*Helichrysum. There are many sorts. The yellow flowers retain their colour after being picked and dried.

"It is the lovely flower of remembrance," he thought, forgetting that it is also the flower of the dead.

When the night came, he slept with one eye open, and jumped up twenty times an hour. When the birds began to sing he could lie still no longer, and climbed out of his window into the branches of one of the great linden-trees that stood before the door. There he sat, dreamily gazing at his bouquet till he ended by going fast asleep.

Once asleep, nothing was able to wake him; neither the brightness of the sun, nor the songs of the birds, nor the noise of Ludovine's golden coach, nor the cries of the landlady who sought him in every place she could think of.

As the clock struck twelve he woke, and his heart sank as he came down out of his tree and saw them laying the table for dinner.

"Did the princess come?" he asked.

"Yes, indeed, she did. She left this flower-coloured scarf for you and said she would pass by tomorrow at seven o'clock, but it would be the last time."

"I must have been bewitched," thought the little soldier. Then he took the scarf, which had a strange kind of scent, and tied it round his left arm, thinking all the while that the best way to keep awake was not to go to bed at all. So he paid his bill, and bought a horse with the money that remained, and when the evening came he mounted his horse and stood in front of the inn door, determined to stay there all night.

Every now and then he stooped to smell the sweet perfume of the scarf round his arm; and gradually he smelt it so often that at last his head sank on to the horse's neck, and he and his horse snored in company.

When the princess arrived, they shook him, and beat him, and screamed at him, but it was all no good. Neither man nor horse woke till the coach was seen vanishing away in the distance.

Then John put spurs to his horse, calling with all his might "Stop! stop!" But the coach drove on as before, and though the little soldier rode after it for a day and a night, he never got one step nearer.

Thus they left many villages and towns behind them, till they came to the sea itself. Here John thought that at last the coach must stop, but, wonder of wonders! it went straight on, and rolled over the water as easily as it had done over the land. John's horse, which had carried him so well, sank down from fatigue, and the little soldier sat sadly on the shore, watching the coach that was fast disappearing on the horizon.

3

However, he soon plucked up his spirits again, and walked along the beach to try and find a boat so that he could sail after the princess. But no boat was there, and at last, tired and hungry, he sat down to rest on the steps of a fisherman's hut.

In the hut was a young girl who was mending a net. She invited John to come in, and set before him some wine and fried fish, and John ate and drank and felt comforted, and he told his adventures to the little fisher-girl. But though she was very pretty, with a skin as white as a gull's breast, for which her neighbours gave her the name of the Seagull, he did not think about her at all, for he was dreaming of the green eyes of the princess.

When he had finished his tale, she was filled with pity and said:

"Last week, when I was fishing, my net suddenly grew very heavy, and when I drew it in I found a great copper vase, fastened with lead. I brought it home and placed it on the fire. When the lead had melted a little, I opened the vase with my knife and drew out a mantle of red cloth and a purse with fifty crowns in it. That is the mantle, covering my bed, and I have kept the money for my marriage-portion. But take it and go to the nearest seaport. There you will find a ship sailing for the Low Countries, and when you become king you will bring me back my fifty crowns."

And the kinglet answered: "When I am king of the Low Countries, I will make you lady-in-waiting to the queen, for you are as good as you are beautiful. So farewell," he said, and as Seagull went back to her fishing he rolled himself in the mantle and threw himself down on a heap of dried grass, thinking of the strange things that had befallen him, till he suddenly exclaimed:

"Oh, how I wish I was in the capital of the Low Countries!"

4

In one moment the little soldier found himself standing before a splendid palace. He rubbed his eyes and pinched himself, and when he was quite sure he was not dreaming, he said to a man who was smoking his pipe before the door, "Where am I?"

"Where are you? Can't you see? Before the king's palace, of course."

"What king?"

"Why the king of the Low Countries!" replied the man, laughing and supposing that he was mad.

Was there ever anything so strange? But as John was an honest fellow, he was troubled at the thought that the Seagull would think he had stolen her mantle and purse. And he began to wonder how he could restore them to her the soonest. Then he remembered that the mantle had some hidden charm that enabled the bearer to transport himself at will from place to place, and in order to make sure of this he wished himself in the best inn of the town. In an instant he was there.

Enchanted with this discovery, he ordered supper, and as it was too late to visit the king that night he went to bed.

