Section09.pdf - MIT Media Laboratory

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QNCE upon a time, in the middleofwinter, a Queen
sat sewing at her window. As shelooked out over
the ebony sill at the falling snow, she prickedher finger
so that a drop of blood fell on to the snow outside.
‘Oh, how I wish I had a daughter as white as snow,
as red as bloodand as black as ebony!’sighed the Queen.
Her wish was granted, for soon a daughter was born
to her with skin as white as snow, lips the colour of
blood and hair as black as ebony~but the Queen lived
only long enough to kiss and bless her, and to call her
‘Little Snow White’.
Very soon the King married again. The new Queen,
little Snow White’s step-mother, was herself a beautiful
woman: but she was cruel and proud, and could not
bear to think that anyone might be more beautiful than
she was. She h~da Magic Mirror into which she was And the Magic Mirror would answer:
never tired of gazing; and sometimes she would say:
‘Lovely lady, mightyQueen,
‘Mirror, mirror, on the wall, You are the fairest one, I ween.’
Who is the fairest one of all?’
But when Snow White was seven years old, and the
Queen happened to ask her usual question, the Magic
Mirror, which could not lie, answered:
‘Lovely though you are, my Queen,
Snow White is fairer far, I wed.’
The Queen turned yellow and green with envy, and
from that hour she hated Snow White more and more.
Envy and pride grew higher and higher in her heart
like weeds, until one day she could bear it no more.
So she called her faithful huntsman to her and said:
‘Take this wretched child into the forest. Kill her
and bring back her heart as a token.’
The huntsman bowed and obeyed. But when he had
drawn his knife to kill her, little Snow White wept and
said: ‘Dear huntsman, please do not kill me. I’ll promise
to run away into the forest and never come home again.’
She was so beautiful that the huntsman was quite
ready to spare her life.
‘Run away then, pretty child,’ he said. But to himself
~ he added, as Snow White flitted off among the trees:
‘The wild beasts will soon devour her, so that the
Queen’s command will be obeyed.’

1 _
So he killed a young boar and took its heart back to
the wicked Queen, who rrwardrd him richly.
But Snow White was not dead. She ran on and on
into the forest, unharmed by anything but the thorns
and the sharp stones, untll as evening drew in she came
to a little cottage and went inside to rest and shelter.
Everything in the cottage was small, but neater and
cleaner than can be told. The table was laid with a white
cloth and seven little plates, and on each plate a little
spoon. There werr also seven little knives and forks,
and seven little mugs. Against the wall stood seven
little beds, each covered with a spotless counterpane.
Thrre was nobody in the cottage, and Snow White
was so hungry and thirsty that she felt she must help
herself. So she took a little from each plate and a sip
from each mug, and then tried each bed in turn untll
she reached the seventh. This one suited her exactly,
so she said her prayers and went offto sleep.
When it was quite dark the owners of the cottage
came home. They were seven dwarfs who worked all
day in the mines under the mountain nearby. They lit
theft seven candles —and saw at once that things were
not as they had left them.
‘Who has been sitting on my chair?’ said the first
dwarf.
‘Who has been eating off my plate?’ said the second ‘Who has been eanng my vegetables?’ said the fourth
dwarf.
‘Who has been breaking my bread?’ said the third
dwarf.
I
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In
dwarf.
‘Who has been using my fork?’ said the fifth dwarf.
‘Who has been cutting with my knife?’ said the sixth
dwarf.
‘Who has been drinking out of my mug?’ said the
seventh dwarf.
Then they turned to their beds: ‘Somebody has been
lying on my bed!’ exclaimed the first dwarf. And each
ofthem said the same thing until it came to the seventh
dwarfwho called excitedly to the rest. As they crowded
round with their candles and saw Snow Whtte they a!!
exclaimed: ‘Oh heavens! Oh heavens! What a lovely
chlld!’ And they were so happy at the sight of her that
they did not wake her, but let her sleep on in the bed,
while the seventh dwarf shared with his companions.
In the morning, Snow White woke up; and she was
a little frightened when she first saw the dwarfs. But
when she told them her story they begged her to stay:
‘You can take care of our house, and clean and mend
and cook for us,’ they said. ‘And living here you will be
quite safe from your wicked step-mother.’
Snow White was delighted at this. And so she lived
happily in the little cottage by the mountain, and cooked
and scrubbed and cleaned while the dwarfs were out
digging for copper and gold. And every evening she
had a lovely supper waiting for them.
She was alone in the cottage all day, and each morning
the dwarfs warned her:
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‘Beware of your step-mother: she is sure to find out
where you are. Sobe sure to let no one come in.’
For a long time the Queen, thinking that Snow
White was dead, believed herself to be the most beautiful
of all. Until one day she remarked to her Mirror:
‘Mirror, mirror on the wail,
Who is the fairest one of all?’—
for she adored flattery. But whatwas her furyand dismay
when the Magic Mirror, which could not lie, answered:
‘Lovely lady, mighty Queen,
You’d be the fairest one, I wren:
But Snow White lives by the mountain wall
With the seven dwarfs in their cottage small —
And she is the fairestone ofall!’
Then the Queen knew that she had been cheated by
the huntsman. But she was more determined than ever
to kill Snow White, and at lastshe set out for thedwarfs’
cottage disguised as an old pedlar woman.
Over the seven mountains she went until she came to
the dwarfs’ home, and knocked at the door, crying:
‘Pretty things to sell! Very cheap! Very cheap!’
