The Twelve Huntsmen (The Brothers Grimm)

Once upon a time there was a prince who had a fiancée whom he loved very much. Once when he was sitting beside her very happily, news came that his father was deathly ill, and wanted to see him before he died.

Then he said to his beloved, "I must now go and leave you. I give you a ring to remember me by. As soon as I am king, I will return and take you home with me."

Then he rode away, and when he reached his father, the latter was mortally ill and near death.

The king said to him, "My dearest son, I wanted to see you one more time before my end. Promise me to marry the woman of my choice," and he named a certain princess who was to become his wife.

The son was so grieved that without thinking he said, "Yes, dear father, your will shall be done."

Then the king closed his eyes and died.

After the son had been proclaimed king, and the period of mourning had passed, he had to keep the promise that he had given his father. He proposed marriage to the princess, and she was promised to him.

His first fiancée heard about this, and was so saddened by his faithlessness that she nearly died.

Then her father said to her, "Dearest child, why are you so sad? You shall have whatever you want."

She thought for a moment and then said, "Dear father, I want eleven girls exactly like myself in appearance, figure, and size."

The father said, "If it is possible, your wish shall be fulfilled," and he had his entire kingdom searched until eleven girls were found who were exactly like his daughter in appearance, figure, and size.

When they came to the princess, she had twelve huntsmen's outfits made, each one like the others. The eleven girls put on the huntsmen's outfits, and she herself put on the twelfth outfit.

After this she took leave of her father, and rode away with them. They rode to the court of her former fiancé, whom she loved so dearly. There she asked if he needed any huntsmen, and if he would take all of them into his service. The king looked at her without recognizing her. Because they were such good-looking fellows, he said, yes, that he would willingly take them, and then they were the king's twelve huntsmen.

Now the king had a lion that was a miraculous animal, for he knew all hidden and secret things. It happened that one evening the lion said to the king, "You think that you have twelve huntsmen."

"Yes," said the king, "they are twelve huntsmen."

The lion continued, "You are mistaken. They are twelve girls."

The king said, "That is absolutely not true. How can you prove that to me?"

"Oh, just have some peas scattered in your antechamber," answered the lion, "and then you shall soon see. Men have a firm step, and when they walk over the peas, none of them will be moved. On the other hand, girls trip and skip and shuffle their feet, rolling the peas about."

The king liked this advise and had peas scattered on the floor.

Now one of the king's servants liked the huntsmen, and when he heard that they were going to be put to this test, he went to them and told them everything, saying, "The lion wants to make the king believe that you are girls."

The princess thanked him, then said to her girls, "Be strong, and step firmly on the peas."

The next morning the king had the twelve huntsmen called before him. When they came into the antechamber where the peas were lying, they stepped so firmly on them, and had such a strong, sure walk, that not one of the peas rolled or moved.

After they had gone, the king said to the lion, "You lied to me. They walk just like men."

The lion said, "They knew that were going to be put to a test, and acted like they were strong. Just have twelve spinning wheels brought into the antechamber. They will go up to them and admire them. No man would do that."

The king liked this advice, and he had the spinning wheels set up in the antechamber.

But the servant who was honest with the huntsmen went to them and told them about the proposal.

So when they were alone, the princess said to her eleven girls, "Be strong and do not look around at the spinning wheels."

The next morning when the king had his twelve huntsmen summoned, they walked through the antechamber without looking at the spinning wheels at all.

Then the king again said to the lion, "You lied to me. They are men, for they did not look at the spinning wheels."

The lion answered, "They knew that they were going to be put to a test, and acted like they were strong."

The king, however, refused to believe the lion anymore.

The twelve huntsmen always accompanied the king hunting, and the longer he knew them, the better he liked them. Now it happened that once when they were out hunting, news came that the king's bride was approaching. When the true bride heard this, it hurt her so much that it almost broke her heart, and she fainted and fell to the ground.

Thinking that something had happened to his dear huntsman, the king ran up to him in order to help him. Pulling the huntsman's glove off, he saw the ring that he had given to his first fiancée, and when he looked into her face, he recognized her. Then his heart was so touched that he kissed her, and when she opened her eyes he said, "You are mine, and I am yours, and no one in the world can change that."

He sent a messenger to the other bride, and asked her to return to her own kingdom, for, as he informed her, he already had a wife, and someone who had found an old key did not need a new one.

After this their wedding was celebrated, and the lion was accepted back into favor, because, after all, he had told the truth.

The Princess and the Golden Cow (England)

Once there was a king who had a daughter, being very beautiful, and he loved her so much he wanted to marry her. Here I forget the details, but the princess was in great trouble, especially as she loved a prince who lived a long way off, and he loved her.

She had made (or forgot her father to give her) a beautiful golden cow as large as a real one. She made arrangements in some manner (details forgotten) to have the golden cow conveyed under pretence of its being a parting gift or token of remembrance to the prince. She got inside it, and went in the cow a long journey by sea.

There was a signal prearranged (details forgotten) of three knocks on the cow to show when she could come out safely. But when she had gone a long way the cow was landed (I think the captain of the ship was in the secret, and was to see to her reaching the prince), but people came to see the cow, for it was very curious, amongst them three gentlemen who wanted to be able to say they had touched it, and one poked it with his umbrella (sic), and said, “I’ve touched the golden cow,” and the next poked it with his umbrella, and said, “I’ve touched the golden cow,” and the third poked it with his umbrella, and said, “I’ve touched the golden cow.”

With that the princess opened the door and came out, for she thought those three knocks were the signal. Then the prince turned up, after some adventures that I have forgotten, and all ended happily.

Cat and Mouse (Germany)

Once upon a time a cat and a mouse went for a walk together, and the cat bit off the mouse's tail.

So the mouse said to the cat, "Give me back my tail."

The cat said to the mouse, "If you will get me some cheese."

So the mouse went to the innkeeper and said:

Innkeeper, give me some cheese! I'll give it to the cat,
And the cat will give me back my tail.

The innkeeper said, "If you will fetch me a knife."

So the mouse went to the blacksmith and said:

Blacksmith, give me a knife! I'll give it to the innkeeper,
And the innkeeper will give me cheese for the cat,
And the cat will give me back my tail.

The blacksmith said, "If you will fetch me a horn."

So the mouse went to the goat and said:

Goat, give me a horn! I'll give it to the blacksmith,
And the blacksmith will give me a knife for the innkeeper,
And the innkeeper will give me cheese for the cat,
And the cat will give me back my tail.

The goat said, "If you will fetch me some hay."

So the mouse went to the farmer and said:

Farmer, give me hay! I'll give it to the goat,
And the goat will give me a horn for the blacksmith,
And the blacksmith will give me a knife for the innkeeper,
And the innkeeper will give me cheese for the cat,
And the cat will give me back my tail.

