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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/34431-8.txt b/34431-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..38333cd --- /dev/null +++ b/34431-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5557 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Islands of Magic, by Elsie Spicer Eells + +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: The Islands of Magic + Legends, Folk and Fairy Tales from the Azores + +Author: Elsie Spicer Eells + +Illustrator: E. L. Brock + +Release Date: September 28, 2011 [EBook #34431] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ISLANDS OF MAGIC *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Cover art] + + + + + +[Frontispiece: Nothing but the Sea, Sky and Rock] + + + + + +THE ISLANDS OF MAGIC + + + LEGENDS, FOLK AND FAIRY + TALES FROM THE AZORES + + + +RETOLD BY + +ELSIE SPICER EELLS + + + +Illustrated by + +E. L. BROCK + + +[Illustration: title page logo] + + +NEW YORK + +HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY + + + + +COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY + +HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY, INC. + + + +PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. BY + +THE QUINN & BODEN COMPANY + +RAHWAY, N. J. + + + + +PREFACE + +Some three-fourths of the distance between America and Europe there is +a group of nine beautiful islands called the Azores which belong to +Portugal. Their names are Flores, Corvo, Fayal, Pico, S. Jorge, +Graciosa, Terceira, S. Miguel, and Santa Maria. Many people think them +to be the mountain peaks of the submerged continent, Atlantis, which +long ago was covered by the ocean. + +There are ancient records which tell of Arabian caravels driven back by +dangerous seas surrounding islands full of volcanoes. There are old +pictures which portray seas of spouting geysers and flaming volcanic +isles. In these regions islands had a habit of suddenly lifting +themselves out of the ocean and then disappearing again from view. +When the largest of the islands, S. Miguel or St. Michael as it is +called in English, was mapped, two mountain peaks were marked where +later only one could be discovered. Thus it was that the Azores gained +their reputation. Islands full of volcanoes amid seas of spouting +geysers could be nothing else but enchanted. And islands and mountain +peaks which suddenly vanished away from one's sight! Surely the Azores +must be the true land of magic. + +"The day of folktales is departing from the Azores," said the wise +woman. "Public schools came with the republic, and where books of +printed stories enter folktales become confused and soon are lost." + +"There is no originality among our islanders," complained the wise man +of the islands. "They have told over and over again the stories of our +mother country, Portugal, and they have made few variations." + +However, when I spent December 1920 and January 1921 in the Azores in +connection with research work for the Hispanic Society, I found that +there were not only pleasant folktales there but even real fairies. +They inhabit the wooded slopes of Monte Brasil on the island of +Terceira. The fisher folk who visit the barren Ilheos de Cabras on the +Bay of Angra know that there are fairies living in those rocky isles +even yet when the boys and girls of the Azores are sailing away from +them to seek their fortunes in America. Have they not often seen the +fairy garments spread out upon the rocks in the bright sunshine? + +"You are like the Holy Virgin herself," said the little maid of St. +Michael. + +"Did you ever see the Virgin?" asked my friend. + +"Once the white clouds parted for a moment and I caught a glimpse of +her beautiful blue mantle," replied the child reverently. + +Yes, there are still fairies and simple faith and magic in the islands. +One who visits the boiling springs at Furnas does not doubt for a +moment that he is upon enchanted ground. + +Folk tales are composite. No one person or group of persons can claim +credit for them. They are our inheritance from many storytellers. To +all these storytellers both of yesterday and of to-day I offer my +grateful appreciation and hearty thanks. + +I have endeavored to tell the stories in a way which will be pleasing +to American children. To do this I have taken the liberty of making +occasional elaborations or omissions which I believe add to the value +of the story. Everywhere first of all I have tried to keep the spirit +of the Azores. + +Thanks are due the publishers of the "Delineator" and the "Outlook" for +permission to reprint stories which have appeared in these magazines. + +E. S. E. + + + + +[Illustration: Contents headpiece] + +CONTENTS + + + Princess Bluegreen of the Seven Cities + The Islands of Flowers + Why Dogs Sniff + Longstaff, Pinepuller and Rockheaver + The Table, the Sifter and the Pinchers + Linda Branca and her Mask + Fresh Figs + Peter-of-the-Pigs + The Princess Who Lost Her Rings + The Master of Magic + St. Anthony's Godchild + Trouble When One's Young + The Little Maid Who Was Wise + Manoel Littlebean + The Necklace of Pearls + The Daughter of the King of Naples + Maria-of-the-Forest + The Seven Enchanted Princes + The Listening King + José the Beast Slayer + The Princess of the Lost Island + Why The Alvéloa Bird Received a Blessing + Why the Codorniz Bird Received a Curse + Outside the Door Like the Mother of St. Peter + Why the Owl Flies at Night + The Laborer and His Master + 'Tis Faith Which Saves + St. Brendan's Island + The Silent Cavalier + The Enchanted Palace + The Friend of the Devil + The Miller's Cloak + The Magic Mouthful + The Messengers + + + + +[Illustration: Illustrations headpiece] + +Illustrations + + +Nothing but the Sea, Sky and Rock . . . . . . . . . _Frontispiece_ + +King Graywhite Struck His Royal Sword Against the Great Wall + +She Could Not Hold Them All + +"Will Somebody Please Pass the Pepper" + +The Three Friends Journeyed on Together + +"Table, Set Yourself," Said the Man + +She Quietly Stole Out of the House + +The Two Rabbits Came Running Up to Him + +He Buried It Halfway in the Sand + +The Two Old Women, The Princess, The King and Queen, and + All the Courtiers Followed + +The Horse Had Changed Into a Kernel of Corn + +He Climbed Up the High Wall of the Palace + +"Oh, Stone From My Garden Wall," She Was Saying + +They Were Big and Heavy, but Her Great Fear Gave Her Strength + +He Saw the Quantities of Gold + +"Take Me Home as Fast as You Can!" + +Then He Sorrowfully Returned to His Waiting Ship + +"We Never Have Looked So Neat and Clean" + +The Miller and His Wife Were the Most Surprised People + in the Whole Country + +He Frowned Down at José + +"Alms! Alms!" + +Pedro Lifted the Two Great Jars and Slowly Climbed Up the Hill + +It Appeared That the Fair Maid Would Die + +One Evening Just at Sunset + +The Peaceful Snow-Capped Summit of Mt. Pico + +The Beautiful Enchanted Palace in the Lake of Ginjal + +He Bowed His Head Upon His Hands + +He Wrapped Himself In the Brown Cloak And Went Out Through + the Fierce Blinding Storm + +She Ran to the Water Jar + +A Fierce Storm Arose + + + + +THE ISLANDS OF MAGIC + + + +[Illustration: Headpiece] + + +PRINCESS BLUEGREEN OF THE SEVEN CITIES + +_The Story of the Origin of the Azores_ + + +Once upon a time in the lost kingdom of Atlantis there ruled a king +whose name was Graywhite. He had married the beautiful Queen +Rosewhite. They lived in a magnificent palace, but it was a sad place +because there were no little children in it. + +"There are plenty of babies in the homes of the poor peasants who can +scarcely find food for them," mourned King Graywhite. "Why is it that +I, the ruler of this vast rich kingdom, can have no child to inherit my +wealth and my domains?" + +"Women in tiny hovels have their arms full of rosy dimpled darlings," +sighed Queen Rosewhite. "Why is it that I, the queen of this +magnificent palace, can have no baby of my own?" + +Queen Rosewhite passed her days and nights in weeping, while King +Graywhite grew ugly and cruel to his subjects. Once he had been the +kindest ruler in the world. + +Things went on like this for several years. Queen Rosewhite's lovely +face grew pale and wan, and her beautiful eyes became so sad that it +hurt the hearts of her faithful subjects. The king's face lost its +expression of jolly kindness and became sour and cruel. They offered +prayers and solemn vows before all the holy shrines in the whole +kingdom of Atlantis, but no child was born into the royal palace. King +Graywhite grew so harsh and ugly to his subjects that the entire +kingdom offered prayers and vows, too. As things were, life was not +worth living in the kingdom of Atlantis. + +In front of the royal palace there was a beautiful terrace where King +Graywhite and Queen Rosewhite had loved to walk in the days before they +had grown cross and sad. One night when they were sitting upon the +terrace enjoying the fresh soft evening air and the bright starlight +there suddenly appeared a dazzling light which almost blinded them. +Queen Rosewhite covered her face with her hands and the king bowed his +proud head upon his breast. + +"Do not fear to look at me," said a gentle voice. + +King Graywhite and Queen Rosewhite glanced up. They saw a tiny fairy +standing before them with a circle of bright light dancing about her. + +"King and Queen of Atlantis," said the gentle voice. "You shall have a +child, a little daughter, prettier than the sunlight. I have heard +your prayers and vows, but I have also heard the prayers and vows of +your poor subjects, too." + +The glad news had brought a happy light into Queen Rosewhite's +beautiful eyes, but now it faded out and a look of fear crept in. It +had hurt the queen's loving heart to have her husband so cruel to his +subjects. She often had told him that punishment would surely come +upon him because of his harsh deeds. + +"When the little princess is born," went on the fairy's voice, "I shall +take her away from you for twenty years. No harm will come to her. I +shall hide her away from you and all the world within seven beautiful +cities which I shall construct in the loveliest part of your whole +kingdom. Around these seven cities I shall place strong walls. At the +end of twenty years, if your heart, King Graywhite, is free from sin +and you have made proper restitution for all your wrongdoing, you shall +receive the princess into your arms." + +"Twenty years is a long time," said King Graywhite sadly. Tears were +running down Queen Rosewhite's cheeks and she could not speak. + +"You must wait until the twenty years are over," continued the fairy. +"If you attempt to enter the strong walls before that time you shall +fall dead and your kingdom shall be consumed by fire. Swear to me now +in the presence of your faithful queen that you will not try to enter +these strong walls which I shall construct about the seven cities." + +"I swear it," said the king in a voice which trembled as he solemnly +lifted his right hand. + +The vision disappeared as suddenly as it had come, and King Graywhite +and Queen Rosewhite sat alone in the bright starlight on the terrace +before the royal palace. + +"Have I been dreaming?" asked the king. + +"It was not a dream," replied the queen. + +Time passed and a beautiful baby daughter was born to the king and +queen of Atlantis. They gave her the name of Princess Bluegreen. +There was great rejoicing throughout the entire kingdom. Her birth was +celebrated by lavish feasts and gay songs and dances. + +When the little Princess Bluegreen was only three days old she +disappeared from the royal palace. She had been carried away by the +fairy to the seven cities which had been constructed to receive her. + +Years passed. Every day the king and queen received reports from the +fairy. They heard that the little Princess Bluegreen was well, and +that each hour she grew lovelier. Sometimes there was almost joy in +the palace when King Graywhite chuckled over the quaint sayings of the +little princess which were repeated to him, and the queen heard with a +tender smile of the tiny blue slippers and the green parasol which the +fairy had given her. That day Queen Rosewhite bought new slippers for +many little maids in the city. + +As time went on, however, the royal palace of Atlantis grew almost as +sad as it had been before the Princess Bluegreen had been born. Only +to receive reports of their daughter was not enough to make the king +and queen happy. They longed to see her with their own eyes and to +clasp her in their arms. + +As the weeks and months and years rolled by without seeing the little +princess, King Graywhite resumed his cruel treatment of his subjects. +He was growing old and his nature grew sour with the years. Queen +Rosewhite tried to reason with him. + +"We must bear this thing with patience," she told him. "We brought it +upon ourselves." + +The king kept raging against the fairy and did not notice Queen +Rosewhite's politeness in saying "we" instead of "you." It was the +king who was responsible for all the cruelty. Good Queen Rosewhite had +never had a cruel thought in her whole blameless life. + +At last the day of the eighteenth birthday of the Princess Bluegreen +grew near. + +"Are you sure that it is not eighteen years which the fairy said, +instead of twenty years?" asked King Graywhite querulously. + +Queen Rosewhite assured him that it was twenty years as he well knew. +The king's anger broke out fiercely. + +"I will no longer be kept from my daughter!" he cried. + +"Would you break the vow which you solemnly made to the fairy in my +presence?" asked Queen Rosewhite trembling. She had never dreamed that +he would dare to break it. Now, however, she was thoroughly frightened +at the thought which came to her. + +"I'll break that foolish vow!" shouted the king savagely. + +Tears rolled down the cheeks of good Queen Rosewhite. + +"No good will come of this," she mourned. "Be prudent, dear king. It +is only two years more which we have to wait." + +"The last two years will be the hardest ones of all!" raged King +Graywhite. "I cannot endure it!" + +That very day he started to prepare the army for the expedition to the +Seven Cities, amid the queen's lamentations and in spite of her fears +and warnings. + +"Be wise and patient, dear king. Give up this wild expedition," were +her last words to him; when, at length, all the preparations completed, +he set out with his great army upon the dangerous quest of the seven +cities surrounded by their strong walls in the loveliest part of the +whole kingdom of Atlantis. + +King Graywhite marched on and on. It was a long and perilous journey +and the army suffered many hardships on the way. It seemed as if they +would never arrive, but at last they drew near to what everybody knew +to be the most beautiful part of the whole kingdom, where the fairy had +taken the Princess Bluegreen to conceal her. + +Storms raged; lightning flashed; ominous roarings and rumblings sounded +from the depths of the earth. + +"Let us hasten back to the royal palace before it is too late," +besought the generals of King Graywhite's army. + +"On! On!" cried the king. "Do you think I would abandon this +expedition now?" + +The words were hardly out of his mouth when a huge rock fell from its +place near where he stood and rushed away down the mountainside. The +earth trembled violently beneath their feet. Fearful rumblings and +roarings sounded all about them. + +"On! ON!" shouted the maddened king. + +Before them rose the great walls which the fairy had built around the +seven cities. Within these walls was the Princess Bluegreen radiant +with the beauty of her eighteen winters and summers passed in peace and +happiness under the watchful care of the kind fairy. The thought of +her thrilled the heart of King Graywhite. + +"On! On!" he shouted to the generals about him. + +"On! On!" they, in turn, passed the word along to the trembling +soldiers which composed the royal army. + +With the fearful sounds and shakings about them, the poor men heartily +wished they were safe at home. They rallied, however, for a final +charge and swept up to the walls which surrounded the seven cities. + +King Graywhite struck his royal sword against the great wall. At that +moment the walls fell. The earth beneath their feet rose. Great +flames swept up towards the sky and rushed over the land, sweeping +everything before them. Then the sea raged over the earth in violence +until it had covered the whole kingdom of Atlantis. + +[Illustration: King Graywhite struck his royal sword against the great +wall] + +The fairy's curse had been fulfilled. The king was dead. His kingdom +was consumed by fire. + + +When at last the waters grew calm again all that remained of the great +rich kingdom of Atlantis was the group of nine rocky islands which +to-day is called the Azores. In the largest of these islands, St. +Michael, there is still an enchanted spot called Seven Cities. Great +wall-like mountains tower toward the sky. In the crater valley amid +the wall-like mountains there is a lake of green and one of blue. The +blue lake is where the beautiful Princess Bluegreen left her little +blue slippers, they say, and the green lake is where she left her +lovely green parasol. + + + + +THE ISLANDS OF FLOWERS + +_Another Story of the Origin of the Islands_ + + +Paradise is, of course, ruled by loving law. All places good to live +in are governed by laws. + +Long, long ago there was a little angel who broke one of the rules of +Paradise. Of course she had to be punished. Punishment always follows +broken laws. She was banished from her heavenly home. Never again +could she join in the chorus of celestial music. Never again could she +look up into the face of the great King. + +Now it happened that this little angel loved the flowers of Paradise +especially. For the last time she walked through the heavenly gardens. + +"Oh, my exquisite ones, I cannot bear to leave you!" she sobbed to her +favorite blossoms. "It breaks my heart!" + +The flowers lifted their fair faces to hers in loving sympathy. They +breathed out their sweetest perfume at her gentle touch. They +stretched out their hands to catch her trailing garments as she passed +them. + +"My best beloveds! You are asking me to take you with me!" cried the +little angel. + +She filled her arms with the lovely blossoms of Paradise. Now the +angel was a very little angel and the flowers she gathered made a very +large armful indeed. She could not bear to leave any of her favorites +behind. Slowly and sorrowfully she left the heavenly gardens. Slowly +and sorrowfully she passed outside the celestial gate. + +When she had left the gates of Paradise far behind the lovely blossoms +in her grasp were all that remained of Heaven to her. They filled her +arms so full that she could not hold them all. Some of them fell. +Down, down to earth they floated. They came to rest on the smiling +blue waters of the broad Atlantic. + +[Illustration: She could not hold them all] + +"Oh, what shall I do! I have lost my exquisite ones!" sobbed the +little angel. + +The flowers of Paradise smiled up at her from the place where they had +fallen. Never had they looked lovelier. + +"My best beloveds are beautiful and happy!" she cried as she smiled +through her tears. "I still have all I can carry! I'll leave them +where they are!" + +There are nine of the flowers of Paradise which the angel dropped. +They have always remained in the blue Atlantic where she left them. +After many years Portuguese mariners found them and Portugal claimed +them as her own. She named them the Azores. + +To this very day, however, one of the islands is called Flores, which +means flowers. + + + + +WHY DOGS SNIFF + +_The Story of the Dogs' Dinner Party_ + + +Once upon a time the dogs gave a dinner party. All the dogs were +invited and all the dogs accepted the invitation. There were big dogs +and little dogs and middle-sized dogs. There were black dogs and white +dogs and brown dogs and gray dogs and yellow dogs and spotted dogs. +There were dogs with long tails and dogs with short tails and dogs with +no tails at all. There were dogs with little sharp-pointed ears and +dogs with big flat drooping ears. There were dogs with long slender +noses and dogs with short fat turn-up noses. All these dogs came to +the party. + +Now the dinner was a most elaborate affair. Everything had been +arranged with the utmost care. All the good things to eat were spread +out upon the rocks by the sea. A gay sparkling little brook brought +water to drink. The sun was shining brightly and a soft gentle little +breeze was blowing. Everything seemed absolutely perfect. + +But there was a cross fussy old dog who came to the party. She was a +yellow dog, they say. Nothing ever suited her. Whenever she went to a +party she always found fault with something. Sometimes there was too +little to eat and sometimes there was too much. Sometimes the hot +things were not hot enough and sometimes the cold things were not cold +enough. Sometimes the hot things were so hot they burned her mouth and +the cold things so cold that they gave her indigestion. There was +always something wrong. + +At this party, however, there was not too much to eat and there was not +too little to eat. The hot things were all just hot enough and the +cold things were all just cold enough. Everything seemed to be exactly +as it should be. + +"How good everything tastes!" remarked the big black dog between polite +mouthfuls. + +"Everything is seasoned exactly right," added the black and white +spotted dog between mouthfuls which were entirely too large to be +polite. + +That was an unfortunate remark. The cross fussy yellow dog heard it. +She noticed immediately that the big juicy bone she was eating had not +been seasoned with pepper. + +"Will somebody please pass the pepper?" she asked. + +[Illustration: "Will somebody please pass the pepper?"] + +All the black dogs and white dogs and brown dogs and yellow dogs and +gray dogs and spotted dogs fell over each other trying to find the +pepper to pass. There was not a single bit of pepper at that dinner +party. + +"I can't eat a mouthful until I have some pepper," whined the yellow +dog. + +"I'll go into the city and get some pepper," said one of the dogs. +Nobody ever knew which dog it was. + +The dog who went into the city to get the pepper never came back. +Nobody ever knew what became of him. + +Whenever two dogs meet they always sniff at each other. If one of them +should happen to be the dog who went into the city to get the pepper, +he would surely smell of pepper. + + + + +LONGSTAFF, PINEPULLER AND ROCKHEAVER + +_The Story of Three Friends_ + + +Long ago there lived a blacksmith upon whose strong right arm there +swelled great muscles and whose big hairy fist was capable of +delivering so heavy a blow that all the men in the village and nearby +countryside stood in awe of him. He had a hot temper as well as a +strong right arm and his pretty young wife grew so afraid of him that +she ran away into the forest, taking her baby son with her. The +blacksmith had become crosser and crosser of late because the baby +sometimes cried at night and disturbed his rest. + +In the deep forest the young wife found nuts and herbs and wild fruits +to eat. The baby boy thrived most marvelously. Soon he was big and +strong, able to kill wild beasts to add to their food. At last his +strength was so great that he could lift big rocks and pull up huge +trees. + +One day he said to his mother, "Dearest one, I'd like to leave you for +a little while. I want to go back to the village where I was born. +The stories you have told me about it keep ringing in my ears. I must +see the place for myself. Do you mind, mother dear, if I take this +journey?" + +His mother had long foreseen that a day would come when he would no +longer be content to live alone with her in the deep forest. Her heart +ached but she gave her consent to the expedition. + +When the lad reached the village he went straight to the shop of the +blacksmith. His mother had described it to him so often that he had no +difficulty in finding it. He knew at once that the man at the forge +was his father. He looked exactly as he had always imagined his father +looked. + +"Good day," said he. "I'd like you to weld an iron bar for me, a bar +as tall as the tallest tree in front of your shop." + +The blacksmith glanced at the lad and then at the tree. + +"You must have made a mistake in your measurements," he replied. "You +don't know what you are talking about." + +The boy from the forest smiled quietly and stepped a trifle nearer to +the blacksmith. + +"You are quite right," he admitted. "Thank you for pointing out to me +my mistake. I should have said that I want this iron bar made twice as +tall as the tallest tree before your door. I want it to be of good +thickness, too. I plan to use it as my staff." + +The blacksmith looked the lad over more carefully. In truth he +appeared as if he might be able to use the staff after all. The +blacksmith hastily agreed to make it at once, and he didn't say a word +about arranging the price in advance according to his custom. + +"Have my staff ready for me next week," commanded the boy as he bade +the blacksmith good-by. + +When at last the lad was once more with his mother in the deep forest +he told her all that had passed. "When I return for my staff I want +you to go with me, dear mother," were his words when he had ended his +story. + +"I!" cried the woman in alarm. "I'd be afraid to go! From your +description I am sure the blacksmith is in truth your father, and I +fear that his disposition has not improved with the years." + +"Don't be afraid, dear heart," said the son. "I'll be there and I'll +take care of you. I'll see that he does you no harm." + +They started out on their journey, and just a week from the day of the +lad's first visit to the blacksmith shop he stood once more in the +door. He had left his mother hidden behind the bushes and shrubs. + +"Good day," he said to the blacksmith. "Is my staff ready?" + +"Yes, indeed. It is entirely completed," replied the blacksmith more +politely than he was in the habit of speaking even to the parish priest +himself. "I have just sent for two yokes of oxen and enough men to +drag it out of my shop." + +"That is quite unnecessary," responded the boy. "I'm sorry indeed to +hear that you have inconvenienced yourself." + +He picked up the staff and tossed it about as jauntily as if it had +been a slender cane. The blacksmith stared at him in amazement, his +mouth wide open and his eyes bulging out of his head. + +"May I ask who you are?" he asked as soon as he could catch his breath. + +"My name from this day forth shall be Longstaff," replied the lad. +"And it so happens that I am your own son." + +The blacksmith listened in surprise while the boy told the story of the +years he and his mother had lived in the deep forest. He embraced his +son tenderly. + +"You are indeed a son to be proud of!" he cried. "Come and live with +me. We shall have a happy life together." + +The blacksmith was thinking that a strong young man like this would be +a great help around the shop. + +Longstaff shook his head. "Thank you, but I cannot tarry here," he +said. "I must go away and see the world a bit. My mother, however, is +waiting behind the bushes. I fear she will be very lonely while I am +away." + +When Longstaff's mother came in response to his call her husband +embraced her lovingly and kissed her. "I've really missed you about +the house while you have been away," he told her. + +"If you are not good to her you'll hear from me," said, his son as he +looked him straight in the eye. + +Longstaff then set out to see the world, travelling from one country to +another. After a time he came to a place where there was a man pulling +up pine trees by the roots as easily as if they were the weeds in your +garden. + +"Good day," said Longstaff. "What is your name?" + +"I am called PINEPULLER," was the reply. "I'm very strong, as you can +see for yourself, but I've heard that there is somebody stronger than I +am. His name is LONGSTAFF, I am told." + +Longstaff gave his iron staff a gay toss into the air and caught it +again in his hand. + +"That happens to be my name," he said. "I like you. Won't you join me +in my travels about the country? We two would have a jolly time +together." + +Pinepuller accepted the invitation and together they journeyed on. +Soon they came to a place where there was a man picking up great rocks +and tossing them about as lightly as if they had been rubber balls. + +"Good day," said Longstaff. "What is your name?" + +"My name is ROCKHEAVER," replied the other. "You can see for yourself +that I am very strong. I've heard, however, that there is somebody +stronger than I am. His name is LONGSTAFF, I am told." + +"That happens to be my name," said Longstaff, "and this is my friend +Pinepuller. You are just the man to complete our little party. Won't +you join us as we travel about the country?" + +Rockheaver accepted the invitation with glee and the three friends +journeyed on together from that hour. Everywhere they went they had +everything their own way because of their great strength. + +[Illustration: The three friends journeyed on together] + +One day Longstaff, Pinepuller and Rockheaver sat on a rock by the sea. +Suddenly they spied two pretty girls tossing glass balls back and forth +and catching them. They had not stood there on the sand a moment +before when the three friends had passed that way. Possibly they had +been bathing and had only just come out of the water. Longstaff ran to +speak to them. He put out his hand and caught their two glass balls at +once. Then a strange thing happened. The two beautiful maidens +disappeared the very minute Longstaff put their two glass balls into +his pocket, and he was left standing alone on the sand by the sea. + +"That is queer," he complained as he told Pinepuller and Rockheaver +what had happened. + +Not far away there was a little house. There were no signs of life +about the place and consequently the three friends entered. Inside the +house there were beds, beautiful furniture and a kitchen completely +furnished with pots and pans. + +"I like this house," said Longstaff, as he seated himself in the +largest chair. "I'm going to rest a bit and you two can go hunting. +When you return I'll have the dinner cooked for you." + +Accordingly, Pinepuller and Rockheaver went away to hunt for game. +Longstaff rested for a while in the big chair and then he went into the +kitchen to light the fire. Soon the fire was burning merrily and the +water in the kettle was bubbling away cozily. Longstaff cooked the +dinner exactly as his mother had taught him long ago in the deep +forest. Just for a minute he turned his back to hunt for the salt. +When he turned around the pots and the frying pan were gone from the +fire. There was a tiny dwarf with red boots disappearing through the +kitchen floor with Longstaff's good dinner. + +Longstaff gasped. He was not at all accustomed to having his dinner +stolen from under his very nose, as it were. + +Soon Pinepuller and Rockheaver came back with the hares they had killed +in the hunt. They looked at the dying fire, at the empty pots and +frying pan, and at the dazed expression on Longstaff's face. + +"Where's the dinner?" asked Pinepuller. "I'm as hungry as a bear. You +said you'd have it ready when we got back." + +"I know what he's done!" cried Rockheaver. "He has eaten all the +dinner and hasn't left a single mouthful for us!" + +When Longstaff told them the story of the dwarf with red boots who had +stolen the dinner it was difficult to make them believe it. + +"Very well," said he, "if you won't take my word for it, why doesn't +Pinepuller stay in the kitchen and cook these hares? Rockheaver and I +will go away and you can see what happens." + +Accordingly, Longstaff and Rockheaver went away and Pinepuller made a +stew of the hares. While he was hunting for the salt the little dwarf +with red boots came out from under the table and stole the stew. +Pinepuller turned around just in time to catch him at it. He raised +his big arm to seize him, but the dwarf, in the twinkling of an eye, +vanished into the floor, taking the stew with him. + +When Longstaff and Rockheaver returned Pinepuller told what had +happened. "I believe you now," said he to Longstaff. "I ask your +pardon for doubting your word." + +However, Rockheaver was not convinced. "I know what has happened," +said he. "You were so hungry you couldn't wait for us and you ate up +the stew. You and Longstaff have plotted that I shall go with an empty +stomach this day." + +"Let Rockheaver, then, be the one to stay in the kitchen," suggested +Longstaff. "We have brought back other hares from the hunt. Let him +cook them and see what happens." + +Longstaff and Pinepuller went away, leaving Rockheaver to cook the +hares. Again the dwarf with red boots jumped out from under the table +and stole the dinner. When his two friends returned Rockheaver begged +their pardon for his moments of distrust. + +"These are surely queer doings," said Longstaff. "I'm going to make an +investigation. I'll not rest in peace until I find out where this +red-booted dwarf lives and where these three dinners have gone. Come +and help me dig up the ground under the kitchen." + +At once Rockheaver dug up the floor of the kitchen and Pinepuller +pulled out the earth beneath. Soon they had a deep well-like hole +reaching down into the ground. While they had been digging, Longstaff +had made a ladder out of the branches of the trees, a ladder so long +that it could reach very far into the earth. + +"I'm going to be the one to descend into this hole," remarked Longstaff +when he thought that it was quite deep enough. + +Indeed his two friends were entirely willing that he should. + +He lowered the ladder he had made and very cautiously he crept down +into the earth. At the foot of the ladder he came to what looked like +a heavy barred door. He had brought his big iron staff with him, of +course, and with this he knocked hard at the door. + +"Who is there?" called out a voice from within. + +"I am Longstaff." "Open." + +"Go away as fast as you can," said the voice. "This is the home of the +seven-headed serpent. If he catches you it will be serious. You'll be +enchanted and can never get away." + +"I'd like to meet this serpent for a minute or two," said Longstaff. + +The heavy door swung open and Longstaff stepped inside. Immediately he +heard a rushing like a great wind. With his big iron staff he struck a +mighty blow at the seven-headed serpent. He hit him just in time to +avoid being enchanted. The huge seven-headed serpent fell to the +ground completely stunned by Longstaff's blow. + +At the first drop of blood which fell from the wounded monster a +beautiful maiden appeared near the door. Longstaff recognized her at +once as one of the two girls he had seen on the seashore tossing and +catching the two glass balls. He took the balls out of his pocket. + +"Do you recognize these?" he asked the maiden. + +"Indeed I do," she replied. "One of these glass balls belongs to me +and the other belongs to my sister. She, too, has been enchanted and +is behind the next door you see ahead of you." + +"I'll get you away from this evil place," said Longstaff, "and then +I'll see what I can do to help your sister." + +He lifted her in his arms and started to carry her up the ladder. + +"Wait just a minute," she said. "I think I'd better give you back this +glass ball. I'll not be able to speak a word while you have it, but I +think you need it more than I." + +She gave him back the glass ball and then they hastened up the long +ladder. When Pinepuller and Rockheaver saw the lovely maiden in +Longstaff's arms they were filled with amazement. + +"She is a princess who has been enchanted," explained Longstaff. "Take +good care of her while I return for her sister. Then we will restore +these fair damsels to their father, the king, who has long mourned them +as dead." + +Once more Longstaff crept down the ladder into the depths of the earth. +The seven-headed serpent was still lying where he had fallen and +Longstaff stepped past him and knocked at the door which barred his way. + +"Who is there?" called out a voice from within. + +"This is Longstaff! Open!" + +"Hurry away as fast as you can. This is the home of the dwarf with red +boots," said the voice. + +"That red-booted dwarf is exactly the person I want to see," answered +Longstaff, holding fast to his heavy iron bar which his father had made +him long ago in the blacksmith's shop. + +The door slowly swung open and Longstaff stepped inside. At once he +heard the footsteps of the red-booted dwarf. The tiny dwarf looked up +at him in surprise. + +"We'll fight and see who is the best man," stormed he. "You fight with +the black sword and I'll use the white one." + +"No indeed," said Longstaff. "I'll use the white sword and you the +black. Otherwise I'll not wait to fight with swords but will choose my +own weapon which happens to be this iron staff of mine." + +The little red-booted dwarf looked up at the heavy iron staff in +Longstaff's hand. It could crush him very easily indeed. + +"Very well!" said he. "Just as you like!" + +Longstaff fought with the white sword and the dwarf with the black one, +and soon the dwarf had fallen, though his great agility made up for his +lack of size. With the first drop of blood which fell from the +red-booted dwarf the beautiful princess was disenchanted. + +She gave her glass ball back to Longstaff after she had recognized it +as her own; and, safe in his arms, she was borne up the long ladder to +the place where her sister was awaiting her with Pinepuller and +Rockheaver. + +"I've left my staff behind!" cried Longstaff in alarm. "I must go down +once more and get it." + +He had never been without his staff near at hand even when he was +asleep. Hastily he again descended the ladder. There was his staff +lying where he had dropped it when he took the white sword. When he +turned around to go up the ladder again, it had disappeared. His +friends had forgotten all about him, so interested had they become in +the two beautiful maidens. Even at that moment they were on their way +to the king's palace. They had pulled up the ladder, never giving +another thought as to how Longstaff was going to get out of the hole. + +Longstaff shouted in vain. Then he remembered how the dwarf had +appeared in the kitchen. Evidently the red-booted dwarf knew how to +get up to the surface of the earth. A drink from Longstaff's flask +quickly revived him. He reached for the white sword ready to fight +again. + +"Wait a minute, my friend," said Longstaff. "You are now my prisoner. +I'll let you go as soon as you perform a little service for me. Just +take me up to the surface of the earth." + +"That is easy," answered the dwarf. "Take hold of my hand." + +As soon as Longstaff had taken the hand of the red-booted dwarf he felt +himself rise. In a moment he was safe outside the hole. + +"There's another thing I want you to do for me before I let you go," he +said. "Take me to the king's palace." + +Longstaff took hold of the dwarf's hand and in a moment more they were +at the palace. It was only a minute after the king's daughters had +been restored to him. The royal palace was wild with joy. Even the +fact that the two lovely maidens were dumb was almost overlooked. + +When Pinepuller and Rockheaver saw Longstaff's angry eyes they ran away +as fast as they could. They were never seen near the royal palace +again. + +Longstaff drew the two glass balls from his pocket and gave one to each +of the two beautiful princesses. At once they could speak, and +together they told their story to their father, the king. + +"You may wed whichever princess you prefer," said the king to Longstaff +when he had heard how he had made the bold rescue. + +Longstaff wedded the princess who was more beautiful than her sister, +and when the king died he reigned over the whole kingdom. + + + + +THE TABLE, THE SIFTER AND THE PINCHERS + +_The Story of the King's Laborer and His Wages_ + + +Once upon a time there was a man who was very poor. He had so many +children it was difficult to earn money enough to provide for them all. +Accordingly, he left home and hired out to the king of a distant land. + +At the end of a year's time he went to the king and said: "I have +served you faithfully for a whole year. Now I wish to return to my +wife and children. Pay me, I pray you, what you owe me for my work." + +The king said: "I will not reward you in money. I will give you +something better than money. Here is a table. When you are hungry all +you have to do is to say, 'Table, set yourself.' Then the table will +immediately be spread with food." + +"Thank you, good king," replied the man. "With this table it will be +easy enough to provide food even for all my large family." + +When the man had started home with his table he soon grew hungry. He +put it down by the roadside under a leafy tree and said, "Table, set +yourself." Immediately it was full of the most delicious food. The +man ate all he could and gave the rest away to some beggars who passed +that way. + +"It is a lucky day for us," said the beggars as they thanked him. + +That night the man stopped at an inn. He was so delighted with the +magic powers of his table that he foolishly told the innkeeper about it. + +"That would be a most excellent table for me to possess," thought the +innkeeper. "With this in my possession I would soon be a rich man. I +could charge my guests a price in proportion to the rich food I would +serve them, and I'd never have to spend a cent of my money to buy +supplies." + +That night the innkeeper stole the table and substituted another for it +which looked exactly like it. Early in the morning the man loaded the +table on his back and hurried home to his wife and children. + +"We'll never be hungry again!" he cried as he embraced his wife. +"Never again shall our children call for food when we have nothing to +give them!" + +"How much did the king pay you?" asked his wife in surprise. The good +woman well knew how much it cost to buy food enough to keep all their +children from going hungry. + +"The king did not pay me in money. He gave me something better than +money," replied the man. "Do you see this table? Call the children. +I want to show you something." + +The man's wife and children all gathered about the table, watching it +curiously. + +"Table, set yourself," said the man. + +[Illustration: "Table, set yourself," said the man] + +The table remained standing in the center of the floor just as it was. + +"What trick is this?" asked the good wife. She had been a bit +suspicious from the moment she had heard that there was no money in her +husband's pockets. + +"I'll get the beggars I fed to prove to you what this table provided +yesterday," he said when he had told all the story. + +"You'd better go back to the king as fast as you can," advised the +wife. "Take back this good-for-nothing table which he has imposed upon +you and ask for some real money instead." + +The man did as his wife advised. The king was thoughtful for a moment. +He guessed that the man had been robbed. + +At last he said: "I'll give you a sifter this time. Then when you need +money all you have to do is to say, 'Sifter, sift!' It will sift out +money as freely as if it were flour." + +The man was delighted with the sifter. He sifted his pockets full of +money immediately and hurried home. On the way he again spent the +night at the inn. + +"When I brought my table home it wouldn't work," he told the innkeeper. +"I took it back and got something in its place which is all right." + +The innkeeper watched him sift out money. + +"Why don't I get that sifter?" thought the innkeeper. "I work very +hard serving my guests even though the table provides the food for +them. If I had this sifter I wouldn't have to work. I'd close the inn +and pass the rest of my life enjoying the money I'd sift into my +pockets so easily." + +That night he stole the sifter and substituted another which looked +exactly like it. + +When the man reached home there was plenty of money in his pockets and +his wife and children were happy for a little while. However, he soon +wanted to display the magic gifts of his new sifter. Accordingly, he +called his family together. + +"Sifter, sift," he commanded. + +The sifter behaved just like any ordinary sifter. + +"You have been tricked again!" cried his wife. She was very cross +indeed and told her husband exactly what she thought of him. + +Home was not a comfortable place for him that day, so he decided to +hurry back to the king after he had emptied all the money in his +pockets into his wife's lap. + +"This will supply you for a while," he said. "It is quite as much as +any ordinary husband would have brought home for a year's work." + +"A woman hates to have her husband made a fool of," replied the woman +as she rolled up the money and tucked it away carefully. + +When the king had heard the story he was entirely convinced that the +man had an enemy who had stolen both the table and the sifter. + +"Where did you spend the night?" he asked. + +The man told of passing the night in the inn. + +"I've heard that innkeeper is going to retire from business, he has +become so rich," said the king. "You'd better hurry there as fast as +you can before he leaves town." + +The laborer nodded his head thoughtfully, a wise look creeping into his +eyes. + +"Take these pinchers," ordered the king. "Use them on that innkeeper +until he gives back the table and the sifter." + +When the innkeeper was sore and black and blue from the pinchers he +gave back the table and the sifter. + +After that there were prosperous days indeed for the king's laborer. +Whenever the children were hungry, he would say: "Table, set yourself," +and immediately the table would be full of the most delicious food. +Whenever his wife said, "I need some money," he would call out, +"Sifter, sift," and the sifter would sift out money as freely and +easily as if it were flour. + +As for the pinchers, they proved to be quite as useful as the other +gifts he received from the king. Whenever the children were naughty he +had only to glance in the direction of those pinchers. The children +would immediately behave as they should. + + + + +LINDA BRANCA AND HER MASK + +_The Story of the Girl Who Did Not Like To Be Pretty_ + + +Long ago there lived a girl who was so pretty she grew tired of being +beautiful and longed to be ugly. She was so attractive that all the +young men in the whole city wanted to marry her. Every night the +street in front of her house was full of youths who came to sing +beneath her balcony. + +Linda Branca, that was the girl's name, grew tired of being kept awake +nights. It is well enough for a little while to hear songs about one's +pearly teeth and snowy arms, one's flashing eyes and waving hair, one's +rosebud mouth and fairylike feet; but a steady diet of it becomes +decidedly wearing. + +"I wish I were as homely as that girl who is passing by," she remarked +one day. "Then I could sleep nights." "If I were as ugly looking as +that I'd have a chance to select a really good husband perhaps. With +so many to choose from it is terribly confusing. I'll never be able to +make any choice at all as things are now. I'm afraid I'll die +unwedded," she added as she carefully surveyed the girl's coarse hair, +her large feet and hands, her ugly big mouth and ears and small +red-lidded eyes. "That girl has a much better chance of a successful +marriage than I have, with all this tiresome crowd of suitors to drive +me distracted!" + +The girl in the street heard her words and looked up. When she saw how +lovely Linda Branca was she was amazed indeed at the words she had +heard. She thought that she must have made a mistake and asked Linda +Branca to say it all over again. + +"You can be exactly as homely as I am," declared the girl when at last +she had sufficiently recovered from her surprise to find her tongue. +"I am an artist. I can prepare a mask for you which will make you just +as ugly as I am." + +"Go on and make it as soon as you can!" cried Linda Branca, clapping +her little hands in joy. + +That evening the suitors in the street under the balcony thought that +the lovely Linda Branca had become very gracious. She was frequently +to be seen on the balcony looking eagerly up and down the street as if +she were expecting some one. Her dark eyes were sparkling and her fair +cheek had a rosy flush upon it which they had never seen before. + +"The beautiful Linda Branca is more charming than ever," was the burden +of their songs that night. + +Linda Branca was so excited about her new mask that she could not have +slept even if there had been no suitors to disturb her with their +songs. When at last she fell asleep towards morning it was only to +dream that the new mask had the face of a donkey. + +It was not until the next week that the mask finally arrived. Linda +Branca had grown very impatient and was almost in despair lest she +should never receive it. When at last the girl brought it one could +easily see why it had taken a whole week to prepare it. So like a +human face it was that it was plain that the making of it had called +forth great patience and skill as well as necessary time. + +"It is even uglier than I had hoped it would be!" cried Linda Branca in +delight when she saw it. + +Surely, when she tried it on no one of her suitors would ever have +recognized the fair Linda Branca of their songs. + +Now Linda Branca had no mother, and her father was away on business, so +it was an easy matter to prepare for her departure. + +Linda Branca's father was a man of wealth who spared no money in giving +his daughter beautiful gowns to enhance her rare beauty. She had one +dress of blue trimmed with silver and another of blue embroidered in +gold. As she packed up a few belongings to take with her, she decided +to add these two favorite garments. + +"Who knows but I may need them sometime?" she mused as she rolled them +up carefully. + +With the ugly mask upon her face, and dressed in a long dark cloak, she +quietly stole out of the house. She went to the king's palace in a +neighboring city and inquired if they were in need of a maid. + +[Illustration: She quietly stole out of the house] + +"Ask my son. It is he who rules here," said the king's mother. + +The king looked at Linda Branca with a critical eye. + +"I hired my last servant because she was so pretty," he remarked. "I +think I'll hire this one because she is so ugly." + +Accordingly, Linda Branca became a servant in the royal palace. She +soon discovered, however, that it was the pretty maid who received all +the favors. It was good to sleep nights without being disturbed by the +songs of suitors under her window. Nevertheless, after a time, Linda +Branca could not fail to see that it was the pretty maid who had the +happy life. + +"I believe I'd almost be willing to be pretty again," said Linda Branca +to herself. "Perhaps it has some advantages." + +She knew very well that the pretty maid was not as tired as she that +night. + +The next day there was to be a great feast which was to last for two +days. Linda Branca asked the queen if she might be allowed to attend. + +"Ask my son," said the queen. "It is he who rules here." + +"May I go to the feast?" asked Linda Branca when she was blacking the +king's boots. + +"Look out or I'll throw my boot at you," said the king. + +That night when the feast had already begun, she dressed herself +carefully in the robe of blue trimmed with silver. It was indeed a +pleasure to remove the ugly mask and find that she was still just as +lovely as when the crowds of suitors sang about her great beauty. + +That night at the feast every one talked about the beauty of the +mysterious stranger in the dress of blue trimmed with silver. The king +himself danced with her. He was completely captivated by her charm. + +"Where do you come from, lovely lady?" he asked. + +"I come from the land of the boot," replied Linda Branca with a gay +laugh. + +The king was completely mystified, for he did not know where the land +of the boot was. He asked the queen and all the wisemen of the court, +but there was not a single one of them who had ever heard of that +country. The next day they hunted through all the books and all the +maps, but there was no book or map which mentioned it. + +"She is the most beautiful maiden I have ever seen!" cried the king. +"I'd like to marry her, but how can I ever see her again if I can't +find out the location of the land she comes from!" + +He was in deep despair, and every one in the royal palace was nearly +distracted. It was decidedly embarrassing to have the king fall in +love with a stranger from a country nobody could find on a map or in a +book. + +When the king returned from the feast he saw the ugly little maid he +had hired busy at her work about the palace. The next day she again +asked the queen's permission to go to the feast that night. + +"Ask my son," was the queen's reply. + +When Linda Branca asked the king's permission, he replied: "Look out or +I'll hit you with my hairbrush." + +That night Linda Branca again removed her ugly mask and dressed herself +in the beautiful gown of blue embroidered in gold. She was even +lovelier than the night before. + +When she entered the grand ball room the king was almost wild with joy. +He ran to her side at once and kept dancing with her the entire evening. + +"What country do you come from?" he asked again. + +"I'm from the land of the hairbrush," replied Linda Branca. + +"Where is that land?" asked the king, but Linda Branca would not tell +him. + +"Where is the land of the hairbrush?" asked the king of the queen +mother, and of all the wise men of the court. + +Nobody could tell him, and nobody could find the land of the hairbrush +upon any map or in any book. + +"Stupid ones!" cried the king. "I don't believe you have half tried to +find it!" + +He looked through all the maps and books himself and at last he grew +ill from so much studying. His friends all gathered about him in the +royal bedchamber and sought to console him. However he refused +consolation. + +"I do not care whether I live or die!" he cried. "I care for nothing +except the beautiful stranger who came to my feast." + +Linda Branca knew that the king was ill, and when these words were +reported to her she quickly dressed herself in the robe of blue trimmed +with silver, which she had worn the first night of the feast. When she +took off her ugly mask and looked at herself in the glass she was +really pleased with her reflection. + +"It is not so bad after all to be pretty," she said as she smiled. + +Linda Branca stole out of the palace and peeped into the window of the +royal bedchamber. One of the king's counsellors saw her. + +"Whose lovely face is that at the window?" he asked. + +"It is surely the beautiful stranger from the land of the boot," said +one. + +"It is the charming maiden from the land of the hairbrush," disputed +another. + +By the time the king himself had reached the window there was no one to +be seen. He called for the queen, his mother. + +"Tell me, mother, who was outside my window a moment ago?" he asked. + +"No one unless a masquerader," replied the queen. + +The poor queen was nearly worn out with worry over her son. She was +afraid he was so sick that he was going to die. + +The next day the king had in truth grown most decidedly worse. The +court physicians went about with anxious faces and the whole palace had +become a place of deepest gloom. + +Linda Branca put on her dress of blue embroidered with gold and again +peeped into the window of the royal bedchamber. + +Now the king had lain upon his richly carved bed with his eyes fixed +every moment upon the window where the face had appeared. He did not +close his eyes at all. + +"He can't live long if this keeps up," one court physician whispered to +another. + +He had just finished saying these words when the king gave a loud cry +and sprang from his bed. He ran to the window and reached it just in +time to catch a piece of the skirt of blue embroidered in gold. He +held it tight. + +"Masquerader, unmask!" he cried. + +Linda Branca had hastily put on the mask which she had brought with +her, and now she looked up at the king with the face of the little +servant he had hired. She took off the mask and smiled into his eyes. + +"Now at last I know who is the beautiful stranger from the land of the +boot and the land of the hairbrush!" cried the king. + +When Linda Branca had told the king, the queen mother and all the +courtiers her whole story everybody laughed. + +"Who ever before heard of a maiden who wanted to be less beautiful than +Nature had made her!" cried the wise men. + +"I always knew that when my son saw fit to select his bride he would +choose a rare woman," said the queen mother proudly. + +The king himself did not say a single word, but gazed and gazed at the +lovely face of Linda Branca with such joy in his eyes that she knew in +her heart that at last she was glad to be beautiful. + +"Stay pretty," is a parting greeting between women in the Azores. +Perhaps it was Linda Branca herself who began saying it in the +beginning. + + + + +FRESH FIGS + +_The Story of a Clever Youth and a Foolish One_ + + +Long ago there lived a little maid who fell ill. Her father was very +rich and he did everything he could for her. + +One day she said: "If I only had some fresh figs I'm sure I'd feel +better." + +Now it was in the month of January. It would be many long months +before the fresh figs would be ripe. The rich man was greatly worried. +Not even his fortune could ripen the figs, as he well knew. + +Nevertheless he decided to advertise and therefore said: "Whoever shall +bring fresh figs to my daughter shall marry her if he be young. If he +be old he shall receive his reward in money." + +This announcement was spread abroad throughout the whole country, but +no one had any fresh figs in the month of January. At last, however, +there was a woman found who had a fig tree close by the side of her +house, protected from the cold winds by the house and by the high wall +of her garden. This woman had a few fresh figs, but they were small +and not very good. + +"Send them to the little maid who is sick," advised her neighbors. + +"Indeed I'll send them as soon as my son can get ready to start," +replied the good woman. + +Now the woman had two sons. One of them was foolish, but the other was +considered one of the cleverest youths in the whole countryside. He +left home immediately with the best of the figs in his basket. + +On the way he met a woman dressed in blue with a child in her arms. It +was really the Holy Mother and her Child but he did not recognize them. + +"What are you carrying in your basket?" asked the woman. + +"I am carrying horns," replied the clever youth. + +"Yes, you are carrying horns," replied the woman. + +The young man went on to the rich man's house supposing that he was +carrying figs in his basket just as when he started out. The basket +had grown heavy. + +"What have you in your basket?" asked the rich man when he saw the +youth at his door. + +"I have brought some fresh figs from my garden to your daughter who is +ill," replied the clever one. + +The rich man was delighted. He opened the basket. Then he shook the +boy roughly by the collar and pushed him away down the steep steps. +There were horns in the basket. + +"What do you mean by playing such a trick on me?" called the rich man +after him. "Never let me see your face in these parts again!" + +There were still a few of the poorest of the fresh figs remaining on +the tree. The foolish son begged his mother for permission to carry +them to the little maid who was sick. + +"Yes. Go with them," replied his mother. "Who knows but what you may +wed the rich man's daughter!" She laughed as she said it. + +The boy who was foolish started for the rich man's house with the figs +in his basket. They were only a very few, and poor little things +indeed. + +On the way he met a woman dressed in blue with a child in her arms. + +"What are you carrying in your basket?" asked the woman. + +"Fresh figs for a little maid who is sick," replied the boy. + +"Yes, you are carrying figs," said the woman. + +The boy opened his basket. "Here, take one for the baby," he said. +"He's a lovely child." + +He gave one of the best figs to the baby and went on his way to the +rich man's house. + +"What have you in your basket?" asked the rich man. + +"Fresh figs from my garden for your daughter who is sick," replied the +boy. + +The rich man opened the basket with a scowl upon his face. He well +remembered how he had been tricked before. Then his eyes grew wide +with surprise. + +"What, figs like these in January!" he cried in amazement. + +The figs had grown large and beautiful on the road to the rich man's +house. They filled the whole basket. The little maid was so happy +when she saw them that she began to grow better immediately. + +When her father saw that the youth was foolish, he repented of his +promise to give his daughter in marriage to any young man who brought +fresh figs to her. However, he had given his word and it was not a +thing to be lightly broken. + +"I'll tell you what to do to get out of your difficulty," said his +friend to whom he told his trouble. "Turn two lively rabbits out on +the mountain and tell the boy that he'll lose his life if he doesn't +catch them and bring them back at night." + +That is exactly what the rich man did. The poor youth tried in vain to +catch the rabbits. He got very tired and hot; and, foolish as he was, +he knew enough to realize that the task set for him was quite +impossible. + +Suddenly he saw the woman dressed in blue standing before him with the +child in her arms. + +"What is the matter?" she asked him. + +The boy told her how he would lose his life if he did not catch the +rabbits and bring them back to the rich man at nightfall. + +The woman cut a reed and made a pipe of it. + +"Play on this pipe," she said, "and the rabbits will come back to you +of their own accord." + +The youth played such sweet music on his pipe that the two rabbits came +running up to him immediately. It was all he could do to keep away the +other beasts and birds. Everything which heard the music was charmed +by it. + +[Illustration: The two rabbits came running up to him] + +On his way back to the rich man's house he met two men who had been +sent to kill him. No one had dreamed, of course, that he'd really +catch the rabbits. The two men were so surprised when they saw them in +the bag that their eyes stuck out. The rich man was even more amazed. + +As for the little maid who had been sick, when she heard the sweet +music which the youth played upon the pipe, she was quite ready to +marry him. The wedding was celebrated with great joy. + + + + +PETER-OF-THE-PIGS + +_The Story of a Sharp Lad and a Sharper_ + + +Long ago there lived a man who employed a boy to take care of his pigs. +The lad's name was Peter and he was commonly called by every one in the +countryside Peter-of-the-pigs. + +One day a man came up to him and said: + +"Sell me these seven pigs." + +"I can't sell but six of them," said Peter. "I must keep one, but you +may buy the other six if you will cut off their tails and ears and +leave them for me." + +The man promised to do this, and the boy pocketed the money. The six +pigs looked sad enough without their tails and ears as they were driven +away by their new master. + +Peter led his one remaining pig down to the sand pit. He buried it +halfway in the sand. He buried the tails and ears of the other six +pigs, too, so that part of them stuck out. Then he ran with all speed +for his master. + +[Illustration: He buried it halfway in the sand] + +"Come and help me get the pigs out of the sand pit!" he called out. + +His master ran as fast as he could to the sand pit. There he saw one +of the pigs halfway out of the sand. He and Peter together soon pulled +it out completely. Then he took hold of the tail nearby. To his +horror it appeared to break off in his hand. + +"Run to the house and ask my wife to give you two shovels!" cried the +owner of the pigs. "With the shovels we can dig out the rest of the +pigs." + +The boy ran to the house. He knew that his master kept his money in +two big bags. + +"My master says that you shall give me his two money bags," said Peter +to his mistress. + +The woman did not approve of doing this. "Are you sure he said both of +them?" she asked. + +"Yes, both of them," said Peter. "Go ask him yourself." + +Accordingly, the woman ran out of the house. + +"Did you say both of them?" she called to her husband. + +"Yes, both of them," he replied. "Be quick about it, too." + +Of course the poor man thought that she was asking about the two +shovels which he had sent Peter to get. + +Thus Peter received his master's two bags of money, and set out into +the world with the bags on his shoulder and his pockets full of the +money he had obtained from the sale of the six pigs. + +After a time Peter-of-the-pigs met a robber. The robber stole one of +his money bags and ran away with it. Peter ran after him. + +Now it happened that the robber had just killed a deer. He was +carrying the liver inside his blouse. As he ran he threw it back so +that he could run faster. Peter saw what he had done. + +"If you want to catch me, you'll have to throw away your liver, too," +called out the robber over his shoulder. + +Peter-of-the-pigs pulled out his knife and cut out his liver. Of +course he dropped dead at once. + +When at last Peter's master found out that he had been deceived he ran +after the lad. As he found him lying dead there by the wayside, he +said: + +"Oh, Peter-of-the-pigs! You were sharp, but you found some one who was +sharper." + +Thus it is in life. + + + + +THE PRINCESS WHO LOST HER RINGS + +_The Story the Lame Old Women Told_ + + +Long ago there lived a lovely princess who owned the most beautiful +rings in the whole world. She had rings set with diamonds and rings +set with pearls. She had rings set with rubies and rings set with +sapphires. She had rings set with emeralds and turquoises and +amethysts and every other kind of precious stone. She had rings which +had no precious stones in them, but which were wonderfully decorated +with fine and delicate carving, wrought with great skill. + +This princess lived in a magnificent palace surrounded by a high wall. +Her own apartments opened upon a pleasant balcony. From the balcony +she could see the blue waters of the ocean and the tall trees of the +forest. Here she liked to pass her days. + +In a corner of the balcony there was a basin and pitcher of silver +always kept filled with water in order that the princess might wash her +hands on the balcony instead of having to go inside the house. +Whenever she washed her hands she always removed the ring she was +wearing that day. Some days it was one ring and other days it was +another, but, whatever ring it happened to be, the princess always took +it off carefully when she washed her hands. + +One day a pretty white rabbit came up to the balcony to play with the +princess. That day the princess was wearing her best diamond ring. +She removed it very carefully when she washed her hands. Then it +disappeared. She knew that the rabbit must have stolen it. + +The next day the rabbit came again and that day the princess lost her +best emerald ring. She was very sure that the rabbit must have stolen +that, too. However, she liked to play with the rabbit, so she said +nothing to her father, the king, about the lost rings. + +Every day the rabbit came and every day there was a ring missing. The +princess had a large box full of rings, in the beginning, but one +morning she opened the box and saw that it was entirely empty. She +remembered then that she had put on her last ring, one set with a +sapphire, the morning before. + +The princess became so sad that she would not go out to the balcony to +play with the white rabbit. Every day she grew sadder and sadder. At +last her father, the king, noticed it. + +"What is the matter with our daughter, the princess?" he asked the +queen. "She is sad now, and once she was the very jolliest, happiest +princess in the whole world." + +"I cannot imagine what the trouble is," replied the queen. "Perhaps +she is lonely. Let us send for the storytellers of the kingdom to come +and tell their stories to entertain her." + +Accordingly, the king sent for all the storytellers in the whole +kingdom. All the storytellers had to come to the palace even if they +were old and lame. + +Now it so happened that in the kingdom there were two old women who +were very lame. They knew the most interesting stories of anybody, but +it took them so long to reach the palace that they forgot all their +best stories on the way. + +"What story are you going to tell the princess?" one of the lame old +women asked the other. + +"I can't remember a single one of my stories," said the other old +woman. "It has taken my lame old legs so long to travel the road to +the palace that now that we are almost there I can't think of a single +story." + +The two old women tried to remember some of their stories, but they +could not think of any. They were almost at the royal palace, too. + +"What shall we do if we can't remember our stories?" asked the first +old woman. + +"We'll have to learn some new stories," replied the other. + +Just then they spied a queer sight. There was a little donkey without +any feet traveling along the road. On his back was a load of wood. + +"What a queer donkey!" cried the first old woman. + +"Let us follow along after him. Perhaps we shall be able to tell a +story about him," replied the other. + +The two old women followed the donkey into the forest. There was a +little thatched-roofed house in the forest and before the house there +was a fire burning. A kettle of something which smelled good was +boiling merrily over the fire. + +The donkey which had no feet stopped beside the fire and left his load +of wood. The two old women stopped beside the fire, too. + +"What do you suppose is cooking in this kettle?" asked one of the old +women. + +"It smells so good I'm going to taste and see," said the other. + +She started to taste, but as she was about to stick in her finger she +heard a strange deep voice which seemed to come out of the little +thatched house. + +"Do not touch. It is not yours," is what the voice said. + +The two old women went up to the door of the house and one of them +peeped through the keyhole. + +Inside the house she saw a pretty white rabbit playing with a box full +of rings. Suddenly the white rabbit pulled off his skin and changed +into a handsome prince. + +"What wouldn't I give to see the owner of these rings!" cried the +prince. + +The two lame old women hurried away from the little house in the +forest. They were frightened at the queer doings there. + +"I know a story to tell the princess!" cried one of the old women when +she had recovered from her fright. "I'll tell her how I peeped through +the keyhole and saw the rabbit change his skin." + +"I know what I'll tell the princess," said the other old woman. "I'll +tell her how I followed the donkey without any feet and what that +strange voice said to me when I tried to taste the good-smelling broth +in the kettle." + +"We must keep saying over our stories so we won't forget them," said +the first old woman. + +"We must hurry on our way to the royal palace and get there while we +remember them," said the other. + +The two old women hurried on their way to the palace as fast as their +lame old legs could carry them. They rehearsed their stories over and +over along the way so they would not forget them. + +Many storytellers had told their tales to the princess. They were +jolly tales, too, but the princess was not in the least cheered by +them. She remembered her lost rings even when she was listening to the +stories. + +"If the storytellers cannot make the princess happy, who can?" asked +the king in despair. + +"I'm sure I don't know," replied the queen. "She always used to like +stories." + +Finally the two old women reached the royal palace and went to tell +their tales to the princess. + +The first old woman told the story of the donkey without any feet and +the broth in the kettle. The princess did not appear to be +particularly interested even when the old woman told about the strange +deep voice which said, "Do not touch. It is not yours." Cold chills, +however, ran up and down the spines of the king and queen and all the +courtiers when she came to that part of the tale. + +Next the other old woman told how she peeped through the keyhole of the +little thatched house in the forest and saw the white rabbit change his +skin. + +The pretty dark eyes of the princess sparkled when the old woman +mentioned the rabbit and she leaned forward in her chair eagerly. + +"Our dear little princess looks like her own happy self again for the +first time in ages," whispered the king to the queen. + +When the old woman told of the rabbit's words, "What would I not give +to see the owner of these rings!" the princess clapped her hands. + +"Take me to see this rabbit at once!" she cried. + +The king and queen and all the courtiers went with the princess to find +the white rabbit. The two old women went first to point out the way, +and as these old women were so lame the whole procession moved very +slowly. + +At last they drew near the forest. There was the donkey without any +feet moving along the road with a load of wood on his back. The two +old women, the princess, the king and queen and all the courtiers +followed the donkey into the deep forest to the door of the little +thatched house. Before the house the fire was burning and something +which smelled good was boiling in the kettle. The princess stuck in +her finger to try it. + +[Illustration: The two old women, the princess, the king and queen, and +all the courtiers followed] + +"Take it. It is yours," said the strange deep voice from the little +house. + +The princess was so surprised that she forgot to taste the +good-smelling broth. She ran to the door of the house and peeped +through the keyhole. There was the white rabbit playing with a box +full of rings set with diamonds and pearls, rings set with rubies and +sapphires, rings set with emeralds and amethysts and turquoises, and +rings set with no precious stones at all, but carved delicately, with +great skill. + +"What wouldn't I give to see the owner of these rings!" said the rabbit +as he pulled off his skin and changed into a handsome prince. + +"Here's the owner of the rings!" cried the princess. "She is here at +your very door!" + +The door of the little thatched house in the deep forest swiftly opened +and the prince received the princess in his arms. + +"Your words have broken my enchantment!" he cried. "Now that at last +the voice of the owner of these rings is heard at my door, I'll never +have to put on my rabbit skin again." + + + + +THE MASTER OF MAGIC + +_The Story of a Boy who Learned His Lessons in School_ + + +Once upon a time there lived a man who had three sons. The two older +ones worked in the fields, but the youngest one went to school. He +learned how to read and write and do sums and make drawings. At last +he even learned magic. + +The two elder brothers complained to their father about him one day. +Their hearts were bitter against him. + +"It is not fair, father," they said. "We work hard every day in the +fields and bring home money to enrich the family. Why shouldn't our +brother work, too? He does nothing except study." + +The youngest son heard their words of complaint. + +"Will you go hunting with me to-morrow, father?" he asked. "I have +learned much magic. In fact, I have become a master of magic. I will +turn myself into a hunting dog if you will go into the fields with me." + +The next day the young man changed himself by magic into a hunting dog, +and his father went into the fields with him. He bagged many rabbits +that day. As they returned home, he met one of his friends. + +"What luck to-day?" asked his friend. + +The hunter proudly displayed the rabbits he had in his bag. "I have +them, thanks to my dog," he said. + +"I'd like to buy that dog of yours," said his friend. "What will you +take for him?" + +The father named an enormous price, and to his great surprise his +friend accepted it. The money was passed over at once, and the hunting +dog went home with his new master. + +The next day they went on a hunting expedition into the deep forest. +Suddenly the dog disappeared. His master called and whistled to him in +vain. Finally he was obliged to return home without him. He had lost +both the dog and the money he had paid for him. + +"Have you seen my hunting dog?" were his words for many weeks to every +one he met. + +His hunting dog had fled into a deep forest and once more resumed his +original form. He returned home and told his two brothers that in a +single day he had earned for his father more than their combined +efforts for many weeks. Indeed it was quite true. + +The next day the young man said to his father: "Will you buy a saddle +and bridle for me if I turn myself into a horse?" + +His father made the purchase, and then the young man changed into a +handsome black horse. His father rode him up and down the streets very +proudly. The Great Magician noticed the beautiful beast. + +He called the man to him and said: "That is a very good horse you are +riding. What will you sell him for?" + +The father named an enormous price, but he at once paid it cheerfully. +He ordered the horse placed in his stables. + +Now this Great Magician had a beautiful daughter who was very fond of +horses. She went out to inspect his new purchase as soon as it was +brought home. She noticed that the horse ate nothing. + +"What a beauty!" she cried as she stroked his glossy black coat. "You +are the handsomest horse in the stable. Why don't you eat? I believe +your bridle is hurting you. I'm going to take it off." + +As soon as the bridle was removed it was changed into a bird and flew +out the window. The Great Magician at that moment changed himself into +a hawk and killed the bird, never dreaming that it was the bridle of +the new horse he had purchased. + +The next morning when the Great Magician went to mount his beautiful +black steed there was no new horse to be found in the stable. The +horse had changed into a kernel of corn. + +[Illustration: The horse had changed into a kernel of corn] + +The Great Magician transformed himself into a hen to eat up the corn, +but the youth was too quick for him. He changed into a dog and seized +the hen between his teeth and gave it a good shaking. Then he returned +to his own form and explained the whole affair to the Great Magician. + +"You are surely a master of magic," was the comment of the magician. + +When the Great Magician had forgiven him for the shaking he had +received when he was in the form of a hen, he gladly gave his consent +to his daughter's marriage to the master of magic. + + + + +ST. ANTHONY'S GODCHILD + +_The Story of Antonia who became a King's Page_ + + +Long ago there lived a man who had so many children that he could +scarcely find godfathers for them all. He had requested so many of his +friends to serve, that when his last baby was born, a little dark-eyed +daughter, he vowed that he'd ask the first man he met upon the street. + +As luck would have it, he happened to meet the good St. Anthony. + +"Will you be godfather to my baby daughter?" he asked. + +Kind St. Anthony gladly consented. He named the baby Antonia, and said +to the father: + +"Train up this child in the way she should go. Teach her all you can. +When she is thirteen years old I'll come to get her and I'll give her a +good start in life." + +The years flew by and soon little Antonia was thirteen years old. The +father was afraid that St. Anthony had forgotten his promise, but one +day the saint appeared. + +"Is this my godchild?" he asked as he looked at Antonia. "Surely she +has grown prettier each year of her life." + +Antonia blushed shyly and looked even more attractive than before. + +"Dress yourself in your brother's garments," he said to her. "I am +going to take you to the king's court and you are entirely too pretty +to go there in your own dresses." + +Accordingly, Antonia put on her brother's clothes and went to serve as +a page to the king. She was now called Anthony instead of Antonia. + +Now the king had a sister who grew very fond of the little page. She +became angry that the page did not love her in return and plotted +against him. + +One day she went to the king and said: + +"Your little page says that he can separate all the chaff from the +wheat in a single night." + +"Let him try," responded the king. + +When Anthony heard what the king required he was decidedly worried. +Then he remembered that he was the godchild of St. Anthony and that the +saint was always ready to aid those in need. He called upon St. +Anthony to help him fulfill the king's command. In the morning the +king's wheat was entirely free from chaff. + +The king loved his little page more and more, and the king's sister was +angrier than before that she could not win the affection of the youth. +She made a new plot against him. + +"What do you suppose that page is saying now?" she asked her brother. +"He boasts that he can go to the palace of the king of the Moors and +steal the purse of gold pieces from beneath his pillow." + +The king sent Anthony to the palace of the king of the Moors. With St. +Anthony's help he climbed up the high wall of the palace and crept in +through a window. The king of the Moors was so sound asleep that +Anthony had no difficulty whatever in slipping his hand under the +pillow and stealing the purse. Then he crept out again without +awakening the king. + +[Illustration: He climbed up the high wall of the palace] + +"That young page, Anthony, has grown so very boastful," remarked the +king's sister a few days after his return, "that he now claims that he +can carry away the king of the Moors himself." + +Then she added, "I'll marry him if he fulfills this boast." + +"Bring home the king of the Moors as your captive," were the king's +orders to Anthony. + +The page was very much worried for he thought that it would be more +difficult to capture the king of the Moors than it had been to capture +his purse. + +"Not at