Part 8

The old goat put the stones inside the wolf, where the little kids had been, and then she drew the hide together and sewed it up, using the stout, strong thread. After that she and the little kids hid themselves behind the rocks, and watched and waited.

Presently the old wolf yawned and opened his eyes. Then he got up and shook himself, and when he did so the stones inside him rattled together so that the goat and the little kids could hear them, where they hid behind the rocks.

“Oh, dear! Oh, dear me!” groaned the wolf;

“What rattles, what rattles against my poor bones? Not little goats, I fear, but only big stones.”

Now what with the stones inside of him and the hot sun overhead the wolf grew very thirsty. Near by was a deep well, with water almost up to the brink of it. The old wolf went to drink. He leaned over, and all the stones rolled up to his head and upset him. Plump! he went down into the water, and the stones carried him straight to the bottom. He could not swim at all, and so he was drowned.

But all the little kids ran out from behind the rocks and began to dance around the well.

“The old wolf is dead, A-hey! A-hey! The old wolf is dead, A-hey!”

they sang, and the mother goat came and danced with them, they were all so delighted.

THE GOLDEN GOOSE

There was once an honest laborer who had three sons. The two eldest were stout clever lads, but as to the youngest one, John, he was little better than a simpleton.

One day their mother wanted some wood from the forest, and it was the eldest lad who was to go and get it for her. It was a long way to the forest, so the mother filled a wallet with food for him. There was a loaf of fine white bread, and a bit of cheese, and a leathern bottle of good red wine as well.

The lad set off and walked along and walked along and after awhile he came to the place where he was going, and there under a tree sat an old, old man. His clothes were gray, and his hair was gray, and his face was gray, so he was gray all over.

“Good-day,” said the man.

“Good-day,” said the lad.

“I am hungry,” said the gray man. “Have you not a bite and sup that you can share with me?”

“Food I have, and drink too,” said the lad, “but it is for myself, and not for you. It would be a simple thing for me to carry it this far just to give it to a beggar”; and he went on his way.

But it was bad luck the lad had that day. Scarcely had he begun chopping wood when the head of the ax flew off, and cut his foot so badly that he was obliged to go limping home, with not even so much as a fagot to carry with him.

The next day it was the second son who said he would go to the forest for wood.

“And see that you are more careful than your brother,” said his mother. Then she gave him a loaf of bread, and a bit of cheese, and a bottle of wine, and off he set.

Presently he came to the forest, and there, sitting in the same place where he had sat before, was the old gray man.

“Good-day,” said the man.

“Good-day,” said the lad.

“I am hungry,” said the gray man. “Have you not a bite or a sup to share with me?”

“Food I have and drink as well, but I am not such a simpleton as to give it away when I need all for myself.”

The lad went on to the place where he was going, and took his ax and began to chop, but scarcely had he begun when the ax slipped and cut his leg so badly that the blood ran, and he could scarcely get home again.

That was a bad business, for now both of the elder brothers were lame.

The next day the simpleton said he would go to the forest for wood.

“You, indeed!” cried his mother. “It is not enough that your two brothers are hurt? Do you think you are smarter than they are? No, no; do you stay quietly here at home. That is the best place for you.”

But the simpleton was determined to go, so his mother gave him an end of dough that was left from the baking and a bottle of sour beer, for that was good enough for him. With these in his wallet John started off, and after awhile he came to the forest, and there was the gray man sitting just as before.

“Good-day,” said the man.

“Good-day,” answered the simpleton.

“I am hungry,” said the gray man. “Have you not a bite or sup that you can share with me?”

Oh yes, the simpleton had both food and drink in his wallet. It was none of the best, but such as it was he was willing to share it.

He reached into his wallet and pulled out the piece of dough, but what was his surprise to find that it was dough no longer, but a fine cake, all made of the whitest flour. The old man snatched the cake from John and ate it all up in a trice. There was not so much as a crumb of it left.

“Poor pickings for me!” said John.

And now the old gray man was thirsty. “What have you in that bottle?” he asked.

“Oh, that was only sour beer.”

The old man took the bottle and opened it. “Sour beer! Why it is wine,” he cried, “and of the very best, too.”

And the simpleton could tell it was by the smell of it. But the smell of it was all he got, for the old man raised the bottle to his lips, and when he put it down there was not a drop left in it.

“And now I may go thirsty as well as hungry,” said John.

“Never mind that,” said the old man. “After this you may eat and drink of the best whenever you will. Go on into the forest and take the first turning to the right. There you will see a hollow oak tree. Cut it down, and whatever you find inside of it you may keep; it belongs to me, and it is I who give it to you.”

Then of a sudden the old man was gone, and where he went the simpleton could have told no one.

The lad went on into the forest, as the gray man had told him, and took the first turn to the left, and there sure enough was a hollow oak tree. The lad could tell it was hollow from the sound it made when his ax struck it.