The farmer said, "If you will fetch me some soup."

So the mouse went to the cook and said:

Cook, give me soup! I'll give it to the farmer,
And the farmer will give me hay for the goat,
And the goat will give me a horn for the blacksmith,
And the blacksmith will give me a knife for the innkeeper,
And the innkeeper will give me cheese for the cat,
And the cat will give me back my tail.

The cook said, "If you will fetch me some slippers."

So the mouse went to the shoemaker and said:

Shoemaker, give me slippers! I'll give them to the cook,
And the cook will give me soup for the farmer,
And the farmer will give me hay for the goat,
And the goat will give me a horn for the blacksmith,
And the blacksmith will give me a knife for the innkeeper,
And the innkeeper will give me cheese for the cat,
And the cat will give me back my tail.

The shoemaker said, "If you will fetch me some bristles."

So the mouse went to the sow and said:

Sow, give me bristles! I'll give them to the shoemaker,
And the shoemaker will give me slippers for the cook,
And the cook will give me soup for the farmer,
And the farmer will give me hay for the goat,
And the goat will give me a horn for the blacksmith,
And the blacksmith will give me a knife for the innkeeper,
And the innkeeper will give me cheese for the cat,
And the cat will give me back my tail.

The sow said, "If you will fetch me some bran."

So the mouse went to the miller and said:

Miller, give me bran! I'll give it to the sow,
And the sow will give me bristles for the shoemaker,
And the shoemaker will give me slippers for the cook,
And the cook will give me soup for the farmer,
And the farmer will give me hay for the goat,
And the goat will give me a horn for the blacksmith,
And the blacksmith will give me a knife for the innkeeper,
And the innkeeper will give me cheese for the cat,
And the cat will give me back my tail.

The miller said, "If you will fetch me some water."

So the mouse went to the brook in order to fetch water. But she fell in and drowned.

Cinderella in Tibet (Central Asia)

Again the prince went back to the cemetery. [As before] he said, "My master is Nakazun-a Jiruken; I am the King of the Good and Peaceful Deeds; my net is of nine-fold-twisted steel; my staff is of purple sandalwood; my rope is a fine chain; my knife has a blade that cuts stone; and my provender is inexhaustible. Corpse! Are you coming down or not? I shall cut down your tree." The corpse came down whereupon [the prince] hit him with his staff, put him in his net and hoisted him on his back with his rope. He had walked only ten steps when [the corpse] said, "Prince, Prince! You tell a story, otherwise I will tell a story [for you] to hear." "I know what he is up to," the prince thought and said not a word, so [the corpse said], "Since you won't say anything, Prince, you listen."

In early times at the lower end of a valley lived a great king. In the upper valley lived a woman and her daughter and in their village there lived an ogress with her daughter. One day when the human girl went to the house of the ogress to ask for fire, the ogress and her daughter gave the girl a small piece of a human ear which they had roasted. The girl said, "It tastes very good!" "Come and be our friend," they said. "Even though I want to, my mother will not let me." "If you kill your mother you could come," they said and the girl asked, "How do I kill her?" The ogress instructed her as follows: "Say that you are ill and she will surely ask, 'What is there to cure your illness?' Then you say, 'There is a way to cure my illness but you will never do it.' And when she says, 'If there is a way, no matter what it is, I will do it,' you must say, 'Then you let me hold the millstone and if you beat it with your breasts, that will help me.' She will say, 'If it helps you, my daughter, no matter what it is, I will do it. Let me beat the stone.' And when she says that, hit her with the stone and kill her." The girl did as the ogress had instructed and when her mother was beating the stone she hacked at [her mother's] breasts with the stone and her mother, her breasts severed, died.

The girl said to the ogress and her daughter, "Come quick! I have killed my mother." They both came over. The ogress and her daughter ate the meat and gnawed the bones; the last bits were eaten up by the ogress herself. They gave the girl some tasteless gruel and made her gather firewood and herd the cows. The daughter of the ogress put on the girl's nice boots and clothes and the girl had to wear the old, worm out boots and the clothes of the ogress.

The girl suffered and had to work very hard every day carrying wood and tending the cows, but very soon afterward, her mother was born as a cow of the ogress [to be] where the girl was. All the milk that was taken from that cow turned into cream; all that was churned became butter; that was the kind of cow she was.

After several days the cow said to the girl, "You who have cast away good fortune and bought misery, spread out your apron and go to sleep." The girl spread out her apron and slept until it was evening. She rose quickly and when she looked around, all her wool had been spun; a load of firewood had been gathered, and on her apron was set a large meal. All the cattle were lying quietly having eaten so that their stomachs were bulging more than ever before. After a time had passed and [the girl] had enjoyed this for a few days, the ogress said, "I give meat and butter and sugar to my own daughter; to you I give mixed gruel and you look healthy and fat; why is this?" The girl thought, "If I don't tell her the truth, she will surely kill me." And so she told her, "When our red cow said 'You who have bartered good fortune for misery, spread out your apron and go to sleep,' I spread my apron and then there was a meal prepared, the wool was spun by itself, the firewood gathered, the cows were full to bulging, and I dined. In that way I was satisfied." "Why didn't you say anything sooner? Tomorrow I will send my daughter out. I hardly realized that beggar woman had such powers. Now you stay here; I will send out your elder sister [i.e., my daughter]."

The next day when the daughter of the ogress went out to tend the cows, [the cow said,]"0 daughter, who has bartered good fortune for misery, hold out your apron and go to sleep." The girl lay down and slept but when she arose, in the middle of the apron was [a heap of] cow manure, the wool was all hanging from the tops of the trees, the cows were scattered throughout the valley and so the girl, much distressed by her work, returned very late. "Daughter, why so late?" the ogre mother complained. The [ogre] daughter said to her mother, "When the cow said, 'Daughter who has bartered good fortune for misery, hold out your apron and go to sleep,' I held out my apron, as she said, and went to sleep. On the apron she produced a large [heap] of fresh dung, and tangled the wool in the tops of the trees, the cows were all scattered throughout the valley and so I was very busy and arrived late." "That bad, beggar woman mother, has turned [herself] into this cow; we will kill her."

When the girl went out again the next time, the cow instructed her, "You who have rejected good fortune and bought misery, 0 Daughter, today those two are going to kill me; after the killing is done, you must say, 'I need some parts of my dead mother's flesh; will you give me the four hooves?' Ask for the skin of the four legs and some parts of the intestines. Next use any means to beg the ogre mother for some bits of flesh and whatever she gives you, wrap it in the skin and bury it beneath the door sill."

The ogress killed the cow and said, "Girl, what parts of your mother's flesh do you need?" And the girl asked as she had been instructed, wrapped the flesh she was given in the skin and, without being seen, buried it under the door sill.

