the +animals if I could make them come to me?" + +Goose-cap knew why; still, he gave the man a little flute, saying: "Be +sure you don't use it till after you have got home." + +Then the hunter set off; but on the sixth day he was getting so near +home that he said to himself: "I'm sure Goose-cap couldn't hear me now +if I blew the flute _very_ gently, just to try it." So he pulled out +the flute and breathed into it as gently as ever he could--but as soon +as his lips touched it the flute whistled so long and loud that all the +beasts in the country heard it and came rushing from north and south and +east and west to see what the matter was. The deer got there first, and +when they saw it was a man with bow and arrows they tried to run away +again; but they couldn't, for the bears were close behind, all round, +and pushed and pushed till the deer were all jammed up together and the +man was squeezed to death in the middle of them. + +The eldest brother, when the other two had set off for home, said to +Goose-cap: "Give me great wisdom, so that I can marry the Mohawk chief's +daughter without killing her father or getting killed myself." You see, +the eldest brother was an Algonquin, and the Mohawks always hated the +Algonquins. + +Goose-cap stooped down on the shore and picked up a hard clam-shell; and +he ground it and ground it, all that day and all the next night, till he +had made a beautiful wampum bead of it. "Hang this round your neck by a +thread of flax," he said, "and go and do whatever the chief asks you." + +The eldest brother thanked him, and left the beautiful island, and +traveled seven days and seven nights till he came to the Mohawk town. He +went straight to the chief's house, and said to him, "I want to marry +your daughter." + +"Very well," said the chief, "you can marry my daughter if you bring me +the head of the great dragon that lives in the pit outside the gate." + +The eldest brother promised he would, and went out and cut down a tree +and laid it across the mouth of the pit. Then he danced round the pit, +and sang as he danced a beautiful Algonquin song, something like this: +"Come and eat me, dragon, for I am fat and my flesh is sweet and there +is plenty of marrow in my bones." The dragon was asleep, but the song +gave him beautiful dreams, and he uncoiled himself and smacked his lips +and stretched his head up into the air and laid his neck on the log. +Then the eldest brother cut off the head; snick-snack, and carried it to +the chief. + +"That's right," said the chief; but he was angry in his heart, and next +morning, when he should have given away his daughter, he said to the +Algonquin: "I will let you marry her if I see that you can dive as well +as the wild duck in the lake." + +When they got to the lake the wild duck dived and stayed under water for +three minutes, but then it had to come up to breathe. Then the eldest +brother dived, and turned into a frog, and stayed under water so long +that they were sure he was drowned; but just as they were going home, +singing for joy to be rid of him, he came running after them, and said: +"Now I have had my bath and we can go and get married." + +"Wait till the evening," said the chief, "and then you can get married." + +When the evening came, the Northern Lights were dancing and leaping in +the sky, and the chief said: "The Northern Lights would be angry if you +got married without running them a race. Run your best and win, and +there will be no more delay." + +The Northern Lights darted away at once to the west, and the eldest +brother ran after them; and the chief said to his daughter: "They will +lead him right down to the other side of the world, and he will be an +old man before he can get back, so he won't trouble us any more." But +just as the chief finished speaking, here came the Algonquin running up +from the east. He had turned himself into lightning and gone right round +the world; and the night was nearly gone before the Northern Lights came +up after him, panting and sputtering. + +"Yes, my son," said the chief; "you have won the race; so now we can go +on with the wedding. The place where we have our weddings is down by the +river at the bottom of the valley, and we will go there on our +toboggans." + +Now the hillside was rough with rocks and trees, and the river flowed +between steep precipices, so nobody could toboggan down there without +being broken to pieces. But the eldest brother said he was ready, and +asked the chief to come on the same toboggan. + +"No," said the chief, "but as soon as you have started I will." + +Then the Algonquin gave his toboggan a push, and jumped on, and didn't +even take the trouble to sit down. The chief waited to see him dashed to +pieces; but the toboggan skimmed down the mountain side without touching +a rock or a tree, and flew across the ravine at the bottom, and up the +hillside opposite; and the Algonquin was standing straight up the whole +time. When he got to the top of the mountain opposite he turned his +toboggan round and coasted back as he had come. And when the chief saw +him coming near and standing up on his toboggan, he lost his temper and +let fly an arrow straight at the young man's heart; but the arrow stuck +in Goose-cap's bead, and the Algonquin left it sticking there and took +no notice. Only when he got to the top he said to the chief, "Now it's +your turn," and put him on the toboggan and sent him spinning down into +the valley. And whether the chief ever came up again we don't know; but +at any rate his daughter married the Algonquin without any more fuss, +and went home with him. + + + + +THE JOKER + + +This story is about Lox. He called himself the joker, and he was very +proud of his jokes; but nobody else could see anything in them to laugh +at. + +One day he came to a wigwam where two old Indians were taking a nap +beside the fire. He picked out a burning stick, held it against their +bare feet, and then ran out and hid behind the tent. The old men sprang +up, and one of them shouted to the other: + +"How dare you burn my feet?" + +"How dare _you_ burn _my_ feet?" roared the other, and sprang at his +throat. + +When he heard them fighting Lox laughed out loud, and the old men ran +out to catch the man who had tricked them. When they got round the tent +they found nothing but a dead coon. They took off its skin, and put its +body into the pot of soup that was boiling for dinner. As soon as they +had sat down, out jumped Lox, kicking over the pot and putting out the +fire with the soup. He jumped right into the coon's skin and scurried +away into the wood. + +In the middle of the forest Lox came upon a camp where a party of women +were sitting round a fire making pouches. + +"Dear me," said Lox, looking very kind. (He had put on his own skin by +this time.) "That's very slow work! Now, when I want to make a pouch I +do it in two minutes, without sewing a stitch." + +"I should like to see you do it!" said one of the women. + +"Very well," said he. So he took a piece of skin, and a needle and +twine, and a handful of beads, and stuffed them in among the burning +sticks. In two minutes he stooped down again and pulled a handsome pouch +out of the fire. + +"Wonderful!" said the women; and they all stuffed their pieces of +buckskin and handfuls of beads into the fire. + +"Be sure you pull the bags out in two minutes," said Lox. "I will go and +hunt for some more buckskin." + +In two minutes the women raked out the fire, and found nothing but +scraps of scorched leather and half-melted glass. Then they were very +angry, and ran after the joker; but he had turned himself into a coon +again and hidden in a hollow tree. When they had all gone back to their +ruined work he came down and went on his mischievous way. + +When he came out of the wood he saw a village by the side of a river. +Outside one of the wigwams a woman was nursing a baby, and scolding it +because it cried. + +"What a lot of trouble children are," said Lox. "What a pity that people +don't make men of them at once, instead of letting them take years to +grow up." + +The woman stared. "How can a baby be turned into a man?" she asked. + +"Oh, it's easy enough," said he. So she lent him her baby, and he took +it down to the river and held it under the water for a few minutes, +saying magical words all the time; and then a full-grown Indian jumped +out of the water, with a feather head-dress, and beaded blankets, and a +bow and quiver slung over his back. + +"Wonderful! Wonderful!" said his mother, and she hurried back to the +village to tell her friends the secret. The last thing Lox saw as he +hurried away into the wood was a score of mothers drowning their +children. + +On the path in front of him Lox spied a couple of maidens, and they were +trying to reach the fruit that grew on a wild plum-tree. The joker +stepped on one side and broke a twig off another plum-tree and stuck it +in his hair. The twig sprouted fast, and grew into a little plum-tree +with big plums hanging from its twigs. He went along the path, picking +and eating the plums as he walked, till he came up with the girls. + +"Wonderful!" said they. "Do you think we could get plums like that?" + +"Easily," said he and he broke off two little twigs. "Stick these in +your hair, and you will have head-dresses like mine." + +As soon as the twigs were stuck in their hair the little plum-trees +began to grow, and the maidens danced with joy, and picked the juicy +plums and ate them. But the trees went on growing, and the roots twisted +in among the maidens' hair