John set to work, and chopped so hard the splinters flew.

After awhile he cut through it so that the tree fell, and there, sitting in the hollow, was a goose, with eyes like diamonds, and every feather of pure gold.

When John saw the goose he could not wonder enough. He took it up under his arm and off he set for home, for there was no more chopping for him that day.

But if the goose shone like gold it weighed like lead. The farther John went the wearier he grew. After awhile he came to an inn, just outside of the city where the King lived. There the simpleton sat him down to rest. He pulled a feather from the golden goose, and gave it to the landlord and bade him bring him food and drink, and with such payment as that it was the very best that the landlord sat before him you may be sure.

While the simpleton ate and drank the landlord’s wife and daughter watched him from a window.

“Oh, if we only had a second feather,” sighed the daughter.

“Oh, if we only had!” sighed the mother.

Then the two agreed between them that when the simpleton had finished eating and drinking, the daughter should creep up behind him and pluck another feather from the bird.

Presently John could eat and drink no more. He rose up and tucked the golden goose under his arm, and off he set.

The landlord’s daughter was watching, and she stole up behind him and caught hold of a feather in the goose’s tail. No sooner had she touched it, however, than her fingers stuck, and she could not let go. Off marched John with the goose under his arm, and the girl tagging along after him.

The mother saw her following John down the road, and first she called, and then she shouted, and then she ran after her and caught hold of her to bring her home. But no sooner had she laid hands on the girl than she, too, stuck, and was obliged to follow John and the golden goose.

The landlord was looking from the window. “Wife, wife,” he cried, “where are you going?” And he hurried after her and caught her by the sleeve. Then he could not let go any more than the others.

The simpleton marched along with the three tagging at his heels, and he never so much as turned his head to look over his shoulder at them.

The road ran past a church, and there was the clergyman just coming out of the door. “Stop, stop!” he cried to the landlord. “Have you forgotten you have a christening feast to cook to-day?” And he ran after the landlord and caught hold of him, and then he too stuck.

The sexton saw his master following the landlord, and he ran and caught hold of his coat, and he too had to follow. So it went. Everyone who touched those who followed the golden goose could not let go, and were obliged to tag along at John’s heels.

Now the King of that country had a daughter who was so sad and doleful that she was never known to smile. For this reason a gloom hung over the whole country, and the King had promised that any one who could make the Princess laugh should have her as a wife and a half of the kingdom as well.

It so chanced the simpleton’s way led him through the city and by the time he came in front of the King’s palace the whole street was in an uproar, and John had a long train of people tagging along after him.

The Princess heard the noise in the room where she sat sighing and wiping her eyes, and as she was very curious she went to the window and looked out to see what all the uproar was about.

When she saw the simpleton marching along with a goose under his arm and a whole string of people after him, all crying and bawling and calling for help, it seemed to her the funniest thing she had ever seen. She began to laugh, and she laughed and laughed. She laughed until the tears ran down her cheeks and she had to hold her sides for laughing.

But it was no laughing matter for the King, as you may believe. Here was a poor common lad, and a simpleton at that, who had made the Princess laugh; so now, by all rights, he might claim her for a wife, and the half of the kingdom, too.

The King frowned and bit his nails, and then he sent for John to be brought before him, and the lad came in alone, for he had set the people free at the gates.

“Listen, now,” said the King to John. “It is true I promised that anyone who made the Princess laugh should have her for a wife, but there is more to the matter than that. Before I hand over part of the kingdom to anyone, I must know what sort of friends he has, and whether they are good fellows. If you can bring here a man who can drink a whole cellar full of wine at one sitting then you shall have the Princess and part of the kingdom, just as promised; but if you cannot you shall be sent home with a good drubbing to keep you quiet.”

When John heard that he made a wry face. He did not know where he could find a man who could drink a whole cellar full of wine at one sitting.

He went out from the castle, and suddenly he remembered the old gray man who had given him the golden goose. If the old man had helped him once perhaps he might again.

He set out for the forest, and it was not long before he came to it. There, sitting where the old gray man had sat before, was a man with a sad and rueful face. He looked as though he had never smiled in all his life. He was talking to himself, and when the simpleton drew near he found the man was saying over and over, “How dry I am! How dry I am! Not even the dust of a summer’s day is as dry as I.”

“If you are so thirsty, friend,” said John, “rise up and follow me. Do you think you could drink a whole cellar full of wine at one sitting?”

Yes, the man could do that, and glad to get it, too. A whole cellar full of wine would be none too much to satisfy such a thirst as his.

“Then, come along,” said John.

He took the man back to the castle and down into the cellar where all the casks of wine were stored. When the man saw all that wine his eyes sparkled with joy. He sat him down to drink, and one after another he drained the casks until the very last one of them was empty. Then he stretched himself and sighed. “Now I am content,” said he.