The next day, when he got up, he saw that all the houses were wreathed with flowers and covered with flags, and all the church bells were ringing. The little soldier inquired the meaning of all this noise, and was told that the princess Ludovine, the king's beautiful daughter, had been found, and was about to make her triumphal entry. "That will just suit me," thought the kinglet; "I will stand at the door and see if she knows me."

He had scarcely time to dress himself when the golden coach of Ludovine went by. She had a crown of gold upon her head, and the king and Queen sat by her side. By accident her eyes fell upon the little soldier, and she grew pale and turned away her head.

"Didn't she know me?" the little soldier asked himself, "or was she angry because I missed our meetings?" and he followed the crowd till he got to the palace. When the royal party entered he told the guards that it was he who had delivered the princess, and wished to speak to the king. But the more he talked the more they believed him mad and refused to let him pass.

The little soldier was furious. He felt that he needed his pipe to calm him, and he entered a tavern and ordered a pint of beer. "It is this miserable soldier's helmet," said he to himself "If I had only money enough I could look as splendid as the lords of the Court; but what is the good of thinking of that when I have only the remains of the Seagull's fifty crowns?"

He took out his purse to see what was left, and he found that there were still fifty crowns.

"The Seagull must have miscounted," thought he, and he paid for his beer. Then he counted his money again, and there were still fifty crowns. He took away five and counted a third time, but there were still fifty. He emptied the purse altogether and then shut it; when he opened it the fifty crowns were still there!

Then a plan came into his head, and he determined to go at once to the Court tailor and coachbuilder.

He ordered the tailor to make him a mantle and vest of blue velvet embroidered with pearls, and the coachbuilder to make him a golden coach like the coach of the princess Ludovine. If the tailor and the coachbuilder were quick he promised to pay them double.

A few days later the little soldier was driven through the city in his coach drawn by six white horses, and with four lacqueys richly dressed standing behind. Inside sat John, clad in blue velvet, with a bouquet of immortelles in his hand and a scarf bound round his arm. He drove twice round the city, throwing money to the right and left, and the third time, as he passed under the palace windows, he saw Ludovine lift a corner of the curtain and peep out.

5

The next day no one talked of anything but the rich lord who had distributed money as he drove along. The talk even reached the Court, and the Queen, who was very curious, had a great desire to see the wonderful Prince.

"Very well," said the king; "let him be asked to come and play cards with me."

This time the kinglet was not late for his appointment.

The king sent for the cards and they sat down to play. They had six games, and John always lost. The stake was fifty crowns, and each time he emptied his purse, which was full the next instant.

The sixth time the king exclaimed, "It is amazing!"

The Queen cried, "It is astonishing!"

The princess said, "It is bewildering!"

"Not so bewildering," replied the little soldier, "as your change into a serpent."

"Hush!" interrupted the king, who did not like the subject.

"I only spoke of it," said John, "because you see in me the man who delivered the princess from the goblins and whom she promised to marry."

"Is that true?" asked the king of the princess.

"Quite true," answered Ludovine. "But I told my deliverer to be ready to go with me when I passed by with my coach. I passed three times, but he slept so soundly that no one could wake him."

"What is your name?" said the king, "and who are you?"

"My name is John. I am a soldier, and my father is a boatman."

"You are not a fit husband for my daughter. Still, if you will give us your purse, you shall have her for your wife."

"My purse does not belong to me, and I cannot give it away."

"But you can lend it to me till our wedding-day," said the princess with one of those glances the little soldier never could resist.

"And when will that be?"

"At Easter," said the monarch.

"Or in a blue moon!" murmured the princess; but the kinglet did not hear her and let her take his purse.

Next evening he presented himself at the palace to play picquet with the king and to make his court to the princess. But he was told that the king had gone into the country to receive his rents. He returned the following day, and had the same answer. Then he asked to see the Queen, but she had a headache. When this had happened five or six times, he began to understand that they were making fun of him.

"That is not the way for a King to behave," thought John. "Old scoundrel!" and then suddenly he remembered his red cloak.

"Ah, what an idiot I am!" said he. "Of course I can get in whenever I like with the help of this."

That evening he was in front of the palace, wrapped in his red cloak.

On the first story one window was lighted, and John saw on the curtains the shadow of the princess.

"I wish myself in the room of the princess Ludovine," said he, and in a second he was there.

The king's daughter was sitting before a table counting the money that she emptied from the inexhaustible purse.

"Eight hundred and fifty, nine hundred, nine hundred and fifty--"

"A thousand," finished John. "Good evening everybody!"

