I- I a.

4
LAST FAIRY TALES

BY

EDOUARD LABOULAYE
AUTHOR OF "FAIRY BOOK," "PARIS IN AMERICA," " PRINCE CANICHE"
HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES," ETC., ETC.
'*

AUTHORIZED TRANSLATION
BY

MARY L. BOOTH
TRANSLATOR OF LABOULAYE's, MARTIN's, DE GASPARTn's, AND COCHIn's WORKS, ETC
AUTHcJr of the " HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK "

ILLUSTRATED

NEW YORK AND LONDON

HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
 Copyright, 1884, by Harper & Brothers.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERIC/

D-8
 AUTHOR'S PREFACE,

When we were children (which was somewhere about

1820), we were presented with fairy tales at New- Year

for our amusement. By whom
they were written mattered
little; provided they kept us still for an hour without quar

relling or breaking things, the book was thought a good one,

and nothing more was asked of the author.
Since that time a great change has taken place. Fairy
tales now hold a prominent place in literature. Like great
noblemen, they have their pedigree and history. They treat

of geography, astronomy, and zoology, and will very soon

include philosophy and religion. Analysis has appeared ;

farewell to jollity. An ancient muse, of whom

we must speak
no ill, because she is a lady, and of uncertain age, and also
—
because she is too often in the right Science, since we must
call her by her name — with her long fingers, hooked nose, a»d
 AUTHOR'S PREFACE,

When we were children (which was somewhere about

1820), we were presented with fairy tales at New- Year

for our amusement. By whom they were written mattered

little; provided they kept us still for an hour without quar

relling or breaking things, the book was thought a good one,

and nothing more was asked of the author.
Since that time a great change has taken place. Fairy
tales now hold a prominent place in literature. Like great
noblemen, they have their pedigree and history. They treat

of geography, astronomy, and zoology, and will very soon

include philosophy and religion. Analysis has appeared ;

farewell to jollity. An ancient muse, of whom

we must speak
no ill, because she is a lady, and of uncertain age, and also
—
because she is too often in the right Science, since we must
call her by her name — with her long fingers, hooked nose, a»d
vin Author s Preface,

great round goggles, is

prying into everything.

We can no longer laugh
at an ogre without being

lacking in respect to the

god Orcus ; Riquet with
CY^f^^lTfii'^A'^y \ the Tuft is nothing but
i/^ \Wt^yW.C^Tv the Winter Solstice; and
the White Cat, in her
enchanted castle, is the

nymph Calisto, or, rath-

er, the Great Bear in per-

son. A plague on our

^-^ ^. ^<Jf^ s "^""^ grandnephews; they are

<^ **'*'^ too wise for us old fel-

lows!
For my part, I, too, could invent theories as well as others,
if I saw With the protection and support of a respect-
fit.

able political coterie I should stand a good chance of ad-

mission to the Academy of Mother Goose for I have her ;

blood in my veins. I know what fairy tales are. I have

tried tomake them, and have thereby learned a great truth,

namely, that these tales are not manufactured to order. The
brightest man is put to his wit's end when he undertakes the
task. At most, he invents some allegory as innocent as it is

transparent he tells a story at which he himself is the

;
first

to laugh, and which does not for an instant beguile his

readers, however young. I therefore hold it as a maxim
that the more sense a man has, the more insipid and tedious
are his fairy tales.
 Author s Preface, IX

"
But, grandpapa," says

my little grandson, "your

stories are very amusing."
'•''

Sanda simplicitas ! If

my stories are amusing, as

you say, it is because I did

notmake them, my child."
"Then who did make
them, grandpapa?"
"
My child, I have taken
them by piecemeal from all
parts, North, South, and
elsewhere."
" But
who invented them
in the South ?"
"
Everybody and nobody,
my young critic. A fairy
tale is a story, a legend, or

an event that chances to be told of a winter's evening by

some soldier or sailor, who dresses it up to suit himself, re-

gardless of time or place. Then it is

caught up by nurses
and sung to children to amuse them or to serve as a lullaby,

until at last some one with a poetic imagination gives it a

fantastic turn, when lo ! the fairy tale is brought forth. The
author is nameless and unknown ;
the work is immortal.
Who would dare claim the paternity of Cinderella and Tom
Thumb ?"
Stranger still, the fairy-tale has no native land, any more
than it has an author. Every nation tells Little Red Riding
Hood in its own fashion, and it would take a sharp critic to
 Author s Preface.

discover the original text of all these versions. The canvas

is of no consequence, the embroidery is everything ;
and this

embroidery changes with each century.

What is Puss in Boots, for example ? A good genius, in

the skin of an animal, that enriches his young master. The

idea might occur a hundred times in different countries,
trivial and insignificant as it is. Now, compare Perrault's

Puss in Boots with the version of the Pentameron, which

will be found in the present volume, with some other old
friends under new faces. Perrault was but a child when
Gianbattista Basilio died, and, in all probability, never heard
of *be Neapolitan tales. Yet here is the same story told in
 Author's Preface, XI

two different countries. The idea is the same, and the de-

tails resemble each other ;

but what a difference there is

between the two stories ! With Perrault the work is fan-

tastic, the result of a cat's caprice. With Basilio it is a moral

tale, designed as a lesson to ingrates. And now, where is

the primitive story to be found? Perchance it may yet be
discovered in India ;
but we may be sure that it will have
been so often retold and transformed on its way that it can

only be discerned by the sharp eye of an expert in fairy lore.

Edouard Labc^ulaye.
Paris, 1883.
 TRANSLATORS PREFACE.
This compilation contains all the fairy tales written by
the lamented Edouard Laboulaye, that prince of story-tell-
ers and most eloquent of statesmen, from the publication of
his Fairy Book, several years ago, to the time of his death,

last year. The brilliant Professor of the Institute of France,

whose livelysympathy during the late civil war won him
<:)ur country's love and gratitude, found recreation from his
graver labors in narrating these fanciful stories, overflowing
with wit and humor, which delighted both old and young,
and this task he continued to his dying day, the preface to
the volume containing part of the tales found herein be-

ing his last work, and the touching dedication to his little
grandchildren bearing date only five days before his death.
M. Laboulaye always delighted in seeing his writings in
an English dress, and took keen pleasure in the interest and
appreciation of his American readers. This translation is
made with his authorization, and the subsequent kind ap-

proval of his family. Death alone prevented him from

xiv Translators Preface,

furnishing to this volume, as he did to the last, a pref-

ace especially addressed to American children. It is sad
to think that these pages will never meet his kindly eye,

and that the pen which had such power to charm is laid

aside forever.
Those who remember the publication by Harper & Broth-

ers of that sparkling collection of stories, Laboulaye's Fai-

ry Book, know what 2l furore it created, not only among

the children,who were fascinated with its giants, fairies, and
hobgoblins, but still more among their elders, who were

charmed with the flashing wit and keen satire which leav-
ened every page, and which, to the writer^s personal knowl-
edge, beguiled the Vice-President of the United States, as
well as the president of one of our largest banking institu-

tions, into sitting up nearly all night to finish the volume.

The present collection is even richer, wittier, and more
varied than its predecessor. It is compiled from the differ-

ent works of M. Laboulaye, and contains all the children's

tales not included in the Fairy Book.
first And what a
wealth is there of fantastic stories of enchantments that rival
the Arabian Nights, together with delightful apologues, and
humor that gives them a
old tales retold with a bewitching
new charm, all narrated with a purity and high moral tone
that make them safe as well as amusing reading for the

young! Children will be enchanted with this new Fairy

Book, which is sure to hold a lasting place in their affections
for this and succeeding generations. But the truest appre-
ciation, after all, of this witty volume will come from the

adults, who, as they laugh at its diverting sallies, will breathe

a sigh in memory of the author, and rejoice at the opportu-
 Translator's Preface, XV

nity to lay a leaf on the grave of one of the most ardent

friends of our Union in its hour of peril.

Mention should be made of the very lavish manner in

which the volume is illustrated, which makes it a genuine

picture-book. It is literally crammed with nearly three

hundred spirited drawings by the brilliant French artists,
Henri Pill^, Henri Manesse, Yan' Dargent, and the lately
deceased Henri Scott, some of whose last designs are here
included.
Mary L. Booth.
New York, 1884.
 CONTENTS.
PAGE
THE THREE WONDERS OF THE WORLD I

THE FAIRY CRAWFISH 39

FRAGOLETTE 65
THE THREE WISHES 88
THE GOLDEN FLEECE 94
POOR HANS 117
ZERBINO THE SAVAGE , I20
THE SHEPHERD PACHA . . . . »
155
BRIAM THE FOOL I78
THE LITTLE GRAY MAN I9I

GAGLIUSO; OR, THE GOOD CAT 209

THE WOLF AND THE GOAT 221
THE WICKED DAUGHTERS-IN-LAW 230
THE SPINNING QUEEN , . . .
236
THE KING OF THE SERPENTS 24O
POUCINET 247
THE PRUDENT FARMER 279
A FEMALE SOLOMON 284
DAME GUDBRAND 29O
xviii Contents,
FAGB
GRIZZLED PETER 303
THE tailor's daughter -312
DAME WEASEL AND HER HUSBAND 314
THE sun's daughter 316
THE LITTLE MAN 325
FALSEHOOD AND TRUTH 33 1
THE MYSTIC GARDEN 338
THE EVE OF ST. MARK .
35 1
 '"^-^^

THE THREE WONDERS

OF THE WORLD.
I.

NCE upon a time there was a

queen who had three sons.
The eldest was named Prince
Lofty ;
the second, Prince
Reckless ;
and the third,
Prince Prosper. All three
were as beautiful as the day ;
all three adored their mother;

and all three took the great-

est delight in forestalling her
wishes and doing her will.

The queen must have been

very happy, one would sup-
pose. She was, as a mother,
but not as a woman. She
was a prey to a malady which
none of us can escape, and
which is called old age. When she looked in the mirror,
the horrible grimness which years had stamped upon hei
1
 \I^f^i':Fci^y Tales,

face made her turn pale with dread. Her white hair, her
wrinkled forehead, her toothless gums, and her watery eyes
all told her that she must die.

The poor queen was terribly afraid of death. She could

not be resigned to quit her children, her throne, and her
people. Her sons sought in vain to comfort her ; the more
they loved her, the less courage she had to bid them an eter-
nal farewell.
 The Three Wonders of the World, 3

One day they heard, I know not how,

that the King of the
Bitter Waters had a wonderful whose warbling renewed
bird,
the youth of those over whose heads it sung. The most
marvellous tales were told concerning this peerless songster.
One day, it was. said, a minister of state, ninety years old,
who chanced to pass under the tree where this marvel was
became rejuvenated to such a degree that
singing, instantly
he had to be carried away in a nurse's arms. What would
not the good queen have given to hear these heavenly songs,
had she been made only twenty or thirty years younger
thereby !

The three brothers consulted together. The eldest in-

sisted on being the first search of this wonderful
to go in

bird. The queen refused her consent. " It is for you, my

children," she said, "that I wish to live. If one of you
should perish in this undertaking, nothing would be left me
but to die. Stay with me, and let God's will be done !"
Prince Lofty, however, was not one to be dismayed. Tak-
ing a good horse, arms, and money, he told his brothers that
if he did not return within a year they might know that he

was dead or a prisoner, embraced his mother, and set out

on his way. He went straight onward till he reached the
city where dwelt the happy owner of the wonderful bird.
Here he found an inn, and inquired what truth there was in
the story.
"All you have heard is true," answered the host, "but the
whole truth has not been, told you. The King of the Bitter
Waters is a treacherous and cruel magician. No one who
has entered his palace has ever come out again. If you
have kindred and friends, handsome youth, do not attempt
a perilous enterprise, in which you will succeed no better
than those who have gone before you."
Lofty thanked the host, put his horse in the stable, supped
4 Last Fairy Tales,

heartily, went to bed, and had the most delightful dreams.

Early the next morning he repaired to the king's palace.
The door was wide open ; neither guards nor servants were
to Lofty mounted the staircase without meeting
be seen.
any one, pushed open a door, and entered a vast hall, sur-
rounded with marble statues of helmeted knights of all
nations, vizors down and swords in hand. In the middle
of the hall were hundreds of cages with the most beautiful
birds imaginable. One of these, all of gold, especially struck
the prince's eye. "That must be the wonderful bird,"
thought he. He called aloud, and knocked at all the doors,
but no one answered. Then, without thinking of harm, he
approached the golden cage and thrust his hand into it, upon
which a bell
rang. One of the statues descended from
itspedestal, advanced slowly towards the young man, and
touched him with the point o^ his sword, when, lo Lofty !

was turned into a statue.

IL
One month, two months, passed away, the year finished its

course, and the queen had no news of her son. Consumed

with grief, she wept without ceasing, saying over and over
she had sent her son to his death. The two brothers were
no less grieved than their mother. Reckless went to the
" am
queen and said, Do
not weep, dear mother. I going
in search of Lofty, who is doubtless a prisoner. You may
be sure that I shall soon bring him back to you, with the

wonderful bird into the bargain."

The unhappy queen vainly entreated her son to stay with
her ; the prince's honor forbade him to listen to counsels or

prayers. Furnished with a good horse and a well-filled

and went straight onward until he reached

purse, he set out
the same inn where his elder brother had stopped. It was
*'
He entered a vast hall, surrounded with marble statues.'
6 Last Fairy Tales.

in vain that the host lavished advice upon him ;

this was
not the time to think of prudence. Reckless hastened to
the deserted palace, mounted the staircase, entered the great
hall, and was about to lay hold of the bird, when the bell
rang, the statue descended from its pedestal and touched
him as it had his brother; and, lo !
he, too, was enchanted.

III.

One month, two months passed away, the year finished its

course,and the queen had no news of her two sons. She

was plunged in grief, and longed to die. Prosper fell on
"
his knees. not despair, dear mother," he cried. " Let
Do
me go and I will succeed. I am sure that I shall soon bring
back both my brothers and the wonderful bird."
"
You shall not go, said the poor queen, bathed
my child,"
in tears; "you surely would not add to my sorrow and re~
morse. If you forsake me, what will become of me, with no
one to close my eyes ?"
But Prosper kissed her hands so tenderly and made her
such fair promises that she was forced to let him go. He
equipped himself like his brothers, and took with him a
sword that had been left in his cradle by his fairy godmoth-
er, a friend of the family, whom he had never since seen.
He set out on his journey, followed the fatal road, reached

the city of the King of the Bitter Waters, stopped at the inn,
and daybreak went to the deserted palace. On entering
at
the great hall, he saluted the green bird that was hopping
about behind its golden bars, then called aloud. No one
answered. He drew his sword and approached the cage.
The bell rang, and the statue descended from its pedestal,
sword in hand ; but the prince was beforehand with his
enemy, and dealt his weapon such a blow that the stone was
splintered in pieces.
 The Three Wonders of the World, 7
The statue uttered a cry, and paused-. A second knight
descended from his pedestal and was received in the same
way. A third and fourth met the like fate. At this moment
a door opened, and a host of soldiers entered, in the midst
of which was the king in person. He was a fat, little old
man, with a huge turban on his head, and an enormous
scimitar in his hand, which he wielded with difficulty. In a
shrill voice, which he vainly tried to swell, he addressed the
"
young prince. Who gave you permission to enter my royal
palace ? Were you not told that no one ever quits this hall
alive ?"
"I
knew it well," answered Prosper. "If I have confronted
death, great prince, it was not to brave your power. It was

through love of my mother. She is old, and yonder bird

can restore her youth. Before touching its cage I knocked
at all the doors ; I am not a robber, and respect the prop-

erty of others. I wished to offer a large sum for this wonder

of the world, but could obtain no answer. How then am I

to blame ? O king, if you have a mother whom you love,

be indulgent to me for her sake. Fix the price of this bird

yourself, and all that I have, my life even, is yours."

The king burst out laughing. "Young man," he said,

"you are a simpleton. Do you take me for a bird-seller?

I might put you to death, but I pity you. I like courage,

and your filial love touches my heart. If you wish for the
bird, I will putyou in the way of obtaining it. Two days'
journey from here dwells my rival, the King of the Green
Isles, who has a daughter whose beauty eclipses any ever

beheld, whence she is called The Fairest of the Fair. This

treasure the King of the Green Isles guards with jealous
care. Find her, carry her off, and bring her here, and I

will give you the green bird in exchange for your conquest.
If you are satisfied with the bargain, set out instantly. You
" He was a old man, with a huge turban on his head.
fat, little
 The Three Wonders of the World. 9

may leave the castle ;

but remember that if you dare to re-
turn empty-handed you will perish, like all before you."

IV.

Prosper, with his heart full of hope, accepted the king's

conditions, and immediately set out on his way. After two
days' journey he reached the shore of a sea as blue as the
heavens, interspersed with islands planted with tall green
trees, which rose from the waters like great clumps of verd-
ure. At the west was the royal island, the residence of the

princess. Prosper hastened thither, already promising him-

self the victory, but his joywas of short duration.
In a meadow, surrounded with poplars which trembled at
the lightest breeze, was a lake as smooth as a mirror. From
the midst of this lake rose a tower a hundred feet high, with-
out doors or windows, made of a single sheet of glass. In
this tower was imprisoned the Fairest of the Fair. How it

was approached, or in what way it was entered, no one had

ever known. It was vaguely fancied that a subterranean

passage, built under the lake, connected the tower with the
royal palace, more than a mile distant. But no one had
ever seen such a passage, and, when it was talked of, the

good people in the neighborhood shook their heads. Ac-

cording to them, the tower was enchanted, and opened at
night at the sound of a magical word which was known to
the king alone. And this secret was well guarded, for the
prince knew to a certainty that the fate of his kingdom was
bound up with that of this crystal donjon. An oracle had
foretold that on the day his daughter quitted the prison
the tower would sink beneath the waters, carrying with it
the beautiful kingdom of the Green Isles, with all its inhabi-
tants.

Prosper skirted the lake slowly, carefully noting the tower

lo Last Fairy Tales,

which glistened in the midday light like a topaz in the sun's

rays. The walk was a long one it took the prince more
;

than five hours to return to the place from which he started.

The day was closing ;
the tower, colored by the setting sun,

changed to a ruby tint. Weary with the journey and worn

with anxiety, the prince alighted from his horse, seated him-
self on a hillock, and fell into a reverie. A distant clock
struck six. Prosper raised his head, and spied a figure in
white between the battlements of the tower. It was the Fair-
est of the Fair. The last rays of the sun gilded the fair hair
of the prisoner.She leaned forward to look over the plain,
and at the same moment there was heard a loud sound of
men and horses. It was the princess's suitors, who were ac-
customed to march past at the hour she took her airing, all

striving which should win a glance of her beautiful eyes.

They came from all countries. First in the procession
was an Indian rajah, clad in silk and gold, with a neck-
lace and bracelets of pearls. He half reclined in a how-

dah, borne by a huge elephant, buried beneath housings

embroidered with precious stones. A numerous train of
musicians, jugglers, and dancing-girls surrounded him on all
sides, singing and dancing as they marched along. They
paused before the tower, and a body of archers, armed with
golden bows, let fly a shower of arrows, bearing on their
points wreaths of flowers, gallant mottoes, and fireworks that
blazed in the air. It was labor lost; the arrows struck the

walls of glass with a dull thud, without attracting the least

notice from the princess.
Then followed a second caravan, headed by a Mantchoo
prince,who came, it was said, to ask the Fairest of the Fair
in marriage in behalf of the Emperor of China. The Tartar
envoy, whose mustache fell to his knees, was mounted on a
superb black horse, whose nostrils snorted fire. He was
M-")
He half reclined in a howdah, borne by a huge elephant,'*
1 2 Last Fairy Tales,

followed by a troop of soldiers dressed in tiger - skins, that

marched proudly to the sound of trumpets but what at- ;

tracted most attention, and what certainly had never been

seen in our western armies, was a new kind of company,
each soldier of which carried, instead of a shield, an immense
kite, in the shape of a dragon. On the belly of the animal
was fastened a placard, upon which a skilful pencil had

traced, in huge red verses that might have softened

letters,
the princess's heart, supposing her to have understood Chi-
nese. It was labor lost ; they did not attract the least notice
from the princess.
After the Chinese came a troop of barbarians ; a genu-
ine horde of Attila. Dressed in wolf-skins, they resembled
wolves, with their howls, gaunt forms, and savage gestures.
At a signal from the chief they opened their ranks, to
make way for a band of four hundred drummers, who in-
stantly unchained the most formidable tempest of harmony
that the world had ever heard. This was the serenade
devised by a general as musical as he was gallant, to make
a striking impression on the Fairest of the Fair. He suc-
ceeded beyond his hopes, for, at the first burst of thunder,
the princess raised her hands to heaven, stopped her ears,
and ran away.

V.
The crowd had vanished, night had fallen, and the moon
shed her on the tremulous waters of the lake,
silver light

giving it by turns the whiteness and changing tints of

the opal. Yielding to the neighing of his horse, that was
tired of being alone. Prosper repaired to the inn. fire of A
great logs was blazing in a huge chimney-place in which one
might stand upright. Chilled by the night air, he drew near
to warm himself, when he spied a strange object, looking like
"He was followed by a group of soldiers dressed in tiger-skins,"
14 Last Fairy Talcs.

a bundle of rags that had been flung into the corner of the
hearth. As he gazed, from the bundle emerged a copper-
colored face, round eyes with red eyelids, a nose hooked like
a parrot's beak, a chin whose turned -up point seemed to

threaten the nose, and a toothless mouth that stretched from

ear to ear. The prince recoiled with dismay, when this
shapeless mass rushed towards him, stretching out a pair of
fleshless arms, and the witch — for witch it surely was —seized
bis hand and covered it with kisses.
*'
He spied a strange object, looking like a bundle of rags.'*
1 6 Last Fairy Tales.

" "
My good lord," said she, in a plaintive voice, do not
drive me away. I am
cold and hungry ; if you have a moth-

er, take pity on the wretchedest of women for her sake."

"Be easy, my good woman," answered the kind-hearted
Prosper, touched by his mother's name. "You have nothing
to fearfrom me. If you are suffering, I can at least relieve
your want." And he opened his pouch, and flung a handful
of gold into the lap of the witch, who clutched it greedily.
" " be
Yes," he added, happy, good dame. It is enough to
have one unhappy creature in the house." His eyes filled

with tears.
" "
My lord," said the old woman, rising, you are sorrow-
ful. What —
causes your sorrow the Fairest of the Fair?
You love her, you wish to carry her off, and you are in de-

spair because you are unable to do so. It is the disease of

the country. Tell me
your troubles ; I have friends every-
where ; among the small and the great. Perhaps I can
help you. She whom you have befriended is not ungrate-
ful."

Prosper sat down by the table where his supper was laid,
and told her his story. The old woman took a seat, with-
out ceremony, opposite him, and listened with attention.

"Very well," said she, when he had finished; "you are a

good son, and it is a pleasure to be of use to you. Let me
drink a drop, just one drop, of this Canary, to refresh my
memory. It will give me ideas."

Upon which she seized the bottle, emptied it into a large

goblet, and gulped it down at one draught, smacking her
lips when she had finished.
"Confess," she said, "that all suitors — Indian, Chi-
nese, Tartar, and the rest — haveyouvery little imagination.
There but one way of entering the tower, and that
is is the

only one you have never thought of."

 The Three Wonders of the World, 1
7
" What is that ?" asked the prince.
" Guess !" answered she "
and meanwhile, to refresh my
;

poor memory, let me drink another drop, just a drop, of this

Canary."
Upon which she seized another bottle, emptied it all into

the great goblet,and gulped it down at one draught, smack-

ing her lips when she had finished. Then she turned towards
the prince, who stood aghast at this conduct, and laughed in
his face.
"
Who has been in the tower ? No one, you tell me. You
are wrong. I see the swallows go in there every moment,
1 8 Last Fairy Tales.

and if the princess does not take care, she will have a whole
garrison of crows on her hands."
" Do
you think, then," exclaimed the prince, angrily,
"that some crow will take me on its wings and fly up
there, and then carry me off with my booty ? You are mak-

ing a laughing-stock of me, old dame."

"My lord," returned the witch, coldly, "people do not
make a laughing-stock of princes before their faces. I am
in earnest ;
I mean that you should go up there on horse-
back, as befits a noble personage like yourself."
"
On horseback My good woman, the Canary has sharp-
!

ened your imagination altogether too much ; you had better

hold your tongue, and sleep it off."
" "
Yes, on horseback," continued the old woman. Have
you never heard of Pegasus, and of the hippogriff? Are
you ignorant of history ? And Bellerophon, and Perseus ;

have you forgotten them ? Cannot you, too, deliver the new
Andromeda?"
And, as the prince shook his head,
" " that ten
Know," she leagues from here, in the
said,
stables of the Marquis of Lindas Piernas, is a flying horse
named Griffon, that would make nothing of carrying you to
the Fairest of the Fair. The whole secret is to know his
language, and to make him fly. I will teach you his lan-
guage if you will kiss me on both cheeks. As to making
him fly, that is another matter ;
for this,
you must have some-
thing which I have in my pocket, and which I will give you
on the same terms."
She thrust her hand among her rags, and drew out a mass
of chicken bones, frogs' legs, little wax figures, long needles,
and finally a broken bit, held by two silken cords. " Here
"
it is," said she ; the noble courser can only endure this light
rein."
 The Three Wonders of the World. 1
9
" And now," she added, simpering, be good-natured, and"

give me a kiss."
The prince made a frightful grimace, which he tried to
hide by biting his lips ; then, shutting his eyes, he kissed the
old woman on both her cheeks, which were like parchment.

" One goodturn deserves another," said the witch, and,

approaching him, she blew into his mouth, and exclaimed :

"Nun kannst du die pferdische, eselische, burschikosiche, katzenjarri"

merische Sprache, sprechen und verstehen."
" "
A miracle 1" cried the prince ; I hear an ass braying in
20 Last Fairy Tales,

the yard, and this is what he says, Hi! han! men are even
^

more stupid than they are wicked. Hi! hanT An excel-

lent thought, and well worthy of an ass !"
"
Or of a philosopher. The two are well matched. And
now, my dear prince, do you want the bridle ?"
For his sole answer. Prosper clasped in his arms the old
"
woman, who struggled against him. Oh ! these men !" she
cried; "how beautiful they always think us when we do
as they wish !"
But the prince did not listen ; he was so happy that he
kissed her frantically, with his eyes shut, and thought her
cheeks as fresh as at twenty. He was not far from right, for
on opening his eyes he saw before him, instead of the witch,
a charming woman, whose smile disclosed teeth of dazzling
whiteness. He attempted to thank her again, but she gently
retreated. "That is enough," she said, "more would be
showing too much gratitude. Adieu, prince ; it is well to
have a godmother who does not forget you. Have courage
and hope I"
Like a gallant knight, the prince bent his knee to the
ground;
but as he laid his hand on his heart and was about
to protest his eternal gratitude, the fairy disappeared, laugh-

ing in his face. It appears that there is no Academy in Fairy

Land, and that no one ever speaks there when he has noth-
ing to say.
VI.
At daybreak the next morning Prosper set out in search
of the famous Griffon. On the way he learned that the
Marquis of Lindas Piernas would allow no one to enter his
stables. He disguised himself as a groom, and applied for
employment to the chief equerry of the marquis. This per-
a
sonage, fat, bow-legged, red-nosed man, dressed in the Span-
ish fashion, listened contemptuously, with both hands thrust
 The Three Wonders of the World. 2 1

in his girdle, and answered that raw louts were not wanted
in the marquis's stables.
" Give me a "
horse," cried the prince, angrily, and see
if I do not know how to manage him better than all your

bearded clowns."
For his sole answer the fat man turned his back on him.
At this moment a groom came running up, out of breath,
"
and, raising his hands to heaven, cried, Oh my lord, there !

is another accident, the tenth within a month Joseph has !

had his leg broken by that fiend of a horse that no one can
tame. He will be the death of all of us."
"Bah!" said the equerry, "you don't know what you are

talking about. Here is a fellow from I know not where, who

thinks he can teach you all. Give him Joseph's place, and
put up another bed in the hospital."
Prosper followed the frightened groom. On entering the
stable hesaw a coal-black horse with a large head, full,
prominent eye, powerful chest, and thin flanks, that stood
drawn up, with arched neck, casting sidelong glances that
boded no good.
"There is the famous Griffon," said the groom; "the
wretch is plotting a kick for us or some new trick. Any one
may go near him that will ;
I shall take care to keep out of
his way."
The prince picked up a large whip and snapped it five or
six times ;
then sang the following song at the top of his
voice :

" He he juchhe heisa he he juchhe

!
juchhe ! !
juch heisa ! ! !
juchhe !

heisa he !

Liebst du mich, ich Hebe dich ;

Liebst du mich nicht, ich Hebe dich
nicht.

Juvallera, juvallera, juvaHevallera !"

Oh, power of harmony ! At these melodious words, Grif-

22 Last Fairy Tales.

fon relaxed his neck, raised his head, and answered, in his

language, by a prolonged neigh, of which Prosper did not

lose a word :

" Kommcn sie her, Schelm. . . und kiissen sie mich Laridsmann."
.,

The prince did not wait to be bidden twice, but went straight
to the horse and began to stroke him.
"Who are you," said Griffon, "and why have you come
here? Are you going to free me from the hands of these
fools, who want to make a circus-horse of a grandson of
Pegasus ?"

"Yes, my dear Griffon, I bring you your liberty; but one

good turn deserves another. Listen to what 1 expect you to
do ;" and, as if he were afraid that some one might hear, he
whispered his project in the horse's ear.
"All right," said Griffon ; "we will carry off the princess,
but on one condition ; living or dead, you must always keep
me I have had enough of menageries."
with you.
"
Done," answered the prince and he caressed Griffon.
;

While they talked together like old friends, all the stable-
men gathered around in amazement ; and the equerry, who
had been sent for, hastened to the spot.
"Well! well! young man," said he, "I see you and the
horse are on excellent terms. Bring him out, and let us put

him through his paces."

The prince took from his pocket the magic bridle. The
horse once saddled, he sprang on his back, and rode upon
a track where some race-horses were exercising. Every one
looked at Griffon, who seemed clumsy, and hard to manage.
Suddenly he quickened his pace and overtook the other
then leaped over
horses, that, four abreast, filled the track
;

them with one bound. Thirty paces farther on he retraced

his steps, leaped again over the heads of the coursers and
 The Three Wonders of the World. 23

their astonished
jockeys, and returned to the starting-point
without having turned a hair.
" "
Prodigious !" exclaimed the equerry ; I never saw the

like. I will bet that this beast could jump over the moon
if he tried."
" "
Mr. Equerry," said the prince, gravely, I take the bet."
And as all stood agape, he shouted two words in the horse

language, which no one understood, whereupon Griffon drew

24 Last Fairy Tales,

himself up, darted like an arrow through the air, and van-
ished from the eyes of the astonished crowd.

VII.
The clock had struck six. The Fairest of the Fair was
wearily promenading on the balcony of her prison, while be-
low, in the valley, Indians, Chinamen, elephants, horses, and

drums were continuing their monotonous round. Suddenly,

she spied a black speck in the distance advancing rapidly
through the air. Was it a cloud, a gigantic bird, or some
 The Three Wonders of the World, 25

strange monster? As it approached the tower the thing

took shape, and the Fairest of the Fair clearly perceived a
horse swimming in the air, and upon this horse a handsome
rider, richly dressed, with embroidered tunic, velvet cap, and

floating plume. Her first emotion was fear and she thought
;

of flight.
—
Her second was curiosity she was a woman and
captive. Nothing, moreover, proved that the horse would
stop in his mad course ; but when it landed on the platform,
and she saw Prosper alight and offer her his hand, she was
so overcome with surprise that she swooned. The prince
was ready to receive her in his arms, but he was terrified at
"
her pallor and unconsciousness. Griffon, my friend, she is
" We
dying," he cried. are lost What
! is to be done ?"
" "
Carry her off, my lord,'' answered Griffon, carry her off;
26 Last Fairy Tales,

we have no time to lose you can settle matters on the road.

:

There isno better time for mutual explanations than when

a thing is done and cannot be undone."
Prince Prosper was so excited that he hardly knew what
he was about. He seated the princess on the horse, passed
his arm round her waist, and pressed her to his heart to keep
her from falling. As to Griffon, he gave a joyful neigh, and
darted into space like a bird spreading its wings to cleave
the air.
It was high time. A terrible crackling was heard. The
tower of glass broke into a thousand pieces, and melted
 The Three Wonders of the World, 27

away in tlie lake, which instantly overflowed. Princes, ele-

phants, horses, anddrummers all fled pell-mell, and proba-
bly more than one of them was drowned. As to what be*
came of the Green Isles, no one ever knew. No trace of
them is found on the maps. The savans have formed nine
hundred and sixty-four hypotheses as to the discovery of
these lost lands, all of which are so probable that the subject
remains a perfect muddle to this day.

VIII.
One cannot remain forever in a swoon. By degrees the
princess regained her senses, but it took some time for her
to understand what was going on around her. Griffon soared
above the clouds, illumined by the last rays of the sun ; and
it seemed to the Fairest of the Fair as if she were
passing
through a valley of snow, bordered with purple and gold
mountains. In attempting to move, she perceived that her
head was resting on Prosper's shoulder ; but she felt so
weak that she did not dream of raising it. All that she
could do was to ask the handsome cavalier ;
who he was
and
itwas with a certain pleasure that she learned that he was
a prince, and that he tenderly loved his mother.
" And wherewe going ?" she asked, with a smile.
are
"To King of the Bitter Waters."
the palace of the
" Is he young
Is he your brother, kinsman, or friend ?
and handsome? What is the matter that you do not
answer ?"

Prosper turned pale, and attempted in vain to open his

lips. Then, making a desperate effort to control himself, he

stammeringly told her of his mother, the wonderful bird, and
the pledge he had made. The princess suddenly sat up-
right, and pushed away the arm about her waist.
"Let me go," she cried, "I do not need your support.
28 Last Fairy Tales,

What, was it for others that you tore me from my home and
family, and that to exchange me for a parrot. We read of
such things in fairy tales without believing them. What had
I done to you to be treated in this way .?"
" "
Alas," said Prosper, I had never seen you when I made
that rash promise."
" Ah unhappy
! that I am," cried the princess, " behold me
alone, deliveredup to a barbarian, without a friend, and for-
saken by all !" She sobbed, and shook convulsively with
grief. The terrified prince once more supported her with
his arm ;
she let him do so in silence, like one who knew
not what she did.
This state of affairs could not be prolonged without peril,
but happily Griffon went faster than the wind. At daybreak
they were in the kingdom of the Bitter Waters. The king
was celebrating his birthday by a grand review. They saw
from above the troops drawn up on the plain. Loud shouts
of " Long live the King" attested the love of the people for
their prince. Griffon began his descent by circling in the
air like an eagle that leaves his rock to swoop down into the

plain, and landed before the king's palace with his double
load in the most gallant fashion.

Prosper alone alighted from the horse. He saluted the

king, and, speaking in a whisper that the Fairest of the Fair
might not hear, told the story of his feats, and, in exchange
claimed the wonderful bird whose conquest
for the princess,
had cost him so dear.
"
Very well," said the king, who was eying Griffon rath-
er than the princess, " I know what I promised ; but first
of all I must have that horse, otherwise the bargain is
broken."
"That cannot be," answered Prosper; "you ordered
me to bring you the Fairest of the Fair, and here she is.
 The Three Wonders of the World, 29

It is your turn to keep your promise; a prince's word is

sacred."
"Do you dare to brave me?" cried the king. "Learn,
young man, that a king does what he pleases, and is bound
to no one. I shall keep the princess, the horse, and the
bird into the bargain. Begone this instant, and presume
no longer on my goodness !"

"Disloyal prince and false knight," exclaimed Prosper,

30 Last Fairy Tales,

"
you shall pay with your life for your breach of faith \ stand,
and defend yourself!" Then, drawing his good sword, he fell
upon the King of the Bitter Waters, who had barely time to
put himself on guard. The struggle was short ; the king
counted upon his magic to overcome Prosper ;
but the
prince's sword was enchanted ; and at the very first en-

counter pierced the throat of his foe, who threw up his

it

arms and motionless on the ground.

fell An instant after,
the corpse was nothing but a heap of dust and ashes, which,
as my readers all know, is the usual end of sorcerers.
The king dead, the palace doors opened of their own ac-
cord ;
the enchantment was ended. A
host of princes, who
 The Three Wonders of the World, 31

had resumed their own shapes, ranged themselves round

their deliverer. At their head was Prince Lofty, followed
by Prince Reckless, who bore the wonderful bird on his wrist,
as a falconer carries his hawk. At this sight the troops
disbanded ; all the generals and high officials clustered
around Prosper, and offered him the crown, shouting " Long
live the King!" The people and soldiers echoed the cry,
and the rejoicing was universal.
Prosper thanked them all. His ambition was in a dif-

ferent direction ; but, in order not to disoblige them, he of-

fered them in his place Prince Reckless, who was endowed
from birth with all the qualities of a great sovereign. They
were in need of a ruler, and had no time to wait ; moreover,

Prince Reckless was very nearly as good-looking as his

brother. The generals proclaimed him king ; the officers of
the crown applauded ; the people and soldiers echoed the

cry ; and the rejoicing was universal.

Meanwhile, Prosper approached Griffon, and, bowing to
who was still mute and pensive.
the Fairest of the Fair,
" "
And now, madam," said he, where does it please you to
be conducted by your faithful knight ?"
"
Take me to your mother's house !" she answered, in a
mournful tone, " I would not delay for a moment her pleas-
ure in embracing so good a son."

IX.

People are right in saying that when Happiness enters a

house Misfortune always stands on watch at the door to
strangle it and take its place. Never had Prosper been so
happy j yet he was on the eve of losing everything, without
even suspecting the danger by which he was threatened.
The coronation of Prince Reckless over. Prosper set out
to rejoin his mother. The princess rode a snow-white nag,
32 Last Fairy Tales.

which, by a strange instinct, clung close to Griffon's side ; a

fortunate circumstance, since Prosper and the Fairest of the
Fair constantly had some secret to confide to each other,
which could not have been of a tragic kind, since the pair
were always laughing.

But behind them, with head bent, lips compressed, and

lowering brow, rode Prince Lofty, his heart consumed with

" "
envy. What," said he to himself, must this boy return
with the three wonders of the world, to be welcomed with
transport by my mother, the court, and my people, while I,

the eldest, come empty-handed, to be neglected by all. Am

 The Three Wonders of the World, 33
I less brave or less generous than he ? No, but luck was on
his side and ill-luck on mine !" And he was beset by these
evil thoughts, which he vainly tried to banish.
It chanced that on the third day they halted in a moun-
tainous region, where there was a deep valley, at the bot-
tom of which was heard a rushing torrent, while on the top
of the a narrow footpath followed the windings of the
cliff

brook as dashed among the rocks. The moon rose in all

it

its beauty. Prosper went out to breathe the fresh air ; he fol-
lowed the footpath which led along the brow of the mountain,
and admired the capricious play of the light and shade, think-
ing as he walked of all the dangers he had passed through,
and of his happiness on seeing his mother again and present-
ing to her a daughter. His heart overflowed, and the toil-
some past only rendered the present joy the sweeter.
But behind him, in the darkness, stalked an ungrateful
brother and terrible foe. Hidden by the brush and rocks.
Lofty had followed Prosper ; why, he dared not own to him-
self. Hatred him to dog the footsteps of
instinctively led
his rival. Suddenly, a diabolical thought crossed his mind.
Prosper was standing on the edge of the cliff, looking down
at the brook as it glittered in the moonlight far down the

valley. A false step, and he was lost. Lofty did not hesi-
tate ;
he sprang upon his brother, and pushed him over the
precipice. Prosper fell, uttering a cry ; then nothing was
heard but the noise of the stones as they rolled into the tor-
rent and awakened the neighboring echoes.
The when the party was ready to go, Pros-
next morning,
per was missing. Every one wished to wait for him, but
Lofty harshly ordered them to proceed, and they were forced
to obey. The prince was pale and haggard, and at the same
time nervous and irritable. He attempted to mount Griffon
and lead the way ; but, in spite of a shower of abuse and
8
34 Last Fairy Tales.

blows, the horse

reared and kicked
until he was left at

liberty. He did
not abuse it, but
followed the prin-
cess with so meek
and submissive an
air that she took
him in preference

to her nag. The

green bird also

perched on the
shoulder of its new
mistress, and the
train moved on
without a word being spoken by any one.
After travelling four days in silence they reached the
 The Three Wonders of the World, 35

kingdom of the old queen, who hastened to meet the proces-

sion, somewhat astonished at its gloomy air. It seemed more

like a funeral train than a triumphal entry. On not seeing

her dear Prosper, the poor mother burst into tears, which
threw Lofty in such ill-humor that he left the party and shut
himself up in his own apartments, and was not seen again
until the next day.

A horse that does not neigh, a bird that does not sing,
and a woman that does not talk are so far out of the common
order of things that they can be accounted for only by magic.
The good queen therefore affixed to the palace door a huge

placard, offering an immense reward to any one who would

make the lady speak and the bird sing. To keep off char-
latans, however, a short shrift and a long rope were prom-
ised to all who proved by their failure that they were not
sorcerers. It was the custom in olden times thus to treat
those who promised marvels in order to build their fortunes
on others' credulity. The custom had its advantages, and it
issomewhat of a pity that it ever fell into disuse.
Half a dozen had already been hung, and the rest were
beginning to be disheartened, when one day a new aspirant
rang the great bell at the palace entrance. The unhappy
man was brought main hall on the ground -floor,
into the
and warned of the fate there was in store for him. He did
not seem dismayed, but shook his head in an ironical fash-
ion. He was an old peasant, clad in goat-skins ; his shaggy
white locks fell over his face, and he walked, leaning on a
thick staff, with a slow but firm tread. He approached the
throne where the queen was sitting, and was about to speak,
"E
when, lo the bird began to sing.
!
desso," said he, in his
jargon. At the same instant Griffon came on a gallop, and
the " Da ist der Herr !"
leaped wall, neighing, and, strange
to say, the princess placed her hand on her heart and mur-
36 Last Fairy Tales,

mured, "It is he!" All

gazed at each other ; when,

quicker than lightning, the

pretended peasant snatched
oflf his wig, and threw him-
self into the queen's arms.
It was Prosper, younger

and handsomer than ever.

He turned to look for his
brother; he was so happy
that hewas ready to forgive
him. But Lofty had fled,
and never more was seen ',

good luck, and good rid-

dance to him A wicked
!

man the less in the world is

a boon to all honest people.

How it happened that
Prosper was still living;
whether he had been caught
by the brush on the rocks,
or, what was more proba-

ble, whether his fairy god-

mother had caught him as
he fell, and laid him in safe-
ty on the opposite bank, is something on which history is in
doubt, and I do not venture to hold an opinion. It is cer-

tain, however, that the marriage of Prosper and the Fairest

of the Fair took place without delay. The guests came
from eight hundred leagues round, and Prince Reckless was
there with all his court. It was a magnificent spectacle.

In thirty days' feasting and dancing they spent the revenues

of the whole year, an4 were forced to double the taxes.
 The Three Wonders of the World. 37

But the people were highly amused ;

so much amused, in-

deed, that for years to come they dated everything from

the marriage of Prince Prosper. Happy country, where the
people can be amused at their own expense !

The festivities over, the birdproposed to the old queen to

make her young again. "I shall be very glad," said she,
"
but do not go too far. At no price would I be willing to
live over again the pleasures and vexations of youth. I
should like to be a youthful grandmother, that I might see
38 Last Fairy Tales,

my grandchildren grow up I desire nothing more, and would

;

not exchange my grandmother's crown for a bridal wreath."

The bird did as it was told, and stopped when the old queen
had gone back to the age of forty-five.
Prince Prosper and the Fairest of the Fair had a large

family, and lived happily. Griffon stayed with his young

masters, as did likewise the parrot, and they all grew old
together. The bird more than once proposed to Prosper to
make him young again, but he always refused. " No," said
he ; " there are but three beings in the world that know how
to love : an old dog, an old horse, and an old wife. I have
found two of these treasures, and I mean to cling to them."
On her side, the princess, woman though she was, refused to
renew her youth. " What is the use," said she, " as long as
my husband is satisfied with me as I am 1 Whoever is be-
loved always young and handsome."
is
—
Thus their lives were passed loving, beloved, trusting,
and happy. Their mutual afiection was darkened by no
cloud ; and, if they are not dead, they are loving each other
to this very day.
 THE FAIRY CRAWFISH.
AN ESTHONIAN TALE.
In the neighborhood of Revel, near the shores of the Bal-
tic,there once lived a wood-cutter in a wretched hovel, situa-
ted by a deserted road, on the edge of the forest. Loppi,
for that was our hero's name, was as poor as Job, and like-

wise as patient. That nothing might be lacking to complete

the resemblance. Providence in its mercy had granted him a
wife who might have given points to the spouse of the patri-
arch. Her name was Masicas, which signifies, it is said,
wild strawberry. She was not naturally vicious, and never
flew into a rage when other people agreed with her or did as
she liked. But the rest of the time she was not so good-
tempered; If she was silent from morning to night, when
her husband was in the fields or the forest, she scolded from

night to morning, when her lord was in the house. It is true

40 Last Fairy Tales,

that,according to the old proverb, "horses quarrel when

there is no hay in the rack ;" and plenty did not
reign in
the wood-cutter's hut. The spiders spun few webs there,
for there was not a fly to catch, and two mice that chanced
to stray into thewretched dwelling perished with hunger.
One day, when there was nothing to eat in the house, and
the charming Masicas was more vixenish than usual, the hon-
est wood-cutter flung over his shoulder an empty sack, his
sole possession, and rushed from the house sighing. He
used to go out with this wallet
every morning in search of
work, or, rather, of alms, too happy when he could carry
home a crust of dry bread, a head of cabbage, or a few po-
tatoes bestowed on him in charity.
He was passing by a pond, lighted by the first beams of
day, when he spied in the wet grass a blackish object, lying
motionless, and looking like some strange animal. It was
a huge crawfish, whose like he had never seen. The morn-
ing sun, or perhaps fatigue, had put the creature to sleep.
To seize it around the body and fling it into his sack, with-
out giving it time to look about, was the work of an instant.
"
What a windfall !" thought Loppi ; " and how pleased my
wife will be It is long since she had such a treat."
!