all, dear godchild," said the kind St. Anthony when he had +heard about the king's new command. + +Anthony climbed quietly up the wall as before and crept in through the +window. Then he rolled the king of the Moors up in the bedclothes and +tossed him out of the window. By the time the king was really awakened +from his sleep he was in the boat ready to sail away. + +When Anthony returned to the palace with his captive, the king said: + +"My best and bravest page, you are worthy indeed of any honor. You +shall wed my sister." + +"I can't marry her," said Anthony. "My name is Antonia." + +"In that case," said the king, "I'll marry you myself." + + + + +TROUBLE WHEN ONE'S YOUNG + +_The Story of a Maid's Choice_ + + +Long ago there lived a beautiful maiden whose name was Clarinha. She +had been betrothed to a prince whom she had never seen. When at last +he should be old enough to receive the rule of the kingdom he was +coming to claim her as his bride. + +Clarinha lived in a magnificent palace surrounded by a beautiful +garden. Every day she spent many hours among the lovely flowers and +trees. + +One day an eagle alighted on the tallest tree in the garden. + +"Good morning, fair Clarinha," he said to her. + +"Good morning," she replied in surprise. Never before had an eagle +spoken to her. + +"Which do you prefer, trouble when you are young or when you are old?" +asked the eagle. + +Clarinha did not know what to say. That night she asked her mother +which would be better to choose. + +"Choose trouble when you're young, dear child," advised her mother. +"When you are young it is easy to bear anything, but when you are old +you can endure nothing." + +She remembered her mother's words. Next day when the eagle again +addressed the same question to her, she answered: "Trouble when I'm +young." + +Clarinha had hardly said these words when the eagle lifted her up by +the pink skirt she was wearing and carried her away. On he flew over +seas and mountains. Clarinha was frightened nearly to death. + +At last the eagle set her down in a strange land. She was hungry, and, +accordingly, hired out in a bakeshop to earn her living. She would +have been happier if the eagle had flown away, but he remained in a +nearby tree-top. + +The baker went out, leaving Clarinha to bake the dough which he had +left ready to put into the oven. The little maid carefully closed the +door and all the windows so that the eagle would not be able to get +inside. As soon as the baker was out of sight, however, he flew down +the chimney. He tore about the bakeshop, spilling all the dough on the +floor and breaking the dishes. Then he went back up the chimney when +he had completed all the damage there was to be done. + +When the baker returned he flew into a terrible rage. He gave poor +Clarinha a beating and turned her out into the street. + +She walked about the city and at last found work as shopkeeper in a +little shop on a corner. The owner of the business went away next day, +leaving her in charge of everything. As soon as he was gone she shut +the door and all the windows, but the eagle flew down the chimney and +broke the cups and glasses and plates which were set out for sale in +neat rows upon the shelf. + +"What have you been doing in my shop?" cried the owner in anger when he +returned and saw the destruction which the eagle had left behind. + +He didn't give the poor girl a chance to reply, but seized her roughly +and threw her out into the street. + +Clarinha walked and walked seeking work, and at last she arrived at the +door of the royal palace. + +"Do you happen to need a servant?" she asked the queen. + +"I have all the servants I need," replied the queen. + +The prince was standing nearby. + +"Hire her, mother," he advised. "She'll do to take care of the ducks." + +Accordingly, the queen hired Clarinha to care for the ducks. The next +morning all the ducks in the royal duckyard were dead. The eagle had +killed them all. + +"Hire her for a seamstress, mother," said the prince. "The poor little +thing is crying as if her heart would break. I'm sorry for her." + +The queen hired Clarinha to be a seamstress in the royal palace. + +That very day the prince left home to visit his betrothed. He was +going to marry a beautiful maiden in a neighboring land, whom he had +never seen. As he left the palace he asked each one of the servants +what gifts he should bring at his return. + +When he came to Clarinha, her reply was, "Bring me a stone from the +palace wall of your betrothed." + +The prince thought it a strange request, but he promised to fulfill it. + +As soon as the prince arrived in the land where his betrothed lived, he +found out that the palace was in mourning because of her mysterious +disappearance one day from the garden. + +He was so sad that he could not linger in that land. He stayed only +long enough to buy the gifts which he had promised to bring to the +servants. Along with the other gifts he carried a stone from the +palace garden of his betrothed. + +When Clarinha received her gift she heard the story of the mysterious +disappearance of the prince's bride. As soon as she held the stone in +her hand she knew that it came from the wall of her own loved garden. +Joy shone in her beautiful eyes. + +For the first time the prince noticed how very lovely Clarinha was. He +had always liked the little maid even when her face was sad, but now +that she was happy he saw that she was the most beautiful girl he had +ever seen. + +"What does that pretty little maid intend to do with that stone?" he +asked the queen. + +"I cannot guess," replied the queen. "She seemed happy enough to +receive it. I never saw her look happy before. Trouble seems to +follow whatever she undertakes. I was on the point of discharging her. +She's caused me nothing but endless annoyance. I hired her only to +please you." + +The prince followed Clarinha and listened at her door. Inside her room +she was talking to the stone. + +"Oh, stone from my garden wall," she was saying. "How are the flowers +of my garden?" + +[Illustration: "Oh, stone from my garden wall," she was saying] + +The prince could hardly believe his ears. Suddenly he guessed what the +truth might be. He burst into the room. + +"Are you my betrothed who has disappeared from her own land?" he asked +Clarinha. + +She smiled into his eyes. + +"Trouble when one's young is hard enough to bear," she said when she +had told all her story. "I've had quite enough to last me all my life." + +"Your woes are ended now and a happy life lies before you," said the +prince. "Our wedding shall be celebrated at once." + + + + +THE LITTLE MAID WHO WAS WISE + +_The Story of a Robber Who was Outwitted_ + + +Long ago there lived a merchant who had three daughters. Every year at +a certain day of a certain month he went away to a distant city to +collect money on an account. His wife and daughters remained at home, +and all went well until one sad day the wife died. That year the +merchant looked forward to his journey with dread for he would have to +leave his daughters alone. + +"I cannot bear to go away," he said to them. "My heart is filled with +fear lest some evil may befall you during my absence." + +He worried about the matter night and day. The business was most +important and there was no one whom he could send to transact it for +him. + +However, the question of leaving three such pretty girls unprotected +was a thing not to be regarded lightly. + +"Do not be afraid to leave us, dear father," said his daughters. +"Nothing will harm us while you are away." + +"How do you know?" asked their father. "I am older and wiser than you +are and I know that there are many evils which might come upon you. +There are many bold thieves in this city, for instance, who would be +only too ready to take advantage of my absence and rob my home of all I +possess." + +"We can lock ourselves securely in the house and not let any one +enter," said the three daughters. + +"Be sure that you admit no one," commanded the merchant. + +They gave him their promise and he started on his journey. +Nevertheless, he went with an anxious heart. + +Now, outside this city there was a band of bold robbers. The captain +of the band had watched the merchant's departure, and when he was +safely away the thief dressed himself in the disguise of an old beggar. +When it was evening he led his band into a nearby street and in his +disguise approached the merchant's house. He knocked at the door. + +"Have pity upon a poor unfortunate one!" he called out. "It is raining +outside, and no one with mercy in his heart could turn away one who +begs shelter from the storm. Let me enter, I pray you, to pass the +night under your roof." + +"It's surely a terrible storm outside," said the merchant's eldest +daughter, as the wind rattled the tiles of the roof and the rain beat +in torrents against the doors and windows. "I think we ought to take +pity on a poor beggar a night like this." + +The second daughter peeped out of the window at the beggar. + +"He is old as well as poor," she said. "Our father has always taught +us to show mercy and kindness to the aged." + +"Remember our promise to our father!" cried the youngest one. "We gave +him our word that we would admit no one. We can give this poor beggar +some alms and send him away with a blessing." + +The eldest daughter frowned. "It is not for the youngest and most +childish one of us to make the plans," she said. + +The second daughter added. "We two are older and wiser than you are. +It is for us to determine what shall be done. If we decide to show +mercy to this poor beggar it is not for you to oppose it." + +"Bui we should not forget our promise to our father!" cried the +youngest daughter. + +However, in spite of all she could say, the elder sisters opened the +door and admitted the beggar. They led him into the kitchen to dry his +clothes. Then they made ready a bed for him to sleep upon. They gave +him his supper in the kitchen and then they ate their own. + +"It is a fearful night to send away a beggar," said the eldest sister +while they were eating. + +"I am glad we have made him comfortable for the night," remarked the +middle sister. + +"I am thinking that our dear father would be anxious if he knew that we +had broken our promise so easily," said the youngest sister. + +"For shame!" cried the eldest. + +"I don't think it was breaking our promise to show kindness to a poor +old beggar," said the middle one. + +"A promise is a promise, nevertheless," said the youngest. + +While they were talking, the beggar had taken the apples which the +girls were to eat for dessert and had sprinkled a sleeping powder over +them. The two eldest ate their apples, but the youngest could not eat +that night. She threw the apple away. + +As soon as they had eaten, the girls went to their room, and the two +eldest were overcome with sleep almost before they had time to get into +bed. The youngest one was so frightened that she could not sleep a +single wink. + +Soon she heard footsteps. The beggar entered the room. The youngest +one pretended that she, too, was asleep. The man went to the bed of +the eldest sister and stuck a pin into her foot to see if she were +completely unconscious. She did not stir and he knew that the sleeping +powder had thoroughly done its work. Then he went to the bed of the +second sister and did the same. She was as completely unconscious as +her sister. It hurt terribly when he stuck the pin into the foot of +the youngest, but she did not stir. The robber thought that she was as +completely overcome by the sleeping powder as the others. + +The youngest sister peeped through her long heavy eyelashes and watched +the beggar. She saw to her surprise that he had laid aside the heavy +ragged old coat which he had kept wrapped about him even while he ate. +Underneath he was dressed like a robber with a sword, pistols and +dagger. She was so terribly frightened that it was all she could do to +keep her teeth from chattering. + +She heard the robber go about the house picking out the valuables which +he wanted to steal. Then she heard him go down the stairway and unbolt +the heavy doors which led into the store. She quietly got up and crept +out of the room to hear him more distinctly. + +On a chair in the dining room she saw the sword which he had taken off. +He had evidently thought that, with all three girls so sound asleep, +he'd not need to use his weapons. + +Soon she heard the heavy outer doors of the store unbolted. The robber +had gone outside to call the rest of the band. The little girl flew +down the stairs and closed the doors of the store securely. They were +big and heavy, but her great fear gave her strength. + +[Illustration: They were big and heavy, but her great fear gave her +strength] + +"He'll find it difficult to get into our house again," she said to +herself as she waited to see if the robber returned. + +Soon she heard footsteps outside. She knew that the thief had brought +back others with him. + +There were frightful words said when they found that the door was shut. + +"It was the youngest one who deceived me!" cried the robber chieftain. +"I knew all the time that she did not want to let me in. I was +suspicious of her from the first." + +"Perhaps you can outwit her yet!" cried another. "She may not be so +wise as she appears. You never can tell." + +The leader of the band of thieves went up close to the keyhole and +whispered: "Kind lady of the house, have pity on me." + +The merchant's daughter at first did not answer; but, as he kept on +calling to her, she finally asked him what it was that he wanted. + +"I have left my charm behind!" he cried. "Pray let me enter to get it. +I promise you I will do you no harm." + +"I do not trust your promises," replied the little maid. "You shall +not come into my father's house." + +"Pass the charm out to me, then," said the robber. + +"It's in the fire," replied the girl. + +"Go throw vinegar on the fire and put it out," said the captain of the +thieves. "Then you can pull my charm out in safety." + +Now it happened that there was a little hole in the door just large +enough for a man's hand to enter. It is the hole through which beggars +often thrust outstretched hands, asking for alms. + +"Put your hand through the hole in the door," replied the little maid. +"Then I'll give you your charm." + +She quickly ran upstairs and got the robber's sword which he had left +on a chair in the dining room. When she returned, his hand was +sticking through the hole in the door. She struck it with all her +might with the great sword and cut it off. + +The cries and curses of the robbers filled the air. They tried in vain +to break down the great doors. The doors were strong and held +securely. At last it was daylight and the band of thieves had to flee. + +In the morning the effect of the sleeping powder wore off and the two +elder sisters awoke. When they heard their sister's story they were +filled with amazement. + +"I don't believe a word of it!" cried the oldest. "You are making it +up." + +"You had a bad dream," said the second. "I had such a nightmare myself +that I have a headache this morning." + +It was not until their little sister had shown them the robber's hand +and the great sword that they were convinced that she had told them the +truth. + +"Oh, why did we ever let the man into our house!" cried the eldest. + +"Oh, why didn't we keep our promise to our father!" cried the middle +one. + +When at last the merchant returned from the distant city where he had +been to collect money he was delighted to find his house and his three +daughters safe. + +"I see that no harm befell you in my absence," he said as he embraced +them fondly. "All my worries about you were foolish." + +The eldest daughter blushed and hung her head. "Great danger +threatened us while you were away," she said. "Thanks to our youngest +sister, we are safe." + +"Our little sister was wiser than we were," said the middle daughter. + +When the merchant had heard the whole story, he said: "After this we +must all give ear to the wisdom of this little maid. She is wise +beyond her years." + + + + +MANOEL LITTLEBEAN + +_The Story of How He Helped His Father_ + + +Long ago there lived a man and his wife who had no children. + +"I wish I had a little boy," said the man. + +"I'd like a son of my own even if he were not any larger than a little +bean," said the woman. + +Time passed and a son was born to this worthy couple. He was no larger +than a little bean and as the years went by he never grew any bigger. +His name was Manoel Littlebean. He caused his mother endless trouble +by constantly getting lost. Sometimes she'd nearly step on him. Other +times he'd fall into the food and she would almost swallow him. + +One day his mother couldn't find him. + +"Manoel Littlebean! Manoel Littlebean!" she called. + +There was no answer. + +She went outside the house and called his name anxiously. There was no +reply. She asked all the neighbors if they had seen the child, but +there was nobody who had noticed him that day. His poor mother was +nearly wild with anxiety. + +"I'm afraid I'll never see the dear child again," she mourned. "I'm +sure I have either stepped on him or swallowed him!" + +"You never stepped on him or swallowed him yet," comforted her husband. +However, he added anxiously, "I can't see what has become of my Manoel." + +The truth of the matter was that Manoel Littlebean had been swallowed +by the goat. He was a most active youngster in spite of his small size +and he caused the goat a terrible attack of indigestion. + +The goat did not know what was the matter and he tore around so wildly +and caused so much destruction that his master decided to kill him. + +"I simply can't be bothered with that goat any longer," he said. "I +have quite enough to worry about already with Manoel Littlebean lost +and my poor wife nearly sick with anxiety because of it." + +He never dreamed that it was his son who was making the goat so wild +with misery. When the goat was dead he threw it out into the street. + +That night a wolf came and ate the goat. He swallowed the goat's +stomach so greedily that Manoel Littlebean had no time to escape. +However he jumped about just as actively inside the wolf as he had done +when the goat had swallowed him. The wolf was just as uncomfortable as +the goat had been. + +"What is the matter with me?" thought the wolf. "Never in my life have +I had such a stomachache. I believe I'm going to die." + +He ran away into the forest and crept into a cave to await his end. +Inside the cave was a robbers' den. Three of the robbers were there +counting over the gold they had just brought back. + +When they saw the wolf they were so frightened that they dropped their +bags of gold and ran away as fast as they could, leaving everything +behind them. + +Manoel Littlebean guessed that he was making the wolf sick. + +"If I can only make him so ill that he will spit me up!" said Manoel to +himself as he jumped about his liveliest. + +That is exactly what happened. The wolf spit Manoel Littlebean out. + +He was decidedly dirty and unattractive, but he didn't mind in the +least. He saw the quantities of gold in the robbers' cave and his eyes +shone. + +[Illustration: He saw the quantities of gold] + +"If I can only find my way home to tell my father about it, he will be +a rich man!" he cried. + +It was a long distance home and several times he thought that he had +lost his way. Finally, however, he saw his own mother's light in the +window. He ran toward it as fast as he could run. + +"Manoel Littlebean, what have you been doing?" cried his mother when +she saw him. "Where did you get so dirty? Come, let me give you a +bath the first thing!" + +"Never mind about the bath, mother," said Manoel. "I have more +important things to attend to. Where is father?" + +His mother called her husband and they both forgot how dirty the child +was when they heard his story. + +"Let us hurry to the robbers' cave, father," he said. "We must get +there before they return." + +"What about the wolf?" asked his mother anxiously. + +Manoel Littlebean laughed. + +"The wolf doesn't have any stomachache now," he said. "He went home +long ago." + +They went to the robbers' cave and brought home the huge sacks full of +gold. It was enough to make them live like princes for a lifetime. + +"I have the best and cleverest son in the world," said the father. + +"Never in the world was there a son who was such a joy and comfort to +his parents," said his mother. + +Manoel Littlebean was treated by every one as politely as if he had +been big. + + + + +THE NECKLACE OF PEARLS + +_The Story of a Water-nymph and an Island Lad_ + + +In a tiny cottage on the steep rocky hillside of one of the islands of +the Azores there lived a poor woman and her only son whose name was +Francisco. Every day the boy went fishing in his little boat, and +every night he brought home fish for his mother to cook for their +evening meal and to carry into the market to sell. In this way they +lived very comfortably, and they loved each other so dearly that they +were as happy as happy can be. + +Francisco, with his fair skin, blue eyes and thatch of curly golden +hair, was the handsomest boy in the whole parish, and by the time he +was sixteen years old there was many a rich man's daughter who had +smiled upon him. However, the lad thought only of his fishing boat and +his mother and did not notice the smiles. + +One night the moon was so bright that Francisco could not sleep. He +awakened his mother who was dozing comfortably in her bed. + +"I'm going fishing, mother dear," he said as he kissed her. "The +moonlight is calling me." + +His mother started up from her bed in terror and amazement. + +"Why, my boy, do you do such a thing as this?" she asked. "You have +never been fishing in the night before. Some evil will surely befall +you." + +"Don't worry about me, dear mother," replied Francisco, laughing at her +fears. "I know how to take care of myself. It is as light as day. +Think how many fish I'll bring back for you to sell in the market +to-morrow." + +His mother shook her head anxiously, but, with another loving kiss, the +lad ran out into the bright moonlight. He quickly launched his little +fishing boat and soon was floating smoothly along on the peaceful +waters of the bay which gleamed like a silver pathway in the moonlight. +The soft air, the gentle rocking of the little boat, and the face of +the moon upon which his blue eyes were fixed combined to send sleep to +his eyelids. Soon he was nodding in the little boat. A few moments +later and he was fast asleep. The moon's rays upon his curls made them +shine as if they were indeed made of gold. + +Now the village maidens were not the only ones who had noticed +Francisco's blue eyes and handsome face. A water-nymph who dwelt in +the depths of the sea had often observed him. In the daytime she was +invisible to the eye of humans and so the lad had never seen her though +she often spent long hours near him, never taking her eyes from his +face. + +"Here comes the beautiful youth in his little fishing boat!" cried the +nymph as she saw the moonlight gleaming upon his bright curls. "At +last my wish has come true. Now at night he'll be able to see me." + +She hastily arranged her own beautiful hair before a little mirror she +carried. Some of the strands of priceless pearls which decked her +lovely head were a trifle awry. These and the necklaces of rare pearls +which hung about her fair throat surrounded her with a gleam of soft +light almost like the light of the moon. As she approached nearer to +the little boat she saw that Francisco was fast asleep. She swam in +the direction of the lad with all possible speed, a wild terror in her +eyes. + +"What madness is this?" she asked as she looked down upon his bowed +head. "This frail boat will drift upon the dangerous rocks and be +dashed to pieces. I'll take him home to my own palace without +awakening him. Perhaps when he sees how lovely it is he'll even like +me a little bit." + +Just for a moment she hesitated, thinking how far from home Francisco +would be in the palace of mother-of-pearl in the depths of the sea. + +"The rocks are really very dangerous," she said to herself as she +gently drew his sleeping form into her arms. + +The next morning Francisco's empty fishing boat was found by the +fishermen. For hours his mother had watched in vain for his return. +When at last she heard that the empty boat had been found she was +nearly wild with grief. + +"He was the best son a mother ever had," she moaned over and over +again. "How can I live without him!" + +Indeed, as the days and weeks went by it was increasingly difficult for +the poor woman to live. She not only missed her boy's loving smile, +but she also missed the fish he caught so skillfully. There was little +for the poor woman to eat if she had any appetite for food. + +"Why don't you go to the Wiseman of the Sea and tell him your +troubles?" asked one of the neighbors. + +Francisco's mother knew that it was a long and difficult journey to +reach the Wiseman of the Sea. She decided, however, it would be worth +the effort just to gaze into his wise eyes. He knew so much, perhaps +he would know how to say something to comfort her in her great sorrow +and loneliness. She had shrugged her shoulders when her neighbor had +spoken of it but she could not get the idea out of her mind. She knew +that she would never rest in peace until she had made this journey. +Accordingly, she launched Francisco's fishing boat, and, thanks to +smooth seas, reached the little rocky island in the midst of the sea +where the Wiseman of the Sea lived. + +His tall form was outlined above the cliff even as she tied her little +boat. He was very tall, far taller than anybody she had ever seen, and +his snow-white beard fell to his feet. He was clothed in fish scales +which gleamed in the sunlight. + +"Well, little mother, what can I do for you to-day?" he asked, as she +came up the path to the summit of the rock. + +The eyes of the Wiseman of the Sea were very kind as well as full of +great wisdom. Francisco's mother forgot to be afraid of him as she had +expected to be. She told him the story of her lost son. The Wiseman +listened carefully to her words and then he said: + +"Good mother, I am glad to tell you that I know where your Francisco +is. He is in the power of a water-nymph who has carried him away to +her castle of mother-of-pearl in the depths of the sea." + +Francisco's mother felt the tears of joy well up into her eyes. "Is my +boy happy there and is he well?" she asked eagerly. + +"He is entirely well and happy. The water-nymph gave him a philtre +which has made him forget his past life entirely." + +"I'm glad you told me that," said the boy's mother. "I was just +wondering how my dear lad could be happy while he was causing me so +much sorrow. He has always been the best and kindest son with which a +mother ever was blessed." + +The Wiseman of the Sea started to say something, but the woman +interrupted as a new thought flew into her mind. "Tell me," she cried, +"is there no way of getting him back? With all your wisdom can't you +think of some way to make him once more remember the mother who loves +him and the little home in which we have passed so many happy days +together? Do you not know some means of breaking the power which this +water-nymph has over him?" + +The Wiseman looked out across the sea in silence for at least a minute +and a half. He thought hard. Francisco's mother watched him with +eager eyes. She could hardly wait for his answer. At last these were +the words which fell from his lips: + +"You have shed many tears, good woman, but tears are still to flow if +you are to bring back your son." + +"Oh, must I suffer more?" cried the heart-broken mother. "It seems +that I have already lived a lifetime since my dear lad kissed me in the +moonlight. I have endured all that I can bear." + +The Wiseman smiled gently as he raised his hand. "Listen, my child," +he said. "Your tears must be shed upon the bosom of the waters. If, +perchance, one of them should fall upon your son's heart there in the +palace of the water-nymph in the depths of the sea, the power of her +philtre will be broken." + +"I'll shed whole oceans of tears if I can break the power of that +water-nymph and bring back my Francisco," said his mother. + +The fact is that she began to shed tears then and there, even before +she had thanked the Wiseman of the Sea for what he had told her. + +Now it happened that Francisco had grown to love the beautiful palace +of mother-of-pearl in the depths of the sea. He never tired of all its +beauty. About the palace there were lovely gardens filled with flowers +made of precious gems. Each tiny bud of that garden was worth a king's +ransom, so rich were the jewels which composed it. The water-nymph +often gathered her arms full of these rare blossoms and wove them into +a garland to crown Francisco's golden curls. He never had a thought of +the old life at home with his mother, so completely had the nymph's +philtre done its work. + +There was always a big fish swimming about the palace. On its back +there was a cushion of seagreen satin embroidered with lovely pearls. + +"This is your riding horse," said the water-nymph to Francisco the +first day he had seen it. "If you should ever get tired of the palace +and find the life here a bit monotonous, just mount this horse and ride +about for a little." + +The water-nymph had shaken out her long fair tresses so that they +covered as much as possible of the fishtail she had instead of feet. +She was very sensitive about the fact that she had no feet upon which +to wear pretty little slippers like those of the maidens she had seen +so often as they called out gay greetings to the handsome fisher-lad. + +Francisco had smiled into her eyes. "How absurd," he cried, "to think +of such a thing as getting tired of this wonderful place!" + +In fact the days had slipped by all too fast for the happy youth. Then +it suddenly happened one day while the water-nymph was asleep that he +thought of his mother, the little house which had been his home for +sixteen years and more, the fishing boat which was his pride and joy, +the moonlight night when he had gaily kissed his mother's cheek and +gone away never to return. He did not stop to waken the sleeping +nymph. He said no word to the servants of the palace. He thought only +of the fish with the cushion of sea-green satin embroidered with rare +pearls. + +"Quick!" he cried to it. "Take me home as fast as you can! My +mother's heart is breaking! She has shed so many tears for me, I know, +that by this time she may be entirely blind." + +[Illustration: "Take me home as fast as you can!"] + +In another hour Francisco was safe at home with his mother's arms about +him. She had shed so many tears that her eyes were swollen almost +shut, but they were not closed so completely that they could not shine +with the great joy which once more filled her heart. + +"Promise me one thing," she said to him. "Give me your word that +you'll never go fishing again. I don't trust that water-nymph even in +the daytime." + +Accordingly, Francisco gave up being a fisherman and became a hunter. +To make his spears, he gathered the young sapling which grew on the +hillside even down to the edge of the water. He had grown still +handsomer while he had lived in the palace of mother-of-pearl in the +depths of the sea, and there were twice as many pretty maidens who cast +smiling glances in his direction. + +It was the daughter of the rich man of the village who at last won the +heart of Francisco. When he went a-wooing, however, he had no gift to +take except the birds he had killed with his own hand. The rich man +laughed at him. These were his words: + +"When my daughter marries it shall be only to a youth who can bring her +rich gifts." + +Francisco went away with a sad heart and sat upon the rocks at the edge +of the sea, gazing out over the water with eyes so full of tears that +they saw nothing. + +The water-nymph was not far away from the shore those days. She was +always seeking for a glimpse of the golden head which she had so often +crowned with flowers. Her joy now at the sight of him was buried by +her sorrow when she saw that his heart was full of woe. She knew at +once the cause of his grief. + +The next morning when Francisco went to get wood to make a new spear, +he found a necklace of priceless pearls lying on the shore. It was the +gift of the water-nymph, but since his heart had been touched by his +mother's tears he had entirely forgotten her. He took the gift to the +maid he loved with never a thought of the giver. + + + + +THE DAUGHTER OF THE KING OF NAPLES + +_The Story of a Prince's Quest_ + + +There was once a king who had an only son. The years passed by and he +did not marry, so one day his father called him before him and said: + +"The time has come when you should marry, my son. You are now at the +age when you should no longer wait to choose your bride. Why is it +that you have not already done this?" + +The prince replied: + +"I will wed no one except the daughter of the king of Naples." + +"Do you know that the king of Naples has a daughter?" asked the father. + +"No," answered the son. "I do not know." + +"I should advise you to find out whether or not the king of Naples +happens to have a daughter before you decide to marry her," remarked +the king dryly. + +"That is good advice," replied the prince. "I thank you." + +Accordingly, he asked everybody he met whether the king of Naples had a +daughter. There was no person to be found who knew anything about it. + +"You'll have to go to Naples to obtain this information," advised the +king. "It is a long journey, but if you are determined to marry nobody +except the daughter of the king of Naples there seems to be no way +except to go there and learn whether or not he has a daughter." + +Accordingly, a ship was prepared and the prince sailed for Naples. It +was a difficult, stormy voyage, but finally they arrived safely. The +moment they landed the beggars came crowding about them. The prince +distributed alms among them most generously. + +Then he asked: "Does any one know whether or not the king of Naples has +a daughter?" + +There was nobody who knew. Finally, however, an old woman said that +once she passed by the royal palace and there was a beautiful face at +the window. + +"I think that perhaps this was the daughter of the king of Naples, but +I do not know," she added. + +"Go at once and find out," ordered the prince. "You shall be richly +rewarded." + +The old woman hastened to the royal palace. She saw the same lovely +face at the window which she had seen before. + +"Lovely lady, I want to talk to you!" she called out. + +Now it happened that day that the princess was feeling decidedly bored +and out of tune with life. It looked like an interesting diversion to +talk with the old woman. Thus it came to pass that she opened the +window graciously. + +"What do you wish, good mother?" she asked. + +"Are you the daughter of the king of Naples?" questioned the old woman. + +"I am," replied the princess. + +"May I come some day to sell you pretty things?" asked the old woman. + +The princess appointed an hour the next day when she might come with +her wares. Then the old woman hurried back to the waiting prince. + +"The king of Naples has a daughter!" she cried. "A very beautiful +daughter, too!" + +The prince showered the old woman with gold. He was so delighted that +at last he had found this out that he could well afford to be generous. + +The old woman thanked him. "I did something else for you, kind sir," +she said. "I made an appointment to see the princess to-morrow. I am +going to the palace at four o'clock to sell pretty things to her." + +"Well done, good mother!" cried the prince, again thrusting his hand +into his purse. "Let me go in your place!" + +The old woman gladly consented, and the prince dressed himself as a +peddler. The next afternoon at four o'clock he went to the palace of +the king of Naples. + +"It is a peddler with many interesting wares for sale," said the +servant who answered his knock. "He speaks of an appointment with your +Royal Highness." + +"Yes," said the princess. "A peddler was to come to-day at four +o'clock with pretty things for me to buy." + +Accordingly, the prince was admitted to the presence of the daughter of +the king of Naples. If she were surprised to find the peddler a +handsome young man instead of the old woman with whom she had talked +the day before she did not show it. + +"What lovely things you have!" she cried as she examined the tray full +of ribbons and beads and trinkets. + +She selected a number of the wares and then she asked, "What is the +price of these?" + +The prince would not set a price. + +"If your Royal Highness is pleased with these," said he, "I have many +more things at home which you will like even better. I'll bring them +to you to-morrow." + +"That will be splendid!" cried the princess. "Come again to-morrow at +this hour." + +The next day the prince again dressed himself as a peddler, but +underneath the outer garments he wore his own rich clothing. When he +was admitted to the royal palace he laid aside his peddler's disguise +and stood before the princess looking like the true prince he was. He +was very handsome in his rich suit of crimson velvet, with his hat with +the long plume in his hand. The princess was so surprised that she +turned pale. + +"Who are you?" she cried. "You surely are not the peddler who came +here yesterday!" + +The prince smiled into her eyes, and, even without the peddler's +garments which were rolled up on the tray, she would have recognized +him. + +He told her of the quest which had led him there, and she admired all +the patience and diligence he had shown in finding out her existence. +When he asked her to marry him at once, she readily consented. They +planned that she should steal down the staircase at night and go away +with him on his ship. + +All this sounded very romantic to the daughter of the king of Naples. +She had never dreamed that a thing like this would ever happen. All +her life she had been so closely guarded that stealing out of the +palace and sailing away in the prince's ship seemed the most wonderful +thing in the world. + +The next night had been agreed on, and long ahead of the appointed hour +the prince sat on horseback at the foot of the stairway down which the +princess would steal. He was very weary with all the excitement of the +past three days, and as he waited he fell asleep. A robber passed by +and saw his sleeping form hanging limply on the saddle. + +"I'll gently deposit him on the ground and get away with his horse and +saddle," thought the thief, as he stopped and regarded the horse with a +critical eye. + +Just then, however, he saw something which made him change his mind +about hurrying away after he had deposited the prince's sleeping form +beneath a tree. There was the loveliest maiden he had ever seen +creeping silently down the stairway. She came straight up to him. + +"I'm ready, beloved," were her words. + +The robber silently lifted her behind him on the horse's back and +together they rode away. + +"Where is your boat?" asked the princess after they had ridden together +for some time without speaking. + +"So it is a boat which the fair lady is looking for," thought the +thief. "I was expecting this good horse to carry us the whole +distance. A boat is a bit difficult to arrange, but it can be done if +necessary. There ought to be a boat around somewhere for me to steal." + +He left the daughter of the king of Naples on the shore while he went +to steal a boat. When he returned the light shone upon his face and +the girl thought that he did not look the same as the day before. + +"Of course, I've seen him only twice," she told herself in an effort to +gain assurance. "It must be the prince, my own true love." + +"Here is our boat," said the robber, and together they embarked. + +As the morning light shone upon the robber the princess saw that he was +not in the least like the prince who had come a-peddling. The robber +laughed. + +"Does my lady know with whom she is going away?" he asked. + +"I thought I was going with the prince who is my lover," she replied, +bursting into bitter tears. + +Running away was not half so romantic and delightful as she had +pictured it. She heartily wished that she were back in the royal +palace. + +As for the prince, he soon awoke and looked about the palace garden +where he was lying under the tree. + +"How did I get here?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes sleepily. + +There was none to tell him, so he decided that his horse must have +thrown him off and run away. + +"It is queer that my fall did not awaken me," he said to himself. "It +is a bit awkward to lose my horse. However, if the princess only keeps +her promise and comes to me we shall manage to get to our ship somehow." + +He waited very patiently for a time and then he began to fear that the +princess had repented of her promise to run away. He did not give her +up, however, until it was almost daylight. Then he sorrowfully +returned to his waiting ship. + +[Illustration: Then he sorrowfully returned to his waiting ship] + +"I have at least found out that the king of Naples has a daughter and +that she is the most beautiful princess in the whole world," he said. +"If she prefers not to have a run-away marriage it will doubtless be +better for me to sail home and tell my father to make arrangements with +the king of Naples for our wedding. There are some advantages in this +more dignified method." + +Thus it happened that the prince sailed away for his own country, never +dreaming that the princess had kept her promise to steal down the +stairway in the night and that she was then in the hands of the wicked +robber. + + +The daughter of the king of Naples sobbed and cried so loud when she +found that it was not her own prince with whom she was sailing that the +robber became quite disgusted with her. + +"I thought you were a pretty little maid," he said, "when I first saw +you, but now I've changed my mind about you." + +Indeed no person with good eyesight would have called the princess +pretty at that moment, with her face all red and swollen with much +weeping. + +The robber decided that he did not want to bother with her any longer, +so he landed in the country of the Junqueiras and left her there. The +princess wandered about the place until night came without seeing a +single soul,--nothing but the sea, sky and rocks. + +She was really, however, not far from the hut in which there lived the +wife and daughter of a poor fisherman. In the stillness of the night +they heard a cry. + +"Some one is in trouble outside, mother," said the daughter. + +"Perhaps the pirates have come and by this cry are trying to lure us +out," answered her mother cautiously. There were often pirate ships +which stopped there. The daughter listened carefully. + +"No, mother," she insisted. "I'm sure this is a girl's cry." + +The two women opened their door and crept out in the darkness. The +sobs of the princess soon led them to the place upon the rocks where +she lay crying as if her heart would break. They lifted her tenderly +and carried her home. + +The fisherman's daughter gave the princess some of her own clothes to +wear and they lived together as if they were sisters. Together they +did all the work of the little house and the princess was too busy to +weep. Sometimes, however, she cried in the night when the fisherman's +wife and daughter were asleep. She wept for her lost love and for the +royal palace of the king of Naples which had always been her home. + +Now it happened that the prince's ship encountered a great storm and +was driven about by the sea. At last it was blown by the gales to the +land of the Junqueiras. + +The prince saw the fisherman's daughter and the princess standing on +the rocks by the sea. He stared hard at the princess. Then he spoke +in a voice which shook. + +"You remind me of some one I used to know," he said. "Tell me your +name, I pray you, fair maid." + +The princess looked down at the garments of the fisher maid which she +wore. She blushed. The prince she had recognized the very moment she +had seen him. + +"I am the daughter of the king of Naples," she said. + +The fisherman's daughter stared at her in amazement. + +"She is no king's daughter!" she cried. "She is a poor abandoned maid +who came to us out of the sea. We found her upon these very rocks. It +is my own dress that she is wearing. A king's daughter, indeed! She +is no more the daughter of the king of Naples than I am!" + +But the prince had taken the daughter of the king of Naples in his +arms. As soon as they returned to the palace their wedding was +celebrated with great joy and they lived together as God lives with the +angels. + + + + +[Illustration: Headpiece] + + + + +MARIA-OF-THE-FOREST + +_The Story of a King and His Fate_ + + +Once upon a time there was a young king who went into the deep forest +on a hunting expedition. He and his favorite page became separated +from the rest of the party and soon they realized that they were lost. +As night approached they found the rude hut of a charcoal burner and +begged for permission to pass the night there. They were received most +hospitably. + +Just at the hour of midnight the king was awakened from his sleep by a +voice. This is what it said: + + "Here in this hut is born to-night + The maiden of your fate: + You can't escape your lot, young king; + Your fate for you will wait. + + 'Tis fate--'tis fate--'tis fate." + + +The king turned over on his pillow and tried to sleep, but the strange +voice kept ringing in his ears. He rose early. + +As soon as he saw the charcoal burner the man said: "A baby daughter +was born to me last night." + +"At what time?" asked the king. + +"It was just midnight," replied the charcoal burner. + +The king awakened his page and told him what had happened. + +"I refuse to wed any maid born in this poor hut," he said. "You must +help me to escape this fate." + +"What can I do about it?" asked the page, yawning. + +"You must steal this babe this very day and put it to death," said the +king sternly. + +The page did not dare refuse, and easily obtained possession of the +baby when no one was looking. He carried her away into the deep +forest, but he did not have the heart to put an innocent babe to death. +He left her in a hollow tree, wrapped up in the bright red sash he wore. + +When he had returned to the king he confessed that he had been too +tender-hearted to slay the baby. The king was angry. + +"Take me to the baby," he said. "I'll do the deed myself." + +Though they searched long and faithfully they were unable to find the +hollow tree where the baby had been left. They, of course, did not +wish to return to the hut of the charcoal burner, and at length they +found their way out of the deep forest. + +"No one will ever discover that baby if I could not find it myself! +She will soon die without food," said the page. + +The king agreed that it was quite impossible for the babe to escape +death, but he could not forget the strange voice which had said: + + "Here in this hut is born to-night + The maiden of your fate: + You can't escape your lot, young king; + Your fate for you will wait. + + 'Tis fate--'tis fate--'tis fate." + + +Now it happened that very day that a woodcutter was working in the +forest. Suddenly he heard what sounded like the cry of a baby. + +"There can't be a child here in the deep forest," he said to himself +and went on with his work. + +The cry continued, however, and it sounded very near, almost under the +woodcutter's feet. He looked into the hollow log and there he found a +dimpled baby girl wrapped in a bright red sash. + +"Poor little thing! Her own mother has abandoned her. My good wife +will be a mother to her," he said. + +The woodcutter's wife had no children of her own and received the baby +gladly. She named her Maria-of-the-forest. As the days flew by and +the babe thrived under her care, she could not have loved her more had +she been her own child. + +The weeks and months passed and soon the little Maria-of-the-forest had +grown into a lovely little girl five years old. Her kind foster mother +made a bonnet for her out of the bright red sash which she had found +wrapped about her the first time she saw her. It made Maria's dark +eyes look even brighter than before. + +Now it happened that the king and his page were again hunting in the +forest and passed by the house of the wood cutter. The page noticed +the pretty little girl and the red bonnet she wore. He called her to +him and examined it carefully. + +"There can be no doubt that material is from my own red sash," he +confessed to the king. "This woodcutter's daughter could have such a +bonnet as this in no other way." + +The king bade him make inquiries about the child and soon the page +found out that the little maid was in truth the baby he had left in the +hollow tree. The king ordered him again to steal her. This time the +king plotted her death by drowning. He had a box made for her, put her +in it, and threw her into the sea with his own hand. + +"I refuse to wed any girl brought up in a woodcutter's hut," he raged. +"I'll escape that fate." + +Nevertheless he could not escape the memory of the strange voice which +had said: + + "Here in this hut is born to-night + The maiden of your fate: + You can't escape your lot, young king; + Your fate for you will wait. + + 'Tis fate--'tis fate--'tis fate." + + +It was most annoying to remember it. + +It happened soon after that a ship encountered the box floating upon +the sea. The sailors rescued it and opened it with interest. Inside +they were surprised to find a pretty little dark-eyed girl with a +bright red bonnet on her head. She could not tell them where she had +come from but she said her name was Maria-of-the-forest. + +When the sailors arrived in their own country they told the story of +finding the child and the king asked to see her. He and the queen were +so pleased with her lovely face and gentle manners that they received +her into the royal palace. She was brought up as a lady-of-waiting to +their own little daughter of about the same age. + +When, after a dozen years, the princess was wedded, all the kings of +near-by countries were invited to the marriage feast. The king who had +been lost in the forest came with the others. At the feast there was +no one more beautiful than Maria-of-the-forest. The king danced with +her. + +"Who is the girl?" was his eager question. + +"She has been reared in the royal palace as if she were in truth the +sister of the bride," was the reply. + +The king fell in love with the beautiful maid and gave her a ring. The +page, however, was suspicious when he heard her name. He lost no time +in making inquiries about her. What he found out made him very sure +that she was in truth the daughter of the charcoal burner. He reported +his suspicions to the king. + +"Never mind," said the king. "I'll wed the maid anyway. One can't +escape from one's fate." + + + + +THE SEVEN ENCHANTED PRINCES + +_The Story of How Honoria Kept Her Promise_ + + +Long ago there was a little maid who lived all alone with her +grandmother. They were very poor. The girl's name was Honoria. + +One day the grandmother sent the girl out to sell some of the oranges +from their orange tree. + +"You must bring home at least three vintens to me," she said. "Don't +dare return without at least that small amount of money." + +Honoria went from door to door trying to sell the oranges. Every one +seemed to have plenty of them that day. There was nobody who would +purchase a single one. + +She walked on and on through the town, everywhere obtaining the same +answer, "We do not wish to purchase any oranges to-day." + +Finally she found herself outside the town and in the forest. There +was a house with the door wide open and on the table in front of the +door lay three vintens. There was no one in sight and nobody answered +Honoria's knock at the door. + +"I'll take the money and leave some oranges in place of it," said +Honoria. "That will not be stealing." + +Accordingly, she selected some of the largest and finest of her oranges +and placed them on the table. She put the money away carefully to take +to her grandmother. Then she turned to leave, but found that the door +was closed. + +She tried her best to open it but could not. Neither could she open +any of the windows to climb out by that means. The windows were all +fastened just as securely as the door. + +"What shall I do?" cried the girl, who was now thoroughly frightened. + +She did not like the idea of remaining a prisoner in the house in the +forest. All day she tried to find some way of escape, but there seemed +nothing to do except to wait until somebody came to her aid. + +"This house is not far from the city. Surely some one will be passing +this way and will come and help me get out," said Honoria. "I hope +they'll come before night." + +There was nothing to eat in the house and she was thankful enough for +the big basket full of juicy oranges. + +At last it grew dark. Then Honoria heard footsteps outside the house. +She could not see who was coming, but a key was turned in the lock and +some one entered. She was so frightened that she hid under the table. + +A lighted candle showed that seven dwarfs had entered the house. They +had brought food with them, and they at once went to work to prepare +their evening meal. + +"Who left us all these fine oranges?" asked one of the dwarfs. + +"I do not know," replied another. "Some one has surely been here and +it must have been a kind friend." + +Honoria was almost tempted to crawl from under the table and show +herself, but she decided that it would be better to stay where she was +and go home the next day when it was light. + +When morning came, however, she found that she had been sleeping so +soundly that she had not heard the seven dwarfs when they left the +house. The door was fastened just as securely as before. + +Honoria looked about the house and saw that there was enough work to +keep her busy all day. There were dishes to wash and floors to sweep +and beds to make. Fortunately the dwarfs had left plenty of food. + +When night came she heard the footsteps approaching and again hid under +the table. As soon as the seven dwarfs came into the house they saw +that it had been changed wonderfully during their absence. + +"Our dishes are all washed!" cried one of the dwarfs. "Last night we +forgot to wash them after supper!" + +"Our beds are all made!" cried another. "We left home so early this +morning we did not have time to make them!" + +"Our floors are all swept and everything is in order!" cried another. +"We never have looked so neat and clean!" + +[Illustration: "We never have looked so neat and clean"] + +"Somebody must have been here," said one of the dwarfs. + +"It is surely a kind friend," said another. + +"Perhaps they are here yet!" cried another. + +"If they are men we'll treat them like brothers and if they are women +we'll treat them like sisters," said the seventh dwarf who had not +spoken before. He had been looking around the house carefully, but he +had seen no one. + +Honoria crawled out from under the table. The dwarfs joined hands and +danced around her in a circle. + +"We have a big sister now!" they cried. "A big sister to take care of +us!" + +Honoria knew that if she said anything about leaving the dwarfs they +would be heartbroken. She knew, too, that her grandmother would give +her a terrible beating for staying away from home so long. The easiest +thing seemed to be to remain in the forest and keep house for the seven +dwarfs. + +Weeks and months went by and Honoria led a happy life in the forest. +The dwarfs brought home plenty of delicious food and they also brought +her the prettiest dresses she had ever seen. They were green like the +moss and the leaves of the forest and brown like the rich earth about +the house. There was a little hat with red berries upon it which +Honoria thought the most charming hat in the world. She tried it on +and ran to the brook to look at her reflection, for there was not a +single mirror in the house. + +One day the king passed by with his gay hunting party. That day +Honoria had on her prettiest moss-green dress and the king thought her +the loveliest maiden he had ever seen. He stopped to chat with her. + +"Do you live here in the forest all alone?" he asked. + +"No, I keep house for my seven brothers," was Honoria's answer. + +"What a lovely little housekeeper!" cried the king. "Marry me and come +to live in the royal palace!" + +"I must ask my brothers first," responded Honoria. "I will tell you +to-morrow what they say." + +That night when the seven dwarfs came home Honoria told them about her +visit from the king. + +"How can we spare our big sister?" cried one of the dwarfs. + +"Who will keep house for us when she goes away?" cried another. + +"Who will make the beds so nicely?" asked another. + +"Who will sweep our floors?" + +"Who will wash our dishes?" + +"Who will sew on our buttons?" + +"I have known that our big sister would marry sometime," said the +seventh dwarf who had not spoken, but who had been thinking quietly. +"Why shouldn't she marry the king?" + +"We must let her marry the king! We must not be selfish!" cried all +the dwarfs together. + +They decided that Honoria should marry the king, but they asked her not +to let him kiss her until he had first said these words: "By permission +of the seven enchanted princes." He would have to remember it without +being reminded by Honoria. + +Honoria told the king what her brothers had said and the wedding was +celebrated with great joy. + +When the king tried to kiss Honoria she burst into tears. He had +forgotten all about saying: "By permission of the seven enchanted +princes." + +Honoria would not let the king kiss her, and she cried so much and +struggled so hard that the king thought she had gone crazy. He ordered +her shut up in the dark cell underneath the palace. Then he married a +new queen. + +Now it happened that there was a faithful servant who was quite sure +that Honoria was not crazy. When Honoria told her of the words which +the king must say before he kissed her this servant tried to think of +some way to help her. She was very angry at the fact that there was a +new queen. + +One day she went to the queen and said: "Queen Honoria who is shut up +in the dark cell underneath the palace is much more clever than you +are." + +"What does Queen Honoria do that is so clever?" asked the new queen. + +"Queen Honoria will take a sword and cut off her head. Then she will +put it back on again so that it is as good as new. I don't believe you +are clever enough to do that." + +"I never tried it," answered the new queen, "but just to show you that +I'm as clever as Queen Honoria I'll do it." + +With these words she seized a sword and cut off her head. Of course +she fell dead immediately. The king married a new queen. + +Then the servant went to the new queen and said: "Queen Honoria who is +shut up in the dark cell underneath the palace is more clever than you +are." + +The new queen was indignant at this remark. "Why is she more clever +than I am?" she asked. "What can she do that I can't do?" + +"She can take a sword and cut off her hand. Then she'll stick the hand +on again and it will be as good as new." + +"I've never tried it, but I'll do it just to convince you that I am +clever too," said this new queen. + +She took up a sword and cut off her right hand. Then she fainted away. +The arm grew full of poison and the queen soon died, but not until she +had told the king what the servant had said to her. + +The king was very angry at the servant and called her to him. + +"What do you mean," he thundered, "by telling such a story about Queen +Honoria's magic powers?" + +"I wanted you to remember where you had found Queen Honoria," replied +the servant. + +Then the king suddenly remembered how he had first seen Queen Honoria +when she was in the house in the forest. He thought of how pretty she +had been in the dress which looked like soft green moss. Then he +thought of how she had said that she must ask permission of her seven +brothers before she consented to become his queen. + +"By permission of the seven enchanted princes!" he cried. "I forgot to +say these words before I kissed my dear Queen Honoria!" + +He quickly ran to the dark cell underneath the palace where she was +confined. He said the magic words and kissed his fair queen who was +just as beautiful as before she had been shut up in the cell, though a +trifle paler. + +In the house in the forest the seven dwarfs who were in truth seven +enchanted princes suddenly were disenchanted. + +"Our dear sister Honoria did not forget us after all," they cried in +joy. + + + + +THE LISTENING KING + +_The Story of the Trouble Which Came to Him_ + + +Once upon a time there lived a king who liked to walk in disguise about +the streets of the city, listening at people's doors. It was, in fact, +his favorite amusement. Other kings of that land had been fond of war +or hunting or fishing or games, but there had never before been one who +liked to listen at doors. For this reason he was called "the listening +king." + +"It is the greatest fun I have," he often said to his counsellors. +"Being a king would be a stupid life if one didn't have some diversion." + +"Be careful that it does not get you into trouble," said the wise men. +"We have often heard that listening to other people's secrets is a +dangerous practice." + +"I've had nothing but pleasure from it, anyway," the king would reply. +Then he would add, "So far, at least." + +Sometimes he would take a friend or two with him, and sometimes he +would go alone. The habit of listening at doors became more and more a +favorite one to him as the months and years passed. + +Now in that city there lived a man of humble station who had three +pretty daughters. One evening the king passed his house and stopped at +the door to listen. + +"Whom would you like to marry?" one of the girls was asking. It +happened to be the youngest one. + +"I'd like to marry the royal baker," the eldest sister replied. + +"Why?" asked the youngest one. + +"So that I might always eat fresh bread," was the reply. + +"Whom would you like to marry?" the youngest sister asked the middle +one. + +"I'd like to marry the royal meat cook so that I might always eat meat +roasted just to a turn," was her answer. + +"Whom would you like to marry?" asked the eldest and the middle sister +together. + +"I'd like to marry the listening king himself," was the reply which +their youngest sister made. + +"Silly! Silly!" cried her two sisters. "We have perhaps a chance of +getting our wishes, but what chance have you?" + +"If one wishes for nothing splendid one never gets anything splendid," +replied the youngest sister with a blush which made her look very +charming to the king as he peeped through the keyhole. + +The king went away with a shrewd smile upon his face. The next day he +sent for the three sisters to come to the palace. They were very much +frightened. + +"Well," said the king to the eldest girl, "do you want to marry the +royal baker?" + +"Yes, your majesty," she replied. "I have no objections." + +The king turned to her sister. + +"How is it with you?" he asked. "What do you say to marrying the royal +meatcook?" + +"I'll be most happy to marry him, your majesty," she answered. + +The youngest girl was blushing like a rose and her heart was thumping +so that she could scarcely breathe. The king smiled as he noticed her +fair head bowed upon her breast. + +"Would you like to marry the listening king?" he asked her gently. + +"Yes, your majesty," she responded, so low that the king could hardly +hear her. + +"Very well," said the king. "I'll have all these weddings celebrated +at once." + +Thus it happened that the two eldest sisters got their wishes and +married the royal baker and the royal meatcook, while the youngest one +wedded the listening king himself. The others were very angry at her +luck and their hearts were filled with envy. + +"Why didn't we wish to be queens or at least princesses?" one asked the +other. "It would have been just as easy to have had our wishes +granted!" + +"Why didn't we! Why didn't we! How stupid we were!" cried the other. + +They passed the time in plotting against their youngest sister, the +queen. + +A year flew by and twin sons were born to the royal pair. They had +gold stars on their foreheads. The whole kingdom was filled with +rejoicing. As for the listening king, he was so happy that he forgot +to listen at people's doors. + +The only persons in the whole country who were not happy were the two +jealous sisters. They stole the tiny babies out of the palace and +threw them into the river. + +"Trouble has at last come to our listening king," said the wise men, +when the loss was discovered. + +The basket in which the twins had been placed floated away down the +stream. It was found by a miller. + +"What have we here?" he asked his wife as together they removed the +cover from the basket. + +"I guess it is something good to eat," said his wife. "What do you +think it is?" + +"I guess it is a poor little puppy which some one wanted to drown," +replied the miller. + +Then they took the cover off the basket. The two babies opened their +eyes and smiled just then. The miller and his wife were the most +surprised people in the whole country and also the happiest ones. + +[Illustration: The miller and his wife were the most surprised people +in the whole country] + +"What beautiful children!" cried the miller. + +"Let's keep them!" cried his wife. + +"Of course we'll keep them," replied the miller. "The good God himself +must have sent them to us in answer to our prayers." + +Just then the miller's wife noticed the golden stars upon their +foreheads. + +"What does this mean?" she asked. + +"I don't know," answered her husband as he examined them carefully. +"Perhaps it is just a sign that they are truly the gift of God." + +The miller and his wife cared for the two children as if they had been +their own. They lived such a long distance from the palace that they +never heard the news that the royal babes were missing. + +As the two boys grew older they became the handsomest, cleverest lads +in the whole kingdom. The gold stars shone and twinkled upon their +foreheads. At last the miller's wife made little caps for them to wear +to hide the stars. They were altogether too conspicuous. + +Then one sad summer a pestilence came upon the land and the good miller +and his wife died. The two children were left alone in the world. The +listening king had decreed all the orphaned children in the kingdom +should be brought to the royal city that they might be fed and cared +for. The miller's two orphans went with the others, and the king's +wicked sister-in-laws saw them. They recognized them at once because +of the golden stars upon their foreheads. + +"We must make a new plot to destroy the royal children," said one +sister to the other. "And we must be quick about it or the king or +queen will see them and recognize them, too, by the golden stars." + +"Are you quite sure these are the two royal babes we threw into the +river?" asked the other sister doubtfully. "It is a bit difficult for +me to believe that our sister's children can be so handsome." + +"I'm entirely certain of it," assured her sister. "There is no one +except the royal babes who could have those golden stars." + +While the wicked sisters plotted, the two children had approached the +royal gardens. Inside the garden there was a beautiful parrot with +feathers of green and gold. + +"I'm going to catch that bird," said one of the brothers. "Wait here +while I go inside the gates." + +He could not catch the parrot and he called his brother to come and +help him. Together they succeeded; and, with the beautiful +green-and-gold parrot tightly clutched, they tried to slip outside the +gate of the royal gardens. + +Just as they were almost out, the great gates swiftly closed and caught +their garments. + +"We're caught! We're caught!" cried the two children. "How can we +ever get the gates unfastened!" + +At the sound of their cries, the royal gardeners, the courtiers and the +listening king himself came to the rescue. + +When the king saw the golden stars upon their foreheads he leaned +against the nearest tree for support. + +"What children are these?" he asked in a voice which shook. + +"I never saw them before," replied the head gardener. "I think they +are some of the orphan children which the great mercy and clemency of +your royal majesty have caused to be rescued from the plague." + +"Who are your parents, my children?" asked one of the courtiers. + +"We are the children of the good miller and his wife," they replied. +"Our kind foster parents are now dead with the plague." + +"Where did this miller and his wife find you?" asked the king eagerly. + +Then the two children told the story of how the miller had found them +in a basket in the river. They knew it well, for it was their favorite +story of all the ones which the miller's wife had told them. + +The courtiers looked at each other in amazement. Every one had noticed +the bright stars shining on the children's brows. + +"I believe you are the two dear babes lost from this palace!" cried the +king as he took them in his arms. + +"Who put them in that basket?" asked the king's counsellors. + +"If I knew you may be sure that fitting punishment would be visited +upon them!" cried the king. + +The beautiful green-and-gold parrot had escaped from the children's +arms and had flown back to a tree near the gates of the royal gardens. +Suddenly he was heard to speak. + +"Go find the king's sisters-in-law," were the words he said. + +The king's sisters-in-law were quickly brought into the garden. A look +at their guilty faces convinced every one that they were the ones who +had placed the royal babes in the basket and had thrown them into the +river. + +"You shall now receive the punishment which you have so richly +deserved!" cried the king as he frowned upon them sternly. + +"Where is the good queen?" some one asked. + +The queen had been sleeping in her own apartments and had not heard the +noise in the garden. When the courtiers brought her there and she saw +the two handsome boys with the bright stars shining on their foreheads, +she fainted with the joy of it. + + + + +JOSÉ THE BEAST SLAYER + +_The Story of a Boy Who Grew Up in the Forest_ + + +There was once a king who had a little daughter. He went to the Wise +Man of the Forest to learn how best to bring her up, and this is what +he was told: + +"For twelve years you must keep your daughter in a tower in the forest. +It should have no door, only a little window through which you may pass +food to her. You must give her meat which has no bones in it." + +The king ordered a tower constructed in the deep forest. It had no +door, and only a little window. Here the princess was placed. Every +day food was passed to her through the little window. The king himself +took charge of this, so that he might be sure that there was no meat +given her which had bones in it. + +The years flew by, and at last the twelve year period was nearly up. +Then the king went away one day and left the servants to carry food to +the princess. They were careless, and gave her meat which had a bone +in it. + +The little princess had grown very tired of being shut up in the tower +of the forest. + +"Ah," said she when she discovered the bone in her meat. "At last I +have something with which to make this little window larger. I've +tried in vain to make it bigger with my fingers." + +She used the bone to dig away the wall each side of the window and soon +the little opening had grown so large that the princess could lean her +head out of it and look up at lofty trees. That very day a duke passed +that way on a hunting expedition and saw the beautiful princess in the +tower. He fell in love with her immediately. + +Now that the princess had some one to help her make the hole larger it +was an easy matter to make it big enough to escape. That very night +she ran away with the duke. + +When the king returned from his journey he found the tower in the +forest entirely empty. There was nothing but the yawning hole to tell +him of his daughter's escape. He tried in vain to find out what had +become of her, but there was no person who could tell him anything +about her. + +The princess had gone with the duke across a great river which no one +else knew how to cross. She lived in a big cave in the rocks, and +after all the years in the tower it seemed a wonderful home indeed. +She was never tired of admiring the trees and flowers of the forest and +listening to the songs of the birds. When at last her baby son was +born she thought that she was the very happiest person in the whole +world. + +Now when the baby was two years old, the duke decided that they must +take him to a hermitage to be baptized. They went down to the great +river and he carried his little son across it in safety. Then he +returned for the princess, but on the way his foot slipped and he fell +into the river. The strong current bore him swiftly away, leaving the +princess on one side of the river and her little son on the other. + +"How shall I get across?" cried the princess when she saw what had +happened. + +"Don't worry, mother," replied the child. "I'll come and get you." + +To her amazement he crossed the great river in safety and bravely +escorted his mother to the other bank in spite of her tears and cries +of fear. + +"Well done, my son!" she said when on the other bank. "You are indeed +a son to be proud of!" + +They went to a church and the boy was baptized. José the Beast Slayer +was the name he chose. Then they wandered on until at last they came +to a house with a door in which a little window had been cut. The boy +thrust in his arm and opened the door as if it had been his own. + +"Walk in, mother dear," were his words. + +Together they entered the house and together they explored the various +rooms. There was nobody there and there was nothing to eat. +Accordingly, José went out begging. He asked alms at the royal palace +and there he was given money to buy food. There was even enough left +over to pay for a gun. + +Now that he owned a gun there was no need of begging any more. He shot +plenty of game for his mother and what was left he carried to the royal +palace to give to the king. + +One day in the deep forest he entered a cave where the giant of the +forest lived. + +"What are you doing here, little penny chicken?" asked the huge giant +as he frowned down at José. + +[Illustration: He frowned down at José] + +"I may be a little penny chicken, but I'm not in the least afraid of +giants," replied the boy boldly. + +"What, a little penny chicken like you not afraid of me!" cried the +giant as he picked him up roughly and set him on his neck. + +José seized the giant's long beard and drew it around his neck so +tightly that the giant fell to the floor dead. Then José seized one of +the money-bags and ran home with it to his mother. + +"You must carry some of this to the king," said his mother when she saw +it and had heard his story. + +Accordingly, José carried the money as a gift to the king. + +"Who is bringing me all this?" asked the king when he saw it. + +"A little lad," replied the king's servants. + +"Lead him in to me," said the king. "I'd like to see him." + +Accordingly, the boy was led before the throne. + +"What is your name, my lad?" asked the king kindly. + +"I am called José the Beast Slayer, your majesty," replied the boy as +he bowed low before the throne. + +"Who are your parents?" asked the king. + +"My father is dead," replied José, "and my mother is a princess who ran +away from a tower in the forest." + +José had often heard the story of his mother's life in the tower. It +was the tale he liked best of all. + +At the boy's words the king started and looked at him sharply. + +"Tell me about this tower," he said eagerly. + +"It was a tower in the deep forest," replied José. "It had no door, +only a little window through which food was passed to her. She could +never have any meat with a bone. This was because the Wise Man of the +Forest had told her father that it was the best way to bring her up. +One day her father went away and the servants gave her meat with a bone +in it and--" + +"I always suspected something like that," interrupted the king. + +José looked at him in surprise. + +"Were you there?" he asked. + +The king nodded. "Go on with your story, my boy," he said. + +José told all the circumstances of his mother's escape from the tower, +just as she had so often described them to him. Tears were running +down the king's cheeks when at last the story was ended. + +"My lad, you are my own grandson!" cried the king as he took him in his +arms. "Proud am I, too, that I have a grandson like you! Where is +your mother now?" + +"My mother is in the house in the forest," replied José. "It is she +who told me to carry the money to the king." + +"Why did she never come to me?" asked the father. + +"I think she was afraid she'd be punished for running away from the +tower without any door," was José's reply. + +When the princess was brought home to the royal palace there was a +great feast held which lasted for three days and three nights. Then +the king sent his men with José into the forest to the cave where the +giant had lived. They brought home so many bags of gold that it +required the entire royal army to transport it. + +Years passed, and when the old king died it was José the Beast Slayer +who was king of the land. + + + + +[Illustration: Headpiece] + + + + +THE PRINCESS OF THE LOST ISLAND + +_The Story of Euphemia and Her Good Deeds_ + + +Euphemia was the daughter of King Atlas and the granddaughter of the +great god Jupiter. She was more beautiful than her fifteen sisters, +though they were all lovely. + +All the ten sons of Neptune admired her charms and sought to marry her, +but she would wed none of them. There was, in truth, no one in all the +world who was worthy of her. Euphemia herself knew this and preferred +to remain a star in the constellation of the Hyades, her sisters, +rather than wed an unworthy husband. + +Euphemia became a Christian, they say, through the efforts of the +cherubim. She decided to come down to earth and go about doing good +deeds. Accordingly, she came to the island called Seven Cities. + +Now in the island of Seven Cities there lived a rich and venerable +Christian prince. He adopted Euphemia as his own daughter. She was +called Princess Euphemia of the island of Seven Cities. + +As soon as she came to the island all pain and misery vanished from it. +Joy reigned. Banquets were held, songs were sung, gay dances were +danced. It was as if every day were a feast day. + +Time passed. Many changes came to the island, but Euphemia herself +remained always young, always beautiful. + +One day two priests from the outside world visited the island. They +saw the magnificent palaces, the beautiful gardens. Two tame lions +followed them about. They were as gentle as if they had been dogs. + +"We are in the celestial regions," said one priest to the other. + +"Let us stay here forever," said the other priest. "It is indeed the +Paradise of which we have dreamed." + +The two priests had come in a tiny launch from a large boat. + +"We should return and tell our friends about this celestial region," +they agreed. "To-morrow we will all explore this wonderful country." + +It was almost dark when the two priests reached their ship by the +little launch. They reported all the things they had heard and seen in +the new land. + +The next morning, however, the island had entirely disappeared. The +water stretched before their gaze with an unbroken rippling blue +surface. + +"What has become of our beautiful island," the good priests asked in +amazement. + +"We were anchored off the shore of one of the enchanted islands," was +the opinion of everybody. + +Euphemia, they say, has not yet disappeared entirely. She has changed +her form. She is still found in the Azores in the plant called +SOLANEA, the flower of St. Cosmo. She is still doing good deeds. Pain +disappears when she comes, just as it did in the lost island. St. +Cosmo, the patron saint of all good physicians, could never have gained +his reputation without her good deeds. + + + + +[Illustration: Headpiece] + + + + +WHY THE ALVÉLOA BIRD RECEIVED A BLESSING + +_The Story of the Bird of Good Luck_ + + +In the Azores there is a little bird which is loved and protected by +every one. Its name is the Alvéloa. It has a gray back, white breast, +head and throat, and black and white wings. The tail of this little +bird is always in motion. This is the reason: + +Long ago when the wicked king Herod ordered all the babies to be +killed, the Holy Virgin fled into Egypt with the Christ child safe in +her arms. They rode upon an ass. + +The Virgin glanced fearfully behind her as they went along the way. At +any moment Herod's messengers might come in pursuit. The tracks of the +ass showed plainly in the dusty road. + +"Oh!" cried the Holy Mother, "Our enemies will see our tracks! They +will know in what direction we have fled!" + +The Alvéloa was nearby and heard. She spread out her tail like a fan +and shook it about in the dusty road. The tracks of the ass were +completely brushed away. + +The Holy Mother smiled upon her. + +"For this kind deed, little bird, your tail shall be always in motion. +By this sign you shall be known and your life shall be spared." + +To this very day the tail of the Alvéloa is in motion. St. Michael, +himself, the patron of the island of S. Miguel, has asked a special +protection for the little bird in his island. + + +The Alvéloa flew all the way before the Virgin, showing her the road +into Egypt. + +"My blessing upon you, little bird," said the Virgin. "May you always +have the strength to slay your enemy." + +To this very day the Alvéloa is able to slay birds much larger than +herself. + +"The Alvéloa kills the hawk," is a saying in the Azores. + + +If one wakes in the morning and sees this little gray and white bird +before his window he will have a lucky day. + +On the way into Egypt the Virgin pointed to the lupine which grew by +the wayside. + +"Eat, little bird," she said. "Eat until your hunger