UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO II |l |||[l ]ll jl[ III I l||il 3 1822 00803 2104 '•=.ffi*H;i««>-._;^ J Ur^vTRSlTV Or 9P^ DIEOO UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO 3 1822 00803 2104 Zj:^-^' It WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS Uniform with this Volume FAIRY TALES OF OLD JAPAN By Dr W. E. Griffis. Illustrated in Colour. CHINESE FAIRY STORIES By XOKMAN H. Pitman. Illustrated in Colour. J -"K^ X. I III. i;.\i;.\ \ .\<,,\ AM) ri ri;k WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY KATHARINE PYLE LONDON GEORGE G. HARRAP tif COMPANY LTD. 2 b' 3 PORTSMOUTH STREET KINGSWAY W.C. AND AT SYDNEY First publishtd Au^st igio Printt4 in Great Britain by Turnhull if' Sptars, Edinburgh CONTENTS PAGE LONG, BROAD, AND SHARPSIGHT 9 A Story from Bohemia THE DWARF WITH THE GOLDEN BEARD 30 J Slavonic Fairy Tale THE GREAT WHITE BEAR AND THE TROLLS 55 J Story from the Norse THE STORY OF THE THREE BILLY GOAT GRUFFS 61 A Story from the Norse THE STONES OF PLOUVINEC 67 A Tale from Brittany THE KING OF THE BUFFALOES 81 An American Indian Tale THE JACKAL AND THE ALLIGATOR 88 A Hindu Fairy Tale THE BABA YAGA 93 A Russian Fairy Tale TAMLANE 99 A Story from an Old Scotch Ballad THE FARMER AND THE PIXY 104 An English Fairy Tale 5 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS PAGS RABBIT'S EYES 109 A Korean Fairy TaU MUDJEE MONEDO 114 Jn American In^Iiiin Tale DAPPLEGRIM 126 A Tale adapted from the tiorse THE FISH PRINCE 146 A Hindu Folk Tale THE MAGIC RICE KETTLE 161 A Korean Story THE CROW PERI 178 A Persian Storf THE FOUR WISHES 199 J German Stor\' WHY THE ANIMALS NO LONGER FEAR THE SHEEP 229 A French Creole Story PRINCESS ROSETTA 240 A French Fairy Tale ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE The Baba Yaga and Peter Frontispiece There was a great black raven in the room with them 28 He spoke to her in the softest voice he could manage 82 Then it was a swan that beat its wings in her face 102 "Not so fast, my fine little fellow," he said 106 She managed to throw the third stone at him 152 " Do not be afraid, my child," said the nixie to Matilda 202 The mattress upon which she lay had floated on and on 248 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS LONG, BROAD, AND SHARPSIGHT A STORY FROM BOHEMIA THERE was once a King who had one only son, and him he loved better than any- thing in the whole world — better even than his own life. The King's greatest desire was to see his son married, but though the Prince had travelled in many lands, and had seen many noble and beautiful ladies, there was not one among them all whom he wished to have for a wife. One day the King called his son to him and said, " My son, for a long time now I have hoped to see you choose a bride, but you have desired no one. Take now this silver key. Go to the top of the castle, and there you will see a steel door. This key will unlock it. Open the door and enter. Look carefully at everything in the room, and then return and tell me what you have seen. But, whatever you do, do not touch nor draw aside the curtain that hangs at the right of the door. If you should disobey me and do 9 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS this thing, you will suffer the greatest dangers, and may even pay for it with your life." The Prince wondered greatly at his father's words, but he took the key and went to the top of the castle, and there he found the steel door his father had described. He unlocked it with the silver key, stepped inside, and looked about him. When he had done so, he was filled with amazement at what he saw. The room had twelve sides, and on eleven of these sides were pictures of eleven princesses more beautiful than any the Prince had ever seen in all his life before. Moreover, these pictures were as though they were alive. When the Prince looked at them, they moved and smiled and blushed and beckoned to him. He went from one to the other, and they were so beautiful that each one he looked upon seemed lovelier than the last. But lovely though they were, there was not one of them whom the Prince wished to have for a wife. Last of all, the Prince came to the twelfth side of the room, and it was covered over with a curtain, and the curtain was of velvet riclily embroidered with gold and precious stones. The Prince stood before it and looked at it and looked at it. He tried to peer under its edges, but he could see nothing ; never in all his life had he longed for anything as he longed to lift that curtain and see what was behind it. At last his longing grew so great that he could 10 LONG, BROAD, AND SHARPSIGHT withstand it no longer. He laid his hand upon the folds and drew it aside, and when he had done so, his heart melted within him for love and joy. For there was the portrait of a maiden so fair and lovely that all the other eleven beauties were as nothing beside her. The Prince stood and looked at her, and she looked back at him, and she did not blush or beckon to him as the others had done, but rather she grew pale. " Yes," said the Prince at last, " you and you only shall be my bride, even though I should have to go to the ends of the world to find you." When he said that, the picture bowed its head gravely. Then the Prince dropped the curtain and left the room and went down to where the old King was waiting for him. As soon as he came before his father, the old man asked whether he had found the room and entered it. " I did," answered the Prince. " And what did you see in the room, my son ? " " I saw a picture of the maiden whom I wish to have for a wife." " And which of the eleven was it ? " " It was none of the eleven ; it was the twelfth — she whose portrait hangs behind the curtain." When the old King heard this, he gave a cry of grief. " Alas, alas, my son ! What have you II WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS done ! Did I not warn j^ou not to lift the curtain and not to look behind it ? " " You warned me, my father, and yet I could not but look, and now I have seen the only one whom I will ever marr}\ Tell me, I pray of you, who she is, that I may go in search of her." " Well did I know that misfortune would come upon you if ever you entered that room. That Princess whom you have seen is indeed the most beautiful Princess in all the world, but she is also the most unfortunate. Because of her beauty, she was carried away by a wicked and powerful Magician who wished to marry her. To this, however, she would not consent. He still keeps her a prisoner in an iron castle far away beyond forest, plain, and mountain at the very end of the world. Many princes and heroes and brave men have tried to rescue her, but none has ever succeeded. They have lost their lives in the attempt, and the Magician has turned them all into stone statues to adorn his castle. And now you are determined to throw away your life also." " That may be," said the Prince ; " and yet it may also be that I shall succeed even though others have failed. At any rate, I must try, for I cannot live without her." When the King found that his son was deter- mined to go, and that nothing could stay him, he gave him a jewelled sword and the finest steed in his stable and bade him God-spccd. 12 LONG, BROAD, AND SHARPSIGHT So the Prince set out with his father's blessing, and he rode along and rode along until at last he came to a forest that was so vast there seemed to be no end to it. In this forest he quite lost his way. He was therefore very glad when he saw some one trudging along in front of him. The Prince rode on until he overtook the man, and then he reined in his horse and bade him good day. " Good day," answered the man. " Do you know the ways through this forest ? " asked the Prince. " No, I know nothing about them, but that never bothers me. If at any time I think I am going in the wrong direction, it is easy to right myself." " How is that ? " said the Prince. " Oh, I have the power of stretching myself out to any length, and if I lose my way I have only to make myself tall enough to see over the tree- tops, and then I can easily tell where I am." ** That must be very curious. I should like to see that," said the Prince. Well, that was easy enough, and the man would be glad enough to oblige him. So he began to stretch himself. He stretched and stretched and stretched until he was taller than the tallest tree in the forest. His head and body were quite lost to sight among the branches, and all that the Prince could see were his legs and feet. 13 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS " Is that enough ? " the man called down to the Prince. " Yes, that is enough," answered the Prince, and he had to shout to make himself heard, the man's head was so far away. Then the man began to shrink. He shrank and shrank until he was no taller than the Prince himself. " You are a wonderful fellow," said the Prince. " What is your name ? " The man's name was Long. " And what did you see up there ? " " I saw a plain and great mountains beyond, and still beyond that an iron castle, and it was so far away that it must be at the very end of the world." "It is that castle that I am seeking," said the Prince, " and now I see that you are the very man to guide me there. Tell me, Long, will you take service with me ? If you will, I will pay you well." Yes, Long would do that, and not for the sake of the money either, but because he had taken a fancy to the Prince. So the Prince and his new servant travelled along together, and presently they came out of the forest on to a plain, and there, far in front of them, was another man also travelling along toward the mountains. " Look, Master ! " said Long. " Do you see 14 LONG, BROAD, AND SHARPSIGHT that man ? His name is Broad. You ought to have him for a servant too, for he is even more wonderful than I am." " Call him, then," said the Prince, " and I will speak with him." No, Long could not call him, for Broad was too far away to hear him, but he could soon overtake him. So Long stretched himself out until he was tall enough to go half a mile at every step. In this way he soon overtook Broad and stopped him, and then he and Broad waited until the Prince had caught up to them. " Good day," said the Prince to Broad. ** Good day," answered Broad. " My servant here tells me that you are a very wonderful person," said the Prince. " What can you do that is so wonderful ? " What Broad could do was to spread himself out until he was as broad across as he wished to be. " I should like to see that," said the Prince. Very well ! Nothing was easier, and Broad was willing to show him. " But first," said Broad, " do you get behind those rocks over yonder. Otherwise you may get hurt. And now I will begin." " Quick ! quick. Master ! " cried Long, in a voice of fear. " We have not a moment to lose," and he ran at full speed and crouched down behind the rocks. The Prince followed him, and 15 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS he also got behind the rocks, but he did not know why Long was in such a hurry, nor why he seemed so frightened. He soon saw, however, for when Broad began to spread, he spread so fast and with such force that unless the Prince and Long had been behind the rocks, they would certainly have been pushed against them and crushed. " Is that enough ? " cried Broad, after he had spread out so wide that the Prince could scarcely see across him. " Yes, that is enough." So Broad began to shrink, and soon he was no fatter than he had been before. " Yes, you are certainly a very wonderful fellow, and I should like to have you for a servant," said the Prince. " Will you come with me also ? " Yes, Broad would come, for a master who was good enough for Long was good enough for him too. So now the Prince had two servants. He rode on across the plain toward the mountains, and the two followed him. After a while they came to a man sitting by the way with a bandage over his eyes. The Prince stopped and spoke to him. " Are you blind, my poor fellow, that you wear a bandage over your eyes ? " " No," answered the man, " I am not blind. I wear the bandage because I see too well without it. Even now, with this bandage, I can see as clearly as you ever can. If I take it off, I can see i6 LONG, BROAD, AND SHARPSIGHT for hundreds of miles, and when I look at any- thing steadily my sight is so strong that the thing is riven to pieces, or bursts into flame and is burned." " That is a very curious thing," said the Prince. " Could you break yonder rock to pieces merely by looking at it ? " " Yes, I could do that." " I would like to see it done," said the Prince. Well, the man was ready to oblige him. So he took the bandage from his eyes and fixed his gaze on the rock. First the rock grew hot, and then it smoked, and then, with a great noise, it exploded into tiny fragments, so that the pieces flew about through the air. ' Yes, you are even more wonderful than these other two," said the Prince, " and they are won- derful enough. How are you called ? " " My name is Sharpsight." " Well, Sharpsight, will you take service with me, for I need just such a servant as you ? " Yes, Sharpsight would do that ; so now the Prince had three servants, and they were such servants as no one in the world ever had before. They travelled along over the plain, and at last they came to the foot of the mountain that lay between them and the iron castle. " Now we must either go over it or round it," said the Prince ; " and which shall it be ? " " No need for that. Master," answered Sharp- B 17 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS sight. " Just let me unbandage my eyes, but be careful you are not struck by any of the flying pieces when the mountain begins to split." So the Prince and Broad and Long took shelter behind a clump of trees, and then Sharpsight uncovered his eyes. He fixed his eyes on the mountain, and presently it began to groan and split and splinter. Pieces of sharp rock and stones flew through the air. It was not long before Sharpsight 's gaze had bored a way straight through the mountain and out on the other side. Then he put back the bandage over his eyes and called to the Prince that the way was clear. The Prince and his companions came out from their shelter, and when they saw the way that Sharpsight had made through the mountain they could not wonder enough. It was so broad and clear that ten men could have ridden through it abreast. With such a way before them it did not take them long to go through the mountain, and then they found themselves in the country bej^ond, and a black and terrible land it was too. No- where was there any sound or sign of life. There were fields, but no grass. There were trees, but they bore neither leaves nor fruit. There was a river, but it did not flow, and there was light, and yet they saw no sun. But darker and gloomier than all the rest was the castle which i8 LONG, BROAD, AND SHARPSIGHT rose before them. It was the iron castle where the Black Magician lived. There was a moat round the castle and an iron bridge across it. The companions rode across the bridge, and no sooner were they over than the bridge rose behind them and they were prisoners. They could not have turned back even if they had wished to, but none of them had any thought of such a thing. The Prince struck with his sword upon the great door of the castle, and at once it opened before him, but when he entered he saw no one. Before him was a great hall, and on either side of it was a long row of stone figures. These statues were all figures of knights and kings and princes. The Prince looked at them and won- dered, for they were so lifelike that it seemed scarcely possible to believe that they were of stone. He and his companions went on farther into the castle, and everywhere they found rooms magnificently furnished, but silent and deserted. Nowhere was there any sign of life. Last of all they entered what seemed to be a dining-hall. Here was a table set with the most delicious things to eat and drink. There were four places about the table, and one of them was somewhat higher than the others, as though in- tended for the prince or king. 19 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS " One might think this table had been set for us," said the Prince. " We will wait for a while, and then, if no one comes, we will eat, at any rate." They waited for some time and then took their places at the table. At once invisible hands filled the goblets and other invisible hands passed the dishes. The Prince and his companions ate and drank all the}^ wished, and then they rose from the table, meaning to look farther through the castle. At this moment the door opened and a tall man with a long grey beard came into the room. From head to foot he was dressed entirely in black velvet, even to his cap and shoes, and round his waist his robe was fastened with three iron bands. In one hand was an ivory wand, curiously carved ; with the other he led a lady so beautiful, and yet so pale and sad-looking, that the heart ached to look at her. The moment the Prince saw her he knew her as the one whose picture he had seen behind the golden curtain — the one whom he had said should be his bride. The Magician, for it was he, spoke at once to the Prince. " I know why you have come here, and that you hope to win this Princess for your bride. Many others have come here with the same wish and have failed. Now you shall have your turn. For three nights you must watch here witli her. If each morning I return and find her 20 LONG, BROAD. AND SHARPSIGHT still with you, then you shall have her for a bride after the third morning. But if she is gone, you shall be turned into a stone statue, such as those you have already seen about my palace." " That ought not to be a hard task," said the Prince. " Gladly will I watch with her for three nights ; if in the morning you find her gone, I am willing to suffer whatever you will. But my three companions must also watch with me." Yes, the Magician was willing to agree to that, so he left the lady there with the four, and then went away, closing the door behind him. As soon as the Magician had gone the Prince and his followers made ready to guard the room so that no one could come in to take the lady away, nor could she herself leave without their knowing it. Long lay down and stretched himself out until he encircled the whole room, and anyone who went in or out would have to step over him. Sharpsight sat down to watch, while Broad stood in the doorway and made himself so broad that no one could possibly have squeezed in past him. Meanwhile the Prince tried to talk to the lady, but she would not look at him nor answer him. In this way some time passed, and then sud- denly the Prince began to feel very drowsy. He tried to rouse himself, but in spite of his efforts his eyes closed, and he fell into a deep sleep. It was not until the early morning that he woke. 21 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS Then he roused himself and looked about him. His companions too were only just opening their eyes, for they, like himself, had been asleep, and the lady was gone from the room. When the Prince saw this he began to groan and lament, but his companions told him not to despair. " Wait until I see if I can tell you where she is," said Sharpsight. He leaned from the window and looked about. " Yes, I see her," he said. " A hundred miles away from here is a forest. In that forest is an oak-tree. On the topmost bough of that oak-tree is an acorn, and in that acorn is the Princess hidden." " But what good is it to know where she is unless we can get her back before the Magician comes?" cried the Prince. "It would take us days to journey there and to return." " Not so long as that, Master," answered Long. " Have patience for a moment until I see what I can do." He then stepped outside and made himself so tall that he could go ten miles at a step. He set Sharpsight on his shoulder to show him the way, and away he went, and he made such good time that he was back in the castle again before the Prince could have walked three times round the room. " Here, Master," he said, " here is the acorn. Take it and tln-ow it upon the floor." The Prince threw the acorn upon the floor, and 22 ! LONG, BROAD, AND SHARPSIGHT at once it flew open, and there stood the Princess before him. Hardly had this happened when the door opened and the Magician came into the room. When he saw the Princess he gave a cry of rage, and one of the iron bands about his middle broke with a loud noise. He looked at the Prince, and his eyes flashed as if with red fire. " This time you have succeeded in keeping the Princess with you," he cried, " but do not be too sure that you can do the same thing again. To-night you shall try once more." So saying he went away, taking the Princess with him. In the evening he came again, and again he brought the Princess. " Watch her well," said he to the Prince, with an evil smile. " Remember, if she is not still here to-morrow morning you will share the fate of the others who have tried to watch her and have failed." " Very well," answered the Prince. " What must be must be, and I can only do my best." The Magician then went away, leaving the Princess with them as before. The Prince and his companions had determined that this night they would stay awake, whatever happened, but presently their eyelids grew as heavy as lead, and soon, in spite of themselves, they all fell into a deep sleep. When they awoke the day was breaking, and 23 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS the Princess had again disappeared. The Prince was ready to tear his hair with despair, but Sharp- sight bade him take heart. " Wait until I take a look about," he said. " If I cannot see her, then it will be time for you to despair." He leaned from the window, and first he looked east, and then he looked west, and then he looked toward the north. " Yes, now I see her," he said, " but she is far enough away. Two hundred miles from here is a desert. In that desert is a rock, in that rock is a golden ring, and that ring is the Princess." " That is far away indeed," groaned the Prince, " and at any moment the Magician may be here. " Never mind. Master," cried Long. " Two hundred miles is not so far when one can go twenty miles at a step." He then made himself twice as tall as the day before, and taking Sharp- sight on his shoulders he set out for the desert. It was not long before he was back again, and in his hand he carried the golden ring. "If it had not been for Sharpsight," he said, " I would have been forced to bring back the whole rock with me, but he fixed his eyes upon it, and at once it split into a thousand pieces and the ring fell out. Here ! Take the ring. Master, quick, and throw it upon the floor." The Prince did so, and as soon as the ring touched the ground it was transformed into the Princess. 