After a while it was time for the great fair at the lower end of the valley The ogress and her daughter both dressed up and put on their jewelry The mother set out a full pot of barley and a full pot of mustard seeds; she mixed them together and said, "Girl, if you don't finish pounding this today, prepare for your death." The two of them left.

Suddenly a dove appeared and said, "Girl, who has exchanged good fortune for misery, take out what you buried under the door sill and put on your robe and boots, fasten your belt, adorn yourself with gold and jade and go to the fair." When the girl took out those things, she saw that the skin had become clothing and two of the hooves had become boots, the intestines had become a belt and the other bits of flesh had become gold and jade. She put on the robe and boots and fastened the belt. The other two hooves had become a pair of slippers. These she took and after she had adorned herself with the gold and jade, she went to where the dove was and said, "The clothes and jewelry are very fine but if I do not finish grinding the pot of mustard seeds and the pot of barley, [they] will kill me tonight when they come back." "The mustard seeds and barley I will grind; you go to the fair, only come back a bit early," said [the dove].

The girl went to the fair; she circled the crowd to the right and saw that those two were there begging for something to eat. She then circled against the [direction of the] sun and there saw a great prince who was most handsome of all. She enjoyed herself very much looking at all the things at the fair. Before the crowd dispersed, she hurried home but on the way back she lost one of her slippers while jumping across a stream. When she got home she hid away all her clothes and jewelry. Both the mustard seeds and barley had been ground.

When the prince's horse keeper went out to water the horses, the bay horse did not drink but instead wandered upstream and the keeper followed after it. The horse sniffed out a beautiful slipper, which the keeper picked up, and when the horses were watered, he led them back and gave the slipper to the prince and reported the matter. The prince said, "Yesterday among the crowd was a girl about fifteen years old who had all the signs and marks of a goddess. If she comes again today, since I have found her through [the good offices of] this fine horse, I shall make her my queen and take her into the palace."

When the ogress and her daughter returned, the girl asked, "Did mother and elder sister enjoy themselves when they went to the fair? Who was the most outstanding many Who was the most outstanding woman?" "The prince stood out above all the men and my daughter stood out above all the women. Have you finished grinding the mustard seeds and barley?" said [the ogress]. "I have finished grinding [the whole] bucket full." You are very good. It is all right for you to stay here." The ogre daughter said [then], "We saw a young person going about who resembled you and was beautifully dressed and adorned; I said to my mother that it must be you, but she said that was absolutely impossible, and she was right."

So they went to bed and when they arose the sun was up and they once again mixed a pot full of mustard seed and barley and said, "Grind this without delay," and the mother and daughter [ogres] went off to the fair. Then in a short while a flock of doves arrived and one among them said to the girl, "O Girl, put on your finery of yesterday and take your slipper and go. You will be able to escape the clutches of the ogress." The girl put on her finery, took the slipper in her hand and when she arrived at the gathering a minister of the king held up the slipper [which they had found previously] and said, "Whoever this fits, she will become the wife of the king." But there appeared to be no girl whom the slipper fit. The daughter of the ogress tried her right foot but it did not fit; she tried her left foot and it did not fit; even the tip of her toe did not fit into the slipper. Then finally when no other person whom [the slipper] fit came forth, the girl took off her two boots, slung them onto her shoulder and went up saying, "That slipper is mine. Here is the other one," and she put the two slippers on one after the other. The ogress and her daughter, who were there, saw this and the daughter said, "That girl is the one." And the mother said, "How has she come to have such good fortune?" The girl became the wife of the king.

The ogress and her daughter returned home and there were bird tracks all over the house inside. The seeds and grains were broken open and eaten and the pots were filled with bird droppings. The ogress said, "That woman [i.e., girl's mother] planned to have it this way and this is what has happened. She is surely a female devil reborn as a dove."

After [the girl] became queen, she gave birth to a boy whom they called Jalayu Ardasidl. From the time the girl arrived, there was complete happiness in the land.

After a while the daughter of the ogress arrived saying, "I am visiting my friend." "Let her in," it was ordered, and she was allowed to come in. The queen thought, "When one has power, one must not be haughty," and she had her eat the same food as her own and had her wear the same clothes as her own. A little while later the ogre daughter began to ask questions to deceive [the girl], saying, "Sister! Ah, what do you give to the king? And what do you give to the courtiers?" "Ah, I give the king gruel and the courtiers I honor with the best of the three flavors." "What do you give to the bay horse? What do you give to the dogs Ngang-dkar and Dungchung?" "To the bay horse I give bones, to Ngang-dkar and Dungchung I give horse feed." The ogre daughter then said, "How do you look after your son Ardasidi? And how do you look at the subjects?" "My son Ardasidi I slap once when I go up to him and once when I go away from him. The subjects I look at with a flick of the eye when I go up to them and when I leave them I give them a sidelong glance." "How do you go out the door and down the steps?" "I slam the door and tromp loudly down the steps." "What do you put into the fire?" "I put a solid ball of thread into the fire."

After a while the ogre daughter said, "O Elder [Sister], it would be good if you washed your hair. Let me help you do it. In order to be a queen, you must be well washed. Let me undo your braids." The queen reluctantly agreed and she prepared to wash her head with some water. "Because you are a queen, you should go to the lake [to wash]," said [the ogre daughter] and pulled her along. When they arrived at the side of the lake, [the queen] took off her jewelry and robes and wearing only her shift she bent her head down to wash her hair when the ogre daughter pushed her into the lake. She put on the queen's clothing and jewelry and went back [to the palace].

She made a display of being like the former queen, each time she opened and closed the door she slammed it until it broke, and when she climbed the stairs she stomped [as if to] break them. Whenever she approached or left Ardasidi she would each time give him a slap. She always gave a thin watery soup to the king and the good and nourishing food to the courtiers. To Ngang dkar and Dungchung, the dogs, she gave horse feed and always gave bones to the bay horse. To friends who came from nearby, she was unpleasant and rude; at others, who were from farther away, she looked askance in disdain. She put a solid knot of thread in the embers and so everyday she had to go out to beg someone for fire. The servants began to say amongst themselves: "Ever since the ogre daughter left, the queen's behavior has been odd; her speech and her nature have all changed; can we ever see [our previous] happiness again?"

After a while when the horse herder went to water the bay horse at the usual spring, it did not drink from this place, but struggled to escape toward the lake which it had seen before, drank a bit, and, as its tears were dropping profusely, out of the middle of the lake came a golden lark with turquoise feathers on its head and settled in a tree by the water's edge. It spoke thus: "Ah, is the former queen's respect for the king greater or is the respect of the latter queen greater? Is the care given before to the child Ardasidi greater or the care given later? Is the former queen more solicitous of the subjects or is the latter queen more solicitous? Did the former queen take better care of the dogs Ngang dkar and Dungchung or does the latter queen take better care of them? Did the former owner treat the bay horse better or does the present owner treat him better?" Saying this it went back into the water.