and clutched their heads like iron fingers. +The girls sat down, for they couldn't carry all that weight standing. +And still the trees grew, till the girls lay down on the ground and +screamed for some one to come and rescue them. Presently their father +came along, and he pulled his axe out of his belt and chopped off the +trees, and tugged at the roots till they came off--but all the maidens' +hair came off too. By this time Lox took care to be scampering away +through the wood in the shape of a coon. + +When he came near the next village Lox put on a terrified face and began +to run; and he rushed into the middle of the village, shouting: "The +plague is coming! The plague is coming!" + +All the people flocked out of their wigwams, crying: "Where is it coming +from? Which way shall we fly?" + +"Stay where you are and make your minds easy," said Lox. "I have a charm +that will keep off all the plagues under the sun. As soon as I have +spoken the words, every man must kiss the girl nearest him." Then he +stretched up his hands toward the sun and said some gibberish; and when +he stopped and let his arms fall, each man made a rush and kissed the +girl who happened to be nearest. + +But there were not quite as many girls as there were men, and one old +bachelor was so slow and clumsy that every girl had been kissed before +he could catch one. + +"Never mind," said Lox cheerfully. "You go to the next village and try +again." + +So the old bachelor set out, plod, plod, plodding through the woods. But +Lox turned himself into a coon again, and scampered from tree to tree, +and got first to the village. When he told the people the plague was +coming, and they asked how they could avoid it, he said: "When I have +spoken my charm, all the girls must set upon any stranger that comes to +the village, and beat him." Then he flung his arms up and began talking +his gibberish. Presently the old bachelor came up, hot and panting, and +stood close to the handsomest girl he could see, all ready to kiss her +as soon as the charm ended. But as soon as Lox finished, the maidens all +set upon the stranger, and beat him till he ran away into the woods. + +Then the people made a great feast for Lox; and when he had eaten his +fill of deer-meat and honey, he marched off to play his tricks somewhere +else. He had not gone very far when he came to the Kulloo's nest. Now +the Kulloo was the biggest of the birds, and when he spread his wings +he made night come at noonday; and he built his nest of the biggest +pine-trees he could find, instead of straws. The Kulloo was away, but +his wife was at home trying to hatch her eggs. Lox was not hungry; but +he turned himself into a serpent, and crept into the nest and under Mrs. +Kulloo's wing, and bit a hole in every egg and ate up the little +Kulloos. When he had done this, he was so heavy and stupid that he +couldn't walk very far before he had to lie down and go to sleep. + +Presently the Kulloo came home. + +"How are you getting on, my dear?" he said. + +"Not very well, I'm afraid," she said. "The eggs seem to get cold, no +matter how close I sit." + +"Let me take a turn while you go and stretch your wings," said the +Kulloo. But when he sat down on the empty eggs they all broke with a +great crash. + +The Kulloo flew off in a terrible rage to find the wretch who had eaten +up the eggs, and very soon he spied Lox snoring on the grass. + +"Now I've caught him," said the Kulloo; "it's Lox, the mischief-maker." + +He pounced down, and caught hold of Lox by the hair and carried him a +mile up into the sky, and then let go. Of course, Lox was broken into +pieces when he struck the earth, but he just had time as he fell to say +his strongest magic: + + "Backbone! Backbone! + Save my backbone!" + +So as soon as the Kulloo was out of sight the arms and legs and head +began to wriggle together round the backbone, and then in a twinkling +Lox was whole again. + +"I shouldn't like that to happen very often," he said, looking himself +over to see if every piece had joined in the right place. "I think I'll +go home and take a rest." + +But he had traveled so far that he was six months' journey from his +home; and he had made so many enemies, and done so much mischief, that +whenever he came into a village and asked food and shelter the people +hooted and pelted him out again. The birds and the beasts got to know +when he was coming, and kept so far out of his way that he couldn't get +enough to eat, not even by his magic. Besides, he had wasted his magic +so much that scarcely any was left. The winter came on, and he was cold +as well as hungry, when at last he reached a solitary wigwam by a frozen +river. The master of the wigwam didn't know him, so he treated him +kindly, and said, when they parted next morning: + +"You have only three days more to go; but the frost-wind is blowing +colder and colder, and if you don't do as I say you will never get home. +When night comes, break seven twigs from a maple-tree and stand them up +against each other, like the poles of a wigwam, and jump over them. Do +the same the next night, and the night after that if you are not quite +home; but you can only do it thrice." + +Away went the joker, swaggering through the woods as if nothing had +happened to him, for now he was warm and full. But soon the wind began +to rise, and it blew sharper and sharper, and bit his face, and pricked +in through his blanket. + +"I'm not going to be cold while I know how to be warm," said he; and he +built a little wigwam of sticks, and jumped over it. The sticks blazed +up, and went on burning furiously for an hour. Then they died out +suddenly. Lox groaned and went on his way. In the afternoon he stopped +again, and lit another fire to warm himself by; but again the fire went +out. When night came on he made his third fire wigwam; and that one +burned all night long, and only went out when it was time for him to +begin the day's march. + +All day he tramped over the snow, never daring to stop for more than a +few minutes at a time for fear of being frozen to death. At night he +built another little wigwam; but the twigs wouldn't light, however often +he jumped over them. On he tramped, getting more and more tired and +drowsy, till at last he fell in his tracks and froze. And that was the +end of Lox and his jokes. + + + + +LITTLE MOCCASIN'S RIDE ON THE THUNDER-HORSE + +BY COLONEL GUIDO ILGES + + +"Little Moccasin" was, at the time we speak of, fourteen years old, and +about as mischievous a boy as could be found anywhere in the Big Horn +mountains. Unlike his comrades of the same age, who had already killed +buffaloes and stolen horses from the white men and the Crow Indians, +with whom Moccasin's tribe, the Uncapapas, were at war, he preferred to +lie under a shady tree in the summer, or around the camp-fire in winter, +listening to the conversation of the old men and women, instead of going +upon expeditions with the warriors and the hunters. + +The Uncapapas were a very powerful and numerous tribe of the great Sioux +Nation, and before Uncle Sam's soldiers captured and removed them, and +before the Northern Pacific Railroad entered the territory of Montana, +they occupied the beautiful valleys of the Rosebud, Big and Little +Horn, Powder and Redstone rivers, all of which empty into the grand +Yellowstone Valley. In those days, before the white man had set foot +upon these grounds, there was plenty of game, such as buffalo, elk, +antelope, deer, and bear; and, as the Uncapapas were great hunters and +good shots, the camp of Indians to which Little Moccasin belonged always +had plenty of meat to eat and plenty of robes and hides to sell and +trade for horses and guns, for powder and ball, for sugar and coffee, +and for paint and flour. Little Moccasin showed more appetite than any +other Indian in camp. In fact, he was always hungry, and used to eat at +all hours, day and night. Buffalo meat he liked the best, particularly +the part taken from the hump, which is so tender that it almost melts in +the mouth. + +When Indian boys have had a hearty dinner of good meat, they generally +feel very happy and very lively. When hungry, they are sad and dull. + +This was probably the reason why Little Moccasin was always so full of +mischief, and always inventing tricks to play upon the other boys. He +was a precocious and observing youngster, full of quaint and original +ideas--never at a loss for expedients. + +But he was once made to feel very sorry for having played a trick, and I +must tell my young readers how it happened. + +"Running Antelope," one of the great warriors and the most noted orator +of the tribe, had returned from a hunt, and Mrs. Antelope was frying for +him a nice buffalo steak--about as large as two big fists--over the +coals. Little Moccasin, who lived in the next street of tents, smelled +the feast, and concluded that he would have some of it. In the darkness +of the night he slowly and carefully crawled toward the spot, where +Mistress Antelope sat holding in one hand a long stick, at the end of +which the steak was frying. Little Moccasin watched her closely, and +seeing that she frequently placed her other hand upon the ground beside +her and leaned upon it for support, he soon formed a plan for making her +drop the steak. + +He had once or twice in his life seen a pin, but he had never owned one, +and he could not have known what use is sometimes made of them by bad +white boys. He had noticed, however, that some of the leaves of the +larger varieties of the prickly-pear cactus-plant