Chapter III

One hundred years after, a king’s son was hunting. He saw the towers of a castle far away.

He rode toward the castle and at last came to the hedge of thorns. As the prince looked he saw that it was not a hedge of thorns, but a hedge of beautiful flowers.

The prince passed through the hedge of flowers and followed a path to the castle.

He went into the castle and saw the king and the queen fast asleep.

Then he looked in all the rooms. By and by the prince came to the high tower.

There lay the princess fast asleep. She was so beautiful that the prince kissed her hand.

The princess opened her eyes and said, “My prince, I have waited for you here a hundred years.”

Then the prince and the princess went out of the high tower together.

At once the king and the queen and every one in the castle awoke.

The fire in the kitchen burned, and the cook began to get the dinner.

The horses in the barn awoke, and the dogs jumped about and barked.

The flies on the wall buzzed, and the doves flew about the housetop.

That night there was a great feast in the castle. Ever after the prince and the princess lived happily together.

JACOB AND WILLIAM GRIMM (_Adapted_).

AN OPEN SECRET.

Pussy Willow had a secret
That the snowdrops whispered her,
And she purred it to the south wind
While it stroked her velvet fur;
And the south wind hummed it softly
To the busy honey-bees,
And they buzzed it to the blossoms
On the scarlet maple-trees.

And these dropped it to the wood brooks
Brimming full of melted snow,
And the brooks told Robin Redbreast
As he chattered to and fro;
Little Robin could not keep it,
So he sang it loud and clear
To the sleepy hills and meadows
“Wake up! Cheer up! Spring is here!”

UNKNOWN.

THE FEAST OF EGGS.

There was once a princess who left her beautiful castle. She went to live in a little house in the country.

One day she told her servant to go to the village and buy some eggs for supper.

“Eggs!” said the servant. “There are no birds’ eggs.”

“I did not ask for birds’ eggs,” said the princess. “Buy hens’ eggs, of course.”

The servant shook her head and said, “We have no hens. I do not know what kind of birds they are.”

The princess thought that she would surprise the boys and the girls of the village. So she sent an old man far away.

When he came back the old man carried a chicken coop on his head.

All the children of the village ran after him. They wanted to know what he was carrying on his head.

The old man set the coop down, opened the little door, and a large rooster stepped out.

The children all cried, “Oh, what a wonderful bird that is!” They did not know what to call him.

Then out stepped the hens. There was a white one, and one that was brown, and one that had tall red combs.

The princess gave the chickens some corn. When they had eaten it the rooster crowed.

How the children laughed! “Ki-ki-ri-ki!” they cried, like the rooster.