Snow White looked out of the window, and when she
saw that it was only an old pedlar woman, she unlocked
the door and went out to look at the pretty things in her
basket. Very soon she chose some brightly coloured
stay-laces, and the old woman said:
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‘Gracious child, and you need them, too! Let me lace
your bodice properly for you just this once.’
Snow White was eager to learn, and stood ready. But
the pedlat laced so quickly and so tighily that Snow
Whiie could not breathe, and fell down as if dead.
‘Now I am the most beautiful one of all!’ cried the
Queen; and home she went across the seven mountains.
But when she stood before the Magic Mirror and
asked the usual question, it answered:
‘Over seven mountains where the seven dwarfs dwell
Lives Snow White far fairer than words can tell!’
For the dwarfs arrived home soon after the Queen had
left; and when they cut the new laces, Snow White
breathed again, and soon told her story.
‘The old pedlar woman must have been the wicked
Queen in disguise!’ they cried, ‘You must be more
careful still, and let no one in when we are not here.’
Snow White had good need of the warning. For not
many days later another old woman came over the seven
mountains and knocked at the cottage door. At first
Snow White would not open the door; but at last she
did, though she did not come out but stood there looking
at the pretty things in the old woman’s basket.
‘Buy a pretty comb for your hair! Very cheap! Very
cheap!’ cried the old woman. And Snow White bought
one. But the comb was poisoned; and as soon as it
touched her head, Snow White fell to the ground.

‘Now I am the most beautiful one of all!’ cried the
Queen, and home she went across the seven mountains.
But when the dwarfs found Snow White lying in the
doorway likeone dead, they lifted her up and the comb
fell out. Then slowly life came back to her, and she
could tell them what had happened.
‘It must have been the wicked Queen herself!’ they
tried. ‘Now indeed you must never open the door to
anyone when we are not here to take care ofyou.’
So when the Queen stood before the Magic Mirror
and asked who was the fairest one ofall, it replied:
‘Over seven mountains where the seven dwarfs dwell
Lives Snow White—far fairer than words can tell!’
Then the Queen nearly choked with rage and envy.
But when she recovered, she set a pot on the fire and
brewed a terrible poison. Then she took an apple that
was green on one side and rosy on the other, and poisoned
it so cunningly that the rosy side was deadly, but
the green side remained harmless.
With the apple in a basket, she disguised herself as
a Gypsy, and went over the seven mountains to the cottage
of the seven dwarfs and knocked at the door.
Snow White looked out of the window. ‘I cannot
tome out to you,’ she said, ‘nor can I ask you in. The
seven dwarfs have forbidden it.’
‘Never mind, deane,’ said the old Gypsy. ‘I shall soon
get rid of my apples. There, I will give you one!’
Vt?:.
‘No,’ said Snow White, ‘I dare not take anything.’
‘Surely you are not afraidof poison?’tried the Gypsy.
‘Well, just to show you, I’ll take a bite nut of the green
side of this apple, and leave the rosy side for you.’
When she saw the Gypsy bite the apple and rat it
quite happily, Snow White was afraid no longer. She
stretched out her hand and took the rest of the applr.
But the moment she tasted it, she fell down dead.
‘Nowlam indeed the most beautiful one of a!!!’ cried
the Queen triumphantly, and home she went across the
seven mountains, straight to her Magic Mirror.
‘Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest one of all?’
she asked. And the Mirror answered:
‘Lovely lady, mighty Queen,
You are the fairest one, I wren!’
When the dwarfs came home that evening and found
Snow White lying on the ground, they were filled with
sorrow. In vain they combed her hair and unlaced her;
in vain they looked for some poisonous gift about her;
in vain they washed her with water and wine. Little
Snow White was dead, and remained so.
But she was still so beautiful that they could not bear
so bury her. So they made a coffin of glass and wrote
her name upon it in golden letters, and that she was
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a King’s daughter. They put the coffin on the mountain,
and one of them a!ways remained by it to watch over
Snow White, who lay there as if asleep, but still as
white as snow, as red as blood and as black as ebony.
After many days there came a Prince riding through
the forest, and when night approached he sought
shelter with the seven dwarfs. Next morning he saw the
glass coffin with beautiful Snow White in it, and read
what was written on it in letters of gold.
‘Let me take the coffin,’ said the Prince, ‘and I will
give you for it whatever you may ask.’
‘We will not part with it for all the gold in the world,’
answered the dwarfs.
‘Then give it me as a gift,’ begged the Prince, ‘for
I cannot live without seeing Snow White.’
And he spoke in such a way that the kindly dwarfs
took pity on him and gave him whathe asked.
As the Prince’s servants were carrying the coffin down
the mountain side they stumbled over a stone, and the
lerk shook the piece of poisoned apple out of Snow
‘White’s throat.
Before long she sat up, lifted the lid of the coffin,
and said: ‘Where am I?’
Full of joy, the Prince said: ‘Beautiful Snow White,
you are with me, and I love you more than anything
inthe world. Socome with me to my father’s palace, and
you shall be my wife.’
Then he told her all the story, and Snow White felt
that she could love no one but the Prince who had fallen
in love with her so strangely. So she said goodbye to
the kind dwarfs, thanking them fur all their care and
faithfulness, and set out for the palace of the King.
There she married the Prince with great show and
splendour, and a!! the Kings and Queens from the
lands round about were bidden to the wedding feast.
Among them was Snow White’s wicked step-mother;
and when she had put on her richest and most beautiful
clothes, she stood before the Magic Mirror and said:
‘Mirror, Mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest one of all?’
