Chapter III: Part 3

In vain did her husband remind her of their extreme poverty, she would not consent to it; she was poor, but she was their mother. At last, when she reflected what a grief it would be to her to see them die of hunger, she consented, and went weeping to bed.

Hop-o’-my-Thumb heard all they had said; for when he heard, as he lay in bed, that they were talking of their affairs, he got up softly and slipped under his father’s stool, to hear without being seen. He went to bed again, but did not sleep a wink all the rest of the night, thinking of what he should do. He got up early in the morning, and went to the bank of a brook, where he filled his pockets full of small white pebbles, and then went back home.

They all set out, but Hop-o’-my-Thumb did not say a word to any of his brothers about what he had heard.

They went into a very thick forest, where they could not see one another ten paces apart. The fagot-maker began to cut wood, and the children to gather up the sticks to make fagots. When their father and mother saw them busy at their work, they slipped away from them little by little, and then made their escape all at once by a winding bypath.

When the children found that they were alone they began to cry bitterly. Hop-o’-my-Thumb let them cry on, knowing very well how he could get home again; for, as he came, he had dropped the little white pebbles he had in his pockets all along the way. Then he said to them, “Do not be afraid, my brothers; father and mother have left us here, but I will lead you home again,—only follow me.”

They followed him, and he brought them home through the forest by the very same way by which they had come. At first they dared not go in, but stood outside the door to listen to what their father and mother were saying.

Just as the fagot-maker and his wife reached home, the lord of the manor sent them ten crowns, which he had owed them for a long time, and which they had never expected to get. This gave them new life, for the poor people were almost famished with hunger. As it was a long while since they had eaten, the woman bought as much meat as would satisfy six or eight persons. When they had satisfied their hunger she said: “Alas! where are our poor children now? they would make a good feast of what we have left here. It was you, William, who wished to lose them; I told you we should repent of it. What are they doing now in the forest? Alas! perhaps the wolves have already eaten them up! You are very cruel to have lost your children in this way.”

The fagot-maker grew very impatient at last, for she repeated more than twenty times that they should repent of it, and that she had told him so. He threatened to beat her if she did not hold her tongue. The fagot-maker was, perhaps, even more sorry than his wife, but she teased him, and he could not endure her telling him that she was in the right all the time. She wept bitterly, saying, “Alas! where are my children now,—my poor children?”

She said this once so very loud that the children, who were at the door, heard her and cried out all together, “Here we are! here we are!”

She ran quickly to let them in, and said, as she embraced them: “How happy I am to see you again, my dear children! You must be very tired and very hungry. And you, little Peter, you are dirt all over! Come in and let me get you clean again.”

Peter was her eldest boy, whom she loved more than all the rest, because he had red hair like her own.

They sat down to table, and ate with an appetite which pleased both father and mother, to whom they told—speaking all at once—how frightened they had been in the forest. The good people were delighted to see their children once more, and this joy continued while the ten crowns lasted; but when the money was all gone they fell back again into their former anxiety, and resolved to lose their children again,—and that they might be the surer of doing it, they decided to take them much farther off than before.

They could not talk of this so secretly but that they were overheard by Hop-o’-my-Thumb, who counted on getting out of the difficulty as he had done before; but though he got up very early the next morning to go and pick up some little pebbles, he could not carry out his plan, for he found the house-door double-locked. He did not know what to do; but a little later, when his father had given each of them a piece of bread for their breakfast, it came into his head that he could make his bread do instead of pebbles, by dropping crumbs all along the way as they went, so he put it into his pocket.

Their father and mother led them into the thickest and gloomiest part of the forest, and then, stealing away into a bypath, left them there. Hop-o’-my-Thumb did not worry himself very much at this, for he thought he could easily find the way back by means of his bread that he had scattered all along as he came; but he was very much surprised when he could not find a single crumb,—the birds had come and eaten them all.

They were now in great trouble, for the farther they went the more they went wrong and the deeper they got into the forest. Night came on, and with it a high wind which frightened them desperately. They fancied they heard on every side the howling of wolves coming to eat them up. They hardly dared to speak or turn their heads. Then there came a heavy rain, which wetted them to the very skin. Their feet slipped at every step, and they fell into the mud, getting themselves so covered with dirt that they could not even get it off their hands.

Hop-o’-my-Thumb climbed to the top of a tree to see if he could discover anything. Searching on every side, he saw at last a glimmering light, like that of a candle, but a long way off, and beyond the forest. He came down, but when he was upon the ground he could not see it. This discouraged him very much; but finally, when he had been walking for some time with his brothers towards that side on which he had seen the light, he caught sight of it again as he came out of the wood.