are covered with many +thorns, as long and as sharp as an ordinary pin. + +So when Mrs. Antelope again sat down and looked at the meat to see if it +was done, he slyly placed half-a-dozen of the cactus leaves upon the +very spot of ground upon which Mrs. Antelope had before rested her left +hand. + +Then the young mischief crawled noiselessly into the shade and waited +for his opportunity, which came immediately. + +When the unsuspecting Mrs. Antelope again leaned upon the ground, and +felt the sharp points of the cactus leaves, she uttered a scream, and +dropped from her other hand the stick and the steak, thinking only of +relief from the sharp pain. + +Then, on the instant, the young rascal seized the stick and tried to run +away with it. But Running Antelope caught him by his long hair, and gave +him a severe whipping, declaring that he was a good-for-nothing boy, and +calling him a "coffee-cooler" and a "squaw." + +The other boys, hearing the rumpus, came running up to see the fun, and +they laughed and danced over poor Little Moccasin's distress. Often +afterward they called him "coffee-cooler"; which meant that he was +cowardly and faint-hearted, and that he preferred staying in camp around +the fire, drinking coffee, to taking part in the manly sports of hunting +and stealing expeditions. + +The night after the whipping, Little Moccasin could not sleep. The +disgrace of the whipping and the name applied to him were too much for +his vanity. He even lost his appetite, and refused some very nice +prairie-dog stew which his mother offered him. + +He was thinking of something else. He must do something brave--perform +some great deed which no other Indian had ever performed--in order to +remove this stain upon his character. + +But what should it be? Should he go out alone and kill a bear? He had +never fired a gun, and was afraid that the bear might eat him. Should he +attack the Crow camp single-handed? No, no--not he; they would catch him +and scalp him alive. + +All night long he was thinking and planning; but when daylight came, he +had reached no conclusion. He must wait for the Great Spirit to give him +some ideas. + +During the following day he refused all food and kept drawing his belt +tighter and tighter around his waist every hour, till, by evening, he +had reached the last notch. This method of appeasing the pangs of +hunger, adopted by the Indians when they have nothing to eat, is said to +be very effective. + +In a week's time Little Moccasin had grown almost as thin as a +bean-pole, but no inspiration had yet revealed what he could do to +redeem himself. + +About this time a roving band of Cheyennes, who had been down to the +mouth of the Little Missouri, and beyond, entered the camp upon a +friendly visit. Feasting and dancing were kept up day and night, in +honor of the guests; but Little Moccasin lay hidden in the woods nearly +all the time. + +During the night of the second day of their stay, he quietly stole to +the rear of the great council-tepee, to listen to the pow-wow then going +on. Perhaps he would there learn some words of wisdom which would give +him an idea how to carry out his great undertaking. + +After "Black Catfish," the great Cheyenne warrior, had related in the +flowery language of his tribe some reminiscences of his many fights and +brave deeds, "Strong Heart" spoke. Then there was silence for many +minutes, during which the pipe of peace made the rounds, each warrior +taking two or three puffs, blowing the smoke through the nose, pointing +toward heaven and then handing the pipe to his left-hand neighbor. + +"Strong Heart," "Crazy Dog," "Bow-String," "Dog-Fox," and "Smooth +Elkhorn" spoke of the country they had just passed through. + +Then again the pipe of peace was handed round, amid profound silence. + +"Black Pipe," who was bent and withered with the wear and exposure of +seventy-nine winters, and who trembled like some leafless tree shaken by +the wind, but who was sound in mind and memory, then told the Uncapapas, +for the first time, of the approach of a great number of white men, who +were measuring the ground with long chains, and who were being followed +by "Thundering Horses," and "Houses on Wheels." (He was referring to the +surveying parties of the Northern Pacific Railway Company, who were just +then at work on the crossing of the Little Missouri.) + +With heart beating wildly, Little Moccasin listened to this strange +story and then retired to his own blankets in his father's tepee. + +Now he had found the opportunity he so long had sought! He would go +across the mountains, all by himself, look at the thundering horses and +the houses on wheels. He then would know more than any one in the tribe, +and return to the camp,--a hero! + +At early morn, having provided himself with a bow and a quiver full of +arrows, without informing any one of his plan he stole out of camp, +and, running at full speed, crossed the nearest mountain to the East. + +Allowing himself little time for rest, pushing forward by day and night, +and after fording many of the smaller mountain-streams, on the evening +of the third day of his travel he came upon what he believed to be a +well-traveled road. But--how strange!--there were two endless iron rails +lying side by side upon the ground. Such a curious sight he had never +beheld. There were also large poles, with glass caps, and connected by +wire, standing along the roadside. What could all this mean? + +Poor Little Moccasin's brain became so bewildered that he hardly noticed +the approach of a freight-train drawn by the "Thundering Horse." + +There was a shrill, long-drawn whistle, and immense clouds of black +smoke; and the Thundering Horse was sniffing and snorting at a great +rate, emitting from its nostrils large streams of steaming vapor. +Besides all this, the earth, in the neighborhood of where Little +Moccasin stood, shook and trembled as if in great fear; and to him the +terrible noises the horse made were perfectly appalling. + +Gradually the snorts, and the puffing, and the terrible noise lessened, +until, all at once, they entirely ceased. The train had come to a +stand-still at a watering tank, where the Thundering Horse was given its +drink. + +The rear car, or "House on Wheels," as old Black Pipe had called it, +stood in close proximity to Little Moccasin,--who, in his bewilderment +and fright at the sight of these strange moving houses, had been unable +to move a step. + +But as no harm had come to him from the terrible monster, Moccasin's +heart, which had sunk down to the region of his toes, began to rise +again; and the curiosity inherent in every Indian boy mastered fear. + +He moved up, and down, and around the great House on Wheels; then he +touched it in many places, first with the tip-end of one finger, and +finally with both hands. If he could only detach a small piece from the +house to take back to camp with him as a trophy and as a proof of his +daring achievement! But it was too solid, and all made of heavy wood and +iron. + +At the rear end of the train there was a ladder, which the now brave +Little Moccasin ascended with the quickness of a squirrel to see what +there was on top. + +It was gradually growing dark, and suddenly he saw (as he really +believed) the full moon approaching him. He did not know that it was the +headlight of a locomotive coming from the opposite direction. + +Absorbed in this new and glorious sight, he did not notice the starting +of his own car, until it was too late, for, while the car moved, he +dared not let go his hold upon the brake-wheel. + +There he was, being carried with lightning speed into a far-off, unknown +country, over bridges, by the sides of deep ravines, and along the +slopes of steep mountains. + +But the Thundering Horse never tired nor grew thirsty again during the +entire night. + +At last, soon after the break of day, there came the same shrill whistle +which had frightened him so much on the previous day; and, soon after, +the train stopped at Miles City. + +But, unfortunately for our little hero, there were a great many white +people in sight; and he was compelled to lie flat upon the roof of his +car, in order to escape notice. He had heard so much of the cruelty of +the white men that he dared not trust himself among them. + +Soon they started again, and Little Moccasin was compelled to proceed on +his involuntary journey, which took him away from home and into unknown +dangers. + +At noon, the cars stopped on the open prairie to let Thundering Horse +drink again. Quickly, and without being detected by any of the trainmen, +he dropped to the ground from his high and perilous position. Then the +train left him--all alone in an unknown country. + +Alone? Not exactly; for, within a few minutes, half-a-dozen Crow +Indians, mounted on swift ponies, are by his side, and are lashing him +with whips and lassoes. + +He has fallen into the hands of the deadliest enemies of his tribe, and +has been recognized by the cut of his hair and the shape of his +moccasins. + +When they tired of their sport in beating poor Little Moccasin so +cruelly, they dismounted and tied his hands behind his back. + +Then they sat down upon the ground to have a smoke and to deliberate +about the treatment of the captive. + +During the very severe whipping, and while they were tying his hands, +though it gave him great pain, Little Moccasin never uttered a groan. +Indian-like, he had made up his mind to "die game," and not to give his +enemies the satisfaction of gloating over his sufferings. This, as