As for the King his eyes bulged with wonder that any one man could drink so much at one sitting.

“Yes, that is all very well,” said he to the simpleton. “I see you have a friend who can drink. Have you also a friend who can eat a whole mountain of bread without stopping? If you have, you may claim the Princess for your wife, but if you have not, then you shall be sent home with a good drubbing.”

Well, that was not in the bargain, but perhaps the simpleton might be able to find such a man.

He set off for the forest once more, and when he came near the place where the thirsty man had sat he saw there another man, and he was enough like the thirsty man to be his brother.

As John came near to where he sat he heard him talking to himself, and what he was saying over-and-over was, “How hungry I am. Oh, how hungry I am.”

“Friend,” said the simpleton, “are you hungry enough to eat a whole mountain of bread? If you are I may satisfy you.”

Yes, a whole mountain of bread would be none too much for the hungry man.

So John bade the stranger follow him and then he led the way back to the castle.

There all the flour in the kingdom had been gathered together into one great enormous mountain of dough. When John saw how big it was his heart failed him.

“Can you eat that much?” he asked of the hungry man.

“Oh, yes, I can eat that much, and more, too, if need be,” said the man.

Then he sat down before the mountain of bread and began to eat. He ate and he ate, and he ate, and when he finished not so much as a crumb of bread was left.

As for the King he was a sad and sorry man. Not only was his daughter and part of the kingdom promised to a simpleton, but he had not even a cupful of flour left in the palace for his breakfast.

And still the King was not ready to keep the promises he had made. There was one thing more required of the simpleton before he could have the Princess and part of the kingdom for himself. Let him bring to the King a ship that would sail both on land and water, and he should at once marry the Princess, and no more words about it.

Well, John did not know about that, but he would do the best he could. He took the road that led back to the forest, and when he reached the place where the old man had sat, there was the old man sitting again just as though he had never moved from that one spot.

“Well,” said the old man, “and has the golden goose made your fortune?”

“That,” answered John, “is as it may be. It may be I am to have the half of a kingdom and a princess for a wife, and it may be that I am only to get a good drubbing. Before I win the Princess I must find a ship that will sail on land as well as on water, and if there is such a thing as that in the world I have never heard of it.”

“Well, there might be harder things than that to find,” said the old man. It might be he could help John out of that ditch, and what was more he would, too, and all that because John had once been kind to him. The old man then reached in under his coat and brought out the prettiest little model of a ship that ever was seen. Its sails were of silk, its hull of silver, and its masts of beaten gold.

The old man set the ship on the ground, and at once it began to grow. It grew and grew and grew, until it was so large that it could have carried a score of men if need be.

“Look,” said the old man. “This I give to you because you were kind to me and willing to share the best you had. Moreover it was I who drank the wine and ate the mountain of bread for you. Enter into the ship and it will carry you over land and water, and back to the King’s castle. And when he sees this ship he will no longer dare to refuse you the Princess for your wife.”

And so it was. John stepped into the ship and sailed away until he came to the King’s palace, and when the King saw the ship he was so delighted with it that he was quite willing to give the Princess to the simpleton for a bride.

The marriage was held with much feasting and rejoicing, and John’s father and mother and his two brothers were invited to the feast. But they no longer called him the simpleton; instead he was His Majesty, the wise King John.

As for the old gray man he was never seen again, and as the golden goose had disappeared also, perhaps he flew away on it.

THE THREE SPINNERS

There was once a girl who was so idle and lazy that she would do nothing but sit in the sunshine all day. She would not bake, she would not brew, she would not spin, she would not sew. One morning her mother lost patience with her entirely, and gave her a good beating. The girl cried out until she could be heard even into the street.

Now it so chanced the queen of the country was driving by at that time, and she heard the cries. She wished to find out what the trouble was, so she stopped her coach and entered the house. She went through one room after another, and presently she came to where the girl and her mother were.

“What is all this noise?” she asked. “Why is your daughter crying out?”

The mother was ashamed to confess what a lazy girl she had for a daughter, so she told the queen what was not true.

“Oh, your majesty,” cried she, “this girl is the worry of my life. She will do nothing but spin all day, and I have spent all my money buying flax for her. This morning she asked me for more, but I have no money left to buy it. It was because of that she began to cry, as you heard.”

The Queen was very much surprised. “This girl of yours must be a very fine spinner,” she said. “You must bring her to the palace, for there is nothing I love better than spinning. Bring her to-morrow, and if she is as wonderful a spinner as I suspect, she shall be to me as my own daughter, and shall have my eldest son as a husband.”

When the girl heard she was to go to the palace and spin she was terrified. She had never spun a thread in her life, and she feared that when the Queen found this out she would be angry and would have her punished. However, she dared say nothing.