And the Magic Mirror, which could not lie, answered:
‘You are fairest here, I ween—
But fairer far is the young Queen!’
Then the wicked woman shrieked with rage and envy,
and vowed she would not go to the wedding feast. But
she could not keep away, she must see the young Queen
who was fairer than she—and so she set out for the
palace. And when she came into the ballroom and saw
that the young Queen was none other than Snow
White, she choked with fury and jealousy, and was dead
before night.
But Snow White and the Prince soon became King
and Queen of both countries, and they lived happily
ever afterwards.

The Singing,
Soaring
Lark
A
merchant setting out ona long journey asked his
three daughters what presents he shouldbringback
for them. The first asked for diamonds, the second for
pearls; but the youngest and best beloved said:
‘Dear father, I should most like to have a singing,
soaring lark.’
‘Yes,if I can get it for you,’ be answered. Then he
kissed them goodbye and went into a far country for
many months.
The merchant prospered in his trading, so that it was
easy for him to buy diamonds and pearls. But nowhere
could he find a singing, soaring lark for sale—and he was
very unhappy about this, for he loved his youngest
daughter best.
On his way home, however, his road lay through a
forest in the midst of which was a splendid castle, and
near the castlestood a tree on rop of which he suddenly
saw a singing, soaring lark.
‘An-ha!’ cried the merchant. ‘A singing, soaring lark
—just at the right moment!’ And he bade one of his
servants climb up the tree and secure the bird. But
as they approached it, a great fierce lion leapt out from
behind the tree, shook himself, and roared until the
leaves trembled.
‘I will eat whoever trits to steal my singing, soaring
lark!’ roared the lion, and he made ready to begin with
the merchant and his servant.
‘I did not know that the singing, soaring lark was
yours!’ cried the merchant, falling on his knees. ‘I only
wanted the bird as a present for my beloved daughter.
Spare me, noble sir, and I give you my word I will pay
a rich ransom.’
‘I will give you both your life and the singing, soaring
lark,’ roared the lion, ‘on one condition only. Your
ransom shall be the first live creature that comes to meet
you from your home. Swear to this, and lark and life
shall beyours.’
Then the merchant thought: ‘It’s sure to be my dog—
or failing him, one of my servants.’ So he tumed to the
lion and swore a most solenm oath.
After this, he took the singing, soaring lark and set
out for home as quickly as he could.
But as soon as he came in sight of the house, his
youngest daughter who had been looking out for him
for many days, came running to meet him. She kissed
him and embraced him; and when she saw that be
had brought her a singing, soaring lark, she was
beside herself with joy.
The merchant did not rejoice, however. Instead he
weptbitterly and said:
‘Dearest child, I have indeed brought the singing,
soaring lark for you. But in return for it, I have been
forced to promise you to a savage lion—who will
certainly tear you in pieces and eat you.’
Then he told her all the story, and she said: ‘Father,
you have given your word. There is nothing for it but
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that I must go to the lion. Let us be happy tonight, and
tomorrow I shall go in search of the lion—who perhaps
may spare my life if I beg him hard enough.’
Next moming she set out into the forest and found
the lion waiting forher under the tree where the singing,
soaring lark had lived. He led her into the great castle,
which seemed to befull oflions,buthe treated herkindly
and did her no harm.
Then darkness came, and as soon as the sun had set
all the lions tumed into men, and the lion knelt before
her, a handsome young Prince, who explained that he
and all his followers were under an enchantment.
‘We are lions by day,’ he said, ‘but retum to our own
forms at night.’
By night Prince Lion and the merchant’s daughter
loved one another on sight: so they were married by
night with great magnificence, and lived for some years
in the castle, sleeping always during the day.
At last news came that the merchant’s eldest daughter
5, was about to be married, and the Princess begged her
husband to let her go to the wedding. He agreed at once
and led her with a guard of lions to the edge of the
forest near her father’s house.
The Merchant was overjoyed to see her, for he was
certain that she had been torn to pieces and eaten long
ago. She stayed with them while the wedding-feast
lasted, and then went happily back to the Castle of
Lions.
When her second sister was about to be married, the
Princess begged her husband the Prince Lion to tome
with her to the wedding.
‘I dare not come,’ he answered, ‘for if a single ray
of candle-light should fall on me, I would be turned
into a dove for seven years and be forced to fly away
with the doves for all that time. And unless you were
by torelease me at the end ofthose seven years, I should
remain a dove for ever.’
But the Princess promised that no ray of candle-light
should fall on him; and she went ahead to her father’s
house where she prepared a room with walls so thick
that no ray of light could pass through them; and she And if you follow me faithfully, you may save me when
had a new door made for it.
the seven years are ended.’
Then the Prince came. And when it was time to Then the dove flew out of the door, and the Princess
light the wedding candles he went into the dark room set out after him. And at every seventh step she found a
and shut the door behind him. But the new door was little white feather to show her the way.
made of green wood, and it had warped, leaving a little So she continued further and further into the wide
crack so small that no one noticed it. As the wedding world, never looking about her and never resting, until
procession passed it a ray of light no thicker than a hair the seven years were almost past, and she began to
fell through it on to the Prince, and when the Princess rejoice at the thought that she would soon see her Prince
came in to look for him after the wedding, she found again.
only a white dove sitting there.
