They traveled all the next day and came to the palace of the old king. The other brothers were there, but their wives looked like chambermaids compared to the beautiful princess.
The old king had to acknowledge that the youngest son had the most beautiful wife, but he said, “I do not wish to give up my kingdom, I want to keep it myself for awhile.”
Then the young princess said: “Your majesty need not give up his kingdom at all. I have seven kingdoms; each one very large and rich; I shall give one to each of your older sons, one to you, and have four left for my husband and myself. So let us all be married and be happy.”
Everybody shouted and clapped hands. Three weddings took place at once, and nobody had a better time than the old king himself.
THE GINGERBREAD MAN
In which a gingerbread man has some adventures, but finally comes to grief.
A little old woman had no man of her own and so she decided to make one of gingerbread. So one day she made a gingerbread man. She put on a chocolate coat, with cinnamon buttons. She made his eyes out of caraway seed, and a cap out of a lump of sugar.
“Now, my little man, I shall bake you until you are done,” said the old woman, and put the gingerbread man into the oven.
After a while it smelled so good the old woman opened the stove door to see how her little man was getting on. But he was quite done by this time, and while the old woman was pulling out the pan, the gingerbread man jumped out and ran down the road.