The next day she and her mother went to the palace, and the Queen received them kindly. The mother was sent home again, but the daughter was taken to a tower where there were three great rooms all filled with flax.

“See,” said the Queen. “Here is enough flax to satisfy you for awhile at least. When you have spun this you shall marry my son, and after that you shall have all the flax you want. Now you may begin, and to-morrow I will come to see how much you have done.”

So saying the Queen went away, closing the door behind her.

No sooner was the girl alone than she burst into tears. Not if she lived a hundred years could she spin all that flax. She sat and cried and cried and cried.

The next morning the Queen came back to see how much she had done. She was very much surprised to find the flax untouched, and the girl sitting there with idle hands. “How is this?” she asked. “Why are you not at your spinning?”

The girl began to make excuses. “I was so sad at being parted from my mother that I could do nothing but sit and weep.”

“I see you have a tender heart,” said the Queen. “But to-morrow you must begin to work. When I come again I shall expect to see a whole roomful done.”

After she had gone the girl began to weep again. She did not know what was to become of her.

Suddenly the door opened, and three ugly old women slipped into the room. The first had a splayfoot. The second had a lip that hung down on her chin. The third had a hideous broad thumb.

The girl looked at them with fear and wonder. “Who are you?” she asked.

The one with the splayfoot answered. “We are three spinners. We know why you are weeping, and we have come to help you, but before we help you, you must promise us one thing: that is that when you are married to the Prince, we may come to your wedding feast, that you will let us sit at your table, and that you will call us your aunts.”

“Yes, yes; I will, I will,” cried the girl. She was ready to promise anything if they would only help her.

At once the splayfoot sat down at the wheel, and began to spin and tread. She with the hanging lip moistened the thread, and the woman with the broad thumb pressed and twisted it. They worked so fast that the thread flowed on like a swift stream. Before the next evening they had finished the whole roomful of flax.

When the Queen came again she was delighted to find so much done. “To-morrow,” said she, “you shall begin in the second room.”

The next day the girl was taken into the second room, and it was larger than the first and was also full of flax.

Scarcely had the Queen left her when the door was pushed open, and the three old women came into the room.

“Remember your promise,” said they.

“I remember,” answered the girl.

The old women then took their places and began to spin. Before the next evening they had finished all the flax that was in the room.

When the Queen came to look at what had been done, she was filled with wonder. Not only had all the flax in the room been spun, but she had never seen such smooth and even threads.

“To-morrow,” said she, “you shall spin the flax that is in the third room, and the day after you shall be married to my son.”

The third day all happened just as it had before. The girl was taken to the third room and it was even larger than the others. Scarcely had she been left alone when the three old women opened the door and came in.

“Remember your promise,” said they.

“I will remember,” answered the girl.

The old women took their places, and before night all the flax was spun. Then they rose. “To-morrow will be your wedding day, and we will be at the feast. If you keep your word to us, all will go well with you, but if you forget it, misfortune will surely come upon you.” Then they disappeared through the door as they had come, the eldest first.

When the Queen came that evening she was even more delighted than before. Never had she seen such thread, so smooth it was and even.

The girl was led down from the tower and dressed in silks and velvets and jewels, and when thus dressed she was so beautiful that the Prince was filled with love and joy at the sight of her. The next day they were married, and a grand feast was spread. To this feast all the noblest in the land were invited.

The bride sat beside her husband, and he could look at no one else, she was so beautiful.

Just as the feast was about to begin the door opened and the three old women who had spun the flax came in.

The Prince looked at them wonderingly. Never had he seen such hideous, ugly creatures before. “Who are these?” he asked of the girl.

“These,” said she, “are my three old aunts, and I have promised they shall sit at the table with us, for they have been so kind to me that no one could be kinder.”

The girl then rose, and went to meet the old women. “Welcome, my aunts,” she said, and led them to the table. The Prince loved the girl so dearly that all she did seemed right to him. He commanded that places should be put for the old women, and they sat at the table with him and his bride.

They were so hideous, however, that the Prince could not keep his eyes off them. At length he said to the eldest, “Forgive me, good mother, but why is your foot so broad?”

“From treading the thread, my son, from treading the thread,” she answered.

The Prince wondered; he turned to the second old woman. “And you, good mother,” he said, “why does your lip hang down?”

“From wetting the thread,” she answered. “From wetting the thread.”

The Prince was frightened. He spoke to the third old woman. “And you, why is your thumb so broad, if I may ask it?”

“From pressing and twisting,” she answered. “From pressing and twisting.”

The Prince turned pale. “If this is what comes of spinning,” said he, “never shall my bride touch the flax again.”

And so it was. Never was the girl allowed even to look at a spinning wheel again; and that did not trouble her, as you may guess.

As for the old women, they disappeared as soon as the feast was over, and no one saw them again, but the bride lived happy forever after.