He leaped with joy ; then suddenly stopped and turned

pale. From the sack arose sepulchral tones a human voice; —
it was the crawfish speaking.
" Halloa "
and let me go. I
!
my friend," it cried, stop,
am the oldest of the crawfish tribe am more than a hun- ;
I

dred years old. What could you do with my tough carcass ?

It would blunt the teeth of a wolf. Do not abuse the chance
that has thrown me into your hands. Remember that I,
like yourself, am one of God's creatures, and pity me as you

would some day have him take pity on you."

*^My dear crawfish," answered the wood -cutter, "your
"
The honest wood-cutter flung over his shoulder an empty sack, and
went out sighing."
42 Last Fairy Tales,

preaching is fine, but do not blame me for not listening

to your sermon. For my own part, I would willingly let

you go, but my wife is waiting for me to bring her our din-
ner. If I return empty-handed, and tell her that I caught
the finest crawfish that ever was seen, and let it
go again,
she will raise an uproar that might be heard from here to
Revel. And, with her quick temper, she is quite capable
of meeting me with a broomstick."
"
What need is there of telling your wife ?" asked the
crawfish.

Loppi scratched his ear and then his head, and, heaving
a deep sigh,
" "
My
dear," said he, if you knew Masicas, and under-

stood how sharp she is, you would not talk to me in this

style. She has a way of leading you by the nose, whether

you will or no. no resisting her. She turns you
There is

and makes you tell all you

inside out like the skin of an eel,

know, and even some things that you do not know. She is
a superior woman."
"
dear friend," resumed the crawfish, " I see that you
My
belong to the brotherhood of good husbands. I congratulate
you But as empty compliment will not serve your turn, I
!

am ready to redeem my liberty at a price that will satisfy

madame. Do not judge me by appearances. I am a fairy,
and have some power. If you listen to me, you will be the
gainer you turn a deaf ear, you will repent it all your life."
;
if
" "
Oh, dear," said Loppi, I do not want to harm anybody.
Fix matters so that Masicas will be pleased, and I am quite
ready to let you go free."
"
What kind of fish does your wife like best ?"
" I have
no idea. We poor people have not time to pick
and choose. It is enough that I do not go home empty-
handed. No one will complain."
Taking the crawfish around the body, he gently placed her in the water."

\
44 Last Fairy Tales.

"
the ground," said the crawfish, " then dip
Lay me on
your open sack into this corner of the pond. Right. Now,
Fish in the sack /'
Was such a marvel ever seen ! In an instant the sack
was full of fish ; so full, indeed, that it
nearly slipped from
its owner's hands.
"
You see that she whom you have befriended is not un-
grateful," said the crawfish to the astonished wood-cutter.
" You can come here every morning and fill your wallet by
repeating the words Fish in the sack. I will keep my prom-
ise. You have been kind to me, and I will be kind to you.
And if, by and by, you wish for something else, come here
and call me, in these solemn words,
•
Crawfish, dear friend,
Succor pray lend.'

I will answer your voice, and see what I can do. A last

piece of friendly counsel you wish to be happy at home,

: if

be prudent ;
and say nothing to your wife of what has hap-
pened to-day."
"I will try, Madame Fairy," answered the wood-cutter.
Then, taking the crawfish around the body, he gently placed
her in the water, into which she plunged out of sight.
As to the proud and happy Loppi, he returned home with a
light step and a lighter heart. He hardly waited to enter
the house before opening his sack, when, behold, there sprang
from it a superb pike, an ell long, a great golden carp, that
leaped in the air and back gasping, two fine tenches, and
fell

a mass of whitefish. Any one would have said that it was

the pick of the Revel market. At the sight of all this
wealth Masicas uttered a cry of joy, and threw herself on
Loppi's neck.
*
My husband, my dear husband, my love of a husband,"

/
 The Fairy Crawfish. 45

she said, " you see how right your little wife was in making

you go out so early this morning to seek your fortune. An-

other time you will listen to her. What splendid fish ! Go
to the garden, where you will find a little garlic and onions,
4.6 Last Fairy Tales,

then run to the woods and get some mushrooms. I will

make you a fish soup such as king nor emperor ever tasted.
Then we will broil the carp \
and we shall have a feast fit

for an alderman."
The meal was a merry one. Masicas had no will but that
of her husband. Loppi thought that the honeymoon had
come again. But, alas the very next day, which was
!

Monday, the fish he brought were more coldly received.

On the fourth day madame made a face at them, and on
Sunday she burst forth in a passion.
" Have vowed to shut me
you in a convent ?
up Am I a
condemn me to keep Lent to all eternity ? What
nun, that you
can be more insipid than this fish t The very sight of it
turns my stomach."
"What do you want, then?" cried honest Loppi, who had
not yet forgotten his destitution.
"Nothing but what every honest peasant family has to
eat. A good soup, and a piece of roast pork ; that is all I
need to be happy. I am content with so little."
" "
It is true," thought the wood-cutter, that the fish from
the pond is a little tasteless, and that there is nothing so

good for a weak stomach as a nice slice of pork. But will

the fairy be able to grant me so great a favor ?"
The next morning, at daybreak, he hastened to the pond
and called his benefactress :

"
Crawfish, dear friend,
Succor pray lend."

Andbehold, a huge claw rose from the water, then anoth-

er, and then a head in a bishop's mitre, with two great star-
ing eyes.
"
What do you want, brother ?" asked a well-known voice.
" for myself," answered the wood-cutter. " What
Nothing
 The Fairy Crawfish. 47

have I to wish for? But wife has a weak stomach, and

my
is
beginning to tire of fishshe would like something else ;
;

soup, for example, or a roast of pork."

"
If that is all your dear wife needs to make her happy, I
can satisfy her," answered the crawfish. "At dinner-time
tap thrice on the table with your little finger, saying each
48 Last Fairy Tales.

Soup and roast appear P and you will be served. But

^
time,
beware your wife's wishes may not always be so modest ;
:

do not become a slave to them, or you will repent when it is

too late."
"
I will try,'* said Loppi, sighing.
At the appointed hour the dinner appeared on the table.
Masicas was overcome with joy. The gentleness of a lamb
and the tenderness of a dove were nothing compared with
the submission she showed her husband. These halcyon
days lasted a whole week. But ere long the horizon dark-
ened, and at last the storm broke on the head of the inno-
cent Loppi.
"
How long is this torture to last ? Do you mean to sick-
en me to death by feeding me on this greasy broth and fat

pork? I am not a woman to stand such treatment."

"
What do you want then, my love .?" asked Loppi.
" a roast goose, and some
I want a good, plain dinner :

tarts for dessert."

 The Fairy Crawfish. 49
What answer could he make ? There were a number of
things, indeed, that he might have said, but Loppi was not

equal to risking the peace of the family. look from his A

wife would have made him sink into the earth. One is so
weak when he loves !

The poor man did not close his eyes that night. Early
the next morning he set out for the pond, and walked for a

long time up and down the bank, his heart consumed by

anxiety. If the fairy thought he was asking too much, what
was he to do? At last he summoned up his courage, and

cried,
"
Crawfish, dear friend,
Succor pray lend."

" What do you want, brother ?" answered a voice that

made him start.
"
Nothing for myself. What have I to wish for ? But my
wife's stomach is beginning to tire of soup and roast pork.
She would like something light ; for instance, a roast goose
and some tarts."
" "
Is that all ?" replied the good fairy, we will try once
more to satisfy her. Return home, brother, and do not
come to me every time your wife wishes to change her bill
of fare ;
let her order what she likes the table is a faithful
',

servant, and will obey her."

No sooner said than done. On returning home, the wood-
cutter found the table already laid, with pewter mugs and
plates, wrought-iron spoons, and three-pronged steel forks ;

the fairy had done things on a grand scale, to say nothing

of the roast goose and potatoes, stewed sauce, and toothsome

plum-pudding. Nothing was lacking, not even a flask of

anisette cordial to enliven the feast. This time Loppi
thought his troubles at an end.
Alas it is sometimes a misfortune for a husband to
! in-
4
so Last Fairy Tales,

spire his wife with too high an idea of his might. Masi-
cas had sense enough to understand that there was some-
thing magical about this wonderful plenty. One day she in-
sisted on knowing what good genius had taken them under
his protection. Loppi attempted at first to keep silence, but
how could one resist so trusting, tender, and loving a wife?
Let the first husband that would not do likewise dare to
cast a stone at him and tell it at home ; I shall think him
rasher than Alexander, and bolder than Caesar.
Masicas had sworn to betray this precious confidence to
 The Fairy Crawfish, 51
no one ;
she kept her oath (there was not a neighbor within
two leagues around) ; but if she kept the secret, she took
care not to forget it.
An occasion soon offers to him who is on the watch for
it. evening, when Masicas had delighted her husband
One
with her tenderness and good-humor," Loppi," she said, "my
dear Loppi, you have been lucky, it is true, but you do not
know how to make the most of your luck. You do not think
about your little wife. I dine like a princess, and dress like

a beggar. Am I so old and ugly that you are willing to let

me go ragged.? I do not say this through coquetry, my

love ;
there is but one man whom I care to please ; but I
must have clothes like a lady. Do not tell me that you
cannot help it," added she, with the most winning smile, " I
know better
;
I know that the fairy is always ready to serve

you. Can you deny the modest request of her who lives for

you alone ?"

When a woman asks for a dress to shine only in her hus-
band's eyes, who could be barbarous enough to refuse to
please his companion, even though it took a new toilette every
day. Loppi was not a monster. Indeed, in the bottom of
his heart, he thought that Masicas was not wrong. With
it seemed as though they were eating
their squalid garments,
stolen food. How much brighter their table would be with
a well-dressed mistress of the house at its head !

Despite these good reasons Loppi set out for the pond in
an uneasy frame of mind. He began to fear that he was
going too far. It was not without dread that he called his
benefactress — "
Crawfish, dear friend,
Succor pray lend."
"
Suddenly the fairy appeared above the water. What do
you want, brother ?" said she.
52 Last Fairy Tales,

"
Nothing for myself. What have I to wish for ? But you
are so good and generous that my wife's wishes come a lit-
tle too fast. Her rags remind her of our former wretched-
ness, and nothing will do but that she must be dressed like
a lady."
The good crawfish laughed heartily. "Return home,
brother," said she, "your wife's wishes are granted."
Loppi could not find words to express his thanks, and in-
sisted on kissing the claw of his friend. He sang along the
road, as gay and light-hearted as a lark. On the way he
met a beautiful lady, dressed in cloth, silk, and furs. He
bowed humbly to the noble princess, when the stranger
laughed and flung herself on his neck. It was
in his face

Masicas, in all her beauty, and, to speak frankly, she was

second to none in majesty and grace. The proverb that
the habit makes the monk and the feathers the bird, is, above
where women are concerned.
'

all, true
This time Masicas was happy, there was no denying it ;

but it is the misfortune of the happy that desires l^eget de-

sires. Of what use was it to play the lady when she lived
alone in a wretched hovel, without a neighbor to madden
with jealousy at her sight, or a mirror in which to gaze at
herself from head to foot ? Masicas had not promenaded
about in her cloth and furs for a week when she said to her
husband,
" I have been
thinking about the way we live ; it is really
absurd. I will stand it no longer. A princely table and ele-

gant dress do not agree with a hovel open on all sides.

The fairy has too much sense, and she loves you too well, my
dear husband, not to feel that she owes us a mansion where
I can play lady of the castle all day long. With this, I shall
have nothing left to desire."
"Alas! we are lost," cried Loppi. "The string that is
 The Fairy Crawfish, 53

drawn too tight is sure to snap; we shall be poorer than

ever. Why not be content with what we have ? How many-
would be thankful for such comfort as ours !"
" "
Loppi," said Masicas, impatiently, you will never be
54 Last Fairy Tales,

anything but a milksop. Don't you know that those who

are afraid to speak for themselves always go to the wall ?
Are you any the worse for taking my advice ? Go on ; don't
be afraid ;
I will answer for the consequences."
She railed at the good man until he set out, his limbs

trembling beneath him. Should the fairy refuse to listen,

he could bear the disappointment well enough, but how
could he face his wife's despair on his return ? He did not
 The Fairy Crawfish, 55
feel able to brave the tempest she would raise ;
and the
only way in which he could summon up his courage was to
vow within his heart that if the crawfish said no, he would

fling himself head foremost into the pond. However vio-

lent might be the remedy, the evil was still greater.

Nothing is braver than poltroons at bay. It was in a

gruff voice that he cried :

"
Crawfish, dear friend,
Succor pray lend."

"What do you want, brother?" said the fairy.

" What have I to wish for? But
Nothing for myself my
wife, in spite of all the favors you have heaped upon us, tor-
ments me night and day to make a new demand of you,
against my will."

"Ho, ho!" cried the crawfish, "you have changed your

tune. You have told our secret to your wife now you may ;

bid farewell to peace at home. And what does this fair

lady ask, now that she thinks she has me in her power?"
" A a modest
mansion, good fairy, little castle, that her
house may correspond with the fine clothes you have given
her. Make Masicas a baroness, and she will be so happy
that we shall have nothing left to wish for."
" "
Brother," answered the crawfish, gravely, be it as your
wife desires." And she abruptly disappeared.
Loppi had some trouble in finding his way back. The
whole aspect of the country had changed ; around him were
well-tilled fields, and pastures full of cattle ; beyond he saw
a brick mansion, in the midst of a garden full of fruit and
flowers. Wondering what this castle could be, which he be-
held for the first time, he gazed at it with admiration, when
a richly dressed lady came down the steps. Strange to say,
she smiled at him and held out her hand it was Masicas. —
56 Last Fairy Tales,

" At " I have

last," she exclaimed, nothing left to wish
for. Kiss me, my dear Loppi. You have crowned my
wishes. I thank you, and also the good fairy."

The honest wood-cutter was ravished with delight. No

dream could have been more enchanting. In an hour to
be transported from poverty to riches, and from obscurity to
a lofty station ;
to dwell in a castle with a graceful woman,
always good-humored, and whose only thought was to please
him — Loppi wept for joy.
But, unhappily, there is no dream without a waking. Ma-
sicas tasted all the pleasures of wealth and greatness. All
the barons and baronesses in the neighborhood disputed
with each other the honor of visiting and receiving her ; the

governor of the province was at her feet ; and her dresses,

castle, horses, and stables were the talk of the whole neigh-
borhood. Had she not the finest trotters in the
country ;
English cows with scarcely any horns and still less milk;
English hens that seldom laid, but that were as handsome
and wild as pheasants ; and English pigs
so fat that neither
head, tail, nor feet could be seen ? What did Masicas lack,
then, to make her the happiest of women ? Alas, everything
had succeeded but too well with her. She felt that she was
born to rule, and did not hide it from her husband. The
great lady wished to be a queen.
" Do "
you not see," said she to Loppi, with what respect
every one treats me? It is because I am always in the
right. Even you, who are more stubborn than a mule, can-
not help owning that I am never wrong. I was born to be
a queen ! I feel it."

Loppi cried out in amazement. He was sharply told in

reply that he was nothing but a simpleton. Who had forced
him, against his will, to apply again to the crawfish? It
would be the same way this time. He would be king, in
A richly dressed lady came down the steps.'
58 Last Fairy Tales,

spite of himself, and it was to his wife that he would owe his
crown.
Loppi had no wish to reign. He breakfasted well and dined

better ;
his desires
went no further. But
he loved his repose before
everything, and he could
not be ignorant that, with
his beloved better half, he
could enjoy repose only
on condition of submitting
to madame's will and ca-

prices. He scratched his

head and sighed ; it is even said that he swore a little ; but
he set out, and on reaching the pond called in a tender voice
to his dear friend the crawfish.
 The Fairy Crawfish, 59
He saw the black claws rise from the water, and heard
the " What do you want, brother ?" but stood for some time
without speaking, himself appalled by the temerity of his re-

quest. At last he answered,

" for myself. What have I to wish for? But
Nothing my
wife is be tired of being a baroness."
beginning to
"
What does she want, then ?" asked the fairy.
" Alas 1" murmured Loppi, "
she wants to be a queen."
" "
Ho, ho !" cried the crawfish. It was a lucky thing for

her and you that you saved my life ;

this time also I will

grant your wife's wish. Hail, husband of a queen, I wish

you much joy Good-evening, Prince Consort !"
!

When Loppi returned home the castle had become a pal-

ace ; Masicas was a queen. Valets, chamberlains, and pages
were rushing about in all directions to execute the commands
of their sovereign.
" " I
God be praised," said the wood-cutter, have found
rest at last! Masicas is at the top of the ladder; she can
climb no higher; and she has so many around her to do
her will that I can sleep in peace without her insisting on
waking me."
Nothing is more fragile than the happiness of kings, unless
it be that of queens. Two months had hardly passed when
Masicas had a new whim. She sent
for Loppi.

"I am tired of
being queen," she said; *'I am sick to
death of the platitudes of these courtiers. I wish to rule over
free men. Go for a last time to the fairy, and make her
give me what I desire."
"Good heavens!" cried Loppi, "if a crown does not satisfy
you, what will ? Perhaps you would like to be God himself?"
" "
not ?" answered Masicas, coolly.
Why Would the world
be any the worse governed?"
On hearing this blasphemy, Loppi gazed at his wife.
**
The castle had become a palace j
Masicas was a queen.*
 The Fairy Crawfish, '6i

aghast. The poor woman had evidently lost her mind.

He shrugged his shoulders.
" "
Say and do what you like," said he, I shall not trou-
ble the fairy with such folly."
" Wewill see about that," cried the queen, in a rage.
**
Do you forget who I am ? Obey me instantly, or off goes
your head."
" I will "I
go as fast as I can," cried the wood-cutter.
"
may as well die one way as another," thought he ;
as well

by the hand of the fairy as that of my wife. Perhaps the

crawfish will have pity on me."
He staggered like a drunken man, and found himself on
the edge of the pond without knowing how he came there.
He cried at once, in despairing accents,
"
Crawfish, dear friend,
Succor pray lend."

There was no answer. The pond remained silent; not

even the buzz of a fly was heard. He called a second time ;

there was no echo. Terrified, he called a third time.

"
What do you want ?" said a harsh voice.
"
Nothing for myself What have I to wish for ? But the
queen, my wife, makes me come here for the last time."
"
What more does she want ?"
Loppi fell on his knees.
"
Forgive me, it is not my fault ! She wants to be God."
The crawfish rose half-way out of the water, and, stretching
a threatening claw towards Loppi, cried,
"Your wife deserves to be shut up in prison, and you to
be hung, wicked fool. It is the cowardice of husbands that
causes the folly of wives. To your kennel, wretch, to your
kennel !"
And she dived into the pond in such a rage that the wa-
ter hissed as if a red-hot iron had been dipped in it
62 Last Fairy Tales,

\^'<^icm=z^

Loppi fell face downward upon

the ground as if struck by

lightning. Whenhe set out for home, with hanging head,

he knew but too well the road he had travelled so often ; the
edge of the forest, bordered with puny birches and sickly
firs, stagnant pools here and there, and, farther on, a wretched

hovel; he had relapsed into direr want than ever.

What would Masicas say, and how should he comfort her :
He had not much time for these melancholy thoughts ;
for

a hag, in tatters, flung herself on his neck as if to strangle

him.
"Here you are at last, you monster!" cried she. "It is
you that have ruined us by your stupidity and folly. It is
you that have enraged your accursed crawfish. I might
 The Fairy Crawfish. 63

tfK^-
have expected it. You never loved me ; you never did any-
thing for me ; you have always been a selfish wretch. Die
by my hand !"
She would have torn out his eyes, if he had not with great
difficulty held both her arms.
" Take care, Masicas, be quiet ; you will hurt yourself."

It was lost labor

; Loppi himself giving way, when
felt

suddenly the veins in the throat of the fury swelled, her face
turned purple, she threw herself back, flung up her arms, and
fell
heavily on the ground. She was dead ; rage had killed
her.
64 Last Fairy Tales,

Loppi mourned for his wife, as every good husband ought

to do. He buried her with his own hands under a
great
fir-tree inthe neighborhood. Over the grave he placed a
stone, and surrounded the whole with a rough wall to keep
off the wild beasts of the forest. This sad duty fulfilled, he
returned home and strove to forget
But he fell a prey to despair; he was not made to live
" What shall I do what will become of me ?" he
alone. ;
*'
cried, weeping. Here I am, solitary, forsaken, a burden to
myself. Who will think for me, choose for me, speak for
me, and act for me, as my dear wife used to do ? Who will
waken me a dozen times in the night to tell me what I must
do to-morrow ? I am nothing but a body without a soul, a
corpse. My life fled with my beloved Masicas. I have
nothing left but to die."
He spoke truly. Early the next winter, a peasant on his
way through the forest saw a man lying in the snow. It was
Loppi, who had been dead a week
—
dead of cold, hunger, and
sorrow, without a friend or neighbor to close his eyes. His
icy fingers grasped an awl, with which he had traced on the
stone this last tribute to her who had been the delight o\
his life —
TO THE
BEST OF WIVES,
FROM THE
MOST INCONSOLABLE OF HUSBANDS.
 FRAGOLETTE.

In the neighborhood of Mantua there once lived an orphan,

already a tall girl, who went to school every morning with her

books and dinner-basket. The school was not far off, but
it took a long time to go there, for the way led along a
ditch, lined with bushes and great trees, full of blossoms,
birds, and butterflies, according to the season.
fruit, Who
could help stopping to look at all these wonders of creation ?
5
66 Last Fairy Tales,

One day our school-girl spied in the heart of a wild rose

the prettiest blue butterfly that ever was seen. She held
her breath, as she advanced on tiptoe, and gently raised her
hand, when the butterfly slipped through her fingers, flut-
tered to the right and left, and settled a little higher up the

slope. She followed, it flew away, alighted on a flower

farther up, and flitted thus
from place to place, until it
led her up the side of the

ditch, near a walled enclos-

ure, which bore a bad repu-
tation in the neighborhood.
This was the spot, it was said,
where the fairies danced in

a ring on Midsummer Eve,

and witches held their Sab-
baths on dark winter nights.

Although the walls had crum-

bled inmany places, and fill-
ed up the ditch, no Christian
dared venture into this ac-
cursed place ;
but butterflies
have no scruples, and chil-
dren are like butterflies.
Our blue-winged traveller

unceremoniously entered this

garden, which looked like a virgin forest, and the little girl
followed, carried away by the pleasure of the chase. But
scarcelyhad she pushed through a clump of bushes when
she stopped short and cried out with wonder. Before her
was a meadow, bordered with large trees, and dotted with
red and black spots which enamelled the turf They were
great, luscious strawberries, strawberries that had no owner.
 Fragolette, 67
and that offered themselves to any one ready to profit by
this wasted treasure. Forgetting the butterfly, the school-
girl threw herself on her knees in the grass, and, in less than
a quarter of an hour, filled her basket ; after which she took
to her heels, and arrived at the school out of breath, and
with cheeks redder than the strawberries she had gathered.
She was scolded for coming so late j but she was so proud
and happy that she did not hear a word that was said
to her. What is the use of laying down the law to con-

querors !

At luncheon-time she divided her treasure with her little

friends, who could not sufficiently praise her courage and

good luck. She seemed like a queen surrounded by a host

of courtiers. Nothing was wanting to her triumph. They
called her Fragolette, which means in French, Little Straw-
68 Last Fairy Tales,

berry, and this title she kept all her life. At least, it is the
only name by which she is known in history.
It is true that there were timid souls who could not rid
themselves of certain scruples. While eating the strawberries,
they questioned whether it might not be tempting the devil
to rob him on his own ground ; but these idle murmurs were

lost in the tumult of victory ; and no one paid any attention

to them.
It would have been better to have listened to them, as the
sequel of our story proves. Intoxicated with her good fort-
une and popularity, Fragolette returned again and again to
the spot, and finally began to look upon the place as her
own. " It is a deserted field," she thought, " whose fruit is
devoured by the blackbirds and thrushes ; and surely a
Christian has quite as much right to it as the birds."
One day, however, when she was gathering her harvest,
as usual, a frightful blow on the head stretched her on the

ground. "I have caught you, you thief," cried a terrible

" shall for
this !"
voice, you pay
Stunned by the blow, Fragolette tried to rise, when she
saw before her a figure, the very sight of whom froze her
with horror. It was a tall, thin, yellow, wrinkled old woman,
with red eyes, and a nose like the beak of a vulture. From
her gory mouth projected two teeth, longer and sharper than
a wild boar's tusks. Fragolette tried to stammer an apology ;
but the old woman, who was a witch, and an ogress into the
bargain, did not deign to hear a word she tied her hands;

behind her, wound a rope seven times round her waist, and
made a running knot in it, through which she passed the
handle of the enormous broom with which she had knocked
down the child.
Then, muttering in the devil's language some of those
horrible words which make the earth tremble and the
'*
When she was gathering her harvest, as usual, a frightful blow on the
head stretched her on the ground."
70 Last Fairy Tales.

heavens turn pale, she seated herself astride the broomstick,

and darted like an arrow through the air, carrying with her
the unhappy Fragolette, suspended in space, like a spider
hanging from its web.
If she had ever studied geography she might have enjoyed
the magnificent spectacle spread out beneath her, of beauti-
ful Italy, bordered by the snowy Alps and the blue ocean,

and traversed by the verdant ridges of the Apennines ; but in

those days women spun on their distaffs at home, and troub-
led themselves little about what was taking place in China
and Peru —geography was of small use to them ; and, be-
poor child was too frightened to open her eyes.
sides, the
She passed over Vesuvius and Etna without seeing them,
and was more dead than alive when the magic broomstick
descended to the earth amid the forests of Sicily.
"Up, brigand," said the witch, pulling her by the
little
"
hair, you belong to me now ; begin your work. Go, set the
table in the dining-room. How I should like to eat you if
you were not so thin!" she added, feeling her arms; "but
in my house people soon grow fat, and you will lose nothing

by waiting." With this horrible jest, she opened wide her

great mouth, and licked her lips with a smile that made poor
Fragolette shudder.
The dinner was not very merry; as may be thought. The
old woman greedily devoured a roast of cat, mice in jelly,
and stewed turnips. Fragolette gnawed a crust of bread,
and threw herself, in tears, on a wretched pallet that was
laid for her in a corner.Happily, she was of the age when
slumber is
stronger than sorrow, and she had scarcely
touched the ground when she fell asleep.

XL
The day after this sad adventure Fragolette's slavery
 Fragolette. 71

began. Every morning she was forced to sweep and dust

the whole house, cook the meals, set the table, wash the

dishes, and, what was worst, help to dress her frightful mis-
tress. She stood for whole hours curling the only three
hairs that the ogress had on her head, after which she had
to clean her two great teeth, and put rice-powder, rouge, and
court-plaster patches on her face; and she was lucky, indeed,
when all this painting was done, if she was let off with three
or four boxes on the ear.
Nevertheless, in spite of this hardlife, Fragolette grew

taller and prettier every day. do not say that she grew
I

better, for she was not one of those good creatures that

stoop to kiss the hand that strikes them ; no, indeed, her
blood boiled in her veins, and she dreamed only of rage and
—
vengeance. The old hag saw this people always fear those
whom they injure. Often, while Fragolette was curling her
hair, she wondered whether her servant might not seize the

opportunity to throttle her, and whether it would not be wise

to be beforehand with the girl.
72 Last Fairy Tales.

One day, when Fragolette seemed to her more beautiful

than ever, she was seized with anger and jealousy.
"Talce this basket," said she to the young girl, "go to the
fountain, and bring it back full of water ;
if you do not, I
will eat you up."
The innocent girl ran at full speed, fancying that the
basket was enchanted, and that the witch was amusing her-
self by frightening her, as usual. She dipped the basket
into the fountain, but, on lifting it up, the water all ran out,
as from a sieve. Three times she tried to fill it, and three
times her labor was in vain. At last she understood that
the ogress meant Filled with rage and despair,
to kill her.
she leaned against the fountain and burst into tears. Sud-
"
denly she heard a gentle voice saying, Fragolette, Frago-
why do you weep ?" She raised her head, and saw a
lette,
handsome young man looking at her tenderly.
 Fragolette. n
"
"Who are you," she said, and how do you know my name ?"
" I am the witch's
son, and my name is Belebon. I know
that she has resolved to take your life, but she shall not suc-
ceed, I promise you. Give me a kiss and I will fill
your
basket."

"Kiss the son of the witch! Never!" said Fragolette,

proudly.
"
Well, I will be less cruel than you," answered the young
man. And, breathing three times on the basket, he dipped
it into the fountain and drew it out full of water. Not a
drop escaped.
74 Last Fairy Tales,

Fragolette returned to the house, and set the basket on

the table without saying a word. The ogress turned pale
as death.
" Do
you, by chance, belong to the trade?" said she, staring
the young girl full in the face. Then, striking her forehead,
"
she said, You have seen
Belebon, and he has helped you ;

own it."
"You must know, since you are a witch."
For her sole answer the hag dealt her such a box on the
ear that she had to cling to the table to keep from falling.
" "
Ho, ho !" cried the witch, we shall see who will win He !

laughs best who laughs last !"

The next day the ogress said to Fragolette, "I am going
to take a trip to Africa. I shall be back this evening. You
see that sack of wheat ; it must all be made into bread be-
fore I return.' It is no harder than to carry water in a
basket. do not succeed, look out for yourself!"
If you

Saying this, she went out chuckling, and locked the door.
" This time I am "
lost," cried the young girl. How can
I grind the grain, and knead and bake the bread ? I have

neither mill nor oven, nor time to do it." She beat upon the
door again and again, hoping to break it open and escape.
It was opened by Belebon.
" "
Fragolette, Fragolette," said he, I only wish to do you

good ; give me a kiss, and I will make the bread and save

you."
"
Kiss the son of the witch !" answered Fragolette, trem-
"
bling. Never !"

"You I. cannot let you die."

are pitiless, Fragolette, but
He whistled, and, behold, from all the holes in the house
came a host of rats and mice. The rats carried the wheat
to the mill, and came running back with a sack of flour ;
after which, they heated the oven while the mice made the
 Fragolette, 75

bread. And when the witch returned it was all baked ; and
the golden loaves were piled to the ceiling.
"Wretch !" cried the old woman, "you have seen Belebon^
and he has helped you ; own it."
" You must
know, since you are a witch."

The ogress dealt her a savage blow, but Fragolette sud-

denly stooped, and her enemy fell forward, striking her nose
on the table, and turned blue with rage and pain.
" " He
Ho, ho !" cried she, we shall see who will win !

laughs best who laughs last !"

76 Last Fairy Tales,

III.

Three days later, the hag, putting on her most smiling

" "
countenance, called Fragolette. My child," said she, go
to my sister's house, ask her for her casket, and bring it to
me."
" How am know where your
I to sister lives, or what she
is called ?"
" "
Nothing is easier," answered the witch ; go straight for-
ward till you come to a torrent that crosses the road, ford it,
and a little farther on you will see an old castle, with an iron
gate, where my sister, Viperine, lives. Go, and hurry back,
my child."
"What a miracle !" thought Fragolette; "the old witch is

in good-humor."
Saying this, she set out with a light step. On the way she
met Belebon, who was waiting for her.
"
Where are you going this morning ?" he asked.
"
I am going to my mistress's sister, to fetch back her
casket."
" "
Unhappy girl !" cried Belebon, you are sent to your
death. No one ever quitted Viperine's castle alive. But I can
save you. Give me a kiss, and I will answer for your safety,"
"
No, I will never kiss the son of a witch !"
"
Fragolette, Fragolette, you are ungrateful ; but I love you
better than my life, and will save you in spite of yourself.
Mark me well ; when you have reached the brink of the tor-

rent, you must say,

*
Beautiful river, let me
pass through thy
silvery waters !' Then take this bottle of oil, loaf of bread,

rope, and small broom. On reaching the iron gate of the

old castle, rub the hinges with oil and it will open of its own
accord. A
great dog will spring at you, barking ; throw him
this bread and he will stop. In the courtyard you will see
 Fragolette. 77

a poor woman drawing water from the well by tying the

bucket to her braids of hair; offer her this rope; go up the
steps and you will find in the kitchen another woman clean-
ing the oven with her tongue, give her this broom. Then go
into the chamber where Viperine is asleep ; the casket is on
a cabinet, seize it, and escape as fast as you can. If you
obey me you will not die."
 #ffii^

'

The gate, rubbed with oil, opened of its own accord.

 Fragolette, 79

Fragolette forgot nothing that Belebon had told her. On

the brink of the torrent, she cried, " Beautiful river, let me
pass through thy silvery waters!" and the nymph of the
"
torrent answered in her sweetest tones, Pass, lovely girl,"
whereupon the waters parted so that she passed over dry-
shod. The gate, rubbed with oil, opened of its own ac-
cord. The dog pounced on the bread, turned round, curled

himself up, and lay down, his head on his paws, looking

lovingly at Fragolette. The two women joyfully took the

gifts that were brought them, and our heroine noiselessly
entered the room where Viperine lay snoring. She ran to
the cabinet and seized the casket. Her heart beat loudly, and
she thought herself saved, when suddenly the witch awoke.

Fragolette was already on the steps.

8o Last Fairy Tales.

" Ho ! ho ! there I" cried Viperine " woman in the kitchen,

;

kill that thief for me !"

" " she has
Not I," answered the victim ; given me a
broom, while you make me clean the oven with my

tongue."
 Fragolette, 8i
" Woman at the '*
well," cried the witch, seize that thief
and drown her !"
" " she has
Not I," answered the victim ; given me a
rope, while you make me draw up the bucket with my
hair."
"
Dog, tear her to pieces !"
"
Not I," said the mastiff, without even raising his head ;
'*
she has given me bread, while you let me die of hunger."
"
Door, shut her in !"
82 Last Fairy Tales,

"Not I," said the door; "she has oiled my hinges, while
you let me be eaten with rust."
The witch reached the bottom of the steps with one bound ;

but the door, delighted at regaining its liberty, swung back

and forth without ceasing, and, just as Viperine was about
to go out, it closed upon her so suddenly that she was nearly
crushed by it.

Fragolette ran on without looking behind her, but, in her

terror, she did not forget to pay a compliment to the river,
and passed over as before. Viperine was close behind her.
" "
You dirty brook," said she, open a way for me or I will
dry you up !"

The ; but
torrent partedwhen Viperine was half-way over
the waters suddenly rose, and closed upon the witch, who
was instantly drowned. The nymph had avenged herself.
On reaching home, Fragolette gave the casket to her
terrible mistress. What a figure the ogress cut can well
be imagined. "This is a new trick of Belebon's," she
"
thought, but I know another worth two of that. He
laughs best who laughs last !"

IV.
That night she made Fragolette sleep "
in her room. Mark
"
me well," said the poultry -yard there are three
she, in

cocks, one red, one black, and the third white. To-night,
when one of these cocks crows, you must tell me which it is.
Look out for yourself if you guess wrong ;
I will make but
one mouthful of you."
"Belebon will not be here," thought Fragolette; "I am
lost," and she did not close her eyes for an instant.
At midnight a cock crew.
"
Which cock was it that crowed ?" asked the witch.
" "
Belebon," whispered Fragolette, tell me which it was."
 Fragolette. 83

"Give me a "
kiss," murmured a voice, and I will tell you."
"
No."
"
Cruel girl, I will not let you die ;
it was the red one."
The witch sprang from her bed and approached Frago-
lette.
"
Answer, or I will eat you up."
"
It was the red cock that crowed," said Fragolette, trem-

bling.
And the witch went back to bed, grumbling.
At the same instant, another cock was heard.
84 Last Fairy Tales,

"
Which cock was it that crowed ?" asked the witch.
And Belebon whispered the answer to his beloved,
"
It was the black one."
And the witch went back to bed, grumbling.
At daybreak, the cock crew again.
"
Belebon, help me," cried Fragolette.
" me a kiss," said he ; " I have borne your cruelty
Give
long enough."
And behold, the witch came near, opening wide her gory
mouth.
" "
if you forsake me, it
Belebon, Belebon," cried the child,
is you that will be my murderer !"
" It
was the white cock," answered Belebon, unable to re-
sist her tenderness.
" It was the white cock," cried Fragolette.
" No matter, traitress," exclaimed the ogress, in a rage,
"your time is come; you must die."
With these words she fell upon her prey.
But Fragolette, young and agile, slipped from her hands,
opened the window, and leaped into the garden. The furious
witch prepared to follow her, but her foot caught in the win-
dow, she fell head foremost, and broke off both her teeth
—
those teeth on which her power and life depended. Beneath
the window lay a corpse !

V.
Left alone with Belebon, Fragolette soon began to wonder
what would become of her. To return to her own country

scarcely crossed her mind ; she was an orphan, and all there
had forgotten her. To stay in the house where she had suf-
fered so much was also out of the question. For his part
Belebon said nothing; he was happy at having Fragolette
near him, and dared not think of the future.
 Fragolette, 85
There came a time, however, when Fragolette claimed her
liberty. Belebon dared not refuse to let her go ; but he re-
minded the ungrateful girl of all he had done for her, and
offered her his heart and hand.
" "
No," said Fragolette, I will not marry the son of a
witch."

"Go, then," said poor Belebon, "go, since nothing will keep
you. But before leaving this house, where I shall die without
86 Last Fairy Tales,

you, give me at least one token of friendship — the only one I

shallhave ever received from you. Put your hand in mine
and forgive me the crime of my birth. We will not part as
strangers."
She gave him her hand, which he took and covered with
kisses; she did not withdraw it, and looked at him in a
strange fashion.
"
Farewell," said Belebon, "you take with you my happi-
ness and life.
Blessed, a hundred fold blessed, be him to
whom you give this hand."
"
Since you have it, you may as well keep it," said she.
He fell on her neck, sobbing; and she, the capricious girl,
took his head in her hands, and kissed his forehead, laugh-
ing and crying at the same time. No one can ever tell what
is passing in the heart of a woman. Two days after, they
were married.
Thus ends the story ; but it is natural to ask what be-
came of the pair. Did Eelebon continue his mother's wicked
practices? Did Fragolette and her husband return to the
life of common mortals? I wrote, on this subject, to a
learned Sicilian, a member of the Academies of Catania,

Agrigentum, and other places, and this is his answer :

"
Most illustrious and reverend seignior :
—
"
I have been unable to find in our ancient chronicles the
name of either Fragolette or Belebon. Distrusting my own
humble erudition, I have consulted very learned brethren of
all the Academies, and their answer has been that among
all the peoples who successively conquered Sicily
— Pelas-
gians, Sicanians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Ro-
mans, Arabs, Normans, Spaniards, and others there never —
had been seen a married man who was a wizard. We have
reason, therefore, to believe, by analogy, that Belebon, once
married, was no worse than the rest."
 Fragolette, 87
Such is the opinion for which I asked, and it seems to me

wise and just. I refer the point to my readers, both male and
female, and especially to the latter.

^1^^^«
 THE THREE WISHES.
There was once a wise emperor who made the following
law: Every stranger who comes to court shall be served
with a fried fish. The attendants shall carefully watch the
new-comer ; and if, after eating the fish down to the bone,
he turns it over to eat the other side also, the man guilty of
this unheard-of crime shall be instantly arrested, and hung
three days after. But, through our imperial grace, the cul-
prit may each day make a wish, which shall immediately be

granted, provided he does not ask for his life.

 The Three Wishes, 89
There had already been more than one victim to this legal
caprice, when one day a count, followed by his young son,
appeared at court. The two noble guests were welcomed in
the warmest manner ; and, in accordance with the law of the
emperor, a fried fish was served up to them in the midst of

their repast. Both father and son relished it

heartily ; and,
90 Last Fairy Tales.

after eating down to the bone, the count turned over the
fatal fish. He was
instantly seized by two attendants and
dragged before the emperor, who ordered him to be thrown
into prison.- This filled the young son of the count with
such grief that he begged the emperor to let him die in his
father's stead. As the emperor was not cruel, and, provided
some one was hung, cared little who
was, he accepted the
it

exchange, shut up the son in prison, and let the father go free.

Once in his dungeon, the youth said to his jailers, "You

know that, before dying, I am entitled to three wishes. Go

'^^,A^
 The Three Wishes. 91

to the emperor, and tell him to send me his daughter and a

marry us directly."
priest to
A
man more astonished than the emperor at this insolent
demand it would be hard to find. But a sovereign's word
is sacred, and he can hardly break his own law. His
daughter, moreover, was resigned to this three days' mar-
riage ; and, like a good father, the emperor gave his con-
sent.
The next day the prisoner asked the emperor to send him
his treasure. This demand was little less audacious than
that of the day before ;
but what can be refused a man who
is be hung on the morrow ? The emperor, therefore, sent
to
him his money and jewels, which he immediately proceeded
to divide among all the courtiers ; and as at that time there
chanced to be those at court who were weak enough to be
fond of money, they began to take an interest in this poor
young man who had been so well brought up.
On the third day, the emperor, who had slept badly, went
" "
himself to the culprit. Come," said he, make haste to
tell me your last wish, which, once granted, you shall be

strung up without delay, for I am beginning to be a little

tired of your unreasonable demands."

" "
Sire," said the youth, I have but one more favor to en-
treat of your majesty, after which I shall die contented. It

is to put out the eyes of all those who saw my father turn
over the fish."

"Very answered the emperor. "Your demand is

well,"
quite natural, and does credit to your goodness of heart."
Upon which he arrested the major-domo.
" "
I, sire !" cried the major-domo I saw nothing of the
;

kind ;
it was the cupbearer."
" "
Seize the cupbearer," cried the emperor, and put out
his eyes."
92 Last Fairy Tales,

But the cupbearer declared, with tears, that he had seen

nothing ;
he referred to the taster, who referred to the but-
ler, who referred to the pantler, who referred to the first

waiter, who referred to the second, who referred to the third ;

in short, no one had seen the count turn over the fish.
" "
Father," said the princess, I appeal to you as a second
Solomon. If no one saw it, the count is not guilty, and my
husband is innocent."

¥^*#fk

/rjcj
^<S^^^ S:^S§^^:ScM^^:^^ ,^^2::^:=^.
 The Three Wishes, 93
The emperor frowned, and the court at once began to
murmur he smiled, and every mouth grinned from ear
; to
ear.
" "
All right," said he ;
let this handsome innocent live.

I have hung more than one who was no more guilty than he.
But if he is not hung, he is married; justice is done."
 777^ GOLDEN FLEECE,
A SERVIAN FAIRY TALE.

I LOVE the Servians they are a brave people, who remind

;

me Homer. Their war-songs are epics, and

of the heroes of
their fairy tales have the freshness and grace of the marvel-
lous stories of the East. As a specimen, here is one of the
most celebrated, which an aged spinster on the banks of
theMorava lately related to Vouk Stephanovitch.
At Kroujevatz there was once a hunter by the name of lan-
ko Lazarevitch. He was the king of the mountain. Though
his only worldly wealth was a cottage surrounded by
little

an orchard, he lived there in peace and plenty, with his wife

and child. His bees supplied him with honey, his plum-trees
furnished him the best brandy in the country, and, thanks
to his carbine, game was never lacking on his table. The
 The Golden Fleece, 95
rich have their fields, mines, and treasures ; lanko had his
forest. The hares, roes, and bucks, for ten miles round;
belonged to him ; and when fine fox-skins or superb bear-
furswere wanted at Belgrade, Widna, Pesth, or even Con-
stantinople, to whom did men go for them but to lanko, the

hunter of Kroujevatz ?

Happiness is like the flower of the fields ;

it withers in a

day. On
a fine winter's night, as lanko was lying in wait
for game, he spied a strange light in the distance. The for-
est-trees were lighted up for an instant as if by a passing

torch, then fell again into shadow, while the light went on.

At the same time he heard a heavy tread and the sound of

crackling boughs. lanko instantly quitted his hiding-place,
and ran to see what was the matter, when there rushed from
the forest a huge ram, whose eyes darted fire, and whose
He raised his carbine, but the
fleece glittered like the sun.
beast sprang upon him quicker than lightning, and hurled
him to the ground.
The next morning at daybreak some wood-cutters, on
their way to work, found the poor hunter stretched on
the earth, and already cold in death. Two deep wounds
were in his breast, from which his life-blood had ebbed.
The wood-cutters carried the body of their brave comrade
back to he was buried, and all was over. In the
town ;

happy dwelling, which had so often rung with lanko's merry

songs, nought was heard but the wails of a widow and the
sobs of a child.

Joyous or sad, the years pass away, bearing with them our
pleasures and sorrows. Stoian, the son of lanko, grew up
to manhood, and his chief desire was to be a hunter. His
father's blood flowed in his veins, and, while still a child, it

had been his greatest delight to look at and handle the car-
bine hanging on the wall. But, when he asked his mother
tfi Last Fairy Tales,

to give him the fatal weapon and let him go to the forest,

the poor woman burst into tears.

"No, my child," she said, "nothing will induce me to
give you that carbine. I have already lost my husband
through it, and must I also lose my son ?" Stoian held his

peace, and kissed his mother, but the very next morning he
 The Golden Fleece, 97
renewed his entreaties, and was so tender and caressing,
and promised to be so prudent, that she finally yielded.
Early in the morning Stoian hastened to the mountain,
intoxicated with joy. He hunted all day long, and at night

took up his watch at the very spot where his father was
killed.

