near, the bear said, "Mouse, go in, and peep through the key-hole and see what can be done: you are small; nobody will see you." The mouse did as she was told, but soon came back, and said, "It's of no use! I have looked in, and the stone hangs under the looking-glass by a red silk string, and on each side of it sits a great cat, with fiery eyes, to watch it."

Then the others said, "Go back again, and wait till the master is in bed asleep, then slip through a hole, and creep up on his bed, and nip his nose and pull his hair." Away went the mouse, and did as they told her; and the master jumped up very angry, and rubbed his nose, and cried, "Those cats are good for nothing at all, they let the mice pull my very hair off my head." Then he drove them out of the room; and so the mouse had the best of the game.

Next night, as soon as the master was asleep, the mouse crept in again, and nibbled at the red string to which the stone was tied, till down it dropped, and she rolled it along to the door; but when it got there, the poor little mouse was quite tired, and said to the ass, "Put in your foot, and lift it out." This was soon done: and the ass took up the stone, and set off for the water-side. Then the ass said, "How shall we reach the box?"-" That is easily managed," said the bear: "I can swim very well, and you, donkey, put your fore feet over my shoulders; mind and hold fast, and take the stone in your mouth; as for you, mouse, you can sit on my right ear."

So it was all settled, and away they swam. After holding his tongue for some time, the bear began to brag and boast, saying, "We are brave fellows, are we not, ass? what do you

think?" But the ass held his tongue, and said not a word. "Why don't you answer me?" said the bear; "you must be an ill-mannered fellow not to speak when you are spoken to." When the ass heard this, he could keep silence no longer; so he opened his mouth, and out dropped the wonderful stone into the water. "I could not give you an answer," said he; “I had the stone in my mouth, and now 'tis lost, and all through your fault."- "Do be quiet," said the bear; we shall soon think of a plan to get it back.”

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Then the council was held; and at last they called together all the frogs, and all their relations, and said, Bring us up plenty of stones, and we'll build a strong wall to guard you against your enemies." The frogs at hearing this set to work, bringing stones from all quarters. At last came an old fat frog up from the bottom, pulling along the wonderful stone by the red string; and when the bear saw it he jumped for joy, and said, "Now we have found what we wanted." So he set the old frog free from his load, told him to tell his friends that it was all right, and that there was no occasion to trouble them any longer, and that he would come and build the wall for them another time.

Then the three friends swam off again to the poor man in the box, and forced open the lid with the help of the stone, and they found that they were but just in time, for the bread was all eaten, and the jug empty, and the man almost half starved. But as soon as he had the stone in his hand, he wished himself in his fine palace again, and in a moment there he was, with his garden and his stables; and the three beasts stopped with him, and were happy and comfortable all their lives.

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JORINDA AND JORINDEL.

THERE was once an old castle that stood in the middle of a large thick wood, and in the castle lived an old fairy quite alone. All the day through she took the form of an owl, or a cat; but at night she always became like a human being. When any youth came within a hundred paces of her castle, he became quite fixed, and could not stir a step till she came and set him free: but when any young maiden came within the

circle, she was changed into a bird; and the fairy put her into a cage and hung her up in a chamber in the castle. There were seven hundred of these cages hanging in the castle, and all with birds in them of rare beauty.

Now there was once a maiden whose name was Jorinda ; and a very handsome youth, whose name was Jorindel, was betrothed to her, and they were soon to be married. They were very fond of each other, and one day they went to walk in the wood, as they wished to be alone; and Jorindel said, "Take care and don't go too near the castle." It was a beautiful evening; the sun shone bright through the branches

of the trees upon the green turf beneath, and the turtledoves sang plaintively from the old birches.

They wandered on a long way. At last they sat down, and both felt very sad, though they scarcely knew why. They looked about them, at a loss to know what path to take, and knew not how to get home.

The sun had half disappeared behind the hill: Jorindel looked behind him, and as he saw through the bushes the old walls of the castle quite close to him, he became dreadfully frightened. Jorinda was singing,

"My pretty bird, with ring so red,

Sang alas! and well-a-day!

He sang a dirge for his help-mate dead,
Alas! and well-a-day-jug, jug!"

An

Jorindel turned and beheld his Jorinda changed into a nightingale, that finished the jug, jug of Jorinda's song. owl with fiery eyes flew three times round them, and three times screamed, Tu whu! Tu whu! Tu whu! Jorindel could not move; he stood fixed as a stone, and could neither weep, nor speak, nor stir hand or foot. And now the sun went quite down; the gloomy night came; the owl flew into a bush; and a moment after the old crooked fairy came forth, sallow and meagre, with great red eyes, and a nose and chin that almost met each other.

She muttered something to herself, seized the nightingale, and went away with it in her hand. Jorindel saw the nightingale was gone, but could not speak, could not move from the spot where he stood. At last the fairy came back, and exclaimed with a hoarse voice, "I salute thee, Zachiel! when

the moonbeam shines into the cage, let the prisoner go free; Zachiel, at the right hour!"

On a sudden Jorindel found himself free. Then he fell on his knees before the fairy, and prayed her to give him back his Jorinda; but she said he should never see her again, and went her way.

He prayed, he wept, he lamented, but all in vain. he said, "what will become of me?"

"Alas!"

So he went to a strange village, and for a long time kept sheep. Many a time did he walk round and round as near to the castle as he could venture to go. At last he dreamt one night that he found a purple flower, containing in the middle of it a beautiful large pearl; and he dreamt that he plucked the flower, and took it with him in his hand into the castle, and that every thing he touched with it was disenchanted, and that thereby he found his Jorinda again.

In the morning when he awoke, he began to search over hill and dale for a flower like this; and on the ninth day, early in the morning, he found the purple flower; and in the middle of it was a large dew-drop as big as the finest pearl.

Then he plucked the flower, and set out on his journey, travelling day and night till he came again of the castle. When he came within a hundred paces of it, he did not become transfixed to the spot as before, but went on close up to the door.

Jorindel was so glad to see this: he touched the door with the flower, and it sprang open, so that he went in through the court, listening to hear so many birds singing. At last he came to the chamber where the fairy was feeding the seven hundred birds in the seven hundred cages. And when she