GIFT OF ELLA STERLING MIOHELS > THE O A K-T REE FAIRY BOOK ;r FAVORITE FAIRY TALES EDITED BY CLIFTON JOHNSON M ILLUSTRATED BY WILLARD BONTE BOSTON LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 1905 -3" 5$ Copyright, 1905, BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. All rights reserved Published November, 1905 GIFTO* Uzfc*% printers 8. J. PARKHILL & Co., BOSTON, U. S. A. INTRODUCTORY NOTE HERE are the old favorites in a version especially suited for the home fireside. The interest, the charm, and all the sweet- ness have been retained ; but savagery, distressing details, and excessive pathos have been dropped. Surely our little people are better off without some of the sentiments of that barbaric past when the tales originated. Felix Adler, in his notable work on " The Moral Education of Children," years ago appealed for just such a version as this, wherein there should be " less of falsehood, glut- tony, drunkenness, and evil in general " than in the usual tellings, and from which " malicious step- mothers and cruel fathers should be excluded." The same need has been widely felt by parents and teachers. "The Oak-Tree Fairy Book" supplies this want, and can be read aloud or placed in the hands of the children with entire confidence. The changes are not, however, very radical in most instances, and I have made no alteration in inci- 1664 viii INTRODUCTORY NOTE dents where there did not seem to be an ethical necessity for so doing. The first sixteen tales in this book have a special claim to the attention of American readers, for they were picked up in this country. Two or three of them are to be found in nearly all our fairy-tale collections, and it would not be safe to say that any of them originated here ; yet there are none of the sixteen but that differ in an interesting way from the usual versions, and most of them are quite unfa- miliar to the present generation. I am indebted for them to friends and correspondents and to the American Journal of Folk Lore. Readers acquainted with similar tales not in the ordinary collections will confer a favor if they will communicate with me. CLIFTON JOHNSON HADLEY, MASS. If the stories you read in the following pages and the pictures that illustrate them please you, watch for " The Birch-Tree Fairy Book " next year. CONTENTS PAGE JOHNNY-CAKE i THE TWIST-MOUTH FAMILY 9 THE TALE OF A BLACK CAT 12 THE TALKING EGGS 17 THE TRAVELS OF A Fox 27 JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK . . . 34 THE Two BROTHERS AND THE OLD WITCH .... 46 THE OLD WOMAN AND HER PIG 59 LADY FEATHERFLIGHT 63 THE LITTLE RED HEN AND THE WHEAT 83 A BEAR STORY 86 FOOLISH JIM AND CLEVER JAMES 87 THE BEGGAR AND THE PRINCESS 93 THE OGRE'S WIFE 99 THE Fox AND THE LITTLE RED HEN 107 THE HOBYAHS in THE THREE BEARS 118 ToM-TiT-ToT 124 THE KING OF THE GOLDEN MOUNTAIN 133 LITTLE RED RIDING-HOOD 146 THE FOUR MUSICIANS 152 x CONTENTS PAGE TEENY-TINY 160 THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN LITTLE GOSLINGS . . . . 163 THE MAGIC FIDDLE 168 THE CLEVER WIFE 178 TITTY MOUSE AND TATTY MOUSE 187 THE STORY OF CHICKEN-LICKEN 192 KING O'TOOLE AND HIS GOOSE 196 THE THREE LITTLE PIGS 202 THE FAIRY Cow 210 THE MASTER OF ALL MASTERS 215 MR. MICRAWBLE 219 THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE 226 CINDERELLA 236 HOP-O'-MY-THUMB 251 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 266 THE FATE OF A LITTLE OLD WOMAN 282 THE DONKEY, THE TABLE, AND THE STICK . . . . 286 MR. VINEGAR 303 THE GIANT OF THE BLACK MOUNTAINS 311 LAZY JACK 322 THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER 328 THE WISE MEN OF GOTHAM 333 THE SALT FISH AND THE EEL . 337 A MISSING MAN FOUND 341 THE KETTLE THAT WOULD NOT WALK 344 THE LITTLE HORSE AND ITS KIND MASTER . . . . 347 THE GOTHAM MEN AND THE CUCKOO 349 THE HARE THAT WAS SENT TO YORK 351 CONTENTS xi PAGE THE CRANE IN THE WHEATFIELDS 353 THE MEN OF GOTHAM AND THE WATCH 356 THE CHEESES THAT RAN AWAY 358 THE LOST LEGS 361 THE HIDING OF THE CHURCH BELL 363 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Jack and the beanstalk Frontispiece Johnny-cake started toward the open door 2 On went Johnny-cake 2 The bear hurried after Johnny-cake 3 On ran Johnny-cake . 5 Johnny-cake and the fox 7 The father blows upward 9 The mother blows downward 10 Mary blows out of the right corner of her mouth . I o Dick blows out of the left corner of his mouth .... 1 1 John blows straight 1 1 The black cat 12 A pail of water from the well 1 8 The witch takes off her head and combs her hair ... 19 The snakes and toads and frogs followed her 23 The witch 25 The fox goes off with the rooster 28 The end of the fox 32 Jac! asks for something to eat 39 Running away with the giant's bedquilt 45 He picked up the bag 4.7 The tree shakes its apples down on the old witch ... 57 xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FACE The old woman and her pig 61 The giant pulls Jack out of the cupboard 66 The magic forest stops the giant 75 The little red hen and her bread . 85 A bear story 86 Jim finds a basket of cakes 90 The princess on the balcony . 95 The crocodile dived 105 The fox brings home the little red hen 109 One night the Hobyahs came 1 1 1 The Hobyahs run off 1 1 1 The little girl in the bag 1 1 6 The big dog jumps out 117 Golden Hair is found by the three bears 122 Tom-Tit-Tot is angry 131 The merchant begs the dwarf not to take his son . . . . 135 The giants began a desperate struggle 143 Little Red Riding-Hood meets the wolf 147 At the robbers' window 156 The teeny-tiny woman on her way to the teeny-tiny field . 1 6 1 They set forth in search of the wolf 166 "Have pity, have pity ! " begged the old man . . . . 173 She tumbled him into the big box 185 Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse 187 Fox-lox shows the way 195 He threw the bird up into the air 198 The wolf is terrified .... - 207 Out leaped the fairy cow 213 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xv PAGE The servant pounds on her master's door 217 Mr. Micrawble catches Tommy 220 Tommy asks about the pudding 223 The fisherman releases the fish 227 Another talk with the fish magician 229 Cinderella brings the pumpkin 241 One of her slippers dropped off 247 The ogre in his seven-league boots 261 Hop-o'-my-Thumb gets the magic boots 264 The merchant pleads with the beast 272 Beauty and the mirror 277 Sir Gammer Vans pops out of the thumb bottle . . . . 283 Jack and the goat 286 The landlord steals the donkey 291 The magic stick punishes the innkeeper 299 Mr. Vinegar gets the door on his back 304 The owl laughs at Mr. Vinegar , . . . 309 Suddenly a huge giant appeared 312 The witch hurried off to tell the giant 319 Lazy Jack brings home a cheese 325 Carrying the donkey 327 Watching the elves 330 A dispute 334 Drowning the eel 339 Finding the missing man 343 He told the kettle where he lived 345 The little horse and its kind master 348 A fence for the cuckoo 350 xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE A messenger 352 Saving the wheat 354 An evil spirit destroyed 357 Sending the cheeses to Nottingham 359 The lost legs 362 Saving the church bell 364 The end 366 THE OAK-TREE FAIRY BOOK JOHNNY-CAKE ONCE upon a time there was an old man and an old woman and a little boy. One morning the old man got up and started the kitchen fire, and the old woman got up and made a Johnny-cake and put it in the oven to bake it. The little boy slept in the kitchen, and the old woman shook him to awaken him, and said, " Your father and I are going out to work in the garden, and do you get up, and pretty soon y6u, ffiu.st turn- the Johnny-cake." So the old man and old womUn /went :ou,attd; began to hoe potatoes in the garden and left the little boy to watch the oven ; but the little boy was lazy, and he lay snug and warm in bed, half asleep. By-and-by he said to himself, " Oh, dear, I shall have to get up to turn the Johnny-cake ! " But the Johnny-cake called out, "No, you needn't; I can turn myself." The little boy was not sure about that, and he 2 JOHNNY-CAKE scrambled out of bed and began to dress ; but he had only got his trousers on when he saw the oven- door swing back, and out jumped Johnny-cake and .started toward the open door of the house. The little boy ran to shut the door, but Johnny-cake was too quick for him and was down the steps and out into the road before the little boy could catch him. " Johnny-cake 's running away, Johnny-cake's running away ! " shouted the little boy, and hur- ried after him as fast as he could scamper, and the old man and old woman threw down their hoes and hastened to join in the chase. But Johnny-cake outran all three, and shortly was gone from sight, and his pursuers sat down, 'panting for; .brjeath, on a bank to rest. ' On went Johnny-cake, and by-and- 'by' 'he : earti it .to four mowers in a meadow, who looked up from their work and called out, " Where are ye going, Johnny- cake?" "Oh," said Johnny-cake, "I've outrun an old man and an old woman and a little boy, and I can outrun you, too-o-o ! " "Ye can, can ye ? We '11 see about that ! " said they, and they threw down their scythes and ran JOHNNY-CAKE 5 after him; but they could not catch up with him, and presently they had to sit down by the road- side to rest. On ran Johnny-cake, and by-and- by he came to two ditch-diggers, who "were digging a ditch. "Where are ye going, Johnny-cake? " they asked. " Oh," said he, " I 've outrun an old man and an old woman and a little boy and four mowers, and I can outrun you, too-o-o I " "Ye can, can ye? We'll see about that!" said they, and they threw down their spades and ran after him; but Johnny-cake soon outstripped them, and, seeing they could never catch him, they gave up the chase and sat down to rest. On went Johnny-cake, and by-and- by he came to a bear. " Where are ye going, Johnny- cake ? " the bear asked. "Oh," said Johnny-cake, "I've outrun an old man and an old woman and a little boy and four mowers and two ditch-diggers, and I can outrun you, too-o-o!" " Ye can, can ye ? We '11 see about that ! " growled the bear, and hurried as fast as his legs 6 JOHNNY-CAKE could carry him after Johnny-cake, who kept right on along the road. Pretty soon the bear was left so far behind that he saw he might as well give up the hunt first as last. So he stretched himself by the wayside to rest. On went Johnny-cake, and by-and- by he came to a wolf. Where are ye going, Johnny-cake ? " the wolf asked. " Oh," said Johnny-cake, " I 've outrun an old man and an old woman and a little boy and four mowers and two ditch-diggers and a bear, and I can outrun you, too-o-o /" "Ye can, can ye? We'll see about that!" snarled the wolf; and he set off at a gallop after Johnny-cake, who went on and on so fast that the wolf soon saw there was no hope of catching him, and lay down to rest. On went Johnny-cake, and by-and- by he came to a fox, who was stretched out for a nap among some bushes a little aside from the road. The fox heard Johnny-cake coming, and he cried out in a sharp voice, without getting up, " Where are ye going, Johnny-cake?" " Oh," said Johnny-cake, " I 've outrun an old JOHNNY-CAKE 7 man and an old woman and a little boy and four mowers and two ditch-diggers and a bear and a wolf, and I can outrun you, too-o-o! " The fox said, " I can't quite hear ye, Johnny- cake. Won't ye come a little closer? " So Johnny-cake went a little closer, and called out in a very loud voice, "I've outrun an old man and an old woman and a little boy and four mowers and two ditch-diggers and a bear and a wotf, and I can out- run you , TOO-O-O ! " " I can't quite hear ye. Won't ye come a little closer?" said the fox, putting a paw behind one of his ears to help him hear better. So Johnny-cake came up quite close, and screamed out still louder, "I 'VE OUTRUN AN OLD MAN AND AN OLD WOMAN AND A LITTLE BOY AND FOUR MOWERS AND TWO DITCH-DIGGERS AND A BEAR AND A WOLF, AND I CAN OUTRUN YOU, TOO-O-O ! " 8 JOHNNY-CAKE " Ye can, can ye ? " yelped the fox, and he snapped up Mr. Johnny-cake in his sharp teeth and ate him ; and that was the end of poor Johnny-cake. Tbe bear hurried as fast as his legs could carry him after Johnny-cake* THE TWIST-MOUTH FAMILY THERE was once a father and a mother and several children, and all but one of them had their mouths twisted out of shape. The one whose mouth was not twisted was a son named John. When John got to be a young man he was sent to college, and on the day he came home for his first vacation the family sat up late in the evening to hear him tell of all he had learned. But finally they prepared to go to bed, and the mother said, " Father, will you blow out the light ? " " Yes, I will," was his reply. " Well, I wish you would," said she. "Well, I will," he said. So he blew, but his mouth was twisted and he blew up- ward, this way and he could n't blow out the light. Then he said, "Mother, will you blow out the light ? " 10 THE TWIST-MOUTH FAMILY " Yes, I will," was her reply. " Well, I wish you would," said he. " Well, I will," she said. So she blew, but her mouth was twisted and she blew downward, this way and she couldn't blow out the light. Then she spoke to her daugh- ter and said, " Mary, will you blow out the light ? " " Yes, I will," was Mary's reply. " Well, I wish you would," said her mother. "Well, I will," Mary said. So Mary blew, but her mouth was twisted and she blew out of the right corner of her mouth, ^ this way and she could n't blow out the light. Then Mary spoke to one of her brothers and said, " Dick, will you blow out the light?" "Yes, I will," was Dick's reply. " Well, I wish you would," said Mary. "Well, I will," Dick said. So Dick blew, but his mouth was twisted, and he blew out of the left corner of his mouth, this THE TWIST-MOUTH FAMILY * II way and he could n't blow out the light. Then Dick said, " John, will you blow out the light ? " " Yes, I will," was John's reply. "Well, I wish you would," said Dick. " Well, I will," John said. So John blew, and his mouth was not twisted and he blew straight, this way and he blew out the light. The light was out, and they were all glad that John had succeeded, and the father said, " What a blessed thing it is to have larnin* ! " THE TALE OF A BLACK CAT ONCE there was a little boy named Tommy ; and there 's a " . That stands for Tommy. I Tommy's house was not a very good one.' So he built a new wall on this side of it. And then he built a new wall on that side of it. You can see now that he had two nice rooms in his house, though not very large. Next he put in windows to look out of one in this room\Q| and one in that room.