But the end was not yet. Suddenly no little white
‘For seven years I must fly about the world!’ cried feather fluttered down to show her the way, and looking
the dove. ‘But if you will follow me, I will lee drop up she saw to her bewilderment and dismaythat the dove
at every seventh step a little white feather to guide you. had disappeared.
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‘In this no man can help me,’ thought the Princess.
So she turned to the Sun and said:
‘Oh Sun, you shine into every crevice and over every
peak, tell me where my white dove has gone.’
But the Sun answered: ‘Though I shine over every
peak and into every crevice, I have not seen your white
dove. But I will make you a present ofthis casket: open
itonly in your sorest need.’
Then the Princess thanked the Sun, and went on her
way until evening, when the Moon came up to flood
the world with silver. Then she said:
‘Oh Moon, you shine over every field and into every
forest, tell me where my white dove has gone.’
But the Moon answered: ‘Though I shine into every
forest and over every field, 1 have nor seen your white
dove. But I will make you a present of this egg: break
it only in your sorest need.’
Then the Princess thanked the Moon, and went on
until the Night Wind came up and blew against her.
Then she said:
‘Oh Wind, you blow over every tree and under every
leaf, tell me where my white dove has gone.’
And the Night Wind made answer: ‘I have seen your
white dove. He has flown to the Red Sea and there
become a lion again, lie is fighting with a dragon, who
is really an enchantress. Go there as quickly as you may,
and on the right bank count the tall reeds until you
tome to the eleventh: break that off and strike the
dragon with it, and the lion will tonquer it, and both
return to their true forms. Then flee away both of you
from the enchantress. By the Red Sea you will find
a Griffin: swing on to its back, you and your beloved,
and it will fly away with you over the sea towards your
own home. Take this nut, and when you are above the
centre of the sea, let it fall. Immrdiaeely a nut-tree will
grow up out ofthe water on which the Griffin may rest:
for if he cannot rest, he will not be strong enough to
carry you across; and if you forget to throw the nut, he
will drop you into the sea.’
Then the Princess followed the Night Wind until she
came to the Red Sea where the lion and the dragon
were fighting. She counted the reeds and cut the eleventh,
struck the dragon with it, and at once the lion
overtame h, and both of them regained their human
shapes.
But before the Princess could stir, the beautiful
enchantress who had been the dragon, took the Prince,
see him by her on the Griffin, and flew away with him
to the Enehanted Castle where she was Queen.
The Princess sat down by the Red Sea and tried for
a little. But presently she arose and said:
‘I shall follow my love to the world’s end, as far as
the wind blows and as long as the cock trows, until
I find him.’
So she went by long roads and empty deserts until
she came to the Fnthanted Castle. There she leamt that
the wicked Queen was about to marry the Prince, whose
memory she had taken away by her magic.
Then the Princess opened the golden casket which the
Sun had given her, and in it lay a dress as bright as the
Sun itself. She took it out, put it on, and went into the
Castle where everyone, even the bride, looked at her
with astonishment and envy.
‘That will do for my wedding-dress!’ exclaimed the
Queen. ‘How much will you sell it for?’
‘Not for money, not for land,’ answered the Princess,
‘but for flesh and blood.’
The Queen asked what she meant by this, and the
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Princess looked at her and answered straight away:
‘Let me sleep a night in the chamber where the bridegroom
sleeps.’
The Queen agreed to this; but she bribed the Prince’s
page to mix a powerful sleeping-draught with his
master’s wine.
When it was night, and the Prince was already asleep,
the Princess was led to the chamber. As soon as she ss’as
alone with him she seated herself on the bed and spoke
to him:
‘My Prince, I have followed after you for seven years.
I have asked of the Sun and of the Moon and of the
Night Wind how to find you, and they have helped me
against the dragon. Surely, my Prince, you will not
quite forget me?’
But the Prince slept on, thinking that he heard only
she wind whistling outside in the fir-trees. Sothat when
the first light of day stole in, the Princess was led away
and forced to give up her shining dress.
All day she sat weeping in the meadow; but when
evening drew near she remembered the egg which the
Moon had given her. So she broke this, and out came
a clucking hen with twelve chicks all of gold, and they
ran about the meadow until the Witch Queen looking
our of her window saw them and felt that there was
nothing so beautiful in all the world.
‘What will you sell the golden hen and her thickens
for?’ she asked.
‘Not for money, not for land,’ answered the Princess,
‘but for flesh and blood.’
So the Queen put the sleeping-draught in the Prince’s
tup once more, and later that night led the Princess to
the chamber door and lee her in.
When she was alone with him the Printess seated
herself on the bed and spoke to him:
‘My Prince, I have followed after you for sevenyears.
I have asked of the Sun and of the Moon and of the
Night Wind how to find you, and they have helped me
against the dragon. Surely, my Prince, you will not
quite forget me?’
Then the Prince sat up, for he had questioned the
page about the strange murmuring of the wind in the
fir-trees; the page had told all, and the magit drink had
been left untaseed.
‘Now I am free at last!’ tried the Prince as soon as
he sawhis Princess. ‘The enthantment has ended which
took away my memory, and you have saved me, my
own beloved.’
Then they stole away secretly from the castle, hand
in hand, and the Night Wind led them to the shore of
the Red Sea where the Griffin was waiting.
But morning had dawned by the rime they were
seated on its back, and the Queen Witch found that they
had gone.
Shrieking curses, she leapt upon her own Griffin and
set out after them. Over the sea they went, and the
Queen drew nearer and nearer. But when evening tame,
the Princess rememberedthe nut and let it fall into the
sea. At once a nut-tree grew up through the water, and
there was just room for their Griffin to perth on it and
rest through the night.