The horse herder watered the horses, then hurried back and reported to the king, "Our bay horse did not drink from the spring but broke away and went toward the lake, and when it drank, it whinnied and shed tears, and a golden lark with a turquoise head appeared, settled on a tree by the lake, and spoke in the following fashion," and he reported carefully all that was said before. The king said, "Tomorrow I shall go to see. My dreams have indeed been bad. The nature of this girl [my wife] has indeed changed."

The next day the king, the prime minister, and the horse herder went to the edge of the lake. The bird, as described [by the herdsman], came out [of the water] and settled on the top of a tree and spoke the same words it had spoken before. The king wept and said, "Please come over here and speak to me; I will listen carefully." The bird landed on the head of the king and [the king] said, "Bird, please come to my hand and speak." When [the bird, resting] on his hand, had spoken as before, the king seized it.

The bird said, "The daughter of mine has committed a great wrong. Let me, this bird, go," and repeated this several times. The king said, "Is there no way? Tell me one. Is there no gift one could prepare? Tell me one. What kind of a disaster has befallen you?" The bird said to the king, "The one who is now in your house is the daughter of an ogress. Through the unpaid debt of a previous life, I was as if lost in darkness and ignorance. That girl lead me to the lake side and pushed me in." She continued, "Now there is possibly a good plan. King, Minister, please do not say that I am here. [Take me] from this place and go to the palace, wrap me in a five colored scarf and put me in the treasure house. Have all the nobles gather to perform the Buyan Keseg and perform the Nasun-u botugel rites for seven days." Build a very large fire saying you are going to make wine; under the place where the daughter of the ogress sits dig a hole large enough to contain her body, next make the sides of it smooth and cover the opening. On top of it put the girl's mat; when she sits on it she will fall head-over-heels into the hole. When this happens, dump in the fire that has been prepared on top of her and she will die. After this, I will be restored to life."

The king and the minister happily prepared all as the girl had told them. As soon as the daughter of the ogress sat on her place, she fell head first [into the hole]. They put the fire in on top of her and she was burned to death. When they went into the treasure house, the other girl was alive again, her beautiful face unmarred as before. The queen [i.e., the girl] came forth and told the subjects, "Cut off the head of the ogre daughter." This she wrapped in a ball of thread as big as a cooking pot. She filled a container full of good things to eat, tied the two to the back of the saddle of the bay horse and she set off for the house of the ogress. She came to her as her own daughter and nicely offered the good food to "her mother" saying, "Have you been well here all alone?" "I have been fine alone. Were you able to trick the queen? The king probably does not know. Were you able to be just like the girl?" Then the girl went upstairs and through a hole in the window let out a length of red silk. She went down again and said, "The king will scold me. Mother, help me to untangle this ball of thread. I must go now." The ogress said, "Farewell! Don't be discovered by the king. Cooperate with the subjects and take care of the child in exactly the same way that girl did." Then with the old woman holding the ball, the girl left taking one end of the thread. When it was nearly run out, she got onto her horse and dashed off pell-mell. When the thread ran out, from inside the bundle the rim of an ear could be seen; making sure what it was, the woman recognized that it was the head of her own daughter. She immediately chased after the girl and just as she was about to catch her, the girl said, "Ogre Mother, it will matter little if you strike me, your house is on fire. [Besides] my horse is fast and you cannot overtake it." The ogress turned to look and saw the red silk fluttering from the window and so turned back. The girl returned to the side of the king. The queen had avenged herself of the evil deeds done her by the ogress and her daughter and she assisted the king to govern his kingdom according to the Law, and their subjects flourished more greatly than ever before.

When the corpse had finished, The King of Good and Peaceful Deeds said, "If the queen had not killed her own mother in the first place, she could have had a very happy life. Of these two, mother and daughter, the mother became a goddess [daginis] and the daughter escaped the jaws of the ogres to become the wife of the king-that was great good fortune." When he said this, [the corpse] cried, "You've spoken to a corpse!" and as sparks flew from the steel net, he struck three times and crying "hur!" was gone from [the prince's] back like a falcon. "I have given myself trouble by not paying attention. If I return [without the corpse], the lama will surely scold me," thought the prince, and so he went off toward the corpses [once again]. Those which cried "ha-la" he struck with his staff and he trod upon those that cried "hulu." Eventually he came to the foot of the tree.

What About Me? (Middle East)

Once there was a boy who wanted knowledge, but he did not know how to gain it. "I shall see a Grand Master," he said. "He has plenty. Perhaps he will give me some." When he arrived, he bowed and said, "Grand Master, you are wise. How may I gain a little bit of your knowledge?"

The Grand Master said, "You need to bring me a small carpet for my work." The boy hurried off to find a carpetmaker.

"Carpetmaker," he said, "I need a small carpet to give to the Grand Master for his work."
The carpetmaker barked, "He has needs! What about me? I need thread for weaving my carpets. Bring me some thread and I will make you a carpet."

So the boy went off to find a spinner woman.

He found her at last. "Spinner Woman," he said, "I need some thread for the carpetmaker, who will make me a carpet to give to the Grand Master for his work."

"You need thread!" she wheezed. "What about me? I need goat hair to make the thread. Get me some and you can have your thread."

So the boy went off looking for someone who kept goats.

When he came to the goatkeeper, the boy told him his needs. "Your needs! The others' needs! What about me? You need goat hair to buy knowledge - I need goats to provide the hair! Get me some goats and I will help you."

The boy ran off again to find someone who sold goats. When he found such a man, the boy told him of his problems, and the goatseller said, "What do I know about thread or carpets, or Grand Masters? I need a pen to keep my goats in - they are straying all over the place! Get me a pen, and you can have a goat or two."

The boy's head buzzed. "Everyone has a need," he mumbled to himself as he hurried off. "And what of my need for knowledge?" But he went to a carpenter who made pens, and he gave the carpenter his long story.

"Say no more," the carpenter said. "Yes, I make pens, but I need a wife and no one will have me. Find me a wife and we can talk about your problems."

So the boy went off, going from house to house.

Finally he met a matchmaker. "Yes, I know such a girl - she will make a good wife, but I have a need. All my life, I have wanted..."

"Yes?" said the boy.

"Knwledge," said the matchmaker. "Bring me knowledge, and I will give you the young girl's name to take to the carpenter."

The boy was stunned. "But... but we cannot get knowledge without a carpet, no carpet without thread, no thread without hair, no hair without a goat, no goat without a pen, no pen without a wife for the carpenter."

"Stop!" said the matchmaker. "I for one don't want knowledge that bad." And she went the boy away.

"I need a carpet," the boy chanted. "I need a carpet, I NEED A CARPET!"