^la/ Then he made a tall ^V chimney 00 on this side of his house. n \J/ And then he made a tall \n| D / chimney on the other side of his house. \|/ After that he started some grass beside his door, like this. a/ Not far away from Tommy's house lived a little girl J| fl named Sally; V|/ and there 's an C That stands for Sally. JC THE TALE OF A BLACK CAT When Tommy had finished his house he thought he would like to go and tell Sally what he had been doing, so he came out of his door and walked along, this way, over to where she lived. Sally was glad to see him, and he went into the ^itchen and sat down and explained to her how he had built two new walls to his house and put in windows and made two tall chim- neys, and how he had started the grass in front of his door. " And now, Sally," said he, " I want you to come over and see how well I Ve fixed things." " I '11 put on my bonnet and go right back with you," said Sally ; but when she was ready to start she said, " We might go down cellar first and get some apples to eat on the way." So they went down cellar, like this. 14 THE TALE OF A BLACK CAT They got some apples, and then they came up outdoors by the hatchway, like this. L Now they started for Tommy's house, but the walking was bad, and they had gone only u few steos when they tumbled down, like this. However, they were quickly up, like this. And they walked along until they were nearly to THE TALE OF A BLACK CAT 15 Tommy's house when they tumbled down again, like this. And they were no sooner up on their feet, like this, irniu than they tumbled down once more, like this. III 111 But they were nearly to Tommy's house now, and 1 6 THE TALE OF A BLACK CAT they got up and were going into the yard straight toward the door, like this, III when Sally pointed toward the doorstep and cried out, " O-o-o-o-o-o-oh ! See that big BLACK CAT ! " m THE TALKING EGGS THERE was once a girl named Blanche, and when she was ten years old her father and mother died, and she went to live with an aunt who had a daughter Rose. This daugh- ter was selfish and disagreeable, and yet her mother did everything she could for her ; while she treated Blanche, who was pleasant and obliging, very badly. Rose could sit all day long in a rocking-chair and do nothing if she chose, but Blanche was kept con- stantly at work, and had to eat in the kitchen. Among other things, she was obliged to go twice a day to bring water from a well more than a mile and a half distant from the house. One morning, when she approached the well with her bucket, she found an old woman standing beside the well who said, "Pray, my little one, give me a drink, for I am very thirsty." 1 8 THE TALKING EGGS "That I will do gladly," replied Blanche, and she drew from the well a nice fresh bucketful. The old woman drank, and then said, " Thank you, my child, you are a good girl, and I shall not forget your kindness." A few days afterward Blanche was used so roughly by her aunt that she ran away into the woods. She was afraid to return home, and she sat down at the foot of a great tree and cried, and knew not what to do. But pretty soon she saw the old woman who had spoken to her at the well coming toward her. " Ah, my child," said the old woman, " why are you crying? What has hurt you?" " My aunt, with whom I live, has beaten me," Blanche answered, " and I am afraid to go home." " Well, my dear," the old woman said, " come with me, and I will give you some supper and a bed ; but you must promise not to laugh at any- thing you will see." Blanche promised, and the old woman took her by the hand and they walked on deeper into the woods until they arrived at the old woman's cabin. When they went inside the old woman said, " Now you make a fire, my child, to cook the supper for us." THE TALKING EGGS While Blanche made the fire the old woman sat down in her chair beside the hearth and took off her head, and after adjusting it carefully on her knees she combed her hair. Blanche thought that very strange, and she was a little frightened, but she said nothing. Presently the old woman set her head back on her shoulders and went to a cupboard and took out a large bone. " Here," said she, handing the bone to Blanche, " put this in the pot that hangs on the crane." Blanche put the bone in the pot, and lo! in a moment the pot was full of good meat. Then the old woman gave Blanche a grain of rice and said, "You see that wooden mortar in the cor- ner with the pestle in it ? Put this grain of rice into the mor- tar and pound it." So Blanche put the grain of rice into the mortar and began to pound it, and imme- 20 THE TALKING EGGS diately the mortar was full of rice, and this they cooked, and had it and the meat for their supper. The next morning, after breakfast, the old woman said to Blanche, " You must now return home, but, as you are a good girl, I want to make you a pres- ent of some talking eggs. Go to the chicken- house, and all the eggs which say c Take me ! ' you may carry away with you ; and all those which say c Do not take me ! ' you must leave. When you are on your way home throw the eggs behind your back to break them." Blanche did just as she was bidden. She went to the chicken-house, and the eggs in the nests began to speak, and some said, " Take me ! " and some said, " Do not take me ! " Those that said " Take me ! " she put in her apron and carried away with her, and when she had walked to the borders of the forest she stopped and threw the eggs one by one behind her back. Many pretty things came out of those eggs diamonds, gold, beautiful dresses, and, lastly, a splendid carriage with two fine horses and a driver. She put the dresses and diamonds and gold into the carriage, and then got in herself and was driven home ; and you may be sure her aunt was very much surprised to see her when she came with THE TALKING EGGS 21 such riches, and wanted to know where she got them. So Blanche told how she had met the old woman in the woods, and how the old woman took her home and kept her over night, and how in the morning the old woman had given her the talking eggs that were no sooner broken than there came forth from them all the wonderful things she had brought home. Her aunt was far from pleased that Blanche should have so much and her own daughter so little, and the next day she said, " Rose, you must go to the forest, now, and look for that same old woman, for I want you to have as many nice things as Blanche has." The plan suited Rose very well, and she went to the woods and wandered about until she met the old woman. It was then late in the afternoon, and Rose said, " Please, ma'am, will you take me home with you ? It is a long way to my own home." " Yes," said the old woman, " you can go with me, for it is almost dark, but you must not laugh at anything you see." So they walked on deeper into the woods until they arrived at the old woman's cabin. They went inside, and when the old woman sat down and took 22 THE TALKING EGGS off her head to comb her hair Rose laughed. Rose laughed, too, at all the other things she saw that were strange, and tried to make funny remarks about them. " Ah ! my child," said the old woman, " you are not a good girl, and I fear you will be punished for your actions." The next morning the old woman gave Rose her breakfast, and then told her she must return home. Rose started at once, but as soon as she was outside the cabin she went to the old woman's chicken- house, saying to herself, " I must have some of those talking eggs before I go." She opened the door, and the eggs in the nests immediately began to speak, and some said, " Take me ! " and some said, " Do not take me ! " " Oh, yes ! " exclaimed Rose, " I understand your tricks, and I shan't bother myself with you that say 'Take me!' It's the others I want, and you may say * Don't take me ! ' all you please, but you are the very ones I shall carry away with me." So she took all the eggs that told her not to take them, and went off with them in her apron. At the edge of the forest she threw them behind her back, and out of them came a lot of snakes, toads, and frogs. Rose ran and shrieked, and the snakes The snakes and toads and frogs followed her all the way borne THE TALKING EGGS 25 and toads and frogs followed after her all the way home. She reached her mother's so tired she could hardly speak, and had just strength left to shut the door behind her and keep out all the dreadful creatures that had chased her. " Oh, mercy ! " exclaimed her mother, when Rose told her what had happened; "it is that wretch Blanche who is the cause of all this, and she shall be punished as she deserves." So she called Blanche, and said to her, " Take your things and get out of the house. You shall not live with us any longer." There was nothing for Blanche to do but to call for her coach, and put into it the fine dresses and diamonds and gold she had got from the talking eggs, and then drive away. She took a road that passed through the forest, and it happened that the king's son was hunt- ing there, and she met him on his horse. When he saw the beautiful girl weeping in the carriage, he asked her why she cried. "Alas!" said she, "I have been turned out of the house that has been my home, and I know not where to go." 26 THE TALKING EGGS The prince tried to console her, and as they talked he became so charmed with her beauty and innocence that he asked her to be his wife. Then they went home together to the king's palace, and there they lived happily ever after. THE TRAVELS OF A FOX ONE day a fox was digging behind a stump and he found a bumblebee ; and the fox put the bumblebee in a bag and took the bag over his shoulder and travelled. At the first house he came to he went in and said to the mistress of the house, " Can I leave my bag here while I go to Squintum's ? " " Yes," said the woman. " Then be careful not to open the bag," said the fox. But as soon as he was out of sight the woman said to herself, " Well, I wonder what the fellow has in his bag that he is so careful about. I will look and see. It can't do any harm, for I shall tie the bag right up again." However, the moment she unloosed the string out flew the bumblebee, and the rooster caught him and ate him all up. After a while the fox came back. He took up his bag and knew at once that his bumblebee was 28 THE TRAVELS OF A FOX gone, and he said to the woman, " Where is my bumblebee?" And the woman said, " I untied the string just to take a little peep to find out what was in your bag, and the bumblebee flew out and the rooster ate him/' "Very well," said the fox; " I must have the rooster, then." So he caught the rooster and put him in his bag and travelled. At the next house he came to he went in and said to the mistress of the house, " Can I leave my bag here while I go to Squin- tum's?" "Yes," said the woman. "Then be careful not to open the bag," said the fox. THE TRAVELS OF A FOX 29 But as soon as he was out of sight the woman said to herself, " Well, 1 wonder what the fellow has in his bag that he is so careful about. I will look and see. It can't do any harm, for I shall tie the bag right up again." However, the moment she unloosed the string the rooster flew out and the pig caught him and ate him all up. After a while the fox came back. He took up his bag and knew at once that his rooster was gone, and he said to the woman, " Where is my rooster? " And the woman said, " I untied the string just to take a little peep to find out what was in your bag, and the rooster flew out and the pig ate r him." " Very well," said the fox, " I must have the pig, then." So he caught the pig and put him in his bag and travelled. At the next house he came to he went in and said to the mistress of the house, " Can I leave my bag here while I go to Squintum's?" " Yes," said the woman. "Then be careful not to open the bag," said the fox. 30 THE TRAVELS OF A FOX But as soon as he was out of sight the woman said to herself, " Well, I wonder what the fellow has in his bag that he is so careful about. I will look and see. It can't do any harm, for I shall tie the bag right up again." However, the moment she unloosed the string the pig jumped out and the ox gored him. After a while the fox came back. He took up his bag and knew at once that his pig was gone, and he said to the woman, " Where is my pig ? " And the woman said, " I untied the string just to take a little peep to find out what was in your bag, and the pig jumped out and the ox gored him." " Very well," said the fox, " I must have the ox, then." So he caught the ox and put him in his bag and travelled. At the next house he came to he went in and said to the mistress of the house, " Can I leave my bag here while I go to Squintum's ? " " Yes," said the woman. cc Then be careful not to open the bag," said the fox. But as soon as he was out of sight the woman said to herself, "Well, I wonder what the fellow THE TRAVELS OF A FOX 3 1 has in his bag that he is so careful about. I will look and see. It can't do any harm, for I shall tie the bag right up again." However, the moment she unloosed the string the ox got out, and the woman's little boy chased the ox out of the house and across a meadow and over a hill, clear out of sight. After a while the fox came back. He took up his bag and knew at once that his ox was gone, and he said to the woman, " Where is my ox ? " And the woman said, " I untied the string just to take a little peep to find out what was in your bag, and the ox got out and my little boy chased him out of the house and across a meadow and over a hill, clear out of sight." " Very well," said the fox, " I must have the little boy, then." So he caught the little boy and put him in his bag and travelled. At the next house he came to he went in and said to the mistress of the house, " Can I leave my bag here while I go to Squintum's ? " " Yes," said the woman. "Then be careful not to open the bag," said the fox. 32 THE TRAVELS OF A FOX The woman had been making cake, and when it was baked she took it from the oven, and her children gathered around her teasing for some of it. " Oh, ma, give me a piece ! " said one, and " Oh, ma, give me a piece ! " said each of the others. And the smell of the cake came to the little boy in the bag, and he heard the children beg for the cake, and he said, " Oh, mammy, give me a piece ! " Then the woman opened the bag and took the little boy out; and she put the house-dog in the bag in the little boy's place, and the little boy joined the other children. After a while the fox came back. He took up his bag and he saw that it was tied fast and he thought that the little boy was safe inside. " I have been all day on the road," said he, " without a thing to eat, and I am getting hungry. I will just step off into the woods now and see how this little boy I have in my bag tastes." So he put the bag on his back and travelled deep into the woods. Then he sat down and untied the bag, and if the little boy had been in there things would have gone badly with him. THE TRAVELS OF A FO^ 33 But the little boy was at the house of the woman who made the cake, andi when the fox untied the bag the house-dog jurrtped out and killed him. l/-IJr\ \l JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK LONG, long ago there lived a poor widow who had a little boy named Jack. It was not easy for the woman to get a living ; but she owned a cow that gave a great deal of milk, and some of the milk they drank and some she sold. So they contrived to get along until at last the cow went dry. " What shall I do now ? " said the woman sor- rowfully, and she was ready to weep. " Cheer up, mother," said Jack ; " I will