THE TALES OF MOTHER GOOSE AS FIRST COLLECTED BY CHARLES PERRAULT IN 1696 _A NEW TRANSLATION BY CHARLES WELSH_

 WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY M. V. O'SHEA PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

 ILLUSTRATED BY D. J. MUNRO AFTER DRAWINGS BY GUSTAVE DORÉ

 D. C. HEATH & CO. , PUBLISHERS BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO

 [Illustration: "SHE MET WITH GAFFER WOLF. " p. 80. ]

[Transcriber's note: In the story "Riquet of the Tuft, "the following symbols are used to representspecial characters: [=e] = the letter "e" with superior macron [=a] = the letter "a" with superior macron]

 CONTENTS

 PAGE

INTRODUCTION BY PROFESSOR M. V. O'SHEA vii

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix

CINDERELLA, OR THE LITTLE GLASS SLIPPER 1

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY IN THE WOOD 13

LITTLE THUMB 29

THE MASTER CAT, OR PUSS IN BOOTS 45

RIQUET OF THE TUFT 54

BLUE BEARD 66

THE FAIRY 75

LITTLE RED RIDING-HOOD 80

NOTE 85

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

"She met with Gaffer Wolf" _Frontispiece_

 PAGE

"It went on very easily" 11

"Let me see if I can do it" 15

"Slipped in under his father's seat" 30

"The Marquis of Carabas is drowning!" 48

"I am exact in keeping my word" 63

"If you open it, there's nothing youmay not expect from my anger" 67

"With all my heart, Goody" 75

"He fell upon the good woman" 81

INTRODUCTION

What virtues do these stories possess that have kept them alive for solong a time? They have to some degree stimulated and nourished qualitiesof supreme worth in individual and social life. With the young thestruggle against greed and falsehood and pride and cowardice is a veryreal one, and situations in which these homely, fundamental traits areinvolved are full of interest and seriousness. Again, to mature peoplethe reward of well-doing and the punishment of evil conduct portrayed inthese stories are apt to seem too realistic, too much also on thecut-and-dried pattern; but it is far different with children. They havea very concrete sense of right and wrong, and they demand a clear, explicit, tangible outcome for every sort of action. They must haveconcrete, living examples, with the appropriate outcome of each, setbefore them. 

A modest, faithful child will be strengthened in his good qualities;while one lacking these will have them aroused, to some extent at anyrate, by following Cinderella in her career. Arrogance and selfishnesscome to unhappy straits in this fancy world, and they are likely tofare the same in the real world; so it would be better to part companywith them, and take up with gentleness and kindliness and faithfulnessinstead. And every one may be of some help to others if he be only ofthe right mind. The brother who thought himself faring badly with only acat for a legacy learns betimes that even so small and apparentlyhelpless a creature may be of much service when he is rightly disposed. A person might think little Thumb could accomplish nothing of value toany one, but he again teaches the child that all depends on thewillingness to be of assistance, the good-heartedness, thefellow-feeling which one has for others. 

In making this version anew the translator has endeavored to retain thecharacteristics of the style of the early chap-book versions, whileevading the pompous, stilted language and Johnsonian phraseology sofashionable when they were first translated. 

M. V. O'SHEA. 

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN. 

The Tales of Mother Goose. 

CINDERELLA, OR THE LITTLE GLASS SLIPPER. 

Once upon a time there was a gentleman who married, for his second wife, the proudest and most haughty woman that ever was seen. She had twodaughters of her own, who were, indeed, exactly like her in all things. The gentleman had also a young daughter, of rare goodness and sweetnessof temper, which she took from her mother, who was the best creature inthe world. 

The wedding was scarcely over, when the stepmother's bad temper began toshow itself. She could not bear the goodness of this young girl, becauseit made her own daughters appear the more odious. The stepmother gaveher the meanest work in the house to do; she had to scour the dishes, tables, etc. , and to scrub the floors and clean out the bedrooms. Thepoor girl had to sleep in the garret, upon a wretched straw bed, whileher sisters lay in fine rooms with inlaid floors, upon beds of the verynewest fashion, and where they had looking-glasses so large that theymight see themselves at their full length. The poor girl bore allpatiently, and dared not complain to her father, who would have scoldedher if she had done so, for his wife governed him entirely. 

When she had done her work, she used to go into the chimney corner, andsit down among the cinders, hence she was called Cinderwench. Theyounger sister of the two, who was not so rude and uncivil as the elder, called her Cinderella. However, Cinderella, in spite of her meanapparel, was a hundred times more handsome than her sisters, though theywere always richly dressed. 

It happened that the King's son gave a ball, and invited to it allpersons of fashion. Our young misses were also invited, for they cut avery grand figure among the people of the country-side. They were highlydelighted with the invitation, and wonderfully busy in choosing thegowns, petticoats, and head-dresses which might best become them. Thismade Cinderella's lot still harder, for it was she who ironed hersisters' linen and plaited their ruffles. They talked all day long ofnothing but how they should be dressed. 

"For my part, " said the elder, "I will wear my red velvet suit withFrench trimmings. "

"And I, " said the younger, "shall wear my usual skirt; but then, to makeamends for that I will put on my gold-flowered mantle, and my diamondstomacher, which is far from being the most ordinary one in the world. "They sent for the best hairdressers they could get to make up their hairin fashionable style, and bought patches for their cheeks. Cinderellawas consulted in all these matters, for she had good taste. She advisedthem always for the best, and even offered her services to dress theirhair, which they were very willing she should do. 

As she was doing this, they said to her:--

"Cinderella, would you not be glad to go to the ball?"

"Young ladies, " she said, "you only jeer at me; it is not for such as Iam to go there. "

"You are right, " they replied; "people would laugh to see a Cinderwenchat a ball. "

Any one but Cinderella would have dressed their hair awry, but she wasgood-natured, and arranged it perfectly well. They were almost two dayswithout eating, so much were they transported with joy. They broke abovea dozen laces in trying to lace themselves tight, that they might have afine, slender shape, and they were continually at their looking-glass. 

At last the happy day came; they went to Court, and Cinderella followedthem with her eyes as long as she could, and when she had lost sight ofthem, she fell a-crying. 

Her godmother, who saw her all in tears, asked her what was the matter. 

"I wish I could--I wish I could--" but she could not finish for sobbing. 

Her godmother, who was a fairy, said to her, "You wish you could go tothe ball; is it not so?"

"Alas, yes, " said Cinderella, sighing. 

"Well, " said her godmother, "be but a good girl, and I will see that yougo. " Then she took her into her chamber, and said to her, "Run into thegarden, and bring me a pumpkin. "

Cinderella went at once to gather the finest she could get, and broughtit to her godmother, not being able to imagine how this pumpkin couldhelp her to go to the ball. Her godmother scooped out all the inside ofit, leaving nothing but the rind. Then she struck it with her wand, andthe pumpkin was instantly turned into a fine gilded coach. 

She then went to look into the mouse-trap, where she found six mice, allalive. She ordered Cinderella to lift the trap-door, when, giving eachmouse, as it went out, a little tap with her wand, it was that momentturned into a fine horse, and the six mice made a fine set of six horsesof a beautiful mouse-colored, dapple gray. 

Being at a loss for a coachman, Cinderella said, "I will go and see ifthere is not a rat in the rat-trap--we may make a coachman of him. "

"You are right, " replied her godmother; "go and look. "

Cinderella brought the rat-trap to her, and in it there were three hugerats. The fairy chose the one which had the largest beard, and, havingtouched him with her wand, he was turned into a fat coachman with thefinest mustache and whiskers ever seen. 

After that, she said to her:--

"Go into the garden, and you will find six lizards behind thewatering-pot; bring them to me. "

She had no sooner done so than her godmother turned them into sixfootmen, who skipped up immediately behind the coach, with theirliveries all trimmed with gold and silver, and they held on as if theyhad done nothing else their whole lives. 

The fairy then said to Cinderella, "Well, you see here a carriage fit togo to the ball in; are you not pleased with it?"

"Oh, yes!" she cried; "but must I go as I am in these rags?"

Her godmother simply touched her with her wand, and, at the same moment, her clothes were turned into cloth of gold and silver, all decked withjewels. This done, she gave her a pair of the prettiest glass slippersin the whole world. Being thus attired, she got into the carriage, hergodmother commanding her, above all things, not to stay till aftermidnight, and telling her, at the same time, that if she stayed onemoment longer, the coach would be a pumpkin again, her horses mice, hercoachman a rat, her footmen lizards, and her clothes would become justas they were before. 

She promised her godmother she would not fail to leave the ball beforemidnight. She drove away, scarce able to contain herself for joy. TheKing's son, who was told that a great princess, whom nobody knew, wascome, ran out to receive her. He gave her his hand as she alighted fromthe coach, and led her into the hall where the company were assembled. There was at once a profound silence; every one left off dancing, andthe violins ceased to play, so attracted was every one by the singularbeauties of the unknown newcomer. Nothing was then heard but a confusedsound of voices saying:--

"Ha! how beautiful she is! Ha! how beautiful she is!"

The King himself, old as he was, could not keep his eyes off her, and hetold the Queen under his breath that it was a long time since he hadseen so beautiful and lovely a creature. 

All the ladies were busy studying her clothes and head-dress, so thatthey might have theirs made next day after the same pattern, providedthey could meet with such fine materials and able hands to make them. 

The King's son conducted her to the seat of honor, and afterwards tookher out to dance with him. She danced so very gracefully that they alladmired her more and more. A fine collation was served, but the youngPrince ate not a morsel, so intently was he occupied with her. 

She went and sat down beside her sisters, showing them a thousandcivilities, and giving them among other things part of the oranges andcitrons with which the Prince had regaled her. This very much surprisedthem, for they had not been presented to her. 

Cinderella heard the clock strike a quarter to twelve. She at once madeher adieus to the company and hastened away as fast as she could. 

As soon as she got home, she ran to find her godmother, and, afterhaving thanked her, she said she much wished she might go to the ballthe next day, because the King's son had asked her to do so. As she waseagerly telling her godmother all that happened at the ball, her twosisters knocked at the door; Cinderella opened it. "How long you havestayed!" said she, yawning, rubbing her eyes, and stretching herself asif she had been just awakened. She had not, however, had any desire tosleep since they went from home. 