24 LONG, BROAD, AND SHARPSIGHT At this moment the Magician opened the door and came into the room. When he saw the Princess he stopped short, and his face turned black with rage and fear. At the same moment the second band about his middle flew apart. " Ah, well I " he cried to the Prince, " no doubt you think you are very clever, but re- member there is still another night, and next time you may not prove so lucky in keeping the Princess with you." So saying he went away with the Princess, and the Prince saw him no more until evening. Then for the third time he came, and brought the Princess with him. " Watch her well," said he, "for I promise you will not have so easy a task this time as you have had before." Then he went away, and the four comrades set themselves to watch. But again all happened as it had before. In spite of themselves they could not stay awake. First they nodded and then they snored, and then they fell into such a deep sleep that if the walls had fallen about them they would not have known it. For this was an enchanted sleep that the Magician had thrown upon them in order to take away the Princess. Not until day began to dawn did the four awake, and when they did there was nothing to be seen of the Princess. " Well, she is not here in the room," said 25 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS Sharpsight, "so methinks I'd better look out- side." Then he leaned from the window, and for a long time he looked about him. At last he spoke. " Master, I see the Princess, but to bring her back will not be such an easy task as it was before. Three hundred miles from here is a sea. At the bottom of the sea is a shell. In that shell is a pearl, and that pearl is the Princess. But to bring that pearl up from the sea is a task for Broad as well as Long." " Very well," said the Prince, " then Long must take Broad with him on one shoulder. Only make haste and return again quickly, in heaven's name, or the Magician may be here before you are back, and we shall be turned into stone." Well, the three servants were willing enough to be off. Long stretched himself out until he was three times as tall as he had been the first time, and that was the most he could stretch. Then he went away, thirty miles at a step. At that rate it was no time before he came to the sea. But the sea was fathoms deep, and the shell lay at the very bottom of it, and try as he might he could not reach it. " Now it is my turn," said Broad. Then he lay down and put his mouth to the sea and began to drink. He drank and drank and swelled and swelled until it was wonderful to see him, and in the end he swallowed so much of the water that 26 LONG, BROAD, AND SHARPSIGHT it was easy enough for Long to reach down and pick up the shell. " And now we must make haste," cried Sharp- sight, " for as I look back at the castle I see that the Magician is already waking." At once Long took his companions on his shoulders and started back the way he had come. But Broad had drunk so much water and was so heavy that Long could not go as fast as he otherwise would. " Broad, you will have to wait here, and I will come back for you later," he cried, and with that he threw Broad down from his shoulder as though he had been a sack full of grain. Broad had not been expecting such a fall and was not prepared for it. He gasped and choked, and then the sea he had swallowed rose all about them ; it filled the valley and washed up over the foot of the mountains. Long was so tall that he was able to wade out of it, though the water was up to his waist, and Sharpsight too was safe, for he was on Long's shoulder ; but Broad was like to have been drowned. He only saved him- self by catching hold of Long's hand, and so he was drawn out of the water and up on dry land. " That was a pretty trick to play upon me," he gasped and spluttered. But Long had no time to answer him, for already Sharpsight was whispering in his ear that the Magician had awakened and was now 27 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS on his way to the Prince. He caught Broad by the belt and swung him up on his shoulder, and this he could easily do, because now Broad was so shrunken that he was quite light. In two more steps Long had reached the castle, but already the Magician was opening the door of the chamber where the Prince was. " Quick ! Quick ! " cried Sharpsight. " Throw the pearl in at the window." And indeed there was no time to be lost. Long threw the pearl in through the window, and the moment it touched the floor it turned into the Princess. She stood there before the Prince, no longer pale and sad, but smiling and as rosy as the dawn. Already the Magician was in the room, with an evil smile upon his face. When he saw the Princess standing there he gave a cry so loud and terrible that the whole castle shook with it. And now the third iron band that was about his waist broke. At once the black velvet robe that had been held about him by the bands rose and spread into two great black wings. His eyes shrank, his nose grew long and sharp, and instead of the Magician there was a great black raven in the room with them. Pleavily flapping, it rose from the ground. Three times round the room it flew, croaking mournfully, and then out through the window. 28 TIIKRE WAS A CIREAT IlLACK RAVEN I\ THE ROOM WITH THEM LONG, BROAD, AND SHARPSIGHT And now through all the castle arose a stir and hum of life. The stone figures in the hall stirred and looked about them, and stepped down, no longer cold dead stone, but living, breathing people. They were those who had come to the castle to search for the Princess, and had been bewitched by the Magician and turned into statues ; the evil charm was broken, and they were alive once more. When they found that it .was the Prince and his followers who had delivered them they did not know how to thank them enough. They could not even grudge the Princess to the Prince, for it was he who had brought them back to life. They all said they would return with the Prince to his own country, so as to be at the wedding when he was married to the Princess. And what a wedding it was ! There was enough cake and ale for all to feast to their hearts' content. The old King was so happy that he at once made over the kingdom to his son, that he and his bride might reign. As for the three companions, they ate and drank till they were full, and then they set out into the world again. The Prince begged and entreated them to stay with him, but they would not. They were too fond of traveUing about the world, and for all I know they may be in some corner of it still. 29 THE DWARF WITH THE GOLDEN BEARD A SLAVONIC FAIRY TALE THE Princess Beautiful was the daughter of the King of the Silver Mountains, and she was no less lovely than her name. Because of her beauty many heroes and princes came to her father's kingdom, all seeking her in marriage. The Princess cared for none of them, however, except the young Prince Dobrotek. Him she loved with all her heart, and her father was quite willing that she should choose him for a husband, for the Prince was rich and powerful as well as handsome. The marriage between them was arranged, and the guests from far and near were invited to attend. Among those asked was a dwarf who had also been a suitor for the hand of the Princess. This dwarf was a very powerful magician, and as he was very malicious as well as powerful, he was greatly feared by every one. He was scarcely two feet high, and so ugly that it was enough to frighten one only to look at him. His great pride was his beard, which was seven feet long, and every hair of it was of pure gold. Because of its length he wore it twisted round 30 THE DWARF WITH THE GOLDEN BEARD and round his neck like a golden collar. Thus he avoided tripping over it at every step. When this dwarf heard that the Princess was to marry Dobrotek he was filled with rage and chagrin. In spite of his hideousness he was so vain of his beard that he could not imagine why the Princess should have chosen another instead of himself. He swore that even still she should take him for a husband, and that if she did not do this then she should marry no one. How- ever, he said nothing of this vow to anyone. He accepted the invitation to the wedding, and when the day came he was one of the first of the guests to arrive. All went to the church and took their places, and when the Prince and Princess stood before the altar they were so handsome that every one was filled with admiration. The priest opened his book and was just about to make them man and wife when a frightful noise arose outside. It was a sound of whisthng and roaring and rending. Then the doors were burst open, and a terrible hurricane swept into the church. The guests were so frightened that they hid themselves under the seats, but the storm touched none of them. It swept up the aisle and caught up the Princess Beautiful as though she were a feather. The Prince threw his arms about her and tried to hold her. But he could do nothing 31 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS against such a hurricane. She was torn from his grasp and swept out of the church and away, no one knew whither. When the storm was over the people came out from under the seats and looked about them, but look as they might they could see no bride. Only the Prince was standing before the altar, tearing his hair with despair because the Princess was lost to him. And well might he despair, for the hurricane that had carried the Princess away was no com- mon storm. It had been raised by the wicked enchantments of the dwarf, and had swept Princess Beautiful far away, over plain and mountain, over sea and forest, to the very castle of the dwarf himself. There she was lying in an enchanted sleep, and it would be a bold man who could hope to rescue her. When the King of the Silver Mountains found his daughter gone he was in a terrible rage. "It was for you to save her," cried he to the Prince. " She was your bride, and you should have lost your life before you allowed her to be torn from you." To this the Prince answered nothing, for he thought the same himself. Yet who can stand against magic ? Only enchantment, indeed, could have prevailed against him. " Go ! " cried the King, " find her and bring her back to me, or your hfe shall answer for it." 32 THE DWARF WITH THE GOLDEN BEARD The Prince wished nothing better than to go in search of his bride. Life was worth nothing to him without her, and at once he made ready to depart. He was in such haste that he stopped for neither sword nor armour, but leaped upon his horse and rode forth as he was. On and on he rode, many miles and many leagues, but the farther he rode the less he heard of the Princess, and the more he despaired of ever finding her. At last he entered a forest so dark and vast that it seemed to have no end. As he rode on through the shadows he suddenly heard a sharp and piteous cry. He looked about him to see whence it came, and presently he found a hare struggling in the clutch of a great grey owl. The Prince had a kind heart. He seized a stick and quickly drove the owl away from its prey. For awhile the hare lay stretched out and panting, but presently it recovered itself. " Prince," it said to Dobrotek, " you have saved my life, and I am not ungrateful. I know why you are here and whom you seek. To rescue the Princess Beautiful will be no easy task. It was the Dwarf of the Golden Beard who raised the tempest that carried the Princess away. Even now he holds her a prisoner in his castle. Whoever would rescue her must first overcome the dwarf, and to do this one must be in pos- session of the Sword of Sharpness." c 33 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS " And where is that sword to be found ? " asked the Prince. " On a mountain many leagues away. It is guarded by a dragon who keeps watch over it night and da3\ Only when the sun is at its highest does the dragon sleep, and then but for a few short minutes. To gain possession of the sword one must ride the wild horse that lives here in the forest and that moves faster than the wind." " And can I find that horse and ride him ? " " It can be done. Under yonder rock lies a golden bridle. It has lain hidden there for over a hundred years. With it lies a golden whistle. The sound of that whistle will call the horse, wherever he is. But he is very terrible to look upon, for his eyes are like burning coals, and he breathes smoke and fire from his nostrils. He will come at you as though to tear you to pieces, but do not be afraid. Cast the bridle over his head, and he will at once become quite tame and gentle. Then you can ride him wheresoever you wish. He will bear you to the mountain where the dragon lies and will help you to gain posses- sion of the sword." The Prince thanked the hare for its advice. He lifted the rock from its place, and there be- neath it lay the golden bridle and the golden whistle. The Prince took up the bridle, and at once the whole glade was filled with light ; and 34 THE DWARF WITH THE GOLDEN BEARD no wonder, for the bridle was studded with precious stones and gHttered Hke the sun. He raised the whistle to his lips and blew upon it loud and clear. At once, from far away in the forest, came a loud sound of neighing, and of galloping hoofs. The wild horse was coming. On and on it came, nearer and nearer. Its eyes shone like coals of fire, and the leaves were withered on either side of it because of its fiery breath. It rushed at the Prince as though it would tear him to pieces ; but he was ready for it, and as soon as it was near enough he threw the bridle over its head. At once the fire faded from its eyes. Its breath grew quiet, and it stood there as gentle and harmless as a lamb. " Master," it said to Dobrotek, " I am yours now. Whatsoever you wish me to do, I will do, and I will bear you wherever you wish to go." " First, then," said the Prince, " I wish you to carry me to the mountain where I can find the Sword of Sharpness." ** Very well, Master, I will do so. But before we start on such a dangerous adventure as that you should be properly armed. Do you enter in at one of my ears and go on until you come out of the other." At once it seemed to the Prince as though the horse's ear were a great cave opening out before him. He entered in and went on and on, though 35 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS it was very dark there in the horse's head. Pre- sently he saw another opening before him, and that was the horse's other ear. He came out through it and found himself in the forest again, but now he was clothed as a warrior prince should be, in shining armour, and he held a sword in his hand. " That is right," said the horse. "Now mount and ride, for we have far to go." So the Prince said good-bye to the friendly hare and thanked it again. He mounted upon the horse's back and away they went like the wind. Soon they were out of the forest, and the dark was left behind them. On they went and on they went, until they came within sight of a smoking mountain ; there the horse stopped. " Master," said he, " do you see that mountain in front of us and the smoke that rises over it ? " Yes, the Prince saw it. " That smoke is the breath of the dragon that guards the Sword of Sharpness. Just now he is awake, and if we were to venture within reach he would soon scorch us to cinders with his breath. There are, as the hare told you, only a few short minutes at midday when he sleeps, and when we may approach him safely. To gain the sword I must, in those few minutes, cross the plain before us and climb the mountain. Only I, who go like the wind, could do such a thing, and even for me it will be difficult. We may both lose our lives in the attempt." 36 THE DWARF WITH THE GOLDEN BEARD " Nevertheless, we must try it," said the Prince, " for unless I can gain the sword, and free the Princess from the dwarf, life is worth nothing to me." " Very well," answered the horse. " Then we will attempt it, for you are my master." So all the rest of that day the horse and the Prince lay hidden, for it was already afternoon. Through the night and the next morning they waited, and the Prince could see the flames and columns of smoke that the dragon breathed forth. But as the sun rose high in the heavens the dragon became sleepy, and the flames burned lower and with less smoke. At last the sun was at its height. " And now, Master, is our time," cried the horse. With that he galloped out on to the plain and made for the mountain. On he flew as fast as the wind, and faster. The Prince could hardly breathe, and he could not see at all, so fast the horse went. The plain was crossed, the moun- tain climbed, but already the dragon w^as awaken- ing. " Quick, quick ! the sword. There it lies beside him ! " cried the horse. The Prince stooped and caught up the Sword of Sharpness, and in that instant the dragon awoke. It reared its head and seemed about to devour the Prince, but when it saw what he held in his hand it dropped its crest and fawned at his feet " You are my master," it said, " for 3'ou hold 37 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS the Sword of Sharpness. But do not kill me. Spare m}^ life, and I will give you advice that may save your own." " What is the advice ? " asked the Prince. " When you reach the dwarf's castle (for I know that you are going there, and why), you may with this sword be able to overcome the dwarf. But after you have done that, you must cut off his beard and carry it away with you. It will serve as proof that you and you alone have slain him. You must also fill a flask with water from the fountain in the midst of the garden. It is the Water of Life, and 3'ou will need it. You will need the Cap of Invisibility too that the dwarf sometimes wears upon his head. All three of these things you must have. Do not neglect what I tell j'ou, for if you do evil will certainly come upon you." " It is well," said the Prince. " I will remember what you say, and if no good comes of it, no harm can either." So saying, the Prince drew his own sword from its sheath and left it on the mountain, taking the Sword of Sharpness in its place. Then he rode down the mountain and away over the plain. Once he looked back, but he saw neither flame nor smoke behind him. The dragon lay there as harmless as any worm, for with the Sword of Sharpness all its power was gone. On and on rode the Prince, so fast that the 38 THE DWARF WITH THE GOLDEN BEARD wind was left behind, and at last he and his horse came within sight of a castle all of iron. About it was a wall that was seven times the height of a man, and this also was of iron. " Look, Prince," said the horse. " That is the dwarf's castle that we see before us." Then on they went again and never stopped until they reached the castle gate. Beside the gate hung a great brazen war trumpet. The Prince lifted it to his lips and blew upon it such a blast that it was like to split the ears of those who heard it. Again he blew, and once again. " And now, Master, take out the sword from its sheath and make ready, for the dwarf will soon be here," said the horse. Meanwhile the Princess Beautiful had been hving behind those iron walls, and she had been not unhappy, though she had often grieved be- cause Prince Dobrotek was not with her. When the dwarf had caused her to be swept away by the hurricane he had thrown her into an enchanted sleep, and in this sleep she lay until she was safely placed in a room that the dwarf had specially prepared for her. This room was made entirely of mirrors, only divided here and there by curtains of cloth of gold. These cur- tains were embroidered with scenes from the dwarf's own life and from the life of the Princess. In the mirrors Beautiful could see her own beauty repeated endlessly. The furniture of the room 39 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS was'all of gold, curiously carved, and the cushions were embroidered with gold and precious stones. When the Princess opened her eyes and looked about her she did not know where she was. She had no remembrance of the storm that had brought her hither. She remembered only that she had stood beside Prince Dobrotek in the church, and that a great noise had arisen outside. After that she had known nothing until she awoke in this chamber. She arose from the couch where she was lying and began to examine the room. All the light came from a dome overhead. She could find neither doors nor windows, and she wondered much how she had been brought into a room like this. While she was looking about her she heard a noise behind her that made her turn quickly. At one side the mirrors had swung apart like doors, and through this opening came a procession of enormous black slaves bearing a golden throne in their midst. Upon this throne sat the Dwarf with the Golden Beard. The slaves set the throne down in the middle of the room and at once with- drew, closing the mirrored doors behind them. When the Princess saw the dwarf she was very much alarmed. She at once suspected that it was he who had brought her here, and that he meant to keep her a prisoner until she would con- sent to marry him. The dwarf stepped down from the throne and 40 THE DWARF WITH THE GOLDEN BEARD approached her with a smiHng air, but she shrank away from him into the farthest corner of the room. The dwarf was magnificently dressed. His beard had been brushed till it shone like glass, and he had thrown it over one arm as though it were a mantle. But in his left hand he carried a cap of some coarse grey stuff that was in strange contrast with the rest of his dress. " Most beautiful Princess," said he, " you are welcome indeed in my castle. None could be more so, and I hope to make you so happy that you will be more than content to spend your life here with me." " Miserable dwarf ! " cried the Princess, " do you really think you will be able to make me stay here with j^ou ? Do you not know that Prince Dobrotek will come in search of me soon ? He will certainly find me ! Then he will punish you as you deserve for your insolence." The Princess was trembling now, but with rage rather than fear. The dwarf seemed not at all disturbed by her anger, however. " Beautiful one," he said, still smiHng, ' you are even more beautiful when you are angry than when you are pleased. Let Prince Dobrotek come. I fear him not at all. But do not let us waste our time in talking of him. Instead let us talk of ourselves, and of how pleasantly we will pass our days together." 