will +be seen, saved his life. + +The leader of the Crows, "Iron Bull," was in favor of burning the hated +Uncapapa at a stake, then and there; but "Spotted Eagle," "Blind Owl," +and "Hungry Wolf" called attention to the youth and bravery of the +captive, who had endured the lashing without any sign of fear. Then the +two other Crows took the same view. This decided poor Moccasin's fate; +and he understood it all, although he did not speak the Crow language, +for he was a great sign-talker, and had watched them very closely during +their council. + + [Illustration: "WHEN THEY HAD GONE ABOUT FIVE MILES FROM CAMP, THEY + CAME UPON A PRETTY LITTLE MOUSE-COLORED PONY"] + +Blind Owl, who seemed the most kind-hearted of the party, lifted the boy +upon his pony, Blind Owl himself getting up in front, and they rode at +full speed westward to their large encampment, where they arrived after +sunset. + +Little Moccasin was then relieved of his bonds, which had benumbed his +hands during the long ride, and a large dish of boiled meat was given to +him. This, in his famished condition, he relished very much. An old +squaw, one of the wives of Blind Owl, and a Sioux captive, took pity on +him, and gave him a warm place with plenty of blankets in her own tepee, +where he enjoyed a good rest. + +During his stay with the Crows, Little Moccasin was made to do the work +which usually falls to the lot of the squaws; and which was imposed upon +him as a punishment upon a brave enemy, designed to break his proud +spirit. He was treated as a slave, made to haul wood and draw water, do +the cooking, and clean game. Many of the Crow boys wanted to kill him, +but his foster-mother, "Old Looking-Glass," protected him; and, besides, +they feared that the soldiers of Fort Custer might hear of it, if he was +killed, and punish them. + +Many weeks thus passed, and the poor little captive grew more despondent +and weaker in body every day. Often his foster-mother would talk to him +in his own language, and tell him to be of good cheer; but he was +terribly homesick and longed to get back to the mountains on the +Rosebud, to tell the story of his daring and become the hero which he +had started out to be. + +One night, after everybody had gone to sleep in camp, and the fires had +gone out, Old Looking-Glass, who had seemed to be soundly sleeping, +approached his bed and gently touched his face. Looking up, he saw that +she held a forefinger pressed against her lips, intimating that he must +keep silence, and that she was beckoning him to go outside. + +There she soon joined him; then, putting her arm around his neck, she +hastened out of the camp and across the nearest hills. + +When they had gone about five miles away from camp, they came upon a +pretty little mouse-colored pony, which Old Looking-Glass had hidden +there for Little Moccasin on the previous day. + +She made him mount the pony, which she called "Blue Wing," and bade him +fly toward the rising sun, where he would find white people who would +protect and take care of him. + +Old Looking-Glass then kissed Little Moccasin upon both cheeks and the +forehead, while the tears ran down her wrinkled face; she also folded +her hands upon her breast and looking up to the heavens, said a prayer, +in which she asked the Great Spirit to protect and save the poor boy in +his flight. + +After she had whispered some indistinct words into the ear of Blue Wing +(who seemed to understand her, for he nodded his head approvingly), she +bade Little Moccasin be off, and advised him not to rest this side of +the white man's settlement, as the Crows would soon discover his +absence, and would follow him on their fleetest ponies. + +"But Blue Wing will save you! He can outrun them all!" + +These were her parting words, as he galloped away. + +In a short time the sun rose over the nearest hill, and Little Moccasin +then knew that he was going in the right direction. He felt very happy +to be free again, although sorry to leave behind his kind-hearted +foster-mother, Looking-Glass. He made up his mind that after a few +years, when he had grown big and become a warrior, he would go and +capture her from the hated Crows and take her to his own tepee. + +He was so happy in this thought that he had not noticed how swiftly time +passed, and that already the sun stood over his head; neither had he +urged Blue Wing to run his swiftest; but that good little animal kept up +a steady dog-trot, without, as yet, showing the least sign of being +tired. + +But what was the sudden noise which was heard behind him? Quickly he +turned his head, and, to his horror, he beheld about fifty mounted Crows +coming toward him at a run, and swinging in their hands guns, pistols, +clubs, and knives! + +His old enemy, Iron Bull, was in advance, and under his right arm he +carried a long lance, with which he intended to spear Little Moccasin, +as a cruel boy spears a bug with a pin. + +Moccasin's heart stood still for a moment with fear; he knew that this +time they would surely kill him if caught. He seemed to have lost all +power of action. + +Nearer and nearer came Iron Bull, shouting at the top of his voice. + +But Blue Wing now seemed to understand the danger of Moccasin's +situation; he pricked up his ears, snorted a few times, made several +short jumps, to fully arouse Moccasin, who remained paralyzed with fear, +and then, like a bird, fairly flew over the prairie, as if his little +hoofs were not touching the ground. + +Little Moccasin, too, was now awakened to his peril, and he patted and +encouraged Blue Wing; while, from time to time, he looked back over his +shoulder to watch the approach of Iron Bull. + +Thus they went, on and on; over ditches and streams, rocks and hills, +through gulches and valleys. Blue Wing was doing nobly, but the pace +could not last forever. + +Iron Bull was now only about five hundred yards behind and gaining on +him. + +Little Moccasin felt the cold sweat pouring down his face. He had no +fire-arm, or he would have stopped to shoot at Iron Bull. + +Blue Wing's whole body seemed to tremble beneath his young rider, as if +the pony was making a last desperate effort, before giving up from +exhaustion. + +Unfortunately, Little Moccasin did not know how to pray, or he might +have found some comfort and help thereby; but in those moments, when a +terrible death was so near to him, he did the next best thing: he +thought of his mother and his father, of his little sisters and +brothers, and also of Looking-Glass, his kind old foster-mother. + +Then he felt better and was imbued with fresh courage. He again looked +back, gave one loud, defiant yell at Iron Bull, and then went out of +sight over some high ground. + +Ki-yi-yi-yi! There is the railroad station just in front, only about +three hundred yards away. He sees white men around the buildings, who +will protect him. + +At this moment Blue Wing utters one deep groan, stumbles, and falls to +the ground. Fortunately, though, Little Moccasin has received no hurt. +He jumps up, and runs toward the station as fast as his weary legs can +carry him. + +At this very moment Iron Bull with several of his braves came in sight +again, and, realizing the helpless condition of the boy, they all gave a +shout of joy, thinking that in a few minutes they would capture and kill +him. But their shouting had been heard by some of the white men, who at +once concluded to protect the boy, if he deserved aid. + +Little Moccasin and Iron Bull reached the door of the station-building +at nearly the same moment; but the former had time enough to dart inside +and hide under the table of the telegraph operator. + +When Iron Bull and several other Crows rushed in to pull the boy from +underneath the table, the operator quickly took from the table-drawer a +revolver, and with it drove the murderous Crows from the premises. + +Then the boy had to tell his story, and he was believed. All took pity +upon his forlorn condition, and his brave flight made them his friends. + +In the evening Blue Wing came up to where Little Moccasin was resting +and awaiting the arrival of the next train, which was to take him back +to his own home. + +Little Moccasin threw his arms affectionately around Blue Wing's neck, +vowing that they never would part again in life. + +Then they both were put aboard a lightning express train, which look +them to within a short distance of the old camp on the Rosebud. + +When Little Moccasin arrived at his father's tepee, riding beautiful +Blue Wing, now rested and frisky, the whole camp flocked around him; and +when he told them of his great daring, of his capture and his escape, +Running Antelope, the big warrior of the Uncapapas and the most noted +orator of the tribe, proclaimed him a true hero, and then and there +begged his pardon for having called him a "coffee-cooler." In the +evening Little Moccasin was honored by a great feast and the name of +"Rushing Lightning," _Wakee-watakeepee_, was bestowed upon him--and by +that name he is known to this day. + + [Illustration: A YOUNG AGASSIZ] + + + + + [Illustration] + +WAUKEWA'S EAGLE + +BY JAMES BUCKHAM + + +One day, when the Indian boy Waukewa was hunting along the +mountain-side, he found a young eagle with a broken wing, lying at the +base of a cliff. The bird had fallen from an aerie on a ledge high +above, and being too young to fly, had fluttered down the cliff and +injured itself so severely that it was likely to die. When Waukewa saw +it he was about to drive one of his sharp arrows through its body, for +the passion