They came at last to the house where this candle was, although not without many frights, for they lost sight of it every time they came into a hollow—which was very often. They knocked at the door and a kind woman came to open it. She asked them what they wanted, and Hop-o’-my-Thumb told her they had lost their way in the forest, and begged to stay and sleep there for charity’s sake. When the woman saw how pretty they were she began to weep, and said to them: “Alas, poor children, you do not know what kind of a place you have come to! Do you know that this house belongs to a cruel ogre who eats up little children?”

“Alas! dear madam,” answered Hop-o’-my-Thumb, who was trembling in every limb, as were his brothers, too, “what shall we do? The wolves of the forest will surely devour us if you refuse us shelter here, and so we would rather the gentleman should eat us. Perhaps he will have pity on us if you are so kind as to entreat him for us.”

The ogre’s wife, who believed that she could hide them from her husband till morning, let them come in, and had them warm themselves at a very good fire, before which a whole sheep was being roasted for the ogre’s supper.

As they were beginning to get warm, they heard three or four great raps at the door: this was the ogre, who was coming home. His wife hurried the children under the bed to hide them, and then went to open the door. The ogre at once asked if supper was ready and the wine drawn, and sat down at the table. The sheep was raw still, but he liked it all the better for that. But in a minute or two he sniffed about to the right and to the left, saying, “I smell fresh meat, I smell fresh meat.”

“What you smell,” said his wife, “must be the calf which I have just killed and dressed.”

“I smell fresh meat, I tell you once more,” said the ogre, looking crossly at his wife, “and there is something here which I do not understand.”

As he spoke these words, he got up from the table, and went straight to the bed.

“Ah,” said he, “that is how you thought to cheat me! Wretch! I do not know why I do not eat you up too; it is well for you that you are old and tough. Here is game which comes just in season to entertain three ogres, friends of mine, who are to pay me a visit in a day or two.”

With that he dragged them out from under the bed one by one. The poor children fell upon their knees and begged for pardon; but they had to deal with the most cruel of ogres, who, far from having any pity for them, had already devoured them with his eyes, and now told his wife they would be dainty morsels when she served them up with a good sauce.

He then fetched a great knife and began to sharpen it on a great whetstone which he held in his left hand; and all the while he came nearer and nearer to the poor children. He had already taken hold of one of them when his wife said to him: “Why do you need to do it at this time of night? Is not to-morrow time enough?”

“Hold your prating!” said the ogre; “they will grow more tender if they are kept a little while after they are killed.”

“But you have so much meat already,” replied his wife; “here are a calf, two sheep, and half a pig.”

“You are right,” said the ogre. “Give them all a good supper, that they may not get thin, and put them to bed.”

The good woman was overjoyed at this, and gave them a good supper; but they were so afraid that they could not eat a bit. As for the ogre, he sat down again to drink, well pleased that he had such a feast with which to treat his friends. He drank a dozen glasses more than usual, which went to his head and soon obliged him to go to bed.

The ogre had seven daughters, who were still little children. These young ogresses had all of them very fine complexions, because they ate raw meat like their father; but they had small gray eyes, quite round, hooked noses, wide mouths, and very long, sharp teeth, set very far apart from each other. They were not very wicked yet, but they gave promise of becoming so, for they had already bitten little children.

They had been put to bed early, all seven in one great bed, each with a crown of gold upon her head. There was another bed of the same size in the room, and in this the ogre’s wife put the seven little boys, and then went to bed herself along with her husband.

Hop-o’-my-Thumb took notice that the ogre’s daughters all had crowns of gold on their heads, and he was so afraid lest the ogre should repent his not killing them, that he got up about midnight, and, taking his brothers’ caps and his own, went very softly and put them on the heads of the seven little ogresses. But he first took off their crowns of gold, and put them on his own head and his brothers’, so that the ogre might take them for his daughters, and his daughters for the little boys whom he wanted to kill.

Everything turned out just as he had thought; for the ogre, waking about midnight, began to feel sorry that he had put off killing the boys till morning, when he might have done it overnight, so he jumped up quickly out of bed, taking his great knife.

“Let us see,” said he, “how our little rogues are getting on, and do the job up at once!”

He groped his way up to his daughters’ room, and went to the bed where the little boys lay, all fast asleep except Hop-o’-my-Thumb, who was terribly afraid when he found the ogre fumbling about his head, as he had done about his brothers’. When he felt the golden crowns, he said, “Truly, I should have done a pretty piece of work last night; it is perfectly evident that I drank too much wine then.”

Next he went to the bed where the girls lay, and when he felt the boys’ caps, he said, “Ah, my merry lads, here you are! let us get to work.”

And saying these words, without more ado he cut the throats of all his seven daughters. Well pleased with what he had done, he went back to bed again.