"If you had been at the ball, " said one of her sisters, "you would nothave been tired with it. There came thither the finest princess, themost beautiful ever was seen with mortal eyes. She showed us a thousandcivilities, and gave us oranges and citrons. "

Cinderella did not show any pleasure at this. Indeed, she asked them thename of the princess; but they told her they did not know it, and thatthe King's son was very much concerned, and would give all the world toknow who she was. At this Cinderella, smiling, replied:--

"Was she then so very beautiful? How fortunate you have been! Could Inot see her? Ah! dear Miss Charlotte, do lend me your yellow suit ofclothes which you wear every day. "

"Ay, to be sure!" cried Miss Charlotte; "lend my clothes to such a dirtyCinderwench as thou art! I should be out of my mind to do so. "

Cinderella, indeed, expected such an answer and was very glad of therefusal; for she would have been sadly troubled if her sister had lenther what she jestingly asked for. The next day the two sisters went tothe ball, and so did Cinderella, but dressed more magnificently thanbefore. The King's son was always by her side, and his pretty speechesto her never ceased. These by no means annoyed the young lady. Indeed, she quite forgot her godmother's orders to her, so that she heard theclock begin to strike twelve when she thought it could not be more thaneleven. She then rose up and fled, as nimble as a deer. The Princefollowed, but could not overtake her. She left behind one of her glassslippers, which the Prince took up most carefully. She got home, butquite out of breath, without her carriage, and in her old clothes, having nothing left her of all her finery but one of the littleslippers, fellow to the one she had dropped. The guards at the palacegate were asked if they had not seen a princess go out, and they repliedthey had seen nobody go out but a young girl, very meanly dressed, andwho had more the air of a poor country girl than of a young lady. 

When the two sisters returned from the ball, Cinderella asked them ifthey had had a pleasant time, and if the fine lady had been there. Theytold her, yes; but that she hurried away the moment it struck twelve, and with so much haste that she dropped one of her little glassslippers, the prettiest in the world, which the King's son had taken up. They said, further, that he had done nothing but look at her all thetime, and that most certainly he was very much in love with thebeautiful owner of the glass slipper. 

What they said was true; for a few days after the King's son caused itto be proclaimed, by sound of trumpet, that he would marry her whosefoot this slipper would fit exactly. They began to try it on theprincesses, then on the duchesses, and then on all the ladies of theCourt; but in vain. It was brought to the two sisters, who did all theypossibly could to thrust a foot into the slipper, but they could notsucceed. Cinderella, who saw this, and knew her slipper, said to them, laughing:--

"Let me see if it will not fit me. "

Her sisters burst out a-laughing, and began to banter her. The gentlemanwho was sent to try the slipper looked earnestly at Cinderella, and, finding her very handsome, said it was but just that she should try, andthat he had orders to let every lady try it on. 

He obliged Cinderella to sit down, and, putting the slipper to herlittle foot, he found it went on very easily, and fitted her as if ithad been made of wax. The astonishment of her two sisters was great, butit was still greater when Cinderella pulled out of her pocket the otherslipper and put it on her foot. Thereupon, in came her godmother, who, having touched Cinderella's clothes with her wand, made them moremagnificent than those she had worn before. 

[Illustration: "IT WENT ON VERY EASILY. " p. 10. ]

And now her two sisters found her to be that beautiful lady they hadseen at the ball. They threw themselves at her feet to beg pardon forall their ill treatment of her. Cinderella took them up, and, as sheembraced them, said that she forgave them with all her heart, and beggedthem to love her always. 

She was conducted to the young Prince, dressed as she was. He thoughther more charming than ever, and, a few days after, married her. Cinderella, who was as good as she was beautiful, gave her two sisters ahome in the palace, and that very same day married them to two greatlords of the Court. 

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY IN THE WOODS. 

Once upon a time there was a king and a queen, who were very sorry thatthey had no children, --so sorry that it cannot be told. 

At last, however, the Queen had a daughter. There was a very finechristening; and the Princess had for her godmothers all the fairiesthey could find in the whole kingdom (there were seven of them), so thatevery one of them might confer a gift upon her, as was the custom offairies in those days. By this means the Princess had all theperfections imaginable. 

After the christening was over, the company returned to the King'spalace, where was prepared a great feast for the fairies. There wasplaced before every one of them a magnificent cover with a case ofmassive gold, wherein were a spoon, and a knife and fork, all of puregold set with diamonds and rubies. But as they were all sitting down attable they saw a very old fairy come into the hall. She had not beeninvited, because for more than fifty years she had not been out of acertain tower, and she was believed to be either dead or enchanted. 

The King ordered her a cover, but he could not give her a case of goldas the others had, because seven only had been made for the sevenfairies. The old fairy fancied she was slighted, and muttered threatsbetween her teeth. One of the young fairies who sat near heard her, and, judging that she might give the little Princess some unlucky gift, hidherself behind the curtains as soon as they left the table. She hopedthat she might speak last and undo as much as she could the evil whichthe old fairy might do. 

In the meanwhile all the fairies began to give their gifts to thePrincess. The youngest gave her for her gift that she should be the mostbeautiful person in the world; the next, that she should have the wit ofan angel; the third, that she should be able to do everything she didgracefully; the fourth, that she should dance perfectly; the fifth, thatshe should sing like a nightingale; and the sixth, that she should playall kinds of musical instruments to the fullest perfection. 

The old fairy's turn coming next, her head shaking more with spite thanwith age, she said that the Princess should pierce her hand with aspindle and die of the wound. This terrible gift made the whole companytremble, and everybody fell a-crying. 

At this very instant the young fairy came from behind the curtains andsaid these words in a loud voice:--

"Assure yourselves, O King and Queen, that your daughter shall not dieof this disaster. It is true, I have no power to undo entirely what myelder has done. The Princess shall indeed pierce her hand with aspindle; but, instead of dying, she shall only fall into a deep sleep, which shall last a hundred years, at the end of which a king's son shallcome and awake her. "

The King, to avoid the misfortune foretold by the old fairy, issuedorders forbidding any one, on pain of death, to spin with a distaff andspindle, or to have a spindle in his house. About fifteen or sixteenyears after, the King and Queen being absent at one of their countryvillas, the young Princess was one day running up and down the palace;she went from room to room, and at last she came into a little garret onthe top of the tower, where a good old woman, alone, was spinning withher spindle. This good woman had never heard of the King's ordersagainst spindles. 

"What are you doing there, my good woman?" said the Princess. 

"I am spinning, my pretty child, " said the old woman, who did not knowwho the Princess was. 

"Ha!" said the Princess, "this is very pretty; how do you do it? Give itto me. Let me see if I can do it. "

She had no sooner taken it into her hand than, either because she wastoo quick and heedless, or because the decree of the fairy had soordained, it ran into her hand, and she fell down in a swoon. 

The good old woman, not knowing what to do, cried out for help. Peoplecame in from every quarter; they threw water upon the face of thePrincess, unlaced her, struck her on the palms of her hands, and rubbedher temples with cologne water; but nothing would bring her to herself. 

Then the King, who came up at hearing the noise, remembered what thefairies had foretold. He knew very well that this must come to pass, since the fairies had foretold it, and he caused the Princess to becarried into the finest room in his palace, and to be laid upon a bedall embroidered with gold and silver. One would have taken her for alittle angel, she was so beautiful; for her swooning had not dimmed thebrightness of her complexion: her cheeks were carnation, and her lipscoral. It is true her eyes were shut, but she was heard to breathesoftly, which satisfied those about her that she was not dead. 

[Illustration: "LET ME SEE IF I CAN DO IT. " p. 15. ]

The King gave orders that they should let her sleep quietly till thetime came for her to awake. The good fairy who had saved her life bycondemning her to sleep a hundred years was in the kingdom of Matakin, twelve thousand leagues off, when this accident befell the Princess;but she was instantly informed of it by a little dwarf, who hadseven-leagued boots, that is, boots with which he could stride overseven leagues of ground at once. The fairy started off at once, andarrived, about an hour later, in a fiery chariot drawn by dragons. 

The King handed her out of the chariot, and she approved everything hehad done; but as she had very great foresight, she thought that when thePrincess should awake she might not know what to do with herself, if shewas all alone in this old palace. This was what she did: she touchedwith her wand everything in the palace (except the King andQueen), --governesses, maids of honor, ladies of the bedchamber, gentlemen, officers, stewards, cooks, undercooks, kitchen maids, guardswith their porters, pages, and footmen; she likewise touched all thehorses which were in the stables, the cart horses, the hunters and thesaddle horses, the grooms, the great dogs in the outward court, andlittle Mopsey, too, the Princess's spaniel, which was lying on the bed. 

As soon as she touched them they all fell asleep, not to awake againuntil their mistress did, that they might be ready to wait upon her whenshe wanted them. The very spits at the fire, as full as they could holdof partridges and pheasants, fell asleep, and the fire itself as well. All this was done in a moment. Fairies are not long in doing theirwork. 

And now the King and Queen, having kissed their dear child withoutwaking her, went out of the palace and sent forth orders that nobodyshould come near it. 

These orders were not necessary; for in a quarter of an hour's timethere grew up all round about the park such a vast number of trees, great and small, bushes and brambles, twining one within another, thatneither man nor beast could pass through; so that nothing could be seenbut the very top of the towers of the palace; and that, too, only fromafar off. Every one knew that this also was the work of the fairy inorder that while the Princess slept she should have nothing to fear fromcurious people. 

After a hundred years the son of the King then reigning, who was ofanother family from that of the sleeping Princess, was a-hunting on thatside of the country, and he asked what those towers were which he saw inthe middle of a great thick wood. Every one answered according as theyhad heard. Some said that it was an old haunted castle, others that allthe witches of the country held their midnight revels there, but thecommon opinion was that it was an ogre's dwelling, and that he carriedto it all the little children he could catch, so as to eat them up athis leisure, without any one being able to follow him, for he alone hadthe power to make his way through the wood. 