of the hunter was strong in him, and the eagle plunders many +a fine fish from the Indian's drying-frame. But a gentler impulse came +to him as he saw the young bird quivering with pain and fright at his +feet, and he slowly unbent his bow, put the arrow in his quiver, and +stooped over the panting eaglet. For fully a minute the wild eyes of the +wounded bird and the eyes of the Indian boy, growing gentler and softer +as he gazed, looked into one another. Then the struggling and panting of +the young eagle ceased; the wild, frightened look passed out of its +eyes, and it suffered Waukewa to pass his hand gently over its ruffled +and draggled feathers. The fierce instinct to fight, to defend its +threatened life, yielded to the charm of the tenderness and pity +expressed in the boy's eyes; and from that moment Waukewa and the eagle +were friends. + +Waukewa went slowly home to his father's lodge, bearing the wounded +eaglet in his arms. He carried it so gently that the broken wing gave no +twinge of pain, and the bird lay perfectly still, never offering to +strike with its sharp beak the hands that clasped it. + +Warming some water over the fire at the lodge, Waukewa bathed the broken +wing of the eagle and bound it up with soft strips of skin. Then he made +a nest of ferns and grass inside the lodge, and laid the bird in it. The +boy's mother looked on with shining eyes. Her heart was very tender. +From girlhood she had loved all the creatures of the woods, and it +pleased her to see some of her own gentle spirit waking in the boy. + +When Waukewa's father returned from hunting, he would have caught +up the young eagle and wrung its neck. But the boy pleaded with him so +eagerly, stooping over the captive and defending it with his small +hands, that the stern warrior laughed and called him his "little +squaw-heart." "Keep it, then," he said, "and nurse it until it is well. +But then you must let it go, for we will not raise up a thief in the +lodges." So Waukewa promised that when the eagle's wing was healed and +grown so that it could fly, he would carry it forth and give it its +freedom. + +It was a month--or, as the Indians say, a moon--before the young eagle's +wing had fully mended and the bird was old enough and strong enough to +fly. And in the meantime Waukewa cared for it and fed it daily, and the +friendship between the boy and the bird grew very strong. + + [Illustration: "HE STOOPED OVER THE PANTING EAGLET"] + +But at last the time came when the willing captive must be freed. So +Waukewa carried it far away from the Indian lodges, where none of the +young braves might see it hovering over and be tempted to shoot their +arrows at it, and there he let it go. The young eagle rose toward the +sky in great circles, rejoicing in its freedom and its strange, new +power of flight. But when Waukewa began to move away from the spot, it +came swooping down again; and all day long it followed him through the +woods as he hunted. At dusk, when Waukewa shaped his course for the +Indian lodges, the eagle would have accompanied him. But the boy +suddenly slipped into a hollow tree and hid, and after a long time the +eagle stopped sweeping about in search of him and flew slowly and sadly +away. + + [Illustration: "THE YOUNG EAGLE ROSE TOWARD THE SKY"] + +Summer passed, and then winter; and spring came again, with its flowers +and birds and swarming fish in the lakes and streams. Then it was that +all the Indians, old and young, braves and squaws, pushed their light +canoes out from shore and with spear and hook waged pleasant war against +the salmon and the red-spotted trout. After winter's long imprisonment, +it was such joy to toss in the sunshine and the warm wind and catch +savory fish to take the place of dried meats and corn! + +Above the great falls of the Apahoqui the salmon sported in the cool, +swinging current, darting under the lee of the rocks and leaping full +length in the clear spring air. Nowhere else were such salmon to be +speared as those which lay among the riffles at the head of the Apahoqui +rapids. But only the most daring braves ventured to seek them there, +for the current was strong, and should a light canoe once pass the +danger-point and get caught in the rush of the rapids, nothing could +save it from going over the roaring falls. + +Very early in the morning of a clear April day, just as the sun was +rising splendidly over the mountains, Waukewa launched his canoe a +half-mile above the rapids of the Apahoqui, and floated downward, spear +in hand, among the salmon-riffles. He was the only one of the Indian +lads who dared fish above the falls. But he had been there often, and +never yet had his watchful eye and his strong paddle suffered the +current to carry his canoe beyond the danger-point. This morning he was +alone on the river, having risen long before daylight to be first at the +sport. + +The riffles were full of salmon, big, lusty fellows, who glided about +the canoe on every side in an endless silver stream. Waukewa plunged his +spear right and left, and tossed one glittering victim after another +into the bark canoe. So absorbed in the sport was he that for once he +did not notice when the head of the rapids was reached and the canoe +began to glide more swiftly among the rocks. But suddenly he looked up, +caught his paddle, and dipped it wildly in the swirling water. The canoe +swung sidewise, shivered, held its own against the torrent, and then +slowly, inch by inch, began to creep upstream toward the shore. But +suddenly there was a loud, cruel snap, and the paddle parted in the +boy's hands, broken just above the blade! Waukewa gave a cry of +despairing agony. Then he bent to the gunwale of his canoe and with the +shattered blade fought desperately against the current. But it was +useless. The racing torrent swept him downward; the hungry falls roared +tauntingly in his ears. + +Then the Indian boy knelt calmly upright in the canoe, facing the mist +of the falls, and folded his arms. His young face was stern and lofty. +He had lived like a brave hitherto--now he would die like one. + +Faster and faster sped the doomed canoe toward the great cataract. The +black rocks glided away on either side like phantoms. The roar of the +terrible waters became like thunder in the boy's ears. But still he +gazed calmly and sternly ahead, facing his fate as a brave Indian +should. At last he began to chant the death-song, which he had learned +from the older braves. In a few moments all would be over. But he would +come before the Great Spirit with a fearless hymn upon his lips. + +Suddenly a shadow fell across the canoe. Waukewa lifted his eyes and saw +a great eagle hovering over, with dangling legs, and a spread of wings +that blotted out the sun. Once more the eyes of the Indian boy and the +eagle met; and now it was the eagle who was master! + +With a glad cry the Indian boy stood up in his canoe, and the eagle +hovered lower. Now the canoe tossed up on that great swelling wave that +climbs to the cataract's edge, and the boy lifted his hands and caught +the legs of the eagle. The next moment he looked down into the awful +gulf of waters from its very verge. The canoe was snatched from beneath +him and plunged down the black wall of the cataract; but he and the +struggling eagle were floating outward and downward through the cloud of +mist. The cataract roared terribly, like a wild beast robbed of its +prey. The spray beat and blinded, the air rushed upward as they fell. +But the eagle struggled on with his burden. He fought his way out of the +mist and the flying spray. His great wings threshed the air with a +whistling sound. Down, down they sank, the boy and the eagle, but ever +farther from the precipice of water and the boiling whirlpool below. At +length, with a fluttering plunge, the eagle dropped on a sand-bar below +the whirlpool, and he and the Indian boy lay there a minute, breathless +and exhausted. Then the eagle slowly lifted himself, took the air under +his free wings, and soared away, while the Indian boy knelt on the sand, +with shining eyes following the great bird till he faded into the gray +of the cliffs. + + [Illustration: "WAUKEWA AND THE STRUGGLING EAGLE WERE FLOATING OUTWARD + AND DOWNWARD THROUGH THE CLOUD OF MIST"] + + + + +A HURON CINDERELLA + +BY HOWARD ANGUS KENNEDY + + +Many years ago there was an Indian chief who had three daughters; and +they lived in a lodge by the side of the Ottawa River--not in a wigwam, +mind you, but a good old Huron lodge, like a tunnel, made of two rows of +young trees bent into arches and tied together at the top, with walls of +birch-bark. Oh! it was an honorable old lodge, with more cracks in the +birch-bark than you could count, all patched and smeared with pitch. + +The chief had three sons too, but they were killed in a great fight with +the Iroquois. When the brave Hurons used up all their arrows they threw +down their bows and rushed on the Iroquois with their tomahawks. They +screamed and howled like eagles and wolves, and the Iroquois were so +frightened that they wanted to run away, but their own magic-man threw a +spell upon them, so that they couldn't turn round or run, and they had +to stand and fight. The Iroquois were cousins of the Hurons, and came of +a brave stock; and as the Hurons were few compared to the Iroquois, few +as the thumbs compared to the fingers, the Hurons were beaten, and only +twenty men of the tribe escaped down the river, and none of the women +except the chief's three daughters. + +Now the two eldest