As soon as Hop-o’-my-Thumb heard the ogre snore, he waked his brothers and told them to put on their clothes quickly and follow him. They stole down softly into the garden and got over the wall. They ran almost all night, trembling all the while, and without knowing where they were going.

The ogre, when he woke, said to his wife, “Go up and dress those young rascals who came here last night.”

The ogress was very much surprised at this goodness of her husband, not dreaming of the manner in which she was to dress them; but, thinking he had ordered her to go up and put on their clothes, she went up, and was horrified when she saw her daughters all dead. She fell in a faint.

The ogre, fearing that his wife would be too long in doing what he had ordered, went up himself to help her. He was no less amazed than his wife at this frightful spectacle.

“Ah! what have I done?” he cried. “But the wretches shall pay for it, and that instantly.”

He threw a pitcher of water upon his wife’s face, and as soon as she came to herself he said, “Bring me quickly my seven-league boots, that I may go and catch them.”

He went out into the country, and after running in all directions he turned at last into the very road where the poor children were, not more than a hundred paces from their father’s house, to which they were running. They espied the ogre, who went at one step from mountain to mountain, and over rivers as easily as the narrowest brooks. Hop-o’-my-Thumb, seeing a hollow rock near the place where they were, made his brothers hide in it, and crowded into it himself, watching always to see what would become of the ogre.

The ogre, who found himself very tired with his long and fruitless journey (for seven-league boots are very tiring to wear), had a great mind to rest himself, and happened to sit down upon the very rock where the little boys had hidden themselves. As he was completely worn out, he fell asleep, and began to snore so frightfully that the poor children were no less afraid of him than when he held up his great knife and was going to cut their throats. Hop-o’-my-Thumb was not so much frightened as his brothers. He told them to run quickly home, while the ogre was sleeping, and not to worry about him. They took his advice and soon got home safely.

Hop-o’-my-Thumb then went up to the ogre, pulled off his boots gently, and put them on his own legs. They were very long and large, but as they were fairy boots they had the gift of becoming big or little according to the legs of those who wore them; so they fitted his feet and legs as well as if they had been made on purpose for him.

As soon as Hop-o’-my-Thumb had made sure of the ogre’s seven-league boots, he went to the palace and offered his services to carry orders from the King to his army,—which was a great way off,—and to bring back the quickest accounts of the battle they were just at that time fighting with the enemy. He thought he could be of more use to the King than all his mail coaches, and so might make his fortune in this manner. He succeeded so well that in a short time he had made money enough to keep himself, his father and mother, and his six brothers (without their having to tire themselves out with working), for all the rest of their lives. He then went home to his father’s house, where he was welcomed with great joy. As the great fame of his boots had been talked of at court by this time, the King sent for him, and employed him on the greatest affairs of state; so that he became one of the richest men in the kingdom.

And now let us see what became of the ogre. He slept so soundly that he never knew that his boots were gone; but he fell from the corner of the rock where Hop-o’-my-Thumb and his brothers had left him, and bruised himself so badly from head to foot that he could not stir. So he was forced to stretch himself out at full length and wait for some one to come and help him.

Now a good many fagot-makers passed near the place where the ogre lay, and when they heard him groan they went up to ask him what was the matter. But the ogre had eaten so many children in his lifetime that he had grown so very big and fat, that these men could not have carried even one of his legs; so they were forced to leave him there. At last night came on, and then a large serpent came out of a wood near by and stung him, so that he died in great pain.

As soon as Hop-o’-my-Thumb heard of the ogre’s death, he told the King—whose great favorite he had become—all that the good-natured ogress had done to save the lives of himself and his brothers. The King was so much pleased at what he heard that he asked Hop-o’-my-Thumb what favor he could bestow on her. Hop-o’-my-Thumb thanked his Majesty, and desired that the ogress might have the noble title of Duchess of Draggletail given to her, which was no sooner asked than granted. The ogress then came to court, and lived happily for many years, enjoying the vast fortune she found in the ogre’s chests. As for Hop-o’-my-Thumb, he grew more witty and brave every day till at last the King made him the greatest lord in the kingdom, and set him over all his affairs.

“AINSEL”

Mistress Lindsay, a widow, and her son Alan, who was a little boy then, lived in a cottage near Rothley. One winter’s night Alan refused to go to bed with his mother, saying, “I wish to sit up for a little while longer, for I am not a bit sleepy.”

His mother told him that if he sat up by himself the old fairy wife would most certainly come and take him away. But the boy laughed at this, and his mother went to bed, leaving him sitting by the fire.

He had not been there long, watching the fire and enjoying its cheerful warmth, when a bonny little figure, about the size of a child’s doll, hopped down the chimney and alighted on the hearth. The little fellow was somewhat startled at first, but the fairy’s smile as it danced to and fro before him soon overcame his fears. At last he inquired, “What do they call thee?”

