MOTHER FROST—II
When the stepmother saw the girl with her golden dress, she was kind to her. Then the maiden told how the gold had fallen upon her.
The mother could hardly wait to have her own child try her luck in the same way.
This time she made the idle daughter go to the spring and spin.
The lazy girl did not spin fast enough to make her fingers bleed.
So she pricked her finger with a thorn until a few drops of blood stained the spindle.
At once she let it drop into the water, and sprang in after it herself.
The ugly girl found herself in a beautiful field, just as her sister had.
She walked along the same path until she came to the baker's oven.
She heard the loaves cry, "Pull us out! pull us out, or we shall burn!"
But the lazy girl said to the brown loaves, "I will not. I do not want to soil my hands in your dirty oven."
Then she walked on until she came to the apple tree.
"Shake me! shake me!" it cried, "for my apples are quite ripe."
"I will not," said the girl, "for some of your apples might fall on my head."
As she spoke, she walked lazily on.
At last the girl stood before the door of Mother Frost's house.
She had no fear of Mother Frost's great teeth, but walked right up to the old woman and offered to be her servant.
For a whole day the girl was very busy, and did everything that she was told to do.
On the second day she began to be lazy, and on the third day she was still worse.
She would not get up in the morning.
The bed was never made, or shaken, so the feathers could fly about.
At last Mother Frost grew tired of her and told her that she must go away.
This was what the lazy girl wanted, for she felt sure that now she would have the golden shower.
Mother Frost led her to the great gate, but she passed under it, a kettle full of black pitch was upset over her.
"That is what you get for your work," said the old woman, as she shut the gate.
The idle girl walked home, covered with pitch.
When she went into the farmyard the cock on the roof cried out:
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!
Our sticky lady has come home, too."
The pitch stuck so fast to the girl that, as long as she lived, it never came off.
WILLIAM AND JACOB GRIMM
IF EVER I SEE
If ever I see,
On bush or tree,
Young birds in their pretty nest;
I must not, in play,
Steal the birds away,
To grieve their mother's breast.
My mother, I know,
Would sorrow so,
Should I be stolen away;
So I'll speak to the birds
In my softest words,
Nor hurt them in my play.
And when they can fly
In the bright blue sky,
They'll warble a song to me;
And then if I'm sad
It will make me glad
To think they are happy and free.
LYDIA MARIA CHILD
WHY THE BEAR'S TAIL IS SHORT
Did you ever go to a circus where there was a bear in a cage?
Did you notice how short his tail was?
I will tell you how the bear's tail came to be short.
One very cold day in winter, a fox saw some men taking home a load of fish.
The fox jumped upon the wagon while the men were not looking.
He threw off some of the best fish until he had enough for his dinner.
Then Mr. Fox jumped from the wagon and began to eat the fish.
While he was eating the fish, Mr. Bear came along.
"Good morning," said Mr. Bear, "you have had good luck fishing to-day. Those are very fine fish. How did you catch them?"
"They are fine fish," said Mr. Fox.
"If you will go fishing with me to-night, I will show you how to catch even better fish than these."
"I will go with you gladly," said the bear. "I will bring my hook and line too."
"You don't need a hook and line," said the fox.
"I always catch fish with my tail. You have a much longer tail than I, and can fish so much the better."
At sunset the bear met the fox.
They went across the frozen river until they came to a small hole in the ice.
"Now, Mr. Bear," said the fox, "sit down here on the ice and put your tail through the hole. You must keep still for a long while. That is the best way to catch fish.
Wait until a great many fish take hold of your tail. Then pull with all your might."
The bear sat very still for a long time.
At last he began to feel cold and he moved a little.
"Ow!" he cried, for his tail had begun freeze in the ice.
"Is it not time to pull out the fish?" said the bear.
"No, no," cried the fox.
"Wait until more fish have taken hold of your tail. You are very strong. You can wait a little longer."
So the poor bear waited until it was almost morning.