go and get work." "You are too small," replied his mother. "No one would hire you. Ah, well, . I must take our cow to market and sell her." So the woman tied a rope to the cow's horns and led her away ; but she had not gone far when she met a funny-looking old man who stopped and said, " Good-morning, madam." " Good-morning to you," was her response. JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK 35 "And where are you off to this morning?" asked the old man. " I am going to market to sell my cow," the woman answered. " If that is the case," said the old man, " I '11 save you the trouble of going any farther, for I will buy your cow right here." " And how much will you give me for her ? " inquired the woman. Then the old man took a little bag from his pocket and opened it for her to look inside ; but all she saw in the bag was a handful of beans. " I will give you these beans for your cow," said the old man. " I would rather not make such an exchange as that," the woman said. " Those beans would not be enough for one meal." " Oh, they are not for you to eat ! " exclaimed the old man. "You must plant them. They are magic beans that will bring you good luck, and they are worth much more than your cow." The woman looked again, and she saw that the beans were very curious and of many pretty colors; and at last she said she would take them and let the old man have the cow. But on her way home, the more she thought about what she 36 JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK had done the more foolish she thought she had been, and when she reached the house she poured the beans out into her hand to look at them, and then threw them into the fireplace. " I can't bear the sight of them," said she, " and now we shall soon starve, I suppose/' She thought that was the last of the beans, but one of them had rolled out across the floor, and the next day as she was sweeping she swept up the little bean. She did not notice it, and she swept it along and along and might have swept it into the fireplace; but her little boy Jack saw it and he picked it up and said, " I 'm going to plant this bean, mother." So he took it out to the garden and dug a hole and planted it. After that he was all the time running out to see if his bean had come up, and when it did come up he was all the time running out to see how it was growing. On the first morning after he planted it he found its first leaves had already pushed their way up out of the ground. The next morning it was as tall as he was ; and the next day after that it was as high as the house, and the next day after that it was as high as the church steeple. So it kept growing until its top was clear out of sight. JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK 37 Then Jack said, " I 'm going to climb this bean-stalk," and he climbed and climbed and climbed, and at last he reached the sky. There he found "a strange country without a tree, shrub, house, or living creature anywhere in sight. He sat down on a stone to rest and said, " Humph ! if this is all there is up here I may as well go back home." But while he was resting he noticed that a rough path led away from near where he sat over a hill, and then he saw a beautiful lady walking along the path toward him. She spoke to Jack as soon as she came to him, and he rose and took off his hat. "I am a fairy," said she, " and the country where you now are is on the borders of Fairy-land. I have come to tell you something about your father. Do you remember him ? " " No," replied Jack, " and when I ask my mother about him she always begins to cry and will say nothing." "I thought as much," said the fairy, "and you will understand why your mother never speaks of him when you hear my story. He was a brave and generous knight, and the fairies were his friends and made him many wonderful presents. But after a time a wicked giant came to your 38 JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK father's castle and killed him, and carried off all the wonderful things the fairies had given him. At the same time the giant carried off your mother and you, who were then a little baby. He shut you both up in one of his dungeons, but at last he offered to restore your mother and you to liberty on condition that she should never speak about her wrongs to any one. She agreed, and he carried her to a place a great distance from where she had liv.ed and been known before, and left her there >#ith just money enough to rent a little cottage and buy a cow. " That giant lives in this country, and if you follow the path by which you saw me come you will find his castle over yonder hill. All that he has is rightfully yours, and perhaps you can con- trive some way to regain possession of what he stole from your father." ^ Then the fairy went on her way, and Jack, after thinking things over, concluded he would go on by the path that led toward the hill. Beyond the hill in a valley he came to a great castle, and on the doorstep sat a giant woman. It was almost night, and Jack went up to the giantess and said very politely, " Good-evening, ma'am. Would you be so kind as to give me some supper ? " JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK 39 " Is it supper you want ? " said the big woman. " It 's supper you '11 be if you don't move away from here. My man is a giant, and he likes to eat little boys." " But I am very hungry," said Jack, " and I 've had no food at all this day since early morning." "Well, well," said the giantess, "I don't wonder you are hungry, then. Come along to the kitchen and I'll see what I can find for you." 40 JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK So the giant's wife took Jack into the kitchen and gave him a piece of cheese and a bowl of bread and milk. He had not quite finished eat- ing when, tramp ! tramp ! tramp ! he heard the steps of some one coming, and the whole castle trembled with the heavy footfalls. " Gracious me ! " exclaimed the giant's wife, " that 's my man. Be quick now and jump into the oven or he'll catch you ;" and she bundled Jack into the oven just as the giant came in. The giant looked around the room and sniffed the air. " Fe-fi-fo-fum, I smell fresh meat ! " said he. " Yes," his wife responded, " the crows brought a piece of raw flesh to-day to the top of the house and dropped it on the roof." " Ha ! " said the giant, " I thought it was some- thing nearer and fresher than that ; " but he sat down at the table and Jack watched him through a crevice of the oven door, and was amazed to see the quantity of food that he ate. After supper was done the giant's wife cleared away the dishes and went off to bed. " I am getting a bit sleepy myself," said the giant ; " but I must have a look at my money," and he went to a big chest and took out several bags full of JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK 41 gold coins and returned to the table. He sat down and began to empty the bags one by one and was counting his wealth when he nodded off into a nap, and was soon snoring with a noise like thunder. Jack then climbed out of the oven, and by getting on a chair beside the table he reached one of the bags of gold, and off he ran with it. As soon as he came to the bean-stalk he called out, " Hump it and bump it and down I go," and in a little while he was at the foot of the bean-stalk in his mother's garden. Then he hurried to the house. There was a light in the window, and his mother was waiting for him in great anxiety, and was overjoyed to have him safely back. They had money enough now, but Jack could not help thinking how many things the giant had which were rightfully theirs, and it was not long before he again climbed the bean-stalk. This time he carried some food, so that he did not have to beg of the giant's wife, and when he came to the great castle he got behind a rock and watched until he saw the giantess come out to the well with a pail after water. While she was busy at the well he ran into the kitchen and hid in a closet. 42 JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK In a little while the woman brought in the pail of water, and by and by, tramp ! tramp ! came the giant. He began to sniff as soon as he entered the kitchen. "Fe-fi-fo-fum ! I smell fresh meat!" he said. u Do you ? " said his wife. " Supposing we look around, then. If there 's anybody hiding here it 's likely to be in the oven." So they both went to the oven, but luckily Jack was not there. " Well," said the giant's wife, " it 's empty, and I thought it would be, and I 'm tired of hearing your fe-fi-fo-fum ! " The giant wanted to look farther, but his wife said, " No, I won't have you mussing up the house. I know just how you would do it. You would turn everything that you could lay your hands on topsy-turvy. Besides, your supper is ready." So the giant sat down and had his supper. After he had eaten, he said, "Wife, bring me the hen that lays the golden eggs." She brought the hen and put it on the table. " If you don't need me any more, my dearie," said she, " I will go to the next room to finish some sewing I have there." " No, I don't need you," replied the giant, " go JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK 43 along." Then he took the little hen, and said, " Lay ; " and the hen laid an egg of solid gold. The giant took the egg in his hand, and looked at it for a while ; but pretty soon he fell asleep and snored so that the house shook. Then Jack crept out of the closet and climbed on a chair by the table and grabbed the little hen and ran. That frightened the hen, and it gave a cackle which woke the giant. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, and Jack, who was now out of the door, heard him calling, " Wife, wife, what have you done with my golden hen ? " Jack heard her come hurrying to the kitchen from the next room and asking, " Why, my dear?" - But Jack kept running, and he got too far away to hear any more. In a short time he came to the bean-stalk, and shouted, " Hump it and bump it and down I go ! " and soon he was at the foot of the bean-stalk and went into the house to his mother. They took the best of care of the hen, and every day Jack told it to lay, and it laid a golden egg. But after a time Jack went up the bean-stalk again, and he kept going up every few days, until he had carried off pretty much all that the giant 44 JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK had. Finally, one night he tried to get the giant's bed-quilt. The quilt was made of silk of many colors, and it had beautiful jewels on it, and all along the edge were little silver bells that . went tinkle, tinkle when Jack began to pull it. The giant heard the bells and called out, " Who 's round my house this dark, dismal night?" Jack kept perfectly still until the giant was snoring, and then he pulled the quilt off a little farther. The bells went tinkle, tinkle, and the giant woke up and called out, " Who's round my house this dark, dismal night?' So Jack stopped pulling and stayed as quiet as a mouse; but every time the giant fell asleep Jack gt the bed-quilt a little farther off, till at last he had it all, and ran away with it. How- ever, the bells made such a jingling as Jack ran that the giant was roused from his sleep and jumped up and started after hk.. Jack ran very swiftly, and got to the bean-stalk first. cc Hump it and bump it and down I go," he shouted, and it did not take him lonp to get to his mother's garden. But the giant was climbing down the bean-stalk after him, and the bean-stalk was shak.ing beneath the monster's weight. Jack could hea>- the giant JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK coming, and when he looked "p he saw the giant's legs just appearing through the clouds. Then Jack hurried to the woodshed and got a hatchet and began to chop at the bean- stalk. The giant felt the bean- stalk quiver, and stopped to iook down to find out vhat was the matter. Just at that moment jack gave a blow with his hatchet that brought bean-stalk, giant, and all tum- bling to the earth, and that was the end of the wicked giant. As for Jack a .d his mother, they were rich people after that. 45 THE TWO BROTHERS AND THE OLD WITCH ONCE upon a time there were two boys who were brothers, and they were very poor. At last the older boy said, " I will go out into the world and try to make my fortune." So he left his home, and he travelled about the world looking for work a long time. Finally, he reached a house in which an old witch woman lived, and she said she would give him work and pay him well. " What shall I have to do ? " the boy asked. "You must take care of my garden," said she, " and mow my meadow, and cut my wood, and once a week you must clean my fireplace; but I warn you never to look up the chimney." The boy agreed to this bargain, and for many months he cared for the old woman's garden, and mowed her meadow, and cut her wood, and cleaned her fireplace. He liked his situation well enough, except that the old woman did not pay him his THE TWO BROTHERS AND THE OLD WITCH 47 wages. Whenever he asked her for money she said, " If you had it you would spend it. No, no, I am Ir.ying up what is due you in a stout leather bag safely stowed away, and when you get to be as old as I am you can have it." This did not suit the boy, but he kept on with his work until one day, as he was cleaning the fire- place, he heard a noise in the chimney, and he looked up. Immediately something heavy fell 48 THE TWO BROTHERS AND THE OLD WITCH whack on his head, bringing with it a lot of soot that half blinded him. As soon as he could ge> the soot out of his eyes he saw on the hearth a slender leather bag, and when he picked it up he found it was full of money. " This must be m) wages," said he, and he walked out of the door, carrying the bag, and started off along the road toward home. By and by he came to a meeting-house, and the meeting-house said, " Wait, wait, my lad, and sweep me ! I have not been swept for seven long years." But the boy said, "I 'm in a hurry and cannot stay ; Perhaps I '11 stop some other day." He hastened on, and by and by he came to a weedy field, and the field said, " Wait, wait, my lad, and weed me. I have not been weeded for seven long years." But the boy said, I *m in a hurry and cannot stay ; Perhaps I 'll stop some other day." He hastened on, and by and. by he came to a cow, and the cow said, " Wait, wait, my lad, and milk me. I have not been milked for seven long years." THE TWO BROTHERS AND THE OLD WITCH 49 But the boy said, " I 'm in a hurry and cannot stay ; Perhaps I '11 stop some other day." He hastened on, and by and by he came to a well, 1 the well said, " Wait, wait, my lad, and clean me. I have not been cleaned for seven long years." But the boy said, " I J m in a hurry and cannot stay ; Perhaps I '11 stop some other day." He hastened on, and by and by he came to an apple-tree so loaded with fruit that its branches w.ere breaking down, and the tree said, " Wait, wait, my lad, and shake me. The apples you see on me have been growing for seven long years, and no one has come to shake them off or pick them." But the boy said, " I 'm in a hurry and cannot stay ; Perhaps I J ll stop some other day." However, instead of keeping on he sat down under the tree, and began to count his money. Some time after he left the house where he had been working the old witch woman came in and saw the soot scattered about the fireplace. She looked up the chimney and discovered that her bag of money was gone. " That boy has taken it," she cried, " and I must catch him." 50 THE TWO BROTHERS AND THE OLD WITCH So she started in pursuit, and by and by she came to the meeting-house and said, " Meeting-house, meeting-house, Have you seen a boy With a willy-willy wag And a long leather bag, Who's stolen all the money That ever I had?" " Yes/' replied the meeting-house, " he has gone on down the road." So the witch went along until she came to a weedy field. Then she said, ' Field of mine, field of mine, Have you seen a boy With a willy-willy wag And a long leather bag, Who 's stolen all the money That ever I had?" " Yes," replied the field, " he has gone on down the road." So the witch went along until she came to a cow. Then she said, " Cow of mine, cow of mine, Have you seen a boy With a willy-willy wag And a long leather bag, Who 's stolen all the money That ever I had ?" THE TWO BROTHERS AND THE OLD WITCH 51 " Yes," replied the cow, " he has gone on down the road." So the witch went along until she came to a well. Then she said, "Well of mine, well of mine, Have you seen a boy With a willy-willy wag And a long leather bag, Who 's stolen all the money That ever I had ? " "Yes," replied the well, "he has gone on down the road." So the witch went along until she approached the apple-tree, under which the boy was sitting count- ing his money. But he saw her coming, and he climbed the tree to hide among the branches. As soon as the witch was near enough she said, "Tree of mine, tree of mine, Have you seen a boy With a willy-willy wag And a long leather bag, Who 's stolen all the money That ever I had?'