“Ainsel,” [1] replied the little thing, tossing its wee head.

After a bit it turned to Alan with the same question, “And what do they call thee?”

“My Ainsel,” answered Alan.

So they began playing together like any two children. Their gambols went on till the fire began to grow dim. But when Alan took up the poker to stir it, a hot cinder fell accidentally upon the foot of his playmate. Her tiny voice was instantly raised to a most terrific yell, and Alan had scarcely time to crouch into the box bed behind his mother before the voice of the old fairy wife was heard shouting: “Who’s done it? Who’s done it?”

“Hoots! it was ‘my Ainsel’!” answered the tiny fairy.

“Why, then,” said her mother, as she kicked her up the chimney, “what’s all this noise for? There’s no one to blame but thine Ainsel.”

PERONELLA

Once upon a time there was a Queen so old and ugly, so bent down under the weight of years and infirmities, that she grew weary of life, unless her youth could be renewed to her. A fairy who had been present at her birth now paid the Queen a visit, and told her that if she could find a young girl willing to change places with her Majesty,—to give her bloom and youth in exchange for the Queen’s old age and scepter,—then the fairy by one wave of her wand would fulfill their desire.

The Queen was delighted, for she would much rather be poor, young, and healthy, than a rich queen who was too old and infirm to enjoy life. She therefore ordered the strictest search to be made throughout her dominions for a young girl who would be willing to give her youth in exchange for age, infirmities, and riches. It was not long before several discontented and ambitious girls came to accept the offer; but when they saw how feeble and helpless the old Queen was, how she could eat nothing but gruels and soups, how wrinkled and withered she was, how many times she said over the same thing, and how she tottered about bent double over her cane, they said they preferred their own conditions, poor and humble as they were, to the riches and the hundred years of her Majesty.

Afterwards there came some persons of a still more ambitious nature; to these the Queen promised grand titles and high honors. At first they were very willing; but when they had stayed a short time with her Majesty, they left the room, shaking their heads and saying, “Of what use would all the Queen possesses be to us, since we should then be so disfigured and so ugly that we should be ashamed to show ourselves to any one?”

At length a young maiden from a country village presented herself. She was exceedingly beautiful, and declared herself willing to accept the crown in exchange for her youth. Her name was Peronella. At first the Queen was very angry at her presumption, for the girl was very poor; but, after all, what did that matter when the Queen’s purpose was to grow young again? She proposed to Peronella to divide the kingdom with her.

“You shall have one half, and I the other,” said she. “Surely that is enough for you, who are but a poor country girl.”

“No,” replied Peronella, “that will not satisfy me at all; I will have the whole, or I will remain a country girl, strong and beautiful and active, while you keep your wrinkles and your hundred years.”

“But,” said the Queen, “what shall I do if I give away my whole kingdom?”

“Do?” said Peronella. “Your Majesty will laugh and dance and sing as I do”; and she laughed and danced and sung before her.

The Queen, who could do nothing like this, asked Peronella how she would amuse herself if she were Queen, for she knew nothing of all the infirmities of age.

“I really cannot be quite sure what I would do,” answered Peronella, “but I have a great mind to try the experiment, for every one says it is such a fine thing to be a queen.”

While the Queen and Peronella were coming to an agreement, the fairy entered the room, and said to the country girl, “Are you willing to make the trial, and see what it is like to be a queen, extremely rich, and a hundred years old?”

“I have no objection,” said Peronella.

In a single instant her skin became wrinkled, her hair turned gray, her teeth dropped out, her back was bent double, and she felt herself become helpless, and crippled, and ill-natured; she was already a hundred years old. The fairy touched a bell, and a crowd of officers and courtiers trooped in, all richly dressed, to do homage to the Queen and fulfill her will. A sumptuous repast was set before her, but she had not the least appetite, and, besides, she could eat nothing but soups and gruels; she did not know what to say, or how to behave, and was ashamed of the figure she must be making, especially as she sat where she could see herself in a looking-glass, and know all the time how very ugly she was.

In the meanwhile the real Queen stood in a corner, smiling all the time to see how fresh and comely she had become. Her hair was beautiful, her skin was soft and rosy, her teeth were white and firm, and her figure was strong and tall. She could skip about as nimbly as a deer; but she was dressed in a coarse, rough, short petticoat, and her cap and apron were poor and torn. She scarcely dared move in such clothes as these, and the guards, who never allowed such countrified, ragged-looking people within the palace gates, pushed her about with the greatest rudeness. Peronella, who was watching her, now said: “I see it is quite dreadful to you not to be queen, and it is still more so to me to be one. Pray, take your crown again, and give me my ragged petticoat.”