41 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS So saying, the dwarf came close to the Princess and attempted to take her hand. But instead of permitting this, the Princess gave him such a blow upon the ear that he fairl}' staggered under it. His beard slipped from his arm, and in tiying to steady himself he tripped on it and fell his length upon the floor. The Princess laughed maliciously. At the sound of her laughter the dwarf became filled with fury. His eyes flashed fire as he scrambled to his feet. " Miserable girl ! " he cried. " Do you dare to laugh ? The time will come when you will feel more like weeping, if not for me then for yourself. Some day you will be glad enough to receive my caresses. Now I will leave you, and when I come again it will be in a different manner." So saying, he gathered up his beard and rushed through the mirror door, closing it behind him. His words, and his manner of going, frightened the Princess. She again began to look about her for some way of escape. Suddenly she saw upon the floor the grey cap that the dwarf had carried in his hand. He must have dropped it when he fell, and he had been too angry to notice that he was leaving it behind. She picked it up and stood turning it thoughtfully in her hands. Then, without considering why she did so, she placed it upon her head. She was standing directly in front of a mirror at the time. To her amaze- 42 THE DWARF WITH THE GOLDEN BEARD ment, the moment she had the cap on her head every reflection of her vanished from every mirror in the room. The Princess could hardly believe her eyes. She might have been thin air for any impression she made upon the glass. She took the cap from her head, and immediately her reflections appeared again in the mirrors. She replaced it, and they vanished from sight. Then the Princess knew that she held the Cap of Invisibility — the cap that causes anyone who wears it to become invisible. As she stood there with the cap still upon her head, the mirror door was burst open and the dwarf rushed into the room. His dress was dis- ordered and his eyes glared wildly. He looked hastily about him, but he could see neither the cap nor the Princess. At once he knew that she had found the cap and had put it on. " Ah, ha ! " he cried to the invisible Princess. " So you have found it ! You have put it on, and hope so to escape me. But I know you are still here, even though I cannot see 3^ou. I will find you, never fear." Spreading his arms wide, he rushed about the room, hoping to touch the Princess and seize her, but as he could not see her she was easily able to escape him. Now and then he stopped and listened, hoping the Princess would make some sound that would tell him where she was, but at 43 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS these times Beautiful too stood still. She did not move, she scarcely breathed, lest he should hear her. Suddenly the Princess saw something that gave her a hope of escape. The dwarf had neglected to fasten the swinging mirror behind him when he entered. She flew to it and pushed it open. Beyond lay a long corridor. Down this the Princess fled, not knowing where it would lead her. But the dwarf saw the mirror move, and guessed she had passed out through it. With a cry of rage he sprang after her. At the end of the corridor was a barred door. Beautiful had scarcely time to unfasten this door and run through before the dwarf reached it. But once outside the door she found herself in a wide and open garden. Here she could pause and take breath. The dwarf had no means of knowing in which direction she had gone. He could not hear her footsteps upon the soft grass, and the rustling of the wind among the leaves prevented his hearing the sound of her dress as she moved. For a while the dwarf ran up and down the garden, hoping some accident might luring him to the Princess. But he grasped nothing except empty air. Discouraged, he turned back to the castle at last, muttering threats as he went. After he had gone the Princess began to look 44 THE DWARF WITH THE GOLDEN BEARD about her. She found the garden very beautiful. There were winding paths and fountains and fruit trees and pergolas where she could rest when she was weary. She tasted the fruit and found it delicious. It seemed to her she could live there for ever very happily, if only her dear Prince Dobrotek were with her. As for the dwarf, in the days that followed the Princess quite lost her fear of him, though he often came to the garden in search of her. After a time she even amused herself by teasing him. She would take off her cap and allow him to see her. Then, as he rushed toward her, she would put it on again and vanish from his sight. Or she would run just in front of him, singing as she went, that he might know where she was. The poor dwarf would chase madly after the sound. Then, when it seemed that he was just about to catch her, she would suddenly become silent and step aside on the grass, and laugh to herself to see him run past her, grasping at the air. But this was a dangerous game for the Princess to play ; she was not always to escape so easily. One day she was running before him, just out of reach, and calling to him to follow, when a low branch caught her cap and brushed it from her head. Immediately she became visible. With a cry of triumph the dwarf caught the cap as it fell and thrust it in his bosom. Then he seized the Princess by the wrist. 45 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS " I have you now, my pretty bird. No use to struggle. You shall not escape again." In despair the Princess tried to tear herself loose from his hold, but the dwarf's fingers were like iron. At this moment from outside the gate sounded the loud blast of a war trumpet. At once the dwarf guessed that it was Prince Dobrotek who blew it, and that he had come in search of the Princess, Suddenly, and before Beautiful could hinder him, he drew her to him and breathed upon her eyelids ; at the same time he muttered the words of a magic charm. At once the Princess felt her senses leaving her. In vain she strove to move or speak. In spite of herself her eyes closed, and she sank softly to the ground in a deep sleep. As soon as the dwarf saw that his charm had worked he caused a dark cloud to gather about him, which entirely hid him from view. Rising in this cloud, he floated high above the iron walls and paused directly over Prince Dobrotek. He drew his sword and made ready to slay the bold Prince who had come against him. Dobrotek looked up and wondered to see the dark cloud that had so suddenly gathered above him. " Beware ! " cried the wild horse loudly. " It is the dwarf. He is about to strike." 46 THE DWARF WITH THE GOLDEN BEARD Scarcely had he spoken when the darkness drew down about them. Through this darkness shot a flash as bright as Hghtning. It was the dwarf's sword that had struck at the Prince. But swift as the stroke was, the horse was no less swift. He sprang aside, and the sword drove so deep into the earth that the dwarf was not able to draw it out again. " Strike ! Strike ! " cried the horse to Dobrotek. " It is your chance ! " Dobrotek raised the Sword of Sharpness and struck into the cloud, and his blow was so sharp and true that the dwarf's head was cut from his body and fell at the Prince's feet. Dobrotek alighted, and cutting off the dwarf's beard, he wound it about him like a glittering golden belt. Then, leaving the head where it lay, he opened the gate and went into the garden. He had not far to go in his search for Beautiful, for she was lying asleep upon the grass close to the gate. Dobrotek was filled with joy at the sight. " Princess, awake ! awake ! " he cried. " It is I, Dobrotek. I have come to rescue you." The Princess neither stirred nor woke. Her lashes rested on her cheeks, and she breathed so gently that her breast scarcely moved. " Master," said the horse, " this is no natural sleep. It is some enchantment. Take up that cap that lies beside her. Then fill your flask at 47 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS the fountain of the Water of Life and let us go. Do not try to wake her now. When it is time, you can do so b}^ sprinkHng upon her a few drops of the water. But first let us make haste to leave this place, for it is still full of evil magic." Dobrotek was not slow to do as the horse bade him. He filled a flask with the Water of Life and hid the Cap of Invisibility in his bosom. Then, lifting the Princess in his arms, he mounted the horse and rode back with her the way they had come. It was not long before they reached the place where the Prince had saved the hare from the owl in the forest. Here the Prince found his own horse. It had not wandered away, but had stayed there, browsing on the grass and leaves and drinking from a stream near by. " And now. Prince," said the wild steed, "it is time for us to part. Light down and take the bridle from my head. Put it back again where you found it, and cover it with the rock ; but keep the whistle by you. If ever you need me, blow upon it, and I will come to your aid." Dobrotek did as the steed bade him. He lighted down and took the bridle from its head. He put it in the hole where he had found it and rolled back the rock upon it. Then the horse bade him farewell, and tore away through the forest, neighing as it went and breathing flames of fire. 48 THE DWARF WITH THE GOLDEN BEARD After it had gone the Prince felt very weary. He had not yet awakened the Princess, but had laid her, still asleep, upon the soft moss of the forest. Now he stretched himself at her feet, and at once fell into a deep slumber. Now it so chanced that while he was asleep King Sarudine, the King of the Black Country, came riding through the forest. He too had been a suitor for the hand of the Princess, but he had been refused. When he heard that she had been spirited away, and that Prince Dobrotek had gone to seek for her, he also determined to set out on the same mission. He hoped that he might be the first to find her and so win her for his bride. For the King, her father, had sent out a proclamation that whoever could find the Princess Beautiful and rescue her should have her for his wife. What was the amazement of Sarudine, as he came through the lonely wood, suddenly to see the Princess lying there asleep, with Dobrotek at her feet. At first he drew his sword, thinking to kill the Prince ; but after a moment's thought he put it back in its sheath. Then bending over Beauti- ful he very quietly lifted her in his arms, mounted his horse, and rode away with her. Dobrotek was so wearied with his adventures that he slept on for some time, not knowing that the Princess had again been stolen from him. D 49 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS But when at last he woke and found her gone, he was Uke one mad, so great was his despair. He rushed about hither and thither through the forest, cahing her name aloud, and seeking her everywhere, but nowhere could he find her. Suddenly he bethought him of his golden whistle, and putting it to his lips he blew so loud and shrill that the forest echoed to the sound. At once the great grey horse came galloping through the forest to him. Dobrotek ran to meet it. " Tell me," he cried, " you who know all things, where is Beautiful ? She has been stolen from me, and I cannot find her." " She is no longer here in the forest," answered the horse. " She has been carried away by King Sarudine. He has taken her back to her father's castle, and now he claims her as his bride, for he says that he is the one who found and rescued her. But she still sleeps her enchanted sleep, and none can waken her. You alone can do this, for you have the Waters of Life. Hasten back to the castle, therefore, but before you go to waken her, put on the Cap of Invisibility. King Sarudine fears you, and he has set guards about the castle with orders to slay you if you attempt to enter. All their watchfulness will be in vain, hcjwevcr, if you wear the cap upon your head." The advice was wise, and Dobrotek at once 50 THE DWARF WITH THE GOLDEN BEARD did as the horse told him. He drew out the cap and put it upon his head. So he became invisible. Then he rode away in the direction of the country of the Silver Mountains. He rode on and on, and after a while he came to where the first line of guards was set. They heard the galloping of a horse, and looked all about them, but they could see no one, so he passed in safety. Not long after he came to a second line of soldiers, and he went by them unseen also. Then he passed a third line of guards, and after that he was at the palace. The Prince entered in, and went from one room to another, and presently he came to the great audience hall. There sat the King upon a golden throne. At his right hand sat King Sarudine, and at his left the Princess lay upon a golden couch, and so beautiful she looked as she lay asleep that the Prince's heart melted within him for love. He lifted the cap from his head, and there they all saw him standing before them. The King of the Black Mountains turned pale and trembled at the sight of him, but the old King gave a loud cry of surprise. He had thought that Prince Dobrotek had met his death long ago, or that if he lived he would be afraid to return to the Silver Mountain Country without bringing the Princess with him. " Rash Prince ! " he cried ; " what are you 51 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS doing here ? Do you not fear to appear before me, having failed in your search ? " " I did not fail," answered the Prince, " there lies the Princess, and were it not for me she would still be a prisoner in the castle of the Dwarf of the Golden Beard." " How is that ? " asked the King. Then Dobrotek told them his story. He told of how he had become master of the wild horse in the forest, of how he had gained possession of the Sword of Sharpness, and then of how he had ridden to the dwarf's castle and slain him in battle. He also told how he had brought the Princess away with him, how he had fallen asleep in the forest, and of how the King of the Black Countr}^ had stolen Beautiful from him while he slept. The old King listened attentively to all that Dobrotek told him. When the Prince had made an end to his story the old King turned to King Sanidine beside him. " And what have you to say to this ? " he asked. " Is this story true ? " " Much of it is true," answered Sarudine, hardily, " but still more of it is false. It is true that it was the dwarf who carried Beautiful away. It is true that he kept her a prisoner, and that he was slain by the Sword of Sharpness. But it was I who won the sword and slew the dwarf, and it was I who rescued the Princess. 52 THE DWARF WITH THE GOLDEN BEARD What better proof of this is needed than that it was I who brought her here ? " " That is only proof that you stole her from me," cried the Prince. " The proof that I can offer is better still. If you slew the dwarf, where is his beard ? " To this the King of the Black Country could answer nothing, for he did not know where the beard was. " Then I can tell you," cried the Prince. With these words he threw aside his mantle, and there, wound about him like a glittering girdle, was the golden beard of the dwarf. When the old King saw the beard he could doubt no longer as to which of the two had slain the dwarf and rescued the Princess. Pie turned such a terrible look upon Sarudinc that the young King trembled. " So you would have deceived me ! " he cried. " You thought to win the Princess by a trick. Away ! Away with you ! Let me never see your face again ; and if ever again you venture into my country, you shall be thrown into a dungeon and remain there as long as you live." Then, as Sarudine was hurried away by the guards, the old King turned again to the Prince. " You have indeed rescued the Princess," he said, " but your task is still only half completed. She sleeps, and none can wake her. Until that is done, no man can have her for wife." 53 WONDER TALES FROM ]\1ANY LANDS " That is not such a hard matter, either," said the Prince. With that he drew from his bosom the flask that held the Waters of Life and scattered a few drops upon the Princess. At once she drew a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. As soon as she saw the Prince she sprang to her feet and threw herself into his arms. The enchantment was broken, and she had awakened at last. Then throughout the palace there was the greatest happiness and rejoicing. There never had been anything like the favours the old King heaped upon Dobrotek. The marriage between him and the Princess was again prepared for, and this time all went well. Nothing happened to interfere with the wedding, and the Prince and Beautiful were made man and wife. They loved each other all the more tenderly for the dangers they had shared, and from that time on they lived in all the happiness that true love brings. 54 THE GREAT WHITE BEAR AND THE TROLLS A STORY FROM THE NORSE THERE was once a man in Finmark named Halvor, who had a great white bear, and this great white bear knew many tricks. One day the man thought to himself, " Tliis bear is very wonderful. I will take it as a present to the King of Denmark, and perhaps he will give me in return a whole bag of money." So he set out along the road to Denmark, leading the bear behind him. He journeyed on and journeyed on, and after a while he came to a deep, dark forest. There was no house in sight, and as it was almost night Halvor began to be afraid he would have to sleep on the ground, with only the trees overhead for a shelter. Presently, however, he heard the sound of a woodcutter's axe. He followed the sound, and soon he came to an opening in the forest. There, sure enough, was a man hard at work cutting down trees. " And wherever there's a man," thought Halvor to himself, " there must be a house for him to hve in." 55 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS " Good day," said Halvor. " Good day ! " answered the man, staring with all his eyes at the great white bear. " Will 3'ou give us shelter for the night, m}" bear and me ? " asked Halvor. " And will you give us a bit of food too ? I will pay you well if 3''ou will." " Gladly would I give you both food and shelter," answered the man, " but to-night, of all nights in the year, no one may stop in my home except at the risk of his life." " How is that ? " asked Halvor ; and he was very much surprised. " Why, it is this way. This is the eve of St John, and on every St John's Eve all the trolls in the forest come to my house. I am obliged to spread a feast for them, and there they stay all night, eating and drinking. If they found anyone in the house at that time, they would surely tear him to pieces. Even I and my wife dare not stay. We are obliged to spend the night in the forest." " This is a strange business," said Halvor. " Nevertheless, I have a mind to stop there and see what these same trolls look like. As to their hurting me, as long as I have my bear with me there is nothing in the world that I am afraid of." The woodcutter was alarmed at these words. " No, no ; do not risk it, I beg of you ! " he cried. " Do you spend the night with us out under the trees, and to-morrow we can safely return to our home." But Hahor would not listen to this. He was 56 GREAT WHITE BEAR AND THE TROLLS determined to sleep in a house that night, and, moreover, he had a great curiosity to see what trolls looked like. " Very well," said the woodcutter at last, " since you are determined to risk your life, do you follow 3'onder path, and it will soon bring you to m}/ house." Halvor thanked him and went on his way, and it was not long before he and his bear reached the woodcutter's home. He opened the door and went in, and when he saw the feast the wood- cutter had spread for the trolls his mouth fairly watered to taste of it. There were sausages and ale and fish and cakes and rice porridge and all sorts of good things. He tasted a bit here and there and gave his bear some, and then he sat down to w^ait for the coming of the trolls. As for the bear, he lay down beside his master and went to sleep. They had not been there long when a great noise arose in the forest outside. It was a sound of moaning and groaning and whistling and shriek- ing. So loud and terrible it grew that Halvor \\'as frightened in spite of himself. The cold crept up and down his back and the hair rose on his head. The sound came nearer and nearer, and by the time it reached the door Halvor was so frightened that he could bear it no longer. He jumped up and ran to the stove. Quickly he opened the oven door and hid himself inside, pulHng the door 57 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS to behind him. The great white bear paid no attention, however, but only snored in his sleep. Scarcely was Halvor inside the oven when the door of the house was burst open and all the trolls of the forest came pouring into the room. There were big trolls and little trolls, fat trolls and thin. Some had long tails and some had short tails and some had no tails at all. Some had two eyes and some had three, and some had only one set in the middle of the forehead. One there was, and the others called him Long Nose, who had a nose as long and as thin as a poker. The trolls banged the door behind them, and then they gathered round the table where the feast was spread. " What is this ? " cried the biggest troll in a terrible voice (and Halvor's heart trembled within him). " Some one has been here before us. The food has been tasted and ale has been spilled." At once Long Nose began snuffing about. " Whoever has been here is here still," he cried. " Let us find him and tear him to pieces." " Here is his pussy-cat, anyway," cried the smallest troll of all, pointing to the white bear. " Oh, what a pretty cat it is ! Pussy ! Pussy ! Pussy ! " And the little troll put a piece of sausage on a fork and stuck it against the white bear's nose. At that the great white bear gave a roar and rose to its feet. It gave the troll a blow with 58 GREAT WHITE BEAR AND THE TROLLS its paw that sent him spinning across the room. He of the long nose had it almost broken off, and the big troll's ears rang with the box he got. This way and that the trolls were knocked and beaten by the bear, until at last they tore the door open and fled away into the forest, howling. When they had all gone Halvor crawled out and closed the door, and then he and the white bear sat down and feasted to their hearts' con- tent. After that the two of them lay down and slept quietly for the rest of the night. In the morning the woodcutter and his family stole back to the house and peeped in at the window. What was their surprise to see Halvor and his bear sitting there and eating their break- fasts as though nothing in the world had happened to them. " How is this ? " cried the woodcutter. " Did the trolls not come ? " " Oh, yes, they came," answered Halvor, " but we drove them away, and I do not think they will trouble you again." He then told the wood- cutter all that had happened in the night. " After the beating they received, they will be in no hurry to visit 370U again," he said. The woodcutter was filled with joy and grati- tude when he heard this. He and his wife en- treated Halvor to stay there in the forest and make his home with them, but this he refused 59 WONDER TALES FROM llANY LANDS to do. He was on his way to Denmark to sell his bear to the King, and to Denmark he would go. So oft" he set, after saying good-bye, and the good wishes of the woodcutter and his wife went with him. Now the very next year, on St John's Eve, the woodcutter was out in the forest cutting wood, when a great ugly troll stuck his head out of a tree near by. " Woodcutter ! Woodcutter ! " he cried. " Well," said the woodcutter, " what is it ? " " Tell me, have you that great white cat with you still ? " " Yes, I have ; and, moreover, now she has five kittens, and each one of them is larger and stronger than she is." " Is that so ? " cried the troll, in a great fright. " Then good-bye, woodcutter, for we will never come to your house again." Then he drew in his head and the tree closed together, and that was the last the woodcutter heard or saw of the trolls. After that he and his family lived undisturbed and unafraid. As for Halvor, he had already reached Den- mark, and the King liad been so pleased with the bear that he paid a whole bag of money for it, just as Halvor had hoped, and with that bag of money Halvor set up in trade so successfully that he became one of the richest men in Denmark. 