* "Yes," was the tree's reponse, "he's up here among my branches." Then the old woman pulled the boy out of the tree and gave him a sound beating, and he went 52 THE TWO BROTHERS AND THE OLD WITCH away crying ; while she took the bag of money and returned home. A year or two after the first brother left to seek his fortune the other brother also started out into the world. He travelled about here and there and everywhere, looking for work and finding none. But, finally, he reached the house of the old witch woman, and she said she would give him work and pay him well. " What shall I have to do ? " the boy asked. "You must take care of my garden," said she, "and mow my meadow, and cut my wood, and once a week you must clean my fireplace; but I warn you never to look up the chimney." The boy agreed to this bargain, and for many months he cared for the old woman's garden, and mowed her meadow, and cut her wood, and cleaned her fireplace. He liked his situation well enough, except that the old woman did not pay him his wages. Whenever he asked her for money she said, " If you had it you would spend it. No, no, I am laying up what is due you in a stout leather bag stowed safely away, and when you get to be as old as I am you can have it." This did not suit the boy, but he kept on with his work until one day, as he was cleaning the fire- THE TWO BROTHERS AND THE OLD WITCH 53 place, he heard a noise in the chimney and he looked up. Immediately something heavy fell whack on his head, bringing with it a lot of soot that half blinded him. As soon as he could get the soot out of his eyes he saw on the hearth a slender leather bag, and when he picked it up he found it was full of money. " This must be my wages/' said he, and he walked out of the door, carrying the bag, and started off along the road toward home. By and by he came to a meeting-house, and the meeting-house said, " Wait, wait, my lad, and sweep me ! I have not been swept for seven long years !" It was a large meeting-house, and he knew the sweeping would be a hard task. However, he stopped and swept the building very thoroughly. Then he went on, and by and by he came to a weedy field, and the field said, " Wait, wait, my lad, and weed me ! I have not been weeded for seven long years." i It was a large field, and he knew the work would be far from easy. However, he stopped and weeded the whole field. Then he went on, and by and by he came to a cow, and the cow said, "Wait, wait, my lad, and 54 THE TWO BROTHERS AND THE OLD WITCH milk me ! I have not been milked for seven long years." The boy was in a hurry, but he stopped and milked the cow. Then he went on, and by and by he came to a well, and the well said, " Wait, wait, my lad, and clean me ! I have not been cleaned for seven long years." The boy was in a hurry, but he stopped and cleaned the well. Then he went on, and by and by he came to an apple-tree so loaded with fruit that its branches were breaking down, and the tree said, " Wait, wait, my lad, and shake me ! The apples you see on me have been growing for seven long years, and no one has come to shake them off or pick them." The boy was sorry for the tree, and he shook off enough of the apples, so that the branches were no longer in danger of breaking. " Thank you," said the tree ; " now I can move my branches and shake off the rest myself when I choose." The boy then sat down under the tree to count his money. Some time after he left the house where he had been working the old witch woman came in and THE TWO BROTHERS AND THE OLD WITCH 55 saw the soot scattered about the fireplace. She looked up the chimney and discovered that her bag of money was gone. " That boy has taken it," she cried, " and I must catch him." So she started in pursuit, and by and by she came to a meeting-house and said, " Meeting-house, meeting-house, Have you seen a boy With a willy-willy wag And a long leather bag, Who's stolen all the money That ever I had ? " But the meeting-house would not reply, and it loosened some of its shingles, and let them slide down onto the old woman, and she was glad to get away. Then she went along until she came to what had been the weedy field, and she said, " Field of mine, field of mine, Have you seen a boy With a willy-willy wag And a long leather bag, Who's stolen all the money That ever I had?" But the field would not reply, and it raised a great cloud of dust and let it blow around the old witch, so that she was glad to get away. 56 THE TWO BROTHERS AND THE OLD WITCH Then she went along until she came to a cow, and she said, " Cow of mine, cow of mine, Have you seen a boy With a willy-willy wag And a long leather bag, Who 's stolen all the money That ever I had?" But the cow would not reply, and it shook its horns at the old woman and frightened her, so that she was glad to get away. Then she went along until she came to a well, and she said, "Well of mine, well of mine, Have you seen a boy With a willy-willy wag And a long leather bag, Who ' s stolen all the money That ever I had?" But the well would not reply, and it caused its water to rise and overflow, so that the old witch would have been drowned if she had not hastened to get away. Then she went along until she approached the apple-tree, under which the boy was sitting count- ing his money. But he saw her coming, and he "Apple-tree, apple-tree, hide me, So the old witch can't find me ! " THE TWO BROTHERS AND THE OLD WITCH 57 " Climb up among my branches and I will hide you, said the tree. The boy climbed up, and the tree hid him with its leaves. Pretty soon the old woman came and said, 58 THE TWO BROTHERS AND THE OLD WITCH " Tree of mine, tree of mine, Have you seen a boy With a willy-willy wag And a long leather bag, Who 's stolen all the money That ever I had ? " But the tree would not reply, and it shook its apples down on the old witch till she was glad to get away. She never found the boy, and he went home with the leather bag full of money, and after that he always prospered. THE OLD WOMAN AND HER PIG ONCE an old woman was sweeping her house and she found a piece of money, and she took the money to market and bought a pig. Then she told the pig to run home, and the pig said, " I won't ! " So the old woman looked around and she saw a dog, and she said, " Dog, dog, bite pig and make piggy run home. I see by the moonlight 'tis half-past midnight time pig and I were at home an hour ago." But the dog said, " No, pig does n't do me any harm ; " and he would n't. So the old woman looked around and she saw a stick, and she said, " Stick, stick, bang dog, dog won't bite pig, and piggy won't run home. I see by the moonlight 'tis half-past midnight time pig and I were at home an hour ago." But the stick said, " No, dog does n't do me any harm ; " and it would n't. 60 THE OLD WOMAN AND HER PIG So the old woman looked around and she saw a fire, and she said, " Fire, fire, burn stick, stick won't bang dog, dog won't bite pig, and piggy won't run home. I see by the moonlight 'tis half-past midnight time pig and I were at home an hour ago." But the fire said, " No, stick does n't do me any harm ; " and it would n't. So the old woman looked around and she saw a puddle of water, and she said, " Water, water, quench fire, fire won't burn stick, stick won't bang dog, dog won't bite pig, and piggy won't run home. I see by the moonlight 't is half-past mid- night time pig and I were at home an hour ago." But the water said, "No, fire doesn't do me any harm ; " and it would n't. So the old woman looked around and she saw an ox, and she said, " Ox, ox, drink water, water won't quench fire, fire won't burn stick, stick won't bang dog, dog won't bite pig, and piggy won't run home. I see by the moonlight 'tis half- past midnight time pig and I were at home an hour ago." But the ox said, " No, water does n't do me any harm ; " and it would n't. LADY FEATHERFLIGHT ONCE there was a poor woman who had a son named Jack, and they lived on the edge of a wood. Times were hard, and they did not always have enough to eat, and at last the woman said to her son, " Jack, you must now go out into the wide world ; for if you stay here we shall both starve. We have only half a loaf of bread left, but you shall take that with you, and I wish it were larger. The world lies on the other side of the forest. Find your way to it and gain your living honestly." So she bade Jack good-by, and he started. On he went, farther and farther into the forest, and he walked all day and saw no farm or dwelling or path. Then he knew that he was lost, but he kept on as long as daylight lasted, and when it became dark he lay down and slept. During the day he had eaten nearly all of his bread, and the next morning he ate what was left and wan- dered on again through the trackless woods until 64 LADY FEATHERFLIGHT evening. Night came, and he was looking for a spot where he could lie down and sleep when he saw lights before him. So he went toward the lights and presently came to a large palace. He knocked at the entrance and a beautiful young woman opened the door. " My good lady," said Jack, " I have been lost for two days in this great forest, and I beg that you will give me something to eat." "No, no/' said she, "go away as quickly as you can. The owner of this palace is a giant. He will soon come home and he will surely eat you." " Can't you hide me ? " asked Jack. " Unless I have food and shelter I shall die." " I cpuld not hide you so but that he would find you," said she. " Oh, do go away at once ! " " Perhaps he would not eat me," argued Jack. "He has not eaten you." " That is because he wants me to take care of his house and cook his food," said she; "but I do not know how soon he will change his mind. Please, sir, hurry away, or it will be too late." However, Jack insisted that rather than starve in the forest he would risk death at the hands of the giant. So finally she yielded and allowed LADY FEATHERFLIGHT 65 him to enter, and when she had given him some- thing to eat hid him in a cupboard beside the fireplace. After a while the giant came banging at the door, shouting, C Featherflight, let me in, let me in! " She unlocked the door, and as he came tramp- ing into the room he said, " Where 's that man ? I began to smell him ten miles away as I was com- ing through the woods." " Don't you think you were mistaken ? " asked Featherflight. But the giant did not reply. He sniffed the air for a moment and then went to the cupboard beside the fireplace and pulled Jack out. " Did you mean him ? " said Featherflight. " Why, that is nothing but a poor, thin, little fellow who would scarcely make you half a mouth- ful, and his bones would stick in your throat. Would n't it be better to keep him and make him work for you ? But your supper is ready now, and you can think about what to do with him afterward." So she set before the giant a vast quantity of meat and drink, and he ate so much and gobbled it down so fast that the sight made Jack's hair stand on end as he stood watching him. When the giant had finished, he looked at Jack scorn- 66 LADY FEATHERFLIGHT fully and remarked, " Ah, it is as Featherflight said you are only half a mouthful ; but there is room for flesh on your bones, and we shall have to fatten you. Meanwhile, you must earn your victuals. See here, my young snip, can you do a day's work in a day ? " LADY FEATHERFLIGHT 67 " Yes," answered Jack bravely, " I can do a day's work in a day as well as another." So the giant said, " Well, go to bed now. I will tell you what your work shall be in the morning." Jack went to bed, and early the next day the giant took him out to the farmyard and showed him a large barn from the roof of which a recent storm had blown off the thatch. " Behind this barn," said the giant, " you will find a great heap of* feathers. Thatch me this barn with those feathers, and if the job is not done by the time I come back to-night, I shall eat you at once, without waiting for you to get any fatter." Then he left, laughing as he went ; for he thought he had given Jack a job he could not possibly do. Jack found a ladder and a basket and began work. He filled the basket and climbed the ladder, and tried hard to lay and fasten the feathers in place on the roof, but the wind would catch them and scatter them far and wide. He kept at his task for hours, and the heap of feathers was half gone. Yet he had only succeeded in thatching a narrow strip along one edge of the roof. Finally, he sat down at the foot of the ladder, completely 68 LADY FEATHERFLIGHT discouraged. Pretty soon Lady Featherflight came with some food for him, and he told her his troubles. " Well/* said she, " while you are eating I will see what I can do to help you/' Then she began walking around the barn, sing- ing as she went, "Birds of land and birds of sea, Come and thatch this roof for me." She was walking around the second time when the sky grew dark with what seemed like a heavy cloud that hid the sun. The cloud came nearer and nearer to the earth, and at length proved to be made of hundreds and thousands of birds. They came directly to the barn, and each