The change was immediately made: the Queen grew old again, and Peronella was as young and blooming as she had been before. Hardly had this taken place when each began to repent of her haste and to wish she had tried a little longer. But it was now too late; the fairy required them to remain forever in their own conditions. The Queen cried all day long over her aches and pains, saying: “Alas, if I were but Peronella! I should, it is true, sleep in a poor cottage and live on potatoes, but I should dance with the shepherds under a shady elm to the music of a flute. Of what use is a bed of down to me, since it gains me neither sleep nor ease; or so many attendants, since they cannot make me comfortable?”

So the Queen’s fretfulness increased her pain; nor could the twelve physicians, who constantly attended her, be of the least service. She died about two months later.

Peronella was dancing with her companions on the fresh grass by the side of a flowing stream when the news of the Queen’s death reached her. She said to them, “How fortunate I was in preferring my own humble lot to that of the Queen!”

Shortly after, Peronella was wooed by three suitors, who wanted to marry her. One was an old man, peevish and cross, a man of high distinction but so jealous that he would never let her out of his sight. The second was handsome and of good family, but improvident and wasteful; he would be careless of his wife’s comfort. The third was a young shepherd of her own rank, who loved her dearly and could give her a good, simple home in her own pretty village. Peronella was tempted by the riches of the first and the good looks and promises of the second, but she remembered how miserable she had been as queen. She married the shepherd, and they lived a simple, happy life for many, many long years.

FAIR GOLDILOCKS

There was once a King’s daughter who was so beautiful that nothing in the world could be compared with her. And because she was so beautiful, and because her hair was finer than spun gold and fell in waves to her feet, she was called Princess Goldilocks. She always wore a crown of flowers; her dresses were embroidered with diamonds and pearls; and every one who saw her loved her.

In a neighboring country there lived a young King who was not married, and who was very handsome and very rich. When he heard all that was said about fair Goldilocks, before he had ever seen her, he fell so deeply in love with her that he could neither eat nor drink for thinking of her. He determined to send an ambassador to ask for her hand in marriage. He had a splendid coach made for his ambassador, and giving him more than a hundred horses and a hundred servants, he charged him well to bring the Princess back with him.

After the ambassador had departed nothing else was talked of at the court but his mission. The King felt so sure of Goldilocks’s consent that he set his people to making beautiful dresses for her, and splendid furniture for her suite of rooms. Meanwhile the ambassador reached her court and delivered his message. But either the Princess did not happen to be in a good humor that day, or the offer did not suit her fancy, for she told the ambassador that she thanked the King, but she had no desire to marry. The ambassador left the Princess’s court feeling very much cast down at his failure. He was bringing back all the gifts that the King had sent her, for the Princess was too well brought up to accept the pearls and diamonds when she was refusing the King; but, in order not to give offense, she kept a little package of English pins.

When the ambassador reached the King’s capital, where the King was waiting impatiently, every one was in great distress because he had not brought fair Goldilocks back with him. The King wept like a child, and no one could console him.

Now there was at the court a young man who was handsomer and more gifted than any one else in the kingdom. Because of his grace and his ready wit he was called Charming. Every one liked him except a few people who were jealous of him because the King showed him favor and made him his confidant. One day Charming was with some people who were talking about the ambassador’s return and were saying that his visit did not seem to have done much good. Without thinking very much what he was saying, Charming remarked, “If the King had sent me to Princess Goldilocks I am sure she would have come back with me.”

Then these telltales ran straight to the King and said: “Your Majesty, what do you think Charming has been saying? That if he had been sent to Princess Goldilocks he would have brought her back with him. Did you ever hear of such impudence? He thinks he is handsomer than you, and that she would have fallen so deeply in love with him that she would have followed him anywhere.”

The King was beside himself with anger.

“Ha, ha!” said he; “so this spoiled youngster laughs at my misfortune, does he, and thinks himself better than his King? Go and put him in my great tower, and let him die of hunger.”

The King’s guards went to fetch Charming, who had quite forgotten his idle speech, and dragged him off to prison with all kinds of violence. The poor boy had only a little straw for his bed, and he would have died had it not been for a little stream which flowed through the tower, at which he could get water to cool his parched tongue. One day when he was in despair he cried aloud: “What can I have done to offend the King? He has not a more faithful subject than I. I have never done a thing to harm him.”

The King happened to be passing near the tower and heard the voice of his former favorite. He stopped to listen, in spite of the efforts of Charming’s enemies, who tried to persuade him to have nothing to do with the traitor. But the King said: “Let me alone. I want to hear what he is saying.”

At the sound of Charming’s laments, tears filled the King’s eyes, and he opened the tower door and called to him. Charming came forward in a pitiable state, and, throwing himself at the King’s feet, said, “What have I done, sire, to deserve this cruel treatment?”

“You mocked me and my ambassador,” said the King. “You said that if you had been sent for Princess Goldilocks you would have brought her back.”