The Prince did not know what to believe, and presently a very agedcountryman spake to him thus:--

"May it please your royal Highness, more than fifty years since I heardfrom my father that there was then in this castle the most beautifulprincess that was ever seen; that she must sleep there a hundred years, and that she should be waked by a king's son, for whom she wasreserved. "

The young Prince on hearing this was all on fire. He thought, withoutweighing the matter, that he could put an end to this rare adventure;and, pushed on by love and the desire of glory, resolved at once to lookinto it. 

As soon as he began to get near to the wood, all the great trees, thebushes, and brambles gave way of themselves to let him pass through. Hewalked up to the castle which he saw at the end of a large avenue; andyou can imagine he was a good deal surprised when he saw none of hispeople following him, because the trees closed again as soon as he hadpassed through them. However, he did not cease from continuing his way;a young prince in search of glory is ever valiant. 

He came into a spacious outer court, and what he saw was enough tofreeze him with horror. A frightful silence reigned over all; the imageof death was everywhere, and there was nothing to be seen but whatseemed to be the outstretched bodies of dead men and animals. He, however, very well knew, by the ruby faces and pimpled noses of theporters, that they were only asleep; and their goblets, wherein stillremained some drops of wine, showed plainly that they had fallen asleepwhile drinking their wine. 

He then crossed a court paved with marble, went up the stairs, and cameinto the guard chamber, where guards were standing in their ranks, withtheir muskets upon their shoulders, and snoring with all their might. Hewent through several rooms full of gentlemen and ladies, some standingand others sitting, but all were asleep. He came into a gilded chamber, where he saw upon a bed, the curtains of which were all open, the mostbeautiful sight ever beheld--a princess who appeared to be about fifteenor sixteen years of age, and whose bright and resplendent beauty hadsomething divine in it. He approached with trembling and admiration, andfell down upon his knees before her. 

Then, as the end of the enchantment was come, the Princess awoke, andlooking on him with eyes more tender than could have been expected atfirst sight, said:--

"Is it you, my Prince? You have waited a long while. "

The Prince, charmed with these words, and much more with the manner inwhich they were spoken, knew not how to show his joy and gratitude; heassured her that he loved her better than he did himself. Theirdiscourse was not very connected, but they were the better pleased, forwhere there is much love there is little eloquence. He was more at aloss than she, and we need not wonder at it; she had had time to thinkof what to say to him; for it is evident (though history says nothing ofit) that the good fairy, during so long a sleep, had given her verypleasant dreams. In short, they talked together for four hours, and thenthey said not half they had to say. 

In the meanwhile all the palace had woke up with the Princess; every onethought upon his own business, and as they were not in love, they wereready to die of hunger. The lady of honor, being as sharp set as theother folks, grew very impatient, and told the Princess aloud that themeal was served. The Prince helped the Princess to rise. She wasentirely and very magnificently dressed; but his royal Highness tookcare not to tell her that she was dressed like his great-grandmother, and had a high collar. She looked not a bit the less charming andbeautiful for all that. 

They went into the great mirrored hall, where they supped, and wereserved by the officers of the Princess's household. The violins andhautboys played old tunes, but they were excellent, though they had notbeen played for a hundred years; and after supper, without losing anytime, the lord almoner married them in the chapel of the castle. Theyhad but very little sleep--the Princess scarcely needed any; and thePrince left her next morning to return into the city, where his fatherwas greatly troubled about him. 

The Prince told him that he lost his way in the forest as he washunting, and that he had slept in the cottage of a charcoal-burner, whogave him cheese and brown bread. 

The King, his father, who was a good man, believed him; but his mothercould not be persuaded that it was true; and seeing that he went almostevery day a-hunting, and that he always had some excuse ready for sodoing, though he had been out three or four nights together, she beganto suspect that he was married; for he lived thus with the Princessabove two whole years, during which they had two children, the elder, adaughter, was named Dawn, and the younger, a son, they called Day, because he was a great deal handsomer than his sister. 

The Queen spoke several times to her son, to learn after what manner hewas passing his time, and told him that in this he ought in duty tosatisfy her. But he never dared to trust her with his secret; he fearedher, though he loved her, for she was of the race of the Ogres, and theKing married her for her vast riches alone. It was even whispered aboutthe Court that she had Ogreish inclinations, and that, whenever she sawlittle children passing by, she had all the difficulty in the world toprevent herself from falling upon them. And so the Prince would nevertell her one word. 

But when the King was dead, which happened about two years afterward, and he saw himself lord and master, he openly declared his marriage: andhe went in great state to conduct his Queen to the palace. They made amagnificent entry into the capital city, she riding between her twochildren. 

Soon after, the King made war on Emperor Cantalabutte, his neighbor. Heleft the government of the kingdom to the Queen, his mother, andearnestly commended his wife and children to her care. He was obliged tocarry on the war all the summer, and as soon as he left, theQueen-mother sent her daughter-in-law and her children to a countryhouse among the woods, that she might with the more ease gratify herhorrible longing. Some few days afterward she went thither herself, andsaid to her head cook:--

"I intend to eat little Dawn for my dinner to-morrow. "

"O! madam!" cried the head cook. 

"I will have it so, " replied the Queen (and this she spoke in the toneof an Ogress who had a strong desire to eat fresh meat), "and will eather with a sharp sauce. "

The poor man, knowing very well that he must not play tricks withOgresses, took his great knife and went up into little Dawn's chamber. She was then nearly four years old, and came up to him, jumping andlaughing, to put her arms round his neck, and ask him for somesugar-candy. Upon which he began to weep, the great knife fell out ofhis hand, and he went into the back yard and killed a little lamb, anddressed it with such good sauce that his mistress assured him she hadnever eaten anything so good in her life. He had at the same time takenup little Dawn and carried her to his wife, to conceal her in hislodging at the end of the courtyard. 

Eight days afterwards the wicked Queen said to the chief cook, "I willsup upon little Day. "

He answered not a word, being resolved to cheat her again as he had donebefore. He went to find little Day, and saw him with a foil in his hand, with which he was fencing with a great monkey: the child was then onlythree years of age. He took him up in his arms and carried him to hiswife, that she might conceal him in her chamber along with his sister, and instead of little Day he served up a young and very tender kid, which the Ogress found to be wonderfully good. 

All had gone well up to now; but one evening this wicked Queen said toher chief cook:--

"I will eat the Queen with the same sauce I had with her children. "

Now the poor chief cook was in despair and could not imagine how todeceive her again. The young Queen was over twenty years old, notreckoning the hundred years she had been asleep: and how to findsomething to take her place greatly puzzled him. He then decided, tosave his own life, to cut the Queen's throat; and going up into herchamber, with intent to do it at once, he put himself into as great furyas he possibly could, and came into the young Queen's room with hisdagger in his hand. He would not, however, deceive her, but told her, with a great deal of respect, the orders he had received from theQueen-mother. 

"Do it; do it, " she said, stretching out her neck. "Carry out yourorders, and then I shall go and see my children, my poor children, whomI loved so much and so tenderly. "

For she thought them dead, since they had been taken away without herknowledge. 

"No, no, madam, " cried the poor chief cook, all in tears; "you shall notdie, and you shall see your children again at once. But then you mustgo home with me to my lodgings, where I have concealed them, and I willdeceive the Queen once more, by giving her a young hind in your stead. "

Upon this he forthwith conducted her to his room, where, leaving her toembrace her children, and cry along with them, he went and dressed ayoung hind, which the Queen had for her supper, and devoured with asmuch appetite as if it had been the young Queen. She was now wellsatisfied with her cruel deeds, and she invented a story to tell theKing on his return, of how the Queen his wife and her two children hadbeen devoured by mad wolves. 

One evening, as she was, according to her custom, rambling round aboutthe courts and yards of the palace to see if she could smell any freshmeat, she heard, in a room on the ground floor, little Day crying, forhis mamma was going to whip him, because he had been naughty; and sheheard, at the same time, little Dawn begging mercy for her brother. 

The Ogress knew the voice of the Queen and her children at once, andbeing furious at having been thus deceived, she gave orders (in a mosthorrible voice which made everybody tremble) that, next morning by breakof day, they should bring into the middle of the great court a large tubfilled with toads, vipers, snakes, and all sorts of serpents, in orderto have the Queen and her children, the chief cook, his wife and maid, thrown into it, all of whom were to be brought thither with their handstied behind them. 

They were brought out accordingly, and the executioners were just goingto throw them into the tub, when the King, who was not so soon expected, entered the court on horseback and asked, with the utmost astonishment, what was the meaning of that horrible spectacle. 

No one dared to tell him, when the Ogress, all enraged to see what hadhappened, threw herself head foremost into the tub, and was instantlydevoured by the ugly creatures she had ordered to be thrown into it tokill the others. The King was of course very sorry, for she was hismother; but he soon comforted himself with his beautiful wife and hispretty children. 

LITTLE THUMB. 

Once upon a time there was a fagot-maker and his wife, who had sevenchildren, all boys. The eldest was but ten years old, and the youngestonly seven. 

They were very poor, and their seven children were a great source oftrouble to them because not one of them was able to earn his bread. Whatgave them yet more uneasiness was that the youngest was very delicate, and scarce ever spoke a word, which made people take for stupidity thatwhich was a sign of good sense. He was very little, and when born he wasno bigger than one's thumb; hence he was called Little Thumb. 

The poor child was the drudge of the household, and was always in thewrong. He was, however, the most bright and discreet of all thebrothers; and if he spoke little, he heard and thought the more. 

There came a very bad year, and the famine was so great that these poorpeople resolved to rid themselves of their children. One evening, whenthey were in bed, and the fagot-maker was sitting with his wife at thefire, he said to her, with his heart ready to burst with grief:--

"You see plainly that we no longer can give our children food, and Icannot bear to see them die of hunger before my eyes; I am resolved tolose them in the wood to-morrow, which may very easily be done, for, while they amuse themselves in tying up fagots, we have only to run awayand leave them without their seeing us. "

"Ah!" cried out his wife, "could you really take the children and losethem?"

In vain did her husband represent to her their great poverty; she wouldnot consent to it. She was poor, but she was their mother. 

However, having considered what a grief it would be to her to see themdie of hunger, she consented, and went weeping to bed. 

Little Thumb heard all they had said; for, hearing that they weretalking business, he got up softly and slipped under his father's seat, so as to hear without being seen. He went to bed again, but did notsleep a wink all the rest of the night, thinking of what he had to do. He got up early in the morning, and went to the brookside, where hefilled his pockets full of small white pebbles, and then returned home. They all went out, but Little Thumb never told his brothers a word ofwhat he knew. 