daughters were very proud, and loved to make a fine +show before the young men of the tribe. One day a brave young man came +to the lodge and asked the chief to give him a daughter for a wife. + +The chief said, "It is not right for me to give my daughter to any but a +chief's son." However, he called his eldest daughter and said to her, +"This young man wants you for a wife." + +The eldest daughter thought in her mind: "I am very handsome, and one +day a chief's son will come and ask for me; but my clothes are old and +common. I will deceive this young man." So she said to him: "If you want +me for your wife, get me a big piece of the fine red cloth that the +white men bring to the fort far down the river." + +The young man was brave, as we have said, and he took his birch-bark +canoe and paddled down the river day after day for seven days, only +stopping to paddle up the creeks where the beavers build their dams; and +when he stopped at the foot of the great rapids, where the white men lay +behind stone walls in fear of the Iroquois, his canoe was deep and heavy +with the skins of the beavers. The white men were at war with the +Indians, and, though he was no Iroquois, his heart grew cold in his +breast. But he did not tremble; he marched in at the watergate, and the +white men were glad to see his beaver skins, and gave him much red cloth +for them; so his heart grew warm again, and he paddled up the river with +his riches. Twelve days he paddled, for the current was strong against +him; but at last he stood outside the old lodge, and called the chief's +eldest daughter to come out and be his wife. When she saw how red was +his load, she was glad and sorry--glad because of the cloth, and sorry +because of the man. + +"But where are the beads?" said she. + +"You asked me for no beads," said he. + +"Fool!" said she. "Was it ever heard that a chief's daughter married in +clothing of plain red cloth? If you want me for your wife, bring me a +double handful of the glass beads that the Frenchmen bring from over the +sea--red and white and blue and yellow beads!" + +So the brave paddled off in his canoe down the river. When he came to +the beavers' creeks he found the dams and the lodges; but the beavers +were gone. He followed them up the creeks till the water got so shallow +that the rocks tore holes in his canoe, and he had to stop and strip +fresh birch-bark to mend the holes; but at last he found where the +beavers were building their new dams; and he loaded his canoe with their +skins, and paddled away and shot over the rapids, and came to the white +man's fort. The white men passed their hands over the skins and felt +that they were good, and gave him a double handful of beads. Then he +paddled up the river, paddling fast and hard, so that when he stood +before the old chief's lodge he was very thin. + +The eldest daughter came out when he called, and said: "It is a shame +for such an ugly man to have a chief's daughter for his wife. You are +not a man; you are only the bones of a man, like the poles of the lodge +when the bark is stripped away. Come back when you are fat." + +Then he went away to his lodge, and ate and slept and ate and slept till +he was fat, and he made his face beautiful with red clay and went and +called to the chief's daughter to come and marry him. But she called out +to him, saying: + +"A chief's daughter must have time to embroider her clothes. Come back +when I have made my cloth beautiful with a strip of beadwork a +hand's-breadth wide from end to end of the cloth." + + [Illustration: FLUTE PLAYER + FROM A PAINTING BY J. H. SHARP] + +But she was very lazy as well as proud, and she took the cloth to her +youngest sister, and said: "Embroider a beautiful strip, a +hand's-breadth wide, from end to end of the cloth." + +Now the chief's youngest daughter was very beautiful; so her sisters +were jealous and made her live in the dark corner at the back of the +lodge, where no man could see her; but her eyes were very bright, and by +the light of her eyes she arranged the beads and sewed them on so that +the pattern was like the flowers of the earth and the stars of heaven, +it was so beautiful. But when the youngest daughter had fallen asleep at +night her eldest sister came softly and took away the cloth and picked +off the beads. + +In the morning she went to her youngest sister and said, "Show me the +work you did yesterday." + +And the youngest sister cried, and said, "Truly I worked as well as I +could, but some evil one has picked out the beads." + +Then her sister scolded her, and pricked her with the needle, and said, +"You are lazy! Embroider this cloth, and do it beautifully, or I shall +beat you!" + +This she did day after day, and whenever the young man came to see if +she was dressed for the wedding she showed him the cloth, and it was not +finished. + +Now there was another brave young man in that village, and he came and +asked the chief for his second daughter. + +The second daughter was as proud as the first, and said to herself, "One +day a great chief's son will come, and I will marry him." But she said +to the young man, "If you want me for your wife, you must build me a new +lodge, and cover the door of it with a curtain of beaver-skins." + +The young man smiled in his heart, for he said to himself, "This is +easy; this is child's play." So he built a new lodge, and hung a curtain +of beaver-skins over the door. + +But when the chief's daughter saw the curtain, she said, "I should be +ashamed to live behind a curtain of plain beaver-skins like that! Go and +hunt for porcupines, that the curtain may be embroidered with their +quills." + +So he took his bow and his arrows and went away through the woods to +hunt. Twelve days he marched, till he came to the porcupines' country. +When the porcupines saw him coming; they ran to meet him, crying out, +"Don't kill us! We will give you all the quills that you want." And +while he stood doubting, the porcupines turned round, and shot their +prickly quills out at him so that they stuck in his body. And the +porcupines ran away into hiding before he could shoot. + +Then the young man, because he had been gone so long already, did not +chase the porcupines, but left the quills sticking in his body and went +back to the village, saying to himself, "She will see how brave I am, +that I care nothing for the pain of the porcupine quills." + +But when the chief's daughter saw him she only laughed and said: + +"You cannot deceive me! It was never heard that a chief's daughter +married a man who was not brave. If you were brave, you would have +twenty Iroquois scalps hanging from your belt. It is easy to hunt +porcupines; go and hunt the Iroquois, that I may embroider the curtain +black and white with the porcupine-quills and the Iroquois hair." + +Then the young man's heart grew cold; but he took his bow and arrows and +went through the woods; and when he came near the Iroquois town he lay +down on his face and slipped through the bushes like a snake. When an +Iroquois came to hunt in the woods, he shot the Iroquois and took his +scalp; and this he did till he had twenty scalps on his belt. + +Now all the time that he lay in the bushes by the Iroquois town he ate +nothing but wild strawberries, for the blueberries were not yet ripe; so +when he came to his own village and called to the chief's second +daughter, she said: + +"You are an ill-looking man for a chief's daughter to marry. You are +like a porcupine-quill yourself. Nevertheless, I am not like my sister, +and I will marry you as soon as the curtain is embroidered." + +Then she took the curtain of beaver-skin and gave it to her youngest +sister, and said: + +"Embroider this curtain with quills, black and white, and criss-cross, +so that it shall be more beautiful than the red cloth and the beadwork." + +So the youngest sister, when she had done her day's work on the cloth, +and was tired and ready to sleep, took the quills and the hair and began +to embroider the curtain, black and white, in beautiful patterns like +the boughs of the trees against the sky, till she could work no longer, +and fell asleep with her chin on her breast. + +Then her second sister came with her mischievous fingers and picked out +all the embroidery of quills and hair, and in the morning came and shook +her and waked her, and said, "You are lazy! you are lazy! Embroider this +curtain!" + +In this way the youngest sister's task was doubled, and she grew thin +for want of sleep; yet she was so beautiful, and her eyes shone so +brightly, that her sisters hated her more and more, for they said to +themselves, "If a great chief's son comes this way, he will see her eyes +shining even in the dark at the back of the lodge." + +One day, when the chief looked out of his door, he saw a new lodge +standing in the middle of the village, covered with buckskin, and +painted round with pictures of wonderful beasts that had never been seen +in that country before. There was a fire in front of the lodge, and the +haunch of a deer was cooking on the fire. When the chief went and stood +and looked in at the door, the lodge was empty, and he said, "Whose can +this lodge be?" + +Then a voice close by him said, "It is the lodge of a chief who is +greater than any chief of the Hurons or any chief of the Iroquois." + +"Where is he?" asked the old chief. + +"I am sitting beside my fire," said the voice; "but you cannot see me, +for your eyes are turned inward. No one can see me but the maiden I have +come to marry." + +"There are no maidens here," said