And so he began to wander farther and farther from his village.

Until one day he came to a village where he saw a merchant in the market-place, wringing his hands.

"Merchant," the young man said, "why do you wring your hands?"

The merchant looked at the young man's gentle face. "I have an only and beautiful daughter who I think is mad. I need help, but I don't know where to find it."

"I could not even get a piece of thread when I wanted it," said the young man. "But perhaps I can help."

And so the merchant led him to the girl. When she saw his kind face, she stopped ranting. "Oh, good young man," she said, "I have a need. My father wishes me to marry a merchant like himself, but I love a simple carpenter."

When she described the carpenter, the wanderer suddenly said, "Why, she loves the very carpenter I know!" And so he went to the other village, and took the girl and her secret to him.

In thanks, the carpenter immediately gave the young man wood for a pen.

The goatseller placed the goats in the pen and gave him some goats, which he took to the goatkeeper, who gave him some of their hair, which he took to the spinner, who spun him thread. Then he took the thread to the carpenter, who made a small carpet.

This small carpet he carried back to the Grand Master. When he arrived at the house of the wise man, he gave the carpet to him.

"And now, Grand Master, may I have knowledge?"

"But don't you know?" said the GrandMaster.

"You already have it."

Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf (Roald Dahl)

As soon as the Wolf began to feel
That he would like a decent meal,
He went and knocked on Grandma's door.
When Grandma opened it, she saw
The sharp white teeth, the horrid grin,
And Wolfie said, 'May I come in?'
Poor Grandmamma was terrified,
'He's going to eat me up!' she cried.
And she was absolutely right.
He ate her up in one big bite.
But Grandmamma was small and tough,
And Wolfie wailed, 'That's not enough!'
'I haven't begun to feel
That I have a had a decent meal!'
He ran around the kitchen yelping,
'I've got to have another helping!'
Then added with a frightful leer,
'I'm therefore going to wait right here
'Till Little Miss Red Riding Hood
'Comes home from walking in the wood.'
He quickly put on Grandma's clothes,
(Of course he hadn't eaten those.)
He dressed himself in a coat and hat.
He put on shoes and after that
He even brushed and curled his hair,
Then sat himself in grandma's chair.
In came the little girl in red.
She stopped. She stared. and then she said,

What great big ears you have, Grandma.'
'All the better to hear you with,' the Wolf replied.
'What great big eyes you have, grandma,'
said Little Red Riding Hood.
'All the better to see you with,' the Wolf replied.

He sat there watching her and smiled.
He thought, I'm going to eat this child.
Compared with her old Grandmamma
She's going to taste like caviare.

The Littled Red Riding Hood said, But Grandma,
what a lovely great big furry coat you have on.'
That's wrong!' cried the Wolf. Have you forgot
'To tell me what BIG TEETH I've got?
'Ah well, no matter what you say,
I'm going to eat you anyway.'
The small girl smiles. One eyelid flickers.
She whips a pistol from her knickers.
She aims it at the creature's head
And bang bang, she shoots him dead.
A few weeks later, in the wood,
I came across Miss Riding Hood.
But what a change! No cloak of red,
No silly hood upon her head.
She said, 'Hello and do please note
'My lovely furry WOLFSKIN COAT.'

Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur! (Palestine)

There was once a woman who had no children. She prayed to Allah: "I would love a child, even if it is nothing more than a cooking pot!"

Willa! She had a child! And it was a little pot! At once the little pot began to hop up and down. "Momma! Momma! Momma! I love you! I love you! I love you!

"Oh my," said the woman. "I have a little pot for a child. But she loves me. I will take good care of her."

Every day, while her mother worked, Little Pot would roll around, banging against the walls. What a sound she made!

Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur!

Ome day, Little Pot said to her mother, "Momma! Momma! Momma! I want to go to Market! Market! Market!"

"No Little Pot," said her mother, "not by yourself. You aren't old enough to know right from wrong."

"I know how to behave! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!"

At last her mother agreed. "You have to go out by yourself someday. Perhaps i should let you go now."

Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur!

Down one street she rolled and up another... till she cam to the rich man's shop.

"What a beautiful little pot!" said the rich man. "I'll take this pot home to my wife. I know! i'll have the pot filled with honey!"

"Yum," thought Little Pot. "I love honey!"

The rich man's wife was delighted. "We'll have honey for supper!"

"No they won't," though Little Pot. "I'll keep it myself." And she held her lid shut tight.

The wife pulled. The wife pushed. "Husband, come help! This lid is stuck!"

The husband pulled. The husband pushed. he could not get the lid off the pot.

"This pot is not good. I am sorry I bought it into the house!"

And he threw the pot out the window.

Little Pot jumped up and rolled home.

Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur!

My mouth is full of nummy!"

Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur!

"I'm taking my momma honey!"

Momma! Momma! pick me up! Momma! Momma! Open me!"

"Oh, Little Pot! You are bringing me HONEY! The honey seller must have sent it as a gift. How kind of him."

Little Pot said nothing at all.

Next day...

"Momma! Momma! Momma! I want to go to Market! Market! Market!"

Oh, Little Pot, I don't know. Are you sure you are old enough to know right from wrong?"

I know how to behave. Let me go to Market!"

So the mother opened the door and off rolled Little Pot.

Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur!

Past the market... all the way to the king's palace.

Look at this little pot!" cried the king. "My wife will like this!"

"Thank you, husband! What are a great place to keep my jewels."

The queen took off her bracelets and put them in the pot.

She took off her rings and put them in the pot.

Then she put on the lid.

That evening, the queen reached for the little pot to take out her jewels.

Willa! The pot's lid was stuck!

The queen pulled. The queen pushed. "Husband, would you take the lid off this pot?"

The king pulled. The king pushed. The lid would not come off.

"I'm sorry I brought this pot into the house! I won't have it here another minute!"

The king threw the pot out the window.

Wait! My jewels are inside! Stop that pot!" But Little Pot was rolling off home.

Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur!

"My mouth is full of jewels!"

Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur!

"The king and queen are fools! Momma! Momma! Pick me up! Momma! Momma! Open me!"

Her mother picked up the little pot. She took off her lid.

Oh, Little Pot! no one has given you these. You have been taking things that are not yours! Tomorrow we will take these things back."

That night Little Pot's mother went to bed so sad... so sad.

Next morning, Little Pot got up before her mother was awake.

Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur!

She rolled right to the marketplace.

"Let's see what good things I get today!"

She hadn't long to wait. Here came the rich merchant.

"This is the little pot that stole my honey! I'll take this pot to the king. We cannot have little pots running around taking things that do not belong to them!"

The king jumped up at once.

"Wife, isn't this the little pot that carried off your jewels?"

"This is the very pot!"