[Illustration: "SLIPPED UNDER HIS FATHER'S SEAT. " p. 30. ]

They went into a very thick forest, where they could not see oneanother at ten paces apart. The fagot-maker began to cut wood, and thechildren to gather up sticks to make fagots. Their father and mother, seeing them busy at their work, got away from them unbeknown and thenall at once ran as fast as they could through a winding by-path. 

When the children found they were alone, they began to cry with alltheir might. Little Thumb let them cry on, knowing very well how to gethome again; for, as he came, he had dropped the little white pebbles hehad in his pockets all along the way. Then he said to them, "Do not beafraid, my brothers, --father and mother have left us here, but I willlead you home again; only follow me. "

They followed, and he brought them home by the very same way they hadcome into the forest. They dared not go in at first, but stood outsidethe door to listen to what their father and mother were saying. 

The very moment the fagot-maker and his wife reached home the lord ofthe manor sent them ten crowns, which he had long owed them, and whichthey never hoped to see. This gave them new life, for the poor peoplewere dying of hunger. The fagot-maker sent his wife to the butcher's atonce. As it was a long while since they had eaten, she bought thrice asmuch meat as was needed for supper for two people. When they had eaten, the woman said:--

"Alas! where are our poor children now? They would make a good feast ofwhat we have left here; it was you, William, who wished to lose them. Itold you we should repent of it. What are they now doing in the forest?Alas! perhaps the wolves have already eaten them up; you are veryinhuman thus to have lost your children. "

The fagot-maker grew at last quite out of patience, for she repeatedtwenty times that he would repent of it, and that she was in the right. He threatened to beat her if she did not hold her tongue. Thefagot-maker was, perhaps, more sorry than his wife, but she teased himso he could not endure it. She wept bitterly, saying:--

"Alas! where are my children now, my poor children?"

She said this once so very loud that the children, who were at the door, heard her and cried out all together:--

"Here we are! Here we are!"

She ran immediately to let them in, and said as she embraced them:--

"How happy I am to see you again, my dear children; you are very tiredand very hungry, and, my poor Peter, you are covered with mud. Come inand let me clean you. "

Peter was her eldest son, whom she loved more than all the rest, becausehe was red haired, as she was herself. 

They sat down to table, and ate with an appetite which pleased bothfather and mother, to whom they told how frightened they were in theforest, nearly all speaking at once. The good folk were delighted to seetheir children once more, and this joy continued while the ten crownslasted. But when the money was all spent, they fell again into theirformer uneasiness, and resolved to lose their children again. And, thatthey might be the surer of doing it, they determined to take them muchfarther than before. 

They could not talk of this so secretly but they were overheard byLittle Thumb, who laid his plans to get out of the difficulty as he haddone before; but, though he got up very early to go and pick up somelittle pebbles, he could not, for he found the house-door double-locked. He did not know what to do. Their father had given each of them a pieceof bread for their breakfast. He reflected that he might make use of thebread instead of the pebbles, by throwing crumbs all along the way theyshould pass, and so he stuffed it in his pocket. Their father and motherled them into the thickest and most obscure part of the forest, andthen, stealing away into a by-path, left them there. Little Thumb wasnot very much worried about it, for he thought he could easily find theway again by means of his bread, which he had scattered all along as hecame; but he was very much surprised when he could not find a singlecrumb: the birds had come and eaten them all. 

They were now in great trouble; for the more they wandered, the deeperthey went into the forest. Night now fell, and there arose a high wind, which filled them with fear. They fancied they heard on every side thehowling of wolves coming to devour them. They scarce dared to speak orturn their heads. Then it rained very hard, which wetted them to theskin. Their feet slipped at every step, and they fell into the mud, covering their hands with it so that they knew not what to do with them. 

Little Thumb climbed up to the top of a tree, to see if he coulddiscover anything. Looking on every side, he saw at last a glimmeringlight, like that of a candle, but a long way beyond the forest. He camedown, and, when upon the ground, he could see it no more, whichgrieved him sadly. However, having walked for some time with hisbrothers toward that side on which he had seen the light, he discoveredit again as he came out of the wood. 

They arrived at last at the house where this candle was, not withoutmany frights; for very often they lost sight of it, which happenedevery time they came into a hollow. They knocked at the door, and a goodwoman came and opened it. 

She asked them what they wanted. Little Thumb told her they were poorchildren who were lost in the forest, and desired to lodge there forcharity's sake. The woman, seeing them all so very pretty, began to weepand said to them: "Alas! poor babies, where do you come from? Do youknow that this house belongs to a cruel Ogre who eats little children?"

"Alas! dear madam, " answered Little Thumb (who, with his brothers, wastrembling in every limb), "what shall we do? The wolves of the forestsurely will devour us to-night if you refuse us shelter in your house;and so we would rather the gentleman should eat us. Perhaps he may takepity upon us if you will be pleased to ask him to do so. "

The Ogre's wife, who believed she could hide them from her husband tillmorning, let them come in, and took them to warm themselves at a verygood fire; for there was a whole sheep roasting for the Ogre's supper. 

As they began to warm themselves they heard three or four great raps atthe door; this was the Ogre, who was come home. His wife quickly hidthem under the bed and went to open the door. The Ogre at once asked ifsupper was ready and the wine drawn, and then sat himself down totable. The sheep was as yet all raw, but he liked it the better forthat. He sniffed about to the right and left, saying:--

"I smell fresh meat. "

"What you smell, " said his wife, "must be the calf which I have just nowkilled and flayed. "

"I smell fresh meat, I tell you once more, " replied the Ogre, lookingcrossly at his wife, "and there is something here which I do notunderstand. "

As he spoke these words he got up from the table and went straight tothe bed. 

"Ah!" said he, "that is how you would cheat me; I know not why I do noteat you, too; it is well for you that you are tough. Here is game, whichcomes very luckily to entertain three Ogres of my acquaintance who areto pay me a visit in a day or two. "

He dragged them out from under the bed, one by one. The poor childrenfell upon their knees and begged his pardon, but they had to do with oneof the most cruel of Ogres, who, far from having any pity on them, wasalready devouring them in his mind, and told his wife they would bedelicate eating when she had made a good sauce. 

He then took a great knife, and, coming up to these poor children, sharpened it upon a great whetstone which he held in his left hand. Hehad already taken hold of one of them when his wife said to him:--

"What need you do it now? Will you not have time enough to-morrow?"

"Hold your prating, " said the Ogre; "they will eat the tenderer. "

"But you have so much meat already, " replied his wife; "here are a calf, two sheep, and half a pig. "

"That is true, " said the Ogre; "give them a good supper that they maynot grow thin, and put them to bed. "

The good woman was overjoyed at this, and gave them a good supper; butthey were so much afraid that they could not eat. As for the Ogre, hesat down again to drink, being highly pleased that he had thewherewithal to treat his friends. He drank a dozen glasses more thanordinary, which got up into his head and obliged him to go to bed. 

The Ogre had seven daughters, who were still little children. Theseyoung Ogresses had all of them very fine complexions; but they all hadlittle gray eyes, quite round, hooked noses, a very large mouth, andvery long, sharp teeth, set far apart. They were not as yet wicked, butthey promised well to be, for they had already bitten little children. 

They had been put to bed early, all seven in one bed, with every one acrown of gold upon her head. There was in the same chamber a bed of thelike size, and the Ogre's wife put the seven little boys into this bed, after which she went to bed herself. 

Little Thumb, who had observed that the Ogre's daughters had crowns ofgold upon their heads, and was afraid lest the Ogre should repent hisnot killing them that evening, got up about midnight, and, taking hisbrothers' bonnets and his own, went very softly and put them upon theheads of the seven little Ogresses, after having taken off their crownsof gold, which he put upon his own head and his brothers', so that theOgre might take them for his daughters, and his daughters for the littleboys whom he wanted to kill. 

Things turned out just as he had thought; for the Ogre, waking aboutmidnight, regretted that he had deferred till morning to do that whichhe might have done overnight, and jumped quickly out of bed, taking hisgreat knife. 

"Let us see, " said he, "how our little rogues do, and not make two jobsof the matter. "

He then went up, groping all the way, into his daughters' chamber; and, coming to the bed where the little boys lay, and who were all fastasleep, except Little Thumb, who was terribly afraid when he found theOgre fumbling about his head, as he had done about his brothers', hefelt the golden crowns, and said:--

"I should have made a fine piece of work of it, truly; it is clear Idrank too much last night. "

Then he went to the bed where the girls lay, and, having found the boys'little bonnets:--

"Ah!" said he, "my merry lads, are you there? Let us work boldly. "

And saying these words, without more ado, he cruelly murdered all hisseven daughters. Well pleased with what he had done, he went to bedagain. 

So soon as Little Thumb heard the Ogre snore, he waked his brothers, andbade them put on their clothes quickly and follow him. They stole softlyinto the garden and got over the wall. They ran about, all night, trembling all the while, without knowing which way they went. 

The Ogre, when he woke, said to his wife: "Go upstairs and dress thoseyoung rascals who came here last night. " The Ogress was very muchsurprised at this goodness of her husband, not dreaming after whatmanner she should dress them; but, thinking that he had ordered her togo up and put on their clothes, she went, and was horrified when sheperceived her seven daughters all dead. 

She began by fainting away, as was only natural in such a case. TheOgre, fearing his wife was too long in doing what he had ordered, wentup himself to help her. He was no less amazed than his wife at thisfrightful spectacle. 

"Ah! what have I done?" cried he. "The wretches shall pay for it, andthat instantly. "

He threw a pitcher of water upon his wife's face, and having brought herto herself, "Give me quickly, " cried he, "my seven-leagued boots, that Imay go and catch them. "

He went out into the country, and, after running in all directions, hecame at last into the very road where the poor children were, and notabove a hundred paces from their father's house. They espied the Ogre, who went at one step from mountain to mountain, and over rivers aseasily as the narrowest brooks. Little Thumb, seeing a hollow rock nearthe place where they were, hid his brothers in it, and crowded into ithimself, watching always what would become of the Ogre. 

