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FAIRY TALES FROM MANY LANDS
.i-
FAIRY TALES FROM
MANY LANDS
BY
KATHARINE PYLE
AUTHOR OF "where THE Wi/tD" -ii-OvyS," "THE CCUNTitRPATVIE FAIRY,"
"CARELESS JAIIE, AMD (JJM^fi TA'(,ES," ^TCl
WITH ILLUSTRATICtlSBY' THE
AUTHOR
NEW YORK
E. P. BUTTON & CO., INC.
' \ \ (jlorpyti^t;. 191 1
BY^'ip^ t'. pl'T.TON & Company
First printing October, 1911
Second -printing July, 1911
Third printing August, 1520
Fourth printing.. October, 1925
Fifth printing March, 1926
Sixth printing ... Feb., 1932
Seventh printing Nov., 1938
TfHElTEW YORK^'
PUBLIC IIBRARY
ECOf 2L7
ASTOR LENOX AND
Tl^DEN FOUXiOATIONS
O t
P
CONTENTS
PAGE
The Seven Golden Ppaf.';ns , ., ,., ,, ,. , • . n
MiSHOSHA, THE Magician o? i'HE:LAi<:R''. jo', . . 47
Haamdaanee and the V/i£e Ga^el-:.^ \ , . .79
The Two Sisters . ; ;.;.■, T; v, ;-•,•, o . . 98
The Feather OF THE Zhak Bird >:. '- ^ ,. , .118
The Beautiful Maria di Legno 140
The Evil One Who Married Three Sisters . 176
The Faithful Dog 196
Kempion 209
Buttercup » 219
The Sun and the Moon 238
How the Elephant and the Whale were
Tricked 247
Cherry 261
Diamonds and Roses and Pearls . , :. . . 280
The Three Cows ............ 295
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
The gulls carried him swiftly back to Mishosha's
Island Frontispiece
There were many beautiful dresses among the treas-
ures of the palace 102
She lifted it in her hands and- tasted ^t ' . . . . 128
Each one was said to be handsomer than the others . 176
Overcome with joy at the sight of such a treasure . 198
"Then show me how, and I will hold the ax for
you" 234
"Ha!" cried the Sun, "is it you, fair one?" . . 244
He was richly dressed and looked like a foreigner . 264
She lifted the heavy pitcher for her to drink . . 282
FAIRY TALES FROM MANY LANDS
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
(From the Servian Folk Lore)
THERE was once a king who had
three sons, and he had also a golden
apple tree, that bore nothing but
golden apples, and this tree he loved as
though it had been his daughter. The king
was never able, however, to have any of the
fruit it bore, for no sooner were the apples
ripe than they would disappear in the night,
and this in spite of a guard being set around
the garden to watch it and see that no one
entered in.
II
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
One time the eldest prince came to the
king and asked to be allowed to keep watch
over the tree that night. "And if I do,"
said he, "I promise you that nothing shall
be allowed to approach it, not even the
smallest sparrow."
The king consented to this, so that even-
ing the prince took his sword, and went out
into the garden to mount guard over the
tree. Scarcely had it become dark when he
heard a sound of wings beating through the
air, and this sound made him so drowsy
that his eyelids weighed like lead, and he
fell into a deep sleep. When he awoke it
was morning, and all the apples were gone
from the tree.
The prince returned to the palace, and was
obliged to confess to the king that he had
slept all the night through.
The king was very angry, but the second
son said, "My father, allow me to keep
12
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS.
watch over the tree the next time, and I
promise you I will do better than my brother,
for I will not so much as close my eyes un-
til daybreak."
The king was willing, so when evening
came the second son took his sword and went
into the garden to watch the tree as his
brother had done before him.
Hardly was it dark before he heard the
sound of wings, and then in spite of him-
self his eyes closed and he fell into a deep
sleep. He never stirred until daylight, and
when he sat up and looked about him every
apple was gone.
After this it was the turn of the third
son to watch the tree, but he was a very
wise prince. He had listened to all his
brothers had to say about the sound of
wings they had heard, and how the sound
had put them to sleep, and before he went
into the garden he stuffed his ears with cot-
13
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
ton so that he could hear nothing. Then he
placed himself near the tree and began his
watch.
As soon as it was dark the sound of beat-
ing wings began, and the sound drew nearer
and nearer, but the prince did not hear it
because of the cotton in his ears. Then a
light appeared in the sky, and seven golden
peahens flew into the garden. They shone
so that all the place was lit up as though
by the light of day. Six of the peahens
settled on the branches of the apple tree and
began to shake down the apples, but the
seventh changed into the most beautiful
princess the prince had ever seen in all his
life. Her hair was like a golden cloud about
her; her eyes were as blue as the sky, and
from head to foot she was dressed all in
cloth of gold. She began to gather up the
fruit that the others shook down to her,
and for awhile the prince could neither stir
nor speak for wonder of her beauty. Then
14
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
he took the cotton from his ears, and went
over to her, and began to talk to her and ask
her who she was.
At first when the princess saw him she was
frightened, but presently she told him that
she and the six peahens were the daughters
of a king who lived far away, and that they
had flown over seven mountains and over
seven seas, all for the love of the golden
apples. She also told him that by day she
and her sisters lived in a beautiful pleasure
palace their father had built for them, but
when night came they changed themselves
into peahens, and flew about the world
wherever they chose.
After a while the day began to break, and
then the princess changed herself into a pea-
hen again, and she and her sisters flew away,
but she left with the prince three of the
golden apples she had gathered.
The prince returned to the palace and
gave the apples to his father, and the king
15
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
was delighted at the sight of them. "And
did you find out who it is that steals them?"
he asked.
Instead of answering him, the prince
managed to put him off, and the next night
he said he would watch in the garden again.
Then the same thing happened. He stopped
his ears with cotton, the seven peahens
arrived and six alighted in the tree, but the
seventh became a beautiful princess, and
came across the garden to him. Then the
prince unstopped his ears and they talked
together until daybreak, when she flew away
with her sisters, and this time, as before, she
left three of the apples with him.
As soon as it was morning the prince
carried the apples to his father, and now,
whether or no, the king would have him say
who it was who came into the garden every
night to steal the fruit.
The prince was obliged to tell his story,
but when he said it was seven golden pea-
i6
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
hens that stole the apples, and that they
were the daughters of a great king his father
would scarcely believe him. The brothers,
too, laughed him to scorn, for they were very
jealous of him. "This is a strange story,"
they cried, "and it certainly cannot be true.
Either you are trying to deceive us, or you
fell asleep and dreamed it all."
"It is all certainly true," answered the
youngest brother, "and there are the three
golden apples to prove it."
"They are no proof," answered the others.
"If you would have us believe you, keep
watch in the garden again to-night, and
when the princess comes cut a lock of her
golden hair and keep it to show to us.
When we see that then we will believe you."
At first the prince would not consent to
do this, but they were so urgent that he
finally agreed, and when he went into the
garden he took a pair of sharp scissors with
him. After a time the golden peahens flew
17
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
into the garden, and after the youngest sister
had changed into a princess, she and the
prince talked together all night. When she
was about to go the prince managed, with-
out being seen, to take hold of a lock of
her hair and cut it off.
No sooner had he done this, however, than
the princess gave a sorrowful cry. "Alas,
alas I" said she, "If you had only been
patient for a little while longer all would
have gone well. Now I must go away for-
ever, and you will never see me again unless
you journey over the seven seas and over the
seven mountains to seek me." Then she
changed into a peahen, and flew away with
the others.
The prince was filled with despair at the
thought that he had lost her, for he loved
her so well that he did not know how he
could live without her.
In the morning his father and his brothers
i8
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
came to seek him in the garden, and when
they saw the lock of golden hair they were
obliged to believe him, and they could not
wonder enough.
But the young prince saddled his horse
and set out in search of his princess. On
he went and on he went, and everywhere he
rode he asked those he met whether they
had seen seven golden peahens, but no one
could tell him anything about them.
At last after he had journeyed over seven
mountains, and over seven seas, he came to
a palace that stood beside a lake, and in this
palace lived an enchantress queen and her
daughter. He knocked at the door and
when the queen came to see who was there
he once more asked whether she could tell
him anything of the seven golden peahens
who were the daughters of a king.
"Oh, yes, that I can," answered the queen,
"and if you are in search of them you have
19
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
not much further to go. Every morning
they come to bathe in this lake, and anyone
who watches them can see them."
When the prince heard this he was filled
with joy and would have set out for the lake
at once, but the queen, seeing how young
and handsome he was, begged him to come in
and rest for awhile. ''Why do you follow
after these seven princesses'?" she asked.
"My daughter is a princess, too, and a beau-
tiful girl. If you can take a fancy to her
you shall marry her and live here and after
I die this palace and all that is in it shall
be yours."
The prince, however, would not listen to
this, for he loved the golden peahen prin-
cess with all his heart, and her alone would
he marry.
When the queen found that he was not
to be persuaded she pretended to fall in with
his wishes. "Very well," said she, "it shall
be as you desire, but let me send someone
20
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
with you to show you the way to the
lake."
The prince thanked her, and she called a
servant to go with him, but before they set
out she took the servant aside and gave him
privately a small pair of bellows. "When
you reach the lake," said she, "take an op-
portunity to get behind the prince and blow
upon the back of his neck with these bel-
lows. If you do this I will reward you
well."
The servant promised to obey her and then
he and the prince set out together.
When they reached the shore the prince
sat down on some rocks to watch for the pea-
hens, but the servant got back of him and
blew upon his neck with the bellows and
immediately the prince fell asleep.
Presently there was a light in the sky and
the seven golden peahens came flying and
alighted upon the borders of the lake. Six
of them began to bathe themselves in its
21
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
waters but the seventh one changed into a
princess. She came over to the prince and
began to call to him and caress him, but she
could not awaken him from his sleep.
After a time the peahens came up from the
water, and the princess said to the servant,
"Tell your master when he awakens
twice more will I come but never again."
Then she and the others all flew away
together.
When the prince awoke and found that
the princess had been there and had tried
in vain to awaken him, he was ready to di^e
with grief and disappointment. However,
she would return the next day, and he de-
termined he would be there watching for her
and that this time he would not by any
means allow himself to fall asleep.
So the next morning he hurried down to
the lake again, and the servant went with
him, but before they left the castle the queen
gave the servant the pair of bellows, and
22
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
bade him blow upon the back of the prince's
neck when he was not aware of it.
They reached the lake, and the prince
would not sit down for he feared he might
fall asleep again, but the servant managed to
get back of him and blow upon his neck with
the bellows. Then, in spite of himself the
prince sank down in a deep sleep.
Presently the peahens came flying, and as
before the youngest sister came over to the
prince and began to call and caress him, but
he still slept on in spite of her. Then she
turned to the servant and said to him, "Tell
your master when he awakens that once more
will I come and never again, but unless he
cuts the head of the nail from the body he
will never see me."
When the prince awoke and heard the mes-
sage the princess had left he understood that
the servant had deceived him, and that the
princess meant unless he destroyed the serv-
ant he would never find her. So the next
23
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
day when they started out together the
prince took a sharp sword with him. He
waited until they were out of sight of the
castle, and then he turned and cut the serv-
ant's head from his shoulders and went on
down, alone, to the lake.
He had not been there long when he saw
a light, and heard the seven peahens com-
ing. No sooner had they alighted than the
seventh one changed into the beautiful
princess. When she saw that the prince was
awake and watching for her, she was over-
come with joy. "Now we shall never be
parted again," she said, "but you shall go
to our palace with me and be my own dear
husband."
Then she changed him into a golden pea-
cock, and the six peahens came up from the
water and they all flew away together. On
and on they went until they came to the
pleasure palace the king had built for his
daughters, and there the golden peacock was
24
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
changed back into a prince, and the peahens
became seven princesses. The prince was
married to the youngest one, amidst great
rejoicings and they all lived there happily
together.
Everything went joyfully for seven
months, and then the princess came to the
prince and said, "My dear husband, the time
has now come when my sisters and I must
go to pay a visit to the king our father. You
cannot go with us, but if you will obey what
I am about to tell you all will go well. We
will be away for three days, and during that
time the palace and all that is in it will be
yours. You may go where you please ex-
cept into the third cellar that is over beyond
the others. There you must not go, for if
you do some terrible misfortune will cer-
tainly come upon both of us."
The prince promised that all should be as
she wished, and then she and her sisters flew
away together leaving him alone.
25
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
For the first day the prince did not go
near the cellar and scarcely thought of it.
The second day he looked to see where it
was, and when he came to the door it was
so heavily chained and bolted that he could
not but wonder what was back of it, and the
third day he could think of nothing but the
cellar and what was in it. At last he felt
that come what might he must see what
treasure it was that was kept locked away
behind that door. He went down to it again
and began to unfasten the bolts and bars;
the last one fell and he opened the door and
stepped inside and looked about him. There
was nothing there to see but a great chest
with holes bored in the lid, and bound about
with nine bands of iron.
The prince stared and wondered, and
while he still stood there he heard a groan-
ing sound from within the chest, and a voice
cried, "Brother, for the love of mercy give
me some water to wet my poor mouth."
26
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
The prince was always pitiful toward
those in trouble, and as soon as he heard this,
without stopping to inquire what was inside
of the chest he ran and fetched a cup of
water and poured it through one of the holes.
Scarcely had he done this before there was
a straining sound, and three of the iron
bands burst asunder.
"Brother, that was scarcely enough to wet
my mouth," said the voice inside. *Tor the
love of mercy give me another cup of water
to cool my throat."
The prince ran and fetched the water and
poured it through the hole in the lid, and
now three more of the iron bands burst
asunder.
"More water, brother; more, for the love
of mercy," cried the voice. "That still is
not enough to quench my thirst."
The prince fetched a third cup of water
and poured it into the chest, and now with
a sound like thunder the last of the iron
27
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
bands were broken, and out from the chest
flew a great green dragon. It flew up
through the cellars and out of the castle, and
the prince ran after it.
The seven princesses were just coming
home, and without even stopping for a mo-
ment the dragon caught up the youngest one
in his claws and flew away with her, and
the prince still ran after them shouting like
one distracted. Even after the dragon had
disappeared over the mountains the prince
ran on, and when he could no longer run
he walked.
On and on he went, and after a while he
came to a stream, and in a hole near it lay
a small fish gasping for breath.
"Brother," it cried, ''for the love of mercy
put me back in the water ; but first take one
of my scales, and if you are ever in need
rub it and call upon me, and I may be able
to help you."
The prince stooped and took up the fish,
28
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
but before he put it back in the water he
took from it a tiny scale as it had bade him.
This scale he wrapped carefully in his hand-
kerchief, and journeyed on again, leaving
the fish happy at being again in the
stream.
Later on he came to a forest, and under
some bushes lay a fox whinning to itself with
its paw caught in a trap. "Brother," it
called to the prince as soon as it saw him,
"for the love of mercy open this trap and
let me go free. It may be that I may succor
you in a time of need."
The prince was sorry for the poor animal,
and managed to pry open the trap.
The fox thanked him, and before it ran
away it told him to pull three hairs from its
tail. "If you are ever in need, rub those
hairs and call upon me," it said, "and wher-
ever I am I will hear and come to help you."
The prince thanked him and journeyed on,
and in the depths of the forest he came upon
29
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
a wolf which was caught by a rock that had
fallen on its paw.
*'Help, brother, for the love of mercy,"
cried the wolf.
The prince managed to roll away the rock,
and when the wolf found it was free it gave
him three hairs from its tail. "If you are
ever in need, rub these hairs and call upon
me," he said, "and wherever I am I will come
and help you."
The prince thanked him and journeyed on,
and before long he came out of the forest
and saw before him a great castle that stood
upon a mountain. While he stood there
looking at it the gate opened and out rode
the dragon on a great coal-black horse.
Then the prince knew that this was the place
he was in search of. He waited until the
dragon had disappeared, and then he went
up to the castle and entered in, and the very
first person he saw was his own dear wife
sitting alone and weeping. As soon as she
30
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
saw him she jumped up and ran into his
arms, and after they had kissed and caressed
each other they began to plan how they
could escape.
Out in the stable was another horse, and
this the prince saddled. He mounted upon
it and took the princess up before him, and
then they rode down the mountain and away
as fast as they could go.
It was not until evening that the dragon
returned to the castle, but as soon as he came
in and found the princess was gone he knew
what had happened, and that she had ridden
away with the prince.
Then he took counsel with his coal-black
horse, and asked it, "Shall we ride after them
at once, or shall we eat and drink first'?"
"Let us eat and drink first," answered the
horse, "for even after that we can easily
catch up with them."
So the dragon sat down and ate and drank,
and then he mounted his steed and rode after
31
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
the runaways. He soon caught up. with
them, and took the princess from the prince,
and set her on his own horse in front of him.
"This one time I will spare you," he said to
the prince, "because you had mercy upon me
when I was a prisoner in the cellar, but if
you ever come to my castle again I will cer-
tainly destroy you." Then he rode back
home again faster than the wind, carrying
the princess with him.
The prince waited until he was out of
sight, and then he turned the horse loose and
started back toward the castle, for even the
dragon's threat could not keep him away
from his dear princess.
When he had come within sight of the
castle again he hid himself and waited un-
til the next day when the dragon had ridden
away. Then he went up to the castle and
hunted through the rooms until he found
the princess.
When she saw him she began to tremble
32
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
with fear and wring her hands. "Why have
you returned'?" she cried. "Do you not re-
member that if the dragon finds you here he
will tear you to pieces?"
"Listen, dear one," said the prince. "I will
hide myself behind the curtains, and when
the dragon comes home you must find out
from him where he got his coal-black steed,
for I can easily see that unless we find a
match to it we will never be able to escape
from him."
This the princess agreed to do, and they
talked together until they heard the dragon
returning, and then the prince hid himself
back of the curtains.
When the dragon came in the princess pre-
tended to be very glad to see him, and at
this he was delighted, for always before she
had met him with tears and reproaches.
After a time she said, "That is a very won-
derful horse that you have. Do you suppose
there is another one like it in all the world*?"
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
"Yes," said the dragon, "there is one and
only one, and that is the brother of my
steed."
The princess asked him where this wonder-
ful steed was to be found, and the dragon
told her it belonged to the old gray woman
who had but one eye and lived at such and
such a place. ''She has twelve beautiful
horses standing in her stable," the dragon
went on, "but this steed is none of them. It
is the lean and sorry nag that is crowded
away in the furthest stall, and no one to look
at it would think it worth anything, but all
the same it is the brother of my horse, and to
the full as good as he is."
"And would it be possible for anyone to
get that horse'?" asked the princess.
"Possible but difficult. If anyone serves
the old gray woman for three days, and dur'
ing that time is able to fulfill her bidding he
will be able to ask his own reward and she
cannot refuse him; in that way can he
34
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
gain possession of that horse and in no
other."
The prince heard all this behind the cur-
tain where he was hidden, and after a time,
when the dragon had gone to sleep he stole
out and set forth in search of the old gray
woman who had but one eye.
He went on and on, and after a while he
came to the house and there was the old gray
woman herself looking out of the window.
He knocked at the door, and when she
opened it he asked whether he might take
service with her.
"Yes, you may," answered the old gray
woman, "for I am in need of a stout lad to
drive my black mare out to the pasture and
keep her from running away. If you can
do this for three days you may ask what re-
ward you choose and it shall be yours, but
if you are not able to bring her home every
evening your head shall be cut from your
shoulders and set upon a stake."
35
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
The prince agreed to this bargain, and the
next morning, as soon as it was light, he
drove the black mare out to the pasture.
Before they started however the old woman
went to the black mare's stall and whispered
in her ear, "To-day you must change your-
self into a hsh and hide down in the stream
for there the lad will never be able to find
you.
When the prince reached the pasture with
the mare he determined to sit upon her back
all day, for if he did that he was sure she
could never escape from him. He sat there
for a long time, but he grew drowsier and
drowsier, and at last he fell fast asleep.
When he awoke he was seated on a log of
wood with the halter still in his hand, and
the mare was gone.
The prince was in despair, but suddenly
he remembered the promise the little fish
had made him. He took out the scale which
36
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
he had been carrying all this time, and rub-
bing it gently he cried:
" Little fish, if friend indeed,
Help me in my time of need."
Immediately the little iish stuck its head
up from a stream near by. "What can I
do to help you, brother?" it asked.
''Can you tell me where the black mare has
gone?" asked the prince.
"Yes; she has changed herself into a fish
and is hiding down in the stream with us.
But do not trouble yourself about that.
Just strike the halter upon the ground and
call out, 'Black mare, black mare, come out
from among the fishes for it is time to go
home.' "
The prince did as the fish bade him and
as soon as the black mare down in the stream
heard those words it was obliged to come out
and take its natural shape again. The
Z7
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
prince then mounted upon it and rode it
home.
When they reached the stable the old gray
woman was on the watch, and she could
scarcely hide her rage and disappointment
at finding the serving lad had managed to
bring the black mare home. However, she
bade him go to the kitchen and get his sup-
per, and she followed the black mare to the
stall. "You fool," she cried, and she was
ready to beat it in her rage, "why did you
not hide among the fishes as I bade you*?"
"Mistress, I did," answered the mare, "but
the fishes are friends of the lad, and told
him where I was, so I was obliged to come
forth."
"To-morrow, change yourself into a fox
and hide among the pack. There he will
certainly be unable to find you."
After that she went into the kitchen where
the lad was eating his supper.
"Well," she said, "you have done very
38
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
well so far, but to-morrow is still another
day, and we will see how things go
then."
On the morrow the prince rode the black
mare out to pasture, and again he sat on
her back so that she should not escape him.
After awhile he fell asleep in spite of him-
self, and when he awoke he was sitting
astride of a branch with the halter in his
hand.
At first the prince did not know what to
do; he was in despair. Then he remem-
bered the promise the fox had made him.
He took the hairs and rubbed them between
his fingers.
" Little fox, if friend indeed,
Help me in my time of need,"
he said.
Immediately the little red fox came run-
ning out of the wood. "What would you
have of me, brother?" he asked.
39
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
"Can you tell me where the gray woman's
black mare has gone?"
*'That is easily answered. She has
changed herself into a fox and is hiding with
the pack. Strike the halter on the ground
and call out : 'Black mare, black mare, come
from among the foxes; it is time to go
home.' "
The prince did as he was told and as soon
as the mare heard him calling to her in this
way she was obliged to come out from the
pack and take her real shape, and the prince
mounted upon her back and rode her
home.
When the witch saw him riding back to
the house she ground her teeth with rage.
As soon as she had sent him to the kitchen
she went out to the black mare's stall to
beat it. "To the foxes I to the foxes I That
was what I told you," she cried.
"Mistress, I did hide among them as you
bade me," answered the mare, "but this lad
40
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
is a friend of the foxes too, and they told
him where I was."
"Then to-morrow hide among the wolves,"
said the old woman. *'He will certainly
never look for you there."
The next day it was the same thing over
again. The prince sat on the mare's back
so that she should not escape him. After
while he went to sleep, and the mare slipped
away from him, but this time it was into a
wolf she changed herself.
When the prince awoke he was in despair,
until he remembered that he had still one
friend to help him. He gently rubbed the
hairs the wolf had given him, and said,
" Kind gray wolf, if friend indeed.
Help me in my time of need,"
Immediately the wolf came galloping out
of the wood and asked the prince what he
could do for him.
The prince told him how he had been set
41
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
to watch the black mare and had gone to
sleep and lost her; "And now," said he, "I
fear there is nothing for me but to lose my
head and have it set upon a post."
''That will not happen yet," answered the
wolf. "The mare has changed herself to a
wolf and is hiding with the pack. Strike
the halter on the ground and call to her and
she will be obliged to come."
The prince did as he was told and called
to the mare to come, and she was obliged
to take her real shape and come out to him.
The prince slipped the halter over her
head, sprang upon her back and rode her
home.
When the old gray woman saw him com-
ing in this way instead of upon his feet, she
almost burst with rage. However, there was
no help for it. The lad had earned his
wages, and have them he must.
"And what is it you will choose?" asked
the old gray woman.
42
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
"Give me the poor nag that stands in the
furthest stall," said the prince. "It is but a
sorry looking beast, but I will be content
with that," answered the prince.
When the old woman heard that she
turned green in the face. She offered him
first one and then another of the handsome
horses in her stable, but the lad would have
none of them. The sorry nag was his choice
and it alone would he take, and in the end
the old woman was obliged to give it to
him. He rode away on it, and it was not the
old gray mother's blessing that went with
him.
When they were well out of sight of the
house and in the depths of the forest, the
prince alighted and taking out a curry comb
he had brought with him he began to rub
and curry the horse, and when he had done
that it shone like burnished silver.
Then he mounted again and rode on un-
til he came to the dragon's castle. As soon
43
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
as he drew near, the princess came running
down to meet him, for the dragon was
away, and she had been watching from a
high tower and had seen him coming.
He took her up on the saddle before him
and turned his horse's head and rode away
from the castle even faster than he had
ridden toward it, and they had journeyed
far before the dragon returned home.
As soon as he reached there and found the
princess gone he knew what had happened.
Then he said to his horse, "Shall we follow
after them now, or shall we eat and drink
first?'
"We have no time for meat or drink now,"
answered the black horse, "and it will be all
I can do to overtake them, for now they ride
my own brother."
Then the dragon leaped upon his horse,
and off they flew, faster than the wind, in
pursuit of the prince and princess. They
went on and on, and after a while the
44
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
dragon came within sight of them, for
though the white horse was swifter than the
wind, too, he carried double and so could not
go at his highest speed.
Nearer and nearer came the dragon and
his steed, and the prince began to beg and
plead with his steed to go faster, but it an-
swered, "There is no need of that, master;
only leave everything to me and all will go
well."
Then the black horse came near enough to
speak, and he called after the other, 'Tor
mercy's sake go slower, brother. I shall kill
myself running after you."
"There is no need of your doing that," an-
swered the white horse. "Throw up your
heels and rid yourself of the monster that
sits upon your back. You have been his
servant too long as it is."
When the black horse heard this he began
to plunge and kick up his heels so that the
dragon was thrown from his back and fall-
45
THE SEVEN GOLDEN PEAHENS
ing upon a rock he was broken to
pieces.
But the black horse came up to his brother,
and the prince set the princess upon his
back, while he himself kept the white horse
to ride. So they all journeyed back to the
pleasure palace together, and when the six
sisters saw them there were great rejoicings,
and they all lived together happily in the
palace forever after.
46
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN OF
THE LAKE
(From Tales of the American Indians)
UPON the borders of a wide and lonely
lake lived an Indian with his wife
and two children.
Every day the Indian went off into the
forest in search of game, and after he had
gone the woman always sent the two boys
down to play by the edge of the lake. This
she did because she had a lover who came to
visit her while her husband was away and
she was afraid if her children saw him they
might speak of him before their father.