The princess jumped and gave a little cry. "You here! What business have you to do it? Leave at once, or I shall call –"

"I have come," said the kinglet, "to remind you of your promise. The day after to-morrow is Easter Day, and it is high time to think of our marriage."

Ludovine burst out into a fit of laughter. "Our marriage! Have you really been foolish enough to believe that the daughter of the king of the Low Countries would ever marry the son of a boatman?"

"Then give me back the purse," said John.

"Never," said the princess, and put it calmly in her pocket.

"As you like," said the little soldier. "He laughs best who laughs the last;" and he took the princess in his arms. "I wish," he cried, "that we were at the ends of the earth;" and in one second he was there, still clasping the princess tightly in his arms.

"Ouf," said John, laying her gently at the foot of a tree. "I never took such a long journey before. What do you say, madam?" The princess understood that it was no time for jesting, and did not answer. Besides she was still feeling giddy from her rapid flight, and had not yet collected her senses.

6

The king of the Low Countries was not a very scrupulous person, and his daughter took after him. This was why she had been changed into a serpent. It had been prophesied that she should be delivered by a little soldier, and that she must marry him, unless he failed to appear at the meeting-place three times running. The cunning Princess then laid her plans accordingly.

The wine that she had given to John in the castle of the goblins, the bouquet of immortelles, and the scarf, all had the power of producing sleep like death. And we know how they had acted on John.

However, even in this critical moment, Ludovine did not lose her head.

"I thought you were simply a street vagabond," said she, in her most coaxing voice; "and I find you are more powerful than any king. Here is your purse. Have you got my scarf and my bouquet?"

"Here they are," said the kinglet, delighted with this change of tone, and he drew them from his bosom. Ludovine fastened one in his buttonhole and the other round his arm. "Now," she said, "you are my lord and master, and I will marry you at your good pleasure."

"You are kinder than I thought," said John; "and you shall never be unhappy, for I love you."

"Then, my little husband, tell me how you managed to carry me so quickly to the ends of the world."

The little soldier scratched his head. "Does she really mean to marry me," he thought to himself, "or is she only trying to deceive me again?"

But Ludovine repeated, "Won't you tell me?" in such a tender voice he did not know how to resist her.

"After all," he said to himself, "what does it matter telling her the secret, as long as I don't give her the cloak."

And he told her the virtue of the red mantle.

"Oh dear, how tired I am!" sighed Ludovine. "Don't you think we had better take a nap? And then we can talk over our plans."

She stretched herself on the grass, and the kinglet did the same. He laid his head on his left arm, round which the scarf was tied, and was soon fast asleep.

Ludovine was watching him out of one eye, and no sooner did she hear him snore than she unfastened the mantle, drew it gently from under him and wrapped it round her, took the purse from his pocket, and put it in hers, and said: "I wish I was back in my own room." In another moment she was there.

7

Who felt foolish but John, when he awoke, twenty-four hours after, and found himself without purse, without mantle, and without Princess? He tore his hair, he beat his breast, he trampled on the bouquet, and tore the scarf of the traitress to atoms.

Besides this he was very hungry, and he had nothing to eat.

He thought of all the wonderful things his grandmother had told him when he was a child, but none of them helped him now. He was in despair, when suddenly he looked up and saw that the tree under which he had been sleeping was a superb plum, covered with fruit as yellow as gold.

"Here goes for the plums," he said to himself, "all is fair in war."

He climbed the tree and began to eat steadily. But he had hardly swallowed two plums when, to his horror, he felt as if something was growing on his forehead. He put up his hand and found that he had two horns!

He leapt down from the tree and rushed to a stream that flowed close by. Alas! there was no escape: two charming little horns, that would not have disgraced the head of a goat.

Then his courage failed him.

"As if it was not enough," said he, "that a woman should trick me, but the devil must mix himself up in it and lend me his horns. What a pretty figure I should cut if I went back into the world!"

But as he was still hungry, and the mischief was done, he climbed boldly up another tree, and plucked two plums of a lovely green colour. No sooner had he swallowed two than the horns disappeared. The little soldier was enchanted, though greatly surprised, and came to the conclusion that it was no good to despair too quickly. When he had done eating an idea suddenly occurred to him.