The night was dark, and the tired young hunter was falling
asleep in spite of himself, when he was aroused by a loud
noise. He perceived a strange light ; he saw the forest-
trees lighted up one after another, as if by a torch, and
heard a heavy tread and the sound of crackling boughs.
Without quitting his hiding-place, Stoian raised his carbine
and commended himself to God. Suddenly there rushed
from the forest a huge ram, whose eyes darted fire, and
whose fleece glittered like the sun.
" "
Stoian Stoian !" he cried,
! I killed your father, and
have come to you !" kill
" "
No," answered the young man ;
with God's help, it is I

who will kill

you."
He
took aim so truly that the bullet struck the ram be-
tween the eyes. He sprang in the air and fell as if struck
by lightning.
Stoian threw himself on the beast, and was beginning
to skin it, when suddenly there appeared at his side a tall
woman with raven tresses and green eyes. It was the Vila,
or fairy of the mountain.

"Stoian," said she, "you have delivered me from an ene-

n^y ; take my hand ; I am your sister. When you are in
need of help, call on me."
The young hunter thanked the lady, and went down the
mountain to Kroujevatz, happy, and proud of his game.
The fleece of the ram was hung on the wall, where it lighted
up the whole cottage. The entire province came to admire
7
98 Last Fairy Tales,

it,and Stoian was proclaimed king of the mountain, like his

father. There was not a young girl that did not smile on
him as he passed by.
In those days the Turk (whom God confound !) was mas-
ter of Servia. Raschid, the pacha of Belgrade, was an old
janizary, who, perhaps, had been brave in his time, but who
 The Golden Fleece. 99
was now nothing but a coarse and selfish old man, who
spent his life in drinking, smoking, and sleeping. To aid
in ruling a people whose language, religion, and customs he

despised, he kept near him a renegade from none knew

—
where one of those miscreants, without faith or law, who
liveonly by plunder. Yacoub, for that was the name of
thishonest man, had a low forehead, eyes like a weasel's,
a nose as hooked as the beak of an eagle, and ten fingers,
even crookeder than his nose. Of all the words in the lan-
guage, the one he knew best was the verb take^ and this he
conjugated in all its moods and tenses. As to the verb
restore, he was ignorant of it.
May Satan teach it to him to
all eternity !

a common saying that one Turk makes more havoc

It is

than half a score of wolves, and that, in this respect, one

renegade is equal to half a score of Turks. Yacoub did
not belie the proverb. One day, when Raschid had come
to Kroujevatz to hunt, Yacoub, according to custom, set
about collecting the taxes on his own behalf. It is just
to say, however, that he gave something to his master, who

gave nothing to the sultan.

On entering the house of Stoian the renegade was daz-

zled by the golden fleece. His eyes sparkled and his hands
clenched with envy.
" "
son," said he to the young hunter, that is a beauti-
My
ful specimen. The pacha ought to know all the animals of
his forests ; carry him that fleece. It belongs to him."
"
The fleece is mine," answered Stoian, " and I shall not
give it away."
"Who talks of giving?" returned the renegade; "with
the great men of earth every gift is a barter. The pacha, my
master and yours, is too generous to remain under obliga-
tions to a raya."
ICX) Last Fairy Tales,

**
I do not sell niy property
;
I keep it," replied Stoian.
"
Weigh your words, young man," said Yacoub, with a
frown. "Pride goeth before a fall, and the pacha's arm is
long. I want this fleece, and must have it."

For his only answer Stoian took down his carbine, and
showed the renegade the door.
"Don't be rash, my son," said Yacoub, hurrying out;
"
you may some day regret not taking my advice."
On his return to the palace, the renegade found Raschid
 The Golden Fleece, idi

gulping down glass after glass of the white wine of Semen-

dria.

"Taste this wine," said he to Yacoub ; "it is tokay. If

the cadis were to try it, they would give their whole Koran

in exchange for a bottle."

" The "
vintage is excellent," answered the renegade, but
 i62 Last Fairy Tales,

it isnot as good as the white wine I drank at Smyrna. It

is true that the
pacha there has a vine which bears grapes
without their equal."
"
He is very fortunate," said Raschid, drinking deeper and
deeper every moment.
"
What hinders you from being as fortunate as he ?" contin-
ued Yacoub. " There is in this country a certain Stoian, a
kind of sorcerer, who could plant you such a vine, and make
it bear grapes in a week. But perhaps he might raise some
difficulties about it."
"
Difficulties !" exclaimed the Turk, shrugging his shoul-
" Send a
ders. janizary, and tell him that if, within a week,
I have not a vine as fine and grapes as good as those of
Smyrna, I will cut off his head."
"That is an argument that admits of no reply," said Ya-
coub, laughing heartily. He added to himself, "The golden
fleece is mine."
On receiving this terrible message, Stoian burst into tears.
"
Alas !
mother, we are lost !" he exclaimed.
"My son," said the poor woman, "did not I tell you that
the carbine would cost your life, as it did your father's ?"
In despair, the young man rushed from the house, and
wandered onward, not knowing whither he went. On reach-

ing the mountain he met a young girl, who said,

"
Brother, why do you weep ?"
"
God be with you !" answered Stoian, roughly ; " you can-
not help me in my trouble."
"
How do you know ?" rejoined she " it is by trying them ;

that we learn what our friends are worth."

The hunter raised his head, and recognized the Vila. He
threw himself, weeping, into her arms, and told her of the
wickedness of Yacoub and the folly of the pacha."
" Is that " am
all ?" said the fairy. Courage, brother ! I
 The Golden Fleece. 103
here. Go to the pacha, ask him where he would like to
have his vine planted, and tell him to have the trenches
dug. Then take a sprig of basil, plant it in the trench, and
sleep peacefully in the new garden. Before a week is past
you will gather ripe grapes."

Stoian did as the Vila had bidden him. On the first day
he planted the sprig of basil ; but he had little confidence
in the fairy's promises, and went to sleep with a heavy heart.

He rose before daybreak, and ran to the spot the shoots

;

were already above the ground. The second day they grew
tall ; on the third they put forth leaves on the fourth they
;

blossomed. On the sixth day the grapes were golden, al-

though it was -
only spring time. Stoian gathered and

pressed them, and carried to his terrible master a jug of

new wine and a plate of ripe grapes.
At the sight of this wonderful vintage, every one was as-
tonished except the pacha, who thought it quite natural, and
did not even thank poor Stoian. Nothing is easier, says
the proverb, than to catch snakes with other people's hands.
" "
Well," said Raschid to Yacoub, what do you think of
my power ? I am not a sorcerer, and I am proud of it. He
who wields the sword needs neither wealth nor knowledge ;

the purse and brains of others all belong to him."

"
I marvel at your highness's genius," answered the rene-
"
gade, bowing low, and hope that you will not leave your
work unfinished."
"Is anything lacking to my vineyard?" asked Raschid,
with a dissatisfied air.
" It lacks the
ivory tower which, at Smyrna, is the admi-
ration of the faithfuland the despair of unbelievers."
"Is that all?" said the pacha, laughing. "Come here,
young man. If, in a month, I have not an ivory tower like
that of Smyrna, I will cut off" your head. Hear and obey !"
 I04 Last Fairy Tales,

Stoian ran to his mother, weeping. "Alas, we are lost!"

he cried.
"
Go, my son, hasten to the mountain ; perhaps you will

find there our friend and protectress."

•The young man hurried-to the mountain, and called the

fairy three times. She came, smiling, and listened to him

with tenderness.

"^^^ %

^?e-

" "
am
Is that all ?" she said. Courage, brother ! I here.
Go and ask him for a ship, three hundred tuns
to the pacha,
of wine, two hundred pipes of brandy, and a dozen carpen-
ters. Set sail and steer straight ahead. When the ves-
sel is between two mountains, go on shore, empty the pond
that you will see there, and fill it with wine and brai^-
 The Golden Fleece. 105

dy. When the elephants come thither at night to quench

their thirst, they will drink until they fall dead-drunk. Let
the carpenters saw off their tusks, and you will have a full

cargo of ivory. Then return to the vineyard with your

booty, take with you a sprig of basil, and sleep tranquilly
in this new
garden ; in a week the tower will be built."
Stoian did all that the Vila had bidden him. The vessel
anchored between two mountains ; they emptied the pond,
and filled it with wine and brandy. At nightfall the ele-
io6 Last Fairy Tales.

phants came thither in herds. The first that tasted the

brandy seemed astonished ; but he soon went back to it
with delight, and the rest followed his example. A scene
of jollity, noise, and general confusion followed. The whole

elephant nation kept holiday. In contempt of etiquette, the

king of the elephants danced a hornpipe, and the queen

waltzed with a young chamberlain. The whole company
soonfell sound asleep, and the carpenters began their work.

Do not blush at this humiliation, good people of Elephant

Land ; you are not the first nation that have had their teeth
filed while drunk or asleep, and you will not be the last.
On his return, Stoian had the huge mass of ivory piled in
the garden. From his hiding-place behind the wall Yacoub
watched the young hunter, in hopes to steal his secret ;
but
Stoian spent the whole day in singing plaintive songs, ac-

companying himself on the guzla. When night cast its veil

over the earth, nothing was done. Yacoub went away rub-
"
bing his hands. He is lost !" he thought ; " the golden
fleece is mine."
But the next morning the foundations of the ivory tower
were laid;
the day after it had risen to the second story ;
and on the sixth day it was finished, with its dome and min-
arets. For ten leagues round it shone in the sunlight with
a brilliancy more dazzling than that of the silver moon-
beams upon the waters.
At the sight of this marvellous structure all were aston-
ished except the pacha, who thought it quite natural, and
did not even thank poor Stoian.
"
Well," said he to Yacoub, stroking the handle of his at-
"
aghan, what do you think of my power ?"
"
I marvel at your highness's genius," answered the rene-
" and
gade, bowing low, hope that you will not leave your
work unfinished."
 The Golden Fleece, 1 07
"Is anything lacking to my ivory tower?" asked Raschid,
with a dissatisfied air.
"
It lacks the Princess of the Indies. Of what use is the
ivory tower if it does not contain the masterpiece of crea-
tion ?"
"You are right," said the pacha. "It is the bird that

gives value to the cage. Come hither, young man," said he

to Stoian. "Go, fetch me the Princess of the Indies. If

you return without this miracle of beauty, I will cut off your
head. Hear and obey !"
Stoian ran to his mother, weeping.
" Alas we are lost," he cried. " You
! will never see
your child again."
"
Go, my son, hasten to the mountain ; perhaps you will
find there our friend and protectress."
The young man hurried to the mountain, and called the

fairy three times. She came, smiling, and listened to him

with tenderness.
" Is "
t^at all ?" said she. Courage, brother I am here. !

Go and ask him for a large ship. In this ship

to the pacha,

build twelve fine shops, and fill them with rarer stuffs and

jewels than are to be found in all the bazaars of Constan-

tinople. In these shops put twelve of the handsomest

youths of Servia, dressed like princes. Then set sail, and

when the ship stops between two mountains, go on shore ;
you will be in the kingdom of the Indies. Take your guzla,
sing with your companions, and when the girls of the coun-
try come to the fountain, invite them to see the treasures in
your ship. Make them presents; they will be delighted
with your generosity, and, on returning home, will say that
never was there seen a finer ship, richer treasures, or more
obliging merchants. Being a woman and a princess, the
daughter of the King of the Indies has a double share of cu-
io8 Last Fairy Tales,

riosity. She will cometo see you amuse her all day, but
:

as soon as night weigh anchor and set sail. But when

falls,

the princess is on board, the task is not done. She is a ma-

gician, and may put you more than once in danger. Follow
my counsels, however, and you will succeed."
Saying this, the fairy drew near the brook that trickled
down the mountain, and called a salmon that was swimming
up the stream. She detached a scale from it, which she
gave to Stoian.
" Take "
this talisman," said she. If ever you need a ser-
vice done you in the depth of the sea, throw this scale into
the water, and call my brother, the salmon, to your aid."

Then, raising her eyes to the sky, the Vila saw a falcon
chasing a dove. She whistled, and both birds flew to her,
and perched on her shoulder. She pulled a feather from
the falcon's crest, and another from the wing of the dove,
and gave them to Stoian.
"
Take these talismans," said she ;
"and if ever you need a
service done you in the air, fling these feathers on the breeze,
and call to your aid my brother, the falcon, and my sister,
the dove. And now farewell, brother. I have exhausted for

you all the secrets of my art; you will see me no more."

Stoian thanked his sister, the Vila, and did all that she
had bidden him. The vessel stopped between two moun-
tains the young girls came to the fountain, they listened to
;

the songs of Stoian, they came on board, they took the

choicest gifts without much urging, and that very evening
"
they repeated throughout the town, Never was there seen
a finer ship, richer treasures, or more obliging merchants."
The next morning the Princess of the Indies, followed
by twelve companions, came to the shore in a magnificent
howdah, borne by the gentlest and handsomest of ele-
phants. She carried on her shqi^lder a little parrot, that
The Princess of the Indies, followed by twelve companions, came to
the shore."
I lo Last Fairy Tales.

diverted her with its chatter. Stoian hastened to meet the

lady, and did her the honors of At each shop the

his ship.
richest stuffs were spread before her,and the rarest jewels,
rings, bracelets, necklaces, and diadems displayed before
her eyes. The princess and her attendants were as fasci-
nated as larks before a mirror ; and the day passed without
theirbeing able to tear their astonished and delighted gaze
from such wonders.
As soon as night fell upon the sea Stoian weighed anchor
and set sail. At the first motion of the ship the princess
took alarm she hastened on deck, and, taking the parrot
:

on her finger, " Fly, dear bird," she said, " and tell my fa-
ther some one
is carrying off his child."

Theparrot took flight, but Stoian instantly flung on the

breeze the falcon's feather, and cried, " Brother Falcon, come
to my aid !"

And, lo ! a black speck was seen far off on the horizon ;

the falcon darted through the air, pounced upon the parrot,
and carried it to a rock to devour it.

The
princess looked at Stoian with a disdainful air, and
threw her ring into the sea, when, lo the ship instantly !

stopped as if it were
aground. It was in vain that the wind
filled the sails — a hidden power held the vessel motionless.
Stoian flung into the waves the scale of the salmon, cry-
" Brother come to
ing, Salmon, my aid."
He had not done speaking when the
rich scales of a huge
salmon were seen shining through the water; then the fish
dived and caught the ring, upon which the vessel floated

swiftly over the sea, impelled by the fairest of winds.

The princess cried out, and hastened below to her com-

panions. At daybreak the next morning she came again
on deck, and said to Stoian,
" could turn this ship to stone, and you
With a word I
 The Golden Fleece, 1 1 1

would never more see your country. But if you will give

me the water of immortality, I am ready to go with you.

Do you see yonder rock, where a thick smoke is rising?
There a fountain, guarded by two dragons, whose nostrils
is

breathe fire. No one has ever been able to overcome the

vigilance of those monsters, who sleep neither night nor day.
If you can succeed where all others have failed, and can fill
this little flask, I will be your most devoted friend and servant."

For his only answer Stoian seized the flask, and, flinging
on the breeze the feather of the dove, cried,
"
Sister Dove, come to my aid !"
In an instant a dove, white as snow, perched on Stoian's
shoulder ; she seized the flask in her beak, soared high in
the heavens, and vanished from sight. In an hour she came
flying back, and Stoian could offer the princess the water
of immortality.
"Thank you, my friend," said she, in the tenderest of
tones. "Now you have nothing more to fear from my
power. Say, whither are you taking me.''"
"
To my master, the pacha," answered Stoian.
"
Ah !" exclaimed she and, drawing her veil over
;
her face,
she went below, and did not speak again to Stoian for the
rest of the voyage.
When it was learned that the young hunter had returned,
there was universal rejoicing at Kroujevatz. The people
flocked from all directions to see the entry of the Princess of
the Indies. It was a wonderful spectacle. First came the
twelve attendants, each mounted upon a black horse, which
was led by the bridle by one of Stoian's companions. Noth-
ing more magnificent had ever been seen than these young
men, with their rich garments, girdles glittering with gems,
sabres with silver scabbards, and inlaid carbines. But all
were forgotten at the sight of Stoian and his conquest. En-
112 Last Fairy Tales,

veloped though she was in a long veil, which hid all but hei
great black eyes, the princess eclipsed her companions as
the moon eclipses the stars. Her white horse seemed proud
to carry her. All the men admired her as she passed, but
the women looked at Stoian. Handsome, haughty, and mel-
ancholy, he attracted the gaze of all.
On entering the palace where the pacha was awaiting her
the princess threw aside her veil. At the sight of this mar-
vellous beauty, Raschid, forgetting his age, hastened to her
with a tottering step, and attempted to embrace her. But
she repulsed him so roughly that, if the faithful Yacoub had
not been at hand, the pacha would have bruised his nose on
the ground, in spite of all his power.
"
Ha beautiful savage," cried he, " what has your faithful
!

slave done to be treated in this way?"

"You are an ill-bred fellow," answered the princess.
"You ask neither my name nor that of my father; you
know neither who I am nor what I wish. Am I a dog or a
hawk, to be taken thus by force ? Learn that he who mar-
riesme must possess a twofold youth, that of the soul and
that of the body."
" "
I have a very As
youthful soul," said the pacha. to
the body, I should ask nothing better than to renew its age,
were it
only to marry you, and live long by your side. But
how is it to be done ?"
"
have found the means," returned the princess. " This
I

flask contains the water of immortality. Let yourself be be-

headed once dead, I will sprinkle you with this magic wa-
!

ter, will make you as young and handsome as at

and twenty."
The pacha made a grimace ; then, looking round him, he
saw Stoian, and frowned.
"I believe in this marvellous water," said he; "but I
should not object to see it tried. What if I test it on this
"
Handsome, haughty, and melancholy, he attracted the gaze of all.**
 114 Last Fairy Tales.

fellow, whose looks I dislike, I know not why ? Come here,

raya ;
to make you young again,we will cut off your head."
"
I am young enough to dispense with such a trial," an-
swered Stoian, looking at the beautiful East-Indian "
; but,
though I perish, I will not shrink from danger. What mat-
ters life to me?"
At a sign from the pacha a janizary drew his sword, and
with one blow struck off the young man's head.
Every one
uttered a cry of horror ; but the princess instantly sprinkled
the quivering body with her marvellous water ; when, lo !

Stoian rose full of life and health, and so young and hand-
some that the pacha, wild with jealousy, exclaimed,
"
Make me young again, princess !
Quick, without losing
an instant !"

He called the janizary and gave him his orders; then,

seeing Yacoub, who pretended to weep,

" Poor Yacoub," he said ; " my faithful friend and right
hand, I cannot let you remain old while I am young we ;

should no longer understand each other's wants. No, my

friend, I am not selfish ;
I need you, and we must both re-
new our youth together. We will be beheaded at the same

time."
At this mark of Yacoub turned pale as death.
friendship
He opened his lipsand tried to speak, but the signal was
given, and at the same instant his head rolled on the ground

by the side of that of the pacha.

"Take away that carrion," said the princess, coldly, "and
throw to the dogs the body of the wretch who dared treat
me with insult."
At these words all looked at each other; the Turks
"
frowned, but the Servians drew their sabres, and said, The
princess is right: an insult recoils on him who dealt it.

Woe to him who does not respect a woman."

The people flocked from all directions to see the entrance of the Prin-
cess of the Indies."
Ii6 Last Fairy Tales,

"
An old Turk responded, What is done is done. No one
can escape his fate."
Peace restored, the princess said to Stoian, " Here I am,
a widow without being married, and you are left without a
master. Are you not going to take me back to my father?"
"No," cried Stoian; "the dearest right of a Servian is to
carry off his wife, and I have twelve companions ready to
follow my example."
" "
Stoian," said the princess, smiling, you know that I dis-
like violence. What need is there of carrying me off.? Will
it not suffice to take me to
your mother's house, and give
me a place at your fireside ?"
No sooner said than done, and the same day saw thirteen
weddings at Kroujevatz.
Raschid had more than one successor, and there was
more than one Yacoub ; for wherever there is a pacha like
Raschid, there is also a flatterer and a traitor ; but the
wicked profit by experience, and fear holds them in check.
No one disturbed Stoian, and all respected the Princess of
the Indies. The house is still seen where the pair dwelt,
and strangers are shown above the door a stone, carved, it
is said, by Stoian's own hands. On it are a carbine and yat-
aghan, crossed ; the whole surmounted by the motto, which
is the delight of Servia and the terror of the Osmanli, Svo-

bodnosty Liberty.
 POOR HANS,
Old Hans lay dying. His pastor sat by liis bedside, of-

fering the last consolations.

"
Alas !" said old Hans, "life is small loss to me. I have
never been anything but a poor wretch, bowed down with
toiland pain. Where no one else wanted to go, there poor
Hans was sent; and when others overturned the cart, it
was Hans that had to set it up again."
" "
Rejoice then, my friend," said the pastor, your suffer-
ings will soon be over. Blessed are they who suffer, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
" " am
Ah !" cried old Hans, I sure beforehand that it will

be just the same up thefe. Every one will shout after me,
 "
Hans, light up the sun !" Hans, put out the moon ^*
 Poor Hans. 119

up the sun !' Hans, put out the moon !' Hans,
* * '
Hans, light
' "
let fly the thunder Hans, put the angels to bed !'
!'

And without even heaving a sigh, poor Hans closed his

eyes, folded his hands, and breathed his last.

 ZERBINO THE SAVAGE,
A NEAPOLITAN FAIRY TALE.

Once upon a time there lived in Salerno a young wood-

cutter named Zerbino. Poor and an orphan, he had no

friends ; shy and taciturn, he spoke to nobody and nobody
spoke to him. As he never meddled with other people's bus-
iness, every one took him for a fool. He was nicknamed
The Savage, and never was title better deserved. In the
morning, when the whole town was still asleep, he went to
the mountain, with his jacket and axe on his shoulder;

stayed all day in the woods, and did not return until dusk,
dragging after him a bundle of fagots with which he bought
his supper. When he passed the fountain where the young
girls of the neighborhood congregated every evening to fill

their pitchers and empty their throats, they all laughed at

his glum face, and made a butt of the poor wood-cutter.
Neither the black beard nor glittering eyes of Zerbino dis
 Zerbino the Savage. 121

mayed the bold huzzies, who vied with each other in jeering
at the simpleton.
" "
Zerbino of my soul," cried one, speak but one word to
me and I will
give you my heart."
" "
Delight of my eyes," exclaimed another, let me hear

the sound of your voice and I am yours."

"
Zerbino !Zerbino !" cried all the madcaps in chorus,
" which of us will
you take for a wife ? Is it I ? Is it I ?
Which one will you have ?"
"
The greatest chatterbox of you all," answered Zerbino,
"
shaking his fist atupon which they cried, Thank
them ;

you, good Zerbino, thank you !"

Pursued by shouts of laughter, the poor savage retreated
home, with the grace of the wild boar fleeing before the
hunter. His door once shut, he supped on a crust of bread
and glass of water, rolled himself in a ragged old coverlet,
lay on the bare earth, and instantly fell into a dreamless
slumber, free from care and sorrow. If happiness consists
in feeling nothing, Zerbino was the happiest of men.

11.

One day, when he had tired himself with hacking at an old

box-tree as hard as flint, Zerbino thought he would take a

nap by the side of a pool surrounded with spreading trees.

To his great surprise, he found stretched on the turf there a

lady of marvellous beauty, arrayed in a robe of swan's-down.

The stranger seemed to be in a nightmare ; with drawn feat-
ures and clenched hands, she was vainly struggling to shake
ofl" a hideous dream.

"What folly to go to sleep at noon with the sun shining

"
on one's face !" said Zerbino. Women are all fools."
He wove some branches together so as to shade her head,
and threw his jacket over the rude arbor.
122 Last Fairy Tales,

Just as he had finished arranging the leaves he spied a

viper in the grass, close by the stranger, that was crawling
towards her and darting out its venomous tongue.
"
What !" said Zerbino, " so small and yet so wicked !"
And with two strokes of his axe he cut the serpent into
three pieces, which writhed as if still trying to reach the

lady. Zerbino kicked them into the pool, where they fell

hissing like a red-hot iron dipped in water.

At this moment the fairy awoke and sprang up, her eyes
sparkling with joy.
"Zerbino ! Zerbino !" she shouted.
"
That is my name ;
I know it ; you need not scream so
loud."
" " will
What, my friend," said the fairy, you not let me
thank you for the service you have done me? You have
saved me from worse than death."
" I
have saved you from nothing at all," answered Zerbino,
 Zerbino the Savage. 123
with his usual grace. "
Another time don't go to sleep on
the grass without looking to see whether there are any ser-

pents about, that is my advice to you. Now good-day Let !

me sleep ; I have no time to waste."

He stretched himself his full length on the grass and
closed his eyes.
" "
Zerbino," said the fairy, have you nothing to ask of me."
*'
I ask you to let me alone. When a man wants nothing,
he has all he wants ; when he has all he wants, he is
happy.
Good-day!"
And the churl began to snore.
" Poor "
boy !" said the fairy, your soul is asleep ; but, say
what you may, I will not be ungrateful. Had it not been
for you, I should have fallen into the hands of a genie, my
cruel foe ;
had it not been for you, I should have been
turned into a viper for a hundred years. I owe you a hun-

dred years of youth and beauty. How shall I pay you? I

have it," she cried " he who has what he wants is happy,
;

you said yourself just now. Well, my good Zerbino, what-

ever you may desire, whatever you wish for, shall be yours.
I hope you will soon have cause to bless the fairy of the

waters."
She made three circles in the air with her hazel wand,
then stepped into the lake so lightly that the waters were
not even rippled. At the approach of their queen the reeds
bowed their heads ; the water-lilies opened their freshest
blossoms ; the trees,
the sunshine, and the winds themselves
all smiled on the fairy, and all seemed to share in her happi-
ness. A last time she raised her wand, and the waters
opened instantly with a flash of light, as if a sunbeam had

pierced their depths, to receive their young sovereign. Then

shadow and silence fell over all, and nothing was heard but
Zerbino still snoring.
" She made three circles in the air with her hazel wand."
 Zerbino the Savage. 125

III.

The sun was beginning to decline when the wood-cutter

awoke. Hereturned tranquilly to his task, and with a vig-
orous arm attacked the trunk of the tree whose branches he
had lopped off in the morning. The resounding blows of
the axe made no impression on the hard wood. Bathed in

perspiration, Zerbino vainly smote the gnarled trunk, which

defied all his efforts.
"Ah!" said he, looking at the jagged edge of his axe,
" what a
pity that some one would not invent a tool that
would cut wood like butter. I should like to have one of
that sort."
He drew back a step, whirled the axe around his head,
and struck with such force that he fell flat, ten paces
forward, with his arms outstretched, and his face on the
ground.
"
Pshaw !" he exclaimed, **I must see double ;
I struck on
one side."
Zerbino was quickly reassured, for at the same instant the
tree fell so near him that the poor fellow just escaped being
crushed by it.

"That was a fine stroke," said he, "it helps my day's

work amazingly. What a clean cut I made ; it looks as
if it were sawed. There is not another wood-cutter in the
town that could have done it."
Upon this he gathered up all the branches that he had
hewed off that morning, unwound a rope from his waist,
seated himself astride the bundle of fagots, the better to tie

them together, and fastened them with a slip-knot.

" "
Now !" said he, I must drag them home. What
a pity
that bundles of fagots had not four legs like horses, so that I
could gallop proudly into Salerno like a fine gentleman that
126 Last Fairy Tales,

rides about doing nothing. How I should like to see myself

prancing into town in that fashion !"

And, behold, instantly the bundle of fagots rose and

began to trot at a measured pace. Without being at all
astonished, the honest Zerbino let himself be carried
 Zerbino the Savage, 127

along by this new kind of steed, and pitied the poor wretch-
es on the way, who went on foot for want of a bundle of
fagots.

IV.
At the time of which we are speaking there was a great
square in the centre of Salerno, where the king's palace stood.
This king, as every one knows, was the famous Mouchamiel,
whose name is immortal in history.
Every afternoon the king's daughter, the Princess Leila,
might have been seen seated in her balcony in a melancholy
mood. It was in vain that her slaves attempted to amuse
—
her by their songs, tales, or flatteries Leila listened only to
her thoughts. For three years the king her father had
sought to marry her to every baron in the neighborhood, and
for three years the princess had refused all suitors. Salerno
was her dowry, and she knew that it was her dowry alone
1 28 Last Fairy Tales,

that they wished to marry. Earnest and tender, Leila had

no ambition; she was not a coquette; she did not laugh
merely to show her teeth ; she knew how to listen, and never
—
talked when she had nothing to say a malady so rare among
women drove the doctors to despair.
that it

Leila was even more dreamy than usual, when suddenly

Zerbino appeared on the square, guiding his bundle of fagots
with the majesty of a plumed Caesar. At the sight, the
princess's two waiting-women were seized with a mad fit of
laughter, and, happening to have some oranges in their
hands, they flung them at the rider so adroitly that two of
them struck him full in the face.
"
Laugh, you wretches !" cried Zerbino, shaking his fist at
"
them, and may you keep on laughing till your teeth are
worn to the gums."

And, behold, the two women laughed convulsively with-

out stopping either for the threats of the wood-cutter or the
commands of the princess, who pitied the poor churl.
"
Good little woman !" said 2^rbino, looking at Leila, " so
sweet and so sad ;
I wish you nothing but good-luck. May
you love the first man that makes you laugh, and marry
him into the bargain."

Upon which he pulled his forelock, and bowed to the

princess in the most gracious manner imaginable.

As a general rule, when one is astride a bundle of fagots
it is better to bow to no one, not even a queen. Zerbino for-
got this, to his sorrow. In order to salute the princess, he
letgo the rope that held the bundle together, when, behold,
the sticks fell apart, and the honest Zerbino tumbled back-
ward, his feet in the air, in the most grotesque way imagina-
ble. He made a bold somersault, carrying with him half
the leaves, and, crowned like a sylvan god, rolled over once
more on the ground.
 Zerbino the Savage. 129

Why do we always laugh

when a person falls at the
risk of breaking his neck?
I know not a mystery
; it is

which philosophy has not

yet solved. What I do
know is that every one
laughed on that occasion,
the Princess Leila like the
rest. But she instantly

sprang up, gazed at Zerbi-

no with a peculiar expres-

sion, laid herhand on her
heart and then on her
head, and went in-doors,
strangely agitated.
Meanwhile Zerbino gath-
ered up the scattered sticks,
and returned home on foot,
like a simple woodman.
Prosperity had not daz-
zled him, neither was he
cast down by ill-luck. He
bought a
good Italian
cheese, as white and hard
as marble, cut a large slice
from it, and dined with
a
hearty appetite. The poor
simpleton little suspected
what harm he had wrought,
and what trouble he had " The sticks fell apart, and the honest
left behind him. Zerbino tumbled backward."
I30 Last Fairy Tales,

V.
While these grave events were taking place, four o'clock
struck in the tower of Salerno. The day was sultry, and si-
lence reigned in the streets. Secluded in a lower chamber,
farfrom the heat and noise, King Mouchamiel was dreaming
—
of the happiness of his people he was asleep.
All at once he awoke with a start. A pair of snowy arms
were wound around his neck, and his face was wet with scald-
ing tears. The fair Leila was embracing her father in a par-
oxysm of tenderness.

" What does this mean ?" said the king, surprised at this
outburst of affection. "What signify these kisses and tears ?
Child of your mother, you are trying to coax something out of
me."
"
On the contrary, my dear father, your obedient daughter
has come to tell you that she is ready to follow your will
 Zerbino the Savage, 131

I have found the son-in-law you have been seeking, and to

please you will give him my hand."
" "
Good !" said Mouchamiel ; so this is the end of your
whims. Who is it that you are going to marry? Is it the
Prince of Cava? No. The Count of Capri, or the Marquis
of Sorrento ? No. Who is it, then ?"
" I do
not know, father."
"What! you do not know! You must have seen him,
however ?"
"Yes, just now, in the palace square."
"
And did he speak to you ?"
"
No, father, what need is there of words, when hearts un-
derstand each other ?"
Mouchamiel made a grimace, rubbed his ear, and, peering
at his daughter through his half-closed eyelids, asked,
"
At least, he is a prince ?"
"
I do not know, father ; but what matters it ?"
" It matters a You know noth-
great deal, my daughter.
ing of politics. You are free to choose any son-in-law that
suits me, and it will be all right. As a king and a father,
I will never interfere with your will while it
agrees with
mine. But otherwise, I have duties to fulfil towards my
family and subjects ; and I intend that my will shall be
done. Where is this fine fellow, whom you do not know,
who has never spoken to you, and who adores you ?"
" I do not know."
" "
This is too much !" cried Mouchamiel. Is it to talk
such nonsense that you come hither to rob me of moments
that belong to my people ? Ho, there, chamberlains Call !

the princess's women, and let them take her back to her

apartments."
On hearing these words Leila raised her arms to heaven,
burst into tears, and fell at the king's feet, sobbing. At the
132 Last Fairy Tales.

same moment the two women entered, still

laughing ready
to split their sides.
"
Silence, wretches, silence !" exclaimed Mouchamiel, in-

dignant at this lack of respect.

But the more the king cried silence the louder the women
laughed, regardless of etiquette.
"
Guards !" said the king, beside himself, " seize these in-
solent women and cut off their heads. I will teach them
that there
is nothing less laughable than a
king."
"Sire!" said Leila, clasping her hands, "remember that
you have rendered your reign illustrious by abolishing the
penalty of death."
" Youare right, my daughter. We are a civilized people.
We will spare these women, and content ourselves with treat-
ing them in the Russian fashion with all possible considera-
tion. Let them be knouted till they die a natural death."
" "
Pardon, father, pardon," said Leila. It is your daugh-

ter that entreats you."

"
For heaven's sake, letthem stop laughing, and rid me of
"
their presence," cried the good Mouchamiel. Take away
these idiots. I forgive them. Shut them up in a cell, till they
die of silence and ennuis
"
Oh, father !" said poor Leila.
"Begone!" said the king; "marry them, and let that end
the matter."
" We shall laugh no longer," cried the
Thanks, sire !

two women, as they fell on their knees, opening their mouths

"
and showing their toothless gums. We
are the victims of
an infernal art; a wizard has bewitched us."
" A wizard in my state !" cried the king, who was a free-
" there are none I do not be-
thinker. It is impossible ; ;

lieve in them."
**
Sire," said one of the women, " is it natural for a bundle
 Zerbino the Savage, 133
of fagots to trot like a horse, and prance under the rein of a
wood-cutter? This is what we have just seen in the square
before the palace."
" A "
bundle of fagots !" returned the king. That looks
like witchcraft. Guards, seize the man and his fagots, and
let them both be burned. After that I hope I shall be suf-

fered to sleep in peace."

" Burn beloved exclaimed the princess, tossing her
my !"
"
arms like a sibyl. Sire, this noble knight is my husband,
my love, my life ! Let a hair of his head be touched and I

shall die."
"
My household has gone distracted," said poor Moucha-
miel.
" What is the use of being king if I cannot even take
an afternoon nap. It is all my good-nature. Call Mistigris !

Since I have a minister, the least that he can do is to tell

me what to think, and let me know what to wish."

VI.

Signor Mistigris was announced.

He was a little
man; fat, short, round,
and broad, who rolled rather than
walked. Weasel eyes, looking every
way at once, a low forehead, hooked
nose, fat cheeks, and a triple chin :

such was the minister that made Sa-

lerno happy, in the name of King
Mouchamiel. He entered, simper-
ing, puffing, and mincing like a man who lightly bears the

weight of power.
" Here "
you are at last !" said the prince. How is it

that strange things take place in my dominions, and I, the

king, am the last to be informed of them ?"

"
Everything is going on as usual," said Mistigris, calmly.
1
34 Last Fairy Tales,

" I have the

police reports here ; peace and happiness pre-
vail throughout the state," and he opened a large packet of
papers and read as follows :

"
Report of the Port of Salerno. All is tranquil. No more
frauds in the custom-house than usual. Three quarrels be-
tween sailors, six stabs ;
five admissions to the hospital.
Nothing new.
"City Report. Taxes doubled; prosperity and morality
continually on the increase. Two women dead of hunger ;
ten foundlings ; three men who have beaten their wives ; ten
wives who have beaten their husbands ; thirty robberies ;

two assassinations; three poisonings. Nothing new."

"
Is that all you know about it ?" cried Mouchamiel, in an
"
angry tone. Well, sir, though it is not my business to be
informed of the of state, I know more about them
affairs

than you do. A

man has ridden through the square on a
bundle of fagots, and bewitched my daughter. Here she is,
wishing to marry him."
" " I was not
Sire," said Mistigris, ignorant of this inci-
dent. A minister knows everything; but why trouble your
majesty with such trifles ? The man will be hung, and there
will be an end of the matter."
" me where
And can you tell this wretch is to be found ?"
" "
Doubtless, sire !" replied Mistigris ;
a minister sees ev-

erything, hears everything, and is

present everywhere."
"Well, sir," said the king, "if in a quarter of an hour this
fellow is not here, you will leave the ministry to those who
are not content with seeing, but who also act. Begone !"
Mistigris left the room, still smiling. But, once in the ante-
room, he turned purple with excitement, and was forced to
cling to the arm of the first man he met. This was the pre-
fect of the city,whom a happy chance threw in his way.
Mistigris drew back and seized the magistrate by the collar.
 Zerbino the Savage, 135
"Sir!" said he, emphasizing each of his words, "if in ten
minutes you do not bring me the man who rides through
Salerno on a bundle of fagots, I will dismiss you. Do you
understand ? I will dismiss you. Begone !"

Stunned by this threat, the prefect ran to the chief of

police.
"Where is the man that rides a bundle of fagots?" said he.
"
What man ?" asked the chief of police.
"
Do not argue with your superior. I will not endure it.

By not arresting this rascal you have utterly failed in your

duty. If this man is not here in five minutes, I shall dis-

charge you. Begone !"

The chief hastened to the police station, where he found

the men set to watch over the public safety playing dice.
"
You knaves !" he cried. " If in three minutes you do
not bring me the man who rides a bundle of fagots, I will
bastinado you like galley-slaves. Begone without a word."
The men went out cursing, while the wise and able Misti-
gris, confiding in the miracles of hierarchy, tranquilly returned
to the king's chamber, recalling to his lips that perpetual
smile which formed a part of his profession.

VII.
Two words whispered by the minister into fne king's ear
delighted Mouchamiel. The idea of burning a wizard was
not displeasing to him. It was a striking little event that

would do honor to his reign, a proof of wisdom that would

astonish posterity.
One thing alone embarrassed the king, namely, poor Leila,
who was drowned in tears, and whom her women vainly at-
tempted to drag to her apartments.
Mistigris winked at the king, then approaching the prin-

cess, said, in his least surly tones :

1 36 Last Fairy Tales,

"
Madam, he is coming, and he must not find you in tears.

Adorn yourself, on the contrary, be more beautiful than ever,

and let the very sight of you assure him of his happiness."
" I
understand you, good Mistigris," exclaimed Leila.
"Thanks, my dear father, thanks," she added, seizing her
"
father's hands, and covering them with Bless you,
kisses.

bless you a thousand times !"

She went out intoxicated with joy, with head erect, eyes
sparkling, and so happy that she stopped the first chamber-
lain on her way to inform him herself of her marriage.
" "
My good chamberlain," she added, he is coming. Do
the honors of the palace yourself, and be sure that we shall
not be ungrateful."
Left alone with Mistigris, the king looked at his minister

angrily.
" Are "
you mad ?" he cried. What ! without consulting
me, do you pledge my word ? Do you think yourself the
master of my empire, that you dispose of my daughter and
me without my consent ?"
" "
The first thing to be
Bah !" said Mistrigris, tranquilly.
done is to calm the princess. In politics one never troubles
'
himself about the morrow. Sufficient unto the day is the
"
evil thereof.'
"
But resumed the king. " How can I break it
my word !"

without perjuring myself? I will have revenge on that inso-

lent fellow who has stolen my daughter's heart."
" " word
Sire," said Mistigris, a prince never breaks his \

but there are several ways of keeping it."

"
What do you mean by that ?" asked Mouchamiel.
"Your majesty," continued the minister, " has just prom-
ised your daughter that she shall be married we will marry ;

her, after which we shall obey the law, which decrees,

" * If a noble under the rank of a baron dares
pretend to
 Zerbino the Savage, m
the love of a princess of royal blood, he shall be treated like
a noble, that is, decapitated.
" If the suitor
'
is a citizen, he shall be treated like a citizen,
that is, hung.
"'If he is a peasant, he shall be drowned like a dog.'
" You see, sire,
that nothing is easier
than to harmonize
your paternal love
and your royal jus-
tice. We have so
many laws in Sa-
lerno that one can

always be found to
suitour case."
"
Mistigris," ex-
claimed the king,
"you are a scoun-
drel 1"

"Sire," said the

"
fat man, you flat-

ter me ! I am noth-

ing but a politician.

I have been taught
that thereis one kind

of morality for prin-

ces and another for
the people, and I
have profited by the
lesson. It is this

discernment which
makes the genius of
a statesman the ad-
miration of the astute and the scandal of fools."
138 Last Fairy Tales,

" "
My good friend," said the king, with your long-winded
phrases, you are as tiresome as an academical eulogy. I do

not ask you for words, but for deeds make haste to punish
;

this man and let us have done with the matter."

As he was speaking, the Princess Leila entered the royal

chamber. beautiful, and her eyes shone with
She was so
such joy, that the good Mouchamiel sighed, and began to
wish that the rider of the fagots might be a prince, so that
he should not be hung.

VIII.

Glory a fine thing, but it has its disadvantages. Its pos-

is

sessor must bid farewell to the pleasure of living unknown

and defying the silly curiosity of the crowd. The triumphal
entry of Zerbino was not finished before every child in Salerno
was acquainted with his person, home, and mode of life. The
guards had little trouble, therefore, in finding the man they
sought.
Zerbino was on his knees in the courtyard, busied in
sharpening his famous axe. He was just trying the edge
with his thumb-nail when a hand laid hold of his collar and
set him on his feet. Half a score of kicks and a score of
cuffs propelled him into the street. It was in this way that
he learned that a minister was interested in his person, and
that the king himself deigned to invite him to the palace.

Zerbino was a philosopher, and a philosopher is aston-

ished at nothing. He thrust his hands into his pockets and
walked on quietly, without troubling himself about the hail
of blows that fell upon him. Nevertheless, a philosopher is
not always a saint. A kick in the thigh wore out the patience
of the wood-cutter.
" on a poor man !"
Gently !" said he ;
"have a little pity
"I
believe that the simpleton is arguing," said one of his
 Zerbino the Savage. 1 39
tormentors. "Our gentleman is made of down; we must
handle him with gloves."
" "
I wish you were in my place," said Zerbino. We should
see whether you would laugh."
" Hold your tongue, you scoundrel," said the leader of
the band, as he dealt him a blow that might have felled an
ox.
The blow was badly aimed, doubtless, for instead of strik-

ing Zerbino, it went straight into the eye of one of the guards.
Furious, and half blinded, the wounded man threw himself on
the awkward fellow who had struck him, and seized him by
the hair. A
scuffle ensued ; the bystanders attempted to

separate them fisticuffs rained up and down, right and

;

left, and a general affray followed, enlivened with the shrieks

of women, cries of children, and barking of dogs. It became

necessary, at last, to call in the patrol, to restore order by ar-

resting assailants, defenders, and spectators.

Zerbino, unmoved, was proceeding towards the castle,
still

when he was accosted, in the square, by a file of well-made

fellows in embroidered coats and short breeches. They
were the valets of the king, who, by the direction of the
major-domo and the grand chamberlain himself, had come
to meet the betrothed of the princess. Having been instructed
to be polite, each one had his hat in his hand and a smile
on his lips. They bowed to Zerbino. The wood-cutter, like
a well-bred man, returned the salute. They bowed anew,
and Zerbino again returned it; a performance which was
repeated eight or ten times in succession with unmoved
gravity. Zerbino was the ;
not having been born
first to tire
in the palace, his back was less supple than theirs ; he was

not accustomed to bending it.

" he cried " three refusals are a of
Stop !" ; enough !
sign
good-luck, and three bows are a sign of a dance. You have
I40 Last Fairy Tales,

;.J-Cv-'

bowed long enough, now dance." And, lo the valets began to

!

dance and bow, and to bow and dance, and, preceding Zerbino
in admirable order, gave him an entrance into the castle

worthy of a king.
IX.
To give himself a majestic air, Mouchamiel was gravely
staring at the end of his nose, Leila was sighing, Mistigris
was whittling a quill, like a diplomatist in search of an idea,
and the courtiers, motionless and mute, seemed lost in con-
templation. At last the greatdoor of the saloon opened :

the major-domo and valets entered with a measured tread,

dancing a saraband which greatly surprised the court. Be-

hind them walked the wood-cutter, as little moved by the
royal splendors as if he had been born in a palace. Never-
theless, at the sight of the king, he stopped, took off his hat,

and, clasping it in both hands to his breast, bowed three times,

stretching out his right foot, after which he put on his hat
again, seated himself calmly in an arm-chair, and crossed
his legs.
 Zerbino the Savage, 141
"
My father !" cried the princess, throwing herself on the
is the husband that
king's neck, "this you have given me.
How handsome and noble he is Do you not love him ?"
!