47
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
One day the husband came back from his
hunting earlier than usual. He heard
voices in the lodge and stole up to it and
peeped in. There he saw a strange man sit-
ting with his wife and talking to her. The
Indian was so angry that he threw the game
down before the door, and strode off into
the forest never to return.
So silently had he come and gone that his
wife did not know he had been there until
she came out and saw the game lying near
the door where he had thrown it and his bow
and arrows beside it. Then she was fright-
ened, for she thought he would return later
when she was alone and beat her. She
begged her lover to take her with him, and
as he was willing they stole away together,
with not a thought of the two children left
playing down by the lake.
After some time had passed the two boys
tired of their play and wondered why their
mother did not call them as usual. They
48
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
grew hungry and at last came up to the
lodge for food. There all was silent and de-
serted. There was no sound nor movement
except among the leaves overhead. The
boys called aloud, but there was no answer.
Beside the door still lay the game that their
father had brought, and to satisfy their
hunger the older brother cut some pieces
from it and cooked them at the hre. When
night came they crept into a corner of the
lodge and began to weep. They knew now
that they were deserted.
After this the two brothers lived all alone.
The older, Panigwun knew how to shoot,
and every day he took his father's bow and
arrows and went off into the forest for game.
Almost always he was able to bring some-
thing home with him.
The younger brother did nothing but
play. He was very mischievous. One day
when Panigwun was making a fire he carried
the bow and arrows down to the lake, and
49
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
began to amuse himself by shooting them
into the water. Presently the elder brother
saw what he was doing and called to him
not to waste the arrows. The boy only ran
further along the shore and kept on shoot-
ing. The elder brother ran after him and
took the bow and arrows from his hands.
Out in the lake a number of arrows floated
on the water, and not wishing to lose them
Panigwun waded out to get them. Some
were quite far from the shore and by the time
he reached the last one the water was up to
his armpits. The younger brother stood on
the shore laughing.
Suddenly from around a bend in the lake
appeared a canoe, and in it sat an old man
with streaming gray hair. He held no pad-
dle, but the canoe swept onward of its own
power, for it was a magic canoe, and the old
man was Mishosha, the magician of the lake.
When it reached the spot where Panigwun
still stood the magician leaned over the side
50
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
and lifted the boy into it. Then he slapped
the side of the canoe. "Chemann Poll,"
he cried. Immediately it turned and sped
away toward a large island that lay in the
middle of the lake.
The little boy, when he saw his elder
brother being carried away from him, ran
down to the edge of the lake, crying pite-
ously. "Take me with you! Take me
too!" he called. But the canoe still swept
onward. He waded out into the lake as far
as he dared, and stood there for some time
weeping and calling his brother's name; but
there was no answer, the canoe had disap-
peared. At last he turned and waded back
to the shore. Then he threw himself down
and wept bitterly. He was now entirely
deserted.
Meanwhile the elder brother had been car-
ried to the island where the magician lived.
It was in vain that he begged to be taken
back to his little brother, or even that the lit-
51
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
tie boy might be taken with them; the ma-
gician made no answer. When the canoe
reached the shore of the island, Mishosha
stepped from it, and motioned to Panigwun
to follow him. He led the way back from
the water and through bushes and past rocks
and stopped at last before a lodge where
two young girls were busy preparing a meal.
They did not speak, but they cast looks of
pity at the companion the magician had
brought with him.
Mishosha spoke to the older of the two
girls in a harsh voice. ''I have brought you
a youth who shall be your husband when you
are old enough to marry. Take him to an
empty lodge, and mind, no chattering on the
way or you will be sorry for it."
The girl started when Mishosha spoke to
her, and looked at him with terror. When
he had ended she turned to obey him with
such haste that she tripped over a root and
52
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
fell. The magician laughed a cruel laugh
at the sight of her terror.
When the girl had picked herself up she
led the way through the bushes, Panigwun
following her, to where several empty lodges
were. Here she paused, standing with her
eyes cast down, and motioned to him to
choose one. The boy looked about him, and
was about to enter the one that seemed the
most convenient, but the girl caught him by
the arm with every sign of terror, and
dragged him away from it. Panigwun
looked at her with surprise, but she again
stood with her eyes bent on the ground, wait-
ing for him to choose.
''Since you do not wish me to have that
one, I will take this," said Panigwun. He
was about to enter another lodge, but again
the girl caught him by the arm and dragged
him from it. "Very well," said the boy im-
patiently, "since you will not let me choose
53
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
for myself you shall choose for me. Which
shall I taker'
The girl motioned him to a smaller lodge
that stood a little way off by itself. "I will
take that lodge," said Panigwun, "if you
will tell me why you choose it. If you do
not tell me I will take one of the larger
ones."
The girl looked about to make sure that
no one was near. Then she whispered hur-
riedly, "Those are ill-omened lodges.
Those who lived in them went out with
Mishosha in his canoe and never returned.
But none has ever stayed in the smaller
lodge. Take it." Immediately and with-
out another word, she slipped away and dis-
appeared in the bushes.
Panigwun entered the lodge, threw him-
self on the ground and began to lament.
"Oh, my poor little brother I what will you
do nowT' he cried. "How will you live
now that I have left you. You have not
54
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
even the arrows to shoot game, for I carried
them away with me. My poor little
brother I"
He lay grieving for a long time, until the
light faded and the stars came out. Sud-
denly he felt a light touch on his shoulder,
and looking up he again saw the girl who
had shown him to the lodge standing beside
him. She laid her fingers on her lips as a
sign for silence, and said in a voice as soft
as a breath, "Mishosha is asleep. If we
whisper he will not awaken, for the leaves
whisper about him all night, and he is used
to the sound. Down on the beach lies the
magic canoe. Take it and go to visit your
brother. Strike it on the side and say
Chemann Poll and it will carry you wher-
ever you wish. Only return soon, for if
Mishosha awakens and finds you gone he
will suspect me of helping you and punish
me for it."
Panigwun would have thanked the girl,
55
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
"but she had disappeared like a shadow in
the night.
Stealing down to the beach, he stepped
into the canoe ; he slapped it on the side and
uttered the magic words, and immediately
it shot out over the dark and silent lake,
and did not pause until it ran up on the
shore from which Panigwun had waded that
morning.
Panigwun leaped from it, and hurried up
the beach to the lodge and looked in. By
the faint starlight he could see his little
brother lying asleep near the door, the bow
clasped tightly in his hand. The older
brother would have awakened him, but he
remembered what the girl had said, and
feared if his brother saw him he would not
have the heart to leave him again. Very
quietly he placed beside the child the sheaf
of arrows, and also the food that the ma-
gician had sent to his wigwam for his sup-
per. A moment he lingered, and then, as
56
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
silently as he had come, he returned to the
canoe, and soon was speeding back again
across the water to the island.
But in the little while that Panigwun had
been away the weather had changed. The
sky was overcast, and the first breath of a
coming storm ruffled the dark waters of the
lake. He sprang from the canoe and has-
tened to his lodge. He had scarcely en-
tered when there was a brilliant flash of
lightning, followed almost immediately by
a crash of thunder.
In the silence that followed Panigwun
heard the sound of feet running toward his
lodge, and the next flash of lightning
showed him the magician standing in the
doorway. His face was drawn and haggard
with terror. He ran to Panigwun and
caught hold of him, and the youth could
feel how he was shaking.
"Oh, my good Panigwun, you are not
asleep, are you'?" he cried with chattering
57
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
teeth. "I could not sleep either. I came
to see whether you were comfortable. Let
us sit down and talk. I am not afraid — not
afraid. I have had a curious dream, and I
came to talk about dreams." Again there
came a flash of lightning and a crash of
thunder. Mishosha fell on the floor and
caught the boy by the feet. "I have never
done you any harm ! Say I have never done
you any harm. It is the storm king. He is
mightier than I. He is searching for me.
Ah I" A flash of lightning brighter than the
rest filled the lodge with light. "Hide me!
hide me, Panigwun. What I did to-day
was only in joke. To-morrow I will take
you back to your brother. I always in-
tended to. Only hide me till this terrible
storm is past."
Panigwun took up a blanket and threw it
over Mishosha, and the magician rolled
himself up in it, and lay shaken and trem-
58
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
bling with fear, groaning aloud at each flash
of lightning brighter than the rest.
Gradually the storm died away; the thun-
der reverberated more dully among the dis-
tant hills; the lightning grew fainter; the
terror of the storm was over.
Mishosha freed himself from the blanket,
rose and walked to the door of the lodge.
There he stood looking out. "The storm
has passed," he said in his ordinary voice.
"About dreams, I came to tell you of one I
had had, but it grows late. Some other time
I will tell it."
"And you will take me back to-morrow to
my brother"?" asked the boy.
Mishosha laughed harshly. "We will
make no promises to-night. To-morrow we
might think them dreams we had dreamed.
Another thing I would say. Beware how
you touch my canoe. And do not have a
dream that you can do anything on this
59
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
island without my knowing of it." He cast
an evil glance at Panigwun and strode away
through the night toward his own lodge.
The next morning Mishosha said to the
boy, "I am going to an island to gather
gulls' eggs, and you will go with me."
*'But will you not take me to see my little
brother first'?"
"Some other time," answered the magi-
cian. "We must make an early start if we
are to reach the gulls' island." He stepped
into the canoe and Panigwun followed him.
"Chemann Poll," he cried, and away they
sped over the water.
The wooded island dropped out of sight
behind them, and another island rose to view.
This one was bleak and rocky; over it hov-
ered thousands of sea gulls, filling the air
with their harsh cries. The canoe stopped
beside a rocky ledge, and the magician said
to the boy, "Do you go ashore and gather
the gulls' eggs, and I will await you here."
60
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
Fearing no evil, Panigwun stepped out
on the rocks. Immediately the canoe
slipped out into the deep water. "Oh,
gulls," shouted Mishosha in a loud voice,
"I have long wished to make you an offer-
ing. Take this youth as a gift from me.
He will serve as food for you and your chil-
dren." Then he slapped his canoe upon the
side and cried "Chemann Poll." The
canoe shot away ^ and was lost to sight, and
Panigwun was left alone on the island.
The gulls rose and circled about him in
a cloud. Their harsh cries deafened him.
For a moment he was terrified; then he drew
his knife and called upon his guardian
spirit. With one blow he killed the nearest
gull and hung it from his belt. *'Man is
the master of the birds," he cried aloud.
''Ye are my servants. Take me upon your
wings and carry me back to where I came
from."
Immediately the birds settled about him
6i
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
upon the rocks. Panigwun stepped upon
them, and they rose with him in a dense
cloud, and carried him swiftly back to Mi-
shosha's island. As he swept along through
the sky he looked down and saw the canoe
speeding across the lake below him.
When the magician reached the island
Panigwun was already there and came to
meet him. "You did not wait long enough
for me to gather the gulls' eggs," he said.
Mishosha was wonder-struck at finding
him safe when he supposed the gulls were
already feasting upon him.
"I am so forgetful," he stammered, "I
forgot I had left you upon the island.
I should have remembered before long, how-
ever, and have returned for you." Within
himself he thought, "This boy must have a
very powerful guardian spirit, but all the
same to-morrow he shall not escape me."
The next morning he said to Panigwun,
"To-day I am going to take you to an island
(^2
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
covered with precious stones of all kinds.
There you may gather all you wish, and this
time I will be careful and not forget you."
"Will you not take me to see my little
brother to-day?" asked Panigwun.
The magician shot an evil glance at him
from under his brows. "Some other day,"
he answered. "To-day we must go to the
treasure island."
Panigwun followed him into the canoe,
and again they sped over the waters of the
lake, but this time in a different direction.
Soon they reached a small island as steep
and bare as the back of a fish. Among it's
rocks lay a quantity of precious stones of all
kinds, diamonds, emeralds and rubies.
"Look, my son!" said the magician.
"Here are all the treasures you could wish.
Step out and gather them."
Panigwun knew that the magician was
planning some evil, but it was useless to
disobey him. He landed, and immediately
63
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
the canoe moved too far away from the
shore for him to reach it.
"Rise, oh, king of the fishes," called the
magician in a terrible voice. "I have long
been wishing to offer up a victim to you.
Here is a youth for you. Accept him as my
offering." Then he slapped the canoe on
the side and disappeared in the direction
of the island.
A moment after the waters were disturbed,
they broke in waves upon the island, and
the head of a gigantic pike appeared. He
came on toward Panigwun, his mouth open
wide as if to swallow him. The youth did
not lose his courage. He called upon his
guardian angel, and then flourishing his
knife he cried, "Man is the master of the
fishes. You are my servant. Come here
and take me on your back, and carry me to
Mishosha's island."
At this command the pike came closer
and floated beside the island. Panigwun
64
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
stepped upon his back and the fish bore him
away. So swiftly they went that they out-
sped the canoe. When Mishosha reached
the beach the youth was already there wait-
ing to help him out. The magician looked
at him with surprise and terror. "You
here I" he muttered. "I am so forgetful; but
I would soon have remembered you were
on the island and have returned for you."
"I thought I would save you the trouble,"
answered Panigwun mockingly.
The next morning the magician again
called Panigwun to go with him in his canoe,
"And this time I will not forget you," he
promised.
Panigwun gave him a look of scorn but
said nothing.
On and on the canoe bore them over the
surface of the lake further than they had
ever gone before. At last they came to an '
island upon which stood one stark pine, and
far up near the top of it was a nest. "Look,
6s
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
my son, in that nest the eagles have their
eggs. Do you climb up and get them for
me."
Still in silence Panigwun landed and be-
gan to climb the tree, but before he had
more than reached the first branches the pine
shot up to enormous height. Panigwun
felt himself being carried further and
further from the earth and toward the sky.
From far below he heard the magician's
voice : "Rise, oh, eagles, and take the victim
I have brought you. Ye are the king of
the birds and it is proper you should receive
offerings." Then, striking his canoe upon
its side he shot rapidly away over the
lake.
Two enormous eagles rose and circled
about Panigwun; their wings beat the air
with a sound like thunder and they shrieked
fiercely. For a moment the boy closed his
eyes, dizzy with the height from the ground
and the noise; then gathering his courage
66
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
and commending himself to his guardian
spirit, he drew his knife and flourished it.
*'The eagle is the king of birds," he cried,
"but man is the king of the eagles. I am
the master and you are the servants. Take
me upon your wings and carry me to the
magician's island."
For a moment the eagles hesitated. Then
they drew together so that their wings
crossed. Panigwun stepped upon them,
and away they soared, so fast that the wind
sang past his ears, and they landed at the
island before the canoe had come in sight.
When the magician found that Panigwun
had returned to the island his face grew pale,
and his heart quaked within him. "This
boy will prove too much for me," he
thought. "His guardian spirit is very
powerful. But my magic shall still conquer
him."
The next morning he said to Panigwun,
"To-day I have planned a little hunting ex-
67
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
pedition. We will go together, and when
you land I will accompany you, that there
may be no danger of my forgetting you."
Panigwun looked at him with a scorn he
did not try to hide. "Then you will not
take me to see my little brother to-day?"
"No," answered the magician harshly, and
he turned away in the direction of the canoe.
The boy followed him, and away they sped
together toward the hunting grounds that
Mishosha had chosen.
They landed and drew up the canoe and
started off together. The magician kept
looking up toward the sky and muttering to
himself. They went on and on until many
miles lay behind them, and at nightfall they
reached a lodge in the midst of a wilder-
ness. "It is here we spend the night," said
the magician.
They made a fire and cooked their supper,
and after they had eaten they took off their
moccasins and leggings and laid them near
68
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
the fire. Then they rolled them in their
blankets and lay down for the night. The
magician waited until he was sure from
Panigwun's breathing that he was asleep.
Then he arose very quietly and crept over
to where Panigwun had left his moccasins
and leggings. He took one of each and
threw them in the fire, and then by his magic
he caused the weather to turn cold, and a
deep snow to cover the ground. Having
done this he rolled himself in his blanket
again and fell into a deep sleep. All night
the snow fell and the wind howled across
the plains, heaping the snow in deep drifts.
When Panigwun awoke the next morning
Mishosha was already up, and was tying on
his leggings. "Make haste," he said to the
boy, "for it is morning and we have far to
travel."
The boy arose and looked for his moccasins
and leggings, but he could find only one of
each where the night before he had left two.
69
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
The magician watched him with a malicious
look. At length he said, "Are you looking
for your other legging and moccasin? I
fear you will not find them. I smelled
something burning in the night, and this is
the month when fire draws things into it-
self."
Then Panigwun knew that the magician
had burned them. He said nothing, but sat
down and drew his hood over his head and
communed with his guardian spirit. After
a time he arose and took a charred piece of
wood, and blackened his foot and leg with it
for as far up as the legging would have
covered him. Then he told the magician he
was ready.
Outside the cold was bitter. A keen wind
drove the sleet into their faces so that they
were almost blinded. They stumbled on
through the drifts, and every now and then
Mishosha looked around expecting to see
Panigwun overcome with the cold. But his
70
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
guardian had heard him and the black upon
his leg was as warm as though it were his
moccasin and legging that he wore.
Toward the end of the day the magician
in despair led the way back to the canoe.
"This boy's guardian spirit is too powerful,"
he said to himself. "Nevertheless I will
still find some way to destroy him."
When they reached the island the elder
girl could not hide her joy at seeing Pani-
gwun had returned. Mishosha looked from
one to the other suspiciously, but said noth-
ing. He had begun to fear Panigwun as
well as to hate him.
The next morning it was Panigwun's turn.
He came early to the magician's lodge.
"Grandfather," he said, looking him boldly
in the face, "every day I have gone with you
without question. Now the time has come
when you must redeem your promise and
take me to see my little brother."
The magician dared not refuse, so the two
7^
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
entered the canoe and sped away toward the
mainland. When they landed, Panigwun
went up to the lodge in advance of the magi-
cian. He approached it noiselessly and
looked in. The little boy was seated there
busily re-feathering one of his father's
arrows. The crackling of a twig made him
look up, and there was the face of his brother
looking in. He sprang up with a loud cry
of joy, scattering the arrows around him.
The magician was still far behind, and in a
few hurried words Panigwun told the little
brother of a plan by which he hoped they
might escape from the power of Mishosha.
They then went down to meet the magician.
"Here is my brother," said Panigwun;
"and now we will take him back to the is-
land with us."
Mishosha cast a glance of hate at the two,
but he dared not refuse. They went back
to the canoe together, but the magician was
slower than the two boys. They reached
J2
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
the beach first and sprang into the canoe.
Panigwun slapped it upon the side and cried
"Chemann Poll/' Immediately they shot
away in the direction of the island, leaving
Mishosha behind them.
Panigwun was very proud of his exploit.
As he drew the canoe upon the shore the
girl who had aided him before appeared be-
side him.
*'What have you done, and where is Mi-
shosha?" she asked. She did not deign to
glance at the younger brother, who on his
part gazed at her with admiration.
Panigwun told her how he had tricked
the magician, and had escaped from him
in the magic canoe. Instead of being
pleased the girl was filled with terror.
"You cannot escape from him as easily as
that," she cried. "The canoe will not allow
itself to be tied, and his power over it is
so great that at any moment he can cause it
to return to him wherever he may be."
7^
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
When Panigwun heard that he sat down
by the canoe and laid his hand upon it. "I
will hold it," he said. "Then let Mishosha
call as he will; it shall not slip away."
The girl shook her head doubtfully, but
she went away to the lodge and returned
with food, that Panigwun might not go
hungry while guarding the canoe. All even-
ing he sat there and on into the night, with
the little brother, who would not leave him^
by his side.
Presently the little brother fell asleep, and
after a while, in spite of himself Panigwun
began to nod. His hold upon the canoe
loosened, and at last his head sunk upon his
breast, and he too slept heavily.
When he awoke it was morning and the
magician stood beside him looking at him
with an evil glance. Panigwun sprang to
his feet. "So you are here, grandfather I" he
cried. "This island makes one forgetful.
I had forgotten that we had left you behind
74
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
us, but to-day I would have remembered and
would have returned for you."
The magician said nothing, but motioned
him to take his brother up to the lodge.
Panigwun thought, "After all, I need not
fear this magician so much. It is my turn
now, and we will see what I can do."
With this idea he said one morning,
"Grandfather, I enjoyed our last hunting ex-
pedition so much that I would like to take
another."
The magician looked at him suspiciously,
but he could not refuse to go. They stepped
into the canoe, and soon they were speed-
ing over the waters of the lake toward a
distant hunting ground.
When they landed, Panigwun took the
lead. He led the way back from the water
on and on, over plains and through unbroken
forests. At night he stopped and said,
"Here we will build a shelter, and in the
morning we will return."
75
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
Soon they had woven together some
boughs and saplings, and had made a fire,
and after they had eaten they rolled them-
selves in their blankets and lay down, but
this time Panigwun took the precaution of
keeping on his moccasins and leggings. In
the middle of the night he arose, and bent
over Mishosha to make sure that he was
asleep. When he was certain of this he took
both of the magician's leggings and mocca-
sins and threw them in the fire. He called
upon his guardian spirit to send a deep
snow, and then he lay down and went to
sleep.
The magician was awakened the next
morning by the piercing cold; he shivered in
his blanket, and the teeth chattered in his
head. He arose and looked for his mocca-
sins and leggings. They were not where he
had left them, and as he sought for them in
vain a terrible fear came upon him. He
looked at the boy beseechingly.
76
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
"Are you looking for your leggings and
moccasins, grandfather," asked Panigwun.
"You know this is the month when fire at-
tracts. I very much fear they have been
drawn into it and burned."
The magician made no answer but his legs
failed under him.
Panigwun opened the door. "Come,
grandfather," he said. "It is time for us
to start."
He stepped out into the cold and Mi-
shosha followed him, dragging his feet
heavily. If it had been cold before, it was
ten times more so now. The wind cut like
a knife, and the sleet was like whips across
their faces. Panigwun strode along bravely,
and Mishosha stumbled after him, shudder-
ing in the wind. Twice he stumbled in the
snow, but he struggled up again, and still
followed. But at last he could go no fur-
ther. The cold seemed to strike from his
feet up through all his limbs. His arms
77
MISHOSHA, THE MAGICIAN
stiffened to branches ; his gray hair turned to
blowing boughs. Panigwun hearing no
longer any sound behind him turned and
looked. The magician had disappeared; in
his place the boy saw only a stark gray
sycamore tree, its branches rattling and
moaning in the wind.
So ended the life of Mishosha, the magi-
cian of the lake. But Panigwun returned
to the island where his brother and the two
girls were awaiting him. Great was their
rejoicing when they heard the magician was
dead, and for many years they all lived
there happily together.
In time the two brothers married the girls,
and then it was not long before the voices
of children sounded in their lodges. The
magic canoe still remained and often it sped
to and fro across the waters, bearing the
brothers or their families, and still obedient
to the magic words, Chemann Poll.
78
HAAMDAANEE AND THE WISE
GAZELLE
(From Zanzibar Tales)
THERE was once upon a time a man
named Haamdaanee, who was very
poor. He had no clothes but rags,
and nothing to eat but the food that was
given him in charity.
One day when he was searching about in
the dust heap for stray grains of millet, he
found a small piece of money. It seemed a
fortune to the poor man, and he carefully
tied it up in one corner of his rags that he
might not lose it.
79
HAAMDAANEE AND THE GAZELLE
For a long time he could not decide what
to buy with it, but one day when he was
again scratching in the dust heap, a man
came by with a cage full of gazelles which
he wished to sell.
"Merchant," called Haamdaanee, "how
much do you ask for your gazelles'?"
"They are different prices," answered the
merchant. "Some are very large and fine,
and for those I ask a good price, but one is
a weakling, and it I would sell for almost
nothing."
Some men were passing by and they be-
gan to laugh. "Have you come into a for-
tune, Haamdaanee," they cried out, "and are
you trying to spend it." Then they said to
the merchant, "Do not waste your time on
that man. He is so poor that he has to
scratch about in the dust heaps to find
enough to keep him alive."
Haamdaanee untied the corner of his rags
and held out the piece of money. "Here,
80
HAAMDAANEE AND THE GAZELLE
merchant," he said, "take this and give me
one of your gazelles."
The men were very much surprised to see
the money. Then they said, "You are very
foolish, Haamdaanee. You get a piece of
money nobody knows how nor where, and
then instead of buying for yourself a good
meal you spend it for a gazelle which will
also need food."
Haamdaanee, however, paid no attention
to their jeers. He took the gazelle, and the
merchant took his money, glad to have sold
an animal that was so weak and small
it seemed as though it would die at any
rate.
Haamdaanee carried the little animal
home with him to the hovel where he lived,
and made a bed for it in one corner, but
there was little he could give it to eat. If
there had not been enough for one there
was still less for two. However, he was not
sorry he had bought it. It was company for
8i
HAAMDAANEE AND THE GAZELLE
him and he loved it as though it were his
daughter.
One day when Haamdaanee was prepar-
ing to go out to the dust heap, the gazelle
said to him, "Master, why do you not open
the door and let me run out in the forest
to find food for myself? If you will do
this I will return to you in the evening, and
you will only have had one to feed instead
of two."
Haamdaanee was wonder-struck at hear-
ing the gazelle speaking. "How is this?"
he cried. "You can talk, and yet you are
only a little animal I bought with a piece
of money from the dust heap."
"That is true," said the gazelle, "but I am
not an ordinary animal. I am very wise.
Let me out every day so that I may run
about, and I may find some way of help-
ing your fortunes. I will always come back
to you, for you bought me and you are my
master."
82
HAAMDAANEE AND THE GAZELLE
The little gazelle spoke so sweetly that
Haamdaanee opened the door as it wished,
and immediately it ran away and into the
deep forest, and was lost to sight. Then
Haamdaanee was very sad. He thought,
"That was a foolish thing to do. I will
never see my gazelle again, and it was such a
pretty, gentle little thing."
However, when he returned to his hovel
that evening he found the little animal al-
ready there. "Master," it said, "I feasted
well in the forest to-day, but I saw and heard
nothing that would help your fortunes. But
courage! To-morrow I will go out again,
and who knows what may happen."
So the next morning Haamdaanee again
opened the door for the gazelle, and after
this he let it out every day, and it remained
away until evening, when it came running
home again.
But one day when the gazelle went inta
the forest the food it liked was very scarcCji
83
HAAMDAANEE AND THE GAZELLE
and it wandered on further than it had ever
gone before. After a while it began to dig
up roots with its sharp little hoofs.
Presently it struck something hard, and
when it turned it out from the earth it
proved to be an enormous diamond.
The gazelle was delighted. It rolled the
diamond up in leaves and took it in its
mouth to carry it home to Haamdaanee.
But then it began to think. "What could
my master do with a diamond like this?
No one would ever believe I had found it
in the forest; if he showed it to people they
would certainly think he had stolen it, and
he would be beaten or taken before the
judges. No, I must do something better
than that with the stone."
The wise little animal thought for a while,
and then with the diamond still in its mouth,
it bounded away through the forest.
It ran on and on for three days and nights
without stopping, until it came to a city
84
HAAMDAANEE AND THE GAZELLE
where a great king lived. This king had a
daughter who was so beautiful that the fame
of her had spread everywhere; even Haam-
daanee and his gazelle had heard of her.
The little animal went straight into the
city and through the streets to the palace,
and up the steps and into the room where the
king was sitting with all his councilors
about him. There it bent its fore knees and
touched its forehead to the ground three
times in token of respect.
"What is this animal, and where does it
come from*?" asked the king.
No one could tell him anything about it,
but the gazelle itself answered.
"Oh, great king, I am a messenger from my
master the Prince Daaraaee," it said, "and
I have come from far away, a three days
and three nights' journey through the
forest."
"And what is the message your master
sends T' asked the king.
85
HAAMDAANEE AND THE GAZELLE
"He wishes you to give him your beauti-
ful daughter for a wife, and he sends you
a small gift. It is but a poor thing, and
scarce worth the sending, but it was as much
as I could carry."
The gazelle then unwrapped the leaves
from the diamond and presented it to the
king. All were wonder-struck when they
saw the size and brightness of the diamond.
It was worth a kingdom.
"Your master must be very rich and
powerful," said the king. "Has he many
more jewels like this?"
"That is nothing to what he has in his
treasure house," answered the gazelle.
"And he wishes the hand of my daugh-
ter?"
"Yes, your majesty."
The king was delighted at the idea of hav-
ing such a rich man for a son-in-law, and
promised that Prince Daaraaee should have
the hand of the princess.
86
HAAMDAANEE AND THE GAZELLE
The gazelle then made ready to leave,
but first the king fed it with rice and milk,
and hung a golden collar about its neck.
"In ten days' time I will return with my
master. Be ready to receive him and his es-
cort at that time," said the gazelle, and then
it bounded away and was lost to sight in
the forest.
Now all this time Haamdaanee had been
mourning his gazelle as lost. Five days had
passed without its returning. The sixth day
he was sitting very mournfully on the dust
heap when he felt something brush against
him. He looked around, and what was his
joy to see his little gazelle beside him. He
stroked and caressed it, and then he saw the
golden collar around its neck.
"What means this golden collar? And
where have you been," asked Haamdaanee.
"I have been far away at the palace of a
king," exclaimed the gazelle. "It was he
who gave me this collar, and more than that,
87
HAAMDAANEE AND THE GAZELLE
he promised that you should have his beau-
tiful daughter for a wife."
At first Haamdaanee could not believe
what the gazelle told him, but when he had
heard the whole story he was filled with
terror. "You told the king I was a great
prince," he said, "and when he sees me in my
rags and filth I will be beaten and driven out
into the forest to die."
"Do not be afraid, master," answered the
gazelle. "Only do as I tell you and you
will be received with great honor, and have
a princess as your wife."
At last he persuaded Haamdaanee to
come with him, and they set out together
through the forest. They went on and on
until they were within a day's journey of the
king's palace, and then the gazelle stopped.
"Master," said he, "do you now strip off
your rags and hide them. Bathe in the
stream, and as you bathe be careful to knock
yourself against the stones so that you will
88
HAAMDAANEE AND THE GAZELLE
show bruises. Then lie down beside the
stream, and when I return from the city with
an escort do nothing but groan and cry,
"Oh, those robbers! Those cruel and
wicked robbers."
Haamdaanee stripped off his rags and
stepped into the stream, and while he was
still bathing and bruising himself the gazelle
bounded away to the palace of the king. It
rushed into the room where the king was
and fell before him, breathless and ap-
parently exhausted. "Oh, my master I My
poor master I" it cried.
The king in great anxiety asked what had
happened to the prince.
The gazelle told him that he and his
master had come a long way through the
forest in safety, and were within a day's
journey of the city when they had been set
upon by robbers. The robbers had stolen
everything; they had stripped the Prince
Daaraaee of all his magnificent clothes and
89
HAAMDAANEE AND THE GAZELLE
jewels, and had beaten him and left him for
dead on the banks of a stream. The
Prince's escort had been carried away
captive. "And I alone escaped," said the
gazelle, "for I am so small they did not
notice me. But oh, my poor master I If he
is not already dead he must soon perish un-
less help is sent to him."
The king immediately commanded that a
strong escort should set out to help the
prince. He himself went with them, and a
horse was loaded with magnificent robes for
Prince Daaraaee to put on. They started
out, and the gazelle ran along to show them
the way.
When they reached the banks of the
stream there lay Haamdaanee groaning, and
bruised black and blue as though he had been
beaten. They raised him up and clothed
him in the magnificent robes they had
brought, but all he would say was,
90
1
HAAMDAANEE AND THE GAZELLE
*'0h, those robbers I Those cruel, wicked
robbers I"
They put him on a great black horse and
took him back to the palace of the king, and
when so dressed and mounted he appeared
a very handsome man indeed. The king
was delighted with him, and the princess
was no less so, and soon the marriage was
celebrated with great feasting and rejoicing.
For awhile Haamdaanee lived with his
wife at the palace of the king, and he was so
happy, and everything was so fine, that he
could hardly believe in his good fortune.
But after a time the princess began to ask
her husband when they were to return to his
own country. She longed to see his mag-
nificent palace and all the treasures it con-
tained.
Haamdaanee took the gazelle aside and
said to it, "What are we to do now? I am
surely ruined. The princess wishes to see
91
HAAMDAANEE AND THE GAZELLE
the palace I have told her of, and I have no
place to take her but the wretched hovel
that will not even shelter us from the
weather."
"Do not be afraid, master," answered the
gazelle. "I will manage everything for
you. Only let me go, and do you tell the
princess you have sent me home to prepare
for your reception. I will get a palace for
you, and when I have it I will return and
let you know."
Haamdaanee did as the gazelle bade him.
The princess was told that the little animal
was to set out immediately and would put
all in order at the palace, so she was will-
ing to wait a while longer before seeing her
husband's treasures.
The gazelle at once started out on its jour-
neyings. It ran on and on for several days,
and then it came to another city even hand-
somer than that of the king, but when it
entered the streets everything was silent and
92
HAAMDAANEE AND THE GAZELLE
deserted. There was not a soul to be seen.
The little animal went through one street
after another and at last it came to a palace,
and that too was silent and deserted. It
knocked with its hard hoof, and after a long
time the door opened a crack and an old, old
woman looked out. As soon as she saw the
gazelle she seemed frightened to death.
"How have you come here'?" she cried.
"Do you not know that this city belongs to
a terrible snake with three heads, and that
he eats every living thing *? He has eaten
all the people of the city except myself
and he only left me alive that I might cook
his meals and sweep his house. If he finds
you here he will surely kill you."
"I am too tired to go farther," said the
gazelle, "and I am so small that I can easily
hide in a corner where the snake will not
find me. Do but let me in to rest for a
while. The snake need never know it."
For a time the old woman refused but the
9-^
HAAMDAANEE AND THE GAZELLE
gazelle talked so sweetly that after a time
she consented and allowed the little animal
to slip through the crack of the door and into
the house.
When it was inside it began to look about
it. ''This place would just do for my
master if I could but get rid of the snake,"
it thought. Presently it saw a bright sword
that hung on the wall. "What sword is
that?" it asked of the old woman.
"It belongs to the snake," she answered,
"and it is so sharp that it will cut anything
at one stroke."
"That is the sword for me," said the
gazelle, and it took it down from the wall
in spite of all the old woman could say.
And now a great rushing noise was heard
outside, and the old woman began to quake
and tremble. "That is the snake," she cried,
"and when he finds you here he will surely
kill us both."
"Do not be afraid," said the gazelle. "I
94
HAAMDAANEE AND THE GAZELLE
will tell you what to say and do, and who
knows but what we may rid ourselves of
him for good and all."
Now the snake was at the door and it
began to sniff about. "What is this I
smell?" it cried. "Some living thing has
entered the city."
"Nonsense," answered the old woman.
"A bird flying over the house dropped a piece
of meat down the chimney, and I am cook-
ing it for your dinner."
Then the snake said, "Open the door that
I may come in."
"I cannot do that or the meat will burn,"
answered the old woman. "Come in
through the window."
Then the snake stuck one of its heads in
through the window. The gazelle was ready,
and the moment the head appeared it cut
it off with the sword, and the sword was so
very sharp and keen that the snake did not
feel the blow. "How dark it is in the
95
HAAMDAANEE AND THE GAZELLE
house," it said. "I can see nothing," and it
stuck its other head in. Quick as a flash
the gazelle cut off that head too. "Oh I I
think a hair fell on my neck," said the snake,
and it stuck its third head in through the
window. Then the gazelle cut off that head
too, and the snake was dead.
The old woman rejoiced to know she was
now free from the snake, and she could not
make enough of the little animal that had
killed him.
"I must go and get my master," said the
gazelle, "for now that I have killed the
snake, this city and all that is in it belongs
to him; and if anyone asks you must say,
This is the palace of Prince Daardaaee."
When Haamdaanee heard from the
gazelle all that he had done, and how the
palace and the treasures of the snake now
belonged to him, he did not know what to do
with himself for joy.
He and the princess soon set out together,
96
HAAMDAANEE AND THE GAZELLE
and with them a number of people from the
city, to whom Haamdaanee promised houses
and wealth when they should reach his city.
The gazelle ran along beside them point-
ing out the way, and when they reached the
palace it was more magnificent than any-
thing the princess had dreamed of.
So they lived there very happily, and the
little gazelle had soft cushions to lie on, and
all the milk and rice that it could eat, so
it did not have to run off into the forest any
more, but could stay in the palace and take
its ease.
97
THE TWO SISTERS
(From the Hindoo Folk Lore)
I
"^HERE was once a rajah who had
two daughters who were as beauti-
ful as two stars, and who loved each
other so dearly that they could not bear to
be apart even for an hour. The ranee who
was their mother died, and in time the rajah
married again, and brought home a new
ranee to the palace.
This new wife was very cruel to the two
girls. She did not give them enough to eat,
they had only rags to wear, and sometimes
they were beaten. The rajah was so in love
98
THE TWO SISTERS
with the new ranee that he took no notice of
the two girls, nor of how unhappy they were.
One day the younger princess, whose
name was Balna, said to her sister, ''Why
should we be so unhappy here '^ Our father
no longer loves us, and we are so ill-treated
that it would be better to die in the jungle
than to live in this way. Let us run away."
The elder sister agreed with her, so early
one morning they ran away from the palace,
and into the great jungle that lay over be-
yond it. All day they wandered on and on,
and that night they climbed up into a tree
that they might be safe from wild beasts.
The next day they journeyed on again,
but they had not gone far when they came
to a magnificent palace there in the midst
of the wilderness. The younger sister
wished to knock, but the elder was afraid.
"This palace can only belong to a rakshas,"
she said, "and if he sees us he will surely
kill us and eat us."
^ rl' 99
THE TWO SISTERS
"As well that," answered Balna, "as for
us to die of hunger and exhaustion." So
in spite of all her sister could say she
knocked at the door. There was no answer,
and after she had knocked several times she
opened the door and led the way in.
They looked about them and were
amazed at the magnificence of everything
they saw. Their father's palace was as
nothing compared to it. They went into
one room after another, and everywhere
were treasures of gold and silver and pre-
cious stones. While they were looking
they heard a terrible noise at the door, and
they were so frightened that they ran up to
the roof of the house. The roof was flat,
and from it they could look down into the
inner courtyard of the house, where there
were trees and walks, and also a well. The
noise the girls had heard was made by a
rakshas and his wife, to whom this palace
belonged, and who were now coming home.
I GO
THE TWO SISTERS
Soon the sisters could hear them moving
about in the rooms below and quarreling to-
gether. Then a door opened and they came
out into the court. When the sisters saw
them they almost died with terror, they were
so terrible-looking.
As soon as they were in the court the
rakshas began to run about from one side
to the other and to sniff the air. "Someone
is here," he cried; "I smell human flesh and
blood."
*'I should think you would smell human
flesh and blood," cried his wife. "You
have just killed and eaten a hundred thou-
sand people. It would be strange if you
smelled anything else. But I am thirsty.
Come here, you lazy bones, and draw up
some water for me."
"Draw for yourself," answered he. "But
let me have a drink first."
"No, no I I shall drink first," cried his
wife. They both ran to the well, and there
lOI
THE TWO SISTERS
they began quarreling again as to who should
draw the water.
The two girls on top of the house had
been lying as quiet as though they were
dead, but now the younger one, who was
very clever, said, ''Sister, I am going down
to see whether I can destroy these rakshas.
If I do not they will surely come upstairs
and find us, and when they do that they will
kill us and eat us."
The elder sister begged and implored her
not to try to do any such thing, but Balna
would not listen to her. She hurried down-
stairs and stole out into the court.
The rakshas were still leaning far over
the side of the well, and were so busy quar-
reling that they never noticed her. The
clever girl stole up behind them and caught
each one by a heel and sent them headfore-
most into the well so that they were
drowned. Then she called to her sister to
come down, for the rakshas were dead and
102
THERE WERE MANY BEAUTIFUL DRESSES AMONG THE TREASURES
OF THE PALACE
THE TWO SISTERS
they were safe. The elder sister was so
glad that she hardly knew what to do. She
came down into the court and she could not
praise her sister enough for being so very
clever as to get rid of the rakshas! Then
they hunted about and found plenty of
food to eat, and beautiful clothes to put on,
for there were many beautiful dresses of
silver and gold among the treasures of the
palace.
After this time the two sisters lived there
together very happily. Every morning
Balna drove the flocks and herds out to
pasture, but the elder girl stayed at home to
set the house in order and cook the meals.
Balna cautioned her never to open the door
to anyone while she was away. "There
may be robbers in this wood who would kill
you for the sake of the treasures that are
here," she said, "or they might carry you
away with them because of your beauty."
The elder girl promised her she would not
103
THE TWO SISTERS
open the door to anyone, and so Balna felt
quite safe in leaving her every day.
Now a young prince lived not far from
this jungle, and very often he came to hunt
in it. One day the hunt was fast and
furious, and he and his attendants rode far-
ther than they had ever gone before. Sud-
denly they saw, gleaming through the trees,
a beautiful palace.
"It is very strange," said the prince, ''that
anyone should have built a palace here in
the depths of the jungle. Let us knock and
see who lives in it."
His attendants had never seen the palace
before, either, and they warned him that it
might belong to a rakshas, and it might be
dangerous to knock; but the prince would
not heed them and began to knock loudly
upon the door.
The girl within was frightened at the
noise and the voices outside (for this was
the very palace where the sisters were liv-
104
THE TWO SISTERS
ing) . She kept very quiet and hoped who-
ever was outside would go away.
"Open the door, you who are inside,"
cried the prince. "If you do not I will open
it myself with my sword."
The girl was more frightened than ever,
but as she found he was determined to enter,
she hastily slipped some rags over her
magnificent clothes and blacked her face
and hands so that she might look ugly.
Then she went to open the door, but she was
in such a hurry that she forgot to blacken
one of her ears.
When she appeared the prince was sur-
prised at her looks; it seemed strange that
anyone so black and ragged should be living
in such a magnificent palace. Then he saw
that one of her ears was white, and he was
more surprised than ever.
However he only said to her, "I have been
hunting and I am very hot and thirsty.
Will you not give me some water T'
105
THE TWO SISTERS
The girl shook her head and motioned to
him to go away. She would have closed the
door, but the prince put his sword in it so
that she could not. "I am thirsty and I
must have the water," he said.
The girl ran away to get it but when she
brought it to him instead of drinking it he
threw it in her face. Then the black all
washed off, and she stood there, more beau-
tiful than anyone the prince had ever seen
before. "Who are you, and how do you
happen to be living in this jungle all
alone?" he asked. But the girl would not
answer. She only shook her head again and
wept, for she thought to herself, 'If they
mean any harm to me and I tell them I have
a sister they will wait here until she returns,
and she will suffer too."
When the prince found she would answer
nothing he mounted her on his horse and
carried her away with him, for she was so
1 06
THE TWO SISTERS
very beautiful that he determined to make
her his wife.
Now the girl had around her neck a string
of pink pearls, and she managed to break
the string without being seen, and to drop
the pearls one at a time as they rode along.
For she thought, "When my sister comes
home and finds me gone she will hunt for
me, and if she sees the pearls she will know
in which direction I have gone and will fol-
155
ow.
So they rode on and after a time they
reached the palace where the prince's
parents lived. When they saw what a
beautiful girl their son brought home with
him they were amazed, and because of her
great beauty they were willing for the
prince to take her for a wife.
The girl, too, was willing, for the prince
was both handsome and kind, so they were
married, and loved each other tenderly.
107
THE TWO SISTERS
The girl now would have been quite happy
if she had not remembered Balna and
grieved for her. Often when she was alone
she began to weep for her, and always when
the prince came in he would ask her why
she was crying, but she would not tell him.
She was afraid if she so did he would be
very angry that she had not told him before,
and so she made some excuse. Always she
thought to herself, "The next time I will
tell him," but always she was afraid. Her
courage failed her.
Now when Balna returned to the palace
and found her sister gone she was in despair.
She sought for her everywhere, calling her
name. Then she began to hunt about in the
jungle for signs of robbers who might have
been there while she was away, and she
found one of the pink pearls that she knew
belonged to her sister's necklace. She went
a little further and found another, and
then another, and still another. So she
io8
THE TWO SISTERS
went on through the jungle, following the
way her sister had gone, and picking up the
pearls as she went.
That night she came to a stream, and
lying beside it was the body of an old
woman. The body was so dried by the sun
that nothing of it was left except skin and
bones. Balna took off the skin and washed
it carefully in the brook, and then drew it
on over her head and arms as if it had been
a glove. When she had done that she
looked exactly like an old woman with
wrinkled face and arms.
The next day she came to the edge of the
jungle, and she saw before her houses and
a magnificent palace with gardens about it.
She now took a staff in her hand and began
to hobble along as though she were a very
old woman indeed.
The pearls led her almost to the palace
door, but there they seemed to end, and she
could see no more, and she did not know
109
THE TWO SISTERS
where to go next, nor what had become of
her sister.
She sat down on the step of a house oppo-
site to the palace, where a gardener and his
wife lived.
The gardener's wife was a very charitable
woman, and when presently she came to the
door and saw the old woman sitting there
as though she were too exhausted to go fur-
ther, she spoke to her kindly and gave her
something to eat. She never imagined what
a beautiful young princess was inside of
that wrinkled old skin.
Balna thanked her gratefully, and after
she had eaten, she sat on the step all day,
watching everyone that went past and
listening to all they said. She hoped in this
way to get some news of her sister, but she
heard nothing.
That night the gardener's wife gave her
a place to sleep, and after that Balna lived
no
THE TWO SISTERS
with her and the woman was very kind to
her. All day the princess appeared to be
an old woman, but at night she went to a
tank in the palace gardens, and took off
the old skin and bathed herself in the water.
After she had bathed she sat on the edge of
the tank for awhile, and amused herself by
arranging her hair, putting in it one of the
blossoms of a beautiful pink lotus that grew
there, and about her neck she hung the neck-
lace of pink pearls which she had strung
again.
Now it happened that these pink lotus
plants were great favorites with the rajah.
He often went to the tank to look at them,
and he was much annoyed when he found
someone was coming there every night and
breaking off a blossom each time. He had
another and younger son, beside the one who
had found the girl in the jungle, and when
this young prince found how annoyed the
III
THE TWO SISTERS
rajah was over the loss of his lotuses he said
he would watch in the garden all night and
see who the thief was.
So that night he climbed up in a tree that
grew beside the tank and hid himself among
the leaves. He sat there for a long time
and all was still. Then when the moon rose
he was surprised to see an old, old woman
hobble down to the tank and seat herself
upon the edge of it. But he was more
amazed when this old woman stripped off
her skin as though it were a glove, and ap-
peared as the most beautiful young girl he
had ever seen. She sat there dabbling her
feet in the water, and presently she broke off
a pink lotus and arranged it in her hair, and
drew from her bosom a necklace of pearls
which she hung about her neck. She sat
there for some time, and then she threw away
her lotus flower and drew on the old skin
and hobbled away in the direction of the gar-
dener's house.
112
THE TWO SISTERS
The young prince followed without her
having seen him, and waited until she en-
tered the door and closed it behind her.
Then he returned to the palace.
The next morning he went to his father
the rajah, and said to him, *'I have found
who it is who steals your lotus blossoms. It
is the old woman who lives with the
gardener's wife, and I wish to marry her."
"Marry that ugly old woman!" cried the
rajah. "You must be mad."
"Unless I marry her I will never marry
anyone," answered the prince.
The rajah and ranee were very much
distressed, and for a long time they refused
their consent, but the young prince grew so
pale and ill that at last they could refuse
no longer, for he was their favorite son.
The old woman was brought to the palace,
and was married to the handsome prince.
After they were left alone together the
prince said to his bride, "Now that we are
113
THE TWO SISTERS
married I hope you will take off that old
skin and wear it no longer. Then my father
and mother will see you as you are."
But Balna answered, "I do not know
what you mean. Do you think anyone can
take off her skin and become young again
at will. As you married me so I am." For
she thought if I remain as I now appear the
prince will soon tire of me and allow m<.
to go out in search of my sister, but if he
sees me as I am he will never allow me to
depart.
The prince, however, laughed within him-
self at her words, for he had seen for him-
self how beautiful she really was, but he
said no more about it.
After this every night when her husband
was asleep Balna arose and took oif her skin
to wash it.
The prince awoke one time when she was
just slipping the skin on again, but he said
nothing about it, but the next night instead
114
THE TWO SISTERS
of going to sleep he only closed his eyes and
lay very still. After a time, when she felt
sure he was asleep Balna got up and drew
off her skin and laid it aside and went to
wash herself. Then her husband took the
skin and threw it in the fire, and lay down
again and closed his eyes.
Presently Balna returned and began to
hunt for the skin, but she could not find it
any place. After she had hunted a long
time the prince opened his eyes as though
he had just awakened. "Are you looking
for that old skin?" he asked. "It fell into
the fire and I fear it is burned." So Balna
was obliged to remain as she was, a young
and lovely princess.
The next morning when the rajah and
ranee found what a beautiful girl their son
had married under the guise of an old
woman, nothing could equal their joy.
They no longer wondered that the young
prince would have no other for his wife.
115
THE TWO SISTERS
But Balna was very sad, she could do
nothing but weep and weep. Then the
prince too was grieved for her sadness, and
asked her why it was. She told him how she
had lived in the jungle all alone with her
sister, and how the sister had been carried
away and she knew not where she was. 'It
was in search of her," she said, "that I came
to your city and I will never be happy until
I find her."
The prince said, "I myself can tell you
nothing of her, but my older brother mar-
ried a princess who also lived in the jungle.
Let us go to her, and ask her if she can
tell us anything of your sister."
He took Balna to the apartments where
his brother's wife lived, to introduce her.
But the moment the two princesses saw each
other they cried out with joy and ran into
each other's arms. Great was the surprise of
everyone, and their surprise was greater still
ii6
THE TWO SISTERS
when they found these two were sisters who
had lost each other.
After this they sent into the jungle
and brought all the rakshas' treasure to the
palace, and the two brothers and their wives
lived together ever after in the greatest
happiness.
117
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
(From the Cossack)
THERE were once a man and his wife
who had one son named Tremsin,
and they were all poor together, as
poor as could be.
One day the man said to Tremsin, "Listen,
my son. We have but enough meal left
in the house for thy mother and myself, and
we can shelter thee here no longer. Take
the gray steed that stands in the stall and
ride out into the world to seek thy fortune,
and my blessing shall go with thee."
So Tremsin took the gray steed from the
ii8
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
stall and mounted it, and rode out into the
green world, seeking his fortune, and his
father's blessing went with him.
He rode along and rode along, and after-
while he came to the wide steppes. He
heard a rushing of wings overhead, and a
light shone about him, and when he looked
up he saw a great bird crossing the heavens.
It was pure white and shone like silver, and
it flew over him as swift as the wind.
"Now in all the green earth never did I
see such a bird before," said Tremsin. "I
wonder what it may be."
"Master," said the gray steed, "that is
the Zhar bird. Presently we will find one
of its feathers lying beside our road; but
whatever you do, master, do not pick it up,
for if you do, evil as well as good will come
upon you."
Tremsin made no answer, but he rode
along and rode along, and presently he saw
something bright lying beside the road. He
119
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
came up to it and it was a feather. It was
as white as silver, and so bright that no
words can tell how it shone.
"Good or ill, that feather I must have,"
said Tremsin; so in spite of the good steed's
warning he picked it up and laid it in his
bosom.
After awhile they came to a great city and
in this city lived a nobleman. He was a
very rich nobleman, and very powerful.
Tremsin rode to his house and asked if
he might take service with him.
The nobleman looked at him up and down
and saw that he was a good stout lad.
"Why not?" said he. "I have need of
servants to curry my horses, for I have more
than fifty in my stalls."
So Tremsin was set to work in the stables,
and the nobleman's own favorite steed was
given him to take care of. Every day
Tremsin curried it and rubbed it down, and
after he had rubbed it its coat shone like
120
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
glass. There never was anything like it.
The nobleman was very much pleased, and
made such a favorite of Tremsin that all
his fellow servants grew jealous. They
rubbed and curried their steeds, but they
could not make them shine as Tremsin did.
Then they set a little stable boy to watch
Tremsin and see what he did to make the
horse's coat so bright.
The stable boy hid in the manger, and
after awhile Tremsin came in and began to
clean the horse. He rubbed it and curried
it, but he did that no better than the other
grooms. Lastly he looked about him, and
seeing nobody, he drew from his breast the
feather of the Zhar bird and stroked the
horse with it. Immediately the steed shone
like silver, so that all the stall was filled
with light. Then he hid the feather in his
bosom again, and led the horse out for the
nobleman to ride him.
The little stable boy climbed out of the
121
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
manger, and ran and told the other servants
what he had seen, and as soon as they heard
about the feather they knew it must be a
feather of the Zhar bird. Then they were
more envious than ever, and they laid a plot
to rid themselves of Tremsin.
They went to the nobleman, and said to
him, 'Tremsin has a feather of the Zhar
bird, and it is so bright that there never
was anything like it. Moreover, he boasts
that if he chose he could go out and catch
the Zhar bird as easily as not, and bring it
to you for a present."
The nobleman sent for Tremsin, and said
him, "Your fellow servants tell me you have
boasted thus and so. Now go you out and
get the Zhar bird for me, for I can neither
eat nor sleep until I have it."
It was in vain Tremsin swore and pro-
tested that never had he said such a thing.
He must go and get the Zhar bird for the
122
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
nobleman, or have his head cut off from his
shoulders.
Tremsin went out to the stall where the
gray steed stood and wept bitterly. "Yours
was a wise warning, my good steed," he said.
"Good came to me from the Zhar bird's
feather, but now evil has come of it, and
such evil that I must lose my head for it."
"How is that, my master'?" asked the
steed.
Then Tremsin told him all that the noble-
man had said, and that as he could by no
means bring the Zhar bird to his master he
must surely die.
"There is no need to grieve over such a
task as that," said the steed. "That is an
easy trick. Do you get a strong net and ride
me out to the steppe where we first saw the
bird. There I will stretch myself out as
though I were dead, and you must hide
yourself beside me. Presently the Zhar
123
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
bird will come and light upon me. Do not
stir nor touch it until it hops upon my head
and is about to peck my eyes. Then throw
the net over it and you will have it safe."
Tremsin did as the gray steed bade him.
He bought a great strong net and then he
rode out to the place he had first seen the
Zhar bird. There on the lonely steppes
the steed laid himself out as though he were
dead, and Tremsin hid beside him.
Presently there was a great rushing of
wings overhead, and a white light shone and
here came the Zhar bird.
He flew down and lighted on the gray
steed's flank but Tremsin did not move.
He lighted on the shoulder, but Tremsin
never stirred. Lastly he went to the gray
steed's head and stooped to peck his eyes.
Then, quick as a flash, Tremsin threw the
net over the bird, and there he had it safe,
struggle as it might.
If Tremsin had been a favorite before it
124
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
was nothing to the way it was now. The
other servants were so jealous that they
could hardly bear it. They got together
and laid another plot to rid themselves of
him. They went to the nobleman and told
him : "Tremsin boasts that it was nothing to
bring you the Zhar bird as a gift; that if he
wished he could bring you the thrice-lovely
Nastasia of the sea for a bride just as easily
as not."
Now the thrice-lovely Nastasia was the
most beautiful woman in the world, so that
nobody could equal her, and after the noble-
man had heard what they had to say he sent
for Tremsin to come to him.
"Tremsin," he said, '1 hear that you have
boasted that if you wish you can bring me
the thrice-lovely Nastasia of the sea for a
bride. Go now and bring her to me, for if
you do not, as surely as my sword hangs by
my side, your head shall leave your shoul-
ders."
125
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
It was in vain that Tremsin begged and
protested, the nobleman would not listen to
him and he went out to the gray steed's stall
and wept bitterly.
"Why are you so sad, my master'?" asked
the gray steed.
"I am sad because of the evil the Zhar
bird's feather has brought upon me. The
nobleman has bidden me bring him the
thrice-lovely Nastasia for a bride, and as I
cannot do it I must die."
*'Do not be troubled over that task," said
the gray steed. "There are harder things
than that in the world, and if you do as I
say all may yet be well."
The steed then told Tremsin to go into the
town and get for himself a snow white tent,
and all manner of silken scarfs and gold
and silver ornaments. He was to purchase
beside a golden pitcher of rare wine and a
sleeping potion.
"When you have all these things," said
126
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
the steed, take them down to the seashore
and spread the tent, and arrange in it all the
things you have bought as though you were
a merchant. Put the sleeping potion in the
golden pitcher of wine, and do you lie
down beside the tent as though you were
asleep, and whatever you do, do not stir nor
open your eyes until I neigh thrice."
Tremsin did all that the steed bade him;
he bought the tent and the wares, the golden
pitcher of wine and the sleeping potion,
and carried them down to the seashore. He
arranged them as a merchant would his
wares. He put the sleeping potion in the
wine, and then he lay down and pretended
to be asleep.
After a while the thrice-lovely Nastasia
came sailing past in her rose-red boat. She
saw the shining white tent and landed to
see what was in it. When she came to the
door of it she saw all the silken scarfs and
the gold and silver ornaments, and lying
127
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
by the tent apparently fast asleep was a
handsome youth, with a gray steed standing
beside him.
"Merchant, merchant, waken and show
me your wares," said the thrice-lovely Nas-
tasia ; but Tremsin did not stir.
"Up, merchant, for I have come to pur-
chase of you."
Tremsin kept his eyes closed and only
breathed the deeper.
Then Nastasia began to go about through
the tent and look at the things. She slipped
the bracelets on her arms, the rings upon her
fingers, she wrapped the silken scarfs about
her, and presently she found the golden
pitcher of wine. She lifted it in her hands
and tasted it. Then she drank deep of it
and presently there was none left. Almost
immediately she sank down in a deep sleep.
Then the gray steed neighed three times.
"Up, up, my master," he cried. "Yonder
lies the thrice-lovely Nastasia. Take her
128
SHE LIFTED IT IN HER HANDS AND TASTED IT
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
up in your arms and mount upon my back,
and we will carry her to the house of the
nobleman before she wakens."
Then Tremsin lifted her in his arms and
mounted his steed, and away they went,
swift as the wind, so that Nastasia's hair
flew out behind them like a cloak.
After a while they came to the palace of
the nobleman, and when he saw that
Tremsin had brought him the thrice-lovely
Nastasia for a bride he could not do enough
for him. There was nothing Tremsin could
ask of his master that he might not have
had.
But the thrice-lovely Nastasia sat in her
chamber and wept and wept. "Never will
I marry any man," she cried, "until he can
bring me my shining necklace of pearls that
I left at the bottom of the sea."
Then the nobleman called Tremsin to
him again. "Tremsin," he said, "you must
still do something more for me. You have
129
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
brought me the thrice-lovely Nastasia of the
sea, but you left her necklace of shining
pearls behind. Go and get it for me, or by
the sword that hangs at my side, you shall
surely die."
Tremsin went out to the stall of the gray
steed and wept bitterly. "Surely the evil
that comes to me will never end. I caught
the Zhar bird in a net, the thrice-lovely Nas-
tasia I brought my master for a bride and
now I must bring the necklace of pearls
from the bottom of the sea or I will lose
my head from my shoulders."
"Master, do not let that grieve you," said
the gray steed. "Do as I bid you and you
may get the necklace. Go down to the sea-
shore and hide yourself behind the rocks
close to where the tent was spread. Pres-
ently you will see some crabs crawl up out of
the water. Do not stir nor touch them until
one comes larger than the rest and wearing a
golden crown upon his head. He is the
130
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
king of them all. Throw your cap over him.
Hold it tight and do not let him go until
he promises to bring you the pearl necklace
of the thrice-lovely Nastasia from the
bottom of the sea."
Tremsin was quick to do as the steed
bade him. He went down to the seashore
and hid behind some rocks. There he lay
quiet; he hardly breathed.
Presently the crabs began to crawl up out
of the water. They came one after another.
Tremsin had never seen so many. Last of
all came a crab larger than any of the rest,
and on his head he wore a golden crown.
Tremsin waited until this one came close by
the rocks, and then, quick as a flash he threw
his cap over it, and held it tight.
The crab struggled but it could not get
free.
"Let me go, Tremsin," it cried, ''and I will
bring you such treasures that you will be a
rich man forever."
131
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
"I will not let you go," said Tremsin,
"until you promise to bring me the pearl
necklace of the thrice-lovely Nastasia from
the bottom of the sea."
Well, the crab did not want to promise,
but there was nothing else for it. He had
to say he would do it, and then Tremsin
lifted his cap and let him go.
The crab sidled off and disappeared in
the water and he was gone three hours.
When he came back he held the necklace in
his claws.
Tremsin took the necklace and thanked
him, and hurried away to the palace of the
nobleman.
When his master saw that he had brought
the pearl necklace he could not do enough
to show his gratitude.
But the thrice-lovely Nastasia sat in her
chamber, and would do nothing but weep
and weep.
"I will never marry any man," she said,
132
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
"until I can ride to the church on my own
fierce wild charger of the sea."
Well, there was nothing else for it; the
nobleman sent for Tremsin again. "This
one more thing you must do for me," he said.
"You must bring me the thrice-lovely
Nastasia's wild fierce charger from the sea.
Bring me that and I will make you rich for
all your life, but fail and your head shall
surely be parted from your shoulders."
Out went Tremsin to the gray steed's
stall.
"This is the last," he said. "If I can do
thus and so I will be a rich man for life,
but if I cannot I must surely die."
"Master," said the gray steed, "this is the
hardest task that has been set you yet.
Whether we can bring that fierce, wild
charger from the sea I do not know. We
can but try, but there is great danger in it."
Then the gray steed bade Tremsin go to
the town and buy twenty hides, twenty
133
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
poods of tar and twenty poods of horse-hair.
"Load them upon my back," he said, "and
drive me down to the seashore."
Tremsin went to the town and bought the
twenty hides; he bought the twenty poods
of tar and the twenty poods of horse-hair.
He loaded them on the gray horse and drove
him down to the sea.
"Master," said the gray steed, "do now
exactly as I bid you, for if you do not I
will surely perish. First of all, lay one of
the hides upon me and bind it so it will not
possibly come off. Over this spread a pood
of tar, and fasten upon it another hide.
Then another pood of tar and another hide,
and so on until all have been used. Then
I will plunge into the ocean, and as soon as
the fierce strong charger of the thrice-lovely
Nastasia sees me he will come at me and try
to tear me to pieces, but if all goes well the
hides will protect me. I will swim to the
sliore and he will follow me, and as soon as
134
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
he comes out from the water do you be stand-
ing ready and strike him upon the head with
the twenty poods of horse-hair. Imme-
diately he will become so gentle that you
may easily mount and ride him, but if you
fail in any one of these things I will be torn
to pieces, and you with me."
Tremsin promised to obey the gray steed
in everything. He fastened the hides upon
the horse's back with the tar, just as he had
been directed to do, and when it was all
finished the gray steed plunged into the sea.
Tremsin stood at the edge of the shore hold-
ing the twenty poods of horse-hair ready in
his hands.
Presently all the surface of the sea became
disturbed. It was churned into foam; great
waves arose. There was a sound of neigh-
ing, and Tremsin knew the gray steed and
the fierce wild charger of Nastasia were
fighting terribly. The wild charger would
soon have torn the gray steed to pieces, but
135
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
he could not get at him on account of the
hides.
Presently the horse of Tremsin swam to
the shore, and it was so exhausted it could
hardly drag itself from the water. The
fierce wild charger was close after it, still
biting and tearing, and it had torn all the
hides from the gray steed but one. But
Tremsin was ready. He swung the twenty
poods of horse-hair on high and struck the
charger with it.
Immediately the charger became perfectly
gentle and quiet. It stood trembling, and
the sweat poured from its sides like water.
Tremsin mounted on its back and rode away
to the house of the nobleman, and it was
so gentle that he had no need of either bit or
bridle.
When the nobleman saw him coming on
the charger he was so delighted that he called
him brother, and said that the half of all
he had should be his.
136
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
Now the thrice-lovely Nastasia could find
no excuse for putting off her marriage with
the nobleman. He had restored to her her
pearl necklace; her fierce wild charger had
been brought to her from the sea. One last
request she made, however, and then she
would marry him.
"Have filled, I pray you," she said, "three
large vats. Let the first be filled with cold
milk, the second with warm milk, and the
third with milk that is boiling hot."
The nobleman could refuse her nothing,
so he had the vats prepared as she wished,
the first with cold milk, the second with
warm, the third with milk that was boiling.
When all was ready the thrice-lovely Nas-
tasia stepped into the first vat, and when she
came out she had changed to an old, old
woman. She stepped into the second vat,
and she became a blooming young girl. She
stepped into the third vat, and when she
came out from that she was the most beau-
137
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
tiful woman that ever was seen. She shone
like the moon, and all the people could look
at no one else.
When Tremsin saw that, he too stepped
into the first vat, and came out an old man.
He stepped into the second vat and became
young again. He stepped into the third vat
and when he came out from that he was the
handsomest youth in all the world. There
never was anything like it, he was so hand-
some.
But the nobleman was filled with envy
and jealousy, and he too wished to become
the handsomest man in all the world. How-
ever, he was not willing to step into the first
vat, for he did not wish to become an old
man ; he saw no reason for stepping into the
second vat, for he was already young. He
sprang straight into the third vat, and imme-
diately the boiling milk scalded him to
death, and he never came out again.
But Tremsin married the thrice-lovely
138
THE FEATHER OF THE ZHAR BIRD
Nastasia of the sea, and they were the hand-
somest couple that ever were seen, so that
people have not done talking of them even
yeto
i.^Q
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
{From the Roman Tales)
THERE was once a merchant who was
so rich that no king could be richer.
He and his wife had one daughter
named Maria di Legno, and she was as dear
to them as the apple of the eye. Now about
the time when Maria was old enough to
think of getting married, the merchant's
wife fell ill, and feeling herself about to
die she called her husband to her.
140
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
"My dear husband," she said, "I feel that
I am near to death and it troubles me greatly
to know that Maria is about to lose a
mother's care. She is so beautiful and will
be such an heiress that she will have many
suitors. Promise me that she shall marry
no one but the man whose finger fits this
ring." She then took from her neck a little
chain to which a ring was fastened, and laid
it in her husband's hand.
Her husband could refuse her nothing.
He gave her his word that it should be as
she wished, and very soon afterward his wife
died.
It was not long before the suitors began
to come from far and near to ask for the
hand of Maria di Legno in marriage. Some
of them were very rich and powerful, and
the merchant would have been very glad to
have one of them for a son-in-law, but no
man among them could wear the ring. For
one it was too small, for another too large,
141
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
and so they were all obliged to go away
again with "no" for the answer. It seemed
as though the beautiful Maria would never
be married at this rate, and the merchant
began to repent him of his promise to his
dead wife.
At last came a suitor richer and handsomer
than any of the others. He said he was a
prince, and he brought with him a long train
of attendants, and gifts of great magnifi-
cence. The merchant took such a fancy to
him that he felt that this was the man whom
he would choose out of all the world for his
daughter to marry.
Maria, however, was very unhappy, for
she could feel nothing but fear and dislike
for the stranger.
The prince was very courteous to every
one, and smiling and anxious to please; that
was at first. But when he was told that be*
fore he could have Maria for a wife he must
try on a certain ring and see if it fitted him,
142
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
and that all depended upon that, he became
very angry.
"This is a silly thing to ask of me," he
said. "Is it not enough that I am rich and
young and that I please you? I am not a
child that I should play such a silly game as
that."
He was so angry that it seemed at first
as though he would ride away without even
looking at the ring. However, after he had
had a day to think it over he appeared as
smiling and cheerful as ever, and seemed
quite willing to submit to the test.
"After all, it was her mother's last wish,"
said he; "and besides that, I shall be very
glad to prove to you beyond a doubt that I
am the one out of all the world who ought
to marry the beautiful Maria, for I am sure
the ring will fit me."
Overjoyed, the merchant sent for the
casket in which the ring was kept, but when
he opened the lid what was his dismay to
143
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
find that the ring was gone. And now he
did not know what to do. He had promised
his dead wife that Maria should not marry
anyone who could not wear the ring, and
now if it was lost it seemed she would never
be able to marry anyone at all.
But when the prince found the merchant
was reasoning in this way he flew into a fine
rage. "What are you thinking of I" he cried.
*Tirst you tell me you will give me your
daughter for a wife if I can wear a certain
ring, and then when I am willing to stand
the test, you tell me the ring can not be
found. Is this a trick you are playing upon
me? If it is it shall cost you dear."
The merchant tried to excuse himself, but
the stranger would listen to nothing.
''Because you are so careless as to lose the
ring, is that any reason your daughter
should remain unmarried all her life?" he
asked.
"Set me three tasks to perform, no matter
144
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
how difficult. If I fail in any one of them I
will ride away with no ill-feeling, and leave
her to some more fortunate suitor; but if
I perform them all to her satisfaction then I
shall have her for a bride.
This seemed to the merchant only a fair
and just proposal, and as he was very anx-
ious for his daughter to marry the prince,
he agreed to it. But when Maria heard all
this she was in despair. She had depended
upon the ring to protect her, for she did not
believe it would ht the stranger, but now
that it was gone she feared her father would
force her into the marriage in spite of her-
self.
In her grief and dismay she bethought her
of her godmother who was an old fairy and
who lived in a forest over beyond the town.
This fairy was very wise, and Maria knew
that if anyone could help her in her trouble
she could. So that evening she wrapped
herself in a dark cloak so that no one should
145
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
know her, and stole out of the palace and
away to where the fairy lived.
She found her godmother at home, and
after Maria bid her good evening, and pre-
sented to her some little cream cakes that
she had brought with her as a gift, she be-
gan to tell her story. She told the fairy
all about her suitor, and how she feared and
detested him, and how, unless she could
think of some task that he would be un-
able to perform, she would certainly be
obliged to marry him.
The fairy listened attentively, and after
Maria had ended, she sat silent for quite a
while, thinking. At last she began, "Maria
di Legno, this is a very difficult matter.
You do well to fear this stranger, for he is a
very wicked and a very powerful magician.
He is indeed far more powerful than I, so
that I can do nothing against him, and I
fear that you will be obliged to marry him.
Still, everything that I can do to help you
146
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
I will, and you must follow my advice ex-
actly. To-morrow this evil one will come to
inquire what is the first task that you wish
him to perform. Try to appear smiling and
cheerful, and ask him to bring you as a gift
a dress woven of the stars of heaven.
This will be a very difficult thing for him
to get, and if he fails to bring it to you
he can no longer insist on your marrying
him."
Maria was more frightened than ever
when she heard that her suitor was a wicked
magician, and she promised to follow in
every respect the advice that had been given
her. Then she drew her hood over her head
and made her way home again, and so well
had she managed that no one there had any
idea she had been away at all.
The next day when the suitor came to
visit her he was delighted to find her cheer-
ful and smiling as though she were no longer
averse to him.
147
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
"Have you thought of what my first task
shall be?" he asked.
"Yes," said Maria. "I wish you to bring
me a dress woven of the stars of heaven."
As soon as the magician heard that, his
brow grew black, and he gave her a suspi-
cious look. "Someone must have told you
to ask for that," he said. "You never would
have thought of it yourself."
But he had agreed to do whatever she
might ask of him, and he could not very well
make any objections to this. He asked,
however, to be allowed three days in which
to procure the dress, and to this the mer-
chant agreed.
For three days the stranger disappeared,
and no one knew what had become of him,
but when at the end of that time, he reap-
peared, he brought the dress with him. It
was made entirely of the stars of heaven as
Maria had demanded, and was so beautiful
148
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
and shining that it was a joy to the eyes
to see it.
Maria was dismayed to find he had so
easily performed this first task, but she dis-
sembled and tried to appear delighted with
the gift; but she took the first opportunity
she could find to steal away to the forest to
visit her godmother. She told the fairy
that her suitor had been able to perform the
first task, and bring her the dress of stars,
and when the fairy heard this she looked
very grave.
*'This is a bad business," said she. "Still
there are two more tasks that you are to
set him, and for the next one tell him he
must bring you a dress woven entirely of
moonbeams. This will be even more diffi-
cult for him to procure than the other, and
it may be that he will fail to get it."
Maria promised to do as the fairy advised
her, and then stole back to her home again.
149
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
The next day the suitor came to visit her
again, and he looked as happy as though
the marriage day were already set.
"What is the next task that I am to per-
form?" he asked. "You see however difficult
the thing is I am not only willing but able
to perform it."
"I would like," said Maria di Legno, "a
dress woven entirely of moonbeams."
As soon as the magician heard that his
look changed, and he cast upon her a terrible
glance.
"Someone has told you to ask for that,"
he cried. "However, you shall have it, but
you must give me three days in which to
procure it, as you did before."
Maria would have refused this if she
dared, but her father was very willing to
allow it. For three days the magician dis-
appeared, but at the end of that time he
came again, and now it was a dress of woven
moonbeams that he brought with him. If
150
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
the other dress was beautiful this was ten
times more so. The eyes could hardly bear
to look at it, it was so bright.
Maria tried to pretend she was delighted,
but as soon as she could she stole away to see
her fairy godmother once more, and to tell
her how the second trial had come out.
The fairy listened and shook her head.
"My poor child, I fear this marriage must
be. Still there is one more task you may set
him, and this time tell him to bring you a
dress woven entirely of sunbeams. This
will be far more difficult for him to procure
than either of the others, but if he should
succeed in doing it there is no help for it,
you will be obliged to marry him."
As soon as Maria heard this she burst into
tears, but her godmother comforted her.
"Listen," said she, "even though I cannot
preserve you from this marriage, I may be
able to save you in the end. As soon as the
wedding is over the magician will take you
151
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
away in a coach to carry you to his own
country. Upon his head he will wear a vel-
vet cap, and in this cap a long feather.
Look well at the feather, for slipped over it
is the magic ring. It is he who stole it from
the casket, for he knew it would not fit him,
and he feared to stand the test. After you
are married to him, however, he will no
longer be afraid to let you see he has it. You
must manage in some way to get this ring
from him, for if you succeed in escaping
finally you will have need of it. And now
listen further to what you must do." The
fairy then told Maria that she would make a
hollow wooden figure of an old woman
for her. This she would hide in a certain
spot in the forest near to which the magi-
cian's coach must pass. Just before they
reached this place, Maria must make some
excuse to leave the coach, and must hide
herself in the wooden figure. She might
then safely walk wherever she wished to go,
152
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
for even if the magician met her he would
certainly never guess that the figure of that
ugly old woman contained his bride.
Maria thanked the fairy with tears of
gratitude, and hastened home, and this time,
too, nobody guessed that she had been
away.
Soon the magician came to ask her what
she would set him as a third task.
"I wish you to bring me another dress,"
said Maria, "and this time it is to be made
entirely of sunbeams."
When the magician heard this the blood
rushed to his face, and his eyes became like
hot coals.
"You are not the one who thought of
this," he cried. "You shall have it, but if
I did but know who was back of this wish
of yours he should suffer for it, whoever he
IS.
Maria was left trembling with fear, and
for three days the magician was not seen
153
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEG:N O
by anyone. At the end of that time he re-
appeared, and this time it was the dress of
sunbeams that he had brought back with him.
If the others had been beautiful this was far
beyond them, and it was so bright that the
pages who carried it could hardly bear the
light of it in their eyes.
And now Maria could make no further
delay, she must marry the prince whether or
no. A magnificent wedding was prepared
for, and although Maria was very sad she
looked so beautiful that the magician could
hardly control his joy at the thought that
he was to have her for a wife.
Immediately after they were married they
entered a coach drawn by six coal-black
horses and drove away toward the forest,
for that was the direction in which lay the
magician's country.
They rode along, and rode along, but all
the while the bride kept looking out of the
window instead of at her bridegroom.
154
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
*'What are you looking at^" he asked at
last, quite out of patience with her.
"I am looking at the beautiful flowers
along the way. Do stop and gather some
for me, and I will make a wreath for my
hair, and another for your cap."
The magician was very anxious to please
her, so he alighted immediately and gave
his cap into the hands of Maria di Legno,
and began to gather flowers for her along
the way. She made a wreath for her hair
and another for his cap, but before she
handed it back to him she managed, without
its being noticed, to slip the ring from the
feather and hide it in her pocket.
Then they rode on again, and by the time
they were well in the forest it was growing
dark. Hundreds of fireflies flickered about
among the trees, and Maria exclaimed how
bright they were. Finally one passed so
much larger and brighter than any of the
others that it was like a star. "Look ! look I"
155
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
cried Maria. ''How beautiful that is. My
dear husband, I do beg and entreat of you
to catch that one for me if you can."
Again the prince, anxious to please her,
stopped the coach, and alighting, ran away
among the trees in pursuit of the firefly.
No sooner was he out of sight than Maria,
too, sprang to the ground, and hastened to
the spot where the fairy had told her she
would find the wooden figure. She quickly
discovered it behind some bushes, and
opened the little hinged door in its back.
The moment this was opened a soft light
shone through the forest, for the fairy had
put Maria's three beautiful dresses inside
the figure, and they shown so that every-
thing around was lighted up. The figure
was hollowed out in such a way that there
was room inside it for Maria and the dresses
too.
Maria stepped inside and closed the door
156
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
and immediately the forest grew dark again.
Then she arranged a shawl about the figure
so that the door would not show, took a staff
in her hand and hobbled away through the
forest, for the figure was made in such a
way that it would move almost as easily as
a real body.
All this time the magician had been pur-
suing the firefly. It led him this way and
that but always away from the coach. It
did not fly fast, and several times he
thought he had it, but it always slipped
through his fingers. The fact was the fire-
fly was really the fairy who had taken this
shape in order to lure him away through
the forest and give Maria a chance to es-
cape.
Suddenly a soft light shown through the
forest and then died away. By that the
fairy knew that Maria had found the figure
and had stepped inside and closed the door.
157
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
Then the firefly disappeared altogether,
leaving the magician there alone in the dark-
ness.
He made his way back to the coach in a
very bad humor. "I could not catch the fire-
fly," said he in a gruff voice; "I only suc-
ceeded in bruising myself against the trees."
There was no answer. "Do you not hear?"
cried he angrily. "I tell you I am black
and blue with bruises, and all because you
were silly enough to want a firefly." Still
there was no answer, and the magician
looked inside the coach. No one was there.
Then he understood that he had been
tricked, and he was in a fine rage. He ran
about through the forest like a wild thing,
peering and searching for his lost bride, and
it would have been an ill thing for her if
he had found her then. At last he came
upon an old woman hobbling along with a
staff in her hand, and a shawl about her
shoulders.
iS8
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
"Tell me, old woman," he cried, "have you
iSeen a beautiful young girl anywhere in the
forest? A beautiful young girl dressed as
a bride?"
"I have seen no one but you," mumbled
the old crone. "Not a living soul but you,"
and she hobbled on still mumbling to her-
self.
The magician did not waste another
glance upon her, for he never dreamed the
beautiful young Maria was hidden inside
that ugly old figure, but she was almost dead
with fear lest he should guess it. He was
filled with rage and despair, and rushing
back to the coach he threw himself into it
and was driven away like mad, and that
was the last of him as far as Maria was con-
cerned.
All that night Maria hobbled on, but to-
ward morning she was so tired that she lay
down under a tree and went to sleep. Shr
had no fear, for robbers would never di;'
159
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
turb one who looked as old and poor as she,
and as for wild animals she was protected
from them by the wooden figure in which
she lay.
She slept then quietly for quite a while,
but in the early morning she was awakened
by the barking of dogs, and the sound of a
horn. The prince of that country had come
into the forest to hunt, and he and all his
retinue were riding in her direction at full
speed.
She struggled to her feet, but she was
hardly up before the dogs burst through the
bushes and threw her to the ground again.
And now came the horses and riders; the
young prince had almost ridden over Maria
before he saw her and could stop his horse.
However he managed to draw rein before
she was touched, and then he said to his at-
tendants, "Look at this poor old woman.
Either the dogs have hurt her or else she has
fainted from fear." And indeed Maria was
1 60
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
so frightened that she could neither move
nor speak.
The prince was very tender-hearted. He
caused his attendants to lift her up and put
her on the saddle in front of him. "There,
there, mother," said he; "I believe you are
more frightened than hurt. Tell me where
you live and I will take you home, for you
do not seem able to walk."
"Alas 1 1 have no home to go to," answered
Maria in a sorrowful voice.
"So old, and homeless, too," cried the
prince. "If that is the case I will even
carry you back with me to the palace, for
you cannot be left here to die. There must
be some work that you can do there in the
kitchen or scullery, and you will at least
be sure of food and shelter."
Maria was only too thankful to be taken
with him, for she did not dare to brave her
father's anger by returning to his house, and
there seemed no other place for her to go.
i6i
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
The prince still kept her on his horse in
front of him, and rode back with her to the
palace, and there she was handed over to the
servants. They were ill-pleased enough to
see her, too.
"Why is an old crone like this brought
here," they muttered among themselves.
"She is too old to work, and yet we will
have to share what little we have with her."
"Never mind," said the steward. "It is
the prince's pleasure that she should remain
here, and we will find something for her
to do. If nothing better she can help the
scullery maid with the pots and pans."
So the beautiful Maria di Legno became
the servant of servants, and cleaned pots and
pans, and was scolded and sent upon er-
rands. Sometimes the maids even struck
her, but this they soon learned not to do,
for it hurt their hands. "You are a very
strange old woman," they would say. "In
162
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
spite of your age your flesh is so hard that
bone itself could not be harder."
Now after Maria had been at the palace
for a few months the time of the carnival
came round. The carnival was to be more
magnificent this year than ever before, for
the parents of the prince were anxious for
him to choose a bride, and it might be that
his choice would fall upon someone among
the noble guests. Queens and princesses
and ladies of rank came from far and near,
and such magnificent clothes were hardly
ever seen before. The prince was courteous
to them all, but he did not seem to distin-
guish anyone above the others.
For the last three days of this carnival
anyone was allowed to appear at it, even the
palace servants if they chose. They did
choose, and so when the first of these three
days arrived there was a great stir and bus-
tling and running to and fro in the kitchen.
163
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
No one had any thought for the old woman
who helped the scullery wench, and so no
one noticed when she stole away by herself
to the miserable loft where she slept. She
took with her a jug of hot water, and after
she had fastened the door and made sure
she was alone she opened the figure and
stepped out. First she washed herself and
arranged her beautiful hair. Then she drew
from the figure the dress of stars, and after
she had put it on she was the most beau-
tiful creature that was ever seen.
The ball was at its height when she ap-
peared, and many beautiful ladies were
there in silks and jewels, but Maria far out-
shone them all. Everyone stared and
whispered, but she was at once so beautiful
and so stately that no one dared to approach
or question her. Only the prince felt priv-
ileged, by his high rank to speak to her and
ask her hand for the dance.
When she answered him her voice was so
164
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
soft, and her glance so modest, that the
prince's heart went out to her, and he could
think of no one else. When they danced
together everyone said that such a hand-
some couple had never been seen before.
Before the ball ended Maria found an op-
portunity to slip away unseen. Hastening
to her room she took off her beautiful dress
and packed it away inside the figure. Then
entering into it herself she closed it up and
lay down to sleep.
The next day there was no talk all through
the palace except about the beautiful
stranger who had appeared at the ball the
night before. Some thought she must be a
fairy, and others that she was some great
queen who had managed to arrive there un-
announced; all were anxious to know
whether she would reappear at the ball that
evening.
The prince was not the least anxious per-
son in the palace. He thought of his beau-
I6S
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
tiful partner all day, and longed so to see
her that he could neither eat nor rest.
That night the ball was again at its height
before Maria di Legno arrived. She was
clothed this time in her dress of moonbeams,
and was so beautiful that when she entered
there was a general sigh of wonder.
The prince who had been watching the
door with impatience hurried to her side im-
mediately and claimed her hand for the
dance. That evening he tried in every way
to find out who she was, but always she put
him off with a smile and a word, and that
night she managed to slip away, unperceived
as before.
The last night of the carnival arrived, and
with it appeared the beautiful Maria di
Legno. This time she wore her dress made
of sunlight, and was beautiful and bright
beyond all words, so that the prince was be-
side himself with admiration. Again he
begged her to tell him who she was and
1 66
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
whence she came, but she would not. One
thing however gave the prince some hope
that she did not mean to forsake him entirely
when the carnival should be over. She drew
from her bosom a ring, and begged him to
try it on, telling him that no one, so far, had
ever been able to wear it. The prince
slipped it on, and it fitted his finger exactly;
it could not have fitted better if it had been
made for him. Then the eyes of the beauti-
ful stranger shone with joy, but she took
the ring again and hid it in the bosom of
her dress.
Maria meant to slip away unperceived this
night as she had the two nights before, but
the prince had determined that this should
not be. He had told the palace guards to
be on the watch, and not to let her escape
without following her. He himself scarcely
left her for a moment. However, toward
the end of the evening he was obliged to
turn away to acknowledge the greeting
167
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
of some nobleman, and when he looked
around again she was gone. She had
slipped away the moment he had turned his
head, and had hastened into a long gallery
that seemed to be deserted, but looking be-
hind she saw that the guards were following
her. She hurried on but soon she found they
did not mean to lose sight of her, and now
she was almost in despair.
About her neck she wore a necklace of
pearls which her father had given her, and
as a last hope she broke the cord that held
them and scattered them on the floor. When
the guards saw the pearls rolling this way
and that beneath their feet they could not
resist stooping to pick them up and while
they were doing this Maria managed to es-
cape them and reach her room in safety.
She quickly hid her shining dress and shut
herself in the figure and then threw herself
down on her hard and narrow bed to sleep.
The next morning when the sleepy servants
i68
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
were busy with their work there was the old
woman scrubbing pots and pans in the
scullery as usual, and no one could possibly
have dreamed that she was the beauty of
the night before.
As for the young prince, when he found
the beautiful stranger had disappeared and
left no trace behind her he was so filled with
grief and disappointment that he fell des-
perately ill. Doctors came from far and
near to attend him, but they could do noth-
ing for him. He remained sunk in melan-
choly, and at last the queen mother began to
fear that unless some remedy was found he
would die from sorrow.
All this was talked about in the kitchen,
and when Maria heard how the prince was
pining away for love of the beautiful
stranger she made up her mind that it was
time for her to make herself known. There-
fore one day when the other servants were
not looking she made a little cake, and in
169
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
it she hid the magic ring that the prince had
tried upon his finger that last night of the
carnival. Then she caused word to be
carried to the queen mother's ears that it was
said by an old woman in the kitchen that
she could cure the prince if they would only
let her try.
At first the queen mother paid no atten-
tion to this talk but as day after day
passed and her son grew no better, in de-
spair she sent for the old woman to come
to her.
Maria put the little cake upon a golden
plate, and carrying it in her hand went to
attend the queen.
She found her majesty seated in a room
with all her attendants around her, and as
soon as she entered the queen began: "Old
woman, it has been brought to my ears that
you have said you can cure the prince. Is
this true?"
"Yes, your majesty," answered Maria.
170
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
"It certainly is true that I said it, and it is
also true that I and I alone can do it."
*'That is a brave boast for you to make,"
said the queen. "And what would you ad-
vise us to do for him?"
"Here is a cake which I have made my-
self," said Maria, "and in it is something
which will surely cure him. That is, it
will cure him if he eats the whole of the cake.
If however even the smallest portion is
thrown away all its virtue will be lost, and
it will do him harm rather than good." This
she said because she was afraid that if a
part of the cake were thrown away the ring
might be in it.
When the attendants heard the old woman
say all this so gravely they began to laugh,
for it sounded very silly. The queen mother
however rebuked them and bade them be
silent. "These old women," she said, "often
know remedies that are unknown to the
doctors. There may really be some virtue
171
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
in this cake that will restore our son if he
will but eat it."
She then bade the old woman leave the
cake and presently she carried it in to the
prince with her own hands.
She found him stretched on a couch before
the window, gazing out at the sky with a
melancholy air. She sat down by his side
and asked him how he did, and then she
showed him the little cake she had brought
with her, and told him how the old woman
had declared that if he would but eat it he
would certainly be cured.
The prince heard her listlessly, and
when she had ended he answered in a weak
voice, "There is only one thing that can
cure me, and that is to find some trace of
the beautiful stranger, and indeed unless I
can hope to see her again sometime, I do not
care to live."
"Do but try the cake, however," said his
mother persuasively. "See it is very small
172
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
and light. I will break off a piece for you."
So saying she broke a piece from the cake
to give to him, but what was her surprise
to see there in the piece a golden ring.
"This is certainly a very strange thing,"
she cried. ''Here is a ring in the cake."
"A ring I" the prince repeated. He
raised himself on his elbow to look, and no
sooner had he taken it in his hand than he
started up with a loud cry of joy. "Where
did you get the cake^" he cried. "Who
brought it to you?" for he at once recog-
nized the ring as the one the beautiful
stranger had had.
"It was brought me by an old woman who
works in the kitchen; Maria di Legno they
call her."
"Let her be brought here at once," cried
the prince.
An attendant was sent to summon Maria
and while he waited the prince strode up
and down the room holding the ring in his
^7Z
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
hand and unable to control his impatience.
Maria had been expecting this summons,
and she had managed meanwhile to arrange
her hair, and dress herself in her sunlight
dress, and hide in the figure again; and so it
was as the homely old woman that she ap-
peared before the prince once more.
"Tell me, old woman," he cried, "was it
you who put this ring in the cake?"
"It was," answered Maria.
"And do you know to whom it belongs?"
"I do."
"Then tell me instantly where she is,"
cried the prince, filled with hope.
"I am she," answered Maria.
When the prince heard this he thought the
old woman must be mad, but Maria opened
the door and stepped out from the figure in
all her brightness and beauty. Then the
heart of the prince seemed like to break with
joy. He fell upon one knee and took Maria
by the hand. "At last you have come," cried
174
THE BEAUTIFUL MARIA DI LEGNO
he. "And now you shall never leave me
again, for you and you only out of all the
world shall be my bride."
To this Maria gladly assented, for she had
loved him from the first moment when he
had found her in the wood.
She told her story, and after the king and
queen found who she was they were very
willing to have her for their daughter-in-
law. She and the prince were married with
great magnificence, and lived happily ever
after, and the wooden figure they kept to
show to their children and their children's
children.
175
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
THREE SISTERS
(From the Italian)
ONCE upon a time the Evil One made
up his mind that he would like to
get married, so he changed himself
into a handsome young man; he mounted a
coal-black steed; and away he rode to the
city to find a wife for himself.
In this city lived a merchant who had
three daughters, and they were so beautiful
that each one was said to be handsomer than
the others.
The Evil One soon made acquaintance
176
EACH ONE WAS SAID TO BE HANDSOMER THAN THE OTHERS
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
with the merchant, and in a short time pro-
posed for the hand of his eldest daugh-
ter.
The girl was delighted at the idea of hav-
ing him for a husband, for she thought him
the handsomest man she had ever seen.
The father gave his consent, and the mar-
riage was celebrated with great feasting
and rejoicing.
Afterward the Evil One and his bride en-
tered a coach and drove away together.
They went on and on until they had left the
city and had driven through a lonely forest,
and as soon as they had passed that they
came to a most magnificent house which the
Evil One had raised up for himself.
The coach drew up before the door and he
helped his bride to alight. "This is my
home," said he, "and as long as you are my
true and obedient wife all the treasures it
contains are yours."
The girl was overcome with joy at the
177
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
sight of his magnificent possessions, and
when he led her in and through one hand-
some room after another she could hardly
control her pride and delight. Afterward
he showed her through the gardens, and the
flowers were so many and various that she
had never seen the like before.
The Evil One and his bride now lived
very happily together for a month, but at
the end of that time he told the girl that he
was obliged to go away on a journey and
that he would not return for three days.
During that time she must amuse herself as
best she could. She might go all over the
house and examine the treasures that were
in it, and he gave her a great bunch of keys
which were the keys of the different rooms.
One door alone she must not open, and that
was the Red door at the end of the passage.
If she opened this, even so much as a crack,
^reat misfortune would follow.
He then kissed his bride and bade hei
178
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
farewell, but before leaving he gave her a
bunch of flowers, and begged her to wear it
while he was away.
After he had gone the girl fastened the
flowers in the bosom of her dress, and then
she began to open the different doors in the
house and to go through the rooms, for many
of them she had never seen before. She was
amazed at the treasures she found in them,
and began to think her husband must be the
richest man in all the world.
She amused herself very well for two
days, and during that time the flowers upon
her bosom remained as fresh as when her
husband had first given them to her.
But by the time the third day came the
girl had seen everything there was in the
house except what lay behind the Red door.
As she had nothing to do except wonder
about that she grew more and more curious.
''It must be some treasure more magnificent
than all the rest," she said to herself, "and
179
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
which my husband intends to surprise me
with. It would surely do no harm if I just
took one peep at it."
She put the key in the door and turned
it. Immediately, and in spite of all she
could do to hold it, the door swung wide
open, and she saw at her feet a pit filled
with fire. She sprang back, but before she
could close the door a flame leaped up and
scorched the flowers upon her bosom so that
they hung black and dead.
Frightened out of her senses the girl man-
aged to shut the door and lock it. The first
thing she did was to take off the flowers and
hide them, and then she went out to the gar-
den to gather a fresh bunch before her hus-
band's return. She hunted everywhere, but
nowhere could she find flowers such as he
had given her.
While she was still searching she heard
him riding up to the door and she was
obliged to go out to meet him.
1 80
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
As soon as the Evil One saw her he asked,
"Have you opened the Red door*?"
"No," answered the girl, and she trembled
so that she could hardly stand.
"Then where are the flowers I gave you'?"
"They withered because they had no
water, and so I threw them away."
"That is false," cried the Evil One; "you
have disobeyed me, and you shall be pun-
ished as you deserve." And with that he
caught hold of the girl and threw her into
the pit.
Then he mounted his black charger and
rode away to the merchant's house.
The merchant was delighted to see him
and began to enquire about his daughter.
The Evil One put on a very mournful
look. "My dear wife is dead," he said,
"and I am so lonely that I can scarcely bear
it. Give me, I beg of you, your second
daughter for a wife, that she may take her
sister's place in my house and comfort me."
i8i
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
The merchant was very much grieved to
hear of his daughter's death, but he felt pity
for the Evil One, and as his second daugh-
ter was willing he gave her to him as a wife.
As soon as they were married they got into
a coach and drove away together.
When they reached the house of the Evil
One the new bride was as much delighted
with it as her sister had been. They went
inside and she could not admire enough all
the magnificence she saw.
She and her husband lived together very
happily for a month, and at the end of that
time he told her he was obliged to go on a
long journey, and he would not be able to
return for three days. However, he told her
she might amuse herself while he was away
by going over the house. He gave her the
keys of all the rooms, and said she might go
into any of them; only the Red door at the
end of the long passage she must not open
on any account.
182
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
The girl promised, and then after bidding
her good-by the Evil One rode away, but to
her, too, before leaving, he gave a bunch of
flowers, and begged her to wear it until he
returned.
After he had gone the girl began to go
through the house, and when she saw all the
treasures that were in it she could hardly
restrain her joy. She examined the furni-
ture and statues and the ornaments of gold
and silver.
At the end of two days she had opened
every door in the house except the Red door.
She began to wonder what was behind it,
and though she tried to occupy herself with
other things she grew more and more curi-
ous. At last she could restrain her curiosity
no longer.
"I will only open the door a crack," she
thought, "and will just peep in, and my hus-
band need never know it."
She put the key in the lock and turned it,
183
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
and immediately the door swung wide open.
The girl could not hold it.
Below her lay a pit of fire, and in it was
her sister, and before she could step back or
move, a flame leaped up and burned the flow-
ers on her bosom to a crisp.
The girl was frightened to death, for now
she knew the man she had married was the
Evil One himself.
She managed to shut the door at last, and
the first thing she did was to throw the flow-
ers away. Then she went out in the gar-
den to gather a fresh bunch. She hunted
everywhere, but no place could she find any
in the least like those that had been burned.
While she was still hunting her husband
came home; she was afraid to have him find
her in the garden, and so she went out to
meet him.
The first thing he asked her was, ''Where
are the flowers I gave you to wear?"
"They fell from my bosom while I was out
184
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
walking, and I have not been able to find
them."
"That is not true," cried the Evil One in
a terrible voice. "You have opened the
Red door and the flowers are burned."
"No," cried the girl half fainting with ter-
ror. But with no more words the Evil One
caught hold of her and threw her down into
the pit with her sister.
He locked the door upon them and
mounted his coal-black charger and rode
back to the merchant's house.
As soon as the merchant saw him from the
window he came out to meet him. "Has
any misfortune happened to my dear daugh-
ter T' he cried.
The Evil One began to lament. "Alas,
she is dead," he said, "and I am left so
lonely that it seems as though I could not
bear it."
In the end the merchant gave the Evil
One his third daughter for a wife, though it
185
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
broke his heart to part with her, for she was
his youngest daughter and dearer to him than
either of the others.
The Evil One married her, and they got
in the coach and drove away together.
When the new bride saw the magnificent
house he lived in, she was no less pleased
with it than her sisters had been.
For a month she and her husband lived
there very happily, and then he told her he
was obliged to go away on a long journey,
and would be gone three days. He gave her
the keys of the house, and told her she might
go into any of the rooms she chose. Only
the Red door at the end of the long passage
she must not open on any account.
The new bride promised, and her husband
gave her a bunch of flowers, which he
begged her to wear while he was gone.
Then he rode away.
The girl watched him until he was out of
sight, and then the very first thing she did
1 86
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
was to put the flowers in a glass of water,
that she might keep them fresh until he came
back.
After that she began to amuse herself by
going over the house and seeing what it con-
tained.
For two days she was very busy in this
way, but at the end of that time she had
seen everything, and began to wonder what
was behind the Red door.
She stood it as long as she could and then
she put the key in the lock and turned it.
Immediately the door swung open. What
was the girl's horror to see at her feet a
chasm of fire, and in it her two dear sisters
whom she had thought were dead.
As soon as they saw her they cried aloud,
"Alas, alas! What have you done I You
have opened the Red door and now you, too,
will be thrown into this pit of fire as we
were."
"No, my dear sisters," said the girl.
187
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
"Reach me your hands and I will help you
out, and then we will find some way to es-
cape from the power of this Evil One."
The sisters reached her their hands and she
managed to pull them out, first one and then
the other. After they had kissed each other
and wept together the youngest sister hid
the others away in her closet among her
clothes. And none too soon, for already she
heard her husband at the door.
She made haste to pin the flowers he had
given her upon the bosom of her dress, and
then she went out to meet him.
The first thing the Evil One said was,
"Did you open the Red door?"
"No, I did not open it," answered the girl.
The Evil One looked, and she had the
flowers upon her bosom, and they were as
fresh as when he had given them to her.
Then he believed her, and he could not do
enough to show how delighted he was with
her. He showered gifts upon her, and there
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
was nothing she might not have had for the
asking.
So they lived for awhile, apparently in
great peace, and the young wife kept her sis-
ters hidden, so that the Evil One suspected
nothing. One day she said to her husband,
"I would like to send a present to my father,
so that he may know how prosperous I am,
but I have no chest suitable to send it in."
The Evil One immediately said he would
have one made, and she told him the shape
and size she wished it. It was to be of heavy
wood, bound round with iron, and such and
such a size. When it was finished it was
big enough for a person to get in it and to
have room to lie there.
When the chest was brought home the
young wife had it taken to her room, and
after she had locked the door she bade her
eldest sister climb into the chest and then
she closed the lid and fastened it.
Then she called her husband. "Carry this
189
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
to my father's house," she said, "and what-
ever you do, do not open the lid nor look
in it. I will be watching you from my win-
dow, and if you attempt to do that I shall
surely see you."
The Evil One took the chest and started
off with it, but he had a great deal of curi-
osity, and he wondered what his wife was
sending to her father to make the chest so
heavy. He waited, however, until he was
well out of sight of the house, and then he
put down the chest and prepared to open it.
The girl inside called out, "I see what you
are doing I I see what you are doing I"
The Evil One thought it was his wife at
home, who was calling after him. "My wife
certainly has a keen sight," he thought to
himself; but he picked up the chest again
and went on with it.
When he reached the merchant's house he
did not knock nor wait to see anyone. He
opened the door and threw the chest inside«
190
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
''Merchant, here is a present my wife sent
you," he called out. Then he shut the door
and went on home.
You may imagine the joy of the good
merchant when he opened the chest and
found his eldest daughter inside it alive and
well.
Not long after the wife said to her hus-
band, "I would like to send another present
to my father."
The Evil One was willing, for he could
refuse her nothing, so she had another chest
made exactly like the first, and in this she
put her second sister.
When all was ready she called her hus-
band and bade him take the chest and carry
it to her father. "And whatever you do, be
sure you do not open it on the way," she
said. "I shall be watching from my win-
dow, and if you do I shall certainly see
you.
The Evil One took up the chest and
191
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
started off with it. This time he waited un-
til he was in the middle of the wood before
he attempted to open it. No sooner had he
put it down, however, and laid his hand on
the lid than the girl inside called out:
"I see what you are doing I I see what
you are doing I"
"My wife certainly can see farther than
anyone in the world," thought the Evil One.
Then he took up the chest and went on
again.
When he reached the merchant's house he
threw the chest inside the door. "Merchant,
your daughter sends you this present," he
called out, and home he went again.
Now, some time after this the wife would
send a third present to her father, and the
Evil One was willing, so she had a third
chest made exactly like the other two. She
said to her husband, "Very soon the chest
will be ready, and then I will call you.
Carry it carefully, and do not open it on the
192
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
way, for I will be out on my balcony this
time and will see you if you do."
As soon as the girl was alone she made a
figure and dressed it in her clothes and set it
out on the balcony. She put a quantity of
the Evil One's treasure into the chest, and
got in herself and called to her husband.
He came in and there stood the chest all
ready for him, with the lid closed. He
picked it up and it was heavier than either
of the others, so heavy that the sweat ran
down his face.
He started off with it, and when he was a
little way from the house he looked back.
There was the figure sitting on the balcony,
and the Evil One thought it was his wife.
"Yes, there she is watching me," he said,
"and her eyes are so keen that if I do but sit
down to rest my back she will see me."
He went on with the chest, and this time
he made no attempt to open it. He threw
the chest inside the merchant's door and
193
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
called out, "Merchant, here is another pres-
ent your daughter sends you;" and then he
went on home again.
When the merchant opened the chest and
found his third daughter in it he was beside
himself with joy. The three sisters em-
braced each other tenderly, and the young-
est divided the treasure equally, so that each
one had enough to give her a rich dowry.
But the Evil One went on home, and by
the time he reached there he was very hun-
gry. He called to his wife to come and give
him his supper, but there was no answer.
He called her again, and then in a rage he
went out onto the balcony where the figure
was sitting. "Will you come when I call
you or will you not?" he cried.
Still the figure made no answer. The
Evil One laid his hand on its shoulder and
gave it a shake, and as soon as he did that it
all fell to pieces, and he saw the trick that
had been played upon him. Raging he
194
THE EVIL ONE WHO MARRIED
rushed about everywhere, but he could find
only his wife's empty jewel boxes.
"She has left me," he cried, "and taken
my treasures with her."
He leaped upon his charger and rode away
like the wind, determined to demand his
wife of the merchant, but when he drew near
the house he saw all three of the sisters sit-
ting out on the balcony together. As soon
as he appeared they began to mock at him
and taunt him.
The thought of three wives at once was
too much for the Evil One. In his rage and
disappointment he suddenly burst and dis-
appeared in fire and smoke, and since that
time he has never been seen again.
195
THE FAITHFUL DOG
{From the Japanese)
THERE were once a man and his wife
who were so poor that they scarcely
knew from one time to another
whether they would have enough to eat.
One day the man found a starving dog
near the house and brought it home with
him. "Look I" said he to his wife. "Here
is one even more unfortunate than ourselves.
See whether you cannot find something in
the house for it to eat, for unless you do it
will surely die."
The woman hunted about and found a
196
THE FAITHFUL DOG
handful of rice, which she cooked and gave
to the dog. After it had eaten it grew
stronger, and began to play about and show
such pretty tricks that the poor couple were
delighted with it.
After this it lived with them in the house
and they became very fond of it. What lit-
tle they had they shared with it, and it grew
strong and glossy.
One day the poor couple went out to walk
in the garden, and the dog, as usual, fol-
lowed close to them. When they came to
a certain corner, however, it left them
and began to scratch at the ground and
bark.
"Look!" cried the woman. "Something
must certainly be buried there. I wonder
what it can be*?"
The man called the dog, but it would not
leave the corner, and only looked at him and
barked again.
"Something must indeed be there," said
197
THE FAITHFUL DOG
the man to his wife. "I will run to our
neighbor's house and borrow a spade, and
dig down until I find what it is."
So saying he hurried away to the neigh-
bor's, and asked him to lend him a spade.
"What do you wish to do with it'?" asked
the neighbor, who was a very inquisitive
man.
"I wish to dig in a corner of my garden,
for I think my dog has found something
there."
The neighbor lent him the spade, and him-
self went over to the garden to see whether
the good man would find anything.
When the dog saw his master return and
make ready to dig, he stood aside, wagging
his tail with joy.
The man had not dug far when his spade
struck something hard, and this, when it was
uncovered, proved to be a chest of gold.
The good couple were overcome with joy at
the sight of such a treasure. They almost
198
OVERCOMK WITH JOY AT THE SIGHT OF SUCH A TREASURE
THE FAITHFUL DOG
lost their senses, and even embraced the dog
in their delight.
So happy were they that they did not no-
tice that the neighbor had turned green with
envy. "That is a valuable dog," he said to
them at last. "What will you sell him
for?'
"Sell him!" cried the good man. "There
is not enough gold in all the world to buy
him. The only good fortune that has ever
come to us has come through him."
"Then at least lend him to me," said the
neighbor. "Surely you would not keep all
the good fortune to yourselves. It may be
that he will find a chest of gold for me in my
garden."
The good people were willing to do this,
so the envious neighbor fastened a piece of
rope about the dog's neck and led him home
with him, and he and his wife took the dog
out in the garden and walked up and down
and around with him just as the good couple
199
THE FAITHFUL DOG
had done. They were obliged to keep the
rope about the dog's neck and drag him
along, for they had so often before this
thrown hard words and harder stones at him
that he would not go with them willingly.