The Ogre, who found himself tired with his long and fruitless journey(for these boots of seven leagues greatly taxed the wearer), had a greatmind to rest himself, and, by chance, went to sit down upon the rock inwhich the little boys had hidden themselves. As he was worn out withfatigue, he fell asleep, and, after reposing himself some time, began tosnore so frightfully that the poor children were no less afraid of himthan when he held up his great knife and was going to take their lives. Little Thumb was not so much frightened as his brothers, and told themthat they should run away at once toward home while the Ogre was asleepso soundly, and that they need not be in any trouble about him. Theytook his advice, and got home quickly. 

Little Thumb then went close to the Ogre, pulled off his boots gently, and put them on his own legs. The boots were very long and large, but asthey were fairy boots, they had the gift of becoming big or little, according to the legs of those who wore them; so that they fitted hisfeet and legs as well as if they had been made for him. He went straightto the Ogre's house, where he saw his wife crying bitterly for the lossof her murdered daughters. 

"Your husband, " said Little Thumb, "is in very great danger, for he hasbeen taken by a gang of thieves, who have sworn to kill him if he doesnot give them all his gold and silver. At the very moment they heldtheir daggers at his throat he perceived me and begged me to come andtell you the condition he was in, and to say that you should give me allhe has of value, without retaining any one thing; for otherwise theywill kill him without mercy. As his case is very pressing, he desired meto make use of his seven-leagued boots, which you see I have on, so thatI might make the more haste and that I might show you that I do notimpose upon you. "

The good woman, being greatly frightened, gave him all she had; for thisOgre was a very good husband, though he ate up little children. LittleThumb, having thus got all the Ogre's money, came home to his father'shouse, where he was received with abundance of joy. 

There are many people who do not agree in regard to this act of LittleThumb's, and pretend that he never robbed the Ogre at all, and that heonly thought he might very justly take off his seven-leagued bootsbecause he made no other use of them but to run after little children. These folks affirm that they are very well assured of this, because theyhave drunk and eaten often at the fagot-maker's house. They declare thatwhen Little Thumb had taken off the Ogre's boots he went to Court, wherehe was informed that they were very much in trouble about a certainarmy, which was two hundred leagues off, and anxious as to the successof a battle. He went, they say, to the King and told him that if hedesired it, he would bring him news from the army before night. 

The King promised him a great sum of money if he succeeded. Little Thumbreturned that very same night with the news; and, this first expeditioncausing him to be known, he earned as much as he wished, for the Kingpaid him very well for carrying his orders to the army. Many ladiesemployed him also to carry messages, from which he made much money. After having for some time carried on the business of a messenger andgained thereby great wealth, he went home to his father, and it isimpossible to express the joy of his family. He placed them all incomfortable circumstances, bought places for his father and brothers, and by that means settled them very handsomely in the world, while hesuccessfully continued to make his own way. 

THE MASTER CAT, OR PUSS IN BOOTS. 

Once upon a time there was a miller who left no more riches to the threesons he had than his mill, his ass, and his cat. The division was soonmade. Neither the lawyer nor the attorney was sent for. They would soonhave eaten up all the poor property. The eldest had the mill, the secondthe ass, and the youngest nothing but the cat. 

The youngest, as we can understand, was quite unhappy at having so poora share. 

"My brothers, " said he, "may get their living handsomely enough byjoining their stocks together; but, for my part, when I have eaten up mycat, and made me a muff of his skin, I must die of hunger. "

The Cat, who heard all this, without appearing to take any notice, saidto him with a grave and serious air:--

"Do not thus afflict yourself, my master; you have nothing else to dobut to give me a bag, and get a pair of boots made for me, that I mayscamper through the brambles, and you shall see that you have not sopoor a portion in me as you think. "

Though the Cat's master did not think much of what he said, he had seenhim play such cunning tricks to catch rats and mice--hanging himself bythe heels, or hiding himself in the meal, to make believe he wasdead--that he did not altogether despair of his helping him in hismisery. When the Cat had what he asked for, he booted himself verygallantly, and putting his bag about his neck, he held the strings of itin his two forepaws, and went into a warren where was a great number ofrabbits. He put bran and sow-thistle into his bag, and, stretching outat length, as if he were dead, he waited for some young rabbits, not yetacquainted with the deceits of the world, to come and rummage his bagfor what he had put into it. 

Scarcely was he settled but he had what he wanted. A rash and foolishyoung rabbit jumped into his bag, and Monsieur Puss, immediately drawingclose the strings, took him and killed him at once. Proud of his prey, he went with it to the palace, and asked to speak with the King. He wasshown upstairs into his Majesty's apartment, and, making a low bow tothe King, he said:--

"I have brought you, sire, a rabbit which my noble Lord, the Master ofCarabas" (for that was the title which Puss was pleased to give hismaster) "has commanded me to present to your Majesty from him. "

"Tell thy master, " said the King, "that I thank him, and that I ampleased with his gift. "

Another time he went and hid himself among some standing corn, stillholding his bag open; and when a brace of partridges ran into it, hedrew the strings, and so caught them both. He then went and made apresent of these to the King, as he had done before of the rabbit whichhe took in the warren. The King, in like manner, received the partridgeswith great pleasure, and ordered his servants to reward him. 

The Cat continued for two or three months thus to carry his Majesty, from time to time, some of his master's game. One day when he knew thatthe King was to take the air along the riverside, with his daughter, themost beautiful princess in the world, he said to his master:--

"If you will follow my advice, your fortune is made. You have nothingelse to do but go and bathe in the river, just at the spot I shall showyou, and leave the rest to me. "

The Marquis of Carabas did what the Cat advised him to, without knowingwhat could be the use of doing it. While he was bathing, the King passedby, and the Cat cried out with all his might:--

"Help! help! My Lord the Marquis of Carabas is drowning!"

At this noise the King put his head out of the coach window, and seeingthe Cat who had so often brought him game, he commanded his guards torun immediately to the assistance of his Lordship the Marquis ofCarabas. 

While they were drawing the poor Marquis out of the river, the Cat cameup to the coach and told the King that, while his master was bathing, there came by some rogues, who ran off with his clothes, though he hadcried out, "Thieves! thieves!" several times, as loud as he could. Thecunning Cat had hidden the clothes under a great stone. The Kingimmediately commanded the officers of his wardrobe to run and fetch oneof his best suits for the Lord Marquis of Carabas. 

[Illustration: "THE MARQUIS OF CARABAS IS DROWNING!" p. 48. ]

The King was extremely polite to him, and as the fine clothes he hadgiven him set off his good looks (for he was well made and handsome), the King's daughter found him very much to her liking, and the Marquisof Carabas had no sooner cast two or three respectful and somewhattender glances than she fell in love with him to distraction. The Kingwould have him come into the coach and take part in the airing. The Cat, overjoyed to see his plan begin to succeed, marched on before, and, meeting with some countrymen, who were mowing a meadow, he said tothem:--

"Good people, you who are mowing, if you do not tell the King that themeadow you mow belongs to my Lord Marquis of Carabas, you shall bechopped as small as herbs for the pot. "

The King did not fail to ask the mowers to whom the meadow they weremowing belonged. 

"To my Lord Marquis of Carabas, " answered they all together, for theCat's threat had made them afraid. 

"You have a good property there, " said the King to the Marquis ofCarabas. 

"You see, sire, " said the Marquis, "this is a meadow which never failsto yield a plentiful harvest every year. "

The Master Cat, who went still on before, met with some reapers, andsaid to them:--

"Good people, you who are reaping, if you do not say that all this cornbelongs to the Marquis of Carabas, you shall be chopped as small asherbs for the pot. "

The King, who passed by a moment after, wished to know to whom belongedall that corn, which he then saw. 

"To my Lord Marquis of Carabas, " replied the reapers, and the King wasvery well pleased with it, as well as the Marquis, whom he congratulatedthereupon. The Master Cat, who went always before, said the same thingto all he met, and the King was astonished at the vast estates of myLord Marquis of Carabas. 

Monsieur Puss came at last to a stately castle, the master of which wasan Ogre, the richest ever known; for all the lands which the King hadthen passed through belonged to this castle. The Cat, who had taken careto inform himself who this Ogre was and what he could do, asked to speakwith him, saying he could not pass so near his castle without having thehonor of paying his respects to him. 

The Ogre received him as civilly as an Ogre could do, and made him sitdown. 

"I have been assured, " said the Cat, "that you have the gift of beingable to change yourself into all sorts of creatures you have a mind to;that you can, for example, transform yourself into a lion, or elephant, and the like. "

"That is true, " answered the Ogre, roughly; "and to convince you, youshall see me now become a lion. "

Puss was so terrified at the sight of a lion so near him that heimmediately climbed into the gutter, not without much trouble anddanger, because of his boots, which were of no use at all to him forwalking upon the tiles. A little while after, when Puss saw that theOgre had resumed his natural form, he came down, and owned he had beenvery much frightened. 

"I have, moreover, been informed, " said the Cat, "but I know not how tobelieve it, that; you have also the power to take on you the shape ofthe smallest animals; for example, to change yourself into a rat or amouse, but I must own to you I take this to be impossible. "

"Impossible!" cried the Ogre; "you shall see. " And at the same time hechanged himself into a mouse, and began to run about the floor. Puss nosooner perceived this than he fell upon him and ate him up. 

Meanwhile, the King, who saw, as he passed, this fine castle of theOgre's, had a mind to go into it. Puss, who heard the noise of hisMajesty's coach coming over the drawbridge, ran out, and said to theKing, "Your Majesty is welcome to this castle of my Lord Marquis ofCarabas. "

"What! my Lord Marquis, " cried the King, "and does this castle alsobelong to you? There can be nothing finer than this courtyard and allthe stately buildings which surround it; let us see the interior, if youplease. "

The Marquis gave his hand to the young Princess, and followed the King, who went first. They passed into the great hall, where they found amagnificent collation, which the Ogre had prepared for his friends, whowere that very day to visit him, but dared not to enter, knowing theKing was there. His Majesty, charmed with the good qualities of my Lordof Carabas, as was also his daughter, who had fallen violently in lovewith him, and seeing the vast estate he possessed, said to him:--

"It will be owing to yourself only, my Lord Marquis, if you are not myson-in-law. "

The Marquis, with low bows, accepted the honor which his Majestyconferred upon him, and forthwith that very same day married thePrincess. 