"Perhaps," thought he, "these pretty little plums may help me to recover my purse, my cloak, and my heart from the hands of this wicked Princess. She has the eyes of a deer already; let her have the horns of one. If I can manage to set her up with a pair, I will bet any money that I shall cease to want her for my wife. A horned maiden is by no means lovely to look at." So he plaited a basket out of the long willows, and placed in it carefully both sorts of plums. Then he walked bravely on for many days, having no food but the berries by the wayside, and was in great danger from wild beasts and savage men. But he feared nothing, except that his plums should decay, and this never happened.

At last he came to a civilised country, and with the sale of some jewels that he had about him on the evening of his flight he took passage on board a vessel for the Low Countries. So, at the end of a year and a day, he arrived at the capital of the kingdom.

8

The next day he put on a false beard and the dress of a date merchant, and, taking a little table, he placed himself before the door of the church.

He spread carefully out on a fine white cloth his Mirabelle plums, which looked for all the world as if they had been freshly gathered, and when he saw the princess coming out of church he began to call out in a feigned voice: "Fine plums! lovely plums!"

"How much are they?" said the princess.

"Fifty crowns each."

"Fifty crowns! But what is there so very precious about them? Do they give one wit, or will they increase one's beauty?"

"They could not increase what is perfect already, fair Princess, but still they might add something."

Rolling stones gather no moss, but they sometimes gain polish; and the months which John had spent in roaming about the world had not been wasted. Such a neatly turned compliment flattered Ludovine.

"What will they add?" she smilingly asked.

"You will see, fair Princess, when you taste them. It will be a surprise for you."

Ludovine's curiosity was roused. She drew out the purse and shook out as many little heaps of fifty crowns as there were plums in the basket. The little soldier was seized with a wild desire to snatch the purse from her and proclaim her a thief, but he managed to control himself.

His plums all sold, he shut up shop, took off his disguise, changed his inn, and kept quiet, waiting to see what would happen.

No sooner had she reached her room than the princess exclaimed, "Now let us see what these fine plums can add to my beauty," and throwing off her hood, she picked up a couple and ate them.

Imagine with what surprise and horror she felt all of a sudden that something was growing out of her forehead. She flew to her mirror and uttered a piercing cry.

"Horns! so that was what he promised me! Let someone find the plum-seller at once and bring him to me! Let his nose and ears be cut off! Let him be flayed alive, or burnt at a slow fire and his ashes scattered to the winds! Oh, I shall die of shame and despair!"

Her women ran at the sound of her screams, and tried to wrench off the horns, but it was of no use, and they only gave her a violent headache.

The king then sent round a herald to proclaim that he would give the hand of the princess to anyone who would rid her of her strange ornaments. So all the doctors and sorcerers and surgeons in the Low Countries and the neighbouring kingdoms thronged to the palace, each with a remedy of his own. But it was all no good, and the princess suffered so much from their remedies that the king was obliged to send out a second proclamation that anyone who undertook to cure the princess, and who failed to do it, should be hanged up to the nearest tree.

But the prize was too great for any proclamation to put a stop to the efforts of the crowd of suitors, and that year the orchards of the Low Countries all bore a harvest of dead men.

9

The king had given orders that they should seek high and low for the plum-seller, but in spite of all their pains, he was nowhere to be found.

When the little soldier discovered that their patience was worn out, he pressed the juice of the green Queen Claude plums into a small phial, bought a doctor's robe, put on a wig and spectacles, and presented himself before the king of the Low Countries. He gave himself out as a famous physician who had come from distant lands, and he promised that he would cure the princess if only he might be left alone with her.

"Another madman determined to be hanged," said the king. "Very well, do as he asks; one should refuse nothing to a man with a rope round his neck."

As soon as the little soldier was in the presence of the princess he poured some drops of the liquid into a glass. The princess had scarcely tasted it, when the tip of the horns disappeared.

"They would have disappeared completely," said the pretended doctor, "if there did not exist something to counteract the effect. It is only possible to cure people whose souls are as clean as the palm of my hand. Are you sure you have not committed some little sin? Examine yourself well."

Ludovine had no need to think over it long, but she was torn in pieces between the shame of a humiliating confession, and the desire to be unhorned. At last she made answer with downcast eyes,

"I have stolen a leather purse from a little soldier."

"Give it to me. The remedy will not act till I hold the purse in my hands."

It cost Ludovine a great pang to give up the purse, but she remembered that riches would not benefit her if she was still to keep the horns.

With a sigh, she handed the purse to the doctor, who poured more of the liquid into the glass, and when the princess had drunk it, she found that the horns had diminished by one half.