60 THE STORY OF THE THREE BILLY GOAT GRUFFS A STORY FROM THE NORSE ^ m ^HERE were once three Billy Goats who lived in a meadow at the foot of a moun- I ! tain, and their last name was Gruff. There was the Big Billy Goat Gruff, and the Middle-sized Billy Goat Gruff, and the Little Billy Goat Gruff. They all three jumped about among the rocks in the meadow and ate what grass they could find, but it wasn't very much. One day the Littlest Billy Goat Gruff looked up at the high mountain overhead, and he thought to himself, " It looks as though there were a great deal of fine grass up on the moun- tain. I believe I'll just run up there all by myself, without telling anyone, and eat so much grass and eat so much grass that I'll grow to be as big as anybody." So off the Little Billy Goat Gruff started without telling his brothers a word about it. He ran along, tip-tap, tip-tap, tip-tap, until at last he came to a wide river, with a bridge over it. Now the Little Billy Goat did not know it, 6i WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS but this bridge belonged to a great, terrible Troll, and the little goat had not gone more than half-way across when he heard the Troll shouting from under the bridge. " Who's that going across my bridge ? " shouted the Troll in his great loud voice. " It's me, the Littlest Billy Goat Gruff ! " answered the Little Billy Goat in his little bit of voice. " Oh ! it's the Littlest Billy Goat Gruff, is it ? Well, you won't go much farther, for I'm the Troll that owns this bridge, and now I'm coming to eat you up." And with that the Troll looked up over the edge of the bridge. When the Little Billy Goat Gruff saw him, he was very much frightened. " Oh, dear, good Mr Troll, please don't eat me up," he cried. "I'm such a very little goat that I would scarcely be a mouthful for you. I have a brother who is a great deal bigger than I am ; wait till he comes, for he'd make a much better meal for you than I would." " But if he's much bigger than j'ou are he may be tough." " Oh, no, he's just as tender as I am." " And a great deal bigger ? " " Oh, yes, a great deal bigger." " Very well then, I'll wait for him. Run along ! " So the little goat ran on, tip-tap ! tip-tap ! 62 THE THREE BILLY GOAT GRUFFS tip-tap ! across the bridge, and on up the moun- tain to where he was safe. And glad enough he was to be out of that scrape, I can tell you. Now it was not very long after this that the Middle-sized Billy Goat Gruff began to think he'd like to go up on the mountain too. He did not say anything about it to the Great Big Billy Goat Gruff, but off he set, all by himself — • trap-trap ! trap-trap ! trap-trap ! After a while he came to the bridge, where the Troll lived, and he stepped out upon it, trap-trap ! trap-trap ! trap-trap ! He'd barely reached the middle of it when the Troll began shouting at him in his great, terrible voice : " Who's that going across my bridge ? " " It's me, the Middle-sized Billy Goat Gruff," answered the Middle-sized Billy Goat in his middle-sized voice. " Oh, it is, is it ? Then you're the very one I've been waiting for. I'm the Troll that owns this bridge, and now I'm coming to eat ^-ou up." At that the Middle-sized Billy Goat Gruff was in a great fright. "Oh, dear Mr Troll, good Mr Troll, please don't eat me up ! I have a brother that's a great deal bigger than I am. Just wait till he comes along, for he'd make a much better meal for you than I would." " A great deal bigger ? " " Yes, a great deal bigger." 63 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS " Very well then, run along and I'll wait till he comes. Only the biggest goat there is is fit to make a meal for me." The Middle-sized Billy Goat was not slow to run along as the Troll bade him. He hurried across the river and up the mountain as fast as he could go, trappitj^-trap ! trappit3'-trap ! trappit3^-trap 1 And just weren't he and his little brother glad to see each other again, and to be safely over the Troll's bridge, and up where the good grass was ! And now it was the turn of the Big Billy Goat Gruff to begin to think he'd like to go up on the mountain too. " I believe that's where the Little Billy Goat Gruff and the Middle-sized Billy Goat Gruff have gone," said he to himself. " If I don't look out they'll be growing so fat up there that they'll be as big as I am. I think Td better go and eat the long green moun- tain grass too." So the next morning off he set in the pleasant sunshine. Klumph-klumph ! klumph-klumph ! He was so big you could hear his hoofs pounding on the stones while he was still a mile away. After a while he came to the bridge where the Troll lived, and out he stepped on it, klumph- klumph ! klumph-klumph ! and the bridge shook and bent under his weight as he walked. Then the Troll that lived under it was in a fearful rage. " Who's that going across my bridge ? " he 64 THE THREE BILLY GOAT GRUFFS bellowed, and his voice was so terrible that all the little fish in the river swam away and hid under the rocks at the sound of it. But the Big Billy Goat was not one bit frightened. " It's me, the Biggest Billy Goat Gruff," he answered, in a voice as big as the Troll's own. " Oh, it is, is it ? Then just stop a bit — for you're the one I've been waiting for. I'm the Troll that owns this bridge, and now I'm coming to eat you up ! " and with that the great grey Troll poked his head up over the bridge, and his eyes looked like two great mill-wheels, and they were going round and round in his head with rage. But still the Big Billy Goat was not one bit frightened. " So you're a Troll, are you ! And 3'ou own this bridge, do you ? And now you're going to eat me up ? We'll just see about that : " I have a forehead as hard as stone, And I'll mash you all up, body and bone ! " When the Troll heard the Big Billy Goat talk to him that way he bellowed so that the Middle- sized Billy Goat and the Little Billy Goat heard him all the way up on the mountain where they were. He jumped up on the bridge and put down his big, bushy head and ran at the Billy Goat, and the Big Billy Goat put down his head and ran at the Troll, and they met in the middle E 65 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS of the bridge. But the Billy Goat's head was harder than the Troll's, so he knocked him down and thumped him about, and then he took him up on his horns and threw him over the edge of the bridge into the river below, and the Troll sank like a piece of lead and never was seen or heard of again. But the Big Billy Goat went on up the moun- tain ; and you may believe that his two brothers were glad to see him again, and to hear that the great wicked Troll was gone from under the bridge. And after that they all stayed up on the moun- tain together, and the smaller goats ate so much grass and grew so fat and big that after a while no one could have told one Billy Goat from the other. 66 THE STONES OF PLOUVINEC A TALE FROM BRITTANY IN the little village of Plouvinec there once lived a poor stone-cutter named Bernet. Bernet was an honest and industrious young man, and yet he never seemed to succeed in the world. Work as he might, he was always poor. This was a great grief to him, for he was in love with the beautiful Madeleine Pornec, and she was the daughter of the richest man in Plouvinec. Madeleine had many suitors, but she cared for none of them except Bernet. She would gladly have married him in spite of his poverty, but her father was covetous as well as rich. He had no wish for a poor son-in-law, and Madeleine was so beautiful he expected her to marry some rich merchant, or a well-to-do farmer at least. But if Madeleine could not have Bernet for a husband, she was determined that she would have no one. There came a winter when Bernet found himself poorer than he had ever been before. Scarcely any- one seemed to have any need for a stone-cutter, and even for such work as he did get he was poorly paid. He learned to know what it meant to go without a meal and to be cold as well as hungry. 67 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS As Christmas drew near, the landlord of the inn at Plouvinec decided to give a feast for all the good folk of the village, and Bernet was im'ited along with all the rest. He was glad enough to go to the feast, for he knew that Madeleine was to be there, and even if he did not have a chance to talk to her, he could at least look at her, and that would be better than nothing. The feast was a fine one. There was plenty to eat and drink, and all was of the best, and the more the guests feasted, the merrier they grew. If Bernet and Madeleine ate little and spoke less, no one noticed it. People were too busy filling their own stomachs and laughing at the jokes that were cracked. The fun was at its height when the door was pushed open, and a ragged, ill- looking beggar slipped into the room. At the sight of him the laughter and merriment died away. This beggar was well known to all the people of the village, though none knew whence he came nor where he went when he was away on his wanderings. He was sly and crafty, and he was feared as well as disliked, for it was said that he had the evil eye. Whether he had or not, it was well known that no one had ever offended him without having some misfortune happen soon after. " I hoard there was a great feast here to-night," said the beggar in a humble voice, " and that all 68 THE STONES OF PLOUVINEC the village had been bidden to it. Perhaps, when all have eaten, there may be some scraps that I might pick up." " Scraps there are in plenty," answered the landlord, " but it is not scraps that I am offering to anyone to-night. Draw up a chair to the table, and eat and drink what you will. There is more than enough for all." But the landlord looked none too well pleased as he spoke. It was a piece of ill-luck to have the beggar come to his house this night of all nights, to spoil the pleasure of the guests. The beggar drew up to the table as the land- lord bade him, but the fun and merriment were ended. Presently the guests began to leave the table, and after thanking their host, they went away to their own homes. When the beggar had eaten and drunk to his heart's content, he pushed back his chair from the table. " I have eaten well," said he to the landlord. " Is there not now some corner where I can spend the night ? " " There is the stable," answered the landlord grudgingly. " Every room in the house is full, but if you choose to sleep there among the clean hay, I am not the one to say you nay." Well, the beggar was well content with that. He went out to the stable, and there he snuggled down among the soft hay, and soon he was fast 69 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS asleep. He had slept for some hours, and it was midnight, when he suddenly awoke with a startled feehng that he was not alone in the stable. In the darkness two strange voices were talking together. " Well, brother, how goes it since last Christ- mas ? " asked one voice. " Poorly, brother, but poorly," answered the other. " Methinks the work has been heavier these last twelve months than ever before." The beggar, listening as he lay in the hay, wondered who could be talking there at this hour of the night. Then he discovered that the voices came from the stalls near by ; the ox and the donkey were talking together. The beggar was so surprised that he almost exclaimed aloud, but he restrained himself. He remembered a story he had often heard, but had never before beheved, that on every Christmas night it is given to the dumb beasts in the stalls to talk in human tones for a short time. It was said that those who had been lucky enough to hear them at such times had sometimes learned strange secrets from their talk. Now the beggar lay listening with all his ears, and scarcely daring to breathe lest he should disturb them. " It has been a hard year for me too," said the ox, answering what the donkey had just said. " I would our master had some of the treasure that lies hidden under the stones of 70 THE STONES OF PLOUVINEC Plouvinec. Then he could buy more oxen and more donkeys, and the work would be easier for us." " The treasure ! What treasure is that ? " asked the donkey. The ox seemed very much surprised. " Have j^ou never heard ? I thought every one knew of the hidden treasure under the stones." " Tell me about it," said the donkey, "for I dearly love a tale." The ox was not loath to do this. At once it began : " You know the barren heath just outside of Plouvinec, and the great stones that lie there, each so large that it would take more than a team of oxen to drag it from its place ? " Yes, the donkey knew that heath, and the stones too. He had often passed by them on his journeys to the neighbouring town. "It is said that under those stones lies hidden an enormous treasure of gold," said the ox. " That is the story ; it is well known. But none has seen that treasure ; jealously the stones guard it. Once in every hundred years, however, the stones go down to the river to drink. They are only away for a few minutes ; then they come rolling back in mad haste to cover their gold again. But if anyone could be there on the heath for those few minutes, it is a wonderful sight that he would see while the stones are away. 71 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS It is now a hundred years, all but a week, since the stones went do\Mi to drink." " Then a week from to-night the treasure will be uncovered again ? " asked the donkey. " Yes, exactly a week from now, at midnight." " Ah, if only our master knew this," and the donkey sighed heavily. " If only we could tell him ! Then he might go to the heath and not only see the treasure, but gather a sack full of it for himself." " Yes, but even if he did, he would never return with it alive. As I told 3'ou, the stones are very jealous of their treasure, and are away for only a few minutes. By the time he had gathered up the gold and was ready to escape, the stones would return and would crush him to powder." The beggar, who had become very much excited at the story, felt a cold shiver creep over him at these words. " No one could ever bring away any of it then ?" asked the donke}^ " I did not say that. The stones are enchanted. If anyone could find a five-leaved clover, and carry it with him to the heath, the stones could not harm him, for the five-leaved clover is a magic plant that has power over all enchanted things, and those stones are enchanted. " Then all he would need would be to have a five-leaved clover." "If he carried that with him, the stones could 72 THE STONES OF PLOUVINEC not harm him. He might escape safely with the treasure, but it would do him little good. With the first rays of the sun the treasure would crumble away unless the life of a human being had been sacrificed to the stones there on the heath before sunrise." " And who would sacrifice a human life for a treasure ! " cried the donkey. " Not our master, I am sure." The ox made no answer, and now the donkey too was silent. The hour had passed in which they could speak in human voices. For another year they would again be onl}^ dumb brutes. As for the beggar, he lay among the hay, shak- ing all over with excitement. Visions of untold wealth shone before his eyes. The treasure of Plouvinec ! Why, if he could only get it, he would be the richest man in the village. In the village ? No, in the country — in the whole world ! Only to see it and handle it for a few hours would be something. But before even that were possible and safe it would be necessary to find a five- leaved clover. With the earliest peep of dawn the beggar rolled from the hay, and, wrapping his rags about him, stole out of the stable and away into the country. There he began looking about for bunches of clover. These were not hard to find ; they were everywhere, though the most of them were withered now. He found and examined 1Z WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS clump after clump. Here and there he found a stem that bore four leaves, but none had five. Night came on, and the darkness made him give up the search ; but the next day he began anew. Again he was unsuccessful. So day after day passed by, and still he had not found the thing he sought so eagerly. The beggar was in a fever of rage and dis- appointment. Six days slipped by. By the time the seventh dawned he was so discouraged that he hunted for only a few hours. Then, though it was still daylight, he determined to give up the search. With drooping head he turned back toward the village. As he was passing a heap of rocks he noticed a clump of clover growing in a crevice. Idly, and with no hope of success, he stooped and began to examine it leaf by leaf. Suddenly he gave a cry of joy. His legs trembled under him so that he was obliged to sink to his knees. The last stem of all bore five leaves. He had found his five-leaved clover ! With the magic plant safely hidden away in his bosom the beggar hurried back toward the village. He would rest in the inn until night. Then he would go to the heath, and if the story the ox had told were true, he would see a sight such as no one living had ever seen before. His way led him past the heath. Dusk was falling as he approached it. Suddenly the beggar paused and listened. From among the stones 74 THE STONES OF PLOUVINEC sounded a strange tap-tapping. Cautiously he drew nearer, peering about among the stones. Then he saw what seemed to him a curious sight for such a place and such a time. Before the largest stone of all stood Bernet, busily at work with hammer and chisel. He was cutting a cross upon the face of the rock. The beggar drew near to him so quietly that Bernet did not notice him. He started as a voice suddenly spoke close to his ear. " That is a strange thing for you to be doing," said the beggar. " Why should you waste your time in cutting a cross in such a lonely place as this ? " " The sign of the cross never comes amiss, wherever it may be," answered Bernet. " And as for wasting my time, no one seems to have any use for it at present. It is better for me to spend it in this way than to idle it away over nothing." Suddenly a strange idea flashed into the beggar's mind — a thought so strange and terrible that it made him turn pale. He drew nearer to the stone-cutter and laid his hand upon his arm. " Listen, Bernet," said he ; " you are a clever workman and an honest one as well, and yet all your work scarcely brings you in enough to live on. Suppose I were to tell you that in one night you might become rich — richer than the richest man in the village — so that there would be no 75 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS desire that you could not satisfy ; what would you think of that ? " " I would think nothing of it, for I would know it was not true," answered Bernct carelessly. " But it is true ; it is tnie, I tell j-ou," cried the beggar. " Listen, and I will tell you." He drew still nearer to Bernet, so that his mouth almost touched the stone-cutter's ear, and in a whisper he repeated to him the story he had heard the ox telhng the donke}^ — the story of the treasure that was buried under the stones of Plouvinec. But it was onl}' a part of the story that he told after all, for he did not tell Bernet that anyone who was rash enough to seek the treasure would be crushed by the stones unless he carried a five-leaved clover ; nor did he tell him that if the treasure were carried away from the heath it would turn to ashes unless a human life had been sacrificed to the stones. As Bernet listened to the story he became very grave. His e3'es shone through the fading light as he stared at the beggar's face. " Why do you tell me this ? " he asked. " And why are you willing to share the treasure that might be all 3'our own ? If }'ou make me rich, what do you expect me to do for you in return ? " " Do you not sec ? " answered the beggar. " You are much stronger than L I, as you know, am a weak man and slow of movement. While the stones are away we two together could gather 76 THE STONES OF PLOUVINEC more than twice as much as I could gather myself. In return for telling you this secret, all I ask is that if we go there and gather all we can, and bring it away with us, you will make an even division with me — that you will give me half of all we get." " That seems only just," said Bernet slowly. " It would be strange if this story of the hidden treasure proved to be true. At any rate, I will come with you to the heath to-night. We will bring with us some large bags, and if we manage to secure even a small part of the gold you talk of I shall never cease to be grateful to you." The beggar could not answer. His teeth were chattering, half with fear and half with excitement. The honest stone-cutter little guessed that the beggar was planning to sacrifice him to the stones in order that he himself might become a rich man. It was well on toward midnight when Bernet and the beggar returned to the heath with the bags. The moon shone clear and bright, and by its light they could see the stones towering up above them, solid and motionless. It seemed im- possible to believe that they had ever stirred from their places, or ever would again. In the moon- light Bernet could clearly see the cross that he had carved upon the largest stone. He and the beggar lay hidden behind a clump 11 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS of bushes. All was still except for the faint sound of the river some short distance away. Suddenly a breath seemed to pass over the heath. Far off, in the village of Plouvinec, sounded the first stroke of twelve. At that stroke the two men saw a strange and wonderful thing happen. The motionless stones rocked and stirred in their places. With a rend- ing sound they tore themselves from the places where they had stood for so long. Then down the slope toward the river they rolled, bounding faster and faster, while there on the heath an immense treasure glittered in the moonlight. " Quick ! quick ! " cried the beggar in a shrill voice. " They will return ! We have not a moment to waste." Greedily he threw himself upon the treasure. Gathering it up by handfuls he thrust it hurriedly into a sack. Bernet was not slow to follow his example. They worked with such frenzy that soon the two largest sacks were almost full. In their haste everything but the gold was forgotten. Some sound, a rumbling and crashing, made Bernet look up. At once he sprang to his feet with a cry of fear. " Look I look ! " he cried. " The stones are returning. They arc almost on us. We shall be crushed." " You, perhaps ; but not I," answered the beggar. " You should have provided yourself 78 THE STONES OF PLOUVINEC with a five-leaved clover. It is a magic herb, and the stones have no power to touch him who holds it." Even as the beggar spoke the stones were almost upon them. Trembling, but secure, he held up the five-leaved clover before them. As he did so the ranks of stones divided, passing around him a rank on either side ; then, closing together, they rolled on toward Bernet. The poor stone-cutter felt that he was lost. He tried to murmur a prayer, but his tongue clove to the roof of his mouth with fear. Suddenly the largest stone of all, the one upon which he had cut the cross, separated itself from the others. Rolling in front of them, it placed itself before him as a shield. Grey and immov- able it towered above him. A moment the others paused as if irresolute, while Bernet cowered close against the protecting stone. Then they rolled by without touching him and settled sullenly into their places. The beggar was already gathering up the sacks. He believed himself safe, but he wished to leave the heath as quickly as possible. He glanced fearfully over his shoulder. Then he gave a shriek, and, turning, he held up the five-leaved clover. The largest stone was rolHng toward him. It was almost upon him. But the magic herb had no power over a stone marked with a cross. On it rolled, over the 79 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS miserable man, and into the place where it must rest again for still another hundred years. It was morning, and the sun was high in the heavens when Bernet staggered into the inn at Plouvinec. A heavy, bulging sack was thrown over one shoulder ; a second sack he dragged behind him. They were full of gold — the treasure from under the stones of Plouvinec. From that time Bernet was the richest man in Plouvinec. Madeleine's father was glad enough to call him son-in-law and to welcome him into his family. He and Madeleine were married, and Uved in the greatest comfort and happiness all their days. But for as long as he lived Bernet could never be induced to go near the heath nor to look upon the stones that had so nearly caused his death. 