alighted on the roof with a feather in its beak, and after tucking the feather neatly in flew away. Thus by the time Jack's meal was finished the roof was finished, too. Then Featherflight said, " Now let us talk and enjoy ourselves until the giant comes home." So they walked about the garden and grounds, and Jack thought those hours were the pleasantest he had ever known in his life. Toward evening they went into the house and Jack helped Feather- flight prepare the giant's supper, which consisted LADY FEATHERFLIGHT 69 of fourteen loaves of bread, two sheep roasted whole, and a pudding you could not have put in a bushel basket. By and by the giant came back and pounded at the door with his fists, shouting, " Let me in, let me in!" As soon as he entered he called to Jack and asked how he had got on with his thatching. " You '11 have no fault to find," said Jack. " I told you I could do a day's work in a day as well as another, and I can." The giant made no response, but sat down and ate his supper. The next morning he had Jack go out with him while he looked at the barn roof. " I know very well that was not your doing," he remarked. Then he went on a little beyond the barn and showed Jack a vast heap of grain seeds of many different kinds. " Here is your day's work," said he. "Separate the seeds each into its own pile, and if the job is n't done by the time I come back to-night I shall eat you at once, without fail." So saying he left, laughing to himself as he went. Jack sat down before the heap, took a handful of seeds, put wheat in one pile, rye in another, 70 LADY FEATHERFLIGHT barley in another, and oats in another. But though he worked very industriously, the great heap was scarcely diminished at all when noon came. Jack was tired out, and he sat down with his back against the foundation wall of the barn, feeling very sorrow- ful. Pretty soon Featherflight came with some food for him, and he told her how badly he was getting along with his day's task. " Well," said she, " while you are eating I will see what I can do to help you." Then she began walking around the heap of seeds, singing as she went, " Little insects, far and near, Come and sort the seeds heaped here." She was walking around the heap the second time when the ground all about appeared as if it were moving. From behind each lump of earth, each daisy stem and blade of grass, there came some little insect, gray, black, brown, or green, and began to work at the seeds ; and there was such a multitude of insects that by the time Jack's meal was finished the sorting was done. For the rest of the day Jack and Lady Feather- flight walked and talked in the garden to their hearts' content. With the approach of evening they went into the palace, and Jack helped get LADY FEATHERFLIGHT 71 supper, and then the giant came thumping at the door, and shouting, "Let me in, let me in!" As soon as Featherflight opened the door the giant called to Jack to know how he had succeeded with his seed-sorting. " You '11 have no fault to find," said Jack ; " for I spoke only the truth when I told you I could do a day's work in a day as well as another." Then the giant sat down and ate with a great appetite four fat pigs, three hens and a gander, finishing off with a monster pudding. After he had disposed of these things he was so sleepy he could not hold his head up, and he said to Jack, " Go to bed, youngster ; I '11 see your work to-morrow." In the morning he called Jack early out to the farmyard, and looked at the seeds. " You never did that sorting alone," said he. Then he walked on a little farther and showed Jack a heap of sand and said, " From this sand you must make me a hundred ropes with which I may tether my herd of cows, and if the job is not done by the time I am back to-night I shall eat you immediately." So saying he turned on his heel and went away laughing. 72 LADY FEATHERFLIGHT Jack took some sand into his hands to see if he could by any means twist it into the form of a rope. But his efforts were wasted, and he threw the sand away and went into the palace to tell Featherflight how things were. " I know you would help me if you could," said he ; " but this task is beyond you, and I feel myself between the giant's teeth already." " Don't be so disheartened," she responded. " Sit down and we will plan what to do." They talked and planned all the day until at last they had to stop to get the giant's supper ready. At length the giant came slamming at the door, and he was no sooner in than he wanted to know how Jack had got along with his rope- making. " It is as I told you," replied Jack ; " I can do a day's work in a day as well as another, and you are welcome to see what I have done in the morning." Then the giant sat down and ate heartily and went off to bed. But Jack and Lady Feather- flight waited in the kitchen until they heard the giant snoring, and then Featherflight took the keys of the treasure-room and they went together and got several bags of gold. After that they LADY FEATHERFLIGHT 73 hurried out and selected the best horse in the best stable, and Jack mounted with Featherflight behind him and off they went. At three o'clock the next morning the giant woke and called out, " Jack, get up ; " for Jack's room was near by, and the giant's command would certainly have been heard had Jack been in his room as the giant supposed. But there was no response, and the giant turned over and went to sleep. At four o'clock the giant woke again and called out, " Jack, get up!" But he received no reply, and he turned over and went to sleep. At five o'clock he awoke the third time and shouted, "JACK, GET UP!" " What ails the fellow ? " he growled when he received no answer. " I '11 rouse him out in a way he won't like," and the giant went stamping along the passage. Of course Jack's room was empty, and after the giant had looked in and noticed that the bed had not been slept in he went downstairs to the kitchen. Everything was cold and silent there -no fire, no Jack, no Featherflight. "Ah, ha!" he exclaimed, "they've like enough run away." Then he hastened out to the farmyard and found the door of his best stable open and his 74 LADY FEATHERFLIGHT best horse gone. But the giant was so big and strong that he could outrun any horse in the world, and he went after Jack and Featherflight as swift as the wind. They had been galloping all the night, but now the day was come and presently Jack heard a sound behind them, and turning to look he saw the giant striding along to catch them. "Oh, Featherflight," he cried, "all is lost!" But Featherflight said, " Keep steady, Jack, let the horse go right on." Then she took from her pocket a little stick and threw it back over her left shoulder. Im- mediately there grew up behind them a hard- wood forest so dense and tangled the giant could not get through it. " We are saved," said Jack. " That 's not so certain," responded Feather- flight ; " but at any rate we have gained some time." The giant was obliged to go home to get an ax. However, he quickly returned and hacked and hewed his way through the woods and was on the trail again. Presently Jack heard him coming. "Oh, Featherflight," he said, "there is the giant! He will soon overtake us. We cannot escape him this time." The magic forest stops the giant in bis pursuit of Jack and Lady Featberjligbt LADY FEATHERFLIGHT 77 " Keep steady, Jack," she said, " and let the horse go straight on." Then she took from her pocket a little vial of water and threw it back over her right shoulder, and the vial broke when it fell to the ground, and the water became a deep lake between them and the giant. Jack was so elated then that he stopped the horse and waved his hat toward the giant who was standing on the farther shore. The giant shook his fist at them and looked this way and that, in doubt what to do next. "How can I get over?" the monster bellowed. " Drink your way through," shouted Jack. So the giant stooped down and drank and drank and drank until he burst, and that was the end of him. As for Jack and Featherflight, they went on now more leisurely, for they no longer feared pur- suit. By and by they came near to a town and stopped under a tree. " Featherflight," said Jack, " you climb this tree and hide, and I will go to the town to get a parson to come and marry us. Another thing I must do is to buy a suit of fine clothes before I am seen with so beautiful a lady as yourself." So Featherflight climbed the tree and hid in the 7 8 LADY FEATHERFLIGHT thick leafage. She found a comfortable place to sit among the branches, and then she observed that directly below her was a clear spring into which she could look and see the reflection of her face as in a mirror. This spring was used by all the housewives of the town, and every morn and noon and evening they resorted thither to gossip and fill their pails and pitchers. No water was so sweet anywhere else. Featherflight had not been long in the tree when the carpenter's wife came and bent over the spring. There she saw Featherflight's lovely face reflected ; but she thought it was her own and she looked with astonishment, exclaiming, " What ! I a carpenter's wife and so handsome ; and here I am a common drudge come to this spring for water. Well, I '11 do no more such work ! I '11 go away from this poor little town and seek my fortune." So she threw down her pitcher, and off she went along the road that led away from the town. The next woman who came for water was the butcher's wife, and as she bent over the clear spring she saw Featherflight's lovely face ; but she thought it was her own. She gazed with astonishment, exclaiming, " What ! I a butcher's wife LADY FEATHERFLIGHT 79 and so handsome ; yet here I am a common drudge. Well, I '11 do no more housework ! I '11 leave this poor little town at once and seek my fortune." So she threw down the pail she had in her hand, and off she went along the road that led away from the town. In the same manner all the other wives of the town came and looked in the spring and were sur- prised at what they thought was their own beauty and went away to seek their fortunes. But presently the men of the town began to want their dinners, and one by one they went out on the streets each to ask the others if they had by any chance seen his wife. No, not a wife had been seen since they had gone for water. Then the men began to fear foul play, and all together they walked out of the town to the spring. When they reached it they found many broken pitchers and overturned pails strewn around, and were certain then their wives had met with some mysterious disaster. One of the men hap- pened to glance into the spring and saw a face reflected. He knew it was not his own, and he began to look about. In a moment or two he saw Lady Featherflight among the branches of the tree, and he called to his comrades, " Here is some 8o LADY FEATHERFLIGHT one in the tree. I '11 wager she knows what has become of our wives, and has had something to do with spiriting them away." " Yes ! " cried another. "Here is the enchan- tress. She has bewitched our wives. Let us kill her ! " They began to drag her out of the tree in spite of all she could say or do ; but just then Jack came galloping back on his horse with the parson mounted behind ; and in his fine new clothes you would hardly have known him to be the poor ragged fellow who passed over the road in the other direction only a short time previous. As he drew near he saw the crowd and shouted, "What 's the matter ? What are you doing with that lady ? " The men replied, "We are going to hang her. She has bewitched our wives, and murdered them, too, for all we know." r Then the parson got down off the horse from behind Jack and told the men to stop and let Lady Featherflight tell her own story. So they asked her what sh% had to say for herself, and when she told them how their wiyes had mistaken her face in the spring for theirs and what the wives had said they were silent for a few moments, LADY FEATHERFLIGHT 8 1 and then one and all exclaimed, " Well, if that is what our wives think of themselves we will seek for them no farther. They can come home when they get ready ; " and the men turned and walked back to the town. The parson married Jack and Lady Feather- flight on the spot, and then they also went to the town, and there they saw a splendid mansion they thought they would like and Jack bought it. In that they lived happily for many months, but at last Jack began to wish for more of the giant's treasure and proposed that they should go back after it. " But how could we cross the lake you made ? " said he. " We might build a bridge/* replied Lady Featherflight. The bridge was built and they went over it with many wagons and horses, and loaded the wagons at the giant's palace with great riches. But as the wagons on their return were crossing the bridge the last one broke the bridge down, and all the gold and silver and jewels on that wagon were lost in the lake. " Alas ! " Jack lamented, " now the bridge is gone and we can get nothing more from the giant's treasure-room." 82 LADY FEATHERFLIGHT But Lady Featherflight said, " Why not mend the bridge ? " " To be sure ! " said Jack, don't go ; for I was going, and I met Ducky-daddies, and Ducky-daddies had met Cock-lock, and Cock- lock had met Hen-len, and Hen-len had met Chicken-licken, and Chicken-licken had been to the woods and the sky had fallen on her head, and we are going to tell the king." " I will go with you," said Turkey-lurkey. So Turkey-lurkey turned back and they went along until pretty soon they met Fox-lox ; and Fox-lox said, " Where are you going, my pretty dears ? " And they replied, " Chicken-licken went to the woods and the sky fell on her head, and we are going to tell the king." THE STORY OF CHICKEN-LICKEN 195 " All right," said Fox-lox, " come along with me, and I will show you the way." So they went along with Fox-lox, and he took them to his hole, and he and his young ones soon ate up poor Chicken-licken, Hen-len, Cock-lock, Ducky-daddies, Goosie-poosie, and Turkey-lurkey, and they never saw the king to tell him that the sky had fallen. KING O'TOOLE AND HIS GOOSE IN Ireland there was once a king called King O'Toole, and he was very fond of hunting. Up he got every morning at the rising of the sun, and away he went over the mountains after the deer. As long as he had his health this kind of life just suited King O'Toole ; but in the course of time he grew old and was stiff in his limbs, and could go hunting no more. Then the king was very sad, and at last he got a goose which he hoped might divert him somewhat. The goose did its best, and it used to fly about over the lake near the king's castle and swim in the water and dive and catch fish. The king liked to watch the goose, and for a considerable time it entertained him very well; but at last the goose got stricken in years like its master, and could not divert him any longer. Then King O'Toole felt so downhearted that life seemed to him scarcely worth living. One morning he was walking by KING O'TOOLE AND HIS GOOSE 197 the lake lamenting his unhappy