" "
Mistigris," murmured Mouchamiel, half strangled, ques-
tion this man with the greatest respect. Think of my daugh-
ter's repose and my own. What luck! Oh, how happy
fathers would be if they had no children !"
" Your "
majesty may be tranquil," said Mistigris ; humani-
ty is my duty and pleasure."
" "
Up, scoundrel !" said he, harshly, turning to Zerbino, an-
swer quickly if you wish to save your skin. Are you a prince
in disguise ? You are silent, wretch ! You are a wizard !"

"I am no more a wizard than you are, my fat fellow," an-

swered Zerbino, without stirring from his chair.

"You villain !" exclaimed the minister, "your denial proves
your crime, your silence proclaims you guilty."
"
If I confessed should I be innocent?" asked Zerbino.
"
Sire !" who mistook rage for eloquence ;
said Mistigris,
"do justice, purge your state, purge the earth of this mon-
ster. Death is too mild a punishment for such a ruffian."
" Go on said Zerbino.
" Bark bark but
!" !
my fat fellow, !

don't bite."
" Sire !" "
said Mistigris, puffing and panting, your justice
and humanity are at stake bow^ wow, wow. :
Humanity
commands you to protect your subjects by delivering them
from this wizard :
bow, wow, wow ; justice demands that he
should be hung or burned bow, wow, wow. You are a fa-
:

ther, bow, wow, but you are a king, bow, wow, and the king, bow^

wow, should take precedence of the father, bow, wow, wow."

" "
Mistigris," said the king, you speak well, but your stam-
mer is unbearable. Don't be so affected. Have done 1"
" "
screamed the minister, death
Sire !" to the villain ;
the
halter or the stake. Bow, wow, wow."
142 Last Fairy Tales,

While the king sighed, Leila, suddenly quitting her father,

placed herself by Zerbino's side.
" "
Give your commands, sire !" said she. This is my hus-

band; his fate shall be mine."

At this shameless speech, all the court ladies covered their
faces ; Mistigris himself thought it incumbent upon him to
blush.
" "
Unhappy girl !" cried the king, in a frenzy of rage
by dis- ;

honoring yourself, 5'ou have pronounced your doom. Guards !

seize these two creatures ; let them be married on the spot j

then confiscate the first boat that you find in the port, thrust
these wretches into it, and abandon them to the waves."
"
Oh, guards were dragging
sire !" cried Mistigris, as the

away and Zerbino, " you are the greatest king on

the princess
earth. Your goodness, gentleness, and indulgence will be the

example and astonishment of posterity. In what language will

the Official Gazette narrate it to-morrow ! As for us, confound-
ed by such magnanimity, we can only admire it in silence."
" "
My poor daughter," exclaimed the king, what will be-
come of her without her father ? Guards ! seize Mistigris,
and put him, too, in the boat. It will be a consolation to me
to know that so able a man is with my dear Leila. And
then, to change ministers is always diverting, and in my sad
condition I need something of the sort. Farewell, my good
Mistigris."
Mistigris stood with his mouth wide open. He had just re-
covered breath enough to curse princes and their ingrati-
tude when he was dragged from the palace. In spite of his

prayers, threats, and tears he was thrust into the boat, and the
three friends soon found themselves alone on the waters.
As to the good king Mouchamiel, he wiped away a tear,
and shut himself up in his chamber to finish the nap so
rudely interrupted*
Zerbino held the rudder, and murmured some plaintive song."
144 Last Fairy Tales,

X.
Thenight was calm and beautiful ; the moon shed its silver
light on the sea, and over its tremulous waters ; the wind
from the land drove on the bark, and already Capri was
seen rising from the waves like a basket of flowers. Zerbino
was at the helm, murmuring some plaintive woodman's or
sailor's song. Leila sat at his feet, silent, but not sad. She
was listening to her beloved. The past she had forgotten,
for the future she had little care ; to stay by Zerbino 's side
was life to her.

Mistigris, less tender, was less of a philosopher. Restless

and angry, he bustled about like a bear incage, and made
its

fine speeches to Zerbino, to which the wood-cutter paid no

heed, but only nodded, stolid as ever. Unaccustomed to
official harangues, the orations of the minister put him to

sleep.
"What will become of us ?" cried Mistigris. "Wretched
wizard, you have any power show it, and come to our rescue.
if

Make yourself prince or king somewhere, and appoint me

your prime-minister. I must have something to rule. What
is the use of having power if you do not make your friends'

fortune ?"
" I am
hungry," said Zerbino, half opening his eyes.
Leila sprang up instantly, and began to look around her.
" "
My love," said she, what would you like ?"
" Some and said the wood-cutter.
figs raisins,"

Mistigris uttered a cry ;

a barrel of figs and raisins sprung
up between his legs and threw him down.
" Oh !" "
thought he, springing up, I know your secret, ac-
cursed wizard. If you can have what you wish for, my fort-
une is made ; I have not been minister for nothing, handsome
prince, and I will make you wish for whatever I do."
 Zerbino the Savage, 145
While Zerbino was eating his figs Mistigris approached
him, bowing and smiling.
" "
Signer Zerbino," said he, I entreat of your excellency
your incomparable friendship. Perhaps your excellency has
not understood all the devotion that was hidden under the
affected harshness of my words, but I assure you that it was
planned the more speedily to insure your happiness. It was

I alone that hastened your happy marriage."

" I am "
hungry," said Zerbino. Give me some figs and
raisins."
"Here they are, my lord," said Mistigris, with all the
"
grace of a courtier. I hope his excellency will be satisfied

with my humble services, and will often permit me to dis-

play my zeal.

"Brute !" he murmured to himself, "you do not even lis-

ten to me. I must win Leila's favor at all hazards. The
great secret of politics is to know how to please the ladies.
"By the way, Signor Zerbino," resumed he, simpering,
"you forget that you were married this evening. Ought you
not to make a wedding-gift to your royal bride ?"
"A wedding-gift! you tire me, my fat fellow," answered
" me
Zerbino. Where do you expect to find such a thing ?

Go and bring me one from the fishes, at the bottom of the

sea ?"
At that very instant, as if hurled by an invisible hand,

Mistigris leaped overboard and disappeared under the

waves.
Zerbino set to work anew to stone and munch his raisins,
while Leila never tired of watching him.
"There is a porpoise coming to the surface," said Zer-
bino.
It was not a porpoise, but the happy messenger, who had
risen to the top and was struggling with the waves. Zerbino
10
146 Last Fairy Tales,

seized him by the hair and pulled him into the boat.

Strange to say, Mistigris held in his teeth a carbuncle, that

shone like a star in the darkness.
"
Here is the gift sent to the charming Leila by the king
of the fishes," stammered he, as soon as he could breathe.
"You see, Signor Zerbino, that you have in me the most
faithful and devoted of slaves. If ever you have a little

ministry to intrust to me —"

"I am hungry," interrupted Zerbino; "give me 'some figs

and raisins."
" "
My lord," resumed Mistigris, will you do nothing for

your wife, the princess ? This boat, exposed to the changes

of the weather, is not a fitting abode for one so young and

lovely."
" "I am comfortable here
Hush, Mistigris," said Leila.
I ask for nothing more."
" madam ?"
Do you remember, said the officious minister,
 Zerbino the Savage. 147
" that when the Prince of Capri offered you his hand he sent
to Salerno a splendid ship of mahogany inlaid all over with

gold and ivory, with sailors dressed in velvet, silken cord-

ages, and three saloons adorned with mirrors. That is what
a petty prince did for you. Signor Zerbino, noble, power-
ful, and good as he is, surely will not be left in the back-

ground."
"
The man a fool," said Zerbino ; " he talks all the
is

time. I should like to have such a vessel as that if only to

stop your mouth, you chatterbox, and make you hold your
tongue."
And lo ! Leila uttered a cry of surprise and delight that
made the woodsman start. He was on board a magnificent
ship, that cleft the waves with the grace and majesty of a
stately swan. A tent lighted with alabaster lamps formed
a richly furnished drawing-room on deck. Leila, still seated
at her husband's feet, gazed at him with admiration. Misti-

gris ran after the crew, and tried to give orders to all the
sailors. But on this strange vessel no one said a word. Mis-
tigris wasted his eloquence, and could not even find a cabin-

boy to rule. Zerbino rose to look at the wake of the ship ;

and Mistigris ran after him, simpering.
"
Is
your lordship satisfied with my efforts and zeal ?"
asked he.
"
Hold your tongue, you chatterer," said the woodsman.
" I am
forbid you to say another word till
morning. I

drowsy, let me go to sleep."

Mistigris stood with his mouth open, making respectful

gestures; then in despair he went below to the dining-room
and ate his supper in silence. He drank for four hours with-
out being able to console himself, and ended by falling under
ihe table. In the meantime Zerbino dreamed at his ease.
Leila alone did not close her eyes.
14^ Last Fairy Tales.

One tires of everything, even of happiness, says the prov-

erb. With much greater reason might one tire of being at
sea in a ship where no one said a word and which was drift-

ing none knew whither. As soon, therefore, as Mistigris had

regained his senses and speech, his sole idea was to persuade
Zerbino to wish to be on land. The task was difficult. The
adroit courtier was in constant fear that some indiscreet
wish might send him again among the fishes he trembled, ;

above everything, lest Zerbino should regret his axe and

forest. What a fate, to become the minister of a wood-
cutter !

Happily, Zerbino awakened in excellent humor. He was

becoming accustomed to the princess, and her charming face
pleased him, churl as he was. Mistigris wished to improve
the occasion, but women, alas ! are so unreasonable when
they are in love! Leila declared to Zerbino that it would
be sweet to live alone together, far from the world, in some
tranquil cottage in an orchard, on the banks of a stream.
Without understanding anything of this poetry, the honest

Zerbino listened with pleasure to her loving words.

"
A cottage with cows and chickens," said he, "that would
be fine, if—"
Mistigris felt himself lost, and struck a decisive blow.
" How
"Oh, my lord !" he cried, look yonder before you.
beautiful that is !"
"What?" asked the princess; "I see nothing."
" Nor I said Zerbino, rubbing his eyes.
either,"
" Is it
possible ?" resumed Mistigris, with an air of aston-
"
ishment. What do you not see that marble palace gleam-
!

ing in the sun, and that stately staircase shaded with orange-
trees, with its hundred steps leading down to the sea-shore ?"
 Zerbino the Savage, 149
" A palace ?" said Leila, " I want none to live surrounded
;

with courtiers, selfish followers, and valets. Let us fly!"

"Yes," said Zerbino. "A cottage is better; we should
be quieter there."
"
But this palace is unlike any other," exclaimed Mistigris,
" In this
his imagination excited his fears.
by fairy abode
there are neither courtiers nor valetsyou are served by in-
;

visible hands, and are at once alone and surrounded by at-

tendants. The furniture has hands, and the walls have ears."
"
Have they a tongue ?" said Zerbino.
"
Yes," returned Mistigris, "they tell you everything you
wish to know, but only speak at your bidding."
" "
Well," said the wood-cutter, they have more wit than
you. I should like to have such a castle as that. Where is

this fine palace ? I do not see it."

"
It is there before you, my love," exclaimed the princess.

The vessel had made for land, and anchored in a harbor

justdeep enough for it to come up to the pier. The harbor
was half surrounded by a great staircase of wrought iron.
At the head of this staircase, overlooking the sea, on a vast
plateau, arose the most charming palace that ever was seen.
The mounted the staircase, Mistigris
three friends gayly
at the head, puffing and blowing at every step. On reach-
ing the gate of the castle he attempted to ring, but there
was no bell ; he called, and the gate itself answered.
"
What do you want, stranger ?" it asked.
"
To speak with the master of this palace," said Mistigris,
a embarrassed at talking for the first time to a gate.
little

"The master of this palace is Signor Zerbino," replied

" I will
the gate. open to him when he appears."
Zerbino came up, with the fair Leila on his arm ;
the gate

opened respectfully, and let tne pair pass, followed by Mis-

tigris.
I50 Last Fairy Tales.

Once on the terrace, Leila gazed with delight at the mag-

nificent spectacle of the
vast sea glittering in the

morning sun.
"How pleasant it is
"
here," said she, and how
delightful it would be to sit
in this gallery, under the
shade of the blossoming
laurels."

"Well," said Zerbino,

"
we can sit on the ground."
"
Are there no easy-chairs
here ?" exclaimed Mistigris.
" Here we are
here we !

are !" cried the easy-chairs,

and they hurried up, one
after another, as fast as
their four feet could carry
them.
" This
is a nice place to

breakfast in," said Mistigris.

"
Yes," returned Zerbino,
"
but where is the table ?"
"Here I am! here I

am !" answered a contralto

voice, and a beautiful ma-
hogany table, marching
with matronly gravity,
strode forward and placed
itself before the guests.
"This is charming," eX'
claimed the princess, " but where is the food .?"
 Zerbino the Savage. 151
" Here am am
I ! here I !" cried a number of little shrill

voices, and thirty followed by their sisters, the

platters,

plates, and their cousins, the knives and forks, without for-
getting their aunts, the salt-cellars, ranged themselves on the
table, which was covered with game, fruit, and flowers.
"
Signor Zerbino," said Mistigris," you see what I have
done for you. All this is my work."
"
You lie !" cried a voice.

Mistigris turned around, but saw no one. It was one of

the pillars of the gallery that had spoken.
" "
My lord," said he, no one can accuse me of impos-
ture. I have always spoken the truth."
" You said a voice.
lie !"
" "
This palace is detestable," thought Mistigris. If the
walls speak the truth, we shall never have a court here, and
I shall never be minister. We
must change this."
" he "
Signor Zerbino," resumed, instead of living here
alone, would you not rather be a king, and have subjects to
pay you taxes, furnish you with soldiers, and surround you
with love and tenderness ?'*
—
"Be a king what good would that do me?" replied Zer-
bino.
" "
My friend, do not listen to him," said Leila. Let us
stay here; we are so happy, we two alone."
" "I
We three," cried Mistigris ;
am the happiest of men
here, and with you I desire nothing more."
"
You lie !" said a voice.
"
What, my lord, is there any one here that dares doubt
my devotion ?"
"
You lie !" returned the echo.
" exclaimed Mistigris. " I
My lord, do not listen to this,"

honor and love you ;

I swear it."
"
You lie 1" repeated the pitiless voice.
152 Last Fairy Tales,

Oh ! if you do nothing but lie, begone to the moon,"

"
said Zerbino, it is the land
of liars."
It was an imprudent
speech, for instantly Misti-
gris shot into the air, and
disappeared above the
clouds. Whether he ever
descended again to earth
no one knows, though some
chroniclers say that he has
since been seen there un-
der another name. It is

certain that he was never

more beheld in a palace
where the very walls spoke
the truth.
XII.
Left alone, Zerbino folded
his arms and looked at the

sea, while Leila abandoned

herself to the sweetest
thoughts. To live in an
enchanted solitude alone
with one we love is the
dream of our happiest
days. She took Zerbino's
arm and together they sur-
veyed their new domain.
On the right and left, the
palace was surrounded
with beautiful meadows
watered with sparkling streams. Shady trees, purple
 Zerbino the Savage. 153

beeches, larches with feathery cones, and fragrant orange-

trees cast lengthening shadows over the turf. Among the
foliage warbled the linnet, breathing joy and repose. Leila
laid her hand on her heart, and, looking at Zerbino,
** "
My love," said she, are you happy here, and have you
nothing more to wish for ?"
" I have never
wished for anything," said Zerbino. " To-
morrow I shall take my axe and set to work ; there are fine
forests to cut down here, and I can get plenty of fagots."
"
"Oh !" said Leila, sighing, you do not love me."
"
Love you !" exclaimed Zerbino, " what is that ? I wish
you no harm, certainly quite the contrary. Here is a palace
;

fallen from the clouds ; it is yours. Write to your father

and tell him to come hither; I shall be glad to see him.
If I have hurt your feelings it was not
my fault, I did not
mean to. A wood-cutter I was born, and a wood-cutter I

shall die. I was brought up to it, and I know how to keep

my place. Don't cry ; I don't want to say anything to
grieve you."
" "
Oh, Zerbino !" cried poor Leila, what have I done that
you should treat me so.? Am I so ugly and ill-tempered
that you cannot love me ?"
"Love you! never thought of such a thing.
I There,
there, don't cry, there is no use in it. Be calm, my child, be
reasonable. What crying again. Well well I should
! ! !

like to love you, if it would give you pleasure. I do love

you, do love you !"
Leila, I
Poor Leila, bathed in tears, raised her eyes. Zerbino had
undergone a transformation. In his glance she saw the
—
tenderness of a husband the devotion of a man who has
given his heart and life forever to another. At the sight,
Leila's tears flowed more freely than ever, but she smiled

through them at Zerbino, who, for his part, wept for the first
154 Last Fairy Tales,

time in his life. Is it not the greatest pleasure of earth to

shed tears without knowing why?
All at once, the fairy of the waters appeared, leading the

sage Mouchamiel by the hand. The good king had been

very unhappy since the loss of his daughter and his minister.
He embraced his children tenderly, gave them his blessing,
and bade them farewell the same day, in order to spare his
feelings and health. The fairy of the waters remained the
protectress of the spouses, who lived long in their beautiful

palace, happy in forgetting the world, and still happier in

being forgotten by it.

Did Zerbino remain a boor, like his father? Did his soul
ever open to the light of higher things ? When he could un-
seal his mind with a word, was this word never whispered?
I know and am unable to conjecture. But what did it
not,
matter, after all, since he was happy ? He was beloved, and
that is the greatest joy of life. It was not necessary that he
should have wit ; whether princess or shepherdess, every
woman in a household has wit enough for two.
 |- !^ I I

THE SHEPHERD PACHA,

A TURKISH TALE.

Once upon a time there lived at Bagdad a pacha who

was greatly beloved by the sultan, and greatly dreaded by
his people. Ali, for this was the name of our friend, was a
true Mussulman, a Turk of the old school. As soon as the
dawn of day permitted him to distinguish a black thread
from a white one, he spread a carpet on the ground and, his
face turned towards Mecca, piously went through with his
ablutions and prayers. His devotions finished, two negro
slaves, dressed in scarlet, brought him his pipe and coffee,
when he settled himself on the divan, with his legs crossed,
and remained thus all day long. To sip black, bitter, and
scalding Mocha, smoke Smyrna tobacco slowly through a
long nargile, sleep, do nothing, and think less, such was his
fashion of governing. Every month, it is true, an order came
from Stamboul requiring him to send to the imperial treasury
a million of piasters, the taxes of the pachalic. The good
Ali, departing from his usual quiet, then summoned before
 156 Last Fairy Tales,

him the richest merchants of Bagdad, and politely asked

them for two millions of piasters. The poor men raised their
hands to heaven, beat their breasts, tore their beards, cast

up and swore that they had not 2, para; they im-

their eyes,

plored pity of the pacha and mercy of the sultan. Upon

which Ali, without ceasing to sip his coffee, ordered them
to be bastinadoed on the soles of their feet till they brought
this money which they did not possess, and which they al-

ways succeeded in finding somewhere. The sum counted

out, the faithful administrator sent one half to the sultan and
put the other into his own coffers, then again returned to his
smoking. On these occasions he sometimes complained,
despite his patience, of the cares of greatness and weariness
of power ;
but the next day he thought no more of them,
and levied the taxes the next month with the same calmness
and disinterestedness. He was a model pacha.
Next to his pipe, coffee, and money, the thing dearest to
Ali was his daughter, Delight-of-the-Eyes. He had reason
to love her, for in his daughter as in a living mirror Ali saw
himself reflected, with all his virtues. As indolent as she
was beautiful, Delight-of-the-Eyes could not take a step
without three women ready to wait on her: a white slave
had charge of her hair and dress ; a yellow slave held her
mirror or fanned her, and a black slave amused her by her
antics,and received her caresses or blows. The pacha's
daughter drove out every morning in a great chariot, drawn
by oxen ; she spent three hours in the bath, and employed
the rest of her time in making calls, munching rose con-
serves, drinking pomegranate sherbet, looking at dancing-
girls, and ridiculing her dear friends. After a day so well

spent she returned to the palace, kissed her father, and slept
a dreamless slumber. Reading, thinking, embroidering, sing-
ing, and playing were tiresome tasks, which Delight-of-the-
 The Shepherd Pacha. ^11

Eyes took care to leave to her servants. When a girl is

young, beautiful, rich, and a pacha's daughter, she is born to
amuse herself, and what is there more amusing and moie
praiseworthy than doing nothing. This is the way that the
Turks reason ;
but how many Christians are Turks in this

respect t

There is no happiness here below without alloy ;

were it

not so, earth would make us forget heaven. Ali experienced

this. One tax-day the vigilant pacha, less wide-awake than

usual, bastinadoed, by mistake, a Greek raya, a protege of

England. The bastinadoed man clamored, as he had a right
to do, but the English consul, whose slumbers had been
broken, clamored louder than the raya, and England, who
never sleeps, clamored still more loudly than the consul.
She howled through the journals, vociferated in Parliament,
and shook her fist at Constantinople. The sultan grew
tired of so much fuss about such a trifle, and being unable to
rid himself of his faithful ally, of whom he stood in awe, he
 158 Last Fairy Tales,

determined at least to shake off the pacha, the innocent

cause of all this hubbub. His highness's first idea was to
strangle his late friend ;
but he reflected that to punish a
Mussulman would give too much exultation and joy to those
dogs of Christians, who were always barking. In his inex-
haustible clemency, therefore, the Commander of the P'aith-
fulcontented himself with ordering the pacha to be set on
some desert shore and left to die of hunger.
Happily for AH his judge and successor was an old pacha
whose was tempered by years, and who knew by ex-
zeal

perience that the will of sultans is immutable only in the

almanac. He said to himself that his highness might some
day regret and would then give him credit for
his old friend,
a clemency that cost him nothing. He caused Ali and his
daughter to be brought to him in secret, gave them slaves'
dresses and a few piasters, and warned them that if they
were found pachalic the next day, or if he ever heard
in the

their names mentioned again, he would strangle or decapi-

tate them, whichever they preferred. Ali thanked him for
all his goodness, and an hour later was on his way with a

caravan bound for Syria. That very evening the fall and
exile of the pacha were proclaimed in the streets of Bagdad,
and there was universal rejoicing. On all sides men ex-
and vigilance of the
tolled the justice sultan, whose eyes
were always open sufferings of his children.
to the The
when the new pacha, whose hand was
next month, therefore,
somewhat heavy, demanded two and a half million piasters,
the good people of Bagdad paid it without grumbling, too

happy at having escaped the claws of the brigand who for so

many years had pillaged them with impunity.
To save one's head is fortunate, but it is not everything ;

it is necessary to live, and somewhat difficult task

this is a

for one accustomed to count upon the labor and money of

 The Shepherd Pacha, 159
dthers. On
reaching Damascus, Ali found himself destitute
of resources. A stranger, without friends or kinsmen, he
was on the point of starving, and, what was still greater grief
for a father, he saw his daughter growing pale and wasting
away by his side.
What was he to do in this extremity? Ask alms? This
was unworthy of a personage who the day before had a
nation at his feet. Work? Ali had always lived like a
nobleman; there was nothing that he knew how to do. His
only secret of raising money had been to bastinado his fel-
lows ; but to exercise this respectable means of livelihood
in peace it was necessary to be a pacha, and to have per-
mission from the sultan. To carry it on as an amateur, at
hisown risk and peril, was to run the risk of being hung as
a highway robber. Pachas dislike competition. Ali knew
something about it ;
it had been the pride of his life from

time to time to strangle some petty thief who had had the

folly to poach upon rich men's domains.

One day, when he had eaten nothing, and Delight-of-the-
Eyes, worn out by long fasting, was unable to rise from the
mat on which she lay, Ali, prowling around the streets of
Damascus like a famished wolf, saw some men lifting jars of
oil on their heads and carrying them to the warehouse near
by. At the door of the warehouse stood a clerk who paid
each porter a para for a jar. The sight of this little piece
of copper made the ex-pacha's heart leap within him. He
took his place in the line, and, mounting a narrow staircase,
received a huge jar, which he had great difficulty in raising

upon his back with both hands.

rigid neck, elevated shoulders, and wrinkled brow
With
Ali was slowly desending the stairs, when, at the third step,
he felt his burden inclining forward. He threw himself
back, his feet slipped, and he rolled to the bottom of tb'i
i6o Last Fairy Tales,

staircase, followed by the jar, which

broke a thousand pieces, and del-
in

uged him with oil. He was rising,

covered with shame, when the clerk
of the warehouse seized him by the
collar,
"
Rascal !" said the latter, "pay me
fifty piasters quickly, to repair
your
awkwardness, and begone; when a
"^^^ knows nothing of a trade, he
\^-Tm^^^mp^ifi-^y~~f-\^
—Vitf^B^^CI should let it alone."
fiji
"
Hr^Hliljfe^SyBt Fifty piasters !" said Ali, smiling
" Where do you expect me
bitterly.
to get them ? I have not 2ipara"
" If
you do not pay with your
purse you shall with your skin," re-
turned the clerk. At a sign from
him Ali was seized by four vigorous
03MIK ^-' arms and flung on the ground, his
feet were tied with ropes, and, in the

attitude in which he had but too often placed others, he re-

fifty blows on
ceived his soles, as conscientiously applied as

if a pacha had presided over the punishment.

He arose, lame and bleeding, wrapped his feet in some
rags, and dragged himself home, sighing.
"
God is murmured he. " It is just that I should
great !"

suffer myself what I have made others suffer. But the mer-
chants of Bagdad whom I bastinadoed were happier than I ;
they had friends who paid for them, while I am famishing,
and have nothing to reward me for my beating."
He was mistaken. A good woman, who, by chance or
curiosity, had seen his mishap, took pity on him. She gave
him oil to dress his wounds, a little sack of flour, and a few
 The Shepherd Pacha. 1 61

handfuls of pease on which to live till he was cured, and that

night, for the first time since his fall, Ali could sleep without
care for the morrow.

Nothing sharpens the wits like sickness and suffering. In

was struck with a bright thought. "I was
his forced rest Ali
a fool," reflected he, "to undertake to be a porter. A
pucha's strength does not lie in his muscles ; to oxen be-
longs that honor. What distinguish men of my condition are
skilland sleight of hand. I was an unequalled hunter, and,
moreover, I know how to flatter and lie. I ought to know
how, I have been a pacha. I will choose a business in

which I can astonish the world by these brilliant qualities,

and rapidly win an honorable fortune." Reflecting thus,
Ali turned barber.
The first few days all went well. The master of the new
barber made him drawwater, scrub the shop, shake the rugs,
keep the utensils in order, and serve the customers with
coffee and pipes. Ali performed these delicate functions

admirably. If by chance the head of some mountain peas-

ant was intrusted to him, a wrong slip of the razor passed
unnoticed: these good people are tough -skinned, and are
not ignorant that they were made to be flayed ; a little more
or less does not affect them or rouse them from their torpor.
One morning, in the absence of the head barber, a great

personage entered the shop, the very sight of whom intimi-

dated poor Ali. It was the pacha's buffoon, a hideous little
humpback with a head like apumpkin, long hairy claws, a
restless eye, and teeth like an ape. While Ali covered his
face with a fragrant lather, the buffoon, leaning back in his

chair,amused himself with pinching the new barber, laugh-

ing in his face, and running out his tongue at him. Twice
he knocked from his hands the basin of suds, which de-
lighted him to such a degree that he flung him four paras.
11
l62 Last Fairy Tales,

Nevertheless, the prudent AH preserved his gravity. Ab-

sorbed in the care of so precious a face, he was
guiding
his razor with admirable regularity and lightness, when all
at once the humpback made such a hideous grimace and
uttered such a cry that the barber, frightened, suddenly
drew back his hand, carrying away on the end of his razor
half of an ear, and that not his own.
Buffoons like to laugh, but it is at the expense of others.

There are few men with thinner

skins than those who chafe the
skins of their neighbors. To
fling himself on Ali and cuff
and choke him, shouting murder
meanwhile, was the humpback's
firstimpulse. Happily for Ali,
the cut was so deep that the
wounded man was soon forced
to think of his ear, from which a
stream of blood was gushing.
Ali the lucky moment
seized
and through the lanes of.
fled

Damascus with the swiftness of

a man who knows that to be
caught is to be hung.
After many windings, he hid himself in a ruined cellar,
and only ventured to return home in the darkness and si-
lence of night. To stay at Damascus after such an accident
was certain death. Ali had no difficulty in convincing his
daughter that it was necessary to depart, and that at once.
Their baggage was little encumbrance to them, and before
dawn they had reached the mountain. For three days they
walked without stopping, with nothing to eat but a few figs
filched from the trees on the road, and a little water pro-
 The Shepherd Pacha. 163
cured with great difficulty from the bottom of the dried-up
ravines. But every misfortune has its compensation, and it
must be said that never, in the times of their splendor, had
the pacha or his daughter eaten or drunk with better ap-

petite.
At their last stopping-place the fugitives were welcomed
by an honest peasant who liberally practised the holy law of
hospitality. After supper he talked with Ali, and, finding
him without resources, offered to take him for a shepherd.
To lead to the mountain a score of goats, followed by half
a hundred sheep, was not a tiresome task; two good dogs did
the hardest part of the work ; he ran no risk of being beaten
for his awkwardness ;
he had all the milk and cheese he
wanted, and if the farmer did not give him ^ipara, he at least
permitted Delight-of-the-Eyes to take as much wool as she
could spin, for her father's clothes and her own. Ali, who
had no choice but to die of hunger or be hung, decided,
without much reluctance, to lead the life of the patriarchs ;

the very next morning he made his way to the mountain

with his daughter, his dogs, and his flock.
Once in the fields, Ali
relapsed into his indolent ways.
Stretched on his back smoking his pipe, he passed his time

watching the of the birds through the air.

flight Poor De-
light-of-the-Eyes lesswas
patient; she thought of Bagdad,
and did not forget in her distaff the sweet leisure of olden
times.

"My father!" she often said, "what is the use of life

when nought but perpetual misery ? Is it not better to

it is

put an end to it at once than to die by a slow fire ?"

"
God is great my daughter," answered the wise shep-
!

herd " what he does well done. have repose

; is I ;
at my
age this is the chief of blessings ; you see, therefore, that I
am resigned. Ah ! if I had only learned a trade. You have
She was thinking of Bagdad, and her distaff did not make her forget
the sweet leisure of other days."
 The Shepherd Pacha. 165

youth and hope, and can look for a change of fortune, Are
not these good reasons for taking comfort ?"
" I am resigned, my good father," said Delight-of-the-Eyes,

sighing. The more she hoped, the less was her resignation.

All had led this happy life in solitude for more than a
yearwhen one morning the son of the pacha of Damascus
was hunting on the mountain. While chasing a wounded
bird he lost his way. Alone, and far from his suite, he
sought to find his path by following the course of a brook,
when, on turning a rock, he saw before him a young girl sit-
ting on the grass with her feet in the water, and braiding up
1 66 Last Fairy Tales,

her long hair. At the sight of this beautiful creature You-

souf uttered a cry. Delight-of-the-Eyes raised her head.
Terrified at the sight of a stranger, she fled to her father,
and disappeared from the gaze of the astonished prince.
" Who can this be ?" Yousouf. " The flower of
thought
the mountain is fresher than the rose of our gardens ;
this

daughter of the desert is more beautiful than our sultanas.

Here is the woman of whom I have dreamed."
Hefollowed the steps of the unknown as fast as the slip-

pery stones would let him, and at last found Delight-of-the-

Eyes busied in milking the goats, while Ali called off the
dogs, whose furious barking announced the stranger's ap-
proach. Yousouf complained that he had lost his way and
was dying of thirst. Delight-of-the-Eyes immediately brought
him milk in a great earthen jug; he drank slowly, gazing
at the father and daughter without speaking, and at last

decided to ask his way. Ali, followed by his two dogs, con-
ducted the hunter to the foot of the mountain and returned
trembling ;
the stranger had given him a piece of gold ; he
must be an officer of the sultan, perhaps a pacha. To Ali,
who judged from his own recollections, a pacha was a man
who could only do harm, and whose friendship was to be
dreaded quite as much as his hatred.
On reaching Damascus, Yousouf threw himself on his
mother's neck he repeated to her that she was as beautiful
:

as at sixteen, and as brilliant as the moon in its full ; that

she was his only friend, and that he loved no one else in
the world; saying which he kissed her hands again and

again.
His mother smiled. "My child," said she, "you have a
secret to confide to me ; speak quickly. I know that I am
not as beautiful as you call me, but I am sure of this, that

you will never have a better friend than I.'*

 The Shepherd Pacha, 167
Yousouf did not wait to be urged. He was burning to
tell what he had seen on the mountain ;
he drew a marvel-
lous portrait of the fair stranger, and declared that he could
not live without her, and would marry her the next day.
"A little patience, my son!" said his mother. "Let us
learn who this miracle of beauty is ;
after that we will per-

suade your father to give his consent to thishappy marriage."

When the pacha learned of his son's passion, he began
with expostulations and ended with a fit of rage. Were rich
and elegant girls so scarce in Damascus that his son must
go to the desert in search of a shepherdess ? Never would
he give his consent to this wretched marriage, never !

Never is a word which a prudent man should beware of

speaking in his household when his wife and son are arrayed
against him. A
week had not passed before the pacha,
moved by the mother's tears and the son's pallor, retired
from the field, tired of the contest; but, like a strong-minded
man who knows his own value, he openly declared that he
was doing a foolish thing and that he knew it.
"
All right!" said he; "let my son marry a shepherdess, if

he will ;
his folly be on his own head ;
I wash my hands of
him. But, that nothing may be lacking to this absurd mar-
riage, let my fool come hither; he is the fitting messenger

to send for this wretched goatherd who has bewitched my

household."
An hour after the humpback, mounted on an ass, was on
his way to the mountain, execrating the caprice of the pacha
and the love of Yousouf. What
sense was there in sending
as ambassador to a shepherd, through dust and sun, a deli-
cate man, born to live under the canopy of a palace and to

delight lords and princes by the brilliancy of his wit? But,

alas fortune
! is blind ;
it seats fools on the pinnacle of power,
and reduces geniuses who would not die of hunger to the
condition of fools.
1 68 Last Fairy Tales,

Three days of fatigue had not softened the ill-humor of

the humpback, when he saw Ali lying in the shade of a
tree,and more occupied with his pipe than his sheep. Giv-
ing his ass a kick, the fool advanced towards the shepherd
with the majesty of a vizier.
" Fellow !" said ''
you have bewitched the pacha's son ;
he,
he does you the honor to marry your daughter. Scour up
this pearl of the mountain as quickly as you can, I must

carry her back to Damascus. As for yourself, the pacha

sends you this purse, and orders you to clear out of the coun-
try as fast as possible."
Ali let fall the purse that was flung him, and, without turn-

ing his head, asked the humpback what he wanted.

"• "
Stupid brute !" returned the latter. Didn't you hear
me? The pacha's son takes your daughter in marriage."
"
What does the pacha's son do for a living ?" asked Ali.
" What
does he do for a living ?" cried the buffoon, burst-
"
ing into a fit of laughter, Blind dotard that you are, do
you imagine that so exalted a personage as he is a rustic of

your sortf Don't you know that the pacha shares the tithes
of the provinces with the sultan, and that out of the forty

sheep that you tend so badly, there are five that belong to
him by right, and thirty-five that he can take if he chooses."
"I am not talking of the pacha," tranquilly returned AH.
"
God protect his Excellency I ask you what his son does
!

for a living? Is he an armorer?

"
No !
you fool !"
"A blacksmith?"
"
By no means !"
"
A carpenter ?"
" No !"
" A charcoal-burner ?"
"
No, no \ he is a great gentleman. Don't you know, you
 The Shepherd Pacha, 169
blind bat, that nobody but beggars work? The son of the

pacha is a noble lord ; that is to say, he has white hands and

does nothing."
"Then he shall not have my daughter," said the shepherd,

gravely. "Housekeeping is expensive, and I will never

give my daughter to a husband who cannot support his
wife. But perhaps the pacha's son has some lighter trade.
Is not he an embroiderer ?"
"
No," said the buffoon, shrugging his shoulders.
"A tailor?"
"No."
" A potter ?"
"
No."
"
A basket-maker ?"
"No."
"
Is he a barber, then .?"

"No," said the humpback, purple with rage; "stop this

foolish jesting or I will have you beaten to a jelly. Call
your daughter, I am in haste."
"
My daughter shall not go," said the shepherd.
He whistled to his dogs, who gathered round him, growling,
and showing fangs which appeared to give little amusement
to theenvoy of the pacha. He mounted his ass, and, shak-
ing his fist at Ali, who held back his dogs, bristling with

rage,
" "
Wretch !" said he, you shall soon hear from me. You
shall know what it costs to have any other will than that of
the pacha, your master and mine."
The buffoon returned to Damascus with his maimed ear

hanging lower than usual. Happily for him, the pacha took
the matter in good part. It was a little disappointment for
his wifeand son, and a triumph for himself; a double suc-
cess which agreeably tickled his pride.
1 70 Last Fairy Tales,

"
Upon my word !" said he, " the honest
man is even
madder than my But don't be troubled, Yousouf, a
son.

pacha never breaks his word. I will send four horsemen

to the mountain to bring me the girl ; as for the father, have
no anxiety about him ;
I have a decisive argument in store
for the fellow."

Saying this, he made an airy gesture with his hand, as

if cutting down something that was in his way.
At a sign from his mother Yousouf arose, and entreated
his father to leave to him the care of carrying out this little
adventure. Doubtless the means proposed was irresistible,
but Delight-of-the-Eyes might be weak enough to love the
old shepherd ; she would weep for him \ and the pacha would
not wish to sadden the honeymoon. Yousouf hoped, with
a little persuasion, easily to overcome a resistance which
seemed to him unreasonable.
"Very well," said the pacha. "You think yourself wiser
than your father ; it is the way with sons. Go, and do as
you please ; but I warn you that from this day forth I wash
my hands of your affairs. If that old fool of a shepherd
refuses you, that ends the matter. I would give a thousand

piasters to see you return as discomfited as the humpback."

Yousouf smiled ;
he was sure of success. How could
Delight-of-the-Eyes help loving him? He adored her.
Moreover, at twenty, who doubts himself or his good fort-
une. Doubt is for those whom life has deceived, and not
for those whom she intoxicates with her first illusions.

AH received Yousouf with all the respect due to the son

of a pacha. He thanked him politely for his honorable pro-
posal, but continued inexorable. No trade no marriage. —
It was for him to choose. The young man had thought
that Delight-of-the-Eyes would come to his aid ;
but Delight-
of-the-Eyes was invisible ;
and there was a good reason for
 The Shepherd Pacha, 171
her not disobeying her father ; the prudent Ali had not said
a word to her about the marriage. Since the visit of the
buffoon he had carefully kept her shut up in the house.
The pacha's son returned from the mountain utterly cast
down. What should he do? Return to Damascus to be
the butt of his father's railleries? Never would Yousouf
resign himself to this. Lose Delight-of-the-Eyes ? Rather
death. Make this old shepherd change his mind? You-
souf could not hope for it, and he almost came to the point
of regretting that he had ruined his cause by too great
kindness of heart.
Amid these sad reflections he suddenly perceived that
his horse, left to himself, had strayed away. Yousouf found
him on the edge of an olive wood. In the distance he spied
a village. The bluish smoke rose above the roofs, and he
heard the barking of dogs, the song of the workmen, and the
noise of the forge and hammer. An idea struck Yousouf.
What hindered him from learning a trade ? Was it so very
difficult? Was
not Delight-of-the-Eyes worth any sacrifice?
The young man tied his horse to an olive-tree, upon which
he hung his weapons, embroidered jacket, and turban. At
the first house he reached he complained of having been
robbed by the Bedouins, bought a rough suit of clothes, and,
thus disguised, went from door to door to offer himself as
an apprentice. Yousouf's appearance was so prepossessing
that every one welcomed him cordially, but he was appalled
at the conditions proposed to him. The blacksmith asked
two years to teach him, the potter one year, and the mason
six months; it was a century. The pacha's son would not
resign himself to this long servitude. All at once a shrill
voice called out " Ho my son, if you are in haste and
: !

are not ambitious, come with me ;

in a week I will teach

you how to earn your living."

172 Last Fairy Tales,

Yousouf raised his head. A few steps from him a little

fatman with round belly and rosy face was seated on a
bench with his legs crossed ; he was a basket-maker. He
was surrounded with straw and reeds of all colors. With a
skilful hand he plaited the braids, which he then sewed to-

gether into baskets, mats, and hats of varied shades and pat-
terns. It was a charming sight.

"You are my master," said Yousouf, taking the hand of

the basket-maker ;
*'
and if you can teach me your trade in

.^J2.V<P_ ^ ~ £l^}ljPj^

two days, I will pay you well for your pains. Here is my
advance fee."
With these words he flung two pieces of gold to the
amazed workman.
An apprentice who scatters gold about him is not seen
every day. The basket-maker did not doubt that he had to
deal with a prince in disguise. He did wonders, and, as his
pupil lacked neither intelligence nor good-will, before night
he had taught him all the secrets of his trade.
"
My son," said he, "your education is finished ; you shall
judge before night whether your master has earned bis
 The Shepherd Pacha. 1
73

money. The sun is setting; it is the time when people

pass my door on their way home from work. Take this
mat, which you have braided and sewed with your own
hands, and offer it for sale. Either I am greatly mistaken
or you will sell it for four paras. For a beginner that is
doing well."
The basket-maker was not mistaken. The first purchaser
offered three paras. He was asked five, and after more
than an hour's haggling he finally decided to give four. He
drew out his long purse, looked several times at the mat,
criticised it, and finally made up his mind to count out his

four copper coins, one by one. But, instead of taking the

money, Yousouf flung a piece of gold to the purchaser, and
ten to the basket-maker ; then, seizing his masterpiece, he
rushed from the village like a madman. On reaching his
horse he spread the mat on the ground, enveloped his head
in his mantle, and slept the most restless but, nevertheless,
the sweetest sleep that he had ever tasted in his life.
At daybreak, when Ali came to the pasture with his sheep,
he was greatly astonished to see Yousouf installed before
him under the old carob-tree. As soon as he perceived the
shepherd, the young man arose, and, taking the mat on which
he had been lying,
" "
My father !" said he, you required me to learn a trade.
I have done so. Here is my work, examine it for yourself."
" "
It is a fine bit of work," said Ali ;
if it is not very

smoothly braided, it is
honestly sewed. What can you earn
by making one mat a day like this ?"
"
YoMx paras ^' said Yousouf, "and with a little practice, I
could make two at least in a day."
"
Be modest," returned Ali " modesty becomes ; youthful
talent. Yo\xx paras a day is not much, but (our paras to-day
and four to-morrow make eight paras^ and four paras the
1
74 Last Fairy Tales.

day after will make twelve. In fine, it is a trade at which a

man can earn a living, and if I had had the wit to learn it
when I was pacha, I should not have had to turn shepherd
to-day."
These words Yousouf with astonishment. Ali told
filled

him his whole story. It was risking his head, but a little

pride is excusable in a father on giving his daughter in mar-

riage. Ali was not sorry to show his son-in-law that Delight-

of-the-Eyes was not unworthy to be" the wife of a pacha's son.

The sheep that day went home earlier than usual. You-
souf was anxious to thank the honest farmer who had given
shelter to Ali and his daughter. He bestowed on him a
purse of gold to reward him for his charity. None is so
liberal as a happy man. Delight-of-the-Eyes, on being in-
troduced to the mountain hunter, and informed of Yousouf 's
intentions, declared that it was a daughter's first duty to
obey her father. In such cases, it is said, daughters are al-

ways obedient in Turkey.

The same day, in the cool of the evening, they set out
for Damascus. The horses were fleet, and their hearts were
light; they went like the wind, and, before the close of the

second day, they had reached their destination. Yousouf

presented his bride to his mother. It is needless to say how
great was her joy. After the first caresses, she could not
resist the pleasure of showing her husband that she had been

wiser than he, and took pleasure in revealing to him the birth
of the fair Delight-of-the-Eyes.
"
!" cried the pacha, stroking his long beard to
By Allah
keep himself in countenance, and hide his confusion, "do

you imagine, madam, that you can surprise a statesman like

me? should I ever have consented to this union if I had

not known the secret that astonishes you ? Understand that

a pacha knows everything." And he instantly retired to his
 The Shepherd Pacha. 175

Study to write to the sultan, that he might decide Ali's fate.

He was not ready to displease his highness for the bright
eyes of an outlawed family. Youth loves romance in life,
but the pacha was a serious man, who was anxious to live
and die a pacha.
All sultans love stories, if we are to believe "The Thou-
sand and One Nights." Ali's protector had not degener-
ated from his ancestors. He sent a ship expressly to Syria
to bring the ex-pacha of Bagdad to Constantinople. Ali,
clad in rags, with crook in hand, was led to the seraglio,
where, before a numerous audience, he had the honor of
amusing his majesty during a whole afternoon.
When Ali had finished his story, the sultan ordered him to
be clothed in a robe of honor. Of a pacha his highness had
made a shepherd he wished now to astonish the world by a
;

new miracle of his omnipotence, and of a shepherd to make

a pacha.
The whole court applauded this brilliant mark of favor.
Ali threw himself at the sultan's feet, and declined an honor
1 76 Last Fairy Tales,

which had lost all attractions for him. He did not wish, he

said, to run the risk of displeasing the master of the world a

second time, and begged to grow old in obscurity, blessing
the generous hand that had rescued him from the abyss into
which he had justly fallen.