But the other Griffin had nowhere to rest, and feeling
the Queen Witch grow heavy on his back, he shook her
off into the sea-—and that was the end ofher.
Next day the Prince and Princess flew on over the sea
in safety till they came to the Castle ofLions. And there
they lived happily ever afterwards near the great tree
on top of which the singing, soaring lark sang to them
for ever.
r.)) )
‘.1’
~Vi)‘IL I
11~ 3
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~Cbe ~tIjrec~rea~ure~
THERE was once a poor tailor who had three sons
who seemed to him so worthless and idle and untrustworthy
that at last hetumed them out of the house
to seek their fortunes as best they might.
Now it chanced that their fortunes turned our better
than they deserved—though to begin with eath of them
had to work hard with no prospects.
The eldest decided to betome a joiner, and he worked
so well when he was an apprentice that on the day when
he see out to gain experience by pracrising his trafr up
and down the country, his master made him a present
of a little folding table made of common wood.
‘Things are not what they seem,’ said the master
carpenter when giving it. ‘For this is a Magic Table.
You have bus to set is out and say: ‘Little table, spread
thyself’, and the good little table will at once cover
itself with a clean cloth, with plate, knife and fork, and
on it dishes with boiled meats and roast meats as many
as there is room for, and to trown all a glass of red wine
such as makes glad the heart.’
The young man thanked the master earpenter and
said: ‘With this table I have enough for my whole lifel’
138
After this he set out on his travels, and he never
lacked for food and drink even in the wild wood or the
desert places of she earth.
At last he said so himself: ‘I will go home now. Perhaps
my father will welcome me back when he sees my
Magic Table.’
Off he set, and came as length to an inn but one day’s
journey from his father’s home. The inn was filled with
guests, but they invited him to join them at table, for
otherwise, they said, he would find no more food in the
house.
‘No,’ answered the joiner, ‘I will not take these few
bites out of your mouths rather you must be my
guests.’
They laughed, thinking he was joking. But they did
not laughwhen he set the Magic Table in the middle
of the room and said ‘Little table, spread thyself,’ and
it was instantly covered with food and wine. And they
were even less inclined to laugh when they found that
however much they are,the empty plates kept changing
themselves for full ones.
‘I tould easily find a use for that table!’ thought

she innkeeper, lookmg on enviously. And when the
joiner and his guests were all asleep, he decidedto make
is has own. So he took it quietly away and put instead
of it a little old table of just the same pattern which he
chanced to have in his lumber room.
Next morning the joiner set off with the table
strapped on his bark, never dreaming that it was she
wrong one, and that evening he reached his father’s
house and found a ready welcome.
‘Well, my dear son,’ said his father, ‘and what have
you learnt?’
‘I’ve learnt to be a joiner,’ he replied.
‘A good trade,’ said the old tailor, ‘but you do nor
seem to have done very well at it ifthat old table you’re
carrying on your bark is your masterpiece!’
‘Ahl’ said his son, ‘is is a Magic Table. When it is see
our and I tell it to cover itself, the most beautiful dishes
stand on it, and wine also which gladdens she heart.
So invite all our friends and relations, and they shall
feast to their hearts’ content.’
When the company was gathered, the young man set
up his table in the middle of the room and said ‘Little
table, spread thyself!’ But the little table did nothing
at all: it remained as bare as ever, and all his friends
and relations motked him. Nor did they spare him at all,
foe they had to go hungry that day.
So he went sadly out so seek for work, while his
father went wearily bark to his patches again.
Meanwhile the serond son had apprentired himself
139
to a miller. And he worked so well that when the day
came for him to set nut on his travels, his master said:
‘You have deserved a present, and here I give you
this ass which neither draws a care nor tarries a sack.
Bus things are not what they seem. All you have to do is
to set him on a cloth and say ‘Brirklebrie’, and the good
ammal will drop as many pieres of gold as you need.’
Sothe young man set our on his travels; and he never
wanted for anything so long as he had the Golden Ass.
Ar last he decided to go home and show this treasure
to his father. On the way he lodged for she night at she
same inn where his brother had lost the Magic Table,
and the innkeeper was much surprised at the care with
which he settled his ass in the most comfortable place
in the stable. He was more surprised when his strange
guest brought two gold pieces out of his pocket and
he determined to charge him double.
‘That’s all I have,’ said the young miller, ‘but I’ll
go down to the stable and get some more from my ass.’
The greedy innkeeper tiptoed down behind him to
see where the gold was hidden. He found the door
fastened, but was able to spy through a knot-hole, and
see him plate a cloth under the ass, say ‘Bricklebris’, and
produce a shower of gold.
‘My word!’ thought the innkeeper, ‘I could find
a good use for that donkeyl’
And he did nor find it difficult during the night to
lead away the Golden Ass and set an ordinary one in his
plare.

Home went the second son next day, not knowing
how he had been cheated, and was welrnmed by his
farber:
‘Well, my dear son, and what have you learnt?’
‘I’ve ieamr to be a miller,’ was the answer.
‘A good trade,’ said the old tailor, ‘but what have you
broughtbark from your travels?’
‘Just this ass,’ answered his son.
‘Donkeys are common here,’ said his father angrily.
But the young man hastened to explain:
‘This is a Golden Ass. When I say ‘Brirklebrir’ the
good creature opens its mouth and drops a whole sheerfull
of golden pieces. So send for all our friends and
relations, and they shall have a share in my good fortune.’