"This little pot should have a just reward, " said the king. "take it to the goat pen and fill it full of what it deserves."

The little pot was so excited. "I am going to get a reward!"

But... PLOP!

In came a shovel full of MUCK!

Then PLOP! PLOP! PLOP! the little pot was filled with yuck. Off she ran home.

Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur!

I want my Maa-ma Maa-ma!"

Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur!

"My mouth is full of nyaa-nyaa!"

"Momma! Momma! Momma! Pick me up! Momma! Momma! Open me!"

Oooooohhhhh, Little Pot. You smell! Someone caught you stealing. Little Pot, i hope you've learned your lesson. You cannot take things that do not belong to you!"

After that, Little Pot did not go out alone for a long, long time. Not until she was old enough to know the difference between right... and wrong.

The Foolish Lad and the Flies (Portugal)

A foolish lad with a shaven scalp could not stand the bites of the flies on his head. He decided to complain about them to the judge at court. The judge came to hear the complaint only because he thought it was a big joke.

"Whenever you see a fly," he pronounced to the foolish lad with a laugh, "you are permitted to defend yourself, and to give it a blow."

To make sure that he had heard aright, the lad asked the judge to repeat his words. At the moment he did so, a fly settled on the head of the judge. The foolish lad smote it mightily. The judge fell to the ground, and his attendants caught hold of the lad.

"Remember the sentence," the follish lad reminded the judge quickly. And so they were forced to set him free. Is it true what they say, "With foolish ones, even Heaven cannot win"?

A Rose from Homer's Grave (Hans Christian Andersen)

All the songs of the east speak of the love of the nightingale for the rose in the silent starlight night. The winged songster serenades the fragrant flowers.

Not far from Smyrna, where the merchant drives his loaded camels, proudly arching their long necks as they journey beneath the lofty pines over holy ground, I saw a hedge of roses. The turtle-dove flew among the branches of the tall trees, and as the sunbeams fell upon her wings, they glistened as if they were mother-of-pearl. On the rose bush grew a flower, more beautiful than them all, and to her the nightingale sung of his woes; but the rose remained silent, not even a dewdrop lay like a tear of sympathy on her leaves. At last she bowed her head over a heap of stones, and said, "Here rests the greatest singer in the world; over his tomb will I spread my fragrance, and on it will I will let my leaves fall when the storm scatters them. He who sung of Troy became earth, and from that earth I have sprung. I, a rose from the grave of Homer, am too lofty to bloom for a nightingale." Then the nightingale sung himself to death. A camel-driver came by, with his loaded camels and his black slaves; his little son found the dead bird, and buried the lovely songster in the grave of the great Homer, while the rose trembled in the wind.

The evening came, and the rose wrapped her leaves more closely round her, and dreamed: and this was her dream.

It was a fair sunshiny day; a crowd of strangers drew near who had undertaken a pilgrimage to the grave of Homer. Among the strangers was a minstrel from the north, the home of the clouds and the brilliant lights of the aurora borealis. He plucked the rose and placed it in a book, and carried it away into a distant part of the world, his fatherland. The rose faded with grief, and lay between the leaves of the book, which he opened in his own home saying, "Here is a rose from the grave of Homer."

Then the flower awoke from her dream, and trembled in the wind. A drop of dew fell from the leaves upon the singer's grave. The sun rose, and the flower bloomed more beautiful than ever, The day was hot, and she was still in her own warm Asia. Then footsteps approached, strangers, such as the rose had seen in her dream, came by, and among them was a poet from the north; he plucked the rose, pressed a kiss upon her fresh mouth, and carried her away to the home of the clouds and the northern lights. Like a mummy, the flower now rests in his "Iliad," and, as in her dream, she hears him say, as he opens the book, ?Here is a rose from the grave of Homer."

The Little Girl and the Wolf (James Thurber)

One afternoon a big wolf waited in a dark forest for a little girl to come along carrying a basket of food to her grandmother. Finally a little girl did come along and she was carrying a basket of food. "Are you carrying that basket to your grandmother?" asked the wolf. The girl said yes, she was. So the wolf asked her where her grandmother lived and the little girl told him and he disappeared into the wood.

When the little girl opened the door of her grandmother's house she saw that there was somebody in bed with a nightcap and nightgown on. She had approached no nearer than twenty-five feet from the bed when she saw that it was not her grandmother but the wolf, for even in a nightcap a wolf does not look any more like your grandmother than the Metro-Goldwyn lion looks like Calvin Coolidge. So the little girl took an automatic out of her basket and shot the wolf dead.

The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood (Charles Perrault)

Once upon a time there lived a king and queen who were grieved, more grieved than words can tell, because they had no children. They tried the waters of every country, made vows and pilgrimages, and did everything that could be done, but without result. At last, however, the queen found that her wishes were fulfilled, and in due course she gave birth to a daughter.

A grand christening was held, and all the fairies that could be found in the realm (they numbered seven in all) were invited to be godmothers to the little princess. This was done so that by means of the gifts which each in turn would bestow upon her (in accordance with the fairy custom of those days) the princess might be endowed with every imaginable perfection.

When the christening ceremony was over, all the company returned to the king's palace, where a great banquet was held in honor of the fairies. Places were laid for them in magnificent style, and before each was placed a solid gold casket containing a spoon, fork, and knife of fine gold, set with diamonds and rubies. But just as all were sitting down to table an aged fairy was seen to enter, whom no one had thought to invite -- the reason being that for more than fifty years she had never quitted the tower in which she lived, and people had supposed her to be dead or bewitched.

By the king's orders a place was laid for her, but it was impossible to give her a golden casket like the others, for only seven had been made for the seven fairies. The old creature believed that she was intentionally slighted, and muttered threats between her teeth.

She was overheard by one of the young fairies, who was seated nearby. The latter, guessing that some mischievous gift might be bestowed upon the little princess, hid behind the tapestry as soon as the company left the table. Her intention was to be the last to speak, and so to have the power of counteracting, as far as possible, any evil which the old fairy might do.

Presently the fairies began to bestow their gifts upon the princess. The youngest ordained that she should be the most beautiful person in the world; the next, that she should have the temper of an angel; the third, that she should do everything with wonderful grace; the fourth, that she should dance to perfection; the fifth, that she should sing like a nightingale; and the sixth, that she should play every kind of music with the utmost skill.

It was now the turn of the aged fairy. Shaking her head, in token of spite rather than of infirmity, she declared that the princess should prick her hand with a spindle, and die of it. A shudder ran through the company at this terrible gift. All eyes were filled with tears.

But at this moment the young fairy stepped forth from behind the tapestry.

"Take comfort, your Majesties," she cried in a loud voice. "Your daughter shall not die. My power, it is true, is not enough to undo all that my aged kinswoman has decreed. The princess will indeed prick her hand with a spindle. But instead of dying she shall merely fall into a profound slumber that will last a hundred years. At the end of that time a king's son shall come to awaken her."