“It is true, your Majesty,” replied Charming. “I should have told her so much about you and your good qualities that she would not have been able to refuse you. But I cannot see what there is in that to displease you.”

When the King considered it from this point of view he could not see anything in it to make him angry, and began to frown fiercely on those who had made him believe ill of his favorite. He took the boy away with him, repenting deeply the wrong he had done him. When he had seen to it that Charming had a good supper, he called him to his private room and said: “Charming, I am as much in love as ever with fair Goldilocks; her refusal has made no difference in my feelings. But I do not know how to gain her consent. I should like to send you to see if you could succeed.”

Charming replied that he was ready to fulfill his King’s least wish, and would set out the next morning.

“But wait,” said the King; “I want to provide you with a fine escort.”

“There is no need of that,” answered Charming. “I want only a good horse, and letters from you.”

The King was delighted at his willingness to start so soon, and provided him with what he needed. It was on a Monday morning that he started out alone, thinking always, as he went, how he should persuade Princess Goldilocks to marry the King. In his pocket he carried a writing tablet, and whenever a happy thought occurred to him he dismounted from his horse and sat down under the trees to write it, so that he might be sure not to forget anything which might be of use in his speech to the Princess.

One morning, when he had started early, as he was crossing a great meadow he had a capital idea. So he sprang from his horse and sat down under a willow tree by a little stream. When he had written it down he began to look about him and admire the pretty place where he had stopped. Then he saw a great golden carp panting and gasping on the grass. In leaping after little flies, it had jumped too far, and was lying on the bank, almost dead. Charming was sorry for it, and though he might have carried it away for his dinner, he picked it up gently and put it back into the stream. It sank to the bottom, drinking in the cool, refreshing water, and then, swimming gayly up to the bank, it said: “Charming, I thank you for the kindness you have shown me. But for you I should have died. By this act you have saved my life; one day I will repay you.”

With these words it plunged into the water again, leaving Charming greatly surprised at its politeness.

Another day, as he was going on his way, he saw a raven in great distress. The poor bird was being pursued by a great eagle. It would soon have been caught and eaten up, had not Charming quickly taken his bow and arrow and shot the eagle dead. The raven perched joyfully on a tree.

“Charming,” said he, “it was very generous of you to come to the aid of a poor raven. I shall not be ungrateful. Some day I will repay you.”

Charming thought this was very kind of the raven, and went on his way.

Before sunrise one morning, when it was so dark that he could hardly see his way, he heard an owl crying out as though it were in distress.

“Hark!” he said; “that owl seems to be in great trouble. It must be caught in a snare.”

So he began to hunt about, and soon found a great net spread by some fowlers.

“What a pity it is that men do nothing but torment and persecute poor creatures that never do them any harm!” he said; and taking out his knife he cut the cords. The owl flitted away, but came back quickly and said: “Charming, I need not tell you what a great service you have done me. At daybreak the fowlers would have come and caught me. Without your help I should have been killed. I am grateful, and one day I will repay you.”

These were the three chief adventures that happened to Charming on his journey. He made all possible speed to reach the palace of fair Goldilocks. When he arrived there he dressed himself with the greatest care in a suit of rich brocade, and put on a hat with scarlet and white plumes. Over his shoulder he threw an embroidered scarf. He carried on his arm a little basket in which was a pretty little dog that he had bought on the way. He looked so handsome and gay when he presented himself at the palace gate that the guards paid him great respect, and sent in haste to announce to Princess Goldilocks that Charming, ambassador of her neighbor the King, desired to see her.

“Charming,” repeated the Princess; “the name promises well. I am sure that he is handsome, and that every one likes him.”

“Indeed, that is true,” said all her maids of honor at once; “we saw him from the window of the garret where we were spinning flax, and we could do nothing but look at him as long as he was in sight.”

“So that’s the way you spend your time, is it,” replied the Princess,—“gazing out of the window at handsome strangers? Go quickly, and get me my blue satin embroidered dress. Let one of you comb my hair, and another make me fresh garlands of flowers. Get me my high-heeled shoes and my fan, and tell them to sweep my hall and my throne. I want him to find me in truth ‘Fair Goldilocks.’”

All the maidens rushed this way and that to make the Princess ready. They were in such a hurry that they ran into and hindered one another. However, at last the Princess passed into her gallery of mirrors to make sure that everything was as it should be. Then she mounted her throne of gold and ebony and ivory, and told her ladies to take their guitars, and to play and sing softly.

Charming was led into the audience room, and stood so dazzled with admiration that at first he could not speak. Presently he took courage, and delivered his speech, eloquently pleading with the Princess to spare him the unhappiness of returning without her.