the old chief, "except my daughters." + +Then he went back to his lodge, where his two elder daughters were +idling in the sun, and told them: + +"There is a great chief come to seek a wife in my tribe. His magic is so +strong that no one can see him except the maiden whom he chooses to +marry." + +Then the eldest daughter got up, snatched the red cloth out of her +youngest sister's hand, wrapped it round her, smeared red clay over her +face, and ran to the new lodge and called to the great chief to come and +look at her. + +"I am looking at you now," said a voice close beside her; "and you are +very ugly; you have been dipping your face in the mud. And you are very +lazy, for your embroidery is not finished." + +"Great chief," said she, "I will wash the clay from my face, and I will +go and finish the embroidery and make a robe fit for a maiden who is to +marry the great chief." + +Then the voice said, "How can you marry a man you cannot see?" + +"Oh," she said, "I can see you as plainly as the lodge and the fire. I +can see you quite plainly, sitting beside the fire." + +"Then tell me what I am like," said he. + +"You are the handsomest of men," she said, "straight of back and brown +of skin." + +"Go home," said the voice, "and learn to speak truth." + +When she came back to the lodge, she flung the red cloth down on the +ground without speaking. + +Then the old chief said to his second daughter, "Your sister has failed; +it must be you that the great chief will marry." + +So the second daughter picked up the beaver curtain and flung it round +her, and ran to the empty lodge; and, being crafty, she cried aloud as +she came near, "Oh! What a handsome chief you are!" + +"How do you know I am handsome?" said the voice. "Tell me what clothes I +wear." + +So she guessed in her mind, and, looking on the painted lodge, she said, +"A robe of buckskin, with wonderful animals painted on it." + +"Go home," said the voice, "and learn to speak truth." + +Then she slunk away home, and squatted on the ground before the lodge, +with her chin on her breast. + +Now, when the youngest daughter saw that both her sisters had failed, +she said to herself, "They tell me I am very thin and ugly, but I will +go and try if I can see this great chief." So she pushed aside a corner +of the birch-bark, slipped out at the back of the lodge, and stole away +to the painted lodge; and there, sitting by his fire on the ground, she +saw a wonderful great chief, with skin as white as midwinter snow, +dressed in a long robe of red and blue and green and yellow stripes. + +He smiled on her as she stood humbly before him, and said, "Tell me now, +chief's daughter, what I am like, and what I wear!" + +And she said, "Your face is like a cloud in the north when the sun +shines bright from the south; and your robe is like the arch in the sky +when the sun shines on the rain." + +Then he stood up and took her for his wife, and carried her away to live +in his own country. + + + + +THE FIRE BRINGER[S] + +BY MARY AUSTIN + + +They ranged together by wood and open swale, the boy who was to be +called Fire Bringer, and the keen, gray dog of the wilderness, and saw +the tribesmen catching fish in the creeks with their hands, and the +women digging roots with sharp stones. This they did in Summer, and +fared well; but when Winter came they ran nakedly in the snow, or +huddled in caves of the rocks, and were very miserable. When the boy saw +this he was very unhappy, and brooded over it until the Coyote noticed +it. + +"It is because my people suffer and have no way to escape the cold," +said the boy. + +"I do not feel it," said the Coyote. + +"That is because of your coat of good fur, which my people have not, +except they take it in the chase, and it is hard to come by." + +"Let them run about, then," said the counselor, "and keep warm." + +"They run till they are weary," said the boy; "and there are the young +children and the very old. Is there no way for them?" + +"Come," said the Coyote, "let us go to the hunt." + +"I will hunt no more," the boy answered him, "until I have found a way +to save my people from the cold. Help me, O counselor!" + +But the Coyote had run away. After a time he came back and found the boy +still troubled in his mind. + +"There is a way, O Man Friend," said the Coyote, "and you and I must +take it together, but it is very hard." + +"I will not fail of my part," said the boy. + +"We will need a hundred men and women, strong, and swift runners." + +"I will find them," the boy insisted, "only tell me." + +"We must go," said the Coyote, "to the Burning Mountain by the Big Water +and bring fire to our people." + +Said the boy: "What is fire?" + +Then the Coyote considered a long time how he should tell the boy what +fire is. "It is," said he, "red like a flower, yet it is no flower; +neither is it a beast, though it runs in the grass and rages in the wood +and devours all. It is very fierce and hurtful, and stays not for +asking; yet if it is kept among stones and fed with small sticks, it +will serve the people well and keep them warm." + +"How is it to be come at?" + +"It has its lair in the Burning Mountain; and the Fire Spirits guard it +night and day. It is a hundred days' journey from this place, and +because of the jealousy of the Fire Spirits no man dare go near it. But +I, because all beasts are known to fear it much, may approach it without +hurt, and, it may be, bring you a brand from the burning. Then you must +have strong runners for every one of the hundred days to bring it safely +home." + +"I will go and get them," said the boy; but it was not so easily done as +said. Many there were who were slothful, and many were afraid; but the +most disbelieved it wholly. + +"For," they said, "how should this boy tell us of a thing of which we +have never heard!" But at last the boy and their own misery persuaded +them. + +The Coyote advised them how the march should begin. The boy and the +counselor went foremost; next to them the swiftest runners, with the +others following in the order of their strength, and speed. They left +the place of their home and went over the high mountains where great +jagged peaks stand up above the snow, and down the way the streams led +through a long stretch of giant wood where the somber shade and the +sound of the wind in the branches made them afraid. At nightfall, where +they rested, one stayed in that place, and the next night another +dropped behind; and so it was at the end of each day's journey. They +crossed a great plain where waters of mirage rolled over a cracked and +parching earth, and the rim of the world was hidden in a bluish mist. So +they came at last to another range of hills, not so high, but tumbled +thickly together; and beyond these, at the end of the hundred days, to +the Big Water, quaking along the sand at the foot of the Burning +Mountain. + +It stood up in a high and peaked cone, and the smoke of its burning +rolled out and broke along the sky. By night the glare of it reddened +the waves far out on the Big Water, when the Fire Spirits began their +dance. + +Then said the counselor to the boy who was soon to be called the Fire +Bringer: "Do you stay here until I bring you a brand from the burning; +be ready and right for running, and lose no time, for I shall be far +spent when I come again, and the Fire Spirits will pursue me." + + [Illustration: THE COYOTE STOLE THE FIRE AND BEGAN TO RUN AWAY WITH IT + DOWN THE SLOPE OF THE BURNING MOUNTAIN] + +Then he went up the mountain, and the Fire Spirits, when they saw him +come, were laughing and very merry, for his appearance was much against +him. Lean he was, and his coat much the worse for the long way he had +come. Slinking he looked, inconsiderable, scurvy, and mean, as he has +always looked, and it served him as well then as it serves him now. So +the Fire Spirits only laughed, and paid him no further heed. + +Along in the night, when they came out to begin their dance about the +mountain, the Coyote stole the fire and began to run away with it down +the slope of the Burning Mountain. When the Fire Spirits saw what he had +done, they streamed out after him red and angry in pursuit, with a sound +like a swarm of bees. + +The boy saw them come, and stood up in his place clean-limbed and taut +for running. He saw the sparks of the brand stream back along the +Coyote's flanks as he carried it in his mouth, and stretched forward on +the trail, bright against the dark bulk of the mountain like a falling +star. He heard the singing sound of the Fire Spirits behind, and the +labored breath of the counselor nearing through the dark. Then the good +beast panted down beside him, and the brand dropped from his jaws. + +The boy caught it up, standing bent for the running as a bow to speeding +the arrow. Out he shot on the homeward path, and the Fire Spirits +snapped and sung behind him. Fast as they pursued he fled faster, until +he saw the next runner stand up in his place to receive the brand. + +So it passed from hand to hand, and the Fire Spirits tore after it +through the scrub until they came to the mountains of the snows. These +they could not pass; and the dark, sleek runners with the +backward-streaming brand bore it forward, shining star-like in the +night, glowing red through sultry noons, violet pale in twilight glooms, +until they came in safety to their own land. Here they kept it among +stones, and fed it with small sticks, as the Coyote had advised, until +it warmed them and cooked their food. + +As for the boy by whom fire came to the