The king, in an attempt to avert the unhappy doom pronounced by the old fairy, at once published an edict forbidding all persons, under pain of death, to use a spinning wheel or keep a spindle in the house.

At the end of fifteen or sixteen years the king and queen happened one day to be away, on pleasure bent. The princess was running about the castle, and going upstairs from room to room she came at length to a garret at the top of a tower, where an old serving woman sat alone with her distaff, spinning. This good woman had never heard speak of the king's proclamation forbidding the use of spinning wheels.

"What are you doing, my good woman?" asked the princess.

"I am spinning, my pretty child," replied the dame, not knowing who she was.

"Oh, what fun!" rejoined the princess. "How do you do it? Let me try and see if I can do it equally well."

Partly because she was too hasty, partly because she was a little heedless, but also because the fairy decree had ordained it, no sooner had she seized the spindle than she pricked her hand and fell down in a swoon.

In great alarm the good dame cried out for help. People came running from every quarter to the princess. They threw water on her face, chafed her with their hands, and rubbed her temples with the royal essence of Hungary. But nothing would restore her.

Then the king, who had been brought upstairs by the commotion, remembered the fairy prophecy. Feeling certain that what had happened was inevitable, since the fairies had decreed it, he gave orders that the princess should be placed in the finest apartment in the palace, upon a bed embroidered in gold and silver.

You would have thought her an angel, so fair was she to behold. The trance had not taken away the lovely color of her complexion. Her cheeks were delicately flushed, her lips like coral. Her eyes, indeed, were closed, but her gentle breathing could be heard, and it was therefore plain that she was not dead. The king commanded that she should be left to sleep in peace until the hour of her awakening should come.

When the accident happened to the princess, the good fairy who had saved her life by condemning her to sleep a hundred years was in the kingdom of Mataquin, twelve thousand leagues away. She was instantly warned of it, however, by a little dwarf who had a pair of seven-league boots, which are boots that enable one to cover seven leagues at a single step. The fairy set off at once, and within an hour her chariot of fire, drawn by dragons, was seen approaching.

The king handed her down from her chariot, and she approved of all that he had done. But being gifted with great powers of foresight, she bethought herself that when the princess came to be awakened, she would be much distressed to find herself all alone in the old castle. And this is what she did.

She touched with her wand everybody (except the king and queen) who was in the castle -- governesses, maids of honor, ladies-in-waiting, gentlemen, officers, stewards, cooks, scullions, errand boys, guards, porters, pages, footmen. She touched likewise all the horses in the stables, with their grooms, the big mastiffs in the courtyard, and little Puff, the pet dog of the princess, who was lying on the bed beside his mistress. The moment she had touched them they all fell asleep, to awaken only at the same moment as their mistress. Thus they would always be ready with their service whenever she should require it. The very spits before the fire, loaded with partridges and pheasants, subsided into slumber, and the fire as well. All was done in a moment, for the fairies do not take long over their work.

Then the king and queen kissed their dear child, without waking her, and left the castle. Proclamations were issued, forbidding any approach to it, but these warnings were not needed, for within a quarter of an hour there grew up all round the park so vast a quantity of trees big and small, with interlacing brambles and thorns, that neither man nor beast could penetrate them. The tops alone of the castle towers could be seen, and these only from a distance. Thus did the fairy's magic contrive that the princess, during all the time of her slumber, should have naught whatever to fear from prying eyes.

At the end of a hundred years the throne had passed to another family from that of the sleeping princess. One day the king's son chanced to go a-hunting that way, and seeing in the distance some towers in the midst of a large and dense forest, he asked what they were. His attendants told him in reply the various stories which they had heard. Some said there was an old castle haunted by ghosts, others that all the witches of the neighborhood held their revels there. The favorite tale was that in the castle lived an ogre, who carried thither all the children whom he could catch. There he devoured them at his leisure, and since he was the only person who could force a passage through the wood nobody had been able to pursue him.

While the prince was wondering what to believe, an old peasant took up the tale.

"Your Highness," said he, "more than fifty years ago I heard my father say that in this castle lies a princess, the most beautiful that has ever been seen. It is her doom to sleep there for a hundred years, and then to be awakened by a king's son, for whose coming she waits."

This story fired the young prince. He jumped immediately to the conclusion that it was for him to see so gay an adventure through, and impelled alike by the wish for love and glory, he resolved to set about it on the spot.

Hardly had he taken a step towards the wood when the tall trees, the brambles and the thorns, separated of themselves and made a path for him. He turned in the direction of the castle, and espied it at the end of a long avenue. This avenue he entered, and was surprised to notice that the trees closed up again as soon as he had passed, so that none of his retinue were able to follow him. A young and gallant prince is always brave, however; so he continued on his way, and presently reached a large forecourt.

The sight that now met his gaze was enough to fill him with an icy fear. The silence of the place was dreadful, and death seemed all about him. The recumbent figures of men and animals had all the appearance of being lifeless, until he perceived by the pimply noses and ruddy faces of the porters, that they merely slept. It was plain, too, from their glasses, in which were still some dregs of wine, that they had fallen asleep while drinking.

The prince made his way into a great courtyard, paved with marble, and mounting the staircase entered the guardroom. Here the guards were lined up on either side in two ranks, their muskets on their shoulders, snoring their hardest. Through several apartments crowded with ladies and gentlemen in waiting, some seated, some standing, but all asleep, he pushed on, and so came at last to a chamber which was decked all over with gold. There he encountered the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Reclining upon a bed, the curtains of which on every side were drawn back, was a princess of seemingly some fifteen or sixteen summers, whose radiant beauty had an almost unearthly luster.

Trembling in his admiration he drew near and went on his knees beside her. At the same moment, the hour of disenchantment having come, the princess awoke, and bestowed upon him a look more tender than a first glance might seem to warrant.

"Is it you, dear prince?" she said. "You have been long in coming!"

Charmed by these words, and especially by the manner in which they were said, the prince scarcely knew how to express his delight and gratification. He declared that he loved her better than he loved himself. His words were faltering, but they pleased the more for that. The less there is of eloquence, the more there is of love.

Her embarrassment was less than his, and that is not to be wondered at, since she had had time to think of what she would say to him. It seems (although the story says nothing about it) that the good fairy had beguiled her long slumber with pleasant dreams. To be brief, after four hours of talking they had not succeeded in uttering one half of the things they had to say to each other.

Now the whole palace had awakened with the princess. Everyone went about his business, and since they were not all in love they presently began to feel mortally hungry. The lady-in-waiting, who was suffering like the rest, at length lost patience, and in a loud voice called out to the princess that supper was served.