But though he was obliged to follow be-
cause of the rope he would not bark nor even
sniff about, and at last the envious neighbor
grew so angry that he killed the dog and
buried it under a plane tree in the garden.
The good man waited and waited for the
neighbor to bring back the dog, but as he did
not do so he went over after a few days to
ask for it.
Then the envious neighbor told him he had
killed it and buried it under the plane tree.
The good man was filled with grief when
he heard that his dog was dead. Sadly he
returned to his wife and told her what had
happened, and they sat down and wept to-
gether as though indeed it had been a child
that had died.
200
THE FAITHFUL DOG
But that night the man had a wonderful
dream, and his wife also dreamed, and the
dreams were exactly the same. In the
dreams the dog appeared to them, and said,
"Go; ask the neighbor to give you the plane
tree beneath which I am buried and make of
it a mortar and pestle, and whatever
you grind with them shall be changed to
gold."
When the good couple awoke they began
each one to tell the other of the dream, and
they were filled with wonder to find that
their dreams were both the same. "This is
very wonderful," said the man, "and I am
sure they must be true dreams, or the dog
would not have appeared to us both."
So as soon as he arose he went over to the
neighbor's and begged and entreated him to
give him the plane tree. The envious man
refused, but after a time he agreed to sell it
to the good man for ten pieces of gold.
The man paid him, and then cut down the
20 1
THE FAITHFUL DOG
plane tree and dragged it home, and made
of it a mortar and pestle.
As soon as this was done he put a hand-
ful of rice in the mortar and began to grind
it, and under the pestle all the rice was
changed to gold. Now the good people
were rich indeed. They could grind out
gold at any time until their arms grew tired.
They bought fine clothes, and good things to
eat and everything their hearts could desire.
It was not long before the news of all this
came to the ears of the envious neighbor.
He went over to the house of the good man
and began to rage and storm at him. "This
is a pretty way to treat me I" he cried.
"You come to me and beg for my plane tree
and because of my good heart I cannot re-
fuse you, and you only pay me ten pieces of
gold for what is worth more than a thousand.
At least lend the mortar and pestle to me for
a day, that I may grind out some money^
too."
202
THE FAITHFUL DOG
The good man was willing to do this, so
he lent the mortar and pestle to the envious
neighbor who carried them away with him.
As soon as he reached home he put a hand-
ful of rice into the mortar and began to
grind it, but when he and his wife looked,
it had all turned into ill-smelling filth.
The envious man was beside himself with
rage, and taking an ax he chopped the
mortar and pestle into pieces, and threw
them into the fire.
The good man waited and waited in vain
for his neighbor to return the mortar, and
at last went over to ask for it.
''I have burned it," said the envious man.
"It only filled the house with filth, and at
any rate it was made of my plane tree and
I had a right to do with it as I wished."
The good man returned to his wife very
sorrowful, for lost now was all further hope
of riches. But that night the couple again
dreamed. In their dreams the dog ap-
203
THE FAITHFUL DOG
peared to them and told them the man must
go to the neighbor and ask him for the ashes
of the mortar and pestle. "Take a hand-
ful of these ashes, and fling them over any
tree," said the dog, "and even although it
is dead, and has been dead many years, it
will burst into bloom.
The next morning the man arose in haste,
and went over to the neighbor's house, and
begged him to give him the ashes of the
mortar and pestle.
"There they are," said the envious man
contemptuously. "You may gather them
up if you choose, and much good may they
do you."
The good man gathered them up very
carefully, and carried them home. To test
them he took up a handful and flung it over
a withered branch in his garden. Imme-
diately the branch burst forth into bloom;
the whole garden was filled with the per-
fume of the flowers.
204
THE FAITHFUL DOG
The man then put the ashes in a bag and
started out with them; he went about
through the country throwing handfuls of
ashes over dead trees and bringing them to
life, and in this way he earned a great deal
of money.
At last the prince of the country heard of
all this, and sent for the man to come to the
palace, and began to question him. "Is it
true," he asked, "that you can bring dead
trees to life and make them blossom, as I
have heard?"
"That is indeed no more than the truth,"
answered the man.
"It is a thing I should greatly like to see,"
said the prince. "I have in my garden a
tree that has lately died, from what cause
I do not know. If you can do as you say
and cause it to break forth into blossom I
will reward you well, but if you fail, you
shall be punished as a boaster and a cheat."
The man was then taken into a magnif-
ies
THE FAITHFUL DOG
icent garden, and the prince and his suite
went with him to witness the spectacle.
The man was shown the tree, and the
branches were indeed as dry and lifeless as
though they had been of stone. The man
climbed up it, and when he had gone as
high as he could he opened his bag and took
out a handful of ashes and scattered them
around. Almost immediately small buds
appeared on the branches; they grew and
swelled and then burst forth into rosy
bloom. So heavy were the clusters of
blossoms that the man in the tree was quite
hidden by them.
The prince was filled with admiration,;
and so much pleased that he gave the man a
bag of gold, and praised him beyond
measure.
Now when the neighbor heard of the fresh
good fortune that had befallen the other, he
was more envious than ever. He sent word
206
THE FAITHFUL DOG
to the prince that he, too, could cause dead
trees to blossom, and at that the prince bade
the envious neighbor come to the palace.
He hoped to see again as fine a sight as the
good man had shown him.
The prince and all his suite as before ac-
companied the envious man to a garden
where there was another dead tree. The
envious man had his bag of ashes with him,
and he climbed up among the branches and
settled himself in a crotch. The prince and
his attendants stood below, all looking up
at him with open eyes and mouths.
The envious man took out a double hand-
ful and scattered them around. They blew
down into the eyes and mouths of the prince
and his suite, blinding them and choking
them, but the tree remained as dead and
bare as ever.
The prince was so angry that, as soon as
he had recovered from the ashes, he had the
207
THE FAITHFUL DOG
envious man taken away and punished.
But he sent for the good man and raised him
to riches and honor, so that he and his wife
lived happy forever after.
208
KEMPION
{From the Scotch Ballads)
ANGUS MACPHERSON had one
daughter, and she was so beautiful
that it made the heart ache to look at
her. Her hair was of red gold; her eyes
were as blue as the sky and and she was as
slim and fair as a reed, and because of her
beauty she was always called the Fair Ellen.
Angus Mac Pherson loved Fair Ellen as
he did the apple of his eye, but all the same
209
KEMPION
her mother had only been dead a year when
he was for marrying again and bringing a
stepmother into the house.
The new wife was handsome too, with
eyes as black as sloes, and hair like a cloud
at night, but the moment she saw Fair Ellen
she knew the girl was the more beautiful,
and she hated her with a bitter black hate
for her beauty's sake.
Well, they lived along, and Fair Ellen
served her stepmother well. She served her
with foot and she served her with hand.
Everything that she could do for her she did,
but the stepmother hated her worse and
worse, and a powerful wicked witch was
she.
Now it chanced that Angus Mac Pherson
had to go on a far journey, and he would
be away a long time. He said good-by to
his wife and his daughter and then he
started out, and no one was left in the house
but those two alone.
210
KEMPION
After he had been gone a little while the
stepmother said, "Come, Fair Ellen, we are
both sad and down-hearted. Let us go out
and walk upon the cliffs where the wind
blows and the sun shines."
Fair Ellen was ready enough to go, so
they set out together.
They walked along and they walked along
until they came to Estmere Crag, and always
as they walked the stepmother's lips moved
as though she were talking to herself, but no
word did she utter.
"What is that you say*?" asked Fair Ellen.
"'Tis a rhyme I learned when I was
young," said the stepmother. "I was but
minding myself of it."
After awhile they reached the top of the
crag, and the sea was far, far below them«
Then the stepmother turned to Fair Ellen.
"Blue of eyes and fair of speech," she
cried; "you have crossed my path, and none
may do that and have good come of it. You
211
KEMPION
have crossed my path with your beauty, but
with your beauty you shall cross it no
longer."
Fair Ellen stood and looked at her, and
her heart grew cold within her, and she could
stir neither hand nor foot.
The stepmother raised her hand and
touched her. *'A loathly worm you shall
be," she cried. ''You shall dwell under
Estmere Crag and the salt sea shall be your
home, and bonowed ^ shall ye never be, till
Kempion, the king's own son, shall come to
the crag and thrice kiss thee."
Then the witch turned and walked down
the crag, and back to her own home.
But the Fair Ellen was changed in her
shape so that even her own father would
have feared her. Her shape grew long, her
breath was fire, and she became a scaly
dragon. Down over Estmere Crag she
swung, and deep in a cavern she hid herself,
1 Bonowed — ransomed or rescued.
212
KEMPION
and the smoke rose from the cavern and
everyone was afraid.
Now it was not long that she had been
there when word came to the king's palace
that such a beast was in the land, and that
all the country was wasted because of her.
But none dared to go out against her because
she was so terrible.
But Kempion, the king's own son, was as
brave a prince as ever lived. Handsome he
was, too, and straight and tall.
Now when he heard of the great beast his
heart rose within him, and he swore that he
would go out to slay it, and Segramore, his
brother, said that he would go with him.
They built themselves a bonny boat, for
they could best come to the beast's lair by
sea, and they two set out together; they two
and no other, for everyone else was afraid
to go with them.
They sailed out and on and around, and
so they came within sight of Estmere Crag,
213
KEMPION
and there lay the great worm stretched in
and out among the rocks. It was a grue-
some sight, and with every breath it
breathed, the crag was lit up as if by fire.
Kempion and his brother had scarce come
within a mile of the land when the beast saw
them, and raised itself. It opened its
mouth and fire and flame poured forth. It
swung its head to and fro and the sea was
lashed into foam.
"Keep further out," cried Kempion to his
brother. "Keep further out, for this beast
has sure gone mad at the sight of us ; a little
more and it will set fire to all the land."
Then Segramore kept the boat off, and
Kempion bent his arbalest bow and aimed an
arrow at the head of the beast. He bent
his bow, but the arrow stayed, for when he
saw the eyes of the beast they were the eyes
of a sorrowing maid, and they seemed to
pierce to his very soul.
Nevertheless he kept his bow still bent
214
KEMPION
and he called to it across the water, "Now,
by my soul, unless you swear to me that you
will quit my land, with this same shaft will I
shoot you dead."
Then the worm made answer,
" Out of my rocks I will not rise
Nor leave the land for fear of thee
Till over Estmere Crag ye come
And on my mouth three times kiss me."
Then Kempion was like one distraught.
He threw down his bow and bade his brother
row back to the land. "I will go over the
crag to you, beast," he cried, "though I go
to my death at the same time."
Segramore begged and pleaded with him,
but he would not listen. As soon as they
came to the shore he leaped from the boat
and all unarmed set out for Estmere Crag.
Up and up he climbed, and it was a dizzy
height. Far, far below was the blue sea,
and half way up from it the cavern where
215
KEMPION
the beast made its lair. Kempion could see
it there now, twisted among the rocks.
Out swung the great beast and around it
came, the fiercest beast that ever was seen.
The hair rose on Kempion's head and he
shut his eyes, for it was near him now. It
came close and the fire was all about him,
but it did not burn him. Then he kissed it.
He kissed it and the mouth was cold.
Out it swung and again it came.
" Out of my lair I will not rise,
I will not leave for fear of thee,
Oh, Kempion, you dear king's son,
Till on the mouth you thrice kiss me.''
Then Kempion kissed the beast again and
its lips were warm. The third time he kissed
it, and its mouth was the mouth of a woman.
Then Kempion looked, and before him
stood the most beautiful maid he had ever
seen. Slim as a reed she was, and very fair,
for her eyes were as blue as the sky, and
216
KEMPION
her hair as bright as gold, and it fell all
about her, and down to her knees like a
mantle.
Then Kempion took his cloak and
wrapped it about her. ''You are my own
true love," he said, "and other maid I will
marry none, for never have I seen such
beauty and gentleness before."
So he carried her up from Estmere Crag,
and home to the palace of the king.
There, all was sorrow and mourning, for
they thought that Kempion was surely dead.
But when they saw him come into the hall,
and saw the beautiful bride he had brought
with him, all their sorrow was turned into
rejoicing.
When they had heard how the young
prince had broken the enchantment that had
held Fair Ellen the old king turned to her.
"Tell me, oh, my daughter," he said, "was it
mermaid in the sea, or was it werewolf in
the wood, or some wicked man or wicked
217
KEMPION
woman that wrought this cruel spell on
theeT'
*'It was not werewolf in the wood, it was
not mermaid in the sea, but it was my wicked
stepmother that wrought this cruel spell on
55
me.
Then said the king, "Punished shall she
surely be; she shall be taken to the top of
Estmere Crag, and thrown over into the sea,
for such wickedness shall pollute my land
no longer. But you. Fair Ellen, shall be the
bride of my own dear son Kempion, and the
half of all I have shall be yours and his for-
55
ever.
218
BUTTERCUP
(From the Norse)
THERE was once a poor woman who
had one son, a little boy so fat and
round, and with such bright yellow
hair that he was called Buttercup. The
house where they lived was upon the edge
of a lonely forest, and upon the other side
of this forest lived a wicked old witch.
One day when the woman was baking she
heard Sharptooth, her dog, begin to bark.
*'Run, Buttercup, and see who is coming,"
she said.
219
BUTTERCUP
Buttercup ran and looked out. "Oh,
Mother, it is an old witch with her head
under one arm and a bag under the other."
"Come, quick," cried the mother, "and
hide yourself in the dough trough so that
she may not see you."
Buttercup jumped into the dough trough
and his mother shut the lid, so that no one
would have known he was there.
Then in a moment there was a knock at
the door, and the old witch opened it and
looked in. She had put her head on where
it belonged now, and she looked almost like
any old woman.
"Good-day, daughter," said she.
"Good-day, mother," answered the
woman.
"May I come in and rest my bones a
hitr
The woman did not want her to come in,
but neither did she like to say no. "Come
in, in heaven's name."
220
BUTTERCUP
The old witch entered and sat down on
the settle, and then she began to look and
peer about the room.
"Have you no children?" she asked.
"Yes, I have one son."
"And how do you call him?"
"I call him Buttercup."
"Is he at home?"
"No; his father takes him out with him
when he goes hunting."
The old witch looked greatly disap-
pointed. "I am sorry Buttercup is not at
home, for I have a sweet little knife — a
beautiful silver knife, and it is so sharp that
it will cut through anything. If he were
only here I would give it to him."
When Buttercup in the dough trough
heard this he opened the lid and looked out.
"Peep! peep! here I am!" he cried.
"That is a lucky thing," said she, and she
looked well satisfied. "But the knife is at
the bottom of my bag and I am so old and
221
BUTTERCUP
stiff that you will have to crawl in youp^
self and get it."
Buttercup was willing, so into the bag he
crawled. Then the old witch closed it and
flung it over her shoulder, and away she
went so fast that the good mother could
neither stop her nor follow her.
The old witch went on and on through
the forest, but after a while she began to
feel very tired.
"How far is it to Snoring'?" she asked of
Buttercup in the bag.
"A good two miles," answered Buttercup.
"Two miles! That is a long way. I'll
just lie down and sleep a bit, and do you
keep as still as a mouse in the bag, or it will
be the worse for you."
She tied the mouth of the bag up tight,
and then she fell fast asleep, and snored till
the leaves shook overhead.
When he heard that. Buttercup took from
222
BUTTERCUP
his pocket a little dull old knife that his
father had given him, and managed to cut
a slit in the sack and crawl out. Then he
found a gnarly stump of a fir tree and put
that in the bag in his place and ran away
home to his mother, and all this while the
old witch never stirred.
After a time, however, she began to
gtretch her bones and look about her. "Eh!
Eh I" she sighed, "that was a good sleep I
had, but now we'll be journeying on again."
She slung the bag on her back, but the
sharp points of the root kept sticking into
her at every step. "That boy looked plump
and soft enough," she muttered to herself,
*'but now he seems all elbows and knees."
Then she cried to the stump, "Hey I there,
you inside the bag, do not stick your bones
into me like that. Do you think I am a
pin cushion'?"
The stump made no answer for it could
BUTTERCUP
not, and besides it had not heard, and the
old witch hobbled on muttering and grum-
bling to herself.
When she reached her house her ugly,
stupid witch daughter was watching for her
from the window. ''Have you brought
home anything to eat'?" she called.
"Yes, I have brought home a fine plump
boy," said the witch, and she threw the bag
down on the floor and began rubbing her
bruises. "I'm half dead with carrying him,
too."
"Let me see," cried the daughter, and she
untied the mouth of the sack and looked
in. "A boy!" she cried. "This is no boy,
but only an old stump of a fir tree."
"Stupid you are, and stupid you will be,"
cried the witch. "I tell you it is a boy and
a good fat boy at that."
"I tell you it is not," said the girl.
"I tell you it is." The old witch took up
the sack and looked into it, and there, sure
224
BUTTERCUP
enough, was only an old stump that she had
broken her back carrying home. Then she
was in a fine rage. "How he got away I
don't know, but never mind I I'll have him
yet whether or no."
So the next morning while the good
woman on the other side of the forest was
making her beds she heard Sharptooth begin
to bark.
"Run, Buttercup, and see who is com-
ing," she called.
"Mother, it is the same old woman who
was here yesterday."
"Quick! Jump into the clock case, and
do not dare to so much as stir a finger until
she has gone."
Buttercup ran and hid himself in the
clock case, and presently there was a knock
at the door and the old witch looked into
the room.
"Good morning, daughter."
"Good morning, mother."
225
BUTTERCUP
"May I come in and rest my poor old
bones for a minute'?"
"Come in, in heaven's name."
The old witch came in and sat down as
near the dough trough as she dared.
"Daughter, I have journeyed far and I
would be glad of a bit of bread to eat even
if it is only the crust."
Well, she might have that and welcome, so
the good woman went to the dough trough
to get a piece, for that was where she kept
it. No sooner had she opened the lid than
the old witch was close behind her, looking
over her shoulder, and she was disappointed
enough when she found that no Buttercup
was there.
However, she sat down again with the
piece of bread in her hand and began to
munch and mumble it, though she had no
liking for such dry food as that.
"Is your little boy Buttercup at home to-
day?" she asked.
226
BUTTERCUP
"No. He has gone with his father to
catch some trout for dinner."
*'That is a pity," said the old witch, "for
I brought a present for him in my bag. I
brought him a silver fork, and it is such a
dear little, pretty little fork that every bite
it carries to your mouth tastes better than
what the king himself has to eat."
When Buttercup heard that he could no
longer keep still in the clock case. He must
have that pretty little fork. "Peep I
peep I" he cried, "here I am in the clock
case." And he opened the door and
jumped out.
"That is well," said the old witch, "but
I am too old and stiff to bend over and you
must crawl into the sack yourself to get the
fork."
Before his mother could stop him Butter-'
cup was in the sack, and the old woman
had closed the mouth of it, had swung it
over her shoulder and was out of the house
22y
BUTTERCUP
and off. There was no use in running after
her; she went so fast.
After while she was well in the forest,
and then she did not hurry so.
"How far is it to Snoring now, you in
the bag*?" she asked.
"Oh, a mile and a half at least."
"That is a long way for old bones," said
the witch. "I'll just sit down and rest a
bit; but mind you, no tricks to-day, for I
shall stay wide awake this time."
So she sat down by the road with her back
against a tree. Then first she yawned, and
next she nodded, and then she was asleep
and snoring so that the very rocks around
were shaken.
When Buttercup heard that, he whipped
out his little knife and cut a slit in the sack
and crawled out. Then he put a great
heavy stone in the sack and ran away home
as fast as his legs would carry him.
After while the old witch began to stretch
22^
BUTTERCUP
and yawn. "Well, it's time to be journey-
ing on if we would reach Snoring by day-
light," she said, and she did not know she
had been asleep at all. She picked up the
bag, and whew I but it was heavy. "This
boy is fat enough to break a body's back,"
said she. "He ought to make good eating."
But at every step the stone bounced against
her ribs till she was black and blue. "Hi!
there, you inside the sack, can't you keep a
little quieter'?" she asked. But the stone
made no answer, for it could not.
After a time the old witch reached her
house, and her fat ugly daughter came run-
ning to meet her.
"Did you catch the same boy?" asked the
girl.
"The very same, and fatter than ever,"
answered the witch, and she threw the bag
down on the floor, bump!
"Oh, let me see him." And the witch girl
put her hand on the bag.
229
BUTTERCUP
"Let it alone I" screamed the witch
mother. "If you go goggling at him again
you'll turn him into a stick or a stone or
something, as you did before. Put on a
kettle of water, and as soon as it is hot I'll
empty him into it."
The witch girl did as she was told, and
every time she went past the sack she gave
it a poke with her foot. "The boy may be
fat," she said, "but he's tough enough to
break a body's teeth in the eating."
When the water began to boil she called
her mother, and the old witch picked up the
sack intending to empty Buttercup into the
pot, but instead the great stone rolled into
it, ker-splash ! and the boiling water flew all
about. It flew on the old witch and burned
her so that she stamped about the kitchen
gnashing her teeth with rage. The fat
daughter was so frightened she ran out and
hid in the stable until all was quiet again.
"Never mind I" said the old witch. "I'll
2^0
BUTTERCUP
have the boy to-morrow for sure." So the
next day she took up the bag and started off
for the third time through the forest.
The good mother was scrubbing her pans
when Sharptooth began to bark outside.
"Run, Buttercup, and see who is coming
now."
"Mother, it is the same old witch who has
been here twice before."
"Quick, quick I Hide in the cellar way,
and try not to breathe until she has gone."
Buttercup ran and hid himself in the cellar
way, and he was scarcely there before there
was a knock at the door and the old witch
pushed it open and looked in.
"May I come in and rest a bit*?"
"Come in, in heaven's name."
The old witch stepped in and looked all
about her.
"I would like to know what time it is."
"Well, look for yourself; there stands the
clock."
231
BUTTERCUP
The old witch went close to it and took
the chance to peep inside the case, but no
little boy was there. Then she sat down
near the dooFc
*'Is your little boy Buttercup at home to-
day?'
The mother said, "No, he has gone to the
mill with his father."
"That is a pity," said the old witch, "for
I have a pretty little spoon in. my bag that
I meant to give to him, and it is such a
smart little spoon that if you do but stir
your porridge with it, it changes it into
something so delicious that the princess her-
self would be glad to eat it."
When Buttercup in the cellar way heard
that he wanted the spoon so badly that he
could stay hidden no longer. "Peep I peep!
Here I am," said he.
"I am glad of that," said the witch, "for
I had no wish to take the spoon home again ;
but you will have to crawl into the sack
232
BUTTERCUP
yourself to get it, for I am too old and
stiff."
In a moment Buttercup was in the sack,
and in another moment the old witch had
swung it over her back and was making off
as fast as her legs would carry her. This
time she neither stayed nor stopped, but
went straight on home, and flung the sack on
the floor with Buttercup in it.
"Did you get him this time*?" asked the
girl.
"Yes, I did," said the old witch, "and
there he is, as plump as any young chicken.
Now I'll be off to ask the guests, and do
you put him in the pot and make a nice stew
of him."
As soon as she had gone the witch girl
opened the sack and told Buttercup to come
out. "Now put your head on the block,
Buttercup," she said, "so that I may chop it
off."
"But I do not know how," said Buttercup.
22>Z
BUTTERCUP
"Stupid! It is easy enough; anyone
would know how to do that."
"Then show me how, and I will hold the
ax for you."
The stupid witch girl put her head on the
block, and as soon as she did that. Butter-
cup cut it off. He put the head on the
pillow of the bed and drew the coverlid up
about it and then it looked exactly as
though the witch girl were lying there
asleep, but the body of her he popped into
the pot of boiling water. Then he climbed
up on the roof and took the fir tree stump
and the stone with him.
And now home came the old witch again
and all her troll friends with her, and they
were an ugly looking set all together.
They went stamping into the house and
the old witch began to bawl for her daugh-
ter, but there was no answer. She looked
about her and spied the head there on the
pillow with the covers drawn up about it.
234
" THEN SHOW ME HOW. AND I WILL HOLD THE AX FOR YOU
BUTTERCUP
"So there you are I" cried the old witch.
"Well, if you are too lazy to get up and
eat your dinner, you will have to be content
with what we leave." Then she picked up
a big spoon and tasted the broth.
" Good, by my troth,
Is Buttercup broth,"
said she, and smacked her lips.
" Good, by my troth,
Is witch daughter broth,"
sang Buttercup out on the roof.
"Who was that?" asked the witch.
"Oh, it was only a bird singing outside,"
said her husband, and he took the spoon him-
self and tasted the broth.
" Good, by my troth.
Is Buttercup broth,"
said he.
235
BUTTERCUP
" Good, by my troth,
Is witch daughter broth,"
sang Buttercup on the roof.
"There certainly is someone outside there
mocking at us," said the old witch, and she
ran out to see.
As soon as she came out Buttercup threw
the stump down on her and killed her, and
that was the end of her.
The witch's husband waited for a time,
and when she did not come back he went
to call her, but as soon as he stepped out-
side Buttercup rolled the big stone down on
him, and that was an end of him.
The friends who had come to share the
broth waited and waited for the witch and
her husband to come back, but after a time,
as they did not, the guests grew impatient
and came out to look for them. When they
saw the two lying there dead they never
stopped for the broth, but ran away as fast
236
BUTTERCUP
as they could go, and for all I know they
may be running still.
But Buttercup climbed down from the
roof, and hunted round in the house until
he found where the witch kept her money
chest all full of gold and silver money.
Then he filled the sack with as much as he
could carry, and started home again.
When he reached there you may guess
whether or not his mother was glad to see
him. Then there was no more poverty for
them, for the money in the sack was enough
to make them rich for all their lives.
^Z7
THE SUN AND THE MOON
(From Turkish Legends)
ONCE upon a time the Sun made up his
mind that he would like to get mar-
ried. Far and near he journeyed, all
over the round world and looked upon many
fair maidens and princesses, but not one was
beautiful enough to be his bride.
As he came home after his wanderings, he
looked up at a window of the palace, and
there sat his sister, the beautiful Helen,
looking out. Her face, like the Sun's, was
ruddy; her hair like his was as shining
238
THE SUN AND THE MOON
as gold. There was no one in all the world
to compare with her in beauty.
"Come down and greet me, beautiful
Helen," he cried, "for you and you only are
worthy to be my bride."
But when the fair Helen heard this she
was horrified. "Such a thing must not be,"
said she. "A brother may not marry his
sister, for that would be an offense to
heaven."
The Sun, however, would not listen to
her; he was determined to make her his
bride, and to this end he summoned the best
workmen from all over the world, some to
make magnificent robes, some to prepare a
feast, and gold and silver smiths and dealers
in precious stones.
The beautiful Helen, however, wept and
wept with grief.
Now there was in the palace of the Sun
an old nurse who had nursed both him and
his sister, and when she saw how, day after
239
THE SUN AND THE MOON
day, the beautiful Helen was melting away
with grief, she said to her : "Why should you
be so sad? You know how I love you,
and that I have much knowledge of magic.
If you asked me perhaps I might help
you.
"Oh, my dear nurse, do but save me from
this marriage and you can ask of me nothing
that I will not give you."
"Leave it to me; leave it to me," said the
old woman. "Are you not my nursling'?"
So the next time the Sun came to see his
sister the old woman changed her into a
little cake, and hid her under the ashes as
if to bake.
In came the Sun and looked about him.
"Good nurse, I am tired and hungry," said
he. "Have you nothing here for me to
eat?"
"There is bread and wine yonder on the
shelf."
"Nay, I know of something that suits me
240
THE SUN AND THE MOON
better than that," said the Sun, and he un-
covered the white cake that lay among the
ashes and made as though to eat it.
"Oh, my brother, spare me I" cried the
cake.
"What I" cried the Sun, pretending to be
very much surprised. "Can it be that this
is not a cake at all, but the beautiful
Helen, who has taken this form?"
Then Helen was obliged to take her own
form again, and so beautiful did she appear
with the silvery ashes powdering her golden
hair that the Sun was more determined upon
the marriage than ever.
After he had gone, Helen began to re-
proach the nurse because her magic had been
of so little avail.
"Do not grieve to death because of that,"
said the old woman, "for I have better magic
than that in my head. The next time the
Sun comes to visit you we will be in the
garden and I will change you into a blade
241
THE SUN AND THE MOON
of grass, and among all the other blades he
will be sure not to find you."
So the next day the old woman and her
nursling were sitting out in the garden, and
presently they knew, by the golden glow in
the sky, that the Sun was coming to look
for his sister. Then the old nurse changed
her into a blade of grass, and no one could
have told her from all the other blades in
the garden.
Out came the Sun to where the old nurse
sat, and looked about him. "I had thought
to find the beautiful Helen here," said he.
"She was here a moment ago," answered
the nurse, "and had you come then, you
might have seen her."
"How green the grass is all about," said
the Sun. "Since she is not here I will have
a nibble of it."
He then changed himself into a lamb and
began to nibble about. Presently he came
to the tuft of grass where Helen was. See-
242
THE SUN AND THE MOON
ing that his teeth were about to close upon
her she cried out in a woeful voice, "Alas,
my brother, I have never harmed you; do not
bite me, I beg of you."
"Then do not try to escape me by any
such tricks of magic," answered the Sun.
Thereupon he took back his natural shape,
and the beautiful Helen was obliged to take
her own shape, too.
After he had gone away she began to weep
and lament. "If you can do no better than
this with your magic the marriage will surely
go on."
"Wait until to-morrow," answered the
nurse. "Then I will turn you into a reed
that grows beside the river. I am sure he
will never think of looking for you there."
So the next day at about the time when
the Sun would be coming, the old nurse
changed Helen into a reed beside the river,
but she herself sat in the garden that the Sun
might suspect nothing.
243
THE SUN AND THE MOON
After a while the Sun came out to look for
his sister, but he found no one but the old
nurse sitting there all by herself. "No mat-
ter," said the Sun; "I have a notion of mak-
ing music for a while. I will go down to the
river and cut a reed to make a pipe for my-
self."
When the old nurse heard that she turned
pale, but she did not dare to say anything.
The Sun went down to the river and she
followed him. He went straight to the reed
that was the beautiful Helen, and drew his
knife and set it at the root. Then the reed
cried aloud in a doleful voice: "Alas, my
brother, I have done you no harm. Do not
slay me."
"Hal" cried the Sun, "is it you, fair one?
Now you see that all the magic in the
world cannot hide you from me, and to-
morrow you shall be my bride."
After he had gone, the beautiful Helen
turned to her nurse. "Now I see that magic
244
ha!" cried the sun. "is it tou, fair one?'
THE SUN AND THE MOON
can indeed avail me nothing," she said,
"and only heaven itself can save me."
The next day was to be the wedding, and
when the beautiful Helen was dressed in her
bridal clothes she was as pale as ashes, but
so beautiful that the heart ached to look at
her.
The Sun took her by the hand and led
her into the church, and all the candles were
lighted and the priests and guests were
there.
Then the beautiful Helen called upon
heaven to save her. Three times she called,
and at the third time all the lights went out,
and a great wind swept through the church.
The priests were terrified and the guests did
not know which way to fly. As for the Sun
he cried aloud with rage and disappoint-
ment, for he felt that his beautiful bride was
gone from his side. She had been carried up
and away to where he could never find her.
Then she was changed into the moon, and
245
THE SUN AND THE MOON
ever since, still and calm and bright she
sails up the sky at night after the Sun has
gone to rest and holds the earth and sea un-
der her gentle rule.
Sometimes she rises while he is still sink-
ing toward the west. Red and angry he
grows as he sees her rising above the horizon
in her shining beauty, but he cannot reach
her, for the whole heaven is between them.
246
HOW THE ELEPHANT AND THE
WHALE WERE TRICKED
{From Louisiana Creole Tales)
ONE time the rabbit and the ground
hog went out to walk together. The
rabbit wore his blue coat with brass
buttons, for it was a fine day, and cocked his
hat gayly over one eye, but the ground hog
was content with his old fur overcoat, and
galoshes to keep his feet dry.
They walked along until at last they came
to the seashore, and there they saw the ele-
247
THE ELEPHANT AND THE WHALE
phant standing and talking to the whale.
"Look I" said the ground hog; "that is a
wonderful sight, for I reckon those are the
two biggest animals in all the world."
"Let's go close and hear what they're talk-
ing about," said the rabbit.
"No, no," answered the ground hog.
"They might not like it, and if Lm going to
be impolite Fd rather be impolite to ani-
mals that are more my own size."
However, the rabbit was determined to
know what two such big beasts talked to
each other about, so he stole up close to them
unnoticed, and hid back of a clump of grass
to listen.
"Of all the beasts that walk the earth not
one is as great as I am," boasted the ele-
phant. "The ground trembles at my tread;
the trees shake and the other animals are
afraid and hide lest I should be angry with
them."
"True, brother," answered the whale.
248
THE ELEPHANT AND THE WHALE
"On the other hand, there is not a fish in the
sea that compares to me in size. I swallow
hundreds at one gulp, and when I lash the
waters with my tail it is like a storm."
"And that is true, too," answered the ele-
phant. "Brother, how would it be if we
proclaimed ourselves kings of the earth and
sea, and made all of the other fish and ani-
mals our subjects'?"
"That would be a fine scheme," the whale
agreed, "and then we would make them pay
us tribute."
The elephant was pleased with that idea,
too. "Good I good I" he trumpeted. "That
is what we will do."
So the two beasts talked together, each
one praising himself and the other, and say-
ing how great they were.
The rabbit listened until he could bear it
no longer, and then he stole back to the
ground hog, his whiskers trembling with
rage.
249
THE ELEPHANT AND THE WHALE
"Well, what were they talking about?"
asked the ground hog.
"All their talk was of how great and pow-
erful they were," answered the rabbit, "and
they say they will declare themselves kings
and make us pay tribute. But I will show
them a thing or two before that."
"What will you show them*?" asked the
other.
" I have thought of a trick to play upon
them, and it is a trick that will make them
feel so silly they will forget all about mak-
ing kings of themselves."
The ground hog begged and entreated the
rabbit not to think of such a thing. The
whale and the elephant were too big and
powerful for a little rabbit to try to play a
trick upon them, and if he did, they would
surely punish him. But the rabbit would
not listen to him, and at last the ground hog
rose and buttoned up his overcoat. "Well,
I'm not going to get myself into trouble,"
250
THE ELEPHANT AND THE WHALE
he said. "I'm going home, I am, to look
through the closets and get some tribute
ready for them." So home he ambled, and
did not mind one bit when the rabbit called
after him that he was a coward.
But the rabbit made haste to the house of
a neighbor to borrow a coil of rope he knew
of, for that was the first thing he needed for
his trick.
He got the rope and came back and hid
in some bushes by the roadside. Presently
he saw the elephant come swinging up the
road. He had finished his talk with the
whale and was now on his way home. He
looked very pleased with himself, and was
smiling and idly breaking off the little trees
with his trunk as he came.
The rabbit sprang out of the bushes with
the coil of rope over his arm, and ran toward
the elephant, shouting at the top of his
lungs, "Help, help!"
The elephant stopped and looked at him
251
THE ELEPHANT AND THE WHALE
with surprise. "What is the matter,
Rabbit?' he asked.
"My cow! My cow has fallen into the
quicksands down by the sea, and no one
can get her out. Oh, dear good kind Master
Elephant, if you would but help me I You
are so great and strong and wonderful that
it would be nothing at all for you to pull
her out."
The elephant was very much pleased with
these compliments to his strength. "Yes,
I will help you," he said good-naturedly.
"I am indeed very great and powerful.
Gomel Show me where she is."
"No need of that," answered the sly
rabbit. "Do you stand here and hold this
end of the rope, and I will run and tie the
other end around her horns. When all is
ready I will beat a drum. As soon as you
hear that begin to pull and you will have
her out in a twinkling."
The elephant agreed to do this; he took
252
THE ELEPHANT AND THE WHALE
hold of the end of the rope and stood there,
waiting and thinking how strong he was,
and how the animals were obliged to come
to him when they needed help.
Meanwhile the rabbit ran down to the
seashore with the other end of the rope.
The whale was still there resting on the
sand-bar, and thinking how great and power-
ful he was.
"Help! help I" cried the rabbit as soon as
he was near enough for the whale to hear
him.
The great creature turned, and looked at
him lazily. *'What is the matter. Rabbit'?"
he asked.
"Oh, dear good Master Whale, I am in
great trouble. My cow is stuck in a marsh
and no one on land is powerful enough to
pull her out. But you are so strong and
wonderful that it would mean nothing to
you to get her out for me."
The whale was pleased at these words, but
253
THE ELEPHANT AND THE WHALE
he said, "I am quite willing to help you,
but I do not see how I can do so. I can-
not leave the sea nor travel on dry
land."
*'No need of that," answered the rabbit.
"I have tied the other end of this rope
around her horns. If you will but take
hold of this end you can pull her out in a
twinkling."
The good-natured whale was very ready
to do this. "I must not pull too hard," he
said, "for so great is my strength that I
might not only jerk her out of the marsh
but all the way into the sea so that she would
be drowned."
"Yes, you must be careful about that,"
answered the rabbit, and then he ran up into
the bushes where he had hidden a drum
and beat it loudly.
As soon as the elephant heard the drum
he began to pull on the rope. At first he
did not pull hard, for he thought it was
254
THE ELEPHANT AND THE WHALE
an easy task he had on hand. But the
whale, holding the other end, started to
swim out to sea, and the elephant found him-
self pulled down toward the shore. He
was very much surprised, but he tightened
his hold and began to use his strength.
And now it was the turn of the whale to
be dragged toward the shore. "This will
never do," he thought to himself, and he
beat the waters, and swam with all his
might, and the elephant began to lose
ground.
So the two creatures strove together.
First one was dragged along and then the
other. They thought they had never known
of such a strong cow before. But the
rabbit up in the bushes laughed and
laughed until he thought his sides would
split. He rolled upon the ground and the
tears ran down his furry cheeks, and still,
the more the huge beasts strove and grunted,
the harder he laughed.
255
THE ELEPHANT AND THE WHALE
At last the great elephant put forth all
his strength. He dug his feet into the
solid ground and braced himself. The
whale in the sea had nothing to brace it-
self against, and so at last it was pulled up
on the shore. Then the elephant turned to
see what sort of a cow it was that weighed
so much, and there it was no cow at all, but
his friend, the whale, who lay there gasping
and panting on the beach.
The elephant ran down to him, and the
first thing he did was to push the whale back
into the water again. Then they began to
talk and explain to each other how it all
happened. When they found what a trick
the rabbit put upon them they were furiously
angry, and consulted as to how they could
best punish him.
"I," said the whale, "shall send word to
all the fish in streams and rivers, and tell
them he must not be allowed to drink one
drop of water."
256
THE ELEPHANT AND THE WHALE
"And I," said the elephant, "will send
word to all the creatures on the earth that
he shall not be allowed to eat so much as
one blade of grass."
And now the rabbit was in a bad way, in-
deed. If he went to the river to get a drink
the fish and lobsters gathered in a crowd and
drove him away. If he tried to eat, some
animal or other was there to prevent him.
It seemed as though he must soon die of
hunger and thirst. His trick was like to cost
him dear.
He was hopping along a path very sadly
one day, with his ears drooping and all the
spirit gone out of him, when he came across
a dead deer that had been torn by the dogs.
The rabbit stopped and scratched his ear and
thought a bit. Then he set to work and
very neatly stripped off the deerskin and
drew it over his own body. Then he set
out for the main road, limping and utter-
ing cries of pain as he went.
257
THE ELEPHANT AND THE WHALE
Presently whom should he see but the ele-
phant swinging along the road toward him.
The rabbit cried out still louder, and
made out as though he could scarcely drag
himself along for his wounds.
''What has happened to you, friend Deer?
And who has wounded you in this way?"
asked the elephant.
"Oh, that Rabbit! That Rabbit I And
I was only doing as you told me."
'The Rabbit?"
"Yes; oh, indeed good Master Elephant,
he is very terrible. He came to eat in the
woods where I was and I tried to drive him
away, because you had told us all to do that,
but as soon as I spoke to him, he threw me
down and beat me and almost tore me to
pieces, as you see."
"That is strange," said the elephant. "I
did not know he was as strong as that."
"Oh, yes; he is small, but he knows much
magic. No one could stand against him, not
258
THE ELEPHANT AND THE WHALE
even you. And he is very angry. He says
he is going to tear you to pieces too, and
the whale, and he only left me alive so that
I might come and tell you."
"But he could not kill meT cried the ele-
phant.
"His magic is very strong. I am afraid,
now that he is angry, that he will kill all
the animals in the world, and keep it for
himself."
Now the elephant really began to be
afraid. "Oh, well, it was only a joke that
the whale and I played on him. Go back
and tell him so. Tell him it was only a
joke, and that I am not angry with him now.
Then tell him he may eat wherever he
pleases, for I would not want to annoy such
a little animal as he is."
So the rabbit, still speaking like the deer,
said he would, and, moaning and limping, he
turned and crawled back the way he had
come. But when he was safely out of sight,
259
THE ELEPHANT AND THE WHALE
he fell down in the dust of the road and
laughed and laughed till he was sick with
laughing.
260
CHERRY
{From the English)
THERE was once a poor laborer wno
had so many children that he was
hardly able to buy food and clothing
for them. For this reason, as soon as they
grew old enough, they went out into the
world to shift for themselves. One after
another they left their home, until at last
only the youngest one. Cherry by name, was
left. She was the prettiest of all the chil-
dren. Her hair was as black as jet, her
cheeks as red as roses, and her eyes so merry
261
CHERRY
and sparkling that it made one smile even to
look at her.
Every few weeks one or another of the
children who were out at service came back
to visit their parents, and they looked so
much better fed, and so much better clothed
than they ever had looked while they were
at home that Cherry began to long to go out
in the world to seek her fortune, too.
"Just see," she said to her mother; "all
my sisters have new dresses and bright rib-
bons, while I have nothing but the old
patched frocks they have outgrown. Let
me go out to service to earn something for
myself."
"No, no," answered her mother. "You
are our youngest, and your father would
never be willing to have you go, and you
would find it very different out there in the
world from here, where everyone loves you
and cares for you."
However, Cherry's heart was set upon
262
CHERRY
going out to seek her fortune, and when she
found her parents would never give their
consent, she determined to go without it.
She tied up the few clothes she had in a big
handkerchief, put on the shoes that had in
them the fewest holes, and off she stole one
fine morning without saying good-by to any-
one but the old cat that was asleep upon the
step.
As long as she was within sight of the
house she hurried as fast as she could, for
she was afraid her father or mother might
see her and call her back, but when the road
dipped down over a hill she walked more
slowly, and took time to catch her breath
and shift her bundle from one hand to the
other.
At first the way she followed was well
known to her, but after she had traveled on
for several hours she found herself in a part
of the country she had never seen before.
It was bleak and desolate with great rocks,
263
CHERRY
and not a house in sight, and Cherry began
to feel very lonely. She longed to see her
dear home again, with the smoke rising from
the chimney and her mother's face at the
window, and at last she grew so homesick
that she sat down on a rock and began to sob
aloud.
She had been sitting there and weeping
for some time when she felt a hand upon her
shoulder. She looked up and saw a tall and
handsome gentleman standing beside her.
He was richly dressed and looked like a for-
eigner, and there were many rings upon his
fingers. It seemed so strange to see him
standing there close to her, when a little
time before there had been no one in sight,
that Cherry forgot to sob while she stared
at him. He was smiling at her in a friendly
way, and his eyes sparkled and twinkled so
brightly that there never was anything like
it.
"What are you doing in such a lonely
264
HE WAS RICHLY DRESSED AND LOOKED LIKE A FOREIGNER
CHERRY
place as this, my child?" said he. "And
why are you weeping so bitterly?"
"I am here because I started out to take
service with someone," answered Cherry;
"and I am weeping because it is so lonely,
and I wish I were at home again;" and she
began to sob.
"Listen, Cherry," said the gentleman,
once more laying his hand on her shoulder.
"I am looking for a kind, bright girl to take
charge of my little boy. The wages are
good, and if you like, you shall come with
me and be his nurse."
This seemed a great piece of good luck to
Cherry, for she was sure from the gentle-
man's looks that he must be very rich as well
as kind. She quickly wiped her eyes and
told him she was more than willing to go
with him.
As soon as the stranger heard this he
smiled again, and bidding her follow him he
turned aside into a little path among the
265
CHERRY
rocks that Cherry had not noticed before.
At first this path was both rough and
thorny, but the further they went the
broader and smoother it grew, and always
it led down hill. After a while instead of
thorns, flowering bushes bordered the path,
and later still, trees loaded with such fruit
as Cherry had never seen before. It shone
like jewels, and smelled so delicious that she
longed to stop and taste it, but that her mas-
ter would not allow. There was no sunlight
now, but neither were any clouds to be seen
overhead. A soft, pale light shone over
everything, making the landscape seem like
something seen in a dream.
The gentleman hurried her along, and
when he saw she was growing tired he took
her hand in his and immediately all her
weariness disappeared, and her feet felt so
light it seemed as though she could run to
the ends of the earth.
266
CHERRY
After they had gone a long, long way they
came to a gate overhung with an arch of
flowering vines. The garden within was
filled with fruit trees even more wonderful
than those along the road, and through them
she could see a beautiful house that shone
like silver.
The gentleman opened the gate, and im-
mediately a little boy came running down
the path toward them. The child was very
small, but his face looked so strange and
wise and old that Cherry was almost afraid
of him.
The gentleman stooped and kissed him
and said, "This is my son," and then they all
three went up the path together.
When they came near the house the door
opened and a little, strange looking old
woman looked out. She was gnarled and
withered and gray, and looked as though she
might be a hundred.
267
CHERRY
"Aunt Prudence, this is the nurse I have
brought home to look after the boy for us,"
said the gentleman.
The old woman scowled, and her eyes
seemed to bore into Cherry like gimlets.
"She'll peep and pry, and see what
shouldn't be seen. Why couldn't you have
been satisfied with one like ourselves for a
nurse?" grumbled the old woman.
"It's best as it is," answered the gentle-
man in a low voice. "Many a one has sent
her child to rest in a cradle there above, and
they've been all the better for it."
Cherry did not know what he was talking
about, but if she had been afraid of the
child she was even more afraid of the old
woman.
And indeed in the next few days Aunt
Prudence made the girl's life very unhappy.
The gentlem.an gave Cherry full charge of
the child, and seemed very contented with
her, but the old woman grumbled and
268
CHERRY
:$coIded, and found fault with everything
she did.
It was Cherry's duty to bathe the child
every morning, and after she had washed
him she was obliged to anoint his eyes with
a certain ointment that was kept in a silver
box. "And be very careful," said her mas-
ter, sternly, "that you never touch the least
particle of it to your own eyes, for if you do,
misfortune will certainly come upon you."
Cherry promised that she would not, but
she felt very curious about this ointment.
She was sure it must have some very won-
derful properties, for always after she had
rubbed the child's eyes with it they looked
stranger and brighter than ever, and she was
sure he saw things that she could not see.
Sometimes he would seem to join in games
invisible to her, and sometimes he would
suddenly leave her and run down a path to
meet someone, though as far as she could see
not a living soul was there. But if Cherry
269
CHERRY
asked him any questions he would become
quite silent, and look at her sideways in a
strange way.
There were doors in the house that Cherry
was forbidden to open, and she used to won-
der and wonder what was behind them.
Once she saw her master come out from one
of the rooms beyond, but he shut the door
quickly behind him, and she caught no
glimpse of what was within.
However, she was very comfortable there
— well-fed, well-clothed and well-paid, and
she would have been quite happy if it had
not been for Aunt Prudence. Instead of
growing kinder to her as time went on, the
old woman grew crosser and crosser. She
was always scolding, and her tongue was so
sharp that she often made Cherry weep bit-
terly, and wish she was at home again, or
any place but there. Once when she was
sobbing to herself in the garden, her master
came to her. "Cherry," he said, "I see that
270
CHERRY
you and Aunt Prudence can never live in
peace together, and I am going to send her
away for a while, but if I do, you must prom-
ise to do nothing that might displease me."
Cherry promised, and after that the old
woman disappeared, and the girl did not
know what had become of her.
Cherry was now very happy. Her master
was never cross with her, and the child was
very obedient, and if he did not ever laugh,
neither did he ever weep. She helped her
master in the garden very often, and when
she had done very well he would sometimes
kiss her and call her a good child and then
she was happier than ever.
But one time he went away for a few days,
and Cherry seemed quite alone in the house
except for the child, for the other servants
she had never seen. The little boy went out
to play in the garden, and suddenly Cherry
began to feel so curious as to what was back
of the forbidden doors that it seemed as
271
CHERRY
though she would die if she did not look.
She tried to think of other things, and to re-
member how displeased her master would
be if she opened the doors, but at last she
could bear it no longer. She would just see
what was behind one of them, and then she
would look no further. But first she made
sure that the little boy was still at play in
the garden. He was sitting on the edge of
a fountain, looking down into it, and sud-
denly he waved his hand and called out as
though to something in the water.
Then Cherry opened the door and slipped
through.
She found herself in a long hall entirely
of marble. The floor, the ceilings and walls
all were of blocks of marble, black and
white, and ranged up and down it were
many marble statues. Some were the fig-
ures of beautiful women, some were of
princes with crowns upon their heads or of
young men magnificently dressed. She
272
CHERRY
went slowly down the hall, staring and won-
dering, and at the very end she came upon
Aunt Prudence, but it was an Aunt Pru-
dence turned into marble, and scowling at
her with marble, unseeing eyes. When she
saw that. Cherry knew that she was in fairy-
land, and that her master had by his magic
powers turned the old woman into this shape
to quiet her scolding tongue.
She was terrified, for she was afraid that,
as her master was a fairy, he would know
that she had disobeyed him, and she went
out quickly and closed the door behind her.
However, when the gentleman came home
that evening he was as kind and pleasant as
ever, so she made sure that he knew nothing
of what she had done.
But there was one thing Cherry was even
more curious about than she had been about
the doors, and that was about the ointment
she rubbed upon the child's eyes. Every
day, more and more, she longed to rub her
273
CHERRY
own eyes with it and try whether she, too,
would not see invisible things. But beside
her fear of disobeying her master the child's
eyes were always upon her while she had
the box open, and as soon as she had rubbed
his eyes and closed it she was obliged to give
it to him, and she never could tell what he
did with it or where he put it.
One morning, however, just after she had
rubbed his eyes, and before she had washed
her hands, she made out she had dropped
the box by accident, and when she stooped
to pick it up she managed to rub one eye
with a finger that had a little ointment upon
it. The child did not see what she had
done, but when Cherry looked about her
what a wonderful change had come over the
garden. Where all had seemed lonely and
silent before, were crowds of little people
playing around or going seriously about
their business. They swung in the flower
bells, they climbed the blades of grass.
274
CHERRY
They spun ropes of cobweb, or sat in
groups among the roots of trees, talking to-
gether and nodding their wise little heads.
But when she looked down into the foun-
tain she saw the strangest sight of all, for
there was her master, dressed just as he had
been when he said good-by to her that morn-
ing, but now he was no longer than her hand,
and riding a fish that he drove round and
round in the water with a tiny whip. Cherry
looked and looked, but her master never
looked up nor noticed her. He played
round with the fishes for quite a while and
then suddenly disappeared. A moment aft-
er, the gate clicked, and when Cherry looked
up there he was coming in, as tall as ever,
and with not a hair of him wet.
He was often away after this and on one
of these times Cherry determined to look
into the marble room again.
She made sure that the child was outside
and playing around with the other fairies,
275
CHERRY
and then she stole to the forbidden door and
softly opened it a crack. As soon as she did
this, she heard a sound of pleasant music.
She peeped in and what a wonderful sight
she saw! The stone ladies and gentlemen
had all come to life, and were dancing there
to the music. They moved and smiled and
bowed to each other, and at the head of the
dance was her master with the loveliest lady
of them all as his partner. While Cherry
looked, the dance came to an end and he led
the lady to a seat, but before she sat down
he kissed her.
When Cherry saw that, she closed the door
and ran away to her room, and there she be-
gan to sob and cry; she was so jealous over
what she had seen that it seemed as though
her heart would burst.
That afternoon her master came again as
kind and smiling as ever, but Cherry would
hardly look at him or answer anything he
said. Presently he asked her to come out
276
CHERRY
into the garden and help him with the flow-
ers, and this she did, though she was still
very moody.
They worked there for quite a while, and
then when they had finished everything
there was to be done, her master said, "You
are a good child. Cherry," and kissed her.
Cherry pushed him away and began to sob
again. "Why do you kiss me?" she cried.
"You don't care for anybody but your beau-
tiful lady. If you want to kiss anybody, go
kiss her."
When her master heard that, his face
changed, and he looked at her so angrily
that Cherry was frightened. "So you have
been prying!" he cried, "and Aunt Prudence
was right when she warned me not to trust
you. Now that you have seen what you
have seen, you can stay here no longer."
"Oh, do not send me away," Cherry
begged of him. "Let me stay and I promise
that I will never disobey you again."
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CHERRY
"I am sorry, Cherry," her master answered,
and he no longer looked angry, "but after
this, they would not let me keep you."
With that he raised his hand and gave her a
sharp box on the ears, and she lost all con-
sciousness.
