When the princess had taken of the ashes and been made well, he claimed her for his wife, according to the king's promise; but the king was not pleased at this, seeing he was dressed so meanly, and thought to get rid of him by saying, "Whoever wants to have the princess for his wife, must first find water for the use of the town, where there is a great scarcity this summer. So the man went out and told the people to take up the square stone in the market-place, and dig for water underneath; and when they had done so they came to a fine spring of water, more than sufficient for the whole town. So the king could no longer refuse giving him his daughter, and they were married and lived happily together.

Some time after, as he was one day walking in the fields, he met his two wicked comrades who had treated him so basely. Though they did not know him, he knew them at once, and went up to them and said, "Look upon me; I am your old comrade whose eyes you put out. Heaven has brought good out of all the evil which you did me." When they heard this they fell at his feet and begged his forgiveness; and as he had a good heart, he forgave them, and took them with him and gave them food and clothes. And he told them all that had happened to him, and how he had obtained such honours. When they heard it, they had no rest, and resolved that they would go and sit some night under the gallows, hoping to hear something that would turn out lucky for them. When they came to the gallows, they heard a fluttering noise over their heads; and the three crows came as before. 'Sisters," said one of them, "some one must have overheard our talk; for the princess is well; the toad is gone from the pond; a blind man's sight has been restored to him; and they have dug a fresh well that gives water to the whole town; let us look about, perhaps we may find the culprit. Then they began to flutter about, and soon found out the two men below; and before they could defend themselves, they pecked their eyes out, and at last killed them under the gallows. The next day passed over, and as they did not return, their old comrade began to wonder what had become of them, and went out the following morning in search of them, and at last found nothing but their bones, which he brought away from the gallows, and laid in a grave.

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LONG, long ago, perhaps many hundred years, there was a rich man that had a very beautiful wife, and they were very fond of each other: but to their great grief they had no children. Now, before the house was a garden, and in the garden there stood a juniper tree; and once on a time, in winter, the lady was standing paring an apple under the tree, and cut her finger, so that the blood dropped from it on the snow. "Alas!" sighed the lady, "would that I had a child as white as snow, and as red as blood;" and as she thought thus within herself, she began to be very cheerful, and to feel sure that her wish would be granted. She then went home; and when one month was over and gone, then the snow went away; and in two months the green fields appeared; and in three months the flowers appeared; and in four months all the trees in the wood were shooting forth their branches, where the birds sang so as to make the whole wood ring again, and the blossoms fell upon the ground. The fifth month saw the juniper tree in all its beauty, and the lady's heart leaped

for joy, and she fell on her knees, and thanked God. When the sixth month was past, the fruit was thick on the trees, and the lady kept herself very quiet and still; but in the seventh month she took some of the juniper berries, that looked so very nice, but they made her sick and ill. Then the eighth month passed away, and she asked her husband, if she died, to bury her under the juniper tree. When the ninth month was over, then she had a little child, as white as snow, and as red as blood, and her joy was so great that she died.

According to his promise, her husband buried her under the juniper tree, and grieved very much for her loss; but after a time he grew more cheerful, and married another wife, who gave him a little daughter. She loved her daughter very much, but hated the little boy, who was always in her way; and she thought within herself how she would manage to get all her husband's money for her daughter, and not let the boy have any. The poor boy's life was made quite miserable by this wicked woman; for she was always knocking him about, and he had no peace, except when he was at school. Once, when the mother was going up to her chamber, her little girl asked her for an apple, and so the mother gave her a fine one out of the chest; the chest had a great thick lid, and a heavy iron lock to it. "Mother," said the little girl, "won't you give brother an apple too?"-"Yes," said her mother, "when he comes back from school," although she was displeased with the little girl for asking her. Looking out at the window, she then saw the little boy coming from school; so she snatched the apple back from her daughter, and said, "You shall not have it-it is for your brother;" and so saying, she threw the apple into the chest, and shut it down. The little boy then made his appearance at the door, and the wicked woman pretended to speak kindly to him, and asked if he would have an apple. "Oh yes, mother," he said; "how kind you are!" "Come with me, then," said she; and lifting up the lid of the chest, she told him to take out an apple; and as he stooped to do so, the wicked woman let the lid fall down with such a crash, that it took his head clean off, and it fell down among the apples. Seeing this, she was frightened, and schemed and schemed how she should remove the blame of the bad deed from herself, and put it upon another. So she went into her bed-room, and took a white handkerchief, and putting his head on his shoulders again, tied it round, so that nothing was seen, and put the apple in his hand, and set him on a stool by the door.