"You must really have another little sin on your conscience. Did you steal nothing from this soldier but his purse?"

"I also stole from him his cloak."

"Give it me."

"Here it is."

This time Ludovine thought to herself that when once the horns had departed, she would call her attendants and take the things from the doctor by force.

She was greatly pleased with this idea, when suddenly the pretended physician wrapped himself in the cloak, flung away the wig and spectacles, and showed to the traitress the face of the Little Soldier.

She stood before him dumb with fright.

"I might," said John, "have left you horned to the end of your days, but I am a good fellow and I once loved you, and besides-- you are too like the devil to have any need of his horns."

10

John had wished himself in the house of the Seagull. Now the Seagull was seated at the window, mending her net, and from time to time her eyes wandered to the sea as if she was expecting someone. At the noise made by the little soldier, she looked up and blushed.

"So it is you!" she said. "How did you get here?" And then she added in a low voice, "And have you married your Princess?"

Then John told her all his adventures, and when he had finished, he restored to her the purse and the mantle.

"What can I do with them?" said she. "You have proved to me that happiness does not lie in the possession of treasures."

"It lies in work and in the love of an honest woman," replied the little soldier, who noticed for the first time what pretty eyes she had. "Dear Seagull, will you have me for a husband?" and he held out his hand.

"Yes, I will," answered the fisher maiden, blushing very red, "but only on condition that we seal up the purse and the mantle in the copper vessel and throw them into the sea."

And this they did.

[Charles Deulin]

~ೞ⬯ೞ~

The Enchanted Watch

Once on a time there lived a rich man who had three sons. When they grew up, he sent the eldest to travel and see the world, and three years passed before his family saw him again. Then he returned, magnificently dressed, and his father was so delighted with his behaviour, that he gave a great feast in his honour, to which all the relations and friends were invited.

When the rejoicings were ended, the second son begged leave of his father to go in his turn to travel and mix with the world. The father was enchanted at the request, and gave him plenty of money for his expenses, saying, "If you behave as well as your brother, I will do honour to you as I did to him." The young man promised to do his best, and his conduct during three years was all that it should be. Then he went home, and his father was so pleased with him that his feast of welcome was even more splendid than the one before.

The third brother, whose name was Jenik, or Johnnie, was considered the most foolish of the three. He never did anything at home except sit over the stove and dirty himself with the ashes; but he also begged his father's leave to travel for three years. "Go if you like, you idiot; but what good will it do you?"

The youth paid no heed to his father's observations as long as he obtained permission to go. The father saw him depart with joy, glad to get rid of him, and gave him a handsome sum of money for his needs.

Once, as he was making one of his journeys, Jenik chanced to cross a meadow where some shepherds were just about to kill a dog. He entreated them to spare it, and to give it to him instead which they willingly did, and he went on his way, followed by the dog. A little further on he came upon a cat, which someone was going to put to death. He implored its life, and the cat followed him. Finally, in another place, he saved a serpent, which was also handed over to him and now they made a party of four – the dog behind Jenik, the cat behind the dog, and the serpent behind the cat.

Then the serpent said to Jenik, "Go wherever you see me go," for in the autumn, when all the serpents hide themselves in their holes, this serpent was going in search of his king, who was king of all the snakes.

Then he added: "My king will scold me for my long absence, everyone else is housed for the winter, and I am very late. I shall have to tell him what danger I have been in, and how, without your help, I should certainly have lost my life. The king will ask what you would like in return, and be sure you beg for the watch which hangs on the wall. It has all sorts of wonderful properties, you only need to rub it to get whatever you like."

No sooner said than done. Jenik became the master of the watch, and the moment he got out he wished to put its virtues to the proof. He was hungry, and thought it would be delightful to eat in the meadow a loaf of new bread and a steak of good beef washed down by a flask of wine, so he scratched the watch, and in an instant it was all before him. Imagine his joy!

Evening soon came, and Jenik rubbed his watch, and thought it would be very pleasant to have a room with a comfortable bed and a good supper. In an instant they were all before him. After supper he went to bed and slept till morning, as every honest man ought to do. Then he set forth for his father's house, his mind dwelling on the feast that would be awaiting him. But as he returned in the same old clothes in which he went away, his father flew into a great rage, and refused to do anything for him. Jenik went to his old place near the stove, and dirtied himself in the ashes without anybody minding.