Puss became a great lord, and never ran after mice any more except forhis diversion. 

RIQUET WITH THE TUFT. 

Once upon a time there was a Queen who had a son so ugly and somisshapen that it was long disputed whether he had human form. A fairywho was at his birth said, however, that he would be very amiable forall that, since he would have uncommon good sense. She even added thatit would be in his power, by virtue of a gift she had just then givenhim, to bestow as much sense as he pleased on the person he loved thebest. All this somewhat comforted the poor Queen. It is true that thischild no sooner began to talk than he said a thousand pretty things, andin all his actions there was an intelligence that was quite charming. Iforgot to tell you that he was born with a little tuft of hair upon hishead, which made them call him Riquet[1] with the Tuft, for Riquet wasthe family name. 

[Footnote 1: R[=e]k[=a]. ]

Seven or eight years later the Queen of a neighboring kingdom had twodaughters who were twins. The first born of these was more beautifulthan the day; whereat the Queen was so very glad that those present wereafraid that her excess of joy would do her harm. The same fairy who waspresent at the birth of little Riquet with the Tuft was here also, and, to moderate the Queen's gladness, she declared that this little Princessshould have no sense at all, but should be as stupid as she was pretty. This mortified the Queen extremely; but afterward she had a far greatersorrow, for the second daughter proved to be very ugly. 

"Do not afflict yourself so much, madam, " said the fairy. "Your daughtershall have her recompense; she shall have so great a portion of sensethat the want of beauty will hardly be perceived. "

"God grant it, " replied the Queen; "but is there no way to make theeldest, who is so pretty, have any sense?"

"I can do nothing for her, madam, as to sense, " answered the fairy, "buteverything as to beauty; and as there is nothing I would not do for yoursatisfaction, I give her for gift that she shall have power to makehandsome the person who shall best please her. "

As these princesses grew up, their perfections grew with them. All thepublic talk was of the beauty of the elder and the rare good sense ofthe younger. It is true also that their defects increased considerablywith their age. The younger visibly grew uglier and uglier, and theelder became every day more and more stupid: she either made no answerat all to what was asked her, or said something very silly. She was withall this so unhandy that she could not place four pieces of china uponthe mantelpiece without breaking one of them, nor drink a glass of waterwithout spilling half of it upon her clothes. 

Although beauty is a very great advantage in young people, the youngersister was always the more preferred in society. People would indeed gofirst to the Beauty to look upon and admire her, but turn aside soonafter to the Wit to hear a thousand most entertaining and agreeablethings; and it was amazing to see, in less than a quarter of an hour'stime, the elder with not a soul near her, and the whole company crowdingabout the younger. The elder, dull as she was, could not fail to noticethis; and without the slightest regret would have given all her beautyto have half her sister's wit. The Queen, prudent as she was, could nothelp reproaching her several times for her stupidity, which almost madethe poor Princess die of grief. 

One day, as she had hidden herself in a wood to bewail her misfortune, she saw coming to her a very disagreeable little man, but mostmagnificently dressed. This was the young Prince Riquet with the Tuft, who having fallen in love with her upon seeing her picture, --many ofwhich were distributed all the world over, --had left his father'skingdom to have the pleasure of seeing and talking with her. Overjoyedto find her thus alone, he addressed himself to her with all imaginablepoliteness and respect. Having observed, after he had paid her theordinary compliments, that she was extremely melancholy, he said toher:--

"I cannot comprehend, madam, how a person so beautiful as you are can beso sorrowful as you seem to be; for though I can boast of having seen agreat number of exquisitely charming ladies, I can say that I neverbeheld any one whose beauty approaches yours. "

"You are pleased to say so, " answered the Princess, and here shestopped. 

"Beauty, " replied Riquet with the Tuft, "is such a great advantage, thatit ought to take place of all things besides; and since you possess thistreasure, I can see nothing that can possibly very much afflict you. "

"I had far rather, " cried the Princess, "be as ugly as you are, and havesense, than have the beauty I possess, and be as stupid as I am. "

"There is nothing, madam, " returned he, "shows more that we have goodsense than to believe we have none; and it is the nature of thatexcellent quality that the more people have of it, the more they believethey want it. "

"I do not know that, " said the Princess; "but I know very well that Iam very senseless, and that vexes me mightily. "

"If that be all which troubles you, madam, I can very easily put an endto your affliction. "

"And how will you do that?" cried the Princess. 

"I have the power, madam, " replied Riquet with the Tuft, "to give tothat person whom I love best as much good sense as can be had; and asyou, madam, are that very person, it will be your fault only if you havenot as great a share of it as any one living, provided you will bepleased to marry me. "

The Princess was quite confused, and answered not a word. 

"I see, " replied Riquet with the Tuft, "that this proposal does notplease you, and I do not wonder at it; but I will give you a whole yearto consider it. "

The Princess had so little sense and, at the same time, so great alonging to have some, that she imagined the end of that year would nevercome, so she accepted the proposal which was made her. 

She had no sooner promised Riquet with the Tuft that she would marry himon that day twelvemonth than she found herself quite otherwise than shewas before: she had an incredible faculty of speaking whatever she hadin her mind in a polite, easy, and natural manner. 

She began that moment a very gallant conversation with Riquet with theTuft, which she kept up at such a rate that Riquet with the Tuftbelieved he had given her more sense than he had reserved for himself. 

When she returned to the palace, the whole court knew not what to thinkof such a sudden and extraordinary change; for they heard from her nowas much sensible discourse and as many infinitely witty phrases as theyhad heard stupid and silly impertinences before. The whole court wasoverjoyed beyond imagination at it. It pleased all but her youngersister, because, having no longer the advantage of her in respect ofwit, she appeared in comparison with her a very disagreeable, homelygirl. 

The King governed himself by her advice, and would even sometimes hold acouncil in her apartment. The news of this change in the Princess spreadeverywhere; the young princes of the neighboring kingdoms strove allthey could to gain her favor, and almost all of them asked her inmarriage; but she found not one of them had sense enough for her. Shegave them all a hearing, but would not engage herself to any. 

However, there came one so powerful, so rich, so witty, and so handsomethat she could not help feeling a strong inclination toward him. Herfather perceived it, and told her that she was her own mistress as tothe choice of a husband, and that she might declare her intentions. Shethanked her father, and desired him to give her time to consider it. 

She went by chance to walk in the same wood where she met Riquet withthe Tuft, the more conveniently to think what she ought to do. While shewas walking in a profound meditation, she heard a confused noise underher feet, as it were of a great many people busily running backward andforward. Listening more attentively, she heard one say:--

"Bring me that pot, " another, "Give me that kettle, " and a third, "Putsome wood upon the fire. "

The ground at the same time opened, and she saw under her feet a greatkitchen full of cooks, kitchen helps, and all sorts of officersnecessary for a magnificent entertainment. There came out of it acompany of cooks, to the number of twenty or thirty, who went to plantthemselves about a very long table set up in the forest, with theirlarding pins in their hands and fox tails in their caps, and began towork, keeping time to a very harmonious tune. 

The Princess, all astonished at this sight, asked them for whom theyworked. 

"For Prince Riquet with the Tuft, " said the chief of them, "who is to bemarried to-morrow. "

The Princess, more surprised than ever, and recollecting all at oncethat it was now that day twelvemonth on which she had promised to marrythe Prince Riquet with the Tuft, was ready to sink into the ground. 

What made her forget this was that when she made this promise, she wasvery silly; and having obtained that vast stock of sense which theprince had bestowed upon her, she had entirely forgotten the things shehad done in the days of her stupidity. She continued her walk, but hadnot taken thirty steps before Riquet with the Tuft presented himself toher, gallant and most magnificently dressed, like a prince who was goingto be married. 

"You see, madam, " said he, "I am exact in keeping my word, and doubt notin the least but you are come hither to perform your promise. "

"I frankly confess, " answered the Princess, "that I have not yet come toa decision in this matter, and I believe I never shall be able to arriveat such a one as you desire. "

"You astonish me, madam, " said Riquet with the Tuft. 

"I can well believe it, " said the Princess; "and surely if I had to dowith a clown, or a man of no sense, I should find myself very much at aloss. 'A princess always keeps her word, ' he would say to me, 'and youmust marry me, since you promised to do so. ' But as he to whom I talkis the one man in the world who is master of the greatest sense andjudgment, I am sure he will hear reason. You know that when I was but afool I could scarcely make up my mind to marry you; why will you haveme, now I have so much judgment as you gave me, come to such a decisionwhich I could not then make up my mind to agree to? If you sincerelythought to make me your wife, you have been greatly in the wrong todeprive me of my dull simplicity, and make me see things much moreclearly than I did. "

"If a man of no wit and sense, " replied Riquet with the Tuft, "would bewell received, as you say, in reproaching you for breach of your word, why will you not let me, madam, have the same usage in a matter whereinall the happiness of my life is concerned? Is it reasonable that personsof wit and sense should be in a worse condition than those who havenone? Can you pretend this, you who have so great a share, and desiredso earnestly to have it? But let us come to the fact, if you please. Putting aside my ugliness and deformity, is there anything in me whichdispleased you? Are you dissatisfied with my birth, my wit, my humor, ormy manners?"

"Not at all, " answered the Princess; "I love you and respect you in allthat you mention. "

[Illustration: "I AM EXACT IN KEEPING MY WORD. " p. 61. ]

"If it be so, " said Riquet with the Tuft, "I am happy, since it is inyour power to make me the most amiable of men. "

"How can that be?" said the Princess. 

"It is done, " said Riquet with the Tuft, "if you love me enough to wishit was so; and that you may no ways doubt, madam, of what I say, knowthat the same fairy who on my birthday gave me for gift the power ofmaking the person who should please me witty and judicious, has in likemanner given you for gift the power of making him whom you love and towhom you would grant the favor, to be extremely handsome. "

"If it be so, " said the Princess, "I wish with all my heart that you maybe the most lovable prince in the world, and I bestow my gift on you asmuch as I am able. "

The Princess had no sooner pronounced these words than Riquet with theTuft appeared to her the finest prince upon earth, the handsomest andmost amiable man she ever saw. Some affirm that it was not the fairy'scharms, but love alone, which worked the change. 