fate, and thinking he might as well drown himself when he met a young man. " God save you," said the king. " God save you kindly, King O'Toole," said the young man, who was none other that Saint Kavin in disguise. " I have never seen you before," said the king. " Who are you ? " " I 'm an honest man," replied Saint Kavin. " Well, honest man," said the king, " you wear good clothing and look prosperous and as if you had money laid by. How do you get your living, may I ask ? " " By making old things as good as new," was Saint Kavin's reply. " Is it a tinker you are ? " inquired the king. " No," responded the saint. " I'm not a tinker. I Ve a better trade than that ; and what would you say, King O'Toole, if I made your old goose young again ? " At the thought of having his old goose young once more the king's eyes were ready to jump out of his head. Then he whistled, and the old goose came waddling to him from behind a clump of bushes near by. KING O'TOOLE AND HIS GOOSE The minute the saint set eyes on the goose he took pity on its feebleness and said, " I '11 do the job for you, King O'Toole." " Bedad ! " exclaimed the king, " if you do I '11 say you are the cleverest fellow in siven parishes." "But you'll have to say more than that," .was ^'^a^SBpT^V/ Saint Kavin's re- sponse. " I 'm not going to re- pair your old goose for noth- ing, and I want to know how much you 're going to give me." " I '11 give you whatever you ask," said the king. ^^ " Is n't that fair ? " " Yes, yes," said Saint Kavin, " that 's the way to do business. Now this is the bargain I'll make KING O'TOOLE AND HIS GOOSE 199 with you, King O'Toole you give me all the ground the goose goes over in its first flight after I make it young and strong." " Done ! " said the king. " Well, then," continued Saint Kavin, " I '11 go to work at once," and he called the old goose to him and took it up by its two wings. " Criss o' my cross on you," said he and threw the bird up into the air and how the goose did fly ! It went swift and high and cut as many capers as a swallow before a shower of rain. The king stood with his mouth open watching with delight the bird's every motion, and when it came and lit at his feet he patted it on the head and said, " My dear, you are the darlint of the world." But the goose in its flight had covered a great deal of country. It had been over the castle and all the king's land for a mile around. " And now what have you to say to me for makin' your goose like that ? " asked Saint Kavin. " I 'm very much beholden to you," replied the king. " And will you give me all the ground the goose flew over ? " Saint Kavin inquired. " I will," said King O'Toole, and you 'd be welcome to it even if it took' the last acre I had." 200 KING O'TOOLE AND HIS GOOSE " And you '11 keep your word true ? " questioned the saint. " Of course I will," affirmed the king. " It 's well for you, King O'Toole, that you speak as you do," declared Saint Kavin ; " for if you did not keep your promise I 'd never let your goose fly again." " Waste no more words ! " exclaimed King O'Toole, "the land is yours." " But I don't want your land," said Saint Kavin. " I only came here to try you, and you 're a very dacint man, King O'Toole ; and now I '11 tell you that I 'm disguised, and that is the reason you do not know me." " Musha ! then," said the king, " and who might you be ? " " I 'm Saint Kavin," was the reply. "Oh, queen of heaven!" the king exclaimed, falling on his knees hef^e the saint, " is it the great Saint Kavin I 've been discoursing with all this time ? " " It is," said the saint. " Be jabers ! I thought I was only talking to a lump of a gossoon ! " said the king. " Well, you know the difference now," remarked the good saint. KING O'TOOLE AND HIS GOOSE 2OI And so King O'Toole had his goose made young again to divert him as long as he lived. But by and by the king died, and soon afterward the goose got into trouble with a big eel in the lake. The goose was fishing and got hold of the eel by mistake, and, instead of the goose killing the eel, the eel killed the goose. However, the eel did not eat the goose, for it did not dare eat what Saint Kavin had laid his blessed hands on. THE THREE LITTLE PIGS ONCE upon a time there was an old mother pig and three little pigs and they lived in the middle of an oak forest. While the children were still quite small the acorn crop failed. That made it difficult for Mrs. Piggy-wiggy to find enough for her children to eat, and the little pigs had to go hungry. So at last the mother pig sent the little pigs off to seek their fortunes. The first little pig to go walked on and on until he met a man carrying a bundle of straw, and the little pig said, " Please, man, give me that straw to build me a house." So the man gave the little pig the straw, and the little pig built a house of it. In this house of straw the little pig lived very comfortably ; but one day a wolf came along and rapped at the door. " Little pig, little pig, let me come in," said the wolf. " No, no, by the hair of my chinny, chin, chin," said the little pig. THE THREE LITTLE PIGS 2OJ " Then I '11 huff and I '11 puff and I '11 blow your house down," said the wolf. So he huffed and he puffed and he blew the house down and carried the little pig off to his den. The second little pig that left the mother pig walked on and on until he met a man carrying a bundle of brush, and the little pig said, " Please, man, give me that brush to build me a house." So the man gave the little pig the brush, and the little pig built a house of it. In this house of brush the little pig lived very comfortably ; but one day the wolf came along and rapped at the door. " Little pig, little pig, let me come in," said the wolf. " No, no, by the hair of my chinny, chin, chin," said the little pig. " Then I '11 huff and I '11 puff and I '11 blow your house down," said the wolf. So he huffed and he puffed, and he puffed and he huffed, and at last he blew the house down and carried off the little pig. The third little pig, after he left the mother pig, walked on and on until he met a man with a load of bricks, and the little pig said, " Please, man, give me those bricks to build me a house." So the man gave the little pig the bricks and the little pig built a house of them. In this house of 204 THE THREE LITTLE PIGS bricks the little pig lived very comfortably; but one day the wolf came along and rapped at the door. " Little pig, little pig, let me come in," said the wolf. " No, no, by the hair of my chinny, chin, chin," said the little pig. " Then I '11 huff and I '11 puff and I '11 blow your house down," said the wolf. So he huffed and he puffed, and he huffed and he puffed, and he puffed and he huffed ; but the house was built of bricks and he could not blow it down. At last he had no breath left to huff and puff with, so he sat down outside the little pig's house and thought for a while. Presently he said, " Little pig, I know where there is a nice field of turnips." " Where ? " asked the little pig. " Not half a mile from here, at Farmer Smith's," replied the wolf. " If you will be ready to-morrow morning I will call for you and we will go together and get some turnips for dinner." "At what time do you mean to go?" said the little pig. " Oh, at six o'clock," the wolf answered. "Very well," said the little pig, "I will be ready." THE THREE LITTLE PIGS 205 But the little pig got up at five o'clock and he went off to Farmer Smith's and filled a basket with turnips and returned home before the wolf came. He had locked the door and was busy about his housework when he heard the wolf rapping outside. " Little pig, are you ready ? " the wolf said. " Ready ! " exclaimed the little pig, " I have been to the turnip field and got back, and I 'm paring the turnips for dinner now." The wolf was very angry at this, but he was bound to catch the little pig in some way or other. So he thought a moment and then he said, " Little pig, I know where there is a nice apple-tree loaded with apples." " Where ? " asked the little pig. " Down in the valley at Farmer Brown's," replied the wolf. " If you will be ready to-morrow morning I will call for you at five o'clock and we will go together and get some apples for dinner." "Very well," said the little pig, "I will be ready." But the next morning the little pig was up 2^ four o'clock and he hurried down to Farmer Brown's in the valley. He hoped to return home before the wolf arrived ; but he had farther to go than the 206 THE THREE LITTLE PIGS day before, and he had to climb the tree to fill the bag he had brought with the apples. So the wolf got to the little pig's house while the little pig was gone for the apples, and found the house empty. Then the wolf ran to Farmer Brown's as fast as he could go, and when he came to the apple-tree the little pig was just preparing to climb down from among the branches. " Little pig/' said the wolf, " you treat me very badly. You should have waited for me." The little pig was much frightened, but he said, " These are splendid apples. I will throw you down one ; " and he threw the apple so far that while the wolf was gone to pick it up the little pig jumped to the ground and ran home. Early the next day the wolf came to the little pig's house again and said, " Little pig, there is a fair at the town in the valley this afternoon. Will you go ? " " Oh, yes," replied the little pig. " I will go. At what time do you want to start ? " " At three," said the wolf. But the little pig went off before the time, as usual, and got to the fair and bought a churn. He was carrying the churn home when he saw the wolf coming. Then he could not tell what to do. So THE THREE LITTLE PIGS 207 he crawled into the churn to hide. But he happened to be near the top of a hill, and no sooner was he in the churn than it began to roll and bump down the hill with the little pig squealing and kicking inside ; for he was badly scared and thought he would be bumped to death, or, if not that, he was sure the wolf would get him. The wolf, however, imagined the churn was some 208 THE THREE LITTLE PIGS strange beast that meant him harm. He had never seen or heard the like in all his life, and he was so terrified he turned about and ran home without going to the fair. He did not venture out again till toward evening. Then he went to the little pig's house and said, " Little pig, did you go to the fair ? " " Oh, yes," said the little pig, " I went to the fair, and why did n't you go ? " " I started to go," replied the wolf, " but when I was nearly there a great howling round thing chased me. It had its mouth wide open and could easily have swallowed me whole. I had to run with all my might or it would have caught me." " Ha, ha ! " laughed the little pig, " it was I who frightened you. I had been to the fair and bought a churn, and when I saw you I crawled into it and rolled down the hill." Then the wolf was so angry that he declared he would eat up the little pig without any more delay. " You can't keep me out, even if you have locked the door," shouted the wolf. " I will come down the chimney ! " The little pig had a big pot of water boiling on the fire, and when he heard the wolf scrambling up the roof he took the cover off the pot. A minute THE THREE LITTLE PIGS 209 later the wolf came down the chimney and fell right into the pot, and the little pig put the cover on and that was the last of the wicked wolf. After that the little pig lived very happily in his house of bricks and there he is to this day. THE FAIRY COW THERE was once an old woman whose home was a poor little cottage in a country village. She got a living by doing odd jobs for the farmers' wives round about. It was not much she could earn, yet, with a silver piece here and a few pennies there, and sometimes the gift of a bit of meat, or a little tea, she contrived to get along without serious discomfort, and she was as cheerful as if she had not a want in the world. One summer evening as she was going home she came on a stout, black pot lying at the side of the road. " Now who could have left that pot here ? " said she, looking about to see if any one was in sight to whom it might belong. " It would be just the very thing for me," she continued, " if I had some- thing to put in it. But stop ! maybe it has been thrown away and has a hole in the bottom. Ah, yes ! that is the trouble, I '11 be bound. Still, the hole would not prevent the pot doing fine to put some flowers in for the window, and I 'm thinking I '11 take it home any way." THE FAIRY COW 21 1 So she bent her stiff old back and lifted the lid to look inside. But what she saw so surprised her that she jumped back to the middle of the road, exclaiming, " Mercy me ! the pot is full to the brim of gold pieces. Who would have thought it ! " For a while she could do nothing but walk round and round her treasure, admiring the yellow gold and wondering at her good fortune and saying over and over, cc Well, I do be feeling rich and grand." Presently, however, she picked up the pot and started again toward home. " No one will see what I 'm taking along with me," said she ; " for the sun is gone and it is growing dark, and I '11 have all the night to myself to think what I '11 do with this mass of golden money. I could buy a fine house with it and live like the queen herself and not do a stroke of work, but just sit comfortable by the fire all day with a cup of tea ; or maybe I '11 go to the minister and ask him to keep the money for me, and then I 'd get a little of it from him every week as I was wanting ; or perhaps I '11 bury it in a hole in the garden and only save out one or two pieces to put on the mantel between my china teapot and the candles for ornament, you know. Ah ! I feel so grand I don't know myself rightly ! " By this time she had become rather tired with 212 THE FAIRY COW carrying such a heavy weight and she stopped to rest. She set the pot down and then thought she would have another look at her wealth. But when she took the cover off she saw that instead of gold the pot was full of shining silver. She stared and rubbed her eyes and stared again. " I would have sworn it was gold," she said ; " but I reckon I must have been dreaming. Well, whatever it was I 'm better off with silver than gold. It'll be far less trouble to look after, and not so likely to be stolen. Those gold pieces would have made a sight of bother to keep 'em safe. Yes, yes, I 'm well quit of them, and with the pot full of silver I 'm as rich as any one need be." Then she set off homeward again cheerfully planning all the things she was going to do with her money. But by and by she grew tired once more and paused to rest for a minute or two ; and of course she had to have another look into the pot. As soon as she took off the cover she cried out in amazement, for there was nothing inside but a lump of iron. " Well, well ! " she cried, " that does beat all ! and yet how nice it is to have such a fine heavy piece of iron. I can sell it easy, and the pennies it brings will come very handy. Ah, yes, it is far better to have this iron than a lot of gold