Just then some dogs began to bark on the bank of the river.
The bear was so afraid that he jumped up quickly and pulled with all his might, but his tail was frozen fast in the ice.
He pulled and pulled until at length the tail was broken short off.
Mr. Fox ran away laughing and laughing at the trick he had played upon Mr. Bear.
Bears' tails have been short ever since.
German Folk Tale
RUMPELSTILTSKIN—I
| glistened | guess | mourn | chamber |
Once upon a time there lived a miller who had a beautiful daughter.
Now the miller had to visit the king's castle and, while there, he happened to meet the king face to face.
The king stopped and spoke to the miller. The miller, wishing the king to think that he was very rich, told him that he had a daughter who could spin straw into gold.
"Ah," said the king, "that is indeed a wonderful gift. To-morrow you must bring your daughter to my castle, that she may spin some gold for me."
Then the miller was afraid and wished he had not spoken, but he had to do as the king ordered.
The next day he brought his daughter to the castle.
Now it happened that the king loved gold above all things. So taking the poor girl by the hand, he led her into one of the great rooms of the castle.
There, in the middle of the room, stood a spinning wheel, and near it was a great heap of straw.
The king turned to the miller's daughter, and said:
"There is your spinning wheel, and here is the straw. If you do not spin all of it into gold by morning, your head shall be cut off."
Then the king left the room and locked the door behind him.
The poor girl could only sit and weep, for she had not the least idea how to spin straw into gold.
While she was crying, the door flew open and a little old man stepped into the room.
He had bandy legs, a long red nose, and wore a tall, peaked cap. Bowing low to the maiden he said:
"Good evening, my dear young lady. Why are you crying?"
"Alas," said the girl, "the king has ordered me to spin all this straw into gold, and I do not know how."
Then the little man said, "What will you give me if I will spin it for you?"
"This string of gold beads from my neck," said the girl.
The little man took the beads, and, sitting down, began to spin.
Whir! whir! went the wheel; round and round it whirled.
Lo, as the maiden looked, she saw the coarse straw turn into beautiful golden threads.
The little man kept so busily at work that soon all the straw was gone, and in its place lay a heap of the finest gold.
The next morning the king unlocked the door. How his eyes sparkled at the sight of the gold!
These riches made the king even more greedy than before.
He led the maiden to a still larger chamber, which was full of straw.
Turning to the trembling girl, he said, "There is your spinning wheel, and here is the straw. If you do not spin all of it into gold by morning, your head shall be cut off."
The maiden's eyes filled with tears at the sight of that huge heap of straw. Sitting down, she began to cry.
All at once the door opened and in jumped the little old man. He took off his pointed cap and said to the miller's daughter, "What will you give me if I help you again, and spin this straw into gold?"
"This ring from my finger," said the maiden.
The little man took the ring, and seating himself before the spinning wheel, began to spin.
Whir! whir! went the wheel. Faster and faster it whirled.
In the morning the straw had all been turned into finest gold.
When the king opened the door, how his eyes glistened at the sight of the gold! Still, it only made him greedy for more, so taking the poor girl by the hand, he led her to a much larger chamber.
This was so full of straw that there was hardly room for her to sit at the spinning wheel.
Turning to the maiden, the king said:
"There is your spinning wheel, and here is the straw. If you do not spin all of it into gold by morning, your head shall be cut off. But if you do spin the gold, I will marry you and make you my queen."
"For," thought the king, "though she is only a miller's daughter, yet she can make me the richest king in the world."
Hardly had the door closed behind the king, when the little old man came hopping and skipping into the room.
Taking off his pointed cap, he said to the girl, "What will you give me if I will again spin this straw for you?"
"Ah!" said the maiden, "I have nothing more to give."
"Then you must make me a promise," said the little man. "You must promise to give me your first child, after you have become queen."
The poor girl saw no other way to save her life, so she gave her promise to the little man.
Then he sat down and began to spin.
Whir! whir! went the wheel. Faster and faster he spun.