“Sir Charming,” answered she, “all the reasons which you have given me are very good, and I assure you I should take more pleasure in obliging you than in obliging any one else; but you must know that a month ago, as I was walking by the river with my ladies, I took off my glove, and as I did so a ring slipped from my finger and rolled into the river. This ring was more precious to me than my kingdom, and you may imagine how distressed I was to lose it. I vowed then never to listen to any proposal of marriage unless the ambassador first brought me back my ring. So now you see what you have before you; for if you talked to me for fifteen days and fifteen nights you could not make me change my mind.”

Charming was very much surprised by this answer, but he bowed low to the Princess and begged her to accept the embroidered scarf and the little dog he had brought with him. But she said she did not wish any presents, and bade him think of what she had just told him.

When he got back to his room he went to bed without eating any supper, and his little dog, who was called Frolic, would not eat any either, but came and lay down beside him. All night long Charming tossed back and forth sighing.

“How am I to find a ring that fell into the river a month ago?” he said. “It is useless to try. She has chosen to set me a task which she knows will be impossible.” And he sighed again.

Frolic heard him and said: “My dear master, do not despair; you are always lucky, you know, and, besides, you are too good not to be happy. Let us go down to the river as soon as it is day.”

Charming only petted the dog a little and said nothing, but after a while he fell asleep.

At dawn Frolic began to jump about, and awoke his master. They went down to the river together, and wandered up and down. Charming was thinking sadly of starting for home when he heard some one calling, “Charming! Charming!”

He looked all about, and thought he must be dreaming, for he could not see anybody. He walked on, and again the voice called, “Charming! Charming!”

“Who is calling me?” he said.

Frolic, who was running along close to the water’s edge, cried out, “All that I can see is a golden carp.”

And there, to be sure, was the great carp, and it spoke to Charming, saying: “You saved my life in the meadow by the willow tree, and I promised to repay you. See, dear Charming, here is Princess Goldilocks’s ring.”

Charming stooped down and took the ring from the carp’s mouth, thanking it over and over again. Then he and little Frolic went straight to the palace. Some one told the Princess that he was asking to see her.

“Ah, poor boy!” she said; “he has come to say good-by. He has doubtless decided that it is impossible to do what I asked.”

But in came Charming, and presented the ring to her, saying: “Princess, I have done your bidding. Will it please you to accept the King, my master, as your husband?”

When the Princess saw her ring brought back to her unhurt, she was so astonished that she thought she must be dreaming.

“Surely, Sir Charming,” she said, “you must be the favorite of some fairy, or you could never have found it.”

“Madam,” he replied, “I know no fairy, but I had a great desire to obey your wishes.”

“Then, since you are so willing,” said she, “you must do me another service; otherwise I will never marry. Not far from here there is a Prince called Galifron, who is determined to marry me. When I refused he uttered most terrible threats that he would lay waste my kingdom. But how could I accept him? He is a giant, taller than a tower, and thinks no more of eating a man than a monkey does of eating chestnuts. He talks so loud that those who are near him become deaf. I told him I did not wish to marry, but he has never ceased to persecute me and to kill my subjects. So, before I listen to your proposal, you must kill him and bring me his head.”

Charming was somewhat startled by this proposal, but he answered: “Very well, Princess Goldilocks, I will fight this Galifron. I believe I shall be beaten, but I will die a brave man.”

The Princess was frightened at this. She told Charming everything she could think of to prevent him from undertaking the adventure, but it was all in vain. He withdrew to arm himself properly, and then, taking little Frolic with him, he mounted his horse and set out for Galifron’s country. Every one he met told him what a terrible giant Galifron was, and how nobody dared to go near him. The more he heard about him the more frightened he became. Frolic tried to encourage him by saying: “Dear master, while you are fighting the giant, I will go at him and bite his legs. Then when he stoops down to drive me off, you can kill him.”

Charming admired the little dog’s spirit, but knew his help would not amount to much.

At last he drew near to the giant’s castle. All roads leading to it were covered with bones of men the giant had killed. Before long he saw Galifron coming through the wood. His head was higher than the tallest trees, and he was striding along, singing in a terrible voice:

“Bring out children for me to eat;
They are the nicest kind of meat.
The more you bring, the better ’twill be,
For all in the world would not satisfy me.”

Then Charming began to sing to the same tune:

“Come and look upon bold Charming;
He does not think you very alarming.
Although he is not as big as you,
He’s come a giant to subdue.”

When Galifron heard these words he looked all around and soon caught sight of Charming, standing sword in hand. He flew into a terrible rage, and aimed a blow at Charming with his heavy iron club, which would certainly have killed him if it had hit him; but at that moment a raven perched on the giant’s head and pecked out both his eyes. The giant struck out blindly in every direction, but Charming easily avoided his blows, and wounded him so severely with his sword that he fell to the ground. Then he cut off the giant’s head, while the raven, who was perched on a tree near by, said: “You see I have not forgotten the service you did me in killing the eagle. To-day I think I have fulfilled my promise to repay you.”