They say that the Princess, having made due reflection on theperseverance of her lover, his discretion, and all the good qualities ofhis mind, his wit and judgment, saw no longer the deformity of his body, nor the ugliness of his face; that his hump seemed to her no more thanthe grand air of one having a broad back, and that whereas till thenshe saw him limp horribly, she now found it nothing more than a certainsidling air, which charmed her. 

They say further that his eyes, which were squinted very much, seemed toher most bright and sparkling, that their irregularity passed in herjudgment for a mark of the warmth of his affection, and, in short, thathis great red nose was, in her opinion, somewhat martial and heroic incharacter. 

However it was, the Princess promised immediately to marry him, oncondition that he obtained the King's consent. The King, knowing thathis daughter highly esteemed Riquet with the Tuft, whom he knew also fora most sage and judicious prince, received him for his son-in-law withpleasure, and the next morning their nuptials were celebrated, as Riquetwith the Tuft had foreseen, and according to the orders he had given along time before. 

BLUE BEARD. 

Once upon a time there was a man who had fine houses, both in town andcountry, a deal of silver and gold plate, carved furniture, and coachesgilded all over. But unhappily this man had a blue beard, which made himso ugly and so terrible that all the women and girls ran away from him. 

One of his neighbors, a lady of quality, had two daughters who wereperfect beauties. He asked for one of them in marriage, leaving to herthe choice of which she would bestow on him. They would neither of themhave him, and they sent him backward and forward from one to the other, neither being able to make up her mind to marry a man who had a bluebeard. Another thing which made them averse to him was that he hadalready married several wives, and nobody knew what had become of them. 

Blue Beard, to become better acquainted, took them, with their motherand three or four of their best friends, with some young people of theneighborhood to one of his country seats, where they stayed a wholeweek. 

There was nothing going on but pleasure parties, hunting, fishing, dancing, mirth, and feasting. Nobody went to bed, but all passed thenight in playing pranks on each other. In short, everything succeeded sowell that the youngest daughter began to think that the beard of themaster of the house was not so very blue, and that he was a very civilgentleman. So as soon as they returned home, the marriage was concluded. 

About a month afterward Blue Beard told his wife that he was obliged totake a country journey for six weeks at least, upon business of greatimportance. He desired her to amuse herself well in his absence, to sendfor her friends, to take them into the country, if she pleased, and tolive well wherever she was. 

"Here, " said he, "are the keys of the two great warehouses wherein Ihave my best furniture: these are of the room where I keep my silver andgold plate, which is not in everyday use; these open my safes, whichhold my money, both gold and silver; these my caskets of jewels; andthis is the master-key to all my apartments. But as for this little key, it is the key of the closet at the end of the great gallery on theground floor. Open them all; go everywhere; but as for that littlecloset, I forbid you to enter it, and I promise you surely that, if youopen it, there's nothing that you may not expect from my anger. "

She promised to obey exactly all his orders; and he, after havingembraced her, got into his coach and proceeded on his journey. 

Her neighbors and good friends did not stay to be sent for by thenew-married lady, so great was their impatience to see all the riches ofher house, not daring to come while her husband was there, because ofhis blue beard, which frightened them. They at once ran through all therooms, closets, and wardrobes, which were so fine and rich, and eachseemed to surpass all others. They went up into the warehouses, wherewas the best and richest furniture; and they could not sufficientlyadmire the number and beauty of the tapestry, beds, couches, cabinets, stands, tables, and looking-glasses, in which you might see yourselffrom head to foot. Some of them were framed with glass, others withsilver, plain and gilded, the most beautiful and the most magnificentever seen. 

[Illustration: "IF YOU OPEN IT, THERE'S NOTHING YOU MAY NOT EXPECTFROM MY ANGER. " p. 67. ]

They ceased not to praise and envy the happiness of their friend, who, in the meantime, was not at all amused by looking upon all these richthings, because of her impatience to go and open the closet on theground floor. Her curiosity was so great that, without considering howuncivil it was to leave her guests, she went down a little backstaircase, with such excessive haste that twice or thrice she came nearbreaking her neck. Having reached the closet-door, she stood still forsome time, thinking of her husband's orders, and considering thatunhappiness might attend her if she was disobedient; but the temptationwas so strong she could not overcome it. She then took the little key, and opened the door, trembling. At first she could not see anythingplainly, because the windows were shut. After some moments she began toperceive that several dead women were scattered about the floor. (Thesewere all the wives whom Blue Beard had married and murdered, one afterthe other, because they did not obey his orders about the closet on theground floor. ) She thought she surely would die for fear, and the key, which she pulled out of the lock, fell out of her hand. 

After having somewhat recovered from the shock, she picked up the key, locked the door, and went upstairs into her chamber to compose herself;but she could not rest, so much was she frightened. 

Having observed that the key of the closet was stained, she tried two orthree times to wipe off the stain, but the stain would not come out. Invain did she wash it, and even rub it with soap and sand. The stainstill remained, for the key was a magic key, and she could never make itquite clean; when the stain was gone off from one side, it came again onthe other. 

Blue Beard returned from his journey that same evening, and said he hadreceived letters upon the road, informing him that the business whichcalled him away was ended to his advantage. His wife did all she couldto convince him she was delighted at his speedy return. 

Next morning he asked her for the keys, which she gave him, but withsuch a trembling hand that he easily guessed what had happened. 

"How is it, " said he, "that the key of my closet is not among the rest?"

"I must certainly, " said she, "have left it upstairs upon the table. "

"Do not fail, " said Blue Beard, "to bring it to me presently. "

After having put off doing it several times, she was forced to bring himthe key. Blue Beard, having examined it, said to his wife:--

"How comes this stain upon the key?"

"I do not know, " cried the poor woman, paler than death. 

"You do not know!" replied Blue Beard. "I very well know. You wished togo into the cabinet? Very well, madam; you shall go in, and take yourplace among the ladies you saw there. "

She threw herself weeping at her husband's feet, and begged his pardonwith all the signs of a true repentance for her disobedience. She wouldhave melted a rock, so beautiful and sorrowful was she; but Blue Beardhad a heart harder than any stone. 

"You must die, madam, " said he, "and that at once. "

"Since I must die, " answered she, looking upon him with her eyes allbathed in tears, "give me some little time to say my prayers. "

"I give you, " replied Blue Beard, "half a quarter of an hour, but notone moment more. "

When she was alone she called out to her sister, and said to her:--

"Sister Anne, "--for that was her name, --"go up, I beg you, to the top ofthe tower, and look if my brothers are not coming; they promised me theywould come to-day, and if you see them, give them a sign to make haste. "

Her sister Anne went up to the top of the tower, and the poor afflictedwife cried out from time to time:--

"Anne, sister Anne, do you see any one coming?"

And sister Anne said:--

"I see nothing but the sun, which makes a dust, and the grass, whichlooks green. "

In the meanwhile Blue Beard, holding a great sabre in his hand, cried tohis wife as loud as he could:--

"Come down instantly, or I shall come up to you. "

"One moment longer, if you please, " said his wife; and then she criedout very softly, "Anne, sister Anne, dost thou see anybody coming?"

And sister Anne answered:--

"I see nothing but the sun, which makes a dust, and the grass, which isgreen. "

"Come down quickly, " cried Blue Beard, "or I will come up to you. "

"I am coming, " answered his wife; and then she cried, "Anne, sisterAnne, dost thou not see any one coming?"

"I see, " replied sister Anne, "a great dust, which comes from thisside. "

"Are they my brothers?"

"Alas! no, my sister, I see a flock of sheep. "

"Will you not come down?" cried Blue Beard. 

"One moment longer, " said his wife, and then she cried out, "Anne, sister Anne, dost thou see nobody coming?"

"I see, " said she, "two horsemen, but they are yet a great way off. "

"God be praised, " replied the poor wife, joyfully; "they are mybrothers; I will make them a sign, as well as I can, for them to makehaste. "

Then Blue Beard bawled out so loud that he made the whole house tremble. The distressed wife came down and threw herself at his feet, all intears, with her hair about her shoulders. 

"All this is of no help to you, " says Blue Beard: "you must die;" then, taking hold of her hair with one hand, and lifting up his sword in theair with the other, he was about to take off her head. The poor lady, turning about to him, and looking at him with dying eyes, desired him toafford her one little moment to her thoughts. 

"No, no, " said he, "commend thyself to God, " and again lifting his arm--

At this moment there was such a loud knocking at the gate that BlueBeard stopped suddenly. The gate was opened, and presently entered twohorsemen, who, with sword in hand, ran directly to Blue Beard. He knewthem to be his wife's brothers, one a dragoon, the other a musketeer. Heran away immediately, but the two brothers pursued him so closely thatthey overtook him before he could get to the steps of the porch. Therethey ran their swords through his body, and left him dead. The poor wifewas almost as dead as her husband, and had not strength enough to ariseand welcome her brothers. 

Blue Beard had no heirs, and so his wife became mistress of all hisestate. She made use of one portion of it to marry her sister Anne to ayoung gentleman who had loved her a long while; another portion to buycaptains' commissions for her brothers; and the rest to marry herself toa very worthy gentleman, who made her forget the sorry time she hadpassed with Blue Beard. 

THE FAIRY. 

Once upon a time there was a widow who had two daughters. The elder wasso much like her, both in looks and character, that whoever saw thedaughter saw the mother. They were both so disagreeable and so proudthat there was no living with them. The younger, who was the verypicture of her father for sweetness of temper and virtue, was withal oneof the most beautiful girls ever seen. As people naturally love theirown likeness, this mother doted on her elder daughter, and at the sametime had a great aversion for the younger. She made her eat in thekitchen and work continually. 

Among other things, this unfortunate child had to go twice a day to drawwater more than a mile and a half from the house, and bring home apitcherful of it. One day, as she was at this fountain, there came toher a poor woman, who begged of her to let her drink. 

"Oh, yes, with all my heart, Goody, " said this pretty little girl. Rinsing the pitcher at once, she took some of the clearest water fromthe fountain, and gave it to her, holding up the pitcher all the while, that she might drink the easier. 

