PART TWO

_A real king is greater than his crown, and a real man is more than his clothes._

The king had now time to think it all over. Here he was no king at all, just because some one had stolen his clothes.

“Is that the only difference between a king and a beggar?” said he. And he sat all night with his head between his knees thinking how proud he had been.

Early in the morning he stood up and saw that the prison door was open. He walked out and down the road and came to his own palace. The porter did not know him and would not let him pass.

“But,” said the king, “I am your emperor; I am your master. Let me pass!” The porter was a strong man and held the gate tight shut.

“The emperor indeed!” he replied. “Come here and I will show you the emperor.” Then taking the king by the arm he led him to the door of a great hall where there were many people together. He saw an emperor seated on the throne and by his side was the queen.

“Let me go to see her!” cried the unhappy king. “She will know me!” and he tried to break away. The noise was heard in the hall and the lord and ladies came out to see what was the matter. Now the emperor and the queen came out also and looked at the strange man who said he was the emperor. When the poor king saw his wife he called out:

“Do you not know me? I am your husband--I am the real emperor! These clothes are not mine, nor are those clothes his!” and the real king fell down on the ground in great distress, and began to tear the rags from his body.

“Out with him! Beat him! Put his eyes out!” they began to cry, and soon the poor king was thrust out of his own grounds and wandered on down the road. He came to the very spot on the banks of the lake where he had bathed. He was cold and hungry and very miserable. He knelt on the ground and beat his breast.

“I am no emperor--no real emperor--I am just a sinful proud man and do not deserve to be king. God forgive me for my pride!”

Then he looked round and behold! there were his real king’s clothes again. There was his own horse and the duke and all his attendants waiting for him. He put on his clothes and rode up to the palace where the queen met him and kissed him.

“Welcome home, my lord and husband!” said she.

There stood the man the king had seen in his place, but he was now dressed in white. Nobody saw him but the king. He said:

“I am the good angel of thy kingdom. Only the humble are fit to rule. I give thee thy place again,” and the man vanished. The king bowed very low, and afterwards was a just and humble ruler of his people.

THE GOLD GIRL AND THE TAR GIRL

_In which a kind hearted and obedient girl found reward._

Once a woman had two daughters. One was her own daughter and the other was her step-daughter. She was good to her own daughter, but she made her step-daughter sit by the roadside and spin all day.

One day while she was spinning she picked the blood out of her finger with the spindle. She told her step-mother, and her step-mother said: “You go to the well and wash the blood off, and go back to work. You pick your finger to keep from working.”

While the little girl was washing her finger she dropped the spindle down in the well. Her step-mother was very angry and told her to go down in the well and get it.

The child was afraid, but she was compelled to go. So she closed her eyes and jumped in. She went down and down. Finally she opened her eyes and found that she was in a beautiful meadow.

She began walking and came to an apple tree. The tree said to her: “Little girl, shake me, I am so full of apples.” So the little girl shook the tree and walked on.

She came to some bread in an oven. The bread said: “Little girl, take me out; I am about to burn up.” So she took the bread out of the oven and walked on.

Finally she came to an ugly old woman whose name was Mother Frost. She said: “Little girl, come and live with me; you will not have anything to do but make my bed. It will have to be made well every morning.” The little girl said she would be glad to live with her.

She stayed with Mother Frost a long time, but after a while she decided to go home. Mother Frost led her to a gate. On one post was a bucket of gold, on the other a bucket of tar. When the little girl passed through the gate, the bucket of gold fell and covered her all over with gold.

When she reached her own yard an old rooster on the fence said: “Cock-a-doodle-doo, our golden girl has come home.”

The woman’s own daughter decided she wanted some gold, too. So she went out and began spinning. She picked her finger with the spindle, threw it in the well and jumped in after it.

She came to the apple tree and refused to shake it; she came to the oven and refused to take the bread out; she met Mother Frost and lived with her a little while, but would not make her bed.

When she decided to go home, Mother Frost led her to the same gate. When she passed through the bucket of tar fell and covered her all over with tar.

When she reached her own yard, the old rooster on the fence said: “Cock-a-doodle-doo, our tar girl has come home.”

THE LOOKING-GLASS WITCH

_We should make every effort to overcome in childhood any habit, which if allowed to grow, will exert a bad influence on our later life._

There was once a little girl, named Gretchen, who was a very nice little girl most of the time. When she smiled everybody thought she was pretty. But she often lost her temper, and when she was angry her face was so ugly that it scared people to look at her.

She was no longer pretty little Gretchen, but her face was all covered with wrinkles and frowns, and her eyes turned green. All the children were afraid of her, and even the animals ran away when she came near. “You can never tell when Gretchen is going to be angry,” they would say. Her mother grieved over her, but it did no good. She wondered what she could do to cure this bad habit of her little daughter.

One day as her mother was slowly walking along wondering how to help her little daughter she heard a soft voice say: “I will help you.”

Looking down on the side of the path she saw a tiny old woman following her as she walked along. She wondered what the old woman was going to do, but she could get no answers to her questions except: “Wait and see.”

“What kind of an old woman are you?” asked Gretchen’s mother.

“I am called the looking-glass witch,” answered the old woman. “I make people see themselves as others see them. Sometimes they look very pretty, and sometimes they look very ugly.”

Gretchen met her mother at the gate. She was dressed ready for a party, and with a basket of roses in her hand. She looked very pretty indeed. The mother stooped to kiss her little girl. The basket fell and all the roses spilled out on the ground. Quicker than thought Gretchen’s face began to change. She became very angry. She no longer smiled, but began to frown and wrinkle her face with rage. Her eyes turned green instead of blue, and her face was red and spotted. Then the old woman stepped out from behind Gretchen’s mother and faced the angry child.

“Oh, Gretchen, Gretchen, look!” cried the mother.

There upon the lawn stood the ugliest old woman that Gretchen had ever seen. Her eyes were large mirrors, and in each one Gretchen saw herself, only she was very ugly. Her hair was stiff and black, and on each strand danced a horrid imp. They each held a mirror in which seemed to be an ugly Gretchen mocking her.

“Oh, mother!” cried the little girl, as she hid behind her mother’s skirt, “I am not so ugly as that, am I?”

“Yes, you are,” cried the old woman, “and you will grow uglier and uglier if you do not stop losing your temper.” With this the old woman vanished.

But the lesson was learned, and ever after when Gretchen began to be angry she thought of the looking-glass witch and changed her mind.

DICK WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT