produced by jc byers , carrie lorenz , gaston picard and david widger

the pink fairy book

by various

edited by andrew lang

preface

all people in the world tell nursery tales to their children .

the japanese tell them , the chinese , the red indians by their camp fires , the eskimo in their dark dirty winter huts .

i am quite sure that this story is not true .

the other danish and swedish stories are not alarming .

they are translated by mr w a craigie .

miss alma alleyne did the stories from andersen , out of the german .

so far all the tales are true , and no further .

contents

the cat 's elopement .

the cat 's elopement

[ from the japanische marchen und sagen , von david brauns ( leipzig : wilhelm friedrich ) . ]

now not far from the music master 's house there dwelt a lady who possessed a most lovely little pussy cat called koma .

now , before he had time to think , cupid had entangled him in his net , and he was filled with love towards koma .

gon entreated his master to set matters right by buying koma , but her mistress would not part from her .

at length the love of the couple grew to such a pitch that they determined to please themselves , and to seek their fortunes together .

so one moonlight night they stole away , and ventured out into an unknown world .

he came springing towards them showing all his teeth , and koma shrieked , and rushed up a cherry tree .

so poor little koma was left alone , while gon was borne away full of trouble , not in the least knowing what to do .

time passed on , and one morning gon lay before the house door , basking in the sun .

and they rubbed their heads and their noses again and again , while their purring might have been heard a mile off .

paw in paw they appeared before the princess , and told her the story of their life and its sorrows .

by-and-bye the princess herself got married , and brought a prince to dwell in the palace in the park .

and when the prince heard , he swore they should never leave them , but should go with the princess wherever she went .

how the dragon was tricked

from griechtsche und albanesische marchen , von j g von hahn .

( leipzig : engelmann .

@number@ )

' i wish you would bind me to a tree , ' exclaimed the shepherd , ' so that my back would get straight . '

' with all the pleasure in life , ' replied the youth .

' if you will loosen these cords i will tie you up with them as firmly as i can . '

so he commanded his guards to capture the young man and bring him before him .

fail in this , and you shall be hewn in a thousand pieces . '

' if that is all , ' said the youth , ' you shall soon have it . '

so he went out and made his way straight to the stable where the flying horse was tethered .

he stretched his hand cautiously out to seize the bridle , when the horse suddenly began to neigh as loud as he could .

but the king said , ' the flying horse is all very well , but i want something more .

' is that all ? ' answered the youth .

' that is easily done . '

and when night came he went away to the dragon 's house and climbed up on to the roof .

then he snatched up the covering and carried it to the king .

the king was seated on his throne when the youth appeared before him and spread out the covering with a deep bow .

' so be it , ' said the king .

he found his enemy before his house , very busy making a box , and addressed him politely , ' good morning , your worship .

have you a morsel of bread ? '

' what will you do with the box when it is made ? ' inquired the beggar .

' he deserves nothing better , ' answered the beggar , ' for it was an ill deed .

still that box is too small for him , for he is a big man . '

' you are wrong , ' said the dragon .

' the box is large enough even for me . '

but i am sure you would find it a tight fit . '

' no , there is plenty of room , ' said the dragon , tucking himself carefully inside .

the dragon pressed as hard as he could , but the lid never moved .

' it is all right , ' he cried ; ' now you can open it . '

then the young man married the king 's daughter and ruled over the land , but what he did with the dragon nobody knows .

the goblin and the grocer

translated from the german of hans andersen .

there was once a hard-working student who lived in an attic , and he had nothing in the world of his own .

there was also a hard-working grocer who lived on the first floor , and he had the whole house for his own .

the grocer could afford this , so the goblin stayed in the grocer 's shop ; and this teaches us a good deal .

when the student had said good night he suddenly stood still , reading the sheet of paper in which the cheese had been wrapped .

it was a leaf torn out of an old book a book of poetry

' there 's more of that over there ! ' said the grocer ' i gave an old woman some coffee for the book .

if you like to give me twopence you can have the rest . '

' yes , ' said the student , ' give me the book instead of the cheese .

i can eat my bread without cheese .

it would be a shame to leave the book to be torn up .

you are a clever and practical man , but about poetry you understand as much as that old tub over there ! '

and that sounded rude as far as the tub was concerned , but the grocer laughed , and so did the student .

it was only said in fun .

but only one thing at a time could use it , and that was a good thing , or they would have all spoken together .

the goblin laid the tongue on the tub in which were the old newspapers .

' is it true , ' he asked , ' that you know nothing about poetry ? '

' certainly not ! ' answered the tub .

' poetry is something that is in the papers , and that is frequently cut out .

and the goblin put the tongue on the coffee-mill , and how it began to grind !

but how bright it was !

out of the book shot a streak of light which grew into a large tree and spread its branches far above the student .

every fruit was a glittering star , and there was a marvellous music in the student 's room .

the little goblin had never even dreamt of such a splendid sight , much less seen it .

' i have never seen anything like this ! ' said the goblin .

' i never expected this !

i must stay with the student . '

the little fellow thought it over , for he was a sensible goblin .

then he sighed , ' the student has no jam ! '

and on that he went down to the grocer again .

and it was a good thing that he did go back , for the tub had nearly worn out the tongue .

but the goblin could no longer sit quietly listening to the wisdom and intellect downstairs .

there he felt the sort of feeling we have looking at the great rolling sea in a storm , and he burst into tears .

he could not himself say why he wept , but in spite of his tears he felt quite happy .

there he stood out on the cold landing , the autumn wind blowing through the cracks of the floor .

ah ! then it froze him , and he crept down again into his warm corner ; there it was comfortable and cosy .

when christmas came , and with it the jam with the large lump of butter , ah ! then the grocer was first with him .

but in the middle of the night the goblin awoke , hearing a great noise and knocking against the shutters people hammering from outside .

the watchman was blowing his horn : a great fire had broken out ; the whole town was in flames .

was it in the house ? or was it at a neighbour 's ?

where was it ?

the alarm increased .

the grocer seized his account books . and the maid her black silk dress .

he was standing quietly by the open window looking at the fire that was burning in the neighbour 's house just opposite .

the goblin seized the book lying on the table , put it in his red cap , and clasped it with both hands .

the best treasure in the house was saved , and he climbed out on to the roof with it on to the chimney .

but when the fire was put out , and the goblin thought it over then

' i will divide myself between the two , ' he said .

' i cannot quite give up the grocer , because of the jam ! '

and it is just the same with us .

we also cannot quite give up the grocer because of the jam .

the house in the wood

from the german of grimm .

a poor woodcutter lived with his wife and three daughters in a little hut on the borders of a great forest .

when the sun had risen high over the forest , the girl set out with a basin of soup .

she went on and on , till the sun set and night came on .

the trees rustled in the darkness , the owls hooted , and she began to be very much frightened .

then she saw in tile distance a light that twinkled between the trees .

not long afterwards she came to a house with lights in the windows .

she knocked at the door , and a gruff voice called , ' come in ! '

the girl stepped into the dark entrance , and tapped at the door of the room .

' just walk in , ' cried the voice , and when she opened the door there sat an old gray-haired man at the table .

his face was resting on his hands , and his white beard flowed over the table almost down to the ground .

by the stove lay three beasts , a hen , a cock , and a brindled cow .

the girl told the old man her story , and asked for a night 's lodging .

the man said :

pretty cock , pretty hen , and you , pretty brindled cow , what do you say now ?

the girl found plenty of everything in the kitchen , and cooked a good meal , but she did not think of the beasts .

she placed the full dishes on the table , sat down opposite the gray-haired man , and ate till her hunger was appeased .

the beasts answered :

you have eaten with him , you have drunk with him , of us you have not thought , sleep then as you ought !

the maiden went upstairs , and when she had made the bed , she lay down .

after some time the gray-haired man came , looked at her by the light of his candle , and shook his head .

and when he saw that she was sound asleep , he opened a trapdoor and let her fall into the cellar .

the woodcutter came home late in the evening , and reproached his wife for leaving him all day without food .

' no , i did not , ' she answered ; ' the girl went off with your dinner .

she must have lost her way , but will no doubt come back to-morrow . '

but at daybreak the woodcutter started off into the wood , and this time asked his second daughter to bring his food .

the man with the white hair again asked the beasts :

pretty cock , pretty hen , and you , pretty brindled cow , what do you say now ?

the beasts answered , ' duks , ' and everything happened as on the former day .

the girl cooked a good meal , ate and drank with the old man , and did not trouble herself about the animals .

and when she asked for a bed , they replied :

you have eaten with him you have drunk with him , of us you have not thought ,

now sleep as you ought !

and when she was asleep , the old man shook his head over her , and let her fall into the cellar .

on the third morning the woodcutter said to his wife , ' send our youngest child to-day with my dinner .

but the mother said , ' must i lose my dearest child too ? '

' do not fear , ' he answered ; ' she is too clever and intelligent to lose her way .

she was much distressed , and thought constantly of her poor hungry father and her anxious mother .

at last , when it grew dark , she saw the little light , and came to the house in the wood .

she asked prettily if she might stay there for the night , and the man with the white beard asked his beasts again :

pretty cock , pretty hen , and you , pretty brindled cow , what do you say now ?

' duks , ' they said .

there is food to spare outside ; i will attend to them first . '

then she went out and fetched barley and strewed it before the cock and hen , and brought the cow an armful of sweet-smelling hay .

' eat that , dear beasts , ' she said , ' and when you are thirsty you shall have a good drink . '

when the beasts were satisfied , the maiden sat down beside the old man at the table and ate what was left for her .

pretty cock , pretty hen , and you , pretty brindled cow , what do you say now ?

the animals said , ' duks :

you have eaten with us , you have drunk with us , you have tended us right , so we wish you good night . '

the maiden therefore went upstairs , made the bed and put on clean sheets and fell asleep .

she slept peacefully till midnight , when there was such a noise in the house that she awoke .

then all became still , and as no harm came to the maiden she lay down again and fell asleep .

but when she awoke again in broad daylight , what a sight met her eyes !

the maiden thought she must be dreaming , but in came three servants richly dressed , who asked what were her commands .

the spell could only be broken by the arrival of a maiden who should show herself kind not only to men but to beasts .

you are that maiden , and last night at midnight we were freed , and this poor house was again transformed into my royal palace .

as they stood there the king 's son told his three servants to go and fetch the maiden 's parents to be present at the wedding feast .

' but where are my two sisters ? ' asked the maid .

uraschimataro and the turtle

from the japanische marchen und sagen , von david brauns ( leipzig : wilhelm friedrich ) .

there was once a worthy old couple who lived on the coast , and supported themselves by fishing .

' after all , ' it said , ' what good can i do you ?

i am so young and small , and i would so gladly live a little longer .

be merciful and set me free , and i shall know how to prove my gratitude . '

years flew by , and every morning uraschimataro sailed his boat into the deep sea .

uraschimataro himself very nearly shared the same fate .

but he was a powerful swimmer , and struggled hard to reach the shore .

i will now pay my debt and show my gratitude .

the land is still far distant , and without my help you would never get there .

climb on my back , and i will take you where you will . '

uraschimataro did not wait to be asked twice , and thankfully accepted his friend 's help .

uraschimataro agreed willingly , and in another moment they were deep , deep down , with fathoms of blue water above their heads .

oh , how quickly they darted through the still , warm sea !

' where have you brought me ? ' he asked his guide in a low voice .

' to the palace of ringu , the house of the sea god , whose subjects we all are , ' answered the turtle .

' i am the first waiting maid of his daughter , the lovely princess otohime , whom you will shortly see . '

uraschimataro was still so puzzled with the adventures that had befallen him , that he waited in a dazed condition for what would happen next .

' is not that reward enough ? ' she asked , smiling , looking all the while as fair as the sun itself .

and uraschimataro said ' yes , ' and so he stayed there .

for how long ?

that he only knew later .

then he told her of the longing he had to visit his old home , and that he must see his parents once more .

the princess was almost frozen with horror , and implored him to stay with her , or something dreadful would be sure to happen .

' you will never come back , and we shall meet again no more , ' she moaned bitterly .

uraschimataro thanked her from his heart , and swore solemnly to do her bidding .

three days and three nights they swam through the sea , and at length uraschimataro arrived at the beach which lay before his old home .

the turtle bade him farewell , and was gone in a moment .

uraschimataro drew near to the village with quick and joyful steps .

he saw the smoke curling through the roof , and the thatch where green plants had thickly sprouted .

yet suddenly he felt a pang at his heart as he wandered down the street .

after all , everything was changed .

neither men nor houses were those he once knew .

quickly he saw his old home ; yes , it was still there , but it had a strange look .

anxiously he knocked at the door , and asked the woman who opened it after his parents .

but she did not know their names , and could give him no news of them .

still more disturbed , he rushed to the burying ground , the only place that could tell him what he wished to know .

here at any rate he would find out what it all meant .

and he was right .

and so he found that since he had deft his home , three hundred years had passed by .

but when the man spoke , he knew he was not dreaming , though he felt as if he had lost his senses .

in despair he bethought him of the box which was the gift of the princess .

perhaps after all this dreadful thing was not true .

he might be the victim of some enchanter's spell , and in his hand lay the counter-charm .

almost unconsciously he opened it , and a purple vapour came pouring out .

he ran to the brook , which flowed in a clear stream down from the mountain . and saw himself reflected as in a mirror .

it was the face of a mummy which looked back at him .

but she never came back any more , but instead , death came soon , and set him free .

the slaying of the tanuki

from the japanische murchen und sagen .

' he shall pay for them with his skin , ' he said to his wife .

' we will first kill him , and then cook him . '

so saying , he hanged the tanuki , head downwards , to a beam , and went out to gather wood for a fire .

suddenly she heard something whining and weeping in the corner , and , stopping her work , she looked round to see what it was .

the tanuki , however , did not despair , and seeing that her heart was softened , began his prayers anew .

' he only asked to have his bonds taken from him , ' he said .

these last words melted the good woman completely , and she unfastened the bonds that held him .

poor foolish creature !

in one moment the tanuki had seized her , stripped off all her clothes , and popped her in the mortar .

then he said to the peasant , ' you are a nice sort of person to seize animals and to talk of killing them !

you are caught in your own net .

with these words he turned and made for the forest .

the old peasant grew cold with horror as he listened , and seemed frozen to the place where he stood .

he wondered what had happened , and put his head in at the door and asked if anything was the matter .

' the false knave shall not go unpunished , ' said he .

next he took a hatchet , bade farewell to the old man , and departed to the forest .

he bent his steps to the dwelling of the tanuki and knocked at the door .

so he accepted the rascal 's company with joy , and made himself very pleasant as they strolled along .

then he trotted gaily to the house , the hare following after with his lighter bundle .

shrieking with pain , he let fall the burning wood from his back , and stamped and howled with agony .

no , the only way every to get any peace and quiet was to render the tanuki harmless for ever .

the tanuki fell straight into the water , and was held there by the hare till he was quite dead .

then he put the body in his boat and rowed to land , and told the old man that his enemy was dead at last .

the flying trunk

translated from the german of hans andersen .

but he did not do that ; he knew another way of spending his money .

if he spent a shilling he got back a florin-such an excellent merchant he was till he died .

now his son inherited all this money .

in this way the money was likely to come soon to an end , and so it did .

at last he had nothing left but four shillings , and he had no clothes except a pair of slippers and an old dressing-gown .

his friends did not trouble themselves any more about him ; they would not even walk down the street with him .

but one of them who was rather good-natured sent him an old trunk with the message , ' pack up ! "

that was all very well , but he had nothing to pack up , so he got into the trunk himself .

it was an enchanted trunk , for as soon as the lock was pressed it could fly .

he pressed it , and away he flew in it up the chimney , high into the clouds , further and further away .

in this way he arrived at the land of the turks .

he hid the trunk in a wood under some dry leaves , and then walked into the town .

he could do that quite well , for all the turks were dressed just as he was-in a dressing-gown and slippers .

he met a nurse with a little child .

' halloa ! you turkish nurse , ' said he , ' what is that great castle there close to the town ?

the one with the windows so high up ? '

' the sultan 's daughter lives there , ' she replied .

she was lying on the sofa asleep , and was so beautiful that the young merchant had to kiss her .

they sat close to each other , and he told her a story about her eyes .

they were beautiful dark lakes in which her thoughts swam about like mermaids .

and her forehead was a snowy mountain , grand and shining .

these were lovely stories .

then he asked the princess to marry him , and she said yes at once .

they will be indeed proud that i receive the god of the turks .

but mind you have a really good story ready , for my parents like them immensely .

my mother likes something rather moral and high-flown , and my father likes something merry to make him laugh . '

' yes , i shall only bring a fairy story for my dowry , ' said he , and so they parted .

but the princess gave him a sabre set with gold pieces which he could use .

when he had it ready it was saturday .

the sultan , the sultana , and the whole court were at tea with the princess .

he was most graciously received .

' will you tell us a story ? ' said the sultana ; ' one that is thoughtful and instructive ? '

' but something that we can laugh at , ' said the sultan .

' oh , certainly , ' he replied , and began : ' now , listen attentively .

' " we used to be on the green fir-boughs .

we were very rich , because the other trees only dressed in summer , but we had green dresses in summer and in winter .

then the woodcutter came , and our family was split up .

we have now the task of making light for the lowest people .

that is why we grand people are in the kitchen . "

' " my fate was quite different , " said the iron pot , near which the matches lay .

' " since i came into the world i have been many times scoured , and have cooked much .

my only pleasure is to have a good chat with my companions when i am lying nice and clean in my place after dinner . "

' " now you are talking too fast , " spluttered the fire .

' " yes , let us decide who is the grandest ! " said the matches .

' " no , i don't like talking about myself , " said the pot .

' " let us arrange an evening 's entertainment .

i will tell the story of my life .

' " on the baltic by the danish shore- "

' what a beautiful beginning ! " said all the plates .

" that 's a story that will please us all . "

' and the end was just as good as the beginning .

all the plates clattered for joy .

' " now i will dance , " said the tongs , and she danced .

oh ! how high she could kick !

' the old chair-cover in the corner split when he saw her .

' the urn would have sung but she said she had a cold ; she could not sing unless she boiled .

' in the window was an old quill pen .

there was nothing remarkable about her except that she had been dipped too deeply into the ink .

but she was very proud of that .

' " i don't think it 's proper , " said the kettle , " that such a foreign bird should be heard . "

' " oh , let us have some acting , " said everyone .

" do let us ! "

' suddenly the door opened and the maid came in .

everyone was quite quiet .

there was not a sound .

but each pot knew what he might have done , and how grand he was .

' the maid took the matches and lit the fire with them .

how they spluttered and flamed , to be sure !

" now everyone can see , " they thought , " that we are the grandest !

how we sparkle !

what a light- "

' but here they were burnt out . '

' that was a delightful story ! ' said the sultana .

' i quite feel myself in the kitchen with the matches .

yes , now you shall marry our daughter . '

' yes , indeed , ' said the sultan , ' you shall marry our daughter on monday . '

and they treated the young man as one of the family .

the wedding was arranged , and the night before the whole town was illuminated .

biscuits and gingerbreads were thrown among the people , the street boys stood on tiptoe crying hurrahs and whistling through their fingers .

it was all splendid .

' now i must also give them a treat , ' thought the merchant 's son .

whirr-r-r , how they fizzed and blazed !

all the turks jumped so high that their slippers flew above their heads ; such a splendid glitter they had never seen before .

now they could quite well understand that it was the god of the turks himself who was to marry the princess .

and it was quite natural that he should want to do this .

oh ! what stories the people had to tell !

each one whom he asked had seen it differently , but they had all found it beautiful .

' i saw the turkish god himself , ' said one .

' he had eyes like glittering stars , and a beard like foaming water . '

' he flew away in a cloak of fire , ' said another .

they were splendid things that he heard , and the next day was to be his wedding day .

then he went back into the wood to sit in his trunk ; but what had become of it ?

the trunk had been burnt .

a spark of the fireworks had set it alight , and the trunk was in ashes .

he could no longer fly , and could never reach his bride .

she stood the whole day long on the roof and waited ; perhaps she is waiting there still .

but he wandered through the world and told stories ; though they are not so merry as the one he told about the matches .

the snow-man

translated from the german of hans andersen .

' how astonishingly cold it is !

my body is cracking all over ! ' said the snow-man .

' the wind is really cutting one 's very life out !

and how that fiery thing up there glares ! '

he meant the sun , which was just setting .

' it sha'n't make me blink , though , and i shall keep quite cool and collected . '

he was born amidst the shouts and laughter of the boys , and greeted by the jingling bells and cracking whips of the sledges .

the sun went down , the full moon rose , large , round , clear and beautiful , in the dark blue sky .

' there it is again on the other side ! ' said the snow-man , by which he meant the sun was appearing again .

' i have become quite accustomed to its glaring .

i hope it will hang there and shine , so that i may be able to see myself .

i wish i knew , though , how one ought to see about changing one 's position .

i should very much like to move about .

' bow-wow ! ' barked the old yard-dog ; he was rather hoarse and couldn't bark very well .

his hoarseness came on when he was a house-dog and used to lie in front of the stove .

' the sun will soon teach you to run !

i saw that last winter with your predecessor , and farther back still with his predecessors !

they have all run away ! '

' i don't understand you , my friend , ' said the snow-man .

' that thing up there is to teach me to run ? '

he meant the moon .

' you know nothing at all about it , ' said the yard-dog .

' why , you have only just been made .

the thing you see there is the moon ; the other thing you saw going down the other side was the sun .

he will come up again tomorrow morning , and will soon teach you how to run away down the gutter .

' i can't understand him , ' said the snow-man ; ' but i have an idea that he is speaking of something unpleasant .

that thing that glares so , and then disappears , the sun , as he calls it , is not my friend .

i know that by instinct . '

' bow-wow ! ' barked the yard-dog , and walked three times round himself , and then crept into his kennel to sleep .

the weather really did change .

towards morning a dense damp fog lay over the whole neighbourhood ; later on came an icy wind , which sent the frost packing .

but when the sun rose , it was a glorious sight .

' isn't it wonderful ? ' exclaimed a girl who was walking with a young man in the garden .

they stopped near the snow-man , and looked at the glistening trees .

' summer cannot show a more beautiful sight , ' she said , with her eyes shining .

' and one can't get a fellow like this in summer either , ' said the young man , pointing to the snow-man .

' he 's a beauty ! '

the girl laughed , and nodded to the snow-man , and then they both danced away over the snow .

' who were those two ? ' asked the snow-man of the yard-dog .

' you have been in this yard longer than i have .

do you know who they are ? '

' do i know them indeed ? ' answered the yard-dog .

' she has often stroked me , and he has given me bones .

i don't bite either of them ! '

' but what are they ? ' asked the snow-man .

' lovers ! ' replied the yard-dog .

' they will go into one kennel and gnaw the same bone ! '

' are they the same kind of beings that we are ? ' asked the snow-man .

' they are our masters , ' answered the yard-dog .

' really people who have only been in the world one day know very little . '

that 's the conclusion i have come to .

bow-wow ! '

' the cold is splendid , ' said the snow-man .

' tell me some more .

but don't rattle your chain so , it makes me crack ! '

' bow-wow ! ' barked the yard-dog .

' they used to say i was a pretty little fellow ; then i lay in a velvet-covered chair in my master 's house .

my mistress used to nurse me , and kiss and fondle me , and call me her dear , sweet little alice !

but by-and-by i grew too big , and i was given to the housekeeper , and i went into the kitchen .

my food was just as good , or even better .

i used to creep right under that stove .

ah me !

i often dream of that stove still !

bow-wow ! '

' is a stove so beautiful ? ' asked the snow-man .

' is it anything like me ? '

' it is just the opposite of you !

it is coal-black , and has a long neck with a brass pipe .

it eats firewood , so that fire spouts out of its mouth .

one has to keep close beside it-quite underneath is the nicest of all .

you can see it through the window from where you are standing . '

and the snow-man looked in that direction , and saw a smooth polished object with a brass pipe .

the flicker from the fire reached him across the snow .

' why did you leave her ? ' asked the snow-man .

he had a feeling that such a being must be a lady .

' how could you leave such a place ? '

' i had to ! ' said the yard-dog .

' they turned me out of doors , and chained me up here .

but they were very angry , and from that time i have been chained here , and i have lost my voice .

don't you hear how hoarse i am ?

bow-wow !

i can't speak like other dogs .

bow-wow !

that was the end of happiness ! '

' how something is cracking inside me ! ' he said .

' shall i never be able to get in there ?

it is certainly a very innocent wish , and our innocent wishes ought to be fulfilled .

i must get there , and lean against the stove , if i have to break the window first ! '

' you will never get inside there ! ' said the yard-dog ; ' and if you were to reach the stove you would disappear .

bow-wow ! '

' i 'm as good as gone already ! ' answered the snow-man .

' i believe i 'm breaking up ! '

' i can't stand it any longer ! ' he said .

' how beautiful it looks with its tongue stretched out like that ! '

the window would not open ; he couldn't see the stove which he thought was such a lovely lady .

there was a cracking and cracking inside him and all around ; there was just such a frost as a snow-man would delight in .

but this snow-man was different : how could he feel happy ?

' yours is a bad illness for a snow-man ! ' said the yard-dog .

' i also suffered from it , but i have got over it .

bow-wow ! ' he barked .

' the weather is going to change ! ' he added .

the weather did change .

there came a thaw .

when this set in the snow-man set off .

he did not say anything , and he did not complain , and those are bad signs .

one morning he broke up altogether .

and lo ! where he had stood there remained a broomstick standing upright , round which the boys had built him !

' ah ! now i understand why he loved the stove , ' said the yard-dog .

' that is the raker they use to clean out the stove !

the snow-man had a stove-raker in his body !

that 's what was the matter with him !

and now it 's all over with him !

bow-wow ! '

and before long it was all over with the winter too !

' bow-wow ! ' barked the hoarse yard-dog .

but the young girl sang :

woods , your bright green garments don !

willows , your woolly gloves put on !

lark and cuckoo , daily sing february has brought the spring !

my heart joins in your song so sweet ; come out , dear sun , the world to greet !

and no one thought of the snow-man .

the shirt-collar

translated from the german of hans andersen .

' hulloa ! ' said the shirt-collar , ' never before have i seen anything so slim and delicate , so elegant and pretty !

may i be permitted to ask your name ? '

' i shan't tell you , ' said the garter .

' where is the place of your abode ? ' asked the shirt-collar .

but the garter was of a bashful disposition , and did not think it proper to answer .

' you ought not to speak to me ! ' said the garter ' ' i 'm sure i haven't given you any encouragement ! '

' when anyone is as beautiful as you , ' said the shirt-collar , ' is not that encouragement enough ? '

' go away , don't come so close ! ' said the garter .

' you seem to be a gentleman ! '

that was not true ; it was his master who owned these things ; but he was a terrible boaster .

' don't come so close , ' said the garter .

' i 'm not accustomed to such treatment ! '

' what affectation ! ' said the shirt-collar .

then came the glowing iron .

' mistress widow ! ' said the shirt-collar , ' dear mistress widow !

i am becoming another man , all my creases are coming out ; you are burning a hole in me !

ugh !

stop , i implore you ! '

' rag ! ' it said .

the shirt-collar was rather frayed out at the edge , so the scissors came to cut off the threads .

' oh ! ' said the shirt-collar , ' you must be a dancer !

how high you can kick !

that is the most beautiful thing i have ever seen !

no man can imitate you ! '

' i know that ! ' said the scissors .

' you ought to be a duchess ! ' said the shirt-collar .

' my worldly possessions consist of a fine gentleman , a boot-jack , and a hair-brush .

if only i had a duchy ! '

' what !

' well , i shall have to propose to the hair-brush ! ' thought the shirt-collar .

' it is really wonderful what fine hair you have , madam !

have you never thought of marrying ? '

' yes , that i have ! ' answered the hair-brush ; ' i 'm engaged to the boot-jack ! '

' engaged ! ' exclaimed the shirt-collar .

and now there was no one he could marry , so he took to despising matrimony .

time passed , and the shirt-collar came in a rag-bag to the paper-mill .

they had all much to tell , but no one more than the shirt-collar , for he was a hopeless braggart .

' i have had a terrible number of love affairs ! ' he said .

' they give me no peace .

i was such a fine gentleman , so stiff with starch !

i had a boot-jack and a hair-brush , which i never used !

you should just have seen me then !

never shall i forget my first love !

she was a girdle , so delicate and soft and pretty !

she threw herself into a wash-tub for my sake !

then there was a widow , who glowed with love for me .

but i left her alone , till she became black .

then there was the dancer , who inflicted the wound which has caused me to be here now ; she was very violent !

my own hair-brush was in love with me , and lost all her hair in consequence .

i have much on my conscience ; it is high time for me to become white paper ! '

and so he did ! he became white paper , the very paper on which this story is printed .

and that was because he had boasted so terribly about things which were not true .

the princess in the chest

translated from the danish .

from the very first they loved each other greatly , and lived very happily together , but they had no heir .

they had been married for seven years , but had neither son nor daughter , and that was a great grief to both of them .

this was hard to listen to , and she went and cried and vexed herself .

finally , the king said to her one day , ' this can't be borne any longer .

i go about childless , and it 's your fault .

i am going on a journey and shall be away for a year .

but if the nest is just as empty when i come home , then i must part with you . '

the wise woman knew help for this .

on that bush there are just at this moment three buds .

it was sweet to taste , but afterwards was as bitter as gall .

six months after this , she brought into the world a little girl .

this was a long time to wait .

the queen had also seen what the wise woman could do , so she insisted strongly that her warning should be obeyed .

i must see my daughter at once .

a few hours , more or less , can't make any difference . '

the queen begged him to have patience till the morning .

when they had waited so long , they could surely wait a single day more .

but the king was quite unreasonable .

he burst the door open , and pushed aside the nurse , who tried to stop him , and there he saw his daughter .

but you shall not die , even if you are ill now . '

the king kept his promise .

the first morning when they came to let the sentinel out , there was no sentinel there .

they thought he had just got frightened and run away , and next evening a new one was posted in the church .

in the morning he was also gone .

so it went every night .

the king then promised a large reward to the soldier who would volunteer for the post .

this did for some time , as there were found a few reckless fellows , who wished to earn this good payment .

but they never got it , for in the morning , they too had disappeared like the rest .

it was the capital of the country , and people of every king came to it to get work .

this smith , whose name was christian , had come for that same purpose .

there was no work for him in the place he belonged to , and he wanted now to seek a place in the capital .

there he entered an inn where he sat down in the public room , and got something to eat .

some under-officers were sitting there , who were out to try to get some one enlisted to stand sentry .

they had to go in this way , day after day , and hitherto they had always succeeded in finding one or other reckless fellow .

but on this day they had , as yet , found no one .

these sat down beside christian , and ordered drinks , and drank along with him .

he told these under-officers that he was one of that kind of folk who never are afraid of anything .

but neither did anyone know what had become of all the sentinels .

with that he felt as if he were rooted to the spot and could not move .

' nowhere , ' said he .

christian said , very humbly , that he dared not , and therefore wanted to get away , and begged to be let go .

the little man then pushed him in at the door again , and locked it after him .

christian made haste to get up into the pulpit , and stood there , without noticing anything , until the clock struck twelve .

it shrieked and howled , ' sentry , where are you ?

sentry , where are you ?

if you don't come , you shall get the most cruel death anyone had ever got . '

when the clock struck one , the appearance had to go back into the chest again , and christian heard the lid slam after it .

after this there was dead silence in the church .

then he came down from the pulpit , and stood with his musket in front of the princess 's chest .

the king immediately got out of bed , and laid the hundred dollars for him on the table , and then wanted to question him .

' have you seen anything ? ' said he .

' have you seen my daughter ? '

the king professed to be quite satisfied , and asked him whether he would engage himself to stand on guard again the following night .

' no , thank you , ' said christian , ' i will have no more of that ! '

you must be needing something to strengthen you after that turn . '

christian needed no pressing , but did full justice both to the food and drink , and not least to the latter .

see whether she had eaten him !

before he had been there two hours , he got tired of it , and thought only of getting away .

there you shall stay till you hear the lid of the chest slam down over the dead .

in that way you will come to no harm . '

with that the little man shoved him in at the door , and locked it .

' sentry , where are you ?

sentry , where are you ? ' it shrieked , and then rushed to the pulpit , and right up into it .

but there was no one there that night .

then it howled and shrieked again ,

my father has set no sentry in , war and pest this night begin .

at the same moment , it noticed the smith standing in front of the altar , and came rushing towards him .

' are you there ? ' it screamed ; ' now i 'll catch you . '

that night , however , it had not the same appearance as on the previous one ; it was less ugly .

he was taken up to the king again , and things went on as the day before .

the remainder of the day went like the previous one .

he played the boastful soldier , and the merry smith , and he had comrades and boon-companions in plenty .

at eight o'clock he had to put on his uniform again , and was shut up in the church .

so he decided to leave , without waiting so long as on the previous nights .

in that way he would escape the little man who had watched him before .

it was fairly high in the wall , but he got to the ground with no bones broken , and started to run .

he got down to the shore without meeting anyone , and there he got into a boat , and pushed off from land .

he laughed immensely to himself at the thought of how cleverly he had managed and how he had cheated the little man .

just then he heard a voice from the shore , ' good evening , christian , where are you going ? '

he gave no answer .

' to-night your legs will be too short , ' he thought , and pulled at the oars .

he could never get in at that window again , christian said ; it was far too high up .

then he said to him : ' notice well now what you have to do .

this evening you must stretch yourself out on the left-hand side of her chest .

the lid opens to the right , and she comes out to the left .

then she has no power over you , and both you and she are freed . '

sentry , where are you ? '

she went towards the altar , and right up to it , but there was no one there ; then she screamed again ,

my father has set no sentry in , war and pest will now begin .

then she went round the whole church , both up and down , sighing and weeping ,

my father has set no sentry in , war and pest will now begin .

then she went away again , and at the same moment the clock in the tower struck one .

then the smith heard in the church a soft music , which grew louder and louder , and soon filled the whole building .

he heard also a multitude of footsteps , as if the church was being filled with people .

the church was packed full , but he could see nothing .

when it was silent , the light of day began to break in through the windows .

the smith sprang up out of the chest and fell on his knees and thanked god .

she said further , that if he who had delivered her would take her in marriage , she would be his .

so they agreed that they would have each other , and love each other all their days .

and as for what christian said he saw , he had been drinking more wine than was good for him .

the three brothers

translated from the german of the brothers grimm .

there was once a man who had three sons , and no other possessions beyond the house in which he lived .

the sons were quite satisfied .

the eldest wished to be a blacksmith , the second a barber , and the third a fencing-master .

they appointed a time when they were to return home , and then they all set out .

it so happened that each found a good master , where he learnt all that was necessary for his trade in the best possible way .

the blacksmith had to shoe the king 's horses , and thought to himself , ' without doubt the house will be yours ! '

the barber shaved the best men in the kingdom , and he , too , made sure that the house would be his .

just then a hare came running across the field towards them .

' i like that very much indeed , ' said the father .

' unless the others exert themselves to the utmost , the house will be yours . '

soon after they saw a man driving a carriage furiously towards them .

' you are a clever fellow ! ' said the father , ' and know your trade as well as your brother .

i really don't know to which of you i shall give the house . '

when the father saw this he was astonished , and said , ' you have produced the greatest masterpiece : the house is yours . '

and so , because they had all been so clever , and so fond of each other , they were all laid in one grave .

the snow-queen

translated from the german of hans andersen by miss alma alleyne .

there was once a dreadfully wicked hobgoblin .

that was the best part of it , said the hobgoblin .

but one day the looking-glass was dropped , and it broke into a million-billion and more pieces .

for every tiny splinter of the glass possessed the same power that the whole glass had .

some people got a splinter in their hearts , and that was dreadful , for then it began to turn into a lump of ice .

the hobgoblin laughed till his sides ached , but still the tiny bits of glass flew about .

and now we will hear all about it .

they were not brother and sister , but they loved each other just as much as if they were .

their parents lived opposite one another in two attics , and out on the leads they had put two boxes filled with flowers .

then they had splendid games .

his name was kay , and hers was gerda .

outside it was snowing fast .

' those are the white bees swarming , ' said the old grandmother .

' have they also a queen bee ? ' asked the little boy , for he knew that the real bees have one .

' to be sure , ' said the grandmother .

' she flies wherever they swarm the thickest .

she is larger than any of them , and never stays upon the earth , but flies again up into the black clouds .

' yes , we have seen that , ' said both children ; they knew that it was true .

' can the snow-queen come in here ? ' asked the little girl .

' just let her ! ' cried the boy , ' i would put her on the stove , and melt her ! '

but the grandmother stroked his hair , and told some more stories .

a few snow-flakes were falling outside , and one of the , the largest , lay on the edge of one of the window-boxes .

the snow-flake grew larger and larger till it took the form of a maiden , dressed in finest white gauze .

she was so beautiful and dainty , but all of ice , hard bright ice .

still she was alive ; her eyes glittered like two clear stars , but there was no rest or peace in them .

she nodded at the window , and beckoned with her hand .

the little boy was frightened , and sprang down from the chair .

it seemed as if a great white bird had flown past the window .

the next day there was a harder frost than before .

then came the spring , then the summer , when the roses grew and smelt more beautifully than ever .

' i think it is gone now , ' said he ; but it had not gone .

and poor kay had also a splinter in his heart , and it began to change into a lump of ice .

it did not hurt him at all , but the splinter was there all the same .

' why are you crying ? ' he asked ; ' it makes you look so ugly !

there 's nothing the matter with me .

just look ! that rose is all slug-eaten , and this one is stunted !

what ugly roses they are ! '

and he began to pull them to pieces .

' kay , what are you doing ? ' cried the little girl .

this he did very well , and everybody laughed .

very soon he could imitate the way all the people in the street walked and talked .

his games were now quite different .

on a winter 's day he would take a burning glass and hold it out on his blue coat and let the snow-flakes fall on it .

' look in the glass , gerda !

just see how regular they are !

they are much more interesting than real flowers .

each is perfect ; they are all made according to rule .

if only they did not melt ! '

one morning kay came out with his warm gloves on , and his little sledge hung over his shoulder .

he shouted to gerda , ' i am going to the market-place to play with the other boys , ' and away he went .

the sledge drove twice round the square , and kay fastened his little sledge behind it and drove off .

it went quicker and quicker into the next street .

the driver turned round , and nodded to kay ina friendly way as if they had known each other before .

every time that kay tried to unfasten his sledge the driver nodded again , and kay sat still once more .

then he cried out , but nobody heard him .

he was dreadfully frightened .

the snowflakes grew larger and larger till they looked like great white birds .

all at once they flew aside , the large sledge stood still , and the figure who was driving stood up .

the fur cloak and cap were all of snow .

it was a lady , tall and slim , and glittering .

it was the snow-queen .

' we have come at a good rate , ' she said ; ' but you are almost frozen .

creep in under my cloak . '

and she set him close to her in the sledge and drew the cloak over him .

he felt as though he were sinking into a snow-drift .

' are you cold now ? ' she asked , and kissed his forehead .

the kiss was cold as ice and reached down to his heart , which was already half a lump of ice .

' my sledge !

don't forget my sledge ! '

the snow-queen kissed kay again , and then he forgot all about little gerda , his grandmother , and everybody at home .

' now i must not kiss you any more , ' she said , ' or else i should kiss you to death . '

then away they flew over forests and lakes , over sea and land .

round them whistled the cold wind , the wolves howled , and the snow hissed ; over them flew the black shrieking crows .

but high up the moon shone large and bright , and thus kay passed the long winter night .

in the day he slept at the snow-queen 's feet .

but what happened to little gerda when kay did not come back ?

what had become of him ?

nobody knew .

the other boys told how they had seen him fasten his sledge on to a large one which had driven out of the town gate .

gerda cried a great deal .

the winter was long and dark to her .

then the spring came with warm sunshine .

' i will go and look for kay , ' said gerda .

so she went down to the river and got into a little boat that was there .

presently the stream began to carry it away .

' perhaps the river will take me to kay , ' thought gerda .

before the door stood two wooden soldiers , who were shouldering arms .

gerda called to them , but they naturally did not answer .

the river carried the boat on to the land .

gerda called out still louder , and there came out of the house a very old woman .

she leant upon a crutch , and she wore a large sun-hat which was painted with the most beautiful flowers .

' you poor little girl ! ' said the old woman .

and then she stepped into the water , brought the boat in close with her crutch , and lifted little gerda out .

' and now come and tell me who you are , and how you came here , ' she said .

then gerda told her everything , and asked her if she had seen kay .

but she said he had not passed that way yet , but he would soon come .

she then took gerda 's hand and led her into the little house and shut the door .

the beautiful sunny hair rippled and shone round the dear little face , which was so soft and sweet .

then she led gerda out into the garden .

how glorious it was , and what lovely scents filled the air !

all the flowers you can think of blossomed there all the year round .

the next day she played again with the flowers in the warm sunshine , and so many days passed by .

she was looking one day at the old woman 's sun-hat which had hte painted flowers on it , and there she saw a rose .

gerda kissed the roses and thought of the lovely roses at home , and with them came the thought of little kay .

' oh , what have i been doing ! ' said the little girl .

' i wanted to look for kay . '

she ran to the end of the garden .

the gate was shut , but she pushed against the rusty lock so that it came open .

she ran out with her little bare feet .

no one came after her .

at last she could not run any longer , and she sat down on a large stone .

when she looked round she saw that the summer was over ; it was late autumn .

it had not changed in the beautiful garden , where were sunshine and flowers all the year round .

' oh , dear , how late i have made myself ! ' said gerda .

' it 's autumn already !

i cannot rest ! '

and she sprang up to run on .

oh , how tired and sore her little feet grew , and it became colder and colder .

she had to rest again , and there on the snow in front of her was a large crow .

then it asked the little girl why she was alone in the world .

she told the crow her story , and asked if he had seen kay .

the crow nodded very thoughtfully and said , ' it might be !

it might be ! '

' what !

do you think you have ? ' cried the little girl , and she almost squeezed the crow to death as she kissed him .

' gently , gently ! ' said the crow .

' i think i know i think it might be little kay , but now he has forgotten you for the princess ! '

' does he live with a princess ? ' asked gerda .

' yes , listen , ' said the crow .

then he told her all he knew .

' in the kingdom in which we are now sitting lives a princess who is dreadfully clever .

she has read all the newspapers in the world and has forgotten them again .

she is as clever as that .

the other day she came to the throne , and that is not so pleasant as people think .

then she began to say , " why should i not marry ? "

' when she told all the court ladies , they were delighted .

of course his sweetheart was a crow .

indeed , ' said the crow , ' you can quite believe me .

it is as true as that i am sitting here .

' young men came in streams , and there was such a crowding and a mixing together !

but nothing came of it on the first nor on the second day .

it seemed as if they were walking in their sleep until they came out into the street again , when they could speak once more .

there was a row stretching from the gate of the town up to the castle .

' they were hungry and thirsty , but in the palace they did not even get a glass of water .

' but what about kay ? ' asked gerda .

' when did he come ?

was he in the crowd ? '

' wait a bit ; we are coming to him !

on the third day a little figure came without horse or carriage and walked jauntily up to the palace .

his eyes shone as yours do ; he had lovely curling hair , but quite poor clothes . '

' that was kay ! ' cried gerda with delight .

' oh , then i have found him ! ' and she clapped her hands .

' he had a little bundle on his back , ' said the crow .

' no , it must have been his skates , for he went away with his skates ! '

' very likely , ' said the crow , ' i did not see for certain .

he nodded to them , saying , " it must be rather dull standing on the stairs ; i would rather go inside ! "

' the halls blazed with lights ; councillors and ambassadors were walking about in noiseless shoes carrying gold dishes .

it was enough to make one nervous !

his boots creaked dreadfully loud , but he was not frightened . '

' that must be kay ! ' said gerda .

' i know he had new boots on ; i have heard them creaking in his grandmother 's room ! '

' they did creak , certainly ! ' said the crow .

all the ladies-in-waiting were standing round , each with their attendants , and the lords-in-waiting with their attendants .

the nearer they stood to the door the prouder they were . '

' it must have been dreadful ! ' said little gerda .

' and kay did win the princess ? '

and the end of it was that they fell in love with each other . '

' oh , yes ; that was kay ! ' said gerda .

' he was so clever ; he could do sums with fractions .

oh , do lead me to the palace ! '

' that 's easily said ! ' answered the crow , ' but how are we to manage that ?

i must talk it over with my tame sweetheart .

' yes , i will get it ! ' said gerda .

' when kay hears that i am there he will come out at once and fetch me ! '

' wait for me by the railings , ' said the crow , and he nodded his head and flew away .

it was late in the evening when he came back .

she took it out of the kitchen ; there 's plenty there , and you must be hungry .

you cannot come into the palace .

the guards in silver and the footmen in gold would not allow it .

but don't cry !

you shall get in all right .

my sweetheart knows a little back-stairs which leads to the sleeping-room , and she knows where to find the key . '

oh , how gerda 's heart beat with anxiety and longing !

it seemed as if she were going to do something wrong , but she only wanted to know if it were little kay .

yes , it must be he !

she remembered so well his clever eyes , his curly hair .

she could see him smiling as he did when they were at home under the rose trees !

he would be so pleased to see her , and to hear how they all were at home .

now they were on the stairs ; a little lamp was burning , and on the landing stood the tame crow .

she put her head on one side and looked at gerda , who bowed as her grandmother had taught her .

' my betrothed has told me many nice things about you , my dear young lady , ' she said .

' will you take the lamp while i go in front ?

we go this way so as to meet no one . '

through beautiful rooms they came to the sleeping-room .

she pushed aside the curtain , and saw a brown neck .

oh , it was kay !

she called his name out loud , holding the lamp towards him .

he woke up , turned his head and it was not kay !

it was only his neck that was like kay 's , but he was young and handsome .

the princess sat up in her lily-bed and asked who was there .

then gerda cried , and told her story and all that the crows had done .

now they should have a reward .

and both crows bowed and asked for a permanent appointment , for they thought of their old age .

the next day she was dressed from head to foot in silk and satin .

the prince and princess helped her into the carriage and wished her good luck .

' good-bye , good-bye ! ' called the prince and princess ; and little gerda cried , and the crow cried .

they came at last to a dark wood , but the coach lit it up like a torch .

when the robbers saw it , they rushed out , exclaiming , ' gold ! gold ! '

they seized the horses , killed the coachman , footmen and postilions , and dragged gerda out of the carriage .

' she is plump and tender !

i will eat her ! ' said the old robber-queen , and she drew her long knife , which glittered horribly .

' you shall not kill her ! ' cried her little daughter .

' she shall play with me .

she shall give me her muff and her beautiful dress , and she shall sleep in my bed . '

the little robber-girl was as big as gerda , but was stronger , broader , with dark hair and black eyes .

she threw her arms round gerda and said , ' they shall not kill you , so long as you are not naughty .

aren't you a princess ? '

' no , ' said gerda , and she told all that had happened to her , and how dearly she loved little kay .

and she dried gerda 's eyes , and stuck both her hands in the beautiful warm muff .

the little robber-girl took gerda to a corner of the robbers ' camp where she slept .

all round were more than a hundred wood-pigeons which seemed to be asleep , but they moved a little when the two girls came up .

there was also , near by , a reindeer which the robber-girl teased by tickling it with her long sharp knife .

gerda lay awake for some time .

' coo , coo ! ' said the wood-pigeons .

' we have seen little kay .

she breathed on them , and all except we two died .

coo , coo ! '

' what are you saying over there ? ' cried gerda .

' where was the snow-queen going to ?

do you know at all ? '

' she was probably travelling to lapland , where there is always ice and snow .

ask the reindeer . '

' there is capital ice and snow there ! ' said the reindeer .

' one can jump about there in the great sparkling valleys .

there the snow-queen has her summer palace , but her best palace is up by the north pole , on the island called spitzbergen . '

' o kay , my little kay ! ' sobbed gerda .

' you must lie still , ' said the little robber-girl , ' or else i shall stick my knife into you ! '

in the morning gerda told her all that the wood-pigeons had said .

she nodded .

' do you know where lapland is ? ' she asked the reindeer .

' who should know better than i ? ' said the beast , and his eyes sparkled .

' i was born and bred there on the snow-fields . '

but you must go quickly and carry this little girl to the snow-queen 's palace , where her playfellow is .

you must have heard all that she told about it , for she spoke loud enough ! '

the reindeer sprang high for joy .

but , so that you may not freeze , here are my mother 's great fur gloves ; they will come up to your elbows .

creep into them ! '

and gerda cried for joy .

' don't make such faces ! ' said the little robber-girl .

' you must look very happy .

and here are two loaves and a sausage ; now you won't be hungry ! '

but take great care of the little girl . '

and gerda stretched out her hands with the large fur gloves towards the little robber-girl and said , ' good-bye ! '

then the reindeer flew over the ground , through the great forest , as fast as he could .

the wolves howled , the ravens screamed , the sky seemed on fire .

' those are my dear old northern lights , ' said the reindeer ; ' see how they shine ! '

and then he ran faster still , day and night .

the loaves were eaten , and the sausage also , and then they came to lapland .

there was no one in the house except an old lapland woman who was cooking fish over an oil-lamp .

' ah , you poor creatures ! ' said the lapland woman ; ' you have still further to go !

you must go over a hundred miles into finland , for there the snow-queen lives , and every night she burns bengal lights .

she laid a piece of ice on the reindeer 's head , and then read what was written on the stock-fish .

then the reindeer told his story , and afterwards little gerda 's and the finland woman blinked her eyes but said nothing .

' you are very clever , ' said the reindeer .

' i know .

cannot you give the little girl a drink so that she may have the strength of twelve men and overcome the snow-queen ? '

' the strength of twelve men ! ' said the finland woman ; ' that would not help much .

little kay is with the snow-queen and he likes everything there very much and thinks it the best place in the world .

but that is because he has a splinter of glass in his heart and a bit in his eye .

if these do not come out , he will never be free , and the snow-queen will keep her power over him . '

' but cannot you give little gerda something so that she can have power over her ? '

' i can give her no greater power than she has already ; don't you see how great it is ?

don't you see how men and beasts must help her when she wanders into the wide world with her bare feet ?

she is powerful already , because she is a dear little innocent child .

if she cannot by herself conquer the snow-queen and take away the glass splinters from little kay , we cannot help her !

the snow-queen 's garden begins two miles from here .

you can carry the little maiden so far ; put her down by the large bush with red berries growing in the snow .

then you must come back here as fast as you can . '

then the finland woman lifted little gerda on the reindeer and away he sped .

' oh , i have left my gloves and boots behind ! ' cried gerda .

she missed them in the piercing cold , but the reindeer did not dare to stop .

on he ran till he came to the bush with red berries .

then he set gerda down and kissed her mouth , and great big tears ran down his cheeks , and then he ran back .

there stood poor gerda , without shoes or gloves in the middle of the bitter cold of finland .

she ran on as fast as she could .

a regiment of gigantic snowflakes came against her , but they melted when they touched her , and she went on with fresh courage .

and now we must see what kay was doing .

he was not thinking of gerda , and never dreamt that she was standing outside the palace .

the walls of the palace were built of driven snow , and the doors and windows of piercing winds .

there were more than a hundred halls in it all of frozen snow .

here the snow-queen used to sit when she was at home .

he was pulling about some sharp , flat pieces of ice , and trying to fit one into the other .

he thought each was most beautiful , but that was because of the splinter of glass in his eye .

he fitted them into a great many shapes , but he wanted to make them spell the word ' love . '

the snow-queen had said , ' if you can spell out that word you shalt be your own master .

i will give you the whole world and a new pair of skates . '

but he could not do it .

' now i must fly to warmer countries , ' said the snow-queen .

' i must go and powder my black kettles ! '

( this was what she called mount etna and mount vesuvius . )

' it does the lemons and grapes good . '

and off she flew , and kay sat alone in the great hall trying to do his puzzle .

he sat so still that you would have thought he was frozen .

then it happened that little gerda stepped into the hall .

the biting cold winds became quiet as if they had fallen asleep when she appeared in the great , empty , freezing hall .

i have found you at last ! '

but he sat quite still and cold .

then gerda wept hot tears which fell on his neck and thawed his heart and swept away the bit of the looking-glass .

he looked at her and then he burst into tears .

where have you been so long ? and where have i been ? '

and he looked round him .

' how cold it is here !

how wide and empty ! ' and he threw himself on gerda , and she laughed and wept for joy .

the snow-queen might come home now ; his release the word ' love ' stood written in sparkling ice .

when they reached the bush with red berries there stood the reindeer waiting for them .

then they went to the lapland woman , who gave them new clothes and mended their sleigh .

the reindeer ran with them until they came to the green fields fresh with the spring green .

here he said good-bye .

it was the little robber girl who was tired of being at home and wanted to go out into the world .

she and gerda knew each other at once .

' you are a nice fellow ! ' she said to kay .

' i should like to know if you deserve to be run all over the world ! '

but gerda patted her cheeks and asked after the prince and princess .

' they are travelling about , ' said the robber girl .

' and the crow ? ' asked gerda .

' oh , the crow is dead ! ' answered the robber-girl .

' his tame sweetheart is a widow and hops about with a bit of black crape round her leg .

she makes a great fuss , but that 's all nonsense .

but tell me what happened to you , and how you caught him . '

and kay and gerda told her all .

then she rode on .

but gerda and kay went home hand in hand .

there they found the grandmother and everything just as it had been , but when they went through the doorway they found they were grown-up .

there were the roses on the leads ; it was summer , warm , glorious summer .

the fir-tree

translated from the german of hans christian andersen .

there was once a pretty little fir-tree in a wood .

the tree did not like that at all .

but when two more winters had passed the fir-tree was so tall that the hare had to run round it .

but then they were laid on waggons and dragged out of the wood by horses .

' where are they going ?

what will happen to them ? '

in spring , when the swallows and storks came , the fir-tree asked them , ' do you know where they were taken ?

have you met them ? '

the swallows knew nothing of them , but the stork nodded his head thoughtfully , saying , ' i think i know .

i met many new ships as i flew from egypt ; there were splendid masts on the ships .

i 'll wager those were they !

they had the scent of fir-trees .

ah ! those are grand , grand ! '

' oh ! if i were only big enough to sail away over the sea too !

what sort of thing is the sea ? what does it look like ? '

' oh ! it would take much too long to tell you all that , ' said the stork , and off he went .

and the wind kissed it and the dew wept tears over it , but the fir-tree did not understand .

why do they keep their branches ?

where are they taken to ? '

' we know ! we know ! ' twittered the sparrows .

' down there in the city we have peeped in at the windows , we know where they go !

they attain to the greatest splendour and magnificence you can imagine !

' and then ? ' asked the fir-tree , trembling in every limb with eagerness , ' and then ? what happens then ? '

' oh , we haven't seen anything more than that .

that was simply matchless ! '

' am i too destined to the same brilliant career ? ' wondered the fir-tree excitedly .

' that is even better than sailing over the sea !

i am sick with longing .

if it were only christmas !

now i am tall and grown-up like those which were taken away last year .

ah , if i were only in the cart !

if i were only in the warm room with all the splendour and magnificence !

and then ?

then comes something better , something still more beautiful , else why should they dress us up ?

there must be something greater , something grander to come but what ?

oh !

i am pining away !

i really don't know what 's the matter with me ! '

' rejoice in us , ' said the air and sunshine , ' rejoice in your fresh youth in the free air ! '

and at christmas-time it was the first to be cut down .

the axe went deep into the pith ; the tree fell to the ground with a groan ; it felt bruised and faint .

altogether the parting was not pleasant .

then came two footmen in livery and carried the fir-tree to a large and beautiful room .

how the tree trembled !

what was coming now ?

' to-night , ' they all said , ' to-night it will be lighted ! '

' ah ! ' thought the tree , ' if it were only evening !

then the tapers would soon be lighted .

what will happen then ?

i wonder whether the trees will come from the wood to see me , or if the sparrows will fly against the window panes ?

am i to stand here decked out thus through winter and summer ? '

now the tapers were lighted .

what a glitter !

what splendour !

the tree quivered in all its branches so much , that one of the candles caught the green , and singed it .

' take care ! ' cried the young ladies , and they extinguished it .

now the tree did not even dare to quiver .

it was really terrible !

it was so afraid of losing any of its ornaments , and it was quite bewildered by all the radiance .

' what are they doing ? ' thought the tree .

' what is going to happen ? '

but i am only going to tell one story .

shall it be henny penny or humpty dumpty who fell downstairs , and yet gained great honour and married a princess ? '

' henny penny ! ' cried some ; ' humpty dumpty ! ' cried others ; there was a perfect babel of voices !

only the fir-tree kept silent , and thought , ' am i not to be in it ?

am i to have nothing to do with it ? '

but it had already been in it , and played out its part .

and the man told them about humpty dumpty who fell downstairs and married a princess .

the children clapped their hands and cried , ' another ! another ! '

they wanted the story of henny penny also , but they only got humpty dumpty .

the fir-tree stood quite astonished and thoughtful ; the birds in the wood had never related anything like that .

' well , who knows ?

perhaps i shall fall downstairs and marry a princess . '

and it rejoiced to think that next day it would be decked out again with candles , toys , glittering ornaments , and fruits .

' to-morrow i shall quiver again with excitement .

i shall enjoy to the full all my splendour .

to-morrow i shall hear humpty dumpty again , and perhaps henny penny too . '

and the tree stood silent and lost in thought all through the night .

next morning the servants came in .

' now the dressing up will begin again , ' thought the tree .

' what does this mean ? ' thought the tree .

' what am i to do here ?

what is there for me to hear ? '

and it leant against the wall , and thought and thought .

now the tree was quite covered ; it seemed as if it had been quite forgotten .

' now it is winter out-doors , ' thought the fir-tree .

how thoughtful they are !

only i wish it were not so terribly dark and lonely here ; not even a little hare !

it 's so dreadfully lonely up here . '

' squeak , squeak ! ' said a little mouse , stealing out , followed by a second .

they sniffed at the fir-tree , and then crept between its boughs .

' it 's frightfully cold , ' said the little mice .

' how nice it is to be here !

don't you think so too , you old fir-tree ? '

' i 'm not at all old , ' said the tree ; ' there are many much older than i am . '

' where do you come from ? ' asked the mice , ' and what do you know ? '

they were extremely inquisitive .

' do tell us about the most beautiful place in the world .

is that where you come from ?

' i know nothing about that , ' said the tree .

' but i know the wood , where the sun shines , and the birds sing . '

how lucky you have been ! '

' i ? ' said the fir-tree , and then it thought over what it had told them .

' yes , on the whole those were very happy times . '

but then it went on to tell them about christmas eve , when it had been adorned with sweet-meats and tapers .

' oh ! ' said the little mice , ' how lucky you have been , you old fir-tree ! '

' i 'm not at all old ' said the tree .

' i only came from the wood this winter .

i am only a little backward , perhaps , in my growth . '

' how beautifully you tell stories ! ' said the little mice .

but they may come again .

humpty dumpty fell downstairs , and yet he married a princess ; perhaps i shall also marry a princess ! '

' who is humpty dumpty ? ' asked the little mice .

' is that the only story you know ? ' asked the rats .

' the only one , ' answered the tree .

' i heard that on my happiest evening , but i did not realise then how happy i was . '

' that 's a very poor story .

don't you know one about bacon or tallow candles ? a storeroom story ? '

' no , ' said the tree .

' then we are much obliged to you , ' said the rats , and they went back to their friends .

but now that 's over too .

but now i will think of the time when i shall be brought out again , to keep up my spirits . '

but when did that happen ?

' now life begins again ! ' thought the tree .

it felt the fresh air , the first rays of the sun , and there it was out in the yard !

everything passed so quickly ; the tree quite forgot to notice itself , there was so much to look at all around .

the golden star was still on its highest bough , and it glittered in the bright sunlight .

in the yard some of the merry children were playing , who had danced so gaily round the tree at christmas .

one of the little ones ran up , and tore off the gold star .

' too late !

too late ! ' thought the old tree .

' if only i had enjoyed myself whilst i could .

now all is over and gone . '

and that 's the way with all stories !

here our danish author ends .

this is what people call sentiment , and i hope you enjoy it !

hans , the mermaid 's son

translated from the danish .

in a village there once lived a smith called basmus , who was in a very poor way .

there was nothing the matter with him , and he complained neither of hunger or thirst .

he had got into a fog , he said , and could not find land again .

in those days everyone took what they found and got leave to keep it , so that the smith grew more prosperous day by day .

' will you have a bite of bread ? ' said the smith .

' oh , yes , ' said hans , for that was his name .

the smith then told his wife to cut a piece of bread for him .

she did so , and the boy swallowed it at one mouthful and went out again to the smithy to his father .

' have you got all you can eat ? ' said the smith .

' no , ' said hans , ' that was just a little bit . '

in a while the boy came out to the smithy again .

' well , have you got as much as you can eat ? ' said the smith .

' it must be of iron , ' said he , ' and one that can hold out . '

then the smith came dragging one as thick as a waggon-pole , but hans bent it over his knee and broke it like a straw .

when hans had got this he said , ' many thanks , father ; now i have got my inheritance . '

hans first arrived at a large estate , and it so happened that the squire himself was standing outside the farmyard .

' where are you going ? ' said the squire .

it was arranged that he should have a pot to himself , and he could then use the ladle to take his food with .

he slept both well and long , and all the rest were up and at their work while he was still sleeping soundly .

' get up , hans , ' he cried ; ' you are sleeping too long . '

hans woke up and rubbed his eyes .

' yes , that 's true , ' he said , ' i must get up and have my breakfast . '

he was to thresh that day , said the squire ; the other twelve men were already busy at it .

there were twelve threshing-floors , and the twelve men were at work on six of them two on each .

hans must thresh by himself all that was lying upon the other six floors .

he went out to the barn and got hold of a flail .

he then looked round for something else to work with , and found a pair of strong beams lying near .

next he caught sight of a horse-hide nailed up on the barn-door .

with the beams he made a flail , using the skin to tie them together .

the one beam he used as a handle , and the other to strike with , and now that was all right .

but the barn was too low , there was no room to swing the flail , and the floors were too small .

he then emptied down all the corn that he could lay his hands on and threshed away .

the squire opened his eyes at this announcement ; and came out to see if it was really true .

it was true , sure enough , but he was scarcely delighted with the mixed grain that he got from all his crops .

' what does that mean ? ' asked hans .

hans began to take up a little and sift it in his hands , but he soon saw that this would never do .

then he reported to the squire that that job also was done .

the squire said that that was well ; there was nothing more for him to do that day .

so hans had no objections to make .

long before the sun was up next morning , all the twelve men were on foot .

they took all the best horses and carts , and drove off to the forest .

hans , however , lay and slept on , and the squire said , ' just let him lie . '

at last , hans thought it was time to have his breakfast , so he got up and put on his clothes .

he took plenty of time to his breakfast , and then went out to get his horse and cart ready .

he therefore laid down the axe , put his arms round the tree , and pulled it up by the roots .

' what ! ' said hans , ' can twelve men not move that stone ? '

the squire was walking about there , looking and looking , for he was very curious to know what had happened .

at length the other men came home with their loads .

when they came in , hans said to them , ' do you remember the bargain we made last night ?

which of you is it that 's going to be hanged ? '

' oh , ' said they , ' that was only a joke ; it didn't mean anything . '

' oh well , it doesn't matter , ' said hans , and there was no more about it .

the steward said that he would manage this all right .

next morning they were to clean the well , and they would use of that opportunity .

after that they could just fill in the well , and then escape being at any expense for his funeral .

but hans was hard to kill , as we shall see .

' get up , hans , you are sleeping too long , ' he cried .

hans woke up and rubbed his eyes .

' that 's so , ' said he , ' i shall rise and have my breakfast . '

he got up then and dressed himself , while the breakfast stood waiting for him .

when he had finished the whole of this , he asked what he was to do that day .

he was told to help the other men to clean out the well .

that was all right , and he went out and found the other men waiting for him .

they answered that they would rather stay above-ground , as there would be no room for so many of them down in the well .

they then saw that they could not kill him with little stones , but they had still the big one left .

the whole twelve of them set to work with poles and rollers and rolled the big mill-stone to the brink of the well .

at this , hans would stay down no longer .

he would not be their priest , he said ; he had too little learning for that .

saying this , he bent down his head and shook the stone off , so that it crushed one of the squire 's big toes .

the squire went limping in to his wife , and the steward was sent for .

he was told that he must devise some plan for getting rid of this terrible person .

the scheme he had devised before had been of no use , and now good counsel was scarce .

' oh , no ' said the steward , ' there are good enough ways yet .

meanwhile , hans could do a little job where he would be free from these rascals .

he should go out on the lake and fish there that night , and would then be free from all work on the following day .

i can't do with less than that . '

there he got into the boat , rowed out upon the lake , and got everything ready to fish .

old eric hasn't taken him .

i am certain that all the fish are out of the lake , for the yard is just filled with them . '

' willingly , ' said hans ; ' but what road do i go , to get there ? '

the squire stood , and did not know what to say , and had first to go in to his wife to ask her .

whether he gets there or not , we shall be quit of him . '

out goes the squire again to hans .

' the way lies straight forward , south through the wood , ' said he .

he tied all these up together , and got them on his shoulder hanging on his good walking-stick , and off he tramped southward .

as he sat there and took his bite , a man came riding past him .

' where are you from ? ' said hans .

' from purgatory , ' said the man .

this brought it down on its hind legs , and the man went flying over its head into a ditch .

' just wait a little , ' said hans ; ' i am going the same way . '

there both horse and rider disappeared , and hans was left alone outside .

' they will come and let me in presently , ' he thought to himself ; but no one came .

he hammered at the gate ; still no one appeared .

then he got tired of waiting , and smashed at the gate with his staff until he knocked it in pieces and got inside .

a whole troop of little demons came down upon him and asked what he wanted .

his master 's compliments , said hans , and he wanted three years ' tribute .

they told him that a messenger had come from the squire at devilmoss to demand three years ' tribute .

he had knocked the gate to pieces and bruised their arms and legs with his iron staff .

' give him three years ' ! give him ten ! ' shouted old eric , ' only don't let him come near me . '

so all the little demons came dragging so much silver and gold that it was something awful .

but hans was also tired of service now .

the other half he took home to his father the smith in furreby .

since that time no one has ever seen hans , the mermaid 's son .

peter bull

from the danish .

there once lived in denmark a peasant and his wife who owned a very good farm , but had no children .

they often lamented to each other that they had no one of their own to inherit all the wealth that they possessed .

they continued to prosper , and became rich people , but there was no heir to it all .

one year it happened that they owned a pretty little bull-calf , which they called peter .

you might at least ask him about it . '

it will also cost you something , as some very expensive books are required . '

that did not matter at all , the man said ; they would not care so very much what it cost .

the clerk could have a hundred dollars to begin with to buy the books .

he also promised to tell no one about it , and to bring the calf round in the evening .

in a week 's time he came back to the clerk to hear about the calf and see how it was thriving .

he was getting on well with his learning , but another hundred dollars were needed , as they must have more books .

the peasant had the money with him , so he gave it to the clerk , and went home again with high hopes .

in another week the man came again to learn what progress peter had made now .

' he is getting on very well , ' said the clerk .

' i suppose he can't say anything yet ? ' said the man .

' oh , yes , ' said the clerk , ' he can say " moo " now . '

' do you think he will get on with his learning ? ' asked the peasant .

' oh , yes , ' said the clerk , ' but i shall want another hundred dollars for books .

peter can't learn well out of the ones that he has got . '

' well , well , ' said the man , ' what must be spent shall be spent . '

so he gave the clerk the third hundred dollars for books , and a cask of good old ale for peter .

the clerk drank the ale himself , and gave the calf milk , which he thought would be better for it .

meanwhile the clerk decided that the calf was as fat as it could be , so he killed it .

as soon as he had said ' good-day ' he asked , ' has peter come home here ? '

' no , indeed , he hasn't , ' said the man ; ' surely he hasn't run away ? '

he could say anything he liked now , so he said to-day that he longed to see his parents again .

when we had got outside the house i remembered that i had left my stick inside , and went in again to get it .

when i came out again peter had gone off on his own account .

i thought he would be here , and if he isn't i don't know where he is . '

the worst of it was that now they had no heir after all .

perhaps he had only gone astray , and he would advertise him at church next sunday , and find out where anyone had seen him .

then he bade them ' good-bye , ' and went home nad dined on a good fat veal roast .

he put the newspaper in his pocket , and went round to the sorrowing couple who had lost their heir .

he read the paragraph to them , and added , ' i wonder , now , whether that could be your bull-calf peter ? '

' yes , of course it is , ' said the man ; ' who else would it be ? '

it was no short way , and he travelled for many days before he finally arrived there .

he reached it one morning , just at daybreak , found out the right place , and asked if the merchant was at home .

yes , he was , said the people , but he was not up yet .

' that doesn't matter , ' said the peasant , ' for i am his father .

just show me up to his bedroom . '

the peasant rushed straight up to him and took a firm hold of him .

get up , now , so that i can see you properly , and have a talk with you . '

the merchant thought that it was a lunatic who had made his way in to him , and thought it best to take things quietly .

' all right , ' said he , ' i shall do so at once . '

he got out of bed and made haste to dress himself .

' ay , ' said the peasant , ' now i can see how clever our clerk is .

he has done well by you , for now you look just like a human being .

' no , ' said the merchant , ' i can't find time just now .

i have a big business to look after . '

' you could have the farm at once , you know , ' said the peasant , ' and we old people would retire .

but if you would rather stay in business , of course you may do so .

are you in want of anything ? '

' oh , yes , ' said the merchant ; ' i want nothing so much as money .

a merchant has always a use for that . '

' i can well believe that , ' said the peasant , ' for you had nothing at all to start with .

i have brought some with me for that very end . '

with that he emptied his bag of money out upon the table , so that it was all covered with bright dollars .

' very well , ' said the peasant , ' but you must call me " father . " '

' i have neither father nor mother alive , ' said peter bull .

she was delighted to hear that it was true enough about peter bull that he was no other than their own bull-calf .

the man agreed with this , and thanked the clerk for all he had done , and gave him two hundred dollars .

then he sold the farm , and removed with his wife to the town where their dear son and heir was living .

to him they gave all their wealth , and lived with him till their dying day .

the bird ' grip '

translated from the swedish .

the blind king was greatly rejoiced at his son 's resolve , fitted him out in the best way he could , and let him go .

the king granted his request , and fitted him out in the finest fashion .

this prince also was fitted out in the finest manner , like his brothers , and so rode away .

he then said farewell to his brothers , and rode on to find another inn in which to pass the night .

he sprang up from the table and asked the girl what those cries were , and whether he had fallen into a den of robbers .

the prince answered that his errand was too important to be confided to everyone that he met .

when they had traversed the forest together they saw the castle at some distance .

he could then take the bird , but he must beware of stroking it ; otherwise it would go ill with him .

the prince took the grains of gold , and promised to follow the fox 's directions faithfully .

when he came to the guard-room of the castle he threw one of the grains in there , and the guards at once fell asleep .

at this the whole castle woke up , and the prince was taken prisoner .

to this also the prince said ' yes . '

at the same time he strictly warned him not to kiss the princess .

then both she and all the others in the castle woke ; the prince was taken prisoner , and put into a strong dungeon .

to this also the prince said ' yes . '

when he had gone a little way from the castle he met the fox , and they continued on their journey together .

the prince promised to be firm this time .

this recalled to him his promise and his danger , so he led out the horse without looking at the golden saddle again .

' i know that , ' said the fox , ' for it was i who struck you over the arm . '

the prince was quite ready , and promised to keep better command of himself this time , and not kiss her .

when they came near to the castle where the bird grip sat in his cage he again asked the fox for three grains of gold .

these he got , and with them he was successful in carrying off the bird .

' here our ways part , ' said the fox .

they soon arrived at the inn where the two eldest brothers had stayed , forgetting their errand .

but now no merry song or noise of mirth was heard from it .

then they set the princess on horseback , took the bird grip , and rode homeward .

when they arrived at their father 's palace there was great rejoicing , and everyone praised the two princes for their courage and bravery .

nor was the fox angry with him for having forgot his last warning .

the prince replied that he would do him any service that was in his power .

then at last the prince drew his good sword and cut off the fox 's head , and the next moment a youth stood before him .

with this they parted and the prince , disguising himself as a horse-shoer , went up to his father 's palace and offered his services there .

he himself knew so much about the bird 's ways that if he only got to see it he could tell at once what it lacked .

snowflake

slavonic story .

contes populaires slaves , traduits par louis leger .

paris : leroux , editeur .

once upon a time there lived a peasant called ivan , and he had a wife whose name was marie .

ivan and marie watched them , the while thinking about many things .

' why not ? ' replied marie , who happened to be in a very good temper ; ' it might amuse us a little .

but there is no use making a woman .

let us make a little snow child , and pretend it is a living one . '

then the two set to work with all their might to make a doll out of the snow .

they shaped a little body and two little hands and two little feet .

on top of all they placed a ball of snow , out of which the head was to be .

' what in the world are you doing ? ' asked a passer-by .

' can't you guess ? ' returned ivan .

' making a snow-child , ' replied marie .

they had finished the nose and the chin .

two holes were left for the eyes , and ivan carefully shaped out the mouth .

no sooner had he done so than he felt a warm breath upon his cheek .

' what is it ? ' cried ivan , crossing himself .

' am i mad , or is the thing bewitched ? '

the snow-child bent its head as if it had been really alive .

it moved its little arms and its little legs in the snow that lay about it just as the living children did theirs .

' ah !

ivan , ivan , ' exclaimed marie , trembling with joy , ' heaven has sent us a child at last ! '

and she threw herself upon snowflake ( for that was the snow-child 's name ) and covered her with kisses .

' oh ! my darling snowflake ! ' cried the old woman , and led her into the cottage .

and snowflake grew fast ; each hour as well as each day made a difference , and every day she became more and more beautiful .

the old couple hardly knew how to contain themselves for joy , and thought of nothing else .

she was their doll , and they were continually inventing new dresses for her , and teaching her songs or playing with her .

nobody knew how clever she was !

she noticed everything , and could learn a lesson in a moment .

anyone would have taken her for thirteen at least !

and , besides all that , she was so good and obedient ; and so pretty , too !

her skin was as white as snow , her eyes as blue as forget-me-nots , and her hair was long and golden .

only her cheeks had no colour in them , but were as fair as her forehead .

so the winter went on , till at last the spring sun mounted higher in the heavens and began to warm the earth .

the grass grew green in the fields , and high in the air the larks were heard singing .

the village girls met and danced in a ring , singing , ' beautiful spring , how came you here ?

how came you here ?

did you come on a plough , or was it a harrow ? '

only snowflake sat quite still by the window of the cottage .

' what is the matter , dear child ? ' asked marie .

' why are you so sad ?

are you ill ? or have they treated you unkindly ? '

' no , ' replied snowflake , ' it is nothing , mother ; no one has hurt me ; i am well . '

but the gayer grew the birds and the flowers the sadder became snowflake .

she hid herself from her playmates , and curled herself up where the shadows were deepest , like a lily amongst its leaves .

her only pleasure was to lie amid the green willows near some sparkling stream .

at the dawn and at twilight only she seemed happy .

the spring passed , and it was the eve of st john , or midsummer day .

this was the greatest holiday of the year , when the young girls met in the woods to dance and play .

they went to fetch snowflake , and said to marie : ' let her come and dance with us . '

but marie was afraid ; she could not tell why , only she could not bear the child to go .

snowflake did not wish to go either , but they had no excuse ready .

you know she is the light of my eyes to me . '

' oh , we will take care of her , ' cried the girls gaily , and they ran off to the woods .

there they wore wreaths , gathered nosegays , and sang songs some sad , some merry .

and whatever they did snowflake did too .

when the sun set they lit a fire of dry grass , and placed themselves in a row , snowflake being the last of all .

' now , watch us , ' they said , ' and run just as we do . '

and they all began to sing and to jump one after another across the fire .

suddenly , close behind them , they heard a sigh , then a groan .

' ah ! '

they turned hastily and looked at each other .

there was nothing .

they looked again .

where was snowflake ?

she has hidden herself for fun , they thought , and searched for her everywhere .

' snowflake !

snowflake ! '

but there was no answer .

' where can she be ?

oh , she must have gone home . '

they returned to the village , but there was no snowflake .

for days after that they sought her high and low .

they examined every bush and every hedge , but there was no snowflake .

and sometimes they thought they heard a call , but it was never the voice of snowflake .

and what had become of her ?

had a fierce wild beast seized her and dragged her into his lair in the forest ?

had some bird carried her off across the wide blue sea ?

no , no beast had touched her , no bird had borne her away .

i know what i have learned

from the danish .

there was once a man who had three daughters , and they were all married to trolls , who lived underground .

then he entered the mound along with her .

' we can get it easier than that ! ' said the troll .

he was just as well as ever after doing this , and they got their broth without further trouble .

the troll then gave the old man a sackful of money , and laden with this he betook himself homewards .

' what kind of a hurry is this to come home in ? ' said she .

' no , the cow has not calved yet . '

' then you must come out and help me in with a sackful of money , ' said the man .

' a sackful of money ? ' cried his wife .

' yes , a sackful of money , ' said he .

' is that so very wonderful ? '

his wife did not believe very much what he told her , but she humoured him , and went out with him .

when they came to the spot where he had left it there was no money there ; a thief had come along and stolen it .

his wife then grew angry and scolded him heartily .

' well , well ! ' said he , ' hang the money !

i know what i have learned . '

' what have you learned ? ' said she .

' ah !

i know that , ' said the man .

after some time had passed the man had a mind to visit his second eldest daughter .

as he sat there his daughter came up out of the mound , and invited him to come inside , which he did very willingly .

soon after this the troll came home .

it was dark by that time , and his wife bade him go and buy some candles .

' oh , we shall soon get a light , ' said the troll .

with that he dipped his fingers into the fire , and they then gave light without being burned in the least .

the old man got two sacks of money here , and plodded away homewards with these .

' whatever is the matter with you ? ' said she .

' you come hurrying as if the whole house was about to fall .

you may set your mind at rest : the cow has not calved yet . '

the man now asked her to come and help him home with the two sacks of money .

when they came to the spot there had again been a thief there and taken the money .

a third time the man set out to visit his eldest daughter .

the daughter then came out of the mound and invited her father to come inside .

in a little the troll came home , and his wife asked him to go and buy some fish .

' we can get them much more easily than that , ' said the troll .

' give me your dough trough and your ladle . '

they seated themselves in the trough , and rowed out on the lake which was beside the mound .

when they had got out a little way the troll said to his wife , ' are my eyes green ? '

' no , not yet , ' said she .

he rowed on a little further and asked again , ' are my eyes not green yet ? '

' yes , ' said his wife , ' they are green now . '

then the troll sprang into the water and ladled up so many fish that in a short time the trough could hold no more .

they then rowed home again , and had a good meal off the fish .

the old man now got three sacks full of money , and set off home with them .

when he was almost home the cow again came into his head , and he laid down the money .

then he ran home and asked his wife whether the cow had calved .

i know what i have learned . '

' what have you learned i should like to know ? ' said his wife .

' you will see that yet , ' said the man .

' there 's no need of that , ' said he ; ' we can get it an easier way . '

after he had recovered from this his wife asked him one day to go and buy candles , as they had none .

' no , ' he said , ' there 's no need for that ; ' and he stuck his hand into the fire .

this also made him take to bed for a good while .

when he had got better again his wife one day wanted fish , and asked him to go and buy some .

they both seated themselves in this , and rowed upon the lake .

when they had got out a little way the man said , ' are my eyes green ? '

' no , ' said his wife ; ' why should they be ? '

they rowed a little further out , and he asked again , ' are my eyes not green yet ? '

' what nonsense is this ? ' said she ; ' why should they be green ? '

' oh , my dear , ' said he , ' can't you just say that they are green ? '

' very well , ' said she , ' they are green . '

the cunning shoemaker

sicilianische mahrchen .

so down he went to mascalucia , and walked through the streets crying , ' who wants some shoes ? '

and very soon a window was pushed up , and a woman 's head was thrust out of it .

' here are a pair for you to patch , ' she said .

and he sat down on her doorstep and set about patching them .

' how much do i owe you ? ' she asked when they were done .

' a shilling . '

' here is eighteen pence , and good luck to you . '

and he went his way .

' here are some shoes for you to patch . '

and the shoemaker sat down on the doorstep and patched them .

' how much do i owe you ? ' asked the woman when the shoes were finished .

' a florin . '

' here is a crown piece , and good luck to you . '

and she shut the window .

' well , ' thought the shoemaker , ' i have done finely .

but as he entered a thick wood he saw in the distance a band of robbers who were coming quickly towards him .

what can i do ? '

then he rode on .

directly the robber came up to him they seized him exactly as he had foretold and took away all his money .

as he spoke the donkey gave himself a shake , and down fell the five florins .

' where did that come from ? ' asked the robbers .

' ah , ' replied the shoemaker , ' you have guessed my secret .

the donkey is a golden donkey , and supplies me with all my money . '

' sell him to us , ' said the robbers .

' we will give you any price you like . '

' but listen to what i tell you , ' said he .

his companions agreed , and then he told his wife to put a mattress in the stable .

she asked if he had gone out of his mind , but he answered crossly , ' what is that to you ?

do as you are bid , and to-morrow i will bring you some treasures . '

but i shall say nothing about it till everyone has had his turn ! '

one after another they all took the donkey , but no money was forthcoming for anybody .

just as before , the shoemaker saw them a long way off , and began to think how he could outwit them again .

there you must lie till i play on my guitar ; then get up and begin to dance . '

they entered with a great noise , and overwhelmed the shoemaker with reproaches for having deceived them about the donkey .

you shall have back the fifty gold pieces that you gave for him .

' wait a little , ' answered she ; ' i must first bake this fish .

it will be spoilt if i leave it now . '

the blood spurted out freely , and she fell to the ground as if she was dead .

' what have you done ? ' asked the robbers , looking at him in dismay .

' the poor woman was doing nothing . '

hardly had he struck the first notes than his wife sat up ; then got on her feet and danced .

the robbers stared with open mouths , and at last they said , ' master joseph , you may keep the fifty gold pieces .

but tell us what you will take for your guitar , for you must sell it to us ? '

however , the robbers would not listen to him , and at last he consented to take forty gold pieces for the guitar .

but the captain declared that the first trial belonged to him , and after that the others might have their turn .

that evening he called to his wife and said , ' what have you got for supper ? '

' macaroni , ' answered she .

' why have you not boiled a fish ? ' he cried , and stabber in the neck so that she fell dead .

' oh , lying shoemaker !

oh , abominable knave !

twice has he got the better of me .

but i will pay him out ! '

so he raged and swore , but it did him no good .

the fact remained that he had killed his wife and could not bring her back again .

the next morning came one of the robbers to fetch the guitar , and to hear what had happened .

' well , how have you got on ? '

' oh , splendidly !

i stabbed my wife , and then began to play , and now she is as well as ever . '

' did you really ?

then this evening i will try for myself . '

the band lost no time in setting out for his house , and , as before , the shoemaker saw them coming from afar .

then tell the dog to call me , and chase him from the house . '

when he had given these directions he ran out of the back door and hid behind a barrel .

a few minutes later the robbers arrived , and called loudly for the shoemaker .

' alas ! good gentlemen , he is up in the vineyard , but i will send the dog after him at once .

here ! now quickly to the vineyard , and tell your master some gentlemen are here who wish to speak to him .

go as fast as you can . '

and she opened the door and let the dog out .

' you can really trust the dog to call your husband ? ' asked the robbers .

' dear me , yes !

he understands everything , and will always carry any message i give him . '

by-and-bye the shoemaker came in and said , ' good morning , gentlemen ; the dog tells me you wish to speak to me . '

' yes , we do , ' replied the robber ; ' we have come to speak to you about that guitar .

' you could not have played properly , ' said the shoemaker .

' it was your own fault . '

' well , we will forget all about it , ' answered the robbers , ' if you will only sell us your dog . '

' oh , that is impossible !

i should never get on without him . '

but the robbers offered him forty gold pieces , and at last he agreed to let them have the dog .

the dog bounded off , but ran straight to the shoemaker .

' master joseph , is the dog here ? ' asked he .

' ah ! yes , the poor beast is so fond of me !

you must give him time to get accustomed to new ways . '

the shoemaker lay quite still , and let them do as they would .

so they put the sack down by the roadside , and went into the church .

now , on a hill near by there was a swineherd looking after a great herd of pigs and whistling merrily .

when master joseph heard him he cried out as loud as he could , ' i won't ; i won't , i say . '

' what won't you do ? ' asked the swineherd .

' oh , ' replied the shoemaker .

' they want me to marry the king 's daughter , and i won't do it . '

' how lucky you are ! ' sighed the swineherd .

' now , if it were only me ! '

' oh , if that 's all ! ' replied the cunning shoemaker , ' get you into this sack , and let me out . '

then the swineherd opened the sack and took the place of the shoemaker , who went gaily off , driving the pigs before him .

as they came back they met the shoemaker , and stared at him with open mouths .

' oh , if you only knew how many pigs live in the sea , ' he cried .

' and the deeper you go the more there are .

i have just brought up these , and mean to return for some more . '

' there are still some left there ? '

' oh , more than i could count , ' replied the shoemaker .

' i will show you what you must do . '

then he led the robbers back to the shore .

the king who would have a beautiful wife

sicilianische mahrchen .

one day he had wandered far and wide , and was feeling very tired and thirsty .

by the roadside stood a tiny little house , and here he knocked and asked for a cup of water .

now in this house dwelt two sisters , and one was eighty and the other ninety years old .

they were very poor , and earned their living by spinning .

and he made haste back , and told the king .

' go back at once , ' said his majesty , ' and try to get a sight of her . '

as before , the old woman did not open the door , but passed the water through the lattice .

' do you live here alone ? ' asked the man .

' no , ' replied she , ' my sister lives with me .

we are poor girls , and have to work for our bread . '

' how old are you ? '

' i am fifteen , and she is twenty . '

then the servant went back to the king , and told him all he knew .

and his majesty answered : ' i will have the fifteen-year-old one .

go and bring her here . '

the servant returned a third time to the little house and knocked at the door .

in reply to his knock the lattice window was pushed open , and a voice inquired what it was he wanted .

' the king has desired me to bring back the youngest of you to become his queen , ' he replied .

' tell his majesty i am ready to do his bidding , but since my birth no ray of light has fallen upon my face .

if it should ever do so i shall instantly grow black .

the king was eagerly awaiting her , and when she arrived he begged her politely to raise her veil and let him see her face .

but she answered : ' here the tapers are too bright and the light too strong .

would you have me turn black under your very eyes ? '

and the king believed her words , and the marriage took place without the veil being once lifted .

and , in a furious burst of anger , he dashed open the window and flung her out .

but , luckily for her , her clothes caught on a nail in the wall , and kept her hanging between heaven and earth .

while she was thus suspended , expecting every moment to be dashed to the ground , four fairies happened to pass by .

' look , sisters , ' cried one , ' surely that is the old woman that the king sent for .

shall we wish that her clothes may give way , and that she should be dashed to the ground ? '

' oh no ! no ! ' exclaimed another .

' let us wish her something good .

i myself will wish her youth . '

' and i beauty . '

' and i wisdom . '

' and i a tender heart . '

so spake the fairies , and went their way , leaving the most beautiful maiden in the world behind them .

the next morning when the king looked from his window he saw this lovely creature hanging on the nail .

' ah ! what have i done ?

surely i must have been blind last night ! '

and he ordered long ladders to be brought and the maiden to be rescued .

then he fell on his knees before her , and prayed her to forgive him , and a great feast was made in her honour .

some days after came the ninety-year-old sister to the palace and asked for the queen .

' who is that hideous old witch ? ' said the king .

' oh , an old neighbour of mine , who is half silly , ' she replied .

i should like to be young and beautiful too . '

' but , my good woman , if i do that you will die ! '

' ah ! ' she shrieked as she felt the pain .

' il faut souffrir pour etre belle , ' said the barber , who had been in france .

and at the second blow her head rolled off , and the old woman was dead for good and all .

catherine and her destiny

sicilianische mahrchen von laura gonzenbach .

leipzig , engelmann , @number@

but his greatest treasure of all was his only daughter , who was called catherine .

no , i would bear trouble now , and have something better to look forward to . '

so she looked up and replied , ' give me a happy old age . '

now this beautiful lady was the destiny of poor catherine .

the shock was too much for him .

he took to his bed , and in a short time he was dead of his disappointment .

so poor catherine was left alone in the world without a penny or a creature to help her .

' ah , my lady , i am very poor , and must go to service to earn my bread . '

' i will take you into my service , ' said she ; and catherine served her well .

so she went away , and catherine took her work and sat down at the window .

suddenly the door burst open , and in came her destiny .

' oh ! so here you are , catherine !

did you really think i was going to leave you in peace ? '

when the mistress reached home she called catherine , but no catherine was there .

' can she have robbed me ? ' thought the old lady , and looked hastily round the house ; but nothing was missing .

meanwhile catherine wandered on and on , without knowing very well where she was going , till at last she came to another town .

and catherine answered , ' ah , my lady , i am very poor , and must go to service to earn my bread . '

and in a passion she tore up everything she saw , till in sheer misery poor catherine rushed out of the house .

and so it befell for seven years , and directly catherine found a fresh place her destiny came and forced her to leave it .

after seven years , however , destiny seemed to get tired of persecuting her , and a time of peace set in for catherine .

then her lady 's destiny would come and take away the offering .

' that will i gladly do , ' said catherine .

one day her lady saw her , and said , ' catherine , what is it ?

why are you always weeping ? '

and then catherine told her story .

' i have got an idea , ' exclaimed the lady .

perhaps something may come of it ! '

but if you will come to-morrow i will bring her with me . '

it is surely time for her good days to begin ? '

' what shall i do with it ? ' she asked .

' it is not worth sixpence , and it is no good to me ! '

' take care of it , ' replied her mistress .

' who can tell how useful it may be ? '

bring it to the king , and you can ask what you like for it . '

then catherine put on her best clothes and went to the court , and looked more beautiful than any woman there .

' your majesty , ' asked one of the courtiers , ' shall i give the maiden its weight in gold ? '

but lo ! let the king lay in the scales as many gold pieces as he would , the silk was always heavier still .

at last there was only one thing left that had not been put in , and that was his golden crown .

' where got you this silk ? ' asked the king .

' it was given me , royal majesty , by my mistress , ' replied catherine .

so catherine told him the whole story , and how she had once been as rich as he .

and so it fell out .

how the hermit helped to win the king 's daughter

sicilianische mahrchen

long ago there lived a very rich man who had three sons .

when he felt himself to be dying he divided his property between them , making them share alike , both in money and lands .

so he called together all the shipbuilders in the land , and gave them orders to begin the ship without delay .

' ah , master , give us work , ' they said , ' so that we may earn our bread . '

but he only gave them hard words , and spoke roughly to them .

' you are old , and have lost your strength ; of what use are you ? '

and he drove them away .

get you gone ! '

and if any presented themselves that were not skilled workmen he would have none of them .

but he was only driven away like the rest .

by this time he had not a penny left , so he went back to his two brothers and told his tale .

but his heart was no softer than his brother 's , and every man that was not a skilled workman was chased away with hard words .

last came the white-bearded man , but he fared no better than the rest .

when he told his story the youngest said to himself , ' i am not rich enough to support us all three .

so he called together all the shipbuilders in the kingdom , and gave orders that a new ship should be built .

' oh , good father , ' cried the young man , ' you will not forsake me ?

stay with me , i pray you , and lead me to the king ! '

' oh , if that is all , ' answered he , ' it is easily promised ! '

and they set out together on the ship .

after they had gone some distance they saw a man standing in a thick fog , which he was trying to put into a sack .

' oh , good father , ' exclaimed the youth , ' what can he be doing ? '

' ask him , ' said the old man .

' what are you doing , my fine fellow ? '

' i am putting the fog into my sack .

that is my business . '

' ask him if he will come with us , ' whispered the hermit .

and the man answered : ' if you will give me enough to eat and drink i will gladly stay with you . '

' good father , ' exclaimed the youth , ' only look !

what can he have done that for ? '

' ask him why he has torn up all those trees . '

and the man replied , ' why , i 've merely been gathering a handful of brushwood . '

' beg him to come with us , ' whispered the hermit .

and the strong man answered : ' willingly , as long as you give me enough to eat and drink . '

and he came on the ship .

and the youth said to the hermit , ' good father , before we were three , and now we are four . '

' good father , ' said the youth , ' just look at that man !

did you ever see anybody drink like that ? '

' ask him why he does it , ' answered the hermit .

' why , there is nothing very odd in taking a mouthful of water ! ' replied the man , standing up .

' beg him to come with us . '

and the youth did so .

' with pleasure , as long as you give me enough to eat and drink . '

and the youth whispered to the hermit , ' good father , before we were four , and now we are five . '

a little way along they noticed another man in the middle of a stream , who was shooting into the water .

' good father , ' said the youth , ' what can he be shooting at ? '

' ask him , ' answered the hermit .

' hush , hush ! ' cried the man ; ' now you have frightened it away .

in the underworld sits a quail on a tree , and i wanted to shoot it .

that is my business .

i hit everything i aim at . '

' ask him if he will come with us . '

and the man replied , ' with all my heart , as long as i get enough to eat and drink . '

' good father , look at him !

what long steps he takes ! '

' ask him why he does it , ' replied the hermit .

' oh , i am only going out for a little walk , ' answered he .

' ask him if he will come with us . '

and the young man whispered , ' good father , before we were six , and now we are seven . '

but the hermit knew what he was about , and why he gathered these strange people into the ship .

after many days , at last they reached the town where lived the king and his daughter .

they stopped the vessel right in front of the palace , and the young man went in and bowed low before the king .

' o majesty , i have done your bidding , and now is the ship built that can travel over land and sea .

give me my reward , and let me have your daughter to wife . '

but the king said to himself , ' what ! am i to wed my daughter to a man of whom i know nothing .

not even whether he be rich or poor a knight or a beggar . '

and aloud he spake : it is not enough that you have managed to build the ship .

' that is not in the bond , ' answered the young man .

' well , do as you like , ' replied the king , ' only you will not get my daughter . '

the young man went out , sorely troubled , to tell his old friend what had happened .

' silly boy ! ' cried the hermit , ' accept his terms at once .

and send off the long-legged man with the letter .

he will take it in no time at all . '

so the youth 's heard leapt for joy , and he returned to the king .

' majesty , i accept your terms .

here is the messenger who will do what you wish . '

' what can be keeping him , ' he said to the hermit when the hour was nearly up .

' oh , he is sound asleep in the palace of the underworld .

however , i can wake him . '

then he drew his bow , and shot an arrow straight into the man 's knee .

now the young man thought he was sure of his bride , but the king said , " still you have not done enough .

before i give you my daughter you must find a man who can drink half the contents of my cellar in one day . '

' that is not in the bond , ' complained the poor youth .

' well , do as you like , only you will not get my daughter . '

the young man went sadly out , and asked the hermit what he was to do .

' silly boy ! ' said he .

' why , tell the man to do it who drinks up everything . '

' dear me , yes , and as much more as you want , ' answered he .

' i am never satisfied . '

oh , how he enjoyed himself !

and when the king saw this he said to the youth , ' you have conquered , and i can no longer withhold my daughter .

but , as her dowry , i shall only give so much as one man can carry away . '

' well , do as you like ; i have said my say .

it is your affair not mine . '

i have no money of my own left , and my brothers have none either . '

' silly boy !

why , you have only got to fetch the man who carried half the forest on his shoulders . '

and the youth was glad , and called the strong man , and told him what he must do .

' take everything you can , till you are bent double .

never mind if you leave the palace bare . '

the strong man promised , and nobly kept his word .

at last he took the king 's crown , and put it on the top .

he carried his burden to the ship and stowed his treasures away , and the youth followed , leading the king 's daughter .

and the king 's ships sailed very fast , and soon caught up the little vessel , and the sailors all shouted for joy .

so they sailed back to the palace , and told the king what strange things had happened .

meanwhile the young man 's vessel reached home in safety .

' good father , it is finished , ' said he at length ; ' there is nothing more left to divide . '

' nothing more left ! ' cried the hermit .

' why , you have forgotten the best thing of all ! '

' what can that be ? ' asked he .

' we have divided everything . '

' and the king 's daughter ? ' said the hermit .

then the young man 's heart stood still , for he loved her dearly .

i gave you my help because you had pity on those that were in need .

and when you are in need yourself , call upon me , and i will come to you . '

as he spoke he softly touched their heads and vanished .

the water of life

cuentos populars catalans , per lo dr d francisco de s maspous y labros .

barcelona , @number@

three brothers and one sister lived together in a small cottage , and they loved one another dearly .

and his brothers and sister answered joyfully , ' yes , we will all work ! '

' and what may that be ? '

' a church . '

' and what may that be ? '

' and where am i to find all those ? '

' go to the mountain that is far off yonder , and you will find what you seek . '

' but suppose some evil thing befalls you ? ' asked his sister .

' how shall we know ? '

' you are right , ' he replied ; ' i had not thought of that ! '

but how shall we know if any evil thing befall him ? '

' can you tell me how much further i have still to go before i reach that mountain yonder ? '

' and why do you wish to go there ? '

' i am seeking the water of life , the talking bird , and a branch of the tree of beauty . '

follow this path , and when you reach the mountain you will find it covered with stones .

do not stop to look at them , but keep on your way .

as you go you will hear scoffs and laughs behind you ; it will be the stones that mock .

do not heed them ; above all , do not turn round .

if you do you will become as one of them .

walk straight on till you get to the top , and then take all you wish for . '

the young man thanked him for his counsel , and walked , and walked , and walked , till he reached the mountain .

and as he climbed he heard behind him scoffs and jeers , but he kept his ears steadily closed to them .

then she cried out to her brothers that something terrible had come to pass .

' i will go and find him , ' said the second .

and he went .

and the giant answered , ' yes , i have seen him pass , but i have not seen him come back .

the spell must have worked upon him . '

' follow this path , and when you reach the mountain you will find it covered with stones .

do not stop to look at them , but climb steadily on .

above all , heed not the laughs and scoffs that will arise on all sides , and never turn round .

and when you reach the top you can then take all you desire . '

the young man thanked him for his counsel , and set out for the mountain .

but no sooner did he reach it than loud jests and gibes broke out on every side , and almost deafened him .

he stopped and looked back ; and another stone was added to the number .

meanwhile the sister left at home was counting the days when her two brothers should return to her .

her cry of horror brought her youngest brother to her , and , unable to speak , she held out the knife !

' i will go , ' he said .

the young man thanked the giant for his counsel , and set forth to the mountain .

a moment now and he would have gained it , when , through the groans and yells , he heard his brothers ' voices .

he turned , and there was one stone the more .

the blade grew red before her eyes , and she said , ' now it is my turn . '

but as she mounted the clamour increased sevenfold : high above them all rang the voices of her three brothers .

but the girl took no heed , and at last her feet stood upon the top .

then she looked round , and saw , lying in a hollow , the pool of the water of life .

and she took the brazen pitcher that she had brought with her , and filled it to the brim .

and the branch shot up into a tree , and was heavy with flowers , and the talking bird nestled in its branches .

so he went home and told his parents , and gained their consent to wed her for his wife .

then the marriage was celebrated in the church adjoining the palace .

then the bridegroom took her to his own home , where they lived happy for ever after .

the wounded lion

cuentos populars catalans .

there was once a girl so poor that she had nothing to live on , and wandered about the world asking for charity .

one day she arrived at a thatched cottage , and inquired if they could give her any work .

so she became a cowherd .

one morning she was driving her cows through the meadows when she heard near by a loud groan that almost sounded human .

she hastened to the spot from which the noise came , and found it proceeded from a lion who lay stretched upon the ground .

you can guess how frightened she was !

then he said , ' now you will have to look after the asses . '

after that she returned to her flock , but they were nowhere to be seen .

she searched here and she searched there , but they had vanished completely !

then she had to go home and confess to her master , who first scolded her and afterwards beat her .

' now go , ' he ended , ' and look after the pigs ! '

so the next day she took out the pigs , and found them such good feeding grounds that they grew fatter every day .

another year passed by , and one morning when the maiden was out with her pigs she heard a groan which sounded quite human .

she fell on her knees before him and washed his wounds one by one , and laid healing herbs upon them .

and the lion licked her hands and thanked her , and asked if she would not stay and sit by him .

but the girl said she had her pigs to watch , and she must go and see after them .

so she ran to the place where she had left them , but they had vanished as if the earth had swallowed them up .

she whistled and called , but only the birds answered her .

then she sank down on the ground and wept bitterly , not daring to return home until some hours had passed away .

and when she had had her cry out she got up and searched all up and down the wood .

but it was no use ; there was not a sign of the pigs .

at last she thought that perhaps if she climbed a tree she might see further .

but no sooner was she seated on the highest branch than something happened which put the pigs quite out of her head .

the maiden rubbed her eyes and wondered if she had been dreaming .

next she thought , ' i will not stir from here till i see him come out , and discover who he is . '

accordingly she waited , and at dawn the next morning the rock moved to one side and a lion came out .

the path led to a beautiful house .

she went in , swept and dusted the furniture , and put everything tidy .

next morning out came the lion .

he looked sharply about him on all sides , but saw no one , and then vanished into the forest .

the maiden then came down from the tree and did exactly as she had done the day before .

thus three days went by , and every day she went and tidied up the palace .

and the girl asked him , ' what can i do to disenchant you ? '

who will hire me for a servant ? '

who will hire me for a servant ? '

at last there came the waiting-maid of the princess .

' what can you do ? ' she said ; and the girl was forced to confess that she could do very little .

now the hair of the princess was very thick and long , and shone like the sun .

and the girl combed it and combed it till it was brighter than ever .

but the girl could not give up hope , and each day she entreated to be allowed to cut off just one tress .

he tried on the coat , but it was too short , and he threw it off , and declared it was no use .

and the girl picked it up sadly , and returned quite in despair to the king 's palace .

the next morning , when she was combing the princess 's hair , she begged leave to cut off another lock .

and when it was finished she carried it to the giant .

this time it fitted him , and he was quite pleased , and asked her what he could give her in return .

then the young man thanked the maiden for all she had done for him , and said she should be his wife and none other .

but the prince replied , ' if it is the princess , we must go quickly .

come with me . '

so they went together to the king 's palace .

the man without a heart

once upon a time there were seven brothers , who were orphans , and had no sister .

therefore they were obliged to do all their own housework .

this they did not like at all ; so after much deliberation they decided to get married .

he consented willingly , and the six young men set off in good spirits .

whither away so fast and cheerily ? '

' we are going to find bonny brides for ourselves , and one for our youngest brother at home , ' they replied .

presently they came to a town where were seven sisters , as young and as lovely as anyone could wish .

each brother chose one , and the youngest they kept for their brother at home .

then the whole party set out on the return journey , and again their path led through the wood and past the old man 's cottage .

' she is not for you , said the young men .

' she is for our youngest brother , as we promised . '

' what ! ' said the old man , ' promised !

i 'll make you eat your promises ! '

only the youngest sister he had not bewitched .

he took her into the cottage , and from that time she was obliged to keep house for him .

she was not very unhappy , but one thought troubled her .

what if the old man should die and leave her here alone in the solitary cottage deep in the heart of the wood !

she would be as ' terribly lonely ' as he had formerly been .

one day she told him of her fear .

' don't be anxious , ' he said .

' you need neither fear my death nor desire it , for i have no heart in my breast !

then you will surely have company enough . '

' where in all the world do you keep your heart , if not in your breast ? ' asked the girl .

' do you want to know everything ? ' her husband said .

' well , if you must know , my heart is in the bed-cover . '

the old man was much amused .

he laughed , and said to her : ' you are a good child , but i was only joking .

my heart is really in in '

' now where is it , dear husband ? '

' it is in the doorway , ' he replied .

next day , while he was out , the girl decorated the door with gay feathers and fresh flowers , and hung garlands upon it .

and on his return the old fellow asked what it all meant .

' i did it to show my love for your heart , ' said the girl .

and again the old man smiled , saying , ' you are a dear child , but my heart is not in the doorway . '

its doors are of iron , and round it runs a deep moat , spanned by no bridge .

within that church is a bird which flies up and down ; it never eats , and never drinks , and never dies .

no one can catch it , and while that bird lives so shall i , for in it is my heart . '

it made the little bride quite sad to think she could do nothing to show her love for the old man 's heart .

she used to think about it as she sat all alone during the long days , for her husband was almost always out .

one day a young traveller came past the house , and seeing such a pretty girl he wished her ' good day . '

she returned his greeting , and as he drew near she asked him whence he came and where he was going .

' alas ! ' sighed the youth , ' i am very sorrowful .

' oh , good friend , ' said the girl , ' you need go no farther .

come , sit down , eat and drink , and afterwards i 'll tell you all about it . '

she wept as she told how the others were turned to stone , and how she was kept as the old man 's bride .

she left out nothing , even telling him the story of her husband 's heart .

when the young man heard this he said : ' i shall go in search of the bird .

it may be that god will help me to find and catch it . '

then she hid the young man , for it was now late , and her husband would soon be home .

' what a feast ! ' he exclaimed ; ' will anyone come and share it ? '

' i 'm delighted to see you .

pray help yourself .

all i have is at your service , ' said the hospitable youth .

and the ox lay down comfortably , licking his lips , and made a hearty meal .

' many thanks to you , ' said the animal as it rose up .

' when you are in danger or necessity call me , even if only by a thought , ' and it disappeared among the bushes .

was it you ? and did you mean me to come ? '

' by all means .

help yourself to what i have , ' said the young traveller .

and the two enjoyed their meal together .

for a long time the youth walked on .

by evening he was miles away .

he felt hungry again , and , having still some provisions left , thought he had better make ready his supper .

when it was all spread out he cried as before , ' anyone who cares to share my meal is welcome . '

he heard a sound overhead like the flapping of wings , and a shadow was cast upon the ground .

then a huge griffin appeared , saying : ' i heard someone giving an invitation to eat ; is there anything for me ? '

' why not ? ' said the youth .

' come down and take all you want .

there won't be much left after this . '

so the griffin alighted and ate his fill , saying , as he flew away , ' call me if you need me . '

' what a hurry he was in ! ' the youth said to himself .

' he might have been able to direct me to the church , for i shall never find it alone . '

he gathered up his things , and started to walk a little farther before resting .

he had not gone far when all of a sudden he saw the church !

he soon came to it , or rather to the wide and deep moat which surrounded it without a single bridge by which to cross .

scarcely had the thought crossed his brain before the ox appeared and began to drink up the water .

the young man quickly entered the church , and saw a bird flying about , but he could not catch it .

' oh ! ' he exclaimed , ' if only the griffin were here , he would soon catch it . '

the young man hurried home as fast as possible , and reached the cottage before evening .

presently the old man came home , and complained of feeling ill .

nothing , he said , would go well with him any more : his ' heart bird ' was caught .

so he pinched the bird , and the old man cried , ' ah !

i feel death gripping me !

child , i am dying ! '

then there was great joy , and kissing and embracing .

and there lay the old man , quite dead , and no magic wand could restore him to life , even had they wished it .

after that they all went away and were married , and lived many years happily together .

the two brothers

sicilianische malirchen .

l gonzenbach .

' what a wretched little creature ! ' cried one brother .

' however , it is better than nothing , and i will bake him with bread crumbs and have him for supper . '

' you silly thing ! ' said the young man ; ' i 've caught you , and i shall eat you . '

but his brother was sorry for the fish , and put in a word for him .

' let the poor little fellow live .

he would hardly make one bite , and , after all , how do we know we are not throwing away our luck !

put him back into the sea .

it will be much better . '

but again the younger brother interposed : ' oh , do let him live !

you know if he is lying to us we can always catch him again .

it is quite worth while trying . '

at the first streaks of dawn they were both up , and in a very few minutes were running down to the shore .

' there ! ' said the younger brother .

' are you not thankful you did not eat that fish ?

he has brought us good luck , and there is no knowing how great we may become !

now , we will each seek our own adventures .

if you will take one road i will go the other . '

' very well , ' replied the elder ; ' but how shall we let each other know if we are both living ? '

' do you see this fig-tree ? ' said the younger .

the elder brother rode straight on till he reached the borders of a strange kingdom .

when the young man saw the maiden weeping bitterly he said to her , ' what is the matter , my poor girl ? '

' oh ! ' she answered , ' i am chained here till a horrible serpent with seven heads comes to eat me .

oh , sir , do not linger here , or he will eat you too . '

' i shall stay , ' replied the young man , ' for i mean to set you free . '

' that is impossible .

you do not know what a fearful monster the serpent is ; you can do nothing against him . '

' well , if you are resolved to free me , listen to my advice .

but you had better begin first with the young man , for i am chained and cannot run away . "

when he hears this most likely he will attack you . '

but she cried out , ' o serpent , to-day you can eat two people .

and you had better begin with the young man , for i am chained and cannot run away . '

but he answered , ' i cannot become your husband yet , for i have still far to travel .

but wait for me seven years and seven months .

then , if i do not return , you are free to marry whom you will .

what could the poor girl do ?

this time there was no knight to come to her aid .

so she promised to do as the slave wished , and he took up the seven heads and brought the princess to her father .

oh , how enchanted the king was to see her again , and the whole town shared his joy !

but she flung herself at her father 's feet , and prayed him to delay .

when they are over , then i will marry the slave . '

yet pardon the slave , for he was sorely tempted . '

but the king answered , ' such treachery can no man pardon .

quick , away with him , and off with his head ! '

' what can it be ? ' he said to his wife .

at length he came to the door of a fine castle , which had a blaze streaming from every window .

he mounted a flight of steps and entered a hall where a hideous old woman was sitting on a golden chair .

' oh , what nonsense ! ' cried he .

' be quiet , old woman .

what could you do with one hair ? '

' i will go to the fig-tree , ' he said to himself , ' to see whether he is alive or dead . '

so he rode through the forest till he came where the fig-tree stood , and cut a slit in the bark , and waited .

in a moment a little gurgling noise was heard , and out came a stream of blood , running fast .

' ah , woe is me ! ' he cried bitterly .

' my brother is dead or dying !

shall i ever reach him in time to save his life ? '

in this manner several days went by .

and one evening , as the young man leaned from the balcony , he saw a bright light shining on the mountain .

' what can that be ? ' he said to the princess .

' oh , come away , ' she cried ; ' has not that light already proved your bane ?

do you wish to fight a second time with that old witch ? '

he marked her words , though she knew it not , and they taught him where his brother was , and what had befallen him .

so before sunrise he stole out early , saddled his horse , and rode off to the mountain .

then the young man told him his story , and added .

' somehow or other i must free my brother , who has fallen into the power of an old witch . '

' i will tell you what you must do , ' said the old man .

for she has an ointment that will heal all wounds , and even wake the dead .

and when your brother stands safe and well before you , then cut off her head , for she is a wicked woman . '

the young man was grateful for these words , and promised to obey them .

then he rode on , and soon reached the castle .

he walked boldly up the steps and entered the hall , where the hideous old witch came to meet him .

she grinned horribly at him , and cried out , ' with one hair of my head i can change you into stone . '

' can you , indeed ? ' said the young man , seizing her by the hair .

now the witch 's strength was all gone from her , and she had to obey .

you hold me so tight that i cannot walk . '

' you must manage somehow , ' he answered , and held her tighter than ever .

the young man looked at them all and shook his head .

' my brother is not here .

take me to him , or it will be the worse for you . '

' that is my brother , ' said he .

' now give me the ointment that will restore him to life . '

but he was on the watch for trickery , and examined it carefully , and saw that it had no power to heal .

this happened many times , till at length she found it was no use , and gave him the one he wanted .

then the elder brother got up and stretched himself , and said , ' oh , how long i have slept !

and where am i ? '

' the old witch had enchanted you , but now she is dead and you are free .

we will wake up the other knights that she laid under her spells , and then we will go . '

this they did , and , after sharing amongst them the jewels and gold they found in the castle , each man went his way .

the two brothers remained together , the elder tightly grasping the ointment which had brought him back to life .

she took me for her husband , and i did not say her nay . '

then he rode on till he reached his home , where his wife was still sitting , weeping bitterly .

when she saw him she sprang up with a cry , and threw herself into his arms .

' oh , how long have i waited for thee !

never , never must you leave me any more ! '

master and pupil

from the danish .

there was once a man who had a son who was very clever at reading , and took great delight in it .

' i am going about seeking for service , ' said the boy .

' will you serve me ? ' asked the man .

' oh , yes ; just as readily you as anyone else , ' said the boy .

' but can you read ? ' asked the man .

' as well as the priest , ' said the boy .

then i can't have you , ' said the man .

' in fact , i was just wanting a boy who couldn't read .

his only work would be to dust my old books . '

the man then went on his way , and left the boy looking after him .

' it was a pity i didn't get that place , ' thought he ' that was just the very thing for me . '

then he ran along behind the mounds , and met the man at the other end of them .

' i am going about seeking for service ? ' said the boy .

' will you serve me ? ' asked the man .

' oh , yes ; just as readily you as anyone else , ' said the boy .

' but can you read ? ' said the man .

' no , i don't know a single letter , ' said the boy .

the man then took him into his service , and all the work he had to do was to dust his master 's books .

among other feats , he could change himself into the shape of any animal , or any other thing that he pleased .

i shall come home again all right . '

his mother was frightened at the idea , but the boy told her that she need not be alarmed ; all would be well .

the next time that there was a market the boy again changed himself to a horse , and was taken thither by his father .

the horse soon found a purchaser , and while the two were inside drinking the luck-penny the wizard came along and saw the horse .

when the horse saw this it changed itself to a dove , and flew up into the air .

the wizard at once changed himself into a hawk , and flew up after it .

the dove now turned into a gold ring , and fell into a girl 's lap .

the golden lion

sicilianische mahrchen .

l gonzenbach .

i pray you let me . '

so the father ordered a beautiful ship to be fitted up , and the young man sailed away in it .

after some weeks the vessel cast anchor before a large town , and the merchant 's son went on shore .

' certainly , ' replied the king .

' you have the whole palace to search in ; but remember , if you fail it will cost you your head . '

all this time his father and brothers had had no news of him , and were very anxious .

i must try myself , and seek him as well as her .

it cannot be such a very difficult matter . '

but he fared no better than his brother , and in eight days his head was cut off .

and when the vessel started a high wind arose , and blew him straight to the harbour where the notice was set .

' oho ! ' said he , as he read , ' whoever can find the king 's daughter shall have her to wife .

it is quite clear now what has befallen my brothers .

but in spite of that i think i must try my luck , ' and he took the road to the castle .

on the way he met an old woman , who stopped and begged .

' leave me in peace , old woman , ' replied he .

' oh , do not send me away empty , ' she said .

' you are such a handsome young man you will surely not refuse an old woman a few pence . '

' i tell you , old woman , leave me alone . '

' you are in some trouble ? ' she asked .

' tell me what it is , and perhaps i can help you . '

then he told her how he had set his heart on finding the king 's daughter .

' i can easily manage that for you as long as you have enough money . '

' oh , as to that , i have plenty , ' answered he .

when it is ready bring it to me . '

but she replied , ' it does not belong to me , and my master will not part from it at any price . '

' yes , i can do that , ' answered the old woman ; ' but to-morrow i must have it back again .

and she went away .

below the floor there was a staircase , which he went down till he reached a door at the foot .

this he unlocked , and found himself in a narrow passage closed by another door , which he also opened .

the young man , hidden in the golden lion , kept count of everything , and marked that there were in all seven doors .

after they had all been unlocked the king entered a lovely hall , where the princess was amusing herself with eleven friends .

all twelve girls wore the same clothes , and were as like each other as two peas .

' what bad luck ! ' thought the youth .

but the princess took the lion into her own room and laid it on the floor .

she was just beginning to doze when she heard a voice quite close to her , which made her jump .

' o lovely princess , if you only knew what i have gone through to find you ! '

' o lovely úprincess ! ' continued the voice , ' fear nothing !

i am the son of a rich merchant , and desire above all things to have you for my wife .

and in order to get to you i have hidden myself in this golden lion . '

' what use is that ? ' she asked .

' for if you cannot pick me out from among my companions you will still lose your head . '

' i look to you to help me , ' he said .

' i have done so much for you that you might do this one thing for me . '

' then listen to me .

on the eighth day i will tie a white sash round my waist , and by that you will know me . '

the next morning the king came very early to fetch the lion , as the old woman was already at the palace asking for it .

on the eighth day he entered the room where the king was sitting .

' take up the floor in this place , ' he said .

the king gave a cry , but stopped himself , and asked , ' what do you want the floor up for ?

there is nothing there . '

the youth then want straight down the staircase till he reached the door ; then he turned and demanded that the key should be brought .

and the king owned himself beaten , and commanded that the wedding feast should be held .

the sprig of rosemary

cuentos populars catalans , per lo dr d francisco de s maspons y labros ( barcelona : libreria de don alvar verdaguer @number@ ) .

once upon a time there lived a man with one daughter and he made her work hard all the day .

the girl went out , and soon collected a large bundle , and then she plucked at a sprig of sweet-smelling rosemary for herself .

the girl , who felt much confused , only managed to stammer out as an excuse that her father had sent her .

' very well , ' replied the young man ; ' then come with me . '

and the maiden said ' yes , she would , ' and so they were married .

but the lock was stiff and resisted all her efforts , and in the end she had to break it .

and what was inside after all ?

so she walked and she walked and she walked , till she arrived at a house built of straw .

and she knocked at the door , and asked if they wanted a servant .

the mistress said she did , and if the girl was willing she might stay .

then she told her story how she was going through the world seeking after her husband .

i have come to ask if , of your charity , you will help me in my need .

' indeed ! ' spoke the sun .

' do you , rich as you are , need help ?

but though you live in a palace without windows , the sun enters everywhere , and he knows you . '

then the bride told him the whole story . and did not hide her own ill-doing .

' all hail ! ' said the girl .

' i have come , of your charity , to ask your help ! '

' it is my mistress , the moon , you seek .

i will tell her of your prayer . '

and she spake to her and said :

' do you , rich as you are , need help ? '

so the damsel thanked her , and departed , and walked and walked and walked till she came to another castle .

and she knocked at the door , and said :

' all hail !

i have come to ask if , of your charity , you will help me in my need . '

' it is my lord , the wind , that you want , ' answered the old woman who opened it .

' i will tell him of your prayer . '

' do you , rich as you are , want help ? '

and she told him the whole story .

but the girl did not go as the wind expected .

she was tired and sad , and knew not where to turn , so she began to weep bitterly .

the wind wept too for company , and said :

' don't be frightened ; i will go and see if i can find out something . '

who can tell the despair which seized the poor maiden when she heard this news !

down came the wind right in the middle of their lace and satin and trimmings of pearl !

after them ran the tailors , catching , jumping , climbing , but all to no purpose !

the lace was torn , the satin stained , the pearls knocked off !

there was nothing for it but to go to the shops to buy fresh , and to begin all over again !

it was plainly quite impossible that the wedding clothes could be ready next day .

then she rang the bell , and asked :

' is not the princess to be married to-day ? '

' yes , she is . '

' ask her if she would like to buy this mantle . '

so she told the maiden to ask what price she would , and it should be given her .

now the maiden hid her gold in the pocket of her dress , and turned away from the castle .

the moment she was out of sight she broke her almond , and drew from it the most magnificent petticoats that ever were seen .

then she went back to the castle , and asked if the princess wished to buy any petticoats .

and the maiden named many pieces of gold , which the princess paid her gladly , so pleased was she with her new possessions .

so she sent at once to say she would buy the dress , and what sum did the maiden want for it .

this time the maiden answered that the price of the dress was the permission to see the bridegroom .

so the maiden was led to the rooms which had been given to her husband .

then they went back to the maiden 's home , and grew to be very old , and lived happy all the days of their life .

the white dove

from the danish .

a king had two sons .

they were a pair of reckless fellows , who always had something foolish to do .

one day they rowed out alone on the sea in a little boat .

the oars went overboard at once , and the little boat was tossed about on the rolling billows like a nut-shell .

the princes had to hold fast by the seats to keep from being thrown out of the boat .

in the midst of all this they met a wonderful vessel it was a dough-trough , in which there sat an old woman .

' we can't do that , ' shouted the princes ; ' he doesn't belong to us so we can't give him away . '

as soon as they had done so the storm ceased and the waves fell .

it happened one evening that there arose a raging storm , with mist and darkness .

the prince was now in the witch 's power , and in her service .

the first thing she set him to was to pick feathers .

he started to the feathers , and picked and picked until there was only a single feather left that had not passed through his hands .

it was a white dove , which sat outside the window , and was pecking at it with its beak .

however , such a prince might be expected to have neat fingers . '

next morning the witch said to the prince , ' to-day you shall have some easy work to do .

outside the door i have some firewood lying ; you must split that for me into little bits that i can kindle the fire with .

that will soon be done , but you must be finished before i come home . '

the prince got a little axe and set to work at once .

' yes , ' said the prince , ' many thanks for your help yesterday , and for what you offer to-day . '

thereupon the little dove seized one piece of wood after another and split it with its beak .

with that it was a dove no longer , but a beautiful young maiden , who stood by his side .

the prince was quite captivated by the beautiful princess , and was quite willing to do anything whatsoever to get her for himself .

when she agrees to this you must ask her straight out for the princess that she has flying about as a white dove .

' oh yes , indeed , ' said the old woman ; ' what is it that you want ? '

' i want the princess here who is in the shape of a white dove , ' said the prince .

' what nonsense ! ' said the witch .

' why should you imagine that there are princesses here flying about in the shape of white doves ?

but if you will have a princess , you can get one such as we have them . '

she then came to him , dragging a shaggy little grey ass with long ears .

' will you have this ? ' said she ; ' you can't get any other princess ! '

' what will you do with it ? ' asked the witch .

' you can have no other princess , ' said she .

' will you have her ? '

' yes , i will , ' said the prince , for he saw the red silk thread on the old woman 's finger .

they were then taken to the bridal chamber , and the door was shut .

i shall lay two pieces of wood in the bed to answer for us when the witch speaks to us .

no sooner said than done .

before daybreak she was at the door again and called to them , and again the pieces of wood answered for them .

these she threw on the floor , so that they were splintered into a thousand pieces , and off she hastened after the fugitives .

with the first sunbeam the princess said to the prince , ' look round ; do you see anything behind us ? '

' yes , i see a dark cloud , far away , ' said he .

' then throw the flower-pot over your head , ' said she .

when this was done there was a large thick forest behind them .

when the witch came to the forest she could not get through it until she went home and brought her axe to cut a path .

a little after this the princess said again to the prince , ' look round ; do you see anything behind us ? '

' yes , ' said the prince , ' the big black cloud is there again . '

' then throw the glass of water over your head , ' said she .

meanwhile the fugitives had reached the castle which was the prince 's home .

they climbed over the garden wall , ran across the garden , and crept in at an open window .

within the castle there was great rejoicing over the prince and his bride .

the troll 's daughter

from the danish .

there was once a lad who went to look for a place .

as he went along he met a man , who asked him where he was going .

the bargain was made , and the lad went home with the man to whom he had engaged himself .

the latter was a great troll , and had marvellous power over both men and beasts .

next day the lad had to begin his service .

the first thing that the troll set him to was to feed all the wild animals from the forest .

you shall have leave to play about for a little , until they are to be fed again . '

but in this they met with no success ; there was no dog that could overtake him , and no marksman that could hit him .

they shot and shot at him , and he ran and ran .

the troll then said some words to him which he did not understand , and the hare immediately became a human being again .

the lad replied that he liked it very well ; he had never been able to go over the ground so quickly before .

' well , how did you like being a raven ? ' said the troll .

next day he got his old task of feeding all the wild beasts .

he swam up and he swam down , and thought it was pleasant to let himself drive with the stream .

in this way he came right out into the sea , and swam further and further out .

at last he came to a glass palace , which stood at the bottom of the sea .

the most beautiful thing of all , however , was a young girl who went about there , all alone .

she went about from one room to another , but did not seem to be happy with all the grandeur she had about her .

the lad thought so too while he swam round the palace and peeped in from every side .

in a moment he stood in human form at the bottom of the sea .

he made haste then to enter the glass palace , and went up to the young girl and spoke to her .

but there was much to attend to , and he must give careful heed to all that she told him .

' and he cannot pay , ' said she ; ' i know that for certain .

when the time comes near for his debt becoming due you will be able to notice by his manner that he is ill at ease .

the amount is six bushels just what you have .

the first question my father will ask will be , " where is my daughter ? "

then you shall step forward and answer " she is at the bottom of the sea . "

he will then ask you whether you can recognise her , and to this you will answer " yes . "

you have then answered his first question .

his next question will be , " where is my heart ? "

you shall then step forward again and answer , " it is in a fish . "

" do you know that fish ? " he will say , and you will again answer " yes . "

he will then cause all kinds of fish to come before you , and you shall choose between them .

then all will be over with the troll ; he will ask no more questions , and we shall be free to wed . '

he went about all day in despair , and thought and thought , but he could not remember what they sounded like .

he made haste to repeat the words , and at the same moment he became a fish again and slipped out into the sea .

' well , how do you like to be a fish ? ' asked the troll .

it was what he had liked best of all , said the youth , and that was no lie , as everybody can guess .

he obtained his request , and was taken on as stableman , to tend the king 's horses .

some time passed , and he noticed how the king always went about sorrowing and grieving , and was never glad or happy .

' it 's of no use speaking about that , ' said the king ; ' you cannot help me , at any rate . '

the king gladly agreed to all that the youth proposed , and it was now high time for them to set out .

they were measured and found to be correct .

this the troll had not reckoned on , but he could make no objection against it .

the old debt was honestly paid , and the king got his bond back again .

but there still remained all the damage that had been done that day , and the king had nothing with which to pay for this .

there was nothing else to be done than to try to answer the troll 's riddles .

the fool then stationed himself just by the king 's side while the troll came forward with his questions .

he first asked , ' where is my daughter ? '

the fool spoke up and said , ' she is at the bottom of the sea . '

' how do you know that ? ' said the troll .

' the little fish saw it , ' said the fool .

' would you know her ? ' said the troll .

' yes , bring her forward , ' said the fool .

he thereupon caught her round the waist and held her fast , and the troll had to admit that his first riddle was solved .

then the troll asked again : ' where is my heart ? '

' it is in a fish , ' said the fool .

' would you know that fish ? ' said the troll .

' yes , bring it forward , ' said the fool .

then all the fishes came swimming past them , and meanwhile the troll 's daughter stood just by the youth 's side .

at the same moment the troll fell dead and turned into pieces of flint .

and if they have not died since they are living there to this day .

esben and the witch

from the danish .

as for esben , no one had ever thought about him ; his brothers had not even said farewell to him .

' you are a little fool , ' said his father .