When the company was gathered, the young man
spread a rlorh on the floor, set the ass upon it, and said
‘Brirklebrir’. But no gold pieres fell, and it was clear
that the animal knew nothing ofthe are ofcoining.
Sohis friends and relatives went home as poor as they
came, leaving the young miller to seek sadly for work
while his father went wearily back to his patches again.
The third brother had apprenticed himself so a rumer,
and as that is skilled labour, he took longest in
learning. So that he was not ready to return home until
some ume after his brothers had written to tell him of
their doings, and of how the wicked innkeeper had
robbed them of their wonderful treasures.
When the day came at last for him to see our on his
trasels, the young turner’s master said to him:
140
a a1
‘You have worked so well that I will give you a present.
Here is a sack, and it has a cudgel in it.’
‘I might wear the sack,’ said the young man, ‘but of
what use is the cudgel? It only serves to make it heavy.’
‘Things are nor what they seem,’ was the answer. ‘If
anyone has done you an injury or is like to do you one,
all you have to say is ‘Our ofthe sack, Cudgel!’ and the
cudgel will leap our and give them the very best beating
they have ever had in their lives. And it will go on
lashing at them until you say ‘Into the sack, Cudgel!”
The young man thanked him, slung the sack over his
shoulder, and set off for home. And he had no need to
fear robbers and foorpads in the forests and mountains,
for the Magic Cudgel served each and all of them as
they deserved.
Ar last he tame to the inn where his brothers had loss
their treasures, and sat down at the table with his sarkin
front of him.
Very soon the conversation turned to magir treasures,
and the young man exclaimed:
‘Oh, I’ve seen many of them on my way through the
world. It’s easy to find a Magic Table or a Golden Ass
stable which covers itself and a donkey who spits gold
but these are nothing to the treasure which I have won
for myself and am tarrying home in my sark here.’
The innkeeper pricked up his ears: ‘What in the
world can it be?’ he said to himself. ‘Well, whatever itis,
I ran do with it as well as the Table and the Ass. I’ve a
sack which looks just ilke that . . . Wait till he’s asleep.’
Later that nighi as the young man lay by the hearth
--S

-
in the inn kitchen, the wicked innkeeper came rreeping
up, slipped the sack from under his head and pur there
another filled with sticks.
But scarcely had he done so when the turner, who
had only been pretending so sleep, tried: ‘Our of the
sack, Cudgel!’ Our came the cudgel and see to work on
the innkeeper, giving him the beating he had deserved
for a long time, and several more for good measure.
When at last the innkeeper fell to the ground and
howled for merry, the turner said to him:
‘You’ve only got what you deserve. And my Cudgel
shall stare all over again ifyou do nor at once restore the
Magic Table and she Golden Ass whirh you stole from
my brothers.’
‘Oh, yes indeed!’ cried the innkeeper. ‘Only keep
that accursed kobold away from me, and you shall have
them both!’
So the turner cried: ‘Into the sack, Cudgel!’ and the
mnkeeper gave bark the treasures. But he could nor sir
or lie comfortably for a week afrer his beating.
The turner went home next day with the Table and
the Ass as well as his own sark, and his father greeted
him warmly:
‘Well, my dear, son and what have you learnt?’
‘I’ve learnt to be a turner.’
‘A good trade indeed. But what have you in your sack?
Some beaunful thing which you have turned on your
lathe?’
‘I have a cudgel in h.’
‘What?’ cried the tailor. ‘A cudgel! Is that all you
141
can make? Why, you can rut one from every tree you
pass!’
‘But not like this,dear father. This is a Magir Cudgel.
I have but to say: ‘Cudgel, out of the sack’, and our it
springsand thrashesanyonewho means illto me.‘Cudgel,
rnto the sack!’ cried the turner hastily, for the rudgel
had already leapt our and set ro work on his father.
‘Well, you see,’ he ronrinued, ‘how useful it ran be.
And useful it has been, for with it I have got bark the
Magic Table and the Golden Ass which my brorhers
lost: the rhievish innkeeper stole one magic treasure
too many! Now send for our friends and relations, and
we’ll feed them and fill their pockets with gold.’
The tailor would not quite believe, nor would the
friends and relations. But they all came together none
the less without any aid from the Magic Cudgel. And
when they were all assembled the turner spread the
cloth on the ground, set the Ass on it and said: ‘Now,
my dearbrother, speakto it!’
Then the miller said: ‘Brirklebrir!’, and the Ass
rained gold until all their porkers were full.
Then rhe turner set our the Magic Table and tuming
to his eldest brother said:
‘Now, my dear brother, speak to it!’
‘Table, spread thyself!’ cried the joiner. And the party
sat down to the best meal they had ever eaten, and drank
and made merry far into the night.
After this the tailor put away his patches and his
thread, his needle, yard-measure and goose, and lived in
great happuiess and splendour with his three sons.

THE FISHERMAN
AND HIS WIFE
QNCE there wasa Fishermanwho lived with his wife
inamiserablelittle hut built of sticksand mud,not
far from the sea. Every day the Fisherman went fishing
but he did nor catch much,and they were often hungry.
But one day as he sat fishing by a deep, clear pool, he
hooked a big fish, and his line ran far our before he
could haul in. But at length he landed a large Flounder.
‘An, ha!’ cried the Fisherman. ‘Afine dinner!’