When she came to herself she was sitting
on the doorstep of her own home and her
mother was shaking her by the shoulder and
calling her.
Cherry started up and looked about her.
"Where — where is he*?" she cried. "How
did I come here, and what has become of my
master^"
Her mother did not know what she was
talking about, and when after a little.
Cherry began and told her all her story, she
thought the child was dreaming or had lost
her wits. But when later on she found that
the girl's pockets were full of fairy gold,
enough to make them rich for years, she was
278
CHERRY
obliged to believe that the story was true,
wonderful as it was.
But for a long time after she came home.
Cherry used to trudge away to the lonely
heath every now and then, and sit there hop-
ing her master would come for her. But he
never did, and never again did she find a
place where the wages were in gold and paid
as freely as they had been in fairyland.
279
DIAMONDS AND ROSES AND
PEARLS
{From the French Tales)
A WIDOW had two daughters of
whom the elder was exactly like her-
self, with thick brown skin, hair as
coarse as horsehair and a loose, hanging
mouth. She was as cross-tempered as she
was ugly, but because she resembled her
mother, the widow loved her dearly, and de-
clared her the most beautiful creature in the
world.
The younger sister was very different.
Her skin was like peaches and cream, her
280
DIAMONDS AND ROSES
hair was golden, and her eyes as blue as the
sky. She was as sweet-tempered as the other
was ill-natured, but her mother hated her
so, that she could hardly bear the sight of
her, and had nothing for her but blows and
hard words.
While the mother and the elder sister
feasted upon dainties the Fair One had only
scraps to eat, and not enough of those, and
all the hard tasks of the household were laid
upon her shoulders. In spite of all this ill
treatment, however, she grew in beauty
every day like a flower. Her figure re-
mained round and soft, and after she had
finished scouring the pots and pans she
would wash her hands and they would be as
white as a lily. Seeing this, the mother and
sister were ready to die with envy. They
washed their hands with perfumed water,
and dried them on silken napkins, but they
still remained as rough and horny as toads.
One day the mother bade the younger sis-
281
DIAMONDS AND ROSES
ter go to a spring that was some distance
away in a forest, and bring water for her sis-
ter to bathe in. She gave her an earthen
pitcher that was so heavy the young girl
could hardly carry it. "And do not spill
any of the water by the way or you shall be
punished," cried the mother.
The young girl hurried away, glad to be
out of the house and away from the scolding
tongues, even though it were but for a lit-
tle while. She would have liked to linger
by the way to listen to the birds, and to
gather some of the flowers that bloomed on
every side, but she knew that if she were late
in returning, she would be beaten for it.
When she reached the fountain she
quickly filled her pitcher, but she was so
sad that, as she stooped above the water, the
tears ran down her cheeks and fell into it
like raindrops.
"Poor child, you are very sad, but remem-
ber you are not the only unfortunate one
282
SHE LIFTED THE HEAVY PITCHER FOR HER TO DRlMv
DIAMONDS AND ROSES
upon this earth," said a hoarse, cracked voice
behind her.
Turning quickly, the Fair One saw, seated
upon a rock close by, an old woman so bent,
so wrinkled, and so hideously ugly that the
young girl was frightened by her looks.
However, she tried to hide her fear and
spoke to the crone civilly. She was then
about to go on her way, but the old woman
stopped her. "My daughter," she said, "I
am thirsty, but my old bones are too stiff
for me to stoop to drink from the fountain.
Will you not give me some water from your
pitcher T'
"Willingly, mother," answered the girl in
a sweet voice, and approaching the old
woman she lifted the heavy pitcher for her
to drink. She held it carefully until the
stranger had quenched her thirst, and then
returned to the fountain to refill it.
"Daughter, you have obliged one who is
not only able but willing to reward you,"
283
DIAMONDS AND ROSES
said the old woman. "Your sweet temper
is a dower greater than any I can give you,
but this you shall have beside. When you
speak, roses and pearls shall drop from your
lips, and your tears shall be changed to dia-
monds as they fall."
The girl thought the old woman must be
out of her wits, for it was quite impossible
that such a thing as that should happen to
anyone, and bidding her good-day as quickly
as she could, she hurried away with her
brimming pitcher.
When she reached home her mother met
her at the door with scowls and reproaches.
''Lazy wretch," she cried, lifting her hand,
"you have been gone twice as long as was
necessary. You have been loitering and
amusing yourself by the way," and she
seemed about to beat her.
"Pardon me, I beg of you," cried the
young girl. "Indeed I hurried all I could,
but I feared to spill the water by the way."
284
DIAMONDS AND ROSES
The mother's hand dropped, and she
stared down at the floor with open mouth
and starting eyes; for every word the girl
spoke, a rose or a pearl fell from her lips and
showered upon the floor of the house.
The mother gave a cry of greed and
stooped to gather up the pearls. The flow-
ers she allowed to remain where they were.
"What is it'? What has happened?"
cried the ugly sister, pressing forward.
"Silence!" cried the mother, speaking
angrily to the ugly one for the first time in
her life. "Her words are worth more than
yours." Then she stood up again. "Speak!
Speak!" she cried to the younger sister, and
as she did not immediately do this, the
mother struck her to make her be quicker in
her speech.
Frightened and bewildered, the young girl
burst into tears, but, as the tear drops fell
from her eyes, they were changed by the
fairy spell, and reached the floor as glitter-
285
DIAMONDS AND ROSES
ing diamonds, that rolled about this way
and that.
"It is magic!" cried the mother, delighted.
"Tell me, my daughter, how has this hap-
pened? Whom did you meet while you
were away?"
"I met no one," answered her daughter,
"but an old woman by the fountain, who
asked me for a drink of water. I gave it to
her, and then she told me that roses and
pearls should fall from my lips when I spoke,
and my tears be changed to diamonds, but
I did not believe her, for who could believe
such a thing as that? "
"It was a fairy," cried the mother. Then
she turned to the elder daughter, her eyes
glistening with greed. "Quick!" she cried.
"Take the silver pitcher, for it is the best we
have in the house, and take also some of
those cream cakes that have just been baked.
Go to the fountain and look for the old
woman, and when you see her offer her the
286
DIAMONDS AND ROSES
cream cakes and draw for her a drink from
the fountain. If she gave your sister such
a gift in return for a drink from the earthen
pitcher, how much more will she not do for
you when you serve her from silver?"
The elder girl, who was very lazy, began
to grumble. It was far to the fountain ; the
pitcher was heavy; why should she go when
all they had to do was to gather up the dia-
monds and pearls that her sister scattered
about.
The mother, however, would not listen to
her. She put the cream cakes in her pocket,
the pitcher in her hand, and pushed her
gently from the door, bidding her hurry or
the old woman might have disappeared.
The lazy girl went lagging down the road,
swinging her pitcher as she went, and now
and then stopping to pick up stones and
throw them at the birds that sang on either
hand. It took her twice as long as it had
taken her sister to get to the fountain.
287
DIAMONDS AND ROSES
When at last she reached it, there was no one
there.
"At least I shall not have to draw any
water," said the girl. Then she sat down in
the shade and began to eat the cream cakes.
She was munching and munching when she
saw a tall and beautiful lady coming toward
her through the forest. The stranger was as
tall and stately as a queen, and was mag-
nificently dressed, and, like a queen, she
wore a golden crown upon her head. She
was really a powerful fairy, and it was she
who, in the shape of an old woman, had
talked with her younger sister beside the
fountain. She had now resumed her own
shape, and the lazy one never guessed that
this bright stranger and the old woman she
had come to seek, were one and the same.
The fairy came near, and looked down at
the girl with a frown, for the lazy one
neither moved nor spoke, but only stared up
at her with her mouth full of cream cake.
288
DIAMONDS AND ROSES
"I see you have a pitcher," said the fairy,
"and as I am very thirsty, will you not draw
some water in it for me to drink'?"
The lazy girl took time to swallow the last
piece of cream cake, and then she answered
rudely, "I am not your servant. If you
want water, draw it for yourself."
Then as it seemed there was no chance
of the old woman's returning, she rose and
shook the crumbs from her skirt and pre-
pared to go.
"Wait!" said the fairy sharply as she was
turning away. "The words that fall from
your lips are like evil things, and as evil
things shall they appear. For every word
you utter a spider or adder shall fall from
your lips until you have learned to speak in
a proper and gentle manner."
Having so spoken, the fairy vanished,
floating away through the forest like a rosy
cloud. The girl shrugged her shoulders and
started homeward with her empty pitcher.
289
DIAMONDS AND ROSES
Even before she reached the house, the
mother came running to meet her and em-
braced her tenderly. "Did you see the old
woman'? And did she lay her spell upon
you*? Speak, my beautiful one, and let me
gather up the treasures that fall from your
lips."
The daughter pushed her away crossly.
"Be quiet," she said. "I saw no old woman,
and all I got for my pains is a — "
The mother started back with a shriek of
dismay; for every word her daughter had
spoken, a spider or an adder had fallen from
her lips.
"What is this!" she cried, wringing her
hands. "What evil spell has been laid upon
my precious beauty'?"
"I do not know," answered the frightened
girl. Then as she saw more spiders fall
from her lips she began to bawl aloud in her
wrath and terror.
"It is all the fault of your sister, the
290
DIAMONDS AND ROSES
hussy!" cried the mother. "Not another
night shall she spend in the house to bring
fresh misfortunes on us."
She ran back home and began to beat the
girl. Then she thrust her from the door.
"Go, go!" she cried, "and never let me see
your face again."
Frightened and weeping, the poor girl ran
away into the forest, and as she went, the
diamonds she shed marked the way she had
gone. They lay among the grasses spar-
kling like dewdrops, and lucky were those
who next came by that way; a whole fortune
lay there at their feet.
The Fair One wandered on and on
through the forest until she was completely
lost and did not know which way to turn.
It began to grow dark, and she was terrified
at the thought that soon the wild beasts
would begin to leave their lairs. She met
no one, and there seemed nothing for her to
do but climb a tree and prepare to spend the
291
DIAMONDS AND ROSES
night in the forest, when suddenly she heard
a sound of voices and the trampling of
horses. Presently the riders came breaking
through the bushes. They were magnifi-
cently dressed, and at their head rode one,
handsomer and more magnificent than them
all. It was the young prince of that coun-
try, who was returning late from a hunt,
with his attendants.
When he saw the young girl he reined in
his steed and gazed at her with wonder.
Never before had he seen such beauty; it
seemed to shine around her like a soft light.
"Who are you and whence come you, O
Fair One?" he asked.
"I am a poor girl who has neither home
nor shelter," she answered him, and as she
spoke, roses and pearls fell from her lips.
The prince was overcome with admiration.
"Never have I seen beauty to compare with
yours," he cried. "Come back with me to
the palace, I pray of you, for unless you
292
DIAMONDS AND ROSES
consent to be my bride I vow that I will
never marry."
Blushing, the Fair One allowed him to
place her on the horse before him, for it
seemed to her she had never seen anyone, at
once so handsome and so kind, before. So
he carried her home with him to the palace,
and when they saw her the old king and
queen were amazed at her beauty and sweet
ness. But when they saw the treasure that
fell from her lips whenever she spoke, they
gladly gave permission for her marriage with
their son.
To celebrate it, a magnificent feast was
prepared, and people were invited to come
to it from far and near. The Fair One, who
was very kind and forgiving, begged that
her mother and sister might be invited, too.
The prince could refuse her nothing, and so
the invitation was sent.
No sooner was it received than there was
a great commotion and excitement at the
293
DIAMONDS AND ROSES
house of the cruel mother. She and the sis-
ter bought fine dresses and jewels and feath-
ers that only served to set off their ill looks.
Last of all, they stepped into a coach drawn
by four black horses and drove away to the
palace. There everything was mirth and re-
joicing, and the widow and her daughter
bowed and smirked with the best of them.
But when they entered the grand hall where
the king and queen sat, and saw that the
prince's bride was no other than the younger
sister, and that she, too, sat upon a throne
with a crown upon her head, they were so
filled with envy and spite that they burst.
But the prince married the Fair One and
they lived happy ever after, beloved by the
king and queen and all their people.
294
THE THREE COWS
(From the Irish)
THERE was once a poor widow who
had one son named Barney, and some
said he was as sharp a lad as one
would care to meet, and some said he was
not much better than a simpleton.
One day his mother said to him, "My son,
bad luck is close after us these days. There
is no food in the house, and soon the land-
lord will be coming for our rent. Take our
white cow (for she is the poorest of the
295
THE THREE COWS
three), and drive her over to the fair, and
sell her to the one who will give the best
price for her."
Barney was more than willing to do this,
for it was better fun to go to the fair than
to work. He brushed his clothes and cocked
his hat, and off he started in a fine humor,
driving the white cow before him.
The sun was not yet high and the dew
lay thick on the hedgerows; birds sang on
either side of the road, and Barney whis-
tled to himself for very joy of life.
After a while he came to a stile, and sit-
ting on the top of the stile was a little man
scarce two feet high; he was dressed all
in green and a red cap was lying beside
him.
"Good morning to you, Barney," said the
little man.
Barney answered him politely as his
mother had taught him, but he wondered
how under the bright sun the stranger
296
THE THREE COWS
happened to know that his name was
Barney.
"And how much do you think you'll get
for the white cow at the fair?"
Then Barney wondered still more that the
little man should know his business as well
as his name. "My mother told me to get
the best price I could," he answered.
"The best price may be neither gold nor
silver. Wait a bit and I'll show you a thing
or two worth seeing."
The little man reached down into a deep
pocket in his coat, and drew out a tiny harp
and a tiny stool. These he set upon the top
step of the stile in the sunlight. Then he
reached down in his pocket again and drew
out a cockchafer. The cockchafer was
dressed in a tiny long-tailed coat and
breeches, and the moment the little man set
him on the stile, he drew the stool up in front
of the harp and began to try the strings and
tune them up.
297
THE THREE COWS
When Barney saw this he was so pleased
that he let out a whoop of joy.
"Wait a bit, for the story is not yet half
told," said the little man in green. He then
drew out a mouse dressed as a gentleman
of quality, and a bumblebee in a flowered
silk skirt and overdress. The cockchafer
began to play a tune, the mouse bowed to
the bumblebee, she courtesied to him and the
brindled cow he was driving before him, and
at sound of the gay music, Barney threw
back his head and laughed and laughed; his
feet began to jig it, the hat bounced on his
head, and the very cow herself jumped
about and waved her tail gayly.
After Barney had danced and laughed
himself weak, the tune came to an end; the
dancers stopped to rest, and Barney and the
cow, too, stood still.
''Well, and what do you think of that?"
asked the little man.
298
THE THREE COWS
"I think it's a better sight than any I'll be
after seeing at the fair."
"Listen now," the little man went on.
"It's needing a good cow I am. The truth
is that those who live under the hill have
sent me out to buy one, and if you like, I
will give you the little harp and the musi-
cian for your white cow."
Barney looked, and wished and scratched
his head. "It's not the sort of price my
mother thought I'd be after getting," he
said.
"It's a price that will be worth more than
gold and silver to you in the end," said the
little man.
Well, the end of it was that Barney gave
him the cow and received in exchange the
harp, the stool, and the little cockchafer.
He took out his handkerchief and wrapped
them up in it very carefully, and when he
looked about again the little man and
299
THE THREE COWS
Whitey had disappeared entirely. There
was no sign of them anywhere.
"And that's a curious thing, too," said
Barney to himself, and then he set out for
home.
When he came within sight of the house,
his mother was at the window watching for
him, and she came out to meet him.
"I see you sold the cow," she said. "And
how much did you get for it?"
"Come inside and I'll show you."
They went into the house and Barney
dusted off the table ; then he untied his hand-
kerchief and put the harp, the stool, and the
little musician upon it. The cockchafer
made a bow to Barney's mother; then he
seated himself and began to play, and if
Barney had laughed before he roared with
pleasure now. The old woman, too, began
to laugh and that was what she had not done
for many a year before. She laughed till
the tears ran down her face, and then she
300
THE THREE COWS
•dropped into a chair and laughed some
more.
But, when at last the tune came to an end,
the old woman wiped her eyes and began to
come to herself. Then she remembered the
cupboard was still bare, and the rent still
due the landlord in spite of all the gay do-
ings.
"You worthless lout!" she cried to her son.
"Is that what you sold the cow for? How
do you expect us to fill our stomachs and
pay the landlord with such nonsense as
that?'
Barney had no answer to make, for he did
not know.
Well, the money must be had, and the
next morning, Barney's mother sent him off
to the fair again, and this time it was the
brindled cow he was driving before him and
it was a much finer and larger cow than old
Whitey had been.
When he came near the stile he kept look-
301
THE THREE COWS
ing and looking to see whether the little man
in green was there, but it was not until the
lad came quite close to it that he saw him.
There sat the small one on the top step in
the sunlight, with his red cap lying beside
him.
"And how did your mother like the price
you got for old Whitey?" asked the small
man.
"Little enough; and the thanks are owing
to you for the scolding I got."
"Never mind! She'll be thankful enough
some day for the price I paid you. Is the
brindled cow for sale, too*?"
"Not to you," answered Barney.
"Ah, Barney, Barney ! I'm after thinking
you must be the simpleton some folk call
you. There's no one can pay you such a
good price as I offer. If you had but this
gay gentleman of a mouse to dance to the
music your mother would be fit to split her
302
THE THREE COWS
sides with laughter; and you may have him
for your own in exchange for that cow.
No, Barney would not listen to such a
thing, but the little man coaxed and
wheedled, until at last Barney gave him the
cow, and took the little mouse in exchange
for it.
When he reached home, his mother was on
the lookout for him.
"How much money did you get for the
cow?" she asked.
Barney made no answer to this, but he un-
tied his handkerchief, and let the little
mouse step out on the table. It had a
cocked hat under its arm, and with its claws
on its hip, he made a grand bow to the old
woman. She could do nothing but stare and
grin with admiration. Then Barney put
the cockchafer and the harp on the table too,
and as soon as it had tuned up, it began to
play, and the tune was so gay that the very
303
THE THREE COWS
heart danced in the bosom. The mouse be-
gan to dance and twirl and jig up and
down, and Barney and his mother stood
and laughed until they almost split their
sides.
But after the tune was all played out, the
old woman came to herself again; an angry
soul was she. She fell to crying just as hard
as she had laughed before, for the white
cow was gone, and the brindled cow was
gone, and the landlord no nearer to being
paid than he had been two days before.
But the money they must have, and there
was nothing for it but that Barney must set
off the next day for the fair with the red
cow, and she was the finest of the three.
He trudged along, driving it before him,
and after a while he came to the stile, and
there was the little man in green seated on
it.
"Good-day to you, Barney," said he
Barney answered never a word.
304
THE THREE COWS
^'That's a fine cow you have there."
Barney trudged along as though he had
not heard him, and never so much as turned
his head.
"Nay, but wait a bit, friend Barney," went
on the little man. "We have made two
bargains, and now we ought to make the
third, for there's luck in odd numbers — or
so people say."
Barney would have walked on if he could,
but when the little man said, "Wait a bit,"
it seemed as though he were rooted to the
ground, and he could not stir a step, how-
ever he tried.
Then the small one began to beg and plead
with him to let him have the cow in ex-
change for the bumblebee, and for a long
time Barney said no. At last, however, he
could refuse no longer; the trade was made,
and no sooner had the lad agreed and taken
the bumblebee in his handkerchief, than —
pouff! whisk! the small man and the cow
305
THE THREE COWS
both disappeared like the breath from a win-
dow-pane.
Barney stared and wondered, and then he
turned home again, but the nearer he came
to the house the slower he walked, for he
had some notion as to what his mother
would have to say about the bargain he had
made.
Well, things turned out just about as he
had thought they would. When he first
put the bumblebee and the others on the
kitchen table, when the cockchafer began to
play and the others to dance, his mother
laughed and laughed as she had never
laughed before in all her life. But when
they stopped and she had come to herself
again, she was so angry she was not content
with scolding. She caught up a broom, and
if Barney had not run out and hidden in
the cow byre he would have had a clubbing
that would have dusted his coat for him.
However, what was done was done, and
306
THE THREE COWS
what they were to do now to get food and
money was more than either of them could
say. However, the next morning, Barney
had a grand scheme in his head.
"Listen, mother; I have a scheme that may
bring us in a few pennies," he said. 'T will
take the cockchafer, the mouse and the
bumblebee with me to the fair to-day.
When we are there the cockchafer shall play
the harp and the mouse and the bumble-
bee shall dance, and it may be that the peo-
ple will be so pleased with their tricks that
they will give me some pennies."
There seemed nothing better to do than
this, so the widow gave her consent, and off
Barney set, and if his heart was light his
stomach was lighter for he had had noth-
ing to put in it that morning.
He trudged along and trudged along, and
after a time he came to the stile, and there
was the little green man sitting on it just
as he had sat before.
307
THE THREE COWS
"Good-day, Barney," said he.
"Good-day, and bad luck to you," an-
swered Barney. "It was an ill trick you
played upon me when you took from me our
three cows, and gave me only such nonsense
as I carry here in my pocket."
"Barney," said the little man, and he
spoke solemnly, "never again in all your
life will you make as good a bargain as you
made with me. I tell you now for a truth
that the price I paid you shall be the mak-
ing of you."
"And how will that be?' asked Barney.
"That is what I came here to tell you,"
said the little man. "It is no doubt well-
known to you that the king of Erin has a
daughter."
"It is that," answered Barney.
"But it may not also be known to you that
this princess is so beautiful that there never
was anything like it seen in all the world
308
THE THREE COWS
before, and that she is also as sad as she
is beautiful. It is feared, indeed, that un-
less something happens to cheer her she will
grieve her life away. Therefore, the king,
her father, has promised that whoever can
make her laugh three times shall have her
for his wife."
"But what have I to do with all that?"
asked Barney.
"You have this to do with it, that you
may be the lad to raise the laugh and to
have her for a wife, and it is with the cock-
chafer, the mouse and the bumblebee that
you shall do it."
"And that's the truth!" cried Barney
slapping his leg, "for sure there's never a
soul in all the world that could see those
creatures at their tricks and keep a sober
face on him."
The little man then told him exactly how
he was to proceed and act, and Barney lis-
309
THE THREE COWS
tened till he had made an end of all he had
to say, and then pouff! he vanished, and
Barney saw him no more.
He now turned his face away from the
fair and toward where the palace lay, and
off he set, one foot before the other, as fast
as he could go.
After a long journey he came to the place
he wished to go, and a very grand fine palace
it was when he reached it. But in front of
it there was a strange sight, and one that
Barney had no liking for; for there in front
of the door were twelve tall stakes, and
upon eleven of these stakes were eleven
heads, but upon the twelfth stake there was
no head.
However, Barney did not stay there long
looking at it, for he had other business on
hand than that.
He marched up to the palace door and
rapped upon it loudly with his stick. In a
moment it opened and there stood a man,
310
THE THREE COWS
all in gold lace, looking out at him. "What
do you want here?" he asked.
"I have come to see the princess and to
make her laugh," answered Barney as bold
as brass.
"You have a hard task before you," said
the man. "However, I am not the one to
say you nay, and I will go and tell the king
you are here."
He went away and then presently he came
back again and the king was with him.
The king looked Barney up and down and
then he said, "You are a fine stout lad, but
I misdoubt me you are not the one to make
the princess laugh. However, you may try
it if you like, but first you must know the
conditions. You must make her laugh three
times before you can have her for a wife,
and if you fail your head will be cut off
and set upon a stake, for so the princess has
made me promise it shall be." The king
further told him that eleven stout lads had
311
THE THREE COWS
already lost their heads, — "and there they
are to prove it," he said, and he pointed to
the stakes before the palace door.
Barney looked, and saw again that the
twelfth had nothing on it, and he liked the
looks of it even less than before, for it
seemed to him it would ht his head exactly.
However, he was not one to turn back.
"Your majesty, I will try it whether or no."
''Very well," said the king; "and when
will you try?'
"Now," said Barney; "in a moment."
He then took out the cockchafer, the
mouse and the bumblebee and tied them all
together with a long string, one in front of
the other, and set them on the floor and took
the end of the string in his hand.
When the king saw that, he began to
laugh, and the man in gold lace began to
laugh. They laughed and laughed until the
tears ran down their cheeks and they had to
wipe them away.
312
THE THREE COWS
"After all," said the king, "you may be
the one to win the princess for a wife."
With that they set off down a long hall, the
king first, and the man in gold lace next,
and, last of all, Barney with the three little
creatures following.
At the end of this hall was a grand fine
room with a grand fine throne in it, and
upon this throne sat the princess, and she
was looking very sad. All her ladies that
stood around looked sad too, for that was
the polite thing for them to do when she
was sorrowful.
When the princess saw the king she
frowned; and when she saw the man in gold
lace she scowled. But when she saw
Barney in all his tags and rags holding one
end of the string, and the three little crea-
tures hopping along behind him, first she
smiled and then she grinned, and then she
threw back her head and let out such a laugh
you could have heard it a mile away.
313
THE THREE COWS
"That's one I" cried Barney.
Then he untied the little creatures and
called for a table and set them upon it,
and he drew out the harp and stool and gave
it to the cockchafer. It seated itself and
tuned the harp, while the princess and all
her ladies stared and stared. Then it be-
gan to play and the mouse and the bumble-
bee began to dance; you'd have thought
they'd had wings to their feet.
At that the princess let out a laugh that
was twice as loud as the other.
"Thank you, princess," said Barney,
"that's two."
At that the princess stopped laughing
and looked as glum as the grave. The
cockchafer played, the others danced, faster
and faster, but not a third laugh could they
get out of the princess, and it seemed as
though Barney were to lose his head after
all. But the little mouse saw as well as
Barney what was like to happen, and all
314
THE THREE COWS
of a sudden he whirled around and brought
his tail, whack I across the bumblebee's
mouth. That set the bumblebee to cough-
ing. It coughed and coughed as though it
would cough its head off. Then the princess
began to laugh for the third time. The
more it coughed the more she laughed till it
seemed as though she might die of laugh-
ing.
''That makes the third time," cried
Barney, "and now I think you'll own I've
fairly won the princess."
Well, no one could deny that, so he was
taken to another grand room in the palace
and there he was washed and combed and
dressed in fine clothes, and when that was
done, he looked so brave and straight and
handsome that the princess was glad enough
to have him for a husband.
They were married the next day, and a
coach and four were sent to bring the old
mother to the wedding. When she came
315
THE THREE COWS
and saw her own son, Barney, dressed in that
way and holding a royal princess by the
hand, she could hardly believe her eyes, and
almost died of joy as the princess had of
laughing. A great feast was made, and the
little man in green was there, too, and
feasted with the best of them, but nobody
saw him for he had his red cap on his head,
and that made him invisible.
CENTRA._ . JLATION
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