or THE FAIRY COW 2 13 silver that would have kept me from sleeping nights thinking bad men would be prowling around to rob me. Oh, I am doing very well indeed ! " On she went, now, pot in hand, chuckling to herself over her good fortune until her arm was tired of the burden, and for the third time she set the pot down that she might rest and have another glance at its contents. She took off the cover and peeped in and was astonished to find nought except a stone. "Deary me!" she said, "a stone is it this time ! Yes, yes, and glad I am to have it. I 've been wanting a stone like that to hold my door open with. It will be the very thing! Ah, did any one ever hear of such fine luck as mine!" She was in haste to see how the stone would look in the corner by her door, and she hurried on until she came to her cottage gate. In order to unfasten the gate she put the pot down, and when she stooped to pick it up she heard something inside and took the cover off. Instantly out leaped an animal that grew in a moment into a big cow, and the pot dis- appeared. The cow shook its legs and flourished its tail and bellowed and laughed and ran off kicking its feet into the air. The old woman gazed after it in speechless be- wilderment till it was fairly out of sight. " Well/' 2I 4 THE FAIRY COW she said at last, " I surely am the luckiest body hereabouts. Fancy my seeing a fairy cow all to myself, and making so free with it too ! I never in all my life felt so grand ! " Then she went into her cottage and sat down by the fire to think over her good luck. THE MASTER OF ALL MASTERS A GIRL once hired herself for a servant to a queer old gentleman who, as soon as she came to his house ready for work, said, " Before you begin I want to give you some in- structions." " Very well, sir," said she. " In my house I have my own names for things," he continued, "and I beg you to carefully heed and remember what I say." " Oh, certainly, sir, I will do that," she replied. " Now, firstly," said he, " what will you call me ? " " Oh, I will call you master, or mister, or what- ever you please, sir," said she. "No, no," said he, "you must call me c master of all masters ' ; and what would you call this ? " he asked pointing to his bed. " Oh, I would call it a bed, or a couch, or what- ever you please, sir," she replied. " No," said he, " that 's my ( barnacle ' ; and what 2l6 THE MASTER OF ALL MASTERS do you call these ? " he inquired, pointing to his pantaloons. " Oh, I call them breeches, or trousers, or what- ever you please, sir," said she. " You must call them c squibs and crackers,' " said he; "and what would you call her?" he asked, pointing to the cat. " Oh, I would call her cat, or pussy, or whatever you please, sir," said she. " You must call her white-faced simminy,' " said he ; " and what do you call this ? " he asked, waving his hand toward the fire. " Oh, I call it fire, or flame, or whatever you please, sir," said she. " You must call it hot cockalorum/ " said he ; " and what do you call this ? " he asked, pointing to some water. " Oh, I call it water, or wet, or whatever you please, sir," she replied. "No," said he, " * pondybus ' is its name here; and what do you call the building in which I reside ?" " Oh, I call it house, or cottage, or whatever you please, sir," said she. " You must call it * high-topper mountain/ " he ordered. That very night the servant awoke her master THE MASTER OF ALL MASTERS 217 from a sound sleep by pounding with her fists on his door and shouting in great fright, " Master of all masters, get out of your barnacle and put on your squibs and crackers ; for white- faced simminy has got a spark of hot cockalorum on her tail, and un- less you get some pondybus, the high- topper mountain will be all on hot cockalorum!" In saying this she had used just the words her master had ordered, but by so doing she had been so long explaining what was the matter that the house was on fire by the time she finished. The flames spread rapidly, and though the servant and her master escaped, the building burned to the ground. 21 8 THE MASTER OF ALL MASTERS The queer old gentleman built another house presently and hired another servant; but he let her call things by their ordinary names, and did not attempt to teach her invented ones of his own. MR. MICRAWBLE TOMMY TODKINS was sometimes a good boy and sometimes a bad boy ; and when he was a bad boy he was a very bad boy. On stormy days his mother used to say to him, " Now, Tommy, don't go out on the street until it stops raining." " But I want to go," said Tommy. " No, you would get wet and be sick, I 'm afraid," replied his mother, " and besides Mr. Micrawble might catch you." Yet when Tommy was a bad boy he would go out on the street in spite of what his mother said, no matter if it did rain ; and one day, sure enough, Mr. Micrawble caught him and popped him in a bag upside down and carried him off. As soon as Mr. Micrawble reached home he pulled Tommy out of the bag and felt of his arms and legs. " You 're rather lean," said he. C{ However, you 're all the meat I 've got for supper and it 's high time I had you boiling in the pot but dear me ! I Ve 220 MR. MICRAWBLE forgotten to get the potatoes and turnips and oth vegetables. You 'd not taste good alone." Then he called to Mrs. Micrawble, "Sally. Here, I say, Sally ! " So Mrs. Micrawble came and asked, " What do you want, my dear?" " Oh, I Ve caught a little boy for supper," re- plied Mr. Micrawble, " but I Ve forgotten the vegetables. Look after him, will you, while I gc for them ? " "All right," said Mrs. Micrawble, and off he went. Then Tommy Todkins said to Mrs. Micrawble, " Does Mr. Micrawble always have little boys for supper ? " "Yes, mostly," answered Mrs. Micrawble; "for if the little boys are bad enough and get in his way he 's sure to catch them." "And don't you have anything else but boy-meat no pudding? " Tommy inquired. "Ah! I love pudding," said Mrs. Micrawble; " but it 's very seldom, indeed, that I get it." " Why ! my mother is making a pudding this very day," said Tommy, " and she 'd give you some of it if I asked her. Shall I run and get some?" "Now, that's a thoughtful boy," responded Mrs. MR. MICRAWBLE 223 ^icrawble. "You can go, only don't stay long, .,,1 be sure to get back for supper." So Tommy ran home as fast as he could go, but he did not think it was safe to return with the pud- ding for Mrs. Micrawble. Many a long day passed and Tommy was as good as good could be, and never went out to play on rainy days. However, 224 MR. MICRAWBLE it was very hard to be always good, and finally he ventured out one wet afternoon, and, as luck would have it, Mr. Micrawble happened along and picked Tommy Todkins up and carried him off once more in his bag. When Mr. Micrawble got home and shook Tommy out of the bag and had a look at him he said, "Ah, you 're the youngster that served me and my wife such a shabby trick a while ago, and left us without any supper. Well, you sha'n't do that again. Here, get under the sofa, and I '11 sit on it and watch till the pot boils for you." So poor Tommy Todkins had to crawl under the sofa, and Mr. Micrawble sat on it and waited for the pot to boil ; and he waited and he waited and he waited, but still the pot did not boil. Then Mrs. Micrawble went out to chop some wood for the fire, and Mr. Micrawble fell asleep. " Now, I must get away from here," said Tommy to himself when he heard Mr. Micrawble snoring, and he crept out from under the sofa and was step- ping softly along toward the door when he saw Mrs. Micrawble coming across the yard with her arms full of wood. He was too late to escape in that direction and he looked around for a place to hide. The door of the brick oven at the side of the fireplace MR. MICRAWBLE 225 was open, and by standing on a chair he got up to it and crawled in. Then he pulled the door closed, but the door creaked and awakened Mr. Micrawble. "What was that I heard?" said Mr. Micrawble, and he looked under the sofa to see if Tommy was still there. " Sally, my dear Sally ! " he called just as his wife came in with the" wood, " that boy has gone ! " " Well, I have been in the yard all the time," said Mrs. Micrawble, "and he couldn't have come from the house without my seeing him. Perhaps he went upstairs." " Yes," said Mr. Micrawble, " he must have gone upstairs. We will go up and find him." But as soon as Tommy Todkins heard their foot- steps going up the stairs he climbed out of the oven and hurried home. After that he did not go onto the street to play when it stormed, and Mr. Micrawble never caught him again. THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE THERE was once a fisherman who lived with his wife in a poor little hut close by the sea. One day, as the fisherman sat on the rocks at the water's edge fishing with his rod and line, a fish got caught on his hook that was so big and pulled so stoutly that he captured it with the greatest difficulty. He was feeling much pleased that he had secured so big a fish when he was sur- prised by hearing it say to him, " Pray let me live. 1 am not a real fish. I am a magician. Put me in the water and let me go." "You need not make so many words about the matter," said the man. " I wish to have nothing to do with a fish that can talk.'" Then he removed it from his hook and put it back into the water. " Now swim away as soon as you please," said the man, and the fish darted straight down to the bottom. The fisherman returned to his little hut and told his wife how he had caught a great fish, and how it THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE 227 had told him it was a magician, and how, when he heard it speak, he had let it go. " Did you not ask it for anything ? " said the wife. " No," replied the man ; " what should I ask for?" " What should you ask for ! " exclaimed the wife, 228 THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE "You talk as if we had everything we want, but see how wretchedly we live in this dark little hut. Do go back and tell the fish we want a comfortable house." The fisherman did not like to undertake such an errand. However, as his wife had bidden him to go, he went ; and when he came to the sea the water looked all yellow and green. He stood on the rocks where he had fished and said, " Oh, man of the sea ! Come listen to me ; For Alice my wife, The plague of my life, Hath sent me to beg a gift of thee ! ' ' Then the fish came swimming to him and said, " Well, what does she want ? " " Ah," answered the fisherman, " my wife says that when I had caught you I ought to have asked you for something before I let you go. She does not like living any longer in our little hut. She wants a comfortable house." " Go home then," said the fish ; " she is in the house she wants already." So the man went home and found his wife standing in the doorway of a comfortable house, and behind the house was a yard with ducks and THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE 229 chickens picking about in it, and beyond the yard was a garden where grew all sorts of flowers and fruits. " How happily we shall live now ! " said the fisherman. Everything went right for a week or two, and then the wife said, " Husband, there is not enough room in this house, and the yard and garden are a great deal smaller than they ought to be. I would 230 THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE like to have a large stone castle to live in. So go to the fish again and tell him to give us a castle/' " Wife," said the fisherman, " I don't like to go to him again, for perhaps he will be angry. We ought to be content with a good house like this." " Nonsense ! " said the wife, " he will give us a castle very willingly. Go along and try." The fisherman went, but his heart was heavy, and when he came to the sea the water was a dark gray color and looked very gloomy. He stood on the rocks at the water's edge and said, " Oh, man of the sea ! Come listen to me ; For Alice my wife, The plague of my life, Hath sent me to beg a gift of thee ! " Then the fish came swimming to him and said, " Well, what does she want now ? " " Ah," replied the man very sorrowfully, " my wife wants to live in a stone castle." " Go home then," said the fish ; " she is at the castle already." So away went the fisherman and found his wife standing before a great castle. " See," said she, "is not this fine ? " THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE 231 They went into the castle, and many servants were there, and the rooms were richly furnished with handsome chairs and tables ; and behind the castle was a park half a mile long, full of sheep and goats and rabbits and deer. " Now," said the man, " we will live contented and happy in this beautiful castle for the rest of our lives." "Perhaps so," responded the wife; "but let us consider and sleep on it before we make up our minds," and they went to bed. The next morning when they awoke it was broad daylight, and the wife jogged the fisherman with her elbow and said, "Get up, husband; bestir yourself, for we must be king and queen of all the land." " Wife, wife," said the man, " why should we wish to be king and queen ? I would not be king even if I could be." " Well, I will be queen, anyway," said the wife. " Say no more about it ; but go to the fish and tell him what I want." So the man went, but he felt very sad to think that his wife should want to be queen. The sea was muddy and streaked with foam as he cried out, 2J2 THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE " Oh, man of the sea ! Come listen to me ; For Alice my wife, The plague of my life, Hath sent me to beg a gift of thee ! * ' Then the fish came swimming to him and said, " Well, what would she have now ? " f Alas ! " said the man, " my wife wants to be queen." " Go home," said the fish ; " she is queen already." So the fisherman turned back and presently he came to a palace, and before it he saw a troop of soldiers, and he heard the sound of drums and trumpets. Then he entered the palace and there he found his wife sitting on a throne, with a golden crown on her head, and on each side of her stood six beautiful maidens. " Well, wife," said the fisherman, " are you queen ? " " Yes," she replied, " I am queen." When he had looked at her for a long time he said, " Ah, wife ! what a fine thing it is to be queen ! Now we shall never have anything more to wish for." " I don't know how that may be," said she; "never is a long time. I am queen, 't is true, but I begin to be tired of it. I think I would like to be pope next." THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE 233 " Oh, wife, wife ! " the man exclaimed, " how can you be pope? There is but one pope at a time in all Christendom." " Husband," said she," I will be pope this very day." "Ah, wife!" responded the fisherman, "the fish cannot make you pope and I would not like to ask for such a thing." " What nonsense! " said she. " If he can make a queen, he can make a pope. Go and try." So the fisherman went, and when he came to the shore the wind was raging and the waves were dashing on the rocks most fearfully, and the sky was dark with flying clouds. The fisherman was frightened, but nevertheless he obeyed his wife and called out, " Oh, man of the sea ! Come listen to me ; For Alice my wife, The plague of my life, Hath sent me to beg a gift of thee ! " Then the fish came swimming to him and said, "What does she want this time?" " Ah ! " said the fisherman, " my wife wants to be pope." " Go home," commanded the fish ; "she is pope already." 