“It is I who am the debtor to you for your timely help,” replied Charming, “and I am very grateful to you.”

Then he mounted his horse and rode off with the head of Galifron.

When he came to the town every one ran after him, crying: “Here comes brave Charming! He has killed the giant!”

The Princess heard the shouts, but she did not dare to ask what had happened for fear she should be told that Charming had been killed. But soon Charming came in with the giant’s head, the very sight of which frightened her, although she knew that Galifron would never trouble her again.

“Princess,” said Charming, “I have killed your enemy. I hope you will no longer refuse the King my master.”

“I must,” said fair Goldilocks, “unless you can bring me some water from the Grotto of Darkness. This is a very deep cavern, about six leagues long. The entrance is guarded by two dragons with fire coming out of their eyes and mouths. When you get inside the gate you go down into an immense hole, full of toads and adders and snakes. At the bottom of this hole is a little cave, in which rises the Fountain of Beauty and Health. It is some of this water that I must have; it has wonderful power for those who bathe in it. If you are beautiful, you will always remain so; if you are ugly, you become fair. If you are young, you never grow old, and if you are old, you become young. You see, Charming, that I really could not leave my kingdom without carrying some of this water with me.”

“Princess,” he said, “you are so beautiful that you can never have any need of this water; but I am an unhappy ambassador whose death you desire. I will go in search of what you wish, though I know I shall never return.”

The Princess showed no sign of taking back her request, so Charming set out with his little dog, Frolic, for the Grotto of Darkness. Every one he met on the way said: “What a pity to see so handsome a youth throwing away his life so recklessly! He is going to the grotto alone; but if he had a hundred men with him he could never succeed. Why does the Princess demand such impossible things?”

He seemed to pay no attention to them, and went right along, but he was very sad at heart. At last he came to the top of a mountain from which he had been told one could see the Grotto of Darkness, and he looked about to find it. He saw a hideous rock, black as ink, out of which a thick smoke was coming. In a moment one of the fiery dragons appeared. Its body was yellow and green; it had great claws, and a long tail that lay in a hundred coils. Fire was shooting out from its mouth and eyes. When Frolic saw the dragon he was so frightened that he did not know where to hide. Charming, who was resolved to die in the attempt if need be, drew his sword, and took out the flask which Princess Goldilocks had given him to fill with the water of beauty. As he started for the cavern he said to Frolic: “I feel sure that I shall die in the attempt to get this water. When I do not come back to you, go and tell the Princess that I have died in the effort to fulfill her wishes. Then go to the King my master and tell him of my adventures.”

As he was speaking he heard a voice calling, “Charming! Charming!”

“Who calls me?” he said.

Then he noticed an owl sitting in a hollow tree, who said to him: “You saved my life when I was in the net, and I promised to repay you. Now I can do it. Give me your flask. I know all the paths through the Grotto of Darkness, and I will fetch the water of beauty for you.”

Charming was delighted to give him the flask, and the owl flew into the cavern without any difficulty, and in less than a quarter of an hour returned with the flask full to the brim. Charming thanked him with all his heart, and joyfully set out for the town.

He went straight to the palace and presented the flask to Princess Goldilocks, who had nothing more to say. She thanked Charming, and ordered that preparations should be made for her departure, and they soon set out together. The Princess found Charming so delightful a companion that she sometimes said to him: “Why did we ever leave my kingdom? I could have made you King, and we should have been happy together.”

But Charming answered: “I could not have done anything so displeasing to my master for all the kingdoms of the earth, though I think you lovelier than the sun.”

At last they reached the King’s chief city, and he came out to meet Princess Goldilocks, bringing magnificent presents. The marriage was celebrated with great rejoicings. But Goldilocks was so fond of Charming that she could not be happy unless he was near her, and his praises were always on her lips.

“If it had not been for Charming,” she would say to the King, “I should never have been here. You ought to be very grateful to him, for he did most impossible things to win me. Besides, he got me water from the Fountain of Beauty, so that I can never grow old, but shall be beautiful always.”

Then Charming’s enemies, who envied him his good fortune, said to the King: “You don’t seem to be jealous, but you have good reason to be. The Queen seems to talk and think of no one but Charming, and how much he did to gain her. As if anybody you had sent could not have done just as much!”

“Now I come to think of it, I believe you are right,” said the King. “Let him be chained hand and foot and thrown into the tower.”

So they took Charming, and as a reward for having served the King so well he was shut up in the tower, where he saw no one but the jailer who brought him black bread and water once a day. But little Frolic stayed to comfort him, and brought him all the news.