‘Nor so,’ said the Flounder, ‘you would find nit quite
tasteless. For I am nor really a fish, but a Fairy Prince
who is under a spell. I must remain a Flounder until the
enchantment comes to an end. So please don’t kill me,
but take the hook carefully our ofmy mouth, and put me
bark into the sea.’
‘Of course I will,’ answered the Fisherman. ‘It would
never do to harm a fish that can talk.’
So he took out the hook as carefully as he could and
threw the Flounder back into the deep tlear pool. Down
to the bottom went the fish, leaving a long streak of
blood behind him; andhome to his hut went the Fisherman
with nothing for supper, but a good story to tell
his wife.
‘An enchanted Prince!’ she cried angrily. ‘And you
let him get away without asking him to grant us a wish?
Truly you are even more of a fool than I thought. Bark
you go to the pool, and call for the Flounder. If he is
really a Fairy Prince he is bound to tome, and he’ll
certainly grant you a wish. You don’t really want to live
in this wretched, dirty hut all your life, do you? Go and
ask him to give us a fine cottage m which we ran be
really comfortable. And mind you speak properly to
this enchanted Prince! Offyou go at once!’
The Fisherman did not quite like this, but he dared
nor disobey his wife. So back he went to the pool: and
when he got there the sea was all green and yellow, and
no longer smooth. Bur he stood on the shore and cried:
It ~
‘Magic Flounder of the sea
Come, I pray you, here to me!
For my wife, my Isabel
Bids me beg you for a spell.’
~1k~

Up through the water came the Flounder and said:
‘Well then, what spell does your wife wish me to east?’
‘Ah,’ said the Fisherman. ‘I hardly like to ask you
this. But she says that as I did catch you and then let
you go, I ought to have wished for something. She does
not like living in a hut, she wants a fine cottage.’
‘Go home,’ said the Flounder. ‘She is living in a fine
cottage already.’
Home went the Fisherman in a hurry, and sure
enough, his wife met him as the door of a beautiful
cottage and led him in to see the pretty little parlour and
bedroom, the kitchen and the pantry, with its good plain
furniture and its dishes of brass and tin. Behind the
cottage was a yard with hens and ducks in it, and there
was also a little garden with flowers and fruit.
‘Look,’ said his wife, ‘isn’t this better than a hut!’
‘Is is indeed,’ answered the Fisherman, ‘and now we
have nothing else to wish for.’
‘We wlil see about that,’ said his wife.
Sure enough, a few weeks later she exelalined impauently:
‘Listen, husband. This cottage is far too small
and mean: the Flounder should have given us something
larger. Go back and tell him to give us a castle!’
‘An wife,’ said the Fisherman, ‘this cottage is all
we need. Why ever should we want to live in a castle?’
143
‘Ridiculous!’ cried his wife. ‘Off you go this instant
and tell the fish to give us a castle quickly.’
The Fisherman’s heart grew heavy. ‘It is not right
to ask for more,’ he said. ‘The Flounder has been very
kind to us. I shall not go.’
But he went, for he dared not disobey his wife. And
when he got to the pool, the sea was quite purple and
dark-blue, and grey and thick though there was still no
sound of a storm. So he stood on the shore and cried:
‘Magic Flounder of the srs
Come, I pray you, herr to me!
For my wife, my Isabel
Bids me ask another spell.’
Up through the water came the Flounder and said:
‘Well, what does she want this time?’
‘Alas,’ said the Fisherman sadly, ‘she is not contented
with the cottage, she wantsto livein a greatstone castle.’
‘Go home,’ said the Flounder, ‘she is living in a great
stone castle already.’
Home went the Fisherman in a hurry, and sure
enough in plate of the cottage stood a great stone castle
with a deer park round about it, and acres of gardens on
either side. Hiswife met him at she door and led him

through a great hall paved with marble, where many
servants ran hither and thither. They passed through
room after room beautifully furnished with rich tapestries
and crystal chandeliers and rare furniture, until
they came to their bedroom. Here the carpet was as
soft as down, and the bed had sheets of scented silk.
‘Isn’t this beautiful?’ said his wife.
‘Yes indeed,’ answered the Fisherman. ‘Now truly
we have no more to wish for.’
‘We’ll see about that tomorrow,’ she answered, and
so they went to bed. But when she woke next morning
and looked our of the window over the beautiful
countryside, to the distant towns and villages, the Fisherman’s
wife shook her husband roughly.
‘Get up!’ she shouted, ‘and look out of the window!
We ought to be King and Queen of all this land. So
hurry down to the sea-shore and tell the Flounder so
make it so.’
‘Ah wife, I do nor want to be King,’ said the Fisherman
sadly. ‘Surely we should be content as we are?’
‘If you don’t want to be King,’ shouted his wife, ‘I do.
And what’s more, King I will be. Off you go at once!’
The Fisherman’s heart grew heavier still: ‘It’s nor
right to ask for more,’ he muttered. ‘The Flounder has
been very kind so us. I shall not go.’
But he went, for he could not disobey his wife. And
when he came to the pool, the sea looked dark and grey,
and she water heaved up from below and smelt strangely.
However, he stood on the shore and cried:
‘Magic Flounder of the sea
Come, I pray you, here so me!
For my wife, my Isabel
Asks—although I think nor well.’
Up through the water came the Flounder and said: ‘Oh,
what does she want this rime?’
‘Alas,’ said the Fisherman, ‘she wants to be King.’
‘Go home,’ said the Flounder. ‘She is already King.
