His sister and the maidens bore witness to the truth of his story, and when the King heard all this he banished the two elder brothers from his presence, married the youngest to the maiden of his choice, and decreed that he should be heir to the throne after his own decease.
“That is a real story, grandmother,” said the little boy. “But it was not so very long. Couldn’t you tell me just one more?”
“If you will promise not to ask for another,” said the grandmother, “I will tell you a short one. But you must not ask for another.”
“I promise,” said the little boy.
Then she told him about
THE BRIDGE
Once upon a time there was a man who had a grown-up son. One day the old man said to his son, “My dear son, you are now big and strong enough to earn your own living; so go out into the world and seek a place of service.”
So the youth went out into the world and came to a large village, where he hired himself out as shepherd to a rich moujik. It was his duty to drive the sheep to pasture early every morning. The flock was enormously large and filled the whole valley. The pasture, however, was on the other side of a stream, and unluckily a storm had carried away the bridge the night before. Only a narrow plank remained, and this was so frail that but one sheep could cross at a time. There was nothing else for the shepherd to do, therefore, than to drive the sheep slowly, one by one, to the other side.