All's boldness appalled the spectators, but the sultan

.

smiled.
"God is great!" he cried, "and has some new surprise in
store for us each day. During the twenty years that I have
reigned, this is the first time that one of my subjects has
asked to be nothing. For the rarity of the thing, AH, I grant
your prayer. All that I ask is youthat shall accept a gift
of a thousand purses. No one must leave my presence
empty-handed."
Onhis return to Damascus Ali bought a beautiful garden,
filledwith oranges, lemons, apricots, plums, and grapes. To
dig, hoe, graft, prune, and water these was his sole delight.
He went to bed every night with a tired body and tran-
quil soul, and arose every morning refreshed and light-
hearted.

Delight-of-the-Eyes had three sons, all more beautiful than

their mother. Old Ali undertook to bring them up. He
taught all of them gardening, and made each one learn a
different trade. To engrave on their hearts the truth that he
had learned only in exile, he inscribed on the walls of his
house and garden the finest passages of the Koran, above
which he wrote these wise sayings, which the Prophet himself
would not have disowned :

*'
Labor is the only treasure that never fails us."
"
Use thy hands for work and thou wilt never stretch them for alms."
" When thou knowest what it costs to earn a para, thou wilt respect
others' property and labor."
" Work
brings health, wisdom, and joy."
" Labor and dulness never dwell under the
same roof."
 The Shepherd Pacha. 177
It was amid such wise teachings that the sons of Delight-
of-the-Eyes grew up. All three were pachas. Whether they
profited by their grandfather's counsels I know not. I like

to think so, although the annals of the Turks are silent con-

cerning it. The first lessons of infancy are not forgotten.

It is to education that we owe three fourths of our vices and
half our virtues. Good people, remember what you owe to
your fathers, and say to yourselves that wicked men and
pachas, are, for the most part, only children badly trained.
12 .
 BRIAM THE FOOL,
AN ICELANDIC TALE.

In the good country of Iceland, there once lived a king

and queen who ruled a faithful and obedient people. The
queen was good and gentle, and little attention was paid to
her ; the king was grasping and cruel, and all who feared
him, therefore, vied with each other in praising his virtue and
kindness. Thanks to his avarice, the king had more castles,
farms, herds, goods, and jewels than he could count, but the
more he had, the more he wanted. Woe to the man, rich or
poor, who fell into his power!

At the lower end of the park about the royal castle stood
a little hut, where dwelt an old peasant and his wife. Provi-
dence had bestowed on them seven sons, and these were all
their riches. To feed this large family the good people
 Briam the Fool, 1
79
had nothing but a cow, called Bukolla. She was a splendid
animal, black-and-white, with short horns, and large, soft,
and gentle eyes. Her beauty, moreover, was her very least
merit ;
she was milked thrice a day, and never gave^ less than
five gallons at a time. She was so devoted to her mas-
ters that she came home of her own accord at milking-time,

dragging her full udders, and lowing from afar for them to
come to her relief; in short, she was the delight of the
household.
One day, as the king was hunting, he chanced to pass
through the pasture where the cows of the castle were feed-
ing. Unluckily, Bukolla had strayed among the herd.
"
What a finecow I have there !" exclaimed he.
"
Sire," answered the herdsman, " it is not yours ;
it is

Bukolla, the cow of the old peasant that lives in the hovel

yonder."
"
I must have her," said the king, and through the whole

hunt he talked of nothing but Bukolla. At night, on his re-

turn, he called the captain of his guard, who was as wicked
as himself, and said, " Go find that peasant, and bring me

directly the cow that has struck my fancy."

The queen begged him to forbear. " These poor people,"
said she, " have nothing in the world but their cow ; to take
her away is to make them die of starvation."
"I
must have her," returned the king, " by purchase, bar-
ter, or force, no matter which. If, in an hour, Bukolla is not

inmy stables, woe to the knave that has failed in his duty !"
And he frowned so fiercely that the queen dared not open
her lips, and the captain of the guard set off post-haste with
a band of soldiers.
The peasant was milking the cow in front of the door,
with all the children gathered round, caressing her. On
hearing the king's message the good man shook his head,
i8o Last Fairy Tales,

and declared that he would not sell Bukolla at any price.

"
She is mine," said he, " she is my joy and treasure, and I
love her better than all the king's gold."
It was growing late, and the captain of the guard feared
his master's wrath. He seized Bukolla by the horns to drag
her away. The peasant sprang to his feet, to offer resistance,
when a blow from an axe laid him dead on the ground. At
the sight, all the children burst into tears except Briam, the
eldest, who stood, pale and speechless, as if transfixed to the
spot.
The captain of the guard knew that blood for blood is
the law in Iceland, and that sooner or later the sons would

avenge their father. If the tree was not to grow again, it

must be plucked up, root and branch. With a frenzied
"
grasp, the^ruffian seized one of the crying children. Where
is your pain ?" he asked.
"
Here," said the child, laying his
hand on his heart, whereupon the wretch instantly plunged
a dagger into his breast. Six times he put the same ques-
tion and received the same answer, and six times he flung
the corpse of the son upon that of the father. All this time,

Briam, with his eyes and mouth wide open, was running
about, chasing the flies as they buzzed in the air.
"
Come here, you rascal where is your pain .?" cried the
!

executioner.
For his sole answer, Briam put his thumb and forefinger
to his nose in token of contempt, and ran off as fast as his
and dancing. The captain of
legs could carry him, singing
the guard was about to pursue the insolent fellow, when he
was stopped by his companions.
" " kill the cub
Fie !" said they ;
after the wolf, but do not
kill a fool ! What harm can he do you ?"
That evening the king had the pleasure of stroking Bu-
kolla, and the thought never crossed his mind that she
 Briam the Fool. i8i

had cost him too dear. But in the ruined hovel an old
woman, in tears, entreated justice of God. The whim of a

prince had robbed her in an hour of her husband ind six

children. Of all whom she loved, of all who were her sup-
port, nought was left her but a wretched idiot.

II.

Ere long, nothing was talked of for twenty leagues round

but Briam and his antics.
One day, he wanted to drive
a nail into the axle of the
-^
^ ~-
K

sun; another, he tossed up

his cap to the man in the
moon. The king, who was
ambitious, thought that it

would be a good thing to

have a fool at his court, in
humble imitation of the great
princes of the Continent.
Briam was sent for, accord-

ingly, and dressed in a motley

suit,with one leg red and
the other blue, one sleeve

green and the other yellow ;

and an orange body. In
this parrot -like costume, he
was set toamuse the court-
iers. Sometimes caressed
and oftener beaten, the poor
fool suffered everything with-
out complaint. He passed
whole hours in talking with
the birds or watching the
1 82 Last Fairy Tales.

burial of an ant. If he opened his lips, it was to make some

mad speech, which greatly delighted those who were not
its butt.

One day, when dinner was about to be served, the captain

of the guard entered the castle kitchen. Briam, armed with
a chopping-knife, was cutting up carrot leaves in the style
of parsley. The sight of the knife terrified the murderer,
and aroused his suspicions. " Briam, where is your mother ?"
asked he.
"
There she is, hanging yonder," answered the idiot, point-
ing with his finger at the huge pot, where the royal dinner
was stewing.
"
Stupid lout, what do you mean ?" exclaimed the guards-
man, opening his eyes.
"That is my mother; it is what feeds me," returned
Briam. And, springing to the fireplace, he grasped the
sooty pot in his arms, and ran off with it to the forest.
They chased him, but it was labor lost
;
when they caught
him, the dinner was spilled and everything spoiled. That
night the king was forced to dine on a crust of bread, and
his only consolation was to have Briam soundly whipped by
the scullions of the castle.
Briam limped to his mother's hovel, and told her what had
happened. "My son, my son," said the poor woman, "that
is not what you should have said."
"
What should I have said, mother .?"
" '
My son, you should have said, This is the pot that is
"
filled every day by the king's generosity.'
"Well, mother, I will say that to-morrow."
The next day the court was assembled. The king was
talking with his high-steward
—
a great lord, who loved good
cheer, fat, sleek, and jolly ; with a large, bald head, a thick
neck, a huge belly, over which he could not cross his arms,
 Briam the Fool. 83
and a pair of legs which with difficulty supported this
little

vast structure. As
the steward was talking with the king,
Briam came up, and struck him a smart blow in the" belly,
"
saying : This is what is filled every day by the king's gen-
erosity."
It is needless to say
that a beating followed.
The king was furious,
and the court like-

wise ;
but it was whis-
pered that evening
throughout the castle
that fools, without

knowing it, sometimes

speak the truth.

Briam limped to his

mother's hut, and told
her what had hap-
"
pened. My son, my
son," said the poor
woman, "that is not
what you should have
said."
"
What should I have said, mother ?"
"My son, you should have said, 'This is the best and
"
most faithful of courtiers.'
"
Well, mother, I will say that to-morrow."
The next day the king held a grand levee, and while the
ministers, officers, chamberlains, fine gentlemen, and fair

ladies were disputing the smiles of the monarch, he amused

himself by teasing a large spaniel that was trying to snatch
a cake from his hands.
Briam seated himself at the king's feet, and, seizing the
 1
84 Last Fairy Tales.

dog by the nape of the neck, causing it to howl piteously,

"This is the best and most faithful of courtiers."
cried,
The king smiled at this jest, upon which the courtiers all
burst out laughing, but no sooner had he left the room than
a shower of blows and kicks rained upon poor Briam, who
had great difficulty in escaping the storm. He limped to his
mother's hut and told her what had happened.
" "
My son, my son," said the poor woman, that is not
what you should have said."
"
What should I have said, mother ?"
"You should have said, 'This creature would eat up
"
everything if one would let her.'
"
Well, mother, I will say that to-morrow.'*
The next day was a holiday, and the queen appeared in
her most gorgeous array. She was covered with velvet,
laces, and jewels ;
her necklace alone was worth the tax of

twenty villages. All admired her splendor. Just then

Briam came up, crying, " This creature would eat up every-
thing if one would let her."
It would have been all over with the insolent wretch if

the queen herself had not interceded for him.

"
Poor fool," said she, " begone ; no one shall hurt you.
If you knew how these jewels weigh me down, you would not

reproach me for wearing them."

Briam hastened to his mother's hut, and told her what
had happened. " My son, my son," said the poor woman,
"
that is not what you should have said."
" What should I have
said, mother ?"
" *
This
My son, you should have said, is the king's love
"
and pride.'
"
Well, mother, I will say that to-morrow."
The next day, the king was going to the chase. His fa-

vorite mare was brought him ;

he mounted, and was care-
 Briam the Fool. 185

lessly bidding the queen good-bye, when Briam struck the

horse on the shoulder, saying, " This is the king's love and

pride."
The king looked upon which the poor
angrily at Briam,
fool ran off as fast as his legs could carry him, already be-
ginning to scent the whip in the air. He entered his
mother's hut, out of breath, and told her what had happened.
"
My son," said the poor woman," do not go back to the
castle ; they will kill you."
"
Patience, mother, none can say who will slay and who
will be slain."
"Alas!" said his mother, weeping; "how happy your
is to be in his
father grave, where he cannot see your shame
and mine."
"
Patience, mother, no two days are alike."

III.

Almost three months had passed since Briam's father

slept in the grave with his children, when the king gave a
great feast to the chief officers of his court. The captain
of the guard sat at his right and the fat high-steward at his
left. The table was covered with lights, fruits and flowers,
and the guests quaffed the choicest wine from golden cups.
As the drink went round their blood grew heated, words ran
high, and more than one quarrel was threatening. Briam,
madder than ever, poured the wine, and took care not to
leave a glass empty, but while he held the golden flagon with
one hand, with the other he pinned the clothing of the guests
together, two by two, so that no one could rise without drag-
ging his neighbor after him.
He had made the round of the board three times, when
the king cried, heated with wine :

"
Jump upon the table, fool, and give us a song !"
 86 Last Fairy Tales,

Briam leaped up lightly among the fruits and flowers, and

began chanting in a mournful strain :

"Each has its turn,

Wind and rain,

Night and day,

Death and life,
Each has its turn."

"What do you mean by this dismal dirge?" exclaimed

"
the king. Fool, make me laugh or I will make you cry."
 Briant the FooL 187
Briam looked at the king fiercely, and chanted, in a men-

acing voice ;

"Each has its turn,

Good luck and ill,
Outrage and vengeance,
Deaf are the fates,
Each has its turn."

" What !
villain, it looks as if you were threatening me,"
cried the king; "you shall be punished as you deserve."
He rose to his feet so suddenly that he dragged after him
the captain of the guard. The latter, taken by surprise, fell
forward, and, to steady himself, caught hold of the king's
elbow and neck.
" "
Wretch !" cried the prince, do you dare to lay hands on
your master?" And, seizing his dagger, he was about to
stab the officer when
the latter grasped the king's arm with
one hand, and, with the other, plunged his dirk into his
throat. The blood gushed forth in torrents, and the prince
fell, dragging his murderer with him in the death-struggle.

The captain of the guard rose quickly, amid shrieks and

"
confusion, and, drawing his sword, exclaimed, Gentlemen,
the tyrant is dead. Hurrah for liberty. I will be king and
will marry the queen. If any one objects, let him speak, I
am ready for him.'*
"Long live the king!" cried all the courtiers; and there

were even a few who took advantage of the occasion to draw

a petition from their pockets. The joy was universal, and
almost delirious. Suddenly, with flashing eyes and uplifted
axe, Briam stood before the usurper.
** "
Dog, and son of a dog," he cried, when you slew my
kindred, you thought neither of God nor man. Your time
has come 1"

The captain of the guard attempted to draw his sword,

i88 Last Fairy Tales,

but Briam dealt his right arm such a blow that it fell like a
broken bough.
" And " if
now," cried Briam, you have a son, let him
avenge you, as Briam this day avenges his father." With
these words, he cleft his skull asunder.

"Long live Briam!" cried the courtiers; "long live our

liberator !" At that instant the queen entered, terror-strick-

en, and threw herself at the fool's feet, calling him her
avenger. Briam raised her from the ground, then, seating
himself by her side and brandishing his axe, he called on
allthe courtiers to swear fidelity to their lawful sovereign.

"Long live the queen!" cried every one. The joy was
universal and almost delirious.
The queen wished to keep Briam at the court; but he
begged to return to his hut, and asked no other reward than
the poor cow, the innocent cause of so much suffering. On
approaching the door of the cottage, the cow began to low
for those who could no longer hear her. The poor woman
came out, in tears.

"Mother," said Briam, "here is Bukolla; you are

avenged !"
" At that instant the
queen entered, terror-stricken, and threw her-
self at the fool's feet."
190 Last Fairy Tales.

Here ends the story. What became of Briam none can

tell but the whole country still points out the ruins of the
;

hut where he and his brothers dwelt, and mothers say to

" who avenged

their children, There lived the lad his father

and comforted his mother." And the children answer,

" We will follow his example."
 THE LITTLE GRAY MAN.
AN ICELANDIC TALE.
In olden times — I speak of three or four hundred years
ago
— there lived at Skalholt, in Iceland, an old peasant,
who was no more richly endowed with wit than he was with
money. One day, when the honest man was at church, he
"
heard a fine sermon on charity. Give alms, brethren, give
"
alms !" said the curate, and the Lord will restore it to you
a hundred-fold." These words, which were repeated again
and again, fixed themselves in the peasant's mind, and mud-
dled what little brains he had. Scarcely had he returned
home when he began to cut down the trees in his garden,

dig up the ground, and fetch wood and stones, as if he were

about to build a palace.
"
What are my poor man ?" asked his wife.
you doing,
" me
poor man any longer," said the peas-
' '
Don't call
"
ant, gravely we are
; rich, my dear wife, or, at least, we
soon shall be. In a fortnight I am going to give away my
cow."
192 Last Fairy Tales,

" Our "

only means of livelihood," cried the wife ;
we shall
die of starvation."
"
Hold your tongue, you ignoramus," said the peasant ;
"it is clearly to be seen that you did not listen to the cu-
rate's sermon. By giving away our cow we shall receive a
hundred more as a reward ;
the curate said so, and it is
gos-
pel truth j put fifty of them in the stable that I am
I shall

going to build, and with the money that I get for the other
fifty I shall buy meadow-land enough to keep our herd both
in winter and summer. We shall be richer than the king."
And, without troubling himself about either the prayers or
reproaches of his wife, the simpleton went on building his
stable, to his neighbors' great astonishment.
The work finished, he tied a rope around the cow's neck,
and led her straight to the curate's house. He found him
talking with two strangers, at whom he scarcely glanced, so
eager was he to make his gift and to receive the promised
reward. The curate was greatly astonished at this new
form of charity. He made a long speech to his foolish
sheep, to prove to him that our Lord had spoken of spiritual
rewards alone ; but it was sheer waste of time the peasant :

only answered, "You said so, Mr. Curate; you said so."
Tired, at last, of reasoning with such a dolt, the pastor fell
into a fit of holy wrath, and shut his door in the face of the

peasant, who stood in the road thunder-struck, repeating,

"
You said so, Mr. Curate ; you said so."
Nothing was left for him but to return home and this ;

was not an easy matter. It was early spring; the ice was
melting, and the gusts of wind blew the snow in all direc-
tions. He slipped at every step, while the cow lowed, and
would not go on. At the end of an hour he had lost his
way, and was in danger of losing his life. He stopped,
perplexed, execrating his ill-fortune, and not knowing what
 The Little Gray Man, 19 j
todo with the animal that he was dragging along. As he
was sadly reflecting, a man came up, carrying a huge sack,
and asked him what he was doing abroad in such wretched
weather.
The peasant
told the story of his troubles. "
good My
man," said the stranger, "if you take my advice, you will
make a trade with me. I live close by here ; give me your
cow, which you can never get home, and take this sack,
which is no more than you can carry, and which is full of
good things ; it holds nothing but meat and bone."
The bargain struck, the stranger led away the cow, while
the peasant threw over his shoulder the sack, which he found

frightfully heavy. Dreading his wife's reproaches and ridi-

cule, the instant he entered the house he hastened to tell of
the danger he had run, and what a good trade he had made
in exchanging a dying cow for a sack: full of victuals. On
hearing this fine story, his wife
began begged to snarl. He
her to keep her ill-humor to herself, and to hang on her
"
biggest pot. You will see what I have brought," said he.
" a and will thank me." He
Wait little, you opened the sack,
when out stepped a little man, all in gray, like a mouse.
"
How are you, good people ?" said he, with the air of a
"
prince. I hope that, instead of cooking me, you will give

me something to eat ; this little journey has made me very

hungry."
The peasant dropped upon his bench as if he were thun-
derstruck.
" There !" said his wife
"
I was sure would turn out
; it so.

Here is a new But what else can one expect

piece of folly.
of a husband ? Here you have lost the cow, that was our
only means of livelihood, and, now that we have nothing,
you bring us another mouth to feed. I wish you had stayed
in the snow with your sack and its treasure."
13
194 Last Fairy Tales.

The good woman would have gone on talking till dooms-

day,if the little gray man had not thrice remonstrated with

her that hard words would not fill the pot, and that the wis-
est course was to go and hunt for game. He went out at
once, in spite of the darkness, wind, and snow, and soon
came back, bringing a fat sheep.
"There!" said he; "kill this creature, and do not let us
die of starvation."
The old peasant and his wife looked askance at the little
man and his booty. This boon, that fell, as it were, from
the clouds, savored strongly of theft ; but, when hunger cries
aloud, farewell to scruples. Lawful prey or not, the sheep
was hungrily eaten.
From that day plenty reigned in the peasant's household.
One sheep followed another, and the honest man, more
 The Little Gray Man, 195

credulous than ever, marvelled within himself whether he

had not gained by the exchange, when, instead of the hun-
dred cows that he expected, heaven had sent him so skilful
a purveyor as the little gray man.
There are two sides to everything. While the sheep mul-
tiplied in the old man's house they perceptibly diminished
in the royal flock which was at pasture in the neighborhood.

The head shepherd, in great distress, informed the king that

for some time, in spite of his redoubled vigilance, the finest
wethers in the flock had disappeared one after another.
Some adroit thief had certainly taken up his abode in the
neighborhood. It did not take long to discover that there
was a stranger in the peasant's cabin, whom no one knew,
and who had come from none knew whither. The king or-
dered the stranger to be instantly brought before him. The
gray man set out without a frown, but the peasant and
little

his wife began to feel a little remorse on thinking that re-

ceivers and thieves were hung on the same gallows.
When the little gray man appeared at court, the king
asked him whether, by chance, he had not heard that five
fat sheep had been stolen from the royal flock.

"Yes, your majesty !" answered the little man ; "it was I
that took them."
"
By what right ?" said the prince.
"Your majesty, I took them because an old man and his
wife were suftering with hunger, while you, oh, king, were

rolling in wealth, and could not use one tenth of your in-
come. It seemed to me just that these honest people should

on your superfluity, rather than die of want, while you

live

knew not what to do with your abundance."

The king stood stupefied at such audacity then, ; looking
"
the little man in a manner that boded no good, As far as I

can see," said he, " your chief talent is stealing."

196 Last Fairy Tales.

The little man bowed with modest pride.

" "
Very well !" said the king ; you deserve to be hung ;

but I forgive you, on condition that, by this time to-morrow,

you shall have stolen from my shepherds my black bull,
which they tell me they guard so carefully."

"Your majesty, you ask an impossibility. How do you

expect me to deceive such vigilance ?"
" "
If you do not do it," returned the king, you will be
hung," and with a gesture he dismissed the thief, while all
around echoed, "Hung!" "hung!" "hung!"
The gray man returned to the hut, where he was
little

tenderly received by the peasant and his wife. He only

told them, however, that he needed a rope, and that he
should leave the next morning at daybreak. They gave
him the cow's old halter, upon which he went to bed and
slept soundly.
At the first the little gray man set out with
dawn of day
his rope. He
went into the forest along the road by which
the king's shepherds were to pass, and, choosing a great
oak, well in sight, hung himself by the neck to its largest
bough. He took good care, however, not to make a slip-
noose.
Two shepherds soon came by, leading the black bull.
" "
Look," said one, the knave has already got his reward.
It is certain, at least, that he did not steal his halter. Good-
bye, my fine fellow ! There is no danger of your taking the
king's bull."
No sooner were the shepherds out of sight than the little
gray man sprang down from the tree, ran up a cross-road,
and hung himself anew to a great oak near the road. The
shepherds were astonished to see another man hung.
" Who " Do I see double ? Here
is that ?" cried one. is

the man that was hung over yonder."

Why, here is the man that was hung over yonder !' '
198 Last Fairy Tales,

" How stupid "

you are !" said his companion ; how can a
man be hung in two places at once ? This is another rob-
ber, that is all."
"I tell you that it is the same one," returned the
"
first shepherd ;
I know him by his coat and his grim-
ace."
"And I will bet that it is some one else," said the sec-
ond shepherd, who was strong-minded.
The bet was taken, and the two shepherds tied the bull to
a tree, and ran back to the first oak. But no sooner were
they out of sight than the little gray man leaped from his
gibbet, and stealthily led the bull to the peasant's cottage.
He was joyfully welcomed, and the animal was put into the
stable till it could be sold.
The two shepherds returned at night to the castle with

hanging heads and dejected air. The king saw at once

that a trick had been played them. He sent for the little
gray man, who presented himself with the serenity of a
hero.
" You have stolen my bull," said the king.
"Your majesty," answered the little man, "I only did it

in obedience to your commands."

"Very well!" said the king; "here are ten gold crowns
as its ransom but if, in two days, you do not steal the
;

clothes off my bed while I am asleep, I will hang you."

"Your majesty, do not ask such a thing. You are too
well guarded for a poor man like me to be able even to ap-
proach the castk."
"If you do not do it," said the king, "I shall have the
pleasure of hanging you."
When evening came, the littlegray man, who had returned
to the hut, took a long rope and a basket. This basket
he lined with moss, and put in it a cat that had just kit-
 The Little Gray Man. 199

tened, with all her litter. Then, groping his way through
the thick darkness, he slipped into the castle, and mount-
ed to the roof without being seen. To enter the garret,
saw through a plank of the floor, and let himself down
through this opening into the king's chamber, was the work
of a few moments. Once there, he carefully turned down
the bedclothes, and laid the cat and kittens in the royal
bed. He then clam-
bered up the bedpost,
and seated himself on
the canopy, and in

this elevated position

waited to see what

would happen.
The palace clock
struck eleven, and the
200 Last Fairy Tales,

king and
queen entered their apartment. Having un-
dressed, both knelt down and said their prayers ; after
which the king put out the light, and the queen got into
bed. All at once she shrieked, and sprang to the middle
of the room.
" Are " Do
you mad ?" said the king. you want to alarm
the whole castle ?"
" "
My dear," answered she, come away from that bed, I
beg of you ;
I felt a burning breath there, and my feet
touched something hairy."
" the bed ?" said
Why not say at once that the devil is in
" All women have the
the king, laughing contemptuously.
heart of a hare and the head of a linnet."

Upon which, like a true hero, he bravely lay down under

the coverlet, and instantly sprang out, dragging after him
the cat, which had fastened its claws into his thigh. At
the king's shrieks the sentinel rushed to the door, and knocked
thrice with his halberd, as a signal that aid was at hand.
" Silence !" said the prince, ashamed of his weakness, and
not wishing to be caught in a fright.
He struck a match, lighted the lamp, and saw in the bed
the cat, tenderly licking her kittens.
"This is too much !" he cried. "This impudent creature
has no respect for our crown, but takes our royal couch in
which to deposit her litter. Wait, puss, and I will give you
what you deserve."
"
She will bite you," said the queen ; "she may be mad."
"Don't be afraid, my dear!" returned the good prince,
and, raising the corners of the under-sheet, he wrapped the
whole litter in it ; after which he rolled it in the coverlet

and upper-sheet, made a huge bundle of the whole, and threw

it out of the window.
" said he to the queen,
"
us go to your room,
Now," let
 The Little Gray Man, 20I

and sleep in peace, since we

are avenged."
The king slept, and pleasant
dreams lulled
slumbers;his
but while he reposed, a man
climbed on the roof, and fas-
tened a rope thereto, by which
he let himself down to the
ground. Once there, he groped
for the bundle, took it on his

back, leaped over the wall, and

ran off through the snow. The
sentinels declared the next
morning that a phantom had
flitted before them, and that

they had heard the cries of a

new-born child.
When he awoke the next
morning, the king collected
his thoughts, and began for
the first time to reflect calm-
ly. He suspected that he had
been the victim of some trick-

ery,and that the author of the

crime was the little gray man. He sent for him at once.
The little gray man came, carrying on his shoulder the
clothes, freshly ironed. He bent his knee before the queen,
and said, in a respectful tone,
"
Your majesty knows that what I did was only in obedi-
ence to the king's orders. I hope that you will be good
enough to forgive me."
" " but never
Very well," said the queen j do it again, or
you will kill me with fright."
202 Last Fairy Tales,

"
But I do not forgive you," said the king, greatly vexed
that the queen should take it upon herself to show
clemency
without consulting her lord and master. "Listen to me,
you scoundrel. If by to-morrow night you have not stolen
the queen herself from her castle, to-morrow night you shall
be hung."
" "
Your majesty !" hang me at once,
cried the little man,
and spare me twenty-four hours of anguish. How do you
expect me to succeed in such an undertaking It would be .^

easier to pull down the moon with my teeth."

" That is your business and not mine," returned the king.
"
Meanwhile, I shall order the gallows to be set up."
The little man went out in despair. He buried his face
in his hands, and sobbed ready to break his heart. The
king laughed for the first time.

Towards dusk a holy Capuchin monk, with his rosary in

 The Little Gray Man, 203
his hand,and his wallet upon his back, came to the castle,
according to custom, to beg for his convent. When the
queen gave him alms,
"
Madam !" said he, " God will

reward your charity. Even now

I bring you a recompense. To-
morrow, as you well know, a
wretch, who
doubtless guilty,
is

is to be hung in the castle."

" Alas !" returned the
queen,
" I him and would
forgave heartily,

gladly have saved his life."

"That cannot be," said the

" but
monk ;
this man, who is a
kind of wizard, may make you a
valuable gift before he dies. I

know that he possesses three mar-

vellous secrets, one alone of which is worth a kingdom. One
of these he may be ready to bequeath to her who looked on
him with pity."
" What are these secrets ?" asked the
queen.
"
By virtue of the first, a woman can make her husband
do whatever she chooses."
" Ah !"
said the princess, shrugging her shoulders, there
"

is nothing wonderful about that recipe. From the time of

Eve, of blessed memory, this mystery has been handed down
from mother to daughter. What is the second secret ?"
"The second one confers wisdom and goodness on its

possessor."
"
Indeed !" said the queen, in an absent-minded way ;
"and the third?"
" The third secures to the woman who possesses it unequal-
led beauty, and the power of pleasing to the end of her life."
204 Last Fairy 'I ales,

"
Father, that is the secret that I want !" cried the queen.
" "
Nothing is easier than to obtain it," said the monk. It

is only necessary that before dying, and while he is still

at full liberty, the wizard should take both your hands, and

blow three times upon your hair."

"
Let him come !" said the queen. " Father, go bring
him here !"
" "
That cannot be," said the monk. The king has given
the strictest orders that this man shall not enter the castle.
If he sets his foot within these grounds, he dies on the spot.
Do not deprive him of the few hours he has to live."
"
But, father, the king has forbidden me to go out till to-

morrow evening."
" "
I see that you must
That is a pity," said the monk.

give up this priceless treasure. would be sweet, how-

It

ever, never to grow old, but always to remain young and

beautiful, and, above all, beloved."
" Alas The command
father, you are quite right.
!
king's
is the height of injustice. But even should attempt to
if I

go, the guards would stop me. Don't look so astonished ;

you see how the king treats me, with his caprices. I am the
most unhappy of women."
"My heart is wrung," said the monk. "What tyranny!
What barbarism Well, madam, you should not give way
!

to such unreasonable commands. It is your duty to do as

you please."
"
But how can I do so ?"
"There is one way, if you are strong in the consciousness
that you are right. Get into this sack, and I will carry you
out of the castle at the risk of my life. And fifty years
hence, when you are as young and beautiful as you are to-

day, you will applaud yourself for resisting the will of a ty-
rant."
 The Little Gray Man. 205
" "
Very well," said the queen. But is not this some snare
laid for me?"
"
Madam," said the holy man, raising his hands to heaven
and beating " as sure as I am a
his breast, monk, you have
nothing to fear. Besides, I will stay by your side all the
time you are with this unhappy man."
" And
you will bring me back to the castle ?"
" I swear it."
" And with the secret ?"
"
With the secret. But if your majesty has any scruples,
stay here and let the secret die with its possessor, unless he

chooses to give it to some more confiding woman."

For her sole answer, the queen crept into the sack ; the
monk drew the strings together, threw the bundle over his
shoulder, and crossed the courtyard with measured steps.
On his way he met the king, who was making his rounds.
"The alms must have been plentiful to-day, judging by
appearances," said the king.
2o6 Last Fairy Tales,

"Sire," answered the monk, "your majesty's charity is

inexhaustible, and I fear that I have abused it. Perhaps I

had better leave this sack and its contents."

"No! no!" said the king; "carry it away, father, and
good riddance to it. I fancy that all you have there is not
worth much. You will make a slender supper."
" I wish
your majesty may sup with as good an appetite,"
returned the monk, as he went away, muttering under his
breath.
The supper-bell rang, and the king entered the dining-
room, rubbing his hands. He was satisfied with himself,
and he hoped to have vengeance a double reason for being —
hungry.
" The " That
queen pot down yet !" said he, sarcastically.
does not surprise me, however ; unpunctuality is the virtue
of women."
He was about to sit down to the table, when three soldiers

entered, crossing their halberds, and driving before them the

gray man.
little

"Sire," said one of the guards, "this fellow has had the
audacity to enter the courtyard of the castle in spite of the
royal command. We should have hung him on the spot,
without disturbing your majesty's supper, but he pretends
that he has a message from the queen, and that he is the
bearer of a state secret."
" " Where
The queen !" cried the king, amazed. is she,
wretch ? and what have you done with her ?"
" I have stolen
her," said the little man, coolly.
" But how ?" asked the king.
" his back, to whom
Sire, that monk, with the huge sack on
your majesty deigned to say, Take away, and good rid-
'
it

dance to it
' " —
" Was " no longer
you !" said the prince. Wretch, there is
 The Little Gray Man. 207

any safety for me. One of these days you will take me, and

my kingdom into the bargain."

"
Sire, I come to ask you for more than that."
"You frighten me," said the king. "Who are you —a
wizard, or the devil in person ?"
"
No, sire. I am simply the Prince of Holar. You have
a marriageable daughter. I was on my way to ask her

hand, when the bad weather forced me and my squire to

take refuge with the curate of Skalholt. There I chanced
to fall in with a foolish countryman, who made me play the
part you know. All that I have done, moreover, has been

only to obey and please your majesty."

" " I
All right," said the king. understand ; or, rather, I
don't understand. No matter. Prince Holar, I would
rather have you for a son-in-law than a neighbor. Where is
the queen ?"
"
Sire, she is here. squire was ordered to bring her
My
to the palace."
The queen soon entered, a little abashed at her credulity,
but easily consoled by thinking that she would have so clever
a son-in-law.
" But
the famous secret," she whispered to the Prince of

Holar; "you owe it to me."

"
The secret of being always beautiful," said the prince,
"is to be always beloved."
"
And the way to be always beloved ?" said the queen.
"Is to be good and simple, and to do your husband's
will."
" He
dares say that he is a wizard," said the queen, in-

dignantly raising her hands to heaven.

"
Have done with these mysteries !" cried the king, who
was beginning to be nervous. "Prince Holar, when you
marry our daughter, you will have more time than you
208 Last Fairy Tales,

will want to talk with your mother-in-law. The supper is

cooling. To table ! Amuse yourself, my son-in-law Give !

the evening to pleasure ! To-morrow you will be married."

At these words, which he thought witty, the king looked

at the queen,who answered with such a frown that he in-
stantly began to rub his chin, and watch the flies on the
ceiling.

Here end the adventures of Prince Holar. Happy days

have no history. We know, however, that he succeeded his
father-in-law, and that he was a great king. Something of a
liar and something of a robber ;
bold and cunning, he had
the virtues of a conqueror. He took from his neighbors
more than a thousand leagues of snow, which he lost and
won three times by the sacrifice of half a dozen armies.
His name, however, figures gloriously in the celebrated an-
nals of Skalholt and Holar, and to these famous documents
we refer our reader.
 -^^

GAGLIUSO: OR, THE GOOD CAT.

A FAIRY TALE FROM THE PENTAMERON.

Ingratitude, sirs, is a nail that blights the tree of

courtesy when once it is driven init ; it is a broken arch,

that lays in ruins the foundations of affection ;

it is a hand-
ful of soot that, falling into the dish of friendship, destroys
its taste and flavor, as is seen and proved daily, as well as

by the tale which I am about to tell.

There was once in my beloved city of Naples a poor old
man named Gagliuso, so squalid and destitute that he was
as naked as a worm. Feeling himself at the point of
death, he said to his two children, Oratiello and Pippo, " My
sons, I am summoned to pay the debt of nature. Believe
me. Christians as you are, that my only regret in quitting
this sad abode of toiland pain is that I leave you without
a farthing. Alas !
you will have less than a fly could carry
off on have led a dog's life I have dined off an
his foot. I ;

empty stomach, and gone to bed in the dark. But in spite

of all, I wish on my deathbed to leave you some token of

my love. Oratiello, my first-born, take that wallet hanging

on the wall, and may you find in every night what I have
it

often sought in vain all day, a crust of bread. As to you,

14
2IO Last Fairy Tales,

my youngest, take the cat. My children, remember your

dear father." With these words, he burst into tears, and a
"
little while after said, Farewell, it is night."
Oratiello buried his father at the public expense; after
which he plucked up his courage, and went down to the bay
to help the fishermen draw the seine.

—^ *
_C?- -V." "^

But Pippo, looking at the " See what a fine

cat, cried,

legacy my father has left me ! I cannot keep myself, and

here I have two mouths to feed !"

The cat heard these lamentations, and remarked, "You

complain without cause, and have more luck than sense.
You do not know your good-fortune, for I can make you
rich if I set about it."

Pippo felt that she was right. He stroked the cat three
or four times, and warmly besought the favor of Dame Puss,
who took compassion on the poor lad. She went out every
morning, to the bay, or the fish-market, where she managed
to lay hold of some huge mullet or superb sword-fish, which
she carried to the king, saying, " Your majesty's slave, Signer
 l^"

JESSINEP/RH.PIIiE ZAU^onms txtsxsm

She managed to lay hold of some huge mullet or superb sword-fish,

which she carried to the king."
212 Last Fairy Tales,

Gagliuso, sends this fish, with his compliments, as a small

gift to a great prince."

Upon which the king, with the pleased air of one receiv-
"
ing a present, would answer, Tell this stranger gentleman
that I am infinitely obliged to him."

\.

Another time the cat would scour the fields and marshes,
and when the hunters shot down a blackbird, lark, or wood-

cock, would snatch up the game, and hurry with it on the

same errand to the king. She used this artifice so long that
at last, one morning, the king said,
" I am under so many
obligations to Signor Gagliuso, that I should like to make
his acquaintance and thank him for all his courtesy." The
cat replied, " Signor Gagliuso's blood and life are at your
 Gagliuso; or, the Good Cat, 213

majesty's disposal. My master will wait upon you to-mor-

row morning without fail."

Morning having come, the cat hastened to the king, cry-

"
ing, Signor Gagliuso begs you to excuse him for not pre-
senting himself before you. Some of his rascally valets ran
off with his clothes last night ; the thieves have not left him
a shirt to his back."

On hearing this, the king ordered a quantity of linen and

wearing apparel to be taken from his own wardrobe and
sent to Gagliuso. Before two hours had passed our hero
entered the palace, escorted by the cat. The king received
him most graciously, and seating him by his side, ordered a
magnificent feast to be served him.
While they were at dinner, Gagliuso turned from time to
time to the cat, and said, " Look here, Puss, keep an eye
214 Last Fairy Tales.

on our things !** to which she answered,"Hnsh! hush! don't

speak of such trifles." The king asked what troubled Gag-
liuso, whereupon the cat said that he would like a small

lemon, when the king sent to the garden for a whole basketful.
But Gagliuso continued to repeat the same thing, while the
cat tried to hush him, and when the king insisted upon know-
ing what was the matter, invented one excuse after another
to conceal her master's meanness, in thinking that any one
there would be likely to steal his hat and cloak.
At last, after sitting long at the table, talking of one thing
and another, Gagliuso asked permission to withdraw. Left
alone with the king, the cat extolled her master's merit, wit,
and good sense, and, above all, the immense wealth that
 Gagliuso ; or, the Good Cat, 215
he possessed in the Roman Campagna and Lombardy. He
was just such a son-in-law as a crowned head might desire.
The king, asking what his fortune might be, the cat declared
that itwas impossible to reckon the value of the goods and
chattels of this Croesus, who did not know himself what he
was worth. But if the king wished to be sure, it was a very
easy matter; he had only to send some trusty messengers
across the frontier, and they would learn for themselves that
there was no wealth in the world like Gagliuso's.

^'K2i

The king summoned his faithful counsellors, and ordered

them carefully to inquire into the affair. They followed the
2l6 Last Fairy Tales,

cat,who, as soon as they had crossed the frontier, ran on

before,on the pretence of preparing refreshments. Where-
ever she found a flock of sheep, cows, horses, or swine, she
"
said to the shepherds, or keepers, Look here ! there is a

company of robbers coming to plunder everything they find.

Ifyou wish to escape and save your property, you must say,
'All this belongs to Signor Gagliuso!' and they will not
touch a hair."

/ \y
k%4

m
 Gagliuso ; or^ the Good Cat. 217
She repeated the same thing at all the farms along the

way, so that, wherever the king's messengers went, they

heard the same song. All that they saw belonged to Sig-
nor Gagliuso. Tired of asking the same question, they re-
turned to the king and told him wonders concerning Signor
Gagliuso's possessions. On
hearing this the monarch prom-
ised the cat a heavy fee she would make the match, and
if

her friendly tongue bobbed back and forth like a shuttle till
it had woven the whole intrigue. Gagliuso offered himself,
and the king gave him a fat dowry with his daughter.

After a month's merry-making Gagliuso told his royal

father-in-law that he wished to carry his bride to his estates.
The king accompanied them as far as the frontier, after which

they went to Lombardy, where, by the cat's advice, Gagliuso

bought a vast domain with the title of baron.
Master Gagliuso, on seeing himself as rich as a prince,
thanked the catin the warmest way imaginable, telling her

over and over again that it was to her that he owed his
wealth and grandeur. The wit of a cat had done more
for him than all his father's sense. She might dispose of
the property and life of her dear master as she saw fit. And
—
when she died would to Heaven that she might live a hun-
dred years !
—he pledged her his word that he would have
her embalmed and put in a golden casket, which he would
keep in his chamber, that he might always have her cher-
ished remembrance before his eyes.
The cat was greatly puffed up with all these fine speeches.

Before three days had passed, she stretched herself at full

length along the garden terrace, pretending to be dead.

" Husband husband !" cried Gagliuso's wife, " what a
!

great misfortune the cat is dead !"

!

" The deuce take "

her," answered Gagliuso ; better that
she should die than we."
2l8 Last Fairy Tales,

"
What shall we do with her ?" asked the princess.
"Take her by the paw and fling her out of the win-
dow."

On hearing this funeral oration, which was not exactly

what she was looking for, the cat jumped up, and cried: "So
these are your thanks to me for cleansing you of your filth !

This is your gratitude for stripping you- of rags fit for noth-

ing but a wad for a distaff! This is the way you reward
me for feeding you, you scoundrel for clothing you, you
!

wretch ! But it is
wasting soap to wash an ass's head. Ac-
cursed be all I have done for
you. You are not even worth
the trouble of spitting in your face. A
fine gold casket

you have made ready for me A

splendid funeral you have
!

ordered for me! Well, puss, you have sweated, labored,

 Gagliuso ; or^ the Good Cat, 219
and worn yourself out, to be paid in such coin ! Fool that

you were, not to know that service is no inheritance. The

philosopher was right who said, *He who goes to bed an
ass will get up an ass.' The more one does, the more one

may do. But fine words and foul deeds deceive wise men
and fools alike."

With these words she started for the door. Gagliuso fol-
lowed, and attempted in the humblest accents to soften her.
His labor was in vain ; she would not return, but went
"
straight onward, without turning her head, saying, Beware
of enriching a pauper, he is sure to turn out a villain."
220 Last Fairy Tales,

And now, friendly reader, that you know Basilio's version

of Puss in Boots, referred to in our Preface, as well as the
old, familiar one, tell us which is the original and which the
copy. Guess if you can, and choose if you dare.
A learned friend suggests that it is not necessary that one
of these stories should be a repetition of the other ; both

may have come from a common theme. It is a melody

which has been sung in many countries, but though it has
produced more than one variation in its journeyings, it is
still same melody, which each nurse sings in her own key.
the
Here is another example ; a Middle Age fable, found in

the Recitals of a Minstrel of Rheims of the 13th Century,

published by the Historical Society of France. We give it

as it was chanted by a minstrel in the days of St. Louis.

^^^^^^^
 THE WOLF AND THE GOAT
A MEDIAEVAL FABLE.

There was once a wolf named Isengrin, who had a piece

of arable land. He went to a goat, with two kids, and said
"
to her, Dame Goat, I have a bit of an old vineyard that I
would like to have you farm for me on shares. The soil is so
fertile that it will bear wheat without enriching; and, I as-

sure you, that I would much rather till it all myself than
divide it with others. But I have an important suit before
my noble lord Lion, against Belin, the shepherd, who pre-
tends that I have eaten two of his sheep, so that I have to

go to court every week, and furnish counsel, at a heavy cost."

" I
dare not," answered the goat.
"Why not?"
"
Forsooth, because you are a great and mighty lord, with
powerful connections, while I am an humble and defenceless
creature. It would be useless for me ever to bring a suit
against you, in case we should disagree."
"
Zounds !" cried the wolf, " Dame Goat, my fair friend,

what have you to fear from me ? I swear by the faith I owe

Dame Hersent, my wife, and by the twelve living children
she has given me, that I will deal honestly by you, and never

wrong you in all my life."

222 Last Fairy Tales,

" "
Well," said the goat, I will do it ;
but I have great
misgivings that you will not give me my fair share."
The wolf went away. The goat cleared the ground of the
vine-roots, ploughed it, and sowed it with wheat, which yielded
a fine crop. When harvest-time had come, she went to the
wolf and said, " Sir Wolf, our wheat is ripe ; will you come,
or send some one, to look after it ?"
"
In faith," returned the wolf, " I can neither go nor send ;
gather it in yourself; put the grain on one side and the straw
on the other, and when I return from court we will make a
fair division."

The goat left, unable to obtain any other answer. She

cut and thrashed the wheat, and put the grain on one side
and the straw on the other.
No sooner had she finished than the wolf appeared. This
was what he had been waiting for. He went to the goat,
and said, loftily, " Come, dame, shall we divide the crop ?"
"
"Whenever you please, noble sir," answered she. Here
isthe grain on one side, and the straw on the other, as you
commanded ; take half of each."
" Out
upon you, foolish beast, you do not know what you
are talking about. I shall do no such thing."
" What will
you do, then ?"asked the goat.
"
Forsooth, I am a great lord, and have an expensive house-
hold to keep up. My needs are greater than yours, you
underling. A little will suffice for you ; you shall have the

straw and take the grain."

I will
"
Oh, my lord, you are unjust ; for God's sake, take your
share and leave me mine."
"
"Zounds !" cried the wolf, I shall do nothing of the kind.
And warn you that I
I shall come back to-morrow to know
whether you will do as I wish."