Home went the Fisherman, and sure enough, the
castle had become a great palate with soldiers drilling
in the courtyard, and in the hall his wife sat on a golden
throne, wearing a crown on her head, while trumpeters
blew a fanfare at his approach.
‘Ah wife, so you are King,’ said the Fisherman.
‘Yes,’ she answered shortly, ‘now I am King.’
‘Now you are King,’ he added anxiously, ‘surely
there is nothing else you could ask for?’
‘There you are wrong,’ she answered crossly. ‘There’s
nothing unusual in being King. What I ought to be is
Emperor. Back you go to the Flounder at once and tell
him that I must be Emperor!’
‘You cannot be Emperor!’ gasped the Fisherman.
‘I will nor ask the Flounder for any more!’

‘What!’ tried his wife. ‘You dare to disobey me?
Remember that I am the King, and you are merely my
husband. Do as I command you, this instant!’
Off went the Fisherman, muttering: ‘Trouble will
come of this!’ and when he reached the pooi it was to
find the sea quite black and thick, boiling and bubbling
up from below, while a sharp wind lashed it into foam.
The Fishermanwas afraid; but he stood on the edge
and cried:
‘Magic Flounder of ihe sea
Come, I pray you, here to me!
For my wife, my Isabel
Asks a thing that is not well.’
Up through the water came the Flounder and said:
‘What is is that she wants this time?’
‘Alas,’ said the Fisherman, ‘she wants to be Emperor.’
‘Go home,’ said the Flounder, ‘she is already Emperor.’
So the Fisherman went home, and this time the very
doors were of gold, while his wife the Emperor sat on a
throne made ofsolid gold, with a diamond crown on her
head and Kings to attend on her.
j
~‘~‘/Th\~\~\\~~
I

ij1~,Ui~
,—‘ -~_c~______
.1

‘Ah wife, now you are Emperor you must be content
indeed!’ exclaimed the Fisherman.
‘Content!’ she cried sharply. ‘What nonsense! I must
be Pope. Off to that Flounder you go at once and tell
him my commands.’
‘I could not ask him for that,’ gasped tht Fisherman.
‘There is only one Pope, and he cannot grant it.’
‘How ridiculous you are!’ cried his wife. ‘If he can
make me Emperor, he can make me Pope. Go this
instant. I, the Emperor, command it!’
Then the Fisherman was afraid. Bus he dared not
disobey his wife, so he set off for the sea-shore. But
when he reached the pool he was afraid indeed, for
a great tempest was blowing and the waves splashed
fiercely on the shore.
Nevertheless he stood by the edge and cried:
‘Magic Flounder of the sea
Come, I pray you, here to me!
For my wife, my Isabel
Asks what I scarce darr to tell.’
Up through the water came the Flounder and said:
‘What does she want this time?’
‘Alas,’ said the Fisherman. ‘She wants to be Pope.’
‘Go home,’ said the Flounder, ‘she is already Pope.’
So the Fisherman went, and when he got there he
found a mighty cathedral surrounded by palaces. He
pushed his way through the crowds, and inside where
thousands of candles burnt brightly he saw his wife
dressed in gold and sitting on a throne, with Three
Crowns on her head. And now Emperors and Kings
knelt before her and kissed her toe.
‘Wife,’ said the Fisherman, ‘are you really Pope now?’
‘Yes,’ she answered, ‘I am the Pope.’
So he stood looking at her, and it was just as if he
were looking at she bright sun.
‘Now,’ said he as last, ‘you have nothing more to ask.
For you cannot be anything greater than Pope.’
‘I’m not so sure ofthat,’ she answered.
Then they went off so bed, and the Fisherman fell
asleep at once, for he had run about a good deal that
day. But his wife could not sleep, for in her greediness
she was trying so think what there was left for her to be.
At last she saw she sun rise in she red dawn, and she
sat up in bed exclaiming:
‘Why cannot I too command the sun so rise and set?’
Then she kicked her husband and shouted to him:
‘Husband, wake up. There is One more powerful
than I am, and that is God. So go to the Flounder this
instant, and tell him to make me as powerful as God.’
Hearing this the Fisherman fell out of bed in horror:
‘Alas, wife, what are you saying?’ he gasped.
‘I tell you I cannot bear to think that anyone is more
147
powerful than I am,’ she said. ‘If I can’t command the
sun and the moon so rise, but most look on and see them
rising in spite of me, I shall never be happy again. So go
and tell the Flounder to make me equal with God.’
‘Alas, alas, wife!’ sobbed the Fisherman, on his knees
before her. ‘The Flounder cannot do that. Be content
as Pope, surely that is enough!’
Then she fell into a great rage; and the end of it
was that she Fisherman got dressed quickly and rushed
out of the palace into she great storm which was raging.
The trees were falling on all sides as he came down to
the shore, and the sea and sky were as black as pitch,
while the thunder roared and the lightning flashed and
the waves seemed as high as mountains.
But the terrified Fisherman stood by she edge of she
pool and cried:
‘Magic Flounder of she sea
Come, I pray you, here to me!
For my wife, my Isabel
Asks you what I dare not tell.’
Up through she water came the Flounder and said:
‘What does she want this time?’
‘Alas, alas!’ cried she Fisherman. ‘She wishes so be
equal with God!’
‘Go home,’ said the Flounder, ‘she is living once more
in the dirty little hut made of sticks and mud.’
So the Fisherman went, and found her in the miserable
hut with nothing to eat. And there they live to this
very day.