is satisfied. +Blessings be upon you for your kind deeds to me and to the Holy Child. +May good fortune and plenty always attend you." + +To this very day this bird blessed by the Virgin is an emblem of good +luck. + + + + +[Illustration: Headpiece] + + + + +WHY THE CODORNIZ BIRD RECEIVED A CURSE + +_A Story of the Bird Who Walks Humbly_ + + +When the Holy Virgin was fleeing into Egypt to escape the persecutions +of Herod, the Codorniz bird flew about making a great racket, calling +out, "Come this way." + +"Keep quiet!" cried the Virgin. "Our enemies will hear you! They will +come in pursuit!" + +In spite of her words the Codorniz kept up its noise. + +"My curse be upon you," said the Virgin. "You shall always walk +humbly. You shall never fly high and smile at the sun." + +To this very day the Codorniz bird walks humbly. It has many enemies +who love to slay it to devour. + + + + +OUTSIDE THE DOOR LIKE THE MOTHER OF ST. PETER + +_A Story of Why She Stays Outside_ + + +If there is no response when you ring the bell or knock at a door in +the Azores, you have to stay "outside the door like the mother of St. +Peter," they say. This is the story which tells why the mother of St. +Peter had to stay outside: + +The very stingiest woman in the whole city was St. Peter's mother. She +was so stingy that she never gave away a single thing to a beggar. No +matter if the beggar were old or sick or blind or crippled or even a +mother with a babe in her arms, she always made the same reply, "I have +nothing to give away." + +Not even when there was famine in the land, but plenty in her own home, +would the mother of St. Peter share with the unfortunate. + +When St. Peter was made the guardian of the keys of Heaven, of course +he tried to bring his mother inside the celestial gate. + +"When your mother lived upon the earth did she ever share her plenty +with any of my poor unfortunate children?" was the question. + +St. Peter thought hard. His mother had been a worthy, virtuous woman +in many respects, but he could recall nothing which she had ever given +to the poor and the unfortunate. + +At last he remembered a day when she had gone into the garden to get +vegetables for the soup. + +A poor beggar woman had stood outside the garden gate, crying: "Alms! +Alms, for the love of God!" + +[Illustration: "Alms! Alms!"] + +"Get away from my garden," said St. Peter's mother. "I have no alms to +give you. If I give away the vegetables from my garden, I'd soon have +nothing left to feed my own family. I'd be begging myself." + +The poor beggar woman started to turn away with tears in her eyes. An +onion stalk fell from the hand of St. Peter's mother. It was bruised +by its fall and covered with mud, but the beggar seized it eagerly. + +"Keep it. I wouldn't use it anyway," snapped St. Peter's mother. + +St. Peter could remember nothing else to tell, so he related this story. + +"Go and find the onion," was the comment. + +When St. Peter at last found that onion stalk, it was still dirty with +the mud of the garden and crumpled by its fall, just as it had been +when his mother had given it to the beggar. + +"Hold out the onion and pull your mother in," was the order. + +St. Peter held out the onion stalk. It did not reach very far down +into Purgatory, but his mother jumped up as high as she could and +seized it eagerly. + +Slowly and very carefully he pulled her up by it to the Heavenly Gate. +Just as she was about to enter the door the onion stalk broke. + +"I'm sorry. You'll have to stay outside," said St. Peter. "I've done +the best I could for you. The onion stalk was not strong enough to +pull you through." + +Thus it happens that the mother of St. Peter has to stay outside the +door of Heaven. + + + + +WHY THE OWL FLIES AT NIGHT + +_A Story of Good St. Anthony_ + + +Long ago there was an image of the good St. Anthony washed ashore by +the rough waves of the Bay of Angra. A little chapel was built to +receive it on the steep slopes of Monte Brasil overlooking the bay and +here it still remains. + +Once upon a time a little boy named Pedro lived in a tiny cottage near +St. Anthony's shrine. His mother had died and his father had married a +new wife who was often cruel to him. She dressed him in ragged, shabby +clothes and the other children of the parish often pointed their +fingers at him in scorn because of his poor garments. + +One day as Pedro knelt before the image of the good saint a strange +thing happened. His clothing became new and whole. He was dressed as +well as any boy in the parish. + +"Where did you get clothes like this?" asked the stepmother when he +came home that night. "I always knew you were a good-for-nothing. I +believe you have stolen them." + +Little Pedro told what had happened, but the woman would not believe +him. + +"Don't stand there talking any longer!" she cried. "Take the water +jars and go to the spring and fill them for me. Hurry, I don't want to +be kept waiting for the water!" + +Pedro lifted the two great water jars which stood on the floor and +slowly climbed up the hill to the little spring which supplied water +for the family needs during the greater part of the year. Just now the +spring had failed, as the stepmother had found out that very day. + +[Illustration: Pedro lifted the two great jars and slowly climbed up +the hill] + +"There is no water in the spring now," said an old man whom little +Pedro met on the way. The boy had almost reached the spring and the +big jars were growing heavy even though they were empty. + +"I'm so nearly there I'll go on and see for myself," decided the lad. +"The other spring is so far away and the jars will be so heavy that I +can never carry them all the long distance. Perhaps there is still a +little water here." + +When he reached the spring he was surprised to see the water flowing +faster than in many a day. He remembered, too, the new suit of clothes +he was wearing. + +"Luck is with me to-day!" he cried as he filled the water jars. "The +good saint Anthony is my friend. He it is who has given me my handsome +clothing and he it is who has blessed the spring for me." + +When he returned home with the jars full of water his stepmother stared +at him in amazement. He had not been gone long enough to obtain it +from the farther spring. + +"Where did you get this water?" she asked, as soon as she could find +words with which to speak. + +Pedro told her that it came from the spring just as it always did. + +"That spring is dry to-day!" she cried. "Now I know that you are a +liar as well as a thief. Just wait until your father comes home! I'll +see that you get the beating you deserve." + +Pedro wondered why she had sent him to the spring if she had believed +it to be dry, and while he was thinking of this the angry woman gave +him a big basket. + +"Here," she said. "Go out in the garden and pick up some wood for me. +Hurry. Don't keep me waiting. Your slow ways drive me mad." + +Pedro knew that all the wood in the garden had been picked up long ago. +Now there was nothing in the garden except roses. There were red roses +and pink roses and yellow roses and white roses, but not a single stick +of wood. High up on the steep slopes of Monte Brasil there might be +wood to gather, but the night was dark and the path was steep and long. +Little Pedro was very tired, so tired that two great tears rolled down +his cheeks. + +Suddenly the good saint Anthony from the little chapel stood before +him. He smiled kindly at the child. "Why are you crying, my boy?" +asked the saint. "I have watched you carefully for a long time and I +know you seldom give way to tears, though often your burdens are so +heavy that a boy less brave would do little else than weep." + +"I have to fill my basket with wood and there is nothing except roses +in our garden," replied Pedro. "I'm tired and it is very dark on Monte +Brasil to search there for wood." + +"Here, dear boy," said the saint, smiling. "Just pick the roses and +fill your basket with them. Then take them to your stepmother and see +what she will say to you. I'll be with you." + +Pedro filled his big basket with the lovely red and yellow and pink and +white roses which grew in the garden in such rich abundance. Then he +ran into the house with them. As the light from the candles fell upon +them, to his amazement he saw that they were no longer roses. The +basket was full of wood. + +"Where did you get this wood?" cried the woman angrily. "There are +only roses in the garden. Where have you been?" + +She seized Pedro roughly by the collar of his new coat and shook him +until his teeth chattered. He looked up into the saint's eyes. St. +Anthony's face was stern. + +"Stop, woman!" cried the voice which a moment before had been so kind +and gentle. Now it thundered forth in stern accents. "This little lad +has done no harm. You have been guilty of a desire to bring harm to +him, For this cruelty take the punishment which you so richly merit. +It is you who have sent this child out into the night. Now it is I who +sends you out into the night." + +From that moment Pedro's stepmother was no longer a woman. She was +changed into an owl with her eyes the big round circles they had looked +when she had gazed up into the fierce face of angry St. Anthony. To +this very day the owl has to fly by night. + + + + +[Illustration: Headpiece] + + + + +THE LABORER AND HIS MASTER + +_The Story of a Man Who Outfitted Another_ + + +Once upon a time there was a laborer who said to his master: + +"It is time to plant the fields." + +"Very well," said his master. "The part which grows above the ground +shall be mine and you shall have in payment for your labor the part +which grows below the ground." + +"Agreed," said the laborer. + +He planted the fields with potatoes. His master had nothing but the +tops outside the earth. The laborer harvested many baskets of potatoes +that year and sold them for a goodly sum. The master was angry because +of this. + +"Next harvest time," said he, "we'll see about things! You shall give +me what grows below the ground and keep for yourself what grows above." + +"Agreed," said the laborer. "That is perfectly fair to me." + +The laborer planted the fields with wheat. His master had nothing but +the roots, while he harvested a rich crop of wheat which he sold for +much money. + +"I'll settle with you," said his master. + +The laborer was frightened. + +"Don't be afraid," said his wife. "When your master comes let me talk +to him." + +The woman gashed her face and hands with the pruning knife. + +The master came to the door and she opened it. + +"Where is your husband?" he asked. + +"He is sharpening his nails," said she. "See what ugly scratches I +already have upon my hands and face." + +The master went away without punishing the laborer. + + + + +'TIS FAITH WHICH SAVES + +_The Story of a Maid Who Was Betrothed to One She Trusted_ + + +There was once upon a time a fair maid who lived in the island of +Fayal. She was betrothed to a young man of the same island. One day +she fell ill with a disease which baffled the skill of all the +physicians. Their arts, the mourning of her betrothed, the prayers and +tears of her mother, all seemed of no avail. It appeared that the fair +maid would die. + +[Illustration: It appeared that the fair maid would die] + +Now it happened that in one of the nearby islands, St. Michael, there +was a miracle-working image called the Santo Christo. The fair maid +begged of her betrothed that he would go to St. Michael and procure +some of the mysterious miracle-working sweat of the Santo Christo or +some of the miraculous parings of the nails of the image, which had the +power to heal any disease. + +The young man gladly set out on the quest. On the boat which conveyed +him to St. Michael, however, he met a maid with beauty and charm, a +maid whose bright eyes made him forget the sad eyes of his betrothed. + +When he arrived at his destination he thought only of singing gay songs +beneath the balcony of his new love. The days flew by, and soon it was +time for the boat to return to Fayal. He had forgotten the mission on +which he had come, and he returned to the boat with no relics of the +miracle-working Santo Christo. + +The homeward journey was rough and stormy. Filled with fear of death +at any moment, the young man remembered the fair maid of Fayal who even +at that very hour might be dying. His conscience smote him. + +"Oh, why did I allow another fair face to crowd out from my heart the +image of my beloved?" he asked himself. "Faithless wretch that I am, +what shall I say to my betrothed if good fortune and the sea permit me +to stand once more at her side?" + +The rough waves beat angrily against the side of the boat in answer. +That night the storm ceased and in the morning it was fair and clear as +the boat entered the beautiful harbor of Fayal under the shadow of Mt. +Pico. With clear skies and smooth seas the young man's conscience +became less troublesome. He resolved that he would not confess his +deceit to his betrothed. + +"If I told her it might make her grow worse so rapidly that she would +die because of it," he said to himself. + +Indeed, it was quite enough to have made the girl die of a broken +heart, had she known the whole story. + +Suddenly the youth's face clouded. + +"What shall I say to my beloved as the reason why I have brought back +to her neither the miracle-working sweat of the Santo Christo nor the +miraculous nail parings?" he was asking. + +His eye fell upon the boat's wooden side. Quickly he shaved off some +fine parings of this wood. He wrapped them up carefully and took them +to the fair maid of Fayal as if they were parings from the nails of the +miracle-working image. + +His betrothed's face shone with joy at his return. Tears of +thankfulness filled her eyes when she saw the parings which he had +brought her. + +"How can I ever thank you for your faithfulness in this quest in my +behalf, and the great love which prompted you to undertake this stormy, +dangerous journey on the rough seas that I might once more be well?" + +The young man did not enjoy hearing her speak of his love and +faithfulness. He did not reply. + +"No maid was ever blessed with so wonderful a lover," went on the happy +girl. + +"You are forgetting to take the parings," said the mother. "They will +not cure you if you do not take them." + +The fair maid of Fayal took the parings in a gourd full of water. She +began to improve immediately and the next day she was entirely well. + +"'Tis faith which saves and not parings," said her betrothed. + + + + +ST. BRENDAN'S ISLAND + +_The Story of the Little Maid Who Found It_ + + +There was once an Irish monk called St. Brendan. One day he received a +visit from a hermit who told him of a most marvelous island. + +"Come and visit this earthly Paradise," said the hermit. "There the +sun always shines. The birds wear golden crowns upon their heads and +speak like humans." + +The perfume of the island clung to the garments of the hermit for forty +days. + +Good St. Brendan asked many questions about the mysterious island and +at last resolved to visit it and see for himself if all the wonders of +which he had heard were really true. Accordingly, he built a coracle +of wattle covered with hides tanned in oak bark and softened with +butter. He loaded it with provisions to last for forty days. Then he +persuaded some of his disciples to accompany him. This was somewhat +difficult for they were timid about embarking upon this dangerous +expedition in the frail boat. St. Brendan, however, succeeded in +overcoming their fears and set out with a little group of his most +devoted followers. + +It was seven years before they returned to their native land. They +were even more enthusiastic about their wonderful island than the +hermit had been. They urged others to go and find out its marvels but +nobody else was ever able to locate it. + +They say that the island of St. Brendan was a floating island in the +Atlantic. Good St. Brendan did not die but kept on living in the +earthly Paradise of his isle. When the Christians were hard pressed in +their battles with the Moors and were about to be pushed back into the +sea the island of St. Brendan appeared upon the horizon, and the good +saint himself came to fight against the Moors and bring victory to the +Christians. + + +In the middle of the fifteenth century there was a little maid called +Maria who lived in the island of Terceira. She heard the story of St. +Brendan's isle from a Franciscan brother. Day and night she dreamed of +it. She often sat upon the hillside of Monte Brasil, looking eagerly +out over the broad expanse of sea, hoping with all her heart that the +island would appear to her. + +One day there landed in Terceira a cavalier of Rhodes named Vital. +From his grandfather he had inherited some of the sacred relics of St. +Brendan. He had come to the Azores in his search for the mysterious +island. On his doublet he wore an eight-pointed star and a band upon +which was embroidered in scarlet silk the motto, "By Faith." It was +indeed "by faith" that he had embarked upon his quest. + +The little maid, Maria, fell in love with him the moment she heard of +him and his errand. She worshiped him as if he had been the good St. +Brendan himself, but when she was with him she sat with downcast eyes, +her long dark eyelashes sweeping her delicate cheek, and did not give +him a glance, much less a word. + +The young cavalier loved the little maid. He divided his holy relics +of St. Brendan with her, and in return he begged of her that she might +speak a word of love. + +"To tell my love to you," said Maria, "I'd have to be where nobody but +God could hear." + +Indeed it was quite true that Maria needed to be where nobody but the +good God could hear her when she spoke of her love for the cavalier +Vital. The son of the wealthy Captain of the district had long admired +her delicate beauty. He had already sought her for his bride. His +jealousy against Vital rose up like a burning flame. He went to Maria +and demanded that she should marry him at once. + +Maria firmly refused. + +"If you do not wed me," said the captain's son, "I shall have my father +lock you up in the stronghold of St. Louis on the hillside." + +"I should prefer to spend all my days confined in the castle of St. +Louis rather than be your wife," said she. "Why can't you leave me in +peace with my relics of the good St. Brendan!" + +The mention of St. Brendan's relics stirred the young man's wrath even +more. He well knew who it was who had given her the holy relics. His +threat was fulfilled, and she was taken that very day to the castle of +St. Louis and locked up in that stronghold. + +Her room had a window, and there she sat high up in the tower of the +castle looking down at the city of Angra beneath her. + +"I had longed to serve the good God," she cried. "Why is it that my +life has been made useless!" + +At that very moment the earth trembled. The strong walls of the castle +shook as if they had been built of paper. + +Near the fort two doves were sitting on the branches of a cedar tree. + +"Let us rescue this fair maid," said one dove to the other. + +"Yes, let us carry her away on our wings," agreed the other. + +That instant the earth shook so that the walls of the stronghold fell +to the ground. The two doves spread out their snow-white wings and +bore Maria away in safety. + +Over houses and churches they flew. Over treetops and the broad +expanse of the sea they rose. The city, the island, the sea, all +disappeared from Maria's sight. She felt so dizzy that she closed her +eyes. + +When she opened them again she was in an island of such beauty as she +had never dreamed. It was indeed a garden of Paradise. The good St. +Brendan himself, she saw, was the gardener. + + +The earthquake caused much damage in the island of Terceira. When the +disappearance of Maria was known throughout the little city; of Angra +nobody mourned for her as did the young cavalier Vital. + +"What is the island to me without Maria?" he asked in sorrow. + +Once more he embarked upon the sea in his search for the island of St. +Brendan. Long days and long nights he tossed about on the ocean. + +One evening just at sunset he saw the clouds of heaven descending to +earth like a white ladder. Then he observed, far away upon the +horizon, an island. He knew in his heart that he had at last a glimpse +of St. Brendan's isle. + +[Illustration: One evening just at sunset] + +A gentle breeze swelled his sails and sent him rapidly toward it. As +he drew near he saw his loved Maria standing with her arms +outstretched. A bright light shone about her. + +"To speak of my love to you," said she, "I have to be where nobody but +God can hear--God and the gardener of this island, St. Brendan." + + + + +THE SILENT CAVALIER + +_The Story of the Peach Tree_ + + +In the early days when the Azores had just been discovered there were +many Flemish settlers who came to the islands. Among them there was a +young cavalier of the order of St. George of Borgonha. His name was +Jesus Maria and the reason why he had come was because a wise monk had +told him that his path in life lay by way of the sea. + +"Your name given to you in Holy Baptism," said the monk, "is Iesvs +Maria. Transpose the letters and it says in Latin, _Maris es via_." + +The young cavalier agreed that the sea must be his path of destiny and +he at once set sail upon a long voyage which finally led him to the +island of Fayal. He loved the rocky coast where the waves beat. He +loved the deep ravine where the laughing brook ran, the lake in the +ancient crater, the snow-capped summit of Mt. Pico which smiled down in +stately majesty from the opposite island. He decided that this was to +be his home. + +"My path of Destiny was indeed the sea," he said. "The sea has brought +me to a country which is very fair." + +In the island of Fayal there were already some Portuguese settlers. +One of these had a beautiful daughter Ida. The young Flemish cavalier +thought that she was the fairest maid he had ever seen. He fell deeply +in love with her. + +Now the cavaliers of the order of St. George of Borgonha had vowed that +they would never wed. Jesus Maria could not break the solemn pledge +which he had given when he joined the order. Neither could he forget +the bright eyes of the Portuguese maiden Ida. It seemed as if his +heart would break. + +"I will leave this island and return to my own country," he thought. + +Then he remembered the words which the wise monk had said about the sea +being his path. He had followed that road and it had led him to a fair +island home. He decided that he could not return to his native land of +Flanders. Over across the shining blue water he looked up at the +peaceful snow-capped summit of Mt. Pico. The sight of its majestic +stillness seemed to give him strength to hold his tongue and keep him +from speaking words of love to the beautiful Portuguese maiden. Never +a word of love broke from him. The maiden Ida never knew the shrine +she occupied in the heart of the Flemish cavalier. + +[Illustration: The peaceful snow-capped summit of Mt. Pico] + +The days dragged slowly by. The young man could bear no more. He felt +that his strength could no longer endure on the same island with Ida. +If he stayed near her he would break his vow. + +One morning in a little boat he crossed the blue waters to the island +of Pico. At the foot of the majestic mountain he loved, he built the +little hut which was to be his home. He never returned to the island +of Fayal, and as the years went by he was spoken of as the good hermit +of Pico. Nobody knew his secret. + +When at last the Cavalier Jesus Maria died, a peach tree grew from his +tomb,--the emblem of silence. The leaf of this tree has the form of +the human tongue. Its fruit has a stone shaped somewhat like the human +heart. From this stone there comes a seed which when planted produces +a new tree. Thus it is that words which bear fruit spring from the +heart. It is silence which teaches one the gift of fruitful words, +they say in the Azores. + + + + +THE ENCHANTED PALACE + +_The Story of Lake Ginjal_ + + +In the village of Altos Ares in the island of Terceira there lived once +upon a time a fair maid who had been baptized Perola, which means +Pearl. As she grew older she was indeed like a rare pearl among the +other maidens of the village, so great was the charm of her unusual +beauty. She was the joy of her home and of the whole community for her +disposition was as lovely as her face. + +One bright spring morning Perola leaned over the cistern where she had +gone to get water. Her reflection showed so plainly in the water that +she paused to gaze into the smiling eyes of her own mirrored face. As +she did so a magic spell was woven about her. The water fairy who had +come to the cistern had seen her great beauty and had thrown a charm +over her. In a moment more she fell into the cistern to join her +reflection there. + +When Perola could not be found there was great excitement in the little +village. Nobody could guess what had become of her. Her mother prayed +devoutly for her safety in the church of St. Roque. All the villagers +sought for her in every possible place. + +Now at the north of the island of Terceira there are groups of tiny +rocks in the sea which are called the Biscoitos or biscuits. Here +there lived a wise old woman who had a great reputation among all the +people of the island for her knowledge. + +"Let us go to consult the wise woman of Biscoitos," said one of the +village youths when they had sought long and faithfully for a trace of +the hiding-place into which Perola might have vanished. + +Accordingly, the young men of Altos Ares went to the wise woman, and +this is what she told them: + +"The fair pearl of your village is safe from the fishers of pearls. +She is hidden away in an enchanted palace of marble and ivory and +tortoise-shell and mother-of-pearl." + +The water fairy had taken Perola through an underground passage which +led from the cistern to the beautiful enchanted palace in the lake of +Ginjal. There she was kept in hiding. The fairies never dreamed that +anybody would ever be able to guess where she was. + +[Illustration: The beautiful enchanted palace in the lake of Ginjal] + +Now, with the words of the wise woman of Biscoitos to guide them, the +youths of Altos Ares organized an expedition to search for their lost +playmate. The sons of the magistrate, the rich men, the learned men of +the island of Terceira joined this expedition. They searched through +the whole island for a place where an enchanted palace might be located. + +At last, upon St. John's Day when the days and nights are of equal +length, this band of the brave youths of Terceira came to the shores of +Lake Ginjal in the interior of the island. + +"This is surely the enchanted place. Here in this lake must lie the +fairies' palace of marble and ivory and tortoise shell and +mother-of-pearl!" somebody cried. + +"How shall we be able to approach this magic palace and rescue Perola?" +asked one. + +"How shall we be able to break her enchantment?" asked another. + +"Let us camp here upon the border of the lake and consider how best to +proceed," said the leader of the expedition. + +Now at that very hour on St. John's Day the mother of Perola was in the +church of St. Roque in Altos Ares praying devoutly for her daughter's +safe return. + +Suddenly she heard a strange voice. These were the words which fell +upon her ears: + +"Your prayers and the perseverance of the youths of the island have at +last triumphed. Go in peace. On the day of St. Peter at the hour of +sunset your daughter shall be restored to you. Her enchantment shall +be broken and she shall be brought to the bank of Lake Ginjal in a boat +of ivory, drawn by a snow-white swan." + +When the youths encamped upon the shore of the lake heard these tidings +they set up such a shout of joy that it was indeed enough to break any +enchantment. + +At the time appointed Perola was brought to the bank of the lake in a +boat of ivory drawn by a snow-white swan, just as fair and lovely as +upon the day when she had vanished from the little village of Altos +Ares. + +This is the story of the Lake of Ginjal. It is quite probable that the +enchanted palace of the water fairies is still there. + + + + +THE FRIEND OF THE DEVIL + +_A Story of the Islands in the Bay of Angra_ + + +Once upon a time there was a handsome Flemish youth who came to the +island of Fayal. His name was Fernâo de Hutra. He fell in love with a +beautiful nun in the convent of the Gloria in the city of Horta. + +One day the Devil appeared to him. + +"Since you fell in love with this fair nun, I see you are a friend of +mine," said the Devil. + +The young man had not known this, but he replied: + +"Say rather that I will be your friend if you help me get possession of +this nun I love." + +"Very well," said the Devil, "but you will have to make a bargain with +me." + +"What is it?" asked Fernâo, rather anxiously. + +"Grant me your solemn pledge that you'll give me all your children," +responded the Devil. + +"Agreed," said Fernâo. + +After that he saw much of the Devil. The nun, however, was as devout +as she was beautiful. She refused to break the vows she had made and +flee with the Flemish youth. She firmly resisted both him and the +Devil. + +"You are not a true friend to me after all," said Fernâo to the Devil +sadly. + +"But you are my friend," said the Devil in reply. + +Soon after, Fernâo de Hutra left the city of Horta and the island of +Fayal and went to join his kinsmen who had settled in Angra in the +island of Terceira. Here his handsome face won many friends for him +among the youth of the city. To some of these he confided the story of +his relations with the Devil. + +Now it happened that in the year 1666 the first bull fight was held in +Angra. To this very day the island of Terceira is the only one in the +Azores which has bull fights. + +Fernâo had taken part in this. He was one of the chief organizers of +the bull fight held on St. John's Day of the following year. That day +all the men and women and children of the city of Angra assembled in +the public square before the fort. The bullfighters, richly clad, rode +forth upon prancing steeds decked in costly velvets with streamers and +ribbons of gold and silver which sparkled in the bright sunlight. The +youths were resplendent in their garments of crimson or purple or blue +velvet, richly embroidered. Fernâo de Hutra was radiant in his jacket +of blue decked with pearls, with a plumed hat upon his handsome head. +He carried a yellow banner embroidered with the arms of his family. + +Gay music sounded. The bulls were brought into the ring. The +bullfighters saluted and the fight began. + +In the windows of the castle the daughters of the chief magistrate of +the city of Angra were seated among their friends. The eldest +daughter, Sophia, was the most beautiful maid of the whole city. The +magistrate watched her anxiously as her fair cheek alternately paled +and flushed as the struggle went on. There could be no doubt about the +fact that there was love in her eyes as they rested upon the handsome +young Flemish cavalier, Fernâo de Hutra. She was wearing his colors +and in her hand she carefully held his bouquet of flowers. The ribbon +which tied them secured also a piece of paper upon which were written +these words: + + "Oh, beautiful maid of my heart's desire, + For your dear sake I'd go through fire." + + +The magistrate withdrew from the gay scene into the silence of the +great hall of the castle. He bowed his head upon his hands. + +[Illustration: He bowed his head upon his hands] + +"This youth is the friend of the Devil," he groaned. "I cannot consent +to my daughter's marriage to him. He has promised to give all his +children to the Devil, they say. I cannot allow my own grandchildren +to be given to the Devil." + +That very day he began to plot how to get rid of the handsome young +Fernâo. + +Now in the bay before the city of Angra there are two rocky islands +called to-day just as they were then, the Ilheos de Cabras, the islands +of goats. The brother-in-law of the magistrate was the owner of these +barren islands. There were a few goats there, a few mulberry bushes, +and a tiny spring of fresh water. The magistrate called his +brother-in-law to him as soon as the bull fight was over. He told him +all his fears and asked if he might use the islands as a place of +banishment for the young Flemish cavalier who was the friend of the +Devil. + +"You are quite welcome to use these islands for so worthy a purpose," +replied his brother-in-law. "Indeed, I have often thought that the +deep cave on the island led into Inferno. It is a most fitting spot +for the habitation of the Devil's friend." + +Thus it happened that the handsome young Flemish cavalier was seized +and borne away to the barren rocky islands in the Bay of Angra. When +he was received there a great earthquake shook the whole island of +Terceira. When at last the people of the city of Angra were through +contemplating all the destruction which had been wrought, some one +looked in the direction of the island of goats. They saw that a great +piece had been broken away from one of the islands. + +Thus it was that the Devil received his friend. + + + + +THE MILLER'S CLOAK + +_The Story of a Man Who Tried to Stay Home from Church_ + + +There was once a pious miller. He was always to be found in the church +praying. He prayed for the dead. He prayed for those who were alive. +He prayed for all who suffered, for the homeless ones, for the hungry +ones. He prayed for those upon the sea and those upon the land. + +Now it happened that a terrible storm smote the island. The sea beat +high against the rocky coast. Lightning flashed. Thunder roared. The +wind howled. The rain fell in torrents as if it were a flood. + +"Don't go out in the storm to-night," counselled his wife. "It is not +a suitable night for one to go to church." + +"I agree with you," replied the miller. "I do not need to go to the +church in this fierce storm. Surely my prayers of other days and +nights have been so many that to-night I have earned rest in my own dry +house. The good God will pardon me." + +The miller wrapped his heavy brown cloak about him and lay down upon +his bed. The wind shrieked. Thunder shook the earth. Unseen hands +pulled the miller's cloak from off his bed. + +"The wind has blown out the candle! Light another!" cried the miller +to his wife. + +By the dim light of the candle the good miller again arranged his bed. +He wrapped his heavy mantle about him and once more tried to sleep. +Again his cloak was pulled from off his bed as if by unseen hands. + +There was no rest for the miller that night. His cloak could not be +made to cover him as he lay upon his bed. + +"I might as well go to church and pray," he told his wife. "I can't +rest here." + +He wrapped himself in the brown cloak and went out to the church +through the fierce blinding storm. He prayed for the dead. He prayed +for those who were alive. He prayed for all who suffered, for the +homeless ones, the hungry ones. He prayed for those upon the sea, for +those upon the land. + +[Illustration: He wrapped himself in the brown cloak and went out +through the fierce blinding storm] + +"Surely the prayers of the pious are needed this night," said the +miller to his wife when he came in out of the fierce storm. + +Lightning flashed. Thunder roared. The rain fell in torrents. The +wind howled and drove the pouring rain against the windows. It blew in +sheets through the door before the miller had time to close it behind +him. The storm beat upon the thatched roof as if it would carry it +away. + +"Quick, your cloak!" cried the miller's wife. "Take it off that I may +dry it by the fire!" + +The good man started to obey. As he touched his cloak, however, his +eyes opened wide in amazement. It was entirely dry. + +"Feel it yourself!" said he to his wife. "There is not a drop of rain +upon it!" + +The miller's wife discovered that his words were true. + +"It is a miracle of God!" cried she as she crossed herself. + + + + +THE MAGIC MOUTHFUL + +_The Story of a Woman Who Quarreled_ + + +Once upon a time there was a woman who lived a most unhappy life. She +and her husband were always quarreling. Every day when he came home +from work he was cross, and said harsh words to her. She would respond +with bitter words, and things would go from bad to worse until at last +he would beat her. + +One day the woman took her water jar and went to the fountain to fill +it as usual. She was so unhappy that great tears were rolling down her +cheeks. + +There was a little old woman standing by the fountain. + +"What is the matter, my daughter?" she asked as she saw the tears upon +the poor woman's cheeks. + +When she had heard all the story, the little old woman took the water +jar and filled it at the fountain. + +"Go home, my daughter," she said. "Keep this water in the jar. The +moment your husband says a cross word to you, fill your mouth with the +water." + +The sad woman thanked her and went to her own house. + +The next day when her husband came home he began to scold as usual. +She was about to reply when she suddenly remembered the old woman's +advice. She ran to the water jar and filled her mouth with water. + +[Illustration: She ran to the water jar] + +To her great amazement her husband soon stopped scolding. That night, +for the first time in many weeks, she went to sleep without a beating. + +Things kept on going well for several days. Just as soon as her +husband came home cross and said unpleasant things she would fill her +mouth with water from the jar. Then he would get over being cross. +Now there were smiles instead of tears on the woman's face. + +At last, however, the water jar grew empty. + +Once more the woman went to the fountain, hoping that she would again +find the little old woman who had given her the magic water. She found +her waiting at the fountain. + +"How did my prescription succeed, dear daughter?" she asked as soon as +she saw her. + +"How can I ever thank you for all you have done for me!" cried the +woman. "Now I am happy once more. My husband no longer beats me. I +did not dream that my life could ever be so full of joy. Give me, I +pray you, some more of the magic water." + +The little old woman smiled gently. + +"Dear daughter," she said, "the water which I put in your jar is +nothing but the water from this fountain. It is the very same which +you always carry home. This is the secret: When your mouth is full of +water you cannot reply when your husband says cross words to you. If +you do not keep up the quarrel it soon ends. That is why your life is +happy now instead of sad. Go home, and whenever your husband says an +unkind word pretend that your mouth is full of water and do not reply. +Go in peace, my child." + +The woman always remembered this good advice and never again quarreled +with her husband. When she had children of her own she passed on to +them the secret. + +Now it is generally known in the Azores that if one does not want to +keep up a quarrel it is well to pretend that his mouth is full of +water. This is the reason why the people of the islands are so +peaceful and happy. + + + + +THE MESSENGERS + +_The Story of a Youth Who Met Death_ + + +There lived once upon a time in the island of Terceira a youth whose +name was Vladmiro. He had come from Flanders, a cavalier of the order +of St. John. He was betrothed to a fair maid of the island. + +One morning he was hunting in the forest of cedars when he suddenly saw +Death standing before him. He fell upon his knees and sent up a +fervent prayer to the Holy Virgin. + +Then he said to Death: "O Death, why is it that you have come in search +of me so soon? I am young, rich, happy. I am betrothed to a maid who +loves me. Life looks very bright and fair." + +Death stepped back a pace. + +"Your prayer to the Holy Mother has saved you," he said. "I had indeed +come in search of you. You were about to die from an accident with +your hunting arms. See, I have already retreated a pace. I have +decided not to take you with me this time." + +Vladmiro returned a prayer of thanksgiving. Then he said: + +"O Death, I am going to make a request of you. Please do not come up +to me so suddenly again. It gives me a fright. Next time you come for +me will you please be so kind as to send messengers in advance to give +me a little warning?" + +"Yes, young cavalier," responded Death. "I will gladly do what you +ask. I give you my promise that next time I will send my messengers +ahead of me to warn you that I am approaching." + +With these words Death withdrew and went on alone through the forest of +cedars. + +The spring of that very year the young cavalier married the fair maid +who loved him. Life was full of joy. Many children were born to the +worthy couple. Riches and honors came, too. The years sped by as if +they flew on wings. + +At last a half century had passed. Vladmiro held his grandchildren +upon his knees and told them the story of the day he met Death in the +forest of cedars. + +"We are glad that Death passed on and left you," said the children. + +"If he hadn't we could not have had you for our grandfather," said the +namesake grandson Vladmiro, snuggling closer in his arms. + +"You do not have to fear Death now, grandfather, do you?" asked the +little Maria. "He will keep his promise and send his messengers, don't +you think so?" + +"Yes, Death is a good Christian and will keep his word," replied the +aged cavalier. + +The next morning he set sail for the island of Fayal where there were +other grandchildren to visit in the home of his married daughter, +Francisca. + +On the voyage a fierce storm arose. The small boat was buffetted about +by the gales. Suddenly Vladmiro was startled to see Death standing +beside him just as in the forest years ago when he had been young. + +[Illustration: A fierce storm arose] + +"Why have you come to-day?" he cried in alarm. "Why is it that you +have not kept your word? You gave me your promise that you would send +your messengers, next time you came, to warn me of your approach." + +"I have kept my word," said Death. "I have sent my messengers." + +"Where are they?" asked the old man in amazement. + +Death pointed to Vladmiro's snowy hair. + +"I have sent my messengers in your white locks, your failing eyesight +and hearing, the wrinkles on your cheeks. Can it be that you have +failed to recognize them?" + +Vladmiro bowed his head in silence and without a murmur went with Death. + +In truth, Death had been a good Christian and had kept his word. + + + + +THE END + + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Islands of Magic, by Elsie Spicer Eells + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ISLANDS OF MAGIC *** + +***** This file should be named 34431-8.txt or 34431-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/4/3/34431/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +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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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: The Islands of Magic + Legends, Folk and Fairy Tales from the Azores + +Author: Elsie Spicer Eells + +Illustrator: E. L. Brock + +Release Date: September 28, 2011 [EBook #34431] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ISLANDS OF MAGIC *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + +</pre> + + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-cover"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-cover.jpg" ALT="Cover art" BORDER="0"> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-front"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-front.jpg" ALT="Nothing but the Sea, Sky and Rock" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +Nothing but the Sea, Sky and Rock +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="t1"> +THE ISLANDS OF MAGIC +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="t2"> +LEGENDS, FOLK AND FAIRY<BR> +TALES FROM THE AZORES<BR> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="t3"> +RETOLD BY +</P> + +<P CLASS="t2"> +ELSIE SPICER EELLS +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="t4"> +Illustrated by +<BR> +E. L. BROCK +</P> + +<BR> + +<A NAME="img-title"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-title.jpg" ALT="title page logo" BORDER="0"> +</CENTER> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="t3"> +NEW YORK +<BR> +HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="t4"> +COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY +<BR> +HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY, INC. +<BR><BR><BR> +PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. BY +<BR> +THE QUINN & BODEN COMPANY +<BR> +RAHWAY, N. J. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="t2"> +PREFACE +</P> + +<P> +Some three-fourths of the distance between America and Europe there is +a group of nine beautiful islands called the Azores which belong to +Portugal. Their names are Flores, Corvo, Fayal, Pico, S. Jorge, +Graciosa, Terceira, S. Miguel, and Santa Maria. Many people think them +to be the mountain peaks of the submerged continent, Atlantis, which +long ago was covered by the ocean. +</P> + +<P> +There are ancient records which tell of Arabian caravels driven back by +dangerous seas surrounding islands full of volcanoes. There are old +pictures which portray seas of spouting geysers and flaming volcanic +isles. In these regions islands had a habit of suddenly lifting +themselves out of the ocean and then disappearing again from view. +When the largest of the islands, S. Miguel or St. Michael as it is +called in English, was mapped, two mountain peaks were marked where +later only one could be discovered. Thus it was that the Azores gained +their reputation. Islands full of volcanoes amid seas of spouting +geysers could be nothing else but enchanted. And islands and mountain +peaks which suddenly vanished away from one's sight! Surely the Azores +must be the true land of magic. +</P> + +<P> +"The day of folktales is departing from the Azores," said the wise +woman. "Public schools came with the republic, and where books of +printed stories enter folktales become confused and soon are lost." +</P> + +<P> +"There is no originality among our islanders," complained the wise man +of the islands. "They have told over and over again the stories of our +mother country, Portugal, and they have made few variations." +</P> + +<P> +However, when I spent December 1920 and January 1921 in the Azores in +connection with research work for the Hispanic Society, I found that +there were not only pleasant folktales there but even real fairies. +They inhabit the wooded slopes of Monte Brasil on the island of +Terceira. The fisher folk who visit the barren Ilheos de Cabras on the +Bay of Angra know that there are fairies living in those rocky isles +even yet when the boys and girls of the Azores are sailing away from +them to seek their fortunes in America. Have they not often seen the +fairy garments spread out upon the rocks in the bright sunshine? +</P> + +<P> +"You are like the Holy Virgin herself," said the little maid of St. +Michael. +</P> + +<P> +"Did you ever see the Virgin?" asked my friend. +</P> + +<P> +"Once the white clouds parted for a moment and I caught a glimpse of +her beautiful blue mantle," replied the child reverently. +</P> + +<P> +Yes, there are still fairies and simple faith and magic in the islands. +One who visits the boiling springs at Furnas does not doubt for a +moment that he is upon enchanted ground. +</P> + +<P> +Folk tales are composite. No one person or group of persons can claim +credit for them. They are our inheritance from many storytellers. To +all these storytellers both of yesterday and of to-day I offer my +grateful appreciation and hearty thanks. +</P> + +<P> +I have endeavored to tell the stories in a way which will be pleasing +to American children. To do this I have taken the liberty of making +occasional elaborations or omissions which I believe add to the value +of the story. Everywhere first of all I have tried to keep the spirit +of the Azores. +</P> + +<P> +Thanks are due the publishers of the "Delineator" and the "Outlook" for +permission to reprint stories which have appeared in these magazines. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +E. S. E. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-contents"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-contents.jpg" ALT="Contents headpiece" BORDER="0"> +</CENTER> + +<P CLASS="t2"> +CONTENTS +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="noindent" STYLE="margin-left: 10%"> +<A HREF="#chap01">Princess Bluegreen of the Seven Cities</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap02">The Islands of Flowers</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap03">Why Dogs Sniff</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap04">Longstaff, Pinepuller and Rockheaver</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap05">The Table, the Sifter and the Pinchers</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap06">Linda Branca and her Mask</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap07">Fresh Figs</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap08">Peter-of-the-Pigs</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap09">The Princess Who Lost Her Rings</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap10">The Master of Magic</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap11">St. Anthony's Godchild</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap12">Trouble When One's Young</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap13">The Little Maid Who Was Wise</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap14">Manoel Littlebean</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap15">The Necklace of Pearls</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap16">The Daughter of the King of Naples</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap17">Maria-of-the-Forest</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap18">The Seven Enchanted Princes</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap19">The Listening King</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap20">José the Beast Slayer</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap21">The Princess of the Lost Island</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap22">Why The Alvéloa Bird Received a Blessing</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap23">Why the Codorniz Bird Received a Curse</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap24">Outside the Door Like the Mother of St. Peter</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap25">Why the Owl Flies at Night</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap26">The Laborer and His Master</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap27">'Tis Faith Which Saves</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap28">St. Brendan's Island</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap29">The Silent Cavalier</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap30">The Enchanted Palace</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap31">The Friend of the Devil</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap32">The Miller's Cloak</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap33">The Magic Mouthful</A><BR> +<A HREF="#chap34">The Messengers</A><BR> +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-illus"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-illus.jpg" ALT="Illustrations headpiece" BORDER="0"> +</CENTER> + +<P CLASS="t2"> +Illustrations +</P> + +<BR> + +<P><A HREF="#img-front"> +Nothing but the Sea, Sky and Rock</A> . . . . . . . <I>Frontispiece</I> +</P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-013"> +King Graywhite Struck His Royal Sword Against the Great Wall +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-019"> +She Could Not Hold Them All +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-025"> +"Will Somebody Please Pass the Pepper" +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-035"> +The Three Friends Journeyed on Together +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-051"> +"Table, Set Yourself," Said the Man +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-063"> +She Quietly Stole Out of the House +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-078"> +The Two Rabbits Came Running Up to Him +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-082"> +He Buried It Halfway in the Sand +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-093"> +The Two Old Women, The Princess, The King and Queen, and +All the Courtiers Followed +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-101"> +The Horse Had Changed Into a Kernel of Corn +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-106"> +He Climbed Up the High Wall of the Palace +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-115"> +"Oh, Stone From My Garden Wall," She Was Saying +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-125"> +They Were Big and Heavy, but Her Great Fear Gave Her Strength +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-134"> +He Saw the Quantities of Gold +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-147"> +"Take Me Home as Fast as You Can!" +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-163"> +Then He Sorrowfully Returned to His Waiting Ship +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-181"> +"We Never Have Looked So Neat and Clean" +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-196"> +The Miller and His Wife Were the Most Surprised People +in the Whole Country +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-207"> +He Frowned Down at José +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-226"> +"Alms! Alms!" +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-230"> +Pedro Lifted the Two Great Jars and Slowly Climbed Up the Hill +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-241"> +It Appeared That the Fair Maid Would Die +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-253"> +One Evening Just at Sunset +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-259"> +The Peaceful Snow-Capped Summit of Mt. Pico +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-263"> +The Beautiful Enchanted Palace in the Lake of Ginjal +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-273"> +He Bowed His Head Upon His Hands +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-277"> +He Wrapped Himself In the Brown Cloak And Went Out Through +the Fierce Blinding Storm +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-280"> +She Ran to the Water Jar +</A></P> + +<P><A HREF="#img-288"> +A Fierce Storm Arose +</A></P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE ISLANDS OF MAGIC +</H3> + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-003"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-003.jpg" ALT="Headpiece" BORDER="0"> +</CENTER> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PRINCESS BLUEGREEN OF THE SEVEN CITIES +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of the Origin of the Azores</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Once upon a time in the lost kingdom of Atlantis there ruled a king +whose name was Graywhite. He had married the beautiful Queen +Rosewhite. They lived in a magnificent palace, but it was a sad place +because there were no little children in it. +</P> + +<P> +"There are plenty of babies in the homes of the poor peasants who can +scarcely find food for them," mourned King Graywhite. "Why is it that +I, the ruler of this vast rich kingdom, can have no child to inherit my +wealth and my domains?" +</P> + +<P> +"Women in tiny hovels have their arms full of rosy dimpled darlings," +sighed Queen Rosewhite. "Why is it that I, the queen of this +magnificent palace, can have no baby of my own?" +</P> + +<P> +Queen Rosewhite passed her days and nights in weeping, while King +Graywhite grew ugly and cruel to his subjects. Once he had been the +kindest ruler in the world. +</P> + +<P> +Things went on like this for several years. Queen Rosewhite's lovely +face grew pale and wan, and her beautiful eyes became so sad that it +hurt the hearts of her faithful subjects. The king's face lost its +expression of jolly kindness and became sour and cruel. They offered +prayers and solemn vows before all the holy shrines in the whole +kingdom of Atlantis, but no child was born into the royal palace. King +Graywhite grew so harsh and ugly to his subjects that the entire +kingdom offered prayers and vows, too. As things were, life was not +worth living in the kingdom of Atlantis. +</P> + +<P> +In front of the royal palace there was a beautiful terrace where King +Graywhite and Queen Rosewhite had loved to walk in the days before they +had grown cross and sad. One night when they were sitting upon the +terrace enjoying the fresh soft evening air and the bright starlight +there suddenly appeared a dazzling light which almost blinded them. +Queen Rosewhite covered her face with her hands and the king bowed his +proud head upon his breast. +</P> + +<P> +"Do not fear to look at me," said a gentle voice. +</P> + +<P> +King Graywhite and Queen Rosewhite glanced up. They saw a tiny fairy +standing before them with a circle of bright light dancing about her. +</P> + +<P> +"King and Queen of Atlantis," said the gentle voice. "You shall have a +child, a little daughter, prettier than the sunlight. I have heard +your prayers and vows, but I have also heard the prayers and vows of +your poor subjects, too." +</P> + +<P> +The glad news had brought a happy light into Queen Rosewhite's +beautiful eyes, but now it faded out and a look of fear crept in. It +had hurt the queen's loving heart to have her husband so cruel to his +subjects. She often had told him that punishment would surely come +upon him because of his harsh deeds. +</P> + +<P> +"When the little princess is born," went on the fairy's voice, "I shall +take her away from you for twenty years. No harm will come to her. I +shall hide her away from you and all the world within seven beautiful +cities which I shall construct in the loveliest part of your whole +kingdom. Around these seven cities I shall place strong walls. At the +end of twenty years, if your heart, King Graywhite, is free from sin +and you have made proper restitution for all your wrongdoing, you shall +receive the princess into your arms." +</P> + +<P> +"Twenty years is a long time," said King Graywhite sadly. Tears were +running down Queen Rosewhite's cheeks and she could not speak. +</P> + +<P> +"You must wait until the twenty years are over," continued the fairy. +"If you attempt to enter the strong walls before that time you shall +fall dead and your kingdom shall be consumed by fire. Swear to me now +in the presence of your faithful queen that you will not try to enter +these strong walls which I shall construct about the seven cities." +</P> + +<P> +"I swear it," said the king in a voice which trembled as he solemnly +lifted his right hand. +</P> + +<P> +The vision disappeared as suddenly as it had come, and King Graywhite +and Queen Rosewhite sat alone in the bright starlight on the terrace +before the royal palace. +</P> + +<P> +"Have I been dreaming?" asked the king. +</P> + +<P> +"It was not a dream," replied the queen. +</P> + +<P> +Time passed and a beautiful baby daughter was born to the king and +queen of Atlantis. They gave her the name of Princess Bluegreen. +There was great rejoicing throughout the entire kingdom. Her birth was +celebrated by lavish feasts and gay songs and dances. +</P> + +<P> +When the little Princess Bluegreen was only three days old she +disappeared from the royal palace. She had been carried away by the +fairy to the seven cities which had been constructed to receive her. +</P> + +<P> +Years passed. Every day the king and queen received reports from the +fairy. They heard that the little Princess Bluegreen was well, and +that each hour she grew lovelier. Sometimes there was almost joy in +the palace when King Graywhite chuckled over the quaint sayings of the +little princess which were repeated to him, and the queen heard with a +tender smile of the tiny blue slippers and the green parasol which the +fairy had given her. That day Queen Rosewhite bought new slippers for +many little maids in the city. +</P> + +<P> +As time went on, however, the royal palace of Atlantis grew almost as +sad as it had been before the Princess Bluegreen had been born. Only +to receive reports of their daughter was not enough to make the king +and queen happy. They longed to see her with their own eyes and to +clasp her in their arms. +</P> + +<P> +As the weeks and months and years rolled by without seeing the little +princess, King Graywhite resumed his cruel treatment of his subjects. +He was growing old and his nature grew sour with the years. Queen +Rosewhite tried to reason with him. +</P> + +<P> +"We must bear this thing with patience," she told him. "We brought it +upon ourselves." +</P> + +<P> +The king kept raging against the fairy and did not notice Queen +Rosewhite's politeness in saying "we" instead of "you." It was the +king who was responsible for all the cruelty. Good Queen Rosewhite had +never had a cruel thought in her whole blameless life. +</P> + +<P> +At last the day of the eighteenth birthday of the Princess Bluegreen +grew near. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you sure that it is not eighteen years which the fairy said, +instead of twenty years?" asked King Graywhite querulously. +</P> + +<P> +Queen Rosewhite assured him that it was twenty years as he well knew. +The king's anger broke out fiercely. +</P> + +<P> +"I will no longer be kept from my daughter!" he cried. +</P> + +<P> +"Would you break the vow which you solemnly made to the fairy in my +presence?" asked Queen Rosewhite trembling. She had never dreamed that +he would dare to break it. Now, however, she was thoroughly frightened +at the thought which came to her. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll break that foolish vow!" shouted the king savagely. +</P> + +<P> +Tears rolled down the cheeks of good Queen Rosewhite. +</P> + +<P> +"No good will come of this," she mourned. "Be prudent, dear king. It +is only two years more which we have to wait." +</P> + +<P> +"The last two years will be the hardest ones of all!" raged King +Graywhite. "I cannot endure it!" +</P> + +<P> +That very day he started to prepare the army for the expedition to the +Seven Cities, amid the queen's lamentations and in spite of her fears +and warnings. +</P> + +<P> +"Be wise and patient, dear king. Give up this wild expedition," were +her last words to him; when, at length, all the preparations completed, +he set out with his great army upon the dangerous quest of the seven +cities surrounded by their strong walls in the loveliest part of the +whole kingdom of Atlantis. +</P> + +<P> +King Graywhite marched on and on. It was a long and perilous journey +and the army suffered many hardships on the way. It seemed as if they +would never arrive, but at last they drew near to what everybody knew +to be the most beautiful part of the whole kingdom, where the fairy had +taken the Princess Bluegreen to conceal her. +</P> + +<P> +Storms raged; lightning flashed; ominous roarings and rumblings sounded +from the depths of the earth. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us hasten back to the royal palace before it is too late," +besought the generals of King Graywhite's army. +</P> + +<P> +"On! On!" cried the king. "Do you think I would abandon this +expedition now?" +</P> + +<P> +The words were hardly out of his mouth when a huge rock fell from its +place near where he stood and rushed away down the mountainside. The +earth trembled violently beneath their feet. Fearful rumblings and +roarings sounded all about them. +</P> + +<P> +"On! ON!" shouted the maddened king. +</P> + +<P> +Before them rose the great walls which the fairy had built around the +seven cities. Within these walls was the Princess Bluegreen radiant +with the beauty of her eighteen winters and summers passed in peace and +happiness under the watchful care of the kind fairy. The thought of +her thrilled the heart of King Graywhite. +</P> + +<P> +"On! On!" he shouted to the generals about him. +</P> + +<P> +"On! On!" they, in turn, passed the word along to the trembling +soldiers which composed the royal army. +</P> + +<P> +With the fearful sounds and shakings about them, the poor men heartily +wished they were safe at home. They rallied, however, for a final +charge and swept up to the walls which surrounded the seven cities. +</P> + +<P> +King Graywhite struck his royal sword against the great wall. At that +moment the walls fell. The earth beneath their feet rose. Great +flames swept up towards the sky and rushed over the land, sweeping +everything before them. Then the sea raged over the earth in violence +until it had covered the whole kingdom of Atlantis. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-013"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-013.jpg" ALT="King Graywhite struck his royal sword against the great wall" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +King Graywhite struck his royal sword against the great wall +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +The fairy's curse had been fulfilled. The king was dead. His kingdom +was consumed by fire. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +When at last the waters grew calm again all that remained of the great +rich kingdom of Atlantis was the group of nine rocky islands which +to-day is called the Azores. In the largest of these islands, St. +Michael, there is still an enchanted spot called Seven Cities. Great +wall-like mountains tower toward the sky. In the crater valley amid +the wall-like mountains there is a lake of green and one of blue. The +blue lake is where the beautiful Princess Bluegreen left her little +blue slippers, they say, and the green lake is where she left her +lovely green parasol. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE ISLANDS OF FLOWERS +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>Another Story of the Origin of the Islands</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Paradise is, of course, ruled by loving law. All places good to live +in are governed by laws. +</P> + +<P> +Long, long ago there was a little angel who broke one of the rules of +Paradise. Of course she had to be punished. Punishment always follows +broken laws. She was banished from her heavenly home. Never again +could she join in the chorus of celestial music. Never again could she +look up into the face of the great King. +</P> + +<P> +Now it happened that this little angel loved the flowers of Paradise +especially. For the last time she walked through the heavenly gardens. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, my exquisite ones, I cannot bear to leave you!" she sobbed to her +favorite blossoms. "It breaks my heart!" +</P> + +<P> +The flowers lifted their fair faces to hers in loving sympathy. They +breathed out their sweetest perfume at her gentle touch. They +stretched out their hands to catch her trailing garments as she passed +them. +</P> + +<P> +"My best beloveds! You are asking me to take you with me!" cried the +little angel. +</P> + +<P> +She filled her arms with the lovely blossoms of Paradise. Now the +angel was a very little angel and the flowers she gathered made a very +large armful indeed. She could not bear to leave any of her favorites +behind. Slowly and sorrowfully she left the heavenly gardens. Slowly +and sorrowfully she passed outside the celestial gate. +</P> + +<P> +When she had left the gates of Paradise far behind the lovely blossoms +in her grasp were all that remained of Heaven to her. They filled her +arms so full that she could not hold them all. Some of them fell. +Down, down to earth they floated. They came to rest on the smiling +blue waters of the broad Atlantic. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-019"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-019.jpg" ALT="She could not hold them all" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +She could not hold them all +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"Oh, what shall I do! I have lost my exquisite ones!" sobbed the +little angel. +</P> + +<P> +The flowers of Paradise smiled up at her from the place where they had +fallen. Never had they looked lovelier. +</P> + +<P> +"My best beloveds are beautiful and happy!" she cried as she smiled +through her tears. "I still have all I can carry! I'll leave them +where they are!" +</P> + +<P> +There are nine of the flowers of Paradise which the angel dropped. +They have always remained in the blue Atlantic where she left them. +After many years Portuguese mariners found them and Portugal claimed +them as her own. She named them the Azores. +</P> + +<P> +To this very day, however, one of the islands is called Flores, which +means flowers. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +WHY DOGS SNIFF +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of the Dogs' Dinner Party</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Once upon a time the dogs gave a dinner party. All the dogs were +invited and all the dogs accepted the invitation. There were big dogs +and little dogs and middle-sized dogs. There were black dogs and white +dogs and brown dogs and gray dogs and yellow dogs and spotted dogs. +There were dogs with long tails and dogs with short tails and dogs with +no tails at all. There were dogs with little sharp-pointed ears and +dogs with big flat drooping ears. There were dogs with long slender +noses and dogs with short fat turn-up noses. All these dogs came to +the party. +</P> + +<P> +Now the dinner was a most elaborate affair. Everything had been +arranged with the utmost care. All the good things to eat were spread +out upon the rocks by the sea. A gay sparkling little brook brought +water to drink. The sun was shining brightly and a soft gentle little +breeze was blowing. Everything seemed absolutely perfect. +</P> + +<P> +But there was a cross fussy old dog who came to the party. She was a +yellow dog, they say. Nothing ever suited her. Whenever she went to a +party she always found fault with something. Sometimes there was too +little to eat and sometimes there was too much. Sometimes the hot +things were not hot enough and sometimes the cold things were not cold +enough. Sometimes the hot things were so hot they burned her mouth and +the cold things so cold that they gave her indigestion. There was +always something wrong. +</P> + +<P> +At this party, however, there was not too much to eat and there was not +too little to eat. The hot things were all just hot enough and the +cold things were all just cold enough. Everything seemed to be exactly +as it should be. +</P> + +<P> +"How good everything tastes!" remarked the big black dog between polite +mouthfuls. +</P> + +<P> +"Everything is seasoned exactly right," added the black and white +spotted dog between mouthfuls which were entirely too large to be +polite. +</P> + +<P> +That was an unfortunate remark. The cross fussy yellow dog heard it. +She noticed immediately that the big juicy bone she was eating had not +been seasoned with pepper. +</P> + +<P> +"Will somebody please pass the pepper?" she asked. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-025"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-025.jpg" ALT=""Will somebody please pass the pepper?"" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +"Will somebody please pass the pepper?" +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +All the black dogs and white dogs and brown dogs and yellow dogs and +gray dogs and spotted dogs fell over each other trying to find the +pepper to pass. There was not a single bit of pepper at that dinner +party. +</P> + +<P> +"I can't eat a mouthful until I have some pepper," whined the yellow +dog. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll go into the city and get some pepper," said one of the dogs. +Nobody ever knew which dog it was. +</P> + +<P> +The dog who went into the city to get the pepper never came back. +Nobody ever knew what became of him. +</P> + +<P> +Whenever two dogs meet they always sniff at each other. If one of them +should happen to be the dog who went into the city to get the pepper, +he would surely smell of pepper. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +LONGSTAFF, PINEPULLER AND ROCKHEAVER +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of Three Friends</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Long ago there lived a blacksmith upon whose strong right arm there +swelled great muscles and whose big hairy fist was capable of +delivering so heavy a blow that all the men in the village and nearby +countryside stood in awe of him. He had a hot temper as well as a +strong right arm and his pretty young wife grew so afraid of him that +she ran away into the forest, taking her baby son with her. The +blacksmith had become crosser and crosser of late because the baby +sometimes cried at night and disturbed his rest. +</P> + +<P> +In the deep forest the young wife found nuts and herbs and wild fruits +to eat. The baby boy thrived most marvelously. Soon he was big and +strong, able to kill wild beasts to add to their food. At last his +strength was so great that he could lift big rocks and pull up huge +trees. +</P> + +<P> +One day he said to his mother, "Dearest one, I'd like to leave you for +a little while. I want to go back to the village where I was born. +The stories you have told me about it keep ringing in my ears. I must +see the place for myself. Do you mind, mother dear, if I take this +journey?" +</P> + +<P> +His mother had long foreseen that a day would come when he would no +longer be content to live alone with her in the deep forest. Her heart +ached but she gave her consent to the expedition. +</P> + +<P> +When the lad reached the village he went straight to the shop of the +blacksmith. His mother had described it to him so often that he had no +difficulty in finding it. He knew at once that the man at the forge +was his father. He looked exactly as he had always imagined his father +looked. +</P> + +<P> +"Good day," said he. "I'd like you to weld an iron bar for me, a bar +as tall as the tallest tree in front of your shop." +</P> + +<P> +The blacksmith glanced at the lad and then at the tree. +</P> + +<P> +"You must have made a mistake in your measurements," he replied. "You +don't know what you are talking about." +</P> + +<P> +The boy from the forest smiled quietly and stepped a trifle nearer to +the blacksmith. +</P> + +<P> +"You are quite right," he admitted. "Thank you for pointing out to me +my mistake. I should have said that I want this iron bar made twice as +tall as the tallest tree before your door. I want it to be of good +thickness, too. I plan to use it as my staff." +</P> + +<P> +The blacksmith looked the lad over more carefully. In truth he +appeared as if he might be able to use the staff after all. The +blacksmith hastily agreed to make it at once, and he didn't say a word +about arranging the price in advance according to his custom. +</P> + +<P> +"Have my staff ready for me next week," commanded the boy as he bade +the blacksmith good-by. +</P> + +<P> +When at last the lad was once more with his mother in the deep forest +he told her all that had passed. "When I return for my staff I want +you to go with me, dear mother," were his words when he had ended his +story. +</P> + +<P> +"I!" cried the woman in alarm. "I'd be afraid to go! From your +description I am sure the blacksmith is in truth your father, and I +fear that his disposition has not improved with the years." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't be afraid, dear heart," said the son. "I'll be there and I'll +take care of you. I'll see that he does you no harm." +</P> + +<P> +They started out on their journey, and just a week from the day of the +lad's first visit to the blacksmith shop he stood once more in the +door. He had left his mother hidden behind the bushes and shrubs. +</P> + +<P> +"Good day," he said to the blacksmith. "Is my staff ready?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, indeed. It is entirely completed," replied the blacksmith more +politely than he was in the habit of speaking even to the parish priest +himself. "I have just sent for two yokes of oxen and enough men to +drag it out of my shop." +</P> + +<P> +"That is quite unnecessary," responded the boy. "I'm sorry indeed to +hear that you have inconvenienced yourself." +</P> + +<P> +He picked up the staff and tossed it about as jauntily as if it had +been a slender cane. The blacksmith stared at him in amazement, his +mouth wide open and his eyes bulging out of his head. +</P> + +<P> +"May I ask who you are?" he asked as soon as he could catch his breath. +</P> + +<P> +"My name from this day forth shall be Longstaff," replied the lad. +"And it so happens that I am your own son." +</P> + +<P> +The blacksmith listened in surprise while the boy told the story of the +years he and his mother had lived in the deep forest. He embraced his +son tenderly. +</P> + +<P> +"You are indeed a son to be proud of!" he cried. "Come and live with +me. We shall have a happy life together." +</P> + +<P> +The blacksmith was thinking that a strong young man like this would be +a great help around the shop. +</P> + +<P> +Longstaff shook his head. "Thank you, but I cannot tarry here," he +said. "I must go away and see the world a bit. My mother, however, is +waiting behind the bushes. I fear she will be very lonely while I am +away." +</P> + +<P> +When Longstaff's mother came in response to his call her husband +embraced her lovingly and kissed her. "I've really missed you about +the house while you have been away," he told her. +</P> + +<P> +"If you are not good to her you'll hear from me," said, his son as he +looked him straight in the eye. +</P> + +<P> +Longstaff then set out to see the world, travelling from one country to +another. After a time he came to a place where there was a man pulling +up pine trees by the roots as easily as if they were the weeds in your +garden. +</P> + +<P> +"Good day," said Longstaff. "What is your name?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am called PINEPULLER," was the reply. "I'm very strong, as you can +see for yourself, but I've heard that there is somebody stronger than I +am. His name is LONGSTAFF, I am told." +</P> + +<P> +Longstaff gave his iron staff a gay toss into the air and caught it +again in his hand. +</P> + +<P> +"That happens to be my name," he said. "I like you. Won't you join me +in my travels about the country? We two would have a jolly time +together." +</P> + +<P> +Pinepuller accepted the invitation and together they journeyed on. +Soon they came to a place where there was a man picking up great rocks +and tossing them about as lightly as if they had been rubber balls. +</P> + +<P> +"Good day," said Longstaff. "What is your name?" +</P> + +<P> +"My name is ROCKHEAVER," replied the other. "You can see for yourself +that I am very strong. I've heard, however, that there is somebody +stronger than I am. His name is LONGSTAFF, I am told." +</P> + +<P> +"That happens to be my name," said Longstaff, "and this is my friend +Pinepuller. You are just the man to complete our little party. Won't +you join us as we travel about the country?" +</P> + +<P> +Rockheaver accepted the invitation with glee and the three friends +journeyed on together from that hour. Everywhere they went they had +everything their own way because of their great strength. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-035"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-035.jpg" ALT="The three friends journeyed on together" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +The three friends journeyed on together +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +One day Longstaff, Pinepuller and Rockheaver sat on a rock by the sea. +Suddenly they spied two pretty girls tossing glass balls back and forth +and catching them. They had not stood there on the sand a moment +before when the three friends had passed that way. Possibly they had +been bathing and had only just come out of the water. Longstaff ran to +speak to them. He put out his hand and caught their two glass balls at +once. Then a strange thing happened. The two beautiful maidens +disappeared the very minute Longstaff put their two glass balls into +his pocket, and he was left standing alone on the sand by the sea. +</P> + +<P> +"That is queer," he complained as he told Pinepuller and Rockheaver +what had happened. +</P> + +<P> +Not far away there was a little house. There were no signs of life +about the place and consequently the three friends entered. Inside the +house there were beds, beautiful furniture and a kitchen completely +furnished with pots and pans. +</P> + +<P> +"I like this house," said Longstaff, as he seated himself in the +largest chair. "I'm going to rest a bit and you two can go hunting. +When you return I'll have the dinner cooked for you." +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, Pinepuller and Rockheaver went away to hunt for game. +Longstaff rested for a while in the big chair and then he went into the +kitchen to light the fire. Soon the fire was burning merrily and the +water in the kettle was bubbling away cozily. Longstaff cooked the +dinner exactly as his mother had taught him long ago in the deep +forest. Just for a minute he turned his back to hunt for the salt. +When he turned around the pots and the frying pan were gone from the +fire. There was a tiny dwarf with red boots disappearing through the +kitchen floor with Longstaff's good dinner. +</P> + +<P> +Longstaff gasped. He was not at all accustomed to having his dinner +stolen from under his very nose, as it were. +</P> + +<P> +Soon Pinepuller and Rockheaver came back with the hares they had killed +in the hunt. They looked at the dying fire, at the empty pots and +frying pan, and at the dazed expression on Longstaff's face. +</P> + +<P> +"Where's the dinner?" asked Pinepuller. "I'm as hungry as a bear. You +said you'd have it ready when we got back." +</P> + +<P> +"I know what he's done!" cried Rockheaver. "He has eaten all the +dinner and hasn't left a single mouthful for us!" +</P> + +<P> +When Longstaff told them the story of the dwarf with red boots who had +stolen the dinner it was difficult to make them believe it. +</P> + +<P> +"Very well," said he, "if you won't take my word for it, why doesn't +Pinepuller stay in the kitchen and cook these hares? Rockheaver and I +will go away and you can see what happens." +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, Longstaff and Rockheaver went away and Pinepuller made a +stew of the hares. While he was hunting for the salt the little dwarf +with red boots came out from under the table and stole the stew. +Pinepuller turned around just in time to catch him at it. He raised +his big arm to seize him, but the dwarf, in the twinkling of an eye, +vanished into the floor, taking the stew with him. +</P> + +<P> +When Longstaff and Rockheaver returned Pinepuller told what had +happened. "I believe you now," said he to Longstaff. "I ask your +pardon for doubting your word." +</P> + +<P> +However, Rockheaver was not convinced. "I know what has happened," +said he. "You were so hungry you couldn't wait for us and you ate up +the stew. You and Longstaff have plotted that I shall go with an empty +stomach this day." +</P> + +<P> +"Let Rockheaver, then, be the one to stay in the kitchen," suggested +Longstaff. "We have brought back other hares from the hunt. Let him +cook them and see what happens." +</P> + +<P> +Longstaff and Pinepuller went away, leaving Rockheaver to cook the +hares. Again the dwarf with red boots jumped out from under the table +and stole the dinner. When his two friends returned Rockheaver begged +their pardon for his moments of distrust. +</P> + +<P> +"These are surely queer doings," said Longstaff. "I'm going to make an +investigation. I'll not rest in peace until I find out where this +red-booted dwarf lives and where these three dinners have gone. Come +and help me dig up the ground under the kitchen." +</P> + +<P> +At once Rockheaver dug up the floor of the kitchen and Pinepuller +pulled out the earth beneath. Soon they had a deep well-like hole +reaching down into the ground. While they had been digging, Longstaff +had made a ladder out of the branches of the trees, a ladder so long +that it could reach very far into the earth. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm going to be the one to descend into this hole," remarked Longstaff +when he thought that it was quite deep enough. +</P> + +<P> +Indeed his two friends were entirely willing that he should. +</P> + +<P> +He lowered the ladder he had made and very cautiously he crept down +into the earth. At the foot of the ladder he came to what looked like +a heavy barred door. He had brought his big iron staff with him, of +course, and with this he knocked hard at the door. +</P> + +<P> +"Who is there?" called out a voice from within. +</P> + +<P> +"I am Longstaff." "Open." +</P> + +<P> +"Go away as fast as you can," said the voice. "This is the home of the +seven-headed serpent. If he catches you it will be serious. You'll be +enchanted and can never get away." +</P> + +<P> +"I'd like to meet this serpent for a minute or two," said Longstaff. +</P> + +<P> +The heavy door swung open and Longstaff stepped inside. Immediately he +heard a rushing like a great wind. With his big iron staff he struck a +mighty blow at the seven-headed serpent. He hit him just in time to +avoid being enchanted. The huge seven-headed serpent fell to the +ground completely stunned by Longstaff's blow. +</P> + +<P> +At the first drop of blood which fell from the wounded monster a +beautiful maiden appeared near the door. Longstaff recognized her at +once as one of the two girls he had seen on the seashore tossing and +catching the two glass balls. He took the balls out of his pocket. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you recognize these?" he asked the maiden. +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed I do," she replied. "One of these glass balls belongs to me +and the other belongs to my sister. She, too, has been enchanted and +is behind the next door you see ahead of you." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll get you away from this evil place," said Longstaff, "and then +I'll see what I can do to help your sister." +</P> + +<P> +He lifted her in his arms and started to carry her up the ladder. +</P> + +<P> +"Wait just a minute," she said. "I think I'd better give you back this +glass ball. I'll not be able to speak a word while you have it, but I +think you need it more than I." +</P> + +<P> +She gave him back the glass ball and then they hastened up the long +ladder. When Pinepuller and Rockheaver saw the lovely maiden in +Longstaff's arms they were filled with amazement. +</P> + +<P> +"She is a princess who has been enchanted," explained Longstaff. "Take +good care of her while I return for her sister. Then we will restore +these fair damsels to their father, the king, who has long mourned them +as dead." +</P> + +<P> +Once more Longstaff crept down the ladder into the depths of the earth. +The seven-headed serpent was still lying where he had fallen and +Longstaff stepped past him and knocked at the door which barred his way. +</P> + +<P> +"Who is there?" called out a voice from within. +</P> + +<P> +"This is Longstaff! Open!" +</P> + +<P> +"Hurry away as fast as you can. This is the home of the dwarf with red +boots," said the voice. +</P> + +<P> +"That red-booted dwarf is exactly the person I want to see," answered +Longstaff, holding fast to his heavy iron bar which his father had made +him long ago in the blacksmith's shop. +</P> + +<P> +The door slowly swung open and Longstaff stepped inside. At once he +heard the footsteps of the red-booted dwarf. The tiny dwarf looked up +at him in surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"We'll fight and see who is the best man," stormed he. "You fight with +the black sword and I'll use the white one." +</P> + +<P> +"No indeed," said Longstaff. "I'll use the white sword and you the +black. Otherwise I'll not wait to fight with swords but will choose my +own weapon which happens to be this iron staff of mine." +</P> + +<P> +The little red-booted dwarf looked up at the heavy iron staff in +Longstaff's hand. It could crush him very easily indeed. +</P> + +<P> +"Very well!" said he. "Just as you like!" +</P> + +<P> +Longstaff fought with the white sword and the dwarf with the black one, +and soon the dwarf had fallen, though his great agility made up for his +lack of size. With the first drop of blood which fell from the +red-booted dwarf the beautiful princess was disenchanted. +</P> + +<P> +She gave her glass ball back to Longstaff after she had recognized it +as her own; and, safe in his arms, she was borne up the long ladder to +the place where her sister was awaiting her with Pinepuller and +Rockheaver. +</P> + +<P> +"I've left my staff behind!" cried Longstaff in alarm. "I must go down +once more and get it." +</P> + +<P> +He had never been without his staff near at hand even when he was +asleep. Hastily he again descended the ladder. There was his staff +lying where he had dropped it when he took the white sword. When he +turned around to go up the ladder again, it had disappeared. His +friends had forgotten all about him, so interested had they become in +the two beautiful maidens. Even at that moment they were on their way +to the king's palace. They had pulled up the ladder, never giving +another thought as to how Longstaff was going to get out of the hole. +</P> + +<P> +Longstaff shouted in vain. Then he remembered how the dwarf had +appeared in the kitchen. Evidently the red-booted dwarf knew how to +get up to the surface of the earth. A drink from Longstaff's flask +quickly revived him. He reached for the white sword ready to fight +again. +</P> + +<P> +"Wait a minute, my friend," said Longstaff. "You are now my prisoner. +I'll let you go as soon as you perform a little service for me. Just +take me up to the surface of the earth." +</P> + +<P> +"That is easy," answered the dwarf. "Take hold of my hand." +</P> + +<P> +As soon as Longstaff had taken the hand of the red-booted dwarf he felt +himself rise. In a moment he was safe outside the hole. +</P> + +<P> +"There's another thing I want you to do for me before I let you go," he +said. "Take me to the king's palace." +</P> + +<P> +Longstaff took hold of the dwarf's hand and in a moment more they were +at the palace. It was only a minute after the king's daughters had +been restored to him. The royal palace was wild with joy. Even the +fact that the two lovely maidens were dumb was almost overlooked. +</P> + +<P> +When Pinepuller and Rockheaver saw Longstaff's angry eyes they ran away +as fast as they could. They were never seen near the royal palace +again. +</P> + +<P> +Longstaff drew the two glass balls from his pocket and gave one to each +of the two beautiful princesses. At once they could speak, and +together they told their story to their father, the king. +</P> + +<P> +"You may wed whichever princess you prefer," said the king to Longstaff +when he had heard how he had made the bold rescue. +</P> + +<P> +Longstaff wedded the princess who was more beautiful than her sister, +and when the king died he reigned over the whole kingdom. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE TABLE, THE SIFTER AND THE PINCHERS +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of the King's Laborer and His Wages</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Once upon a time there was a man who was very poor. He had so many +children it was difficult to earn money enough to provide for them all. +Accordingly, he left home and hired out to the king of a distant land. +</P> + +<P> +At the end of a year's time he went to the king and said: "I have +served you faithfully for a whole year. Now I wish to return to my +wife and children. Pay me, I pray you, what you owe me for my work." +</P> + +<P> +The king said: "I will not reward you in money. I will give you +something better than money. Here is a table. When you are hungry all +you have to do is to say, 'Table, set yourself.' Then the table will +immediately be spread with food." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, good king," replied the man. "With this table it will be +easy enough to provide food even for all my large family." +</P> + +<P> +When the man had started home with his table he soon grew hungry. He +put it down by the roadside under a leafy tree and said, "Table, set +yourself." Immediately it was full of the most delicious food. The +man ate all he could and gave the rest away to some beggars who passed +that way. +</P> + +<P> +"It is a lucky day for us," said the beggars as they thanked him. +</P> + +<P> +That night the man stopped at an inn. He was so delighted with the +magic powers of his table that he foolishly told the innkeeper about it. +</P> + +<P> +"That would be a most excellent table for me to possess," thought the +innkeeper. "With this in my possession I would soon be a rich man. I +could charge my guests a price in proportion to the rich food I would +serve them, and I'd never have to spend a cent of my money to buy +supplies." +</P> + +<P> +That night the innkeeper stole the table and substituted another for it +which looked exactly like it. Early in the morning the man loaded the +table on his back and hurried home to his wife and children. +</P> + +<P> +"We'll never be hungry again!" he cried as he embraced his wife. +"Never again shall our children call for food when we have nothing to +give them!" +</P> + +<P> +"How much did the king pay you?" asked his wife in surprise. The good +woman well knew how much it cost to buy food enough to keep all their +children from going hungry. +</P> + +<P> +"The king did not pay me in money. He gave me something better than +money," replied the man. "Do you see this table? Call the children. +I want to show you something." +</P> + +<P> +The man's wife and children all gathered about the table, watching it +curiously. +</P> + +<P> +"Table, set yourself," said the man. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-051"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-051.jpg" ALT=""Table, set yourself," said the man" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +"Table, set yourself," said the man +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +The table remained standing in the center of the floor just as it was. +</P> + +<P> +"What trick is this?" asked the good wife. She had been a bit +suspicious from the moment she had heard that there was no money in her +husband's pockets. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll get the beggars I fed to prove to you what this table provided +yesterday," he said when he had told all the story. +</P> + +<P> +"You'd better go back to the king as fast as you can," advised the +wife. "Take back this good-for-nothing table which he has imposed upon +you and ask for some real money instead." +</P> + +<P> +The man did as his wife advised. The king was thoughtful for a moment. +He guessed that the man had been robbed. +</P> + +<P> +At last he said: "I'll give you a sifter this time. Then when you need +money all you have to do is to say, 'Sifter, sift!' It will sift out +money as freely as if it were flour." +</P> + +<P> +The man was delighted with the sifter. He sifted his pockets full of +money immediately and hurried home. On the way he again spent the +night at the inn. +</P> + +<P> +"When I brought my table home it wouldn't work," he told the innkeeper. +"I took it back and got something in its place which is all right." +</P> + +<P> +The innkeeper watched him sift out money. +</P> + +<P> +"Why don't I get that sifter?" thought the innkeeper. "I work very +hard serving my guests even though the table provides the food for +them. If I had this sifter I wouldn't have to work. I'd close the inn +and pass the rest of my life enjoying the money I'd sift into my +pockets so easily." +</P> + +<P> +That night he stole the sifter and substituted another which looked +exactly like it. +</P> + +<P> +When the man reached home there was plenty of money in his pockets and +his wife and children were happy for a little while. However, he soon +wanted to display the magic gifts of his new sifter. Accordingly, he +called his family together. +</P> + +<P> +"Sifter, sift," he commanded. +</P> + +<P> +The sifter behaved just like any ordinary sifter. +</P> + +<P> +"You have been tricked again!" cried his wife. She was very cross +indeed and told her husband exactly what she thought of him. +</P> + +<P> +Home was not a comfortable place for him that day, so he decided to +hurry back to the king after he had emptied all the money in his +pockets into his wife's lap. +</P> + +<P> +"This will supply you for a while," he said. "It is quite as much as +any ordinary husband would have brought home for a year's work." +</P> + +<P> +"A woman hates to have her husband made a fool of," replied the woman +as she rolled up the money and tucked it away carefully. +</P> + +<P> +When the king had heard the story he was entirely convinced that the +man had an enemy who had stolen both the table and the sifter. +</P> + +<P> +"Where did you spend the night?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +The man told of passing the night in the inn. +</P> + +<P> +"I've heard that innkeeper is going to retire from business, he has +become so rich," said the king. "You'd better hurry there as fast as +you can before he leaves town." +</P> + +<P> +The laborer nodded his head thoughtfully, a wise look creeping into his +eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Take these pinchers," ordered the king. "Use them on that innkeeper +until he gives back the table and the sifter." +</P> + +<P> +When the innkeeper was sore and black and blue from the pinchers he +gave back the table and the sifter. +</P> + +<P> +After that there were prosperous days indeed for the king's laborer. +Whenever the children were hungry, he would say: "Table, set yourself," +and immediately the table would be full of the most delicious food. +Whenever his wife said, "I need some money," he would call out, +"Sifter, sift," and the sifter would sift out money as freely and +easily as if it were flour. +</P> + +<P> +As for the pinchers, they proved to be quite as useful as the other +gifts he received from the king. Whenever the children were naughty he +had only to glance in the direction of those pinchers. The children +would immediately behave as they should. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +LINDA BRANCA AND HER MASK +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of the Girl Who Did Not Like To Be Pretty</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Long ago there lived a girl who was so pretty she grew tired of being +beautiful and longed to be ugly. She was so attractive that all the +young men in the whole city wanted to marry her. Every night the +street in front of her house was full of youths who came to sing +beneath her balcony. +</P> + +<P> +Linda Branca, that was the girl's name, grew tired of being kept awake +nights. It is well enough for a little while to hear songs about one's +pearly teeth and snowy arms, one's flashing eyes and waving hair, one's +rosebud mouth and fairylike feet; but a steady diet of it becomes +decidedly wearing. +</P> + +<P> +"I wish I were as homely as that girl who is passing by," she remarked +one day. "Then I could sleep nights." "If I were as ugly looking as +that I'd have a chance to select a really good husband perhaps. With +so many to choose from it is terribly confusing. I'll never be able to +make any choice at all as things are now. I'm afraid I'll die +unwedded," she added as she carefully surveyed the girl's coarse hair, +her large feet and hands, her ugly big mouth and ears and small +red-lidded eyes. "That girl has a much better chance of a successful +marriage than I have, with all this tiresome crowd of suitors to drive +me distracted!" +</P> + +<P> +The girl in the street heard her words and looked up. When she saw how +lovely Linda Branca was she was amazed indeed at the words she had +heard. She thought that she must have made a mistake and asked Linda +Branca to say it all over again. +</P> + +<P> +"You can be exactly as homely as I am," declared the girl when at last +she had sufficiently recovered from her surprise to find her tongue. +"I am an artist. I can prepare a mask for you which will make you just +as ugly as I am." +</P> + +<P> +"Go on and make it as soon as you can!" cried Linda Branca, clapping +her little hands in joy. +</P> + +<P> +That evening the suitors in the street under the balcony thought that +the lovely Linda Branca had become very gracious. She was frequently +to be seen on the balcony looking eagerly up and down the street as if +she were expecting some one. Her dark eyes were sparkling and her fair +cheek had a rosy flush upon it which they had never seen before. +</P> + +<P> +"The beautiful Linda Branca is more charming than ever," was the burden +of their songs that night. +</P> + +<P> +Linda Branca was so excited about her new mask that she could not have +slept even if there had been no suitors to disturb her with their +songs. When at last she fell asleep towards morning it was only to +dream that the new mask had the face of a donkey. +</P> + +<P> +It was not until the next week that the mask finally arrived. Linda +Branca had grown very impatient and was almost in despair lest she +should never receive it. When at last the girl brought it one could +easily see why it had taken a whole week to prepare it. So like a +human face it was that it was plain that the making of it had called +forth great patience and skill as well as necessary time. +</P> + +<P> +"It is even uglier than I had hoped it would be!" cried Linda Branca in +delight when she saw it. +</P> + +<P> +Surely, when she tried it on no one of her suitors would ever have +recognized the fair Linda Branca of their songs. +</P> + +<P> +Now Linda Branca had no mother, and her father was away on business, so +it was an easy matter to prepare for her departure. +</P> + +<P> +Linda Branca's father was a man of wealth who spared no money in giving +his daughter beautiful gowns to enhance her rare beauty. She had one +dress of blue trimmed with silver and another of blue embroidered in +gold. As she packed up a few belongings to take with her, she decided +to add these two favorite garments. +</P> + +<P> +"Who knows but I may need them sometime?" she mused as she rolled them +up carefully. +</P> + +<P> +With the ugly mask upon her face, and dressed in a long dark cloak, she +quietly stole out of the house. She went to the king's palace in a +neighboring city and inquired if they were in need of a maid. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-063"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-063.jpg" ALT="She quietly stole out of the house" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +She quietly stole out of the house +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"Ask my son. It is he who rules here," said the king's mother. +</P> + +<P> +The king looked at Linda Branca with a critical eye. +</P> + +<P> +"I hired my last servant because she was so pretty," he remarked. "I +think I'll hire this one because she is so ugly." +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, Linda Branca became a servant in the royal palace. She +soon discovered, however, that it was the pretty maid who received all +the favors. It was good to sleep nights without being disturbed by the +songs of suitors under her window. Nevertheless, after a time, Linda +Branca could not fail to see that it was the pretty maid who had the +happy life. +</P> + +<P> +"I believe I'd almost be willing to be pretty again," said Linda Branca +to herself. "Perhaps it has some advantages." +</P> + +<P> +She knew very well that the pretty maid was not as tired as she that +night. +</P> + +<P> +The next day there was to be a great feast which was to last for two +days. Linda Branca asked the queen if she might be allowed to attend. +</P> + +<P> +"Ask my son," said the queen. "It is he who rules here." +</P> + +<P> +"May I go to the feast?" asked Linda Branca when she was blacking the +king's boots. +</P> + +<P> +"Look out or I'll throw my boot at you," said the king. +</P> + +<P> +That night when the feast had already begun, she dressed herself +carefully in the robe of blue trimmed with silver. It was indeed a +pleasure to remove the ugly mask and find that she was still just as +lovely as when the crowds of suitors sang about her great beauty. +</P> + +<P> +That night at the feast every one talked about the beauty of the +mysterious stranger in the dress of blue trimmed with silver. The king +himself danced with her. He was completely captivated by her charm. +</P> + +<P> +"Where do you come from, lovely lady?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I come from the land of the boot," replied Linda Branca with a gay +laugh. +</P> + +<P> +The king was completely mystified, for he did not know where the land +of the boot was. He asked the queen and all the wisemen of the court, +but there was not a single one of them who had ever heard of that +country. The next day they hunted through all the books and all the +maps, but there was no book or map which mentioned it. +</P> + +<P> +"She is the most beautiful maiden I have ever seen!" cried the king. +"I'd like to marry her, but how can I ever see her again if I can't +find out the location of the land she comes from!" +</P> + +<P> +He was in deep despair, and every one in the royal palace was nearly +distracted. It was decidedly embarrassing to have the king fall in +love with a stranger from a country nobody could find on a map or in a +book. +</P> + +<P> +When the king returned from the feast he saw the ugly little maid he +had hired busy at her work about the palace. The next day she again +asked the queen's permission to go to the feast that night. +</P> + +<P> +"Ask my son," was the queen's reply. +</P> + +<P> +When Linda Branca asked the king's permission, he replied: "Look out or +I'll hit you with my hairbrush." +</P> + +<P> +That night Linda Branca again removed her ugly mask and dressed herself +in the beautiful gown of blue embroidered in gold. She was even +lovelier than the night before. +</P> + +<P> +When she entered the grand ball room the king was almost wild with joy. +He ran to her side at once and kept dancing with her the entire evening. +</P> + +<P> +"What country do you come from?" he asked again. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm from the land of the hairbrush," replied Linda Branca. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is that land?" asked the king, but Linda Branca would not tell +him. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is the land of the hairbrush?" asked the king of the queen +mother, and of all the wise men of the court. +</P> + +<P> +Nobody could tell him, and nobody could find the land of the hairbrush +upon any map or in any book. +</P> + +<P> +"Stupid ones!" cried the king. "I don't believe you have half tried to +find it!" +</P> + +<P> +He looked through all the maps and books himself and at last he grew +ill from so much studying. His friends all gathered about him in the +royal bedchamber and sought to console him. However he refused +consolation. +</P> + +<P> +"I do not care whether I live or die!" he cried. "I care for nothing +except the beautiful stranger who came to my feast." +</P> + +<P> +Linda Branca knew that the king was ill, and when these words were +reported to her she quickly dressed herself in the robe of blue trimmed +with silver, which she had worn the first night of the feast. When she +took off her ugly mask and looked at herself in the glass she was +really pleased with her reflection. +</P> + +<P> +"It is not so bad after all to be pretty," she said as she smiled. +</P> + +<P> +Linda Branca stole out of the palace and peeped into the window of the +royal bedchamber. One of the king's counsellors saw her. +</P> + +<P> +"Whose lovely face is that at the window?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"It is surely the beautiful stranger from the land of the boot," said +one. +</P> + +<P> +"It is the charming maiden from the land of the hairbrush," disputed +another. +</P> + +<P> +By the time the king himself had reached the window there was no one to +be seen. He called for the queen, his mother. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell me, mother, who was outside my window a moment ago?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"No one unless a masquerader," replied the queen. +</P> + +<P> +The poor queen was nearly worn out with worry over her son. She was +afraid he was so sick that he was going to die. +</P> + +<P> +The next day the king had in truth grown most decidedly worse. The +court physicians went about with anxious faces and the whole palace had +become a place of deepest gloom. +</P> + +<P> +Linda Branca put on her dress of blue embroidered with gold and again +peeped into the window of the royal bedchamber. +</P> + +<P> +Now the king had lain upon his richly carved bed with his eyes fixed +every moment upon the window where the face had appeared. He did not +close his eyes at all. +</P> + +<P> +"He can't live long if this keeps up," one court physician whispered to +another. +</P> + +<P> +He had just finished saying these words when the king gave a loud cry +and sprang from his bed. He ran to the window and reached it just in +time to catch a piece of the skirt of blue embroidered in gold. He +held it tight. +</P> + +<P> +"Masquerader, unmask!" he cried. +</P> + +<P> +Linda Branca had hastily put on the mask which she had brought with +her, and now she looked up at the king with the face of the little +servant he had hired. She took off the mask and smiled into his eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Now at last I know who is the beautiful stranger from the land of the +boot and the land of the hairbrush!" cried the king. +</P> + +<P> +When Linda Branca had told the king, the queen mother and all the +courtiers her whole story everybody laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"Who ever before heard of a maiden who wanted to be less beautiful than +Nature had made her!" cried the wise men. +</P> + +<P> +"I always knew that when my son saw fit to select his bride he would +choose a rare woman," said the queen mother proudly. +</P> + +<P> +The king himself did not say a single word, but gazed and gazed at the +lovely face of Linda Branca with such joy in his eyes that she knew in +her heart that at last she was glad to be beautiful. +</P> + +<P> +"Stay pretty," is a parting greeting between women in the Azores. +Perhaps it was Linda Branca herself who began saying it in the +beginning. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +FRESH FIGS +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of a Clever Youth and a Foolish One</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Long ago there lived a little maid who fell ill. Her father was very +rich and he did everything he could for her. +</P> + +<P> +One day she said: "If I only had some fresh figs I'm sure I'd feel +better." +</P> + +<P> +Now it was in the month of January. It would be many long months +before the fresh figs would be ripe. The rich man was greatly worried. +Not even his fortune could ripen the figs, as he well knew. +</P> + +<P> +Nevertheless he decided to advertise and therefore said: "Whoever shall +bring fresh figs to my daughter shall marry her if he be young. If he +be old he shall receive his reward in money." +</P> + +<P> +This announcement was spread abroad throughout the whole country, but +no one had any fresh figs in the month of January. At last, however, +there was a woman found who had a fig tree close by the side of her +house, protected from the cold winds by the house and by the high wall +of her garden. This woman had a few fresh figs, but they were small +and not very good. +</P> + +<P> +"Send them to the little maid who is sick," advised her neighbors. +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed I'll send them as soon as my son can get ready to start," +replied the good woman. +</P> + +<P> +Now the woman had two sons. One of them was foolish, but the other was +considered one of the cleverest youths in the whole countryside. He +left home immediately with the best of the figs in his basket. +</P> + +<P> +On the way he met a woman dressed in blue with a child in her arms. It +was really the Holy Mother and her Child but he did not recognize them. +</P> + +<P> +"What are you carrying in your basket?" asked the woman. +</P> + +<P> +"I am carrying horns," replied the clever youth. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, you are carrying horns," replied the woman. +</P> + +<P> +The young man went on to the rich man's house supposing that he was +carrying figs in his basket just as when he started out. The basket +had grown heavy. +</P> + +<P> +"What have you in your basket?" asked the rich man when he saw the +youth at his door. +</P> + +<P> +"I have brought some fresh figs from my garden to your daughter who is +ill," replied the clever one. +</P> + +<P> +The rich man was delighted. He opened the basket. Then he shook the +boy roughly by the collar and pushed him away down the steep steps. +There were horns in the basket. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean by playing such a trick on me?" called the rich man +after him. "Never let me see your face in these parts again!" +</P> + +<P> +There were still a few of the poorest of the fresh figs remaining on +the tree. The foolish son begged his mother for permission to carry +them to the little maid who was sick. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Go with them," replied his mother. "Who knows but what you may +wed the rich man's daughter!" She laughed as she said it. +</P> + +<P> +The boy who was foolish started for the rich man's house with the figs +in his basket. They were only a very few, and poor little things +indeed. +</P> + +<P> +On the way he met a woman dressed in blue with a child in her arms. +</P> + +<P> +"What are you carrying in your basket?" asked the woman. +</P> + +<P> +"Fresh figs for a little maid who is sick," replied the boy. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, you are carrying figs," said the woman. +</P> + +<P> +The boy opened his basket. "Here, take one for the baby," he said. +"He's a lovely child." +</P> + +<P> +He gave one of the best figs to the baby and went on his way to the +rich man's house. +</P> + +<P> +"What have you in your basket?" asked the rich man. +</P> + +<P> +"Fresh figs from my garden for your daughter who is sick," replied the +boy. +</P> + +<P> +The rich man opened the basket with a scowl upon his face. He well +remembered how he had been tricked before. Then his eyes grew wide +with surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"What, figs like these in January!" he cried in amazement. +</P> + +<P> +The figs had grown large and beautiful on the road to the rich man's +house. They filled the whole basket. The little maid was so happy +when she saw them that she began to grow better immediately. +</P> + +<P> +When her father saw that the youth was foolish, he repented of his +promise to give his daughter in marriage to any young man who brought +fresh figs to her. However, he had given his word and it was not a +thing to be lightly broken. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll tell you what to do to get out of your difficulty," said his +friend to whom he told his trouble. "Turn two lively rabbits out on +the mountain and tell the boy that he'll lose his life if he doesn't +catch them and bring them back at night." +</P> + +<P> +That is exactly what the rich man did. The poor youth tried in vain to +catch the rabbits. He got very tired and hot; and, foolish as he was, +he knew enough to realize that the task set for him was quite +impossible. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly he saw the woman dressed in blue standing before him with the +child in her arms. +</P> + +<P> +"What is the matter?" she asked him. +</P> + +<P> +The boy told her how he would lose his life if he did not catch the +rabbits and bring them back to the rich man at nightfall. +</P> + +<P> +The woman cut a reed and made a pipe of it. +</P> + +<P> +"Play on this pipe," she said, "and the rabbits will come back to you +of their own accord." +</P> + +<P> +The youth played such sweet music on his pipe that the two rabbits came +running up to him immediately. It was all he could do to keep away the +other beasts and birds. Everything which heard the music was charmed +by it. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-078"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-078.jpg" ALT="The two rabbits came running up to him" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +The two rabbits came running up to him +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +On his way back to the rich man's house he met two men who had been +sent to kill him. No one had dreamed, of course, that he'd really +catch the rabbits. The two men were so surprised when they saw them in +the bag that their eyes stuck out. The rich man was even more amazed. +</P> + +<P> +As for the little maid who had been sick, when she heard the sweet +music which the youth played upon the pipe, she was quite ready to +marry him. The wedding was celebrated with great joy. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PETER-OF-THE-PIGS +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of a Sharp Lad and a Sharper</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Long ago there lived a man who employed a boy to take care of his pigs. +The lad's name was Peter and he was commonly called by every one in the +countryside Peter-of-the-pigs. +</P> + +<P> +One day a man came up to him and said: +</P> + +<P> +"Sell me these seven pigs." +</P> + +<P> +"I can't sell but six of them," said Peter. "I must keep one, but you +may buy the other six if you will cut off their tails and ears and +leave them for me." +</P> + +<P> +The man promised to do this, and the boy pocketed the money. The six +pigs looked sad enough without their tails and ears as they were driven +away by their new master. +</P> + +<P> +Peter led his one remaining pig down to the sand pit. He buried it +halfway in the sand. He buried the tails and ears of the other six +pigs, too, so that part of them stuck out. Then he ran with all speed +for his master. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-082"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-082.jpg" ALT="He buried it halfway in the sand" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +He buried it halfway in the sand +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"Come and help me get the pigs out of the sand pit!" he called out. +</P> + +<P> +His master ran as fast as he could to the sand pit. There he saw one +of the pigs halfway out of the sand. He and Peter together soon pulled +it out completely. Then he took hold of the tail nearby. To his +horror it appeared to break off in his hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Run to the house and ask my wife to give you two shovels!" cried the +owner of the pigs. "With the shovels we can dig out the rest of the +pigs." +</P> + +<P> +The boy ran to the house. He knew that his master kept his money in +two big bags. +</P> + +<P> +"My master says that you shall give me his two money bags," said Peter +to his mistress. +</P> + +<P> +The woman did not approve of doing this. "Are you sure he said both of +them?" she asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, both of them," said Peter. "Go ask him yourself." +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, the woman ran out of the house. +</P> + +<P> +"Did you say both of them?" she called to her husband. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, both of them," he replied. "Be quick about it, too." +</P> + +<P> +Of course the poor man thought that she was asking about the two +shovels which he had sent Peter to get. +</P> + +<P> +Thus Peter received his master's two bags of money, and set out into +the world with the bags on his shoulder and his pockets full of the +money he had obtained from the sale of the six pigs. +</P> + +<P> +After a time Peter-of-the-pigs met a robber. The robber stole one of +his money bags and ran away with it. Peter ran after him. +</P> + +<P> +Now it happened that the robber had just killed a deer. He was +carrying the liver inside his blouse. As he ran he threw it back so +that he could run faster. Peter saw what he had done. +</P> + +<P> +"If you want to catch me, you'll have to throw away your liver, too," +called out the robber over his shoulder. +</P> + +<P> +Peter-of-the-pigs pulled out his knife and cut out his liver. Of +course he dropped dead at once. +</P> + +<P> +When at last Peter's master found out that he had been deceived he ran +after the lad. As he found him lying dead there by the wayside, he +said: +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, Peter-of-the-pigs! You were sharp, but you found some one who was +sharper." +</P> + +<P> +Thus it is in life. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE PRINCESS WHO LOST HER RINGS +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story the Lame Old Women Told</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Long ago there lived a lovely princess who owned the most beautiful +rings in the whole world. She had rings set with diamonds and rings +set with pearls. She had rings set with rubies and rings set with +sapphires. She had rings set with emeralds and turquoises and +amethysts and every other kind of precious stone. She had rings which +had no precious stones in them, but which were wonderfully decorated +with fine and delicate carving, wrought with great skill. +</P> + +<P> +This princess lived in a magnificent palace surrounded by a high wall. +Her own apartments opened upon a pleasant balcony. From the balcony +she could see the blue waters of the ocean and the tall trees of the +forest. Here she liked to pass her days. +</P> + +<P> +In a corner of the balcony there was a basin and pitcher of silver +always kept filled with water in order that the princess might wash her +hands on the balcony instead of having to go inside the house. +Whenever she washed her hands she always removed the ring she was +wearing that day. Some days it was one ring and other days it was +another, but, whatever ring it happened to be, the princess always took +it off carefully when she washed her hands. +</P> + +<P> +One day a pretty white rabbit came up to the balcony to play with the +princess. That day the princess was wearing her best diamond ring. +She removed it very carefully when she washed her hands. Then it +disappeared. She knew that the rabbit must have stolen it. +</P> + +<P> +The next day the rabbit came again and that day the princess lost her +best emerald ring. She was very sure that the rabbit must have stolen +that, too. However, she liked to play with the rabbit, so she said +nothing to her father, the king, about the lost rings. +</P> + +<P> +Every day the rabbit came and every day there was a ring missing. The +princess had a large box full of rings, in the beginning, but one +morning she opened the box and saw that it was entirely empty. She +remembered then that she had put on her last ring, one set with a +sapphire, the morning before. +</P> + +<P> +The princess became so sad that she would not go out to the balcony to +play with the white rabbit. Every day she grew sadder and sadder. At +last her father, the king, noticed it. +</P> + +<P> +"What is the matter with our daughter, the princess?" he asked the +queen. "She is sad now, and once she was the very jolliest, happiest +princess in the whole world." +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot imagine what the trouble is," replied the queen. "Perhaps +she is lonely. Let us send for the storytellers of the kingdom to come +and tell their stories to entertain her." +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, the king sent for all the storytellers in the whole +kingdom. All the storytellers had to come to the palace even if they +were old and lame. +</P> + +<P> +Now it so happened that in the kingdom there were two old women who +were very lame. They knew the most interesting stories of anybody, but +it took them so long to reach the palace that they forgot all their +best stories on the way. +</P> + +<P> +"What story are you going to tell the princess?" one of the lame old +women asked the other. +</P> + +<P> +"I can't remember a single one of my stories," said the other old +woman. "It has taken my lame old legs so long to travel the road to +the palace that now that we are almost there I can't think of a single +story." +</P> + +<P> +The two old women tried to remember some of their stories, but they +could not think of any. They were almost at the royal palace, too. +</P> + +<P> +"What shall we do if we can't remember our stories?" asked the first +old woman. +</P> + +<P> +"We'll have to learn some new stories," replied the other. +</P> + +<P> +Just then they spied a queer sight. There was a little donkey without +any feet traveling along the road. On his back was a load of wood. +</P> + +<P> +"What a queer donkey!" cried the first old woman. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us follow along after him. Perhaps we shall be able to tell a +story about him," replied the other. +</P> + +<P> +The two old women followed the donkey into the forest. There was a +little thatched-roofed house in the forest and before the house there +was a fire burning. A kettle of something which smelled good was +boiling merrily over the fire. +</P> + +<P> +The donkey which had no feet stopped beside the fire and left his load +of wood. The two old women stopped beside the fire, too. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you suppose is cooking in this kettle?" asked one of the old +women. +</P> + +<P> +"It smells so good I'm going to taste and see," said the other. +</P> + +<P> +She started to taste, but as she was about to stick in her finger she +heard a strange deep voice which seemed to come out of the little +thatched house. +</P> + +<P> +"Do not touch. It is not yours," is what the voice said. +</P> + +<P> +The two old women went up to the door of the house and one of them +peeped through the keyhole. +</P> + +<P> +Inside the house she saw a pretty white rabbit playing with a box full +of rings. Suddenly the white rabbit pulled off his skin and changed +into a handsome prince. +</P> + +<P> +"What wouldn't I give to see the owner of these rings!" cried the +prince. +</P> + +<P> +The two lame old women hurried away from the little house in the +forest. They were frightened at the queer doings there. +</P> + +<P> +"I know a story to tell the princess!" cried one of the old women when +she had recovered from her fright. "I'll tell her how I peeped through +the keyhole and saw the rabbit change his skin." +</P> + +<P> +"I know what I'll tell the princess," said the other old woman. "I'll +tell her how I followed the donkey without any feet and what that +strange voice said to me when I tried to taste the good-smelling broth +in the kettle." +</P> + +<P> +"We must keep saying over our stories so we won't forget them," said +the first old woman. +</P> + +<P> +"We must hurry on our way to the royal palace and get there while we +remember them," said the other. +</P> + +<P> +The two old women hurried on their way to the palace as fast as their +lame old legs could carry them. They rehearsed their stories over and +over along the way so they would not forget them. +</P> + +<P> +Many storytellers had told their tales to the princess. They were +jolly tales, too, but the princess was not in the least cheered by +them. She remembered her lost rings even when she was listening to the +stories. +</P> + +<P> +"If the storytellers cannot make the princess happy, who can?" asked +the king in despair. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm sure I don't know," replied the queen. "She always used to like +stories." +</P> + +<P> +Finally the two old women reached the royal palace and went to tell +their tales to the princess. +</P> + +<P> +The first old woman told the story of the donkey without any feet and +the broth in the kettle. The princess did not appear to be +particularly interested even when the old woman told about the strange +deep voice which said, "Do not touch. It is not yours." Cold chills, +however, ran up and down the spines of the king and queen and all the +courtiers when she came to that part of the tale. +</P> + +<P> +Next the other old woman told how she peeped through the keyhole of the +little thatched house in the forest and saw the white rabbit change his +skin. +</P> + +<P> +The pretty dark eyes of the princess sparkled when the old woman +mentioned the rabbit and she leaned forward in her chair eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"Our dear little princess looks like her own happy self again for the +first time in ages," whispered the king to the queen. +</P> + +<P> +When the old woman told of the rabbit's words, "What would I not give +to see the owner of these rings!" the princess clapped her hands. +</P> + +<P> +"Take me to see this rabbit at once!" she cried. +</P> + +<P> +The king and queen and all the courtiers went with the princess to find +the white rabbit. The two old women went first to point out the way, +and as these old women were so lame the whole procession moved very +slowly. +</P> + +<P> +At last they drew near the forest. There was the donkey without any +feet moving along the road with a load of wood on his back. The two +old women, the princess, the king and queen and all the courtiers +followed the donkey into the deep forest to the door of the little +thatched house. Before the house the fire was burning and something +which smelled good was boiling in the kettle. The princess stuck in +her finger to try it. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-093"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-093.jpg" ALT="The two old women, the princess, the king and queen, and all the courtiers followed" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +The two old women, the princess, the king and queen, and all the courtiers followed +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"Take it. It is yours," said the strange deep voice from the little +house. +</P> + +<P> +The princess was so surprised that she forgot to taste the +good-smelling broth. She ran to the door of the house and peeped +through the keyhole. There was the white rabbit playing with a box +full of rings set with diamonds and pearls, rings set with rubies and +sapphires, rings set with emeralds and amethysts and turquoises, and +rings set with no precious stones at all, but carved delicately, with +great skill. +</P> + +<P> +"What wouldn't I give to see the owner of these rings!" said the rabbit +as he pulled off his skin and changed into a handsome prince. +</P> + +<P> +"Here's the owner of the rings!" cried the princess. "She is here at +your very door!" +</P> + +<P> +The door of the little thatched house in the deep forest swiftly opened +and the prince received the princess in his arms. +</P> + +<P> +"Your words have broken my enchantment!" he cried. "Now that at last +the voice of the owner of these rings is heard at my door, I'll never +have to put on my rabbit skin again." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE MASTER OF MAGIC +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of a Boy who Learned His Lessons in School</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Once upon a time there lived a man who had three sons. The two older +ones worked in the fields, but the youngest one went to school. He +learned how to read and write and do sums and make drawings. At last +he even learned magic. +</P> + +<P> +The two elder brothers complained to their father about him one day. +Their hearts were bitter against him. +</P> + +<P> +"It is not fair, father," they said. "We work hard every day in the +fields and bring home money to enrich the family. Why shouldn't our +brother work, too? He does nothing except study." +</P> + +<P> +The youngest son heard their words of complaint. +</P> + +<P> +"Will you go hunting with me to-morrow, father?" he asked. "I have +learned much magic. In fact, I have become a master of magic. I will +turn myself into a hunting dog if you will go into the fields with me." +</P> + +<P> +The next day the young man changed himself by magic into a hunting dog, +and his father went into the fields with him. He bagged many rabbits +that day. As they returned home, he met one of his friends. +</P> + +<P> +"What luck to-day?" asked his friend. +</P> + +<P> +The hunter proudly displayed the rabbits he had in his bag. "I have +them, thanks to my dog," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"I'd like to buy that dog of yours," said his friend. "What will you +take for him?" +</P> + +<P> +The father named an enormous price, and to his great surprise his +friend accepted it. The money was passed over at once, and the hunting +dog went home with his new master. +</P> + +<P> +The next day they went on a hunting expedition into the deep forest. +Suddenly the dog disappeared. His master called and whistled to him in +vain. Finally he was obliged to return home without him. He had lost +both the dog and the money he had paid for him. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you seen my hunting dog?" were his words for many weeks to every +one he met. +</P> + +<P> +His hunting dog had fled into a deep forest and once more resumed his +original form. He returned home and told his two brothers that in a +single day he had earned for his father more than their combined +efforts for many weeks. Indeed it was quite true. +</P> + +<P> +The next day the young man said to his father: "Will you buy a saddle +and bridle for me if I turn myself into a horse?" +</P> + +<P> +His father made the purchase, and then the young man changed into a +handsome black horse. His father rode him up and down the streets very +proudly. The Great Magician noticed the beautiful beast. +</P> + +<P> +He called the man to him and said: "That is a very good horse you are +riding. What will you sell him for?" +</P> + +<P> +The father named an enormous price, but he at once paid it cheerfully. +He ordered the horse placed in his stables. +</P> + +<P> +Now this Great Magician had a beautiful daughter who was very fond of +horses. She went out to inspect his new purchase as soon as it was +brought home. She noticed that the horse ate nothing. +</P> + +<P> +"What a beauty!" she cried as she stroked his glossy black coat. "You +are the handsomest horse in the stable. Why don't you eat? I believe +your bridle is hurting you. I'm going to take it off." +</P> + +<P> +As soon as the bridle was removed it was changed into a bird and flew +out the window. The Great Magician at that moment changed himself into +a hawk and killed the bird, never dreaming that it was the bridle of +the new horse he had purchased. +</P> + +<P> +The next morning when the Great Magician went to mount his beautiful +black steed there was no new horse to be found in the stable. The +horse had changed into a kernel of corn. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-101"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-101.jpg" ALT="The horse had changed into a kernel of corn" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +The horse had changed into a kernel of corn +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +The Great Magician transformed himself into a hen to eat up the corn, +but the youth was too quick for him. He changed into a dog and seized +the hen between his teeth and gave it a good shaking. Then he returned +to his own form and explained the whole affair to the Great Magician. +</P> + +<P> +"You are surely a master of magic," was the comment of the magician. +</P> + +<P> +When the Great Magician had forgiven him for the shaking he had +received when he was in the form of a hen, he gladly gave his consent +to his daughter's marriage to the master of magic. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ST. ANTHONY'S GODCHILD +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of Antonia who became a King's Page</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Long ago there lived a man who had so many children that he could +scarcely find godfathers for them all. He had requested so many of his +friends to serve, that when his last baby was born, a little dark-eyed +daughter, he vowed that he'd ask the first man he met upon the street. +</P> + +<P> +As luck would have it, he happened to meet the good St. Anthony. +</P> + +<P> +"Will you be godfather to my baby daughter?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +Kind St. Anthony gladly consented. He named the baby Antonia, and said +to the father: +</P> + +<P> +"Train up this child in the way she should go. Teach her all you can. +When she is thirteen years old I'll come to get her and I'll give her a +good start in life." +</P> + +<P> +The years flew by and soon little Antonia was thirteen years old. The +father was afraid that St. Anthony had forgotten his promise, but one +day the saint appeared. +</P> + +<P> +"Is this my godchild?" he asked as he looked at Antonia. "Surely she +has grown prettier each year of her life." +</P> + +<P> +Antonia blushed shyly and looked even more attractive than before. +</P> + +<P> +"Dress yourself in your brother's garments," he said to her. "I am +going to take you to the king's court and you are entirely too pretty +to go there in your own dresses." +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, Antonia put on her brother's clothes and went to serve as +a page to the king. She was now called Anthony instead of Antonia. +</P> + +<P> +Now the king had a sister who grew very fond of the little page. She +became angry that the page did not love her in return and plotted +against him. +</P> + +<P> +One day she went to the king and said: +</P> + +<P> +"Your little page says that he can separate all the chaff from the +wheat in a single night." +</P> + +<P> +"Let him try," responded the king. +</P> + +<P> +When Anthony heard what the king required he was decidedly worried. +Then he remembered that he was the godchild of St. Anthony and that the +saint was always ready to aid those in need. He called upon St. +Anthony to help him fulfill the king's command. In the morning the +king's wheat was entirely free from chaff. +</P> + +<P> +The king loved his little page more and more, and the king's sister was +angrier than before that she could not win the affection of the youth. +She made a new plot against him. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you suppose that page is saying now?" she asked her brother. +"He boasts that he can go to the palace of the king of the Moors and +steal the purse of gold pieces from beneath his pillow." +</P> + +<P> +The king sent Anthony to the palace of the king of the Moors. With St. +Anthony's help he climbed up the high wall of the palace and crept in +through a window. The king of the Moors was so sound asleep that +Anthony had no difficulty whatever in slipping his hand under the +pillow and stealing the purse. Then he crept out again without +awakening the king. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-106"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-106.jpg" ALT="He climbed up the high wall of the palace" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +He climbed up the high wall of the palace +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"That young page, Anthony, has grown so very boastful," remarked the +king's sister a few days after his return, "that he now claims that he +can carry away the king of the Moors himself." +</P> + +<P> +Then she added, "I'll marry him if he fulfills this boast." +</P> + +<P> +"Bring home the king of the Moors as your captive," were the king's +orders to Anthony. +</P> + +<P> +The page was very much worried for he thought that it would be more +difficult to capture the king of the Moors than it had been to capture +his purse. +</P> + +<P> +"Not at all, dear godchild," said the kind St. Anthony when he had +heard about the king's new command. +</P> + +<P> +Anthony climbed quietly up the wall as before and crept in through the +window. Then he rolled the king of the Moors up in the bedclothes and +tossed him out of the window. By the time the king was really awakened +from his sleep he was in the boat ready to sail away. +</P> + +<P> +When Anthony returned to the palace with his captive, the king said: +</P> + +<P> +"My best and bravest page, you are worthy indeed of any honor. You +shall wed my sister." +</P> + +<P> +"I can't marry her," said Anthony. "My name is Antonia." +</P> + +<P> +"In that case," said the king, "I'll marry you myself." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap12"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +TROUBLE WHEN ONE'S YOUNG +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of a Maid's Choice</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Long ago there lived a beautiful maiden whose name was Clarinha. She +had been betrothed to a prince whom she had never seen. When at last +he should be old enough to receive the rule of the kingdom he was +coming to claim her as his bride. +</P> + +<P> +Clarinha lived in a magnificent palace surrounded by a beautiful +garden. Every day she spent many hours among the lovely flowers and +trees. +</P> + +<P> +One day an eagle alighted on the tallest tree in the garden. +</P> + +<P> +"Good morning, fair Clarinha," he said to her. +</P> + +<P> +"Good morning," she replied in surprise. Never before had an eagle +spoken to her. +</P> + +<P> +"Which do you prefer, trouble when you are young or when you are old?" +asked the eagle. +</P> + +<P> +Clarinha did not know what to say. That night she asked her mother +which would be better to choose. +</P> + +<P> +"Choose trouble when you're young, dear child," advised her mother. +"When you are young it is easy to bear anything, but when you are old +you can endure nothing." +</P> + +<P> +She remembered her mother's words. Next day when the eagle again +addressed the same question to her, she answered: "Trouble when I'm +young." +</P> + +<P> +Clarinha had hardly said these words when the eagle lifted her up by +the pink skirt she was wearing and carried her away. On he flew over +seas and mountains. Clarinha was frightened nearly to death. +</P> + +<P> +At last the eagle set her down in a strange land. She was hungry, and, +accordingly, hired out in a bakeshop to earn her living. She would +have been happier if the eagle had flown away, but he remained in a +nearby tree-top. +</P> + +<P> +The baker went out, leaving Clarinha to bake the dough which he had +left ready to put into the oven. The little maid carefully closed the +door and all the windows so that the eagle would not be able to get +inside. As soon as the baker was out of sight, however, he flew down +the chimney. He tore about the bakeshop, spilling all the dough on the +floor and breaking the dishes. Then he went back up the chimney when +he had completed all the damage there was to be done. +</P> + +<P> +When the baker returned he flew into a terrible rage. He gave poor +Clarinha a beating and turned her out into the street. +</P> + +<P> +She walked about the city and at last found work as shopkeeper in a +little shop on a corner. The owner of the business went away next day, +leaving her in charge of everything. As soon as he was gone she shut +the door and all the windows, but the eagle flew down the chimney and +broke the cups and glasses and plates which were set out for sale in +neat rows upon the shelf. +</P> + +<P> +"What have you been doing in my shop?" cried the owner in anger when he +returned and saw the destruction which the eagle had left behind. +</P> + +<P> +He didn't give the poor girl a chance to reply, but seized her roughly +and threw her out into the street. +</P> + +<P> +Clarinha walked and walked seeking work, and at last she arrived at the +door of the royal palace. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you happen to need a servant?" she asked the queen. +</P> + +<P> +"I have all the servants I need," replied the queen. +</P> + +<P> +The prince was standing nearby. +</P> + +<P> +"Hire her, mother," he advised. "She'll do to take care of the ducks." +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, the queen hired Clarinha to care for the ducks. The next +morning all the ducks in the royal duckyard were dead. The eagle had +killed them all. +</P> + +<P> +"Hire her for a seamstress, mother," said the prince. "The poor little +thing is crying as if her heart would break. I'm sorry for her." +</P> + +<P> +The queen hired Clarinha to be a seamstress in the royal palace. +</P> + +<P> +That very day the prince left home to visit his betrothed. He was +going to marry a beautiful maiden in a neighboring land, whom he had +never seen. As he left the palace he asked each one of the servants +what gifts he should bring at his return. +</P> + +<P> +When he came to Clarinha, her reply was, "Bring me a stone from the +palace wall of your betrothed." +</P> + +<P> +The prince thought it a strange request, but he promised to fulfill it. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as the prince arrived in the land where his betrothed lived, he +found out that the palace was in mourning because of her mysterious +disappearance one day from the garden. +</P> + +<P> +He was so sad that he could not linger in that land. He stayed only +long enough to buy the gifts which he had promised to bring to the +servants. Along with the other gifts he carried a stone from the +palace garden of his betrothed. +</P> + +<P> +When Clarinha received her gift she heard the story of the mysterious +disappearance of the prince's bride. As soon as she held the stone in +her hand she knew that it came from the wall of her own loved garden. +Joy shone in her beautiful eyes. +</P> + +<P> +For the first time the prince noticed how very lovely Clarinha was. He +had always liked the little maid even when her face was sad, but now +that she was happy he saw that she was the most beautiful girl he had +ever seen. +</P> + +<P> +"What does that pretty little maid intend to do with that stone?" he +asked the queen. +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot guess," replied the queen. "She seemed happy enough to +receive it. I never saw her look happy before. Trouble seems to +follow whatever she undertakes. I was on the point of discharging her. +She's caused me nothing but endless annoyance. I hired her only to +please you." +</P> + +<P> +The prince followed Clarinha and listened at her door. Inside her room +she was talking to the stone. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, stone from my garden wall," she was saying. "How are the flowers +of my garden?" +</P> + +<A NAME="img-115"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-115.jpg" ALT=""Oh, stone from my garden wall," she was saying" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +"Oh, stone from my garden wall," she was saying +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +The prince could hardly believe his ears. Suddenly he guessed what the +truth might be. He burst into the room. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you my betrothed who has disappeared from her own land?" he asked +Clarinha. +</P> + +<P> +She smiled into his eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Trouble when one's young is hard enough to bear," she said when she +had told all her story. "I've had quite enough to last me all my life." +</P> + +<P> +"Your woes are ended now and a happy life lies before you," said the +prince. "Our wedding shall be celebrated at once." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap13"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE LITTLE MAID WHO WAS WISE +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of a Robber Who was Outwitted</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Long ago there lived a merchant who had three daughters. Every year at +a certain day of a certain month he went away to a distant city to +collect money on an account. His wife and daughters remained at home, +and all went well until one sad day the wife died. That year the +merchant looked forward to his journey with dread for he would have to +leave his daughters alone. +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot bear to go away," he said to them. "My heart is filled with +fear lest some evil may befall you during my absence." +</P> + +<P> +He worried about the matter night and day. The business was most +important and there was no one whom he could send to transact it for +him. +</P> + +<P> +However, the question of leaving three such pretty girls unprotected +was a thing not to be regarded lightly. +</P> + +<P> +"Do not be afraid to leave us, dear father," said his daughters. +"Nothing will harm us while you are away." +</P> + +<P> +"How do you know?" asked their father. "I am older and wiser than you +are and I know that there are many evils which might come upon you. +There are many bold thieves in this city, for instance, who would be +only too ready to take advantage of my absence and rob my home of all I +possess." +</P> + +<P> +"We can lock ourselves securely in the house and not let any one +enter," said the three daughters. +</P> + +<P> +"Be sure that you admit no one," commanded the merchant. +</P> + +<P> +They gave him their promise and he started on his journey. +Nevertheless, he went with an anxious heart. +</P> + +<P> +Now, outside this city there was a band of bold robbers. The captain +of the band had watched the merchant's departure, and when he was +safely away the thief dressed himself in the disguise of an old beggar. +When it was evening he led his band into a nearby street and in his +disguise approached the merchant's house. He knocked at the door. +</P> + +<P> +"Have pity upon a poor unfortunate one!" he called out. "It is raining +outside, and no one with mercy in his heart could turn away one who +begs shelter from the storm. Let me enter, I pray you, to pass the +night under your roof." +</P> + +<P> +"It's surely a terrible storm outside," said the merchant's eldest +daughter, as the wind rattled the tiles of the roof and the rain beat +in torrents against the doors and windows. "I think we ought to take +pity on a poor beggar a night like this." +</P> + +<P> +The second daughter peeped out of the window at the beggar. +</P> + +<P> +"He is old as well as poor," she said. "Our father has always taught +us to show mercy and kindness to the aged." +</P> + +<P> +"Remember our promise to our father!" cried the youngest one. "We gave +him our word that we would admit no one. We can give this poor beggar +some alms and send him away with a blessing." +</P> + +<P> +The eldest daughter frowned. "It is not for the youngest and most +childish one of us to make the plans," she said. +</P> + +<P> +The second daughter added. "We two are older and wiser than you are. +It is for us to determine what shall be done. If we decide to show +mercy to this poor beggar it is not for you to oppose it." +</P> + +<P> +"Bui we should not forget our promise to our father!" cried the +youngest daughter. +</P> + +<P> +However, in spite of all she could say, the elder sisters opened the +door and admitted the beggar. They led him into the kitchen to dry his +clothes. Then they made ready a bed for him to sleep upon. They gave +him his supper in the kitchen and then they ate their own. +</P> + +<P> +"It is a fearful night to send away a beggar," said the eldest sister +while they were eating. +</P> + +<P> +"I am glad we have made him comfortable for the night," remarked the +middle sister. +</P> + +<P> +"I am thinking that our dear father would be anxious if he knew that we +had broken our promise so easily," said the youngest sister. +</P> + +<P> +"For shame!" cried the eldest. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think it was breaking our promise to show kindness to a poor +old beggar," said the middle one. +</P> + +<P> +"A promise is a promise, nevertheless," said the youngest. +</P> + +<P> +While they were talking, the beggar had taken the apples which the +girls were to eat for dessert and had sprinkled a sleeping powder over +them. The two eldest ate their apples, but the youngest could not eat +that night. She threw the apple away. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as they had eaten, the girls went to their room, and the two +eldest were overcome with sleep almost before they had time to get into +bed. The youngest one was so frightened that she could not sleep a +single wink. +</P> + +<P> +Soon she heard footsteps. The beggar entered the room. The youngest +one pretended that she, too, was asleep. The man went to the bed of +the eldest sister and stuck a pin into her foot to see if she were +completely unconscious. She did not stir and he knew that the sleeping +powder had thoroughly done its work. Then he went to the bed of the +second sister and did the same. She was as completely unconscious as +her sister. It hurt terribly when he stuck the pin into the foot of +the youngest, but she did not stir. The robber thought that she was as +completely overcome by the sleeping powder as the others. +</P> + +<P> +The youngest sister peeped through her long heavy eyelashes and watched +the beggar. She saw to her surprise that he had laid aside the heavy +ragged old coat which he had kept wrapped about him even while he ate. +Underneath he was dressed like a robber with a sword, pistols and +dagger. She was so terribly frightened that it was all she could do to +keep her teeth from chattering. +</P> + +<P> +She heard the robber go about the house picking out the valuables which +he wanted to steal. Then she heard him go down the stairway and unbolt +the heavy doors which led into the store. She quietly got up and crept +out of the room to hear him more distinctly. +</P> + +<P> +On a chair in the dining room she saw the sword which he had taken off. +He had evidently thought that, with all three girls so sound asleep, +he'd not need to use his weapons. +</P> + +<P> +Soon she heard the heavy outer doors of the store unbolted. The robber +had gone outside to call the rest of the band. The little girl flew +down the stairs and closed the doors of the store securely. They were +big and heavy, but her great fear gave her strength. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-125"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-125.jpg" ALT="They were big and heavy, but her great fear gave her strength" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +They were big and heavy, but her great fear gave her strength +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"He'll find it difficult to get into our house again," she said to +herself as she waited to see if the robber returned. +</P> + +<P> +Soon she heard footsteps outside. She knew that the thief had brought +back others with him. +</P> + +<P> +There were frightful words said when they found that the door was shut. +</P> + +<P> +"It was the youngest one who deceived me!" cried the robber chieftain. +"I knew all the time that she did not want to let me in. I was +suspicious of her from the first." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps you can outwit her yet!" cried another. "She may not be so +wise as she appears. You never can tell." +</P> + +<P> +The leader of the band of thieves went up close to the keyhole and +whispered: "Kind lady of the house, have pity on me." +</P> + +<P> +The merchant's daughter at first did not answer; but, as he kept on +calling to her, she finally asked him what it was that he wanted. +</P> + +<P> +"I have left my charm behind!" he cried. "Pray let me enter to get it. +I promise you I will do you no harm." +</P> + +<P> +"I do not trust your promises," replied the little maid. "You shall +not come into my father's house." +</P> + +<P> +"Pass the charm out to me, then," said the robber. +</P> + +<P> +"It's in the fire," replied the girl. +</P> + +<P> +"Go throw vinegar on the fire and put it out," said the captain of the +thieves. "Then you can pull my charm out in safety." +</P> + +<P> +Now it happened that there was a little hole in the door just large +enough for a man's hand to enter. It is the hole through which beggars +often thrust outstretched hands, asking for alms. +</P> + +<P> +"Put your hand through the hole in the door," replied the little maid. +"Then I'll give you your charm." +</P> + +<P> +She quickly ran upstairs and got the robber's sword which he had left +on a chair in the dining room. When she returned, his hand was +sticking through the hole in the door. She struck it with all her +might with the great sword and cut it off. +</P> + +<P> +The cries and curses of the robbers filled the air. They tried in vain +to break down the great doors. The doors were strong and held +securely. At last it was daylight and the band of thieves had to flee. +</P> + +<P> +In the morning the effect of the sleeping powder wore off and the two +elder sisters awoke. When they heard their sister's story they were +filled with amazement. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't believe a word of it!" cried the oldest. "You are making it +up." +</P> + +<P> +"You had a bad dream," said the second. "I had such a nightmare myself +that I have a headache this morning." +</P> + +<P> +It was not until their little sister had shown them the robber's hand +and the great sword that they were convinced that she had told them the +truth. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, why did we ever let the man into our house!" cried the eldest. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, why didn't we keep our promise to our father!" cried the middle +one. +</P> + +<P> +When at last the merchant returned from the distant city where he had +been to collect money he was delighted to find his house and his three +daughters safe. +</P> + +<P> +"I see that no harm befell you in my absence," he said as he embraced +them fondly. "All my worries about you were foolish." +</P> + +<P> +The eldest daughter blushed and hung her head. "Great danger +threatened us while you were away," she said. "Thanks to our youngest +sister, we are safe." +</P> + +<P> +"Our little sister was wiser than we were," said the middle daughter. +</P> + +<P> +When the merchant had heard the whole story, he said: "After this we +must all give ear to the wisdom of this little maid. She is wise +beyond her years." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap14"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +MANOEL LITTLEBEAN +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of How He Helped His Father</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Long ago there lived a man and his wife who had no children. +</P> + +<P> +"I wish I had a little boy," said the man. +</P> + +<P> +"I'd like a son of my own even if he were not any larger than a little +bean," said the woman. +</P> + +<P> +Time passed and a son was born to this worthy couple. He was no larger +than a little bean and as the years went by he never grew any bigger. +His name was Manoel Littlebean. He caused his mother endless trouble +by constantly getting lost. Sometimes she'd nearly step on him. Other +times he'd fall into the food and she would almost swallow him. +</P> + +<P> +One day his mother couldn't find him. +</P> + +<P> +"Manoel Littlebean! Manoel Littlebean!" she called. +</P> + +<P> +There was no answer. +</P> + +<P> +She went outside the house and called his name anxiously. There was no +reply. She asked all the neighbors if they had seen the child, but +there was nobody who had noticed him that day. His poor mother was +nearly wild with anxiety. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm afraid I'll never see the dear child again," she mourned. "I'm +sure I have either stepped on him or swallowed him!" +</P> + +<P> +"You never stepped on him or swallowed him yet," comforted her husband. +However, he added anxiously, "I can't see what has become of my Manoel." +</P> + +<P> +The truth of the matter was that Manoel Littlebean had been swallowed +by the goat. He was a most active youngster in spite of his small size +and he caused the goat a terrible attack of indigestion. +</P> + +<P> +The goat did not know what was the matter and he tore around so wildly +and caused so much destruction that his master decided to kill him. +</P> + +<P> +"I simply can't be bothered with that goat any longer," he said. "I +have quite enough to worry about already with Manoel Littlebean lost +and my poor wife nearly sick with anxiety because of it." +</P> + +<P> +He never dreamed that it was his son who was making the goat so wild +with misery. When the goat was dead he threw it out into the street. +</P> + +<P> +That night a wolf came and ate the goat. He swallowed the goat's +stomach so greedily that Manoel Littlebean had no time to escape. +However he jumped about just as actively inside the wolf as he had done +when the goat had swallowed him. The wolf was just as uncomfortable as +the goat had been. +</P> + +<P> +"What is the matter with me?" thought the wolf. "Never in my life have +I had such a stomachache. I believe I'm going to die." +</P> + +<P> +He ran away into the forest and crept into a cave to await his end. +Inside the cave was a robbers' den. Three of the robbers were there +counting over the gold they had just brought back. +</P> + +<P> +When they saw the wolf they were so frightened that they dropped their +bags of gold and ran away as fast as they could, leaving everything +behind them. +</P> + +<P> +Manoel Littlebean guessed that he was making the wolf sick. +</P> + +<P> +"If I can only make him so ill that he will spit me up!" said Manoel to +himself as he jumped about his liveliest. +</P> + +<P> +That is exactly what happened. The wolf spit Manoel Littlebean out. +</P> + +<P> +He was decidedly dirty and unattractive, but he didn't mind in the +least. He saw the quantities of gold in the robbers' cave and his eyes +shone. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-134"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-134.jpg" ALT="He saw the quantities of gold" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +He saw the quantities of gold +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"If I can only find my way home to tell my father about it, he will be +a rich man!" he cried. +</P> + +<P> +It was a long distance home and several times he thought that he had +lost his way. Finally, however, he saw his own mother's light in the +window. He ran toward it as fast as he could run. +</P> + +<P> +"Manoel Littlebean, what have you been doing?" cried his mother when +she saw him. "Where did you get so dirty? Come, let me give you a +bath the first thing!" +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind about the bath, mother," said Manoel. "I have more +important things to attend to. Where is father?" +</P> + +<P> +His mother called her husband and they both forgot how dirty the child +was when they heard his story. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us hurry to the robbers' cave, father," he said. "We must get +there before they return." +</P> + +<P> +"What about the wolf?" asked his mother anxiously. +</P> + +<P> +Manoel Littlebean laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"The wolf doesn't have any stomachache now," he said. "He went home +long ago." +</P> + +<P> +They went to the robbers' cave and brought home the huge sacks full of +gold. It was enough to make them live like princes for a lifetime. +</P> + +<P> +"I have the best and cleverest son in the world," said the father. +</P> + +<P> +"Never in the world was there a son who was such a joy and comfort to +his parents," said his mother. +</P> + +<P> +Manoel Littlebean was treated by every one as politely as if he had +been big. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap15"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE NECKLACE OF PEARLS +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of a Water-nymph and an Island Lad</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +In a tiny cottage on the steep rocky hillside of one of the islands of +the Azores there lived a poor woman and her only son whose name was +Francisco. Every day the boy went fishing in his little boat, and +every night he brought home fish for his mother to cook for their +evening meal and to carry into the market to sell. In this way they +lived very comfortably, and they loved each other so dearly that they +were as happy as happy can be. +</P> + +<P> +Francisco, with his fair skin, blue eyes and thatch of curly golden +hair, was the handsomest boy in the whole parish, and by the time he +was sixteen years old there was many a rich man's daughter who had +smiled upon him. However, the lad thought only of his fishing boat and +his mother and did not notice the smiles. +</P> + +<P> +One night the moon was so bright that Francisco could not sleep. He +awakened his mother who was dozing comfortably in her bed. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm going fishing, mother dear," he said as he kissed her. "The +moonlight is calling me." +</P> + +<P> +His mother started up from her bed in terror and amazement. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, my boy, do you do such a thing as this?" she asked. "You have +never been fishing in the night before. Some evil will surely befall +you." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't worry about me, dear mother," replied Francisco, laughing at her +fears. "I know how to take care of myself. It is as light as day. +Think how many fish I'll bring back for you to sell in the market +to-morrow." +</P> + +<P> +His mother shook her head anxiously, but, with another loving kiss, the +lad ran out into the bright moonlight. He quickly launched his little +fishing boat and soon was floating smoothly along on the peaceful +waters of the bay which gleamed like a silver pathway in the moonlight. +The soft air, the gentle rocking of the little boat, and the face of +the moon upon which his blue eyes were fixed combined to send sleep to +his eyelids. Soon he was nodding in the little boat. A few moments +later and he was fast asleep. The moon's rays upon his curls made them +shine as if they were indeed made of gold. +</P> + +<P> +Now the village maidens were not the only ones who had noticed +Francisco's blue eyes and handsome face. A water-nymph who dwelt in +the depths of the sea had often observed him. In the daytime she was +invisible to the eye of humans and so the lad had never seen her though +she often spent long hours near him, never taking her eyes from his +face. +</P> + +<P> +"Here comes the beautiful youth in his little fishing boat!" cried the +nymph as she saw the moonlight gleaming upon his bright curls. "At +last my wish has come true. Now at night he'll be able to see me." +</P> + +<P> +She hastily arranged her own beautiful hair before a little mirror she +carried. Some of the strands of priceless pearls which decked her +lovely head were a trifle awry. These and the necklaces of rare pearls +which hung about her fair throat surrounded her with a gleam of soft +light almost like the light of the moon. As she approached nearer to +the little boat she saw that Francisco was fast asleep. She swam in +the direction of the lad with all possible speed, a wild terror in her +eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"What madness is this?" she asked as she looked down upon his bowed +head. "This frail boat will drift upon the dangerous rocks and be +dashed to pieces. I'll take him home to my own palace without +awakening him. Perhaps when he sees how lovely it is he'll even like +me a little bit." +</P> + +<P> +Just for a moment she hesitated, thinking how far from home Francisco +would be in the palace of mother-of-pearl in the depths of the sea. +</P> + +<P> +"The rocks are really very dangerous," she said to herself as she +gently drew his sleeping form into her arms. +</P> + +<P> +The next morning Francisco's empty fishing boat was found by the +fishermen. For hours his mother had watched in vain for his return. +When at last she heard that the empty boat had been found she was +nearly wild with grief. +</P> + +<P> +"He was the best son a mother ever had," she moaned over and over +again. "How can I live without him!" +</P> + +<P> +Indeed, as the days and weeks went by it was increasingly difficult for +the poor woman to live. She not only missed her boy's loving smile, +but she also missed the fish he caught so skillfully. There was little +for the poor woman to eat if she had any appetite for food. +</P> + +<P> +"Why don't you go to the Wiseman of the Sea and tell him your +troubles?" asked one of the neighbors. +</P> + +<P> +Francisco's mother knew that it was a long and difficult journey to +reach the Wiseman of the Sea. She decided, however, it would be worth +the effort just to gaze into his wise eyes. He knew so much, perhaps +he would know how to say something to comfort her in her great sorrow +and loneliness. She had shrugged her shoulders when her neighbor had +spoken of it but she could not get the idea out of her mind. She knew +that she would never rest in peace until she had made this journey. +Accordingly, she launched Francisco's fishing boat, and, thanks to +smooth seas, reached the little rocky island in the midst of the sea +where the Wiseman of the Sea lived. +</P> + +<P> +His tall form was outlined above the cliff even as she tied her little +boat. He was very tall, far taller than anybody she had ever seen, and +his snow-white beard fell to his feet. He was clothed in fish scales +which gleamed in the sunlight. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, little mother, what can I do for you to-day?" he asked, as she +came up the path to the summit of the rock. +</P> + +<P> +The eyes of the Wiseman of the Sea were very kind as well as full of +great wisdom. Francisco's mother forgot to be afraid of him as she had +expected to be. She told him the story of her lost son. The Wiseman +listened carefully to her words and then he said: +</P> + +<P> +"Good mother, I am glad to tell you that I know where your Francisco +is. He is in the power of a water-nymph who has carried him away to +her castle of mother-of-pearl in the depths of the sea." +</P> + +<P> +Francisco's mother felt the tears of joy well up into her eyes. "Is my +boy happy there and is he well?" she asked eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"He is entirely well and happy. The water-nymph gave him a philtre +which has made him forget his past life entirely." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm glad you told me that," said the boy's mother. "I was just +wondering how my dear lad could be happy while he was causing me so +much sorrow. He has always been the best and kindest son with which a +mother ever was blessed." +</P> + +<P> +The Wiseman of the Sea started to say something, but the woman +interrupted as a new thought flew into her mind. "Tell me," she cried, +"is there no way of getting him back? With all your wisdom can't you +think of some way to make him once more remember the mother who loves +him and the little home in which we have passed so many happy days +together? Do you not know some means of breaking the power which this +water-nymph has over him?" +</P> + +<P> +The Wiseman looked out across the sea in silence for at least a minute +and a half. He thought hard. Francisco's mother watched him with +eager eyes. She could hardly wait for his answer. At last these were +the words which fell from his lips: +</P> + +<P> +"You have shed many tears, good woman, but tears are still to flow if +you are to bring back your son." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, must I suffer more?" cried the heart-broken mother. "It seems +that I have already lived a lifetime since my dear lad kissed me in the +moonlight. I have endured all that I can bear." +</P> + +<P> +The Wiseman smiled gently as he raised his hand. "Listen, my child," +he said. "Your tears must be shed upon the bosom of the waters. If, +perchance, one of them should fall upon your son's heart there in the +palace of the water-nymph in the depths of the sea, the power of her +philtre will be broken." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll shed whole oceans of tears if I can break the power of that +water-nymph and bring back my Francisco," said his mother. +</P> + +<P> +The fact is that she began to shed tears then and there, even before +she had thanked the Wiseman of the Sea for what he had told her. +</P> + +<P> +Now it happened that Francisco had grown to love the beautiful palace +of mother-of-pearl in the depths of the sea. He never tired of all its +beauty. About the palace there were lovely gardens filled with flowers +made of precious gems. Each tiny bud of that garden was worth a king's +ransom, so rich were the jewels which composed it. The water-nymph +often gathered her arms full of these rare blossoms and wove them into +a garland to crown Francisco's golden curls. He never had a thought of +the old life at home with his mother, so completely had the nymph's +philtre done its work. +</P> + +<P> +There was always a big fish swimming about the palace. On its back +there was a cushion of seagreen satin embroidered with lovely pearls. +</P> + +<P> +"This is your riding horse," said the water-nymph to Francisco the +first day he had seen it. "If you should ever get tired of the palace +and find the life here a bit monotonous, just mount this horse and ride +about for a little." +</P> + +<P> +The water-nymph had shaken out her long fair tresses so that they +covered as much as possible of the fishtail she had instead of feet. +She was very sensitive about the fact that she had no feet upon which +to wear pretty little slippers like those of the maidens she had seen +so often as they called out gay greetings to the handsome fisher-lad. +</P> + +<P> +Francisco had smiled into her eyes. "How absurd," he cried, "to think +of such a thing as getting tired of this wonderful place!" +</P> + +<P> +In fact the days had slipped by all too fast for the happy youth. Then +it suddenly happened one day while the water-nymph was asleep that he +thought of his mother, the little house which had been his home for +sixteen years and more, the fishing boat which was his pride and joy, +the moonlight night when he had gaily kissed his mother's cheek and +gone away never to return. He did not stop to waken the sleeping +nymph. He said no word to the servants of the palace. He thought only +of the fish with the cushion of sea-green satin embroidered with rare +pearls. +</P> + +<P> +"Quick!" he cried to it. "Take me home as fast as you can! My +mother's heart is breaking! She has shed so many tears for me, I know, +that by this time she may be entirely blind." +</P> + +<A NAME="img-147"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-147.jpg" ALT=""Take me home as fast as you can!"" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +"Take me home as fast as you can!" +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +In another hour Francisco was safe at home with his mother's arms about +him. She had shed so many tears that her eyes were swollen almost +shut, but they were not closed so completely that they could not shine +with the great joy which once more filled her heart. +</P> + +<P> +"Promise me one thing," she said to him. "Give me your word that +you'll never go fishing again. I don't trust that water-nymph even in +the daytime." +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, Francisco gave up being a fisherman and became a hunter. +To make his spears, he gathered the young sapling which grew on the +hillside even down to the edge of the water. He had grown still +handsomer while he had lived in the palace of mother-of-pearl in the +depths of the sea, and there were twice as many pretty maidens who cast +smiling glances in his direction. +</P> + +<P> +It was the daughter of the rich man of the village who at last won the +heart of Francisco. When he went a-wooing, however, he had no gift to +take except the birds he had killed with his own hand. The rich man +laughed at him. These were his words: +</P> + +<P> +"When my daughter marries it shall be only to a youth who can bring her +rich gifts." +</P> + +<P> +Francisco went away with a sad heart and sat upon the rocks at the edge +of the sea, gazing out over the water with eyes so full of tears that +they saw nothing. +</P> + +<P> +The water-nymph was not far away from the shore those days. She was +always seeking for a glimpse of the golden head which she had so often +crowned with flowers. Her joy now at the sight of him was buried by +her sorrow when she saw that his heart was full of woe. She knew at +once the cause of his grief. +</P> + +<P> +The next morning when Francisco went to get wood to make a new spear, +he found a necklace of priceless pearls lying on the shore. It was the +gift of the water-nymph, but since his heart had been touched by his +mother's tears he had entirely forgotten her. He took the gift to the +maid he loved with never a thought of the giver. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap16"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE DAUGHTER OF THE KING OF NAPLES +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of a Prince's Quest</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +There was once a king who had an only son. The years passed by and he +did not marry, so one day his father called him before him and said: +</P> + +<P> +"The time has come when you should marry, my son. You are now at the +age when you should no longer wait to choose your bride. Why is it +that you have not already done this?" +</P> + +<P> +The prince replied: +</P> + +<P> +"I will wed no one except the daughter of the king of Naples." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know that the king of Naples has a daughter?" asked the father. +</P> + +<P> +"No," answered the son. "I do not know." +</P> + +<P> +"I should advise you to find out whether or not the king of Naples +happens to have a daughter before you decide to marry her," remarked +the king dryly. +</P> + +<P> +"That is good advice," replied the prince. "I thank you." +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, he asked everybody he met whether the king of Naples had a +daughter. There was no person to be found who knew anything about it. +</P> + +<P> +"You'll have to go to Naples to obtain this information," advised the +king. "It is a long journey, but if you are determined to marry nobody +except the daughter of the king of Naples there seems to be no way +except to go there and learn whether or not he has a daughter." +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, a ship was prepared and the prince sailed for Naples. It +was a difficult, stormy voyage, but finally they arrived safely. The +moment they landed the beggars came crowding about them. The prince +distributed alms among them most generously. +</P> + +<P> +Then he asked: "Does any one know whether or not the king of Naples has +a daughter?" +</P> + +<P> +There was nobody who knew. Finally, however, an old woman said that +once she passed by the royal palace and there was a beautiful face at +the window. +</P> + +<P> +"I think that perhaps this was the daughter of the king of Naples, but +I do not know," she added. +</P> + +<P> +"Go at once and find out," ordered the prince. "You shall be richly +rewarded." +</P> + +<P> +The old woman hastened to the royal palace. She saw the same lovely +face at the window which she had seen before. +</P> + +<P> +"Lovely lady, I want to talk to you!" she called out. +</P> + +<P> +Now it happened that day that the princess was feeling decidedly bored +and out of tune with life. It looked like an interesting diversion to +talk with the old woman. Thus it came to pass that she opened the +window graciously. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you wish, good mother?" she asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you the daughter of the king of Naples?" questioned the old woman. +</P> + +<P> +"I am," replied the princess. +</P> + +<P> +"May I come some day to sell you pretty things?" asked the old woman. +</P> + +<P> +The princess appointed an hour the next day when she might come with +her wares. Then the old woman hurried back to the waiting prince. +</P> + +<P> +"The king of Naples has a daughter!" she cried. "A very beautiful +daughter, too!" +</P> + +<P> +The prince showered the old woman with gold. He was so delighted that +at last he had found this out that he could well afford to be generous. +</P> + +<P> +The old woman thanked him. "I did something else for you, kind sir," +she said. "I made an appointment to see the princess to-morrow. I am +going to the palace at four o'clock to sell pretty things to her." +</P> + +<P> +"Well done, good mother!" cried the prince, again thrusting his hand +into his purse. "Let me go in your place!" +</P> + +<P> +The old woman gladly consented, and the prince dressed himself as a +peddler. The next afternoon at four o'clock he went to the palace of +the king of Naples. +</P> + +<P> +"It is a peddler with many interesting wares for sale," said the +servant who answered his knock. "He speaks of an appointment with your +Royal Highness." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said the princess. "A peddler was to come to-day at four +o'clock with pretty things for me to buy." +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, the prince was admitted to the presence of the daughter of +the king of Naples. If she were surprised to find the peddler a +handsome young man instead of the old woman with whom she had talked +the day before she did not show it. +</P> + +<P> +"What lovely things you have!" she cried as she examined the tray full +of ribbons and beads and trinkets. +</P> + +<P> +She selected a number of the wares and then she asked, "What is the +price of these?" +</P> + +<P> +The prince would not set a price. +</P> + +<P> +"If your Royal Highness is pleased with these," said he, "I have many +more things at home which you will like even better. I'll bring them +to you to-morrow." +</P> + +<P> +"That will be splendid!" cried the princess. "Come again to-morrow at +this hour." +</P> + +<P> +The next day the prince again dressed himself as a peddler, but +underneath the outer garments he wore his own rich clothing. When he +was admitted to the royal palace he laid aside his peddler's disguise +and stood before the princess looking like the true prince he was. He +was very handsome in his rich suit of crimson velvet, with his hat with +the long plume in his hand. The princess was so surprised that she +turned pale. +</P> + +<P> +"Who are you?" she cried. "You surely are not the peddler who came +here yesterday!" +</P> + +<P> +The prince smiled into her eyes, and, even without the peddler's +garments which were rolled up on the tray, she would have recognized +him. +</P> + +<P> +He told her of the quest which had led him there, and she admired all +the patience and diligence he had shown in finding out her existence. +When he asked her to marry him at once, she readily consented. They +planned that she should steal down the staircase at night and go away +with him on his ship. +</P> + +<P> +All this sounded very romantic to the daughter of the king of Naples. +She had never dreamed that a thing like this would ever happen. All +her life she had been so closely guarded that stealing out of the +palace and sailing away in the prince's ship seemed the most wonderful +thing in the world. +</P> + +<P> +The next night had been agreed on, and long ahead of the appointed hour +the prince sat on horseback at the foot of the stairway down which the +princess would steal. He was very weary with all the excitement of the +past three days, and as he waited he fell asleep. A robber passed by +and saw his sleeping form hanging limply on the saddle. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll gently deposit him on the ground and get away with his horse and +saddle," thought the thief, as he stopped and regarded the horse with a +critical eye. +</P> + +<P> +Just then, however, he saw something which made him change his mind +about hurrying away after he had deposited the prince's sleeping form +beneath a tree. There was the loveliest maiden he had ever seen +creeping silently down the stairway. She came straight up to him. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm ready, beloved," were her words. +</P> + +<P> +The robber silently lifted her behind him on the horse's back and +together they rode away. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is your boat?" asked the princess after they had ridden together +for some time without speaking. +</P> + +<P> +"So it is a boat which the fair lady is looking for," thought the +thief. "I was expecting this good horse to carry us the whole +distance. A boat is a bit difficult to arrange, but it can be done if +necessary. There ought to be a boat around somewhere for me to steal." +</P> + +<P> +He left the daughter of the king of Naples on the shore while he went +to steal a boat. When he returned the light shone upon his face and +the girl thought that he did not look the same as the day before. +</P> + +<P> +"Of course, I've seen him only twice," she told herself in an effort to +gain assurance. "It must be the prince, my own true love." +</P> + +<P> +"Here is our boat," said the robber, and together they embarked. +</P> + +<P> +As the morning light shone upon the robber the princess saw that he was +not in the least like the prince who had come a-peddling. The robber +laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"Does my lady know with whom she is going away?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I thought I was going with the prince who is my lover," she replied, +bursting into bitter tears. +</P> + +<P> +Running away was not half so romantic and delightful as she had +pictured it. She heartily wished that she were back in the royal +palace. +</P> + +<P> +As for the prince, he soon awoke and looked about the palace garden +where he was lying under the tree. +</P> + +<P> +"How did I get here?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes sleepily. +</P> + +<P> +There was none to tell him, so he decided that his horse must have +thrown him off and run away. +</P> + +<P> +"It is queer that my fall did not awaken me," he said to himself. "It +is a bit awkward to lose my horse. However, if the princess only keeps +her promise and comes to me we shall manage to get to our ship somehow." +</P> + +<P> +He waited very patiently for a time and then he began to fear that the +princess had repented of her promise to run away. He did not give her +up, however, until it was almost daylight. Then he sorrowfully +returned to his waiting ship. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-163"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-163.jpg" ALT="Then he sorrowfully returned to his waiting ship" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +Then he sorrowfully returned to his waiting ship +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"I have at least found out that the king of Naples has a daughter and +that she is the most beautiful princess in the whole world," he said. +"If she prefers not to have a run-away marriage it will doubtless be +better for me to sail home and tell my father to make arrangements with +the king of Naples for our wedding. There are some advantages in this +more dignified method." +</P> + +<P> +Thus it happened that the prince sailed away for his own country, never +dreaming that the princess had kept her promise to steal down the +stairway in the night and that she was then in the hands of the wicked +robber. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +The daughter of the king of Naples sobbed and cried so loud when she +found that it was not her own prince with whom she was sailing that the +robber became quite disgusted with her. +</P> + +<P> +"I thought you were a pretty little maid," he said, "when I first saw +you, but now I've changed my mind about you." +</P> + +<P> +Indeed no person with good eyesight would have called the princess +pretty at that moment, with her face all red and swollen with much +weeping. +</P> + +<P> +The robber decided that he did not want to bother with her any longer, +so he landed in the country of the Junqueiras and left her there. The +princess wandered about the place until night came without seeing a +single soul,—nothing but the sea, sky and rocks. +</P> + +<P> +She was really, however, not far from the hut in which there lived the +wife and daughter of a poor fisherman. In the stillness of the night +they heard a cry. +</P> + +<P> +"Some one is in trouble outside, mother," said the daughter. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps the pirates have come and by this cry are trying to lure us +out," answered her mother cautiously. There were often pirate ships +which stopped there. The daughter listened carefully. +</P> + +<P> +"No, mother," she insisted. "I'm sure this is a girl's cry." +</P> + +<P> +The two women opened their door and crept out in the darkness. The +sobs of the princess soon led them to the place upon the rocks where +she lay crying as if her heart would break. They lifted her tenderly +and carried her home. +</P> + +<P> +The fisherman's daughter gave the princess some of her own clothes to +wear and they lived together as if they were sisters. Together they +did all the work of the little house and the princess was too busy to +weep. Sometimes, however, she cried in the night when the fisherman's +wife and daughter were asleep. She wept for her lost love and for the +royal palace of the king of Naples which had always been her home. +</P> + +<P> +Now it happened that the prince's ship encountered a great storm and +was driven about by the sea. At last it was blown by the gales to the +land of the Junqueiras. +</P> + +<P> +The prince saw the fisherman's daughter and the princess standing on +the rocks by the sea. He stared hard at the princess. Then he spoke +in a voice which shook. +</P> + +<P> +"You remind me of some one I used to know," he said. "Tell me your +name, I pray you, fair maid." +</P> + +<P> +The princess looked down at the garments of the fisher maid which she +wore. She blushed. The prince she had recognized the very moment she +had seen him. +</P> + +<P> +"I am the daughter of the king of Naples," she said. +</P> + +<P> +The fisherman's daughter stared at her in amazement. +</P> + +<P> +"She is no king's daughter!" she cried. "She is a poor abandoned maid +who came to us out of the sea. We found her upon these very rocks. It +is my own dress that she is wearing. A king's daughter, indeed! She +is no more the daughter of the king of Naples than I am!" +</P> + +<P> +But the prince had taken the daughter of the king of Naples in his +arms. As soon as they returned to the palace their wedding was +celebrated with great joy and they lived together as God lives with the +angels. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-169"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-169.jpg" ALT="Headpiece" BORDER="0"> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap17"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +MARIA-OF-THE-FOREST +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of a King and His Fate</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Once upon a time there was a young king who went into the deep forest +on a hunting expedition. He and his favorite page became separated +from the rest of the party and soon they realized that they were lost. +As night approached they found the rude hut of a charcoal burner and +begged for permission to pass the night there. They were received most +hospitably. +</P> + +<P> +Just at the hour of midnight the king was awakened from his sleep by a +voice. This is what it said: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"Here in this hut is born to-night<BR> + The maiden of your fate:<BR> +You can't escape your lot, young king;<BR> + Your fate for you will wait.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +'Tis fate—'tis fate—'tis fate."<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +The king turned over on his pillow and tried to sleep, but the strange +voice kept ringing in his ears. He rose early. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as he saw the charcoal burner the man said: "A baby daughter +was born to me last night." +</P> + +<P> +"At what time?" asked the king. +</P> + +<P> +"It was just midnight," replied the charcoal burner. +</P> + +<P> +The king awakened his page and told him what had happened. +</P> + +<P> +"I refuse to wed any maid born in this poor hut," he said. "You must +help me to escape this fate." +</P> + +<P> +"What can I do about it?" asked the page, yawning. +</P> + +<P> +"You must steal this babe this very day and put it to death," said the +king sternly. +</P> + +<P> +The page did not dare refuse, and easily obtained possession of the +baby when no one was looking. He carried her away into the deep +forest, but he did not have the heart to put an innocent babe to death. +He left her in a hollow tree, wrapped up in the bright red sash he wore. +</P> + +<P> +When he had returned to the king he confessed that he had been too +tender-hearted to slay the baby. The king was angry. +</P> + +<P> +"Take me to the baby," he said. "I'll do the deed myself." +</P> + +<P> +Though they searched long and faithfully they were unable to find the +hollow tree where the baby had been left. They, of course, did not +wish to return to the hut of the charcoal burner, and at length they +found their way out of the deep forest. +</P> + +<P> +"No one will ever discover that baby if I could not find it myself! +She will soon die without food," said the page. +</P> + +<P> +The king agreed that it was quite impossible for the babe to escape +death, but he could not forget the strange voice which had said: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"Here in this hut is born to-night<BR> + The maiden of your fate:<BR> +You can't escape your lot, young king;<BR> + Your fate for you will wait.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +'Tis fate—'tis fate—'tis fate."<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +Now it happened that very day that a woodcutter was working in the +forest. Suddenly he heard what sounded like the cry of a baby. +</P> + +<P> +"There can't be a child here in the deep forest," he said to himself +and went on with his work. +</P> + +<P> +The cry continued, however, and it sounded very near, almost under the +woodcutter's feet. He looked into the hollow log and there he found a +dimpled baby girl wrapped in a bright red sash. +</P> + +<P> +"Poor little thing! Her own mother has abandoned her. My good wife +will be a mother to her," he said. +</P> + +<P> +The woodcutter's wife had no children of her own and received the baby +gladly. She named her Maria-of-the-forest. As the days flew by and +the babe thrived under her care, she could not have loved her more had +she been her own child. +</P> + +<P> +The weeks and months passed and soon the little Maria-of-the-forest had +grown into a lovely little girl five years old. Her kind foster mother +made a bonnet for her out of the bright red sash which she had found +wrapped about her the first time she saw her. It made Maria's dark +eyes look even brighter than before. +</P> + +<P> +Now it happened that the king and his page were again hunting in the +forest and passed by the house of the wood cutter. The page noticed +the pretty little girl and the red bonnet she wore. He called her to +him and examined it carefully. +</P> + +<P> +"There can be no doubt that material is from my own red sash," he +confessed to the king. "This woodcutter's daughter could have such a +bonnet as this in no other way." +</P> + +<P> +The king bade him make inquiries about the child and soon the page +found out that the little maid was in truth the baby he had left in the +hollow tree. The king ordered him again to steal her. This time the +king plotted her death by drowning. He had a box made for her, put her +in it, and threw her into the sea with his own hand. +</P> + +<P> +"I refuse to wed any girl brought up in a woodcutter's hut," he raged. +"I'll escape that fate." +</P> + +<P> +Nevertheless he could not escape the memory of the strange voice which +had said: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"Here in this hut is born to-night<BR> + The maiden of your fate:<BR> +You can't escape your lot, young king;<BR> + Your fate for you will wait.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +'Tis fate—'tis fate—'tis fate."<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +It was most annoying to remember it. +</P> + +<P> +It happened soon after that a ship encountered the box floating upon +the sea. The sailors rescued it and opened it with interest. Inside +they were surprised to find a pretty little dark-eyed girl with a +bright red bonnet on her head. She could not tell them where she had +come from but she said her name was Maria-of-the-forest. +</P> + +<P> +When the sailors arrived in their own country they told the story of +finding the child and the king asked to see her. He and the queen were +so pleased with her lovely face and gentle manners that they received +her into the royal palace. She was brought up as a lady-of-waiting to +their own little daughter of about the same age. +</P> + +<P> +When, after a dozen years, the princess was wedded, all the kings of +near-by countries were invited to the marriage feast. The king who had +been lost in the forest came with the others. At the feast there was +no one more beautiful than Maria-of-the-forest. The king danced with +her. +</P> + +<P> +"Who is the girl?" was his eager question. +</P> + +<P> +"She has been reared in the royal palace as if she were in truth the +sister of the bride," was the reply. +</P> + +<P> +The king fell in love with the beautiful maid and gave her a ring. The +page, however, was suspicious when he heard her name. He lost no time +in making inquiries about her. What he found out made him very sure +that she was in truth the daughter of the charcoal burner. He reported +his suspicions to the king. +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind," said the king. "I'll wed the maid anyway. One can't +escape from one's fate." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap18"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE SEVEN ENCHANTED PRINCES +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of How Honoria Kept Her Promise</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Long ago there was a little maid who lived all alone with her +grandmother. They were very poor. The girl's name was Honoria. +</P> + +<P> +One day the grandmother sent the girl out to sell some of the oranges +from their orange tree. +</P> + +<P> +"You must bring home at least three vintens to me," she said. "Don't +dare return without at least that small amount of money." +</P> + +<P> +Honoria went from door to door trying to sell the oranges. Every one +seemed to have plenty of them that day. There was nobody who would +purchase a single one. +</P> + +<P> +She walked on and on through the town, everywhere obtaining the same +answer, "We do not wish to purchase any oranges to-day." +</P> + +<P> +Finally she found herself outside the town and in the forest. There +was a house with the door wide open and on the table in front of the +door lay three vintens. There was no one in sight and nobody answered +Honoria's knock at the door. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll take the money and leave some oranges in place of it," said +Honoria. "That will not be stealing." +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, she selected some of the largest and finest of her oranges +and placed them on the table. She put the money away carefully to take +to her grandmother. Then she turned to leave, but found that the door +was closed. +</P> + +<P> +She tried her best to open it but could not. Neither could she open +any of the windows to climb out by that means. The windows were all +fastened just as securely as the door. +</P> + +<P> +"What shall I do?" cried the girl, who was now thoroughly frightened. +</P> + +<P> +She did not like the idea of remaining a prisoner in the house in the +forest. All day she tried to find some way of escape, but there seemed +nothing to do except to wait until somebody came to her aid. +</P> + +<P> +"This house is not far from the city. Surely some one will be passing +this way and will come and help me get out," said Honoria. "I hope +they'll come before night." +</P> + +<P> +There was nothing to eat in the house and she was thankful enough for +the big basket full of juicy oranges. +</P> + +<P> +At last it grew dark. Then Honoria heard footsteps outside the house. +She could not see who was coming, but a key was turned in the lock and +some one entered. She was so frightened that she hid under the table. +</P> + +<P> +A lighted candle showed that seven dwarfs had entered the house. They +had brought food with them, and they at once went to work to prepare +their evening meal. +</P> + +<P> +"Who left us all these fine oranges?" asked one of the dwarfs. +</P> + +<P> +"I do not know," replied another. "Some one has surely been here and +it must have been a kind friend." +</P> + +<P> +Honoria was almost tempted to crawl from under the table and show +herself, but she decided that it would be better to stay where she was +and go home the next day when it was light. +</P> + +<P> +When morning came, however, she found that she had been sleeping so +soundly that she had not heard the seven dwarfs when they left the +house. The door was fastened just as securely as before. +</P> + +<P> +Honoria looked about the house and saw that there was enough work to +keep her busy all day. There were dishes to wash and floors to sweep +and beds to make. Fortunately the dwarfs had left plenty of food. +</P> + +<P> +When night came she heard the footsteps approaching and again hid under +the table. As soon as the seven dwarfs came into the house they saw +that it had been changed wonderfully during their absence. +</P> + +<P> +"Our dishes are all washed!" cried one of the dwarfs. "Last night we +forgot to wash them after supper!" +</P> + +<P> +"Our beds are all made!" cried another. "We left home so early this +morning we did not have time to make them!" +</P> + +<P> +"Our floors are all swept and everything is in order!" cried another. +"We never have looked so neat and clean!" +</P> + +<A NAME="img-181"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-181.jpg" ALT=""We never have looked so neat and clean"" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +"We never have looked so neat and clean" +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"Somebody must have been here," said one of the dwarfs. +</P> + +<P> +"It is surely a kind friend," said another. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps they are here yet!" cried another. +</P> + +<P> +"If they are men we'll treat them like brothers and if they are women +we'll treat them like sisters," said the seventh dwarf who had not +spoken before. He had been looking around the house carefully, but he +had seen no one. +</P> + +<P> +Honoria crawled out from under the table. The dwarfs joined hands and +danced around her in a circle. +</P> + +<P> +"We have a big sister now!" they cried. "A big sister to take care of +us!" +</P> + +<P> +Honoria knew that if she said anything about leaving the dwarfs they +would be heartbroken. She knew, too, that her grandmother would give +her a terrible beating for staying away from home so long. The easiest +thing seemed to be to remain in the forest and keep house for the seven +dwarfs. +</P> + +<P> +Weeks and months went by and Honoria led a happy life in the forest. +The dwarfs brought home plenty of delicious food and they also brought +her the prettiest dresses she had ever seen. They were green like the +moss and the leaves of the forest and brown like the rich earth about +the house. There was a little hat with red berries upon it which +Honoria thought the most charming hat in the world. She tried it on +and ran to the brook to look at her reflection, for there was not a +single mirror in the house. +</P> + +<P> +One day the king passed by with his gay hunting party. That day +Honoria had on her prettiest moss-green dress and the king thought her +the loveliest maiden he had ever seen. He stopped to chat with her. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you live here in the forest all alone?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"No, I keep house for my seven brothers," was Honoria's answer. +</P> + +<P> +"What a lovely little housekeeper!" cried the king. "Marry me and come +to live in the royal palace!" +</P> + +<P> +"I must ask my brothers first," responded Honoria. "I will tell you +to-morrow what they say." +</P> + +<P> +That night when the seven dwarfs came home Honoria told them about her +visit from the king. +</P> + +<P> +"How can we spare our big sister?" cried one of the dwarfs. +</P> + +<P> +"Who will keep house for us when she goes away?" cried another. +</P> + +<P> +"Who will make the beds so nicely?" asked another. +</P> + +<P> +"Who will sweep our floors?" +</P> + +<P> +"Who will wash our dishes?" +</P> + +<P> +"Who will sew on our buttons?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have known that our big sister would marry sometime," said the +seventh dwarf who had not spoken, but who had been thinking quietly. +"Why shouldn't she marry the king?" +</P> + +<P> +"We must let her marry the king! We must not be selfish!" cried all +the dwarfs together. +</P> + +<P> +They decided that Honoria should marry the king, but they asked her not +to let him kiss her until he had first said these words: "By permission +of the seven enchanted princes." He would have to remember it without +being reminded by Honoria. +</P> + +<P> +Honoria told the king what her brothers had said and the wedding was +celebrated with great joy. +</P> + +<P> +When the king tried to kiss Honoria she burst into tears. He had +forgotten all about saying: "By permission of the seven enchanted +princes." +</P> + +<P> +Honoria would not let the king kiss her, and she cried so much and +struggled so hard that the king thought she had gone crazy. He ordered +her shut up in the dark cell underneath the palace. Then he married a +new queen. +</P> + +<P> +Now it happened that there was a faithful servant who was quite sure +that Honoria was not crazy. When Honoria told her of the words which +the king must say before he kissed her this servant tried to think of +some way to help her. She was very angry at the fact that there was a +new queen. +</P> + +<P> +One day she went to the queen and said: "Queen Honoria who is shut up +in the dark cell underneath the palace is much more clever than you +are." +</P> + +<P> +"What does Queen Honoria do that is so clever?" asked the new queen. +</P> + +<P> +"Queen Honoria will take a sword and cut off her head. Then she will +put it back on again so that it is as good as new. I don't believe you +are clever enough to do that." +</P> + +<P> +"I never tried it," answered the new queen, "but just to show you that +I'm as clever as Queen Honoria I'll do it." +</P> + +<P> +With these words she seized a sword and cut off her head. Of course +she fell dead immediately. The king married a new queen. +</P> + +<P> +Then the servant went to the new queen and said: "Queen Honoria who is +shut up in the dark cell underneath the palace is more clever than you +are." +</P> + +<P> +The new queen was indignant at this remark. "Why is she more clever +than I am?" she asked. "What can she do that I can't do?" +</P> + +<P> +"She can take a sword and cut off her hand. Then she'll stick the hand +on again and it will be as good as new." +</P> + +<P> +"I've never tried it, but I'll do it just to convince you that I am +clever too," said this new queen. +</P> + +<P> +She took up a sword and cut off her right hand. Then she fainted away. +The arm grew full of poison and the queen soon died, but not until she +had told the king what the servant had said to her. +</P> + +<P> +The king was very angry at the servant and called her to him. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean," he thundered, "by telling such a story about Queen +Honoria's magic powers?" +</P> + +<P> +"I wanted you to remember where you had found Queen Honoria," replied +the servant. +</P> + +<P> +Then the king suddenly remembered how he had first seen Queen Honoria +when she was in the house in the forest. He thought of how pretty she +had been in the dress which looked like soft green moss. Then he +thought of how she had said that she must ask permission of her seven +brothers before she consented to become his queen. +</P> + +<P> +"By permission of the seven enchanted princes!" he cried. "I forgot to +say these words before I kissed my dear Queen Honoria!" +</P> + +<P> +He quickly ran to the dark cell underneath the palace where she was +confined. He said the magic words and kissed his fair queen who was +just as beautiful as before she had been shut up in the cell, though a +trifle paler. +</P> + +<P> +In the house in the forest the seven dwarfs who were in truth seven +enchanted princes suddenly were disenchanted. +</P> + +<P> +"Our dear sister Honoria did not forget us after all," they cried in +joy. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap19"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE LISTENING KING +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of the Trouble Which Came to Him</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Once upon a time there lived a king who liked to walk in disguise about +the streets of the city, listening at people's doors. It was, in fact, +his favorite amusement. Other kings of that land had been fond of war +or hunting or fishing or games, but there had never before been one who +liked to listen at doors. For this reason he was called "the listening +king." +</P> + +<P> +"It is the greatest fun I have," he often said to his counsellors. +"Being a king would be a stupid life if one didn't have some diversion." +</P> + +<P> +"Be careful that it does not get you into trouble," said the wise men. +"We have often heard that listening to other people's secrets is a +dangerous practice." +</P> + +<P> +"I've had nothing but pleasure from it, anyway," the king would reply. +Then he would add, "So far, at least." +</P> + +<P> +Sometimes he would take a friend or two with him, and sometimes he +would go alone. The habit of listening at doors became more and more a +favorite one to him as the months and years passed. +</P> + +<P> +Now in that city there lived a man of humble station who had three +pretty daughters. One evening the king passed his house and stopped at +the door to listen. +</P> + +<P> +"Whom would you like to marry?" one of the girls was asking. It +happened to be the youngest one. +</P> + +<P> +"I'd like to marry the royal baker," the eldest sister replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Why?" asked the youngest one. +</P> + +<P> +"So that I might always eat fresh bread," was the reply. +</P> + +<P> +"Whom would you like to marry?" the youngest sister asked the middle +one. +</P> + +<P> +"I'd like to marry the royal meat cook so that I might always eat meat +roasted just to a turn," was her answer. +</P> + +<P> +"Whom would you like to marry?" asked the eldest and the middle sister +together. +</P> + +<P> +"I'd like to marry the listening king himself," was the reply which +their youngest sister made. +</P> + +<P> +"Silly! Silly!" cried her two sisters. "We have perhaps a chance of +getting our wishes, but what chance have you?" +</P> + +<P> +"If one wishes for nothing splendid one never gets anything splendid," +replied the youngest sister with a blush which made her look very +charming to the king as he peeped through the keyhole. +</P> + +<P> +The king went away with a shrewd smile upon his face. The next day he +sent for the three sisters to come to the palace. They were very much +frightened. +</P> + +<P> +"Well," said the king to the eldest girl, "do you want to marry the +royal baker?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, your majesty," she replied. "I have no objections." +</P> + +<P> +The king turned to her sister. +</P> + +<P> +"How is it with you?" he asked. "What do you say to marrying the royal +meatcook?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'll be most happy to marry him, your majesty," she answered. +</P> + +<P> +The youngest girl was blushing like a rose and her heart was thumping +so that she could scarcely breathe. The king smiled as he noticed her +fair head bowed upon her breast. +</P> + +<P> +"Would you like to marry the listening king?" he asked her gently. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, your majesty," she responded, so low that the king could hardly +hear her. +</P> + +<P> +"Very well," said the king. "I'll have all these weddings celebrated +at once." +</P> + +<P> +Thus it happened that the two eldest sisters got their wishes and +married the royal baker and the royal meatcook, while the youngest one +wedded the listening king himself. The others were very angry at her +luck and their hearts were filled with envy. +</P> + +<P> +"Why didn't we wish to be queens or at least princesses?" one asked the +other. "It would have been just as easy to have had our wishes +granted!" +</P> + +<P> +"Why didn't we! Why didn't we! How stupid we were!" cried the other. +</P> + +<P> +They passed the time in plotting against their youngest sister, the +queen. +</P> + +<P> +A year flew by and twin sons were born to the royal pair. They had +gold stars on their foreheads. The whole kingdom was filled with +rejoicing. As for the listening king, he was so happy that he forgot +to listen at people's doors. +</P> + +<P> +The only persons in the whole country who were not happy were the two +jealous sisters. They stole the tiny babies out of the palace and +threw them into the river. +</P> + +<P> +"Trouble has at last come to our listening king," said the wise men, +when the loss was discovered. +</P> + +<P> +The basket in which the twins had been placed floated away down the +stream. It was found by a miller. +</P> + +<P> +"What have we here?" he asked his wife as together they removed the +cover from the basket. +</P> + +<P> +"I guess it is something good to eat," said his wife. "What do you +think it is?" +</P> + +<P> +"I guess it is a poor little puppy which some one wanted to drown," +replied the miller. +</P> + +<P> +Then they took the cover off the basket. The two babies opened their +eyes and smiled just then. The miller and his wife were the most +surprised people in the whole country and also the happiest ones. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-196"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-196.jpg" ALT="The miller and his wife were the most surprised people in the whole country" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +The miller and his wife were the most surprised people in the whole country +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"What beautiful children!" cried the miller. +</P> + +<P> +"Let's keep them!" cried his wife. +</P> + +<P> +"Of course we'll keep them," replied the miller. "The good God himself +must have sent them to us in answer to our prayers." +</P> + +<P> +Just then the miller's wife noticed the golden stars upon their +foreheads. +</P> + +<P> +"What does this mean?" she asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know," answered her husband as he examined them carefully. +"Perhaps it is just a sign that they are truly the gift of God." +</P> + +<P> +The miller and his wife cared for the two children as if they had been +their own. They lived such a long distance from the palace that they +never heard the news that the royal babes were missing. +</P> + +<P> +As the two boys grew older they became the handsomest, cleverest lads +in the whole kingdom. The gold stars shone and twinkled upon their +foreheads. At last the miller's wife made little caps for them to wear +to hide the stars. They were altogether too conspicuous. +</P> + +<P> +Then one sad summer a pestilence came upon the land and the good miller +and his wife died. The two children were left alone in the world. The +listening king had decreed all the orphaned children in the kingdom +should be brought to the royal city that they might be fed and cared +for. The miller's two orphans went with the others, and the king's +wicked sister-in-laws saw them. They recognized them at once because +of the golden stars upon their foreheads. +</P> + +<P> +"We must make a new plot to destroy the royal children," said one +sister to the other. "And we must be quick about it or the king or +queen will see them and recognize them, too, by the golden stars." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you quite sure these are the two royal babes we threw into the +river?" asked the other sister doubtfully. "It is a bit difficult for +me to believe that our sister's children can be so handsome." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm entirely certain of it," assured her sister. "There is no one +except the royal babes who could have those golden stars." +</P> + +<P> +While the wicked sisters plotted, the two children had approached the +royal gardens. Inside the garden there was a beautiful parrot with +feathers of green and gold. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm going to catch that bird," said one of the brothers. "Wait here +while I go inside the gates." +</P> + +<P> +He could not catch the parrot and he called his brother to come and +help him. Together they succeeded; and, with the beautiful +green-and-gold parrot tightly clutched, they tried to slip outside the +gate of the royal gardens. +</P> + +<P> +Just as they were almost out, the great gates swiftly closed and caught +their garments. +</P> + +<P> +"We're caught! We're caught!" cried the two children. "How can we +ever get the gates unfastened!" +</P> + +<P> +At the sound of their cries, the royal gardeners, the courtiers and the +listening king himself came to the rescue. +</P> + +<P> +When the king saw the golden stars upon their foreheads he leaned +against the nearest tree for support. +</P> + +<P> +"What children are these?" he asked in a voice which shook. +</P> + +<P> +"I never saw them before," replied the head gardener. "I think they +are some of the orphan children which the great mercy and clemency of +your royal majesty have caused to be rescued from the plague." +</P> + +<P> +"Who are your parents, my children?" asked one of the courtiers. +</P> + +<P> +"We are the children of the good miller and his wife," they replied. +"Our kind foster parents are now dead with the plague." +</P> + +<P> +"Where did this miller and his wife find you?" asked the king eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +Then the two children told the story of how the miller had found them +in a basket in the river. They knew it well, for it was their favorite +story of all the ones which the miller's wife had told them. +</P> + +<P> +The courtiers looked at each other in amazement. Every one had noticed +the bright stars shining on the children's brows. +</P> + +<P> +"I believe you are the two dear babes lost from this palace!" cried the +king as he took them in his arms. +</P> + +<P> +"Who put them in that basket?" asked the king's counsellors. +</P> + +<P> +"If I knew you may be sure that fitting punishment would be visited +upon them!" cried the king. +</P> + +<P> +The beautiful green-and-gold parrot had escaped from the children's +arms and had flown back to a tree near the gates of the royal gardens. +Suddenly he was heard to speak. +</P> + +<P> +"Go find the king's sisters-in-law," were the words he said. +</P> + +<P> +The king's sisters-in-law were quickly brought into the garden. A look +at their guilty faces convinced every one that they were the ones who +had placed the royal babes in the basket and had thrown them into the +river. +</P> + +<P> +"You shall now receive the punishment which you have so richly +deserved!" cried the king as he frowned upon them sternly. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is the good queen?" some one asked. +</P> + +<P> +The queen had been sleeping in her own apartments and had not heard the +noise in the garden. When the courtiers brought her there and she saw +the two handsome boys with the bright stars shining on their foreheads, +she fainted with the joy of it. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap20"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +JOSÉ THE BEAST SLAYER +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of a Boy Who Grew Up in the Forest</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +There was once a king who had a little daughter. He went to the Wise +Man of the Forest to learn how best to bring her up, and this is what +he was told: +</P> + +<P> +"For twelve years you must keep your daughter in a tower in the forest. +It should have no door, only a little window through which you may pass +food to her. You must give her meat which has no bones in it." +</P> + +<P> +The king ordered a tower constructed in the deep forest. It had no +door, and only a little window. Here the princess was placed. Every +day food was passed to her through the little window. The king himself +took charge of this, so that he might be sure that there was no meat +given her which had bones in it. +</P> + +<P> +The years flew by, and at last the twelve year period was nearly up. +Then the king went away one day and left the servants to carry food to +the princess. They were careless, and gave her meat which had a bone +in it. +</P> + +<P> +The little princess had grown very tired of being shut up in the tower +of the forest. +</P> + +<P> +"Ah," said she when she discovered the bone in her meat. "At last I +have something with which to make this little window larger. I've +tried in vain to make it bigger with my fingers." +</P> + +<P> +She used the bone to dig away the wall each side of the window and soon +the little opening had grown so large that the princess could lean her +head out of it and look up at lofty trees. That very day a duke passed +that way on a hunting expedition and saw the beautiful princess in the +tower. He fell in love with her immediately. +</P> + +<P> +Now that the princess had some one to help her make the hole larger it +was an easy matter to make it big enough to escape. That very night +she ran away with the duke. +</P> + +<P> +When the king returned from his journey he found the tower in the +forest entirely empty. There was nothing but the yawning hole to tell +him of his daughter's escape. He tried in vain to find out what had +become of her, but there was no person who could tell him anything +about her. +</P> + +<P> +The princess had gone with the duke across a great river which no one +else knew how to cross. She lived in a big cave in the rocks, and +after all the years in the tower it seemed a wonderful home indeed. +She was never tired of admiring the trees and flowers of the forest and +listening to the songs of the birds. When at last her baby son was +born she thought that she was the very happiest person in the whole +world. +</P> + +<P> +Now when the baby was two years old, the duke decided that they must +take him to a hermitage to be baptized. They went down to the great +river and he carried his little son across it in safety. Then he +returned for the princess, but on the way his foot slipped and he fell +into the river. The strong current bore him swiftly away, leaving the +princess on one side of the river and her little son on the other. +</P> + +<P> +"How shall I get across?" cried the princess when she saw what had +happened. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't worry, mother," replied the child. "I'll come and get you." +</P> + +<P> +To her amazement he crossed the great river in safety and bravely +escorted his mother to the other bank in spite of her tears and cries +of fear. +</P> + +<P> +"Well done, my son!" she said when on the other bank. "You are indeed +a son to be proud of!" +</P> + +<P> +They went to a church and the boy was baptized. José the Beast Slayer +was the name he chose. Then they wandered on until at last they came +to a house with a door in which a little window had been cut. The boy +thrust in his arm and opened the door as if it had been his own. +</P> + +<P> +"Walk in, mother dear," were his words. +</P> + +<P> +Together they entered the house and together they explored the various +rooms. There was nobody there and there was nothing to eat. +Accordingly, José went out begging. He asked alms at the royal palace +and there he was given money to buy food. There was even enough left +over to pay for a gun. +</P> + +<P> +Now that he owned a gun there was no need of begging any more. He shot +plenty of game for his mother and what was left he carried to the royal +palace to give to the king. +</P> + +<P> +One day in the deep forest he entered a cave where the giant of the +forest lived. +</P> + +<P> +"What are you doing here, little penny chicken?" asked the huge giant +as he frowned down at José. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-207"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-207.jpg" ALT="He frowned down at José" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +He frowned down at José +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"I may be a little penny chicken, but I'm not in the least afraid of +giants," replied the boy boldly. +</P> + +<P> +"What, a little penny chicken like you not afraid of me!" cried the +giant as he picked him up roughly and set him on his neck. +</P> + +<P> +José seized the giant's long beard and drew it around his neck so +tightly that the giant fell to the floor dead. Then José seized one of +the money-bags and ran home with it to his mother. +</P> + +<P> +"You must carry some of this to the king," said his mother when she saw +it and had heard his story. +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, José carried the money as a gift to the king. +</P> + +<P> +"Who is bringing me all this?" asked the king when he saw it. +</P> + +<P> +"A little lad," replied the king's servants. +</P> + +<P> +"Lead him in to me," said the king. "I'd like to see him." +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, the boy was led before the throne. +</P> + +<P> +"What is your name, my lad?" asked the king kindly. +</P> + +<P> +"I am called José the Beast Slayer, your majesty," replied the boy as +he bowed low before the throne. +</P> + +<P> +"Who are your parents?" asked the king. +</P> + +<P> +"My father is dead," replied José, "and my mother is a princess who ran +away from a tower in the forest." +</P> + +<P> +José had often heard the story of his mother's life in the tower. It +was the tale he liked best of all. +</P> + +<P> +At the boy's words the king started and looked at him sharply. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell me about this tower," he said eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"It was a tower in the deep forest," replied José. "It had no door, +only a little window through which food was passed to her. She could +never have any meat with a bone. This was because the Wise Man of the +Forest had told her father that it was the best way to bring her up. +One day her father went away and the servants gave her meat with a bone +in it and—" +</P> + +<P> +"I always suspected something like that," interrupted the king. +</P> + +<P> +José looked at him in surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"Were you there?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +The king nodded. "Go on with your story, my boy," he said. +</P> + +<P> +José told all the circumstances of his mother's escape from the tower, +just as she had so often described them to him. Tears were running +down the king's cheeks when at last the story was ended. +</P> + +<P> +"My lad, you are my own grandson!" cried the king as he took him in his +arms. "Proud am I, too, that I have a grandson like you! Where is +your mother now?" +</P> + +<P> +"My mother is in the house in the forest," replied José. "It is she +who told me to carry the money to the king." +</P> + +<P> +"Why did she never come to me?" asked the father. +</P> + +<P> +"I think she was afraid she'd be punished for running away from the +tower without any door," was José's reply. +</P> + +<P> +When the princess was brought home to the royal palace there was a +great feast held which lasted for three days and three nights. Then +the king sent his men with José into the forest to the cave where the +giant had lived. They brought home so many bags of gold that it +required the entire royal army to transport it. +</P> + +<P> +Years passed, and when the old king died it was José the Beast Slayer +who was king of the land. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-215"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-215.jpg" ALT="Headpiece" BORDER="0"> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap21"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE PRINCESS OF THE LOST ISLAND +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of Euphemia and Her Good Deeds</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Euphemia was the daughter of King Atlas and the granddaughter of the +great god Jupiter. She was more beautiful than her fifteen sisters, +though they were all lovely. +</P> + +<P> +All the ten sons of Neptune admired her charms and sought to marry her, +but she would wed none of them. There was, in truth, no one in all the +world who was worthy of her. Euphemia herself knew this and preferred +to remain a star in the constellation of the Hyades, her sisters, +rather than wed an unworthy husband. +</P> + +<P> +Euphemia became a Christian, they say, through the efforts of the +cherubim. She decided to come down to earth and go about doing good +deeds. Accordingly, she came to the island called Seven Cities. +</P> + +<P> +Now in the island of Seven Cities there lived a rich and venerable +Christian prince. He adopted Euphemia as his own daughter. She was +called Princess Euphemia of the island of Seven Cities. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as she came to the island all pain and misery vanished from it. +Joy reigned. Banquets were held, songs were sung, gay dances were +danced. It was as if every day were a feast day. +</P> + +<P> +Time passed. Many changes came to the island, but Euphemia herself +remained always young, always beautiful. +</P> + +<P> +One day two priests from the outside world visited the island. They +saw the magnificent palaces, the beautiful gardens. Two tame lions +followed them about. They were as gentle as if they had been dogs. +</P> + +<P> +"We are in the celestial regions," said one priest to the other. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us stay here forever," said the other priest. "It is indeed the +Paradise of which we have dreamed." +</P> + +<P> +The two priests had come in a tiny launch from a large boat. +</P> + +<P> +"We should return and tell our friends about this celestial region," +they agreed. "To-morrow we will all explore this wonderful country." +</P> + +<P> +It was almost dark when the two priests reached their ship by the +little launch. They reported all the things they had heard and seen in +the new land. +</P> + +<P> +The next morning, however, the island had entirely disappeared. The +water stretched before their gaze with an unbroken rippling blue +surface. +</P> + +<P> +"What has become of our beautiful island," the good priests asked in +amazement. +</P> + +<P> +"We were anchored off the shore of one of the enchanted islands," was +the opinion of everybody. +</P> + +<P> +Euphemia, they say, has not yet disappeared entirely. She has changed +her form. She is still found in the Azores in the plant called +SOLANEA, the flower of St. Cosmo. She is still doing good deeds. Pain +disappears when she comes, just as it did in the lost island. St. +Cosmo, the patron saint of all good physicians, could never have gained +his reputation without her good deeds. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-219"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-219.jpg" ALT="Headpiece" BORDER="0"> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap22"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +WHY THE ALVÉLOA BIRD RECEIVED A BLESSING +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of the Bird of Good Luck</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +In the Azores there is a little bird which is loved and protected by +every one. Its name is the Alvéloa. It has a gray back, white breast, +head and throat, and black and white wings. The tail of this little +bird is always in motion. This is the reason: +</P> + +<P> +Long ago when the wicked king Herod ordered all the babies to be +killed, the Holy Virgin fled into Egypt with the Christ child safe in +her arms. They rode upon an ass. +</P> + +<P> +The Virgin glanced fearfully behind her as they went along the way. At +any moment Herod's messengers might come in pursuit. The tracks of the +ass showed plainly in the dusty road. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh!" cried the Holy Mother, "Our enemies will see our tracks! They +will know in what direction we have fled!" +</P> + +<P> +The Alvéloa was nearby and heard. She spread out her tail like a fan +and shook it about in the dusty road. The tracks of the ass were +completely brushed away. +</P> + +<P> +The Holy Mother smiled upon her. +</P> + +<P> +"For this kind deed, little bird, your tail shall be always in motion. +By this sign you shall be known and your life shall be spared." +</P> + +<P> +To this very day the tail of the Alvéloa is in motion. St. Michael, +himself, the patron of the island of S. Miguel, has asked a special +protection for the little bird in his island. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +The Alvéloa flew all the way before the Virgin, showing her the road +into Egypt. +</P> + +<P> +"My blessing upon you, little bird," said the Virgin. "May you always +have the strength to slay your enemy." +</P> + +<P> +To this very day the Alvéloa is able to slay birds much larger than +herself. +</P> + +<P> +"The Alvéloa kills the hawk," is a saying in the Azores. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +If one wakes in the morning and sees this little gray and white bird +before his window he will have a lucky day. +</P> + +<P> +On the way into Egypt the Virgin pointed to the lupine which grew by +the wayside. +</P> + +<P> +"Eat, little bird," she said. "Eat until your hunger is satisfied. +Blessings be upon you for your kind deeds to me and to the Holy Child. +May good fortune and plenty always attend you." +</P> + +<P> +To this very day this bird blessed by the Virgin is an emblem of good +luck. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-223"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-223.jpg" ALT="Headpiece" BORDER="0"> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap23"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +WHY THE CODORNIZ BIRD RECEIVED A CURSE +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>A Story of the Bird Who Walks Humbly</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +When the Holy Virgin was fleeing into Egypt to escape the persecutions +of Herod, the Codorniz bird flew about making a great racket, calling +out, "Come this way." +</P> + +<P> +"Keep quiet!" cried the Virgin. "Our enemies will hear you! They will +come in pursuit!" +</P> + +<P> +In spite of her words the Codorniz kept up its noise. +</P> + +<P> +"My curse be upon you," said the Virgin. "You shall always walk +humbly. You shall never fly high and smile at the sun." +</P> + +<P> +To this very day the Codorniz bird walks humbly. It has many enemies +who love to slay it to devour. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap24"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +OUTSIDE THE DOOR LIKE THE MOTHER OF ST. PETER +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>A Story of Why She Stays Outside</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +If there is no response when you ring the bell or knock at a door in +the Azores, you have to stay "outside the door like the mother of St. +Peter," they say. This is the story which tells why the mother of St. +Peter had to stay outside: +</P> + +<P> +The very stingiest woman in the whole city was St. Peter's mother. She +was so stingy that she never gave away a single thing to a beggar. No +matter if the beggar were old or sick or blind or crippled or even a +mother with a babe in her arms, she always made the same reply, "I have +nothing to give away." +</P> + +<P> +Not even when there was famine in the land, but plenty in her own home, +would the mother of St. Peter share with the unfortunate. +</P> + +<P> +When St. Peter was made the guardian of the keys of Heaven, of course +he tried to bring his mother inside the celestial gate. +</P> + +<P> +"When your mother lived upon the earth did she ever share her plenty +with any of my poor unfortunate children?" was the question. +</P> + +<P> +St. Peter thought hard. His mother had been a worthy, virtuous woman +in many respects, but he could recall nothing which she had ever given +to the poor and the unfortunate. +</P> + +<P> +At last he remembered a day when she had gone into the garden to get +vegetables for the soup. +</P> + +<P> +A poor beggar woman had stood outside the garden gate, crying: "Alms! +Alms, for the love of God!" +</P> + +<A NAME="img-226"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-226.jpg" ALT=""Alms! Alms!"" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +"Alms! Alms!" +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"Get away from my garden," said St. Peter's mother. "I have no alms to +give you. If I give away the vegetables from my garden, I'd soon have +nothing left to feed my own family. I'd be begging myself." +</P> + +<P> +The poor beggar woman started to turn away with tears in her eyes. An +onion stalk fell from the hand of St. Peter's mother. It was bruised +by its fall and covered with mud, but the beggar seized it eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"Keep it. I wouldn't use it anyway," snapped St. Peter's mother. +</P> + +<P> +St. Peter could remember nothing else to tell, so he related this story. +</P> + +<P> +"Go and find the onion," was the comment. +</P> + +<P> +When St. Peter at last found that onion stalk, it was still dirty with +the mud of the garden and crumpled by its fall, just as it had been +when his mother had given it to the beggar. +</P> + +<P> +"Hold out the onion and pull your mother in," was the order. +</P> + +<P> +St. Peter held out the onion stalk. It did not reach very far down +into Purgatory, but his mother jumped up as high as she could and +seized it eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +Slowly and very carefully he pulled her up by it to the Heavenly Gate. +Just as she was about to enter the door the onion stalk broke. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm sorry. You'll have to stay outside," said St. Peter. "I've done +the best I could for you. The onion stalk was not strong enough to +pull you through." +</P> + +<P> +Thus it happens that the mother of St. Peter has to stay outside the +door of Heaven. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap25"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +WHY THE OWL FLIES AT NIGHT +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>A Story of Good St. Anthony</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Long ago there was an image of the good St. Anthony washed ashore by +the rough waves of the Bay of Angra. A little chapel was built to +receive it on the steep slopes of Monte Brasil overlooking the bay and +here it still remains. +</P> + +<P> +Once upon a time a little boy named Pedro lived in a tiny cottage near +St. Anthony's shrine. His mother had died and his father had married a +new wife who was often cruel to him. She dressed him in ragged, shabby +clothes and the other children of the parish often pointed their +fingers at him in scorn because of his poor garments. +</P> + +<P> +One day as Pedro knelt before the image of the good saint a strange +thing happened. His clothing became new and whole. He was dressed as +well as any boy in the parish. +</P> + +<P> +"Where did you get clothes like this?" asked the stepmother when he +came home that night. "I always knew you were a good-for-nothing. I +believe you have stolen them." +</P> + +<P> +Little Pedro told what had happened, but the woman would not believe +him. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't stand there talking any longer!" she cried. "Take the water +jars and go to the spring and fill them for me. Hurry, I don't want to +be kept waiting for the water!" +</P> + +<P> +Pedro lifted the two great water jars which stood on the floor and +slowly climbed up the hill to the little spring which supplied water +for the family needs during the greater part of the year. Just now the +spring had failed, as the stepmother had found out that very day. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-230"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-230.jpg" ALT="Pedro lifted the two great jars and slowly climbed up the hill" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +Pedro lifted the two great jars and slowly climbed up the hill +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"There is no water in the spring now," said an old man whom little +Pedro met on the way. The boy had almost reached the spring and the +big jars were growing heavy even though they were empty. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm so nearly there I'll go on and see for myself," decided the lad. +"The other spring is so far away and the jars will be so heavy that I +can never carry them all the long distance. Perhaps there is still a +little water here." +</P> + +<P> +When he reached the spring he was surprised to see the water flowing +faster than in many a day. He remembered, too, the new suit of clothes +he was wearing. +</P> + +<P> +"Luck is with me to-day!" he cried as he filled the water jars. "The +good saint Anthony is my friend. He it is who has given me my handsome +clothing and he it is who has blessed the spring for me." +</P> + +<P> +When he returned home with the jars full of water his stepmother stared +at him in amazement. He had not been gone long enough to obtain it +from the farther spring. +</P> + +<P> +"Where did you get this water?" she asked, as soon as she could find +words with which to speak. +</P> + +<P> +Pedro told her that it came from the spring just as it always did. +</P> + +<P> +"That spring is dry to-day!" she cried. "Now I know that you are a +liar as well as a thief. Just wait until your father comes home! I'll +see that you get the beating you deserve." +</P> + +<P> +Pedro wondered why she had sent him to the spring if she had believed +it to be dry, and while he was thinking of this the angry woman gave +him a big basket. +</P> + +<P> +"Here," she said. "Go out in the garden and pick up some wood for me. +Hurry. Don't keep me waiting. Your slow ways drive me mad." +</P> + +<P> +Pedro knew that all the wood in the garden had been picked up long ago. +Now there was nothing in the garden except roses. There were red roses +and pink roses and yellow roses and white roses, but not a single stick +of wood. High up on the steep slopes of Monte Brasil there might be +wood to gather, but the night was dark and the path was steep and long. +Little Pedro was very tired, so tired that two great tears rolled down +his cheeks. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly the good saint Anthony from the little chapel stood before +him. He smiled kindly at the child. "Why are you crying, my boy?" +asked the saint. "I have watched you carefully for a long time and I +know you seldom give way to tears, though often your burdens are so +heavy that a boy less brave would do little else than weep." +</P> + +<P> +"I have to fill my basket with wood and there is nothing except roses +in our garden," replied Pedro. "I'm tired and it is very dark on Monte +Brasil to search there for wood." +</P> + +<P> +"Here, dear boy," said the saint, smiling. "Just pick the roses and +fill your basket with them. Then take them to your stepmother and see +what she will say to you. I'll be with you." +</P> + +<P> +Pedro filled his big basket with the lovely red and yellow and pink and +white roses which grew in the garden in such rich abundance. Then he +ran into the house with them. As the light from the candles fell upon +them, to his amazement he saw that they were no longer roses. The +basket was full of wood. +</P> + +<P> +"Where did you get this wood?" cried the woman angrily. "There are +only roses in the garden. Where have you been?" +</P> + +<P> +She seized Pedro roughly by the collar of his new coat and shook him +until his teeth chattered. He looked up into the saint's eyes. St. +Anthony's face was stern. +</P> + +<P> +"Stop, woman!" cried the voice which a moment before had been so kind +and gentle. Now it thundered forth in stern accents. "This little lad +has done no harm. You have been guilty of a desire to bring harm to +him, For this cruelty take the punishment which you so richly merit. +It is you who have sent this child out into the night. Now it is I who +sends you out into the night." +</P> + +<P> +From that moment Pedro's stepmother was no longer a woman. She was +changed into an owl with her eyes the big round circles they had looked +when she had gazed up into the fierce face of angry St. Anthony. To +this very day the owl has to fly by night. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-237"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-237.jpg" ALT="Headpiece" BORDER="0"> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap26"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE LABORER AND HIS MASTER +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of a Man Who Outfitted Another</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Once upon a time there was a laborer who said to his master: +</P> + +<P> +"It is time to plant the fields." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well," said his master. "The part which grows above the ground +shall be mine and you shall have in payment for your labor the part +which grows below the ground." +</P> + +<P> +"Agreed," said the laborer. +</P> + +<P> +He planted the fields with potatoes. His master had nothing but the +tops outside the earth. The laborer harvested many baskets of potatoes +that year and sold them for a goodly sum. The master was angry because +of this. +</P> + +<P> +"Next harvest time," said he, "we'll see about things! You shall give +me what grows below the ground and keep for yourself what grows above." +</P> + +<P> +"Agreed," said the laborer. "That is perfectly fair to me." +</P> + +<P> +The laborer planted the fields with wheat. His master had nothing but +the roots, while he harvested a rich crop of wheat which he sold for +much money. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll settle with you," said his master. +</P> + +<P> +The laborer was frightened. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't be afraid," said his wife. "When your master comes let me talk +to him." +</P> + +<P> +The woman gashed her face and hands with the pruning knife. +</P> + +<P> +The master came to the door and she opened it. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is your husband?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"He is sharpening his nails," said she. "See what ugly scratches I +already have upon my hands and face." +</P> + +<P> +The master went away without punishing the laborer. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap27"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +'TIS FAITH WHICH SAVES +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of a Maid Who Was Betrothed to One She Trusted</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +There was once upon a time a fair maid who lived in the island of +Fayal. She was betrothed to a young man of the same island. One day +she fell ill with a disease which baffled the skill of all the +physicians. Their arts, the mourning of her betrothed, the prayers and +tears of her mother, all seemed of no avail. It appeared that the fair +maid would die. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-241"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-241.jpg" ALT="It appeared that the fair maid would die" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +It appeared that the fair maid would die +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Now it happened that in one of the nearby islands, St. Michael, there +was a miracle-working image called the Santo Christo. The fair maid +begged of her betrothed that he would go to St. Michael and procure +some of the mysterious miracle-working sweat of the Santo Christo or +some of the miraculous parings of the nails of the image, which had the +power to heal any disease. +</P> + +<P> +The young man gladly set out on the quest. On the boat which conveyed +him to St. Michael, however, he met a maid with beauty and charm, a +maid whose bright eyes made him forget the sad eyes of his betrothed. +</P> + +<P> +When he arrived at his destination he thought only of singing gay songs +beneath the balcony of his new love. The days flew by, and soon it was +time for the boat to return to Fayal. He had forgotten the mission on +which he had come, and he returned to the boat with no relics of the +miracle-working Santo Christo. +</P> + +<P> +The homeward journey was rough and stormy. Filled with fear of death +at any moment, the young man remembered the fair maid of Fayal who even +at that very hour might be dying. His conscience smote him. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, why did I allow another fair face to crowd out from my heart the +image of my beloved?" he asked himself. "Faithless wretch that I am, +what shall I say to my betrothed if good fortune and the sea permit me +to stand once more at her side?" +</P> + +<P> +The rough waves beat angrily against the side of the boat in answer. +That night the storm ceased and in the morning it was fair and clear as +the boat entered the beautiful harbor of Fayal under the shadow of Mt. +Pico. With clear skies and smooth seas the young man's conscience +became less troublesome. He resolved that he would not confess his +deceit to his betrothed. +</P> + +<P> +"If I told her it might make her grow worse so rapidly that she would +die because of it," he said to himself. +</P> + +<P> +Indeed, it was quite enough to have made the girl die of a broken +heart, had she known the whole story. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly the youth's face clouded. +</P> + +<P> +"What shall I say to my beloved as the reason why I have brought back +to her neither the miracle-working sweat of the Santo Christo nor the +miraculous nail parings?" he was asking. +</P> + +<P> +His eye fell upon the boat's wooden side. Quickly he shaved off some +fine parings of this wood. He wrapped them up carefully and took them +to the fair maid of Fayal as if they were parings from the nails of the +miracle-working image. +</P> + +<P> +His betrothed's face shone with joy at his return. Tears of +thankfulness filled her eyes when she saw the parings which he had +brought her. +</P> + +<P> +"How can I ever thank you for your faithfulness in this quest in my +behalf, and the great love which prompted you to undertake this stormy, +dangerous journey on the rough seas that I might once more be well?" +</P> + +<P> +The young man did not enjoy hearing her speak of his love and +faithfulness. He did not reply. +</P> + +<P> +"No maid was ever blessed with so wonderful a lover," went on the happy +girl. +</P> + +<P> +"You are forgetting to take the parings," said the mother. "They will +not cure you if you do not take them." +</P> + +<P> +The fair maid of Fayal took the parings in a gourd full of water. She +began to improve immediately and the next day she was entirely well. +</P> + +<P> +"'Tis faith which saves and not parings," said her betrothed. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap28"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ST. BRENDAN'S ISLAND +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of the Little Maid Who Found It</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +There was once an Irish monk called St. Brendan. One day he received a +visit from a hermit who told him of a most marvelous island. +</P> + +<P> +"Come and visit this earthly Paradise," said the hermit. "There the +sun always shines. The birds wear golden crowns upon their heads and +speak like humans." +</P> + +<P> +The perfume of the island clung to the garments of the hermit for forty +days. +</P> + +<P> +Good St. Brendan asked many questions about the mysterious island and +at last resolved to visit it and see for himself if all the wonders of +which he had heard were really true. Accordingly, he built a coracle +of wattle covered with hides tanned in oak bark and softened with +butter. He loaded it with provisions to last for forty days. Then he +persuaded some of his disciples to accompany him. This was somewhat +difficult for they were timid about embarking upon this dangerous +expedition in the frail boat. St. Brendan, however, succeeded in +overcoming their fears and set out with a little group of his most +devoted followers. +</P> + +<P> +It was seven years before they returned to their native land. They +were even more enthusiastic about their wonderful island than the +hermit had been. They urged others to go and find out its marvels but +nobody else was ever able to locate it. +</P> + +<P> +They say that the island of St. Brendan was a floating island in the +Atlantic. Good St. Brendan did not die but kept on living in the +earthly Paradise of his isle. When the Christians were hard pressed in +their battles with the Moors and were about to be pushed back into the +sea the island of St. Brendan appeared upon the horizon, and the good +saint himself came to fight against the Moors and bring victory to the +Christians. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +In the middle of the fifteenth century there was a little maid called +Maria who lived in the island of Terceira. She heard the story of St. +Brendan's isle from a Franciscan brother. Day and night she dreamed of +it. She often sat upon the hillside of Monte Brasil, looking eagerly +out over the broad expanse of sea, hoping with all her heart that the +island would appear to her. +</P> + +<P> +One day there landed in Terceira a cavalier of Rhodes named Vital. +From his grandfather he had inherited some of the sacred relics of St. +Brendan. He had come to the Azores in his search for the mysterious +island. On his doublet he wore an eight-pointed star and a band upon +which was embroidered in scarlet silk the motto, "By Faith." It was +indeed "by faith" that he had embarked upon his quest. +</P> + +<P> +The little maid, Maria, fell in love with him the moment she heard of +him and his errand. She worshiped him as if he had been the good St. +Brendan himself, but when she was with him she sat with downcast eyes, +her long dark eyelashes sweeping her delicate cheek, and did not give +him a glance, much less a word. +</P> + +<P> +The young cavalier loved the little maid. He divided his holy relics +of St. Brendan with her, and in return he begged of her that she might +speak a word of love. +</P> + +<P> +"To tell my love to you," said Maria, "I'd have to be where nobody but +God could hear." +</P> + +<P> +Indeed it was quite true that Maria needed to be where nobody but the +good God could hear her when she spoke of her love for the cavalier +Vital. The son of the wealthy Captain of the district had long admired +her delicate beauty. He had already sought her for his bride. His +jealousy against Vital rose up like a burning flame. He went to Maria +and demanded that she should marry him at once. +</P> + +<P> +Maria firmly refused. +</P> + +<P> +"If you do not wed me," said the captain's son, "I shall have my father +lock you up in the stronghold of St. Louis on the hillside." +</P> + +<P> +"I should prefer to spend all my days confined in the castle of St. +Louis rather than be your wife," said she. "Why can't you leave me in +peace with my relics of the good St. Brendan!" +</P> + +<P> +The mention of St. Brendan's relics stirred the young man's wrath even +more. He well knew who it was who had given her the holy relics. His +threat was fulfilled, and she was taken that very day to the castle of +St. Louis and locked up in that stronghold. +</P> + +<P> +Her room had a window, and there she sat high up in the tower of the +castle looking down at the city of Angra beneath her. +</P> + +<P> +"I had longed to serve the good God," she cried. "Why is it that my +life has been made useless!" +</P> + +<P> +At that very moment the earth trembled. The strong walls of the castle +shook as if they had been built of paper. +</P> + +<P> +Near the fort two doves were sitting on the branches of a cedar tree. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us rescue this fair maid," said one dove to the other. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, let us carry her away on our wings," agreed the other. +</P> + +<P> +That instant the earth shook so that the walls of the stronghold fell +to the ground. The two doves spread out their snow-white wings and +bore Maria away in safety. +</P> + +<P> +Over houses and churches they flew. Over treetops and the broad +expanse of the sea they rose. The city, the island, the sea, all +disappeared from Maria's sight. She felt so dizzy that she closed her +eyes. +</P> + +<P> +When she opened them again she was in an island of such beauty as she +had never dreamed. It was indeed a garden of Paradise. The good St. +Brendan himself, she saw, was the gardener. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +The earthquake caused much damage in the island of Terceira. When the +disappearance of Maria was known throughout the little city; of Angra +nobody mourned for her as did the young cavalier Vital. +</P> + +<P> +"What is the island to me without Maria?" he asked in sorrow. +</P> + +<P> +Once more he embarked upon the sea in his search for the island of St. +Brendan. Long days and long nights he tossed about on the ocean. +</P> + +<P> +One evening just at sunset he saw the clouds of heaven descending to +earth like a white ladder. Then he observed, far away upon the +horizon, an island. He knew in his heart that he had at last a glimpse +of St. Brendan's isle. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-253"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-253.jpg" ALT="One evening just at sunset" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +One evening just at sunset +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +A gentle breeze swelled his sails and sent him rapidly toward it. As +he drew near he saw his loved Maria standing with her arms +outstretched. A bright light shone about her. +</P> + +<P> +"To speak of my love to you," said she, "I have to be where nobody but +God can hear—God and the gardener of this island, St. Brendan." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap29"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE SILENT CAVALIER +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of the Peach Tree</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +In the early days when the Azores had just been discovered there were +many Flemish settlers who came to the islands. Among them there was a +young cavalier of the order of St. George of Borgonha. His name was +Jesus Maria and the reason why he had come was because a wise monk had +told him that his path in life lay by way of the sea. +</P> + +<P> +"Your name given to you in Holy Baptism," said the monk, "is Iesvs +Maria. Transpose the letters and it says in Latin, <I>Maris es via</I>." +</P> + +<P> +The young cavalier agreed that the sea must be his path of destiny and +he at once set sail upon a long voyage which finally led him to the +island of Fayal. He loved the rocky coast where the waves beat. He +loved the deep ravine where the laughing brook ran, the lake in the +ancient crater, the snow-capped summit of Mt. Pico which smiled down in +stately majesty from the opposite island. He decided that this was to +be his home. +</P> + +<P> +"My path of Destiny was indeed the sea," he said. "The sea has brought +me to a country which is very fair." +</P> + +<P> +In the island of Fayal there were already some Portuguese settlers. +One of these had a beautiful daughter Ida. The young Flemish cavalier +thought that she was the fairest maid he had ever seen. He fell deeply +in love with her. +</P> + +<P> +Now the cavaliers of the order of St. George of Borgonha had vowed that +they would never wed. Jesus Maria could not break the solemn pledge +which he had given when he joined the order. Neither could he forget +the bright eyes of the Portuguese maiden Ida. It seemed as if his +heart would break. +</P> + +<P> +"I will leave this island and return to my own country," he thought. +</P> + +<P> +Then he remembered the words which the wise monk had said about the sea +being his path. He had followed that road and it had led him to a fair +island home. He decided that he could not return to his native land of +Flanders. Over across the shining blue water he looked up at the +peaceful snow-capped summit of Mt. Pico. The sight of its majestic +stillness seemed to give him strength to hold his tongue and keep him +from speaking words of love to the beautiful Portuguese maiden. Never +a word of love broke from him. The maiden Ida never knew the shrine +she occupied in the heart of the Flemish cavalier. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-259"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-259.jpg" ALT="The peaceful snow-capped summit of Mt. Pico" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +The peaceful snow-capped summit of Mt. Pico +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +The days dragged slowly by. The young man could bear no more. He felt +that his strength could no longer endure on the same island with Ida. +If he stayed near her he would break his vow. +</P> + +<P> +One morning in a little boat he crossed the blue waters to the island +of Pico. At the foot of the majestic mountain he loved, he built the +little hut which was to be his home. He never returned to the island +of Fayal, and as the years went by he was spoken of as the good hermit +of Pico. Nobody knew his secret. +</P> + +<P> +When at last the Cavalier Jesus Maria died, a peach tree grew from his +tomb,—the emblem of silence. The leaf of this tree has the form of +the human tongue. Its fruit has a stone shaped somewhat like the human +heart. From this stone there comes a seed which when planted produces +a new tree. Thus it is that words which bear fruit spring from the +heart. It is silence which teaches one the gift of fruitful words, +they say in the Azores. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap30"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE ENCHANTED PALACE +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of Lake Ginjal</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +In the village of Altos Ares in the island of Terceira there lived once +upon a time a fair maid who had been baptized Perola, which means +Pearl. As she grew older she was indeed like a rare pearl among the +other maidens of the village, so great was the charm of her unusual +beauty. She was the joy of her home and of the whole community for her +disposition was as lovely as her face. +</P> + +<P> +One bright spring morning Perola leaned over the cistern where she had +gone to get water. Her reflection showed so plainly in the water that +she paused to gaze into the smiling eyes of her own mirrored face. As +she did so a magic spell was woven about her. The water fairy who had +come to the cistern had seen her great beauty and had thrown a charm +over her. In a moment more she fell into the cistern to join her +reflection there. +</P> + +<P> +When Perola could not be found there was great excitement in the little +village. Nobody could guess what had become of her. Her mother prayed +devoutly for her safety in the church of St. Roque. All the villagers +sought for her in every possible place. +</P> + +<P> +Now at the north of the island of Terceira there are groups of tiny +rocks in the sea which are called the Biscoitos or biscuits. Here +there lived a wise old woman who had a great reputation among all the +people of the island for her knowledge. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us go to consult the wise woman of Biscoitos," said one of the +village youths when they had sought long and faithfully for a trace of +the hiding-place into which Perola might have vanished. +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, the young men of Altos Ares went to the wise woman, and +this is what she told them: +</P> + +<P> +"The fair pearl of your village is safe from the fishers of pearls. +She is hidden away in an enchanted palace of marble and ivory and +tortoise-shell and mother-of-pearl." +</P> + +<P> +The water fairy had taken Perola through an underground passage which +led from the cistern to the beautiful enchanted palace in the lake of +Ginjal. There she was kept in hiding. The fairies never dreamed that +anybody would ever be able to guess where she was. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-263"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-263.jpg" ALT="The beautiful enchanted palace in the lake of Ginjal" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +The beautiful enchanted palace in the lake of Ginjal +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Now, with the words of the wise woman of Biscoitos to guide them, the +youths of Altos Ares organized an expedition to search for their lost +playmate. The sons of the magistrate, the rich men, the learned men of +the island of Terceira joined this expedition. They searched through +the whole island for a place where an enchanted palace might be located. +</P> + +<P> +At last, upon St. John's Day when the days and nights are of equal +length, this band of the brave youths of Terceira came to the shores of +Lake Ginjal in the interior of the island. +</P> + +<P> +"This is surely the enchanted place. Here in this lake must lie the +fairies' palace of marble and ivory and tortoise shell and +mother-of-pearl!" somebody cried. +</P> + +<P> +"How shall we be able to approach this magic palace and rescue Perola?" +asked one. +</P> + +<P> +"How shall we be able to break her enchantment?" asked another. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us camp here upon the border of the lake and consider how best to +proceed," said the leader of the expedition. +</P> + +<P> +Now at that very hour on St. John's Day the mother of Perola was in the +church of St. Roque in Altos Ares praying devoutly for her daughter's +safe return. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly she heard a strange voice. These were the words which fell +upon her ears: +</P> + +<P> +"Your prayers and the perseverance of the youths of the island have at +last triumphed. Go in peace. On the day of St. Peter at the hour of +sunset your daughter shall be restored to you. Her enchantment shall +be broken and she shall be brought to the bank of Lake Ginjal in a boat +of ivory, drawn by a snow-white swan." +</P> + +<P> +When the youths encamped upon the shore of the lake heard these tidings +they set up such a shout of joy that it was indeed enough to break any +enchantment. +</P> + +<P> +At the time appointed Perola was brought to the bank of the lake in a +boat of ivory drawn by a snow-white swan, just as fair and lovely as +upon the day when she had vanished from the little village of Altos +Ares. +</P> + +<P> +This is the story of the Lake of Ginjal. It is quite probable that the +enchanted palace of the water fairies is still there. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap31"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE FRIEND OF THE DEVIL +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>A Story of the Islands in the Bay of Angra</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Once upon a time there was a handsome Flemish youth who came to the +island of Fayal. His name was Fernâo de Hutra. He fell in love with a +beautiful nun in the convent of the Gloria in the city of Horta. +</P> + +<P> +One day the Devil appeared to him. +</P> + +<P> +"Since you fell in love with this fair nun, I see you are a friend of +mine," said the Devil. +</P> + +<P> +The young man had not known this, but he replied: +</P> + +<P> +"Say rather that I will be your friend if you help me get possession of +this nun I love." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well," said the Devil, "but you will have to make a bargain with +me." +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" asked Fernâo, rather anxiously. +</P> + +<P> +"Grant me your solemn pledge that you'll give me all your children," +responded the Devil. +</P> + +<P> +"Agreed," said Fernâo. +</P> + +<P> +After that he saw much of the Devil. The nun, however, was as devout +as she was beautiful. She refused to break the vows she had made and +flee with the Flemish youth. She firmly resisted both him and the +Devil. +</P> + +<P> +"You are not a true friend to me after all," said Fernâo to the Devil +sadly. +</P> + +<P> +"But you are my friend," said the Devil in reply. +</P> + +<P> +Soon after, Fernâo de Hutra left the city of Horta and the island of +Fayal and went to join his kinsmen who had settled in Angra in the +island of Terceira. Here his handsome face won many friends for him +among the youth of the city. To some of these he confided the story of +his relations with the Devil. +</P> + +<P> +Now it happened that in the year 1666 the first bull fight was held in +Angra. To this very day the island of Terceira is the only one in the +Azores which has bull fights. +</P> + +<P> +Fernâo had taken part in this. He was one of the chief organizers of +the bull fight held on St. John's Day of the following year. That day +all the men and women and children of the city of Angra assembled in +the public square before the fort. The bullfighters, richly clad, rode +forth upon prancing steeds decked in costly velvets with streamers and +ribbons of gold and silver which sparkled in the bright sunlight. The +youths were resplendent in their garments of crimson or purple or blue +velvet, richly embroidered. Fernâo de Hutra was radiant in his jacket +of blue decked with pearls, with a plumed hat upon his handsome head. +He carried a yellow banner embroidered with the arms of his family. +</P> + +<P> +Gay music sounded. The bulls were brought into the ring. The +bullfighters saluted and the fight began. +</P> + +<P> +In the windows of the castle the daughters of the chief magistrate of +the city of Angra were seated among their friends. The eldest +daughter, Sophia, was the most beautiful maid of the whole city. The +magistrate watched her anxiously as her fair cheek alternately paled +and flushed as the struggle went on. There could be no doubt about the +fact that there was love in her eyes as they rested upon the handsome +young Flemish cavalier, Fernâo de Hutra. She was wearing his colors +and in her hand she carefully held his bouquet of flowers. The ribbon +which tied them secured also a piece of paper upon which were written +these words: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"Oh, beautiful maid of my heart's desire,<BR> +For your dear sake I'd go through fire."<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +The magistrate withdrew from the gay scene into the silence of the +great hall of the castle. He bowed his head upon his hands. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-273"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-273.jpg" ALT="He bowed his head upon his hands" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +He bowed his head upon his hands +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"This youth is the friend of the Devil," he groaned. "I cannot consent +to my daughter's marriage to him. He has promised to give all his +children to the Devil, they say. I cannot allow my own grandchildren +to be given to the Devil." +</P> + +<P> +That very day he began to plot how to get rid of the handsome young +Fernâo. +</P> + +<P> +Now in the bay before the city of Angra there are two rocky islands +called to-day just as they were then, the Ilheos de Cabras, the islands +of goats. The brother-in-law of the magistrate was the owner of these +barren islands. There were a few goats there, a few mulberry bushes, +and a tiny spring of fresh water. The magistrate called his +brother-in-law to him as soon as the bull fight was over. He told him +all his fears and asked if he might use the islands as a place of +banishment for the young Flemish cavalier who was the friend of the +Devil. +</P> + +<P> +"You are quite welcome to use these islands for so worthy a purpose," +replied his brother-in-law. "Indeed, I have often thought that the +deep cave on the island led into Inferno. It is a most fitting spot +for the habitation of the Devil's friend." +</P> + +<P> +Thus it happened that the handsome young Flemish cavalier was seized +and borne away to the barren rocky islands in the Bay of Angra. When +he was received there a great earthquake shook the whole island of +Terceira. When at last the people of the city of Angra were through +contemplating all the destruction which had been wrought, some one +looked in the direction of the island of goats. They saw that a great +piece had been broken away from one of the islands. +</P> + +<P> +Thus it was that the Devil received his friend. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap32"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE MILLER'S CLOAK +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of a Man Who Tried to Stay Home from Church</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +There was once a pious miller. He was always to be found in the church +praying. He prayed for the dead. He prayed for those who were alive. +He prayed for all who suffered, for the homeless ones, for the hungry +ones. He prayed for those upon the sea and those upon the land. +</P> + +<P> +Now it happened that a terrible storm smote the island. The sea beat +high against the rocky coast. Lightning flashed. Thunder roared. The +wind howled. The rain fell in torrents as if it were a flood. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't go out in the storm to-night," counselled his wife. "It is not +a suitable night for one to go to church." +</P> + +<P> +"I agree with you," replied the miller. "I do not need to go to the +church in this fierce storm. Surely my prayers of other days and +nights have been so many that to-night I have earned rest in my own dry +house. The good God will pardon me." +</P> + +<P> +The miller wrapped his heavy brown cloak about him and lay down upon +his bed. The wind shrieked. Thunder shook the earth. Unseen hands +pulled the miller's cloak from off his bed. +</P> + +<P> +"The wind has blown out the candle! Light another!" cried the miller +to his wife. +</P> + +<P> +By the dim light of the candle the good miller again arranged his bed. +He wrapped his heavy mantle about him and once more tried to sleep. +Again his cloak was pulled from off his bed as if by unseen hands. +</P> + +<P> +There was no rest for the miller that night. His cloak could not be +made to cover him as he lay upon his bed. +</P> + +<P> +"I might as well go to church and pray," he told his wife. "I can't +rest here." +</P> + +<P> +He wrapped himself in the brown cloak and went out to the church +through the fierce blinding storm. He prayed for the dead. He prayed +for those who were alive. He prayed for all who suffered, for the +homeless ones, the hungry ones. He prayed for those upon the sea, for +those upon the land. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-277"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-277.jpg" ALT="He wrapped himself in the brown cloak and went out through the fierce blinding storm" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +He wrapped himself in the brown cloak and went out through the fierce blinding storm +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"Surely the prayers of the pious are needed this night," said the +miller to his wife when he came in out of the fierce storm. +</P> + +<P> +Lightning flashed. Thunder roared. The rain fell in torrents. The +wind howled and drove the pouring rain against the windows. It blew in +sheets through the door before the miller had time to close it behind +him. The storm beat upon the thatched roof as if it would carry it +away. +</P> + +<P> +"Quick, your cloak!" cried the miller's wife. "Take it off that I may +dry it by the fire!" +</P> + +<P> +The good man started to obey. As he touched his cloak, however, his +eyes opened wide in amazement. It was entirely dry. +</P> + +<P> +"Feel it yourself!" said he to his wife. "There is not a drop of rain +upon it!" +</P> + +<P> +The miller's wife discovered that his words were true. +</P> + +<P> +"It is a miracle of God!" cried she as she crossed herself. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap33"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE MAGIC MOUTHFUL +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of a Woman Who Quarreled</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +Once upon a time there was a woman who lived a most unhappy life. She +and her husband were always quarreling. Every day when he came home +from work he was cross, and said harsh words to her. She would respond +with bitter words, and things would go from bad to worse until at last +he would beat her. +</P> + +<P> +One day the woman took her water jar and went to the fountain to fill +it as usual. She was so unhappy that great tears were rolling down her +cheeks. +</P> + +<P> +There was a little old woman standing by the fountain. +</P> + +<P> +"What is the matter, my daughter?" she asked as she saw the tears upon +the poor woman's cheeks. +</P> + +<P> +When she had heard all the story, the little old woman took the water +jar and filled it at the fountain. +</P> + +<P> +"Go home, my daughter," she said. "Keep this water in the jar. The +moment your husband says a cross word to you, fill your mouth with the +water." +</P> + +<P> +The sad woman thanked her and went to her own house. +</P> + +<P> +The next day when her husband came home he began to scold as usual. +She was about to reply when she suddenly remembered the old woman's +advice. She ran to the water jar and filled her mouth with water. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-280"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-280.jpg" ALT="She ran to the water jar" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +She ran to the water jar +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +To her great amazement her husband soon stopped scolding. That night, +for the first time in many weeks, she went to sleep without a beating. +</P> + +<P> +Things kept on going well for several days. Just as soon as her +husband came home cross and said unpleasant things she would fill her +mouth with water from the jar. Then he would get over being cross. +Now there were smiles instead of tears on the woman's face. +</P> + +<P> +At last, however, the water jar grew empty. +</P> + +<P> +Once more the woman went to the fountain, hoping that she would again +find the little old woman who had given her the magic water. She found +her waiting at the fountain. +</P> + +<P> +"How did my prescription succeed, dear daughter?" she asked as soon as +she saw her. +</P> + +<P> +"How can I ever thank you for all you have done for me!" cried the +woman. "Now I am happy once more. My husband no longer beats me. I +did not dream that my life could ever be so full of joy. Give me, I +pray you, some more of the magic water." +</P> + +<P> +The little old woman smiled gently. +</P> + +<P> +"Dear daughter," she said, "the water which I put in your jar is +nothing but the water from this fountain. It is the very same which +you always carry home. This is the secret: When your mouth is full of +water you cannot reply when your husband says cross words to you. If +you do not keep up the quarrel it soon ends. That is why your life is +happy now instead of sad. Go home, and whenever your husband says an +unkind word pretend that your mouth is full of water and do not reply. +Go in peace, my child." +</P> + +<P> +The woman always remembered this good advice and never again quarreled +with her husband. When she had children of her own she passed on to +them the secret. +</P> + +<P> +Now it is generally known in the Azores that if one does not want to +keep up a quarrel it is well to pretend that his mouth is full of +water. This is the reason why the people of the islands are so +peaceful and happy. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap34"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE MESSENGERS +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>The Story of a Youth Who Met Death</I> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<P> +There lived once upon a time in the island of Terceira a youth whose +name was Vladmiro. He had come from Flanders, a cavalier of the order +of St. John. He was betrothed to a fair maid of the island. +</P> + +<P> +One morning he was hunting in the forest of cedars when he suddenly saw +Death standing before him. He fell upon his knees and sent up a +fervent prayer to the Holy Virgin. +</P> + +<P> +Then he said to Death: "O Death, why is it that you have come in search +of me so soon? I am young, rich, happy. I am betrothed to a maid who +loves me. Life looks very bright and fair." +</P> + +<P> +Death stepped back a pace. +</P> + +<P> +"Your prayer to the Holy Mother has saved you," he said. "I had indeed +come in search of you. You were about to die from an accident with +your hunting arms. See, I have already retreated a pace. I have +decided not to take you with me this time." +</P> + +<P> +Vladmiro returned a prayer of thanksgiving. Then he said: +</P> + +<P> +"O Death, I am going to make a request of you. Please do not come up +to me so suddenly again. It gives me a fright. Next time you come for +me will you please be so kind as to send messengers in advance to give +me a little warning?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, young cavalier," responded Death. "I will gladly do what you +ask. I give you my promise that next time I will send my messengers +ahead of me to warn you that I am approaching." +</P> + +<P> +With these words Death withdrew and went on alone through the forest of +cedars. +</P> + +<P> +The spring of that very year the young cavalier married the fair maid +who loved him. Life was full of joy. Many children were born to the +worthy couple. Riches and honors came, too. The years sped by as if +they flew on wings. +</P> + +<P> +At last a half century had passed. Vladmiro held his grandchildren +upon his knees and told them the story of the day he met Death in the +forest of cedars. +</P> + +<P> +"We are glad that Death passed on and left you," said the children. +</P> + +<P> +"If he hadn't we could not have had you for our grandfather," said the +namesake grandson Vladmiro, snuggling closer in his arms. +</P> + +<P> +"You do not have to fear Death now, grandfather, do you?" asked the +little Maria. "He will keep his promise and send his messengers, don't +you think so?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Death is a good Christian and will keep his word," replied the +aged cavalier. +</P> + +<P> +The next morning he set sail for the island of Fayal where there were +other grandchildren to visit in the home of his married daughter, +Francisca. +</P> + +<P> +On the voyage a fierce storm arose. The small boat was buffetted about +by the gales. Suddenly Vladmiro was startled to see Death standing +beside him just as in the forest years ago when he had been young. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-288"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-288.jpg" ALT="A fierce storm arose" BORDER="0"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +A fierce storm arose +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"Why have you come to-day?" he cried in alarm. "Why is it that you +have not kept your word? You gave me your promise that you would send +your messengers, next time you came, to warn me of your approach." +</P> + +<P> +"I have kept my word," said Death. "I have sent my messengers." +</P> + +<P> +"Where are they?" asked the old man in amazement. +</P> + +<P> +Death pointed to Vladmiro's snowy hair. +</P> + +<P> +"I have sent my messengers in your white locks, your failing eyesight +and hearing, the wrinkles on your cheeks. Can it be that you have +failed to recognize them?" +</P> + +<P> +Vladmiro bowed his head in silence and without a murmur went with Death. +</P> + +<P> +In truth, Death had been a good Christian and had kept his word. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="finis"> +THE END +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Islands of Magic, by Elsie Spicer Eells + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ISLANDS OF MAGIC *** + +***** This file should be named 34431-h.htm or 34431-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/4/3/34431/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +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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+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: The Islands of Magic + Legends, Folk and Fairy Tales from the Azores + +Author: Elsie Spicer Eells + +Illustrator: E. L. Brock + +Release Date: September 28, 2011 [EBook #34431] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ISLANDS OF MAGIC *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Cover art] + + + + + +[Frontispiece: Nothing but the Sea, Sky and Rock] + + + + + +THE ISLANDS OF MAGIC + + + LEGENDS, FOLK AND FAIRY + TALES FROM THE AZORES + + + +RETOLD BY + +ELSIE SPICER EELLS + + + +Illustrated by + +E. L. BROCK + + +[Illustration: title page logo] + + +NEW YORK + +HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY + + + + +COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY + +HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY, INC. + + + +PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. BY + +THE QUINN & BODEN COMPANY + +RAHWAY, N. J. + + + + +PREFACE + +Some three-fourths of the distance between America and Europe there is +a group of nine beautiful islands called the Azores which belong to +Portugal. Their names are Flores, Corvo, Fayal, Pico, S. Jorge, +Graciosa, Terceira, S. Miguel, and Santa Maria. Many people think them +to be the mountain peaks of the submerged continent, Atlantis, which +long ago was covered by the ocean. + +There are ancient records which tell of Arabian caravels driven back by +dangerous seas surrounding islands full of volcanoes. There are old +pictures which portray seas of spouting geysers and flaming volcanic +isles. In these regions islands had a habit of suddenly lifting +themselves out of the ocean and then disappearing again from view. +When the largest of the islands, S. Miguel or St. Michael as it is +called in English, was mapped, two mountain peaks were marked where +later only one could be discovered. Thus it was that the Azores gained +their reputation. Islands full of volcanoes amid seas of spouting +geysers could be nothing else but enchanted. And islands and mountain +peaks which suddenly vanished away from one's sight! Surely the Azores +must be the true land of magic. + +"The day of folktales is departing from the Azores," said the wise +woman. "Public schools came with the republic, and where books of +printed stories enter folktales become confused and soon are lost." + +"There is no originality among our islanders," complained the wise man +of the islands. "They have told over and over again the stories of our +mother country, Portugal, and they have made few variations." + +However, when I spent December 1920 and January 1921 in the Azores in +connection with research work for the Hispanic Society, I found that +there were not only pleasant folktales there but even real fairies. +They inhabit the wooded slopes of Monte Brasil on the island of +Terceira. The fisher folk who visit the barren Ilheos de Cabras on the +Bay of Angra know that there are fairies living in those rocky isles +even yet when the boys and girls of the Azores are sailing away from +them to seek their fortunes in America. Have they not often seen the +fairy garments spread out upon the rocks in the bright sunshine? + +"You are like the Holy Virgin herself," said the little maid of St. +Michael. + +"Did you ever see the Virgin?" asked my friend. + +"Once the white clouds parted for a moment and I caught a glimpse of +her beautiful blue mantle," replied the child reverently. + +Yes, there are still fairies and simple faith and magic in the islands. +One who visits the boiling springs at Furnas does not doubt for a +moment that he is upon enchanted ground. + +Folk tales are composite. No one person or group of persons can claim +credit for them. They are our inheritance from many storytellers. To +all these storytellers both of yesterday and of to-day I offer my +grateful appreciation and hearty thanks. + +I have endeavored to tell the stories in a way which will be pleasing +to American children. To do this I have taken the liberty of making +occasional elaborations or omissions which I believe add to the value +of the story. Everywhere first of all I have tried to keep the spirit +of the Azores. + +Thanks are due the publishers of the "Delineator" and the "Outlook" for +permission to reprint stories which have appeared in these magazines. + +E. S. E. + + + + +[Illustration: Contents headpiece] + +CONTENTS + + + Princess Bluegreen of the Seven Cities + The Islands of Flowers + Why Dogs Sniff + Longstaff, Pinepuller and Rockheaver + The Table, the Sifter and the Pinchers + Linda Branca and her Mask + Fresh Figs + Peter-of-the-Pigs + The Princess Who Lost Her Rings + The Master of Magic + St. Anthony's Godchild + Trouble When One's Young + The Little Maid Who Was Wise + Manoel Littlebean + The Necklace of Pearls + The Daughter of the King of Naples + Maria-of-the-Forest + The Seven Enchanted Princes + The Listening King + Jose the Beast Slayer + The Princess of the Lost Island + Why The Alveloa Bird Received a Blessing + Why the Codorniz Bird Received a Curse + Outside the Door Like the Mother of St. Peter + Why the Owl Flies at Night + The Laborer and His Master + 'Tis Faith Which Saves + St. Brendan's Island + The Silent Cavalier + The Enchanted Palace + The Friend of the Devil + The Miller's Cloak + The Magic Mouthful + The Messengers + + + + +[Illustration: Illustrations headpiece] + +Illustrations + + +Nothing but the Sea, Sky and Rock . . . . . . . . . _Frontispiece_ + +King Graywhite Struck His Royal Sword Against the Great Wall + +She Could Not Hold Them All + +"Will Somebody Please Pass the Pepper" + +The Three Friends Journeyed on Together + +"Table, Set Yourself," Said the Man + +She Quietly Stole Out of the House + +The Two Rabbits Came Running Up to Him + +He Buried It Halfway in the Sand + +The Two Old Women, The Princess, The King and Queen, and + All the Courtiers Followed + +The Horse Had Changed Into a Kernel of Corn + +He Climbed Up the High Wall of the Palace + +"Oh, Stone From My Garden Wall," She Was Saying + +They Were Big and Heavy, but Her Great Fear Gave Her Strength + +He Saw the Quantities of Gold + +"Take Me Home as Fast as You Can!" + +Then He Sorrowfully Returned to His Waiting Ship + +"We Never Have Looked So Neat and Clean" + +The Miller and His Wife Were the Most Surprised People + in the Whole Country + +He Frowned Down at Jose + +"Alms! Alms!" + +Pedro Lifted the Two Great Jars and Slowly Climbed Up the Hill + +It Appeared That the Fair Maid Would Die + +One Evening Just at Sunset + +The Peaceful Snow-Capped Summit of Mt. Pico + +The Beautiful Enchanted Palace in the Lake of Ginjal + +He Bowed His Head Upon His Hands + +He Wrapped Himself In the Brown Cloak And Went Out Through + the Fierce Blinding Storm + +She Ran to the Water Jar + +A Fierce Storm Arose + + + + +THE ISLANDS OF MAGIC + + + +[Illustration: Headpiece] + + +PRINCESS BLUEGREEN OF THE SEVEN CITIES + +_The Story of the Origin of the Azores_ + + +Once upon a time in the lost kingdom of Atlantis there ruled a king +whose name was Graywhite. He had married the beautiful Queen +Rosewhite. They lived in a magnificent palace, but it was a sad place +because there were no little children in it. + +"There are plenty of babies in the homes of the poor peasants who can +scarcely find food for them," mourned King Graywhite. "Why is it that +I, the ruler of this vast rich kingdom, can have no child to inherit my +wealth and my domains?" + +"Women in tiny hovels have their arms full of rosy dimpled darlings," +sighed Queen Rosewhite. "Why is it that I, the queen of this +magnificent palace, can have no baby of my own?" + +Queen Rosewhite passed her days and nights in weeping, while King +Graywhite grew ugly and cruel to his subjects. Once he had been the +kindest ruler in the world. + +Things went on like this for several years. Queen Rosewhite's lovely +face grew pale and wan, and her beautiful eyes became so sad that it +hurt the hearts of her faithful subjects. The king's face lost its +expression of jolly kindness and became sour and cruel. They offered +prayers and solemn vows before all the holy shrines in the whole +kingdom of Atlantis, but no child was born into the royal palace. King +Graywhite grew so harsh and ugly to his subjects that the entire +kingdom offered prayers and vows, too. As things were, life was not +worth living in the kingdom of Atlantis. + +In front of the royal palace there was a beautiful terrace where King +Graywhite and Queen Rosewhite had loved to walk in the days before they +had grown cross and sad. One night when they were sitting upon the +terrace enjoying the fresh soft evening air and the bright starlight +there suddenly appeared a dazzling light which almost blinded them. +Queen Rosewhite covered her face with her hands and the king bowed his +proud head upon his breast. + +"Do not fear to look at me," said a gentle voice. + +King Graywhite and Queen Rosewhite glanced up. They saw a tiny fairy +standing before them with a circle of bright light dancing about her. + +"King and Queen of Atlantis," said the gentle voice. "You shall have a +child, a little daughter, prettier than the sunlight. I have heard +your prayers and vows, but I have also heard the prayers and vows of +your poor subjects, too." + +The glad news had brought a happy light into Queen Rosewhite's +beautiful eyes, but now it faded out and a look of fear crept in. It +had hurt the queen's loving heart to have her husband so cruel to his +subjects. She often had told him that punishment would surely come +upon him because of his harsh deeds. + +"When the little princess is born," went on the fairy's voice, "I shall +take her away from you for twenty years. No harm will come to her. I +shall hide her away from you and all the world within seven beautiful +cities which I shall construct in the loveliest part of your whole +kingdom. Around these seven cities I shall place strong walls. At the +end of twenty years, if your heart, King Graywhite, is free from sin +and you have made proper restitution for all your wrongdoing, you shall +receive the princess into your arms." + +"Twenty years is a long time," said King Graywhite sadly. Tears were +running down Queen Rosewhite's cheeks and she could not speak. + +"You must wait until the twenty years are over," continued the fairy. +"If you attempt to enter the strong walls before that time you shall +fall dead and your kingdom shall be consumed by fire. Swear to me now +in the presence of your faithful queen that you will not try to enter +these strong walls which I shall construct about the seven cities." + +"I swear it," said the king in a voice which trembled as he solemnly +lifted his right hand. + +The vision disappeared as suddenly as it had come, and King Graywhite +and Queen Rosewhite sat alone in the bright starlight on the terrace +before the royal palace. + +"Have I been dreaming?" asked the king. + +"It was not a dream," replied the queen. + +Time passed and a beautiful baby daughter was born to the king and +queen of Atlantis. They gave her the name of Princess Bluegreen. +There was great rejoicing throughout the entire kingdom. Her birth was +celebrated by lavish feasts and gay songs and dances. + +When the little Princess Bluegreen was only three days old she +disappeared from the royal palace. She had been carried away by the +fairy to the seven cities which had been constructed to receive her. + +Years passed. Every day the king and queen received reports from the +fairy. They heard that the little Princess Bluegreen was well, and +that each hour she grew lovelier. Sometimes there was almost joy in +the palace when King Graywhite chuckled over the quaint sayings of the +little princess which were repeated to him, and the queen heard with a +tender smile of the tiny blue slippers and the green parasol which the +fairy had given her. That day Queen Rosewhite bought new slippers for +many little maids in the city. + +As time went on, however, the royal palace of Atlantis grew almost as +sad as it had been before the Princess Bluegreen had been born. Only +to receive reports of their daughter was not enough to make the king +and queen happy. They longed to see her with their own eyes and to +clasp her in their arms. + +As the weeks and months and years rolled by without seeing the little +princess, King Graywhite resumed his cruel treatment of his subjects. +He was growing old and his nature grew sour with the years. Queen +Rosewhite tried to reason with him. + +"We must bear this thing with patience," she told him. "We brought it +upon ourselves." + +The king kept raging against the fairy and did not notice Queen +Rosewhite's politeness in saying "we" instead of "you." It was the +king who was responsible for all the cruelty. Good Queen Rosewhite had +never had a cruel thought in her whole blameless life. + +At last the day of the eighteenth birthday of the Princess Bluegreen +grew near. + +"Are you sure that it is not eighteen years which the fairy said, +instead of twenty years?" asked King Graywhite querulously. + +Queen Rosewhite assured him that it was twenty years as he well knew. +The king's anger broke out fiercely. + +"I will no longer be kept from my daughter!" he cried. + +"Would you break the vow which you solemnly made to the fairy in my +presence?" asked Queen Rosewhite trembling. She had never dreamed that +he would dare to break it. Now, however, she was thoroughly frightened +at the thought which came to her. + +"I'll break that foolish vow!" shouted the king savagely. + +Tears rolled down the cheeks of good Queen Rosewhite. + +"No good will come of this," she mourned. "Be prudent, dear king. It +is only two years more which we have to wait." + +"The last two years will be the hardest ones of all!" raged King +Graywhite. "I cannot endure it!" + +That very day he started to prepare the army for the expedition to the +Seven Cities, amid the queen's lamentations and in spite of her fears +and warnings. + +"Be wise and patient, dear king. Give up this wild expedition," were +her last words to him; when, at length, all the preparations completed, +he set out with his great army upon the dangerous quest of the seven +cities surrounded by their strong walls in the loveliest part of the +whole kingdom of Atlantis. + +King Graywhite marched on and on. It was a long and perilous journey +and the army suffered many hardships on the way. It seemed as if they +would never arrive, but at last they drew near to what everybody knew +to be the most beautiful part of the whole kingdom, where the fairy had +taken the Princess Bluegreen to conceal her. + +Storms raged; lightning flashed; ominous roarings and rumblings sounded +from the depths of the earth. + +"Let us hasten back to the royal palace before it is too late," +besought the generals of King Graywhite's army. + +"On! On!" cried the king. "Do you think I would abandon this +expedition now?" + +The words were hardly out of his mouth when a huge rock fell from its +place near where he stood and rushed away down the mountainside. The +earth trembled violently beneath their feet. Fearful rumblings and +roarings sounded all about them. + +"On! ON!" shouted the maddened king. + +Before them rose the great walls which the fairy had built around the +seven cities. Within these walls was the Princess Bluegreen radiant +with the beauty of her eighteen winters and summers passed in peace and +happiness under the watchful care of the kind fairy. The thought of +her thrilled the heart of King Graywhite. + +"On! On!" he shouted to the generals about him. + +"On! On!" they, in turn, passed the word along to the trembling +soldiers which composed the royal army. + +With the fearful sounds and shakings about them, the poor men heartily +wished they were safe at home. They rallied, however, for a final +charge and swept up to the walls which surrounded the seven cities. + +King Graywhite struck his royal sword against the great wall. At that +moment the walls fell. The earth beneath their feet rose. Great +flames swept up towards the sky and rushed over the land, sweeping +everything before them. Then the sea raged over the earth in violence +until it had covered the whole kingdom of Atlantis. + +[Illustration: King Graywhite struck his royal sword against the great +wall] + +The fairy's curse had been fulfilled. The king was dead. His kingdom +was consumed by fire. + + +When at last the waters grew calm again all that remained of the great +rich kingdom of Atlantis was the group of nine rocky islands which +to-day is called the Azores. In the largest of these islands, St. +Michael, there is still an enchanted spot called Seven Cities. Great +wall-like mountains tower toward the sky. In the crater valley amid +the wall-like mountains there is a lake of green and one of blue. The +blue lake is where the beautiful Princess Bluegreen left her little +blue slippers, they say, and the green lake is where she left her +lovely green parasol. + + + + +THE ISLANDS OF FLOWERS + +_Another Story of the Origin of the Islands_ + + +Paradise is, of course, ruled by loving law. All places good to live +in are governed by laws. + +Long, long ago there was a little angel who broke one of the rules of +Paradise. Of course she had to be punished. Punishment always follows +broken laws. She was banished from her heavenly home. Never again +could she join in the chorus of celestial music. Never again could she +look up into the face of the great King. + +Now it happened that this little angel loved the flowers of Paradise +especially. For the last time she walked through the heavenly gardens. + +"Oh, my exquisite ones, I cannot bear to leave you!" she sobbed to her +favorite blossoms. "It breaks my heart!" + +The flowers lifted their fair faces to hers in loving sympathy. They +breathed out their sweetest perfume at her gentle touch. They +stretched out their hands to catch her trailing garments as she passed +them. + +"My best beloveds! You are asking me to take you with me!" cried the +little angel. + +She filled her arms with the lovely blossoms of Paradise. Now the +angel was a very little angel and the flowers she gathered made a very +large armful indeed. She could not bear to leave any of her favorites +behind. Slowly and sorrowfully she left the heavenly gardens. Slowly +and sorrowfully she passed outside the celestial gate. + +When she had left the gates of Paradise far behind the lovely blossoms +in her grasp were all that remained of Heaven to her. They filled her +arms so full that she could not hold them all. Some of them fell. +Down, down to earth they floated. They came to rest on the smiling +blue waters of the broad Atlantic. + +[Illustration: She could not hold them all] + +"Oh, what shall I do! I have lost my exquisite ones!" sobbed the +little angel. + +The flowers of Paradise smiled up at her from the place where they had +fallen. Never had they looked lovelier. + +"My best beloveds are beautiful and happy!" she cried as she smiled +through her tears. "I still have all I can carry! I'll leave them +where they are!" + +There are nine of the flowers of Paradise which the angel dropped. +They have always remained in the blue Atlantic where she left them. +After many years Portuguese mariners found them and Portugal claimed +them as her own. She named them the Azores. + +To this very day, however, one of the islands is called Flores, which +means flowers. + + + + +WHY DOGS SNIFF + +_The Story of the Dogs' Dinner Party_ + + +Once upon a time the dogs gave a dinner party. All the dogs were +invited and all the dogs accepted the invitation. There were big dogs +and little dogs and middle-sized dogs. There were black dogs and white +dogs and brown dogs and gray dogs and yellow dogs and spotted dogs. +There were dogs with long tails and dogs with short tails and dogs with +no tails at all. There were dogs with little sharp-pointed ears and +dogs with big flat drooping ears. There were dogs with long slender +noses and dogs with short fat turn-up noses. All these dogs came to +the party. + +Now the dinner was a most elaborate affair. Everything had been +arranged with the utmost care. All the good things to eat were spread +out upon the rocks by the sea. A gay sparkling little brook brought +water to drink. The sun was shining brightly and a soft gentle little +breeze was blowing. Everything seemed absolutely perfect. + +But there was a cross fussy old dog who came to the party. She was a +yellow dog, they say. Nothing ever suited her. Whenever she went to a +party she always found fault with something. Sometimes there was too +little to eat and sometimes there was too much. Sometimes the hot +things were not hot enough and sometimes the cold things were not cold +enough. Sometimes the hot things were so hot they burned her mouth and +the cold things so cold that they gave her indigestion. There was +always something wrong. + +At this party, however, there was not too much to eat and there was not +too little to eat. The hot things were all just hot enough and the +cold things were all just cold enough. Everything seemed to be exactly +as it should be. + +"How good everything tastes!" remarked the big black dog between polite +mouthfuls. + +"Everything is seasoned exactly right," added the black and white +spotted dog between mouthfuls which were entirely too large to be +polite. + +That was an unfortunate remark. The cross fussy yellow dog heard it. +She noticed immediately that the big juicy bone she was eating had not +been seasoned with pepper. + +"Will somebody please pass the pepper?" she asked. + +[Illustration: "Will somebody please pass the pepper?"] + +All the black dogs and white dogs and brown dogs and yellow dogs and +gray dogs and spotted dogs fell over each other trying to find the +pepper to pass. There was not a single bit of pepper at that dinner +party. + +"I can't eat a mouthful until I have some pepper," whined the yellow +dog. + +"I'll go into the city and get some pepper," said one of the dogs. +Nobody ever knew which dog it was. + +The dog who went into the city to get the pepper never came back. +Nobody ever knew what became of him. + +Whenever two dogs meet they always sniff at each other. If one of them +should happen to be the dog who went into the city to get the pepper, +he would surely smell of pepper. + + + + +LONGSTAFF, PINEPULLER AND ROCKHEAVER + +_The Story of Three Friends_ + + +Long ago there lived a blacksmith upon whose strong right arm there +swelled great muscles and whose big hairy fist was capable of +delivering so heavy a blow that all the men in the village and nearby +countryside stood in awe of him. He had a hot temper as well as a +strong right arm and his pretty young wife grew so afraid of him that +she ran away into the forest, taking her baby son with her. The +blacksmith had become crosser and crosser of late because the baby +sometimes cried at night and disturbed his rest. + +In the deep forest the young wife found nuts and herbs and wild fruits +to eat. The baby boy thrived most marvelously. Soon he was big and +strong, able to kill wild beasts to add to their food. At last his +strength was so great that he could lift big rocks and pull up huge +trees. + +One day he said to his mother, "Dearest one, I'd like to leave you for +a little while. I want to go back to the village where I was born. +The stories you have told me about it keep ringing in my ears. I must +see the place for myself. Do you mind, mother dear, if I take this +journey?" + +His mother had long foreseen that a day would come when he would no +longer be content to live alone with her in the deep forest. Her heart +ached but she gave her consent to the expedition. + +When the lad reached the village he went straight to the shop of the +blacksmith. His mother had described it to him so often that he had no +difficulty in finding it. He knew at once that the man at the forge +was his father. He looked exactly as he had always imagined his father +looked. + +"Good day," said he. "I'd like you to weld an iron bar for me, a bar +as tall as the tallest tree in front of your shop." + +The blacksmith glanced at the lad and then at the tree. + +"You must have made a mistake in your measurements," he replied. "You +don't know what you are talking about." + +The boy from the forest smiled quietly and stepped a trifle nearer to +the blacksmith. + +"You are quite right," he admitted. "Thank you for pointing out to me +my mistake. I should have said that I want this iron bar made twice as +tall as the tallest tree before your door. I want it to be of good +thickness, too. I plan to use it as my staff." + +The blacksmith looked the lad over more carefully. In truth he +appeared as if he might be able to use the staff after all. The +blacksmith hastily agreed to make it at once, and he didn't say a word +about arranging the price in advance according to his custom. + +"Have my staff ready for me next week," commanded the boy as he bade +the blacksmith good-by. + +When at last the lad was once more with his mother in the deep forest +he told her all that had passed. "When I return for my staff I want +you to go with me, dear mother," were his words when he had ended his +story. + +"I!" cried the woman in alarm. "I'd be afraid to go! From your +description I am sure the blacksmith is in truth your father, and I +fear that his disposition has not improved with the years." + +"Don't be afraid, dear heart," said the son. "I'll be there and I'll +take care of you. I'll see that he does you no harm." + +They started out on their journey, and just a week from the day of the +lad's first visit to the blacksmith shop he stood once more in the +door. He had left his mother hidden behind the bushes and shrubs. + +"Good day," he said to the blacksmith. "Is my staff ready?" + +"Yes, indeed. It is entirely completed," replied the blacksmith more +politely than he was in the habit of speaking even to the parish priest +himself. "I have just sent for two yokes of oxen and enough men to +drag it out of my shop." + +"That is quite unnecessary," responded the boy. "I'm sorry indeed to +hear that you have inconvenienced yourself." + +He picked up the staff and tossed it about as jauntily as if it had +been a slender cane. The blacksmith stared at him in amazement, his +mouth wide open and his eyes bulging out of his head. + +"May I ask who you are?" he asked as soon as he could catch his breath. + +"My name from this day forth shall be Longstaff," replied the lad. +"And it so happens that I am your own son." + +The blacksmith listened in surprise while the boy told the story of the +years he and his mother had lived in the deep forest. He embraced his +son tenderly. + +"You are indeed a son to be proud of!" he cried. "Come and live with +me. We shall have a happy life together." + +The blacksmith was thinking that a strong young man like this would be +a great help around the shop. + +Longstaff shook his head. "Thank you, but I cannot tarry here," he +said. "I must go away and see the world a bit. My mother, however, is +waiting behind the bushes. I fear she will be very lonely while I am +away." + +When Longstaff's mother came in response to his call her husband +embraced her lovingly and kissed her. "I've really missed you about +the house while you have been away," he told her. + +"If you are not good to her you'll hear from me," said, his son as he +looked him straight in the eye. + +Longstaff then set out to see the world, travelling from one country to +another. After a time he came to a place where there was a man pulling +up pine trees by the roots as easily as if they were the weeds in your +garden. + +"Good day," said Longstaff. "What is your name?" + +"I am called PINEPULLER," was the reply. "I'm very strong, as you can +see for yourself, but I've heard that there is somebody stronger than I +am. His name is LONGSTAFF, I am told." + +Longstaff gave his iron staff a gay toss into the air and caught it +again in his hand. + +"That happens to be my name," he said. "I like you. Won't you join me +in my travels about the country? We two would have a jolly time +together." + +Pinepuller accepted the invitation and together they journeyed on. +Soon they came to a place where there was a man picking up great rocks +and tossing them about as lightly as if they had been rubber balls. + +"Good day," said Longstaff. "What is your name?" + +"My name is ROCKHEAVER," replied the other. "You can see for yourself +that I am very strong. I've heard, however, that there is somebody +stronger than I am. His name is LONGSTAFF, I am told." + +"That happens to be my name," said Longstaff, "and this is my friend +Pinepuller. You are just the man to complete our little party. Won't +you join us as we travel about the country?" + +Rockheaver accepted the invitation with glee and the three friends +journeyed on together from that hour. Everywhere they went they had +everything their own way because of their great strength. + +[Illustration: The three friends journeyed on together] + +One day Longstaff, Pinepuller and Rockheaver sat on a rock by the sea. +Suddenly they spied two pretty girls tossing glass balls back and forth +and catching them. They had not stood there on the sand a moment +before when the three friends had passed that way. Possibly they had +been bathing and had only just come out of the water. Longstaff ran to +speak to them. He put out his hand and caught their two glass balls at +once. Then a strange thing happened. The two beautiful maidens +disappeared the very minute Longstaff put their two glass balls into +his pocket, and he was left standing alone on the sand by the sea. + +"That is queer," he complained as he told Pinepuller and Rockheaver +what had happened. + +Not far away there was a little house. There were no signs of life +about the place and consequently the three friends entered. Inside the +house there were beds, beautiful furniture and a kitchen completely +furnished with pots and pans. + +"I like this house," said Longstaff, as he seated himself in the +largest chair. "I'm going to rest a bit and you two can go hunting. +When you return I'll have the dinner cooked for you." + +Accordingly, Pinepuller and Rockheaver went away to hunt for game. +Longstaff rested for a while in the big chair and then he went into the +kitchen to light the fire. Soon the fire was burning merrily and the +water in the kettle was bubbling away cozily. Longstaff cooked the +dinner exactly as his mother had taught him long ago in the deep +forest. Just for a minute he turned his back to hunt for the salt. +When he turned around the pots and the frying pan were gone from the +fire. There was a tiny dwarf with red boots disappearing through the +kitchen floor with Longstaff's good dinner. + +Longstaff gasped. He was not at all accustomed to having his dinner +stolen from under his very nose, as it were. + +Soon Pinepuller and Rockheaver came back with the hares they had killed +in the hunt. They looked at the dying fire, at the empty pots and +frying pan, and at the dazed expression on Longstaff's face. + +"Where's the dinner?" asked Pinepuller. "I'm as hungry as a bear. You +said you'd have it ready when we got back." + +"I know what he's done!" cried Rockheaver. "He has eaten all the +dinner and hasn't left a single mouthful for us!" + +When Longstaff told them the story of the dwarf with red boots who had +stolen the dinner it was difficult to make them believe it. + +"Very well," said he, "if you won't take my word for it, why doesn't +Pinepuller stay in the kitchen and cook these hares? Rockheaver and I +will go away and you can see what happens." + +Accordingly, Longstaff and Rockheaver went away and Pinepuller made a +stew of the hares. While he was hunting for the salt the little dwarf +with red boots came out from under the table and stole the stew. +Pinepuller turned around just in time to catch him at it. He raised +his big arm to seize him, but the dwarf, in the twinkling of an eye, +vanished into the floor, taking the stew with him. + +When Longstaff and Rockheaver returned Pinepuller told what had +happened. "I believe you now," said he to Longstaff. "I ask your +pardon for doubting your word." + +However, Rockheaver was not convinced. "I know what has happened," +said he. "You were so hungry you couldn't wait for us and you ate up +the stew. You and Longstaff have plotted that I shall go with an empty +stomach this day." + +"Let Rockheaver, then, be the one to stay in the kitchen," suggested +Longstaff. "We have brought back other hares from the hunt. Let him +cook them and see what happens." + +Longstaff and Pinepuller went away, leaving Rockheaver to cook the +hares. Again the dwarf with red boots jumped out from under the table +and stole the dinner. When his two friends returned Rockheaver begged +their pardon for his moments of distrust. + +"These are surely queer doings," said Longstaff. "I'm going to make an +investigation. I'll not rest in peace until I find out where this +red-booted dwarf lives and where these three dinners have gone. Come +and help me dig up the ground under the kitchen." + +At once Rockheaver dug up the floor of the kitchen and Pinepuller +pulled out the earth beneath. Soon they had a deep well-like hole +reaching down into the ground. While they had been digging, Longstaff +had made a ladder out of the branches of the trees, a ladder so long +that it could reach very far into the earth. + +"I'm going to be the one to descend into this hole," remarked Longstaff +when he thought that it was quite deep enough. + +Indeed his two friends were entirely willing that he should. + +He lowered the ladder he had made and very cautiously he crept down +into the earth. At the foot of the ladder he came to what looked like +a heavy barred door. He had brought his big iron staff with him, of +course, and with this he knocked hard at the door. + +"Who is there?" called out a voice from within. + +"I am Longstaff." "Open." + +"Go away as fast as you can," said the voice. "This is the home of the +seven-headed serpent. If he catches you it will be serious. You'll be +enchanted and can never get away." + +"I'd like to meet this serpent for a minute or two," said Longstaff. + +The heavy door swung open and Longstaff stepped inside. Immediately he +heard a rushing like a great wind. With his big iron staff he struck a +mighty blow at the seven-headed serpent. He hit him just in time to +avoid being enchanted. The huge seven-headed serpent fell to the +ground completely stunned by Longstaff's blow. + +At the first drop of blood which fell from the wounded monster a +beautiful maiden appeared near the door. Longstaff recognized her at +once as one of the two girls he had seen on the seashore tossing and +catching the two glass balls. He took the balls out of his pocket. + +"Do you recognize these?" he asked the maiden. + +"Indeed I do," she replied. "One of these glass balls belongs to me +and the other belongs to my sister. She, too, has been enchanted and +is behind the next door you see ahead of you." + +"I'll get you away from this evil place," said Longstaff, "and then +I'll see what I can do to help your sister." + +He lifted her in his arms and started to carry her up the ladder. + +"Wait just a minute," she said. "I think I'd better give you back this +glass ball. I'll not be able to speak a word while you have it, but I +think you need it more than I." + +She gave him back the glass ball and then they hastened up the long +ladder. When Pinepuller and Rockheaver saw the lovely maiden in +Longstaff's arms they were filled with amazement. + +"She is a princess who has been enchanted," explained Longstaff. "Take +good care of her while I return for her sister. Then we will restore +these fair damsels to their father, the king, who has long mourned them +as dead." + +Once more Longstaff crept down the ladder into the depths of the earth. +The seven-headed serpent was still lying where he had fallen and +Longstaff stepped past him and knocked at the door which barred his way. + +"Who is there?" called out a voice from within. + +"This is Longstaff! Open!" + +"Hurry away as fast as you can. This is the home of the dwarf with red +boots," said the voice. + +"That red-booted dwarf is exactly the person I want to see," answered +Longstaff, holding fast to his heavy iron bar which his father had made +him long ago in the blacksmith's shop. + +The door slowly swung open and Longstaff stepped inside. At once he +heard the footsteps of the red-booted dwarf. The tiny dwarf looked up +at him in surprise. + +"We'll fight and see who is the best man," stormed he. "You fight with +the black sword and I'll use the white one." + +"No indeed," said Longstaff. "I'll use the white sword and you the +black. Otherwise I'll not wait to fight with swords but will choose my +own weapon which happens to be this iron staff of mine." + +The little red-booted dwarf looked up at the heavy iron staff in +Longstaff's hand. It could crush him very easily indeed. + +"Very well!" said he. "Just as you like!" + +Longstaff fought with the white sword and the dwarf with the black one, +and soon the dwarf had fallen, though his great agility made up for his +lack of size. With the first drop of blood which fell from the +red-booted dwarf the beautiful princess was disenchanted. + +She gave her glass ball back to Longstaff after she had recognized it +as her own; and, safe in his arms, she was borne up the long ladder to +the place where her sister was awaiting her with Pinepuller and +Rockheaver. + +"I've left my staff behind!" cried Longstaff in alarm. "I must go down +once more and get it." + +He had never been without his staff near at hand even when he was +asleep. Hastily he again descended the ladder. There was his staff +lying where he had dropped it when he took the white sword. When he +turned around to go up the ladder again, it had disappeared. His +friends had forgotten all about him, so interested had they become in +the two beautiful maidens. Even at that moment they were on their way +to the king's palace. They had pulled up the ladder, never giving +another thought as to how Longstaff was going to get out of the hole. + +Longstaff shouted in vain. Then he remembered how the dwarf had +appeared in the kitchen. Evidently the red-booted dwarf knew how to +get up to the surface of the earth. A drink from Longstaff's flask +quickly revived him. He reached for the white sword ready to fight +again. + +"Wait a minute, my friend," said Longstaff. "You are now my prisoner. +I'll let you go as soon as you perform a little service for me. Just +take me up to the surface of the earth." + +"That is easy," answered the dwarf. "Take hold of my hand." + +As soon as Longstaff had taken the hand of the red-booted dwarf he felt +himself rise. In a moment he was safe outside the hole. + +"There's another thing I want you to do for me before I let you go," he +said. "Take me to the king's palace." + +Longstaff took hold of the dwarf's hand and in a moment more they were +at the palace. It was only a minute after the king's daughters had +been restored to him. The royal palace was wild with joy. Even the +fact that the two lovely maidens were dumb was almost overlooked. + +When Pinepuller and Rockheaver saw Longstaff's angry eyes they ran away +as fast as they could. They were never seen near the royal palace +again. + +Longstaff drew the two glass balls from his pocket and gave one to each +of the two beautiful princesses. At once they could speak, and +together they told their story to their father, the king. + +"You may wed whichever princess you prefer," said the king to Longstaff +when he had heard how he had made the bold rescue. + +Longstaff wedded the princess who was more beautiful than her sister, +and when the king died he reigned over the whole kingdom. + + + + +THE TABLE, THE SIFTER AND THE PINCHERS + +_The Story of the King's Laborer and His Wages_ + + +Once upon a time there was a man who was very poor. He had so many +children it was difficult to earn money enough to provide for them all. +Accordingly, he left home and hired out to the king of a distant land. + +At the end of a year's time he went to the king and said: "I have +served you faithfully for a whole year. Now I wish to return to my +wife and children. Pay me, I pray you, what you owe me for my work." + +The king said: "I will not reward you in money. I will give you +something better than money. Here is a table. When you are hungry all +you have to do is to say, 'Table, set yourself.' Then the table will +immediately be spread with food." + +"Thank you, good king," replied the man. "With this table it will be +easy enough to provide food even for all my large family." + +When the man had started home with his table he soon grew hungry. He +put it down by the roadside under a leafy tree and said, "Table, set +yourself." Immediately it was full of the most delicious food. The +man ate all he could and gave the rest away to some beggars who passed +that way. + +"It is a lucky day for us," said the beggars as they thanked him. + +That night the man stopped at an inn. He was so delighted with the +magic powers of his table that he foolishly told the innkeeper about it. + +"That would be a most excellent table for me to possess," thought the +innkeeper. "With this in my possession I would soon be a rich man. I +could charge my guests a price in proportion to the rich food I would +serve them, and I'd never have to spend a cent of my money to buy +supplies." + +That night the innkeeper stole the table and substituted another for it +which looked exactly like it. Early in the morning the man loaded the +table on his back and hurried home to his wife and children. + +"We'll never be hungry again!" he cried as he embraced his wife. +"Never again shall our children call for food when we have nothing to +give them!" + +"How much did the king pay you?" asked his wife in surprise. The good +woman well knew how much it cost to buy food enough to keep all their +children from going hungry. + +"The king did not pay me in money. He gave me something better than +money," replied the man. "Do you see this table? Call the children. +I want to show you something." + +The man's wife and children all gathered about the table, watching it +curiously. + +"Table, set yourself," said the man. + +[Illustration: "Table, set yourself," said the man] + +The table remained standing in the center of the floor just as it was. + +"What trick is this?" asked the good wife. She had been a bit +suspicious from the moment she had heard that there was no money in her +husband's pockets. + +"I'll get the beggars I fed to prove to you what this table provided +yesterday," he said when he had told all the story. + +"You'd better go back to the king as fast as you can," advised the +wife. "Take back this good-for-nothing table which he has imposed upon +you and ask for some real money instead." + +The man did as his wife advised. The king was thoughtful for a moment. +He guessed that the man had been robbed. + +At last he said: "I'll give you a sifter this time. Then when you need +money all you have to do is to say, 'Sifter, sift!' It will sift out +money as freely as if it were flour." + +The man was delighted with the sifter. He sifted his pockets full of +money immediately and hurried home. On the way he again spent the +night at the inn. + +"When I brought my table home it wouldn't work," he told the innkeeper. +"I took it back and got something in its place which is all right." + +The innkeeper watched him sift out money. + +"Why don't I get that sifter?" thought the innkeeper. "I work very +hard serving my guests even though the table provides the food for +them. If I had this sifter I wouldn't have to work. I'd close the inn +and pass the rest of my life enjoying the money I'd sift into my +pockets so easily." + +That night he stole the sifter and substituted another which looked +exactly like it. + +When the man reached home there was plenty of money in his pockets and +his wife and children were happy for a little while. However, he soon +wanted to display the magic gifts of his new sifter. Accordingly, he +called his family together. + +"Sifter, sift," he commanded. + +The sifter behaved just like any ordinary sifter. + +"You have been tricked again!" cried his wife. She was very cross +indeed and told her husband exactly what she thought of him. + +Home was not a comfortable place for him that day, so he decided to +hurry back to the king after he had emptied all the money in his +pockets into his wife's lap. + +"This will supply you for a while," he said. "It is quite as much as +any ordinary husband would have brought home for a year's work." + +"A woman hates to have her husband made a fool of," replied the woman +as she rolled up the money and tucked it away carefully. + +When the king had heard the story he was entirely convinced that the +man had an enemy who had stolen both the table and the sifter. + +"Where did you spend the night?" he asked. + +The man told of passing the night in the inn. + +"I've heard that innkeeper is going to retire from business, he has +become so rich," said the king. "You'd better hurry there as fast as +you can before he leaves town." + +The laborer nodded his head thoughtfully, a wise look creeping into his +eyes. + +"Take these pinchers," ordered the king. "Use them on that innkeeper +until he gives back the table and the sifter." + +When the innkeeper was sore and black and blue from the pinchers he +gave back the table and the sifter. + +After that there were prosperous days indeed for the king's laborer. +Whenever the children were hungry, he would say: "Table, set yourself," +and immediately the table would be full of the most delicious food. +Whenever his wife said, "I need some money," he would call out, +"Sifter, sift," and the sifter would sift out money as freely and +easily as if it were flour. + +As for the pinchers, they proved to be quite as useful as the other +gifts he received from the king. Whenever the children were naughty he +had only to glance in the direction of those pinchers. The children +would immediately behave as they should. + + + + +LINDA BRANCA AND HER MASK + +_The Story of the Girl Who Did Not Like To Be Pretty_ + + +Long ago there lived a girl who was so pretty she grew tired of being +beautiful and longed to be ugly. She was so attractive that all the +young men in the whole city wanted to marry her. Every night the +street in front of her house was full of youths who came to sing +beneath her balcony. + +Linda Branca, that was the girl's name, grew tired of being kept awake +nights. It is well enough for a little while to hear songs about one's +pearly teeth and snowy arms, one's flashing eyes and waving hair, one's +rosebud mouth and fairylike feet; but a steady diet of it becomes +decidedly wearing. + +"I wish I were as homely as that girl who is passing by," she remarked +one day. "Then I could sleep nights." "If I were as ugly looking as +that I'd have a chance to select a really good husband perhaps. With +so many to choose from it is terribly confusing. I'll never be able to +make any choice at all as things are now. I'm afraid I'll die +unwedded," she added as she carefully surveyed the girl's coarse hair, +her large feet and hands, her ugly big mouth and ears and small +red-lidded eyes. "That girl has a much better chance of a successful +marriage than I have, with all this tiresome crowd of suitors to drive +me distracted!" + +The girl in the street heard her words and looked up. When she saw how +lovely Linda Branca was she was amazed indeed at the words she had +heard. She thought that she must have made a mistake and asked Linda +Branca to say it all over again. + +"You can be exactly as homely as I am," declared the girl when at last +she had sufficiently recovered from her surprise to find her tongue. +"I am an artist. I can prepare a mask for you which will make you just +as ugly as I am." + +"Go on and make it as soon as you can!" cried Linda Branca, clapping +her little hands in joy. + +That evening the suitors in the street under the balcony thought that +the lovely Linda Branca had become very gracious. She was frequently +to be seen on the balcony looking eagerly up and down the street as if +she were expecting some one. Her dark eyes were sparkling and her fair +cheek had a rosy flush upon it which they had never seen before. + +"The beautiful Linda Branca is more charming than ever," was the burden +of their songs that night. + +Linda Branca was so excited about her new mask that she could not have +slept even if there had been no suitors to disturb her with their +songs. When at last she fell asleep towards morning it was only to +dream that the new mask had the face of a donkey. + +It was not until the next week that the mask finally arrived. Linda +Branca had grown very impatient and was almost in despair lest she +should never receive it. When at last the girl brought it one could +easily see why it had taken a whole week to prepare it. So like a +human face it was that it was plain that the making of it had called +forth great patience and skill as well as necessary time. + +"It is even uglier than I had hoped it would be!" cried Linda Branca in +delight when she saw it. + +Surely, when she tried it on no one of her suitors would ever have +recognized the fair Linda Branca of their songs. + +Now Linda Branca had no mother, and her father was away on business, so +it was an easy matter to prepare for her departure. + +Linda Branca's father was a man of wealth who spared no money in giving +his daughter beautiful gowns to enhance her rare beauty. She had one +dress of blue trimmed with silver and another of blue embroidered in +gold. As she packed up a few belongings to take with her, she decided +to add these two favorite garments. + +"Who knows but I may need them sometime?" she mused as she rolled them +up carefully. + +With the ugly mask upon her face, and dressed in a long dark cloak, she +quietly stole out of the house. She went to the king's palace in a +neighboring city and inquired if they were in need of a maid. + +[Illustration: She quietly stole out of the house] + +"Ask my son. It is he who rules here," said the king's mother. + +The king looked at Linda Branca with a critical eye. + +"I hired my last servant because she was so pretty," he remarked. "I +think I'll hire this one because she is so ugly." + +Accordingly, Linda Branca became a servant in the royal palace. She +soon discovered, however, that it was the pretty maid who received all +the favors. It was good to sleep nights without being disturbed by the +songs of suitors under her window. Nevertheless, after a time, Linda +Branca could not fail to see that it was the pretty maid who had the +happy life. + +"I believe I'd almost be willing to be pretty again," said Linda Branca +to herself. "Perhaps it has some advantages." + +She knew very well that the pretty maid was not as tired as she that +night. + +The next day there was to be a great feast which was to last for two +days. Linda Branca asked the queen if she might be allowed to attend. + +"Ask my son," said the queen. "It is he who rules here." + +"May I go to the feast?" asked Linda Branca when she was blacking the +king's boots. + +"Look out or I'll throw my boot at you," said the king. + +That night when the feast had already begun, she dressed herself +carefully in the robe of blue trimmed with silver. It was indeed a +pleasure to remove the ugly mask and find that she was still just as +lovely as when the crowds of suitors sang about her great beauty. + +That night at the feast every one talked about the beauty of the +mysterious stranger in the dress of blue trimmed with silver. The king +himself danced with her. He was completely captivated by her charm. + +"Where do you come from, lovely lady?" he asked. + +"I come from the land of the boot," replied Linda Branca with a gay +laugh. + +The king was completely mystified, for he did not know where the land +of the boot was. He asked the queen and all the wisemen of the court, +but there was not a single one of them who had ever heard of that +country. The next day they hunted through all the books and all the +maps, but there was no book or map which mentioned it. + +"She is the most beautiful maiden I have ever seen!" cried the king. +"I'd like to marry her, but how can I ever see her again if I can't +find out the location of the land she comes from!" + +He was in deep despair, and every one in the royal palace was nearly +distracted. It was decidedly embarrassing to have the king fall in +love with a stranger from a country nobody could find on a map or in a +book. + +When the king returned from the feast he saw the ugly little maid he +had hired busy at her work about the palace. The next day she again +asked the queen's permission to go to the feast that night. + +"Ask my son," was the queen's reply. + +When Linda Branca asked the king's permission, he replied: "Look out or +I'll hit you with my hairbrush." + +That night Linda Branca again removed her ugly mask and dressed herself +in the beautiful gown of blue embroidered in gold. She was even +lovelier than the night before. + +When she entered the grand ball room the king was almost wild with joy. +He ran to her side at once and kept dancing with her the entire evening. + +"What country do you come from?" he asked again. + +"I'm from the land of the hairbrush," replied Linda Branca. + +"Where is that land?" asked the king, but Linda Branca would not tell +him. + +"Where is the land of the hairbrush?" asked the king of the queen +mother, and of all the wise men of the court. + +Nobody could tell him, and nobody could find the land of the hairbrush +upon any map or in any book. + +"Stupid ones!" cried the king. "I don't believe you have half tried to +find it!" + +He looked through all the maps and books himself and at last he grew +ill from so much studying. His friends all gathered about him in the +royal bedchamber and sought to console him. However he refused +consolation. + +"I do not care whether I live or die!" he cried. "I care for nothing +except the beautiful stranger who came to my feast." + +Linda Branca knew that the king was ill, and when these words were +reported to her she quickly dressed herself in the robe of blue trimmed +with silver, which she had worn the first night of the feast. When she +took off her ugly mask and looked at herself in the glass she was +really pleased with her reflection. + +"It is not so bad after all to be pretty," she said as she smiled. + +Linda Branca stole out of the palace and peeped into the window of the +royal bedchamber. One of the king's counsellors saw her. + +"Whose lovely face is that at the window?" he asked. + +"It is surely the beautiful stranger from the land of the boot," said +one. + +"It is the charming maiden from the land of the hairbrush," disputed +another. + +By the time the king himself had reached the window there was no one to +be seen. He called for the queen, his mother. + +"Tell me, mother, who was outside my window a moment ago?" he asked. + +"No one unless a masquerader," replied the queen. + +The poor queen was nearly worn out with worry over her son. She was +afraid he was so sick that he was going to die. + +The next day the king had in truth grown most decidedly worse. The +court physicians went about with anxious faces and the whole palace had +become a place of deepest gloom. + +Linda Branca put on her dress of blue embroidered with gold and again +peeped into the window of the royal bedchamber. + +Now the king had lain upon his richly carved bed with his eyes fixed +every moment upon the window where the face had appeared. He did not +close his eyes at all. + +"He can't live long if this keeps up," one court physician whispered to +another. + +He had just finished saying these words when the king gave a loud cry +and sprang from his bed. He ran to the window and reached it just in +time to catch a piece of the skirt of blue embroidered in gold. He +held it tight. + +"Masquerader, unmask!" he cried. + +Linda Branca had hastily put on the mask which she had brought with +her, and now she looked up at the king with the face of the little +servant he had hired. She took off the mask and smiled into his eyes. + +"Now at last I know who is the beautiful stranger from the land of the +boot and the land of the hairbrush!" cried the king. + +When Linda Branca had told the king, the queen mother and all the +courtiers her whole story everybody laughed. + +"Who ever before heard of a maiden who wanted to be less beautiful than +Nature had made her!" cried the wise men. + +"I always knew that when my son saw fit to select his bride he would +choose a rare woman," said the queen mother proudly. + +The king himself did not say a single word, but gazed and gazed at the +lovely face of Linda Branca with such joy in his eyes that she knew in +her heart that at last she was glad to be beautiful. + +"Stay pretty," is a parting greeting between women in the Azores. +Perhaps it was Linda Branca herself who began saying it in the +beginning. + + + + +FRESH FIGS + +_The Story of a Clever Youth and a Foolish One_ + + +Long ago there lived a little maid who fell ill. Her father was very +rich and he did everything he could for her. + +One day she said: "If I only had some fresh figs I'm sure I'd feel +better." + +Now it was in the month of January. It would be many long months +before the fresh figs would be ripe. The rich man was greatly worried. +Not even his fortune could ripen the figs, as he well knew. + +Nevertheless he decided to advertise and therefore said: "Whoever shall +bring fresh figs to my daughter shall marry her if he be young. If he +be old he shall receive his reward in money." + +This announcement was spread abroad throughout the whole country, but +no one had any fresh figs in the month of January. At last, however, +there was a woman found who had a fig tree close by the side of her +house, protected from the cold winds by the house and by the high wall +of her garden. This woman had a few fresh figs, but they were small +and not very good. + +"Send them to the little maid who is sick," advised her neighbors. + +"Indeed I'll send them as soon as my son can get ready to start," +replied the good woman. + +Now the woman had two sons. One of them was foolish, but the other was +considered one of the cleverest youths in the whole countryside. He +left home immediately with the best of the figs in his basket. + +On the way he met a woman dressed in blue with a child in her arms. It +was really the Holy Mother and her Child but he did not recognize them. + +"What are you carrying in your basket?" asked the woman. + +"I am carrying horns," replied the clever youth. + +"Yes, you are carrying horns," replied the woman. + +The young man went on to the rich man's house supposing that he was +carrying figs in his basket just as when he started out. The basket +had grown heavy. + +"What have you in your basket?" asked the rich man when he saw the +youth at his door. + +"I have brought some fresh figs from my garden to your daughter who is +ill," replied the clever one. + +The rich man was delighted. He opened the basket. Then he shook the +boy roughly by the collar and pushed him away down the steep steps. +There were horns in the basket. + +"What do you mean by playing such a trick on me?" called the rich man +after him. "Never let me see your face in these parts again!" + +There were still a few of the poorest of the fresh figs remaining on +the tree. The foolish son begged his mother for permission to carry +them to the little maid who was sick. + +"Yes. Go with them," replied his mother. "Who knows but what you may +wed the rich man's daughter!" She laughed as she said it. + +The boy who was foolish started for the rich man's house with the figs +in his basket. They were only a very few, and poor little things +indeed. + +On the way he met a woman dressed in blue with a child in her arms. + +"What are you carrying in your basket?" asked the woman. + +"Fresh figs for a little maid who is sick," replied the boy. + +"Yes, you are carrying figs," said the woman. + +The boy opened his basket. "Here, take one for the baby," he said. +"He's a lovely child." + +He gave one of the best figs to the baby and went on his way to the +rich man's house. + +"What have you in your basket?" asked the rich man. + +"Fresh figs from my garden for your daughter who is sick," replied the +boy. + +The rich man opened the basket with a scowl upon his face. He well +remembered how he had been tricked before. Then his eyes grew wide +with surprise. + +"What, figs like these in January!" he cried in amazement. + +The figs had grown large and beautiful on the road to the rich man's +house. They filled the whole basket. The little maid was so happy +when she saw them that she began to grow better immediately. + +When her father saw that the youth was foolish, he repented of his +promise to give his daughter in marriage to any young man who brought +fresh figs to her. However, he had given his word and it was not a +thing to be lightly broken. + +"I'll tell you what to do to get out of your difficulty," said his +friend to whom he told his trouble. "Turn two lively rabbits out on +the mountain and tell the boy that he'll lose his life if he doesn't +catch them and bring them back at night." + +That is exactly what the rich man did. The poor youth tried in vain to +catch the rabbits. He got very tired and hot; and, foolish as he was, +he knew enough to realize that the task set for him was quite +impossible. + +Suddenly he saw the woman dressed in blue standing before him with the +child in her arms. + +"What is the matter?" she asked him. + +The boy told her how he would lose his life if he did not catch the +rabbits and bring them back to the rich man at nightfall. + +The woman cut a reed and made a pipe of it. + +"Play on this pipe," she said, "and the rabbits will come back to you +of their own accord." + +The youth played such sweet music on his pipe that the two rabbits came +running up to him immediately. It was all he could do to keep away the +other beasts and birds. Everything which heard the music was charmed +by it. + +[Illustration: The two rabbits came running up to him] + +On his way back to the rich man's house he met two men who had been +sent to kill him. No one had dreamed, of course, that he'd really +catch the rabbits. The two men were so surprised when they saw them in +the bag that their eyes stuck out. The rich man was even more amazed. + +As for the little maid who had been sick, when she heard the sweet +music which the youth played upon the pipe, she was quite ready to +marry him. The wedding was celebrated with great joy. + + + + +PETER-OF-THE-PIGS + +_The Story of a Sharp Lad and a Sharper_ + + +Long ago there lived a man who employed a boy to take care of his pigs. +The lad's name was Peter and he was commonly called by every one in the +countryside Peter-of-the-pigs. + +One day a man came up to him and said: + +"Sell me these seven pigs." + +"I can't sell but six of them," said Peter. "I must keep one, but you +may buy the other six if you will cut off their tails and ears and +leave them for me." + +The man promised to do this, and the boy pocketed the money. The six +pigs looked sad enough without their tails and ears as they were driven +away by their new master. + +Peter led his one remaining pig down to the sand pit. He buried it +halfway in the sand. He buried the tails and ears of the other six +pigs, too, so that part of them stuck out. Then he ran with all speed +for his master. + +[Illustration: He buried it halfway in the sand] + +"Come and help me get the pigs out of the sand pit!" he called out. + +His master ran as fast as he could to the sand pit. There he saw one +of the pigs halfway out of the sand. He and Peter together soon pulled +it out completely. Then he took hold of the tail nearby. To his +horror it appeared to break off in his hand. + +"Run to the house and ask my wife to give you two shovels!" cried the +owner of the pigs. "With the shovels we can dig out the rest of the +pigs." + +The boy ran to the house. He knew that his master kept his money in +two big bags. + +"My master says that you shall give me his two money bags," said Peter +to his mistress. + +The woman did not approve of doing this. "Are you sure he said both of +them?" she asked. + +"Yes, both of them," said Peter. "Go ask him yourself." + +Accordingly, the woman ran out of the house. + +"Did you say both of them?" she called to her husband. + +"Yes, both of them," he replied. "Be quick about it, too." + +Of course the poor man thought that she was asking about the two +shovels which he had sent Peter to get. + +Thus Peter received his master's two bags of money, and set out into +the world with the bags on his shoulder and his pockets full of the +money he had obtained from the sale of the six pigs. + +After a time Peter-of-the-pigs met a robber. The robber stole one of +his money bags and ran away with it. Peter ran after him. + +Now it happened that the robber had just killed a deer. He was +carrying the liver inside his blouse. As he ran he threw it back so +that he could run faster. Peter saw what he had done. + +"If you want to catch me, you'll have to throw away your liver, too," +called out the robber over his shoulder. + +Peter-of-the-pigs pulled out his knife and cut out his liver. Of +course he dropped dead at once. + +When at last Peter's master found out that he had been deceived he ran +after the lad. As he found him lying dead there by the wayside, he +said: + +"Oh, Peter-of-the-pigs! You were sharp, but you found some one who was +sharper." + +Thus it is in life. + + + + +THE PRINCESS WHO LOST HER RINGS + +_The Story the Lame Old Women Told_ + + +Long ago there lived a lovely princess who owned the most beautiful +rings in the whole world. She had rings set with diamonds and rings +set with pearls. She had rings set with rubies and rings set with +sapphires. She had rings set with emeralds and turquoises and +amethysts and every other kind of precious stone. She had rings which +had no precious stones in them, but which were wonderfully decorated +with fine and delicate carving, wrought with great skill. + +This princess lived in a magnificent palace surrounded by a high wall. +Her own apartments opened upon a pleasant balcony. From the balcony +she could see the blue waters of the ocean and the tall trees of the +forest. Here she liked to pass her days. + +In a corner of the balcony there was a basin and pitcher of silver +always kept filled with water in order that the princess might wash her +hands on the balcony instead of having to go inside the house. +Whenever she washed her hands she always removed the ring she was +wearing that day. Some days it was one ring and other days it was +another, but, whatever ring it happened to be, the princess always took +it off carefully when she washed her hands. + +One day a pretty white rabbit came up to the balcony to play with the +princess. That day the princess was wearing her best diamond ring. +She removed it very carefully when she washed her hands. Then it +disappeared. She knew that the rabbit must have stolen it. + +The next day the rabbit came again and that day the princess lost her +best emerald ring. She was very sure that the rabbit must have stolen +that, too. However, she liked to play with the rabbit, so she said +nothing to her father, the king, about the lost rings. + +Every day the rabbit came and every day there was a ring missing. The +princess had a large box full of rings, in the beginning, but one +morning she opened the box and saw that it was entirely empty. She +remembered then that she had put on her last ring, one set with a +sapphire, the morning before. + +The princess became so sad that she would not go out to the balcony to +play with the white rabbit. Every day she grew sadder and sadder. At +last her father, the king, noticed it. + +"What is the matter with our daughter, the princess?" he asked the +queen. "She is sad now, and once she was the very jolliest, happiest +princess in the whole world." + +"I cannot imagine what the trouble is," replied the queen. "Perhaps +she is lonely. Let us send for the storytellers of the kingdom to come +and tell their stories to entertain her." + +Accordingly, the king sent for all the storytellers in the whole +kingdom. All the storytellers had to come to the palace even if they +were old and lame. + +Now it so happened that in the kingdom there were two old women who +were very lame. They knew the most interesting stories of anybody, but +it took them so long to reach the palace that they forgot all their +best stories on the way. + +"What story are you going to tell the princess?" one of the lame old +women asked the other. + +"I can't remember a single one of my stories," said the other old +woman. "It has taken my lame old legs so long to travel the road to +the palace that now that we are almost there I can't think of a single +story." + +The two old women tried to remember some of their stories, but they +could not think of any. They were almost at the royal palace, too. + +"What shall we do if we can't remember our stories?" asked the first +old woman. + +"We'll have to learn some new stories," replied the other. + +Just then they spied a queer sight. There was a little donkey without +any feet traveling along the road. On his back was a load of wood. + +"What a queer donkey!" cried the first old woman. + +"Let us follow along after him. Perhaps we shall be able to tell a +story about him," replied the other. + +The two old women followed the donkey into the forest. There was a +little thatched-roofed house in the forest and before the house there +was a fire burning. A kettle of something which smelled good was +boiling merrily over the fire. + +The donkey which had no feet stopped beside the fire and left his load +of wood. The two old women stopped beside the fire, too. + +"What do you suppose is cooking in this kettle?" asked one of the old +women. + +"It smells so good I'm going to taste and see," said the other. + +She started to taste, but as she was about to stick in her finger she +heard a strange deep voice which seemed to come out of the little +thatched house. + +"Do not touch. It is not yours," is what the voice said. + +The two old women went up to the door of the house and one of them +peeped through the keyhole. + +Inside the house she saw a pretty white rabbit playing with a box full +of rings. Suddenly the white rabbit pulled off his skin and changed +into a handsome prince. + +"What wouldn't I give to see the owner of these rings!" cried the +prince. + +The two lame old women hurried away from the little house in the +forest. They were frightened at the queer doings there. + +"I know a story to tell the princess!" cried one of the old women when +she had recovered from her fright. "I'll tell her how I peeped through +the keyhole and saw the rabbit change his skin." + +"I know what I'll tell the princess," said the other old woman. "I'll +tell her how I followed the donkey without any feet and what that +strange voice said to me when I tried to taste the good-smelling broth +in the kettle." + +"We must keep saying over our stories so we won't forget them," said +the first old woman. + +"We must hurry on our way to the royal palace and get there while we +remember them," said the other. + +The two old women hurried on their way to the palace as fast as their +lame old legs could carry them. They rehearsed their stories over and +over along the way so they would not forget them. + +Many storytellers had told their tales to the princess. They were +jolly tales, too, but the princess was not in the least cheered by +them. She remembered her lost rings even when she was listening to the +stories. + +"If the storytellers cannot make the princess happy, who can?" asked +the king in despair. + +"I'm sure I don't know," replied the queen. "She always used to like +stories." + +Finally the two old women reached the royal palace and went to tell +their tales to the princess. + +The first old woman told the story of the donkey without any feet and +the broth in the kettle. The princess did not appear to be +particularly interested even when the old woman told about the strange +deep voice which said, "Do not touch. It is not yours." Cold chills, +however, ran up and down the spines of the king and queen and all the +courtiers when she came to that part of the tale. + +Next the other old woman told how she peeped through the keyhole of the +little thatched house in the forest and saw the white rabbit change his +skin. + +The pretty dark eyes of the princess sparkled when the old woman +mentioned the rabbit and she leaned forward in her chair eagerly. + +"Our dear little princess looks like her own happy self again for the +first time in ages," whispered the king to the queen. + +When the old woman told of the rabbit's words, "What would I not give +to see the owner of these rings!" the princess clapped her hands. + +"Take me to see this rabbit at once!" she cried. + +The king and queen and all the courtiers went with the princess to find +the white rabbit. The two old women went first to point out the way, +and as these old women were so lame the whole procession moved very +slowly. + +At last they drew near the forest. There was the donkey without any +feet moving along the road with a load of wood on his back. The two +old women, the princess, the king and queen and all the courtiers +followed the donkey into the deep forest to the door of the little +thatched house. Before the house the fire was burning and something +which smelled good was boiling in the kettle. The princess stuck in +her finger to try it. + +[Illustration: The two old women, the princess, the king and queen, and +all the courtiers followed] + +"Take it. It is yours," said the strange deep voice from the little +house. + +The princess was so surprised that she forgot to taste the +good-smelling broth. She ran to the door of the house and peeped +through the keyhole. There was the white rabbit playing with a box +full of rings set with diamonds and pearls, rings set with rubies and +sapphires, rings set with emeralds and amethysts and turquoises, and +rings set with no precious stones at all, but carved delicately, with +great skill. + +"What wouldn't I give to see the owner of these rings!" said the rabbit +as he pulled off his skin and changed into a handsome prince. + +"Here's the owner of the rings!" cried the princess. "She is here at +your very door!" + +The door of the little thatched house in the deep forest swiftly opened +and the prince received the princess in his arms. + +"Your words have broken my enchantment!" he cried. "Now that at last +the voice of the owner of these rings is heard at my door, I'll never +have to put on my rabbit skin again." + + + + +THE MASTER OF MAGIC + +_The Story of a Boy who Learned His Lessons in School_ + + +Once upon a time there lived a man who had three sons. The two older +ones worked in the fields, but the youngest one went to school. He +learned how to read and write and do sums and make drawings. At last +he even learned magic. + +The two elder brothers complained to their father about him one day. +Their hearts were bitter against him. + +"It is not fair, father," they said. "We work hard every day in the +fields and bring home money to enrich the family. Why shouldn't our +brother work, too? He does nothing except study." + +The youngest son heard their words of complaint. + +"Will you go hunting with me to-morrow, father?" he asked. "I have +learned much magic. In fact, I have become a master of magic. I will +turn myself into a hunting dog if you will go into the fields with me." + +The next day the young man changed himself by magic into a hunting dog, +and his father went into the fields with him. He bagged many rabbits +that day. As they returned home, he met one of his friends. + +"What luck to-day?" asked his friend. + +The hunter proudly displayed the rabbits he had in his bag. "I have +them, thanks to my dog," he said. + +"I'd like to buy that dog of yours," said his friend. "What will you +take for him?" + +The father named an enormous price, and to his great surprise his +friend accepted it. The money was passed over at once, and the hunting +dog went home with his new master. + +The next day they went on a hunting expedition into the deep forest. +Suddenly the dog disappeared. His master called and whistled to him in +vain. Finally he was obliged to return home without him. He had lost +both the dog and the money he had paid for him. + +"Have you seen my hunting dog?" were his words for many weeks to every +one he met. + +His hunting dog had fled into a deep forest and once more resumed his +original form. He returned home and told his two brothers that in a +single day he had earned for his father more than their combined +efforts for many weeks. Indeed it was quite true. + +The next day the young man said to his father: "Will you buy a saddle +and bridle for me if I turn myself into a horse?" + +His father made the purchase, and then the young man changed into a +handsome black horse. His father rode him up and down the streets very +proudly. The Great Magician noticed the beautiful beast. + +He called the man to him and said: "That is a very good horse you are +riding. What will you sell him for?" + +The father named an enormous price, but he at once paid it cheerfully. +He ordered the horse placed in his stables. + +Now this Great Magician had a beautiful daughter who was very fond of +horses. She went out to inspect his new purchase as soon as it was +brought home. She noticed that the horse ate nothing. + +"What a beauty!" she cried as she stroked his glossy black coat. "You +are the handsomest horse in the stable. Why don't you eat? I believe +your bridle is hurting you. I'm going to take it off." + +As soon as the bridle was removed it was changed into a bird and flew +out the window. The Great Magician at that moment changed himself into +a hawk and killed the bird, never dreaming that it was the bridle of +the new horse he had purchased. + +The next morning when the Great Magician went to mount his beautiful +black steed there was no new horse to be found in the stable. The +horse had changed into a kernel of corn. + +[Illustration: The horse had changed into a kernel of corn] + +The Great Magician transformed himself into a hen to eat up the corn, +but the youth was too quick for him. He changed into a dog and seized +the hen between his teeth and gave it a good shaking. Then he returned +to his own form and explained the whole affair to the Great Magician. + +"You are surely a master of magic," was the comment of the magician. + +When the Great Magician had forgiven him for the shaking he had +received when he was in the form of a hen, he gladly gave his consent +to his daughter's marriage to the master of magic. + + + + +ST. ANTHONY'S GODCHILD + +_The Story of Antonia who became a King's Page_ + + +Long ago there lived a man who had so many children that he could +scarcely find godfathers for them all. He had requested so many of his +friends to serve, that when his last baby was born, a little dark-eyed +daughter, he vowed that he'd ask the first man he met upon the street. + +As luck would have it, he happened to meet the good St. Anthony. + +"Will you be godfather to my baby daughter?" he asked. + +Kind St. Anthony gladly consented. He named the baby Antonia, and said +to the father: + +"Train up this child in the way she should go. Teach her all you can. +When she is thirteen years old I'll come to get her and I'll give her a +good start in life." + +The years flew by and soon little Antonia was thirteen years old. The +father was afraid that St. Anthony had forgotten his promise, but one +day the saint appeared. + +"Is this my godchild?" he asked as he looked at Antonia. "Surely she +has grown prettier each year of her life." + +Antonia blushed shyly and looked even more attractive than before. + +"Dress yourself in your brother's garments," he said to her. "I am +going to take you to the king's court and you are entirely too pretty +to go there in your own dresses." + +Accordingly, Antonia put on her brother's clothes and went to serve as +a page to the king. She was now called Anthony instead of Antonia. + +Now the king had a sister who grew very fond of the little page. She +became angry that the page did not love her in return and plotted +against him. + +One day she went to the king and said: + +"Your little page says that he can separate all the chaff from the +wheat in a single night." + +"Let him try," responded the king. + +When Anthony heard what the king required he was decidedly worried. +Then he remembered that he was the godchild of St. Anthony and that the +saint was always ready to aid those in need. He called upon St. +Anthony to help him fulfill the king's command. In the morning the +king's wheat was entirely free from chaff. + +The king loved his little page more and more, and the king's sister was +angrier than before that she could not win the affection of the youth. +She made a new plot against him. + +"What do you suppose that page is saying now?" she asked her brother. +"He boasts that he can go to the palace of the king of the Moors and +steal the purse of gold pieces from beneath his pillow." + +The king sent Anthony to the palace of the king of the Moors. With St. +Anthony's help he climbed up the high wall of the palace and crept in +through a window. The king of the Moors was so sound asleep that +Anthony had no difficulty whatever in slipping his hand under the +pillow and stealing the purse. Then he crept out again without +awakening the king. + +[Illustration: He climbed up the high wall of the palace] + +"That young page, Anthony, has grown so very boastful," remarked the +king's sister a few days after his return, "that he now claims that he +can carry away the king of the Moors himself." + +Then she added, "I'll marry him if he fulfills this boast." + +"Bring home the king of the Moors as your captive," were the king's +orders to Anthony. + +The page was very much worried for he thought that it would be more +difficult to capture the king of the Moors than it had been to capture +his purse. + +"Not at all, dear godchild," said the kind St. Anthony when he had +heard about the king's new command. + +Anthony climbed quietly up the wall as before and crept in through the +window. Then he rolled the king of the Moors up in the bedclothes and +tossed him out of the window. By the time the king was really awakened +from his sleep he was in the boat ready to sail away. + +When Anthony returned to the palace with his captive, the king said: + +"My best and bravest page, you are worthy indeed of any honor. You +shall wed my sister." + +"I can't marry her," said Anthony. "My name is Antonia." + +"In that case," said the king, "I'll marry you myself." + + + + +TROUBLE WHEN ONE'S YOUNG + +_The Story of a Maid's Choice_ + + +Long ago there lived a beautiful maiden whose name was Clarinha. She +had been betrothed to a prince whom she had never seen. When at last +he should be old enough to receive the rule of the kingdom he was +coming to claim her as his bride. + +Clarinha lived in a magnificent palace surrounded by a beautiful +garden. Every day she spent many hours among the lovely flowers and +trees. + +One day an eagle alighted on the tallest tree in the garden. + +"Good morning, fair Clarinha," he said to her. + +"Good morning," she replied in surprise. Never before had an eagle +spoken to her. + +"Which do you prefer, trouble when you are young or when you are old?" +asked the eagle. + +Clarinha did not know what to say. That night she asked her mother +which would be better to choose. + +"Choose trouble when you're young, dear child," advised her mother. +"When you are young it is easy to bear anything, but when you are old +you can endure nothing." + +She remembered her mother's words. Next day when the eagle again +addressed the same question to her, she answered: "Trouble when I'm +young." + +Clarinha had hardly said these words when the eagle lifted her up by +the pink skirt she was wearing and carried her away. On he flew over +seas and mountains. Clarinha was frightened nearly to death. + +At last the eagle set her down in a strange land. She was hungry, and, +accordingly, hired out in a bakeshop to earn her living. She would +have been happier if the eagle had flown away, but he remained in a +nearby tree-top. + +The baker went out, leaving Clarinha to bake the dough which he had +left ready to put into the oven. The little maid carefully closed the +door and all the windows so that the eagle would not be able to get +inside. As soon as the baker was out of sight, however, he flew down +the chimney. He tore about the bakeshop, spilling all the dough on the +floor and breaking the dishes. Then he went back up the chimney when +he had completed all the damage there was to be done. + +When the baker returned he flew into a terrible rage. He gave poor +Clarinha a beating and turned her out into the street. + +She walked about the city and at last found work as shopkeeper in a +little shop on a corner. The owner of the business went away next day, +leaving her in charge of everything. As soon as he was gone she shut +the door and all the windows, but the eagle flew down the chimney and +broke the cups and glasses and plates which were set out for sale in +neat rows upon the shelf. + +"What have you been doing in my shop?" cried the owner in anger when he +returned and saw the destruction which the eagle had left behind. + +He didn't give the poor girl a chance to reply, but seized her roughly +and threw her out into the street. + +Clarinha walked and walked seeking work, and at last she arrived at the +door of the royal palace. + +"Do you happen to need a servant?" she asked the queen. + +"I have all the servants I need," replied the queen. + +The prince was standing nearby. + +"Hire her, mother," he advised. "She'll do to take care of the ducks." + +Accordingly, the queen hired Clarinha to care for the ducks. The next +morning all the ducks in the royal duckyard were dead. The eagle had +killed them all. + +"Hire her for a seamstress, mother," said the prince. "The poor little +thing is crying as if her heart would break. I'm sorry for her." + +The queen hired Clarinha to be a seamstress in the royal palace. + +That very day the prince left home to visit his betrothed. He was +going to marry a beautiful maiden in a neighboring land, whom he had +never seen. As he left the palace he asked each one of the servants +what gifts he should bring at his return. + +When he came to Clarinha, her reply was, "Bring me a stone from the +palace wall of your betrothed." + +The prince thought it a strange request, but he promised to fulfill it. + +As soon as the prince arrived in the land where his betrothed lived, he +found out that the palace was in mourning because of her mysterious +disappearance one day from the garden. + +He was so sad that he could not linger in that land. He stayed only +long enough to buy the gifts which he had promised to bring to the +servants. Along with the other gifts he carried a stone from the +palace garden of his betrothed. + +When Clarinha received her gift she heard the story of the mysterious +disappearance of the prince's bride. As soon as she held the stone in +her hand she knew that it came from the wall of her own loved garden. +Joy shone in her beautiful eyes. + +For the first time the prince noticed how very lovely Clarinha was. He +had always liked the little maid even when her face was sad, but now +that she was happy he saw that she was the most beautiful girl he had +ever seen. + +"What does that pretty little maid intend to do with that stone?" he +asked the queen. + +"I cannot guess," replied the queen. "She seemed happy enough to +receive it. I never saw her look happy before. Trouble seems to +follow whatever she undertakes. I was on the point of discharging her. +She's caused me nothing but endless annoyance. I hired her only to +please you." + +The prince followed Clarinha and listened at her door. Inside her room +she was talking to the stone. + +"Oh, stone from my garden wall," she was saying. "How are the flowers +of my garden?" + +[Illustration: "Oh, stone from my garden wall," she was saying] + +The prince could hardly believe his ears. Suddenly he guessed what the +truth might be. He burst into the room. + +"Are you my betrothed who has disappeared from her own land?" he asked +Clarinha. + +She smiled into his eyes. + +"Trouble when one's young is hard enough to bear," she said when she +had told all her story. "I've had quite enough to last me all my life." + +"Your woes are ended now and a happy life lies before you," said the +prince. "Our wedding shall be celebrated at once." + + + + +THE LITTLE MAID WHO WAS WISE + +_The Story of a Robber Who was Outwitted_ + + +Long ago there lived a merchant who had three daughters. Every year at +a certain day of a certain month he went away to a distant city to +collect money on an account. His wife and daughters remained at home, +and all went well until one sad day the wife died. That year the +merchant looked forward to his journey with dread for he would have to +leave his daughters alone. + +"I cannot bear to go away," he said to them. "My heart is filled with +fear lest some evil may befall you during my absence." + +He worried about the matter night and day. The business was most +important and there was no one whom he could send to transact it for +him. + +However, the question of leaving three such pretty girls unprotected +was a thing not to be regarded lightly. + +"Do not be afraid to leave us, dear father," said his daughters. +"Nothing will harm us while you are away." + +"How do you know?" asked their father. "I am older and wiser than you +are and I know that there are many evils which might come upon you. +There are many bold thieves in this city, for instance, who would be +only too ready to take advantage of my absence and rob my home of all I +possess." + +"We can lock ourselves securely in the house and not let any one +enter," said the three daughters. + +"Be sure that you admit no one," commanded the merchant. + +They gave him their promise and he started on his journey. +Nevertheless, he went with an anxious heart. + +Now, outside this city there was a band of bold robbers. The captain +of the band had watched the merchant's departure, and when he was +safely away the thief dressed himself in the disguise of an old beggar. +When it was evening he led his band into a nearby street and in his +disguise approached the merchant's house. He knocked at the door. + +"Have pity upon a poor unfortunate one!" he called out. "It is raining +outside, and no one with mercy in his heart could turn away one who +begs shelter from the storm. Let me enter, I pray you, to pass the +night under your roof." + +"It's surely a terrible storm outside," said the merchant's eldest +daughter, as the wind rattled the tiles of the roof and the rain beat +in torrents against the doors and windows. "I think we ought to take +pity on a poor beggar a night like this." + +The second daughter peeped out of the window at the beggar. + +"He is old as well as poor," she said. "Our father has always taught +us to show mercy and kindness to the aged." + +"Remember our promise to our father!" cried the youngest one. "We gave +him our word that we would admit no one. We can give this poor beggar +some alms and send him away with a blessing." + +The eldest daughter frowned. "It is not for the youngest and most +childish one of us to make the plans," she said. + +The second daughter added. "We two are older and wiser than you are. +It is for us to determine what shall be done. If we decide to show +mercy to this poor beggar it is not for you to oppose it." + +"Bui we should not forget our promise to our father!" cried the +youngest daughter. + +However, in spite of all she could say, the elder sisters opened the +door and admitted the beggar. They led him into the kitchen to dry his +clothes. Then they made ready a bed for him to sleep upon. They gave +him his supper in the kitchen and then they ate their own. + +"It is a fearful night to send away a beggar," said the eldest sister +while they were eating. + +"I am glad we have made him comfortable for the night," remarked the +middle sister. + +"I am thinking that our dear father would be anxious if he knew that we +had broken our promise so easily," said the youngest sister. + +"For shame!" cried the eldest. + +"I don't think it was breaking our promise to show kindness to a poor +old beggar," said the middle one. + +"A promise is a promise, nevertheless," said the youngest. + +While they were talking, the beggar had taken the apples which the +girls were to eat for dessert and had sprinkled a sleeping powder over +them. The two eldest ate their apples, but the youngest could not eat +that night. She threw the apple away. + +As soon as they had eaten, the girls went to their room, and the two +eldest were overcome with sleep almost before they had time to get into +bed. The youngest one was so frightened that she could not sleep a +single wink. + +Soon she heard footsteps. The beggar entered the room. The youngest +one pretended that she, too, was asleep. The man went to the bed of +the eldest sister and stuck a pin into her foot to see if she were +completely unconscious. She did not stir and he knew that the sleeping +powder had thoroughly done its work. Then he went to the bed of the +second sister and did the same. She was as completely unconscious as +her sister. It hurt terribly when he stuck the pin into the foot of +the youngest, but she did not stir. The robber thought that she was as +completely overcome by the sleeping powder as the others. + +The youngest sister peeped through her long heavy eyelashes and watched +the beggar. She saw to her surprise that he had laid aside the heavy +ragged old coat which he had kept wrapped about him even while he ate. +Underneath he was dressed like a robber with a sword, pistols and +dagger. She was so terribly frightened that it was all she could do to +keep her teeth from chattering. + +She heard the robber go about the house picking out the valuables which +he wanted to steal. Then she heard him go down the stairway and unbolt +the heavy doors which led into the store. She quietly got up and crept +out of the room to hear him more distinctly. + +On a chair in the dining room she saw the sword which he had taken off. +He had evidently thought that, with all three girls so sound asleep, +he'd not need to use his weapons. + +Soon she heard the heavy outer doors of the store unbolted. The robber +had gone outside to call the rest of the band. The little girl flew +down the stairs and closed the doors of the store securely. They were +big and heavy, but her great fear gave her strength. + +[Illustration: They were big and heavy, but her great fear gave her +strength] + +"He'll find it difficult to get into our house again," she said to +herself as she waited to see if the robber returned. + +Soon she heard footsteps outside. She knew that the thief had brought +back others with him. + +There were frightful words said when they found that the door was shut. + +"It was the youngest one who deceived me!" cried the robber chieftain. +"I knew all the time that she did not want to let me in. I was +suspicious of her from the first." + +"Perhaps you can outwit her yet!" cried another. "She may not be so +wise as she appears. You never can tell." + +The leader of the band of thieves went up close to the keyhole and +whispered: "Kind lady of the house, have pity on me." + +The merchant's daughter at first did not answer; but, as he kept on +calling to her, she finally asked him what it was that he wanted. + +"I have left my charm behind!" he cried. "Pray let me enter to get it. +I promise you I will do you no harm." + +"I do not trust your promises," replied the little maid. "You shall +not come into my father's house." + +"Pass the charm out to me, then," said the robber. + +"It's in the fire," replied the girl. + +"Go throw vinegar on the fire and put it out," said the captain of the +thieves. "Then you can pull my charm out in safety." + +Now it happened that there was a little hole in the door just large +enough for a man's hand to enter. It is the hole through which beggars +often thrust outstretched hands, asking for alms. + +"Put your hand through the hole in the door," replied the little maid. +"Then I'll give you your charm." + +She quickly ran upstairs and got the robber's sword which he had left +on a chair in the dining room. When she returned, his hand was +sticking through the hole in the door. She struck it with all her +might with the great sword and cut it off. + +The cries and curses of the robbers filled the air. They tried in vain +to break down the great doors. The doors were strong and held +securely. At last it was daylight and the band of thieves had to flee. + +In the morning the effect of the sleeping powder wore off and the two +elder sisters awoke. When they heard their sister's story they were +filled with amazement. + +"I don't believe a word of it!" cried the oldest. "You are making it +up." + +"You had a bad dream," said the second. "I had such a nightmare myself +that I have a headache this morning." + +It was not until their little sister had shown them the robber's hand +and the great sword that they were convinced that she had told them the +truth. + +"Oh, why did we ever let the man into our house!" cried the eldest. + +"Oh, why didn't we keep our promise to our father!" cried the middle +one. + +When at last the merchant returned from the distant city where he had +been to collect money he was delighted to find his house and his three +daughters safe. + +"I see that no harm befell you in my absence," he said as he embraced +them fondly. "All my worries about you were foolish." + +The eldest daughter blushed and hung her head. "Great danger +threatened us while you were away," she said. "Thanks to our youngest +sister, we are safe." + +"Our little sister was wiser than we were," said the middle daughter. + +When the merchant had heard the whole story, he said: "After this we +must all give ear to the wisdom of this little maid. She is wise +beyond her years." + + + + +MANOEL LITTLEBEAN + +_The Story of How He Helped His Father_ + + +Long ago there lived a man and his wife who had no children. + +"I wish I had a little boy," said the man. + +"I'd like a son of my own even if he were not any larger than a little +bean," said the woman. + +Time passed and a son was born to this worthy couple. He was no larger +than a little bean and as the years went by he never grew any bigger. +His name was Manoel Littlebean. He caused his mother endless trouble +by constantly getting lost. Sometimes she'd nearly step on him. Other +times he'd fall into the food and she would almost swallow him. + +One day his mother couldn't find him. + +"Manoel Littlebean! Manoel Littlebean!" she called. + +There was no answer. + +She went outside the house and called his name anxiously. There was no +reply. She asked all the neighbors if they had seen the child, but +there was nobody who had noticed him that day. His poor mother was +nearly wild with anxiety. + +"I'm afraid I'll never see the dear child again," she mourned. "I'm +sure I have either stepped on him or swallowed him!" + +"You never stepped on him or swallowed him yet," comforted her husband. +However, he added anxiously, "I can't see what has become of my Manoel." + +The truth of the matter was that Manoel Littlebean had been swallowed +by the goat. He was a most active youngster in spite of his small size +and he caused the goat a terrible attack of indigestion. + +The goat did not know what was the matter and he tore around so wildly +and caused so much destruction that his master decided to kill him. + +"I simply can't be bothered with that goat any longer," he said. "I +have quite enough to worry about already with Manoel Littlebean lost +and my poor wife nearly sick with anxiety because of it." + +He never dreamed that it was his son who was making the goat so wild +with misery. When the goat was dead he threw it out into the street. + +That night a wolf came and ate the goat. He swallowed the goat's +stomach so greedily that Manoel Littlebean had no time to escape. +However he jumped about just as actively inside the wolf as he had done +when the goat had swallowed him. The wolf was just as uncomfortable as +the goat had been. + +"What is the matter with me?" thought the wolf. "Never in my life have +I had such a stomachache. I believe I'm going to die." + +He ran away into the forest and crept into a cave to await his end. +Inside the cave was a robbers' den. Three of the robbers were there +counting over the gold they had just brought back. + +When they saw the wolf they were so frightened that they dropped their +bags of gold and ran away as fast as they could, leaving everything +behind them. + +Manoel Littlebean guessed that he was making the wolf sick. + +"If I can only make him so ill that he will spit me up!" said Manoel to +himself as he jumped about his liveliest. + +That is exactly what happened. The wolf spit Manoel Littlebean out. + +He was decidedly dirty and unattractive, but he didn't mind in the +least. He saw the quantities of gold in the robbers' cave and his eyes +shone. + +[Illustration: He saw the quantities of gold] + +"If I can only find my way home to tell my father about it, he will be +a rich man!" he cried. + +It was a long distance home and several times he thought that he had +lost his way. Finally, however, he saw his own mother's light in the +window. He ran toward it as fast as he could run. + +"Manoel Littlebean, what have you been doing?" cried his mother when +she saw him. "Where did you get so dirty? Come, let me give you a +bath the first thing!" + +"Never mind about the bath, mother," said Manoel. "I have more +important things to attend to. Where is father?" + +His mother called her husband and they both forgot how dirty the child +was when they heard his story. + +"Let us hurry to the robbers' cave, father," he said. "We must get +there before they return." + +"What about the wolf?" asked his mother anxiously. + +Manoel Littlebean laughed. + +"The wolf doesn't have any stomachache now," he said. "He went home +long ago." + +They went to the robbers' cave and brought home the huge sacks full of +gold. It was enough to make them live like princes for a lifetime. + +"I have the best and cleverest son in the world," said the father. + +"Never in the world was there a son who was such a joy and comfort to +his parents," said his mother. + +Manoel Littlebean was treated by every one as politely as if he had +been big. + + + + +THE NECKLACE OF PEARLS + +_The Story of a Water-nymph and an Island Lad_ + + +In a tiny cottage on the steep rocky hillside of one of the islands of +the Azores there lived a poor woman and her only son whose name was +Francisco. Every day the boy went fishing in his little boat, and +every night he brought home fish for his mother to cook for their +evening meal and to carry into the market to sell. In this way they +lived very comfortably, and they loved each other so dearly that they +were as happy as happy can be. + +Francisco, with his fair skin, blue eyes and thatch of curly golden +hair, was the handsomest boy in the whole parish, and by the time he +was sixteen years old there was many a rich man's daughter who had +smiled upon him. However, the lad thought only of his fishing boat and +his mother and did not notice the smiles. + +One night the moon was so bright that Francisco could not sleep. He +awakened his mother who was dozing comfortably in her bed. + +"I'm going fishing, mother dear," he said as he kissed her. "The +moonlight is calling me." + +His mother started up from her bed in terror and amazement. + +"Why, my boy, do you do such a thing as this?" she asked. "You have +never been fishing in the night before. Some evil will surely befall +you." + +"Don't worry about me, dear mother," replied Francisco, laughing at her +fears. "I know how to take care of myself. It is as light as day. +Think how many fish I'll bring back for you to sell in the market +to-morrow." + +His mother shook her head anxiously, but, with another loving kiss, the +lad ran out into the bright moonlight. He quickly launched his little +fishing boat and soon was floating smoothly along on the peaceful +waters of the bay which gleamed like a silver pathway in the moonlight. +The soft air, the gentle rocking of the little boat, and the face of +the moon upon which his blue eyes were fixed combined to send sleep to +his eyelids. Soon he was nodding in the little boat. A few moments +later and he was fast asleep. The moon's rays upon his curls made them +shine as if they were indeed made of gold. + +Now the village maidens were not the only ones who had noticed +Francisco's blue eyes and handsome face. A water-nymph who dwelt in +the depths of the sea had often observed him. In the daytime she was +invisible to the eye of humans and so the lad had never seen her though +she often spent long hours near him, never taking her eyes from his +face. + +"Here comes the beautiful youth in his little fishing boat!" cried the +nymph as she saw the moonlight gleaming upon his bright curls. "At +last my wish has come true. Now at night he'll be able to see me." + +She hastily arranged her own beautiful hair before a little mirror she +carried. Some of the strands of priceless pearls which decked her +lovely head were a trifle awry. These and the necklaces of rare pearls +which hung about her fair throat surrounded her with a gleam of soft +light almost like the light of the moon. As she approached nearer to +the little boat she saw that Francisco was fast asleep. She swam in +the direction of the lad with all possible speed, a wild terror in her +eyes. + +"What madness is this?" she asked as she looked down upon his bowed +head. "This frail boat will drift upon the dangerous rocks and be +dashed to pieces. I'll take him home to my own palace without +awakening him. Perhaps when he sees how lovely it is he'll even like +me a little bit." + +Just for a moment she hesitated, thinking how far from home Francisco +would be in the palace of mother-of-pearl in the depths of the sea. + +"The rocks are really very dangerous," she said to herself as she +gently drew his sleeping form into her arms. + +The next morning Francisco's empty fishing boat was found by the +fishermen. For hours his mother had watched in vain for his return. +When at last she heard that the empty boat had been found she was +nearly wild with grief. + +"He was the best son a mother ever had," she moaned over and over +again. "How can I live without him!" + +Indeed, as the days and weeks went by it was increasingly difficult for +the poor woman to live. She not only missed her boy's loving smile, +but she also missed the fish he caught so skillfully. There was little +for the poor woman to eat if she had any appetite for food. + +"Why don't you go to the Wiseman of the Sea and tell him your +troubles?" asked one of the neighbors. + +Francisco's mother knew that it was a long and difficult journey to +reach the Wiseman of the Sea. She decided, however, it would be worth +the effort just to gaze into his wise eyes. He knew so much, perhaps +he would know how to say something to comfort her in her great sorrow +and loneliness. She had shrugged her shoulders when her neighbor had +spoken of it but she could not get the idea out of her mind. She knew +that she would never rest in peace until she had made this journey. +Accordingly, she launched Francisco's fishing boat, and, thanks to +smooth seas, reached the little rocky island in the midst of the sea +where the Wiseman of the Sea lived. + +His tall form was outlined above the cliff even as she tied her little +boat. He was very tall, far taller than anybody she had ever seen, and +his snow-white beard fell to his feet. He was clothed in fish scales +which gleamed in the sunlight. + +"Well, little mother, what can I do for you to-day?" he asked, as she +came up the path to the summit of the rock. + +The eyes of the Wiseman of the Sea were very kind as well as full of +great wisdom. Francisco's mother forgot to be afraid of him as she had +expected to be. She told him the story of her lost son. The Wiseman +listened carefully to her words and then he said: + +"Good mother, I am glad to tell you that I know where your Francisco +is. He is in the power of a water-nymph who has carried him away to +her castle of mother-of-pearl in the depths of the sea." + +Francisco's mother felt the tears of joy well up into her eyes. "Is my +boy happy there and is he well?" she asked eagerly. + +"He is entirely well and happy. The water-nymph gave him a philtre +which has made him forget his past life entirely." + +"I'm glad you told me that," said the boy's mother. "I was just +wondering how my dear lad could be happy while he was causing me so +much sorrow. He has always been the best and kindest son with which a +mother ever was blessed." + +The Wiseman of the Sea started to say something, but the woman +interrupted as a new thought flew into her mind. "Tell me," she cried, +"is there no way of getting him back? With all your wisdom can't you +think of some way to make him once more remember the mother who loves +him and the little home in which we have passed so many happy days +together? Do you not know some means of breaking the power which this +water-nymph has over him?" + +The Wiseman looked out across the sea in silence for at least a minute +and a half. He thought hard. Francisco's mother watched him with +eager eyes. She could hardly wait for his answer. At last these were +the words which fell from his lips: + +"You have shed many tears, good woman, but tears are still to flow if +you are to bring back your son." + +"Oh, must I suffer more?" cried the heart-broken mother. "It seems +that I have already lived a lifetime since my dear lad kissed me in the +moonlight. I have endured all that I can bear." + +The Wiseman smiled gently as he raised his hand. "Listen, my child," +he said. "Your tears must be shed upon the bosom of the waters. If, +perchance, one of them should fall upon your son's heart there in the +palace of the water-nymph in the depths of the sea, the power of her +philtre will be broken." + +"I'll shed whole oceans of tears if I can break the power of that +water-nymph and bring back my Francisco," said his mother. + +The fact is that she began to shed tears then and there, even before +she had thanked the Wiseman of the Sea for what he had told her. + +Now it happened that Francisco had grown to love the beautiful palace +of mother-of-pearl in the depths of the sea. He never tired of all its +beauty. About the palace there were lovely gardens filled with flowers +made of precious gems. Each tiny bud of that garden was worth a king's +ransom, so rich were the jewels which composed it. The water-nymph +often gathered her arms full of these rare blossoms and wove them into +a garland to crown Francisco's golden curls. He never had a thought of +the old life at home with his mother, so completely had the nymph's +philtre done its work. + +There was always a big fish swimming about the palace. On its back +there was a cushion of seagreen satin embroidered with lovely pearls. + +"This is your riding horse," said the water-nymph to Francisco the +first day he had seen it. "If you should ever get tired of the palace +and find the life here a bit monotonous, just mount this horse and ride +about for a little." + +The water-nymph had shaken out her long fair tresses so that they +covered as much as possible of the fishtail she had instead of feet. +She was very sensitive about the fact that she had no feet upon which +to wear pretty little slippers like those of the maidens she had seen +so often as they called out gay greetings to the handsome fisher-lad. + +Francisco had smiled into her eyes. "How absurd," he cried, "to think +of such a thing as getting tired of this wonderful place!" + +In fact the days had slipped by all too fast for the happy youth. Then +it suddenly happened one day while the water-nymph was asleep that he +thought of his mother, the little house which had been his home for +sixteen years and more, the fishing boat which was his pride and joy, +the moonlight night when he had gaily kissed his mother's cheek and +gone away never to return. He did not stop to waken the sleeping +nymph. He said no word to the servants of the palace. He thought only +of the fish with the cushion of sea-green satin embroidered with rare +pearls. + +"Quick!" he cried to it. "Take me home as fast as you can! My +mother's heart is breaking! She has shed so many tears for me, I know, +that by this time she may be entirely blind." + +[Illustration: "Take me home as fast as you can!"] + +In another hour Francisco was safe at home with his mother's arms about +him. She had shed so many tears that her eyes were swollen almost +shut, but they were not closed so completely that they could not shine +with the great joy which once more filled her heart. + +"Promise me one thing," she said to him. "Give me your word that +you'll never go fishing again. I don't trust that water-nymph even in +the daytime." + +Accordingly, Francisco gave up being a fisherman and became a hunter. +To make his spears, he gathered the young sapling which grew on the +hillside even down to the edge of the water. He had grown still +handsomer while he had lived in the palace of mother-of-pearl in the +depths of the sea, and there were twice as many pretty maidens who cast +smiling glances in his direction. + +It was the daughter of the rich man of the village who at last won the +heart of Francisco. When he went a-wooing, however, he had no gift to +take except the birds he had killed with his own hand. The rich man +laughed at him. These were his words: + +"When my daughter marries it shall be only to a youth who can bring her +rich gifts." + +Francisco went away with a sad heart and sat upon the rocks at the edge +of the sea, gazing out over the water with eyes so full of tears that +they saw nothing. + +The water-nymph was not far away from the shore those days. She was +always seeking for a glimpse of the golden head which she had so often +crowned with flowers. Her joy now at the sight of him was buried by +her sorrow when she saw that his heart was full of woe. She knew at +once the cause of his grief. + +The next morning when Francisco went to get wood to make a new spear, +he found a necklace of priceless pearls lying on the shore. It was the +gift of the water-nymph, but since his heart had been touched by his +mother's tears he had entirely forgotten her. He took the gift to the +maid he loved with never a thought of the giver. + + + + +THE DAUGHTER OF THE KING OF NAPLES + +_The Story of a Prince's Quest_ + + +There was once a king who had an only son. The years passed by and he +did not marry, so one day his father called him before him and said: + +"The time has come when you should marry, my son. You are now at the +age when you should no longer wait to choose your bride. Why is it +that you have not already done this?" + +The prince replied: + +"I will wed no one except the daughter of the king of Naples." + +"Do you know that the king of Naples has a daughter?" asked the father. + +"No," answered the son. "I do not know." + +"I should advise you to find out whether or not the king of Naples +happens to have a daughter before you decide to marry her," remarked +the king dryly. + +"That is good advice," replied the prince. "I thank you." + +Accordingly, he asked everybody he met whether the king of Naples had a +daughter. There was no person to be found who knew anything about it. + +"You'll have to go to Naples to obtain this information," advised the +king. "It is a long journey, but if you are determined to marry nobody +except the daughter of the king of Naples there seems to be no way +except to go there and learn whether or not he has a daughter." + +Accordingly, a ship was prepared and the prince sailed for Naples. It +was a difficult, stormy voyage, but finally they arrived safely. The +moment they landed the beggars came crowding about them. The prince +distributed alms among them most generously. + +Then he asked: "Does any one know whether or not the king of Naples has +a daughter?" + +There was nobody who knew. Finally, however, an old woman said that +once she passed by the royal palace and there was a beautiful face at +the window. + +"I think that perhaps this was the daughter of the king of Naples, but +I do not know," she added. + +"Go at once and find out," ordered the prince. "You shall be richly +rewarded." + +The old woman hastened to the royal palace. She saw the same lovely +face at the window which she had seen before. + +"Lovely lady, I want to talk to you!" she called out. + +Now it happened that day that the princess was feeling decidedly bored +and out of tune with life. It looked like an interesting diversion to +talk with the old woman. Thus it came to pass that she opened the +window graciously. + +"What do you wish, good mother?" she asked. + +"Are you the daughter of the king of Naples?" questioned the old woman. + +"I am," replied the princess. + +"May I come some day to sell you pretty things?" asked the old woman. + +The princess appointed an hour the next day when she might come with +her wares. Then the old woman hurried back to the waiting prince. + +"The king of Naples has a daughter!" she cried. "A very beautiful +daughter, too!" + +The prince showered the old woman with gold. He was so delighted that +at last he had found this out that he could well afford to be generous. + +The old woman thanked him. "I did something else for you, kind sir," +she said. "I made an appointment to see the princess to-morrow. I am +going to the palace at four o'clock to sell pretty things to her." + +"Well done, good mother!" cried the prince, again thrusting his hand +into his purse. "Let me go in your place!" + +The old woman gladly consented, and the prince dressed himself as a +peddler. The next afternoon at four o'clock he went to the palace of +the king of Naples. + +"It is a peddler with many interesting wares for sale," said the +servant who answered his knock. "He speaks of an appointment with your +Royal Highness." + +"Yes," said the princess. "A peddler was to come to-day at four +o'clock with pretty things for me to buy." + +Accordingly, the prince was admitted to the presence of the daughter of +the king of Naples. If she were surprised to find the peddler a +handsome young man instead of the old woman with whom she had talked +the day before she did not show it. + +"What lovely things you have!" she cried as she examined the tray full +of ribbons and beads and trinkets. + +She selected a number of the wares and then she asked, "What is the +price of these?" + +The prince would not set a price. + +"If your Royal Highness is pleased with these," said he, "I have many +more things at home which you will like even better. I'll bring them +to you to-morrow." + +"That will be splendid!" cried the princess. "Come again to-morrow at +this hour." + +The next day the prince again dressed himself as a peddler, but +underneath the outer garments he wore his own rich clothing. When he +was admitted to the royal palace he laid aside his peddler's disguise +and stood before the princess looking like the true prince he was. He +was very handsome in his rich suit of crimson velvet, with his hat with +the long plume in his hand. The princess was so surprised that she +turned pale. + +"Who are you?" she cried. "You surely are not the peddler who came +here yesterday!" + +The prince smiled into her eyes, and, even without the peddler's +garments which were rolled up on the tray, she would have recognized +him. + +He told her of the quest which had led him there, and she admired all +the patience and diligence he had shown in finding out her existence. +When he asked her to marry him at once, she readily consented. They +planned that she should steal down the staircase at night and go away +with him on his ship. + +All this sounded very romantic to the daughter of the king of Naples. +She had never dreamed that a thing like this would ever happen. All +her life she had been so closely guarded that stealing out of the +palace and sailing away in the prince's ship seemed the most wonderful +thing in the world. + +The next night had been agreed on, and long ahead of the appointed hour +the prince sat on horseback at the foot of the stairway down which the +princess would steal. He was very weary with all the excitement of the +past three days, and as he waited he fell asleep. A robber passed by +and saw his sleeping form hanging limply on the saddle. + +"I'll gently deposit him on the ground and get away with his horse and +saddle," thought the thief, as he stopped and regarded the horse with a +critical eye. + +Just then, however, he saw something which made him change his mind +about hurrying away after he had deposited the prince's sleeping form +beneath a tree. There was the loveliest maiden he had ever seen +creeping silently down the stairway. She came straight up to him. + +"I'm ready, beloved," were her words. + +The robber silently lifted her behind him on the horse's back and +together they rode away. + +"Where is your boat?" asked the princess after they had ridden together +for some time without speaking. + +"So it is a boat which the fair lady is looking for," thought the +thief. "I was expecting this good horse to carry us the whole +distance. A boat is a bit difficult to arrange, but it can be done if +necessary. There ought to be a boat around somewhere for me to steal." + +He left the daughter of the king of Naples on the shore while he went +to steal a boat. When he returned the light shone upon his face and +the girl thought that he did not look the same as the day before. + +"Of course, I've seen him only twice," she told herself in an effort to +gain assurance. "It must be the prince, my own true love." + +"Here is our boat," said the robber, and together they embarked. + +As the morning light shone upon the robber the princess saw that he was +not in the least like the prince who had come a-peddling. The robber +laughed. + +"Does my lady know with whom she is going away?" he asked. + +"I thought I was going with the prince who is my lover," she replied, +bursting into bitter tears. + +Running away was not half so romantic and delightful as she had +pictured it. She heartily wished that she were back in the royal +palace. + +As for the prince, he soon awoke and looked about the palace garden +where he was lying under the tree. + +"How did I get here?