The good woman having drunk, said to her:--

"You are so pretty, so good and courteous, that I cannot help giving youa gift. " For this was a fairy, who had taken the form of a poorcountry-woman, to see how far the civility and good manners of thispretty girl would go. "I will give you for gift, " continued the Fairy, "that, at every word you speak, there shall come out of your moutheither a flower or a jewel. "

When this pretty girl returned, her mother scolded at her for staying solong at the fountain. 

"I beg your pardon, mamma, " said the poor girl, "for not making morehaste. "

And in speaking these words there came out of her mouth two roses, twopearls, and two large diamonds. 

"What is it I see there?" said her mother, quite astonished. "I thinkpearls and diamonds come out of the girl's mouth! How happens this, mychild?"

This was the first time she had ever called her "my child. "

The girl told her frankly all the matter, not without dropping out greatnumbers of diamonds. 

"Truly, " cried the mother, "I must send my own dear child thither. Fanny, look at what comes out of your sister's mouth when she speaks. Would you not be glad, my dear, to have the same gift? You have only togo and draw water out of the fountain, and when a poor woman asks youto let her drink, to give it to her very civilly. "

[Illustration: "WITH ALL MY HEART, GOODY. " p. 75. ]

"I should like to see myself going to the fountain to draw water, " saidthis ill-bred minx. 

"I insist you shall go, " said the mother, "and that instantly. "

She went, but grumbled all the way, taking with her the best silvertankard in the house. 

She no sooner reached the fountain than she saw coming out of the wood, a magnificently dressed lady, who came up to her, and asked to drink. This was the same fairy who had appeared to her sister, but she had nowtaken the air and dress of a princess, to see how far this girl'srudeness would go. 

"Am I come hither, " said the proud, ill-bred girl, "to serve you withwater, pray? I suppose this silver tankard was brought purely for yourladyship, was it? However, you may drink out of it, if you have afancy. "

"You are scarcely polite, " answered the fairy, without anger. "Well, then, since you are so disobliging, I give you for gift that at everyword you speak there shall come out of your mouth a snake or a toad. "

So soon as her mother saw her coming, she cried out:--

"Well, daughter?"

"Well, mother?" answered the unhappy girl, throwing out of her mouth aviper and a toad. 

"Oh, mercy!" cried the mother, "what is it I see? It is her sister whohas caused all this, but she shall pay for it, " and immediately she ranto beat her. The poor child fled away from her, and went to hide herselfin the forest nearby. 

The King's son, who was returning from the chase, met her, and seeingher so beautiful, asked her what she did there alone and why she cried. 

"Alas! sir, my mother has turned me out of doors. "

The King's son, who saw five or six pearls and as many diamonds come outof her mouth, desired her to tell him how that happened. She told himthe whole story. The King's son fell in love with her, and, consideringthat such a gift was worth more than any marriage portion another bridecould bring, conducted her to the palace of the King, his father, andthere married her. 

As for her sister, she made herself so much hated that her own motherturned her out of doors. The miserable girl, after wandering about andfinding no one to take her in, went to a corner of the wood, and theredied. 

LITTLE RED RIDING-HOOD. 

Once upon a time there lived in a certain village a little country girl, the prettiest creature that ever was seen. Her mother was very fond ofher, and her grandmother loved her still more. This good woman made forher a little red riding-hood, which became the girl so well thateverybody called her Little Red Riding-hood. 

One day her mother, having made some custards, said to her:--

"Go, my dear, and see how your grandmother does, for I hear she has beenvery ill; carry her a custard and this little pot of butter. "

Little Red Riding-hood set out immediately to go to her grandmother's, who lived in another village. 

As she was going through the wood, she met Gaffer Wolf, who had a verygreat mind to eat her up; but he dared not, because of some fagot-makershard by in the forest. He asked her whither she was going. The poorchild, who did not know that it was dangerous to stay and hear a wolftalk, said to him:--

"I am going to see my grandmother, and carry her a custard and a littlepot of butter from my mamma. "

"Does she live far off?" said the Wolf. 

"Oh, yes, " answered Little Red Riding-hood; "it is beyond that mill yousee there, the first house you come to in the village. "

"Well, " said the Wolf, "and I'll go and see her, too. I'll go this way, and you go that, and we shall see who will be there first. "

The Wolf began to run as fast as he could, taking the shortest way, andthe little girl went by the longest way, amusing herself by gatheringnuts, running after butterflies, and making nosegays of such littleflowers as she met with. The Wolf was not long before he reached the oldwoman's house. He knocked at the door--tap, tap, tap. 

"Who's there?" called the grandmother. 

"Your grandchild, Little Red Riding-hood, " replied the Wolf, imitatingher voice, "who has brought a custard and a little pot of butter sent toyou by mamma. "

The good grandmother, who was in bed, because she was somewhat ill, cried out:--

"Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up. "

The Wolf pulled the bobbin, and the door opened. He fell upon the goodwoman and ate her up in no time, for he had not eaten anything for morethan three days. He then shut the door, went into the grandmother'sbed, and waited for Little Red Riding-hood, who came sometime afterwardand knocked at the door--tap, tap, tap. 

"Who's there?" called the Wolf. 

Little Red Riding-hood, hearing the big voice of the Wolf, was at firstafraid; but thinking her grandmother had a cold, answered:--

"'Tis your grandchild, Little Red Riding-hood, who has brought you acustard and a little pot of butter sent to you by mamma. "

The Wolf cried out to her, softening his voice a little:--

"Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up. "

Little Red Riding-hood pulled the bobbin, and the door opened. 

The Wolf, seeing her come in, said to her, hiding himself under thebedclothes:--

"Put the custard and the little pot of butter upon the stool, and comeand lie down with me. "

Little Red Riding-hood undressed herself and went into bed, where shewas much surprised to see how her grandmother looked in hernight-clothes. 

She said to her:--

"Grandmamma, what great arms you have got!"

"That is the better to hug thee, my dear. "

"Grandmamma, what great legs you have got!"

[Illustration: "HE FELL UPON THE GOOD WOMAN. " p. 81. ]

"That is to run the better, my child. "

"Grandmamma, what great ears you have got!"

"That is to hear the better, my child. "

"Grandmamma, what great eyes you have got!"

"It is to see the better, my child. "

"Grandmamma, what great teeth you have got!"

"That is to eat thee up. "

And, saying these words, this wicked Wolf fell upon Little RedRiding-hood, and ate her all up. 

NOTE. 

The eight stories contained in this volume are first found in print inFrench in a magazine entitled, _Receuil de pièces curieuses et nouvellestant en prose qu'en vers_, which was published by Adrian Moetjens at TheHague in 1696-1697. They were immediately afterward published at Parisin a volume entitled, _Histoires ou Contes du Temps Passé, avec desMoralites--Contes de ma mère l'Oie_. 

The earliest translation into English has been found in a little bookcontaining both the English and French, entitled, "Tales of PassedTimes, by Mother Goose. With Morals. Written in French by M. (Charles)Perrault, and Englished by R. S. Gent. "

Who R. S. Was and when he made his translation we can only conjecture. Mr. Andrew Lang, in his "Perrault's Popular Tales" (p. Xxxiv), writes:"An English version translated by Mr. Samber, printed for J. Pote, wasadvertised, Mr. Austin Dobson tells me, in the _Monthly Chronicle_, March, 1729. "

These stories which may be said to be as old as the raceitself--certainly their germs are to be found in the oldest literatureand among the oldest folk-tales in the world--were orally current inFrance and the neighboring countries in nearly the form in whichPerrault wrote them for very many years; and an interesting account ofthe various forms in which they are found in the literature andfolklore of other nations before Perrault's time is given in _Les Contesde ma mère l'Oie avant Perrault_, by Charles Deulin, Paris, E. Dentu, 1878. 

In this book Mr. Deulin inclines to the view that the stories as firstpublished by Perrault were not really written by him, but by his littleson of ten or eleven, to whom Perrault told the stories as he hadgathered them up with the intention of rendering them in verse after themanner of La Fontaine. The lad had an excellent memory, much naturalwit, and a great gift of expression. He loved the stories his fathertold him and thoroughly enjoyed the task his father set him of rewritingthem from memory, as an exercise. This was so happily done, in such afresh, artless, and engaging style, exactly befitting the subjects ofthe stories, that the father found the son's version better than the onehe had contemplated and gave that to the world instead. 

These stories made their way slowly in England at first, but in the endthey nearly eclipsed the native fairy tales and legends, which, owing toPuritan influence, had been frowned upon and discouraged until they wereremembered only in the remoter districts, and told only by the few whohad not come under its sway. Indeed, the Puritanical objection tonursery lore of all kinds still lingers in some corners of England. 

The stories of Perrault came in just when the severer manifestations ofPuritanism were beginning to decline, and they have since become as mucha part of English fairy lore as the old English folk and fairy talesthemselves. These latter, thanks to Mr. Joseph Jacob, Mr. Andrew Lang, Mr. E. S. Hartland, and others, have been unearthed and revived, andprove to have lost nothing of their power of taking hold upon the mindsof the little folk. 

Perrault says of his collection that it is certain these stories excitein the children who read them the desire to resemble those characterswho become happy, and at the same time they inspire them with the fearof the consequences which happen to those who do ill deeds; and heclaims that they all contain a very distinct moral which is more or lessevident to all who read them. 

Emerson says: "What Nature at one time provides for use, she afterwardsturns to ornament, " and Herbert Spencer, following out this idea, remarks that "the fairy lore, which in times past was matter of gravebelief and held sway over people's conduct, has since been transformedinto ornament for _The Midsummer Night's Dream_, _The Tempest_, _TheFairy Queen_, and endless small tales and poems; and still affordssubjects for children's story books, amuses boys and girls, and becomesmatter for jocose allusion. "

Thus, also, Sir Walter Scott, in a note to "The Lady of the Lake, " says:"The mythology of one period would appear to pass into the romance ofthe next, and that into the nursery tales of subsequent ages, " and MaxMüller, in his "Chips from a German Workshop, " says: "The gods ofancient mythology were changed into the demigods and heroes of ancientepic poetry, and these demigods again became at a later age theprincipal characters of our nursery tales. "

These thoughts may help to a better understanding of some of the uses ofsuch stories and of their proper place in children's reading. 

C. W.