tribes, he was called the Fire +Bringer while he lived; and after that, since there was no other with so +good a right to the name, it fell to the Coyote; and this is the sign +that the tale is true, for all along his lean flanks the fur is singed +and yellow as it was by the flames that blew backward from the brand +when he brought it down from the Burning Mountain. + +As for the fire, that went on broadening and brightening, and giving out +a cheery sound until it broadened into the light of day. + + [S] From "The Basket Woman," by Mary Austin; used by + permission of the publishers, Houghton, Mifflin Company. + + + + +SCAR FACE + +_An Indian Tale_ + + +The mother of Scar Face the Youth was Feather Woman, who had fallen in +love with Morning Star, and vowed that she would marry none other. To +this she held true, despite the laughter and jibes of her friends. And +one morning when she walked in the fields very, very early, that she +might see Morning Star before the sun hid his brightness, she met a +handsome youth who told her that he was Morning Star, and that he had +come to earth for a day, impelled by her love. + +So Feather Woman went back to Skyland with Morning Star, and by-and-by a +little son was born to her. At first she had been very happy in Skyland, +but there were times when she was sad because of the camp of the +Blackfeet, which she had left. + +Now, in Skyland Feather Woman often dug in the garden, and she had been +cautioned not to uproot the turnip, lest evil befall. After she was +given this charge she looked long at the turnip and wondered what evil +might come from its uprooting. At last she took her flint and dug around +the least bit, not wanting to uproot it; but hardly had she loosened the +turnip when it came out of the ground, and she looked down through the +hole which it had made in the sky and saw the camp of the Blackfeet +spread before her. + +Suddenly she began to weep for her friends; and when her father-in-law, +the Sun, saw her weeping, he said: "You have dug up the turnip and have +looked down at the camp of the Blackfeet. Now must you return thither." + +So the star-weavers made a net, and Feather Woman and her child, the son +of Morning Star, were let down into the camp of the Blackfeet. + +At first she was very happy, but soon she began to grieve for Morning +Star, and at last she died of sorrow because she could not return to +Skyland. Morning Star could not come to earth, for it had been given to +him to come but that one time when impelled by her love. + +And so the little son of Feather Woman and Morning Star was left all +alone. And across his face was a great scar, which had been made there +when he had been let down from Skyland in the net woven by the +star-weavers. Because of this scar he was named, and because of it he +was very ugly, so that the children of the tribe were afraid of him, and +the older folks hated him; they said that evil must be in his heart that +he should have so ugly a face. + +But there was no evil in the heart of Scar Face, and he hunted and +fished alone, and became a great hunter, bringing home much meat to the +tribe. + +But he was not happy, because of the unfriendliness of the tribe. The +Chief had a very beautiful daughter, and all the young men of the tribe +loved her; and Scar Face, too, loved her, and longed to marry her. + +So at last he went to her and told her of his love, and asked her to +marry him; and she, thinking to jest, said: "I will marry you when you +take that ugly scar from your face." + +At this Scar Face was more sad than he had been before, for he did not +see how it was possible to get rid of the scar. But he loved the Chief's +daughter very much, and at last he went to the old Medicine Man of the +tribe to ask him what he could do to get rid of the scar. + +"You can do nothing," replied the Medicine Man. "The scar was put there +by the Sun, and only the Sun can take it away." + +"Then I will go to the Sun and ask him to take away the scar," said Scar +Face. + +"If you will do that," replied the Medicine Man, "you must journey far +to the west, where the land ends and where the Big Water is. And when +you come to the Big Water at sunset you will see a long trail, marked by +a golden light, which leads to the home of the Sun. Follow the trail." + +So Scar Face set out and went to where the land ends and the Big Water +is. And he sat by the Big Water until sunset, and he saw the trail as +the Medicine Man had said. Then he followed the trail, and came at last +to Skyland, where he was greeted by Morning Star, who knew him at once +for his son. + +Morning Star was most glad at the coming of his son, and they hunted and +fished together. And one day when they were hunting they came to a deep +cavern in which was a dreadful serpent, which attacked Morning Star and +would have killed him but that Scar Face quickly cut off its head. + +Then the Sun was grateful to Scar Face for saving the life of his son, +Morning Star, and he removed the scar from the face of his grandson, +which he had put there in anger at the child's mother. + +Then Scar Face went back to the tribe of the Blackfeet, and he was the +most handsome of all the youths; and the daughter of the Chief loved +him, and he had no difficulty in persuading her to marry him. Because he +loved his father, Morning Star, he took her with him and set out again +for the place where the land ends and the Big Water begins; and together +they followed the trail marked by golden light until they came at last +to Skyland. There they lived and were happy; and Morning Star shone with +especial brightness on the camp of the Blackfeet for their sake. + + + + +WHY THE BABY SAYS "GOO" + +RETOLD BY EHRMA G. FILER + + +On a sloping highland near the snow-capped mountains of the North was an +Indian village. The Chief of the village was a very brave man, and he +had done many wonderful things. + +These were the days of magic and witchery. The Ice Giants had attempted +to raid the land; some wicked Witches had tried to cast an evil spell +over the people; and once a neighboring colony of Dwarfs had tried to +invade the village. + +But the brave Chief had fought and conquered all these forces of evil +and magic. He was so successful and so good that the people loved him +very much. They thought he could do anything. + +Then before long the Chief himself began to be proud and vain. He had +conquered everyone; so he thought he was the greatest warrior in the +world. + +One day he boastfully said: "I can conquer anything or any person on +this earth." + +Now, a certain Wise Old Woman lived in this village. She knew one whom +the Chief could not conquer. She decided it was best for the Chief to +know this, for he was getting too vain. So one day she went to the Chief +and told him. + +"Granny, who is this marvelous person?" asked the Chief, half angrily. + +"We call him Wasis," she solemnly answered. + +"Show him to me," said the Chief. "I will prove that I can conquer him." + +The old grandmother led the way to her own wigwam. A great crowd +followed to see what would happen. + +"There he is," said the Wise Old Woman; and she pointed to a dear little +Indian baby, who sat, round-eyed and solemn, sucking a piece of sugar. + +The Chief was astonished. He could not imagine what the old woman meant, +for he was sure he could make a little baby obey him. This Chief had no +wife, and knew nothing about babies. He stepped up closer to the baby, +and looking seriously at him said: + +"Baby, come here!" + +Little Wasis merely smiled back at him and gurgled, "Goo, Goo," in true +baby fashion. + +The Chief felt very queer. No one had ever answered him so before. Then +he thought, perhaps the baby did not understand; so he stepped nearer +and said kindly: "Baby, come here!" + +"Goo, Goo!" answered baby, and waved his little dimpled hand. + +This was an open insult, the Chief felt; so he called out loudly: "Baby, +come here at once!" + +This frightened little Wasis, and he opened his little mouth and began +to cry. The Chief had never before heard such a noise. He drew back, and +looked helplessly around. + +"You see, little Wasis shouts back war-cries," said the Wise Old Woman. + +This angered the Chief, and he said: "I will overcome him with my magic +power." + +Then he began to mutter queer songs, and to dance around the baby. + +This pleased little Wasis, and he smiled and watched the Chief, never +moving to go to him. He just sat and sucked his sugar. + +At last the Chief was tired out. His red paint was streaked with sweat; +his feathers were falling, and his legs ached. He sat down and looked at +the old woman. + +"Did I not say that baby is mightier than you?" said she. "No one is +mightier than he. A baby rules the wigwam, and everyone obeys him." + +"It is truly so," said the Chief, and went outside. + +The last sound he heard as he walked away was the "Goo, Goo" of little +Wasis as he crowed in victory. It _was_ his war-cry. All babies mean +just that when they gurgle so at you. + + [Illustration: Copyright by E. M. Newman + INDIAN GROUP] + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Boys and Girls Bookshelf (Vol 2 of 17), by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOYS AND GIRLS BOOKSHELF *** + +***** This file should be named 29386-0.txt or 29386-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/3/8/29386/ + +Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Anne Storer and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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