80 THE KING OF THE BUFFALOES AN AMERICAN INDIAN TALE A LAME Indian and his daughter once Hved on the edge of a lonely forest, apart from any tribe or village. The Indian, whose name was Agodaguada, was a great hunter and fisher in spite of his lameness. Every day he went off into the forest, and while he was away his daughter, lola, took care of the lodge and did the cooking. They would have been very contented there if it had not been for a herd of buffaloes that lived on the other side of the forest. The king of this herd was a magician. He had seen lola once as she was gathering wood in the forest, and had fallen in love with her, for she was very beautiful. Agodaguada often came upon him hiding in the bushes near the hut, or heard him bellowing down at a stream near by. Agodaguada cautioned his daughter never to leave the lodge while he was away, for he feared the buffalo might seize her and carry her off. He himself was tormented by the ungainly beasts. They muddied the streams where he fished and drove away the game by their bellow- F 8i WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS ing. Gradually he was obliged to go farther and farther from the lodge to find deer or fish. Often as he sat quietly watching for game a hoarse voice would begin to sing at him from behind the bushes or rocks : " You lame mannikin, Don't you think it a sin To pen up your daughter ? — Sa3^ Agodaguada — To shut up your daughter, Don't you think it a sin ? " Sometimes he aimed an arrow or a stone at the place from which the voice sounded, and then a great dark body would go lumbering and crashing away through the forest, and Agodaguada would know that it was one of the buffaloes that had followed him. One day, when Agodaguada was far from home, his daughter climbed up on top of the lodge, and sat there to comb her hair, for it was very long. Every now and then she stopped to listen and look about her, to make sure there was no danger. For a long time all was silent except for the singing of the birds. She finished combing her hair, and was just about to go down into the lodge when suddenly a great noise arose, a crash- ing of underbrush and thundering of hoofs. The herd of buffaloes, with the king at their head, was charging down upon the hut. lola had no time to move before she felt the logs breaking 82 HE SPOKE TO HER IX THE SOETEST VOICE HE COUI.I) MANAGE THE KING OF THE BUFFALOES away beneath her. They were scattered this way and that hke straws. In another moment lola found herself seated on the back of the king of buffaloes. She was being carried swiftly away through the forest, while the lodge lay in ruins behind them. On and on went the buffalo, until at last, in the deepest and darkest part of the forest, he paused and allowed lola to slip from his back. This was the spot where he and his followers had their camp, and it was here he intended to keep lola until she consented to become his wife. He spoke to her in the softest voice he could manage, telling her that this was to be her home, but lola would not look at him, nor answer. She only turned away, wringing her hands and weeping bitterly. But the buffalo king was not discouraged. He had the power to take the shape of a man when he chose, and it was in this shape that he meant to woo her and win her to be his wife. And this he had no doubt of being able to do before long. Meanwhile Agodaguada had been trying to fish, but he found his enemies more tormenting than ever. Their hoarse voices sang after him wherever he went : " You lame mannikin. Don't you think it a sin To shut up your daughter' ? 83 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS — Say, Agodaguada — To shut up 3'our daughter ? Do you think she is in ? Are you sure she is in ? " As Agodaguada listened, he became thought- ful. He rolled up his line and started back through the forest toward the lodge. As he came near his home he quickened his steps. He noticed that the small trees and underbmsh had been trampled down as though a great herd had passed that way. Presently he began to run, and he was still running when he broke into the open where his lodge had stood. But the lodge was there no longer. Instead, he saw only the ruins that the buffaloes had left behind them. lola was gone. Agodaguada did not at once follow the enemy, however. He ran to the ruins and began tear- ing the logs aside and burrowing under them. Presently he gave a cry of joy and drew out from beneath them an old worn pouch of deer- skin. From this pouch he took a pair of moc- casins and put them on his feet. They were magic moccasins and were Agodaguada's greatest treasure. And now he was ready to follow lola and save her from the buffaloes. It was not hard to trace the way they had gone. The herd had left a broad track of broken trees and branches through the dark forest. The magic moccasins leaped a hundred yards 84 THE KING OF THE BUFFALOES at each step. They carried Agodaguada along faster than a bird can fly. The buffaloes had gone at full speed, and had had the start of him by several hours, but so swiftly he went that by twilight he found himself close to their camp. Here he slipped the moccasins from his feet. As silentty as a snake he crawled past the other wigwams toward the lodge of the king. As he came near it he heard the sound of a flute, and soon he was close enough to look in- side and see who was playing. It was the king himself. He had taken his human form and was playing upon his flute a love song to lola, but as a man he was even more hideous than he was as a buffalo. lola sat with her back turned toward him. She looked very sad. Her head was sunk on her breast, and she took no notice of his love song or of his languishing glances. Suddenly lola started. From the thicket out- side had sounded the whistle of a partridge. It was the whistle her father alwaj^s gave as he came near home after a day of hunting. The buffalo, playing on his flute, had heard nothing. lola sat still a few moments longer, and then she rose. " I will go down to the spring," she said, " and fetch the water for the cooking." When the buffalo heard her say this he was filled with joy. He took it as a sign that she 85 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS was now ready to live with him in his wigwam and be his wife. BeHeving this, he was quite wilhng to allow her to go down to the spring by herself. lola stepped outside, and as soon as her father saw her alone there he rose up from among the bushes. His magic moccasins were once more upon his feet. He motioned her to follow. " Quick ! " he whispered. As soon as they were clear of the bushes Agodaguada lifted his daughter in his arms and leaped away with her through the forest. In the lodge the buffalo waited for lola a long time. Sometimes he listened for her footsteps, and sometimes he played upon his flute. At last he began to grow suspicious and went out to look for her. Everywhere he looked and hunted, and at last he came to where her father had hidden in the bushes, and there he saw the marks Agodaguada had made as he had leaped away with lola in his arms. Then the buffalo knew he had been tricked. With a bellow of rage he called his herd together and started after lola and her father. Agodaguada had already gone some distance, but his daughter weighed him down, and the moccasins could not move as swiftly as when they had only himself to carry. He had only just reached the edge of the forest when he heard the buffaloes behind him. They had caught 86 THE KING OF THE BUFFALOES sight of him. The king gave a bellow of triumph. But now Agodaguada was out of the forest and leaping swiftly over an open plain. The whole herd were thundering after him at full speed, but just as the leader reached him Agodaguada leaped aside. Before the buffaloes could stop themselves they had charged on past him. The}^ turned and again rushed at him. But suddenly a flight of arrows darkened the air. Several buffaloes fell dead upon the plain, and the king was wounded. These arrows were shot by a band of hunters who had come to this plain in search of game, and had hidden themselves in a thicket. From there they had seen Agodaguada race with the buffaloes. Though the king was wounded, he would still have pursued Agodaguada, but his followers had turned tail and were fleeing back into the forest. He stood pawing the earth and frothing until another arrow struck him, and then, bellowing with rage, he turned and followed his herd. He did not stop at the camp, however. He was so full of anger and chagrin that he went on and on until he reached the wide plains of the West, where he had never been seen or heard of before. But Agodaguada joined the band of hunters who had saved him, and lola was married to their young chief and lived happily with him in his lodge for ever after. 87 THE JACKAL AND THE ALLIGATOR A HINDU FAIRY TALE THERE was once a little jackal who lived near the banks of a great river. Every day he went down to the water to catch the little crabs that were there. Now in that same river there lived a cruel alligator. He saw the little jackal come down to the river every day, and he thought to himself, " What a nice, tender morsel this little jackal would be if I could only catch him." So one day the alligator hid himself in the mud of the river so that just the tip of his nose stuck out, and it looked almost exactly hke the back of a crab. Very soon the little jackal came running along the bank of the river, looking for crabs. When he saw the end of the alligator's nose, he thought, " That looks like the back of a fme big crab," and he put in his paw to scoop it out of the mud. As soon as he did that, snap ! — the teeth of the alligator came together, and there he had the jackal by the paw. The little jackal was terribly frightened, for lie was sure the alligator would pull him into the river and eat him. However, he began to 88 THE JACKAL AND THE ALLIGATOR laugh, though the alhgator's teeth hurt him terribly. " Oh, you stupid old alligator," he cried. " You thought you would catch my paw, and you didn't catch anything but a bulrush root that I stuck down there in the water to tickle your nose. Ah, silly, silly alligator ! " When the alligator heard that, he was much dis- appointed. " I certainly thought I had caught that httle jackal," he said to himself, " and it seems I have caught nothing but a bulrush root. There is no use in holding on to that." So he opened his mouth. Then the little jackal snatched his paw out. " Oh, stupid one ! " he cried. " You did have me, and 3'OU let me go again. Oh, ring-a-ting ! ring-a-ting ! You'll never catch me again." So saying, away he ran up into the jungle. The alligator was furiously angry. " Well, he tricked me that time," he said, " but the next time I catch him he will not get away so easily." So he hid himself again in the mud and waited and watched. But the little jackal came no more to the river. He was afraid. He staj'ed up in the country and lived on figs that he gathered under a wild fig-tree. But the alligator was determined to have the jackal, so when he found the jackal came no more to the river he crawled out one morning very early, and dragged himself to the wild fig- tree and gathered together a great heap of figs, and hid himself under them. Sg WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS In a little while the jackal came running toward the fig-tree, licking his lips, for he was very hungry. When he saw the great heap of figs he was delighted. " How nice ! " he said. " Now I will not have the trouble of gathering the figs together ; they are there all ready for me." He went nearer and nearer to the heap of figs, and then he stopped. " It really looks almost as though something might be hidden under those figs," he thought. Then he cried out loud, " When I come to the fig-tree all the figs that are any good roll about in the wind, but those figs lie so still that I do not think they can be fit to eat. I will have to go to some other place if I want to get good figs ! " When the alligator heard this, he thought, " This little jackal is very particular. I will just shake myself and make the figs roll about a little, or he will not come near enough for me to catch him." So he shook himself, and away the figs rolled this way and that. " Oh, you stupid old alligator ! " cried the jackal. " If you had stayed quite still, you might have caught me. Ring-a-ting, ring-a-ting ! Thank you for shaking yourself and letting me know you were there ! " And then he ran away as fast as his legs would carry him. The alligator gnashed his teeth with rage. " Never mind ! I will have this little jackal yet," he cried, and he hid himself in the tall grass beside 90 THE JACKAL AND THE ALLIGATOR the path that led to the fig-tree. He waited there for several days, but he saw nothing of the jackal. The jackal was afraid to come to the fig-tree any more. He stayed in the jungle and fed on such roots and berries as he could find there, but as he could find but little, he grew very thin and miserable. Then one morning the alligator made his way to the jackal's house while the jackal was away. He squeezed himself in through the doorway (for it was very narrow), and hid under the heap of dead leaves that was the jackal's bed. Toward evening the little jackal came running home, and he was very hungry, for he had found little to eat all day, and he was very tired too. He was just about to go in and throw himself down on his bed when he noticed that the sides of the doorway were scraped and broken as though some big animal had forced its way in. The little jackal was terribly frightened. " Is it possible," he thought, " that the wicked aUi- gator has come to hunt for me here in my own house and is waiting inside to catch me ? " Then he cried out aloud, " What is the matter, httle house ? Every day when I come home you say ' All is well, little jackal,' but to-day you say nothing, and I am afraid to come in." This was not true ; the little house did not really speak to him, but he wanted to find out whether the alligator was there. But the stupid alligator believed him. He thought to himself, 91 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS " I will have to speak in place of the little house, or this tiresome little jackal will not come in." He made his voice as small and soft as he could, and said, " All is well, little jackal." When the jackal heard the alHgator speak, and knew he was really inside the house, he was more frightened than ever. However, he answered quite cheerfully, " Very well, little house ! I will come in as soon as I have been to the brook for a drink of water." When the alligator heard that he was filled with joy, but he lay quite still under the leaves without moving. " Now I will have that little jackal at last," he thought. " This time he shall not escape me." But while he waited the little jackal gathered together a great heap of dead-wood and under- brush and piled it up against the door of the house. When it was big enough he set fire to it, and it blazed up with a great noise and burned the wicked alligator to death, and that was the end of him. But the little jackal danced about and sang : " The alligator's dead, and I am so glad ! The alligator's dead, and I am so glad ! Ring-a-ting, ring-a-ting ! King-a-ting, ring-a-ting 1 The alligator's dead, and I am so glad ! " And always after that the little jackal could go wherever he pleased in safety, and he ate so many ripe figs and so many crabs that he grew as fat as fat could be. 92 THE BABA YAGA A RUSSIAN FAIRY TALE THERE were once a man and wife who had no child, though they wished for one above all things. One day, when the husband was away, the wife laid a big stick of wood in the cradle and began to rock it and sing to it. Presently she looked and saw that the stick had arms and legs. Filled with joy, she began to rock and sing to it again ; she kept it up for a long time, and when she looked again, there, instead of the stick of wood, was a fine little boy in the cradle. The woman took the child up and nursed him, and after that he was to her as her own son. She named him Peter, and made a little suit of clothes and a cloth cap for him to wear. One day Peter put on his little coat and went out in a boat to fish on the river. At noon his mother went down to the bank of the stream and called to him, " Peter, Peter, bring your boat to shore, for I have brought a little cake for 3'ou to eat." Then Peter said to his boat : 93 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS " Little boat, little boat, float a little nearer. Little boat, little boat, float a little nearer." The boat floated up to the shore ; Peter took the cake and went back to his fishing again. Now it so happened that a Baba Yaga, a terrible witch, was hiding in the bushes near-by. She heard all that passed between the woman and the child. So after the woman had gone home, the Baba Yaga waited for a while, and then she went down to the edge of the river and hid herself there, and called out : " Peter, Peter, bring your boat to the shore, for I have brought another little cake for you." But when Peter heard her voice, which was very coarse and loud, he knew it must be a Baba Yaga calling him, so he said : " Little boat, little boat, float a little farther. Little boat, little boat, float a little farther." Then the boat floated away still farther out of the Baba Yaga's reach. The old witch soon guessed what was the matter, and she rushed off to a blacksmith, who lived over beyond the forest. " Blacksmith, blacksmith, forge me a little fine voice as quickly as you can," she cried, " or I will put you in my mortar and grind you to pieces with my pestle." The blacksmith was frightened. He made her a little fine voice as quickly as ho could, and the 94 THE BABA YAGA Baba Yaga took it and hastened back to the river. There she hid herself dose to the shore and called in her little new voice, " Peter, Peter, bring your boat to the shore, for I have brought another little cake for you to eat." When Peter heard the Baba Yaga calling him in her fine, small voice, he thought it was his mother, so he said to his boat : " Little boat, little boat, float a little nearer. Little boat, little boat, float a little nearer." Then the little boat came to the land. Peter looked all about, but saw no one. He wondered where his mother had gone, and stepped out of his boat to look for her. Immediately the Baba Yaga seized him. Like a whirlwind she rushed away with him through the forest and never stopped till she reached her own house. There she shut him up in a cage behind the house to keep him until he grew fat. After she had shut him up, she went back into the house, and her little cat was there. " Mistress," said the cat, " I have cooked the dinner for you, and I am very hungry. Will you not give me something to eat ? " " All that I leave, that you can have," answered the Baba Yaga. She sat down at the table and ate up everything but one small bone. That was all the cat had. 95 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS ^ Meanwhile at home the mother waited and waited for Peter to come back from the river with his fish. Then at last she went down to look for him. There was his boat drawn up on the shore empty, and all round it were marks of the Baba Yaga's feet, and the trees and bushes were broken where she had rushed away through the forest. Then the mother knew that a witch had carried off the little boy. She w^ent back home, weeping and wailing. Now the woman had a very faithful servant, and w^hen this girl heard her mistress wailing, she asked her what the matter was. The woman told her all that she had seen down at the river, and how she was sure a Baba Yaga had flown away with Peter. " Mistress," said the girl, " there is no reason for you to despair. Just give me a little wheaten cake to keep the life in me, and I will set out and find Peter, even though I have to travel to the end of the world." Then the woman was comforted. She gave the servant a cake, and the girl set out in search of Puter. She went on and on, and after a while she came to the Baba Yaga's house. It stood on fowls' legs, and turned whichever way the wind blew. The girl knocked at the door, and the Baba Yaga opened it. " What do you want here ? " she asked. " Are y(ni seeking work or shunning work ? " 96 THE BABA YAGA " I am seeking work," answered the girl. " Can you give me anything to do ? " The witch scowled at her terribly. " You may come in," she said, " and set my house in order, but do not go peeping and prying about, or it will be the worse for you." The girl went in and began to set the house in order, while the Baba Yaga flew away into the forest, riding in a