' well , you will soon be rid of me at any rate , ' said esben .

the brothers rode on the whole day , and towards evening they came to a great forest , which they entered .

far within the wood they came to a little house , and knocked at the door .

the eleven brothers thought that they had come to very hospitable people .

they were well attended to , and when they went to bed , each of them got one of the hag 's daughters .

esben had been coming along behind them , and had followed the same way , and had also found the same house in the forest .

he slipped into this , without either the witch or her daughters noticing him , and hid himself under one of the beds .

a little before midnight he crept quietly out and wakened his brothers .

he told these to change night-caps with the witch 's daughters .

when midnight came esben heard the old witch come creeping along .

she had a broad-bladed axe in her hand , and went over all the eleven beds .

they quite forgot to thank esben for what he had done for them .

when they had ridden onwards for some time they reached a king 's palace , and inquired there whether they could be taken into service .

quite easily , they were told , if they would be stablemen , otherwise the king had no use for them .

they were quite ready for this , and got the task of looking after all the king 's horses .

however , he stayed there and occupied himself as best he could .

he got his food , but nothing more , and by night he lay just where he could .

at this time there was in the palace a knight who was called sir red .

he was very well liked by the king , but hated by everyone else , for he was wicked both in will and deed .

but they would not procure it unless they were threatened with death .

with that the king let them go , and there was great grief among them ; some wept and others lamented .

' what good would it do to tell you , you little fool ?

you can't help us . '

' oh , you don't know that , ' answered esben .

' i have helped you before . '

' give me a bag of peas ' said esben , ' and i shall see what i can do for you . '

esben got his bag of peas ; then he took his white stick , and said ,

fly quick , my little stick , carry me across the stream .

straightway the stick carried him across the river and straight into the old witch 's courtyard .

' ye e s ! '

' is it you that has taken my dove ? '

' ye e s ! '

' was it you that made me kill my eleven daughters ? '

' ye e s ! '

' are you coming back again ? '

' that may be , ' said esben .

' then you 'll catch it , ' shouted the witch .

the stick carried esben with the dove back to the king 's palace , and his brothers were greatly delighted .

the king thanked them many times for the dove , and gave them in return both silver and gold .

at this sir red became still more embittered , and again thought of how to avenge himself on the brothers .

' you must get me that boar within three days , ' said the king , ' or it will cost you your heads . '

with that they had to go .

this was still worse than before , they thought .

where could they get such a marvellous boar ?

they all went about hanging their heads ; but when only one day remained of the three esben came along .

when he saw his brothers ' sorrowful looks he cried , ' hallo , what 's the matter now ? '

' oh , what 's the use of telling you ? ' said his brothers .

' you can't help us , at any rate . '

' ah , you don't know that , ' said esben ; ' i 've helped you before . '

esben got his sack of malt ; then he took his little white stick , set himself upon it , and said ,

fly quick , my little stick , carry me across the stream .

off went the stick with him , and very soon he was again in the witch 's courtyard .

there he emptied out the malt , and next moment came the boar , which had every second bristle of gold and of silver .

' ye e s ! '

' is it you that has taken my pretty boar ? '

' ye e s ! '

' it was also you that took my dove ? '

' ye e s ! '

' and it was you that made me kill my eleven daughters ? '

' ye e s ! '

' are you coming back again ? '

' that may be , ' said esben .

' then you 'll catch it , ' said the witch .

not one of them , however , ever thought of thanking esben for what he had done for them .

' if they have said that , ' said the king , ' they shall also be made to bring it to me .

that would be a glorious lamp for me . '

again the king sent a message to the brothers to come up to the palace .

they went accordingly , although very unwillingly , for they suspected that sir red had fallen on some new plan to bring them into trouble .

as soon as they came before the king he said to them ,

' you brothers have said that you could , if you liked , get for me a lamp that can shine over seven kingdoms .

that lamp must be mine within three days , or it will cost you your lives . '

' the lamp ! ' said the king , ' or it will cost you your heads . '

the brothers were now in greater despair than ever .

they did not know what to do , for such a lamp no one had ever heard of .

but just as things looked their worst along came esben .

' something wrong again ? ' said he .

' what 's the matter with you now ? '

' oh , it 's no use telling you , ' said they .

' you can't help us , at any rate . '

' oh , you might at least tell me , ' said esben ; ' i have helped you before . '

' give me a bushel of salt , ' said esben , ' and we shall see how matters go . '

he got his bushel of salt , and then mounted his little white stick , and said ,

fly quick , my little stick , carry me across the stream .

with that both he and his bushel of salt were over beside the witch 's courtyard .

but now matters were less easy , for he could not get inside the yard , as it was evening and the gate was locked .

finally he hit upon a plan ; he got up on the roof and crept down the chimney .

she had grown hungry , and had taken such a fancy to some porridge .

the daughter got out of bed , kindled the fire , and put on a pot with water in it .

' you mustn't put any salt in the porridge , though , ' cried the witch .

the daughter came back then and put in the meal , and after it had boiled a little she took it in to her mother .

the witch took a spoonful and tasted it .

so the daughter had to go and make new porridge , and her mother warned her strictly not to put any salt in it .

' there you have it , then , ' said the witch ; ' but take good care of it . '

when she was going to draw the water from the well she set the lamp down on a stone beside her .

then he made off with the lamp .

but the witch got out of her bed and ran after him , crying :

' hey ! is that you again , esben ? '

' ye e s ! '

' was it you that took my dove ? '

' ye e s ! '

' was it also you that took my boar ? '

' ye e s ! '

' and it was you that made me kill my eleven daughters ? '

' ye e s ! '

' and now you have taken my lamp , and drowned my twelfth daughter in the well ? '

' ye e s ! '

' are you coming back again ? '

' that may be , ' said esben .

' then you 'll catch it , ' said the witch .

the king gave them many fine presents , but esben did not get even so much as thanks from them .

the king asked what that was .

' it is , ' said sir red , ' the most beautiful coverlet that any mortal ever heard tell of .

it also has the property that , when anyone touches it , it sounds so that it can be heard over eight kingdoms . '

' that must be a splendid coverlet , ' said the king , and he at once sent for the brothers .

you shall procure it for me , or else lose your lives , ' said he .

things looked very black again for the brothers , for they were sure there was no escape for them .

not one of them thought it worth while to look for esben , but he soon came along of himself .

' well , what 's the matter now ? ' said he .

' oh , what 's the use of telling you ? ' said the brothers .

' you can't help us , at any rate . '

' ah ! who knows that ? ' said esben .

' i have helped you before . '

he again took his little white stick , set himself on it , and said ,

fly quick , my little stick , carry me across the stream .

next moment he was across the river and beside the witch 's house .

it was evening , and the door was locked , but he knew the way down the chimney .

the witch awoke , sprang out of bed , and caught hold of esben .

ho , ho ! now i have him ! '

in this time however , she had taken a liking to esben , and would willingly have set him free , but could not .

the daughter went and told esben , and asked him what she should do .

the daughter did so , but when the witch bit it she cried , ' uh ! no , no !

this is nothing but skin and bone ; he must be fattened much longer yet . '

now he shall be killed . '

the daughter promised all this , and the witch went off on her journey .

the daughter then made the oven as hot as could be , and took esben out of his prison in order to roast him .

she brought the oven spade , and told esben to seat himself on it , so that she could shoot him into the oven .

' you mustn't sit like that , ' said she .

' how then ? ' said esben .

' you must cross your legs , ' said the daughter ; but esben could not understand what she meant by this .

' get out of the way , ' said she , ' and i will show you how to place yourself . '

' ye e s ! '

' it was you that made me kill my eleven daughters ? '

' ye e s ! '

' and took my dove ? '

' ye e s ! '

' and my beautiful boar ? '

' ye e s ! '

' and drowned my twelfth daughter in the well , and took my lamp ? '

' ye e s ! '

' and now you have roasted my thirteenth and last daughter in the oven , and taken my coverlet ? '

' yeäeäs ! '

' are you coming back again ? '

' no , never again , ' said esben .

esben had found again his little stick , which the witch had taken from him , so he said ,

fly quick , my little stick , carry me across the stream .

next moment he was back at the king 's palace .

esben now went up to the king and gave him the coverlet , with which the king was greatly delighted .

much was made of esben and his brothers , and these now thanked him for all that he had done for them .

the twelve of them received as much gold and silver as they could carry , and betook themselves home to their old father .

princess minon-minette

bibliotheque des fees et aes genies

under these circumstances it is not surprising that the council did not get through much work .

no sooner was the revolt put down than the council turned their attention to the question of the young king 's marriage .

this plan was by no means new , but it had often succeeded , and , anyhow , they could think of nothing better .

such a splendid embassy had never before been seen in any country .

the princess made some difficulties , but , as the weather was lovely and very still , she at last consented to the king 's wishes .

the king went forward to steady her , but the wind that he caused only drove her further away from him .

he rushed after her exclaiming , ' o princess ! are you really running away from me ? '

' good gracious , no ! ' she replied .

' run a little quicker and you will be able to stop me , and i shall be for ever grateful .

then he continued his journey .

but he was not to be let off so easy .

' what about my bundle ? ' cried the old woman .

' where is your politeness ?

really , you seem to have been very nicely brought up !

what have they taught you ? '

' taught me ?

nothing , ' replied he .

' i can well believe it ! ' she said .

' you don't know even how to pick up a bundle .

oh , you can come near ; i am cleverer than you , and know how to pick up a bundle very well . '

the king blushed at her words , which he felt had a great deal of truth in them , and took up the bundle meekly .

aveline , delighted at the success of her first experiment , hobbled along after him , chattering all the while , as old women do .

' i wish , ' she said , ' that all kings had done as much once in their lives .

then they would know what a lot of trouble it takes to get wood for their fires . '

souci felt this to be true , and was sorry for the old woman .

' where are we going to ? ' asked he .

' to the castle of the white demon ; and if you are in want of work i will find you something to do . '

' but i can't do anything , ' he said , ' except carry a bundle , and i shan't earn much by that . '

' oh , you are learning , ' replied the old woman , ' and it isn't bad for a first lesson . '

but the king was paying very little attention to her , for he was rather cross and very tired .

she ran to them , exclaiming to the old woman ,

' oh , you poor thing !

i was just coming after you to see if i could help you . '

' here is a young man , ' replied the old woman , ' who will be quite ready to give you up the bundle .

you see he does not look as if he enjoyed carrying it . '

' will you let me take it , sir ? ' she asked .

matters went on this way for some time .

he found her spinning in an underground chamber , but quite ready to tell him all he wanted to know .

for a moment souci was very much cast down on hearing this , but then he plucked up .

and show me how i can repay you for your kindness , and you shall have anything i can give you .

shall i bring in your bundle of faggots every day ? '

' is it the skein of my life ? ' he asked .

' it is the skein of your love 's ill-luck , ' she said .

and he took it and went away .

now the fairy girouette , who had brought up souci , had an old friend called grimace , the protectress of prince fluet .

so saying , she also went away .

' what are you doing in my country ? ' he cried fiercely .

' do you dare to insult me in my own court ? ' cried the king .

' away with him to little ease ! '

to his surprise the bar gave way at once , and he found he could break it into a thousand pieces .

then souci 's heart died within him .

i am grateful for your goodwill , but take back your gift ! '

the fairy had pity on his youth and want of faith , and took care that one end of the thread remained in his hand .

then he rolled up the thread and put it carefully into his pocket , breathing silent thanks to the fairy .

the princess at once gave her promise , and all went well for some days .

she remembered aveline 's warning , and tried to turn her horse , but it stood as still as if it had been marble .

then the princess felt that she was slowly , and against her will , being dragged to the ground .

scarcely had her feet touched the threshold than grimace appeared .

' so here you are at last , minon-minette !

i have been watching for you a long time , and my trap was ready for you from the beginning .

come here , my darling !

i will teach you to make war on my friends !

things won't turn out exactly as you fancied .

meanwhile you will have to be my servant . '

from that day the poor princess was put to the hardest and dirtiest work , and each morning something more disagreeable seemed to await her .

besides which , she had no food but a little black bread , and no bed but a little straw .

then she felt sure that the fairy had not forgotten her , and took heart .

the fairy , in a rage , tried to snatch it from her , but the princess would not let it go .

' give me that fan at once ! ' cried grimace .

' if she is not on the earth , ' said souci to himself , ' perhaps she is hiding somewhere in the air .

it is there that i shall find her . '

she guided the fan above the spot where the two armies lay encamped before each other ready to give battle .

maiden bright-eye

from the danish

once , upon a time there was a man and his wife who had two children , a boy and a girl .

the wife died , and the man married again .

she was spared from all the hardest of the housework , and had always the prettiest clothes to wear .

' who 's that pulling the roof off my house ? '

if you will be good to me i will give you a bit of my dinner . '

the little fellow was quite willing , and she gave him the biggest share of her pancakes .

they were not particularly good , but when one is hungry anything tastes well .

after he had got them all eaten he said to her :

the third wish shall be that you may be married to the young king , and become the queen of the country .

maiden bright-eye thanked the little bergman ever so often , and drove home her sheep in the evening .

by that time she had grown so beautiful that her people could scarcely recognise her .

her stepmother asked her how it had come about that she had grown so beautiful .

she did not tell , however , that she had given him a share of her dinner .

next morning she baked for her the finest cakes , and dressed her prettily to go out with the sheep .

but she was afraid to go away there without having a stick to defend herself with if anything should come near her .

' who 's that pulling the roof off my house ? '

' what 's that to you ? ' said she .

' well , if you will give me a bit of your dinner i won't do you any mischief , ' said he .

' i will give you something else in place of my dinner , ' said she .

' what a wicked little girl you are ! ' said he ; ' but you shall be none the better of this .

i shall give you three wishes , and choose them for you .

in the third place i shall wish for you a violent death . '

now we must hear something about the stepson .

he had gone out into the world to look about him , and took service in the king 's palace .

he told them that it was because he had such a lovely sister at home .

he got a ship , and everything else that he required , and sailed home for his sister .

she must not be allowed to come to such honour . '

when the brother learned what had happened he was greatly distressed , and did not know what to do .

he could not bring himself to tell the truth about what had happened , nor did he expect that the king would believe it .

in the long run he decided to hold on his way , and let things go as they liked .

the duck swam away after the ship , and came to the king 's palace on the next evening .

the duck hopped up till it could talk to the dog .

' good evening , ' it said .

' thanks , maiden bright-eye , ' said the dog .

' where is my brother ? '

' he is in the serpent-pit . '

' where is my wicked sister ? '

' she is with the noble king . '

' alas ! alas !

i am here this evening , and shall be for two evenings yet , and then i shall never come again . '

when it had said this the duck waddled off again .

they had heard it say that it would come again .

next evening it appeared as it had said , and a great many were present to see it .

it came waddling in by the drain , and went up to the dog , which was lying on the hearth-stone .

' good evening , ' it said .

' thanks , maiden bright-eye , ' said the dog .

' where is my brother ? '

' he is in the serpent-pit . '

' where is my wicked sister ? '

' she is with the noble king . '

' alas ! alas !

i am here this evening , and shall be for one evening yet , and then i shall never come again . '

after this it slipped out , and no one could get hold of it .

but the king 's cook thought to himself , ' i shall see if i can't get hold of you to-morrow evening . '

on the third evening the duck again came waddling in by the drain , and up to the dog on the hearth-stone .

' good evening , ' it said .

' thanks , maiden bright-eye , ' said the dog .

' where is my brother ? '

' he is in the serpent-pit . '

' where is my wicked sister ? '

' she is with the noble king . '

' alas ! alas ! now i shall never come again . '

the king then asked him if he could produce to him his sister as beautiful as he had formerly described her .

the brother said he could if they would bring him the duck and a knife .

next moment maiden bright-eye stood there , as lovely and beautiful as he had seen her when he was home .

this was his sister now , he said ; and the whole story now came out of how the other had behaved to her .

the merry wives

from the danish

all three were married , and their wives were very good friends .

this was at the time when half a pint of brandy cost threepence , so that was just a penny from each of them .

but the brandy went up in price , and the taverner said that he must have fourpence for the half-pint .

if we had only had a fierce watchdog he would have kept them away . '

' yes , ' said the man , ' that would have been a good thing . '

the husband was not very sure about this , although otherwise he was always ready to give in to her .

' oh yes , you will see it will work all right , ' said the wife .

there he stood and barked and growled at everyone that moved in his neighbourhood .

the neighbour wives knew all about this , and were greatly amused at it .

you are ill . '

the husband now began to grow anxious , and thought that perhaps he was not quite well .

' no , indeed , ' said she ; ' it 's high time that you were in bed . '

' you will never get over it , ' said she ; ' i am afraid you are going to die . '

' do you think so ? ' said the carpenter ; ' i can well believe it , for i am indeed very poorly . '

in a little while she said again , ' ah , now i must part with you .

here comes death .

now i must close your eyes . '

and she did so .

meanwhile word had gone round the village that the carpenter was dead , and was to be buried next day .

it was now the turn of the smith 's wife .

' gracious , man , ' said she , ' you are lying there yet ?

you are sleeping too long .

you know you are going to the funeral . '

the smith was quite confused ; he knew nothing about any funeral .

' it 's our neighbour the carpenter , ' said his wife , ' who is to be buried to-day .

they are already half-way to church with him . '

' all right , ' said the smith , ' make haste to help me on with my black clothes . '

' what nonsense ! ' said his wife , ' you have them on already .

be off with you now . '

this was already close to the church , and the smith wanted to take part in carrying the coffin , like a good neighbour .

the lid sprang off the coffin with the shock , and the carpenter woke up and looked out .

king lindorm

from the swedish .

there once lived a king and a queen who ruled over a very great kingdom .

one day a poor old woman came to the castle and asked to speak with the queen .

the royal servants answered that they could not let such a poor beggar-woman go in to their royal mistress .

they offered her a penny , and told her to go away .

then the woman desired them to tell the queen that there stood at the palace gate one who would help her secret sorrow .

this message was taken to the queen , who gave orders to bring the old woman to her .

this was done , and the old woman said to her :

' i know your secret sorrow , o queen , and am come to help you in it .

you wish to have a son ; you shall have two if you follow my instructions . '

the queen was greatly surprised that the old woman knew her secret wish so well , and promised to follow her advice .

' you must have a bath set in your room , o queen , ' said she , ' and filled with running water .

when you have bathed in this you will find . under the bath two red onions .

these you must carefully peel and eat , and in time your wish will be fulfilled . '

the queen did as the poor woman told her ; and after she had bathed she found the two onions under the bath .

they were both alike in size and appearance .

when she had done so she remembered that the woman had told her to peel them carefully before she ate them .

it was now too late for the one of them , but she peeled the other and then ate it too .

no one saw this but her waiting-woman , who threw it out of the window into the forest beside the castle .

the prince obeyed , had his horses harnessed to his gilded chariot , and set out to woo his bride .

' where are you driving to ? ' asked the lindorm with a hideous voice .

' that does not concern you , ' said the prince .

' i am the prince , and can drive where i please . '

' turn back , ' said the lindorm .

' i know your errand , but you shall get no bride until i have got a mate and slept by her side . '

the lindorm came to the palace and received a bride of this kind , but in the morning she lay torn in pieces .

so it happened every time that the king and queen compelled any woman to be his bride .

the report of this soon spread over all the country .

now it happened that there was a man who had married a second time , and his wife heard of the lindorm with great delight .

at this the king was greatly delighted , and gave orders that the young girl should be brought to the palace .

she begged that she might be allowed to spend another night in her father 's house .

this was granted her , and she went to her mother 's grave .

there she lamented her hard fate in being given over to the lindorm , and earnestly prayed her mother for counsel .

then she rose up from the grave , quite happy at heart , and began to search about in the fields .

there she found three nuts , which she carefully put away in her pocket .

' when i come into very great danger i must break one of these , ' she said to herself .

then she went home , and set out quite willingly with the king 's messengers .

when they were left alone in the bridal chamber the lindorm , in a threatening voice , ordered her to undress herself .

' undress yourself first ! ' said she .

' none of the others bade me do that , ' said he in surprise .

' but i bid you , ' said she .

then his bride took off one of her snow-white shirts , and cast it on the lindorm's skin .

again he ordered her to undress , and again she commanded him to do so first .

when she had nearly worn out the last of these there stood before her the loveliest youth in the world .

then he asked her whether she would keep the promise she had made to the lindorm , to share everything with him .

to this she was well content to answer ' yes . '

he told them of the wonderful sight he had seen .

the waiting-woman was then summoned , and admitted that she had thrown it out through the window into the forest .

the king and queen now sent for their eldest son and his young bride .

soon afterwards his mother also departed from this world .

then he took farewell of his queen , and marched out to war .

she now plotted continually how she might destroy her good fortune .

the queen , who did not imagine that any person could be so deceitful , bade her stepmother welcome , and kept her beside her .

soon after this the queen had two children , the prettiest boys that anyone could see .

the queen gave her permission , and the stepmother combed her hair until she fell asleep .

he therefore wrote back to his most trusted retainer that the queen and her two whelps should be taken care of while he was away .

this she also sealed with the queen 's seal , which was in all respects like the king 's .

the stepmother had made these known to the people , adding that the queen was a wicked sorceress .

the queen obeyed , and no one knew but that both she and her children had been burned .

he then begged her to leave the palace before the king returned .

the queen now took her two little sons , and wandered out into the wild forest .

they walked all day without ending a human habitation , and became very tired .

the queen then caught sight of a man who carried some venison .

he spoke but little , however , and all that he said about himself was that his name was peter .

later in the day he rode out into the forest , and the queen thought that he looked very unhappy .

she was surprised at this , but thought that the man would get the blood on his shirt when he was carrying home venison .

she washed the shirts , and hung them up to dry , and said nothing to peter about the matter .

he then told her that he had formerly lived a wild life , and had finally entered into a written contract with the evil spirit .

before this contract had expired he had repented and turned from his evil ways , and withdrawn himself to this solitude .

then at a distance she heard a terrible voice demanding to know what she wanted .