The princess was already fully dressed, and in most magnificent style. As he helped her to rise, the prince refrained from telling her that her clothes, with the straight collar which she wore, were like those to which his grandmother had been accustomed. And in truth, they in no way detracted from her beauty.

They passed into an apartment hung with mirrors, and were there served with supper by the stewards of the household, while the fiddles and oboes played some old music and played it remarkably well, considering they had not played at all for just upon a hundred years. A little later, when supper was over, the chaplain married them in the castle chapel, and in due course, attended by the courtiers in waiting, they retired to rest.

They slept but little, however. The princess, indeed, had not much need of sleep, and as soon as morning came the prince took his leave of her. He returned to the city, and told his father, who was awaiting him with some anxiety, that he had lost himself while hunting in the forest, but had obtained some black bread and cheese from a charcoal burner, in whose hovel he had passed the night.

His royal father, being of an easygoing nature, believed the tale, but his mother was not so easily hoodwinked. She noticed that he now went hunting every day, and that he always had an excuse handy when he had slept two or three nights from home. She felt certain, therefore, that he had some love affair.

Two whole years passed since the marriage of the prince and princess, and during that time they had two children. The first, a daughter, was called "Dawn," while the second, a boy, was named "Day," because he seemed even more beautiful than his sister.

Many a time the queen told her son that he ought to settle down in life. She tried in this way to make him confide in her, but he did not dare to trust her with his secret. Despite the affection which he bore her, he was afraid of his mother, for she came of a race of ogres, and the king had only married her for her wealth.

It was whispered at the court that she had ogrish instincts, and that when little children were near her she had the greatest difficulty in the world to keep herself from pouncing on them.

No wonder the prince was reluctant to say a word.

But at the end of two years the king died, and the prince found himself on the throne. He then made public announcement of his marriage, and went in state to fetch his royal consort from her castle. With her two children beside her she made a triumphal entry into the capital of her husband's realm.

Some time afterwards the king declared war on his neighbor, the Emperor Cantalabutte. He appointed the queen mother as regent in his absence, and entrusted his wife and children to her care.

He expected to be away at the war for the whole of the summer, and as soon as he was gone the queen mother sent her daughter-in-law and the two children to a country mansion in the forest. This she did that she might be able the more easily to gratify her horrible longings. A few days later she went there and in the evening summoned the chief steward.

"For my dinner tomorrow," she told him, "I will eat little Dawn."

"Oh, Madam!" exclaimed the steward.

"That is my will," said the queen; and she spoke in the tones of an ogre who longs for raw meat.

"You will serve her with piquant sauce," she added.

The poor man, seeing plainly that it was useless to trifle with an ogress, took his big knife and went up to little Dawn's chamber. She was at that time four years old, and when she came running with a smile to greet him, flinging her arms round his neck and coaxing him to give her some sweets, he burst into tears, and let the knife fall from his hand.

Presently he went down to the yard behind the house, and slaughtered a young lamb. For this he made so delicious a sauce that his mistress declared she had never eaten anything so good.

At the same time the steward carried little Dawn to his wife, and bade the latter hide her in the quarters which they had below the yard.

Eight days later the wicked queen summoned her steward again.

"For my supper," she announced, "I will eat little Day."

The steward made no answer, being determined to trick her as he had done previously. He went in search of little Day, whom he found with a tiny foil in his hand, making brave passes -- though he was but three years old -- at a big monkey. He carried him off to his wife, who stowed him away in hiding with little Dawn. To the ogress the steward served up, in place of Day, a young kid so tender that she found it surpassingly delicious.

So far, so good. But there came an evening when this evil queen again addressed the steward.

"I have a mind," she said, "to eat the queen with the same sauce as you served with her children."

This time the poor steward despaired of being able to practice another deception. The young queen was twenty years old, without counting the hundred years she had been asleep. Her skin, though white and beautiful, had become a little tough, and what animal could he possibly find that would correspond to her? He made up his mind that if he would save his own life he must kill the queen, and went upstairs to her apartment determined to do the deed once and for all. Goading himself into a rage he drew his knife and entered the young queen's chamber, but a reluctance to give her no moment of grace made him repeat respectfully the command which he had received from the queen mother.

"Do it! do it!" she cried, baring her neck to him; "carry out the order you have been given! Then once more I shall see my children, my poor children that I loved so much!"

Nothing had been said to her when the children were stolen away, and she believed them to be dead.

The poor steward was overcome by compassion. "No, no, Madam," he declared. "You shall not die, but you shall certainly see your children again. That will be in my quarters, where I have hidden them. I shall make the queen eat a young hind in place of you, and thus trick her once more."

Without more ado he led her to his quarters, and leaving her there to embrace and weep over her children, proceeded to cook a hind with such art that the queen mother ate it for her supper with as much appetite as if it had indeed been the young queen.

The queen mother felt well satisfied with her cruel deeds, and planned to tell the king, on his return, that savage wolves had devoured his consort and his children. It was her habit, however, to prowl often about the courts and alleys of the mansion, in the hope of scenting raw meat, and one evening she heard the little boy Day crying in a basement cellar. The child was weeping because his mother had threatened to whip him for some naughtiness, and she heard at the same time the voice of Dawn begging forgiveness for her brother.

The ogress recognized the voices of the queen and her children, and was enraged to find she had been tricked. The next morning, in tones so affrighting that all trembled, she ordered a huge vat to be brought into the middle of the courtyard. This she filled with vipers and toads, with snakes and serpents of every kind, intending to cast into it the queen and her children, and the steward with his wife and serving girl. By her command these were brought forward, with their hands tied behind their backs.

There they were, and her minions were making ready to cast them into the vat, when into the courtyard rode the king! Nobody had expected him so soon, but he had traveled posthaste. Filled with amazement, he demanded to know what this horrible spectacle meant.

None dared tell him, and at that moment the ogress, enraged at what confronted her, threw herself head foremost into the vat, and was devoured on the instant by the hideous creatures she had placed in it.

The king could not but be sorry, for after all she was his mother; but it was not long before he found ample consolation in his beautiful wife and children.

The Daydreamer (Russia)

A poor peasant walking in a field saw a hare under a bush and was overjoyed. He said: “Now I’m in luck! I will catch this hare, kill him with a whip, and sell him for twelve kopeks. For that money I will buy a sow, and she will bring me twelve piglets; the piglets will grow up and each will bring twelve piglets; I will slaughter them all, and have a barnful of meat. I will sell the meat, and with the money will set up housekeeping and get married. My wife will bear me two sons, Vaska and Vanka. The children will plow the field, and I will sit by the window and give orders. “Hey, you boys!” I will cry. “Vaska and Vanka!” Don’t overwork you laborers; apparently you yourselves have never known property!” And the peasant shouted these words so loudly that the hare was startled and ran away, and his house with all his riches and his wife, and his children were lost.