THE FOUR FRIENDS—III
When all was still and the light was out, the robber chief sent one of his bravest men back to the house.
The man found the house quiet, so he went into the kitchen to strike a light.
Seeing the great fiery eyes of the cat, he thought they were live coals and held a match to them.
Puss was so angry that he flew up and scratched the man's face. This gave the robber a great fright, and he ran for the door.
As he went by, the dog sprang up and bit him in the leg.
In the yard the robber ran into the donkey, who gave him a great kick.
The cock on the beam was waked by the! noise, and cried, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
The man ran as fast as his legs could carry him back to the robber chief.
"Ah!" he cried. "In that house is a wicked witch, who flew at me and scratched my face with her long nails.
By the door stood a man with a knife, who cut me in the leg.
Out in the yard lay a great black giant, who struck me a blow with his wooden club.
Upon the roof sat the judge, who cried, 'What did he do? What did he do?'
When I heard this I ran off as fast as I could."
The robbers never went near the house again.
The four friends liked the place so well that they would not leave it, and so far as I know, they are there to this day.
WILLIAM AND JACOB GRIMM
LITTLE BIRDIE
What does little birdie say,
In her nest at peep of day?
Let me fly, says little birdie,
Mother, let me fly away.
Birdie, rest a little longer,
Till the little wings are stronger.
So she rests a little longer,
Then she flies away.
What does little baby say,
In her bed at peep of day?
Baby says, like little birdie,
Let me rise and fly away.
Baby, sleep a little longer,
Till the little limbs are stronger.
If she sleeps a little longer,
Baby too shall fly away.
ALFRED TENNYSON
MOTHER FROST—I
| broad | daughters | through | heart |
At the edge of a wood there was a great, clear, bubbling spring of cold water.
Near this spring lived a widow and her two daughters.
One of them was very beautiful and a great help about the house, while the other was ugly and idle.
The mother loved only the ugly one, for she was her own child.
She cared so little for the other daughter that she made her do all the hard work.
Every day the poor girl would sit beside the spring and spin and spin, until her fingers bled.
One day, while she was washing the blood from her hands, the spindle fell into the spring and sank to the bottom.
With tears in her eyes, she ran and told her stepmother what she had done.
The stepmother was angry and said, "You let the spindle fall into the spring. Now you must go and get it out."
The maiden went back to the spring to look for the spindle.
She leaned so far over the edge that her hand slipped, and down, down, she sank to the very bottom.
All at once she found that she was in a beautiful field where many wild flowers grew.
As she walked across the field, she came to a baker's oven full of new bread.
The loaves cried to her, "Oh, pull us out! pull us out, or we shall burn!"
"Indeed I will!" cried the maiden.
Stepping up, she pulled all the sweet brown loaves out of the oven.
As she walked along, she came to a tree full of apples.
The tree cried, "Shake me! shake me! my apples are all quite ripe!"
"Indeed I will!" cried the maiden.
So she shook the tree again and again, until there was not an apple left on its branches.
Then she picked up the apples, one by one, and piled them in a great heap.
When she had picked up all the apples, she walked on.
At last she came to a small house.
In the doorway sat an old woman who had such large teeth that the girl felt afraid of her and turned to run away.
Then the old woman cried, "What do you fear, my child? Come in and live here with me. If you will do the work about the house, I will be very kind to you. Only take care to make my bed well.
You must shake it and pound it so that the feathers will fly about. Then the children down on the earth will say that snowflakes are falling, for I am Mother Frost."
The old woman spoke so kindly that she won the maiden's heart.
"I will gladly work for you," she said.
The girl did her work well, and each day she shook up the bed until the feathers flew about like snowflakes.
She was very happy with Mother Frost, who never spoke an angry word.
After the girl had stayed a long time with the kind old woman, she began to feel homesick.
She could not help it, though her life with Mother Frost had been so happy.
At length she said, "Dear Mother Frost, you have been very kind to me, but I should like to go home to my friends."
"I am pleased to hear you say that you wish to go home," said Mother Frost. "You have worked for me so well that I will show you the way myself."
She took the maiden by the hand and led her to a broad gateway.
The gate was open, and as she went through a shower of gold fell over the maiden.
It clung to her clothes, so that she was dressed in gold from her head to her feet.
"That is your pay for having worked so hard," said the old woman. "And here is your spindle that fell into the spring."
Then the gate was closed, and the maiden found herself once more in the world.
She was not far from her own home, and as she came into the farmyard, a cock on the roof cried loudly:
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!
Our golden lady has come home, too."