The wolf departed. The goat stood aghast. Suddenly,

 The Wolf and the Goat, 223
she bethought herself of two mastiffs that she had nursed,
and that lived near by, at the Abbey of Citeaux. One was
named Tabarel and the other Roenel. The goat went
straightway there, and found them sitting by the gate. On
seeing their foster-mother they ran to meet her, gave her a
warm welcome, and asked what brought her hither. She
told them how the wolf wished to treat her.
2^4 Last Fairy Tales,
"
In faith," cried both the dogs, " by our
fangs, but this
shall not be. Return home, dear mother, we promise to be
there early in the morning, to see the division between
you
and Isengrin. Please Heaven, Sir Wolf shall not wrong you
whilewe are by !"
The goat returned home, and found her kids crying. She
quieted them, and went to bed. However, she slept little,
and rose very early, praying to God for aid.
The two brothers, Tabarel and Roenel, appeared. They
bade her good-morning, and asked if Isengrin had come.
" Not yet," she answered.
"Mother," said the dogs, "we have thought of a good
plan. We will creep under this heap of straw, and curl our-
selves up there until we see and hear what Isengrin means
to do. he knew we were here, perhaps he would not
For, if

come, but would wait until we were gone."

"
You are right, my children," replied the goat. And the

dogs crept under the straw.

Isengrin soon appeared, bringing with him his friend and
counsellor, Reynard the fox, who had played him more than
one scurvy trick. "Well, dame," said he to the goat, "have
you consulted your friends yet ?"
" "
Whom could I consult ?" answered the goat. Take
your share, and leave me mine."
"
Grumble as much as you like, it shall be as I say," ex-

claimed the wolf.

While the wolf and goat were disputing, Reynard cast his
eyes on the heap of straw and saw the dogs' tails sticking out.
" "
Neighbor, be on your guard," said he to Isengrin. I

see more in this business than you do."

"
Come what Reynard, I mean to have my way in
will. Sir
the matter. I will have the grain and she shall take the
straw."
Reynard .c^st hjs eye^ on the heap of straw and saw the dogs' tails

sticking out."
226 Last Fairy Tales,

" " what

Mark me, neighbor," said Reynard, I tell you is

only for your good ; and may good befall you ! Beware ! I
am going away."
Reynard quitted Isengrin and mounted a hillock close by
to see how the affair would end. Isengrin and his cartmen
took their sacks and filled them with wheat.
"Holy Mother, help me!" cried the goat. "My chil-
dren," she called to Roenel and Tabarel, "you see how I am
treated !" And, behold, the dogs sprang from the straw, and,
without stopping to argue the matter, fell upon the wolf,
threw him down, seized him by the throat, and inflicted more
than a hundred wounds upon his body, so that locks of hair
flew in all directions. They worried him until his pulse
and breath were gone, and left him for dead.
Then they took the wheat ; and while they were carrying
 The Wolf and the Goat 227
it to the granary of the goat, the cartmen hastened, with
great difficulty, to lift Isengrin into the cart, and drove home
with him at full speed.
And, behold, Reynard came to meet them. He had seen
the whole affair, and chuckled over it, for such was his nat-

ure. The pain of others was his delight. He approached

the mangled wolf, and said, in a honeyed tone :

"
ftood neighbor, I am grieved at your accident. If you

had listened to me it would not have happened. I told you

to be on your guard, for I saw more in the business than you
did."
" "
Reynard, Reynard !" exclaimed the wolf, he who has
no friend but you has none at all. I have been put to

shame ;
but I will have my revenge." And he turned his
back on Reynard, who made a face at him.
Isengrin was carried to his house, where Dame Hersent,
his wife, and his children were looking for him. When
they saw him stretched in the cart on a wisp of hay, they
"
began to laugh at him, saying, He who tackles a goat will
get a butting. Is this the grain you were to bring us for
our wheat cakes?" Such was the greeting which Isengrin
received from his household. Whence came the saying,
"
When a man falls the whole world treads upon him." He
was lifted from the cart, groaning and shamefaced, and car-
ried to bed. It was five months before his wounds were
healed.
Let us return to Roenel and Tabarel. When they had
carried the wheat to the granary, they said to the goat,
"
Good mother, we are going to the abbey, which is close by ;
if
you need us we shall be ready to help you. Take this
tiorn and blow on it in case of danger, when we will run to
your aid."
"Many thanks, dear children," answered the goat.
" He who tackles a goat will get a butting.
 The Wolf and the Goat, 229
"Blessed be the day I nursed you." The dogs bade her
farewell,and returned home.
As soon as he had somewhat recovered from his advent-
ure Isengrin went to see the goat, but she was on her guard,
and as soon as she spied him began to blow the horn. And,
lo! sounds of Bow^ wow^ wow ! were heard in the distance,
as if to say, Here we are ! here we are I Upon this, Master
Wolf pricked up his ears directly, and began to amble gently
along, then took to his heels, with his tail between his
legs, as if the devil were after him. He never came back
again.
Violence and Knavery almost always end in the ruin of
the author. Honesty is the best policy.
This mediaeval fable is a new version of the Wolf and the
Lamb. But the wolf has had the upper hand long enough,
and here the lamb, or, in other words, the goat, has its turn.
It is a law of nature for us to turn things wrong side out
after using them on the right side. In this way David over-
throws Goliath, Omphale makes Hercules hold her distaff,
and Delilah robs Samson of his strength. Nothing is more
natural. It is the swinging of the pendulum ; or what the
universities call the law of compensation. For example, if
our philosophers are to be believed, man is descended from
the ape. This will hold true uptil a new order of things pre-
vails, when it will be found that the ape is descended from
man. It is inevitable.
THE WICKED DAUGHTERS-IN-LAW.
Once upon a time there were three old women, who were

neighbors, and who lived together in the greatest harmony.

Each of them had a son. The three young men, who were
brought up together and were in the same business, loved
each other like brothers. The friendship of the children
rendered the mutual affection of the mothers even warmer
than ever. But the good women were wise ; they reflected
that death was approaching, and that when they were gone
their sons would be left alone. Their great desire was, there-
fore, to see them marry.
One day, as the three friends were walking together, they
saw three young girls in a balcony, who seemed to them so
charming that they asked them in marriage that very evening.
They did not have to wait long for an answer, and the three
 The Wicked Daughters-in-Law, 231

marriages took place the next day. Then, as they were very
fond of each other, and were not rich,it was agreed that

they should all live together under one roof, and that the
poor mothers should pass their old age peacefully with their
children.
Business compelled the three young merchants to travel,
232 Last Fairy Tales.

and it once chanced that they were all three obliged to be

absent for some time. They were scarcely on the road when
their wives began to quarrel with their mothers-in-law. To
live with these old women was unendurable ; and they were
determined at any cost to rid themselves of this burden.
Two of them proposed simply to choke their mothers-in-law,
"
but the youngest objected. No," said she, "that would be
cruel, and, besides, it would be no revenge ; it is better to
torment them from morning till
night, and from night till

morning."
No sooner said than done. One of the wives sent her
mother-in-law to school, to learn to read and write. It was
a little late, at seventy !' The second one sent her mother-
in-law to a fiddler, to learn to play the fiddle ; and the third
shut hers up in the cellar, with a basket of eggs to hatch. In
this way the fair dames rid themselves of their troublesome

companions, and led a merry and contented life in their hus-

bands' absence.
 The Wicked Daughters-m-Law. 233
On returning to town, the three friends were astonished at
the uproar that prevailed in the school. They looked through
the window, and saw an old woman trying to say the alpha-
bet. As she did not know the letters, the teacher scolded
and punished her, to the great amusement of the mischievous
urchins.
"Is not that your mother?" asked one of the friends of his
companion.
"
Ho !
mother, what are you doing at school ?"
there ;

cried the young man.

" It
was your wife, my daughter-in-law, that sent me here.
You see how I am treated."
"Be patient for a little while, mother, I will soon come
and take you away."
Two paces beyond lived the fiddler, and it was almost as
noisy there as at the school. poor old A woman was squeak-
ing her bow in such a fashion as to set all the dogs in the

neighborhood howling, while all around scoffed at her, and

roared with laughter.
"
Oh, mother !" cried one of the friends, " what are you

doing there?"
"
Alas, my son, it was your wife, my daughter-in-law, that
set me to learn this trade."
"Be patient for a little while, mother, I will soon come
and take you away."
On approaching the house, they heard groans in the cel-
lar. The three companions looked through the darkness,
and discerned an old woman crouching over a basket, with
nothing near her but a crust of dry bread and a jug of water.
"Ah! mother," cried one of the friends, "what are you
doing there ?"
" who
Alas my son, it was your
!
wife, my daughter-in-law,
put me where you find me."
234 Last Fairy Tales.

" Be come
patient for a little while, mother, I will soon
and take you away."
The three friends entered the house, their hearts burning
with wrath. They found their wives dressed in mourning,
with tears in their eyes.
"What has happened.'"'
" " have
Alas !" cried each of the wives, I lost my dear
mother-in-law."
"What! all three dead ?"

"Yes," answered their wives, "all three are gone."

The three husbands sighed, and seemed deeply grieved,
like good sons. But the very next morning they said to
their wives,
"Dress yourselves handsomely, and we will take a sail
and enjoy ourselves."
The delighted wives put on their best gowns. How happy
 The Wicked DaughterS'in-Law. 235

^^
they were to have rid themselves of their mothers-in-law,
and so easily deceived their husbands. They would have
laughed less had they known of three sacks in the boat, hid-

den under a seat.

As soon as they were out at sea, the faces of the three
men turned black as thunder. Each of them seized his
wife, thrust her into a sack, and flung her into the water,

crying, "Go send your mother-in-law to school, to play the

fiddle, or to hatch eggs !"

After which the three sons took their mothers home with
them, and vowed never to marry again.
 THE SPINNING QUEEN,
A DALMATIAN FAIRY TALE.

There was once a Dalmatian woman who had a daugh-

as the day, but hopelessly lazy and unwilling
ter as beautiful

to do any kind of work. After vainly trying to coax her to

be useful, the mother took her to the forest, near a cross-
road, and began to beat her with all her might. Just then
the prince chanced to pass that way, who asked why she
treated the girl so cruelly.
" "
My lord," said she, it is because our
daughter wears
our out with her intolerable industry.
life She spins up
everything, even to the moss that grows on the walls."
"
Let me have her," said the prince. " I will give her
wherewith to spin to her heart's content."
"
Take her," said the mother, " take her, I am glad to be
rid of her."

The prince carried her home, enchanted with such a val-

uable acquisition. The same evening, he shut the young
girl up alone in a chamber with a huge load of flax. What
to do in such a plight she knew not. She paced up and
down, wringing her hands, and crying, "What will become
of me ? I can't spin, and I won't spin."
Her anguish was at its height, when behold, at midnight,
three old witches tapped at the window-pane, and she quick-

ly let them in.

" On seeing how ugly they were, the prince could not forbear saying tq
his bride Your aunts are not handsome.' "
'
238 Last Fairy Tales.

" If we
you will ask us to your wedding, will help you
spin this evening," said they.
" "
Spin, ladies," she answered ;
I will ask you with all my
heart."
And behold, the three witches spun and spun all the flax
that was there while Miss Lazybones slept at her ease.
In the morning, when the prince came to the chamber, he
saw the whole wall hung with skeins of thread and the girl
asleep. He went out on tiptoe, and forbade any one to en-
ter theroom, so that the spinner could rest after her hard
labor. This did not prevent him from sending thither on
the same day a second huge load of flax. The witches re-
turned at midnight, and finished the work, as the night be-
fore. The
prince was wonder-struck; and as there was
nothing more to spin in the house, he said to the young girl,
" I will
marry you, for you are the Spinning Queen."
On the evening before the wedding, the pretended spinner
"
I must invite
said to the prince, my aunts."
"
They shall be welcome," was his answer.
Once admitted, the three witches grouped themselves
around the stove. They were hideous to behold. On see-

ing howugly they were, the prince could not forbear saying
"
to his bride, Your aunts are not handsome."
Then, approaching the first witch, he asked her why her
nose was so long.
" "
My dear nephew," she answered, it is through spin-
ning so much. When one spins all the time and wags her
head day long, the nose grows long insensibly."
all

The prince passed on to the second, and asked her why

her lips were so thick.
" "
My dear nephew," said she, it is through spinning so
much. When one spins all the time, and moistens the
thread all day long, the lips grow thick insensibly."
 The Spinning Queen, 239
He then asked the third why she was so humpbacked.
" "
My dear nephew," said she, it is through spinning so
much. When one sits bent over her work all day long, the
back becomes humped insensibly."
Upon this, the prince was seized with such a fear that,

through spinning, his wife might become as horrible as these

thiee frights, that he flung both spindle and distaff into the

fire, and forbade her ever again to spin a thread, under pen-
alty of his deep displeasure. What anger this caused the

bride, I leave those to guess who resemble her.

 THE KING OF THE SERPENTS.
A FAIRY TALE OF THE DANUBE.
'
There was once a shepherd who had served his master
zealously and faithfully for long years. One day, as he was
watching his flocks, he heard a hissing noise, that came from
the woods. Wishing to learn what it was, he entered the
forestand followed the sound. After going on a little way,
he saw that the dry grass and dead leaves had caught fire,
making a blazing circle, in the midst of which a serpent was
hissing. The shepherd stopped to see what it would do, as
the flames were fast closing in upon it. On spying him, the
"
serpent cried, For God's sake, save me from the fire !"
The shepherd stretched his crook over the flames to the
snake, which twined around it, and glided on to his hand
and thence to his throat, around which it coiled itself like a
necklace.
" "
Alas !" cried the frightened shepherd, have I saved
you only for my own destruction ?"
"
Fear nothing," answered the snake, " but take me back
to my father, the King of the Serpents."
The shepherd tried to excuse himself, saying that he could
not leave his flock without a keeper ; but the serpent cried.
 The King of the Serpents. 241

" Do not trouble yourself about your sheep ; no harm will

come to them only make haste
;
as fast as you can."
The shepherd ran through the forest with the snake coiled
around his neck he reached a gate made of adders inter-
till

laced together. The snake gave a hiss, upon which the ad-
ders separated, and made way for them to pass. The ser-
"
pent then said to the shepherd, When we
reach the castle,

my father will offer you anything you wish silver, gold,

:

jewels, and all the most precious treasures of earth ; accept

16
242 Last Fairy Tales.

none of them, but only ask to know the language of the

animals. He long refuse this favor, but will grant
will it at
last." While talking they reached the castle, and were met
by the King of the Serpents, who exclaimed, with tears in
"
his eyes, My child, where have you been ?"
The young serpent told his father how he had been sur-
rounded by fire and had been saved by the shepherd. The
King of the Serpents then turned to the shepherd and said,
"
What shall I give you for saving my child ?"
"Teach me the language of the animals," he answered,
"
that I may talk with all the earth as you do."
" That would be of no use to "
you," said the king, for if I
should enable you to understand this language, and you
should tell any one, you would die on the spot. Ask me
for something that will serve you better, and it shall be
yours."
" If "
you wish
pay me," returned the shepherd, teach
to
me the language of the animals ; if not, adieu, and God be
with you I want nothing else."
!

He
feigned to depart. The king called him back, saying,
"
Stop come here, since you insist upon it. Open your
!

mouth."
The shepherddid as he was bid; the king blew into his
"
mouth, and said, Now blow in turn in mine." When they
had blown thus three times into each other's mouths, the
"
king said, Now you understand the language of the animals.
God be with you \ but if you care for life, beware of betray-
ing the secret, for if you say a word of it to any one, you
are a dead man."
The shepherd returned. As he passed through the wood
he heard what the birds, the insects, and all on the earth
were saying. On reaching his flock, he found it safe and
in good order, and stretched himself on the ground for a
 The King of the Serpents, 243

nap. Scarcely had he lain down when two crows perched

on the bough of a tree overhead, and said, in their own lan-

guage, "What if this shepherd knew that just under the

spot where that black lamb is standing there is a cavern

full of
gold and silver!"
No sooner had the shepherd heard this than he went and
244 Last Fairy Tales,

told his master. They brought a wagon, and dug until they
found the door of the cavern, the treasure of which they car-
ried off. The master was a man of honor ; he gave the
"
whole to the shepherd, saying, This treasure is yours ;
it

was God who bestowed it on you."

The shepherd took the money, built a house, found a wife,
and lived happy and contented. He soon became the rich-
est man, not only in the village, but in the country ; for ten
leagues around there was not one that could compare with
him. He had flocks of sheep, and herds of cattle and
horses, with a keeper for each flock and herd, besides much
land and money. One Christmas Eve he said to his wife,
"Get ready a good stock of wine, brandy, and victuals to

carry to the farm to-morrow, that the shepherds may have a

feast." This was done, and they all assembled at the farm the
"
next day, when the master said, My friends, eat, drink,
and be merry ;
I will watch the flocks and herds to-night in

your place."
At midnight, as he was keeping guard, the wolves began
"
to howl and the dogs to bark. The wolves said, Let us
come in and harry the cattle, and there will be plenty of
fresh meat for you."
And the dogs answered, " Come in we shall be glad for ;

once to have our fill."

But among the dogs there was an old mastifl" with only
two fangs in his jaws, who "As long as my two
said, fangs
are you shall not prey
left, on my master's property."
The master heard and understood everything. When
morning came, he ordered all the dogs, except the old mas-
tiff", to be taken out and shot. The astonished servants re-
monstrated, saying it was a great
pity to kill so many fine
" Do as I bid
animals, but the master only said, you."
He set out for home with his wife, the husband mounted
 The King of the Serpents. 245
on a handsome gray horse, and the wife on an ambling
mare, which was hidden from sight by the long folds of her
dress. The husband took the lead, and the wife fell in the
rear. The horse turned and said to the mare,
"
Hurry! why do you go so slow?"
"
Oh, it is easy enough for you to go fast, with only my
master to carry, but I have not only my mistress, but all her
necklaces, bracelets, skirts, petticoats, satchels and key-bags
without end. It needs two yoke of oxen to carry all this

paraphernalia."
The husband turned and laughed. His wife, noticing it,
pricked on her mare, and, having overtaken her spouse,
asked what he was laughing at.
" A mere nothing," said he ;
"a foolish thought that en-
tered my brain."
This did not satisfy his wife, who insisted on knowing
what he laughed at. Tired of her importunity, he cried out
"
at last, Why can't you leave me in peace ? what business
is it of yours ? I really do not know myself why I laughed."
But the more he stormed, the more she persisted in know-
ing the cause of his laughter. At last he said, " Know
then that if I revealed what I was laughing at, that instant
would be my last."

Even this did not stop the dame, who tormented her hus-
band more than ever to tell her. At last they reached home.
On alighting from his horse, the husband ordered a bier to
be brought. As soon as it was ready, he had it set before
the house, and said to his wife,
^'
Mark me, myself on this bier, and then
I shall stretch

tell you at what was laughing, but the instant I have spok-
I

en I shall be a dead man."

He stretched himself on the bier, and as he cast a last
look around him he saw the old house-dog approaching,
246 Last Fairy Tales,

with tears in his eyes. The poor man called to his wife to

give him a piece of bread. She flung it to the dog, that did
not even look at it. The barnyard cock ran up and gulped
"
itdown, upon which the dog exclaimed, Wretched glutton,
have you the heart to eat when our master is going to die ?"
" "
Let him die," said the cock, if he is fool enough to do
so. I have a hundred wives ;
I call them all when I find a

kernel of corn, and swallow it as soon as they get there. If

any of them should take it into her head to complain I

would peck her well for it, while he, who has only one wife,
has not wit enough to keep her in order."
No sooner had the husband heard this than he leaped
from the bier, seized a stick, and called his wife into the
"
house, saying, Come, and I will tell you what you want so
much to know." He then reasoned with the stick, saying, as
" This is Such was the
each blow fell, it, wife, this is it."

answer he gave her, and never again did the dame ask her
husband why he laughed.
 POUCINET.
A FINNISH TALE.
I.

Once upon a time there was a peasant who had three

sons, Peter, Paul, and Jack. Peter was big, fat, red-faced,
and dull-witted ;
Paul was spare, sallow, envious, and spite-
ful Jack
;
was as sharp as a steel-trap and as fair as a wom-
an, but small so —
small that he could have hidden away in
his father's great boots, whence he was nicknamed Pouci-
net.
The
peasant's sole worldly wealth was his family, and
there in the household when by chance they caught
was joy
a glimpse there of the shadow of a penny. Black bread was
dear, and it was hard to earn a living. As soon as the three
children were old enough to begin to work, their father begged
them from morning to night to leave the hut where they were
248 Last Fairy Tales,

born and go out into the world to seek their fortune.

"In other lands," said he,
"
bread not always easily
is

earned, but there is some

to be had for the getting;

while here there is none

at all, and the best thing
that can happen to you is

to die of starvation."
a league from the
But, lo !

peasant's cabin the king of

the country had his palace
— a magnificent building, all

of wood, with twenty carved

balconies and six glass win-
dows. And, behold, sud-
denly, on a fine summer's
night, just over against the
windows there sprung from
the ground a huge oak, with
such thick branches and fo-
liage that it darkened the
whole palace. To cut down
was no easy task ;
this giant

not an axe could be found

that its trunk did not blunt,
and for every branch or root
that was cut ofi" two sprout-
ed forth in its place. It was

in vain that the king offered

three bags of dollars to any
one who would rid him of
this troublesome neighbor. Tired of the struggle, he was
 Poucinet, 249
forced to resign himself to the necessity of having the pal-
ace lighted at midday.
This was not all. In a country where brooks sprang
from the very stones, there was no water in the royal house-
hold. In summer the inmates had to wash their hands in
beer and to shave with honey. This was a shocking state
of affairs, and the prince had promised lands, money, and
the title of marquis to any one who should dig a well in the

courtyard of the castle deep enough to furnish water all the

year round. But no one had been able to win the prize, for
the palace was on high ground, with a solid bed of granite
an inch below the surface.

Now the king had revolved these two ideas in his brain
he could think of nothing else. Petty prince as he was,
till

he was just as self-willed as an Emperor of China. It is the

monopoly of royalty. To attain his ends, he distributed
throughout the length and breadth of his kingdom huge
placards, stamped with the royal arms, offering to any one
who should cut dow'n the tree and dig the well nothing less
250 Last Fairy Tales,

than the hand of the princess his daughter and half his king-
dom. The princess was as beautiful as the day ; the half
of a kingdom is never to be despised ; and the reward was

enough to tempt the most ambitious. From Sweden and

Norway, from Denmark and Russia, from Great Britain and
the Continent, came a host of sturdy workmen, axe on shoul-
der and pick in hand. But it was in vain for them to cut
and to chop, to dig and to hew ; their labor was all lost.
At every stroke the oak became harder and the granite more
flinty, so that the boldest were forced at last to give up the
task in despair.
II.

One day, when

the people in all the country round were

talking of this matter that turned every one's brains, the

three brothers asked themselves why, if their father was
willing, they should not go and try their fortune. It is true

that they hardly hoped to succeed, and aspired neither to

the princess nor half of the kingdom ; but who knew wheth-
er they might not find a place and a good master at the
court or elsewhere; and this was all they needed. Their
father approved of the plan, and Peter, Paul, and Jack set
out for the king's palace.
 Poucinet. 251

On the way, Poucinet skipped along the road, scamper-

ing hither and thither like a hound, noticing and studying
all he saw, and ferreting into every nook and corner. In-

sects, weeds, and pebbles, nothing escaped his mouse-like

eyes. Every moment he stopped his brothers to ask them
the reason for this and that —why the bees burrowed into
the flower-cups, why the swallows skimmed the surface of
the streams, and why the butterflies flew in zigzag fashion.

At all these questions Peter laughed, while Paul shrugged

his shoulders, and told him to hold his tongue.

On the way they came to a great forest of firs that cov-

ered a mountain, upon the summit of which they heard the

sound of an axe and the crash of falling branches.
" I wonder
very much why any one is chopping wood on
the top of the mountain," said Poucinet.
"I should wonder very much if you did not wonder,"
"
answered Paul, harshly. Everything is wonderful to the
ignorant."
"
Why, child, any one would think you had never heard
of wood-choppers before," said Peter, pinching his little broth-
er's cheek.

"No matter," returned Poucinet, "I am curious to see

what is going on up there."
" "
Go, then," said Paul, and tire yourself out ; it will be a
lesson to you, you conceited imp, who are always wanting to
know more than your big brothers."
Poucinet troubled himself little about this remark. He
clambered up the mountain, listening for the sound, and
making his way in that direction. On reaching the top,
what do you think he found there? An enchanted axe,
which, all alone by itself, was cutting down a huge pine-tree.
"Good -morning. Madam Axe," said Poucinet. "Are
you not tired of hacking away all alone at that old tree ?"
252 Last Fairy Tales.

"For long years I have been waiting for thee, my son,"

answered the axe.
"Well,herelam,"
replied Poucinet.
And, without be-

ing at all astonished,

he look the axe, put
it in his great leather
bag, and skipped mer-
rily down the
moun-
tain.
"
Did you find any-
thing up there that
was so wonderful?"
asked Paul, scorn-

fully.
"
It was really an
axe that we heard,"
answered the boy.
" told
I you so,"
"
said Peter ; you
have put yourself in
a dripping sweat for
nothing. You might
better have stayed
with us."
A little farther on
the narrow path
wound laboriously
among masses of

jagged rocks. In
the distance, up the
cliff, they heard a dull sound, like iron striking the stone.
 Poucinet, 253
"I wonder why any one is breaking stone up there," said
Poucinet.

"Really," exclaimed Paul, "here

is a chicken just out of his shell,
who has never heard a woodpeck-
er tapping a hollow tree."
"That's so," said Peter, laugh-
ing; "it is nothing but a wood-

pecker; stay with us, my boy."

"
No matter," returned Pouci-
net ;
"I am curious to see what
is
going on up there."
And, behold, he set about clam-
bering up the rocks on his hands
and knees, while Peter and Paul
laughed at him. On reaching the
top of the precipice, Wliat do you
think he found there? An en-
chanted pickaxe, which, all alone,
and by itself, was hollowing out the
rock as if it had been At
butter.

every stroke it penetrated more

than a foot.
"Good -morning. Madam Pick-
"
axe," cried Poucinet. Are you
not tired of digging away there all

alone at that old rock ?"

"
For long years I have been
waiting for thee, my son," answer-
ed the pickaxe.
"Well, here I am," rejoined Pou-
cinet."

And, without the least astonishment, he took the pickaxe,

 to drink from the hollow of their hands."
They stooped
 Ir^oucinet 255

separated the axe from the handle, put the two pieces in
his great leather bag, and skipped merrily down the rocks.
"
What miracle did your lordship find up there ?" asked
Paul, in an insulting tone.
"
It was a pickaxe that we heard," answered the boy, and
he went on his way without saying anything more.
A little way farther on they came to a brook. The water
was cool and clear, and the travellers were thirsty. As they
stooped to drink from the hollow of their hands, Poucinet
remarked,
" is so much water in such a shallow
I wonder why there
valley. I should like to know where this brook comes from."
"You conceited fool,"
cried Paul, "you want
to pry into everything.
Don't you know that
brooks spring from the
ground ?"

"No matter," said

" am
Poucinet ;
I curi-

ous to see where this

water comes from."

And he followed

up the course of the

stream in spite of the
cries and reproaches
of his brothers. He
went on and on, while
the stream became nar-
rower and narrower.
And when he reached
the end, what do you
think he found? A
$56 Last Fairy Tales,

walnut-shell, from which the water spouted and sparkled in

the sun.
" Madam Spring," cried Poucinet. " Are
Good-morning,
you not tired of staying all alone here in a little corner,
spouting water ?"
" For
long years I have been waiting for thee, my son,'*
answered the walnut-shell.
" am !" said Poucinet.
Well, here I
And, without the least astonishment, he took the walnut-
shell, stopped it up with moss, so that the water could not
flow, put it in his great leather bag, and skipped merrily

down the mountain.

" Do you know now where the brook comes from ?" cried

Peter, as soon as he saw him.

"Yes, brother, from a little hole," answered Poucinet.
" This is too bright," said Paul
"
he will never live
boy j

to grow up."
"I have seen what I wished to see," whispered Poucinet
"
to himself, and I know what I wished to know ; I am sat-
isfied." And he rubbed his hands.

III.

At last they reached the king's palace. The oak was

larger and more umbrageous than ever ; there was no well
in the courtyard, and
at the palace gate still hung the great

placard promising the hand of the princess and one half of

the kingdom to any one, noble, burgher, or peasant, that
should accomplish the two tasks desired by his majesty.
But, as the king was tired of so many useless attempts, which
had served no purpose but to drive him to despair, a small
placard had been hung under the large one, and on this
small placard was written, in red letters,
"
Know all men by these presents, that, in his inexhaust-
 Poucinet, 257

ible goodness, his majesty

the king has deigned to
command that any one who
does not succeed in cutting

down the oak or digging

the well shall have his ears
cut oflf on the spot, to teach
him to know himself, which
is the first lesson of wis-
dom."
And, in order that every
one might profit by this pru-
dent counsel, thirty bloody
ears were nailed around this

placard, belonging to those

who had been lacking in
modesty.
On
reading the placard, Peter burst out laughing, turned
up mustaches, looked at his arms, with their great
his

muscles, like whip -cords, and swinging his axe twice

around his head, with one blow he cut off one of the
largest branches of the accursed tree. But, no sooner had
it fallen than two thicker and stronger boughs sprouted
forth in its place ; whereupon the king's guards seized
the unlucky wood - chopper, and cut off his ears on the

spot.
" You awkward fellow !" exclaimed Paul ; and, taking his
axe, he walked slowly round the tree, and, seeing a root
springing from the ground, he chopped it off at one blow.
At the same instant two enormous roots sprang up in its

place, from each of which sprouted forth a vigorous branch,

full of leaves.
" cried the king, frenzied with rage,
Seize this wretch 1"
17
258 Last Fairy Tales,

"and, since he did not profit by his brother's example, shave

off his ears close to his head.-"
No sooner said than done. But the double family misfor-
tune did not terrify Poucinet, who resolutely advanced to try
his luck.

"Drive away that dwarf!" exclaimed the king; "and if

he refuses to go, cut off his ears directly ; it will teach him a
lesson, and save us from witnessing his folly."
"I
beg your pardon, your majesty, a king's word is sa-
" I have the
cred," said Poucinet. right to try ;
it will be
time enough to cut off my ears when I fail."
 Poucinet 259
" Go "
on, then," returned the king, sighing ;
but take care
that I do not cut off your nose into the bargain."
Poucinet drew the enchanted axe from the bottom of his
great leather bag. It was almost as tall as himself, and he
had great difficulty in setting it upright, the handle on the
"
ground. Cut ! cut !" he cried.
And, behold, the axe cut, chopped, and split, hewing in
all directions, right and
up and down,
left, trunk, branches,
and roots ; in a quarter of an hour the tree was in pieces, and
there was so much wood that the whole palace was warmed
with it for more than a year.
When the tree was hewn down and chopped up, Poucinet
approached the king, who was seated
with the princess by his side, and bowed

gracefully to them both.

" Is
your majesty satisfied with your
faithful servant ?" asked he.
" "
Yes," said the king, but I must
have my well, or look out for your
ears !"
" If
your majesty will kindly show
me where you wish it placed, I will
endeavor once more to please my sovereign," answered Pou-
cinet.

They repaired to the great courtyard of the palace. The

king took a raised seat ; the princess placed herself a little
below her father, and began to look with some anxiety on
the diminutive husband sent her by Heaven. She had not
dreamed of a spouse of this size. Without troubling him-
self at all about it, Poucinet took from his great leather
bag the enchanted pickaxe, coolly fitted the axe to the han-
dle, and, placing it on the ground at the designated spot,
cried,
26o Last Fairy Tales.

"Dig! Digr
And, behold, the pickaxe splintered the granite, and in
less than a quarter of an hour dug a well more than a hun-
dred feet deep.
"Does your majesty think this cistern large enough?"
asked Poucinet, with a bow.
'
"Yes, indeed," said the king; "but there is no water.
" Let
your majesty grant me a minute," returned Pouci-
net, "and your just impatience shall be satisfied."

Saying this, he took from his great leather bag the wal-
nut-shell, wrapped m moss, and placed it in a large basin,
which, in default of water, had been filled with flowers.
When the walnut-shell was firmly imbedded in the earth, he
cried,

"Spout! spout!"
And, behold, the water spouted forth among the flowers,
with a gentle murmur, forming a fountain that filled the whole

courtyard with its coolness, and fell again in a cascade in

such abundance that in a quarter of an hour the well was
full, and it was necessary to hasten to dig a channel to carry
off" this menacing wealth of water.
"Sire," said Poucinet, bending one knee to the ground
before the royal seat, " does your majesty think that I have
fulfilled your conditions ?"
" " I am
Yes, Marquis de Poucinette," replied the king.
ready to cede you half my kingdom, or, rather, to pay you the
value thereof, by means of a tax which my faithful subjects
will be too happy to raise ; but to give you the princess

and to take you for my son-in-law is another affair, which

does not depend on me alone."
"
What must I do ?" asked Poucinet, haughtily, resting his
hand on his hip, and gazing at the princess.
**
You shall know to-morrow," said "
the king. Meanwhile,
And behold, the water spouted forth among the flowers with a gentle
murmur."
262 Last Fairy Tales.

you are our guest, and the best chamber in the palace shall
be made ready for you."
The king having gone, Poucinet hastened to find his
brothers, who, with their cropped ears, looked like rat-terriers.
"Well, brothers," said he, "was I wrong in keeping my
eyes open, and seeking out the reason of things?"
" "
You have been lucky," answered Paul, coldly. Fortune
is blind and chooses blindly."
" "
You have done well, my boy," cried Peter. With or
without ears, I rejoice in your good-fortune, and wish our
father were here to see it."
Poucinet carried his two brothers away with him, and, be-
ing in favor, the chamberlain found a post in the palace the
same day for the two cropped varlets.

IV.
On
retiring to his apartments, the king could not sleep. A
son-in-law like Poucinet was not to his liking. His majesty
studied how
to avoid keeping his word without seeming to
break For honest men, this task is difficult. Between his
it.

honor and his interest a knave never hesitates, but it is for

this very reason that he is a knave.
In his anxiety, the king summoned Peter and Paul. The
two brothers alone could tell him the birth, character, and
manners of Poucinet. Peter praised his young brother, which
delighted his majesty but little ; Paul put him more at his
ease by proving to him that Poucinet was nothing but an
adventurer, and that it would be absurd for a great prince to

feelhimself pledged to a low-born wretch.

" The lad " that he
is so conceited," said the spiteful Paul,

thinks himself able to face a giant. In this district there lives

an ogre who is the terrbr of the neighborhood, and who car-
ries off the sheep and cattle for ten leagues around. Now
 Poucinet 263

Poucinet has said again and again that if he liked he could

make this giant his servant."

"We shall see if he will," exclaimed the king; and he dis-

missed the brothers and slept tranquilly.
The next morning, in the presence of the whole court, the
king sent for Poucinet. He came, looking as fair as a lily, as
fresh as a rose, and as smiling as the morning.

"My son-in-law," said the king, dwelling upon the words,

" a brave
man like you cannot marry a princess without giv-
ing her a household worthy of her. There is in this forest
an ogre who, it is said, istwenty feet high, and who breakfasts
every day on an ox. With a laced coat, a cocked hat, gold
epaulets, and a halberd fifteen feet long, he would make a
porter worthy of a king. My daughter begs you to make her
this little present, after which she will see about giving you
her hand."
264 Last Fairy Tales,

"
It is not easy," said Poucinet, " but to please her high-
ness I will try."
He went to the kitchen, put in his great leathern bag the
enchanted axe, a loaf of bread, a piece of cheese, and a knife,
then, throwing it over his shoulder, set out for the forest.
Peter wept, but Paul smiled, thinking that, once gone,
he would never be heard from again.
On entering the wood,
Poucinet looked to the
right, and the left, but
the tall grass prevented
him from seeing. Upon
this, he began to sing, at
the top of his voice,
" where are
Ogre !
ogre !

you, ogre? Show your-

self! I must have your
body or your life ! Here
I am !"
" And here I am !"

cried the giant, with a

"
frightful roar ;
wait for

me, and I will make but

one mouthful of you."
"
Don't be in a hurry,

my friend," exclaimed
Poucinet, in a shrill, pip-
ing voice," I have an hour
at your disposal."
The giant turned his
head on all sides, astonished to see no one, then, casting
down his eyes, he spied a lad, seated on the trunk of a fallen

tree, holding a great leather bag between his knees.

 l*ouctnet. 265

" Was it
you that broke up my nap, you rascal ?" cried the
giant, rolling his great flaming eyeballs.
" "I
Yes, my good fellow," said Poucinet ; have come to
take 5'ou into my service."
"
Ah !" said the giant, who was as dull as he was big,
"that is a good joke. I am going to toss you into the crow's
nest that I spy up yonder ;
that will teach you to prowl
about my forest."
" "
Your forest !" returned Poucinet, it is more mine than
yours ; you say another word, I will cut it down in a
if

quarter of an hour."
" Ah !" " I should like to see
said the giant, you do that,
my little fellow."
266 Last Fairy Tales,

"
Poucinet had placed the axe on the ground. Cut cut !" !

he cried, and, behold, the axe cut, chopped, split, and hewed
to the right and left, and up and down, while the branches
rained on the ogre like hail in a storm.
" the giant, who began be
Enough enough !" cried
! to
alarmed ; " do not destroy my forest. Who are you ?"
"
I am the famous sorcerer Poucinet, and I have only to
speak a word for my axe to chop off your head. You don't
know yet whom you have to deal with. Stay where you
are."
The giant stood still, greatly puzzled at what he had seen.
Poucinet, who was hungry, opened his great leather bag, and
took out his bread and cheese.
"What is that white thing?" asked the giant, who had
never seen any cheese.
"It is a stone," said Poucinet, beginning to munch it

greedily.
" Do asked the giant.
you eat stones ?"
" usual diet the reason do
Yes, they are my ;
that is why I

not grow like you, who eat beef ; and that too is why, small
as I am, I am ten times stronger than you. Show me the

way to your house."

The giant was conquered. He led the way for Poucinet,
likea huge dog, and brought him to an immense building.
"
Listen !" said Poucinet to the giant ; "one of us must be
the master and the other the servant. Let us make a bar-
gain. If I cannotdo what you can, I will be your slave ; if
you cannot do what I can, you shall be mine."
" "
Agreed 1" said the giant ; I should like to have a little
fellow like you to wait on me. It tires me to think, and you

have wit enough for both of us. To begin with, here are my
; go bring me the water for dinner."
two buckets
Poucinet raised his head and looked at the buckets.
Enough, enough,' cried the giant, who began to be alarmed, '
do not
"
destroy my forest.'
268 Last Fairy Tales,

They were two immense tuns, each ten feet high and six feet
in diameter. It would have been easier to drown in them
than to stir them.
"Ah I" said the giant, opening his huge mouth, "you are

already nonplussed, my son. Do what I do, and go draw

the water."

" What the use of that ?" asked Poucinet

"
I will
is ; go
and fetch the spring, and turn that into the dinner-pot ; it

will be much easier."

"
No, no," cried the giant ; "you have already spoiled my
 PoucineL 269
forest ;
do not meddle with my spring— to-morrow I shall be
thirsty. Make the fire and bring the water."
I will

Having hung the dinner-pot over the fire, the giant threw
in it a whole ox, cut in pieces, with fifty cabbages and a cart-

load of carrots. He skimmed it with a frying-pan, and

tasted again and again.
it
" Come to the "
table," said he, at length, and now let me
see you do what do.
I For my part, I feel hungry enough to
eat this whole ox and you into the bargain. You will answer
for my dessert."
"
Very well," said Poucinet. But before sitting down he
slipped under his jacket his great leather bag, so that it fell
from his throat to the ground.
The giant ate and
and Poucinet was not behind him,
ate,
and carrots into
only, instead of putting the meat, cabbages,
his mouth, he slipped them into the bag.
"Oh!" cried the giant, "I can eat no more; I must undo
a button of my waistcoat."
"
Don't stop yet, you lazy fellow," said Poucinet, shoving
half a cabbage under his chin.
" Ah !" cried the giant, " I must undo another button.
What an ostrich's stomach you have !
Any one could see
that you are in the habit of eating stones."
"
Go on !" said Poucinet, slipping a huge piece of beef out
of sight.
" "
Ugh !" exclaimed the giant, I have undone my third
button —I feel stuffed. And how is it with you, sorcerer .?"
" Bah "
!" said Poucinet, nothing is easier than to give
one's self a little room."
He took his knife and slit his jacket and bag the whole
" It ts
length of the stomach. your turn," said he to the
"
giant, do what
I do !"
" thank you," answered the giant.
I
" I would rather
No,
be your servant ; I cannot digest steel."
270 Last Fairy Tales,

No sooner said than

done. The giant kissed
his little master's hand
in token of submission ;

then, lifting him on one

shoulder and a large bag
of gold on the other, he
set out for the palace.

V.
There was a holiday at
the palace, and no one
was thinking any more of
Poucinet than if the giant
had eaten him a week be-
fore, when suddenly there
was heard a terrible up-
roar, which shook the

building to its founda-

tion. It was the giant,
who, finding the
great
gate too small for him,
had knocked it down with one blow of his foot. Every one
ran to the window, the king with the rest, and saw Poucinet

tranquilly seated on the shoulder of his terrible servant, on

a level with the second-story balcony, where the court was
assembled. He stepped down among them, and, bending his
knee before his betrothed, said, " Princess, you wished for a
slave ;
here are two of them."
This gallant speech, which was inserted the next day in

the court journal, embarrasseid the king not a little at the

moment when it was spoken. Not knowing what answer to

make, he drew the princess aside in the embrasure of a win-

 Poucinet. 271
"
dow and said, My
daughter, I have
no excuse for re-

fusing your hand to

this daring youth.
Sacrifice yourself,
for state reasons ;

princesses do not
marry for their in-

cHnation alone."
"
I beg your par-

don," returned she,

with a courtesy,
"
princess or not,

every woman wish-

es to marry to suit
her taste. Leave
me to defend my
rights in my own
way.
"Poucinet," she
added, aloud, "you
are brave and suc-

cessful, but that is

not sufficient to

please the ladies."

"
I know it," an-

swered Poucinet ;

"
it is necessary
besides to do their
will and bend to
their caprices."
" You are a bright fellow," said the princess.
"
Since you
272 Last Fairy Tales,

are so at guessing, I
good propose to you a last ordeal,
which should not terrify you, since you will have me for your
Let us which the cleverer, you or
adversary. try is I.
My
hand shall be the price of
victory."

Poucinet made a low bow. The whole court descended

to the throne-room, where, to the general consternation, they
found the giant seated on the ground. The ceiling being only
poor giant could not stand upright. At
fifteen feet high, the

a sign from his young master, he crept to his side, proud

and happy to obey him. It was strength in the service of
intellect.
"
We will begin with an extravaganza," said the princess.
"
It is said that women do not stick at untruths ; let us see
which can tell the greatest falsehood. The one who first

cries, 'That is too much !' will have lost."

"
I am at your highness's orders, to lie in jest, or to speak

the truth in earnest," answered Poucinet.

" I am "
sure," said the princess, that your farm is not so
 Poucinet, 273

large as ours. When two shepherds blow their horns at each

end of the land, neither can hear the other."
"
That is nothing," said Poucinet. " My
father's estate is
so vast that a heifer that is two months old when she enters
the gate on one side is a full-grown milch cow when she
leaves it on the other."
"
That does not astonish me," said the princess. " But you
have not such a huge bull as ours. Two men, seated on its

horns, cannot touch each other with a twenty-foot pole."

"That is nothing," said Poucinet. "The head of my fa-

ther's bull is so large that a servant perched on one horn

cannot see the man sitting on the other."
" "
Neither does that surprise me," said the princess. But
you have not so much milk as we, for we fill daily twenty
tuns each a hundred feet in height, and pile up a moun-
tain of cheeses every week as high as the great pyramid of
Egypt."
" What of that !" said Poucinet. " In my father's dairy
they make such mammoth cheeses that our mare one day hav-
ing fallen into the mould, we did not find her until after a
week's search. The poor animal had broken her back, and
to use her I was forced to replace her spine by a large fir-
tree,which worked admirably. But one fine morning the fir
put forth a branch in the air, which grew so tall that, on
climbing it, I reached the sky. There I saw a lady dressed in
white, spinning thread from the foam of the sea ; I caught
hold of it, when, crack it snapped, and I fell into a mouse-
!

hole. There, whom should I find but your father and my

mother, each with a distaff; and your father was so awk-
ward that my mother boxed his ears till his mustaches
shook."
"That is too much!" cried the princess, furious; "my fa-
ther would never have submitted to such an indignity."
18
 274 Last Fairy Tales,

" " "

She said,
'
That is too much,' cried the giant. Master,
the princess is ours."
VI.
"Not "
yet," said the princess, blushing, Poucinet, I have
three riddles to set you ; guess them, and nothing will be left

me to do but to obey my father. Tell me what it is that is

always falling and is never broken ?"