The little girl soon came running to her mother, who was in the kitchen, standing by the fire, and stirring about some hot water in a pot, and cried out, "Mother, my brother is sitting at the door looking so white, and with an apple in his hand; and when I asked him to give me the apple, he would not speak, and quite frightened me.”- "Go back again, then," said the mother, "and if he won't speak to you again, give him a good box on the ear." So Margery went, and said, "Brother, give me the apple ;" and as he made no answer, she gave him a knock on the head, so that his head fell off, at which she was much frightened, and began to weep and cry, and ran to her mother, and said, "Oh dear me, I have knocked my brother's head off!" And as she continued to cry and lament, her mother told her to be quiet, as it could not be helped, and to say nothing about it. So she buried him out of the way, except some of his little bones that Margery took and hid, by way of remembance of her dear little brother. When the father came home, he inquired for his son, and the mother at first said nothing, but put the dinner on the table. And when the father asked again, she said that he was gone to the country to his uncle's. " Why did he go without first bidding me good bye?" said the father. "Oh he wanted so to go, and begged of me to let him stop there some time; he will be well taken care of." And the father was very sorry, and said it was not right for him to go away without first bidding his father farewell. And then he began to eat, and said to Margery, Why do you cry so? Your brother will come back again." Margery then went away, and took out of her drawers her best silk handkerchief, and put all the dear little bones in it, and tied them up, weeping as she did it, and took them and laid them under the juniper tree, and having done this, she felt more at ease and comforted. Then the juniper tree began to move backwards and forwards, and the branches, as it were, to clap their hands and rejoice. And then there came something like a cloud out of the tree, and in the cloud there was a fire, and out of the fire there flew a beautiful bird, that sung so sweetly, and mounted up into the sky; and as it went out of sight, the juniper tree appeared just as it was before, but the handkerchief and the little bones were gone. And Margery felt as happy and pleased as if her brother was alive again, and went back to the house, and ate her dinner. The bird flew, and flew, till it came to a goldsmith's house, and there it rested, and began singing :

66

"My wicked mother slew me

My father long will rue me:
My sister Margery, gentle fat.
Took all my little bones awIT
Within her silken soood so fait
And buried them, w mickle care.
Beneath the waving jiper tree
And now I live so merrily,
Roving along

And still my song

Is What a fine bird am I

The goldsmith was sitting in his workshop. maang & gud chain, when he heard the bird singing on the bonse-top wo beautifully. Up he rose, and in stepping over the door-vay. one of his slippers came off, but he never minded that, bis ran out into the street with his apron on, kidng the gd chain in one hand, and his pincers in the other one the sun shone brightly; and looking up, he saw the bird and und to it, "Birdie, how sweetly you sing! Do sing me that song again!"—"No, indeed," said the bird ct le yog me that gold chain; if you will do that. I w

Very well," said the goldsmith, there it is for you: Dowsing me the song." Then the bird few down and took me shank in his right claw, and sat down near to the gaith and sang as before:

Then the bird flew away to a shoemiters, ud u qala house-top, and sang as before. The shoemaker, hearing the bird, ran out without his coat, and looking up to be the bird, was almost blinded by the sun-beams, wo that be mis obliged to shade his face with his hands. • Brid he, “how beautifully you sing!" Then he called out to this to come and hear the bird that sang so beautifully: un na children and work-people, one and all, he called them to see the beautiful bird, and what fine red and green feathers be had; and round his neck there was a ring ..ke pure gold, and his eyes shone in his head like stars. "Bird," said the showmaker, "do sing that song again."-"No, indeed," said the bird, "not unless you give me something. Wife," said the