mortar, urging it along with a pestle, and sweeping away the traces with a broom. After the witch had gone, the little cat said to the girl, " Give me, I beg of you, a little food, for I am starving with hunger." " Here is a little cake ; it is all I have, but I will give it to you in Heaven's name." The little cat took the cake and ate it all up, every crumb. " Now listen," said the cat. " I know why you are here, and that you are searching for the little boy named Peter. He is in a cage behind the house, but you can do nothing to help him now. Wait until after dinner, when the Baba Yaga goes to sleep. Then rub her eyes with pitch so that she cannot get them open, and you may escape with the child through the forest." The girl thanked the little cat and promised to do in all things as it bade her. When the Baba Yaga came home, " Well, have you been peeping and pr^'ing ? " she asked. " That I have not," answered the girl. G 97 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS The Baba Yaga sat down, ate everything there was on the table, bones and all. Then she lay down and went to sleep. She snored terribly. The girl took some pitch and smeared the witch's eyelids with it. Then she went out to where Peter was and let him out of the cage, and they ran away through the forest together. The Baba Yaga slept for a long time. At last she yawned and woke, but she could not get her eyes open. They were stuck tight with pitch. She was in a terrible rage ; she stamped about and roared terribly. " I know who has done this," she cried, " and as soon as I get my eyes open, I will go after her and tear her to pieces." Then she called to the cat to come and scratch her eyes open with its sharp little claws. " That I will not," answered the cat. " As long as I have been with you, you have given me nothing but hard words and bones to gnaw, but she stroked my fur, and gave me a cake to eat. Scratch your own eyes open, for you shall have no help from me." And then the little cat ran away into the forest. But the faithful servant and Peter journeyed safely on through the forest, and you may guess whether or not the mother was glad to have her little Peter safe home again. As to the old Baba Yaga, she may be shouting and stamping and rubbing the pitch from her eyes yet, for all 1 know. 96 TAMLANE A STORY FROM AN OLD SCOTCH BALLAD FAIR Janet was the daughter of the Earl of March, and she was so beautiful that many knights and noble gentlemen had asked her to marry them, but she would say yes to none of them. One day she sat at her window sewing a seam, and she heard the sound of a horn down in the forest. It blew so sweet and it blew so clear that she laid down her seam to listen, and it seemed to her that it called " Janet, fair Janet, come hither ! " Fair Janet dropped her sewing and down to the wood she ran. She looked about her, and there stood a handsome knight. From head to foot he was dressed in green, and in his hand he held a silver horn, and when he saw her he raised it to his lips and blew again so soft and clear that Janet had never heard anything like it. " Now tell me," said she, " is that a fairy horn that it blows so sweet a note ? " "It is indeed a fairy horn," answered the stranger, " and it was in Fair34and that I learned to wind it. In many a forest have I blown it, 99 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS north and south, and east and west, and you are the first to hear and answer it." Then fair Janet was afraid, for she thought the stranger must be a fairy knight, and she did not know what charm he might cast about her. The knight saw she was frightened, so he said, " From Fairyland I brought it, yet I am of human flesh and blood like you. I am the son of the Earl of Murray, and once my name was John, though in Fairyland they call me Tamlane. When I was a child, the fairies stole me, and they have kept me with them ever since. Bright and fair it is in Fairyland, and I am the Queen's favoured knight, but my heart wearies to be back in my own country and living with my own kind once more." " And will not the fairies let you go ? " asked fair Janet, and now she was not afraid. " That they will not of their own wills, and only a lady brave and true can set me free. You yourself are that lady, fair Janet, for you alone have heard and answered my horn." Then Janet promised she would do whatever Tamlane bade her do, if by so doing she might bring him back from Fair3-land, for he was very good to look upon. She let him put a ring upon her finger, and they kissed each other as a sign that they were betrothed. Then Tamlane told her what she must do. On every Ilalluwc'cn at midniglit the fairies ride 100 TAMLANE abroad, and on that night she must go to,|Miles- cross and wait for them to pass. At midnight they would come. First would ride the Fairy Queen, her horse hung round with bells. After her would come all her ladies and esquires, and then her band of knights, and it was among these that Tamlane would ride. " You'll know me from among them all," said he, " by the snow-white horse I ride. Moreover, I'll wear a glove on my right hand, but my left hand will hang bare. Then is the time for you, Janet. Spring up and pull me from my horse and hold me tight. There wiU be a loud cry raised, and they'll change me into many shapes in your arms, but hold me tight, whatever I seem to be. Always it will be I, and I will not harm you. Do this, and when I take my own shape again I will be free of the fairies for ever." Janet promised to do all that he told her to, though she was terrified at the thought of what might happen, and then they kissed each other again and parted. Now three nights after it was Hallowe'en, and Janet went out to Milescross, and hid herself there and waited. When midnight came there was a sound of bells, and a "white light, and the fairies came riding by. First came the Queen, and she was very beautiful, with a circlet of stars about her head. Then lOI WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS came her ladies and squires, talking and laughing together ; and next a troop of knights all in green, and each with a silver horn. Some rode on black horses, and some on brown, but one knight there was who rode a milk-white steed. His right hand was gloved, but his left hand hung down bare at his side. He rode on and never turned his head, but when Janet saw him she knew him for her true love, Tamlane, and she sprang forward and caught him by the mantle and pulled him down from off his horse and gripped him tight. Then from all the fairy train there arose a cry, " Tamlane's awa' ! " " Tamlane's awa' ! " Suddenly it was no knight that Janet held in her arms, but a great grey wolf. It stniggled and snapped, and its breath was hot in her face. Almost it broke from her, but she remembered Tamlane's words and held it tight. And then it was not a wolf she held, but a bale of burning straw. The flames roared in her ears, but she clasped it close, and it did not scorch her. Then it was a great serpent that wrapped itself about her, and tried to slip from her arms, but she held it tight and did not let it go. Then it was a swan that beat its wings in her face, but she shut her eyes and held it. Then the wings were still, and she opened her eyes, and saw it was her own true love, Tamlane, that she clasped in her arms. 102 THKX n WAS A SWAN THAT BKAl ITS WIXCS IN HER FACE TAMLANE The Fairy Queen turned herself about, and she cried, " Tamlane, Tamlane, if I had known yesterday what I know to-day, I would have taken out your two blue eyes and given you eyes of stone ; had I known yesterday what I know to-day, I would have taken the heart of flesh out of your bosom and put in a heart of clay ; had I but known yesterday what I know now, never should you have ridden abroad with me this night!" Then suddenly the fairies were gone, and Tamlane and Janet stood there alone. He took her by the hand, and they went back to her father's castle together. There they were married with great joy and feasting, and they lived together happily all the rest of their lives, a faithful and loving man and wife. 103 THE FARMER AND THE PIXY AN ENGLISH FAIRY TALE FARMER BOGGINS lived on a lonely farm, and there were a great many pixies and other fairies all around. One morning in threshing-time Farmer Boggins went out to the barn before anyone else, and what was his surprise to find that a 'great heap of grain had been threshed out in the night. He wondered who had done it. When his labourers came to work he questioned them, but none of them knew anything about it. The next night the same thing happened ; no one went near the barn, but in the morning there was a heap of clean grain on the floor. The third night the farmer made up his mind to find out who it was that was helping him, so he hid himself behind some ha}^ and lay there watching. The moon shone in and lighted all the floor, but for a long time the farmer heard and saw nothing. Then suddenly he heard a sound of threshing, and there was a pixy beating out the grain with a flail. The little man was not a foot high. He was as brown as a nut and had scarce a rag of clothes up(;n him. 104 THE FARMER AND THE PIXY He worked so hard that the sweat poured down his forehead, and now and then he stopped to wipe it away. Then he would cry out proudly, " How I sweat ! How I sweat ! " The farmer was filled with admiration, and the third time the little man cried " How I sweat ! " the farmer could hold his tongue no longer, but answered him, " That 3'ou do ! " No sooner had he spoken, however, than the pixy was gone. The farmer waited for a while, but the little man did not return. At last Farmer Boggins went back to the house and told his good wife all that had happened. " You stupid ! " she cried, when he had made an end of the story. " You should never have spoken to him. The small folk cannot bear to be spoken to ! " Well, the mischief was done, and now the only thing to do was to think of some way to coax the pixy back again to the work. Early the next morning the good wife woke her husband. " Husband," said she, " did you say the little man had scarce a stitch of clothes upon him ? " " That's what I said," answered the farmer. " Then listen," said his wife. " To-day I will make a little suit of clothes for him, and you shall take it out and lay it in the barn where he will be likely to see it if he comes back. 105 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS Maybe then he'll be so pleased he'll get over his anger and begin to work for you again." Well, that seemed a good plan to the farmer, so his wife set to w^ork, and by evening she had made a complete set of little clothes just the size for a pixy. The farmer took it out to the barn and spread it out in the moonlight and hid himself where he could watch and see what would happen. For a long time ail was still, and Farmer Boggins was beginning to feel sleepy, when suddenly he saw the pixy was there. The little man had a flail in his hands and was going toward a heap of grain. Then he saw the little suit lying there in the moonlight. At first he stood quite still, and then he laid down the flail and took up the clothes. He looked at them all over, and then he put them on. When he was dressed he began to hop about and sing : " How fine I am, how fine I am : Now I am nobody's working-man." So singing, he danced across the floor and out of the barn and down the hill. Then the farmer was in a rage. His wife had taken all the trouble to make the clothes, and the little man had taken them and gone off with- out doing a stroke of work to pay for them. But this should not be the end of the matter. iu6 " NOT SO FAST, .MV ITNH LITTLE FELLOW," HE SAID THE FARMER AND THE PIXY At the foot of the hill the farm road crossed a stream, and there was a bridge. The farmer went down to the bridge and hid himself beside it, for he thought that if the pixy were really leaving the farm, this was the way he would go. Sure enough, Boggins had not been hidden there long when he heard a sound of voices, and along came a whole troop of pixies. They all looked exactly like the little man the farmer had seen in the barn, but none of them were dressed. Last of all came a pixy in a little suit of clothes, so the farmer knew he must be the one who had threshed out the grain. Just as this pixy reached the bridge. Farmer Boggins stepped out in front of him. " Not so fast, my fine little fellow," he said. " There's some work owing me in pa3'ment for that suit you're wearing." The farmer had scarcely got the words out of his mouth when he heard a great splash in the stream behind him, and a voice that sounded like his wife's cried, " Husband ! Husband ! Come quick and help me, or I'll drown." The farmer turned about, and immediately there was a burst of elfin laughter. The stream lay silent and smooth in the moonlight. No one was there, and when the farmer turned back to the bridge again every pixy was gone from it. Then the farmer knew that he had been tricked, and he had to go home without either the pixy 107 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS or the suit of clothes. His wife was there though. She had never been out of the house at all, and a fine scolding she gave him for letting himself be tricked that way by the little men. But the pixy never came back to help him with his grain, or to thank him for the suit of clothes either. ^ io8 RABBIT'S EYES A KOREAN FAIRY TALE ONCE upon a time the king of the fishes fell ill, and no one knew what was the matter with him. All the doctors in the sea were called in, one after another, and not one of them could cure him. Once when the fishes were talking about it, a turtle stuck its head out of a crack in a rock. "It is a pity," said the turtle, " that no one has ever thought of asking my advice. I could cure the king in a twinkling. All he has to do is to swallow the eye of a live rabbit, and he will become perfectly well again." This the turtle said, not because he knew any- thing at all about the matter, but because he wished to appear wise before the fishes. Now it so chanced that one of the fishes that heard him was the son of the king's councillor, and he swam straight home and told his father what he had heard the turtle say. The councillor told the king, and the king, who was feeling very ill that day, bade them bring the turtle to him immediately. When the messengers told the turtle that the 109 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS king wished to speak to him, the turtle was very much frightened. He drew his head and his tail into his shell and pretended that he was asleep, but in the end he was obliged to go with the messengers. They soon reached the palace, and the turtle was taken immediately to where the king was. He was lying on a bed of seaweed and looking very ill indeed, and all his doctors were gathered round him. The king turned his eyes toward the turtle, and spoke in a weak voice. " Tell me, friend, is it true that you said you could cure me ? " Yes, it was true. " And that all I have to do is to swallow the eye of a live rabbit, and I will be well again ? " Yes, that was true too. " Then go get a live rabbit and bring it here immediately, that I may be well." When the turtle heard these words he was in despair. It did not seem at all likely that he could catch a rabbit and bring it down into the sea, but he was so much afraid of the king that he did not dare to explain this to him. He said nothing, but crawled away as soon as he could, wishing he could find some crack where he could hide himself and never be found again. Suddenly he remembered he had once seen a rabbit frisking al)out on a hill not far from llie seashore, and he determined to set out to find it. no RABBIT'S EYES He crawled out of the sea and started up the hill. He climbed and he climbed, and after a while he came to the top, and there he sat down to rest. Presently along came the rabbit, and it stopped to speak to him. " Good day," said the rabbit. " Good day," said the turtle. " And what are you doing so far away from the sea ? " asked the rabbit. " Oh, I only came up here to look about and see what the green world was like," answered the turtle. " And what do you think of it, now you are here ? " " Oh, it's not so bad ; but you ought to see the beautiful palaces and gardens we have down under the sea." The turtle began telhng the rabbit about them, and he talked so long and said so many fine things about them, that the rabbit began to wish to see them for himself. " Would it be very hard for me to live down under the water ? " he asked. " Oh, no," said the turtle. " It might be a little inconvenient at first, but that would not last long. If you like, I will take you on my back and carry you do^\Tl to the bottom of the sea, and then you can see whether it is not all just as grand and beautiful as I have been telling you." Ill WONDER TALES FROM Mx\NY LANDS TVell, th'^ rabbit could not resist his curiosity, and he agreed to go with the turtle. They went to the edge of the sea, and then the rabbit got on the turtle's back, and down they went through the water to the very bottom of the sea. The rabbit did not like it at first, but he soon grew used to it, and when he saw all the fine palaces and gardens that were there, he was filled with wonder. The turtle took him directly to the palace of the king. There he bade the rabbit get down and wait awhile, and he promised that presently he would show him the king of all this magnificence. The rabbit was delighted and willingly agreed to wait there while the turtle went to announce him. But while the turtle was away the rabbit heard two fishes talking in the room next to where he was. He was very inquisitive, so he cocked his ears forward and listened to what they were saying. What was his horror to find that they were talking about taking out his eyes and giving them to the king. The rabbit did not know what to do, nor how he was to escape from the dangerous position he was in. Presently the turtle came back, and the chief councillor came with him, and immediately the rabbit began to talk. " Well," said he, " it all seems very fine here, and I am glad I came, but I wish now I had brought my own e^TS with me so that I could see it better. You see, the eyes 112 RABBIT'S EYES I have in my head now are only glass eyes. I am so afraid of getting my own eyes hurt or dusty that I generally keep them in a safe place, and wear these glass eyes instead. But if I had only known how much there would be to look at, I would certainly have brought my own eyes." When the turtle and the councillor heard this, they were very much disappointed, for they believed the rabbit was speaking the truth, and that the eyes he had in his head at the time were only glass eyes. " I will take you back to the shore," said the turtle, " and then you can go and get your real eyes and come back again, for there are many more things for you to see here — things more wonderful and beautiful than anything I have yet shown you." Well, the rabbit was willing to do that, so he got upon the turtle's back, and the turtle swam up and up with him through the sea. As soon as they reached the shore the rabbit leaped from the turtle's back, and away he went up the hill as fast as he could scamper, and he was glad enough to be out of that scrape, I can tell you. But the turtle waited, and he waited, and he waited, but the rabbit never did come back, and at last the turtle was obliged to go home without him. As for the king of the fishes, if he ever got well, it was not the eye of a live rabbit that cured him ; of that youmay be sure. H " 113 MUDJEE MONEDO AN AMERICAN INDIAN TALE UPON the banks of the broad Ogechee River there once stood a little Indian village. The people who lived there were prosperous and happy. There were fish in the river and game in the forest, and no one lacked for anything. But after a time a terrible misfortune fell upon the people. An ogre named Mudjee Monedo came to live near them. Upon an open plain he laid out a racecourse, and it was his amusement to challenge the young men of the village to race with him there. None dared to refuse, for the ogre was cruel and revengeful, and they feared what he might do to the old men and children if they should refuse ; and yet to race with him meant death. " Life against life," the ogre would cry, laying his hand on the goal-post. " My life in wager against yours. This post is the goal, yonder charred stump the turning-point. The loser pays the forfeit with his life." But none of the Indian warriors ever could win in that race with Mudjee Monedo. The ogre 114 MUDJEE MONEDO had the power to turn himself at will into any four-footed animal that he might choose. If he found he was being outstripped in the race he would change himself into a wolf, a deer, or a buffalo, and so easily win the race against the swiftest runner of them all. So, one after another, the finest young men of the village were slain at the goal-post. A deep gloom settled over those who were still left alive. They would have taken their wives and children and gone elsewhere to live, but they knew the ogre would follow on their tracks. Their only hope was that some time a warrior might rise among them who would be able to outwit the ogre and win the race. Somewhat away from the other lodges, and in the shadow of the forest, lived a widow with a daughter and a young son. This son was a boy of twelve named Manedowa. The widow's husband and her ten eldest sons had all raced with the ogre at one time or another, and all had paid the forfeit with their lives. Now Manedowa was fast growing tall and manly. Instead of being glad of this the widow was terrified. She dreaded the time when the ogre might think the boy old enough to race with him. Already Mudjee Monedo had his eye upon him. Often he would make some excuse to come to the lodge when the boy was busy there. Then the ogre would look him up and down. 115 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS " You are growing fast/' he would say. " You will make a famous runner. Some time you must come and look at my racecourse. Perhaps we may even run a friendly race together — though I am gro\nng too old and stiff to have any chance against young limbs like yours." Then the widow would shudder and make some excuse to send the boy away out of sight. She knew that when he was fully grown it would not be for long that the ogre would spare him. One day the boy was away fishing and the widow and her daughter were busy in the lodge together. Suddenly a shadow fell across the floor. They looked up in terror, expecting to see the ogre peering in. Instead, a handsome young warrior stood there in the doorway. He was a stranger. They had never seen him before. The sunshine played upon his shining limbs like fire. His eyes were bright and piercing, and above his forehead waved a plume of gorgeous feathers. For a moment he stood looking in upon them. Then he laid a deer down upon the threshold, and silently turned and disappeared in the green depths of the forest. Wondering, the mother and her daughter stared after him. They did not know who he could be. They waited for some time, and then, as he did not return, they cut up the deer and hung it up to dry. Two days after this the stranger again came 116 MUDJEE MONEDO to the lodge. As silently as before he laid a bear down before them, and again disappeared among the thickets ; but that night they heard the sound of his pipe not far from the lodge ; it was a love song to the girl that he was playing. The next evening he came again, bringing more game, but this time he entered and sat down. After that he stayed in the widow's lodge, and the girl be- came his wife. She was very happy, for no other hunter brought home such fine game as he, and no other was as handsome and as noble-looking. Every morning he went away, gUding off silently into the depths of the forest and dis- appearing from their sight. Where he went they did not know, but every night he came again, bringing to them the choicest of game and fish. The plume above his forehead shone with strange colours, and sometimes it seemed as though the light about him came from himself, and not from the sunshine or the firelight. Neither the girl nor her mother dared to question him as to who he was or whence he came. With so much game hanging about the lodge it was not long before Mudjee Monedo grew suspicious. He suspected that some warrior had come to live with the widow and her daughter and that they were hiding it from him. Often he stole up silently to the lodge hoping to find the hunter there, but he never saw him. At last he questioned the widow openly. 