" "
Oh !" said Poucinet, my mother told me that long ago ;

it is a waterfall."
" That "
who would have guessed
is so," said the giant ;

that?"
"
Tell me," said the princess, in a more tremulous voice,
"
what it is that travels the same road every day, yet never
retraces its steps ?"
"
Oh !" answered Poucinet, " my mother taught me that

long ago ;
it is the sun."
" That "
is right," said the princess, pale with anger. There
remains a last question: what you think and I do
is it that
not ? what is it that I think and that you do not ? what is
it that we both think? and what is it that neither of us
thinks?"
Poucinet cast down his head and reflected ; he was em-
barrassed.
 Poucinet 275
" "
Master," said the giant, if the question is too hard, don't
bother your brains about it. Make a sign, and I will carry off
the princess and settle the matter."
" Be "
silent, slave," answered Poucinet. Strength can do
little, my poor fellow, as you must know. Let me try some
other means.
" said he, after a profound silence,
"
Madam," I
scarcely
dare guess your riddle, in which, nevertheless, I discern my
happiness. I ventured to think that your words would not

puzzle me, while you justly thought the contrary. You are

good enough to think that I am not unworthy to please you,

while I have not the temerity to think so. Lastly, what we
both think," added he, smiling, " is that there are greater
fools than we in the world ; and what neither of us think is
that the king, your august father, and this poor giant have as
much " —
" " Here is
Silence !" said the princess. my hand."
"What is it that
you think about me?" asked the king.
" I should be glad to know."
"My good father," said the princess, throwing herself on
"
his neck, we think that you are the wisest of kings and the
best of men."
" "
Right !" returned the king. I know it. Meanwhile, I

must do something for my good people. Poucinet, I make

you a duke."
"Long live my master, Duke Poucinet !" cried the giant,
in such a voice that it was thought a thunderbolt had fallen
upon the palace. Luckily, the only harm done was a gen-
eral panic and a score of broken window-panes.

VII.
To
describe the marriage of the princess and Poucinet
would be a useless task. All weddings are alike ; the onlj;
276 Last Fairy Tales,

differenceis in the day after. Nevertheless, it would be in-

excusable on the part of a faithful historian not to tell how
much interest the giant's presence added to the magnificent
festival. For example, on coming out of the church, in the ex-
cess of his joy the faithful giant could think of nothing better
to do than to pick up the bridal carriage and put it on his

head, and thus bring back the pair in triumph to the palace.
This is one of the incidents that it is well to note, as its like
is not seen every day.
In the evening there was a scene of festivity. Feast-

ing, speech-making, epithalamiums, colored glass, fireworks,

flowers, and bouquets
—
nothing was lacking ; there was uni-
versal rejoicing. In the palace, every one was laughing, sing-
ing, eating, drinking, or talking. One man alone, lurking in a
corner, solaced himself in a way different from the rest this :

was Paul he was glad his ears had been cut off, since he
;

was thus made deaf and unable to hear the praises lavished
on his brother ;
and wished that he were also blind, that he

might not see the happiness of the spouses. Unable to bear

his thoughts, he at last fled to the woods, where he was de-
voured by the bears. I wish that all spiteful people might
share his fate.

Poucinet was so small that it seemed hard at first for him

to command respect ; but his affability and gentleness soon
won the love of his wife and the affection of all his people.
After the death of his father-in-law he filled the throne for

fifty-two years, without any one for a single day desiring a

revolution. Incredible as this fact may seem, it is attested by
the official chronicle of his reign. He was so shrewd, says
the history, that he always divined what would serve and

please his subjects, and so good that the pleasure of others

was his chief joy. He lived only for the good of those
about him.
" The faithful giant could think of nothing better to do than to set the
carriage on his head."
278 Last Fairy Tales.

But why praise his goodness ? Is it not the virtue of men

of wit? Whatever may be said, there is no such thing on
earth as stupid people that are good. When one is stupid,
he is not good, and when he is good, he is not stupid ; trust
my long experience. If all the fools in the world are not
wicked, which I suspect, all the wicked are fools. This is
the moral of my story ; if any one finds a better let him go
and tell it at Rome.
 THE PRUDENT FARMER.
A RAGUSAN TALE.

Once upon a time there lived at Ragusa a farmer who

dabbled a little in trade. One day he set out for town to
make a few purchases, taking with him all his money. On
reaching a cross-road he stopped and asked an old man
whom he chanced to find there which route he should take.
" I will for a hundred crowns and no
tell you less," an-
"
swered the stranger ; every piece of advice I give is worth
a hundred crowns."
" Indeed !" thought the farmer, closely observing the foxy-

looking old man. " What kind of advice can it be that is

worth a hundred crowns ? It must be something very rare,
for in general you get plenty of advice for nothing ;
it is true

that it is not worth much more than you give for it. Well !"
"
said be to the old man, speak, here is
your money."
28o Last Fairy Tales.

" Mark me well," resumed the stranger, " the straight road
that you see before you is the road of the present; the other

one, which makes a curve, is the road of the future. I have

some more advice to give you," he added, " but for that you
must pay me another hundred crowns."
The farmer reflected long, but finally thought to himself,
"Since Ihave bought the ^.rst, I may as well buy the sec-
ond." And he gave another hundred crowns.
" " when
Listen," said the stranger, you are on a journey,
and stop at an inn where the host is old and the wine is
new, begone quickly, if you would escape harm. Give me
another hundred crowns," he added, " I have still something
more to tell you."
 The Prudent Farmer, 281

The farmer reflected, " What can this new piece of advice
be ? Bah since I have bought two, I may as well buy the
\

third one." And he gave his last hundred crowns.

" "
Heed me well !" said the old man, if ever you fly in a
passion, keep half of your wrath for the morrow, and do not
use up all your anger in one day."
The farmer returned home empty-handed.
" What did
you buy ?" asked his wife.
"
Nothing but three pieces of advice, each of which cost
me a hundred crowns," he answered.
"That is just like you, wasting your money, and scatter-

ing it to the winds, as usual !"

"
My dear wife," said the farmer, gently, " I do not regret
my money. Just listen to the sayings which I bought with
it."

But his wife shrugged her shoulders at what she styled

idle words, and called her husband a fool, who would ruin
his household and leave his wife and children to starve.

A short time after, a merchant stopped before the farmer's

door, with two wagons full of goods. He had lost his part-
ner on the way, and he offered the farmer fifty crowns if he
would take charge of one of the wagons and go with him to
town.
"
I hope you will not refuse," said the farmer's wife to him,
"
this time you will earn something, at least."

They set out, the merchant driving the first wagon, and
the farmer the second. The weather was bad and the roads
heavy, and they travelled with great difficulty. At last they
reached the cross-road, where the merchant asked which
route they should take.
" That
one, which is the road of the future,'* said the farm-
er; "it is longer but it is surer."
The merchant, however, insisted on taking the road of the
282 Last Fairy Tales.

" I would not

present. go that way for a hundred crowns,**
said the farmer.

They separated, therefore ; the farmer, who had taken the

longer road, nevertheless arrived much before his comrade,
with his wagon in good condition. The merchant did not
rejoin him till night ; his wagon had fallen in a morass, all
the load had been damaged, and the master had been hurt
into the bargain.
At the first inn they reached the host was old, and a
green branch announced that new wine was sold there cheap.
The merchant wished to stop there for the night.
" I
would not do it for a hundred crowns," exclaimed the

farmer, and he departed hurriedly, leaving his companion.

During the evening, a group of young idlers, who had drank
too freely of the new wine, quarrelled for some trifling cause,
knives were drawn, the host, cumbered with years, had not
the strength to separate the combatants, a man was killed,
and, in order to escape the law, the corpse was hid in the
wagon of the merchant. The latter, who had slept well, and
 The Prudent Farmer. 283
had heard nothing of the affray, rose early to harness his
horses. Terrified at finding a dead body in his wagon, he
drove off as fast as he could in order to escape a tedious law-
suit. But the Austrian police were on his track ; they pur-
sued and overtook him, and while waiting for the case to
be brought to trial, threw the merchant in prison and confis-
cated his goods.
On learning of what had happened to his comrade, the
farmer determined at least to save the wagon under his
charge, and returned to his own house. On nearing the
garden, he saw through the twilight a young soldier seated
in his finest plum-tree, coolly munching his favorite fruit.
The farmer raised his
gun when he reflect-
to shoot the thief,
"
ed, have Ipaid a hundred crowns to learn that I must not
wrath one Let us wait till to-morrow ;
spend all my in day.
the thief will return."
He made a circuit to enter the house by another way.
As he knocked at the door, the youngsoldier flung himself
"
in his arms, crying, Father, I have a furlough, and have
come to surprise and embrace you."
Said the farmer to his wife, " Now hear what has hap-

pened to me, and see whether I paid too dear for my three
pieces of advice."
He told them the whole story. As the poor merchant
was hung, in spite of all he could do, the farmer found him-
self the heir of this imprudent man. Enriched thereby, he
daily repeated that good advice is never bought too dearly,
and for the first time his wife and he are of one and the
same mind.
 A FEMALE SOLOMON.
A CROATIAN TALE.
There was once upon a time a poor man who lived in a
hut alone with his daughter ;
but this daughter was as wise
as Solomon. She went everywhere in search of alms, and
also taught her father what to say to obtain what he needed.
One day he chanced to solicit aid from the emperor, who,
surprised at his manner of speaking, asked him who he was,
and who had taught him to express himself in a way so much
above his station.
"
My daughter, sire," he answered.
" And who taught your daughter ?" asked the emperor.
" It was
God, as well as our great misery," was the reply.
"Take these thirty eggs to your daughter," said the em-
"
peror, and tell her to hatch chickens from them if she ;

does not, woe betide her !"

The poor man went to his hut in tears, and told the story
to his daughter. She saw
once that the eggs were boiled ;
at
but told her father to go to bed, and she would see to every-
thing. He followed her advice ; for her part, she took a

pot, filled with water and beans and hung it over the fire ;
it

then, next morning, when the beans were boiled, she called
 A Female Solomon, 285
her father and told him to take a plough and oxen and plough
up the earth by the side of the road where the emperor was
to pass.
" "
And," she added, when you see the emperor, sow these
beans, and say, in a loud voice, God bless my boiled beans
*

and make them grow !' Then, if the emperor asks how it is
possible for boiled beans to grow, answer that it is as easy
as to hatch a chicken from a boiled egg."
The poor man did as he was bid; he ploughed up the
ground, sowed the beans, and cried, when he saw the em-
"
peror,God bless my boiled beans and make them grow !"
And when the emperor stopped and said, " Poor fool, how
"
possible for boiled beans to grow ?" he answered,
is it Gra-
cious emperor, it is as easy as to hatch a chicken from a
boiled egg."
The emperor knew that the daughter had prompted her
father to act in this way. He ordered his valets to bring
the poor man before him ; then he gave him a small pack-
"
age of and make of it
hemp, and said, Take this, cord sails,

age, and all that is needed for a vessel, or else I will cut
off your head."
The poor man took the package and returned drowned in

tears to his daughter. On

hearing what had happened she
told him to go to bed, and that she would put matters right.
The next day she took a bit of wood, awoke her father, and
said,
"Take this match to the emperor, and let him make

from a spindle, a shuttle, and a loom, after which I will do

it

what he asks."
The poor man once more followed his daughter's advice ;
he went to the emperor and repeated what he had been bid
to say. The emperor was astonished. After a moment's

thought he took a goblet, and, giving it to the poor man,

286 Last Fairy Tales,

said, "Take this goblet to your daughter, and tell her to

bale out the ocean, and make of it an arable field."
The poor man obeyed, sighing, and carried the goblet to
his daughter, repeating the emperor's message. Again she
told him to go to bed, and leave the matter to her. The
next day she called him and gave him a bunch of tow, saying,
"Take this to the emperor and let him stop up all the

springs and the mouths of all the rivers, after which I will
bale out the sea."
When the emperor heard he perceived that the maid-
this,
en was wiser than he. He ordered her to be brought be-
fore him, and when they were face to face, asked the ques-
"
tion, My girl, can you tell me what is heard farthest off?"
" Thunder and falsehood are heard farthest off, gracious
emperor," she answered.
The emperor thereupon took his beard in his hand and,
"
turning to the courtiers, said, Guess how much my beard
is worth."

When they had all estimated its value, some more and
others less, the damsel maintained to their faces that none
of them had guessed right, saying, " An emperor's beard is
worth three rains in a summer's drought."
"
The emperor was delighted, and said, She has guessed
nearest of all." He asked her she would be his wife, add-
if

ing that he would not let her go until she had consented.
The damsel bowed and said,
"
Gracious emperor, yourwill be done I only ask that!

you shall give me

a writing, in your own hand, declaring
that if at any time you grow tired of me and wish to send
me away from you and out of the palace, I shall have the
right to carry away with me what I love best."
The emperor consented, and gave her a writing sealed
with the red wax and great official stamp of the empire.
"An emperor's beard is worth three rains in a summer's drought."
288 Last Fairy Tales,

It chanced after a time that the emperor grew tired of

she had foreseen, and said to her, " I will live
his wife, as
with you no longer; leave the palace, and go where
you
please."

"Illustrious emperor," answered the empress, "I will

obey you ; only permit me to stay here one night longer,
and to-morrow I will go."
 A Female Solomon. 289
The emperor having granted this request, before supper
the empress mixed brandy and sweet herbs with the wine,
and persuaded him to drink of it, saying,
"Drink and be merry; to-morrow we part; and, believe

me, be happier than on my wedding-day."

I shall

The emperor had scarcely swallowed the beverage when

he fell fast asleep. The empress had him taken at once to
a carriage which she had ready, and carried him away with
her to a grotto hewn in the rock. On awaking, he rubbed
his eyes, and looking around him at the strange spectacle,
"
cried, Where am I, and who brought me here ?"
" was answered the empress.
It I,"

"Why did you do this ? Did I not tell you that you were
no longer my wife ?"
" It is you said so," returned she, extending to
true that
him a paper, "but do you remember what you promised me
in this writing ? On quitting the palace I had a right to take
away with me what I loved best in it, and this dearest thing

isyou."
At these words the emperor's heart melted ; he em-
braced her, and they returned to the palace together, never
more to part.
19
 DAME GUDBRAND.
A NORWEGIAN TALE.

There was once an old man called Gudbrand of the Hill,

who lived in a lonely cottage on a distant hillside.

Now it must be known that this Gudbrand had an excel-

sometimes happens. But what happens far
lent wife, which
more seldom was that Gudbrand understood the value of
such a treasure. The husband and wife lived peacefully to-

gether, enjoying their common happiness, and troubling them-

selves neither about the lack of money nor their advancing
years. Everything that Gudbrand did, his wife declared to
be just what she most wanted ; so that the good man could
not move or change a single thing in the house without his
wife's thanking him for having foreseen and accomplished
her wishes.

They led an easy life, moreover ; the farm belonged to them,

and they had a hundred dollars in their drawer, and two
good milch cows in their stable. They lacked for nothing,
and could grow old without fearing want and wretchedness,
or needing the pity or assistance of their neighbors. One
evening, as they were talking together by the fireside of
their work and their plans, Dame Gudbrand said to her

husband,
"
My dear, a happy thought strikes me. Why not take
one of our cows to town and sell it? The other one will
" He lived in a lonely cottage on a distant hillside,""
292 Last Fairy Tales,

give us all the milk and

butter we need, and what
is the use of wearing our-
selves out for others ? We
have no children, and mon-
ey lying idle ; and it is bet-
ter to save our strength.

You will always find

enough to do to keep you

busy at home, mending
tools and furniture, and I
shall have more time to
sitby you with my spindle
and distaff."
Gudbrand, as usual,
thought his wife was quite
right, and set off early the next morning for town, with his
cow. But it was not market-day, and he found no one ready
to buy her.
" "
Well, well," said he to himself, I have only to drive her
home again ; I have plenty of straw and fodder for her, and
the road is no longer going than coming ;" and with these

words, he tranquilly turned his face homeward.

After a few hours' walk, just as he was beginning to feel a
little tired, he met a man riding a horse to town — a superb-
looking animal, all saddled and bridled.
"The way is long, and darkness is coming on fast," thought
Gudbrand ; " I shall not get home to-night with my cow, and
my wife will be worried. How proud she would be to see
me come prancing into the yard on this horse, like a bailiff!"
And with this thought, he stopped the rider, and exchanged
his cow for the horse.

Once in the saddle he had some misgivings. Gudbrand

 Dame Gudbrand, 293

was old and heavy, and the horse was young, fiery, and skit-
tish. In half an hour Gudbrand was on foot, with the bridle
on his arm, trying hard to hold the frisky animal, that tossed
his head in the wind, and reared and pranced at every stone

by the wayside. "It is a bad bargain," thought Gudbrand ;

when, just at that instant, he spied a countryman leading a

pig as fat as butter, whose belly
touched the ground.
"
I have often heard my wife
" "
say, thought Gudbrand, that a
humble nail that is of use is worth
more than a sparkling diamond
that is good for nothing." And
he exchanged his horse for the

pig-
Itwas a happy thought, but the
good man had counted without
294 Last Fairy Tales.

his host. Master Porker was tired, and would not budge an-
other step. Gudbrand talked,
coaxed, and swore, but all

in vain. He dragged the pig

by the snout, he pushed him
from behind, he beat him on
wts^^
all sides, and had his trouble

for his pains. The

creature lay
in the dust like a ship stuck in
the mud. The farmer was in

despair, when a man passed leading a goat, which, with its

udders full of milk,

pranced, ran, and
curveted with an

agility charming
^^^S^
to behold.
" what I
Just
want," cried Gud- --N?
 Dame Gndbrand. 295

brand " I had rather have that

; live-

ly, merry goat, than this stupid, vile

beast." And thereupon, without giv-
ing the matter a second thought, he
exchanged the pig for the goat.
Everything went smoothly for the
space of half an hour. The long-
horned damsel led on Gudbrand, who
at first laughed at her pranks. But
when one is past
twenty, he soon tires

of climbing rocks ;
and the farmer, chancing to meet a shep-
herd watching his flock, was easily persuaded to exchange
"
his goat for a sheep. I shall have just as much milk,"
"
thought he, and this animal at least will be quiet, and will

not tire my wife

and me."
Gudbrand had
judged rightly ;

there is
nothing
more placid than
Kf^-^'^'-^^r^ a sheep. She
played no pranks,
and did not try to butt him ;
but she would not go on, and
stood bleating for her sisters. The more Gudbrand pulled,
the more she endeavored to return to the flock, and the
more pitifully she moaned.

=^^^^?
296 Last Fairy Tales,

" The whimpering

fool !" cried Gudbrand.
"
She is as headstrong
and as whining as my
neighbor's wife. Who
will take this bleat-

ing, groaning
crying,
beast off my hands?
I would sell her at

any price."
" It "
is a bargain," said a peasant who was passing. Take
this fine, fat goose,

which is far better

than a sheep that

will moan itself

to death in an
hour."
"
Agreed," said
Gudbrand "
\
a
live goose is worth
more than a dead
sheep." And he carried off the goose with him.
This, however, was no easy task. The bird was an un-

easy companion. Frightened at being

off the ground, it fought lustily with
Ck.'S£S^5)^ wings, claws, and beak, till Gudbrand
was tired of the struggle.
yW^^^^^^f " "
Pooh !" said a he, goose is a hate-
ful bird ; my wife never would have one
in the house."

And, thereupon, at the first farm-

house where he stopped, he exchanged
the goose for a handsome cock, with
 Dame Gudbrand, 297

gay plumage, and fine spurs and

comb. This time he was satisfied
with his bargain. The cock, it is

true, screamed from time to time,

in a voice too shrill to please sen-

sitive ears, but as his legs were

tied together and he was carried
head downward, he soon submit-
ted to his fate. The only trouble
was that it was growing late. Gudbrand, who had set out
before daybreak, found himself at evening hungry and pen-
niless. He had still a long way to go ; his legs were falter-
ing, and his stomach was crying for food. He was equal to

the occasion. At the first inn, he sold his cock for half a
dollar, and as he had a good appetite, spent it to the last
penny in satisfying his hunger.
" "
After all," thought he, of what use would a cock be to
me after I had perished of starva-
tion ?"

On nearing home, Gudbrand be-

gan to reflect on the strange way
in which his journey had turned

out. Before entering his house, he

stopped at his neighbor's. Grizzled

Peter.
"
Well, Gudbrand," said Peter,
" what luck did
you have in town ?"
" " 1 cannot
So, so," said he ; say that I have been very
lucky, but neither have I reason
to complain." And he
told him all that had happened.
" "
Well, neighbor," exclaimed Peter, you have made a fine
mess of it ! What will your wife say to you ? May God pro-
tect you I I would not be in vour shoes for ten dollars."
293 Last Fairy Tales,

"Why," said Gudbrand, "matters might have turned out

much worse with me as it is, I am well, and at peace in
;

body and soul. And whether I have been wise or foolish, I

have such a good wife that she will be perfectly satisfied
with everything I have done."
" I
hear what you say, neighbor, and
marvel at it, but with all due respect to
you, I don't believe a word of it."
"Will you bet that I am wrong?" said
Gudbrand. " I have a hundred dollars
in my drawer at home ;
I will venture
twenty-five of them ;
will you do the
me?"
"
Yes, indeed," said Peter.
The bargain
concluded, the
two friends
entered Gud-
brand's house.
Peter stood at
the chamber-
door to listen.
*'
How are
"
you, ? dame
said Gudbrand.
"Thank God,
"
you are home again !" exclaimed his wife ; I was beginning
to be so uneasy about you. How are you, and what success
have you had in town ?"
" " whom
So, so," said Gudbrand ;
I could find no one to
to sell our cow, so Iexchanged her for a horse."
" For a "
what an excellent
horse !" exclaimed his wife ;
idea. 1 thank you with all my heart. Now we can go in
"Good-evening, dame,' said Gudbrand*
300 Last Fairy Tales,

our wagon to church, like so many people who look down

upon us, and are no better than we. If we choose to keep
a horse and feed it, it is nobody's business ;
we have a per-
fect right to do so. Where is the horse ? He must be put
into the stable."
" I did not bring him home," said Gudbrand ; " on the

way I changed my mind and traded him for a pig."

" "
Why," said his wife, that is just what I should have
done in
your place. A
thousand thanks, my dear. Now,
when the neighbors drop in, I shall have a bit of bacon to
them, like other people. What do we want of a horse ?
offer

The neighbors would say, See those proud folks, looking '

down on us who have to walk to church.' Come, we must

put the pig in his sty."
"
I did not bring the pig, either," said Gudbrand; "on the

way changed him for a goat."

I
"
Bravo !" cried his wife, " what a wise and prudent man
you are Now I think of it, what should we have done with
!

a pig? Folks would have pointed their fingers at us, saying,

*
Look at those people, who eat up all they make !' But with
my goat have milk and cheese, to say nothing of kids.
I shall

Make haste and put the goat in the stable."

" "
But did not bring the goat," said
I Gudbrand ; on the
way I exchanged it for a sheep."
"That is just like you !" cried his wife ; "you did this for

my sake. I am too old to climb over hills and rocks after

a goat. But with a sheep I shall have milk and wool be-
sides. Put the sheep in the stable."
"I did not bring the sheep, either," said Gudbrand; "on
the way I changed it for a goose."
"
Thank you with all my heart," said the good woman ;
"
what should I have done with a sheep ? I have neither
spinning-wheel nor loom ; weaving is hard work, and when
 Dame Gudbrand, 301
the cloth is woven, it must be cut out and made. It is
much easier to
buy ready-
made clothing, as we have
always done. But a goose
— a fat goose —
is just what I

wanted; I need down for our

bed j and I have always had
a longing for once in my life

to eat a roast goose. Come,

let us put the goose in the

barn-yard."
"But neither did I bring
the goose home," said Gud-
"
brand; on the way I changed
it for a cock."

"
My dear," said his wife,
"you are wiser than I. A
cock is
really useful ;
it is

betterthan a clock, which

must be wound every week.
A cock crows every morning
at four o'clock, and tells us
that time to praise God
it is

and go to work. After all,

of what good would a goose
have been to us.? I do not
know how to cook it ;
and as
for our bed, thank God, there
is plenty of moss as soft as
down. Put the cock in the
barn-yard."
"
I did not bring the cock,
"
either," said Gudbrand, for at nightfall I found
myself as
302 Last Fairy Tales,

hungry as a hunter, and had to sell the cock for half a dol-
lar, without which I should have died of starvation."
"
God be praised for giving
you this happy thought !" cried
his wife. "My dear, you have done everything just as I
wished. What do we need of a cock? We are our own
masters ;
no one has a right to order us about, and we can
lie in bed as late as we like. Now you are here, my
that
dear husband, I am happy. I need but one thing, and that
is, to know that you are by my side."

Upon this Gudbrand opened the door, and called, "Neigh-

bor Peter, what did I tell you? Go, fetch your twenty-five
dollars." And he kissed his old wife on both cheeks with
as much pleasure and more tenderness than if she had been

twenty years old.

 GRIZZLED PETER.
A NORWEGIAN TALE.

The story does not end here. Every medal has its ob-

verse side. The day would not appear so bright if it were

not blotted out by the night. However good and perfect all
women may be, there are, nevertheless, a few who are not
always as easy-tempered as Dame Gudbrand. Need I say
that this is the husband's fault? If he always gave way,
would he ever be contradicted? "Give way !" I hear some

whiskered gentleman exclaim. Yes, of course ;

else hear
with what you are threatened. A Norwegian experience
may be useful elsewhere.
Grizzled Peter bore no resemblance to his neighbor, Good-
man Gudbrand. He was petulant, imperious, choleric, and
about as impatient as a dog from whom a bone is snatched,
or a cat that is seized by the nape of the neck. He would
have been unbearable if Heaven, in its mercy, had not given

him a wife worthy of him. This good woman was head-

strong, quarrelsome, rasping, shrewish, and always ready to
304 Last Fairy Tales,

be silent when her husband wanted to talk, or to rail when

he wished be at peace. It was great good luck for Griz-
to
zled Peter to have such a treasure. Without his wife, how
could he have ever known that patience is not the merit of
fools, and that gentleness is the chief of virtues.
One when he returned home after fifteen
night, in harvest,
hours' hard labor, more ill-tempered than ever, loudly asking
if supper was not ready, and furiously scolding at women

and their laziness,

" Hold "
your tongue, Peter," said his wife. Would you
like to change places ? To-morrow I will go harvesting and
you shall keep house. We will see which has the harder
work, and does it better."
" Done "
!" answered Peter. You will learn, for once, by
experience, what your poor husband suffers. It may teach

you to respect him ; you need the lesson."

The next morning, at daybreak, his wife set out, her rake
over her shoulder and her sickle
by her side, rejoiced to see the
sun rise,and singing like the lark.
Grizzled Peter was a little sur-
prised to find himself alone in
the house. He made the best
of it, however, and set to work to
churn the butter, as if he had
been accustomed to it all his life.

One soon gets heated at a new

trade. Peter's throat was dry,
and he went down cellar to draw
some beer. He had just taken
the spigot out of the cask, and
was about to put in the spout,

when he heard overhead the

 Grizzled Peter. 305
grunting of the pig, who was ravaging
the kitchen.
"
My
butter is lost !" cried Peter. He
rushed up the cellar steps, four at a time,
with the spigot in his hand. Such a
spectacle as met his sight The churn !

was overturned, the cream was on the

ground, and the pig was wallowing in
floods of milk. A
wiser man would
have lost patience. Peter flung himself
upon the animal, that ran away grunt-
ing. The thief paid dearly for his crime,
for his master seized him on the way,

and dealt him such a blow on the head

with the spigot that he fell stark dead on the spot.
As he gazed at his bloody work, Peter bethought himself
that he had
not closed the
bunghole, and
that the beer
was still run-

ning. He rush-
ed down cel-
lar. Fortunately, the beer was running no longer; it is

true that not a drop was

left in the cask.
was necessary to begin
It
anew and churn the butter
if he wished to have any din-
ner. Peter went to the dai-
ry, and found cream enough
there, fortunately, to repair
the accident of the morning.
20
3o6 Last Fairy Tales,

He set about all his might, when he sudden-

churning with
ly remembered, rather late in the day, that the cow was still
in the stable, and had had noth-

ing yet to eat or drink, though the

sun was now high in the heavens.
He started for the stable, but ex-

perience had made him wise.

"There is the baby crawling
on the floor," he thought ; "he
will be sure to upset the churn if
I leave it here."
He took the churn on his back,
_
and went
draw water for the
to
cow. The well was deep, and
the bucket did not fill. Peter became impatient, and leaned
over to pull the rope, when, pop a deluge of cream from
!

the churn poured over his head and

into the well.

"Oh, dear!" cried Peter; "I

shall have no butter to-day. I must
think now of the cow. It is too
late to drive her to pasture, but
there is a fine growth of hay that
has not been cut on the thatched
roof. She will lose nothing by stay-
ing at home."
Having taken the cow from the
stable, it was not difficult to
get
her on the roof. The house being
built in a hollow, the thatch on one

side was nearly on a level with the

ground, and, with the help of a

broad plank, the cow was easily installed in her aerial pasture.
He let thd rope carefully down the kitchen chimney.
3o8 Last Fairy Tales.

Peter could not stay on the roof to watch the cow. He

had to make soup and carry it to the reapers. But being a
prudent man, and
not wishing to ex-

pose his cow to

the danger of

breaking her
bones, he tied a
long rope around
her neck, which he
carefully lowered down the kitchen

chimney ;
this done, he returned to
the kitchen, and fastened the rope
around his leg. "Now," thought
"
he, can be quite sure that the
I

animal will be quiet, and that noth-

ing will happen to her."
He filled the pot, put into it a
good piece of bacon, some vegetables, and water, hung it

over the fagots, lighted a match,

and blew the fire, when, presto !

the cow slipped from the roof

and dragged our gentleman up
the chimney, head downward
and heels in air. There is no
knowing what would have hap-
pened to him had not a strong
iron bar luckily stopped him on
the way. There they both hung
between heaven and earth, Pe-
ter and the cow, he in the chim-

ney and she from the roof, both

shrieking and groaning frightfully.
 Grizzled Peter, 309

Happily, the good wife had no more patience than her hus-
band. After waiting three sec-
onds for the soup to be brought

her at the usual time, she ran

home as if the house were on
fire. At the sight of the cow
suspended from the roof she
drew her sickle and cut the
rope. It was a great joy for

the poor animal to find herself

once more upon the ground she
loved ;
and it was no less fort-

unate for Peter, who was not

in the habit of viewing the
heavens feet in air, and who
head foremost into the pot.
fell

But luck seemed to be on his

side that day : the fire had not
caught, the water was cold, and
the pot hung awry, so that he

escaped with honor from this

trying ordeal with no other ac-
cident than a scratched fore-
head, grazed nose, and two cut
cheeks. Happily, nothing was
broken but the dinner-pot.
On entering the kitchen and
seeing her husband standing
abashed and bloody, in the
prevailing disorder, the dame
stuck her arms akimbo, and
exclaimed,
"
Well, which of us is it that is always right ? 1 have
"The dame stuck her arms akimbo, and exclaimed, '

Well, which of us
"
is it that is always right ?'
 Grizzled Peter, 311
done my work in the harvest-field, and here I am ! And
you, Mr. Cook, Mr. Shepherd, Mr. Housekeeper, where is the

butter, where is the beer,

where is the pig, where
is the cow, where is our
dinner.? If the baby is

not dead, it is not your

fault! Poor litde one,
if you had not your
mother !" Clasping the
baby in her arms, tears

came to her relief. Is

not sensibility the tri-

umph of woman, and

are not tears the triumph of sensibility ?
Peter bore the storm sulkily, but in silence. He did well ;

resignation befits great But a few days after the

minds.
neighbors perceived that he had changed the motto of his
house. Instead of two clasped hands bearing a heart encir-
cled with a blue ribbon and surmounted by an eternal flame,
he had painted on the front of the cottage a hive surrounded
with bees, with the following inscription :

" Bees
sting sharp,
But evil tongues sharper."

It was his only vengeance for this day of defeat.

 THE TAILOR'S DAUGHTER.
A SENEGAL TALE.

There was, once upon a time, a Senegal tailor, who

had a daughter as dazzling as the sun. All the youths in
the neighborhood were in love with her beauty, and two of
them went to her and asked for her hand. The girl, like
a well -trained daughter, made them no answer, but called
her father, who listened to them, and said :

" It is late
; go home, and come again to-morrow. I will
tell you then which of you shall have my daughter."

At daybreak the next morning the young men were at his

door.
" Here we "
are," they cried ; remember what you prom-
ised us yesterday."
" "
Wait," said the tailor ;
I must go out and buy a piece
of cloth ; when I return, you will hear what I expect you to
do."
He soon returned, and, calling his daughter, said to the
young men,
"
Mysons, there are two of you, and I have but one
daughter. I cannot give her to both of you, and must re-
fuse one. You see this piece of cloth ; I will cut from it
two pairs of breeches, exactly alike ; each of you shall make
one of them, and the one that finishes first shall be my son-
in-law."
 The Tailors Daughter, 313
Each of the rivals took his task, and prepared to set to
work under the tailor's eyes. The latter said to his daughter,
"
Here is thread ; you can thread the needles for the work-
men."
The girl obeyed ; she took the spool and sat down by the
youths. But the pretty witch was full of cunning ; her father
did not know which one she loved, neither did the young
men, but, for her part, she knew very well. The tailor went
out, the girl threaded the needles, and her suitors set to
work. But to the one she loved she gave short needlesful,
while she gave long needlesful to his rival. Both sewed
zealously; at eleven o'clock the work was scarcely half done,
but at three in the afternoon the young man with the short
needlesful had finished his task, while the other was far be-
hind. When the tailor returned, the victor carried him the
finished breeches. His rival was still sewing.
" " show
My children," said the father, I did not wish to

any partiality between you, for which reason I divided the

cloth into two equal parts, and gave each a fair chance.
Are you satisfied ?"
" "
Perfectly," answered they. We
understood your mean-
will be !"
ing, and accepted the trial ; what is to be
"
But the tailor had reasoned to himself: He who finishes
his task first will be the better workman, and consequently
the one better fitted to support his household." It did not

occur to him that his daughter might outwit him by giving

the longer needlesful to the one she did not wish to win.
Woman's wit decided the contest, and the girl chose hei
husband herself.
 DAME WEASEL AND HER HUSBAND.
A NUBIAN TALE.

Dame Weasel brought a son into the world. She called

her husband and said, " Go get me the kind of swaddling-
clothes I want, and bring them here to me."
The husband listened to his wife with a puzzled air, and
"
asked, But what kind of swaddling-clothes do you want?"
" I
want the skin of an elephant," snapped the weasel.
The poor husband stood agape in amazement, wondering
if his wife the angry weasel flung
had not lost her wits, till

the baby in his arms, and rushed out, with a toss of her
head.
She went straight to the Earth-worm and said, " Neighbor,
I have a field covered with turf; come and help me dig it
up."
The Worm once busy at work. Dame Weasel went to the
"
Hen, and said, Cousin, my field is full of worms, we need
your help in getting rid of them."
The Hen ran thither without waiting for another word,

hastily gobbled up the Worm, and began scratching in the

dirt for more.
"
A little farther on the Weasel met the Cat ; My friend,"
"
said she, there are some hens in my field, and it might be
to your advantage to take a turn that way while I am gone."
A moment after, the Cat had devoured the Hen.
While the Cat was thus regaling himself, the Weasel said
'•
to the Dog, Master, will you allow the Cat to lord it over
 Dame Weasel and her Husband. 315
that field?" The furious Dog rushed on the Cat and
strangled him, determined that there should be no other
ruler there than himself.
The Lion, passing that way, Dame Weasel bowed
to him
" "
respectfully. My do not
lord," said she,
go near that field,
it belongs to the Dog ;" upon which the Lion, blinded with

jealousy, flung himself on the Dog and tore him to pieces.

The Elephant came next. Dame Weasel entreated his
help against the Lion, and begged him to come into her ter-
ritory as a protector. But he little knew the treachery of
the Weasel, who had digged a deep pit there and covered it
with boughs. The Elephant fell into the snare, and was
killed by the fall, while the Lion, who was afraid of the Ele-
phant, fled to the forest.
The Weasel then stripped ofl" the Elephant's skin, and
"
showed it to her husband, saying, I asked you in vain for

this skin ;
with God's help I have obtained it
myself, and I

bring it to you."
The husband of Dame Weasel had not suspected before
that his wife was more cunning than all the beasts of the
earth, still less, that she was more cunning than he. He
was convinced of it at last ; and hence came the saying,
" He is as cunning as a weasel."
 THE SUN'S DAUGHTER.
A GREEK FAIRY TALE.
There was once a woman who could not be comforted
because she had no children. One day she said to the
Sun,
"Good Sun, if you will but give me a daughter, you
may take her back when she is twelve years old."
The Sun immediately sent a daughter to the good woman.
 Tk£ Sun's Daughter. 317

She named her Letiko, and cherished her for twelve years
like the apple of her But one day, when Letiko was
eye.
the Sun came to her and said,
"
gathering herbs, My child,
3i8 Last Fairy Tales,

when you go home, tell your mother to remember what she

promised me."
Letiko went home and said to the good woman, " Mother,
as I was gathering herbs, a handsome young prince came
and bade me tell you to remember what you had promised
him."
At thismessage, the good woman trembled and turned
pale ; then set instantly to work to shut the doors and win-

dows, and stop up the holes and crevices, that the Sun might
not make his way into the house and carry off Letiko. Un-
happily she forgot the keyhole^ and the Sun seiit one of his
beams through it, which seized Letiko, and bore her away.

The Sun was not a bad master, but Letiko could not for-

get, in his service, the mother she had lost.

One day the Sun sent her to the barn for some hay. Letiko
 The Suns Daughter, 319
seated herself on the sheaves, and sighed, " As this hay is
crushed beneath my feet, so my heart is crushed by the loss
of my mother." She stayed so long in the barn that the Sun
called to her, " Letiko, what are you doing there ?"
"
Myshoes are so large that I cannot walk," she answered.
Upon which the Sun made her smaller shoes.
Another day the Sun sent her for water. On reaching
the spring, Letiko sighed, " As this water moans as it falls,

so moans my heart for my poor mother."

She stayed so long at
the spring that the Sun
called to her, "Letiko,
what are you doing
there?" She said, "My
skirt is so long that I
cannot walk." Upon
which the Sun cut off
the hem of her skirt.

Another time the Sun

sent her for a pair of
sandals. On her way
back she sat down by
the roadside, and sighed, "As this leather creaks in my
hand, so does my heart cry out for my poor mother."
She remained seated there so long that the Sun called to
"
her, Letiko, what are you doing there ?"
"
My hat is so large that it falls over my eyes, and hinders
me from walking."
Upon which the Sun cut off the brim of her hat.
At last the Sun saw that Letiko was sorrowful. He sent
her once more to the barn for hay ; but listened at the door
and heard the child cry for her mother. He then called to
him two foxes, and said,
320 Last Fairy Tales,

" Will home ?"

you take Letiko back
"
With pleasure."
" But if
you are hungry and thirsty, what will you eat and
drink on the way."
" We will eat the child's flesh and drink her blood," an-
swered the honest foxes.

r3.;>m.

When the Sun heard this, he said to himself, "Good people,

you will not do for me." He thanked the foxes, and called
two hares.
"
Will you take Letiko back to her mother ?"
"With pleasure."
"
But if
you are hungry and thirsty, what will you eat and
drink on the way ?"
 The Suns Daughter, 321
"We will eat the grass of the fields and drink the water
of the springs."
"
Good, take the child ; I trust her to you."
And, behold, the hares set out with Letiko ;
but the way
was long, and they were hungry.
"
Dear Letiko," said the hares to the young girl, " climb
this tree, and stay there till we have satisfied our appetite."
Letiko climbed the tree, and the hares ran to the forest.

21
322 Last Fairy Tales,

•They were hardly out of sight, when a lamia appeared be-

—
neath the tree this is what an ogress is called in Greece.
She was a horrible old witch, with only one eye, in the mid-
dle of her forehead, and a huge mouth with two great tusks.
" Letiko 1 Letiko ! come down and see what pretty shoes I
have on !" she cried.
" Mine are as
pretty as yours."
"Come down, I am in haste, my house is not swept."
" Go and
sweep it, and come back when it is done."
The lamia ran home and hurried back as fast as she
"
could. Letiko ! Letiko !" she cried, " come down and see
what a handsome sash I have on."
" handsomer than yours."
My sash is
" If come
you do not quickly, I will break down the tree
and eat you up."
" and eat me up afterwards."
Break it down first

And, behold the ogress shook the tree, without being able
!

" Letiko Letiko

to stir it. make haste, I must go and feed
! !

my babies."
"
Go and feed them, and come back when you have done."
"
The monster gone, Letiko cried, Help my hares, help !" !

And one of the hares said to the other, " Brother, do you
hear? The child is calling us." They came running like

the wind. Letiko sprang down from the tree, and all three
took to their heels.
The witch hurried back as fast as she could, but the bird
had flown, whether east, west, north, or south, she knew not
She saw some men working in the fields, and went to them,
but they were as deaf as posts.
" Have
you seen any one go by ?" asked she.
" We are
planting beans," they answered.
" I asked
you if you had seen any one go by ?" she cried,
in a furious tone.
"Letiko rushed in first, followed by the hares."
324 Last Fairy Tales,

"
What is the matter ?" replied the good men ; " are you
deaf? we are planting beans, do you hear? beans, beans,
beans !"

When Letiko approached the house, the dog scented her,

Bow, wow, wow I here is Letiko!" The cat,
^^
and cried,
thatwas roaming on the roof, spied the child from afar, and
^^
began to call, Miaow, miaow f here is Letiko !" The poor
mother answered, " Hush, cruel beasts, would you kill me
with grief?"
The cock, stretching up his neck and head, saw the child
and crew, "
in turn, Cock-a-doodle-doo ! Cock-a-doodle-doo ! here
"
is Letiko." And the poor mother sobbed, Hush, cruel bird,
would you me
with grief?"
kill

Thethree friends reached the door, but the ogress was

at their heels, and had them Letiko
just within her grasp.
rushed in first, followed by the hares, one after the other, but
the last one left the hair of his tail in the witch's clutches.
On seeing this, the poor mother clasped Letiko to her breast,
and "
cried, Welcome !
my good hares, you have brought my
daughter back in safety, and in return I will dye your tails
silver." And ever since that day all the hares have had
silver tails.
 THE LITTLE MAN,
There was once a little gentleman who every day grew

twenty-four hours older. But when he went to the inn to

drink a glass of wine or a schooner of beer, the inn-keeper
" man 1"
always greeted him with, my
Good-morning, little

which vexed him greatly.

One morning he went to the shoemaker, to have a pair of

high heels put on his boots. No sooner had he entered the

shop than the shoemaker exclaimed, "Good-morning, my

little man ; what can I do for you to-day ?"

"Master Crispin," he answered, "hasten to put a pair of

326 Last Fairy Tales.

heels on my boots, and let them be high enough to make

people stop calling me little man. I am tired of it."
The shoemaker set to work, and when he had finished
and been paid, " Good-bye, my little man," said he, " if you
are satisfied, remember me another time."
The little gentleman was greatly vexed that the shoe-
own work. " It will
maker had no more respect for his be
different with the inn-keeper," he thought "he\
will open his

eyes, and greet me by another name."

He
entered the inn, stamping his feet, and standing as
straight as if he had swallowed a bayonet. As soon as the
inn-keeper saw him, he cried, "Good-morning, my little

man ; what will you have, beer or wine ?"

Fancy the vexation of the little gentleman that his heels
had produced no more effect He hastened! to the hatter,
Xf^ buy the tallest hat that could be found. He had not
let go the door-knob before the hatter greeted him with,
 The Little Man. 327

"Good-morning, my little man, what can I do for you to-

day?"
"I want a hat tall enough to make people stop calling
me little man ; it vexes me beyond measure."
The hatter gave him a hat that might have served for

a grenadier, took his money, and thanked his customer.

" remember me next time." •

Good-bye, little my man,

The little man was angry that the hatter paid so little re-
" "
spect to his own wares. Bahthought he, it will be
!"

different at the inn." He hastened thither and entered the

bar-room, his hat on his head like an Englishman.
"
Good-morning, my little
man," said the inn-keeper,
" what will
you have, beer or
wine?"
It is needless to say how
much the little man was
vexed. What was the use of
having such high heels un-
der his feet, and such a tall
hat on his head ! And how
was it that, in spite of all

these dearly bought advan-

one persisted in
tages, every
him little man ?
calling
Right and left, up and
down, he asked all he met
why he was still called little man, in spite of his heels and
hat, but no one could or would tell him. This vexed him

horribly.
"How stupid I am !" thought he; "if the people here
know nothing, I will go to Rome and ask the pope, who

knows everything."
328 Last Fairy Tales.

No sooner said than done ; he packed his valise, and set

out for Rome.
On the way he stopped at a tavern to pass the night.
" "
Good-day, my little man," said the host ; where are you
going at this pace ?"
"I am Rome
going to to see the pope," answered the lit-

tle
"
The pope will tell me why,
gentleman, ill-humoredly.
in spite of my high heels and tall hat, every one takes the

liberty of calling me little man. It makes me furious."

"Bravo!" cried thehost. "I will go along with you.

I, have something to ask the pope. I should like to
too,
know why every one calls me the poor tavern-keeper. John,
you lazybones, pack my valise, I am going to Rome."
" " I
Master, I am going too," said the hostler. should
like to ask the pope why every one, without knowing me,

calls me lazybones."
On reaching Rome, the three friends asked an audience
of the pope. They were received in a drawing-room, in
which there was a large mirror.
The pope listened to them kindly, and said to the tavern-

keeper,
"
Turn your back to this mirror ;
then look over your left

shoulder, and tell me what you see in the glass."

"I "
see," cried the tavern-keeper, ten or twelve women, sit-

ting round a table, drinking coffee and chattering. Why there !

is my wife. I'll warrant she will not lose a word of the gossip."
"Well, my son," said the pope, "as long as your wife
spends her time in this way, away from home, you will be
called a poor tavern-keeper, and you will stay a poor tavern-

keeper."
It was the hostler's turn. He placed himself in the same
position, and looked over his left shoulder.
"
Holy Father !" he cried, " I see dogs chasing a hare.
 The Little Man. 329

They think to catch him ; ho ho ! Dash and Rover, you

!

did not get up early enough, the hare is too fast for you !"
" " when
Well, my son," said the pope, you run as fast as
this hare the first time an order is given you, be sure that

no one will call you lazybones any longer."