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes sleepily. + +There was none to tell him, so he decided that his horse must have +thrown him off and run away. + +"It is queer that my fall did not awaken me," he said to himself. "It +is a bit awkward to lose my horse. However, if the princess only keeps +her promise and comes to me we shall manage to get to our ship somehow." + +He waited very patiently for a time and then he began to fear that the +princess had repented of her promise to run away. He did not give her +up, however, until it was almost daylight. Then he sorrowfully +returned to his waiting ship. + +[Illustration: Then he sorrowfully returned to his waiting ship] + +"I have at least found out that the king of Naples has a daughter and +that she is the most beautiful princess in the whole world," he said. +"If she prefers not to have a run-away marriage it will doubtless be +better for me to sail home and tell my father to make arrangements with +the king of Naples for our wedding. There are some advantages in this +more dignified method." + +Thus it happened that the prince sailed away for his own country, never +dreaming that the princess had kept her promise to steal down the +stairway in the night and that she was then in the hands of the wicked +robber. + + +The daughter of the king of Naples sobbed and cried so loud when she +found that it was not her own prince with whom she was sailing that the +robber became quite disgusted with her. + +"I thought you were a pretty little maid," he said, "when I first saw +you, but now I've changed my mind about you." + +Indeed no person with good eyesight would have called the princess +pretty at that moment, with her face all red and swollen with much +weeping. + +The robber decided that he did not want to bother with her any longer, +so he landed in the country of the Junqueiras and left her there. The +princess wandered about the place until night came without seeing a +single soul,--nothing but the sea, sky and rocks. + +She was really, however, not far from the hut in which there lived the +wife and daughter of a poor fisherman. In the stillness of the night +they heard a cry. + +"Some one is in trouble outside, mother," said the daughter. + +"Perhaps the pirates have come and by this cry are trying to lure us +out," answered her mother cautiously. There were often pirate ships +which stopped there. The daughter listened carefully. + +"No, mother," she insisted. "I'm sure this is a girl's cry." + +The two women opened their door and crept out in the darkness. The +sobs of the princess soon led them to the place upon the rocks where +she lay crying as if her heart would break. They lifted her tenderly +and carried her home. + +The fisherman's daughter gave the princess some of her own clothes to +wear and they lived together as if they were sisters. Together they +did all the work of the little house and the princess was too busy to +weep. Sometimes, however, she cried in the night when the fisherman's +wife and daughter were asleep. She wept for her lost love and for the +royal palace of the king of Naples which had always been her home. + +Now it happened that the prince's ship encountered a great storm and +was driven about by the sea. At last it was blown by the gales to the +land of the Junqueiras. + +The prince saw the fisherman's daughter and the princess standing on +the rocks by the sea. He stared hard at the princess. Then he spoke +in a voice which shook. + +"You remind me of some one I used to know," he said. "Tell me your +name, I pray you, fair maid." + +The princess looked down at the garments of the fisher maid which she +wore. She blushed. The prince she had recognized the very moment she +had seen him. + +"I am the daughter of the king of Naples," she said. + +The fisherman's daughter stared at her in amazement. + +"She is no king's daughter!" she cried. "She is a poor abandoned maid +who came to us out of the sea. We found her upon these very rocks. It +is my own dress that she is wearing. A king's daughter, indeed! She +is no more the daughter of the king of Naples than I am!" + +But the prince had taken the daughter of the king of Naples in his +arms. As soon as they returned to the palace their wedding was +celebrated with great joy and they lived together as God lives with the +angels. + + + + +[Illustration: Headpiece] + + + + +MARIA-OF-THE-FOREST + +_The Story of a King and His Fate_ + + +Once upon a time there was a young king who went into the deep forest +on a hunting expedition. He and his favorite page became separated +from the rest of the party and soon they realized that they were lost. +As night approached they found the rude hut of a charcoal burner and +begged for permission to pass the night there. They were received most +hospitably. + +Just at the hour of midnight the king was awakened from his sleep by a +voice. This is what it said: + + "Here in this hut is born to-night + The maiden of your fate: + You can't escape your lot, young king; + Your fate for you will wait. + + 'Tis fate--'tis fate--'tis fate." + + +The king turned over on his pillow and tried to sleep, but the strange +voice kept ringing in his ears. He rose early. + +As soon as he saw the charcoal burner the man said: "A baby daughter +was born to me last night." + +"At what time?" asked the king. + +"It was just midnight," replied the charcoal burner. + +The king awakened his page and told him what had happened. + +"I refuse to wed any maid born in this poor hut," he said. "You must +help me to escape this fate." + +"What can I do about it?" asked the page, yawning. + +"You must steal this babe this very day and put it to death," said the +king sternly. + +The page did not dare refuse, and easily obtained possession of the +baby when no one was looking. He carried her away into the deep +forest, but he did not have the heart to put an innocent babe to death. +He left her in a hollow tree, wrapped up in the bright red sash he wore. + +When he had returned to the king he confessed that he had been too +tender-hearted to slay the baby. The king was angry. + +"Take me to the baby," he said. "I'll do the deed myself." + +Though they searched long and faithfully they were unable to find the +hollow tree where the baby had been left. They, of course, did not +wish to return to the hut of the charcoal burner, and at length they +found their way out of the deep forest. + +"No one will ever discover that baby if I could not find it myself! +She will soon die without food," said the page. + +The king agreed that it was quite impossible for the babe to escape +death, but he could not forget the strange voice which had said: + + "Here in this hut is born to-night + The maiden of your fate: + You can't escape your lot, young king; + Your fate for you will wait. + + 'Tis fate--'tis fate--'tis fate." + + +Now it happened that very day that a woodcutter was working in the +forest. Suddenly he heard what sounded like the cry of a baby. + +"There can't be a child here in the deep forest," he said to himself +and went on with his work. + +The cry continued, however, and it sounded very near, almost under the +woodcutter's feet. He looked into the hollow log and there he found a +dimpled baby girl wrapped in a bright red sash. + +"Poor little thing! Her own mother has abandoned her. My good wife +will be a mother to her," he said. + +The woodcutter's wife had no children of her own and received the baby +gladly. She named her Maria-of-the-forest. As the days flew by and +the babe thrived under her care, she could not have loved her more had +she been her own child. + +The weeks and months passed and soon the little Maria-of-the-forest had +grown into a lovely little girl five years old. Her kind foster mother +made a bonnet for her out of the bright red sash which she had found +wrapped about her the first time she saw her. It made Maria's dark +eyes look even brighter than before. + +Now it happened that the king and his page were again hunting in the +forest and passed by the house of the wood cutter. The page noticed +the pretty little girl and the red bonnet she wore. He called her to +him and examined it carefully. + +"There can be no doubt that material is from my own red sash," he +confessed to the king. "This woodcutter's daughter could have such a +bonnet as this in no other way." + +The king bade him make inquiries about the child and soon the page +found out that the little maid was in truth the baby he had left in the +hollow tree. The king ordered him again to steal her. This time the +king plotted her death by drowning. He had a box made for her, put her +in it, and threw her into the sea with his own hand. + +"I refuse to wed any girl brought up in a woodcutter's hut," he raged. +"I'll escape that fate." + +Nevertheless he could not escape the memory of the strange voice which +had said: + + "Here in this hut is born to-night + The maiden of your fate: + You can't escape your lot, young king; + Your fate for you will wait. + + 'Tis fate--'tis fate--'tis fate." + + +It was most annoying to remember it. + +It happened soon after that a ship encountered the box floating upon +the sea. The sailors rescued it and opened it with interest. Inside +they were surprised to find a pretty little dark-eyed girl with a +bright red bonnet on her head. She could not tell them where she had +come from but she said her name was Maria-of-the-forest. + +When the sailors arrived in their own country they told the story of +finding the child and the king asked to see her. He and the queen were +so pleased with her lovely face and gentle manners that they received +her into the royal palace. She was brought up as a lady-of-waiting to +their own little daughter of about the same age. + +When, after a dozen years, the princess was wedded, all the kings of +near-by countries were invited to the marriage feast. The king who had +been lost in the forest came with the others. At the feast there was +no one more beautiful than Maria-of-the-forest. The king danced with +her. + +"Who is the girl?" was his eager question. + +"She has been reared in the royal palace as if she were in truth the +sister of the bride," was the reply. + +The king fell in love with the beautiful maid and gave her a ring. The +page, however, was suspicious when he heard her name. He lost no time +in making inquiries about her. What he found out made him very sure +that she was in truth the daughter of the charcoal burner. He reported +his suspicions to the king. + +"Never mind," said the king. "I'll wed the maid anyway. One can't +escape from one's fate." + + + + +THE SEVEN ENCHANTED PRINCES + +_The Story of How Honoria Kept Her Promise_ + + +Long ago there was a little maid who lived all alone with her +grandmother. They were very poor. The girl's name was Honoria. + +One day the grandmother sent the girl out to sell some of the oranges +from their orange tree. + +"You must bring home at least three vintens to me," she said. "Don't +dare return without at least that small amount of money." + +Honoria went from door to door trying to sell the oranges. Every one +seemed to have plenty of them that day. There was nobody who would +purchase a single one. + +She walked on and on through the town, everywhere obtaining the same +answer, "We do not wish to purchase any oranges to-day." + +Finally she found herself outside the town and in the forest. There +was a house with the door wide open and on the table in front of the +door lay three vintens. There was no one in sight and nobody answered +Honoria's knock at the door. + +"I'll take the money and leave some oranges in place of it," said +Honoria. "That will not be stealing." + +Accordingly, she selected some of the largest and finest of her oranges +and placed them on the table. She put the money away carefully to take +to her grandmother. Then she turned to leave, but found that the door +was closed. + +She tried her best to open it but could not. Neither could she open +any of the windows to climb out by that means. The windows were all +fastened just as securely as the door. + +"What shall I do?" cried the girl, who was now thoroughly frightened. + +She did not like the idea of remaining a prisoner in the house in the +forest. All day she tried to find some way of escape, but there seemed +nothing to do except to wait until somebody came to her aid. + +"This house is not far from the city. Surely some one will be passing +this way and will come and help me get out," said Honoria. "I hope +they'll come before night." + +There was nothing to eat in the house and she was thankful enough for +the big basket full of juicy oranges. + +At last it grew dark. Then Honoria heard footsteps outside the house. +She could not see who was coming, but a key was turned in the lock and +some one entered. She was so frightened that she hid under the table. + +A lighted candle showed that seven dwarfs had entered the house. They +had brought food with them, and they at once went to work to prepare +their evening meal. + +"Who left us all these fine oranges?" asked one of the dwarfs. + +"I do not know," replied another. "Some one has surely been here and +it must have been a kind friend." + +Honoria was almost tempted to crawl from under the table and show +herself, but she decided that it would be better to stay where she was +and go home the next day when it was light. + +When morning came, however, she found that she had been sleeping so +soundly that she had not heard the seven dwarfs when they left the +house. The door was fastened just as securely as before. + +Honoria looked about the house and saw that there was enough work to +keep her busy all day. There were dishes to wash and floors to sweep +and beds to make. Fortunately the dwarfs had left plenty of food. + +When night came she heard the footsteps approaching and again hid under +the table. As soon as the seven dwarfs came into the house they saw +that it had been changed wonderfully during their absence. + +"Our dishes are all washed!" cried one of the dwarfs. "Last night we +forgot to wash them after supper!" + +"Our beds are all made!" cried another. "We left home so early this +morning we did not have time to make them!" + +"Our floors are all swept and everything is in order!" cried another. +"We never have looked so neat and clean!" + +[Illustration: "We never have looked so neat and clean"] + +"Somebody must have been here," said one of the dwarfs. + +"It is surely a kind friend," said another. + +"Perhaps they are here yet!" cried another. + +"If they are men we'll treat them like brothers and if they are women +we'll treat them like sisters," said the seventh dwarf who had not +spoken before. He had been looking around the house carefully, but he +had seen no one. + +Honoria crawled out from under the table. The dwarfs joined hands and +danced around her in a circle. + +"We have a big sister now!" they cried. "A big sister to take care of +us!" + +Honoria knew that if she said anything about leaving the dwarfs they +would be heartbroken. She knew, too, that her grandmother would give +her a terrible beating for staying away from home so long. The easiest +thing seemed to be to remain in the forest and keep house for the seven +dwarfs. + +Weeks and months went by and Honoria led a happy life in the forest. +The dwarfs brought home plenty of delicious food and they also brought +her the prettiest dresses she had ever seen. They were green like the +moss and the leaves of the forest and brown like the rich earth about +the house. There was a little hat with red berries upon it which +Honoria thought the most charming hat in the world. She tried it on +and ran to the brook to look at her reflection, for there was not a +single mirror in the house. + +One day the king passed by with his gay hunting party. That day +Honoria had on her prettiest moss-green dress and the king thought her +the loveliest maiden he had ever seen. He stopped to chat with her. + +"Do you live here in the forest all alone?" he asked. + +"No, I keep house for my seven brothers," was Honoria's answer. + +"What a lovely little housekeeper!" cried the king. "Marry me and come +to live in the royal palace!" + +"I must ask my brothers first," responded Honoria. "I will tell you +to-morrow what they say." + +That night when the seven dwarfs came home Honoria told them about her +visit from the king. + +"How can we spare our big sister?" cried one of the dwarfs. + +"Who will keep house for us when she goes away?" cried another. + +"Who will make the beds so nicely?" asked another. + +"Who will sweep our floors?" + +"Who will wash our dishes?" + +"Who will sew on our buttons?" + +"I have known that our big sister would marry sometime," said the +seventh dwarf who had not spoken, but who had been thinking quietly. +"Why shouldn't she marry the king?" + +"We must let her marry the king! We must not be selfish!" cried all +the dwarfs together. + +They decided that Honoria should marry the king, but they asked her not +to let him kiss her until he had first said these words: "By permission +of the seven enchanted princes." He would have to remember it without +being reminded by Honoria. + +Honoria told the king what her brothers had said and the wedding was +celebrated with great joy. + +When the king tried to kiss Honoria she burst into tears. He had +forgotten all about saying: "By permission of the seven enchanted +princes." + +Honoria would not let the king kiss her, and she cried so much and +struggled so hard that the king thought she had gone crazy. He ordered +her shut up in the dark cell underneath the palace. Then he married a +new queen. + +Now it happened that there was a faithful servant who was quite sure +that Honoria was not crazy. When Honoria told her of the words which +the king must say before he kissed her this servant tried to think of +some way to help her. She was very angry at the fact that there was a +new queen. + +One day she went to the queen and said: "Queen Honoria who is shut up +in the dark cell underneath the palace is much more clever than you +are." + +"What does Queen Honoria do that is so clever?" asked the new queen. + +"Queen Honoria will take a sword and cut off her head. Then she will +put it back on again so that it is as good as new. I don't believe you +are clever enough to do that." + +"I never tried it," answered the new queen, "but just to show you that +I'm as clever as Queen Honoria I'll do it." + +With these words she seized a sword and cut off her head. Of course +she fell dead immediately. The king married a new queen. + +Then the servant went to the new queen and said: "Queen Honoria who is +shut up in the dark cell underneath the palace is more clever than you +are." + +The new queen was indignant at this remark. "Why is she more clever +than I am?" she asked. "What can she do that I can't do?" + +"She can take a sword and cut off her hand. Then she'll stick the hand +on again and it will be as good as new." + +"I've never tried it, but I'll do it just to convince you that I am +clever too," said this new queen. + +She took up a sword and cut off her right hand. Then she fainted away. +The arm grew full of poison and the queen soon died, but not until she +had told the king what the servant had said to her. + +The king was very angry at the servant and called her to him. + +"What do you mean," he thundered, "by telling such a story about Queen +Honoria's magic powers?" + +"I wanted you to remember where you had found Queen Honoria," replied +the servant. + +Then the king suddenly remembered how he had first seen Queen Honoria +when she was in the house in the forest. He thought of how pretty she +had been in the dress which looked like soft green moss. Then he +thought of how she had said that she must ask permission of her seven +brothers before she consented to become his queen. + +"By permission of the seven enchanted princes!" he cried. "I forgot to +say these words before I kissed my dear Queen Honoria!" + +He quickly ran to the dark cell underneath the palace where she was +confined. He said the magic words and kissed his fair queen who was +just as beautiful as before she had been shut up in the cell, though a +trifle paler. + +In the house in the forest the seven dwarfs who were in truth seven +enchanted princes suddenly were disenchanted. + +"Our dear sister Honoria did not forget us after all," they cried in +joy. + + + + +THE LISTENING KING + +_The Story of the Trouble Which Came to Him_ + + +Once upon a time there lived a king who liked to walk in disguise about +the streets of the city, listening at people's doors. It was, in fact, +his favorite amusement. Other kings of that land had been fond of war +or hunting or fishing or games, but there had never before been one who +liked to listen at doors. For this reason he was called "the listening +king." + +"It is the greatest fun I have," he often said to his counsellors. +"Being a king would be a stupid life if one didn't have some diversion." + +"Be careful that it does not get you into trouble," said the wise men. +"We have often heard that listening to other people's secrets is a +dangerous practice." + +"I've had nothing but pleasure from it, anyway," the king would reply. +Then he would add, "So far, at least." + +Sometimes he would take a friend or two with him, and sometimes he +would go alone. The habit of listening at doors became more and more a +favorite one to him as the months and years passed. + +Now in that city there lived a man of humble station who had three +pretty daughters. One evening the king passed his house and stopped at +the door to listen. + +"Whom would you like to marry?" one of the girls was asking. It +happened to be the youngest one. + +"I'd like to marry the royal baker," the eldest sister replied. + +"Why?" asked the youngest one. + +"So that I might always eat fresh bread," was the reply. + +"Whom would you like to marry?" the youngest sister asked the middle +one. + +"I'd like to marry the royal meat cook so that I might always eat meat +roasted just to a turn," was her answer. + +"Whom would you like to marry?" asked the eldest and the middle sister +together. + +"I'd like to marry the listening king himself," was the reply which +their youngest sister made. + +"Silly! Silly!" cried her two sisters. "We have perhaps a chance of +getting our wishes, but what chance have you?" + +"If one wishes for nothing splendid one never gets anything splendid," +replied the youngest sister with a blush which made her look very +charming to the king as he peeped through the keyhole. + +The king went away with a shrewd smile upon his face. The next day he +sent for the three sisters to come to the palace. They were very much +frightened. + +"Well," said the king to the eldest girl, "do you want to marry the +royal baker?" + +"Yes, your majesty," she replied. "I have no objections." + +The king turned to her sister. + +"How is it with you?" he asked. "What do you say to marrying the royal +meatcook?" + +"I'll be most happy to marry him, your majesty," she answered. + +The youngest girl was blushing like a rose and her heart was thumping +so that she could scarcely breathe. The king smiled as he noticed her +fair head bowed upon her breast. + +"Would you like to marry the listening king?" he asked her gently. + +"Yes, your majesty," she responded, so low that the king could hardly +hear her. + +"Very well," said the king. "I'll have all these weddings celebrated +at once." + +Thus it happened that the two eldest sisters got their wishes and +married the royal baker and the royal meatcook, while the youngest one +wedded the listening king himself. The others were very angry at her +luck and their hearts were filled with envy. + +"Why didn't we wish to be queens or at least princesses?" one asked the +other. "It would have been just as easy to have had our wishes +granted!" + +"Why didn't we! Why didn't we! How stupid we were!" cried the other. + +They passed the time in plotting against their youngest sister, the +queen. + +A year flew by and twin sons were born to the royal pair. They had +gold stars on their foreheads. The whole kingdom was filled with +rejoicing. As for the listening king, he was so happy that he forgot +to listen at people's doors. + +The only persons in the whole country who were not happy were the two +jealous sisters. They stole the tiny babies out of the palace and +threw them into the river. + +"Trouble has at last come to our listening king," said the wise men, +when the loss was discovered. + +The basket in which the twins had been placed floated away down the +stream. It was found by a miller. + +"What have we here?" he asked his wife as together they removed the +cover from the basket. + +"I guess it is something good to eat," said his wife. "What do you +think it is?" + +"I guess it is a poor little puppy which some one wanted to drown," +replied the miller. + +Then they took the cover off the basket. The two babies opened their +eyes and smiled just then. The miller and his wife were the most +surprised people in the whole country and also the happiest ones. + +[Illustration: The miller and his wife were the most surprised people +in the whole country] + +"What beautiful children!" cried the miller. + +"Let's keep them!" cried his wife. + +"Of course we'll keep them," replied the miller. "The good God himself +must have sent them to us in answer to our prayers." + +Just then the miller's wife noticed the golden stars upon their +foreheads. + +"What does this mean?" she asked. + +"I don't know," answered her husband as he examined them carefully. +"Perhaps it is just a sign that they are truly the gift of God." + +The miller and his wife cared for the two children as if they had been +their own. They lived such a long distance from the palace that they +never heard the news that the royal babes were missing. + +As the two boys grew older they became the handsomest, cleverest lads +in the whole kingdom. The gold stars shone and twinkled upon their +foreheads. At last the miller's wife made little caps for them to wear +to hide the stars. They were altogether too conspicuous. + +Then one sad summer a pestilence came upon the land and the good miller +and his wife died. The two children were left alone in the world. The +listening king had decreed all the orphaned children in the kingdom +should be brought to the royal city that they might be fed and cared +for. The miller's two orphans went with the others, and the king's +wicked sister-in-laws saw them. They recognized them at once because +of the golden stars upon their foreheads. + +"We must make a new plot to destroy the royal children," said one +sister to the other. "And we must be quick about it or the king or +queen will see them and recognize them, too, by the golden stars." + +"Are you quite sure these are the two royal babes we threw into the +river?" asked the other sister doubtfully. "It is a bit difficult for +me to believe that our sister's children can be so handsome." + +"I'm entirely certain of it," assured her sister. "There is no one +except the royal babes who could have those golden stars." + +While the wicked sisters plotted, the two children had approached the +royal gardens. Inside the garden there was a beautiful parrot with +feathers of green and gold. + +"I'm going to catch that bird," said one of the brothers. "Wait here +while I go inside the gates." + +He could not catch the parrot and he called his brother to come and +help him. Together they succeeded; and, with the beautiful +green-and-gold parrot tightly clutched, they tried to slip outside the +gate of the royal gardens. + +Just as they were almost out, the great gates swiftly closed and caught +their garments. + +"We're caught! We're caught!" cried the two children. "How can we +ever get the gates unfastened!" + +At the sound of their cries, the royal gardeners, the courtiers and the +listening king himself came to the rescue. + +When the king saw the golden stars upon their foreheads he leaned +against the nearest tree for support. + +"What children are these?" he asked in a voice which shook. + +"I never saw them before," replied the head gardener. "I think they +are some of the orphan children which the great mercy and clemency of +your royal majesty have caused to be rescued from the plague." + +"Who are your parents, my children?" asked one of the courtiers. + +"We are the children of the good miller and his wife," they replied. +"Our kind foster parents are now dead with the plague." + +"Where did this miller and his wife find you?" asked the king eagerly. + +Then the two children told the story of how the miller had found them +in a basket in the river. They knew it well, for it was their favorite +story of all the ones which the miller's wife had told them. + +The courtiers looked at each other in amazement. Every one had noticed +the bright stars shining on the children's brows. + +"I believe you are the two dear babes lost from this palace!" cried the +king as he took them in his arms. + +"Who put them in that basket?" asked the king's counsellors. + +"If I knew you may be sure that fitting punishment would be visited +upon them!" cried the king. + +The beautiful green-and-gold parrot had escaped from the children's +arms and had flown back to a tree near the gates of the royal gardens. +Suddenly he was heard to speak. + +"Go find the king's sisters-in-law," were the words he said. + +The king's sisters-in-law were quickly brought into the garden. A look +at their guilty faces convinced every one that they were the ones who +had placed the royal babes in the basket and had thrown them into the +river. + +"You shall now receive the punishment which you have so richly +deserved!" cried the king as he frowned upon them sternly. + +"Where is the good queen?" some one asked. + +The queen had been sleeping in her own apartments and had not heard the +noise in the garden. When the courtiers brought her there and she saw +the two handsome boys with the bright stars shining on their foreheads, +she fainted with the joy of it. + + + + +JOSE THE BEAST SLAYER + +_The Story of a Boy Who Grew Up in the Forest_ + + +There was once a king who had a little daughter. He went to the Wise +Man of the Forest to learn how best to bring her up, and this is what +he was told: + +"For twelve years you must keep your daughter in a tower in the forest. +It should have no door, only a little window through which you may pass +food to her. You must give her meat which has no bones in it." + +The king ordered a tower constructed in the deep forest. It had no +door, and only a little window. Here the princess was placed. Every +day food was passed to her through the little window. The king himself +took charge of this, so that he might be sure that there was no meat +given her which had bones in it. + +The years flew by, and at last the twelve year period was nearly up. +Then the king went away one day and left the servants to carry food to +the princess. They were careless, and gave her meat which had a bone +in it. + +The little princess had grown very tired of being shut up in the tower +of the forest. + +"Ah," said she when she discovered the bone in her meat. "At last I +have something with which to make this little window larger. I've +tried in vain to make it bigger with my fingers." + +She used the bone to dig away the wall each side of the window and soon +the little opening had grown so large that the princess could lean her +head out of it and look up at lofty trees. That very day a duke passed +that way on a hunting expedition and saw the beautiful princess in the +tower. He fell in love with her immediately. + +Now that the princess had some one to help her make the hole larger it +was an easy matter to make it big enough to escape. That very night +she ran away with the duke. + +When the king returned from his journey he found the tower in the +forest entirely empty. There was nothing but the yawning hole to tell +him of his daughter's escape. He tried in vain to find out what had +become of her, but there was no person who could tell him anything +about her. + +The princess had gone with the duke across a great river which no one +else knew how to cross. She lived in a big cave in the rocks, and +after all the years in the tower it seemed a wonderful home indeed. +She was never tired of admiring the trees and flowers of the forest and +listening to the songs of the birds. When at last her baby son was +born she thought that she was the very happiest person in the whole +world. + +Now when the baby was two years old, the duke decided that they must +take him to a hermitage to be baptized. They went down to the great +river and he carried his little son across it in safety. Then he +returned for the princess, but on the way his foot slipped and he fell +into the river. The strong current bore him swiftly away, leaving the +princess on one side of the river and her little son on the other. + +"How shall I get across?" cried the princess when she saw what had +happened. + +"Don't worry, mother," replied the child. "I'll come and get you." + +To her amazement he crossed the great river in safety and bravely +escorted his mother to the other bank in spite of her tears and cries +of fear. + +"Well done, my son!" she said when on the other bank. "You are indeed +a son to be proud of!" + +They went to a church and the boy was baptized. Jose the Beast Slayer +was the name he chose. Then they wandered on until at last they came +to a house with a door in which a little window had been cut. The boy +thrust in his arm and opened the door as if it had been his own. + +"Walk in, mother dear," were his words. + +Together they entered the house and together they explored the various +rooms. There was nobody there and there was nothing to eat. +Accordingly, Jose went out begging. He asked alms at the royal palace +and there he was given money to buy food. There was even enough left +over to pay for a gun. + +Now that he owned a gun there was no need of begging any more. He shot +plenty of game for his mother and what was left he carried to the royal +palace to give to the king. + +One day in the deep forest he entered a cave where the giant of the +forest lived. + +"What are you doing here, little penny chicken?" asked the huge giant +as he frowned down at Jose. + +[Illustration: He frowned down at Jose] + +"I may be a little penny chicken, but I'm not in the least afraid of +giants," replied the boy boldly. + +"What, a little penny chicken like you not afraid of me!" cried the +giant as he picked him up roughly and set him on his neck. + +Jose seized the giant's long beard and drew it around his neck so +tightly that the giant fell to the floor dead. Then Jose seized one of +the money-bags and ran home with it to his mother. + +"You must carry some of this to the king," said his mother when she saw +it and had heard his story. + +Accordingly, Jose carried the money as a gift to the king. + +"Who is bringing me all this?" asked the king when he saw it. + +"A little lad," replied the king's servants. + +"Lead him in to me," said the king. "I'd like to see him." + +Accordingly, the boy was led before the throne. + +"What is your name, my lad?" asked the king kindly. + +"I am called Jose the Beast Slayer, your majesty," replied the boy as +he bowed low before the throne. + +"Who are your parents?" asked the king. + +"My father is dead," replied Jose, "and my mother is a princess who ran +away from a tower in the forest." + +Jose had often heard the story of his mother's life in the tower. It +was the tale he liked best of all. + +At the boy's words the king started and looked at him sharply. + +"Tell me about this tower," he said eagerly. + +"It was a tower in the deep forest," replied Jose. "It had no door, +only a little window through which food was passed to her. She could +never have any meat with a bone. This was because the Wise Man of the +Forest had told her father that it was the best way to bring her up. +One day her father went away and the servants gave her meat with a bone +in it and--" + +"I always suspected something like that," interrupted the king. + +Jose looked at him in surprise. + +"Were you there?" he asked. + +The king nodded. "Go on with your story, my boy," he said. + +Jose told all the circumstances of his mother's escape from the tower, +just as she had so often described them to him. Tears were running +down the king's cheeks when at last the story was ended. + +"My lad, you are my own grandson!" cried the king as he took him in his +arms. "Proud am I, too, that I have a grandson like you! Where is +your mother now?" + +"My mother is in the house in the forest," replied Jose. "It is she +who told me to carry the money to the king." + +"Why did she never come to me?" asked the father. + +"I think she was afraid she'd be punished for running away from the +tower without any door," was Jose's reply. + +When the princess was brought home to the royal palace there was a +great feast held which lasted for three days and three nights. Then +the king sent his men with Jose into the forest to the cave where the +giant had lived. They brought home so many bags of gold that it +required the entire royal army to transport it. + +Years passed, and when the old king died it was Jose the Beast Slayer +who was king of the land. + + + + +[Illustration: Headpiece] + + + + +THE PRINCESS OF THE LOST ISLAND + +_The Story of Euphemia and Her Good Deeds_ + + +Euphemia was the daughter of King Atlas and the granddaughter of the +great god Jupiter. She was more beautiful than her fifteen sisters, +though they were all lovely. + +All the ten sons of Neptune admired her charms and sought to marry her, +but she would wed none of them. There was, in truth, no one in all the +world who was worthy of her. Euphemia herself knew this and preferred +to remain a star in the constellation of the Hyades, her sisters, +rather than wed an unworthy husband. + +Euphemia became a Christian, they say, through the efforts of the +cherubim. She decided to come down to earth and go about doing good +deeds. Accordingly, she came to the island called Seven Cities. + +Now in the island of Seven Cities there lived a rich and venerable +Christian prince. He adopted Euphemia as his own daughter. She was +called Princess Euphemia of the island of Seven Cities. + +As soon as she came to the island all pain and misery vanished from it. +Joy reigned. Banquets were held, songs were sung, gay dances were +danced. It was as if every day were a feast day. + +Time passed. Many changes came to the island, but Euphemia herself +remained always young, always beautiful. + +One day two priests from the outside world visited the island. They +saw the magnificent palaces, the beautiful gardens. Two tame lions +followed them about. They were as gentle as if they had been dogs. + +"We are in the celestial regions," said one priest to the other. + +"Let us stay here forever," said the other priest. "It is indeed the +Paradise of which we have dreamed." + +The two priests had come in a tiny launch from a large boat. + +"We should return and tell our friends about this celestial region," +they agreed. "To-morrow we will all explore this wonderful country." + +It was almost dark when the two priests reached their ship by the +little launch. They reported all the things they had heard and seen in +the new land. + +The next morning, however, the island had entirely disappeared. The +water stretched before their gaze with an unbroken rippling blue +surface. + +"What has become of our beautiful island," the good priests asked in +amazement. + +"We were anchored off the shore of one of the enchanted islands," was +the opinion of everybody. + +Euphemia, they say, has not yet disappeared entirely. She has changed +her form. She is still found in the Azores in the plant called +SOLANEA, the flower of St. Cosmo. She is still doing good deeds. Pain +disappears when she comes, just as it did in the lost island. St. +Cosmo, the patron saint of all good physicians, could never have gained +his reputation without her good deeds. + + + + +[Illustration: Headpiece] + + + + +WHY THE ALVELOA BIRD RECEIVED A BLESSING + +_The Story of the Bird of Good Luck_ + + +In the Azores there is a little bird which is loved and protected by +every one. Its name is the Alveloa. It has a gray back, white breast, +head and throat, and black and white wings. The tail of this little +bird is always in motion. This is the reason: + +Long ago when the wicked king Herod ordered all the babies to be +killed, the Holy Virgin fled into Egypt with the Christ child safe in +her arms. They rode upon an ass. + +The Virgin glanced fearfully behind her as they went along the way. At +any moment Herod's messengers might come in pursuit. The tracks of the +ass showed plainly in the dusty road. + +"Oh!" cried the Holy Mother, "Our enemies will see our tracks! They +will know in what direction we have fled!" + +The Alveloa was nearby and heard. She spread out her tail like a fan +and shook it about in the dusty road. The tracks of the ass were +completely brushed away. + +The Holy Mother smiled upon her. + +"For this kind deed, little bird, your tail shall be always in motion. +By this sign you shall be known and your life shall be spared." + +To this very day the tail of the Alveloa is in motion. St. Michael, +himself, the patron of the island of S. Miguel, has asked a special +protection for the little bird in his island. + + +The Alveloa flew all the way before the Virgin, showing her the road +into Egypt. + +"My blessing upon you, little bird," said the Virgin. "May you always +have the strength to slay your enemy." + +To this very day the Alveloa is able to slay birds much larger than +herself. + +"The Alveloa kills the hawk," is a saying in the Azores. + + +If one wakes in the morning and sees this little gray and white bird +before his window he will have a lucky day. + +On the way into Egypt the Virgin pointed to the lupine which grew by +the wayside. + +"Eat, little bird," she said. "Eat until your hunger is satisfied. +Blessings be upon you for your kind deeds to me and to the Holy Child. +May good fortune and plenty always attend you." + +To this very day this bird blessed by the Virgin is an emblem of good +luck. + + + + +[Illustration: Headpiece] + + + + +WHY THE CODORNIZ BIRD RECEIVED A CURSE + +_A Story of the Bird Who Walks Humbly_ + + +When the Holy Virgin was fleeing into Egypt to escape the persecutions +of Herod, the Codorniz bird flew about making a great racket, calling +out, "Come this way." + +"Keep quiet!" cried the Virgin. "Our enemies will hear you! They will +come in pursuit!" + +In spite of her words the Codorniz kept up its noise. + +"My curse be upon you," said the Virgin. "You shall always walk +humbly. You shall never fly high and smile at the sun." + +To this very day the Codorniz bird walks humbly. It has many enemies +who love to slay it to devour. + + + + +OUTSIDE THE DOOR LIKE THE MOTHER OF ST. PETER + +_A Story of Why She Stays Outside_ + + +If there is no response when you ring the bell or knock at a door in +the Azores, you have to stay "outside the door like the mother of St. +Peter," they say. This is the story which tells why the mother of St. +Peter had to stay outside: + +The very stingiest woman in the whole city was St. Peter's mother. She +was so stingy that she never gave away a single thing to a beggar. No +matter if the beggar were old or sick or blind or crippled or even a +mother with a babe in her arms, she always made the same reply, "I have +nothing to give away." + +Not even when there was famine in the land, but plenty in her own home, +would the mother of St. Peter share with the unfortunate. + +When St. Peter was made the guardian of the keys of Heaven, of course +he tried to bring his mother inside the celestial gate. + +"When your mother lived upon the earth did she ever share her plenty +with any of my poor unfortunate children?" was the question. + +St. Peter thought hard. His mother had been a worthy, virtuous woman +in many respects, but he could recall nothing which she had ever given +to the poor and the unfortunate. + +At last he remembered a day when she had gone into the garden to get +vegetables for the soup. + +A poor beggar woman had stood outside the garden gate, crying: "Alms! +Alms, for the love of God!" + +[Illustration: "Alms! Alms!"] + +"Get away from my garden," said St. Peter's mother. "I have no alms to +give you. If I give away the vegetables from my garden, I'd soon have +nothing left to feed my own family. I'd be begging myself." + +The poor beggar woman started to turn away with tears in her eyes. An +onion stalk fell from the hand of St. Peter's mother. It was bruised +by its fall and covered with mud, but the beggar seized it eagerly. + +"Keep it. I wouldn't use it anyway," snapped St. Peter's mother. + +St. Peter could remember nothing else to tell, so he related this story. + +"Go and find the onion," was the comment. + +When St. Peter at last found that onion stalk, it was still dirty with +the mud of the garden and crumpled by its fall, just as it had been +when his mother had given it to the beggar. + +"Hold out the onion and pull your mother in," was the order. + +St. Peter held out the onion stalk. It did not reach very far down +into Purgatory, but his mother jumped up as high as she could and +seized it eagerly. + +Slowly and very carefully he pulled her up by it to the Heavenly Gate. +Just as she was about to enter the door the onion stalk broke. + +"I'm sorry. You'll have to stay outside," said St. Peter. "I've done +the best I could for you. The onion stalk was not strong enough to +pull you through." + +Thus it happens that the mother of St. Peter has to stay outside the +door of Heaven. + + + + +WHY THE OWL FLIES AT NIGHT + +_A Story of Good St. Anthony_ + + +Long ago there was an image of the good St. Anthony washed ashore by +the rough waves of the Bay of Angra. A little chapel was built to +receive it on the steep slopes of Monte Brasil overlooking the bay and +here it still remains. + +Once upon a time a little boy named Pedro lived in a tiny cottage near +St. Anthony's shrine. His mother had died and his father had married a +new wife who was often cruel to him. She dressed him in ragged, shabby +clothes and the other children of the parish often pointed their +fingers at him in scorn because of his poor garments. + +One day as Pedro knelt before the image of the good saint a strange +thing happened. His clothing became new and whole. He was dressed as +well as any boy in the parish. + +"Where did you get clothes like this?" asked the stepmother when he +came home that night. "I always knew you were a good-for-nothing. I +believe you have stolen them." + +Little Pedro told what had happened, but the woman would not believe +him. + +"Don't stand there talking any longer!" she cried. "Take the water +jars and go to the spring and fill them for me. Hurry, I don't want to +be kept waiting for the water!" + +Pedro lifted the two great water jars which stood on the floor and +slowly climbed up the hill to the little spring which supplied water +for the family needs during the greater part of the year. Just now the +spring had failed, as the stepmother had found out that very day. + +[Illustration: Pedro lifted the two great jars and slowly climbed up +the hill] + +"There is no water in the spring now," said an old man whom little +Pedro met on the way. The boy had almost reached the spring and the +big jars were growing heavy even though they were empty. + +"I'm so nearly there I'll go on and see for myself," decided the lad. +"The other spring is so far away and the jars will be so heavy that I +can never carry them all the long distance. Perhaps there is still a +little water here." + +When he reached the spring he was surprised to see the water flowing +faster than in many a day. He remembered, too, the new suit of clothes +he was wearing. + +"Luck is with me to-day!" he cried as he filled the water jars. "The +good saint Anthony is my friend. He it is who has given me my handsome +clothing and he it is who has blessed the spring for me." + +When he returned home with the jars full of water his stepmother stared +at him in amazement. He had not been gone long enough to obtain it +from the farther spring. + +"Where did you get this water?" she asked, as soon as she could find +words with which to speak. + +Pedro told her that it came from the spring just as it always did. + +"That spring is dry to-day!" she cried. "Now I know that you are a +liar as well as a thief. Just wait until your father comes home! I'll +see that you get the beating you deserve." + +Pedro wondered why she had sent him to the spring if she had believed +it to be dry, and while he was thinking of this the angry woman gave +him a big basket. + +"Here," she said. "Go out in the garden and pick up some wood for me. +Hurry. Don't keep me waiting. Your slow ways drive me mad." + +Pedro knew that all the wood in the garden had been picked up long ago. +Now there was nothing in the garden except roses. There were red roses +and pink roses and yellow roses and white roses, but not a single stick +of wood. High up on the steep slopes of Monte Brasil there might be +wood to gather, but the night was dark and the path was steep and long. +Little Pedro was very tired, so tired that two great tears rolled down +his cheeks. + +Suddenly the good saint Anthony from the little chapel stood before +him. He smiled kindly at the child. "Why are you crying, my boy?" +asked the saint. "I have watched you carefully for a long time and I +know you seldom give way to tears, though often your burdens are so +heavy that a boy less brave would do little else than weep." + +"I have to fill my basket with wood and there is nothing except roses +in our garden," replied Pedro. "I'm tired and it is very dark on Monte +Brasil to search there for wood." + +"Here, dear boy," said the saint, smiling. "Just pick the roses and +fill your basket with them. Then take them to your stepmother and see +what she will say to you. I'll be with you." + +Pedro filled his big basket with the lovely red and yellow and pink and +white roses which grew in the garden in such rich abundance. Then he +ran into the house with them. As the light from the candles fell upon +them, to his amazement he saw that they were no longer roses. The +basket was full of wood. + +"Where did you get this wood?" cried the woman angrily. "There are +only roses in the garden. Where have you been?" + +She seized Pedro roughly by the collar of his new coat and shook him +until his teeth chattered. He looked up into the saint's eyes. St. +Anthony's face was stern. + +"Stop, woman!" cried the voice which a moment before had been so kind +and gentle. Now it thundered forth in stern accents. "This little lad +has done no harm. You have been guilty of a desire to bring harm to +him, For this cruelty take the punishment which you so richly merit. +It is you who have sent this child out into the night. Now it is I who +sends you out into the night." + +From that moment Pedro's stepmother was no longer a woman. She was +changed into an owl with her eyes the big round circles they had looked +when she had gazed up into the fierce face of angry St. Anthony. To +this very day the owl has to fly by night. + + + + +[Illustration: Headpiece] + + + + +THE LABORER AND HIS MASTER + +_The Story of a Man Who Outfitted Another_ + + +Once upon a time there was a laborer who said to his master: + +"It is time to plant the fields." + +"Very well," said his master. "The part which grows above the ground +shall be mine and you shall have in payment for your labor the part +which grows below the ground." + +"Agreed," said the laborer. + +He planted the fields with potatoes. His master had nothing but the +tops outside the earth. The laborer harvested many baskets of potatoes +that year and sold them for a goodly sum. The master was angry because +of this. + +"Next harvest time," said he, "we'll see about things! You shall give +me what grows below the ground and keep for yourself what grows above." + +"Agreed," said the laborer. "That is perfectly fair to me." + +The laborer planted the fields with wheat. His master had nothing but +the roots, while he harvested a rich crop of wheat which he sold for +much money. + +"I'll settle with you," said his master. + +The laborer was frightened. + +"Don't be afraid," said his wife. "When your master comes let me talk +to him." + +The woman gashed her face and hands with the pruning knife. + +The master came to the door and she opened it. + +"Where is your husband?" he asked. + +"He is sharpening his nails," said she. "See what ugly scratches I +already have upon my hands and face." + +The master went away without punishing the laborer. + + + + +'TIS FAITH WHICH SAVES + +_The Story of a Maid Who Was Betrothed to One She Trusted_ + + +There was once upon a time a fair maid who lived in the island of +Fayal. She was betrothed to a young man of the same island. One day +she fell ill with a disease which baffled the skill of all the +physicians. Their arts, the mourning of her betrothed, the prayers and +tears of her mother, all seemed of no avail. It appeared that the fair +maid would die. + +[Illustration: It appeared that the fair maid would die] + +Now it happened that in one of the nearby islands, St. Michael, there +was a miracle-working image called the Santo Christo. The fair maid +begged of her betrothed that he would go to St. Michael and procure +some of the mysterious miracle-working sweat of the Santo Christo or +some of the miraculous parings of the nails of the image, which had the +power to heal any disease. + +The young man gladly set out on the quest. On the boat which conveyed +him to St. Michael, however, he met a maid with beauty and charm, a +maid whose bright eyes made him forget the sad eyes of his betrothed. + +When he arrived at his destination he thought only of singing gay songs +beneath the balcony of his new love. The days flew by, and soon it was +time for the boat to return to Fayal. He had forgotten the mission on +which he had come, and he returned to the boat with no relics of the +miracle-working Santo Christo. + +The homeward journey was rough and stormy. Filled with fear of death +at any moment, the young man remembered the fair maid of Fayal who even +at that very hour might be dying. His conscience smote him. + +"Oh, why did I allow another fair face to crowd out from my heart the +image of my beloved?" he asked himself. "Faithless wretch that I am, +what shall I say to my betrothed if good fortune and the sea permit me +to stand once more at her side?" + +The rough waves beat angrily against the side of the boat in answer. +That night the storm ceased and in the morning it was fair and clear as +the boat entered the beautiful harbor of Fayal under the shadow of Mt. +Pico. With clear skies and smooth seas the young man's conscience +became less troublesome. He resolved that he would not confess his +deceit to his betrothed. + +"If I told her it might make her grow worse so rapidly that she would +die because of it," he said to himself. + +Indeed, it was quite enough to have made the girl die of a broken +heart, had she known the whole story. + +Suddenly the youth's face clouded. + +"What shall I say to my beloved as the reason why I have brought back +to her neither the miracle-working sweat of the Santo Christo nor the +miraculous nail parings?" he was asking. + +His eye fell upon the boat's wooden side. Quickly he shaved off some +fine parings of this wood. He wrapped them up carefully and took them +to the fair maid of Fayal as if they were parings from the nails of the +miracle-working image. + +His betrothed's face shone with joy at his return. Tears of +thankfulness filled her eyes when she saw the parings which he had +brought her. + +"How can I ever thank you for your faithfulness in this quest in my +behalf, and the great love which prompted you to undertake this stormy, +dangerous journey on the rough seas that I might once more be well?" + +The young man did not enjoy hearing her speak of his love and +faithfulness. He did not reply. + +"No maid was ever blessed with so wonderful a lover," went on the happy +girl. + +"You are forgetting to take the parings," said the mother. "They will +not cure you if you do not take them." + +The fair maid of Fayal took the parings in a gourd full of water. She +began to improve immediately and the next day she was entirely well. + +"'Tis faith which saves and not parings," said her betrothed. + + + + +ST. BRENDAN'S ISLAND + +_The Story of the Little Maid Who Found It_ + + +There was once an Irish monk called St. Brendan. One day he received a +visit from a hermit who told him of a most marvelous island. + +"Come and visit this earthly Paradise," said the hermit. "There the +sun always shines. The birds wear golden crowns upon their heads and +speak like humans." + +The perfume of the island clung to the garments of the hermit for forty +days. + +Good St. Brendan asked many questions about the mysterious island and +at last resolved to visit it and see for himself if all the wonders of +which he had heard were really true. Accordingly, he built a coracle +of wattle covered with hides tanned in oak bark and softened with +butter. He loaded it with provisions to last for forty days. Then he +persuaded some of his disciples to accompany him. This was somewhat +difficult for they were timid about embarking upon this dangerous +expedition in the frail boat. St. Brendan, however, succeeded in +overcoming their fears and set out with a little group of his most +devoted followers. + +It was seven years before they returned to their native land. They +were even more enthusiastic about their wonderful island than the +hermit had been. They urged others to go and find out its marvels but +nobody else was ever able to locate it. + +They say that the island of St. Brendan was a floating island in the +Atlantic. Good St. Brendan did not die but kept on living in the +earthly Paradise of his isle. When the Christians were hard pressed in +their battles with the Moors and were about to be pushed back into the +sea the island of St. Brendan appeared upon the horizon, and the good +saint himself came to fight against the Moors and bring victory to the +Christians. + + +In the middle of the fifteenth century there was a little maid called +Maria who lived in the island of Terceira. She heard the story of St. +Brendan's isle from a Franciscan brother. Day and night she dreamed of +it. She often sat upon the hillside of Monte Brasil, looking eagerly +out over the broad expanse of sea, hoping with all her heart that the +island would appear to her. + +One day there landed in Terceira a cavalier of Rhodes named Vital. +From his grandfather he had inherited some of the sacred relics of St. +Brendan. He had come to the Azores in his search for the mysterious +island. On his doublet he wore an eight-pointed star and a band upon +which was embroidered in scarlet silk the motto, "By Faith." It was +indeed "by faith" that he had embarked upon his quest. + +The little maid, Maria, fell in love with him the moment she heard of +him and his errand. She worshiped him as if he had been the good St. +Brendan himself, but when she was with him she sat with downcast eyes, +her long dark eyelashes sweeping her delicate cheek, and did not give +him a glance, much less a word. + +The young cavalier loved the little maid. He divided his holy relics +of St. Brendan with her, and in return he begged of her that she might +speak a word of love. + +"To tell my love to you," said Maria, "I'd have to be where nobody but +God could hear." + +Indeed it was quite true that Maria needed to be where nobody but the +good God could hear her when she spoke of her love for the cavalier +Vital. The son of the wealthy Captain of the district had long admired +her delicate beauty. He had already sought her for his bride. His +jealousy against Vital rose up like a burning flame. He went to Maria +and demanded that she should marry him at once. + +Maria firmly refused. + +"If you do not wed me," said the captain's son, "I shall have my father +lock you up in the stronghold of St. Louis on the hillside." + +"I should prefer to spend all my days confined in the castle of St. +Louis rather than be your wife," said she. "Why can't you leave me in +peace with my relics of the good St. Brendan!" + +The mention of St. Brendan's relics stirred the young man's wrath even +more. He well knew who it was who had given her the holy relics. His +threat was fulfilled, and she was taken that very day to the castle of +St. Louis and locked up in that stronghold. + +Her room had a window, and there she sat high up in the tower of the +castle looking down at the city of Angra beneath her. + +"I had longed to serve the good God," she cried. "Why is it that my +life has been made useless!" + +At that very moment the earth trembled. The strong walls of the castle +shook as if they had been built of paper. + +Near the fort two doves were sitting on the branches of a cedar tree. + +"Let us rescue this fair maid," said one dove to the other. + +"Yes, let us carry her away on our wings," agreed the other. + +That instant the earth shook so that the walls of the stronghold fell +to the ground. The two doves spread out their snow-white wings and +bore Maria away in safety. + +Over houses and churches they flew. Over treetops and the broad +expanse of the sea they rose. The city, the island, the sea, all +disappeared from Maria's sight. She felt so dizzy that she closed her +eyes. + +When she opened them again she was in an island of such beauty as she +had never dreamed. It was indeed a garden of Paradise. The good St. +Brendan himself, she saw, was the gardener. + + +The earthquake caused much damage in the island of Terceira. When the +disappearance of Maria was known throughout the little city; of Angra +nobody mourned for her as did the young cavalier Vital. + +"What is the island to me without Maria?" he asked in sorrow. + +Once more he embarked upon the sea in his search for the island of St. +Brendan. Long days and long nights he tossed about on the ocean. + +One evening just at sunset he saw the clouds of heaven descending to +earth like a white ladder. Then he observed, far away upon the +horizon, an island. He knew in his heart that he had at last a glimpse +of St. Brendan's isle. + +[Illustration: One evening just at sunset] + +A gentle breeze swelled his sails and sent him rapidly toward it. As +he drew near he saw his loved Maria standing with her arms +outstretched. A bright light shone about her. + +"To speak of my love to you," said she, "I have to be where nobody but +God can hear--God and the gardener of this island, St. Brendan." + + + + +THE SILENT CAVALIER + +_The Story of the Peach Tree_ + + +In the early days when the Azores had just been discovered there were +many Flemish settlers who came to the islands. Among them there was a +young cavalier of the order of St. George of Borgonha. His name was +Jesus Maria and the reason why he had come was because a wise monk had +told him that his path in life lay by way of the sea. + +"Your name given to you in Holy Baptism," said the monk, "is Iesvs +Maria. Transpose the letters and it says in Latin, _Maris es via_." + +The young cavalier agreed that the sea must be his path of destiny and +he at once set sail upon a long voyage which finally led him to the +island of Fayal. He loved the rocky coast where the waves beat. He +loved the deep ravine where the laughing brook ran, the lake in the +ancient crater, the snow-capped summit of Mt. Pico which smiled down in +stately majesty from the opposite island. He decided that this was to +be his home. + +"My path of Destiny was indeed the sea," he said. "The sea has brought +me to a country which is very fair." + +In the island of Fayal there were already some Portuguese settlers. +One of these had a beautiful daughter Ida. The young Flemish cavalier +thought that she was the fairest maid he had ever seen. He fell deeply +in love with her. + +Now the cavaliers of the order of St. George of Borgonha had vowed that +they would never wed. Jesus Maria could not break the solemn pledge +which he had given when he joined the order. Neither could he forget +the bright eyes of the Portuguese maiden Ida. It seemed as if his +heart would break. + +"I will leave this island and return to my own country," he thought. + +Then he remembered the words which the wise monk had said about the sea +being his path. He had followed that road and it had led him to a fair +island home. He decided that he could not return to his native land of +Flanders. Over across the shining blue water he looked up at the +peaceful snow-capped summit of Mt. Pico. The sight of its majestic +stillness seemed to give him strength to hold his tongue and keep him +from speaking words of love to the beautiful Portuguese maiden. Never +a word of love broke from him. The maiden Ida never knew the shrine +she occupied in the heart of the Flemish cavalier. + +[Illustration: The peaceful snow-capped summit of Mt. Pico] + +The days dragged slowly by. The young man could bear no more. He felt +that his strength could no longer endure on the same island with Ida. +If he stayed near her he would break his vow. + +One morning in a little boat he crossed the blue waters to the island +of Pico. At the foot of the majestic mountain he loved, he built the +little hut which was to be his home. He never returned to the island +of Fayal, and as the years went by he was spoken of as the good hermit +of Pico. Nobody knew his secret. + +When at last the Cavalier Jesus Maria died, a peach tree grew from his +tomb,--the emblem of silence. The leaf of this tree has the form of +the human tongue. Its fruit has a stone shaped somewhat like the human +heart. From this stone there comes a seed which when planted produces +a new tree. Thus it is that words which bear fruit spring from the +heart. It is silence which teaches one the gift of fruitful words, +they say in the Azores. + + + + +THE ENCHANTED PALACE + +_The Story of Lake Ginjal_ + + +In the village of Altos Ares in the island of Terceira there lived once +upon a time a fair maid who had been baptized Perola, which means +Pearl. As she grew older she was indeed like a rare pearl among the +other maidens of the village, so great was the charm of her unusual +beauty. She was the joy of her home and of the whole community for her +disposition was as lovely as her face. + +One bright spring morning Perola leaned over the cistern where she had +gone to get water. Her reflection showed so plainly in the water that +she paused to gaze into the smiling eyes of her own mirrored face. As +she did so a magic spell was woven about her. The water fairy who had +come to the cistern had seen her great beauty and had thrown a charm +over her. In a moment more she fell into the cistern to join her +reflection there. + +When Perola could not be found there was great excitement in the little +village. Nobody could guess what had become of her. Her mother prayed +devoutly for her safety in the church of St. Roque. All the villagers +sought for her in every possible place. + +Now at the north of the island of Terceira there are groups of tiny +rocks in the sea which are called the Biscoitos or biscuits. Here +there lived a wise old woman who had a great reputation among all the +people of the island for her knowledge. + +"Let us go to consult the wise woman of Biscoitos," said one of the +village youths when they had sought long and faithfully for a trace of +the hiding-place into which Perola might have vanished. + +Accordingly, the young men of Altos Ares went to the wise woman, and +this is what she told them: + +"The fair pearl of your village is safe from the fishers of pearls. +She is hidden away in an enchanted palace of marble and ivory and +tortoise-shell and mother-of-pearl." + +The water fairy had taken Perola through an underground passage which +led from the cistern to the beautiful enchanted palace in the lake of +Ginjal. There she was kept in hiding. The fairies never dreamed that +anybody would ever be able to guess where she was. + +[Illustration: The beautiful enchanted palace in the lake of Ginjal] + +Now, with the words of the wise woman of Biscoitos to guide them, the +youths of Altos Ares organized an expedition to search for their lost +playmate. The sons of the magistrate, the rich men, the learned men of +the island of Terceira joined this expedition. They searched through +the whole island for a place where an enchanted palace might be located. + +At last, upon St. John's Day when the days and nights are of equal +length, this band of the brave youths of Terceira came to the shores of +Lake Ginjal in the interior of the island. + +"This is surely the enchanted place. Here in this lake must lie the +fairies' palace of marble and ivory and tortoise shell and +mother-of-pearl!" somebody cried. + +"How shall we be able to approach this magic palace and rescue Perola?" +asked one. + +"How shall we be able to break her enchantment?" asked another. + +"Let us camp here upon the border of the lake and consider how best to +proceed," said the leader of the expedition. + +Now at that very hour on St. John's Day the mother of Perola was in the +church of St. Roque in Altos Ares praying devoutly for her daughter's +safe return. + +Suddenly she heard a strange voice. These were the words which fell +upon her ears: + +"Your prayers and the perseverance of the youths of the island have at +last triumphed. Go in peace. On the day of St. Peter at the hour of +sunset your daughter shall be restored to you. Her enchantment shall +be broken and she shall be brought to the bank of Lake Ginjal in a boat +of ivory, drawn by a snow-white swan." + +When the youths encamped upon the shore of the lake heard these tidings +they set up such a shout of joy that it was indeed enough to break any +enchantment. + +At the time appointed Perola was brought to the bank of the lake in a +boat of ivory drawn by a snow-white swan, just as fair and lovely as +upon the day when she had vanished from the little village of Altos +Ares. + +This is the story of the Lake of Ginjal. It is quite probable that the +enchanted palace of the water fairies is still there. + + + + +THE FRIEND OF THE DEVIL + +_A Story of the Islands in the Bay of Angra_ + + +Once upon a time there was a handsome Flemish youth who came to the +island of Fayal. His name was Fernao de Hutra. He fell in love with a +beautiful nun in the convent of the Gloria in the city of Horta. + +One day the Devil appeared to him. + +"Since you fell in love with this fair nun, I see you are a friend of +mine," said the Devil. + +The young man had not known this, but he replied: + +"Say rather that I will be your friend if you help me get possession of +this nun I love." + +"Very well," said the Devil, "but you will have to make a bargain with +me." + +"What is it?" asked Fernao, rather anxiously. + +"Grant me your solemn pledge that you'll give me all your children," +responded the Devil. + +"Agreed," said Fernao. + +After that he saw much of the Devil. The nun, however, was as devout +as she was beautiful. She refused to break the vows she had made and +flee with the Flemish youth. She firmly resisted both him and the +Devil. + +"You are not a true friend to me after all," said Fernao to the Devil +sadly. + +"But you are my friend," said the Devil in reply. + +Soon after, Fernao de Hutra left the city of Horta and the island of +Fayal and went to join his kinsmen who had settled in Angra in the +island of Terceira. Here his handsome face won many friends for him +among the youth of the city. To some of these he confided the story of +his relations with the Devil. + +Now it happened that in the year 1666 the first bull fight was held in +Angra. To this very day the island of Terceira is the only one in the +Azores which has bull fights. + +Fernao had taken part in this. He was one of the chief organizers of +the bull fight held on St. John's Day of the following year. That day +all the men and women and children of the city of Angra assembled in +the public square before the fort. The bullfighters, richly clad, rode +forth upon prancing steeds decked in costly velvets with streamers and +ribbons of gold and silver which sparkled in the bright sunlight. The +youths were resplendent in their garments of crimson or purple or blue +velvet, richly embroidered. Fernao de Hutra was radiant in his jacket +of blue decked with pearls, with a plumed hat upon his handsome head. +He carried a yellow banner embroidered with the arms of his family. + +Gay music sounded. The bulls were brought into the ring. The +bullfighters saluted and the fight began. + +In the windows of the castle the daughters of the chief magistrate of +the city of Angra were seated among their friends. The eldest +daughter, Sophia, was the most beautiful maid of the whole city. The +magistrate watched her anxiously as her fair cheek alternately paled +and flushed as the struggle went on. There could be no doubt about the +fact that there was love in her eyes as they rested upon the handsome +young Flemish cavalier, Fernao de Hutra. She was wearing his colors +and in her hand she carefully held his bouquet of flowers. The ribbon +which tied them secured also a piece of paper upon which were written +these words: + + "Oh, beautiful maid of my heart's desire, + For your dear sake I'd go through fire." + + +The magistrate withdrew from the gay scene into the silence of the +great hall of the castle. He bowed his head upon his hands. + +[Illustration: He bowed his head upon his hands] + +"This youth is the friend of the Devil," he groaned. "I cannot consent +to my daughter's marriage to him. He has promised to give all his +children to the Devil, they say. I cannot allow my own grandchildren +to be given to the Devil." + +That very day he began to plot how to get rid of the handsome young +Fernao. + +Now in the bay before the city of Angra there are two rocky islands +called to-day just as they were then, the Ilheos de Cabras, the islands +of goats. The brother-in-law of the magistrate was the owner of these +barren islands. There were a few goats there, a few mulberry bushes, +and a tiny spring of fresh water. The magistrate called his +brother-in-law to him as soon as the bull fight was over. He told him +all his fears and asked if he might use the islands as a place of +banishment for the young Flemish cavalier who was the friend of the +Devil. + +"You are quite welcome to use these islands for so worthy a purpose," +replied his brother-in-law. "Indeed, I have often thought that the +deep cave on the island led into Inferno. It is a most fitting spot +for the habitation of the Devil's friend." + +Thus it happened that the handsome young Flemish cavalier was seized +and borne away to the barren rocky islands in the Bay of Angra. When +he was received there a great earthquake shook the whole island of +Terceira. When at last the people of the city of Angra were through +contemplating all the destruction which had been wrought, some one +looked in the direction of the island of goats. They saw that a great +piece had been broken away from one of the islands. + +Thus it was that the Devil received his friend. + + + + +THE MILLER'S CLOAK + +_The Story of a Man Who Tried to Stay Home from Church_ + + +There was once a pious miller. He was always to be found in the church +praying. He prayed for the dead. He prayed for those who were alive. +He prayed for all who suffered, for the homeless ones, for the hungry +ones. He prayed for those upon the sea and those upon the land. + +Now it happened that a terrible storm smote the island. The sea beat +high against the rocky coast. Lightning flashed. Thunder roared. The +wind howled. The rain fell in torrents as if it were a flood. + +"Don't go out in the storm to-night," counselled his wife. "It is not +a suitable night for one to go to church." + +"I agree with you," replied the miller. "I do not need to go to the +church in this fierce storm. Surely my prayers of other days and +nights have been so many that to-night I have earned rest in my own dry +house. The good God will pardon me." + +The miller wrapped his heavy brown cloak about him and lay down upon +his bed. The wind shrieked. Thunder shook the earth. Unseen hands +pulled the miller's cloak from off his bed. + +"The wind has blown out the candle! Light another!" cried the miller +to his wife. + +By the dim light of the candle the good miller again arranged his bed. +He wrapped his heavy mantle about him and once more tried to sleep. +Again his cloak was pulled from off his bed as if by unseen hands. + +There was no rest for the miller that night. His cloak could not be +made to cover him as he lay upon his bed. + +"I might as well go to church and pray," he told his wife. "I can't +rest here." + +He wrapped himself in the brown cloak and went out to the church +through the fierce blinding storm. He prayed for the dead. He prayed +for those who were alive. He prayed for all who suffered, for the +homeless ones, the hungry ones. He prayed for those upon the sea, for +those upon the land. + +[Illustration: He wrapped himself in the brown cloak and went out +through the fierce blinding storm] + +"Surely the prayers of the pious are needed this night," said the +miller to his wife when he came in out of the fierce storm. + +Lightning flashed. Thunder roared. The rain fell in torrents. The +wind howled and drove the pouring rain against the windows. It blew in +sheets through the door before the miller had time to close it behind +him. The storm beat upon the thatched roof as if it would carry it +away. + +"Quick, your cloak!" cried the miller's wife. "Take it off that I may +dry it by the fire!" + +The good man started to obey. As he touched his cloak, however, his +eyes opened wide in amazement. It was entirely dry. + +"Feel it yourself!" said he to his wife. "There is not a drop of rain +upon it!" + +The miller's wife discovered that his words were true. + +"It is a miracle of God!" cried she as she crossed herself. + + + + +THE MAGIC MOUTHFUL + +_The Story of a Woman Who Quarreled_ + + +Once upon a time there was a woman who lived a most unhappy life. She +and her husband were always quarreling. Every day when he came home +from work he was cross, and said harsh words to her. She would respond +with bitter words, and things would go from bad to worse until at last +he would beat her. + +One day the woman took her water jar and went to the fountain to fill +it as usual. She was so unhappy that great tears were rolling down her +cheeks. + +There was a little old woman standing by the fountain. + +"What is the matter, my daughter?" she asked as she saw the tears upon +the poor woman's cheeks. + +When she had heard all the story, the little old woman took the water +jar and filled it at the fountain. + +"Go home, my daughter," she said. "Keep this water in the jar. The +moment your husband says a cross word to you, fill your mouth with the +water." + +The sad woman thanked her and went to her own house. + +The next day when her husband came home he began to scold as usual. +She was about to reply when she suddenly remembered the old woman's +advice. She ran to the water jar and filled her mouth with water. + +[Illustration: She ran to the water jar] + +To her great amazement her husband soon stopped scolding. That night, +for the first time in many weeks, she went to sleep without a beating. + +Things kept on going well for several days. Just as soon as her +husband came home cross and said unpleasant things she would fill her +mouth with water from the jar. Then he would get over being cross. +Now there were smiles instead of tears on the woman's face. + +At last, however, the water jar grew empty. + +Once more the woman went to the fountain, hoping that she would again +find the little old woman who had given her the magic water. She found +her waiting at the fountain. + +"How did my prescription succeed, dear daughter?" she asked as soon as +she saw her. + +"How can I ever thank you for all you have done for me!" cried the +woman. "Now I am happy once more. My husband no longer beats me. I +did not dream that my life could ever be so full of joy. Give me, I +pray you, some more of the magic water." + +The little old woman smiled gently. + +"Dear daughter," she said, "the water which I put in your jar is +nothing but the water from this fountain. It is the very same which +you always carry home. This is the secret: When your mouth is full of +water you cannot reply when your husband says cross words to you. If +you do not keep up the quarrel it soon ends. That is why your life is +happy now instead of sad. Go home, and whenever your husband says an +unkind word pretend that your mouth is full of water and do not reply. +Go in peace, my child." + +The woman always remembered this good advice and never again quarreled +with her husband. When she had children of her own she passed on to +them the secret. + +Now it is generally known in the Azores that if one does not want to +keep up a quarrel it is well to pretend that his mouth is full of +water. This is the reason why the people of the islands are so +peaceful and happy. + + + + +THE MESSENGERS + +_The Story of a Youth Who Met Death_ + + +There lived once upon a time in the island of Terceira a youth whose +name was Vladmiro. He had come from Flanders, a cavalier of the order +of St. John. He was betrothed to a fair maid of the island. + +One morning he was hunting in the forest of cedars when he suddenly saw +Death standing before him. He fell upon his knees and sent up a +fervent prayer to the Holy Virgin. + +Then he said to Death: "O Death, why is it that you have come in search +of me so soon? I am young, rich, happy. I am betrothed to a maid who +loves me. Life looks very bright and fair." + +Death stepped back a pace. + +"Your prayer to the Holy Mother has saved you," he said. "I had indeed +come in search of you. You were about to die from an accident with +your hunting arms. See, I have already retreated a pace. I have +decided not to take you with me this time." + +Vladmiro returned a prayer of thanksgiving. Then he said: + +"O Death, I am going to make a request of you. Please do not come up +to me so suddenly again. It gives me a fright. Next time you come for +me will you please be so kind as to send messengers in advance to give +me a little warning?" + +"Yes, young cavalier," responded Death. "I will gladly do what you +ask. I give you my promise that next time I will send my messengers +ahead of me to warn you that I am approaching." + +With these words Death withdrew and went on alone through the forest of +cedars. + +The spring of that very year the young cavalier married the fair maid +who loved him. Life was full of joy. Many children were born to the +worthy couple. Riches and honors came, too. The years sped by as if +they flew on wings. + +At last a half century had passed. Vladmiro held his grandchildren +upon his knees and told them the story of the day he met Death in the +forest of cedars. + +"We are glad that Death passed on and left you," said the children. + +"If he hadn't we could not have had you for our grandfather," said the +namesake grandson Vladmiro, snuggling closer in his arms. + +"You do not have to fear Death now, grandfather, do you?" asked the +little Maria. "He will keep his promise and send his messengers, don't +you think so?" + +"Yes, Death is a good Christian and will keep his word," replied the +aged cavalier. + +The next morning he set sail for the island of Fayal where there were +other grandchildren to visit in the home of his married daughter, +Francisca. + +On the voyage a fierce storm arose. The small boat was buffetted about +by the gales. Suddenly Vladmiro was startled to see Death standing +beside him just as in the forest years ago when he had been young. + +[Illustration: A fierce storm arose] + +"Why have you come to-day?" he cried in alarm. "Why is it that you +have not kept your word? You gave me your promise that you would send +your messengers, next time you came, to warn me of your approach." + +"I have kept my word," said Death. "I have sent my messengers." + +"Where are they?" asked the old man in amazement. + +Death pointed to Vladmiro's snowy hair. + +"I have sent my messengers in your white locks, your failing eyesight +and hearing, the wrinkles on your cheeks. Can it be that you have +failed to recognize them?" + +Vladmiro bowed his head in silence and without a murmur went with Death. + +In truth, Death had been a good Christian and had kept his word. + + + + +THE END + + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Islands of Magic, by Elsie Spicer Eells + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ISLANDS OF MAGIC *** + +***** This file should be named 34431.txt or 34431.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/4/3/34431/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +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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