Soon the great roomful of straw was all turned into gold.
When the king opened the door the next morning, he saw the maiden sitting beside a large heap of shining gold.
The king kept his promise, and made the poor miller's daughter his queen.
RUMPELSTILTSKIN—II
About a year later the queen had a lovely child, but she forgot all about her promise.
One day the little old man came hopping into the queen's room and said, "Now give me what you have promised."
The queen was filled with terror, and offered the little man all the riches of the kingdom if he would leave her the child.
"No, I do not care for riches; you must keep your promise."
Then the queen began to mourn and to weep, until the little man had pity for her.
"I will give you three days," he said, "and if, in that time, you can guess my name, you shall keep the child."
The queen lay awake that night, thinking of all the names she had ever heard. In the morning men were sent to every part of the kingdom to find strange names.
The next day the little man came again. The queen began to call off to him all the names that she had found—Caspar, Melchior, and many, many others.
At each one the little man shook his head, and said, "No, that is not my name."
Then the queen had her men go from house to house through the town. They took down the name of every man, woman, and child.
When the little man came again, the queen had a long list of names to give him.
"Is your name Cowribs, or Sheepshanks, or Bandy legs?" she said to him at last.
He answered to each one, "No, that is not my name."
On the third day the queen's men began to come back from all parts of the kingdom. They had been far and wide to find new names.
One of these men said, "I could not find any new names, but going by some deep woods, I heard a fox wish good-night to a rabbit.
Soon I came upon a little house, in front of which a fire was burning. Around this fire danced a little man. He wore a pointed cap, and had a long nose and bandy legs. As he went hopping and jumping about, first on one leg and then on the other, he sang:
My baking and brewing I will do to-day,
The queen's son to-morrow I will take away,
No wise man can show the queen where to begin,
For my name, to be sure, is Rumpelstiltskin."
The queen clapped her hands for joy. She knew that at last she had found the name.
She sent the servant away with a bag of gold, and waited for the queer little man to come to her. At sunset the little fellow came hopping and skipping up to the queen.
"Now, O queen," he said, "this is your last chance. Tell me my name."
The queen asked, "Is your name Conrad?"
"No."
"Henry?"
"No."
"Then your name is Rumpelstiltskin."
"The fairies have told you!" shouted the little man dancing about.
He became so angry that, in his rage, he stamped his right foot into the ground.
This made him more angry still, and taking hold of his left foot with both hands, he pulled so hard that he tore himself quite in two.
WILLIAM AND JACOB GRIMM
BED IN SUMMER
In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.
I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.
And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
THE GOLDEN TOUCH—I
| touch | slightest | creature | statue |
Many years ago there lived a king named Midas.
King Midas had one little daughter, whose name was Marigold.
King Midas was very, very rich. It was said that he had more gold than any other king in the world.
One room of his great castle was almost filled with yellow gold pieces.
At last the king grew so fond of his gold that he loved it better than anything else in all the world.
He even loved it better than his own little daughter, dear little rosy-cheeked Marigold. His one great wish seemed to be for more and more gold.
One day while he was in his gold room counting his money, a beautiful fairy boy stood before him.
The boy's face shone with a wonderful light, and he had wings on his cap and wings on his feet. In his hand he carried a strange-looking wand, and the wand also had wings.
"Midas, you are the richest man in the world," said the fairy. "There is no king who has so much gold as you."
"That may be," said the king. "As you see, I have this room full of gold, but I should like much more; for gold is the best and the most wonderful thing in the world."
"Are you sure?" asked the fairy.
"I am very sure," answered the king.
"If I should grant you one wish," said the fairy, "would you ask for more gold?"
"If I could have but one wish," said the king, "I would ask that everything I touched should turn to beautiful yellow gold."
"Your wish shall be granted," said the fairy "At sunrise to-morrow morning your slightest touch will turn everything into gold. But warn you that your gift will not make you happy."
"I will take the risk," said the king.