' i have come to get peter 's contract , ' said she .

the queen then took one of her nuts and cracked it , and turned her horse about .

they would not , however , give up the contract , but threatened both her and the man .

the queen had only one nut left now , but even that she was ready to give up in order to deliver the man .

the attendants were surprised : they knew of no whelps .

the queen had had two beautiful princes ; but the king had sent orders that all these were to be burned .

the king then went forth alone into the wild forest , and wandered there the whole day without seeing a single human being .

so it went with him the second day also , but on the third day he came by roundabout ways to the little hut .

he went in there , and asked for leave to rest himself for a little on the bench .

he lay down on the bench , and , tired as he was , he soon fell asleep .

the bench was a narrow one , and as he slept his arm fell down and hung by the side of it .

then he felt a pair of little hands softly clasping his arm ; he opened his eyes , and saw his queen and her children .

the most unbounded rejoicing reigned there then , as well as over the whole kingdom , but the wicked stepmother was burned .

the jackal , the dove , and the panther

contes populaires des bassoutos .

recueillis et traduits par e . jacottet .

paris : leroux , editeur .

there was once a dove who built a nice soft nest as a home for her three little ones .

so he shouted as loud as he could , ' ohe , ohe , mother dove . '

and the dove replied , trembling with fear , ' what do you want , sir ? '

the jackal ate it up , and went home to sleep .

but the heron replied , ' you should not have believed him .

he could never have jumped so high .

he only deceived you because he wanted something for supper . '

and with these words the heron flew off .

he had hardly got out of sight when again the jackal came creeping slowly round the foot of the rock .

' it was the heron who told me , ' replied she .

' and which way did he go ? ' said the jackal .

' down there among the reeds .

you can see him if you look , ' said the dove .

then the jackal nodded good-bye , and went quickly after the heron .

' and which side do you turn to ? ' asked the heron .

the jackal answered , ' i always turn to this side . '

' then that is the side i turn to , ' remarked the heron .

' and when the rain comes from that quarter , which side do you turn to ? '

and the heron replied , ' and which side do you turn to ? '

' oh , i always turn to this side , ' said the jackal .

' then that is the side i turn to , ' said the heron .

' and when the rain comes straight down , what do you do ? '

' what do you do yourself ? ' asked the heron .

' i do this , ' answered the jackal .

' i cover my head with my paws . '

' then that is what i do , ' said the heron .

with one bound the jackal had seized him by the neck , and began to shake him .

' oh , have pity , have pity ! ' cried the heron .

' i never did you any harm . '

' you told the dove how to get the better of me , and i am going to eat you for it . '

' now you may go , my friend , for there is plenty of food here for me . '

' i should be very much obliged , ' said the panther ; ' but be sure you take care of them .

they always cry all the time that i am away . '

by-and-bye the panther returned from hunting , and said to him , ' jackal , bring out my little ones for their supper . '

next day she went again to the chase , and the jackal ate up another little panther , so now there were only eight .

in the evening , when she came back , the panther said , ' jackal , bring out my little ones ! '

but the jackal replied : ' bring out your little ones , indeed !

why , you know as well as i do that you have eaten them all up . '

and , what was worse , she did not find the little ones either .

now the panther was not going to let the jackal get off like that , and set off at a trot to catch him .

and the jackal answered : ' they are up there .

it is where i keep school . '

the panther looked about , and then inquired , ' but where ?

i see nothing of them . '

' come a little this way , ' said the jackal , ' and you will hear how beautifully they sing . '

so the panther drew near the cleft of the rock .

she was still standing in the same place when a baboon went by .

' what are you doing there , panther ? '

' i am listening to my children singing .

it is here that the jackal keeps his school . '

the little hare

contes populaires des bassoutos .

recueillis et traduits par e . jacottet .

paris : leroux , editeur .

one day the wife said to her husband , ' i am pining to have the liver of a nyamatsane for my dinner .

if not , i shall know that your love is not worth having . '

' bake some bread , ' was all her husband answered , ' then take the crust and put it in this little bag . '

' very well , ' said he , ' and now good-bye ; i am going after the nyamatsane . '

but the nyamatsane was not so easy to find as the woman had hoped .

but there were no more nyamatsanes here than anywhere else .

they rushed clattering into the hut , exclaiming , ' we smell human flesh !

what should any man be doing here ? '

and they led their grandmother outside , and all of them began hungrily to eat pebbles .

however , as the nyamatsanes did not see this they had no idea that he was not really their grandmother .

towards evening the nyamatsanes came back to the hut full of anxiety to know how their grandmother had got on during their absence .

then they stooped down to find traces of the man 's footsteps , and when they had got them instantly set out in hot pursuit .

his heart stood still within him , and he said to himself , ' i am lost .

so they returned home .

then our friend staggered into his own hut and called to his wife : ' ichou ! how tired i am !

quick , give me something to drink .

then go and get fuel and light a fire . '

and the wife answered , ' it is well .

her husband watched her for a moment , and then said , ' be sure you eat it all yourself .

do not give a scrap to any of the children , but eat every morsel up . '

so the woman took the liver and ate it all herself .

but the neighbour pushed her away , saying , ' no , i shall have none left for my children . '

she wandered in this manner through the whole village till she had drunk every water-pot dry .

but by this time she had drunk so much that she could not rise from the ground .

he saw at once that the water had been troubled again , and was very angry .

why , there is mud all over his face and paws ! '

but the little hare hastily replied , ' i only asked you to pass me my stick . '

but one of the beasts whose ears were longer than the rest caught the words , and went to tell big lion about it .

do you hear what the little hare is saying ? '

so big lion sent for the little hare , and asked him what he meant by talking like that .

then he turned and ran as fast as he could , with all the other beasts pursuing him .

when the last tail was out of sight the little hare crept cautiously out , and the first person he met was the rabbit .

it was really you who drank that water , and you accused me of having done it . '

' oh , my good rabbit , never mind that !

i 've got such a wonderful secret to tell you !

do you know what to do so as to escape death ? '

' no , i don't . '

' well , we must begin by digging a hole . '

then he called loudly ' itchi , itchi !

rabbit , my friend , be quick , be quick !

don't you hear how my skin is crackling ? '

and the rabbit came in a great hurry and pulled him out .

then the little hare said , ' now it is your turn ! ' and he threw the rabbit in the fire .

but the little hare only laughed , and said , ' no , you may stay there !

it is your own fault .

why were you such a fool as to let yourself be thrown in ?

didn't you know that fire burns ? '

and in a very few minutes nothing was left of the rabbit but a few bones .

pii , pii , o flute that i love , pii , pii , rabbits are but little boys .

one day he said to his master , ' grandfather , shall i show you a splendid way to kill game ? '

' what is it ? ' asked big lion .

' we must dig a ditch , and then you must lie in it and pretend to be dead . '

pii , pii , all you animals come and see , big lion is dead , and now peace will be .

directly they heard this they all came running .

the little hare received them and said , ' pass on , this way to the lion . '

so they all entered into the animal kingdom .

last of all came the monkey with her baby on her back .

then the monkey cried , ' come , my baby , climb on my back and let us go .

what sort of a dead body is it that can still feel when it is tickled ? '

and she and her baby went away in a fright .

then the little hare said to the other beasts , ' now , shut the gate of the animal kingdom . '

and it was shut , and great stones were rolled against it .

he had long ago found out that big lion was very easily taken in ; so he laid his plans accordingly .

' what is pricking me so ? ' asked big lion .

' oh , just a little branch sticking out .

in a little while he gave another prick , and big lion called again , ' what is pricking me so ? '

this time the little hare said to himself , ' he will find out what i am at .

i must try some other plan .

big lion did as he was bid , and the little hare tied it tightly to the stakes of the wall .

but there was no answer , not even a growl , for the hailstones had killed big lion .

but one day a great wind arose , and flung down the big lion 's half-dried skin from the roof of the hut .

so , dressed in big lion 's skin , the little hare started on his travels .

the hyaena dared not disobey , and in a few minutes was scalded to death .

one day all the hyaenas that remained alive went out very early into the fields , leaving only one little daughter at home .

but her father answered , ' oh , my dear child , you don't know what you are talking about . '

she replied , ' yes , father , it is quite true .

i saw it with my own eyes . '

and the next day they hid themselves and waited till the little hare came out of the royal hut .

he walked gaily towards the enclosure , threw off , big lion 's skin , and sang and danced as before

but the hyaena never stirred .

there was silence for a moment ; then a hyaena took a stone , and flung it with all his force against the lion 's skin .

' no , i have seen no one . '

' where can he be ? ' said the hyaenas one to another .

' of course , this creature is quite different , and not at all like the little hare . '

the sparrow with the slit tongue

from the japanische marchen und sagen .

a long long time ago , an old couple dwelt in the very heart of a high mountain .

at last , one morning her opportunity came .

she threw her broom at the bird , who was perched on a bracket high up on the wall .

the broom missed the bird , but knocked down and broke the vase on the bracket , which did not soothe the angry woman .

by this time the woman was more furious than ever .

by-and-bye the old man came back , and at once began to ask for his pet .

day after day he searched and called ; and evening after evening he returned in despair .

at length he gave up hope , and made up his mind that he should see his little friend no more .

' oh , my dear old friend , ' she exclaimed , ' how glad i am you have found me at last !

i am your little sparrow , whose life you saved , and whom you took such care of . '

and as she spoke , her servants brought in two chests , one of them very small , the other large and heavy .

' now choose which of them you will carry with you . '

so the old man chose the small chest , and hid it under his cloak , and set out on his homeward way .

and it was even worse than he expected .

when she had got it into her head , she put on her best clothes and set out at once .

but in her blind haste she often missed the path , and she wandered for several hours before she at length reached the little house .

but nothing of the sort .

' of course not , ' replied the girl , and at her orders two chests were brought in , as they had been before .

it was a long way to her own house , and the chest seemed to grow heavier at every step .

and they twined themselves about her and darted poison into her veins , and she died , and no man regretted her .

the story of ciccu

from sicilianische mahrchen .

once upon a time there lived a man who had three sons .

the eldest was called peppe , the second alfin , and the youngest ciccu .

they were all very poor , and at last things got so bad that they really had not enough to eat .

' no , no ! ' exclaimed his sons ; ' that you shall never do .

rather , if it must be , would we do it ourselves .

but we have thought of a better plan than that . '

' what is it ? ' asked the father .

then they built a little hut where they might take shelter , and set to work .

he bade his sons fetch a lawyer , so that he might make his will , and when the man arrived he explained his wishes .

' i have , ' said he , ' a little house in the village , and over it grows a fig-tree .

the house i leave to my sons , who are to live in it together ; the fig-tree i divide as follows .

to my son peppe i leave the branches .

to my son alfin i leave the trunk .

to my son ciccu i leave the fruit .

besides the house and tree , i have an old coverlet , which i leave to my eldest son .

and an old purse , which i leave to my second son .

and a horn , which i leave to my youngest son .

and now farewell . '

thus speaking , he laid himself down , and died quietly .

' what shall we do now ? ' said they .

' shall we live in the wood , or go back to the village ? '

and they made up their minds to stay where they were and continue to earn their living by selling firewood .

one very hot evening , after they had been working hard all day , they fell asleep under a tree in front of the hut .

and as they slept there came by three fairies , who stopped to look at them .

' what fine fellows ! ' said one .

' let us give them a present . '

' yes , what shall it be ? ' asked another .

' this youth has a coverlet over him , ' said the first fairy .

' when he wraps it round him , and wishes himself in any place , he will find himself there in an instant . '

then said the second fairy : ' this youth has a purse in his hand .

i will promise that it shall always give him as much gold as he asks for . '

last came the turn of the third fairy .

' this one has a horn slung round him .

when he blows at the small end the seas shall be covered with ships .

and if he blows at the wide end they shall all be sunk in the waves . '

so they vanished , without knowing that ciccu had been awake and heard all they said .

i have a fancy for them , for the sake of old times . '

when he had got them safely ciccu went on , ' dear brothers , i am tired of the forest .

i want to live in the town , and work at some trade . '

' o ciccu ! stay with us , ' they cried .

' we are very happy here ; and who knows how we shall get on elsewhere ? '

so saying he picked up his bundle of sticks , and his brothers did the same .

' bring us three dishes , the nicest that you have , and a good bottle of wine . '

' ciccu !

ciccu ! ' whispered his brothers , horrified at this extravagance , ' are you mad ?

how do you ever mean to pay for it ? '

' let me alone , ' replied ciccu ; ' i know what i am about . '

and when they had finished their dinner ciccu told the others to go on , and he would wait to pay the bill .

then he paid the bill and joined his brothers .

' how did you manage ? ' they asked .

' never you mind , ' answered he .

' i have paid every penny , ' and no more would he say .

i am going away to seek my own fortune . '

then he embraced them , and struck down another road .

he wandered on for many days , till at length he came to the town where the king had his court .

the first thing ciccu did was to order himself some fine clothes , and then buy a grand house , just opposite the palace .

lastly the rumour of these wonders reached the ears of the king , who left his palace to behold these splendours with his own eyes .

and ciccu received him with all respect , and showed him over the house .

the princess returned to the palace , taking with her the purse , which she had not the smallest intention of ever restoring to ciccu .

very soon ciccu had spent all the money he had by him , and could get no more without the help of his purse .

then he took up the coverlet , and wished he was safe in his own house .

no sooner had he gone than the princess hastened to her father and complained of her sufferings .

then the king rose up in a fury , and commanded ciccu to be brought before him .

what could ciccu do ?

however , he was pleased to see that the fig-tree looked in splendid condition , and was full of fruit .

the figs of course are yours , but the branches they grow on are mine , and i forbid you to touch them . '

the others agreed , and when they had found a man whom they could trust ciccu told him the whole story .

' this is my verdict , ' said the judge .

' the figs in truth belong to you , but you cannot pluck them without touching both the trunk and the branches .

the rest you can keep for yourself . '

perhaps he will give us something in return , and if he does we will divide it faithfully between us . '

so the best figs were carefully packed in a basket , and peppe set out with it to the castle .

' what is that to you ? ' was the answer ; ' mind your own business . '

but the old man only repeated his question , and peppe , to get rid of him , exclaimed in anger , ' dirt . '

' good , ' replied the old man ; ' dirt you have said , and dirt let it be . '

peppe only tossed his head and went on his way till he got to the castle , where he knocked at the door .

when peppe uncovered his basket sure enough a layer of beautiful purple figs met the king 's eyes , but underneath there was nothing but dirt .

' how dare you play me such a trick ? ' shrieked the king in a rage .

' take him away , and give him fifty lashes . '

this was done , and peppe returned home , sore and angry , but determined to say nothing about his adventure .

and when his brothers asked him what had happened he only answered , ' when we have all three been i will tell you . '

a few days after this more figs were ready for plucking , and alfin in his turn set out for the palace .

he had not gone far down the road before he met the old man , who asked him what he had in his basket .

' horns , ' answered alfin , shortly .

' good , ' replied the old man ; ' horns you have said , and horns let it be . '

the king commanded that alfin should be admitted to his presence , and a silver dish to be brought on which to lay the figs .

when the basket was uncovered some beautiful purple figs lay on the top , but underneath there was nothing but horns .

then the king was beside himself with passion , and screamed out , ' is this a plot to mock me ?

take him away , and give him a hundred and fifty lashes ! '

however , he plucked them , as they had agreed , and set out for the king 's palace .

' figs for the king , ' answered he .

' let me have a peep , ' and ciccu lifted the lid .

' oh , do give me one , i am so fond of figs , ' begged the little man .

' but there are not enough left to take to the king , ' murmured ciccu .

ciccu did not much like it ; however he went on his way , and with a trembling heart rang the castle bell .

i suppose it is a wager ! '

but ciccu uncovered the basket , and there lay a pile of beautiful ripe figs .

ciccu accepted gratefully , but said he must first return home and give the five florins to his brothers .

when he got home peppe spoke : ' now we will see what we each have got from the king .

i myself received from him fifty lashes . '

' and i a hundred and fifty , ' added alfin .

then ciccu went back to the court and served the king , and the king loved him .

' how can i get it ? ' asked the king .

' oh , ciccu can get it for you ; ask him . '

beg the king to give you fifty gold pieces and leave to ride me , and the rest will be easy . '

ciccu believed what the horse said , and prayed the king to grant him what he asked .

then the two friends set out , but the horse chose what roads he pleased , and directed ciccu in everything .

he himself hid carefully under the bed and waited .

he was so busy over the mosquitos that he did not hear ciccu steal softly out , or see him catch up the sword .

the king had suffered much pain in his absence , thinking that if the man-eater ate ciccu , it would be all his fault .

and he was so overjoyed to have him safe that he almost forgot the sword which he had sent him to bring .

you may have any help you like , but somehow or other you must manage to do it . '

ciccu felt very much cast , down at these words , and went to the stable to ask advice of his friend the horse .

' fear nothing , ' said the horse ; ' just say you want me and fifty pieces of gold . '

ciccu did as he was bid , and the two set out together .

when they reached the country of the man-eater , ciccu made all the church bells toll and a proclamation to be made .

' ciccu , the servant of the king , is dead . '

' what are you doing in my wood ? ' asked the maneater , coming up .

' noble lord , ' answered ciccu , ' i am making a coffin for the body of ciccu , who is dead . '

then ciccu scratched his ear thoughtfully , and cried , ' idiot that i am !

i never took any measures .

how am i to know if it is big enough ?

but now i come to think of it , ciccu was about your size .

i wonder if you would be so good as just to put yourself in the coffin , and see if there is enough room . '

' oh , delighted ! ' said the man-eater , and laid himself at full length in the coffin .

just about this time the queen died , and soon after the king thought he should like to marry again .

he sought everywhere , but he could not hear of any princess that took his fancy .

' but where can i find her ? ' asked the king

' oh , ciccu will know , and he will bring her to you . '

now the king had got so used to depending on ciccu , that he really believed he could do everything .

ciccu did as he was bid , and they started at a gallop .

' get down , and give the poor things some honey , ' said the horse , and ciccu dismounted .

' jump down , and throw the fish into the water ; he will be useful to us , ' and ciccu did so .

farther along the hillside they saw an eagle whose leg was caught in a snare .

at length they came to the castle where the fairest in the world lived with her parents .

then said the horse , ' you must get down and sit upon that stone , for i must enter the castle alone .

if you fail to do this , we are both lost . '

soon a crowd collected first to watch him and then to pat him , and the king and queen and princess came with the rest .

but the horse made one bound forward , and the princess was forced to hold tight by his mane , lest she should fall off .

and as they dashed past the stone where ciccu was waiting for them , he swung himself up and held her round the waist .

but she said nothing , and they rode on fast , fast .

but she answered , ' that can only be when ciccu brings me the veil that i let fall on my way here . '

' wait a moment , ' answered a voice that seemed to come from somewhere very high up indeed .

and ciccu saw it was the very same eagle that he had freed from the snare .

so he took the veil and rode back to the king .

' not so fast , ' answered she .

' i can never be your wife till ciccu puts on my finger the ring i threw into the stream .

' now , call three times on the emperor of the fishes , and beg him to restore you the ring that the princess dropped .

ciccu did as the horse told him , and a voice was heard in answer that seemed to come from a very long way off .

' a fish is playing with it just now , ' replied the voice ; ' however , you shall have it without delay . '

and sure enough , very soon a little fish was seen rising to the surface with the lost ring in his mouth .

and the king forgot how ciccu had served him , and desired him to do as the princess had said .

this time ciccu felt that no escape was possible , and he went to the horse and laid his hand on his neck .

then get down , and scrape off the foam with a knife .

' willingly , ' replied the king , stooping over the oven .

and in a moment the fire caught him , and he was burned up .

so ciccu married the fairest in the world , and became king of the country .

don giovanni de la fortuna

sicilianische mahrchen

' would you like to be rich , ' asked the devil , ' and to lead a pleasant life ? '

' yes , of course i should , ' replied the don .

now don giovanni was a man who never troubled his head about the future .

he soon began to ask for money for the mere pleasure of it , and there was always as much as he needed .

' what is that you can do ? ' laughed the gentleman .

' will you sell me your house ? ' asked don giovanni .

' i will buy it from you on the spot . '

' oh , the dirty creature is quite mad ! ' thought the gentleman .

' i shall just accept his offer for a joke . '

and don giovanni left the inn and dwelt in the beautiful rooms , where his rags and dirt looked sadly out of place .

and every day these got worse and worse .

don giovanni readily agreed to lend him what he wanted , and sent next day a huge waggon laden with sacks of gold .

' who can he be ? ' thought the king to himself .

' why , he is much richer than i ! '

i shall certainly not take back that handful of gold , and , if he declines to accept it , keep it yourself . '

the servant departed and delivered the message , and the king wondered more than ever how anyone could be so rich .

i wish to give him the hand of our eldest daughter . '

' his majesty is too good , ' he replied .

' i can only humbly accept the honour . '

but when it came , and the princess saw the horrible figure , she screamed out , ' what ! marry this dirty beggar ?

never , never ! '

but i have passed my royal word , and i cannot break it , so there is no help for you . '

and the queen took her part , and reproached her husband bitterly for wishing his daughter to marry a creature like that .

then the youngest daughter spoke : ' dear father , do not look so sad .

as you have given your word , i will marry don giovanni . '

soon after the old king died , and don giovanni became king .

end of the project gutenberg ebook of the pink fairy book , by various