117 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS " All this game/' he said, trying to smile at her pleasantly, " where does it come from ? " The widow began to tremble. " My son — " she began. " Your son ! " interrupted the Magician. " Do you mean to tell me that your son could shoot a bear or a buffalo such as I have seen here ? " " He is very large and strong for his age," said the poor widow. " If he is old enough to shoot such game he is old enough to race with me," cried the ogre. " I will come again when he is at home, and he and I will talk of it." The Mudjee Monedo turned on his heel and strode away through the forest, breaking the young trees and muttering to himself as he went. The widow and her daughter were almost dead with fright. If they told the ogre of the strange warrior who had come to live in their lodge he would without doubt challenge the stranger to race with him. If they did not, it would be the boy^who would be slain. That night when the hunter returned as usual with his game the widow told him of all that had happened — of how Mudjee Monedo had come to the lodge and questioned her, of how she had pretended it was her son who had shot the game, and of the threat that the ogre had used. The warrior listened to all she had to say in silence. When she had ended he answered calmly, ii8 MUDJEE MONEDO " It is well. I will run a race with this Mudjee Monedo. Tu-niorrow he will come this way again. Then ask him to stop and eat with you, and I too will be here." His wife and her mother began to beg and implore him not to let the Magician see him, but he silenced them. " Let it be as I say," said he. " To-morrow do you put corn meal and herbs in a pot to cook, and add to it three birch buds. Mudjee Monedo and I will eat of it together." The next morning very early the ogre appeared at the lodge door, but the stranger had already gone into the forest. Mudj ee Monedo looked about him and saw all the fresh meat. " Truly your son has become a mighty hunter," he sneered. " No, Mudjee Monedo," answered the widow. " I knew it was useless to try to deceive you. It is not my son, but my son-in-law, who has shot all this game. He is a mighty warrior. He will soon return from the forest. Sit down, and when he comes you can eat together." " Did I not know it ? " cried the ogre tri- umphantly. "No one may hope to deceive Mudjee Monedo for long." He entered the lodge and sat down. He had not been there long before the stranger appeared in the doorway. The brave was in the full dress of a warrior. Across his forehead was a broad band of red paint, and the feathers above his 119 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS forehead were red and blue. The ogre's eyes ghstened at the sight of him. The hunter greeted Mudjee Monedo, and sat down not far from him. Presently, while his wife and mother-in-law made ready the food, he and the ogre talked. Soon Mudjee Monedo asked the warrior whether he would not run a race with him upon his race- course. Calmly the stranger agreed. " But I am gromng old," said Mudjee Monedo slyly. " I am not strong and tireless as I was once. Because of that, if I race with you you must let me set the wager." To this, also, the stranger agreed. Then the food was ready, and he courteously asked Mudjee Monedo to eat with him. The ogre could not refuse, but when he saw the dish that was set before them he became very uneasy. Well he knew that for him there was evil in that food. The strange warrior, however, took no notice of his confusion. He dipped into the dish and ate of it, and Mudjee Monedo was obliged to do like- wise, though the herbs that were in it tickled his throat and set him coughing. Finally the warrior lifted the dish, drank deep of it, and handed it to the other. The ogre hesitated a moment. The broth was hateful to him, but he was afraid to refuse. In haste to be done with it he raised it to his mouth and swallowed what was left of it at one gulp. 120 MUDJEE MONEDO Suddenly he coughed and choked. One of the birch buds at the bottom of the pot had lodged in his windpipe. His face turned purple and his eyes seemed starting from their sockets. He got to his feet and staggered out into the open air. A moment he turned and tried to speak, but a violent fit of coughing stopped him, and he hurried away through the thickets, still wheezing and choking as he went. By the next day the news had gone through the village that a strange warrior was to run a race with Mudjee Monedo, and a great crowd gathered on the hills near by to see the race. When the stranger appeared upon the course a murmur of wonder arose. Never had the people seen such a warrior before. He was taller by a head than the tallest youth in the village, and his feet scarce seemed to touch the earth, so lightly did he walk. Then hope sprang up in the people's hearts. Might it not be that this wondrous stranger would in some way win the race and free them from the power of the ogre. Mudjee Monedo looked about him at the waiting people, and seemed to read what was in their hearts. His lips drew back in a cruel smile. Then he laid his hand upon the goal-post. " You have let me choose my own wager," he cried aloud, so that all might hear what he said to the stranger. "It is this : life against life ; my life against yours. This post is the 121 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS goal, yonder charred stump the turning-point. The loser pays the forfeit." "So be it," answered the stranger in a clear ringing voice. " I will abide by the wager, as must you." At a signal he and the ogre sprang forward on the course. Mudjee Monedo ran well, but the stranger soon outstripped him. So swiftly he ran his feet scarce seemed to touch the ground. The light played about him, and his feathers streamed behind him in the wind. Never had the ogre been so easily outrun. Sooner than usual he was obhged to turn himself into a wolf or he would have been left too far behind. In that shape he tore past the warrior, but as he passed the stranger heard a wheezing in his throat and knew that the birch bud was still there. A low moan sounded from the crowd of watch- ing Indians on the hill-side as they saw the grey wolf leading in the race. But the next moment, the moan changed to a shout of surprise. The strange warrior had changed himself into a par- tridge ; he rose swiftly in the air, flew past over Mudjee Monedo, and lighted on the course far ahead of him. Then he resumed his natural form and again ran forward. The ogre did not know what had happened. He heard the shout and the whirr of wings above him, and now he saw the stranger far ahead. He was very much surprised, but again he used his 122 MUDJEE MONEDO magic and turned himself into a deer. With long leaps and bounds he overtook and passed beyond the running warrior. Again there was a whirr of wings. The par- tridge flew past overhead, and a mocking voice cried in the ogre's ear, " Mudjee Monedo, is this the best you can do ? " A moment later the ogre saw the stranger once more far ahead, and running as lightly and gracefully as ever. The charred stump was passed and Mudjee Monedo's heart began to beat hard against his sides. Never had he had to strive so hard. For the third time he used his magic, and turned him- self into his third and last form, that of a buffalo. It was in this shape that he generally won the race. With his great shaggy head down, his eyes as red as blood and his tongue lolling from his mouth, the ogre thundered past the stranger. Once again there was a whirr of wings. The partridge rose from the ground and flew past over the head of the straining buffalo. " Mudjee Monedo," he called from above, " is this the best you can do ? I fear you will lose the wager." With despair the ogre saw that the stranger had once more flown far ahead of him, and was now almost within reach of the goal-post. Suddenly stopping, Mudjee Monedo resumed his natural form. " Hold ! hold ! " he called to the warrior. " A word with you." The stranger gave a mocking laugh. Springing 12^ WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS forward he laid his hand upon the goal-post, and a mighty shout burst from the watching people on the hill. Then a stillness fell upon them. In silence the}^ watched the ogre as he slowly went forward toward the goal-post. As he drew near the stranger Mudjee Monedo tried to smile, but his pale hps trembled. " It was all a joke/' he muttered. " You will spare m}' life, as I would have spared yours. You run well and we must have many races together." " Wretch ! " cried the stranger. " What was the wager ? Life against life ; the loser pays the forfeit." Swift as lightning he caught up the club that hung from the goal-post, and with one blow he struck the ogre to the earth. Then again a great shout arose from the people, and like a stream they flowed down from the hill-side and gathered around the warrior. For a time there was great rejoicing. Fires were lighted and a great feast made. When night came and the stranger went back to his lodge a vast crowd followed him. It was growing dark, but suddenly a pale light shone about the warrior. He turned to tliem, cind as they looked at his face they suddenly knew it was no human warrior who stood before them, but the Good Genius, Minno Monedo. Silent and in awe they drew back from him. He motioned them to leave him, and they obeyed him, still in awe and silence. 124 MUDJEE MONEDO After they had all gone Minno Monedo turned to his wife and took her by the hand. " The time has now come," he said, " when I must return to the Spirit-land. It is for you to choose whether you will come with me or stay here with your own people. Which shall it be ? " " I will go with you," answered the wife. So it was ; she and the Good Genius disap- peared from the earth, and her tribe saw them no more. For a while her mother grieved for her, but Manedowa grew up strong and brave, and in time brought home a wife who bore him many children. Grass grew over the course where the ogre had run his races ; his lodge fell into ruins, but still around the camp-fires the Indians tell the story of Minno Monedo, and of how he came to save their tribe from Mudjee Monedo. 125 DAPPLEGRIM A TALE ADAPTED FROM THE NORSE THERE was once a rich man who had seven sons, and they were all stout, well- grown lads. When the man's time came to die he called his sons about him that he might divide his goods among them. He asked each one, beginning at the eldest, what he wished to have left to him. One said one thing, and one another ; one wanted the house, and one the land ; one wanted gold, and one the flocks and herds. At last it came the turn of the youngest, who was called Boots, to say what he wished to have. But by this time nothing was left to choose but seven wild mares that ran about free on one of the farther hills. All the other things had been pro- mised to his brothers. " Very well," said Boots ; "I am satisfied. The seven mares will do for me. When they have colts, I will leave the colts with their mothers until they are big enough and then I will sell them, and so I will have enough to live upon." The six older sons thought Boots a great 126 DAPPLEGRIM simpleton to be satisfied with so little, but since he was content, it was not for them to quarrel over it. Soon afterward the man died, and the six older brothers divided his riches among them in very friendly fashion. As for Boots, he asked for nothing, but he took his staff in his hand, and set out for the farther hill to look at his seven wild mares. It was half a day's journey to the hill, but Boots thought nothing of that. He reached it before his shoes were worn out, and there were the seven wild mares grazing hither and thither, and each one had a foal with her. They were fat and well- grown foals, but beside the seven there was another colt there on the hill, and he was a wonder. His coat was a beautiful dappled grey, and shone like silk ; and he was more than twice the size of any of the other foals. " Now in all my life never have I seen a colt like that colt," cried Boots. " The other seven foals I will leave here with their mothers, but this one I will take out into the world with me, for already he is big enough and stout enough for me to ride him." " Nay, Master," answered the colt ; " that is not what you should do. Do you leave me here for another year to run free and grow, and it will be well worth your while. But as for the other seven foals, take them to the market and 127 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS sell them, and with the mone}' \'ou receive buy me fodder. Store the fodder in yonder old ruined building and leave the door open, so that I can go in and out and eat at will, and by next year I will be better fit for riding." Boots was willing to do this, so he gathered the seven foals together and drove them away to market. There he sold them as the dappled colt had bade him and bought fodder, and this fodder he stored in the old ruined building for the colt to feed upon at will. Then the lad went away to a city near-by and took service to wait until the year was up. At the end of the year, to a day, Boots came back again to the hill, and there were the seven wild mares at graze, and again each had a well- grown foal beside her. But as for the dappled colt, it was a wonder. It was twice as large as before, and if before its coat had been like silk, now it was like satin, it shone so. Boots looked and wondered and wondered and looked. " Well it is," he said, " that I left you here a year longer. But now you must go with me, for with such a horse as you to ride upon, the king of the country himself will be glad to take me into his service." " Nay, Master," answered the foal, " the time is not yet. Let me run free for still another year, but take the seven mares and their foals to market, and sell them for what you can get. 128 DAPPLEGRIM With the money buy fodder and place it where you did before, and if you do this thing you will never regret it." Well, Boots was willing to do that too. He drove the mares and their foals to market, and sold them and bought fodder with the money. Then he went away to the city again and took service for another twelve months. At the end of the year, to a day, Boots came back to the hill to look at his dappled colt, but before he reached there he saw a light in the sky and heard a sound as of thunder. The sound drew nearer and nearer, and then Boots saw the colt coming to meet him, and the noise was made by its hoofs, for it was so huge that the earth trembled under it as it came ; and if its coat had been like satin before, now it shone like glass, so that the light was reflected all about it, and that was what Boots had seen. " By my faith," cried Boots, " never have I beheld such a horse before. The King himself hath not another like it." " That is true," answered the steed. " And now. Master, the time has come for you to ride me out into the world, and together we will make your fortune." Then Boots tried to mount, but Dapplegrim (for so Boots named the horse) was so huge that he was obliged to lie down before his master could get upon his back. I 129 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS Once Boots was up, away the horse went, so fast that the wind whistled past their ears, and they never stopped nor stayed until they came to the castle of the King of the country. Here Boots knocked at the door and asked the King if he might take service with him, and the King could have jumped for joy at the thought of having him. For never in his life before had he seen such a horse as Dapplegrim ; and as for Boots, the King was sure that only a hero could be the master of such a steed. So now Boots was one of the King's own men, and soon he became such a favourite that the King would have him always by his side, and talked to him more than to anyone else. But this made the noblemen who were about the castle very jealous. And not only did they have to make way for Boots, but all their own horses had to be taken out of the castle stable so that Dapplegrim might have the more room. Before long they began to plot and plan as to how they could rid themselves of Boots, and his great grey steed as well. Now, though the King of that country was very rich and powerful, he was so sad that he was never seen to smile, for he had had only one child, a daughter, and her a troll had stolen away. The troll kept her a prisoner in his house at the top of a great glass hill. This hill was as slippery as ice and as steep as a house. 130 DAPPLEGRIM Many princes and brave men had tried to rescue the Princess, for she was as beautiful as the day, and the King had promised her in marriage to anyone who would bring her back to him. None had succeeded, however, and those who had tried had always lost their lives ; for though th3 King had promised her as a wife to whoever could save her, he had also sworn to cut off the heads of all those who tried and failed. Now one day several of the noblemen who were jealous of Boots came to the King and told him that Boots had been saying this and that, and that he could ride up the hill on Dapple- grim as easily as not, and could rescue the Princess if only the King would ask him to. As soon as the King heard this he sent for Boots to come before him. " How is this ? " said he. " Why do you tell others that you can rescue the Princess if you choose, and yet you never tell me ? " " But I never said such a thing," said Boots. " Yes, but you did." " No, but I didn't." The King would not listen to him, however. He was determined that Boots must set out on the adventure at once. If he rescued the Princess, he should have her for a wife, but if he failed his head should be cut from his shoulders. As soon as Boots left the King, he went straight 131 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS out to Dapplegrim's stall, and he was down in the mouth, as you may well believe. " What is the matter, Master ? " asked Dapple- grim, " Matter enough," answered Boots ; and then he told the great gre}^ horse all that the King had been saying to him. The great grey horse Hstened attentively. " This is no easy thing the King has asked of you," he said ; " but it might have been worse. And then it isn't every day one has a chance of winning a princess for a wife. Do you go back to the King and ask him for ten pounds of iron and twelve pounds of steel, and six blacksmiths to do some work for us, for I must be properly shod before we start out on this adventure." Well, Boots went back to the King and asked him for just that, ten pounds of iron and twelve pounds of steel, and six blacksmiths to work for him. The King did not say no. Ten pounds of iron and twelve pounds of steel were brought to the palace, and six blacksmiths came to shoe the great horse Dapplcgrim, and it was a task for all six of them ; for after the shoes were made, it took three blacksmiths to hold up each one of Dapplegrim's feet and three more to fit the shoe to it, but when it was done never any other horse in all the world was shod like him. Then Boots mounted and rode forth. On and 132 DAPPLEGRIM on went Dapplegrim, so fast and far that you might have thought they would have ridden over the very edge of the world. Finally Dapplegrim asked, "Master, do you see anything ? " " Yes," said Boots, " I see something far before us. It looks hke a wall of snow with a black spot on top of it no bigger than a nut." " That white wall is the hill of glass," said the grey horse, " and the spot on top of it is the troU's house, but we have still a journey to make before we reach it." Then on they went and on they went, and after a while they came to the foot of the hill. When Boots looked at it his heart sank within him, for he did not see how any living thing could keep a foothold on it. " Well, here we are. Master," said Dapplegrim. " And now, unless we can mount the hill, it is an ill day for you and me too." Then Boots gathered up the reins and rode the great grey horse straight at it, and the fire flashed from under Dapplegrim's feet. Three times Boots rode Dapplegrim at the hill. The first time the great horse scarcely mounted as high as a man could reach, and then his feet slipped from under him and back he fell. The second time he rode half-way up the hill, and then again back, back he slipped. The third time he sprang forward upon the 133 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS hill of glass, and as his great feet struck it the glass cracked and crashed beneath him, and up and up he went, to the very top, and on into the troll's house. The beautiful Princess was sitting beside the window, weeping, her golden hair all loose and falling about her, and the troll was there beside her. Dapplegrim thundered into the hall and over to the Princess, and Boots stopped and caught her up to the saddle beside him. Then Dapple- grim wheeled, and away they went, faster than the wind, and the troll did not even have time to catch up the sword that lay beside him or to try to stop them. It was a long way back to the castle, and Dapplegrim had two to carry now, but that was nothing to him. On and on they went, and when they thundered up to the castle gate the King and all his court came out to meet them. Then there were great rejoicings and kissings and shoutings, as you may believe. Boots stood there among them, and he was the hero of it all. " And now, when am I to marry the Princess ? " he asked. At that the King began to hum and haw. It had been all very well to promise her to Boots as long as she was sitting in the troll's house at the top of the hill, but now that she was back in the castle again it was a different matter. 