The third day, feeling rather dull, he thought it would be nice to see a three-story house filled with beautiful furniture, and with vessels of silver and gold. So he rubbed the watch, and there it all was. Jenik went to look for his father, and said to him: "You offered me no feast of welcome, but permit me to give one to you, and come and let me show you my plate."

The father was much astonished, and longed to know where his son had got all this wealth. Jenik did not reply, but begged him to invite all their relations and friends to a grand banquet.

So the father invited all the world, and everyone was amazed to see such splendid things, so much plate, and so many fine dishes on the table. After the first course Jenik prayed his father to invite the king, and his daughter the princess. He rubbed his watch and wished for a carriage ornamented with gold and silver, and drawn by six horses, with harness glittering with precious stones. The father did not dare to sit in this gorgeous coach, but went to the palace on foot. The king and his daughter were immensely surprised with the beauty of the carriage, and mounted the steps at once to go to Jenik's banquet. Then Jenik rubbed his watch afresh, and wished that for six miles the way to the house should be paved with marble. Who ever felt so astonished as the king? Never had he travelled over such a gorgeous road.

When Jenik heard the wheels of the carriage, he rubbed his watch and wished for a still more beautiful house, four stories high, and hung with gold, silver, and damask; filled with wonderful tables, covered with dishes such as no king had ever eaten before. The king, the Queen, and the princess were speechless with surprise. Never had they seen such a splendid palace, nor such a high feast! At dessert the king asked Jenik's father to give him the young man for a son-in-law. No sooner said than done! The marriage took place at once, and the king returned to his own palace, and left Jenik with his wife in the enchanted house.

Now Jenik was not a very clever man, and at the end of a very short time he began to bore his wife. She inquired how he managed to build palaces and to get so many precious things. He told her all about the watch, and she never rested till she had stolen the precious talisman. One night she took the watch, rubbed it, and wished for a carriage drawn by four horses; and in this carriage she at once set out for her father's palace. There she called to her own attendants, bade them follow her into the carriage, and drove straight to the sea-side. Then she rubbed her watch, and wished that the sea might be crossed by a bridge, and that a magnificent palace might arise in the middle of the sea. No sooner said than done. The princess entered the house, rubbed her watch, and in an instant the bridge was gone.

Left alone, Jenik felt very miserable. His father, mother, and brothers, and, indeed, everybody else, all laughed at him. Nothing remained to him but the cat and dog whose lives he had once saved. He took them with him and went far away, for he could no longer live with his family. He reached at last a great desert, and saw some crows flying towards a mountain. One of them was a long way behind, and when he arrived his brothers inquired what had made him so late. "Winter is here," they said, "and it is time to fly to other countries." He told them that he had seen in the middle of the sea the most wonderful house that ever was built.

On hearing this, Jenik at once concluded that this must be the hiding-place of his wife. So he proceeded directly to the shore with his dog and his cat. When he arrived on the beach, he said to the dog: "You are an excellent swimmer, and you, little one, are very light; jump on the dog's back and he will take you to the palace. Once there, he will hide himself near the door, and you must steal secretly in and try to get hold of my watch."

No sooner said than done. The two animals crossed the sea; the dog hid near the house, and the cat stole into the chamber. The princess recognised him, and guessed why he had come; and she took the watch down to the cellar and locked it in a box. But the cat wriggled its way into the cellar, and the moment the princess turned her back, he scratched and scratched till he had made a hole in the box. Then he took the watch between his teeth, and waited quietly till the princess came back. Scarcely had she opened the door when the cat was outside, and the watch into the bargain.

The cat was no sooner beyond the gates than she said to the dog:

"We are going to cross the sea; be very careful not to speak to me."

The dog laid this to heart and said nothing; but when they approached the shore he could not help asking, "Have you got the watch?"

The cat did not answer – he was afraid that he might let the talisman fall. When they touched the shore the dog repeated his question.

"Yes," said the cat.

And the watch fell into the sea. Then our two friends began each to accuse the other, and both looked sorrowfully at the place where their treasure had fallen in. Suddenly a fish appeared near the edge of the sea. The cat seized it, and thought it would make them a good supper.

"I have nine little children," cried the fish. "Spare the father of a family!"

"Granted," replied the cat; "but on condition that you find our watch."

The fish executed his commission, and they brought the treasure back to their master. Jenik rubbed the watch and wished that the palace, with the princess and all its inhabitants, should be swallowed up in the sea. No sooner said than done. Jenik returned to his parents, and he and his watch, his cat and his dog, lived together happily to the end of their days.

[Charles Deulin]