After the hostler came the little gentleman. He too
turned his back to the glass, and looked over his left shoul-
der. The pope asked him what he saw.
330 Last Fairy Tales.

"I see nothing but myself," answered the little man.

"
Do
you see yourself larger than you are ?'*
" "I
No," said the little man, see myself just as I am,
neither smaller nor larger."
"
In that case, my son," rejoined the pope, " I have but
one piece of advice to give you to have yourself measured
:

until you have grown. When you are tall, you will no longer
be called little man."
The little gentleman retired discontented, it is said, in
which he was wrong. But how many there are who are no
wiser than he ! How many there are who wish to soar
above their shadow, who think to add to their stature by
borrowed plumes, and who need to go to Rome to see them-
selves just as they are between their hats and their heels ]
 I'-.A't

FALSEHOOD AND TRUTH,

AN OLD SPANISH FABLE.

In olden times, Falsehood and Truth agreed to live to-

gether like a pair of friends. Truth was a good soul, sim-
ple, timid, and confiding; Falsehood was plausible, brill-
iant, and dashing. One commanded, and the other always
obeyed. As may be supposed, everything went on smoothly
in such a delightful partnership.
One day Falsehood suggested to Truth that it would be
well to plant a tree that would give them blossoms in spring,
332 Last Fairy Tales.

shade in summer, and fruit in autumn. Truth was pleased

with the plan, and the tree was set out directly.
No sooner had it begun to grow than Falsehood said to
"
Truth : Sister, let us each choose a share of the tree.
Possessions held too closely in common breed strife ; short
accounts make long friends. There are the roots, for exam-
ple ; it is they that support and nourish it ; they are shel-

tered from wind and weather ; why do you not take them ?
To oblige you, I will content myself, for my part, with the
branches, that grow in the open air, at themercy of birds,
beasts, and men, wind, heat, and frost. There is nothing
that we would not do for those we love."

Truth, abashed by such goodness, thanked her comrade,

and burrowed under ground, to the great joy of Falsehood,
 Falsehood and Truth, 333
who found himself a4one among mankind, and able to reign
at his ease.
The up fast ; its great boughs spread shade and
tree shot
coolness far and wide, and it soon put forth blossoms fairer
than the rose. Men and women hastened from all sides to
admire the marvel. Perched upon the topmost branch
Falsehood harangued them, and soon charmed them with his
honeyed words. He taught them that society is nothing but
falsehood, and that men would be ready to tear each other to
"
pieces if they always spoke the truth. There are three ways
"
to succeed here below," added he :
by simple falsehood, as
*
when the vassal says to his lord, I respect and love you ;'
'

by double falsehood, as when he exclaims, May the thun-

derbolts of Heaven fall on me if I am not your most faithful
'
servant ;' and by triple falsehood, as when he repeats, My

goods, my arm, and my life all are my lord's;' and then deserts
his master at themoment of danger." The good apostle gave
these lessons in so airy a manner, and illustrated them by
such fine examples, that all who heard him were intoxicated
with his words ; they jeered at those who did not applaud,
and even began to doubt themselves. For a hundred leagues
around, nothing was talked of but Falsehood and his wisdom ;

it was proposed to make him king. As to good Truth, who

lay crouching in her den, no one gave her a thought; she
might die forgotten.
Abandoned as she was by all, she was forced to live on
whatever she could find under ground ; and while False-
hood was enthroned among verdure and flowers, the poor
mole gnawed the bitter roots of the tree she had planted.
She gnawed them so deep that one day, when Falsehood,
more eloquent than usual, was addressing an innumerable
multitude, the wind rose slightly, and suddenly blew down
the tree, that had no longer any roots to support it. The
334 Last Fairy Tales.

branches in theirfall crushed all who were beneath them.

Falsehood escaped with an injured eye and broken leg,

which left him lame and squinting ; which was coming off
cheaply.
Truth, suddenly restored to light, rose from the ground with
dishevelled hair and a stern countenance, and began harshly
to rebuke those about her for their weakness and credulity.

No sooner had he heard her voice than Falsehood cried,

" Behold the author of all our ills ; the one who has de-

stroyed us. Death to her !" Upon which the people, armed
with sticks and stones, gave chase to the unhappy woman,
and thrust her again into the hole, more dead than alive.
 Falsehood and Truth, 335

Having done this, they quickly sealed it with a large stone,

thatTruth might never more arise from her tomb.

However, she had still a few friends ; for during the night
an unknown hand traced the following epitaph upon the
stone :
336 Last Fairy Tales,

*'
Aqui yaze la Verdad,
A quein el mundo cruel
Mato sin enfermedad

Porque no reinase en el
Sino Mentira y Maldad."

" Here
Or, lies Truth, slain not by disease, but by the cruel
world, that nought might reign in it but Falsehood and Dis-

loyalty."
It is Falsehood's smallest fault not to suffer contradiction.
The friend of Truth was hunted down, and hung as soon as

:M|«#^„.^.>.
found. Dead men only never grumble. To be better as-
sured of his victory, Falsehood built him a palace over the
sepulchre of Truth. But it is said that sometimes she turns
in her grave, and thereupon the palace crumbles like a house
 Falsehood and Truth. 337
of cards, and buries beneath its ruins all who dwell therein,
both innocent and guilty.

'^\'\
•2. ''L-

But men have something else to do than mourn their

dead ; they fall heirs to their inheritance. Thepeople, those
eternal dupes, each time rebuild the palace with greater
splendor than before, and Falsehood, lame and squinting,
reigns therein to this very day.
 THE MYSTIC GARDEN.
A HEBREW APOLOGUE.
" Remember the days of old, consider the years of many
generations : ask thy father, and he will shew thee ; thy
elders, and they will tell thee."

If ever a people remained faithful to tradition it has been

the Jewish people, to whom these words were addressed. It
has preserved everything, history and legends, and, to be
just, let us add that, the Bible excepted, it has jumbled them
allup together. For this reason lovers of fairy lore have a
weakness for this unhappy race, that has so long been the
sport of fate and the scorn of nations. It has hoarded up

for us the traditions of the East, and has borne and dissem-

inated them through every quarter of the globe. Its spirit

more than we are aware.

lives in us
 The Mystic Garden, 339
We are too ignorant how great has been the influence of
the persecuted rabbis. Their books have been almost as
much despised as themselves ; yet they have been drawn
upon largely. When we read an ingenious moral tale or a
transparent apologue, we trouble ourselves little about the
source from which it came it is a kind of
; ingratitude which
we commit every day, and for which we suffer little remorse.
Here is a story bequeathed us by the rabbis, which, though
very old, deserves to be held in everlasting remembrance.
Once upon a time there lived a king who was exceeding
mighty, sage, and just. This monarch caused a law to be pro-
claimed throughout his dominions, decreeing that no rewards,
offices, or honors should be bestowed on any who had not
merited them by services rendered their king or country,
and that each should be rewarded according to his deserts.
In the course of time there were born at the court three

children, all of royal blood. All three grew up richly en-

—
dowed with virtue and talent handsome, well-made, amia-
ble, and beloved and esteemed by every one. The king,
who was very fond of them, and was anxious to give them a
station in accordance with their merit, called them to him
one day, and said, " My children, I wish to do you the great-
est possible honor and good. I would like to set you above

all
my palace, for you have found favor in my sight,
others in
and believe you capable of the highest deeds of virtue.
I

But all my people know, and you know with them, that there
i? a law in my kingdom which I cannot break. I can confer
honors and office on no one, save as a reward for services

that he has done. You cannot attain the high rank for
which I destine you, therefore, by remaining at court. I

advise you to go out into the world, scour the country far and
wide, and try to win, by your exploits, the prize promised you
by the law, and which I shall delight to bestow upon you. At
 340 Last Fairy Tales,

i
my summons, you will return to court ;
until then, mark well
what you do ; for, according to your merit, such will be your
reward."
The three young men were very loath to quit the court,
but the king had ordered it, and they were forced to obey.
All three, therefore, took leave of their sovereign, and em-
barked in fine weather, leaving it to chance to shape their
course.

They had sailed a long way, when they spied an island

which looked fertile and smiling from the sea. They land-
ed, and found in the middle of the isle a fair garden full
of fruit. As they drew near it, three guards came out to
 -.^-i-x
Three guards came out to meet them.
342 Last Fairy Tales,

meet them, who permitted them to enter, but each gave

them a word of advice.
The first guard told them that they must not expect to
stay forever in this garden. The time would come when
they would be forced to depart. None of those who had
lived there before them had ever been allowed to remain.
Such was the rule ;
some came and others went.
The. second guard bade them engrave it upon their mem-
ory that they must quit this garden precisely as they had
entered it.
They were free to enjoy all that they found

there, and no one would hinder them ; but, on leaving,

they were expressly forbidden to carry anything away with
them.
The third guard advised them to be moderate in their
enjoyments and pleasures, and to do nothing but what was
 The Mystic Garden. 343
virtuous and upright, adding, that this conduct would do
much towards prolonging their lives.

Having heard these wise counsels, the youths entered the

garden, which was even more beautiful and enchanting than
it had seemed from outside.
They found an abundance of
trees laden with rich fruit, and plants and flowers as pleasing
to the smell as to the sight. Nightingales were warbling in
the branches of the huge oaks, myriads of birds delighted
the ear with their melodious songs, and running streams
diffused freshness and life
everywhere.
It is needless to tell how great was the joy of the three
comrades. They ate of the delicious fruits, drank of the
sweet waters, and reposed under the leafy shade of the great
trees, listening to the nightingales, while the gentle breeze
wafted through the foliage the sweet odor of the flowers.
After a little while they parted, and each went his way to
the part of the garden that pleased him best.
Fascinated by the beauty of the fruit and the coolness of
the waters, the first of the three youths thought only of enjoy-

ing what lay nearest at hand. To eat, drink, sleep, lead a

merry life, and cast away all care, such was his sole idea.
He wholly forgot the counsels of the third guard.
The second of the young men was charmed neither by the
fruit nor the flowers. He had found gold, silver, and pre-
cious stones in abundance in a corner of the garden. Daz-
zled by these treasures, he thought only of amassing them,
and made his clothes into bags to hold all these riches.
Absorbed in this idea, he neither ate, drank, nor slept. As
to using the garden and its dream of it
pleasures, he did not
for a moment, forgetting what the second guard had told

him, that whatever was found there must be enjoyed, and not
hoarded, for nothing could be carried away with him.
The third youth had engraved upon his memory all that
'It is needless to tell how great was the joy of the three comrades."
 The Mystic Garden, 345

%^.r:. .

the three guards had

told him, and did not
follow his compan-
ions' example. The
course that they had

pursued seemed to
him dangerous and
wrong ; it was not
what they had been
taught to do. He
made use of the gar-
den and its pleasures,
but only so far as was
needful to sustain
life. He passed his
time in studying this

abode, and what it contained. On beholding the fruits, flow-

ers, and animals, with their prodigious diversity, and seeking

346 Last Fairy Tales.

the property of each plant, he marvelled at the perpetual

miracle of nature ; and on following the watercourses, so
well distributed that, from step to step, and from ridge to

ridge, there was not a blade of grass that was not watered,
he never tired of contemplating the incredible order that set
everything in its place.
What added to his astonishment was that, in this well-reg-
ulated garden, no gardener was to be seen. But reflection
soon told him that order so perfect could not exist through
accident, and that there must surely be a most wise gardener
— an invisible master —
who ruled this beautiful domain.
Each day heightened his admiration ;
each day increased
his desire to know
the master of the garden ; he sought him

everywhere, and, without ever seeing him, he loved him for

all the pleasure he had enjoyed in the sight and study of

so many marvels.
While each of the young men was enjoying himself in his
own fashion, a slave of the king brought them a summons
to return at once to court and give an account of their life.

They set out for the gate by

which they had entered, but
scarcely had he passed it,
when the first of the three —
he who had thought only of
his pleasure —grew faint from
the change of air, and, no
longer having the fruit of the

garden to sustain him, his

body puffed up, his strength
failed him,and he fell on the
ground and expired.
The second one dragged him-
•'V? self slowly along, laden like
 The Mystic Garden. 347
a pack-mule. The hope of one day enjoying his treasure
made him forget his fatigue; but, on reaching the gate of
the garden, the guards, astonished at
seeing him move so
heavily, laid hold of
him, and stripped
him in an instant
of all his spoil.
The unhappy youth
groaned and wept;
all his pains and la-

bor had led to noth-

ing but wretched-
ness and despair.
The third youth
had a lively joy
lelt

on hearing the voice

of the messenger
who summoned him
by order of the king.
The master whom
he had been unable to see, he should doubtless find on quit-
ting the garden,and could express to him all his love and
gratitude. Moreover, he had committed no offence; far
from it; he had done everything to recognize his will and
to obey him. It was, therefore, with a heart full of hope,
and without a thought of what he left behind him, that he
ran to the garden gate. He was warmly welcomed by the
guards, who rejoiced to see the alacrity with which he obeyed
the king's commands.
On drawing near the court, the youth who had been stripped
of his booty was so weary and miserable that he could scarce-
ly keep his feet. It was in vain that he insisted that he was

of royal blood ;
no one believed him ; still more, the slaves
348 Last Fairy Tales.

.. r-1,^ n

if*
of the palace, indignant that such a beggar should claim
relationship with the king, turned him from the palace door,
and threw him into a narrow dungeon, where he would have
fulltime to expiate his faults and bewail his folly.
The third youth was as royally welcomed as his com-
rade was harshly treated. All the grandees of the court
went out to meet him, embraced him, and accompanied
him to the king's presence to do him honor. The king was
greatly rejoiced to see this young man, so alert and ready to
do his bidding, and although nothing was hidden from his
 The Mystic Garden, 349
knowledge, he asked the new-comer what he had done since
he saw him last. The youth told the story of all the
great
and beautiful things he had seen in the delicious place
where he had been, and added " I am quite sure that this
:

garden has a master of exceeding great wisdom ; this mas-

ter cannot be far off, though he takes delight in
hiding him-
self from our sight ; and it is my chief desire to express to
him the love and gratitude I have felt at the sight of his
works."
"Since your time has been so well spent, I will grant
"
your wish," answered the king. I am the master of yon-

der garden ;
I rule itfrom here through the ministers of my
will ;
and there is not a creature so small, or a blade of

grass so humble, that it has not a servant to cherish it and

watch its growth."
On hearing these words, and comprehending this mystery,
the happy youth felt his love for his master glow still bright-
er in his breast ; he tasted infinite joy in the knowledge of
his power, and dwelt forevermore side by side with him at
the court, raised to the highest pinnacle of honor.
The moral of this story, continue the rabbis, is easily dis-
cerned. The king is the supreme Creator and Sovereign
Ruler of all things. The garden is the world ; the three
youths represent the three kinds of men that are here on
earth ; one seeks nothing but pleasure ; the second pursues
fortune, and the third loves goodness alone, which is the
true aim of man. That the three young men are of royal
blood signifies that they belong to Israel, the chosen people
of God. As to the counsels of the three guards, we know
that they are true. The first is God's own words to Adam,
"
Dust thou art, and to dust shalt thou return." The sec-
ond is the saying of Job, " Naked came I out of my mother's
womb, and naked shall I return thither." Lastly, the third
350 Last Fairy Tales,

is the great speech of Moses, our master in Israel, appoint-

"I
ed by God : have set before thee this day life and good,
and death and evil. Therefore choose life, that both thou
and thy seed may Hve."
Does not this signify that life consists in doing good, and
death in doing evil ?

He who weighs well these three sayings, and always bears

them in mind, cannot mistake the true path, but will find the
road which, on quitting life, leads to everlasting repose.

Keep this example, therefore, before thine eyes like a mirror.

And now, mercy, may God grant thee grace to
in his infinite

serve him, and may'st thou in this manner obtain peace in

this life, and glory in the life to come. Amen.
 THE EVE
OF

ST, MARK.
AN ESTHONIAN
FAIRY TALE.

Near Revel, in Es-

on the shores
thonia,
of the Gulf of Finland, there once lived an old sorcerer,
who had thoroughly mastered all the secrets of the black
art. He knew everything,
saw everything, understood every-
thing, and could do everything. To turn dust into gold,
or gold into dust, to assemble the winds, summon or quell
the tempest, hush the thunders, or call the dead from their
—
graves all this was to him but child's play. He held earth,
sea, and
air at his bidding. It was a common saying con-

cerning him, that the sun and moon trembled at his sight,
lest he should send them to shine upon a world even wick'
352 Last Fairy Tales,

eder than ours. The devil himself, with all his pride and cun
ning, was nought but a slave before this terrible magician.
In spite of all his knowledge, might, and wealth, our hero

was not hap-

py. Although he
harmed nobody,
and willingly showed kind-
ness to the poor, he was
detested and shunned by
all. When he entered a
village the women fled with

their children in their arms,

and the men shut them-
 The Eve of St. Mark, 353
selves up in their houses till he went
by. The only ones who
remained in the streets were those who had some favor to
ask ; they bowed to the ground and kissed his hand, as
if he had been a lord ;
but no sooner had he turned his
back than they cursed him in their hearts, or shook their
fists after him. penalty of omnipotence to be loved
It is the

by no one, and to have your footsteps dogged by envy, mal-

ice, and ingratitude.
Our magician had had a sad experience. When young
he had sought to marry ; but, in spite of his knowledge and
power, no one had been willing to accept him as a suitor.
A woman does not like to have her heart always laid bare,
and no so young as not to know that it is the first re-
girl is

quisite of a good husband that he should not be a sorcerer.

The poor man lived alone, therefore, in an old Gothic manor-
house, with a great dog and a black cat for his sole compan-
ions. With the first he talked politics, and philosophized
with the second. Let no one be surprised to see a feline phi-
losopher was
; long ago acknowledged by sages that the
it

finest systems of metaphysics are nought but pap for cats.

One stormy day, our sorcerer amused himself by walk-

ing upon the raging waters. The whistling wind, rumbling
thunder, and dashing breakers helped him to forget his sad
thoughts. Suddenly, by the flash of the lightning, he saw a
sinking ship, upon whose deck lay an infant in its cradle.
To snatch the innocent victim from death, and bear it away in
his arms, was the work of an instant. The waves had not
closed over the vessel before the old man was in his house,
lulling with ineffable tenderness the child, who gazed in his
face without fear. It was the first time that any human be-

ing had smiled upon him. The dog licked the tiny feet
of the new-comer, happy to share in his master's joy, while
the cat, with sphinx-like gravity, fixed his green eyes upon
23
354 Z^^/ Fairy Tales.

the stranger, as if about to ask him some riddle, and devour

him if it was not solved.
In this solitude, far from towns and men, the orphan grew
up among the three friends by whom he had been adopted.
Adolf, as he was named by the sorcerer, was no common
child, and profited well by the lessons of his masters. The
magician taught him the language of birds and beasts ; the
dog showed hirfi how to be gentle, patient, kind, and good ;
as to the cat, it was by means of his claws that he induct-
ed into his flesh and spirit the first principle of all morality,
" Do not scratch others, if
you wish them to leave you with a
whole skin."
For sixteen years Adolf lived happily with his father.
He could not take a step in the great forests that surrounded
the old manor, without meeting friends and comrades. He
gambolled with the doe's fawns around their mother ; he played
hot cockles with the bear cubs, and hide-and-seek with the
rabbits ; the ever-anxious hare confided to him her cares and
and the squirrel taught him how to climb the trees
troubles,
and pick the plumpest nuts. The lark, linnet, and thrush
warbled their sweetest songs at his approach. Together
they leaped, sang, and made such an uproar that some owl,
disturbed in his slumbers, would come, with his round eyes
and hooked beak, gravely to preach that the day was made
and that stagnation was wisdom. You should have
for sleep,
seen how the troop of madcaps greeted the poor fool, and
what a noise they made when he returned to his hole in de-
spair, carrying with him his hooting and sermonizing.
In this way Adolf passed his days, knowing neither sorrow
nor care. When he returned home at night, with sparkling
eyes and flowing locks, the sorcerer never tired of listening
to and admiring him. To spare him a tear, he would have
laid at his feet all his learning and treasures. It is the privi-
"
The dog licked the tiny feet of the new-comer, happy to share in his
master's joj[."
356 Last Fairy Tales,

lege of youth to be loved

—
an inestimable blessing, of whose
value it is ignorant; as for old age, its only joy is in loving
and being happy in the happiness of others.
Unhappily, in the forests as in the town, evil tongues are
always found, that meddle with what does not concern them.
That gossip, the magpie, that goes prowling about, peering
into everything, and that can keep neither her eyes nor her
beak to herself, had no sooner spied the handsome Adolf

than she asked him, with a pitying air, why he lived alone
in the woods like a wolf. Revel was only six leagues away ;
why did he not go to see the walls, towers, castle, and bell
of the ancient city of Waldemar? "It is true," she added,
"
in her jargon, that the thrushes are coquettish dames who
chatter all the time, but what are they in comparison with
the fine city belles who change their plumage and their tune
every day? Then there are the men at the tavern at night,
with their songs, laughter, noise, and jollity. He who has
 The Eve of St, Mark. 357
not seen all this has lived with his eyes shut, People vege-
tate in the woods ; they live only in the city."
Saying this, the magpie
shook her tail, cocked up her
head, and called on a spar-
row who had come from
Revel that morning to
munch cherries, to prove her
words. Friquet, a true cit,
a bold glutton and impudent

braggart, screeched in his

shrillest tones that it was the

most shameful thing in the

world for any one but a

beast to live in the woods.

"
Hurrah for the town !" he
cried; "where men drink
when they are not thirsty,
eat when they are not hun-

gry, and amuse themselves

by doing nothing. They turn
day into night there, and winter into summer ;
it is the land
of pleasure and liberty. To bury one's self in the country
when one is
young, rich, and handsome, is stupid, foolish, and
wicked."
" " there are those
Unless," added Margot, the magpie, who
keep you
selfishly at home, knowing that in the town they
would have to share their treasure with delightful men and
lovely women. Farewell, my dear Adolf, you are a good lit-
tle boy, and your papa ought to be very much pleased with

you. Come, Friquet, there are sohv^ charming people ex-

pecting us in town ; we must not tlr2 them with waiting j

how could they dine without us ?"

358 Last Fairy Tales,

The silly talk of these feather-brained gossips threw poor

Adolf into strange confusion. It was in vain that his friends
the birds sang him their merriest songs, and that the rabbit

tried toamuse him with his tricks and antics; the forest
seemed a desert. At the corner of each path he looked for
a human figure ; he felt the need of mingling with beings
 The Eve of St. Mark, 359
like himself, whom he had never seen except in books and
pictures. Weary with this vain desire, he returned home
with hanging head and dejected mien. For the first time in
his life he felt unhappy.
Scarcely had he let himself drop upon a seat when Caesar,
the dog, looked at him with anxious eyes.

"Adolf," said he, "something is the matter with you."

The child stroked the dog and did not answer.

Mustache, the cat, who was asleep under the stove, half
opened one eye, and pricked up his ears.
" "
something is the matter with you."
Adolf," said he,
Adolf sighed, and did not answer.
The sorcerer, who had been listening, drew from his gir-
dle a mirror in which he could read men's thoughts.
little

Scarcely had he cast his eyes on it when he turned pale.

" "
Adolf," he murmured, in a trembling voice, you wish to
leave us."
" To leave " am
you, father !" cried the child ;
never ! I

so happy with you."

And he burst into tears.
" " I read
My child," said the sorcerer, your soul better
than you can yourself. You are tired of staying here ; you
wish to go to the city, and live with men. I had planned
for you a happier lot. I wished to keep you with me, and to
of life. But man can-
spare you the bitterness and deceptions
not escape his fate. Go where your heart calls you to- ;

morrow you shall set out for the city."

" With
you, father ?"
"No, my son ;
at my age and with my experience, solitude
alone is endurable. But you shall not go alone ; I will give
will watch over you."
you companions that
Adolf, threw himself, weeping, into his father's arms,
and
vowed he would never leave him. The sorcerer embraced
360 Last Fairy Tales,

him, and smiled mournfully. An hour later, Adolf was asleep

and sweetly dreaming, while the old man sat on the foot of
the bed and, gazed at the child through his tears.

II.

At sunrise Adolf was ready to go. Three black horses

stood in waiting at the castle gate. The handsomest and
most spirited was for him ; the others were held by two im-
posing-looking squires ; one, dressed in white, with a cocked
hat on his head, was none other than honest Caesar, turned
into a valet ;
while the other, in black, with a knife thrust in
his belt, was
easily recognized, by his grimace, as Mustache,
with his green eyes, and thick, bristling coat.
There is nothing so sad as parting. Once on the road,
the three friends proceeded a long way in silence. But by
degrees the sun rose in the heavens, their tongues were
loosened, and they chattered as merrily as birds. Caesar
admired all Adolf's madcap speeches, for he loved him ;
Mustache grumbled unceasingly, and admired nothing in
the world but himself —
he was a philosopher.
Laughing and disputing, they passed through the forest,
and came to the turn of the road where it entered the plain,
when Adolf cried out, pointing to his companions a strange

figure, at which he shuddered. By the side of the road,

leaning with both hands on a crutch, and shaking all over,
was an old woman, in rags. Her uncombed gray locks fell
dishevelled about her wrinkled, yellow face ; her dim eyes
were almost hidden under her inflamed eyelids ; her hooked
nose and sharp, turned-up chin nearly met, like the beaks
of two fighting-cocks, and her mouth, with its toothless gums,
babbled confused sounds.
"What is this?" asked Adolf.
" A gypsy, a beggar, a thief," said Mustache.
 The Eve of SL Mark. 361

"A poor woman

bowed down with old
age," said Caesar.
"What is old age?"
asked Adolf, who had
never seen anything
like this in the forest.
"Old age," an-
swered the senten-
tious Mustache, "is
the winter of life. ^7v'K«£^;>-^^=^-

When the snow falls,

the trees shed their leaves ;
when the hair turns white, man
sheds his teeth, eyes, stomach, and legs. It is the law of
nature."
"
And I shall soon be like this poor creature," sighed Adolf.
362 Last Fairy Tales,

"No, my son," returned Caesar. "It takes seventy or

eighty years to make an old man of a child, and you are
only sixteen."
" "
Seventy years soon pass," exclaimed Mustache. As the
'
great poet Pindar sings, Life is the dream of a shadow.'
An admirable saying for a personage who was neither a cat
nor a philosopher by trade."
By Caesar's advice, Adolf flung some money to the old
woman, then spurred on his horse to escape this mournful
spectacle. They rode fast, moreover, for they were beginning
to be hungry, like mere mortals, and they spied in the dis-
tance the smoke of a village. " At "
I
last," thought Adolf,
shall behold mankind."
The first house that they came to was a decent-looking
inn, with a golden lion for a sign. They called, but no
one answered. The door stood half-way open they entered ;

the public room, and knocked with their whips on the table.
Suddenly, they heard a groan in an adjoining chamber.
Adolf ran to answer the plaintive call, and found himself
face to face with a new kind of misery.

Upon a mattress on the floor lay a young woman with two

children in her arms, one shaking with chills, and the other

burning with fever. The poor hollow-eyed mother could

only stammer a few words with her parched lips.
" "
we have the spring
Pardon me, good sirs," said she,
fever ;
this is the day of the chills, and I am not able to
wait on you."
"Is there not another inn in the village?" asked Mus-
tache.
"
Yes, but do not go there, good sir. Small-pox is raging
in it
just now. The best thing for you to do is to hasten to
Revel, for our village is full of the epidemic. Excuse me,
and may God be with you !"
 The Eve of St, Mark. 363

" Is there
nothing I can do for you ?" cried Adolf.
"
Thank you, my lord," answered she ; " time is the only
cure for the sickness sent by Heaven. Wemust be re-
signed."
Once out of this gloomy abode, Adolf turned to Mustache.
364 Last Fairy Tales,

"What is sickness?" asked he. "I never saw anything

of the kind among the companions of my solitude."
"In truth," returned the green-eyed philosopher, " sickness
is the monopoly of man he alone has fevers and physicians."
:

" Are often ill ?" asked Adolf.

people
" That
depends upon temperaments," replied Mustache \
"
women are ill all their lives, or think that they are, which
amounts to the same thing. As to men, the healthiest suf-
 The Eve of St. Mark. 365
fer little except during childhood, old age, and a part of
middle life."
"
It is frightful !" cried the youth.
" Bah "
!" replied the philosopher, it is the law of human
nature. As yonder woman said, with excellent judgment,
we must be resigned."
"
Poor creatures !" thought Adolf. " Menaced with sick-
ness and old age, how you must cling together, and help and
love each other !"
"
Look yonder, master !" exclaimed Caesar.
Adolf raised and saw a crowd of peasants, seated
his eyes
around tables set along the road. Each one held a mug or
bottle in his hand ; some were singing and others shouting.
One was dancing on the table amid the clattering glasses,
while his companions kept time with him by drumming on
the wood with their knives.
" What is that .?" asked
Adolf.
" A answered Caesar.
village festival,"
" "
Happy men !" sneered Mustache ;
drunk and crazy !"
" At "
who enjoy life."
last,"said Adolf, we have found people
As he was speaking, some soldiers marched along the
highway, and were hailed by the revellers. One of them
answered with an oath, whereupon a bottle was flung at his
head. He stooped in time to avoid the blow, and picked
up a huge stone, which he hurled among the crowd. A sharp
cry was heard ; the stone had struck a woman
full in the

face, and the blood was trickling down her cheeks. At the
sight, the drunken men fell in a body upon the soldiers,

arming themselves with whatever came to hand

— bottles,

jugs, benches, and sticks.

The soldiers drew their swords
in self-defence, and a sharp conflict followed, which, however,

was of short duration.

Before Adolf could reach the field of battle, two of the
366 Last Fairy Tales,

soldiers, followed by volleys of stones, were fleeing towards the

town, loudly calling for help, and leaving their comrades on
the ground, lifeless or writhing in death. They were avenged,

however, for side by side with them lay three dead and sev-
eral dying peasants, while others were carried off by their
comrades, who stanched their wounds while trying to escape
before the soldiers returned. The men were sullen and
 The Eve of St. Mark 367
angry ; the women shrieking and the children crying ;
it was
a heart-rending sight.
Adolf threw himself on his knees by the side of a peasant
who had been ripped open by a sabre thrust, and was wrapped
in eternal slumber, and tried to question his sightless
eyes
and speechless lips.
"
What is this ?" asked he of Caesar.
" "
Alas, master," was the answer, it is death. This man's
sufferings are over ;
he will never more awake."
" "
Yes," saidMustache, life is a dream that begins and
ends in nothingness. Dust before birth, and dust after death.
Such are man and his destiny."
"What !" exclaimed Adolf, " is life so easily lost, and yet do
men so little respect this precious possession of their fellows?"
"
Bah i" said Mustache, " their greatest pleasure is to kill
each other. Nations hold in remembrance none but the con-
querors who slay them. Fame is bloodshed."
" "
us return to
My friends," cried the youth, let my father.
I will not go to Revel. As for men, I have seen too much
of them ;my heart is broken. Take me back to our forests,

and let me forget the terrible lesson I have had to-day."

III.

On to him-
hearing these words, Mustache smiled grimly
self, and hastily turned back towards the manor. Caesar

tried to comfort Adolf, but the youthhung his head and paid
no heed to him. He
was crushed with grief, and his heart
was overflowing with bitterness. He was tired of men, but
solitude appalled him. On the word of two chattering birds,
he had to himself a world full of enchantment ; he
pictured
bad had a and at sixteen it is not easy to
delightful dream,
renounce these sweet illusions.
While Csesar and Mustache galloped on, each seeking to
368 Last Fairy Tales.

be the first to tell

the sorcerer of
his child's return,
Adolf pensively
followed the path
that he had trod-
den so gayly in

the morning.
Night was falling,
and the shadows
deepened his sad-
ness.
"What is the

matter, Adolf?"
murmured a gen-
"
tle voice. Has anything gone wrong with you ?"
The youth raised his head, and saw a nightingale perched
upon a twig.
" Good - evening, dear bird," said he, "why are you not
singing as usual? Is your heart wrung like mine? Perhaps
you too have seen mankind?"
" " I
No," answered the nightingale, am not singing to-
night, because I am saving myself for a great occasion.
This is the eve of St. Mark ; and I am keeping my voice to
serenade the one I love."
 The Eve of St. Mark, 369
" Alas "
!" said Adolf, she whom you love cannot escape
sickness, old age, or death."
"What are you thinking of?" returned the
nightingale:
"the fairies of the night are immortal; their
youth and
beauty never fade.'*
" Are
they good ?" asked the youth.
"
They are goodness itself. Their hearts are full of pity
for all who suffer here below."
"
I must see them," cried Adolf.
" handsome "
My friend," said the nightingale, they are
only to be seen once a year, on the eve of St. Mark, and to
reach their dwelling without danger, you must have wings."
" "
Oh, nightingale, dear nightingale," cried the youth, take
me with you. Show me the way to them. Do not refuse
me, if you love me."
"
My child," returned the nightingale, "I fear I have talked
too much. We birds have more feathers than brains. For-
get my gossiping, and forgive me."
But Adolf insisted so warmly, and with so many prayers
and tears, that the nightingale said, shaking his head,
"
My child, my child, there is danger in knowing too much.
Many things are hid from man's eyes for his happiness. If
ever you see the fairies, farewell to your peace of mind ; the
world that delights you will be nought but a desert, and you
willpass your life in regretting a vanished dream."
" "
No, no, dear bird," cried the youth ; away with this mis-
taken pity. If I do not see the fairies this night, nothing is
left me but to die. Grant my prayer, and save my life."
" If " I will
that is so," said the nightingale, tell you what
to do j
is great and the success doubtful.
but the danger
"
then, that every year, on the eve of St. Mark, at
Know,
midnight, the King of the Serpents holds high court
in

the great marsh where the water-lilies grow. golden cup, A

24 ,««_
370 Last Fairy Tales,

filled with the milk of the goats of the sky, is then offered him.
If you can seize the cup and drink a draught of this magic
milk, your eyes will be opened, and you will see all that
night hides with its sable cloak from the eyes of mortals.
But remember that all the serpents in the world will be at

this meeting,and that one of their bites will kill you."

"They cannot be worse than men," rejoined Adolf, "and,
besides, what have I to fear from death? I have lost all
relish for life."
And with these words he leaped from his horse, threw the
reins on its neck, and plunged into the forest.

IV.

When Adolf reached the great water-lily marsh after a

long walk, he found nothing there but silence and darkness.
Although it was
spring, he thought he saw by the light of
the stars that the grass had just been cut. Piles of new-
mown hay were lying here and there, as in harvest -time,
otherwise all was unchanged ; nothing was stirring, and our

hero began to think that a trick had been played on him,

when a distant clock slowly struck midnight. Immediately
a strange light appeared in the midst of the marsh, looking
like a star fallen from heaven. Adolf approached this ap-
parition, when the turf around him seemed crawling like an
ant-hill. What he had taken for heaps of grass were thou-
sands of serpents asleep on the ground, that had awakened
at the summons of their lord and were hastening to pay
him homage.
The youth's surprise may well be imagined, but it was too
late to draw back. All that he could do was to keep in the
shade, and follow this multitude, crawling silently onward.
Ere long, he saw an enormous dragon, wearing on its head
a crown of emeralds and rubies, the lustre of which lighted
'

When Adolf reached the great water-lily marsh, he found nothing

there but silence and darkness."
372 Last Fairy Tales.

the forest afar off. It was his majesty, the King of the Ser-

pents. Around him, like courtiers vying with each other

for the smile of their prince, thronged adders, asps, vipers,
and serpents of all sizes and colors, entangled together, all
stretching up their turgid necks, and darting out their forked
tongues, hissing loudly. The noise was deafening, and the
sight one that might have frozen the boldest heart with terror.
We would not venture to say that our hero was not
frightened
\
but at the sight of the golden cup he forgot his
Without thinking of danger, he threw himself like a
terror.

madman into this host of serpents, more numerous and

closely serried than the blades of grain in a wheat -field,
rushed to the cup, seized it, drained it at a draught, and
flung it far from him. Then, feeling escape impossible, he
folded his arms, and awaited death.
To his great joy, however, the dragon snatched the cup
and fled with it. The whole army of serpents followed their
chief with frightful hisses. Adolf found himself alone in the

forest,where all again was silent. His heart had not yet
ceased to throb loudly, when he heard the first notes of the
nightingale. The bird had not deceived him; the fairies
were coming.

The moon rose, illumining the forest with its silver light.
Our hero looked around him. The marsh was transformed
into a glade carpeted with moss ;
the trees were covered
with leaves, and violets were blossoming everywhere. In
the distance, Adolf caught glimpses of light figures flitting

through the forest like sylphs floating over the turf.

There was no more doubt, they were the fairies of the

night. How beautiful they were, in their white drapery,

clasped on one shoulder, their hair carelessly knotted be
**
They skimmed over the moss without touching it."
374 Last Fairy Tales,

arms and feet bare, as they skimmed over

hind, and their
themoss without touching it !

On reaching the place of rendezvous, each was eagerly

questioned by her companions. Adolf listened with de-
light to the soft murmur of their voices, sweeter than the
babbling of the forest brooks.
"
Where have you been, sister, where have you been?"

V?-

'*
I have been to the red house, where poor old Bridget had
fa^en asleep over her spinning-wheel, exhausted with toil,
and forgetting that she would have no bread for to-morrow
 The Eve of St. Mark 375
if her task was not done.
I sat in iier lap, took her distaff
in hand, turned her wheel, and spun thread enough for a
my
whole week."
"
Where have you been, sister \ where have you been ?"
"
I have been to the cabin by the sea-shore, where a
little

poor woman has been waiting for a year for her husband to
come home from sea. Yesterday I spied his ship off the
coast ;
I showed him
to her in a dream, smiling, and
saying,
* "
Patience, dear love, in three days I will be in your arms.'
" Where have
you been, sister ; where have you been ?"
" I have been to
the shop of Harold, the money-lender.
For three nights past I have scratched on the wall like a
mouse, and cried in his ear, 'Look to your treasure, the
robbers are here !
'
He shall not sleep who shows no pity
to the poor."
"
Where have you been, sister ; where have you been ?"
" I
have been to the cottage of Wilhelm, the gamekeeper.
The poor man lost his wife nine months ago, and when he
makes his rounds at night, the house is left alone. I found
the baby crying, and about to fall from its bed. I took it

in my arms and sung it a lullaby, upon which it smiled at

me as if I had been its mother, and fell asleep."
"
Where have you been, sister ; where have you been ?"
"
I have been to the house of the rich Gustaf, who has no

mercy on his tenants. I found him snoring in an arm-chair,

drunk with wine and his newly-gotten wealth. I set all the
candles ablaze, upon which he tumbled on the floor in af-
fright, crying Fire !' Let his castle burn ; it will teach him
*

that the great have need of the small here below."

"
Where have you been, sister ; where have you been ?"
" I
have been to the green cottage, where Matilda is mourn-
ing the loss of her child. I gave it back to her in a dream,

and she will hold it in her arms until daybreak. When she
376 Last Fairy Tales.

awakes, she will doubtless weep ; but she will know that her
child is still living in the unseen world, and hope will spring

up anew in her heart."

At this moment the nightingale greeted the moon at the

zenith with his sweetest song. The fairies joined hands in

a circle, and danced around, singing, in low tones,
* When summer days die,
All who breathe, all who sigh,
Come under our sceptre,
The dark world we keep.
Then mortals, poor children,
Wake not nor weep,

Sleep, allof you, sleep ;

We will watch over you,

Watch we will keep !

" Silence rules the vast land

While we dance, hand in hand,

And through the dance murmur

Our songs soft and deep.
Then mortals, poor children,
Wake not nor weep,
Sleep, allof you, sleep ;
We will watch over you.
Watch we will keep."

The round finished, the fairies separated into different

groups. Some seated themselves on the grass, and gathered

the violets, primroses, and white strawberry blossoms that

grew about them ; while others danced in couples, to the

music of their companions' song :

" We are the voices.

And all the sweet noises.
Of the wind in the tree ;

And where perfumes and shad( v?s

Chase over the meadows.

The zephyrs are we.
 The Eve of SL Mark. 377
**
We are the lightning
That, darkling and brightening,
Furrows all the thick night.
And the marsh fires we are,
That, glancing afar.
Shake the shepherd with fright
* In the starbeam that
nightly
Some great sail leads lightly
O'er the bitter, salt wave,
Our torches are burning.
To clear lustre turning
Seas dark as the grave.
**
In bell tones whose sweetness
Clangs out day's completeness
We dwell with delight ;

We the plash of the stream,

And we, too, the dream
That is born of the night.

"
We, murmurs eternal,
We, whispers supernal,
We, smiles of the skies.
Charm all sadness away
From a world far too gray,
Far too old, far too wise !"

Intoxicated by these magic songs and dances, Adolf, for-

getting prudence, quitted his retreat and approached the

all

fairies. —
One of them the most graceful of all passed so —
near him that she touched him with her dress. Adolf madly
seized her hand. The fairy turned round sharply, but sadly
smiled on seeing the trembling youth.
"Poor child," she murmured, "you would have it so."

Leaving her hand in Adolf s, she looked at him, burst into

tears, and kissed his forehead. He felt a thrill run through
his veins, and swooned away.
37S Last Fairy Tales.

VI.
When he regained consciousness, the sun was high in the
heavens. He looked around him with astonishment. On
his left was warm him with his breath ; on
Csesar, trying to
Mustache, washing his own face.
his right sat
" "
Imprudent boy," cried Caesar, why did you stay so late
OD the marsh ? The night cold has chilled you through. If
you knew how anxious your father is about you !"
" "
where are
Caesar, my good Caesar," exclaimed Adolf,
the fairies ? I must see them again."
" He is "
raving," said the grave Mustache.
Just as I
expected. the effort of nature to bring back the
It is

warmth by an increase of the vital force."

 The Eve of St Mark,
379
« «
Mustache," cried Adolf, where are the fairies ? I have
seen them ;
I must see them
again."
"
What fairies ?"
"
The fairies of the night ;
the invisible ones."
"
-?
^^ How can you see what

^'' I / ^^ invisible ?"

cat "
returned the
; the idea is
unphilo-
sophical."
"
Caesar, my friend," said
"
Adolf, let us return to my
father ; he alone
can understand
my trouble."
"
I will run

and tell my master to send some way of carrying you home,"

exclaimed Mustache; "for, judging by your pale face, my
poor boy, you are not able to set one foot before the other.
380 Last Fairy Tales,

If you had had the wisdom to listen to my lessons in phi-

losophy, you would never have lost yourself in the woods,

chasing a will-o'-the-wisp ; you would have
" —
" "
Adolf," said Caesar, put your arms round my neck,
and try to climb on my back, as you used to do when a
child. Perhaps I shall have strength enough to carry you
home."
It was in this style that our hero returned to the old

manor, and was deposited in the sorcerer's great arm-chair.

His father felt very much

like scolding him, but was

seized with deep anxiety on seeing him so trembling and

dejected.
"
What is the matter, my son ?" cried he, folding him in
his arms.
" have seen them, and I
Father, where are the fairies ? I

must see them again."

" "
Curses on them I" cried the sorcerer they have stolen \

away my child My !dear Adolf, ask anything my art can

procure. Would you have gold? I will make you so rich
that men will grovel on their knees before you and kiss the

ground you tread on. Are you ambitious ? I will give you
a kingdom twenty of them,
;
if you like. You shall be sur-
rounded with smiling faces \
men shall applaud all your
whims, and women shall crowd around you to win a glance
from your eyes. The world is mine ; it shall be yours ; I
lay it at your feet \ but my power does not extend beyond
this world ; do not ask me for what belongs to another."
"
Father, I
—
want but one thing again to see the invisible
fairies."
" " of what use
Alas !" cried the sorcerer, is all my power
and knowledge ? The heart of a child has desires that the

empire of the world will not satisfy."

" " them
Father 1" cried the youth, I see them ! I hear I
 The Eve of St. Mark, 381

Listen to the heavenly melodies." And he murmured in a

faint voice :
" Then
mortals, poor children,
"Wake not nor weep.
Sleep, all of you, sleep ;

We will watch over you,

Watch we will keep !"

"
Adolf, my child, be yourself again !" cried the old man,
pressing his son to his heart.
" Do you see her ? She
Look, father, she is there !

smiles on me ;
she calls me This time, she herself stretches
!

out her hand to me. 'Poor child!' she says, 'you would
have it so.' Yes, I would indeed. Oh, fairies, my sisters, I
cannot live without you. Wait for me ; I am coming, I am

coming !"

A smile flitted over his pale face, he stretched out his

arms and tried to rise, then his head fell back in the chair,
and all was over,

VIL
The old manor has long been in ruins. The ivy has in-
vaded everything, even to the dilapidated roof, and a great
oak has pushed its boughs through the front steps. For
more than a century this gloomy abode has been inhabited
only by flocks of ravens, with here and there a solitary os-
prey ; yet
the peasants never willingly pass its abandoned
walls after nightfall. It is said that groans are heard to is-

sue from the turrets at night, and that fiery eyes blaze there

through the darkness. The sorcerer is not forgotten, and at

evening, when the doors are closed, men still talk of Adolf
and the fairies whose sight was death to him. Whether this
is history or legend, he would be bold, indeed, who would

venture to aver. The sages of our day believe only in what

382 Last Fairy Tales.

they can see or touch. For my part, not being a sage, all
that a long life has taught me is that there is nothing true in
this world but what we do not see. God grant that, like
Adolf, I may some day behold the unseen, were it only to
forget for a moment what I cannot avoid seeing here on
<iarth.
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