134 DAPPLEGRIM " Listen," said the King ; " you shall have her as a bride, of course. I have never said anything different, but first you must level down the ridge of rock there in front of the castle, for it is so high and black that never a ray of sun- light comes in at the windows from one year's end to the other." Well, that was not in the bargain at all, and Boots did not know how he was to level down a whole mountain of rock. But the King would not listen to him. Not till the ridge was levelled down could he marry the Princess, and moreover, if he failed in doing it, his head should be cut from his shoulders. Then Boots went out to Dapplegrim's stall, and his mouth was down at the corners, as you may well believe. " Well, Master, and what is the matter now ? " asked Dapplegrim. Then Boots told him all about it, and what he had said, and what the King had said, and how he feared he was to lose his head after all. " Oh, well, this is not such an easy task," said the great grey steed, " but, after all, we may be able to do it. But first do you ask the King for twelve pounds of iron and fifteen pounds of steel, and have new shoes put upon my feet, for we will need them." That is just what Boots did. He asked the King for twelve pounds of iron and fifteen pounds 135 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS of steel, and the King did not refuse him. And this time it took eight blacksmiths to shoe the great grey horse. When Dapplegrim was newly shod, Boots mounted upon his back and rode away toward the ridge of rock, and the King and all his court came out to watch what he would do. Dapplegrim rode up to the top of the rocky ridge, and then he stamped with his great iron- shod feet, and he was so heavy that at once the ridge sank down fifteen ells into the earth. Then Boots rode up and down, and every time Dapplegrim stamped the ridge sank down under him, until at last it was as level with the earth as the palm of your hand. " And now may I have the Princess for my wife ? " asked Boots, Of course, of course ! The King had never intended anything else, but before she could go to church with Boots she must have a horse as great and fine as Dapplegrim to ride upon. Boots might have three days to find such a horse for his bride, but at the end of that time, if he had not found it, his head would be cut from his shoulders. Well, that seemed a hard thing to Boots. That had never been in the bargain at all. Besides, he doubted if there was such another horse as Dapplegrim in all the world beside. Out he went to Dapplegrim 's stall, and if he 136 DAPPLEGRIM had been down in the mouth before he was ten times more so now. " Well, Master, what is it this time ? " asked the great grey horse. " Are you not to have the Princess for your wife ? " Yes, Boots was to have her, but not before he should do this and that, and he told the whole story to Dapplegrim. " This is a harder task than either of the others," said the great horse. " There is only one other horse in the whole world that is my match in size and strength. Whether or not we can get him I do not know, for he is very wild and fierce. But before we start out on this adventure I must be new shod with fifteen pounds or iron and fifteen pounds of steel. Besides this, you must ask the King to give you a barrel of tar, twelve sacks of grain, and the carcasses of twelve oxen, and twelve hides of bullocks set all over with sharp spikes. Have these loaded upon me, and then we will set out, and w^hat is to happen will happen." Well, Boots went to the King and asked for all these things, and the King did not refuse him. Dapplegrim was new shod with fifteen pounds of iron and fifteen pounds of steel, and upon his back were loaded twelve sacks of grain, and the carcasses of twelve oxen, and the hides of twelve bullocks set all over with sharp spikes, and a barrel of tar. 137 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS Last of all, Boots mounted his steed and away they rode, and the earth shook beneath them, and the wind whistled past their ears. They w^ent on and on and on, till all the world seemed left behind, and at last they came out into a barren plain, and all the air around them and overhead seemed filled with the sound of the beating of great wings. " Now tell me," said Boots, " what is that sound I hear, for it almost makes me feel afraid ? " " That," answered Dapplegrim, " is the beat- ing of the wings of all the birds of the air that have been sent out to stop us. But do not be afraid. Cut a hole in each of the bags we carry, so that the grain will run out, and the birds will be so busy picking it up that they will never notice us." This Boots did, and the grain ran out in a stream behind them. Then the birds gathered in such countless numbers that the whole plain was covered with them. But they were so busy pecking up the grain that they never even looked at Boots or the great grey horse. On rode Boots and on he rode, and after a while he and Dapplegrim came into a great black forest. Then from all around there sounded a mighty roaring that fairly shook the trees, it was so loud. " What is that sound ? " asked Boots. " Now tell me, for it almost makes me feci afraid." I3« DAPPLEGRIM " That/' said Dapplegrim, " is the roaring of all the beasts of the earth that have been sent out to stop us, but do you throw down the twelve carcasses of the oxen, and the beasts will be so busy eating them that they will never even look at us." Boots did as Dapplegrim bade him, and im- mediately from behind the trees and thickets sprang out a multitude of wild beasts, and they fell upon the carcasses and began to tear them and eat. They did not even so much as look at Dapplegrim or his master. On and on went Boots and his great grey steed, and now they came out of the forest upon a place that was covered with great rocks and boulders, and here Dapplegrim bade Boots light down. " Master, the time has now come for the hardest part of all our venture," said the horse. " It may be I will not come out of it alive, nor you either, but that is as it may be. Take down the barrel of tar and set it yonder among the rocks, take off my bridle and then cover me all over with the spiked hides. When this is done, do you climb up in yonder tree, where you will be out of harm's way. Presently the steed that we are in search of will come, and he and I will fight together. Watch carefully that barrel of tar, for while we are fighting it will be set on fire. If the fire burns low and smoky, I will be overcome, and then you must try to escape as 139 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS best 3'ou can, but if the flame rises straight and clear, then I am winning. In that case make haste to come down and sHp the bridle over the head of the strange horse. Then he will become gentle and quiet, and you may do with him what you will." Boots obeyed Dapplegrim in everything. He took down the barrel of tar and set it among the rocks. He took off Dapplegrim's bridle and covered him all over with the spiked hides. Then he climbed up in the tall tree near-by and hid himself among its leaves. No sooner had he done all this than Dapple- grim struck the ground three times and neighed loud and clear. At once from far away there came a sound of neighing. Nearer and nearer it came, and so loud and terrible it was that Boots was filled with fear. Then from beyond the rocks came galloping a great grey dappled horse, and if Dapplegrim was big, this one was full as large. If Dapplegrim was strong, this one was as strong, if not stronger. Fire flashed from his eyes and smoke poured from his nostrils. At once he and Dapplegrim began to fight. Up and down they fought, and sometimes one seemed to be winning and sometimes the other, but always, whenever the strange horse tried to seize Dapplegrim with his teeth, he could not, because of the spiked hides that covered him. 140 DAPPLEGRIM As they fought, a spark from their hoofs fell upon the barrel of tar and set it on fire. The flame of it rose straight and clear through the air. At once Boots slipped down from the tree and ran over to where the two horses were fighting. As soon as he did so, he saw that Dapplegrim had seized the strange horse by the neck and was holding him with his teeth. Boots made haste to slip the bridle over the strange horse's head, and at once it became quiet and gentle, only it still shook and sweated from the fight. Then Boots mounted on the new Dapplegrim's back and rode back toward the castle, and the old Dapplegrim trotted along beside him. Safely they passed through the forest and crossed the plain, and as they neared the castle they saw that the King and all his court had come out to meet them, for they had heard the news of their coming. Boots lighted down from the new Dapplegrim and led both horses to the King, and the King was filled with wonder and amazement at the sight of two such horses, and both exactly alike. " And now," said Boots, " can you tell me which is the new Dapplegrim and which the old ? " Well, the King looked them all over from head to tail ; he looked at their eyes and their ears and their hoofs, and not a hair did one have that 141 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS was different from the other's. The King was obhged to own that he could not tell which was which. " So I have brought the horse as you bade me," said Boots, " and now am I to have the Princess for a wife ? " Well, there was nothing more for the King to do but to let Boots marry the Princess. But now the Princess herself had something to say about it. " Look," said she to Boots. " You have shown how brave you are : now let us see whether you are clever as well. I will hide twice, and you shall hide twice. If you can find me, and I cannot find you, then we will know you are more clever than I am, and I will marry you. But if you fail, then you must look elsewhere for a wife." Well, Boots did not like that very much, but he did not know how to refuse. " Very well," said he. " Then that is the bargain." The Princess was to hide first, and this is what she did. She changed herself into a white duck and floated on the pond that was behind the castle stable. Boots hunted for her high and low ; he looked everywhere, but he could not find her. Then he went out to Dapplegrim's stall and told him all about it. " You should have come to mc in the first 142 DAPPLEGRIM place," said Dapplegrim. " Do you take a gun and go out to the pond behind the castle stable. Aim at the white duck that is floating there, as though you meant to shoot it, and you will iind the Princess fast enough." Boots did as Dapplegrim bade him. He took his gun out to the pond beliind the stable, and there, sure enough, was a white duck floating about in the sunshine. Boots took aim at it as though to shoot. Then the Princess was terribly frightened. " Do not shoot," she cried ; " it is I, the Princess." So Boots had found her once. The next time the Princess hid she turned herself into a loaf of bread, and lay with the other loaves on the kitchen table. Boots hunted for her high and low, but nowhere could he find her. Then he went out to Dapplegrim's stall. " What shall I do about it now ? " he said. " I have hunted for the Princess everywhere, and still I cannot find her." " Why did you not come to me in the first place ? " asked Dapplegrim. " Do you take a knife and lay it on the middle loaf that is on the kitchen table, as though to cut it, and j^ou will find the Princess fast enough." Well, Boots was not slow to do as Dapplegrim bade him. He took a sharp knife and went into the castle kitchen, and there were seven fresh loaves of bread on the table. 143 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS Boots drew the middle loaf toward him, and laid the sharp edge of the knife on it as though to cut it. Then the loaf cried aloud in a woeful voice, " Alas, do not cut me ! It is I, your Princess." And so Boots had found the Princess for the second time. Now it was Boots' turn to hide, and while the Princess was not looking he changed himself into a fly and hid in Dapplegrim's ear. The Princess hunted for him everywhere, all through the castle, but she could not find him. Last of all she came to Dapplegrim's stall to look there, but when she tried to enter Dapplegrim would not let her. He kicked and snorted and bit until the Princess was fairly frightened. At last she was obliged to own that she could not find Boots. Then at once he stood before her in his own proper shape. " You have failed once," he said. " Now let us see whether you will be any more clever the second time." The next thing Boots did was to change himself into a clod of earth and hide in the hollow of Dapplegrim's foot. The Princess hunted for him everywhere, but she could not find him. Then she came to Dapple- grim's stall, and this time he let her enter. The Princess looked him all over but could not find Boots. Last of all she tried to lift Dapplegrim's 144 DAPPLEGRIM feet to look under them, but this she could not do. The great grey horse stood Hke a rock, and she could not move him. Then the Princess was obliged to own herself beaten. At once Boots stood before her. " Now," said he, "I have fairly won you for a bride, and you shall not say no to me." "Yes, yes; that is right," said the Princess. " Now I know that you are the cleverest as well as the bravest man in all the world, and you and you alone shall be my husband." So Boots and the Princess were married with great rejoicing and magnificence, and if anyone were sorry it was not the Princess nor Boots. As for Dapplegrim, nothing was too good for him. If he had wished it, he might have had a bridle of gold and a saddle set with precious gems, and a silver bed to lie on. He lived to a good old age, and they were all happy for ever after. K 145 THE FISH PRINCE A HINDU FOLK TALE THERE were once a Rajah and Ranee who had no child, though every day they prayed that one might be sent to them. For this reason the Ranee at last became quite melancholy, and took no more pleasure in anything. One day some fish were brought to the palace kitchen to be prepared as usual for the Rajah's dinner. Among them was one such as the cook had never seen before. Its scales shone with all the colours of the rainbow, and upon its head was a mark that looked like a little golden crown. The cook examined it curiously, and then was about to prepare it for cooking as he had done with the others, but it lifted up its head and spoke to him. " Do not kill me," said the fish. " Instead, put mc in a basin of water and carry mc to the Ranee, and it may be I will amuse her.' The cook was very much surprised to hear a fish speaking, and it seemed to him such a wonderful creature that it might very well amuse even the Ranee ; he therefore put it in a basin of water, 146 THE FISH PRINCE and gave it to a maid, and bade her carry it to the queen. The maid did as she was told, and the Ranee was indeed very much pleased with the beautiful little fish. All day she kept it beside her and watched its quick movements and its changing colours. The next day she was even more pleased with it, and before long she became so fond of it that she could not have loved it better if it had been her own child. She named it Muchie Rajah, or the Fish Prince, and called it her son. After a time the fish grew so large that it could no longer live in the basin, and then it was put in a marble bath. As it still continued to grow, the Ranee had a great tank made for it out in the palace gardens. Here every day she went to visit it. She always carried some rice with her, and when she called it, the great fish would rise through the water and eat from her hand, and play about where she could see it. But one day when the Ranee came to the tank she saw Muchie Rajah lying on the water very still. His colours looked dull, and when she called to him he came to her slowly, and would not eat the rice she had brought to him. The Ranee was greatly troubled. " Alas, my dear son," she cried, " what is it that ails you ? Are you sick, that you will not eat the good rice I have brought to you ? " " I am not sick/' answered the great fish, " but 147 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS I am very, very lonely. My mother, I beg of you to have a little room built in the side of the tank, and bring some young girl to live in it all the time and be compam^ for me." The Ranee could refuse nothing to her dear Muchie Rajah. She immediately sent for masons and stone-cutters, and had a little room made in the side of the tank. The room was so cleverly built that the fish could reach his head over the side of it, and 3'et it was protected from the water in such a way that one could live in it safely and not be drowned. The walls of it were carved and coloured and set with precious stones, so that it was very beautiful, and there were hanging lamps in it to give light by day and night. After all was finished, the Ranee sent out messengers through the country to find some beautiful girl to come and live in the little room, and be the bride of her dear Muchie Rajah. To the parents of such a girl she promised to give a lac of gold mohurs. But though the messengers journeyed far and near, they could find no parents who were willing to give their daughter to the Fish Prince. " No, no," they said ; " our daughters are worth more to us than a lac of gold mohurs. This i\Iuchie Rajah is very large and strong and lierce, and what he wishes is not a bride, but some young girl to eat." Now not far from the palace there lived a 148 I THE FISH PRINCE fakir, whose wife had died and left him with one daughter. This girl, whose name was Balna, was very beautiful. After the death of his first wife the fakir married again. The second wife also had a daughter, but her daughter was as ugly as Balna was beautiful, and as ill-tempered as Balna was sweet and gentle. The stepmother hated Balna and was very jealous of her, and would have done anything to rid the house of her. One time the fakir went away on a long journey, leaving his house and all that was in it in the charge of his wife. The messengers were still seeking for a bride for the Muchie Rajah, and as soon as the fakir had gone his wife sent for them, and said, " I have a daughter whom I am willing to let 3'ou have for the Fish Prince, and as she is very beautiful I am sure you will be delighted with her." The messengers were very glad to hear this, and said they would come for the girl the next day, and bring a lac of gold mohurs to the woman in payment for her. After they had gone the stepmother called Balna to her and told her what she had promised. The girl was very much frightened. " AJas ! " she cried, " what have you done ? The great fish will certainly eat me. If my father had been here he would never have allowed you to sell me." " This is silly talk," answered the stepmother. 149 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS " Why should the fish eat you ? He is lonely and wishes a companion. You ought to be proud and happy to be the wife of a Rajah, even if he is only a fish." She then bade the girl go down to the river and wash her saree,^ that she might be clean and neat when the messengers came for her. Balna took her saree and went down to the river to wash it, and as she washed it she wept bitterly. Now it so happened that an old seven-headed cobra had a hole in the bank of the river, and lived there with his wife and children. He heard the sound of weeping just above him, and it kept on for so long that after a while he stuck one of his heads out of the hole and spoke to the girl. " Why are you weeping here ? " he said. " Do you not know that your tears are dropping down into my house like rain, and that they are very salt ? " " Oh, Father Cobra, excuse me," answered the girl, " but I have good cause to weep. My step- mother has sold me to be the bride of Muchie Rajah, and I know he will certainly eat me, for he is very large and fierce." " Listen to me, daughter," said the cobra, " for I am very wise and know all things. This great fish you speak of is not a fish at all, but the Rajah of a far country. In some way he offended the > A long piece of cotton or silk cloth, forming the principal garment of Hindu women. THE FISH PRINCE gc4s, and as a punishment he was changed into the shape of a fish and sent to Hve in the river. Now if you will do exactly what I tell you to do, you can break this enchantment and become his Ranee ; but if you do not do as I say, then he will of a certainty eat you as you fear." The cobra then gave the girl three stones, and bade her tie them into the corner of her saree so as not to lose them. " To-morrow the messengers will come and take you to Muchie Rajah," he said. " They will put you in the little room in the side of the tank. When it is night, you must not on any account go to sleep. If you do, you will be lost. But take these stones in your hand and watch. When he comes near you, throw a stone at him. Immediately he will sink to the bottom of the tank and will lie there for a while. When he comes again, throw the second stone at him and he will again go away, and when he comes for the third time, throw the third stone. Then the enchantment will be broken, and he will resume his natural form, and you will have nothing more to fear from him." The girl heard with joy what the cobra said to her. She thanked him and tied the stones in the corner of the saree, and then she ran on home again. When she went into the house her step- mother was surprised to see how cheerful she had become. She no longer wept nor complained, and 151 WONDER TALES FROM MANY LANDS when, the next day, the messengers came for her, she was quite wilHng to go away \nth them. At the palace the old Ranee was waiting im- patiently for the bride, and she was dehghted when she saw what a beautiful girl the messengers had brought with them. Balna was taken out to the tank, and a great crowd of people followed to see what would become of her. Man}^ of them pitied her, and they wondered that she went so cheerfully, for they expected no less than that she would be eaten by the great fish. After she was put in the little room in the side of the tank the crowd waited about for a long time. Every moment they expected to see Muchie Rajah rise through the water and swallow her, but nothing happened. The water lay black and still, and there was no sound but the lapping of the little waves against the stonework. After a while night came, and the people grew tired of waiting and went away to their homes. Balna was left in the little room all alone. She untied the corner of her saree and took out the three stones. Two she laid on the floor beside her, and one she kept in her hand. About midnight the water was disturbed. The waves dashed louder against the stones. There was a hissing sound, and Muchie Rajah rose through the water. He came rushing on toward 152 SHE MANAGED TO THROW THE THH