234 THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE So the fisherman went home and found his wife sitting on a throne that was a hundred feet high, and on either side many candles of all sizes were burning, and she had three great crowns on her head one above the other and was surrounded by all the pomp and power of the Church. "Wife," said the fisherman, as he gazed at all this magnificence, " are you pope ? " " Yes," she replied, " I am pope." " Well, wife," said he, " it is a grand thing to be pope; and now you must be content, for you can be nothing greater." " We will see about that," she said. Then they went to bed ; but the wife could not sleep because all night long she was trying to think what she should be next. At last morning came and the sun rose. " Ha ! " cried she, " I was about to sleep, had not the sun disturbed me with its bright light. Can- not I prevent the sun rising ? " and she became very angry and said to her husband, " Go to the fish and tell him I want to be lord of the sun and moon." " Alas, wife ! " said he, " can you not be content to be pope ? " " No," said she, " I am very uneasy, and cannot bear to see the sun and moon rise without my leave. Go to the fish at once ! " THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE 235 The man went, and as he approached the shore a dreadful storm arose so that the trees and rocks shook, and the sky grew black, and the lightning flashed, and the thunder rolled, and the sea was covered with vast waves like mountains. The fisherman trembled so that his knees knocked to- gether, and he had hardly strength to stand in the gale while he called to the fish : " Oh, man of the sea! Come listen to me ; For Alice my wife, The plague of my life, . Hath sent me to beg a gift of thee! " Then the fish came swimming to him and said, " What more does she want ? " " Ah ! " said the man, " she wants to be lord of the sun and moon." " Go home to your hut again," said the fish. So the man returned, and the palace was gone, and in its place he found the dark little hut that had formerly been his dwelling, and he and his wife have lived in that little hut to this very day. CINDERELLA ONCE upon a time there was a girl whose father and mother had died, and she had gone to live with a family of wealthy rela- tives. They did not like to be burdened with her and they treated her very badly, though she was the sweetest, best-tempered creature that ever was. The lady of the house was proud and disagreeable, and she had two daughters who were very much like her. They made their poor relative work in the kitchen and do all the household drudgery. It was she who washed the dishes and scrubbed down the stairs and swept the floors. She had to sleep in the garret on a wretched bed of straw, while the rooms of the two sisters were very elegant, and were furnished with nice feather-beds and had full-length looking-glasses in which the young ladies could admire themselves all day long. The poor girl bore her troubles with patience and never complained. When she had finished her day's work she used to sit in the chimney-corner on a low stool among the ashes and cinders, and so the CINDERELLA 237 sisters nicknamed her Cinderella. But Cinderella, in spite of hard work and shabby clothes, was a hundred times prettier than they were, decked out in all their finery. It happened after a time that the king's son gave a grand ball which was to continue for two nights and to which he invited all persons of fashion for miles around; and as the two young ladies made a great figure in society they, of course, received invitations. " We shall certainly go," said they, " and perhaps we may have the chance to dance with the prince." So they were wonderfully busy choosing such dresses as might be most becoming, and could talk of nothing but their fine clothes day in and day out. " I shall put on my red velvet dress with point lace trimmings," said the elder. "And I," said the younger sister, "shall wear my gold-brocaded train and my circlet of diamonds." Their preparations made no end of trouble for Cinderella, and she was kept constantly engaged in plaiting ruffles, sewing, arranging bows and ribbons, and in washing and ironing the sisters' linen. But she helped willingly all she could, and when the great day came, offered to dress the young ladies' hair. They were glad to have her do that, and 2j8 CINDERELLA while she was brushing and combing they said to her, " Cinderella, would not you like to go to the ball ? " " Yes," said she, " but so grand a ball as this is to be is not for such as I am." " You are quite right," they said, " for every one would laugh to see a ragged kitchen girl there." Cinderella finished the young ladies' hair and assisted them to dress, and they never before in their lives had been arrayed half so becomingly. Indeed, they were so delighted that at dinner-time they could scarcely eat a morsel ; and, besides, it was not easy to eat much, for they had laced very tight to make their waists as slender as possible. What they had said to Cinderella about the ball set her to thinking how nice it would be if she really could attend it, and finally she asked the sisters' mother, who chanced to come into the kitchen while she was washing the dinner dishes, to let her g- "You, Cinderella ! " exclaimed the lady. " Why! you are wearing the only dress you have and just look at it ! What could put such an idea into your head? But, see here," said she, taking up a dish of peas that was on a shelf, " I will throw this basinful of peas into the ash-heap behind the house, CINDERELLA 239 and jf you can get every pea picked out of the ashes in an hour's time you can go to the ball with my daughters." Then thejady, followed by Cinderella, carried the peas out and threw them into the ashes. "Here is the basin," said she, handing it to the girl, " and you can go at your task as soon as you choose." She returned to the house, and Cinderella stood looking at the ash-heap. " I could not find all those peas in a week's time," said she ; " I must have help." And she began to call, " Hither, hither, through the sky, All you little songsters fly ! One and all, come help me quick, Make haste, make haste come pick, pick, pick ! " At once a great number of little birds came chirping and fluttering to the ash-heap and com- menced to pick, pick, pick. Cinderella held the basin and they brought the peas one by one and dropped them into it. In a short time she had all the peas out of the ashes and carried them in to her mistress overjoyed at the thought she could now go to the ball. But the lady said, " No, no, you have n't clothes. I spoke in jest before. You shall not go ; for you would only put us to shame." Evening came and the two young women set off 240 CINDERELLA for the ball, and Cinderella watched them until they were out of sight and then stood by the fire and wept. At this moment a good fairy appeared and asked her what was the matter. " I wish I wish " began the poor girl, but her voice was choked with tears. " You wish that you could go to the ball/' interrupted the fairy. " Indeed I do/' said Cinderella, with a sigh. " Well, then, stop crying/' said the fairy, " and I think I can contrive to have you go not only this evening, but to-morrow evening, too. Run into the garden and bring me a pumpkin." Cinderella hurried out and brought back the finest pumpkin she could find, though she could not imagine what the fairy wanted of it. But the fairy took a knife, scooped out the pumpkin quite hollow an niched it with her wand. Immediately it was changed into a splendid carriage. " Now," said the fairy, " is n't there a mouse-trap set in the store- room ? " " Yes," replied Cinderella. " Go and see if there are any mice in it," the fairy ordered. Cinderella soon returned, bringing the trap with six mice inside. " Lift the trap door a little and let CINDERELLA 241 chem out," said the fairy, and as the mice escaped from the trap she changed each one by a stroke of icr warH into a fine dapple-gray horse. " But what shall we do for a coachman ? " asked the fairy. 16 242 CINDERELLA "There's likely to be a rat in the trap in the cellar if you could make a coachman out of him/' suggested Cinderella. " That 's a good thought," the fairy responded. " So look at the trap without delay." Cinderella was quickly back with the trap, and in it was a rat with a tremendous pair of whiskers. The fairy touched the rat with her wand and it became a fat jolly coachman with the smartest whiskers ever seen. " The next thing for you to do," said the fairy to Cinderella, " is to go again to the garden. You will find two lizards behind the watering-pot. Bring them." The lizards were no sooner brought than the fairy turned them into footmen with laced liveries, and they skipped up to a seat at the back of the coach just as naturally as if they had been footmen all their lives. " Well," said the fairy, " here is your coach and six horses, your coachman and your footmen to take you to the ball. Are you not pleased ? " " Oh, yes ! " replied Cinderella, " but must I go in these shabby clothes ? " The fairy smiled and tapped her with her wand, when her rags were changed to a dress of cloth of CINDERELLA 243 gold all decked with costly jewels. This done, she gave her a pair of the prettiest slippers in the world, made of glass. " These slippers," said she, " I give you to keep always, but the other things are enchanted into the forms they have at present for only a short time." Cinderella now got into the carriage, and as she was about to start the fairy said, " Do not on any account stay after midnight, for if you do the coach will be a pumpkin again, your horses mice, your coachman a rat, your footmen lizards, and your beautiful clothes the rags you wear every day." Cinderella promised the fairy she would not fail to leave the ball before midnight, and drove away in an ecstasy of delight. When she arrived at the palace the guards and attendants were so struck by her magnificent equipage that they sup- posed her to be some rich princess. At once the carriage was surrounded by courtiers who assisted her to alight and conducted her to the ball-room. The moment she appeared all voices were hushed, the violins ceased playing, and the dancing stopped short. Everybody was admiring the stranger's beauty. " How handsome she is ! How sur- passingly lovely ! " and similar expressions were heard on all sides, and the old king whispered to 244 CINDERELLA the queen that he had not seen so comely a young woman in many a long day. All the ladies busied themselves in considering her clothes and head-dress, that they might have garments of the same pattern, provided they could find such rich materials and seamstresses capable of making them up. The prince came forward to re- ceive Cinderella, and he so admired her beauty and manners that he promptly offered her his hand to dance. Cinderella, pleased beyond measure at this gracious reception and at the splendor of all she saw, danced with the greatest animation. The proud sisters, in whose home she lived, were vexed to have any one attract more attention than themselves ; but they did not recognize the ragged kitchen girl in the superb garments she now wore. A fine supper was presently served, and the young prince helped Cinderella to every delicacy, but was so taken up with gazing at the fair stranger that he did not eat anything himself. Time passed fast, and she never looked at the clock until it was a quarter to twelve. Immediately she rose, made a low courtesy to the whole assembly, and retired in haste. Her carriage was ready at the door of the palace and she jumped into it and drove home as fast as she could. When she reached the house the coach, horses, CINDERELLA 245 and servants all disappeared and Cinderella found herself clothed in her old ragged gown. She waited beside the fire for the return of the sisters, eager to know what they would say ; but she determined to tell them nothing of her own experiences. At length they came knocking at the door, and when Cin- derella let them in she pretended to yawn, and rubbed her eyes, saying, " How late you are ! " just as if she had been waked out of a nap. " You would not have thought it late if you had been at the ball," said one of the sisters, " and seen the beautiful princess who was there." "What princess was she?" asked Cinderella. " What was her name ? " " We do not know her name," was the reply ; " nor does anybody, and the king's son would give a fortune to learn who she is." " If she is so beautiful as all that, how I would like to see her ! " exclaimed Cinderella. " Oh, my Lady Charlotte," said she, addressing the elder sister, " do lend me the yellow dress you wear every day, that I may put it on and go to the ball to-morrow evening and have a peep at this wonderful princess." " What ! lend my clothes to a common kitchen girl like you ! " cried Miss Charlotte, " I would n't think of such a thing." 246 CINDERELLA Cinderella expected to be refused, and was not sorry, for she would have been very much puzzled what to do had the yellow dress really been lent to her. On the following evening the sisters again went to the court ball, and shortly after their departure the good fairy came to Cinderella and told her to pre- pare to go also. A touch of the fairy's wand served to clothe Cinderella even more richly than she had been clothed on the previous occasion. The equip- age she had used the night before conveyed her to the palace, and she was ushered into the ball-room with every attention. The prince was rejoiced to see her and never once left her side the evening through. He talked so charmingly that she forgot all about the time, and the clock began to strike twelve when she thought it no more than eleven. At once she sprang up and ran as nimbly as a deer out of the room, and was going in great haste down the broad staircase that led to the palace entrance when one of her slippers dropped off. She could not wait to pick it up, for the clock had reached its final stroke, and then in a twinkling she was a gay lady no more, but only a shabby kitchen girl hurrying down the steps. The splendid coach and six horses, the driver and footmen had vanished, CINDERELLA 247 and on the ground lay a scooped-out pumpkin, while six mice, a rat, and two lizards were scurrying away to find hiding-places. Cinderella reached home quite out of breath, and of her grand apparel nothing remained save a little glass slipper. When the sisters returned from the ball Cinderella asked them whether they had been well entertained and whether the beautiful princess was there. 248 CINDERELLA " Yes," they replied,